The Seed of Hope

...about being humble.

“…if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14

I was mildly surprised to learn that the word pride appears in the NIV Bible sixty-nine times. I was even more surprised to read that humble, humbled, and humility is mentioned in the NIV version eighty-eight times!

Why did I deem it necessary to tell you the number of times that each of the words appears in Scripture? Well, I’m a bit of a trivia buff and I found the results to be worth mentioning. That, and my feelings that pride and humility are inextricably linked, yet worlds apart. Linked, in that they’re both a part of our human “condition;” apart, in that you can’t have one (humility) without losing the other (pride), or vice-versa.

The inspiration for today’s post was actually last week’s post, The Power of Words. Well, it wasn’t so much the post itself as it was some of the feedback that I received that got my mental wheels turning. Many of you couldn’t understand why I bothered to offer an apology to the Catholic community for yet another post that appeared in a local publication that was titled A God of Fear? After all, I was just sharing what was on my heart, right?

Why should I have to apologize for sharing what’s on my heart?

Actually, there are several answers to this question, the first being the very purpose of The Seed of Hope. Each week my intention is to enlighten, inspire, and plants seed of hope in all Christians, not just one particular denomination. Almost two years ago my wife Jackie and I became members of Church of The Highlands here in Birmingham, a non-denominational Christian church. To tell you the truth, neither of us ever talked about, or planned on finding a non-denominational church to attend, but apparently it was in God’s plan for us. Now when someone hits me with “What are you?” my simple reply is “I’m a Christian.” That is, as they say, “the bottom” line, isn’t it? It’s not my intention to offend anyone, especially a fellow Christian.

The second reason for my apology is that sometimes it feels good to apologize. Yes you read it correctly. It feels good to apologize. What is it about our society that makes us feel as though we always have to be right? I believe that for many of us accepting that we’ve done or said something wrong actually overshadows the need to be right, and this is where pride and humility are often in an epic struggle. I’ll admit here and now that until a year or so ago, I didn’t always have to be right, but I hated to be wrong! Today it’s easy for me to admit that I’m wrong, and even easier to offer an apology.

So, what happened to cause this about face in my attitude?

Prayer

November 6^th will mark the fourth anniversary of the day that I began to recite the Prayer of Jabez every morning:

“Oh that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I might not cause pain.” 1 Chronicles 4:10 NKJV

In saying this prayer, I was making a commitment to turn my life over to God. You see, I had been doing things “my way” for fifty-four years, which had led to a life of anger, resentment, and disappointment. (See The Prayer of Jabez 3/02/2009)

A few days later I began saying a simple prayer that I had jotted down on a small piece of paper that morning while I was sitting in my “prayer chair” in our kitchen. I call it, quite simply, A Prayer for Humility:

God grant me the ability to be all in life that I desire to be.

God give me the humility to remain the man I am today.

In saying the Prayer of Jabez, I was asking God to change my life and all that I did in it.

In saying A Prayer for Humility, I was asking God to change my life and all that I did in it; but not me. I didn’t know what God in store for me, but I was begging Him for change, praying that He had big plans for me, and asking Him to keep me humble.

I’ve said many times on these pages that God listens to our prayers, and that not one single prayer offered to Him goes unheard. I’ve gotta tell you that God was listening to my prayers that day, and that, in His way and in His timing, He has answered both of them during the course of the past four years.

If you’ve frequented these pages often enough you know that what God has done in my life, has been more than I can wrap my brain around. He has allowed me to grow so much in every area of my life, none more important than in my relationship with Him. As my relationship with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit has grown, so has my humility.  

There’s an old adage that “everything comes full circle.” That is to say that fashion trends, and hair styles, and architecture, and things of that nature complete a cycle and end up pretty much where they began. That’s certainly the case with today’s post. It was God’s gift of humility to me that was the inspiration for A God of Fear, the post that started all of this apology issue.

It was humility that allowed me to let go of my pride and sense of “self” and stand before God to ask for His forgiveness. It was humility that pushed me beyond my fear of God, and allowed me to seek a relationship with Him that would shift my world off of its axis. It was humility that brought me to the point of completely surrendering my life to God and to His will.

If you’re a “believer,” and if you recognize God as being the Creator of all things, and if you feel that HE is the center of the universe, and the supplier of all that you have, and the giver of life, and your source of strength, and all the things that He is that I could not possibly list because my feeble mind can’t fathom all that He is… Do you get what I’m saying here? HE is all that.

If you believe some or most of that, or if you want to believe it but just can’t quite bring yourself to do it, because you have a hard time believing that God could possibly be all that….

HE is all that. And more. More than you can possibly imagine.

You want a true relationship with Him? Humble yourself before Him. Submit yourself to Him. You see, the path to everything good is through Him. Everything. Happiness, joy, peace, satisfaction, fulfillment, and freedom are yours. Everything.

And it all starts with humility. When you can humble yourself before our Immortal God, humbling yourself before mortal man is a piece of cake.

Amen and Amen. 

"S" Nuggets

Yesterday morning I had the absolute honor of speaking to a group of ministry students at Church of The Highlands here in Birmingham. These amazing young people, ranging in age eighteen to twenty-four, are on fire for God, and many of them will go on to be Christian leaders in churches and private organizations throughout the country, or perhaps the world. It’s always  been a blessing for me to be in their presence, and to be given the opportunity to share my heart with them made it even better.

I met with Hayes Kearbey (one of the directors of the program) on Sunday to discuss his expectations for my presentation. Ideally, I would have about forty-five minutes to share my “God story” with them. This would include the first fifty-two years of my life before I was born again, and of course, the amazing things that God has done in my life during the five years since.

Hayes also wanted me to give them a “life-lesson,” that is, something that each of them could use to make their walk with God a little better.

Absolute PANIC!!! 

was my initial reaction to Hayes’ request. Of course I didn’t tell him that! I was nodding my head in agreement, but that little voice in the back of my mind was screaming “He wants you to teach them something! He’s asking you to be a teacher! You’re no teacher! Back out now, while you can, you fool!”

Well, I obviously didn’t back out. You see there, was another little voice in the back of my mind, offering me encouragement and assuring me that everything would be okay. “You know that God is gonna give you a message for those kids. He’s given you over a hundred ideas for The Seed of Hope in the last couple of years. Why would you possibly think that you can’t do this, or that you won’t have anything to say? Trust in Him.”

I agreed to be at church the next morning at eight o’clock for thirty minutes of praise and worship. When that was done, I would talk to the group.

Calm

I woke up yesterday morning with an uncanny sense of calmness. I knew that everything was gonna be fine, because God had given me this opportunity for a reason. It was part of His plan for me to be in front of the group of young adults, and I was filled with gratitude and peace. And I knew what I was going to say…

I already knew my story of salvation. I’ve shared it more times than I can remember, and though it’s always the same, it’s always a little different. You see, each time that I recount what God has done in my life, I realize some truth, some “nugget,” that I’ve never thought of before. And in doing so, I find yet another reason to be grateful to God.

I also knew my message as a teacher; what I would give to the students to take with them long after my voice fell silent. God had given that to me as well, in epiphanies, in “aha moments,” that I’ve had in the last couple of years. They’re not profound insights. I feel quite sure that someone has previously written or spoken about each of them at some point in time. In fact, I’ve written about each and every one of them at various times on this page, but not as a compilation of what I do each day to stay in touch with God, and to serve Him.

Nuggets

I humbly submit to you six of my personal “nuggets.” I didn’t really plan it this way, but in what has become a Church of The Highlands trademark, each of them begins with the same letter.

·         Start your day with God. The very first thing that I do when come to consciousness each morning is thank God for giving me another day. His Name is the first thought that enters my mind every morning.

·         Spend time with Him and in His Word. I cannot stress enough the need to spend at least a few minutes a day alone with God in prayer or in meditation. Your outlook on your daily life and on yourself will change if you’ll try this. Also try to spend a few minutes each day reading the Bible. Look, until a few years ago I never read the Bible at all. As a matter of fact, I’d run from the Bible and/or anyone quoting or carrying one. At the suggestion of a very good friend (thanks Annie) I began turning to the Word for guidance, and as source of knowledge about God and His teachings. When the Bible becomes, not just a book, but the living Word of God to you (and it will), everything changes.

·         Stand before God in judgment every day. Every day. I don’t care what you may have done wrong. You stand before Him each day, and ask for His forgiveness for your transgressions (if you have any) and your walk with Him will change. You see, something in our past that causes too much shame to face Him becomes a barrier between us and God. Let those sources of shame pile up, and the result is complete estrangement from Him.

·         Stay focused on God. He is our ultimate destination. There’s an insurance commercial that touts “Life comes at you fast.” How true is that statement? Life does come at you fast, and it comes with hardships, headaches, and heartbreak. In dealing with life and its “junk” many of us take our eyes off of God. We kind of put Him on the back burner, for just a minute, while we work on our problems. Those minutes turn into days, or weeks, or perhaps even months, and when we look up, God is nowhere to be found. Seek Him every day.

·         Submit yourself to God and to His plan for you. I shared my thoughts with you on this subject a few weeks ago, so I won’t go there again. I’ll just say this: God’s plans for us are bigger than our dreams. Trust Him. He has the perfect plan for you.

·         Share what’s on your heart with others. This actually applies in two different areas:

I encourage you to share what God had done in your life with someone else. You may question why you should share the good news of God with others. You may think that what you have to share about God in your life doesn’t amount to much, but you have no idea as the number of people in the world that don’t know God at all, much less the provision, and comfort, and strength, and love, and wisdom (must I continue?) that He gives us every day. The question then becomes “How can you not share your knowledge of God and His goodness with others?”

Secondly, I encourage you to share the hurt that may be on your heart with a friend. There’s so much to gained, not only from “unloading” every once in a while, but also from the insights that you may receive from someone else. Many of us are more than mildly surprised to learn that we’re not the only ones with problems, but also that many of us have the very same problems.

There you have it; my six “S” nuggets. They’re all quite simple in nature, but I think that quite often in our quest to become better people, or perhaps I should say better Christians, we have a tendency to overlook the simple things. If you already knew ‘em, I thank you thank for taking the time to visit. If you received at least one nugget from this post, then it’s a blessing received by me.

I pray that you have an amazingly abundant week, filled with God’s grace and goodness!

Working Through an Issue

Working Through an Issue

A few weeks ago I was having a discussion with Andy, a friend and customer, about faith in the workplace. Our discussion was taking place in the midst of my workplace, which is the hair salon that my wife Jackie and I own and operate, and it came on the heels of a tour that I had given Andy of our recently completed expansion.

At one point in our conversation, Andy told me that he’d like to be as open as I am about God, and my faith, but he just couldn’t do it. When I pressed him for a reason as to why he couldn’t, he looked straight into my eyes and said “Because you’re a blatant Christian, Sam. You share your faith and love for God, wherever you are, with no fear of the consequences.”

For a brief moment I almost took offense to Andy’s remark, because the term blatant is most always associated with offensive behavior. But just as quickly I realized that Andy was paying me a compliment. Brazen, bold, or outspoken may have been more fitting descriptions about my sharing of God’s goodness, but I’d certainly accept blatant.

I’m certainly not bashful when it comes to sharing my love of God and my beliefs with others, no matter where, no matter when.

To be honest with you, it’s my openness and transparency about what I believe and who I am that is prompting this post.

I’m a Christian…

a blatant Christian, according to my friend Andy. I share my heart with people because, well because I love ‘em, and because that’s what Christians are supposed to do. I share my love for God with people, because that’s what I’m supposed to do, as in “being a light that shines” for Him.

Look, before I continue I’ve gotta tell you that I’m working through a couple of issues right now, and they have to do with being a Christian. Well, what I’m struggling with is the result of being a blatant Christian, and I have to get through this, and I guess that if you hang around, you’re gonna work through it with me.

And I’m gonna tell you a couple of things right up front. First of all, I’m not looking for pity. I don’t own a “pity pot” for you to sit on with me, and I certainly don’t want one. Secondly, if it seems as though I’m frustrated, it’s because I am, and it’s been building up in me for weeks.

And apparently it’s part of God’s plan for me to share this with you because I can’t find a way over, under, or around it! Today’s post was gonna be For Him, and it’s 80% complete, and it’s really good, but for the life of me I couldn’t finish it because this is in the way…

Yep, I’m a blatant Christian.

I wouldn’t be anything else.

BUT…

Sometimes I wonder if being an open book Christian is an invitation for others to treat me in whatever manner they see fit. Does it give them license to lie to me, or to steal from me, or to take advantage of my giving nature? And why is it seemingly so easy for some to renege on a spoken agreement? Is it because I’m a Christian, and that makes everything okay? Do they think that I won’t mind?

Well, it doesn’t make it okay, and I do mind, and that in itself is giving me problems for reasons other than the most obvious ones.

Everyone is looking.

And they’re waiting to see what my reaction to certain situations is gonna be. I think that some are waiting for me to show that I’m not the Christian that I say I am, that this thing about God is just a sham. Perhaps they find it hard to believe that a man can be born again and completely devote his life to God. Perhaps they’re just waiting for that one last thing that pushes me over the edge, the one that makes me show my true colors.

Well guess what?

These are my true colors. Oh sure, I get hurt. And I get frustrated. And I wish that these things wouldn’t happen, but they do. And when they do, I can only turn to God and to prayer.

You see, it’s the blatant Christian in me that will not allow me to get angry, or to seek vengeance, or try to get even. I just can’t do that.

I’ve actually come to a point in my life that I actually pray for those who’ve offended me. This is due, partly in fact to who I am, and partly because of the man that I used to be. The “old me” was short-tempered, vindictive, greedy, and very angry. I cannot go back to being that man. Besides, I’m so filled with God’s love and presence that there’s no room for that man.

Yep, I’m a blatant Christian.

And I’m just a regular guy. I suspect that I’m gonna struggle with this in the future. I’m not foolish enough to think that it’s gonna go away because I’ve written about it today. And I’m quite sure that I’m not gonna change who I am, what I do, or how I do it.

This afternoon I was sharing my frustration with Brooke, a young ministry student visiting from Minnesota who will spend the next ten months living in our home. Sensing the anguish that was on my heart, Brooke suggested that I read the following verse from the Bible.

If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. On the contrary:

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Romans 12:18-20

What a perfect verse for me today. Thank you, Brooke, for your wisdom, and for your caring.

I leave you with one final verse. I don’t know that it “fits” here, but I’m gonna include it because it always gives me comfort and strength when there is seemingly none to be found.

Do you not know?

          Have you not heard?

The Lord is the everlasting God,

          the Creator of the ends of the earth.

He will not grow tired or weary,

          and his understanding no one can fathom.

He gives strength to the weary,

          and increases the power of the weak.

Even youths grow tired and weary,

          and young men stumble and fall;

But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.

They will soar on wings like eagles;

          they will run and not grow weary,

          they will walk and not grow faint.   Isaiah 40:28-31

Amen and Amen.

See you next week.