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Just DO IT!


A popular logo on sportswear/equipment uses the slogan,

The world sets standards and we push to prove ourselves to the world.  We think nothing of it as we strive to be better than the next person.  Our ego wants us to be better than them in all ways imaginable:  better car, better house, better looking, better kids, better at this and better at that.  The media pushes it at us from every direction; clothing, billboards, commercials.  It is subliminal sometimes and we buy into the mindset.

Yet, when it comes to our spiritual life we become wimps, milk-toast, wall-flowers.  Scared about what His word tells us to do.  Scared to take a stand.  We buy into satan’s* lies and hide.  We cannot DO IT!  We do not know how to DO IT!  Excuses, we have plenty.  The Holy Spirit urges you to spend more time with your family in His word, in worship.  You see a need and you think, “next time”.  That hurting homeless person on the side of the street you see gets a “quickie” prayer, “Lord help them.”  Your child’s classmates need shoes.  The elderly neighbor just wants someone to take time to talk with them.  The Spirit nudges and you keep moving, in the opposite direction … too busy to JUST DO IT.

We are so prone to talk about the things we are going to do when we have time.  A mission trip, the soup kitchen, the coat drive…. making up handouts for the homeless**. Jesus’ first miracle recorded  in John 2, tells of His mother asking for help.  She told the others, “do what He tells you to do”.  And they simply did as they were told.  It would be so wonderful if we would simply do as we are led.   Our cups overflow with His love through His gift of salvation.  He wants you to share His love.  JUST DO IT.

Start each day asking the Lord to use you in His will.  When He shows you a need JUST DO IT.  Do not stop and think you are not capable.

ROMANS 8:26-28  26 In the same way the Spirit also joins to help in our weakness, because we do not know what to pray for as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with unspoken groanings. 27 And He who searches the hearts knows the Spirit’s mind-set, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. 28 We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God: those who are called according to His purpose.

He has a plan for your day.  Open yourself up to the possibilities.  As a parent, grandparent, co-worker, spouse … God uses each of us each day IF we allow Him.  We are not puppets and He is not a puppet master.  It is our choice.  Do not think about it, JUST DO IT!  No matter what He is asking you to do today, no matter what obstacles and trials He allows you to go through, it is for a reason.  He is there through it all, working it for GOOD.

NEVER forget that the day ahead of you carries no task or trial that is greater than the POWER behind you as a Christian.

*satan – I know people capitalize the “S” but, I don’t.  I refuse to give him any status of importance.  He’s a snake, so satan, devil, etc. are lower case, as he is one.

** Homeless handouts: NEVER give cash, but you can carry several 1 gallon zip lock bags (something they can use later when it is empty) filled with: Tuna packet, crackers, snack size nuts, etc..  Include: package of  tissues, comb, trial sizes of hand sanitizer, soap, shampoo, toothbrush, etc.  You can put a New Testament or Christian track in there as well.

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“Walks like a duck, swims like a duck …” (a photo essay)


must be a duck … right?  What kind of  “duck” are you?

Camouflage duck…

 

Pretending to be a duck

Backsliding duck

Popular but hard to understand duck

 

Robot duck

 

Just along for the ride duck

 

Duck in hiding

Fanatical duck

Mere reflection of your old self duck

Bound by circumstances duck

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away, and look, new things have come.” 

2 Corinthians 5:17 (HCSB)

 

What kind of Christian are you?  Are you a new creation, or another version of the old you?  Who do you reflect?

RBGREENDESIGNS.COM 2021

 

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Not Worth a Dime


Not Worth A Dime

Listening to the local Moody Radio broadcast this week during their fundraising time, I heard something that just made me go “WOW, never thought of it like that”.  Of course they are totally dependent on donations to run their public broadcasting ministry, but still … wow.  One of them said, “Jesus is not worth a dime to many people.”

Not worth a dime.  We use that phrase in reference to slackers or a product that does not measure up.  There is another phrase as well, “not worth a plug nickel”, which of course refers to a “slug” or fake coin the size of a nickel.  And still another Southernism, “not worth the powder and lead to blow it/him up.”    We generally use all three phrases for worthlessness.  When I heard them say, “Jesus is not worth a dime”, I turned up the volume to get the context.

Are you in effect saying to Jesus He is worthless with your giving of yourself, money, time and talents?

One thin dime, 10 cents, $0.10 out of every dollar.  Basically, they were saying if you had a dollar you would not give Jesus a dime of it … not worth a dime.  People hoard their money, their time and their talents.   Sometimes I wonder what we are saving up for … tomorrow is not ours, not even the rest of the day.

For someone who grew up with tithing, I get it.  I understand keeping 90% and giving back 10% of your money, time and talent.  But, when you put it like that … when you realize that you basically are saying to Jesus, “you are not worth a dime” that really just overwhelms me.  We do the same thing with our time and talent … 1 minute, 2 minutes (or NONE) spent in His word?  Time spent in His house worshiping?  Time given to help out others and the church?  How much time did you spend on FB, online shopping … but, you never have the time for Him?

I do believe tithing of your monies, time and talent  is a generational thing.  And although I do not have any studies to prove it, I would be more than willing to believe that givers beget givers.  We learn from our parents and we pass on to our children our habits, practices, theologies.  I think we really need to put more meat into our “passing on” and make sure we teach WHY and WHO we tithe our monies, time and talent.  I went over how to teach your children about tithe in an earlier post,  MONEY, MONEY, MONEY.  It SHOULD NOT BE A  ritual to practice or a good habit.  There is a reason for tithing and giving of offerings (what we give above 10%).   I remember my Mom and Dad always saying, “you cannot out-give God”.

Malachi 3:10(ESV) “Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.”

Tithe was the first check Mom wrote.  They were involved in so many ministries at the church and in the community.   I think we practically lived at the church.  The joke was we were there every time the doors opened.  It was understood that not giving back to God was treating Him shamefully.   There are so many great stories of men and women who “get it”.    I grew up hearing about such men and women of God.  I think the most memorable one was R. G. LeTourneau.   He gave 90 percent of his income to the Lord. He said,  “I shovel out the money, and God shovels it back to me – but God has a bigger shovel.” (He invented earth-moving equipment).

The Bible says:

Malachi 3:8 “Should people cheat God? Yet you have cheated Me! “But you ask, ‘What do You mean? When did we ever cheat You?’ “You have cheated Me of the tithes and offerings due to Me.”

You?  Your time? Money? Talents?  Where are you cheating God?  What are you passing on to your children?

Is He worth One Thin Dime? Ten minutes of your hour?

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Fresh Lemonade?


When you are squeezed, what comes out?

There is More to Lemonade Than Just Lemons

Pressure … comes from all sides.  Home, work, friends, family … pressure.  Good things happen and bad things happen.  Sometimes the bad outweighs the good.   Why do some people have it easy  while others seem to never catch a break? Every time you pick up a paper, turn on your computer or answer the phone you seem to hear nothing but heartache.  After a while you could really get depressed.

The bumper sticker reads, “Life, it happens”.  Someone you love is going to suffer an unjust circumstance.  Something is going to happen that is just not fair.  It happens to your children, your husband … a friend.   That someone could be you.  It may be something small, but like a splinter in the finger it hurts.  It could be something huge that threatens to take you under.  Pressure, it comes from all sides.  Why?  

The pressure of the world is sin.  People get angry over the consequences of sin, especially when they suffer because someone else sinned.  Who is to blame?   People sin because they are sinners, they are not sinners because of sin. People choose to sin.  Bad choices have consequences … SIN has consequences.  We all make bad choices, we all choose to sin.  We are all sinners.

               Romans 3:10 (NLT) “As the Scriptures say,    “No one is righteous — not even one. “

Squeeze a sinner = SIN  ?  

So what do you do? 

  • Cry
  • Hide
  • Throw in the towel
  • Run away
  • Give up
  • All of the above

Yes it is a cliché, “Life hands you lemons, make lemonade” or, “squeeze some carbon, get a diamond.”  Tired of hearing that right?  Today you, or someone you know, will be pressured by life.  The first impulse (because you are a sinner and sinners sin) is ????   You are on the spot and must make a decision not to sin and/or help someone else not to sin.  Worry is a sin.  Blaming God is a sin.  He did not create sin or sin’s consequences, but for the time being He is allowing the devil to run the world (because man CHOSE sin).    Christ died for those sins and that sinful nature.  Claim that victory and do not believe the devil’s lies.  Just remember,  God is in control, He is still on the throne, He loves you and He cares for you.  TRUST Him.  Turn it over to Him.

  • PRAY first
  • Read His word
  • Act on His leading
  • Fellowship/talk with other Christians
  • ENCOURAGE other Christians

Ask God for wisdom today and TRUST Him for the rest.  Trust = FAITH.  A living faith accomplishes in our life what God wants us to have.   A living faith walks on water.  Matthew 14: 22-32



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Spittin’ Image


As I show my grandchildren and children’s pictures, different ones comment on whom they “see” in a child’s image.  One of my granddaughter’s bears strong resemblance of my father.  Another granddaughter looks just like her dad.  My two girls look like their dad (or me depending on who you ask).   No matter what they do to themselves, they still bear the image of their ancestry.  That is their physical inheritance. It is in their genes.

spittin' Image

Image is everything in the world’s eyes.  Clothes, hairstyles, types of cars, houses … “make the man”.  But, when you take all that away you are left with just a human being.  What they are really made of is all that matters then.

A young man I know is contemplating a tattoo, putting a name of God on his arm.  I asked Him why and he said, “to remind me of who God is to me.  It won’t show.  But, I’ll know it’s there and when I see it I will remember what He has done for me.”  I thought about that for a while.  The young man is not even the ‘tattoo’ type.  But, we are in a culture where that is the way things are expressed.  But, if it is not seen, then what is the point?  Image.  Take away all the “decorations”, what is left.  The person …. then what do you see?

2 Corinthians 5:17 (HCSB)                                                                                                                                                                                                                   “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away, and look, new things have come.”

Galatians 2:20 (HCSB)
“and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

When a child is born, their image is defined by their genes.  You can tattoo yourself, dye your  hair, sunburn (tan) the skin, use contacts to change the eye color  … but, the image remains the same if you remove all the “world”.

Genesis 1:27 (NASB)                                                                                                                                                                                                              “God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.“

When a baby is born into this world the parents (or whomever takes them to raise) has an intended plan for them, a hope, a purpose.  Sometimes though, the child takes control and goes their own way.  Expressing their personality and style is acceptable in today’s world and explains some of the outrageous “looks” we witness daily.  But, when you remove it all you see what they were intended to be.

God created you in His image … it was His intended plan, for a hope and a purpose.  We do not need to tattoo our body, wear an emblem, sticker our car to remind us of Him, especially if that is all we do.  He created all creation as a reminder of who He is … we only have to look.  We are part of that creation.  People look at us daily.  Is there anything about us that screams “His creation … in the image of God”?

1 Thessalonians 2:12 (ESV)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  “we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.”

Now, “momma” says, go polish that image, the world sees the outside before they see the inside (exercise,  brush your teeth, comb your hair) …. 😀

Strip yourself down to His image, glorify Him today in your talk, your walk … if necessary your dress.  Do people see a rebellious image?  Do you express an image that you do not care for His creation by the way you care for yourself?  Are you taking the best care of  His image?  Are you giving the appearance of slothfulness or a fashion snob? What does your image scream?   Is His image presented in modesty?  Can the world get pass your image to see His?

There is so much to consider when you remember that you are in HIS image.  Need a fashion change?