THANKFUL THURSDAY...am I my brothers keeper?

Last night at Bible Study, during a discussion of the happenings of Syria, a question was posed..."What is our responsibility for those we do not know?"

The discussion went in different circles, some were opposed, and some were for our involvement. But the one thing that I could not get away from was that particular question about what our responsibility was.

Not politically speaking, but spiritually speaking...what exactly is our responsibility?

It is so easy to take the middle of the road approach when it comes to taking responsibility for the lost. Many times when we see someone in distress, we don't want to get involved, especially if it is a complete stranger. It is easier to walk away then become entangled with the unexpected. When it comes to being our brothers keeper, I wonder how many of us have the attitude of Cain...

Then the Lord said to Cain, "Where is your brother Abel?" "I don't know" he replied "Am I my brothers keeper?" (Genesis 4:9)

Cain's response to God was a callous one if you ask me. One that is all too familiar in today's society. We are too busy with our own life's to be involved in others, especially those that are strangers to us.

“When a person is unconcerned in the affairs of others and takes no care when they have opportunity to prevent hurt--especially in their souls,--that person in effect speaks Cain’s language.” -Matthew Henry

Becoming our brothers keeper spiritually is what I am talking about. Whether it is our brother over in Syria or our brother right here in our backyard, praying and interceding on their behalf is the least that we can do. The church was never intended to minister to only a certain segment of people, there is to be no distinction which means with their gender, race or where they live. To wash our hands or turn our back on any of our brothers, no matter what their belief or situation is saying that we do not believe that God in His mighty power can change hearts and lives.

As my brothers keeper, we DO have a responsibility. I am thankful that someone cared enough about me to intercede on my behalf when I was lost in sin and despair. Don't lose sight of what our responsibility is not only as an American but as an American Christian.

Pray for our nation. And pray for the countries that have made it difficult for Christians to share His gospel. Both here and over there are lost souls, souls that are God's prodigal children whom He waits for their return. Won't you take the Christian responsibility and pray?

Today is THANKFUL THURSDAY, and we have much to be thankful for. We live in a country that we can freely worship and pray to our God. A privilege that we should never take for granted. IRIS is hosting this month, link your grateful heart up with us over HERE!

Power up!

The other day I was shopping for some vitamins for my family. I had no idea that there were so many different kinds, for so many different things. While looking over everything I also noticed a big variety of something else in the same aisle...power enhancements. Since I am not a weight lifter or ever had the need to enhance my power (physically), I was unaware of all of the different power drinks, power tablets, and power bars to enhance my strength and muscle.

In another section of the same aisle were diet pills and shakes. With so many things to choose from, it occurred to me that there is a huge market to help us shape up, trim down and get strong. The extent that many of us go to in order to become physically strong is unbelievable but what is even more unbelievable to me is that we don't seem to have the same drive to become spiritually strong.

The greatest temptation in life is to turn away from God when great trials and disappointments hit us. After all, how is it possible to hang onto God when it is all we can do to get up in the morning and not cry ourselves to sleep at night? It may seem easier to just give up and turn away from God, but trust me, life will only get harder not easier if you do this.

It is at this very moment that you cannot depend upon your own strength, but you must depend upon the strength of the Lords. There will be days that you will not be able to muster up enough strength to face all that you will have to face. Sickness, death and unexpected twists and turns of your life will leave you feeling weak, vulnerable and defeated. It is in this moment that you will need to have a power drink, or a power bar to get you thru to the other side...the kind that comes only from God!

Just like the conditioning that a weight lifter must endure, we as Christians also must condition our minds and hearts to be more like Christ.

"Come to Me, all you who are weary and find life burdensome and I will refresh you. Take My yoke upon your shoulders and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble of heart. Your souls will find rest, for My yoke is easy and My burden light." MATTHEW 11:28-30

We must never lose sight of the fact that God has us in the palm of His hand, even during those dry, difficult times. When we cannot see past our pain, He already sees the purpose. We must never be without His yolk upon our shoulders, It is what makes us strong. Those times that we feel alone, hurt and disappointed is not the time to turn away from God, in fact, it is in these moments that we must run to Him.



We can do all kinds of things to get strong physically, but none of that will do us any good unless we place our life in His hands. There are no power bars that we can consume to receive Gods strength unless we recieve Gods love. It is then that we can power up and be strong in Him.

TODAY'S PRAYER: "Dear Lord, Help me to trust You with my life. Even when things go wrong in my life, I will remain faithful and true to you. It is Your strength and power that I desire in my life, to help me, guide me and protect me. I commit all of my weaknesses to You, for You are my strength." AMEN

THANKFUL THURSDAY...God knows!

When arriving home from work yesterday, I noticed something on the walkway in front of my door. At first I wasn't sure what it was, it was pinkish in color and just seemed to be lumped in a pile right there on the ground.

As I moved closer, I could see the little feet, the few feathers and what seemed to be the facial features of a tiny little bird. It must have fallen out of the ginormous tree that is in our front yard.

 After coming in the house, I thought about that little bird. The long fall from that tree must have been pretty scary for such a little fella, and where was the mother? I did not see any sign of her. How sad that this creation of God had to be all alone in its final moments.

But was it all alone?

^"Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.  So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows." MATTHEW 10:29-31

According to Matthew, God is aware of it all. He is concerned even with the birds, not one falls to the ground without Him knowing about it. If God cares for the birds, how much more does He care for you and me?

There are days that we may feel like we have fallen out of tree. We may feel so discouraged that we just want to lay on the ground and die. It may even seem like it is you against the world, and the as the world passes by, nobody seems to care about you. But God does. He loves us and He knows when we are hurting, or in trouble, or sad, or feeling all alone. He also knows about the times that we are happy, in good health and everything is going great. He knows the good and the bad that happens to us. In fact, He knows what kind of a day we are going to have before we even know.

There is comfort in knowing that there is Someone Who cares about us so much that not one detail of our lives go unnoticed. Today on THANKFUL THURSDAY, I am so grateful that in the midst of it all...GOD KNOWS!

IRIS is our TT host this month...please link up with us over HERE!

LACED WITH GRACE...Let God do the dusting

Today you can find me over at LACED WITH GRACE where I have shared a devo with the readers entitled "Let God do the dusting." ...

"For the past ten years I have owned a cleaning service business. One of the greatest qualifications that I possess for this kind of business is being OCD. It really comes in handy especially when I meet people like I did the other day. I went to give a residential quote to a woman and the first thing she said to me is, “I HATE dusting!” Well, she called the right person because I LOVE to dust and clean and organize.

In fact, I probably love it way too much. Sometimes, I tend to go overboard with my compulsive cleaning mentality. It embarrassess..."

CLICK HERE to read this entire post!

THANKFUL THURSDAY...you can't take Christ out of Easter!

Next to Christmas, Easter is my favorite holiday. During one holiday we celebrate the birth of Jesus, while the other holiday we remember His death and resurrection.

But for many people, Easter has become nothing more than egg hunts, hiding Easter baskets and coloring eggs. We have done a good job at commercializing yet another holiday that averts our attention away from what it really is about.

While shopping the other day, I couldn't help notice the large assortment of Easter merchandise. Chocolate bunnies, Easter baskets, Easter dresses and bonnets to just name a few. Aisles and aisles of candy and treats that are often associated with this holiday. As I strolled past the Easter merchandise there was one thing that really stood out to me...

The signage!

Apparently to some merchants, we no longer refer to this holiday as "Easter", instead the signage (advertisements) were for "Spring is here sale". No mention of Easter. No mention of the Cross.

Is it possible that we have taken Christ out of Easter?

How is that even possible?

For the Christian, that seems almost appalling, but I am seeing more and more how the world is trying to put their own twist on such sacred holidays. But for me, no matter what signage you put on it, nobody can take Christ out of Easter for me. Easter is about Christ. It is about the sacrifice. About the suffering. About the Resurrection.

Today on THANKFUL THURSDAY I am so thankful that we still celebrate Easter and not just a "spring is here" day. Spring represents new life and honestly without the blood of Jesus, there cannot be new life.

2 Corinthians 5:17 "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come."

IRIS is hosting THANKFUL THURSDAY for the month of April, join your grateful heart with ours by linking up over HERE! May you and  yours have a very blessed EASTER weekend!

Before the rooster crows...

There is no doubt in my mind that when someone you love betrays you, it is difficult to understand and sometimes difficult to move past. However, betrayal and denial is often times misunderstood. When someone is the betrayer, I would suggest that they are not fully understanding what love is.

"I tell you the truth, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times." -Jesus to Peter (John 13:38)

Peter lacked the understanding of love. He thought he loved Jesus but clearly Peter did not walk by Christ's love for him. What came pouring out of his mouth did not match with what was going on in his heart.

"I am prepared to die with you" -Peter (Luke 22:33)

But Jesus already knew his heart.

"I tell you Peter, before the cock crows this day, you will deny three times that you know Me." (Luke 22:34)

Often times I think we deny those around us the love that they truly deserve. Peter denied Jesus, but later regretted it. Regret is a sad place to be. It is crippling to ones spiritual welfare. It is not where God would have us remain if we have been betrayed or denied. Jesus didn't want Peter to stay there. That is why after His resurrection we see a different scenario...

Peter, do you love Me?
And Peter said, Lord, You know I love You.
Again, He said, Peter, do you love Me?
Lord, You know I love You.
And once again, Peter, do you love Me?
And Peter said, Lord, You know everything. You know that I love You.

It was then that Peter fully understood love, the kind of love that comes from the Father. It wasn't just words spoken, Peter now had love that came from the heart.  "Then feed My sheep!" Jesus responded. Peter was now ready to act upon his love.

Betrayal has left me feeling crippled in the past, but honestly, until I knew who I was in Christ I was limited in what I could do for Him and others. I realized that no matter who betrays me, gossips about me, throws stones at me, or stabs me in the back that there is a love, a genuine love that I can have for my betrayers.

God knows exactly what all of that feels like, He sent His Son to die for us and in the process He was falsely accused, spit upon, called names, lied about and nailed to a wooded cross where He suffered in anguish and bled to death. All because He loved both His friend and His foe.

There isn't anything spoken or done to us that God does not see. He understands. And because of His great love is why we can also walk in love and bring what John speaks about to fruition...

"By this, everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another." John 13:35

Make sure you love and forgive ...before the rooster crows.

Don't be a fool!

I wonder how many of you were pranked yesterday? Or were you the pranker?

When my kids were younger, they liked to try to trick us on April Fools day. Even when I was onto them, I would go along with the trick just so they could holler "April Fools!" and we could all have a good laugh.

Even though all of that was in good fun, the Bible says that a real fool is not a laughing matter...

  "A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion." Proverbs 18:2

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"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction."
Proverbs 1:7

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"A fool gives full vent to his spirit, but a wise man quietly holds it back."  Proverbs 29:11

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"A fool's lips walk into a fight, and his mouth invites a beating." Proverbs 18:6

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"If a wise man has an argument with a fool, the fool only rages and laughs, and there is no quiet." Proverbs 29:9

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"A fool's mouth is his ruin, and his lips are a snare to his soul."  Proverbs 18:7

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"A wise man's heart inclines him to the right, but a fool's heart to the left." Ecclesiastes 10:2

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 "A foolish son is ruin to his father, and a wife's quarreling is a continual dripping of rain." Proverbs 19:13

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The Bible has alot to say about being a fool, but one of the saddest scriptures on this topic is found in Psalms. The Psalmist said:

"The fool says in his heart, 'There is no God'." Psalm 53:1

We have all fallen victim to saying or doing foolish things, but one of the gravest mistakes any of us could make is believing there is no God! If it is true that we will reap what we sow, I cannot imagine anything but destruction and despair to come from such an unbelief as thinking there is no God!

May we think twice about acting in such a foolish way. Pulling a prank on April fools day does not mean that we have to act a fool the rest of our days. May we open our eyes and our heart to the ways of God and His wisdom!