My little active 12 year old, Chloe. Volleyball, band, social butterfly. Very proud of her these days. This was the last song of her 7th grade band concert recently. While listening to the song, see if you can spot her rocking the clarinet.
DON’T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK
Exodus 20:21 "The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was."
God still and will have His secrets – hidden from, like Jesus said, “from the wise and the learned”, (Luke 10:21). Don’t freak out because of the unknown, learn to be content to accept the things we cannot understand and wait patiently. In due time He will reveal His treasures of the unknown to us – Recognize that the mystery is simply the veil covering God’s face.
Don’t be afraid to enter the cloud descending on your life, God is in there. And the other side is radiant and bright with His Glory.
(1 Peter 4:12-13) “Do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.”
When you feel alone and forgotten, God is truly near. God is in that darkest cloud. Move forward into the darkness, don’t flinch, knowing that you are under His shelter, God’s waiting.
Got an email recently...
"Dear Corey, I wanted you to know that your 'nugget' couldn't have come at a better time today. I have a coworker who got some horrible news about her father and she was devestated. I printed out your 'nugget', and read it to her. She said it couldn't have come at a better time. So just in case you think nobody is hearing or reading these...think again."
BE CAREFUL TO INDULGE YOUR GRIEF
Joshua 1:1-2 After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, the LORD said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses' aide: "Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites.
The day will come when we all face some sort of great sadness or sorrow. And as you sit in your living room, life seems empty. Our first impulse is to just check out, give up, throw our hopes out the window.
But here’s the thing, we have to defy that temptation, because we are on the front lines of a battle, and there’s work to be done. Faltering for even one moment would put God’s interests at risk. Other lives could be harmed by our hesitation, and His Kingdom work would suffer if we simply ‘checked out’. Please be careful not to indulge your grief.
We never completely recover from our greatest griefs and are never exactly the same after having passed through them. But sorrow that is endured in the right spirit impacts our growth favorably and brings us a great sense of compassion toward others.
‘Checking out’ deepens the darkness surrounding us, allowing it to creep into our hearts. When that happens, our strength has changed to weakness. To be overcome with sadness, for there is a time for that, but there is also a calling of God on our lives to step up, to move forward, to keep pushing towards the goal.
SPEND TIME ALONE WITH GOD
Mark 6:47
When evening came, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on land.
Matthew 14:23
After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone,…
When I say “left alone”, what different emotions bring to your mind? To some of us it might mean loneliness and grief. To others, it might mean peace and quiet, (especially if we have kids). There was an old 80’s song back in the day and one of the lines in the song was, “All I want is to be left alone!”
To be left alone without God would be too horrible for words, while being alone with God is the exact opposite. Its truly amazing how many excuses we pull out to explain why we don’t make time for God and ourselves. “Oh, I’m too busy”, “Oh it feels awkward”, “Not enough time in the day”, “What would I even say or do?”
Jesus set an example for us as he withdrew often to be alone with the Father. Jesus pointed out the importance of that time too, (Matthew 6:6, “When you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray”. Did you know that the greatest miracles of Elijah and Elisha took place when they were alone with God?
Jacob was alone with God when he became a prince. (Genesis 32:28) Joshua was alone when God came to him. (Joshua 1:1) Gideon and Jephthah were by themselves when commissioned to save Israel. (Judges 6:11, 11:29) Moses was by himself at the burning bush, (Exodus 3:1-5) Cornelius was alone when the Angel of God came to him. (Acts 10:104) Peter was alone on the rooftop when he was instructed to go to the Gentiles. (Acts 10:9-28) John the Baptist was alone in the wilderness, John the Beloved was alone on the island of Patmos when he was closest to God. (Revelation 1:9) There’s a pattern here.
Chase after alone time with God. If we don’t, we rob ourselves of blessing, and others as well since we have no blessing to pass on to them. The impact of being alone with God in prayer cannot be overemphasized.
If chosen men had never been alone,
In deepest silence open-doored to God,
No greatness would have ever been dreamed or done.
GOD DIDN’T START THE DAY WITH “WOW, DIDN’T SEE THAT COMING!”
Psalm 118:24 This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.
“This is the day” includes every day. Mondays, Divorce days, I-Step Days, Election Days, surgery days, tax day, Wedding Days, sending-the-firstborn-off-to-
God made this day, ordained this hard hour, designed the details of this trainwreck of a moment. He isn’t on break or holiday. God holds the conductor’s baton, sits in the cockpit, occupies the universe’s only throne. Each day emerges from God’s drawing room, including this day.
Proverbs 16:9 “In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.”
Proverbs 20:24 A man's steps are directed by the LORD. How then can anyone understand his own way?
Isaiah 58:11 The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.
This is the very talented Britt Nicole. She stopped by, (2/27/2010) the PulseFM studios for a chat and a song.
“THE POWERFUL PLAY GOES ON AND YOU MAY CONTRIBUTE A VERSE...”
John 10:41“…and many people came to him. They said, "Though John never performed a miraculous sign, all that John said about this man was true."
Sometimes it can be hard to look around and see other people with amazing talents, gifts, and what seems like God’s hand directly their every move, while we can feel a little less worthless because the role we play in God’s story isn’t that “flashy”.
Or maybe its just that the daily routine doesn’t seem like something God uses in the grand scheme of things.
John the Baptist never performed a miracle but Jesus said, “Among those born of women there is no one greater.” John’s mission was to be a “witness to the light”, and maybe that’s your role in the big play? John was content to be only a voice, if it caused people to think of Christ.
We must be willing to play the role God has for us, no matter how big, little, grand, not so grand, up front, or behind-the-scenes it is.
Remember those most insignificant tasks, God sees us. God has us surrounded with people and/opportunities who need to know Jesus and maybe we are the only people that can show them Jesus.
You and I are doing more good than we know. The things we do today-sow a seed for another-could be the one thing that prompted someone to first start pursuing Jesus.
So don't get down and out that you are stuck in a cubicle with insignificance....
"Hi Corey,
Have I mentioned that I love LOST? Last night's episode, "The Lighthouse" could be one of my faves as it connected with one of my absolute favorite episodes from season 1, "White Rabbit". The relationship between Jack and his dad has played out in many episodes, and last night as Jack talked about how "you don't have what it takes" has haunted him since he was younger...he had the opportunity to talk to his son in a "flash sideways" telling him, "I will always love you, no matter what you do. In my eyes, you will never fail, I just want to be a part of your life."
Now, I gotta go hug my kids.
Hi Corey,
I just came across a song and at the end of the 2nd verse it says that we cannot measure worth by human standards and we have to see through heaven’s eyes. That sentence in the song made a very big impact with the way I look at things in life.
Warm Regards,
Adrian Loo
