Judging Another Man's Journey Can Limit Yours


I was talking to a very old lady one day and I asked, "what have you learned?"  She paused and said, "too soon old, too late smart."  What an amazing thought and these days I find myself thinking more and more about it.  One of the areas I am trying to improve(or get smarter) is in understanding that another person's life journey is not like mine.  We all have a tendency to view another's journey through the lenses of our own.  In reality, while there is "nothing new under the sun", every journey is different and distinct.  This assuming we understand another person's walk is a kind of myopia that makes us misunderstand and make wrong judgments.  I have known a few agonies in life.  While going through such a time people try to comfort you. There are times when no man's comfort can help.  During these times it is best to simply love and pray for them.  Words can add to the pain.  Even well meaning words.  If you aren't careful you might be tempted to think you know what they are feeling and  you might even think about what you would do if you were them.  This is a slippery slope.  It is actually a kind of judgment.  Truth be told, you don't have a clue what you would do if it were you or your child or your fortune lost.


Jesus said,  "The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged." (Matt. 7:2 NLT) This means that you can bring upon yourself what you are sending out to others. We all need people who are pulling for us and especially when we are trying to "find our way back to the trail."  If we sow mercy and understanding to those who are struggling then we will find that much needed mercy and understanding when we ourselves are off track and confused.  We all have those seasons in life.  Look around you today and take a moment to smile at someone and offer a kind word.  (Not a sermon, just a word.)   If the words don't come, that's o.k.  At least don't allow your mind to rush to judgment!  That may be blessing enough.  

Go Ahead!


In the last edition of this weekly blog I talked about expanding our effectiveness by actually taking God at His Word and acting like what he said about us is true! If you didn't catch that blog it might be well to read it first.  Then come back to this one.  


Years ago a prominent international evangelist, (my good friend, Dan Duke) and I were talking.  I had only been in my new ministry assignment about a year.  I was pioneering a new church.  Evidently he saw some cautiousness in me and my ministry approach.  This guy was wild and courageous in ministry.  I don't mean he was weird, he was just much more aggressive than me.  When I found myself ministering at the same conference I felt intimidated and a little inadequate.  His boldness made me uncomfortable, yet I liked it somehow.  "Oh well, I thought, we are just different".  But what if that wasn't it.  What if he had something that was beyond personality? What if what I saw in him was really more of what the Lord wanted to see in me?  We talked a bit and when he departed he spoke to me.  Those words stirred me then and they still stir me today.  He said, "why don't you just go ahead and take that city for God!"  His comments challenged me, moved me, embarrassed me and even angered me a little! Yet they were anointed words that pierced my spirit.  They were like the surgeons knife that cut into a weakness with the potential to bring a new strength and out of that strength a new effectiveness.  


Last week I challenged you by saying that, often, we are not waiting on heaven but heaven is waiting on us!  Now I want to speak a prophetic word to you:
"Why don't you just go ahead and take your city for God?!"  Why don't you go ahead and make that business a success?  Why don't you take the first step toward the dream of your heart and quit just talking about it!! Go ahead!


Joshua 1:7 NLT - "Be strong and courageous, for you are the one who will lead these people to possess all the land I swore to their ancestors I would give them."

The Limits Are Gone!


I am convinced that we live below and accomplish less than the Lord has empowered us to accomplish. Too often we live as if we are waiting on something else to happen before we truly engage our destiny.  That is often why we continue to search for the missing link or the hidden key to unlock our potential. What if the hidden resources we seek are not in heaven but within us?  I am not talking about some humanistic idea that believes we are our answer.  I am talking about believing that when Jesus came into our lives He came in with His Fullness!  He didn't come in a little at a time but arrived on the scene to possess us with "the fullness of the Godhead bodily"!(Col. 2:9)  Too often we seem to believe in the power of demon possession more than the power of Jesus possession.  I have watched a number of ministries struggle and one day there is this lift, this catapulting into what seems like a different dimension of power and effectiveness.  To those on the outside looking in it would appear that heaven has released this new dynamic that launched the person into a new sphere.  I have asked them later, "what happened"?  The answer may surprise you.  The change was not a new revelation from heaven, the change was a new revelation in their own thinking.  Often they will say, "I just started believing what the Scripture says about me and I started acting like it was true"!


Now let's pause and be courageous enough to take a self evaluation.  Maybe we are still waiting upon the Lord to do something He has in fact already done!  The secret has already been revealed and the key is in our hand.  We are not waiting on heaven, heaven is waiting on us.  The reason it takes courage is because if we believe we are waiting upon some new key from the Lord, we are very contented to wait...and wait...and wait...  Yet, that waiting is often a camouflaged fear to act.  Only you and I can tell where we are in this but at the very least today please pause, pray and listen to the words from heaven.  You may be surprised at what you hear!:)

Life Lessons Over Pizza

Occasionnally Teresa and I will indulge in a pizza!  Actually, I would more often but Teresa is my dietician! Recently we entered a Pizza restaurant in Florida and I was struck by the demeanor of the primary server.  Actually this man was the manager, server and cashier!  He never stopped spinning around the room making sure everyone had all they needed. As he was delivering orders to the various tables I noticed he was constantly looking to make sure no one needed anything.  If he noticed someone was getting low on drink he was quick to respond.  It was quite amazing and the kind of service you don't see too often.  I'm a student of people so I studied him and had this thought: "he's a military man!"  When he came to our table to refill our glasses I said, "you were in the military weren't you?"  He replied, "Yes Sir, 20 years in the Marine Corp Sir!"  I commended him on his splendid example of service to others.


As we walked out I thought about the experience and it saddened me a bit.  Here's why.  I wish I could have said, "I know he's a Christian!"  Unfortunately, it didn't cross my mind.  You see there is a phrase that says, "once a Marine, always a Marine!"  A Marine is taken into the Corp, broken down to shed his own identity or lack thereof, and then he must adopt as his identity the identity of a U. S. Marine.  He looks differently, acts differently and yes he even thinks differently. So it should be with those of us who are a part of the Church of the Lord Jesus. May the Lord be allowed such access to our lives that when people observe us they will say, "he's a Christian!"


Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors.  Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor  to God when he judges the world.  I Pet. 2:12 NLT