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Building A Dream Life

How Should I Love My Neighbor?

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By Remembering They Are as Important as You Are

 

 

We’ve all been told to ‘love my neighbor as much as I love myself’. This sounds simple enough in theory. The problem comes when attempting to put it into action.


What does it mean to “love my neighbor”?


In Luke 16:19-31, Jesus talks about the “Rich Man and Lazarus”. In this story the Rich Man dies and goes to Hell and Lazarus dies and goes to Heaven. There’s no indication in the story that the Rich Man was mean to Lazarus. It appears that he was just oblivious, unaware and uncaring.


The Rich Man doesn’t appear to have been a bad man…so why did he end up in Hell?


Loving your neighbor begins with loving God. Loving your neighbor as much as yourself is found in Matthew 22:36-40. In this Scripture, before Jesus says anything about your neighbor He says to, “Love God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and most important command.” After that He says to, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”


This has to be done in the right order. God first…everything else after.


So, why did Lazarus make it to Heaven and the Rich Man ended up in Hell? It’s pretty simple really. The Rich Man didn’t believe. You can’t earn your way into Heaven by doing good, Ephesians 2:4-10. You can’t buy your way into Heaven with money, Acts 8:18-21. This doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with having money or doing good.


You don’t have to be a believer to treat others well, but you do have to be a believer to get to Heaven. If you are a believer, you will treat others well. If you have your priorities in the right order, “Love God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.” Then “Loving your neighbor as yourself” will come naturally. Every one of us is as important to God as the next.

 


There’s only one way to get to Heaven. You must believe that Jesus is God come to earth, that God raised Jesus from the dead and tell this to others.


If the Rich Man had believed, he would have loved Lazarus and treated him differently. Love God. Love your neighbor. Love yourself. Believe before it’s too late.


Death is the ultimate equalizer.

 

How To Find Your Purpose And Live It

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It’s Not as Hard as It First Appears

 

It seems that too much of the time we feel lost, with no clear path or understanding of what we’re supposed to be doing. We just drift through life without any idea of where we’re going or how we’re going to get there.


We’ve all been put here for a specific God given purpose. The process of figuring it out is a part of the purpose. We will never completely understand it fully here on earth, but the constant seeking of our purpose moves us closer to finding it.


To accomplish our purpose, we’ve been given skills, and talents that fit specifically with that purpose. Our job is to discern what those abilities are and then to use them in the right ways, not the wrong ones.


Arthur Berry was reportedly the greatest jewel thief in American history. He robbed from the relatives of kings and wealthy businessmen. Early in his life he decided that doing “normal business” was not in his nature. At the age of fifteen he became an active robber.


He was always well dressed and well-spoken. Informal clothes and his good manners presented him the opportunity to walk into any lawn party and mix it up with guests. This would allow him to case the home and know the important information needed for later.


“There are many occasions when the residents woke up. He simply told them to stay calm, hand over the jewels and avoid being hurt. Moreover, he said people seldom resisted this request. For instance, in the Livermore’s bedroom, Barry woke up Mrs. And Mr. Livermore by flashing light in her eyes. She was frightened and asked, “Who is it?” He answered, ‘Good evening’ J. L. just don’t move, phone lines are cut. Just hand over the jewelry and let us go. Barry emptied the dressing table securing $95’000 worth of gems. He noticed the lady is sitting in her nightgown. So, Barry put the bathrobe on her shoulders and lighted a cigarette for her to receive her only comments “You are a real devil”. He warned them not to make any outcry and escaped. But before leaving he returned the $15,000 worth little pinky ring gifted by her husband, at her request.”


The second time Arthur Barry was arrested he spent 17 years behind bars. When released he kept his word of not going back to his “job”. He was honorably employed in his hometown at $50 a week. People knew his past and still, they elected him commander of a local Veteran’s Organization because of his honesty of purpose.


It was said by experts that with his genius he “could have been a successful businessman, Wall Street baron or could have done anything that he had concentrated upon.”


“The ultimate and legendary thief had been robbing himself all along…”


All too often we spend our time and energy on things that are counterproductive to our God given purpose. We rob ourselves by not living our lives to the fullest.

 


God has given us the map for finding our purpose, the Bible. It’s all in there we just have to pick it up and look.

 

You Don’t Have to Be Lost

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How to Avoid Ending Up as Unclaimed Baggage

 

 

We’ve all experienced times when we felt lost, wondering what to do, unsure of a decision. We don’t have to stumble around in the dark, bumping into things.


There is an Unclaimed Baggage Center in Alabama where an average of 7,000 unclaimed airline items go every day. It amazes me that much luggage is unclaimed or lost. I understand things get lost, but if it was my luggage, you can be sure that I would be looking long and hard.


Most of us are familiar with the stories Jesus tells about the lost sheep and coin in Luke 15:1-10. Both tell about the importance of being found, the importance of finding, and the joy when the lost are found. We are one or the other, either the lost or the ones seeking the lost. God is looking for the lost and can use help.

 

Everyone can be found.


Many people choose not to be found; they prefer the darkness. Less is required of us if we’re unseen, in the shadows. Life is easier with the light turned off.


Hank Williams wrote the famous song “I Saw the Light” 1948. “Williams often sang his song as if he was a man facing the end, desperate to believe in a salvation that he didn’t think existed. Was he trying to convince himself of the reality of the Gospel?


He sang: “I wandered so aimless, life filled with sin; I wouldn’t ask my dear Savior in. Then Jesus came like a stranger in the night; Praise the Lord, I saw the light!” The chorus went, “I saw the light, I saw the light. No more darkness; no more night. Now I’m so happy no sorrow in sight. Praise the Lord, I saw the light!”


Near the end of his life he was doing a show in San Diego but stumbled drunk off stage after only two songs. His friend, country performer Minnie Pearl tried to sober him as they rode around town in the back seat of his Cadillac so he could do his second show. She got him to join her in singing “I Saw the Light” thinking it might help sober him, but after one verse, Hank put his head in his hands and said, “O Minnie, Minnie, I don’t see no light. There ain’t no light.”


“But there was light, only it seems Hank refused it.”


Don’t spend your life in a pile of unclaimed baggage in some dark corner somewhere.

 

Turn on the light.


If you can’t find the switch or don’t know how to turn it on, ask for help. There is someone out there who can help you.

 

 

What Will People Say About Me at My Funeral?

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How I Spend My Time Today Will Have an Effect on That

 

It seems there isn’t enough time to get everything done. I don’t know about you, but I’m constantly looking around for more. I think to myself, “If I just had a few more minutes, I could get this one more thing done.”


The problem with time isn’t how much there is, it’s what we spend it on.


We spend time as though it will last forever. Not so. We each have a limited amount here on earth and we need to be more intentional about how we spend it. Time isn’t like money, we can make more money, but we can’t make any more time. When it’s gone, it’s gone. We can’t ever get it back.


Are we being good stewards of the time we’ve been given?

 

In Max Lucado’s book, “The Eye of the Storm” he tells a story about two paddleboats leaving Memphis headed to New Orleans. “As they traveled side by side, sailors from one vessel made a few remarks about the snail’s pace of the other.


Words were exchanged. Challenges were made. And the race began. Competition became vicious as the two boats roared through the Deep South.


One boat began falling behind. Not enough fuel. There had been plenty of coal for the trip, but not enough for a race. As the boat dropped back, an enterprising young sailor took some of the ship’s cargo and tossed it into the ovens. When the sailors saw that the supplies burned as well as the coal, they fueled their boat with the material they had been assigned to transport. They ended up winning the race but burned their cargo. Their cargo was gone, and they couldn’t get it back.


They lost sight of their purpose along the way and in the end had wasted their trip. Don’t waste your trip by getting caught up in the unintentional rat race of life and in the end, not achieve your purpose.


To live the most productive life we need to “begin with the end in mind”. We need to look at the end of our lives, our funerals, and imagine what people will say about us. In Michael Hyatt’s blog post, “What Will They Say When You Are Dead?”, he lays out a plan for this.

It is common to race through life getting caught up in the unimportant peripheral tasks that don’t contribute directly to what our purpose is. You’ve heard it said that “time is money”. What is the real value of your time? Are you spending your time wisely?


Time is a commodity that can only be spent. You can’t add to it, only subtract.


Are you spending your time wisely?

What Is Faith and Do You Have It?

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It’s A Rare Thing and Hard to Find

 

 

Faith is more than believing, it requires action. This action requires letting go and putting our trust in something bigger. Henri Nouwen tells a story about The Flying Rodleighs who were trapeze artists. The leader of the troupe told Henri,

“The secret is that the flyer does nothing and the catcher does everything. The worst thing the flyer can do is to try to catch the catcher. A flyer must fly, and a catcher must catch, and the flyer must trust, with outstretched arms, that his catcher will be there for him.”

 


As kids we have this kind of faith. We will jump from a bed, without any warning, expecting a parent to catch us.

 


If no one is there when we jump this doesn’t work so well. The more times we’ve jumped, and no one is there to catch us, the more untrusting we become. Faith does not mean we have to see the person catching us, we just need to know that they are there. A relationship needs to be developed prior to the jump. We need to listen to the Catcher’s voice and know that He will catch us.


“Faith means being sure of the things we hope for and knowing that something is real even if we do not see it.” Hebrews 11:1


I’ve been scared to jump. I’ve hit the ground enough times that I remember what it feels like. This is what happens when we jump without checking with the catcher. God has some big scary business changes in mind and has been pushing me to jump; to the point of pulling a board out from under me. 

 


I have been talking about this leap since then, but it’s scary. Talking is not the same as doing. Believing is not the same as action. I’ve been holding on afraid to let go. “We know that in everything God works for the good of those who love him. They are the people he called, because that was his plan.” Romans 8:28 

 


My toes are hanging off the edge and I’m going to jump…I mean it. The Catcher has been patiently waiting and will not let me fall.


Check back to see what this jump looks like.

 

 

There’s Something Better Out There for Each of Us

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Figuring Out What It Is, Is the Hard Part

 

There were a couple of boys selling candy bars to raise money for a school project. When they asked a man walking by if he would like to by one, he agreed to, on one condition…the boys had to eat it. The kind gesture on the part of the man backfired when one of the boys refused to eat his half. He said, “I can’t take candy from a stranger.”

 

 


His obedience to the rule was without understanding the underlying meaning.

 


In this week’s Scripture, Luke 13:10-17, Jesus heals a woman on the Sabbath. This causes a church leader to become angry. The rule was, no work on the Sabbath. Jesus points out that, if it’s okay to water their animals on the Sabbath then surely, it’s okay to heal this woman.


We often get hung up on rules without looking beyond the surface and going deeper. One of the Ten Commandments is, to keep the Sabbath holy, Exodus 20:8-11. What is the reason for not working on the Sabbath? God made everything in six days. If he can do that and then rest a day, we should be able to do our work in the same amount of time.

 


What about those whose jobs require the work be seven days each week, i.e. medical, power and utilities, emergency workers, etc. The important thing is to rest and honor God…which ever day of the week that happens to be. Most of us are working more than we should and it’s no one’s fault but our own. We need to dig down on this question and find the balance of work and rest.


This doesn’t mean that rules aren’t important and that we shouldn’t follow them, because they are. We need to be careful to not get hung up on each little rule or cultural trend and miss the big picture. Our busy lives cause us to take things at face value. It’s quicker and easier to follow the crowd and just believe what we’re being told. It’s important to dig deep and find the underlying foundation.


There’s something better out there and it’s up to us to find it.


Some people visiting an orphanage in Botswana witnessed a young girl who wasn’t joining in the activities with the rest of the children. Then they noticed crutches lying on the ground beside her. After some research they found out that she was unable to walk from birth, but with the use of the crutches and therapy she was improving. As the group was going inside, she fell, the people started to go help her up, but the leaders of the orphanage stopped them. They said that God has something better in store for every child and her getting up on her own made her stronger.


 

 

God has something better in store for each of us…we just have to get up when we fall down.

 


We need to be careful to not get tripped up by the rules without knowing the underlying meaning and if we do, get back up and go again. The more we do the stronger we become.

Are You Getting What You Pray For?

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If Not, Maybe the Problem Lies in Your Expectation

 

We’ve all had times when we prayed for something only to be disappointed. Whether the outcome we prayed for happened only to make things worse. Or, maybe we prayed and prayed and never got the answer we wanted.

 


What’s the problem with our praying?


We need to align our praying with God’s plans.


Pastor Lee told a story about a church that was struggling financially. They needed $10,000 to meet their year-end obligations. The church began a prayer campaign to this end and soon they were given some stocks worth $5,000. The leadership of the church met and decided to go ahead and sell the stock and continue to pray for the remaining $5,000.

 


The next day when the pastor was planning to go sell the stocks there was a snowstorm that kept him from going. After a few days the storm was over and the roads had cleared, he went to complete the sale of the stocks. In the few days he was unable to go, the stock price had doubled. Prayer answered.


Why is it when we pray for peace or healing or some other worthy cause we don’t receive it?


We need to align our praying with God’s plans.


Maybe we need to alter our expectations, but not our faith. In Luke 11:1-13, Jesus teaches us how to pray. Most of us are familiar with the Lord’s Prayer, Verses 1-4, and many can recite it from memory. We’re less familiar with Verses 5-13. Here He tells us to continue asking and you will get what you ask for. The problem is that often what we ask for is not the thing WE SHOULD ASK FOR.


If we break down praying, there are six main points:

  1. – Remember that God is God. He made everything and can do anything He wants. We need to align our wants with His.
  2. –  We’re given just what we need each day. God wants us to have blessings overflowing, but to not be wasteful.
  3. – Forgive us because we continually mess up. Jesus has already paid the price for our failures…we just need accept the payment and mess up less tomorrow.
  4. – Forgive others. This is paying forgiveness forward. If we’ve been forgiven, it only makes sense to forgive others.
  5. – Protection from being tempted. Put on and wear the Armor of God, Ephesians 6:10-16. This protection is ours to use, but we have to put it on and wear it every day.
  6. – Be relentless in your asking. Ask…ask…ask…ask…and ask again, just be careful what it is that you’re asking for. Once you get it, it might not be what you thought.


When we align our praying with God’s plans for our lives, things go a lot smoother and the outcome is much better.


A lady was shopping for an anniversary card for her husband and found the perfect card to give him. On the front of the card it said, “Well it’s not what you prayed for…” On the inside it said, “but apparently it’s the answer.”

 

 


We need to align our praying with God’s plans and then we’ll get what we pray for.

 

How Can I Know Who I Am and What I’m Here For?

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By Digging Down To the Foundation

 

 

 

Who am I and why am I here, are questions that we’ve all asked. Finding the answer is the tricky part, not to mention we may not like the answer once we find it.


We will never know who we are until we determine WHO’s we are.

 

 

There are a lot of lost people wandering around seeking purpose in money, a job, a relationship or some other worldly treasure. Not that any of these worldly treasures are wrong, in and of the themselves. The problem is when we build our lives on them. Making these things the most important is like building a house on a sand foundation.

 

 


Jesus tells us in Matthew 7:24-27, what happens if we build on sand. He tells us to build on the Rock. If we use Him as our foundation everything we build is solid and steady.

 


To use Jesus as our foundation requires us to get to know him. The more time we spend with Him the better we will know Him. Just like parents, grandparents, spouses or children, after spending large amounts of time together you recognize them by their smell, shape, voices, actions, etc. The same is true for spending time with Jesus.


The Master Architect has designed our lives, it’s up to us to read the blueprints.


This past week was youth Sunday at church and Hannah (the youth leader) gave a super message. Here’s a link to a short video titled “Who I Am”, by David Bowden that she used as part of the service.


Who are YOU and what are YOU here for?

Do You Have Your Affairs in Order?

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Having Your Priorities in The Right Place

 

 

“The love of money causes all kinds of evil. Some people have left the faith, because they wanted to get more money, but they have caused themselves much sorrow.”, 1 Timothy 6:10 NCV. Money and wealth are often seen as evil and wrong.


The problem isn’t the money, the problem is the heart.

 


The Leo Tolstoy story, “How Much Land Does a Man Need” is a classic tale of greed. In this story Pahom, a hardworking farmer with a small piece of land. After a series of events he has managed to purchase more and more land, but it’s still not enough. He is then presented with the opportunity to buy some land for a fixed price. He can have as much as he wants but must be able to walk around it in a day. He starts walking quickly around the property as the day goes on, he keeps getting further and further from the starting point. He looks up and realizes the day is coming to an end and he still has a long way to go. He runs hard to get back and just as the sun sets, he collapses at the starting point. Exhausted from his effort he dies. He is buried in a 3’x6’ plot, thus the question is answered.


The rich man who had a great harvest and tears down his barn to build a bigger one in Luke 12:13-41 experiences the same fate. He thinks he can have good things for many years and can “eat, drink and be merry”. This doesn’t work out so well.


Both men are dealing with four of the same issues.

 


1st – Full barns and empty hearts. They both were looking at themselves from man’s perspective rather than God’s. They saw their worth only from a worldly view.


2nd – Overestimation of their own worth. They saw what they had as being from the work of their own hands. They gave none of the credit to God.


3rd – They forgot what their real business was. Like in the Christmas Carole when Jacob Marley come back as a ghost and warns Scrooge. “I wear the chain I forged in life…I made it link by link, and yard by yard; I girded it on my own free will, and of my own free will I wore it.”…”Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence, were my business.”


4th – They forgot about time. They thought they had all the time they wanted…but they didn’t.

 


We all have a limited amount of time and only God knows what that is.


We need to use the time we’re given here to prepare for the eternal. We have a limited amount of time in this life and we need to use it wisely. Pastor Lee pointed out how digital clocks show time as fixed and unmoving and analog clocks with second hands are constantly moving, time is continuously moving.


A very sick man was sitting, with his family. His doctor told him that he didn’t have long to live and that he should get his affairs in order. The man put his arms around his family and said to the doctor, “Sir, my affairs ARE in order.

 

 


Make sure that your affairs are in order.

Every One of Us Is Different…Not Better

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What Makes Us Better Is Dealing with Those Differences in The Right Way

 

 

We’ve all been in situations where our feelings have been hurt or we hurt someone else’s. Most of the time this is unintentional, not always, but most of the time.


I’ve told the story many times about how my feelings used to be hurt when my wife would give me a short and direct answer on a question. These “crushing blows to my psyche were perplexing to me. I was sure that she loved me, why would she be so uncaring with her answers?

 

Then we did a DISC personality profile test while leading a Financial Peace University class at our church. The understanding of these different personalities was huge. It changed everything for me.


I realized that she answered me directly without wasting any time or energy on unnecessary frivolities. While on the other hand I was unrealistically expecting a detailed, analytical, well thought out and caring answer. Once I understood our differences it made all the difference in the world.


It’s important to know who we are and who other people are.


Some years ago, The Archbishop of Canterbury was rushing to catch a train in London. In his haste, he accidentally jumped on the wrong passenger car and found himself on a car full of inmates from a mental hospital. They were all dressed in mental hospital clothing.

Just as the train pulled out of the station, an orderly came in and began to count the inmates, “1-2-3-4…” when suddenly he saw this distinguished looking gentleman there wearing a business suit and a clerical collar and he said:

“Who are you?” The answer came back: “I am the Archbishop of Canterbury!” And the orderly said: “5-6-7-8.”


Another good example of this in Luke 10:38-42, where Martha is working hard to make everything perfect for Jesus’ visit while Mary is sitting in the other room listening to Him. Jesus tells Martha to relax and make sure her focus is on the ‘one important thing’.


Martha was resentful, narrow and unkind with her complaint of her sister. She was caught up in her own inner desires and thoughts. She wasn’t giving any consideration to her sister’s differences.


Since taking the DISC personality profile I have taken a few different kinds of personality tests. Even though there are a variety of differences in these tests, one thing is true and consistent through all of them.


We are all different…not better…just different.


It pays huge dividends to know and recognize and embrace these differences. I heard it said once by a married couple, “If we were both the same, one of us wouldn’t be needed.”

 


We are all made in God’s image. This means that all our differences are representative of Him. Let’s see our differences as individual puzzle pieces and find out where we fit into His big puzzle.