Up Against It?

Feeling like you can take no more? That you are really up against it? We all get to that point at times in our lives. God says in his Word he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. The enemy wants us to fail. he keeps the pressure on us and as we mature in the faith by staying connected to God, he presses harder. His goal is to make us give up. The devil tries to make us feel isolated, like we are the only one facing this challenge. But really the devil has a limited number of tricks to throw at us. they are common to all mankind. Whether it be finances, health, relationships, employment or family; they have all been seen before. How did Paul feel when he was in prison, or Stephen when we was about to be stoned? Yet they looked to God and praised Him. notice they did not praise God for the circumstances, they praised Him through the circumstances. They were victorious. Praise is the key, no matter what is the circumstances. if the circumstances affect your praise, your praise will not be able to overcome the circumstances. what ever you need to do. Listening to the word or good praise music or just getting away from the situation briefly can help you focus on what God has said in his Word so you can claim victory over the circumstances. Your faith will grow and the enemy will flee for a time just like when he left Jesus in the garden after Jesus resisted his temptations. You need to always be on your guard and be spiritually ready, for the enemy will try again to snare you, but in Jesus name you will be victorious

1 Corinthians 10:13

2 Corinthians 4: 8-10

Waiting

This age of fast food, self service and instant messaging has proven that nobody likes to wait, but we all have to. We wait in line we wait for a movie we wait for food in restaurant, but if it takes longer that we expect we wonder why. Everyone is on a different clock, so what is slow to you is very fast to someone else. We don't take into account what it takes to perform a service for us. Take renting a DVD, seems simple, right? You go in, pick out a DVD and pay at the counter. No problem, right? Well what about the process for making sure your DVD got to the shelf (or back to the shelf)? What about the process of accepting your payment or checking DVD back in so you don't get charged for it? Those items escape us but all take time. What I am saying here is to stop and smell the roses or coffee or whatever will make you slow down, even for just a moment. An actor in a movie once said, "Life moves pretty fast, if you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it". It is the same with people. We are all moving along in this life at different stages of physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual maturity. These four areas may or may not be aligned or related to each other. A person with high intellect may be a basket case emotionally. The bumper sticker "Be patient, God is not finished with me yet!" is a motto we all need to embrace. So the next time you feel the angst rising up in you, take time to reflect where you are today compared to where you were. The old hymn can also serve to remind us to reflect, “Count your many blessings, Name them one by one, Count your many blessings, and See what God has done
Isaiah 40:31
Proverbs 14:29

Don't Worry

Don't Worry
Why do we worry? Because we can that's why! I was once told worry is like a rocking chair, it is something to do but it does not get you anywhere! How true that is! A lot of action going on with no forward progress. Sometimes, well all the time, we need to watch our mouths and not speak out our worry, but give it to God instead. He has everything well in hand.

If God can take care of providing food for all the birds or the world, why should we worry about we are to eat? If God can clothe all the flowers of the world. why should we worry about what we will wear. If we can trust God for our salvation, why not for everything else too?

God can be trusted, He is not a man that he should lie. We need to believe in Him for all our needs and desires and dreams. God is a good God who wants to bless his children. When Worry or concern comes your way Consider the Lilies and the Birds and remember that God Love you more and will take of you even to the smallest detail

Matthew 6:25-34
Numbers 23:19
Phillipians 4:19

This is my first entry for the connected man blog. I am a man connected to God through my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This Blog is not just for men, so feel fee to share the address with anyone you know. If this blog is a blessing to you please let me know.

So many of us go through life not realizing the power we have once we connect to God through Jesus Christ. In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me”. How do you get connected?

If you are separated from God you need to know that you were created with value and worth! And God loves you.
God loves you and
Sin separates from God so we cannot know Him personally or experience His love.
Know that Jesus Christ died in our place.
He rose from the dead.
Your Decision to Connect with GOD. We must believe in and receive Christ.
We receive Christ by faith.
Receiving Christ (getting connected) involves:
-Recognizing our need for Christ.
-Turning to Christ and away from self (repentance).
-Trusting Christ to come into our lives, forgive our sins, and make us what He wants us to be.

Once we are connected to God, we have life and with life we have the power to be free, healthy and prosperous in our lives here on earth. If we are obedient to the word of God, all these promises are ours. So many Christians don’t realize this. They allow the world to put them down, or keep them down. They don’t see themselves as God sees them for God looks at the heart. He does not see our frailties and weaknesses, he sees our potential. The chorus to an old song explains it perfectly:

“Through His eyes of love;
See yourself the way He does;
Through His eyes of love;
You’re perfect in His eyes of love”

The enemy doesn’t want you to see this. He wants you to feel like a failure and feel like everyone is talking about you. The truth is if you really knew how little people are thinking of us, and I don’t mean that in a bad way, we would not worry about what other people are thinking, only what God is thinking. That is what having the Mind of Christ is all about. The more word we put into our spirits, the more time we spend with God in daily prayer and devotions, the more we will see how God sees us.