Who Was on Your Guest List?

Matthew 19: 5-6  “. . . a man will leave his family and be joined together with his wife, and the two will become one life.  They are no longer two, but one.  What God has joined together, let no one separate.”

The church was filled for the joyous occasion with beautiful flowers and music all around.  Two lives were being joined together in the presence of God and friends.  But in the back corner, in the very last chair, sat an uninvited guest.  He is busy writing on a legal pad as each vow is spoken.  On his pad was written:

“I watched you both as you grew to love each other and I didn’t say a word.  People say that dating always brings out the best in each person, but to me it is just preparation for the plans I have for your lives.

I’ll allow you get through the honeymoon and maybe a month or two of blissful happiness.  But this thing about serving the Lord together and being an example for others is just not in MY plans.

Let’s see!  You both must work long hours to get the possessions I dangle in front of you.  For the groom, you will have little sensitivity to your bride’s feelings as I give you plenty of guy things to do and think about.  There’s golf rather than a date, and the TV ball games on Saturday, the Internet every waking moment, and on other days just doing your own thing rather than playing with your children.  Let’s not forget about Sunday’s.  There’s no time for church, or prayer, or giving, for either one of you.

Ah, I hear the pastor talk about God bonding you together.  What he bonds today, I’ll pull apart next week, next month, and next year.  Some of my best pleasures to tear at a relationship are money, possessions, children, fellow employees, and just being too busy for each other. I can take you two and turn you away from God and you won’t even realize it until you’re in divorce court.”

This may sound a little absurd, but when you look at the ever increasing divorce rates and see many of your friends ending their marriage, it’s appears that Satan is having his way with many of us.  He knows your faults and weakness.  He capitalizes on each area until we see a stranger in the house that we call our spouse.

We figure that our lives are going to be happy because two people get married.  Yet when the daily grind of life hits us, we often turn our attention to the day’s events and forget the Lord all together.

So as you are confronted by the world’s issues, take time for each other.  Not just for romance, but for working on your commitment to each other through prayer, and focusing each day on the Lord. 

Work on taking Satan off your guest list today in every decision you make!

Be a Friend!

" Proverbs 27:17 “Iron sharpens iron, so does a man’s wise counsel sharpen the countenance of his friend.”

I am a recovering co-dependent rescuer. What that means in simple terms is that for many years I felt worthless unless I could help someone in trouble. I went so far as to seek out people who I thought needed help, even though they didn’t. By limiting my help only to friends, I brought a lot of frustration and pain into my life.

After receiving professional counseling, I realized that the previous experiences and habits gave me no real joy, but rather a false sense of accomplishment. For me, friends were people I could use to make me feel better. Having grown up in a Christian setting where what you do gets you to heaven, I was driven to help everyone I could. Part of the counseling process was to help me realize how wrong that was and how important God’s grace is for my life.

It’s interesting how during those years I had many acquaintances, but few real friends. The verse above in Proverbs 27 had never really applied to me. But once the focus of my personality and drive had changed, I desired to find just a few special friends that I could be myself with and thus develop a transparent relationship.

Soon after that experience I found a friend. She was a lovely lady who told me in no uncertain terms that she did not need to be rescued. As a result, we developed a relationship based solely on honesty, trust . . . and eventually love. Lynnette became my best friend long before she became my wife. Through that relationship, I was able to become a friend to others without feeling the need to fix their lives. Some time later, I became acquainted with a couple of men, men who also didn’t need to be rescued. It was great. I found myself simply relaxing in their friendship. I could listen to them without the need to fix them. I could feel their emotions. Share in their joys. In doing that I became their friend.

When there was a tough issue to discuss or a behavior in their life that was moving them away from their relationship with Christ, I could talk to them about it and know that they would listen and evaluate a friend’s counsel. The verse became reality. From what I’ve learned here’s my advice.

Realize your worth as a child of God. Learn of His love for you and the grace He has given freely. Develop a deep relationship with the Lord through prayer and Bible study. Then, be a friend to someone. And let that relationship make you and your friend better.

Who Are You Influnencing?

Everyone of us can recall someone who was an impact on our lives.  It may have been a family member, teacher, or anyone with whom you had contact.  It could have been great or bad depending on the results.

This past weekend our new son-in-law to be came down with my daughter and the first thing they did when they sat down on the couch was to begin a conversation about the Lord.  I listened to Rusty when he told me a little about his past and that he had made the decision to have a relationship with God through His son.  OK, my heart was leaping for joy and I wanted to speak but did not.  Rusty then went on to say that he wanted me to baptize him.  Now I was honored and excited beyond words and thrilled for him and my daughter.  Part of not saying anything was to catch the tears of joy!

Like many of us we were raised to know right from wrong, but just not committed to doing things right..  Yet here is a big strong man who weeps at the excitement of a relationship with the Lord.  During the past year, I know my daughter has held to the foundations that she was taught years ago in church and in the family.  Rusty, Stephanie and the family found a church that is contemporary and meets their needs in developing relationships on several fronts.

So I give credit to Riverhills Christian Church, family, friends, and Stephanie for being an influence in Rusty's desire to always have a relationship with the Lord and know the excitement that his family has.  I am so proud of my daughter for standing on her training even during the roughest times of her life.  What is more exciting is that Rusty is already being an influence on others about a relationship with the Lord (as I heard in a conversation on the phone at lunch).   And it's only the beginning!

So who are you influencing?  It's not just what you say but how people see you in everyday situations.  Then again, who is influencing you?  I pray the biggest influence is the Creator of the Universe who is passionately in love with you and a God loving friend.

Trust me when I say that the results of your influence can be the most exciting part of your life or the saddest.

Which do you chose?

Why Get Involved?

Today I hear so many people say how rotten politics are.  Well is was not that many years ago (OK it was 36 years ago) that I remember our local politics where is was such a 'good ole' boy' network that many honest people were thrown under the bus.

Such was the case in our hometown.  I just got out of college and was living in my hometown.  Soon it was obvious that our local mayor and police chief were prime in suspicious activities.   So I was talking to a Councilman and complaining.  His words hit me right between the eyes.  "If you are going to just complain, go someplace else.  Otherwise if you are  going to complain here, try and do something about it."

I thought about it and said, "I need to try and quit complaining."  Even though I was quite young at the time, I set out to run for the office of Mayor.  That November we won all precincts and now I could try and shape a city in which people could be proud.

One of the distractions in the campaign was from Christians who said that we should NOT be be involved in politics.  My response was either we strive to turn the world (or our city) to the Lord and His guiding principles or we just find a camp and be a follower of Jim Jones of the People's Temple. I think I even used the ostrich with his head in the ground a few times.   I did not win too many friends with those comments but set out to bring organization and fairness to every aspect of the offices in the city. 

Even though at that time I was the youngest Mayor in the State of Ohio, (which some people said was a problem) I spent many waking hours focusing on improving lives in the area I could affect.  What about you?  No matter what your age, get involved in either standing up for what you know is right or getting in there to change what you can. 

What do you want to leave your children, grandchildren, and their friends in the community?  Your stuff may be gone but  it will be in the principles that are set from God's word that will last.  Shouldn't you consider getting involved?  Your community and your country is at stake.