The Big Picture

Genesis 37:23-24, 28

So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe—the ornate robe he was wearing— 24 and they took him and threw him into the cistern. The cistern was empty; there was no water in it. 28 So when the Midianite merchants came by, his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the cistern and sold him for twenty shekels of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt.

As I read these verses tonight, the Holy Spirit spoke clearly. You see, my wife and I have been going through a process for sometime now of acquiring something we felt strongly that God had led us to acquire. I won't go into any specifics, but there has been much trouble along the way. We've seen God's hand in some aspects, but in many other aspects it's just seemed like nothing but trouble.

I was gently reminded in these scriptures that we will encounter trouble in this life, and just because The Lord is leading us to something great doesn't insure it will be trouble free. Just like in this account of Joseph's life, God had a plan, but He was more concerned with the bigger picture than with the trouble that happened along the way. The Bible clearly teaches us that we will have trouble in this fallen world, but that Jesus has overcome the world. To think that just because we love Jesus then our lives will be easy is not what the Word teaches... sometimes we need that reminder. If you are going through troubles don't despair, your Heavenly Father knows what you need, so trust Him even in the midst of the storm... He's got the big picture in mind. -Z

A soft heart

Yesterday we spent the afternoon with a small group of people from our church that we meet with pretty regularly. We call this our "home group" and we get together to do a study, encourage one another and eat some good food. As we wrap up our time together we gather in a circle and each take our turn praying. When it was my turn to pray I found myself so broken up with thankfulness for these people that I could barely speak.

I like to think of myself as a pretty tough guy. I can smash my fingers, cut myself, break bones and generally have a pretty high pain tolerance, but when it comes to my heart I'm a bowl of mush. Get me talking about my family, close friends and especially how thankful I am for what Jesus Christ did for me and I'll soon be shedding tears. This morning I am reminded that a soft heart is something to be very thankful for, even if it makes me look silly sometimes. Friends, don't let your heart be hard. A truly thankful and humble heart will ensure it stays soft and will draw you closer to God.

Psalm 100:4 says "We enter his gates with thanksgiving in our hearts, we enter his courts with praise.

Welcome

Several years ago, I began feeling that God was laying it on my heart to begin using my passion for fly fishing to serve others in some way. As I prayed about what He would have me do, I began sensing it should be used as a way to create strong bonds with other Men who share my desire to serve God, Family and Country. I believe sometime in the future God will use this ministry to offer destination trips to great fly fishing locations where small groups of men can share their love for Christ and build one another up as Men of Faith.

For now, I will occasionally post things on this site that I feel will edify and strengthen your faith. If you have something to share that may be beneficial to other followers of Christ I invite you to send me an email and we can discuss sharing your story on this page as well.

If you are interested in following this journey with me please sign up to receive updates by email in the box to the right. Thank you and God Bless!

Z