BALANCE
Matthew 6:33 says to “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well.”
“Seek first His kingdom…”
- We should always be thinking about Heaven. What does God want from us? Material possessions don’t matter, they won’t last, you can’t take it with you.
- God’s Kingdom is heaven. Two songs come to mind, here: (1) “I Can Only Imagine” by Mercy Me and (2) “Deep Enough To Dream” by Chris Rice.
“His righteousness…”
- Pursue holiness, 1 Peter 1:16
- Oswald Chambers says “we must continually remind ourselves of the purpose of life. We are not destined to happiness, nor to health, but to holiness. ” (My Utmost For His Highest, Sept.1)
Go after God. When prioritizing your life God should not be #1…God should already (and always) BE!!
New Life
A couple of weeks ago I was privileged to go to the doctor and see my 8mm baby and hear its little heart beat! WOW!!! What a blessing from the Lord. I am truly amazed, blown away, excited, blessed, thrilled, nervous, THANKFUL!!
Rebecca is doing great, considering!! May 1st is the due date!!
Accountability
It’s been a true blessing to meet with a few boys on Tuesday mornings before school for almost 2 years now. It is encouraging to see them grow in there faith and in there knowledge of Christ and His Word. We have been in Romans 6 now for a while…such a rich chapter!
God, help us to be a “slave to righteousness.”
Love
With Valentines Day quickly approaching I know everyone is thinking about love. In Mark 12 Jesus is talking with the people when one of the teachers of the law asked Jesus; “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” Jesus answered in Mark 12:30-31. ”Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Have you ever owned an MP3 player or something that requires batteries…amazing thing is that the device will not work without all the batteries to supply the power. So it is with love. Without a full power supply, Christ Himself, it is going to be tough to love our neighbors.
Let’s work on loving Christ with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength so that we might love others with God’s love.
HOUSE
These are exciting times at the Connell house hold. Rebecca and I will close on our first house together today!! Lord willing!! We are VERY excited. And Broke!!
MIRACLE
“Do you believe in Miracles?” I’ll never forget hearing those words during the 1980 Olympics when the U.S. Olympic hockey team won a dramatic victory over the “invincible” Russian squad. Off course the victory was made even more popular when it was put on the big screen in the movie, “Miracle.”
I still get goose bumps when I see the movie. The excitement and the adrenaline kicks in during the final couple of minutes of the game.
As exciting as that is it pails in comparison to seeing God perform miracles. I mentioned earlier about a young lady named Caylin that was in ICU and having a tough time. Well, she still has a long way to go, but Praise the Lord for the miracle that He has done in beginning to restore her. She is laughing now and talking and is at a rehabilitation hospital where they are making her get dressed herself and brush her own teeth.
This is truly a modern-day miracle. Why? For a number of reasons, but the one that sticks out to me the most is as I watched Caylin while she laid in a hospital bed hooked up to every machine imaginable and doctors came in and out monitoring her and having no idea what to do, but wait. Then it happened. She began to get better. No medicines. No surgeries. Just the Hand of the Almighty God. The One who holds the Key to life. The Savior and Lord of all. The God of mercy and grace. The God who sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, to come into this world to live a perfect, sinless life, so that He could die on a cross to forgive ALL OF US for our sins.
“Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise His holy Name.” Psalm 103:1
Power in Prayer
I believe in the POWER of prayer. Please pray with me for a young lady, Caylin Davenport. Caylin is a senior in HS and has had some major complications during a recent “minor” surgery. She is currently in the ICU.
