Basic Truths | Finding God in Everyday Life

  Once in a while I check my cell phone only to find that I am “Out of Range” or have “No Service”.   For me, it’s usually only a minor annoyance but, for other people, it can be quite upsetting (that’s a topic for another post!).   The phone companies have tried to minimize this problem by putting towers throughout cities and along highways to eliminate dead zones.   God loves us and is eager to help us navigate our way through each day. I am sure He finds it frustrating when He tries to get through to us only to find that we are “out of range”.   We need to do what we can to improve our reception. We can begin by making the commitment to let the Spirit lead and guide us in the big and little areas of our lives. This may sound simple in theory but in practice it is something that we need to work on constantly for all of our days. All of our natural instincts and the ways of the world lead us to try to maintain control.   We might consider setting r...

  I remember taking a canoe out on the river a few times when I was younger.   It was easy when you were going along with the current – in fact, much of the time you didn’t even need to work at paddling. In contrast, when you wanted to go back upstream for something, it took a great deal of effort to make progress against the prevailing current.   We are surrounded by a society where the prevailing current is heading away from God. We need to make an effort just to maintain our position. If we are passive about our faith, we will be carried along by the current, farther and farther away from where we need to be.   We should be careful not to accept church attendance alone as being sufficient in the current age. Some of the harshest words in the book of Revelation were directed to the church in Laodicea which had become indifferent and self-satisfied. “Because you are lukewarm – neither hot nor cold – I am about to spit you out of my mouth” (Rev 3:16). We need...

  I’m a big sports fan. I’m more interested in college teams than professional .   College players are more likely to put their team and their school first. I tend to get irritated with pro players who are all about themselves and complain or cause disunity among their teammates.   We need to recognize that, as Christians, regardless of our denomination or our particular beliefs, that we are all part of the same team.   Non-Christians often say that they are turned off by Christianity when they see how much infighting goes on between Christians. We need to concentrate on our common goal of furthering God’s message and work in the world around us.   No team member gets ready for a game on their own. The same is true for our Christian walk. We should strive to be actively in fellowship with other Christians as part of a community of believers. Being part of the Body of Christ involves, by definition, interdependence with others. We each have our own unique...

  I’ve been to Niagara Falls a few times. It was quite an impressive experience! You can get close enough to the falls to really experience the tremendous power of all that water. I read somewhere that one-fourth of all the power generated in New York and Ontario comes from there.   We read throughout the Old Testament about the power of God, who is the author of all creation and the sustainer of His people.   We see in the New Testament God’s power being given to the disciples as they spread the message of salvation. Jesus told them before He ascended to heaven, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). The power the disciples exhibited gave proof to the people that their message was true.   If we are in the place that God has called us to, doing the work that He wants us to do, we should expect to see the power of God working in ou...

  We have lived in our house for almost 30 years.   We had it built while we were still living on the other side of the country, getting ready to move back to Texas.   The architect’s plan for our house was beautiful but the people who were doing the construction did a substandard job and so we had problems that took us years to straighten out. The plan and the reality differed.   God is the Great Architect.   He has a plan for the world and He has a plan for your life.   His plan for your life is perfect because He knows everything about you and knows everything that is to come. The question is – who is going to do the construction?   The more you let God do the work, the better the result will be. The more you take control yourself, the less the final result will look like what the Architect had planned.   Make an effort in this new year to seek God’s will in all you do. Let Him be in control and ask Him to guide you in all of your way...