More Than Just a Day at the Beach

Fun filled and drama free times of relaxation with family and friends, fresh Saltwater Taffy, a trip to Sweet Frog for some raspberry pomegranate sorbet, the relaxing melody sang by gentle waves tumbling as they meet the shore, the warmth of the sand beneath my feet…those are some of the things that I look forward to when welcoming Summer during a Memorial Day Weekend.  It is a time that we pray for and remember our troops, but it is also the traditional “start of summer”.

This year, the Jeffers Crew (JFAM as I call them), packed up and joined my Brother (In Law), Sister (In Law), three of my nieces and my only nephew for a mini vacation in Ocean City, Maryland. One of the amenities, of the community that they are a part of, is access to a small “private beach”.  This is a great spot to hang around, catch a nice breeze and partake in typical summer beach activities.

One afternoon during the weekend, the entire family was present at the beach.  As I was resting in my beach chair, my eye was drawn to my nephew as he passionately, meticulously, and energetically dug a hole in beachfront.  He was a little man on a mission.  As he dug this hole, he piled up the loose sand so that he could easily begin to mold and create a sand castle.  I was so drawn in by his efforts, that I left my seat of comfort and stood by him and talked to him about his project.  After about 15 minutes, I returned to my seat and continued to watch as he completed his task by creating a moat that even contained seaweed. 

I wasn’t the only one compelled to watch him.  I observed about a dozen people stop, stare and/or inquire about the project that he was diligently working on.  Similarly, when the kids caught and began to care for a turtle that they found, many people were drawn to them.

 

It intrigued me that out of all of the action taking place at the beach, the actions that attracted people to them were the activities where people could observe the passion and diligence of the participant (the building of the sand castle) or the love for others (a turtle in this case).  I began to think:

·         Am I drawing people to the Kingdom of God by the passion that I display toward Kingdom work?

·         Am I drawing people into the Kingdom by the love that I show toward others?

·         Does God’s character flow through me to the point that people are literally stopped in their tracks and take interest?

Matthew 5:14-16(NLT) 14 “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. 15 No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.

John 13:35(ESV) By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

In a dark world, the shining of our light, should draw people in and usher them into the kingdom.  Our love for one another should also identify us with God.  Our Love should be so genuine and selfless that people will clearly identify it as being “supernatural”.  Our passions, gifts and talents should be used as tools not for our glory but for the glory of God and for the good of others.  If you don’t know what your passions and gifts are, speak to God and to Spirit lead people in your circle to discover what your “show stopping” qualities are.  Identify them and use them to “move the crowd” toward a closer walk with God.  

Draw a crowd this summer!!!  Life is more than a beach…

Be Blessed!

B

What Season is it?

Can somebody say SPRING!!!

This past Sunday Afternoon (the 5^th Sunday in March…after the welcomed “calendar only” arrival of Spring), I had the pleasure of making a journey from East Baltimore to West Baltimore County.   While driving, I noticed that what was once rain transformed into sleet and snow.   It totally caught me off guard and from the chatter that it created on Social Media and in real life circles, it appears that I wasn’t the only one.  The sleet pounded my car like mini-meteorites and the snowflakes were large and fluffy like giant sized cotton balls.  It was a marvel to behold.  It snowed for several hours blanketing the cars, the grass, the trees and even some of the walkways and streets.

In about 24 hours, as the temperatures rose, there was little to no evidence of the “covering” that had occurred.  It was gone.  The environment did not sustain the conditions needed to allow the “covering” to last.  As quickly as it came…it went. 

Where is your covering?  Many of us were poured into this weekend through hearing the Word of God.  Our Souls and our Spirits were fed and empowered.  We were radiating from having a close encounter with God and were determined to make life changes; however after a day or two have passed, there is no evidence of change…no evidence of a close encounter with the Creator of the Universe…no power…and the Soul and the Spirit that were well fed this weekend are dying from starvation and pale from neglect.

James 1:22 (The Message MSG)

22-24 Don’t fool yourself into thinking that you are a listener when you are anything but, letting the Word go in one ear and out the other. Act on what you hear! Those who hear and don’t act are like those who glance in the mirror, walk away, and two minutes later have no idea who they are, what they look like.

Romans 2:13(New Living Translation NLT)

13 For merely listening to the law doesn’t make us right with God. It is obeying the law that makes us right in his sight

In order to activate the Power of God we must put into action that which we have learned from God.  Life starts…when church (service) ends.  This means that it is up to us to be living testimonies as we feed our spirit and souls with the things of God.  As we feed our spirit, the influence of the spirit will change our choices and motivate us to do that which is pleasing to God.  The evidence of our growth is not in how loudly we praise on Sunday, but in how we live out His directives Monday-Sunday.

Our Sundays and our Mondays should not look like two different “seasons”.  Let our talk match our walk.  Let us feed the Spirit by spending quality time with God and by subjecting ourselves to wholesome/Godly inputs and stimulus.  Then the power of God will sustain our lives and even when life’s circumstances try to dictate a “winter weather event”, God will remind us that Spring has arrived and it is here to stay.

It’s time to GROW and SHOW!!!

Be Blessed!

B

Pile Up!!!

My wife is an awesome cook! One of the ways that she expresses her love to us is by preparing delicious dishes as part of mouth-watering and soul satisfying meals.  As we all know, dishes are always a byproduct of cooking a meal, so my wife, who loves a clean kitchen as well, will wash dishes as she goes along cooking the meal.  I’m the polar opposite.  My tendency is to pretty much use every pot, pan, measuring cup, measuring spoon and seasoning known to man.  I scatter them around the countertops while I go to work on the meal.  I usually don’t even think about cleaning a dish until I’m done eating.

Like my wife, my parents also used to tell me that it is much easier to clean as you go along than to wait until the end.  There were two primary reasons that they said that this was the wise way to go:

1.      It is easier to clean pots, pans, bowls utensils etc. while they are still warm or before the food gets a chance to dry up/cool down and stick to the surface of the item that they have rested on.

2.      The task can appear to be overwhelming if you wait until the very end to try to clean up.  There will be a mountain of dishes that you’ll have to climb and you won’t feel like climbing that mountain after you have finished your meal.

This wisdom has so many practical applications.  One is in our approach to dealing with our sin.  Our sin manifests itself in so many ways and if we don’t take an active approach to dealing with it immediately, it will “pile up”, cause deep lasting “stains” and bond to us making it very difficult to remove its residue.  Some of the benefits of taking an urgent approach to dealing with our shortcomings are evidenced in Psalms 32  

“Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) is he who has forgiveness of his transgression continually exercised upon him, whose sin is covered. Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) is the man to whom the Lord imputes no iniquity and in whose spirit there is no deceit. When I kept silence [before I confessed], my bones wasted away through my groaning all the day long.4 For day and night Your hand [of displeasure] was heavy upon me; my moisture was turned into the drought of summer. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]! I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I did not hide. I said, I will confess my transgressions to the Lord [continually unfolding the past till all is told]—then You [instantly] forgave me the guilt and iniquity of my sin. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]! For this [forgiveness] let everyone who is godly pray—pray to You in a time when You may be found; surely when the great waters [of trial] overflow, they shall not reach [the spirit in] him. You are a hiding place for me; You, Lord, preserve me from trouble, You surround me with songs and shouts of deliverance”. 

When we get serious about dealing with our faults, are “broken by our brokenness” and are moved to change through God’s power, like David (the author of the Psalm above), we will be Blessed, be filled with joy, be overcome by inner peace and we will no longer have to run or hide from God because we will our find refuge in Him. 

Psalm’s 66:18 reminds us that God doesn’t even entertain our prayers if we try to “hide” unconfessed sin in our hearts…so what are you waiting for?  It is time to “knock out the soiled dishes” so that they won’t linger, stain, stink and eventually overwhelm you.  There is no benefit to continuing with destructive habits, “diseased” relationships, detrimental decisions and a daunting lack of forgiveness that aims to dominate you.  God is ready to wipe your slate clean, but you have to be willing to bring your “dishes” to Him.

Are you tired of letting life’s letdowns pile up?  Well it is time to let Go and to Let God deal with your dirty dishes.

Be Blessed!!!

B   

Leftovers

When it comes to dinner in our household of four, we typically make enough food so that there are leftovers.  These leftovers typically become the next day’s lunch for me and/or my wife or an after-school snack for the kids.  To accomplish this, the kids usually “pack up” the leftovers in storage containers.  On one recent evening, I noticed that one of the kids was overfilling the container.  This child (who will remain nameless), filled the storage container to the very top.  When I explained to the strong willed teen that the top was not going to be able to seal without causing some of the food to spill out, I was met with an, “I got this…I know what I’m doing…I know that it won’t spill…just watch Dad.”

I sat back and thought,”OK…do it your way and you’ll have to deal with the consequences.”  The determined teen proceeded and found out the hard way that Father knows best.  I saw the future play out while the teen was just living and experiencing life in the moment.

How often are we like my teenager?  We "overstuff" our lives and we ignore the fact that we have limited capacities.  We ignore the signs, the wisdom, the warnings and the very voice of God as we fill our lives with more activities, more relationships, more commitments and more cares that we were designed to “hold”.   We were not designed to live burned out and overextended lives.

Sadly, we often drag the burdens, the bruises and the baggage of our past into our future.  God designed us with our ultimate futures in mind.  He knows our assignments and the capacity that we need in order to complete His plans for us.  If we carry our past into our future, we should be prepared to “make a mess”, just like my child did.  God wants us to take time with Him to deal with our past pains, failures and unfinished business, but he doesn’t want us to live in the past and allow our past to determine our future.   Conversely, yesterday’s expectations, miracles, provisions and deliverance were for yesterday.  Don’t drag them into tomorrow and limit your view and expectation of what God can and will do.

Isaiah 43:16-19 New Living Translation (NLT)

I am the Lord, who opened a way through the waters,
    making a dry path through the sea.
17 I called forth the mighty army of Egypt
    with all its chariots and horses.
I drew them beneath the waves, and they drowned,
    their lives snuffed out like a smoldering candlewick.

18 “But forget all that—
    it is nothing compared to what I am going to do.
19 For I am about to do something new.
    See, I have already begun! Do you not see it?
I will make a pathway through the wilderness.
    I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.

What are you carrying from your past that you need to deal with to make room for what God has in store for your future?  Is the weight of your past holding you down?  God wants to lift you to higher heights, but you can’t safely move forward if you are constantly looking behind you.

Yesterday’s victories and defeats belong to yesterday.  God is preparing us for GREATER THINGS!!!  He wants us to empty ourselves so that He can fill us with all that He needs to in order for us to take advantage of the GREAT THINGS that He has in store for us; however, but He can’t fill us to capacity, if part of our containers (our lives) are currently full of “leftovers”.

Be Blessed!!!

B

Open Doors

As I was leaving work the other evening, I held the large heavy glass door at the entrance of my building open for an older lady that was leaving at the same time.  The lady literally stood there and did not move.  After what seemed like an eternity, but was more like 3-5 seconds, her blank stare lifted as she smiled and said,”I forgot that people still did that. I can’t remember the last time someone held the door open for me.  Thanks!” 

I was then perplexed.  How did this ordinary act of respect and kindness become so “unusual”?  Have we become so disconnected and self-absorbed that common courtesies are no longer common?  Have we lowered the bar as a society so much that we only act on those things that are of benefit to us?

Sadly, some of us approach our encounters with our Heavenly Father the same way that this lady approached her encounter with me.  She had very low expectations.  We can get so caught up in our circumstances, our weaknesses and our experiences with people hurting us that we project our pain and flawed human responses to our pain on God.  God cares for us.  God is concerned about us. God wants to bless us as we live according to His will.

Psalms 106:3-18 (MSG)

He forgives your sins—every one.

    He heals your diseases—every one.

    He redeems you from hell—saves your life!

    He crowns you with love and mercy—a paradise crown.

    He wraps you in goodness—beauty eternal.

    He renews your youth—you’re always young in his presence.

^6-18 God makes everything come out right;

    he puts victims back on their feet.

He showed Moses how he went about his work,

    opened up his plans to all Israel.

God is sheer mercy and grace;

    not easily angered, he’s rich in love.

He doesn’t endlessly nag and scold,

    nor hold grudges forever.

He doesn’t treat us as our sins deserve,

    nor pay us back in full for our wrongs.

As high as heaven is over the earth,

    so strong is his love to those who fear him.

And as far as sunrise is from sunset,

    he has separated us from our sins.

As parents feel for their children,

    God feels for those who fear him.

He knows us inside and out,

    keeps in mind that we’re made of mud.

Men and women don’t live very long;

    like wildflowers they spring up and blossom,

But a storm snuffs them out just as quickly,

    leaving nothing to show they were here.

God’s love, though, is ever and always,

    eternally present to all who fear him,

Making everything right for them and their children

    as they follow his Covenant ways

    and remember to do whatever he said.

Psalms 103 spells out the many ways that God loves us and has demonstrated that love.  He forgives us…He saves us…He knows us…He redeems us….He renews us etc. 

In a world that attempts to get us to minimize God, we must maximize our expectation of the impact that interacting with Him will have on our lives.  He loves us more that we can imagine or think, so He wants the very best for us.

God is standing there holding doors open for us.  How long will we stand there mystified before we step through and give Him thanks for caring enough about us to “hold the door open”? 

Raise your expectations by maximizing your awareness of God’s Love in action in your life!!! It is much easier to walk through a door that God has opened than to try to open a closed door or to create a door on your own.

Be Blessed!!!

B

You can Keep Your "Dirt" to Yourself!

Can you recall how it felt the last time someone “did you dirty”?  When was the last time you “did someone dirty” (hopefully it has been a long time and you have rectified the situation)?  “Dirty” can take many forms, but primarily it takes the form of someone taking advantage of another person or someone playing an integral part in the demise of another.

Most people (both successful and unsuccessful) refuse to be genuinely happy for a person that is achieving success, especially if that person is attaining as much success or reaching a higher level of success than they have achieved.  Jealousy and Envy compel that person to try “dim the shine” of others by tossing “dirt”.  In some cases, “jealous ones” will try to bury you alive because they can’t appreciate the evidence of God’s Blessings and His Favor flowing through your life.

As I was reading some of the story of Isaac in Genesis 26, Isaac too had to face “dirt slingers”: 

Genesis 26:12-16 (MSG) Isaac planted crops in that land and took in a huge harvest. God blessed him. The man got richer and richer by the day until he was very wealthy. He accumulated flocks and herds and many, many servants, so much so that the Philistines began to envy him. They got back at him by throwing dirt and debris into all the wells that his father’s servants had dug back in the days of his father Abraham, clogging up all the wells. Finally, Abimelech told Isaac: “Leave. You’ve become far too big for us.”

 In the face of his success, those who were jealous of God’s favor on Isaac’s life, sought to destroy his ability to continue being successful.  They attempted to do this by literally throwing “dirt” in his wells.  They thought that if they could cut him off from the source (water) that they believed was sustaining him, his success would fade and he would be forced to “move on”.  Their efforts were futile because, the ultimate source of Isaac’s success was God’s Blessing on his life.  Human efforts can never override God’s Blessings in the lives of those who are “about His Business”.

The enemy too wants to fill your wells with dirt.  He wants to discourage you and to cause you to focus on “your wells” as your source and not God.  He also wants to distract you by placing unnecessary obstacles in the way of your success.  Most of all he wants to “snuff you out” so that your life can not be a testimony to those who would dare to believe in and trust God for their success.

If the enemy or “jealous ones” are trying to bury you alive and toss dirt on your life, God has given you the power and authority to “brush that dirt off your shoulder”!  There isn’t a lampshade manufactured in Hell that is thick enough or dark enough to block out your “shine”.  Let them throw whatever they want into your well.  You, just like Isaac did to the wells dug by his Father before him, can again dig up the “wells of success” and in the end give God all the Glory!!!

Be Blessed!!!

B

So....What's New?

The beginning of a new calendar year means different things to different people.  To some it is a chance to have a “clean slate”, a chance to begin some better habits and correct some wrongs and/or a chance to attempt to leave the pains, cares and worries of the last year behind.  Yet to some it is just another day.  They either keep grinding or the keep whining. 

I typically use this day as one of the days of the year that I choose to regroup, to reevaluate and to reflect.  I spend a good portion of the day meditating and talking to God.  I thank Him for where He has brought me, thank Him for His present blessings and open my heart and mind to what He has in store for my life in the future.

This morning, as I read a portion of the Creation story in Genesis, three words were branded on my mind as I thought about my life through God’s eyes.  Those words are Provision, Vision and Decision. 

Provision- Genesis (Chapters 1 and 2) gives me a glimpse of how meticulous God is in His provision.  He carefully lays out all that I need in a systematic order to set me up for success.  He didn’t create man without a plan.  He provided those things that were needed for man to sustain and to carry out his mission.  For example, dry land was established before man was on the scene.  Once man was created He also immediately created an environment that could sustain Man’s growth. This lets me know that God is concerned about and makes provision for my needs even before giving me my assignments.  This demonstrates His wisdom and love for me.  As God leads me into various assignments, I will boldly accept them, in faith, knowing that He has equipped me for the journey.  His provisions are sufficient.

Vision-God created me for a purpose and He has carved out a place in “His-Story” for me.  I must commit to working his plan/vision for me.  Many times, God reveals His vision for me through His word and through His Spirit working through me.  As man carried out one of His first assignments of naming the animals, a deeper need surfaced (the need for a companion…woman).  This need was one that only God could fill, but God’s power was only demonstrated after man was obedient in carrying out God’s assignment.  In short, what I’m missing will often be revealed to me as I carry out God’s vision for me, but it just gives Him an opportunity to again demonstrate His Love and Power to me by meeting that need as I serve Him. I must be a trustworthy steward of God’s vision and accept His assignments for me.

Decision-In the face of God’s provision and God’s vision for me, I have to make Decisions.  I must choose to make decisions about the use of my time, my talents and my “treasure” in order to allocate them in a way that is aligned with God’s vision.  I must choose God over my doubts, my sinful habits, my feelings of insecurity, my “wisdom”, my comfort, my “vision”, other people’s plans for me, etc.  I must be in tune with God through His Spirit so that I can make choices that honor Him.

May we all have vision that goes beyond 2014 but also vision that is focused on each day so that we can be ever mindful of God’s provision, His Vision and the necessary Decisions that we must make to take advantage of His provisions and to make His Vision for our lives come to pass.

Be Blessed,

B