The After-Oakdale Chronicles

a fine day to look at the world around you.

“For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and the sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see His invisible qualities – His eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.” Romans 1:20 NLT

Many individuals without the benefit of vision will tell us that even someone who is blind can “see” the evidence of God’s existence in the world that surrounds us.

They will tell us all about the beauty of flowers; about the nurturing refreshment of the rain; about the perfect melodies sung by the birds. By connecting all of the other gifts of smell, taste, hearing, and touch with two of God’s most incredible creations – the heart and the mind – even those whose visible world is in darkness can “see” the beauty, the power, the love that makes us contemplate God with awe.

For those who have the gift of sight, there is no excuse for not being able to recognize that only a God of beauty and love could have created the heavens and this earth and filled them both with the incredible assortment of planets, stars, plants, creatures, and human beings that we see when we look around us.

Unfortunately, there will always be those who find it difficult to believe God exists.

There will even be those who will deny that He exists.

It is beyond human comprehension how anyone with eyes to see, ears to hear, and a heart to feel can possibly deny that what we experience when we look around us could only be the work of someone larger than the work itself. It could only be the work of a being of amazing vision and extraordinary power.

But it could also only be the work of someone of incredible kindness, love, and caring.

Many people choose to see only that which is ugly in the world and use it to either blame God or deny that He exists at all. We must remind them that it is the choices that man makes, not God, which creates that which is ugly.

We must point out that what God created was perfect.

All imperfections came about as a result of all the things the Bible teaches us to avoid.

“The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like.” Galatians 5:19-21a NIV

Whenever you look around at the world, take time to truly see what God created. Appreciate – and give thanks for – a world so beautiful, it can be seen even by the sightless.

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

the right day for a little anger management.

“My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry…”  James 1:19 NIV

The instructions given by James in this verse have been valuable ones for all who have read (and heeded) them since they were first written. Particularly when he admonishes everyone to be “slow to become angry.”

We are all familiar with the term “Anger Management,” and even though James did not use those exact words, managing our anger is exactly what he was talking about.

It would be the extremely rare individual, indeed, who never gets angry.

Each of us gets pushed to the brink at some point in time. The reasons for our anger are an important consideration in managing how we react. When we become angry because of an injustice that we are witness to, the cause of the anger is justified, but how the anger is managed is important. Anger can move us to take positive action to correct a situation. Controlling our anger rather than letting it control us can be very helpful in certain situations and for certain reasons.

There are other types of anger over which we should exercise even tighter control. Anger borne of jealousy, a bruised ego, or a selfish perception of “hurt” is destructive and nothing good can come out of it. This type of anger damages relationships, hurts friendships, and accomplishes nothing positive.

Many of us know someone whose ‘flash-point’ is extremely low and is triggered by some perception of a wrong being perpetrated on them. The response to the most inconsequential thing sends them into a destructive, uncontrolled and potentially violent rage that is uncomfortable to witness and even causes friends and family to avoid that person in certain situations.

If this describes you or someone you know, it is important to listen to James when he says, “…for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.” (James 1:20 NIV).

There are movies and television shows that treat Anger Management as a humorous subject.

In real life, there is nothing at all humorous about uncontrolled anger. It may require a lot of work for some, but controlling our anger is important to each one of us, as well as those around us.

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

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 joy in hardship and troubles?

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

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

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

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

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 the 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

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

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 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 are good simply for goodness’ sake.

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