Sometimes when growing up, I'm sure many people heard the term "you act just like your Daddy".  Sometimes that was a good thing; other times not so.  From a spiritual perspective, though, that's exactly what you want to hear.  

In 1 Peter 1:17 NIV, it reads "Since you call on a Father Who judges each person's work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear.".  Basically, once we claim to belong to God and are one of His children, we really should "act like our Father".  There are some qualities that make up families.  Some families are known for their cooking abilities.  Others may be jokesters.  Others may be artsy and do a lot of singing and dancing.  Still others may be strict and proper everywhere they go.  It's part of being in "that" particular family.  

The same is true in the family of God.  There are certain things we should be doing so that people know that we are in the family.  There are certain activities we should be active participants - just because we call Him Daddy.  Well, what does that look like?  It's pretty well spelled out in what is called the "fruit of the Spirit" - love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, meekness, temperance.  Those are the qualities that make up His Family.
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So we have to consider, how are we doing in those areas? Do we really display the "family resemblance"?  If not, we've got the opportunity to fix it today.  It's a new day, let's start it off right so that someone will look at us and say "hey, you act just like your Daddy"

I've been known to procrastinate.  I'm sure I'm not the only one.  It's always better (or so we think) to put off that "thing" until tomorrow.  "I just don't have time right now!" "I will get to it later today".  We keep making excuses and little by little that "later" or "tomorrow" becomes next week, next month, next year....never!  

Unfortunately, we just don't have the luxury to wait anymore.  There are people who are depending on what we are putting off and we just need to do it.  Sometimes our own deliverance depends on our moving forward in that moment, in our reacting IMMEDIATELY! 

In Mark 1, beginning around verse 10 and continuing through verse 42 there is one word that you see over and over again, if you are looking at the New American Standard version.  What's that word, you wonder?  Well it is IMMEDIATELY!  You see when Jesus was baptized in the Jordan - "IMMEDIATELY" He saw the heavens open with a dove coming on Him.  Our confirmation is in our IMMEDIATELY!   

Next  we see that IMMEDIATELY He is led to go into the wilderness where He endured and conquered the temptations of the enemy.  Our victory is in our IMMEDIATELY!

Later in the chapter we see Him seeking out and calling forth those who will be His disciples.  IMMEDIATELY they left their work and started following Him.  IMMEDIATELY they left their family behind and started following Him.  Our direction and destiny is in our IMMEDIATELY!

There's more there, so keep reading.  What is waiting for you at your IMMEDIATELY? Don't wait to find out.  Don't procrastinate anymore.  It's time.  Go ahead and get to it IMMEDIATELY! 

Do we as believers really understand the need for joy in our lives?  Often times I think we forget that it's necessary.  Too many times we allow "joy stealers" to come and rob us of what God has given us to strengthen us.  In Nehemiah 8: 10 it says "...and be not grieved and depressed,  for the joy of the Lord is your strength and stronghold" AMP. With joy, we have strength and are able to make it as a disciple of Christ.  There are some things we must do in order to keep the "joy stealers' from doing their job.  First, we must recognize what comes to steal our joy.  Sometimes we are our own worst enemies and we get outside of the will of God.  When it is revealed to us that we have veered off course, we can lose our joy.  You see that's what happened in this scripture.  The people had not had the law of the Lord for many years and once it was found, the priests took the time to read the law to the people.  Once the people heard the law, they realized how far out of God's will they had traveled and they began to weep and mourn.  The priests told the people to get themselves together because they should rejoice that the law was found and they needed to have joy because that is what would strengthen them.  Once we recognize what steals our joy then we need to avoid it at all costs.  See, sometimes our joy stealers are those who are our close friends or relatives and every opportunity they can, it seems that they try to do something to steal our joy.  Avoid them.  Stay away from them.  When they start trying to put negativity in your heart and mind get away from them.  Turn your heart and mind to those things that are edifying.  Phil. 4: 8 tells us what to focus our minds on that will ensure that we can maintain our joy.  "Finally my brethren whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue if there be any praise, think on these things." KJV  We've got to take control over whether or not we will walk in joy.   Remember, we need it in order to have strength! 

Proverbs 6: 17 - 18 says: 
These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: a proud look, a lying tongue and hands that shed innocent blood"Proverbs 16:18 says "pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall" 

Makes pride sound really bad, doesn't it.  But what's really so bad about pride?  Shouldn't we have good thoughts of ourselves? Shouldn't we celebrate our accomplishments?  

You see, the celebrations and good thoughts aren't the problem.  The problem is that we seek the comfort of doing things without God.  Pride can be looked at as trusting our own ways rather than God.  It's that attitude of "I can do this by myself" instead of fully trusting God to handle things.  

If we think about it, pride gets us into a lot of messes that we then turn around and ask God to get us out of.  If we take the time to fully and totally trust Him, His Word and His direction, then we can avoid falling into a lot of traps.  '

Can we commit to not let our pride keep us from seeking all that God has for us?  Can we commit to not let our pride keep us from allowing Him to guide every step of our way? 

When we make those commitments it frees us up to truly see who it is that God has made us to be because we aren't blinded by our pride and the "story" we've created of who we are. 

Are we truly committed to worshipping God?  I mean, really, truly committed?  Sometimes we talk a good game, but when it gets down to it we are only prepared to worship in accordance to what is convenient for us.  If it's been a bad day and we've had a lot of struggles, well "God understands" and it's okay if we just give a half hearted worship.  We sit in worship services looking at the praise leaders and wondering when they are going to sit down.  We say "I'll stand and raise my hands for a little while but if they keep going I'm gonna sit down because I'm tired." In Psalm 103:1 It says "Bless the Lord, oh my soul and all that is within me, bless His holy name." Often that's a call to worship for the start of our worship services.  But do we really know what we are saying.  There's a song by a guy named Uncle Reese and it's entitled "Until I pass out".  Some of what he says is that he is going to worship until he passes out.  He talks about the fact that he's going to go all out in His worship to God that he's willing to sacrifice his own strength and being to worship.  That's what the scripture is talking about.  "...all that is within me..."  That's giving your all in worship.  That's forgetting about who's around you.  That's forgetting about all those issues you have to deal with.  That's despite those who talk about you.  That's despite the family drama you are going through.  That's despite who is or is not at the worship service who should be there.  That's worship until you pass out.  So let's go back to the original question - are we truly committed to worshipping God?  If so, then let's "worship, until we pass out"!

Everyone at some point and time has felt like they are facing things without any help.  We look around and it doesn't seem like anyone understands what we are going through.  We may even try to talk to those who are our friends and family in hopes that they are able to provide us with some relief, encouragement or assistance.  Many times, we are disappointed.  We are often going to receive help from people who have their own issues to deal with.  What should we do?  Well, we must realize that we are never alone because God is with us.  In Zephaniah3:17, we are told that "the Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love; he will joy over thee with singing."
What does that mean for us when we are going through?  Step one:  recognize that God is in the midst of us.  Let's acknowledge His Presence at all times, especially when we are going through.  Step two:  Let's recognize the ability that God has to handle our "stuff" - He's mighty and will save.  Step three:  Allow Him to "love on us"!  That's right. Sometimes we like to wallow in our own pity party that we don't open ourselves for God to love us while we are going through.  He "rejoices over us with joy...and .. singing".  He rejoices over us!  Not only are we not alone when we go through; but we have the God of all creation who is mighty and will save with us and He's rejoicing over us!  Does that mean that our "drama" will go away immediately?  Absolutely not!  What it does mean is that as we go through our drama, we have the Lord of Hosts with us a

Seems kind of strange that we would think about driving Jesus away from us and our lives, but sometimes that's what happens.  You see, there's this thing called fear that creeps in and makes us do things that don't seem to make sense.  In Mark 5: 1-18 we see how Jesus comes to a place and delivers a demon possessed man who lived in the graveyard.  That's not where our focus is right now.  The focus instead is on what happens in verses 14 - 17.  You see the people from the town heard about what Jesus had done for the demon possessed man.  They saw the fact that the former demon possessed man was now in his right mind and clothed.  You'd think they'd be excited about what Jesus had done and invite him to come and do the same things for the issues they had in their own lives.  But..... that's not what happened.  Even after seeing what Jesus had done, the people asked him to leave their area.  That's right.... they pushed him away!  Now the Word doesn't tell us why they told him to go, but it's pretty obvious that fear had something to do with it.  They may have been afraid of what their lives would look like delivered.  They may have been afraid of the impact on their livelihood if Jesus removed some of the things that had been binding them. They may have been afraid of what their friends and family would say about the "new" them.  Regardless of the reason, they pushed Jesus away.  And you know what... He gave them what they wanted.... He left!  Lord, I don't ever want the fear I have of the unknown or of the "what's next" allow me to push you away from having an active role in my life! Let that be your prayer today.  Don't let your fear push Jesus away!

There's not enough time to get anything done!  Where has the day gone... I still have so much to do!  People just don't understand all the stuff that I have to do!
Does that sound familiar?  These may be statements that we've all made at some point in our lives.  We get frustrated when we can't complete everything on our "to do" list.  We get upset when someone seems not to understand all the many things we have on our plates to do. Have we ever considered whether or not we are supposed to be doing all of those things?  I've heard it said that all the enemy has to do is make us "too busy" and then we lose sight of things that are important like our focus on God.  His battle to turn us away from God has been won.  We see this happening in a situation between Mary and Martha - Lazurus' sisters.  You remember the story in Luke 10:38 - 42.  Jesus came to the house and Martha was busy making sure everything was ready.  That's understandable... after all.... the Lord was coming to the house for a visit!  Instead of helping Martha be the "hostess with the mostest" Mary chose to sit and listen to what Jesus was saying.  This lack of assistance from Mary caused Martha to get a little disturbed.  She was probably starting to slam the pots and pans and mutter under her breath- "how dare no one notice how hard I'm working; I've been cooking, cleaning, organizing and getting everything ready- yet what's my sistere doing... nothing!"  Martha voiced her concerns to Jesus thinking that she was getting Mary in trouble.  Notice though that Jesus actually told Martha that Mary had made the best choice between doing all that preparation- she chose to sit at the feet of Jesus.  Sometimes we need to put down our "to-do" list and spend some time at the feet of Jesus.  When get up from fellowship with Him, we'll be surprised at how much can be accomplished and how much better we feel while we are working.  So take some time and just sit at His feet... the dishes will wait!

"Mom, bubbles are pouring out of the washing machine onto the floor!"  "Dad, the bumper is kind of gone from the back of the car.... I don't know what happened!" Mail that has words like "Final notice before disconnection", "Foreclosure proceedings", "Collection Action".  Our initial reaction to any of these life circumstances is to panic.  Let's be real.  Even as believers, we know in our minds that God has everything under control but when stuff starts blowing up around us, we tend to forget.  We fall into the familiar, which is a state of panic.  "Oh no- how am I going to get that fixed."  "Where are we going to get the money for that?"
The thing is this, nothing that happens is a surprise to God.  He already has things orchestrated for us.  There's something we are supposed to gain from the experience.  1 Thessalonians 5:16 - 18 gives us some guidance in what we can do when stuff happens.  First, we need to rejoice.  Sure- that sounds crazy. But Paul isn't the only one who said it.  James also told us that when stuff happens we are supposed to be joyful [James 1:2].  God put it in the Word for a reason, so guess that's what we are to do- no matter how crazy it sounds!  What's next?  Secondly, we are to pray without ceasing.  We know that a lot of what goes on around us we have no control over it.  We need to realize as J. Moss' song indicates "God's Got it".  Let's give it to Him in prayer.  Lastly, we are to give thanks.  That's right- be thankful.  It doesn't matter if stuff isn't working out the way we thought it should.  We are still supposed to give thanks.  God's will is what we want in our lives.  He's got it, so let's just thank Him.  During this Thanksgiving season, while we're sitting down enjoying the turkey and dressing, let's remember to give Him thanks for everything- cause He's got it covered!

We've put it out there to the Lord.  He knows what we need.  He's promised to supply the need.  Now we're waiting for the manifestation.... but are we in the right position to receive what He has promised us?  Sometimes when we ask God to do some things for us, we don't act like we really expect Him to do it.  We may say, "God I'm asking that you heal my body", yet we aren't walking like we are healed.  We may say, "God I'm asking you to open that door for me for a job", yet we aren't earnestly looking for employment.  Are we in the right position?  In 1 Kings 18:42, we see how Elijah got in the right position to receive the promise of God.  You see there had been a drought for quite some time.  After the "battle on the hill" found in the beginning of chapter 18, God revealed to Elijah that the drought was over and the rain was coming.  Did Elijah say "Cool, God - see it when it happens?".  No!  The scripture indicates that Elijah laid on the ground and put his face in between his legs.  That seems kind of strange; what was he doing?  He was putting himself in a position to receive the promise of rain.  With Elijah's face between his legs he shut out all the stuff around him that could cause him to take his gaze off the promise.  He couldn't see the promise coming but he could sense it even as he was in a position of surrender.  You see, we need to position ourselves so that we are ready to receive the promise.  We don't need to see the beginnings of the manifestation- let's just surrender our will to God.  Let's expect the promise to manifest and keep moving forward as if it has already manifested.  Don't expect the rain and not bring an umbrella.  Let's get in the right position to receive our promise!