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Showing posts with label Foundation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Foundation. Show all posts
Friday, July 6, 2012
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Thursday, April 21, 2011
It’s Called Grace
Well, I have been asking God to teach me about his kingdom and about His ways. The first lesson was about Grace. A cousin came into town to visit my sister as they worked on wedding plans.
As they were heading out, the car started running real bad. My sister called me for help. After some diagnostics, I found it to be the ignition control module. Now for a new problem. It was an expensive part and I knew for a fact that they could not afford that kind of repair.
So God told me to pay for the new part and extend grace to them. “Helping someone when they could not possibly help themselves... More so, paying that price for someone else that can’t ever pay the required price”.
OK. Grace extended... lesson learned!
But was this lesson completed?
Can Grace be planted as a seed?
Well... My wife and I were going to go get gas in my dad’s car. Sitting at the traffic light, the guy behind us thought it turned green and gave us a good jolt. Not seeing any damage, we shook hands and made our way.
After getting home, I found some damage. I’m not sure how this will all turn out but I had to report to dad about the accident. Obviously he was disappointed but seemed to understand. The question in thought is this...
Along with the lesson about grace, did God give me the opportunity to plant a seed of grace so that I was given grace from my father with his car? Are we extended grace and forgiveness based on how we have forgiven others and extended that grace to others? What about salvation itself? If we are holding unforgiveness for someone, how does that reflect when we are standing before the King of Kings and need His forgiveness?
I’m reminded of “The Lord’s Prayer”. “...forgive us of our transgresses as we have forgiven those who have transgressed against us.”
Thank you, God, for the gift of forgiveness in an unforgiving world.
As they were heading out, the car started running real bad. My sister called me for help. After some diagnostics, I found it to be the ignition control module. Now for a new problem. It was an expensive part and I knew for a fact that they could not afford that kind of repair.
So God told me to pay for the new part and extend grace to them. “Helping someone when they could not possibly help themselves... More so, paying that price for someone else that can’t ever pay the required price”.
OK. Grace extended... lesson learned!
But was this lesson completed?
Can Grace be planted as a seed?
Well... My wife and I were going to go get gas in my dad’s car. Sitting at the traffic light, the guy behind us thought it turned green and gave us a good jolt. Not seeing any damage, we shook hands and made our way.
After getting home, I found some damage. I’m not sure how this will all turn out but I had to report to dad about the accident. Obviously he was disappointed but seemed to understand. The question in thought is this...
Along with the lesson about grace, did God give me the opportunity to plant a seed of grace so that I was given grace from my father with his car? Are we extended grace and forgiveness based on how we have forgiven others and extended that grace to others? What about salvation itself? If we are holding unforgiveness for someone, how does that reflect when we are standing before the King of Kings and need His forgiveness?
I’m reminded of “The Lord’s Prayer”. “...forgive us of our transgresses as we have forgiven those who have transgressed against us.”
Thank you, God, for the gift of forgiveness in an unforgiving world.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Stepping out on the Right Foot.
We have all heard the bible story for the man who built his house on the sand and the man who built his house on the rocks. Which one was the wise man? If you have never heard the story, you can probably guess the right answer.
A prosperous and fulfilling life is the same way. If you want a stable life that is full of joy and fulfillment, it has to be built on a solid foundation. Let's say you cruised through college partying and having a good time. When it came time, you met that special someone, got married, started a family but never took responsibility for the future of your family. Eventually, the partying lifestyle would begin to take it's toll on your family.
Building a life of fulfillment is a lot like that. You see, true wealth is more than financial success. I know people that have more money than they can spend but have no time to enjoy it or their pursuit of riches has cost them their family. Since the only things we take with us when we die are relationships and memories, I'd say the person that only chases money is still poor no matter how much his/her banker loves him/her.
The richest man who ever lived, King Solomon, asked for one thing and one thing only; WISDOM (1 Kings 4:29-30). Since this is what he asked of God, God said all of the other "stuff" would be his also. Maybe it's just me but it really sounds like the path to true wealth begins with wisdom and if the wisdom is the key, then knowing God must be the beginning of all wisdom.
Now, there is something else. I don't know how many times I've heard the words, "Money isn't everything" and "You have too much money, you need to give some of it to the poor." People that think like this make me sick. I can say that because I have thought like that myself and I'll tell you that being poor doesn't help anyone. It only makes you frustrated. It keeps you from being a blessing to someone who truly needs the help and if you think it is holy to be poor, you are believing an age old lie spun by the devil himself. Even Mother Teresa was worth over $3 million when she passed away.
I'm not going to get in the biblical aspect of money or religion here but i'd say that if you have believed you are a better person because you are broke, you are sadly mistaken. I can prove it. When you live paycheck to paycheck, who do you think of most on payday; the needs of you and your family or the single mom down the street that struggles just to keep power on in the house? So tell me, is your lack really helping anyone?
The point of this article is not to vent but the attitude toward "Stuff" in our country has created the mess our government is in today. In order to turn things around, I believe we need to change our thought process and attitude toward wealth and that begins with a strong, right foundation.
Look at wealth like this. Nothing was ours when we were born and nothing is ours when we die. The only thing that has mattered is how we use what we have been given. If nothing on this earth is new, and somethings get passed on to the next generation, then God must have owned everything from the beginning and he will own it all when we are finished with it. So it makes since that we are just stewards of everything we have.
How are you going to use your resources to make a difference? What kind of legacy do you want to leave behind. Are you chasing true wealth or are you just trying to get rich? A mentor of mine by the name of Mike Murdock once said "You will ALWAYS put your time and money into what is most important to you." For some, that might be depressing.
I don't have a video clip today but instead just a link to The Wisdom Center website where there are all kinds of resources that relate to true wisdom.
A prosperous and fulfilling life is the same way. If you want a stable life that is full of joy and fulfillment, it has to be built on a solid foundation. Let's say you cruised through college partying and having a good time. When it came time, you met that special someone, got married, started a family but never took responsibility for the future of your family. Eventually, the partying lifestyle would begin to take it's toll on your family.
Building a life of fulfillment is a lot like that. You see, true wealth is more than financial success. I know people that have more money than they can spend but have no time to enjoy it or their pursuit of riches has cost them their family. Since the only things we take with us when we die are relationships and memories, I'd say the person that only chases money is still poor no matter how much his/her banker loves him/her.
The richest man who ever lived, King Solomon, asked for one thing and one thing only; WISDOM (1 Kings 4:29-30). Since this is what he asked of God, God said all of the other "stuff" would be his also. Maybe it's just me but it really sounds like the path to true wealth begins with wisdom and if the wisdom is the key, then knowing God must be the beginning of all wisdom.
Now, there is something else. I don't know how many times I've heard the words, "Money isn't everything" and "You have too much money, you need to give some of it to the poor." People that think like this make me sick. I can say that because I have thought like that myself and I'll tell you that being poor doesn't help anyone. It only makes you frustrated. It keeps you from being a blessing to someone who truly needs the help and if you think it is holy to be poor, you are believing an age old lie spun by the devil himself. Even Mother Teresa was worth over $3 million when she passed away.
I'm not going to get in the biblical aspect of money or religion here but i'd say that if you have believed you are a better person because you are broke, you are sadly mistaken. I can prove it. When you live paycheck to paycheck, who do you think of most on payday; the needs of you and your family or the single mom down the street that struggles just to keep power on in the house? So tell me, is your lack really helping anyone?
The point of this article is not to vent but the attitude toward "Stuff" in our country has created the mess our government is in today. In order to turn things around, I believe we need to change our thought process and attitude toward wealth and that begins with a strong, right foundation.
Look at wealth like this. Nothing was ours when we were born and nothing is ours when we die. The only thing that has mattered is how we use what we have been given. If nothing on this earth is new, and somethings get passed on to the next generation, then God must have owned everything from the beginning and he will own it all when we are finished with it. So it makes since that we are just stewards of everything we have.
How are you going to use your resources to make a difference? What kind of legacy do you want to leave behind. Are you chasing true wealth or are you just trying to get rich? A mentor of mine by the name of Mike Murdock once said "You will ALWAYS put your time and money into what is most important to you." For some, that might be depressing.
I don't have a video clip today but instead just a link to The Wisdom Center website where there are all kinds of resources that relate to true wisdom.
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