Life Lessons: Resist, Plan, and Enjoy!

  I think that it's important to learn something everyday either about ourselves or something else. I do this by reflecting throughout the day to discover what my take-aways are. I  held on to the idea of "take-aways" from the Army. Take-aways is a reflection or something that you took away or learned from either the day or from a task. The term would be brought up in discussions such as, "what is your take-away?" I wanted to share my take-aways from my run this morning.
  When I start the week out running I will start out a little slower and for a short distance, but by the end of the week I will have a "long run". I try to do this long run on Friday, but some of the time like this week I  have to wait until Saturday to do my long run. All morning I had to convince myself to run because it was Saturday and it was cold. Eventually, I got motivated to go on my run by telling myself that I am trying to get ready for a marathon. Throughout my run I kept wanting to stop or cut my run short.
  My first take-away from my run this morning was to resist temptation. I needed to resist the temptation to stop and walk or to cut my run short. I know that if I miss even one day of training I wont be as good as I would be as if I would have trained the extra day; I will regret missing that one day. I also know that stuff happens and there are times when days off are actually needed. At the end of the training period all of those days will build up and it will be noticed on the day that it counts; marathon day. Again, Resist!
  My second take-away this morning was planning. Although, I got motivated and stay motivated, about halfway through the run my shoe came untied forcing me to stop anyhow. I quickly stopped, tied my shoe, and kept running. I didn't allow myself to allow this one moment of "having" to stop cause me to stop or slow down altogether. Unforeseeable times are going to happen. However, I could have tied my shoe better or what I normally do is tuck my shoe laces into my shoe. Planning ahead could have prevented this stalled moment, but even worse I could have stumbled even worse causing more damage. It happens, but it is better to plan ahead for those moments when we are stalled or stumble.
  Finally, my third take-away was to enjoy going down the hills. On my long run days I hit the road and try to take different routes. Most of the time these routes are routes that I've never ran before. I try to be familiar with the routes so that I don't get totally lost. Nonetheless, there were some really good hills on this route today and hills are good for building endurance. Going up the hills aren't always enjoyable and the steeper the grade the more struggle there is. But! Going down that hill is more enjoyable and can put the cruise control on. There is always another hill so, enjoy the scenery and catch your breath going down hills and you will be better prepared for the next hill.

Jesus Heals The Sick

"Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick." Mark 2:17

Jesus declares that His purpose in coming was for those who needed Him, not those who think that they are 'good', righteous, or spiritually well. His purpose was to minister to those who know that they need Him. It is through Him that we gain access to Heaven. But, another thing miraculous happens when we accept Him into our lives; we can go boldly before the throne of God.
Hebrews 4:16 says, "Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need." Because we as Christians have accepted Christ as our Savior we can now approach God (the throne of Grace). 'The time of need' that the author of Hebrews is speaking about is when we have trials and tribulations.
Paul says it this way, "Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." (Romans 5:1) Believing in Christ and having faith in Him gives us peace, meaning that we are no longer at war with God because we have repented and have now been placed into the Army of God. Being on the right side of the fight gives us access as Christians to the ultimate Commander in Chief; God. We aren't fighting against Him by sinning, we are fighting for Him!
Paul also goes onto to talk about tribulations and the work that it does in us in Romans Chapter Five. Did you know that Paul was an expert in tribulations. He talks about his tribulations such as being beaten, stoned to death, shipwrecked, and severely mistreated by others. When Paul talks about tribulations he is talking about a whole spectrum of things such as physical hardships, mental and physical sufferings, and distress. There are a wide range of tribulations that can be discussed. Paul also goes on to say in Romans Chapter 5 verse 3 that we glory in tribulations.
It's not popular to say that Christians will have tribulations and it's definitely not popular to say that we should glory in them. However, we should because we know that it makes us stronger and makes our faith stronger. Not only that, but we know that the Mighty Physician is there to help and guide us.
No matter what you are going through today whether it is physical hardships, loss of a family member, or financial just know that Christ came for you. He is there to help you in your time of need; that was the reason for Him coming. Go before the Throne of Grace and give it to God. You will gain peace and the much needed help that you are seeking!
Remember: "Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help, I will uphold you with my Righteous right hand." ~Isaiah 41:10
This is what God is saying to each and everyone that accepts His Son Jesus as their Savior today. He is there willing and able to strengthen you and help you no matter what you are facing.
Prayer: " Dear Lord, I know that someone will find this today and will truly be searching for help and guidance. I just ask that you touch their heart and give them grace and peace. I also ask that you show them that You are Gracious and can guide them and help them in their time of need. Amen"

The Impossible Made Possible

The Mount of Olives from Bible-History.com

 

 

 



 "Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them." -Mark 11:24
 Mark Chapter 11 starts what is known as the "Triumphal Entry" into Jerusalem. Jesus tells his disciples to go ahead of Him to get a colt and bring it back to Him to ride into town. As He enters the town people are cutting branches to throw onto the road and throwing their clothes down for a path as well. The people there also sang hymns to praise His entry into the city. This was the entry into town only fit for a King; a King that would die for His people at the end of this particular week.
 While Jesus was in Jerusalem this particular week there was a lot that happened and He used everything as a teaching tool for His disciples. Jesus demonstrated how an unfruitful fig tree would always be unfruitful. He also cleansed a temple that was being used for prosperity rather than for a place of prayer to His Father.
 After cleansing the temple he left the city where His disciples noticed the withered fig tree. They asked Him about it and He discussed to them about faith in God. He was in the location of the Mount of Olives. This was the Mount that Jesus was talking about when He said, "Have faith in God. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says."
 There are two elements Christ talked about in this set of scripture to receive whatever asked for from God. The first is faith in God which is believing in Him. Hebrews 11 discusses faith more in-depth. "It is the substance in things hoped for and evidence of things un-seen." ~Heb. 11:1 Hebrews Chapter 11 goes on to talk about the great Patriarchs of faith and the mighty things that they accomplished having faith in God. It also discusses their rewards from God for their faith. So, the first element is to have faith in God. He also discusses that when we ask for something we must believe that we will receive it. This is the same thing as having faith in God; we are having faith (believe) that God will give us what we ask for.
 The second element here is prayer. Christ talks extensively on prayer throughout His public ministry. Probably the most popular demonstration of prayer in the New Testament is His prayer in the Garden which can be read in Matthew 26:36-46, Luke 22:39-46, and Mark 14:32-42. Three times Jesus went away from His disciples and companions to pray. The first time the text tells us that He fell to the ground asking for "this cup to be taken from Him" meaning the punishment for the sin of the world in which He was going to bear soon. Just as Christ demonstrated, we should take the time to pray and earnestly pray. Christ demonstrates that earnest prayer should consist showing humility to God such as hitting our knees before Him.
 Christ also demonstrates in His prayer to His Father that, "nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will." When we pray we should be asking that God's will be done. The Son Himself asked that His Father's will be done and not His own. As we know, Christ still went to the cross and took that horrible punishment for you and I. Therefore, when we pray we should be praying for God's will to be done and not our own. Often times people pray for worldly things and wonder why they don't get them. It is because it wasn't for the will of God. Most often we should ask ourselves whether or not what we are asking for will glorify God. Would it glorify God that a mountain be moved into the sea? Most definitely! It could if it was done in God's name and caused people to repent and turn toward God. There are other ways that it could glorify Him as well.
 The Mount of Olives highest peak is 2,684 ft and it also stretches for approximately 2.2 miles. This was the mountain that Christ was talking about when He said that if we prayed for it to be removed and if we believed, it will be done. It isn't the largest mountain, but it is large enough to seem impossible. However, as Christ says in His prayer in the Garden, "Father, all things are possible for you."
 What about you? Are there mountains in your life that need to be removed? There is no circumstance too big for God to remove. As a child of God when certain things are removed He knows that we can glorify Him. All it takes is having faith in Him and faith that whatever we pray for we will receive.

Victory in Adversity comes from God!