Roommates & Brothers

To my readers,

I wanted to share a picture of my monday evening with you.  

We aren't just roommates- we're brothers.  Every monday evening we all have what we call man-time together so that we can grow closer together. We believe that this is what makes an apartment not a habitat but a home- friends living together as brothers.

How wonderful and pleasant it is
      when brothers live together in harmony!
  For harmony is as precious as the anointing oil
      that was poured over Aaron’s head,
      that ran down his beard
      and onto the border of his robe.
 Harmony is as refreshing as the dew from Mount Hermon
      that falls on the mountains of Zion.
   And there the Lord has pronounced his blessing,
      even life everlasting.

-Psalm 133, NLT.

Simply,

Tex G.M. Rule

"How wonderful and pleasant it is when brothers live together in harmony!" Psalm 133:1, NLT.

Terrible Planning & Posters Galore

To my readers,

Posters can be great marketing tools.

Put in the right places, designed correctly, a poster can go from wall art to something that captivates the reader.  It has the potential to be ignored or to engage and challenge its audience.  What causes the people its reaching out to choose one way or the other?

Location, location, location.

That being said, I safely assumed that when Two42 printed out 500 or so posters, they would be easy to put up around the city.  I figured that I could take around a hundred posters to put around San Antonio colleges and be done before noon.  My boss asked me, “How many posters do you think you can put up?”

“I’ll do a hundred and see how that goes,” was my response.

It is only a hundred posters, right? How hard could it be?

I gathered one extra volunteer to help me with this recruitment plan, thinking this job was going to be smooth as butter on a hot Texas summer day. 

I really trusted my own insight on this project only to find interesting results. Talk about an eye opener.

The best words to describe this are found in the Proverbs of the Old Testament,

“Those who trust their own insight are foolish, but anyone who walks in wisdom is safe.” Proverbs 28:26, NLT.

I was a fool.

Not only was I not able to put up all hundred posters, when noon came I had only placed 17 posters around one college.  Not only must you go to different places, many places make you speak with a manager before placing the poster in their establishment’s community bulletin board.

Talk about foot-in-mouth-syndrome.

By the time I returned to work a few hours later I had only a whopping 24 posters put up.  My boss must have known by my facial expression what was taking place because he instantly asked me, “How’d it go? Get all the posters up?”

“No, it was much more time consuming than I thought. I only have 24 done.”

My boss laughed and shortly afterwards said, “Oh, Tex.”

Simply,

Tex G.M. Rule

“Those who trust their own insight are foolish, but anyone who walks in wisdom is safe.” Proverbs 28:26, NLT. 

Training Wheels & Bat Caves

To my readers,

As I’ve expressed before, I love super hero movies. 

It could be that I love the heroic overtones.  It could be the super cool special effects. It could be that justice is being carried out against the wicked.  Or it could be that I am jealous of their awesome underwear-on-the-outside costumes. 

Don’t worry, Halloween only comes once a year.

However, one the best box office hits for that gave new hope for the super hero movie genre was the movie Batman Begins. 

There is this scene in the movie where our hero, Bruce Wayne, is a child and falls down a small shaft into what turns out to be a bat-cave.  Before long Bruce’s father comes to rescue him carrying him back into the house.  It’s inside the house that his father asks him this question,

It took me forever to want to take the training wheels off my bike.  Why is this? Because the first time I tried riding my bike without them, I fell down.  I scraped my knee and my hands.  I never wanted to ride a bike again.

I ran inside crying.

It was humiliating.

And it hurt, a lot.

There is a proverb in the Old Testament that reads,

“The godly may trip seven times, but they will get up again.  But one disaster is enough to overthrow the wicked.” Proverbs 24:16, NLT.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve fallen down. 

I can’t count the amount of times I’ve made mistakes. 

But the one thing that remained constant in all of these times and disasters was that I got back up.  I relayed on the one person who is the same yesterday, today, and forever, Jesus.  I turned to my rock that can never be shaken. Its here I took the time to cry and hurt, but to also find strength to try again.

The truth is that if I hadn’t ever rode my bike again, I would have never learned to ride it without training wheels. 

We give up too easily.

We will scrape our knees doing the things we love.  But we get take the time to bandage our scrapes and we get back on the bicycle. When we focus on Christ to not only heal us, but to guide our bike we will find ourselves riding in a cross country race. However, know we won’t be able to ride a cross country race two days into this journey. 

It’s a process.

But it first requires us taking that step of faith in removing the training wheels.  It requires falling down.  It requires failing.  It requires falling down.  But it requires getting back up again. Then we try again over and over until we are riding that incredibly race.

So why do we fall? Show me.

Simply,

Tex G.M. Rule-

“The godly may trip seven times, but they will get up again.  But one disaster is enough to overthrow the wicked.” Proverbs 24:16, NLT. 

Spilt Glasses & Childish Reactions

To my reader,

It was everywhere. 

A friend had spilt his glass of water.  Within the few seconds his water had spilt, it had already spread across the table pouring over the edge onto my lap.  Not only did we have a spilt glass, but I looked as though I peed myself. 

I am sure it was a sight.

Between the four of us at the table, it was only one friend who acted and grabbed napkins to dry the table.  The rest of us were struck with deer-in-headlight.

It’s a good thing this happen a long time ago while I was a kid.

And by a long time ago, I actually mean this happened yesterday with my roommates.

In the New Testament there is a letter the Apostle Paul writes to the church in Corinth.  In it he writes,

“When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child.  But when I grew up, I put away childish things.” 1 Corinthians 13:11, NLT.

The sad part about this incident at the restaurant was we all acted as children would.  Of the four of us, only one stayed calm and started to act dry the mess. 

Though this is such a small incident, how often do we still do childish things in our lives following Christ?

When we don’t get our way, we throw tantrums. 

When people wrong us, we hold grudges.

When people talk about us, we gossip back.

When someone cuts us off on the freeway, we say interesting rap lyrics.

We're the kid at the mall screaming.  This kid may have a legitimate reason to be screaming, but to everyone around him, he's just screaming.

Even though we have a right to be upset and angry over situations and events in our lives, we don’t have to claim these rights. Jesus calls us to walk a different path beyond what the world deems as right or wrong. 

In fact, Jesus tells us when someone has wrong us we need to forgive them.

I am not saying this is something easy to do. I am saying the opposite. It’s incredibly difficult. To be honest, I have to work on this everyday. 

Why don't we want to do this? 

Because its hard, it hurts, and it requires us to put ourselves aside.   This is what makes it a spiritual mature action over a childish reaction. 

This does not mean we won’t struggle with this when events happen. You may need some time before you move forward, but don’t use this as an excuse to wallow in your pain, anger, insert childish reaction here. Take it as a time to access your heart and where Christ is guiding you.

When these situations happen, we must turn to Jesus for guidance. 

Be open and honest about the situation.  If you’re angry, tell him you’re upset.  If you’re hurt, be honest.  It’s from a place of humble brokenness and honesty that God can begin to work.  

Ask him to give you strength to step out beyond what you want to do to what you should do.  Ask him to help you put away the childish things and to remember the things he taught. 

That forgiveness heals bitterness, that grace outweighs disappointment, and love overcomes everything. 

Simply,

Tex G.M. Rule

“When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child.  But when I grew up, I put away childish things.” 1 Corinthians 13:11, NLT.

Guest Blog: Words & Worship

Today we have a real treat for y'all reading. 

Today is the monthly Guest Blogger and our writer is a personal friend and great writer, Chris Gerac. This means you won't have to read me for at least another day! He's a real purple cow with a passion to spread the Gospel.  Chris is working towards his Bachelors of Religion at Baylor Universtiy where he is plans to continue his work in full-time ministry. He blogs on a a blog called Burning Under The Son.  Check it out and give him some love. -Tex G.M. Rule

To those wondering,

If you think worship is the songs you sing before your pastor comes up on stage YOU'RE WRONG.

It’s sad but when it comes to some American perceptions of worship. I often feel as though the last thing actually thought of is God. 

Instead of turning to Him, we often turn to our friends or our phones. Instead of focusing on the Man who saved and redeemed us, we focus on our voices or if we should be lifting or hands or not based upon the actions of the person standing next to us. Instead of singing with our hearts we sing with heavy eyes and half-hearted voices.

Now I’m not attacking anyone who does this for I feel that the Church is equally to blame for this pseudo-worship experience, nor am I saying that every single person has been lulled into thinking that this is worship. 

What I am saying is that Worship is more than words.

Robert Foster says, “Singing, praying, praising all may lead to worship, but worship is (far) more than any of them.” Worship is the essence of our souls. Worship is when our flesh dies and God rises. Worship is when we give ourselves wholeheartedly to Jesus. Worship is when our actions, our thoughts, our minds all focus on Him. 

True worship isn’t for 30 minutes every Sunday. 

True worship is our acknowledgment of God and His goodness every single moment of our lives. 

True worship doesn’t harden our hearts but melts the hardest of stone and brings us closer in intimacy with our Father.

True worship isn’t standing at the front of your church with your arms held high because that’s what you feel like you should do. True worship doesn’t even have to deal with song.

True worship is entering the activity/mindset, which takes your focus off of you and allows God out of his box.

Whether dancing, writing, drawing, coloring, singing, rapping, painting, or just laying face down on your floor, I encourage you to let God move through you instead of you trying to move God

 

Worship is inviting God to move

Worship is Freedom

Merely,

Chris Gerac

“Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” John 4:23-24, NIV

Want to Guest Blog for Hoping for a Better Tomorrow? Just check out the Guest-Blog page and send in your post.

Purple Cows & Crafty Creations

To my readers,

I want to see a purple cow.

In our culture, people are told to fit in and be like those around them. We are told to just work and fit into molds of exchangeable roles and positions. We are becoming exchangeable people. Essentially, we are all brown cows eating grass in the same field. The same job being doing done by the same mold of people.

I believe we’re not supposed to be brown cows.

I’ll say again, I want to see a purple cow.

Why? Because as far as I know, a purple cow can do anything! Since we’ve never seen one, they have the potential to do anything!

In the scriptures the Apostle Paul writes a letter to the church in Corinth explaining to them how unique and important each person is to the church. He describes it as though we were all parts of a body. He writes,

“But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it. How strange a body would be if it had only one part! Yes, there are many parts, but only one body.” 1 Corinthians 12:18-20, NLT.

I began an in depth research topic of the human body.

Therefore, I opened Google and typed how many different body parts does the human body contain. The results showed the human body is literally as diverse and unique as our fingerprints are from each other.

Some parts of the body are beautiful and complicated. Others are strange and confusing. The beautiful part is that God is who put this body together. Each created uniquely and just as important as the next.

I believe too many people are fitting into molds of what the world wants them to become. I believe too many people are not being the unique part they were created to be.

Take a purple cow I know named Amy. Anyone who knows her will gladly tell you that she is one in a million and her ministry is uniquely hers.

Amy is a college student whose heart broke for the people of Nicaragua on a short-term mission trip. Ever since she has returned, each trip longer than the last.

If you can remember college, you can remember that college students are poor. I am sure many of you can’t even think of ramen noodles without a cringe. Amy pays for this trip herself and it isn’t cheap.

Amy pays for this trip through many different ways, one of them is a business she started called Amy’s Crafty Creations.

Amy’s Crafty Creations is handmade goods from purses and bags to paintings. They are each awesome and uniquely crafted.

Amy is a purple cow in that she has uniquely taken her gifts and put them to work for the betterment of the Kingdom of God. She didn't just settle with fitting into the mold but pushing through and creating her ministry.

If you must sing, sing! If you must paint, paint! If you must build, then build! Stop putting your passions to death because you must "fit" into the mold.

I truly believe if we would stop telling people to fit in, to stop being unique, to stop being different and cultivate their unique gifts we would find that we are a body that is diverse and beautiful. We are body that is reflects Jesus in the way we were created to.

And that image of Christ people would want to be apart of.

It’s a voice being repeated over 2,000 years ago.

Stop being brown cows. Paint yourself purple.

If you want to support Amy and her cause please check out Amy’s Crafty Creations and like her page and recommend it to your friends. Browse through her awesome creations or think of something unique for her to make. Her page will become a permanent link on the H4BT blog! Share some love and check it out!


Simply,
Tex G.M. Rule
“But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it. How strange a body would be if it had only one part! Yes, there are many parts, but only one body.” 1 Corinthians 12:18-20, NLT.

Cramped Apartments & Old Photos

To my readers,

This week I moved back into my apartment with my 7 other roommates.  

Yes I said seven.  

The eight of us live in a 4 bedroom apartment, two to a room.  Its cramped but it gives us a grand adventure.  I started to put up the final touches in my room when I came across this photo. Its of three roommates and myself from several semesters ago.

I was amazed to see we are still friends and still living together after so long.  

All that came to mind was one this passage of scripture.

"Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed.  If one person falls, the other can reach out and help.  But someone who falls alone is in real trouble.  Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm.  But how can one be warm alone? A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer.  Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken." Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, NLT.

Will we struggle? Sure
Will we fight? Sure
Will we have bad days? Probably
Will we have each others back? Of course
Will we keep each other warm? Of course NOT! (couldn't resist!)

But we will grow together if we continue to put Christ first. We will fight side by side and grow as brothers if we continue to let Jesus be our King even in the cramped apartment.  These difficult times help create us into a stronger and tougher unit that wont be defeated.

My only question: How much stronger will an eight braided cord be?

Simply,
Tex G.M. Rule
"A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken." Ecclesiastes 4:12, NLT.

Sidewalk Eggs & Bun Warmers

To my readers,

It’s been a hot summer.

If you asked any Texan, or southern for that matter, I am sure they would tell you that this past summer was quite a toasty one.  There was certainly more than one day where I planned to cook an egg on a nearby rock. 

One day as my boss and I were leaving for work, we discussed the different vehicles we drove and how the heat affects both of them. 

For me, I drive a pickup truck. And even with the window slightly cracked open, the heat can be overwhelming. Its as though I decided to sit in a sauna, in broad daylight, with all my clothes on. 

My boss, on the other hand, drives a black car…

With leather interior.

this is not actually my boss' car

Needless to say it gets a small bit hot in his car. 

However, in my brain I thought that my next statement was brilliant.  In fact, I thought that it would be cooler than the other side of the pillow and become viral in three days becoming the new standard in all vehicles sold in the south. 

“Well boss, it looks like you need bun coolers instead of bun warmers.” 

Bun cooler? This is my great idea?

I can understand why the Bible says, “It is safer to meet a bear robbed of her cubs than to confront a fool caught in foolishness.” Proverbs 17:12, NLT. 

Because after realizing how stupid this idea sounded, I continued to push the idea as if it were the best idea since sliced bread.  For the next few sentences, I ran the idea deep into the ground and it got worst and worst. 

But when you think about it, who would honestly want a bun cooler in their car?

I was trying to make myself seem less foolish than I already had and was only making it worst.

“You never know they could come standard one day, but I doubt it!” That was my way of trying to kill an terrible idea that I wanted people to believe was a great idea.

I think my boss knew the whole time.

Eventually my boss laughed and said, “Oh, Tex!” 

Simply,

Tex G.M. Rule

“It is safer to meet a bear robbed of her cubs than to confront a fool caught in foolishness.” Proverbs 17:12, NLT. 

Catching Flies & Karate/Kung Fu Confusion

To my readers,

I normally am not a huge fan of remakes. 

This is because remakes never seem to capture the uniqueness and fun of the original.  However, every so often a great remake happens.

Recently the movie “The Karate Kid” was remade.  At first I was really skeptical. How could they ever make a replace Pat Morita as Mr. Miyagi? Would the crane kick still be as awesome? Would they break the original story line? Would there still be wax on and wax off? 

After finally watching it, I came to find I really enjoyed the flick.  It was a great film that was very different and unique from the original while still holding the truths the original movie taught. 

At one point in the movie, Dre starts arguing with his teacher, Mr. Han.  Dre is fed up and tired of the kung fu training that seems redundant to him.  At which point Mr. Han responds with,

“Kung fu lives in everything we do! It lives in how we put on the jacket, how we take off the jacket.  It lives in how we treat people.  Everything is Kung Fu.” Mr. Han

Paul was known to be a hard working and dedicated man.

Some people thought he literally beat his flesh in order to keep it from sinning.

What we know about Paul- he was serious about his calling. 

In a letter Paul writes to christians in the church in Colossae, he states,

“Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.”  Colossians 3:23, NLT. 

When we think about the words that Paul wrote and consider the way he lived, we can see that he put his money where his mouth is.  He backed up the words he said with the actions he took. 

To Paul, Jesus was everything and without Christ, he could do nothing.  Jesus’ death and resurrection were more than just stories to Paul.  He allowed this to invade every essence of who he was.

 

He lived everyday like this until his calling made him a martyr. 

I am convinced that if it were Paul instead of Mr. Han teaching us he would say something like this:

“Jesus Christ lives in everything we do! It lives in how sit in traffic, and how we get our hands dirty. It lives in how we love people.  Everything is Jesus.”

Learn from Paul’s life that Jesus is everything.  There is nothing greater or deeper than this.   We need to live our lives as if everything we did was showing the world about Jesus and his love. It may mean we do the meaningless work day in and day out.  It may mean we have to get our hands dirty, but it means that we act in everything as though it is what told people about Jesus. 

If we did this- our world would be radically different. 

Do the hard thing and walk the walk.  Prove to the world that everything you do will reflect Christ and his love to the world. 

Simply,

Tex G.M. Rule

“Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.”  Colossians 3:23, NLT.  

Mosaics & Tough Questions

To my reader,

Today someone asked a question I hear often. 

“Why do bad things happen to good people?”

It pulls at my heartstrings every time I hear it.  You see, this question is more than often asked by people who have tears in their eyes.  The stories these people share would make a Stephen King novel look like a children’s book.

It tells me that people are hurting.

It tells me that people are in pain.

It tells me that people are broken.

I think if we are all honest, we all have been broken.  We’ve all had moments where we feel like a broken pot.  Our hearts feel as pieces of tile do when a sledge hammer breaks into the pavement as though it were target practice.  What’s harder still is when we try to pick up our brokenness from the dust, it often slips out of grip and back into the hard pavement. 

From our deepest pain we cry out, “What good can come from this, God?”

In the Old Testament there is a passage that reads,

“God has made everything beautiful for its own time.” Ecclesiastes 3:11, NLT.

When we think about what use a broken pot can give we find that its pretty useless.  It will never retain water like it used to.  It can’t handle the weight of a plant and soil.  The pot can’t do its old job.

In fact, the pot will never go back to how it used to be.

Its no longer a pot at this moment; its simply broken. 

Even if you are broken, God cares about you.  He loves you more than you can know.  A psalmist wrote “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.” Psalm 34:17-18, NLT.  He isn’t just a distant God, but in our brokenness, he is with us.  He is close to our broken hearts despite our brokenness. 

This is because our God is an artist.

Some of my favorite pieces of art are mosaics.  They are beautiful creative works that require some amazing skill set that I do no posses.  However, what I love most about mosaics are that they require broken pieces of clay to make beautiful art.

I do not always have an answer for why something is happening other than this, that even in your brokenness God wants to use you in the mosaic of his kingdom.  You are a piece of a beautiful work of art that without is missing an important and vital piece. 

But its in our brokenness we can become a part of this art. 

Turn your broken pieces of your heart to Jesus.  Once you do, you’ll find him waiting and willing to use you in his mosaic of love, grace, and forgiveness.  Don’t try to hold onto the pieces, let them go and see the beauty that the artist can create from your brokenness in this world.

Simply,

Tex G.M. Rule

“God has made everything beautiful for its own time.” Ecclesiastes 3:11, NLT.

Writers & Choking Yourself

To my readers,

It’s hard to sit down and write. 

What I’ve found interesting is how easy it is to sit down and watch an entire season of Psych.  It’s really easy to go read a couple of blogs.  It’s really easy to grab coffee with a friend for hours on end. It’s even easier to get lost on Facebook for way to long than I dare to share.

But it’s hard to sit down, focus, and write.

It’s difficult to find time everyday to devote to writing posts, editing, and re-editing.

I can’t help but wonder why this is?  Why is it so hard to write and so easy to do things that don’t matter? Why is it so easy to do useless things in comparison to something that makes my heart take flight?

Because writing requires discipline. 

There is a proverb in the Old Testament that says,

“Lazy people want much but get little, but those who work hard will prosper.” Proverbs 13:4, NLT.

What a gut wrenching truth. 

This isn’t saying that I will become a famous blogger that everyone will love and tell all their friends about and will become viral through social media (get the hint?) but, it is saying that I will prosper in that I will be a writer. 

My goal is to write a blog.

My goal is to write a blog that tells people there is an undefeatable hope in Jesus.

Not to become famous.  Not to be successful. 

So what is holding me back from this?

Myself.

Only I am stopping myself from prospering. I cannot do the things that make me unique if I don’t buckle down and work hard.  If I just allow myself to be lazy, I will never grow as an author.

I will never challenge myself.

I'm choking myself out of everything I was meant to be. 

But I sit down and write regardless, because I know that through my hard work I am growing.   I am fulfilling not only a passion but a deep part of who I am. On the good days, I write.  On the bad days, I write.  I write no matter the circumstances because I know that it is through this discipline that I will grow into becoming a writer.


That's why I don't stop writing, even on the hard days.  

What’s stopping you from doing your deepest passions? What’s holding you back from completing the hard work to your goals?  What’s stopping you from releasing and growing who you are?

The answer is simple- you.

Now what are you going to do about it?

Simply,
Tex G.M. Rule
“Lazy people want much but get little, but those who work hard will prosper.” Proverbs 13:4, NLT.

Whispers & Anthems

To my readers,

I have spent hours trying to write. 

I wish I were kidding. 

I went through different ideas over and over to find nothing. 

I was fishing to find my catch got away every time. 

As I continued to look for an idea to write these words rose into my thoughts.  This phrase kept repeating itself over and over. I tried to put it to the back of my mind, but it started to grow.

No matter what else I tried to think about, this overcame it. Eventually it was a chant-no more than a chant.

It was an anthem. But who’s anthem was this?

Then I realized it.  The truth was sobering and gut wrenching. 

It was my heart’s. 

You see here is the words that were repeating over and over.

“The Lord will reign forever and ever.”  Exodus 15:18, NLT.

What a truth.  No matter what terrible things I will encounter, the Lord is still King.  No matter what amazing journey my life will take me on, the Lord is sill on His throne.  No matter what happens, the Lord is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

My heart wanted me to remember this.

I think its too easy to hear this and put it the back of my mind to be forgotten and ignored.  What is funny, is no king would be forgotten or ignored.  In fact, most kings would be storm in and demand their respect and honor. 

Not my King. 

He invaded my heart with a whisper of love.

He was saying “Place me as a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm.  For love is as strong as death, its jealousy as enduring as the grave.  Love flashes like fire, the brightest kind of flame.” Song of Songs 8:6, NLT.

And my heart obeyed.  And it wouldn’t stop its anthem. 

He wouldn’t force me to kneel.  He wouldn’t force me to give up my fake crown. 

He wanted me to kneel and give up my crown on my own accord only because I love him. 

Let this be the seal over your heart.  No matter what comes at you- He loves you and He is King.

Never forget- The Lord will reign forever and ever.

at 3:30 you will hear what my heart continually echoed over and over 

Simply,

Tex G.M. Rule

"The Lord will reign forever and ever." Exodus 15:18, NLT.

Wagon Wheels & Upside-Down Pastors

To my reader,

I am attempting something new.  Give me some feedback and let me know what you think of idea of Wordless Wednesday.  I am stole this from my boss' wife- she does this with her blog and I thought it was a great idea to try.  Instead of writing a long post- I am going to post a picture with a small section of words.  

This week is from this past CBC @ 1

I can tell you are already excited to come listen to this guy teach.

"following God does not keep you from the mud. following God gets you through the mud."- Chris Emmitt

Simply,

Tex G.M. Rule

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.  We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne." Hebrews 12:1-2, NLT.

Slow Fish & Blushing Waiters

To my readers,

A few weeks ago I shared a story called Audits & Raw Fish. This is from that same event. 

Its funny how one event can have so many more stories than you can share in one setting.  This is very much one of those times. We ate at Zushi Sushi, which has amazing sushi, which is a plus considering the price tag that comes with it.

What I found interesting was that it took nearly an hour and forty minutes before our food was brought to us.  This is actually fine with me. I wasn’t in a rush nor am I a picky eater. I also figured since our waiter appeared younger that he was still new to the job.  Either way, it wasn’t an issue to me at all.

It wasn’t until later that he dropped the ball.

And I laughed so hard that tears began to form, making my day complete.  

Let me explain, the laughter wasn’t at his expense.  In fact, the waiter was taking everyone’s orders and called each of us ‘sir’ or ‘man’ with very proper manners. He was very polite. His mom should be proud that she raised him right. It wasn’t until he reached my one girl co-worker that his response was wrong. 

“What will you have, sir?” he asked.

He called her ‘sir.’

Though we all heard him, he quickly tried to recover. “I’m so sorry ma’am.  I didn’t mean that in anyway.  It was just a reaction from saying it so much to the other gentlemen at the table.  In fact, you’re quite beautiful!” 

Good recovery.

It was probably one of the only recoveries I had ever heard that didn’t make things worst. Our co-worker is a great wonderful woman who handled the situation very well.  Way to go young waiter! A teacher used to tell me that a good recovery is more important that the ability to be perfect and not make mistakes.

We all laughed and the waiter put our order into the kitchen.  Though we all left tips, my co-worker that was called beautiful said she left him a nice tip.  It wasn’t until another intern spoke that we all nearly died laughing. 

“I think he called you a man just so he could call you beautiful.” 

After joking more with our co-worker, she finally said it, “Oh, Tex.” 

Simply,

Tex G.M. Rule

"Those who control their tongue will have a long life; opening your mouth can ruin everything." Proverbs 13:3, NLT

Little Brothers & Man Nights

To my readers

My youngest brother and I have a night we call ‘man-night.’

Essentially, we go watch an awesome manly movie, have a root beer or an icee, and goof off like brothers do. ‘Man-night’ started in the summer of 2007 when the first Transformers movie was released. 

My brother was so excited. I can still see his excitement and joy as we waited in line, popcorn and drinks in hand. 

There is one scene that completely continues to blow my mind. One hero is captured in order to save his friends.  One of his companions tries to rescue him but is stopped by their leader Optimus Prime, worried he may harm a human. 

“Why are we fighting to save the humans? They’re a primitive and violent race.” Asked Ironhide. 

“Were we so different? They’re a young species. They have much to learn.  But I’ve seen goodness in them.  Freedom is the right of all sentient beings.” Optimus Prime 

Have you ever chewed out a younger sibling for doing something childish? I am guilty of this. Sometimes I can be too harsh. 

I have to constantly remind myself when my brother does something childish that he is a boy- not a man.  He’s going to make boy mistakes. 

I have to tell myself this otherwise I am harder on him than I need to be.  I damage his growth of becoming a strong man.  He’s more likely to become a scared and wounded boy trying to play a man rather than building a foundation to become a strong man.

But why do we do this to our brother and sisters of the faith who are young?

Paul writes a letter to Christians in Rome in which he discusses this. He writes,

“Accept other believers who are weak in faith, and don’t argue with them about what they think is right or wrong...Who are you to condemn someone else’s servant? Their own master will judge whether they stand or fall. And with the Lord’s help they will stand and receive his approval” Romans 14:1&4, NLT.

So often we treat people who are young in faith as though they are spiritual adults.  We want them to instantly act as though they were perfect spiritually.  We begin to fight over things that are not important. 

We start tearing down what little faith is already present. 

I need to be a better spiritual big brother. I needed to remember some of my spiritual siblings are young. They will make spiritual childish mistakes.  I forgot all that mattered is their love towards others. 

Its this love inside them that we should see and try to cultivate and strengthen.

“When we place our faith in Christ Jesus, there is no benefit in being circumcised or being uncircumcised. What is important is faith expressing itself in love.” Galatians 5:6, NLT.

Stop fighting with your younger siblings of the faith about things that don’t matter.  Help walk, guide, and build them up into the spiritually mature adults they will one day become. 

Remember, we were also once as young as they were spiritually.  Someone put up with us and helped us along the way- let us return this favor.

Simply, 

Tex G.M. Rule

“When we place our faith in Christ Jesus, there is no benefit in being circumcised or being uncircumcised. What is important is faith expressing itself in love.” Galatians 5:6, NLT.

Tough Callings & Amazing Stories

To my readers,

This past weekend, I heard a powerful story. This is a true story about a man and his faith and devotion to his calling.  Let’s set the stage: This man is a pastor in a country which Christianity is outlawed.  Churches were shut down and Bibles were made illegal to open.  To be a Christian meant you could be arrested, tried, and murdered.

Things get worst.

Eventually the only place preachers could preach were at the many funerals of their family and friends, now martyrs, until that too was made illegal. You can imagine the funerals were become more and more common.

There wasn’t a place they could even whisper the name Jesus.

Things were looking hopeless.

This one man, an unemployed pastor, decided enough was enough.  He went from funeral to funeral telling people about Christ and these martyrs’ faith in Jesus.  It wasn’t long before he was arrested. 

He didn’t let this stop his call. He began to tell the other prisoners about Jesus and how he made atonement for their sins.  There in this prison, people were changed.  Murderers became servants.  People of hate became people of love. 

The guards decided their only option was to execute him in the public square to make an example of him to everyone. 

He only began to preach and pray more and louder.  He was a dead man anyways, right?

The next day, it was decided he would be electrocuted. They ran all the power grid into two wires which would be wrapped around his wrists as he knelt.  They tied the wires tight and put him on his knees.

“This is your one chance to change your mind and renounce Jesus.” The guards told him.

His only reply was, “I will not.”

They flipped the switch in front of the whole city.  While everyone began to flinch, something incredible happened.  A large bang shook the city and the entire power of the city went out. 

The officials were stunned and had an electrician come work on the grid all night. They returned him to prison for the night. He responded by preaching even louder and more confidently about Jesus. 

The next day they repeated this scene. 

They asked him to renounce Jesus again.

His only reply was, “I will not.”

They flipped the switch again. Bang! The power to the entire city went out again.

The guards were stunned.  They quickly released him and told him to leave.  They didn’t want to keep a man they couldn’t kill.

He was seen a few hours later walking towards the mountains.  A friend, curious where a man who has just escaped death twice was heading, asked him where he was heading.

His only response, “To another martyr’s funeral to tell everyone about Jesus.” 

“Rejoice in our confident hope.  Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them.  Always be eager to practice hospitality.” Romans 12:12-13, NLT.

God I pray we can more like this man as he passionately wants everyone to know you that he will endure all things, proclaiming your name the entire way.  Let us walk the tough roads you’ve called us to.  Help us to endure. Help us to seek after you no matter the cost. Help us to be more like you.

Simply,

Tex G.M. Rule

“Rejoice in our confident hope.  Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them.  Always be eager to practice hospitality.” Romans 12:12-13, NLT.

Momma T & Sleeping on Floors

To my readers,

I love Disciple Now (Revive) Weekends. 

I honestly think they are one of the greatest things for youth programs.  I can remember the first time I helped with one, we had famous rock bands, amazing speakers, and some of the most Spirit filled worship I’ve ever been apart of. I found myself wishing that I had something that amazing when I was in youth group. 

My favorite part of these weekends was the time spent at the host homes.  It was where we got to have Bible study, have deep talks, and be real with each other.  One gift a host home gave every Bible Study leader was their own room with their own bed. 

From the noise and silliness of twelve high school boys, a private, clean, quiet, non-smelly, room was amazing.  However, there is one thing that always bothered me.  The twelve boys would have to sleep on the floor. They fought over who would get the couch and how many could even fit on that couch.  The rest, got the cold hard floor.

I couldn’t do it. 

Every year, I gave my bed to the guy who had a strange injury or the student who had to get up early for some school function.  I always stayed on the floor.  Why did I do this?

Because I wasn’t willing to make the boys do something I wasn’t willing to do myself. 

In the New Testament, there is a letter to the church in Philippi written by a man named Paul.  It reads,

            “You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.  Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being.  When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.” Philippians 2:5-8, NLT.

For us, we see problems in the world and in those around us.  Embody the very things you want to see more of.  If you believe this world needs more love, mercy, and grace in truth- then be a person that is full of love, mercy, grace in truth.  

Don’t wait for the world to change

Change yourself first and therefore the world around you. 

Jesus didn’t just talked the talk- he walked the walk.  He embodied everything he tells us to do.  Here we find God in the form of man and yet he doesn’t believe that this allows him to do be equal- though he is- he became a slave.

Jesus embodied humility, love, and grace. And he calls us to as well.  

Imagine what our world would look like if people literally lived lives around the changes they want to make in the world.  Imagine if people lived lives totally devoted to loving each other, or to forgiving those who wrong them.  One of my favorite people in this world is Mother Teresa.  Momma T walks the walk by following Christ's example.  She embodies the very things she wants to see change in the world.  

What would the world look like if we walked the talk we talk as Christians? 

I challenge you to walk the walk Jesus did.  I dare you to do something radically different.  Follow in his footsteps. I dare you to see this world radically changed. 

Simply,

Tex G.M. Rule

"You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had." Philippians 2:5, NLT.