The Greatness of God

God is great! I have heard and said that since I was a little child. The truth is instilled in my heart. Along life's path I have encountered many people who have struggled with greatness. Some expressed this with egotistical actions. Others have denied the greatness within them, not believing they could attain to their dreams. They became unwilling or unable to reach beyond the obvious. Unfortunately, I have fallen into that catagory a good deal of my life. I am determined to get out of that pit forever!

Some people who reach for the stars, so to speak, are dubbed manic or crazy or dreamers. Most find that their friends do not believe in them and their dreams. Take Joseph for example. He had God-given dreams and yet his own brothers did not believe him! He, like so many before and after him, could not shake the drive for greatness. Joseph was thrown into a pit, mostly by the decisions of others. Perhaps one could fault him for not using wisdom in his bragging about his dreams. But even so, it was the decision of his brothers that landed him in a pit and ultimately, a foreign country and prison!

He could have chosen bitterness. He would have been justified by most people, to have screamed "Unfair!" at the top of his lungs. And the pit was not the end of his woes. He suffered humiliation at the hands of a lustful woman. He chose to do the right thing and ended up in prison. And all this because of the greatness of God and His plan for Joseph!

I have thought about my life. I had youthful dreams and apsirations which I now believe were God-given. Much of my life I chose to listen to the opionions of others instead of reaching for the fulfillment of those dreams. It started with simple teasing about my birth date..Friday the thirteen. It went on from there, though, looking back, I am perplexed as to what made me desire the opinion of others over the greatness of God. Yes, I got glasses in fourth grade. I was a bit clumsy and bumped into things a lot. But I also was smart, fairly athletic, and had a nice home and friends. I tried to share my vision with others. Even my parents did not believe in God's greatness within my heart. My mother constantly reminded me "not to think more highly" of myself than I ought! She highlighted that verse in my Bible, along with the one about "doing all things without murmuring or complaining".

While I believe to this day, that I should honor my parents, I realize now they had a limited perspective, based in their own fears and doubts and misguided teaching. It has taken me a very long time to become comfortable with myself...to believe in those youthful dreams again!

Joseph served God in the pit, in the prison, and in the foreign country. He held onto the vision of greatness until God brought it to fruition! While I have not always had the same attitude as Joseph, I have served God to the best of my understanding. I realize now that He brought me out of a pit, bought me for His service, and led me into a number of foreign circumstances...( uncomfortable, unusual, and different from the way I was reared). But He has never left me, not has He changed His mind about HIS greatness in me.

One day Joseph's brothers realized God's hand on his life. They were the recipients of God's greatness through Joseph. My family and even my friends, as well as yours, may never recognize His greatness in us. WE may not recognize that all the difficulties we encounter, all the heartaches, are leading us into His greatness and His plan. But God will express His greatness in and through us as we trust Him and praise Him, always recalling that it is HIS greatness that we are called to express!

Pick Your Battles

I have heard the phrase "Choose your battles" so many times that it would be impossible to count. I understood it when they were talking toddlers or teenagers...
yet somehow it has filtered into our psyche that we have the right to choose which battles to fight...and has infiltrated our politcal and religious venues with a vengence,

I have also heard quoted the very true Bible verse "No weapon formed against you shall prosper!" I have laid claim to it many times in my life. And while I am sure that many times I have avoided harm and thwarted attempts to un-do my self-esteem, I also realize that this verse has been misappropriated much.

I have heard it preached that we can lay claim to this when anyone is bothering us or threatening us. Any system. Any person. And thus, much discord has sprung up in our hearts. We can easily perceive others preparing weapons against us. By doing this, even unwittingly in our sub-conscience, we are actually providing weapons to our real enemy...satan.

If we are to grasp the meaning of this Scripture, we must not take it out of context, nor forget the basic themes of God's Word...love and holiness. "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and rulers of darkness in heavenly places." Satan would love nothing more than for us to get our eyes off of him and on to each other as the enemy. He would love us to spend time trying to keep others from forming or using weapons against us, while in fact, he is honing his to use in full force.

He uses us! Self-pity. Self-indulgence. Self-promotion. Self-serving. Selfishness. I have noticed that the times I have found myself in a battle, so to speak, with another human being, that it does boil down to my own self being caught up in one of the above thoughts.

Jesus is our Defender. He is the only one who knows our hearts and intents. He is the great revealer of Truth. The battles that we should prepare for are direct attacks of satan, our real enemy. And the weapons he forms against us are often found within our own souls. If we keep in mind that we are wrestling against the principalities of darkness that desire our souls, it is much easier to walk in love and forgiveness of people leading to holiness and the complete blessings of God.

No person...no, not even one, is truly out to get us....it is a plot of a more cynical being...and the weapons of choice are our own minds and self-seeking ways. I am not saying that satan does not use people...oh, yes! He uses me against me...when I am weak and not walking in faith like I should. And he uses others to reinforce his attack.

No weapon formed against me shall prosper...because I will allow the Holy Spirit to renew my mind with the thoughts of Christ. I will be aware that my battles belong to Him...that MY wretling is with the enemy who wants me to not be connected to the God I choose to serve on a continuous basis.

Now that the battle plan of the enemy is discovered, and hence, spoiled, let us walk in love and holiness and peace and joy in the Spirit.

A Place to Speak My Mind!

I have never been a fan of people who seem to push their opinions on others...even when their opinions are more like facts and even very true. Having them forced on you seems counterproductive to me, based on many people I have talked with. Therefore, I have restrained my voice from being too controversial...from sounding too "preachy".

Well, I have finally concluded that I am who I am, and that a large part of who I am is very opinionated and has a lot to say...and that I am not content not to speak my mind. While I still do not want to push my opinions on anyone, they do need to be voiced and everyone can choose whatever they want to do with them.

So, starting tomorrow, or Monday at the latest, I shall begin publishing my comments from my heart. They may seem preachy at times or politically incorrect...but this is my forum. Even Jesus was politcally incorrect and He was totally correct! He offended many (and still does) just by being Himself. So, at this point in my life, I am going to do the same...beware!

Oh, yes! For those wondering about the silly name of this blog (I should have left the "u" out)...it comes from an old inside joke of my youth years related to the fact that most of my life I have been affiliated with and attended both Foursquare churches and Assemblies of God churches...so they told me I was either "Foursquembly" or "A square"...get it? I voted for the first one....