terry.a.lindsey@charter.net

Standards

From a Google source, there is a difference between random versus intentional as follows, “An intentional action is one that is deliberate as opposed to random or accidental.” I believe random acts of kindness is very possible as long as we have a spiritual standard.

Are we living by Human Standards? Paul spoke of people acting unspiritual to one another. They were jealous and fought among themselves. They were living by human standards. Sound familiar!

Perhaps we should learn to live by Spiritual standards. Can we grow seeds? No! All we can do is plant those seeds in fertile soil where there is proper sunshine, water the seeds to prevent dehydration and a miracle is possible by seeing that seed grow to maturity. That is how I see the miracle of faith. We are coworkers in God’s field. Only God can make the seeds grow. So why don’t we follow his standards?

There is a portion of the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5 that teaches us to understand human standards per spiritual standards. Murder is wrong but so is anger to a brother or sister. It is good to give without conditions but not good to give with anger in our hearts or conditional purpose for our gift. Adultery is wrong but so is lusting after another in our hearts. It is wrong to lie or bear false witness or give a false pledge? We should follow through with our pledge. Let your yes mean yes and no mean no. Your handshake should be your solemn vow or agreement. In some areas of this world, a handshake is still a sign of solidarity and mutual respect. For example, in Switzerland it is customary for students to shake the hands of their teachers at the beginning and end of the school day. This tradition encourages the right classroom atmosphere. Perhaps, we should all look at what we consider to be our standards and compare them to a higher spiritual standard. It is never too late to adjust our human behavior to align ourselves per a spiritual standard.

Once we have a spiritual alignment, void of human distractions , random acts of kindness is possible as we will be pure in heart.

Slice or Draw?

I confess that I will never be a good golfer. No matter how much I try to play the techniques required to be a good golfer escape me. However, it does not stop me from enjoying a day with friends to share a laugh or two and perhaps solve a few of the world’s most pressing challenges. NOT! But we can have a good discussion regardless if the solution is beyond our capabilities. There are a few things about golf I have learned along the way. Number one, is to keep your eye on the ball during your swing. If not, the ball may go nowhere or go where you do not want it to go. Number two, is to keep your stance and club face square to the ball. If the face is open, the ball may have some sidespin and travel left to right rather than traveling straight. This is called a slice. If the face is closed meaning turned more inward, the ball has minimal sidespin and may travel right to left which is called a draw. I have learned that my swing tends to either go straight or slice to the right. That is not too bad for me if I keep my eye on the ball. Most of the courses I have played supports a path to the right instead of the left. The left usually has loads of trees and a lot of challenges. Most likely will hit a tree and the ball bounces totally out of bounds or the ball gets lost in the forest. I have found it is much better to go right where it appears to me I have a better chance of reaching my goal of par. I try to be consistent by hitting the ball straight as I would rather be center neither right or left. In life, as in golf, I believe it is better to stay focused on the ball keeping a square stance then my chances of success will be improved.

Comprehension

Ole Charlie Brown just wants to be understood. Will a coffee and two million dollars do it for him? You might say yes but in reality he might not have the capability to understand what causes his pain. Now, I know he is just a cartoon character but represents a harsh reality to many. Last week I was writing about listening to understand not to reply. This week I call my topic the “light bulb” affect. Have you ever been a student striving to learn a trade or a profession and finding it very difficult to comprehend? If you persist at your endeavor, there comes a time when it all begins to come together and all of a sudden the light comes on and you understand. You can then take that understanding and apply it to what causes you pain. Is your pain lack of money, lack of freedom, lack of control, lack of health (big one), lack of spiritual awareness (bigger one), or you name your pain?

Paul was talking to the people of Corinth saying he was not an expert in speech or wisdom. In fact he was afraid of the very thought of speaking by himself so he relied on the Holy Spirit to give him the words to speak . In 1 Corinthians 2:5, he says I spoke so that your faith would not depend on wisdom of people but on the power of God. He went on to say that we are all connected to God’s Spirit if you choose to believe. The unspiritual (non believers) do not accept the things from God’s Spirit. They do not understand. But Spiritual people comprehend everything but they themselves aren’t understood by anyone. (verse 15) Some may never understand as it is beyond their comprehension or capacity to understand. However, all of us should strive to become students and open our minds and hearts to new possibilities when we seek to fully comprehend the real meaning of life. In my opinion, to understand the cause of pain you must first submit to a higher spirit that will guide you to full comprehension.

Listen to my brief message below if you have time.

Atitude

Can anyone explain the wisdom in any human action without correct communication?

The above note on our refrigerator is a reminder to me especially the importance of listening to understand not to reply. Do you have an attitude of gratitude? In this world full of misunderstanding, perhaps we all need to stop and begin to really communicate to understand the other person’s point of view prior to imposing our own opinion on others. Do we get caught up in the heat of the moment and shut down our brains because we are so enraged? Is there any wisdom in human action? I was reading in Matthew 5:1-12 in a version where the word “Blessed” has been replaced with “Happy”. What’s this? I was taught this passage of scripture was called the “B” attitudes. “B” for blessed. So now, do we call them “H” attitudes? I hope not! Where is the wisdom in any human action? Why should we try to change for the sake of change? I suppose there is no money in keeping same ole computer, phone, car, etc. Obsolescence is built into all products so we have to buy more. How many light bulb version do we really need? Last week I referenced Newton’s 3rd law about for every action there is an equal reaction. This week I wanted to continue about human action. Paul asked, “Where are the wise? Where are the legal experts? Where are today’s debaters? Hasn’t God made the wisdom of the world foolish?” (1 Cor. 1:20) My point here is why do we have an attitude that perhaps is not so positive these days? I believe we have sold a bill of goods. We buy more expensive drugs because that is what we are sold because money is to be made on name brand drugs. We upgrade our electronics because we want the newest gadgets. We want control of our situation so when we feel threaten, we react. Is there any wisdom to our human actions? I say no, if we are acting according to earthly influences. I say yes, if we are acting according to the wisdom of the cross. Should we brag about ourselves or brag in the Lord? (1 Cor. 1:31)

Here’s is a brief audio message to listen if you have time.

3rd Law

I recently invested about 6 hours in an online Defensive Driving course sponsored by my car insurance company. It cost me time and money in return for a discount on my insurance premium. Good trade off! Now that I have finished the course, I strongly recommend taking the time to learn more about aggression, etc. Here are just a couple of things I learned I would like to share. When a person gets behind the wheel of a vehicle, the danger of one person’s action creating another person’s reaction is heighten by our state of mine. Anger is usually the result of disappointment, suspicion or pride. Actions by others can quickly turn into loss of personal control leading to an aggressive driving reaction. Classic example of this is one driver’s proper action traveling the speed limit being threatened by a second aggressive driver’s reaction. He has to slow down so tries to pass over the speed limit which could cause more evasive reactions by oncoming vehicles. Second driver’s loss of personal control of the situation became aggressive perhaps causing an accident. Please take the whole course to learn more but proves my purpose of this message. We all want control and when we have someone who acts beyond our control we can easily get angry which then can turn into a battle. The 3rd law of physics stated below applies not only to physics but to all aspects of life.

Newton’s third law of Physics states that “for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction”.

Life is full of challenges that we can not control ourselves. we recently made a trip to Australia and visited relatives that have been full of challenges. Years earlier the family came together to search for a lost relative. The whole country reacted with compassion and an urgency to find the lost boy before it was too late. Sadly, the boy was found too late. I truly believe his Spirit lives on to continue strengthening the hurting family. Now, after our wonderful visit with our relatives, tragedy struck again this time with a disease that took the life of a dear man who I had come to love as if he were my brother. In fact, he is my brother in Christ. I know though his family is in deep grief now, they too know that he has now exchanged his earthy body with a Spiritual body. He will continue along with his father and his dear lost nephew to guide and strength those left behind to reach their ultimate purpose. In 1 Cor. 10:10, Paul encourages brothers and sisters to agree with each other and not be divided into rival groups but be of the same mind and same purpose.

For each action, there is a reaction. If the action of others are aggressive then we are in danger of retaliation. However, if the action is calming, then we have a better chance to react in a calm manner. All of us have control issues and none of us like change but change is inevitable in life. How we react to change makes all the difference to our own state of being and those of others.