One Faithful Man

Proverbs 20:6 says “A faithful man who can find?” I met one. His name? Carlis Moody, Sr. He set for me the GOLD standard, the marker, of a godly man. I met him the same day I arrived on Northwestern University’s campus in Evanston, IL sight unseen. Before arriving I had prayed consistently to the Lord that while excited about the opportunity to grow intellectually it was equally important for me to continue to grow spiritually. He answered that request. After getting settled into my dorm room I opened a Yellow Pages to locate a church. One specifically caught my eye: Faith Temple Church. I called immediately and found out there was a special service that evening. A lady agreed to pick me up so I could attend. I proudly say I spent my first night away from home in the House of the Lord.

Carlis Moody was the founder and pastor of that small church. He accepted Christ as his Lord and Savior as a child and was ordained at age 16. He became a teenage pastor. He married his wife Mary at age 20. They had four children. I remember him saying how he prayed one day, “Lord, I don’t know how to be a husband or a father. I need you to teach me.” And God did.

Pastor Moody was a man of integrity who feared God. He knew hundreds of passages in the Bible by memory and would recite them before we could find them in our Bibles. Just being around him, there was no doubt that God was the love of His life and He delighted in doing His will. Next, were his wife and children, and then the family of God. He eventually got the opportunity to preach the gospel in 38 countries.

I watched his life closely during my undergraduate and graduate years. I never saw an inconsistency in what he said and what he did. Never a hint of scandal. He kept his life pure. He walked in genuine humility. Bishop Carlis Moody transitioned to his heavenly home on January 12 at the age of 84. Evanston Alderman Peter Braithwaite, 2nd, called Moody “an amazing human being and a perfect example of someone who lived a very purpose-driven life.”

I am without excuse. Bishop Moody confirmed that it is possible to live a holy life in today’s culture. “Thank you Lord for allowing me to intersect with such a man of God.” May I follow in his footsteps, for your glory.

 

 

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The Mirror

If you’re like me one habit prevails every day and that is a look in the mirror, not just one time but several throughout the day. It’s not narcissism but “now-ism.” What has changed and needs to be corrected since the last time I looked? If I see something, I do something about it, if I can. Then I’m on my way. Thank God for mirrors. I may think I’m okay, but the mirror tells me the truth about me. I can’t hide anything. It reveals every blemish, scar, shiny nose, hair out of place, or every sliver of food stuck in my teeth.

God’s Word is my BIG Mirror. It reveals what others cannot see, what’s lodged in my heart. With a glance I realize there is a pinch of pride, a 1/2 cup of criticism, teaspoon of entitlement, and some days a sprinkling of fear. One option is to walk away and do nothing, overwhelmed and disgusted by the residue. The other is to immediately deal with it just as I do after an examination in any mirror that’s close.

James 1:21-25 (NLT) says, “So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls. But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like.  But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.

It’s humbling to gaze in The BIG Mirror. It always does its job, revealing the crud of sin still lurking in our hearts. But it doesn’t stop there.  God’s grace and mercy provides the power to bring about a complete transformation.

 

 

 

No Matter What

Do you really Believe that God is who He says He is, and that He will do what He says He will do? Despite the chaos in the world and in our community, God is still on the throne and not surprised by the evil in the hearts of men.  BELIEVE…to have confidence in the truth, the faith, the existence, or the reliability of something. We may say we believe but our behavior and words can betray us. We read the Bible and attend church, but then spend sleepless nights worrying that our prayers won’t be answered or wondering if God really cares about what we care about.

I find it interesting that we don’t hesitate to put our money in the bank and not think about it anymore until it’s time for a withdrawal. We don’t know the employees personally or ask for their criminal background checks. We trust them, yet we don’t know them.  We board a plane, putting our lives in the hands of someone we’ve never met. We don’t ask to see the pilot’s report cards or college diploma. Sometimes we never see the pilot the entire trip. Yet we sit back, buckle up, and relax with the full expectation that we’ll reach our destination. It doesn’t matter that there have been crashes and casualties. We believe.

The God of the Universe deserves this kind of confidence and much more. His track record is perfect. An authentic belief in God produces an unshakable faith and calm rest no matter what is going on in the world and in our lives. We miss the opportunity to experience this rest when we don’t believe. Hebrews 4:3 (NLT) says: “For only we who believe can enter his place of rest.”

So what about believing the God of the Universe no matter what? Put ALL your hope and trust in Him alone.  I admit at times I’ve been flaky when He isn’t, but when I read His love letter daily (the Bible), my faith is bolstered and I’m confident that my loving Father, the Great God, will handle perfectly anything that comes my way today, and the next day.

It’s Time to Believe!

The Cost of Royalty

The countdown is on for the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle next month. Despite years of honing her craft as an actress, Meghan is abandoning her career for a “higher” role. She has adopted Great Britain as her new home, learning the customs and the protocol of royalty. She wears hats now and a longer hemline. She converted to the Anglican faith. We’ve heard no complaints from Meghan about what she’s had to give up for love. She appears to relish her new assignment. After all, it’s a girl’s dream to become a princess.

When we accept Christ’s priceless gift of salvation, we immediately become royalty, sons and daughters of the Most High God. It doesn’t get any better than this. The decision requires the relinquishment of our agenda, for His. It calls for a new way of thinking, speaking, living, and a new “royal” wardrobe because wherever we go, we represent His Kingdom. We are charged with  always articulating God’s truths on any subject. Our past pursuits hold no allurement because we have traded them for a much higher calling with absolutely no regrets.

Our royal position counts for eternity. Let’s live it out daily to please the King.

 

When Prince Harry Met Meghan

I am absolutely thrilled about Prince Harry’s engagement to Meghan Markle. I’ve read articles about the engagement and watched the interviews and smiled. One reason I’m excited is that both Meghan and I graduated from Northwestern University. Go Wildcats! But the main reason I’m overjoyed is that I’m a romantic at heart and their love story confirms what I’ve been telling singles for years in seminars and in my book 1^st Class Single.

If a Man is Interested, He will pursue you!

You won’t have to convince him to make a move. He’s a man. He knows what he wants. Prince Harry was asked when did he know Meghan was the one? He answered, “The first time we met.”

He began pursuing her. They shared in the BBC interview that they never went more than two weeks without getting together. They were on two different continents! He was a prince. She was a busy actress. They found time and made time for each other because the relationship was a priority. Are you in a relationship where he doesn’t have time for you and he lives in the same town or he tells you he doesn’t believe in long distance relationships? Then remember one of my other dating rules:

Look at the Signs…then Wonder!

Prince Harry’s actions spoke louder than his words. He had his choice of many women, but he wanted Meghan! He was willing to defy the critics, the naysayers who objected to him marrying a commoner, a woman of mixed race descent.  Is the man of your dreams giving you an “if only” list? If only you would lose weight, if only you were younger, if only you didn’t have kids, if only? Read the tea leaves: He doesn’t want you. You are NOT his package. Release him. Let him go! The man God has for you will not see you as a liability but as a precious gift. He will accept you and ALL your baggage. We all come with baggage. We are all flawed. Imperfect. We are all sinners in need of the grace of God.

Think about Ruth’s story in the Old Testament. One rich man noticed her and wanted her as his wife. But first, he had to give the option to another relative who could be her kinsman-redeemer. When presented with the opportunity, the other man saw Ruth’s “baggage” as a liability. She (like Meghan) came from a mixed racial heritage the Jews considered inferior. She was poor and a widow. Baggage. But Boaz saw beauty, kindness, virtue, and love. The same woman viewed differently by two different men. She became the great-grandmother of King David. What a royal lineage!

Don’t give up on your dream of being chosen. Be the best of who you are. Don’t apologize about your past, what you cannot control. Meghan says she is proud of her heritage. Be a woman of faith, move forward, and expect your prince to pick you. He will be worth the wait. God always gives His Best to those who leave the choice with Him.

Commendation

It doesn’t matter how you start. It matters how you end the race. Your team can be ahead in the the first, second, and third quarters of the game, and then lose in the fourth quarter. It’s that score that counts. On the other hand, you can be trailing in the first three quarters, and then win the game in the fourth.

Enoch won his race. He was so impressive in how he lived before God that one day God just snatched him up and took him to heaven without experiencing death. We know very little about Enoch. We’re told in Genesis 5 that his father was Jared. Enoch became a father at age 65 to Methuselah who became the oldest man to ever live. He died at age 969. The Bible doesn’t mention anything impressive he did in all those years. But his Dad, “walked with God.”  This is mentioned a second time, “Enoch walked with God” (Genesis 5:24). Enoch’s singular focus  landed him in the hall of faith found in Hebrews 11: 5-6: “By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God.”

Enoch was consumed with one thing for 300 years of his life: being in relationship with God; loving Him, walking with Him, being in His presence. It was enough to make him a winner in God’s eyes. He didn’t build great monuments, perform miracles, or write books of the Bible. His life pleased God. That’s it.

I want the same commendation Enoch got. I think about this often. I can get it if my life is consumed with one goal: pleasing God. I don’t have to be famous, rich, beautiful, write best-selling books, or be the smartest. I just need to consistently make my #1 pursuit: being in an intimate relationship with God, seeking Him with my whole heart, obeying God, and basking in His love for me.

I want that to be my legacy.

Smoothies and Me

I love making and devouring a fruit smoothie. I typically prepare one at least twice a week. At times I’ve taken the smoothie into my bedroom or car. Bad idea. I have wasted smoothies on the carpet and in my car twice. It happened again just this month.  I had just placed the full cup in its proper holder between the front seats. While using my cell phone at a stop light to leave a voicemail message, I quickly moved my right elbow. Immediately there was smoothie in my seat, in between the seat, and on the floor. I thought, “There I go again. What is it with me and smoothies?”

Fortunately I keep plenty of napkins in my car, so at stoplights along the way to my destination, I cleaned as much as I could. I pondered again the question? Why do I keep making the same mistake with smoothies? I may go awhile without an accident, and then another one.

I got the answer. I was not practicing “carefulness” on a consistent basis: to always be on guard, focused, when handling a smoothie given my track record. If I know what I’m prone to do (be careless) then I need to anticipate and be ready for the next occurrence and not assume it won’t happen again.

This requires being truthful about “me,” and being alert and aware of what trips me up. The same principle applies to being truthful about the sins constantly lurking in the heart, waiting to trip me up. The list is different for each person, but there is a list.

Your issue may not be mine, but I have one. That’s why Jesus said, “Watch as well as pray.” Paul wrote, “Be very careful how you walk.” I’ve made a list of what tends to trip me up spiritually and personally.

Daily, my goal is to watch, pray, and walk very carefully. I don’t need another accident, in or out of the car.

Don’t Lose the Awe

A dear friend, Michele, will celebrate her tenth wedding anniversary this fall. When she refers to her husband Kyle, she says, “He’s awesome.” I said to her once, “I love the fact that after all these years of marriage, and living with Kyle day in and day out, you still view him as “awesome.” She gave a big smile and said, “Yes.”

I’ve often thought of Michele’s exuberance for her mate when I reflect on what God desperately longs for…that we would always be in awe of Him. Awe is an overwhelming feeling of reverence, admiration. It was there when we encountered God for the first time and gladly received His gift of salvation through His Son Jesus. We were so grateful that He took care of a debt we could never pay. We were overcome with joy. I still remember the Tuesday night I invited Christ into my life. I was a child who desperately needed a Savior. I was overcome with His great love for me.

Since then I’ve said to God many times, “I will never get over your affection for me. I reserve the use of the word awesome only for you. May my love for you only intensify and never grow stale.” A marriage flourishes when a couple makes it a priority to admire and affirm each other daily and not take each other for granted.  It blossoms when they think of each other throughout the day, surprise each other with gifts and cards, and have eyes only for the other.

God Our Creator and Redeemer desires no less. I’ve made an intentional decision to talk “love” talk to Him daily and show my love by His love language: obedience.

“Lord, may I never lose the awe.”

 

Whatever

I was excited to finally get braces on my teeth during my sophomore year in college. I told myself I was getting my teeth ready for a career in television. But, I had a concern. Would the braces be off in time for my graduation? I posed that question to my orthodontist Dr. Urban. He told me that if I consistently did whatever he told me to do then, “yes,” my underbite would be corrected and my teeth straight when I received my diploma.

I listened intently when he told me what my regimen should be. I didn’t want to miss anything because I knew it was vital for me to do my part. For the next two years, I diligently followed his instructions. Whatever. It paid off. I had a beautiful smile with straight white teeth two years later, just before graduation. Sure enough, the day came when I smiled  broadly as a broadcast reporter and anchor.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve sought the counsel of the world’s greatest life coach about everything. He never makes a mistake. He knows everything. His track record is only successes. No losses. He tells me in his life manual, the Bible, the best course to take every time. But the caveat is, “Am I willing to do whatever He tells me to do. Whatever.” Even if it doesn’t make sense to me, even if nobody around me is doing it, even if the advice appears outdated, unpopular?

The reality is I win with no regrets when I choose to do whatever the Master Coach tells me to do every time. I lose whenever I don’t. I don’t want anymore losses.

Whatever, Lord. I say “yes.” I’m in.

Let Every Heart Prepare Him Room

A guest post by Meredith R. Sheppard

With the holiday season comes the hustle and bustle of busyness that often leads to misplaced priorities. Countless Christmas preparations leave us ill prepared for what matters most: Jesus Christ, the reason for the season!

Whenever I find myself too busy for Bible reading, too rushed to relax in His presence, or too distracted for daily devotions, strains of Isaac Watts’ song help me to refocus: “Let every heart prepare Him room…”

At this time of year two specific passages of Scripture come to mind:

‘For I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me’ (Matthew 25:35-40 NKJV).

And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn (Luke 2:7 NKJV).

From the time my husband and I married, some 34 years ago, we always kept a guest room in our home. As newlyweds living in a two-bedroom apartment, our first guest room was quite “modest.”  It held a dresser, nightstand, and a mattress and box spring—on the floor. Nevertheless, we entertained overnight guests in that tiny room. Hospitality was more important to us than having finer things all fixed up and prepared to impress. We didn’t allow our “lack” to distract us from opening our hearts and home to grateful guests.

“Joy to the World” is more than a Christmas carol. The lyrics remind us to live looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2), and to make making room for Him a matter of lifestyle.

Time in His presence clears away the clutter, bringing calm in place of all that clamors for our attention.  If your year-end calendar is filling, or is already full to overflowing, and the New Year feels like it’s moments away, whether you find yourself hosting or being a guest, make room in your heart for the Guest of Honor—Jesus Christ. His presence brings peace. His joy is your strength.  He longs to make your heart His home, not just for the holidays but all year long.