My mom sent this to me. I thought it was excellent. :-)
Attitude Is Everything, by Francie Baltazar-Schwartz
Jerry was the kind of guy you love to hate. He was always in a good mood and always had something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, "If I were any better, I would be twins!"
He was a unique manager because he had several waiters who had followed Him around from restaurant to restaurant. The reason the waiters followed Jerry was because of his attitude. He was a natural motivator. If an employee was having a bad day, Jerry was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation. Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up to Jerry and asked him, "I don't get it! You can't be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?"
Jerry replied, "Each morning I wake up and say to myself, Jerry, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or you can choose to be in a bad mood.' I choose to be in a good mood. Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it. Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life."
"Yeah, right, it's not that easy," I protested.
"Yes it is," Jerry said. "Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people will affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line: It's your choice how you live life."
I reflected on what Jerry said. Soon thereafter, I left the restaurant industry to start my own business. We lost touch, but often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it.
Several years later, I heard that Jerry did something you are never supposed to do in a restaurant business: he left the back door open one morning and was held up at gunpoint by three armed robbers. While trying to open the safe, his hand, shaking from nervousness, slipped off the combination. The robbers panicked and shot him. Luckily, Jerry was found relatively quickly and rushed to the local trauma center. After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, Jerry was released from the hospital with fragments of the bullets still in his body. I saw Jerry about six months after the accident. When I asked him how he was, he replied, "If I were any better, I'd be twins. Wanna see my scars?"
I declined to see his wounds, but did ask him what had gone through his mind as the robbery took place. "The first thing that went through my mind was that I should have locked the back door," Jerry replied. "Then, as I lay on the floor, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live, or I could choose to die. I chose to live.
"Weren't you scared? Did you lose consciousness?" I asked. Jerry continued, "The paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the emergency room and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read, 'He's a dead man.
"I knew I needed to take action."
"What did you do?" I asked.
"Well, there was a big, burly nurse shouting questions at me," said Jerry. "She asked if I was allergic to anything. 'Yes,' I replied. The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled, 'Bullets!' Over their laughter, I told them, 'I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead."
Jerry lived thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude. I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully. Attitude, after all, is everything.
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Failure
Physical security failures help mechanical engineers to design better locks.
Computer security failures help programmers learn to design better programs.
Production failures help manufacturing engineers to design better processes.
Medical failures help doctors to design better surgical procedures.
Bridge failures help structural engineers to design better bridges.
Airplane failures help aviation engineers to design better airplanes.
Car failures help automotive engineers to design better cars.
Sports failures help coaches to design better plays.
And so on.
Spiritual failures help people to see why they need Jesus. Because while we can do a bunch of stuff "on our own" to make things better, we have no power on our own to be the children God wants us to be, no matter how hard we try.
Thanks, Jesus.
Computer security failures help programmers learn to design better programs.
Production failures help manufacturing engineers to design better processes.
Medical failures help doctors to design better surgical procedures.
Bridge failures help structural engineers to design better bridges.
Airplane failures help aviation engineers to design better airplanes.
Car failures help automotive engineers to design better cars.
Sports failures help coaches to design better plays.
And so on.
Spiritual failures help people to see why they need Jesus. Because while we can do a bunch of stuff "on our own" to make things better, we have no power on our own to be the children God wants us to be, no matter how hard we try.
Thanks, Jesus.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
In Praise Of Christ The King
I was at a food packing event this morning at the Salvation Army downtown in San Diego, hosted by Friends and Family Community Connection (http://www.ffccsd.org/). Very cool. During the orientation, I picked up a magazine from a table that was open to a page with this text:
In Praise Of Christ The King
How fearsome and far
The universe runs!
Who counts every star?
Who numbers new suns?
But Christ is the king
Of unthinkable space;
So stand up and sing
Of his goodness and grace.
The last and the least
Our Jesus calls best,
Proclaiming the feast
His Father has blessed.
To ruin and shame him
They nail him up high,
But now we acclaim him
For daring to die.
That sorrow is past:
Let wrong do its worst.
He'll reign at the last
Who ruled at the first --
The Lord of all years
That are coming to birth,
As laughter and tears
Grow together on earth.
Then go, sister, go,
And pray, brother, pray:
Let everyone know
The Christ of today.
His truth sets us free:
(How the story rings true!)
He conquered for me;
And He's calling for you.
-- John Coutts
'nuff said.
In Praise Of Christ The King
How fearsome and far
The universe runs!
Who counts every star?
Who numbers new suns?
But Christ is the king
Of unthinkable space;
So stand up and sing
Of his goodness and grace.
The last and the least
Our Jesus calls best,
Proclaiming the feast
His Father has blessed.
To ruin and shame him
They nail him up high,
But now we acclaim him
For daring to die.
That sorrow is past:
Let wrong do its worst.
He'll reign at the last
Who ruled at the first --
The Lord of all years
That are coming to birth,
As laughter and tears
Grow together on earth.
Then go, sister, go,
And pray, brother, pray:
Let everyone know
The Christ of today.
His truth sets us free:
(How the story rings true!)
He conquered for me;
And He's calling for you.
-- John Coutts
'nuff said.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Take The Time
This is mostly for those who have kids and aren't completely sucky parents, or have at least been around kids long enough to know the feeling I'm talking about.
You want to be a good parent. You want to spend good quality time with your kids. You do it quite well for a while when they're little. But then they get older. They make friends. The friends are in the neighborhood, and they can go around with them and play. It's a lot of fun.
But you still want to spend time with them. So you split the time.
There's other options, but let's take two of them. You can let them play with their friends first and then hang out, or you can hang out and then let them play with their friends.
With the first option, when it's time to come in, you get the "Aw, oh man, already? Just ten more minutes!"
With the second option, you get the clock watching, and as soon as the second hand crosses that 12 for the final time, BAM, they're out the door.
How does that make you feel? Yeah, me too.
God's our good parent. We shouldn't be bonehead kids that don't value our time with Him.
Grace and Peace
You want to be a good parent. You want to spend good quality time with your kids. You do it quite well for a while when they're little. But then they get older. They make friends. The friends are in the neighborhood, and they can go around with them and play. It's a lot of fun.
But you still want to spend time with them. So you split the time.
There's other options, but let's take two of them. You can let them play with their friends first and then hang out, or you can hang out and then let them play with their friends.
With the first option, when it's time to come in, you get the "Aw, oh man, already? Just ten more minutes!"
With the second option, you get the clock watching, and as soon as the second hand crosses that 12 for the final time, BAM, they're out the door.
How does that make you feel? Yeah, me too.
God's our good parent. We shouldn't be bonehead kids that don't value our time with Him.
Grace and Peace
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Tolerance?
We live in a very relativistic culture today when it comes to morality, religion, etc. Many think that what one person believes should be treated just as valid as what the next person believes. Not only that, many tend to get their panties in a bunch when someone comes along and says that someone else's beliefs are not valid and that there is only one truth. Words Words like "tolerance" and "open-minded" are thrown at those who insist there is one truth and one way to heaven.
For believers, this sort of thing is just nonsense. Two plus two cannot have multiple correct answers. You can say it's three, four, and give. Sure, all the answers could be wrong -- but they cannot all be right. It's the same way with views on God, period. There is only one truth. Christians believe that the one truth about God and his relationship with man is revealed in the pages of the Bible. I as a Christian, who accepts the Bible as God's Word, cannot be "open minded" to a view which says that Jesus is not God, or that his death meant nothing, that says we are essentially good people, or that we can get to heaven by doing more good deeds than bad, or that there is no God, or that homosexual behavior is acceptable, or that sex outside of marriage is acceptable, or that getting drunk is acceptable, and so on. When you come up against God's Word and don't agree with it, you're wrong, period.
So what about all those other beliefs? We certainly can't accept wrong views as equally acceptable, but we also want people to come to know the Lord, not push them away. In this age of "tolerance" what do we do? Let's look at some examples.
Example 1. I love the account of Elijah on Mount Carmel. And I'll admit I love it for the wrong reason. It's Elijah versus the priests of the false God Baal, engaging in a "let's see whose god is real" contest. The priests go first. They do their thing. Nothing happens. Elijah mocks Baal, saying "Shout louder! Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping." Okay, that's why I love it. A big "Ha, forget you!" to the fake god. But ignore my own shortcoming and look at what happens next. Elijah calls on the LORD. BAM! He comes through in big way. And guess what? The people (people watching, not the priests) saw this and believed in the LORD.
So, number one, we show people God is real like Elijah. How? With unwavering faith in the LORD, with immense hope of the things to come, and with loving words and actions. In other words, live a life filled with faith, hope, and love.
A note on the last one, love. It's really important, and we screw it up too often. But even when we don't, the world gets ticked off at some things we do anyway due to a hardened heart and blinded eyes. Really. If I yelled at someone "Hey, jump off that train, the bridge is out and you're going to die!" that would be a totally fine act of love. But if I tell someone "Hey, quit living that lifestyle, repent, and turn to the LORD or you risk an eternity in hell" it doesn't have the same impact. It just makes people mad, yet it's the same thing.
Example 2. Hezekiah, a king of Judah who took over an idolatrous mess from Ahaz. He purified the temple, invited all Israel and Judah to come celebrate the passover at the temple, called the people to return to the LORD, prayed for those who had their hearts set on seeking God, and encouraged those who were serving the LORD. He was a motivational kind of guy, with a passion for the LORD. What happens next? The people go out and smash the items of false worship and bring in tons of stuff to the temple for the LORD.
So, number two, we call people to turn the LORD and encourage those who do, both passionately.
Example 3. Paul, the greatest missionary who ever lived. Specifically Paul in Athens and in Corinth. In Athens he was taken to the Areopagus so he could share with a bunch of people. In his preaching he tried to relate to the culture of the day, calling them "very religious" and playing off their altar "to an unknown god" and quoting one of their popular poets. He tried to relate to them. Only a few believed, but sadly there is no "Church at Athens" recorded in the Bible. Bummer. Then he went to Corinth to preach. In his first letter to them later he says "I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified." Beat down in Athens, he changed tactics and got to the heart of the problem and the solution provided by Christ.
So, number three, we focus on Christ and the significance of the cross.
All the talk of some abstract concept of God, all the hand-holding and trying to fit into someone's existing beliefs, and all the dancing around the point doesn't help. Point in case. I was talking to a Muslim friend of mine the other day, and we talked about things like respect, honor, and similarities in our beliefs as far as moral behavior is concerned. My point to him in the end? There's a lot of "good moral stuff" in many of the world's religions. That's not the issue. The issue is Christ. He came to die as a sacrifice for sins to pay a price we cannot, because there is no way we can "earn" our way into heaven by good works. The cross is central.
In this age of "tolerance" what do we do, then? We speak the truth, in love, but we don't bend it, back down from it, or beat around the bush. We back up what we believe to be true with our words, our actions, and our very lives. We stick to the heart of the issue -- the problem of the sinful human heart and what that means. We do this all passionately.
Yeah, people don't want to hear it and think we're obnoxious sometimes. And sometimes, we are. We'll screw it up. When we do, we repent and go to God with it -- asking him to help us do better the next time so that his light and love are spread. We're not perfect either. That's quite clear in all of the Biblical heroes. That's okay, because, after all, heaven is not a place for "good" people. It's a place for forgiven people.
Grace and Peace friends.
For believers, this sort of thing is just nonsense. Two plus two cannot have multiple correct answers. You can say it's three, four, and give. Sure, all the answers could be wrong -- but they cannot all be right. It's the same way with views on God, period. There is only one truth. Christians believe that the one truth about God and his relationship with man is revealed in the pages of the Bible. I as a Christian, who accepts the Bible as God's Word, cannot be "open minded" to a view which says that Jesus is not God, or that his death meant nothing, that says we are essentially good people, or that we can get to heaven by doing more good deeds than bad, or that there is no God, or that homosexual behavior is acceptable, or that sex outside of marriage is acceptable, or that getting drunk is acceptable, and so on. When you come up against God's Word and don't agree with it, you're wrong, period.
So what about all those other beliefs? We certainly can't accept wrong views as equally acceptable, but we also want people to come to know the Lord, not push them away. In this age of "tolerance" what do we do? Let's look at some examples.
Example 1. I love the account of Elijah on Mount Carmel. And I'll admit I love it for the wrong reason. It's Elijah versus the priests of the false God Baal, engaging in a "let's see whose god is real" contest. The priests go first. They do their thing. Nothing happens. Elijah mocks Baal, saying "Shout louder! Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping." Okay, that's why I love it. A big "Ha, forget you!" to the fake god. But ignore my own shortcoming and look at what happens next. Elijah calls on the LORD. BAM! He comes through in big way. And guess what? The people (people watching, not the priests) saw this and believed in the LORD.
So, number one, we show people God is real like Elijah. How? With unwavering faith in the LORD, with immense hope of the things to come, and with loving words and actions. In other words, live a life filled with faith, hope, and love.
A note on the last one, love. It's really important, and we screw it up too often. But even when we don't, the world gets ticked off at some things we do anyway due to a hardened heart and blinded eyes. Really. If I yelled at someone "Hey, jump off that train, the bridge is out and you're going to die!" that would be a totally fine act of love. But if I tell someone "Hey, quit living that lifestyle, repent, and turn to the LORD or you risk an eternity in hell" it doesn't have the same impact. It just makes people mad, yet it's the same thing.
Example 2. Hezekiah, a king of Judah who took over an idolatrous mess from Ahaz. He purified the temple, invited all Israel and Judah to come celebrate the passover at the temple, called the people to return to the LORD, prayed for those who had their hearts set on seeking God, and encouraged those who were serving the LORD. He was a motivational kind of guy, with a passion for the LORD. What happens next? The people go out and smash the items of false worship and bring in tons of stuff to the temple for the LORD.
So, number two, we call people to turn the LORD and encourage those who do, both passionately.
Example 3. Paul, the greatest missionary who ever lived. Specifically Paul in Athens and in Corinth. In Athens he was taken to the Areopagus so he could share with a bunch of people. In his preaching he tried to relate to the culture of the day, calling them "very religious" and playing off their altar "to an unknown god" and quoting one of their popular poets. He tried to relate to them. Only a few believed, but sadly there is no "Church at Athens" recorded in the Bible. Bummer. Then he went to Corinth to preach. In his first letter to them later he says "I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified." Beat down in Athens, he changed tactics and got to the heart of the problem and the solution provided by Christ.
So, number three, we focus on Christ and the significance of the cross.
All the talk of some abstract concept of God, all the hand-holding and trying to fit into someone's existing beliefs, and all the dancing around the point doesn't help. Point in case. I was talking to a Muslim friend of mine the other day, and we talked about things like respect, honor, and similarities in our beliefs as far as moral behavior is concerned. My point to him in the end? There's a lot of "good moral stuff" in many of the world's religions. That's not the issue. The issue is Christ. He came to die as a sacrifice for sins to pay a price we cannot, because there is no way we can "earn" our way into heaven by good works. The cross is central.
In this age of "tolerance" what do we do, then? We speak the truth, in love, but we don't bend it, back down from it, or beat around the bush. We back up what we believe to be true with our words, our actions, and our very lives. We stick to the heart of the issue -- the problem of the sinful human heart and what that means. We do this all passionately.
Yeah, people don't want to hear it and think we're obnoxious sometimes. And sometimes, we are. We'll screw it up. When we do, we repent and go to God with it -- asking him to help us do better the next time so that his light and love are spread. We're not perfect either. That's quite clear in all of the Biblical heroes. That's okay, because, after all, heaven is not a place for "good" people. It's a place for forgiven people.
Grace and Peace friends.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Jesus In A Nutshell
Reminds me of a programming book "Perl In A Nutshell". :-)
I took a break from reading through kings to skim one of the gospel accounts. I thought it would be interesting to through and see a big overview of what Jesus talked about while he was here on earth. Here are the key points as I saw them in a nutshell:
1) There is good news for the underdog. Jesus came for us. After all, he came to seek, find, and restore the lost. He didn't come so much to seek and find the stubborn hard-hearted people who refuse to believe him no matter what.
2) We have to see our own sin. We have to come before God in humility and repent of our sins. That means agreeing with God and turning away from sinful behavior and turning toward him. That means getting crap out of our lives that cause us to sin against God.
3) God's Word matters. He wants us to keep it. Judgment will come. The righteous who keep it will be rewarded, while the wicked who do not will be punished.
4) God, however, doesn't want anyone to perish. He wants everyone to turn to him, and the invitation is there for all people. Even so, many will not accept it and turn to him.
5) We need to believe in, and we need to believe, Jesus. We need to follow him. We need to trust him. We need to recognize his divinity.
6) Jesus came to suffer and die for us, paying the price for our sins that we cannot pay on our own.
7) We need to love God above all else and love others very much. We need to put him and his kingdom first.
8) The expression of that love is more than a feeling. It's actions. We need to do something tangible to show God's love to others.
9) The motives behind our actions are extremely important. God cares about the heart.
10) Jesus is coming back and we need to be ready. He will reward the righteous and punish the wicked. Until he comes, we need keep his commandments, point others to him, and be wary of those who will pull us away from him.
There is much more to say than that, but that is the overview. If we get these and keep God's Word, we do well.
Grace and Peace friends!
I took a break from reading through kings to skim one of the gospel accounts. I thought it would be interesting to through and see a big overview of what Jesus talked about while he was here on earth. Here are the key points as I saw them in a nutshell:
1) There is good news for the underdog. Jesus came for us. After all, he came to seek, find, and restore the lost. He didn't come so much to seek and find the stubborn hard-hearted people who refuse to believe him no matter what.
2) We have to see our own sin. We have to come before God in humility and repent of our sins. That means agreeing with God and turning away from sinful behavior and turning toward him. That means getting crap out of our lives that cause us to sin against God.
3) God's Word matters. He wants us to keep it. Judgment will come. The righteous who keep it will be rewarded, while the wicked who do not will be punished.
4) God, however, doesn't want anyone to perish. He wants everyone to turn to him, and the invitation is there for all people. Even so, many will not accept it and turn to him.
5) We need to believe in, and we need to believe, Jesus. We need to follow him. We need to trust him. We need to recognize his divinity.
6) Jesus came to suffer and die for us, paying the price for our sins that we cannot pay on our own.
7) We need to love God above all else and love others very much. We need to put him and his kingdom first.
8) The expression of that love is more than a feeling. It's actions. We need to do something tangible to show God's love to others.
9) The motives behind our actions are extremely important. God cares about the heart.
10) Jesus is coming back and we need to be ready. He will reward the righteous and punish the wicked. Until he comes, we need keep his commandments, point others to him, and be wary of those who will pull us away from him.
There is much more to say than that, but that is the overview. If we get these and keep God's Word, we do well.
Grace and Peace friends!
Monday, October 25, 2010
Solomon's Blessing
I was reading through 1 Kings and came across one of Solomon's public blessings. I love how much truth is jam packed into this little bit of time and wanted to share.
First, here it is altogether:
"Praise be to the LORD, who has given rest to his people Israel just as he promised. Not one word has failed of all the good promises he gave through his servant Moses. May the LORD our God be with us as he was with our fathers; may he never leave us nor forsake us. May he turn our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways and to keep the commands, decrees and regulations he gave our fathers. And may these words of mine, which I have prayed before the LORD, be near to the LORD our God day and night, that he may uphold the cause of his servant and the cause of his people Israel according to each day's need, so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the LORD is God and that there is no other. But your hearts must be fully committed to the LORD our God, to live by his decrees and obey his commands, as at this time." - 1 Kings 8:56-61
Now let's break it down to see what Biblical truth Solomon echoes in his blessing, and see what we can apply in our own lives and petitions to God. I think a lot. Solomon was a pretty wise guy you know. Much wiser than me, so I bet I miss something.
1) "Praise be to the LORD,"
Always a good idea to start out with praise for God. Whatever good it was, guess what? We didn't do it. All him.
2) "who has given rest to his people Israel just as he promised. Not one word has failed of all the good promises he gave through his servant Moses."
God always keeps his promises, period. If we think he hasn't kept a promise to us, it either wasn't a promise from God, or we didn't understand it.
3) "May the LORD our God be with us as he was with our fathers; may he never leave us nor forsake us."
An echo back to the time of Moses where he encouraged the people, telling them not to be afraid or discouraged, because God will never leave them. Nor will he leave us. If we're apart from God, we did something to cause it. Figure it out. Fix it. In my life the barrier has always been sin in my life, failure to stay in the Word, or failure to connect with God in prayer. Typically those all go together.
4) "May he turn our hearts to him,"
I love this. It doesn't say "may we turn our hearts toward him" because that isn't going to happen. His Spirit moves like the wind. In my experience, it wasn't me who decided to look into Jesus and follow him. No. It was him drawing me to himself little by little, until I came to believe the Bible was true and knew that Jesus was who he claimed to be -- the savior of the world. Only in recognition of my terrible condition and the impossibility of doing anything about it on my own could I really cry out to Jesus to save me. And he did! He pulled one of those inside-out, new-creation, new-heart deals on me. I don't regret it.
5) "to walk in all his ways and to keep the commands, decrees and regulations he gave our fathers."
Duh. I don't know why people are so deaf to this sometimes. Even Jesus said it. "If you love me, obey my commandments." This is not a burden, but a blessing to us. If its a burden to us, we need to go back to #4 here -- if our hearts are turned totally toward God, how hard could #5 be? Jesus said "my yoke is easy and my burden light." Yeah, we all fall down. We all get convicted when we do. That's not the issue. When that happens, we repent, and we're restored. The issue is living in habitual willful sin versus living a godly life. That's not some monastery or priest thing -- that's just walking with the LORD every day. Keep our thoughts continually on him and we're golden.
6) "And may these words of mine, which I have prayed before the LORD, be near to the LORD our God day and night,"
God hears all prayers!
7) "that he may uphold the cause of his servant"
And he's got our back!
8) "and the cause of his people Israel according to each day's need,"
This so reminds me of the "Lord's prayer" because of its focus on daily needs. We don't just come to the LORD when we're in a pickle. Maybe we do, but we shouldn't. It's a daily thing. It's a dependence thing. Learning that dependence on God in all things is huge. It's a life long lesson too.
9) "so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the LORD is God and that there is no other."
Oh, oh oh! Here's a kicker. This isn't about us just getting taken care of and looking all goody two shoes and stuff. This isn't just about get right with God and we're done. Israel was supposed to be a light to the world. Now we are supposed to be a light to the world. Little lights all over the place pointing people to Jesus Christ. Remember what Jesus said? "Do good works before men so they may tell you how awesome you are." No! "Do good works before me so they may glorify your father in heaven!" That whole glorifying God in all we do thing again!
10) "But your hearts must be fully committed to the LORD our God, to live by his decrees and obey his commands, as at this time.
No lukewarm here. No half-in, half-out. No one foot in the world and one foot in God. Like the guy in the Fireproof movie said -- "You have to be all in." Weekly church seat filling doesn't cut it. Being a "cultural Christian" doesn't cut it. Checking religious things off the list doesn't cut it. This isn't about religion; this is about a relationship with God. He wants the best, not the rest.
I love these nuggets in the Word. Grace and Peace friends!
First, here it is altogether:
"Praise be to the LORD, who has given rest to his people Israel just as he promised. Not one word has failed of all the good promises he gave through his servant Moses. May the LORD our God be with us as he was with our fathers; may he never leave us nor forsake us. May he turn our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways and to keep the commands, decrees and regulations he gave our fathers. And may these words of mine, which I have prayed before the LORD, be near to the LORD our God day and night, that he may uphold the cause of his servant and the cause of his people Israel according to each day's need, so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the LORD is God and that there is no other. But your hearts must be fully committed to the LORD our God, to live by his decrees and obey his commands, as at this time." - 1 Kings 8:56-61
Now let's break it down to see what Biblical truth Solomon echoes in his blessing, and see what we can apply in our own lives and petitions to God. I think a lot. Solomon was a pretty wise guy you know. Much wiser than me, so I bet I miss something.
1) "Praise be to the LORD,"
Always a good idea to start out with praise for God. Whatever good it was, guess what? We didn't do it. All him.
2) "who has given rest to his people Israel just as he promised. Not one word has failed of all the good promises he gave through his servant Moses."
God always keeps his promises, period. If we think he hasn't kept a promise to us, it either wasn't a promise from God, or we didn't understand it.
3) "May the LORD our God be with us as he was with our fathers; may he never leave us nor forsake us."
An echo back to the time of Moses where he encouraged the people, telling them not to be afraid or discouraged, because God will never leave them. Nor will he leave us. If we're apart from God, we did something to cause it. Figure it out. Fix it. In my life the barrier has always been sin in my life, failure to stay in the Word, or failure to connect with God in prayer. Typically those all go together.
4) "May he turn our hearts to him,"
I love this. It doesn't say "may we turn our hearts toward him" because that isn't going to happen. His Spirit moves like the wind. In my experience, it wasn't me who decided to look into Jesus and follow him. No. It was him drawing me to himself little by little, until I came to believe the Bible was true and knew that Jesus was who he claimed to be -- the savior of the world. Only in recognition of my terrible condition and the impossibility of doing anything about it on my own could I really cry out to Jesus to save me. And he did! He pulled one of those inside-out, new-creation, new-heart deals on me. I don't regret it.
5) "to walk in all his ways and to keep the commands, decrees and regulations he gave our fathers."
Duh. I don't know why people are so deaf to this sometimes. Even Jesus said it. "If you love me, obey my commandments." This is not a burden, but a blessing to us. If its a burden to us, we need to go back to #4 here -- if our hearts are turned totally toward God, how hard could #5 be? Jesus said "my yoke is easy and my burden light." Yeah, we all fall down. We all get convicted when we do. That's not the issue. When that happens, we repent, and we're restored. The issue is living in habitual willful sin versus living a godly life. That's not some monastery or priest thing -- that's just walking with the LORD every day. Keep our thoughts continually on him and we're golden.
6) "And may these words of mine, which I have prayed before the LORD, be near to the LORD our God day and night,"
God hears all prayers!
7) "that he may uphold the cause of his servant"
And he's got our back!
8) "and the cause of his people Israel according to each day's need,"
This so reminds me of the "Lord's prayer" because of its focus on daily needs. We don't just come to the LORD when we're in a pickle. Maybe we do, but we shouldn't. It's a daily thing. It's a dependence thing. Learning that dependence on God in all things is huge. It's a life long lesson too.
9) "so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the LORD is God and that there is no other."
Oh, oh oh! Here's a kicker. This isn't about us just getting taken care of and looking all goody two shoes and stuff. This isn't just about get right with God and we're done. Israel was supposed to be a light to the world. Now we are supposed to be a light to the world. Little lights all over the place pointing people to Jesus Christ. Remember what Jesus said? "Do good works before men so they may tell you how awesome you are." No! "Do good works before me so they may glorify your father in heaven!" That whole glorifying God in all we do thing again!
10) "But your hearts must be fully committed to the LORD our God, to live by his decrees and obey his commands, as at this time.
No lukewarm here. No half-in, half-out. No one foot in the world and one foot in God. Like the guy in the Fireproof movie said -- "You have to be all in." Weekly church seat filling doesn't cut it. Being a "cultural Christian" doesn't cut it. Checking religious things off the list doesn't cut it. This isn't about religion; this is about a relationship with God. He wants the best, not the rest.
I love these nuggets in the Word. Grace and Peace friends!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)