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How Valuable Are Your Values?

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values_1After reading the conversation Jesus had with His disciples in Matthew 16, a question popped into my head:  “How valuable are my values?”

Jesus said, “Those who want to come with me must say no to the things they want, pick up their crosses, and follow me.  Those who want to save their lives will lose them. But those who lose their lives for me will find them.  What good will it do for people to win the whole world and lose their lives? Or what will a person give in exchange for life?  The Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father’s glory. Then he will pay back each person based on what that person has done (Matthew 16:24-27).”

The verses above allow a person to draw several conclusions:

  • Jesus has a greater concern for the size and character of my heart than He does for the square footage and décor of my house.
  • Jesus wants me to focus more on the compassion I display and less on my social status.
  • Jesus isn’t worried about the promotions I’ve received, but He does want me to be pro-motion in the help I give.
  • Jesus will not judge me based on the way I’ve protected my rights but on the way I helped those who have been wronged.

To make a difference in the day and hour in which you live, you need to be different in the way you craft each second of your life.   You need to pick up your cross and follow Jesus.  By losing your life in Him and for Him, you discover the purpose He has for you; and, your values become valuable.

Amber Alert: The Well-Known Unknown

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newsflashAmber Alert!  When you hear a news reporter say these two words, a red light flashes in your brain, and your attention is immediately focused on the plight of a missing child.

The “Amber” in the “Alert” is as well-known as it is unknown.  What you may know is that Amber Hageman is the namesake of this alert.  She was the 9 year old girl who was kidnapped and murdered in 1996.  He murder shocked the small Texas community where she lived, and the town responded by creating an emergency bulletin system that was eventually adopted nationwide as the Amber Alert.

What you may not know is that AMBER is an acronym meaning “America’s Missing: Broadcasting Emergency Response.”  The tragic death of Amber gave birth to a system that has helped multiple children over the past 19 years.

There are times that we use words without full knowledge of their meaning.  The same is true with acronyms like the Amber Alert.

This is also the case with GRACE.  While it is an often used and well-known expression within Christianity, do you know all there is to know about it?  Let me define it this way:

  • G-od’s
  • R-iches
  • At
  • C-hrist’s
  • E-xpense

Grace is the act of God by which He gives you something that you do not deserve.  Mercy is when God does not give you what you do deserve.

Here’s a good news bulletin to consider:  Grace, mercy, and peace shall be with us, from God the Father, and from Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love (2 John 1:3).

Lightening Bugs

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firefly-by-jessica-lucia-cc10:30–that’s 4 1/2 hours from now.  That is the designated moment when I am scheduled to say a formal “goodbye” to Johnny Browning.

Words can be brutally forceful and full of strength, but in other instances they seem so inadequate.   Mark Twain said: “The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightening and a lightening bug.”

When I gather with Johnny’s family today, “goodbye” is a lightening bug.  How do you say goodbye to a lifelong friend like him?

  • I honestly can’t remember a time when I did not know him
  • I went door to door as a kid and sold the TV Guide, and Johnny bought them
  • When my dad died, Johnny was one of the first people at the house to see if he could help my mother and her three young sons.
  • He let me live, rent free, in one of his houses for a couple of months.
  • He worked side by side with me for the 25 plus years I’ve been the pastor of FCC.

I have walked with Johnny in both times of sorrow and joy.  I have seen him bury a son, his wife, a daughter-in-law, and another son, and I’ve seen him fight cancer and there was never a time his faith wavered.

I think “thanks” is more appropriate than “goodbye.”  So, today, I give thanks to God for my memories of Johnny, and I thank Johnny for taking the time to make them.