The Power of Forgivenes

You ever heard the saying “I woke up this morning with a song in my heart?”  Well if you haven’t then Google it, just kidding.  When I awoke this morning it was as if the Holy Spirit whispered a song in my spirit.  I mean to tell you I could hear the words as if God was standing right there next to my bedside. I bet you’re curious to hear what God whispered in my ear, well hang on, I’m going to tell you, but before I write another word I gotta tell you a story.

There was a man who decided he was going to rob, steal and take whatever he wanted.  So he decided to rob a young man and his wife one afternoon. The young man decided he would go and do what’s called a home invasion you know kick a door in and terrorize whomever is behind the door taking and destroying any and everything insight.  Well, on this particular day, let’s just say he kicked the wrong door in. Behind this door he found a young man and his newly married wife.  The home invader walked right into the home of a young man ready and might I add armed.  Needles to say in all the panic the young married fellow shot, but didn’t kill the home-invader.  In all the fuss don’t ask me why the young man decided to rush the angry intruder to the hospital.  While on the way the intruder prayed and asked the young man to forgive him for breaking into his home and without hesitation the married newlywed responded “of course I forgive you.” In a moment, in an instant the power of hate, anger and whatever else gripped the intruder's heart was broken, he simply couldn’t do anything but weep, because he knew he disserved a lot of things but forgiveness wasn’t one of them. 

Ok, I’ll confess this was the dream I awoke to this morning but the words I heard in my spirit were very real and here they are there is incredible power in forgiveness.  I have been working in ministry for many years and I have witnessed unforgiveness simply ravage and destroy the lives of so many individuals.   I don’t know if you know this but Jesus had a thing or two to say about forgiveness and I won’t disappoint you I'll tell you what he said and where to find it in your bible.

Matthew 6:14-15 “For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: 15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”

Did you read that? Pretty powerful words right, well obviously Jesus has forgiven every believer who has confessed Him as Lord but we can see here that Jesus wants us to know how important it is to release folks from whatever wrong they have committed against us.  We have absolutely no right to hold unforgiveness in our heart against any wrong committed against us.  Think about this for a minute Jesus the very Son of God who was innocent of any crime, he suffered and died for the sins of the entire world and he did so because the truth is he wanted to demonstrate forgiveness to us in a real tangible way. Let me sum this up for you in a few words,

a-wrong committed against you + forgiveness = love. 

GOD FORGAVE US SO WE MUST FORGIVE OTHERS…. LET’S GO

Go and Make Love Not War it's a command remember?

It’s been a while since I’ve penned a blog, so it might take a few postings to get the creative juices flowing. Non-the-less, I thought it was time for me to get back to expressing my thoughts before my brain implodes on itself. 

Ok, so here goes it. You know I’ve been a “Christian” pretty much as long as I can remember and the older I get the more apparent it is to me that those closest to me have the greatest chance of hurting me the deepest. Perhaps you’ve heard the saying that if you are one who loves hard you can expect to be hurt very deeply.  I know this to be true and we can even look to scripture and see contention among the followers of Christ. I mean even the disciples bickered over things. At least on one occasion Jesus had to play referee, amongst the twelve.  Have you ever stopped to think why is there so much division among folks who claim to be following God and who at least outwardly seem to be pursuing the same biblical goals?  I have to tell you that I have seen and heard some of the meanest words come from those who I know love Jesus.

Here’s the point. If Satan can keep us busy fighting with each other we will not have time nor the energy to set our sites on the real battle, which is fought on a whole other realm. Well, that's a blog for a different day.  

I always try to end with words of encouragement and here it is….

YOUR FIGHT AND MY FIGHT IS NOT AGAINST ONE ANOTHER. 

Ephesian 6:12 “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high [places]. 

So go and make some love, not war.

Just Keep Living

I have not blogged for sometime and that is because I’ve been really busy of late.  However today, Wednesday, Aug 24^th is a special day to me because it’s my 42^nd birthday. So many good friends emailed, text, face-booked and called me personally to wish me a Happy Birthday. I thought with all the well wishes it would be good for me to extend my thanks and appreciation by writing a short blog.

When I was younger I was the kid that asked a thousand and one questions and my mother would graciously answer most of them.  However, there were times that I was not  satisfied with her answer to which she would respond, “Son, just keep living.”

What she meant by that was, son I know you don’t understand now but as the years pass and the experiences of life come and go you will.  I have to say with all sincerity, momma was right about a lot of things.  I thought it would be a fun exercise for me to list a few things that I have learned from these 42 years of life. That may help some of you. And if you don’t understand something that I have listed, then as my momma use to say…..just keep living my friend.

• It could always be worse: I have learned that a bad situation could always get worse.  So whatever circumstance God allows me to go through is a chance for me to discover a new nuance of God.  Just keep trusting in God and you will discover that as well if you just keep living. Romans8:28
• Contentment is more valuable than millions of dollars in the bank:  Over the years I have made vast amounts of money.  But whenever I have allowed a spirit of discontentment to rule my spirit, no matter how hard I worked, I could never earn enough money to satisfy.  I have learned simply to be thankful for whatever God blesses me with. Just make do with whatever God provides.1Timothy6:6
• Pleasing everybody is very exhausting: You are never going to make everybody happy. So it’s best just to do what’s pleasing to God no matter what people think.  Galation1:10
• Life is Short: I have enjoyed my life.  If you know me personally I am not afraid of risk and I’m not afraid to speak what’s in my heart.  But I have to say that Life has simply come and gone very quickly.  If you are thinking about doing it, do it. If you are thinking about starting that business, marrying that girl, having that baby, buying that house…do it.  As long as you have sought God with your whole heart, with sincerity and it brings God glory and honor do it.  Don’t let man prevent you from living your life.  You only have to answer to God and that’s it. James4:14
• There are people who are simply foolish: It has been difficult for me to accept this as a true statement.  However, over the years I have come to understand that this is simply a true statement.  Some people are simply not going to get what you are teaching them. No matter how hard you try to explain.  No amount of talking or persuading is going to change a fool’s mind. I have had to learn not to take it personal when folks take the truth of God’s word and walk right over it.  It hurts my heart but although it hurts my heart, it hurts God’s heart even more. Matthew7:6
• Love is the Perfect medicine: This is the most prized life lesson of all.  I have learned that loving people is the most intoxicating drug God ever created.  Everyone is born into a family no matter how dysfunctional or functional that family is.  Your family is still a laboratory that God created to teach each of us the principal of loving each other unconditionally.  I have hurt folks in my family very deeply and I have been overwhelmed by the love and forgiveness I have received. I have also been hurt very deeply and yes when giving them love I have watched as God have restored those once broken relationships.  If you have not learned anything at all, learn this last thing…the overwhelming value of unconditional love. 

I love all who reached out to me on this 42^nd birthday (as well as those who did not.)  It really meant a lot.  Just keep living and most of all keep learning.

Pastor Will Harris.

When I Pray Nothing Happens

Whenever I pray nothing happens. How many times have you heard that phrase uttered or maybe you have expressed the same sentiments yourself. You ever wonder why God seems to answer some prayers while other prayers it seems that He completely ignores. I have been a Christian for many years and I know that there are times when I pray and I feel an immediate peace about whatever it is that I’m praying about.  And then there are times I pray and the moment I say the word “Amen” my hands are still sweaty and my spirit is still very troubled.  Why is that?

I have read and studied the scriptures to find the purpose of prayer and I don’t profess to have all the answers but I do have an opinion and I think my opinion matters. At least, to me it does.

I think it’s time we pull out our bible and find the biblical definition for prayer. James 4:3 says “Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume [it] upon your lusts” so then, according to James, when we ask God for something that is by definition a prayer.  So to put this verse into context, James is saying that the reason why so many prayers go unanswered is people tend to pray with themselves as the chief recipient of whatever it is their praying for.  So, before we move to the next point lets be clear on what prayer is exactly; to pray is to ask, make a request or to simply converse with God.

Now armed with this definition of prayer it’s correct to assume that praying is a pretty-big-deal.  Think about that for a minute. God the creator of the universe wants his kids to converse with him. Which means that prayer is our time TO TALK with God and it's also his time TO TALK with us.  Now to some folks that may seem a little odd or far-fetched. They would say God is far too busy to be concerned with my life. But again I think its best to base our opinion about God according to what the bible says about Him.  I need to give more scripture here before we go further.  Jesus is teaching some folks about prayer and I want you to pay close attention to what Jesus says about prayer in the text. Check this out: Luke11:9-13 “And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.10For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.11If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if [he ask] a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent?12Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?13If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall [your] heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?”

Clearly Jesus wanted his listeners to know that God was as interested in what they had to say as they would be in terms of listening to their own children.  I love what Jesus says in this passage.  Clearly he wants us to know that God in many ways is much like our earthly parents but far better. Note verse 13 “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall [your] heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him.” Ok, it could not be clearer; God wants to talk to you as a father desires to speak to his own child.  The real question is why.  Why does God expect us to pray or more specifically what is the purpose for praying?  

I want to give you My Top Ten Reasons why it’s good for us to be praying on a daily basis.

1.       Jesus Prayed.  If I am to be conformed to the image of Christ then it only makes sense for me to follow the example of Christ.

2.       God knows what I don’t. Every day is new day to me and I don’t know what new challenges I’m going to be facing that day but God does. So I pray to him for help in getting me through a day that he sees clearly from His perspective.

3.       Peace. So many people do not trust in God because their minds can’t fully understand why God allows so many tragic things to happen.  If God is real, then why did my brother, father or friend die so tragically?  Whenever I pray consistently God often gives me peace when I am facing very difficult times.

4.       Strength. I often chuckle in my spirit whenever I talk to people who are arrogant enough to think that they don’t need God.  I have had people tell me that God is nothing but a crutch for me, to which I reply, “He’s a really good crutch. You should try him.”  How do people make it without going to God for strength? I have no idea. The strength I pray to God for often helps me to avoid temptation.  Prayer is a wonderful thing.

5.       Provision. There are times when your efforts just aren’t enough to make ends meet.  God says it’s ok to seek our provision from him each day in prayer.  That does not mean that we should forsake our responsibility of working.  But when we are being responsible with our finances and we still don’t have enough God promises to provide us with our daily provisions. What an awesome promise of scripture and like the three Hebrew boys said in Daniel, “if he doesn’t provide I’m still going to trust him.”  

6.       Providence. God’s plan and purpose should always be more important than my plans.  If I’m praying and the situation never changes in the way that I feel that it should, then there is a strong possibility that God is working out His will in my life, His way. My prayer is that I’m ok with that. Jesus said as much. “Not my will farther, but your will be done.”  Jesus prayed this way in the Garden of Gethsemene just before he faced Calvary’s Cross.    

7.       Forgiveness. There are times when I pray and I know that God wants to discuss a certain issue of my heart.  If I don’t address that particular issue it seems as if God won’t move on to other topics.  Usually when this happens it’s because I have unforgiveness in my heart.  So then when I pray I need to make sure that I have dealt with any unforgiveness with a sister or brother, because if I don’t, that will affect my prayer life.  So, I make it a practice to apologize if I know I have wronged someone, especially if that someone is my wife. J

8.       Confession. So many times we pray and do not confess transgressions.  It’s one thing to go and seek forgiveness from a spouse that I have wronged but I also need to agree with God that I have done wrong.  This to me is what’s awesome about prayer.   Whenever I confess my wrong doing to God the immediate feeling of freedom that I experience is indescribable.  He forgives me and He does not hold grudges and that’s a good thing. Often I will confess a wrong to God and before I’m finished praying I will make the same mistake again.  God is so awesome.

9.       Awareness. Somebody reading this point right now does not believe God exists. I dare you to pray sincerely for God to reveal himself to you. I know that He will.  Praying often helps me to become more spiritually aware of how God wants to work in my life.

10.   It is a Command. We should be praying because God tells us in his word that believers should pray and not become tired. So keep praying and seeking the Lord.  He is awesome. So these are my top ten reasons and purposes for prayer.  God always hears and answers prayers.  Just keep praying.

A Shot Herd Round the World

Life changing events are hard to forget, aren’t they?  I think of life changing events as life’s landmarks. I am old enough now to have had several of these so called landmarks.  I remember my first kiss and that’s all I’m going to say about that. I remember the first time I slept alone, in my own room, that is. I remember the first night I spent away from home in college. I remember asking Carolina to be my wife and it’s been 20years now. I thought I would just throw that in there.  These of course were all life changing events for me personally. 

I wonder have you ever thought about what it is about events that makes one event more important than the other.  Why do we remember some things and forget others?  The ultimate question I’m asking is this, “What is it about certain events that we just can’t seem to get them out of our minds?” And of course the answer to that question is obvious. We tend to remember things that bring about the greatest change in us. Amen.

Ralph Waldo Emerson a famous poet who wrote a hymn honoring the Battle of Lexington and Concord. The name of the poem is “The Concord Hymn.”  The first stanza in the poem reads as follows

By the rude bridge that arched the flood,
Their flag to April’s breeze unfurled,
Here once the embattled farmers stood,
And fired the shot heard round the world.

The 4^th line of the Stanza states that the farmers of Lexington fired the first shot that started the American Revolutionary War.  Now figuratively or literally does not matter.  The facts are that on April 19, 1775 a shot was indeed fired and because of this single shot a war between 13 Colonies and Great Brittan was ignited.  Literally this single event changed the destiny and shape of the World at that time.  Do you think the guy who fired the first musket ever forgot the day he fired that rifle? I think not.

If you’ve followed my writing style you know I’m going somewhere with this.  I love reading and rereading through the scriptures tracking the life of Jesus.  I especially like paying attention to the impact that Jesus had on people who may have met him for the first time.  Literally, each time you read about a person meeting Jesus for the first time, the impact that single event had on them is quite remarkable.  I want to very quickly look at a view of these examples in scripture. 

First let’s look at the centurion guards who stood at the foot of the cross Matt27:54 “Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God.” What did these men, soldiers, see that caused them to admit that this man, who they had just crucified, was indeed the Son of God. The scripture gives us a vivid description of what they saw. I promise you that those guards, who witnessed the sky go black, the earth quaking and shaking, who heard Jesus praying, knew that the events they were witnessing were no ordinary events. I’m absolutely sure that many of the soldiers that day left the scene of the crucifixion forever changed.

Second let’s look at Simon the Cyrene, this is the one lone man who helped Jesus the Messiah carry the cross from The Praetorium to the Hill of Golgotha Matt27:32 “And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name: him they compelled to bear his cross.”  Now to go from the Praetorium to Golgotha’s Hill was no short journey.  I know Jesus was exhausted from the beating he received earlier that day.  Pilate made every effort to beat Jesus bad enough to avoid actually crucifying him.  However, Caiaphas the High Priest and the other leaders only wanted to see Jesus dead.  So imagine this, Jesus has blood all over his body, his cloths are socked through and through with his own blood, yet Jesus made every effort to carry that cross.  Jesus took every step, with as much effort as he could muster up, even though he had the help of Simon the Cyrene.  Simon could see in Jesus eyes that though he appreciated the help of Simon, Jesus wanted to carry that cross.  Do you think that event changed Simon?  I tell you the truth it did. Simon saw the strength of God up close and personal.  Writing about what Simon witnessed moves my heart to a compassion that I can’t completely explain with words.

Third and finally, I want to look at Pilot. Now here is this governor whose wife at this point has been persuaded that Jesus is indeed a just man. I would say chances are that Pilot’s wife has had a conversion experience.  Now, with that being said, Pilot is faced with the crucifying of Jesus, who, if he didn’t crucify Jesus, would destroy any political future that he had left.  The Jewish leaders knew that Pilot was facing political dismissal from the powers that be because of the political upheaval in Jerusalem already.  They knew Pilot was one riot away from losing his power, authority and maybe even his own life.  Then interestingly enough Pilots’ wife shared some things with him, about this Jewish messiah, that I’m sure he could not get out of his mind.  Pilot of course like many of us did not want to go down this very difficult road.  Pilot elected to crucify Jesus though he knew Jesus was innocent. Pilot knew that the Jewish Leaders just wanted Jesus dead in order to preserve their own power.  I want to show you a passage that stands out to me as it relates to Pilot and Jesus: Matt27:11 “And Jesus stood before the governor: and the governor asked him, saying, Art thou the King of the Jews? And Jesus said unto him, Thou sayest.”I believe Pilot is asking this question in all sincerity.  If it’s true that Jesus is indeed King of the Jews, then Pilot knows according to Jewish teachings, that this is indeed prophecy being fulfilled, right before his very eyes.  Pilot is aware of the Jewish teachings. He knows what Herod did when he thought a King was born 30 plus years ago. Pilot is standing face to face with truth and there is no doubt in my mind that he knows the answer to the questions he asks.   

We face a changing world every day and many of the events changing the world I believe are orchestrated by God.  I know God loves each created person who is living or who has ever lived.  Perhaps people like Pilot chose to ignore the God-Change-Moment in their lives.  While others will use the same event as a reason to draw nigh to God.  However, one thing is for sure, when the shot herd round the world was fired back in 1775, the world changed and the people had no choice but to respond to their changing world.  Jesus is changing and preparing this world for his promised return.  My prayer is that maybe, just maybe, the reading of this blog will be the event that God uses to change you.

If It Don’t Kill You It Will Just Make You Stronger

It’s been a while since I have blogged.  I have been doing lots of pondering and bantering in my mind of late which explains why I haven’t shared anything on my blog page.  This exercise of pondering has proven, in most cases, to be a dangerous occupation for me.  Are you familiar with the saying an idle mind is the devils play ground? Well, if you are, then you must know that I certainly am no exception to this draconian rule.

I have been thinking about the many difficulties that ordinary folks face and what I have come to realize is this.  Many times unknowingly folks tend to live in an imaginary protective bubble.   Meaning and certainly I am guilty of this, their personal problem’s are the only thing in life that matter. Often, when I face very difficult times my prayers tend to be primarily self focused. I tend to pray things like, and I’m just being honest here “God take this problem away or make it better just do something. Amen.”  I realize that difficult times have a way of making you think only about ducking and covering. But something I can remember hearing from my parents when I was much younger and I think it’s a truth worth repeating and remembering “if it don’t kill you it will just make you stronger.”

I know I have ADD because I have to mention something here that is relevant but off subject a bit.  The other day I was listening to NPR radio which stands for National Public Radio.  Anyway, there was a segment on about the Lost Boys of Sudan Africa.  The country of Sudan between the years of (1983-2005) was torn by civil war and as civil war goes in that part of the world 27000 young boys along with other members of their family fled on foot and walked barefooted from Sudan to Ethiopia. Many of those fleeing Sudan died along the way.  However, several of these now refugees survived the treacherous journey. Did I say they were mostly traveling bare footed through the ruff terrain of Northern Africa, no shoes…..wow!  The United States granted 3800 of these lost boys citizenship.  The good news is that a large majority of these boys have went on to get advanced degrees and many of them are thriving and living financially independent in a foreign cultural that they knew absolutely nothing about which again validates to some extent what I want you to get from today’s blog, “if it don’t kill you it will just make you stronger.”

OK, let’s see where was I?  I need to give you some bible to help get this truth down into your spirit.  If you got a minute go grab a bible you might want to read more than I’m going to quote here, Phil1-21-23 “For to me to live [is] Christ, and to die [is] gain.22But if I live in the flesh, this [is] the fruit of my labour: yet what I shall choose I wot not.23For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:24Nevertheless to abide in the flesh [is] more needful for you.” I need to give you some background information here that will help you understand the truth we want to communicate here.  Paul is in prison for doing what God called him to do and the blessing he received for his obedience was a Roman prison sentence! Yea, you read correctly a Roman Prison!!  So then, it would seem fair and reasonable for Paul to be angry and to some extent hacked off at God.  After all, Paul was only doing what God called him to do, right?  But, and there’s always a but, let’s try and gain more insight from Paul’s point of view. 

Paul says in verse 21 “for me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” But why does Paul say this? It’s true he is in Jail for following Christ but why is his perspective so, I don’t know, so positive?  The answer to that question is found in verse 20 “According to my earnest expectation and [my] hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but [that] with all boldness, as always, [so] now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether [it be] by life, or by death.” It seems that Paul has learned a deep but very simple truth. He has learned that his life is all about making much of Christ and as long as Christ is being glorified in a trial that he happens to be facing then it is both a good and positive exercise. Now I can’t honestly say that I’ve reached this level of spiritual maturity but one thing is for sure “If it don’t kill you it will just make you stronger.” So I know as long as I have life I still have trials that I will continue to face. However my prayer is that as I suffer God will help me to grow stronger and that my suffering be a result of my boldness of wanting to make much of Jesus. Because I know that he has already made much of me. 

Farther On Up The Road

On a hot summer day my dad was notorious for making all of us kids clean house as if the President of the United States was coming over for dinner. I can remember those days as if they were yesterday. My Dad would raise all the windows in the house and turn on some down home blues. We kids would clean and sing the blues like there was no tomorrow. Those were some good times…really they were, seriously. You younger folks may not know what a record player is but in those days my dad would pull out an LP, throw it on the turn table and we would work while listening to some Bobby Blue Bland. One of my favorite songs that he sang was called “Farther On Up the Road.”

This may be trivial but I’m going to mention it anyway. Bobby Blue Bland’s single “Farther On Up the Road” hit the charts in 1957 and it made number one on the R&B music charts within the first month that it came out. There is a stanza in the song that goes like this, I think this part of the song is the reason why the song was so popular, check it out “You gotta reap just what you sow; that old saying is true.
You gotta reap just what you sow; that old saying is true.
Just like you mistreat someone, someone's gonna mistreat you.” Picture a 10 year old kid with a mop in one hand and a broom in the other singing with all the passion he could muster “someone’s gonna hurt you just like the way you hurt me.”

I’m not sure Bobby Blue knew that he was actually singing scripture but then again being from the south he most likely did. There is a passage in Galatians that communicate these same lyrics that Bobby Blue sang so passionately. Check this out Galatians6:7-8 “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.” Paul is saying in scripture exactly what Bobby was saying in song. You get back exactly what you give out. This biblical principal is often referred to as “the law of sowing and reaping.”

The interesting truth about sowing seed or scattering seed is this you always reap more than what you sowed or planted. Think about that? Imagine plating a row of 10 tomato seeds and only reaping 10 tomatoes. With all the work of tilling the ground and sowing seed you wouldn’t be very motivated to plant tomatoes. Would you? The truth is each individual seed could produce 10 or more tomatoes. So in actuality and I’m not really using science here, just approximating for effect, 10 tomato seeds could yield almost 100 tomatoes or more. So then it’s true you don’t just reap what you sow but you reap more than what you sowed. Now if we apply this truth to our life actions. The law of sowing and reaping can be pretty scary or rewarding depending on what seeds you are planting with your life. Imagine applying this principal to being a friendly person or financially supporting a ministry, spending time with the broken hearted etc the possibilities are endless.

Ok then armed with this truth lets look at the second part of the verse mentioned above Gal6:8 “For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.” So then Paul gives to us the nugget of truth we need to learn from this metaphor of sowing and reaping. Whenever we do something in life we must take action with the proper motivation. Paul says as much here in the passage. If I sow seed with carnal or fleshly desires as my motivation then that action will produce corruption. However the other side of that coin looks a lot better. If I sow to the spirit that is if my actions has at their core godly sincere love as the motivation then I will reap life everlasting. My dad use to say to me when I was much younger “you can fool some people some of the time but you can’t fool God none of the time.” By that he was saying and you have to know my Dad, “son I really don’t know your heart in this thing but God does.”

We are never too old to learn but we are old enough to forget. My prayer is that I will never forget this principle of sowing and reaping. Although sowing good actions are often very difficult and it seems that it takes forever for that crop to come in but when the harvest finally does come it is always awesome. Let me leave you with a quote from Mother Teresa that does a good job of tying up our discussion.

“Its not the magnitude of our actions but the amount of love that is put into them that matters” Mother Teresa

A Man and His Mission

I have been doing a great deal of musing about in my mind over the last few weeks. I have wanted to write about these things but honestly what I have been contemplating may not be suitable for most audiences. So, it’s with a great deal of trepidation that I squeeze out these thoughts that are bouncing around in my head.

On the eve of the King celebration services I decided to take my son age 11 to a service being held at a church here in the Kansas City area. I thought it would be good for my son to hear the sights and sounds surrounding a man who was so mightily used of God. No thinking person can deny that Dr King was a man on a mission and as history has shown us, a person and their mission will often mean death for them. The speeches at the celebration were all impressive. There was a big push for education and fair treatment of all people etc. But I have to be honest I left the celebration services somewhat uninspired or perhaps a better word to describe my feelings would be indifferent.

I have been accused of being a bit unconventional in my thinking, so with that I’ll just say what I’m thinking and pray that what I communicate encourages and motivates you If you’ve taken the time to read this far.

First let me deal with why I was so uninspired at the King celebration before I go any further. I got the sense that the leaders and politicians at the celebration I attended are still ridding the wave that Dr. King rode 40 plus years ago. They were still talking about equality for blacks, fair education for blacks, equality in the work force etc. These are all topics that will have to be discussed as long as you have different people with different back grounds who are attempting to coexist in the same world. So I realize that there has to be a voice in the public sector that reminds all people black, white and yellow that we should be treating one another with fairness, respect and with Godly principals.

So, I’m not saying that the topics discussed were inappropriate or even wrong.

What I am saying is this, folks... Find your own mission!! A mission or purpose that burns inside of you that if an obstacle gets in the way you will face it no matter the cost. You ever get the sense that folks support ideas as long as the idea or cause cost them nothing. I wonder how many people would have attended the King celebration gathering if the KKK was posted up around the community daring them go inside. However Dr. Martin Luther King not only would have gone inside but he would have also organized the meeting to begin with. That’s a man with a mission and also a man who is worth following.

I want to get this truth down in your spirit so let me give you some bible to help jump start your heart. Check out Proverbs29:18 “Where [there is] no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy [is] he.” Ok, so the vision in the text means the same as mission or purpose. When you get a vision from God that means that you have received specific direction from God as to which way you should go. So then if you finish the second half of the passage above, then you can read that a man of God gets his vision or purpose from the oracles of God’s written word. I want to encourage you by saying this if God has given to you a clear word from scripture follow his word at all cost. Even if following God’s word cost you your comfort and yes even if following him cost you your life. Happy is the man who makes a choice to follow God’s vision for his/her life no matter what.

The Blessing of Imperfection

Ok, I have needed to get some stuff of my chest and this is not going to be easy for me but okay here goes. My left foot is slightly larger than my right foot. If you’ve ever noticed my left ankle, there are times I have to put on an extra sock just to keep my foot from sliding inside my shoe. I’m now in the forty and over club and five years ago I went to the doctor and I learned that I have imperfect vision in my right eye. The thing is, I have really good vision in my left eye but in my right eye, let’s just say, I have some major problems. The optometrist informed me that my depth perception should be really horrible considering the degree of differences between each eye. Why mention all of this?

I mention these imperfections because sometimes I get the sense that we expect everyone else to be perfect even though we know full well that we ourselves have so many different imperfections.

I think it’s time for a definition here. To be imperfect means the same as flawed; defective, deficient, damaged, faulty, unsatisfactory. Are you starting to get the picture that we all are insufficient and inadequate in some area or another? Each and every person who has ever walked on this planet is riddled with so many different imperfections. Some of our imperfections are physical and some of our imperfections are imbedded into our character. There is no denying, we are all messed up people.

However, I see these imperfections as a blessing in disguise. I have always been a glass half full kind of guy. Let me explain what I mean by that. Have you ever read the story in scripture where Jesus heals a man who was born blind? Check out John9:1-3 “And as [Jesus] passed by, he saw a man which was blind from [his] birth.2And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?3Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.” The disciples here are like us. They see a man who has a physical imperfection and their knee jerk reaction is to think someone did something wrong.

Jesus sets them straight of course and he tells his disciples that this man blindness happened so that the work of God can be made visible. In other words, this man’s imperfect vision became a blessing for him because he had the chance to experience a super natural healing at the hand of Jesus the Son of God.

However, let’s see how the religious elite viewed Jesus healing of this blind man. Check out John 9:13-14&16 “They brought to the Pharisees him that aforetime was blind.14And it was the sabbath day when Jesus made the clay, and opened his eye…16Therefore said some of the Pharisees, This man is not of God, because he keepeth not the sabbath day. Others said, How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles? And there was a division among them.” Unfortunately, we make the same mistake the Pharisees made this day in regard to the blind man. We become so fixated on the imperfections surrounding the event that we become blinded to the miracles that God is working-out right out in front of us. These men missed the miraculous, healing of the blind man, all because it took place on the sabbath. Is that crazy or what? You look at that and you think they are so silly. But don’t we do the same thing?

A man starts a church and we say he has to go and get a degree in theology first. Never mind the fact that people are being added to the kingdom because of how he is being used. A man commits to the mission field and he is talked about because he puts his family in harms way. Never mind the many lives that may be impacted because of the danger that his family faces each day. A bunch of college students decide to feed the homeless and we accuse them of being less than a church because they are not connected to a church organization. Never mind the fact that the love of Christ is being shared through the willingness of these young people. They are not just talking about doing something but these young people are actually sharing Christ with a willing heart. A man preaches on the corner and we say he’s wasting his time, no one listens that way any more. Never mind the fact that the truth of the Gospel is being shared and God’s word promises that his truth will never return void. A man walks away from everything he owns to serve the Lord and we call that being irresponsible. Never mind the fact that so many lives are being impacted because of a conscience decision to not accumulate stuff but to accumulate experiences.

I thank God for the truth of scripture. Jesus sums up for us the way we should view imperfections inwardly and outwardly at the end of John9:41 “Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.” Jesus is saying here that if we understood that we all have plenty of sin and imperfection to go around. And at the point we understand this truth we will be able to grow and mature as we should. But if we fail to see our own problems and imperfections we will always remain immature and controlled by our sin. Now then go and start thanking God for all those imperfections that he blessed you with because truly there’s a blessing in all of our imperfections.

I Hate Christmas..Love, no I hate, no I love........

I have a love hate relationship with Christmas. I know that I love Christmas time because the entire world practically is celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. I hate it because everybody seems to get so crazy. Another reason I love Christmas is because I love watching Christmas movies. One of my favorite Christmas movies of all time is a movie called How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Ron Howard directs this film and of course Jim Carrey plays the infamous Grinch. I especially like Ron Howard’s portrayal of this Dr Seuss short story because I think Jim Carrey is really funny and he does a really great job of bringing that Grinch character to the big screen. Anyone who has watched Jim Carrey play other roles knows that he is really good at over acting and I guess, at least for me, that is what makes him so funny.

I don’t know if you’ve ever watched this Hollywood blockbuster and if you haven’t, I’m certain that I can’t ruin it for you. I don’t think there’s a person on the planet that hasn’t heard of this short story originally penned by Theodor Seuss Geisel affectionately known as Dr. Seuss. This story is all about a Grinch like character that hates Christmas and oh yea, some tiny little Who people that are obsessed with it. Ordinarily, a person hating Christmas would be completely understandable but if you reside in Whoville hating Christmas doesn’t seem to be an option at all. Now enters onto the scene Cindy Lou Who. Little Cindy Who, the youngest of Who people, set out to do her own investigation to try and find out exactly why the Grinch, who was the only Who in Whoville, hated Christmas? Of course anyone who has seen the movie or read the book knows that not only did little Cindy Lou learn some things about this Grinch character, she also learned a lot more about the true meaning of Christmas. Now that’s a statement that is loaded with peril.

I'm not going to get on a soapbox here and argue that the Christmas holiday was initiated to compete with a pagan winter festival. Honestly, I won't argue this because I don’t think debating this issue really accomplishes a great deal. Many well-meaning Christians will argue that if you put up a Christmas tree or exchange gifts you are in sin because by doing these things you are participating in a pagan religious holiday. However, I think it would be good to take a hint from Cindy Lou Who and perform your own personal investigation. It’s just better to draw your own conclusion as to why you think it’s good or bad for Christians to celebrate Christmas? If you’ve read this far, not going to disappoint you, I’ll just give you a few things that little Cindy Lou Who learned about the Grinch and more importantly what Cindy Lou learned about Christmas.

Cindy Lou discovered that the Grinch hated Christmas because the people of Whoville were more concerned with receiving gifts than giving them. You remember, all the trash that the Who's threw away some how found its way up the mountain into the Grinch’s layer. Their trash, the Grinch would wear it, burn it or use it as a trash ball to throw against Mayor Augustus' larger than life photo. Whatever the case, the Grinch was on to something. If Christmas was about giving why were the people of Whoville so self-absorbed and mainly concerned with receiving?

The Grinch realized that the Who’s joy was superficial and it was based on getting stuff, stuff and more stuff. So with hate as his fuel the Grinch devised a plan. Armed with hate he dressed up as Santa Clause and he decided to steel everything from the Who’s that remotely reminded them of Christmas. Every Christmas tree, every toy, every candy cane...he stole everything.

So what did Cindy Lou and the Grinch learn from all this? I need to give you some truth to drop into your spirit, don’t want you to get lost in this incredible storyJ.

Cindy Lou Who learned that family and friends are the greatest gift of all. The Grinch learned that there is no greater gift than sacrifice. The Grinch was faced with saving Cindy Lou’s life or holding tightly to his hate for the people of Whoville and as we all well know love conquered hate.

The gift of Christmas is not about receiving gifts but about giving them. Jesus came as a gift to the whole world and the Scripture is clear that whoever receives that gift has everlasting life Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin [is] death; but the gift of God [is] eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” I don’t care about Christmas competing with a pagan holiday. That stuff does not matter to me at all. What does matter is that this is a day on just about every calendar in the world where everyone is making much of my Jesus the Son of God. The whole world recognizes the greatest gift the world will ever receive and that Gift is Jesus Christ...Don't you just love Christmas?