Pick & Choose

My passion for the outdoors also include the creatures that live in the outdoors, I enjoy feeding a couple of deer that stop by at night for some corn and maybe a few apples, I also like to feed and watch the birds. The other day I was watching a bird eat from the feeder, and I noticed that the bird was picking and choosing what seeds it wanted to eat. As I watched this bird it reminded me of the way some Christians act. We only want to do what we want, and everything else gets spit out or tossed to the side. We get caught up so much in what we want to do that we forget about everyone else. Not only do we act this way concerning our activities, but we do the same when it comes to God's Word. We pick out the verses that we like and the ones we want to apply to our lives, but the others we just pretend they are not even there. Deuteronomy 8:3 says " man does not live on bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord." We need to be aware of our picking and choosing and realize that "pushing aside" important food will leave us malnourished.

What's That Smell?

As a young man I stayed in the river fishing and catching the things that live in the waters. I remember one time I had been fishing all day in the river and I had caught a mess of trout, that I had decided to bring home and clean for mom to cook. I cleaned the trout and discarded the guts and heads in the trash can in the kitchen. It did not take long to start smelling up the house, and when mom got home it was really "ripe". I took the trash to the outside cans but the next day it still was rotten, so I took the guts and heads and buried them in the field beside the house. The smell was finally gone. This childhood story reminds me of an adult problem. So many times we tend to hold a grudge against someone. That grudge becomes like that fish in the kitchen trash smelly and stinking up your life. You may even try and get rid of it by pretending to forget about it, but sooner or later the smell will catch up to you, and sometimes (most of the time) it will affect not only you but those that are close to you. You will become bitter and negative and really smell. You must do something to get rid of the smell. As Jesus Christ was being murdered he cried out and said, "Father forgive them for they know not what they do." (Luke 23:24) It is time to move on, let it go, and forgive them.

Flying High

There are many times in life when we feel weighed down by stress from jobs, guilt from sin, pressure from financial problems. What do we do in these times? How do we react? Well, I think many of us tend to hide our problems. We sweep them under the rug only to trip over them later. Why do we have such little faith? We have such faith in God with our souls, yet we struggle to give Him our everyday problems. With the weight of our daily burdens we can barely lift off the ground, yet alone fly. Peter reminds us to "cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you" (1Peter 5:7) When we "give" it to Christ and rely on Him for our strength and guidance He will deliver you. Do you trust Him? The prophet Isaiah put it this way, " Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." (Isaiah 40:28-31) Are you ready to fly? Give all your problems over to God, and trust the Creator of this world to save you.