Month: September 2024

Many of the phrases I have studied in the Bible and have heard most of my life come alive when I am in God’s creation.  Studying something on paper is good.  Hearing someone explain how it works is positive.  But having the opportunity to experience it, having the whole page come alive right before your eyes is life changing.  

For the past few months, I have tried to be very intentional about getting outside as much as possible.  This has been exceptionally challenging given that I am not a fan of heat.  That is probably the ultimate understatement.  Me and heat are not friends at all.  I’m always hot anyway, so then being outside in the blanket of humidity, I am done.  When the sun is up, unless I am under an umbrella on the beach, I am not where I would want to be.  All this to say, what a time to pick to be intentional about being outside.

It has worked out though.  I have enjoyed some of the most amazing sights and been reminded of just how alive and present God is in his good creation.  It has been powerful.  Today was no exception.  I watched a stream meander through the marshlands and was reminded of Psalm 1, “Happy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked…they are like trees planted by streams of water…”  Psalm 78, “He made streams come out of the rock, and caused waters to flow down like rivers.  As I walked the paths of the trail, I thought of Proverbs 12, “in the path of righteousness there is LIFE…” And of course, Psalm 23, “He leads me in the right paths…” 

God’s Word has a way of coming alive right before us when we pay close attention.  Sometimes we have to squint to see it.  Often we must stop talking.  Rarely do we notice if we are on our phones.  But when we pay attention, paths of righteousness and streams of mercy seem to come out of nowhere.  May it be so for you today.  

Quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger – this is the advice given to us in the Bible in the book of James.  This is a challenging sentence.  Quick to listen is a concept we don’t always embrace.  We sometimes listen to respond.  This means we are listening for just enough that we can come back with what we think.  We don’t actually give the person enough time to finish their thought.  We could be interrupting them so we can talk…we think we have it.  Or we think we have a story which one-ups theirs.  Listening is a skill.  We can hear all day long and never listen.  It is like the teacher on the Charlie Brown cartoons.  It is background noise.  We don’t listen because we aren’t tuned in.  And sometimes, we think we have better things to do.  Listening is an art which too few of us work at.  

But we can’t listen if we aren’t quiet, and therefore, slow to speak.  We can’t listen to respond in this case.  We don’t need to make comments.  We don’t need to offer our thoughts.  Sometimes, it is best simply to be quiet.  I like to say, if you can’t be kind, be quiet.  Or, if it isn’t your story to tell, keep your mouth shut.  Being slow to speak means we are willing to listen completely.  

The third part of this trio is to be slow to anger.  Here’s a concept we don’t often consider in our world…there are people with different opinions than our own…and that’s okay.  It doesn’t make them bad people and we can still be friends.  Unfortunately this is an election year.  I say unfortunately not because I take for granted my right to vote.  I say this because people are just mean and they let their mean face show and they are angry.  When someone doesn’t agree, they simply get angry.  This is just more pronounced during this time.  Here’s a thought…we all have brains and if God gives us one, we can use it without having to just take what someone else says.  And if we don’t agree, that’s okay too.  We can still love each other.  

But let’s be honest…we are in a time of quick to speak, don’t listen, and stay angry with anyone who doesn’t look, think, act, or vote like us.  And this is simply not what we are taught in scripture.  It’s the opposite.  

Which leads me to some of the other teachings in James.  We are taught that we should guard our tongues and let our actions speak instead.  If we let our actions speak, what we do matters.  Don’t talk about the love of Christ if you aren’t willing to share the love of Christ.  Hatred doesn’t have a place in God’s kingdom.  So we show how we love, especially in times like these.  

I have to be honest…I don’t really care who you vote for.  I want to know how you live for Jesus.  And how you live for Jesus doesn’t come around every 4 years but is a daily work.  I don’t always get it right and neither does anyone else.  But going around with hatred and anger in our hearts isn’t going to do a thing but fuel fire which is already burning up our overheated world.