Relational Numbness Is Not Acceptable

1/31/2012 06:49:00 AM / Posted by Mike Landry / comments (0)

John 11:33, 35 (NASB) When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and was troubled...Jesus wept.

God empathizes and has compassion.  It is not a detached show of emotion that Jesus has here.  He is not acting.  He genuinely hurts for Martha and Mary over their grief concerning the death of Lazarus.  Jesus knows the rest of the story.  He is going to raise Lazarus from the dead.  But this knowledge did not prevent Him from identifying with Mary and Martha and mourning with them as they mourned.

God wants us to be able to mourn when others mourn and rejoice when others rejoice.  This ability to empathize with others is a product of love.  It has been planted by God within us.  It is in our DNA.  To be made in the image of God means we have the ability to feel what others feel.  He definitely understands you and has created you with the ability to understand others.  To remain neutral and unaffected by the people around you is to deny, reject, and resist the very heart of God within you.


Relationships involve and require emotion.  Your lack of emotion may be due to past hurts and the defense and protective mechanisms you have put in place to help you cope.  It may also be the result of a self-centered disposition.  In either case, something must change.  Your ability to feel, and to feel with others, is a gift from God.  You miss out on so much in life when you reject His gift.  It will require becoming vulnerable.  It will be risky.  But it's worth it.


Don't allow relational numbness to become your acceptable norm for life.

POLITICAL CAMPAIGNING CAN MAKE YOU MAD…BUT ARE YOU PRAYING?

1/28/2012 02:33:00 PM / Posted by Mike Landry / comments (0)



1 Timothy 2:1-4 (NASB) First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

            Our nation is faced with an upcoming election that will have critical consequences.  We’d better be on our faces before God and praying about it.

            The candidates running for office are being slandered, lied about, and constantly criticized.  And if it’s the candidate you’re pulling for, it’s enough to make you hopping mad.  You’d better be praying or you may end up saying something you’ll regret.

            Sometimes we think that praying is the last option; and only exercised when everything else fails.  Why not try it first?  It is what God prescribes in His Word.  Philippians 4:6 tells us to “be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”  You know…He really can be trusted.

            And then there’s the apostle Paul’s counsel to Timothy (2 Tim 2:1-4) concerning the corrupt politicians in Rome, not to mention Caesar Nero who was about to have Paul executed.  He tells Timothy to pray and lead others to pray for the current leaders of the day.  Is that what you’re doing?

            How dare we ask God to make changes in our government and in our nation when we refuse to do what He has already prescribed.  Let’s renew our commitment to pray for our nation’s leaders.  Do it now.

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Thinking Comes First…But Be Careful What You Think

1/20/2012 05:21:00 PM / Posted by Mike Landry / comments (0)

             My wife and I recently went on a date and saw the movie, “The Iron Lady.”  It was an excellent biographical portrayal of Great Britain’s former Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher.  Her determination, decisiveness, and common sense gave her the edge she needed to ultimately become the first woman Prime Minister of Great Britain.  The movie is definitely worth seeing and there were a number of quotes worth remembering.  Let me tell you what my favorite Thatcher quote was.  
 
"Watch your thoughts for they become words. Watch your words for they become actions. Watch your actions for they become... habits. Watch your habits, for they become your character. And watch your character, for it becomes your destiny! What we think we become."            Margaret Thatcher in the movie, “The Iron Lady”

            These words are profound.  They describe, in detail, your life journey and the significance your thought life has on your future.

            Thoughts are infectious!  The thoughts you allow to circulate in your mind will ultimately find a home there and shape the very core values you eventually express with words and actions. 

You and I must learn to be selective with the thoughts we allow to circulate in our minds.  God’s Word instructs us to do this.  Every thought has an agenda…to shape your philosophy of life and prompt you to move in some direction.  We must filter our thoughts with truth.  Otherwise our feelings will control our minds and eventually produce words and actions that take us in a direction we will finally regret.

            To move in the direction God intended, you must begin by finding out what He thinks.  As you and I think about His thoughts, you will find that His Words begin to shape yours.  Actions will follow.  Good habits will form and shape your character.  Looking back, you will have no regrets and be known as a person of integrity.  So what are you waiting for?  Pick up your Bible and begin exposing your current thoughts with the filter of God’s truth.

“For as he thinks within himself, so he is.”  Prov 23:7
 “Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.”  Col 3:2
 “Finally brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.”  Phil 3:8
 “This book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.”  Josh 1:8
 “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”  Heb 4:12

2012 - Time To Go Through The Door

1/16/2012 10:11:00 PM / Posted by Mike Landry / comments (1)

The beginning of a new year invigorates me.  I like it because it has the aroma of a fresh start.  It prompts me to refocus, retool, rejuvenate, and return to doing what's most important.  It's not so much a time for resolutions as it is a time for repositioning and realigning.  Launching into 2012 with a renewed purpose will require clear navigational coordinates.  Repositioning and realigning means we must remember our calling from God and make sure our life's rudder is pointing us in that direction.

And just exactly what direction is that?  Jesus said His was "to seek and to save those who were lost." (Matt 18:11) He also said, "as the Father has sent Me, so send I you."(John 17:18)  His agenda and purpose are to become our agenda and purpose.  His agenda involves reconnecting lost people, discouraged people, hurting people, hopeless people, and confused people with Himself.  Bottom line...we are to do everything in our power to connect disconnected people to Jesus Christ.

So how do you do this?  It starts by being a friend.  Be sociable.  Spend time with people.  Honestly care about them.  Don't be so preoccupied with your own life that you cease to even see the people around you.  You calling from God is to help others to find God.  It's all boils down to relationships.

Why not take a moment...right now...and think about the people God has put in your path.  Next time you see them, plan to talk to them.  Ask God right now to help you to be extra sensitive to their needs and to grant you the compassion you'll need to understand how to communicate effectively with them.  You're going to find people will be much more open to your sharing Jesus with them when they first see that you genuinely care about them.

Look for the open door to share the Good News about Jesus with them.  Then walk through that door.  There's no other way.  As the Apostle Paul so eloquently put it in Romans 10:14, "How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?"

 Just do it!  You won't regret it.

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