Even listening to the bluegrass classic “Little White Church” didn’t seem to kick up any great metaphors or thoughts this morning. 

So here is one little thought for today, one that I have been pondering.  So many times we let the environment we are in shape our thinking.  I wonder what would happen to that environment if he shape it with our thinking.  So, I am trying to ignore the ugliness of the corporate culture, and am trying to apply the great learnings about life outside of this mess to it. Or put another way, I am trying to step above the junk and politics of the workplace and just relate to people as what they are – creations of our father in heaven.

Hm.. maybe that is an interesting thought for Friday.

⁸ If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,”^[a] you are doing right.  James 2:8

⁹ With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. ¹⁰ Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. ¹¹ Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? ¹² My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.  James 3:9-12

JERICHO from Rob McLellan on Vimeo.

So on to Rahab, the main character of the story.  It’s pretty amazing to see how God uses a person of ill repute, and calls them out as a great person of faith.  We see this a lot with our Lord.  He calls out the people that we would consider trash, or sinful, and creates a wonderful story of redemption, forgiveness and triumph.  From the bible, in 5 seconds, I can think, of the women at the well, Zacchaeus, Moses, and Paul, to name just a few.

That’s pretty good for us to know, on two accounts.  First, there is always hope for us.  God loves to offer forgiveness!  And Second, we should let God do the judging of people, and we should look for ways to lift all people up – no matter what we think about them.

We love, love love the first!  We like the second… on paper. But not as much in practice.  Today, think about that a little.  Think about how you are treating those around you and put the second idea into practice.  You may be amazed to see what a little bit of faith and action can do.

²⁴ You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone. ²⁵ In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? ²⁶As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead. James 2:24-26 New International Version (NIV)

“The sixth sick sheikh’s sixth sheep’s sick.”

But I actually think the world’s toughest tongue twister is actually found in the book of James – which incidentally I find so difficult that I occasionally just tear it out of my Bible.

 ⁹ With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. ¹⁰Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be.  James 3:9-10 New International Version (NIV)

I had read this lots of times, but a few years ago I read it again, and then  I realized how much I use my tongue to praise the creator, and to tear down his creation.  I think I am not alone in that struggle.   That my friends is quite a tongue twister!

So, get out there and impress your companions with your vocal talents as you tell tales of witches and their wishes and sailors who set out to sea.  And if you need to test yourself today, you can find tons of international tongue twisters here and here.  But at the same time, be reminded of how you are using that twisted tongue when you address those who are created by the same God you praise!

 ^13-16Do you want to be counted wise, to build a reputation for wisdom? Here’s what you do: Live well, live wisely, live humbly. It’s the way you live, not the way you talk, that counts. Mean-spirited ambition isn’t wisdom. Boasting that you are wise isn’t wisdom. Twisting the truth to make yourselves sound wise isn’t wisdom. It’s the furthest thing from wisdom—it’s animal cunning, devilish conniving. Whenever you’re trying to look better than others or get the better of others, things fall apart and everyone ends up at the others’ throats. James 3:13 The Message (MSG)

Let us live well today!!

Oh, I also have received a suggestion to put a comment button in the email distribution that many of your receive ( you can subscribe yourself on the right hand side of the site ( www.butcherville.com/dailybuffet).  I did not do that yet, but I am looking for a way to add that to the email.  Maybe that will help with some more active comments.

Can you see I am dying for attention today!!

Seriously, I do receive a lot of feedback from you, the reader via email, and I always appreciate the comments and the encouragement.  It “keeps me singing as I go“.

Well, on today’s thought, which by the way this is going appears quite elusive.  It is Friday once again, and of course Friday usually means a simple thought, plus my friend Mr Jones has me schedule for an 8am meeting which will keep me busy for most of the morning.

So, back to the idea of comments and providing feedback.  Wouldn’t it be great if the creator of the world would stop by the blog you call your life and leave a comment every so often.  Something that would confirm and correct.  Something that would help you keep going in the right direction.

Well, I think he may have.  Well I know he has provided so much all ready.  But I think he has provided a feedback mechanism.  Look at these verses from James

²² Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. ²³ Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror ²⁴ and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. ²⁵ But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.

He tells us to listen and look with intent and the answers are there.  Hm.. the feedback is right in front of us, is it up to us to make sure our comment section is working?

I dunno?  What do you think about this?

Moving on.

Those few words in the chorus  “I ain’t here for a long time, I’m here for a good time” has been floating around in my head all day.  I was quickly reminded of these two verses.

¹⁴Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. James 4:14 New International Version (NIV)

So with that knowledge in hand, we need to learn from George – no not ‘the bring on the moonshine’ part, more on the whole I am am going to make this short time mean something part.  Maybe something like this from Ephesians, where we are encouraged to make the most of every opportunity

So sing along!

you can pick from either song.

George:

“.. when I’m gone let it be known I left nothing behind….”

Or the old hymn:

“..rising up in the sky, telling this world goodbye….”

This morning I popped open my browser to this verse:

“Obey God’s message! Don’t fool yourselves by just listening to it.” James 1:22 CEV

It seemed like a fitting thought for the day.  We can not fool ourselves into just being a spectator and expecting things to be the way we want them to be.  We must obey – we must do.  Sometimes we are convinced that the message of God is not a message do not, but I firmly believe the message of God is a message of Do!

I hope this begins to move me into a season of focused doing ( not busyness!).  At least it will help motivate me today!

Consider how you are responding the mercy and grace you have been giving today  – go , do!

For some reason, my first instantaneous reaction was one of outrage and frustration.  But then I quickly stopped myself.  Why should these things upset us so much?  Lets look at the facts, the project was still being completed, the direction and strategy for the work was still on track and heading in the same direction.  Why did it matter who, and how?

I started thinking about my post from Tuesday about Micah 6 and what we really are here for.  I started thinking about Matthew 5, which I has just spend 30 minutes in conversation about, and I very quickly realized – this did not really matter, and in acutallity was a great time to help shine the light of Christ. 

For some reason its such a struggle for us to see past the noise of this world, and to concentrate of the important things, and to deal with conflict in a way that still brings glory to the Creator and deflects from us.

So, because of these thoughts,  two verses have been flitttering around in my head, so I thought I would share those today:

If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. John 15:10 NIV

 ⁹ With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. ¹⁰ Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. ¹¹ Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? ¹²My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water. James 3:9-12  New International Version (NIV)

So, the verdict came down yesterday and the world went crazy.  Surprise, shock, and even outrage has been the rule of the day.  As I mentioned, I have tried to avoid this whole thing and have only paid partial attention whenever I have been around any coverage, but even with that little bit of observation, it’s pretty easy to lean toward the guilty side.

But today, I wanted to throw some other thoughts in the ring for your consideration.  I probably should not go here, and maybe very wrong about this, but here are some things tangentially related to the trial that I post for your consideration.

I noticed the outrage and condemnation all over my Facebook world last night and it reminded me of my old preacher man Steve Riley who would frequently say something to the effect of “we are quick to judge when it’s others, but quick to beg for mercy when it is us”.  (That’s not really a quote, and I am sure he was not the original creator of that thought, but it is him who I always think of when that concept creeps into my little brain)

Anyway, as you consider the Anthony young lady, and the disaster that is her existence on this Earth, think about the mercy that you walk in the the light of everyday.  Do she do it? – yes probably.  Is it just the most horrific thing you can think of – well for me, I can actually think of some things much more horrific, but this one is pretty bad.  Should the legal system produce a more just result?- I would think so.  (That being said, I am glad for a legal system that leans toward innocence, versus the alternative).  Should we react to her in a condemning way – hm, this is where I catch myself.  Take a look at these two teachings:

12 Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, 13 because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment! James 2:12-13 New International Version 1984 (NIV1984)

22 And you must show mercy to those whose faith is wavering. 23 Rescue others by snatching them from the flames of judgment. Show mercy to still others, but do so with great caution, hating the sins that contaminate their lives. Jude 1:22-23 New Living Translation (NLT)

The Christ, the most beautiful man to ever live, and I mean that not in appearance, but in his character and spirit, admonishes us to be careful with judgement, even so much as to turn that over to God, and to be free with mercy – rescuing those who are in trouble, but hating the actions they have taken. I wish I could be that way, and that is why I sit and stare at these verses this morning and consider the tragedy in Orlando, and formulate what sort of reaction to have to that mess.

What do you think?

Seriously, have you ever googled yourself? Its a pretty interesting exercise. You can find out stuff about yourself, or maybe find other people around the work with the same name. For instance, I have discovered indiviuals with my name that spend time as insurance commissions, tattoo artist, WWF fighters, and musicians.

It seems its pretty important to make sure you have some understanding of yourself both on the inside and out. For instance, I can tell when the conditions are ripe for me to be exetremely grouchy with being, however, when I understand myself, I can notice the signs and try to take some alternative action.

And then there’s this great verse from James, the book that I tear out of my Bible, quite freqently. Ol’ James tells us that we should understand and do the perfect law, just like we understand ourselves.

 ²² Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. ²³ Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror ²⁴ and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. ²⁵ But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do. (James 1:22-25, New International Version, ©2011)

So – Go Google yourself, it will make you a better person.