A Million Pieces

I am broken, damaged, shattered and crumpled to a million pieces.

What started as a small crack in my windshield was never taken care of and so it split and splintered and snapped until the whole thing exploded in my face..leaving me quite blind to see where I was going.

How do you build yourself back up?

When every piece of who you are has been broken into a million pieces.

When the pit would be a paradise compared with my present pain.

When lifetimes of crying couldn't clean up the stain I 'rive from the floor wondering what all this gore was for?

Is there purpose to this pain?

Can there be a meaning in my mess?

Where can I find beauty from my brokenness...and from this darkness?

And when I can't find the strength to say it, much less pray it.
Suddenly I discover that my life can become a mosaic.
A picture or pattern produced by putting together small, broken pieces.
I will become an art piece formed from the pieces of me that once put together, reveal something far more beautiful...far more powerful...and far more wonderful than I ever dreamed of when I was whole.
So break my body, break my heart. You CAN'T touch this soul.
I may walk with a limp but my spirit has never been stronger because after blow, after blow, after blow, I build up slow and discover my new glow.
So when you look at me, I want you to know, that's not a scar, it's a beauty mark...those aren't scabs, they're the armour of a mighty warrior...it's not a bruise, it's war paint.
I want you to know, these tears, they're not for you, they're for watering the seed that fell to the ground and died, but with time will produce an even stronger tree...STRONGER ME.
So chop me down, break me apart. You'll only add more wood to the fire from which I'll rise and the size of my burden is only outdone by the size of my breakthrough when I shock the world...when I'm made new from the pieces...a million pieces.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTcRWpUSalc

Run with Endurance

"Since we have such a huge crowd of men of faith watching us from the grandstands, let us strip off anything that slows us down or holds us back, and especially those sins that wrap themselves so tightly around our feet and trip us up; and let us run with patience the particular race that God has set before us."

[Hebrews 12:1 TLB]

Not Ashamed

[Romans 1:16-20]

16 For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is God’s powerful method of bringing all who believe it to heaven. This message was preached first to the Jews alone, but now everyone is invited to come to God in this same way.

17 This Good News tells us that God makes us ready for heaven—makes us right in God’s sight—when we put our faith and trust in Christ to save us. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scripture says it, “The man who finds life will find it through trusting God.”
 
18 But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, evil men who push away the truth from them. 19 For the truth about God is known to them instinctively; God has put this knowledge in their hearts. 20 Since earliest times men have seen the earth and sky and all God made, and have known of his existence and great eternal power. So they will have no excuse when they stand before God at Judgment Day.

Thanks, O Lord

"Lord, with all my heart I thank you.

I will sing your praises before the armies of angels.

I face your Temple as I worship,
giving thanks to you for all your loving-kindness and your faithfulness, for your promises are backed by all the honor of your name.

When I pray, you answer me and encourage me by giving me the strength I need."
[Psalm 138:1-3 TLB]

The Signs of Drifting

"The Signs of Drifting" by Dr Charles Stanley 

[Hebrews 2:1-3]

Regularly gathering in the house of the Lord with brothers and sisters in Christ provides an anchor of support and accountability. But skipping church in order to pursue other interests usually indicates a believer has begun to drift away from God. 

Less apparent are the men and women who mentally skip the worship service. The act of attending means nothing unless we make a deliberate decision to receive God’s Word and apply it to our life. As the writer of Hebrews warned, if we do not pay attention to what we have heard, we will drift away from it (Heb. 2:1).

"Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away. For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward, how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him....." (Heb. 2:1-3)

However, Sunday morning is not the only time for nourishing our heart and mind with principles and encouragement from the Bible. We should be in its pages every day, reading and meditating for ourselves.

When our interest in what God has to say decreases, we are already slipping out into troublesome waters. The only way to keep our way pure is by following His Word (Psalm 119:9).

A fading prayer life often accompanies neglected Bible reading. Prayer is the way believers communicate with the Navigator. If we stop talking with Him, the God who once seemed so close will soon feel far away. That chasm in our spirit is one more sign that we’re far from shore and safety.

I’ve watched many a captain guide his cruise ship through a narrow channel. The crew members are intensely focused on their tasks because drifting means disaster. Life is full of narrow channels to navigate.

We cannot afford to drift away from God and His Word. Only He can bring us safely through.

Wonderful Day

In that wonderful day you will say, “Thank the Lord! Praise his name!

Tell the world about his wondrous love. How mighty he is!”

[Isaiah 12:4 TLB]

The Secret to Contentment

What does contentment mean?  It is an inner sense of rest or peace that comes from being right with God and knowing that He is in control of all that happens to us.  It means having our focus on the kingdom of God and serving Him, not on the love of money and things.  If God grants us material comforts, we can thankfully enjoy them, knowing that it all comes from His loving hand. But, also, we seek to use it for His purpose by being generous. If He takes our riches, our joy remains steady, because we are fixed on Him. 

[1 Timothy 6:6-10]

“Now godliness combined with contentment brings great profit. For we have brought nothing into this world and so we cannot take a single thing out either.
But if we have food and shelter, we will be satisfied with that.
Those who long to be rich, however, stumble into temptation and a trap and many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.
For the love of money is the root of all evils. Some people in reaching for it have strayed from the faith and stabbed themselves with many pains.”

[1 Timothy 6:17-19]
"Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God,
who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.
Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous
and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.”

Contentment also means not being battered around by difficult circumstances or people, and not being wrongly seduced by prosperity, because our life is centered on a living relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. So no matter what happens to us or what others do to us, we have the steady assurance that the Lord is for us and He will not forsake us.

How do we acquire contentment?  The world goes about the quest for contentment
in all the wrong ways, so we must studiously avoid its ways. Paul’s words show...
The secret for contentment in every situation is to focus on the Lord--as Sovereign,
as Saviour, & as the Sufficient One.  He is the Sovereign One to whom I must submit;
He is the Saviour whom I must serve; He is the Sufficient One whom I must trust.
If I know Him in these ways as Paul did, I will know contentment. 

So how can we cultivate contentment in Christ?  How can you “want what you

already have?” The following principles are suggestions on how to cultivate

contentment in Christ:

•    Beware of the effect of greed.
•    Give away your possessions.
•    Simplify your lifestyle.
•    Appreciate growing old.