I hope and trust this post finds you having a great day as
a glorious new day begins to dawn in my Sweet Home Alabama! Additionally, I
sincerely hope you have been warm, safe, and with power during this challenging
week for so many in our country. Please continue to pray for those who are
being negatively affected.
I want to start off by sharing a couple of quotes and a
scripture. I will then share a few thoughts and challenges for us all.
Last Saturday, I came across this quote:
“Treasure this day and treasure yourself. Truly, neither
will ever happen again.” – Ray Bradbury
Then, during his message last Sunday, Pastor Steve said,
“Imagine a place where every person has high value.”
On Monday, I was listening to Pastor Craig Groeschel’s Sunday message, titled "Choosing Unity in a Divided World." At the
end of his message, Pastor Craig cited John 13:35, which says, “By this everyone
will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
So Friends, what if we lived like these quotes and scripture
were true? What would our world look like then?
Treasure this Day…it will never happen again.
What if we simply lived this day to the fullest? What if we
didn’t live in regret, shame, or whatever of yesterday because the reality,
Friends, is that we cannot change any of it? And, what if we didn’t live in
worry or fear of tomorrow, which may or may not arrive, and the things we worry
about and fear may never happen? What if we just embraced and cherished this
day with everything that is within us? If we were to live it to the fullest,
hindered neither by the past nor the future? Just fully alive today! Let’s make
Psalm 118:24 the daily declaration of our lives: “This is the day the Lord has
made. We will rejoice and be glad in it.”
Unconvinced? Here is the reality, Friend: this day will come
and go, never to be seen again. The choice to live or survive, be positive or
negative, is yours and yours alone. You live it however you choose, just be
mindful that it will never come again and you are literally exchanging a day of
your precious life for it.
Treasure yourself…your life will never happen again.
The Bible says that each one of us is fearfully and
wonderfully made, created on purpose for a purpose for which we are perfectly
equipped, lacking nothing. Oh, Sweet Friends, I pray that we will all truly
realize how valuable, how precious, each and every one of us truly is. God
thought enough of you and me to create us. He wanted to have a relationship
with us so badly that He sent Jesus to die for our sins that we may be in a right
relationship with Him through the sacrifice of Jesus. Shouldn’t we at least
honor the One who created us and the One who suffered so we may live? Please,
be very careful and thoughtful of the words you speak over yourself, for when
you criticize yourself, you are literally criticizing the handiwork of the One
who created you.
Look, as a guy who has spent, and if I am honest, still
spends, way too much time criticizing myself, I get it. The truth is, we all
have flaws, challenges, and struggles. Do we really think that the God who
created us doesn’t know it? You see, Friends, it is these very flaws,
challenges, and struggles that cause us to rely on the One who created us. I am
fully aware that in my strength, I am incapable of becoming the Godly man,
husband, father, leader, and friend that He created me to be. He, however, is the
God of the impossible. When I lay my life at the foot of the cross, allow Him
to lead, guide, and direct every step of my life, I honor Him and the life He
has blessed me to live.
So what if we stopped criticizing and beating up God’s
masterpieces – ourselves? As with the day, our lives are also ebbing away. We
have one to live, and we get one shot at it. None of us is going to extend our
lives by speaking life or speaking death over ourselves; however, the quality,
depth, and breadth of the lives we live will be directly impacted by the words
we speak over ourselves. Since our words and actions have the potential to
reverberate in eternity, we would be wise to carefully consider them. What if
you and I agreed with what God says about us?
And now, we pivot: “Imagine a place where every person has
high value.” Truly Friends, we don’t have to imagine it; we simply have to
recognize and appreciate it. Everything stated above about you and me is true,
and it is true of everyone else, too. The real problem, I believe, is our lack
of recognition, respect, and appreciation for it!
What if we treated everyone like they had high value? Just
as God created you and me, God created them. Just as Jesus died and rose for
you and me, He died and rose for them. It isn’t a matter of someone having high
value; it is a matter of us honoring them and the high value they possess.
And finally, what if we were really known by our love? In
the same message where he cited John 13:35, Pastor Craig also cited Proverbs
6:16-19:
16 There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are
detestable to him:
17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent
blood,
18 a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick
to rush into evil,
19 a false witness who pours out lies and a person
who stirs up conflict in the community.
If the Lord hates something or finds it detestable, wisdom
tells me we should listen. He also tells us to “love our neighbors as
ourselves.” Should we listen?
So Friends, what if we genuinely – gonna need help with
that! – everyone? How different would our world be? And this quote has also
challenged and inspired me: “Love me when I least deserve it, because that is
when I need it the most.” - Jay McLean
This is a very challenging Happy Friday – to write, to read,
and most importantly, to live. I will again testify that I have found in my
life that the only chance I actually have to treasure my life and each day I am
blessed to live, to recognize that everyone is valuable, and to love everyone
is through the wisdom, discernment, power, and strength of the Holy Spirit.
What if we allowed Him to truly lead our lives every day?
Please feel free 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
