A Slower Pace

A while ago I wrote a blog post comparing happy vs content. My conclusion was that, while “happy” is in our Declaration of Independence, it is fleeting and superficial compared to the deep, satisfying feeling of “content”. If I remember correctly, I stated that one could be content having a flat tire (looking at the bigger picture) but definitely could not be happy in the same situation.

Well, yesterday during my lunch Scripture reading, I came across some words in my NIV Life Application Study Bible that summarize that far better than I was able to. Below is exerpted from the NIV Life Application Study Bible and all credit goes to it. I am italicizing it to show they are not my words, but theirs.

“The word happiness evokes visions of unwrapping gifts on Christmas morning, strolling hand in hand with the one you love, being surprised on your birthday, responding with unbridled laughter to a comedian, or vacationing in an exotic locale. Everyone wants to be happy; we make chasing this elusive ideal a lifelong pursuit; spending money, collecting things, and searching for new experiences. But if happiness depends on our circumstances, what happens when the toys rust, loved ones die, health deteriorates, money is stolen, and the party’s over? Often happiness flees and despair sets in.

In contrast to happiness stands JOY. Running deeper and stronger, joy is the quiet, confident assurance of God’s love and work in our lives — that he will be there no matter what! Happiness depends on happenings, but joy depends on Christ.

Again, I could not have said it better.

…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net

Taking a few minutes out of your day to watch this video will provide you with a new, positive perspective — and it just might change the way you look at people and situations.

I was touched by it. I hope you are too.

…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net

Today a friend of mine left for his deployment to Afghanistan. He is a C-130 pilot for the Kentucky Air National Guard and he and his crew departed SDF at 10am this morning. He is a wonderful disciple, husband, dad and friend in addition to serving our country.

So my prayer for him is that he would be guided and protected during his deployment. That he is kept safe from all harm and alert to being used by God. That he return safely to his husband and family role here stateside. That his family is comforted during his absence. That they are supported by the church and the community. And that their reunion is sweet, cherished and longed for.

Thank you for adding to the prayers for Charlie and his family.

…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net

Last week, if you remember, I wrote a post and confessed about a struggle I was having with meeting the needs of the poor and needy. Well, this morning during my breakfast devotions I came across the answer for me.

The scripture reading was from the Old Testament — Amos 5:12-24. You can look up the actual verses but it is where the prophet Amos was preaching to the northern kingdom of Judah that the day of judgment was coming. Being a very wealthy and successful nation, they were neglecting God’s blessing, becoming prideful and greedy, and neglecting their responsibilities to the poor and needy.

My scripture study notes are:

Here are eight common excuses for not helping the poor and needy: (1) They don’t deserve help. They got themselves into poverty; let them get themselves out. (2) God’s call to help the poor applies to another time. (3) We don’t know any people like this. (4) I have my own needs. (5) Any money I give will be wasted, stolen, or spent. The poor will never see it. (6) I may become a victim myself. (7) I don’t know where to start, and I don’t have time. (8) My little bit won’t make any difference.

Instead of making lame excuses, ask what can be done to help. Does your church have programs to help the needy? Could you volunteer to work with a community group that fights poverty? As one individual, you may not be able to accomplish much, but join up with similarly motivated people and watch mountains begin to move.

THAT is the way God works and the Holy Spirit moves within our hearts. #5 was the one that spoke to me. The why, what, who and when I give doesn’t matter. What does matter is that I give, and that I give with a servants heart. What happens after is for God and the Holy Spirit to work with.

I’ve said it before, I don’t need to have all the answers to be a small part of the solution.

…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net

A fellow at work and I had an interesting conversation that caused me to take a step back, pause and think about an issue within the church. It relates around end times prophecy.

There are many who preach on end times prophecy. It is a popular topic that tends to garner lots of attention. From Nostradamus to the book series “Left Behind” to the movie “2012”, there are many opinions of how, what, and when the world will end as well as many different people preaching many different things. Some are based on scripture, others not so much. But it seems that no matter what perspective you are taking – Biblical or secular – we all want to know the future and what is going to happen in the end.

Now some of these answers are, indeed, in scripture. The book of Revelation is probably the most common resource people look to for answers. And because of its figurative and metaphorical writing, it is very challenging to get a clear picture on the end times. However, there are a few other books in the Bible that hint at future occurrences. The books of Daniel and Ezekiel, for example, have a few nuggets that point to some possible end times events. The Gospel of Mark in chapter 24 also has some insight. But overall, there are as many interpretations of the end times, as there are translations of the Bible.

But I am here to pose a totally different “end times” prophecy perspective. IT DOESN’T MATTER!!!!! Matthew 24:36 says “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”

Because even Jesus doesn’t know when He will return, any time spent by us trying to figure that out is in vain. Additionally, in Mark 12:29-31, Jesus boiled down all the commandments, in essence the entire Old Testament, to two orders – love God and love your neighbor. Done! Simple, easy, effective.

We should not be wasting our time “preparing for the end”. We should be loving, praising and worshiping God and then we should be loving our neighbor – serving, helping, giving and sacrificing ourselves for others. In fact, if we are doing all that, we will, indeed, be preparing for the end times!

…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net

Almost all of us know the popular passage from scripture, John 3:16. — “For God so loved the world that he gaves his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Well, during one of my recent devotionals, I came across a passage from 1 John 3:16. It, too, was very impactful — “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.”

Pretty cool, huh? Well, I thought – “I wonder how many other inspirational verses are at chapter 3 verse 16 in the other books of the New Testament”. Below are ones from my research.

MATTHEW
“As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God.”

MARK
“These are the twelve he appointed: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter)”

LUKE
“John answered them all, “I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.”

ACTS
“By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through him that has given this complete healing to him, as you can all see.”

ROMANS (this one doesn’t fit the 3:16 mold)
“ruin and misery mark their ways”

1 CORINTHIANS
“Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you?”

2 CORINTHIANS
“But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.”

GALATIANS
“The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say “and to seeds”, meaning many people, but “and to your seed”, meaning one person, who is Christ.”

EPHESIANS
“I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being.”

PHILIPPIANS
“Only let us live up to what we have already attained.”

COLOSSIANS
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.”

1 THESSALONIANS (no 3:16)

2 THESSALONIANS
“Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you.”

1 TIMOTHY
“Beyond all question, the mystery of godliness is great:
He appeared in a body, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory.”

2 TIMOTHY
“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.”

TITUS (no 3:16)

PHILEMON (no 3:16)

HEBREWS
“Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt?”

JAMES
“For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.”

1 PETER
“keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.”

2 PETER
“He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.”

1 JOHN
“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.”

2 JOHN (no 3:16)

3 JOHN (no 3:16)

JUDE (no 3:16)

REVELATION
“So because you are lukewarm — neither hot nor cold — I am about to spit you out of my mouth.”

So there you have it. Wasn’t that pretty cool? I think there is something to the 3:16’s in the New Testament. They are impactful, inspirational and applicable to the narrow path we are choosing for our life.

…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net

I am excited.

If you are a regular reader, you know that I have a habit of keeping my eye out for opportunities to serve Christ…..most often along the freeway or side of the road helping someone in need. You can read about some of those efforts here.

Last week I had two opportunities that I did not blog about. They were fine and I felt that two people out there now knows someone cares about them and had a need met. However, I felt that I did not go that last final mile and explicitly tell the people that I was moved to help them because of the love of Christ. I feel that is important because none of this helping people out is about me — it is the light of Christ that shines wthin me which is why I do what I do. If it was up to me, I would be on the couch watching football.

I need to cover that last mile to be sure people know of the love of Christ. And that was where I was falling short as a disciple. For all they know, the people I help out could just think I was a nice guy or a Dudley Do Right or good Samaritan. And that might be true, but it is because of Christ, not me. And this message needs to be passed on. Again, I fail at the last mile.

So I brought my struggle to my men’s accountability group Saturday morning and asked them to help me and give me some options and solutions. And, of course, they came through (or rather God came through and used them). One of them suggested using a business card written with a few words that convey the message that they need to know. He had seen someone use this method before. And it is quite effective because it leaves them with something.

So being a disciple of action, I found a free online resource that provides free business cards and only charges shipping. So I am having 250 business cards sent to me for about 5 bucks.

This is what they say. Simple, effective and it conveys the message so I can complete the last mile.

I can’t wait for them to get here so I can use them. Until then, I am going to challenge myself to verbally cover that last mile message.

…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net

This morning on the way to work the intersection of the view in my rear view mirror and the music coming out of the radio was beautiful. The orange sun had just peeked above the distant treeline bathing the clouds above in pinks, reds and oranges. And the song audibly echoed the visual extravaganza.

Powerful, so powerful, Your glory fills the skies
Your mighty works displayed for all to see.
The beauty of Your majesty awakes my heart to sing
How marvelous, how wonderful You are.

Beautiful One, I love
Beautiful One, I adore
Beautiful One, my soul must sing

Do a search on By The Tree’s “Beautiful One” for more lyrics.

…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net

Please keep the families of the two pilots of the downed UPS 747 in your prayers. One was from Florida and the other was a locally based pilot who attended one of the local churches here. It is a tragic loss on several levels.

Please pray for comfort and peace for the families and friends.

…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net

“It’s one thing to climb into the lifeboat of Jesus yourself. It’s another to unselfishly help others in and share it.”

…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net