Centered
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
Sometimes I don't worry if I'm being taken!
Tuesday
night I stopped at a Waffle House in southern Tennessee and had two 20
dollar bills in my billfold. I went in and ordered a 5 dollar meal. An older waitress than me,
remember I am an old guy and decided I would pay with a 10 dollar bill and give
her a nice tip thinking how blessed
I am. A guy walks in after getting off the bus, asks where is the Arby's (has coupons
for something free) the waitress replies next exit. As I finish eating, I ask
the guy do you need a meal? He begins to thank me, I tell him to get
whatever he wants plus a drink which came to 9 dollars. As I place his order I tell
the waitress go ahead and take another 3 dollars out for yourself. I walk out after eating a 5
dollar meal, 2 eggs, toast and tomato figuring they were about the most
expensive eggs I've ever eaten. When the guy said, "God Bless You" and I
know the waitress has to be happy with the tip I thought on my 60 mile
drive back toward Nashville that probably is the best 5 dollar meal I've
ever eaten!
Saturday, March 30, 2013
Monday, September 17, 2012
Shut it Down!
I wasted precious time last week. The focus was on me. I spent overtime with my fears and anxieties. The news at home and abroad invaded my every waking moment. Political intrigue and Islamic violence captivated the "what ifs" of my tomorrow.
So today I have chosen to "shut it down". I will turn loose of me (my ego) my fears and anxieties and give them back to God. I will release my fears and anxieties and even my frustration of my Razorbacks 52 point loss. Jesus promised "He" would be "Present" with us to the very end of the age. This week I plan on being "Present" with Him moment by moment and not worry about all the "what ifs" of tomorrow .
So today I have chosen to "shut it down". I will turn loose of me (my ego) my fears and anxieties and give them back to God. I will release my fears and anxieties and even my frustration of my Razorbacks 52 point loss. Jesus promised "He" would be "Present" with us to the very end of the age. This week I plan on being "Present" with Him moment by moment and not worry about all the "what ifs" of tomorrow .
Thursday, August 23, 2012
I Saw God Today
I have driven the same road on my way to work for twenty
five years. The majority of time I never was aware of anything but an expanding
two lane road becoming a four lane road. The only challenge on my short four
mile drive was what speed to maintain so I could avoid not having to stop at
one, but now a total of seven traffic lights.
Then one day a few years ago I decided I would try and experience
something new I had never seen before on each journey. I was soon amazed at
overhanging trees, hidden pathways, unique structures and seven small hills
highlighting the community I call home.
So today on my morning drive I saw the sun once again in all
its brilliance lighting the dawn. I deposited deep in my spirit the radiant orange
sunbeams touching and burning the dew from the night. A spacious field lined by
a three plank wood fence was sparsely dotted with horses grazing and meeting
the new day. The smoky mountains a couple of hundred miles away were now
present in my mind. The fog settled and hovered over some but not all of the
figures on the rolling landscape. It was
a scene no canvas has ever captured. This morning “I Saw God Today” because I
made a decision a few years ago I would look far beyond just four lanes and seven
traffic lights on my road of life.
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
The Right is Killing Us
The belief that I am right and you are wrong is
killing all of us. We all need a good dose of humility. The tragic irony of the
“War between the States” more Americans were killed in this war than all the
other wars combined in American history. It was not only brother killing
brother, but Christian killing other Christians over who was right in the name
of God. There is currently an ongoing political and spiritual debate that divides
us in much the same way today.
I share
as one who believes in God, however humbly admitting how does any finite man
encounter/relate/explain the infinite God?
How does anthropocentric man, by definition a self consumed egocentric
entity interpret God? I must acknowledge
at best my ability to explain the concept of God or the divine flows out of a
very limited knowledge at best. So when I share my faith I share not out of the
need of being right but out of humility and respect for those who may disagree.
Jesus didn’t give the first commandment that you would be right about everything concerning your faith and politics in life. He simply said, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” He then summarized all good religion with the second commandment. “Love your neighbor as yourself.” I think He could be right about that.
Saturday, July 21, 2012
Centered in the Presence of God
The
goal of the Christian life is living our life centered in the eternal presence of
God. The
center represents the driving force of one’s life where the totality of our
thought and life brings us into communion and union with the heart of God. It
is nothing more or nothing less than our full devotion in knowing and seeking
the life giving love of the resurrected Christ.
In
Christian theology the center is aptly described by the apostle Paul, who
states I have been crucified with Christ, I no longer live, but Christ lives in
me.
His practical experience reveals a relationship where the
life of Christ has transformed his heart and resides in him. Paul no longer
lives in his present state of reality, but in a new reality of the cosmic (eternal)
Christ taking control of his life. He no longer lives his life in his own power
and intellect. He lives life filled by grace no longer with his limited
knowledge but now filled with the knowledge of God. His heart moves closer each day to be like
Christ’s heart. He declares as he dies
to his own desires and passions his heart becomes more like Christ’s heart.
Christ’s life becomes his life and now being centered in Him he is more and
more transformed to become like Christ, act like Christ and talk like
Christ. The heart of Jesus now lives and
acts through Paul’s heart and life. Paul now lives life centered in Christ.
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