God's Opportunities
"Because you have relied on the king of Syria, and have not relied on the Lord your God, therefore the army of the king of Syria has escaped from your hand. Were the Ethiopians and the Lubim not a huge army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet, because you relied on the Lord, He delivered them into your hand. For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him."And in the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa became diseased in his feet, and his malady was severe; yet in his disease he did not seek the Lord, but the physicians. So Asa rested with his fathers; he died in the forty-first year of his reign".2 Chronicles 16:7-9, 12-13 (NKJV)
Have you been robbing God of the opportunity to be glorified in your life? Much of the frustration we face in life is really our denying God the opportunity to demonstrate Himself able to handle the problems that are too great for us. When we place our confidence in men and turn to others for help, instead of God, we deny Him the opportunity to be glorified. Our problems are really open invitations for God's participation in our lives. Everyday, people suffer unnecessarily because they deny God the opportunity to get involved in their lives and thereby be glorified.
King Asa made a similar mistake when he placed his confidence in man, instead of God. God gave King Asa not only victory, but also unusual peace, despite the fact he was surrounded by hostile nations. The Bible records because King Asa became sick he and once again placed his confidence and his life in the hands of men instead of calling upon God for his healing. As a result, he not only lost God's blessing over his life, but his life itself.
How often, do we decide to turn from God, who has already proven Himself faithful, able and willing to see us through our struggles? It was God who has kept us from being totally destroyed by our enemies - seen and unseen. He has hid us and not allowed our adversaries to know when we are weak, nor has he exposed our hidden faults.
What is it in your life that God is waiting for you to turn over to Him and give Him the opportunity to show Himself strong? Your impossibilities are really God's opportunities. When you deprive Him the opportunity to demonstrate His sovereignty you also deprive Him of glory that is due Him. When you need help, don't look around - but look up! David, facing a seemingly impossible situation, asked himself a question and came to the right conclusion. David said, "I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; from where shall my help come? My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth" (Psalms 121:1-2, NASB). Remember, the impossibility you are facing might actually be an opportunity for God to show Himself strong!
Friday, June 12, 2009
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Music we listen to..
OK...its sharing time again ! haha...just sharing with you all what i've read on other ppl's blog..
think about the pointers he stated...worth pondering...erm..at least to me?? :D
I started out by saying God gave us music as a gift to direct our attention to him. In the Bible, music is connected with worship, weddings, funerals, work, play, and war. The basic elements of rhythm, melody, and harmony aren’t inherently evil or sinful. Non-Christians can write beautiful songs that are good for us. Christians can write terrible songs that are bad for us.
So how can something so good become something bad? Two reasons. First, there’s a sinful world outside us. Music, like any gift, can be abused, misused, and used wrongly. Those who make music - artists, record companies, marketers - aren’t primarily interested in caring for our souls or helping us avoid worldliness. They want us to buy their music.
Second, there are sinful desires inside us. Just as people can write music to communicate sin, we can listen to music to feed sin. And music amplifies the deceptive voices of the world. Listening to music is never neutral, because our sinful hearts are involved (James 1:14-15).
Listening to music without discernment and godly intent reveals a heart willing to flirt with the world. We get into trouble when we don’t THINK about the music we listen to.
I ended by offering six handles to help us think more concretely and biblically about the music we listen to.
1. Submission (Prov. 19:20)If you’re living at home, that means submission to your parents. If you’re an adult, that means submission to those who are spiritually mature and know you best. Listening to music is not a right. It’s a privilege to be earned.
2. Content (Phil. 4:8)If we listen regularly to ungodly lyrics, it’s only a matter of time until we become dull to sin or drawn by sin. Some Christians say they don’t know what songs are saying. If we don’t listen to what’s being said, why don’t we find out? Christians, more than anyone, should know what the songs we listen to are saying (James 3:8-10).
3. Associations (Prov. 22:3)Because music can’t be held, touched, or seen, it always associates itself with the things that surround it: friends, concerts, clubs, radio stations, videos, websites, other artists. A “neutral” song can lead us to a variety of temptations.
4. Time (Prov. 13:20)The more time you spend listening to music, the more it becomes a friend that will affect you. Is your music a wise friend or a fool?
5. Fruit (Prov. 14:14)We should be aware of the kinds of emotions the music we listen to produces in us. How does it affect our relationships with others? What effect does it have on our attitudes, perspectives, and appearance? Is there any desire to deceive others about the music we listen to?
6. Conversion (2 Cor. 13:5)An ongoing struggle with music and its effects could reveal that an individual has never been regenerated. Only a true worshiper of Jesus can appreciate music the way God intended it to be appreciated – not as an idol, but as a gift.
think about the pointers he stated...worth pondering...erm..at least to me?? :D
I started out by saying God gave us music as a gift to direct our attention to him. In the Bible, music is connected with worship, weddings, funerals, work, play, and war. The basic elements of rhythm, melody, and harmony aren’t inherently evil or sinful. Non-Christians can write beautiful songs that are good for us. Christians can write terrible songs that are bad for us.
So how can something so good become something bad? Two reasons. First, there’s a sinful world outside us. Music, like any gift, can be abused, misused, and used wrongly. Those who make music - artists, record companies, marketers - aren’t primarily interested in caring for our souls or helping us avoid worldliness. They want us to buy their music.
Second, there are sinful desires inside us. Just as people can write music to communicate sin, we can listen to music to feed sin. And music amplifies the deceptive voices of the world. Listening to music is never neutral, because our sinful hearts are involved (James 1:14-15).
Listening to music without discernment and godly intent reveals a heart willing to flirt with the world. We get into trouble when we don’t THINK about the music we listen to.
I ended by offering six handles to help us think more concretely and biblically about the music we listen to.
1. Submission (Prov. 19:20)If you’re living at home, that means submission to your parents. If you’re an adult, that means submission to those who are spiritually mature and know you best. Listening to music is not a right. It’s a privilege to be earned.
2. Content (Phil. 4:8)If we listen regularly to ungodly lyrics, it’s only a matter of time until we become dull to sin or drawn by sin. Some Christians say they don’t know what songs are saying. If we don’t listen to what’s being said, why don’t we find out? Christians, more than anyone, should know what the songs we listen to are saying (James 3:8-10).
3. Associations (Prov. 22:3)Because music can’t be held, touched, or seen, it always associates itself with the things that surround it: friends, concerts, clubs, radio stations, videos, websites, other artists. A “neutral” song can lead us to a variety of temptations.
4. Time (Prov. 13:20)The more time you spend listening to music, the more it becomes a friend that will affect you. Is your music a wise friend or a fool?
5. Fruit (Prov. 14:14)We should be aware of the kinds of emotions the music we listen to produces in us. How does it affect our relationships with others? What effect does it have on our attitudes, perspectives, and appearance? Is there any desire to deceive others about the music we listen to?
6. Conversion (2 Cor. 13:5)An ongoing struggle with music and its effects could reveal that an individual has never been regenerated. Only a true worshiper of Jesus can appreciate music the way God intended it to be appreciated – not as an idol, but as a gift.
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