Sloooooow and Eeeeassy

Speed is matter of perception. A hundred miles an hours is a fast clip for a car but is very slow for a commercial aircraft. Ten miles an hour is a pace that just might win a marathon but will finish dead last in a sprint.

My perception is continually shifting when I think of this, our third 3300 mile walk across America for Christ. Deep within me, I want to be the hare, fully of energy and speed, and anxious to finish; gotta go, gotta do, hurry, hurry!

Like Dorothy, I want to get back to Kansas; to our friends and our church and familiar surroundings. Even though it's summer, I find myself humming, "I'll be home for Christmas. You can count on me."

But, God and Lucy remind me, the journey is not about miles nor speed nor time. 3300 miles is just the name of the journey that tells us when we began and when we finish. The walk for Christ is about people. It's about acknowledging Christ, building relationships, listening to stories, looking for people's strengths and assets and encouraging them to use what they've got. It's about loving people as best we can whenever we can. That all takes time and cannot be rushed.

God and Lucy remind me that the beginning our trip was fraught with mishaps and so it may be at the end. The significance of this mission trip is not determined by speed in which it is completed. Our culture values an action by how quickly it is done. God measures by how nobly a thing is done. Our job is to simply take our time and love well as we go.

Slow and easy wins the race,

Embrace God's people and feel God's grace.

Slow and easy; no need to hurry.

Don't be anxious, fret or worry.

Bless and love as best you can

Take time to love your fellow man.

"Slow and easy," whispers Christ,

"To show some kindness and just be nice."

Grumpy Almost Misses It

"Where are you going?"

I was deep in thought and didn't like the idea of being disturbed, plus I hadn't been in the best of moods the last couple of days. Even though I was walking America for Christ, I didn't greet Officer Benson with any of the joy of Jesus in my heart. We went through the normal routine..."Name...Birth date..License...wait for a moment while I run this."

As the officer did his job, the Holy Spirit spoke to me. "You're not being very nice." "I know," I mumbled back. I was beginning to mentally beat myself up when I heard from the Holy Spirit again. "I'm not condemning you, Nick. I'm just reminding you that you are better than you're acting. A little smile or pleasant conversation wouldn't

hurt."

I noticed that police car said commercial law enforcement. I said, "I have a question for you". He leaned against his vehicle, smiled and said "I have a couple of questions for you too."

Well, it turns out there are only about 45 commercial law enforcement units in the state. They check on the weight of the trucks and in general, make sure the truckers are doing what they are suppose to be doing. As Steve and I talked....yes, police officers do have first names...I found out he was a born again believer, teaches Sunday School, is currently doing a series on the differences between Christianity and Islam and has a heart for people who do not know the Lord. He also has a group called Friends 4 Life that is open to all denominations and prays for needs as they arise. I enjoyed listening to his passion for the Lord and I began to genuinely like him.

As we parted company, the Holy Spirit reminded me of how close I came to missing out on meeting this wonderful man of God. Steve and I are friends on Facebook now and I have the feeling we're going to be friends for a long time. He has about five years or so before he retires from the force but I wouldn't be surprised if we found ourselves in the mission field together.

Pray With or For Someone Today

Ecclesiastes 1:9 tells us that there is nothing new under the sun. Thousands of years have passed since that was written and many “outside” things…clothes, architecture, modes of transportation… have changed….but people, well, we’re pretty much the way we were in the days of Solomon.

As we travel, we have met people who have endured the suicide of a spouse, the sudden death of a child, those who have battled sexual misconduct and others who have served time in prison. We have encountered addicts that are clean and those who cannot or will not get clean.

There have been families split apart because of misunderstanding and marriages wrecked because of financial pressure. We have met people who take all they can get and others who give without any thought of getting. We pray for them and with them without seeing any physical evidence that anything has changed. Sometimes we are tempted to get discouraged but then we remember… “faith comes by hearing” and then we remember: we are traveling America doing our best to plant seeds of faith by telling people about Almighty God.

As human beings, we don’t know what is going on in anyone’s heart or mind. We don’t know what to say to encourage them or lighten their load but the Holy Spirit does. So all any of us can do is ask the Holy Spirit to allow us to be a blessing to the person we are about to talk with.

Prayer doesn’t always change circumstances but we do know that prayer always changes people. Changed people move from the fear of society who criticizes them to faith in a God who loves them.


Lord, please let those we talk with today hear Your voice and invite You into their life. Help them to understand that You love them and that what they do with their life matters.

What If....

Throughout Scripture we are told that what we say has an impact on our lives. Speak sickness and lack and chances are you will have sickness and lack. Speak blessings and health and they manifest. Whatever we dwell on, we speak. Whatever we speak, we seem to support by our actions. Our actions, in turn, create our world.

Proverbs 18:21 says the power of death and life are in the tongue. Proverbs 12:14 says that a man is filled with good things from the fruit of his lips. Mark 11:22-24 says to have faith in God; whatever we say and do not doubt but believe it will come to pass...will be done for us. Jesus tells us again in John 16:24 to ask and we will receive and our joy will be complete.

What if Scripture were true? What if we could shape our world with God's words in our mouth? Would you be willing to give it a try? Lucyah and I have listened to the words that came out of mouth and wondered....Why did we say that? That's not what we want AND that's not what Scripture says.

We've actually heard ourselves say "We can't afford that?" when Scripture tells us we are the children of God and He owns all the silver and gold and the only reason we have not is because we ask not! Deuteronomy 8:18 tells us that God has given us the power to get wealth. So the question is...Are we using the power (speaking God's Word to begin with) to get what we say we want?

"My back is killing me" comes from our lips instead of "my God is healing me." The Word of God tells us we are healed by His stripes. The same Holy Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead raises me right now from a bed of sickening symptoms.

So...let's get physically and financially well. Let's start speaking God's Word and thanking Him for the positive results that are starting to take root. Whenever you get tempted to confess a negative circumstance, speak one of these instead:

I AM healed by His stripes. (1 Peter 2:24). As I live longer, I get wiser, healthier, younger and stronger!

I AM getting all my needs met by my Father and all my desires are satisfied with good things. (Philippians 4:19 & Psalm 103:5).

I AM exercising my authority over the enemy; nothing harms me. No weapon formed against me prospers! (Luke 10:19 & Isaiah 54:17)