You have a bucket list? Really?

Romans 8:28 - And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to [his] purpose.

I really get a 'kick' out of bucket lists! Well, in a manner of speaking, one thing that
truly can be assured is that all will eventually...kick the bucket. Yet what manner
of pride could possibly make someone create a list of things 'they' want to accomplish
in this lifetime? Who can pre-plan the will of God as He calls into play His plan for
our lives? 

How can he possibly be in charge of one life when there are so many people on this
earth? Well, He is pretty decent at multi-tasking. He knows the name of every
star in every galaxy, he numbers the hairs on our heads and is well aware of any
creature that is currently alive or has ever been. 

I see nothing so wrong with having wishes or goals, of choosing events that one would
be very grateful for if they were to happen, of even praying for the inclusion of
certain blessings should they be God's will...but... we cannot accomplish anything
without His guidance and direction. We, quite frankly, couldn't even get out of bed
any morning without God's provision maintaining a whole bunch of body mechanisms
that help our heart, muscles and everything else that allows us to get moving.

Here's what I would humbly suggest... put that bucket list away somewhere. You
could bury it in a time capsule in the yard to be exhumed later as a comparison to
those things that have happened since its burial. Create a TYL list, that's Thank
You Lord, and thank and praise Him each and every time you become aware
of His provision and blessing in your life. 

I'm guessing that would very quickly become a long list. The great thing is that we
really aren't even aware, many times, of His glorious workings in our lives. Some
of us are too busy creating those bucket lists. Some of us just need to realize that we
are not in charge of anything. We are creatures; God is the creator and He is
always in charge.

Thank you, Lord God!

Humble Pie...We are the clay!

When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom. Proverbs 11:2

Pride is one very difficult thing to swallow. It has been called the source of all sin; it
certainly gets in the way of perceiving God correctly. A lot of folks want their turn
at the potter's wheel when it comes to fashioning God in the way they wish Him to 
be. They pick and choose attributes that fit their own perception of what their God
ought be like. "Well, my God is a God of _____."  How could your God allow that
to happen?" Where was God when this or that crisis occurred?"

The tough-to-swallow news is that "we" are the clay. We are part of a creation
spoken into existence by the almighty God. He is the artist, the greatest creator of
them all. We are the material He chose to fashion into human beings created in the
image of God with certain characteristics that reflect the very different being
called God.

For us to attempt to limit or to define Him as some sort of prerequisite to our
willingness to "accept" or "believe" in Him is very dangerous. We have a hard time
accepting ourselves as raw material, if you will. We want to be the master of our
existence and we are very willing to nudge a God in that fits our conception of what
he ought to do and be like. 

Accepting the gospel of salvation requires us to see our vast limitations. To make
any sort of commitment to Jesus, we have to see ourselves as the sinners we are;
we have to realize our need to be lifted up and changed by the presence of God in
our lives. We have to call on Him to continue to mold us from what we have been
to what only Jesus and the Holy Spirit of God can make us be.

Once one sees the truth in the mirror, or at least perceives a bit of that reality,
one can go on to submit to the glory and grace of God. He is the King of the
universe, worthy of our worship and praise! He is God, not the God we think He
ought to be, but the artist who created all there was, is or ever will be.

Praise Him!

HIS way...not my way!

His dominion is an eternal dominion;
his kingdom endures from generation to generation.
All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing.
He does as He pleases with the powers of heaven
  and the peoples of the earth.
No one can hold back His hand or say to Him," What have you done?"
Daniel 4: 34-35

Nebuchadnezzar certainly learned things the hard way! Seemed to have everything
except the willingness to place God above his own level of existence. I am thinking that
grass was not up to his normal standards of cuisine! (also glad not to have gotten that
name in a spelling bee!~)

Pride is the ultimate sinfulness and probably the most difficult to battle. Part of that
stems from our society that teaches the value of self, the love of self, the need to pick
oneself up by the bootstrap and take care of business. We really hate to relinquish
power or importance, even when we can see, if we remove the blinders, that leaving
ourselves in charge usually leads to a train wreck!

Despite Daniel's ability to correctly interpret the king's dream, riches and fame, having
everything and anything made it impossible for him to acknowledge the real King of the
universe...God almighty. Most of us do not have immense amounts of riches, but we do
have a struggle with pride. We often come to the conclusion that we can, with hard work
and stubbornness, take care of life and its problems. We go to God when the going gets
too tough to handle, seeking Him as a last resort.

He is not the last resort, He is the answer and has all the answers because He is sovereign
and in complete charge of this world. Because of His amazing grace, He has given us
the opportunity to swallow our pride, come to live a life that brings Him the glory that
He deserves and turn things over, completely, to the one who is supposed to be our
focus. 

His way, not ours!
Glory to Him, not ourselves!
All praise to Him, our Father!
Love Him with all your heart! 
HE is GOD!!!!