Friday, November 25, 2005

Shopping With Patience

I was one of the few (million) who went shopping this morning. I braved the traffic and walked through the chaos to find that the few items I was looking for were sold out. Of course, that could be because I didn’t get to the stores that opened at 5AM until 9AM.

While going from store to store in different locations in the city, I ran into lots of traffic. At one store, I had just about walked in when one car crashed into another. Inside some of the stores, the check-out lines were from the front of the store to the back. On TV, clips were shown of actual fights breaking out between shoppers just to get one product. People were really on the ground fighting each other! Did I mention the lines people were waiting in? How about the fact that I hate shopping?

I think I’ve gotten off track a little here. As I was watching the long lines of traffic going in and out of stores, the people waiting for just the right parking space, and the long lines just to check-out, I was reminded of a principle found all through the Bible.

Patience. It’s something that everyone at one time or another has very little of. It’s something that we could all use a little more of. Webster’s Dictionary defines the word patient as:
“bearing pains or trials calmly or without complaint, manifesting forbearance under provocation or strain, not hasty or impetuous, steadfast despite opposition, difficulty, or adversity.”

Sounds like something the Bible talks about. In fact, the Bible doesn’t just tell us to be patient, the Bible says that God will help us with our patience! How’s that for a great deal! Colossians 1:10-13 says:

“And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves…”

God will strengthen us with power so that we can have the endurance we need and patience to go along with it. Whether you’re standing in a long line today, waiting for the next green traffic light, or are waiting for news that’s hard to hear, remember that you can have that patience from God above if you just ask for it!

By the way, I did finally get one thing I was looking for at a store and I didn’t have to wait in any lines!

In His Grip!

Nathan
www.maackministries.com

Thursday, November 24, 2005

The 1st Post - Happy Thanksgiving!!

Hello Everyone!

I’ve wanted to start a weblog for several months now and thought Thanksgiving would be the perfect day to start. This blog is an addition to the Living Life website, new CD next year, and the current Living Life Tour. You’ll read observations I make about life, updates on the Living Life happenings, devotionals, and much more. I love to be able to share life’s observations with you. I have always loved being an encourager to others. You just never know what I may come up with to write!

It’s been an interesting year so far. I’ve grown so much as a worship leader and a follower of Christ. I graduated from college. I’ve learned first-hand that there are some Christian leaders who are not what they seem and not in the ministry for the glory of God (of course, the Bible tells us that this will happen), - and thank God for the good ones - and I’ve learned personally that God does have a plan and a will for everyone.

On this day and as we begin the Christmas season, let’s celebrate the blessings God has given us this year. Though it may not have been the greatest year for some of you out there, remember the blessing of knowing Jesus and if you don’t, please e-mail with any questions you have to make sure that you get saved and know for sure that you’re on your way to heaven!

I leave you with these verses from Psalm 100:3-5 (NIV):
“Know that the Lord is God. It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name. For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations.”

And I leave you with this quote from President Abraham Lincoln:

Abraham Lincoln The year that is drawing towards its close has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God.


In His Grip!

Nathan

http://www.maackministries.com