A Battered Warrior

A Drift....

Proverbs 4:23-25  “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.  Put away perversity from your mouth; keep corrupt talk far from your lips.  Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you.” 

 

 

     All of our actions are a manifestation of the condition of our heart.  Matthew 12:34 tells us, "For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks."  Our eyes are a critical gateway of our world into our mind and ultimately our heart.  Matthew 6:22-23, speaks of the importance of the eyes upon the soul.  As our access to information becomes more instantaneous, we are subjected to so much propaganda and agenda soaked rhetoric, one can easily lose themselves and never find the truth.  If our eyes do not remain fixed and our heart does not remain guarded and grounded in the Truth,  our norms will shift and our moral compass will be skewed.   

     If a ship or airplane is a few degrees of course during their trip, they will not reach their destination – they could be miles off course or hopelessly lost.  If we do not keep our eyes fixed on the proper path, we allow ourselves to be distracted or fixated on other things, we too can find ourselves miles off course. Christians are not called to be isolated from the world, we are to bring light into the darkness.  However, if our focus shifts and our moral compasses become skewed, we could easily find ourselves feeling isolated and surrounded by the very darkness we are called to push back. 

    Consider spending some time examining what we allow to enter our hearts through our eyes, what our mouth says about our hearts, and I we have allowed our moral compass to skew... 

Out of Love....

Proverbs 3:3-4  “Let love and faithfulness never leave you;  bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.  Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man.” 

 

 

     Today we are often blinded by material possessions and appearances.  What about the value of a “good name”?  At one time a person’s reputation and worth were derived by their name;  a foreign concept by today’s standards.  No longer is a person’s word worth anything, there is no meaning.  There has been a degradation of society’s moral fabric.  The lines between right and wrong seem to no longer exist. Instead society has celebrated the idea of an individual embracing a personal set of morals that must be immediately accepted by every other member of society; to question or disagree on any level is immediately deemed as oppressive and discriminatory.   

     Ashamedly I have recently begun working through another period of self-reflection (aka conviction), and I have realized I have allowed my anger or disappointment to impede my ability to deal with people out of love.  I have resorted to relying on an angrier version of myself; it is simply easier to return ugliness with ugliness.  As Christians we are required to act out of love.  However love does not mean universal acceptance, sometimes love can mean loving someone enough to speak the truth.  The truth spoken in love always has a potential to bring fruit... sometimes it is planting seeds, but the potential for fruit exists.

ATTITUDE

Attitude

Big “I” and little “g”,

We’re all good, god and Me.

Big “I” and little “g”,

Just like it’s supposed to be

 

I’m ok, he made me this way,

Read enough to know what to say.

I’m ok, he made me this way,

“Sorry god” is the game we play.

 

Something’s wrong with the heart,

Missed the mark from the start.

Something’s wrong with the heart,

Can’t really change and keep a part.

 

Need to start back on my knee,

Big God and little me.

No more deals or promises made,

My whole life’s been bought and paid.

-          TG

It Is All About The Eyes.....

Luke 11:33-36 " No one lights a lamp and puts it in a place where it will be hidden, or under a bowl. Instead he puts it on its stand, so that whose who come in may see the light. Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are good, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are bad, your body also is full of darkness. See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness. Therefore, if your whole body is full of light, and no part of it is dark, it will be completely lighted, as when the light of a lamp shines on you."

     I think this verse has many fascinating nuances to it - "see to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness." I have read this passage several times and always skimmed right over that - how can light be darkness? It seems fairly obvious Jesus is speaking of a spiritual light and I think back of people I have encountered; their eyes.

     I have seen people that have a hollow look to them, an emptiness that seems to consume them. Then I have also seen people that have a darkness to them, their eyes seem to feed on everyone around them - they almost see through you. Then I am reminded of my grandmother, no matter what is surrounding her there is a brightness to her. She always seems to thank God in everything and even in her darkest hours she reminds others she is praying for them... she has a glow that radiates from her.

    Taking this verse to another level, if your eyes reflect or show the condition of our heart... what about what we expose our eyes to? If we think of our eyes as a window to our inner most being; the things we become fixated on, that we spend our time focused on, would seem to be the things that shape us most. If we spend our day consuming reality tv, the afternoon paternity test circuits, and other gossip/ drama focused programing, what have we just fed to our soul?

    Look at our social media... we can easily escape reality and exist solely in an alternate reality where people validate or opinion of our self with a simple "like". As our society continues to "progress" the easier it is for us to isolate and deceive ourselves as to the nature of the light we are feeding ourselves and the nature of the light we are projecting...  Just something to consider.

Know Who You Are Dealing With....

Proverbs 9:7-10 " Whoever corrects a mocker invites insult; whoever rebukes a wicked man incurs abuse. Do not rebuke a mocker or he will hate you; rebuke a wise man and he will love you. Instruct a wise man and he will be wiser still; teach a righteous man and he will add to his learning. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding."

    Unfortunately I have read this verse countless times and failed to apply it to my life on a regular basis. I have often engaged people in "discussions" - the kind where they ask for your advice or opinion and only want your empathy or help justifying their current situation and struggles. Far too many times these conversations have lead to debates and hurt feelings, I was not able to speak to them from a position of love that they would accept or understand.

    It is hard not to approach every discussion as an opportunity to teach, glean, or help solve a problem - we must be mindful of the other's heart. Where are they in their life? Maybe they just need compassion and love; I am not advocating condoning all activities, but we must hear the person's heart. Only after hearing one's heart can it be determined if we are engaging a mocker or a fool or hopefully someone who is seeking wisdom.

     Be careful, sometimes people engage us so we can be taught, check your heart lest you might be the fool.

   

NEWSFLASH: They are ALL Sinking Ships

Matthew 7:4-5 "How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then your will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye."

 

     I have recently relocated and have had to find a new church... As I was "checking out" a service and trying to understand their doctrine, ministries, youth programs, etc. I caught myself focusing on the holes and cracks. The more I caught myself being critical the more I was reminded that when you are in a storm it is better to be in a boat with others, even with a hole, than trying to patch it alone from the outside first. The guy on the outside usually drowns first!

     I am not suggesting that one ignores sound theological or even ideological issues, but the perfect church has not come to Earth yet - we have to work together as a Body to stay afloat. Though the world would much rather have us floating along clinging to an individual life ring than working together as we are intended. Individually we can easily be minimized and discouraged - together we can patch he holes, bail the water, and gain momentum.  

     Instead of looking for a place where we "fit in" maybe it is better to find a place where we can plug in, be used, and aid the Body. Who knows maybe they have all the people they need who can patch holes, they just really need help emptying out the water adn you are the only guy with a bucket!

Why Are We Breaking Them?

Romans 8:15-16 "For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, 'Abba, Father.' The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children."

 

      As I was reflecting the other day and began thinking how protective most fathers are of their daughters... how angry I get if I feel someone is not treating them fairly or with the respect I feel they deserve.  Then it happened... that little voice in m head screamed, "how do you think I feel?"

      Why do we, as "men of God," treat the women in our lives like anything less than the daughter's of God they are?  If we, in our sinful nature and our earthly based love, get enraged when someone hurts our daughters why would we think God would be apathetic to it? 

      I challenge every man to reflect back over their lives and ask themselves some questions: Have I treated the women in my life honorably? Have I treated them, talked to them, and loved them in a manner consistent with their status as daughters of God? Have I treated them and responded to them out of love, a love that is consistent with the love our Father has shown us?

      We need to take our roles seriously and accept the responsibility - own our failures and humble ourselves. Imagine if we model that love to the women in our lives, our daughters will grow up seeing how they should be treated - they will have a tangible basis for comparison. Our sons will learn that real men can admit fault, own short comings, and humble themselves... Just something to think about.

Reflecting On Our New Year's Resolutions....

Proverbs 27:20 "Death and Destruction are never satisfied, and neither are the eyes of man."

Proverbs 27:7 "He who is full loathes honey, but to the hungry even what is bitter tastes sweet."



    July 1 is the unofficial half way point of our New Year's Resolutions. Here is something I wrote a while ago, it is interesting to look back and see how we have progressd.

    As the New Year approaches and we begin to reflect on the past and look forward to the future, very rarely do we ever actually try to understand why we are in our current circumstances. Are we filling voids in our lives with superficial and temporary things or even settling for "disposable" relationships instead of truly investing ourselves?

    Television and Society fill our minds with an image of what "successful" is and what it takes to be content in life. How much easier would life be with just a little more money? a bigger house? a nicer car? A man once told me that a pay raise only lasts until the next check! We readily adapt to an increase in our "means" and it becomes an expectation or even a necessity to maintain our lifestyle and happiness.

    Maybe this year our resolutions should focus on being content... investing ourselves in a real realtionship. Taking the time to clearly see where our pattern of choices have led us to this point in our lives and simply adding more "stuff" and repeating the choices will only bring us back to this place in a few months from now.

    Just a thought...

    It is never too late to start a change, the key is to simply start!

 

A Note From A Daddy.....

To My Daughters

 

     There are times when I get caught up in my job, hobbies, or just life in general and I miss those ever fleeting special moments - not a ballgame or a dance recital, but those 5 precious minutes where you tell me about your day. I am sorry - you deserve more than this.

     I allow the world and all its stresses to steal away your time, I promise to do a better job of protecting it. I am a Daddy, it is my job to protect you and keep you safe - that goes for your time too. I can never get these moments back and I promise to continually show you how treasured you are to me. I am sorry - you deserve more than this.

     When I smile and you see that sparkle in my eye, never forget, you put it there; you are a joy and a blessing to me. Words can never express the love I have for you, even when I am disappointed, my love and adoration for you never changes. I am so proud of you and it is an honor to be known as your father. Sometimes I look at the way things have unfolded and the times I have come up short; I am sorry - you deserve more than this.

     I will not promise to be perfect, nor will I promise to never fail - for if I did that would be a lie and you know how we look at lying. But I will promise you that I will always love you, always be here for you, and I will always be proud to call you my daughter. We may make mistakes along the way, but we will grow and work through them together. - you deserve more than this.

               I love you –

We've Heard It Before....

Unfortunately in all our attempts to be "politically correct" and "tolerant" we have lost the ability to be honest with ourselves. We can be honest and even critical without being malicious....Just a thought.