In my last blog, I mentioned being in the Philippines. On that trip, one thing that really caught me off guard, was how hard it was to try to blend in. For instances, when in a grocery store I was looking for chili to put on hot dogs. They took me to the hot sauce isle. Then trying to speak their language was a disaster most of the time. They have a phrase there when you are trying to speak a foreign language, and doing a poor job of it, your nose bleeds. My bled a lot! The most difficult part was trying to accept how they do things there. At times, it felt like a part of me was dying. To quote Seinfeld, “If the two worlds collide, the George you know, will no longer exist!”
Going through this experience made me think of someone trying to live for God, and trying to fit in with the world. It doesn’t work, and usually, someone will get hurt. You! As it turns out God doesn’t think too much of it either. In Rev. 3:16 it says that God would rather you be hot or cold. And if you insist on being lukewarm, He will spit you out of his mouth.
So this very day make a decision. Accept God, and live for him, or don’t. That way, people who encounter you will know what to expect from you. And if you try not to make that decision today, I assure you, as the days move closer to the last one, you will be forced to.
Copyright © 2018 Mark Brady, All rights reserved
Traveling to new places can be exciting, exhilarating, and exuberant. It can also be daunting, especially when your phone doesn’t work. One of my mother’s friends said, before my trip to the Philippines, that he couldn’t even find the airport in his home town, much less one 7000 miles away. Trust me, there were many times when I was praying, a lot. Especially when I arrived and couldn’t find my host family. Turned out, United had started using a different terminal in Manilla 3 days before my arrival.
On a recent trip to the Philippines, I saw a lot of life I had never seen before. I experienced several new things as food, phrases, and culture. One thing that I couldn’t help but notice was the local rival to McDonalds, Jollibee. It has what McDonalds has as well a local favorite, chicken with rice and gravy.
My phone is short on battery life. Some are short on money. Many find themselves short on time, but there is one thing we are never ever short of, and that, is the love of God!
In Exodus 14:14-18 it says when the people heard they were scared. The Philistines writhed and trembled; Yes, even the head men in Edom were shaken, and the big bosses in Moab. Everybody in Canaan panicked and fell faint. Dread and terror sent them reeling.
I was going through my father’s papers the other day. I had to keep some of them, but most of them were old records about his life that were no longer of value, so I shredded them. While going through that process I thought about a man’s life, and the summation of it all. Is the end result a bag of shredded documents? I hope not.
I have always said, “I would rather be one mile behind God than one inch in front of him!” But recently, I feel as though I am trying to catch my breath doing my best to keep up with him. It’s as if I am running late to the party, God has been inviting me to all year. I just didn’t see it. He was orchestrating a new season in my life, and I didn’t even notice him hanging the decorations.
Like clothing, put on love before leaving the house. Others will appreciate it.
I was looking for my leftover Christmas cards when I came across a Father’s Day card that never got sent this year, because he passed the previous month. It caused me to pause and think about words unsaid.
brady, mark a. 