The Seed of Hope

Putting God on The Shelf

A few weeks ago I received an e-mail from my good friend Cindy that read:

“My life revolves around God, but at times I put Him on a shelf and call on Him when I need Him.”

I thanked Cindy for her message, and then spent a few moments reflecting on what she’d said. I never really considered the notion of putting God on the shelf, but I think that it’s a pretty good analogy. I guess that many of us have, at some point in our lives, put God on the shelf…especially when life is good.

Friends…

How do you define a true friend?

Someone to laugh with? Cry with? Someone with whom you can share your darkest secrets, your fears, your hopes, your dreams? Someone that you know will be there for you, regardless of the situation, regardless of your need? Someone in which you may place all of your trust? Someone who will celebrate your victories, and offer consolation in your defeats? Someone that “has your back”, that’s gonna cover you, that’s gonna put you first? Always?

Do you have a friend like that?

I believe that true friends help us to grow…they push us to be better through encouragement, sharing, and nurturing.

True friends are very rare indeed. If you’ve had at least one true friend, consider yourself fortunate. If you’ve had more than one, consider yourself to be blessed.

Good time friends.

I think it’s safe to say that most friendships spring from good times. I mean, how many times have you attended a funeral or a foreclosure to strike up a new acquaintance? I know that’s a bit extreme, but I think you get what I’m trying to say…new friends are more often found at venues such as church, social functions, and sporting events. We meet someone with a common interest, passion, or personality trait, and a friendship grows from that meeting.

It is from those good times friendships that true friends are found…friends that help us get through the bad times.

How about God?

Do you consider God to be your friend? If not, well maybe you should.

He’s always there for you, especially when you need Him. He knows your darkest secrets, your fears, your hopes, and your dreams. You can trust Him with all that you have, and cry out to Him in times of need or despair.

And as far as making you a better person? Take a look at what He has to offer you…

The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him-the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord-and he will delight in the fear of the Lord. ISAIAH 11:2-3 (NIV)

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. GALATIANS 5:22-23 (NIV)

To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. 1 CORINTHIANS 12:8-10 (NIV)

All of these “gifts” are available to us through a relationship…a friendship, with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

And that part about putting you first?

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. JOHN 3:16 (NIV)

Do you get what I’m trying to say here?

If you let Him, God will be the best friend that you ever had. Think about that for a moment.

My wife Jackie is an amazing lady…she nurtures me, pushes me to be better, does all the things that a friend should do, and is all the things that a friend should be. Be that as it may, there are things that Jackie cannot do for me, things that she cannot give to me, things…blessings, that I can only receive from God.

And remember: true, meaningful friendships are developed first through the good times. It’s the same way with God. Get to know Him when life is good. Run after Him when things are just right, when your life seems “perfect.” Enjoy His company, and love Him, and laugh with Him, and talk to Him when all is well. Thank Him for the good in your life…tell Him that you love Him…bask in His glory! Don’t just wait until you need Him.

You see, having a relationship with God when things are really good makes the bad stuff seem really, really, small.

Never put God on the shelf. Let Him be your constant companion. Your life will never be the same.

See you next week!

Bangin' On God's Door

I’ve received several e-mails asking where I got the idea to launch The Seed of Hope, and why I did it. I guess it’s time for me to tell you this story…

This past September I was in a bit of a funk. Business in our hair salon was a bit off, we’d just found out that our son Brian and his wife Christina wouldn’t be making the trip from Virginia to be at home for Christmas, and I hadn’t received any invitations to do presentations for Redken (the hair care people). And most importantly, I was passing up opportunities to share my faith with others (which I rarely do). I remember thinking “This must be what quicksand is like; the more I try to get out, the deeper I get.” I wasn’t depressed, but the spirit and passion that are my constant companions were nowhere to be found.

Jackie and I planned on spending a long weekend at our lake house (about forty-five minutes from our home in Birmingham), and I hoped that the time away would get me back on track. Before leaving, I quickly scanned my collection of books, looking for one that may give me some insight. My eyes settled on Don’t Leave God Alone, a book that a friend had given me months earlier. I’d never taken the time to read it, because I spend time with God every day in prayer, so I didn’t really think that I needed it.

We were at the lake house from Friday evening through Sunday evening, and I had a lot of time for prayer, meditation, and soul searching. Unfortunately, none of it worked, and I came home as bad, if not worse, than before we left. 

Monday morning.

Our salon is closed on Mondays, so I was able to spend the next morning and a majority of that day in my “prayer chair”, still searching for answers. Late in the afternoon my thoughts turned to the book, the one that I still hadn’t read; it was still in my travel bag. I retrieved it, sat down, offered a quick prayer asking for clarity, and began reading…

Thirty pages in, and I had already gotten the message (actually two of them) that this book held for me:

God wants to have a daily relationship with us.

No, I’m not talking about daily prayer, which I think is essential in keeping us connected to God. I’m talking about the kind of relationship that you have with a friend, which includes conversation, fellowship, sharing, and laughter (yes, laughter). It is through that kind of relationship with Him that we come to understand who He is, what He is, and what He can do for us; we come to know Him.

There are times when you just have to tell God the way it is!

Okay, stay with me on this one. The book cited the instance of Moses on Mount Sinai with the burning bush waiting to get his copy of the Ten Commandments. From this point on I’m gonna use the movie (of the same name, which I’m going to assume that you have seen) as a reference point. And I’ll warn you that I’m going to paraphrase a bit.

So Moses (Charleston Heston) is on this mountain, and those following him (the Israelites) were at the base of the mountain having a party…I mean, they were par-ty-ing…a false idol (a golden calf), drunkenness, and adultery…all the wrong stuff!

God gets really mad! And He tells Moses, “I’m going to destroy these people and build you a fine city.”

To which Moses responds, “Come on God, You can’t do that. These people love You. They’re Your followers. They’ve been wandering through the desert waiting for You to show them the Promised Land. They just got a little off course. Have mercy on them.”

Well, we know the rest of the story; God did indeed have mercy on the Israelites, and they did indeed eventually reach the Promised Land. Moses pretty much changed God’s mind about the fate of the Israelites. Or was that part of God’s plan?

Tuesday morning; 5:00

I rolled out of bed and headed straight for the kitchen and my “prayer chair.” I don’t know how long I had been in prayer when I thought about Don’t Leave God Alone.

The next thing I know I pacing in the kitchen, having one of those conversations with God. It went something like this:

“Look God, two and a half years ago I made a commitment to being a soldier of Christ, to do Your bidding, to boldly share what You have done in my life with others, and to walk through any door that You open for me. Well, You’ve opened some doors, and I’ve walked through them, and I appreciate what You’ve done, but I tell You, they’re not opening fast enough, and I’m tired of waiting! I’ve been knockin’ on Your door every day for over two years, and I’m not gonna knock anymore! I’m gonna BANG on Your door! Everyday! I’m not goin’ away! I’m gonna be the fly in Your ointment, a pain in Your side! You put this fire in me, and I can’t control it! So would you give me some clarity as to what I should do, or would You teach me what else I need to learn, or give me a platform from which to speak, or would You point me in the direction of another door, or would You just drop a car on my head and let me forget this silly notion of taking Your message to all nations?”

I realized that I had been on a rant, that it had been directed at God, and that I had actually lost my temper…with God!

Embarrassed and ashamed, I lowered my head and went back to my prayer chair. Just before I sat down I raised my eyes to the heavens and added “I’m sorry I lost my temper, but I meant every word of it.”

Tuesday morning; 11:00

I had an appointment with Jason Fill, the guy that designed and set up the website for our salon. I wanted to get his opinion on some ideas that I had for making the site more attractive and user friendly.

I opened the document folder in my laptop…this laptop…positioned the cursor (arrow) over my proposed changes, and tapped the Enter key.

Oops…wrong document! I had mistakenly opened a journal that I began when this spiritual journey began. I turned to Jason with a look of amazement and said “Dude, I need a website!” Looking at me as if I had lost it, Jason replied “You already have a website.” Shaking my head in disagreement, I explained, “No, I need a website for God.”

Wednesday morning; 6:00

The first thing I did on Wednesday was go to my laptop, log on to the Internet, and with trembling fingers, typed www.theseedofhope.com . Lo and behold, there was a temporary banner announcing The Seed of Hope! Less than 24 hours after my rant, God had opened a door!

How about you?

Is there something that you’ve been asking God for, something that you’re still asking for? Keep asking Him…consistently…persistently…and boldly! If it’s consistent with what He has planned for you, and you keep on bangin’, who knows? He may just be waiting to be sure that it’s what you really want! Maybe that’s part of His plan for you.

The Seed of Hope launched on October 31, 2008. I haven’t checked in a couple of months, but the last time I did there had been close to 2,000 visitors from all over the world. And you know what? I’m still bangin’ on God’s door every morning, asking Him to open new doors for me! Not gonna stop either; not while there are people who don’t know Him.

See you next Monday!

The Gift of the Holy Spirit

Have you ever agreed to participate in an event, a class, or a dinner party and not known why you did so in the first place? And as the time for this particular function drew closer and closer, did you question your decision to attend more and more? If you’ve done this before, you can rest assured in knowing that you’re not the only one who has!

A month ago I signed up to attend a men’s retreat (Catalyst) hosted by The Church of the Highlands, a non-denominational church located here in Birmingham. The day after I registered I began questioning why I had done so. My thinking was that after all the epiphanies I’ve been fortunate enough to have in the past couple of years, there couldn’t be many more left for me to have.

But I’ll tell you, I’ve learned not to question when God steers me in a certain direction or down a certain path. I figured that God planted the idea in my head for me to go to this thing, and that’s exactly what I was gonna do!

My friend Steve McGee and I rode together, and on the way there, I told him that I was going with no specific expectations for the weekend. That way, if I didn’t have any “aha” moments, I wouldn’t come away disappointed.

I wasn’t.

I came away from that retreat with several memorable moments, and today I want to share my thoughts about one of them with you.

There were four different “sessions” held during the course of the weekend. It’s the third one, on Saturday night, that I want to tell you about today.

Saturday night’s speaker was Layne Schranz, the Director of Student Ministries at Highlands. Layne talked about completeness in life, serving God’s church, and the Holy Spirit.

I’m not sure in which order I want to proceed from this point on. I think that I’ll   talk about the past to “set the table” for telling you about the present.

When I was the fourth grade I received the Sacrament of Confirmation in the Catholic Church; that is to say, I received the gift of The Holy Spirit. In preparing to be Confirmed, we studied the Holy Spirit….what He was, who He was, and how His presence would make us stronger Catholics ( if I’m off the mark this one a bit, you’ll have to forgive me….it’s only been 48 years since I was confirmed!).

The day came, and it was a huge event at the church, and I was confirmed. I remember thinking “I don’t feel any different. I certainly don’t feel stronger, or braver, and I certainly don’t feel the Holy Spirit in me. Maybe I missed something.” I scanned the faces of my classmates to see if any of them looked any different. They all looked the same as before and of course I was too embarrassed to actually ask if they felt different! And that’s how I received the Holy Spirit 48 years ago.

Through my adolescent, teen, and adult years I never forgot about the Holy Spirit. The Sign of the Cross is used frequently in the Catholic Church to open and close prayers. The verbiage used in making The Sign of the Cross is In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. So for me there was always an awareness of the Holy Spirit by name, if nothing else.

When I began this spiritual walk a few years ago, I became more aware of the Holy Spirit. Actually, the awareness came from other people. In 2007 I began making presentations for REDKEN (the hair care company), and at some point in each one I would make a reference to my faith, giving God the credit for our success. After each of those presentations at least one person would inform me that the Holy Spirit was definitely working in and through me, giving me the courage and boldness to openly profess my faith. Since I didn’t know what the Holy Spirit felt like, I could only agree with them.

As my faith got stronger, as my feelings for God became deeper, as my relationship with Christ began evolving, life became more of a challenge. Let me rephrase that: living my life the way I wanted to, walking the walk of a true Christian, became a challenge. It was a challenge because the devil would do everything he could to thwart my efforts, and I was determined not to let him.

Each morning during meditation and prayer I began asking to receive the wisdom of the Father, the compassion of the Son, and the strength of the Holy Spirit. And I continued to move forward on my path, always pushing, never letting up. Along the way, God’s presence within me grew stronger and stronger, as did my willingness to share my faith with others..

The Call

Near the end of the Saturday night session Layne extended an invitation to take part in a Baptism of The Holy Spirit. Still plagued by my childhood inhibitions at 56, I was too embarrassed to ask just what that meant! I assumed that it was something akin to my Confirmation, so at first I was gonna decline the invitation. But then I recalled the fact that when I was confirmed in the fourth grade, I really didn’t understand what it meant. And it wasn’t a voluntary act….I was told that I was going to be confirmed. Period. And I was.

“This time” I thought, “I’m going to make a conscious decision to receive the Holy Spirit. I’m going to welcome Him into my heart and ask Him to give me strength, comfort, and peace of mind.”

Standing among the other men that had opted to participate, I asked to receive the Holy Spirit with such fervor that today I can recall neither Layne’s words nor any of my own during those few minutes. And then it was over. I stood there, with my eyes closed, taking an inventory of my feelings. I didn’t feel any stronger, braver, or wiser. But I did feel more at peace.  

As the session came to an end, Layne offered his assurances that every participant in that room would indeed feel the presence of the Holy Spirit. It may not be at that moment, or that week, or even that month, but at some point, each of our lives would be impacted by that night.

Since the retreat…..

It’s been three weeks since Catalyst, since I received the Holy Spirit. I have to tell you, there have been a lot of changes in my life in those three short weeks. These changes have been internal, not anything visible to the naked eye. I don’t know exactly how to describe these changes…..

The fire of spiritual passion that drives me to know more about God and to “walk the walk” burns hotter than ever, yet it doesn’t consume me. Determination is tempered by patience. Wisdom is guided by insight. I believe, without any doubt, that I am following the path that God laid out for me. There is just a knowing….

I told you a month or so ago that I considered myself blessed that my life is so “comfortable”. That comfort isn’t a result of my life being that easy; I’m a husband, father, grandfather, son, mentor, and co-owner of a business with 14 employees trusting me with their careers. That comfort is the result of the Trinity…. the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, in and around me.

We all need Him.

I was thinking this morning, that with the world being the way it is, we could all use the comfort of the Holy Spirit. So many of us are troubled by financial burdens, job layoffs, mental stress, doubt, and raising our children, just to name a few. I can’t recall a time when so many things were wrong all at once.

The next time that you are in prayer, why don’t you ask to be filled by the Holy Spirit? You don’t have to recite a certain prayer. In your own words, ask Him with all that is in you to be filled with His strength, comfort, and peace. I urge that you ask to receive the gift of His spirit each time you are in prayer. You will be amazed at what He will give you in return!

Contact me: sam@theseedofhope.com