I am moving my blog to my new website.
www.rudegraffiti.com
All the archives have been moved over there as well.
Enjoy!
Thursday, May 14, 2009
A story that will either challenge or enrage you
I recently finished reading Chris Tomlin's book The Way I Was Made a second time and thought I would share one story he writes about that really struck a chord with me.
"Neil is one of those guys that can read your mail, if you know what I mean. He sees through to the truth about people and situations and seems to know what to do. All in a very unnoticed kind of way. I could tell you four or five stories that would blow you away, but I'll keep it to one.
Neil was having lunch at the Kettle (yep, the same landmark of Brownwood cuisine I already mentioned). He was in the area for a speaking engagement. Neil loves places like the Kettle and Waffle House. He says that's where Jesus would eat.
Well, the waitress had walked up to take his order when Neil noticed she seemed worn out. Their conversation went something like this:
Neil: 'How are ya?'
Waitress: 'I'm really tired. Been working two jobs to make ends meet. And I'm just waiting for my fifteen-minute break.'
Neil: 'What are you going to do on your break?'
Waitress: 'Oh, grab a smoke. I can't wait.'
Neil: 'What kind of cigarettes you smoke?'
Waitress, looking a little surprised: 'Ah, the generic ones. Can't afford the expensive ones. What would you like to eat?'
Neil ordered.
Neil ate.
Neil paid.
Then Neil went straight to the nearest Wal-Mart. 'Say,' he said to the first employee he met, 'I'm here to buy your most expensive cigarettes. Can you help me?' (He didn't have a lot of experience in this particular kind of shopping.)
As soon as he made his purchase, Neil headed back to the Kettle. His timing couldn't have been more perfect. When he pulled up, a cluster of waitresses were out back on break, his waitress among them. They stood near the trash bin, passing one lit cigarette around for all to share.
Neil headed toward them with the expensive stuff. (He told me later they looked at him like he was Ed McMahon driving up in the Publishers Clearing House van.) He handed the cigarettes to the woman who had waited on him. 'I just want you to know that God cares about you just the way you are,' he said. 'Enjoy these.'
He was starting back to his car when the waitress said, 'Sir?'
'Yeah?'
'Are you a preacher in this town?'
'No,' Neil replied. 'Just speaking at a church here for a few nights. Then I'm moving on.'
'That's too bad,' said the waitress. She was still holding the cigarettes like some kind of grand prize. Neil noticed she was tearing up.
'Too bad,' she repeated, her voice trembling, 'cause I would like to go to your church.'
I love that story! The waitress never knew Neil's name, but when he left, she knew that God cared about her. That's what an unnoticed life looks like, I think. A person who humbly makes God's fame great to others in a language they understand.
And what an accomplishment! Why wouldn't that be worth the finest pack of smokes a guy could buy?"
There are two ways to respond to this story, and most of us will have that response one way or the other immediately. If you are one who loved this story, take a moment and ask yourself why? Do you love the part where Neil bought the cigarettes (that was me)? If so, prayerfully consider that what you loved was the rebellious nature of the story and not the fact that Neil worked to find a point of connection, a way of tangibly showing the waitress that God loved her in a way that SHE would understand.
If you really hated this story, it's probably because Neil bought her cigarettes. Take a few moments in prayer and talk to God about this. What's more important, Neil's strategy or the fact that what he did obviously made an impression on the waitress, who has tears in her eyes by the end of the story. She knew at that point that God indeed loved her. And then ask yourself when was the last time you attempted to make that kind of impression to anyone in public.
"Neil is one of those guys that can read your mail, if you know what I mean. He sees through to the truth about people and situations and seems to know what to do. All in a very unnoticed kind of way. I could tell you four or five stories that would blow you away, but I'll keep it to one.
Neil was having lunch at the Kettle (yep, the same landmark of Brownwood cuisine I already mentioned). He was in the area for a speaking engagement. Neil loves places like the Kettle and Waffle House. He says that's where Jesus would eat.
Well, the waitress had walked up to take his order when Neil noticed she seemed worn out. Their conversation went something like this:
Neil: 'How are ya?'
Waitress: 'I'm really tired. Been working two jobs to make ends meet. And I'm just waiting for my fifteen-minute break.'
Neil: 'What are you going to do on your break?'
Waitress: 'Oh, grab a smoke. I can't wait.'
Neil: 'What kind of cigarettes you smoke?'
Waitress, looking a little surprised: 'Ah, the generic ones. Can't afford the expensive ones. What would you like to eat?'
Neil ordered.
Neil ate.
Neil paid.
Then Neil went straight to the nearest Wal-Mart. 'Say,' he said to the first employee he met, 'I'm here to buy your most expensive cigarettes. Can you help me?' (He didn't have a lot of experience in this particular kind of shopping.)
As soon as he made his purchase, Neil headed back to the Kettle. His timing couldn't have been more perfect. When he pulled up, a cluster of waitresses were out back on break, his waitress among them. They stood near the trash bin, passing one lit cigarette around for all to share.
Neil headed toward them with the expensive stuff. (He told me later they looked at him like he was Ed McMahon driving up in the Publishers Clearing House van.) He handed the cigarettes to the woman who had waited on him. 'I just want you to know that God cares about you just the way you are,' he said. 'Enjoy these.'
He was starting back to his car when the waitress said, 'Sir?'
'Yeah?'
'Are you a preacher in this town?'
'No,' Neil replied. 'Just speaking at a church here for a few nights. Then I'm moving on.'
'That's too bad,' said the waitress. She was still holding the cigarettes like some kind of grand prize. Neil noticed she was tearing up.
'Too bad,' she repeated, her voice trembling, 'cause I would like to go to your church.'
I love that story! The waitress never knew Neil's name, but when he left, she knew that God cared about her. That's what an unnoticed life looks like, I think. A person who humbly makes God's fame great to others in a language they understand.
And what an accomplishment! Why wouldn't that be worth the finest pack of smokes a guy could buy?"
There are two ways to respond to this story, and most of us will have that response one way or the other immediately. If you are one who loved this story, take a moment and ask yourself why? Do you love the part where Neil bought the cigarettes (that was me)? If so, prayerfully consider that what you loved was the rebellious nature of the story and not the fact that Neil worked to find a point of connection, a way of tangibly showing the waitress that God loved her in a way that SHE would understand.
If you really hated this story, it's probably because Neil bought her cigarettes. Take a few moments in prayer and talk to God about this. What's more important, Neil's strategy or the fact that what he did obviously made an impression on the waitress, who has tears in her eyes by the end of the story. She knew at that point that God indeed loved her. And then ask yourself when was the last time you attempted to make that kind of impression to anyone in public.
Monday, May 4, 2009
MOVED
Moved.
That's how I feel.
Moved.
When is the last time you felt this way?
What made you feel that way?
What did you do about it?
I have felt moved all weekend, actually since last Thursday. I was reading Luke 6 (The Message) and just could not move on from there. I have read that every day since, some days multiple times. There is so much good stuff packed away in this chapter. Moved. That's the only way I can describe how I feel.
Moved.
You might be wondering when I am going to write about what specifically moved me in this chapter.........
I AM NOT GOING TO TELL YOU.
Not today.
Today, what moved me stays with me. The point is not what moved me. My point is getting you to think about the last time something moved you.
I mean that gut-wrenching, life-changing, purpose-fulfilling, new-direction kind of moved.
When is the last time you were moved?
When was the last time you allowed God to move you?
Go ahead, give it a try. Ask God to move you today. Read the Bible. Pray. Listen.
LISTEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Be moved.
That's how I feel.
Moved.
When is the last time you felt this way?
What made you feel that way?
What did you do about it?
I have felt moved all weekend, actually since last Thursday. I was reading Luke 6 (The Message) and just could not move on from there. I have read that every day since, some days multiple times. There is so much good stuff packed away in this chapter. Moved. That's the only way I can describe how I feel.
Moved.
You might be wondering when I am going to write about what specifically moved me in this chapter.........
I AM NOT GOING TO TELL YOU.
Not today.
Today, what moved me stays with me. The point is not what moved me. My point is getting you to think about the last time something moved you.
I mean that gut-wrenching, life-changing, purpose-fulfilling, new-direction kind of moved.
When is the last time you were moved?
When was the last time you allowed God to move you?
Go ahead, give it a try. Ask God to move you today. Read the Bible. Pray. Listen.
LISTEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Be moved.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Invisible Children
Nothing really earthshattering to share tonight. Just a cause that has grabbed my attention. One of my best friends told me about this organization last week that was doing something called "The Rescue", and the organization's name was Invisible Children. That's pretty much all he told me, and I have spent the following week looking up everything I can find on the internet. One of my friends had access to some dvd's, and I was off and running!
This organization exists to bring awareness of and an end to the longest running war in Africa. The setting is Uganda, and the atrocities that have occured are appalling. I want to encourage you with everything that I have in me to check out the website.
www.invisiblechildren.com
This will be tough for you to see. I want to ask yourself why it is tough. Why is it tough for us to see others suffering? For me, it all goes back to a quote I wrote last week, "To be SAVED costs us nothing. To be a DISCIPLE, costs us everything!" If I truly want to be a DISCIPLE of Christ, then I will care about those that he cared about. I will care about the poor, downcast, outcast, sick, needy people of this world. Actually, I will go a step further than caring. If I am truly a DISCIPLE of Christ, I will do something to alleviate their suffering.
We all have seen that bumpersticker which reads "He who dies with the most toys, still dies." I am not saying to put your family at risk. However, I am asking you to question what your purpose is in life. Is your main goal to live a safe, trouble free life? Is that the kind of life that Jesus lived?????? Now, before you begin to tell me some things you will regret later, think on this:
Jesus promised us that He came to give us life to the full.
If we are true DISCIPLES of His, we will love God and love people.
Do you trust Jesus that life to the full is found in loving God and loving people?
No, you can't possibly help everyone. But I'll bet we can all do more than what we are currently doing.
I came across an interesting, yet sobering website tonight. Check out www.globalrichlist.com and see where you rank. My family's annual earnings put us in the top 1% in the world as far as monetary wealth on an annual basis! I mean, that shatters all the excuses that I don't have much to give. If I, who is in the top 1% in the world, don't give, who will? If I don't help, who will? Yes, my standard of living is higher, but whose fault is that? My family certainly doesn't have to life the lifestyle that we do. Just because it falls within our financial means, doesn't necessarily mean that we should.
A good friend of mine, the same that told me about Invisible Children, counseled me with something that was told to him. "You can't give answers to questions that people are not asking." I realize that for many of you, this may be the farthest thing on your minds right now. You may not care or even think about what goes on in Africa. You may not think or care that 1,000 people die in displacement camps in Uganda every week because of a lack of basic necessities. You may not care that over 20,000 children have been abducted and forced to be child soldiers in Uganda over the past 20+ years. You may not care that countless thousands die every day for lack of food.
However, at this time in my life, I am beginning to care. And while I can't help everyone, I can help to create more awareness. I can encourage people to join me, and to pray with me.
There's a quote in Spiderman that goes something like this. "With great power comes great responsibility." I'd say that being in the top 1% of the world in wealth equals great power. And we all must answer to Christ some day as to what we did with that power, that influence, that ability to make the world a little better. YOU hold the key to changing life for a person TODAY!
DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!
I guess this was earthshattering, who knew?
www.invisiblechildren.com
This organization exists to bring awareness of and an end to the longest running war in Africa. The setting is Uganda, and the atrocities that have occured are appalling. I want to encourage you with everything that I have in me to check out the website.
www.invisiblechildren.com
This will be tough for you to see. I want to ask yourself why it is tough. Why is it tough for us to see others suffering? For me, it all goes back to a quote I wrote last week, "To be SAVED costs us nothing. To be a DISCIPLE, costs us everything!" If I truly want to be a DISCIPLE of Christ, then I will care about those that he cared about. I will care about the poor, downcast, outcast, sick, needy people of this world. Actually, I will go a step further than caring. If I am truly a DISCIPLE of Christ, I will do something to alleviate their suffering.
We all have seen that bumpersticker which reads "He who dies with the most toys, still dies." I am not saying to put your family at risk. However, I am asking you to question what your purpose is in life. Is your main goal to live a safe, trouble free life? Is that the kind of life that Jesus lived?????? Now, before you begin to tell me some things you will regret later, think on this:
Jesus promised us that He came to give us life to the full.
If we are true DISCIPLES of His, we will love God and love people.
Do you trust Jesus that life to the full is found in loving God and loving people?
No, you can't possibly help everyone. But I'll bet we can all do more than what we are currently doing.
I came across an interesting, yet sobering website tonight. Check out www.globalrichlist.com and see where you rank. My family's annual earnings put us in the top 1% in the world as far as monetary wealth on an annual basis! I mean, that shatters all the excuses that I don't have much to give. If I, who is in the top 1% in the world, don't give, who will? If I don't help, who will? Yes, my standard of living is higher, but whose fault is that? My family certainly doesn't have to life the lifestyle that we do. Just because it falls within our financial means, doesn't necessarily mean that we should.
A good friend of mine, the same that told me about Invisible Children, counseled me with something that was told to him. "You can't give answers to questions that people are not asking." I realize that for many of you, this may be the farthest thing on your minds right now. You may not care or even think about what goes on in Africa. You may not think or care that 1,000 people die in displacement camps in Uganda every week because of a lack of basic necessities. You may not care that over 20,000 children have been abducted and forced to be child soldiers in Uganda over the past 20+ years. You may not care that countless thousands die every day for lack of food.
However, at this time in my life, I am beginning to care. And while I can't help everyone, I can help to create more awareness. I can encourage people to join me, and to pray with me.
There's a quote in Spiderman that goes something like this. "With great power comes great responsibility." I'd say that being in the top 1% of the world in wealth equals great power. And we all must answer to Christ some day as to what we did with that power, that influence, that ability to make the world a little better. YOU hold the key to changing life for a person TODAY!
DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!
I guess this was earthshattering, who knew?
www.invisiblechildren.com
Friday, April 24, 2009
PRAYER
Ok, so for those of you who don't know, I raise money as a missionary to provide for my family. It's a tough thing, especially in these times of people worrying about the economy. HOWEVER, it also provides a great opportunity for us to develop our trust and faith in God. Never have we gone without, never have we not had our needs, and many of our desires met. Yes, it gets tough we I haven't received a paycheck for a month, or month and a half. And yet, the faith that we've developed as we've watched God meet our needs time and time again has been huge!
What I really hate, is when people get defensive towards me and their first response is that money is not the only way people can help.
Um, thank you for very plainly and openly saying that you don't care. Thank you for your bluntness! Thank you for your concern and caring spirit.
CONFESSION TIME. I've had many daydreams of punching people in the face. I know, I know, money is a touchy subject with people. Sorry, got off track there.
The point is, prayer is a huge weapon that most of us fail to utilize..............EVER (unless we personally need something). We cannot each of us individually conquer the worlds issues on our own. I do not have enough money to end world hunger. However, I love a quote I came across by Robert Kennedy where he says "Few will have the greatness to bend history; but each of us can work to change a small portion of the events, and in the total of all these acts will be written the history of this generation.....Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.......But we also know that only those who dare to fail greatly, can ever achieve greatly."
The past few months my eyes have been opened in an extreme way to the plight of people across the world in need. While I can't meet every need financially, I do what God moves me to do. With the rest of the need that moves my heart, I have decided to dedicate each day of the week to praying for a ministry or organization that is working around the world. So, here is that schedule....
Sunday>24-7 Prayer (www.24-7prayer.com)
Monday>XXX Church (www.xxxchurch.com)
Tuesday>Team World Vision (www.worldvision.org/team)
Wednesday>Blood:Water Mission (www.bloodwatermission.com)
Thursday>One (www.one.org)
Friday>Invisible Children (www.invisiblechildren.com)
Saturday>Compassion (www.compassion.com)
I encourage you to get involved in ministries and organizations around the world. Do your homework, read up, watch videos, and then prayerfully get involved. Give money. Give money. Give money. (You can do without one coffee a week, one meal out a week, etc. I promise you will survive!) With the rest, seriously devote time to prayer. PRAY. PRAY. PRAY. (You can do without that extra hour of sleep every morning. I promise you will survive!) Get involved. DO SOMETHING!
What I really hate, is when people get defensive towards me and their first response is that money is not the only way people can help.
Um, thank you for very plainly and openly saying that you don't care. Thank you for your bluntness! Thank you for your concern and caring spirit.
CONFESSION TIME. I've had many daydreams of punching people in the face. I know, I know, money is a touchy subject with people. Sorry, got off track there.
The point is, prayer is a huge weapon that most of us fail to utilize..............EVER (unless we personally need something). We cannot each of us individually conquer the worlds issues on our own. I do not have enough money to end world hunger. However, I love a quote I came across by Robert Kennedy where he says "Few will have the greatness to bend history; but each of us can work to change a small portion of the events, and in the total of all these acts will be written the history of this generation.....Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.......But we also know that only those who dare to fail greatly, can ever achieve greatly."
The past few months my eyes have been opened in an extreme way to the plight of people across the world in need. While I can't meet every need financially, I do what God moves me to do. With the rest of the need that moves my heart, I have decided to dedicate each day of the week to praying for a ministry or organization that is working around the world. So, here is that schedule....
Sunday>24-7 Prayer (www.24-7prayer.com)
Monday>XXX Church (www.xxxchurch.com)
Tuesday>Team World Vision (www.worldvision.org/team)
Wednesday>Blood:Water Mission (www.bloodwatermission.com)
Thursday>One (www.one.org)
Friday>Invisible Children (www.invisiblechildren.com)
Saturday>Compassion (www.compassion.com)
I encourage you to get involved in ministries and organizations around the world. Do your homework, read up, watch videos, and then prayerfully get involved. Give money. Give money. Give money. (You can do without one coffee a week, one meal out a week, etc. I promise you will survive!) With the rest, seriously devote time to prayer. PRAY. PRAY. PRAY. (You can do without that extra hour of sleep every morning. I promise you will survive!) Get involved. DO SOMETHING!
Rich Mullins
"Jesus said whatever you do to the least of these my brothers you've done it to me. And this is what I've come to think. That if I want to identify fully with Jesus Christ, who I claim to be my savior and Lord, the best way that I can do that is to identify with the poor. This I know will go against the teachings of all the popular evangelical preachers. But they're just wrong. They're not bad, they're just wrong. Christianity is not about building an absolutely secure little niche in the world where you can live with your perfect little wife and your perfect little children in a beautiful little house where you have no gays or minority groups anywhere near you. Christianity is about learning to love like Jesus loved and Jesus loved the poor and Jesus loved the broken..."
--Taken from www.wikipedia.org
I've lots to say about this quote, but am choosing to go another direction than I thought I would this morning. As I was typing this quote out, the sentence "They're not bad, they're just wrong." really stood out for me. I have had some pretty serious disagreements the past few weeks with some people, and constantly felt prodded by God to make sure I don't treat them as enemies. I realized how many times I pray against other Christians that I simply disagree with, and that's just wrong. Fellow believers that we disagree with on non-essentials should never be treated as an enemy! How foolish I've been all these years. While I may disagree with someone, we are all still on the same team (those of us that profess Christ as our Lord and strive to live like Him every day). The Bible says that the world will know us by our LOVE for each other, not by our bickering back and forth. Open, honest, respectful dialogue is good and beneficial. Degrading, hateful arguments........not so much. I need to be better about how I express frustration with people, good people who may just think a little differently on some topics.
"They're not bad, they're just wrong."
Definitely not a P.C. statement. But I love the perspective.
So, how many of us actually love like Jesus loved? How many of us even try? Why is that do you think? Is it because of fear, because it will cost you something?
NEWSFLASH!!!!
Giving your life over to Christ does cost you something! I recently came across a quote that says "To be SAVED costs us nothing. To be a DISCIPLE costs us everything." When you become a Christian, your life is no longer your own (we hear this all the time). What that means is, we now strive to do what Christ did. We strive to follow the guidelines God has clearly marked out for us in Scripture. WHY? Not because God is a jerk, but because He knows the best way to live this life that He created.
Why do we second guess God so much? We can't follow him and live life by our own selfish ways. The ironic thing is, that if we follow God with our entire lives, the life we get in return will so far surpass anything we could achieve on our own power.
Let's love like Jesus loved today. Let's live like Jesus lived!
--Taken from www.wikipedia.org
I've lots to say about this quote, but am choosing to go another direction than I thought I would this morning. As I was typing this quote out, the sentence "They're not bad, they're just wrong." really stood out for me. I have had some pretty serious disagreements the past few weeks with some people, and constantly felt prodded by God to make sure I don't treat them as enemies. I realized how many times I pray against other Christians that I simply disagree with, and that's just wrong. Fellow believers that we disagree with on non-essentials should never be treated as an enemy! How foolish I've been all these years. While I may disagree with someone, we are all still on the same team (those of us that profess Christ as our Lord and strive to live like Him every day). The Bible says that the world will know us by our LOVE for each other, not by our bickering back and forth. Open, honest, respectful dialogue is good and beneficial. Degrading, hateful arguments........not so much. I need to be better about how I express frustration with people, good people who may just think a little differently on some topics.
"They're not bad, they're just wrong."
Definitely not a P.C. statement. But I love the perspective.
So, how many of us actually love like Jesus loved? How many of us even try? Why is that do you think? Is it because of fear, because it will cost you something?
NEWSFLASH!!!!
Giving your life over to Christ does cost you something! I recently came across a quote that says "To be SAVED costs us nothing. To be a DISCIPLE costs us everything." When you become a Christian, your life is no longer your own (we hear this all the time). What that means is, we now strive to do what Christ did. We strive to follow the guidelines God has clearly marked out for us in Scripture. WHY? Not because God is a jerk, but because He knows the best way to live this life that He created.
Why do we second guess God so much? We can't follow him and live life by our own selfish ways. The ironic thing is, that if we follow God with our entire lives, the life we get in return will so far surpass anything we could achieve on our own power.
Let's love like Jesus loved today. Let's live like Jesus lived!
Monday, April 20, 2009
More Mark Batterson Brilliance
Here's another quote from In A Pit With A Lion On A Snowy Day.
"Maybe prayer is much more than a combination of the twenty-six letters of the English alphabet into words? I love Ted Loder's perspective in Guerillas of Grace:
"Maybe prayer is much more than a combination of the twenty-six letters of the English alphabet into words? I love Ted Loder's perspective in Guerillas of Grace:
'How shall I pray?
Are tears prayers, Lord?
Are screams prayers,
or groans
or sighs
or curses?
Can trembling hands be lifted to you,
or clenched fists
or the cold sweat that trickles down my back
or the cramps that knot my stomach?
Will you accept my prayers, Lord,
my real prayers,
rooted in the muck and mud and rock of my life,
and not just the pretty, cut-flower, gracefully arranged
bouqet of words?
Will you accept me, Lord,
as I really am,
messed up mixture of glory and grime?"
SIMPLE
FOOD
FOR
THOUGHT.
ENJOY.
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