The story is told of a talented musician who trained for hour upon hour each day to perfect his craft. This musician put his heart and soul unto his playing to the point that he became one with his instrument. While he had virtually perfected the execution of each note, he chose to keep his talent to himself and would not share his gift with the world. He could not explain why…he had just refused to share his gift.
After many years the musician became friends with another musician, who didn’t know that his friend was a musician until he happened to overhear his friend practicing one afternoon. After hearing his friend play the most beautiful musical solo that had ever heard, he inquired as to how his friend got be so good at his instrument and why he had never played for him. After hearing his explanation and after hearing his friend say that he has never played in front of nor did he ever intend to play for an audience, the man was floored. He simply asked this single question…”Why on Earth do you practice soooooo hard if you never intend to play or to share your gift with the rest of the world?”
Sunday after Sunday millions of people gather for the largest “practice” session in the world. In their church “homes” many are equipped with the skills and tools needed to “perform” their “perfected craft”. We greet one another in love…We give of our time…We give of our money…We give of our talents/gifts…We quote scriptures and testify of the goodness of God to other believers…etc, but when will the majority of the team go beyond practice field and actually share our craft with the rest of the world? Practice is great, but why do we continue to practice if we are not going to play?
Matthew 5:16 (The Message)
14-16"Here's another way to put it: You're here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We're going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don't think I'm going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I'm putting you on a light stand. Now that I've put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you'll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.
God has called us to shine our lights and to not keep our gifts to ourselves or solely inside the house of God. We are to use our gifts to attract others to the God. What good is it to continue to only “preach to the choir” when the ones who need to hear the message of God’s Love and need to experience His unconditional love aren’t stepping foot through the doors of the church building?
I am by no means saying that we should not attend church, but what I am saying is that we should not be some comfortable in the church seats that we forget our purpose and our calling. Our ultimate call is to shine our lights in this dark world so that the lost will see the light, be drawn to it and to want to connect with the source of the light (God).
It is time for the children of God to stop being professional, perpetual “practicers” (Jesse Jackson word of the day) and to GET IN THE GAME!!!!
Be Blessed,
B
Monday, August 31, 2009
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Areaway
Our home features a walkout basement with an areaway (about 15 feet below ground level) that leads to our backyard. Anyone that has an areaway, especially one that is not covered, knows that it is vitally important to examine the areaway and to keep it free from debris so that you can prevent your basement from flooding during times of heavy rain. Debris such as leaves, twigs, plastic bags etc. have a tendency to “ride the wind” and find a nice comfortable landing place on the drain cover that leads to the piping that is connected to the sump pump. If the drain is covered, the sump pump won’t turn on and pump the water out of the areaway and away from the basement. Performing routine maintenance (cleaning out the areaway) is the best way to have peace of mind during rain storms that could cause flooding.
We are going on our 5th year living in our home and have had 3 minor flooding incidents. The most recent “event” occurred early on a Sunday morning about 2 weeks ago. I typically don’t remember my nighttime dreams but the ones that I do seem to have some significance as it relates to a current event or they seem to be recurring dreams. My dream on Saturday night was one of those dreams. On Saturday night I had a vivid dream in which a storm carrying with it extraordinarily heavy rains and winds came through my neighborhood, but I was not home. When I arrive home after the storm, I found that my house along with other houses in the neighborhood, had sustained damage. I had this same dream at least twice that night.
When I woke up, around 7:30 or so, I told my wife about my dream. Shortly thereafter, the sky darkened and burst open and we received a powerful downpour. After about 2 minutes of rain, something told me to check the areaway. I really didn’t think too much about it because we had a lot of rain during the early part of the summer and had no trouble with the areaway. In fact I had not even had to clean it at all during this summer. As a result of my confidence in the sump pump and the past performance of the drain system, I didn’t check the areaway until about 5 mins. later.
THAT WAS A HUGE MISTAKE.
Once I made it down to the basement and opened the door, I found a catastrophe about to happen. The floor of the areaway was quickly filling with water as the rain continued to pour from the sky. I tried frantically to clear the drain and to remove the water with my shop vac, but there was no stopping it. The rain was falling too fast and I was too far behind the trouble to prevent the consequence (flooding). As the water slowly began to seep over the door stop and into the basement, I finally was able to control the water and to clear the drain, but not until a small section of the basement had received some water damage.
I could not help but think that if I had heeded to the warning signs, if I had continued with the preventative maintenance plan that I had in place or if I had moved with more urgency and not gotten comfortable with “past performance” then this misfortunate event would not have occurred.
Just as in the physical, there are spiritual, mental, and emotional areaways in our lives. By avoiding the signs of imminent danger and by not performing regular maintenance to clean out the debris, we may find ourselves fighting with all of our might, but to no avail to try to stop ourselves from falling into a raging sea of trouble without a lifejacket.
We often don’t pay attention to people, relationships, issues etc. until they demand or command our attention. We have all experienced the regret that accompanies failing to act or acting too late. We have all been “reactional” instead of proactive even when the potential danger was as clear as day. Our pride and sometimes our complacency have led to our demise and our loss.
I am reminded of these truths regarding two important “areaways” in life…my heart and mind:
My Heart…Proverbs 4:23 Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.
My Mind…2 Corinthians 10:5 We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ.
The storms of life will come, and those who are prepared, will come through the storms intact. I can assure you however, that if you don’t prepare for life’s storms you are sure to be blown away. I urge you to examine your “areaways” and to clear the debris that has gathered, so that as the floodwaters begin to rise, your “flood prevention” defense systems will kick in and protect your home.
Are your areaways clear?
Be Blessed and Be a Blessing,
B
We are going on our 5th year living in our home and have had 3 minor flooding incidents. The most recent “event” occurred early on a Sunday morning about 2 weeks ago. I typically don’t remember my nighttime dreams but the ones that I do seem to have some significance as it relates to a current event or they seem to be recurring dreams. My dream on Saturday night was one of those dreams. On Saturday night I had a vivid dream in which a storm carrying with it extraordinarily heavy rains and winds came through my neighborhood, but I was not home. When I arrive home after the storm, I found that my house along with other houses in the neighborhood, had sustained damage. I had this same dream at least twice that night.
When I woke up, around 7:30 or so, I told my wife about my dream. Shortly thereafter, the sky darkened and burst open and we received a powerful downpour. After about 2 minutes of rain, something told me to check the areaway. I really didn’t think too much about it because we had a lot of rain during the early part of the summer and had no trouble with the areaway. In fact I had not even had to clean it at all during this summer. As a result of my confidence in the sump pump and the past performance of the drain system, I didn’t check the areaway until about 5 mins. later.
THAT WAS A HUGE MISTAKE.
Once I made it down to the basement and opened the door, I found a catastrophe about to happen. The floor of the areaway was quickly filling with water as the rain continued to pour from the sky. I tried frantically to clear the drain and to remove the water with my shop vac, but there was no stopping it. The rain was falling too fast and I was too far behind the trouble to prevent the consequence (flooding). As the water slowly began to seep over the door stop and into the basement, I finally was able to control the water and to clear the drain, but not until a small section of the basement had received some water damage.
I could not help but think that if I had heeded to the warning signs, if I had continued with the preventative maintenance plan that I had in place or if I had moved with more urgency and not gotten comfortable with “past performance” then this misfortunate event would not have occurred.
Just as in the physical, there are spiritual, mental, and emotional areaways in our lives. By avoiding the signs of imminent danger and by not performing regular maintenance to clean out the debris, we may find ourselves fighting with all of our might, but to no avail to try to stop ourselves from falling into a raging sea of trouble without a lifejacket.
We often don’t pay attention to people, relationships, issues etc. until they demand or command our attention. We have all experienced the regret that accompanies failing to act or acting too late. We have all been “reactional” instead of proactive even when the potential danger was as clear as day. Our pride and sometimes our complacency have led to our demise and our loss.
I am reminded of these truths regarding two important “areaways” in life…my heart and mind:
My Heart…Proverbs 4:23 Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.
My Mind…2 Corinthians 10:5 We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ.
The storms of life will come, and those who are prepared, will come through the storms intact. I can assure you however, that if you don’t prepare for life’s storms you are sure to be blown away. I urge you to examine your “areaways” and to clear the debris that has gathered, so that as the floodwaters begin to rise, your “flood prevention” defense systems will kick in and protect your home.
Are your areaways clear?
Be Blessed and Be a Blessing,
B
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
