What is your wedding anniversary?

When did you graduate high school?

What was your Mothers birth date?

Our lives are filled with significant dates and occasions which hold fast in our minds and memories, giving our lives color, definition and clarity.

You know your birthday.
You know your wife’s birthday.

Your wedding date is in your mind or you are reminded.
The children you have brought into the world have birth dates you can recall.

Can you recall the date you accepted Christ into your life?

Life is bordered by significant and important and memorable occasions and dates.

I really believe you should remember your spiritual birth date.

Of all the dates in your existence IT will define your life and your eternity.

What’s yours?

I have asked people when they came to know Christ ….and some have said……..

 “I’ve always been a Christian.”

Not quite.

You have not always been alive.

You have not always been married.

It does not occur through osmosis.

It required a choice and a follow through.

It was a event.

It has weight which is heavy enough and is important enough to be remembered and acknowledged.

11/22/63…9/11/01…6/6/44..12/7/41..7/4/1776

More than those dates, your spiritual birthday began your eternal existence with Christ.

I asked a friend once and he quickly replied, “January 17, 1977.”

Encourage others to know their date.

Write down for your children the date they accepted Christ.

Do the same for your grandchildren.

Encourage those to whom you are close to “know your date”.

The Most Significant date.

Terry

Other than asking the question of “Who am I?” individually as we all do growing up and at various stages of life….this question should be asked by any and every individual and all corporate bodies at important times.

It is the question posed to The Supreme Court by itself this week through the voices of the Justices in the minority on Friday, June 26.

A lack of self-examination creates a life  that Socrates would say was not worth living. That life possibly pushes progressively forward, but can become an existence without definition or clarity and the lack of understanding regarding the consequences of one’s actions.

The Justices voicing the minority opinion on the 26th made the statement about “Just who do we think we are” in the context of undoing centuries of conventional wisdom and biblical definition by a small number of highly educated and seemingly cloistered people.

Any time you have the power and ability to influence, lead or direct other people….this question should be considered.

As a parent you have the Right and Obligation to assert your opinion, influence, preferences and belief system toward your children.

In a school, teachers, coaches and administrators are placed to instruct, teach and lead young people.

Church leaders are called to do the same according to the beliefs and structure of their particular denomination….under the direction of God, in the form of The Holy Spirit.

All of these influential people and entities though should self-examine by asking the titled question above….                           “Just who do we think we are?”

Without the influence of and belief in The God of The Bible, one can answer that question with any answer they “feel” right about at the moment.

Decisions based on feelings or situational ethics can change like the climate and be as unpredictable.

My personal answer to the title question is that I am a Child of God, brought into this world by my parents and subject to the Laws of The Old Testament. Having failed miserably in the quest for obedience, I am pardoned by the Life, Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. 

The decisions I make and influence I now have are guided by The God of The Bible.

I am able to love people but not make judgements about them according to my feelings or political preference. For who am I to make a judgement about someone else short of adhering to the Word of God. It is that Word which gives clarity to most every consideration.

“Just Who Do We Think We Are?”           

If you are one who has or asserts influence over others, please know there is more expected of you. Please know your decisions cause and lead to consequences.

Whatever the Courts decision brings, it will bring consequences. All influential choices do. 

Our roles as Parents, Teachers, Preachers and Leaders should give us pause as the assertion of our offices carry great weigh. As the Justices asked themselves…we must ask of ourselves the same question. As their decisions bring political reactions….our assertions toward those in our small circles changes thought, creates habit, leads lives to change and brings upon us an eternal accountability.
Terry
June 2015

You see many people wearing the bracelets that measure steps and heart beats.
Great device to “get the work” done physically each day.

The “bit” will tell you not how far you have gone,
It measures the number of steps.

If on a treadmill it tells you however many steps taken, but the only real distance covered occurs once you step off of the treadmill.

Be careful you are not simply counting the steps in your life.

As on a treadmill, you’ve really gone nowhere.

More than counting steps, review the distance covered, the lives affected in that journey and what progress the steps taken have achieved.

I love and recommend exercise, however, Paul wrote that “bodily exercise profiteth little” regarding the life to come.

Exercise and be fit, it makes for a better life.
But stretch your influence toward others, be a measuring device for their spiritual growth.

Cover actual distance in your pursuit of spiritual fitness. Determine to make any steps taken be for more than merely exercise. Yes, exercise and be in shape.

The race Paul spoke of isn’t to merely keep track of steps taken, but of souls influenced, lives affected and ground covered and taken in pursuit of Him.

In the measurement of your fitness… be diligent.

In the measurement of your spiritual fitness, how many people have you led to or influenced toward and to Christ? Do you know that number?

How often have you heard and obeyed and walked steps directed by The Spirit?

Do you track that?

I walk and jog for exercise often.

Everyday I need to be a positive influence for my Lord.

The Book of James would encourage you to know your Faith is being measured.

Terry
June 25, 2015

Defined as exertion, a vigorous and determined attempt. To labor, to apply energy to a task.

Effort gets us out of the bed in the morning. Effort opens the Bible to search for life’s answers.

Effort extends us toward a goal. It is the energy we put forth to accomplish.

Usually effort is put forth with an end result in mind. Many times the only thing we have control over is our effort.

Results cannot always be determined.

Effort can.

Effort, even without talent can be successful.
Effort, with persistence, can pay off.

Many times God calls us to exert effort toward someone or toward some task. We do not know what the end result of our effort will bring.

Have you ever been prodded toward someone or some task,

God asks only for our effort.
I encounter God often when he will tell me go to do something.

All I am accountable for is the exertion of effort toward that task.

I can put forth “effort”.
His Word tells me to honor Him with effort toward His assigned task.

The end result is His.

I do not even need to be overly concerned with the result. It’s driven by Him.

Paul once said that it did not matter who received credit, as long as a soul was saved.

Taking credit is wanting more than you are called to do.

If God has called you to a task, put forth Effort into getting it done.

Put forth the effort, He can use a committed Heart.

He takes our effort and changes lives, answers prayers, heals bodies and converts souls.

Terry
June 23, 2015

Was in Boston the past few days. Stayed right near the Gardens and Boston Commons.

Around that area are several beautifully constructed cathedrals.

Ornate carvings of stone and marble, soaring steeples, rich woodwork and masterful stained glass windows.

I was not there on a Sunday, but these beautiful buildings stood empty when I viewed them.

So many of these works of art, especially in Europe and many in our country sit unoccupied and under inhabited on days of worship.

These beautiful structures were built, hopefully, to the Glory of God, yet sit unused by the very created beings who can most glorify Him.

The purpose, I hope, for these buildings was not just to be admirable and ornate. They most definitely are.

The purpose for a cathedral was to worship God. The aim was that His Presence would inhabit that places and touch the ones worshiping.

If they are empty there is no connection.

God promises to inhabit His People and their Praises, not a structure of bricks and mortar. He can and will, if His People are there.

We are beautifully constructed cathedrals.

We are created to have God inhabit us and abide in us.

If we are not inhabited by His Spirit, we are empty of our intended usage.
We are like those beautiful cathedrals, wonderfully made yet woefully misused.

Open the doors of your mind and your heart and maximize your intended Usage.

Be filled with Gods Presence.

Bring Glory to Him by being filled with Him.

We are more perfectly made this any man-made cathedral.

Allow the One who made you to occupy you and use you to the fullest.

Terry
June 15, 2015

There is a poster in the workout area of my office building. I see it everyday.

It is of Ali hitting a big bag. He was in his physical prime.

The poster’s caption is “I hated every minute of training….but I said to myself, suffer now and live the rest of your life as a Champion.”

If the goal in mind matters enough the training is bearable.

It’s also essential.

Muscles do not grow by never being exercised.
Character and strength are developed by resistance and perseverance.

Laziness never won a title.

Training puts you through the extremes of different endeavors to prepare the trainee for
whatever comes.

Many times the training far surpasses the actual event in difficulty.

That’s the lesson. The games are fun, if the training was hard.

Life after “training” can grow more manageable. It can be easier to handle.

But not without the training.

How long do you train??? Most likely you will be in some stage of training your whole life.

I have a friend who serves as a “trainer” for me. He will tell you his occupation is to
“train Champions”.

Military training is strenuous and inclusive of every potential facet of battle both offensive and defensive. It is continual if another battle is possible.

Sports training is emotionally and physically stressful but might cease after the time of competition ends.

Occupational training should continue as long as your career lasts.

Spiritual training will continue to conform you until this side of existence dies.

That’s the only time in your life when you will be fully trained and prepared.

Make sure you are “in training”. If you see you are not, hire a competent trainer. One who will push you, one who will prod you toward exertion and maybe exhaustion.

For only in the training that pushes us do we enter the arena with a chance of becoming a
CHAMPION.

Train hard.

Terry
June 7, 2015

In the “call everything okay” society that the current culture would lead us to believe we live in, it’s important to maintain the barometer placed within you by your Creator.

As Hebrews says…”Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have learned, lest at anytime we let them slip.”

There are things that are not proper. There are behaviors that should not be condoned or celebrated.

Call it what it is.

William Buckley said, as he began his magazine many years ago, and I paraphrase,
“sometimes you have to stand up against the movement of society and say ….STOP!”

None of us are without blemish. Yet we can see promiscuity running rampant around us. A website in existence now allows for married people to go to the site and sign up for an affair. Once, it was only done in secret because of individual or societal  disapproval.

Almost every long lasting society that has thrived has had similar structural and behavioral norms that have fostered growth and stability.

In the 90’s sitcom, Friends, the character, Chandler had a mother who acted promiscuously and a father who dressed like a woman. They laughed at the craziness of it and the negative effect it had on Chandler.
Even a very-worldly television show of a few years ago treated these behaviors as odd, as not normal, as causing negative influence on those around the perpetrators.

Now, a few years later, the mainstream media is celebrating a former Olympic Champion who cross-dresses and says he “feels” that he is really a woman.

Read that again and realize the crazy abnormality in that statement.

And now….in 2016 … the society we live in seemingly accepts that the bathrooms and showers in our local schools must allow youngsters who “identify” as whatever gender they choose to affiliate with to go into whichever room they choose.

And a popular shopping venue will allow the same.

I ask anyone who sides with this concept  to allow their 8 year old daughter to go alone into an airport bathroom….see a man who”identifies” as a woman follow her in there….and be comfortable about that.

If you side with this concept please be honest with yourself when you think on the previous statement.

Where does it stop??

Most television shows now have at least one character practicing an alternative lifestyle. One would be led to believe these lifestyles include a large percentage of the population. Every gauge  I have read puts the LGBT  community at about less than 2% of the U.S. population.

Call it what it is.

What was laughed at just a few years ago is now being celebrated as a courageous act.

What would your grandfather say about this?

There are some things about which we just need to say “STOP”. And not be afraid of the consequences.

The slouching of society will most likely continue.
Behaviors will slither more toward depravity.

Make sure those young people around you know what depravity means and how it is not acceptable. For the slithering societal definitions are changing.

If you do not speak up and say STOP….who will?         Saying “STOP” does not mean you are judging or condemning anyone or their behaviors. Saying “STOP” requires the one saying it to not be afraid of being labeled.

For today, when one says “Stop”… words such as bigot, intolerant and homophobic might follow. If your child is in danger you do not care what anyone says about you…you are going to protect your child.

I made a statement the other day and the reply back was that…”that is a dumb, fundamentalist thought process”. I simply said back to them that they should not place “dumb” and “fundamentalist”  next to each other exclusively. I continued that if it were not for fundamentals, society would have no structure.

That structure seems to be cracking.

And it will…..if no one thinks …and is afraid to stand and say “Stop”.

A presidential candidate said recently that words shouldn’t stop anyone from standing for their cultural beliefs. He also stated  that political correctness is killing speech in general.

It has.

Think back on the things which were taboo when you were in high school….If the slope continues within the next 20 years it might be that society will celebrate pedophilia as a courageous attempt at “love”.           

And anyone disagreeing with how that person “identifies” himself…will be labeled accordingly.

Have courage.                                                                   Stand for something that lasts.                                                            Say  “Stop”.

Call it what it is.

Terry Bethea

May 2016

Sitting in a restaurant, I knew what I was supposed to do.
Write down the two scriptures, take them to that guy over there.

I did it the next day.

I obeyed.

A day later.

I knew God had that for me to do. Now, I do it when I feel that prompting.

Heard a sermon by Craig Groeschel – “Deo ho numa”.

I believe he said that phrase means “spiritual promptings” or being led by The Spirit.

Do you feel that prompting?

Perk up your inner ear because if you are “in Christ” you are being prompted by His Spirit.

I would tell you it is essential to a prospering walk with Christ to obey these promptings.

The prompt is His voice instructing you to do the specific work He has for you at that moment.

It is for someone else’s benefit…and yours.

The Spirit of Christ does not inhabit your life and remain dormant.

It is kinetic. It is energy being released within you to perform one of the “good works” Paul write of in Ephesians.

You can restrict it.

Hear It and obey It.

Obeying It once will embolden you for the next urging.

I feel it in my chest and in my throat. It is undeniable.

When The Holy Spirit prompts you….what an honor. God is leading you, yes you, to do His Work at that moment.

Whether you sense It as a “pull” or a “push”, answer this Calling with action and obedience.

It’s what you were made to do.

You, performing the action, are The Glory of God.

Do not allow our common enemy to belittle the action.
Whatever The Promoting is, large or small, it’s The Creator instructing you.

He does His Work in and through us.

Listen.

Terry
June 1, 2015