“Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” Proverbs 4:23 (NLT)

Suppose you came to visit me one day and found me working in my garden. I explain to you that the garden is a gift from my father. I then ask you to join me as I collect some seeds to plant. You have always thought I was a bit crazy, but what I do next removes all doubt. You watch me walk into a field and begin to gather seeds from weeds. Crab grass seeds, dandelion seeds, chickweed seeds, and others. I fill the bag with a variety of “weed” seeds and return to the garden. You cannot believe what you have seen and say, “I thought you wanted a garden full of flowers and fruit.” I reply, “I do.” You say, “Then why not plant the right seeds?” My response, “Do you know how much those seeds cost? Moreover, it is such a long ways to drive all the way to the garden center to get the good seeds. No thanks, I just do not have the time. Besides, this is good ground and I think these seeds will produce something different from weeds.” You walk away muttering something about a one French fry short of a Happy Meal.

It does not take a genius farmer to understand that you can only harvest what you sow; you can only reap what you plant. Funny, what we have come to believe and know about developing land, we tend to forget when it comes to hearts.

The hearts of our children are fertile gardens ready to provide a crop from whatever seeds we plant. The planting of seeds happens in many ways. One of the ways that is most often overlooked, but seems to be the one that teaches the best is modeling. We all learn from models, examples of how to do it. When engineers design a prototype, they then make a model to see if it works. People use models every day to understand and explain the world around us. Most times, we forget that others are watching. It is only when we hear a voice that sounds familiar (at least it should sound familiar because it sounds like our voice repeating something that we have said), and or witness a person’s reaction to an event that we realize that we have taught this behavior.

Jesus, when teaching His disciples said to them, “Come, follow me…” meaning don’t just trail after me, but do what I do, be what I am, become like me. He showed them how to love people regardless of their cultural background, occupation, or tarnished lifestyle. He gave them an example of a suffering servant. We would do well to remember that there are eyes watching what we say, and what we do. They are learning how to live, by watching the very example of living that we represent.

How are you doing at cultivating your heart? Whom are you following? What have you done to cultivate the hearts of those around you? It is not about trying to be perfect. It is about realizing that what you do and say lives beyond the now, and knowing that if you point to truth the path will be clear for those who follow.

Thanks for reading!

“May the Master take you by the hand and lead you along the path of God’s love and Christ’s endurance.” 2 Thessalonians 3:5 (MSG)

How is your sense of direction? Not that long ago my wife and I were preparing to go to a birthday party over on the Eastside. I had been experiencing computer trouble that day and had sufficiently messed up our internet connection, and so found myself wondering how I was going to find the location of the birthday party since I could not “MapQuest” the location. Right then my brother-in-law called and asked if we had left yet. They were planning on attending the same party. I told him no, and that I needed help locating where the party was to be held. He gave me directions from his house. I wrote them down quickly, but then thought, this really will not help because we are not leaving from his house. At any rate, we hopped into the car and off we went. It was not until we were on I-520 that I realized it. In my rush to get ready I had left the directions sitting on the desk at home. Now we were already several miles from our home and 15 minutes late for the party. All we had was the invitation, prayer, and my memory…well two out of three is not too bad. As it turned out, after driving around for a while we were able to locate the party and ended up only being about 30 minutes late. It sure would have been easier with a map, but in the end we made it.

Life is tough enough as it is. It is even tougher when we do not know which way to go, or if we start heading the wrong direction, or spend a lot of time going in circles trying to find our destination. One of the things I admire most about Jesus was his ability to stay on target. His life never got off track. Not once do you find him wandering around looking at a map, scratching his head, or lost. He had no money, no computer, no administrative assistant, or staff; yet Jesus did what many of us fail to do. He kept his life on course.

Staying on track can be difficult especially when it is so easy to be distracted. We can help ourselves by asking a few questions: 1) Am I fitting into God’s plan (Romans 8:28; 2 Corinthians 5:20)? 2) What are my longings (Psalm 37:4; Ephesians 2:10)? 3) What are my abilities (Romans 12:3)? And, 4) Am I serving God now (Luke 2:49; Colossians 3:23)? Why not take a few minutes and evaluate your direction? The great thing is that if you need to make a course correction you can. Take the advice from 1 Peter 4:2, and start fresh today.

Thanks for reading!

“Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God.” Romans 4:20

There used to be this show on television called “Dragnet.” Do you remember it? It was the story of a dedicated Los Angeles police detective, Sergeant Joe Friday, and his partners. The show is considered by many to be the most famous and influential police procedural drama in American media history. Many are familiar with a line from Detective Joe Friday, whether they watched the show or not, that he used during the course of interviewing a suspect, “All we want are the facts, Ma’am.”

It is seems odd how sometimes “facts” keep you from “truth?” You might be scratching your head and wondering, “What is he talking about?” Let me try to explain.

Every week, I spend much of my time doing one of two things: one, removing “roadblocks” for my staff so that they can render the best in quality education and service to our students and families; and two, helping individuals and small groups resolve problems. Often, the problems are of an interpersonal nature. Problems always have multiple sides, and depending upon whom you talk with, problems are loaded with facts. Most times, especially when there is a high amount of emotion, the facts are relayed in a manner that most benefits a persons’ personal position. “He said….she said,” are only snippets of the stories that are told. Frequently, when a person is intent upon sharing a multitude of facts the reason is not to make sure truth is known, but to provide proof or justification for action (or lack thereof).

Sometimes facts can cloud or compromise faith. The Bible has many examples of times when people had the facts but missed the truth. Take for example Abraham and Sarah. Some of the facts were they were both very old (especially for starting a family), and up to this point in their lives they were unable to conceive a child. The truth of the matter was that God had a plan that went beyond the facts they could see and understand. Another example is that of Zacchaeus. The facts: excommunicated by the church because of his vocation (a cheat, considered a low-life, a sinner). The truth: Jesus saw someone who needed healing in his life. As a result, Zacchaeus receives salvation and then blesses the community and those from which he had stolen.

...Facts...Truth...Faith...

How do you view the facts in your life? How are you at seeing the truth in the midst of those facts? Are there facts holding you back, causing you to doubt the promises of God? What truth has become elusive because of the facts? I am sure if you could speak with Abraham, Sarah, or Zacchaeus they could tell you about the truth that was opened up for them despite the facts.

Thanks for reading!