Here is how it often goes…
“I want to be sure I get what I’m entitled to.”
“What is rightfully mine I expect will be given to me.”
“I’ve already participated and that is my limit.”
How nice it would be if you heard (or said) this…
“I want to be sure and give my fair share.”
“Don’t leave me off the list of folks you ask to help.”
“It wouldn’t be right if I didn’t get called on to carry part of the load.”
What a wonderful world it would be if when we heard the words “my share” we knew the meaning as ‘my share to provide’ not ‘my share to receive’.
Let me do my share in God’s Kingdom.
Tim Gramly
Education Pastor
SHBC
December 31, 2008
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Overheard
One of my great joys in life is to bump into someone who is up to unadvertised good. They are just doing the right thing for the right reasons and aren’t requiring an audience for the motivation to act charitably. Aren’t those fun discoveries?!?
If you stumbled upon me jabbering away with a friend and happen along just in time to overhear me talking about your bride, what would you want to hear said? Wouldn’t you want me to express a series of complimentary impressions?
Each time you express your opinion about your church or some other congregation within His Kingdom, your words are overheard. And human ears are not always those most attentive. I am confident Jesus knows every word we speak about His bride, the Church. He smiles with each admiring statement related to His precious sweetheart.
Say nice things. There’s plenty good to be said.
Tim Gramly
Education Pastor
SHBC
December 23, 2008
If you stumbled upon me jabbering away with a friend and happen along just in time to overhear me talking about your bride, what would you want to hear said? Wouldn’t you want me to express a series of complimentary impressions?
Each time you express your opinion about your church or some other congregation within His Kingdom, your words are overheard. And human ears are not always those most attentive. I am confident Jesus knows every word we speak about His bride, the Church. He smiles with each admiring statement related to His precious sweetheart.
Say nice things. There’s plenty good to be said.
Tim Gramly
Education Pastor
SHBC
December 23, 2008
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Option Five
I know this lady who is death to dust. You ask her what is on her ‘to do’ list and on any given day it might be to dust some room in the house. Me, notsomuch. If it is dusty, let it rest in peace. When you next need it, pick it up, turn it upside down and knock the incriminating evidence to the floor (where you can remove it the next time you are sucking dirt out of the carpet with your vacuum.)
Whenever your glance at an object reveals an extra fine layer of grime coating the top, you arrive at one of a very few conclusions. Option One: Tim is in charge of dusting here. Option Two: No one is in charge of dusting here. Option Three: The person in charge of dusting here is not on the job. Option Four: This object would have been dusted if it had been in recent use.
When you spy a powdery cover on a Bible, which option does you mind go to? Okay, after Option One. Yes, Option Four: There would not be dust on this surface if The Book were seeing any use.
Recently I pick up a dusty Bible. And it is true that it had been on my shelf for several months with little attention. But here is where the story takes a twist. I have other Bibles that I use with regular frequency; this just wasn’t one of them.
This particular Bible is the one I kept in my work locker when I was spending my fifty hours a week in the fabrication shop. It was in use five days a week. With the hanger-size doors constantly open to the graveled part dirt part crushed rock parking lot, it is not difficult to imagine how dusty that environment was. To be in use there was to be a dusty Bible.
Now, if you judged this Book by its cover, you could easily determine that it was unused, unloved, unappreciated. If you judged its owner by its cover, you might conclude that he had little interest in the esteemed value of its contents. Not true!
I am very good at seeing what I see and making up my mind about what I’ve seen quite quickly. Although first impressions can be lasting impressions, they may not always be valid impressions, because they may not be accurate impressions. I’ve seen some books with dusty covers that were entirely unused. I know some people whose dusty surfaces belie an active faith and a compassionate heart dominated by the things of God. Judging them based on their appearance would mean passing over a prized possession of God.
In the same way you wouldn’t want to miss the contents of my Book because of its outward appearance, you won’t want to miss out on people God is placing in your path solely because of your initial perceptions gained from what you see on top.
Once having made you initial survey and arriving at the place where you have but a very few available conclusions, entertain “Option Five: This object requires further exploration before arriving at an accurate conclusion.” Please apply Option Five routinely when assessing the people you meet.
Tim Gramly
Education Pastor
SHBC
December 9, 2008
Whenever your glance at an object reveals an extra fine layer of grime coating the top, you arrive at one of a very few conclusions. Option One: Tim is in charge of dusting here. Option Two: No one is in charge of dusting here. Option Three: The person in charge of dusting here is not on the job. Option Four: This object would have been dusted if it had been in recent use.
When you spy a powdery cover on a Bible, which option does you mind go to? Okay, after Option One. Yes, Option Four: There would not be dust on this surface if The Book were seeing any use.
Recently I pick up a dusty Bible. And it is true that it had been on my shelf for several months with little attention. But here is where the story takes a twist. I have other Bibles that I use with regular frequency; this just wasn’t one of them.
This particular Bible is the one I kept in my work locker when I was spending my fifty hours a week in the fabrication shop. It was in use five days a week. With the hanger-size doors constantly open to the graveled part dirt part crushed rock parking lot, it is not difficult to imagine how dusty that environment was. To be in use there was to be a dusty Bible.
Now, if you judged this Book by its cover, you could easily determine that it was unused, unloved, unappreciated. If you judged its owner by its cover, you might conclude that he had little interest in the esteemed value of its contents. Not true!
I am very good at seeing what I see and making up my mind about what I’ve seen quite quickly. Although first impressions can be lasting impressions, they may not always be valid impressions, because they may not be accurate impressions. I’ve seen some books with dusty covers that were entirely unused. I know some people whose dusty surfaces belie an active faith and a compassionate heart dominated by the things of God. Judging them based on their appearance would mean passing over a prized possession of God.
In the same way you wouldn’t want to miss the contents of my Book because of its outward appearance, you won’t want to miss out on people God is placing in your path solely because of your initial perceptions gained from what you see on top.
Once having made you initial survey and arriving at the place where you have but a very few available conclusions, entertain “Option Five: This object requires further exploration before arriving at an accurate conclusion.” Please apply Option Five routinely when assessing the people you meet.
Tim Gramly
Education Pastor
SHBC
December 9, 2008
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Penny Wise
Attractive wrapper, major brand, conveniently placed at the aisle’s end, big retailer, product I needed; it had it all going, so I bought the load of bread. It did look a liiiittle bit dark, but I ignored that initial impression because I wanted to. No way it could be on the shelf and not be edible. The dark crust was just a different baking technique…it was sure to be quite tasty.
Wrong.
The loaf of bread went home with me, sat on my shelf a few days, and then I ate a slice. It was dry! But hey, I paid good money for that bread, so later on I ate some more. And had a sandwich with a couple more slices a few days later. Fresh sawdust would have been moister!
And here is the sad part. While I am force feeding myself this over cooked and unappealing product, I have another loaf of bread in the house. It is not dry, it is being passed over, perfectly good bread, large multi-grain loaf, aging unattended and unenjoyed while I am eating an unacceptable and unattractive item that belongs in the garbage!
Wrong.
I woke up slow that week. But I did wake up. I tossed the inferior bread in the trash. And the first slice of the fresh loaf tasted soooo gooood!
Do I do this in other areas of my life? Do we? I think so. We have better options already on the shelf, available with minimal effort, and we keep on munching on something else simply because we have made some previous small investment in it.
Wrong.
I am thinking about habits of thought and attitude. We are used to approaching the situation a certain way. Deviation isn’t required, but a small change would really make a big difference. Do we keep eating from the first loaf or do we toss it away for a new one?
So much of what Jesus offers in my relationship with him is currently on the shelf. It is not a huge endeavor to make the switch, but I will have to make the choice and give up on the old stuff. I truly should make a clean break with the old and replace it with the new. Chewing on a slice from the dry loaf and the moist loaf at the same time would be
Wrong.
Tim Gramly
Education Pastor
SHBC
December 2, 2008
Wrong.
The loaf of bread went home with me, sat on my shelf a few days, and then I ate a slice. It was dry! But hey, I paid good money for that bread, so later on I ate some more. And had a sandwich with a couple more slices a few days later. Fresh sawdust would have been moister!
And here is the sad part. While I am force feeding myself this over cooked and unappealing product, I have another loaf of bread in the house. It is not dry, it is being passed over, perfectly good bread, large multi-grain loaf, aging unattended and unenjoyed while I am eating an unacceptable and unattractive item that belongs in the garbage!
Wrong.
I woke up slow that week. But I did wake up. I tossed the inferior bread in the trash. And the first slice of the fresh loaf tasted soooo gooood!
Do I do this in other areas of my life? Do we? I think so. We have better options already on the shelf, available with minimal effort, and we keep on munching on something else simply because we have made some previous small investment in it.
Wrong.
I am thinking about habits of thought and attitude. We are used to approaching the situation a certain way. Deviation isn’t required, but a small change would really make a big difference. Do we keep eating from the first loaf or do we toss it away for a new one?
So much of what Jesus offers in my relationship with him is currently on the shelf. It is not a huge endeavor to make the switch, but I will have to make the choice and give up on the old stuff. I truly should make a clean break with the old and replace it with the new. Chewing on a slice from the dry loaf and the moist loaf at the same time would be
Wrong.
Tim Gramly
Education Pastor
SHBC
December 2, 2008
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