Spiritual Fathering

“Opportunism” Is Not a Good Thing – But Have You Thought About It From This Perspective??

/ Andy R Taylor / Leave a comment

Opportunism is not a positive word; not a positive thing. Wikipedia’s definition: the conscious policy and practice of taking selfish advantage of circumstances – with little regard for principles, or with what the consequences are for others. Therefore, an opportunist is someone who takes advantage of someone else’s misfortune….and for their own gain. That’s not nice!

But I have another perspective to think about. In fact, we’ve been practicing it to some degree for 20+ years. An ‘opportunist’ sees someone going through a bad time and they lurk around to see how they can personally capitalize, benefit or profit from their calamity. But what if we were to take a more positive position?? What if, when we see someone going through a bad time, we were to reach out to those people and, rather than take advantage of them, do whatever we could do to help them in their dilemma?

At one time we actually had a person at Trinity on a part-time salary to do just that. He was very good at it too. His name was James Daniels, or JD as we all called him. He had an uncanny knack for noticing people who were going through trials in their lives. He could quickly discern what their actual needs were and did whatever he could, whenever he could, , with whatever resources we had, to help. (JD passed away a few years ago) Instead of just waiting around for people to come our way for help we were actually being aggressive in searching those people/families out. It seems like just something that the church should naturally do!

Of course, it was a huge ‘difference maker’ in the lives of the affected families.….but more than that it gave them a ‘good taste’ of church and even more important, the kingdom of God. Oh, and we’d supply the help that we could with absolutely no strings attached. We think that’s how Jesus would do it.

Imagine how different the world would look if we would all think that way!! And maybe, just maybe the world would change how they think about the church….and it’s people!

I say, “Let’s all be opportunists”.…..but from a kingdom perspective!

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“To Err is Human, To Forgive is Div………Well, It’s Just Flat Out Hard Sometimes”!

/ Andy R Taylor / Leave a comment

Do you want to be a good ‘forgiver’?? Most people would answer, “Yes”, to that question. But the reality is that we only get better at it when we practice it! And you know what that means, right? Somebody has offended you; someone has betrayed you, someone has wounded you. These offenses that come our way might be trivial in nature or they may have left some very deep wounds and if not ‘tended’ to in a positive way, carry the possibility of being permanent. Either way, when forgiveness is required, it’s just kinda hard.

It’s just a fact of life that we’re going to get offended……..and we’re going to offend others, as well. Jesus, in the training of the Twelve told them that “offenses must come”. The kingdom of God is really all about relationships…..that’s why they’re so hard. The greatest blessings and rewards in life are relational…….and the greatest frustrations are relational, as well.

There was a guy years ago that was a complete ‘thorn in my flesh’. His mission in life was to torment me and make me as miserable as he could. He was actually being fairly successful at it, although I never did get in the flesh with him…..but man, I wanted to!! It was way back when the church was small and I was working another job. I sat at my lunch break and wrote down 18 things that I needed to confront him about. These were 18 legitimate things too…..not ‘trumped up’ things; for instance, after one of our conversations he peeled out with his car throwing dirt and gravel all over me. Yep…..that kind of stuff! My plan was to go to him and confront him about these 18 things….and just being candid, here…..he really did need to be confronted of some of those things….and in love, of course, which just makes it harder. On my drive home that day the Lord started showing me all the things that He’d forgiven me for. It really made my ‘little list’ of 18 seem kind of trivial. I often think of some of those things and realize, again, that the Lord was allowing the testing, and giving us the opportunity to behave and react like He would.

Here are a few things that’ll make you a good forgiver:

  1. Just know that offenses are coming; it really does help to come to that realization.
  2. Set your mind/heart now to forgive anyone who offends/betrays you.
  3. Put the ‘value’ on your relationships…..like the Father has! It’ll change everything!
  4. Pray for the people that hurt you! It does as much, or more, for you than it does them!

Here’s a few of my own quotes about forgiveness:

“Forgive somebody, you’ll both be glad you did!”

“It’s never wrong to forgive……it’s always right!”

“Forgiveness is not a ‘feeling’ you have….it’s a ‘choice’ you make” 

“Anytime we forgive, a minimum of two people are set free!”

“Unforgiveness puts you in prison…..but the ‘key’ to the cell door is always in your possession!”

“Of everyone in the picture of woundedness and betrayal….no one has has much to gain as ‘the forgiver’!!”

(*Feel free to use any of those quotes (in fact, please do)….but I’d appreciate it if you’d credit me with them)

So, to finish the title quote, “To err is human, to forgive, divine!” 

To forgive and to become a ‘good forgiver’ is proof that we’re becoming like Jesus!

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Day #9 of the “Zombie Apocalypse”!!

/ Andy R Taylor / Leave a comment

False alarm!! I don’t watch those Zombie shows….doesn’t interest me in the least. So, why the blog title, you ask?? Because I look exactly like those Zombies right now. My eyes are nearly swelled shut, the whites are blood-red. They look like two pee holes in the snow!!  I’m flat-out scary lookin’!

Here’s the story: I went to bed Saturday night a week ago fine, woke up the next morning with my right eye swelled nearly shut. Wasn’t too painful, just itched a lot. My regular doc was out of town for the week so I went to my regular eye doctor. Prescribed some antibiotic drops and I started on them immediately, said to come back in a couple of days if I wasn’t better. I’ve had ‘pink-eye’ before and the antibiotic drops knocked it out nearly overnight. Not this time! Two days later….twice as bad. On top of the eye problem I had funerals to do on Wednesday and Thursday. Called to try to get worked in at my eye doctor…..he was gone and out of the office for the rest of the week!

By day 5 it was now in both eyes and getting worse. A lot more painful and not able to see very good at all. Talked to my doc on the phone and he prescribed an oral antibiotic. I figured that would do the trick. Two days of that….still getting worse! By then it was the weekend. Can’t get much done on the weekend. Couldn’t make church on Sunday, totally miserable all day. It felt like someone was gouging me in the eyes all day long. Well, as you know it was Labor Day weekend! Not seeing the Dr on Monday. I’m scheduled to see a couple of them this morning, day 10.

All this eye stuff got me to thinking about some of the teaching I’ve been doing lately. 1 Corinthians, chapter 12 talks a lot about the physical body, comparing it to the ‘spiritual body’, the church. All our ‘body parts’ are important, in fact there’s not one single of our body parts that aren’t extremely important….and needed. I’ve never had much problem with my eyes but when my eyes are adversely affected…it severely affects how my whole body functions. Now, think about it….you are also a ‘body part’ in the Body of Christ. If you’re ‘under the weather’, (like my eyes) the whole Body is affected in a negative way. Or, if you’re just not functioning (doing  your part) .….you’re affecting how the Body operates. It’s a win-win when you ‘get in your place’ and start to do your part. You win…..and the Body wins!

So, if you see me in the next couple of days and I look a little scary…..don’t run. It ain’t a Zombie!  It’s just me! Throw up a prayer if you think about it….and I hope to see you soon!  **I hope to SEE anything soon!! lol

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$$$ – Being a “Thousandaire” Might Just Be Better Than Being a “Millionaire”!

/ Andy R Taylor / 2 Comments

It goes against logic, I know. But after 60 + years of observation….I think it’s true. Now, for starters, I haven’t yet had the experience of being a millionaire….but I’ve been a ‘thousandaire’ for years. Don’t get me wrong; I’ve dropped below the qualification limit a few times down through the years…..especially during my illustrious rodeo career. But for the most part I’ve be a steady thousandaire.

I’ve noticed the last few years as I’ve gotten older that I don’t need as much ‘stuff’ as I use to think I needed. All those things that we ‘needed’ and thought would make us happier……didn’t! I think it’s part of actually growing up and maturing and learning in part, what’s really important in life.

I’ve observed throughout my lifetime those who had lots of money. Even had friends growing up whose parents were very well off. There’s nothing at all wrong with that. In fact it’s to be commended in most cases. It’s America; we can do just about whatever we want to do. And for those who really find their niche and do well financially, it’s a very good thing. I did notice that some of the rich kids didn’t try near as hard at sports than some of the less fortunate.They had enough athletic ability, alright,…..but the ‘try factor’ was lacking. It really showed up during my rodeo career. It’s a broad statement,….and not always true, but the rich kids weren’t nearly as gritty as those who had nothing to fall back on. 

The human spirit is an amazing thing. We’re created to conquer and to succeed. Everybody loves the story of those who overcame extreme odds to succeed in life. It’s a very good thing to ‘have’ to get up and go to work and put in a good day…every day. It’s good to learn to manage our finances and resources and to live within our means. We can do a lot more than we think we can….but if it’s always been done for us….we’ll never know.If we never have to really ‘try’, we might just not ever do it.

I recently told a friend that, “This time next year I’ll have 9 grandkids”. He jokingly said, “You’ll never be able to afford Christmas”...to which I replied, “I’ve never been able to afford Christmas yet!”(We raised 5 of our own!) But, you know what?? We’ve had great Christmases for, going on now, 39 years! We have somehow survived….just being ‘thousandaires’!

Paul said it in the Bible. “I’ve been hungry and I’ve been full; I’ve been rich and I’ve been poor. I’ve learned to be content in whatever state I’m in”. He’d found the ‘secret’ to true happiness and contentment. His ‘joy’ was in the Lord!

I’m only a thousandaire but if family and friends and relationship with the Father were measured in money……I’d be millionaire many times over!! I’m really, really rich in the things that matter most to me!

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The Most, “In Your Face” Verse in the Whole Bible!!

/ Andy R Taylor / 2 Comments

I don’t know if you’ve ever thought about it or not. I have. The Bible is full of timeless wisdom from cover to cover. There are plenty of verses that challenge our humanity……but none as ‘in your face’ as this one: “Love Your Enemies”! Whoa! Now, that’s out there. In fact is’s so far out there that most of us never really seriously consider whether or not it’s true because it goes ‘so’ against our natural tendencies.

I’ve said many times before (quite a few times in my blogs) that the greatest challenge for the church…..and the greatest challenge for us as individuals is whether or not we are loving like He did. I get all kinds of feedback when I write about it. Some agree with me when I say that He wants us to love like Him. It’s my opinion that it’s the #1 priority of the Father for us love like He does. Some, however, don’t agree. Their argument is that there’s no way that we could love like He does. It’s a logical argument considering the magnitude of His love toward us. How could we possibly match that kind of love??! Well, I believe, He wants us to do just that! We most likely have opportunities right now to to practice up on.

If we are going to love like He does there are a couple of things to consider. These couple of things will give us a very clear indicator of ‘where’ we are in the process of loving like Jesus. 1) Matthew wrote in his gospel, “What good is it if we just love those that love us?”, “Even the tax collectors do that.” So, one of the ‘acid’ tests of our love is whether or not we’re loving those that don’t love us. You know, it’s like one of those “You Are Here” signs at the mall. How we answer that challenge is an accurate read on where we are where our love is concerned. 2) “Love your enemies”. I mean, nothing tests our humanity any more than the mandate to do this. And while, to do it is a good thing for your ‘enemy’.….you have more to gain than they do. Could it be that it’s more for you than for the other person??    I think it probably is.

While all the things we do in obedience to the Lord are important, I don’t think any of them are as important as “how we love”.”Love your enemies”! It’s in your face, alright…..but it’s undeniable proof that we’re becoming ‘like’ Him!

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Party at the Prison!

/ Andy R Taylor / Leave a comment

Seems like an unlikely place to have a party! But it can be done…and was done. I was invited out to the Northfork Correctional Facility a few days ago by Jim Taylor. The prison is located in my hometown, Sayre, Oklahoma. The Northfork Facility is about 15 years old and populated with inmates from California. Incidentally, the contract with California is expiring and they are now in the process of transporting inmates back to their home state.

Jim’s been faithfully going out the prison once or twice a week for, now over 15 years! There’s been a lot of ‘fruit’ because of his efforts there. There’s no telling how many inmates have come to know the Lord as a result of Jim’s diligence.

This day was a special day...and I’m grateful that Jim invited me to be a part. There were 5 guys that we were going to baptize! We went in about 8 am and gathered in the room with about 30 inmates where they have their church meetings. I was impressed, right off, by the positive atmosphere in the room. The attitude and demeanor of the guys there was pretty amazing. I’ve been in plenty of churches that didn’t have as good a feel as the room in that prison did!

After a few minutes of meeting the guys there Jim asked me to say a few words. I was reminded of how the Lord spoke to me  nearly 20 years ago before the prison was even there. When the city started talking about the possibility of a prison in Sayre….we started praying. We had no idea, at first, what the will of the Lord would be concerning a prison but we just kept praying anyway. The Lord spoke very prophetically to us about the prison….and how there would be a move of the Spirit there that would be documented by national news organizations. All that hasn’t been fulfilled as of yet….but it’s definitely in progress.

After the baptisms several of the guys got up and gave short testimonies. They were all sincere, heartfelt and ‘right on the money’ as far as Scriptural content. All in all it was a great time….and proof, again, that the Lord is not limited in who, how or where He does what He does!

It was definitely a ‘party at the prison’!!

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It’s ‘Atmospheric’, ……There’s No Question About It!

/ Andy R Taylor / Leave a comment

Some time back I taught 150 some odd messages on the gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. I saw, by teaching ‘systematically’ (verse by verse), so many profound and life altering things in the process that I’d never seen before. It changed me….obviously for the better and I believe it changed the entire Trinity Family.

One of those things that became apparent was in the way that Jesus related to people; how He talked to them and how He loved them. But I began to notice a pattern with Jesus. And as important as the ‘words’ were that Jesus spoke I became convinced that more often than not….it wasn’t His words that made the difference in many of the stories recorded in the gospels. There was something in the atmosphere that was the difference-maker!

One good example was when Jesus came by Matthew, the tax-collector. Jesus was just walking by and said, “Follow Me”. And Matthew dropped everything and did just that. What would cause Matthew to do that? It seems like an easy question for us, being that we know Who Jesus was….but Matthew didn’t have the advantage of knowing that like you and I do. Jesus was already a controversial figure and the entire population was ‘polarized’ as a result of Who He was….and how He did what He did.

My opinion on this is that the atmosphere wherever Jesus went was 100% charged with “agape”, unconditional love.  It was an atmosphere void of any condemnation, whatsoever! Everybody hated and despised the tax collectors. Could it be that the reason Matthew ‘followed’ Jesus is that he felt, not only ‘accepted’ in that moment, but ‘valued’ as well (probably for the first time in his entire life!)?? I believe so! His encounter with Jesus changed his life forever……just like a similar encounter will change your life forever.

The ‘atmosphere’ around Jesus was ‘inviting’. It ‘drew’ people in and that’s why He always had a crowd of sinners and tax collectors around Him. That’s what agape does! That atmosphere around Jesus is exactly the atmosphere that’s being produced around you!! But it can only be produced by our deepening relationship with the Father. It’s nothing you can ‘work up’. But it’s a natural by-product of our connection with the Father.

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Love Gives

/ Andy R Taylor / Leave a comment

In all my years of ministry I’ve taught on, literally, hundreds of Bible chapters and verses. And at the same time there are still hundreds more that I haven’t made it to yet. Only recently I taught on the entire 13th chapter of 1st Corinthians. I’ve referenced and referred to it a hundred times or more….but never before have I taught exclusively on Chapter 13 until recently. Most everyone knows that chapter. It’s referred to by many as “The Love Chapter”, which is an accurately ‘fitting’ name. It gives the characteristics of love….not just any love and not a superficial love by any means. Nope, the kind of love Paul is talking about is ‘agape’, or unconditional…it’s the highest quality of love that exists. It’s the kind of love that the Father has for us and the exact kind of love that He is desperately seeking to produce in us. …..And if you’ll look at the characteristics of ‘love’ described there you’ll find that it describes Jesus (Who is the express image of the Father!) to a “T”!

If my count is correct there are 16 traits of ‘agape’ listed in the chapter. It would be productive for anyone to look at those 16 in depth and see how you’re doing in the ‘process’ of being conformed into the image of Jesus. After all….it’s our heart that He wants to conform to be like Him. And this ‘love’ thing….well, it’s the gauge!

One of the characteristics of love, and the 7th on the list, is “Love does not seek it’s own”. And while I don’t claim to have the full understanding of that I do think I have a little insight. One of the incredible attributes of God, the Father, is that he loves extravagantly and expects nothing in return! I’m sure that you might have some reservations about that….but think about it for a minute. If we give love just so we can get it in return…..it’s not really agape. It’s love with a ‘hook’ to it! Loving with a ‘hook’ pollutes the ‘real thing’!

“For God so loved the world that He GAVE….” Love gives……and expects absolutely nothing in return! Of course….it is nice to get love back in proportion. That’s just the icing on the cake!

“God’s love is perfect……but it’s not ‘perfected’ until we ‘choose’ to love Him back!” – AT

Make no mistake about it…..Love Gives!!

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Childlike ……. Childish, Two Totally Different Things!

/ Andy R Taylor / 1 Comment

I mean….vastly different!! A child can be both and it’s really no big deal. It’s even expected for little kids to be childish in the way they think and behave. After all, they’re new at this thing we call life. And, any parent will tell you that it’s a process; it just takes time to grow them up, and mature them in their understanding and in the way they think, reason and act. One of the mistakes most of us parents have made is to expect too much of them at too early an age. Well, you know, we were new at this parenting thing ourselves and it’s a pretty long learning process for us as well. But we can get better….I can personally vouch for that.

It’s one thing for a child to be childish….but it’s an altogether different situation when adults continue to be childish. To be childlike seems to be a trait to be desired, at least from a Biblical standpoint. Jesus talked a lot about children. He instructed in one place, “in malice be children”. The nugget there is that children naturally have clean hearts. Their hearts haven’t been polluted with the negativity and junk that the world throws at us. A ‘childlike’ faith appears to be the very best faith, the purest….and the most sincere and authentic. Childlike is good!

There was a problem in the early church. Paul addressed it more than once; “I’d like to feed you solid food….but you’re still on milk”. The problem exists today, and maybe to an even greater degree. Immature believers seem to stay in a ‘me-me-me’ mode. It’s always gotta be about them. I have plenty of patience for someone who’s new in the kingdom and making immature statements and mistakes. But my patience runs pretty low for those who’ve been around for a long time and still act like babies. They’re nearly always the ones who cause the trouble with their complaining, gossiping, backbiting and whining.

We’ve decided around our place (Trinity Fellowship) that we are going to expect it of one another to go ahead and ‘grow up’. The entire demeanor of the church, worldwide, would change if everyone would decide that. And maybe just maybe….the outside world would begin to respect us. Until we grow up….we really don’t deserve it!

Get over your childishness! We’ll give you enough time and grace for that. But I hope you never get over your ‘childlikeness’!!

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I Fought the Law….and the Law Won!

/ Andy R Taylor / 5 Comments

You’ve surely heard that old song; I remember it from when I was a teenager. I had no idea who did the song until I looked it up. It was written by Sonny Curtis of “The Crickets” (Buddy Holly’s Band). They recorded it in 1959 not long after Buddy Holly had died but the song went absolutely nowhere. It’s still a good song if you ask me.Turns out it was later done, and brought to popularity by Bobby Fuller in 1966 (click any of the highlighted links to watch video). There’ve been others who recorded it more recently if you’re interested: The Clash or Green Day and at least a dozen others. 

Well so much for a little trivia but this blog’s not about the song but about the song title. If you’re a regular reader of my blogs (and if you’re not….WHY ain’t ‘ya?! lol) you’ve probably picked up on the fact that I’m a music lover. I see a song title from time to time and think, “Now that’d be good blog title”. That’s the case with “I Fought The Law and the Law Won”.

There’s a growing controversy in religious circles today over ‘grace’ versus ‘law’. It’s no small controversy by anyone’s standards. In fact my opinion is that it’s one of the main, and most important, issues facing the church in this critical hour. It’s no new argument; It’s been going on since Jesus showed up. In fact, He’s the one that ignited the whole controversy to begin with….and it has only escalated since. Jesus ushered in this thing we call ‘grace’. It wasn’t just a teaching He did. No, it was much more than that. Grace displayed His very nature…and the very nature of the Father. And today, just like it did then, it ticked off the religious legalists to no end!

The Jews in Jesus’ day could not digest this grace thing. They were sticklers for the Law. They knew it well and even though they couldn’t keep the Law (no man could keep the law; no one has ever been made righteous by the Law; if you violated even one facet of the law you were guilty of violating the ‘whole’ law), it didn’t stop them from trying to enforce it on everyone else. But Jesus was doing something entirely different. It was centered on love…not just an ordinary, superficial kind of love but a love that is unconditional, indestructible and life-giving!

The Law says that you have to keep the long list of good things to do to be accepted by God. But grace says that you’re already accepted and valued by God, Himself. You’re His Sons and Daughters, by His own choice. It’s not a result of your own doing but because of what Jesus did! He has already ‘fulfilled the Law’! (because you and I couldn’t!)

You can attempt to keep the Law but you won’t get it done! If you ‘fight the Law’….the Law always wins…you always lose!

The only way you can win….is to accept, and live in, what’s already been done for you! That’s what we call GRACE!

*You might want to check out one of my previous blogs: “It Ain’t Grace’s Fault”

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