Real Christianity Really is All About Relationships

Winter is really hanging on here on the East Coast of the USA. More ice and snow yesterday. It's quite frigid for our region of the world. Shoveling snow is getting to be somewhat burdensome. Yesterday, after the snow stopped, I put off clearing my driveway as long as possible. Finally, around 3 p.m. I bundled up and pushed myself out of the house to make it happen.

Though my neighbor Philip had come early in the morning while it was still snowing, to blow of the driveway initially, it had continued to snow and about 3-4 inches was still needing to be moved. As I started to shovel alone, honestly, I was about to be discouraged with it all, when all of a sudden a pick-up truck pulled up and my friend, Eddy R., got out with his big smile and even better his big shovel. Together, we talked about life and the goodness of our Lord Jesus and too soon the snow was all moved.

The Scriptures tell us in Proverbs, "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another." How true it is. Once Eddy arrived, shoveling snow became a good reason for two friends to fellowship. In fact, it didn't last long enough. Funny, how even your attitude can shift when you have companionship in life.

Then, last evening, my wife and I sat at our dining room table at 6 p.m. to have a prayer vigil together. This past Sunday, I called our congregation to host prayer vigils in their homes on Monday evening to pray for Relationships in three dimensions -- Our World, Our Community, and Our Families. When we first sat at the table, I was somewhat heavy-hearted, but as my wife and I took turns praying aloud, inspiration flooded my soul and before we knew it, we had prayed an hour as one.

Don't miss the point. The Lord gave us one another, because we really do need each other. Let's not isolate ourselves from one another. Dear friends of the faith, Real Christianity really is all about right relationships -- loving God, life together, and lighting our world. UNITY!

Grateful    

Realizing the Value of Time and Relationships

Friends sent me this writing recently. It will touch you somewhere in your heart:

To realize
The value of nine months:
Ask a mother who gave birth to a stillborn.

 

To realize
The value of one month:
Ask a mother
Who has given birth to
A premature baby.

 

To realize
The value of one week:
Ask an editor of a weekly newspaper.

 

To realize
The value of one minute:
Ask a person
Who has missed the train, bus or plane.

 

To realize
The value of one second:
Ask a person
Who has survived an accident.

 

Time waits for no one.

 

Treasure every moment you have.

 

You will treasure it even more when
You can share it with someone special.

 

To realize the value of a friend or family member:

 

LOSE ONE.

 

(The origin of this letter is unknown)

Grateful

An Eternity Without God...

I’ve never known you...
-- Sad words of Jesus recorded in Matthew 7:23 (GWT)

An eternity without God will be too long to reflect, with never-ending regret, on the many missed opportunities that were given in this temporary lifetime to know Him for forever.

Lord, help us, by the indwelling presence of Your Eternal Holy Spirit within our lives, to minimize our future regrets tomorrow by maximizing our present relationships with You today. In Your Holy Name, we desperately pray that we might know You... NOW... and for forever! Amen.

Lord, I want to know You more and more and more...
Grateful

Words Left Unsaid. Deeds Left Undone.

The bitterest tears shed over graves are for words left unsaid and deeds left undone.
--Harriet Beecher Stowe

Click here: If I Had Only Known - Reba McEntire

Lord, help us to live lives that minimize future regrets in our relationships.
Grateful

Live Constantly In His Presence...

Jesus' primary concern was to be obedient to His Father, to live constantly in His presence. Only then did it become clear to Him what His task was in His relationships with people. -- Henri Nouwen

Let's live constantly in His presence... others are depending on it.
Grateful

In Humility Consider Others...

One of my newest friends in Christ, Keith, an encourager, who is always into the good stuff, sent me these thoughts titled the "100/0 Principle" today:

The 100/0 Principle applies to those people in your life where the relationships are too important to react automatically or judgmentally. Each of us must determine the relationships to which this principle should apply. For most of us, it applies to work associates, customers, suppliers, family and friends.

STEP 1 - Determine what you can do to make the relationship work...then do it. Demonstrate respect and kindness to the other person, whether he/she deserves it or not.

STEP 2 - Do not expect anything in return. Zero, zip, nada.

STEP 3 - Do not allow anything the other person says or does (no matter how annoying!) to affect you. In other words, don't take the bait.

STEP 4 - Be persistent with your graciousness and kindness. Often we give up too soon, especially when others don't respond in kind. Remember to expect nothing in return.

This may strike you as strange, but here's the paradox: When you take authentic responsibility for a relationship, more often than not the other person quickly chooses to take responsibility as well. Consequently, the 100/0 relationship quickly transforms into something approaching 100/100. When that occurs, true breakthroughs happen for the individuals involved, their teams, their organizations and their families.

Brother Keith's information reminded me of The Apostle Paul's words of saturation recorded in Philippians 2:3-11 (NIV):

(3) Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. (4) Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. (5) Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: (6) Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, (7) but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. (8) And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross! (9) Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, (10) that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, (11) and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

IF MY PEOPLE... WILL? I WILL! God's Promise in 2 Chron. 7:14.
Grateful