January First---New Beginnings

Genesis 12: 1- Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go forth from your country, and from your relatives and from your father's house, to the land which I will show you."

New day.........New year...........New time................New beginnings.

Why not let today be the start of a new life with Christ. Just as God told (notice---He didn't ask or suggest) Abram to leave. Get up. Start moving. Vamoose. I'm sure Abram was thinking, "O.k....O.k....I'll go.................go where?" Here's the strange part as God says, "To a land that I will show you." In other words kept vigilant on this journey and watch not only with your eyes, but more importantly, with your heart.

Many people will get up this morning and spend their entire day and their energy going and doing without any thought as to the direction God would have them go. They cast God aside like a good luck charm that is only needed should things turn bad. To me, I need God no matter what. If anything, over the past 38 years of marriage, Vicki and I have made the choice that God is our portion. We look to him for direction and guidance in our lives. I remember one year in particular when we had planned to take a vacation to the gulf with some family and friends. We were excited about it and had spent some time planning routes and what we were going to do when we arrived. The trouble was, we didn't consult God in any of this trip. We were scheduled to leave on a Friday, when all of a sudden on Wednesday we knew we were not suppose to go. We prayed and the answer was still the same, "Don't go." We kept trying to explain the "not going" away. "Oh, it's our flesh telling us this, and "God wouldn't tell us not to go on this trip." But as time went by it was very evident that God indeed was telling us we did not have liberty to go on the vacation. Why? Why would God do this? You know, we never received an answer to the why. We rested in the fact that God was leading us and even though it was a trip we really wanted to take, we wanted to be obedient more.

To some that might sound like God is a punishing God or that He takes pleasure in seeing His own suffer. Not so. I think sometimes God tests us to put us in place where we can see ourselves, our hearts when things don't go the way we think they should. Anyone can serve God when it's all sunshine and roses.......puppy dogs and lollipops. But when the storm clouds roll in and things don't go our way, then we find out the true nature of our hearts.

I do know that 2011 will be a time of testing for us all.
To shine for God's kingdom and see Him work not only in our life, but the lives of others.

Prepare yourself because God is calling us to leave our place of comfort and begin the journey of a lifetime.

God on you.........

mb