Turn, Turn, Turn

"Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes." -James 4:14

When I turned 10 years old, my parents took me to a really nice restaurant for my birthday. It was called the Sundial, located in the heart of Atlanta atop the Westin Peachtree hotel on the 73rd floor. I was so excited to go - mostly because of what I had heard about it - the floor moved!

When we got there and sat down, it didn't appear that we were moving at all. But in between talking and eating we realized that the next time we looked, we were seeing a different view of the buildings. It was so cool! Within a 1-hour time span we had seen an entire panorama of the city - but we had barely noticed because we were moving so slow.

In Psalms it says, "Remember how fleeting is my life. For what futility you have created all men!" (Ps 89:47) Our days are numbered - not that we should live in haste. But it is important that we recognize the value of the time that we have. Are we spending it wisely? Are we not counting our years, but making them count?

During that dinner I remember looking at the floor and seeing the difference between the part that moved and the part that didn't. It was ever so slight. But if I stood in one place for long enough, my parents would have vanished. Isn't that true with us? Because the world is always moving, we need to be intentional about moving forward, so that we won't miss what God is wanting to do in our lives. Faith requires movement, action. Sometimes our action is waiting. But, there is always action. The husband of our worship director once said, "If you're not moving forward, by default you're moving backward."

Are you moving forward in your life? Are you making the moments count? There is so much that could be done on this earth for the good of God's kingdom. What has God called you to?

Agreeing with God

"Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world." (1 John 4:1)

Do you agree with God? This may seem funny to say, but each of us comes to Christ with a different perception of God, perhaps even a negative one. 

Subsequently, our thoughts about what we think about God and what He thinks of us is reflected in our lives to others. If we believe God is out to get us, we will think this about people in general too. We might even have a judgmental attitude toward them. 

However, in order to be effective conduits of God's love and grace, we need to agree with His TRUE nature! Through this process of understanding what God thinks about us and agreeing with Him, we might discover that we've been agreeing with the enemy for way too long. 

"Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love." (1 John 4:7 & 8) 

Here are some things the enemy might have us believe, either through circumstances or through negative things people have done or said to us in our past:

• We are insignificant
• No one loves/cares for us 
• We do not have a purpose 
• There is not a reason for our existence 
• We have to do something to earn God's love/approval

Conversely, all of the above are the exact OPPOSITE of how God wants us to believe! 

Let us make sure we have aligned ourselves with God's thoughts for us, for our past, present, and future. Our God is love - and we need to agree with Him!

Our Perfect Father

"If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!” -Matthew 7:11

I didn’t have the best relationship with my dad growing up. He seemed cold, aloof, and distant. When I asked for attention in my own little way, his lack of affirmation (he had a VERY introverted personality) seemed like pure rejection!  My parent’s relationship didn’t help much either - it was a constant war zone.

Although we had a lot of junk in our family when I was young, my dad and I have a MUCH better relationship now than we ever had before. We can talk openly and I really feel that he cares for me. As I see him getting older it saddens my heart that none of us live forever, on this earth at least.

Before my relationship with my dad was restored, I had a negative view of my heavenly Father too. I didn’t know God as my "Dad" - I knew Him as an indifferent God who didn’t care about me or the details of my life. I was so mad at Him because He allowed bad things to happen to me. He didn’t change my negative circumstances. So to me I thought it meant He didn’t care.

But when I sought out and experienced God personally, my perception of Him completely changed.

A lot of us don’t have what we desire out of life because we don't believe we deserve it. Our problem starts in our belief. What do we believe about God?  We will perceive God the way we perceived our dads growing up.  If we don’t believe the person we are asking has good intentions for us, why would we even want to ask Him for what we need or want?

Now my dad spoils me in any way he can, even though I am now 28. If my earthly dad does this, how much more does our Heavenly Father want to love, cherish, and ridiculously bless His kids?