Dabble

Brian Keel, a friend of mine who serves in upper level management at our local YMCA, publishes a weekly devotional which is always inspirational and thought provoking (if you would like to sign up to receive these via email, please email him and request that here). The one I received last night was no exception. Here is what he had to say:

I sat on my patio on the evening of July 3rd and watched four different sets of fireworks play out in the night sky. Some were far away; some were obscured by the trees in the corn field beyond the fence. I could only hear two of them at all. The show was diverse…I didn’t have to fight crowds or traffic…and food and beverage were only a few steps away. But did I really get the best firework experience possible?

The answer must be “no”. I didn’t really experience the fireworks… I merely dabbled. Dabbling keeps us at the fringe of an issue...far from the joyful experience of diving in full force. Fireworks are best viewed up close where the colors are most vivid, the reverberations felt and not just heard. Up close where the exclamations of those around us increase our own appreciation for what is going on.

“Now devote your heart and soul to seeking the LORD your God.”

1 Chronicles 22:19

God is best experienced in the same way. We should not just dabble around the edges enjoying the show from the comfort of our easy chair. We should jump in with both feet. Embrace the saving grace of his son Jesus. Study his word on a regular basis. Participate in worship with others. Pray and listen for his answers. God meant for us to experience his full measure of greatness up close and personal. The reverberations in your life will be felt and not just heard!

Enhanced Performance

A friend of mine named Brian Keel puts out a weekly devotional that I receive via email (if you would like to receive this, simply email him here). It is usually very good. I thought last week's was excellent so I thought I'd share it here:

Performance Enhancing Drugs (PEDs) were in the news again recently when Mark McGwire admitted, as many have long suspected, that he used steroids during his playing career. The general consensus is that his confession was prompted by his return to the game as a hitting coach and was timed to allow the dust to settle before spring training begins. Plenty of what he said felt like justification and covering of tracks but I think he was right on at least one point.

Steroids, HGH, Synthetic Testosterone and all the other PEDs are against the rules. So using them is cheating, plain and simple. However, a person doesn’t just take these substances, put their feet up and wait to get big and strong. The only way to get the benefit is to head to the gym and work and work and work. The PEDs allow a person to workout harder and more often that they could otherwise. They don’t make you strong all by themselves; they just make your hard work pay off faster.

In the same way, reading your Bible and going to church won’t make you a stronger Christian if you just kick back and put your feet up after. You need to take what you’ve learned and work and work and work at it. These activities enhance your ability to follow Christ and have an impact on the lives of others. It makes your hard work more effective. And it’s all perfectly legal.

“Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.” Philippians 4:9

Be a Burning Bush

A friend of mine, Brian Keel (CFO of The Toledo Area YMCA), puts out a weekly devotional via email which is excellent. I thought I'd share his from this past week:

The Wind

Probably my favorite shrub is the Euonymus alatus compactus or “burning bush”. During the spring and the summer it appears rather ordinary…just another in a long line of green foliage planted in front of the house. When autumn rolls around the leaves turn a vibrant red; lighting up the whole yard. But every year the same thing happens…we get one of those windy stretches Northwest Ohio is known for and “poof” the leaves are gone in an instant. All that’s left is the empty shell, just a bunch of sticks poking out of the ground.

No man has power over the wind to contain it; so no one has power over the day of his death. Ecclesiastes 8:8

A youth pastor in our area died in his sleep last week at age 40…no apparent health issues… no warning… no anything. I’m sorry to say that I did not know him personally, but I have heard so many wonderful things about him since…even a planned involvement in youth work at one of our YMCA facilities. Solomon sure got it right… “no one has power over the wind….” But we can make sure that we burn a vibrant red while we are here. We have power over our actions, over our words and over the things people might remember us for. We have the power to love as Jesus loved… to feed the hungry, to care for the sick, to clothe the needy.

Make a difference… be a burning bush….

Crickets

My friend, Brian Keel, who is CFO of the Toledo Area YMCAs writes a weekly devotional that he sends out via email. His from last week is one I needed to share:

The other night, as I was drifting off to sleep, I heard crickets chirping outside. It was the first time this year that their friendly, relaxing sound was audible to me. It’s a sure sign of summertime in Ohio, and I was pleased to hear it. There are other signs too… like fireflies and mosquitoes and cookouts and orange barrels on the Turnpike. Each is indicative of summer on its own, but in combination the message is hard to miss.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” Galatians 5:22-23

Just as we can see the visible signs of seasons changing, we can also see the visible attributes of a Christian life. But unlike mosquitoes and orange barrels the fruit of the spirit is positive. As we grow in our relationship with Christ each attribute will likely manifest at a different rate based on our personality and circumstances. They are not a pick and choose list of “fruits” though. In combination, they are “the fruit” and their message is hard to miss.

It’s a message that each of us has undergone a positive change; that each of us is finding life with Christ preferable to our life without. And hopefully others will want to know more about the source of that change.

Share your fruit!

And He Will Give You Rest

A friend of mine, Brian Keel, is the CFO for the Toledo Area YMCAs. He also is quite a writer. He sends out a weekly email devotional that is very thought provoking. This week's is no exception. Because we live in such a fast-paced world, I wanted to share his words from this week here:

As I’m writing this I am wishing that my three-year-old would take her nap. She has had a busy morning and hasn’t taken a nap for several days. The house is nice and quiet….she had a snack and a drink….she’s weary and needs the rest…I’ve provided seemingly everything that she needs…but no luck. What is she waiting for?

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” – Jesus

It’s not just the little ones that forget to take their rest. I think it’s all of us! Perhaps we are still struggling under the burden of trying to earn our favor with God; to justify a spot in heaven through our good works. Perhaps we are confident in our faith but have our foot on the “godly gas pedal” trying to serve others 24/7. Or perhaps we are just plain tired, with the energy needed to sustain work, family and marriages gone.

The verse above from Matthew applies to all those situations and more. One nap refreshes the body for a time, but doesn’t help us a week from now. Sunday morning church time can refresh the soul for a time, but what about the rest of the week? A daily dose of God’s rest is what we really need. It might be prayer, or music or devotional time or maybe even getting more sleep. Whatever it is for you, what are you waiting for?

(shhh… I think she finally went to sleep!)

Mad Dog

A friend of mine, Brian Keel, writes a weekly email that is usually very thought provoking and very good. This past week he sent this which I wanted to share with you:

Greg Maddux retired from baseball this week after a career that spanned more than twenty seasons. He was not particularly big, nor strong, nor fast. He used control of his pitches instead of power, and he threw slower when in a jam instead of faster. To see him in street clothes with his glasses on you may have fancied him a teacher or even a CPA. Yet he retired with the 8th most victories (355) and the 10th most strikeouts (3,371) in the history of baseball. He played defense, winning a record 18 Gold Gloves and had 180 sacrifice bunts as a batter. He is a living, breathing oxymoron. Even is his nickname, “Mad Dog”, is a laugh.

“I have seen something else under the sun: The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong … but time and chance happen to them all. Ecclesiastes 9:11

These words were penned by Solomon, perhaps the wisest, richest and most powerful man of ancient times. He likely qualified as both swift and strong. Yet like Maddux his experience seems to have taught him that preparation and consistency were more valuable. Preparation gives us the tools we need to make a fast and appropriate response to a variety of situations we may encounter. Consistency allows others to count on getting the same response each time we hit that situation. That can make us good leaders, great teammates and successful in the big race of life.

If you would like to receive Brian's weekly emails or to look at past emails, visit here.