PEOPLE

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 you yesterday.  Early travel sometimes bumps my schedule a bit.

 

Yesterday was quite the day.  Beth and I traveled to just outside Washington DC for the 14^th Annual SAMHSA Prevention Day.  This is a yearly event that brings folks from all over the country together to discuss HOW we can help prevent DRUG ADDICTION.

 

There were some “heavy hitters” at this event. National experts.  Leading officials. High ranking prevention leaders, you know the kind that hang out at the WHITE HOUSE from time to time.

 

I will be honest, the thought of presenting even at a small breakout was a little intimidating.  But like most times when GOD has opened an unexpected door an unexpected blessing ensues, and it had nothing to do with what I was going to say and everything to do with who I was going to meet.

 

And that came in the form of “the people” I was privileged to present with and for. 

 

I was asked to present the ROLE and OPPORTUNITY for the CHURCH to engage in the current crisis.  The talk is “EMPOWERING FAITH BASED CAPACITY” and the PARTNERSHIP CENTER from the Department of Health and Human Services are who asked me to share. 

 

This TEAM is REMARKABLE.  

BOLD in their faith! Compassionate, loving, and eager to see change.  Undaunted by a VERY CHALLENGING cultural dynamic that often “discourages their evangelistic natures”, they share FAITH and HOPE and how BOTH meshed with BEST PRACTICES and EFFECTIVE methodologies, CAN and WILL turn the tide on this scourge on our communities and families.

 

And on the panel of speakers with me was the Sr. Director of Social & Behavior Change for the BOYS and GIRLS CLUB of America, Danielle.

And all I can say is WOW. 

 

In addition to being a delightful person and very well educated, she has a SERVANTS heart evidenced by her work abroad.

 

But she made a statement while she was sharing; something she had gleaned from her work abroad that “WE ARE PEOPLE because of people”.  Quite profound.

 

None of us are HERE on our own.  We are all descendants from a single pair divinely created centuries ago.  We have MUCH more in common than we do in difference and as a RESULT we MUST be about the business of “BEING” for each other because we “ARE” each other.

 

The BIBLE SAYS that we are to:

Discover creative ways to encourage others and to motivate them toward acts of compassion, doing beautiful works as expressions of love. Hebrews 10:24 (TPT)

 

THE Bible also says for us to LOVE one another, look out for one another, hold one another accountable, stir each other, bless each other…the list goes on and on.  There are countless “one another’s” in scripture!

 

That is why I like Danielle’s little quote from the isolated people she served.  “We ARE people because of PEOPLE”.  Perhaps if we remembered that more graciously and thankfully the way we INTERACT, and LOVE other people would improve!

 

So today be thankful that YOU are because of the OTHERS in your life.  

Appreciate them.  Acknowledge them.  Thank them.

 

To bring this point home, I like this little excerpt from Staneart’s Talk on the “IMPORTANCE of OTHERS” and I will close today with it.

 

When was the last time that you told someone how important they were to you?

One of my class members about ten years ago decided to use this principle with his sales assistant.  She was the assistant for five different salespeople, and her job was to put together marketing materials and, ultimately, their contracts when they sold a big deal.  During the class, this salesman decided that the work that this woman did for him was critical to him closing deals, so on his way into the office, he bought her a big container of popcorn and just put a sticky note on it saying how important she was to him and to his success.

 

When he gave it to her, she was shocked and surprised, but awfully grateful as well since he was the first person in years to treat her like an equal in the office.  When he came back to class the next week, he told us that she had taken the sticky note off the can and stuck it under the plastic protector that covered her desk so that she could see it every day.

 

I saw this man a couple of years later and asked him about the sales assistant.  He told me that she is still there and still doing a fabulous job.  He said, though, that she now has over a dozen of the sticky notes on her desk.  She keeps every one.

 

Great leaders use this aspect of human nature to make people feel important.  One way to be a great leader is to find some way every day to make the people around you feel important.

 

Remember, “We ARE PEOPLE because of PEOPLE” …

 

Love ya all!

Have a blessed DAY!

OPPORTUNITIES for HOPE

GRAB THE HAND

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 have faced the mountains of desperation

You have climbed, you have fought, you have won

But this valley that lies coldly before you

Casts a shadow you cannot overcome

And just when you thought you had it all together

You knew every verse to get you through

But this time the sorrow broke more than just your heart

And reciting all those verses just won't do

Instead of asking why did it happen

Think of where it can lead you from here

And as your pain is slowly easing, you can find a greater reason

To live your life triumphant through the tears

When answers aren't enough, there is JESUS

He is more than just an answer to your prayer

And your heart will find a safe and peaceful refuge

When answers aren't enough, He is there – Scott Wesley Brown

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUxVWVLmkDY

 

Good old song…

 

But you ever been there?

Been doing “what you are supposed to be” doing for some time now and the doctor offers a bad report anyway?

Been doing you best to make amends and finding no forgiveness.

Been faithful in “walking the talk” and you’re the one being scrutinized and “corrected”.

 

Instead of sifting through the noise or thumbing through advice, why not just seek JESUS.

 

He is there.

That same yesterday, today and forever Jesus is there. 

That same never leaving, never forsaking Jesus is there.

He is.

 

And before we get too far down this road, I will admit. I am often most guilty of lifting eyes toward heaven with either anger or despair or seeking sages for the answers to my pain and questions rather than seeking Him. 

So, this is for me too.

 

But when we encounter the seemingly "answerless" we SHOULD settle down and just seek.

It can change everything.

 

A man (woman) is never the same after he/she simultaneously sees his/her utter despair and Christ’s unbending grace. To see the despair without the grace is suicidal. To see the grace without the despair is upper room futility but to see them both is conversion. Come meet the God of encouragement. He loves you. He never gives up on you, especially when life is hard, because he has been there. The hand that reaches out to comfort you is a pierced one. – Max Lucado

 

That is so true.

So, if you are dealing with the “answerless” today, grab the pierced hand of Jesus.

 

In it you will find GOD’s mercy. As you hold it you will find GOD’s comfort. As you squeeze it you will find GOD’s grace.

 

And interlocked with it you will find that “answer”.

I put myself in your hands! You’re well-known as good and forgiving, bighearted to all who ask for help. Pay attention, God, to my prayer; bend down and listen to my cry for help. Every time I’m in trouble I call on you, confident that you’ll answer. Psalm 86:5-7 (MSG)

 

 

 

Love you all

Have a blessed WEEKEND!

OPPORTUNITIES for HOPE

CLARITY vs FAITH

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.

 

"The will of God will never take you, where the grace of God cannot keep you." – Unknown…

 

There will be very few occasions when you are absolutely certain about anything. You will consistently be called upon to make decisions with limited information. That being the case, your goal should not be to eliminate uncertainty. Instead, you must develop the art of being clear in the face of uncertainty. - Andy Stanley

 

Uncertainty is “unsettling”.

Corrie Ten Boom eluded that we are to leave those uncertain things to a certain GOD but that can be a tricky task.

 

Pastor H. B. Charles, Jr. shared the story of a man named John Kavanaugh who went to India to spend some time serving in Calcutta with Mother Teresa. The trip came at a turning point in his life when he was seeking God’s direction for the future.

 

It seems that when he met with Mother Teresa, John Kavanaugh asked her to pray for him. “What do you want me to pray for,” she asked. So, he uttered the request that was uppermost on his mind, the reason he had traveled so many thousands of miles from home.

 

“Clarity. Pray that I might have clarity.”

 

To his surprise, Mother Teresa refused. “I will not do that,” she said. “Clarity is the last thing you are clinging to and the last thing you must let go of.”

Why did she say that?

 

Because SHE was pushing he and us to have FAITH.

 

Faith in the face of uncertainty.

Faith in the WILL of GOD for our lives.

Faith that GOD’s GRACE is truly sufficient, especially in those weak moments of“I don’t know what I am doing or how did I get here?”.

(I have these a lot!)

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." 2 Corinthians 12:9 (NIV)

 

Clarity in the face of uncertainty comes via WHOLEHEARTED trust in GOD’s sovereignty. Proverbs 3:5

 

Uncertain about finances? 

GOD owns all of it.  Trust His clear balance sheet and asset record. Philippians 4:19

 

Uncertain about ‘next steps’? 

He knows the path before you walk it. Psalm 23

 

Future feel foggy?

We don’t yet see things clearly. We’re squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won’t be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We’ll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us! 1 Corinthians 13:12 (MSG)

 

So today, don’t seek clarity.  Instead ask GOD to EMBOLDEN your FAITH.  Seek Him and all the rest will be clear soon enough.  He promised.

 

When I needed the Lord, I looked for Him; I called out to Him, and He heard me and responded.  He came and rescued me from everything that made me so afraid. Psalm 34:4 (VOICE)

 

I love you all.

 

Have a blessed DAY!

OPPORTUNITIES for HOPE