IFIDA 9/21/2018

Good Morning,

Finally, I arrived home from my business trip and it is good to be drinking some Door County Maple Coffee in our house! Glad to be here.

There are times in life when we partner with a stranger named Ifida. This person is not a good partner for us. Now of course Ifida is a play on words that is gibberish for some slang. "If Ida" or translated in plain English "If I would have".

There is usually an excuse for partnering with Ifida and it is the term "procrastination". Procrastination usually leads to partnering with Ifida, which then leads to a disease called excuseitis. Ifida comes about when we procrastinate or avoid following God's plans found in Scripture.  Let me show you how this works. God clearly instructs us on love. But we procrastinate on doing what He instructs and then before you know it we say "If Ida only listened and followed". Then we manufacture excuses for not following God. These excuses are a disease which is hard to get rid of. Once entrenched in our heart they cause heart failure and our love for God and then others doesn't really beat within us anymore.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 New International Version (NIV)

⁴ Love is patient, am I really patient? love is kind am I kind even when I don't feel like being kind?. It does not envy do I envy others  to the point of doing wrong?, it does not boast, do I boast and like to put others down? it is not proud. can I or do I swallow my pride? ⁵ It does not dishonor others,do I run others down?  it is not self-seeking, the things I do, what is my motivation for doing them?  it is not easily angered, how often do I go ballistic when I know better?  it keeps no record of wrongs. do I record things in my mind and never let go or do I bury them within a sea of love? ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. when the truth hurts do we still embrace it?⁷ It always protects, do I protect the feelings of others? always trusts, can I work to restore trust? always hopes, do I place my hope in God and know He will sustain me?  always perseveres. am I a quitter or a child of a King?

If we would follow the advice of God we would never be partnered with Ifida. God sets us out on paths of righteous for His names' sake.

Food for thought on this Friday. What is God asking you to do? Is He powerful enough to carry you through it? Of course He is. Don't procrastinate. Ifida is waiting for you.

Marty