Positive Minute

Live An Unhurried Life

“The way of fools seems right to them, but the wise listen to advice.” – Proverbs 12:15 I challenged you yesterday to serve your neighbor, which I consider anyone within 15 feet of you. And a good rule of thumb as you live your life and interact with those in your sphere of influence, is to try to be relaxed and unhurried. Being in a rush and stressed out makes it difficult to love others well and enjoy your surroundings. Take for instance, one night I forgot I promised Hannah I would be home at a certain time. I often ride my bike for 45 minutes along a beautiful bike path to the church from my house. I realized I was running late so I pedaled as hard as I could, and I tried to turn a 45-minute ride into 15/20 minutes. I went as fast as humanly possible, sweating

March 22, 2023 No Comments

Who Do We Reach?

“The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” – Mark 12:31 This past week I’ve shared that Jesus encourages us to become salt and light to those around us. The next step in this process would be to ask, “So, who do we reach?” It is not uncommon for many of us to think that God is calling us to go to the other side of the world to serve. And some do go there. But God is calling you to love your neighbor. Who are your neighbors or your near-dwellers? I consider anyone within 15 feet of you as your neighbor. Imagine a 15-foot invisible hula hoop around you. Wherever you are, anyone inside it qualifies as your neighbor. It’s easy to only select certain people in that loop. However, you should consider everyone in your hula hoop space of 15

March 21, 2023 No Comments

Be the Light for Someone

“Light in a messenger’s eyes brings joy to the heart, and good news gives health to the bones.” – Proverbs 15:30 I’ve been talking about Biblical light the past few days. Do you need light in your life? Then be the light for someone else. Think about a lightbulb. When you turn a lightbulb on, the lightbulb itself contains the most light. The room gets some light, but the lightbulb gets the most. When you lean into this idea of being a light for someone else, you find that everything in your life becomes lighter, brighter, and better. There’s just something about choosing today to be a light for your neighbor; it creates for you all the light you need! When we have an opportunity to approach someone who is suffering, sometimes we hesitate to extend kindness and reach out to them. The first thought many of us have is,

March 20, 2023 No Comments

Don’t Hide Your Light

“Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.” – Matthew 5:15 In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus tells us not to hide our light under a bushel. Do you know what that means? If you’re not familiar with ancient oil lamps, the oil is put in the top opening and the wick is put in the other opening, which is similar to a candle. It was typical for desert homes back then to have fifteen to twenty oil lamps around the house at night. Getting these lamps to light could be challenging; it’s like trying to start a campfire without matches or lighters. Whenever the last person of the house left for the evening, they would leave one lamp lit and cover it with a bushel, which was a container

March 19, 2023 1 Comment

The Best Way to Learn Something

“In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach.” – Acts 1:1 There are certain things in life that we understand are best learned by teaching. The best way to become something is to become it for a student, to become it for the people you lead, for your children, for your colleagues, or for your neighbors. There are many situations in which we learn by teaching. One man may share that he rises above his hardships, depression, or anxiety by helping others escape their ruts. A woman may lead AA meetings to help her stay sober. Another might say they are a personal trainer so that they can stay fit. I recently heard someone say that most pastors only study their Bibles once a week to prepare for their sermons, and I thought, well that’s pretty good! If your only reason

March 18, 2023 3 Comments

You Are the Salt of the Earth

“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.” – Matthew 5:13 I shared yesterday that part of our purpose is to add salt and light to the lives of others! You may be wondering what it is about salt that makes it so special. In Jesus’ day, during the Roman Empire, salt was very valuable. It was used as a preservative, a cleanser and a form of money. With no modern refrigeration, the way people preserved meat was to dip it in a salt brine and hang it up. Vegetables and other foods that would otherwise perish were also preserved with salt. In addition to being a preservative, salt was a cleanser and bacteria killer. With all its beneficial properties, it became

March 17, 2023 No Comments

We Are Salt and Light

“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. ‘You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.’ ” – Matthew 5:13,14 Jesus tells us in one of His well-known sermons that we are salt and light. It’s who we are. Strangely, salt can lose its saltiness and light can lose its loftiness. It seems impossible that these elements could lose their strength, but they do. Some of you used to be nicer and there was a certain zest in your life. You carried a light, and you were full of love and kindness to everyone around you. But now, maybe your light and salt have diminished. You think what you want is the will to

March 16, 2023 2 Comments

Come Out of Your Comfort Zone

“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them.” – Luke 6:32 Yesterday we talked about the importance of the will to love and one man’s regrets. I want to expand on this today because to be truly effective in showing love, we sometimes have to move out of our comfort zone! One day while returning to my car, I walked down the sidewalk through an area I know well. There was no one around except for a man in a suit around my age, weeping on the sidewalk. As I witnessed this, the pastor in me knew I had to do something for him. I even felt the Holy Spirit nudging me to stop and pray with him, take a moment to speak to him, wrap my arm around him, and ask how he was doing. As I

March 15, 2023 No Comments

The Importance of the Will to Love

“By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” – John 13:35 Today I’d like to discuss the importance of the will to love. Not the will to live but the will to love. George Saunders, a famous essayist, was invited to give a graduation speech at Syracuse University. In his remarks he said millions of these kinds of speeches have been given. He said usually an “old guy” like him imparts wisdom, life’s lessons, and tells the graduates that they can accomplish anything they set their mind to. It’s good to hear these things, but he said the best question to ask an old guy is: “What is your greatest regret in life?” He first shared what he doesn’t regret, which is every horrible job he had or every time he was poor and did not have food to eat. That builds character.

March 14, 2023 1 Comment

Becoming Authentic

“Similarly, encourage the young men to be self-controlled. In everything set them an example by doing what is good.” – Titus 2:6,7 The best way to love others is simply to live out the great commandment before them. When you love the Lord your God with your whole heart, soul, and mind, it gets the attention of those around you. Even better, if you take your love for Him and transfer it to others without showing favor or partiality, your life speaks so loudly that people actually want to listen. You see, the youth of today is looking for authenticity above all else. A recent study of millennials (who comprise nearly a quarter of the U.S. population), found that traditional advertising techniques don’t work at all when it comes to getting the attention of this socially-conscious generation. To them, bigger doesn’t mean better and the millions of dollars spent on

March 13, 2023 1 Comment

Live An Unhurried Life

Who Do We Reach?

Be the Light for Someone

Don’t Hide Your Light

The Best Way to Learn Something

You Are the Salt of the Earth

We Are Salt and Light

Come Out of Your Comfort Zone

The Importance of the Will to Love

Becoming Authentic

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