Remember that God Has A Great Plan

"Trusting is so much easier if you

will just close your eyes!"

"To be honest, it is the thought of the future that has been the source of much of my turmoil. There are things of the past that have pain and hurt, but most of those wounds are healing quite well. There are situations I face daily that have the potential to create some difficult moments, and yet, the Lord seems to continually guide me through and equip me to handle those obstacles. But looking down the unknown hallway sometimes feels like I am in a scary movie and I just don’t know what is going to happen. Why is it that my mind always wants to revert to the memory of a scary movie where there is something dark and terrible wanting to eat my flesh instead of the idea that God has such a great plan? The end of the hallway is a definite unknown but the character and heart of God for is unchanging and is full of goodness. There is no need to fear!" (Step by Step 6/19/09)

Here is what I do on those days when my eyes become transfixed on the worries of tomorrow instead of God’s faithful promises.

1. Read His Word

It is sad that so few people lean on God’s handbook for this life. People feel comfortable running to so many different sources to try and attain wisdom for tomorrow and find every excuse in the book as to the reason they do not read God’s book. I personally believe that most people don’t run to the Word of God as often as they should is that it requires something of them instead of allowing them to feel sorry for ourselves. You see, scripture does not try to make sense of our problems. Scripture works on our heart and helps us look at our lives differently. It causes us to change, then, because we have changed we look at life’s issues differently.

2. Begin to Worship

This may sound like a strange thing to do and yet it is where I go when life is too heavy for me to carry. I wish that I could compare myself to Paul when he rejoices about his suffering, but I cannot. Usually when life is difficult, I run to the Lord to worship Him. Many times it is with tears in my eyes and a lump in my throat. He then finds a way to calm my heart and helps me to begin to trust in Him and His plan once more.

3. Surrender My Feelings and Fears Through Prayer

Not only does God want to hear from you, but when you take the time to have relationship with your maker you will find personal wholeness. The more time you spend with the Lord, the more you will trust Him and understand His role in your life. To love the Lord means to daily lay down your feelings, your rights, your ambitions, your goals, your everything. The laying down of these things will help you remember who is the Master and who is the child. The most confusing times in my life have come from me forgetting that the Lord is the one in charge and I am not.

4. Speak Out Loud My Fears

It is very important that you find someone to talk to. I have found that I confide in my best friend, my wife. She gets to hear of my sadness, my jealousies, my anger issues, and my disappointments. She gets to hear about my fears. There are times that this is difficult for me to do, but I thank the Lord to have a trusted friend for me to share with. If I try to keep my fears inside, they seem to mix with my imagination and grow into a beast that haunts my present day life. Usually after I speak my fears out loud and shed light on them, they shrink and lose the power to control me.

5. Find Something Positive to Do

This final step is very important. You must not sit around and focus on fears. Take that energy and find something positive to do. No matter what has happened or is happening in your life, we still have a responsibility to show the love of Christ to a broken and hurting world. Get out there and love someone for Jesus. I know it is the last thing you want to do when life is in turmoil. It feels much better to curl up in a fetal position and suck your thumb than to go and help anyone or care about someone else. Scripture commands us to love those around us. It does not say to love those around you only when your life is going perfect and you are happy with all of the circumstances of relationships, finances, and emotions. We love others simply because Christ loved us first.

I hope these practical steps out of my own life help you. The Lord is not waiting to find a reason to smite you. He has a great plan and has already put many of the pieces together to bring His blessings into your life. So close your eyes. Quit looking around and making decisions about God and His strength based upon what you see. Trust God with your life based upon His promises and unchanging love.

Remember that God Is Always With You

“There are days that go by where it seems God is hiding from me or has possibly left the planet. Then I press in and play the spiritual game of hide and seek and begin to see that God’s fingerprints are on everything and that He has been with me everywhere I have gone. He has been there the whole time-- loving me, holding me, strengthening me, caring for me. I am never alone!” (Step by Step 6/19/09)

This week I have began to walk through a study of the life of Joshua. Moses is dead and now Joshua is left to lead God’s people into the Promised Land.

Joshua 1:1-5

1 After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, the LORD said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses' aide: 2 "Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites. 3 I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. 4 Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite country—to the Great Sea on the west. 5 No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.

After the Lord tells Joshua what He expects of him, He then gives Joshua the formula to complete what has been asked. I am sure that with Moses’ death that Joshua had many feelings of fear and confusion, and more questions than answers to be found. For example: After all of the miracles that took place why did you let Moses die? Did Moses mess up and now, if I mess up, are you going to replace me? Who am I to lead these people? Has someone made a mistake? Have you made a mistake?

OK. There is no guarantee that Joshua had any of these questions. But I am 100% sure that these would be the type of thoughts that were flying through my mind and causing me to doubt and question God, His ways, and if He really understood what was going on.

In this next part of the dialogue from the Lord to Joshua it almost seems that the Lord is answering Joshua’s questions before they are spoken. If Joshua was not going to deal with doubt, fear, discouragement, and insecurity, then this portion of the conversation would had been unnecessary.

Joshua 1:6-9

6 "Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. 7 Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."

Word’s to live by in order to succeed and be prosperous…
1. Be Strong

2. Be Courageous

3. Be Careful to Obey

4. Meditate on God’s Word

5. Do Not Be Terrified

6. Do Not Be Discouraged

7. GOD IS WITH YOU WHEREVER YOU GO!!!

Dear Lord,

Thank you for your promise to always be there no matter what I am facing. I ask for you to fill me with a faith and determination to not only read of your provision but to live it. Help me be strong and courageous. Please forgive me for my doubts and fears and allow me to be an example of a mighty warrior for you.

I love you- AMEN

Forget About Chasing the Perishable

"I want it all, Daddy and I want it now!"

“It is crazy to watch our society try to function in a world where they can’t just go and buy everything their hearts desire. If you take a moment to look around you will see fathers who rationalize working too much to provide their child with unneeded toys and a house that is too large to keep clean without a maid. You will see mothers talk themselves into giving away precious memories that will never be able to return again in order to have the newest items. Marriages that can’t grow because no one is taking the time needed to invest intimately, and a world that is crumbling around us as they look for something that will last. Everything this world offers is temporary and it is high time we start putting our energy and precious commodities into things that are eternal.” (Step by Step 6/19/09)

2 Corinthians 4:18

“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

This is not a very easy scripture to follow when it seems every commercial, billboard ad and store we drive by is telling us to give our lives in able to have as many possessions as possible. Please hear me! Most possessions that people buy are not the problem. There is nothing inherently evil about your big screen TV. However, there is something quite sinful about what we are willing to sacrifice to get these things that we “need” and allowing our possessions to distract us from the Lord and His kingdom. The next time you are about to make that purchase or decide that you really have a “need," stop and take a look at what it is going to really cost. I am not referring to the money. I am referring to the time spent away from those we say we love to pay for this purchase, the faith problems that arrive when we take our eyes off of Christ, and the energy spent keeping up with the rat race of new technology, bigger homes, and items to entertain our brains.

Last month, the boys and I had a garage sale where we were able to sell, and pretty much give away, ¼ of our belongings. We then took the rest of our worldly belongings and placed them in a trailer that is being driven across the country to our new residence in Reno, NV. There are a few nice pieces of furniture on board, a wonderfully huge BBQ, clothing, a couple of televisions and then boxes full of the most important items we have. The contents of these boxes are truly the only things that we care about. They are the pictures of our families and friends, love notes from when Melissa and I first started dating, home videos of our boys from when they first began walking and talking, and pictures drawn by our children that say “I love u momi and dadi”. As Melissa and I locked the trailer and drove away, knowing that we would not see our accumulation of stuff for a week, our biggest concern was for our precious memories.

This world is in one of the strangest financial crunches of our lifetime and there are many people looking for hope and searching for answers. Let’s be a witness for our surrounding spectators of godly wisdom and an eternal perspective. This would mean that we invest most of our time and energy into the more important things in this life, such as a daily walk with our Lord and Savior, building strong marriages that will survive the storms that may come, growing children who replicate this style of living and know the God we profess to serve, developing genuine friendships that are built on honesty and trust, and being available to serve the Lord and His purposes when He brings a person or a need across your path.

Forget Titles That Define You

"This has been one of the biggest lessons that I am learning during this season of life. Since I was a child, there have been many titles given to me, and adjectives used to describe what other people see in me--some of them positive and some of them negative, some of them unfair and some of them earned, some that are honoring and some that are embarrassing. I am learning that no matter what titles are wrapped around my neck, the only voice that I need to listen to, when it is time to begin defining who I am, is the voice of the Lord. He has called me precious and more importantly, He has called me His own." (Step by Step 6/19/09)


If I were to ask you who you were and what are you made of, the first thing you would probably do is start telling me things you have done in the past, habits you partake in on a regular basis, and probably a few titles that you wear like a badge to proclaim to the world around you just who you are. I am writing this to tell you that none of those things tell me who you are. Who you are has to do with the thing inside of you that makes you tick. That secret that was spoken between God the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit about the purpose they created you for, and what special features they would give to you.

WHO AM I???

When you slow down enough to ponder about this all delicate question, "Who am I?", do you think of God and what He has made you to be? Or do you think only of your failures and your achievements, allowing the world to create a name, rank and serial number that was never yours to carry? This world has no way to look into the depths of your heart and see what is waiting to bloom; and so it truly has no authority to name and label you. But God looks beyond your crap, beyond your personal achievements, beyond what you see in the mirror, and looks into the seeds that He knows are waiting to grow. He knows they are there because He placed them there. He created you with that purpose in mind.

Imagine making bread. If we stopped in the middle of making bread and truly thought that the process was finished, we would most likely decide to throw it out and title it a waste because it is messy, gooey and has no real use. That is until you let it rise and fall and then place it in the oven. Then when that is all done and it is finished… mmmmm good! Fresh bread that not only smells great, but brings a comforting smile to my face with each bite I take. I love fresh bread and have to say compliments to the chef for not stopping in the middle of the process to name and judge the food that was being prepared.

We are all still in the process of becoming that which God has planned from the beginning of time. The next time you are asked who you are, or are looking in the mirror and deciding what label you are going to place around your neck, ask the Lord what He sees. You will find that He sees a child who has been fearfully and wonderfully made in His image. He loves you and simply wants you to know that you are His.

Jeremiah 1:4-5 The word of the LORD came to me, saying, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations."