Hey, that's mine...Give it back!!

I work in an industry where it's all about "saving". What do we need to do to "SAVE" this account? How much money can you "SAVE" me if I stay with you?  And I bet each and every one of you knows exactly what commercial I'm talking about when I say "I just saved a bunch of money on my car insurance!"Yep, one of the many Geico commercials.

As a society, we're pretty focused on 'saving' wouldn't you say? Just about any advertisement or commercial focuses on saving in some way. And when the TV isn't on or we aren't reading a magazine, our friends are always trying to tell us how they saved and what we should do to save. We have coupons, savings accounts, rewards cards, etc. Heck, even in sports one of the most pivotal moments in the game of baseball is when they umpire throws his arms out and yells "SAFE!"

So riddle me this......

In a society where saving and being safe is so important, why don't we do more to help save each other? 

C'mon, don't act like you don't know what I mean. I'm not talking about brushing a spider off your friends shoulder and "literally" saving their life (although a gesture like that is greatly appreciated and I love friends like you who do those type of things, lol) I'm talking about putting yourself out there and helping save someone with your words, your testimony, and your guidance. 

I hear people say a lot "I don't talk about God because that's personal". I used to be one of those people. But what does that really mean? It's like having the key to eternal life and keeping it to yourself. Maybe that's the culprit. Our subconscious desire to 'not share'. I believe it starts at a young age. Little kids snatching and fighting saying "that's mine, give it back!" And that mentality only seems to grow bigger as time goes on and unfortunately we carry it into our adult lives.  

That's mine, give it back!

I was reading today and there was a particular verse in Luke that made me stop and take notice. I remember seeing this same verse over and over again in other areas of the bible but today it really hit me. After Jesus had finished healing a man he said "Go back home and tell people how much God has done for you." He didn't say "Hey, let's keep this on the down low. This is between me and you, ok?" No, he said go tell everyone what God has done. SHARE. Basically he's saying that with your testimony and your faith, you can help others to be saved as well. 

Last weekend I heard a Pastor from Kenya speak and he told story after story about things that God has done for him and how God has used him to help others. When trying to understand why things had happened the way they had, he just laughed and said "I guess God just wants us to have stories to share with others." I mean, isn't that they way most of us learn best? With stories, real life examples, and testimonies. Let's face it, if our salvation was contingent solely on us reading a super long book written thousands of years ago a lot of us would be screwed. God knows that a lot of us are ADD so he gives us stories to learn from instead, lol. 

I will leave you with this thought - Think of a time in your life where someone shared something with you that changed the way you thought or impacted your life in a significant way. Now, understand that each and every one of you has a unique talent and a story to tell that can change the life of someone else. Can you imagine how much impact we would have on this world if we all stepped out of our comfort zone and actually talked about God instead of keeping it to ourselves? At home, at work, at the grocery, out with our friends? 

Please understand that helping others doesn't always mean giving money. It can be as simple as offering a kind word or a smile to a stranger. Or maybe it's offering guidance to someone who is in a place you worked hard to get out of at one point in your life. Bottom line, what has God done for YOU? Tell someone about it, don't keep it to yourself anymore......Be the light for someone else. 

Devotional

"No one lights a lamp and puts it in a secret place or under a bowl, but on a lamp stand so the people can see. Your eye is a light for the body. When your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light." - Luke 11:33-34

Chick Fil-A...Eat More Anger??

Ok, I've sat silent for weeks and watched the comments, pictures, and hate get tossed from one side to the other. Me personally, I don't side with anyone. But I do have an opinion and I'm finally able to put my thoughts into words so here goes....

This is about the only picture I've seen that I agree with. The whole thing 'tastes like hate' to me.

Here's my recap: 

So let me get this straight - One person said something that was interpreted as sounding like hate so the group who was appalled by this hate retaliated with hate and then the group who was supposed to support Christian beliefs and the bible responded with more hate. Does that about cover it? 

Yeah, about that......For those of you who are leaning on the bible for your quotes, let me throw this one out there for you.

One of the teachers asked Jesus "Which of the commands is most important?"

Jesus answered, "The most important command is this; Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. The second command is Love your neighbor as you love yourself. There are no commands more important than these." 

No commands are more important than these huh? Interesting....I don't recall it saying "Love your neighbor as yourself unless they are gay and then hate them instead."

Some of you are cheering right now and saying "Yeah, that's right!" But I'm not done yet - I still need to address the flip side of this argument. If you don't fit in the category above, you might fit into the other group of people who were throwing around hateful comments, pictures, etc. Believing in God or the bible aside, what is the logic behind retaliating what you feel is hateful with more hate? It all sounds a bit hypocritical to me. If I'm going to support something that you believe in, YOU'VE got to believe in it too. By that I mean don't respond to what you feel is a personal attack by posting pictures of a man standing in front of Chick Fil-A with a shirt that says "Jesus is a Cunt" (yes, there was a picture that actually said that), or "We didn't invent chicken, we just serve it with hate", or one of the most disturbing pictures I saw that said "You'd never see that many Christians lined up to help at a food bank or homeless shelter and that's something Jesus actually said to do". 

Really? I mean, really? C'mon now.....

I try to love everyone - I try to support my friends and family in every decision that they make. I don't see color, race, sex, etc. when it comes to love but I will tell you that I lost a lot of respect for a lot of people (both Christians friends and gay friends) when I saw how they reacted to this issue. 

Final Thoughts: 

For those of you who pushed yourself further away from God as a result of this situation, I would like to apologize on behalf of all Christians. God is not about hate and you should never feel like He doesn't love you because of who you are. The God I know is loving and forgiving and literally died to have a relationship with you. So regardless of ANYTHING you have going on in your life - who you are, where you've been, what you've done - my prayer is that you come to know Him. 

For those of you who already have a relationship with God but have maybe fallen into the category of a hypocrite, remember this verse: "But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect." People are watching you, looking up to you, and waiting for you to guide them. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and get back to doing what He's called you to do. 

And lastly, for those of you who handled this situation with love and respect - THANK YOU! I realize that not everyone responded hatefully and it makes my heart happy to know there are people (gay, straight, Christian, Non-Christian, etc) that can overcome hate and respond with love instead. 

Life is No Nintendo Game....Or is it?

We're gonna take this one back a few years. Let me set the scene for you....

I'm 12 years old and I'm on what very well could be my 800th hour of trying to save the Princess in Super Mario Brothers 3. For you younger folks, keep in mind that there was no Internet, Google,  Twitter, Facebook, or YouTube which means short of having that one friend who got some underground gaming magazine with "secrets" to help you win, you pretty much had to figure stuff out on your own.

I'm getting frustrated - I'm doing the same thing I've always known. I'm switching it up a little bit here and there stomping on TWO turtles instead of one. I'm flying extra high when I got my raccoon tail hoping there was some special box in the sky that would give me ultimate powers. I tried, I failed. I tried, I failed. So frustrating....

And then it happened. I don't remember who it was - Although I wish I did, because a victory of this magnitude deserves recognition. But SOMEONE says to me "Hey, did you know you can squat down on one of the blocks and fall behind the bushes, then run real fast and there's a whistle that will take you to a warp world?" Ummmmmm....WHAT??!!!!

Where was this secret in hour 100, 200, 300, etc? I felt like I had wasted so much time doing the same thing over and over with no success. I thought to my 12 year old self "I wish someone had told me this earlier. I could have already beat the game by now if I had only known this short cut"

Right about now you're probably asking yourself what my personal victory with Super Mario Brothers has to do with anything. Or MAYBE you've actually gone all your life without knowing this secret and you're like "Are you kidding me?!! Honey, where's the Nintendo...I've got a Princess to save!" LOL.

Here's my point......

In life there will always be someone who has figured out a better way....a short cut if you will. Something that will keep you from going down a wrong road, something that will save you days, weeks, months, and even years of heartache and frustration. Let's just call that short cut their testimony. For me, the short cut I have to offer is having a relationship with God. 

My testimony is simple; 

I came from a broken home. Life was rough for a long time. I was sad, I was angry, I was broken. I made mistakes. I fell so many times. I hurt people - I lied, I cheated, I stole. I was unhappy and I wanted others to be unhappy with me. I looked for happiness in the wrong places - I found it for a short time in those "places" but as quickly as it came it went away. Plain and simple, I was lost.

Through the years I had many people offer me their "cheat codes" of life. I listened but didn't act - I chose to play the game the way I had always played it making only minor changes here and there. Truth is, I wish I had listened to them from the beginning. All those short cuts led to God, who I eventually found, but having that earlier in my life would have been amazing.

I finally decided to listen, and today I have a relationship with God that has helped me overcome so much. I'm not perfect - I still struggle. But I have someone who loves me unconditionally and accepts me for who I am and helps re-direct me when I go off course. He fills my heart with love and empties me of sadness, frustration, and anger. He's my "flute" - He whisks me off to a 'warp zone' and helps me skip over paths I don't need to waste my time on. He's the cheat code I want to pass along to you :)

One of my favorite songs is Amazing Grace - This verse chokes me up every time because it's so applicable in my life:


 "Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost but now am found, was blind but now I see"

It's not about going to church, reading a bible, eating at Chick Fil-A, or volunteering at a shelter. It's about stopping right where you are, putting your faith in something you can't physically see or touch, and committing to having a personal relationship with God.

It really is that simple.....

What choice do we have?

Today my thoughts are about how much God loves us and what lengths He will go to in order to warn us when we're going down the wrong path. Look at Pharaoh - He chose to do bad but God gave him opportunities over and over again to change. Those opportunities came in the form of second chances, warning signs, and continued forgiveness. Plague after plague swept over his kingdom (a total of 10) - each time God giving him the chance to change before he sent the next plague. 


"With each of these plagues Pharaoh said he'd let the Israelites go if God put things back to normal, but then he kept changing his mind.  You'd think he would've learned his lesson and let the Israelites go.  Unfortunately for him, God doesn't give up."


Sadly, the story ends with God taking the life of Pharaoh's son and eventually HIS life and all his army too. The story talks about Pharaoh and how he hardened his heart and wouldn't listen. He could have avoided all of it if he had just opened his heart and listened. 


How many of us are the same way? Or better yet, how many people do you know that could replace Pharaoh in this story? It's one warning after another followed by forgiveness, a second, third, or even fourth chance but still we choose to harden our hearts and not listen or let God in. How many warnings will He give before enough is enough? 


My prayer for everyone reading this is that God will soften our hearts and allow us to see when the path we've chosen is ours and not His. Open our eyes and our ears so that we can distinguish a warning sign from a "coincidence" or what we like to call "bad luck". Give us the faith we need to trust even when things don't make sense. ~ Amen




Bible Verse - Matthew 13:14-15


You will keep on hearing, but will not understand;

You will keep on seeing, but will not perceive;

¹⁵ For the heart of this people has become dull,

With their ears they scarcely hear,

And they have closed their eyes,

Otherwise they would see with their eyes,

Hear with their ears,

And understand with their heart and return,

And I would heal them.’