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.