Chuck Locklear
fascinating characters, impactful books and messages
Golf or Fishing
Anything you place ahead of God in your life is an idol. It can be a car, a house, a boat, a TV show, a favorite sports star, anything that gets in the way of you worshiping God. Golf or Fishing, anything can be an idol.
God of Golf
When my children were younger, we would load into the van and drive to church on Sunday morning. We would pass by a golf course. I often would point out the crowded golf course and say, “Look, these people are worshipping the god of golf.” My kids would groan and say, “Dad!” Lizzy, always assuming positive intent, would counter, “Perhaps, they went to an earlier church service.” My intention was not to pass judgement of these particular golfers. My purpose was to make a point, anything can be an idol if it is more important to us than doing the will of God.
“But they refused to pay attention; stubbornly they turned their backs and covered their ears.”
Zechariah 7:11
The children of Israel were stubborn. They refused to abandon their worthless idols. Perhaps, they thought they could do both. They would worship God at their temple in Samaria and set up idols on every high hill in their communities. Were they driven by fear or their own desires? I think the answer is both. They were hedging their bet. The people would worship God and if he didn’t give them what they wanted, they would ask the gods of the nations around them. They would burn incense saying, “Baal, I want a new car. “
Do What Is Right
Hoshea was the last king of Israel. He reigned in Samaria for nine years. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord. More importantly, the people did evil in the eyes of the Lord. It is too easy to blame the leaders, when in fact it is our own fault.
The sinfulness of the people caused Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, to defeat Israel. He came up to attack Hoshea, seizing him and putting him in prison. Hoshea had been a vassal to Assyria, but stopped paying tribute. Hoshea instead made a pact with the king of Egypt, putting his confidence in Egypt, and not in the God of his forefathers.
Next Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, invaded the entire land. He marched against Samaria and laid siege to the city for three years. Can you imagine the hardship of the people during that three years? It got worse. Shalmaneser captured Samaria and deported all of the Israelites to Assyria.
He Knows Our Needs
Shalmaneser was allowed to do this because the Israelites had sinned against God, the God who had brought them up out of Egypt from under the power of Pharaoh. Instead of trusting the true god, they worshiped the worthless gods of their neighbors. They set up sacred stones and Asherah poles (idols) on every high hill and under every spreading tree. They worshiped idols and rejected the words of the prophets. The people did not observe the commands written in the word of God.
Does God not want us to have cars, houses, jobs, vacations, etc.? Yes, he does. Your heavenly Father knows that you need them.
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
Matthew 6:33
A Job Is a Blessing, but. . .
Having a job is a blessing, but don’t let the job keep you from church. Of course, I know this will happen from time-to-time. This is especially true when the job is new, but soon enough you will be given the chance not to work on Sunday. Take it. Worship with the family of God needs to be a priority. Golf is a fun recreational activity. But, don’t sign up for a tee time that conflicts with God’s priorities for your life.
You may say, “I have to work on Sunday or I won’t get the overtime that I need.” But, remember what we read in Matthew, “Seek ye first his kingdom and righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
Golf or fishing, anything can be an idol. Trust God’s word on this one. Prove him. I can attest that my life is an example. I’ve claimed this promise for my life and God has blessed me with good things: houses, cars, boats, and jobs. I don’t golf, but who knows? There is still time for me to take up this sport.
Also, see Priceless.
Copyright © 2023 Chuck Locklear
The Meaning of Resilience
We can have joy during the storms of life and develop resilience. But, what is the meaning of resilience? We can find the meaning of this word by looking at the life of the Apostle Paul.
When we are first introduced to Paul, he was persecuting people of “the Way” (Acts 9:1-2, NIV). After his conversion, Paul would come to epitomize the “Way Marked by Joy.” Yes, joy marked this movement, but it didn’t mean things were easy.
Sailing Across the Mediterranean
Paul was imprisoned and sent across the Mediterranean to Rome. However, even during a violent storm at sea, the joy of the Lord was Paul’s strength. Paul didn’t shrink from the storm, but instead sought to advise the captain through his centurion guard (Acts 28:1-10). The captain did not follow his advice and the ship crashed on the small island of Malta.
The people of Malta treated the castaways hospitably, making a large fire, because it was raining and cold. However, tough times for Paul continued. While he was gathering wood, to throw on the fire, the heat panicked a viper hidden in the sticks. It struck Paul, latching onto his hand. But, Paul shook the snake off and returned to his service of Christ. Now, the islanders thought he was a God.
Resiliency In Action
Paul’s resilience allowed him to summon spiritual strength that helped him face the storms of life, allowing him to continue to serve. This is the meaning of resilience. Without guile, Paul preached to the stunned Maltese and responded to their cries for help, praying for them and healing their sick.
According to Salvador Maddi, author of Resilience at Work, resilience may be strengthened where our commitments, sense of control, and challenges overlap. Paul’s sense of commitment came from his purpose to give witness to the Gospel. This gave him a sense of control that he could live confident of his trust in God. He then was free to face challenges with courage.
Personal Mission Statement
We can do the same in our daily lives. When you feel challenged about your life being out of control, make a list of the things that you are tolerating. These are the things you feel you “have” to live with. Stretch yourself. Don’t list just a few things. Push yourself to list 25 or more things you are tolerating. Then, come up with a plan to address two of them. Even acting on only two will put you on a path toward getting things back in order. You’ll be surprised that your entire attitude will change.
Paul epitomizes the “Way Marked by Joy,” a way also filled with challenges. Like him, we can develop resilience during the storms of life. If you are not feeling challenged about anything, you might need to open up and make yourself vulnerable. It is likely time to take a risk. Listen to the voice of God and let God trouble your spirit. I am confident that God has big plans for you.
“Then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind.” (Philippians 2:2)
Copyright © 2019 Chuck Locklear
Also, see How to Be Happy.
Positive Self-talk
Each of us has a set of messages playing over and over in our heads. One of the ways to promote optimism, hope, or happiness is to intentionally fill our thinking with positive self-talk.
Positive words creates the expection for positive outcomes.
Look for the Positive
Unfortunately, our pattern of self-talk is often negative. We remember the negative things said to us as children and we lock into this pattern of thinking and talking. Try this exercise. Write down some of your negative messages. Then, take a moment to intentionally counteract these with positive truths. Don’t give up too quickly. For every negative message, you can find a positive truth. They always exist; keep looking until you find them. For example, when you make a mistake, you can choose to apologize and say “I always make mistakes” or you can overwrite that message with a positive one, “I am constantly learning and will do better next time.”
“Life is marked by failures and setbacks and slip-ups, as much as by hard-won satisfactions and sudden discoveries of strength. We need to help children understand that life is made up of striving much more than attaining.”
Fred Rogers
Words of Life Only
Allow only words of “life” out of your mouth. When you speak something, it becomes real. Our words become thoughts in our brains. Positive words become positive thinking, which creates the expection for positive outcomes. Negative words become negative thinking, resulting in the expectation for negative outcomes in our lives. We tend to see what we expect.
The good news is God has given each of us the capacity to grow and learn… to be better tomorrow than we are today. Yes, you can learn new ways to think and talk. You know that saying, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks?” It is not true. I learned from a man who trains service animals that even older dogs love learning new things. Wow, there is hope for all of us.
After all of my years as a principal, I can attest to the power of positive talk. Parents who talk positively to and about their children create resilient, high-achieving students. They don’t give up when faced with challenges. They know that their efforts will allow them to overcome challenges, solve problems, and be successful. By your positive talk, you are putting messages in your child’s head that will serve him or her for a lifetime.
Life Happens
Positive self-talk is not deception. It is not mentally looking at circumstances just as you want to see them. Rather, positive self-talk is about recognizing the truth, in situations and in yourself. One of the fundamental truths is that you will make mistakes; we all do. To expect perfection or a life with no difficulties is unrealistic. Life happens.
Positive self-talk allows you to discover the optimism, hope, and joy in every situation. You can choose which messages you want playing in your head.
“The tongue can speak words that bring life or death. Those who love to talk must be ready to accept what it brings.”
Proverbs 18:21, ERV
Copyright © 2023 Chuck Locklear
Also, see Brain Development.
Need Patience?
How many of us need patience? If you need patience, learn to rejoice in troubles.
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”
—Galatians 5:22-23
Battleship
I’ll let you in on a secret. I am not a patient person. This fact became visible this week as I played the “electronic” version of Battleship with my grandson. Interestingly, we had played the old fashion version without incident. You might remember this version. Each player gets a game unit with a target grid and ocean grid, five plastic ships, white pegs for misses, and red pegs for hits. The players take turns calling out letter and number coordinates for shot locations. If you call out a shot location that is occupied by a ship on your opponent’s ocean grid, your shot is a hit.
On the electronic version, each player pushes the grid coordinates on a keypad and the computer or “screen” as the grands call it, announces whether it is a hit or miss with the appropriate sound effect. For example, the computer plays a “Kaboom” sound, followed by the coordinate, Charlie for “C” and the number 4. After each sound effect, my grandson was so excited he would yell out, “It’s a hit.” I could understand his excitement, but his words would cover up the computer voice announcing the coordinates, and of course, he could not remember the coordinate he just targeted. Ugh!
I tried on multiple turns, to no avail, to get him to not yell out whether it was a hit or a miss, allowing me to hear the coordinates. My voice was raising and I was becoming frustrated. Luckily, Lizzy stepped in and took over, just in the nick of time, allowing me to step back and calm down.
Upon reflection, Lizzy was right, he is too young to be able to turn off his excitement so easily. Also, I think I should write the Milton Bradly Company with a suggestion. They should reprogram the game so that the coordinates are announced prior to the hit or miss sound effect. Yep, that would fix the problem.
Am I the Only One?
How many, like me, are tempted to flip to the last page of the book to discover the ending? Or, find yourself saying, “Come on get to the point already?”
Curious about this, I asked a non “flip to the last page person” to explain why they did not do it. The answer was more obvious than I expected. “Flipping to the last page ruins the enjoyment of discovering what happens.” Let that sink in a moment.
I think that is how we are with God. We are so focused on skipping to the answer to our prayers that we don’t fully appreciate or enjoy the process of experiencing our lives.
Like with my grandson… I wanted him to understand how his actions were making it impossible for us to play the game with any accuracy. What I should have realized was that accuracy didn’t matter, but his excitement was special. He will not always get so excited about something as simple as a “hit” or a “miss.”
Have you ever wanted an answer from God so badly that you became so frustrated that you later regretted that you had missed the blessings along the way? I have.
Don’t Miss the Blessing
Let us not miss the blessings the Lord has for us because we are focusing on the minor troubles of this life. Let us do like the Apostle Paul:
“Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope” (Romans 5:3-4).
Can we really rejoice in sufferings or troubles and wait patiently? I have to let you know that I have a difficult time doing so. But, I think the message here is that we should not be surprised when we run into troubles. And, we can know that troubles will produce something good for us, which will make us stronger and help us trust God more.
The bottom line is this: troubles grow our faith. Now, that is something for which we can rejoice. So, if you need patience, like me, learn to rejoice in troubles.
Copyright © 2023 Chuck Locklear
See my 2020 New Year’s post: Godvidence.
The Road Not Taken
People often do the opposite. They take the safest route, because of the fear of the uncertainty. But, the only way to ensure a different outcome than you have always experienced is to try something different. Take the road less traveled. True, you may not like it, but it may open up opportunities you could never imagine.
The Road Not Taken is a poem by Robert Frost that I learned in high school.
“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.”
—Robert Frost, The Road Not Taken
Negative Consequences
Taking a chance can be difficult and may come with some negative consequences. Let me give you an example. When Lizzy and I were newly married. We lived on Logue Street in our hometown. The house was close to my work, but, actually, it didn’t matter where we lived; we were newlyweds. Every day was a new and exciting experience.
The house on Logue was owned by my cousin. He and his wife decided to sell it and it seemed like the safe thing to do as a young couple, buy a house rather than continuing to pay rent. It would be an investment and a solid foundation for starting a family. I, however, wanted to be a teacher. It was a dream delayed while I worked and Lizzy finished her teaching degree. So, we made an offer on the house. They accepted it and we began the process: saving for a down payment, getting a home inspection, applying for FHA, qualifying for a mortgage, and on-and-on. Then, one day, I got a brochure in the mail with the title, “All roads lead to Big Rapids.” Interestingly, all roads actually do lead to anywhere you want to go; you just have to take the right road.
Actually, I had previously considered applying to Ferris State University in Big Rapids, Michigan. A few of my most respected community college professors had attended Ferris State, but I considered it beyond my ability to achieve. I don’t know exactly what happened next, but Lizzy and I made a visit. We faced some immediate obstacles. The closing date for purchasing the house was set and we showed up only to say we were backing out of the deal. My cousin and his wife were less than happy for us. We ended up needing a lawyer, but there was no looking back.
Uncertainties
There were many uncertainties. We couldn’t live in a dorm as a married couple. We had a little dog that we would have to bring. How would we afford it? Where would we attend church? Looking back, it all turned out amazingly. It became one of the most the treasured experiences of our lives together.
It turned out that colleges have something called “married housing.” If I had only known, I would have done it years earlier. We met some wonderful young couples. All of whom were in the same boat as us.
We found an apartment that accepted dogs in the tiny town of Paris, Michigan. Yes, they have a mini Eiffel Tower… a gas station, and a bar, with a sign on the door, “No knives, no guns.”
We did struggled with money. Donated groceries were dropped off at our door. We were given venison, which we ate almost daily, but we made it. I got a grant that paid for the tuition and a job at the local Chevrolet dealership. Instead of making minimum wage, I was paid “flat rate,” considerably more. The service manager allowed me to make my hours around my classes. When I showed up, he had the cars lined up waiting for me.
Spiritual Growth
We found a church with a campus ministry, focusing on couples just like us. We made friends with people who strengthened our faith. It became a time of spiritual growth.
All these years later, I am so glad that we took “the road less traveled.” It resulted in a thirty plus year career. Yes, we did eventually purchase another house and God blessed Lizzy and I with an amazing family. My advice, take the fork. The “good stuff” waits for you on the road not taken.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding… ”
—Proverbs 3:5
Copyright © 2023 Chuck Locklear
Also, see Victorious.
Anticipate Consequences
Dwight David Eisenhower, Supreme Commander of the Allied forces in Europe during World War II and the 34th President of the United States of America, famously said, “Plans are worthless, but planning is everything.” Eisenhower or Ike reportedly made this statement at a conference in 1957, which speaks to the wisdom he had learned over a lifetime of successes. Ike’s point, things seldom pan out the way we expect, because the future is always changing.
It easy to overlook the unintended consequences.
The truth is that life is complicated. It involves people with freewill. This makes it easy to overlook the unintended consequences. Our actions have consequences, but it is not usually easy to forecast all the possibilities. This doesn’t mean that we should not have a plan. We must start any project by first doing some planning. Then, add the strategy of “pausing to reflect” to allow time to adjust the plans as needed.
Construction Technology
One popular programs offered at my school is Construction Technology. This program gives high school students the opportunity to learn the building trades, while constructing a house that someone will actually live in. Students love the experiences because it gives them a relevant, hands-on experience. In other words, it is a real project and they learn by doing. An important outcome of this class is for students to learn to read a “blueprint” or architectural drawing.
A great deal of information is required to build a modern house or commercial structure. A single drawing could not possibly hold all the needed information, many sheets of drawings and specifications are bound together to make a set of plans. Many people rely on these plans. A contractor will use the plans to bid on the construction project. An estimator will study them to determine the project cost. Carpenters, electricians, plumbers, and heating contractors need the plans to build and install the systems. While the plan is very detailed and well thought out, it is not perfect.
Changes Have Consequences
Minor changes—such as the size of a window– can be handled by the carpenters and tradespeople, with sketches and notations recorded on each set of plans. However, more often our actions–such as moving a staircase—can generate a “chain reaction” of problems that will require changes to the drawings by the architect and approval by the owner.
For those of us with logical minds, changes can present an uncomfortable truth, because, of course, life should go according to the plan. Why wouldn’t things work out as we planned? We have carefully considered the options and logically sequenced the steps. Then, “life happens!” Be like Ike and plan according.
“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it?”
Luke 14:28
Copyright © 2023 Chuck Locklear
Also, see
Grow Your Brain
A recent encounter with a black bear in the Great Smoky Mountains taught me a lesson about wisdom. This experience launched me into a Bible study about wisdom and understanding. With my findings, I suggest that Proverbs be retitled the Book of Wisdom. It has more instruction on wisdom than any book in the Bible.
Women Are Smarter
It is interesting that Solomon uses the pronoun “she.” Lizzy suggests this is because “Women are smarter than men.” To some degree, this has been true in our relationship, especially as it relates to gaining wisdom and knowledge. When our children were young, Lizzy would try to teach me about “assimilation and accommodation.” She attributes this concept to Jean Piaget, a Swiss psychologist known for his work on child development. Lizzy studied Piaget’s theory of cognitive development and epistemology, which basically describes how knowledge develops in the brain. Child development was her first major in college. Like Piaget, Lizzy places great importance on the education of children.
Let me tell you how this worked in our family. Lizzy would propose, “We need to take our kids to Disney World.” I would argue that it is expensive and we can’t afford it. Then, I would make the mistake of adding; “They are so young. They won’t remember a thing. Let’s wait until they are older.” With this statement, I had lost the argument. Lizzy would launch into an explanation of how the brain works and how this experience would make our kids smarter. How could I say “No” to that. We borrowed the money from our retirement savings and took the kids to Disney World.
Brain Research
It is true that recent research about learning and how the brain works has supported the concept of “assimilation and accommodation.” The brain is looking for novel stimuli, which it processes and assimilates or files with prior knowledge that it has stored. Often, the brain needs to accommodate this new knowledge by adjusting the understanding previously held about how the world works. Lizzy was right! As parents, we need to provide more novel stimuli to light up our kids’ brains.
Does this work with adults too? Yes, we can even grow our brains when we are older. For example, on our recent trip to the Great Smoky Mountains, my son-in-law, Greg, grew his brain with a novel experience. Many of you have seen the video of him walking up to a bear on the trail saying “Hi, buddy, hi buddy.” Then, you see the bear lunging at him, growling. . . and Greg dropping the camera. Thankfully, Greg and my granddaughter, who he was carrying on his back, are fine. The momma bear was just scaring Greg off to protect her three cubs. The lesson: don’t approach bears in the wild.
I’m sure Greg had read warnings about approaching bears, but this new novel experience made a connection in his brain that he will never forget. This experience proves that even adults can grow their brains.
“Blessed are those who find wisdom, those who gain understanding, for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold.”
Proverbs 3:13-14
Copyright © 2023 Chuck Locklear
Also, see Growth Mindset.
Thinking Hotspots
As parents, creating independent learners is our goal. A key part of thinking is spotting topics or situations that need more thought, and where more thought is worthwhile.
“The growth of faith is a thinking hotspot.”
Thinking Hotspots is a routine that makes thinking visible by helping students to see thinking opportunities. This is another thinking routine from Project Zero at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. It encourages learners to consider whether an idea is more or less true and more or less important. This greater awareness helps students to spot thinking hotspots in the future.
Making It Work
The spotting hotspots routine is best used for a topic or situation where students have some knowledge already. This is a great strategy for encouraging students to become more alert to situations where they might think more deeply about the truth of something.
Here are the steps to the routine:
- Start by identifying a topic or situation.
- Next, ask the learner to think about the topic or situation and decide whether it is clearly true, clearly false, or somewhere in the middle. Then, the learner must decide whether it is more or less important.
- With that done, the learner places a sticky note on a grid drawn on a flip chart based on truthfulness and importance. Along the bottom of the chart a horizontal axis has true on one side and false on the other. In the middle, a vertical axis has important at the top.
The sticky note can be placed anywhere on the grid, according to the student’s judgment. To encourage deeper thinking, ask questions like, “What makes this idea this way?” This will draw out characteristics that put an idea “in the middle” rather than plainly true or false and important or not important.
Application
To demonstrate, I’d like you to think about faith. Faith is the foundation of Christianity. As Christians, we believe in a living God, who we cannot see. This is not logical. This belief cannot be proven by science. Therefore, faith is central to our understanding of God.
To encourage deeper thinking on this subject, I offer the following specific topic for consideration: “Our faith grows as God answers prayers for little things.” I ask you to reflect on this statement, considering whether this idea is true and whether it is important.
I can definitely say that my father believed this statement to be true. He prayed and believed God for small things. Like the time we were on vacation, traveling in North Carolina. We had a minivan full of people stranded on the side of the road. He had me go outside and open the hood. Then, he prayed for the minivan’s engine. I shut the hood. We got back inside the vehicle and the engine started. It was such a small thing, and yes, we could have called for “roadside assistance.” Thank God for roadside assistance. However, in this example, the direct application of faith gave everyone in that vehicle a chance to grow faith and praise God. It has been many years now and my daughter’s friend, Katie, who was in that minivan, still tells the story of how God healed the minivan.
I’d also place this idea close to the important side of the vertical axis. In my dad’s case, God grew his faith so that he was used to accomplish miraculous healings, even bringing a man back from the dead. God accomplishes mountain-moving miracles for his purpose. His message to us is “All things are possible.” This starts with faith for little things.
Hotspots Encourage Thinking
The growth of faith is a thinking hotspot. This topic launched me into a deeper study of the language of faith. How we speak about faith can provide subtle, yet profound power over our ability to grow. Language helps direct our attention and action. But, pastors are not the only ones who use the language of faith. Teachers, parents, mentors, and others can model “mindfulness” as it relates to faith.
“Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”
—Matthew 17:20
Copyright © 2023 Chuck Locklear
Also, see Thinking Routines.
Ella the Fearless
Ella was almost alligator bait. Perhaps, you have seen photos of our four pound dog being chased by an alligator. Ella is 16 years old and afraid of everything. Maybe, because she is nearly blind and mostly deaf, she walks around the house with her tail between her legs. Don’t be like Ella; change your focus and be fearless.
I wish I could say that I am fearless, but sometimes I’m just like Ella, walking around with my tail between my legs. The truth is that I am afraid of bad news. I’m always waiting for it, anticipating the dreaded telephone call.
Do Not Fear
I know that Jesus said, “Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32). I know this means that I am a child of the king and he takes pleasure in giving me the blessings and bounty of the kingdom. So, why do I allow fear a foothold in my life?
It is easy to get discouraged. When we wake up and are faced with the “what ifs.” What if I lose my job, fail my math test, score poorly on the SAT, God doesn’t heal me? You get the idea.
At any moment in time there are lots of troubles in our world: hurricanes in Louisiana, wild fires in California, causalities in Ukraine, flooding at home, the unopened bills on the table. Yes, there is lots of bad news on which to focus our attention. But, let me distract you for a moment.
My Favorite Things
Try this exercise with me. Make a list of the things you love. Yes, take out paper and pencil and write a list. Your list might include “Chocolate.” Lizzy loves chocolate. How about the smell of cut grass, the satisfaction of a job well done, laughter around the dinner table, Red barns?
As I wrote my list, I found lots of lovely things for which I delight. But, do I delight in God? Where was he on my list?
I went through my list again: The way my granddaughters Scarlet and Selah hug me tight. They are big huggers. The fact that I am Shiloh’s favorite. The sparkly way the air feels before a thunderstorm. The “comfyness” of my favorite chair. Then, it occurred to me; as I expressed thankfulness for these things, I turn my focus away from the worries of my life. I was taking delight in God. It is truly God’s grace that has blessed me with the things that I love. At that point, I realized, indeed, God has given me the desires of my heart and I was delighting in him.
Turn your focus away from the worries of life. Take delight in that is lovely. This is the secret to being fearless. Don’t be like Ella, walking around with your tail between your legs. Change your focus; be fearless!
“Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” Psalm 37:4
Copyright © 2023 Chuck Locklear
Also, see No Frogs Allowed.
Doing Good
Don’t let your hang ups keep you from being like Dorcas. No, being a Dorcas is not an insult. A hang up that people often have is a fear or what others will think or them. No one wants to be seen as a Dorcas. In fact, Dorcas was a wonderful lady, known for doing good. She lived so well that God gave her the opportunity to live twice. Praise God! She lived, died, and then was risen back to life.
Seek God’s heart daily.
Dorcas was a person “full of good works and charitable deeds” (Acts 9:36, NKJV). Her spiritual gift was hospitality, also called the gift of “Helps.”
Let Your Light Shine
Because of Dorcas’ reputation for doing good, her death got the attention of the traveling Peter, who rushed to her bedside. He sent everyone out of the room and, then, spoke directly to the servant-minded Dorcas. As if she were still alive, he told her to “get up.” And, she did. So, the first person to rise from the dead after Jesus was a woman known for doing good. To me, this is exactly the description of someone to whom God would give a second chance; she was busy about her Father’s business.
Recently, I was teaching a lesson for the youth at church was about “Letting your light shine.” As I spoke, it came to me that I often repeat Jesus’ instructions about letting our light shine and I don’t often say, “This was an analogy.” We are not called to be literal lights. The point is for us to reflect the goodness of our Father in Heaven. Dorcas reflected the goodness of God!
Enlarge My Territory
The story of Dorcas brings to mind an important question: “How would I live differently if I had just come back from the dead?” What new perspective would this experience bring? I think my conversations would be different. I think my priorities would shift. This exact question, in a Bible study, many years ago that caused me to make this change in my life. I started praying the prayer of Jabez and asking God on a daily basis to “enlarge my territory” and “give me the wisdom and insight that I need for this day.” Yes, this question caused me to start a new habit; to seek God’s heart daily.
It is easy to get discouraged. No one can fix all of the problems in the world, but we can all do something. So, if you are overwhelmed by so many needs, start by doing something good for one person. Pray: Jesus, how can I serve someone today? He will answer that request!
“And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, “Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!” So God granted him what he requested.”
1 Chronicles 4:10, NKJV
Copyright © 2023 Chuck Locklear
Also, see Choose Kindness.
