Today's "To-Do" List

Generally, I am a "to-do" list type of person. I like to lay out and plan my day to prepare for what's ahead. Sometimes, I get frustrated when the schedule of my day gets turned upside down. I bet many of you can relate to this frustration.

But, let's think about this for a bit--what are we really trying to accomplish each and every day. Is it really about our agenda? If it is just about what YOU want to accomplish each day, I need to share with you a few words of caution. Be prepared for frustration.

Think about this--instead of MY agenda and what I want to accomplish--what if I considered each day an opportunity for me to allow Christ to manifest or live Himself through me. Isn't there freedom in this mindset? Under His guidance and control, we are freed from the burden of "thinking we are in control." And when the interruptions or burdens happen in our day, we can approach them with the confidence that we do not have to figure out what to do. We are continually seeking God's wisdom throughout our day. Really, isn't that where He wants us--dependent upon Him moment by moment.

Jesus, I do love you. Thank you that it is not about me--but that it is all about you. Father, please help me to set aside my desire to control things. I do want to just give up that desire to you. I want to step aside and allow you to just live your amazing life through me. I cannot do this in my own strength. And thank you that you do not leave me to fend in my own strength, but that I can rely truly upon Yours. Amen.

Stay Strong.

The Key to Great Wealth

Did that title catch your attention? I promise I am not offering secrets here to secure your financial future. Instead, I want to encourage you that the wealth that God offers is so much greater and more fulfilling than anything that we can "gather" on this earth.

The apostle Paul, in his encouragment to his spiritual son, Timothy, offers the following: "But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it." (1 Timothy 6:6-7 NIV). Think about it, as a baby, we bring nothing with us into this world besides an umbilical cord--and that soon gets cut. And then, at your funeral, you don't take anything with you. Unfortunately, it is between these two points that we get focused on the stuff of life. At times, many of us get consumed with our circumstances and our stuff. The bible teaches us that we should learn to be content.

So, what is contentment? Contentment means my happiness in not dependent upon circumstances or the accumulation of stuff. Let me ask you this--do you ever find yourself getting caught up in "when" thinking? "When I graduate . . . when I get a new job . . . when I have a child . . . when the kids are out of the house . . . when I retire . . . then I'll be happy." As you are going through life and have met some (or all) of these particular "milestones", did they generate long-term happiness? I would guess they probably did not.

To be happy, I encourage you to allow God to teach you to be content. You know that God has provided for and will continue to provide for all of your needs. Just enjoy that state He has you in--and know that He has you there for His purpose. Enjoy Him.

Stay Strong.

Go and Do the Same

Recently, our local newspaper ran a story on a mother who was coming to Rapid City to speak at a rally for alternative lifestyles. This mother's son had been murdered while away at college. The story told that the son had been murdered because he was a homosexual.

The online version of this article contains a number of reader-submitted comments. Many of these comments condemn this lifestyle and demean this mom for having a son that engaged in this type of lifestyle. And I am sory to say that many of these comments came from people who claimed to follow Christ. Other comments on this article condemned Christians for being intolerant. Reading these comments opened my eyes a bit to the type of hatred that exists in our world. And at times, this hatred is directed towards Chrisitians. I realize sometimes we bring a bit of this hatred on ourselves.

As a believer in Jesus Christ, I do not agree with this type of lifestyle. But, is it my place to judge and condemn another person for the choices that they make? Please don't get me wrong--I am no condoning sinful behavior. And I do that these choices are wrong and may have consequences. It is one thing to disagree with a lifestyle choice, it is quite another thing to condemn the person making that choice.

Committed Christians always try to put into action God's command to "love your neighbor as yourself." (Leviticus 19:18). Jesus told His famous parable of the Good Samaritan to make it clear that "love your neighbor" means to love all persons, everywhere - not just our friends, and those we agree with.

One day an expert on Moses' laws came to test Jesus' orthodoxy by asking him this question: "Teacher, what does a man need to do to live forever in heaven?" Jesus replied, "What does Moses' law say about it?" "It says," he replied, "that you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind. And you must love your neighbor just as much as you love yourself." "Right!" Jesus told him. "Do this and you shall live!" The man wanted to justify (his lack of love for some kinds of people), so he asked, "Which neighbors?" Jesus replied with an illustration: "A Jew going on a trip from Jerusalem to Jericho was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes and money, and beat him up and left him lying half dead beside the road. "By chance a Jewish priest came along; and when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. A Jewish Temple-assistant walked over and looked at him lying there, but then went on. "But a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw him, he felt deep pity. Kneeling beside him the Samaritan soothed his wounds with medicine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his donkey and walked along beside him till they came to an inn, where he nursed him through the night. The next day he handed the innkeeper two twenty-dollar bills and told him to take care of the man. 'If his bill runs higher than that,' he said, 'I'll pay the difference the next time I am here.' "Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the bandits' victim?" The man replied, "The one who showed him some pity." Then Jesus said, "Yes, now go and do the same." (Luke 10:25-37)(emphasis mine).

Can we really "go and do the same"? In our own strength, I do not see how we can. But we are not living in our own strength. We can do all things through the amazing strength of Jesus. (Phillipians 4:13). Though we may not agree with a person's choice, through His amazing strength, we can still love that person. I encourage you to allow Him to equip and prepare you to "go and do the same."