Ben Pettit

What is Wednesday you ask?

I grew up in a minister’s family. Half of my life my Dad was bi-vocational, what does that mean you say? It means he did a full time job with part time pay. We never had money, so what? What does money matter anyway? I mean sure, everyone wants nice things, even me. BUT, how often do we let it consume us?

My prayer for myself and you the reader is this… That we would become consumed with giving every thing we have away.

Rick Warren from his enormous books sales has paid back his salary from Saddleback for the past 25 years and established 3 foundations. He now gives away 90% of his income and lives off of 10%. You would never hear about that in our liberal media though. You would rather hear slanders about pastors or hit and miss TV evangelist who are filthy rich.

So all that to say: You don’t have to have a lot of money, to do a lot of good. Sure Rick Warren has done some great stuff with his money, but who cares? What I mean is, good, good for him. Now what can we do better? It’s Wednesday, what can you do today, Wednesday, to better someone’s life? How can you love better? How can you give more? Who and how can you pour into people, today, Wednesday?

Here is a short list of some random ideas off the top of my head this morning:

• Take someone out to lunch and encourage them.
• Buy someone’s cup of coffee and have a meaningful conversation.
• Send your wife or girl friend flowers just to say this: It’s Wednesday and I love you.
• Buy or even better make, your husband or boy friends favorite dinner tonight.
• Visit the grandparents that you have been putting off seeing.
• Mow someone’s lawn for them.
• Grab the coffee pot at work on your break. Walk around cube world offer some coffee and an encouraging word.

Feel free to add any thoughts or ideas of your own as comments. I’d love to hear them.

Lord, I pray that we would put ourselves last. That we would fully become your servant so that others would see your love and compassion screaming through our bones. Lord let us constantly be advancing your Kingdom. We want to be vessels of your truth. Give us a hunger for your word like we have never felt before. The words of your mouth sustain us today. It’s Wednesday, today, Wednesday, speak through us, work through us, let us walk away from Wednesday changed.

UPDATE: I didn’t listen to Point of Grace’s country  song “How You Live” before I wrote this, but if you haven’t heard it, it makes for a nice invitational hymn.

It’s very good to be back in Spartanburg after a wonderful 5 days of vacation. Myrtle Beach was good to us. But, I did leave with a little pink skin and some random splotches of sun burn where my sun block faded away.

I’ve found lately that praying while driving might be one of the neatest ways to experience the Lord. Here is the thought for today. How often have you said this:

I’ll pray for you

And after you said it, you never thought another thing about it again. Personally I’m tired of living by the “I’ll pray for you” standard. Can we not move past that? Are we that elementary?

My challenge for you today is this: change your statement from I’ll pray for you to a question!

Can I pray for you?

Whatever you have going on is not that important. Stop right there and pray for them. Stop what ever you are doing and understand that the Lord will meet you where you are at.

A big question has risen lately. What does it mean to be Authentic? What does it look like? What does it feel like? How does it act? How does it speak? What does it look like in our churches?

Problem:

Stacy and I were discussing it this morning. We have mutually and separately known people as I know you do, that are truly not authentic. I’ll use two of my favorite generic names Bob and Sally to explain it. Situationally it goes something like this:

Bob: [very excitingly] Hey Sally, what’s up?
[Bob begins to look around the room not making eye contact with Sally]
Sally: Not to much Bob, been really busy with work and family.
Bob: cool, how are your folks?
[Bob continues to look around the room for the next person to talk to...]
Sally: They’re fine. [Sally begins to get bored at Bob's silly small talk...]
[new girl Jane walks up, Bob loses interest in Sally and turns to Jane]
Bob: Hey Jane, what’s up?

So this situation might have happened to you this week. It seems it happens more than we want. Someone ask you a question that they really don’t care about and it’s as if they never really cared if you respond to them. We as people, as Christians and as leaders are sometimes guilty of this. I have a lot of friends in ministry who attempt to go to Pastor mode but instead go to social networking mode. They miss the whole shepherd part and jump straight into small talk. With Facebook, Myspace, and every other web 2.0 service coming everyday, this is our unfortunate result. Shallow conversations and shallow relationships.

Solution:

Have meaningful conversations as often as possible. Avoid the small talk. Talk about things that really matter. Care about the people around you. Life isn’t as much about getting ahead as you might think. It’s about serving the Lord by serving people. Go out of your way to do something special for someone today. I love this thought. If you are feeling down and you need encouragement, get past your self and go encourage someone else first. If you feel like you don’t have a friend in the world, go reach out and be someone else’s friend first. Life sometimes takes some initiative. Other wise, you are just sitting still.

Galatians 6:1-10 spoke to me this morning. I think it’s so very easy to go through life living as the world would see it. We think because we call someone out for what they are doing wrong that we are in the wrong. That we will come across as mean. After reading this passage you will and should never think that way again.

Before reading the passage pray and ask the Lord to open your heart to His word. He wants to speak to you this morning.

How often do we not pray? I know, I’m guilty some times too. I have been on a spiritual journey for the past 6th months and the Lord has been shaping me a lot. I’d ask you today to read over this beautiful text. Just meditate on it. I pray that it would cause you to love.

“So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”
- 1 Corinthians 13:13

I hear the Savior say,
“Thy strength indeed is small;
Child of weakness, watch and pray,
Find in Me thine all in all.”

Jesus paid it all,
All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow.

And when before the throne
I stand in Him complete,
I’ll lay my trophies down
All down at Jesus’ feet.