Perseverance

Perseverance

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,

whenever you face trials of many kinds,

because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.”

(James 1 vs.1-3)

            We will face trials in our lives. Some are simple, some are complex, and all help us become better people when we deal with them correctly. James is exactly correct; tests of our faith develop character and perseverance.

            Remember the story read to us as children about the tortoise and the hare? The hare gets overconfident and loses the race. He was the fastest, had all the advantages but lacked commitment and persistence. My favorite poster hung on my office wall for 30 years. It was of a very long windy road, miles long and showed a lone runner. The distance to the horizon appeared to be out to infinity! The caption read “The race is not always to the swift but to those who keep on running!” The title was persistence.

            James and Jesus knew it; we hear and understand it; we need to persevere in our faith to make the world a better place.

Thought for the Day:  Today, this week, month and year let us remember our faith. Each day let us spread our love and joy to make our presence felt in a positive way.

Prayer for Today: Dear God, today we give thanks for your presence in our lives and the ability to resist temptations. Amen

Hear the Holy Spirit!

Hear the Holy Spirit!

“Whoever has ears,

let them hear what the

Spirit says to the churches.”

(Revelations 3: verse 6, 13 & 22)

            This is my first try at using a passage from Revelations and it is scary to me because it is the book that I am least familiar with. Today’s passage also appears in Rev 2 and it is a message from the Angels to several church congregations. However, it hit me because it was used three times in Rev 3 and it summarizes an article from Sunday’s paper entitled, “No religion, too? A recipe for trouble…” written by Katherine Kersten. She states that there is a strong connection between virtue (as taught by religious organizations) and successful self-government (democracy).

            In her article she points out that the intellectual or “psychological” man is replacing the Christian model of man. Otherwise stated, the soul is being replaced by the “self.” Since the Christian model places very high demands on virtue, she fears that our ability to self-govern will be sacrificed. My personal thoughts are that this describes many of the issues that are bothering America and the rest of the free world today.

            James Madison, our fourth President said it this way:

"We have staked the whole of all our political Institutions upon the capacity of mankind for Self-Government, the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves, to control ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God."

            We have a personal obligation as Christians to demonstrate our faith, to invite others to join us and somehow keep our souls open to inspection. When others learn what we have in terms of happiness and satisfaction, they will join in.

Thought for the Day: Today let us radiate our happiness and wear our faith on our sleeves. Let us hear what the spirit says to the churches throughout our day.

Prayer for Today: Lord, today we pray that we may hear the Spirit in our daily activities and can do your will here on earth.

Amen

Who's Macro?

Who’s Macro?

"Now, O LORD my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David.

But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. ⁸

Your servant is here among the people you have chosen,

a great people, too numerous to count or number. ⁹

So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong.

For who is able to govern this great people of yours?"

(1 Kings 3vs 7-10)

Please do not take this post as a political piece but I am feeling a lot like my life is out of control. Not the daily issues but in computer terms it seems my macro is not what I would like. I guess I am looking for the land of milk and honey, the golden years or to live happily ever after. We are trained to look for that in all those books our mom’s read to us when we were growing up.

            My macro issues are with what I call the new world economy and what I see happening in the world with terrorists and religious zealots. I feel quite helpless and it seems that my friends feel the same way. We all want to end war, be at peace, reduce taxes and live happily ever after. That is the challenge.

            The solution to the issue is that I need to focus on the correct Macro; the spirit of our Christian Faith as opposed to the Government or World macro. The politicians around the world certainly have changed things with the new world economy and making war. They have not impacted the words of the Lord- The real Macro was written by Paul.

 ^“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law ….Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other. (Galatians 5 vs. 22 & 24)

Thought for Today: We need to focus on our daily lives for survival, there is no truer fact. With that said, this week let’s do what we need to do to survive but keep Paul’s letters and the word of our Lord in our daily lives. It will fit in if we let it.

Prayer for Today: Dear Lord, today we pray for our world and country. We pray that we can find a way back to Jesus word and Paul’s macro.

Amen

Marriage!

This post was written for our 40^th anniversary in 2008. This week we travel to New England for the tenth consecutive year to celebrate our anniversary, visit good friends and of course 98 year old mom!

 Marriage 40^th

" A wife of noble character who can find?

She is worth far more than rubies.

Her husband has full confidence in her

and lacks nothing of value."

(Proverbs 31:10, 11)

On July 28^th 2008, June and I celebrated our 40^th wedding anniversary. We were married on her 30^th birthday. She has been a blessing to me and I often refer to her as being the light at the end of my tunnel. She helped escort me from my dark period of the 60’s into something better- that seems to be still growing. Forty years is a long time and it was not all romance and happy times. There was alcohol treatment, recovery, career moves and stress, the challenges of raising four children and just living with Bob, who does not always make sense!

           I often discuss the many wonderful benefits of a good marriage: the great mutual support, the care when illness arrives, the mutual celebrations of the many events that occur. Yes, marriage is truly a great institution when things are well and blessed by God.

Thought for Today: Today let’s keep it simple and enjoy our significant other and those others around us.

Prayer for the Week: Heavenly Father, today we give thanks for the people that you have placed close to us in our lives. We pray that as this week progresses, we can share our love with friends, family and others who we meet. 

Amen

Also Ran!

Also Ran!

Then the LORD said to Joshua,

“Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”

(Joshua 8 vs.1) 

            Being an also ran is a way of life. We rarely finish first. As many of you know I detest the famous Vince Lombardi quote, “Winning isn’t everything it is the only thing.” Here are some examples: My friend Pat McNamara qualified in four different Olympics and did not win a medal; my brother Wayne swam for years and was a national top ten in four events but never had a national championship; Ted Williams and Carl Yastrzemski played years for the Red Sox and never received a world series ring; and the list goes on! None of the above is a loser and all were or are proud of their accomplishments.

            In my personal instance, I have three triathlon trophies out of 28 races; a second, a third and an only! There was always someone faster until my 72^nd in 2011 when no one else my age competed. Did I lose? Never. In each Triathlon that I did, in the last mile of the run I would well up with tears of joy from the shear pride in my accomplishment. The pain experienced during the run would go away, the legs would seem fresh again and the finishing sprint would feel and look great. Second, Third or twentieth did not matter; I was winning inside!

            Clint Purvis, the team chaplain for Florida State University’s football team under Bobby Bowden put it like this after a tough loss to Miami, “There is a huge difference between getting beat in a game and being a loser.” Clint reminded the team of the characteristics of being a winner: 

1.      A winner still remembers that God never forsakes his own.

2.      A winner must remember that it is always painful and costly to claim victory again.

3.      A winner will always remember the source of all his blessings.

(From Bobby Bowden’s Called to Coach, Howard Books, and 2010” 

            We rarely are number one but since God is always with us, we are always winners.

Thought for Today: Today we will have battles we do not expect. With God’s help, let us be winners no matter which way the battle turns out! 

Prayer for Today: Dear Lord and Father, today we thank you for being with us at all times in every place. We thank you because when you are along we will be winners.

Amen

Follow the Way!

Follow the Way

“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world,

but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is...

Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought,

but rather think of yourself with sober judgment,

in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you."

(Romans 12; 2-4)

    Society does not fit the biblical model that we are taught and often desire. Truth, honesty, integrity, love and many other virtues seem rare at times. Often in our human desire to "fit", we join in and need correction. It is normal to err and join in. It is also forgivable.

    In a discussion last week in a business environment, we were discussing several long term successful business men. We were comparing the successful men with some that were sinking fast or already out of business. It seems that the ones that have long term success may have read Paul’s message to the Romans. Fairness was their trademark and perpetual growth seemed to be a trait. They were not always right, but always seemed to be growing and striving for excellence.

    They earned the respect and trust of those around them. They were not "sharks" but win-win business men. Somehow, they incorporated their Christian beliefs into the tough world of doing business. That is truly doing God's will.

Thought for Today: Today we will all have a chance to stand up and be counted. We will have opportunities to demonstrate our faith in circumstances where we would not normally do so. Let us demonstrate that we are considerate and Godly in our daily activities.

Prayer for Today: Dear Lord, the world we live in is distracting and volatile. We all have too much to do, too many commitments and too many fears. Throughout all of this we pray for peace. Peace in our own lives, peace around the world and an end to hate and prejudice. We pray that we end anger and hate in ourselves and can demonstrate the value of peace to others through our example.

Amen

Lean on Me!

Lean on Me!

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!”

(Philippians 4 vs. 4)

            Sometimes rejoice and celebrate are hard words to implement. The last two years June and I have fought some battles that are not going to go away. One of my spiritual advisors challenged me on doing my meditations often enough! Yes, that is required but Paul’s message above says it well.  I choose to listen to Paul!

            This morning I am heading for the swimming pool for a relaxing lap swim with June and after lunch a walk around a lake with a mentor. It does not get much better than that!

            Also, I talked with mom today and at age 98 she was having a great day. Monday is her massage day! She was ahead of me 75 years ago and she still is! If you live to be 98, you want her life and spirit.

            Erma Bombeck wrote a book entitled “If Life is a Bowl of Cherries, What Am I doing in the Pits?” We need to focus on the good stuff and listen to Paul.

Rejoice in the Lord

Thought for Today: Today it will be too hot outside, the air conditioning inside will be too cool, the sun too bright and there may be a thunderstorm. It just will not matter so rejoice in the Lord and enjoy it. It is a preset.

Prayer for Today: Dear Lord and Father, there are many things wrong in our world; Wars, revolution, both national and local money issues. Today we give thanks for what we have and the ability to seek peace through you. We pray for the strength and guidance to find a way to contribute to a world wide solution. We pray that we may help find peace amongst the peoples of the world.