Not A South Paw, But Lesson Learned

There is a saying which goes like this, "Whatever doesn't kill you, makes you stronger." and while that is a true statement, it doesn't really paint a very rosy picture for our lives now does it?

Jesus said in John 16:33 that in our lives we will have trials and tribulations, but to be of good cheer because He has overcome the world. We were never promised that our days would be without challenges, but we are promised that when we stay connected to Jesus we can overcome all the obstacles that do show up.

You know, the devil will make a run at us every chance he gets. The one thing I have learned in my own life is that he never challenges me in any area where I'm strong. It is always the areas where I exhibit weakness that he exploits.

I was with a group of friends the other night watching the Bedlam football game. For those of you who don't know, this is the football game between the two state colleges in Oklahoma. It's a crazy game with over the top fans on both sides. Now I'm not a real fan of football, I can watch it, and even enjoy it, but I have no true loyalties to either team.

What I do love to do however is to harrass the guys who do have loyalties to their team. When people I know reveal an area in their life that aggravates them, I love to zero in on that and exploit it for pure enjoyment. Now, this has come to bite me in the butt from time to time, especially when someone I've done this to finds an area to exploit with me. But if you are going to dish anything out, you've got to be able to take it in return too.

One thing I figured out, while writing this blog actually, is that this is exactly what the devil does too. (And yes I realize that by saying this I am putting myself in the same breath as the devil) The devil goes around as it says in Job 1:7 to and fro in all the Earth. The Bible also tells us in 1 Peter 5:8 that he is like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. He's just looking for any weakness in us, and when he finds one he will exploit it for all it's worth. And he doesn't care either, anything that will let him get to us is good enough for him.

A few years ago this happened to me. One day, I had a customer in my store that rubbed me the wrong way. I'm not sure why, but she did, and as she left the store I passed a six foot, wooden end cap as I was walking towards the back room when my anger got the best of me, and I swung out with my right fist and punched it as hard as I could.

Now I have taken Karate classes with my kids, and know the proper way to throw a punch, but this day I hit that end cap square with my pinky knuckle and for all my efforts ended up with what is called a boxer's fracture. The knuckle right at the base of my pinky finger fracturing from the impact.

I'm not sure why I let that lady get me so worked up that day, but I am starting to realize how and when the enemy pushes my buttions. Some days I do better than others, as I am still growing and learning. The real interesting thing is that when it gets really cold, or I am doing something strenuous with my hands that pinky knuckle reminds me of that day.

My friend Joe McGee offered me the following wise words when I was talking to him about this incident in my life, "It's a hard lesson to learn Dave, but now that you have learned it you will be able to help someone else when they are struggling with the same thing." And I guess that's kind of what I've hopefully done with this blog today.

Stand strong against the wiles of the enemy, because with Jesus in your heart you can do that, if you choose to listen to the prompting of the Holy Spirit when those situations arise. I know that I'm going to from now on. Strength and honor for the Kingdom and the King!

Are You Sure That You See?

I was reading a chapter in the book of John this morning, when something jumped off the page at me. Take a look at John 2:18-21;

"18 But the Jewish leaders demanded, “What are you doing? If God gave you authority to do this, show us a miraculous sign to prove it.”
19 “All right,” Jesus replied. “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”
20 “What!” they exclaimed. “It has taken forty-six years to build this Temple, and you can rebuild it in three days?” 21 But when Jesus said “this temple,” he meant his own body."

This was right after Jesus had run out the livestock, overturned the money changer's tables and told those who sold doves to get them out of His Father's house and to stop making it a marketplace. The Jewish leaders are hacked off and demand that Jesus explain Himself. What's interesting is that they are looking for Him to perform some type of miraculous sign to prove that He is being led by God.

Now what caught my attention this morning is the sign that Jesus talks about is His resurrection. Which is something that won't happen for almost three years. The timeline for this setting is right after He turned the water into wine, which was the first miracle that Jesus had done. I think sometimes we, like the Jewish leaders ask Jesus for something, and expect that He will be "Johnny on the spot" with it. When most of the time, we have to wait a while for the answer to our prayer.

You see, the Jewish leaders got their answer from Jesus, they just missed what He was saying. They didn't actually see what He was talking about. We find that Jesus used this way of talking to the religous leaders in Matthew 13:13, where He quoted Isaiah 6:9-10. Talking about them seeing they see not, and hearing they hear not. What they didn't realize was that Jesus did give them the sign they were looking for, they were just unable to see the answer for what it was.

Interestingly enough, they were the spiritual leaders of the Jewish race, and they were focused on the here and now (the Temple) more than what Jesus was actually telling them (His body would be raised up in three days). Is it any wonder that they were aggravated at every turn when they dealt with Jesus?

The real question now is, are we sure that we are seeing? Are we focusing on what's around us, or on what Jesus is really trying to get us to see? A good exercise would be the next time you are talking to the Father about something, ask Him to reveal to your spiritual eyes what is going on. I'm reminded of 2 Kings 6:17:

"Then Elisha prayed, “O Lord, open his eyes and let him see!” The Lord opened the young man’s eyes, and when he looked up, he saw that the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire."

Elisha's servant was all panicky and thought they were going to die, but Elisha prayed and the Father showed the servant what was really going on. We need that some days, and we can have it if we will only ask the Father to let us see with our spiritual eyes, and not stay focused on what we see with our natural eyes.

Strength and honor for the Kingdom and the King!

God Is Not A Socialist

I heard something that set my mind to wandering around thinking. This Jewish Rabbi named Daniel Lapin was talking about the Hebrew language with his wife on a streaming video I was watching on his website. He made the comment that socialism did not come from God and that indeed He doesn't mind us having things, why else would He have put Exodus 20:7 in the Bible.

Now for those of you who don't know what Exodus 20:7 says, let me tell you:

"You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife or his male servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor."

Rabbi Lapin's comment got me to thinking. Of course, how had I never seen this before? If we are not to covet things, then we must be meant to have things. Because if we have nothing, or if everyone has exactly the same things, then there is nothing TO covet. Now I know what you are going to say, but what about in the New Testament over in Acts where all the believers had everything in common. (Acts 2:44-45)

I see in this Scripture that they did indeed sell their possessions and property, but apparently not all of it because in verse 46 it says that they continued to eat in their homes. So, they didn't all sell their homes. They must of still had some stuff.

I see the tendancy for people to say, "Well everyone should have the same thing, and we should all share what we have." To which I say, "Nope. We should not all have the same thing. We should be able to go and work and buy the things that we want, and if someone looks at us and says that's not fair, then they should get up off their backside and go work so they can get some stuff too."

God is not a socialist, He doesn't say anywhere in Scripture that everyone should have the same amount of stuff. He does tell us to give to the widow, the orphan and the poor. We should give out of our abundance, and help those in need. That is a command, not a suggestion. But to say that the way that is done is by redistributing the wealth of everyone is ridiculous. God never said that.

Those who think the redistribution of wealth is the answer, almost always are talking about the other guy sharing his wealth with others, not their own. You know you can tell a lot about a person by what they do with their money; it's a real good indicator of what kind of person they are. This is one of the reasons employers now look at a person's financial records instead of former employer references.

I say go out and make as much as you can, tithe off of your increase and help the widows, orphans and the poor. Buy what you desire to have and bless the Lord the whole time that you are doing it. But when people try to make you feel guilty for the Lord's blessings, don't let them. Show them what you are doing and encourage them to do the same...that's what will change the world. Strength and honor for the Kingdom and the King!

Your Tongue, the Strongest Muscle in Your Body

With Thanksgiving behind us, it is time for a little reflection. Two things happened for most people on Thanksgiving; eating and talking. Both of these require a tongue to be able to do that. But what is a tongue exactly? Here is the definition I found online:

"The fleshy, movable, muscular organ, attached in most vertebrates to the floor of the mouth, that is the principal organ of taste, an aid in chewing and swallowing, and, in humans, an important organ of speech."

We used our tongues to taste all of those wonderful comfort foods that we have come to associate with the holidays. A myriad of flavors and textures designed to be tasty and enjoyed. After all, how many bland diet foods did you see advertised for Thanksgiving? What a wonderful gift for God to have given us a muscle that not only aids in the eating ability, but makes it enjoyable at the same time. I love God for that!

Also most of us spent time with family and friends, and when people get together they talk. And boy do they talk! Conversations with family and friends can run the gambit from pleasant, to heated, from funny to sad, and with everything else in between. All of which is made possible by our tongues. (Now I know that those who use sign language use their hands, but for this blog I am specifically talking about those who use their tongues.)

In Proverbs 18:20 - 21 (MSG) the Bible says, "Words satisfy the mind as much as fruit does the stomach; good talk is as gratifying as a good harvest. Words kill, words give life; they're either poison or fruit—you choose." This Scripture is one of the foundational Scriptures for the believer to follow. It tells us that our words (which are formed by our tongues) can either kill, or they can give life, and that it us up to us to decide. Do you remember that little ditty that we said as kids? "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me." What a crock! One more lie made up by our enemy to negate what the Word of God says, and if our words mean anything, and they mean everything, then what we say with our tongue IS very important.

Thinking back to your holiday conversations; did they bring life to the hearers, or death? You might say, "But you don't understand my cousin Eddy, Dave, he's a doof!" That may be so, but there is another little Scripture that helps us with this type of relative or friend. It goes like this, "Do unto others, as you would have them do unto you." (Matthew 7:12) We really aren't given the option of saying whatever we want to say, regardless of the person we are talking to, not if we are going to be true Christ followers.

It's interesting to me, (and understand I have not perfected this at all yet, I'm still growing) how people will spend hours and hours in a gym, take great care in how and what they eat to get their bodies into shape, and then just spew all manner of stupidity from their mouths. They take the one muscle in their body that can do the most damage to others and never exercise it. That one muscle is the strongest one in their body, and it doesn't get exercised very often, if even at all.

One other thing, that Scripture in Proverbs said that our words bring life, and our words also kill. That's not just talking about when we use them towards other people, that also works when we are talking to and about ourselves. We have the power in our mouths to make our lives better or make them worse, it is our choice. It is vitally important that we choose to say the right things about ourself each and every day. So what have you been saying about yourself? Have you been exercising the strongest muscle in your body? If not, then start today, put a reign on your lips, and force that tongue of yours to say the things that will bring life and not death.

Strength and honor for the Kingdom and the King!

Black Friday & God

I was just perusing through Facebook and saw the following status update: (the store name & dollar amount has been changed to protect the innocent) "...got $135 worth of clothes for my kids at (insert store name here), and only had to pay $23. We are blessed!!"

If you didn't realize this, I own and operate a retail shoe store, and for years I have been bothered by this little thing that is talked so much about in Christianity; how if we get "good" deals, then we are blessed.

I'm excited that the person who saved $112 on clothes got such a good deal, really I am because I also enjoy getting a good deal on stuff, who doesn't. What gets me is that we (talking about Christians here) cheapen God when we focus on the good deals. As a retailer, the fact that the customer got that much merchandise for so little money was not a blessing to the retailer. Sounds like to me the customer got blessed, and the retailer got the shaft.

I've always thought that if God in fact has the cattle on a thousand hill (Psalm 50:10) which He does, and everything is His, which it is, why can't He bless the customers with the full retail price of something? You see, as a merchant if I get the full retail value that's when I'm blessed. So if God was to give the customer the money to purchase what they want at full retail, then wouldn't both the customer and the merchant get blessed?

I know that they say the Friday after Thanksgiving is the best shopping day of the year. Maybe it is, maybe it isn't, depends on who you talk to actually. For me, it's another day of helping customers, the funny thing is that I do the same thing the day before Thanksgiving as I do after, and every other day for that matter. I help my customers to the best of my ability each time I'm in the store.

Black Friday has become an event that a lot of people enjoy, and if you are one of them by all means go out and have a great time. Just remember to thank the Creator for your good deals, and not your savvy shopping skills. Strength and honor for the Kingdom and the King!

What Are You Thankful For?

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. The day where we all set aside some time to be thankful for all that we have, and for those around us. But what does it mean to be thankful? Well, a basic look at the word would lead us to believe that we are to be full of thanks. Thanks for what? Thanks for whom? These are some important questions for us to ask don't you think? I was reading a passage in the Bible today, take a look at it.

Colossians 3:14 - 16 (The Message)
So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It's your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it.

Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other. None of this going off and doing your own thing. And cultivate thankfulness. Let the Word of Christ—the Message—have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives. Instruct and direct one another using good common sense. And sing, sing your hearts out to God! Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way.

There is a lot of great stuff in here, but I want to look at the sentence, "And cultivate thankfulness." What I'm seeing here is that thankfulness is not an automatic thing in our lives. We have to make sure that we are walking in thankfulness each and every day, no body is going to do it for us.

We all have things that we can be thankful for, I'm reminded of an old saying I heard the other day; "I was unthankful for not having a pair of shoes, until I met a man who had no feet." In order for us to be thankful, we actually have to look at the things we do have, not the things we wish we had.

Tomorrow may or may not be a great day for you, for whatever reason. Maybe you don't like to be around your family, maybe you can't be around your family because they are too far away, or you have to work. Whatever the case may be, look around at what you do have, and be thankful for that. Thank God for what He has done for you, after all we wouldn't be breathing if it wasn't for Him.

Thanksgiving is more than just eating turkey, and watching football...remember to be thankful, and work at cultivating that thankfulness into a huge harvest. Strength and honor for the Kingdom and the King!

I Hate That Guy!

I stopped in at a QuikTrip (a convenience store in Oklahoma) to gas up my son's car this morning, and as I went to pay for my breakfast sandwich I noticed an attractive woman in front of me. I was a little embarrassed when the clerk from the second register said, "I can help you over here sir." Yes, I was looking at this lady and not paying attention to what was going on around me.

Now let me go on record right here that I was not lusting after her, or having any unhealthy thoughts about her. She is after all a speaking spirit as Jesse DuPlantis says, and my sister in the Lord if she is born again. To say that this lady was unattractive would have been to lie, and the Bible says that we ought not lie.

When the clerk spoke to me, it made me feel just a little like the kid that got caught with his hand in the cookie jar. I was embarrassed, and thought to myself, "I hate that when that happens. I am a Christ follower, and should be better than that. I hate that guy!" Whenever the poser in me shows up, and by poser I mean the guy that tries to be something that he's not, the phrase I like to use is "I hate that guy!" It's a way for me to get back centered on who I am in Christ.

But as I got back into my son's car and started to pull out of the parking lot, the Holy Spirit said, "David, you didn't do anything wrong." As I pondered that thought, it occurred to me that seeing an attractive woman and admiring her beauty is not a sin. Now of course if you cannot stop after the first look, then at that point you do enter into sin, and that should not be.

We find in the Bible the account of the creation of Eve (Genesis 2:20-23). I have heard it said that Adam was made from the dirt of the Earth, but that Eve was hand fashioned and crafted by God like a master artist creating a masterpiece. This work of art was so amazing, that Adam said, "Vavavavooom!" when he first saw her. I know that's not King James, but it must of been what he said don't you think?

Now what I see here, and have been taught over the last few years, is that seeing a beautiful woman, and taking notice of her is not a bad thing. It's like admiring the Mona Lisa, something that is beautiful, breathtaking and to be admired. Seeing that and giving praise to God for His handiwork is not a bad thing at all. Where we men fall into trouble is when we take that second look, and it's in that second look where sin begins to form in us.

So admire a beautiful woman, give thanks to God that He made women and then pray His blessings on her. I tell you the truth, it's hard to think wrong thoughts about a woman if you are praying for her to be blessed by God. Strength and honor for the Kingdom and the King!