Most of us recognize these lyrics from the children’s song Oh, be careful little eyes what you see. It’s a catchy little tune sung for generations in Sunday school classes everywhere. We may know the words but do we really understand the meaning?
How do I look at people? How do I see them? Not just their silhouettes, but how do I really see them. Seeing people goes beyond their physical appearance. We see a mom struggling with her kids at the grocery store and more than likely the first thought we have is “why can’t she control her kids?” Maybe she is just having a really bad day. Maybe her husband just left her and now she is struggling with raising these kids on their own. We don’t know her story, yet we feel we can judge her by just a moment’s glimpse of her life.
Recently I learned about the child prostitution industry. For much of my life I had no idea it was going on right in the neighborhoods where I lived, shopped, and went out. Now that I know what is going on, I notice things. I see the ads for missing teens at my local Walmart or on the billboard signs and wonder if they are being enslaved in this industry.
I am ashamed to admit but for many years I looked at the prostitutes standing on the corner and thought badly of them. I judged them. I researched the topic as I learned about the child sex slavery industry and found that many of these teens who were trapped in this field are now the women we see on the street corners. I see these women now and I feel for them. I wonder what horrors of their life drove them to where they are now. There are so many heart wrenching stories of women who left home at a young age and needed money to survive. Then, they got addicted to drugs and life just spiraled downward. These women do not need looks of scorn from us. They need our love. They need our understanding. Some of these women are waiting for someone to rescue them. To show them they can have a better life. Instead of seeing these women as criminals, I beg you to see them as victims. Let you heart see them the way Jesus does. See them through His eyes. These women are His daughters. He loves all His children and His heart breaks for those who are mistreated. Shouldn’t our reaction be the same?
So I want to warn you to be careful how you look at people. You don’t know their story. You don’t know what is going on in their lives. Instead of looking with disdain at those around us, give everyone you meet a big smile and shine your love.
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Life Lessons from Veggie Tales
I love watching Veggie Tales. My boys are older now, so I haven’t seen some of the newest ones, but I remember the ones I have seen. The catchy songs and good moral lessons are taught to us through talking vegetables that have no arms or legs. One song on my mind lately is from “Rack, Shack, and Benny.” A movie based on the story of the three men who were thrown into the furnace because they refused to participate in idol worship.
The song is called “Stand”. In this catchy tune they sing about standing up for what you believe in, and God will stand with you. What a great lesson for all of us. In the world today, we are tempted to just fit in. We have to be careful not to upset or offend anyone. But at what cost? When do we draw the line, and say enough is enough? When do we take a stand and not be afraid to share what we believe?
I am not asking us to judge others, so please don’t take it that away. We are called to love everyone, to help our neighbors regardless of what their beliefs are. Jesus didn’t ask someone what they believed or for a list of their sins before He talked with them. In fact He knew that He came to spend time with the lost, the broken, the hurting. He came to teach others about His Father.
So when do we take a stand? I believe we can do this every day in subtle ways . How do we take that stand? We start by not being afraid to bow our heads in public and pray before eating. We can be honest with people when they ask us our beliefs. Christmas is just around the corner. We shouldn’t be afraid to say “Merry Christmas”. We can wear a cross necklace or Christian shirt and not be afraid that others will judge us. I have been guilty in the past of hiding who I am for the fear of being judged and not accepted. The Bible warns of this. We should not deny God or He will deny us.
The media likes to portray “Christians” as crazy people who are hurtful and judgemental . How many times have you turned on the news to see them showing the angry mobs of “Christians” holding up signs hating and condemning homosexuals or girls seeking an abortion ? When a shooting occurs and they find out that the person claimed to be a “Christian”, they focus on that. How many times do we here about this one church in the Mid-west protesting funerals of soldiers and holding signs up about homosexuals? Do we ever see the people who have risked their lives to help a neighbor? I have to literally search for good stories. Nowhere in the Bible does Jesus ever tell believers to go out and kill those who are not following His ways. Nowhere in the Bible does Jesus spread the message of hate. Instead He encourages us to love one another. We are to show the world we are Christians by our love. We need to write letters to our local papers and let people know that the crazy people that the media portrays on television as “Christians” would not act that way if they were true followers of Christ. Over 10 years ago I wrote into a local paper after a “Christian” had bombed a local abortion clinic. I knew in my heart that a man following Jesus could never take the lives of so many people. They printed my letter to the editor and I was able to get the word out. I wanted people to know the truth. I was tired of letting the media walk all over the Christian faith. I took a stand.
You can, too. And you can be assured that when you do; God will be with you. There are people today in other countries dying for their faith. They refuse to deny their Lord and Savior. Yes, they may lose their life on this earth, but they know they are entering a new life when they die. They will be joining their Savior and no longer be persecuted. I pray that none of you ever have to face this kind of persecution. But let us learn from this example. Let us, not be afraid anymore.
In the famous words of a cute little asparagus, “stand for what you believe in and God will stand with you.”
The song is called “Stand”. In this catchy tune they sing about standing up for what you believe in, and God will stand with you. What a great lesson for all of us. In the world today, we are tempted to just fit in. We have to be careful not to upset or offend anyone. But at what cost? When do we draw the line, and say enough is enough? When do we take a stand and not be afraid to share what we believe?
I am not asking us to judge others, so please don’t take it that away. We are called to love everyone, to help our neighbors regardless of what their beliefs are. Jesus didn’t ask someone what they believed or for a list of their sins before He talked with them. In fact He knew that He came to spend time with the lost, the broken, the hurting. He came to teach others about His Father.
So when do we take a stand? I believe we can do this every day in subtle ways . How do we take that stand? We start by not being afraid to bow our heads in public and pray before eating. We can be honest with people when they ask us our beliefs. Christmas is just around the corner. We shouldn’t be afraid to say “Merry Christmas”. We can wear a cross necklace or Christian shirt and not be afraid that others will judge us. I have been guilty in the past of hiding who I am for the fear of being judged and not accepted. The Bible warns of this. We should not deny God or He will deny us.
The media likes to portray “Christians” as crazy people who are hurtful and judgemental . How many times have you turned on the news to see them showing the angry mobs of “Christians” holding up signs hating and condemning homosexuals or girls seeking an abortion ? When a shooting occurs and they find out that the person claimed to be a “Christian”, they focus on that. How many times do we here about this one church in the Mid-west protesting funerals of soldiers and holding signs up about homosexuals? Do we ever see the people who have risked their lives to help a neighbor? I have to literally search for good stories. Nowhere in the Bible does Jesus ever tell believers to go out and kill those who are not following His ways. Nowhere in the Bible does Jesus spread the message of hate. Instead He encourages us to love one another. We are to show the world we are Christians by our love. We need to write letters to our local papers and let people know that the crazy people that the media portrays on television as “Christians” would not act that way if they were true followers of Christ. Over 10 years ago I wrote into a local paper after a “Christian” had bombed a local abortion clinic. I knew in my heart that a man following Jesus could never take the lives of so many people. They printed my letter to the editor and I was able to get the word out. I wanted people to know the truth. I was tired of letting the media walk all over the Christian faith. I took a stand.
You can, too. And you can be assured that when you do; God will be with you. There are people today in other countries dying for their faith. They refuse to deny their Lord and Savior. Yes, they may lose their life on this earth, but they know they are entering a new life when they die. They will be joining their Savior and no longer be persecuted. I pray that none of you ever have to face this kind of persecution. But let us learn from this example. Let us, not be afraid anymore.
In the famous words of a cute little asparagus, “stand for what you believe in and God will stand with you.”
Monday, October 3, 2011
Getting Back Up
Recently I injured my left foot and had to walk around in a big cumbersome brace. I needed to give my foot time to heal so that one day I could take off the brace and walk on it again. As I was going through this I began to think about life.
In life sometimes we get hurt. Injuries occur and we need to take time to heal. Sometimes the pain goes so deep we are of no use to others, until we have taken time for healing . It’s not being selfish. It’s reality. My foot couldn’t support the weight of my body for a time. Forcing it to do so would have only resulted in further injury.
I believe this can happen in our walk with Christ, too. When we work side by side with other people, we can expect to get hurt sometimes. Sometimes, we can brush it off and keep going, other times it might hurt too much. It will take time to heal. And that is okay. You can’t minister to others when your heart is in pieces.
You need to take some time. In His word, Jesus says to the people, “Come to me all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28) We need to listen to His wise words and allow him to be our place of refuge. Let Him be our strength when we have none. He can be the brace that keeps us on our feet. Rest in Him, and then get back up.
When you are ready, you can return to ministry. You can help others once you receive the help you need. But let me caution you never to get to the place where you think you don’t need to rely on Jesus for His strength anymore. Unlike the foot brace that can come off and be put away in storage, you always need your Savior by your side. Keep Him there in the good times, too and maybe the next time a storm comes along the blow won’t be so hard. Your fall may not be as hard and the injury will not take as long to heal.
Be encouraged. Just like my foot healed and I was able to walk again, your heart will heal and you will be able to help again.
In life sometimes we get hurt. Injuries occur and we need to take time to heal. Sometimes the pain goes so deep we are of no use to others, until we have taken time for healing . It’s not being selfish. It’s reality. My foot couldn’t support the weight of my body for a time. Forcing it to do so would have only resulted in further injury.
I believe this can happen in our walk with Christ, too. When we work side by side with other people, we can expect to get hurt sometimes. Sometimes, we can brush it off and keep going, other times it might hurt too much. It will take time to heal. And that is okay. You can’t minister to others when your heart is in pieces.
You need to take some time. In His word, Jesus says to the people, “Come to me all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28) We need to listen to His wise words and allow him to be our place of refuge. Let Him be our strength when we have none. He can be the brace that keeps us on our feet. Rest in Him, and then get back up.
When you are ready, you can return to ministry. You can help others once you receive the help you need. But let me caution you never to get to the place where you think you don’t need to rely on Jesus for His strength anymore. Unlike the foot brace that can come off and be put away in storage, you always need your Savior by your side. Keep Him there in the good times, too and maybe the next time a storm comes along the blow won’t be so hard. Your fall may not be as hard and the injury will not take as long to heal.
Be encouraged. Just like my foot healed and I was able to walk again, your heart will heal and you will be able to help again.
Friday, June 24, 2011
Faith in the Dark
Do you know how it is when you go from a well lit room to a dark one? For a moment while your eyes adjust you have your hands stretched out in front of you trying to feel your way around so you don’t bump into anything. I experience this every night before bed when I leave our bright bathroom and enter our unlit bedroom.I kind of know where things are, so I try and stay on the same path, but little surprises can always pop-up.
This is how I believe we can sometimes describe faith. There are some dark times in our lives when we can’t feel our way around. We search for the right path and hope not to bump into something that will hurt. But it happens sometimes. For me, I came to Christ at the young age of 6 but I have gotten lost in the dark several times since then. As a teen, I gave up on God because it wasn’t cool to be a Christian. I stopped praying and attending church. I had some rough times then. After an unplanned pregnancy, I began to search for God again, and the light came back on. I cried out to Him for help and He was there.
As an adult, when hard times came, I began to doubt a loving God existed. I questioned why I was having so many hard times. I tried to hide in the dark, but I discovered even if you are surrounded by friends and family, it gets lonely in the dark. I was missing something. Slowly, as I began searching again for what was missing, I realized it was God. Faith gets me through all the tough times. Knowing I have a God I can count on helps me. When no one else listens, He does. When no one else sees my tears, He does. When I can’t get out of the bed in the morning, He gives me a push. He wants the best for me. As I realize all this, the darkness starts to get lighter. I can see what I am suppose to be doing. I can see where to go, who to help, and why I am here.
Faith is not about a well-lit path with everything easily laid out for you. You are not always sure of the way to go, and sometimes there are bumps that hurt. Some bumps are big while others are small. No matter the size or pain of the bump, you keep going. If I let each bump on my path stop me, I would not be where I am today. I have had well-meaning people hurt me. I have probably hurt others. We are all human and it is bound to happen. Tragic things happen in life. We live in an imperfect world where bad things happen. Young children get killed, babies die, loved ones leave us too soon. The list goes on and on. In one year, I faced so many different disappointments that it started to suffocate me. The light started getting darker as I focused on the bad. We have to search for the good. It’s there if only we will look. Miracles may not happen in front of our eyes every day. But there are so many small ones we miss when we don’t look. Trees growing in the desert, getting a job in a tough job market, and having a family to enjoy the good times with. These are only a few of the small miracles that take place everyday.
Faith is more like a dark room at first. You have to enter it, hands surrendered. You have to walk into it not knowing exactly where you are going, but trusting that you will begin to see more as you continue on the path. You keep moving no matter what gets in the way and keep searching for the light. It will get brighter. It begins with asking God to reveal to you who He is—a simple step that takes faith. You can’t see God’s holy face, but He will show you who He is in everything around you.
Just as your eyes get adjusted to the dark and you begin to see what’s around you, faith happens in the same way. You first have to take that leap and walk into the dark room. Once you do, things will start to brighten. The more you focus and the more time you spend examining, the more you will see. It takes time, just like anything else in life. The reward is more than anything you will ever receive here on earth. You will spend eternity living in a perfect world, with no disappointments, no tears, and no death. You will never be in the darkness again.
So, the next time you go from a dark room to a well-lit one, take a moment and pause. Decide if you want to take that leap of faith or stay stuck in the dark.
This is how I believe we can sometimes describe faith. There are some dark times in our lives when we can’t feel our way around. We search for the right path and hope not to bump into something that will hurt. But it happens sometimes. For me, I came to Christ at the young age of 6 but I have gotten lost in the dark several times since then. As a teen, I gave up on God because it wasn’t cool to be a Christian. I stopped praying and attending church. I had some rough times then. After an unplanned pregnancy, I began to search for God again, and the light came back on. I cried out to Him for help and He was there.
As an adult, when hard times came, I began to doubt a loving God existed. I questioned why I was having so many hard times. I tried to hide in the dark, but I discovered even if you are surrounded by friends and family, it gets lonely in the dark. I was missing something. Slowly, as I began searching again for what was missing, I realized it was God. Faith gets me through all the tough times. Knowing I have a God I can count on helps me. When no one else listens, He does. When no one else sees my tears, He does. When I can’t get out of the bed in the morning, He gives me a push. He wants the best for me. As I realize all this, the darkness starts to get lighter. I can see what I am suppose to be doing. I can see where to go, who to help, and why I am here.
Faith is not about a well-lit path with everything easily laid out for you. You are not always sure of the way to go, and sometimes there are bumps that hurt. Some bumps are big while others are small. No matter the size or pain of the bump, you keep going. If I let each bump on my path stop me, I would not be where I am today. I have had well-meaning people hurt me. I have probably hurt others. We are all human and it is bound to happen. Tragic things happen in life. We live in an imperfect world where bad things happen. Young children get killed, babies die, loved ones leave us too soon. The list goes on and on. In one year, I faced so many different disappointments that it started to suffocate me. The light started getting darker as I focused on the bad. We have to search for the good. It’s there if only we will look. Miracles may not happen in front of our eyes every day. But there are so many small ones we miss when we don’t look. Trees growing in the desert, getting a job in a tough job market, and having a family to enjoy the good times with. These are only a few of the small miracles that take place everyday.
Faith is more like a dark room at first. You have to enter it, hands surrendered. You have to walk into it not knowing exactly where you are going, but trusting that you will begin to see more as you continue on the path. You keep moving no matter what gets in the way and keep searching for the light. It will get brighter. It begins with asking God to reveal to you who He is—a simple step that takes faith. You can’t see God’s holy face, but He will show you who He is in everything around you.
Just as your eyes get adjusted to the dark and you begin to see what’s around you, faith happens in the same way. You first have to take that leap and walk into the dark room. Once you do, things will start to brighten. The more you focus and the more time you spend examining, the more you will see. It takes time, just like anything else in life. The reward is more than anything you will ever receive here on earth. You will spend eternity living in a perfect world, with no disappointments, no tears, and no death. You will never be in the darkness again.
So, the next time you go from a dark room to a well-lit one, take a moment and pause. Decide if you want to take that leap of faith or stay stuck in the dark.
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Choices
Every day we face many choices. For me, most days start with, “Do I feel like getting out of bed?” I begin to ponder how many choices we all have to make. As I listen to a song by Francesca Batestelli, I learn even more about choices.
Do you realize that every choice you make says something about who you are? From the little choices like which shoes to wear all the way up to the big ones like; “ Is this the right guy for me?” Every decision you make has part of you in it.
I then started to think more deeply on this and on the choices I make. What do they say about me? What can others learn about me from the choices I make? I never realized just how important each decision in my life can be.
The lyrics of the song really spoke to my heart. Do the choices I make show that my heart is for Jesus, or do they show I am all about me? Do others see me as giving of myself unselfishly, or do they see me as doing things to get the glory?
As a believer, I know how important it is to show the world how the love of Christ makes me a better person. We are judged harshly by everyone. The people out there claiming to be Christians by spreading hate messages or predicting the end of the world cast a bad light on the true believers. I want my life to show the true Jesus. I want the world to see in me, a love that is for everyone. I want others to see my desire is to help every person I can because that’s what Jesus did.
Jesus chose to come down to earth in the form of man, to show the world He is the living Savior, and then to sacrifice His own life on the cross for me. All those choices are beyond my human comprehension. Giving up one’s life for undeserving, selfish people, who may not even chose to acknowledge Him for who He is. Now, that says a lot. Why would someone do that?
I believe it can be answered by one word—Love. So each day, I am deciding to make all my choices based on love. In doing that, I will follow Jesus and my heart will always be in the right place. Others will see my life as a person who loves them. That’s the choice I make.
Do you realize that every choice you make says something about who you are? From the little choices like which shoes to wear all the way up to the big ones like; “ Is this the right guy for me?” Every decision you make has part of you in it.
I then started to think more deeply on this and on the choices I make. What do they say about me? What can others learn about me from the choices I make? I never realized just how important each decision in my life can be.
The lyrics of the song really spoke to my heart. Do the choices I make show that my heart is for Jesus, or do they show I am all about me? Do others see me as giving of myself unselfishly, or do they see me as doing things to get the glory?
As a believer, I know how important it is to show the world how the love of Christ makes me a better person. We are judged harshly by everyone. The people out there claiming to be Christians by spreading hate messages or predicting the end of the world cast a bad light on the true believers. I want my life to show the true Jesus. I want the world to see in me, a love that is for everyone. I want others to see my desire is to help every person I can because that’s what Jesus did.
Jesus chose to come down to earth in the form of man, to show the world He is the living Savior, and then to sacrifice His own life on the cross for me. All those choices are beyond my human comprehension. Giving up one’s life for undeserving, selfish people, who may not even chose to acknowledge Him for who He is. Now, that says a lot. Why would someone do that?
I believe it can be answered by one word—Love. So each day, I am deciding to make all my choices based on love. In doing that, I will follow Jesus and my heart will always be in the right place. Others will see my life as a person who loves them. That’s the choice I make.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Reflect and Commit.
This is the time of the year that causes all of us to reflect on the past year and make promises for the next one. How many of us though break the promises before the second week of January is done? Why is it that January 1 seems like the magical time to commit to something and January 14 the day to give it all up?
I think the answer is simple. Instead of learning from our past mistakes we focus on the promise of a new start. As we are looking back on the past year we should study our mistakes. We should take a close look at what went wrong. If we learn from them, we might just have a higher success rate in this next year.
This all reminds me of the Old Testament. We are all so quick to judge the Israelites for falling away from God and giving up hope time and again. And then each time God would show He was faithful and they would return to Him. We make jokes about how many times it takes for them to get it. Well, shouldn’t we be doing that about ourselves? Doesn’t it take several times of falling and crying out to God, before we learn to pray first, before action? Don’t we all think we are just fine without God, and then find ourselves crying out to Him when it gets to tough? We are so much like the Israelites. I think we may even be worse. I am not sure if we would make it to the Promised Land in 40 years. I believe it would take much longer. We are all stubborn and believe our way is right.
This year I am praying that I truly reflect on the past year. There are some painful moments, but those are the most important. By reflecting on those, hopefully I can see mistakes I made and not make them again. I don’t want to spend the rest of my life wandering in the desert. I want to make it to the Promised Land. I want to see what a year totally committed to God looks and feels like. Will there be bumps along the way? Guaranteed. But, how I handle them should be a lot different
I think the answer is simple. Instead of learning from our past mistakes we focus on the promise of a new start. As we are looking back on the past year we should study our mistakes. We should take a close look at what went wrong. If we learn from them, we might just have a higher success rate in this next year.
This all reminds me of the Old Testament. We are all so quick to judge the Israelites for falling away from God and giving up hope time and again. And then each time God would show He was faithful and they would return to Him. We make jokes about how many times it takes for them to get it. Well, shouldn’t we be doing that about ourselves? Doesn’t it take several times of falling and crying out to God, before we learn to pray first, before action? Don’t we all think we are just fine without God, and then find ourselves crying out to Him when it gets to tough? We are so much like the Israelites. I think we may even be worse. I am not sure if we would make it to the Promised Land in 40 years. I believe it would take much longer. We are all stubborn and believe our way is right.
This year I am praying that I truly reflect on the past year. There are some painful moments, but those are the most important. By reflecting on those, hopefully I can see mistakes I made and not make them again. I don’t want to spend the rest of my life wandering in the desert. I want to make it to the Promised Land. I want to see what a year totally committed to God looks and feels like. Will there be bumps along the way? Guaranteed. But, how I handle them should be a lot different
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