SALTY GRACE

Have you thanked Him?

Have you praised Him?

Have you made it your priority to agree and cooperate with Him today?

Have you taken that deep breath and listened for what He has for you today?

1 Timothy 2:1 (The Message)

The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.

“You’d be surprised how powerful kindness actually is. I am not being dramatic: you can save hearts and lives with grace. Do” ― Jen Hatmaker

Kindness and grace for sure with equal parts truth.

I am often asked “what can I do to help”.  And much like Hatmaker says, without being dramatic, it is as simple as showing grace seasoned with truth.

Yesterday was one of those days when I know I needed truth-laced grace and thankfully those around me, those I intersected, those I worked with extended it to me.

They did it in simple ways.

One example was my friend Tim from Summit County who following our conference call asked, “What can I be praying for you this week?”  And that in turn spurred me to do the same for him.  It served as a powerful reminder that apart from Christ all our planning, coordinating, and discussion was mute.  

He shared grace for me bathed in truth.

Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt...Colossians 4:6 (ESV)

I really like that passage.

It encourages us to operate from a position of grace but it also encourages us to operate from a position of truth; that is that salt part.

“You are the salt of the earth,” Jesus said. “But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything” (Matthew 5:13 (NIV)

We are daily given opportunities to SPEAK and DO with grace and truth.  And followers of Jesus should always be about the business of seeking the best in others and offering truth as encouragement and as the guide.

So, brings us back to that often-asked question, “What can I do?” 

Start here:

Be sensitive to your surroundings.

Be ready with a good word from GOD’s WORD.

Extend kindness.

Seek to administer grace without compromising truth.

Never forget we are called through our words and our actions to make known the One who was a friend of sinners and the transformer of lives.

And when we are diligent to combine both compassion for people and a passion for truth, GOD IS FAITHFUL TO open the doors as to what we ARE TO DO!

Remember: 

People today should only have to look at us to see what Jesus is like.  For better or worse, they’ll draw conclusions about Christ from what they see in us.  If we fail the grace test, we fail to be Christlike.  If we fail the truth test, we fail to be Christlike.  If we pass both tests, we’re like Jesus.” - Alcorn

And at the end of the day, THAT is what we are to DO.

Have a great day!

I love you all

OPPORTUNITIES for HOPE

FAITHFUL INSTRUMENTS

Have you thanked Him?

Have you praised Him?

Have you made it your priority to agree and cooperate with Him today?

Have you taken that deep breath and listened for what He has for you today?

1 Timothy 2:1 (The Message)

The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.

 

“An instrument is a tool that is actively used to change something, and God has called all of his people to be instruments of change in His redemptive hands”

― Paul David Tripp

 

1 Corinthians 4:4-5, 10 (NLT):

He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. 

When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.

 

We have placed our confidence in him, and he will continue to rescue us.

 

While sharing with a passionate gathering yesterday in southern Ohio, I was stirred to remind them that GOD has called us to BE instruments of change; that GOD has shown Himself to be faithful to each of us in ways that personally resonate and will have relevance to those we intersect; remembering that GOD has shown Himself faithful when we needed Him and that GOD redeemed our situations when our lives were turned upside down or going in a “less than stellar” direction.

 

And while my talk was to hopefully stir the spirit within them to action in our current opiate crisis, the message is much broader and goes deeper than that current plight and blight.

 

GOD continuously reveals Himself to us.

GOD continuously comforts and rescues.

And yet many we encounter each day either don’t understand GOD’s faithfulness in that way or perhaps they are missing it. 

 

I mean life can get so noisy and dredge up such challenging circumstances that it is easy for all of us to forget that GOD does comfort and will continue to comfort and GOD does indeed continue to rescue as He has rescued before, that GOD is infinitely faithful.

 

Understand, therefore, that the Lord your God is the faithful God who for a thousand generations keeps his promises and constantly loves those who love him and who obey his commands. Deuteronomy 7:9 (LB)

 

And because of that faithfulness, we must be quick and ready to share those experiences.

Whether it is to comfort.

Whether it is to encourage.

Whether it is to inspire.

Whether it is to reset.

Or whether to be instruments of change.

 

The point of today’s little thought is this. 

 

Never forget the amazing faithfulness of the LORD in your own life, but more importantly always be ready to share it with another. 

 

Those experiences, those encounters with GOD are not just for you.  Someone else needs to hear them.  Someone else needs reminded that GOD is still in the redemption business and GOD is counting on you being the instrument of that message!

 

 

I love you all

OPPORTUNITIES for HOPE

BELIEVE SCRIPTURE

Have you thanked Him?

Have you praised Him?

Have you made it your priority to agree and cooperate with Him today?

Have you taken that deep breath and listened for what He has for you today?

1 Timothy 2:1 (The Message)

The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.

Depending on your response, trials can be God’s greatest means of building faith or an avenue to discouragement and self-pity. If you’ll believe what Scripture says and apply its principles to your situation, your trust in God will grow, and your faith will be strengthened through adversity.

Dr. Charles Stanley

Grateful for Dr. Charles’ perspective.

For he is right.

Adversity faced without faith can be crippling and can certainly create an avenue leading to self-pity, disappointment. and discouragement especially when the adversity felt or experienced feels like it is/was unmerited.

That is when it is hard.  

So, hard.

Why is this happening?

What did I do to deserve this?

What is the point?

How did things get here?

This week has been especially tough for some of my closest folks. And when chatting, counseling, and in some cases consoling, I have LEANED hard on scripture as Dr. Charles suggests.

God will never let you down; he’ll never let you be pushed past your limit; he’ll always be there to help you come through it. - 1 Corinthians 10:13 (MSG)

Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.

Psalm 34:19 (ERV)

We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed - 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 (ESV)

After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace [who imparts His blessing and favor], who called you to His own eternal glory in Christ, will Himself complete, confirm, strengthen, and establish you…1 Peter 5:10(AMP)

I especially like the last verse from 1 Peter.

“After the suffering” connotes IT (the adversity) WILL END.

So, we can always cling to the promise that the adversity, however intense, unfair, unwarranted, or unexpected has a shelf-life; an expiration date.  And once that expires, much like the Lord did for JESUS after His test ((After)…The Test was over. The Devil left. And in his place, angels! Angels came and took care of Jesus’ needs. – Matthew 4:11 (MSG)), the LORD will provide the restoration, will reconfirm us as His own, His beloved.  He will infuse strength.  He will re-establish us.

So, for my friends who have had their plans upended by unfair means, GOD via HIS BLESSING AND FAVOR will restore you.  For those who have been disenfranchised, GOD via HIS BLESSING AND FAVOR will re-confirm your worth and your value.  For those who have been weakened by the adverse pressure, GOD via HIS BLESSING AND FAVOR promises strength is coming.  For those who may have had the rug pulled out or need a new opportunity, GOD via HIS BLESSING AND FAVOR will re-establish you and open that next door.

Helen Keller once said, (Even though) “All the world is full of suffering. It is also full of overcoming.”

And that is true thanks to the LORD, HIS BLESSING, HIS FAVOR, and HIS WORD!

Have a BLESSED WEEKEND!

I love you all

OPPORTUNITIES for HOPE

WAXY HEART

Have you thanked Him?

Have you praised Him?

Have you made it your priority to agree and cooperate with Him today?

Have you taken that deep breath and listened for what He has for you today?

1 Timothy 2:1 (The Message)

The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.

 

Sorry I missed all of you yesterday.  Too little night followed by a little too early morning.  Hence a little later the submission this morning.  Needed to get at least 20 winks before wading into today!

---

Yesterday was the Franklin County Coroners Annual Opiate Crisis Summit.  And over 400 health care, social work, mental health, law enforcement and faith professionals gathered for information, education, networking, and mobilization.

 

Dr. Ortiz does a marvelous job of bringing together subject matter experts and is also quite gifted at organizing some of the brightest minds and hearts on the subject. 

 

In recent weeks, my heart and efforts have been pulled into helping find resources and engage the “church and faith” communities in helping with something called NAS (Narcotics Abstinence Syndrome).  It is a malady/condition experienced by infants birthed by addicted mothers.  In Franklin County alone over 1000 infants were challenged with the ailment in 2016.  So, it is a severed issue. There is an important role for the church to play in ministering not only to these babies but their families as well.  So be praying for new on-ramps and work to help us engage it!!

 

But it was while a prominent expert in the space, Dr. Krissanna Deppen was sharing about the challenge that a little comment was made about how folks/families respond to crisis like NAS.  And that is what I thought I would draw on for today’s OFH.

 

She said when “LIT” wax and clay respond most differently; one melts and the others hardens.  She then asked the group that was gathered what is the “state of your heart” when this problem is exposed to “the light”, when it is LIT?

 

Is your heart being melted and softened to respond?  Or are you like many whose heart has hardened with cynicism toward the addicted moms forgetting the challenge of the children, a heart that only seeks to punish for the bad choices made?

 

Tough question.

For yes, while the moms do need to be held responsible for the choices made, both they and the children need compassion and soft hearts to help them navigate their way through the consequences.

 

So, that leads to a question for today.

 

When challenges in our communities or neighborhoods arise, when they are given “light”, how do our hearts respond?

Do our hearts melt or harden?

 

The Bible says a lot about our hearts. 

(GOD SAYS) I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. - Ezekial 36:26 (NIV)

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

Matthew 5:8 (ESV)

Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life. - Proverbs 4:23 (ESV)

 

And while you may not be drawn to the light of the challenge with NAS and that is OK, are you being sensitive to the things GOD IS shedding “LIGHT” on AROUND YOU? 

The widow who could use a call?

The family who could use a hot meal?

That kid in the neighborhood that could use a mentor?

That recovering addict who could use a ride?

That mission the church keeps talking about?

 

How is your heart responding? 

Melting? Softening? Or hardening?

For: 

“The funny thing about the heart is a soft heart is a strong heart, and a hard heart is a weak heart.” - Jami

 

Have a blessed day!

I love you all

 

OPPORTUNITIES for HOPE