Day 91 - Delivering Truth

"From the Word: Paul warned the centurion of the hardship ahead. His warning wasn't received for many reasons. He was not trusted as an apostle by the centurion, the owner of the ship and the helmsman advised otherwise, the majority had something other to say, and where they were wasn't suitable. All odds were stacked against Paul but he turned out to be right."

Much of what a Christian says will not be received by people in the world because they are looking for credibility. It wasn't until Paul's words were proven true that he now had the platform to be heard. After the storm we see how Paul's influence increased when he tell the captain not to let the men get away in the smaller vessels because all will be lost unless they stay. The captain takes Paul's advice this time. 

I see in this passage and thought that we can learn a lesson in dealing with people and delivering the truth to them.  

If we are going to tell people the truth of God's word we must first tell them in love. If we don't tell them they won't ever know. Yes, they will not listen...at first. But later because you had told them the truth they will come back when they realize you were right. If we don't tell them in love then they will hear the truth but despise us and won't come back for another beating. Love never fails. 

Also if we are going to tell people the truth we must do it in a spirit of humility. We must be totally dependent on the Holy Spirit to speak through us. We must also speak in a gentle and meek spirit and not a proud or arrogant spirit. One is received, the other is rejected. It is all about approach. When you rely on the power of God then seeds will be sown into fertile ground. But when you rely on your own wisdom your words will bounce off their hearts like the seed on the wayside. This is where the devil comes and wreaks havoc with the mind and places thoughts of bitterness and scorn for the truth you were trying to give. 

Finally, when we deliver the truth faithfully we need to be ready to receive the people we are speaking to when they come back to us. They will come around and realize what you said was right. When they do and fresh problems arise they know who to go to...you! Be ready with open arms. An "I told you so" attitude will make them think twice about why they came back. Receive them and encourage them. Continue to bear with them in their journey towards what you already know and have. 

How have you delivered truth to people you come in contact with? What other ways can we deliver truth so that it is received rather than rejected? 

Day 90 - The Unseen Character

"The last part of 2 Samuel 11:27 says “But the thing that David had done displeased The Lord.” For the whole narrative of David and Bathsheba we see all of the earthly characters of the story involved; David, Bathsheba, Uriah, Joab, servants. All the while we are down in to the drama unfolding. Lust, adultery, lies, betrayal, murder, and a cover up. It is like most Hollywood movies today. But here at the end there is one character we have forgotten as David did. The Lord is watching everything and now weighs in with His judgement. He is not pleased. David's actions are sinful, unjust, and displeasing. The man after God's own heart has gone and sought his own desires. God is not happy about it. Consider my soul, see the Lord's face looking on your life. His eyes watching your actions, His soul knowing the motives of your heart. Am I pleasing to Him? Do I make Him smile or frown? What is the outcome? What will spring up from the seed which I have sown? May my life be pleasing to Him!"

We know this story all too well. As familiar as we are with stories like David and Bathsheba God always has a fresh revelation for us if we will listen. Here in this story God reveals His heart. Sin is not pleasing to Him. 

We can learn positive lessons in negative situations. For instance; if sin is displeasing to the Lord then we can conclude obedience is pleasing. On the other hand we can learn what not to do when we know what to do. If faith is pleasing to God then we learn that anything outside of faith is sin (see Hebrews 11:6 & Romans 14:23b). 

With these lessons we must ask ourselves the tough questions. After reading this thought from last year I looked inside and asked the questions from the end of my journal entry again. I would encourage you to do the same. Take some time and do some heart searching and ask the tough question; am I pleasing to the Lord? 

If your answer is no then it is time to make some changes. Dive into what it means to obey God and have faith. Talk to your pastor or someone you respect as a mature believer who can help you to make the changes you need to. 

If the answer is yes then continue in those things that your are doing that are pleasing and watch out for the pitfalls David and others have fallen in to. 

May it be said of all of us that our lives are pleasing to Him! 

What are some other ways you see in the Bible that are pleasing to God? How can we avoid the pitfalls that will displease God? 

Day 89 - The Quality of Light

"There were a couple of discouraging events this morning though neither overshadowed the day. Thankfully light shines in the dark."

It is the nature of light to shine. It takes on a greater quality in contrast with dark. If we only had good days we wouldn't appreciate the warmth and character of light as we do in adversity. 

One of my favorite passages in the Bible is the first chapter of John. He opens his gospel with a recount of creation from an eternal perspective on the God side of the story. It is like the Genesis of the New Testament. In this passage he describes light and it's quality. One of the qualities is that the darkness could not comprehend or overcome the light. 

No matter how dark it gets we can be sure that the tiniest bit of light will overcome the darkness. Even better than this is that Jesus is the light. If you have him you have the greatest light. In eternity there is no need for the sun and moon in the New Jerusalem for the Lamb will be our light. This same great light is the light that lives in us. We will never walk in darkness. 

What quality do you think of when you think of light? (Warmth, color, contrast, etc.) How can we walk in the light? 

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 86 - Running Late

"I got there 15 minutes late and thought everyone would be there laughing that I was late. Much to my surprise I was the first one there all by myself."

I am not a fan of being late. I don't even want to be late for the previews to a movie (until I am sitting through 15 minutes of them). Maybe it is OCD or type A personality or even a pet peeve but I want to be early or on time. 

When I am late I currently have the prime excuse that I have three small children who make me late. I guess I will have to blame my wife when they grow up and move out. 

At home we set all of our clocks a few minutes ahead and we set the cars even further ahead so we will be early. I am not too sure why we set the cars so far ahead because it only makes us run the risk of getting a speeding ticket if we think we are late. For the most part this has worked for us. 

Do you have any tips on being early? How do you feel about being late? 

Day 85 - Leaders Lead

"Leaders have to lead and often that means thinking for others, giving clear direction and then following up to make sure that they do it. Then along the way you have to deal with personalities. It is not easy."

I smile when I read this thought from last year. As a leader this is what I live every day. First, I have to lead myself. I have to know a clear direction and keep after it. I have to be accountable as a leader and also have to know my personality. I have to know when to say when and when to not make a decision because of my own personality conflicts. Leaders aren't perfect. We have to have people in our lives who will tell us the truth and who can tell us things that are hard to hear. My wife is great in this area. 

Once you have yourself in line then you can start getting others to follow. You have to give them clear direction and follow up with them. Don't expect people to read your mind or understand your vision after one conversation. Especially if your vision came from long hours of thought, prayer, study and dreaming. If it took you a long time to get the vision it may take more time for others to get it. 

Then comes the personalities. If you can be tactful and diplomatic when it comes to other people's personalities you can thrive as a leader. Many times conflicts don't come from problems in operation or finance. Most of the time I find that the conflict comes from personalities. Managing personalities takes care and sincere love. People want to know that you are sincere and really care about their problem. 

I finished my thought from last year by saying it is not easy. It really isn't...but it is rewarding. If you can lead yourself and lead others effectively then when the vision is accomplished everyone wins together. The reward is unity and productivity. 

How do you lead yourself? How do you handle others personalities with love?