First Love

Yesterday, after having a rough day in the stock market, I became very angry at God. Believe me, this was not the first time. During the crash of Nov., 2008, I was going through a similar struggle, except 10 times worse. After a frustrating 3 days, I literally lost half of my entire stock value. I remember I was so upset, that I took a box of uncooked cheese macaroni and threw it against the wall as hard as I could. When the box hit the wall, macaroni went flying everywhere, all over my kitchen. I've only been that angry a couple of times in my life, but that was one of them.

Well, anyway, getting back to yesterday, after having my fit and angry episode at God, He just told me to go ahead and vent my anger, and that He would still be there when I was done. He also told me that He wasn't giving up on me. I felt terrible afterwards, and asked for his forgiveness. We had a long conversation that went into the night.

One thing He told me was that I was more excited about the stock market than I was about Him. And, He reminded me that He was the one who supplies our needs. He is our source. I was beginning to think it was my abilities and my talents. I couldn't wait to check my stocks in the morning when I got up. Oh, yes, I prayed, but my heart and mind were on the stock market. And when things didn't go well, I would blame Him.

How many times do we find ourselves obsessed by everything but the One who gave us these blessings? God is our source; our supplier. Instead of being obsessed, we can find rest. Instead of worry, we can take all these to God in prayer. It's a whole lot easier to put things in God's hands, and then rest, than trying to wing it on our own. Let's keep God as our first love, rather than putting other things first. Let's not take him for granted.

Pray for me, that I will keep God as the love of my life, because He is the only one who can bring lasting joy and blessings. He is the source of all that is good, especially when He gave his all, when He gave his Son, Jesus, to save us from our sins.

God Bless--Corey

A Matter of Perspective

When I was a young boy, our family used to go for picnics in the Bear Paw Mountains in Northern Montana, not far from our home, on Sunday afternoons. We would go with our friends and family, and it was a great time for climbing, exploring, and just having a great time. I always have fond memories of those times.

However, on one particular Sunday, after we ate, all of us kids were playing and having a good time. It was a warm day and as a common practice, we boys would take our shirts off. But on that particular day, my dad yelled at me to put my shirt back on. "What?" I questioned him.

"I always take my shirt off!" I exclaimed.

"Just put it on," my dad barked.

And so, I reluctantly put my shirt back on, but I wasn't happy about it. My dad was being unreasonable. Why would he humiliate me in front of my friends who also had their shirts off?

I thought he was being rude and unreasonable, and I just didn't understand it. It wasn't until years later that I began to understand what was going down that day. You see, on that particular day, my uncle came with us. I love my uncle, but he is in prison today for having sex with young teenage boys. My dad was just trying to protect me on that day. But my young mind couldn't comprehend the reality of the situation. My dad did, however. And he took steps to protect me on that day.

I wonder how many times we misunderstand what God is telling us to do, because in our limited understanding, we cannot grasp that God is not against us, but rather, he is only protecting us from some danger unknown to us, but known to him. I am not always obedient to the Holy Spirit's promptings, but my prayer is that I will grow to trust Him more and more, because His motives are always pure, always trustworthy, always with our best interests in mind.

Love ya,

Corey J. Couturier

What does God look like?

When we were little kids, there were movies that came on once per year that we always looked forward to. And even though our TV was black and white, we were excited when once a year movies like, "The Sound of Music" came on. One of our favorite movies was, "The Wizard of OZ." We loved that movie, and I was reminded of that movie the other day for some reason. I was thinking about when Dorothy and her friends finally made it to the Emerald City, and finally found the Wizard of OZ who was going to give them what they were seeking. They were so excited, and when they entered the place, it was a fearsome sight with smoke and sound. It seemed as though at any second they would be struck dead for even daring to enter the presence of the wizard. And then, when the curtain was pulled back, there was a little gray-haired man, not scary at all. And he presented them with certificates for the very things they already possessed.

In the Old Testament, we see God as a fearful and terrible being; a being who could not be touched, and to even see his face would be certain death. This picture of God was burned into our thoughts and minds. I remember thinking to myself, I better not let God see me, because He might kill me, because I've got so many problems. I grew up thinking that God hated me.
The God I grew up with was a jealous God, a vengeful God, and a God who was always watching us, looking for reasons to punish us because of all our sins.

And then, when Jesus came along, it was as if the curtain was pulled back. Jesus said, "If you have seen me, you have seen the Father." The problem was, Jesus did not look like the God we were raised with. Jesus was touchable, compassionate, gentle, and loving. Jesus revealed to us for all eternity the true picture of God. Funny thing is, "He looks a lot like we do." except without the sin. And no wonder: We were created in his image. Jesus is the image of the invisible God, and the exact representation of his being. If we want to know God, we must know Jesus. If the God you know doesn't look like Jesus, then you don't know the true God.

Something to ponder on.

Corey J. Couturier

Our Spiritual Clothing (Part 2)

Therefore, as God's chosen people,
holy and dearly loved,
clothe yourselves with compassion,
kindness, humility, gentleness
and patience.
Col. 3:12 NIV

Yesterday we talked about how as Christians, we are a cherished people to God. It's pretty awesome to know we are loved and hand-picked by God for a special purpose. And because of this special status that we are given, we need to put on the proper clothes. We are children of the King. You would think, then, that we should be wearing the royal robes. And, according to my last name, Couturier, in France, my ancestors would have been the ones who made the royal clothing. You would think we should be parading around in hand-tailored, loud clothing, making a statement of who we are. You would think we should be wearing the clothing of pride, the clothing of arrogance, the clothing of power, wearing power colors, as we are taught in the world.

But God tells us just the opposite. God's ways are not the ways of the world. The world exalts people like Donald Trump because he is successful and has lots of money. What kind of clothing does he wear? If you were to describe the qualities of his life, how would you describe them?

Is he known for his compassion?

Is he known for his kindness?

Is he known for his humility?

Is he known for his gentleness?

Is he known for his patience?

Does he wear the clothing of a child of God? And yet, I find many Christians trying to pattern their lives after this man. I'm not trying to pick on Donald Trump, because I'm sure he has many good qualities, but I was us to think about what we are doing. Who are we trying to dress like? Are we trying to dress like a biker? or a rock star? or like the popular kids in school? Or have we made our minds up that we want to dress like our Father?

When Jesus came, he showed us what the Father was like. Jesus came with compassion, and kindness, and humility, and gentleness, and patience, because those are the qualities of God.

Tomorrow: Part 3

Have a great day!

Corey

Our Spiritual Clothing (Part 1)

Have you ever gone to the Mall and just sat and watched people as they walked by? It sure can be an interesting experience. You see all kinds of people. You see the gang members that all dress a certain way with the loose fitting baggy clothes, or the mall walkers in their jogging suits, or the Goth people draped in black overcoats, chains, and black clothing. You see professional people in their suits and ties. You can tell a lot about people just by the way they dress. You can tell if someone is a biker just by what they wear. In fact, clothing is one of the biggest identifying factors we know. The way we dress is our statement to the world, "This is who I am."

I remember when I was in the seventh grade, I just decided that I was going to be a cowboy that year. So, I bought a cowboy hat, blue jeans, cowboy boots, and a belt with a huge buckle. That whole summer I dressed as a cowboy. That was my statement that year. "I am a cowboy". Only problem was, I didn't feel like a cowboy on the inside. Oh yea, outwardly I appeared as a cowboy, but inwardly I knew I really wasn't. I was a poser. Truth is, I really didn't know who I was at that age. And so it was just a passing fase I was going through. Before long, I was dressing back the way I did before.

Before we can know how to dress, first we must know who we are. Many times we go through life not really knowing who we really are, which leads me to this scripture:

Therefore, as God's chosen people,

holy and dearly loved,

clothe yourselves with compassion,

kindness, humility, gentleness

and patience.

Col. 3:12 NIV

As Christians, we must know that:

1. We are God's chosen people. To the world, this may sound arrogant, but to me this is so incredible. You see, when I was young, because I was small, many times I was the last to be picked when we played basketball, or any kind of sport. And so I started identifying with the fact that I was a loser. Kids didn't even want me on their team. I felt rejected. I let other people tell me who I was, but it wasn't the truth. When God gave me the faith to believe in Jesus for salvation, He was saying "Corey, I choose you to be on my team". Wow!!! I am one of God's chosen ones, one of his favorites. That changes who I really am.

2. We are holy. We are set apart for the purposes of God. It's refreshing to know that God has a special purpose and plan for my life. I'm not just here randomly or by accident. I am a child of God with special talents and abilities to accomplish God's will in my life.

3. We are dearly loved. knowing that I am loved means that I have value. I never felt I had much value as a person. I didn't think I had anything to offer people. But just knowing that God loves me intensely gives me self-worth. God cherishes us as one would cherish an expensive treasure, but more than that. Even more than a parent cherishes a child.

Once we know who we are, we can know how we should dress. I'll cover that tomorrow.

In Christ's love,

Corey

Don't miss the Treasure

When I was in my mid-twenties, I remember a time when I was living in North Phoenix in a house with two other young men from our church. We used our house as a gathering place for the single Christians in our church, as I was the assistant youth leader at that time.

Well, unfortunately I lost my job at that time and found myself with no money, no job, my car was broken down, and I sank into a depression, not knowing what to do or where to turn. Fortunately, I continued to pray about my situation every day. I even went out in the 100 plus degree heat going door to door offering to wash people's windows, but with little success.

Finally, in desperation, I took all the money I had, which was a coffee can full of change, brought it to church that Sunday, and put it all in the collection plate. I remember telling God, "I need a miracle, and so here is all I have." Of course, the weight of all that change in the offering plate weighed it down so much that people began laughing as they passed the plate with both hands from one person to another. I thought it was pretty funny too, even though the I was dead serious about the offering.

What happened after that truly was a miracle. Out of the blue a friend of mine flew into town from Alaska, where he had been working on a fishing boat. It was so good to see him, as we hadn't seen each other in a long time. He was the kind of friend who would just show up at my apartment in the middle of the night when I was living in Montana, and we would go to the restaurant and talk til the early hours of the morning about all our dreams and goals for the future. Next thing I know, he's kidnapping my car, which had broken down and I had no money to fix it, and taking it to the shop to get it fixed. He paid the entire tab for me, and I'll never forget that.

Almost immediately I got a job and before I knew it things were back to normal. I'm so thankful that God loves me. Even with all my failures in life, he has never let me go, has never abandoned me, has never disowned me. I am his child. He is my Father. I'm thankful he sent Jesus to die for my sins, and I'm going to shout it from the rooftops, and tell anyone who will listen about his love. My prayer is that when I breathe my last breath, the word "Jesus" will be on my lips.

Deuteronomy 31:8The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."

Hebrews 13:5Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."

God has a Plan

Every time I would pray and ask the Lord what he wanted me to do, I felt the prompting of the Holy Spirit to write. "But Lord," I would respond, "I'm not a professional writer. I haven't gone to school to learn the writing skills necessary to write well." But the Lord has never given up on me, and has always continued to encourage me in my spirit. Spirit to spirit. But what shall I write? And every time I would sit down to actually do some writing, I could never get motivated. I would write a little bit and then get bored or run out of things to say. But it is true that I have a million stories running around inside my head. I just haven't had the discipline to put them in writing.

One day I was standing in church worshipping the Lord, and a man I never met before looked at me and said, "You are a writer. I can see it plain as day. You are supposed to write." Well, now there's double confirmation. The Lord witnessing to my spirit, and a prophecy from a man I only met once and never saw again. But still, the words did not come to me. Every time I would try to write something, something would stop me. It was as if something were blocking me or preventing me from moving forward. Have you ever felt like you were supposed to be doing something, but never could get motivated to do it? The opposition from the evil one will always try to keep us from the very thing that God wants for us. He will use distractions, discouragement, life situations, doubts, and everything else he can throw at us to keep us off the path of our anointing. What have you allowed the evil one to keep you from doing? What are you supposed to be doing? What has God spoken to you in your spirit? Are you running away from your calling? Believe me, I know what that's like. It's not easy, because you will be opposed. You just have to make up your mind. Kind of like quitting smoking, but just the opposite. Instead of quitting something, you're starting something. For me, it was starting a blog, something totally foreign to me. But, you have to start somewhere, right? I'm not going to go on for the rest of my life wondering what would have happened if I just tried writing. And now that I have made that first step, I'm extremely excited about the prospect of being able to encourage others through my writing.

Just remember, the greatest encouragement you can ever recieve is from the Lord, himself.
He will never give up on you, or your dream that he has placed within your heart.

Jeremiah 29:11For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

God Bless--

Corey