Savor the Savior Week 4 - Peace

Savor the Savior
Week 3 Wrap Up

Strength. We all think we can handle everything the world throws at us each day. But at some point we crack because even in our greatest strength we pale in comparison to the power God has waiting for us if we chose to faithfully follow Him.

So whether it is the worst day of your life or you just received the biggest promotion ever at work, remember who is in control and who needs to receive the blessings and thanks. Cast all your cares, hopes and wishes on God. He may not give you what you want, but there is no doubt the plan He has for you will knock your socks off.


Savor the Savior
Week 4 - Peace

So over the past month we have discussed ways to turn off the noise in your life, how to blindly follow God's vision and not what your eyes tell you you see and that the only strength you need to move any mountain rests in your faith and hope in God.

And I can guarantee that if you have worked on these in all areas of your life and devotion time over the past few weeks, you have already began to feel a comfort and peace like never before.

Take the story of Sarah in Genesis. God promised her and Abraham a child and asked for their complete trust. At first Sarah had great peace with the blessing God was going to give her. But soon the chatter from the enemy created noise in her head that blurred her vision and in with her knees trembling she decided she had to rely on her on strength to get her the child she wanted as God told her. Sounds pretty familiar doesn't it?

Genesis 16:1-6

There is no doubt Sarah felt convicted and led by something she thought was right in her actions to provide a child for her husband. But the result of her action did not create peace and in fact caused more chaos. Again, sounds pretty familiar doesn't it?

But in this turmoil of wrong decisions, what did God do? Did he punish Sarah? Did he turn them to dust? No. He fulfilled his promise to her and Abraham.

Genesis 21:6-7

God's timeline will never be in sync with the clock on our cell phones. We can sit and wait and think he has spoken to us, but the only way to truly know that God has worked His grace and glory is the PEACE only He can give when His plan is revealed. Just as the joy and peace of Sarah in Genesis 21 felt.

Here are some questions to ponder that we will discuss on Sunday or ones that you can take some time to go to God with right now.

1. Is true peace possible?
2. How do I know when I'm pushing God?
3. Are you patient enough to accept the full grace of peace?

Read 1 Corinthians 1:3 and Romans 1:7.

The only way for us to understand peace is by fully accepting Christ's love of salvation through grace. In a world of noise, confusion and pressure, people long for peace. Many give up because they don't realize they need to turn the volume off, not down, close their eyes and search for the true strength in the peace and heart and mind through faith in Jesus Christ.

It is there for the taking. God is not trying to play games with us, dangle it in front of us or just allow us to take it out for a spin on the weekends. He wants us to be at peace with Him every second of every day.

And when you understand his grace, it doesn't matter what attacks the enemy tries to throw on you. It will be useless. The loss of a job. A battle with cancer. It doesn't matter.

The peace you have will never be shaken.

And at that point God will have showed you the way home as you become His story of you, the I in Savior and fully Savor all that life has to offer. Whether it be a good day or a bad one, you will not have a care in the world because you know God has it and you wrapped in peace.

Additional Verses on Peace
Joshua 22:11-34
2 Chronicles 14:1-7
Psalms 3:5
Psalms 120:7
Psalms 122:6-9
Matthew 5:25-26
Luke 21:28
John 14:27
Philippians 4:7
Colossians 3:14-15
1 Peter 3:11

Have a blessed rest of your week!

Savor the Savior Week 3 - Who's Stronger

Savor the Savior
Week 2 Wrap Up

Vision can be a very tricky thing. It is something that can deceive us and can be the main tool the enemy uses against us. God knew what he was saying and preaching about having Blind Faith.

We should follow God's lead just like a toddler who is just learning to walk. Head up, heart racing, glowing with joy and without a fear in the world. If we fall, we stand up smile and keep on trucking.

That is savoring life. That is true faith and true vision. That is the life God wants us to lead.


Savor the Savior Week 3
Who's Stronger

So far we have discussed ways to cut down on the noise in our life and that it is OK to blindly follow God to understand the joy He so desperately wants us to have in His grace.

All great stuff, but remember the enemy is very skilled at what they do to suck the living everything right out of us on a daily basis. Satan's only power is deception and there is a constant battle waged in our hearts, minds and souls daily to see who is the strongest.

Ah... Strength! Now there is an interesting topic when it comes to Savoring our days with God...

Do you run through life carrying every burden on your shoulders? Do wake up, plan their day, close every deal and bask in the glory of their corner office on the top floor? Do you struggle to leave the house because there is no use? Do you use everyone around you as a stepping stone to get what you want?

Those are all questions about Strength. The world is fascinated by who is stronger. Life is actually like Ricky Bobby said in Talladega Nights... "If you ain't first, you're last". Satan loves to play his hand when it comes to our strength as well.

To often we say I closed the deal or I make the money. We believe in the praises we get when we are on top as well as the doubts when we fall. God blessed us with an amazing mind and a perfect body to perfectly fulfill our talents for Him. But most days we either rely on our own strength without consulting His wisdom or we cower in fear because the enemy has convinced us the world and its ways are stronger than God.

True Strength in God is mentioned 54 times in the Bible. This is no mistake as the Lord wants us to realize that He is our Rock and through faith in Him and His plan is the only strength we will ever need.

1 Corinthians 1:25
Philippians 4:13
Hebrews 12:12
Matthew 21:21-22
Isaiah 40:31

These are but just a few verses of the connection of the strength, hope and faith God has for us in His grace and love. We can be very successful and accomplish great things in this world on our own strength but it is destined to crumble at some point without God blessing and wisdom.

1. Why do we tend to rely on our own ways?
2. Why do we not ask for God's blessing and strength at times?
3. What is our weakness when it comes to relying on our own strength?
4. What is our biggest threat in our mind to giving up our strength to Christ?

Go to Him each day, before each decision, in times of adversity and in times of joy and thank him for His Strength and Love. He is and always will be Stronger. ALWAYS.

When we accept His perfect Strength only then can we truly Savor the Savior and His blessings for our lives.

Exodus 15:2
Deuteronomy 6:5
1 Chronicles 29:12
Nehemiah 8:10
Psalms 18:1
Psalms 28:7
Psalms 46:1
Psalms 59:17
Psalms 73:26
Psalms 84:5
Psalms 118:14
Psalms 147:10
Proverbs 24:5
Proverbs 30:25
Isaiah 31:1
Isaiah 41:10
Jeremiah 9:23
Habakkuk 3:19
Mark 12:30
Luke 22:32
1 Corinthians 14:26
Ephesians 1:19
Ephesians 3:16
Colossians 1:11
2 Thessalonians 2:17
Hebrews 11:34

See you in Class this Sunday!

Have a blessed rest of the week and weekend!

Savor the Savior Week 2 - True Vision

Savor the Savior
Week 1 Wrap Up

I think the most amazing and important focus of our discussion last week centered around the noise in our life. Through our discussion it was pointed out that we cannot control the volume at times but we can control how we respond and react to that volume. No matter how low we turn down the volume on a radio even in a quiet room our ears will adjust to pick up the static or what is being played. We have to know how and when to turn the radio off completely. Life is the same way. We have to know how to unplug and rejoice in Christ and His grace daily and let him direct us in responding and reacting to the noise we cannot control in our lives.

Our main reference from Week 1 centered around Abraham. What an amazing man of pure faith he was. Abraham was far from perfect just like we are, but when it came to his time with God he believed and lived his faith in Him like no one since Christ. Abraham was special because he lived before the law and before Jesus. He was totally on his own with God. There was no direction in the Ten Commandments and there was not the grace of Christ for him to turn to in time of failure and need. It was just him and God. He was the first to show us how God wants the I in Savoir to be.


Savor the Savor Week 2
Vision is Our Greatest Enemy

When you look at us as God's perfect creation, you have to be in awe.

I love sports and healthcare. Two very odd things I know, but when you think of God's design of our bodies and how they function for every day tasks it is simply amazing. You add to the mix what a superior athlete can do with his or her blessings and you can truly see our body and health is one of the greatest gifts He will ever give us.

But with this gift there comes a price at times. If you don't treat it and care for it, things can happen. You can also be in perfect health and the enemy can attack it in unimaginable ways. Even when all is well, Satan can use our abilities against us.

Take our vision for example.

Websters defines Vision as the following:

Vision 

1
a : something seen in a dream, trance, or ecstasy; especially: a supernatural appearance that conveys a revelation

b : a thought, concept, or object formed by the imagination

c : a manifestation to the senses of something immaterialvision

s, but at realities — Edith Wharton>
2
a : the act or power of imagination

b (1) : mode of seeing or conceiving (2) : unusual discernment or foresight vision>

c : direct mystical awareness of the supernatural usually invisible form3
a : the act or power of seeing : sight

b : the special sense by which the qualities of an object (as color, luminosity, shape, and size) constituting its appearance are perceived through a process in which light rays entering the eye are transformed by the retina into electrical signals that are transmitted to the brain via the optic nerve4
a : something seen

b : a lovely or charming sight
Yes indeed our vision is one of the greatest tools we have at our disposal, but it is also one of our greatest weapons as well.

Think of the last time you were walking up a large hill. If you keep your eyes focused on the top the whole time at some point your mind and your body will cause you to stop. Because you look and SEE where you are headed you begin to believe you will never get there.

But if you take that same hill and you simply look down at your feet, how far do you think you can go?

If you never look up to see how much farther you have to go or look back to see how long you have been walking your vision is limitless. Just like God wants us to come to him to savor life. Exactly like God wants us to be disciples of the Savior.

Daniel is an key figure when it comes to visions in the Bible. There was no one like him and God used his talents in an amazing way.

Let's take a look at some of God's Word at this point:

• Daniel 8:15-27

I find verse 17 especially interesting? Think about that verse and come prepared to talk about it on Sunday or comment on this post.

We often refer vision in worldly terms as innovation. Taking a dream and making it a reality. There have been many great visionaries of this world. But there has been none like Daniel.

So as you prepare for this weeks discussion, ponder the following thoughts.

1. Are you focused on your vision of your future by constantly staring at the top of the hill?
2. Are you terrified of your future because all of your visions have to do with the valley below the hill?
3. Can you have hope and faith in God enough to lead you without looking forward and without staring back?

Remember God knows what you need in the future; You don't. You cannot truly SEE until you understand this. You cannot truly SAVOR the SAVIOR without His Vision.

Read the following verses as well:

• Deuteronomy 30:19
• Exodus 24:17-18
• Exodus 25:9
• Mark 9:23-24
• James 1:5
• Hebrew 8:5
• Hebrews 12:18-20
• Acts 7:44
• Colossians 2:17

Have a blessed rest of the week!

Savor the Savior

There is simply too much noise in the world. Don't you agree?

When was the last time you were not rushing to pay a bill, get to a meeting, figure out what's for dinner, change the oil in the car, walk the dog before it rains, make sure the uniforms are clean before the next game or finding time at 1 a.m. to catch up on your favorite reality TV show.

Sounds like days we all have and a rut most of us loathe with all of our being. Somewhere along the way we have forgotten how to truly savor our days.

We are searching for ways to improve our situation, get more time with our husband or wife, practice ball with our kid and how to push the right button to get the big raise you believe you deserve at work.

In other words, we are searching for the right spice to give awaken our senses. The perfect ingredient to spark our days. The one victory that once again gives us favor.

Too often we run ourselves ragged trying to find this missing piece. We fill our palate with all the wrong flavors. We mix the ingredients we think are right and then convince our mind and heart we finally have found what we are looking for.

But how should we define our days? How should we define who we are? What do we need to do to once again savor life?

Savor and Savior have a common bond that rests in the added I. It is that perfect and pure relationship God wants with us all. Are you forcing your agenda in defining who you are to try and make your life full and happy? Or are you letting God lead you and completely give you the living water in telling your story through the Savior.

This will be the focus of the next month of columns and posts as God leads me to uncover how to truly enjoy the riches He has blessed us with. We will take a look at praying for authority in His Power while finding ways to give in to our stubborn selves by taking a look at various people in the Bible through their stories. God told them to have faith and patience and is telling us to fully Trust in Him and Savor all that the Savior has sacrificed to give us every day.

To prepare our path for Study this Sunday read:
Luke 6:17-26
Romans 4
Daniel 5

Please make some notes as you read and study. Underline where God spoke to you.

Now read this story about Pastor Strawberry who thought he had everything life had to offer only to realize he had nothing until his story became one with the Savior. Here is my take on it.

Feel free to comment below and add to the conversation if you can't be in class on Sunday!

Have a blessed weekend!

Rant Sports Top 100 College Football Teams in 100 Days: No. 79 Navy Midshipmen

Danny Wild-USA TODAY Sports

There have been few teams as solid and consistent in College Football as the Navy Midshipmen since the inception of the BCS. This is just one reason why Navy comes in at No. 79 in Rant Sports Top 100 Teams in 100 Days.

Coming off a solid 8-5 season in 2012, including a gallant effort against the top-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish, the Midshipmen return six starters on offense and seven on defense looking to continue their dominance of the Service Academies. Since 2003, Navy is 18-2 against the Air Force Falcons and the Army Black Knights.

Read more at http://www.rantsports.com/ncaa-football/2013/06/13/rant-sports-college-football-top-100-no-79-navy-midshipmen/?DtXuZXmv7EBh3BHi.99 

TIM TEBOW: The Real Reason Why Tebow is in New England

Matt Chasore-USA TODAY Sports -- Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

So as the world wakes up this morning still trying to process the New England Patriots‘ decision to bring Tim Tebow aboard, the rumors are swirling.

Most folks think it’s a favor called in by Urban Meyer to Bill Belichick. Tebow was hanging around with Meyer and the Ohio State Buckeyes last week around the same time Belichick released a statement about him never saying the derogatory things about Tebow that was reported by the media.

Read more at http://www.rantsports.com/clubhouse/2013/06/11/the-real-reason-tim-tebow-is-with-the-new-england-patriots-has-nothing-to-do-with-football/?VWu8WpVmh5qM70Tk.99 

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