Do You Have a Big BUT? Part 2: Get Up!

The first thing we have to do to get rid of our big BUT is…GET UP!  In 1 Kings 19, Elijah the prophet fled to the desert when Jezebel threatened his life.  He was tired of running and he even prayed that he would just die there.  But God wasn’t done with him yet.  He had a mission for Elijah to complete.  So God sent an angel to minister to Elijah.  The angel said, “Get up and eat.”  After he was strengthened, he went to a cave where God manifested His glory to him and

 encouraged him to complete the work He had for Elijah to do. 

In Acts 9, when Peter healed a paralyzed man named Aeneas, he “got up” and ALL those living around him turned to the Lord!  Act 9:32-35 NIV “As Peter traveled about the country, he went to visit the saints in Lydda. There he found a man named Aeneas, a paralytic who had been bedridden for eight years.  "Aeneas," Peter said to him, "Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and take care of your mat." Immediately Aeneas got up. All those who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.”  I imagine after he “got up” he went out into the city and proclaimed what had happened to him.  This doesn’t say a few or some turned to the Lord, it says ALL!  Just this one act changed the lives of two whole towns!

The Lord got Paul’s attention in Acts 22 on the road to Damascus when He blinded him with a bright light.  Immediately he knew it was the Lord and asked “What shall I do, Lord?”  “Get up,” the Lord said, “and go into Damascus. There you will be told all that you have been assigned to do.”  Countless people over many centuries were saved and are being saved today because of Paul’s obedience. He wrote 13 of the books in the New Testament including Romans.  

   

In all of these examples, the people were told to “get up.”  And after they obeyed that one thing, God used them.  Elijah “got up” and had an encounter with the Lord that strengthened him and kept him going.  Aeneas “got up” and shared a testimony that turned many people to the Lord.  Paul “got up” and took on an assignment that changed the lives of too many to count.  His words are still changing lives today. 

 So the first thing we must do get rid of our big BUT is to GET UP and start being obedient. We can’t do anything for the Lord sitting there on the couch.  Get up! Seek the Lord! Tell people what He has done for you and what He can do for them!  Many lives will be changed just by this one simple thing….GET UP!!   

Do You Have a Big BUT??

As Christians, how often do we use the phrase: “I would do that,  BUT _____________”(fill in the blank).  Today I want you to take a look at your BUT!!    What is it that is holding you back from what God is calling you to do?  Some excuses I have heard in the past are: I would help people, BUT I don’t have any extra money.  I would witness, BUT I’m not good at talking to people. I would work at Bible School, BUT I just don’t have time.  I would sing at church, BUT I can’t get up in front of people. I would go to church on Wednesday night, BUT I’m just too tired…and the list goes on and on.  

  

Even great people in the Bible had some big BUTS.  Look at Moses in Exodus 4, when God first told him what He wanted him to do to free the Israelites.  Moses basically said, “I would go, BUT I really can’t talk very good.  Please send someone else to do it!”  And Jonah, when God told him what He wanted him to do the scripture says, “BUT Jonah ran away from the LORD and headed for Tarshish” Jonah 1:3.   And Sarah, when the angel told Abraham that she would have a son, laughed and said, “BUT I’m too old!”

The angel’s reply was, “Is anything too hard for the LORD? I will return to you at the appointed time next year and Sarah will have a son" Genesis 18:14.

Guess what?  Satan LOVES those big BUTS!  He probably sings that song, “I like big BUTS and I cannot lie.”  He knows he has us right where he wants us when we are not being obedient and doing what God is calling us to do. 

How do we get rid of our big BUTS?  The same way we get rid of our big BUTTS!  When we want to lose weight or re-shape our back sides, we 1) get up off the couch, 2) start eating right, and 3) begin to exercise.  We need to do the same things to get rid of our BUTS!  Over the next few days we are going to look at these three remedies for getting rid of our big BUTS!   Hope you join me!!

I Want to be Just Like Her

I saw this posted on Facebook a while back and it is

 so very true!

As we get older, we learn to appreciate our mothers more and more.

  I am blessed to have the most wonderful mother ever created!! 

 I wrote a song for her last Mother's Day that I wanted to share with you today.

  It says it all...

I Want to be Just Like Her

She is beautiful beyond what any words can express,

She's my rock, she's my hero, and she's my biggest fan.

She's unselfish, strong and kind,

No one more patient will you find,

She can surely be called her Father's daughter,

And I want to be just like my mother.

I've been told I look like her ever since I was a kid,

I just pray that some day I'll be half the mom she is,

She's a bright and shining light,

In a world that's dark as night,

I long to be called my Mother's daughter,

I want to be just like my mother. 

I want to be just like her, 'cause she's like Him.

She's a living example of who Jesus really is.

There's no greater tribute in this world,

That I can give my mother,

Then to tell her just how much,

She is like her Father.

She's a living example

Of who Jesus really is.

I want to be just like her,

'Cause she's like Him.

Happy Birthday Mama!!!

  I love you more than words can express!!!

  

Shhhh…..Can You Hear Him?

“The LORD said, "Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by." Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake.  After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.  When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave…"

  1 Kings 19:11-13 NIV

Are you are listening for the voice of God today?

  He is always speaking…

we just forget to stop and listen.

Look around you…

He is waving to you from that blade of green grass

 blowing in the wind outside your window. 

Listen…

He is singing to you through that bird up in the tree.

Feel His presence…

He is wrapping His arms around you

 through your child’s sweet hug.

His whispers of love can be seen and heard all around us if we will just be quiet, be still and listen.      

He says, "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.  The LORD Almighty is with us;

the God of Jacob is our fortress.”

Psalm 46:10-11 NIV