I was running late for church one Saturday evening, but I was extremely hungry and thought I could concentrate on the message better if I ate dinner before I got there. That sounds like solid spirituality to me. So I drove quickly to one of my favorite fast food restaurants, grabbed my order from the drive through window and took off.
I was speeding down a road I was not familiar with when all of a sudden I see my lane is about to end. I signaled to get over and saw a white truck behind me. The driver of the white truck, for some reason, sped up. I suppose he didn’t want me ahead of him. In a “Go, or no go” situation I chose to go and got over in front of the white truck.
I was eating my burger and shoving fries in my mouth when I looked in the rear view mirror and saw the white truck tailgating.
I knew he wasn’t a tailgater, tailgating, to get to his tailgate party!
He followed me all the way to church. I pulled into a parking spot and this big guy hops out of his truck. All I could hear was, “LETS GET READY TO RUMBLE!” and then the fight bell go off. The man started speaking loud and using French words. Well, that’s what people say anyway, “Pardon my French!” I pointed out to him we were in a church parking lot and there were children around, so he toned it down.
I asked him, “Are you hurt, or did I damage your truck? He replied, “No.” I responded, “Then why are you so angry? And in fact, I had plenty of room to get over, but when you saw my blinker you sped up.” The man was wearing a black jacket from “Midas”. A company that fixes mufflers and other things on cars. I approached him and asked, “What’s going on in your life? You seem so angry. Is your job okay? Having problems at home, with your wife?” I saw a ring on the proper finger. Then I offered, “Can I pray for you?” It was then he bolted back into his truck and sped off.
A friend of mine sent me a recording the other day of a conversation he had with his boss’s boss. We talked about it a few days after that and I asked for his permission to speak honestly about what I heard. He gave me that freedom, and I said, “I felt as if you walked in there as a fighter and not a peacemaker.” My friend got the message and agreed.
Whenever you find yourself in the ring, in the middle of a disagreement, you have two positions you can take. Either a fighter, or a peacemaker. Trust me, for I have learned, being a peacemaker is the way to go. Yes, perhaps you were wronged, or your rights were violated, and you could be right, but what is more right is saying or doing whatever you can to bring peace.
Here is a different translation of a very familiar verse, Matthew 5:9 from The Message (MSG):
“You’re blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That’s when you discover who you really are, and your place in God’s family.”
I encourage you to climb out of the ring and do your best to be a peacemaker. You and the world will be a better place for it.
Copyright © 2020 Mark Brady. All rights reserved.
I was saddened the other night, as I watched a news report, of a man whose prison sentence had been commuted. Not so much because he was out early, but when he spoke to the reporters it seemed as if he had not changed at all. He still came across arrogant, and defiant, as if he did nothing wrong. He felt he was unjustly charged, but was found guilty and put behind bars. Prison didn’t change him.
If God healed me of one of my issues, there would be no reason to go to the doctor who is treating me for that issue. The truth is though that doctor is searching for God. Over the last two years I have developed a safe and trusted relationship with him as I listen to his thoughts, and opinions and he listens to mine. If God healed me, who would be there to share the gospel with him? Sure, God could send a new patient, but building that relationship takes time. Also, would the next patient be open to share God?
Every day, about 4:10 PM, I see a Southwest Airlines jet flying over my house, if I am outside at the time, and if the wind is blowing from the south. I did some research and found the plane starts in Dallas, TX. as flight #21, flies to Houston, TX. and changes its flight number to #449. It’s known as a “scheduled” flight.
God’s is speaking a lot lately, through many means, but seems to be saying the same thing. When that happens, pay attention and listen to the message, because God doesn’t want you to miss it.
Have you ever wondered why you do things and it doesn’t go like you thought it would? I mean you roll played it in your head so many times and not one of those times did it go like it did in real life. What actually went down, you never ever imagined. You’re hurt. You’re angry at God. You don’t understand how it wound up like this. Let me tell you why it did.
Yes, they’re out there. They do exist. In fact, I’ve seen them. They can be difficult to spot, because they live their life without revealing their secret, they’re Christians.
You finally drop off to sleep, and when you wake up the next morning you have a few seconds of peace before the pain of your current life situation comes crashing back into your mind like a tsunami. You lay there and say to yourself, “Oh yeah”. You force yourself to get out of bed, but if it wasn’t for having to go to the bathroom you would more likely pull the covers over your head and try to go back to sleep.
brady, mark a. 