I hope & trust this post finds you all having a great day on this beautiful Saturday afternoon! I am having arguably the best day of my life - I have gone on a long walk, target shooting with my youngest Tender Warrior and a lunch date with my Beautiful Bride. I still have the NFL Hall of Fame induction ceremony to watch tonight, as well as a family movie, AFTER a Saturday afternoon power nap. Blessed! :)
This week I simply want to share a couple of things with you. As is always the case, I cannot - nor do I want to - tell you how to live your life. I can only offer some options - presented most powerfully through actions, not words - and testify to what I have found, believe and choose to try to do. That is my heart as I dive into this Happy Friday message.
The first thing I want to share with you is Romans 12. I read it earlier this week and my Spirit was doing jumping jacks as I was reading. :) Experience has taught me that this means the words are right and true. Though I fail to live them out far more often than I would like to admit, I am driven by this God-inspired wisdom. I will share the entire scripture, bolding the parts that in particular speak to my heart and perhaps offer a thought or two. I am not doing this to influence you one way or the other - just my testimony.
Romans 12(NIV)A Living Sacrifice
12 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Kev's Thoughts: My mind is renewed by seeking God in His Word, prayer and by the Godly men & women He places in my life. When my mind is renewed, when I seek God's way, then I am able to test and approve of His will for my life. When I seek the worlds view I am helplessly lost.
3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. 4 For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your[a]faith; 7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; 8 if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead,[b] do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.
Kev's Thoughts - God & my Mom both taught me this one; I am not better than anyone. We all have different talents, gifts & abilities and everyone should be honored. When people ask if I truly believe that every life has value, meaning and purpose I can emphatically say without hesitation - "ABSOLUTELY."
9 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13 Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
Kev's Thoughts - People know if you truly love, value, cherish & adore them...you can't fake it and you can't give what you don't have. If you don't have it perhaps you should go to the source of your information and then look again.
Jesus came to serve, not to be served...surely it is not too much to ask for me to honor others above myself.
The only chance I stand of being joyful in hope & patient in affliction is by being faithful in prayer...and a quadruple dose of God's mercy & grace! :)
Mom always modeled this one too...practicing hospitality. Mi casa es su casa...my house is your house. I am not given the many blessings I have to hoard them...they are to be used to bless others. Thank you Mom! :)
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position.[c] Do not be conceited.
Kev's Thoughts - Augh! More, much more, mercy & grace needed here Lord! It is so hard to bless those who curse me and yet when I do I find that deep, abiding peace that goes beyond all understanding. And when I don't? I feel & act like a fool! Just keepin it real Friends! :)
As I have matured I have really learned this about rejoicing with those who rejoice and mourn with those who are mourning. What helped me? Realizing that it is not about me. God doesn't have everyone here to serve me or you...sometimes we are the joy in someone else's celebration, the anchor of hope in their moment of despair. When we are so caught up thinking about how uncomfortable we feel because what they are going through, perhaps it would be wise to remember that it is not always about me & you.
The Bible tells me that pride goes before the fall and I can testify that every time I have been proud, I have fallen. Go figure!
I think this is another one I can directly attribute to Mom; first, she would not be pleased if anyone was defined as being "of low position." And second, she would absolutely not tolerate ignoring anyone. Every life has value, meaning & purpose! If I don't see it, the problem is with me, not them.
May I please give you one more "Momism?" It is not directly related to the conceited part but yet, perhaps it is. I remember one time she looked me dead in the eye and said, "Don't you ever make yourself look good at someone else's expense!" I am telling you, I feared Mom much more at that moment than God! :)
17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,”[d] says the Lord. 20 On the contrary:
Kev's Thoughts - There is such a key part of this verse..."as far as it depends on you." I cannot control what anyone else thinks, does or says...I can only control me. I can choose to be all of the things listed above, or not. What my Bible tells me is to control what I can control and then leave the rest up to Him.
Probably one of the hardest roads I have ever walked, a couple of different times. When others have said and/or done things to me that were not right or fair, that hurt deeply, to leave it up to God. And yet, peace - and deliverance - are found when I do and they are not when I don't.
“If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head."
21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Kev's Thoughts - Isn't this really the point of "What Will Your Influence Be...?" Yes, we live in a fallen, hurting, broken world. With this I must INTENTIONALLY choose the things I will read, watch and listen to and then I must INTENTIONALLY choose to be a positive, encouraging influence in the lives of others. Evil is real and I can't be overcome by it. And while I might not be able to get rid of all evil in the world, I can be a light to others in this world.
I also want to share a quote with y'all that I came across just this morning. As the saying goes, "I am just going to leave this right here."
“The truest human is the one whose conduct proceeds from goodwill and an acute sense of propriety, and whose self control is equal to all emergencies; who does not make the poor man conscious of his poverty, the obscure man of his obscurity, or any man of his inferiority or deformity; who is himself humbled if necessity compels him to humble another; who does not flatter wealth, cringe before power, or boast of his own possessions or achievements; who speaks with frankness but always with sincerity and sympathy; whose deed follows his word; who thinks of the rights and feelings of others rather than his own; and who appears well in any company, a man with whom honor is sacred and virtue safe.” - Markesa Yeager
And finally, I want to encourage you to watch the NFL Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony tonight if you have the opportunity to do so. Why? Have you ever heard the expression, "God will take your mess and give you a message?" Well, there will be a whole lot of messages delivered tonight. I will laugh, I will cry and I will learn. Just thought you might enjoy it as well! :)
Enjoy the rest of this Saturday, have a great weekend and please cherish your precious families.
Kev
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