Search

Building A Dream Life

The Worst Thing We Can Do Is Nothing

by

We Are Living in The Grace Period

According to Wikipedia, a grace period is a period where a penalty or other action is waived after a deadline or an obligation has passed. This can apply to the starting of a new job, paying a bill, a rental agreement or the meeting of a legal requirement. All of us have experienced the benefits of a grace period.

In Luke 13:6-9 Jesus tells a story about a man who planted a fig tree. After three years the tree had not produced any fruit. The man told his gardener to cut it down. The gardener asked the owner to give the tree one more year. He would work the soil around tree and fertilize it. Then if in another year it still isn’t producing any fruit it will be cut down. This was the tree’s grace period.

Many of us go through life, just like this fig tree, doing nothing and wasting our talents. Too many times we don’t believe that we have what it takes. We think that for something to be valuable, it has to be fabulous and incredible. This isn’t the case. If we all would do the little things that we have the chance to do, the accumulated result will be amazing.

We need to do what we can, where we can, whenever we can.

Too often we hide our gifts afraid that we might make a mistake. Jesus shows us how wrong it is to waste our talents in the story of the three servants, Matthew 25:14-30. In this scripture a wealthy man gives three servants varying amounts of gold (some versions refer to this as talents) to care for and use while he is gone. When he returns two of the three have used their gold (talents) wisely. They are rewarded for this. The third hid his, so the wealthy man took it away and threw the man out into the street. There is a price for not using the gifts we have been given.

Every day is full of opportunities to use our gifts to help others by:

  • Providing a service or product through our vocation
  • Listening to others
  • Getting involved in ministries
  • Treating people with respect
  • Loving our family and friends
  • Smiling at someone
  • Teaching and leading
  • Saying a kind word
  • Donating goods, services and money
  • Opening a door
  • Saying thank you
  • Saying you’re welcome

God has given each of us a purpose. He expects us to use the talents we have been given to fulfill this purpose. As long as we are alive, we should work to accomplish His plans. Each of us is living in the grace period.

Choosing to do nothing with our gifts is the worst thing we can do.

What Will the Cost of the Trip Be?

by

It’s Important to Know the Destination Before You Start Your Journey

Intentional goal setting, including writing them down, is directly connected to the successful outcome of goals. For years we have heard of how often New Year’s resolutions fail. Some statistics show that as much as 60 percent of people abandon them within the first six months. This is due to a lack of commitment.

Jesus’ goal was set from the very beginning. He knew the cost and the destination before He started, He never lost sight or veered from it. Even knowing the cost, He was willing to commit to it. He knew the goal was worth the ultimate cost. We see this in Luke 13:31-35 when He is unwilling to stop doing His work even when confronted by the enemy.

We need to determine where we want to go in this life and beyond and realize it is worth the cost.

Jesus uses the analogy of a hen gathering chicks under her wings in this Scripture. Pastor Lee told a story of a chicken house that was burned down. When looking through the ashes the farmer found a dead hen laying on the floor, her feathers burnt off her back. As he rolled her over chicks came running out, still alive. She put the chicks needs ahead of her own.

We are chicks having had the ultimate price paid for us. We need to repay that gift by being the hen and put other’s ahead of ourselves.

Often, we head off in a direction without thinking it through. We think we have it all figured out. Then when we run into a barricade, we continue bouncing off it, still thinking we know best. Many times, after we have either crashed through or given up, we find there was a better way.

A good example of this barricade banging is when a young boy was sick in the hospital. A doctor who specialized in his illness was called in. While driving to the hospital the doctor was confronted at a stoplight by a man with a gun. The doctor tried to explain the dire emergency, but the man didn’t care. He wanted the doctor’s car, so the doctor gave it to him.

After the doctor finally hailed a cab and caught a train, he made it to the hospital, but it was too late, the boy had died. The doctor was shown to the family in the waiting room. There stood the man who had stolen his car. It was the boy’s father. The father refused to listen to the man who could have saved his son. Too often this is the way we treat the One who can save us. We just keep banging into the barricades over and over and over. Jesus doesn’t want this for us.

The price for our eternal journey has been paid. We just need choose the destination.

Closeness to God Equals Increased Temptation

by

The Devil Isn’t Worried Until We Begin To Get Too Close To God

This week was the first Sunday of Lent. Lent is a part of the Christian liturgical calendar to serve as preparation for Easter; through prayer, penance and fasting. It is to commemorate the sacrifice of Jesus during His 40 days in the desert in Luke 4:1-14.

In this scripture Satan tempts Jesus with food after 40 days of not eating. Then he offers Him every worldly thing that He could ever want.

All temptations come with a heavenly price.

Pastor Lee told a story of two young brothers who snuck off to a toy store close to their home. The boys were playing and having a great time. After wearing themselves out they fell asleep in a playhouse. The store employees had no idea they were there at closing time and subsequently they were locked in the store. Later when they woke up it was like a mega Christmas with some birthdays sprinkled on top. They played with toys to their hearts content completely unaware of their parents’ anguish.

While the boys were having the time of their life, their parents were frantically searching, calling neighbors and the police. After much searching by many people the boys were found in the store. The store was asked why the alarm never sounded, the alarm company said, “because they never bothered the doors by trying to get out.”

These boys thought they were in paradise while their parents were in hell.

Too much of the time we are content to be playing in our own ‘toy store’ never bothering to get out. We are tempted with shortsighted worldly pleasures every day and neglect to consider God’s concern with our whereabouts. We are constantly faced with choices that will have eternal impact. It’s up to us to be prepared for these temptations.

Little things don’t seem to carry the same significance of big ones. That’s why the Devil uses them to trip us up. Arrows are little things, but they can do mortal damage. In Ephesians 6:10-18 we’re told to “Put on the full Armor of God to fight against the devil’s evil tricks.”.

Being prepared early and often is the best way to be ready for temptations.

We Won’t Have Transfiguration Without Transformation

by

Actions Lead to Results

Most of us are aware of the story of Jesus’ Transfiguration, Luke 9:28-36, where Peter, James and John went up on a mountain with Jesus.  While Jesus was praying the disciples fell asleep. (They seemed to do this often while Jesus was praying.) When they woke up, they saw a transfigured Jesus talking with Moses and Elijah. Peter was so enamored by what he witnessed that once again his humanity took over and he blurted out something before thinking.

We are all so much like Peter and the other disciples. We sleep through important things going on around us. We get so worn down with our everyday lives that we miss out on the miracles. Or we open our mouths and say things without thinking through it before we say it.

Most of us have had a mountain top experience. We wish they would last, but they don’t. Life isn’t just the mountain top, it’s also the valleys. We see the transfigured Jesus in His glory and want some of that. The problem is that it’s not that easy.

Being transfigured starts with transformation. The definition of transfiguration, in Dictionary by Farlex, “is a marked change in form or appearance. A change that glorifies or exalts.” Transformation on the other hand is “the act, process or operation of changing”, according to the Meriam-Webster dictionary.

Transformation is something that we can choose to do. Transfiguration is a result of choosing to be transformed.

We need to see Jesus for who he really is and ourselves for who we’re meant to be.

Principles Are Like A GPS For Life

by

They Help Us Get Where We Want to Go

Making our way through the difficulties of life can be hard. There are bumps, unexpected turns, detours and road blocks. When we start the journey, we think we know exactly where we’re going and how we’re going to get there. Surprise!

If we just had a map and GPS for this road trip called life it would be so much easier. Well what do you know…we do. Life’s map is the Bible and the GPS is our core values and principles.

When we pick up a map for the first time, we don’t understand everything about it. The more we study and use the map to get us where we’re going, the better we get at making the trip. The Bible is the same.

We all have core values and principles whether we know it or not. Like a GPS in our car or smart phone if we aren’t aware of it or don’t put in the coordinates it won’t help us get where we want to go.

Core values are the foundation on which we conduct ourselves. In an ever-changing world – core values are consistent. They underlie our work, how we interact with others, and help us to fulfill our mission. A principle is the fundamental truth or proposition that serves as the foundation for a system of belief or behavior or for a chain of reasoning. Once we become aware of these core values and principles…99% of our decisions are already made.

This week’s Scripture (road map), Luke 6:27-38, has always been hard for me to fully understand. It talks about loving your enemies, letting them slap you on both cheeks, giving them your coat and your shirt, giving things to them and not asking for them back. It says love your enemies and do good to them. I always felt that I had treated others the way I wanted to be treated. What I figured out from this week’s sermon was that I never really have had to deal with an “enemy”.

When Pastor Lee told a story of a Michael Weisser a Jewish Rabbi who in 1991 was harassed in Lincoln, Nebraska, by Mr. Trapp, a Grand Dragon of the Ku Klux Klan, the meaning of the word enemy took on a whole new meaning. After getting hateful phone calls, Rabbi Weiser turned things around by calling Mr. Trapp and harassing him back with love. One day the Weisser’s phone rang and it was Mr. Trapp. He said, ‘I want to get out of what I’m doing and I don’t know how’. This is how you’re supposed to love your enemies.

I’ve never experienced someone treating me like this. I hope that if I do, I will be able to “love my enemy” this way.

When people filled with hate haven’t found their life road map and GPS, they don’t understand when they are confronted with love. The best way to help them is to “Love Them Until They Ask Me Why”.

Happiness Is An Inside Job

by

Too much of the time we are looking for happiness from things on the outside. Happiness is not dependent on health, wealth or food. It’s not that there is anything wrong with having any of these things. The problem is when they become our focus, ‘they have us’. What is important is our focus. It should be on God not on things of the world. Our happiness comes from a right relationship with God.

In Luke 6:17-26 we find the Beatitudes, sometimes called the “Sermon on the Plain”. This is a shorter teaching similar to the “Sermon on the Mount” in Matthew. It has been said that these Beatitudes turned things upside down. This is true from a worldly perspective. When asked about the Beatitudes, E. Stanley Jones replied, “First you think they have turned everything upside down. Then you realize they have turned everything right side up.” The Amplified Version of this Scripture does a great job of turning it right side up and providing a spiritual understanding of this scripture.

Being happy is a choice. We can decide to be happy or not. Deciding to be happy doesn’t mean that bad things won’t happen because they will. The difference is how we handle these things. On the surface one would presume that lottery winners would be much happier than paralyzed accident victims, but studies show this to not necessarily be the case.

Living life focused on ourselves is a recipe for disappointment. Our purpose is to serve others, not to a point of neglecting ourselves, but rather by using our gifts. In 1 Peter 4:10 it says, “God has shown you his grace in many different ways. So be good servants and use whatever gift he has given you in a way that will best serve each other.” The recipe for happiness is pleasure, engagement and meaning. All of these things are found in serving others.

Focusing our lives on God is the key to unlocking the door to happiness.

What in The World Does Etiquette Mean Anyway?

by

It Means Treating Others the Way We Want to Be Treated

Or at least the way we SHOULD want to be treated. I had a conversation with a friend recently about an experience they had with a plumber. While they were standing in the kitchen talking about the project, the plumber spit tobacco juice in her kitchen sink. Not just once mind you, but 3-4 times! He at least had the courtesy to turn the water on and rinse out the sink.

I wonder if his wife let’s him spit in the sink at home?

While I was talking with this friend, I thought out loud, what has happened to contractor etiquette? The more I’ve thought about it since then, the more examples of this kind of ‘bad behavior’ have come to mind.

I think we may be reverting to barbarians.

The word etiquette often brings to mind high-society, pinky out, knowing which fork to use, thoughts. Things that the ‘common man’ knows little about and may intentionally try to avoid. However, etiquette is about much more than a snooty, better than others attitude.

Definition of etiquette:

  1. Conventional requirements as to social behavior; proprieties of conduct as established in any class or community or for any occasion.
  2. The code of ethical behavior regarding professional practice or action among the members of a profession in their dealings with each other:

So, what exactly is etiquette in real life, everyday terms? In an article by Robin Bickerstaff, “Etiquette includes having a strong moral code of conduct. The basics include allowing personal space, following the Golden Rule (treat others as you wish to be treated), obeying the 10 Commandments, and respect for elders.” This sounds simple enough.

We are aware of the Golden Rule. The principle of “Do to others what you would want them to do to you.”, taught by Jesus. Most of us were taught this simple principle as kids…what happened?

I think much of the problem is a self-centered, socially disconnected, lack of human respect. We tend to put our own wants ahead of others. Either we have never had or have forgotten any code of moral conduct.

During a recent children’s message at church I was reminded of the Golden Rules for Living. These are things that I was taught as a kid. When thinking through the list I realized that I still strive to use these as rules as a way to live. There are a variety of variations of these rules, but if we would live by even a few, there would be less spitting of tobacco juice in customer’s sinks.

Golden Rules for Living

  1. If you open it, close it.
  2. If you turn it on, turn it off.
  3. If you unlock it, lock it up.
  4. If you break it, admit it.
  5. If you can’t fix it, call in someone who can.
  6. If you borrow it, return it.
  7. If you value it, take care of it.
  8. If you make a mess clean it up.
  9. If you move it, put it back.
  10. If it belongs to someone else and you want to use it, get permission.
  11. If you don’t know how to operate it, leave it alone.
  12. If it’s none of your business, stay out of it.
  13. If it will brighten someone’s day, say it.
  14. If it will tarnish someone’s reputation, keep it to yourself.

Not everybody’s moral code is going to be identically the same. We are all different which means our ethical behaviors will be different. Being different is good. The problem is most professionals, (especially in the building industry) have learned their trade, but not how to operate a business. The business portion includes the human interaction of proper business etiquette.

I’m going to compile a list of contractor’s rules for etiquette. So, if you have any examples of bad contractor behavior, please share them in the comments below.

Here are some additional examples of what contractor etiquette should look like:

Ordinary People Doing Extraordinary Things

by

Rev. Paulin started his message with a story from a church where he used to pastor. During the children’s time there was a small boy struggling to get free from his parents to go up front with the rest of the children. After children’s time was over and the kids had returned to their seats, he managed to get free and ran to the front of the church and sat down on the steps. Of course the embarrassed father came to get him but Rev. Paulin held the father off and went and set beside him. Rev. Paulin was preparing to read the morning’s scripture so he read it to the boy. After he was finished the boy went with his Dad back to his seat.

We all need to be this determined to hear God’s message and take action!

Isaiah has a vision in Chapter 6, Verses 1-8. He saw God surrounded by heavenly creatures. Upon seeing this “Vison of God”, Isaiah was convinced he was going die. He felt dirty and unworthy to be in God’s presence. One of the creatures took a hot coal from the alter and touched it to Isaiah’s lips and his sin was taken away. The Lord asked who can I send and Isaiah said, “Here I am. Send Me!” Now not only did Isaiah have a “Vision of God” he had God’s vision and was told to “Go and tell this to the people…”.

In Luke 5:1-11, when people began to crowd around Jesus beside the lake of Galilee, He got in a boat and went a ways off shore to speak to them. When He had finished speaking, He told Simon “take the boat to deep water and put down your nets. Simon told Jesus that they had been fishing all night and hadn’t caught anything. But because Jesus told them to, they did. They caught so many fish that the nets began to tear. Their partners came and helped them and they filled both boats. After this happened Simon said, “Go away from me, Lord. I am a sinful man!” Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid. From now on you will fish for people.” When they got back to shore, “the men left everything and followed Jesus. They realized they were seeing a “Vision of God”.

When we are in God’s presence we become very aware of our shortcomings. But, in both of the scriptures God is calling ordinary men to serve in His name. We often feel inadequate to do God’s work, but that is what we are all called to do. He doesn’t just tap us on the shoulder and send us out alone. He goes with us. When God’s presence takes over, anything is possible. This doesn’t mean we’re perfect, it means we’re impowered.

Rev. Paulin included the Prayer of St. Ignatius and I think it is a fitting request for all of us.

“A Vison of God” allows ordinary people to do extraordinary things. It’s up to you to do extraordinary.

Hang In There!

by

It is hard to “Hang In There”. Holding on for dear life with the weight of the world on our shoulders. It’s lonely hanging there all by ourselves as our arms get more and more tired. We just want to let go. DON’T LET GO!

We forget or are unaware that we don’t have to do it alone. There are others around who will help us and who we can help (“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” Galatians 6:2). Not to mention God’s willingness to help carry the load (“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Matthew 11:28).

Success isn’t the absence of failure, it’s the perseverance to continue moving forward in spite of it. Successful people fail consistently, over and over. A few examples are Walt Disney, JK Rowling and Steve King, all who were told that they couldn’t do what they ultimately did. They “hung in there”. Even Jesus had failures, i.e. when the people of His home town didn’t believe Him and took Him to a cliff at the edge of town with intentions of throwing Him over, Luke 4:14-30. Consequently Jesus did very few miracles in His home town. Do we put these same restrictions on miracles God would do for us?

Popularity is often how success is judged, but it’s a poor way to rate success. If we don’t feel popular or are passed over for a job we feel like failures. Rejection is hard to take, but Jesus was rejected. Just look at how His hometown treated Him. One of the tools in the Devils arsenal is rejection. If we get down and stay down we will never succeed.

 Persistence is the key that unlocks the door to success so “Hang In There”!

Today, The Scripture Has Been Fulfilled In Your Hearing

by

The Bible can seem like an old history book. Full of things that are irrelevant to us today. This could not be further from the truth.

Sure it’s a book full of history…but it’s so much more. It is the “Living Word”. John 1:1-4 says, “1In the beginning there was the Word. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 All things were made by him, and nothing was made without him. 4 In him there was life, and that life was the light of all people.” (NCV) Jesus is not just the Jesus of the Bible, He is the Jesus of our lives today.

History is important, but we need to be careful to not let history cause us to forget the present and the future. In this week’s scripture, Luke 4:14-20, Jesus had returned to His home town of Nazareth where He had grown up. While there He was teaching one Sabbath and read these words from the book of Isaiah; 18 “The Lord has put his Spirit in me, because he appointed me to tell the Good News to the poor. He has sent me to tell the captives they are free and to tell the blind that they can see again. Isaiah 61:1 God sent me to free those who have been treated unfairly Isaiah 58:6 19  and to announce the time when the Lord will show his kindness.” Isaiah 61:2 (NCV)

Jesus goes on to say in verse 21 that  “Today, This Scripture Has Been Fulfilled in Your Hearing”.  This fulfillment didn’t stop with the people who were there physically. It is still being fulfilled in our hearing of it today and tomorrow and the next day.

Then in verse 22 the people who were initially pretty impressed by His reading, began to have second thoughts about this. They remembered Him as the son of a carpenter who grew up in their midst. They were letting their history of Jesus cause them to not see the present or the future.

You may have heard it said that we all have a Jesus shape void in our lives. We all have had the feeling that something is missing. Many people don’t realize that it’s God. They may try to fill that hole with everything but God. He is the only thing that will fit. If you haven’t done so already you should test Him to see how He fits. The Scripture is a great instruction manual for this.

Remember that today, the Scripture is being fulfilled in your hearing. So be sure to listen to it.