Are You Listening?

We sometimes say it to our children, "You may be hearing me, but you're not listening!"

When you hear something, you're just acknowledging sounds with your ears. When you listen, you pay attention, heed, and obey.

Are you just hearing God, or are you listening to His Word?

As you read your Bible, are you just acknowledging what He has listed, or are you paying attention, heeding, and obeying those words?

It amazes me how often I hear saints talk condescendingly of other peoples' actions. They preach mini-sermons railing against the sin they see. They are so precise with the chapter and verse. Yet they turn right around and sin themselves justifying their actions all the way.

Clearly we all know how to hear, but some of need to work on our listening skills.

God wants all of us to be obedient in all of His word. He encourages us to strive to be like Christ who had no sin in Him. We are to work to be shining examples of God's love walking through the earth.

So, what has God been saying to you? What has He asked you to do, change, stop, or perfect? Are you listening to His requests? Or, are they going in one ear and out the other? Real listening is evidenced by changes in behavior according to what was said. Do your actions show that you're listening or hearing?

Verse of the Day: But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. James 1:22

Work What You've Got

It's the beginning of another week, and I just want to give thanks to God for blessing my weekend. It was filled with games, studying, church services, and bus rides, and I'm glad to say that it was all blessed. I got to minister to the youth with my crew on yesterday, and we had a wonderful time! I'm proud to see my friends go forth in their anointing.

Just wanted to give God some praise for a fabulous weekend before moving forward with this week.

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I'm still focused on purpose. This morning I was thinking about how the Bible encourages to live our lives utilizing all of the gifts God has given us.

Jesus illustrated this thought in His parable of the talents. (Matthew 25:14-30) A master leaves his servants with varying amounts of money (talents) while he goes on a trip. Most of the servants take that money, invest it, and are able to increase their amounts of money. However, one servant simply buries his in the ground and does nothing with it.

When the master returns and sees how the servants have multiplied his money, they are given more money to be responsible for.

It's the last servant who angers his master. This servant has his money taken from him, and he is fired.

In the same way, God has given us all talents. We all have various valuable gifts on the inside of us that God placed there for us to purposefully use for His glory. It is our responsibility to 'invest' in our gifts, work them to make them better, and use them in the world to bring in returns for God's Kingdom. When God sees how faithful we are with what He has given us, He will be all the more inclined to entrust us with more.

However, many of us don't utilize our gifts for God's glory. We hoard them to ourselves, use them selfishly, or devalue them altogether. God didn't just give you that talent for you to keep it all to yourself! You better open up your gifts and let the world be blessed!

When you get to heaven, what account will you have to give to the Lord? Will you be able to inform Him of how you used the gifts He gave you to bring others to Christ? Or, will you be trying to explain why you never used your gifts at all?

You've got some valuable assets. Don't let them just sit and collect dust. Don't let them get buried deep inside. Pull them out and use them for the glory of God!

Verse of the Day: To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away. Matthew 25:29

Thanksgiving Friday!

Wow.

It's been a heavy week here at My Morning Ti. Don't know why I was compelled to deal with all of these sadder issues, but hopefully you all were blessed by the messages and words of encouragement.

Now, it's time to pull up some joy and give God some praise!

This week I'm thankful  for teamwork. At my job, the teachers have been filling in for their colleagues who were out sick (even I had to sub a period one day). At church, I'm working with a great group of young adults who are going to help me minister to our youth on this coming Sunday. My cheerleading coach is leaving her post (temporarily, we hope) to take on a new job. But she's organized things so effectively I'm sure I'll be fine these next few weeks.

Thank you, Lord, for the support of all of these awesome individuals! Thank You for providing capable help in the time of need. Thank You for people with willing hearts to get the job done.

I'm also thankful for smiles. I have been encouraged to smile this week on several occasions. And I have encouraged others to smile as well. There's something about a good smile that has a way of changing your mood. You should try it too...

Smile!

Don't you feel better? :-)

Lastly, I'm thankful for getting things done. I'm on my way! It's so encouraging checking things off of my list of goals. Plus, I enjoy the satisfaction of having a beautifully completed project for me to reflect on. Yep, I  did that! Thanks, God!

What are you grateful for this week? What has you smiling? Are you proud that you got something accomplished?

Go ahead and give the Lord some praise and thanksgiving!

Have a great weekend!

Verse of the Day: Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore. Psalm 16:11

Dealing With Defeat

It happens.

The loved one you were praying so hard for passes away. The promotion everybody knew you deserved gets handed to someone else. The weight you worked so hard to lose somehow crept its way back, and you're right back where you started. The man you thought was The One breaks up with you.

The pain of defeat can lead to anger, depression, denial, and doubt. Defeat can cause you to question your faith. It even has caused some to lose theirs.

Yet, defeat in one area can be God setting you up for greatness in another area. We can never know the intricate greatness of God's ultimate plan. We can, however, always take comfort knowing that God is working everything - even our defeats - out for our good. (Romans 8:28)

So, when defeat knocks on your door, take the pain and questions to the Lord. Instead of running from His presence in anger, run to His arms and allow Him to ease your angst.

Hannah spent years feeling defeated in her barrenness. It was when she took her sorrows to the Lord, that He turned things around, and she wound up giving birth to one of the greatest prophets that walked the earth. (1 Samuel 1, 2)

David lived in apparent defeat for years when he lived on the run with a bunch of deadbeats as his friends. Yet, God raised Him up to become the greatest king Israel has ever had. (1 Samuel 22)

Your story is not over. As long as you're breathing, you are still walking to purpose. Don't let defeat keep you from your promised end. Don't let today's pain keep you from tomorrow's joy.

Stay tuned in to your Heavenly Father. He's got you safe in His arms. He's working it all out for your good.

Verse of the Day: But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord. 1 Corinthians 15:57, 58

Plus One

There are many moments in life where you will feel all alone. Sometimes the trials of life, pressures of responsibility, confusion in communication, or other odd things can put us at odds with the world around us. Human beings have a way of pulling away from things that they don't understand.

Feeling like no one cares about you or that no one gets you is the worst feeling. You can't talk to anyone, and even if you try those people still don't get it. So, you're left on your own to yourself. You alone have to sift through your thoughts and find a way to make it through whatever it is you're facing.

But, what if I told you that you're not alone?

You aren't.

You have Someone who is always with you. And that Someone understands you and gets you. He identifies with everything you're facing, and He can help you make sense of it all.

You just have to turn to Him and allow Him to be there for you. His arms are already outstretched to you just waiting for you to embrace Him.

You're not alone. Even though man may have abandoned you on every side, Jesus is there regardless of what you've done, what you think, or what you're facing. He doesn't judge. He doesn't condescend.

He just loves.

Don't go through another day feeling lonely. Don't let yourself believe the lie that you have no one who cares about you.

There's Someone who cares. There's Someone who wants to help you. There's Someone who loves you so much. Let Him be there for you. You don't have to be alone.

Verse of the Day: ...lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Matthew 28:20b

Playing Favorites

Everyone has a favorite. A favorite song, a favorite tv show, a favorite food... We all have something that excites us, that gives us pleasure, that makes us smile.

Some of us have favorite people. We will go out of our way for them. We'll deprive ourselves to make them happy. We will do our very best to make sure they experience the very best. All because we prefer them over other people we know.

God - thankfully - doesn't play favorites. He doesn't do more for one than He would another. He loves us all equally, and He wants to do His very best to make sure we all experience the very best.

Sometimes it feels like God is playing favorites, though. We see other people getting blessed when we aren't. We go through our own heartaches when others around us seem to be full of joy. We pray and don't feel like God is giving us any answers while our neighbors are testifying of how God came and spoke to them.

How can God not play favorites when He blesses some and not others?

God is sovereign. He knows what He is doing. When He allows dark times in our lives, it's only because He knows that we can handle it. He knows that we can overcome whatever trial that comes our way. Plus, He's working out every situation for our good. (Romans 8:28) He's bringing every person to their expected end. (Jeremiah 29:11) And that end is prosperous for us all.

Today, you may be hurting, but God has allowed someone else to be full of joy just so they can encourage you. Tomorrow you may be the one that's full of strength for someone else who is at a weak point. You may not hear God's voice today, but tomorrow He may answer. God has everything in perfect harmony, so that all of mankind can be blessed.

God doesn't play favorites. He longs for all of us to love Him and to want to please and be close to Him. (1 Timothy 2:4) He sent His Son for all of us to be saved. (John 3:16) He doesn't want any one of us to perish. Whether your sky is gray or sunny, God is walking with you. He will never leave or forsake you. You are His special creation. You are His unique handiwork.

Don't ever forget how special you are to Him.

Verse of the Day: Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee... Jeremiah 1:5a

The Storm Is Going To End

Last Friday, Chicago was bombarded with its first major snowstorm. We got between six to eight inches across the city. The snow came down so fast, they couldn't plow it away fast enough! A drive that normally takes me 15 minutes took an hour and a half.

Today, it's a "balmy" 40 degrees in Chicago, and the snow that we all had to struggle to plow and shovel away has almost totally melted away. It's as if it never happened.

Right now you may be in the midst of a major storm in your life. The trial may be pounding you so fast you might find it hard to recover or even react. What you normally find easy may be taking you much more time and effort to complete.

Don't let the storm knock you out! Don't let the trial have the upper hand. Remember that all storms eventually end. It will get better! The sun will shine again. You will feel its warm rays on your face again.

No matter how much the winds of life may blow, no matter how tired you are of slogging through hazardous roads, no matter how your body may ache from trying to clear away the problems you face... take courage and strength knowing that the Lord is bringing you to your expected end. He will not let you perish! He won't let you fall. He has great things in store for you.

So, you may have to bundle up a little more than normal. You may have to plan your route ahead of time and allow for extra time. Just know that you will reach your destination safely. You will hit your goal. And the sun is going to come out again.

Verse of the Day: ...weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. Psalm 30:5