Relationships

Others ~ Key Verses — GLORIFYTHELORD

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“Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.”  Philippians 2:3-4  NLT

I have a friend who says, “You gotta rock Philippians 2:3-4!!!”  His enthusiasm for treating others well and better than himself challenges me!

When Jesus touches our life we start to love others rather than use others. Servanthood means that I can temporarily suspend my own needs in order to attend to the needs of others. This means I’m sacrificial; I have a “whatever it takes” attitude in my circles of concern.  You know what annihilates service? Preoccupation with ourselves. Or a desperate need to be pumped up, propped up and applauded by other people. Or plain and simple — pride — we think we are better than everyone else. The Gospel meets each one of these black holes to not only plug them but to reverse the flow. Jesus transforms us into servants like Him. Now we can pour out our life secure in the knowledge of our unmerited, graceful exaltation with Jesus and by Jesus.

“Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves.  Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others too.” Philippians 2:3-4

Encouragement ~ Key Verses — GLORIFYTHELORD

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“Don’t use foul or abusive language.  Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.”  Ephesians 4:29  NLT

A few years ago I was on the playground with my children when I heard the airwaves fill  up with explosive and ugly language.  I couldn’t believe my ears!  Then I couldn’t believe my eyes!  Those nasty words were pouring from the mouth of a teenage girl and her target was another student with her at the playground.

What to do?  I approached her and said, “Please control your tongue; there are children around.  But you know what? I was stunned to hear such coming from you.  You look like a kind and thoughtful person.  But then you opened your mouth, and the sewer came running out of it.  I think you can do better than that.”

Well needless to say she was stunned.  Rotten language is not a fitting response to grace.  Encouragement builds up another person by imparting courage.  More often than not, most people desperately need to hear an encouraging word.  Their airwaves are full of voices that seek to tear them down.

“Don’t use foul or abusive language.  Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.”  Ephesians 4:29

Faith ~ Key Verses — GLORIFYTHELORD

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“And it is impossible to please God without faith.  Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.  Hebrews 11:6  NLT

I had a friend who would ask, “Do you believe God?’’ Her simple question pushed deep into my relationship with God.  Faith matters to God.  It is the way we enter into our relationship with Him.  To trust Him, to believe Him, to adjust my life accordingly, are all responses to His love shown to us through Jesus Christ.

Do you believe God?

“And it is impossible to please God without faith.  Anyone who wants to come to him just believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.”  Hebrews 11:6

Everything I’m wearing today…

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Everything I’m wearing today was made somewhere else.

Last night all the food on my table, was grown somewhere else.

I’m not a king, but I’m living like one.

Someone else laboured.

Somebody’s mother, father, son, or daughter

planted seeds, ran a machine, and bent their back

against the weight of their own need to produce.

I thank God for them.  That’s not a ruse–

My kids look up from the table every time I say,

“Thank you Lord for the men and women who grew this food.”

But I am concerned too.  I don’t feel all that Joe Fresh.

A collapsed factory building in Bangladesh

has crashed into my conscience.

I grieve with hundreds of affected families today.

Work is not the problem.

Calloused negligence and care-less-ness ignored reality.

This was not just an accident.

No integrity.

Henry Cloud has called integrity the courage to meet the demands of reality.

Every leader and company creates a wake.  God sees.  We see.

6Many will say they are loyal friends, but who can find one who is truly reliable?

7The godly walk with integrity; blessed are their children who follow them.

8When a king sits in judgment, he weighs all the evidence, distinguishing the bad from the good.

9Who can say, “I have cleansed my heart; I am pure and free from sin”?

10False weights and unequal measures—the Lord detests double standards of every kind.  Proverbs 20:6-10

Talk with the Lord about this:  In your circle of influence:

What kind of wake am I leaving behind?

What cracks am I ignoring?

Whose life am I treating as less than?

 

Church, Hockey, and Getting in Trouble…

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The other day Kevin Lowe, President of the Edmonton Oilers, unleashed a maelstrom of protest when he suggested that he really likes paying fans a bit more than the ones who cheer from home.

Truth is, everyone pays for hockey somehow when cities make way and pay the bills for arenas to be built.  But, as noted, we don’t seem to mind when our team is winning.

What about church?

Church: Its about every follower of Jesus being a participating part of the the body of Christ.

Hockey:  Well for most of us, it really does come down to being one of two kinds of fans:  the kind that watches from home or the kind that pays the bills by showing up at the arena.  And here’s the thing:  both are just watching.

Church isn’t a spectator event.

Its a life together; people assembled as the Body of Christ.  People connected to each other.  People with a new perspective of ownership with the others.

4Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, 5so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.  Romans 12:4-5 (NLT)

Sometimes I feel like a Canuck.

Sometimes I think like a member of Jesus’ church.

I see the others I’m gathered with and I think,

“We’ve been gathered by Jesus.  We belong to each other and what we are doing together matters.”

Note to church leaders:  We’ve got to help our churches out here by helping them see and celebrate the win!