The Little Things

We all go through life, day after day after day. It can be pretty boring, like we're stuck in a rut. It's almost like we can switch off our brains and simply go through the motions. But them something happens. Something NOT expected, NOT ordinary. A wonderfully amazing gift of grace and love and . . . banana bread.

I am retiring this coming Friday and these last few weeks have been atypical for me. Like yesterday when I picked up my paycheck. I thought, "This is my second to LAST paycheck! Yikes!!" I have been talking with co-workers more. Treasuring every conversation as if it were the last because it just . . . might . . . be. :O

As I was making coffee at work this week a lady came up to me and reached into her pocket. She pulled out a zip lock bag and gave it to me saying, "Here. I baked some banana bread last night and this is for you. We're really going to miss you around here."

Awww. How special. How sweet. That made my day. The slightest little gesture can change someone's entire outlook on life. That got me thinking about MY life? Do I do random things like that to pour into someone else's life? I might do a few things but I don't do enough of them.

Wednesday was my wife's birthday. I bouht her a card. She likes getting cards. The only trouble was she was and hour and a half away, baby sitting our granddaughter. It would have been the first time we had ever been apart for our birthdays on 40 years of marriage. Would have been.

I drove an hour and 40 minutes after work and hand-delivered her card. It was a little thing but it made her day.

Is there someone in your life right now who could use a little cheering up? I'm guessing that there is. So what could you do for them today? Just something simple. Send an encouraging text, Call someone. Open a door for someone. Let someone go ahead of you in whatever line you are in.

 We have been given much by our amazing God. Let's keep it going by giving freely to those around us. In that way they will notice our love. It's a simple way to "let our light shine bright" :)

^"16 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

Lights Shine Bright - TobyMac

Death Maze

Not everyone has a fun-filled job like mine. Most days are pretty routine around here. I sit at my desk, drawing plans. Friday was an extra-special day though. I got to go out into the field and measure up an asbestos-lined filtration room in a waste water treatment plant. Jealous? Mhmm. I bet you are.

The room literally resembled a maze - a labyrinth of back and forth dimly lit corridors of darkness. The only light was provided by a bare bulb at the end of each 50-foot long hallway. The walls are filthy. The floors and ceilings were not much cleaner. So, I walked down every pathway, hoping not to touch . . . anything.

I was very grateful for those lights. Without them I wouldn't have had a chance. I would have emerged from my day, just as dirty as what I had walked through.

Walking through this life can be equally disgusting and just as filthy. Each day we are filled with decisions . . . choices . . . opportunities. How will we choose? How close will we get to touching the walls? And what determines our choice of direction? Ourselves? Our God? And what lights our view of the path we are taking? And what shapes the decisions we make?

In case of sudden darkness I like to carry a flashlight with me wherever I go. It's amazing how it can light up dark places.

^"105 Your word is a lamp to my feetAnd a light to my path.
¹⁰⁶ I have sworn and confirmed
That I will keep Your righteous judgments.
¹⁰⁷ I am afflicted very much;
Revive me, O Lord, according to Your word.
¹⁰⁸ Accept, I pray, the freewill offerings of my mouth, O Lord,
And teach me Your judgments.
¹⁰⁹ My life is continually in my hand,
Yet I do not forget Your law.
¹¹⁰ The wicked have laid a snare for me,
Yet I have not strayed from Your precepts.
¹¹¹ Your testimonies I have taken as a heritage forever,
For they are the rejoicing of my heart.
¹¹² I have inclined my heart to perform Your statutesForever, to the very end." - Psalm 119:105-112

 

If we walk in darkness without something to guide our footsteps we are bound to stumble and fall. God's Word is our flashlight. The batteries are God's Holy Spirit. It convicts us when we are about to make a wrong turn. It keeps us from danger when we get to close to the edge of the path.

 

This life can be a maze of death unless we have something . . . someone . . . to guide us. By placing our faith in Jesus . . . well, He just lights up a room. So should we, if we have His light within us. Are we shining a light as we walk through the darkness? Let's do it!! This world can use all of the light it can get.

 

^"5 This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all." - 1 John 1:5

 

Washed By The Water - Needtobreathe

The Parable of The Tasty Buns

Yesterday afternoon at work we received a most joyous e-mail. Texas Roadhouse had dropped off some of their amazing dinner rolls and signature cinnamon butter for us to sample.

Wow! Did the news spread fast about those amazingly tasty buns! You could actually hear people running down the stairs and through the halls. Everybody was familiar with the tasty buns from Texas Roadhouse.

Still, there were some people who were not interested. Obviously insane. But more likely on a diet of some kind or they were still full from lunch. Still, being gifted something like this doesn't happen everyday. Or does it?

How did you feel when you first came to know Jesus? Are you one of the ones who had a mountaintop experience and that sudden realization that Jesus was real? That was how it was for me. Man, I could not WAIT to tell people what had just happened. The only problem with evangelism is . . . not everyone wants to hear the message.

Perhaps we need to take a lesson from Texas Roadhouse in our evangelism efforts. We already have an amazing product" in our Saviors offer of eternal life and the forgiveness of all of our sins. But how can we get other people to sample what Jesus has to offer? That's easy. Love.

My wife says that the rolls from Texas Roadhouse are a little sweet. That's why they taste so good. Perhaps our witnessing to others about the love of Christ should be sweet as well. Sweetened with the same kind of love He gives to us.

I'm not advocating sugar coating the Gospel, the consequences of sin and the need for repentance like some preachers do. But I AM suggesting we love a little people a little better than we do. That unconditional love we show others is a telltale sign of a true Christian.

We cannot change anyone's mind regarding their beliefs. But we can love others and patiently wait as God's Holy Spirit does the changing. And pray.

We have incredible news to share with the rest of the world - the Good News of The Gospel. How amazingly beautiful must that news be to someone who is dying and in a state of hopelessness.They're everywhere. Let's offer them a sample of Christ's love for us. Perhaps then they will see that the Lord is good! :)

^"8 Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him." - Psalm 34:8

"7 How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, "Your God reigns!"" - Isaiah 52:7

O Taste and See - Jenn Johnson

When It Rains

I drove home during a rather nasty storm last night. Black, dark clouds spanned the sky from north to south. And I was driving right into them. Did I stop? No. Why not? I think people have a sense of "that will never happen to me." Until it happens to them.

Several people pulled over and waited for the storm to pass. I saw a big truck parked under an overpass, a car parked on the side of the road - flashers flashing. They were smart. And me? I just kept right one going. What could happen, right?

That's when my car began to hydroplane. Has that ever happened to you? It's not fun to be going 65 MPH only to discover your steering wheel no longer works. They say there are no atheists in foxholes. Well, there aren't many to be found in severe weather either.

Have you ever heard the saying, "When it rains, it pours?" What does that mean exactly? It sounds redundant to me. Google says it's a proverb. "misfortunes or difficult situations tend to follow each other in rapid succession or to arrive all at the same time."

If that's the case, if that saying is to represent one bad thing after another, then why did Morton put the saying on its containers of salt? A little research finds that pouring salt used to be much more difficult to do on humid days, especially when it was raining. But back in 1914 Morton added magnesium to their salt and humidity, and rain, no longer had an effect on the salt's ability to pour out of the can. "When it rains, it pours," suddenly has a positive meaning instead of a negative one.

Do you remember ever having a really bad day and then something happened to make it amazing? That's happened to me a couple of times and each time it happened, each time the rain poured, a positive, life-changing event shortly followed.

Think about that the next time something really bad happens. Think about what we do when the storm finally stops and the sun comes out. What do we look for? The rainbow! A positive sign that the worst is over and sunshine and better times are soon to follow.

God is an expert at turning bad things and making them better. Look at me! Take your average sinner for example. Everyone of them was made "better" by placing their faith in Jesus. By letting Him into out lives we can somehow manage to navigate even the most difficult storms.

God never promised us a cloudless, sunny sky in this life. He actually promised we would "have trouble" (John 16:33). But right after Jesus said that. He told His disciples something worth remembering through the storms in our lives . . .

³² “A time is coming and in fact has come when you will be scattered, each to your own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me.
 
³³ “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” - John 16:32-33

Remember that, always. When things seem worst, remember that Jesus reigns over everything. Every situation, every struggles . . . even over every storm.

^"37 A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. ³⁸ Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”
 
³⁹ He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm." - Mark 4:37-39

Jesus can save you from the worst situations in life - like when you decide to trust Him, fully, after trying and failing in your relationships time and time again. Why don't we trust Him? Because, just like me, we think we can do it ourselves. All it takes is one hydroplaning moment for us to realize that we so easily can go spinning out of control.

We need Christ. We need His calming influence on our lives. Please, let Him calm the storm in YOUR life, Today.

Calm The Storm - Spoken

Mushroom Syndrome

Do you like to eat mushrooms? I do but not everyone does. My sister doesn't like them. She calls them "fungus among us" and keeps her distance. I like mushrooms on a nice piece of steak, in a salad or just by themselves with some veggie dip.

However, there are some mushrooms that don't like us. They are actually poisonous. Not knowing what they look like, I tend to only eat mushrooms that are sold in stores.

I never eat any mushrooms I find in the woods. Some of them might look good, and maybe they are, but I don't want to take that chance. Except for morel mushrooms, of course. That's them in the picture over there. Yumm!

Early May is a good time to look for morels in the woods. Of course, one has to know WHERE to look, and WHEN. And the conditions must be JUST right.

Have you ever experienced mushroom syndrome? It has nothing to do with mushrooms really. Mushroom syndrome is more of a workplace thing. According to the Urban Dictionary Mushroom Syndrome is . . .

"A syndrome where you're fed (explitive) and kept in the dark. Derives from the method of cultivating mushrooms: they add a lot of fertilizer and keep them in the dark and damp."

We are often kept "in the dark" at work. Lots of office politics going on. Sadly, that happens in our churches as well. Have you ever been a victim of something like that? It's a sad thing to see happening . . . in God's house.

"4 What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? 2 You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. 3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.
4 You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. 5 Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us?

 6 But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says:

“God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.”

7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

11 Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. 12 There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you - who are you to judge your neighbor?" - James 4:1-12

There is no "mushroom syndrome" with God. All we have to do is ask. Mushrooms like the darkness, living in the shadows. But God will not keep US in the dark. In Him there IS no darkness - only light! We are NOT mushrooms!

Until The Whole World Hears - Reagan Ferris
Until The Whole World Hears - Casting Crowns

The Thinnest Of Veils

As we walk through this world we live in, we are never more than one bad decision away from disaster. One misstep can change "what could have been" into "what have I done."

Many factors make up our day-to-day decisions. Often we choose what we want in life by our own selfish desires. Does any of this sound familiar?

"I really want that new phone!"

"Sure, I'll have another drink."

"See that girl over there? She's gonna be mine tonight. I got me some Rohypnol!"

"I'll make some copies at work. Everybody does it."

Can I ask you a question? When you look at Facebook, what do you see? Do you see an endless stream of pictures, updates and memes? I see something else. I see windows. Windows into the hearts of millions. The screen we stare at each day is simply a veil . . . between perception and reality.

We need to ask ourselves . . . . is this how I want to live my life? Just watching the lives of others and the things they do? Or should we unplug ourselves from the computer screen and the phone and live the lives we were meant to live. A life filled with peace, hope and love awaits anyone who wants it. Yet few grab God's offer of eternal life, unconditional love and the endless supply of hope a life in Christ can bring.

So ask yourself this morning. "Is this all there is? Is this life I am living REALLY what life should be? Or is there more? Should I keep walking through this world wishing it would get better? Or should I give up on the day-after-day "surfing" in hopes of finding happiness and finally, fully surrendering my heart to Christ?

My life was forever changed 10 years ago when I chose to walk a different path. Your life can change today. Chose life, not death. Walking around with no hope is not really any way to "live." Choose Christ. Embrace the veil that was torn. Look at His example of a life lived . . . and live like that. You'll be glad you did.

"50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. 51 Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split,  52 and the graves were opened;" - Matthew 27:50-52

Live Like That - Sidewalk Prophets

The Wake

When a boat passes through water it leaves a wake behind it. Wakes are interesting things. They are the result of an external force (a boat for example) on something else (a body of water in the case of a wake). Wakes are a testimony to the boat who made it.

Can you think of other things we see in our daily lives that give testimony to something else?

How about the contrails behind a plane? I wrote about them a few weeks ago. They are the visible evidence left behind by a plane, vapor trails, a wake in the air if you will, one thing caused by something else.

What else? What about footprints? Footprints are a visible reminder that someone has walked through a particular place. If they are crisp and well-defined we can know that they are fresh. The relative size of the foot print leaver and the direction they are traveling in can also be determined. Hmm. Interesting thoughts coming into my head. Yours?

Have you ever seen one of these things? A pile of stone on the beach or some other place? They are called cairns. What can they tell us? Well, they can tell us that someone was there. Stones just don't stack themselves! The builder also knew something about construction (wide base, narrow top). It took some skill to make this.

Do you know who made the first cairn ever? God did. At least He was The One who came up with the idea. One representative of each Jewish tribe made it. Why?

"4 When all the nation had finished passing over the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua, 2 “Take twelve men from the people, from each tribe a man, 3 and command them, saying, ‘Take twelve stones from here out of the midst of the Jordan, from the very place where the priests' feet stood firmly, and bring them over with you and lay them down in the place where you lodge tonight.’” 4 Then Joshua called the twelve men from the people of Israel, whom he had appointed, a man from each tribe. 5 And Joshua said to them, “Pass on before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of the Jordan, and take up each of you a stone upon his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the people of Israel, 6 that this may be a sign among you. When your children ask in time to come, ‘What do those stones mean to you?’ 7 then you shall tell them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it passed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. So these stones shall be to the people of Israel a memorial forever.” - Joshua 4:1-7

Question time.

• Do you leave a wake as you live the life you were given? A wake for good? A positive wake for God? We should be doing that. We should be touching our community for Christ. We should be loving others as God first loved us (1 John 4:19).
• Do leave a wake for God wherever you go? Leaving a wake is one thing. Who you leave it for is another. We should be spreading The Gospel, in addition to living it,  as we walk through this world. 
• Are we to be a monument to Christ? Crossing the Jordan was a visual representation of us crossing from death to life when we placed our faith in Christ. Our lives are OUR monument. DO we live them like Jesus did?

The life of a Christian is a hard one. And it will get harder. Perhaps you have already faced some persecution in YOUR life for what you believe. I have. Still, despite that, we are to be salt and light to this world we live in. We are to spread God's truth, God's love and God's grace as we walk through our temporary home. We are to be a blessing to God and a blessing to others. Each day let us start anew. Let it be said of us that we lived to be a blessing.

The Blessing - John Waller

Seasons Seasonings

I was watching my son prepare the corn for our Christmas meal this year. He was helping my wife prepare things so she didn't have to do EVERYTHING like she usually does. He had placed some butter on the corn after he had extracted the dish from the microwave. Then he picked up some seasoning salt and began sprinkling it on the corn.

"Too much salt," I thought to myself. "That's really going to be more seasoning than I would like." I began to wonder how I could un-season the corn, if that were even possible. More butter perhaps?

My son is a good cook. We have eaten many meals that he has prepared, each one tasted good. He knew what he was doing. Even so, this time I thought he might be making things too salty.

Guess what. The corn tasted fine despite my concern.

We all have our opinions about how much seasoning should be put on our food. Here's a question for you. Do you salt your french fries before you even taste them? I do. Why? Maybe those fries are super-salty already and you are just adding to the seasoning, making them inedible. Yet I still feel that I need to add something to the mix. Why? Do I feel like I have to be in charge of the seasoning?

How much "salt" are we supposed to apply to the people we meet? Will too much salt (too much talk about Jesus) make people think that Christianity doesn't taste very good?

It is true that Jesus called us the salt of the earth alright. But then He said something else as well. Apparently we can lose our saltiness. And if we don't season the lives of those around us we are called "good-for-nothings."

13 “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet." - Matthew 5:13

There are some people I can talk to about Jesus all day long. We love to talk about Him and His Word, The Bible. Conversations about God and His Holy Spirit never seem too burdensome. We just love talking about Jesus! But not everyone does. Not everyone believes. So are we still supposed to talk to them? Even those who have turned their back on Jesus? YES!

BUT we need to remember that while we are the ones who season, we are NOT the ones who provide the meal. We are not the ones who do the saving. There is nothing that WE ourselves can do to save anyone! God can get along just fine without us. We don't have to pray The Sinner's Prayer with everyone, nor should we. Such instructions from Jesus simply do not exist. But we DO need to love everyone. Think back a moment. What was it that Jesus said about the greatest commandment?

36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” - Matthew 22:36-40

Instead of trying to figure out ways we can get to pray the sinners prayer with people, we need to think of ways we can show them the love of Christ. God's Holy Spirit will take care of the rest.

My brother-in-law prayed the sinners prayer with his mother before she died. Did that save her? No. I believe that what saved his mom was her realization that what my brother-in-law was saying was true. She came to realize that truth through the love he showed her in telling her about Jesus. I believe it was his actions, his loving acts that got her attention and made her believe, through the Holy Spirit, that what he was saying about Jesus was true. It was God's Holy Spirit working on her, not my brother-in-law. He did the seasoning.

"8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast." - Ephesians 2:8-9

We are the seasoning. God in His mercy and grace is the meal. Our job is to love others. And the best way to do that is to tell people about Jesus. We shouldn't apply too much seasoning . . . just enough. It is the meal that is the deal. We really just need to invite people to dinner.

"16 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

Salt and Light - John Piper