Did You Leave Your Mark Today?

A cheerful heart is good medicine,  but a broken spirit saps a person’s strength. Proverbs 17:22 (NLT)

I am traveling this week. There is a group of us so I am sharing a room with someone.  I get up really early. So as not to wake up my roommate, I leave the hotel and go to a restaurant to have my coffee and my worship (not necessarily in that order).

The first day I went to a restaurant to the right of the hotel.  I walked in to an almost empty restaurant with another couple sitting at a table.  Keep in mind, it's early so this is the end of the shift for the folks working. The hostess/waitress seated me and the entire time was complaining about how busy she was. She told me she wasn't going to get to leave on time and how much she had to do. I told her I was sorry and sat down.

With each person that came in, she did the same thing and she was also complaining to the people in the back. At one point, the man sitting in the table next to me said "It's a little chaotic in here isn't it?"

The next day, I went to the restaurant to the left. I walked in to three tables of people and a host/waiter who greeted me, talked with me and the other customers and laughed with us. I came back to the restaurant on the left every day since.

It is really plausible that the lady at the first restaurant was having a really bad day and that she is not normally so negative but today's Bible text kept popping into my head along with the question "Do I ever do this? Are there days when your challenges keep you from being good medicine?"

Whether we are a hostess, waiter, manager, parent, co-worker or CEO, how we treat people matters. It has a ripple effect on other people's days. The thing to ponder is we leave our mark and often don't see the effect we have on people.

This experience made me more aware of my attitude and how I respond to people. I want to walk away from every situation having left a positive, happy experience in someone's life. I bet Jesus did that.

Pain and Worship

Job stood up and tore his robe in grief. Then he shaved his head and fell to the ground to worship. Job 1:20 (NLT)

Job just found out that he had lost everything, most importantly his family. What was his response? To grieve and worship. That doesn't sound synonymous does it? How can you grieve and worship at the same time?

One of the problems we have is that we see worship as something we do only when we are happy. We only think of doing it when we are happy or when things are going well. Often, I think we misunderstand why we worship.  We shouldn't worship because everything is going well.  We should worship because of who God is and because of how he loves us.

It's hard to do that. Sometimes, it's really hard. Maybe because when things are going badly, we focus on the bad and forget to look up and remember who we are.

We are children of the King! Chased after by a God who would give anything to make sure we spend eternity with him. We are loved by Jesus so completely that he endured unthinkable things so we could choose eternity. The Holy Spirit whispers love songs into our hearts. We are never forgotten. We are always the center of their attention.

So on days when your problems are overwhelming, on days when you need to grieve, remember, you are not in this alone. Take a little time to focus on Jesus. Worship who he is in the middle of all that you are going through. Know you are loved and being held.

Let's Fight

I will contend with those who contend with you. Isaiah 49:25 (ESV)

The definition of contend is to compete, vie, contest, fight, battle, tussle, go head to head. In Isaiah God says he will contend for us. He will get involved, stand in the gap and battle for us. He will go before us and battle our battles. He will fight for what we are fighting for.

And I think he expects the same from us.  I think he wants us to fight for what's important to him. Primarily, his kids. What does that look like? Maybe it looks like coming along side someone who is struggling, placing an arm around their shoulders and giving them a hug. Maybe it will be showing up on moving day or during a time when someone feels overwhelmed and alone. Maybe it's going to your knees and battling in prayer. It is never watching from the side-lines and doing nothing. It means following that prompting to be in the middle of a sometimes messy life.

There are so many ways that we can come along side God to "contend" for each other. One of the things I've discovered in this discipleship journey, people are the most important thing to God. He puts them in your path for a reason. He's inviting you to join the battle - to go head to head for his kids. Join in! You have an army of angels all around and the power of God at your front.

Will it be hard sometimes?  Yes! Will it be worth everything you pour into it? Most definitely! One thing you can be sure of....the reward is huge. When you bow before Jesus and hear him say, "Well done good and faithful servant!" you will know it was all worth it.

A Minute In It - Stop And Make A Difference

A minute in Gods' word will change your life.  Reach the passage below and answer the questions after the post.

30 Jesus replied with a story: “A Jewish man was traveling from Jerusalem down to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road.

31 “By chance a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. 32 A Temple assistant walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side.

33 “Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. 34 Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. 35 The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him, ‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’

36 “Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?” Jesus asked.

37 The man replied, “The one who showed him mercy.”

Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.”   Luke 10:30-37 (NLT)

Which person are you in the story?
Have you ever crossed the road to avoid helping someone?
Have you ever looked at a person's situation and said "Nope, too messy. I'm out."?
Who is God calling you to help today?

When I'm Giving Up

Some days it's just good to know where my strength comes from.

I can do all things through Christ, because he gives me strength. Philippians 4:13 (NCV)

With your help I can attack an army.
    With God’s help I can jump over a wall. Psalm 18:29

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his great power.  Ephesians 6:10

He gives strength to those who are tired
    and more power to those who are weak.
Even children become tired and need to rest,
    and young people trip and fall.
But the people who trust the Lord will become strong again.
They will rise up as an eagle in the sky;
    they will run and not need rest;
    they will walk and not become tired.  Isaiah 40:29-31

But he said to me, “My grace is enough for you. When you are weak, my power is made perfect in you.”  2 Corinthians 12:9

But, Lord, don’t be far away.
    You are my strength; hurry to help me.  Psalm 22:19

An Undefined Space

Your own ears will hear him.
Right behind you a voice will say,
"This is the way you should go,
whether to the right or to the left."
Isaiah 30:21 (NLT)

Yesterday, I attended a meeting with someone. The meeting was very successful and on the drive back to the office I commented on how my colleague decided to reach out to this man on a whim and that it went so well.

He said that he couldn't get the thought out of his head. It kept repeating itself over and over again. I said "Maybe you were hearing "The Voice." He said, "Yes, I kept hearing it somewhere between my head and my heart."

That comment resounded completely in my own head/heart space. When you hear God speaking, it lodges in the space of your head and your heart and it sticks. You know it is him. There is no doubt. You can't really explain it but there isn't really a need to try. There is a peace in this place that does not need to be explained. It just needs to be obeyed.

Tools To Love God And Others

He said, “That you love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and muscle and intelligence—and that you love your neighbor as well as you do yourself.”  Luke 10:27 (MSG)

Passion - strong and barely controllable emotion
Prayer - a conversation saying thanks, asking for help, both sharing and listening
Muscle - physical power and strength
Intelligence - applying knowledge and skills

In the story of the Good Samaritan, Jesus asked the scholar what the law said about how you should live your life.  I love how The Message translates this verse.  Makes you think. If you define each of those, it is clear you are all in.  You should use every aspect of your being, including your faith, to love God and your neighbor.

A paraphrase might be:

Love the Lord your God with a strong and barely controllable emotion, with all the physical power and strength that you have, using the brain you were given to learn and apply that knowledge while remembering, you need to pray.  Because you can't do it by yourself.

Those are some lofty goals. I have to go pray now.  Because I can't do that by myself.

Things God Never Said

And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.  Philippians 1:6 (NLT)

Here are some things that God has probably never said:

• Man, I can’t believe you messed up again.
• If you do that one more time our relationship is over.
• You are too messed up to hang around with me.
• Don’t talk to me right now. You need to get your act together and then I’ll talk to you.
• I am not paying attention to what you are doing. I have other more important things to do.
• Come back later. I’m busy.

God doesn’t say these things. EVER. He doesn’t say these things because he loves us and he knows we need him to heal and be better.  

The Bible says that God will continue to work in your life. Continue. Keep at it. Never stop. Until Jesus comes.  That’s forever in our terms.

Those voices that you hear in your head that say you aren’t doing it right? The ones that say you aren’t connecting with God or you didn’t do what he wanted? The ones that make you feel like it’s hopeless?  Those are Satan.  Ignore him.  God never says hopeless things to you. EVER. Satan wants you to become discouraged and give up. God wants you to know that He’s got you and he will never, ever give up on you. There is a big difference between the two.