Posts Tagged ‘Walking’

Cynics

{ February 27, 2008 @ 1:29 } · { February 2008 }
{ Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , } · { Comments }

j0423103.jpg                                                                                                                                                                                                 Story of the day:  Cynics

    I have often heard that to be a cynic means to always criticize things that you or others are doing even if you aren’t requesting it.  It is always looking for the negative in and searching for the worst, whether it be in people or situations.  If you are around a cynic for too long, you can start to take on attributes of the cynic as their negativity rubs off onto you. When dealing with a cynic you must turn the cheek and move past the situation. Cynics usually tend to be so negative just because they do not trust the integrity of others.  

     I look at Jesus’ life and all that He went through while here, and how many cynics he had to put up with, and yet He pressed on with the mission and endured to the Cross.  So often we feel a need to want to defend the situation, but to try and defend it to a cynic is nearly impossible.  So instead of arguing and wasting valuable time, I just move on and forward with the plan that God has set before me.  After a while, you just learn to take it with a grain of salt and with the realization that you just can’t please everyone.  And as long as I am pleasing God, that’s all that matters. 

    I have an interesting story and tell me if this situation sounds familiar.  “The story is told of an old man whose grandson rode a donkey while they were traveling from one city to another.  The man heard some people say, “Would you look at that old man suffering on his feet while that strong young boy is totally capable of walking.”

    So then the old man rode the donkey while the boy walked.  And he heard some people say, “Would you look at that, a healthy man making the poor young boy suffer.  Can you believe it?”

    So the man and the boy both rode the donkey, and they heard some people say, “would you look at those heavy brutes making that poor donkey suffer.”  So they both got off and walked, until they heard some people say, “Would you look at the waste-a perfectly good donkey not being used.”

    Finally the scene shifts and we see the boy walking and the old man carrying the donkey. 

    No matter what you do, someone will always criticize it.”  I encourage you today, that if you are being criticized, turn the cheek, let it roll off your back, pray for that person and move forward with God’s purpose and will for your life.  In the long run, you will be better off for having done so.

Quote of the day:  Oliver Stone

“Cynicism has gone too far.  We are becoming what the history books tell us late Rome was like: mired in self-absorption and lacking virtue.”

Bible verse of the day:  John 14:1

“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.”

Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father,

Cynicism is at times so harsh.  It can be discouraging if I allow the words of a cynic to pierce my heart.  Instead I lean upon You for every situation and turn my cheek just as You did.  God it is not enough for me to just turn my cheek, I need to remember the cynic in prayer and continue to love them the way that You love all.  Give me wisdom to know when to speak and when to just be quiet.  God, I know that not everyone will agree at all times with what I have to say, but I do know that when I write, I write for myself and if others are touched by it, then I have done what You have asked of me.  Thank You for giving me such an understanding heart and to try to see the good in others no matter what they have done.  I love what our Pastor said this weekend, “Jesus forgave at the cross for all the things that we will do and the things that we don’t even know we are doing.”  God, Your Son suffered greatly for us and endured all the cynicism that came about during His time here on earth and never lost focus of the plan that was set before Him.  And though He was tempted as we all are, he passed every single one of His tests.  I pray to pick up my cross everyday and walk in His likeness, doing the things that He has planned for me.  I thank You for this day!

In Jesus Name I pray,

Amen 

Slam Dunk

{ February 21, 2008 @ 1:29 } · { February 2008 }
{ Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , } · { Comments (1) }

me-and-the-coyote.jpg                                                                                                                                                                                             Story of the day:  A Slam Dunk

    We love basketball.  We love to see our oldest play the game.  He truly is a natural.  And yes, I know he is my son and all parent’s probably think this of their child, but he truly is gifted with this sport.  It comes naturally to him and with more practice, his natural abilities, and some great coaching, he will be well underway.  As I thought about basketball and how we can all probably pick up a book and learn the fundamentals about the game, which is important, sometimes just letting it flow naturally will get more natural results.  I remembered a story that came out of Fresh Power a wonderful book written by Jim Cymbala.

    He writes, “When I was only ten years old, my brother, Bob, gave me a paperback book on how to play basketball.  Written by Red Auerbach, the legendary coach, general manager, and owner of the Boston Celtics, it was an excellent treatment of the fundamentals:  footwork, defense, shooting, how to dribble the ball, how to pass, how to box out, how to fake.  Soon I was trying out what I had learned in a little church gymnasium.  Every Saturday morning Bob and I would get on the city bus, change to a second bus, and finally arrive at Quincy Street in the Bedford-Stuyvesant area of Brooklyn, where for up to three hours we would shoot baskets until my little arms were drooping.

    Then it was back home to the bedroom we shared, where I would pull out the book once again to study the instructions, imagine the moves, and linger over the pictures of great Celtic players such as Bob Cousy and Tommy Heinsohn.  In my boyhood eagerness I would practice in front of a mirror:  Fake left, go right, just as Red Auerbach said.

    The book was good….but as I grew older and started playing on my high school team, I found out what every athlete knows:  Although it’s important to learn the fundamentals, they will never by themselves make you a champion.  When you get into a game, you have to go with an inner sense of what will work instant by instant.  I have seen players who have all the basics down packed but are still stiff and mechanical.  They don’t seem to have that special sense that expresses itself in a smooth flow.  That is why they will never get near the rhythm of Magic Johnson, a Larry Bird, or a Michael Jordon.

     God intended His work–everything from teaching a Sunday School class to pioneering a brand-new missionary effort–to be marked by a similar flow of a spiritual kind.  The Bible calls it being “led by the Spirit” (Romans 8:14; Galatians 5:18).  Yes, there are important doctrinal principles to learn and Biblical facts to nail down, but at the same time, only God the Holy Spirit can weave them all together in a seamless, almost unconscious way so we can touch people with God’s message of love.  What we need is that unique merger of divine truth, human personality, and Holy Spirit gifting that produces effective ministry for Christ.”

 Quote of the day:  Corrie ten Bloom

“I have a glove here in my hand.  The glove cannot do anything by itself, but when my hand is in it, it can do many things.  True, it is not the glove, but my hand in the glove that acts.  We are gloves.  It is the Holy Spirit in us who is the hand, who does the job.  We have to make room for the hand so that every finger is filled.”

Bible verse of the day:  Ephesians 5:25

“If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.”

Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father,

Thank You that You lead us by the Spirit.  God, I pray for that “unique merger of divine truth, human personality, and the Holy Spirit gifting” so that in me You will produce a ministry that is effective for You.  We all have special giftings and when used with the Holy Spirit leading the way, we will be able to express love to others in a smoother flow.  Thank You for Your Son and for the countless times that You continue to forgive me, love me, and are there for me even when others aren’t.  Thank You for just wanting to be my friend.  I am so very humbled by Your Mercy, Grace, and Love that makes up probably just a smidge of all that You are.  There are not enough words to describe You, and sometimes I just stand in Awe of all that You are.  I thank You for my family, my friends, and people I have yet to meet.  I pray a hedge of protection around them.  I pray a special prayer of thankfulness for each of them and ask that You bless them in this day and continue to watch over them.  I pray that they are given courage to speak Your name to others and that deep within them is planted a longing to know You even better than they already do.  I Thank You for this day.

In Jesus Name I pray,

Amen

Walking in Freedom

{ February 11, 2008 @ 1:29 } · { February 2008 }
{ Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , } · { Comments (2) }

ca0xu3gh.jpg                                                                                                                                                                                            Story of the day:  Walking in Freedom

        There are no limits to what children can accomplish for the Kingdom of God.  If they have those seeds of faith, love, or hope planted at a young age, there is nothing that they can’t do.  I was reading this inspiring story today and I thought about how much love, faith, and hope can play in determining one’s desire to be motivated.  The story is by Arthur Gordon and was found in A Touch of Wonder. 

    “He relates a story of a man who had been stricken with polio at age three, and his parents probably Depression-poor and overwhelmed, had abandoned him at a New York City hospital.  Taken in by a foster family, he was sent to stay with their relatives in Georgia when he was six, in hopes that the warmer climate would improve his condition.  What improved his condition, though, was Maum Jean, an elderly black woman who took that  “frail, lost, lonely little boy” into her heart.  For six years, she daily massaged his weak legs; administering her own hydrotherapy in a nearby creek; and encouraged him spiritually with her stories, songs, and prayers.  Gordon writes:

    Night after night Maum Jean continued the massaging and praying.  Then one morning, when I was about 12, she told me she had a surprise for me.

    She led me out into the yard, placed me with my back against an oak tree; I can feel the rough bark of it to this day.  She took away my crutches and braces.  She moved back a dozen paces and told me that the Lord had spoken to her in a dream.  He had said that the time had come for me to walk.  “So now,” said Maum Jean, “I want you to walk over to me.”

    My instant reaction was fear.  I knew I couldn’t walk unaided; I had tried.  I shrank back against the solid support of the tree.  Maum Jean continued to urge me.

    I burst into tears.  I begged.  I pleaded.  Her voice rose suddenly, no longer gentle and coaxing but full of power and command.  “You can walk, boy!  The Lord has spoken!  Now walk over here.”

    She knelt down and held out her arms.  And somehow, impelled by something stronger than fear, I took a faltering step, and another, and another, until I reached Maum Jean and fell into her arms, both of us weeping.

    It was two more years before I could walk normally, but I never used crutches again…

    Then the night came when one of Maum Jean’s tall grandsons knocked on my door.  It was late; there was frost in the air.  Maum Jean was dying, he said; she wanted to see me.

    The old cabin was unchanged:  floors of cypress, windows with wooden shutters-no glass, roof of palm thatch mixed with pitch.  Maum Jean in bed surrounded by silent watchers, her frail body covered by a patchwork quilt.  From a corner of the room, a kerosene lamp cast a dim saffron light.  Her face was in shadow, but I heard her whisper my name.  Someone put a chair close to the bed.  I sat down and touched her hand.

    For a long time, I sat there…Now and then Maum Jean spoke softly.  Her mind was clear.  She hoped I remembered the things that she had taught me.  Outside, the night stirred with a strong wind.  In the other room the fire snapped, throwing orange sparks.  There was a long silence; she lay with her eyes closed.  Then the old voice spoke, stronger suddenly, “Oh,” said Maum Jean, with surprising gladness. “Oh, it’s so beautiful!”   She gave a little contented sigh, and died…

    All that happened a long time ago.  I now live in another town.  But I still think of Maum Jean often, and the main thing she taught me: nothing is a barrier when love is strong enough.  Not age.  Not race.  Not disease.  Not anything.”

    Have you been standing against that oak tree most of your life, waiting for the right moment and have become afraid to move away from it?  Right now, my prayer for you is that those crutches and braces are removed, because it is now time for you to walk.  If God has spoken to You, then you need to take that first faltering step and move forward not out of fear, but of hope, love, and faith so that God’s impelling love can be moved throughout your entire being and thrust into a life that has been in bondage.  That bondage that is holding you up against that oak tree is nothing, because God’s love much stronger and is enough to get you moving forward. You just have to let go and put one foot forward, then another, then another, and pretty soon you will be walking in freedom.

Quote of the day:  Augustine

“Hope has two beautiful daughters.  Their names are anger and courage; anger at the way things are, and courage to see that they do not remain the way they are.”

Bible verse of the day:  Isaiah 26:3

“You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in you.”

Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father,

Today as people start to move away from that Oak Tree and start walking forward, I pray that they find peace that can only come from knowing You.  Whatever it is that has held them in bondage to that Oak Tree, I pray is released today so that they can see with “surprising gladness just how beautiful it is.”  I pray for souls to be saved and lives to be transformed and done in a way that they know can only from You.  I pray for wisdom this day, time management, and to be a light to those around me and those I meet this day.  Thank You for this blessed day.

In Jesus Name I pray,

Amen