Knowing Who You Are

  When is the last time anyone genuinely inquired as to how you are doing? I'm not talking about the standard "How are you doing?" greeting, but someone sincerely wanting to know how you are' both inside and out. I spend a great amount of time listening to others. I can probably tell you more about some people than you would care to know and it isn't because I'm a gossip. I just make it a practice to listen well. The trouble with being a good listener is that there aren't may people who actually practice listening to others so you may find yourself having listened to someone for hours only to have the conversation end on a one-sided note; You know intricately more about them but they haven't asked you one question about yourself.

  I do believe that there was a time when communicating was full duplex, (conversation going back and forth between two parties simultaneously), instead of half duplex (communication being accomplished between parties but not simultaneously). Growing up in the 60's I learned so much from my mother who was a very communicable person. True enough, she taught me to love the written word and encouraged me to read anything from encyclopedias to dictionaries to folk tales but she encouraged me to express myself, as well.  My memories of my mother are very vivid and plethoric and for some reason it seemed as if I spent more time with her then I did with my siblings. After she passed away her absence in my life was never replaced by another.

  Romans 12:3 states "...do not think that you are better than you really are. Use good sense and measure yourself by the amount of faith that God has given you." (Contemporary English Version).  I do try to be humble but at the same time I am bold enough to recognize that I am an exceptionally smart and talented man. I know that much of my drive to "be better" came from being the sixth out of seven children. Like David in the Bible, I felt that I was overlooked many times because of my small stature and plain appearance. Whenever my parent's would have social gatherings at our home, (which was quite often),  most of the attention was centered around the twins, (who were a year older than me), my older siblings who could sing and dance, and my baby sister. It wasn't until The Jackson 5 arrived on the music scene that I even conceived being the focal point of anything.  To this very day I am thankful for Michael Jackson for encouraging me to get out front.

  Still, through my schooling, the military, the ministry, my marriages, working with special needs children and incarcerated youth I found myself, once again, having to strive extra hard to show people that I did, in fact, exist.  

  Perhaps I am destined to be as I am until my final days. If that is the case then I am not in despair because I really want God to get all of the credit for any good thing that I have said and done in life; however, I would not be telling the truth if I didn't confess that I would love for  someone to genuinely say to me "Tell me about yourself, Dennis." 

  Michael Bassey once said, "Popularity makes no sense if your fame is a shame." Knowing this, I will ascribe to the type of life described by Virginia Woolf when she wrote, "Better was it to go unknown and leave behind you an arch, then to burn like a meteor and leave no dust." 

  Life is sometimes complicated.
  
I suppose I'm feeling a bit in my feelings today. 

Putting On A New Attitude

I had one of my war dreams last night. In my dream I was back in the military again and our unit was preparing to go through some rigorous training. I was unaware that my dream had escaped the confines of my own mind until my wife told me this morning that I said to her in my sleep, "Put on your boots. We are going to the field."

Later this morning as I entered my study I read Ephesians chapter 4 and the Word was so very much alive to me. It spoke about unity between all who profess to be a Christian and how our attitudes towards one another and non-Christians should be.

I have always believed that the enemy distracts us with sensational news in order to keep us away from the things that are truly important. We all were born with a specific purpose and when we take on the life God wants us to live we become virtually unstoppable.

The God life calls for humility, gentleness, patience, bearing with one another in love and making every effort to maintain this unity in love. But we were born guilty (Psalm 51:5) and changing our nature isn't always an easy thing to do.

I once worked for a man who was extremely bi-polar. He took medicine that helped him to remain focused and calm but he would often neglect the medicine because he liked the feeling of being unrestrained; unchecked, uninhibited and uncontrollable. You can say that applying the Word of God to our lives is the medicine that calms our sin nature.

My writings are meant to be conversations. I don't try to be "preachy" because non-Christians sometimes get offended and some Christians are competitive; judging every word to see if it is of God. Therefore, I merely speak and let God sort out the rest. 

Why is there so much fighting among those who claim to have the same father? We are no longer children. We are not supposed to be living out of the vanity of our own minds. How then are so many Christian's hearts ignorant and hardened?

Some people have lost all sensitivity and have abandoned themselves to speaking freely about their promiscuous sexual practices. They claim a new life but remain in their former life which is corrupted and lustful. This unchecked nature has found its way into many of our churches. I would say that it has crept in, but that would be a lie. This sinful nature has boldly walked into our places of worship scantly clad or bearing a lust-filled eye because it knows it will not be checked.

Please hear this; "God has not given us a Spirit of fear, but of love and of power and a sound mind." (II Timothy 1:7). We must, once again, find Holy Ghost boldness in our churches, in our homes and especially in our everyday lives. It is time to stop being false with people. Speak the truth. If it offends someone, oh well. The truth is better than a lie any day. If the dress is too tight; tell her. If his pants are too tight; tell him. If you notice someone trying to mix darkness with light; educate them. Stop holding grudges. You can love someone and not associate with them daily.

Stop stealing from your job. Stop talking ungodly around certain people because you want to fit in. Stop looking for a blessing from God when you do your best to be as cheap as you can be; never supporting a good cause, never contributing to the needy and always making an excuse not to give generously to the church.

Stop slandering your brother and sister in the Lord.

Stop grieving the Holy Spirit of God.