What Kind of Man is This?

If I were to ask you who was the greatest man of the 20th century? Would you be thinking of an athlete? Would you be thinking of a President? Would be thinking of a musician? Would it be someone totally different? I would like to know who you're thinking of, at the end you can leave a comment.

After you've thought of who you were thinking of, think of what made them rise to the top of your list. You are going to have a number of reasons why that person was above someone else. That is one of the interesting things about this process is that you decide. Nothing is wrong about your answers, they are simply going to be different.

When you think of those reasons, they are reasons that are above all the other men who you contemplated that could have been the "greatest man of the 20th century." Even if that man was your father, brother, or someone of non-celebrity status, they have amazing qualities that resonate with you.

When the disciples experienced the storm and then Jesus calming that storm, they were amazed. Wouldn't you be? The weather went from 10 to 1 in a matter of moments. Who can do that? The answer is easy to give, yet sometimes hard to comprehend. The answer is Jesus. He can do it. He did that. What kind of man is this? A great one!

As we focused on the portion of scripture in Matthew (8:23-27) that talks about this incident. Here are some applications to choose from to use this week...

• What Makes Him Great? ~ What is one or more reasons that makes Jesus "great" or "amazing" in your mind? Was it the healing? The resisting temptation? The willingness to die for you? Is it something else? Why is that reason(s) so important to you? Allow the reason(s) you chose to be a motivator to live a life that reflects you think He's great
• Expect the Storms ~ Life is spicy - nothing is never the same from one week to the next. My week, last week, had some "lightning and thunder" to it, though no actual storm came. I was asked to do something out of the ordinary and I didn't expect it. However, things will come when we're going with the Father!
• Enjoy the Calm ~ You could ask the disciples on that boat of what section they would like the best - the calm, storm, or some other portion? You would probably have a lot of "calm" voters. As you make it through your storms in life, enjoy calm in life, as well. When you are there, in the calm, don't forget to say "thanks."

This man, Jesus, is a great one, an amazing one!

Now it's your turn...what makes Jesus great to you?

"To Do" List...1) ___ 2) ____ 3)____

Do you have a list for the various tasks for today or this week? I do, even though I seldom write them down, but it's still a list. I sometimes simply cannot rest until that list is done. Sometimes the list is what to accomplish before lunch and when it isn't accomplished, I am often distracted through lunch.

Even as I write this, there are things on my list that I have not accomplished for the day. How do you deal with such complications to the day?

As I am a person who does a lot of "list" work, here's a fitting quote for the subject..

Whatever your "To do" list is, throw it away.. Let God give you His list for you. ~ Unknown

Ahhhh...get rid of my list! To some degree that will work. I think there are a lot of things that we must be willing to put into God's hands and not try to accomplish all on our own. Too often we go by a list which can prove to be very limiting.

Maybe today you have something on your list but God has something He'd rather you do with the day. It may come as an interruption or just show up during your day. Keep these in mind as you go through your day. Be prepared for God's list to trump your own list. Make sure you're open to it, too.

Have an ever-open list!

Now it's your turn...when has your list changed?

What's YOUR Answer - Joshua 24:14-15

You pull in to the drive thru, look at the menu, and you hear something like this, "Welcome to ___, may I take your order?" Then, in a matter of moments, you begin to say what you would like to eat for that day. Your answer to their question is the food you request.

What would you do if you pulled into a drive thru and didn't hear the message above, but rather heard something like "Welcome to ____, which god will you choose today?" And on the menu is not hamburgers, french fries, shakes, salads, or sodas, but rather, it is Self, Activities, Money, Job, Family, Self-Righteousness, Envy, Control, Jehovah and a list of others. Which one would you choose?

Surprisingly, we've all ignored the Jehovah part of the menu from time to time. Instead, we look over it and see what other things may entice our appetite for that moment and choose it.

Yesterday, Joshua told the people that his household was going to choose the Lord. He challenged the people with asking which one they will choose. We're confronted also with something similar on a daily basis. Here are some applications to choose from to use this week to help you make the choice to 'choose Him'...

1. Praise Him ~ "Because Your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you" - Psalm 63:3 - If life is good, His love is better. If life is going south, His love is much better. Either way, experiencing a relationship with Him is better, so give Him a praise or two this week for the good things you have in life.
2. Serve ~ Do something kind for someone else, maybe even anonymously. Not because you want the credit, but because you are doing it because you care for them. It doesn't have to be buying anything. Serve someone!
3. Make a list ~ One thing my wife likes to do when making a big decision is to make a "pro-&-con" list. As you are deciding which god you are going to choose, make a list and see what benefits there are to serving the one besides Jehovah.
4. Pick One ~ God is a "jealous God" and cannot share your attention. He wants you to be solely focused on Him throughout a day. Don't let another day go by without focusing on Him and picking Him over other gods that may drift into your life. You cannot "serve two masters", let Him be the only one!

Life is full of choices. A menu board gives us plenty of choices, but we will most likely choose one entree by the time we are finished. As you think about your faith, you must also have only one choice as the one on the #1 line...the "Lord, God of Israel, there is no God like [Him], in heaven above or on earth beneath..." (I Kings 8:23)

Make a choice to follow Him, moment by moment...

E-mail Encouragement: Putting Your Plan Into Action

We often look for the "ideal" moments to "get out and do things". Whether it is the right temperature, wind speed, sunny vs. rainy, busyness, etc., they all can play into our excuse making. Most of the time, we just have to start doing something and it seems to be much better than what we expected. I can relate to all of that, as I like to have the right "mood" in order to work on a specific project. I've learned, but tend to forget the lesson, that a project isn't so bad once you start working on it. I've also learned that when I set my mind on completing the project, I am very energized to get it completed and that there is rarely anything that can stop me once I get to that point. This brings us to this week's quote...

There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening, that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and will be lost. ~ Martha Graham

What have you been wanting to do for God that you've been waiting until just the right "ideal" moment? As there rarely is an "ideal" moment, the time to get started planning your work and working your plan is the present.

Don't block your potential - let it take wings and fly!!!

Have a great rest of your week!!!

Stretching my wings ~