Have You Seen My Movie?

Apparently in the new Zach Galifianakis movie, the title character's name is Marty Huggins. Dad sent me the link a few months back to the movie trailer. Here it is if you haven't seen it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Pv0zZfxEnI Dad said, "Get ready for some ribbing." I love Zach, so no worries, even if his character is a tad feminine. Maybe someone will google the name and stumble upon this blog. If that's you, then drop me a line. It'd be great to know you were here. I've already gotten a few twitter request follows from people that I don't know, so I guess anything is possible. At any rate, enjoy the blog. I am working on a devotional that will be on Amazon shortly. I'll keep you posted. Go enjoy the movie, and feel free to spend some time poring over the timeless words of Proverbs. There is so much wisdom and freedom to found in the Word of God. God bless you, and thanks for stopping by the blog.

Sometimes God Speaks In Such An Obvious Manner Even I Get It

Last night I was coming home from Greenville and stopped to get gas in Columbia. It had been a long day of visiting clients and making cold calls, and I just wanted to get home, take a hot shower and watch the Tarheels and Blue Devils go at it. I filled my car up, and as I was about to drive off, I noticed a young man with a gas can asking another customer for help filling it up. This guy was tatted up. I'm talking more face tattoos than Mike Tyson. I watched for a few seconds the reactions of the other patrons. In that moment, I felt impressed that I should help him. A nudge from God, if you will. Nah, I told myself, that other guy will help him. It's probably just a scam I thought. Best to not get involved. So off I drove, the guy getting smaller in my rear view mirror the further I drove, while the sense that I should turn around to help kept getting more burdensome. But I'm stubborn. I hit the entrance ramp to I-20 to Florence thinking that probably wasn't God's will for me to help that young man. He looked a little sketchy anyway. The license plate of the first car I passed stopped me cold. It was "GODSWIL". You gotta be kidding me. That voice in my head said, "So I really had to spell it out for you, huh?".  Needless to say I got off the next exit and made my way back towards the gas station. I was kind of hoping that I'd get back and he'd be gone, but sure enough, I see him with the gas can. I drive up next to him. "What's the story, man?"  He points to a beat up Explorer and tells me that he and his 3 friends are headed down to Savannah but they ran out of money because they had to pay for some car repair. "Did the guy in the car you were waiting on fill your gas can up?" I ask. He tells me no and that people don't seem to be too helpful or interested in helping him. Maybe that's because you look like you'd bite Mike Tyson's ear off, I thought. I ask him his name. Evan, he tells me. I relate the story of me seeing him while I was filling up and feeling impressed to help him but driving off anyway. He laughed when I told him about seeing the license plate. I could tell Evin was somewhat amazed at the sequence of events that led up to my return.   You don't mind filling up the gas can, he asked. Nah man, I say.   I can't explain it, but in that moment, i knew I was supposed to fill the SUV up.  After that license plate, I'm done arguing. I tell him to pull the Explorer to the pump, and I fill it up.  I tell Evan that I am not a perfect Christian but that I try to listen when God tells me to help someone, though sometimes I do require an occasional license plate with a message from God. I have some leather study Bibles in the trunk from our last Bibles for Athletes event. I ask Evan and his 3 friends in the car if they'd like a Bible. Don't feel obligated I tell them. Just take one if you want one.   Evan walks with me to get the Bibles out the trunk of my car. That's a sick Challenger, he says. Thanks, I respond. I'm not promising that God will bless you with a Challenger, I say, but if you do what God says, He will bring you good things in life. We shook hands, he grabbed a Bible for himself and his friend who said she'd like one, and I wished him a safe trip.  This time the ride home was less eventful: no more license plates with reprimands from God. I said a quick prayer that Evan would realize that God was infinitely concerned with his well being. So much so that He would use something as crazy as a license plate to compel me to turn around to help him. If you don't mind, say a prayer for Evan. I have the unmistakeable feeling that God is going to do amazing things in him and through him. 

Being Like Jesus

“… a man of wicked devices is hated” (Proverbs 14:17b). Jesus is the preeminent example for how Christians should live their lives. He never used people or manipulated them to get what he wanted; he was never deceiving or misleading. He spoke the truth in love, was a friend to the friendless, and loved others unconditionally. He never stepped on people to gain position or power. He was not impressed with the pursuit of riches or political clout. He served others, held his tongue and turned the other cheek – even though these characteristics were perceived as signs of weakness. His motives were pure and unselfish, and he gave without expecting anything in return. How far short we fall from His example! All too often, we resort to the tactics of the world to obtain what we desire. We ultimately end up using the same schemes, plans, and devices that Satan uses. We take advantage of others for personal gain and manipulate people who possess the things we desire. We use deception to secure a contract or land a big account by misleading a client about our past success. We love conditionally and befriend those who can offer something back in return. We chase after prosperity and prestige, and we are more concerned about our reputation than we are in helping others. We scheme and connive to get ahead at work, to own more “toys” than our neighbors and to be the most respected and envied man at church. Godly men, we must not be masters of wicked devices, but we must be followers of the Master. We must pattern our lives after His and allow the Holy Spirit to conform us to His likeness.

Encourage One Another

“A man hath joy by the answer of his mouth: and a word spoken in due season, how good is it! (Proverbs 15:23) The motivational gift God gave me at birth is encouragement. It gives me great joy, satisfaction, and a sense of purpose to cheer on, root for, and encourage others. No matter what gift God has given you, Satan will attempt to pervert it. An encourager who is out of fellowship with the Lord can become cynical, judgmental, and destructive to those around him. He will become the very opposite of the man God created him to be. If he desires fulfillment and purpose, he must surrender his life to the Lord and walk in the gift God has birthed in him. Whether you possess the motivational gift of encouragement or not, godly men are commanded to exhort one another daily (Hebrews 3:13). All believers struggle in their faith occasionally and will experience periods when their souls become dry and thirst for words of encouragement. I have endured times when my soul was famished, and God sent brothers and sisters with a word of encouragement for me at precisely the time I needed it most. During one of the lowest periods of my life as a young man, my basketball coach, Jim, told me that he loved me and was proud of me. I actually sat down and cried when he shared these words of blessing. How good was this word spoken in due season! I am thankful for the opportunities God has given me to share an encouraging word with those in need and to see the transformation that occurred as a result. Godly men, look around you for those that are hurting and starving for an encouraging word. Allow God to use you to rain a shower of blessing upon them.

"God's Unconditional Love for Us"

“The king’s favour is toward a wise servant: but his wrath is against him that causeth shame” (Proverbs 14:35). When I was a little boy the last thing I wanted to do was get my dad mad at me or have him disappointed in me. We can all relate to wanting our dads to be proud of us. Some of us went to extremes in the pursuit of our dad’s approval, and many indulged in negative excesses when they did not receive it. Whether you ever received your earthly father’s blessing or not, your heavenly father desires to bless you, and He loves you unconditionally. You are the apple of His eye (Psalms 17:8), and He is proud of you. He brags on you, just as he did Job. He is not pleased with you one second and disappointed in you the next. God’s approval of you is not based on your works and efforts, but on the unchanging blood of Jesus. “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot” (I Peter 1:18,19). “And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight” (Colossians 1:21, 22). Our Heavenly Father is pleased with us because He is pleased with Jesus. When we receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we come into right standing with God.

Having a Humble Spirit

“Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud” (Proverbs 16:19). Many times, God’s principles contradict our natural understanding. In fact, they seem contrary to human nature. Our natural inclination is to hate our enemies, but God tells us to love them. When men hurt us, He says to forgive them. When others take advantage of us, he says to go twice the distance. Today’s proverb is baffling to our human reasoning as well. By nature, we all want to be with the “in crowd.” We desire acceptance, respect, and popularity. Yet, once again, God puts His emphasis on the inward man. A humble spirit with the lowly is better than dividing the spoil with the proud. Our world system and its mores are diametrically opposed to Kingdom principles. Proverbs 15:16 says: “Better is little with the fear of the Lord than great treasure and trouble therewith.” I have found that the “Better…” proverbs, almost always contrast worldly perspectives with what God says is best. The point is: we cannot always trust our own understanding, which is precisely why God tells us to lean not on our own understanding but to acknowledge Him and He shall direct our paths (Proverbs 3:5,6). It is imperative that believers base their decisions on the unchanging Word of God. The world’s values and beliefs change daily. It takes humility to seek God’s will. The question is: Do we really want to do His will, or would we rather follow the fickle ways of the world?

Don't Believe Everything You Hear

“The simple believeth every word: but the prudent man looketh well to his going” (Proverbs 14:15). The major reason that cults and false religions are so prevalent today is because men do not know the Word of God. Since they do not know it, they cannot recognize heresy and false doctrine when they hear it. As a result, the church and her families are “tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive” (Ephesians 4:14). Without the Word of God, we are like a sailboat without a rudder. We have no direction, are totally dependent on the wind and waves and are carried about wherever they take us. When a pastor, Christian leader, or unsaved person (such as a boss at work) attempts to lead us, we have a responsibility to ourselves, our families, our brothers and sisters in Christ and our co-workers to make sure that the counsel we have been given lines up with the Word of God. When Paul instructed the brethren in Berea, “they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so (Acts 17:11). The perversion of the gospel of grace will become more prevalent in the last days. “ Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron” (I Timothy 4:1, 2). As men of God, we must contend for the faith and be prudent in our lives.