God is my portion.

The Psalmist poured out his heart to God. David admitted his misgivings, his sense of being treated unfairly and his angst as his enemies seemed to prosper beyond what they deserved (in his humble opinion).

He continued his lament by saying, "Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure and have washed my hands in innocence." (Psalm 73:13)

He further stated that as he tried to make sense of it all, what's fair and unfair...he couldn't figure out God's system.

Have you ever been in that quandary?

You felt like you were doing everything you could to live right, to live for God, to serve Him and others and ???

I've yet to come across anyone who hasn't felt that exact same way at some point in their life.

"When I tried to understand all this, it troubled me deeply til I entered the sanctuary of God (His presence); then I understood their final destiny." (eternity without God...unfathomable.) (17)

Having a relationship with God, knowing Jesus ever lives to...

Patience

"I want patience NOW" 

Have you ever said, "God, I want patience and I want it NOW?"

What's really going on?

Delays...or so it seems to us. In reality God uses the perceived delays as part of His strategy to bring us into His purposes at precisely His time.

Some discoveries I've made while sitting at the yellow light waiting for it to change to green:

1. He's thwarting the enemy's schemes. I Corinthians 2:8

2. He's testing our hearts. Will we humble ourselves or get hardened towards Him? Are we frustrated that He's not getting things to happen quick enough for us and our time table. Is He really the potter are we the clay?

3. He's allowing us opportunity to bless others in the midst of our trial. Do we really have JOY? Jesus first, Others second and Yourself last? Or do we pout and withhold because we're not happy about our situation?

4. He's sifting out unbelief and distrust while strengthening our trust in Him.

5. He's replacing our murmuring and complaining with hearts...

Power of One

"For, if, by the trespass of the one man,
death reigned through that one man,
how much more will those who receive
God's abundant provision of grace and
of the gift of righteousness reign in life
through the one man, Jesus Christ."
Romans 5:17
Life has a way of throwing curve balls. One minute it seems "all is well" and the next like "all hell broke loose." Ever noticed that?

When things are going well we have the tendency to have a song in our hearts and a whistle on our lips. BUT, when things go sideways and upside down, oh my. That's often a different story. Gone is the song AND the whistle.

In our text notice the Power of One.
Through ONE man, Adam, death reigned. We were sold out to being born with a sin nature.
Through ONE man, Jesus Christ, that debt was paid on our behalf. When we accepted His gift, invited Him into our lives to be our Lord and Savior...that changed everything.
Now, through the ONE man, Jesus Christ we receive some powerful gifts to see...

Be Salty  

"Salt is good for seasoning. But if it loses its flavor, how do you make it salty again? You must have the qualities of salt among yourselves and live in peace with each other." (Mark 9:50 NLT)

Salt is a purifier, a perpetuating agent and has antiseptic qualities. These various aspects are to be present in our lives as believers.

Saltiness can also be described as being our passion, the purpose, the reason God has for you and I here in the earth.
What floats your boat?
What puts a song in your heart and a dance to your feet?
What do you do that "makes your day" happen for you?
Chances are if you answer those questions you'll realize what makes your salt salty.

Sometimes in life our "dreams" get smashed and we settle for "whatever." In so doing, we lose our saltiness, that which makes us, us.

God intends to use our saltiness in order to draw people to Himself through us; to taste and see that the Lord IS good.

Salt is so essential to human life that we have a...

EPIC Risk Taker 

Do it different! This declaration seems to be my mantra these days. It's so easy to get stuck in the "same-ol, same-ol", "this-is-how-I'VE-always-done-it", syndrome.

That mentality rocks us to sleep. We settle into routines that no longer stretch us or forces us to seek the Lord for His help in the tasks ahead. Lukewarm, yuck!

"There are moments in history when a door for MASSIVE CHANGE opens. It is in these moments that key men and women RISK EVERYTHING to BECOME THE HINGE OF HISTORY. That pivotal point determines which way the door will swing." (Lou Engle)

When I read that I shouted "Hallelujah!"
May we all let God arise in our lives and be risk takers for Jesus.

The Apostle Paul wrote: "Companions as we are in this work with you, we beg you, please don't squander one bit of this marvelous life God has given us.

God reminds us, 'I heard your call in the nick of time; the day you needed Me, I was there to help.' Well, now is the right time to listen...Don't...

What's your reaction?

How do you react to conflict? Difficult circumstances? Unjustified character attacks on yourself? People arguing? Confusing situations you can't control?

These and more are all woven into every person's life. We can't escape what's happening around us.

The only thing we can control is our reaction.

I was reflecting on the life of Moses in Exodus. He was definitely a reactionary. Whether it was an unfair fight between two men, dealing with complaints from the 2 million people he was commissioned to lead out of Egypt, a burning bush that wasn't consumed, his family and close advisors attaching his character, or a myriad of other issues...

Moses found that he often reacted unwisely.

God began to teach him to react wisely. God put Moses through the school of The Spirit.

You and I are in that same schooling process.

God is working in us to become like Him in and through the various issues of life we face today.

While reading and meditating about Moses and...

What is in your way?

When Sanballat heard...he became angry and greatly incensed. (Nehemiah 4:1) 

Nehemiah was given the task of rebuilding the wall.

Once we become born again God commissions us to rebuild our lives. We are to become a mighty fortress and refuge in Him for others to discover the goodness of God for themselves.

This task takes place throughout our lifetime.

In the process "many are the afflictions of the righteous" BUT The LORD delivers us out of them all. (Psalms 34:19)

We can learn a lot from Nehemiah's wall building task.

God's enemy and ours, will use every tactic possible to stop us from building our lives in Him. The names change from Nehemiah's time but the spirit undermining us in our endeavors still operates with the same M.O. (method of operation)

Sanballat was the governor of Samaria. A city well known for it's difficult people. Got any of those in your life?

Tactic #1: He used his anger and indignation to attack Nehemiah and his crew with words,...

BRING IT ON! 

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Psalm 37 

A Song of Wisdom

Poetic praise, by King David

1 Don’t follow after the wicked ones or be jealous of their wealth.

Don’t think for a moment they’re better off than you.

2 They and their short-lived success

will soon shrivel up and quickly fade away

like grass clippings in the hot sun.

3 Keep trusting in the Lord and do what is right in his eyes.

Fix your heart on the promises of God and you will be secure,

feasting on his faithfulness.

4 Make God the utmost delight and pleasure of your life,

and he will provide for you what you desire the most.

5 Give God the right to direct your life,

and as you trust him along the way

you’ll find he pulled it off perfectly!

6 He will appear as your righteousness,

as sure as the dawning of a new day.

He will manifest as your justice,

as sure and strong as the noonday sun.

7 Quiet your heart in his presence and pray;

keep hope alive as you long for God to come...

Celebrating Dads 

What a privilege to honor the good men in our lives and community. On behalf of Judy and the EPIC Conquerors team - HAPPY FATHER's DAY.

Visit www.epicwin4u.com for show notes and links. Join in on the Conversation on Facebook @EpicConquerors

 

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