Myron Speaks

“Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” Ephesians 4:31-32

Good Morning. We live in ‘get even’ times. In days where we applaud vengeance. Where there is delight in someone’s failures more than celebration in one’s success.

I encourage you to be the person that takes the position of joy. Is an agent of hope to the hopeless. Forgives without needing justice. Loves because Christ loved you first.

“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.” Romans 12:20

Be the person whose kindness unsettles those desiring conflict and discord. Be genuine in a disingenuous World.

Today commit to stand out by standing in someone’s corner who desperately needs an advocate of love, hope, help, care, joy. Stand in the gap for someone holding on by their fingertips. Grab their desperate hands and show them the love that is so often professed and seldom expressed through a servant’s heart in action.

You are God’s beloved creation. He is deserving of our best and that is all he asks. Be Christ’s son or daughter in action. Commit your heart and He will do wonderful and marvelous things through you.

Be someone’s Hope Agent today. Walk out of the prison of anger and bitterness by forgiving as Jesus forgives us.

You’ve got this.

“But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.” 1 Timothy 3:1-5 ESV

Who do you associate with? These verses are a mirror into the times that we live. And the question becomes do we stand out and apart from these descriptions or blend in to what the Bible (aka Truth) says last days people and activities look like?

There is a popular saying about the narcissistic Roman Caesar Nero that says “as Rome burned, Nero fiddled.” While never proven as accurate or true, the context of the saying holds very true today. As the World is engulfed in war, famine, homelessness, drug addiction, hopelessness and death, en route to becoming the most God denying time in history, Americans focus on momentary things and the highs of dopamine release, requiring more and more self-indulgence while ignoring the needs of God’s children all around them. I am not a fan of broad generalizations but am compelled to write this as a sad and supportable fact.

I often think that a tragically accurate definition of America today would be the ‘narcissistic nation,’ where we teach self over others. Discounting proven truths for “my truth.” (What???) Willingly sending our children into the lions dens of colleges and universities, hell-bent on guiding our kids to Hell though enlightenment over Light. For this first time in our history, we are seeing less children being born than those dying. Congratulating the generations coming behind us for their individuality and personal awareness while applauding the rejection of God appointed roles of father and mother, encouraging the confusion of gender, identity, giftings and purpose. Confusion abounds as to why we are seeing spikes in depression, addiction, loneliness and suicide like never before, all while abdicating our roles born of experience and spiritual assignment to those without either. There is no foundation where foundational truths do not exist, And where foundational Truth is sidelined, evil and the lies of the enemy will abound. Rome burns.

So the question becomes, where does my heart lay? In the confines of comfort and self-indulgence or in the desire to be more Christ-like? Consider sacrificing self for selflessness; for righteousness; for true identity; for everlasting impact. Consider making yourself available and vulnerable to the least, most needy, most hungry for hope, most beautiful among us.

“I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done.  Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith.  I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead!” Philippians 3:7-11 NLT

The World needs your involvement as never before. Your light, your hope, your example, your faith…your leading. The Truth that is Jesus Christ will live and remain the only truth, regardless of what the World adopts. Your life example of truth is very likely the hope for eternity for someone in your path today. Don’t walk by them, walk into them with kindness and love that may for the first time define through action Truth for them.

You’ve got this!

James 1:2-6 NIV

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.”

Good Morning,

When I read this scripture this morning it struck me how certain words and phrases are used less, while others gain momentum.

Perseverance seems to be one of those words used less and less. We live in an immediate gratification World that says you can have it now. No waiting. No work. No effort. No commitment. You get it.

As I consider perseverance, synonyms that popped up included steadfastness, tenacity, resolve, determination. Then I recognized that these synonyms are also used less and less.

I encourage you to stake your faith in the Word. God’s Word. His gift to us that provides a roadmap of hope, history of caution and context for living full lives of purpose. God’s words are perfect and never changing and his guidance for life without shortcut or off ramps are fully contained in his Word, the Bible.

“Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.” Psalm 119:105 NIV

So continue to allow yourself to be separated from the worldly mob by living a life that reflects steadfast hope. Inexhaustible perseverance. A tenacity for sewing the truth that is Jesus everywhere that God guides your steps. A determination to live a life fully committed to growing in knowledge and relationship with Jesus.

Satan’s power diminishes and ultimately is defeated as we grow closer to the Lord through his Word and lives perpetually being filled more and more with faith and knowledge in Jesus. Evil has no power or hold where shadows or secrets are replaced with light and truth. Commit to prohibiting junk from coming in to you heart and mind by flooding yourself with words and people of truth and light.

So live a life of transparency today. Don’t worry about anyone who may be driven away by your story and your faith and walk with Jesus. They’re simply not ready to hear the good news that is Jesus Christ. You’re now tasked with being a good steward of your time because the message of hope that your life represents is needed to be heard and witnessed by untold numbers of people.

Recognize the power that God has placed within you. Believe in the new creation that you are. Understand that you are now the deliverer of hope and healing that others so desperately need. Accept the anointing on your life. Reflect the perseverance message of hope and the steadfast love that is Jesus Christ in all things.

You are God’s daughter or son. Your identity is Your Name, ‘beloved son or daughter of God.’ And that my sister or brother is more than enough.

You’ve got this!

Failing at the feet of Jesus replaces any sense of failure and rising from his feet daily empowers me to live a life committed to the Fruits of the Spirit and a life of purpose and impact.

“So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves.  The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions.  But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses.

When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there.  Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.  Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another.” Galatians 5:16-26 NLT

Every Believer friend that I know loves Galatians 5:22-23, the verse that outlines the fruits of the Spirit. A beautiful, assuring and empowering verse of truth and hope. We need it! The battle rages for our minds after the war for our souls is lost and this verse provides a measurable outline for how we are doing. Do you love? Does joy emanate through you? Is patience a characteristic that guides your daily walk? Are you inherently kind? Are you good, even in the face of bad? Does your faith guide and guard your heart? Do others see a gentleness in and through you? Are you self-controlled in how we approach life on a daily basis? I pose these questions directly to you because the relationship with Jesus is deeply personal and singular. You and Him. There is no relationship through osmosis or association.

Paul also provides us measurement to examine where our heart and soul lies earlier in Galatians 5 when he outlines the mental state and life actions that occur when we follow our sinful nature, versus a Spirit-led life. I grew up in a religion that believed “once saved, always saved,” and I do believe this is absolutely true. Equally, I personally had to come to the recognition that within this truth of absolute salvation through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, we are made new and our lives must reflect what Galatians 5:22-23 outlines as Spirit-filled lives.

“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

My encouragement to you today is to honestly and deeply examine your life. Am I living a Spirit filled and led life? Do my daily actions stand out from a World led by sinful nature? Am I fully surrendered to a life of purpose whose objective is to build God’s Kingdom one soul at a time by being a source of light and hope in a broken World?

I had to come to the correct recognition that I was not truly saved because my actions and my life did not reflect what scripture teaches is a Spirit led life. What I had been faithfully and correctly taught as a child gave me a sense of having a “Get Out of Sin Free” card, which does not exist. My freedom from sin came at the highest price measurable. The blood of the Son of the Most High God. My freedom from sin was freely given through the Grace and Mercy of a benevolent God who loved me despite who I was and because of who I became in him through the complete surrender of my life to Him. In Him! The old became new and new man, supernaturally born, emerged.

The realization that I was only who I was because I chose to live in him and through a Spirit-filled life, correctly positioned my thinking and my living. That I could no longer allow my life to be dictated or influenced by sinful nature because I had laid my sinful nature at the feet of Christ, upon which it was destroyed. My old self had died, my new life was not my own but a life fully surrendered to the only One who matters. My desire today is to no longer sin, which I fail at daily.

My friend, be sure. Be absolutely sure. Measure yourself and hold yourself accountable. Are you certain beyond certain and do your actions and approach to life reflect a Spirit-led life of imperfect pursuit of perfect purpose? There are no do-overs when this life is done. Heaven is real and Hell is real. The choice is forever and the consequences immeasurably beautiful or eternally tragic. The mirror never lies. What does yours reflect?

You’ve got this.

What consumes your mind controls your life.” Kate Hewitt

“Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior.” Habakkuk 3:17-18

We live in a World of condition. What’s the condition of our family, our finances, our marriage, our job, our car, our clothes, our status and on and on and on? Our joy is often conditional based upon the condition of what we often allow the World to define as important.

The Lord tells us that the only condition of importance is the condition of our relationship with him. He teaches us throughout his gift to us of the Bible, that a life surrendered to him yields a harvest of riches that cannot be defined or fathomed without close and intimate relationship with him.

If God has blessed you with a simple life, thank him. If he has allowed you to live without the diluting confusion of too much stuff and complexity, praise him. If he has removed any and all things that cause you to take your eyes off of him, recognize that he loves you especially because he has gifted you with a direct line to him, sans all things that can potentially draw your eyes and desires away from him.

So many times in the scripture we are taught that worship occurred during times of tragedy and that joy and fullness of life was the result of obedient worship, faith and acknowledgment that God is good in all things. Worship in all things big and small, good and bad.

Choose unconditional joy because your are the daughter or son of and unconditional Father. He loves you so much that he allows you to choose or reject him. God’s only desire is a close, personal, intimate relationship with us. He wants a relation that was chosen, not assigned. He loves to deliver the desires of our heart as they are revealed through relationship with him. Choose him. Choose joy. Choose simplicity. Choose him because he chose to create you for the purposes he longs to fulfill through you. Choose a life fulfilled by the only source that fills. God the Father.

You’ve got this.

“Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.” Luke 12:6-7 ESV

Good morning. It’s easy in this World of “do more, get more, be more” to seek and find validation and identity based upon the stuff we gather, where we live, what we drive, how dress, the size of our bank acccount(s). It’s easy to seek validation from and through the things that a World full of equally broken people say matter.

I continue to find really fascinating the proliferation of storage units that continue to pop up everywhere. We now have temperature controlled storage facilities that make sure our stuff that we don’t use (and if we don’t use it, we don’t need it) rests quietly and purposelessly in air conditioned and heated comfort. Be cautious and ensure that your ‘more stuff’ is not defining you. One person’s stuff is really just more hassle but can be a treasure to someone striving to survive when shared.

“But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents.
Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.” Mark 12:42-44. NIV

Jesus teaches us to be more. Be more loving. Be more kind. Be more caring. Be more generous. Be more authentic. Be more…like Christ.

I encourage you to focus on the things that do matter. To believe that God has you exactly where you are because you do matter to the only One that matters.

“Now therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, “Consider your ways! You have sown much, but harvest little; you eat, but there is not enough to be satisfied; you drink, but there is not enough to become drunk; you put on clothing, but no one is warm enough; and he who earns, earns wages to put into a purse with holes.” Thus says the Lord of hosts, “Consider your ways!” Haggai 1:5-7

Consider, just consider that perhaps God is doing a bigger work within you than you can imagine. He is because He values you that much. His love for you validates you more than anything this World has to offer . You are his beloved child. That’s enough.

You’ve got this

I love this scripture. It is the life, the hope, the expectation, the reality of the Believer proclaiming the name of Jesus and living a life surrendered to Him. Our prosperity comes from the truth and hope that is Jesus Christ. Recognize that Jesus told his disciples “the World with hate you” prior to ascending to Heaven. This is still true today. Take heart, be emboldened, walk confidently knowing that who the World hates, the Father loves and who the Father loves, lives a priceless life of purpose and assurance.

“We put no obstacle in anyone’s way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love; by truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; through honor and dishonor, through slander and praise. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and yet not killed; 10 as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything.” 2 Corinthians 6:3-9 (ESV)

God is with you. God is watching over you. The World has no influence over you when your mind, your eyes and your heart are focused on the Father.

You’ve got this because He has you.

“Some people cannot be cured, but everyone can heal.” Author Unknown

We remembered the unimaginable terror that was unleashed on our fellow Americans 22 years ago this past 9-11-2023 and post after post stating “we will never forget” showed throughout social media. The annual, and beautiful, recognition of the victims, the heroes and those left to live on with massive, life-sized wholes in their lives occurred in NYC, in Washington, on Pennsylvania. For several hours on 9-11-2001, life stopped.

Anyone old enough to remember the attacks of 9/11 can and will tell you exactly where and what they were doing when the towers were attacked and fell, when a section of the Pentagon was destroyed and when the heroes on Flight 93 took matters into their own hands, sacrificing their lives for the greater good of the Nation. I grew up hearing about the attack on Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941, the assassination of President Kennedy, Nov. 22, 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr.’s assassination, April 4, 1968. To put time in perspective, 22 years after Pearl Harbor was 1963, after JFK’s death, 1985 and after MLK’s 1990.

I remember that from horror came honor. From destruction came cohesion. From death came determination to protect and restore life. We faced our enemies but more importantly, we embraced our fellow Americans.

When the massive clouds at ground zero began to clear, I remember an America whose clarity of purpose and responsibility was never more laser focused. Caring for one another. Exhibiting patience as not seen for generations. Encouraging one another. Walking beside one another. Holding one another. Hugging each other. Understanding the value of tactile and presence. We cared for the greater good and released the petty, self indulgent selfishness that blessed lives so often become ensconced. We were a nation first and individuals second.

I remember in those days and weeks and even months later, an America who was not afraid to say and pray “In God we trust.” A Nation whose citizens refused to allow the pettiness of political views, religious beliefs, socioeconomic status, skin color or opinions to divide us. I remember walking to Ground Zero one month after the attacks and the acrid smell of sulfur that permeated the air, thinking to myself, ‘this is what Hell must smell like.’ I remember standing there, viewing the holes where towers and life once stood, the only sound being the machines continuing the clean up, the 24/7 lights that illuminated where unimaginable darkness had occurred and seeing people to my left and right, all focused on what had happened, what was happening and our fellow citizens/brothers & sisters dealing with the aftermath through resolve and unity. I remember those tragically beautiful days, weeks and months. We were united.

I will never forget the smell of Ground Zero as I visited. The comparison of hell on Earth that occurred that day. Now 22 years later, I recognize that the evil of 9/11 cannot be compared to Hell because hope still reigned. Hell is the eternal absence of hope and any relationship with God. If you are breathing and reading this, hope remains. And where hope remains, anything is possible.

“When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:25-26

I wonder what the victims of 9/11 would say today, 22 years later? Would they say it was worth it for the America that is today? Or would they say, “America, we’ve been hijacked.”

“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.” 1 John 3:1

How would you choose to start each day if you clearly understood and accepted this day and every day that the Father lavishes us with His great love? I ask this because I believe most of us choose to listen to the noise of a broken World rather than the truth and promise of the only everlasting, never-changing, always loving, ever guiding, Lavisher of love, hope and promise.

The Oxford Languages dictionary struggle to properly define lavish as to “bestow something in generous or extravagant quantities on.” Think of what lavishes you with love in this World and then multiply that by infinitely more to try and grasp the Father’s love for you. What does a small child laughing, playing, hugging, kissing you do to your heart? How does a puppy playing, jumping, licking you brighten moments of a day? Laughter is called ‘the best medicine” because it literally enhances your intake of oxygen-rich air, stimulates your heart, lungs and muscles, and increases the endorphins that are released by your brain.

Today and every day we have a choice. We can choose to focus on that that is good for our heart, our mind, our soul and our life, A life created for purpose. Or we can choose to pursue the fleeting and fickle accolades of a World full of people and situations that delights in minimizing what is important, discounting what matters and discourages belief in the only truth that stands the test of time.

Choose wisely today. Be thankful that God loves you so much that he gave you the choice to love and be in relationship with Him. Recognize that you are created in God’s image, so much that He desires a genuine, one on one relationship with you based upon your choosing Him as He has chosen you. Live expectantly for the love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness (Galatians 5:22) that God freely gives each of us through the Spirit.

Today you have the choice. To live in the lavish love that God gives each of us as His children. Or, to wallow in the mire of pursuing hope and happiness in a World that has proven over and over again its inability and unwillingness to affirm and encourage its inhabitants. The saying goes the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, expecting a different result. Choose wisely.

You are worthy of the Father’s lavish love. You can believe this because He lavished His love on us as His Son died on the cross. You can look in the mirror and know without question that you are His beloved daughter or son, whose value only He can properly define…if you’ll just trust and allow him. Your choice.

You’ve got this.

“This is what the Lord says— your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is good for you and leads you along the paths you should follow.” Isaiah 48:17 (NLT)

What if you and I became tone deaf to the lies of the World and solely listened to the only truth that exists, the truth of God’s redeeming, never-ending, never changing, steadfast truth and love?

I have had several friends over the past few years take the step of silencing 24/7 news, minimizing their social media exposure, guarding their inner circle of trusted friends, while expanding their time and focus on reading God’s Word and talking with Him through prayer. They universally found that more joy, more peace, greater optimism and expectation of the future grew within them, showed through them and outwardly they became a source of optimism and encouragement to people that God placed in their path.

Habits, good and bad, are formed over lifetimes. I tell our kids constantly the phrase “junk in, junk out,” to which I receive eye rolls with an every now and then comment of “you’re right dad” when some junk causes pain or confusion. We don’t put on an extra 30 lbs during a single weekend of bad eating habits. We allow bad habits to become lifestyles and lifestyles that allow junk in, begin to produce junk going out.

I encourage you to choose deliberate living. To live a life of in all things placing Christ first. Accept who God says you are and remove those voices and channels that tell you otherwise. I encourage you to get up every morning, look in the mirror and affirm that you are God’s beloved daughter or son, who He created for significant purpose every day. I encourage you to walk with head held high and hands held out in faith and serving.

Take some small steps this week to begin walking into the example, influence and impact that your were created by the Creator of all things to contribute:

• Wake up 20 minutes earlier and read your Bible for 15 minutes.
• Pray for 5 minutes with focus on thanking God for this day, for your Christian sisters and brothers and for the opportunity of a new morning.
• Minimize your exposure to 24/7 news and all media channels spewing the lies and anger of a broken World.
• Tell one new person every day this week that your are thankful for them and grateful to them…and why you are.
• Pray for 5 minutes mid-day, thanking God for the morning (good or bad) that you have had and for the opportunities coming this afternoon. (We’re working towards 1 Thessalonians 5:18.)
• Finish your day by reflecting on things that occurred this day that you are thankful for and earnestly pray for the things God is placing in your path tomorrow.
• As you lie down, read a chapter in Proverbs and pray expectantly that the wisdom of these passages become the expectations of your heart. Replace fatigue of what has occurred with rest that comes from our Savior.
• Each next, new morning, make Psalm 118:24 the mantra of your life.

Prepare for the battle that will rage inside you as you become the positive, influential, encouraging, loving and serving person that God designed each of us to be. Satan does not surrender. He just unleashes different tactics to drive us down. Remind yourself that Satan has no power where doubt, darkness and secrets do not exist. He has lost you (if you are a Believer in Jesus) for eternity. Every day he is one day closer to ultimate defeat. His desperation grows while you walk more boldly as the daughter or son of the only Truth. Surround yourself with Believers who encourage you, walk with you, stand in the gap for you and love you.

“Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers. How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness? ¹⁵ What harmony can there be between Christ and the devil? How can a believer be a partner with an unbeliever? ¹⁶ And what union can there be between God’s temple and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God said:

“I will live in them
    and walk among them.
I will be their God,
    and they will be my people.
¹⁷ Therefore, come out from among unbelievers,
    and separate yourselves from them, says the Lord.
Don’t touch their filthy things,
    and I will welcome you.
¹⁸ And I will be your Father,
    and you will be my sons and daughters,
    says the Lord Almighty.” 2 Corinthians 6:14-18

You’ve got this.