“wait”
Posted by John | Filed under 1
The gift of patience carries a lot of “wait.”
“Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him.” Psalm 37:7
Three Steps Toward Spiritual Growth
Posted by John | Filed under 1
by Rick Warren
“I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds” (John 12:24 NIV).
When you think about your walk with Jesus, some days you may wonder, “Why is this so hard? I’m still struggling with so many problems. When will I finally get it right?”
In my journey as a pastor, I’ve learned spiritual growth is often like the growth we see in nature–the best fruit ripens slowly. In John 12:24, Jesus says, “I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds” (John 12:24 NIV).
The problem is we tend to get impatient, so we dig up the seed to check the progress of its growth, and that slows down our growth! If you’re not seeing as much fruit as you’d like, don’t despair. Growth takes time.
In the meantime, try these steps toward spiritual growth:
Nurture growth with God’s Word–I know you’re already doing this, but when you read the promises of God, again and again, it helps you remember that he is at work, even when you can’t see him at work: “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1 NIV).
Cooperate with God as he prunes–Praise God for the work he’s doing in your life, remembering “he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more” (John 15:2 NLT).
Pray through the ‘fruit list’–Pray through the ‘fruit list’ from Galatians 5:22-23. The NIV Bible lists the fruit as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Ask God to help you grow this fruit in your life.
Moment by Moment
Posted by John | Filed under 1
Time is a gift so precious that it is only given to us moment by moment.
“But I trust in you, O Lord; I say ‘You are my God.’ My times are in your hands…” Psalm 31:14-15
Signposts
Posted by John | Filed under 1
Signposts
by John Fischer
We should be helping to make it easy for people to come to know the Lord. We are signposts pointing the way.
By being accessible. Our lives are an open book. Paul says we are letters “known and read by everybody” (2 Corinthians 3:2). Christians should be the most accessible people on the planet. The reason is: we contain Christ. Someone rummaging around in our lives is going to bump into Jesus. Can’t help it. This isn’t about being a good witness; it’s about being.
By being imperfect. Our ordinary, fallible, broken lives are a constant source of life poured out to others. It is through our sin that others come to know forgiveness. It is through our suffering that others come to know God’s comfort. It is through our sickness that others come to know God’s healing. It is through our pain that others discover joy. It is through our death that others find life. (2 Corinthians 4:12)
By being non-judgmental. This attitude is the natural and normal result of finding out what a total jerk you are (and that word is about four stages removed from what I dare not print here). When you are the poster child for how far grace will go, you can’t possibly bring anything close to judgment upon another human being. Judgment is only for those who are working their way to heaven and relatively smug about already making it. People who know they don’t deserve heaven don’t care who else gets in.
By being full of gratitude. This is what makes you pleasant to be around. This is what makes you approachable. You just can’t believe you get to breathe another breath. You can’t believe you get forgiven. You don’t know why you are loved and accepted, but you’re not going to bring it up in case one of God’s angels might find out they made a mistake and you aren’t supposed to be there!
Judgement
Posted by John | Filed under 1
At church service today an older gentleman got up to read the scripture. He spoke too softly so I could hardly hear him, studdered, mispronounced several words and lost his place in the reading a few times.
I was becoming annoyed judging him on how poorly he was doing the reading. I thought what a waste of time and was angry that he was not better prepared. I thought to myself, ” I could do such a better job.”
Then it hit me. How quickly, cruelly, hastily and unchristian was I for judging this man. At least he was making an effort to try and give of his time and service. At least he stepped forward and tried. I certainly did not make an effort to volunteer my time and service to be a reader.
The more I thought about my reaction, the more I realized how often I am so quick to judge people. It seems many times I am quick to criticize others and compare them and their performance to others or me or some “standard” I might have arbitraily established in my head. I don’t know why I am so quick to judge negatively but sometimes I do. I rarely consider what actually might be going on inside them….I only react to their outward physical actions.
I also thought about how many times God was going to judge me for all the mistakes, sins, things I did and did not do. I often think that it “may” help because God always knows what is in my heart and mind. Sometimes on the surface my actions must look much worse then my intentions inside and God knows.
If I believe God will take into consideration what is in my heart and mind when HE reviews everything I do, then maybe I should do the same……consider what might be going on inside someone……….before I so hastily and cruelly judge what I see someone do physically.
I was ashamed of my harsh judgement of the reader today. I asked God to forgive me. I asked HIM to help me be more patient, kind, understanding, compassionate and caring and slow to judgement. Help me realize that regardless of what I see, I don’t know what is really going on in someone’s heart. Only God does.
If I expect to be judged by a fair, merciful, forgiving, understanding and compassionate God, then I should
use the same criteria when I judge others. Come to think of it, why am I judging anyone at all. I will never know what is really going on with that person. So I continued to pray to God to help me be much less judgemental of everyone and leave the “JUDGING” up to God.
Life Hurts, God Heals
Posted by John | Filed under 1
A dear friend told me a very inspiring story about herself. She is a very successful TYPE A business person, happily married, wonderful children. But she suffered terribly from high blood pressure. She tried all different kinds of prescription medications, went to different doctors but could never seem to get her blood pressure under control.
She was not over weight and watched her diet so those were not the causes of her high blood pressure. She finally realized that her high blood pressure was the result of her constant worry, pressure she put on herself to succeed. She felt the need to control every detail in business. She could never let up. She felt the need to try and please all her clients and was unable to relax and get her head “out of the business” for any length of time to relax and really enjoy the many blessing she had primarily with her family.
One day she was invited to start reading the bible and going to a bible study class which she had never done before. The more she read and attended bible classes, the more she was drawn to THE WORD OF GOD.
About that same time when she started reading the bible, she was off her blood pressure medication because the doctor wanted to let her system take a break before he started her on a new regimen of drugs.
During the next several weeks as she read the bible and attended bible study, while she was not taking blood pressure medication, she noticed her blood pressure kept improving. When she was supposed to start taking the meds again she told the doctor she miraculously didn’t need them.
She realized she had mad a major transformation subconsciously once she started reading THE WORD and going to bible study. She began to “let go” and turn her worries over to God. She continued to be very successful, but she stopped trying to control everything; she stopped trying to please everyone. She evolved to a wonderful level in her relationship with God whereby she could accept when she had taken the project at hand as far as she possibly could and at that point, it was no longer in her hands, but in GOD’s. At that point she could “relax” which she could never do before.
She is absolutely certain that is why her blood pressure got under control. She didn’t need pills………She needed God!
The 2 most inspiring aspects to this story are First, someone “invited” her to bible study. Most likely that person was reluctant to take the chance to be ridiculed but overcame that fear and reached out to my friend. It was God’s plan that she was invited just at that moment.
Second, I am inspired to realize that trusting in God can be so powerful in one’s life, that it can literally drastically improve one’s health, outlook and body functions. To me that is a true testament to the Power of God.
I have known this person well for over 20 years and am sure she is being completely honest with me. She believes God changed her life……….and so do I!
What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas
Posted by John | Filed under 1
I was in Las Vegas this week at a trade show for business. My client insisted I go. Las Vegas has good entertainment, popular stars, interesting acts, great hotels, great lights, great affordable food and spectacular events. I am a big fan of Celine Dion (much to the embarrassment of my kids) and she was a major attraction there for a long time. A lot of good people have a good time there and enjoy the shows, sights, entertainment and a little gambling for fun. Who wouldn’t want to win extra money gambling…I know I would! In fact the one armed bandit “stole” my $100.00. The weather is great most of the year and great golf courses. I am a fan of UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship), which hosts a lot of fights. Chuck “THE ICEMAN” Liddell is a favorite. I got a picture of him in Las Vegas shown above. So I thought I was pretty “cool.” Most people get a big kick out of the phrase “what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.”
The pornography, naked women, strip clubs, Playboy Club, male strippers, stripper ads, naked waitresses at the “family” restaurants, naked bill boards, every ad I saw had something to do with sex either it was using sex to sell food, service, products, an entertainer….or using sex to “sell sex.” Every taxi had a picture of a half-naked woman. The road to the airport was lined with billboards for “gentlemen’s” clubs. Each elevator had some kind of sexy poster selling shows, clubs, Playboy Bunnies, food, spas, massage, or more sex. It is all so degrading to women and so wrong in my opinion!
I felt an overwhelming presence of evil in Las Vegas and it made me Extremely uncomfortable. I could not wait to get out of Las Vegas. I apologize if I sound stupid, naïve, weak, disrespectful, prudish or offensive, but I felt so uneasy the entire time I was there. I am not judging. I have my demons. I am a sinner.I am not in a position to judge anyone, Las Vegas or anything else because I have no right to do so. Only God knows what is in our hearts and minds. I can only be concerned about myself and make decisions about my life. And frankly, I was terribly concerned about being in Las Vegas this week.
I know very good people who look forward to a Las Vegas getaway weekend with great entertainment, food and fun and I respect their right and choice. I just know that Las Vegas is not good for me and I choose not to be there. And I will encourage my family not to spend time there either.
Grin and bear it
Posted by John | Filed under 1
When offering encouragement, it is more fruitful to say “Rejoice in the Lord” than “just grin and bear it.”
“We rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.” Romans 5:2
Learning from my grandson
Posted by John | Filed under 1
I played with grandson tonight and got down on the floor, rolled around, acted really silly, and really enjoyed myself. Eckerd Tolle (THE POWER OF NOW) claims that to be able to get out of your mind, out of your ego, and quit worrying about the past and obsessing about the future, you must get into THIS moment, the Power of NOW. He believes you can find God there because you allow yourself the privilege of experiencing and enjoying the only real moment in our existence where we can actually “do something” and that is NOW.
I am not yet ready to transcend my physical form and evolve to a purely spiritual state (in case you didn’t catch that….I was being a bit humorous there) but I do understand that when I put 100% of my attention on my grandson, clear my mind, stop worrying about what when wrong today or right for that matter and stop planning and worrying about tomorrow, or what my boss, peer, neighbor, friend, enemy said or is thinking about me……….if I can completely become absorbed in the moment with my grand son, then so many amazing things happen.
Time seems to fade, slow down, become more vibrant, more exciting, rewarding, enjoyable. I become aware of so many other things like how beautiful my grand son is when he smiles and laughs. How happy I am when I am not so burdened and loaded down with my mind trying to “fix” everything in the past and future when nothing in the past and future can actually be fixed. How bright the colors are. How wonderful life is.
When I stop judging, analyzing and evaluting everything every second, life takes on a much deeper more rewarding existence and meaning. When I can push all that noise, garbage, chatter (there are a lot of words and discussions floating around in my head much of the time………..O NO!
My connection to God, being aware of my spiritual self and existence is possible for me when I am completely focused on THE NOW, The Moment at hand, fully engaged and absorbed by what is occuring in this exact moment. When that happens (and it certainly happens all too rarely), I become aware and in touch with my connection to God. And that awareness and connection is such an amazing joy.
That joy makes me want to Praise His Holy Name and realize how fortunate I am to be aware that I have a connection to my God. It is so easy for me to get so tangled up with all the hustle and bustle, turmoil, stress, anxiety, disapointments and successes of my existence that I forget who I am, forget who God is and forget the blessed connection I have to HIM.
Today, I am going to Thank HIM for giving me the Blessing of my grand son because through my grand son, I was able to deepen my relationship with my Creator today and once again connect to my God with Whom I will be spending eternity. Now that is a most inspiring thought!!
Praise to you O Lord Jesus Christ.
I can only imagine
Posted by John | Filed under 1
I was driving in a very big hurry the other day rushing to a meeting, driving a bit recklessly, as I cut off another car and was very irritated. As I pulled up to a stop light as it was turning yellow, I thought about running the yellow light but I didn’t. As I sat there, I saw a funeral procession of cars driving by and it seemed to go by in slow motion, a very long line of cars.
As the cars passed I saw the faces of most of the drivers, passengers, kids, adults, teenagers, seniors all looking very sad….it seemed many were actually starring at me. I felt extremely stupid all of a sudden realizing how I had allowed myself to get so upset about being a few minutes late for a meeting…..a meeting, that, at the end of the day, was just not that important nor would it really have any bearing on my life or the other people who were going to be in the meeting.
A sudden calm and joy washed over me as I watched the cars go by which seemed like such a long time. I realized how fortunate I was to have a family, children, grand children, my health, a career, friends, associates and most importantly a precious relationship with Jesus. I can’t understand why so often I forget my priorities and let the smallest and most insignificant things in life disrupt me and throw me off.
But at that moment, I had a clear bead on my priorities and it was a wonderful feeling.
I said a prayer for the person who had passed and family and friends. But then I thought for a moment how magnificent it must be, at that very moment, to be in the presence of Jesus where I will be some day. I CAN ONLY IMAGINE!
