terry.a.lindsey@charter.net

Tongue or Ears?

Remember the old two way radios? You know the kind that had a button on the side to allow one person to transmit while the other person listened. If you ever used one of those radios as I did for many years on the job, it can be very annoying when the other guy fails to use proper etiquette. I am guilty myself but you are supposed to use short transmissions to allow the listener to respond to the transmission to avoid missed communications. Some people in my experience key the mike and transmit way too long. It has been years since I had to use a two-way radio but sure the rules are still the same. Short transmissions followed by an ending saying “over” to signal the listener that it is their turn to speak. I have often wondered why God gave us two ears and only one tongue. Perhaps, it was to give us the ability to hear twice as much than speak? I do not believe it was for esthetic value so your sun shades and hat look cool. Do you? It may not be scientifically proven but I suspect we all tend to want to speak way more than we are prepared to listen. Perhaps, that is why we have so much miss-communication now. We all seem to be keying the mike trying to transmit instead of using our God given gift of listening to hear the “real” message. What is best? Hear with two ears first or speak with one tongue. Hebrews 12:25 says, “See to it that you don’t resist the one who is speaking.” Moses was so terrified and shaking from God’s words that he found his voice to speak only after he heard the message loud and clear. Is it best to speak first or to listen first? Perhaps, if we learn the art of listening first when we do finally speak the words we speak will be filled with wisdom. It take practice I know but it is worth the effort to listen with the intention to understand the one who is speaking then speak what He calls us to deliver. I encourage you to read more in Hebrews 12 and while you are at it, read Luke 13 about a woman who was listening to Jesus teaching on the Sabbath and was healed because of her faith. Listen first to hear the message then use your tongue to share the good news every day.

Listen to my brief message below if you have time.

Run your race

Why do we concentrate on the negative when there are some many examples of winning attitudes?Hebrews 12:1 says, “So then let us run the race that is laid out in front of us, since we have a great cloud of witnesses surrounding us…” We should go on faith. It is a joke when I hear the 24-hour new cycle of what one candidate did as opposed to the other clown. (Not gender specific by the way.) They both remind me of a couple clowns. Unfortunately, the presidency is not a joke. Wouldn’t it be nice if they ran a race worthy of the position? We have plenty of biblical examples such as Abraham, Sarah, Moses, Rahab, Samuel, David to name a few but we also have current examples like Simone (twice), Michael and so many others in the Summer Olympics of 2016. How about more current examples of those fighting against the natural disaster of flood waters. They are just as important as any other person on their faith journey? They are running their race as put before them. Let us cheer them on and encourage them to keep running to the finish line. In one of my previous messages, I asked the question, ‘What does faith mean?” Keeping on the topic, I ask you now, are you running your race not someone else’s race? I believe those amazing athletes were so approved by God for running the race laid out before them. Read Hebrews 11: 39 and 40 about those being faithful given approval for their faith though they perhaps did not see all of the promise but were given a glimpse. It is up to the next generations to carry on their faith journey. Let us run our race according to His will not ours. Life is full of obstacles to make us stumble and fall but does that give us the right to stop running our race? No! We may even win a few races along the way but does that give us a pass to brag about our victories? No! When I look at one Olympic athlete that partied too much and tainted his own victories, does that give us the right to tar every Olympian with the same shameful brush? No! How about all of those other great winners in gymnastics and swimming and track that ran their race to victory! Grace and peace be with all who go on faith and may we all cheer them to victory. Listen to my brief audio message below if you have time.

By Faith

What does faith mean? Perhaps, it is simply believing in something greater than yourself. As I watch the Olympics currently going on in Rio, I am totally amazed. I believe these Athletes all go on faith to see the unseen. The scientist of this world may reason how creation came into existence but there is little doubt we are led by faith to understand the universe. There is not an engineer, doctor, scientist or athlete that made it to the peak of their career without understanding they could not have made it without help. Some may deny where the help came from but most all I suspect will admit the help came when they had faith. By faith, Abraham and Sarah went from their known land to a land full of uncertainty but they possessed faith to live and grow in a land full of promise. They died without receiving the full promises, but they saw the promises from a distance. Some of us are so blessed to have enough faith to begin to see the unseen in our life time. Read Hebrews 11:1 for a more precise authoritative meaning of faith but to me it is simply seeing not with your eyes but with your heart. Verse 2 says past elders were approved because they showed faith. Perhaps in this day of instant gratification, we may consider these words very carefully. Enjoy the reality of what our athletes in Rio hoped for with the proof of what they have accomplished. History is full of missed opportunities to fulfill a dream. It is a very pleasant feeling to see the power of faith being realized in those who refused to listen to the doubters. Go on faith to fulfill your realities in your future.

The Game

It has occurred to me lately that life is one great big game. I love history and find myself sometimes in the stories of old. I have been traveling with my wife of 37 years with close friends to the Highlands of Scotland meeting family and other friends along the way. Now, that is a land of events that have changed history forever! How about those McDonald’s and Cambel’s! The McDonald’s were massacred in Glencoe region because they were too slow to claim allengence to William of Orange. Ok, I may be historically challenged but makes the Hatfield and McCoy dispute look tame. What about those Jacobites and Rob Roy? Research the life and challenges of Scotland’s family histories if interested. Even my own last name is linked with the ancient clans of Scotland. I believe we are led by our desires to seek the unknown and devine guidance to point us into our own historical storyline. It is a game! The Wars of the Roses was a series of wars for control of the throne of England. They were fought between supporters of two rival branches of the royal House of Plantagenet, those of Lancaster and York. Did you know the war of roses is where the author of the game of thrones got his inspiration? There is a lot of parallels between the Lancaster and York families in the English history and those of the fictional series. Lannister is to Lancaster as Stark is to York. Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin is an exciting twist of fiction and facts to make history come alive in our imaginations. I will leave to your own explorations for further discoveries. Did you know early American patriats battled barbaric tribes of Muslim pirates along the Barbary coast in North Africa before we even had a formalized navy? Also, will leave that up to you to discover fundamental truths that history does indeed repeat itself. It is all a game of life. It did not matter that Henry VIII had a daughter to carry on his lineage. He wanted a son and was determined to revise traditional values to suit his purpose. The world have fought battles for centuries on some of these revisions. What does that have to do with the here and now? As human beings in the game of life, we move along the flow and swept into history. We should strive to keep our values pure and our traditions unchanged but the course of history is full of events out of our personal control. I believe it is how we handle the changes as they come that make the difference in our lives. Afterall, it is all in the game. I pray you get in the game of life and not simply float along the tides of change only to wake up one day saying what happened?

GDLW

It seems to me that we are on a perpetual “breaking news” cycle of the latest tragic events in the world. We thrive on the negative it seems. We get so immersed in the 24 hour coverage of tragic events it is a wonder we can function going about our lives as normal. Unfortunately, some function very badly as evident in the events of this last week. What is this world coming too? What other tragic events are coming to the breaking news headlines? What is the answer? “GDLW” means Go and Do Likewise”. Remember the bracelet so popular for years that simply says WWJD. Well, this message is similar. In Colossians 1:6, the message has not changed for thousands of years. We choose to ignore the peace given to us through the Holy Spirit that dwells deep inside us all. Why do we choose to ignore guidance from the Holy Spirit and go on our own? The violence in Dallas this last week resulted from one person’s rage with his perceptions of injustice. Does two wrongs make a right? I do not perceive to know and understand the tragic events that took the lives of people. The constant barrage seen with the 24 hour coverage of these events surely has not helped to calm angry people. I choose not to judge one way or the other on just exactly what happened but recognize that it was tragic. Families on both sides of these tragic acts of violence are all victims. Why do some people personalize an event seen on TV to create another tragic event? I remember watching my father get so upset watching the TV and back then was not even 24 hour coverage. I find myself getting angry but do we do likewise according to the violence shown on TV or do we do likewise according to the message of hope found in the gospel? In Luke 10, Jesus is explaining in the form of a parable who is our neighbor. The priest judged the victim as unworthy to even assist in any small manner of humanity. Likewise, the Levite stuck his nose up to pass by the victim. But the Samaritan who is perceived unworthy by most in those days, chose to act with compassion. Regardless whether we encounter black, white or any other color individual, do we act with contempt or with compassion? Jesus said to Go and Do Likewise to the acts of compassion. May we take his advice and do likewise? May we all pray for peace to a much higher power than us mere humans. Listen to my brief sound bite below if you have time. Peace be with us all.