What's Your Next Move?

I’ve been thinking lately that my life is good. I can really complain about anything in it. Yes, I could lose a little weight and I could save a little more money. I could give a bit more of my time. I’ve also been wondering about my next steps. I’m almost settled in my new town and home. I don’t know what the Lord has in store for me, but my career is in a great place – I couldn’t ask for a better job (outside of retirement).

So, what am I supposed to be doing? Or getting ready for? While I have this “down time”, there are plenty of things for me to work on. 

1) My health – I do need to lose a bit of weight and exercise. God wants us in good health (Psa 104:14) and being overweight contributes to all sorts of illnesses. So, while it’s not easy, I’ll be working on a bit of discipline. 

2) Enhancing my skills and talents. I regularly assess where I am and while I’ve done a lot, I still have a long way to go. The more skilled I am, the more opportunity will present itself (Pro 22:29; Matt 25:14-30). I’ve learned that many of the skills we develop are transferrable. I don’t know how they will be used in the future, but I know they will be. 

3) Finding ways to give. This time of year, there are so many in need and not enough resources, so I’m looking for ways I can give to others and inspires others to give cheerfully (2 Cor 9:7; Acts 20:35). It’s better to give than to receive. 

4) Seeking God more. I tend to have so many balls in the air all the time, I sometimes move before I seek the Lord and His will for a thing. I need to consistently seek Him first so I’m allowing Him to always lead me (Matt 6:33, Pro 3:5-6). If I lean on him and not my own understanding, He will direct me. 

So, what is your next move? If you haven’t stepped back and taken a look at your life to identify areas needing work, you should. We all have choices to make about our lives and the more reflection, the better we’ll be at making those choices. Remember, God is faithful to complete what He began in you (Phil 1:6). All the best on your journey! Be blessed!

The Power of Yes!

When was the last time the Lord led you to do something difficult? How did you respond to it? Did you doubt, question, hem and haw about what you were being led to do because of your own abilities? Did you think you weren’t good enough? Did you think you weren’t smart enough? Did you think you didn’t want to work that hard? 

I know exactly how that feels. When I was compelled to apply for my current job, I didn’t know what to think. I had acted in the position for four months prior and really liked the team and for the first time considered that a role like this one could be for me. However, I had no real desire for it or plan to move from the home that was almost finished paying for. I had plans for that house and my retirement and none of that included a move to the Midwest and the cold (it snowed last night and has been below freezing for most of the day). 

But I knew God had something more for me to do. It wasn’t what I wanted, but I wasn’t able to sleep at night until I decided to apply. My prayer – if I wasn’t hearing from God and this job wasn’t for me, that He would block it. Like I said, I didn’t want the job, but I knew He was preparing me for more. Would it be a challenge? Absolutely. But would it be rewarding and fulfilling? Probably. Would I be stretched and sometimes uncomfortable? Sure – it’s not comfortable to grow (Isa 41:10). 

I was forced to remember that God doesn’t call us to anything we can do on our own. If we can do something in our own power, it’s not God. Think about all the heroes and heroines of the Bible – nothing God called them to, could they do on their own. He always leads us to something where we have to lean and depend on Him. He will get the glory – it will not be ours. When we trust and acknowledge Him, He will direct our path (Prov 3:5-6). 

The times I’ve said “yes” to God’s will for my life have been some of the most challenging but most fulfilling overall (this one included). It’s been in those times that I’ve learned the most about Him and myself and my relationship with Him. Saying “Yes” to the Lord is never a mistake. He knows what’s best for us and because He does, our following His leading always works out for our best (Rom 8:28). Saying “Yes” to God is really surrendering our will to His will (Jam 4:8-10). Recognizing that He knows better than we do and His will is better than ours, can only bless us in the long run.

Want to glorify the Lord and be blessed by Him, say “Yes” to Him. He will never disappoint. And even when trials come, He will never leave nor forsake you (Psa 55:22; Deut 31:6). Try Him for yourself.

Love in Action

We often hear people say they love someone or something. We say it often. But what does that mean? Do we have soft emotional feelings about a thing? Do we want what is best for someone or are we more focused on ourselves? Do we even understand what love is? 

First Corinthians 13 lays out what love looks like. Love is more than a feeling. It’s a change of heart and it’s action. Love is patient and kind and is not rude or arrogant. Love loves the truth. Love carries burdens for others. It is forever. Can you say you feel that way for someone else? If so, how do you show it? Love is an action word. It is not passive or complacent. 

God is Love (1 John 4:16) and He gives to us daily (Matt 7:11), so therefore Love Gives. According to scripture, it is more blessed to give than to receive (Acts 20:35). So if we love, we are patient, kind, not arrogant or boastful, we rejoice in the truth and we give. While there are other traits, these stand out to me. To live in this space, we have to be unselfish, putting others ahead of ourselves and our own desires. 

How often do you put someone else’s needs ahead of your own? How often do you make time for someone close to you instead of taking care of your own wants? How patient are you with your children or co-workers? How often do you calm irritability or stop resenting others? Love isn’t always easy, sometimes it requires sacrifice (John 3:16).  But it is worth it. We are all called to it - Love God and Love our neighbors as ourselves.

My regular prayer is that God would help me love as He loves. I’m a long way from it and I can get irritated or impatient just like the next person, but I strive more and more every day to look and act like He does. I can only do that under the power of the Holy Spirit. I lean and rest in Him. Take a long look at your life and see if love is obvious in your life. If not, now is the time to seek God and change it. 

As Paul wrote, we are nothing without love (1 Cor 13:1-3). So now faith, hope and love abide, these three, but the greatest of these is love (1 Cor 13:13). 

All Lives Matter

This weekend I spent some time at the African American Museum (my first time visiting) and it was phenomenal. I only viewed three floors (the history floors) and not everything on them but the thing that was clear and evident was the strength and courage of the Africans and African Americans who came before me. It’s only due to their commitment and passion for freedom that I can sit here writing this blog. They paved the way for me to even have the opportunity to be successful by human standards. 

Along the way through the history floors, I got angry at certain sections where Black people were mistreated, abused, and thought of as nothing more than property and then I realized I was able to stand in that area. I was proud of who we are and who many of us are becoming. Are there some who are wasting their lives away and an embarrassment to me and my ancestors? Of course. I don’t think our ancestors suffered and died so some could be “free” to squander their God-given talents and abilities. We can be so much more than that but we have to make a choice to be and to do the work. But that’s a story for another day. 

As I walked along the wall and saw the names of all the slave ships that brought Africans to America, the Caribbean, Europe, etc., and all the lives that were lost per ship during the Middle Passage, I could only think of all the dreams and accomplishments that were lost due to greed and ego and desire for power. It was evidence of the truth that the love of money is the root of all evil (1 Tim 6:10).  It was also clear the people who perpetrated the atrocities didn’t know Jesus in their hearts. The Bible says a tree is known by its fruit (Matt 7:16-20), so if the fruit is evil or bitter, so is the tree. Only an evil or bitter or greedy person could believe the violence and terror aimed at the slaves was okay. 

At the end of the day, all lives matter. Meaning no lives matter more than others – Black lives matter just as much as all the others. Everyone has something to contribute – some smaller than others. None of us deserve more than others – we all deserve death, but Jesus. God has given us talents and gifts (Rom 16:6) for His glory and He’s provided what we need to gain wealth (Deut 8:18), but it is up to us to live up to the potential He has placed in us. That pesky free will allows us to choose. 

When we realize all lives matter, we realize we all miss out when lives are lost or dreams die.  It also helps us to realize that we have a responsibility to support equality and fair treatment – what people do with it is up to them.  But as bringers of peace and the Good News – accessibility to the Prince of Peace is for everyone, if they choose and it’s our responsibility to be about our Father’s business pointing them to Him because all lives matter. He wants none to be lost (2 Pet 3:9), but He won’t push Himself on anyone. Your life matters! What will you choose to do with it?

How are you spending your time?

Can you believe it’s the first Sunday in November? It still feels like the year just started. The older I get the more time flies. I plan something and before I know it, the time has arrived. When we lost the hour for Daylight Savings Time several months ago, I thought of how I couldn’t wait to get that hour back and now it’s here, but I don’t know that the hour means all that much except now I’ll be coming home from work in the dark – I did enjoy being able to lay in bed for a little while longer this morning. 

At the end of the day, we all have only so much time. According to the bible, a man’s (or woman’s) days are numbered (Job 14:5). Only God knows how long we have. And given I believe that, the only thing left for me to decide is how I will spend the time I have. Will I throw it away playing video games or watching movies (two things I love) or will I be about my Father’s business? Now the two don’t have to be mutually exclusive, but it does require me to be intentional about my actions. I can watch a movie or play a video game, as long as I don’t put them before what God is calling me to do. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying come clean things in life as long as they are not getting a higher place than our purpose in God (Eph 5:15-16). 

God calls us to not have any other God’s before Him or to have idols (Exo 20:3-5, Lev 26:1). We have to be careful we are not making idols of things or people - where any opinions or desires weigh more than God’s. He created us for His glory (Isa 43:7) and, like the money we’ve been blessed to steward, how we spend our time, shows what has the greatest importance in our lives (Matt 6:21). Take for instance someone who says the Lord and their family are the most important things to them, but they work all the time or spend all their time at the local casino or bar. They are saying one thing and doing something else.  Our actions speak more for us than our words. 

Of course, there are excuses – “I’m working to give them a better life” or “They are better off without me.” Better than what? Is giving them things or your absence more important than giving of yourself? Or is it just easier or more comfortable? Do they really know you? Do you know them? Is a life full of stuff really more fulfilling that a life of experiences with people who truly love and are there for you? 

So how are you spending your time? Take a look at what you say you value and look at how the use of your time shows that or whether it shows something completely differently. Stuff is nice, but you are better. Never underestimate the power of showing up and giving of yourself. Life is too short to have regrets when you can do something about them. 

A Christ-Centered Life

The word Christian is tossed around by folks who occasionally go to church or who know who God is. It’s a word those enslavers used and then used the bible to justify their actions. It’s a word those in politics use even as they would cut the protections or support for those without. It’s the word people use to disassociate themselves from other religions in the world. But what does the term actually mean? The definition is a person who has received Christian baptism or is a believer in Christianity. So, can one believe in Christianity and not have a relationship with Christ? Sure. How many people recognize there is a God? Lots. Of them, many just acknowledge Him, but don’t follow Him or have relationship with Him? Are they better off than those who don’t believe there is a God? For the purposes of this conversation, they are the same. 

Anyone who has not confessed Jesus as Lord, repented of their sins and accepted the gift of salvation (Romans 10:9-10), acknowledging that the only way to the Father is through the Son, is in the same boat – whether they believe there is a God or not (John 14:6). They are still unsaved and if that doesn’t change, will find themselves in a very real Hell upon their physical death. It’s a sad and tragic reality. All this leads to the main topic – living a Christ-Centered life. 

In all our doing, our main responsibility is to be in relationship with God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) – loving Him first and then loving our neighbor as ourselves (Mark 12:30-31). If we love God first and foremost with everything in us, living Christ-Centered with be our focus. Every thing we do will be to grow closer to Him and to bring God glory – not as an add on, but engrained into every aspect of our lives. We’ll acknowledge that God is our source in everything and give Him thanks for the blessings we have (Rom 11:36). We will find Him even in our biggest challenges (e.g., sickness, financial problems, job loss, deaths, etc.) where we can glorify Him in the way we face our trails. And if we love others as ourselves, we’ll build relationships that will build us up instead of tear us down (1 Thes 5:11). We’ll have someone to share our burdens and not have to carry them alone (Gal 6:2). We were never meant to walk this life alone – God made Eve as a comparable helper for Adam (Gen 2) and Jesus walked and mentored the disciples during His three-year ministry (Mark 3:13-19). 

A Christ-Centered life looks like seeing and talking about the Lord in all things. When we’re blessed in some way – how was His hand in it? When things turn out in a way we don’t necessarily like or we’re hurt – how does God show up? Our attitude? Our behavior? What lesson do we learn?  How do we incorporate the Lord into our actions? Are we the same when no one else is watching? Christ is always watching. Remember if we have truly accepted Jesus, the Holy Spirit is on the inside of us and we take Him where we go. He has a front row seat to us “borrowing” the pens from work or wasting our time or eating that extra piece of cake we said we wouldn’t. 

Leading a Christ-Centered life is one where we spend time with the Lord – in prayer and reading our bible. You will be transformed as your mind is renewed (Rom 12:2). It’s one where we listen for His guidance and instruction instead of going with our gut. It’s where we do what we say we’ll do. It’s one where we recognize He is everything to us. It’s one where we recognize, we can do nothing worthwhile without Him. It’s one where we recognize, we are lost without Him. It’s one where we tell the good news and model what a real relationship with Him looks like. 

Do you want a Christ-Centered life? First, accept Jesus as Savior. Then, make Him the priority. Spend time with Him. Incorporate Him fully into every aspect of your life and your everyday. Build relationships within the body of Christ – once we’re saved, we are all part of His body. And watch the changes in your life. There will still be people and things that let you down and there will still be hard times, but He will be with you through them. You’ll never be alone (Matt 28:20). 

Sharing means Trust

Have you ever thought about your strongest relationships? What makes them strong? It’s more than just the people in the relationship. At the end of the day, you don’t have strong relationships with people you don’t trust. 

So, what is trust? According to the dictionary, trust is firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something. It is not something that is easily given. As we build relationships, we determine who is trustworthy by what they do. Do the people around us gossip about things they’ve been told? If so, we won’t tell them our secrets. Do they put themselves ahead of everyone else? If not, we will be concerned that they only think of themselves and would sacrifice those around them for what they want. All these things affect how much and whether we’ll trust those around us. 

Once we know who we can trust, we share who we are with them. The amount of our sharing is directly proportional to the level at which we trust. We only share our secrets with people we believe will never share them and won’t judge. So, with whom have you built relationships where you can trust with any and every thing? Who are the people who can trust you with any and every thing? If we want people to trust us, we, too, have to be trustworthy (Prov 18:24). 

Of course, the Lord is trustworthy (Psa 25:1-3). We can tell Him anything and He affords us a chance to confess, repent and come to Him with a heart that wants forgiveness and acceptance. We can accept Jesus as personal savior and be accepted for who we are – secrets and all.  And because we are not meant to walk through life alone, He will give us people we can trust as well. 

God loves us so much that He will provide us friends who are closer than brothers (Prov 17:17). Those people we can depend on to listen to us when we hurt; to not judge when we mess up; to pray for us when we are going through and choose to love us in spite of the flaws, issues or scars we carry (1 John 4:7). Who are the people God has blessed you with in this way? I’ve been blessed with a few and I have to say my life is so much richer for having them (Prov 27:17). They help build me up and not break me down. They help to remind me of God’s great love for me. It’s one more example of how God provides exactly what we need.