Heard a Good Story Lately?

Josiah Royce said, “If I have never been fascinated in childhood by my heroes and the wonders of life, it is harder to fascinate me later with the call of duty.” 

An unknown author wrote: At their best, stories are incredibly persuasive because they ‘speak to us’ at a very meaningful, emotional, and often-unconscious level. When a story makes the hair on the back of our necks tingle it is because that particular story has touched a very deep nerve in our personal or collective psyches.

When we reflect on our pre-teen years, most of us can remember "story" as a big part of those years.  We grew up listening to stories.  But something happens as we get older.  We hear stories in our adult years but we don't connect with them or reflect on them as intimately as we did as children.  But, I’m convinced that we need an interaction with faith stories in our adult years as much if not more than we need them in our childhood years. 

Can you remember the last time you stood at the precipice of “This is it!  No more!” and thought about laying your faith down or at least taking a nice long vacation from discipleship? 

Hebrews was written to second generation Christians.  They were distracted and weary.  Living the Christian life was hard.  You add attrition in the house churches to the daily grind and pressure they felt as persons of faith and you have a recipe for faith deterioration.  There is theology aplenty in the book of Hebrews.  But, the writer knows the power of story.  Story is what discipleship looks like in someone else’s life. 

11:1 says, “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for; the conviction of things not seen.”  Heard it before…right?  So had they.  But, truth has a way of going in one ear and out the other.  What gives it traction in our lives?  Stories!  Chapter eleven is one story after another of people in real life situations living out their faith.  Like a base drum setting the beat for a marching band, the refrain “by faith” sets the rhythm of the chapter.  This list of regular folks – just like the readers! – did extraordinary things.  They built, left, received, looked to the future, broke the grip of this world and its seductions from their lives, anticipated God’s blessings in the future, endured, lived without fear, worshipped, and kept walking when they couldn’t see past their nose.  They died trusting God. 

We need stories, too.  Biblical ones.  Modern ones.  We need them because faith as an ideology can become brittle.  We know how susceptible we are to a loss of perspective with a bible lying three feet from us!  We gradually become sealed off in our own world.  Faith becomes a word with no bearing. We know we should get up after a spiritual defeat but we don't know how to.  Shame defines us.  Discipleship becomes an impossible proposition.  Then we hear a story about someone who is serving in a similar or perhaps, more difficult situation.  In that moment a bridge is built between calling and discipleship.  The Spirit stirs our heart and awakens our resolve to serve another day. 

How’s your faith right now?  I thought about someone last week who went through a particularly difficult time in their life.  My remembrance of their story encouraged and challenged my own faith.  I knew what to do.  I had the teaching in my back pocket.  But it was their story that brought it to life and put the wind in my sails.  How does “story” work in your life?  Perhaps that person is in Hebrews 11.  Perhaps they are in your family or your congregation or stuck in the recesses of your memory.  But, they are there.  Hearing the beat of the base drum in their life helps us catch the cadence of faih in our own life.

Father, awaken our memories with stories of faith.  Bring them to our minds when we are down and out; when we can feel evil breathing down our necks; when we can see what to do but don’t have the strength to do.  Give us stories of faith in such moments that we might continue to write a story of faith in our own lives that others can draw from one day.  Thank you for Jesus who provides us with the ultimate story.  Amen.

Randy Daugherty

Stephenville, Texas

Before the Sun Goes Down

A friend once told me “the reason God doesn’t let us live to be 300 is that for the last 240 years, we would just be mad.”         

It does seem like it’s a lot easier to get angry than to get over it. I kid myself by saying that what I feel is ‘righteous indignation’. But I have noticed that the anger itself is hurting me as much or more than the original affront. How can I learn to be angry for the right reason? To the right degree; for the right time? Paul’s instruction in Ephesians 4:26 helps. “Be angry, but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger,…”         

Be angry, but do not sin. How can I do that? Somehow I must confront the sin without becoming sin myself. One clue Paul gives us is to not spend too much time with anger. It is so easy to keep it,; to bring it up again and again. Anger can become the defining characteristic of who I am.       

So, Paul says we must deal with the confrontation then put it down and leave it. This calls for faith. We must learn to trust God that He will do right. Paul also warns us that the devil uses anger as an entry point into our lives. He uses this as an opportunity to introduce other sins…violence, lying, malice, hatred and others.          

Anger is so dangerous to handle.  We must not spend too much time with it.   

Dear Father, I stand in wonder with you. You know everything; even my hidden sins, yet You are kind. I sin against You and You forgive. I want to be more like You. But I see others sins so plainly. I don’t want to forget or forgive. I want mercy and grace from You. I want justice and judgment for them. I am a mess. Help me O Lord! Please create in me a new heart. One that is not so cold and judgmental. Please don’t give up on me. You promised me the peace that passes understanding. Please replace my anger with Your peace. Please help me to forgive those who trespass against me. Help me to say, Father, forgive them.   In the name of Jesus, I pray.     Amen

Paul Shero

San Angelo, TX

Leave the Dirt Out of it

I chuckled the other day when I saw a commercial starring Peyton Manning, the famed quarterback of the Indianapolis Colts.  Manning is bouncing from business to business spouting life clichés.  In one scene he yells out to a coffee server who slips and falls, “Good job, Bobby.  You’ll be okay.  Rub some dirt on it!” 

Our culture knows the experience of human weakness but we aren’t sure how to process it.  Our cliché saturated culture has a few that sound cute, but they don’t help much when you are down and out.  Heard these?  “Be the man”.  “Man up”.  “Never let’em see you cry.”  “Big boys (and girls) don’t cry.”  “No mercy.”  “No pain.”  “Second place is the first loser.”  And of course…”Rub some dirt on it.” 

To be sure, we need to be strong and resilient.  It’s good to learn this as children and to teach it to our children.  But, I fear we do mature faith development a great disservice when we provide no room for the presence of emotion in our discussions about faith.  We grow up thinking that wrestling with life’s difficulties should be done with a firm jaw and a white-knuckled grip on our bibles.  A lot of people grew up with that perspective and eventually relaxed their jaws, turned loose of their bibles and said goodbye to their faith. 

I was reading in the psalms recently and was once again struck with how often the writer – usually David – expresses emotion.  Here are just a few. 

I am poured out like water,
And all my bones are out of joint;
My heart is like wax;
It is melted within me” -Psalm 22:14

“My tears have been my food day and night…

These things I remember and I pour out my soul within me…

Why are you in despair, O my soul?” – Psalm 42:3-5

“Give heed to me, and answer me;

I am restless in my complaint and am surely distracted.” – Psalm 55:2

“I am weary with my crying; my throat is parched.

My eyes fail while I wait for my God…

Reproach has broken my heart, and I am so sick.

And I looked for sympathy, but there was none,

And for comforters, but I found none.” – Psalm 69:3, 30

Have you ever had such thoughts?  Such feelings?  As I read David’s diary my mind darts back to other descriptions of him:  Goliath’s slayer, his battlefield exploits, the ‘light in Israel’, and the one who drew to himself the company of the renowned “mighty men”.  He was not a wimp by any standard!  He was steel and velvet.  And, he demonstrates that mature faith can be – should be? – emotional.  We can cry out to God about our hurts, frustration, anger at life situations, uncertainty and injustice. 

Jesus was like that, too.  “In the days of his flesh he offered up prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One who was able to save him from death…” (Hebrews 5:7).  Hebrews 4:15 says that Jesus entered heaven in our behalf and invites us to “draw near that we may find help in time of need.”  Jesus drew near to His Father in his time of need.  We can, and should, do the same.   

I take great encouragement in my spiritual walk in knowing that the God who knows us so well has provided us with this perspective of faith.  We just need to remember it and let ourselves “go there” as we need to.  And…you don’t have to bring any dirt with you!

Father, thank you for being near to us – for understanding our weakness and welcoming it into your presence.  May we never run from you – only toward you.  Thank you for allowing us to thrash, kick, scream, and share our hurts openly before you.  Thank you for assuring our hearts through such wonderful texts and stories.  Through Jesus, the Great Physician, Amen.    

Randy Daugherty

Stephenville, Texas

Are You Anxious?

Why am I working so hard on this?  Why do I continue to pour myself into this when no else seems to care?  Why should I commit myself?  Have you ever found yourself asking these questions, especially about something pertaining to church or work in God's kingdom? It is easy to be discouraged and worried over the fruits of your labor.  However, we must not forget our work may be for the benefit of others, but it ultimately is for the GLORY of GOD!

Hebrews 6: 9-12 says,

Even though we speak like this, dear friends, we are convinced of better things in your case—the things that have to do with salvation. 10 God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. 11 We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, so that what you hope for may be fully realized. 12 We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.

The author of Hebrews reminds us that God is appreciative of the work we do for His people and that we should not stop!  We are to continue to work diligently serving others, and serving Him.  By continuing this effort, we allow His plan to be revealed and made known to others we encounter.   Demonstrating God's plan of salvation through love and diligence should be our daily goal.  Sometimes after being responsibile for the same task for an extended period of time, we become lax and less diligent.  Perhaps we work less but expect the same results?  We have been instructed to not be lazy - to make the effort to work hard as it will not go unnoticed.  We might not get a pat on the back for it, but we must continue the work and not worry ourselves about the outcome.  We must remain diligent!  

Psalm 139:23-24   Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. 24 See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

We each know someone who we revere as 'faithful and patient'.  Even though we recognize these traits, imitating this behavior is often a challenge.  These individuals are rarely anxious or overly worried.  They demonstrate their faith by their actions and even more so by their re-actions to situations.  Choosing to not worry or have anxiety over a hurdle in life is exactly what God wants us to do.  We need to trust He will lead us through - just as he has promised.   

Father, please help me to remain diligent in the work you have planned for me to do in your kingdom.  Help me to resist laziness and the feeling of anxiousness.  May you continually place others in my path whose faith and patience I may learn from.  Thank you for your gift of salvation!  In Jesus name, Amen.

Michele Tittor

Grapevine, Tx

O Be Careful Little Eyes

We are in an ongoing battle for our lives from the moment our feet touch the floor.  Temptations come in all shapes and sizes.  Undoubtedly, if you have a brain you will be tempted in some way each and every day. After all, we are only human.

One primary lure of temptation seems to be our eyes.  Perhaps Adam and Eve would never have been tempted had they not looked upon the forbidden fruit and seen its loveliness; Had David not seen the beauty of Bathsheba he might have never been tempted to sin and had Lot’s wife not looked back at Sodom she would have lived.  Maybe that is the reason why we teach our children at a young age the song, O Be Careful Little Eyes.  There is no escape or is there?

One giant step toward conquering temptation is to cast our eyes upward and decide God is no longer a part of our lives, but He is our life!   "The Lord is the stronghold of my life" (Psalms 27:1). "In Him was life" (John 1:4).  "I am the bread of life" (John 6:35).  "I no longer live, but Christ lives in me" (Gal. 2:20).  Secondly, we must put on the full armor of God (Ephesians  6).  When fitted with the armor of God, we will be in command of our thoughts when we see those thing that entice us to choose evil.  Paul talks of the shield of faith guarding us against the flaming arrows of the evil one (Eph. 6:16).

Pray. It gives us strength in the face of temptation (Luke 22:40).  The word promises us that prayer will deliver us from temptation.  In Matthew chapter four Christ Himself showed us how to battle temptation.  Because Christ experienced human temptation, he stands ready to help us when we are tempted (Heb.  4:14-16). God created us in such a way that no one but God can fully satisfy our longings.  He knows all the temptations of our heart.  He not only shows us what is right through His word, but He gives us the strength to resist temptations.  For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out (Romans 7: 18). But in You I have the power I need (Romans 8).

Believe even when you do not feel.  Know even when you do not see because the One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world…. And
O be careful little eyes what you see   

O be careful little eyes what you see 

There’s a father up above 

And He’s looking down in love  

So, be careful little eyes what you see

Lord, help me to be ready so that any moment I can stand against the enemy and the temptations hurled at me daily.  Give us courage, discernment, and wisdom to stay close to you in the midst of the battle.

Carla Henson 

Tuscola, Texas

Consider How

An elderly man lay in a hospital with his wife of fifty-five years sitting at his bedside. “Is that you, Ethel, at my side again?” he whispered.

“Yes, dear,” she answered.

He softly said to her, “Remember years ago when I was in the Veteran’s Hospital? You were with me then. You were with me when we lost everything in a fire. And Ethel, when we were poor—you were with me there, too.”

The man sighed and said, “I tell you, what Ethel… you’re bad luck.”

Had a conversation like that lately?  Pick a day. Doesn’t matter which one.  We can find something bad everyday…if we want to.  We can find blessings and reasons for thanksgiving everyday, too.  It’s easy to get lost in a cycle of pessimism that blinds us to other people’s need for encouragement.  

William James said, “Possibly the deepest human need is the need to feel appreciated.”  We yearn for affirmation.  I’ve never met anybody who said, “I can live without encouragement.”  It makes anybody better. 

Read these Proverbs lately?

Proverbs 18:21 – “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.”

Proverbs 16:24 – “Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.”

Proverbs 12:25 – “Anxiety in the heart of a man weighs it down, but a good word makes it glad.”

If it’s one thing our world needs its more people who make a daily effort to give affirmation, encouragement, and praise to other people.  Hebrews 10:24 reminds us that we shouldn’t get up everyday and think about “ourselves” all day long.  The writer urges us to “consider how to stir one another up to love and good works.”  What a great verse!  

As we move into this week, what might “consider” look like in our lives?  Is there someone near you who needs to be “stirred up” to love and good works?  

William James was right.  And, so were the writers of Proverbs and Hebrews.  Let’s “consider how” this week and see where God leads us.  Amen!

Father, you are the greatest encourager.  Fill our hearts with you grace so that we can be ambassadors of the same for other people.  Open our eyes and ears to the needs of those around us that they may be “stirred up” to love and good works.  Amen.

Randy Daugherty

Stephenville, Texas