I Can't Do It!

   “I can’t do it.” “My feet hurt.” “I have too much to do.” The list of complaints goes on and on. I feel like sometimes people complain more than they think. I mean it’s like every other comment out of their mouth is a complaint. And, I’m guilty of it too. But, I want to focus on one complaint: “I just can’t do it.” Honestly if you just take the apostrophe and the t out of can’t what does it become? Can.

   So when it comes to this specific complaint I want to lay out some ground rules. First off I want you to ask yourself: “Did I even try?” If the answer is no then get your butt out there and try! Next if you fail I want you to try again. Ooo shocker, right? If you fail again I want you to keep trying. If you are having doubts about why I am saying this read the next paragraph.

   Sometimes we feel like there are things that we just cannot do. But if God brings us into a situation we can do it because He never gives us more than we can handle. We need to believe that we can do whatever He is asking us to do. True, some people were just not made to do certain things. But, if it is God’s will, we will succeed at whatever challenges come our way.

   So I think we just need to stop saying, and thinking, that we are not good enough or capable enough to do certain things. It may be something outside of your comfort zone that God is calling you to do for a specific reason. He wants you to grow in Him. If God called you to it, He WILL get you through it. So stop thinking I can’t, or I’m not good enough as soon as you get a challenge. If you give it all you’ve got, and ask God for help, you CAN.
   Philippians 4:13 and 2 Corinthians 12:9

Opened and Closed Doors

    “Why is this happening to me!?” That’s a phrase I used to say a lot and I’m sure you have said it as well. Sometimes we just don’t understand why things happen. When I was younger my problems seemed huge at the time but they really were not. God opened and closed so many doors to things I wanted to do and to, what I considered to be, problems at the time. But these problems were nothing compared to what my family and I faced a few months ago. How did it start? It started with my dad’s trip to Haiti.

     I will not bore you with the whole story. Basically the week went like this: I got home late on Monday because of a meeting and ice, found out mom was at the emergency room with grandma because she had a fractured rib and fluid around her liver, the answering machine broke, I had to stay home to take messages, great aunt went to the hospital because she was not eating right, found out when the funeral was for an x-uncle, and a lady at our church was in the hospital. The lady from church died later the next week.

      Now, any sane person would probably be freaking out by this point. True, I did not have to take care of most of this stuff. My mom took care of it and I took care of my siblings and the house. When I was younger I may have freaked out but I am trying this new thing. It’s called not stressing out and trusting God.

     Throughout my life, and I’m sure throughout yours, God has opened and closed many doors. He has taken away people, things, and abilities I have. Rather than focusing on that, I focus on what he has given me. He gives me opportunities each day to make a difference and give him the glory. He opens doors to people who love me and who need to hear His word. He opened doors to a family who keeps me safe and who gives me what I need.

      True, God does close doors to some things. But, He closes those doors for a reason. He closes doors to, what we consider, good things; and he closes doors to bad things. Think about all the problems in your life. Has God taken those away? Maybe He hasn’t, but maybe what you think is a bad thing is actually a good thing. We can never understand what God is doing, but we know that He does what He does for our good.

       God opens and closes doors to many things in our lives. It may be difficult to walk through or past those doors; but, if we trust God then we will never walk alone.

       Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”

Sticks, Stones, and Opinions

WORDS

Words can be used to create (Genesis 1:1)

Words can be used to destroy (Genesis19:24)

Words can uplift (Isaiah 41:10)

Words can tear down (Jeremiah 1:10)

Words can change the world (Romans 12:2)

Words can stop progress (Genesis 11:7-8)

There are many words in this world.

Are you using them in hate or in love?

VOICES

Many voices are heard (1 Corinthians 14:11)

Many voices give opinions (Romans 14:1)

Many voices are blaspheming His name (Exodus 20:7)

Many voices are praising His name (Psalm 150:1-6)

Many voices don’t care (Proverbs 21:13)

Many voices do care (Galatians 6:2)

There are many voices in this world.

Which voices will you listen to?

Which voices matter?

There are so many voices in this world that use different words. The words we use every day can mend a broken heart; or, they can destroy hope. So many times we walk through our lives only thinking about ourselves. We never pause to think about the words we are about to say. Sometimes we hurt the people we love the most without realizing it. Yeah, go figure the saying we used to say as a child is wrong. You know, “sticks and stones can break my bones but words can never hurt me.” Words do hurt so we need to be careful how we use them.

The voices in this world all seem to have different opinions. And that’s okay, because that’s the way that God made us. The problem with all these voices comes when we don’t know which voices to listen to. It was especially difficult for me when I was in middle school. I thought that the measure of who I was was whatever people thought, or said, about me. If that were the case I can tell you that I would be bad off. My self-esteem would be out the window; but that is not the case. I realized that I didn’t need self-esteem; I need God-esteem. The only opinion that should matter to us is God’s opinion. The only voice that we need to listen to is God’s. True sometimes it is hard to listen to Him, we don’t understand Him, or we can’t hear Him. But, it is still important that we do our best to follow Him. We will fail at times; but He will be with us and forgive us if we only ask.

Would You Betray Your Lord?

   All of those who have grown up in the church have heard the Easter story. We know that the disciples turned their backs on Jesus. I don’t know about you but I know that when I was younger, and I heard what people did to Jesus, I always thought that I would never do that to Jesus. How could I betray my Lord? What about you? Would you betray your Lord?

   Before you answer that, I want you to think about someone you love. Have you ever lied to or betrayed them? I am sure that you have, just as I have. So, what makes Jesus any different?

   The truth is that we have already betrayed Jesus. Whenever we sin we betray him and God. The great news is that, because of Jesus, we are forgiven. Because God sent His son to be the perfect sacrifice, we are saved. That is why we have hope. It does not matter how many times we betray him. So long as we are repentant God will forgive us.

   It’s amazing to think about the fact that God loves us so much He was willing to make such a big sacrifice in order to save us. Hope you all have a great Easter. 

   John 3:16, John 18:25, 1 John 4:9