A Difference

Don't just make a difference; be a difference. Let your life--without you even thinking about it--touch the lives of others. Encourage in word. Encourage in action. Encourage by living a life of joy. Encourage through your day by day faithfulness. Be the evidence that God is love.

Fame and Fortune

Fame--fleeting; as fragile as the next breath
Fortune--a threat to contentment; true riches are always accompanied with godliness

Faith--foolishness to the natural man who believes that life is all about fame and fortune

A humble, thankful, giving heart--what allows a man or woman to turn the fame and fortune that God has graciously given them into a shining light that gives glory to the Father--the world's greatest Lover.

Theology 101

Theology 101: Definitions
Grace: The gift that makes Christ-like living possible in every place, in every set of circumstances, in your interactions with each and every person you encounter each and every day.
Freedom: The Spirit's destruction of the chains of sin so that you could be taken captive by the King of Kings.
Happiness: Blessedness; contentment--living daily in the full assurance that He is in control.
Love: the unshakable promise, empowered by the Spirit, that enables all of my relationships to be immersed in the unshakable willingness to sacrifice all that I have and all that I am for the other person.
Obedience: love in action
Holy Spirit: "Christ in you, the hope of glory"
Faith: choosing actions that give evidence that I know that His wisdom is faultless, His love inescapable, and His will for my life beautiful.
Hope: Home. the guarantee that makes faith and loving obedience the only reasonable choices.
Creation: the undeniable, omnipotent evidence that He will keep His promises. Or the undeniable, omnipotent evidence that chance is an illusion, time is temporary, and He is the reality.
Fear: a sense of His presence, the commitment to treasure His heart by treasuring the hearts of all those He brings into my life.
Kindness: the act that proves to others that they are loved and forgiven.
Sorrow: The channel through which He fills you with His joy.
Leadership: Servanthood. The desire and humility of spirit that embraces the truth that I am the least in the kingdom of God.
Loneliness: the times He gives us to rest in His presence, listen to His voice, and to remember that He is always with us.
Integrity: being immune to the pressures that lure you into being a fraud, a hypocrite.
Genuine: the habit of living a life that spontaneously reflects the Spirit's control over who you are and what you do.

Connections

A body--multiple members; each one essential.
A House--being built stone upon stone; all resting on the One Foundation.
Discipleship--mentoring--the mission
Fellowship--the mutual reliance on one another
Intercessory prayer--the heart of compassion
Dying for one another--the reason God puts money in our bank accounts--to help each other in time of need.
Ministers. Servants. The name we give to our leaders--those who should set the example of an other-focused life.

Yes. The Christian life--the Christian journey--was designed by God to be a group project. Connected? Being in an assembly is a command--not a suggestion. It's the only place to experience His love and His encouragement. Gather together--two or three and He'll be there. And the "more the merrier.

Reflections for February 2017

 Our Savior is concerned with who you are today--not who you were.
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Each day He entrusts you with His "reputation."
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 We must view all circumstances through the same lens: He loved us so much that He died for us--willingly. Unasked. He loves us just as much now as He did then.
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A prayer for each day: "Lord, encourage the exhausted, strengthen the feeble, say to the anxious heart, 'Take courage, fear not, I will be with you. You will be overtaken by gladness and joy.' " And yes, that's you and me.
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Why are we afraid to pray, "I don't know what to do?" We pray to the covenant keeping God who is always at hand. We pray to the Creator King of the entire universe. We pray to the Living God. He knows what to do, how to do it, and when to do it so that it will be for our good and His glory. And nothing is impossible with God.
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 How many times when I see Him in His glory will He be able to say:
 "Because you prayed to Me, I . . "?  Let Him involve you in His eternal plans for the present tense.
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It is not arrogance to remind God of His promises. It's believing faith.
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The enemy often tries to convince us that we have been abandoned by God. How do you defeat that lie? Down on your knees. Waiting on the eagle's wings of faith. Remembering His past faithfulness.

71

71! Having used up my three score and ten, the Lord decided to add a year of grace to my life. My son calls it "borrowed time"--I call it "grace time." I have had another year to share graciousness with my students. (Yes, they're mine. And they reciprocate--grace for grace.) Another year to walk with Him in the garden of The Acres--He always speaks softly and the way is strewn with beauty. I don't have much beauty, but I can, by His grace, speak softly. And one more year to share--graciously, I hope--the truths He shares with me through the inner whispers of the Spirit. One more year of being abused by the Homesteader and manipulated by the Posse. Another year of goldfish under the ice of the pond--and weeds to pull, of course; and rodents to throw things at, and frozen pipes, and the manual labor that makes the curse a blessing. One more year of cold Pepsi, polish sausage with sauerkraut, lemon meringue pie, tomato soup and cheese sandwiches--the grace of taste buds. One more year of memories--both sorrows and joys, but all the means by which He reveals His never changing or faltering love. One more year--"grace time." "This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it"--let us cherish every moment of His gracious gift of time as we tread--dance--on the journey Home. Always one step at a time. But never alone.

His Hands

We are in His hands. He as the Master Potter has formed us into the vessel He needs to advance His kingdom. Having fashioned us, He fills us with His presence so that the beauty that we radiate is His and not our own. It is the Potter not the vessel that makes all the difference. When broken, He restores--never is one of His vessels put on the shelf useless. Often, the restored vessel is more lovely than before, more able--and willingly eager--to reveal the Hidden Treasure that lives and reigns within. Yes, the moldking process takes a lifetime. We are always being lovingly molded into the image of the Potter. And we are always held securely in His hands--hands that are wrapped securely in the hands of the Father. We are doubly secure. Doubly held tight. There is no safer place to be than in His hands. And it is impossible to be anywhere else. "More secure is no one ever, than the loved ones of the Savior."

Teacher

God is a teacher--not a grader. The reason He patiently takes us through similar trials over and over again is so that we will learn. His motive is not to frustrate us--and certainly not to fail us--but to teach us who He is and to enable us to discover in our experiences that following Him is the only way to find joy and meaning. As He constantly works in our lives, His purpose is always discipleship--loving discipleship. He views our failures as stepping-stones to maturity--to finding out that the truths we have in our heads are truths that put into practice are the keys to the abundant life. How many times did He "repeat" Himself to His disciples until the circumstances made those truths realities? He doesn't give grades on His tests. Until we learn the lesson, until we know Him more deeply, until we rest in His promises, He patiently gives us all the retakes we need.