Today I am really excited about going to see Prince Caspian. I have been a huge fan of The Chronicles of Narnia ever since I was a kid. We are taking 28 people to Branson Meadows to see it, which should be fun.
Okay, so on to chapter 16. Three verses capture my attention: verse 3, 9 and 20. "Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed...In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps...Whoever gives heed to instruction prospers, and blessed is he who trusts in the Lord." (NIV) Growing up in church all my life, I have heard these verses over and over again, so much so, that I could probably quote them in three different versions of the Bible. However, truth be told, I have failed to put them into practice more times in my life than I care to count. It never fails, after the fact, that I look back on my mistakes and think, "If only I had prayed or sought council and then trusted God to work it out, the outcome would have been much better."
Now, the older and hopefully wiser I get (with slightly less hair), I tend to lean on God more for guidance and trust Him to bless what He has called me to do. I encourage all of you to start doing that now. Don't make the same mistakes I made as a young man wanting my own way. I'm still paying for some of those mistakes ten years later. Trust God now knowing that He orders your steps and will bless and prosper you if you will simply listen to Him and follow the path He has laid out before you.
May you commit to the Lord everything you do and allow Him to bring you success.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Friday, May 23, 2008
How To Be Wise (Part 15)
At the prompting of my good friend and fellow youth pastor Ricky Sowell, I'm finally getting around to chapter 15. I'm horrible at doing these things on a regular basis. I guess it stems from feeling like I don't have anything worth while to say or that you, the reader, would be interested in. Nevertheless, here we go.
The first several verses of chapter 15 give great advice on wise communication principles. Verse 1 states, "A gentle response defuses anger, but a sharp tongue kindles a temper-fire." (MSG) When I sit and meditate on this verse I imagine a scene from one of those spy movies where there is a ticking time bomb waiting to explode while the hero of the story calmly tries to defuse it. There's always the antagonist looking over his shoulder spouting the obvious, "Hurry there's not much time." or "Are you sure sure you know what you're doing?" The response is generally a calm, "You're not helping!" So, with the seconds counting down to annihilation: 7 - 6 - 5 - 4 - 3 - 2 - and then the hero cuts the red wire, no, I mean the blue wire and all is well. Since everyone wants to be a hero at some point in their life, think of it this way, every time you "defuse anger" by giving a "gentle response" consider yourself as an Indiana Jones like character or maybe even the master 007 Sean Connery saving the planet from destruction! Okay, so maybe not the planet, but at least a relationship.
The other verse I would like to stress is verse 4, "Kind words heal and help, cutting words wound and maim." (MSG) I have to ask myself, "Do I speak words that bring healing or words that only wound?" I would like to think mostly the first, but as I reflect on my words over the last week, I can see that both are true. Words that wound come easy to most people disguised as jests or jokes. The New International Version says they, "crush the spirit." Has your spirit ever been crushed by someone demeaning your dreams or abilities? It's not much fun. If I have ever done that to any of you reading this, please forgive me. God, help us all to remember what that feels like so that we don't do the same to others. Words that heal and help, on the other hand, are harder to come by and take perceptive thought and sincere sentiment. One encouraging thing is that the more you do it, the easier it becomes.
May you be the hero in volatile situations. May you always speak with kindness words that give life to the soul.
The first several verses of chapter 15 give great advice on wise communication principles. Verse 1 states, "A gentle response defuses anger, but a sharp tongue kindles a temper-fire." (MSG) When I sit and meditate on this verse I imagine a scene from one of those spy movies where there is a ticking time bomb waiting to explode while the hero of the story calmly tries to defuse it. There's always the antagonist looking over his shoulder spouting the obvious, "Hurry there's not much time." or "Are you sure sure you know what you're doing?" The response is generally a calm, "You're not helping!" So, with the seconds counting down to annihilation: 7 - 6 - 5 - 4 - 3 - 2 - and then the hero cuts the red wire, no, I mean the blue wire and all is well. Since everyone wants to be a hero at some point in their life, think of it this way, every time you "defuse anger" by giving a "gentle response" consider yourself as an Indiana Jones like character or maybe even the master 007 Sean Connery saving the planet from destruction! Okay, so maybe not the planet, but at least a relationship.
The other verse I would like to stress is verse 4, "Kind words heal and help, cutting words wound and maim." (MSG) I have to ask myself, "Do I speak words that bring healing or words that only wound?" I would like to think mostly the first, but as I reflect on my words over the last week, I can see that both are true. Words that wound come easy to most people disguised as jests or jokes. The New International Version says they, "crush the spirit." Has your spirit ever been crushed by someone demeaning your dreams or abilities? It's not much fun. If I have ever done that to any of you reading this, please forgive me. God, help us all to remember what that feels like so that we don't do the same to others. Words that heal and help, on the other hand, are harder to come by and take perceptive thought and sincere sentiment. One encouraging thing is that the more you do it, the easier it becomes.
May you be the hero in volatile situations. May you always speak with kindness words that give life to the soul.
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