Myron Speaks

There is an old saying that stands the test of time and truth that states: “It’s not how you start, but how you finish that matters.”

“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

What if everything to this point in your life was part of a greater life plan? What if you replaced regret with acceptance? Acceptance that the roads you have travelled were an education to prepare you. That the lows were building a foundation on which others can lean on and hold to. That God never makes mistakes nor wastes time and your life and life experiences certainly is not a mistake or a waste of time.

“We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28 NIV

Accepting is a critical part in the process of flourishing. Approaching today, tomorrow and the days forward from an outward living perspective allows you to share and provide. When we share and provide the hope that is found through Jesus, the joy that is found through assurance, the purpose that is assigned through salvation and the gratitude that comes from a recognition of Grace and Mercy received but not deserved, then our impact for the Kingdom begins to emerge.

“Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.” Psalm 20:7 NIV

So on this middle day of this week of gratitude pursuit, say boldly “Father, I accept that all things in my life are for the good that my life can and will reflect and deliver.” Regret is a ball and chain that prevents our running and soaring. When God regretted making humans in Genesis and assigning Saul as king in 1 Samuel, he did not abandon his plans but replaced the vessels. Regret is a tool of Satan that limits our impact. God has not and will not abandon you and desires only to free you so you live and thrive in the life he has assigned you.

The verse from Proverbs 3 written earlier states ‘…and lean not on your own understanding.’ What a gift. This is your out from the limiting lies of regret. Trust, lean on him, and your path will be straightened. This is your get out of jail free card. Your life plan. Your life assignment. Your life compass. These are the empowering truths of a life surrendered to God for kingdom purposes. This is the life we are all created for.

I have heard people say many times “I am grateful to be alive.” Are you really? Do your life’s actions reflect a grateful heart? You are the lighthouse for someone lost in the storm of life. You really are!

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” Matthew 5:16 KJV

Joy, Joy, Joy is a song that so many of us sang as children whose message is one that Believers in Christ should reflect. I sing this periodically around our kids, most of the time with responses of rolled eyes but always with smiles that creep on their faces as I sing. We simply cannot espouse joy and retain a sullen aura. Sing and reflect joy because eternity is joy.

“I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart
Where?
Down in my heart!
Where?
Down in my heart!
I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart
Down in my heart to stay
 
And I’m so happy, so very happy
I’ve got the love of Jesus in my heart
Down in my heart.
And I’m so happy, so very happy
I’ve got the love of Jesus in my heart.”

You’ve got this.

“For you are great and do wondrous things; you alone are God.
Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name.
I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever.
For great is your steadfast love toward me; you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.” Psalm 86:10-13 ESV

As you walk into this week of gratitude, practice giving thanks first. Seeing blessings, first. Accounting for all that you have, first. Placing God first. Seeing His goodness, first. Spreading joy, first.

The beautiful old hymn’How Great Thou Art’ teaches us a beautiful lesson in acknowledgment. God is truly great and worthy of our awesome wonder.

“Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee
How great Thou art, how great Thou art
Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee
How great Thou art, how great Thou art”

When we recognize the deity of God and his natural place above and over all, it becomes a much more simple process of surrendering to Him. The act of submission to the Father is an act of freedom. An act of acknowledging starts the flow of understanding. Understanding will reveal purpose. Purpose creates anticipation. Anticipation changes the trajectory of the moment, the day, the week, the month, the year…one’s life. Anticipation reveals the path that God has for our life.

Choose today to live a life of contentment and joy that focuses on the anticipation of what God is and will do in and through you. Your purpose is not a mystery to God, but rather a plan that He has assigned to you and will bless through you.

So, I encourage you to grasp with gratitude the joy that comes only through the Father. God has a marvelous message for you through his Word. He desires that you live a full and complete life of purpose and accomplishment as He defines purpose and accomplishment. He desires that you experience unparalleled success as He defines success. And BTW, his measurement and acknowledgment are the only ones that matter.

Today is your day to speak life and hope into people coming in your path. Are you ready? The people you will meet need you to be ready? Joy comes in the morning and Hope reigns for a lifetime.

You’ve got this

“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.” Isaiah 26:3 ESV

Good Morning,

As we head into this week after Thanksgiving and into the Season of Christmas, I want to challenge you to only expose yourself to the good things that come only through the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

“Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” Colossians 3:2 ESV

Try an attitude test this week that is influenced solely by scripture, worship, music that praises and honors the Father and the Christmas Season. Surround yourself with like Believers. At the end of this week, Saturday, 12-2-23, take a moment to measure your hope and optimism levels. You’ll be astounded, refreshed and energized.

I bombard our kids with the phrase that we have all heard, “junk in, junk out.” I do so because the premise is true and accurate. Satan never plays fair, always play to win, comes through the side doors of our life and is so subtle that we don’t recognize the negative and mind-altering impact of his deceit and destruction until we are in the midst of the battle. The battle is real because the enemy is real.

“Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.” 1 Peter 5:8 NLT

So I encourage you to treat your mind as the temple described in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20. Protect your body and your mind. Feed your mind with what is good. What is true. What is lovely. All that is Jesus. Take this small step this week of only ingesting the truth that comes from the Father above. The freeing effects will amaze and energize you.

“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

You’ve got this.

“Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” Matthew 21:21-22

Be bold today in believing and expecting because He lives

“God sent His son, they called Him, Jesus;
He came to love, heal and forgive;
He lived and died to buy my pardon,
An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives!

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow,
Because He lives, all fear is gone;
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living,
Just because He lives”

Life with Christ often involves just laying all at his feet and saying, “Lord, I face today and believe that all will be okay because I believe that you live.” No ifs, ands or buts. Just because I believe that Jesus is truth, life and love eternal.

What a great song the Gaither’s wrote in the ‘60’s as the World was caught up in the drug culture, the ‘God is dead’ messaging and turmoil of the times. Not unlike today. The truth is this, God is God for all eternity and that is enough to sustain us, to strengthen us and to embolden us in every situation. Trust, my sisters and brothers. Trust, faith, hope, belief, identity.

Life, the World, our sinful nature draws us to fear, to doubt, guilt, shame, anxiety over what today holds and what the future holds. None of these words are Biblical and Jesus-centered living is a life devoid of these conditions and mental state. He lives. He loves. He loved us first. We are his. We are free if only we ask, invite and believe.

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9

Because he lives, we can face each day. Because he loves, each day is worth living.

You’ve got this.

“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.