Remember Who God Is

     "Trust in the LORD with all your heart, 
      And lean not on your own understanding;
      In all your ways acknowledge Him,
      And He shall direct your paths."  -    Prov 3:5-6 (NKJV)

    It is so easy to get confused in life and our confusion is sometimes applied to God's character and provision for us.  In these moments we must remind ourselves who God is. Sometimes we need to remind our family who God is but at the heart of the matter, this is personal requirement. You cannot remember what you do not know. Remembering is not as effective if it is just someone telling you something you did not learn for yourself (by the way - hearing does not equal learning, example you may have heard the notes in a Beethoven symphony but you may not know the first note).


"And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent."  - John 17:3
 
   For us to know God's character we must spend time with Him; not to check a box but to enjoy being in His presence. It can be challenging at first, like any relationship but as you get to know Him, you understand Him and His character better. This makes the time with God more rich, meaningful and fun. In addition, we can hear what God has to tell us.


   Start with quiet time alone in the morning with God and His word (the Bible). Plan your meeting time with God and start with 20 minutes (not a reading amount goal). A set amount of time helps us to wait on God. Format your time with God like a church service (I learned this from Past Vance, my Pastor in Las Vegas):


-Start with prayer that God will help you focus on Him
-Prepare yourself to spend time with God
  --Sing a worship song, read Psalms, Read a couple pages of a Biblically base book
-Read part of one of the Gospels in conversation form
-- Talk to God about what you are reading
-- If He reminds you of a issue, stop talk to Him about (reading a certain amount is not the goal)


For more information:
Sermon: Time with the Father

"But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly." -Matthew 6:6


Hopefully one day we will have quiet time with alone with Him in the morning as well as talk to Him about everything all day long.
That is my desire... for the joy of knowing Him better, alone, is worth it.


God be with you in this moment,
Marc

One Step At A Time

Frederick seems camera shy because I have been trying to catch him on video for a couple of weeks. Mary Lou and I had to act like we were not looking so he would walk. 

God is our loving Father. He encourages us when we fall and gives us the strength to stand.

Proverbs 16:9 (NKJV)

A man’s heart plans his way,
      But the LORD directs his steps. 

-Marc

Gratefulness

  Birthdays are always a fun time but while celebrating my son's birthday yesterday I felt a different emotion; gratefulness. I am grateful that God fulfilled His promise in Psalm 121 that "He will not allow your foot to be moved" and " He who keeps you will not slumber...nor sleep" (New King James Version). The Lord blessed us during Mary Lou's pregnancy and He led us through her labor and Frederick's safe birth. During every challenge He renewed us; in every victory He celebrated with us and we gave Him thanks.

                                              Mary Lou, Frederick, and I

   This gratefulness was inspired by a special moment a few days ago. Our close friend lost their teenage son last year. They held a one year memorial service to celebrate his life and gave out cards with the memorial website. I was not in town for the memorial so I looked at the website and could not help but remember their pain and continued sadness. Then I viewed the last page of the memorial website which was a video.

    Seeing their son as a baby and little boy in the video while hearing the lively soundtrack of my son drove home the gravity of their loss. Surprisingly, at the end of the video, I felt encouraged because their son was saved (ref. Roman 8), his work for God was done and it was time for him to go home to be with Jesus.

   I am glad I have been able to witness this family's sincere faith in God. It has led them to a deeper understanding of the impact their son had for the Lord. It has become another chapter in their already amazing testimony and their faith in Jesus Christ has given them peace.

Philippians 4:4-7 (below) comes alive by seeing their lives:

⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! 
⁵ Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. 
⁶ Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; ⁷ and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Click here to Celebrate the Life Remon 

God is still ministering to people through Remon.

   I now better understand the importance of the "birth" part of Birthdays and it warms my heart to see my bride and son beaming with excitement because we have been given the opportunity to celebrate his first birthday.

                                                            

I am grateful and God is gracious.

The Beginning...

Jesus is the Lord of all and a relationship with him is life changing.

I pray you know Him personally or will one day,

Marc