July 20, 2009
· Filed under relationships · Tagged Bible, Christian, courtesy, encouragement, God, intentional, Jesus, kindness, love, neighbor, relationships, sharing, swimming
I have been swimming laps regularly for about twenty five years. Sometimes I get a whole lane to myself, but often times the lane is shared with another swimmer. We swimmers come in all shapes and sizes, and different styles of swimming.
When sharing with another person, it would seem that showing courtesy would be the norm. We each get one half of the lane, and so passing each other either in the same direction, or opposite direction happens frequently.
I have found that there are many people who seem to feel that they need to take up most of the lane due to their adopted swimming style, or body type. Some have kicked me with their foot, punched me with their hand, or created such a turbulance of splashing water that I have sputtered my way to the other end of the pool to clear my airway passages !
“Moving over” to allow others to get by “unharmed” would seem to be an obvious act of kindness………..showing that we care for others, as much as ourselves.
“Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Romans 13:9) “Whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” (Math. 7:12)
Let’s practice “moving over” to help someone else get by…………
instead of “mowing over” someone else to get our own self by!
July 10, 2009
· Filed under thoughts · Tagged Adam, Bible, Christian, eternity, Eve, false, fruit, garden, God, good, Heaven, Hell, intentional, Jesus, Lord, prophets, sheep, teachings, tree, true, wolves
Strawberries, oranges, blueberries, mangoes, bananas, watermelon, raspberries, nectarines, peaches, kiwi, cherries……………….only a few of so many varieties of fruit ! Wow, the list is endless !
Each type of fruit has its individual taste – some are sweet, some are tart, some are sour – some are sweet “and” sour ! Most of the time we can identify each type of fruit by its distinct flavor.
In the Bible, we are instructed by Jesus, that we need to be aware of “good” and “bad” fruit. “A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.” (Math. 7:18)
He was referring to false prophets, those people who “come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits.” (Math. 7:15-16)
We need to constantly be wary of false teachings that will lead us away from the Lord Jesus and our Heavenly Father. Many times these teachings look good from the outside, but if we take the time to “bite” into them, their bitter “taste” can sour our lives.
Don’t be fooled by the luscious appeal of first impressions. Find out from what “tree” these teachings are coming from………..or you could end up like Adam and Eve………
- and be thrown out of the “garden” of eternal life………..
July 2, 2009
· Filed under relationships · Tagged relationships, Christian, Bible, God, good, wisdom, evil, intentional, smell, fragrance, fresh, exchange, dog, Basset Hound, foul, discretion, understanding, Proverbs, odor
Basset Hounds look loveable. We have one who lives in our neighborhood and waddles down the street in front of our house every now and then. While working in my office one day, I happened to glance out the front window. I could see a couple of people hovering over this dog, and one of them bending down to pet him. The dog really enjoyed the attention and for a few moments it was a happy scene………..
But then…….I saw that the person who had pet the dog hold out his hand awkwardly – well away from his body – holding it way out, as he walked into the house next door………
I knew what had happened – the same thing had happened to me the first time I met this dog. He looked so loveable, and I bent down to pet him – then realized that the awful smell emanating from the dog was all over my hand ! It took a long time to get rid of the “smell” !
A “trade-off” ! With the “good”, came the “bad”. In life this happens all the time. Some trade-offs are worth the “smell” involved………..if the end result is good.
So what is good?
In the Bible we can read about many examples of good and bad, and gain the wisdom to know the difference. We are told that if we seek God’s wisdom, ”He” will help us find it.
“When wisdom enters your heart, and knowledge is pleasant to your soul, discretion and understanding will preserve and keep you……to deliver you from the way of evil….” (Proverbs 2:10-12)
The “odor” of our lives can be “fragrant” instead of “foul” !
