There Are No Off Days

Happy Friday, Friends!

I hope and trust this post finds you all having a great day as a glorious new day begins to dawn in my Sweet Home Alabama! Additionally, I sincerely hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!

 

I can get pretty fired up about Mark 12:30-31, which says, “30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’[a] 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[b] There is no commandment greater than these.” The one that usually gets me fired up, challenges me greatly, and that I have written about in previous Happy Fridays is the period at the end of the sentence, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” It’s a period, not a comma. It does not go on to tell me that I should love those I like, who look like me, who believe what I believe, or any other qualifier I would like to add. It simply says, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

 

This morning, I also want to point out that there does not appear to be any “off days.” Jesus didn’t say that we are to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength on Sundays, when you are at church, as long as you are not on vacation, etc. The statement, like the one about loving our neighbors as ourselves, has no qualifiers, conditions, or exceptions. It is a simple statement with a period. This leads me to believe that we are to do these two things every day, no matter the day, the situation, or the circumstance.

 

I genuinely hope you are enjoying this very special holiday season, getting good rest, and spending quality time with family and friends. Please remember, however, that while we are not called to go to work every day and are actually commanded to have a day of rest, there are no off days when it comes to loving the Lord and our neighbors.

 

I also want to share a couple of quotes from TobyMac on Facebook:

 

“In the days ahead, remember: your job is to plant the seed, not change their heart. Don’t get your role and God’s role mixed up.”

 

“Each of us is an innkeeper who decides if there is room for Jesus.”

 

Please don’t hesitate to contact me if there is ever anything I can do for you or your family. I will always help you any way I can. You can reach me at kevin@whatwillyourinfluencebe.com.

 

Have a great day, a wonderful weekend, please cherish your precious family, and please stay well!

 

Kev

I Want My Life to Preach

Happy Friday, Friends!

I hope and trust this post finds you all having a great day as a glorious new day begins to dawn in my Sweet Home Alabama! 7 days, including today, until Christmas Day! I can feel the excitement in the air!

 

Last Sunday, our Pastor started our service by talking about being a witness – witnessing the greatness and goodness of God in our lives, and witnessing to others about God. I honestly can’t remember what he said or how he said it; however, I almost involuntarily said, “Convict me!”  If someone were to look at the life I live, the words I speak, and the things I do, what would I be convicted of? How about you, Friend?

 

Would I be convicted of being a Christian? Would I be convicted of not just believing in Jesus, but of Jesus being the Lord of my life?

 

Would I be convicted of loving, valuing, cherishing, and adoring my Beautiful Bride? Nearly every time I have spoken publicly over the past few decades, I have said that my wife and sons are my highest earthly calling and greatest purpose. Does the life I live testify to the truth of this statement?

 

People and the relationships we have with them, I often state that the key to success in any endeavor is people and the relationships we have with them. I also state that every person has value, meaning, and purpose. Do I treat every person like I truly believe these words? Do I love, care for, and serve others as often as I encourage others to do?

 

Is there enough evidence in my life to convict me of these things? Or, to say it another way, if someone were to look at the life I live, the words I speak, and the things I do, what would I be convicted of?

 

I love this time of year. I am blessed at my workplace to have two weeks off. For the last few years, I have taken this time to reflect on my life and the things I am doing, and to align the things I will do in the coming year with my priorities. I want to live life intentionally, passionately, and purposefully, and I want there to be overwhelming evidence to convict me of my faith, my love and devotion to my family, and my honoring of my life purpose: to encourage, empower, and equip others to become all they were created to be.

 

There is a great song titled “Preach.” It captures perfectly the cry of my heart this morning.

 

Preach

By Ryan Stevenson & Matt Hammitt

 

I talk about grace

I talk about love

I talk about faith

But some days I don't have enough

I talk about forgiveness

Still learning how to give it

Lord, I need your strength to live what I believe

 

I want my life to preach

Every breath, every beat

I want my life to preach

When I'm strong, when I'm weak

Through valley lows and mountain highs

Every moment testifies

Further than my words could ever reach

Lord, I want my life to preach

 

I talk about peace

And I talk about hope

I talk about serving others

But most days I don't

And I talk about freedom

But gettin' lost in religion

Lord, give me strength to live what I believe

 

'Cause I want my life to preach

Every breath, every beat

I want my life to preach

When I'm strong, when I'm weak

Through valley lows and mountain highs

Every moment testifies

Further than my words could ever reach

Lord, I want my life to preach

(I want my life to preach)

I want my life to preach

 

Turn my days into your canvas

Let me stay open-handed

With a humble heart to serve the least of these (least of these)

I want my faith to be in action

Let this flame of compassion

Be louder than every word I speak

 

I want my life to preach

I want my life to preach

I want my life to preach

I want my life to preach

 

Yeah

Every breath, every beat

I want my life to preach

When I'm strong, when I'm weak

Through valley lows and mountain highs

Every moment testifies

Further than my words could ever reach

Lord, I want my life to preach

 

(I want my life to preach)

(I want my life to preach)

Lord, I want my life to preach

(I want my life to preach)

(I want my life to preach)

I want my life to preach

Every breath, every beat

Lord, I want my life to preach

 

Please don’t hesitate to contact me if there is ever anything I can do for you or your family. I will always help you any way I can. You can reach me at kevin@whatwillyourinfluencebe.com.

 

Before closing, I want to wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas!

 

Have a great day, a wonderful weekend, please cherish your precious family, and please stay well!

 

Kev

My Christmas Wish

Happy Friday, Friends!

I hope and trust this post finds you all having a great day on this glorious Saturday morning in my Sweet Home Alabama!

This week's Happy Friday is my Christmas wish – for the gifts we give and receive – for all of us. I hope and pray that you and I will give and receive the greatest gift – full presence for and from the people that we are blessed to have in our lives.

We talk about people being the most important thing in life, that our families are our priority, etc., but are we actually living it? We can physically be in a room with people and not be present at all. It is far more common now to sit around with people, each of us on our phones, checking emails, scrolling through social media, etc. We are there, but we really aren’t.

So, as we are 12 days from Christmas day and folks are scrambling around looking for the perfect gift, I want to encourage you that all of us can afford the greatest gift, that we can bless others more than we had ever hoped or imagined, for the greatest gift is you! Let’s commit to putting down our phones, turning off the TV, and having real conversations. Let’s take this special season of giving to give our undivided attention, to ask others about their hopes, dreams, cares, and concerns, to reconnect and to get to know one another, to care genuinely. Let’s call the friend or family member we have meant to call for years. Let’s play the games, go for the walks, and by all means, eat the pie and cake! Let’s give selflessly of our time, talent, and treasure to love, care for, and serve others. After all, isn’t this what the One we celebrate at Christmas modeled for us?

Please don’t hesitate to contact me if there is ever anything I can do for you or your family. I will always help you any way I can. You can reach me at kevin@whatwillyourinfluencebe.com.

Have a great day, a wonderful weekend, please cherish your special family, and please stay well!

Kev