Building A Legacy

 Then Solomon said, “My father, David, wanted to build this Temple to honor the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.  But the Lord told him, ‘You wanted to build the Temple to honor my name. Your intention is good, but you are not the one to do it. One of your own sons will build the Temple to honor me.’ 

“And now the Lord has fulfilled the promise he made, for I have become king in my father’s place, and now I sit on the throne of Israel, just as the Lord promised. I have built this Temple to honor the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.”   1 Kings 8:17-20 

My Dad’s birthday was Monday (he passed away 14 years ago).  He was a Navy guy.  He served in the latter years of World War II out at Pearl Harbor.  Later when he moved up to Detroit, he became a union guy.  He worked for Ford Motor Company for years building cars until one day, he decided to go into business on his own.  He became one of the first minority franchisees for Burger King in the 70s (Trust me.  I’ve heard enough ‘Have It Your Way’ jokes for a lifetime).  But before all of that, he was a man of God.  A gentleman’s gentlemen who I admire to this day.  It is funny how the person you are is often driven by the goodness of your parent or role model.  A few weeks ago, I wrote about how my decision to follow God helped me to have a conversation with my granddaughter about Him.  It was fun to have, but as I have learned, there was much more to the story.  As you can see, the foundation had been set long before I had even known it existed.  While my foundation was set by Jesus Christ, it was built on the legacy my father started.  I am so grateful to him for that. 

God’s plan is to build a legacy in our lives that honors Him.  As I studied a bit more about Solomon, I read about his building a temple for God.  I was unaware of how his legacy was heavily dependent on what David had done.  A few weeks ago, my focus was on Solomon’s selflessness serving the people of Israel and not his own personal desires.  In today’s verses, he wanted to give honor to God but not just for his doing.  He wished to honor what his father, King David, wanted.  In doing this, Solomon furthered the legacy of not only David but also his own.  We all should be wary of the footsteps that we are taking.  Most are for our own mission, but others are to give honor to those who have led the path forward.  My children may not understand why are push them like I do, but I remind them of where we are today because of the love and sacrifices of my parents.  To parallel that to our own story with God, we might have known who God was back when we were little.  But as we grew in our relationships with Him, we understood how patient He was with us.  How forgiving He was when we failed time and time again.  We can now relate to what it means when someone says God is love. As written in 1 Corinthians 13:7, “Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.”  That is how hope becomes reality, and His love for us allows our life to become a legacy for others. 

Kingdom building occurs when we give up our wants for what God wants.  Each time I submit to Him in a relationship, He makes it better.  How often things do not go our way because it was something we personally wanted but not what God wanted?  God is a gracious God of abundance.  If we know this, why would we ever be lacking for anything?  Let us focus on what God wants and walk in His footsteps so that He not only receives the glory but also builds something that lasts beyond ourselves.  What Kingdom building has God been prompting you to do?  How can you substitute your wants for what God wants?  My prayer is that God directs us to pick up the torch (or cross) to build a greater legacy for Him.  Amen, and ‘thanks Dad.’ 😊 

Trust & Understanding

 

That night God appeared to Solomon and said, “What do you want? Ask, and I will give it to you!”

Solomon replied to God, “You showed great and faithful love to David, my father, and now you have made me king in his place.  O Lord God, please continue to keep your promise to David my father, for you have made me king over a people as numerous as the dust of the earth! ¹⁰ Give me the wisdom and knowledge to lead them properly, for who could possibly govern this great people of yours?”

God said to Solomon, “Because your greatest desire is to help your people, and you did not ask for wealth, riches, fame, or even the death of your enemies or a long life, but rather you asked for wisdom and knowledge to properly govern my people—  I will certainly give you the wisdom and knowledge you requested. But I will also give you wealth, riches, and fame such as no other king has had before you or will ever have in the future!”  2 Chronicles 1:7-12

Life is not always as simple as right and wrong.  We are inundated with opinions that conflict one another.  Trust this person.  Don’t trust that person.  Trust that party.  Don’t trust that party.  Stay away from those people.  I love those people.  It starts to ultimately boil down to a simple argument of ‘us vs. them.’  I’m good with that kind of language only when it comes to the Detroit ‘Bad Boys’ vs. the Michael Jordan ‘Bulls’ because that is a basketball game, and for the record, I will always be a ‘Bad Boy for life’ 😊  But do I hate Michael Jordan?  Do I think he is evil?  Absolutely not.  Why?  Didn’t he beat my favorite team?  Did he not ridicule them and ostracize my favorite player?  He did.  So why?  It is really and fairly simple.  First, he is still a human being like me who wanted to do his best and win.  Even as a rival, that is easy to understand.  Second, I must trust that he meant to do good.  Not harm.  There are two beliefs I have in dealing with people.  One, we all want to do our best, and two while we know there is evil in the world, I trust God will guide me to the right people at the right time.  Furthermore, He gave me wisdom to discern who means well who does not.  Is this philosophy perfect?  No.  I am at times flawed in my judgment.  But wisdom is about learning from God and experience.  Not being perfect.

Having trust in God is how one acquires wisdom to both understand and trust others.  In reading the beginning of Solomon’s reign, he is given a choice from God.  He could have anything he wanted.  Solomon asked for wisdom and knowledge.  There are a couple of attributes not said here but very important to note.  First is the humility shown by Solomon.  Instead of asking for personal recognition and fame, he asked to better rule his people to whom God entrusted him with.  This speaks to a major principle of our faith: it’s not about us.  It’s about Him.  We are to be humble in our request recognizing that it is from God that all blessing flow.  This bring us to the second attribute: trust.  There is a mutual trust between God and Solomon.  God entrusted Solomon to be King of Israel because He knew Solomon would do well in that role, and Solomon trusted God as a provider knowing that he could not rule without His provision and care.  Is it any wonder that Solomon would write, “Trust in the Lord with all you heart and lean not on your own understanding.” (Proverbs 3:5 NIV) You see, trusting in God leads to wisdom.  We are to be humble at heart to allow Him into our spirit, and from there all else flows.  Love.  Patience.  Understanding.  Trust.

God gives us all we need if we just trust in Him.  There is so much that we are inundated with that we at times are overwhelmed.  However, if we put our trust in God entirely then how little would we have to worry about?  Jesus said, “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs.  Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” (Matthew 6:31-33) This was the trust Solomon had in God.  Let us build a greater trust in Him as well.  Where are you placing your trust in yourself above God?  Do you pray to God for wisdom and understanding in all you do?  My prayer is that we are humble enough to lean into God to gain wisdom and understanding of others.  Amen.

The Art Of Listening

His disciples came and asked him, “Why do you use parables when you talk to the people?”

He replied, “You are permitted to understand the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, but others are not.  To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them.  That is why I use these parables,

For they look, but they don’t really see.
    They hear, but they don’t really listen or understand.”  Matthew 13:10-13

 When do you speak?  When do you listen?  These have been questions in my mind for most of my life.  When I was young, I would run into the house library where my mom was on a conference call with her government colleagues.  Before I could say a word, she would raise up her pointer finger.  That meant for me not to talk and wait patiently until she was done.  Sometimes, it would only be for a moment.  Other times, it felt like hours.  Once, I actually fell asleep on the floor waiting for her to be done.  However on other occasions when I was fully alert, I would watch her negotiate and debate issues with her esteemed coworkers.  It was fascinating listening to her.  In the process as I grew older, it also taught me to be a rather good listener.  For example, I learned to pause before speaking whenever it seemed a person and me were both talking at the same time.  It would also make sense that you should let a person talk 75% of the time for greater understanding of what to say.  All of this is probably funny to many who know me because they will tell you I can talk with the best of people.  But it was only because I was always willing to listen first.  The same applies when it comes to God. 

We must always prepare ourselves to listen to what He has in store for us.  In today’s verses, Jesus shared with His disciples the purpose behind His parables.  It forced them to pay attention and hear what He had to say.  It also required greater thinking to thoroughly understand what He wanted them to learn.  It is great to talk with God about our troubles and shower Him with praises.  But every so often, I find myself doing all that and not really listening to what He wants me to do.  Perhaps I read something and might dismiss it or hear His prompting but fail to act.  Listening to God is the only way to acquire wisdom.  Prime example.  Have you ever tried to read a book with someone trying to talk to you?  It is far easier to reflect on what is read in a nice quiet place than amidst calamity about you.  More importantly, how much do you retain when uninterrupted versus interrupted?  The point is if you are busy talking to God or listening to other things, how can you truly hear Him?  And if you cannot hear Him, how can you acquire the wisdom He provides?  How can you pause and reflect to understand what it all means? 

God expects us to listen to Him.  Put another way and as today’s verses point out, we cannot be close to God unless we gain knowledge of who He is.  The importance of this lies in verses from the book of Proverbs, where it says:

Joyful is the person who finds wisdom,
    the one who gains understanding.
For wisdom is more profitable than silver,
    and her wages are better than gold.  Proverbs 3:13-14

Wisdom and understanding are the true currencies in the Kingdom of God.  As such, let us focus our attention spending time on what God is saying to us.  Do you dedicate time to ensure you are listening to Him?  What techniques allow you to best meditate on what God is telling you?  My prayer is that we utilize time and efforts toward hearing God through the art of listening.  Amen.

Turn On The Switch

“And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’  For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’”  And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says.  And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them?”  Luke 18:3-7 

There was a book that I often refer to called Switch.  It focuses on how to create change when change is hard.  It speaks of the dynamic of three key elements.  There is the rider, the elephant, and the path.  The rider represents our rational side of things.  The elephant represents the emotional side, and the path speaks about the environmental factors.  The goal is to ‘instruct’ the rider, ‘motivate’ the elephant, and ‘shape’ the path.  I will put it into current relevant context.  When we look at what has been happening over the George Floyd incident, all three dynamics are in play.  First, there is the rider.  The rider sees the video, and thinks, “Who in their right mind lays on someone for over 8 minutes to arrest a person?  That is ridiculously wrong!”  Now, there is the elephant, who reacts, “They are killing him!  We have to do something!!!”  Notice the difference between the two?  The path becomes movement toward change.  As we have seen, there were many pathways chosen.  Some were lawless and destructive such as rioting and looting.  Others chose the lengthy processes of pushing for legislation and ideas such as police reform.  Then there were the marches and peaceful protests.  These have proven to be the most impactful because it not only caused less damage but placed great pressure on others to act because of the sheer momentum of people that joined the cause.  That has become the chosen ‘path.’  Having said all this, I began to wonder.  Why is all of this happening now, and where is God in all of this? 

God is a lever for change when the time suits His will.  Police brutality has been happening for decades, but no one acted on it.  Why?  It reminds me of the story of Moses in his talk with God, and God saying, “I have certainly seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their cries of distress because of their harsh slave drivers. Yes, I am aware of their suffering.” (Exodus 3:7)  Getting back to the ‘Switch’ model, there was no motivation to change policing in most people’s eyes (an elephant problem), and others had no vision for what changes were needed (a rider problem).  The sadness of this all is that it took something so heinous and obvious that people could neither ignore the vision (all are created equal – a rider solution) nor sit idle and accept it (need to right the wrong – an elephant solution).  This bring us to where God’s plan comes in.  What does God’s path look like?  To be able to understand it, we must first trust in God to guide us for as Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”  Next, we are to pray continually for our journey and path to be taken. 1 Thessalonians 5:16:18 says, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”  Finally, we must act with the love of God.  Today’s verses are about action.  Whether it be through marches, financial support, volunteering, or other way of supporting the cause, we are to be as persistent as the widow.  No man can withstand the will of God if He is with us.  This is how God’s will is done. 

God’s work requires many elements to make change for His Kingdom and our lives.  It requires wisdom to see His vision, the strength to love to move mountains, and submitting to guide us toward His will being done.  Many will disagree that God does not need us to make societal change.  However, if that were true why did He use Moses?  Wouldn’t Goliath have been slain without David?  Would we need Jesus to act on our behalf to free us from the bondage of sin?  Jesus understood the power of action stating: 

“Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink?  Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 

“And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!” Matthew 25:37-40 

Let us move boldly and relentlessly to achieve that which God would want for all of us.  Where is your vision to change lacking?  What is your heart prompting you to change?  My prayer is we lean on God as listed earlier in Proverbs, and simply turn on the ‘Switch.’  Amen. 

God's Masterpiece & You

“But Lord,” exclaimed Ananias, “I’ve heard many people talk about the terrible things this man has done to the believers in Jerusalem!  And he is authorized by the leading priests to arrest everyone who calls upon your name.”

But the Lord said, “Go, for Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of Israel.  And I will show him how much he must suffer for my name’s sake.”

So Ananias went and found Saul. He laid his hands on him and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road, has sent me so that you might regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”  Instantly something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he got up and was baptized.  Acts 9:13-18

It was an opportunity.  I thought that I could write devotions.  When someone asked me why, I shrugged.  No way would I be qualified enough to write on biblical topics that many people studied years for.  Some were well versed in writing, and others had greater biblical understanding of God’s word.  Neither of these were things I possessed.  To be honest, it had been a long while since I had even been to church regularly.  So I answered, “If you have someone who has a better spiritual understanding, giving them the opportunity (to write devotions) would be great, and I would be happy to continue learning more for when it will be my time.  But if no one does answer the call, rest assured I will take this on and do well.”  That’s a pretty bold statement for someone who had never written a devotional before.  To be honest, I do not remember even writing that last part, but perhaps it was a case where God knew my heart.  That’s when my relationship with God really started.  That was over twelve years ago.  I have learned so much since then, and God has been so good to me.  Yet, it is this, my most bold and humble beginning, that remind me that I am but a mere instrument in God’s master painting.

We are all part of God’s plan.  Our mission is to be brave enough to live it out.  The story of Ananias and Paul is always one to remember when seeking one’s journey of faith.  On one side, it talks about Ananias’ faithfulness to follow the instruction of God.  The other speaks to Saul finding his true calling from God.  Both are compelling for we can see two paths converge.  First, the very beginning of Paul’s journey that would lead him toward being arguably the most important figure in the New Testament.  By the same token, would there even be a Paul had there not been the faithfulness of an Ananias?  Maybe, but as the saying goes, “Sometime you choose the moment, and other times, the moment chooses you.”  You see, God has all of us playing a role in His masterpiece.  Our job is not to play idle and simply absorb knowledge of His word and Kingdom.  Ours is to bring His word to life through actions and deeds.  We are to be humble in His calling of us and bold in our response to it.

God does not just call on a select few.  He looks for all of His people to lay their troubles down at His feet, and pursue His will for our lives.  It may be a scary proposition, but David answers it best in the 27^th Psalm saying:

The Lord is my light and my salvation—
    so why should I be afraid?
The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger,
    so why should I tremble?  Psalm 27:1

So let us be encouraged by a God who can handle any obstacle we can imagine, and move forward toward being the people God always intended us to be.  Where can you show greater courage through trusting in God’s plan for your life?  What bold idea has God placed on your mind, heart and soul?  My prayer is that we submit to God’s will to become part of God’s masterpiece.  Amen.

Start With Heart

 It is God who enables us, along with you, to stand firm for Christ. He has commissioned us, and he has identified us as his own by placing the Holy Spirit in our hearts as the first installment that guarantees everything he has promised us.  2 Corinthians 1:21-22

The election season has left me feeling a bit more negative lately, and I needed to take ownership of that. So as I prayed the other night, I prayed on what was going on within me.  I realized a lot of my negativity dealt with the political talk around me.  Nothing talked about seemed positive.  There were a couple of metaphors in my prayers that helped me overcome this; one was from home and another was from work.

The one from home said, “Don’t tell me what you are against. Tell me what you are for.”  We can often get caught up in what we do not like (i.e. the negative).  What we should be focusing on is what we like or prefer (i.e. the positive).  It’s when we focus on the positive that our outlook begins to change.  The one from work is a simple one; start with heart.  One might think, “What does heart have to do with anything work related?”  It actually is from a book about handling conversations where something is not changing and emotions can run high (ex. A tough conversation about inappropriate behavior).  ‘Start with heart’ means asking yourself, “What is it that I want from the conversation?”  This is relevant to our spiritual growth because we often struggle between what we want and what God wants.  Would God be proud of how I approach this conversation?  Is what I am doing for the sake of my personal gain or God’s kingdom?  Where does my heart truly lie?

Giving of ourselves to what God wants ensures that our heart starts in the right place.  We are taught that we should focus on the head and not the heart, and that to a great extent is true.  However, this is one of the rare occasions that we should be trusting our hearts.  Why?  Because if we have given our lives to Christ and are truly following Him, our hearts, filled with His Spirit, will drive our decisions the right way.  If our heart is not for God, we will continually drive ourselves toward justification of the wrong things.  Thus, we should continually feed ourselves God’s word to ensure our head is in the right place, and we should also spend time looking into our hearts to understand whether we our motivated by what God wants, which is where all good outcomes begin, and what we want, which when not aligned with God can lead to poor results.

We are always in a constant struggle to keep ourselves in a righteous place.  The world will find ways to weaken and distract us for the devil is always on the prowl (Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8).  However if we are willing to stop for a moment and focus on Jesus, our motives will immediately change from one of worldly gain to one of Godly discernment.  Thus whenever you realize that you are in that dark place, remember the words of Paul and go to God “with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.” (Hebrews 10:22b).  What situation or conversation of yours needs a heart check?  What has God placed on your heart, and how can you follow it with confidence?  My prayer is that whatever your situation is today, look to Christ Jesus, and simply start with heart.  Amen.

Appreciation Station

I always thank my God for you and for the gracious gifts he has given you, now that you belong to Christ Jesus.  Through him, God has enriched your church in every way—with all of your eloquent words and all of your knowledge.  This confirms that what I told you about Christ is true.  Now you have every spiritual gift you need as you eagerly wait for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ.  1 Corinthians 1:4-7

The other day, someone asked me how do you stay young?  That’s a pretty loaded question considering that I will soon turn fifty, but nonetheless, I took it as an opportunity to share some of the things that have helped me maintain a youthful attitude.  One of those things focused on the appreciation of others.  Why would that be important to my own youthfulness?  You see, it is very easy to focus on the things that go on in your own life.  However when you focus on the wonderful and brilliance of others, you go beyond affecting your own life.  You directly impact the mood and ambitions of someone else as well.  There is nothing more powerful to say to another person than I love you, and yet, I believe there is nothing more motivating to another person than to say, “I appreciate you.”

God expects us to appreciate the potential of all people through Jesus Christ.  When reading the words of Paul, I love how great an encourager he is.  At the beginning of 1 Corinthians, he displayed an ‘attitude of gratitude’ to the church of Corinth and its people.  Reading his words, you have the feeling of a deep relationship he has with them.  Paul shows genuine love and appreciation for them, and if we were members of that early church, we would feel a great deal of encouragement and strength from him.  Furthermore, Paul himself gained strength from them as well.  Thus, the relationship between Paul and the church was mutually beneficial.  As such, our words of appreciation for others have similar effects.  They can strengthen relationships, inspire others, and break down barriers!  What can be more encouraging to a person struggling with something than to hear they are loved and despite their struggles, they are appreciated for what they have brought in your life.

We are to appreciate others for it is paramount to building God’s Kingdom.  Peter, who correctly identified Jesus as the Messiah, had to feel encouraged as Jesus responded to him in appreciation saying, “You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being.  Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.” (Matthew 16:17-18)  Appreciating others is necessary for and if we accept and love Christ, our hearts will be transformed such that we will see the greatness of not only others but also within ourselves.  And what can be better than seeing how great we can be through Christ?  Who could you show greater appreciation for?  How can you allow God to help you appreciate others?  My prayer is that we open our hearts where we become an ‘Appreciation Station.’  Amen.