Romans 8:28 NLT--- And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them.
Do you believe that? If so, have you griped and complained this week about the hand that you’ve been dealt like I have? I claim to believe this verse, but my negativity denies it. IF God weaves all the events of my life into a divine tapestry that one day will reveal a complete work of art that will magnify His glory and bless my socks off, then why am I downcast and disgruntled?
Proverbs 23:7 (KJV) says “that as a man thinks in his heart, so is he…” If my thoughts determine how I feel, which they do, then I need to be very careful about what I allow myself to think about. It is so easy to slip into “stinking thinking.”
How do you know what I think? You hear what I say. My words reveal my thoughts. If you want to know what God thinks, you read His Word. Words reveal our thoughts. With that being said, think about this verse: Proverbs 18:21 MSG--- Words kill, words give life; they're either poison or fruit — you choose.
Our words can be like Round UP (weed killer), or they can be like Miracle Gro. They have the power to speak death or life into people. So many people I talk with have been wounded by other people’s tongues. Very few are blessed with special people who fertilize their souls regularly with words of life. And it is so easy to do and costs us nothing.
I heard of a man one time who fell on hard times and lost everything… his family, his career, his self-respect. He ended up sitting on a street corner homeless and selling pencils in order to survive. One day a business man walked by him on the street. The man pulled the change from his pocket and dropped it into the box of pencils and kept walking. Then he stopped and turned around addressing the downtrodden pencil merchant.
“I beg your pardon, Sir. I mistook you for a beggar, when, indeed, you are not. I failed to see the pencils you are selling. May I have my pencils, please.”
A couple of years later, a dapper young man in a fine suit entered the store of the businessman and said to him. “Sir, you do not know me, but I know you. Two years ago, you bought some pencils from me as I sat on the street not far from here. At that time, I believed my life was over and there was no use in my living anymore. But your words of respect kindled in me a spark which fanned into a flame the faith I once had in God and His plan for me. I got up and with God’s help have been reunited with my family and my life as well as my business has been restored. I just wanted to return the favor and thank you for your kind words of encouragement. They were life to me when death was knocking at my door.”
As I write this, my soul is in turmoil. My emotions are a cauldron of mixed feelings boiling inside of me. I can’t seem to get my bearings. I’m uncertain about every step I take. I don’t know whether the ground beneath my feet is solid ground or sinking sand.
I used to have God figured out. If you did good stuff, things that pleased Him, He loved you. If you didn’t do good stuff, or did bad stuff, He was disappointed in you and you had to do more good stuff to get back into His good graces.
Now I know that is not true at all. I know some people who have said the “sinner’s prayer” and gone to church their whole life, and been baptized every which way, but I see no evidence that Jesus lives in them at all. As a matter of fact, some of them are downright mean and extremely self-centered. Are they in God’s good graces just because they’ve jumped thru the hoops of religiosity?
Then I see people who never go to “church,” who would give you the shirt off their backs… who love and accept people just the way they are. They are like the “Good Samaritan” who helped the wounded man in the ditch while the “good religious people” walked on by. Is God disappointed in them because they don’t jump thru the same hoops?
God is blowing my mind and stretching me so much I feel like Gumby (I’m really dating myself with that!) I just know I’ve got to get back to basics. I’ve got to quit “word cursing” myself and others. I’ve got to start trusting God’s heart when I can’t trace His hand. I’ve got to start encouraging myself and everybody else, too.
I could use your help. If you find me spewing Round Up instead of Miracle Gro, please let me know. Thanks for allowing me to think out loud. It helps me because how can I know what I think until I hear what I say.
You think about that…
Beggars Telling Other Beggars Where to Find Bread
Papa means for us to love, encourage and help one another. If you have come across some blessings you could share, pass them along. Write a comment and I’ll post it here so others can share in the blessings.
www.yourneighborhoodproduce.com is a local co-op run by Christine Nelson. She takes up money and buys restaurant quality produce every other week. Pick up is on Saturdays from 8 to 9 am at the Clover Middle School. You pay by midnight on the Monday before the Saturday pickup. We’ve tried it and the quality and quantity of produce is terrific. You need to bring a big sack or laundry basket to carry your food home. It’s great.
If you have other blessings you would like to share, you can write a comment here and I’ll post it. Or email me at kenny@rhcconline.org. Blessings to you all.
Lay Aside Every Weight Begins This Sunday, April 19
Time: 6 to 8 pm
Cost: FREE! You can purchase a notebook for $20 if you desire.
Place: River Hills Community Church in the sanctuary.
Seminar Contact: Kenny Ashley
kenny@rhcconline.org
www.kennyashleystuff.blogspot.com
803-831-1615
We will meet for 5 Sundays in a row. April 19 thru May 17. If you can’t make them all, please come when you can. Everyone is welcome.
GRACE GROUPS
Kenny and Ben’s Tuesday morning Bible Study will meet this Tuesday, April 14th as usual. Our passage this week is Mark 15:1-5. Come join us.
We have 2 more weeks of Revelation… April 15 and April 22… at 6:30 in the sanctuary.
Post stuff about your GRACE GROUP here in a comment. I’ll be glad to post it for you.
4 comments:
Don't forget about the cooking class Grace Group. Next outing is Saturday, April 25 from 10AM to noon at Zink in Uptown. We will ride the train there and back. The menu is Spring's Best - peas, morel mushrooms and leeks. Yummmm
Don't forget about the Cooking Class Grace group's next outing. It is Saturday, April 25 from 10AM to noon at Zink in Uptown. We will take the train there and back. Menu items are Spring's Best - morel mushrooms, leeks and peas.
i will vouch for the neighborhood produce. it is awesome! we eat veggies & fruit like crazy & it did keep us stocked for 2 weeks!
WAY TO BE BLOGGING KENNY!!!!
elizabeth
Hey - Cooking? If you have any old cookware, leave it with me at the 9:15 Service or with Kathleen Nash at the church office. No cast iron, or wood. The Scout Troop is needing this for patrol boxes, and there will soon be a Venture Crew here at RHCC, so they'll need it too.
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