Our Economy

We are living in an uncertain time.  People don’t know what to do.  This doesn’t just have to do with the stock market, but about homes, jobs….it’s affecting everyone.  In this time, God through David is calling us. 

Psalm 23:1 Jesus is the Good Shepard, we have a refuge.  Satan may offer much to us, but he can’t offer freedom.  We can’t forget that we are free from the power of sin.  Jesus came that we may have joy.  In the end, the economy is staying behind.

Psalm 23:2 When was the last time you stopped to rest?  To think about how it’s going?  What is this life in view of eternity?  We need to take inventory and ask ourselves what this life means.  The Lord wants to bring us to peace.  No one can take it.  Are we waiting to get sick, to have time to pray and read the Bible?  We can be so busy spiritually, that we don’t have time to be quiet with God.  When was the last time you’ve had quiet time to fill up spiritually?

Psalm 23:3  When He leads, we are safe.  Our Sheperd goes on before us.  He has been reliable.  He care for us, He is faithful.  He promised to be with us until the world end.

Psalm 23:5 He is worrying for us.  We have a stronghold in the LORD.  We don’ need to doubt Him.  He is always enough.  The Father in Heaven cares for the sparrows, how much will He provide for us?  We need to learn to trust.  We need to turn our eyes upon Him.

Do we really know the Shepard?  Do we know Him personally?

Do you know the Psalm or the Shepard?

We have a leader who promised to be with us until we die.  We can put our trust in Him.

Rooted in Christ

In youth the other night we had the topic “Rooted in Christ”.

By identifying winds of our christian walk, we could find ways to deal with them.  Winds such as worldly influences, doubts, temptations, peer pressure, seeing others blown over and not getting up, media, consumerism and other discouragements.

These winds can destroy our roots in Christ, namely our faith.  We need to be mindful of our doctrine. (“Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming.”-Ephesians 4:14)  We are constantly bombarded with information, theories and ideas.  We need to sift through what is true.  (“So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.” – Colossians 2:6-8 )

What can i do to become more rooted and established in the faith??  I can excersize applying what i believe.  I can know my Bible, grow in knowledge of God’s word.  I can spend time with other christians.  I can be watchful, be careful who teaches me, what i read, and go back to the standard of God’s word.  I can learn from mistakes.  I can read and pray.

But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. -James 1:6

I will not waste time on anything that i can’t change anyway.

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

Worrying about things that i can’t change anyway, is one thing i need to change.  There always will be things i can’t change.  There always will be people i can’t change.  Not that they can’t change, but that they don’t want to.  Can i let them steal my inner peace?

Only God can change things.  And God can also help me to accept things that won’t be changed.  This seems like a hard task.  I need to pray for grace to understand.  I need to remember that i can always find something good about everyone.

More times than not, I am the one who needs to change.  It may be how i look at the situation or the situation is there to change me.  I need to accept what the Lord wants me too.  If i give everything to the Lord, i can watch as He takes care of everything.