True Direction

"...love believes the best so I am going against what I think."

If we are going to stick with what is real and true then many times we will have to go against what we think and feel. I was reminded of two songs from the 90's recently that both carried the idea that if something feels good then we should do it. In the flesh we often place our immediate happiness and gratification ahead of what we know to be true in God's word. These songs just reinforce our natural tendencies towards sin and comfort. God knows where we are at and has a way of bringing us around to His truth. 

What I think doesn't always line up with God's word. I have felt at times that I was right about someone or about a situation only to find out later I was wrong. Thoughts, feelings and emotions will present themselves as the authority on reality. But when I look over my life I can see in hindsight that what I feel for a moment can change, my emotions are like the tides of the ocean and my thoughts change as I get more information. It isn't about what I think or feel but rather about what God says. 

It is important to continually study God's word so that it gets inside of you. When you have it inside of you and a situation arises that jars you then what is inside will spill out. Jesus teaches it is out of the abundance of what is in our hearts that our mouths speak. If I can stay full of God's word then I will speak it in the face of opposing factors. What we say ultimately guides our lives. James used the illustration of a bit in a horses mouth and the rudder of a ship turning and steering the life. So it is with out tongues. The words of our mouths show what is in our hearts and guide our lives. 

Believe the best. God's truth is the best for your life. When you look at others view them as God does. Let God's love flow through you. Allow the truth inside to spoken out of your mouth. Speak it over your family, your coworkers, neighbors and community. It is easy to say negative things about what we see and feel. Many times we repeat thoughts that aren't even our own. It makes all the difference in the world when speak God's word and let His love guide us. 

Day 313 - Words That Stick

"...some of his words are still ringing in my ears."

There are words that we hear and never stick. The book of Proverbs tells us that a curse won't land on an unintended victim like a bird that darts off. Thank God for that! I'm sure you have heard things you are glad you forgot shortly after. 

Some things we hear stick. Some good and some bad. I had a conversation just the other day that bugged me. I left the room and the person but the words stayed with me. I finally had to pray it off! When these words stick to us they are like acid or some corrosive material that eats away at us. These words destroy and tear down. The old saying that sticks and stones will break my bones but words will never hurt me is great for personal morale but probably in practice far from the truth. 

On the other hand the kinds of words that we want to stick are the words that build. As we hear them they add to our life. They build inside of us a support structure that holds us together and hold us up. They come as defining moments in our lives from people we respect and love and who love us. The Apostle Paul said that we should speak in a way that imparts grace and that which is good for necessary edification. That word edification is similar to the word edifice. Like a building that has been raised up we need these types of words to build our lives. 

In order to have more of the right words in your life stuck to you all you have to do is get in the right places with the right people. You will have destructive words come but don't let that stop you. Find the people who you trust to speak into your life. Also, be an encourager and speak the right thing to others. As you do what you have sown you will also reap. 

How do you choose the right people to speak into your life? What are some good things to say to build others up?

Day 217 - How To Get Breakfast

"This morning Chloe lamented that she only ate a little bit of eggs at camp and should have ate more which resulted in an all out cooking spree on Jess' part. I wasn't complaining because my omelet was good."

Our family enjoys cooking. I wish our kids enjoyed eating the food as much they enjoy preparing it. 

In our house the best way to get breakfast is to compliment the cook. When the question is asked "What do you want for breakfast?" do not answer "Whatever". The response will be "Then have a bowl of cereal". If you want breakfast you should answer the question with a compliment. It should go something like this; "Remember that French toast you made that was so good? Do you think we could have that again?" Voila! French toast. 

Some would suggest this is manipulation. I would suggest this is an honest answer with a compliment mixed in for good measure. The cook feels good about what they are serving and you feel good about what you are eating. 

You would be surprised how far a compliment will go. Again, not for manipulation but rather, for edification. People will only go as far as you encourage them. I might add that if you want people to enjoy being around you that a compliment will make that happen. 

In the workplace it will make for a smooth and uplifting work environment. When you need involvement from other departments on a project you could ask for help, or, you could compliment the strengths of that department and ask for help. Your work environment will be pleasant and the job will get done better. 

Apply the principle to marriage. How much better would your marriage be if you complimented your spouse? Don't just get breakfast get a great marriage. Compliment without asking for anything! When you do need something your spouse will be there for it because they not only love you but they like you too! Chances are you complimented when you were dating and may have forgotten how after the wedding day (I'm speaking to husbands there...). 

One time my wife complimented the job I did fixing a toilet in our house and afterward I was looking for things to fix. The point is we need to speak good things about people and to people. The Bible calls it 'necessary edification'. It won't cost you anything but a thoughtful speech and will improve you life. 

Do you enjoy being complimented? How else can this principle be applied?

Day 164 - Made Up Words

"It was promotion day for the kids. My son went to his class party for the Jello. He is such a cute and funny kid. He says 'amn't'. As in 'I amn't gonna do that!'"

My family has a way of making up words. My wife made up a word for buying something in the past tense pronounced 'boughten'. You could use it in a sentence by saying 'I haven't boughten them yet'. Of coarse like any good fact checking husband I told her she was using too many syllables and could say the same thing without the 'en' on the word bought and achieve the same result. What is funny about it is that we have heard very educated people use the word in everyday speech as well. I guess she proved me wrong. 

Have you ever made up any words? Could you use it in a sentence? 

Day 126 - Just My Luck

"We went on a hike in Oak Glen with the family. It was fun but cold. I don't know why both times we have done this hike this year it has been bitter cold."

Have you ever had reoccurring things happen to you that made you think "Well, that is just my luck"? It seems like sometimes when things happen like this we raise an eyebrow and wonder if there is any significance. 

I am not sure that there always is or isn't. What I do know is that God has ordained all of our steps, every day is the day that the Lord has made and He is working all things for my good. So what if it is a cold day both times I went hiking at the same spot?! We had fun and I probably would have enjoyed a cold hike more than a hot one! 

We have to watch our attitudes. Otherwise complaints creep in and eventually we speak negative stuff over our lives. Perfectly good days get ruined with complaints. Look for the silver lining and speak what God says. It is a good day. God is doing something good on my behalf. My steps are ordered of the Lord! (Try it out right now and see if you're not smiling by the time you're finished.)

Have you had experiences that made you wonder if it was 'just your luck'? What are some other positive confessions from the Word we can speak over our day? 

Day 109 - Priming the Pump

"You have to get the pump primed sometimes. It takes faith."

My Pastor, and father-in-law, has often said of faith that it is like going to the fireplace and saying to it "Give me heat!" It doesn't work. You have to put the wood in first and then the flame and you will get heat. Faith is what we put in first and then the fire of God comes and brings us heat or results if you will. 

Our faith is expressed in our words and actions. The Apostle Paul quoted a scripture in 2 Corinthians and applied it to the believer today that we believe therefore we speak. Our words should reflect what we are believing God for. Similarly our actions should represent our faith. Just like Noah building an ark before there was ever a drop of rain we need to act on our faith. 

Today speak words of faith. Today act according to your faith. As you do the results will come. 

What steps of faith have you taken when you didn't see the results? How can we change our words to reflect our faith? 

Day 88 - Doing Life Tired

"I finally got back to my bed at 3 am." 

The life of a parent is a tired one. Sleep is a memory. We just do life tired.

I remember arguing with my wife after our second child about who was more tired. We would actually compare how many hours of sleep we got and even a half hour more was reason to win the argument. I don't know how much of a win being more tired was though.

We finally agreed that we wouldn't count what we didn't get and not allow ourselves to argue over silly things like who got more sleep. When we did that it made our days a lot more bearable.

I think we all are guilty at times of allowing hours or needs or numbers to cloud our thinking and drive us to complaining. It is one thing to do life tired. It is quite another to do life tired and complaining.

God has a lot to say about the words of our mouths. We can guide our lives like a ship with a rudder with our tongues. We can also sow good things into our lives with our words. We also have to be careful that we don't speak death or complain about what God has given us as a blessing.

I cherish some of my late night memories of rocking the kids to sleep and yawning on the front row of church after a long night. I wouldn't trade it for a good night's sleep at all.

"How do you do without sleep? What are some ways to watch our tongues and speak the right things?

Day 87 - Why Didn't You Say So?

"Why Didn't You Say So?"

This phrase usually follows me saying so. The times that it doesn't it is usually because it shouldn't be said (whatever 'it' is). Our words can hurt, help and even heal.

I have hurt people with my words before. It always ends up hurting me too. When I intentionally hurt people with my words it hurts me in the end that my heart is in the wrong place. That is where using words to heal is important. Some of the most important words we can ever say are "I am sorry, please forgive me". The same goes for when I unintentionally hurt someone with my words. Even if my intent was pure love covers and apologies help.

I am a preaching pastor so it is my job to use words to help people. My preaching and teaching focus is to help people with their relationship with God and living by what He says in the Bible. God is our best example. He speaks and declares things that aren't as if they were. Jesus spoke encouragement, love, wisdom and life into people. We have that same ability. Let's say so!

How have you helped others with your words? What are some other important words or phrases we should use often?

Day 57 - Agents of Change

"I love the example of being a thermostat instead of a thermometer. We don't react to our environment we change it!"

We decide the atmosphere around us. We can either react and show the climate that surrounds us or we can set our hearts on God's truth and speak in agreement with His word until our surroundings change. Some would say we are just full of hot air and my response would be in this case 'exactly'. The more hot air we push out the more the cold world heats up. We are agents of change. 

Have you ever been in the midst of a heated argument and cooled it down with a kind word or an apology? You were the thermostat. A thermometer would only let its heat levels rise until it blew it's top. 

Rather than react lets respond with faith filled words and loving actions. As we do we will see the change in the world around us. 

Have you experienced being the thermometer or the thermostat? What advice would you give to someone wanting to be an agent of change? 

Day 46 - No Complaints

After playing a game of golf with some godly men I wrote this thought last year:

"We made a pact that there would be no complaining. A good hit was not to be looked down on even if it wasn't the desired result. And a bad hit wasn't to be complained about even if we were disappointed. Oh that we could carry that attitude into our entire life."

I know that there are times when I say things because it is the thing to do. If someone is playing golf and hits the ground with their swing I say "You hit the big ball first." If my kids say "Daddy it hurts when I do this" I say "Don't do that." These may be funny things to say but if I am honest I am only saying them because I heard my parents or friends say these things. They are an automatic response. 

The danger here is that complaining may be an automatic response from our flesh. God doesn't like complaining either. So if we are saying things from an automatic response that God doesn't like we are quenching the Spirit and don't even know it. 

We guide our lives with our tongues like a ships rudder (check out James chapter 3). I don't want to steer myself into complaining or complacency. How much greater a life that speaks the best and steers us into the good things of God?

Do find it easy to complain? How can we speak better things over our lives?

Day 23 - Louder Than Words

"I have to watch attitudes more than words."

As a leader a meeting can turn south faster than you realize. One snide remark or condescending attitude can turn a conversation into a confrontation. The hardest part about this as a leader is that you have to take control of the direction it goes. Sometimes that takes saying hard things or stepping outside of your personality and being more aggressive than what you are comfortable with. 

It is no different with family, while sharing the gospel, on the job. We can control our words more easily than we can control our attitudes. We also can respond to the attitudes of others or lead them where they need to go. Amidst anger and chaos you can lead someone to Christ, to forgiveness and to peace. 

Have you ever been in a conversation where the attitudes spoke louder than words? How did you lead them to what is good and right?