PROMISES, PROMISES

"I promise"...those words are spoken over and over again by so many of us.  We make promises we know we can't keep or decide we wont' keep.  Promises are empty and meaningless without action to back them up.  Promises are just words spoken in a moment of time hoping that the person we promised won't remember.  Marriage vows are promises yet so many don't keep them.  Every New Year brings promises of resolutions we don't keep for long. "Promises are meant to be broken" is a lie.  Promises are meant to be kept.

As I sit and think about my life I realize that my life has been filled with other people's promises.  Some were kept, most were not.  The thing I've learned is that we need to be careful what we promise ourselves or others.  Unfortunately we've become so cynical that don't believe it when someone makes us a promise.  We have had so many unfulfilled promises that we doubt an honest promise when we hear one.   "Sure....I'll believe it when I see it" attitude has become our defense mechanism.  We'd rather not believe anyone's promises than risk being hurt.  

We are human beings.  We don't mean to disappoint people, we don't mean to forget about the promises we've made, we don't mean to ignore those promises.  Sometimes we just get so darn busy and our mind becomes so overwhelmed that those promises are the last thing we think about.  Sometimes it's not until someone has pointed out our failures that we realize we forgot about our promises.  Thank God that God does not forget about HIs promises.  His promises are eternal and never fading and never ending.  His promises are always Yes and Amen!!  .     .   .  

2 Peter 3:9  The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness.  Instead He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

God promises us the gift of eternity in heaven if we but repent and believe in Jesus Christ.  There is not some list of chores to complete, no agenda to tackle, no boxes to check off.  Believe, repent and receive God's promises.  Simple!  Yet so many of us are living lives missing out on His promises.  Our pride and selfishness keep us from claiming these promises and embracing them.  Our sinful self wants to deny that these promises are true, it's so much easier to deny them than it is to receive them.  

Today I ask you to take a leap of faith and claim the promises of God.  They're waiting for you to receive them.  He's waiting to tackle you with so many blessings and promises that you're blown away.  His promises are eternal and they are for you and for me.  Believe, repent and get ready to receive.  

EMBRACE LIFE AND LEARN TO ENJOY IT

Remember the song from the movie "Cocktail"?  "Don't worry, be happy"?  That was my favorite song for a long time because it spoke such truth to me.  My granddaughter in this picture, has learned to enjoy life.  When it's hot outside I water my flowers with a hose and she proceeds to enjoy the coolness of the water instead of dwelling on the hotness of the sun.  She dances, she sings, she laughs, she embraces life and enjoys it.  Oh sure she cries when she's hurt but that doesn't ruin her day.  She brushes it off and gets back up and enjoys the rest of her day.  Do we live like that?  We can.

Today I want to learn to embrace this life I have and learn to enjoy it.  With all the ups and downs in life we are challenged as to whether we will buckle under the heavy weight of our current circumstances or embrace our current circumstances and learn to laugh and enjoy the lessons we are being taught.  The choice is ours to make.  Happiness is real and it is available to us today, right now.  Yes, at this very moment we can choose happiness.  Even though our circumstances may make today "the worst day ever", we can choose joy, we can choose peace, we can choose happiness.  No one is responsible for our happiness but the person staring back at us in mirror.  Our current circumstances cannot dictate our happiness, or at least they shouldn't.   

I know some very brave people who were in battles for their lives.  Cancer, can be a killer so how can someone enjoy their life while fighting this terrible disease?  The answer is crystal clear for me....Jesus Christ.  I have some very strong women and men friends who have been fighting this very battle yet they live their lives full of joy and happiness.  One man I know was battling cancer for the second time, lost his son and grandson in a 2 month period yet he still happy.  Why?  Jesus Christ.  

Happiness is not a mood or a feeling or an emotion, its a decision.  Every day I wake up I have the choice to look at my current circumstances and decide that no matter what...

I'M GOING TO BE HAPPY.

It's a choice that many of us miss out on.  It's a decision few of us want to make.  We'd rather wallow in our sorrows and throw ourselves a massive pity party and blast it all over social media so all our family and friends will know.  Oh the attention we will receive.  Oh the sympathy we will get.  The pats on the back the hugs, the tears are all meaningful and sometimes necessary, but what if we decided to embrace life and all it's challenges and just smile.

Listen I know life can be hard, I have had to personally deal with issues that don't make me happy, but there is someone I have come to rely on that takes my burdens upon His shoulders and gives me the peace I need to make it through the day...Jesus Christ.  He is my rock, my fortress, my shelter, my strength, my redeemer.  He works all things out for my good.  I can enjoy my life because I have the promise of eternity in heaven with Him.  I can be happy because I know He loves me enough to die for me.  I have decided to turn my life over to Jesus Christ.  No turning back, no looking back, no dwelling on my current circumstances because I trust in Him alone.  Join me on the journey of a lifetime and lets learn together to embrace this life we have and let's learn to enjoy it.  

IT'S A BRAND NEW DAY

In this ever changing world I am so glad that I have the reassurance that the sun will rise again on a brand new day.  I am glad that my confidence lies at the foot of the cross and not in human hands.  I am relieved that my strength comes from a higher power, God.  As I sit here staring into this computer screen I am being drawn into something much deeper than I had expected...true repentance.  While this is not a popular topic and many of us don't want to hear about true repentance, I am afraid we must stop and listen to the whole truth and nothing but the truth.  While many preachers gloss over this truth, while some don't even want to mention the "R" word I fail to see how someone can claim they preach the whole truth of God's word without talking about true repentance.

As I look back on my life I know there are many things I did wrong, many sins I committed, many acts of disobedience I lived through.  To be honest with you all, I repent daily, sometimes I repent hourly depending on my day and the circumstances in my life.  I do my best to live my life the way God wants me to, but it's not always easy and I'm human, so I fail quite often.  It's almost like Paul's litany when he says, "I do what I don't want to do and what I don't want to do I do"  Now come on be honest with me....I'm not the only one here who lives life that way.  We try our best but most times our best isn't good enough and we need to repent.  But repentance isn't easy, at least true repentance isn't.

True repentance leads me to the cross where I look up at the body of my Savior Jesus Christ that is all bloody, bruised and broken, and then I have to take an honest look in the mirror and see the reality of who I am and the sins I've committed.  It is only then in that reality that I can truly repent of my sins because I saw what my sins cost Jesus.  I see the scars on His body and I can't help but fall to my knees ans ask for forgiveness.  I can't hide the truth behind more lies and denials.  To truly repent I must face the truth about myself.  No one can do it for me, I can't make someone else repent.  I must get over my sweet little self and face the hard, cold truth.  It is only through true repentance that we can find the salvation Jesus Christ offered us on the cross.  It's only through believing in Him that we will ever be truly saved.    

2 Corinthians 7:10  Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.

Because of Jesus's death on the cross, forgiveness is mine and I can live with no regrets because He has changed me through my true repentance.  My sins have been wiped clean and my heart has been transformed into a heart that beats for His glory, not mine.  Oh I still sin, but I become more aware of it and stop dead in my tracks and change direction ASAP.  Godly sorrow leads me to the cross where I begin to repent and allow Jesus Christ to change me and my heart.  Because of this simple yet profound fact I have a peace that surpasses all understanding.  Will you join me today and grasp the truth of true repentance?

ALL WORKED UP

I look up at the sky and I sit and wonder what tomorrow will bring.  I think about yesterday and try to contemplate all the mistakes I made and how I can change them.  For me this is a process that is exhausting and frustrating.  Is it for you too?  I mean I can sit all day and make plans for what I will do tomorrow, I can schedule and I can plan all I want but when tomorrow comes it always seems like something unexpected happens which throws my plans out the window.  As for yesterday I can look back all I want but I cannot change a thing about what happened.  I can't live the day over again, I can't go back and have a redo.  Yesterday is done.  So let's learn from our yesterdays and move on.

I've made up my mind to live for today, today.  I decided to learn from yesterday and hope for tomorrow but I will live in the present, after all isn't that what today is?  A present?  For me it is.  I am not promised a tomorrow.  I don't know what tomorrow will bring, none of us do, so why waste time getting all worked up about what may or may not happen?  Oh I could stare into a crystal ball or have some fortune teller try to tell me what will happen tomorrow, but why?  Why should I believe anything someone else tells me?  It's ludicrous.  I know, I could read my horoscope, that'll tell me what tomorrow will bring, right?  Wrong!!!  Way to many people believe in that garbage, some even waste their money to hear this junk.  Seriously people, we need to grow up.  There is no "genie in a bottle" who is waiting to grant us 3 wishes.  There is no one and there is nothing that can ever tell us what will happen tomorrow.

My yesterdays are covered in the blood of Jesus Christ.  My sins have been wiped clean, erased and removed from God's book of life.  "He remembers my sins no more."  My tomorrows are placed in the arms of my Savior, Jesus Christ.  I place my tomorrow in His hands and trust in Him because I know He will work it all out for my good much better than I can.  The thing about Jesus is that because of His sacrifice, my eternity is already booked and paid for, I have a one way ticket to paradise.  I didn't have to do anything to earn this gift but believe in Him and I certainly don't deserve it, it was a free gift for me to receive.  My tomorrow has already been taken care of.  Has yours?    

Matthew 6:34 (The Message) Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow.  God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes. 

What ever happens in this world I know one thing for certain, my future is guaranteed.  Why should I waste one minute of my life worrying about what the future may hold?  Why should I live my life stressed out and frustrated about life?  I have been given the gift of eternity and because that gift I have a peace that surpasses all understanding.  I will live for today and embrace all God blesses me with today.  Whatever happens tomorrow will happen.  I trust in God and believe that He will help me deal with whatever comes my way.   Trust me this way of living is simply amazing.  Will you join me?