The Young, Saved, and Fly

In a world where text messages and emails have replaced letters and conversation it’s been increasingly difficult to truly communicate feeling and affection. That is why the prospect of being kind is one that most people simply take for granted.  The pace at which we operate has made kindness a difficult concept as well.  We look past those in need and miss opportunities to do good daily.  Believe me I’m not holding anyone at fault because I too have allowed life’s hurdles to consume me at times.

I have an uncle who doesn’t have any children and isn’t married. As a child he would always get my sister and I any gift, toy, or candy we asked for. It was his way to show he loved us. He wasn’t much of a talker but as I got older I always made sure to visit and check on him as did my sister when we would come home from college on break. As I continued to get older I allowed the work stress and general life stress tire me and I saw my extended family less and less. I knew my grandparents, uncles, and aunts were aging but in my mind I always assumed there would be time to visit, time to see them, and time to tell them I loved them. In December of 2008 my uncle had a stroke, shortly after that, his brother who was also my godfather, passed away. I have to admit for a while that I was upset with myself. I didn’t visit either like I should have and was so consumed what was going on with myself that I didn’t check on them like I should have. Over time I found peace because I knew my uncle who passed away knew I loved and admired him a great deal and my uncle who had the stroke survived and God allowed me the opportunity to tell him what an influence he’s been on me. My goal now is to exhibit the type of kind love the mentioned in the scripture. I don’t believe being kind is a hard thing I just believe kindness is overlooked.

Jesus’ kindness was seen throughout the bible. He operated with kindness and humility. It was clear to see in many stories like the woman with the issue of blood in Matthew 9 or in Matthew 8 where Jesus healed the man with leprosy he not only operated in kindness he did it with a humble goodness and no expectations of anything in return.  Kindness is having a good or benevolent nature or disposition (the thinking).  It’s desiring to do good to others.  Goodness is moral excellence, virtue, generosity, and the activity calculated to advance kindness (the doing).  It has been stated by a few published authors that”kindness is the sincere desire for the happiness of others.  Goodness is the activity calculated to advance that happiness.”  Kindness is the thinking, the thinking of others.  Goodness is the doing.  Simply enough we are to do good by and for one another.

Our purpose in life, of course, is to glorify God.  In Galatians 5:13″You, my brothers, were called to be free.  But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.” Ephesians 4:32 – “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” If you go back through the bible Jesus never stopped with the kindness.  He always calculated the activity required to meet the needs for the sincere happiness and joy of others.  Jesus never fell short when it came to goodness.

I’m committed to trying to be more sensitive to show more kindness.  To help someone in need.  Love is patient, love is kind.   It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud (1 Corinthians 13:4).  In showing kindness we show love and our capacity to love one another the way God has called us to.

Be Young, Saved, and Fly…

Jeff

Every Monday I spend time with my 4-year-old nephew.  Normally we play and read books and I talk to him about being a big boy, helping his mother, and being a nice person.  Usually I’m the one giving the lesson but this Monday my nephew helped remind me of something.  I took him outside and watched him as he played with a bottle of bubbles.  He ran around the yard of my parent’s home playing and laughing freely.  He’d fall in the grass and just lay there looking up to the sky looking as if he didn’t have a care in the world.  I thought to myself, “When was the last time I did that?”  When was the last time you lived your life so worry-free and secure.

My nephew had the ability to run free because he knew that grandma, grandfather, his mother, and uncle would never let anything happen to him.  My nephew knew food, shelter, and clothing was provided so his ability to dream was unrestrained.  Do you know that with our Father in heaven we have the same guaranteed protection?  Matthew 6 25-34 reads,

25“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

28“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

This scripture really clearly shows us that in simple terms God has our back.  Like my nephew if we operate in faith and give our worries to God we can live and dream unrestrained.  Why worry about tomorrow?  Now I want to encourage you not to be upset with yourself if you do worry.  I used to worry about everything even things outside my control.  It’s hard not to worry and be stressed when you are a person who likes to work inside a plan.  Be comforted by this however, since we don’t know the plans the Lord has for us, why worry about them.  Just know God has plans to prosper us, protect us and give us hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11).   So like my nephew we can run after God and His purpose for our lives free and covered, and like my nephew we can look to the sky and receive the vision God wants to give us.  Live your dreams…

Be Young, Fly, and Saved
Jeff

I want you to ask yourself something. Do you believe in miracles? I know we read about them in the bible and we may see astonishing hard to explain things on television but for ask yourself on a personal level do you believe in miracles. Let’s be honest it’s hard to believe in something we may never see. Right?

We far too often get bogged down with work, family, school, and so many others things that it drains us of our faith and makes it hard for us to believe in miracles.  Belief in miracles require faith. Faith in it’s very essence is evidence of things not seen.  I know for a long time I didn’t accurately replenish my faith like I should through prayer, worship, and reading the Word so I was walking around half full or half empty depending on your perception.  You see, our bodies are like cups and the Word of God is the water that fills us up.  Prayer and praise are how we apply heat to the water. What’s your current temperature. Have you been luke warm for a while? Are you ice cold? It’s okay if you are because at different points of our lives we all have different temperature readings. If you would have asked me even a month ago, I would have told you my water’s pretty chilly. I probably would have said, “I believe in miracle but seeing one would be nice.”

When we pray and draw nearer to God we have the ability to see things more clearly. His Word is truth and truth is clarity. We have the ability to see the miraculous all around us and recognize the individual miracles God performs daily. Have you survived a corporate downsizing, gotten a new job amidst the great recession, maintained your current level of living, been healed from sickness. Recognize all these small things as miracles. Matthew 19:26 says, “with man this may seen impossible, but with God all things are possible.”  I love that scripture because it doesn’t say some things are possible or a few things. It says All things.  Maybe it’s time for you to turn up the heat a little and raise your temperature.  When you do this, the things that seem impossible will make far more sense and you’ll recognize God can and will perform a miracle in your life.

Stay Sharp…

There are times where things happen and I just don’t understand the point.  Like things that seem to derail you, throw you off, or just completely put your world into a whirlwind.  A job loss, a death in the family, a failure or the end of a relationship.  These are all things that effect us and may cause us to loose track of the thing God’s purposed us to do.  Have you ever experienced the negative thing and found in the end it was the best thing that could have happened to you at the time.  A few months ago I was  forced out the door of a company I hated.  At the time I didn’t really know where my income would come from or how I’d make it but I knew when I left the office that something better was on the way.  I knew that it was a stepping stone to greater.  By the end of that week I had a new job at a new company that recruited and welcomed me.  This happens often but when we aren’t in prayer, reading God’s Word and faithful in His Word it’s easy to look at the what the world says should happen and make that your outcome.  There are numerous stories in the bible about God using someone who wasn’t supposed to do “God’s Work” to do great things. Paul one of the first leaders of the church persecuted Christians before his conversion and Moses a slave led a nation to freedom.  God has the ability to use everything for his work.  I spent a year running from something great he had for me and because I wasn’t obedient to what God told me I may have lost that great thing.  I know even in this his will be done.  See God’s will is perfect it’s when we allow ours to supersede that we pay for it in sacrifice.  It’s really arrogant to think that we could do something better than God yet we do it all the time.  We move and make decisions that are on our own accord and so often we cost ourselves the “greater.” I know in the future I want to wholly submit to him.

In every situation God will get the glory in my life.  In trying to do things on my own I’ve allowed the enemy to limit my blessing and to take things away from me.  I’ve foolishly believed that second best was alright.  Well prayerfully I am living victoriously in Christ’s name.  Even now in the midst of my current storm I’m praising God all the way through because I know sunshine is on the other side of this storm.  In the words of Marvin Sapp… “I’m stronger, I’m wiser, I’m better, much better, when I look back over all you brought me through I can see you’re the one I held on too”, “I never would have made it, never could have made it without You.”

Stay Strong…

I haven’t written in a while and it’s because well….. just read..

Have you ever gotten up one day and felt like you’ve been living in a dream world for days or months.  Sometimes it’s not the heavenly happy dream world but more so the dark out of control place of discontent and space.  Well I just woke up from that place.  See I know from appearance it may look like I’m one of those people that have it all together.  The person that has it made but that couldn’t be further from the truth.  I was raised to make sure we maintain a level of decorum.  We were always told as children that you hold your head up no matter what because you are always a child of God.   So when you see me out sometimes that person in the suit with the smile doesn’t feel so all put together.  See I’m at a place where I don’t really know what God wants to use me for.  I have my ideas but I don’t have firm confirmation and until I do I’m waiting on him.  The most difficult thing to do is to wait patiently.  I tried for a long time to be still and be happy with where I was but I think somewhere along the lines I allowed my contention to turn to frustration.

Frustration is a difficult emotion to deal with.  It can manifest in many ways.  For some they react violently and lash out at others, others cut people off completely cause they can’t communicate what they’re feeling and then others paint the picture like everything is fine and they continually live out the phrase “keep it movin”.  I did a little of all 3.  I owe family, friends, loved ones, and even myself an apology.  See I may be my biggest cheerleader but I’m also my toughest critic and man who strives for perfection faltered in some areas.  Personally I prayed and I waited yet I couldn’t escape the feeling of being held back.  Well this week I woke up.

What happened this week you may ask.  This week I got sick.  Nothing major I just had to take time off work.  If you know me you know I can’t and don’t usually sit still.  Even when I’m off I’m usually doing so many things that I hadn’t spent that much time to myself in a while.  In me doing so much with school, work, and business I don’t think I’ve had days like that to just think in a long time.  While I had time to reflect I looked at my life and realized something.  I have been so consumed with getting everything I want in life I accidentally neglected all the great things God’s already given me. Some more than others and I’m sorry.  I mean I really have been in a dreamworld.  Tonight I know God forgave me… I know because they love me, my family, friends, and those that love me will as well.  Now it’s not about what I want it’s about what God wants for me and because he loves me he wants the best for me.  He wants the best for you too! In all things it’s what you learn that’s most important and I’ve learned.  I’ll spend more time with God and with myself and I’ll do more of what makes me happy and a less of what I “have” to do.  Every now and then you have to rework your priorities.  Now more than ever before I want God to use me in the capacity he sees fit.  I want him to apply my gifts for Kingdom business cause in the end His work is all that matters. God Bless You Stay Strong…..

2 Timothy 1: 7

For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.