Dear Father in Heaven,

You are an awesome God.  Lord, we know that you have a plan for the world that is beyond our understanding and we unequivocally trust you.  The tragic earthquake in Haiti has caused death, pain and sorrow for our neighbors on that island nation.  We know that in their time of need that they can lean on you.  Lord, help us all to gain whatever lessons you have for us in this human tragedy.  Spare the Haitians further harm.  Help them to garner the strength they need to make it through this.  Be with them.  Be their comforter.  Be their guide.  Be with the relief workers who are sacrificing themsleves to make things better for Haiti.  Grant the nation a great recovery from this devastating event.  Bring them back better, stronger, wiser.  Lord, we love you and we thank you and it is in your Son, Jesus, whose name we pray.  Amen.

Often times, we have questions about why things are the way that they are.  Why is there so much pain in the world?  Why has sin taken over?  Why is this bad thing happening to me?  Why is this person acting this way?  Why are things like this?  Why do bad things happen to good people and good things happen to bad people?  Asking yourself, “Why?” is normal.  However, we must acknowledge to ourselves that there are some things that we will never understand.  Some things are just not meant for us to understand as mortal human beings.  God has a plan for the world.  If we submit to Him, He will direct our lives too.  God’s plan for the world is perfect (eventhough things in the world seem so less than perfect).  We must learn to trust that He really does know best.  He knows what’s at the end of the world.  He knows what’s at the end of our lives.  He has a big picture view of things… We, only, know what we are dealing with and seeing today.  We need to stop thinking so much about things that are out of our realm.  If you don’t understand it, maybe it’s not meant for you to…and that’s okay…because God knows what He’s doing.

Carl

The other day, I was watching my daughters, ages 2 and 4, play together.  As usual, they both wanted the same toy and a kids kind of argument started.  While this happens at least weekly in our household, I watched them this time and made note of how after 5 minutes of being annoyed with each other they went back to playing, hugging and telling each other, “I love you.”  Oh…if we as adults could be so forgiving…what a wonderful world this would be.  What my daughters taught me was that conflict can be easily erased if both parties are willing to forgive and forget.  Yes, some of the things that we are in conflict with another person about are of a serious nature…but then there are those conflicts that are of a “silly-nature” and we should do our best to quickly forgive and continue our relationship with the person who has offended us in some way…particularly, if the relationship is important to you.  It amazes me how some strong friendships end over the most minor of disagreements.  I thank my 2-year old and 4-year old for reminding me that silly conflicts should be resolved quickly.  May all of us be reminded to do better in not letting the small stuff ruin our relationships with each other.

Carl

Welcome to our new bible series entitled, “New Life Perspectives”.  My hope is that upon finishing the lessons in this series that one will truly gain a new perspective on life and thus be re-energized, more positive and better equipped to handle the challenges that life brings.  There is someone you know who could use a better outlook on their life.  I want to encourage you to invite them to our study by sending them the link to this website or by clicking Get Connected from our homepage and entering a friend’s email address.  I am confident that they will be blessed by studying God’s Word.  May the Lord bless this new series and all who will take part in it…

Carl

In life, we often times desire to make some type of change in ourselves.  Unfortunately, we imagine the change, we dream about it, we hope for it…but we don’t do anything about it.  I want to encourage you to believe that a change is going to come in your life.  The thing that stands between us and change is often times FEAR.  We are afraid that we can’t do it…we are afraid that we will fail.  So many of us haven’t reached our potential because we just haven’t taken the necessary steps in our lives to achieve that which we desire.  Today, think about what it is that you really want for your life.  Maybe it’s a stronger relationship with God, or a new job, or better health or a closer relationship with loved ones–whatever it is take the first step and then take another and another until you have accomplished what you want for your life.

Carl

I don’t know why it is, but for some of us, admitting that we have made a mistake is a very difficult thing to do.  While most of us would like to think that we are humble enough to admit when we are wrong, the reality is that our pride sometimes gets in the way.

In our relationship with God, He asks us to confess our faults to one another and pray for each other so that we may be healed.  I really do believe that when we acknowledge our wrongs that there is a healing that takes place.  No longer do we have to hide behind the veil of perfection.

Are you in a current situation where you know that you have made a mistake or are wrong about something?  Before you allow the conflict to continue by asserting your point of view and explaining how you’re right and someone else is wrong, take a deep breath and look introspectively.  Was there something you could have done differently?  Did you say something the wrong way or do something that you regret?  If so, acknowledge it, first, to yourself and then, if appropriate, acknowledge it to the person you are in conflict with.  There’s something powerful about saying, “I messed that one up.”  It frees you try again and expect more from yourself the next time around.

If we could only learn to admit when we make a mistake, it would help us improve our relationships and become better people too.

Carl

     If you are like most people, at some point in your life, you have felt discouraged.  Maybe you felt that emotion at a time when it seemed like not much was going right in your life.  Not long ago, I had somebody tell me that they felt as if they were getting bad news followed by more bad news followed by more…  We are human and when bombarded with discouraging events, we will tend to respond with the natural human emotion of feeling a lack of confidence and hope about the future. 

     In God’s Word, we often see the words, “Do not be discouraged”.  The Lord is trying to let us know that as His children we should feel uplifted and encouraged.  He wants us to realize that a better day is on the horizon.  Feeling that there is hope is so important.  We all know people who have allowed feelings of discouragement to send them into a painful depression.  When we feel optimistic because we know that God will make things better, it does a world of good for our mental and emotional state.  Whatever difficulty you are experiencing in your life now is temporary.  Trust me, the pain and disappointment you feel will end at some point.  Until then, you must find a way to be strengthened and encouraged!  Through God’s Word, we know that a closer relationship with Him is the source of our nourishment.  Grow closer to God and your perspective on your situation will get better.  Having been fed by God, you will then have the strength and courage you need to stand strong and face the challenges in your life with faith and hope.

Carl 

Welcome Back to our new series of lessons called Bible Questions? Bible Answers…  We hope that we can answer some of the questions that you and others have about God, religion, suffering, sin, salvation and other topics.  Now is the perfect time to send an email to a friend and invite them to our bible study.  Simply go to the Get Connected link on our home page and input your friend’s email address and we’ll send them an invitation.

Thank you to all who have written an inquired about when we were getting started with our bible lessons again.  Your emails tell me that you are keeping up with our studies and that’s great!  After each series of lessons, I take a 4 to 5 week break to regroup, rest and select the next series of lessons to put on the site.  Again, thank you for your mail and your encouragement.  I hope you enjoy this new series as we delve into some of the Bible questions you have and seek the answers the Bible gives us.  Invite someone to study with us today…  God Bless.

Carl

Our new bible series, Bible Questions? Bible Answers… starts on May 24th.  During this series, I will be focusing on some of the questions that people have asked and some of the questions I’ve had myself about God, the Bible, and the World we live in.  My hope is to find scriptures and passages in the Bible that will help to give us answers to some of life’s most difficult things to understand. 

For some time now, I must admit that one of the greatest questions that I’ve had has been regarding injustice in this World.  You look around you and there are good people who suffer and it seems unfair and there are ungodly people who seem to get ahead and live prosperous, carefree lives.  We are all sinners…but the Word of God does differentiate between those who live for God and those who do not.  It is difficult to see those who try to be faithful to the Lord go through so much pain.  I’ve wondered and pondered why this happens.  The Word tells us about suffering and injustice…and you can see through its instructions and advice that the Lord knew it would be this way and perhaps, it is part of His perfect plan.  This is just one example of the types of questions we’ll be dealing with in this series of lessons.  I hope you join us.

I need your help.  Do you have a question that you’re looking for an answer to?  If so, simply reply with your Bible Question and I’ll try to address it during our series of lessons.  Thanks for studying with us.

Carl

Recently, I was thinking about the detours my life has taken.  I, certainly, had a plan for what the next 5, 10, 20 years of my life would look like.  Some of my plan has come to pass, some of it has not.  In some cases, I actually got better than what I imagined, in other cases, things are not as rosy as I would have hoped.  That’s life…you don’t always get what you want when you want it. 

I believe that what we must do if we are to be content in our lives is to embrace life as a journey.  During a journey, we encounter twists, turns, curve balls, highs, lows, rain, sun, times of feast and times of famine.  It is just a journey.  What if you knew for a fact that at the end of your journey you would reach a great destination filled with happiness and joy?  It probably wouldn’t matter much how you got there…just the fact that you get there one day is all that would really matter.  In our journey to heaven, we all will take different routes, but each route will flow through Christ Jesus.  Your particular route will take you to places that are different from the next person’s.  Don’t lament and complain about where your journey takes you.  Even in the sadness and the difficulty, just say to yourself, “This is my journey…but it will end in a place where I find God.”  Where you can, take the more positive routes…the routes of less pain and frustration.  But if you accidently end up on the wrong road, know that God will help you get back on track if you allow him to.  Embrace your journey…it’s yours…it’s unique…it is different than you planned for it to be and that’s okay as long as it ends in the way you want it to—which is at a place called Heaven.