Thought Provoking

Dear friends, I trust your Christmas was a meaningful one.

This morning I read the following quote and found it very thought provoking:

“It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased." – C. S. Lewis

God, through Jesus Christ, has offered us an abundant life and yet those of us who have tasted and seen that the Lord is good tend to be satisfied with the misty flats when we could rise higher where eagles fly. Revel in all that we are and have in Christ today. He came to give us more than existence. He came to give us life to the fullest extent.

Be encouraged today and let's rise up and live up to the potential that is ours in Christ.

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ." - Ephesians 1:3 (NIV)

Enjoying the Ride?

Beloved Christian author and missionary, Amy Carmichael, used the following words to describe our lives: a fight, a wrestle, a journey, a race and a climb. Life is all of these and more. Rick Warren in The Purpose Driven Life uses these word pictures: a minefield, a roller coaster, a puzzle, a symphony, a journey and a dance. Former Los Angeles Angels chapel leader, Chuck Obremski...now home with the Lord, identified with the roller coaster comparison when he wrote:

“He can do something about my situation should He choose to do so! It has been quite an adventure so far but with Jesus it is OK. I tell folks I am riding the cancer coaster but it is OK because I know the ride operator! He will let me get off when He chooses. Until then, I take notes of all He wants to teach me. Like Job, I too agree, ‘naked I came into this world and naked I will go out, Blessed be the Name of the Lord’...."

Profound words from a man of God who experienced life with all its terrors, its fears, its bumps and bruises and, dare I say it, its ups and downs. Not an easy ride but…Chuck knew the Ride Operator and was “taking notes of all He wants to teach” him.

How about you? Are you enjoying the ride, the trip, the minefield? Maybe you haven’t started yet. Maybe you’re still trying to determine your desired destination. If you’ve started living the Christian life you discovered that it’s all of the following and more:

- A fight/battle
- A journey
- A race
- A climb
- A minefield
- A roller coaster
- A puzzle
- A symphony
- A dance

Yes, living a victorious Christian life isn’t just difficult, it’s impossible, apart from the working of God’s Holy Spirit in our lives. But, when God is the Ride Operator it’s the greatest adventure on earth! Are you enjoying the ride?

Be encouraged today, friend!