You Aren't in Control

 "making the most of your time, because the days are evil.”  Eph 5:16

He closed the door behind himself and twisted the deadbolt lock.  His mind was whirling with ideas, hypotheses, and logical thought.  As he made his way to the table, he slid his arms into the white lab coat and put his goggles on.  Picking up the beaker and then the test-tube, he mixed the green concoction and poured it back and forth between the two vials.  His eyes were filled with wonder as he set the tube down and set the hands on the clock to exactly 11:59.  He then began the countdown to midnight.  He held the tube in his trembling hands and watched as the second hand slowly moved around the face of the clock, passing the Roman numerals ever so slowly. 

Finally, the time had arrived as the second hand made it’s way to the ‘12’, he raised the vial to his lips.  Exactly at midnight, he tipped the tube up and swallowed the entire contents.  Closing his eyes, he lowered his hands to the table to steady himself.  He choked on the substance and forced himself to swallow it despite his body’s reaction to throw it up.  He found himself rocking back and forth, slowly to an unheard rhythm within his mind.  Once his body had calmed down and the urge to throw up had passed, he opened his eyes and made his way back to the table.  His experiment this day was to see if he could speed the metabolism of the human body up to a point where time would slow down.  As he looked at the clock and then double checked it against the timer watch on his wrist, his disappointment was once again realized as the two clocks were in perfect synch.  As with the numerous attempts in the past, he would go back to the drawing board and re-design once again.

Time travel, black holes, portals, cryogenics, quantum mechanics, and numerous other methods have been hypothesized and rationalized for decades.  But the simple fact of the matter is, man cannot create time.  You cannot add one second to your daily calendar.  There are 86,400 seconds in a day, and despite your desire or your attempts, you cannot change that.  The Creator of heaven and earth created them in such a way as to define the amount of time it would take for the earth to rotate one complete revolution.  In addition, he created the exact amount of time it would take for the Earth to revolve around the Sun in a given year. 

Can you make the Earth rotate faster or slower than it does?
Can you expand the elliptical orbit of the Earth around the Sun?

Time is the measurement of an interval between two events taking place in space.  It is such an infinitely small measurement that you cannot truly fathom its relevance in the world.  For the moment you try to state a point in time, it has changed by the time the thought has entered your mind or the words have left your lips.  It is infinitely large in the fact that there is no single person who can definitively point to the end.  It is a gift from the Creator of the universe, for each of us to use to its maximum capability. 

Man has and will continue to pursue his purpose for existing.  It has always been this way and will always continue.  Despite his/her belief in God Almighty, there is the constant reminder of this uncontrollable entity of time that equally impacts every one of us.  The reality is that time does have a beginning and an end for every person.  There is medical documentation that states the exact moment you entered this world through the birthing process.  There will be a medical document at the moment of your death, recording the time when you take your last breath.  The amount of time between these events is the variable that differentiates you and I.  Some will live for 2.5 billion seconds, some will only live for 750 million seconds.  Each of us will have the opportunity to maximize the use of that time in a manner that can have a lasting impact on time after we have left.     

During a morning prayer, I once asked God for more time in the day.  He laughed and said back to me, “Child, why would I give you more, when you aren’t using what I gave you.”  You have the choice of how you use this precious commodity from God.  You can choose to use it for the company you work for, for going to the bar or nightclub, for hurrying here and there, for eating or sleeping, or to expand God’s Kingdom.  If you took His call on your life seriously, would you still allocate your time in the same manner in which you allocate it today?  You have a finite amount of time, unbeknownst to you, but finite nonetheless.  Do not continue to waste the precious gift that He has given you, which you cannot create more of, but choose this very day to dedicate more of your time to serving Him and His purpose in your life.  I assure you, the more you focus your time on His purpose, the more time will seem to stand still.

Someone Push CTL-ALT-DEL

 “Set your mind on the things that are above, not on the things that are upon the earth." – Colossians 3:2

Overwhelmed.  Frustrated.  Saddened.  Tired.  Stressed. Depressed.

Do you realize that these words are used more commonly to describe the state of life in today’s society than words like: Blessed, Calm, Peaceful, Satisfied or Loved.  We are living a life based upon the existence of situations we are experience at any given moment.  This leaves our interpretation of life at any point to be an artificial, temporal state of mind.  Yet, we allow this temporary state of mind to consume us and become our reality.

When I think about work, about finances, about relationships and about my children’s future I immediately become overwhelmed by my inability to handle all of it at one time.  This leads to feelings of inadequacy, failure and stress.  In my 60+ years on this earth I’ve learned an enormous amount of information on how to deal with different situation’s and circumstances that will come up in life.  But, despite my experience in life,  the world is demanding more and more in less time. 

Consider that in the 1950’s television was just being introduced; and in the 1960’s music became an art as rock and roll drove new freedoms and desire of expression more so than any other medium in the past.  The 1970’s introduced the world to drugs and the expression of free-love where every person began focusing completely on their own self-gratification without consideration of what their choices might have on those around them.  Through the 1980’s and 1990’s the world underwent a major electronic and communication transformation with the introduction of the personal computer, cell-phone and of course the Internet.  Civilization became connected through social media rather than conversation and mankind found it easier to communicate remotely, rather than face to face. With the turn of the millennial clock and the entrance into the 21^st century we have accepted that this is normal, and the human connection has been replaced by Tweets, Blogs, Videos, and Snaps.  

It has taken 75 years from the introduction of the TV to eliminate mankind's ability to socialize and experience life as a community.  We have now accepted that each of us are on our own to solve life’s problems.  With the acceptance of AI (SIRI, Alexa, Google, etc.) into every home, I hypothesize, we are completely responsible for allowing this world to become as complex, fast paced, overwhelming and time dependent as it is today.  Are we better off because of the technology revolution?  Seriously.  Do you think your life is simpler, more manageable, more peaceful and more complete as a result of the world we have created?  By setting our minds on changing the world through technology and self–gratifying ambivalence, I propose we have actually stripped the world of the one thing that held us together.  Love.

We are designed, by our Creator, to love one another, to help one another, to build up, strengthen and support one another.  We are designed to provide a safe, secure, and spirit filled existence with those that we call our family and friends.  Bringing them to a closer relationship with God Almighty has nothing to do with how many likes you have on Instagram or Facebook, or whether your latest tweet was re-tweeted or not.  It has to do with action demonstrating His love, His character and His truth in a manner that helps others become stronger in their walk.

The choices we make in life are driven by one of two things: 
1) Fulfilling our own desires in the world to present success and accomplishment in life
2) Expanding the Kingdom of God to those around us through our comments, actions and lifestyle.  

For 75 years we’ve tried number 1 and I suggest to you that it has been an absolute failure.  It’s time for a reset my friends and God has to be at the center of this process, otherwise mankind will destroy any resemblance of His image left on this earth.  All I ask is that you think seriously on this and decide if your life is about you or about Him.  Be blessed.

37 Days – A Promise of Peace

Pastor Randy’s devotional:

“I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.” John 14:27

January 30^th Prayer:
Lord Jesus, circumstances, worries, and fears are all the giants standing on my promised land of peace. I receive my promise today and I speak peace over my life . . . my family. . . my finances . . . my children. I speak to the thought storms . . . stress storms . . . relationship storms . . . emotional storms: “Peace, and be still!” Thank You for promising me peace today. I know that He who promised peace is faithful! In Jesus’ name!

My thoughts:

In these troubling times, how can we find peace of mind and heart?  I look around and see anger, frustration, hatred, greed and envy.  The rapid pace of the daily life often times gets the best of me and I find myself chasing the problems in this world rather than pursuing the peace that is promised in the scriptures.  Are there people in this world that live in joy, happiness, hope and humility?  Absolutely, and it is those individuals that have found the peace found in God alone.

People are searching for peace.  It’s been going on for centuries and yet we still find ourselves seeking, longing and striving in our quest.  Each day, I hear of the anger people have for one another because of our difference of opinion, because of our skin color, because of our gender or because someone has made different choices in life.  The media frustrates me, it brings out the worst in people and propagates the message of separation in society.  When analyzed this message, this philosophy stems from a philosophy of self-centeredness, self-interests and hierarchical goodness, rather than equality and humility. 

By looking at the world around us, we cannot find peace.  By looking at our own life experience and choices, we cannot find peace.  By looking at celebrities, sports heros, musicians, politicians or successful executives, we see the image they want us to see, but here again, we won’t find peace through them.  Jesus Christ came to this world and gave us a way of salvation, and a path to righteousness so that we may enter into eternity and find peace with God the Father. 

In observing and studying His life and His purpose, we can find peace.  The peace is not around us though, the peace is in knowing that this is nothing more than a micro-dot on an infinitely long timeline.  Peace comes when we stand before the Lord and enter into His Kingdom.  No fear, no anger, no judgement, no jealousy, no self-desire, no envy, guilt or hatred – only love – perfect love for the Father and all others.

Be Blessed,

Rich

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The Worry Tree

"...And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, and Standby), that He may remain with you forever..."  -  John 14:16

According to the National Health Interview Society, “75% of the general population experience some level of significant stress every two weeks.”  So tell me in the last two weeks, what has you stressed?  What are you doing to eliminate it, reduce it or at least control it?  If you are anything like me, you bottle it up inside and just work harder at solving the problems that are causing it.

 I recall a story a few years back.  A man brings one of his employees home for dinner.  As they walk up the path leading to the front door, the man stops reaches for a tree next to his front porch.  Laying his hand upon the tree, he closes his eyes, takes a deep breath and then proceeds to enter the home.  The other man looks at him in a rather peculiar way and then follows him in.  He realizes throughout the night that his boss is not the same man at home as he is in the office.  He is laughing, hugging, playing with his children, relaxed and at ease, almost a exact opposite of how he is in the office.  The next day at work, the employee walks into his boss’ office and asks, “Sir, I’ve been running it through my mind all night and this morning.  I noticed a complete transformation of your personality as you walked into your home last night.  How do you just shut it off like that?”  The man laughs a little and replies, “It’s my worry tree.  Do you remember the tree I touched just before I walked in the door?  That is my worry tree.  I place my worries there every night when I come home.  From that point on, I focus only on what’s important – my family.  Surprisingly, the worries aren’t there the next morning when I walk out.”  The other man nods his head in understanding, “I like that idea.”

God sent us the Holy Spirit to live within us, rather than leaving Jesus Christ here indefinitely for us to follow.  But, make no mistake, the Holy Spirit is God Almighty in spirit, living inside of you.  He takes your worries, your burdens, your concerns and gives back peace, confidence, strength and courage.  He is the gentle reminder of righteousness and the one who convicts you of unrighteousness.  No condemnation, no belittling, no guilt, but rather a counselor in love and understanding to put you back on the right track.  This counselor and comforter is there at any moment you need Him.

 There is no worry tree outside of our front door, other than for symbolic reason.  The Holy Spirit within you is the source of comfort, peace and rest from your daily worries.  I recommend that you offload your daily concerns to the Holy Spirit before you enter your home each night, and leave the day’s work behind, trusting that the Holy Spirit will lighten that load by the time you want to pick it up again in the morning.  Find peace in the One who created it, not in your own ability too.

Be Blessed,

Rich

 

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De-stressing in the New Year

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“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.” – 2 Timothy 2:15

I wake in the morning refreshed and ready to take on whatever lies before me with the strength and courage provided by God to endure the challenges and temptations.  Generally by 10AM I have already stepped outside of His guidance 2 or 3 times, and by noon I’m trying to conquer the world on my own.  By mid-afternoon, my stress level has gone through the roof and I’m struggling to get back on track, and by the end of the work day I’m typically frustrated and looking around for someone to blame.  The drive home allows me an hour of quality time to beat myself up over the mistakes made throughout the day and to belittle myself for not accomplishing the things that needed to get done.  Guilt and shame set in, and I question my ability to achieve what is expected of me.

How can a man go from filled with the courage of the Lord to feeling miserable in a 12 hour span of time, only to wake up the next morning and repeat the process.  This is not what God has designed for our life.  I can attest to the fact that when I wander from God’s presence in my day, I am going to quickly fall into a mode of struggling to keep up, feeling overwhelmed and incapable of achieving the goals I have set.  The problems that come across my desk each day are not for the weak at heart, and the expectation is that these problems are brought to conclusion leveraging the resources available to me on any given day.  The problem I have is that I find myself trying to solve the problems without God more frequently than with Him.

Are you in a similar position of finding yourself overwhelmed with the stress of your job, school, schedule or family commitments?  It’s not uncommon and so many people today are allowing life to control them, rather than the opposite.  This is your life.  You get to make the choices on how you will get through each day, each hour, each minute.  You will be able to solve some of the problems based on your prior life experiences and knowledge, but unfortunately life doesn’t play by those rules.  New problems will surface every day that need new thinking, new creativity and new disciplines to solve.  Where are you getting that strength from?  Who are you going to turn to for the wisdom, discernment and confidence to take on these new challenges that come up?

God created the world and all that is in it.  You believe this, right?
Then tell me, is there any problem that you are going to face today that He hasn’t already seen?  Is there something that is going to come up in your life that will catch God by surprise, or will cause Him to sit back and say, “Wow, I’ve never seen this before.”  Of course not.  We, are the obstacle to bringing closure to these problems in our life.  I am 48 years old and I’ve been in the professional marketplace for the last 27 years, managing people and projects.  Over that time I have learned a tremendous amount about problem solving and I often fall back on my own wisdom to try to solve the problems of today.  This demonstrates a lack of good judgment on my part, when I know full well that His ways are better than my ways, but I fail to seek His counsel and rush to my solution instead.

With the New Year upon us, one of my resolutions is to seek God’s wisdom and counsel in my daily walk, at work, at home, in the car and at rest.  I am done trying to solve the world’s problems on my own, and I turn it over to God the Creator, and seek how I might use His wisdom, confidence, knowledge and grace in my daily activities.  It is His truth that I want my day to be based upon, rather than listening the excuses of the world.  Perhaps this is something that you will join me in, and can commit to in your daily walk.  Start afresh each day with the Lord at the center of it all, and do not turn from His guidance throughout the day, but rather seek Him over and over again for directions.  I promise you, life will become less stressful and you will find the peace that His word promises.  But, the choice is yours and nobody else is going to make it for you.    

             

© Sondove Enterprises, 2012
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Seeking World Peace

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“And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”      – Philippians 4:7

It is inevitable that one of the contestants will make the statement at some point during her run for Miss America, and it goes something like this, “I’d like to solve hunger in third world countries and bring peace to the nations of the world.”  It’s become cliché           , an anticipated answer without any substance or expectation of reality.  We hear the answer and tune it out immediately, with little thought or belief that it is remotely possible.  I propose that it’s not.  World Peace on this earth is not possible, for mankind is inherently sinful and unrighteous.  Self-centered thinking along with pride, lust, anger, vengeance, selfishness and greed are pervasive throughout our society, and represent a direct antithesis against achieving world peace.  So why then does it remain on the top of the list for those things that people want to achieve in life?
 

There is a perceived state of euphoria where there are no problems or worries or strife.  Where everyone gets what they want and their needs are all taken care of.  We dream of a place where rest is plentiful and stress is nonexistent, where love is never ending and humility abounds.  The reality is that each of us will suffer pain in life, emotionally and physically.  When a loved one dies or an injustice takes place against us we are left struggling with unanswered questions.  Getting over the hurt and pain takes years in many cases and most times we are never completely healed.  Some turn to their friends for comfort, some turn to their work, while others will turn to drugs, alcohol or other means of depravity to cover up the pain.  The truth of the matter is, when left to our own abilities and knowledge, we are incapable of realizing peace in this life.

We must accept that God’s love overcomes anything in this world.  Only through this love are we able to find comfort and peace.  This peace comes in an acceptance that God is fully in control and overseeing everything in our life.  He hears every cry, understands every hurt and sees the injustice of the world.  He provides strength to overcome these things through His word and through His grace.  The scriptures are filled with His words of comfort and wisdom to support anything we are facing today, tomorrow and into the future.  We are His beloved children and if we accept this, we are entitled to the peace that only He can provide.  This peace comes from realizing that we must trust Him without understanding how or why He loves us, but just accepting that He does. 

This peace gives us a perspective beyond the problems we face today, and allow us to focus on the eternal picture.  With this mindset we are capable of finding rest from the stress and pressure in life.  Don’t misunderstand me, your problems and pain don’t magically disappear, but the realization that we aren’t in control and He is, makes managing these situations bearable.  Just breathe in and breathe out, take one step at a time and trust in His love for you.

© Sondove Enterprises, 2012
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Reliance or Defiance

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“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”  
                                                                       – Philippians 4:6

Are you content in knowing that God is sovereign and oversees every step we make; good or bad?  Do you accept the fact that He actually hears your prayers, cries and praise?  Most of us have a hard time accepting or understanding the perceived God of the Universe because we often feel he does not hear us when we reach out to Him, or worse that He doesn’t care about our concerns.  We are buying into the world’s view that we must look out for ourselves because no-one else will.  This is only partially true though, and I believe we have fallen away from our reliance upon God to provide support and help in trying times.

Our culture has a very short attention span for solving problems.  We turn to psychology experts, self-help books lining the shelves at your local book store – all claiming they have the answer.  Today it is crystal stones, astrology, yoga and meditation; what will it be in 5 years or 10 years.  Who do we turn to when the questions are beyond the abilities of the smartest psychiatrists from Harvard, Cornell or John Hopkins?  The reality is that we are all wanting an easy, stress free life without anxiety or worry and that is an impossible request to fulfill.

Life is difficult and filled with complications that aren’t going to wane any time soon.  We push as much into every single day, hour and minute as we can.  We stay connected to the world at all times through cell phones, X-Box, internet, email, IM and Facebook.  We have chosen busyness in life, not because it is essential, but because it is expected by the world.  We have become a society with a fast-food line mentality.  I speak into a box and within minutes I want my answer.  When the answer isn’t found, I begin seeking alternative paths to my answer.  Patience and waiting upon the Lord are foreign terms in today’s world. 

I’ve sat in a deli shop simply observing the individuals coming and going over the course of a few hours.  Nearly every single person had their cell phone sitting on the table and checked for text messages or facebook status at least once throughout their lunch, with no regards for the interruption that it might have caused with the person sitting across the table.  A large percentage of individuals had tablets and sat at the table looking into the abyss of always online connectivity rather than into the eyes of their friends or family.  We have chosen to become disconnected from each other and take this world on alone.  This isolation, caused, I believe, by the onslaught of global interconnectedness has built a false confidence in our own ability to handle everything life throws at us.

We question why our fore-fathers seemed more in tune with God Almighty and we have become more distant.  I think we need to look at the dependencies we have in life and ask yourself if you truly feel reliant on God for anything other than salvation.  Be honest with yourself and try to identify where you rely on God in your daily life.  You worry, fret, feel anxious and stress over the problems every day and God is asking that you bring that too Him and feel comfort and confidence that He is there for you.  

© Sondove Enterprises, 2012
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