David Richardson

I’ve sat in a lot of meetings throughout my ministry.  Really, A LOT of them.  During these meetings, I have witnessed an incredible number of helpful ideas floating around.  Ideas that looked logical to the eye and sounded brilliant to the ear.  But the best ideas discussed in the meeting rooms were these:  the ones that sprung into action.

Church leaders, we can talk and talk about great concepts, but sooner or later we must make them materialize.  Eventually, the time comes to put up or shut up.  Why?  Because talk is cheap. 

Joshua did not just talk about taking the promise land…he did it.  Jesus did not just talk about saving humanity…He did it.  Paul did not just talk about taking mission trips…he did it. 

What ideas are you considering as an individual or as a leadership team?  If they are God-inspired and wise, then do this:  move from idea to action.  Allow your dreams to take on flesh and become realities.

After all, when you stand before God and give an account of what you did with your life, brilliant strategies discussed in meetings won’t matter much.  What will matter is whether or not your took your stand and fulfilled your mission.  Good intentions, exciting possibilities, and clever ideas alone just won’t cut it.

What ultimately matters is what you do…now what you talk about in meetings.

When I was a summer youth pastor at First Baptist Church of Sumter, South Carolina in 1991, I led a youth retreat to Awanita Valley.  We had a great time of studying God’s Word and enjoying each other’s company for several days in a fantastic little corner of the world.  During one of the Bible studies I was leading, a young teenage girl started to emotionally unload on the rest of the group.  She yelled and cried about how painful her life was and how unsympathetic our youth group seemed to be.  Being a college student that really had no experience with this type of outburst, I decided to give the group a 10 minute break so things could settle down. 

After the break, we got back together and I said something like this:  “I know it got a little bit awkward in here a few minutes ago, and I hope all of you are ok now.”  One of the teenage guys smiled and said, “It’ll be alright in the morning.”  Others nodded, but I didn’t know what he was talking about.  Later that day, he told me what his phrase meant.  It was based on Psalm 30:5, which states “weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.”  Then, it all made sense.

Are you in pain right now?  Does hope seem to be vanishing?  Are clouds of darkness causing you to live in a gloomy shadow?  If so, remember this:  it’s only temporary.  You will come through this.  You will smile again.  You will be freed, restored, and healed.  The best thing that will happen is this:  your night of weeping will be replaced with a morning of rejoicing!  Maybe it will happen this week.  Maybe it will happen next month.  Maybe it will happen when you go home to be with the Lord.  I may not know when your morning is coming, but I do know this:  it is coming. 

Keep calling out to God.  Keep claiming His soothing promises.  Finally, keep reminding yourself of this:  it’ll be alright in the morning!  Your best and brightest days are ahead.

A few days ago, I was visiting a state park and suddenly noticed this little guy walking on top of a dumpster.  Using his head he opened the dumpster, climbed inside for a moment, and came out with a meal to eat.  Quite a moment!

Not knowing much about racoons, I did a little research.  Here are some things I learned:

[1]  Adults can weigh up to 21 pounds.  The largest one on record is 61 pounds.

[2]  They have short life spans.  In the wild, some of them live 12 years.  The longest life on record for a racoon in captivity is 21 years.

[3]  Their mating season is in January, and their babies are born in the Spring.  Baby racoons are called “kits.”  The males play no role whatsoever in raising them.

[4]  They are capable of unlocking doors.

[5]  They clean all of their food before they eat it.  If you give one a sugar cube, he will clean it and wash it until it dissolves into nothing.

[6]  They eat plants and animals.

[7]  They never live more than 1,200 feet from a permanent water source.

“He who conceals his hatred has lying lips”  Proverbs 10:18 – New International Version

We live in a world filled with hate.  People who are opposed to one another over politics, religion, and even athletics spew venomous hatred at each other without a second’s hesistation.  There seems to be no lack of this poison in modern society.

But there actually is something that may be worse, and here it is:  hiding hatred.  This has to do with insincerity, or smiling to someone’s face and then ripping their name to shreds when they exit the room.  It happens a lot here in the southern part of America, where we value kindness, hospitality, and not saying what we really think.  (Sorry, my fellow southerners, but it’s true.)

This little verse in Proverbs reminds us that feeling hatred on the inside and expressing kindness on the outside is an ungodly combination.  Pretending to like somebody when we really can’t stand them makes us liars.  I think we know what God thinks about anyone living a lie.

Does this mean, therefore, that we need to run around telling people that we hate them and hope they drive off a cliff somewhere?  Nope.  That’s the other extreme which is also to be avoided.  What it means is that we have got to be real with people.  We must be transparent about what we think and feel.  After praying about our own hearts and attitudes, we need to be honest with others, and even willing to discuss our differences with them if necessary.  If the difference is not earth-shattering, perhaps it can be overlooked.  If, on the other hand, the difference is causing problems, it ought to be discussed in a productive manner that is toned by brotherly or sisterly love.  The goal of this discussion is not to harp on the problem, but work towards an acceptable solution. 

Here’s the bottom line:  let’s all be honest with each other.  This will keep bitterness out of our hearts, and will enable us to trust each other.  Anything less than this will cause our relationships to fall short of what they could be.