The ultimate cat whisperer

So you've been obedient to God and done what you think is honourable in his sight and what happens? Somebody comes along with a plot against you that ends you up in trouble. Well that's what happened to Daniel.

I'm facinated by the King's response though, he realized he had done a terrible thing and proclaims, “Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee”. So Daniel get's thrown in the lion's den and who shows up? That “Angel” again! I wonder if the big “Putty Tat's” let Daniel cuddle up to them for warmth for the night – Naaaa, I think not, but at least they didn't have him for Dinner!

Once again, we see the delivering hand of God. Know that whatever situation you are facing now, God will work his power and deliver you from the hands of those who seek to harm you. Trust in him!

How hot was that fire?

So how hot did that fire have to be that the men who threw Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego into the fiery furnace, got burnt to death? Yet immediately the three men were up and about walking free, not bound and then the fourth mystery man (some scholars believe to be the Christ), walking with them.

When we face circumstances that seem that they will engulf and kill us instantly, we have a promise, Jesus will always be there and save us and the righteous will always be vindicated. It is our responsibility to say focused on our relationship with God and make sure that we walk before him in righteousness before him.

When we do that, we can be gaurenteed that at the end of the trial, “The king himself” will acknowledge that our God is God above all.

Opportunity for what?

Opportunity – this word brings up emotions of hope, anticipation, joy, excitement and wonder. Yet in Matthew 26 we read that Judas, once he had made his deal with the Pharisees was just looking for his opportunity to betray Christ. What a blow, the devil is out there looking for every opportunity he can to hurt you and cause you pain, be it emotionally, physically, mentally or spiritually. I'm sorry to say he does succeed and that leaves us feeling hurt, let down, angry at life and very often angry at God.

Guess what I've learned.....God doesn't get offended when we get mad at him and you know why? Because Jesus felt the sting of betrayal. A disciple he had kept close to him for three years, sold him out for 30 pieces of silver....... darn that must have hurt!

Yet this betrayal, set in motion the events that we now know would lead to the ultimate crucifixion of Christ (and No the cross is not just something we need to talk about at Easter, but every day). Ultimately God used this betrayal and we also know the end of that story. Christ has risen, death has been defeated and our salvation has been secured for eternity.

So when it feels like life has taken a smack at you, be angry, feel the feelings, cry if you need to but when you done, look the Devil in the eye and say, “Buddy, you picked on the wrong person, I'm covered by the blood of Christ and you're about to get a smack back to hell where you belong.” God will ALWAYS have the ultimate victory!

Double fix - Apollo 13

April 13 1970, An oxygen tank explodes on Apollo 13, not only forcing the aborting of the third planned lunar landing, but putting it's 3 man crew in mortal danger. One of the most famous lines quoted in the movie, “Failure is not an option”.

But things had failed, the Oxygen tank exploded and along the way various other equipment broke down. In the midst of facing one failure, the scientists and astronaugts left in the conference room left to figure out how to save 3 lives, put aside all negatives. Instead of saying, why won't it work? They said what can we do to make it work! The result, success and on April 17^th the 3 man crew landed safely back on earth.

The trial in the space shuttle and the trial in the conference room were both inter-related and to solve the one, they had to solve the other first. I've been blown away by this today realizing that at times we may go through one failure now and find a means to cope and survive, but it could be a failure a few years down the line that finally brings the breakthrough and brings you to the point where you can put the “equipment” together to make the plan work.

God is so involved in every tiny detiail of our lives and we must never give up hope. You may have been wondering, why I am I going through this now? Chin up! The answer may only come in a few years time. We need to learn to trust God implicitly and know that he has a deep and profound plan for our lives, if we will surrender to him and allow him to guide us.

You just gotta be Babe

Babe Ruth, one of America's all time best baseball players, struck out an amazing 1330 times. He made 2873 hits of which and astounding 714 were home runs. That's nearly ¼ of all the hits he made went the distance! The moral of his story is that you have to keep hitting if you are going to score.

The devil steps up to the plate every day and swings his best shot at us, and trust me he will never stop. The question is, are you willing to keep on batting, or are you going to give up. Trust me, the harder you bat the harder the devil is going to swing that ball at you.

Here's a little secret, he wouldn't bother throwing so hard if he knew you were a losser with the bat. If you are under attack..... it's because you are doing something right! So don't quit, don't give up, keep your cap on, take your stance and get your bat ready......your next home run is just a few balls away!

Sometimes you just need a hand

Ever felt like you are in a battle but you're just not winning? The Israelites knew that feeling. They were at battle with Amalek in Exodus 17, but were just not getting anywhere. Then when Moses lifted his hands they gained ground, but when his hands sank they lost ground again.

The plan was set, they had to keep Moses hands up one way or another, so Aaron and Hur came along side him and kept his hands held high, and you guessed it..... Israel won the battle! At times all we need to get through a tough battle is just someone to come along beside us to help us lift our spirits.

Keeping our hands held high though has a more powerful connection. It is in worship when we lift our hands to God that we declare his majesty, and our surrender to him through worship. That is why we are strengthened through worship. So if you don't have any friends available to come along side you, raise your arms in worship to God and let him send his strength and his angels to fight your battle!

Have you got the right plug and socket?

Somewhere between the end of last winter and the beginning of this winter, I had a hair dryer that blew up. Now this wouldn't be quite so terrible if it hadn't also blown up the adaptor it was attached to. Being summer it wasn't quite such a problem as I simply moved stuff around.

Well today I decided it was time to take out the electric blanket, and with all the lead cables, double adaptors and the like that I had lying around, I just couldn't find the right combination. To cut a long story short, end result was that I needed a new adaptor set with the right mix of two and three prong sockets.

That is what the church is like. God gave some people a 5 fold ministy calling, i.e. Pastor, Prophet, Teacher, Evangelist or Apostle. Then there are minstry gifts and then there are our talents.

Like certain plugs work with certan adaptors, the church needs us all to fill our unique position in order for the church to work and function right. Have you found out where your place is yet? If not, speak to your Pastor or Church leader and let them help you!