Be Nice

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately about how as a Christian, can we individually impact our world. Jesus said we are to be salt to the world.  But how do we do that in a way that is affective.  For the last several years my path has put me in direct daily contact with many people who are unbelievers and how to make an impact in a way that would be affective has always been a question and a matter of prayer.  Today I remembered a friend who while in seminary had to write an original thought.  He wrote “Christians should at least be nice”.  As we travel the High Road let’s at least be nice.  And maybe by being nice we will break down the barriers that some people immediately put up when they know you are a Chrisitan.  Be nice to one another.

Memorialized a Friend today.

A year and a half ago I attended a new comer’s diner at church (not as a new comer, but as one of the Pastors) and sat with a retired couple who had just started to come to church.  John and Linda then started coming to our West of 50 group.  They have become good friends.  She was raised in a Pentecostal Holiness Church and attended Emmanuel College along with many people who I know through my years in the PH leadership.  So we had lots to talk about and through that our friendship developed. 

Three months ago John went into the hospital for bypass surgery.  He never came out and went to be with the Lord a couple of weeks ago. I was honored to conduct his memorial service today as their Sr. Adult Pastor.  It was a joy to have spent some time with their family over the last few days and to be able to minister to them today as they bid goodbye to their Dad and Husband. 

I realized all over again today how great it is to have the privilege of Pastoring people and speaking into their lives.  Sometimes it is a joy to bear one anothers burdens, and to help them carry thier load. 

Just some thoughts tonight after watching a family struggle with saying their final good bye.  Probably doesn’t mean anything to anybody reading it but it is good for me to express my thoughts.

Change is good!!

I remember a statistic that I used to use a lot states that 86% of people have the personality that do not like change.  I really don’t mind change when it doesn’t affect me.  But I have learned again this week that although change may not be pleasant at the time, it is good for you.

I have jumped … been pushed… way out of my box this week with a new project I have embraced.  I have met a lot of new nice people doing this project which I have enjoyed.  But I have also experienced a renewed energy and excitement from this new project. 

So for me change this week has been good and has stretched me a lot.  The bible tells us that “the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord”.  Today five days later, the steps He ordered are enjoyable but at the time those steps were a little intimidating.  Thank you Lord for ordering!!  Embrace the change when He leads you into it.  It’s all part of walking the High Road.

Influence

It is 5 am and here I am sitting with my lap top on my lap, writing this blog.  What in the world am I doing up at 5, I ask myself.  But it started about an hour and a half ago, when I woke up with a scratchy throat. So I got up to get some water.  And so here I am thinking through some things and wondering what kind of an impact do we really make as we go through life.  Right now in my life I am meeting a lot of people from a lot of different walks, and I am wondering what kind of message am I leaving with them.  I remember reading from John Maxwell, that Leadership is Influence.

I met a man a few years ago who has become a good friend and through our friendship he has started attending church.  He was away a few weeks ago and got back home on a Saturday and called me and said I am looking forward to going to church tomorrow.  Just being a friend has influenced him back into church.

I am doing a memorial service Monday for a Brother who passed away a week or so ago.  He ended up the last 2 months of his life in a dreary, depressing hospital an hour and a half away. His wife made the trip almost every day to be with him.  I also made the trip several times to see them and pray.  He couldn’t speak, was on a ventilator and had a stroke.  The last time I was there I took his hand and prayed and he tightly held my hand.  His wife sent me an email yesterday thanking me for being there for them and thanking me for being willing to do the Memorial Service. 

The last few months have not been easy.  A lot of struggles, personal, business, health, emotional.  But hey, who isn’t having some struggles right now.  But I have been so caught up dealing with my stuff, I have not given a lot of thought about being an influence.  But sitting here this morning it dawned on me.  Being an influence should be a natural outgrowth of living right. 

So the rambling lesson today is just live right, love people, and influence someone today to be a better person as they deal with the struggles of their life.

A Promise

Many, many years ago one of the great Leaders in Bible College, (I think it was Mary Wilson) said over and over to us “never doubt in the dark what God has shown you in the light”.  How true that is and it has been proven over and over again in our lives.

A few weeks ago God made a promise to us of a breakthrough in some situations we were walking through.  Considerable time had gone by and there were times when the darkness tempted us to doubt.  But in the last few days and specifically this week  we have seen the beginning of what appears to be a major breakthrough.  We had one situation that turned yesterday, just two days before it would have  been too late.  It just proves what our Pastor says is true, that God is “Jehovah nick of time”.

The lesson is that if you stay on the High Road in your heart and faith if HE makes you a promise it will come through.  No new lesson here … just one that was re-learned again.

A call from a Friend

The other day I was having a little pitty party for myself.  I had been dealing with stress and problems for some time and could not see the answer to those particular situations.  I had prayed, praised and believed for God to deliver me from them.  Sometimes He doesn’t deliver us from them because it is His plan to deliver us through them.

So it had been a long day, several situations to deal with, and then the call came that a member of our West of 50 group had passed away.  Becky and I were making our way up I 95 to visit the wife of the man who had passed and as I often do when driving (much to Becky’s aggravation) I was thinking and not talking.  I had just formulated the thought towards the Lord that said “why doesn’t God send someone to me to encourage me.  Where are all my friends”.  And the cell phone rang.

It was a good friend I had not talked to in a long time (several weeks) and he just called to check in and to encourage me.  Well, I don’t know about you but I enjoy someone encouraging me once in awhile.  So there was good comfort in the call.  And I am sure my friend probably did not realize how important his call was, but to me he was the Lord’s voice reassuring me that it was alright.

When was the last time I made a call and was God’s voice to someone else.  The next time someone comes to mind that I have not spoken to for some time, I will be placing the call.  Just maybe I will be the Lord’s voice to them.

After a long silence

Well, it has been many months since I have blogged.  It seems that I go through seasons of having lots to say and seasons of not having much to say at all.  I have been in one of the quiet seasons for awhile.

It has been a season of reflection, and learning … trying to hear God’s voice while dealing with some difficult issues.  The good thing is that even though it may seem like He is not talking … He is still there… never to leave us or forsake us.  You may say “duh… I knew that”.  Well I knew that too but there have been some days when the facts and feelings have tried to tell me something different. But He and I have prevailed and many of the lessons I had to learn, I have learned.

What I have learned the most is that God IS STILL, AND ALWAYS FAITHFUL.  We are still dealing with the difficulties of the economic downturn in our businesses but GOD IS STILL AND ALWAYS FAITHFUL.  I still don’t have all the answers but GOD IS STILL AND ALWAYS FAITHFUL.

I am not sure this will make much sense to anyone else but to us it is the anchor we are holding on to.

P.S.  Not sure if it is proper protocol to put a PS on a blog or not but I am doing it. Through these past few months God has reiterated to me the fact that I need to be back in the pulpit sharing the message He has given.  So we are in the process of booking services again.  Kind of excited about that!!

My Unsaved Friends

A few years ago, God really dealt with me on the fact that all of my friends and associates were Christians. I worked in a Christian Ministry, went to church with Christian believers, enjoyed entertainment times with my Christian friends etc. The extent of my interaction with non-believers was shopping at Walmart, doing business in the daily activities of life, etc.

When we relocated to Florida in 2002, I asked God to give me a healthier balance in my friendship life, so as to be better “salt” in the earth. It’s hard to be salt when all we do is salt the already salty.

I never thought much more about that prayer, but this week I realized that God has blessed me with a circle of five friends who do not profess to be Christian. I met them through real estate transaction but they have become more than associates, and I would call them friends and they would refer to me in like fashion. I hide no facts at all, about my past and present ministry. But I don’t carry my 50 lb Bible to our meetings. I do however, always LIVE my life of standards and beliefs in front of them. They all know I will not do grey or shady business transactions. My language is always proper, and my face contorts somewhat when they use inappropriate language in my presence.

I believe I have had a positive impact on them and they have all at some time or other, asked me to pray for them and their specific needs.

I saw the affect of “salt” this week. One of these friends, (who now calls me every day), has a pretty rough mouth. Yesterday on the phone he started one of his rants of rough langauage, and stopped in the middle of it, and apologized and said he was trying to clean up his talk. It may not be a big thing, but to me it brought Praise and Thanksgiving to the Lord for allowing me to have entrance into this man’s life. Salt doesn’t make big changes instantly, it just slightly changes the flavor.

Perhaps a good question to ask would be who are your unsaved friends and what impact are you having on their lives. We can’t live in a bubble and change our world.

Let’s really be “the salt of the earth” as we walk on THE HIGH ROAD.

His plans for us

Psalm 40:5 NIV Many, O Lord my God, are the wonders you have done. The things you planned for us no one can recount to you; were I to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to declare.

I don’t know about anyone else but this is a great verse to me.   No one can recount to Him His plans for us because they are too many and because we do not even know a lot of those plans.  They just unfold for us.

That is comforting when you go through times when you wonder if He even knows where you are. He does, and He has plans even when you do not feel like He does.

A great comfort as we walk on the HIGH ROAD.

A good word … from Huckaby

This morning on the Fox & Friends morning show Gov. Huckaby had a good line which I took as a good word.   The hosts were pushing him about why he is still in the race for President, and when he might quit.

His response was “the road to victory is complicated and dicey, and I don’t have all the answers, but I know the road to failure.  Quit”.

For anyone fighting a battle of any kind in your lives that is a good word.  Success will come, and we probably don’t know how, but the road to failure is known…. just Quit.

So hang on and hang in there.

Fight the good fight as we walk the HIGH ROAD and don’t quit.