The Seed of Hope

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.

...about plans.

…about plans.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11

Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed. Proverbs 16:3

These two Bible verses are, without a doubt, among my favorites. It’s funny that of all the verses, and of all the subjects that are covered in the written Word, two of my favorites have to do with plans.

But that’s where the similarities end. You see, the book of Jeremiah reveals God’s plans for us, whereas Proverbs addresses our plans.

“…plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

What a powerful statement this is. It reveals God’s intentions for me. For you. For all of us. When we can truly wrap our minds around this message that’s meant for us, and believe in it, our faith in God changes. Our relationship with Him changes. And our lives change.

Plans

One of my Dad’s favorite sayings was “Live for today.” He would always say that, especially if he and my Mom, or he and I, were in a heated exchange about life, finances, personal challenges, or anything beyond that moment in time. I think that he believed in what he was saying; to a degree. But I also think that he used it as a cop-out, as if to say “Okay, I’ve made my proclamation, so that’s the end of this discussion. Let’s move on to something else.” To be honest with you, it used to irritate me to no end. You can’t just end a discussion by uttering some self-proclaimed nugget of wisdom and then move on the next topic. Well, I guess you can, because he did it all the time, and got away with it!

Still, it bothered me, because my Dad did indeed live for today, but he also planned for tomorrow. And don’t we all? It’s why we have all kinds of insurance, and retirement accounts, and day planners. We plan for tomorrow, and the day after that, and the day after that. It’s part of our nature to do so. In fact, it’s that planning that gives birth to hope. Have you ever noticed that on this site, The Seed of Hope is followed by A Gift for Tomorrow?

It’s easy for us to believe that God has the perfect plan for us when things are good. If we’re blessed with good health, and prosperity, and good times, we know that God’s plan for us is just right! And we trust in Him completely.

It’s when the worm turns, or the wind changes direction, or things head south, that we begin to question not only God’s plan for us, but also His love. We want to cry out “How can You love me God, and let this happen to me?”

FAITH

I think the reason for the verse from Jeremiah being so meaningful to me is that when I accepted it as the truth, my faith in God hit a new level. I feel that, for me anyway, the absolute belief that God has my best interest and welfare in mind all the time was a HUGE turning point for me. It allowed me to change the way that I live my life.

I no longer walk in fear.

Strong statement. True statement. You see, I believe, without a doubt, that God has the perfect plan for me.

Look, since I was born again four years ago, and committed my life to Christ, life hasn’t always been a bed of roses. Life, in and of itself, isn’t easy. And as you may have figured out already, life as a Christian may be even harder.

But I have to tell you, even with the rough stuff, God’s plan for me has been so much better than any plan that I may have devised for myself. I couldn’t have imagined the changes that have taken place in and around me, and the blessings that would come with those changes.

Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.

Okay, so like you, I plan for tomorrow. But what are my real plans?

Well, I plan on being the best that I can be in everything that I do. I plan on being as good a Christian as I can possibly be. I plan on dedicating every day of my life to God. I plan on being, not just a light, but a beacon of light that shines for Him. I plan on running through every door that He opens for me to reach others. I plan on sharing the good news of God, and what He’s done in my life, with all who will give me an ear.

And when my time on this earth is up, and it’s time for me to stand before my Father, I plan on hearing Him say,

“Well done, good and faithful servant!…Come and share your master’s happiness!” Matthew 25:21

See you next week!

How God Works

How God Works

For the last several days I’ve sat down to write a post titled Feeling God’s Presence. Each time I’ve managed to type in a few sentences, and then come to a screeching halt. No inspiration. No ideas. No words. Nothing! Until a few months ago I would’ve been panic stricken. You see, I used to worry about waking up one morning with “writer’s block”, a syndrome that has abruptly ended the careers of many aspiring authors.

I’ve gotten to the point that I’m not really concerned when it happens, for several reasons. To begin with, I’m certainly not an author by any stretch of the imagination. And though I do write, I don’t consider myself to be a writer.

It goes a bit deeper than that. I write The Seed of Hope primarily for God. It’s my way of giving glory to Him by sharing what He has done, and what He continues to do, in my life. And I write The Seed of Hope with the prayer that something I’ve conveyed to you makes a difference in your walk with Him. Lastly, I write because doing so draws me closer to Him.

So I figure that if God wants me to write something, He’ll give me the right words to convey to you. And that’s exactly what He’s done, for the most part, since The Seed was launched in November of 2008.  

The only times that I’ve had trouble writing was on those occasions when I was trying to steer a particular post in a way other than the way that it seemed to want to “flow”, or when I was trying to share something without, well, without the inspiration to do so.

Apparently, God doesn’t want me to talk about feeling His presence this week! I believe that He wants me to tell you about what He did in my life since last week’s post, Rain. If you didn’t get a chance to read it, I’ll go ahead and tell you that in it I apologized for having misused the opportunity that this platform has given me to help others. And I swear to you, it seems as though that apology, or the act of asking for forgiveness, opened up the heavens for me to be bathed in God’s goodness….

Since last Monday’s post…

On Tuesday morning, I attended a small men’s group associated with Church of The Highlands here in Birmingham. To be in the presence of a group of men from all walks of life with the common goal of drawing closer to God was such a blessing. It seems that “real men” do love Jesus!

Later that Tuesday, I had the blessing, the opportunity, and the privilege of praying with two other individuals in our prayer room, The Seed of Hope office, which is located right in the middle of the salon! I found myself thanking God for His presence in our business, and for allowing me to be a small part of , and a witness to, what He’s doing in that room.

Wednesday night I attended a service at Highlands with my wife Jackie and my Mom (earth shaking…Mom is still a practicing Catholic) so uplifting that it shed any and all of the remaining “junk” that had been on my heart from the previous couple of weeks.

On Thursday night I attended a forty year reunion planning meeting with a gathering of my old friends and classmates from John Carroll Catholic High School and was invited to say a prayer before our meal (of course I prayed for more than just the food!). The following day I received a message from Teresa, one of those old friends from school. Teresa told me that she could sense my spiritual “awakening” and could feel the presence of the Holy Spirit in the room.

On Saturday morning my small men’s group met at the home of a lady that attends Church of The Highlands. This lady, the mother of seven children, had run into a rough spot in her life, and needed some help on the outside of her home. Our small group spent over four hours toiling in the heat, giving her yard and home a good facelift. When we were finished, this teary eye Mom extended her sincere thanks for our efforts, and joined us for prayer in her back yard. During the prayer, I was silently thanking God for allowing me to be a part of the moment.

On Saturday night I was attending another small group that Jackie and I had been hosting in our home. As had been the case for the five previous weeks, God’s presence in our home was so overwhelming. I know that minds were opened, that hearts were touched; I could feel it. I found myself overwhelmed by the fact that this was happening in our home.

On Monday I was invited to share what was on my heart about God, life, and dreams with a group of young adults attending 2:52, a summer internship offered at our church. And that’s exactly what I did. I told them about my addictions, and weaknesses, and all the poor decisions that I had made when I was their age and through my adult years. And then I told them about all of the amazing things, the miracles, and the work that God has done in, through, and around my life. What a blessing it was for me to spend that time with those young people. I pray that I touched the heart of at least one person in that room…

Tuesday

It’s Tuesday, and my self-imposed Monday morning deadline for this week’s post came and went. I was a little concerned that God still hadn’t given me the desire or the inspiration to sit in front of this laptop. I figured that perhaps He had something else in store for me, something else that I needed to learn, or to experience. If not, there would always be next week. Maybe.

Late this morning I got the idea to write about the past week, or more specifically what God saw fit to put in my life. I took a break to have lunch with Jackie, and to check my e-mails. There I found a message from a young lady named Laura, who had found The Seed of Hope through a local publication a couple of months ago, but had just gotten around to visiting a day or so ago. I won’t go into the details of Laura’s message to me. I will tell you that it impacted me greatly, and it reminded me, once again, of why I write these things every week. How very blessed I am.

Look, the events that I’ve told you about may not be a big deal to you, but they were HUGE for me. There was a point a couple of weeks ago when I didn’t feel worthy of writing The Seed of Hope, of being a soldier of Christ, of being a light that shines, or of being anything that I strive to be each day. For Him to put me, to allow me to be in the midst of so many situations where He was present, was quite overwhelming. And I wanted to share it with you.

“God works in mysterious ways.” was one of my Dad’s favorite sayings. I know I’ve shared that one with you before, but it’s so true. We could never, in a million years, figure out what God is thinking, or the way that He works.

Only God could take a man, broken and full of remorse, and give him a week so incredibly uplifting that he felt as if he were standing on a mountain top, basking in God’s incredible light!

Only God. It’s how He works.