Myron Speaks

“You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.” 2 Corinthians 9:11

I have never been a ‘good sleeper,’ seldom sleeping for more than 4-5 hours at one time. I have tried various relaxation techniques, medicines, diet, exercise, etc., without a significant change.

I then read a book and the author discussed gratitude and specifically addressed sleep. The author’s suggestion was give thanks for the sleep achieved instead of focusing and worrying about the lack of sleep. This simple change of thanking God first thing for the things that I had instead of focusing on what I did not have changed the trajectory of my life. “Thank you, Father, for the 4 wonderful hours of sleep that you gifted me last night. I gratefully accept your gift of this rest. Amen.”

Gratitude is life energizing and thankfulness is wonderful submission to God’s best plan for our lives.

I seldom go shopping, surf online shopping sites, pay attention to new trucks (and there are some beauties that make my 2016 F250 “Henrietta” blush with envy). Megan just said to me the other day, “you have really lost your sense of style understanding when it comes to her clothes.” Thank you, Lord. I choose to not shop and seek because I find my ‘needs’ skyrocket as my exposure to stuff increases.

The ‘why’ I do this is quite simple. I choose a life of gratitude driven by contentment, thankful for all that I have. And I have mountains too much with little need for more.

I write this to encourage you to recognize and reject the wants that this World effectively markets as needs. Recognize that Black Friday has become a never-ending landslide of next needs while many are still working to pay off the last had-to-haves. Wake up and gratefully, purposefully, systematically give thanks for all that you have. Focus on being thankful what you have you will find that the desires of your heart change to outward living and giving.

For those will real need, and too many among us have real needs of food, shelter, healthcare, transportation, love, kindness, recognition, affirmation, identity; God hears your prayers, He knows your needs and he is doing a work to meet your needs. He has assigned you the identity of His beloved child and he meets our every need. He will meet your needs, seldom in ways we expect.

“For the Holy Spirit makes God’s fatherhood real to us as he whispers into our innermost being, “You are God’s beloved child!” Romans 8:16 TPT

So today, consider starting each day with a prayer of thanks that fights for you as you navigate the challenges of life. Take control of your mental state by living life gratefully, with contentment for what you have. Take control of your life by surrendering control of your life to the Maker of your and all life.

“For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer.” 1 Timothy 4:4-5

Give thanks. You’ve got this!

“For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”  Ephesians 2:10 NLT

Statistics show that 99% of the visitors to the Louvre come specifically to see the Mona Lisa.  The average wait time is 1-2 hours and you are allowed 30 seconds to gaze at Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece from a distance of 3 meters (about 10 feet).

So 7,200 seconds waiting to stare at a 30”x21” lifeless picture for 30 seconds, from a distance of 120 inches.  From a purely analytical perspective, a reflection of the desperation to find hope in things created by man, created by the Omnipresent and Omnipotent Creator of all things.

Ephesians 2:10 tells us that we are God’s masterpiece.  Created to do the good things that he planned for us long ago.  We are made new through Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection.  You are new.  You are the Master’s masterpiece.  You were planned and created before time began.  You are the living, breathing vessel of hope created in the Father’s image.

I encourage you to make yourself available to the hopeless, the hopeful, the lovely and the loveless.  I encourage you to say “no waiting to see, hear, hug and hold God’s masterpiece and when I see, hear and hug you, I too will hold His masterpiece.  You.”

There is no waiting to come into the presence of the Master Creator of all things.  There is no time limit to stand in His presence.  There is no distance restriction between you and Him.  He invites you to surrender and lay in His arms for eternity.

That is more than enough.

You’ve got this.

How we live our lives as children of God should be the light that draws others to Him.

“Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” Matthew 19:14 NIV

We live in the East TN and bugs are a part of the blessing of living here. It has been unseasonably warm this Fall and as the time change happened, porch lights come on earlier and the subsequent “quick close the door before the moths get in” comments ring out.

I wonder if too much of today’s Church has become a “quick close the doors before the non-conforming, dirty, broken, hopeless” get in. Are we pursuing a sanitized faith that says ‘blessed are the blessed and those who can be a blessing to me.’ Inward living seldom leads to outward giving,

I have commented to many great Pastor and Church-leader friends that a litmus test for organizational self-examination should include an honest assessment of “if Jesus were on Earth today, would he visit our churches and Christian organizations that proclaim his name?”

I am not writing this to be judgmental of you in any way. The truth is that I write what the One compels me to write. As we enter the most beautiful season that starts with Thanksgiving and flows into the celebration of the birth of Life Eternal, I write to myself to encourage me to love every person placed in my path the way Jesus loved and loves a sinful man (me) in ways too marvelous to understand.

“Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:34-40 NIV

So I encourage you to guard your heart and free your mind. To consider the immeasurable gift that Jesus freely gives to any who ask; eternal life. To recognize that every person has a story and the dirty, broken, addicted, desperate person you may see on the way to your beautiful church this morning is God’s daughter or son, equally loved and equally valued. Worthy of your love and care.

Commit to be a light that is a lighthouse and not a guard house. The light that is your life is the hope that so many desperately need.

You’ve got this.

“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.” Matthew 6:28-29

What if we chose to focus on what is beautiful? A newborn baby. A calf nursing from its momma. A broken down car bringing people together, fixing the problem by connecting humans. Kids laughing at what an adult says is silly, but the truth being laughter as an expression of love is never silly. A young person helping an elderly person do anything and everything. The blanket of fallen leaves that will be the fertilizer of new life. The sound and smell of rain. A train whistle piercing a foggy morning. One person showing ‘I love you’ to another person deemed ugly or broken by a broken World.

“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” 1 Corinthians 13:13

What if love is enough? Regardless of what is happening in the World. What if the incessant 24/7 news is a clanging cymbal only to build viewership cloaked in the deception of good stewardship, but really to sell advertising at a higher rate? What if we did not care about ratings, “likes,” followers, influencers (Ugh), fashion, status, the temporary things deemed so important that yield nothing but a need for next? What if, we simply, boldly and obediently choose love?

I have been writing a book that explores the What If’s of life from the perspective of what the Bible tells us. I write ‘tells us’ because we too often read the words from the Word and what it tells us without accepting, pursuing and surrendering to what God desires to teach us. After almost 60 years, I find that we are in the way of so much hope, beauty and joy but too often are a ricochet versus a receptacle.

So today, try seeing beauty. Try tuning out the noise of despair and replace with the joy of hope. I have adopted the moniker of Hope Agent, whose assignment is to be a source of hope, a source of help, a source of love, a source of truth. I invite you to join me in seeing the beauty all around us and being an agent of hope.

“God is so good
God is so good
God is so good
He’s so good to me

God, You are good
God, You are good
God, You’re so good
You’re so good to me”

God really is so good. He loves you exactly where you are. That’s enough to start the life of joyful abundance that he created you to live and to give.

You’ve got this

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” 2 Corinthians 5:17

This past week was emotional for me. I spent 60+ hours with a group of exceptional Fight Club Resident Men working to rehab the house that I spent most of my formative years and where my father lived for 50 years, the last 23 without my mother whose loss he never fully recovered from.

We were within minutes of being finished when a foot missed a truss and the ceiling came crashing down. An unmitigated disaster…in the moment. The ensuing frustration and anger (I must confess and take ownership) of the team was followed by resilience and collective effort that resulted in a more beautiful ceiling, complete with fresh paint and structurally more sound than what had been there before.

God had blessed me with an ability to see him in virtually all things and I saw and felt him through this week. The daunting task of a complete redo of a house needing significant work in certain areas. The emotion of tearing away materials that contained decades of life and living. The pressure to honor my father (and mother) in how we remodeled, while keeping my sisters updated and involved as the co-owners of the house. Leaving a note under the new carpet where my father’s body was found after he ascended to Heaven. Crying, and those who know me know that I am a crier, as I cleaned the remnants of the week’s effort. All culminating in absolute joy, thankfulness and closeness to the FCRM team for their amazing effort and work, receiving Megan Mullins love and support through the phone, FaceTime and prayer and my sisters encouragement and help in any way needed.

God is in the rehab business. Where we see a broken ceiling, he sees a repaired person empowered to spread love and joy. He takes our old body’s paint and replaces it with a fresh coat of hope and assurance that is the paint of Jesus’ blood on the cross. He looks at our body (the building) and sees a structure that is built for the ages, simply needing his hand of Mercy and Grace.

Things I saw and felt strongly this week. God never sees old, he see next. He never places a condemned sign, he offers a life eternal position. There is no remodel job too big or too broken for the Fathet in Heaven. God is the Creator of all things, the Repairer of the broken, the Lover of the unloved, the Visionary for the momentarily blind, the Constant in an inconsistent World. He truly is the cornerstone and foundation on which he rehabilitates the broken into the beauty created in his image.

So, I am grateful for this week. I am grateful for the little brick ranch at 202 Anton Court that was home for many years and will continue to be home to the next resident. I am grateful for God’s patiently rehabilitating me and creating in me a remodeled son in his image. The work continues.

“So we are always confident, even though we know that as long as we live in these bodies we are not at home with the Lord. For we live by believing and not by seeing. Yes, we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these earthly bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord.” 2 Corinthians 5:6-8

“You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh ; rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Galatians 5:13-14

In a world increasingly focused on self, stand out. Stand out by standing in for someone needing to know that they matter. Today, create a life of infinite value by telling one person, you have value. You matter. I see you and I acknowledge that you are my sister or brother.

Build and grow yourself today by fertilizing and watering those that God places in your path. Witness the incredible supernatural photosynthesis that occurs when you fertilize another through a simple word or act of acknowledgment.

Understand today that you grow the most, that you gain the most, that you become the son that God has created by living an outwardly giving life born from inward examination and introspection.

You are powerful beyond limitation when you are committed to being God’s agent of hope to everyone crossing your path. Take the powerful step today of growth by giving everything you are to those around you.

“When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.” John 13:12-14

Your acknowledgment and encouragement may be the catalyst for a 1000 generation trajectory change because you showed a fellow human being that they matter. You matter. You are beautifully and wonderfully made for impact.

You’ve got this.

“But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.”  Isaiah 43:1 ESV

A Pastor friend of mine recently sent me a short video where the speaker was illustrating how his daughter would call him and only say “hey” and he immediately knew it was her.  He explained that he had spent so much time with her that he instantly knew her voice through all background noise.  Beautiful and true for most any parent involved in their child’s life.  The speaker then went on to outline that when we spend time with God, we simply need to utter “hey” and our Father in Heaven instantly knows and responds to our voice.  He does.  What a beautiful promise.

I was late to the party of being a father.  I spent years hearing the ‘noise’ of kids and oftentimes being aggravated by these sounds.  Then, after giving up all hope of being a worthy husband and father, God did what he so loves to do and delivered the desires of my heart.  An honorable wife deserving of a husband who honored her.  Then almost as soon as we were married, three exceptional kids full of life and whose noise I cherish more than any other sound on Earth.  I know their voices above the background noise all around us and they know the various tones of my voice.  I am theirs and they are mine, all of us blessed with the sweet voice of their mother who guards and guides.

My hearing is failing from years of shooting too many guns without proper ear protection.  I am faced with the ongoing decline in my ability to hear or the option of hearing aided by technology that allows me to continue to hear Megan’s beautiful voice and the sounds of our children’s voices that fill me with joy and purpose.  I am choosing hearing aides and surrendering the vanity of self for Megan’s sanity to not have to repeat to me constantly, and to hear the melody of the beautiful voices of our children and harmony of life around me.  (For some of you, I may choose the ‘Off’ button at times.)

I chose the hearing aide of the Bible and the teacher, Jesus Christ now 18 years ago.  An imperfect life whose hearing and heeding of the Father’s voice has grown and continues to grow daily.  He knows my voice and I know his.  I spend time with him, too often sacrificing this life-giving time for outside noise, yet he waits patiently for me to call out to him and never once has he said, “you don’t have time for me so I don’t have time for you.”  He always says, “I love you.  I am yours and you are mine.”  He affirms me.  He confirms me.  He is the still, small voice of almighty power and omnipotence that knows my voice.  He desires to know yours more and more intimately.

So my encouragement to you today is press in and press on.  Press in to the never-ending love of God the Father, who loves you unconditionally and desires an intimate, one on one relationship with you.  Press on to the the purposes of your life in this season of your life.  By allowing yourself to be pressed, the resulting outflow of life, experience and preparation will be a blessing someone desperately needing blessed.  By allowing the surrounding pressure like that of a warm blanket tightly wrapped around you will emit the heat of hope to someone cold and hopeless.   

Know the Father’s voice.  He knows yours.

“I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.”  John 10:14-15

You’ve got this.

“And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Ephesians 5:20

Jimmy Buffet sang a song that became a battle cry for a generation of people that contained the lyrics “It’s those changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes; Nothing remains quite the same.” These words seemingly confirming that through the simple act of repositioning oneself to a different physical location, attitudes would change and life would gain.

After 30-plus years of being led by good and not so good people and leading people well and not so well, I have learned that change happens from the inside and the accelerant to change is almost always a heart of gratitude.

I have watched people celebrate a pay raise with momentary happiness and the purchase of ‘needed’ things in their life, only to fall back into the same pattern of frustration in their circumstances, missing the joy component only delivered through a heart transplant of gratitude.

“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” 1 Thessalonians 5:18

We have recently done a significant remodel of our house, approaching this overall project with a deep sense of joy and gratitude. There have been momentary lapses where the challenge of a variable in the remodel equation has momentarily robbed the gratitude for the ability and gift of this project.

When we moved from the beautiful neighborhood we were gifted to live to the country setting that was raw and daunting, we at times would recollect on our past home and it efficiencies. For several years after moving we were without a water dispenser and ice maker in our refrigerator. (Yes, I absolutely get what you’re thinking, “what kind of blessed life do you live that this was a joy robber?”). One day we found a refrigerator that fit our space, with water and ice maker. I vividly remember the first time the water dispensed and the beautiful sound of those ice cubes ringing against the glass as they effortlessly fell from the refrigerator’s dispenser. Joy. Gratitude. Thankfulness.

Fast forward several years to the remodel that included a new refrigerator, that again had ice and water dispensing. The new ice maker creates these clever, smaller ice cubes that come at the glass fast and furious. As I was learning how to position and use this new setup, the ice cubes would often miss my ill-positioned glass and land in the floor to which I vented one day, “this ice maker drives me crazy!”

What happened? My gratitude for the gift of ice and water convenience so coveted a few years before was replaced with a sense of entitlement, or at the very least gratitude-less expectation.

“And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” Colossians 3:17

My point is this, the things we identity and seek, then find and receive often bring momentary gratitude and happiness. Without a heart change that causes shifts from want to contentment, from comparison to appreciation, from current situation to desired position, gratefulness will be fleeting and temporary.

“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.” Luke 16:10

Consider today that perhaps God is waiting on our heart to move from desire to gratitude. I encourage you to not wait for something in the future to determined your gratitude in this season. Take a gratitude inventory today, reflecting on every good thing that you have been blessed with and recognize that what is old to you, is a gift of exponential value to someone else. Position your heart to pray, praise and worship for what you do have and witness the changes in gratitude that did not require a change in latitude.

You’ve got this.

The skin is the most nutrient dense part of an apple, so don’t throw out the peel! According to Healthline, a raw apple with skin contains up to 332% more vitamin K, 142% more vitamin A, 115% more vitamin C, 20% more calcium, and up to 19% more potassium than a peeled apple does.

I remember watching my grandfather and then my father peel apples with fascination and curiosity as they slowly, methodically, precisely peeled the skin without taking much of the sweet apple meat with the peel. A celebration would occur when the peel was successfully removed and especially so if in one long, single piece. A real, “But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:57 KJV) moment. Not really, but fits nicely with the point that I am doing my best to illustrate in this writing.

Imagine my utter shock and confusion that the tough, outer cover that God designed to protect and grow the apple to its sweetest and most delightful ripeness was actually the healthiest and best part for me to eat. I had spent countless hours watching with complete fascination and sold-out belief, that the peeling was the process to the greatest enjoyment and benefit of the apple. Wrong assumption and wrong conclusion.

We are at the same risk today of wrong assumption and conclusion as we are drawn to the popular scripture verses that are often more like sports metaphors rather than life guides. We are rightfully drawn to Jeremiah 29:11 (“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.“), with an expectation that the ATM God will immediately shower blessings us, too often not understanding that the plans that God had for his children were 70 years in the future. 70 years! When the Apostle Paul wrote (or Timothy who was with him) Philippians 4:13 (“For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.“), he was in prison and these were some of his last exhortations. We excitedly quote the words of a man fatigued, weak physically, feeling abandoned by God and was crying out, “For I can do everything…“

I am certainly not suggesting we should not learn and teach certain scripture verses that we carry in our mind daily. My point is to become readers of the Word, who understands the context of these verses so that as maturing Christians, we can use, teach and lead those in our path well with understanding and proper guidance. Flood your kids minds with scripture so they can withstand the lies and arrows of this World.

“Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15 NLT God gave each of specific and unique personalities and gifts that differentiate us and attract us to various people while others are attracted to others. A perfect model to appeal to the whole through a plethora of individuals. He gifted the wide variety that makes up his children with a single guidebook that when studied, accepted, adopted and used as the life-giving and leading tool that it is, creates a chorus of individuals singing that same tune with beautiful harmony from different personality types. The Bible is the singular message for everyone.

“I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready.” 1 Corinthians 3:2 NIV

Why is a deep understanding of all scripture important? A prepared mind. A readied heart. A mind trained for the battle that rages all around us for the souls of our children, our family, our friends, our fellow human beings. The reasons are just to many to write but the truth is this; “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.” John 16:13 ESV

So my encouragement today is to that you gift yourself with a daily vitamin dose of hope, peace, love, guidance, understanding, purpose and preparation to be the sun in someone’s darkness. The knowledge source for a learner. The sister or brother with understanding that comes from the only source of truth, the Bible. God loves us so much that he provides us with the follow-on guide book after the death and resurrection of His Son. Take advantage of this gift and experience the reduction and removal of doubt and anxiety in your life and the brightened eyes of expectation in the faces of those you share this good Book with.

You’ve got this.

Fairest Lord Jesus, ruler of all
Fairest Lord Jesus, ruler of all
Fairest Lord Jesus, ruler of all nature
O thou of God and man the Son
Thee will I cherish, Thee will I honor
Thou, my soul’s glory, joy, and crown

Fairest Lord Jesus, ruler of all
Fairest Lord Jesus, ruler of all

Fair are the meadows, fairer still the woodlands
Robed in the blooming garb of spring
Jesus is fairer, Jesus is purer
Who makes the woeful heart to sing

Fairest Lord Jesus, ruler of all
Fairest Lord Jesus, ruler of all

Fair is the sunshine, fairer still the moonlight
And all the twinkling starry host
Jesus shines brighter, Jesus shines purer
Than all the angels heaven can boast

Fairest Lord Jesus, ruler of all
Fairest Lord Jesus, ruler of all

Beautiful Savior! Lord of all the nations
Son of God and Son of Man
Glory and honor, praise, adoration
Now and forevermore be thine

Fairest Lord Jesus, ruler of all
Fairest Lord Jesus, ruler of all

These beautiful words, written in the 16th century ring true today as much as 600 years ago. Jesus the Savior who was, is the Savior who is and the Savior who will be forever.

“But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.” Ephesians 2:4-5

There is freedom in the simplicity of the gospel that teaches us that there is one way to Heaven. That is Jesus. There is one way to joy. That is Jesus. There is one way to contentment. That is Jesus. There is one way to real and meaningful purpose. That is Jesus. There is one way. That is Jesus.

“Jesus said to him, “I am the [only] Way [to God] and the [real] Truth and the [real] Life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” John 14:6 AMP

Jesus loves the work in progress that you are. He accepts you right where you are, right now. He invites you to believe in him. Trust in him. Give your life to him. Walk daily with him. Enjoy unfathomable joy through him. Spend eternity with him.

“And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” Ephesians 3:17-19