This is a reprint of a Facebook post from earlier in the week. I hope it leads us to remember to keep the main thing the main thing in the midst of created and real distractions ... Randy
Last weekend at the 30a Songwriter Festival I reheard a Ben Glover song called Beautiful Messes. It is a song recorded by Hillary Scott and it reminds us of who we are and that God wants us to be used by Him in spite of our brokenness and infirmities. After seeing neighbors and friends who are dealing with some pretty difficult life issues I wanted to share a few Biblical looks at how we deal with the fears, uncertainties and past mistakes we tend to hang onto. Here goes ...
1) DON'T - Hate to start with a negative but we, as a society, should remember past mistakes and not repeat them. But we should realize that people and bad choices from the past should be left there. In Jesus we have become a new creation and that old life is dead. In Luke 24 Jesus says, "why are do you seek the living among the dead?" So why do we seek life and life-answers among dead things. Remember and leave ... and don't let anyone or anything take you back there!
2) SEEK - Seek what Jesus, in His last prayer, said was an individual and corporate virtue ... unity (John 17). I am honored to live in a community where we share hurts at places like Celebrate Recovery, hear amazing prayers from leaders like Rev. Eddie Thomas at our community Christmas Tree Lighting and share the responsibility of raising up our children "In the way they should go (Proverbs 22:6)" by working with Neandra Green at the Boys and Girls Club! If we seek unity we rise above our messiness to be a better community.
3) DO - Let's all acknowledge that we, as a society, have some pretty messy things happening. So ... stop carping and do something. Be part of the solution! James 1:22 reminds us to take God's word into action by placing what God teaches into action. If you say you are a follower of Jesus, I, like James, will play the "Missouri-card" and say, OK ... show me.
4) GO - Rev. Tony Evans tells us that we are powerless over the issues that plague our communities because we go into daily life under our own powers and authority. We battle spiritual issues with non-spiritual solutions. That clearly is not working. Look back at Martin Luther King's life and ministry. See (it is clear) that Dr. King's greatness was from those times when he heard God's call, expressed God's word, applied God's solutions and followed God even to danger, pain and death. Dr. King changed our world and is still changing it.
5) THANK - Thank God for the people in this community (I have mentioned only a few of them) who work in the trenches. Our leaders who humbled themselves at Christmas to pray, read Scripture and join hands as one people. Our pastors who are living stones that commemorate that God is doing something good here. And thank our Lord that He has raised us (His beautiful messes) out of our self-imposed mirey pit of history/stubbornness/prejudice/hate and set our feet on solid ground ... steadied us as we walked ... called us to witness to all His goodness by placing a new song in our mouths. So ... sing joyfully! Ben Glover was right ... "We're all Davids, we're all Marys, we've been liars, thieves and everything between. But don't forget God used the misfits just like us to do the most amazing things. So bring your faults, your flaws, your secrets and watch Him use those broken pieces." In Christ ... Randy
Last weekend at the 30a Songwriter Festival I reheard a Ben Glover song called Beautiful Messes. It is a song recorded by Hillary Scott and it reminds us of who we are and that God wants us to be used by Him in spite of our brokenness and infirmities. After seeing neighbors and friends who are dealing with some pretty difficult life issues I wanted to share a few Biblical looks at how we deal with the fears, uncertainties and past mistakes we tend to hang onto. Here goes ...
1) DON'T - Hate to start with a negative but we, as a society, should remember past mistakes and not repeat them. But we should realize that people and bad choices from the past should be left there. In Jesus we have become a new creation and that old life is dead. In Luke 24 Jesus says, "why are do you seek the living among the dead?" So why do we seek life and life-answers among dead things. Remember and leave ... and don't let anyone or anything take you back there!
2) SEEK - Seek what Jesus, in His last prayer, said was an individual and corporate virtue ... unity (John 17). I am honored to live in a community where we share hurts at places like Celebrate Recovery, hear amazing prayers from leaders like Rev. Eddie Thomas at our community Christmas Tree Lighting and share the responsibility of raising up our children "In the way they should go (Proverbs 22:6)" by working with Neandra Green at the Boys and Girls Club! If we seek unity we rise above our messiness to be a better community.
3) DO - Let's all acknowledge that we, as a society, have some pretty messy things happening. So ... stop carping and do something. Be part of the solution! James 1:22 reminds us to take God's word into action by placing what God teaches into action. If you say you are a follower of Jesus, I, like James, will play the "Missouri-card" and say, OK ... show me.
4) GO - Rev. Tony Evans tells us that we are powerless over the issues that plague our communities because we go into daily life under our own powers and authority. We battle spiritual issues with non-spiritual solutions. That clearly is not working. Look back at Martin Luther King's life and ministry. See (it is clear) that Dr. King's greatness was from those times when he heard God's call, expressed God's word, applied God's solutions and followed God even to danger, pain and death. Dr. King changed our world and is still changing it.
5) THANK - Thank God for the people in this community (I have mentioned only a few of them) who work in the trenches. Our leaders who humbled themselves at Christmas to pray, read Scripture and join hands as one people. Our pastors who are living stones that commemorate that God is doing something good here. And thank our Lord that He has raised us (His beautiful messes) out of our self-imposed mirey pit of history/stubbornness/prejudice/hate and set our feet on solid ground ... steadied us as we walked ... called us to witness to all His goodness by placing a new song in our mouths. So ... sing joyfully! Ben Glover was right ... "We're all Davids, we're all Marys, we've been liars, thieves and everything between. But don't forget God used the misfits just like us to do the most amazing things. So bring your faults, your flaws, your secrets and watch Him use those broken pieces." In Christ ... Randy
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