attaching value to HIM…

we have been looking here on the front porch at the prayer that Jesus taught us how to pray.  we are going through the LORD’s prayer phrase by phrase.  we have looked at our Father, then in heaven and now we are going to spend some time with the phrase, hallowed be YOUr name. matthew 6.9 (niv)

now you may wonder why is GOD’s name such a big deal? 

well a name in the bible is never just a label for somebody.  a name is always a reflection of the person that it expresses.  it’s a reflection of their character and their identity.  and it says, hallowed, hallowed be your name.

we don’t use this word hallowed much in our day, but it means to attach appropriate value to something.  give it the honor that it’s due.  recognize its worth.

there was a story about attaching value.  i don’t know if this actually happened or not.  but a guy came into an antique store mostly filled with junk, and he was kind of an expert with antiques.

he noticed on the floor there was a cat drinking milk out of a saucer.  but the saucer he recognized was actually a vase from the ming dynasty in china that was worth a fortune.  it was full of milk with a cat drinking out of it.

he thought, “this is the opportunity of a lifetime to get a hold of that thing because the owner obviously doesn’t realize what he’s got here.”

so he went to the owner and he said, “that’s quite a remarkable cat you have. i’ll give you twenty five dollars for your cat.”  and the owner said, “well, the cat isn’t really worth anything, and we’re kind of attached to it.”  and the guy said, “i’ll give you a hundred dollars for it.”

the owner said, “all right.” and then the man said, “i’ll need something to feed him out of, so i’ll give you another ten bucks and i’ll take that saucer.”

the owner said, "oh, i could never do that.  that’s actually a vase from the ming dynasty in china that’s worth a fortune.  but it’s the strangest thing.  ever since i started putting milk in it, i’ve sold 17 cats.”

all of us, especially in financial terms, are used to attaching values to things.  and sometimes we’ll see something of great worth, but appropriate value hasn’t been attached to it. people don’t seem to recognize what it is worth.  and this is supremely true of GOD.  and it was a sad thing to JESUS and is to HIS followers still

just a thought from the front porch…

profiling…

a final sign that anybody you’ve ever met has hanging around their neck is scenic route.

this takes a moment of explanation. typically, we’ll see this sign when we’re cruising down the freeway going about 75 miles an hour (unless you have a permit license driver in the car with you!). at 75, everything out of your peripheral vision is blurry because you’re going so fast and then that sign appears. you know what it’s really saying. it’s saying, “slow down and take a look.” it’s saying, “hey buddy, hey gal! there’s a lot here to see if you’ll only take the time.”

it’s the sign hanging on the neck of every person you’ve ever locked eyes with. it says, “slow down. take the time to see me how GOD sees me.”

looking beyond exterior things and seeing the real worth of a person is the theme of some movies a few years back. i don’t know if you saw the movie shallow hal, but that was the premise of that movie. it’s seeing the inner beauty of a person and not paying attention to the exterior shallow things. the movie shrek is about this woman who was afraid, if you really saw who i was, you wouldn’t like me. but when the guy sees who she is, he does like her still. it’s that ability to see beyond.

look what the bible says in romans 12.16 (msg), get along with each other. don’t be stuck up. make friends with nobodies. don’t be the great somebody. or ephesians 4.2 (nlt), be humble and gentle. be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love.

there’s a controversial discussion going in america these days. it’s the discussion around the word “profiling.” i understand why the discussion is happening. but i detest the idea that’s behind it. i can’t say strongly enough how wrong i feel that is. yet i’m honest enough to know – and i hope you are – that you and i do this with great regularity. we diminish people or we overlook people because they have certain physical characteristics or certain personality traits or they come from a different economic background or have lesser educational achievements or they’re wearing a different colored skin. we sort of categorize and overlook and disrespect, and in our minds we say, “they are less than we are.” we make those value judgments all the time. i hate that when i see it in me. i hate it when i see it anywhere.

just a thought from the front porch…

loves shows value and honor...

we’re in this series “what is love,” and we’re looking at different aspects of love as found in 1 corinthians 13. now one aspect of love found here is that it is respectful, it shows respect to others. in verse 5 (niv), we find these words, love is not rude. it is not self seeking.

you sum that up, and it basically means you treat other people respectfully. the idea of respect is talked about a lot in the bible. in deuteronomy 28 and leviticus 19, it tells us to show respect to those who are elderly. in 1 samuel 2, a preacher’s sons were called scoundrels because they showed no respect for the LORD. in ephesians 5 and 6, husbands and wives were taught to respect each other, and slaves and masters were told to have mutual respect as well.

here is a verse that i hope you’ll get into your mind and you’ll think about it through this week and actually through your life. 1 peter 2.17 (nlt) says, show respect for everyone and love your CHRISTian brothers and sisters.

respect is one of those topics we talk about and it’s a word we use a lot, but have you ever given much thought to what the word “respect” really means? i can remember as a little boy my mom saying, “that was disrespectful.” or “you need to show respect in this situation.” but i never had anybody to define that for me.

here’s how i’d like to define respect for our own purposes: respect is showing value and honor to others by our actions. when we dishonor or devalue a person, we could say we disrespected them. we disregarded them. the common vernacular is “we dissed them.” but to respect someone is to show value and honor.

every person that you’ve ever met has around his or her neck an invisible sign. if you look carefully enough, you can almost see it. it’s a sign that says, “do i matter to you?” it’s a sign that says, “do i have any worth at all in your estimation? do you in any way honor or esteem who i am?” and if you look at that sign crying out, “would somebody please show me by their actions that i matter?”

do people feel better or worse after they’ve been with you? this is one way to know whether you’re a respectful person. do they feel inspired, valued, respected? or do they feel worse, diminished, unappreciated? i find there’s some people i feel replenished by and other people i feel very diminished by. there are situations where i find myself renewed and other situations that just wear me out.

just a thought from the front porch…

appreciation and correction...

when we thank people and appreciate people that raises their value.

appreciation means to rise in value. that’s what used to happen to our homes. on the other hand if you ever bought a car or a home in this last year you know the meaning of depreciation. that means to lower in value.

do you realize that every time you appreciate your family, you are raising their value? you make your husband more valuable to you each time you appreciate him. you make your wife more valuable to you when you appreciate her. you make your children more valuable when you appreciate them because you’re raising their value. great people make people feel great.

the apostle paul was a master of this. in every one of paul’s letters at the start he says, “here’s what i like about you. here’s what i appreciate about you.” he may have some serious things to deal with to correct in their life but he says, “this is what i appreciate about you.”

how often do you affirm the people in your life? the bible says in hebrews 3.13 (niv), encourage each other daily.

now in that building each other up we need to also correct without condemning

the bible says in hebrews 12.6 (niv), the LORD disciplines those HE loves. and just as GOD disciplines us, we need to discipline our children and each other.

i know there are so-called “experts” out there today that say, just let kids do their own thing, don’t discipline them, don’t give them parameters, just let them be their own self. you don’t want to hamper them. but the bible says the exact opposite. in fact, the bible says that if you don’t discipline your children that proves two things:

1. it proves that you don’t really love them. proverbs 13.24 (lb), if you refuse to discipline your son it proves that you don’t love him. that’s what they need in order to grow.

2. it shows that i’m setting them up for failure. if i fail to discipline my children i’m setting them up for failure. i’m ruining their lives. proverbs 19.18 (ncv), correct your children while there is still hope. do not let them destroy themselves.

just a thought from the front porch…

by attention & affection...

how do you affirm the value in your children in your husband and wife and in other people? one way is by giving them attention.

years ago cornell university wired little preschoolers, 1-5, with microphones for several weeks and listened and recorded their conversations. they discovered that the average father spends 37.7 seconds in direct communication with preschoolers on a daily basis. 37.7 seconds! that’s enough to say, “go to your room! … i love you. … how you doing?”

people need attention. when you look people in the eyes, you’re paying them a gift because you’re saying, “you matter to me. you’re valuable and i’m interested in what you have to say.”

guys, when your wife begins to talk to you put down the newspaper and look her directly in the eyes. when she wakes up from her faint, she’ll realize that you have given her a significant gift. you’ve said, “you matter to me so you have my attention.” wives, when you husband comes home and he is dead tired give him attention. just stop what you are doing and let him know that he matters to you. now if he doesn’t want to talk make that ok. but just acknowledge that he is home and you are glad.

affection is also something you can do to affirm value. romans 12.10 (lb) says, love each other with brotherly affection and take delight in honoring each other.

if you love somebody you’ll show it. people need love, hugs, kisses, touches.

the point is, men, dads, it’s not enough to love your kids. you’ve got to tell them but that’s not even enough. you’ve got to help them feel your love, feel it on their skins with hugs and touches and caresses and kisses.

children get six times more affection from mothers than they do from dads. you say you weren’t raised that way. but you can change. even if your kids are 30 years old it’s never too late to start showing affection. i am not stefs and brett’s mate but i am the only dad they have and they need to feel love on their skin from me even at their age.

men you need to every day give your wife a hug without her feeling that you have an ulterior motive that you are doing it because she needs it and you need to do it. women, you need to give him affection even if it might lead to something else and even if you do have a head ache. listen, be thankful that he wants to do it with you and not someone else.

you know i could be the best pastor in the world and give you hugs and reinforce you and never give any affection to margaret and be the biggest failure that ever called himself a man. it starts at home.

just a thought from the front porch…