Looking And Not Seeing

This morning on my commute to work, I was listening to Dr. David Jeremiah on the radio and he was talking about the parable of the Good Samaritan (see Luke 10:25-37).  Today, some of the things that I say are my own, sprinkled with some of Dr. Jeremiah's influence. So let's hop to it. 

 In the parable, Jesus tells of a man who was headed to Jericho from Jerusalem and was attacked by some robbers.  There, the man laid on the ground from his injuries and person after person passed by him.  They looked at the man, but they passed right by him.  The did not see him.  Antoine just what are you talking about?  Here, I will tell you.

Let's look at the movie Avatar by James Cameron.  In the movie, the natives, called Navi, would greet someone and say, "I see you".  Those who first saw the movie probably thought, "of course you see the person".  After all, they were standing right in front of them (at least I know I thought that). Later, we would know that "to see" someone is to understand them.  This is what the Good Samaritan did for the man who was robbed and beat. He understood the mans situation and took the time too help.  See, you can look at someone, but chose to focus your attention the other way.  You do not understand their situation.  You do not understand why they do what they do; act how they act; think how they think.  Given this, we can look at someone, but not see them at all.

You looked at the homeless man on the corner, but you did not see him.  You looked at alcoholic, but did not see them.  You looked at the child needing a big brother/sister, but did not see them.  It is easy to look the other way because that means we do not have to become involved.  To become involved would mean a cost to you and/or require you to give up something.  If we never can see past our own lives and what we have to do, how can we ever help our fellow brother and/or sister?  You know, Love our neighbor as we love ourselves (see Luke 10:27).

I have given money to people and offered to buy them food.  At the same time, I am guilty of choosing to look the other way.  We are all guilty of it.  The question is can you take a second to see someone?  If we can ever stop focusing on ourselves so much, we may be able to see someone when we look at them.

Regards,

Antoine E. Hall

Blog:      http://toinebo.blogspot.com
Twitter:     http://www.twitter.com/AntoineHall

"Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says." - James 1:22

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I Really, Really, Want It!

Luke 14-28   For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?

We all have things that we want in life.  We see cars, homes, gadgets, and/or potential spouses and we just have to have them.  There are things that we did not have as a children growing up and as adults we tend to gravitate to those things because now we can afford them.  I have done this before and I think all of us have at some point.  The most important piece of the puzzle that we failed to realize is the "cost". 

In Luke 14:28, Jesus is telling the disciples to think something through before going forward with an idea.  He tells them you cannot build a tower if you do not have enough funds.  How would you know this?  Well, it is through proper planning.  With proper planning, different expenses start to flesh out and you can get a good idea what the cost will be.  When I go to the dictionary, it tells me that the word cost can mean, "To cause to lose, suffer, or sacrifice".   In the example of the tower, the cost could be money, time, and any other resources.  All of those are things that you can lose and/or sacrifice.  Given the definition of cost, I want us to think about the cost we incur when we have strong desires for certain items and/or people.  I am going to be transparent here for a minute because I was convicted this weekend, so here we go. 

When I was growing up, I had a few dogs but not all of them lived long.  I mean, what kid does not love having dogs around right?  Well after a while, there were no more dogs.  I always asked but the answer was no, so for many years, I went without a dog, but I always wanted one.   After about my Senior year of high school, my Dad came home with a puppy.  By that time, I got to spend a summer or so with him and then it was off to college.  In this case, I never really "grew up" with a dog around.

Now, fast forward.  I am grown and when I graduate from college and got married, what was one of the first things I purchased?  You got it.  A brand new dog.  Boy, I can say it was a good feeling. I loved having him around and it reminded me of good old times with my childhood dogs.  Then, reality began to hit me.  I started to realize why my parents did not want a dog around.  The are like having another child!  They are hard work to keep up.  They have to get shots, be groomed, walked, etc.  If you have had a sick dog at night and having to run to the Vet you understand that the cost can be quite expensive (monetarily & time wise).  I got what I always wanted, however, I never added up all of the cost.  My dog did not ask me to bring him home, but I chose to do it out of blind excitement and emotions.  Yep, so I had repent after conviction.  Also, I had to eat crow because my wife told me so, but I had to couldn't argue with the sounds of the Holy Spirit.

Everything has a cost associated with it and many times we only see the dollar amount, but fail to recognize other cost factors.  Do you really, really want a house?  Guess what, it not only costs a lot, but it has an enormous amount of responsibility.  If you get into a new home, gone are the days of calling property management to fix something.  Guess who has to pony up for that broken hot water heater or leaky toilet?  You.  If you get a leak in the roof, guess who has to have it repaired?  You.  When the grass needs cutting guess who does it?  You?  To make the lawnmower go, what do you need?  Gas. Guess, what, gas isn't free.  Count the Cost.

You want that brand new top of the line luxury car, right?  I know you just have to have it.  The question is do you fully understand the cost?  Not only does it cost money to bring the car home, but it costs even more to keep the car in good condition.  When something goes wrong, did stop to think that it may cost $500+ for a mechanic to plug up the computer to the car to ONLY diagnose the car (they haven' even started with repairs)? Did you take into account that the luxury car probably required top of the line tires to keep with the luxury experience?  Did you think about the interior that may be difficult to keep clean, because after all it is luxurious?  Count the cost.

I could keep going on and on but you get the point.  We are so emotionally driven by the lack of or the keeping up with the Jone's that we make silly decisions to satisfy a desire or want.  Everything has a cost.  The question is are you willing to pay the entire cost even when you realize it cost more than you really wanted to pay?

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Cleansing: It's OK to Slow Down (Replay)

I started to an entry today and as got about a paragraph into it, I realized that the topic sounded familiar.  Given this, I dug into the archives and found exactly what I wanted to say. It is amazing how things go full circle.  Be blessed folks.

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April 9, 2006

Good afternoon gang!

I pray that everyone is have a great hump day so far.  You know in the year 2006 we find ourselves always and forever on the go.  We are running to this meeting and running to that meeting.  We are working 14 and 15 hours a day, trying to have family time, trying to say hello to friends, participating in this organization and that organization.  When you think about it, where does God get his time in the day or week for that matter?  With so much going on, God and his Word tends to get pushed out of our daily lives.

Mark 6:31-32 says, "(31) And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat. (32) And they departed into a desert place by ship privately."

In this chapter of Mark, we find that John the Baptist has just been beheaded and his disciples found out and retrieved his body to be placed in a tomb.  After they had done this task they went to Jesus and He told them to go rest as you see from the verses above.  Although, Jesus was a very busy man, he still found time to slow down and smell the roses; slow down to pray.  See the next verse.

Mark 1:25 says, "And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed."

Jesus always managed to slow down and to keep his eye on God.   In our lives we are typically the equivalent of driving down the road in a Ferrari doing 100mph.  When you look to the side everything is a blur and all you know is that you have a destination.  However, going this fast in life, you miss what God has to say to you.  He can catch you but you are always going to fast to notice him trying to talk to you.  But when you are driving your drop top Volkswagen Beetle, you see everything.  God can say hey, "look over there".  Then He can also say, turn here I want to show you something.  When God wants to show you something you probably will want to see it.  But if you are at 100mph in your Ferrari any slight distraction will cause you to wreck.

That's what happens in our lives.  God is out of the midst and minor distraction causes mental, physical, & spiritual crashes for us.  Slowing down, it's alright.  When you do, God will reveal to you those questions you ask.  He will show you your needs versus your wants.  He will show you your faults and how to correct them.  You just have to be willing to drive slow down enough to smell the roses.

Be blessed folks and have a great day!

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A Big Mistake

God, are you serious?  You must be mistaken!  What just happened to me should not have happened?  What just happened to my friend should not have happened?  My career was suppose to go different than what it did!  God you must have me confused with someone else!

Sounds familiar?  Have you ever asked or made one of the statements above?  If you have, you might want to keep something in mind.  God does not make a mistake.  Remember that He is omniscient.  He knows everything that is happening to you and around you.   Luke 12:7 says, "Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows."  If He knows this very detail about you, why would we think decisions He has made were not purposefully made?

The biggest mistake that we can make is believing that He made a mistake.  We can get into a lot of trouble when we start to question God because if left unresolved, you can start to doubt.  If you doubt then you open a door for the enemy into your life and that's a downhill slope none of us wish to climb up.  

"God is mighty, but despises no one; he is mighty, and firm in his purpose." - Job 36:5

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Lost In Denominations

Catholicism.  Baptist. Methodist. Lutheran.  All of these are different "branches" of Christianity and all of them have their own set of governing rules which make them who they claim to be. According to Wikipedia's List of Christian denominations, "there are reported to be approximately 38,000 Christian denominations".  I mean, WOW!  Really, WOW!   I bring this up because I saw a bill board this morning for a Methodist church that advertised coming to experience Methodism in a different way.  

Methodism?  I understand that Methodism is the practice of being a Methodist, however, what happened to being just a Christian?  At the heart of the matter, Jesus should be brightly shining but sometimes that may not be the case.  We can get lost in ourselves and get caught up in positions and titles.  We can become frustrated with other people in the church because we think they are not "doing church" the right way. The problem with this is that we start to cut each other off from other denominations and then we justify it by saying this is the why we do what we do and believe what we believe.  The more you start to believe and focus on what you do rather than Jesus, you add further division into the umbrella of Christianity (Actually, we should say that we follow Jesus, because not all those who call themselves Christians follow the tenants of Jesus.  I got that from my wife.  Thanks hun!)   

In Matthew 12:22-26;30, it says:

(22) Then they brought him a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute, and Jesus healed him, so that he could both talk and see. (23) All the people were astonished and said, Could this be the Son of David? (24) But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this fellow drives out demons. (25) Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. (26) If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand? (30) Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.

In these verses, we see that Jesus has healed a man who was possessed, but the Pharisees simply say this can only be the results of Beelzebul.  Jesus then explains that if this was the case, then Satan would be going against himself and his mission to steal, kill, and destroy (see John 10:10).  In order for a team to accomplish its goal, all its members have to be on the same page, regardless of its purpose.  When a team's goal is to head North and different members of the team decide they wish to go in all other directions but North, it is impossible for that team to reach its goal.  It just cannot happen.

Simply, we cannot become lost in all the denominations out there.  We have to keep Jesus our focus and stop worrying about the intricacies of how you do church.  Believe and keep your eyes "[t]o him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy" and all the other distractions will fall by the wasteside (see Jude 1:24).

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You Cannot Do It All By Yourself

Happy Year Folks!

I hope that you all had a Merry Christmas as well!  It feels good to be able to jump back into writing, so without delay, I want to go to Exodus 18:13-22.  It is a little lengthy, but work with me.  There, it says:

(13) The next day Moses took his seat to serve as judge for the people, and they stood around him from morning till evening. (14) When his father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he said, "What is this you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge, while all these people stand around you from morning till evening?" (15) Moses answered him, "Because the people come to me to seek God's will. (16) Whenever they have a dispute, it is brought to me, and I decide between the parties and inform them of God's decrees and instructions." (17) Moses' father-in-law replied, "What you are doing is not good. (18) You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone. (19) Listen now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you. You must be the people's representative before God and bring their disputes to him. (20) Teach them his decrees and instructions, and show them the way they are to live and how they are to behave. (21) But select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. (22) Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you.

You know what?  I probably needed to read and meditate on this verse all while growing up and probably to this day.  How many of us try to do things all by ourselves?  After all, as American's we pride ourselves on getting to the point where we are independent and can do it all alone.  Independence is like a mark that says, "I did it and I can do it all by myself!".  This is good and there is nothing wrong with independence, until it gets in the way of getting help when you need it.

It is hard to go back to ask people for help when you've portrayed the role that "you got it".  Sometimes, it can even be a hard pill to swallow, but if you will just step outside yourself to see yourself, you'd realize that you cannot do everything alone.  As in verse 18, "...you will only wear yourselves out."  If you are use to going at it alone that is fine, but keep in mind that you have to be able to recognize when you need help to "make your load lighter".

If someone offers help, it is probably because they see something that you do not see.  Re-evaluate your situation and see where you may need help.  After all, the help that comes may be the bridge you need to get over your current road block.

Be easy folks and have a great Monday!

Regards,

Antoine E. Hall

Blog:      http://toinebo.blogspot.com
Twitter:     http://www.twitter.com/AntoineHall

"Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says." - James 1:22

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