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. 

 

Quote Contemplations 

 

“The first duty of love is to listen.”- Paul Tillich*

 

                  Listening should be the byproduct of hearing; however, hearing doesn’t always translate to listening. You can hear something all day long and not even realize there is noise being produced. It could be words spoken, lyrics from a song, music, construction sounds. Just because you hear it doesn’t mean you are listening. I will go so far as to say that when there is noise and you don’t want to hear it, you can always put on white noise from a white noise app on your phone or laptop. If you care about someone or something you will be courteous enough to actually listen.

            In friendship or marriage listening to one another is paramount to the relationship. It shows that you care about them enough to have interest in what they are saying to you. Communication needs to be important in any relationship. Two-way communication. It shouldn’t ever be a solo event, at least not as a rule. Listening is support. Listening is appreciated. Showing you care in a tangible way is vital to any relationship. 

            Intimacy in a marital relationship is very important, but listening can mean more if it’s real and not phony. Acting like you care when you actually don’t will be found out sooner or later. You can’t fake loving someone, but physically showing you care enough to make the other person more important than yourself is showing them love... true love that should be lasting. You must make it sustainable, not hit or miss. So listen more than you speak and show those you love that you truly care. Until next time, walk with the King & be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

* Paul Johannes Tillich (1886 – 1965) was a German & American Christian existentialist philosopher, religious socialist, and Lutheran theologian who was one of the most influential theologians of the twentieth century.

YOU SHALL KNOW THEM BY THEIR FRUIT

 

            Let’s face it, at times actions sometimes contradict one’s profession of faith. Although Christians are not to judge others, they can be “fruit inspectors”. 

            Matthew 7:16, 20 state, “You can identify (false believers/teachers) by their fruit, that is, by the way they act.” “...just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.”

            False believers/teachers were prevalent in Jesus’ day, as they are today. If they are humble and do not seek any sort of glorification, chances are they are legit. Only God can truly know the heart of an individual, however, as we become closer to the Lord we too will see thru the thin veil that covers a persons motives. We are not to chastise them, but rather pray for them and if the opportunity arises, speak with them in an instructive and encouraging way realizing that no man is perfect. Just as God has forgiven us, He will forgive them if forgiveness is sought. We must walk in a spirit of humility, understanding all too well that “there but for the grace of God go I”. ^[1]

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

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

^[1] John Bradford, English church Reformer and martyr (1510–1555).

Rash Decisions

 

We think the grass is always greener on the other side; however, we never take into consideration the cost it took to get the grass to look so lush and green. COUNT THE COST before you make a decision, so it doesn’t end up being a RASH decision in the end.

What on earth is a RASH DECISION?  “A rash decision is a choice made quickly and without thinking about the future results. It is an impulsive action driven by sudden feelings rather than careful planning. These choices often lead to mistakes, regret, or bad outcomes.” ^[1]

When you make a “rash” decision there typically is no pre-planning involved. It involves acting before looking at the facts or options. These kind of decisions are many times emotion-driven; often caused by anger, panic, or excitement. Learning how to be patient will help defuse rash decisions.

Some examples of rash decisions could be quitting your job in anger without having a new one lined up; buying an expensive item online late at night without checking your checking account; or yelling something hurtful in an argument before listening to the other person. 

            Making rash decisions could easily be classified as “impulsive” and needs to be removed from your behavior like you would pull a weed from your garden. Those type of decisions breed trouble for the decision-maker. As followers of Christ we need to learn how to develop better self-control. It can be done; however, it, like many other Christian attributes, take time and perseverance. It won’t happen overnight. Until next time, work at being kind to others in any and all situations.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

^[1] This detailed definition came from Collins Advanced Learner’s Dictionary; copyright © HarperCollins Publishers.