Behold

The book of Revelation is filled with strange images.  There are angels, dragons, beasts, harlots, plagues and trumpets.  So, I often shy away from this great book but I shouldn’t. There are promises in there that I shouldn’t miss.  They are presented boldly.

In chapter 21, God uses the word BEHOLD to introduce some of these promises.  He says, in verse 3, that He lives with us.  What a thought! God is not content to know about us; to keep an eye on us or occasionally visit us. He LIVES with us.

I know why I want to live with God. He has everything I need, but He is willing to live with me.   WOW!!

In verse 4, He says He will wipe away every tear. This means I’m not just in His house; I’m in His lap.  He comforts me. God is saying, “There, there, it will be O.K.  That is all behind us now.”

And then in verse 5, He says, “I make all things new.”   There is hardly anything new in this world and what is new doesn’t stay new. “  Change and decay in all around, I see.”   But God says, “I make all things new.”

I want to be new!

 “O, thou, who changes not, abide with me”.

 O Lord, You have made all that I see and more.  You are before anything and will be here when all things end. You made me for fellowship.  I know I have messed up.  I have sinned.  I am broken, worn out and tired. I need to be new.  I need to be forgiven.  I need to be comforted.  I need to be restored. I need You, Lord.

“I need thy presence every passing hour, what but thy grace can foil the tempter’s power”.  Please abide with me.  In the name of Your Son, Amen.

Paul Shero

San Angelo, Texas

Before the End Comes

Attended two funerals in two days, both fathers, both conducted primarily by their children.  The first was a relative, the other we know one of the sons and his family really well.  Both services were celebratory and there were tears and laughter.  It made me wonder whether we say any of these things to honor or praise folks we know while they are still alive.  As the crowds cried and laughed, I thought how wonderful if the deceased was alive and in the middle of the jokes, memories and conversation.  I know we gather for birthdays, reunions and holidays, but, in comparison to a funeral, would people come together to celebrate a person's life while they’re alive?  How often do we lose someone and then wish we had one more opportunity to share some special thought.  My dad was killed in a car wreck in 1997.  It was sudden, unexpected and I continue today to want to share thoughts and experiences with him.  Funerals can be sad but also reflective.  

We should be aware of those special people in our lives and take every opportunity to 'celebrate' their life.

Another thought after two funerals in one weekend - have you made plans for your own funeral?  Have you thought about who will speak, what songs to select, what pictures would you choose to share at your service?  How do you sum up your life in 30 to 45 minutes?  What do you want emphasized or how do you want to be remembered?  I know our lives are more than just what is said or read at our funeral.  Therefore, we should LIVE everyday in a way that our interactions with others will leave good memories.

An Exhortation To Dawn

Listen to the exhortation of the dawn
Look well to this day!  For it is life, the very life of life.
In its brief course lie all the verities and realities of your existence.
    The bliss of growth; the glory of action;
    the splendor of beauty.

For yesterday is but a dream; and tomorrow is only a vision.
But today well lived makes every yesterday a dream of happiness,
    and every tomorrow a vision of hope.
Look well, therefore, to this day, such is the salutation of the dawn

Doug Burns

Stephenville, Texas

On the Tip of My Tongue

“The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” (Proverbs 18:21)

The Past two weeks have once again confirmed several things for me.  I grew up in a good home. My parents were kind and encouraging people. Speech was filtered by Word, spirit and grace. And….people have “survived” in family contexts that were very different from mine.  Sounds simple…right?  

More to the point, the past two weeks have once again brought me face-to-face with the enormous difference between constructive and destructive speech.  I listened to a handful of stories of how God used words through a human vessel to bring perspective and healing to a situation.  But, I also listened to the heart wrenching pain of adults who recounted their experiences as children.  Speech was a destructive experience for them.  They lived with anger as a weekly constant.  They considered themselves intrusions.  It was customary to be “shouted down.”  Name calling was just what adults…did.  But it did some other things, too.  It created a self-image that was gnarled and distorted.  Self-esteem was an ill-defined idea that had no practical meaning.  

Nathaniel Hawthorne said it so well:

“Words - so innocent and powerless as they are, as standing in a dictionary, how potent for good and evil they become in the hands of one who knows how to combine them.”

Most anyone can finish this adage: “Stick and stones may break my bones….”

But do you know who coined that statement?  Actually, the statement in it’s purest form has been altered.  “Sticks and stone may break my bones, but words will never hurt me” is an edited version of a line from Ruby Redfort’s poem entitled “Sticks and Stones.”  

   Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can also hurt me.
   Stones and sticks break only skin, while words are ghosts that haunt me.
   Slant and curved the word-swords fall, it pierces and sticks inside me.
   Bats and bricks may ache through bones, but words can mortify me.
   Pain from words has left its' scar, on mind and hear that's tender.
   Cuts and bruises have not healed, it's words that I remember. 

Ruby is right.  And, Proverbs 18:21 is right, too.  Words do more than “communicate.”  They “imprint” ideas, emotion, perspective and identity on persons.  And, just to be clear….it isn’t a childhood thing only.  Plenty of adults live on the receiving end of destructive language!

Ephesians 4:29 is a great verse.   

“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”

How can we give “grace” in every situation?  That’s the question. In fact, that's the baseline we should work off of every day.  Stress, anxiety, and pressure crowds us and says “look for a punchy bag and make sure it's human!"  Grace says, “Remember what you have received and speak out of it in every situation. You have the power of life and death…in your mouth…every day.”

O Father, bring the sanctifying presence of your Spirit into our mouths so that we can bring words of grace, healing, wisdom and blessing into the lives of every person we meet.”  Amen.

Randy Daugherty

Stephenville, Texas