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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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No Comparison
Stop comparing an Omnipotent, Omnipresent, Omniscient God to a human being.
I am so taken aback at the proliferation of posts comparing the trial and conviction of Jesus to the trial and conviction of Donald Trump. To be clear, I am a Jesus freak, sold out in love to the giver of all life, all hope, all joy, all purpose. I am also a supporter of Donald Trump, a man of many flaws and failings who has shown himself to have the interest of our Country in greater levels of commitment than Option B for the next 4 years. That’s where the similarities end.
My omnipotent God is the God with unlimited power. My monotheistic faith born out of research, study, belief and surrender, understands that God created the universe and there is nothing that he cannot do. To compare a gifted and broken human being to God is to compare the air we breathe to carbon dioxide. Both invisible gases with very different effects. One providing life and one denying life. Donald Trump may be a solid force of help for America but is not the hope of life and eternity to all people. The Giver of life is the air that fills our lungs and the Spirit that causes our souls to soar.
“Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.” 1 John 5:12 ESV
My omnipresent God has the ability and is present in all places at all times. I choose to place my trust in the King of all kings. The Lord of all lords. The Creator of all creation. The One who holds time and space in His hands and whose mercies are never ending and his love ever-enduring. Are we really assigning to Donald Trump (or any other human being) the comparable qualities of the omnipresent God? Vote politically for who your heart, conscience and yes, absolutely your faith dictates. Guard your heart that your political leanings and human desires to not displace the truth and life that is Jesus Christ. There simply is no comparison of a man who claims (and I accept) to be a forgiven and new man and the God in human form man, Jesus Christ that came and unjustly died to reconcile the World to a just and ever-loving God.
“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:22-23 ESV
My omniscient God is not surprised by the verdict rendered in the Donald Trump trial, nor the brokenness of those prosecuting, judging, defending, prognosticating and reacting to the event or the events unfolding every day in America and this World. The God that sent his son to teach us to focus on things that are eternal is never surprised. “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” (Colossians 3:2 NIV). The momentary events of this week, this month, this year, this decade, this life are not measurable in terms of eternity. Our Father in Heaven has instructed us to live and lead by exemplifying the hope and truth that was given through his Son’s life, death and resurrection. That my God is omniscient cause me peace and rest in the assurance that there are no surprises nor loss of control. I choose to trust and accept that the coming events are known by the Creator and I rest peacefully in that truth.
“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” Philippians 4:8 NIV
Join me in praying for those in power. Join me in choosing to surrender just and unjust to the Omnipotent, Omnipresent, Omniscient God of all.
He’s got this.
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Objective versus Subjective
“Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. 11 Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.” Romans 12:9-13 ESV
The header for these verses is “Marks of the True Christian.” Wow! Ouch! I wonder for each of us how we would react to this as the litmus test for our ‘marks as the true Christian?’ As I read this over and over the work “the” kept jumping out at me. In a World that today says everything is up for interpretation and my least favorite term, ‘my truth,’ what this scripture teaches us is that there are clearly defined attitudes and actions by which we should be associated. The singular truth that is Jesus Christ and the defined actions that represent him, his teachings and the only truth that is contained in The Word.
Objective is what is observed while subjective is what is said. When is looked these words for comparison on Grammarly, this was a fascinating definition. “Objective means verifiable information based on facts and evidence. Subjective means information or perspectives based on feelings, opinions, or emotions.”
The expectations and definitions for those of us who have surrendered our lives to the servitude of Christ are clearly defined and explained. The objectives of our lives are clearly defined. The actions and deeds of our daily lives outlined as a life plan for all to see and receive. Our path is clear and our expectations for self, understood.
So today, exemplify the marks of the true Christian. You are God’s beloved son, who through sin, brokenness and daily gain can be the light and example to those crossing your path and desperately needing the hope that you have in Christ Jesus.
“Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” Romans 12:14-21 ESV
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Gold Shoes
“but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31 ESV
Happy 91st Birthday dad. Your first in Heaven. I see you wearing your shoes of gold and running through fields with your dog, King, who you loved as a little boy and would talk about every now and then. I see you laughing and running and jumping and perpetually worshipping the King in a non-stop state of joy and love.
I have seldom told this story because emotions emerge that cause me to be embarrassed. The story of a little boy who desperately wanted a pair of Converse Chuck Taylor gym shoes, to be like the other boys at school. The story of a dad, laid off from his job as an electrician in the mid-1970’s carefully managing the household’s money. The story of a single-car family, whose mom had picked up an outside job to help financially, leaving dad at home with me on a very special day whose date I do not remember but gifted me with a memory of you, dad, that I will forever cherish.
Typically dad would fill his days when laid-off with projects and work around the house. We kids would always be careful during these days to not say “I’m bored” because dad would always have chores and projects to help us to be ‘not bored.’ This particular day dad apparently had some spare time. I remember needing new gym shoes and telling, asking, pleading with dad to have some new Chuck Taylor’s. And to my absolute surprise, he said “let’s go to Goldman’s,” a discount retail store, long gone, long remembered.
I couldn’t believe it! Dad was taking time to walk with me to the store to ‘look for shoes.’ Now the walk from our house to Goldman’s was probably no more than a half a mile but in the adventuresome eyes of a young boy, the journey was easily 10 miles. A trek that would take us down the massive hill of Coachman Drive, over the treacherous river of Route 48, beside the mountains of new construction of the Chevy Chase apartments and non-developed fields surely filled with wild animals where houses, apartments and businesses now sit. Risky? No, because I was walking with my dad whose hands were iron, whose strength unmatched and whose heart laid bare this special day.
For whatever reason I vividly remember the walk and holding dad’s hand. As we walked, the subject turned to Heaven and what it must be like. I remember the gift of that day as dad described Heaven in terms and ways that a young boy could understand. Streets of gold. Never being tired. Running through fields. Laughing. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. Eternal life where you could fall and not scrape a knee. An eternity with God and a never-ending desire to worship him. Then, there we were. Goldman’s to ‘look at’ shoes.
I don’t think that Goldman’s had Chuck Taylor’s but what it did have that day was my dad and me and some gold Chuck Taylor knock-offs that fit my feet and would make me run faster. They were $1.98 and caused my dad to contemplate for a moment their purchase. Then he looked in my eyes and said, “do you want to wear them home?” Heavenly bells went off, worship ensued, laughter invaded and the love of a father to his son shown forth.
The gold gym shoes are long gone. The golden memory of a very special day present and everlasting. The gift of the shoes pale in comparison to the gift of time and the uninterrupted presence of my dad. The lesson of the day since revealed as an understanding of the omnipresence of my Heavenly Father, always beside me, always walking with me, always holding the hand of a curious and often scared little boy in the body of a growing older man. The gift my dad gave me that day was the gift of joy that comes through seemingly small acts that are giant assurance to those receiving.
Happy birthday in Heaven dad. I miss you. Enjoy your shoes of gold as you walk those streets of gold. I love you.
“The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of pure gold, like transparent glass. I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.” Revelation 21:21-22
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Deflated Not Defeated
“And when they had crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask what I shall do for you before I am taken from you.” And Elisha said, “Please let a double portion of your spirit be upon me.” 2 Kings 2:9 AMP
Father, I want a double portion of what Elisha asked of Elijah before he ascended to Heaven. I want the faith to ask and expect for things that this World says are ridiculous. I want to be your BAG man, pursuing Big Audacious Goals that you place in my mind and in my heart. I want to stand out as I stand in the gap for those needing the hope and assurance that only comes from you.
“Elisha died and was buried. Now Moabite raiders used to enter the country every spring. Once while some Israelites were burying a man, suddenly they saw a band of raiders; so they threw the man’s body into Elisha’s tomb. When the body touched Elisha’s bones, the man came to lifeand stood up on his feet.” 2 Kings 13:20-21. NIV
Father, I ask that I am a source where bones dead from addiction, depression, desperation, hopelessness, helplessness, victimization of every kind can come and find life and life more abundantly in You. Prepare me and use me to be the vessel that you shine in and through. The source that others can find the light of salvation and eternal life that is you emitting through every pore of my being.
Father, Fight Club Men was attacked and a battle lost yesterday. It was a defeating and deflating day. My spirit was pressed but not crushed. I was again left wondering if what you have assigned was worth the effort. Again, I made your work and your assignment about me. Forgive me. I rise again today, refreshed and willing to be your vessel..again. And again. And again. And again.
Wherever you lead, Father, I will go. Whatever you ask, I will do. Whenever, whoever, however, in every season, I will reflect you, my Lord and Savior.
Father, I ask that whoever touches me, finds you. Whoever hears me, finds you. Whoever sees me, finds you. Whoever judges me, finds you. Make my life a solitary road that solely leads to you. I desperately ask that you use a broken man like me for the miraculous that is You.
“But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 1 Corinthians 12:9-10 NIV
Amen.
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Your Choice
”Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.” Philippians 4:6 NLT
There is always a reason. Always a purpose. Always hope. Always the choice of joy. God is always at work.
I know that I have shared with many of you that I struggled with why Paul was allowed by God to be unjustly imprisoned? In chains. In squalor. Why did God allow arguably the greatest builder, defender and guide of the early Church to be sitting in a jail when so many needed him?
Then one night the Holy Spirit awakened me and said: “Paul was such a man of action that he would have chosen mission work over writing. Paul was placed in prison and restricted so that he would write many of the letters that would become books that would make up two-thirds of the New Testament. Those letters that became books would be read by billions of people with millions choosing to follow Christ.” The Spirit finished with the question: “Now considering this, do you think that Paul’s imprisonment was a waste of time?” He did not allow his momentary restriction to reduce his eternal impact for God’s Kingdom.”
This has stayed with me and has greatly helped me reconcile those times where I felt unproductive and questioned my situation. God’s timing and plan will be revealed as we are ready and our hearts positioned to hear. Our choice is do we languish in self pity or prepare for the assignment ahead. God does not waste time and he certainly does not waste his children.
”Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:7 NLT
Stand up. Study up. Pray up. Expect up. You matter and your impact is profound. Choose today to be God’s vessel.
”Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:11-13 NLt
You’ve got this.
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Disrupter or Dust Collector
I was privileged to serve on a team that oversaw the management and financial areas of a local church several years ago. It was an amazing time to listen and learn. This was a diverse team of women and men, with varying backgrounds designed to mirror the demographics of the church. The Leadership Team would sometimes venture outside our lane and that’s where the fun would ensue.
For a season I was tasked with the role of leading the Leadership Team. As I opened one meeting I brought up lights that had recently been installed for use during praise and worship. I outlined that I felt these lights were intrusive and too bright for an old guy in his late 40’s like me. In my immutable wisdom (insert laughter here), I suggested we need to tone these down for the ‘comfort of our members.’
Imagine my surprise when one of the older members of the Team looked me directly in the face, raised and began shaking her finger at me, saying “Myron, Sunday’s are not about you and me. They are about the visitors coming that do not know Jesus. You and I know Jesus and we are assured Heaven. Sunday is about doing whatever we can do to draw people to visit and introduce them to him. If some bright lights will help do that, then you can either accept them, put sunglasses on or sit farther back. It’s not about you and me. Sunday is about helping people find Jesus for themselves!” To which I looked at Ms. Marianne and apologized and forever looked at her with love, gratitude and marvel, during my remaining time on the Team.
Don’t you love disrupters? We serve the greatest Disrupter in the history of the World. His name is Jesus. A litmus test that I often challenge churches with is the question ‘If Jesus were to return to earth today, would he darken the doors of your church?’ And equally important to the individual ‘Would you hang out with the homeless guy speaking counter-cultural messages of hope, life, salvation, eternity?’
“I have come to set the world on fire, and I wish it were already burning! I have a terrible baptism of suffering ahead of me, and I am under a heavy burden until it is accomplished. Do you think I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I have come to divide people against each other!” Luke 12:49-51 NLT
Where did we come up with the notion that our churches are to be places of tradition, comfortable seating, controlled heat and air, ruled by fiduciary responsibility? How many homeless or underserved people do we drive by on our way to our place of worship, forgetting that Jesus would have been late or not attending the scheduled service as he invested in the lives of those that are now discounted or ignored? When did ‘radical’ leave our DNA? Where did the name “service” come from.
“For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Matthew 20:28 NLT
My point is this. What is the purpose of the local church? Country Club or Locker Room? A Country Club is a place where those in society who ‘have made it’ isolate themselves and discuss like-minded things while lavishing themselves with fine food, drink, pools, golf and so on. (Yes, you know it’s true. I have belonged to numerous Country Clubs through the years and love that God compels me to feel like a fish out of water when I attend one today. But alas, that’s just me!). A Locker Room is a location where the team (the church) prepares for the mission at hand. A place of purpose and intentionality. A place where comfort has no rest and preparation has no end.
“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:”. Matthew 28:19 KJV
So my challenge to all of us who proclaim the name of Jesus is to use the facilities that God has entrusted to us to expand his Kingdom. Use them as places of preparation. As places of love, hope, rest, reclamation, purpose identifying, World disrupting vessels intent on Satan’s defeat by winning one lost soul at a time.
“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love.But the greatest of these is love.” 1 Corinthians 13:13 NIV
My encouragement is this. Be courageous and step into the box (the local church) with the intent of contributing your time, talents, money, heart and love, oh so much love. Be glad when the walls and halls are dirty and scarred from so much activity and community-driven efforts that that maintenance team cannot keep up. Be empowered when the food pantry is so busy receiving that the givers are looking for additional people to give food and love. Be committed to serve with a group of broken people, galvanized by the most radical truth to ever invade this World, his name is Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. Shock someone today by showing them an unsettling love that can only be found in the God who settled our eternity through his Son.
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:12 ESV
You’ve got this.
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