Walking by faith

When I was little, one of my favorite cartoons was Winnie the Pooh. I must have watched my tape of Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too thousands of times. In the movie, Rabbit gets angry with Tigger and decides to teach him a lesson.

Rabbit took Tigger deep into the woods, planning to get him lost and leave him to find his way out alone. In the process of trying to get Tigger lost, Rabbit ended up getting himself lost. Once he ditched Tigger, he wandered around in the woods for hours, until it finally got dark.

Alone in the mist, Rabbit started to see the woods as a really scary place. Every ribbit of a frog or snap of a twig made his skin crawl. His heart was beating fast. He was lost, alone and very afraid.

Have you ever felt that way? Too many times, we end up like Rabbit - wandering around in the dark. But that's not how God wants his people to live.

In John 8:12, Jesus said, "I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." The last thing God wants is for us to walk around lost in the darkness. After all, how can we point others toward the Light if was can't see it ourselves?

God knew that this world would try to get us lost and confused. He knew that the darkness would be overwhelming for us. That's why He sent the Light of the world (Jesus) to save us from our sin and ourselves.

So, what happens when we feel lost and alone? Paul told the people at Corinth to "walk by faith, not by sight" (2 Cor. 5:7). If anyone knew what it was like to have to walk by faith, it was Paul.

Before he was a champion of the New Testament church, Paul was a big bully named Saul. He traveled around persecuting Christians. He had chosen to walk in the darkness of his sin. But on his way to Damascus (to pick on some more Christians, of course), he saw the Light of the world.

Have you ever walked out of a dark place into bright sunlight? It hurts your eyes, right? Well, after walking around in the dark for so long, when Saul saw the Light of Jesus, it hurt! He was literally blinded by the Light (Acts 9). Saul had to learn really quickly what it meant to walk by faith.

Eventually, Saul's sight was restored and he began to preach the Gospel. Everyone that heard him knew that he had been changed, and they all knew it had to be because of Christ. Nothing else could have taken Saul and turned him into Paul.

Paul didn't promise the people at Corinth that it would be easy to walk by faith. I'm sure it wasn't easy for him. In Acts 9:16, God said that Paul would have to suffer for Christ. We know that the Christian life is not perfect and that it's not always easy, but if we are faithful to God, He will be faithful to us.

Wondering what happened to Rabbit? Check out the video below:



You know, when we're wandering around in the mist, God knows where we are. He never gets lost. And He can show us the way home - if we walk by faith and follow Him.

Every Second Matters

The video posted above is an AT&T commercial advertising their broadband network. At the end of the commercial, they use the tag line "every second matters."

I love the way the video is split - showing what could have happened in each instance, all depending on the timing of something small.

This video reminds me of two things: First, that every second matters and that we are responsible for the way we use our time. Second, that God works through the little things, every second of the day.

One of my favorite quotes is: "Choices, no matter how small, do matter. Your day-to-day decisions have a way of determining your destiny. The person you are becoming - situation by situation, choice by choice, decision by decision - is the person you will be forever." David Ausberger

Our lives are all hanging on one choice. One decision, one situation, one choice can change your life forever. Just like one second made a difference in the video, it can make a difference in your life.

Thankfully, we don't have to rely on AT&T to orchestrate every second of our lives. The Master of the Universe is in charge of our every second. He decides when to give us open doors. He decides when to give us those choices, decisions and situations that make such a difference in our lives.

That doesn't mean that God is just a puppeteer, sitting up in Heaven pulling our strings. He gave us minds that think and reason. He gave us each our own free will. He gives us the freedom to use our seconds as we please.

"God gave you the gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say 'thank you'?" - William Arthur

"So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom." Psalm 90:12

"For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad." 2 Corinthians 5:10

Every second matters.

How will you use yours?

No Questions Asked

I'm sure most of you saw the National Championship football game between Alabama and Texas (Roll Tide!). If you did, then I'm sure you saw Colt McCoy's statement at the end of the game.

What he said has really stuck out in my mind for the last few weeks.

"I always give God the glory. I never question why things happen the way they do. God is in control of my life. And I know that if nothing else, I'm
standing on the Rock."


Colt McCoy, University of Texas Quarterback

That is an awesome statement of faith.

How many times do we question God? We pray for something to happen and when it doesn't come about as fast as we wanted or it doesn't happen like we planned, we start asking God why.

What if we had a "no questions asked" kind of faith? What if we spent less time asking questions and more time listening for direction? How much more could we accomplish for God that way?

"But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." Hebrews 11:6