Mission

The two hands we are given are constructed to hold, control, manipulate and put to use various devices that enable us to function and to build our world.

Our hands can hold implements to build, to construct and to make reality out of dreams and plans.

Our hands hold writing utensils or touch keys to put into words the ideas in our minds.

They can hold, express love, caress and bless those we love.

When we make violence or war our hands grasp weapons of destruction.

Clubs, knives, swords, bows and arrows and guns enable our hands to kill for good reasons or bad,

Weapons can allow our hands to even out or create advantage in a fight.

In a very famous and important confrontation which determined a nations future and began the ascension to royalty of a young boy …….

“There was no sword in the hand of David.”

He was handed a sword that was too large.He was given battle armor which was over-sized and hung on him to such an extent it almost immobilized him.

His life hung in the balance before the giant…..and yet,

“There was no sword in the hand of David”.

The young boy used what he had, what he had a history with and possessing faith and experience built upon on the provision God had covered him with before…

David killed the giant and defeated the enemies of his God…empty handed…. but with a mind and heart full of faith and validated experience.

His hands possessed no usual weaponry but his heart was full of faith.

He was empty handed in the conventional sense of physical warfare…

but the battle was The Lords.

His inner battle was victorious because of his knowledge of and confidence in The God who had provided before…

therefore, his outer conflict with Goliath was merely a matter of acting upon and executing the exercise of his already existent and proven Faith.

“There was no sword in the hand of David”

but there were more viable, though invisible. weapons gifted to him and developed by him which won him the battle.

He executed the physical act of defeating Goliath with his perfect use of the sling. He practiced and developed its prefect use.

He had to execute the exercise….

but God moved in and upon him beforehand.

We, like David, must fight battles and carry out the execution of the exercise…

but God moves in and upon us beforehand.

We may have had to or may have to pick up swords or weapons to defend or defeat in a battle.

However, most of our warfare is not physical….it is, as The Word says… “not carnal.”

In these endeavors there are no swords in our hands.

We, however, can possess what David had.

Assurance

Proven Confident Faith

Exercised and Active Belief

We must fight many battles throughout our lives.

Some physical.

Some spiritual.

Some involve both of these.

“There was no sword in the hand of David”

but he possessed victory in his spirit.

We possess that same victory before any of our battles…

because, like David. our hands may be empty

but we are held in the Right Hand of God.

We may not hold a sword with our hands…

but we can possess…….

the Power of Experienced and Proven Faith

the Position of Established Promises

the Realization of Achieved Victory.

TB

December 2023

Turning 70 about three months ago, I realize that I am most likely in the last 10-20 years of my life.

Being older can lead one to think about life with Joy, Melancholy, Regret or any of several emotions.

One can look with a dimming view toward the end of life or live in the past thinking of “glory days”.

I just watched, again, an episode of THE CHOSEN, in which Jesus visits the wedding in Cana and near the end of the evening performs what we are told is his first public miracle.

He turned water into wine.

It was not just any wine….

It was the best wine of the evening.

The story has more than one attendee knowing that a host always serves the best wine first, then when the guests have their senses a bit dulled, the lesser wine is served and no one can tell the difference.

At this feast, all of the wine was gone.

His mother asked and pleaded with Him to bless the occasion with what she knew He could do.

Jesus had the servers fill the vessels with water and then……He made it into a new and perfect wine.

The feast was enlivened and the guests were blest and surprised because the best wine was served late in the evening.

My younger life had many highlights and some evidence of “good wine”. But, I do not want to serve effort, now, that would be less than “the good stuff” because those around me have their sense of me “dulled” because of earlier or better effort.

Now, in my life…..in this later stage…

I am asking and expecting from that same Winemaker to receive the best wine into this vessel.

The wine that enlivens, the wine which positively surprises the attendees, which gives added life to the occasion, and which glorifies the Maker.

I choose to be filled with the best wine which comes from the hand of the Dresser of the Vine.

With this, I want not to go slowly into the night of life….but to be fully exercised in the mid-day warmth of the shining sun…

better than that….

the shining and illuminating brightness of The Son.

With this, I ask for and aim to be filled with this new, best wine and have my life be enlivened, enriched and emboldened, to move at a full pace through each and every one of my days….revealing the Blessing, Richness and Glory of The One who has, is and will continue to fill me.

There is a passage in The Old Testament I had most likely read before….but did not recall.

It refers to the “bones of Elisha”.

If you know Elisha, he sought after another prophet, he sought the gift and wanted the “mantle” of Elijah to be passed to him.

In 2 Kings , it says that a group of men were burying a friend. They saw another band of threatening looking people coming toward them and so they tossed or quickly lowered their deceased friends body into a grave nearby.

It was where Elisha was buried.

When the deceased mans body touched the bones of Elisha…..

he was revived,

came to life,

and stood on his feet.

Nothing else was mentioned about this man. Like Jabez….a profound statement was made about this person… and we hear no more about them.

It must not matter.

What was briefly mentioned must have sufficed to teach the lesson.

Jabez and the prayer he lifted to God has become the basis for sermons. Books and studies.

This reference to an unnamed and unknown man being brought back to life after touching the bones of Elisha….

must be enough for the reader to gain the intended instruction.

It’s not frivolous.

Resurrection happens only a very few times in the Bible. It most often was relative to Jesus and what He did.

It’s worth paying attention to.

Elisha wanted the gift Elijah had….

and asked for a double portion.

He laid himself prone on a dead body and

life returned to the deceased person.

He was known as a “wonder-worker”.

When he asked for double-portion of Elijah’s gift, the older prophet told him this would be a hard thing.

My thought is that it was not a hard thing for Elijah to grant Elisha the double portion, or for God to allow it.

The “hard thing” was going to be what was brought to Elisha in and because of the gift.

This was a “count the cost” issue.

But with that gift, Elisha changed lives.

He was obedient and active in the carrying out of the gift he was granted during his life…

that he was able to be used by God to bring life back to dead people.

This may not be theoretically correct here…but he was in receipt of so much from God that even after he died…

his bones had resurrection power.

Read 2 Kings 13: 21.

Can the “bones of Elisha” resurrect something in you?

Can you become obedient and pursuant of Gods blessing to the extent this same power might live and work in and through you?

It might depend on what you want?

Elisha followed Elijah, pursued him and sought after and asked for not merely what Elijah had been given…

but twice what Elijah had been given.

He was serious.

At some point we all must get and be serious.

In my life that came at about age 35.

God’s Word tells us we will find Him and all He has for us if we search for Him and desire Him with all our heart.

Getting serious.

Elisha got serious.

And during his life and even after his life…

God used him to bring resurrection to people.

It is not a gift you cannot desire.

This same power can be given and gifted to us.

Has your life been touched by

the bones of Elisha

in some way??

May our “bones” be used to bring light, hope and life to someone in a similar way.

Might happen….if we ask for it.

Heard a football coach talking about the upcoming season today.

In a passing comment he said….

“In order to improve, you have to be able to self-assess”.

Difficult to do.

That’s what we leave up to parents, teachers and coaches when we are young. They assess our performance, our efforts and our results.

They make judgements. They consider what it might take for us to maintain or improve. They change or affirm what we are doing.

They assess us.

In that passing comment, the coach gave insight to what it really takes to improve and succeed.

For parents, teachers and coaches can do everything within their power and  ability to influence us.

That outside influence and instruction teaches and can motivate and even bring good results.

However, until we become able to look at ourselves, with truthful honesty and clear introspection…and assess our own selves…and our own abilities and performance….we will not have lasting success.

Athletically, Michael Jordan looked at himself honestly after losing to the Detroit Pistons in the 1990 playoffs. He saw a great player. A league leading scorer. A top level talent.

But he knew that Detroit was going to put him down on the court when he drove toward the basket. He knew they were going to play overly physical with him to tame his ” high wire” game.

He also knew that to take the next step toward a title… he and his team from Chicago would need to get past Detroit.

He looked at himself and saw a physical frame that was too thin. Perfectly athletic and capable of great things… but not capable of enduring the rigors of surviving the physical play.

He inspected himself and saw something lacking.

To improve…he did a self-assessment.

He surmised that strength was needed. A more muscled frame was needed. A frame that would enable him to withstand the push and pull of physical play.

He went to the weight room.

After his assessment of himself he committed to changing his body into what he knew was needed.

Along with the stronger physical frame…and as an after effect of the commitment…came a stronger and tougher mindset. His team followed suit.

That Assessment and the subsequent commitment led to six championships and the label of being the greatest of all-time.
“To improve … you have to be able to self-assess.”

No coach could have created that change or that committnent in Michael.

No coach or trainer or parent or teacher can create the needed change and committnent in you or me…enough to realize a success that can endure.

Outside influence can bring momentary success.

Inner assessment and committment though, can develop the one given to them into a champion that can create a success process which paves the way to a continual and memorable achievement.

I have done this myself.

In the Summer of 1994, I came upon an additional way of doing business, Through a relationship with a great man from Mississippi, I learned a method of business that brought and still to this day brings great business and results.

In late February, 2003  I sought out research to better able me to do what was needed. I was lacking.  That research lifted me to another level of ability to better serve the people I served.

Early in 2010, after hearing what a client wanted, and knowing it was not in my “sweet spot” at that time, I did an assessment, made a decision and formed a partnership with another advisor, who was experienced and efficient in what I was not efficient at. That decision and the subsequent partnership has benefitted many clients, that  fellow advisor ….and myself with business and added ability and insight.

In the late spring and summer of 1971, a very successful football coach decided that in order to continue the success he had realized to a great level…he would have to change.

He self-assessed.

He had won championships. He had great and national acclaim.

But he and his team and his system had grown stale, outdated and suffered through two seasons of mediocrity. There were calls for his dismissal.

In that summer of 1971, Paul Bryant took his coaches away from their campus to learn a new System.

He told them they were going to learn a new offense called the  “wishbone”…and furthermore, they were going to sink or swim with it.

He knew that committed change was necessary and needed.

He was willing to take a great risk, change and execute the effort to excel with a new way…rather than stay safe and fade into the mediocrity his team had faded into.

He won over 100 games in the next ten years, three championships and won more games than any major college coach had, by the time he retired.

After reaching a point of crisis, he assessed himself and his program and took necessary, although risky steps. Greater success followed than had been achieved before.

The same thing has occurred with so many great successful people.

“To improve…. you have to be able to self assess.”

Spiritually. Physically. Maritally. Occupationally.

Do it.

Be courageous and do it continually, before a crisis arises.

It goes against human nature to get introspective when all is well.

Weather changes.

So do situations.

Do the assessment.

Ask the hard, but necessary questions of yourself.

It is worth the risk.

August, 2017

The heading says it all.

I am pulling for them, but if the Cubs win the 2016 World Series, they will no longer be the lovable “Cubbies” they have been since before we were all born.

One of the appealing elements to The Cubs has been their ineptitude.

Wrigley is beautiful once you get inside. It takes you back to when baseball was seen once a week on black and white small screens. If they win, then new things will be required.

Ernie Banks was so appealing when he wanted to “play two”…..even though the assumption was that the Cubs would lose both.

Leon Durham’s error against the Padres was almost as egregious as Buckner’s….it simply wasn’t in the World Series. Will Jon Lester enter into that category because he cannot field a bunt or hold a runner on first. As great a pitcher as he is, and he was the first to sign and  come aboard this new winning team playing in Cubs uniforms….. there is a similar angst in his inability to execute a fundamental part of pitching and the frustrating beauty of players like Banks, Sandberg, Williams, Wood, Pryor and others who played so well yet lost so often when it counted.

Greg Norman was a great golfer who became a greater businessman. However, on the golf course he was looked upon with sympathy because he had come so close, so many times.

My case in point…..

Were the Red Sox not a more lovable team before they slayed the Dragon and beat the Yankees in 2004…???  Did they not elicit more passion and emotion from the continually suffering New Englanders in 1978 and in 2003 than they brought  Joy AFTER winning in 2004 and again in 2007….?

It’s not the same as it was, in Fenway.

Some people think they are now look no different than……

I look both ways before saying this….

The YANKEES.

 

If The Cubs win….more will be expected. More will be required.

Look at the team this year….best record in baseball, maybe the MVP, the team felt no pressure, they were the BEST TEAM IN BASEBALL. Did not the fans expect more than winning one game of the three at WRIGLEY?  Maybe had they played during the day….the advantage might have been Chicago’s. But in the Series you play at night.

New requirements.

If they win, as happened in Boston…many fans will finally die happy.

If they win…many fans will be deliriously happy…..until April, 2017.

 

Rather that hoping and longing for their “Cubbies” to win….there will be the EXPECTATION of winning again.

Big difference between hope and expectation…especially after accomplishing what was thought to be impossible.

 

Are Yankees fans satisfied with making the playoffs?

Are Lakers fans pleased that the team might be better this year and simply be competitive???

Do Alabama football fans feel good about simply having a winning record..???

When winning happens….the bar of expectation rises and the fans no longer accept losing…..you cannot be a lovable loser after having won a Championship.

Is that not true Mets fans???

 

Its great to win it all. But the next year brings a new barometer of success.

When you taste winning there is no longer an appetite for just doing well.

 

The Cubs will no longer be “The Cubbies” if they win.

 

Terry

November 2016