Making A Decision In Winter

February 6, 2012 Leave a Comment

Several years ago Tonya and I were shopping for a house. We had sold the one we had lived in for about ten years and were currently renting. One house we were interested in was not even on the market, but we liked its location and the owner was Tonya’s aunt. Through the family grapevine, we heard that she might be open to selling.

As it turned out, she wasn’t interested in selling at that time, but the reason she gave fascinated me. Very politely she told us, “No, I don’t want to sell right now because from past experience I’ve learned that I don’t make good decisions in winter.” I have to admit that when I heard that answer I thought to myself, “Good for you! There are people who go their entire lives and never recognize such a pattern about themselves.” I actually admired her for being able to figure that out about herself. You see, she is the type of person who is prone to melancholy and depression, and winter weather causes that to bubble up in her all the more. But through much introspection and self-analysis, she had learned that about herself and come up with a way of limiting its damaging effects in her life.

Well, in the end, Tonya and I bought another house, and quite a few years have passed since. Still, though, I remember the line: “I don’t make good decisions in winter.” I think of it when I want to resign from a church during a rough stretch of attendance, spirit, and offerings. I think of it when I want one of the boys to quit a ball team because a coach isn’t doing him right. I think of it when I want to sell our current house because I’ve grown frustrated with all the renovating and repairs it needs.

“I don’t make good decisions in winter” simply means: Always be wary of making a major, life-changing decision during a difficult time. It’s usually better to wait until the sun is warm, the birds are singing, attendance is up, the spirit is good, the money is fine, things are going well for your kid, the repairs are finished, and your overall outlook on life is upbeat. Then, if you can still make the same decision, you know the course of action is right for you.

Filed under Change, Choices, contentment, Desires, God's Will, Impatience, Patience, Personal, weather Tagged with , , , ,

Secret Sin

January 20, 2012 Leave a Comment

It’s been said that your character is what you are when no one is looking. However, it’s also been said that you can fool some of the people all of the time, all of the people some of the time, but you can’t fool God any time. In other words, God is always looking. And so what kind of character does He see on display from you when no one is looking?

When I was a kid I got a snazzy new tape-recorder one Christmas. In the days that followed I had a blast with that thing. One of my favorite past-times was covertly recording the conversations between my mom and dad. You just never knew when you’d catch some juicy bit of gossip, some unguarded moment of candor, or some piece of incriminating discussion that they’d rather not have laid down on cassette tape for anyone to hear. I thought it was all funny, but they weren’t always amused when they heard my playback.

I was reminded of this the other day when my youngest, Royce, tried to secretly record me on the Nintendo 3DS he got for Christmas. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, does it? Fortunately for me, I caught him before I could utter any blackmail-worthy remarks. Unfortunately for me, God’s tape-recorder is always running. Actually, He has more than a tape-recorder; He has a videotape-machine.

It’s with this in mind that I’ll ask you if you’ve been committing some supposedly “secret” sin lately? If you have, just know that “secret” sin on earth is open scandal in heaven. You might be fooling some of the people all of the time or even all of the people some of the time, but you aren’t fooling God any time. Furthermore, the Bible still says, “…be sure that your sin will find you out” (Numbers 32:23). And if you don’t believe that, the only person you are fooling is yourself.

Filed under adultery, Character, God's Omnipresence, God's Omniscience, Honesty, Hypocrisy, Personal, Personal Holiness, Sin Tagged with , , , ,

The Building With The Golden Windows

January 18, 2012 3 Comments

Contentment is one of those subjects that is easy to talk about but hard to live out. Let’s say that my neighbor buys himself a brand new Corvette. The car is “please notice me” red. The interior is “please don’t get me dirty” white. The engine is the factory option “you can’t unrun me” high performance. The wheels are “you can’t afford me” aluminum. And to top it all off he starts wearing a shirt that reads: “Real men drive Corvettes.” Well, how long do you think it will take me to become discontented with my “it’s all I’ve got” Subaru? Not very long.

I want you to take a personal survey. No one is paying attention except you and God. Ask yourself this question: Is there anything in my life right now with which I am not content? Perhaps it’s your car. Perhaps it’s your home. Maybe it’s your job. Maybe it’s your financial situation.

As I was growing up, my dad would say to me on numerous occasions, “Russell, you can’t be satisfied with anything.” I remember how I always chafed at that accusation because I honestly didn’t believe that it was true. I used to think to myself, “No, he’s wrong. I can be content. I just can’t be content with what I’ve got to work with right now.”

Unfortunately, as I’ve grown older I’ve been forced to learn that my father was right about my contentment level. If it was a thermostat it would be set very, very low. It doesn’t take much to get me to looking over the hills and thinking, “Oh, how much better my life would be if I was over there.” If God had let me move every time I had a whim to do so, my vehicle wouldn’t be a Subaru; it would be a U-HAUL. As for Tonya and the boys, I guess they would feel like a military family that moves from one base to another, never staying anywhere long enough to put down roots and build lasting relationships.

Somewhere years ago I read a silly little line that has always helped me. It goes like this: “If the grass is greener on the other side of the fence it’s because it’s growing over a septic tank.” That line has often come to my mind when God has turned down my latest urge to bolt and run and seek my fortune elsewhere. Have I got problems in my current location? Yes. Would I be problem free if I moved to that latest place that has caught my fancy? Nope. It would just be a new set of problems, perhaps even worse than my current ones.

You can learn some things by watching childrens’ television. I can’t remember if I was babysitting Ryan or Royce, but one of them was watching a kids’ show one day when a thought-provoking cartoon segment came on. It was about a little girl who lived in an apartment building in the big city. Every morning she would look out her window and stare longingly at the building with the golden windows that sat on the other side of the city. Oh how she wanted to live in that beautiful building! So one morning she made up her mind to go and see the building up close. She got herself dressed and headed out to find it. All day long she searched and searched, but she couldn’t find the building with the golden windows. Then, late in the afternoon, just as she was about to lose all hope, she turned around and there it was. But it was way over on the other side of town. So she ran and ran and ran and ran until she finally arrived at the building. Only then did she notice that it was the building in which lived. She thought, “How is this possible?” Suddenly the answer came to her: The sun which cast its light upon the one building in rising in the morning was casting its light upon her building in setting in the evening.

Now why am I telling you all this? I’m doing it to help you realize that where you are right now is a wonderful place if it is where God wants to be. Does He ever relocate people and lead them to make changes in their lives? Certainly, but that’s a whole other post for a whole other time. Right now I’m saying that if He has you living in a certain place, working a certain job, maintaining a certain financial level, and driving a certain car, you need to learn to see the golden windows in those things. They are there. You just have to recognize them.

I’ll leave you now with some words from the apostle Paul. They are words that I know very well because they have haunted me many a time. The haunting stems from the fact that I still can’t truthfully make the statement that Paul makes. In Philippians 4:11, he says:

…I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content.

I can’t speak for you, but I haven’t completely “learned” that yet. Without doubt, my classes are still in session. I’m hoping, though, that I can earn that degree one day. Until then I need to keep looking for those golden windows of where God has me.

Filed under Attitude, contentment, Desires, Disappointment, faithfulness, God's Will, Personal, Problems, Trusting In God Tagged with , , , , , , ,

My Post-Holiday Funk

January 12, 2012 3 Comments

Financially speaking, this month of January tends to be a more trying month for Tonya and myself than other months. You don’t have to be Sherlock Holmes to deduce the reason: Christmas hangover. It’s not that we go wild with Christmas shopping and cross the line into sin with it. It’s just that spending any amount of any month’s “extra” income on presents affects the next month’s checkbook. That’s simple math.

A preacher reminded a financially strapped church-member that 1st Thessalonians 5:18 says: “in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” The church-member said, “I don’t see what I have to be thankful for, preacher. I’m buried in debt. I can’t pay my bills. I can’t make my payments, and on top of it all I just lost my job.” The preacher thought for a moment and answered, “Well, be thankful that you aren’t one of your creditors!”

No, it’s not that bad with my family’s finances, but it’s not helping matters that I’m also suffering from some kind of post-holiday, winter malaise. For whatever reason, I’ve been having trouble getting energized this new year. During the holidays, with Tonya and the boys home from school, we all got off schedule by sitting up later and sleeping in later. When school started back up, they got back on track, but I’m still having trouble breaking out of that pattern. I’ve got to fix that. Also, I had been doing an excellent job of getting in thirty minutes of daily exercise leading up to Christmas. But I’m now on my third week or so of taking a break from that. I’ve got to fix that too and get back on that exercise machine.

I was listening to the radio a few days ago and actually heard a disc-jockey address what I’ve been experiencing. He said the post-holiday letdown is very normal and that it is brought on by eating too much, not getting enough exercise, and sleeping too much. I thought, “Wow, he must be following me around with a camcorder!” At least I was encouraged that my problem is fairly typical.

Oh, and another thing that isn’t helping my mood or energy level these days is the weather we’ve been getting here in the mountains of western North Carolina. Like a lot of other folks across the country, we’re mired in one of those winters that doesn’t know it’s a winter. Since the beginning of December we’ve had unseasonably warm weather and a lot of rain. Such weather just kind of wears on you when you’ve grown up in these mountains and are used to subfreezing temperatures and snow. As I recall, we’ve only had two snowfalls so far this winter. One was a barely measurable trace that got the grass white for a little while, and the other was a couple of inches that didn’t exactly get everyone buzzing either. The forecast does call for the possibility on an inch or so tonight, but, again, that’s not enough to really get our juices flowing around here.

Anyway, I just thought that I’d share some of this info with you guys, my readers, today. Maybe someone else out there is experiencing some of the same post-holiday funk that I’m experiencing. If you are, I invite you to join me in slipping back into gear and getting back up to speed. 2012 is a big new adventure that is just lying there waiting for us. If you believe certain doomsday interpretations of the ancient Mayan calendar, it’s even our last year. (I don’t believe those interpretations, by the way.) What I do believe, though, is that God wants to do great things in us, for us, and through us this year. So let’s stop sulking around, overeating, oversleeping, and worrying about our finances and start living with the faith, energy, zest, zeal, and confident expectation with which He would have us. And, yes, I’m preaching to myself on that.

Filed under Attitude, Christmas, dieting, Gluttony, Money, New Year, Personal, Thankfulness, weather Tagged with , , , , , , , ,

The Peace That Jesus Brings

December 23, 2011 1 Comment

In my last post I explained that even though Christ’s birth didn’t actually usher in a time of “peace on earth,” prophecy teaches that one day He will bring in such a time, one thousand years worth of it to be exact. Now, with this post, I want to explain that Christ’s birth did usher in a time when the individual who believes in Him as Savior can come to know a personal peace.

First, this personal peace involves the believer being at peace with God, his Maker. The classic verse on this is Romans 5:1:

Therefore, having been justified by faith (referring to faith in Christ), we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

I’m reminded of that story about the preacher who asked the man, “Have you made peace with God?” The man answered, “I didn’t know that we were fighting.” Well, the fact is that every member of the human race is born fighting with God. Romans 3:10-12 says:

There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one.

Yes, the sinner is at war with holy God. That’s the bad news. But the good news is that Jesus, through His shed blood (Colossians 1:19-20), has laid a peace treaty on the table for any individual who will sign it. Isaiah 53:5 describes it so beautifully:

But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for out iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.

Second, this personal peace involves the believer being at peace with himself. Christ’s words from John 14:27 refer to this kind of inner peace. He says to His disciples:

Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

In a recent series of devotions, my friend Malcolm Woody has been dissecting Philippians chapter 4, specifically as the verses relate to the inner peace of the believer. The devotions have driven home to me afresh and anew the fact that inner peace is there for the taking if the believer desires it. But even as I read those devotions each day it didn’t dawn on me that there was one particular area of my life concerning which I didn’t have an inner peace. It wasn’t until my brother Richie pointedly said to me the other day, “You just don’t a peace about you right now,” that I came to grips with the truth of that statement. I feel like the Lord worked through Malcolm’s devotions to set me on a tee and then He worked through Richie to whack me out of the park. Since my conversation with Richie, I’ve really been working hard at accessing the inner peace that I am afforded in Jesus as it relates to that one troublesome area of my life.

Christian, I gave you that bit of personal testimony to let you know that I speak from personal experience when I ask you if your heart is troubled about something right now. Is there some circumstance, some situation, some problem in your life for which you have no inner peace? If there is, you are, as I was, living beneath your privilege because you aren’t abiding in the peace that Jesus has given you. You need to repent of your worrying. You need to give up on trying to control things you can’t control. Most of all, you need to put your complete trust in your sovereign Savior and let His peace well up from inside you and begin to dominate your life as it should. A troubled heart and the peace that Jesus has given you just can’t coexist. We, as Christians, should obey the command of Colossians 3:15 and “let the peace of God rule in our hearts.”

Third, this personal peace involves the believer being at peace with others. Ephesians 2:14 plays off the fact that in the Jewish temple there was a wall that separated the Court of the Gentiles from the areas that were exclusively for the Jews. The verse says of Jesus:

For He Himself is our peace, who made both (the Jew and the Gentile) one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation.

In Bible times, it would have been impossible to imagine too more different people than the Jew and the Gentile. They were completely different races. They came from radically different backgrounds. They had strikingly different customs. And yet, through Jesus, the Jew and the Gentile could now be at peace with each other. This proves that, through Jesus, the Christian can peaceably get along with others. Jesus Himself says in Mark 9:50, “…have peace with one another.” Hebrews 12:14 chimes right in with that by saying, “…Pursue peace with all people.” And in 1 Thessalonians 5:13, Paul says to the Christians of Thessalonica, “Be at peace among yourselves.”

On the heels of such verses, you know what I’m going to ask you. Are you fighting with someone right now? Is there a person with which you currently are not at peace? If there is, let me encourage you to do all that you can to make peace with them, whoever they are. Remember that in His Sermon on the Mount Jesus taught that His followers (whom He called sons of God) should be “peacemakers” (Matthew 5:9). That means you, Christian. I’ll also quote Paul again here too. In Romans 12:18, he says:

If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.

These words certainly ring true for any time of the year, but surely they ring all the more true for this season of Christmas. How can a Christian properly celebrate the birth of his Savior, the Peace-Giver, if he is at war with a fellow human being? I know, I know, Paul said “If it is possible…”, and maybe you are saying, “It’s just not possible with that person.” Well, maybe it isn’t, and maybe you and that person will never want to climb into a car and take a road-trip together, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t at least do your part to make peace. At the very least, you can stop throwing gasoline onto the fire and making the relationship worse. Ask Jesus to help you to know exactly what to do and what not to do, and trust that He will. Take heart in the fact that peace between yourself and others is one of the kinds of peace that He died to bring you.

Filed under Adversity, Attitude, Christ's birth, Christmas, Doing Good, Extending Forgiveness, Inner Peace, Personal, Personal Holiness, salvation, The Sermon On The Mount, Trusting In God, Worry Tagged with , , , , , , , , ,

A Little Bit Of Rambling From A Tired Parent

November 29, 2011 Leave a Comment

It’s been a week since I last posted anything. The delay hasn’t been because I’ve run out of anything to say, but rather because I just haven’t had the time to sit down and write. Last week, of course, featured Thanksgiving day and Black Friday. That put the boys home from school, which doesn’t exactly help the writing process. We also had the big family meal at our house Thursday. Wednesday saw a lot of preparation for that and Friday saw a lot of recovering from it. I spent much of Saturday finishing up my Sunday morning sermon, and then yesterday featured a lot of errands topped off with Ryan’s j.v. basketball game.

I could say that it’s a busy time of year, but that would imply that there is one that isn’t busy. When you have two boys who each play three sports, you don’t get an off season. I sometimes find myself looking forward to the time when they’ll be out on their own. Then I have to remind myself that I should be savoring these days when we are all under one roof.

When I take a bird’s eye view of my life, the days of having the boys at home are a relatively small percentage of it. Since Ryan is three-and-a-half years older than Royce, let’s approximate those days at 25 years. Even that is giving both boys credit for checking in at home occasionally while they attend college. (And, yes, I do expect them to go to college.) So if I live to be 75 years old, 25 years would be one-third of my life.

But isn’t it funny how that one-third is intense enough to dwarf the remaining two-thirds? It kind of reminds me of what I said about our big family meal last Thursday. It takes you a while to prepare for it and it takes you a while to recover from it.

Please understand that the last thing I’m doing here is complaining about having kids. Truly, I’m in full agreement with Psalm 127:3-5, which says:

Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, The Fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, So are the children of one’s youth. Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them; They shall not be ashamed, But shall speak with their enemies in the gate.

I’m merely pointing out the obvious fact that the daily grind of raising kids can wear you down. For example, for Christmas to be a magical season for them, moms and dads have to make it happen. And there’s certainly nothing magical about shopping malls, traffic jams, and spending money, is there?

It’s interesting that those verses from Psalm 127 describe grown children as being both weapons and protectors for their father. The passage refers to them as arrows, which makes them weapons. But what does it mean that they “shall speak with their enemies in the gate”? Well, in Bible times they didn’t have courthouses, law offices, or register of deeds offices. A city’s legal transactions were conducted at its gates by the elders. Disputes were settled there as well. So speaking with an enemy in the gate would have amounted to representing your father in a legal dispute between your father and his enemy. That, you see, covers the idea of children playing the role of protectors.

I have to say that I like the sounds of all that. When I’m older I’ll no doubt need not only some weaponry but also some protection, and these will be two of my rewards for doing a good job at child-rearing. Until then, though, I’m still looking at a lot of work and expense. Are there joys and blessings along the way? Sure, far more than I could name. I mean, it’s not like everything about the task falls under the category of “grind.” And, furthermore, I fully understand that my responsibilities as a parent won’t end when the boys leave home. Trust me, I have no plans to abandon them when they get to be adults. I guess today I’m just feeling a little run down. I probably need a vacation. It would do me and Tonya some good to get away for a while. Then again, the last vacation we took we had Ryan and Royce right there with us in the van. Oh well, forget that.

Filed under Aging, Children, Christmas, Fatherhood, Parenting, Personal, Reward, Thanksgiving, Uncategorized, Work Tagged with , , , , ,

You’ve Got All You Can Handle Today

November 16, 2011 1 Comment

Scotland’s George MacDonald was a Christian author and minister. He said:

No man ever sank under the burden of the day. It is when tomorrow’s burden is added to the burden of today that the weight is more than a man can bear. Never load yourself so. If you find yourself so loaded, at least remember this: it is your own doing, not God’s. He begs you to leave the future to Him and mind the present.

Of course, MacDonald’s words merely echo the words of Christ from Matthew 6:34:

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Yesterday I made a quick trip to the bank, picked Ryan up from school, and wolfed down a bite of lunch. Other than those three breaks, I spent the rest of the daylight working in my yard. I trimmed back bushes, disposed of the trimmings, raked leaves, blew leaves, and toted leaves. I worked until dark and still didn’t get everything done that I had planned to do. Needless to say, I had let the place go a little too much and really needed to have such a work day.

And the fact is that during my morning prayer time, when I first got up yesterday, I got a clear leading from the Lord to devote the day to getting the yard back in shape. But, you know, before I could even finish breakfast and get out the door, some doubts started creeping into my mind. I started thinking, “Maybe I need to work on my Sunday morning sermon for a while before I head outside.”

You see, that was a case of me borrowing from a future day’s trouble. Like I said, I had so much yard work to do that I worked all day and still didn’t get finished. Obviously, I didn’t have an extra hour or two to devote to sermon preparation. But what was I worrying about anyway? I’ve still got today, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday to get that sermon in order. In God’s will and plan, my main job yesterday was yard work, not sermon work.

So what’s the application of all this for you today? It’s simple: All you have to get done today is what God has scheduled for you today. One of my life verses is Ephesians 2:10, which says:

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

I take this verse to mean that God has certain good works that He has prepared beforehand for me to do in my lifetime. If that’s true, then it only makes sense that these good works are laid out on a day-by-day basis. That’s why I get up each morning and literally say something like this, “Lord, thank you for the rest that I was able to get last night, and thank you for this day. Help me to do my list for today, whatever that is.” Then I do my best to let the Lord lead me step by step through my day. Some days play out pretty much as I could have guessed. Other days are filled with all kinds of wrinkles and “plan Bs.” At any rate, the point is that we need to think of each day as being a life of its own. That includes this current day. So tell me, are you focused on this 24-hour period? Or are you worrying about some future day? Be honest in how you answer and change any thinking that you need to change.

Filed under Attitude, Doing Good, faithfulness, God's Timing, God's Work, obedience, Personal, prayer, Prayer Requests, Priorities, Service, Work, Worry Tagged with , , , , , , , ,

Something We Could Learn From A Parrot

November 4, 2011 Leave a Comment

In Queen Victoria’s Windsor Castle there was a suite of rooms that were used by her personal chaplain. A private passageway connected the chaplain’s study to the Queen’s quarters. Oftentimes she would use this passageway to consult the chaplain on important matters. Sitting in the passageway was a pet parrot in a cage.

One day, as the Queen was returning to her quarters after a consultation, the parrot spoke to her. She couldn’t make out what it said, but she knew the tone was rather rude. Curious, she asked the chaplain what the bird had said. Greatly embarrassed, he answered, “If you please, Your Majesty, I would rather not repeat it.” “But what was it?” she insisted. “Something I fear Your Majesty will not like; therefore I hope Your Majesty will excuse me from telling it.” At that point the Queen’s curiosity couldn’t be held in check. She said, “Come, I insist.” The chaplain then bowed himself and answered, “Since Your Majesty insists, the parrot said, ‘Go along, you ugly old woman!’” Upon hearing that, the Queen burst out in laughter and said, “Well, I am glad that there is at least one voice in the kingdom which is not afraid to tell me what it thinks of me.”

I once heard a preacher say, “Straight talk is easily understood.” I always liked that line. I even entitled my book Straight Talk About God’s Will. I am a firm believer that there isn’t enough straight talk in our society. We are masters at mincing words. We water down the truth to take the edge off it. We live in terror of offending someone or hurting their feelings. This has made us a nation of weaklings where everyone is sheltered from uncompromising truth, a country where being blunt is looked upon as a sin and being critical as an abomination. I’d say that we could learn something from that Windsor Castle parrot.

I have to wonder how God’s Old Testament prophets would fare in modern-day America. Take Amos for example. He called the ungodly women of the northern kingdom of Israel “cows of Bashan” (Amos 4:1). I doubt that he could build much of a congregation with such preaching today. Of course, Jesus sometimes preached in that same vein. He called the scribes and Pharisees “hypocrites” (Matthew 23:13), “blind guides” (Matthew 23:16), “fools” (Matthew 23:17), “serpents” (Matthew 23:33), and a “brood of vipers” (Matthew 23:33). That’s not exactly, “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life,” is it?

I’m not saying that tact and diplomacy don’t have their place. As a matter of fact, they should be the basic rule that governs our words. My point is that we have swung so far in that direction that we’ve just about forgotten the value of straight talk. It’s hard for honest-to-goodness communication to thrive through the mountains of “fake nice” smiles we wear and words we use. If you don’t believe me, ask yourself when was the last time that you either got an honest answer or gave one to the question, “How are you today?” If anyone ever answered that question truthfully rather than give the generic response, “I’m fine,” the person who asked would be shocked!

So what do I want you to do with this post? That’s simple: use it as an incentive to be more “real” in your conversations. If there is a problem, say so. If something needs to be corrected, speak up. If a change needs to be made, don’t keep to yourself about it. Vanilla words might allow us all to remain in our comfort zones, but they will never advance God’s work in this world. Sometimes you’ve just got to tell it like it is and let Him handle the fallout.

Filed under Communication, Courage, God's Work, Honesty, Influence, Ministry, Personal, preaching, The Tongue, Witnessing Tagged with , , , , , , , , ,

Forgiveness, But Not Change

October 3, 2011 2 Comments

I live in a small, rural county in the so-called “Bible belt.” It’s the kind of place where there is a church on every corner, down every side road, and up every holler. Consequently, it can be hard to find someone who has no qualms about admitting to not knowing Christ as Savior. What I mean is, it seems like just about everyone I meet was baptized as a kid, has their name on a church roll, claims to attend somewhere, knows pastor so-and-so as a friend, etc. You get the idea. We’ve got religion, church, the Bible, and prayer running out our noses.

But what bothers me about our little county (approximately 15,000 in number) is how easily we blur the line between authentic Christian conduct and rank worldliness. Some of the same people who go to church every Sunday morning don’t mind doing a good deal of drinking and carousing on Saturday night. Some of the ones who rant and rave about the sexual sin of homosexuality evidently don’t understand that adultery falls in that same category. Some of the ones who are quick to request prayer for themselves or their families are also far too well versed in backbiting, gossiping, and rumor spreading.

My point is that a lot of people love to hear about Christ, the Bible, forgiveness, grace, and salvation, but the numbers dwindle significantly when the topics become repentance, godly conduct, separation from the world, and personal holiness. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not promoting a works-based plan of salvation here. I myself sin every day and have to spend more time than I should asking the Lord for forgiveness of those sins. But with me sin is the exception, not the rule. It occurs outside the norm. It’s the uncommon, not the common. That’s what salvation has done to me (or better yet for me).

Perhaps an illustration will help me say what I’m trying to say. Little Billy was dressed for church in his Sunday best, but his mother wasn’t quite ready to go. So he went out in the back yard and started playing in the dirt. In just a few minutes his clothes were absolutely filthy. When his mother saw him she was furious. Passionately, Billy said, “Mom, I’m real sorry. Please forgive me.” She replied, “Okay, you’re forgiven but go change.” But Billy didn’t want to go back in the house and go to the trouble of dressing again. So he said, “No, I’ll just go as I am.” You see, he wanted forgiveness but not change. And, unfortunately, there seem to be a lot of Billys running around out there these days.

Filed under adultery, Backsliding, Change, Church attendance, Disobedience, Forgiveness, Hypocrisy, Personal, Personal Holiness, Rebellion, salvation, Sin Tagged with , , , , , , ,

The Power of a Word of Praise

September 30, 2011 Leave a Comment

Benjamin West was a famous British artist in the 1700s. He also served as the president of the prestigious Royal Academy of Arts. He was especially known for his paintings of historical scenes.

West first become aware of his artistic talents on a day when his mother had him babysit his younger sister Sally. While his mother was gone, he discovered some bottles of colored ink and attempted to keep Sally amused by painting her portrait. In doing so, he made quite a mess. When his mother returned he expected to be reprimanded. Instead she deliberately looked beyond the mess, picked up the rather crude painting, smiled, and said, “Why, it’s Sally!” From that point on, she became his greatest source of encouragement concerning his talent. He would often say, “My mother’s kiss made me an artist.”

We have no idea just how much influence we can have over the lives of others. A well-timed word of praise can go such a long way in building a person’s confidence. Likewise, an ill-timed word of criticism can go such a long way in destroying that confidence. The single greatest thing that my father ever said to me was, “I’ve seen all these ballplayers around here, and you can play with any of them.” To this day I remember how that one sentence made me feel. It made me feel like I was as good a ballplayer as anyone in our county. Maybe that wasn’t true, but that didn’t stop me from feeling it.

Jay Orr was my pastor when I felt God’s call to the ministry. I will always be indebted to Jay for helping me to yield to that call and fulfill my God appointed role in life. And there was one line from Jay that especially found a home in my heart. We were sitting in his car talking, and he looked me squarely in the eye and said, “Well, you’re preacher material.” The funny thing is that I’m sure that Jay doesn’t even remember saying that to me. But I certainly remember it.

So the purpose of this post is to get you to find someone today and brag on them a little. You don’t have to make a big deal out of it, and I definitely don’t want you to lie. But chances are that you’ll cross paths with someone today who you can sincerely praise for something. Perhaps it will be your child. Perhaps it will be someone who looks up to you. All I’m saying is, whoever it is, a budding artist, ballplayer, or preacher, you just never know the lifelong impact you might make.

Filed under Children, Communication, Encouragement, Fatherhood, Influence, Motherhood, Parenting, Personal, Sports, Youth Tagged with , , , , , ,

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