Over the last week or so, I’ve began to take late night swims. These swims are times when I can relax and reflect on the events of the day, but more importantly on what God may have to say to me. Saturday night was one of these nights. I got into the pool around 12 midnight after a long day working in the yard and completing various tasks. I started this welcomed downtime as I usually do, by swimming a couple of laps and then just floating on my back. I usually just close my eyes a drift, but for some reason, something told me to look up (I think it was the fact that I had been listening to Dave Hollister’s new gospel album and one of the songs was entitled “Look UP”). Anyway…
I nonchalantly looked up into the cloud filled sky and immediately my attention was drawn to what appeared to be a face hovering above me in the sky. At first I brushed it off. I stopped floating, stood still in the water, rubbed my eyes and then looked to the sky again. Sure enough because of the clouds in the sky only two stars could be seen and these stars appeared to be the eyes that were part of a face. I was immediately struck with a reverential fear as I dropped to my knees and began to give glory to God. While I know that this was not the face of God (don’t be alarmed…I don’t worship clouds or stars), I knew that this experience was being orchestrated by the Great Composer (God…himself). All I could think about was how awesome God is and how even though He is the Master of the Universe, He takes time to keep an eye on little old me.
Encountering the reality of God is a humbling experience. When you realize how awesome He is in relation to how finite we you are, the natural response is to drop to your knees and to praise Him. Does God really have to do anything else to warrant your praise? Open your eyes and embrace His presence all around you. The evidence of His existence is all around us. Man is truly without excuse, when it comes to acknowledging God.
I urge you to ask God to open your eyes so that you can experience and witness how awesome He is. I guarantee you that in almost all cases, He is not going reveal Himself in a dramatic or miraculous way. I believe that He will touch your eyes so that you can see the reality of Him working in various aspects of your life. It is not that He isn’t there, or wasn’t there all the time…it is just that you didn’t recognize Him.
It’s time to “Look Up”
Be Blessed,
B
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
When God Speaks...Do you Listen?
Have you ever read through a devotional or listen to a message/sermon and said to yourself, “I’m not sure how this relates to me?” The topic of the message in your mind seemingly doesn’t even remotely touch on your personal struggles, situations or challenges. As a result you kind of “tune out” and don’t give the message or the reading your full attention. Little did you know, that the truths that you were exposed to in that instance would soon come back to “visit” you. In the last 24 hours I had this very thing happen to me.
While passing time yesterday, I picked up a devotional that I use from time to time that is based on the book of Proverbs. Yesterday’s reading was based on Proverbs 10:19 which reads, “The more talk, the less truth; the wise measure their words.” It focused on the principle that fools try to cover up their foolishness by talking too much and the wise choose their words with care. It is often those with little to say who are assumed to be wise. Too often when we are trying to appear wise, we get carried away with our words, we embellish the truth and we take our conversations to points of “no return”. We are thinking “Why did I say that?...Why did I open my mouth?...What was I thinking when I started talking?…Why didn’t I just shut my big mouth?”
I read this devotional and thought; this must be for somebody else, because I really don’t run my mouth. I’m typically reserved. Boy was I mistaken. I think that I ran my mouth and talked to more people this morning at work that I’ve talked to in the last 3 months. Things finally settled down about 1 hour ago and I was gently reminded of my devotional reading on yesterday. I felt like a BIG SAP.
What I thought was for somebody else, was exactly what I needed to hear as it was preparation for the next day that I would face. I felt like Peter after he had denied Christ. God was trying to speak to me, but I refused to listen to His words and didn’t see them as relevant to my life. Don’t be like me. If God is taking time to “minister” to you, take heed to what He is saying through His word and through His Messengers. The very thing that you don’t think you need to hear is probably the exact thing that you should pay attention to. Don’t deceive yourself.
God often places warning signs in our lives. Don’t ignore them, you may not see their relevance to you at the moment, but pray and ask God to speak to you through the “signs” revealed in the messages that you receive and to seal the truths in your heart so that when you are faced with the opportunity to apply the truths, your will remember what God spoke to you so that you can make the Godly choice and/or respond in a Godly way.
God is speaking…are you listening?
Be Blessed,
B
While passing time yesterday, I picked up a devotional that I use from time to time that is based on the book of Proverbs. Yesterday’s reading was based on Proverbs 10:19 which reads, “The more talk, the less truth; the wise measure their words.” It focused on the principle that fools try to cover up their foolishness by talking too much and the wise choose their words with care. It is often those with little to say who are assumed to be wise. Too often when we are trying to appear wise, we get carried away with our words, we embellish the truth and we take our conversations to points of “no return”. We are thinking “Why did I say that?...Why did I open my mouth?...What was I thinking when I started talking?…Why didn’t I just shut my big mouth?”
I read this devotional and thought; this must be for somebody else, because I really don’t run my mouth. I’m typically reserved. Boy was I mistaken. I think that I ran my mouth and talked to more people this morning at work that I’ve talked to in the last 3 months. Things finally settled down about 1 hour ago and I was gently reminded of my devotional reading on yesterday. I felt like a BIG SAP.
What I thought was for somebody else, was exactly what I needed to hear as it was preparation for the next day that I would face. I felt like Peter after he had denied Christ. God was trying to speak to me, but I refused to listen to His words and didn’t see them as relevant to my life. Don’t be like me. If God is taking time to “minister” to you, take heed to what He is saying through His word and through His Messengers. The very thing that you don’t think you need to hear is probably the exact thing that you should pay attention to. Don’t deceive yourself.
God often places warning signs in our lives. Don’t ignore them, you may not see their relevance to you at the moment, but pray and ask God to speak to you through the “signs” revealed in the messages that you receive and to seal the truths in your heart so that when you are faced with the opportunity to apply the truths, your will remember what God spoke to you so that you can make the Godly choice and/or respond in a Godly way.
God is speaking…are you listening?
Be Blessed,
B
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
GET IN GEAR
Most if not all us have seen a person (usually an older person) driving a sports car with tons of horsepower just coasting through traffic at a speed significantly lower than the speed limit. The thought inevitably crosses your mind “Why the heck do they have a sports car if they are only going to drive 30 mph on I-95 South?” You would also think it was strange if you were walking in the mall and saw a grown man (fully capable of walking) crawling around on the floor like a baby.
These thoughts crossed my mind as I watched a young man struggle as he attempted to ride his seemingly brand new and expensive looking mountain bike up a hill. The dude was sweating bullets…huffing and puffing with each pedal. The next thing I saw was an older woman (about mid to late fifties), effortlessly fly by the young man on her old, tested and tried “old school” 10 speed bike. She was calm and relaxed and just seemed to enjoy the journey. As she passed the young fella, he looked at her in pure amazement. Being showed up by her caused him to pedal even harder, but to no avail…soon he was back to inching along. I’m sure he thought, “How in the world is this old lady putting me in the dust?” It wasn’t for lack of effort or for a lack of physical ability. It was because the older lady was wise enough to know how to use her tools (her bike) effectively. She was able to cruise up the hill because she had mastered the art of switching gears and she knew that if she was in the right gear, she could handle the obstacle before her with ease.
How many of us are just pedaling away through life? We are giving it all we have but because we are in the wrong gear, our efforts are dampened and our productivity is minimized. God has equipped us with top of the line equipment, custom made for us in heaven, but until we use it right, our lives will continue to be frustrating and we will produce little or no fruit. Life is full of hills, valleys and straight-aways. We must identify where we are (be it a hill, a valley or a straightaway) and adapt our gears to the road type to maximize our efforts.
*Hills are categorized by periods of life where you are pushing your limits, you are challenged to do the “impossible” or you are faced with a choice to press forward or to quit. Hills are turning point...”Will I press forward into the unknown or will I quit?”
*Valleys are categorized by periods where you experience loss, times of complete struggle, times where hope seems to fade and times when you feel burdened. When navigating a valley experience, it is key to pump the brakes and not go too fast, because you will surely crash and lose control if you try to “fly through” a valley experience. Take your time and learn what you need to learn in the valley, but know that a mountaintop experience awaits if you press.
*Straight-aways are periods where things are consistent (not up or down). These are times of reflection and recovery. You are in a sense coasting through life. These times don’t tend to last very long, if they do, then you are probably not going in the right direction or you aren’t pushing as hard as you can toward your goals and God’s plan for your life.
Wherever you find yourself in life, be it a Hill a Valley or a Straight-away, it is time to get in gear so that you may be able to progress though your life in an effective and efficient way. You have the finest equipment ever created, it is time to get in gear so that you can experience your race (your life) as God intended.
GET IN GEAR!!!
Be Blessed,
B
These thoughts crossed my mind as I watched a young man struggle as he attempted to ride his seemingly brand new and expensive looking mountain bike up a hill. The dude was sweating bullets…huffing and puffing with each pedal. The next thing I saw was an older woman (about mid to late fifties), effortlessly fly by the young man on her old, tested and tried “old school” 10 speed bike. She was calm and relaxed and just seemed to enjoy the journey. As she passed the young fella, he looked at her in pure amazement. Being showed up by her caused him to pedal even harder, but to no avail…soon he was back to inching along. I’m sure he thought, “How in the world is this old lady putting me in the dust?” It wasn’t for lack of effort or for a lack of physical ability. It was because the older lady was wise enough to know how to use her tools (her bike) effectively. She was able to cruise up the hill because she had mastered the art of switching gears and she knew that if she was in the right gear, she could handle the obstacle before her with ease.
How many of us are just pedaling away through life? We are giving it all we have but because we are in the wrong gear, our efforts are dampened and our productivity is minimized. God has equipped us with top of the line equipment, custom made for us in heaven, but until we use it right, our lives will continue to be frustrating and we will produce little or no fruit. Life is full of hills, valleys and straight-aways. We must identify where we are (be it a hill, a valley or a straightaway) and adapt our gears to the road type to maximize our efforts.
*Hills are categorized by periods of life where you are pushing your limits, you are challenged to do the “impossible” or you are faced with a choice to press forward or to quit. Hills are turning point...”Will I press forward into the unknown or will I quit?”
*Valleys are categorized by periods where you experience loss, times of complete struggle, times where hope seems to fade and times when you feel burdened. When navigating a valley experience, it is key to pump the brakes and not go too fast, because you will surely crash and lose control if you try to “fly through” a valley experience. Take your time and learn what you need to learn in the valley, but know that a mountaintop experience awaits if you press.
*Straight-aways are periods where things are consistent (not up or down). These are times of reflection and recovery. You are in a sense coasting through life. These times don’t tend to last very long, if they do, then you are probably not going in the right direction or you aren’t pushing as hard as you can toward your goals and God’s plan for your life.
Wherever you find yourself in life, be it a Hill a Valley or a Straight-away, it is time to get in gear so that you may be able to progress though your life in an effective and efficient way. You have the finest equipment ever created, it is time to get in gear so that you can experience your race (your life) as God intended.
GET IN GEAR!!!
Be Blessed,
B
Friday, August 8, 2008
Mistaken ID
The other day I had the pleasure of going to the dentist. I hadn’t been in some time so as you can imagine I was really eager to get in there and “get er done”. I was a little baffled; however when I was escorted to one of the “examination” rooms and the hygienist asked me what I was in for. She asked me the question like I was her cellmate and we were doing hard time together. I responded, “Just a routine cleaning.” She looked shocked and told me that another hygienist would be working with me today and that I might be moved to a different room.
About 5 minutes later another hygienist came in and asked me the same thing …”What are you in for?” In my mind I was like, “What the heck!!! Don’t people just come in for regular cleanings anymore? Am I to expect an interrogation at every future visit to the Dentist?” I responded to her...”I’m just in for a routine cleaning.” She too looked surprised. At this point I’m starting to feel like I’m on candid camera, because she immediately slapped the lead vest on me and proceeded to take x-rays saying “We didn’t get a chance to take these the last time you were in?” Needless to say I was a little shocked; I hadn’t been there in over a year.
After they took the x-rays, I sat in the cold bright room for about 3 minutes until the Dentist and the 2nd hygienist came back into the room with my medical files. With a puzzled look on his face, the Dentist said, “Good Morning Mr. Jeffers…what brings you in today?” Here we go again… I said “Just a routine cleaning.” He asked me if I was aware that this routine cleaning would probably not be covered by my insurance company. I thought “Slow down cowpoke”, but I just responded, “Why not?” He told me that I had just had a cleaning on 7/11/08 and that a month had not even passed so the insurance company would not cover the cleaning. I knew that was a mistake because I had not been to the dentist in some time. As he was reading through “my file” I was able to peep some of the information therein. Low and behold…He had my father’s file (whose name is Zachary C. Jeffers, but the file just had the name Zachary Jeffers on it) and he thought that I was my father. I explained to the confused Dentist that my dad and I share the same 1st name, but we have different middle names. He understood after a minute or so and said, “Man I’m glad we got that cleared up….I was going to ask you what was your secret to looking so young…You look pretty good for 58?”
This experience made me think...How often do I get mistaken for my Heavenly Father? Do my actions reflect His character? When people look at me and the things that I do are they drawn to Christ because of the way I imitate the Father?
1 Peter 2:12 says:
11-12Friends, this world is not your home, so don't make yourselves cozy in it. Don't indulge your ego at the expense of your soul. Live an exemplary life among the natives so that your actions will refute their prejudices. Then they'll be won over to God's side and be there to join in the celebration when he arrives.
Who do you look like? Is God honored to call you His child or are you a disgrace to the family name? I love my fathers (earthly and heavenly) and I consider it a challenge and joy to live up to the “Family Name”. There is nothing like the joy that I get from pleasing and honoring my father and having someone witness my actions and send word back to my dad. How much more joy comes from knowing that because of the way I live, others are drawn out of darkness and into the light that is found in Christ.
I’m glad that I look and act like my “Daddy”.
Be Blessed,
B
About 5 minutes later another hygienist came in and asked me the same thing …”What are you in for?” In my mind I was like, “What the heck!!! Don’t people just come in for regular cleanings anymore? Am I to expect an interrogation at every future visit to the Dentist?” I responded to her...”I’m just in for a routine cleaning.” She too looked surprised. At this point I’m starting to feel like I’m on candid camera, because she immediately slapped the lead vest on me and proceeded to take x-rays saying “We didn’t get a chance to take these the last time you were in?” Needless to say I was a little shocked; I hadn’t been there in over a year.
After they took the x-rays, I sat in the cold bright room for about 3 minutes until the Dentist and the 2nd hygienist came back into the room with my medical files. With a puzzled look on his face, the Dentist said, “Good Morning Mr. Jeffers…what brings you in today?” Here we go again… I said “Just a routine cleaning.” He asked me if I was aware that this routine cleaning would probably not be covered by my insurance company. I thought “Slow down cowpoke”, but I just responded, “Why not?” He told me that I had just had a cleaning on 7/11/08 and that a month had not even passed so the insurance company would not cover the cleaning. I knew that was a mistake because I had not been to the dentist in some time. As he was reading through “my file” I was able to peep some of the information therein. Low and behold…He had my father’s file (whose name is Zachary C. Jeffers, but the file just had the name Zachary Jeffers on it) and he thought that I was my father. I explained to the confused Dentist that my dad and I share the same 1st name, but we have different middle names. He understood after a minute or so and said, “Man I’m glad we got that cleared up….I was going to ask you what was your secret to looking so young…You look pretty good for 58?”
This experience made me think...How often do I get mistaken for my Heavenly Father? Do my actions reflect His character? When people look at me and the things that I do are they drawn to Christ because of the way I imitate the Father?
1 Peter 2:12 says:
11-12Friends, this world is not your home, so don't make yourselves cozy in it. Don't indulge your ego at the expense of your soul. Live an exemplary life among the natives so that your actions will refute their prejudices. Then they'll be won over to God's side and be there to join in the celebration when he arrives.
Who do you look like? Is God honored to call you His child or are you a disgrace to the family name? I love my fathers (earthly and heavenly) and I consider it a challenge and joy to live up to the “Family Name”. There is nothing like the joy that I get from pleasing and honoring my father and having someone witness my actions and send word back to my dad. How much more joy comes from knowing that because of the way I live, others are drawn out of darkness and into the light that is found in Christ.
I’m glad that I look and act like my “Daddy”.
Be Blessed,
B
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
My Ex Keeps Calling Me
The more I long to be with you
The more she tries to get in the way,
The more I try to think about you,
The more she tries to make me stray
The less quality time I spend with you
The less she appears to call
The less that I commit myself to you
The less I can resist, so I fall
You loved me before I even knew your name
Even though I chose her 1st you loved me the same
You patiently waited for me to come to you
To see through her lies and recognize your truth
Her “love” is really hate
Her joy is my pain,
But something within me
Loves to hear her say my name
I’ve lost too much already
Chose to lose…Will I Win?
You love me and give me life,
But I keep running back to her….She goes by the name…Sin
The more she tries to get in the way,
The more I try to think about you,
The more she tries to make me stray
The less quality time I spend with you
The less she appears to call
The less that I commit myself to you
The less I can resist, so I fall
You loved me before I even knew your name
Even though I chose her 1st you loved me the same
You patiently waited for me to come to you
To see through her lies and recognize your truth
Her “love” is really hate
Her joy is my pain,
But something within me
Loves to hear her say my name
I’ve lost too much already
Chose to lose…Will I Win?
You love me and give me life,
But I keep running back to her….She goes by the name…Sin
Monday, August 4, 2008
Who are you rolling with?
Have you ever felt compelled to be in two places at one time? Have you ever felt like your mind (or different thoughts) was racing like cars in the Daytona 500? Is your thought life like a 10 lane freeway…thoughts traveling in 1 million different directions at one time but seemingly going nowhere? Do you feel like you always have places to be, people to talk to and things to do, but not enough time to manage it all? Are you a prisoner to your choices and a slave to your thoughts and schedule?
These and other questions came to mind as I had lunch today. Before I went to lunch though, I had so many thoughts and I was playing through so many different scenarios in my mind that I couldn’t focus on making a simple decision about what to eat and where to eat for lunch. It was frustrating. I literally had to stop myself. I was racing out of control and going in circles. I had in fact become paralyzed by the realization of all the things going on in my life and my feeble attempt to try to control everything. It’s these moments in life that force me to pump my brakes, let go of the wheel and let God jump back into the driver’s seat.
The more I attempt to control things…the more out of control things become.
To get beyond this point, I had to do a couple of things:
*Stop…I literally had to stop everything I was doing. It was in the stillness of life that I began to hear God speak to me
*Pray…I acknowledged to God that I was out of control and asked for His forgiveness, peace and direction. I had pushed God out of the driver’s seat and I took the wheel
*Regroup…I had to revisit my priorities. Not the immediate need, but the ultimate priorities. God, Family, Me and Others. I had to recognize the present competing priorities and refocus on what was important to God in the long run. I’m not always supposed to be the one to put out the “fire” that is apparent right now if it is pulling me away from what God has ultimately directed me to do.
*Act…Once God has given me clarity and peace in the midst of my “storm”, I’m charged with moving forward in confidence and strength, with my newly established sound mind.
Simply stated, but difficult to implement…To gain a sense of control in my life, I must give up control and yield to God. If He is in control and I’m trusting Him to lead, then all the pressure is on Him to come through. I’m just a passenger, trusting the driver to get me to a destination. I’m going where He wants me to go. BTW-God has never had an accident, but we can cause one by trying to take the wheel so that we can drive from the passenger seat, so sit back and enjoy the ride.
A couple of additional things to consider to help being order:
*Delegation…are you delegating tasks/responsibilities associated with your life or are you holding on to too much because you think that no one can “do it like you can” or you think that it just “won’t be the same” unless you do it? God may have broken the mold when He made you, but that may have been because He knew that He could make a better and more efficient model. Look for these models (people) in your life. You may think that you are good at something, but someone else may be able to do what you do in half the time. There is no shame in delegating.
*Allocation…how are you allocating your resources? Are you wasting your time, your talents and your $$$ or are you investing them to bring about a return? We are called to be fruitful, we can only maximize our output when we allocate our resources properly.
*Cooperation…Are we looking for opportunities to work with like-minded people? Many times our visions can only come to fruition when we cooperate with others. Cooperation brings about collective thoughts, resources and experiences. It is good to be able to stand firm alone, but there is strength in numbers.
These simple and practical truths are sure to assist us as we try to regain a sense of order in our lives. In order for us to live effective lives, we must be efficient in our use of our resources.
No one can do ALL things well, but we ALL can do the things God has called us to do well if we “Let go and Let God”!!!
Who are you rolling with?
Be Blessed,
B
These and other questions came to mind as I had lunch today. Before I went to lunch though, I had so many thoughts and I was playing through so many different scenarios in my mind that I couldn’t focus on making a simple decision about what to eat and where to eat for lunch. It was frustrating. I literally had to stop myself. I was racing out of control and going in circles. I had in fact become paralyzed by the realization of all the things going on in my life and my feeble attempt to try to control everything. It’s these moments in life that force me to pump my brakes, let go of the wheel and let God jump back into the driver’s seat.
The more I attempt to control things…the more out of control things become.
To get beyond this point, I had to do a couple of things:
*Stop…I literally had to stop everything I was doing. It was in the stillness of life that I began to hear God speak to me
*Pray…I acknowledged to God that I was out of control and asked for His forgiveness, peace and direction. I had pushed God out of the driver’s seat and I took the wheel
*Regroup…I had to revisit my priorities. Not the immediate need, but the ultimate priorities. God, Family, Me and Others. I had to recognize the present competing priorities and refocus on what was important to God in the long run. I’m not always supposed to be the one to put out the “fire” that is apparent right now if it is pulling me away from what God has ultimately directed me to do.
*Act…Once God has given me clarity and peace in the midst of my “storm”, I’m charged with moving forward in confidence and strength, with my newly established sound mind.
Simply stated, but difficult to implement…To gain a sense of control in my life, I must give up control and yield to God. If He is in control and I’m trusting Him to lead, then all the pressure is on Him to come through. I’m just a passenger, trusting the driver to get me to a destination. I’m going where He wants me to go. BTW-God has never had an accident, but we can cause one by trying to take the wheel so that we can drive from the passenger seat, so sit back and enjoy the ride.
A couple of additional things to consider to help being order:
*Delegation…are you delegating tasks/responsibilities associated with your life or are you holding on to too much because you think that no one can “do it like you can” or you think that it just “won’t be the same” unless you do it? God may have broken the mold when He made you, but that may have been because He knew that He could make a better and more efficient model. Look for these models (people) in your life. You may think that you are good at something, but someone else may be able to do what you do in half the time. There is no shame in delegating.
*Allocation…how are you allocating your resources? Are you wasting your time, your talents and your $$$ or are you investing them to bring about a return? We are called to be fruitful, we can only maximize our output when we allocate our resources properly.
*Cooperation…Are we looking for opportunities to work with like-minded people? Many times our visions can only come to fruition when we cooperate with others. Cooperation brings about collective thoughts, resources and experiences. It is good to be able to stand firm alone, but there is strength in numbers.
These simple and practical truths are sure to assist us as we try to regain a sense of order in our lives. In order for us to live effective lives, we must be efficient in our use of our resources.
No one can do ALL things well, but we ALL can do the things God has called us to do well if we “Let go and Let God”!!!
Who are you rolling with?
Be Blessed,
B
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
