Use words if necessary

By Russ Lawson

 

Several years back I read of a church that had the following sign hanging in front of their building. It read: “Preach the Gospel at all times... Use words if necessary”. What a great statement of what our lives should be about. It's not a new concept at all. Matthew 5:16 Jesus instructs his followers, “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

 Maybe a way we could describe this is; it’s like when you want to sell your house and you have an open house for folks. You dust and sweep, mop and polish so folks will see how great your place is and want to buy it for their own. That is what Jesus is saying about our Christian lives. I want us to think about the whole message Jesus is giving to his listeners in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:14-16 from a different perspective. One man tried to paraphrase Jesus’ message this way, “Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.” (MSG) I think in this instance he captures the essence of Jesus’ message.

 Proverbs 27:19 has this to say, “As water reflects the face, so one’s life reflects the heart.”  Well… maybe it’s simpler to just say, “Preach the Gospel at all times... Use words if necessary,” How are you doing at letting your light shine? Sometimes I don’t do so well, but I’m trying to do better! I hope you are too.

 

 

 

They REALLY lived!   

                           By Russ Lawson 

One of my favorite movies from the past few years is called "Second Hand Lions". The movie is about two old bachelor brothers living in the middle of the prairie in Texas. They have lived adventure filled lives, served in the French Foreign Legion and lived in Africa for 40 years. Now they have come back to live out their last years alone and feeling old and useless. Then fate intervenes; a niece who has made a series of bad choices in her life "dumps" her son (whose about 12 years old) on their doorstep for them to keep.

The boy is scared out of his wits; he's a city boy and doesn't know the first thing about the country, the eccentric uncles are about honor and honesty. Slowly a bond begins to form and the boy begins to learn about the past these men have led. He understands that they feel they have no reason to live and are actively looking for dangerous situations by which to end their life (with their boots on as they say) while they are still able to face challenges.

 Trying to regain some of their excitement for life at one point the brothers buy an African lion from a circus, which they plan to turn loose and hunt. It turns out that the lion is old, sick and tame and they end up letting it live in their cornfield. That's where they get the name of the movie, "Second hand lions," because that describes the brothers also, once ferocious, now just old and not able to do what they once did.

 You know what I love about this movie, I can identify with the two old brothers to a point. Through the grace of God Melody and I have lived through some tremendous adventures while serving Him. We have lived in several different states here in America and even on the African continent. We have friends, brothers and sisters in Christ literally all over the world. We have worked hard, dealt death and illness and difficult situations and are still able to keep going, at least for the present. We have experienced life to the fullest with all of its joys and sorrows up to this point in our lives and I pray that we can end our lives "with our boots on" (still actively seeking adventure in Christ).

 At the end of the movie the uncles now in their 80's "go out in a blaze of glory" so to speak. The young boy, now a man meets someone who had heard the stories about his uncles from his grandfather in North Africa. The statement is made, "so they really lived". The last words of the movie are the response of the young boy, now a man when he says, "Yes, they REALLY lived". What better epitaph could you want? Doesn't that say it all for us, who of us isn't seeking some kind of fulfillment, something that makes us feel that life is worth living, something that gives meaning to getting out of bed in the mornings?

 Do you want to really live? The apostle Paul had a handle on that idea. He wrote in Philippians 1:21, "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain". Paul also wrote in Romans 14:8, "For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s."

 God speaks through the apostle John in Revelation 14:13, where we read, "And I heard a voice from heaven saying, "Write this down: Blessed are those who die in the Lord from now on. Yes, says the Spirit, they are blessed indeed, for they will rest from all their toils and trials; for their good deeds follow them!"

 The adventure continues for those who serve God, because "they really live" loving and serving God now and forever! How are you doing?

 

 

Things Are Always Changing – Maybe for you too…

The Endless Road

I admit it that I am slow to change. It often takes me awhile to get started, but after I do, I normally jump in with both feet so to speak.

It's the same way with bringing my web-blog up to speed. I have been toying with the idea of making some changes for awhile, and finally have made that move. Keep an eye on this page, mark it and look for more changes and I hope to do a better job each day.

I have had a web presence for the past 15 years and have looked for a better way spread my message. I chose a new name as you can see. I now use http:/myunexpectedadventure.com. Why? Because it seems that my whole life has been one adventure and I just never know what is going to happen next. I hope you will continue to travel with me on this adventure and even take a look at some of the books I have written about my experiences.

I will continue to post my blogs on this site for a short while longer, but PLEASE SUBSCRIBE to my new site and PLEASE SHARE it with your friends it is really important me to if I am to continue doing this.

So anyway, look for the next leg of life's adventure when you least expect it, that's how it always happens.

Your Fellow Traveler,

Russ Lawson

THANKSGIVING ALWAYS

Having just completed our book on our lives in Africa I was reminded of all of the ways God has blessed our lives. He mostly uses our fellow Christians, but so many times he has also blessed us through those outside of our Christian family.

Reviewing some old letters for our book I ran across some thoughts I had written 20 years ago while preparing to leave Kenya, they went something like this: “We have discussed just what we will miss when leaving Kenya. It's not a long list until we come to the people. We have gained many good friends and brothers and sisters in Christ. Part of our hearts will remain with them always; we have come to love the country through the people we have met.”

In the same way I wrote, “We have discussed what we will enjoy most about being back in the States. The list again is short, but mostly it is about being with our family and our Christian brothers and sisters. As I reflect, it occurs to me that the things we appreciate both in Kenya and the United States are the people. Physical things always come in second in our lives... which is the way it should be.”

The Apostle Paul wrote these words 2,000 years ago and they still help guide our lives. Philippians 4:11-13, "I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation; I can do all this through him who gives me strength."

In our hearts we know it is true don't we? We know it will never really be having things which will make us happy or causes us to give thanks to God. It is always relationships that matter the most, it is relationships that fill our hearts and will go through eternity with us.

So really it's the same this season as with all the rest of the year isn't it? Whether we are in need or have plenty, whether we are satisfied or lose it all makes no lasting difference. We can rejoice and give thanks to God, because our happiness, our contentment comes from relationships, both with other people and with our God. And right now, I'm thankful for each of you who let me be part of your lives throughout the whole of every year.

https://www.amazon.com/Living-Dream-Life-Adventures-Africa-ebook/dp/B076VTWLYC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1511350470&sr=8-1&keywords=book+russ+lawson

 

The Leaf

I'm sitting at our dining table looking out the back patio door. On the patio I see a leaf, dried and brown, but that is not unusual, especially at this time of year. It's the time we celebrate Thanksgiving and remember all of God's blessings. In reality, our yard is filled with leaves, it's part of nature, part of how the world works. I understand that some folks don't really appreciate this change, but I like to think of it in a positive light and enjoy God's beauty.

The thought the leaf brought to my mind is that only a short time ago it was on a tree, bright green and shining. That of course led me to thinking about the course of our life also. Things change so very quickly don't they? I mean, where has the time gone? I have been re-reading Melody and My book, "Living the dream, our life and adventures in Africa." I just read a paragraph that spoke of my celebrating my 47^th birthday in Kenya. That's been 23 years and it is covered in just a few pages in a book. What happened? How did I get from there to where I am at now?

Yes, I could detail all of the steps it took to get where we are now, but isn't that the question we all ask at some point? We are in school, maybe teenagers, maybe just married and suddenly we have grandchildren and many of the friends of our youth have already passed from this life.

There is an old hymn that has some very pertinent words for us about this process. The hymn is titled, "Swiftly we're turning" and the words go like this:

"Swiftly we're turning life's daily pages, Swiftly the hours are changing to years. How are we using God's golden moments? Shall we reap glory? Shall we reap tears?"

What happens to us is just that life happens as it is supposed to, as is according to God's plan. You are probably familiar with the passage in Ecclesiastes 3:1-11 where we are reminded that:

For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven.

A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest.

A time to kill and a time to heal. A time to tear down and a time to build up.

A time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance.

A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones. A time to embrace and a time to turn away.

A time to search and a time to quit searching. A time to keep and a time to throw away.

A time to tear and a time to mend. A time to be quiet and a time to speak.

A time to love and a time to hate. A time for war and a time for peace.

What do people really get for all their hard work? I have seen the burden God has placed on us all.

Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God's work from beginning to end.

Yes, an old, dried, brown leaf can have a lot of meaning if you just stop and think about it… especially when you think about it in relationship to the length of and purpose of your life. How are you doing?  How about choosing to think about the eternity God has planted in our heart. There is only one way to get that and that is through change. Rather than trying to stop it we need to embrace it… after all, the pages are turning swiftly, aren’t they.

Just a little bit...

Are you undergoing some struggle in your life right now? If not then give it time, because you most likely will at some time in your future. I'm not trying to be pessimistic, but I've seen how the world (and living in it), works. Yes, I'm sure that some folks have what we perceive to be "the perfect life," but I doubt that is really the case.

I remember hearing a story about our problems that went something like this: A man was deeply troubled having a very serious problem in his life. He looked at those around him and did not see anyone who seemed to suffer as he was. That night when he went to bed he prayed to God to lift his problem from him. When he went to sleep he began to dream. In the dream he saw people walking in a circle throwing their problem in a pile in the center. Each person was then free to choose a problem someone else had discarded to replace their own. He joined the circle and walked around the pile of problems. As he circled searching for a problem he would choose to bear he discovered that many people who he had thought had light problems actually had heavy burdens. In the end he chose to pick up the problem he had discarded and bear it once again. Sometimes it is true, the trouble we know is better than the devil we don't.

How many times have you heard someone say, "Just hold on a little longer," or "It's always darkest before the dawn," or "It will get worse before it gets better," or "God has a plan for you," or "You just have to believe," or perhaps one of the thousands of other variations of these sayings.

When you are dealing with a deep hurt, a struggle that causes pain in your heart, those words often aren’t of much comfort, are they? And yet if we claim to be Christians we face the battle around the question of Faith don't we? One of passages which troubled me for many years is Matthew 17:20 where Jesus said:  "Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."

What Jesus is saying here is that Faith is the most important thing we can have in our lives, it is central to our relationship to God. Did Jesus literally mean that we are suppose to try to move mountains with their minds? No, not at all; Jesus was using a common phrase from their society which all Jews knew. A Rabbi would talk about resolving difficulties as "uprooting or pulverizing mountains". Jesus never meant for this to be taken literally, but the passage is talking about the power of even just a little bit of faith to heal our lives.

Having even "Just a little bit" of faith implies that you have a relationship with Jesus to start with. It is impossible to "cast your cares (or burdens) on him," (1 Peter 5:7), if you have let the relationship with him slip away. He is not asking for a mountain sized faith, he is begging you for have the faith of a mustard seed.

So where are you in dealing with your problems? Where are you in your relationship to Jesus? You can't deal with the problems without having faith, even just a little bit of it.

You've got to walk right!

Many of you know that I've been debilitated for the past (almost) two months. Yesterday I had a consultation with my doctor regarding the results of my MRI last week. It seems they found some compressed disks in my lower back. So, now I see a specialist and see where that takes me.

I mentioned to Melody the other day that I was getting tired of sitting around so much and wanted to get back to work. She in her wisdom told me, "You've got to walk right first!" OK, I admit it, I have been tending to stumble at times lately and have not had perfect balance with my leg giving away unexpectedly. So, she's right, before I can get on with the things necessary in my life, I've got to walk right.

The same thing is true of our spiritual life isn't it? We stumble around at times unable to walk as we would wish and then are confused by the fact that we don't have a better relationship with God. What do you have to do to learn to "walk right"?

John gives us a little insight into that in 1 John 1:6-7 where he writes: "If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin."

For me to begin to "walk right," physically I'm going to have to follow the doctor's orders or prescribed treatment. For us to walk right spiritually we are going to have to do the same thing.

The problem I have is that sometimes I'm not a very good patient. The doctor tells me, "Do these exercises, take this medicine, etc.", and I try to do that for the most part, but sometimes I get lazy and don't follow them exactly and because of that sometimes I don't heal as quickly as I should.

Some are the same with spiritual things. God gives us specific directions as to how to walk in this life, how to serve him, yet we get lazy and don't want to follow His will exactly. God reminds His people in the Old Testament of this problem and encourages them to do better in Deuteronomy 5:32-33 where he says through Moses: "So be careful to do what the LORD your God has commanded you; do not turn aside to the right or to the left. Walk in obedience to all that the LORD your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess."

So, if you want to stop stumbling around religiously, trying to walk right spiritually but not doing such a good job of it, then get with the program and be obedient to God, do what He says, even when it's hard and even when you don't want to. Because before you can be successful spiritually you have to walk right.