The Goodness of Where We Are

What is a better time to celebrate than the present? When you start to add up all the blessings you have, you tend to appreciate life more and more.

The past has already happened, so to bring it to the future is only carrying unneeded baggage. This is usually easier said than done, especially when some of the past baggage is emotionally attached. I have negative memories of my childhood that I can remember pretty vividly. What I have found is that those memories may come with me, but how it affects my future depends on me. I can decide if it will permeate into other areas of my life or try to release it and go on with life.

This has been a struggle at times, but it helps to leave the baggage in the past and move on with the future, appreciating the present. That brings us to this week's quote...

Life is indeed grander than ever, when we take the time to understand every bit of the goodness that exists right where we are. ~ Gigi Galluzzo

Have you ever been in search of something and it be right in front of you, literally? I have and it kind of makes you feel like a fool, momentarily.

That is similar to how we should react to life when we are caught looking backward and forward and not appreciating the present. Time is something you cannot take back. It is here for the moment but then it is gone. Moments add up to be minutes which add up to be hours. Hours add up to be days which add up to be weeks. Weeks add up to months which add up to years. To drift from one to the next can create losses in life.

May you take the time to enjoy the present. This made me think of losing a friend recently to a fatal motorcycle crash. He and his wife (or anyone) did not have the opportunity to have "final words" together. They didn't know that hours after they said goodbye that he would be gone.

Appreciate the present, you never know how much future you will have in this world and/or with someone!

Now it's your turn...What do you most appreciate about the present?

Visit the Grave; Look to the Future

I am fortunate to still have my parents in my life. I, also, have all my siblings around. I have not lost anyone in my immediate family. Some are not so fortunate. This writing is not about losing someone, though it is about losing something.

In regards to the grieving process, it is generally advised for people to be involved in their normal lives within a reasonable time following the tragedy. Having your mind fixed on something in the past does just that...keeps it fixed or anchored there.

We can visit the grave, lay some flowers in place, but then we must move forward with life. That brings us to this week's quote...

If you're still hanging onto a dead dream of yesterday, laying flowers on its grave by the hour, you cannot be planting the seeds for a new dream to grow today. ~ Joyce Chapman

Those that have lost someone close to you have had the experience of going to that person's grave. Your return trip varies in reason. You may take flowers or some other sentimental object to resurface the memories you had with that person. But after the graveside visit, you can move on with your life and each year becomes a bit easier to handle.

Do you have a dream? Have you seen any growth take place? Is there any growth potential?

Make it a point to look to the future. Do not spend all your time at the grave. Ideas go there to die...leave them there. Then go back to plant some seeds of new flowers!

Being a Family, “Man” Style

Sunday, I had the chance to hear instead of speak.  It doesn’t happen very often due to my profession being a minister.  

The guest speaker spoke on “family”.  This is a subject that I really think is an incentive for people who are looking for Jesus.  However, relationships are what women tend to be wanting to be involved in.  Think about it, relationships involve closeness, talking, sharing of feelings, and that is pretty much the opposite of what men are attracted to, especially those who are not WANTING church.

Are you one of those guys or is your significant other one of those guys?  A church offers “small groups” and that is, again, the opposite of what you are looking for in church.  That is about “talking” or “getting close”.  The males reading this, specifically those from 14-50 (give or take) may not care about those issues that involve “being a family”.  These types of guys are generally looking to be “islands”.  They are willing to help out on projects, but do not want to be involved in ongoing “getting to know each other” activities. Men tend to want to act like ostriches by burying our head in the sand and not talking about issues.

The problem is, we all have issues.  The other problem is that we are not cut out to handle all the issues that life hands us.  Whether we like it or not, as men, we want help, but are too prideful to ask for it.

We may not need “friends” but we men want other men to grunt with, share beverages with, high-five, exchange “did you see that [dunk…catch…flip…crash…etc.]”, or complain to.
Sometime, somewhere, life is going to hand us, men, a blow that is too big to handle.  Death, disease, bankruptcy, infidelity, addiction, etc. What do you do?  That is where you need someone to turn to.  Have trust issues?  The “family” may be the only people you can trust…family are those that do not turn their backs on you.

Family isn’t about talking, but about having those who you can be masculine around and still know that they have your back.

“Family” may not be the best “manly” word.  Brotherhood, team, fraternity, or lodge may seem more “manly”.  However, it is all the same, in essence.

What the church offers has all the components of those other “manly” words, but they do not offer the opportunity for heaven.

Sometime, somewhere you, as a man, are going to be interested in what “family” can do for you…I will be waiting for that time to show you how “manly” Christianity can be!

Life's Actions - Your Response

Over the past two days, I have witnessed two people who have been laid to rest. One older. One a teen. One physical. One spiritual.

Some of the actions we take in life can have dramatic effects on our future. Getting married, having a baby, going to college, graduating from school(s), etc. are some examples that will have long lasting effects on us.

Some decisions in life will end in "I wish I did". You look back and think to yourself that you should have chosen a different path. Other decisions in life will end in "I'm glad I did". You look back and are pleased with choosing that path.

As you ponder this week's quote, it is not about death, but about life's choices. Here is the quote...

The difference between whether you say, 'I wish I would have,' or 'I'm glad I did,' at the end of your life is whether or not you take DECISIVE ACTION during your life. ~ Chris Widener

I decided to open up with the subject of death for a reason. Oftentimes at the end of one's life, that person will think back to their decisions. Sometimes, others will also think about the decisions they made concerning the person who died.

One of the most important decisions a person can make is to become a Christian. I am not talking about the religion/institution side of Christianity (read previous post). I am talking about the opportunity to take away all the smut and filth of your life to be able to have a home in heaven.

Maybe you don't believe in God or anything of the like. However, what if he were real? What if you got to the end of your life or the end of time and didn't make that decision and now realized you should have...think about it.

The one that was laid to rest physically, was a Christian, so that is a victory in and of itself. The one who was laid to rest spiritually, became a Christian, so that is also a victory. Her death was a death to sin, leaving it in the grave of baptism!

Both deaths can be rejoiced over. Since both became a Christian, they can say "I'm glad I did".

How do you respond to life's decisions?

Die - John 11:25

Continuation of series looking at the different words in John 11:25

Have you died today? If not today, when was the last time you died?

This was the question I posed to the church toward the beginning of the sermon yesterday as we examined death/die/dying.

It is easy to be selfish. You want something and you would like to get it. I think it is our nature. You can see it in kids, when they are told "no", they may get upset - or even worse. They desired permission to have something or go somewhere and they were denied. Our weak bodies generally lack the maturity to understand why we may not get something - even spilling over into adulthood.

Though we're growing all the time, one of the goals of a Christian is to die to self for the goodness of Him, the Kingdom, and others. When we don't "die" we may be holding on to something that doesn't allow us to flourish.

As we continue on with this concept, here are some applications to choose from this week...

1. Give this day to God...all the problems, all the appointments, all the errands, all the phone calls, all the encounters, all the conversations, all the meetings...Everything you do today, consciously think about doing it to the glory of God.
2. When something "dies" we miss them/it, but logically we cannot hang on to them/it, besides in memory. As you "die" daily, you may miss things about the past, but it is better to move on...so do just that.
3. Be a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1) and die to the concepts incorporated with serving Him that are difficult for you.
4. Look forward to next week when we talk about the joy of living!

Think about if Jesus didn't die to self, before He died on the Cross. He displayed humanity when He was asking God to "take the cup" from Him. I have to presume He'd seen crucifixions. He'd seen the pain, embarrassment, and agony that was associated with death by crucifixion. He didn't want to go through it. However, He died to self for the sake of you and me and went through with it.

Are there things you need to die to, for the sake of someone else? Maybe your family, your community, or your church? Maybe there's something that you are holding on to that is keeping a restrain on others? If you "died" to that, the future would be better, just like the future was better when Jesus died. Think about it.

Dying, while living, is not easy, but it is what is expected of us.

Dying, Regularly... (or at least trying)...

(the) Resurrection - John 11:25

I saw on the news that today marks the 50th Anniversary of the Barbie. Girls, over the past five decades, have collected and played with this fashionable doll. She has gone through changes through the years, both with fashion and with looks. Will she ever "die" out? Will the Barbie doll be here continually?

Jesus' friend, Lazarus, dies. Jesus has the power to save him or to let him remain "asleep". Jesus tells the sisters, "I am the Resurrection...". Jesus has the power and exercises that power to lift up his friend from the dead. To let him breathe, again. To let him walk, again. To let him hug and converse with his sisters, again. Jesus makes this profound statement and proves that He is THE Resurrection when He comes out of a grave of His own a little while later.

Yesterday, as we looked at our second part to this series, we examined the concept of Jesus being the Resurrection. Here are some additional applications to choose from to use this week...

1. Take a step in the direction of giving life to what has no life - be it a hobby, joining a club, rekindling romance, improving work life.
2. Pray about what is needing resurrected - or pray for wisdom to be revealed what is dead.
3. Die to self, so selflessness can be resurrected
4. Take the message to someone who needs Jesus and needs to be "resurrected".
5. Praise God for the awesome marvel of Jesus being able to overcome all odds and come out of that dark and lonely grave, why? For you and me, friend! He wants us to be with Him again, since sin separated us.

Is there something in your life that is dead and needs to be resurrected? Something that has lost life, vitality, or interest? He is the one who can bring it all back. Give your life to Him and see what life is like being resurrected!

Enjoying being resurrected...

Joys of Jesus - Hebrews 12:2

One of the greatest joys that God has ever brought to my wife and I was our son. We were "forced" to wait nine and a half years before we were able to see the "pregnant" indicator on the pregnancy test stick. We will both never forget that day...May 6, 2007...a Sunday, the one before Mother's Day. What joy filled our hearts! Just tonight, I looked at him and made a comment to my wife about how surreal it still feels, sometimes, to think about the fact that this awesome little guy is our son. (You can see pictures if you scan down, on the right).

Jesus is joy. The fact that we can have forgiveness of wrongs, sometimes brings a surreal feeling. "Is that really forgiven?" we might say. Knowing the mistakes we've made have really been washed away, thanks to the Blood of Christ, just seems hard to believe. We remember the mistake(s) like they were just yesterday (and in some cases they were). How can God just let that go? Well, He desires your relationship so much that He had to make a way for you to be able to return to Him. His decision was that only a perfect sacrifice would do the trick...His solution...Jesus. WOW! That should bring us joy!

Yesterday, we looked at the joys of knowing Jesus and being in Jesus. Here are some applications to choose from to use this week...

1. What would your life be like if you didn't know Jesus? If you had never heard of Him, His name, or anything associated with Him? Some may feel relieved because you don't believe in Him. However, others of you reading this would have a life that was beyond empty. You wouldn't have that perfect example to look to for how you want to live your life. You wouldn't have the knowledge of this man who was both 100% God and 100% man at the same time who was able to die for your sins to give you a hope that is priceless! This is the message to share with others...if knowing Him brings you joy...it will also bring others' joy, as well!!!
   
2. Imagine what your life would be like it you couldn't dispose of your trash by simply putting it by the curb or in your alley dumpster. Know how disgusting meat smells after it has been disposed of? What if you had to store your trash up for a whole year before it could be taken away? I can't even think to imagine the smell of all the rotten foods and other things that would eventually cause a big stink (all pun intended). That stink that would be there is incomparable to the stench of your sins. However, being IN Jesus allows that trash to be "disposed" of properly and quickly! What an awesome concept, that we are free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:1-2) and we are restored, even when we sin! Figuratively, there are people who are keeping their garbage in their heart because they don't allow Jesus to take it away! That is part of the message of being IN Him...He takes away the garbage! Praise God!
   

If your week has started with a lot of garbage piled around it, lean on Him and let Him take out the garbage!

Laying it out at the curb...

Monday Mentionings: Empty - Earth - Isaiah 45:18

It was a great day getting together! The warm weather made me feel a bit more excited to get out; maybe you felt similar feelings.

Yesterday we started a new series called “Empty”. This series is designed to help us understand the different ways which can be empty. We started the series by looking at the earth and how it was empty, dark, formless, and void. Here are some additional ways to remember and apply the lesson…

1. Support is necessary in just about every area of life. Whether it is physical, emotional, medicinal, etc., support is crucial. God set up the earth by suspending it over nothing. However, the earth still needed support – that being support from the Creator. You need support as a Christian – you must be connected to the Creator, too. If you’re not connected to Him, you will go down quickly! Don’t have a week of empty time without connecting to Him! Take time to connect to your Creator this week by praying to Him – give Him your concerns, complaints, praises, thoughts, evangelistic hopes, ministry goals, etc.

2. What does if feel like to you to be in the dark? The earth was dark in the beginning, but Genesis 1:2 tells us that God was still there. Look for someone this week who might be experiencing life in “darkness”. They could be going through something that day, that week, or just a time in their life that seems without hope. They may not even realize that they are living life in “darkness”, but as you recognize it, take your light to them. Your light might be a compliment, a prayer, a conversation, buying lunch, sending a card/e-mail of encouragement, etc. Regardless of what your “light” is – the main thing is to take it to them!

3. God is Good…All the Time! There is nothing remotely like our God! He is awesome! Take time to appreciate our earth and all that makes our area unique. Even in the bleakness of the winter, we can be appreciative of the area that we live in. Maybe you will want to praise God for this too, but at least take time to appreciate where you live and that it was given to you to live on.

I hope you had a great start to your week!

May you have a “vision” and an intuition for those who are walking in darkness as you go about things this week!

Taking my light ~