Patriotism

Are You A Stooper Downer?

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helpinghandWhat do you do when you see someone struggling because the circumstances of their life are almost unbearable? Do you help bear their burdens?

One of the clear precepts of Paul on this subject is found in Galatians 6:1-3: “Live creatively, friends. If someone falls into sin, forgivingly restore him, saving your critical comments for yourself. You might be needing forgiveness before the day’s out. Stoop down and reach out to those who are oppressed. Share their burdens, and so complete Christ’s law. If you think you are too good for that, you are badly deceived.” ~The Message

I hope this Scripture challenges you to make today the day that you will be the Good Samaritan to the hapless and helpless, and to those who need a helping hand. Stoop down and reach out to them and share their burdens. Bolster their courage, lighten their load, strengthen them in their struggle, and share the love of Christ with them.

Seeing and not doing is not sharing. Observing and ministering is embracing the vision of Christ: “When Jesus saw the crowds, He felt compassion for them, because they were weary and worn out, like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few; therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.”

Read the verses above one more time and listen intently and carefully to what you hear. Is it a whisper or a shout? To me, it sounds like Jesus is saying, “I need more people to labor in the harvest—more people who are willing to stoop down, reach out, and lighten the heavy load of their friends, neighbors, and complete strangers.”

Don’t deny it. Don’t turn a deaf ear to it. I know you can hear it. Jesus is saying: “I need you!”

Chain-Reaction-Christianity

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chain_reactionHave you ever poured yourself a drink and made a mess when you overfilled the glass? Have you been distracted and let the bathtub overflow? It’s safe to say that overflows are usually mistakes?

While this is usually the case, Paul says God purposely overflows us: “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe in Him so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit (Romans 15:13).” Look at Paul’s description of God—“the God of hope.” Because He is a God of “hope,” you can be filled with “all joy and peace.”

This verse speaks of chain-reaction-Christianity: It starts with the hope of God, leads to joy and peace, the focus on joy and peace, causes you to “overflow with hope,” and this is the result of the “power of the Holy Spirit” living within you.

Overflows are generally wasteful, but God turns the spigot on and calibrates it so you will overflow. His design and purpose is for you to overflow with hope so you can flow over into the life of another person.

Chain-reaction-Christianity begins when your thoughts are in tune with Christ. Look at the picture at the top left of this page. What is you first assumption? Do you see a sequence of one person knocking down the next person? If so, reorient and refocus. Look at the picture from another perspective. I see a sequence of each person lifting up the person in front of him.

To be a chain-reaction-Christian don’t restrain your hope—unchain it and proclaim it.

Tidy Tongues

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tongue-4I’ve heard it said more than once that the tongue is the strongest muscle in the body. While it’s true that the tongue is a muscle, it isn’t a single muscle. Instead, it consists of a group of muscles that help us taste our food, swallow, and talk.

According to WebMD, “a healthy tongue is pink and covered with small nodules called papillae.” If, however, your tongue is discolored or painful, it may signal problems with your health. WebMD linked tongue problems to possible conditions like “vitamin deficiencies, AIDS, or oral cancer. For this reason, it is important to seek medical advice if you have any ongoing problems with your tongue.”

The last sentence above reminds me of something written in the book of James: “ If someone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect individual, able to control the entire body as well . . . the tongue is a small part of the body, yet it has great pretensions. Think how small a flame sets a huge forest ablaze. And the tongue is a fire! The tongue represents the world of wrongdoing among the parts of our bodies. It pollutes the entire body and sets fire to the course of human existence—and is set on fire by hell.”

James tells us that the tongue has the power to:
• Direct (3:3-4)
• Destroy (3:5-8)
• Delight (3:9-12)

When you think of your tongue, think of it as the index to your heart. With this in mind, what does you tongue say about the health of your heart?

Here’s a thought to keep you thinking: Are you tongue tied or do you have a tidy tongue?

Do Dollars and Cents Equal Good Sense?

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moneyThe year was 1976, the band was ABBA, and the song was Money Money Money. The song perpetuated the myth that all you have to do to be happy is to have a lot of money and accumulate many possessions.
The first stanza of the song says:

I work all night, I work all day, to pay the bills I have to pay
Ain’t it sad
And still there never seems to be a single penny left for me
That’s too bad
In my dreams I have a plan
If I got me a wealthy man
I wouldn’t have to work at all, I’d fool around and have a ball…

I’m not criticizing wealth, but I do not believe a hefty bank account guarantees happiness. Let me give you a contrast:

• If you are looking for a home, I hope you realize you cannot buy one. You can buy a house, but your family makes the home.
• If you get sick, you can buy the most expensive medicine in the world, but you still can’t buy health.
• You can buy the best seats at a sporting arena, but that does not mean you can purchase friendship.
• People invest a small fortune in a good bed, but the newly purchased mattress can’t guarantee a good night’s sleep.

Things or possessions will never replace relationships and wanting more will never be as satisfying as a fulfilling relationship with God.

I’ll wrap this up with three quotes that address the issue of wisdom, wealth, and good sense:

• Will Rogers: “Too many people spend money they haven’t earned, to buy things they don’t want, to impress people that they don’t like.”
• Solomon: “How much better it is to acquire wisdom than gold, and to acquire understanding is more desirable than silver (Proverbs 16:16).”
• Epictetus: “Wealth consists not in having great possessions, but in having few wants.”

He-Man Principles

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Have you ever heard of Samson? How about Hercules or Arnold Schwarzenegger? Amazing strength, bulging biceps, and a powerful He-man” physique come to mind when I think of these men.

All three of these men are wimps in comparison to the God of Psalm 23. Pay attention to the four uses of the word “He in the verses below:
• He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
• He leads me beside the still waters.
• He restores my soul;
• He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake

Notice the position of God in the second and fourth points above: “He leads me.” He isn’t pushing you from behind, and He isn’t ridiculing from the sideline. He already sees what you’re seeking, and He already knows what you’re wondering. He is out in front and leading the way.

As I was thinking about these verses from Psalm 23, I remembered an old Gospel hymn called He Leadeth Me. I encourage you to listen to it by clicking here.

The ISM Prism

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prismThe answer to the question is Psalm 23. More often than not, when I ask a family what Scripture they would like read at the funeral of their loved one, they reply: “Psalms 23.”

While this Psalm is very poetic, it is much more than that—it is also jam-packed full of promises! The six verses of this Psalm is vivid imagery that presents God in the language of a caring and loving shepherd, and it offers hope to God’s struggling sheep in their darkest hours.

The first three words speak of God’s eternal presence: “The Lord is.” The word “is” is present tense. The verse does not say the Lord “was,” or the Lord “has been,” or “might possible be.” It tells us that the desire of God is to be your personal Shepherd at this exact moment and in every future second, minute, hour, and day of your life.

God is present now and with Him is the essence of His attributes. He is present with His empowering grace, abundant mercy, and His loving-kindness. He is present in His awesome greatness, His truth, and in His almighty strength.

Because sheep have a tendency wander off and get lost, He is also present to light the path you walk and to shine as a lamp to your feet. He is the ever-ready, ever present, power-packed God.

Whatever your task might be for today and whatever the trial may be, remember these three words: The Lord is. To really embrace the truth of this, drop the “the” and replace it with “my.” Say it now: “My Lord is.”

When you get a chance, put a smile on your Shepherd’s face, and shout it out: “My Lord is!” This “ism” is a beautiful prism that opens new possibilities to enhance your relationship with your Shepherd.

The Secret of Joy

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How would you feel if you were separated from your family and friends; punished for doing what is right; living your life to the best of your ability; and, thrown in jail? I’m not sure how I would react, but I do know what Paul did, He said we should “rejoice.”

Paul maintained an attitude of joy and contentment in a life that was often characterized by difficult circumstances.

In the midst of a difficult period in his life, Nehemiah reminded his followers that “the joy of the Lord is your strength.” Instead of taking a short-sighted view of life, Nehemiah challenged the people to see God’s presence, perceive His power, and to focus on His plan for their lives.

When things in your life are not going as you planned, remember that God has a timetable for you. Sometimes you may not understand the bumps in the road or the slow pace of the uncertainties, but God is still working, and He is executing His plan for the greatest good of all.

While speaking about Moses, Chuck Swindoll once said: When you trust the Lord to give you the next step, when you wait in humility upon Him, He will open the doors or close them, and you’ll get to rest and relax until He says ‘Go.” This was a guiding principle of Paul, and it is why he rejoiced even while in prison.

And, this is the secret of joy.

An Unchangeable Fact

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I love God’s creation and the beauty of His handiwork that we call nature. I’ve lived in Kansas, Texas, and Colorado, and I’ve visited many other states. Each of these places has a uniqueness to its beauty.

On a recent drive through the Flint Hills, it occurred to me that I cannot change the grassiness of the grass, the cloudiness of the clouds, nor the wetness of water. I’m powerless to do so.

The same is true of God’s love for me. There is nothing I can do to change it. He doesn’t love me because I’m lovely—He loves me because “God is love (I John 4:16).”

J.B. Phillips offers an interesting translation of John’s words: “God is love, and the man whose life is lived in love does, in fact, live in God, and God does, in fact, live in him. So our love for him grows more and more, filling us with complete confidence for the day when he shall judge all men—for we realize that our life in this world is actually his life lived in us. Love contains no fear—indeed fully-developed love expels every particle of fear, for fear always contains some of the torture of feeling guilty. This means that the man who lives in fear has not yet had his love perfected. Yes, we love him because he first loved us (I John 4:16-19).”

Everything in your life can go wrong, but God will still love you. Your car may break down, you may lose your job, and your dog might bite you love, but God is still full of compassion and His love remains.

It is an unchangeable fact: God is love, and He loves you!

Is It Well With Your Soul?

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When I went to bed last night, the words of a song were on my mind. Since I was still thinking of this song when I woke up this morning, I thought I would share them with you:

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul.

While you might know these words, you may not know the story behind them. They are the result of six words that were written by Horatio Spafford (1828-1888), who was a successful realtor and lawyer in Chicago. At the height of his success, Horatio and his wife Anna suffered several tragic losses. The first of these was the death of their young son, and shortly thereafter, most of Spafford’s real estate holdings were destroyed during the Chicago fire of 1871.

Two years later Spafford decided to take his family to Europe. Due to some last minute business, he was detained, so he sent his family ahead of him. A couple of days later, he was notified that his family’s ship had been in a collision, and his four daughters had drowned.

Spafford took the next boat to England so he could comfort his grieving wife. As he sailed across the Atlantic, he wrote six words: “When sorrow like sea billows roll; it is well, it is well with my soul.”

A few years later, a songwriter named Phillip Bliss, took those six words and wrote the now famous hymn, It Is Well With My Soul. The song captured the essence of Spafford’s calm in the storm—the peace of God that attended his soul.

The prophet Isaiah spoke of this when he said: “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You because he trusts in You (26:3).”
Even though he had suffered the untimely death of his children, and his financial empire had been burned, his faith was not shaken—Spafford’s mind stayed on God; peace prevailed; and, it was well with his soul.

An Empowering Principle

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4us“If” is an interesting word, and it is often used in a sense of “iffy-ness,” but this is not the case in Romans 8:31: “If God be for us, who can be against us?”

Paul was declaring a truth about a certain and definite relationship the believer has with God. Exchange “if” with “since” and you get a fuller meaning of what Paul is saying—Since God is for us . . .

The presence of God (B4Us) is an empowering faith principle of Scripture, and it was the motivating factor seen in the lives of those who “conquered kingdoms, administered justice, gained what was promised, shut the mouths of lions, quenched raging fire, escaped the edge of the sword, gained strength in weakness, became mighty in battle, put foreign armies to flight, and women received back their dead raised to life. But others were tortured, not accepting release, to obtain resurrection to a better life. And others experienced mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, sawed apart, murdered with the sword; they went about in sheepskins and goatskins; they were destitute, afflicted, ill-treated (the world was not worthy of them); they wandered in deserts and mountains and caves and openings in the earth. 39 And these all were commended for their faith (Hebrews 11:33-39).

I encourage you to make B4Us the center of your attention—write it on a notepad, scribble it on a mirror, affix it to your refrigerator door, and print it on the palm of your hand. Live the truth of this empowering principle: If God B4Us, who can be against us? Indeed, he who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, freely give us all things? Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will trouble, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? No, in all these things we have complete victory through him who loved us! For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor heavenly rulers, nor things that are present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:31-39).”

The truth is this: God B4Us means God is 4U!