Words bulid up - Words break down

I was told years ago that "A dozen atta boys for great work will all be canceled by one aww sh___!"  It was until I was in college that I realized that this was true.

Growing up in a stern household, it was thought by my father and grandfather that you will try harder if you do not measure up to their desires for your life.  One of the favorite sayings was, "You'll never amount to a hill of beans."  Working on the farm, I knew what a hill of beans meant.  Six beans can only give limited results when compared to a whole field.  Next was the comment, "You don't have enough sense to pound sand down a rat hole".    Enough said about that saying.

Over the years these comments hardened me to "Prove them wrong." Now as I get into my twilight years, I look back and realize that some of the things I did was for that reason only.  My serving to others in being a youth minister, moving up the corporate ladder, being a city mayor,  a court judge, directing a Christian Camp and Resort, and the list goes on and on was not as much serving as proving my family wrong.

One pain that stuck with me for years was to hear a conversation by my Dad and a close family member.  I was taking a shower and overheard them say, "Gary can not be a Mayor because he is over his head and dreams more than he can do."  I stood in the shower and cried as memories of words said years earlier flooded my head and that my own fa.    Instead of giving up, it just made me more determined to work harder.  We won all precincts in the elections.

I did serve to help others but my motives were not all pure.  My knowledge of this motive has made me leery of most politicians and those working in serving areas.

Therefore I am more sensitive to the words I chose and the words I hear others blurt out.  Often words can cut deeper than any knife as many people do not  realize the damage they are causing.  Tearing people down does not make you a better person but instead has the opposite effect.

Pointing fingers at others is not a great accomplishment.    Right now, point your finger at the screen.  One finger is pointing at the screen but three fingers are pointing back at you.  Realize that every time you point out others failures there are three times as many pointing back at you.  The same is in tearing someone down with your words.



The choice is yours, build up others with words of kindness, favor, and love or tear them down to make you think you look better.  The reality is those words may come back to haunt you.

Interviews to Destroy

 Galatians 6:7 Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow. Even while I served in a political office for years I hated “politics”.

Recently I heard a person interviewed on the television and I felt sorry for the man. The interviewer was not asking questions for the man to answer, but instead he was trying to trap the individual to make a mistake.

Later that night I saw the “commentary” of the interview and they had pulled six words out of the interview and for the next three minutes they proceeded to tear at the man’s character over how he phrased those six words.   Thinking a few minutes about what was miss-spoken, I wondered how an interview with Jesus would be accomplished.  

Then I heard a lady reporter make an observation.

She noted that she had already prepared a list of questions that would prove him not to be anything but a terrorist that incited people to rebel. Questions included those like, “How did you fool all those people into thinking you were dead?” “Did you have a twin that walked the city after your death and stole your body to fool people into believing that you were the Messiah?’ “Why didn’t you stay on earth and lead the nations, heal the sick, or do Godly stuff?”

Her list of questions went on and on and her co-anchor noted that she would give Him an interview He would never forget. Shocking as it may seem, I believe she would do everything in her power to destroy the character of Jesus for her own satisfaction and political gain. What have we shrunk to as a nation?

It seems that God is not feared, reverenced, or respected by our media. They do not conceive “faith” or “grace” in any part of their imagination. They are so set on self gratification and the humiliation of others which does not build up people but destroys them. If I sound frustrated, it is because the Lord told us to build people up and not tear them down.

We will not agree with everything they say or do, but we are called to love them as Jesus loves us. Through my frustration with the attacking portion of the media, I am sad because I know that one day they will get a chance to talk to Jesus face to face and he will interview them. Matthew 7:23. “Then I will declare to them, "I never knew you; go away from me, you evildoers.”

We need to pray for our nation.  There are demonstrations in our own cities with no direction but they want everything to change. Funny, but they have that freedom to protest because people fought battles for our freedom.

As for me, I have starting praying for our media, even the ones that want to interview Jesus. 

Do You Hate Upgrades?

Sitting in front of the computer, I am working away in a given program and then I get a pop up screen that says, "Upgrade available".    My mind is on what program I'm using and so I say, "Later".  Well sometimes you get an email that says, "You have a FREE upgrade for _____ program."  So you think, I guess I need to upgrade and reply to the email only to see the blue screen of death flash in your face.

Naturally you become slow to upgrade your computer because you are not sure of the results.

Well we all get the upgrade message every morning when we get out of bed and get started for our work.  The Lord nudges us with the thought "Upgrade available".  That upgrade comes from spending time in His word and having a little talk with Him each day.  Yet many of us normally hit the delete button in our minds or the "later" button.

It does not take long for us to start and finish each day without an upgrade to our lives.  Then we wonder why we get sluggish, frustrated, insecure, anger easily, and many times depressed.  It is because you did not get today's upgrade to spend a little time with the Lord.  It does not have to be hours on end but just to do two things.  Open your heart to learn something from Him and to communicate with Him.  He will dump his love, direction, and peace on you for today.  Then tomorrow you will be ready for your next upgrade. 

As for me I am getting upgrade 21,535.0.  I have not uploaded each one since becoming a Christ Follower, but I know the Lord has had that upload there for me.

Are you going to hit the "delete" button each day or maybe the "later" button.  Why not just hit the "Upload Now" button in your life and see what happens next.  You will be amazed at the great program the Lord has for your life today.

Want to be a Caterpiller or a Butterfly

Another strange question today from this dreamer.  Do you want to be a caterpillar or a Butterfly?  Do you ever stop and watch a caterpillar as is slowly crawls on the ground or up a tree?  Most of us never notice the crawly creatures or if we do many times we just squish them under our feet.

Yet if you never watch a caterpillar then you are missing an important lesson.  The caterpillar matures and converts to a cocoon state.  To many of us it is never seen because it blends so well with its surroundings.  Yet metamorphosis occurs because the Lord has endowed it to the life cycle process.

But at any given time, the cocoon opens and a beautiful butterfly emerges.   It immediately it slowly spreads it's wing looks for food.  This butterfly usually will live no longer than 30 days but during that time, it will travel many miles whereby the caterpillar will only travel a matter of feet in its lifetime.

In your life are you content to be just blend in and keep a low profile?  Or are you willing to learn something new and watch the change that not only takes place in your life but also see the change in those around you.

Time here on earth is short so are your willing to make changes in your life to metamorphosis into the best that God has planned for your life or just lay low and get by each day.  First, realize that what you have planned or just let happen in your life may not be God's plan, so don't go on doing what you have always done because you'll get what you have always gotten. Second, it takes a decision to not be a caterpillar any longer but become a butterfly that gives beauty to everyone  who is a part of your life?

  Decision time - Caterpillar or Butterfly!

Seeing His Power

                                     

“My message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in the demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.” 1 Cor. 2:4-5 (NAS)

On a recent trip to California, Lynnette and I decided to take a walk on the beach in DelMar.  In order to get to the beach from the hotel, we had to cross a railroad track and then head down a steep cliff.  The flowers in people’s yards were bright and cheery.  The plants along the cliff also showed off the beautiful yellow, blue and purple blooms that allowed us to be amazed at God’s creation.

But as the commuter train rushed by I looked back at the railroad tracks.  There, through the rail bed of gravel, were blooming yellow daisies.  How could that be?  The ground was so hard and full of rocks, yet not only had the plant made its way through the ground, it had bloomed into a beautiful flower.

When thinking about God’s power in our lives, we should realize that it begins with faith.  Our lives get turned inside out on a daily basis, and we often lose the desire to seek God or the determination to make the best of each day.  So, having a strong faith in the Lord allows the Holy Spirit to show us God’s power. 

The flower in the railroad track allows us to see the power and determination of nature to grow and flourish.  Through our struggles in life, we can know the power of God as He corrects, teaches, and delivers. Then, like the flower rising out of the gravel, we can experience the miracle of God’s power.

Forgiven Mistakes

John 8:3 – 5     The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst they said to him, "Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery.  Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such. What do you say about her?"

Mistakes I made years ago can sometimes creep back upon me as guilt.  Some of those mistakes focus around my relationship with my daughter.  There were times in her life when I should have been there for her, but while she was still a teenager, I moved hundreds of miles away to another state.

Sure, I was only a telephone call away, but it hurt her deeply that I was not right there just to hold her and tell her everything would be all right like I had when she was just a little girl.

Years have passed and many times I have regretted my actions and the resulting consequences. 

This summer I spent some real one on one time in the mountains with my daughter just talking with her and once again understanding how much I had hurt her.  I had told her that I was sorry before, but the difference this time is that she now understands what was going on inside me during that time.  “Daddy, I forgive you.”  When she spoke those words, the hurt and regret I had been living with all these years began to heal.

As each of us live our lives, we make mistakes.  Sometimes the consequences of those mistakes means that we have hurt someone very dear to us. 

There are people who have strained relationships and have not spoken for years because of mistakes.  The sad situation is that one of them may pass away with those issues not being resolved.

When we look at today’s scripture a little further, we see Jesus say, "Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her."  

Many times we hold grudges for years and allow the mistakes to fester into a sore, robbing us of joy and peace and a relationship with others.  It is usually with someone we love a lot, but our pride just drives us forward without asking for or giving forgiveness.

Therefore we need to read the rest of the story by listening to what Jesus says in today’s verses. 

But when they heard it, they went away, one by one, beginning with the eldest, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus looked up and said to her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?"  She said, "No one, Lord."  And Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you; go, and do not sin again."  John 8: 9-11

Pray for someone who has hurt you or that you have hurt.  Ask the Lord to show you a way to forgive or be forgiven.  Seek out the person who you hurt or the one who has hurt you and talk of forgiveness.  You don’t have to resolve or even discuss the issues that tore you apart.  Instead just tell them you love them and ask for forgiveness.

I still regret the mistakes I made years ago, but I know the Lord has forgiven me and now my daughter, the most precious one I offended has forgiven me as well. 

Is there someone you need to talk with?

The Joy of Death

OK the title really sounds strange, but I had the opportunity to be near a close friend last week who had lost his wife.  The lady had a brain surgery and had been struggling with pain, loss of her voice, weight loss, and ability to eat any food for over a year.

They found a problem that needed surgery but that the results had a 25% chance to even survive a surgery for a brain aneurism, yet she was ready to go through the surgery in a hope that it would fix all the issues she had endured.  She beat the odds and made it through the surgery and was on her way to recovery.  The pain again was enormous but she doing well and was moved from intensive care to a room and then on to an assisted care unit.  The family was excited on her progress.  Then she was moved to a chair to get circulation back in her frail body,  but the assistant  walked out of the room for a minute and she lost her strength and fell to the floor.  Everything that was done, was undone.  She passed away two days later.

Her family was so sad on the loss of their mother but found joy in the life she led.  I heard one of her son's say, "It hurts, but I am happy to know that she is dancing in heaven and talking to anyone she sees because it was so long since she could talk."  They had joy in her death by knowing she had accepted the Lord and was in Heaven.

What about you?  Will your family have joy in your death?  Have you given your life away in serving and helping?  What will everyone say about you?  Will they know where you are after taking your last breath?  Or will they just hope or be sad?  People will miss you and your interaction with your life with them, but find a way to know that there will be joy in your passing from this life to the next.

The clock is ticking,  how do you want to be remembered?