never abandoned

I want to share a story with you that I have known about for quite some time. I wanted to wait until I was at another youth pastor's meeting to get the rest of the details. So, I got all the details and here they are.
One night after about 11pm while working late a youth pastor was in his office and took a peak outside before leaving. He saw a young man looking into his car with his face pressed against the glass. Not really thinking it through, the young youth pastor walked out the door and asked if the young man needed help with something. He turned and just asked if he could get something to drink. Said he was walking and needed a drink. The youth pastor let him in and showed him where the water fountain and restrooms were. The youth pastor then asked him if he could do anything else for him and asked him his name. He told him his name and they chatted for a few minutes. THe youth pastor then asked if he could pray with him. The young mand started getting really nervous and told him how he had been going in and out of church for several years and really trying hard to seek after God but he kept falling harder each time. He told him how he was really just wanting to break into the youth pastor's car and steal some things to go sell for crack. How his last 5 months have been a journey to find the next high from crack and that was all that drove him. He shared all this and then the youth pastor prayed with him. He then reached into his bag and handed the youth pastor his crack pipe and some other drug related items and started crying and smiling at the same time. The youth pastor then took him home and shared the Gospel with him and his girlfriend. The young man prayed and accepted Christ then the next day he got a call from a company that he had applied with months before offering him the job. The youth pastor drove him to the interview process and continued to pick him up after work each day and take him to get dinner. Then, the young man told him he had done some terrible things and it was time for him to face them. So, the youth pastor took him to see a few detective friends and got him a chance to talk with them. He was booked into the jail and continues to go to the chapel services and keep close contact with the youth pastor from teh inside.
Psalm 9:10 says, "Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you."
That young man had sought after God, tried attending church and tried to be "religious". A word I definitely don't like at all. But, he had fallen each time until GOd grabbed him. He was on a mission for some crack, but GOd had far better plans for his mission that night. God never forsakes those who seek Him. If you know someone who is unsaved, continue to pray for them, continue to help them seek Him.
THanks for reading and have a great weekend! My Alexa turns 9 tomorrow! Yikes.

Sharing makes it mean more

So you got some great news yesterday? What did you do? Did you go home, keep it under your hat and not tell anyone? Did you write it in a personal journal and keep it all to yourself? Or, did you tell everyone who would listen?
I am guessing you told everyone who would listen right. I am the world's worst at this, if I get some great news I have to share it. Not gossip, or rumors but really great news. I get that news, I grab my cellphone and immediately want to share it with those who I know will care the most. Those who know how much the news means to me and those who will enjoy the news as well.
I found out my freshman year that I made the baseball team, I had already made the basketball and football teams, but baseball was my true passion. I had showed up and tried out amongst over 80 kids for a 15 person roster. Each morning there was a list posted where you could walk by in the morning and know if you had made the cut. It went to 60 then 40 then finally 15. It was somewhat stressful because there were so many unknowns. SO many things and so many variables to deal with. But, as soon as I found out I ran and told my closest friends. I got a hall pass during my first class and went and called my dad at work then my mom at home. It was something that meant a lot to me, but it seemed almost empty if I kept it for myself.
"I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ" (Philem 6-7).
When we share our faith we gain more understanding of just what a great thing we have. Every time we share our testimony and our beliefs our faith grows and our bonds with others grow. If you have the opportunity to lead someone to Christ you will see a bond created that is for eternity. There is no end to that bond and no breaking it, ever. It's the same with information we get. When I foundout about making the baseball team it was nice, but that information didn't mean anything to me just bouncing around in my head. It didn't mean anything to me until I told everyone that I wanted to know about it. The Gospel is the same way, share it and see it become more alive and more meaningful to you each time.
What do you do when you get great news? Who do you call first, second and so on? How long does that news sit with you before you have to tell someone, share it or get the word out somehow? What about your testimony, how many of the people that you share your good news deserve to hear your very best news? How many have? How many will?
Share when you can, it will make it mean so much more to you I promise!
Thanks for reading and have a great day!

A great second man

Almost any good corporation or business that is having any amount of success has a great leader. Every church is led by a great leader and every ministry within the church is in fact run by a great leader. But, there are two things that are very important to realize. FIrst, they all have a great second in command. Second, they have a great group of followers.
Let's look at second in command first. It's so important that whatever ministry you are in charge of has a great second in command. You cannot do it all by yourself and you cannot expect to be there for absolutely everything. It takes a team effort to make things go in almost any situation. Just look at the homes that are broken because one parent is attempting to do everything parental. It takes two, that is the way God designed it. It's the same in businesses, they are only as strong as their leader and their leader is only as strong as his next in charge. Then, comes the next of importance... followers.
A leader is also only as strong as his followers. If the followers have little or no faith then the leader will fall quite often and be overwhelmed by the ministry. If the followers are full of energy, faith and passion then the leader will exemplify that as well.

Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent" (Ex 33:11).
Moses was one of the greatest leaders of the Bible, but he too had a second in command. It was a second in command chosen by God who at times seemed to be more devoted to the cause than Moses himself. Here in this passage we see that Moses headed back to the camp, and he was able to do so with a strong peace of mind and faith in Joshua. He knew that the situation at hand meant just as much to Joshua as Moses. This all happened because of their shared faith in Christ.
So if you are in charge of a ministry, who's in your second in command. Or, if you aren't do you see someone in charge of a ministry without a second in command. If so I would encourage you to pray and see if God would have you become that second in commmand to strengthen the group. Or, if you are in the group a strong follower is just as important. If that leader and second in command see you passionate about the ministry, and passionate about the cause then you will together grow in faith.
Like Will Rogers once said, "We can't all be leaders and heroes, someone has to sit in the crowd and cheer on the parade." That couldn't be more true in ministry. Someone has to suppport those who are leading.
Thanks for reading and have a great day!

running from temptation

I can remember it well, it was the first day I was tempted strongly to skip school. I was a student athlete so I knew I had coaches and an athletic director checking up on me regularly. I had several friends that were not any type of student at all, they were just scraping their way by so it didn't matter that much to them. For over a full year they had been trying to get me to skip with them and I resisted each time. I stood my ground and avoided it altogether. THen, one day I was really bummed, really run down and ready to get away from school for a while. Those friends of mine helped me park my car where it would be easy to get out, and easy to get back in later. I walked to my first class and my baseball coach passed me and asked where my car was. He knew I had a preferred parking space and I parked there every day, if I was late it would still be there because that was where I parked. I told him I was a little late and parked elsewhere, which was true, I was late because I didn't want everyone to see what was going on.
Then after first period we were supposed to make our getaway. I walked out to the other parking lot and got into my car with my buddy. I put the key in and the car wouldn't start. I couldn't believe it, my car wouldn't start so we had to make a decision. We decided to go to someone else who was skipping and get into their car which was parked off campus and guess what! He had a flat and couldn't make a getaway either. So here we were, the class bell about to ring and we're down the road at someone's house with a car and a flat tire. I quickly dig through his trunk and find his jack, get the spare out and get him all set to roll and we take off. I show back up on campus shortly after lunch and go on about my day. It was official I was a skipper, I had mastered it and now I was ready to boldly keep it up.

1 Corinthians 10:13 says, No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.
So as I break down this verse and think about my temptation to skip school I had resisted it for some time. It had never really bothered me too much, school always came easy to me, I was a pretty fun kid who could have fun doing almost anything. But here I was really feeling the weight of this temptation. I fully knew that every kid was probably tempted at some point to do this, so yes it was a temptation that was common to man. God did not allow me to be tempted to a point of breaking. My buddies who skipped would respect my no each time and then just invite me again a few weeks later. No peer pressure, or pushing was used. Then, I caved in and I was ready to do it. First, my coach notices something strange and I am given a chance to back out of it just because my coach noticed. The other guys fully expected me to back out when that happened, and I could have and not been questioned at all. Next, my car wouldn't start so I could just say, it isn't meant to be and walk back into school and go on with my school day. Finally, my buddy's tire was flat.
God gave me 3 opportunites to get away from the temptation that very day. And as I look back over my life I am ever so thankful for the times that God has given me a way out of the sin that I was tempted to commit. All through time I can think of instances where I was tempted and then something came up.
Another one that comes to mind is during my sermon preparation a few weeks ago, I really wanted to see what was going on at a big race I had wanted to attend but couldn't. It was eating me up, so I pushed my Bible and my commentaries aside and jumped on the internet to see what was up in Tennessee at the race. I got to teh website that would have regular updates and the computer shut off. The battery was dead and I had forgotten to bring the cord in so I was stuck. I chuckled a little then gently lowered the laptop lid closed and went on with my sermon.
So when the temptation strikes, remember that you are not tempted beyond what you can resist, God will not let it happen. And, even when you do start to cave in God gives you a way out of it every time. Look back at the last time you caved in on something, and let temptation entice you and lead you away. I gaurantee you there was a way out of it, you just didn't take advantage of it.
Thanks for reading and have a great day!

Temptation 101

So last night we started our guys' small group BIble study through the book of James. We spent time discussing in depth the first 15 verses and the thing that required the most discussion was temptation. I think far too often we misunderstand temptaton. James attempts to clarify some of our misconceptions in this first chapter of his book.
James 1:13-15 When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown gives birth to death.
He starts out in verse 13 by talking about where temptation comes from. He talks about the fact that God is perfect therefore He can have no part in temptation. Then, in verse 14 he explains how temptation becomes sin when it is a desire. When you look at something, and think about it and soon it is a desire or driving force in your life it is now a sin. When a young man looks at a young lady there is no sin involved, when he feels tempted by her beauty or if she is being provokative there is no sin there in him. But, the moment he entertains thoughts of her or thinks in depth about her it is becoming something that he desires. And once desire is conceived there is the birth of sin.
Another way we can know for sure that temptation is not a sin is the fact of JEsus. He was tempted in the desert by the devil himself. After 40 days of not eating, of fasting and prayer Satan himself appeared to Jesus and tempted Him. He tempted Him with power and possessions, he attacked Him from a few different angles. Jesus, did not for one second entertain any thought of acting on those temptations. He never desired the power and pride that Satan attacked Him with therefore no sin was present.
So remember this world is going to tempt us from every angle. We need to pray that God makes us strong to withstand those temptations. We actually need them in our lives so that we can withstand testing in our strength and faith from time to time. Each day there are temptations hurled our way, as long as we see them for what they are and dismiss them we will be just fine.
Have a great day and thanks for reading!

A little bit of motivation

Have you ever been hurt or down in what you are doing? You know, those times when the very things that you are most passionate about are hurting you. You're getting attacked or going through some type of trial that will make you stronger in that area. We immediately think, Why me? Why God, do I have to endure such times when everything is going so well? I can tell you now that I don't have the answer to that, and I can't be specific in the details of what you are going through personally but I can share a group of verses that tell us a lot about it.
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything" (James 1:2-5).
You see our original motivation is to get past the pain. When we're hurting all we want to do is stop the pain. Get to a point where we are no longer hurting whether it is physical, mental or just plain spiritual. You will never mature, never be completely what God designed you to be if you don't endure a little bit of pain and heartache. Without those trials and those hard times you will stagnate and never grow. I've seen this in young athletes, I've seen this in teenagers striving for something unattainable, I've seen this in adults who are going through hardships. Whatever it is that you are struggling with I assure you God is in control and using it to make you better and stronger.
I love going out to football practice at Pedro and hanging out during the practices. Coach Strickland is one of my favorite coaches to watch, he coaches the offensive line and sometimes if they are having a bad day I can hear him from the parking lot barking out blocking assignments and adjustments to his players. It's hilarious to watch as they mess up at practice and walk back to the huddle waiting to hear about it. He rarely disappoints. The neat thing is that the kids know that he cares about them, and they understand him which is rare for teenagers to get it like that. One day, as I was making my rounds I walked up behind some of the offensive linemen as they were talking. One of them said to the other that he was watching the jv linemen get used to Coach getting all over them and he told one of the jv players the funniest thing. He said, "If he's yelling and getting on to you you're in good shape. It's when he stops getting on to you and stops yelling at you that you need to worry."
Think about that for a moment, I think that young man completely captured the essence of the verses I shared with you today. Be happy when you are going through trials and tough times because that is GOd allowing you to be made more complete and strengthened.
So take heart in those tough times, be glad that God is right there walking through it with you and keep your chin up. When the smoke clears and things settle down you will be much stronger than before because God is chiseling one of His great masterpieces, you.
Thanks for reading and have an awesome weekend!

Coasting

As a kid I loved to go to the races with my dad. It was the highlight of my whole week, even when I played sports I liked going to the races better. I grew up going to the races most every Saturday night that it didn't rain. We would load up, drive an hour and a half to Gainesville and have fun. I loved to stand in what is called the staging lanes or in the stands. The stands face the dragstrip, but if you go up to the top of the stands and stand up you can see all of the pit areas behind you and watch what all is going on in the entire place. I loved to do that as well, but growing up there were a few racers that I particularly rooted for and liked to follow on the track and in the pits. There was a group of cars called the Milltown Hustlers that I would watch race, then follow them around to the pits. They always pitted close to the stands and away from most people so that when they came back towards the pits they can shut the engine off and coast the rest of the way in. I don't know for sure why they always did that, but they did and I thought it was cool.
Then, one day as a young teenager my dad got us pit passes to Daytona and we got to see a lot of the Nascar drivers practicing weeks before the races. I loved watching them, and as they exited the track most of them would shut the engine off and coast into either the pit road area or into the garage area. It looked so cool, and so fun and I don't even know why.
My confession to you now is that when I started racing, and to this day as I enter the pit area headed to the trailer after a run I shut the car off and coast. It doesn't feel nearly as cool as I thought it would, but it's something I always sought after to do, now I do it without realizing it.
“If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” (Colossians 3:1–2)
In this passage Paul is calling for us as believers to seek after God. We need to stay under power and strive to be more like Him. Not like things on the earth and if we find ourselves not seeking Him we will begin to coast. THe problem with coasting is that there is no power for anything. When I coast in my racecar the car is off and all I can do is steer and stop. In a street automobile everything is power nowadays and you can't steer or stop once you shut the car off. When we stop looking at Christ, when we stop seeking Him on a daily basis we start coasting and we are no longer able to steer around the world or stop before we collide with some temptation or sin that will overcome us. Our strength and power come from Christ on a daily basis and if we don't go to the power source we will find ourselves coasting, and that is no good in life.
So try each day to seek Him, not just be a Christian, but seek Him and His desires for your life and find power to overcome all obstacles.
Thanks for reading and have and awesome day!

Dealing with division

Have you ever met someone who can't agree? THose people who have to go against the majority, stand up when they don't have a fight and just divide the group. There are people like this in all walks of life from churches, to workplaces, to neighborhoods and schools, sports teams and so on. You'll always run into them, but how do we deal with them? What do we do when we are friends with them, or when we have to deal with them over and over again?
I could have used this advice numerous times through out my lifetime. In highschool on our baseball team we had these two guys who were constantly trying to turn us against one another. We had times where the team was almost divided in half over something really silly. And it never failed, every time it all pointed back to those two. I had two really close friends on the team and we were almost inseparable. Those two would try to split us up, get one of us mad at the other and the sad thing is it worked on one of my friends once. He actually got mad at me over something silly and we didn't talk for two days. That was the point where I decided I had enough. I was done with it so I went to the two and sat down with them at Subway, told them how I felt about it and felt good about it. Then, the next day they actually struck harder saying that I was talking bad about the friend who had turned against me a few days earlier. Little did they know, I let him know everything that was discussed and fixed things with him there after the meeting. I then had to go to them again and let them know along with my two buddies that we were unhappy. I actually continued this for about a year and a half about every month or two there was something that came up and we were as a team dealing with them. Finally, we realized we were making no headway and gave up.
Warn a divisive person once, and then warn him a second time. After that, have nothing to do with him. You may be sure that such a man is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned" (Titus 3:10-11).
Well, Paul gives Titus some advice as he is young and attempting to start a church. He tells him to go to them and let them know what they are doing. Sit down calmly with them and point out the damage that they are doing and let them know what the results may be. Give it some time, if they haven't changed do it again. After that wash your hands of the whole matter and understand that most likely they aren't going to listen to your advice, so there is no real need to try over and over again.
Paul's advice would have been golden in those days, I would have never wasted a whole year working on something that wasn't going to be fixed. The self-condemned part is very true and that should be our focus once we can't slow them down after 2 warnings.
Don't waste your breath once it doesn't work, it won't work. Just pray for them and stay away.
Thanks for reading and have a great day!

Whoa Nelly!

So on our recent vacation trip we decided to try something different. We decided to take P.J. horseback riding in the mountains at Cade's Cove. We decided on the 1 hour ride rather than the 30 minute ride simply because of the fact that we don't do it that often and it was a belated birthday surprise for P.J. Well, she had a blast and that is all I will say about it. We got on our horses with our guide and started off on a 3.5 mile trail through the mountains and back where we crossed through a creek, walked past a bear's den and cut through all sorts of terrain. When we first started off P.J. was in the lead behind our tour guide, along with Alexa then Tara and myself. Well, we got through the creek and off onto the path when we passed another group coming in from their ride, and when we passed them my horse decided to turn around against my will and start following the other group. I got him stopped and then the guide came back to help me and Alexa and Tara's horses started following along. My horse got stopped so the guide went back to get another horse herself to better lead and be able to tie other horses to hers. Alexa and Tara's horses followed P.J.'s horse stood still and didn't move while my horse wanted to go back but I wouldn't let it. I sat there for what seemed like forever as I watched P.J. pet and love on her horse and realized that I was the only person left in the woods with my little girl besides the deer, snakes and bears. So I did my best to keep my horse close to her, but it wasn't easy. If you could have filmed it, it was probably hilarious to watch as I had the horse by the reigns and he would start to leave the area and I would pull back and say whoa! Whoa , Whoa Boy! He would stop and if I held the reigns up for just one second too long he would start backing up. THat was one of the commands pulling up and yelling whoa stopped the horse, if you keep the reigns up for more than about 3 seconds he will start backing up. So we took steps forward and three steps back in a pattern for about 5 minutes waiting for our guide and Alexa and Tara to return. I must admit it seemed like a few hours!
"And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith" (Matt 13:58).
Think about me on that horse, the same thing that stopped the horse would back him up. Our faith is the same way, when our faith stops growing we stop moving forward and after a very short while we begin backing up. Before we know it all of the hard work we did to build up our faith and our relatinship with Christ is gone and we have to start all over. We must renew our minds daily, we must strive to grow every week and not sit stagnant or we will start backing up. And once Satan gets ahold of a Christian that is backing up there is more damage done to the other believers around them than we can measure.
Spend time alone with God today, don't let God's works in your life be limited by your weak faith. Grow it, build it and keep it moving forward.
Thanks for reading and have a great day!

Back at it!

So today is my first day back to work at the BGH in over 8 days. I must admit the alarm didn't go off, I was up and ready to go before it even sounded off. I spent the last week without an alarm clock and still got up early. I spent the last week with my family in the mountains, sightseeing and shopping. Doing all kinds of fun things with my daughters from horseback riding, to putt-putt, to riding rides at Ghost town. All of these things were designed in my mind to spend time alone, quality time with my wife and daughters. I enjoyed it all, and we had a great time. But, meanwhile my mind was slowly taking a little vacation. My body was relaxing and getting a little rest(even though some days we were on the go from 7am to after 10pm) and getting refreshed. I could feel yesterday that I was relaxed as I got all my pre-church morning tasks done. This is a process we must go through from time to time just to clear our bodies and minds.
But, we must also remember that with God the Spiritual process is equally important and it is a daily walk. It takes a daily attitude of renewal to walk with God day in and day out.
Romans 12:2 Do not confrom any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-- His good, pleasing and perfect will.
What is the pattern of this world in a bodily sense? Busy, busy, busy grab everything you can, do all you can to get ahead economically. If you can work extra hours and make extra money then who needs that quality time with the family. If you can do more, make more, acheive more the heck with quality time period. God is telling you not to get caught up in that, to slow down, daily take a time and make it slow down time. Either in the morning, at lunch time, or in the evening make it a point to slow down and thank GOd for the opportunity to renew your spiritual body through Him.
Many people think because I go into the office at 7am, work until 3pm, spend my lunch breaks at the schools eating with students, and go immediately to football practice afterward I am hypocritical in this sense. But, let me tell you I spend the first hour in prayer, study for my next sermon, and blogging to renew my mind. I have a few books and a devotional that I pause and read through during my lunch times, and I spend the whole afternoon with the girls playing games, doing homework and watching television. If I can do it, I am sure you can too!
Thanks for reading and have a great day!

the true ministers

Stephen was a lay person, a member who was asked to take care of things for the church. There were preachers, prophets and leaders all over the place in the early church. They were preaching to masses, baptizing and meeting all sorts of spiritual needs, but they realized there was a need for so much more. Stephen stepped up and filled that void along with many others. They were asked to take care of the needy, and the widowed and of all of them Stephen is mentioned several times more. HE didn't take that lightly and realized that the leaders could only do so much. He could no longer sit back and just be fed, he wanted to be a part of the feeding. He wanted to impact his community for Christ, and so he did.
Now Stephen, a man full of God's grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people (Acts 6:8-9).
He stepped out and did amazing things, reached many for Christ and basically did this all as a deacon or Trustee. He wasn't a leader in the church, he wasn't innitially a part of the team that was doing the preaching. But, he is mentioned by Luke in ACts and has a few chapters dedicated to him. He stepped out and impacted the community in many, many ways because he realized that it was up to the church to be the church. THat meant meeting the needs of teh community both physically and spiritually.
So I ask you, are you a Stephen? Are you ready to realize that it is the church and its members that reach the community. No matter how much work your leaders, pastor and staff do in the community it's up to you to make the difference. You are the minsters of the community, you reach out every day at work, in your neighborhood and where ever else you go. So step out and take charge, kick your pastor out and let him know you have it covered, trust me he won't mind.
Have a great day and I will be writing sporatically over the next week on vacation. We are headed to Gatlinburg soon!

no deep thoughts needed

I believe the key to everything now a days is relevance, actually it always has been. People want things that are relevant to them, relevant to culture, and relevant to the changes going on in the world. No one wants to watch a television show that isn't up to date with the culture. No one wants to go take a college course or online class that doesn't have the most up to date information. And certainly, no one wants to go to a church that is behind the times and completely irrelevant to today's culture.
With those thoughts in mind, I want you to think about witnessing. Each of us has been placed in a family, a neighborhood, a workplace by God for a specific reason. We are there by God's design, as part of His plan, and to reach those we are in contact with. The people we come in contact with regularly are the ones we build relationships with, and those are the ones we impact the most. I hear all the time that people don't want to share their testimony because it isn't exciting, or there's not much to tell, or even because they don't know much scripture to quote. Well, none of that is needed. What you really need to do is live in a way that is glorifying to GOd, and when you are questioned about it, tell them what God has done for you in your life. That is relevance, people who you relate to can relate to that plain and simple.
1 Peter 3:15 says, " But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give and answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect."
I think that verse pretty much covers it all. It tells us to keep our hearts pure so that people will see that CHrist is Lord of our life. Then, be prepared to do what? Spout out the Romans Road? Share a major portion of the New Testament? No, he says be prepared to answer questions about your hope. The hope that you find in Christ is very, very relevant to those who don't have it. Most importantly, though, we must do this with gentleness and respect. We have to be understanding and gentle in our approach. We want a true experience with Christ to change lives, not our pushiness or Bible pounding. We also want others to feel like our equal, not as if we are better than them because of this hope.
So share what God has done for you, in your life and all that He has offered you. That is the key to winning your friends for Christ, not your knowledge, or the intenseness of your own conversion. They just want to know what makes you different, and that is easy to share.
Thanks for reading and have a great day!

judging

Have you ever made a judgment about someone that was wrong? Have you ever been on the wrong side with your judgment whether good or bad? I have, and I can tell you two situations where it was way off. It's important that we get to know people, there is a video that I show kids when I do presentations for the Betty Griffin House. It's a video on bullying, but one section of it deals with judging. Most bullying situations are started by a judgment. A bully selects his/her prey and moves in based on what they see. In the video a man sets up a table outside a public park and asks teenagers to play "make the big deal". They are given the choice of choosing $10 which is sitting on the table, or whatever may be inside a rather torn, and worn out looking box. Every teenager took the $10 and one even had a friend telling him, take the ten, take the ten. THe gentleman uncovered the box and inside there was a $100 bill. The kids were obviously disappointed, but the kid that said take the ten, take the ten, was quoted as saying, "I told you to take the box!".
Judging is a major problem. We make a call based on what we see. I was a part of a workplace where from the outside it really appeared and looked one way, but inside when you saw all the workings it was not a very nice place at all. People put on a different face in public than they did in the workplace, and behind closed doors it was a nasty place to be. Out in the open it was a wonderful, peaceful and loving environment. I made a wrong judgment there for sure!
Also, my wife Tara and I knew each other in highschool. Granted, I was much younger then, I didn't have any interest in her because of the way she appeared to be. She was into many of the same things I was, had the same interests, but from a distance she looked to be the exact opposite. I never really gave it any thought until our paths crossed in college, then I asked her on a date, and over 10 years later here we are. I was way off on my judging back then for sure.
Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven" (Luke 6:37).
Judging and condemning really have no place in the Christian's life. We must learn to stop judging others by their mistakes and outward appearances and get to know the heart. In the process of getting to know the heart, we most likely will need their forgiveness of us becuase of our judgment.
If you want to impact this community for GOd's Kingdom you cannot judge others. You can't decide whether someone is a church candidate or not, you cannot decide someone is a good person or not, and you certainly cannot decide what God sees in them because that is for Him alone. So just love the people you come accross and let God take care of the other details.
Thanks for reading and have a great day!

The comebacker

All my life since my days as a teenager I have perfected the comebacker. I loved to have someone make a smart remark in school, at ball practice or elsewhere, I could fire back a one liner as good as anyone. I to this day, enjoy hanging with teenagers and young people and having them try to get a zinger in on me. I'll fire back with my best shot quicker than they realize. I have always enjoyed this ability, but there are times where it is not so useful. My prayers as a young adult were for GOd to help me use that same tongue, that same mindset to put out fires as well. For God to give me the wisdom to handle intense situations in a way that takes away the intensity. THis, I am still working on for sure.
Proverbs 15:1 says, "A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stis up anger." In recent days I have had my turn of people attacking what I do. Nothing major, but just questioning and at times they are seemingly mad about it. It's easy to get mad because at times they have been mad for months about something and waited, and waited to let me know about it. I have probably had a dozen conversations with them over the past months but not once did they let me know about it. We sit down, and it seems they are firing darts at me left and right. One after another until I feel myself wanting to fire back.
Why didn't you tell me this months ago? Are you kidding me, that could not sound more selfish! And other things like that, instead I just continue to listen and then let them know I love them, I pray for them daily and close the time out with prayer where it is appropriate. I find that this has made endings so much better. No defending myself, no fighting back, just listening and loving. Proverbs 15:1 could not be truer than in these instances. Those times I look back over where as a teen or a younger man I defended myself. I fought back and I plead my case so as to win, in the end I did not win. The only way to win in those situations, especially with church members is to love them and let them do all the fighting. Then, you walk away and what was victorious was God, and He was in control the whole time.
So try to take a deep breath and return anger and unhappiness with love. God will bless your days and your relationships if you can just learn to do this. I know I'm better now for having done it, and have better relationships with others having done it, but I certainly have not perfected it.
Thanks for reading and have a great day!