What Good Will It Do?
There’s a lot on my plate, Father, with many things needing to be accomplished in a short period. Please help me focus on our time together and then get at the other things promptly and productively. Amen.
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A middle school student has ridden my bus since the last half of his kindergarten year. He’s a good kid and, like many of them, is growing up way too fast! Anyway, most often, as students are getting off in the afternoon, I will say, “Have a good rest of your day” or “Have a good one,” adding their name, and usually their reply is “You, too.” Well, today I just said “Bye” to this young man, and did he say “Bye” back? No, he replied, as he usually does, “You, too.” I don’t know if he even caught what he said, or for that matter, if he even heard what I said.
I chuckled as I pulled away, but it got me to thinking. How often do we have automatic knee-jerk reactions to people and circumstances around us? I’ve responded similarly in similar situations myself and will often shake my head at my auto-response mechanism.
When I last preached, the passage of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount that we were studying was from Matthew 5:21-26, and we were dealing with anger.
A portion of my sermon (reworking one by Rev. Rod Buchanan) had this to say,
…a right relationship with God can never be separated from right relationships with other people. They are inextricably linked. A bad relationship with another person will interfere with your relationship with God. Sometimes, you cannot help the way someone feels about you. The Bible says in Romans 12:17-18,
“Never repay anyone evil for evil. Take thought for what is right and gracious and proper in the sight of everyone. If possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” AMP
Sometimes, it’s possible, and sometimes it’s not. Sometimes, your efforts to bring reconciliation will work wonderfully…sometimes, you will be surprised that they do not affect the other person. But you are obligated to do what you can do. You are to look for opportunities. Love will find a way. Paul went on to say,
Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, “I will take revenge; I will pay them back,” says the Lord.
Instead, “If your enemies are hungry, feed them. If they are thirsty, give them something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals of shame on their heads.”
Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good. Romans 12:19-21 NLT
We are not to be passive about ruined relationships. We are to be intentionally proactive – even if we believe it will do no good.
So, when there is someone with whom we are at odds, do we respond in our interactions with knee-jerk reactions? “What good will it do? They’ll never change! I’ll just be wasting my breath.”
But what happens if their “Have a good one” becomes a “Bye”? What if they are experiencing a change of heart? What will our response be? Will we even notice?
That is why we never give up!
The great thing is that, as Christians, we know…Someone who is looking out for us, helping us, and working on our behalf. Reconciliation is the heartbeat of Christ. It sent him to the cross – and we are to be like him. Amen!
Jan 8th, 2024, Thurs, 5:08 pm
Of Forklifts and Eternity
I am still worn out from everything we had on over the last several days, but with Your help, Father, I will see where You are leading me today!
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While in Texas, I was the one who waited for the storage container to be delivered. The semi-truck driver got it all professionally in place, and before he left, we chatted a bit. They use a very heavy-duty forklift to load and unload the container. The forklift is actually secured to the back of the trailer when not in use.
In my younger years, I was certified to operate a forklift myself. We talked of the crazy things that can happen if one is not careful in doing so.
He shared a story about a man who hopped on a lift to make a quick run to the company’s building next door. He took the corner way too fast, causing the lift to roll over on its side. The man attempted to jump clear but instead was killed when the lift rolled over on him.
Had that poor man woke up that morning knowing it would be his last day on earth? No, all in all, we do not know those things. For him, it was a day like any other. He had no idea what awaited him.
Even at this very moment, do you know what the future holds for you? It may very well be a day like so many others in your life – full of basic predictability to the very end. But…without the slightest notice, your life could end. Car accidents, heart attacks, brain aneurysms, even something as simple as a fall while out walking – anything could happen at any time.
King David wrote in Psalm 39:4-5,
“Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be.
….Remind me that my days are numbered—
….how fleeting my life is.
You have made my life no longer than the width of my hand.
….My entire lifetime is just a moment to you;
….at best, each of us is but a breath.” NLT
And then Jesus said in Matthew 24:42-44.
“So be alert [give strict attention, be cautious and active in faith], for you do not know which day [whether near or far] your Lord is coming. But understand this: If the head of the house had known what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore, you [who follow Me] must also be ready; because the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not expect Him. AMP
Today, take this time to look…I mean, really look…at where you stand in your relationship with the Lord. Are you taking it to heart and striving each day to live for Him and love Him with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength? Or are you letting way more slide than you should, jeopardizing that relationship?
Right now, take the time to make things right. Nothing…not one single thing…is more critical in all that is ahead of you at this given moment. Amen.
Feb 7th, 2024, Wed, 6:45 pm
Greater Love Has No One Than This
Father, it has been a super busy last few days, but You, in Your strength, have gotten us through it! Thank You for all You have done!
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Over the last several days, Karen and I have been helping our son go through his life’s accumulation of things. He recently accepted a dream position in Texas! We are incredibly proud of him. This will be a very short post in that I am still recovering after much more lifting and moving than my body is used to.
We all have heard this verse.
Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. John 15:13 NKJV
But as I was thinking about it yesterday, I realized that, at least in my mind, I most often think of it in reference to someone dying out of their love for others. But I think it also applies to other things we do out of love for others.
We were on a pretty tight schedule to get a moving container packed and ready for pickup today – it arrived Thursday afternoon. There were many things to sort through, organize, clean up, and eventually load. The back room of our home has served as a storage unit following his completion of grad school.
For the most part, we stopped all other endeavors to accomplish this task. We decided to “lay down” our lives. When you woke up Monday morning, there was no MoreThanUseless blog post, which is the norm. It has happened, but it has been a rarity in the last nine years. Essentially, I laid down a pretty important part of my life – one that takes a good chunk of my time five-plus days a week…every week. But it came down to a decision of either stepping out of helping my son in a crunch time to ensure his things were loaded and ready to go or putting together another post. I chose love.
My challenge for you today is to let love rule your life. And in actuality, that should read, let Love rule your life, for as it says in the last half of 1 John 4:16,
God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides continually in him. AMP
Sometimes, we just need to lay down our life for others… Greater love has no one than this.
Jan 29th, 2024, Mon, 5:19 pm
Get to Propagatin’!
As my district administrative assistant recently said, in essence, today, you’ve just got to pick out one of the many balls in the air and get at it! There are a lot of balls in the air! Father, give us all the wherewithal to get done what needs to be done. Amen!
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There are just too many balls in play for me to start from scratch, so as I did yesterday, I am pulling out a ball that has been in play before. I’d like to highlight a couple of poignant portions of Matthew 28:16-20 (<<click here to read it).
Go therefore and make disciples… v19a
…I am with you always [remaining with you perpetually—regardless of circumstance, and on every occasion], even to the end of the age.” v20b AMP
Several years ago, I wrote Grow Where You Are Planted (<<click to read) and touched on this, but I feel impressed to expound upon this mindset.
How would we describe someone who would “make disciples”? Would they be a pastor? Or a Bible scholar? Or a theology professor? Or a Sunday School teacher? They would at least have to be a person with an outgoing personality – an extrovert, right? They would all foot the bill for that responsibility, but although some may struggle with this, we all have that responsibility! Every. Single. Follower of Christ.
When we think of plants, they must propagate for them to continue to exist! They must spread through their roots or broadcast seeds of some sort (I’d Rather Be a Black-eyed Susan <<click to read). Followers of Christ must do the same! And it makes no difference who you are or where you are – you can propagate! Merriam-Webster’s Kids’ Definition of propagate is to have or cause to have offspring: MULTIPLY
In my almost two decades at Kohl’s, I never once took a Bible to work with the goal of leading someone to Christ. I never got on the PA and preached a sermon to anyone. I simply lived my life for all to see. Did I do it perfectly – absolutely not! But I followed Christ with everything I had, and I believe I impacted people, both fellow workers and customers. I genuinely feel that people’s lives were changed by Christ through my faith in Him. And we all can do the same!
Lord, give us the faith we need to shine! May we be all we can be in You to reach and touch a world with You – we will make a difference! Let’s get to propagatin’! Amen.
(Jan 4th, 2019, Fri, 7:22 am)
Jan 25th, 2024, Thurs, 8:25 pm
Greater Grace!
It has been a wonky, arduous day – multiple components and we’re now getting close to the end of it. Father, guide me in what I should share. Amen.
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I am physically and mentally worn this evening and struggling to put thoughts together, so even though I try not to do so, this will be a Throwback Thursday post. However, I am going to tweak it a little.
The passage that inspired this post back in January of 2019 was Matthew 28:8-10 (<<click here to read it). Verse 10 takes place after Jesus’ resurrection and reads,
Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell My brothers to leave for Galilee, and there they will see Me [just as I promised].” v10 AMP
I really enjoy my Life Application Study Bible and refer to it often. Regarding this specific verse, it points out that Jesus referred to the disciples as “brothers.”
Looking back from this portion of Scripture, just a few chapters, we find Jesus and his disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane. He held them close to His heart despite their weaknesses, and honestly, they acted like anything but brothers! The last part of Matthew 26:56 tells me that upon Jesus’ arrest, “…all the disciples deserted him and fled.” NLT, AMP, and NIV
I cannot begin to imagine what was going through the heads of the disciples – panic, fear, grief, despair…but Lord, you didn’t let them stew any more than they already had. You knew each of them intimately…You created them! Nothing they did surprised You in the least. It most definitely hurt, but You were not shocked.
They didn’t have to earn Your trust and Your love once again. There was no browbeating. There was no probationary period. Straight out of the tomb in overabundant supply, there was, and continues to be, forgiveness, love, and grace!
In my late 20s, I worked at a wonderful Christian bookstore called The Christian Amory. Amongst other things, we carried Sunday School curriculum and Christian education materials. One of the many companies’ products that we had was that of the David C. Cook Publishing Company. Interestingly enough, they employed the author of the hymn that comes to mind. Granted, it was back at the turn of the 20th century when Julia Harriette Johnston wrote lesson materials for primary-age children. For many years, she was involved in the work of Sunday schools at the First Presbyterian Church in Peoria, Illinois. Grace Greater than Our Sin was one of approximately 500 hymns she penned. Here is the text and how appropriate it is!
Marvelous grace of our loving Lord,
Grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt!
Yonder on Calvary’s mount outpoured,
There where the blood of the Lamb was spilt.
Grace, grace, God’s grace,
Grace that will pardon and cleanse within;
Grace, grace, God’s grace,
Grace that is greater than all our sin!
No matter where we’ve been, what we’ve said, what we’ve thought, what we’ve done (or haven’t done, for that matter) …grace is there! Thank You, Lord, for grace greater than our sin!
(Jan 2nd, 2019, Wed, 12:31 pm)
Jan 24th, 2024, Wed, 6:31 pm