Wednesday, July 29, 2015
Know When To Quit
“Know When To Quit”
By Zach Wood
Proverbs 23:4-5 (NLT)
“Don’t wear yourself
out trying to get rich. Be wise enough to know when to quit. In the blink of an
eye wealth disappears, for it will sprout wings and fly away like an eagle.”
I cannot begin to tell you the number of times I’ve read
devotions, heard sermons or read articles that discussed the importance of not
being hung up on money. We know God’s
Word teaches us not to get hung up on being so concerned about wealth.
We have countless reality shows on TV where people compete
for a big grand prize, which is always a large sum of money. Some of these shows have contestants that
will do absolutely crazy things just to win money. Many of them don’t care who they hurt or what
they have to do in order to win. It can
get pretty crazy watching some of these people do whatever it takes to win.
Now, before we come down on those people we see on TV, we
better not point the finger too much at them before we look at our own lives
and see how much the same we really are.
Just because we have Christ in our lives does not exempt us from
becoming money hungry many times as well.
We “know” we are to ask Him to provide, but often, we get just as hung
up on the green stuff as people in the world do.
Please don’t get me wrong and think that working hard to
make ends meet is wrong. I’m not saying
that people who have to work extra, extra hard to keep food on the table and
bills paid are wrong in what they are doing.
Sometimes, families just have to do what they gotta do. However, what I do want to warn and encourage
against is always wanting more and more and more. Thinking that if we just make a little more,
then we’ll be set.
It’s important to provide for our families, but it’s also
important for us to know when we need to quit and not do anymore for day or on
the weekend because we need time with those we love. Working hard is good, but there comes a time
when we have to put work aside and focus on those we love and spend quality
time with them. Money needs will always
be there and sometimes we just have to stop and focus on those who are
important to us.
Let this Proverb be an encouragement to us all that God will
provide for us. Yes, He wants us to work
hard and provide for our families, but He wants desires for us to be part of
that family as well and be present as much as we can to make family
memories.
Tuesday, July 21, 2015
Obstacles Of Life
“Obstacles Of Life”
By Zach Wood
Philippians 3:12
(NIV)
“Not that I have
already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on
to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself
yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is
behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal
to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”
Over the past couple of months, one of my favorite TV shows
has become “American Ninja Warrior”. My
kids have been watching this with me and we really like it! The contestants have such determination as they
enter the obstacle courses. If you’re
not familiar with the show or have only caught glimpses of it, contestants from
all over compete on very difficult obstacles that really test their strength
and endurance as well as mental work.
The more I keep watching this show, the more I notice how
people respond to how they do on the courses and how they react when they
“fail”. There are actually more people
who fall off the course than complete it.
However, it’s amazing to watch people and their passion going through
and doing their best. And, the other
thing that most amazes me is their attitude when they are interviewed after
falling. Most of them always have a
smile on their face and talk about how they enjoyed it and will get it next
time.
It truly inspires me every time I watch this how because of
the determination and attitude of the contestants. I’m inspired how passionate they are for what
they are doing. And, it’s usually not
for themselves. Before they begin the courses,
they always show a “back story” that tells how they came to be on the show and
something about their friends and family and circumstances that brought them to
the show. There is just something so
inspiring about each of the contestants and makes it more than just a show.
When I see their determination, I can’t help but think of
Paul. This is an amazing passage as Paul
talks about pressing on and winning the prize in Christ. He kept his eye on the path and didn’t let
things discourage him from continuing to follow Christ. Paul had a lot of
obstacles for sure, but He did not let that pull him down. He trusted in Christ. From his past, he learned hard things and
learned to put his trust in God and continue through life’s obstacles.
No matter what the past is for us, we can be assured that
God is with us through all we experience.
And, our attitude as we continue through the obstacles of life will
determine a lot. Are we pressing on no
matter what?
Thursday, July 9, 2015
Praise Him For Faithfulness
“Praise Him For Faithfulness”
By Zach Wood
Psalm 33:1-4 (NIV)
“Sing joyfully to the
Lord, you righteous; it is fitting for the upright to praise him. Praise the
Lord with the harp; make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre. Sing to him a
new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy. For the word of the Lord is right
and true; he is faithful in all he does.”
I always love reading the promises throughout the Bible that
God gives to us of His faithfulness. We
have so much to praise Him for, don’t we?
His Word is packed full of encouragement and promises to us that He will
take care of us. Because of His
faithfulness to us, we should praise Him everyday and all through the day.
Often it is hard to praise Him and give thanks because of
the many trials and sorrows we experience.
We often find it difficult to praise Him when we are consumed with so
many worries and other things bothering us.
It’s in these times we especially need to focus on praising Him and
remember that no matter what, He is and always will be faithful.
One book that I especially like reading through in the OT is
Psalms. When I read through the
chapters, I am always encouraged and inspired.
I never tire from reading this fantastic book. It’s full of inspiration and words to help
when things seem down. And, even when
things don’t seem down, it’s still inspiring to read.
No matter what happens to us in life, no matter what we
experience and no matter what people say or do, nothing will ever change the
fact that God is faithful in all He does and He will always be there for
us. That is truly worth praising Him
for!
He is surely faithful in all He does and His love endures
forever!
Wednesday, July 1, 2015
Get Excited To Share
“Get Excited To Share”
By Zach Wood
1 Chronicles 16:8 (NLT)
“Give thanks to
the Lord and proclaim his greatness.
Let the whole world know what he has done.”
We tend to get really excited about a lot of things that
happen to us in life. When we receive a
present from someone for Christmas, our birthday or for another special
occasion, we get really excited. When we
receive a raise or job promotion at work, that makes us feel good and we
celebrate. When we play different
sporting games with friends and family, we can get quite competitive and worked
up over what we play.
We could list many more things in life that we get excited
and worked up over. It’s great that we
get so excited about different things in life.
However, I cannot help but think of all the times in life when I’ve
gotten excited about something going on, but then my excitement for sharing my
faith with others hasn’t shown the same enthusiasm. When I realize this, it’s a hard pill to
swallow. I am convicted that my love for
God and excitement to do His Work isn’t as exciting as the next event I’m going
to.
It is easy to get worked up and excited about different
things happening in our lives and that is okay.
The problem comes when our excitement for sharing God’s love with others
is less exciting that some event we’re pumped up about. When this happens, we seriously need to check
our priorities. Where is our heart? How about the song, “Go Tell It On The
Mountain”? The words of that song
describe this very well. Are we excited
and worked up about our opportunities to share His love with others?
This is not meant to give any kind of guilt trip for when
you or I get excited about something going on in our lives. God definitely wants us to enjoy the
different things that happen to us. But
I also believe He really desires for the most joy and most excitement in life
to come from knowing Him. Letting the
world around us know why we have joy. We
need to be giving thanks in all we do and proclaiming His greatness.
I pray that we would become more and more excited about
sharing His love and proclaiming His greatness each day. Then, the world will notice and see Him
through us more and more.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)