Does someone need to take away your belt?

Last week I had a conversation with my friend/martial arts instructor about his recent trip to Philadelphia for his fourth degree black belt training. He said the first thing they did to him, at the beginning of the first training session, was take away his black belt and give him a white belt. They said that was to help him to remember where he came from. Then he sparred for an hour - 3 minute rounds with one minute of rest between rounds. Oh yeah, he got a new opponent each round - all were black belts. (We're talking Tae Kwon Do, BTW.)



That conversation sparked a thought: What if we wore colored belts that indicated our level of spiritual maturity/learning? Would that help us remember where we came from? Would that help us remember that we are witnesses to the love of Christ? What if someone came to you and told you they were taking your belt and giving you a white belt? (If I remember correctly, the white belt indicates a "blank slate," a complete lack of knowledge of the martial art that you are beginning to train in.)



Do you think this would be a good tool to help us remember to be humble in our faith? I've heard it said that the biggest obstacle to furthering the case for Christ is Christians. Personally, I've heard too many of these stories - the one coworker who attends church regularly and professes faith in Christ, even invites his/her coworkers to church, but talks down to the waitress at lunch. Maybe they attend church but talk down any other church or denomination. Who would want to be a Christian if that is the example that they get on a daily basis? I wouldn't. If these folks had belts, we could take them away and help them remember where they came from - that we are all sinners in need of a savior.



We'd all be well served to remember where we came from and how we got to where we are. So, the question is; "Do you need someone to take away your belt?"



Enjoy the ride....



Scott

Don't Suffer in Vain

I've written a little about this in the past but feel that I need to come back to this topic. So many of us get lost in our suffering and fail to learn or grow through it. Suffering is a part of life and we need to learn how to move forward in spite of it. We need to learn to live through our suffering and not in our suffering.

Romans 8:28 (NLT) says; "And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them." I've had to stand firmly on this promise in the past.

After my divorce I had no idea that my failures could be used for good. As I look back over the last few years I can see how God has used my failure to bless others. I get opportunities to talk to people and share my failures with them in hopes that they might make better decisions than I did. My wife and I lead a small group to mentor dating and engaged couples. My children have come to know the Lord because, in my brokenness I called on Jesus to save me and now I've raised my children to know Him, too. If my ex-wife had not divorced me I would probably not have given my life to Jesus and I would not be raising my children to know Him. That's 3 lives saved, so far, because of a divorce.

Reread the scripture above - it says that He causes everything to work together for the good. What a great God we serve that He can use even our failures to produce good works! Here's the kicker, though; we have to lean on Him, pick ourselves up, leave our pity party behind, and live our lives. We have to trust Him and be willing to let Him use us and our suffering to work things for the good.

Don't suffer in vain. Trust that the Lord can and will use your suffering to produce something good. You may not be able to see how, but He can. The best person to comfort someone who's lost a child, is someone who's lost a child. The best person to minister to an addict is a recovering addict. We relate more easily to those that know our pain. Let the Lord use you to work for the good and...

...enjoy the ride!

Scott

10 ways to show your wife you love her - #1

Well, we finally made it guys. We're finally getting to the #1 way to show your wife that you love her. I told you that you might be surprised. Here it is:

#1 "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." (Quoting Jesus from Matthew 22:37, NLT)

Surprised?? If not, then you're probably doing a pretty good job of showing your wife that you love her.

For me, guys, everything in life comes down to that one scripture. If you "love the Lord" to the very best of your ability, then you will do what Christ says in the next verse in Matthew; "Love your neighbor as yourself." If you "love the Lord" you will do your best to love your wife as Christ loved the church (remember #2). If you "love the Lord" you will serve her well (see #3-10).

Guys, it's very simple; if you "love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all of your soul and with all of your mind." then you will do your very best to honor Him in all aspects of your life. Sure you will fail. We all do. Your character is revealed in how you respond to your failure. Do you give up? No! You get up, repent, ask God to forgive you and to help you do better in the future, and then you work and strive to do better. You learn from your mistakes and you move forward.

Give it a try. If Christ isn't first in your life, give up control and give Him a try. Honor Him in your life; your marriage, your parenting, your work, etc.... He will not fail you. Yes, there will be trials along the way, but He will carry you through. He is faithful.

Put Christ first and see what He can and will do for your marriage. My bet is, He'll bless your socks off.

Enjoy the ride!!!

Scott