GETTING IT WRONG

Have you ever done something and realized (sometimes immediately) that you made the wrong decision? Most probably you have, I think it is part of being human.

Sometimes the bad decisions are obvious, glaring things that stand out for all to see, sometimes, they are things of which only you are aware.

I started thinking about this when I read an article that told that bubble pack was originally marked at wall paper. I honestly can't see how they ever thought that would work, but then I'm looking at it from a background that says, "bubble pack is used to pack stuff."

As I do a quick review of my life, I can quickly find many things that I made the wrong decisions about. Now, I could dwell on those things and worry about them and let them control my life and make me miserable, but I'm not going to do that. I choose to focus on the good stuff.

I've known some folks in my life, who have done nothing but remember their wrong decisions. They worry about them to the point that they come to believe that they have no worth; no value even to God. How could God possibly forgive them if they can't forgive themselves?

If you are a fan of the Anne of Green Gables books and movies, you may remember one scene where Anne comments that "Everyday is brand new, free of mistakes." What a wonderful concept and one that is so true.

In 1 John 1: 8-9 we read, "If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness." (NLT)

Honestly, this is my favorite (at least one of them) scripture in the Bible. In this scripture we find hope when we make the wrong decisions. We find promise that we can start over fresh with each new day. What does it take? Admitting we messed up and believing what God says, when he says he will "cleanse" us.

It seems sometimes that I work overtime at getting it wrong in my life; I think the wrong things, say the wrong things and do the wrong things. But our God "is faithful and just to forgive us our sins."

You see, it's God's love that brings us forgiveness when we get it wrong in life; it's our responsibility to accept that forgiveness and get on with living for him.

Often Communicate We Don't Well!

When we lived in Africa we tried, (emphasis on tried) to learn the languages of the local people. We were successful to a limited extent, but we understood that often we spoke as a small child might as we tried to communicate.

 

You probably noted that the title of this article is somewhat mixed up, but what is the best way to say what I am trying to say? (1) Often communicate we don't well, (2) We don't communicated well, often, (3) or, Far too often we fail to communicate clearly?

Our world is in a huge transition in communication at the present. Things are in flux, or undergoing changes, which it always has since time began. Admittedly, those of us of "the mature generation," may have more difficulty than those who are younger in adapting to the transition. Personally, I still have refused to embrace "text messages,"
"chat rooms" and such (I'm still stuck on emails and blogs). I understand that makes me quite "Old Fashioned" and out of touch in some folks minds. I know that I will eventually be dragged into the modern world if text messages, but honestly, I don't want to spend that much time learning a new language (text shorthand). I can envision being involved in something like the following incident.

It seems that on a cold winter day a husband received this text message from his wife: "Windows frozen." Having had to deal with the problem of the windows in his car being frozen shut in the past he replied with a text message that said: "pour some lukewarm water over it." A short while later his wife sent him another text message that read, "Now the computer is really messed up."

How we communicate with one another is important, whether we do it face to face, by text, email or over the telephone. Through the years I have made my fair share of mistakes in trying to communicate, but failed in the trying. Thankfully, those with whom I "miss communicate," have been very forgiving.

Where am I going with this? The goal of these thoughts is to cause you to consider how we communicate with God. We can't email or text message God, it takes a real heart to heart conversation to communicate with him. There are no short cuts, no abbreviations, no way to get around talking with him and expressing our love, our thanks and the needs of our heart.

I understand that for some folks, all they know is some prayer they have been taught to repeat. They really don't know how to think freely and communicate from the heart with God. It's really not that hard if we stop and think about what God tells us he wants from us in His Word. You say, "I don't know how to pray." God speaking though his servant Paul tells us in Philippians 4:6, "Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done."  (NLT)

It's a simple process, pray for and about everything. Share like you are sharing with your best friend. Tell God what we need and thank him for all he has done, tell him what is going on in you life, about your struggles and your successes. Communication doesn't get any easier than that.

Books by Russ Lawson @ http://www.lulu.com/russlawson