"When Do We Marvel?"

When was the last time you marveled? I mean literally stopped to take a breath, looked around and just said WOW!!!

Our reactions today seem to be what others around us want from us...have you ever felt that way? You react to things around you based on those around you?

You see a lot of times we simply don't make the opportunity to marvel at God, at His creation, at His love, at His redemption, Jesus Christ becomes almost commonplace to us, He's no longer the object of our affection, He's the cruise control of our life, making us go forward without any effort or concentration, we can take our eyes and our thoughts and put them other than where they should be, because "He loves me and He'll get me through life..."

Is that all that Jesus is to you? Something to get you through life? or can He be the Lord of your life and the object of your affection and what you marvel at?-Grace and Peace.

"Needing Strength?"-2 Chronicles 16:9

"For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him"-2 Chronicles 16:9

What does that say to you? Go ahead...read it again...I know you want to, read it again.

Now, what does it say? Does it say anything at all to you? Does it mean anything at all to you? Did you actually read it for more than just the words? Did you listen to see if God may be saying something to you through it or was it something you just skimmed through without giving much thought to what it said or meant?

Here's the deal...this verse in particular tells me that God Himself is searching to strengthen us and not just that...He's looking for commitment from us! You see, God isn't some foreign being in a far-off land that we merely hear about or read about, God is ever-present in each of the hearts that are committed to Him, in fact Psalm 46 says this, "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble." Sound familiar?

God is seeking to deliver you, to give you peace, to give you rest, to love you with a never-ending love, the real question is this, WILL YOU LET HIM?

"The Excitement of March Madness"-

It's that time of year again!!! It's March Madness time as the NCAA tournament has already begun as of today!!!...This is the favorite time of year for so many people across the country...waiting with anticipation to see what's going to happen with their favorite college basketball teams to see if they will end up victorious in unarguably the biggest basketball tournament of the year without a doubt. You should see it...people go crazy as each team assembles together in their respective regions to compete with each other toward the goal of a National Championship in arguably one of the most popular sporting events ever, it generates such a crazy buzz all across the country.

Here's Why:
1. There's a chance our favorite team will win it all
2. We always like to see what happens when you assemble the best 65 teams.
3. There's always a chance at a "Cinderella" story of one of the underdog teams from an inferior conference knocking off the larger school teams that are supposed to be dominant.
Finally #4

There will always be the suspense of the competition as you unite for a few weeks with fellow fans of your favorite team and it never matters where they are from, what they look like, what they do for a living, or what their favorite color is, during the NCAA Tournament, WE'RE ALL IN IT TOGETHER!!!!

Sound familiar at all? Isn't that what the body of Christ is supposed to be about? Gathering together for one purpose...WORSHIP OF OUR SAVIOR JESUS!!!! We're supposed to be all together gathered together with our goal of living for Christ in mind and the hope that we will come away victorious in Christ?

Guess What? WE ALREADY HAVE THE VICTORY SO WHY NOT CELEBRATE?

Have you ever thought about that? We already have the victory over sin and death all accomplished by Jesus Christ's sacrifice of Himself on the cross for those who it doesn't matter what they look like, where they are from, what they do for a living, or what their favorite color is, if we're in Christ, WE'RE ALL IN IT TOGETHER, LET'S CELEBRATE!!!-GRACE AND PEACE

"Life Was Never the Same"-John 3:1-3

Have you ever thought about Nicodemus? If not, go read John 3:1-3, and then come back and read this again...ha ha jk.

But think about that for a second, It says that "there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus,"...understand one thing for a second, this man was well educated, well-versed in the Old Testament Law, well-respected among all the other Pharisees and here he was coming to Jesus (who the other Pharisees grew to hate) because he was curious...He recognizes that Jesus was from God and that all the miraculous signs that Jesus had performed were real...which that in and of itself was huge for a guy like this to recognize.

Well it then says that Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again." HUH? WHAT? UM...SURE...WHAT IN THE HECK DID HE MEAN BY THAT?

Here Nicodemus was talking to the Son of God who just told him that he had to be born again to enter heaven...was there some underlying meaning to that phrase, was there some truth out there that he didn't know and how could he NOT know it, he was so educated.

The reality is...Nicodemus' life was never the same after that...he had so many questions about that very 18-word phrase...yet he was never to be the same again after that, he had encountered the very person of Jesus and he was changed ETERNALLY, forever, for all time, or however you want to put it, he was never the same again ever!!! My question for you guys.....are you still the same? are you born again?...do you still remember the shock and awe of that?...just a thought to ponder.....Grace and Peace.