Filling the Void

What do you see in these passages of scripture?

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. ² The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

I see three major components to what God has shared with us through His word. Heaven, Earth and Water you may see something else. However, those three words establish a position for us to understand what power there is to be found in the God of creation.

Order is important when we read scripture. People always ask, what came first the chicken or the egg? The answer is the chicken whether you believe God created it or if life evolved from single cell organisms you have to have a living organism to create more life. As a backyard gardener I understand that when you want to grow a plant you need a seed that is fertile. A fertile seed carries life in it that under the right circumstances will stop being a seed and become a plant or a tree depending on what is in the seed. A seed that does not create after itself was dead and will not become anything.

I share that so you understand that when God made the heavens He created everything that would be need to create the Earth and all the life we see on it today. Personally I believe he created everything and gave life to it. However, we read something that makes us stop and wonder. God took what he created in the heavens and formed the Earth. I believe God is a multi-tasker He is not limited as we are and is able to do anything he wants when he wants doing untold numbers of things at once. However, to help our minds understand this process of creation He simplifies it for our sanity. Even today we deny the creator and His creation because our minds cannot understand and our hearts deny who He is.

Scripture states the Earth was without form and void and darkness was on the face of the deep. Can you picture this in your mind? Here God stands in Heaven looking down onto all that he has created in the heavens and in the middle of it there is a dark void that has no shape or actual purpose. However, there is something there; the surface of the earth is completely covered by water. At this point there is no life on the earth it is just a spot in the heavens were God is collecting matter to create something that no one else has ever seen  or thought possible. It is a void deep, dark and empty. Some of us can relate as we have voids in our lives that control us.

God is going to bring life to this void through His Spirit and through His commands. Life will come out of the waters. We know this to be true as we are alive today. I hope you understand that the same God that created the Heavens and Earth is the same God who can create life out of the void you may have in you today. Voids are long dark lonely places that have no life in them. Only God can fill that void. All it takes is allowing Him to take control and letting the Holy Spirit be your guide. Just as He brought light to the darkness He is more than able to bring light to the darkness you face today and every day.

Be Blessed

Brian Mathis

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Heart for God

So what do we know about King David. His story is spread between 1&2 Samuel and 1 Chronicles not to mention we see much of his life and worship to God laid out in the Psalms. So were do we start. I guess it's always best to begin at the in the beginning. The first time David is mentioned in Scripture is 1 Samuel 16 and God has removed His Spirit from Saul and has sent Samuel to anoint a new King from the house of Jesse. I love one verse in this passage and it always reminds me to be humble. One of David's brothers Eliab stood before Samuel vs. 6 and Samuel got excited and was ready to anoint him when God speaks to him vs.7 and says, "do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the Heart." Now that there my brothers is a bit of truth we can hold onto. While the world is watching you let them see your heart. That's what God saw in David. He was only 14 or so years old when he was anointed to be King. Small of stature not impressive by world standards but had the heart that loved his God, family and his country. He wanted what God wanted and this set him apart from what the world believed they needed. Today do you want what God wants? When people see you do they see below the outward rough and tumble man you are to the heart that loves God and is willing to serve Him where ever that may lead. I would guess David had no clue what was ahead of him at this point. However, he did not shrink away from it. Be Blessed

Choices, Cructhes or Something More

Well Happy New Year praying this year is your best ever. I know it's been a while and life can throw us a few curve balls. However, today is about new beginnings. No matter what anyone says only God knows what's ahead for you and me in 2016. So let's get ready and be willing to hear and do whatever it is He has in store for each of us. His Word never returns void and he has placed promises in His word for each of us to hold onto.

As I was looking at all the posts about what people are expecting in 2016 all the diets to try and all the opportunities people are praying for I was amazed to think that in many cases these are some of the same things they said on January 1, 2015. It's a new year, however we are doing the same things over again that we did last year and the year before. We have our annual 21/40 day fast, 21 Days of Prayer, that annual conference we have been attending for 15 years.  Don't get me wrong these are great ways to start off the New Year I have been involved  in many of these. However, they are not really something new. The wisest man who ever walked the earth not counting Jesus tells us in Ecclesiastes 1:9-11; 

 “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. ¹⁰ Is there anything of which one can say, “Look! This is something new”? It was here already, long ago; it was here before our time. ¹¹ No one remembers the former generations, and even those yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow them.”

Not being disrespectful to those who swear by these “new beginnings” I am praying God brings you great blessings from them. However, if you do them every year they really are not something new.

I do want to say when we look at scripture we come to understand one thing quickly there is a lot of importance placed on the past as the New Testament writers tell us about Jesus and who he is. We see it in the lineages in Matthew and Luke. There are 12 fulfilled prophecies that Matthew indicates in his gospel so that we can be assured of who Jesus really is. Not to mention all the quotes Jesus Himself makes that are Old Testament verses. We come to know Jesus is the messiah and our savior because of promises made in the past. So in our own lives there is a lot of valuable information we can learn from last year that will help us grow in 2016 if we are willing to be honest with ourselves and God as we go into 2016.

I guess what I am trying to say is don’t through the baby out with the bath water as you start 2016. Yes there are plenty of things we all did last year that we need to not do in 2016. However, we know that most resolutions don’t make it past January 1. So instead of trying to change 10 things today pick one and focus on it. What one thing from last year do you want to be different in 2016?

For me I want to get back on track with God. I want to want what He wants to be what guides my decision making for my life and my family. You see it is easy to say that but it’s much harder to do than you might think. First it requires we put aside somethings; our personal preferences, our comforts and our crutches. Those excuses we make that keep us right where we are when God is calling us to so much more. I want to challenge you today examine last year what good choices did you make? What bad ones? Understand what can be changed and what cannot know the difference and start making the decisions that will bring health and wellness to your life. Be blessed today as we walk in the light of His Word