Minimum Safe Distance

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace    Hebrews 4:16

By now, everyone is more than aware when you go to most stores, you will see a small square that admonishes you to keep a safe 6 feet distance between other customers.  - plans for good things

I wonder if that applies to our spiritual journey? Have you gotten to where you stay at a "minimum safe distance" from God, for fear of what He might put in your heart, what be asking you to do?  

*Missionary to Africa

* Evangelist at work

* Or a confessor to our friends

We know the plans we have for ourselves- plans for good things ahead - and we trust ourselves to know what's good.

King David wrote, it's precisely when we close the distance to God that we actually discover what we have been looking for.  "Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart." Psalms 37:4

The key to receiving this promise is trust. We must trust the God of the universe might know better what is "good" for us!

When You're Just...Done

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding - Proverbs 3:5

It is said that it's a woman's prerogative to change her mind and I've found that to be true. (Husbands, have you ever helped your wife rearrange furniture? Enough said) 

But I've found that it's harder for men to change their minds. It's not an easy thing to do, especially changing your beliefs. One of the must difficult things for me was when I attended Bible college was changing some of incorrect beliefs. But we don't have to do it alone. God will help, if we ask. 

All we must do is decide we want to change our minds - like the man who brought his son, the one that could not speak, to Jesus. Mark 9:14-29 This man has doubts about Jesus, and about what Jesus could do, but he decided to change his mind about those doubts …and he asked for help:

"Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, 'I believe; help by unbelief."

Changing our minds - to align our beliefs with those of God - is one way to step out of our old selves and into our new selves. It's the only way we begin to become the person God intends us to become.

Where Does God Fit?

 A man was teaching on the importance of priorities. He used a large ja and several large rocks. He placed five or six large rocks into the jar until no more would fit. Then he asked the audience, " Is the jar full?" and almost everyone shouted. "Yes!"

He smiled and then pulled out a bag of smaller rocks and dumped them in until no more would fit. The he asked if the jar was now full. Some answered, "Yes." Then he pulled out a bag of sand and poured that into the jar until it could not hold anymore. Again, he asked if the jar was NOW full. No one responded. Lastly, he pulled out a jug of water and poured water into the jar until it overflowed. He paused and asked, "What the point of demonstration?" The answers began to fly: 

• You can always do more
• You should never be satisfied with the amount of this you are doing
• If you try harder, you can always do more  

The crowd was pleased with itself until the speaker smiled and said, "You are wrong - very wrong. The moral of this example is this. If you don't put the big rocks in first, you will never fit  them in. You will lose in the areas that matter most because our time and energy are consumed on the little things and keeps us from winning where it matters most!"

Priorities are the foundations that you build your life upon. Matthew 6:33  2Timothy 2:4 If you do not put God first, you will have difficulty just "fitting" Him into your life!

No Christmas Stamps

My son recently told me of something that happened where he works. His employer

asked an employee to go to the Post Office and purchase some Christmas stamps. When she returned, she said they were all sold out.

The employer replied that he could not believe they could be sold out. The employee said that all the Post Office had was a picture of  woman and her baby.

Hard to believe that someone didn't recognize Mary and the baby Jesus Christ. Sad.