Have An Adventure

"One of them, an expert in religious law,

tried to trap Him with this question:

'Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the Law of Moses?'

Jesus replied, ' You must love the LORD your God with all your heart,

all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.

A second is equally important: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"

~Matthew 22:35-39 

 

 

We've witnessed a LOT of upheaval recently, and we have let it divide us!  We have seen the media change opinions about Law Enforcement from one of protection to vilifying ALL Law Enforcement as evil, prejudiced, and corrupt.  We have seen the racial tensions exploding due to the actions of a few.  We have seen the controversy over a flag that, for some, represents repression, yet for others it represents heritage.  We have seen people taking the law into their own hands because they didn't believe our elected officials (whom were chosen by the voting majority to serve us) were doing enough fast enough.  We have seen the Supreme Court's decision on gay marriage create such a stir as I have not seen in my lifetime.  

But let's strip away all the "causes" and "justifications" and let's take a look at one glaring core statement that is being made.  "If you don't agree and embrace my way of thinking then you are bigoted, racist, hate-mongering, and wrong."  It's as though we have become a nation of spoiled children each demanding their own way and throwing temper tantrums if we don't get it.  And in so doing we have lost the message given to us by Jesus Christ, to love each other!

Love does not mean I will always agree.  I don't expect everyone to agree with me and I'm okay with that.  Jesus reminds us that when we put our focus on loving God first we will be able to love others too, in spite of our differences.  You see, Jesus loved people!  But understand, Jesus taught people to love and to love others who thought differently, acted differently, felt differently and lived differently.  Jesus took a paralyzed man and not only did Jesus NOT put food in his mouth and money in his pocket, Jesus gave him the ability to earn his own way!

Jesus was called the Shepherd.  Shepherds don't take food to the sheep and put it in front of them.  The Shepherd shows the sheep where to find food.

If we are to truly call ourselves Christians, we need to understand that Jesus teaches us to love and part of that love is helping people become self sufficient so they, in turn, can help others!  When we can get past the personal agendas and political posturing and maneuvering, we can get back to loving.

The congregation of the Charleston AME Church proved that love conquers.  They were able to tap into the love of Christ and offer forgiveness to the inflictor of so much pain.  Why can't we? What an adventure we would have then, huh?

No Place To Hide

Can a man hide himself in secret places so that 

I cannot see him? declares the Lord. 

Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the Lord.

~Jeremiah 23:24

 

When my daughter was a toddler, she loved to play Hide-and-Seek.  She would stand in the middle of the room with her eyes squeezed shut thinking no one could see her. Now that I have partially embarrassed her (I left the photos of the event out of this), let's think about something.

 

How many times do you think we do the same thing with God?  We think God can't see us or we think we can hide from Him.  Hmmmm...can we hide from Him?

 

Psalm 139:7 asks: 

"Where can I go to escape Your spirit?
Where can I flee to hide from Your presence?" 

 

I don't know about you, but I find it comforting knowing that God can never lose me in a crowd.  I find it comforting knowing that I can never hide from the love of God!  That means God knows me far better than I know myself!

 

Where can I hide from God?  The better question would be, Why would you want to hide from God? 

Change Your View And Change Your World

If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. 

The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

2 Corinthians 5:17

 

Status Quo.  We like that.  Status Quo quite literally means "all things remain the same as before."  We like that.

 

I have stated, before, that I am not exactly a fan of change.  But I need to clarify that.  I am not a fan of change that is made just so there will be change.  I am a huge fan of change that will benefit.  That doesn't mean the change will be easy, but the end result will be a vast improvement.

 

On November 19, 2015, I stepped on the scales at the gym and when the screaming of the scales ceased, I weighed in at 299 pounds.  On November 20, 2015, a plan was put in place to...you guessed it....change that.  Eating habits had to be changed, and I didn't like that in the least.  I would gladly exchange my salads for pizza in less than a heartbeat. I would GLADLY exchange all this water for more coffee or, dare I say it, an ice cold beer.  I would happily exchange the sweatiness from exercise for the comfort of my recliner.

 

Did I like making changes?  Stop laughing and look at my face! The answer would be a resounding "NO!".  But the result has been very beneficial!  Made it through Thanksgiving AND Christmas with only minor skirmishes with the dietary changes.  As a result, I am over 50 pounds lighter.  Still not fond of changes, but I do like the benefits.

 

You see, the point is this: Change is not a bad thing.  It still isn't easy because we are critters of habit.  But change that is beneficial is GOOD change! 

Change....It's About Trust!

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. 

Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 

Then you will experience God’s peace, 

which exceeds anything we can understand. 

His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

~ Philippians 4:6-7 

 

Saul had a job to do and he LOVED his job!  In fact, he was so enthusiastic about his job that he developed a reputation for his passion for his work.  His job?  Tearing apart the Church, jailing or killing or torturing Christians, and then off to the next town to do it all over again.  When Saul showed up, people ran and hid!  People left town!  Saul terrified people and he relished that reputation.

 

As it happened, Saul and his band of merry church destroyers were on their way to Damascus to, once again, do what they do best.  And as they traveled the road, Jesus came and Saul faced the change in his life he never expected or wanted!  Jesus blinded Saul.  In fact, Saul the Ruthless was now having to be led around by someone else because he was helpless.  

 

Think about this:  Sometimes when change comes into our lives, it is not what we expected or wanted.  It might leave us feeling helpless...just like Saul.  But if you read Acts 19, you will see that Saul the Ruthless eventually became Paul the Apostle who wrote most of the New Testament.  

 

In 2005, my wife and I went for a walk.  We had just moved into our home and we were walking around the neighborhood.  My left arm started to tingle...then it went numb.  Not a good feeling, let me tell you.  Later that week, I went in for my physical and the doc put me on the stress test treadmill.  In the middle of the test, my left arm went numb again and the test had to be stopped.  Doc called my wife to come get me and take me to the hospital where he had already scheduled a heart cath.  

 

Now....when you are laying on that stainless steel table with no dignity left, and they release the dye into your artery (so they can see what's going on) and you hear the attending physician mutter: "WOW!"  That is NOT what you expect or want to hear!  I knew change was coming and I wasn't going to like it.  A quadruple bypass and 6 months of recovery later, my life has changed for the better.  Yes, I had to make some hard choices and had to accept some choices that were made for me.  But had that not happened, I wouldn't be here now writing this.

 

My Grampa had a way with words, often quite colorful, and he once told me: "S&$t happens. Your choice is to wallow in it, step in it, or step over it, or shovel it into your garden so you can have a good crop."  Change happens!  What you do with it determines the crop you will grow from it.

 

Don't worry or be anxious! Give it go God and let Him make a masterpiece out of your life! The caterpillar cannot become the butterfly without change.