life

Burn that Bridge, Again

/ The WheatandTares

I’ve heard it said, “Be careful the bridges you burn. You might need that passage again one day.”

At times, this can be so very true, for I believe some people simply don’t know who their friends are.

At other times, I want to scream across the chasm of experience and life, “Burn it! Set a bonfire and run away!”

You may be reading this and think, “Ohhhh, here we go. She’s got unforgiveness. She’s got a bitter root.”

But I have to disagree.

I’ve got wisdom. I’ve got experience. And I’ve got a brain.

Sometimes, there are bridges that need to be lit with a blow torch and never again embarked.

Granted, I’m not telling you to burn every passage you desire, and I’m no saying every disagreement in life should end in an explosion.

But I’ve watched too many sit still in the middle of abuse.

I’ve listened to too many stories of the narcissistic control.

I’ve witnessed too many who remain in the toxic fumes of dysfunction and lose hope.

This is when I want to cry out to send help.

This is when I want to carry the gasoline and the torch and say, “Light it.”

Yes. There are some bridges in life that must be burned to restore strength, vitality and love.

Draw on foresight, common sense and know-how.

Lean on knowledge, maturity and expertise.

Rely on truth and reality and forsake fantasy and lies.

Then, you will light the match with confidence.

Then, the destruction will leave and peace can come.

Then, Hope will be welcomed to abide.

So he departed from there, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he was with the twelfth. Then Elijah passed by him and threw his mantle on him. And he left the oxen and ran after Elijah, and said, “Please let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you.” And he said to him, “Go back again, for what have I done to you?” So Elisha turned back from him, and took a yoke of oxen and slaughtered them and boiled their flesh, using the oxen’s equipment, and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he arose and followed Elijah, and became his servant.

1 Kings 19:19-21

Walk On

/ The WheatandTares

Sometimes, you’ve just to walk.

When you’re in the middle of those toxins that are choking you, walk.

When you find yourself surrounded by the dunes of hostility and anger, walk.

When all you can see is the fiery darts of bitterness and hatred, walk.

Sometimes, it’s just better to remove yourself than to expect the other to change.

When you realize you’ve landed in the center of their pain, and they refuse to care, walk.

When you recognize you’re not helping, and those receiving refuse to give, walk.

When all you hear is the negative, the criticism, the accusations, walk.

You don’t have to stay to prove you’re right.

You don’t have to remain in the mud to express your love.

You don’t have to maintain the relationship when the abuse and jealousy are the weights.

This is not your punishment nor reward.

This is not your purpose or calling.

This is not your destiny.

Walk on, my friend.

Walk on.

But He answered and said to the one who told Him, “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?” And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, “Here are My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.”

Matthew 12:48-50

Do not rob the poor because he is poor,
Nor oppress the afflicted at the gate; For the Lord will plead their cause, And plunder the soul of those who plunder them. Make no friendship with an angry man, And with a furious man do not go, Lest you learn his ways And set a snare for your soul.

Proverbs 22:22-25

Forgiveness is not Reconciliation

/ The WheatandTares

I choose to forgive because unforgiveness keeps me bound to you.

I choose forgiveness because unforgiveness consumes my thoughts and builds a prison of you.

I choose forgiveness because unforgiveness eats away at my peace, my joy and my quiet knowing and turns my focus to you.

I’m trying to forget what you’ve done; so, why would I choose unforgiveness that would just make me remember?

I’m trying to live and love in freedom; so, why would I choose unforgiveness that would bring your bondage and chains?

I’m watching my children thrive while enjoying my own. So, why would I ever go back to choosing your way of reconciliation.

Forgiveness isn’t reconciliation, and reconciliation isn’t always forgiveness.

But knowing the difference…

Oh, that has made all the difference!

And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.

Mark 11:25

Eternity Echoes

/ The WheatandTares / 2 Comments
I do not own or possess this pic.
Google search.

What we do matters.

What we say is important.

Who we impact echoes into eternity.

Too many today attempt to play the nonchalant card.

They try to act as if they can do what they want, you can do what you want, and no one pays any rewards or consequences.

It’s just living life.

But oh. How wrong we can be.

If I always do me, and you always do me, all we create is two spheres full of selfishness and self centeredness.

If I’m focused only on me, and you only on you, we become consumed on our own desires, our own requests, our own demands.

And eventually, no one else matters.

Yet, it’s supposed to matter because after all, my expectations are highest priority to me.

And your expectations are highest priority to high, and then, we’re both at an impasse.

Because if it’s all about me, and it’s all absolutely you, then, you don’t matter to me, and I don’t matter to you!

What wretched and lost souls we become, and what wrecked havoc we leave for those behind us.

All kindness, and love and harmony is expected for me (and for you), but it sucks the life out of all those who are impacted because they are seeking the same.

And what about the children racing toward the edge of a knife?

What about those innocent souls who cry out to be loved, nurtured and directed?

Our self consumption depleted their hope for tomorrow because all they can see is our command for the now.

What we do in life does echo in eternity.

It is a repeating anthem across the chasms of time.

What will your reverberations be?

A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children, But the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous.

Proverbs 13:22

So these nations feared the Lord, yet served their carved images; also their children and their children’s children have continued doing as their fathers did, even to this day.

2 kings 17:41

Get Busy Livin’ or Get Busy Dyin’

/ The WheatandTares

Robert Herrick wrote a poem that had this verse,

Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,
Old Time is still a-flying;
And this same flower that smiles today
Tomorrow will be dying.

And in the movie, Dead Poets Society , Robin Williams implores the students to live life to the fullest, to reach beyond the complacent living that is so tempting and make their lives extraordinary.

I wonder how often we actually wake up and purposefully make our lives extraordinary.

Seriously, this about your day today.

How did you wake up?

What did you do in the first 30 minutes?

What did you do in the last 30 minutes?

What about all of those tiny seconds in between?

Do we work hard to live our lives to make an impact,

Or do we simply impact our lives hard to live for work?

Each one of us have the opportunity to rise above the norm, to stretch beyond the comfort, to strive above to greater heights.

It is up to each of us to choose what influence we will have,

And it is up to us whether we choose to live for dyin’ or die trying to live.

Which will you choose?

Whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even avapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.

James 4:14

Callings Will Change You

/ The WheatandTares
I do not own this picture. Art by: Klein

I read something recently that began, “Your calling is going to crush you.”

If I weren’t a Christian, and I’d never heard of a calling, or that statement might intimidate me.

If I weren’t called, that quote might make me wrinkle my forehead and wonder why someone would be liking to be crushed by something they chose.

But that’s where information and revelation alter your perspective.

See, when you have no revelation, you might not understand why I do the things I do.

When you have no revelation, you might not grasp the importance of my choices, if my sacrifices, of my disciplines.

Oh, but when you have a revelation, your eyes are open, your heart is refreshed, your soul longs for one more moment, one more taste of that living water you’ve found.

And you’ll do anything to maintain it.

You’ll do anything to keep it.

You’ll do anything to remain in it.

You’ll lay down desires, and expectations, demands and wishes.

Just for another moment.

It’s like finding a new love, but it’s so much more.

It’s like recognizing a new craving, but it’s beyond that.

It’s like getting a glimpse of paradise, but it’s to a greater extent.

If you’ve never experienced the moment, it will be difficult to explain it.

For it’s not a simple piece of knowledge that can be spoken or read about.

You have to fast it.

You have to feel it.

You have to experience the revelation.

Then, you’ll never be the same.

Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”

John 4.10

As the deer pants for the water brooks, So pants my soul for You, O God.

Psalm 42:1

Stretch

/ The WheatandTares

How’s your stretching today?

If you’re growing, you’re going to be stretching.

If you’re learning, you’re going to be expanding.

If you’re progressing, you’re going to be changing.

You can never become without growth.

You can never advance without change.

You can never develop without pruning.

When a seed bursts into a plant, the seed pod breaks.

When the sprout grows, it has to break through the ground.

When the stems reach for the sky, they have to stretch and move.

And if the tree is to one day flourish and bear abundant fruit, it has to be pruned.

Growing is never easy, and sometimes, it’s definitely not fun.

But if we are to be what we are called to be, we must embrace it.

We must look for opportunities to learn, to progress, to change.

If we are to succeed, we must learn to love the stretch.

Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do,forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 3:12-14

Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.

1 Corinthians 9:24-27

RED

/ The WheatandTares / 2 Comments

This draft was written a at back on December 27, 2015. In that year, there was a “cultural war” going on concerning Starbucks’ red Christmas cups. Remember that?

The circumstances may have changed, but the wisdom here still remains the same…

It’s quite the topic as of late.

It’s quite amazing what a color can create.

It’s quite incredible what a simple choice can become.

…It’s really quite ridiculous…

…on both side of the fence….

Yes, Christians are fired up over the color, believing more should be said…more should be written…more should be done. They have a point, too often, Christians are expected to simply swallow whatever ‘tolerance pill’ society is currently handing out, and it is implied, if not outright spoken, that they just need to “shut up and realize, ‘This is the way things are going to be. If you speak out, you’re just a bad witness, a bad influence and definitely a bad Christian!'” After all, they’re sick of being silenced.

Yes, quieter Christians are fired up over the cup, believing less should be said, less…less should be written…less should be done. They have a point, vocalizing, “Christians, more often than not, ‘major on the minors’. They make major fusses over the little things that are petty, insignificant and unchangable, and they minor on the important, life-altering, transforming things of this society.” After all, all the fuss is offensive to the world; a kinder, gentler approach is best. A more loving voice to this world will reach more and save more.

Honestly, I’ve been on both sides of the fence. I’ve made my own mistakes, and I’m trying to find my way back to Center. Neither side looks pretty, and, frankly, neither side looks completely like Christ. Yeah, that’s a shocker, I know. However, let’s look at a few things to see if that’s true…

Jesus spoke in parables to the multitudes.

Jesus called the Pharisees “sons of snakes.”

Jesus fed the 5,000, not including women and children.

Jesus took a whip and cleansed the temple.

Jesus told the rich young ruler Truth, and he went away sad.

He said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan,” and Peter loved Him anyway.

Jesus told the adulterous woman she was forgiven; yet, He ALSO told her to, “Go and sin no more.”

Too often, we as Christians, tend to lean too far toward grace (=tolerance) or too far toward judgement (=intolerance).

You will always lean more to one side or the other. The key is to (1) recognize it, (2) pray for wisdom and love, (3) Find what The Word says about it on both sides. We need to learn to lean more on the Truth of God, rather than our own opinions, feelings and intuitive interpretations of what we think He means.

Too often, we seek out what makes us comfortable not changed.

We share what relaxes rather than what confronts.

We long for tranquility rather than transformation.

Yet, when Christ walked this Earth, He loved, challenged, comforted, confronted, taught and changed lives.

His truth neither caused relaxation nor condemnation.

His Truth brought about true conviction which brought about TRANSFORMATION.

His Truth also, eventually, made them want to kill Him…

Shouldn’t we be trying to be more like Him and less like them? Shouldn’t we be fighting more in prayer and less on Facebook, Twitter or even face to face?

Shouldn’t we be seeking the manifestation of His presence rather than the exaltation of those around us?

But I tend to wonder if we’re more afraid of the crowd than we are the cloud…

But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

Matthew 6:33

If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.

John 15:18-19

Committed Crazies

/ The WheatandTares
(Yeah. Somebody spelled it wrong, and my grammar self is going crazy inside!)

Some people don’t really have to be crazy.

They’ve just committed themselves to being a certain way, and their stubbornness will not relent.

Others have lived undisciplined for so long that they have convinced themselves this is a good life.

Still others, have fully embraced their crazy, and they want everyone else to embrace it as somehow normal.

If you find yourself in one of these three categories, and you’re living life believing everyone is just giving you a hard time, or they’re all just so difficult to be around , or they never give you a break to be who you are, please hear me screaming at you across the cosmic divide.

STOP!! HALT!! RELEASE!! RELENT!! END NOW!

Stop right now, in your tracks, and listen a moment to reason.

Open your ears to wisdom calling to you.

No one accidentally becomes the “crazy one.”

No one stumbles into the pools of insanity.

It is a choice. And you make it everyday.

So, make the right decisions.

Choose the correct outcomes.

Your spouse will thank you. Your children will sing your praises. And friends will begin to visit again as you walk away from the crazies and embrace life!

Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do,forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you. Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us be of the same mind.

Philippians 3:13-16

But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.

1Corinthians 9:27

Everyone’s Crazies

/ The WheatandTares

The holidays always bring with them interesting family dynamics and semantics.

For some, it’s just simply dealing with the edges of uncomfortable scenarios and conversations, but nothing real out of the way.

No harm. No foul.

For others, it’s complete removal from the dysfunction and toxic environment which accompanies family, celebrations and traditions.

Survival of the Fittest or Crabs in a Barrel.

For most, it can just be learning to navigate between the two extremes.

The Journey to the Center of the Earth.

Wherever you find yourself during your yearly festivities, strive to do better.

Better yet, don’t just strive to survive.

Learn to thrive!

Your thriving isn’t going to look like another’s.

So, do what you can do to succeed.

Their crazies aren’t yours, and yours aren’t theirs.

They don’t have to understand.

Happy Crazy Holidays.

The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree,
He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
Those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God.They shall still bear fruit in old age;
They shall be fresh and flourishing,
To declare that the Lord is upright;
He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.

Psalm 92:12-15

Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless; and consider thatthe longsuffering of our Lord is salvation—as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they doalso the rest of the Scriptures. You therefore, beloved, since you know thisbeforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked; but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.

2 Peter 3:14-18