Quote Contemplations

“I used to want to fix people, but now I just want to be with them.” –  Bob Goff *

 

            It’s often been said that men want to fix things and women want security. I don’t know how true that is, but it sounds about right to me. The thing is we may think a lot of people need fixing, but all they really want to be loved or appreciated for who they are. I think that is what the essence of Bob Goff’s quote is.  Instead of looking at people and only seeing the faults, flaws, or problems, we need to look more clearly at them and see who they truly are. 

            There are people with annoying habits or in your face personas that are really only crying out for attention. People have a desire to feel like they matter. The more folks are the target of destructive statements, the more they will begin to embody what’s been said. If you’re told you are lazy loser, over time you will begin to believe you are lazy loser. Conversely, if you are told you are awesome blessing, you will begin to feel good about yourself. 

            Do you have a burning desire to fix someone? Why not simply go and spend time with them and get to know them for who they truly are. As a follower of Christ we may find an opening to share our testimony with them. That should NOT be the sole reason we reach out to people. St. Francis of Assisi is quoted as saying: “Preach the gospel at all times & if necessary, use words.” Live like Jesus did, not literally as in dress how he dressed, eat what he ate, no... live like Jesus from a behavioral perspective. Only God can fix people; we just need to know them and befriend them for the sole reason of making them feel loved. 

            Jesus made everyone feel included and of value. He treated everyone the same. We are to be the same way. Until next time, walk with the King & be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

* Robert Kendall Goff (born February 22, 1959) is an American lawyer, speaker, and author.

Quote Contemplations

“Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.” – Albert Einstein 

            To be a success in life you must be able to accomplish whatever goal you happen to set for yourself. Success has the potential to become egocentric in that you do things for your own notoriety; for your own sake and not necessarily for anyone else, though certainly not always. Pride and arrogance CAN become enemies of success if they are allowed to be. Achieving success on any level for the betterment of humankind is admirable and also desirable. This must be kept in mind, so you seek success for the right reason(s).

            To be of value means to be useful.  It can mean a few other things, but for my purposes “useful” fits the bill. It is commonly used to indicate that something or someone provides a benefit, or significance, and is not always assigned to monetary worth.  

While it is true that a benefit of success can be that it is useful as well, being useful as an individual can have a positive influence on all who are touched by one’s usefulness. 

The quote on top isn’t tied to spirituality per se, but can be fashioned in such a way as to edify believers. Matthew 10:31 states that believers in Christ are of more value than the sparrows of the field. Hence, we are of great value. As we spread the Gospel the words of God enhance the value of the receiver. 

It would seem that just as trust is linked to faith, so success is linked to value. When a person is of value then their words and actions become more important. Think of Paul or Peter as just two examples of men of value who were successful in what they did, though it never translated into financial gain. Many times just the opposite. Be a person of value to those around you. Until next time, walk with the King & be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

You Are Loved!!

         Life can be very hard at times. It can be unfair. There are times when we can feel forgotten, overlooked, or even unloved, even by the ones who made a covenant to love, honor, and cherish till death do us part. There’s something I’d like to impart to you all. YOU ARE LOVED!! You are not loved superficially, but rather eternally. Almighty God, who created you in your mother’s womb, loves you deeply and without reservation. He created you out of love, and sent His Son to die in your place out of love. His greatest gift to mankind is a life for a life. Even if we wanted to, we could never do for ourselves what Christ did for us all. 

            If you feel down and out today; if you feel disregarded or irrelevant, know this day that you are loved more than any person on this earth could love another. Our attempts at loving someone, whether family, friend, or spouse end up being weak and in many cases unacceptable in the eyes of the God and the recipient.  The only way we can know how to love anyone is thru our relationship with God. 

            This world has no idea how to love another person. It has nothing to do with the material goods, money, or sex. Those are by products of loving someone, but in and of themselves are inconsequential. 

            The bottom line here is that if you desire to actually BE loved, you must tap into God. You must turn control of your life over to Him, not just as Savior, but as Lord. The world has sold you a bill of goods; a cheap imitation. If it weren’t true then why are there so many “loving” couples getting divorced? God’s Word tells us we are loved by Him. You will find true love nowhere else.

            Until next time, walk with the King & allow Him to love you.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Quote Contemplations

“It’s NEVER right to do wrong, but conversely, it’s NEVER wrong to do right.” – RL Keller

            The wrong thing may be easier, it may be more profitable, or may make you popular with the wrong crowd, but the wrongs things are addressed in Proverbs. The Amplified Bible translates Proverbs 14:12 thusly; “There is a way which seems right to a man and appears straight before him, but its end is the way of death.” Could mean physical death; however, when man goes his own way his spiritual presence drowns in a sea of conceit & ignorance. Man feels that going it alone is the correct path to take. On that path man is enticed with many questionable things. There are many tangent paths one could take.

            Doing the right thing is always preferable, with one caveat... a person’s heart motivation. Your motivation for doing something is known to God alone (and the doer of the action him or herself, of course). God judges our heart’s motivation. Doing something for recognition or notoriety is arrogant and worthless in God’s economy. A humble spirit allows a person to do whatever happens to be necessary without fanfare. Not being noticed is or at least should be their goal.

In Matthew 6:3, Jesus says "don't let your right hand know what your left hand is doing". In other words, give so discreetly that the giver themselves doesn’t dwell on their own generosity.  They want to show that the act was motivated by pure love rather than a desire for any sort of recognition. Until next time, walk with the King & be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Quote Contemplations

“Wealth, if you use it, comes to an end; learning, if you use it, increases.” – Swahili Proverb

            What a great proverb!! Money may pay for a lot of things, and it certainly is necessary to survive, but it is not the end all and be all of anything. However, when you learn something new it stays with you forever. The Bible teaches us that “... the love of money [that is, the greedy desire for it and the willingness to gain it unethically] is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves [through and through] with many sorrows.” [1 Timothy 6:10 Amplified Bible]  

A common misconception is that money itself is evil, but that would be incorrect. What I’ve said many times is that there is nothing wrong with acquiring wealth. What’s important is “how you got it and what you do with it”. 

Money is a very important resource, but it will never be as important as the acquiring of knowledge. You can accumulate knowledge thru the years and have it at your disposal for a lifetime. Knowledge can help you in so many ways; but monetary gain can only do so much. From a biblical perspective, knowledge can lead a person to salvation, but money cannot save a man’s soul. You cannot buy your way into heaven or God’s good favor. Those things are offered by God freely thru your seeking forgiveness from a lifetime of iniquities.

Learning is one thing, but concentrating on learning scripture from God’s Word is where your future takes off in a spiritual direction. You cannot lose by investing time in God. The vast benefits can only be of a positive nature and not negative. So keep money where it belongs and devote more of your time to learning life altering teachings from our Lord. 

Until next time, walk with the King & be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Quote Contemplations

“Fear is only as deep as the mind allows.” – Japanese Proverb

 

            A dear sweet Christian woman from my past had a saying that I found to be true. It was “Truth is truth wherever you find it. Just eat the meat and pull out the bones.” The above proverb falls under that category.

The Samurai Code suggests that fear is a mental construct rather than a physical reality.  Simply put, a ‘mental construct’ is something that is constructed by one’s mind. Our imagination can be very active as we invent in our minds scenarios that may or may not take place. We don’t KNOW that they will but the possibility of a certain thing actually happening can generate fear in one’s mind. This is how anxiety takes place, and it’s purely mental. 

I know about anxiety because back in the ‘80s I was dealing with a lot of very stressful situations at work and at home. Some were my doing and some were part of the rigors of my job. Fear is not a fun thing to have to deal with. I’ve been on a couple different prescriptions to help deal with it. I am also claustrophobic. 

I know personally how irrational fear can be at times. I once described a full blown panic attack as having your body react as if there was a loaded gun directly in front of your face, yet nothing is there. So now you can see why I was attracted to the proverb above.

Dealing with fear can become very difficult at times. This particular proverb shows us that the level of intensity your fear is determined by a person’s thoughts or perceptions.

I firmly believe the following statement to be true: “a person’s perception IS their reality. Your mind can convince you that something which isn’t true or real actually IS. Your mind can be a powerful force for either good or evil, whichever way your tendencies lie. 

            This proverb implies that a person can have power over their fears thru mental discipline, so that anxiety doesn’t dominate their minds. Many times our fears are imaginary; a figment of our imagination. Ask the Lord to strengthen your mental discipline so you can overcome the fears in your life. Until next time, walk with the King & be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Quote Contemplations

“Life is 10% what happens to you & 90% how you react to it.”- Charles R. Swindoll

 

            I would say we pretty much have no control over what happens to us in our lives. With that in mind I share this quote from Rev. Swindoll* It appears to me that our lives end up being defined by how we react to circumstances that arise each day. Having said that it is my firm belief that followers of Christ are NOT defined by their past mistakes and God never holds those things against us.

            Our attitude is tied directly into our response to things that arise in our daily lives. Do we have a positive or negative attitude? That answer comes from what we feed our mind. If we feed our mind positive affirmations we should have a positive disposition, which by definition would be our mood or temperament. Feed your mind a steady diet of negative words and thoughts and you will dispense those type of responses.

            All this has to do with our ability to exhibit self-control. We need to have a “want to” to learn how to utilize self-control; a “want to” to learn from the Holy Spirit who is more than willing to train us. God’s word is also a premium way to learn what is expected of us as Christ’s followers. So prepare yourself to deal with the challenges the enemy throws your way to disrupt your walk. Satan can do nothing to you unless you open the door to him. Otherwise the only thing he can do to any of us is just what God allows him to do as a means of teaching us spiritual truth.

            Until next time, walk with the King & be a blessing

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

*Charles R. Swindoll is an evangelical Christian pastor, author, and educator born on October 18, 1934.  He is the founder of Insight for Living, a global radio ministry, and the founding pastor of Stonebriar Community Church in Frisco, Texas.