Christian Social Media

Relational Equity

/ Andy R Taylor / Leave a comment

Equity: In finance, equity is the difference between the value of the assets and the cost of the liabilities of something owned. For example, if someone owns a car worth $15,000 but owes $5,000 on that car, the car represents $10,000 equity.

Anytime we make a payment into our investments we are building equity. I’ve been paying on my home loan for years. I’m at the point now where I can almost see the end of it. So, I’ve got a lot of equity in my home. In the last year or so our local economy has tanked. I have a friend in the banking business who recently told me that there were 200-300 homes in our area for sale. There’s a good number of those folks just walking off from their homes…..and the loans attached to them. Not a good situation for anyone involved. It does make sense, though, that if you have a lot of equity in that home that you’d do everything in your power to somehow make the payments. Yep….too much equity to just walk away from.

In the same way we make investments in possessions, property and the like, we also make investments in relationships. And every time we interact with someone else….we’re building equity; ‘relational equity’. Julie and I had our first date in 1967, we got married 10 years later, to the day. Next January we’ll have been married 40 years….but together for 50! That’s a lot of equity! A lot of relational investment…and way to much to walk away from. (not that we’re thinking about it! lol)

Relationships are important. They’re challenging, to say the least, but the greatest joys in life come through our relationships. They can also be a source of heartbreak too….but they’re still well worth the investment. We have to take the chance, the stakes are too high, there’s too much to gain! And, besides…..”it’s not good that man should be alone”! Engage…interact, stay hooked and build equity!

It works the same way in our relationship with the Father. Every time we interact with Him we get to know Him more. That’s building relational equity! And the more we ‘know’ Him the more we will, naturally, love Him. If you want your life to be as rich as it can possibly be…..start building relational equity today…..with people…..and with Him!

Check these out, too:

Loyalty – A Forgotten Virtue

A “Disposable” Relationship

‘Betrayal’ – Nothing Easy About It!

The “Only Thing” That Really Works

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‘Thorns in the Flesh’

/ Andy R Taylor / Leave a comment

Did you ever have one of those nagging, ongoing situations that seemed like it might never end? I mean one of those things that you worked and worked to remedy but just couldn’t find your way to a solution. Yeah, ……me too! I’ll bet if we ask around we’ll find that it’s fairly universal.

As people, we all handle those situations in different ways. We can complain and whine about our situation. Done that! We can worry ourselves sick and lose sleep over it. Done that one, too! We can agonize over it and let the weight of it control our lives if we’re not careful. Yep, you guessed it, done that one, too! So far, those methods haven’t done me much good!

But I think there’s an extremely valuable lesson found in the Bible (Imagine that!), if we’re willing to consider it. In one of Paul’s letters he eluded to, what he called, a ‘thorn in the flesh’; You should read the story. No one really knows what that thorn in the flesh was, although there’s plenty of speculation. Some think it was his failing eyesight, others think it might have been a difficult person he was having to deal with. And one of my friends suggested that it was Paul’s wife! (There’s no record of Paul having a wife; so, I can only surmise that my friend was thinking about his own situation! lol) 

Paul was a pretty spiritual guy by my standards. Here’s what he did. He prayed. (now there’s a novel idea!) Not once, not twice…..but three times. But nothing happened! You ever experience that??! Yep, I’ve done that, too! But in the middle of his dilemma he came to a brilliant, and profound, conclusion. He said, “I have found that in my weakness, the power of God is made manifest. And, when I’m weak, then I’m strong”. Even though he didn’t get his prayers answered, he came out of it better off than he was, going in! How can that be possible!?

Here’s my conclusion; From what I see Biblically and from what I’ve experienced personally, it appears that there’s just some things that the Father doesn’t make us strong in. For His own reasons, He seems to be OK with allowing us to remain weak in some areas. We have to consider that the Lord might want us to realize what Paul realized. We will find out, like he did, that His strength is made perfect in our weakness! So, there may always be an area or two in our lives where we ‘know’ that we have to be totally trusting in Him! I think He likes that!

He spoke to Paul, right in the middle of his trial, “My grace is sufficient.”! Whatever it is that you’re going through…..you can be 100% guaranteed that there’ll be grace enough for you. 

So, when you’re facing some of those trying circumstances, by all means pray! But, don’t throw in the towel if He doesn’t remove your ‘thorn in the flesh’. He might just have something greater for you!

Check these out, too!

You Can Live in the Past if You Want To…..But There Is a ‘Downside’

There’s a Charge For Extra Baggage

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It’s Better to “Be” The House!

/ Andy R Taylor / 3 Comments

Every so often, on a Sunday morning, one of our worship leaders will say something like, “Isn’t it good to be in the house of the Lord”. That’s what most people call the church building. And, that’s a pretty fair assessment of what it actually is. But if you take the people out of that ‘house’, it is really just another building. There’s nothing holy about a building. It’s the people that make it the ‘house of the Lord’.

Every time I hear them say that I say to myself, “Yeah, it’s good to be ‘in’ the house of the Lord…..but it’s better to ‘be’ the house of the Lord!”. If you find that to be a strange observation….here’s where I’m coming from. Paul, in one of his letters said it this way, “Don’t you know that you’re the temple of God, and that the Holy Spirit lives in you?” Paul had received a great revelation when he had his encounter with the Lord on the road to Damascus. It totally, and literally, turned his world, not upside down but, ‘right side up’! He talked about, in another of his letters, “a mystery among the Gentiles, which is, Christ in you….the hope of glory”. God doesn’t live in structures built with hands. In fact, he could live anywhere He wants to….but His choice is to live in us, individually and corporately. It’s this ‘temple’ that He wants to restore….and fill with His glory.

So, I’ll agree…..it’s good to be “in” the house of the Lord….but it’s even better to “be” the house of the Lord!

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Why I Don’t Watch Christian TV

/ Andy R Taylor / 7 Comments

Let me first say that I’m not trying to influence anyone in any way. To watch….or not to watch…that’s your own business. And if you’re getting blessed by Christian TV….watch on!! I’m just stating my own opinion. And my reasons for not watching may not be valid for you in the least. When my life first ‘made the turn’, so to speak, back in November of ’84 I did watch quite a bit of Christian TV. I even watched Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker some. I did find them to be a little peculiar but, what the heck, I did learn a few things by watching their show. Same with Paul and Jan Crouch; peculiar people but no big deal at the time. And I do believe that lots of people were blessed through their TV ministries, even though I didn’t send my $100 for the little bottle of ‘holy water’ from the Red Sea.

But the further I went the less I watched TBN, The 700 Club and shows like that. For the most part, at least for me, it started feeling un-authentic, a little too much put-on, and way too theatrical for my liking. I would catch Jack Hayford from time to time, which was always good. There were a few others who weren’t ‘regulars’ that I’d try to watch if I had the chance. But it wasn’t too long that I found myself not watching Christian TV programming at all. (Been about 20 years now) And now if I’m surfing through the DISH channels and happen to cross one of those networks it just seems that I’m now further and further away from where they are and what they’re saying…..and from what I believe and perceive the Lord is saying to me. 

But the clincher for me came a few years back when someone very close to me was contacted by one of those TV shows. It was one of the most highly acclaimed ones….and one that you’d surely know if I had the liberty to disclose it. This person’s life has been one of the most, if not THE most, dramatic conversions and transformations that I’ve seen in all my years. And after several phone interviews with my friend and then with me….they declined to do the story. Why?? Because, according to their representative, his conversion and transformation didn’t fit their grid of how it should happen. Tragic….in that this person’s life….and his story could have made the difference in hundreds, if not thousands who might’ve seen the TV show.

I left that situation discouraged and, to tell the truth,….about half ticked off. It was obvious to me that they were completely out of touch with what often happens out here in the real world. There’s no formula and there’s no set way for someone coming to the Lord. There’s millions of different scenarios and I wouldn’t argue the validity of any of them. “Any man who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved”.

The cynical part of me would say that if my friend would’ve just said, “I was at the end of my rope, on drugs and ready to commit suicide and I turned on the TV and the  “- – – – – – Show” was on and I fell down on my knees and cried out to God.”, that they would’ve done the show as quickly as possible.

So, don’t get me wrong….I think there might be a place for Christian TV….but it needs to be authentic, it needs to ‘not’ be about money, and it needs to be relevant for what the Lord is saying and doing in our generation.

Check These Out:

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Workin’ it Out!

/ Andy R Taylor / Leave a comment

Something profound, and nothing short of miraculous, happened deep within us when we were born again. It happened in the very deepest part of us, our spirit. When we came into agreement with the plan of God for our salvation, by way of believing in Jesus, and mixing that belief with the faith that He’s already provided for us…..our spirit was renewed. I mean, completely renewed! OK, I’ll make it clearer…..your spirit was perfected! Don’t argue with me….you’ll lose the argument. I’m pretty passionate about this one!

That ‘thing’ that happened is there, in you, to totally transform every area of your life. No kidding! The real you has been ‘renewed’! (made new…and perfect!) And while it’s a lifetime process to flesh it out…your spirit can’t get any more renewed-er (I just made that word up!), than it is right now. So, the challenge becomes……“How do we get what’s happened on the ‘inside’, to manifest itself on the ‘outside’!?

Paul said it this way in the Bible; “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling”. (Don’t get too uptight about that ‘fear and trembling’ thing; it just means to be serious, sincere…and diligent about it!) Now, he’s not talking about working (doing good things) to ‘earn’ your salvation. That’s far from the truth. Besides, salvation is a ‘gift’; and like any other gift it can only be ‘received’, and not worked for or earned! What’s happened in our spirit is always ‘ready’ to be given permission, by us, to be useful in our everyday lives. It’s simple; don’t complicate it! It amounts to us learning to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit….Who now lives in our spirit to guide us every step of the way.

It could be classified as ‘learned behavior’; we learn from His Spirit how to let the miracle that’s happened inside to be manifest in everything we do. It’s going to require us to change our thinking, some; OK, a lot! But, it’s doable. And, as we change the way we think our behavior, and everything else, begins to change….for the better!

If we’re really being ‘conformed’ into the image of Jesus, then what’s inside has to be ‘worked out’!

Check these out:

God Moves Through ‘Influence’ ……. Not ‘Control’!

“Loosen the Bible Belt a Little!”

Retaliate!!

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Redirecting!

/ Andy R Taylor / 4 Comments

Technology is a wonderful thing. It’s amazing how much progress has been made in the last 50 years. I remember when I got my little transistor radio for Christmas when I was about 8 years old. Believe it or not, those little things were right on the edge of technology in the late 50’s and early 60’s. I think I was about a 5th grader when I got a little tape recorder; remember those? I loved it and had lots of fun with it. I’ve always had a fascination with technology….even though I’ve stayed behind the curve a little, if you know what I mean.

One great little technological advance was the advent of the GPS. What an amazing instrument! Julie bought me a nice Garmin GPS for Christmas several years back. I loved it! Key in your destination, punch the button and it’ll give you ‘turn-by-turn’ voice directions all the way there. I did get in a mess in El Paso one time. There’d been a lot of new construction with a loop around the city and my particular GPS didn’t have that new information. She kept telling me to turn….and after awhile I started yelling back at her, “There ain’t no street there!!!” She was unflappable; Not bothered one bit by my screaming at her. And I may, or may not, have cussed at her a time or two! About every 10 seconds she would say, “Redirecting”. I finally made it to my destination….no help from her! Anyway, all it took was a 5 minute hook up to my computer when I got home with the upgrade and everything was fine.

I was thinking about that the other day and you know, the Lord guides us through life a lot like that little GPS. I’m sure His Spirit does His very best to help us make the right turn at every juncture in life….but we run by the intersection time after time! And, if we’re not real careful we’ll find ourselves lost out there on the road of life…..wondering which way to go. But the good news is that, even though we’ve gotten lost, He can redirect us no matter how far we’ve gotten off the path. He’ll redirect us as many times as He has to…..to get us to our destination!

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Walkin’ the Floor

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Just Say, “Yes”!

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Living Proof

/ Andy R Taylor / 6 Comments

If you look down through the generations at the ones that the Lord chose to be His leaders you’d think He’s just not very picky at all. It nearly always looks like He’s got the wrong guy, especially on the front end. I mean, right from the very start He picks Abraham, a pagan man living in a pagan nation. After that, Jacob; now there’s a guy who had some issues. Then it was Moses; he killed a man….but obviously, in hindsight, he was definitely the one to lead God’s people out of Egypt. Later on David, who was called the ‘apple of God’s eye’ and His own handpicked man to lead the nation, had a moral failure of the highest order. It was so ugly that people still talk about it today.

Then Jesus came along and picked twelve of the most unlikely men He could find to be His closest followers. Matthew was a tax collector; everybody hated the tax collectors! Peter, James and John were all fishermen. They had some serious issues of their own. These were not professional ministry guys by any stretch of the imagination!  They all made their own share of blunders in the process of learning the way of the Lord. And, that’s just part of the picture. There’s many more who’d fall into the same category.

It appears at first glance that the Lord is just not a very good judge of character. But, that can’t be it. We know He doesn’t make mistakes. And, as awkward as some of these choices looked, early on,…..they turned out to be the right ones for the job every single time.

The Bible actually speaks pretty clear about that. “Not many wise, not many mighty, not many noble are called. But God uses the simple things of the world to confound the mighty.” Not a single one of these were chosen because of their impressive resume’. The Lord still makes some awkward looking choices today. 

Take me for instance……I wasn’t trained for this; knew absolutely nothing about how to do it. And, after 27 years, I’m probably still behind the curve, some. People will decide, a long time after we’re gone, if anything we’ve done could be classified as ‘significant’. If they decide that it was…..all we can say is, “We’re just living proof that the Lord can use anyone!”

Check these out:

Simplicity! It’s All I Have to Offer

“Highly Credentialed”!

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Living Your Life With Abandon

/ Andy R Taylor / Leave a comment

I was teaching on a recent Sunday morning about the 40 days immediately after Jesus’ resurrection. It’s a 40 day stretch that I’ve never heard anyone talk about. In fact, I titled my message, “The 40 Days No One Talks About”. There’s not a lot written about what Jesus did during those days but there are a few critical pieces of information.

In thinking about those 40 days there’s a lot that comes to mind for me. I’ll probably write about some of those thoughts from time to time. But one thing that seems to emerge for me is the need that Jesus had to get the apostles in a ‘good place’. Because…..they were not in a good place, from my perspective. They were not in a good place spiritually or emotionally, actually far from it!

If these were going to be the 11 (later Judas’ replacement was chosen) in charge of changing the world, advancing the kingdom and continuing the work that Jesus started….something drastic had to happen with them. Thomas was a ‘doubter’; Jesus had to rebuke several of them for their doubt, unbelief and hardness of heart. Peter, James and John couldn’t stay awake in Jesus’ darkest hour. And then again there was Peter, who folded like a cheap lawn chair, in denying even knowing Jesus when He needed him the most! If we’re keeping score, His failure would rank up there in the top two or three, all-time! (I’m glad God doesn’t keep score on that kind of stuff!)

World changers, without exception, live their lives with abandon. People who don’t walk by faith would label them reckless. …..and reckless they are, but for the most noble cause. These were just men, fishermen and tax collectors, but their destiny demanded that they, somehow, recover from their failures. So, Jesus had to fix them if they’re going to be world changers. Not an easy task! That’s some of what He did in the span of that 40 days.

As I think about it……it seems to me that those are the exact same things He is working to change in us. ……….and for the exact same reason!

Check these out, too:

Talk About a ‘Fixer-Upper’!

Virtual Reality

God Moves Through ‘Influence’ ……. Not ‘Control’!

You’ve Gotta Quit Calling Yourself a “Sinner”!

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A Long Ways From the Lord

/ Andy R Taylor / Leave a comment

Awhile back I was right in the middle of telling my story (my personal testimony). And, something I’ve said a dozen or more times before in that process, all of a sudden, took on a whole new dimension. If you’re a regular reader of mine you’ll remember that I didn’t grow up going to church. In fact, by the time I was thirty, I probably hadn’t even been in a church more than a few dozen times, funerals and all. I will say that even though our family didn’t go to church we were definitely brought up right. We were taught things that everyone really should be taught. Things like working hard, telling the truth, being true to your word, giving value to people and treating ’em all with dignity. Those are pretty valuable things…..we were just kinda missing some of the spiritual stuff. But, thinking back, Mom and Dad somehow imparted to us that God was real…….and that He was good! I didn’t learn that at the church house but, somehow, I knew it! I’ve always known it!

In giving my testimony I said, “We were a long ways from the Lord”. Like I said earlier in this post, I’d said that a dozen times or more but this time when I said it I heard that familiar, still, small voice of the Lord quietly say to my spirit, “Yeah, Andy…..you might have been a long ways from Me…..but I was never far from you”! It got my attention and really struck me in a deep, deep place. I knew that it was the voice of the Lord…..and I knew that it was true. 

I’ll bet there are a lot of people out there who, like me, think they’re a long ways from the Lord. But I want to go on the record, here, and tell you……..He’s not far from you!

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I Was Born Rich!

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The Lord Helps Those That Help Themselves!

/ Andy R Taylor / 2 Comments

I hear people put that out there fairly often as if it’s actually written in the Bible. Well, it’s not! It’s not a flat-out untruth…in fact, there’s quite a bit of truth to it if you think about it. It does make sense that the Lord would help someone who is trying their best to be obedient and to be a good steward of the resources he might have. It’s even very Biblical to expect the Lord to bless you even more if that’s the position you’ve taken. “Whoever’s faithful in a little, the Lord will bless with more.”. 

So, it can very well be true that the Lord helps those that help themselves…..but His help is not limited to just the ones that do that. No, much to the contrary, His attention is never far from those in distress, those who have lost their way, those who are discouraged, depressed and downtrodden. And, many times it’s actually, ONLY, the help of the Lord that can get a person lifted up out of those kinds of dire straits. I’m speaking from personal experience here! I’m really grateful that His lovingkindness and His ability to rescue is not totally dependent on my utter devotion to Him! I’d have been in big trouble a bunch of times!

So, yes, the Lord will help those who’ll help themselves…..but He’s also very quick to help those who just can’t muster up the energy to get it done!

*He’s even been known to help some who are just determined to ‘not’ help themselves!

You might like these, too:

The Thing About Unconditional Love

“It’s Not Your Job to Fix Them!”

Virtual Reality

If You See God “Wrongly”…….You’ll Never See Yourself “Rightly”!

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