Know Your Power Source

John 5:19

Jesus gave them this answer: "I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.”

John 8:28

So Jesus said, "When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am the one I claim to be and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me.”

John 12:49-50

For I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it. I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say.

John 14:10

Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work.

Jesus only said what his Father said and did what his Father did. How many of us can say that?

I think our problems are based on our inability to focus on our relationship with God. We can focus on games or TV shows or work, but focusing on God seems to be a problem for many people.

My husband has a laptop computer that he uses while it’s plugged into the wall socket. He also can unplug it and use the computer while it’s running on battery power. However, the batteries run down and don’t last very long. The computer must be hooked up to an energy source for it to work.

What’s our power source?

God is our life, our breath, our source. An intimate relationship with God fills us with Him, His presence, His power. Our intimacy with God is where we begin finding answers.

If we unplug from Him, we will drain our battery and stop working. Nothing runs smoothly with an energy drain.

Our successes will come when we plug into God to see what He’s doing and saying.

Know Why You're Here, part two

Matthew 16:21

From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.

God may have given you a fun job like teaching children how to grow a garden or teaching children how to swim. If you like what God has called you to do, great. Enjoy it.

However, God sometimes gives us jobs that aren’t all that fun. But we still have to obey.

It’s easy to love the lovely ones, but we’re supposed to love the unlovely too. We’re supposed to forgive our siblings when they eat our ice cream, but we’re supposed to forgive the drunk driver who killed someone too.

Sometimes love is hard work.

Jesus didn’t enjoy his sufferings, but he did it willingly because we needed him to. When we needed someone to take our sins to the cross for us, he did it because he was the only who could.

Someone in your life needs love from you, or forgiveness, or courage, or something that only you can provide for them. But the only way you’ll be able to accomplish all you were put on the earth to perform is through the strength of God.

There are tasks that are assigned to only you. But you won’t be able to succeed in accomplishing them unless you allow God to do it through you.

How did the disciples perform miracles? Only through the power of God.

How are you going to perform miracles for the people in your life? If you are acting according to God’s plan, listening to Him, obeying Him, trusting in His strength, you will be amazed at how God can work His power through you.

If you enjoy the intimacy of a relationship with God and you discipline yourself to obey Him, He will use you.

Know Why You're Here, part one

Luke 4:42-43

At daybreak Jesus went out to a solitary place. The people were looking for him and when they came to where he was, they tried to keep him from leaving them. But he said, "I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.

There are things that can only be done by you. There are words which, when spoken by you, can bring healing to someone. There are people who will only understand when YOU explain things to them.

Did you know your uniqueness is of great importance to God?

Jesus wasn’t the only one with a purpose. We all have significant contributions to make in this world.

Just like Jesus knew why God had sent him to a geographical location, we should know what we’re doing here. We should know why our feet are on this particular square of sod.

How do you find out your unique purpose?

Jesus knew his goals, his itinerary, and his focus for the day because he knew His Father. Because of that relationship, he was able to avoid time-wasting relationships. Not everyone who spoke to him was interested in what he had to say. Some just wanted to kill him.

If your relationship with God is close, then you can avoid wasting time with activities you weren’t supposed to do. If you know God, then you know He is love and He leads by His love.

Sometimes people will ask you to stay with them, but because of your good relationship with God, you know He is leading you somewhere else. If you know your goals, your itinerary, and your focus because you’ve been with God, then you can leave those people with love in your voice.

So once you find out you’re a child of God, get to know Him. Develop that relationship. From that close relationship, you'll learn why you were put on this earth.

Got God?

Luke 2:46-49

After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers.
When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, "Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.”
“Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?”

Jesus has said often in scriptures that He is in the Father and the Father is in Him. If we read the Bible, we should know where to go to find Him.

But many people today wander around with blindfolds not tied but held up to their heads by their own hands. They say they can’t see God, and they’re right. They haven’t tried.

How many owners of electronic devices find a problem with their device and yell at the device, “Stop messing up! Why don’t you work?”? After unsuccessfully trying to fix the problem themselves, they call a customer service number to get the help they need. But people who need God’s help don’t always ask for it. After unsuccessfully trying to fix the problem themselves, they stop trying.

Those who called the customer service number can know that they took the obvious steps to get help. However, those who didn’t call on God have no excuse.

If you’re having a hard time finding God, ask yourself, “How bad do I want to find Him?”

Do you really want to find God?

Then seek Him from the bottom of your heart. Seek Him with the people who know Him. Seek Him wherever He wants to be.

And then ask Him to stay with you.

From that point on, you’ll always know where He is. You’ll always be able to speak to Him. You’ll always have access to His love.

Are you seeking God with me today?

Sleep in Peace

Psalm 4:8

I will lie down and sleep in peace,
for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.

With the hurricane behind us and clean up and repair work still going on, many are reviewing their decision to stay or evacuate. Many are sharing the lessons they learned.

My husband and I spoke to a woman recently who said she had about as much damage to her property as we had. She was grateful she didn’t have to repair more than she did. My husband told her we were glad we stayed to protect our house from rain damage. We changed out the wet towels at the front door that absorbed the water being blown in by the sideways rain.

God warns and protects his people. But sometimes He asks people to help others without giving them a warning. I have an out-of-town friend whose parents live in the Houston area. He came to Houston before the storm arrived so he could help his parents if they needed it. During the storm, they got a call from the neighbor across the street, also an older couple. My friend crossed the street, fighting the wind and rain the whole way. When he arrived he found a man in a wheelchair trapped between the sliding glass door at the back of the house and a tree that had crashed through their roof into the living room. The storm had blown a tree into the middle of the house and rain streamed in through the roof, flooding one side of the house. He was able to get the man and his wife to the back bedroom where they were safe and dry for the remainder of the storm.

Sometimes we see that we are where God wants us to be, even if we don’t recognize until later through hindsight the real reason God wanted us there. Another friend’s brother has a home on Galveston Island. They grabbed a few things and evacuated. Before the hurricane came too close, they felt the Lord urging them to go back to get a few more treasured items from their home. When they arrived, they saw their neighbor outside. She was without transportation and worrying about her ability to evacuate since she’d waited so late. They brought the woman back off the island with them and thanked God for the opportunity to help their neighbor. When the man went back to his home after the storm, the home was still standing.

We can thank God for protecting us before, during, and after the storm. But storm or no storm, we can live in the safety of God’s presence. And sleep in peace.