Day 263 - From Bad to Best

"We went for milkshakes at a place we heard was good. They ended up being an average milkshake but way overpriced."

I smile when I read the quote from last year. It sounds like a good review of something bad. 

Have you ever heard of something that sounded so amazing that you just couldn't wait to get a hold of it but when you finally got it you wished you hadn't wasted your time and money? That was my experience with these milkshakes. 

The wonderful thing is that an average milkshake didn't ruin my day. In fact when bad things happen that should ruin my day I still don't let them. God is too good, life is too short and Heaven too real to be crying over temporary situations and circumstances. 

God works all things together for our good. The worst of things can even produce good. Need proof of that? Just look at the cross. It was the most terrible thing that could happen. God in the flesh, crucified and dead. But the Spirit raised Jesus and it made the way of our salvation. 

If you have been having bad, or even average days, just look to the Father to see how He is going to turn it around. He will make those things work for your good. 

Have you ever spent too much on something disappointing like the milkshakes? What bad thing has God worked together for your good? 

Day 10 - Definitions

"We have been fasting sweets this month and I noticed my taste buds have changed. I had a bowl of honey nut o's and they tasted way too sweet. Before the fast they seemed so bland but now that I am deprived of sugar they are overkill! How amazing to me that the same person with the same thing in a short period of time can have two totally different opinions of that thing. I guess the same could apply to words like rich, blessed, painful, happy, content, sick, beautiful, fair, etc."

I am amazed how at this time last year I was thinking about how we define things because today I wrote a sermon about how faith defines us. The only way we can define anything is by the Word of God. God alone is true, Jesus is the person of truth, the Holy Spirit is the revealer of truth. When we define things by our experience or circumstances we get off into things which are constantly changing. If that goes on long enough we become unstable. On the other hand, when we define everything by the truth of God's Word, no matter the circumstances, the definition remains the same.

What words could you add to my list from last year? How has defining life by truth rather than experience helped you?