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    • Where do you turn for wisdom?

      Posted at 9:00 am by sneuhofer, on August 9, 2018

      1 Corinthians 2: 6 – 9 (MSG) “We, of course, have plenty of wisdom to pass on to you once you get your feet on firm spiritual ground, but it’s not popular wisdom, the fashionable wisdom of high-priced experts that will be out-of-date in a year or so. God’s wisdom is something mysterious that goes deep into the interior of his purposes. You don’t find it lying around on the surface. It’s not the latest message, but more like the oldest—what God determined as the way to bring out his best in us, long before we ever arrived on the scene. The experts of our day haven’t a clue about what this eternal plan is. If they had, they wouldn’t have killed the Master of the God-designed life on a cross. That’s why we have this Scripture text: No one’s ever seen or heard anything like this, never so much as imagined anything quite like it— What God has arranged for those who love him. But you’ve seen and heard it because God by his Spirit has brought it all out into the open before you.”

      Godly wisdom is so much different from the wisdom of this world. At the beginning of our walk with Christ, we approach Him all battered and bruised by consequences of the sin that has entangled us for years. We learn about Christ and His Word and begin building a solid foundation on which to stand. As we continue to grow in our walk, God begins to chip off pieces of us that are not like Him because He wants us to be more like Him and less like the world around us.

      As we grow in Christ, we begin to turn more to the Word than the world for answers to tough questions. Have you ever noticed that God’s wisdom is not the most popular and often completely ignored by the world around us? Have you ever scratching your head and wondered why current circumstances have to be like they are? Worldly wisdom says: “Why God? Don’t you care about what I’m going through or how I feel? You don’t really want me to live like this do you?”

      The answer is YES – God does care about us more than we even realize. He has a plan and a purpose for our lives and He will bring good out of the bad circumstances if we let him. (Romans 8:28, Jeremiah 29:11)

      God’s word is clear. Sometimes we are placed in situations that make us downright uncomfortable. Instead of pulling away from Him, we need to draw closer and rely on His guidance. When we live obediently to His word, our lives bring Him glory. I can’t help but think of the lyrics to the Casting Crowns song The Voice of Truth.

      “But the Voice of truth tells me a different story
      the Voice of truth says “do not be afraid!”
      and the Voice of truth says “this is for My glory”
      Out of all the voices calling out to me
      I will choose to listen and believe the Voice of truth”
      When God calls us to something, we don’t have to be afraid or question why. We just have to listen closely and believe His voice. Current circumstances could be God’s way of revealing His glory.
      How do I hear His voice in the middle of all the chaos? One way is to be in consistent communication with Him. Set aside time daily to pray and read His word. Jot down what you believe He is saying to you and then pray and ask for His guiding hand. Speaking of guiding hands, another Casting Crowns song comes to mind:
      “Can’t live by what I feel
      But by the Truth your work reveals,
      I’m not holding on to you
      But you’re holding on to me,
      You’re holding on to me.”
      We can’t live by what we feel is the best direction for us – that is worldly wisdom and will surely lead us down the wrong path. As Christians we are called to live according to the standard of His Word. Remember, He is holding on to you and will not let go no matter what.

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      Posted in God cares for us, wisdom | 0 Comments
    • My favorite Psalm

      Posted at 7:25 am by sneuhofer, on March 20, 2018

      Psalm 139 is perhaps my favorite Psalms to read when I’m navigating through a life storm. For me, this Psalm provides assurance that God has been with me from the very beginning of my life and knows me better than…anyone.

      The New Living Translation (NLT) verses 1 – 13 says:

       “O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I’m far away. You see me when I travel and when I rest at home. You know everything I do. You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord. You go before me and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand! I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence! If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the grave, you are there. If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me. I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night— but even in darkness I cannot hide from you. To you the night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are the same to you. You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb.”

      God knows, loves and accepts me completely – PERIOD. When this world tries to chew me up, all I have to do is read this Psalm. In these words I find comfort in knowing God formed me, he understands me, he protects me through the treacherous waves of life, he rejoices with me on every mountain and knows my pain through every single valley. I don’t have to every worry because He loves me UNCONDITIONALLY.

      Jesus is my strength, my rock, my peace. There is no situation I face that will ever be too tough for Him. Knowing this simple truth brings a sense of security when everything around me is spinning out of control.

      How about you? What is your “go to” verse when times get tough?

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      Posted in God cares for us, God's unconditional love, Psalm | 0 Comments
    • There are angels among us!

      Posted at 7:00 am by sneuhofer, on February 13, 2018

      Psalm 91:11 – 12 (HCSB) “For He will give His angels orders concerning you, to protect you in all your ways. They will support you with their hands so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.”

      It’s so comforting to know that Jesus sends his angels to watch over us. We all walk through various “seasons” in our life. Some good and others we feel are downright impossible. As a Christian, I know I can rejoice and find peace during the more difficult times because I know the God who created the universe loves me with an everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:3), has a purpose for my life (Jeremiah 29:11),and will use the tough times to bring good according to his purposes (Romans 8:28). Because I know this, I can be comforted in the fact that I’m being guarded during the tough times by His heavenly angels.

      In December of 2010, I believe with all my heart God chose to reveal the words of Psalm 91:11 to me by sending an angel to help me in a time of desperate need. I had gone into Target for what was supposed to be a “reward” purchase for my 5 year old son. That week, he successfully completed 5 days of getting ready for school on time, and stayed on “green light” at school. My son’s behavior was improving, and the trip to Target was the motivator. Well that was at least until we began to negotiate the rules of the reward.

      I told my son he could choose from any toy $10 or under. I felt this was a reasonable price to reward his efforts for listening to both me and his teacher. As he started to carefully scan the shelves for the perfect toy, his eyes quickly went to what was right in front of him or below him on the bottom shelves. I encouraged him to look for a toy on the upper shelves because they were all in his reward price range. That will fact didn’t seem to matter, his eyes were drawn to the bigger toys right in front of him on the shelf. Retailers are great marketers, putting the most expensive toys at a 5 year old’s eye level is a brilliant sales tactic (of course as a mother of a very strong-willed child I have to disagree.)

      As he searched, he pointed to things that were clearly out of the reward limit. Each time, I encouraged him with a toy within his spending range. The more I showed him acceptable toys, the angrier he became. He wanted something different, more expensive. He didn’t want what I was showing him. He wanted a bigger reward. At this point his behavior became something not worth ANY reward. Seeing enough, I told him we were leaving immediately and to follow me out of the store. It would have been so nice if he would have just cooperated. But he didn’t. His tantrum got worse and he began to yell and scream. I would love to tell you that I remained calm and walked my tantrum-driven child out of the store – but I didn’t. My blood pressure shot through the roof. I needed help and I needed it right then!

      I stood there not having a clue what to do so I turned to the best parent I knew for advice. “Father, I have no idea what to do in this situation. I don’t want to respond to his anger with anger. I can’t control his hitting and kicking me – he’s too strong for me to pick up and carry out of here. Help me because I have no clue.”

      After the quick prayer, I began what seemed to be a full-fledged pilgrimage to the front of the store. Every step I took I thought “Lord please help me to my car so I can get this kid home and I will deal with him there.” My son stood there, mid-isle, yelling at the top of his lungs for me. I just kept walking and praying. When I got too far from my son’s comfort zone, he ran after me always keeping me in eye shot. This 60 second walk from the toy isle to the front of the store seemed like a trek across the Sahara desert. Finally, I could see an end of the journey…the automatic doors were opening and my car was just across the crosswalk in the parking lot.

      In a last ditch effort to stop me from getting out of the store, my son attached himself to my leg and wouldn’t let go. Walking, as you can well imagine, was next to impossible. I sent up another quick prayer “Lord…again I have no clue here. I need your help right now.” With every ounce of energy I could muster, I began to drag my son toward the automatic doors. Stopping just before the sidewalk, I asked him to get up and walk to the car warning him that if I had to drag him across the pavement, it ruin his clothes and give him a bad case of road rash. He didn’t flinch.

      As I stood there, 5 year old still attached, I tried to calm myself down by people watching. All types of thoughts ran through my head. I felt inadequate as a parent, completely out of control, and like everyone was looking at me. I wanted to cry. I wanted to scream. I really wanted to leave Target and never return. Negativity swirled. “Lord, please help!”

      I believe He did just that. In the next few moments, my attention was distracted from my current “situation” by a man exiting Target carrying a single gallon of milk. “Huh? Who goes to Target for one gallon of milk? On a good day, I can’t get out of Target for less than $100?” My eyes followed this man across the crosswalk and into the parking lot. “Odd.” My focus returned to my son but the thought lingered.

      I tried once again to get my son to the car but before I could respond to his outburst, I heard “Ma’am, do you need help with something?” turning I came face to face with the gallon-of-milk guy. (Yes – he was still holding the jug of milk.)

      “I noticed you were having a hard time, can I stand with your son so you can go get your car?” The words coming out of this man’s mouth were so filled with compassion. The situation turned from pure chaos to peace in an instant. I didn’t even give his offer a thought “that would be so helpful, thank you.” With that, I broke free from the 5-year old appendage and walked the remaining 15 steps to my car. It didn’t dawn on me that I was leaving my child in the hands of a complete stranger. There was peace…unexplainable peace.

      The man didn’t lay one finger on my son. He just stood there…gallon of milk in hand…trying to talk to him. When I pulled up with the car, I jumped out to open the rear door. The man helped my son into the car and before he shut the door he said “Son, you need to listen to your mother, understand? Moms always know what’s best for us, ok?” With that, he shut the door.

      On the drive home, I tried to process what had just happened. I was 100% at peace. I am convinced this man was an angel. God sent him to “intervene” in this situation, and for that I am thankful.

      What about you? Have you ever experienced something odd like this in the midst of a difficult situation? Perhaps it was someone just saying an encouraging word, or showing up when no one else should be there.

      Be encouraged today. God is with us.

      Related reading
      1 Kings 19:5, Daniel 6:22, Matthew 18:10, Luke 16:22, Acts 12:7)

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      Posted in God cares for us, Gods Love for us | 0 Comments
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