You Play How You Practice

Hey, Y'all,

Today's RST is short and sweet, but as tends to be the case, it's potent despite (because of? :-) its brevity. Art sent this little gem my way a while back (thanks, mi he'mano):

The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses, behind the lines, in the gym, and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights.
--Muhammad Ali

Made me think of something we remind each other of frequently in men's group: you play how you practice. Kind of gets you thinkin', huh? Doesn't matter what you're talking about: you play how you practice.

You've been prayed for today...

Talking Down or Coming Down?

Hey, Y'all,

So today we're kind of picking up where we left off last time (although this thought actually preceded that one). A few weeks ago in men's group we were discussing James 4 and paused at verses 11 and 12:

Don't speak evil against each other, dear brothers and sisters...Who are you to judge your neighbor?

The commentary we're reading from added this (my paraphrase):

James' admonition 'Do not speak evil against' is, more specifically, 'do not defame' or 'do not denigrate.' A defamatory word may be perfectly true; we do not have to tell lies in order to defame. But the fact that it is true gives us no right to say it. True or false, it puts us in a position of (supposed) superiority from which we can not but 'talk down' to them. If we profess to humbly bow low before our Lord, our Savior, how can we possibly be in a position to 'talk down' to anyone?

Suppose I do know something to someone's discredit; be it ever so true, my task is not to publicize it, nor even privately to berate him with it, but to go where he is and lift him up. I must be the Samaritan to him; he is my neighbor. There is no room for talking down but only for coming down to where the one in need is, identifying with the need and abandoning self-interest so as to meet it. We are, after all, professing to follow His example, are we not?

Words to live by...

You've been prayed for today.

Gentle, Humble, Patient, Bearing

Hey, Y'all,

Ran across today's thought (based on a message by Jon Walker on PurposeDrivenLife.com) and I was again struck by the (re-)realization that we're supposed to be treating each other well as a central tenet of our Christianity (as opposed to...). So how does this hit you?

"Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love."
Ephesians 4:2

Humorist Dave Barry says, "A perfect parent is a person with excellent child-rearing theories and no actual children." The same could be said of a perfect world or a perfect family; there's one sure way to mess things up: people!

Living with imperfect people requires patience, and you -- now, I say this as a friend -- are one of those imperfect people who requires patience. Oh, and BTW, I'm an imperfect person too. Patience means putting up with me when you'd rather lose your temper; it means forgiving me when you'd rather nurture a grudge. Patience is love in action because "love is patient" (1 Corinthians 13:4).

Now hear this: patience and a critical spirit are mutually exclusive. Even when your complaints are justified, it is patience that pulls (or pushes :-) you toward forgiving and forgetting: "A man's wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense" (Proverbs 19:11).

Being patient may try our patience, but we become stronger when we learn to love imperfect people. And that's where the first part of this passage comes in to play -- being completely humble and gentle -- because you can be no other way when truly you realize that you too are in need of being borne with in love.

More on this next post, but in the meantime,
you've been prayed for today...

Dear Dad

(Someone shared this idea with me today--thank you!)

Been thinking a lot about you today, Dad...

Unless the Lord builds a house,
the work of the builders is wasted.
Unless the Lord protects a city,
guarding it with sentries will do no good.
It is useless for you to work so hard
from early morning until late at night,
anxiously working for food to eat;
for God gives rest to his loved ones.

Children are a gift from the Lord;
they are a reward from him.
Children born to a young man
are like arrows in a warrior's hands.
How joyful is the man whose quiver is full of them!
He will not be put to shame when he confronts his accusers at the city gates.

Psalm 127

Yeah...I gotta say thank you (again :-)

Thank you for making it known, consistently, that God is the head of our house. Thank you for making it clear to me that I am a reward from Him to you. Thank you, Dad...more than I can say.

Now, receive the blessing, the real rest, that He has promised you (and have a happy Fathers' Day).

You've been prayed for today--dads especially...

Service, Purpose

Hey, Y'all,

Today's RST I've also been pondering for a while. Several months ago mi hermano Art shared this pearl with me--Acts 13:36--and it's been rattling around my mind ever since...

"For when David had served God's purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep..."

In another version it sounds like this...

"For David, after he had served his own generation in the will of God, fell asleep..."

Guess I've been thinking: what is God's purpose for me? How am I to serve my own generation? Am I honoring my particular shape, that peculiar combination of abilities (and ineptitudes :-), of passions and pet peeves, and my unique sphere of influence?

Lest anyone get too smug prematurely, what about you? There are people you touch and influence, people you can serve that I'll never even come close to meeting...So how 'bout it? What is your purpose? What are you shaped for? How will you serve?

You've been prayed for today...

Where Were You?

Hey, Y'all,

Pardon the interruption :-) These past couple-three weeks have really made me think... In fact it's been the work of several days to put this RST together (and I still can't say I've got it all down the way I'd like). Been ruminating on all sorts of things--interestingly, they've been mostly common yet devastatingly profound things...

Sunlight.
Hard rain.
Providence.
Coincidence?
The restless ocean.
Vast desert panoramas.
Colossal mountains.
Wide open plains.
The inscrutable night sky.
The past.
The future?
Weddings.
Funerals.
Births.
Love.
Change.

Can't really say precisely how these are tied together, but they certainly are in my head and heart. The experience has, I think, changed me, grown me, opened my eyes a bit more. And most importantly lent me some perspective.

I've often thought these last couple of weeks of God's non-answer to Job's questioning--it starts out like this:

Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation?
Tell me, if you understand.
Who marked off its dimensions?
Surely you know!
Who stretched a measuring line across it?
On what were its footings set,
or who laid its cornerstone--
while the morning stars sang together
and all the angels shouted for joy?

I find myself staggered, literally, to my knees, reminded again that God is God, and I truly know nothing. I find myself answering, like Job: "I put my hand over my mouth. I spoke once, but I have no answer...Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to comprehend...I repent in dust and ashes."

Yep, as we've discussed (well, especially with one of you :-) real prayer is totally positional--it's how I know, how I learn, my place. And I find this to be a very good thing, because He said I should have no other gods before Him, and I keep dethroning Him.

So, you've been prayed for today...

Even as I put my hand over my mouth, reverently...
For surely I speak of things I do not truly understand,
things too wonderful for me to comprehend.

"Gracious Uncertainty"

Hey, Y'all,

Today's RST comes to us courtesy of Sharon (thanks!) and is for me a (relatively :-) gentle reminder of what I ought to be striving toward...'course I'm sure it's just me (oh, and Sharon of course LOL!). Check it out...

Came across this in "My Utmost for His Highest" for April 29th. Thought you might appreciate it...it reminded me of our conversation about being "still" [ed.: not an easy thing, at all].

"Our natural inclination is to be so precise--trying always to forecast accurately what will happen next--that we look upon uncertainty as a bad thing. We think we must reach some predetermined goal, but that is not the nature of the spiritual life. The nature of the spiritual life is that we are certain in our uncertainty...Certainty is the mark of the commonsense life--gracious uncertainty is the mark of the spiritual life...We are uncertain of the next step, but we are certain of God...We are not uncertain of God, just uncertain of of what He is going to do next. If our certainty is only in our beliefs, we develop a sense of self righteousness, become overly critical, and are limited by the view that our beliefs are complete and settled. But, when we have the right relationship with God, life is full of spontaneous, joyful uncertainty and expectancy."

Someone passed this along too:

"A simple life....a simple faith...an uncluttered mind."

Oh how life could be if we didn't have all these grandiose plans and expectations. If we exercised that good "uncertainty" we might actually achieve greater plans and expectations.

Just thought I would share.

Words to live by, Sharon--not easy by any stretch, but words to live by nonetheless. Thanks for the reminder. You (and the rest of the list) have been prayed for today...