The After-Oakdale Chronicles

TODAY IS…

the day to refuse to be discouraged.

“Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.”  James 1:2 NLT

“Great joy?”

How can we ever be expected to find any joy in hardship and troubles, let alone great joy?

These things generally have a way of tugging us downward and it becomes easy to be discouraged. Many of us have a tendency to turn inward and become sullen and angry. With all of this negativity swirling around us, where do we get the strength to fight the feeling of discouragement?

If we have learned the lessons the Bible has held out to us, we should be able to remind ourselves that troubles will come to all of us. This is simply a fact of life. A strong relationship with God does not always insulate us from the difficulties that all human beings face here on earth. What our relationship with God does do for us is give us the knowledge that our faith can turn the pain or hardship of whatever we are facing into an opportunity to learn and to grow personally, and to grow in our relationship with, and reliance upon, God.

We can erase the negativity of being discouraged and replace it with a positive outlook, secure in the knowledge that God is with us, just as He was with David. When the Lord rescued him from all of his enemies and from Saul, David was so thankful he sang, “…my God is my rock, in whom I find protection.” (2 Samuel 22:3a NLT).

Every time we refuse to be discouraged when we are confronted with problems in our lives, our faith is strengthened and our love for God and complete trust in Him is evident not only to Him, but to those around us as well.

No one expects us to put on a false face of happiness in the midst of all of our troubles, but a positive outlook, borne out of the knowledge that God will give us all that we need to make it through any situation, will radiate from us and will set a good example for others.

Life is going to deliver each and every one of us some bad news and trying times. This much is a certainty. With a strong relationship with God, we can all remain focused on getting through whatever it is and we can all refuse to be discouraged.

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Taken from “TODAY IS….A Gift From God”, (C) 2013 Tony Casson

TODAY IS…

a wonderful day to love the Lord.

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”  Deuteronomy 6:5 NASB

“But I love Him every day!”

And while this may not be a completely false statement, can each of us say that we do it exactly as God wants us to?

If we closely examine each and every moment of yesterday, did we show our love for God in everything that we said and did?

Did we speak harshly to someone when we could just as easily have held our tongue?

Did we harbor thoughts about people that were inappropriate or against God’s teachings?

Did we spread gossip about others around us?

Did we engage in inappropriate activities?

We all know that how we live our lives and how we interact with those around us are all clear indicators of how we feel about the Lord. Does God expect us to be perfect each and every moment of each and every day? Of course not. If we were capable of being perfect, we would be… well, we would be God, and we know not one of us comes close.

So, if we can never be perfect; if we will always fail in ways both large and small; if thoughts and actions will always escape us that are in direct conflict with what we know God expects of us, how then can we possibly do what Moses instructed the Israelites to do so very long ago?

The answer is not as complicated or difficult to arrive at as we may think.

Many of us have had experience with very small children. Teaching them something is not a one-time proposition. They require constant attention, constant reminding, and constant correcting. We must all look at ourselves as small children when it comes to our relationship with God. We must constantly be reminded and corrected by Him and the way He does this is through His Word.

By taking time each day to read the Bible, meditate on its meaning, and think about where we might have fallen short yesterday in showing our love for God through the way we dealt with those around us and the way we conducted ourselves, we are, in fact, demonstrating that we do understand the words of Moses.

When our children look up at us and say they are sorry for something they have done, we know they are expressing their love for us.

And God knows as well when we look up to Him and do the same thing. He does not expect us to express our love for Him by being perfect. He expects us to express our love by being aware of our imperfections and always asking for His help in improving.

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Taken from “TODAY IS….A Gift From God”, (C) 2013 Tony Casson

TODAY IS…

a superb day to clean out your closets.

“For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.”  Romans 3:23 NLT

No matter what skeletons we may have in our closets, we are not alone.

It is important that we understand this, for that is the first step in cleaning those skeletons out, wiping our spiritual slate clean, and discarding the tremendous emotional, spiritual, and even physical burden of dark sins or behaviors.

No matter what secrets we may be hiding or destructive habits we may indulge in, even though we are uniquely created by God, there is nothing unique about our sin or the darkness in which we may live. If we have a secret life, it helps to know that we are not alone, but if we live all, or parts, of our lives secretly, we need to clean out our closets.

There is simply nothing more destructive to us as individuals than to have behaviors that we feel must be kept secret from our families, friends, and business associates. The knowledge that our closet is full of skeletons that could come tumbling out at any moment is always there, lurking in the recesses of our minds. This knowledge weighs heavily on our hearts, lowers our ability to be open and honest with others in many ways, diminishes our self-esteem, and impedes our ability to love ourselves which, in turn, impedes our ability to truly love others in a fresh, honest, healthy way.

So what kind of tools are needed for this spiritual closet-cleaning?

The Holy Bible is the most effective one. Any spiritual cleansing must begin by asking God to forgive what we have been doing – whether the secrets we are hiding are sexual promiscuity and infidelity, alcohol or drug abuse, or an addiction or obsession with pornography; no matter what the behavior is, the first step is always to turn to the Lord and ask forgiveness.

After that, pray for the courage, wisdom, strength, and desire to do all of the things that must be done to empty out those dark spaces where the secrets have resided.

Seek counseling; make apologies to a spouse, friend, or other family members; seek out support groups and draw from the strength and experiences of the many others who are just like you.

Cleaning out our closets can be very difficult. It can take a lot of time, effort, and even a lot of pain. But in the end, the darkness will be replaced with happiness, joy, and God’s grace.

The Bible is your spiritual broom.

Pick it up today and use it to clean out your closet.

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Taken from “TODAY IS….A Gift From God”, (C) 2013 Tony Casson

TODAY IS…

an outstanding day to remember.

“This is a day to remember.”  Exodus 12:14a NLT

Each new day that God presents to us as His gift should be met with the desire to make it a day to remember.

While Exodus 12:14 was originally God’s instruction to the Israelites to remember the night He passed over those houses that were marked with the blood of a lamb or goat, sparing the lives of the first born sons of all the Israelites, we should all take heed of those words and make every day that He gives us one to remember. We should show our love and our gratitude by making each new day a day of significance in our lives.

When we spend time regularly reading the Bible and meditating on the Word of God, we will discover a multitude of ways to make each new day one to remember. The thing that is important to bear in mind is this:

Don’t make it complicated.

We often allow ourselves to be overwhelmed by God and what He is capable of as well as what He does for us on a daily basis. Some of us may feel inadequate when compared to Him, but dwelling on that is a mistake. We simply cannot compare to the Almighty Father but the best thing to remember is – He doesn’t expect us to!

So, rather than get all entwined in feelings of doubt and inadequacy, rejoice for God has given us the ability to do the things He does expect of us. And by doing those things that God expects us to do, we are making each day significant in the eyes of the Lord and therefore we are making each day a day to remember.

Letting people see the Lord reflected in us is a great way to start. Being friendly, upbeat, supportive, cheerful, caring; all of these things will demonstrate to others how they can be if they allow God to work in them as well.

Dropping unused clothing at a place that helps those in need is another way to make today significant and memorable. Going to the store to buy some canned fruits, vegetables, and meats then dropping them off at a food bank is another way.

Taking time to help an elderly neighbor or a stranger in distress.

Praying for others.

Volunteering and working with the poor and the needy.

Using professional talents, education, and abilities to mentor or tutor.

The list of ways to do what God does expect us to do is long and finding a way to glorify Him and make this day a day of significance in service to others should never be viewed as complicated or difficult.

The Bible will guide your heart, and your heart will direct your actions. Your actions will then make today – and every day – significant, making them all days to remember.

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Taken from “TODAY IS….A Gift From God”, (C) 2013 Tony Casson

TODAY IS…

a good day to swallow your pride.

“Pride only breeds quarrels…”  Proverbs 13:10a NIV

We have all been there. We have all faced the brick wall of stubbornness – ours, or that of a loved one, friend, or business associate.

We have all said, “I did nothing wrong. If anyone needs to take the first step it is her (or him).”

Sometimes many of us may feel that we are always the ones to apologize or hold out the hand of peace even when we are certain in our minds, and in our hearts, that it is the other person who is wrong and is the one who should apologize.

There are several ways to look at situations such as this and one of them may be that if we closely examined our part in whatever the conflict might be, perhaps we are not as “innocent” as we have convinced ourselves that we are. If we look closely, we might see where we said or did something that technically was right, but we knew (even if we didn’t acknowledge it at the time) would set the other person off.

Perhaps it was not intentional, but retrospect reveals that, in many cases, the point we pushed so hard didn’t really need to be pushed at all.

No matter how we arrived at this impasse, we are here, so now what?

Letting pride get in the way and allowing it to drive a wedge in your relationship – personal or professional – is definitely not the right thing to do. In fact, it is most definitely the wrong thing to do. If we allow pride to prevent us from closing the gap that conflict has created, we are allowing darkness to hold sway over us.

More than likely, if we step back and think about which one makes us feel better – being stubborn and angry, or ignoring our pride and making the conflict disappear – we will decide that swallowing our pride is far less painful than the discomfort we will have to carry in our hearts if we allow the situation to continue.

Do we have to apologize for something we really did not do?

Of course not. But we can be sorry we pushed so hard on an issue we knew was important to the other person. We can just say we are sorry that we have allowed anything to impede that relationship.

Asking God to help out and guide us to the words that will bring peace and healing is a good way to push out the darkness that is the harbinger of pride.

We would all prefer to swallow a succulent piece of fruit or a deliciously tempting piece of chocolate; but sometimes what we must swallow is, simply, our pride.

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Taken from “TODAY IS….A Gift From God”, (C) 2013 Tony Casson

TODAY IS…

the ideal day to start a fire.

“I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me.”  Psalm 16:7 NIV

Here is a little prayer that might help to put us all in a fire-starting mood:

If it is God’s will,
I will!
If it is His desire,
It will be my fire!

Determining what God wants us to do isn’t as difficult as some of us make it. All that is required is to ask Him.

“Yeah, right,” you say. “I do that all the time, and am still never sure if what I am doing is what He wants me to be doing.”

Reading the Bible, meditating on what we read and listening with our hearts for His answer are important. Far too often we ask questions and immediately get wrapped up in our busy lives, never taking the all–important time to look, and listen, for His response.

Many times we set off with the intention of carrying out plans we have already made and then, as an after-thought, take a moment or two to ask the Lord to bless those plans. Horses do not push carts, they pull them, so we mustn’t put the cart before the horse. We must ask God what He would have us do, and then make the plans and ask for His blessing.

By placing God first in our lives, we will learn to identify what His will is, and if we are doing His will, He will give us all the help we will need.

After teaching a crowd while standing in Simon’s boat, anchored a little off the shore of Lake Gennesaret – also known as the Sea of Galilee – Jesus instructed Simon to go out in deep water and drop his nets.

“Simon answered, ‘Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because You say so, I will let down the nets.’” (Luke 5:5 NIV).

Of course we all know that the result of doing the Lord’s will was nets so full that they began to break. They needed to get help from another boat and both boats were soon so full, they were on the verge of sinking.

Even in the middle of all that water, the fishermen were on fire!

They were rewarded for doing what the Lord wanted them to do. When the lives we lead are led by the will of God, the excitement we will experience will have a combustible quality to it; we will feel as if we will burst into flames of joy at any moment, so intense will be our desire to do God’s will.

Perhaps it will never be as easy for us, or as clear as it was for Simon. The Lord may not be physically standing in front of us, but He is there, calling us forward, and He is in our hearts. It is there that our ability to “hear” Him resides, and it is important that we always listen.

Pray, meditate, and listen and then make today the day you light the fire of your passion to do God’s will.

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Taken from “TODAY IS….A Gift From God”, (C) 2013 Tony Casson

TODAY IS…

a great day to be good for goodness’ sake.

“They celebrate Your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of Your righteousness.”  Psalm 145:7 NIV

Consequences.

We’ve all experienced some of them at one point in our lives or another. More than likely, as children we have all heard someone explain that bad behavior would trigger some sort of negative response or punishment and this is what was commonly referred to as “facing the consequences.”

Those of us who are parents have probably employed the same techniques of sitting a child down and explaining that what he or she had just done was “wrong” or “bad behavior” and that any repetition of that behavior would carry consequences of one type or another.

It is an unfortunate fact of life that this method of steering individuals, young or old, to proper behavior is used often.

Use seat belts or the consequences will be a ticket (or worse).

Do not drink and drive or the consequences will be jail (or worse).

One has to wonder sometimes if we are capable of doing the right thing for the right reason and not simply because something bad will happen if we don’t.

The old adage, “What would Jesus do?” can only be answered one way: Jesus would do the right thing, every time, for the right reason.

Of course, since the rest of us do not have the distinction of being Jesus, how are we to know what the right thing is? How can we change the way we look at things so our goodness is driven by goodness itself rather than by the consequences of our actions?

By being positive and by constantly thinking about the benefits of doing something (or not doing something, for that matter).

For example, we should want to wear a seat belt to protect us in the event of an accident because we are important to our friends and family.

By the same token, we should not want to operate a motor vehicle if we have been drinking for those same reasons plus the additional positive reasons of not wanting to risk causing harm or tragedy to befall others.

The same process or principle can be utilized in every aspect of our daily life.

It is simply the act of letting the Bible guide us and thinking about how what we do affects others. And those of us who are parents can begin teaching our children to think less about consequences and more about other people because it is the right way to live, the right way to act, and the right way to do exactly what Jesus would do.

We can live, and raise our children, by the principle that we should be good simply for goodness’ sake.

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Taken from “TODAY IS….A Gift From God”, (C) 2013 Tony Casson

TODAY IS…

the day to think about where God stands.

“The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth.”  Psalm 145:18 NASB

Much is written in the Bible about how God is always there for us as we do our best to navigate the sometimes stormy seas of this life.

Our human frailty sometimes causes us to forget this in times of our most profound troubles or sorrows, but it is precisely during these times that we must refresh our spirit with the following truths:

• God stands over us to remain vigilant on our journey through life;
• God stands in front of us to call us forward giving us encouragement and hope;
• God stands beside us to keep us steady and on the path to Him;
• God stands behind us to block out the past so that we can focus on today and look forward to tomorrow.

With this kind of protection, guidance, and encouragement, the low spots in our lives become opportunities to thank God, for while He will never totally remove trouble from our lives, He will be near to us so that we can lean heavily on His Word and learn from all we face as we move closer to our final reward.

With God in all of these positions around us, we can also call on Him to show us how to help others when they encounter troubles in their lives. By reminding them of just how close the Lord is to us at all times and no matter in which direction we look, we can help them to learn from their troubles and become a source of friendship, strength and love for others.

Knowing that God is everywhere we look will give us a confident outlook and will produce a glow from deep within us that those around us will notice. Perhaps they will want to know what your secret is and you can tell them that it’s really not a secret at all.

We just have to know where God stands.

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Taken from “TODAY IS….A Gift From God”, (C) 2013 Tony Casson

TODAY IS…

a great day to practice artful avoidance.

“Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels.”  2 Timothy 2:23 NIV

As Christians, we have a responsibility to others to help them see the truth that God has shown us exists in our hearts. Sometimes we don’t consider ourselves to be equal to the task of demonstrating or teaching about the love, peace and joy that we have discovered in ourselves through our reading of the Word of God and our ever-growing relationship with Him..

Maybe we don’t think we are ‘qualified’ to speak with authority on the subjects of salvation, redemption, forgiveness, grace, and mercy.

Perhaps if we look at it differently we can find it easier to set aside whatever feelings of inadequacy we may have. We are, after all, talking about teaching others about the Creator of everything that we can see, hear, touch, taste or smell. We need to just look at it as giving others a glimpse of what is in our soul by opening up and sharing the contentment we derive from our relationship with Christ.

And once we overcome our hesitation and actually do start to share with others, not everyone is going to be quick to respond in a positive manner. Some may, in fact, respond in a particularly negative manner. We have all known individuals who seem to want to take discussion to an elevated level. Some will refer to this as “spirited discussion,” and that is well and good, but it is important to avoid allowing ourselves to be drawn into such discussions where anger threatens to erupt.

Some of us may have the ability to remain calm, quiet, subdued and in control at all times. Then there are those of us who need to practice “artful avoidance” because it is not a natural part of our personality. This does not mean that we should be afraid or embarrassed to speak of our love of God and our belief that Jesus was sent here to offer us all salvation and the promise of an everlasting life with God.

Quite the contrary.

What this means is that when we encounter an individual who is not ready to accept the Good News that we are to share, it may be necessary to artfully and respectfully end the conversation before the conversation becomes a confrontation that escalates to anger.

We may be excited about the Lord and care deeply for the souls around us. We may bubble with enthusiasm for sharing the love and joy God has placed in our hearts. But we must be respectful of others and accepting of their right to not be as enthusiastic as we are.

So remember: Don’t allow your bubbling enthusiasm to boil over into the anger of confrontation. Artfully avoid the quarrel and demonstrate the peace that God gives you.

Your actions of control and contentment will speak just as loudly as your words.

Taken from “TODAY IS….A Gift From God”, (C) 2013 Tony Casson

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TODAY IS…

a fine day to do something wonderful for yourself.

“When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.”  2 Corinthians 1:4b NLT

Offering comfort to someone who is in poor health, experiencing the loss of a loved one or going through some other personal tragedy, having a hard time financially, or just having an all-around bad day could be the most wonderful thing that any of us could possibly do for ourselves. Lending a hand, a shoulder, a dollar or an ear could be all that it takes to help another human being endure trials or suffering in their life.

Some of us have suffered more than others, but we all have suffered. Some of us have endured more hardships than others, but we all have endured hardships.

As Christians, we have looked to God for comfort during those times and He has always been there to make whatever it was that we were facing more endurable. More than likely our difficulties did not miraculously disappear, but God helped to open our eyes to the lessons we were to learn, or to open our hearts to allow our feelings to have freedom of movement so they could flow both out of us and into us.

We are certainly not God, but part of what God was doing when He comforted us was preparing us to help others.

“He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others.” (2 Corinthians 1:4a NLT).

You may ask, “But what if I am having a bad day myself?”

Perfect!

No, it is not perfect that you are having a bad day but that presents the perfect opportunity to do something wonderful for yourself! Simply find another human being who is just like you and take your focus off of yourself, put it on the other and you will find that the comfort you have offered someone else has not only made their day better, but it has likely done the same for yours as well.

While the Bible teaches us to take the focus off of ourselves, there are exceptions to many rules and this would qualify as an exception approved by God. Doing something wonderful for yourself by helping another is exactly the way God would want it.

Of course, after you have left that other person feeling better about their situation, feeling more optimistic about life, and perhaps feeling just a little closer to God, you could always treat yourself to a little chocolate as well.

God probably wouldn’t mind that at all.

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Taken from “TODAY IS….A Gift From God”, (C) 2013 Tony Casson