Category: Wisdom

The Rangers and TobyMac

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This past Sunday, I had the exciting opportunity to attend a Texas Rangers Baseball game with some of my family – and what a game it was!! Two home runs by the Rangers and a winning score was good enough for me, but in the eighth inning things turned a little ugly. Right before our eyes, a major brawl broke out, grabbing national attention. Personally, I’m not one that enjoys watching players throwing punches, but the fan sitting next to me was absolutely thrilled. He said it was his birthday, and seeing the fight was the best birthday present ever!

What caused this major fight to break out between the Rangers and the Blue Jays? There are many speculations, but the bottom line is that there is a good amount of pent up anger between the two teams which culminated in Sunday’s fighting match.  The feuding history between these rivals spurred on a bitter battle on the field.

Ironically, after the game there was a concert on the field performed by TobyMac – a Christian artist with a powerful message filled with humility, grace and forgiveness. You probably didn’t see that on the evening news. Fights are so much more exciting! But what is the message we want to get across to our children and to society at large?

Do we want to encourage the next generation to work out their anger and frustrations through fighting and revenge, or do we want to promote a better way? The Bible teaches us how to resolve conflicts and work through anger. In its pages, we learn how to love our enemies and forgive those who have hurt us. We learn about grace – grace toward others, because God has shown us grace through His Son.

As believers, let’s demonstrate to the world what God’s love looks like. Let’s be different. Sure we all get angry, but as Christ’s followers, His Spirit can give us the strength and wisdom to work through issues, let go of bitterness and live with grace toward one another. God’s Spirit loving through us can make a positive and powerful difference in this world. Let’s let HIs love be our signature.

It seems fitting that this morning I happened to read these words by the apostle Peter:

All of you should be of one mind. Sympathize with each other. Love each other as brothers and sisters. Be tenderhearted, and keep a humble attitude. Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t retaliate with insults when people insult you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God has called you to do, and He will grant you His blessing. I Peter 3:8-9

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The Joy of Knowing God

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 Hello Positive Friends,

We will be getting together soon as we meet one week earlier in November.  At Presontonwood Country Club on Nov 16 and at Cottonwood Creek on Nov 17.  Looking forward to seeing you soon.  The following is a devotional thought from my book Thrive, Don’t Simply Survive.

Saint Bernard of Clairvaux said, “If we begin to worship and come to God again and again by meditating, by reading, by prayer; and by obedience, little by little God becomes known to us through experience. We enter into a sweet familiarity with God, and by tasting how sweet the Lord is we pass into . . . loving God, not for our own sake, but for Himself.”4 We can fall into the arms of a God who we know and love, but it is difficult to trust someone we do not know personally.

We cannot understand all of God’s ways, but there are certain qualities we can know about him. Where do we begin our journey of knowing him? The Bible gives us glimpses of the High King of heaven and his marvelous attributes. Here are a few of the numerous qualities we learn about God as we see them revealed in the Bible. I have provided just one biblical reference for each attribute, although there are numerous others.

He is:

Almighty (Genesis 17:1)

Everlasting (Genesis 21:33)

All-Powerful (2 Chronicles 20:6)

Abundant in Strength (Psalm 147:5)

Abounding in Love (Psalm 103:8)

Sovereign (Deuteronomy 3:24)

Merciful (Psalm 62:12)

Trustworthy (2 Samuel 22:3)

Our Keeper (Psalm 121:2)

Our Provider (Matthew 6:26)

Our Good Shepherd (John 10:11)

Able—nothing is too difficult for him (Genesis 18:14)

I want to get to know a God like this, don’t you? Certainly He is worthy of our respect, obedience, and yes, trust. Consider where you are with God right now in your life. What do you believe about him? We don’t want to make assumptions about God; rather, we want to explore who he claims to be. As we get to know the God of the Bible, we begin to recognize his abiding love for us. He is worthy of our trust. I encourage you to continue your journey of engagement with God.

Colossians Connection

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Positive Woman Connection

“Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.”  Hebrews 10:24

This week we started our new season of Positive Woman Connection.  I love PWC, because it is a place for us to join together as women not only to encourage one another, but also to study God’s word together. This year we are studying the book of Colossians, and what a powerful book it is!  If I were to describe the book of Colossians using three words, I would say it is about Christ, Confidence and Community. We learned this past week about the importance of knowing what we believe and the basis for our worldview.  My personal worldview is based on the foundation of the Bible. What about you? I believe the Bible is the inerrant word of God and that it gives us the basis of understanding who God is and what our purpose is in this world. Most importantly, the Bible reveals who Christ is and why God sent Him.

Colossians teaches us specific truths about Christ. In fact, theologians agree that it is one of the foremost books on Christology.  Here’s a how Paul described the majesty of Christ in Colossians, “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.”

What a wonderful God we serve! He has rescued us and given us a new life because of what Christ did for us on the cross. I want to encourage you to study Colossians for yourself, and if you live in the Dallas area, join us for one of the Positive Woman Connection Bible studies – or start your own in your city.  We meet at Prestonwood Country Club in north Dallas on the 4th Tuesday of the month and in Allen at Cottonwood Creek Church on the 4th Wednesday of the month.  For more information go to www.roaringlambsministries.org.   Hope to see you October 26 or 27 at PWC.

My Fifty Sense

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The Big 5-0!

“If wrinkles must be written upon our brows, let them not be written upon the heart. The spirit should not grow old.”  James Garfield

This past week I turned fifty.  Yes the big 5-0!  It honestly wasn’t so bad.  The highlight for me was on the day of my birthday I met with some friends in downtown Dallas to attend a luncheon for Sheila Bailey’s ministry.  After the luncheon my friends and I walked across the street to First Baptist Church Dallas.  I grew up in this church, and I first trusted Christ as my savior through it’s ministry.  I was also baptized and married there, so it holds many life memories for me personally.  But the highlight wasn’t just being there on the church grounds, the best part was that we went up to the prayer tower,  got on our knees and prayed together.  We prayed for our city, for our friends and for each other.  It was a great way to celebrate my fiftieth. 

I must admit I do love fun birthday cards, and there is no shortage when it comes to turning 50.  One friend gave me a card that read: 

                “In dog years, you’d be 350, but in Giant Redwood years, you’d only be about 3 ½….See? Turning 50 is all in how you look at it!” 

Well, the card is right. Perspective is everything!  I must admit I still feel like I’m 30, so I’m not going to let my actual age bother me.  I hope as I am getting older, that I am also getting wiser.  I’ve been pondering some of the truths I have learned over the years and am trying to apply to my life for the next fifty years.  So here’s my Fifty Cents (Sense) Worth of living with wisdom.

  • Focus on loving God more, and focus on myself less.
  • Serve more, and demand less.
  • Love more, and get annoyed less.
  • Seek God’s direction more, and seek my own agenda less.
  • Care about eternal things more, and get upset about temporal things less.
  • Give more, and keep less.
  • Listen more, and talk less.
  • Learn more, and eat less.
  • Choose joy more, and choose bitterness less.
  • Encourage more, and complain less.

 

Most importantly the older I get the more I am amazed at God’s greatness.  Let us all pay attention to the way He works, the way He comforts, the way He loves and the way He reveals His mighty power in our lives.

Psalm 36:5-9

5 Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens,
       your faithfulness to the skies.

6 Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains,
       your justice like the great deep.
       O LORD, you preserve both man and beast.

7 How priceless is your unfailing love!
       Both high and low among men
       find refuge in the shadow of your wings.

8 They feast on the abundance of your house;
       you give them drink from your river of delights.

9 For with you is the fountain of life;
       in your light we see light.