FINISH WELL

Have you thanked Him?

Have you praised Him?

Have you made it your priority to agree and cooperate with Him today?

Have you taken that deep breath and listened for what He has for you today?

1 Timothy 2:1 (The Message)

1-3The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.

These are the days to be courageous

Bold and full of faith…

Every day that we are given

Finish well…

For the glory of His name

Finish strong…

Give it everything we have

Finish well.

I pulled that from a lyric sung by Karen Peck and New River entitled “FINISH WELL.” for today's thought.

It is the END of 2014.

Hard to believe huh?

I went back to a DISPATCH I wrote to start 2014.  What were the goals in it? What was I hoping to accomplish? 

Am I FINISHING WELL?  Strong?

Interestingly enough I had encouraged myself and all of us to simply OBEY GOD this year and trust Him with what was next.

And ironically last night as I was sharing some “thank you’s” following an appreciation dinner I had prepared for my Jeremiah Tree volunteers, I encouraged them to keep praying and obeying GOD for the upcoming season at the “TREE” and to TRUST GOD with what was next.

So while I clearly missed on some of my other resolutions (eat less sugar, be more efficient, etc.) at least the seed that GOD had planted in these two areas had taken a little root; maybe even produced a little fruit.

But it should not take the calendar to come to a close for us to ask of ourselves each day did we finish it well.  No. 

Rather it should be a part of our nightly routine to go back over the previous day and ask a few questions...

Did I love like GOD would want me to love?

Was I generous today?

How was my attitude?

Did an old sin command my attention?  How about selfishness?

If someone encountered me would they have seen CHRIST?

As the lyric encourages…”every day we are given is for the glory of GOD.”

So at the end of each of them we need to be able to reflect and surmise before the head hits the pillow...“Did we finish today WELL?”

I shared this little quote before…

Take steps each day to be sure your life expresses commitment to Jesus. - Charles Stanley

So you want to "finish well" each day?  

Do that and you will!

Philippians 3:14 (ESV)

…press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

 

I love you all

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Freedom Church

YOUR ROLE TODAY

Have you thanked Him?
Have you praised Him?
Have you made it your priority to agree and cooperate with Him today?
Have you taken that deep breath and listened for what He has for you today?
1 Timothy 2:1 (The Message)
1-3The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.

God cast you in HIS play, wrote you into HIS story. He has a definite direction for your life. Fulfill it and enjoy fulfillment. Play the part God prepared for you and get ready for some great days. – Max Lucado

GOD has prepared you for something today.
He has!
Psalm 32:8 (V)
I will teach you and tell you the way to go and how to get there; I will give you good counsel, and I will watch over you.

I think far too often we forget GOD’S desire for intricate involvement in our daily lives. We think Him too busy or too distracted to care about the mundane details of our pursuits.
Yet nothing could be farther from the truth.
GOD is deeply invested in you today.
You name is on His palm.
He has just finished re-calibrating His count of your hairs right after you ran the comb through.

He is engaged. His lips perched at the director's megaphone.
He is waiting to provide guidance, articulate a plan, open doors, close some others, and take you to the best that He can offer you today.
Psalm 138:8 (TLB)
8 The Lord will work out his plans for my life—for your loving-kindness, Lord, continues forever.
Why not let Him?
Why not give Him full access today?

Hand Him the wheel. Allow Him to navigate.
You won’t go wrong.
Psalm 19:7-9
The signposts of God are clear and point out the right road. The life-maps of God are right, showing the way to joy. The directions of God are plain and easy on the eyes. God’s reputation is twenty-four-carat gold, with a lifetime guarantee. The decisions of God are accurate down to the nth degree.

So assume your role! And follow HIS DIRECTION and...
...Take steps each day (TODAY) to be sure your life expresses commitment to Jesus. - Charles Stanley

And get ready for a GREAT DAY!

I love you all
Freedom Church

IT IS NOT TOO LATE

Have you thanked Him?

Have you praised Him?

Have you made it your priority to agree and cooperate with Him today?

Have you taken that deep breath and listened for what He has for you today?

1 Timothy 2:1 (The Message)

1-3The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.

Here’s what you need to keep in mind. You no longer have yesterday. You do not yet have tomorrow. You have only today. This is the day the Lord has made. 

Live in it.

You woke up today to a day loaded with possibilities.

GOD has flooded it with compassion and opportunity!

Lamentations 3:22-23 (V)

…enduring is God’s loyal love; the Eternal has inexhaustible compassion Here they are, every morning, new! Your faithfulness, God, is as broad as the day.

What happened yesterday is a distant vapor. 

Your “PRESENT” has the chance to be totally influenced, steered, impacted and blessed by HIS PRESENCE.

It is not too late.

Nope.

I don’t care if you spilled the coffee all over the keyboard this morning. I don’t care if the boss started right in on you about an end of year project that was just added to the slate.  I don’t care if traffic was snarled or your spouse spent the morning snarling, GOD wants HIS best for THIS day for you.

EMBRACE it.  Chase it.

Activate HIM in it!

God is able to accomplish, provide, help, save, keep, subdue…He is able to do what you can’t. He already has a plan. God’s not bewildered. Go to Him. – Max Lucado

As we approach the end of the year and the dawn of a new one, the hope of a fresh start looms.  We love the turn of the calendar and the clean sheet of paper that comes with it.

So reflect on where you want to improve.

Learn from the past but don’t be hindered by it.

GO TO GOD and do a little soul searching.

Then commit to a positive attitude.

If you have a positive attitude and constantly strive to give your best effort, eventually you will overcome your immediate problems and find you are ready for greater challenges. - Pat Riley

Lastly and most importantly pause and listen for GOD's voice.

Proverbs 3:5

Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track.

It is not too late.

The secret of your success is determined by your daily agenda. - John C. Maxwell

Therefore make today’s and everyday's align with GOD’s and success is assured!

It is not too late!

I love you all.

Freedom Church

 

SPIRITUAL HEALTH

Have you thanked Him?

Have you praised Him?

Have you made it your priority to agree and cooperate with Him today?

Have you taken that deep breath and listened for what He has for you today?

1 Timothy 2:1 (The Message)

1-3The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.

“Every Christian would agree that a man's (woman’s) spiritual health is exactly proportional to his/her love for God.” ― C.S. Lewis

Jesus said:

Mark 12:30

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Love him with all your mind and with all your strength.”

Some of the Delaney crew just prior to our journey from the blue skies and sunshine of our southernmost state were bitten a little by the “bug”.

It started with my lovely bride and has trickled its way over to my mom, me, even Hillary a little bit.  It is a pesky little Christmas cold.  Things are improving, but those affected are still beholden to the Delsum, Loratadine, Tylenol and the Afrin at least for another day or two.

It is no fun to be sick physically especially around this time of year.  There is so much to do and so much to experience the last thing anyone wants is a uninvited cold.

But colds do eventually run their course, so I am hopeful that I along with the rest of the “sickies” will continue to improve.

And while good physical health is important, albeit desired for all of us, I wanted to focus a second today on our SPIRITUAL health. That really needs to be the top priority. And C.S. has given us the key to GOOD SPIRITUAL HEALTH this morning.

It comes from our love-relationship with GOD!

Ephesians 1:18-19 (MSG)

…grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life he has for his followers, oh, the utter extravagance of his work in us who trust him—endless energy, boundless strength!

God has promised ENERGY when we love, collaborate and share life with Him.

GOD has promised STRENGTH as well.

And that equates to GOOD SPIRITUAL HEALTH!

I know that as the end of the year approaches and the New Year’s Resolution list re-appears that “getting in shape” will be on many a list.

Today instead of focusing on renewing that YMCA membership or ordering the 20 minute fix off the infomercial, let’s both focus on our SPIRITUAL well-being.

Let’s commit to loving GOD a little deeper today.

Let’s commit to grasping His WILL for our day and life today; tapping into the energy and strength he has for us.

Proverbs 3:7-8 (MSG)

Run to God! Run from evil! Your body will glow with health, your very bones will vibrate with life!

So while you too may be a little under the weather like me, we can both spend some time investing in our SPIRITUAL HEALTH can't we?

Right?

Sure we can!

 

Have a GREAT weekend!

I love you all.

Freedom Church

EXPERIENCE the BLESSING

Have you thanked Him?

Have you praised Him?

Have you made it your priority to agree and cooperate with Him today?

Have you taken that deep breath and listened for what He has for you today?

1 Timothy 2:1 (The Message)

1-3The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.

“…the thankful heart will find, in every hour, some heavenly blessings.” ― Henry Ward Beecher

My heart is thankful today.

When my kids came to Beth and I back at the beginning of 2014 along with their often equally "kid-like" grandpa making the pitch for a CHRISTMAS together in Florida, I wasn’t so sure.  But now that we are back and the memories have been made and banked, I would do it all over again in a heartbeat.

And no it is not because we were in the “Happiest Place on Earth”.  Rather for me it would not have mattered where we were, what mattered for me is that we were together.

What mattered for me is that I “was present”; I experienced it. I was blessed by it and I will remember it.

In the blink of an eye my oldest little girl will be a graduate of OSU.  My middle one who I can still see as the smallest little girl on the soccer field will be 20.  My son is shaving from time to time these days and has a girlfriend.

Life is happening. 

Life is progressing. And I am so BLESSED today that I am getting to experience it.  More than I can count

“The hardest arithmetic to master is that which enables us to count our blessings.” ― Eric Hoffer

Tomorrow is CHRISTMAS.

I pray that you too will pause to COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS.

I pray that you too will choose to EXPERIENCE LIFE!

Yes, it would be easy to complain about the traffic today as you make those last minute purchases or stop by the grocery for the sage or nutmeg you forgot to grab.  It would be easy to grumble.

Instead set your mind on those "minute by minute" blessings.

Be grateful for the relationships GOD has blessed you with.  Be grateful for the opportunity to hear the seemingly endless loop of the same 15 Christmas songs being played on the radio and in the shops and restaurants.  Be GRATEFUL for the chance to “be” a part of it.

“EXPERIENCE” the BLESSINGS.

For 15 or so Christmases my first move on Christmas morning was to my liquor stash.  If I was going to get through the day, I needed to start early and return often.  As a result, I never EXPERIENCED my BLESSINGS.  I was too numb or too preoccupied to care.

And it was while we were away that I was reminded of how many times I escaped from the family on previous trips in order to cater to my relationship with alcohol just so I could make it another hour. 

I missed so much in the process.  I missed my BLESSINGS.

So today I am CHOOSING to start like I pretty much start every day so I don't miss them.

Thanking GOD.

Counting blessings. 

Being GRATEFUL that I am not compelled to revisit my relationship with addiction. 

Grateful to GOD that I can make the choice to EXPERIENCE life!

Psalm 103:2 (NLT)

Let all that I am praise the LORD; may I never forget the good things he does for me.

Can I encourage you to do the same?

 

Merry Christmas

I love you all.

Freedom Church

TRUTH IS EVERYTHING

Have you thanked Him?

Have you praised Him?

Have you made it your priority to agree and cooperate with Him today?

Have you taken that deep breath and listened for what He has for you today?

1 Timothy 2:1 (The Message)

1-3The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.

Sorry I missed you all yesterday.  It was a long day of travel.  Up super early and home pretty late.  And quite a bit of my time was spent behind the wheel.

And as I drove there was some quiet time to reflect on our first “pre-Christmas” away from Xenia.  I will probably share a little about that tomorrow.

But it was in the quiet of a “tetrisy” packed minivan and as I passed from the Florida palms to the Georgia peanuts and the crew slumbered away, that I was reminded of something I had heard on Sunday while we wrapped things up at the Magic Kingdom.

“I am nothing, but truth is everything.”

It was a quote shared by Abraham Lincoln in the “HALL OF PRESIDENTS” attraction.  To be honest, we have not paused to pop into that attraction for years.  But we had a little extra time and decided to do so.  I am glad we did.

For I don’t remember hearing that little quote before.  I am sure it was said before (every 10 minutes since the doors opened I would suspect), but it hadn’t caught my attention before.

How profound a statement that was for me; I trust for you as well, especially those of us who have a relationship with the “TRUTH”.

John 14:6

Jesus said to him, I am the Way and the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father except by (through) Me.

Hear what I am saying?

Jesus is our TRUTH.

He is our access to life.

He is our access to the FATHER!

Without the “TRUTH” we are indeed “nothing” as Lincoln surmised.  But with the TRUTH we have everything.

Think about it.

Since Jesus is our TRUTH, Jesus is our FREEDOM!

John 8:32 (AMP)

And you will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free.

Since Jesus is our TRUTH, Jesus' SPIRIT GIFT is our GUIDE!

John 16:13 (ESV)

When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth…

Since Jesus is our TRUTH, He holds our SPIRITUAL protection together!

Ephesians 6:14 (ESV )

Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of TRUTH…

So today, pause and thank JESUS for being our TRUTH.  We are daily surrounded by a misguided, crumbling, and binding culture.  Lift up a shout of praise that we are FREE from all of it thanks to…

…THE “TRUTH” which IS EVERYTHING.

 

Love you all…

Be blessed today…

Freedom Church