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When Preparation Meets Opportunity
“But whoever denies Me before people, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 10:33 NASB
Will you be ready when that seminal moment in your life arrives?
One of, if not my favorite person in the Bible is Stephen. A young man who was a deacon in the early Church, who cared for the widows, debated with Jewish scholars, helped set the tone and trajectory of early Christianity and the first recorded martyr. By the way, none of these are the reasons why I like Stephen so well.
He was ready. Every time I read Acts chapter 7 when Stephen was brought before the Sanhedrin with bogus charges, I marvel at his response. I marvel that the descriptions of Stephen included “a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit” and that “his face was like that of an angel.” I marvel that in the moment when he was charged unjustly, when he could have been defensive, when he could have pled his case, he seized the opportunity to boldly speak of the history of the Jewish people and the corruption of their leaders. He quoted scripture, the murder of Jesus, the rejection of the Holy Spirit and the corruption of the law, divinely given.
“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15 KJV
I read through numerous translations of 2 Timothy 2:15 and nothing spoke to me quite like the King James Version. We are told to study and be ready. Prepare for the coming moments in our life where our faith will be challenged and need to reflect Christ. Study. Submit. Be a workman. Have no shame. Be a source of truth.
Are you ready? In the life moments that will surely come your way, be prepared as Stephen was. A trauma doctor does not say “let me look at the medical teachings on how to close a wound” in the moment of administering life-saving aide. She has prepared for years, if not decades, so in that moment her learning, her practicing, her abilities flow naturally through her with the result being a life saved. Equally as Believers, we need to have studied, have prepared, have ingrained in our minds and hearts those things that are the truths of Jesus Christ and the Word that existed in the beginning.
Are you ready? In those final moments of Stephen’s life, he was fully prepared to deliver the truth of misdeeds and sin and the assurance of eternity through salvation. Prepare to show yourself a worthy son or daughter of the Most High God. Someone’s life may depends upon your preparation.
“As they stoned him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” He fell to his knees, shouting, “Lord, don’t charge them with this sin!” And with that, he died.” Acts 7:59-60
You’ve got this.
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Mind-Full Life
“At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship and said:
“Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.” Job 1:20 NIV
Years ago during a discussion with a friend, he made the comment ‘tell me what occupies your heart and mind and I will show you your god.’ This gave me pause to consider where does my mind live? What occupies my thoughts? Worry, anxiety, jealousy? Or does gratitude, contentment, joy and love permeate the pores of my heart and soul?
“Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory. Colossians 3:2-4 NLT
Colossians 3 is a crib notes guide for living, for a person sold out to Christ, AKA a Christian. Paul wrote these words when he was imprisoned the first time. I say with complete certainty that he would tell us that he was the freest of men as he was in jail because he was the son of the Most High God, imprisoned by earthly standards and freed for eternity by Jesus death and resurrection.
In the book of Job, God shows us that our earthly situations or status does not define who we are. Rather our mind and response to temporary situations and things of this earth reveals our hearts.
“Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.” Job 1:8 NIV
In a single afternoon, Job lost his all his material possessions and all of children. God allowed this to show to Satan that men and women like Job will choose him regardless of their situation and status. Job mourned and in the same moment he worshipped. Shortly after this, Job is struck with miserable boils on his pottery and utters the words: “Shall we accept good from God and not trouble?” (Job 2:10)
What occupies your mind? What prioritizes your days? Are your material possessions a gift from the Lord, or the ‘results of my hard work!’ The Bible teaches us in Psalm 57 that regardless of the difficulties of life, the Lord desires and expects us to glorify and praise Him.
“And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.” Colossians 3:17
God desires an intimate relationship with you. A relationship that places Him first in your life as your life is His priority. He is not a God of second but the God of first. Today recognize what occupies your mind and surrender those things to the Lord. Like Job and Paul, he will restore you many time over as your heart and mind focus and rest solely on Him.
You’ve got this.
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Life Awaits
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30 NIV
Zig Ziglar, a great motivational speaker and Christian man once said “if you go to a fat doctor who tells you to lose wait, find a new doctor.” This statement always resonated with me because credibility matters.
Do people see Christ in you? Do they experience Christ through you? Does your approach to life represent Christ? These are questions that I have to ask myself daily and too often the answers are disappointing. Equally often, the always loving Heavenly Father reminds me that he holds me. He encourages me. He knows the deepest depths of my heart. He says, “Let’s go again. You are gaining in your wisdom and understanding. Your spiritual fitness is honing you into the son that is better prepared for the race that I have created you to run.” That is enough.
What’s weighing on you? God the Father already knows and desires to release you from this?
What’s holding you back from the dreams in your mind? God the Father placed those dreams in you and has equipped you to achieve those dreams?
What occupies your mind? God the Father desires to free you from everything that creates a barrier between you and Him?
The hardest thing about any fitness program is getting started. God the Father desires to see you living the life of freedom and spiritual fitness that repels doubt with assurance. That creates humility and contentment where comparison and despair once resided. The life that God has uniquely prepared for you stands in front of you. Waiting for you to walk into it. Take another step today. Open your Bible today. Pray today. Trust today. Then repeat tomorrow. Retraining your mind is to the heart what exercise is to your health. Give yourself the gift of intimate relationship with the Father through Bible study and prayer. The results are incredible.
“Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” Colossians 3:12-17 ESV
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A Fruitful Life
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.” Matthew 7:7-8 ESV
Yesterday as I picked blackberries for the first time this year, I was overcome with the awareness that America needs to invite missionaries from other Countries to come and lead us back into revival. For the past 150+ years, America has sent missionaries around the World to spread the good news that is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It has been received with enthusiasm and the hope that is Jesus absorbed and clung to with absolute joy and thanksgiving by those receiving. We need the students to become the teachers and come to this land of plenty, this land of immeasurable bounty, this land that has lost its way, this Country that was founded on the principles of Jesus blood and righteousness. We need the revival that was sparked by our ancestors to return to our land and that ember needs fanned by the fresh air of hope and certainty of truth that the same Gospel shared throughout the World still delivers.
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” Galatians 5:22-23 NIV
Blackberry bushes are remarkable, living organisms. You can trample them, bush hog them, mistreat them and almost without question, the next season they will come back larger, stronger and yielding more fruit than the year before…after the abuse released on them.
What if your life represents something similar? What if the trampling, the stomping, the cutting, the dishonoring is used as fertilizer for the life that God has planned for you? Please know that I in know way intend to diminish what you have gone through, rather create in you an expectation for the future and an acceptance that your life’s traumas and trials were for something greater. What if the experiences you have endured were to bear the fruit of love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control? What if your life experiences deliver the fruit that others need to discover the hope that is Jesus Christ?
I love to pick blackberries for a multitude of reasons. I love to eat them. I love how God speaks to me during those moments of sweat, searching and filling my little white plastic pail. I love to listen to the birds around me. I love the solitude. There are few places that God speaks more clearly to me than in those thorny patches. As my hands become scratched and bleeding, sweat causes bug spray to run into my eyes, my clothes become saturated and wet, the joy of the fruit overrides all of these ancillary things. The hard work delivers a beautiful bounty of fruit and clarity of hope.
We have a choice. Trust and accept or reject and regret. I see more and more that an abundant life comes from an accepting heart. All that you have been through is for this moment, in this season. All of your life experience has prepared you for this season of bearing fruit. You are God’s beloved child and he desires the richness and fullness of a joy-filled life for you. Why not lay down the shield and pick up the bucket for harvesting?
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV
You’ve got this
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Time Is On Your Side
Rest. There is no trophy for busiest nor is there a ‘there’ for most active.
“For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.” Zephaniah 3:17
The term “time heals all wounds” is really not correct but time allows for objective thinking and alignment of life priorities. I believe Satan has turned up the speed life around a us to diminish the objectivity that patience towards time allows.
Do you ever consider the joy we allow the busyness of our lives to rob us of and the contentment we sacrifice at the altar of ‘next?’ Jesus taught us through his actions and his words to live in the moment. “Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.” (Proverbs 27:1 ESV).
When the Great Commission was given to the disciples by Jesus, there was no daily amount of how many and how often. The great commission was to see and value the hope and life that is the Gospel. To live lives of purpose and understanding that prays for others, volunteer to help others and give to others those things that have been entrusted to us. All of these things can be assigned to time. Take time to pray. Help others by showing their value through the time you surrender to them. Give to others in the form of time that says to them ‘you are valuable and worthy.’
I marvel at how the eyes of people will brighten when I genuinely take interest in them. Jesus teaches me through scripture the immeasurable value of the person in front of me. Take a moment today and ask someone about their life. Their dreams. What they are dealing with. Ask them how you can pray for them. Give them the gift of your time. Show them that they are valued by you because of the God who made them and the Son who died for them.
Your life is a ministry of hope and love. Your actions the most beautiful portrait that can ever be painted. Your joy the greatest weapon against Satan’s schemes. Your heart the tool from which all kindness, goodness, love and hope pours out.
Time is the most precious commodity of our short life here on earth. Reject the stress, anxiety and worry that robs, steals and kills. Consider, just consider that your time is the greatest gift that those around can ever receive.
“Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act. Don’t worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes.” Psalm 37:7
You’ve got this.
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A Present Father
Happy first Father’s Day in Heaven dad. I had you for Father’s Day on earth for 59 years and I love knowing that this day and every day you are in the presence of the Father of us all, God the Father.
“Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” Proverbs 22:6 ESV
This picture represents my age when I remember going squirrel hunting in KY, because your dad loved to eat squirrels. I remember following you through countless little hills and hollers (if you’re from KY). You carrying that single shot, bolt action .22 and me a pocket knife in hand in case any squirrels came running by us. My job to stop, open the knife, catch the squirrel and well, you get what I was supposed to do next. Never happened but I was always ready and believing that it might happen.
Dad, thank you for expanding my horizon. For teaching me to see beyond what was visible. I remember those family hikes when you would jump up on a boulder and start your speech as a man running for political office. I remember you stopping to show us a fern growing through the crack in a tree and helping us marvel at this wonder and the wonder of God. I remember you taking a simple vine and making an afternoon’s fun filled with laughter as we swung through the woods. I remember your drawing our minds to Jesus as we found a tree that looked like a cross, saw clouds that revealed God’s glory, witnessed a rainbow that acknowledged God’s promise. I remember you always drawing our minds to Christ in what we saw and what we experienced.
Dad, I work with men now who in many instances were not blessed with a father in their life. In other instances their father was not a positive influence and in a few, rare cases they had a present and loving father. I had a present and loving father who struggled with his own doubts and circumstances but was present. You turned down career “opportunities” to be with your family, understanding this role was the greatest assignment you could ever be given in this life. Dad, when I share stories with the men that I work with about you, they marvel that I had a dad like you and desire to be taught to be a dad like you. Dad, I am grateful for the father that God gave me and I miss you daily.
So dad, today I am a better prepared dad because of your presence and teaching. I am a grateful dad because you taught me gratitude. I am a dad in love with his children because you taught me to love. I am a dad who shares Jesus and God’s promises with my children because you taught me to love God with all my heart, all my soul and all my mind. I am a dad because God loves me so much that he blessed me with the highest honor; the assignment of the title dad/daddy/father.
“Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.” Psalm 127:3-5 ESV
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Beautiful Bruises
What do you see?
I asked a chef friend of mine why restaurants do not offer pears in fruit or other dishes. He told me that pears are all about timing and only good for a few days when ripe. And that they can take a while to ripen to the point where they are most desirable and delicious.
“He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.” Ecclesiastes 3:11 ESV
I love pears! Much of the reason for my love of pears is that my daughters will sit and talk with me and eat ripe pears as long as I will peel and cut them up into bite sized pieces. My love is the waiting, the watching, the recognizing and the fellowship that results from those pears ripened just right with family ready to enjoy the ‘fruits’ of our patience and expectation.
“A day with the Lord is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.” 2 Peter 3:8 ESV
How many times has God placed someone in your life’s journey who is bruised. Who is skeptical. Who is hardened from life experiences that has left them broken, needing, wanting and defensive. We often hear the term that “they are like an onion” needing to have layer after layer peeled back.” A good analogy but one that can cause tears to roll down your face. A pear is so much more fragile. The re-pear (repair, get it?) needs to be supernatural, where genuine, Christ-centered love in the moment cuts away the bruise and peels back the cover to reveal a beautiful fragrance and contribution that makes life better for all.
“The least of you will become a thousand, the smallest a mighty nation. I am the Lord; in its time I will do this swiftly.” Isaiah 60:22 NIV
Accept that God is placing some people in your life who simply need a good word, encouragement, opportunity, belief in them. A simple ‘you matter’ can make their life matter for the first time. There are so many pears that come through our lives needing to be recognized, whose beauty and flavor will invade when they are simply recognized.
So today consider setting aside personal bruises for the joy of what someone bruised and hurting may have to pour into your life. A small conversation of encouragement could deliver a lifetime of joy and friendship.
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds;and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” Matthew 7:7-8 NIV
If you have found, help someone else who is seeking. Heaven is real and the day of the Lord is coming like a thief in the night. Let’s get obsessed as Jesus-freaks to help as many as possible to set aside life’s bruises for eternity’s promise.
You’ve got this.
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Fight the Right Fight
Have you ever stopped and wondered ‘why am I fighting so hard to protect this life that I am living?’ I am a living example of a broken human who fought the wrong fight for decades. The fight of perception. The fight of impression. The fight of comparison. The fight for the right to paaarrrty! (I may have borrowed that last statement.)
“Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” 1 Timothy 6:12 NIV
We’re all in our own battle that we cannot win alone. Victory comes when we surrender. That’s the paradox of a life surrendered to Christ. We gain victory and life by surrendering and laying down our old life.
“Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” John 3:3 ESV
Surrendering the defeated, sinful life that we have all fought to build, keep, protect, clean, make right is the only step necessary for true and eternal victory. To walk in the complete freedom of that truth.
So today, you have permission to surrender everything and gain all. Jesus invites you to a life of peace and purpose by simply and completely surrendering. He desires to raise you up today, right now, in ultimate victory that only comes through him. He plans to send the Advocate (the Holy Spirit) to live within you. He desires to reveal true joy, true purpose, true hope…true life. He desires to see you live in the abundance of a life surrendered to Him.
You are made for so much more. Your life has a purpose for so much more. God desires you to ask for so much more. And it begins with the single step of surrender.
”The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” John 3:8 ESV
Wave the white flag of victory and step into life victorious.
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Just Get In
You’re special in the eyes of the Creator of all things.
“I walked into a hotel and after going through the menu, I ordered some food. After about 20 mins a group of guys and ladies walked in & ordered theirs. To my dismay, these folks got served first. I watched as they began to eat& laugh heartily. I even overheard one of them bragging about how connected he is to everyone in the hotel and I felt mocked . I decided to leave. Unable to take it anymore , I called the waiter. He calmly told me: “yours is a special order, being prepared by the chief chef himself. Their orders were prepared hurriedly by students on attachment because the top chefs are busy with yours Sir. That’s why they were served first. Please have some juice as you wait”. I calmed down & waited patiently.
Shortly after, my meal was served by 6 waiters. Unknown to me, the owner of the hotel (who happened to be an old long lost friend of mine) saw me when I entered and decided to surprise me. She changed my simple meal to a five-star meal. The party at the other table were shocked. They couldn’t stop staring. Suddenly they were the ones murmuring, asking why they didn’t get that kind of service and meal.
Such is life! Some people are ahead of you and are eating now, laughing at you and talking about how they are smarter, wiser and better than you, how they are well connected, blessed, have money and are enjoying life . You are waiting tirelessly wondering why it’s taking so long to breakthrough, You endure mockery and humiliation. Maybe you have contemplated suicide, gone throughout depression or suffered severe mental anxiety. Do not worry! The owner of the world has seen u & doesn’t want u to be served a simple meal like those making a mockery of you. You’re waiting long because yours is a special meal. It takes time to prepare. And only chief chefs prepare them.
Wait for your meal and relax . When it comes that laughing party will be silenced for good.”I love this story (Author Unknown) because it lays bare the lie that those served first are most deserving. Jesus teaches us in the Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard that timing, selection, “fairness,” etc., have no influence on his treatment of each of us. We are his children and he loves us unconditionally.
The season you are in, the roads you have or are walking, the situation of your life right now are a part of his plan and purpose for your life. What if the hard lessons and life experiences you have been through create a pathway of influence and hope of generations to come? Would it be worth it? Trust God’s timing and believe with all your heart in the limitless love that he showers on you, even and perhaps most in those times where you struggle to see and feel it. He is making and molding something exponentially special within you that takes more time than those around you.
“So those who are last now will be first then, and those who are first will be last.” Matthew 20:16
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Let it Rain
I love when it rains. I love the sound of the rain as it lands on the leaves in the woods that surround our house. I love that rain often changes plans for the day. I love to walk in the rain and smell the new freshness of land washed clean.
I awoke last night to some intense downpours of rain around 2:30 am. Hearing the rain hit our metal roof is music to my ears. As I went out on our porch and rocked and listened to the rain. I was reminded of God’s promise in Lamentations of newness in the morning.
“The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.” Lamentations 3:22-23
God’s mercies, His Mercy, begins afresh every morning. His Mercy is inexhaustible. You cannot use up that which is without end. God, his mercy, his love, his grace, his belief in you is without end. Whatever you are facing this day and this week, God is already there preparing the place, the situation and the outcome for you.
“He says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth,’ and to the rain shower, ‘Be a mighty downpour.’” Job 37:6
Seize this day with the confidence that comes from the love of the Father in Heaven and the presence of the Holy Spirit in your life. Choose today to be a mighty downpour of hope, life, truth and encouragement to those in your life. Like the refreshing of rain to the earth, your life is the refreshing spirit needed by so many that you will come in contact with today and this week. Be a shower to those dry and decaying. They need you.
You’ve got this.
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Myron Speaks 