Ever feel like you don't matter? You probably know what I mean, we've all had times where we feel insignificant. Guess what? You do matter. You not only matter to me, you matter to God. That's right, you matter to God. I can say this because check out what Jesus says to Nicodemus in John chapter 3, verse 16: "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever beliveth in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life." -John 3:16
Did you catch the first part of the verse? "For God so loved the world..." Not just the people who go to church every week, not just the people who are living good, moral lives, but THE WORLD. That includes you and me and all the other people who have ever lived on planet earth. That's awesome!! This verse is saying that God loves you! And he does love you. He loves you so much that he sent His son Jesus to die in our place and take the punishment for our sin that comes between Holy God, and sinful man. Check out this verse from Romans:
"but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
-Romans 5:8
Because of Jesus's sacrifice on the cross and his resurrection, sin no longer has to seperate us from God. But the only way to have that awesome relationship with awesome God is to accept his free gift of salvation. God loves you and wants you to spend eternity with him. This verse in Isaiah 44 sums up the way God feels about you, and the effect that Christ's sacrifice had on our sins:
"I have swept away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like the morning mist. Return to me, for I have redeemed you." -Isaiah 44:22
That's how God feels about you. He has taken care of your sin and wants you to come back to Him. Every time I fall and sin, God uses this verse to remind me that my sins are forgiven and that he wnats me to return to Him. The question I have for you is this:
you matter to God, does God matter to you?
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Shampoo and $2 meal deals from Taco Bell
It started out simply enough. I was washing my hair when this odd thought popped in my head. To be fair, many of my thoughts could be considered odd, yet this one was very odd. I simply thought: "Matt Moore, one of the few men in the world to wash his hair this frequently." I told you, the thought was odd. (I wash my hair once a day, in case you were wondering.) But it reminded me of how blessed I really am and the fact that many in this world struggle to simply survive.
Yesterday I bought a new phone, and that cost me about $90. It's not an expensive phone, I bought it from wal-mart. (insert "you know your from Tennessee when..." joke here) But my phone has internet, so I can check espn.com for the latest in sports news. (I really like that feature!) The reason I say this is because I have internet access just about everywhere I go, but how many people in the world have never even used the internet before? Much less have access whenever they want to the latest news, weather, sports, funny youtube videos, and random tweets/facebook drama? When you consider the overall human population on this planet, I bet it's a smaller number than you think. Go back to the money I spent on the phone, $90. The human population is approximately 6 billion people, and roughly 2 billion, or 1/3 of those people survive on less than $2 dollars a day. That means that the cost of my "inexpensive" phone is equivalant to what many people, who see the same stars I do, who were created by the same God I was created by, and who share the same atmosphere as I, could survive off of for 45 days. That's how blessed I am.
Consider the shampoo I use, (and was using when the thought struck me) it costs me about $2. So the shampoo I use daily costs me the same amount as what 1/3 of the inividuals who share the planet with me have to live off of for the whole day.
Jesus says this in Matthew 6:25:
"Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?"
Let's look at that verse a little closer, remembering that about 1/3 of the Earth's population survives on $2 a day.
The clothes I put on today? They probably cost about $80 for the whole outfit. That means that with the money I spent on the clothes I wore today, 40 people could have survived on $2.
The food I ate? probably around $30. That's another 15 people who could have survived today on just $2. That means that with just the money I spent on the clothes I wore, and the food I ate today, 55 of the 2 billion people who survive on $2 a day could have survived on their usual $2 a day.
That's a staggering thought. We worry about what outfit to wear, and many people have to wear the same clothes daily for many years.
I usually spend about 2 or 3 minutes each day trying to choose what pair of shoes to wear, when there are millions of people who would be overjoyed to have one pair of shoes to wear everyday. We have so much, but we are always wanting more, while most of the world simply wants things that we take for granted. We are blessed like crazy, and one reason we are so materially blessed is so that we can share God's love, mercy, and grace with an unsaved world. Those who are poor, mistreated, and neglected are people too. They are God's creation and He wants to show His perfect love for them, and Church, that is our job. I'll never look at a $2 meal-deal from taco bell the same way, what to me is a $2 snack is worth an entire days budget to 1/3 of the population that share the same sun as me. And Jesus loves those people the same way he loves us. May we not only have eyes of Jesus to see those who need our help, but the heart that motivates us to love those who need his love, and the hands to serve them so that they see Him through our actions.
In His Dust,
Matt
(Numbers 6:24-26)
Yesterday I bought a new phone, and that cost me about $90. It's not an expensive phone, I bought it from wal-mart. (insert "you know your from Tennessee when..." joke here) But my phone has internet, so I can check espn.com for the latest in sports news. (I really like that feature!) The reason I say this is because I have internet access just about everywhere I go, but how many people in the world have never even used the internet before? Much less have access whenever they want to the latest news, weather, sports, funny youtube videos, and random tweets/facebook drama? When you consider the overall human population on this planet, I bet it's a smaller number than you think. Go back to the money I spent on the phone, $90. The human population is approximately 6 billion people, and roughly 2 billion, or 1/3 of those people survive on less than $2 dollars a day. That means that the cost of my "inexpensive" phone is equivalant to what many people, who see the same stars I do, who were created by the same God I was created by, and who share the same atmosphere as I, could survive off of for 45 days. That's how blessed I am.
Consider the shampoo I use, (and was using when the thought struck me) it costs me about $2. So the shampoo I use daily costs me the same amount as what 1/3 of the inividuals who share the planet with me have to live off of for the whole day.
Jesus says this in Matthew 6:25:
"Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?"
Let's look at that verse a little closer, remembering that about 1/3 of the Earth's population survives on $2 a day.
The clothes I put on today? They probably cost about $80 for the whole outfit. That means that with the money I spent on the clothes I wore today, 40 people could have survived on $2.
The food I ate? probably around $30. That's another 15 people who could have survived today on just $2. That means that with just the money I spent on the clothes I wore, and the food I ate today, 55 of the 2 billion people who survive on $2 a day could have survived on their usual $2 a day.
That's a staggering thought. We worry about what outfit to wear, and many people have to wear the same clothes daily for many years.
I usually spend about 2 or 3 minutes each day trying to choose what pair of shoes to wear, when there are millions of people who would be overjoyed to have one pair of shoes to wear everyday. We have so much, but we are always wanting more, while most of the world simply wants things that we take for granted. We are blessed like crazy, and one reason we are so materially blessed is so that we can share God's love, mercy, and grace with an unsaved world. Those who are poor, mistreated, and neglected are people too. They are God's creation and He wants to show His perfect love for them, and Church, that is our job. I'll never look at a $2 meal-deal from taco bell the same way, what to me is a $2 snack is worth an entire days budget to 1/3 of the population that share the same sun as me. And Jesus loves those people the same way he loves us. May we not only have eyes of Jesus to see those who need our help, but the heart that motivates us to love those who need his love, and the hands to serve them so that they see Him through our actions.
In His Dust,
Matt
(Numbers 6:24-26)
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
The importance of mind over matter
All of us have had good days, bad days, and the average going through the motions days, but what makes a good day, good and what makes a bad day, bad? It's not circumstances, it's attitude. Some of you, as you read this are thinking that I have lost my mind, but let me assure you that I have not lost my mind. Do the crazy circumstances I sometimes find myself in have an impact on my day? Absolutely. Stuff happens, but because I live for Jesus, he should run my life, not the circumstances I find myself in. That means that what keeps me from having a bad day is my attitude.
If you are a believer, your attitude should be one of contentment in whatever circumstances you are in. True contentment is simply knowing that God is in control and that whatever happens in your life, God has a plan and things will work out. I'm not saying that I only have good days, because I don't. I still have bad days that cause me to feel stressed, upset, or worn-out, but I've found that those days are days when my attitude is not one of contentment, instead on bad days, my attitude is one of resentment. When your attitude is one of contentment, it doesn't matter what happens in the day so much as who was walking with you through the day. When your attitude is resentful, your opinion of the day is based on what happened during the day rather than the one who gave you another day to glorify him.
That's one reason the Christian life isn't all roses and rainbows, as believers when the world sees that to us God is bigger than our problems, his name will be glorified. It all goes back to shining your light, when horrible circumstances threaten to ruin your day, being content in Christ and rejoicing in all circumstances will shine brightly in resentful world. May we all be content in Christ and be able to say:
"Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say, it is well, it is well with my soul..." -It is Well, Horatio Spafford.
In His dust,
Matt
(Numbers 6:24-26)
If you are a believer, your attitude should be one of contentment in whatever circumstances you are in. True contentment is simply knowing that God is in control and that whatever happens in your life, God has a plan and things will work out. I'm not saying that I only have good days, because I don't. I still have bad days that cause me to feel stressed, upset, or worn-out, but I've found that those days are days when my attitude is not one of contentment, instead on bad days, my attitude is one of resentment. When your attitude is one of contentment, it doesn't matter what happens in the day so much as who was walking with you through the day. When your attitude is resentful, your opinion of the day is based on what happened during the day rather than the one who gave you another day to glorify him.
That's one reason the Christian life isn't all roses and rainbows, as believers when the world sees that to us God is bigger than our problems, his name will be glorified. It all goes back to shining your light, when horrible circumstances threaten to ruin your day, being content in Christ and rejoicing in all circumstances will shine brightly in resentful world. May we all be content in Christ and be able to say:
"Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say, it is well, it is well with my soul..." -It is Well, Horatio Spafford.
In His dust,
Matt
(Numbers 6:24-26)
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Hello, welcome to my blog
Welcome to my blog!
I finally got a blog after a few months of contemplating the idea of sharing my thoughts with the world. You might be wondering about the title for my blog and where it came from. The title comes from my view of life. Simply put, life is a gift. A sometimes complicated, sometimes painful, but always worth it kind of gift. You see, if you are alive, you have purpose and since you are reading this you are most likely alive, meaning that you have a purpose. How do I know this? Check this verse out:
"For I know the plans I have for you declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future." -Jeremiah 29:11
In other words, God has a plan for your life. We may not always understand those plans, but that's okay, we don't have to. So enjoy the life you have, God gave it to you for a reason. Want to know the reason for your life? To love God, and to love people. That's right, God put you where you are to glorify Him in your daily life.
Matthew 5:14-16 says this:"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and prasie your father in heaven."
All of us who are brothers and sisters in Christ, our reason in life is to live a Godly life in a secular world so that God is glorified by our actions. That's why life is a gift, everyday you are given is another day to shine the light of Jesus here in this dark world. And that's an awesome thought!
In His Dust,
Matt
(Numbers 6:24-26)
I finally got a blog after a few months of contemplating the idea of sharing my thoughts with the world. You might be wondering about the title for my blog and where it came from. The title comes from my view of life. Simply put, life is a gift. A sometimes complicated, sometimes painful, but always worth it kind of gift. You see, if you are alive, you have purpose and since you are reading this you are most likely alive, meaning that you have a purpose. How do I know this? Check this verse out:
"For I know the plans I have for you declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future." -Jeremiah 29:11
In other words, God has a plan for your life. We may not always understand those plans, but that's okay, we don't have to. So enjoy the life you have, God gave it to you for a reason. Want to know the reason for your life? To love God, and to love people. That's right, God put you where you are to glorify Him in your daily life.
Matthew 5:14-16 says this:"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and prasie your father in heaven."
All of us who are brothers and sisters in Christ, our reason in life is to live a Godly life in a secular world so that God is glorified by our actions. That's why life is a gift, everyday you are given is another day to shine the light of Jesus here in this dark world. And that's an awesome thought!
In His Dust,
Matt
(Numbers 6:24-26)
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