Breakfast For Your Soul

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

In Caesarea there lived a Roman army officer named Cornelius, who was a captain of the Italian Regiment. He was a devout, God-fearing man, as was everyone in his household. He gave generously to the poor and prayed regularly to God.  One afternoon about three o’clock, he had a vision in which he saw an angel of God coming toward him. “Cornelius!” the angel said. Cornelius stared at him in terror. “What is it, sir?” he asked the angel. And the angel replied, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have been received by God as an offering! Now send some men to Joppa, and summon a man named Simon Peter. He is staying with Simon, a tanner who lives near the seashore.” As soon as the angel was gone, Cornelius called two of his household servants and a devout soldier, one of his personal attendants. He told them what had happened and sent them off to Joppa.
Acts 10:1-8 (New Living Translation)

What God Has 4 U .. it is 4 U!

I love this story because, this was a man outside of the covenant of God, but who recognized and reverenced God.  Not only him, but everyone in his household honored God.  The respect this man received!  His was a man of prayer, and blessed those around him.  What he didn’t know was that Holy Eyes were watching him from Heaven, and he was about to receive the greatest blessing of his life.  Not just him.  But everyone in his household.  EVERYONE.  His family, his servants everyone. (I heard Bishop Jakes say that “when you come out everything in your house is gonna come out”).  There was a tailor made blessing especially for each and every one of them.  Remember that song, “What God Has For Me, It Is For Me”?  That song has been playing in my spirit.  It is so true.  Now, just to balance things out a bit, because I love balance()… I do not mean to imply in anyway that the whole world revolves around us.  It revolves around The True and Living God.  Sometimes, I feel the need to lean a little more on one side for a while, because so many people have such a dim, cloudy view of God.  They make Him seem so harsh, cold and unloving when that could not be farther from the truth.  Their perception is off because of the smooth, subtle, lying lips of the adversary.  He is jealous of God (remember He wanted to usurp God’s Throne) … and he is jealous of us, and our position in God.  We want balance.  Balance is good.  We need to know how much God loves us and that “no good thing will He withhold from them who walk upright”.  He also wants us to live in purity and honor; not hesitating to offer our bodies as “a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God which is our reasonable service”.  Settling our mind on an issue is the toughest part.  Once we have decided in whom we’re going to believe, the rest gets easier.  I made a conscious decision not to drink in my teen years, because I had seen the devastation alcoholism wreaked in our family and I did not want to take any chances.  I was teased and called lame and boring, but I really didn’t care.  I had made my choice and that was that.  Every person needs to know their own limitations.  I felt in my heart that it would not be something I would be able to put down easily… so I never picked it up.  It was the same with drugs.  I knew people who did drugs.  I never wanted to.  I didn’t like what it did to them and I didn’t want any part of it.  A made up mind.  Others indulged and made it through… some did not.  Some are still struggling with a habit they’ve had since their younger days and it has really taken its toll.  Shattered lives, broken dreams, missed opportunities, humiliation, pain, regret.. all to fit in, or to anesthetize some area of pain in their life.  The good news is that this is a new day.  Trials come… trials go, but for those who have made Jesus their choice, and accepted His life-giving, life-changing sacrifice… the blessing of God is upon you no matter what is going on around you.  This is a brand new day to recognize the saving, healing, cleansing power of the Blood of Jesus.  Fresh start … fresh insight … fresh anointing.. new life… everyday…

A penguin would be quite sad and frustrated if he tried to use his wings to fly like other birds.  But a penguin in the water is quite content because there he can use his wings to swim gracefully.  Likewise, we will not find contentment and joy until we stop comparing ourselves to others, and instead, inquire of the Lord as to the place he has for us in his plan.
[Mike Waters]