Blessed Father's Day!

How to Be a Great Dad
Have a heart designed to show more love than many others will,
Add the thoughtful understanding that becomes a special skill.
Build in patience, perseverance, lots of work and sacrifice
And the wisdom that a person needs to hand out good advice...
Include those special touches that bring smiles and laughter, too,
And you'll have the kind of father who's as wonderful as you!
Blessed Father's Day!   www.arms.cc

God's grace is always sufficient

It says in 2 Corinthians 9:8 (NKJV) "And God is able to make all grace abound toward  you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work."  Our Heavenly Father's grace will minister to us all that we have need of.  It will minister to us the harvest that we have need of so that we can sow seed into others.  So that we can be a vessel of God and be a blessing to those around us.  Our Heavenly Father will provide for us the resources so that we can do the good works that he wants us to do.  He is the supplier of the seed sown and also the multiplier of the seed that we sow.  So that we will experience a bountiful harvest and have plenty of seed.

Do we draw in God's goodness into our life?

It says in Psalm 27:13 (NLT) "¹³ Yet I am confident I will see the Lord’s goodness while I am here in the land of the living." It says in Galatians 5:22 (NLT) "²² But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: ...goodness..." The Holy Spirit is a spiritual force that can release more of God's goodness in our lives. Do we release our faith for the goodness of God in our lives? If we will, we will start to see more of the Lord's goodness at work in our life. When God's goodness is in our life we are experiencing the kindness of God; we are experiencing his generosity to us. Our Heavenly Father wants to give us that which is most beneficial to us. He wants us to provide for us that which is over and above. He wants us to experience a substantial and bountiful life while we are here on this earth. All we have to do is release our faith for it.

Are you positioned for greater responsibility?

We all want to increase in life.  We want to take on greater responsibilities and achieve more in life.  But the question is are we ready?  How do we know if we are ready?  We only have to look no further then at our own behavior.  It says in Luke 16:10 (NLT) "10 “If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones...."  It says in Luke 16:10 (NIV) "10 “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much..."  So there we have it in the Lord Jesus own words,  The question that we need to ask ourselves in determining our preparation for the next level is are we faithful in the things that we have currently been given responsibility over?  Can we be trusted in the small or minor affairs that have been given to us?  If the person is not faithful in a dating relationship, it is almost certain they will not be faithful in a marriage.  If a person is not faithful in the interview and probationary period of their employment, this is almost certainly to play our in their continued employment.  This is also true with the things of God.

Don't become discouraged

When we have obstacles and challenges in life it is easy to start to focus more on the challenges then we are focusing on our God or the solution.  It is exactly at times like this that we can become discouraged.  There is a danger when discouragement finds a place in our heart.  Because it potentially positions us to go back to harmful and inappropriate behavior that we have changed from.  Simply because we have become discouraged.  But discouragement has to yield to the joy of the Lord.  Be assured that if we will not give up and continue to press into what God has called us, the joy of the Lord will sustain us and the Lord will grant us success.

Are you trying to fulfill your dream, vision and goals?

As we strive to fulfill our dream, vision and goals for our life, there will be obstacles, challenges and hindrances that will come up.  In other words, there will be opportunities to become discouraged.  Discouragement is when we begin to loose our confidence, hope and become dispirited.  But we as God's children want to remain faithful to what God has laid into our heart.  We don't want to let anything deter us from fulfilling the vision God has given us.  As God's children we want to access the strength that God has for us so that we can fulfill that which he is directing us in.  This strength is found in the joy of the Lord.  The joy of the Lord is what provides us the strength to carry on and endure.  It provides us the strength to keep keeping on despite that which comes against us. (Nehemiah 8:10)

Are we a gift giver?

In Acts 10:1-8 we read about a certain military man in the bible.  His name is Cornelius a Roman soldier who was a Captain of the Italian regiment.  He was a devout man who regularly prayed to God.   This soldier, and his family, were the first people to receive the message of Christ after his resurrection.  The one thing that stood out to me about this devout man is that he was a regular gift giver.  He gave gifts to the poor.  Are we a regular gift giver?  Do we regularly give gifts of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control?  I want to assure you that your family, friends, neighbors and co-workers will so appreciate those who extend gifts to them like this.  Remember, what we give we position ourselves to receive.