Building Project

So then, let us pursue what makes for peace and for building up one another.

Romans 14:19 

 

Encouragement.  Building each other up. Peace.  All of these are good.  I, for one, thrive on encouragement.  Why?  Because, like most of us, I am my own worst critic.  Yet when someone sees something positive in you, and reminds you of it, THAT is encouraging.

 

The Apostle Paul was a big proponent of encouraging others, building each other up (with truth, not with flattery), and working together in peace.  Why?  Because our natural bent on this Earth is negative.  We're bombarded with it from all sides.  So when something positive, encouraging, and uplifting comes our way it's like finding an oasis in the middle of the most hostile desert.

 

Let's BE that oasis for each other!!

Keep Pushing Forward

I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.

Philippians 3:14 

 

Have you ever gotten bogged down?  Did you know that when we do get bogged down, our attitudes begin to change?  We begin to become negative, complaining, always focusing on what's wrong.  Why do we do that?  Why do we allow ourselves to become bogged down in life?  Could it be that we have forgotten the fact that God provides us with gifts every single day, or could it be we take them for granted, or we have become so focused on ourselves that we ignore them completely?

 

This month we remembered D-Day.  Think about this, what would have happened if all those soldiers reached the seawall and just stopped?  After all, they were being attacked by very determined defenders.  Brigadier General Teddy Roosevelt, Jr. landed on the beaches of Normandy with his troops.  He was 56 years old, suffered from arthritis, and had to use a can to get ashore.  However, he refused to let his troops become bogged down and stop pushing forward.  One of his soldiers said, “General Theodore Roosevelt was standing there waving his cane and giving out instructions as only he could do. If we were afraid of the enemy, we were more afraid of him and could not have stopped on the beach had we wanted to.”

 

If we become bogged down by looking at our past or worrying about the future, what kind of example are we setting for others?  The gifts God gives us are DAILY!  If you are reading this, God has given you the gift of understanding and learning.  If you are breathing, God has giving you the gift of life. If you woke up this morning, God has given you the gift of today.  Let's start looking at the gifts God gives us, being grateful for them, and press on to the goals God has set for us! 

Whatcha Thinkin'?

And now, brothers, as I close this letter, let me say this one more thing: Fix your thoughts on what is true and good and right. Think about things that are pure and lovely, and dwell on the fine, good things in others. Think about all you can praise God for and be glad about.

Philippians 4:8 

 

We are ALL prone to mistakes, or is it just me?  We ALL have those people who focus purely on the negative in us and seem to thrive on making sure they point it out to us.  I once had a teacher like that.  Oh she would hit you with the "under handed compliment" by smiling and saying, "You did quite well.  However, I would be remiss if I didn't point out some ways you need to improve your performance." I felt so depressed in her class to the point that I dreaded having to go.

 

Let me ask you a question, are you an encourager or a discourager?  Do you focus on the good in others or on the negative?  The Apostle Paul tells us to "dwell on the fine, good things in others."  Do we?

 

Think about it this way, would you prefer to work for a boss who constantly criticizes or one that encourages? 

Why Live In A World Of "Don't"?

“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.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”
Matthew 22:36-40

Have you ever looked at the Ten Commandments?  How many times do you find "Don't" in them?  Honestly, the concept that Christianity is about keeping a list of "don'ts" has driven quite a number of people away.  Let's face it, if all you hear are negatives then why be part of such a group.  Let me put it another way, if your supervisor only took time to give you negative feedback, how would your morale be?  How would your morale be if you knew you were under the microscope and people were just waiting for you to make a mistake?

In today's passage, Jesus was asked what is the greatest, most important of the Commandments.  Of all the "Don'ts" Jesus could have chosen, He chose to give a positive!  He told the Inquisitor that the greatest commandment was to LOVE!  First, love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.  Second, because of your love for God, you will be able to love others as much as you love yourself.  LOVE is the greatest commandment!

Now, how good are we at loving others as much as we love ourselves?  If you love someone, you will encourage, build them up, have their back, remember what it's like to be treated badly so you will do the opposite for others.  Love is about POSITIVE!   So, again, how good are we at loving others?  How good of an example did Jesus give us?

 

Whose Idea?

How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.
    They cannot be numbered!
I can’t even count them;
    they outnumber the grains of sand!
And when I wake up,
    you are still with me!

Psalm 139:17-18

 

One of the things I get to do is listen.  I listen when people tell me things and sometimes I overhear things people are saying.  Guess what the number one category of the conversations I have had or overheard?  NEGATIVE!  That's right, we say things like "I can't"..."I'll never"..."Nothing I do makes a difference"..."No matter how hard I try, no one seems to notice or care"...

 

Why do we think like that?  "Because it's true"?  Says WHO?  Let me give you a nugget of wisdom:  Anything you do for 10 days in a row becomes a habit.  This includes the way we think, act, speak, and the way we treat each other. 

 

 So why do we focus so much on the negative?   Could it be we have been influenced by negative people?  Those who only seem to notice you when you make a mistake; those who simply refuse to acknowledge a job well done; those who simply find some reason not to like you and take it upon themselves to find fault in everything you do; those who play favorites and aren't shy about letting you know that you are not on the "favorites" list.  

 

When we rely on the opinions of others, we condemn ourselves to a negative outlook and that is the outlook we pass on to others.  Let me ask you something, are these negative people the ones who looked down through time and created you specifically for their purposes?  NO!  Do these negative people care enough about you to number the very hairs of your head? NO!  Do these negative people love you enough to die for you? NO!  So why do we put so much validity in what these negative people think about us?

 

Listen, Psalm 139:14 reminds us that we are "skillfully made" by God for His purposes.  Psalm 139:17-18 reminds us that God loves us so much that He cannot stop thinking about us.  Why does God love us so much?  Because YOU are HIS idea...And God only has GOOD ideas! 

 

Thankful for Thinking

 And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.

Philippians 4:8 

Did you know that everything we say and do is preceded by a thought?  Every breath and other automatic responses of our body is regulated by a thought from the limbic portion of the brain.  Then we have the part of the brain that determines what we think about and what we say and some of the more manual motor skills.  And guess from where all these thoughts are being issued?  That's right, our brain.

So, let me ask you....what do you fill your brain with?  The brain is just one of God's amazing gifts and, if used properly, can benefit all those around us.  The brain...that old grey goop that keeps our ears from slapping together.  That incredible information sponge that soaks up a lot more than we think.  Yet, what do we put into this sponge?

Look at what Paul reminds us to fill our minds with: things that are true and honorable; things that are right and pure; things that are lovely and admirable; things that are excellent and worthy of praise.  Did you find anything about gossip?  How about anything about how you can get ahead in your career?  Did you see anything about lust or adultery or anything negative?  Why?  Because our thoughts are controlled by the things we fill our brains with.  Fill your mind with the positive and the things for which we should be thankful, then you will see positive people.  Fill your mind with rubbish and you will see negative people.

Thankful for such an incredible gift as a mind!  Fill it carefully!

#dailythankfulchallenge 

Thankful for the Humble

Watch out! Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven.

Matthew 6:1

Whilst enjoying a nostalgic time earlier this week browsing through my High School Annuals, I began to think how much I wanted to be the best at something positive.  I wanted to be the best at something, because everyone knew those who were the best and fawned over them like groupies to a rocker.  I remember at that time how I wished I could experience that just once.

We all know folks who seek the limelight and demand attention.  They want everyone to know who they are and how wonderful they are.  Well, while they may be wonderful, Jesus tells us that their popularity will be their reward.  God looks at our intent for doing good, because popularity means nothing to Him.

Be careful of your heart's intent and be thankful that God is the one who sees our heart.  God's love for us is FAR more valuable that any horde of groupies.

 #dailythankfulchallenge

We're Pretty Amazing!

You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
    and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
    Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.

Psalm 139:13-14

We really are pretty amazing.  I have often wondered what kind of mind it took to design us in such a way that each bit has a function, yet some bits we can function without and some bits we can't function without.  We can function without a spleen.  We can function without a gallbladder.  We can function without an appendix.  But the heart? Nope, we've got to have one in order to function.  Lungs? Got to have at least one.  We have been intricately designed and it amazes me just how intricately designed we are.

Look at the ship in the photo.  It has been carved out of jade.  Will is sail? Probably not, but sailing is not the purpose for this ship.  This delicately intricate carving in jade's purpose is to be seen and appreciated.  Believe it or not, we all have a purpose, and we may not realize what our purpose is supposed to be for quite some time.

When I was in school, I was socially awkward, shy, quiet, bashful, and any of the other Seven Dwarves you can think of or imagine. For all intents and purposes, I thought my only purpose in life was to be miserable so others wouldn't have to be.  But I was wrong!  It took a LOT of years to understand that, aside from making me the Big Sexy Padre, my purpose was to minister to people in unorthodox ways; to love people who didn't think they were lovable; to encourage people because I know what discouragement feels like.  God made me in such an intricate way that I am His multi-purpose tool!  

And so are YOU!  Think about this...every single experience you have had was for a purpose (whether you understood it, understand it, or believe it).  Because of YOUR experiences you can reach out to people most of us cannot.  You can be a source of help and encouragement that most of us can't.  But you are the one who has to decide what to do with what you have endured.  

Make your legacy be a positive example!