That just makes me boil....

ANGER.... is often the enemy to good things in our lives.

Anger... is often the enemy to  good things in our lives.

James, Jesus' brother said these words concerning anger... "Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God."

These words were penned in the context of dealing with trials and stress in your life. What a difficult thing to hear, my anger, your anger, does not accomplish right things. That is hard to hear.

Max Lucado, in his book "When God Whispers Your Name" has these words about anger....

"Anger. It's easy to define; the noise of the soul. Anger. The unseen irritant of the heart. Anger. The relentless invader of silence…

The louder it gets more desperate we become…

Some of you are thinking… You don't have any idea how hard my life is been. And you're right, I don't. But I have a very clear idea how miserable your future will be unless you deal with your anger.

X-ray the world of the vengeful and behold their tumor of bitterness; black, menacing, malignant. Carcinoma of the spirit. It's fatal fibers creep around the edge of the heart and ravage it. Yesterday you can't alter, but your reaction to yesterday you can. The past you cannot change, but your response to the past you can."

Anger visits and sometimes stays for longer than we like. I have had to admit that there are times when "the noise of the soul", even when I was trying to do right, kept the boiling of the soul going.

How about we do something about this visitor, let's decide to show "anger" the door and begin to let go of things which disturb us and see/trust God's hand and evict this "relentless invader of silence..."

Don't quit if you lose one battle, the war of the heart is won through the ups and downs of interaction with truth and a determination to trust the Spirit of God to guide, empower and deliver...

Even the Apostle Paul penned these words about the need to run off this enemy, "Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you." 

God's grace to you as you begin to put these words into action.

Have a great weekend....

I love my mornings...

Not many people get to enjoy what they do for a living, but I do.  I would like to say that it is stress free and all smooth sailing, but that isn't the truth.  I still have to "earn a living" like everyone else, but each day I get to do one of the most amazing jobs on this planet....

I get to be a professional encourager!

This morning I read the following from one of my devotional readings...

"We worked hard all night and caught nothing."  Luke 5:5

"Do you have any worn, wet, empty nets?Do you know the feeling of a sleepless, faceless night? Of course you do. For what have you been casting?

Solvency? "My debt is an and will around my neck..."

Faith? "I want to believe, but…"

Healing? "I've been sick so long..."

I've worked hard all night and caught nothing.

You've felt what Peter felt. You sat where Peter sat. And now Jesus is asking you to go fishing. He knows your nets are empty. He knows your heart is weary. He knows would like nothing more than to turn your back on the mess and call it a life.

But he urges, "it's not too late to try again."

See if Peter's reply won't help you formulate your own. "I will do as you say and let down the nets (vs 5).

Here is one of my favorite songs, I hope it will help you have the strength, grace and courage to "cast your net..."

A great reminder....

I have been muddling through a new devotional book that I bought. Since I feel like God has given me a platform to lead others, I need to be in tune with leadership practices and beliefs from other believers.  So I purchased “Called to Lead” by John Crosby.  It is a 52 week devotional. My learning style is better to do things each day, so it became a 52 day devotional guide for me.

I wish I could say it has transformed my life, but it hasn’t. Even sharing what I am about to share doesn’t make this book fantastic. It is just that I was moved by this morning’s reading and thought maybe you would benefit from it.

I have struggled with this in my life many times and it’s a powerful area en. I my of my heart. I would say that my experience mirrors what the author says. Bitterness has never brought the outcome I expected or wanted. Though I have often pushed back on dealing with this part of my life when it raises its head, usually because of my hurt or perceived hurt, bitterness has never brought resolution and peace.

So here we go.  May God speak to you if you need it, if not, thanks for taking a moment and reading this. It may come back to mind in the future, if so, I thank God for his hand in our lives.

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“So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.”  (Matthew 23-24, ESV)

For most of the leaders I serve, this is the most significant character flaw I see. Leaders tend to be competitive. Yet competitive people tend to hold grudges. We begrudge former staff for leaving our

organization; we resent competitors who seek to sway our customers, and believers who don’t support or appreciate our sacrifices; we state ticked about costly in house mistakes; we get peeved when a friend supports our competition. Some of these issues we attempt to reconcile, and some we just think will take to the grave.

Few things have the potential to undermine and work a leaders attempt to positively influence others like a bitter heart.

STOP. If you’re heading down the above passage and pointing out that if the other person does not know about your anger then he can’t hold it against you… just stop. You’re missing the point! Anger is like weed seeds. Spread a few in your yard and see what happens. When anger takes root, sin takes hold. Anger will choke the joy right out of your life. God values your obedience FAR MORE than your worship and/or ministry activity. That’s why he says stop and reconcile BEFORE worshiping.

Perhaps you need to put this devotion down right now, swallow your pride, and make a telephone call or-even better-man-up (woman-up) and go reconcile with someone in person. I’m pleading with you. 

If someone has come to mind while reading this, don’t try to determine if you should address the situation. Trust the Holy Spirit and take care of business. I know of nothing more personally freeing 

and blessed more often by God than when we extend forgiveness and reconcile with others. 

I can promise you this-when you truly forgive the person you least wish to forgive, your load will be lightened more than you expect. It always is when we follow Christ. Indeed, what could be more Christ-like than going the extra mile and extending forgiveness, even to someone who may not deserve forgiveness?"

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Maybe you needed this today, maybe you didn't need this at all.  But, if you are a leader, you will face opposition. Opposition isn't bad, we make it sound bad, but it isn't. Unfair opposition is harder to handle, but again, may not be bad. Think of it this way, if a team never faces opposition it cannot win! Nor can it lose and learn what weaknesses it has so the team can be better.

Opposition can be bad, but remember, as a follower of Jesus, your enemy isn't the person you perceive, it is the person unseen. And he has been defeated.

Till next time....

Come Make The Most Of It...

Do you ever wonder about what you are doing with your life?

Ever wonder what you should be doing?

Fell like you have something "important" to do but never seem to do it?

Here are some words from Max Lucado that I have found encouraging...

"God never prefabs or mass-produces people. No slabdash shaping. "I make

all things new," he declares (Rev. 21:5) He didn't had you your granddad's bag or your aunt's life; he personally and deliberately packed you . . . .

You can do something no one else can do in a fashion no one else can do it. Exploring and extracting your uniqueness excites you, honors God, and expands his kingdom. So "make careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that."

Discover and deploy your knacks . . . . When you do the most what you do the best, you put a smile on God's face. What could be better than that?"

From Max Lucado's book, "Cure for the Common Life"

Why don't you start looking for what fires your heart and pleases the heart of God. Put your energy to this and see how he uses it to make your life feel like "new." You may be pleasantly surprised, that quirk you wondered about may be one of the building blocks God has put in place to bring all the pieces together and complete the picture of the path he has for you.  Ask John The Baptist, you don't have to be traditional to be in God's will.    

The mistake we can make is to think we have to do this for a living. You may get the opportunity, as I  have had for the past 20+ years. Or you may be like me before that time, I worked in the retail industry for the first 16 years of using my gift for God.

In any case, today can be the first day of a renewal of energy for you.  You can return to the things God has wired you for or maybe you can begin today to cultivate that special thing you can do to honor him for his grace to you.

Till the next time...