As Far As It Depends On You

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! Today will surely be a great day, I believe and declare!

I have thought a lot about this scripture this week:

Romans 12:18

18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 

The “as far as it depends on you” is the key part. Neither you nor I can control how someone treats us, responds to us, acts towards us, etc. We, however, always have a choice. We can choose to be kind, nice, polite, empathetic, and understanding regardless of who the other person is or what they are doing. We can choose not to respond, not be offended, and not retaliate if someone says or does something mean, rude, or inappropriate. I am not proposing that it is easy; it is a choice.

I also want to remind us of the words found in Mark 12:30-31:

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.”

While I absolutely want to encourage you to love the Lord with all your soul, mind, and strength, it is the second part that I am most interested in this morning. “Love your neighbor as yourself.” I have beaten this drum before and will beat it again this morning; there is a period at the end of the sentence, not a comma. Who is your neighbor? Everyone. That includes the worthy and the unworthy, regardless of how we define those terms.

I want to share a few quotes, and then I will end with our challenge.

“When you judge another, you do not define them, you define yourself.” - Wayne Dyer 

“The way we treat people we strongly disagree with is a report card on what we’ve learned about love, compassion, and kindness.” - Marc Ian Barasch 

“Set an example. Treat everyone with kindness and respect, even those who are rude to you - not because they are nice, but because you are.” - Jonathan Lockwood Huie 

So Friends, my challenge for us this week, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.

Please don’t hesitate to contact me if there is ever anything I can do for you. 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

We All Have Something

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! Today and this weekend are going to be amazing! While I realize this is not Friday, I wanted to share my message today so I can be fully present and enjoy the time with my family these next few days.

This morning, I will not share anything that you don’t know or haven't heard before; however, it has been on my heart most of the week. I also want to share a couple of pieces of encouragement.

Almost everyone is dealing with a problem, challenge, or issue. It could be something that occurred just that day or something that has been going on for weeks, months, or even years. The range of issues is so vast that I won’t even attempt to list them. The point is that almost everyone is dealing with something. Nothing new, right?

Here is where I want to offer some encouragement.

First, if you are going through a difficult time, whatever that might be or however you might define it, please know that you are not alone. One of the horrible outcomes of this “perfect,” social media-driven world is that we tend to think we are alone in our struggles. The reality is we are not alone. Many people have the same, or similar, struggles, issues, and problems. However, because so many of us are wearing masks, pretending everything is great while in reality we are falling apart, we are hesitant to say anything. I want to encourage you to say something. It is not a sign of weakness but rather a characteristic of great strength…and the quickest way to help and healing. Please don’t remain silent, don’t withdraw from others, and please don’t believe the lie that nobody cares. I assure you, there are a lot of people who care. I know I do!

What would this world look like if we extended grace and compassion instead of looking to be offended? For most of you reading this, I know you have challenges, issues, and/or concerns, and I also know you aren’t always kind, encouraging, and gracious. How do I know? Because I am just like you! In fact, as much as we want to try to separate ourselves, we are all much more alike than we are dissimilar. So, please, Friends, the next time you see someone who is rude, insensitive, or does something you don’t like, perhaps instead of jumping up to put them in their place, we look at them through the lens of grace and compassion. Instead of getting mad at them, I wonder what would happen if we prayed for them. Instead of “putting them in their place,” I wonder what would happen if we asked them if they are o.k. or if there is something we could do to help them. I don’t know the answer for you; I pray that I have eyes to see, ears to hear, a heart to care, and hands and feet willing to be moved by Jesus to love, care for, and serve others. Besides, being offended is far too easy…everyone is doing it!

As I thought about this Happy Friday the story of “The Cross Room” came to my mind. It was profound to me years ago when I first read it; it is still profound to me today. I don’t know exactly how it fits into this message, I simply feel convicted to share it.

The Cross Room

“A young man was at the end of his rope. Seeing no way out he dropped to his knees in prayer. "Lord, I can't go on," he said. "I have too heavy a cross to bear."

The Lord replied, "My son, if you can't bear its weight, just place your cross inside this room. Then open that other door and pick out any cross you wish." 

The young man was filled with relief. "Thank you Lord," he sighed, and he did what he was told. Upon entering the other door, he saw many other crosses, some so large the tops weren't even visible. Then he spotted a tiny cross leaning against the far wall. "I'd like that one Lord," he whispered. 

And the Lord replied, ‘My son, that is the cross you just brought in.’”

Source unknown

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 Easter, please cherish your precious family, and please stay well!

Kev

What Will You Do About It?

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! This day is such a great gift! As I sit here and type this message, it is a blank canvas; it is neither good nor bad. Each of us will pick up the paint brush and decide what we will make of this day! I pray we'll make it a masterpiece.

 

Earlier this week, I was meeting with an 88-year-old gentleman. He was explaining to me that he was invited to help in a project for neglected, abandoned, and abused children. He told me that as he was driving away, talking to God, he told God he would punch Him in the belly and ask, “Why couldn’t every child have a good mom and dad?” He stated he then felt convicted; what will you do about it?

 

What will he do about it? He is one of the founding partners of a non-profit that is building a community that will serve children in the foster system. When we first sat down, I asked how things were going, and he spoke nearly nonstop for more than 30 minutes. His passion was so strong you could see and feel it. His thoughts were so clear, his energy was so high…it was truly awe-inspiring.

 

It reminded me of an experience I had nearly 15 years ago. I was driving down Interstate 10 between Phoenix and Tucson, and I was talking to the Lord about all of the negative influences that come into our lives through the things we see and hear. We don’t have to look for them; they come looking for us! As I poured out my heart to the Lord, focused in that moment on coaches and athletes, I asked the Lord, “How do they stand a chance? There are negative and unhealthy things coming at them all the time!” I then felt convicted; what will you do about it? Out of that moment was born “What Will Your Influence Be…?” A heart to help people understand the influence of the things they read and listen to on their lives, their influence on every life they will touch throughout their life, and to encourage everyone to choose intentional, positive influence. This has led me to write a book, give countless talks, put positive quotes on X and Facebook every day, and once a week, write “Happy Friday.”

 

So, Friends, what do you take to God and ask “why?” What burdens your soul to the point that you feel something just has to be done? What will you do about it? Don’t worry about what your impact will be or what you are capable of; honor the burden that God has placed on your heart. He will take care of everything else.

 

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

Choose Your Sacrifice

 Happy Friday, Friends!

 

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! Yes, I realize today is not Friday! However, I have a message in my heart, I want to get it to you all, and I have amazing adventures to pursue!

 

We started a new series at church last weekend titled O Positive. You can see the full sermon here https://www.igotofaith.com/sermons This is going to be a phenomenal series!

 

During the message, Pastor Steve commented, “You get to choose your sacrifice; choose wisely.” I want to honor Pastor Steve and the context with which the comment was made. Then I will take it out of context!

 

What Pastor Steve was specifically talking about was whether or not we choose to accept Jesus as our Savior. It is interesting to me; sometimes people will say something like, “If God was a loving God, why would He send people to hell?” The blunt answer is, “He is a loving God; He is simply honoring our choice.” You see, He created a way for us to get to Heaven. He gave His one and only son, allowed him to be slaughtered (if you watch the sermon, you will understand why I use that word instead of “crucified”) as atonement for our sins. We can choose to accept Jesus and His sacrifice on our behalf, or we can choose to make our own sacrifice. We will all spend eternity somewhere. One sacrifice leads to Heaven, and one sacrifice leads to hell…choose wisely. Here are a few things the Bible says:

 

John 3:16

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.”

 

John 14:6

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

 

Romans 10:9

Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

 

Now, I am going to take Pastor Steve out of context, and while far less significant, it is equally true. When he made the statement, “You get to choose your sacrifice,” I couldn’t help but think how true those words are for all aspects of life.

 

Perhaps you have seen the poem “Choose Your Hard” by Keith Craft:

 

Being your best is hard

Being your normal is hard

 

Making wise decisions is hard

Making bad decisions is hard

 

Being in shape is hard

Being out of shape is hard

 

Losing weight is hard

Being fat is hard

 

Working out is hard

Being weak is hard

 

Being disciplined is hard

Being lazy is hard

 

Getting out of your comfort zone is hard

Staying in your comfort zone is hard

 

Starting a business is hard

Working for someone else is hard

 

Making a lot of money is hard

Making a little bit of money is hard

 

Being rich is hard

Being poor is hard

 

Having great relationships is hard

Having bad relationships is hard

 

Having friends is hard

Having no friends is hard

 

Fighting for your marriage is hard

Divorce is hard

 

Having a lot of things is hard

Having nothing is hard

 

Living on purpose is hard

Living off purpose is hard

 

Doing life God’s way is hard

Doing life your own way is hard

 

Everything is hard!

Choose your hard!

 

Here is where I am going this morning; whichever hard you choose, there will be a sacrifice. Someone or something will be sacrificed to accomplish the hard you choose. And that is the thing, the place we tend to get hung up. We like being able to choose whatever we want; we just don’t always want the consequences that go with those choices. Look at any of the choices you want – or perhaps you have something else in mind; there is a sacrifice and there is an outcome as a result of that choice. At the end of the day, as Pastor Steve said, “You get to choose your sacrifice; choose wisely.”

 

Please don’t hesitate to contact me if there's 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