Tell Me Something Good?

Will: Don’t be sad Clark.

Clark: Tell me something good?

In times of uncertainty where we find ourselves shaken by current events and circumstances, one of our most human assets can go astray… HOPE!

Hope is a feeling of expectation and desire for a particular thing to happen, to expect with confidence, expectation of fulfilment or success… TRUST. It’s the breath that causes us to rise in the morning to fight another day. The gentle voice that whispers “you’ll be ok” to the screaming mind in the midnight hour of personal hell on earth. The thing that causes us to believe in something, for something more and better to come.

Desiring not to spoil the plot of the text ‘Me Before You;’  due to the current circumstance Clark found herself in, her hearts cry manifested into one simple question, “tell me something good?”

Clark had no control over the circumstance she was in and became overwhelmed. In her constant battle with the situation, the hope that was strong in the beginning began to grow weary… fail.

When hope fails, vision changes. We can no longer see; or can with very little illumination, the things which once were. The things we used to have hope in or for. You could say that we die a little more and more inside.

In a world where diseases strike nations, systems collapse, the true natures of men (people) are revealed, nature suffers, the climate shifts and uncertainty strangles any chance of a bright future, WHAT is our hope and WHO is speaking it?

THERE IS A VOICE…

And David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because all the people were bitter in soul, each for his sons and daughters. But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God. (1 Samuel 30:6 – English Standard Version)

When David (from the bible) was downcast because of external situations around him, he internally strengthened himself in God. God was the WHAT and WHO of his hope.

Will: I wi-li-lished I li-li-lived in Molahonkey la-la-land. The la-la-land where I-li-li was bo-lo-lo-lo-lo-lo lorn…

When Clark was downcast, Will sang the childhood song her father sang to her when she wasn’t well. The song of her father became the WHAT and WHO of her hope.

We all need an answer to this question. God was David’s answer. Clark’s father’s childhood song was her answer. When neither of them could answer their own question, their true source of hope revealed the answer to them. What’s your answer?

With everything that is going on around us and every circumstance we find or have ever found ourselves in, WHAT and WHO is our hope? What is its source?

Our heart is manifesting the question, “tell me something good? Our hope is the thing that will answer this question. Your WHAT and WHO is its source. Let us examine the true source of our hope.

 

 

 

Kong: Skull Island- Skull Perspective

You probably thought this post was about the latest Kong movie – Kong: Skull Island. If you thought this then you were 50 percent correct, as an element of this post is about the film. However, I want to share another element with you of which is the unexpected, untainted and hidden message of PERSPECTIVE – ‘the state of one’s idea, a mental view’ (Dictionary.com). Walk with me…

*** THIS IS NOT A SPOILER ALERT. THIS IS NOT A SPOILER ALERT ***… I hope!

Lieutenant Colonel Preston Packard (played by Samuel L. Jackson) is part of a team of select individuals (including soldiers, scientists and explorers), who venture into the uncharted island of a new found world in the Pacific, finding the domain of Kong and other creatures. When first approaching Kong, Packard and his men attacked him. Kong; obviously, fought back and killed many of Packard’s men. Packard wanted to avenge the deaths of his men by aiming to kill Kong, and also saw Kong as a threat because he was something new; never seen before.

Now this is where the film striked me the most for two reasons:

1. Packard did not acknowledge his own actions (he and his men FIRST attacked Kong, and then Kong responded).
2. Packard did not discern: assess, judge, and conclude (accurately) Kong; the something new.

It’s interesting how a fictional scene can be used to reflect reality, a person’s nature and habits. What I want to pose to you is: HOW DO YOU RESPOND TO SOMETHING NEW? What do you do?

• Do you seek wisdom from God and/ or wise counsel in order to discern: assess, judge and conclude accurately before making a decision that enables you to move in the right direction?
• Do you act dependant upon what you see, think and/ or feel?
• Do you act or maybe not act at all?
• Do you investigate to try and find out more information?
• Do you revert to your default nature and habits by trusting in yourself and what you know/ think you know? Your own judgements and opinions.

Going back to Kong, he’s a massive ape and if real we would probably run for the hills if we are honest with ourselves. Some however, would run to meet the challenge, but some won’t. Kong was something never to have been seen before and sometimes we as humans can be fearful, unsure, or even jealous of things that are new. This could be a specific person or group of people, a situation or circumstance; etc, anything pertaining to or revolving in or around ourselves and life. There may be other reasons amongst these but these are a few to be named. Our perspective of these things is VERY IMPORTANT. What we see and how we see is very key as it leads to how we respond; life or death to us in many ways.

What I love about Kong is that if Packard and his men waited for just a moment; paused and applied the two key points earlier mentioned and challenged their perspectives before responding, then they would have seen that Kong was not the bad guy. They would have seen and knew that this something new was good and would protect them.

Not all new things are good which is why we must discern: assess, judge, and conclude accurately. We must seek wise counsel, ask and walk in wisdom and understanding, and then move in direction. We need to stop and think, ask the questions and get answers before moving forward in our decisions (controlling our actions). Don’t lean on your own understanding – Proverbs 3:5-6.

Kong’s heart was good and was to protect the island and all living things on it, he was protecting them from the real monsters. However, Packard and his men failed to see this because of their perspective of something new. They failed to challenge their perspective and let go of what they knew/ wanted; a failure to see their own actions and to discern: assess, judge and conclude accurately.

Let us challenge our perspectives today to the people and things around us:

• What is good and what is not?
• What do we need to be open to?
• What do we not need to be open to?
• What do we need to reconsider?

Ask questions and get the answers you need. Ask for wisdom and gain understanding before discerning, assessing, judging and concluding. Packard and his men failed to do this and died because of their perspective. Many times we fall short because of what we see and what we think we know. Don’t be like one who walks around in the wilderness and dies as some of the people of Israel did in the Bible (Numbers 26:65, Joshua 5:6, Numbers 32:13, Exodus 16:3, Hebrews 3:7-19,) or die because of lack of understanding (Hosea 4:6).

Choose to follow the necessary process before making decisions. Challenge perspective and walk in a freedom that can be given to you if you need it; just ask (James 1:5, Matthew 7:7-8). Don’t miss out on what could be a blessing in your life.

 

 

 

Come Correct

Like any well oiled machine, we all need maintaining. Regardless of age, religion, culture or race, we seem to have a common issue; CORRECTION.

We live in a society where rebellion, disobedience and lawlessness lives. We don’t always listen, we don’t always follow instruction, we feel we have to have an answer for everything. We don’t like being told what to do, and even shun people who put us on the right path because of this little thing called correction.

Correct means: to set or make true, accurate, or right; remove the errors or faults from, to point out or mark the errors in, to scold, rebuke, or punish in order to improve.

Correction disciplines us (training to act in accordance with rules).

Correction is quite the taboo subject these days. If we are truly honest with ourselves we secretly hate being wrong. That little monster on the inside of us can raise up at the first sign of thinking we know better when we may actually not. That little ounce of pride oozes inside us, which either causes us to run from the truth or take it in order to grow from it.

Correction has two routes in your life dependant upon your attitude (how you think). It will either be your friend and mature you, or you will make it your enemy and eventually self destruct.

A short while back I wrote a post called An Untouchable Nature. It was about having an unbreakable nature, for better or worse.

Correction is the rod that breaks an untouchable nature. Correction re-shapes what can be touched, which is why you must have a teachable spirit/ nature.

You must allow yourself to become pliable. Not only to have the ability to learn or re-learn but to also be able to sustain it, THIS is the growing agent needed for correction to continue throughout your life. You have to be open to being teachable (capable of being instructed).

Responsibility and accountability must be your allies.

Whatever you correct must first be dealt with within yourself.

Matthew 7:3-5: Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.

It is so easy to point out another mans fault but the true challenge is to point out your own. I do not mean in terms of self esteem, but in terms of truth.

A man (universal context) will never hear you or take heed of correction from you if he sees the behaviour of that same seed which you are correcting him with, on the inside of you.

You cannot correct what is not corrected inside of yourself first.

Mark 4:24 and Luke 8:18 speak of WATCHING HOW YOU HEAR. If you hear correction and do not take it, you have not heard it but you have listened to it. There is a difference between hearing (to learn by the ear or being told by) and listening (give attention with the ear).

Just because you have heard someone say something it does not mean that you have taken it on board. The difference is the decision we personally make on whether we act or not upon that which we have just heard.

You have to hear what is being said, as to whether you agree or not in truth rather than emotion. This is why you must be teachable as you have to be able to hear what is being said, weigh it up as to whether there is truth in it or not, and then act accordingly mentally, spiritually and physically.

Romans 12:2- And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

We must change the way we think about correction. To be put right, regardless of how we feel, is actually a good thing. It is better to be blessed for having a good character that has been forged by correction in life, than a character that stinks of pride and rebellion.

Why let pride have its perfect way in you? To be wise (having the power of discerning and judging properly as to what is true or right; possessing discernment, judgment, or discretion) is far better than a wounded ego.

We are familiar with the phrase YOLO (you only live once). So why not hear, take on board and make positive changes in a world that needs it.

Proverbs 1: 1-7- To know wisdom and instruction, To discern the sayings of understanding, To receive instruction in wise behaviour, Righteousness, justice and equity; To give prudence to the naive, To the youth knowledge and discretion, A wise man will hear and increase in learning, And a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel, To understand a proverb and a figure, The words of the wise and their riddles. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Correction makes a person wise because they learn from situations and circumstances.

Hebrews 12:6 and Revelation 3:19 speak of God correcting those he loves. Why should we on earth be any different?

Don’t be afraid or deluded by not wanting to be corrected. You will be gifted by it in the end.

The Sowers Seed

“Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seeds. As he scattered them across his field, some seeds fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate them. Other seeds fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seeds sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow.  But the plants soon wilted under the hot sun, and since they didn’t have deep roots, they died.  Other seeds fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants.  Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted!  Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.” Matthew 13: 3-9 (NLT)

This story speaks of a farmer who plants seeds. It is illustrated to us that there are different types of soil which either promote or demote the growth of the seed once planted.

I wish not to talk about the soil but the seed itself, about man-made seeds. To understand the scope of my thoughts you must first understand what I mean by seeds. The dictionary defines seed as ‘any propagative part of a plant, including tubers, bulbs, etc., especially as preserved for growing a new crop.’ In less scientific speech, the part of a plant that creates reproduction, growth. It reproduces its own kind.

A farmer must know what seed to plant and how to look after it. Putting this into a spiritual, emotional and mental context; we are farmers too. We are farmers in two perspectives;

1. We must know what seeds are or are being planted within us.
2. We must be aware of what seeds we plant within others.

What seeds are inside of us? Doubt, fear, wrath, pain, unforgiveness, bitterness, strength, jealousy, love, hope, strife, dishonesty, loyalty, laziness, joy, lust, etc., the list goes on. There are many different seeds, we are responsible for the seeds that we allow to grow inside of us and their fruit (behaviours, attitudes, etc). These seeds are not originally created by man but they become man made seeds when planted as we have the choice to allow them to grow or uproot them.

Life has a way of producing certain seeds within us through how we respond to our situations and circumstances; however what about seeds we plant in others?

A less attractive but polished way to show this is through the film Alien Resurrection. Alien eggs have been planted inside human beings. Hating to state the obvious, aliens and humans are different species so we know that when the alien hatches that it is not going to be a pretty sight for the human. Likewise, this is also the case in less graphics with when we plant corruptible seeds in others. Just like the alien broke out, so do the wrong seeds when planted in others. The person will take on the nature of that which was planted.

Another visual of this is through Prue from the TV series Charmed. In series 3 episode 6, Prue comes across an innocent who is cursed with feeling all the pain of the world. The innocent is really a demon but Prue being unaware of his true identity helps him. Her spell backfires and she ends up with what he was cursed with. As this was not Prue’s portion, she began to fall because of that which she had taken upon herself.

Prue unable to contain the corruptible seed within

Alien Resurrection and Charmed let us know that there are two different routes in which man made seeds are planted. Alien Resurrection shows that others plant wrong seeds and Charmed shows that through lack of discernment we can take on the wrong seeds, another’s battle that is not ours.

Once a seed has been planted it goes through a process of growth. Either way, corruptible man made seeds bring death.

What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.” Matthew 15:11 (NIV)

That which is on the inside will eventually manifest on the outside. We must take a long look at ourselves, externally and internally, to see what seeds are inside us. Character and speech will tell us what is on the inside.

Seeds because of their reproductive nature will affect others, whether good or bad. Let us check ourselves today and seek help and change for making sure we do not find ourselves reproducing bad seeds or even taking on bad seeds ourselves.