Your Daily Grace

Our Greatest Hindrance

2011-12-30T06:57:00.000-08:00

Week 12: Success

The greatest hindrance to success is unbelief.
1 John 5: 4

You won’t do what you believe you can’t do. But, Jesus says in Mark 9: 23 “If you can? Everything is possible for him who believes.” If this is a given how do we insure we believe in what is true? And, how do we strengthen our beliefs so we overcome the hindrances of unbelief?

The Apostle Paul gives us the answer to the first question: “Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ” (Romans 10: 17). The second answer Jesus tells his disciples is through prayer and fasting.

The Hall of Fame football coach Vince Lombardi said, “The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack in will”. What means of grace, what spiritual disciplines exercise your will towards greater success? What will you do today to get in better spiritual shape?

What means of grace, what spiritual disciplines are you using to exercise your will towards greater success?

Concentrate on Your Calling

2011-12-29T09:34:00.000-08:00

Week 11: Confidence

The surest way to become confident is to concentrate on your own calling.
John 4: 34

God will lead you. Find out where your faith and God’s future for you fit together. What brings you joy? What gives you peace and satisfaction? What are you compelled to do more and compels more out of you? Chase it down, take hold of it and see how far it pulls you forward.

Jesus tells us if we will learn from this proverb what was muddled and confusing to us before will begin to become clear. We will be able to see the fields ahead of us and we will know what we need to do. List some ways you can concentrate on your calling, today.

Go,Get the Shovel

2011-12-27T08:08:00.000-08:00

Week 11: Confidence

Go, get the shovel.
I Kings 17: 9-16, James 1: 19

Be confident. If you can notice a mess, you can clean it up. If you can identify a problem, you can remedy it. If you can face the difficulty, you can overcome it. Peter T. Mcintyre wrote, “Confidence comes not from always being right but from not fearing to be wrong.” Even if you make the mess yourself, that means you have greater knowledge about how things got the way they are. Don’t delay and deepen the problem. Go, get the shovel.

What little spills of anger, or worry, or stupidity do you need to clean up before they become even bigger messes? Is anything else stinking up your life? Go, get the shovel. You may not be able to clean everything up today but you can make a start. How much do you think you’ll get done?

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T07:35:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends:
More than New Year's with all of its resolutions, Christmas carries with it a more powerful incentive for making a fresh start. Christmas brings the Redeemer to us. Christmas gives us Jesus, our savior, the one who frees us from our sin.

Yes, it is Christmas where we find the source of Life. He is wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. There is a star that guides wise men from the east to worship him. We are called to worship him, too.

Yes, it is Christmas where we learn how to frame our lives by God's salvation.

Merry Christmas!

You've Got to Have Faith!

2011-12-24T06:14:00.000-08:00

Week 11: Confidence

You’ve got to have faith!
Mark 11: 22-26, Hebrews 11: 6

You’ve got to have faith because; it’s not what you pour into a man that makes him who he is, but what pours out of him that does. Mountains don’t move unless they are forced out of their resting place by your faith. Faith doesn’t pour forth from you unless it fills up your heart. For good measure, ask Jesus to fill you again!

Every time you can think of a hindrance to your success, look for and find a promise of God that overrules it. Write them here. Go back to days #13 (September 19th), #16 (September 22nd), and yesterday if you need to see what you are reaching for.

I Believe in You

2011-12-23T07:13:00.000-08:00

Week 11: Confidence

I believe in you.
Romans 4: 16-25

I have always been a dreamer. I’ve always had big plans and grandiose schemes. I had recorded music but was deeply in debt because of it. Most of that money I owed to Daddy. Yet, as I shared my latest pursuit and how it would work, this is the sentence he passed over me, “I believe in you.”

These words were part of the last long conversation we had the week before my Daddy died. This is his legacy and my confidence. That hope and pursuit I shared with him that day has taken over four years to realize but… What dream is God giving you? Just in case no one has told you lately, “I believe in you.”

Do What I Do

2011-12-22T05:55:00.000-08:00

Week 11: Confidence

Do what I do.
John 14: 26, 12

This is our confidence: Jesus is Lord. We are his followers. Jesus even told his disciples to wait until they were clothed with power from on high then, they would be witnesses. We receive that same promise. We receive that same power to do what Jesus did.

This is how I learned almost everything on the farm. Daddy would do something, turn to me and say, “Do what I do.” What is your Heavenly Father turning and telling you to do? Have you received power from on high to do it?

Keep Your Eye on the Ball

2011-12-21T06:39:00.000-08:00

Week 11: Confidence

Keep your eye on the ball.
Hebrews 12: 2-4; Jude 1: 21

Quit trying to hit it so hard. Just make contact. Put the ball in play. Keep your eye on the ball. Follow the ball until it hits your bat. The convicting power of the Holy Spirit will capture your attention faster and faster as you progress through these proverbs. The Holy Spirit will bring to your remembrance that you are called to have mastery over these untoward passions because you are a son of God and no longer a slave to sin.

The Holy Spirit will remind you and capture your attention to the truth: in Christ you can do it. What situation will the Holy Spirit witness to your spirit that you are sufficient in Jesus Christ? How will you and God work everything together for your good, today?

You Can Do It!

2011-12-19T06:14:00.000-08:00

Week 11: Confidence

You Can Do It!
Mark 9: 23

God never calls us to dwell on our inadequacies. There will always be things we can’t do. But, there will never be anything we can’t do in the moment Jesus asks us to do it. Come boldly to the throne of grace to find grace and help in time of need. It is in the moment, the immediately-I-must-do-this time, that we find out our God is a very, present help in time of trouble.

Don’t just talk to yourself in the face of cravings and appetites and in coming to grips with the ways you are led away from your best by the lures and enticements of sin. Talk to yourself when you are in the grip of God’s grace. The convicting power of the Holy Spirit will capture your attention faster and faster as you progress through these proverbs and as you allow God to speak to through you.

Do You Have Joy?

2011-12-18T07:02:00.000-08:00

Week 10: Accomplishment

There is more joy in riding a horse than walking behind one.
2nd Thessalonians 3: 5-13

One could say the same thing about a tractor as well. It is nicer to sit up on the tractor than to walk behind it. This was especially true the first time I gave blood. They had cookies for snacks but I don’t eat sweets so I came home from school lightheaded and squeamish. I usually ate several peanut butter sandwiches as a snack when I got home but Daddy needed me in the field so I changed my clothes and went straight to him. We were planting tobacco and my job was to walk behind the tractor and hand plant whatever they missed with the machine. The gas fumes from the tractor and the fatigue from giving blood finished me off quickly.

Discouragement and disappointment will do the same thing to all of us. Lagging behind what God has called us to do will weigh us down, too. How are you going to climb up beside the Father and ride with him today?

Get Out of Bed

2011-12-15T20:51:00.000-08:00

Week 10: Accomplishment

Get out of bed if you want to get the job done.
Proverbs 24: 27-34

I’ve always liked getting up in the morning; my brother and younger sister not so much. But, we always said, if you ever got them out of the bed you couldn’t outwork them. As Shakespeare said, “Aye, there’s the rub.” What happens if you don’t get out of the bed? Nothing happens.

Mamma and Daddy told us to “Rise and shine!” God tells us the same thing. “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you” (Isaiah 60:1-2). How will you prove the Lord is risen, today?

Be a Friend

2011-12-12T07:45:00.000-08:00

Week 10: Accomplishment

Be a friend.
Proverbs 18: 24, 27: 17

Our competency is determined by our connections. Are you well-connected? This is why Daddy encouraged us to pray every night. He knew we would accomplish nothing greater than our faith and the faith of those we kept around us.

Who are your friends? Is God listed first among them? Are the people in your life requiring you to stay well-connected to God? Are they improving you? Are you improving them? Write down the names of some of your friends. Then write one way you help them to become a more accomplished person.

Don't Rest on Your Laurels

2011-12-11T07:41:00.000-08:00

Week 10: Accomplishment

Don’t rest on your laurels.
Galatians 6: 7-10

We are not headed for retirement. We are headed for resurrection. We may need to act as Mannaseh did (II Chronicles 33), claiming our greatest success in tearing down and throwing out all our former accomplishments. God says “Behold, I make all things new”, (Revelation 21: 5) so we say, “One thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ.” (Philippians 3:13b-14) What does God want to accomplish through you today?

Is the Spirit nagging you about something? Oh, you know what nagging is, don’t you? It is saying the right thing at the wrong time. Is God free to talk to you about anything today?

Better than Advertised

2011-12-08T06:42:00.000-08:00

Week 10: Accomplishment

Let your statements always be exceeded by your accomplishments.
Luke 17: 10

Work to perform better than advertised. Apply yourself to exceed expectations. Remember that God is in you not so you can talk a good game but so God can work in you to will and to do his good pleasure. (Philippians 2: 13)

Think seriously and list for yourself the places in your life where there is distance between what you say and what you do. It may be how you perform your job. It may be in how you treat and speak to your spouse? It may be in how you interact with your children? It may be in how you handle your money? Write out directions for how your statements will always be exceeded by your deeds.

Sour Notes of Praise

2011-12-04T05:54:00.000-08:00

Week 10: Accomplishment

Accomplishment carries its own acclaim.
Proverbs 27:2

Does Albert Pujols have to advertise he is a good ball player? Did Babe Ruth? Did Mickey Mantle? Carl Yastrzemski? Roberto Clemente? Does Derek Jeter? No, their performance on the field speaks for itself.

When you are busy tooting your own horn everyone else hears sour notes. In 2nd Timothy 2: 11-16, the Apostle Paul warns Timothy to follow this proverb. Share it with everyone. “Keep reminding them of these things. Warn them before God against quarreling about words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen.

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly.”

You're Welcome

2011-12-02T06:52:00.000-08:00

Week 10: Accomplishment

Just say, “You’re welcome.”
Matthew 5: 37

Do not use long explanations to say you didn’t do anything worthy of thanks. Just say, “You’re welcome.” Do not call attention to yourself before, during, or after a good deed is done. Graciously deflect the credit by receiving the smallest portion you can. Give others the desire to continue in thanksgiving by returning gratitude with grace.

Do you make it hard or unpleasant for people to say, “Thank you” to you? Do you turn something into nothing? Do you deflate another person’s gratitude by how you try to deflate yourself? Get in front of the mirror and practice saying no more than two words at a time. “Thank you.” “You’re welcome.”

Simplify your speech. Prepare yourself. Just say, “Thank you” or “You’re welcome”.

Useful as well as Ornamental

2011-12-01T07:00:00.000-08:00

Week 9: Helping Others

Make yourself useful as well as ornamental.
Proverbs 18: 9-16

This is one of my grandfather’s favorite sayings. It was applied to us as children whenever it looked like we might be trying to assume the role of supervisor (a position everyone knew was his) and stand by while others were working. We would be reminded we were in the field to work not watch, to serve not be a spectator.

After all, we may not be able to pretty but we could be practical. Make yourself useful as well as ornamental. The minute you are able to help someone, help them. You don’t want them to delay when you need help.

Pray and ask God to show you where someone’s need and your ability to help will intersect today. Write down some of those places you can expect to be ready.

Did You Ask First?

2011-11-30T11:51:00.000-08:00

Week 9: Helping Others

Did you ask first?
Proverbs 17: 8-9

Have you ever gotten a gift that was just ‘not you’? Feels awkward, doesn’t it? I mean, you are supposed to appreciate gifts, not feel guilty that you don’t like them. I remember a birthday present I received recently. I don’t eat sweets. I never have. But, for my last birthday, I got an expired box of candy.

If you want to help others don’t be afraid to ask God and them what would help. Respecting what others need and producing resources to meet that need promises reward.

I want you to practice being proactively gracious, today. Don’t make assumptions. Ask what people need. If you are married to them, I’ll give you permission not to demonstrate your total ignorance. So, remember some things they really love and graciously provide it for them.

Love Your Neighbor As Yourself

2011-11-28T07:03:00.000-08:00

Week 9: Helping Others

Love your neighbor as yourself.
Leviticus 19: 18, Mark 12: 29-31

How are you going to bless others today? Think of the people you usually see in a given day. Start at home and walk through the day. Think of everyone by name. If you don’t know a person’s name, humble yourself and find out what it is. Pay attention. You already know your name.

Now, list those people here. Pray for them and jot down at least one way you will show them God’s goodness today. David said, “[I had fainted], unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living” (Psalm 27: 13KJV).

Selfish in a Good Way - the Golden Rule

2011-11-27T06:57:00.000-08:00

Week 9: Helping Others

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
Matthew 7: 12 (The Golden Rule)

Actually, Jesus shares this rule or principle with his disciples in reverse of the way we say it. Jesus said in every situation ask yourself what would you want.

Then go do that for others, not in the particulars of your tastes and preferences but as close as you can determine, in theirs. Do you want to eat spaghetti at our house? For whom are you cooking? That will determine whether you get Mama’s spaghetti or Daddy’s spaghetti.

Blessings are better with a background check. So if you want to do good; first ask yourself, “Who am I really doing this for?” Well, take some time and answer your own question.

Watch Out!

2011-11-26T12:33:00.000-08:00

Week 9: Helping Others

Do not give the benefit of your doubts to the one who wants to bend or break the rules.
Proverbs 1: 10

The worst thing you can do for people is reward them when they do the wrong thing. This is why we were taught you don’t get anything by grumbling or complaining. You don’t get good things when you’ve done bad things. Ill-gotten gain will eventually become ill-gotten pain.

What kind of behavior do you reward? Are you behaving so as to be rewarded? Rewards are a good thing. They help us catch a lot of bad things and put them in their place. And, they encourage us to keep on doing the good. List what behaviors you reward. What bad behaviors have outlived their benefit and need to be put down?

Listen to People

2011-11-25T09:11:00.000-08:00

Week 9: Helping Others

Listen to people.
James 1: 19

Bless someone today. Listen to them. Keep your attention focused on what they say. Make your eyes look for the story in their eyes. Incline your head their way. Keep your chin up. Don’t look at the floor or the wall paper. Look at them. Be a calming presence.

Imagine the scenario where you will need to remember these words today. Do you know the person? Do you know the situation? Prepare yourself. Listen to God. What is God saying right now?

Be Led by the Spirit

2011-11-23T06:50:00.000-08:00

Week 9: Helping Others

Be led by the Spirit.
Romans 8: 14

Any help you give outside of the Spirit will eventually be you just doing stuff. Eventually, everything that is not Spirit-originated is cut down and thrown into the fire. Who is setting the course for your actions today? What does your help produce long term?

As you think on those questions, intercede for your children. Ask God to help you parent them so their strongest desire will be to be a friend and disciple of Jesus. If you don’t have children, pray for your parents. Ask God to honor and bless them today. Ask God for specific ways you could honor them.

Norman Ramsey

PS
I pray for you all to have a Happy Thanksgiving. As Karen has had to care for her parents, absence really does make the heart grow fonder. I give the Lord thanks for my wonderful wife. I thank Gof for my children, too; all grown, but still growing. I thank God for the ministry to which we've been called: to faithfully pastor Laurel Hill UMC, to write songs and books that stir the heart to follow God, and to begin the video ministry of the Two-Minute Drill and awaken people to the pathway of grace!

Learning How to Add and Subtract

2011-11-14T12:55:00.000-08:00

Week 8: Helping Yourself

Learn how to add and subtract before you multiply.
Proverbs 6: 6-19, James 4:13-17

I pray you won’t need today’s proverb as badly as I do. I like to dream up great schemes of activity. No, let’s be honest. I like to scheme up great outcomes. Karen, my wife, says I am great from A to Z but I have problems with A to B. She’s right. I have to constantly remind myself of what I need to do today instead of imagining what will come my way three months or three years from now. It’s an old habit.

I’ve always wanted to multiply first, to extrapolate great successes out of my dreams and musings. This is all well and good if…if I add and subtract what is necessary or unnecessary to do today.

If you’re like me, make sure you stop and get directions from God about your journey through the day. If you are happily not like me give God praise for the steady and additional progress you will make today.

Occupy This!

2011-11-13T05:59:00.000-08:00

Do not carry on with people who want to carry off what belongs to others.
Proverbs 1: 10-19

It is important that we remember this proverb in light of those who want to occupy our energy and passion these days. Always find out to whom or what your friends are rooted. Don't you become attached to anything that springs from a bad root.

Know who you are running with and know who you follow. If they don’t help you maintain or improve your character, or if you cannot in someway do the same for them, you probably need to consider other friends. “Don’t drop to their (lower) level. Let them come up to yours.” That was the spoken expectation we all received as children.

The unspoken expectation was far higher. God has his eye on you. We would hate for the pleasure and favor of the Lord to turn into displeasure and disfavor.

How will we conduct ourselves as Christian gentlemen or gentle ladies this day? How will me make sure we do not carry on with those who want to carry off what belongs to others?

Ready to Make Adjustments!

2011-11-12T12:13:00.000-08:00

Week 8: Helping Yourself

Always be ready to make adjustments if needed.
Proverbs 12: 24-28

As a fifteen year old, our rural, county, All-Star team won the district tournament and headed off to play in the State Tournament. Every one of us, including some of the coaches, was excited and fascinated with all the things we got to do. We all got to play and exhaust ourselves in the first Olympic sized pool we had ever seen.

Our first practice, meant to prepare us for our first game in the tournament became a contest between the coaches over who could best tweak the new-fangled pitching machine. Our batting practice became a lesson in self defense as 100-mph fastballs were sent our way.

The next day, tired from the pool and afraid from the pitching machine we faced our first opponent. We could not have been more unprepared. The pitcher was a southpaw who threw the prettiest and most devastating round house curveball.

No one on our team got a hit until through Daddy’s insistence I choked up halfway up my bat and hit the ball before it broke. A few minutes later I scored our only run of the tournament.

How about you? Are you always ready to make adjustments or do you need to proceed in ways that confirm your stubbornness and pride? Are you a pleasant and happy person when getting advice or correction? What needs to be adjusted?

Can't Say Anything Good?

2011-11-11T05:43:00.000-08:00

Week 8: Helping Yourself

If you can’t say anything good, say nothing at all.
Ephesians 4: 22-32

Do not try to help yourself by hurting others. Do not comfort yourself by condemning others. There is a bashing and blaming epidemic going on in our land. Do not be infected by it.

I have found that most negative aspersions arise not from wisdom or knowledge but from a lack of understanding of another person’s life and heart. Galatians 6: 1 says, “Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted.”

Don’t talk ugly. It puts you on the wrong spiritual end of things. Is there a conversation where you need to rein in your tongue and get back to where you belong? Do you need to close up shop on anything you’ve been talking about? Is there anyone who would be better served held up to the Lord in prayer rather than how you’ve been holding them up to others?

Clean Up after Yourself

2011-11-07T12:48:00.000-08:00

Week 8: Helping Yourself

Clean up after yourself.
Isaiah 62: 10-12

I am still working on this one. I remember the admonition Matt Furey gave that he received from a noted Chinese and Taoist author and teacher, “In discipline lies freedom.” Do you believe that? The Bible says, whomever God loves, he disciplines. Why does God do that? One reason is so we will know we are his. If I recognize this it stands to reason I will discipline myself.

Another reason God disciplines us is to shape our souls into becoming a beautiful and functional dwelling place for the Holy Spirit. Everybody knows you clean up when someone is coming over. What needs to be cleaned up in you knowing that the King of Kings and Lord of Lords is aiming to stay with you today?

Pornography Is Trash.

2011-11-03T07:25:00.000-07:00

Week 8: Helping Yourself

Pornography is trash.
Proverbs 6: 25-26

Throw trash away. Do not ogle or fantasize about spending time in or with the trash. I had to learn this directly. I had snuck home a magazine from a friend at school and hidden it between my mattress and box springs (a mistake for someone whose bed was made by their mother). We were watching Night Stalker when I heard my whole name called out. I went into my parent’s bedroom and was confronted about the magazine. “What is this?” my daddy asked. I was speechless. My daddy wasn’t. “This is trash” he said. “Throw it in the trash barrel and burn it up.”

Have you got any trash lying around that needs to be disposed? Some of you carry guilt like receipts in your pockets. You are never going to use them for anything good so throw them away. Treat yesterday’s wrongs like old receipts you don’t need to keep. Throw them away and don’t spend good money today on trash.

If It Starts to Rain, Y'all Come In

2011-11-02T08:07:00.000-07:00

Week 8: Helping Yourself

“If it starts to rain, y’all come in.”
Proverbs 22: 3, 27: 12

One of the most enduring memories of childhood was watching the storms come up out of the west and south. Our front porch afforded us a perfect view. You could see and smell the rain coming. You could feel the shifts in the air.

We were allowed to stay outside and watch until the rain joined us on the porch. Lightning was the only thing that sent us in earlier. What can you learn from this proverb?

Know your limits. Know when to come in off the porch and out of the rain. Know when to cut your losses and keep yourself from ending up all wet. Know when to admit to yourself, or others, that the rain has joined you on the porch. What do you know?

Don't Judge a Book by Its Cover

2011-11-01T13:21:00.000-07:00

Week 7: Developing Character

Don’t judge a book by its cover.
I Samuel 16: 7

Always judge people by the content of their character. Do not be moved by the color or the curvature of a person’s skin. A girl might be as pretty as a picture but remember she is still a girl, a person not a thing. Love keeps things personal. Lust turns a person into a thing. Met any good objects lately? I hope not. Met any good people lately? I hope so.

The devil’s way of doing things will always downplay the individual unless they fit into a demographic or demagogic image. The devil’s way is to highlight an image above the substance beneath. Your way is to highlight the substance. How will you treat people so that they and others recognize they are substantial?

Are You Wasting Time?

2011-10-31T06:35:00.000-07:00

Week 7: Developing Character

Do not waste time speculating on what may go wrong.
Proverbs 14: 22-30

Evil will always talk too long if you stop to listen. Besides murmuring and worrying allows for a negative confession of faith to be sown into your life. Even honest assessments of people can turn into condemnations when we spend our time speculating and predicting what dumb thing they may do next. Whatever it may turn out to be, it won’t be as bad as us planting the evil seeds of unbelief for them to harvest.

Outwardly, abide by the old rule: if you can’t say anything good, don’t say anything at all. Inwardly, how can your prayers and faith change towards what you expect God to accomplish in others? Do you not know the very act of interceding implies that a change in others awaits the change in your praying? How will your praying and speaking change?

Go with God

2011-10-29T07:51:00.000-07:00

Week 7: Developing Character

Go with God.
Proverbs 8: 13-21

If you want to avoid stumbling, know where you are going. At the very least know with whom you are traveling. Help yourself and go with God. Enoch walked with God until God took him up for a more permanent conversation. Abraham walked with God and was given more promises than any man of his generation. Joseph went with God and God pulled him up out of the pit and prison and made him second only to Pharaoh.

Daniel and the three Hebrew children knew to go with God and God delivered them from the mouths of lions and from the fiery furnace. Hebrews 12: 2 tells us to look to Jesus. Go with God as he did. The joy of that journey will give you power to endure and a place to enjoy before God’s throne.

What relationship or responsibility calls for you to go with God, today?

Big Head? Amazingly Small Results!

2011-10-28T05:28:00.000-07:00

Week 7: Developing Character

Get the big head, if you want your results to be small.
Proverbs 11: 2, 29: 23, Proverbs 18: 12

The scripture is very plain. Humility comes before honor. King Saul was head and shoulders above everybody else but he ended up losing the kingdom to a little, shepherd boy. Learn to know the difference between blessing and bragging.

Daddy tried to warn us. He tried to get us to stop. It was the first game of the baseball season. We were up against the team picked to win it all and we beat them. Instantly, we transformed ourselves from the outhouse to the penthouse. We trash talked to anyone who would listen and some who didn’t about how good we were. We finished 1-15 that year.

You’ve heard it before. “Don’t count your chickens until they hatch.” “It ain’t over ‘til it’s over” Yogi Berra said. Just remember, get the big head if you want your results to be small. Are there any projects, plans, or people in your life where you need to use your head more for serving than for swelling?

Will You Prevail Against Death?

2011-10-27T09:44:00.000-07:00

1. You can’t prevent death but you can prevail against it.
John 11: 25, Romans 5: 20, 6: 23

Have you ever read the Serenity Prayer? “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.” Do you want to develop your character? Practice this prayer. Practice reality.

Farm life taught us death and all other consequences of sin are real. I couldn’t prevent it but I could prevail against it. I raised my version of Arnold the pig three different times. The first two times the other pigs became jealous and killed the one I had befriended and trained. The third time, we killed the pet pig for food. I don’t have space enough here to share the pain of those events. I share this much to remind you everything in this world faces death.

The question is: “How much of us and our world can we turn to face Jesus?” Jesus alone introduces us and gives us access to a reality beyond death. How will you prevail to share that good news with someone today?

What Comes First?

2011-10-26T04:53:00.000-07:00

Week 7: Developing Character

The first step in acquiring a skill is appreciating it. Proverbs 15: 33

This also includes developing character. This requires a deep and pivotal choice be made. Must you win at all costs? Or, do you insist, victory is never more valuable than my integrity. If you are to become a person of character then you must appreciate the virtues of character: integrity, courage, patience, and wisdom. Without appreciation you will be a charade rather than a person of character, a machine more than a man.

What does this look like in real life? Let’s say, you want to acquire wealth. Do you appreciate the value of the wealth you already have? Do you display your integrity through tithing? Do you show your courage by saving for what you desire? Do you demonstrate patience by not acting compulsively or wastefully? Do you have wisdom to pursue assets more than liabilities? Do you learn from and appreciate those who already have wealth?

What do you wish to acquire? How will you show your appreciation?

Take Your Time

2011-10-25T12:50:00.000-07:00

Week 7: Developing Character

Take your time.
Proverbs 23: 17-23

To move with great speed follows great practice. Do not despise small beginnings or incremental change. Give yourself permission for plateaus. Learn how to reserve and recover your strength for when it is needed most. Nothing becomes so mighty as a little bit offered consistently and faithfully done over time.

What about you would you like to change over time? What skill would you like to develop? What habit would you like to kick? I often wonder if instead of always asking Daddy to quit smoking immediately we had asked him to gain his freedom from nicotine addiction over time – to kill his addiction by 1,000 cuts. I believe he would have been able to reach his goal if it had been patiently pursued. In three years he would have quit smoking by slicing off an additional thousandth of what was normal for the day.

Describe your method of transformation and change.

Time Will Tell

2011-10-25T05:50:00.000-07:00

Week 6: Patience

Time will tell.
Proverbs 27: 2

Don’t think too much or too little of yourself at any given time. Mr. Jackson, my social studies teacher gave us an assignment to make a timeline of significant events in Virginia history. I would have gotten an A but was dropped a letter grade because I included my birthday along with the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel’s construction in 1959. Mr. Jackson’s red-letter response: “This has not yet proven historically significant.”

Would I still include my name in a timeline of significant events in Virginia history? I probably would. But, I would also agree with Mr. Jackson that time will tell in a more definitive way than I can. Don’t think too highly of yourself. Give God the praise. But, don’t lessen the work of God by listening to those who say our lives and their impact are insignificant. List the people who have made a significant difference in your life and know you are doing the same. Time will tell you I’m right.

Keep Moving

2011-10-23T05:54:00.000-07:00

Week 6: Patience

Keep moving.
Proverbs 13: 4, 21:5

As Mike Litman says, “You don’t have to get it perfect. You just have to get it going.” I can hear Daddy repeat that line to us. “Keep moving. We are almost at the end of the row.” Keep working.

When we come to an end of ourselves that is the exact moment when God can begin to shape us into becoming someone new. So, don’t quit. Keep moving. The year we were 0 and 16 playing baseball, we told ourselves “We weren’t losers. We just ran out of season before we could win.” Keep moving. The next year, we won the District Championship!

Where have you been tempted to call it quits? How does God need to work in you to take you beyond where you are right now? How do you need to keep moving with God so that you reach that goal together?

Proving Your Patience

2011-10-22T11:23:00.000-07:00

Week 6: Patience

Patience is best proved in the presence of other people. Philippians 2: 12-16

Are you a patient person? Does your wife think so? Is that what your children would say? Are you a steady friend or a short fuse?

If you are left alone would you be patient? But, you are not alone. We all live in relationship to others. So, what does it mean to be proven to be a patient person? It means we know how to live with the big picture of Christ crucified as our focus. The little snapshots of life are building blocks that frame our thinking.

Reflect on this for a minute or two. I prove I am a patient person when I …

Haste Makes Waste

2011-10-21T05:32:00.000-07:00

Week 6: Patience

Haste makes waste.
Proverbs 19: 2

Go get a glass of water. Walk back to where you are reading today’s devotional and start again.

Alright, hop up again. Refill your glass. This time run back to where you were seated and jump into your chair. Are you wet?

God is on the move but God is never out of control. God can work quickly but God never hurries. The only time God cuts anything short is to benefit the Church (Mark 13: 20). As for you, avoid those who insist you act immediately unless they are asking you to repent. Who or what is urging you to hurry?

Delay or Accelerate?

2011-10-20T07:18:00.000-07:00

Week 6: Patience

Delays are just acceleration lanes into a different opportunity.
James 1: 4

Daddy taught me to play sports. In football, as in every sport, he taught me to be thoughtful in how I played. After all, I wasn’t the biggest or fastest or strongest.

As a receiver I couldn’t run the patterns haphazardly. I had to be precise. I had to alter the rhythm of what I did. The hitch and go was one of my favorite routes. What is that? The hitch and go is when you run downfield and act as if you are going to turn and when the defender reacts to your cut you instead accelerate downfield. The delay provides the opportunity for success.

What delays have you been counting as dead ends that could really be used to determine the direction towards your success downfield? Keep your head in the game. Determine what direction you need to accelerate.

Slow and Straight, If You Want to Be Great

2011-10-17T06:11:00.000-07:00

Week 6: Patience

Slow and straight, if you want to be great.
Proverbs 4: 23-27

In bowling, in golf, and in life this is sound advice. Daddy went bowling about once a year. What was his average score? I remember somewhere close to 180. In golf he shot a hole in one the first round he played but practiced and learned the game until about twenty years later he scored a 68 when he was 68. More than a great hole, he had a great round!

Daddy would try to help me have good rounds. “Don’t try to hit it so hard. You’re trying to connect with it, not kill it.” Life is like that. You’re not trying to beat it into submission. You’re just trying to swing through. Go slow and straight if you want to be great.

Are there things or people you tend to push rather than draw forward? Do we need to practice waiting on our Maker? Or, are we constantly trying to make things happen? Are there places you need to slow or straighten?

Don't Bite Off More Than You Can Chew.

2011-10-16T05:35:00.000-07:00

Week 6: Patience

Don’t bite off more than you can chew.
Proverbs 23

Don’t put so much in your mouth at one time. It makes eating harder than it’s supposed to be and it doesn’t look very attractive. The same goes for impatience. It makes things harder rather than easier and it never looks good.

A more excellent way is to take appropriate bites. Don’t go for the chipmunk cheek look. You can always take another bite. God’s more excellent way is patient. Love is patient. Literally, it is God’s macro theme, his big picture.

That’s why we don’t bite off more than we can chew. We are trying to show off God’s picture not our big mouth. Where do you tend to show yourself instead of God’s more excellent way? How will that change?

The Only Thing that Heals What It Cuts

2011-10-15T05:18:00.000-07:00

The Word of God is the only thing that heals what it cuts.
Hebrews 4

Every wound it opens the word of God can mend. Wash it out with the truth. Stop the bleeding in love. Stitch it up with forgiveness. Seal it with the Spirit.

The Spirit of God is in the world to convict the world of sin, of righteousness, and judgment (John 16: 8). For the Christian that means the Spirit will prepare us for that battle (Ephesians 6:13): the battle to cut and heal the souls of men. The Word will then cut us first, opening us to truth and righteousness. The Word will prepare us and shield us through the gospel of faith in Jesus Christ. We will be covered and crowned with salvation, interceding and intervening to bring the soundness of the Scripture to others.

But, first in what ways do you need to be cut open today? In what ways do you need to be healed?

Your Greatest Choice

2011-10-13T18:06:00.000-07:00

Week 5: The Word of God

Your greatest choice is the choice to hear and heed God’s words.
Proverbs 1: 8-9

Our world seems to move from one crisis to another. Some of these crises seem accidental and natural. Others seem to be manufactured and forced. No matter what the cause the word of God can have us prepared and ready to face each challenge. The word teaches us how to remain free: spiritually, mentally, and financially.

List the action steps you and your family have enacted and planned to remain free people no matter what happens in the world. How will these steps honor God, protect your family, and demonstrate love to your neighbor?

Our Ultimate Safe Haven

2011-10-13T06:26:00.000-07:00

Week 5: The Word of God

Hearing the word of God is our ultimate safe haven.
Proverbs 19: 16, Nahum 1: 7-8

The most secure location is surrendered and locked into Jesus. You cannot prepare entirely for what is unforeseen but you can be kept ready to respond to the unforeseen when your faith is in God.

March 15, 1989. I would have been on my way from our home in Nashville to Greensboro College. I had been invited to sing and preach for Thursday morning chapel the next day. But after saying “Yes” to this breakthrough opportunity I had to call them back and cancel. I couldn’t say why. I didn’t know why but I felt such uneasiness about going I made the call.

March 14, 1989. I was into my second week of my new job at Trabue, Sturdivant, & DeWitt. That night, my parents called asking me for my work number. It was late. They couldn’t give me a reason they waited up so late. They just felt as if they needed the number.

The next morning, March 15, 1989, my sister, Janet was in a very serious car wreck. We went straight home when we got the call. What set of circumstances do you believe God has had you change? Remind yourself of a time when God has kept you safe and available to respond in a moment of crisis.

Resolve is the Harvest of Revelation

2011-10-12T06:28:00.000-07:00

Week 5: The Word of God

Resolve is the harvest of revelation.
Romans 4: 16-25

My granddaddy never had an abiding sense of assurance. He had been taught it was presumptuous to say you were saved. His hope was high even though his faith was not strong. Do I believe he was a Christian? Yes, I do. But he was a Christian that needlessly was anxious about things that should have inspired peace.

Daddy did not have this problem. He had a deep and abiding assurance that what Jesus accomplished on the cross and secured through his resurrection had been applied and received by him. How did this happen? He was taught that it was faith, not presumption that allowed him to testify to God’s grace. He didn’t have to wait until heaven and hope to know the goodness of God. His resolute faith came by revelation.

I pray you share that revelation of God from his Word. Write down the things you are sure God’s grace provides for you. If your list is small, ask God for greater revelation. Apply yourself to the Bible.

Sow Strength into Your Heart

2011-10-11T04:10:00.000-07:00

Week 5: The Word of God

Strength is sown in the heart when we hear what God speaks.
John 6: 63-71

When we were in high school, Daddy began to carry the mail. It was hard to make it as a farmer and three of his children would be entering college within five years of each other. But, the biggest blessing of carrying the mail was not the financial benefits.

The biggest change in Daddy, the way he conducted himself, occurred because as he carried the mail he listened to Christian radio. He listened primarily to the preaching and teaching ministry of WRVL 88.3FM in Lynchburg, VA.

Instead of coming home at the end of the day, tired and short-tempered because there was still work to do on the farm, Daddy jumped into the work with more joy, sharing the insights and the lessons of the day with us as we worked. Do you need that kind of change in your life? How will you conduct yourself so you can hear the word of God more?

The Most Valuable Treasure

2011-10-11T04:07:00.000-07:00

Week 5: The Word of God

The most valuable buried treasure is the words of God you hide in your heart.
Psalm 119: 11, Proverbs 2

Daddy prayed and read his Bible every night. This was not a one minute, one page devotional time. This was an extended period of time spent kneeling beside the bed and sitting up in the bed to hear from God. He sought God’s wisdom as hidden treasure. His example was a secret map he shared with us, his children. He told us to study this map every night as we were commanded to read our Bible and say our prayers before we went to sleep.

Why are the words of God so valuable? The Psalmist asks, “How can a young man keep his way pure? [He does it] by living according to your word. I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you (Psalm 119: 9-11).

Notice the two big reasons God’s word is so valuable: it keeps us from sinning and it instructs our living. “The Holy Spirit and the Scriptures are equal partners in the work of revelation”, Rick Bonfim says, “If you know the scripture you are already halfway to where you need to be.” How far along are you? How are the words of God adding value to your life?

Good as Your Word

2011-10-09T09:47:00.000-07:00

Week 5: The Word of God

You are only as good as your word.
Psalm 22: 1

This is why God is good. You can count on his word. Whatever God initiates through his word will be accomplished. This is why David says, “I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy loving kindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name” (Psalm 138: 2). God keeps his word.

We grew up in an era where your word was your bond. Your conversation was collateral. Your promise was payment. You were good for it even if circumstances weren’t. Daddy and so many others of his generation allowed for that kind of business because of their integrity.

How does business have to be conducted with you and me? How good is our word? Has our word been stretched thin because of how much we have asked it to cover? How does our house need to come in order to make our word good?

Is Jesus in the House?

2011-10-09T06:20:00.000-07:00

Week 4: Distinguishing Marks

Joy is the best sign that Jesus is in the house!
Nehemiah 8: 10, Luke 13: 10-17, Acts 5

Why is joy the best sign of God’s presence? Joy is best because it means we are joined to God. It’s best because it can be expressed both outwardly and inwardly. What does joy do? Look at Luke and let’s see.

It gives us a spirit of strength that can overcome the spirit of weakness and infirmity in others. Joy can be communicated so the one who’s been bent together can be opened up, lifted up, and set free. Joy can touch the person and transfer its power to them. Joy can put to shame any other program or remedy that you can try. Do you need to be filled with the presence of Jesus? Do you need to be filled with joy?

How will your day be shaped by joy? Excuse me, how will you shape your day in joy?

Instruction Follows Improvement

2011-10-06T15:23:00.000-07:00

Week 4: Distinguishing Marks

Your ability to instruct begins with your ability to improve.
2nd Peter 3: 11-18

If you can’t improve most don’t expect you to help them. Why? They can see you are having a hard enough time trying to keep yourself straight. Imagine yourself to be in a foursome playing golf. If your team does well you can get your entry fee back. On the first tee one member of your team tops his drive. The next slices his drive off to the right. The third member hooks his drive. You pray for improvement as you get ready to address your ball.

The next tee brings the same result. The first person lifts their head before they make contact with the ball. The second swings too hard and the third pulls his foot back before he pulls the ball. This hole, you pray for a different team. You know you won’t be picking up a lot of pointers from your teammates.

What are others praying when they are teamed up with you? How are you improving today?

Change Follows Responsibility

2011-10-03T08:04:00.000-07:00

Week 4: Distinguishing Marks

If you want to change something, take responsibility for it.
Proverbs 14: 6-8, Romans 12: 21

You cannot solve a problem if it is someone else’s fault. Blame makes nothing better. But, if you can take responsibility for the problem then you can change it. Do you not see? You can change yourself. Other people are a whole lot harder if not impossible to change.

If we need answers but continue to blame others for our need, the solutions will always be beyond our grasp. They belong to the one we’re blaming. But, if we take responsibility for meeting our problems the solution will be held in our hands. When you pray today, tell God you are ready to accept responsibility for your situation. I am confident God is ready to supply you with the remedy. The question is how will you obey God? The answer is...

Creating for Others

2011-10-01T06:13:00.000-07:00

Week 4: Distinguishing Marks

You are separated from others by what you create for others.
Proverbs 20: 11

Mama made biscuits. My grandmother created an atmosphere of peace. My wife, Karen brings a sense of order and grace. I make music and write. We all have something we do that distinguishes us from others. B. Joseph Pine and James H. Gilmore described this proverb in their book, The Experience Economy. As Daddy would point out, we are recognized by our contributions, by what we give and create. What do you have to offer today?

Review the post "Transformation is Normal" posted 9/22/2011 and "Plant Your Seeds. Dream Big Dreams." from 9/19/2011. How will your dreams make a difference in the lives of others?

Distinguished from the Crowd

2011-10-01T06:09:00.000-07:00

Week 4: Distinguishing Marks

Your spirit not your stature distinguishes you from the crowd.
Proverbs 16: 32

The most mature fruit of the Spirit is self-control yet it is the first quality we teach our children. We teach them to keep their food somewhere between their plate and their mouth. We teach them to control their responses in gratitude and say, “Thank you.” We teach them to ask for things humbly by saying, “Please.”

For us as adults what sets us apart from others is our ability to exercise self discipline and control. An author is distinguished by their time writing. An athlete or artist is set apart by their training and practice. A teacher is set apart by her preparation and attention to detail. A coach is set apart by how he focuses his passion for the game into the heart of the players on the team. A person of business is set apart by her diligence and focus on the bottom line.

When we raised grapes we had optimal growth because everything began in a growth funnel, and then as they matured the vines were aligned and banded to the wires of the trellis. The harvest was far above what was expected because we controlled and pruned the vines so vigorously. In what ways do you need to be vigorous in self-control? How would this make you exceptional?

An Upright Man

2011-09-29T06:23:00.000-07:00

Week 4: Distinguishing Marks

An upright man can stand tall no matter his height.
Psalm 37: 37

Daddy only stood 5’ 8” tall yet no matter where we went he seemed to be able to meet anyone as a friend. People gravitated to him though there was nothing outwardly remarkable about him. We still wonder how he struck up some of the conversations he did.

The most notable took place at the airport in Washington D. C. Daddy was waiting for my brother Dennis to get off his flight. When Dennis finally found Daddy he was standing in the middle of Robert Parrish (7’1”), Kevin McHale (6’10”), and Danny Ainge (6’5”), members of the Boston Celtics coming through the airport on their way to the Rose garden to pick up their championship rings from the President. We asked Daddy how he ended up talking to them and all he could say was, “I don’t know but they were nice young men.”

Are you easy to be around? When the lives of others storm out of control, are you an eye of calm? Are you a person of peace?

Distinguishing Marks

2011-09-29T06:15:00.000-07:00

Week 4: Distinguishing Marks

To make your mark, aim ahead of the game.
Luke 13: 24

Daddy took us bird hunting when we were young boys. We had an English setter, named Snow who was trained to point and then run the quail out of the tall grass. I can still remember the flutter of their wings as the covey took flight and the ringing in my ears at the blast of my 410 gauge shotgun. My first shot and miss led to this proverb but I offer it to you for so much more than hunting quail. What can you do to aim ahead of where you are right now?

Rotate Your Crops

2011-09-27T08:04:00.000-07:00

Week 3: Learn from the Farmer

Rotate your crops.
Matthew 10: 7-14, Acts 13: 1-4

If you belong to a church or any organization it is easy to overlook this proverb. We all have routines and traditions. But, routines are meant to reflect efficient ways of doing things not exercises in futility. Traditions are meant to be celebrations of God’s goodness among us not limitations on that goodness.

As the land is eventually robbed of essential nutrients if the same crop is planted over and over again in the same field, we rob our church’s vitality when we don’t allow new things to be planted. We also take away from church vitality when we don’t mentor and train others to do what we do.

We do this not to catch a break but to have our faith stretched working with different people and doing something different from what we’ve done before. What new thing needs to be planned for in your life or in the life of your church? Who will you show how to do what you do?

Learn from the Farmer

2011-09-26T07:06:00.000-07:00

Prove you’re ready to begin the next season by how you finish the last.
Luke 6: 38, 2nd Corinthians 9: 6-15

There were three things we needed to do every year to close another season of growing and selling tobacco. We saved the seed from this year’s crop to be sown in the plant bed the following spring. We spread the stalks on the field to re-fertilize and restore the land that had yielded its increase to us. And, we stored all the tools and items that had been necessary to cultivate and harvest the crop this year and would be needed again in the future.

When and how do you evaluate your activity? They give you a schedule for soccer and football. They have play-offs and all-stars to help you judge how your children did. But, what do you go by to tell how your marriage is going? How do you measure the growth or the fitness of your spirit, soul, and body?

How will you save the seeds of faith that have been planted in your spirit this year? How will you restore your soul? How will you keep your body in shape for the next season?

Learn from the Farmer

2011-09-25T19:46:00.000-07:00

Package your work so that others can get the most out of it.
Colossians 4: 5-6

Daddy encouraged me when I was first called to preach to be able to share the good news in five minute sermons. "If you can't say what you want in five minutes, you probably don't know what you're talking about anyway." I've herd it refferd to as your elevator speech. Like the farmer you have to be able to sell what you produce otherwise it goes to waste.

What, about you, just doesnt sell? What can you prepackage? How can you highlight where the goodness of god is at work in you? How can you refresh your soul so it puts a smile on your face? How can you wear a lable of Christain and convoy the name of jesus rather then the brand of condemnation?

Pick the fruit when it's ripe

2011-09-24T05:47:00.000-07:00

Pick your fruit when it’s ripe.
John 9, Galatians 5: 22-23

Work the works of God. Bless other people. Let the fruit you produce arise from the seeds God has planted in your life: gifts of knowledge, wisdom, discernment, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, tongues, and interpretation of tongues.

Work hard. You’ll be amazed at how much you can do when doing something worthwhile. Your pace intensifies when your production increases. Look up the fruit of the Spirit. Write them down. Memorize them and match them to the gifts I listed in the last paragraph. Ask people, “If you could only choose one of the nine which would you pick?” Once you hear their answer, pray and sow the gifts into their life. Pray for friends and family now.

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Prune Your Schedule

2011-09-23T05:39:00.000-07:00

Week 3: Learn from the Farmer

Prune your schedule.
John 15: 1-8, Hebrews 12

Prune your schedule. Measure your progress. Be quick to begin but slow to stop. Be more satisfied with what you can finish than what you can start or set off until later.

But, as Zechariah says, “Do not despise the day of small things.” Power is multiplied by the smallest change of our focus. Identify one thing you do, purchase, or spend time on that is unnecessary.

Prune it. Then give focus to the one necessary thing that will benefit you the most. Repeat as often as needed.

(Pray this proverb is universally applied.)

Have a great weekend. Hannah and I are traveling with my sister Janet and her husband J. B. to the East Carolina University football game with UAB. Karen is hosting the first "Ladies' Night Out" at Laurel Hill UMC tomorrow. Keep us in your prayers.

Plant your seeds. Dream big dreams.

2011-09-22T04:24:00.000-07:00

Week 3: Learn from the Farmer

Plant your seeds. Dream big dreams.
Hosea 10: 12, Romans 8: 28

“I know whatever you do, you will be fine. You will do well.” These were the words I heard my daddy and mamma say often to us as we grew up. They knew that if we held on to what is good, and trusted Jesus; everything would work out all right.

Why? God is committed to it. So, go ahead. Live boldly, today. Plant your seeds. Dream big dreams. God has got you covered.

Review what you wrote 3 days ago when you read "Transformation Is Normal". Reinforce whatever you need and write it down again. What dream will you run after today?

Learn from the Farmer

2011-09-21T02:48:00.000-07:00

Week 3: Learn from the Farmer

Plow your fallow ground.
Hosea 10: 12

The ground will not ready itself for planting. If we don’t turn things over the rain may benefit the weeds more than the soil. Be open to what is good. Never be quick to judge or dismiss someone’s best efforts. Never be quick to stop your own forward progress. Plow ahead knowing God’s grace is sufficient to turn everything in you right side up.

Remember the three reasons why a farmer cannot plow the ground.

1. It is too hard. If that is you, soak your mind in the water of God’s word. Ask God to pour out his Spirit on you.

2. It is too wet. Don’t make decisions when you are tired or depressed. Don’t commit yourself to what you know nothing about. Get yourself in good order then plow ahead.

3. You’re trying to plow too deep. Turn what you can give your attention to today. Don’t try to do everything or for everyone. Attend to God’s word. You can only plow as deep as it cuts.

Follow Me

2011-09-20T04:08:00.000-07:00

Week 2: Repentance

Follow me.
Matthew 9: 9, 16:24, 19: 21

God calls us this way because God knows where He is going. If you want to walk with God you have to follow. Isaiah 53 says we are all like sheep. We go astray. Every one of us has turned and gone our own way.

In Jesus Christ, each of us can be turned back in the right direction. Pray with me: Father, into your hands I commit my day. I walk through it as a follower of Jesus. Holy Spirit, come along beside me so my steps can match those of Jesus.

Write down some of the ways you will follow Jesus in obedience throughout the day? How will you carry out your work? How will you interact with your spouse? Your children? Your friends? Will you give yourself grace today?

Transformation is Normal

2011-09-19T03:59:00.000-07:00

Week 2: Repentance

Transformation is normal.
2nd Corinthians 3: 18

It is not a foreign custom or process. It is the inevitable occurrence of trusting God and being obedient to our calling. Let’s be honest. God is changing us. Others may not recognize it. We may not recognize it but we can quit denying God’s work. Next time a disparaging voice is heard let’s respond, “I’m sorry if I hid the obvious. I am becoming a new creation in Christ Jesus.”

What will be the new normal for you today? What will be transformed in the next 77 days? Write down what you believe in your heart needs to be changed. Turn blood into ink. Write it down and then take the next 77 days to turn ink back into blood.

Face Your Fears in Repentance

2011-09-18T05:30:00.000-07:00

Face your fears.
Luke 11: 1-13

Bring your “A” game to each day. What does that mean? Well, you might have your own ideas about that but here’s my alliterative reminder.

Think of the Lord’s Prayer stuck on the first letter of the alphabet.
. Align yourself with the Lord.
. Answer your circumstances according to God’s will and way.
. Accept the day with a hearty gratitude and a gutsy hope.
. Attack people and problems with forgiveness.
. Assess every situation knowing Christ is for you and in you.
. Ask God to save you and deliver you from the evil one.

What does your “A” game look like?

Run Thin in the Wind

2011-09-17T05:10:00.000-07:00

Week 2: Repentance

Run thin in the wind.
James 1: 2-4

Run thin in the wind. Lean into the wind. Don’t complicate things. Do everything as simply as possible. Let your work and influence be as aerodynamic as possible. You are not trying to call attention to yourself. If the wind is strong and you are living large you will get blown away. We are trying to make as much progress as possible so lean into the wind.

Allow your movement to be streamlined by the grace of God. If others bump into you don’t be offended or defensive. Show them how to lean forward with you. Who will get a different reaction from you today because you are leaning into the wind? What things will you let blow by that usually make you stumble?

God Is Looking for Someone Who Will Change

2011-09-16T02:18:00.000-07:00

Week 2: Repentance

If you won’t change, God will find someone who will.
Matthew 18: 3, Luke 10

God loves people. John 3:16 declares it. The cross proves it. Daddy taught us to know God had gone to great lengths to transform us from sinners to saints but God would not force his way on anyone. It is our choice.

It is also our choice to cooperate with God after that transformation has begun. Luke 10 describes a scenario where someone needs help. A scribe and priest see the need but bypass it to stay on their own agenda. The Samaritan stops, helps, and adjusts his schedule to the need.

I had a book to write, Moving at the Speed of Grace. I was going so slow I might not have finished except this proverb and a book by Andy Stanley, The Principle of the Path, (that used the subtitle I had planned on using), kicked me back into gear. Today, do what you need to do. You don’t want God to choose someone else. By the way, what do you need to do today?

Grace and peace,
Norman Ramsey

P.S.
Make sure I have your e-mail so you can receive our free monthly newsletter, The Pathway of Grace and be on the lookout soon for our new, short, teaching videos, the Two-Minute Drill!

Do We Really Want Progress?

2011-09-15T03:54:00.000-07:00

Week 2: Repentance

Diligence cannot make up for the head start of disobedience. Repentance is the only remedy.
Luke 13

C. S. Lewis said, “We all want progress, but if you’re on the wrong road, progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road; in that case, the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive.” I could have used this quote early in my marriage.

Karen and I were riding back home from Charlottesville when I decided to take a shortcut. It was the wrong thing to do. Karen told me but I didn’t listen. I persisted down this road, turning where I could, hoping to justify that first turn off the road home. An hour later despite my diligence we were back on the road from which we started.

Jesus says there is only one functional “shortcut” that gets us from where we are to the straight and narrow way home: repentance. How will you turn onto the road of repentance, today?

Pray for our nation today. Many have been warning for the last thirty years we were walking down the wrong economic road. Pray we will repent from our "progressive diligence".

The Best Place to Turn Around

2011-09-14T03:44:00.000-07:00

Week 2: Repentance

The best place to turn around is where you realize you are going in the wrong direction.
Deuteronomy 30: 8-12

I picked up my son at the RDU airport in between Raleigh and Durham. As we came out of the airport, we noticed a vehicle that looked like it had run off the road. I called 911 on my cell phone and as I tried to tell the operator the location of the other car I got confused and took the wrong exit off the highway.

Immediately I told my son “I think I’ve gone the wrong way. This doesn’t look familiar.” I think I repeated that phrase for another five miles before I pulled over and into the McDonald’s drive-thru (without ordering anything –much to the embarrassment of my son) to get directions.

They confirmed what I already knew. I needed to turn around. Don’t waste precious time like I did. Don’t needlessly embarrass your children. Don’t prolong disobedience or speed up to prove you are lost. Is there anything, any attitude, any direction, from which you need to turn around? Write it down here but more importantly actually get turned around and headed in the right direction.

Daily Essentials

2011-09-13T03:42:00.000-07:00

Week 1: Paying Attention

Read your Bible. Say your prayers. Go to sleep.
I Timothy 4: 13-16

As a young boy, I heard my parents repeat these three sentences every night as we went to bed. If my brother and I got a little rowdy and wound up we would here them multiple times until we were threatened with parental help in getting them done. Why were these sentences so important?

There are three great things to which you always need to pay attention: what God says to you, what you say to God, and what happens in between. Our life was meant to be interactive within God’s life. That’s why Jesus said “You must be born again.” That is why we learn to trust God. That is why we need the Holy Spirit filling up the space between God and us.

Have you set aside time for these three essentials? When today will you read your Bible? When today will you pray? When will you sleep? Don’t forget. Pay attention. Do all three.

Look both ways before you cross the road

2011-09-12T04:06:00.000-07:00

Week 1: Paying Attention

Look both ways before you cross the road.
Proverbs 4: 23-24

We hardly had any traffic on the road where we grew up. It was such an occasion that if we were working in the field adjacent to the road we could easily stop our work and wave to every person passing by without losing any productivity. Yet, despite oncoming traffic being a rarity, we were taught this proverb.

Do not assume you know everything. Do not move forward on the basis of past experience. Examine what you need to get to today in a fresh way. Is there anything coming that would cause you to become more urgent in your tasks? Is there anything coming that would cause you to be patient and wait? You decide but look both ways before you cross the road.

Please, get to know the Holy Spirit. How? Do it the same way you would with the girl of your dreams. Ask the Spirit to go out with you. Think about the Spirit all the time. Keep things in the order Jesus kept things in. "Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit and went about doing good healing all those oppressed of the devil." You were not primarily created to do good, you were created to be filled with the Spirit. Without the Spirit you will only add to the oppression. Without the verifying grace and peace of the Spirit don't even think about crossing the road.

Sit Up and Watch Where You Are Going

2011-09-11T05:26:00.000-07:00

Week 1: Paying Attention

Sit up and watch where you are going.
Proverbs 4: 25-27

This is the mantra I heard over and over again whenever we went for a ride when we were young. We were not allowed to complain. Ordinarily, Daddy wasn’t double jointed but somehow he could get his arm back to us in the backseat while he was driving without turning around.

But, if I listened to today’s proverb I didn’t have to worry about getting into trouble. This one statement has given me the ability to return to anyplace I have ever traveled. It gave me the gift of remembering. How I need to remember this proverb when I am listening to others or just going along.

Ask yourself today, “Where do I need to sit up and watch where I am going?”

Pray today for the country as we remember the wrongful and evil acts carried out on 9/11/2001. Pray that we sit up and watch where we are going as a nation and stand ready to turn to the Lord.

Paying Attention - Straighten Up!

2011-09-10T05:42:00.000-07:00

Week 1: Paying Attention

Straighten up!
Leviticus 26: 13, 2nd Samuel 22: 26

I used to slouch a lot. I use to slump my shoulders. I really have to pay attention or I will do it today, too. Your destination is determined by your inclinations. In other words, your future is determined by your focus, your life is determined by the direction you lean.

If you want great things but lean towards being lazy then your results will be lazy. Pay attention to what you are inclined to do. Then ask God to bend you into shape to accomplish what is needed today. Straighten up!

What does God need to straighten up in you, today?

Paying Attention 3

2011-09-09T03:57:00.000-07:00

Week 1: Paying Attention

Do a job well and you only have to do it once.
Ephesians 6:7, Colossians 3: 23

Your ability to be paid for advancement is built on your ability to pay attention. No one wants to pick up after you. If someone has to come behind you to get the job done right, then the one who comes behind gets the job.

Daddy would make us repeat our work if it wasn’t done correctly the first time. Today, what do you need to make sure is done correctly the first time? What relationships need to be filled out with more detail?

Paying Attention 2

2011-09-08T03:02:00.000-07:00

Week 1: Paying Attention

Keep your head up. Your feet will follow.
Ephesians 5: 8-10, Psalm 3: 3

Pay attention to your attitude. Don’t be discouraged. Dropping your head only means you will bump into things you shouldn’t. Dropping your head makes you walk like you are in the dark.

Keep your head up. God has confidence in you even if you don’t. Keep your head up. Otherwise, your prayers may sound like you are mumbling. Trust God. Keep your head up. Your feet will follow. What is it today you need to keep your head up to see?

Paying Attention

2011-09-07T12:20:00.000-07:00

Week 1: Paying Attention

Your opportunities are based on what you can observe.
John 4: 35

When I was a young boy Daddy often took us to Crawley’s Store. That is where I met Ed Crawley. Ed and his brother Harry ran the store. Ed had lost his sight as a young man but without eyes he could call us by name as we walked through the door. He could recognize us and initiate a conversation whether we had spoken or not.

We are asking God to awaken our senses so we can be like Ed Crawley. We won’t address a problem if it’s over our head or beneath our concern. So, we are asking God today for eyes to face the problems that are before us and the spiritual and physical sense to know they are there.

We Shall All Be Changed!

2011-06-04T05:22:00.000-07:00

“We shall all be changed!” This is the promise of God through the Apostle Paul in 1st Corinthians 15. It reinforces the fourfold promise of Jesus in John 6 to raise up those who believe in him on the last day.

The good news is God has taken sovereign responsibility to transform those who trust Him. We don’t need to work up the energy or hope for evolution to kick in. God’s grace will change us from one degree of glory to another.

I watched the opening night of X-Men: First Class and the pride-filled struggle produced by change through random mutation, as if difference means superiority. Professor Charles Xavier uses three sides of Albert Outler’s quadrilateral: reason, tradition, and experience to convince Magneto of finding the answers that lead to peace. But, Magneto doesn’t want peace. He wants revolution and revenge.

This comic book fiction is very close to fact to a generation who cannot seek the scriptures or know the way of peace. They need to hear the good news. “We shall all be changed” and God will do it!

The greatest virtue of our generation could be patience—the ability to trust, wait, and work with God for change.

The $6,400 Question - James C. Capretta - National Review Online

2011-05-21T04:21:00.000-07:00

The $6,400 Question - James C. Capretta - National Review Online

Why Islamic Moderates Are So Scarce - Article - National Review Online

2010-09-03T07:04:00.000-07:00

Why Islamic Moderates Are So Scarce - Article - National Review Online

What leads to real repentance?

2010-08-05T17:18:00.000-07:00

What leads to real repentance? There is only one enduring reason: a revelation of the goodness of God. Any other basis upon which you are changed is a short term fix. Your faith must find its rest in God who alone is eternally constant.

Repentance to a fault only magnifies the fault. Jesus never says "Repent and believe you can do better." Jesus says, "Repent and believe for the kingdom of God is near." Mark 1: 15 says "Repent and believe the good news."

The good news is not a message of self improvement. The gospel is a message of God involvement. The good news is being born from above and experiencing power from on high.

Look at Jesus' call of his disciples. Repentance comes from beyond our attempts to mend or improve our well-worn efforts. Repentance comes when we launch out into the deep because of the goodness of Jesus' words.

There is more to you than meets the eye. I pray it is "Christ in you - the hope of glory!"

The Big IF

2010-07-22T05:54:00.000-07:00

2nd Chronicles 7: 14 reads "If my people, who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and heal their land."

The Big IF marks the threshhold between the path of ruin and the path of redemption. There is always a Big IF at the beginning of every step we take. There is a Big IF that marks every turn on the pathway of grace. Today we look at the first.

"If my people" will humble themselves there is always hope. Why? God dwells with the one who is humble (Isaiah 57:15). Jesus when he heard a man pray "Be merciful to me, a sinner", says that the man went from his prayer justified. Humbling ourselves is the only means of transforming us from our own man to being God's. The Big IF only becomes active when that transformation of repentance takes place.

If a person clings to their own ways while trying to humble themselves they are not truly praying. Prayer here is defined as 'judging by comparison'. We are called by God's name. Our faith is defined then in comparison to God's name and word.

The Big IF then defines us. We seek God's ways and scorn our own rather than scorning God's ways and seeking our own.

Our Big IF becomes God's Big YES! God's "Yes" in Jesus Christ kicks in!

Now, if God hears from heaven God moves in the earth (I John 5: 14-15). God moves with forgiveness and healing and we who have answered the Big IF are never the same.

The Pathway of Grace Personified

2010-07-19T12:49:00.000-07:00

If you read Romans 8: 28-30 you will see how the Apostle Paul lays out the pathway God's grace takes when God is up to his good work in us. In the book Moving at the Speed of Grace you can find this pathway outlined as...

Begin in repentance
Believe in the Lord
Build up your faith
Bless
Bring Life
Breakthrough

Well, I'm always looking for scriptural and real life representations of this path and I believe I have found another one.

A young man named Marcus recently started attending our early worship service at South Hill UMC. For about a month he came in with one of the families in our church and sat down near the back of the chapel. A couple of weeks ago he asked to speak with me and through our conversation I recognized the way in which he had already answered God's call to repentance. That day he professed his faith in Jesus as Lord and we have scheduled his baptism for August 15th at 3:00pm at Palmer Point.

Marcus had responded to God's call and begun to worship the Lord. He had believed God's prognosis or foreknowledge and not only turned from his troubles but put his faith in Jesus. I shared how he could be predestined to be conformed into the image of Jesus that day in my office and he has been praying and studying his Bible daily.

That same day in my office he moved in obedience to God's call to serve when I asked him, "Now, that you're a Christian, how can I pray for you"? Marcus replied, "I'm alright now. I really want you to pray for my Mama. She needs the Lord." God has been bringing life to him ever since then in a marvelous way. In multiple ways - in the joy of his face, the confidence of his walk, his enrollment in college, and his gaining of a job; even the opportunity to go on vacation with the church family with whom he's living (Pray he learns how to swim while he is there.) caused Marcus to exclaim, "I have a life! I have a future!"

Indeed he does because God's pathway of grace always leads to breakthrough and beyond. Pray God will continue to show himself mighty to Marcus in ways he can recognize and praise!

The book is here!

2010-06-08T04:36:00.000-07:00

Give God praise. The book is here. Learn how to walk the pathway of grace and move forward into breakthroughs in YOUR life!

Call to Order

2010-05-06T13:30:00.000-07:00

Call to Order

Sowing is an Extreme Act of Faith

2010-02-20T03:37:00.000-08:00

Sowing is an extreme act of faith. How do I know this? The first thing you do to the seed after broadcasting it is cover it up. Anne D. LeClaire in her book Listening Below the Noise writes, "Just as a seed is first nourished in the dark and silent depths of earth, creativity begins in the void: the empty canvas, the blank page".

God is calling us to a deeper steadfastness and stillness: a repetitive and more consistent fidelity. Sowing to righteousness means I will never jump out on my own apart from God.

Would I have jumped all about from row to row sowing seeds as a child alongside my father? No way. I would have been told to quit my foolishness, stop jumping around, and stay steady.

This is our challenge today. Stay steady. Keep moving forward. Do not fret if your best efforts seem to get covered over by all the stuff that is going on these days. Keep on going and remember, sowing is an extreme act of faith.

Try to Live Your Life (Not a Lifetime), Today

2010-02-18T20:48:00.000-08:00

Remember our theme verse from Hosea 10: 12. “Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the Lord, until he comes and showers righteousness on you.”

Remember when it comes to you and God, Believe everything, force nothing. Sowing is always a deliberate action. Anything accidental is spillage. Even my father, who could broadcast seed quicker than anyone I know, always cast it forth with accuracy.

This is our calling during Lent and everyday. "Sow for yourselves righteousness." Have such a Jesus-centric life that even if your sowing appears quicker than most it retains its accuracy.

Believe everything. Force nothing. Today you are to live your life, not a lifetime. There is grace enough for that later. Today, dip your hand down into the bag of seed God gives you. Draw your hand out full and ready to match God stride for stride in sowing righteousness. Walk in rhythm to God's grace.

Try to live your life (not a lifetime), today.

Breaking Up Is Hard to Do

2010-02-18T12:02:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, you saw my theme verse for Lent 2010- Hosea 10:12, “Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the Lord, until he comes and showers righteousness on you.”

Today, we focus on seeing what might be delaying the showers of righteousness God wants to pour out on us. The first thing we notice is God expects us to do something for ourselves. The grace we need to get going has already been supplied. God's call to repent and believe has already gone out. They have been spoken to you. Now, and especially in Lent it is time for you to do something about it. The verse closes with this injunction: "for it is time to seek the Lord". What is the hold up?

The second thing we notice is the directive to reap. Sieze ahold of what is good and let the rest go. A 17th century contemplative said, "Four things a man must learn to do if he would make his record true: To think without confusion clearly, To love his fellow men sincerely, To act from honest motives purely, To trust in God and heaven securely." ... Is this what you are working towards doing during this Lenten season?

Finally, we are called to break up our unplowed ground. I know of three reasons why you can't plow the land. #1. The ground is too hard. I pray that is not your problem. If it is ask God right now to soften your soul with a good soaking of his word and Spirit. Father, heal the wounds that have scabbed and crusted over but have never become whole. #2. The ground is too wet, too slippery. Don't make decisions when you are tired or depressed. Don't rush to speak or answer when you haven't heard everything out or thought everything through. Act, but act with the certainty of Holy Spirit conviction and peace. #3. You try to plow too deep, too quickly. Move at the speed of grace. Be patient. Be kind to yourself.

The Lord stands ready to shower righteousness upon you!

My Theme Verse for Lent

2010-02-17T07:44:00.000-08:00

We are in the season of Lent: a time of preparation to meet the Risen Christ! My theme verse for these forty days is Hosea 10: 12, “Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the Lord, until he comes and showers righteousness on you.” In this one verse, the prophet describes the three ways I can change everything that needs to change in my life.

First I sow to righteousness. I think long term. Will what I presently do yield a productive and pleasing life to God? Brendon Burchard, author of Life’s Golden Ticket, reminds us: “At the end of our lives, we all ask, ‘Did I live? Did I love? Did I matter?’” Lent is the perfect time to ask those questions now. Hosea 10: 13 says we have all fed on lies. Sowing to righteousness means giving God the opportunity to break the power and influence of every lie and replace it with truth. Develop a habit in these forty days of feeding on God’s word.

The second thing we do is set short term goals for this Lenten season. Hosea 10: 12 says “reap the fruit of unfailing love”. The King Kames Version says, “Reap in mercy.” Take advantage of God’s grace to make a difference in your life and the life of others. When you reap you don’t try to carry away the whole stalk. You cut the heads off the grain. You grasp what you want. Do you have long term goals? Do you have big dreams? Run after them. Accomplish as much as you can. Our commitment is to be closer to our goal at the end of Lent than at its beginning. Heed the warning of Hosea 10: 13. We have already reaped more than enough, the results of short cuts, unhealthy choices and bad habits. Enough of that! We are now taking full advantage of God’s grace.

The final thing we do is “break up your unplowed ground”. We plow into our soul. We break in before the moisture of God’s leading evaporates. We do not wait until tomorrow to be serious about our Lenten preparation. We do not wait until the next distraction keeps us from obeying God in this moment. We act and act now. We turn over every tillable part of our heart.

“It is time to seek the Lord, until he comes and showers righteousness on you.” It is time to act until the fruit of our reaping and the results of our sowing are plain. Yoke up with Jesus today. Give, pray, and fast until your breakthrough comes.

Make Your Resolution for 2010

2010-01-02T07:03:00.001-08:00

Make your resolution for 2010 to affirm the reliability of the scripture! I want to help you do this by sharing the first presentation of the gospel. It is found in Genesis 5. I have to thank Chuck Missler for teaching this on GodTV. You translate the names of the geneology and you have a perfect picture of God's good news in Jesus Christ. See for yourself!

Adam = Man (is)
Seth = appointed to
Enosh = incurable frailty
Kenan = (as his) dwelling place.
Mahalalel = Praise to God!
Jared = (He) descends (and)
Enoch = consecrates a narrow way
Methuselah = as a man in a given time and space
who is a weapon formed against our enemy,
Lamech = powerful (for our)
Noah = comfort!

These verses not only energized my Christmas; they have focused my attention for the year ahead. I want to present the gospel of Jesus Christ just as plainly as these names do.

Pray as we dive into 2010! We are in concert at Borders Bookstore at 1541 Beaver Creek Commons Drive in Apex, North Carolina on January 16th sharing the music from The Colors of Grace. Also, I received word, our first book- Moving at the Speed of Grace: Discovering the Way God Always Works will become available in May 2010.

Grace and peace be yours,
Norman Ramsey

P. S. E-mail me and let me know what you thought of Genesis 5 - reverendnorm@msn.com.

Keep Things in Context

2009-11-23T08:17:00.001-08:00

Context is everything. When you read scripture, avoid reading verses in isolation to what comes before and afterwards. Take John 3: 16 for instance. Before it, there is a promise: "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life." Afterwards in verses 17 and 18, there is a warning or consequence of unbelief. Keep everything in context.

Aim to make your interpretation of life and scripture as universal and as individual as possible at the same time. Judge things both by the 'content of their character' and the 'character of their content'. When evaluating choices keep in mind your own assumptions. Many of us approach arguments with an assumption of sufficiency. If a certain person argues for something, you trust them and are willing to assume that is sufficient.

Others of us approach things with an assumption of need. If we have the proper information we can make an informed decision. What is important is not who says it, but what is said. We need to verify things for ourselves.

Both of these assumptions being respected keeps things in context. We all make assumptions. We all usually lean toward emphasizing either the causes or the consequences of our choices, the reasons or the results. Let us be those who graciously hold on to and balance both.

Allow for God to turn you so that you can see in both directions. Enter into everything with a complete spirit of repentance. Give God permission right now to broaden your perspective.

Real Repentance

2009-11-18T06:51:00.000-08:00

Last night, we concluded our Revival services with evangelist, Fred Shmidt. I had a friend tell me today, "We needed an evangelist to come and shed light on us in a way our pastor cannot." She was right.

Counterfeit Christianity is on the rise. Pop theologians push their own brand of faith and most, even in the church, look for the blessing of faith apart from repentance. The problem is there can be no blessing of faith without repentance.

What is repentance? It denotes accompaniment, allegiance and alignment. Repentance drives us away from sin and draws us into the presence and communion of God. Sins, obscure and obvious are forsaken as the focus of our life is turned around to follow Jesus. If you have not experienced this turn around you still stand in need of repentance. Revelation 2:5 warns us against continuing to run the race after we have made a false start or run out of our lane (the straight and narrow way of Jesus).

I urge you to repent today regardless of whther you consider yourself a saint or a sinner, a moral person or a total mess. Without repentance, we will become spiritual drifters and we will desert the faith of Jesus. Remember today - Repent!

What Do You Do?

2009-11-02T03:01:00.000-08:00

What do you do when you are frustrated or stymied? Do you try to figure out why? Do you look for something to eat?

Many of us look for something we can consume or something that consumes us or both. I often make popcorn or a couple of peanut butter sandwiches and watch TV. It is no wonder that I have gained the weight back I had successfully lost. Yes, the way I respond to life has turned success into failure.

I have to change my consumption patterns. When I first came to South Hill UMC I was very productive, visiting and carrying on the daily activities of a new pastorate. I often worked on my computer and yet, rarely if ever played a game like Hearts or Minesweeper. The other day I noticed that had changed and made myself write a paragraph or work on a project when I was tempted to play a game.

I ask the question again: What do you do when you are frustrated or stymied? Do you look for a way to be productive? No one ever gives birth to new life without going through labor. Can you find something you can consume for two?

Can we find something that fuels our frustration and our future at the same time? Yes, we can. For me, this morning it is writing this blog and cleaning my office. What will it be for you?

The Wrong Way to Go Deeper

2009-10-28T06:44:00.001-07:00

When I was a young boy we were invited to spend the day with our "town" cousins and go to the country club with them. The country club was home to the Briary Creek golf course and a very nice swimming pool. We came to play in the swimming pool and a whole lot of other people came to do the same thing.

It was a bit overwhelming. There were more people at that pool than we saw at anytime during the summer. Church didn't even have as many people as were clamoring around that pool.

But, we had come to play and play we did. I even joined the line waiting to climb the ladder and jump off the high diving board. When my turn came I stepped out onto the board and with a little bit of fear jumped off.

Down to the bottom of the pool I went. Touching the bottom I pushed myself towards the surface and to the ladder on the side where I would climb out of the pool.

I was not a great swimmer so I came up then submerged myself under the water , holding my breath until I got to the ladder. The problem was others were headed for the same ladder and using my head as leverage to push themselves towards it. I don't think anyone meant me any harm. I just couldn't swim well enough to make any headway.

Panic was catching hold of me as I swallowed water. My mouth was opening whether I wanted it to or not to try to draw some air out of the water. Another second and I would have gone deeper. Another second and I would have drowned. Thankfully, my cousin wondered why I wasn't coming out of the pool and pulled me to safety - and air.

There are two ways you can go deeper: discipline or drowning. Only one gives life. Today, choose life. Choose discipline.

Depth requires discipline

2009-10-27T11:57:00.000-07:00

Depth requires discipline. The deeper you go in the Lord the more will be required of you. "Launch out into the deep", Jesus tells Peter (Luke 5: 4).

Why do we not move instantly to the call of God to go deeper? This is the first thing after the first thing. God gets into our stuff as he got into Peter's boat then inevitably God asks us to go deeper.

Are we reluctant like Peter was initially. Do we argue with God? Do we try to justify and validate ourselves? Peter started that way but he didn't stop there. "Lord, I've toiled all night and caught nothing: nevertheless at your word I will let down the net." (Luke 5:5)

If we want to go deep, as deep as God wants for us, we will discipline ourselves to the word of Jesus. "When they had done this, they caught a great multitude of fishes so their nets were breaking" (Luke 5:6) Depth will break our ways of looking at things. Depth will require deeper attention to prayer and fasting. Depth will expand what we thought was possible.

Discipline yourself to live every moment, face every situation at the word of Jesus. This way we will avoid the other way we can go deeper which I will write about tomorrow.

Love you, Norman

Please pray for our family. Most all of us has been sick (Hannah, Karen, and now Robert) and some of us do not feel as fit and strong as we want or need (that would be the rest of us.) Pray for revival in South Hill UMC. Holy Spirit come down and be welcomed to do your work.

Good Intentions

2009-10-26T07:49:00.000-07:00

I was going to do this new blog post early Saturday morning but we had no electricity. Widespread power outages were reported in our area. So, I wrote it out on paper to be (as you see now) transferred when the power came back. The power came back on at 10:30 am but by then I was behind and (as you see now) I didn't get it done until today, Monday morning.

What's my excuse? Did the dog eat my homework? Did the schedule get in the way of what was scheduled?

I had good intentions to eat well this week yet there are still chocolate-covered ice cream bars in the freezer. My sister and I were going to run in a race on November 14th but we both decided to wait.

The first must become last and the last first. Good intentions must be translated into intentional good.

If you have a habit of good intentions remaining idle ideas instead of definited deeds, turn everything on its head. Don't make a list of things to do. Do things and then list what you have accomplished. Do as our guest speaker, Scott Briggs, Harvest of Hope Director for the Society of Saint Andrew, said: "Do not be as concerned about getting the next thing you do perfectly right. Instead just do the next right thing." As Mike Litman has said many times, "You don't have to get things perfect. You just have to get things going."

Grace and power in all the intentional good you do today!

Thank You Discovery UMC

2009-10-19T07:44:00.001-07:00

I know. It's been quite a while since I've posted anything. But, today I want to write a quick thank you to Jim and Avis Lavender of Discovery UMC in Richmond, VA. Karen and I went to share in the first night of their revival where I got to sing and preach.

I also say, "Thank you" because Avis asked me to invite Janet, J. B., Teresa, Jill, and Carrie: my older sister and her husband, my younger sister, and two of my nieces. They sang, too and they were great!

I have a great family and they are always fun to be around. Last night was just another chance to prove it. Thanks Discovery UMC for inviting Karen and I up, my family over, and God down! Grace and peace everyone.

For Wherever You Are

2009-09-19T10:18:00.000-07:00

How do you need to move to follow the path of grace? It depends on where you are and who you are. Over five and a half years ago I noticed the path sin and grace always took when they worked in our lives. I began to write, exchanging ideas for ink. I took those words and edited them and improved them. I produced a manuscript called Moving at the Speed of Grace. My labor was submitted to Tate Publishing and my breakthrough came when I received their acceptance of and contract offer for my book.

I thought the process was winding down until I received the submission guidelines that moves the process of publication forward.

Their acceptance was not just my breakthrough, it was my beginning. The submission guidelines helped me notice that. I now take another kind of step of faith and exchange my way of formatting things for theirs at Tate Publishing. Then we will refine and improve the book through their editorial process. We will produce a proof. Everything that needs to be done to ready the book for publication will be worked out. Then, the breakthrough known as the release date will be set and I'm sure you will be the first to know when that day is coming.

But, today, how can you be faithful to the path? Are you starting a new path like me? Are you learning to trust in a different way, like me? Are you disciplining yourself and redeeming the time you have like me? Are you in the midst of producing something, like me? Are you sharing with others, helping them to walk the path like me? Are you experiencing moments of grace and breakthroughs like me?

For wherever you are, stay on track. Be faithful to God and to the high calling God has given you in Christ Jesus. It's no telling where you will end up!