STANDPOINT360

We all get “sucker punched” by things that are wrong in this world.  It is possible that we have also thrown a “cheap shot” or two ourselves in the process.

As a follower of Jesus, I am asked to respond to life’s blows in a way that is much different than I might want to.  Jesus tells us to respond to life’s difficult and unfair situations with truth, compassion and forgiveness.

Truth – Sometimes I would like to dodge the truth of a situation.  Sometimes I want to “spin” the situation.  Jesus has a different answer.  Speak the truth in love.

Compassion – When I want to verbally “take someone out”, Jesus says, “bless those who curse you.”

Forgiveness – I have such a strong desire to hold a grudge.  Jesus himself says, “forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.”

The next time you get sucker punched by the world, hold off on that reactive tweet or facebook rant and consider Jesus’ challenge to a better way.

Speak the truth in love, don’t dodge it.  Show compassion to those who have hurt you.  Always be ready to forgive.

Everyone of us is marked by brokenness in one way or another.  We all live with realities that are far from what we would prefer or hope for.  In the middle of this reality come some great words from the Psalms:  “Joyful are people of integrity…”

In the midst of all that is wrong in the world I can be a person of integrity who communicates with joy.  I can cultivate a culture of joy and integrity in my marriage, family, business, neighborhood and ministry.

So where does integrity come from?  “Joyful are people of integrity who follow the instructions of the Lord.  Joyful are those who obey His laws and search for Him with all their hearts.”  Psalm 119:1-2 NLT

It turns out that I am NOT the source of integrity.  God is!  I am made in His image and that means I am designed for integrity and joy.

When I was a child, there was a plaque on the wall of our home that read, “Joy is the most infallible sign of the presence of God.”  This joy flows from a life of integrity through seeking after God.

Would you like more joy in your life?  Look to integrity.  To experience integrity, connect with God.

A young couple got out of their car, just arriving for a week at Warm Beach Camp, and walked up the sidewalk to Cedar Lodge.  The young man turned to his wife and said, “I feel like I am coming home.”

There is a desire in all of us to feel like we are coming home.  The descriptions of “home” may vary from person to person, but it is unconditional love, acceptance, relationships, traditions and a place and space that feeds the soul that are what make up this ideal of “home.”

Bev, my wife, often asks me this question, “Does it feed your soul?”  What a great question when we think about home and all that it means.  My favorite place at home is our fire circle.  Recently, I went to the fire circle by myself and built a fire.  The family began to gather.  We laughed, talked, prayed and even spent time just staring into the beauty and warmth of the fire.  I was home.  My soul was being fed.

The truth is, this desire to come home is from God.  He is with us on a journey that brings us home to be with Him forever.  Being with Him is the ultimate place of unconditional love, acceptance, relationships and traditions that will last forever.  With Him, we know that our soul is fed.

Whatever it means to you to come home, know that it is evidence of a deeper reality: God, through His son Jesus Christ, invites us home to live with Him forever.

It had been a beautiful day.  The planning meetings were over.  Tomorrow a team of us would be working with about a dozen faith based ministries on developing strong and effective boards.  Now it was time for a walk along the river in the city I was visiting.  It was great to get some exercise.  The walk included treasured time on the phone with my wife, ending in prayer together.

After a couple of miles there was a coffee shop with some good ice tea.  As I entered, I noticed a man making his bed on the side of the curb.  I realized after walking into the coffee shop that he was trying to get my attention.  When I looked out the window, he was looking down, shaking his head while tending to his curbside bed. The unspoken message was, “Another person just walked by me without noticing me.”

Instead of ordering one ice tea, I ordered two, plus a sandwich.  I put it together in a little gift bag along with a $5 bill.  Once out of the coffee shop, I went straight over to him.  We looked each other in the eyes and I asked him if he would be willing to receive this little gift bag from me.

He said, “Yes.”

He went on to tell me his name and he asked if he could pray a blessing.  He humbly held his hands together with his palms facing up.  I wish I could remember the prayer word for word, but it went something like this:  “Dear God, I know you are busy, but could you take time to bless this servant who has brought me this gift.  May this gift nourish me physically and spiritually.  Strengthen your servant so that he can help other people who are in a tough place like me.”  

After he prayed, I asked if I could pray too.  He said, “Yes.”  So I prayed, “Dear Jesus, please bless Anthony tonight.  Take care of him.  Keep him safe and protect him from evil.  Give him what he needs.  Let him know just how much You love him. In Jesus name, Amen.”

As I walked away, I realized that I was the recipient of an unexpected gift of God’s grace.  Anthony gave me what he had, a humble and beautiful blessing.  He interceded for me.  He reminded me that God’s grace is everywhere.

There is a story recounted in the Bible where a poor and disabled person is asking the apostle Peter for money.  Peter responds by saying, “I don’t have the money you need, but I will give you what I have.”  With that, this poor person was healed of his physical disabilities.

Anthony reminds me of Peter.  He gave me what he had.  He gave me a spiritual blessing.  He gave me encouragement.  His gift was beautiful and abundant in so many ways.

“Dear Jesus, thank you for Anthony and the gift he gave me.  Your grace is everywhere.  I am so grateful.  In Jesus name, Amen.”

 

Some people close to me, but separated by miles, were really hurting and upset.  I wanted to be with them, but that was not possible.  I did the one thing I could do, I found another person of faith, and we prayed.  We prayed specifically for the details of this crisis.  We prayed for God’s peace to sweep in and help settle things.  We prayed for perspective.  We prayed for His intervention to overtake the pitfalls of human efforts.  We prayed in faith, trusting in God and our relationship with Him.  We believed and acted with the knowledge that He would hear and answer our prayers.

Within the hour, God’s peace began to completely transform the crisis.  His intervention overcame the pitfalls of human effort.  It was beautiful.  I wept tears of gratitude and my sense of awe in God increased.

These are two things I am learning:

1. There is no power in the intent to pray.
2. The power released through prayer with God is only released when we pray.

A few years ago I took up a challenge to, whenever appropriate, pray for people when they ask for prayer.  I also made a decision to try to avoid the phrase, “I will pray for you” when the power of prayer and God’s interaction with our prayers could happen in that moment.

I choose to PRAY NOW.  There’s a reason why Paul encourages us to pray constantly.  The transforming power of God works through prayer.  Our awareness of God at work in things that matter to us becomes more obvious.  The results and outcomes of any situation are improved through prayer.  God’s will, and being aligned with His will, increases through prayer.

The next time you get caught grinding away on something in your own strength, stop the moment you become aware of your own grind, and pray.  Bring God into the center of the situation as soon as possible.

At first, it might feel awkward, but stay with it.  You will see God’s transforming work become more evident to you simply by taking time to PRAY NOW.