Gregory E. Lang's Blog, page 5

Honor Your Promises

If you are of Christ you must be truthful in your words and deeds. Just as you expect God to honor his promises, so should you honor your promises, not only your promises to Him but your promises to others as well. To willingly lie and betray brings shame to the Lord whom you represent. Honor your promises.

You have heard that it was said to our people long ago, Don’t break your promises, but keep the promises you make to the Lord. Matthew 5:33

Say only yes if you mean yes, and no if you mean no. If you say more than yes or no, it is from the Evil One. Matthew 5:37

He never doubted that God would keep his promise, and he never stopped believing. He grew stronger in his faith and gave praise to God. Romans 4:20

Do not lie to each other. You have left your old sinful life and the things you did before. Colossians 3:9

My brothers and sisters, above all, do not use an oath when you make a promise. Don’t use the name of heaven, earth, or anything else to prove what you say. When you mean yes, say only yes, and when you mean no, say only no so you will not be judged guilty. James 5:12

Lead Serve Love: 100 Three-Word Ways to Live Like Jesus can be purchased for Kindle here.

Want to read more of Gregory E. Lang’s devotions? Dive into Letters to a Friend: Simple Lessons in Christian Living, here.

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Share Good News

Jesus instructed his disciples to go out and make disciples of all nations, and they, in turn, instructed us to share and teach the Scriptures. The Holy Spirit works within you as you share the good news, therefore have faith, speak publicly, and good words will come from your mouth. Faith in the gospel, nourished in the heart and openly confessed, will secure your salvation. Your belief must be more than a mental exercise; it should bring all your fiber into a loving trust and willing obedience to Christ. As often as you can, share good news.

Then Jesus came to them and said, All power in heaven and on earth is given to me. So go and make followers of all people in the world. Baptize them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Matthew 28:18-19

Jesus said to his followers, Go everywhere in the world, and tell the Good News to everyone. Mark 16:15

I will give you the wisdom to say things that none of your enemies will be able to stand against or prove wrong. Luke 21:15

He told us to preach to the people and to tell them that he is the one whom God chose to be the judge of the living and the dead. All the prophets say it is true that all who believe in Jesus will be forgiven of their sins through Jesus’ name. Acts 10:42-43

Until I come, continue to read the Scriptures to the people, strengthen them, and teach them. 1 Timothy 4:13 

Lead Serve Love: 100 Three-Word Ways to Live Like Jesus can be purchased for Kindle here.

Want to read more of Gregory E. Lang’s devotions? Dive into Letters to a Friend: Simple Lessons in Christian Living, here.

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Embrace Every Opportunity

Opportunities are placed in your path every day, not to test your faith and will, but to reveal your faith and will to you. Use every opportunity to share your faith, for the more often you do, the easier it becomes to do. Let your conduct be tactical and wise, do not provoke criticism, annoyance and rejection, but say what is relevant and best for each occasion. Embrace every opportunity.

When we have the opportunity to help anyone, we should do it. But we should give special attention to those who are in the family of believers. Galatians 6:10

So be very careful how you live. Do not live like those who are not wise, but live wisely. Use every chance you have for doing good, because these are evil times. So do not be foolish but learn what the Lord wants you to do. Ephesians 5:15-17

Be wise in the way you act with people who are not believers, making the most of every opportunity. Colossians 4:5

Are there those among you who are truly wise and understanding? Then they should show it by living right and doing good things with a gentleness that comes from wisdom. James 3:13

Lead Serve Love: 100 Three-Word Ways to Live Like Jesus can be purchased for Kindle here.

Want to read more of Gregory E. Lang’s devotions? Dive into Letters to a Friend: Simple Lessons in Christian Living, here.

The post Embrace Every Opportunity appeared first on Gregoryelang.

Ask For Help

You cannot save yourself, nor can you conquer your own sin. But Jesus can, and he waits patiently, listening for you to call on him. Make your requests in his name, depending on the merit and mediation of Christ for God’s answer. Ask with willing submission to the Father’s will, saying in your heart, Thy will be done. Eagerly grow dependent on Him who can do all things. Ask for help.

Ask, and God will give to you. Search, and you will find. Knock, and the door will open for you. Yes, everyone who asks will receive. Everyone who searches will find. And everyone who knocks will have the door opened. Matthew 7:7-8

So I tell you to believe that you have received the things you ask for in prayer, and God will give them to you. Mark 11:24

And if you ask for anything in my name, I will do it for you so that the Father’s glory will be shown through the Son. If you ask me for anything in my name, I will do it. John 14:13-14

But if any of you needs wisdom, you should ask God for it. He is generous and enjoys giving to all people, so he will give you wisdom. James 1:5

Lead Serve Love: 100 Three-Word Ways to Live Like Jesus can be purchased for Kindle here.

Want to read more of Gregory E. Lang’s devotions? Dive into Letters to a Friend: Simple Lessons in Christian Living, here.

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Embrace Your Responsibility

The work of evangelism is hard, but to shy away from it is to leave room for lies and chaos to fill the spaces where the truth should be. Boast of the Word and its teachings about Christ. Fear no evil, fight the good fight and defend the truth. Embrace your responsibility.

I use this example because this is hard for you to understand. In the past you offered the parts of your body to be slaves to sin and evil; you lived only for evil. In the same way now you must give yourselves to be slaves of goodness. Then you will live only for God. Romans 6:19

We ask you, brothers and sisters, to warn those who do not work. Encourage the people who are afraid. Help those who are weak. Be patient with everyone. 1 Thessalonians 5:14

But you, man of God, run away from all those things. Instead, live in the right way, serve God, have faith, love, patience, and gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith, grabbing hold of the life that continues forever. You were called to have that life when you confessed the good confession before many witnesses. 1 Timothy 6:11-12

Preach the Good News. Be ready at all times, and tell people what they need to do. Tell them when they are wrong. Encourage them with great patience and careful teaching. 2 Timothy 4:2

Lead Serve Love: 100 Three-Word Ways to Live Like Jesus can be purchased for Kindle here.

Want to read more of Gregory E. Lang’s devotions? Dive into Letters to a Friend: Simple Lessons in Christian Living, here.

The post Embrace Your Responsibility appeared first on Gregoryelang.

Lead by Example

The business of the church is not only to save, but to enlighten. Christ is the light, and his disciples must also be light. To fit in with the crowd is to miss an opportunity to be an example of Jesus and show his goodness and mercy. Always reveal Christ by your words and deeds. Be a beacon, shine like stars so that others can see what you do for your Lord. Lead by example.

You are the light that gives light to the world. A city that is built on a hill cannot be hidden. And people don’t hide a light under a bowl. They put it on a lampstand so the light shines for all the people in the house. In the same way, you should be a light for other people. Live so that they will see the good things you do and will praise your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:14-16

For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light. Ephesians 5:8 (NIV)

Do everything without complaining or arguing. Then you will be innocent and without any wrong. You will be God’s children without fault. But you are living with crooked and mean people all around you, among whom you shine like stars in the dark world. You offer the teaching that gives life. So when Christ comes again, I can be happy because my work was not wasted. I ran the race and won. Philippians 2:14-16

Do not let anyone treat you as if you are unimportant because you are young. Instead, be an example to the believers with your words, your actions, your love, your faith, and your pure life. 1 Timothy 4:12

In every way be an example of doing good deeds. When you teach, do it with honesty and seriousness. Speak the truth so that you cannot be criticized. Then those who are against you will be ashamed because there is nothing bad to say about us. Titus 2:7-8

Dear friends, you are like foreigners and strangers in this world. I beg you to avoid the evil things your bodies want to do that fight against your soul. People who do not believe are living all around you and might say that you are doing wrong. Live such good lives that they will see the good things you do and will give glory to God on the day when Christ comes again. 1 Peter 2:11-12

Lead Serve Love: 100 Three-Word Ways to Live Like Jesus can be purchased for Kindle here.

Want to read more of Gregory E. Lang’s devotions? Dive into Letters to a Friend: Simple Lessons in Christian Living, here.

The post Lead by Example appeared first on Gregoryelang.

Serve the Flock

Christ demonstrated his love by serving others, even offering his life to save yours. Greatness in the kingdom of heaven consists in doing, rather than in being, and in doing for others, rather than for yourself. Greatness rises out of service. Only those who are truly great are the servants of mankind. Act as a child of God and rely on his strength. Serve not only to honor Christ, but also to continue his work, spreading the Word. Serve the flock.

Jesus called all the followers together and said, You know that the rulers of the non-Jewish people love to show their power over the people. And their important leaders love to use all their authority. But it should not be that way among you. Whoever wants to become great among you must serve the rest of you like a servant. Whoever wants to become first among you must serve the rest of you like a slave. In the same way, the Son of Man did not come to be served. He came to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many people. Matthew 20:25-28

Whoever is your servant is the greatest among you. Whoever makes himself great will be made humble. Whoever makes himself humble will be made great.  Matthew 23:11-12

If I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash each other’s feet. I did this as an example so that you should do as I have done for you. John 13:14-15

You should produce much fruit and show that you are my followers, which brings glory to my Father. John 15:8

Each of you has received a gift to use to serve others. Be good servants of God’s various gifts of grace. 1 Peter 4:10

Lead Serve Love: 100 Three-Word Ways to Live Like Jesus can be purchased for Kindle here.

Want to read more of Gregory E. Lang’s devotions? Dive into Letters to a Friend: Simple Lessons in Christian Living, here.

The post Serve the Flock appeared first on Gregoryelang.

Say Thank You

You should always be thankful because the Lord will always be with you and work out all for your own good.  Be thankful in all that you do and say, even if you must wait for what you seek, for in him you have already received the greatest gift: eternal life. Say Thank You.

Speak to each other with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making music in your hearts to the Lord. Always give thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Ephesians 5:19-20

As you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so continue to live in him. Keep your roots deep in him and have your lives built on him. Be strong in the faith, just as you were taught, and always be thankful. Colossians 2:6-7

Let the teaching of Christ live in you richly. Use all wisdom to teach and instruct each other by singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Everything you do or say should be done to obey Jesus your Lord. And in all you do, give thanks to God the Father through Jesus.  Colossians 3:16-17

Always be joyful. Pray continually, and give thanks whatever happens. That is what God wants for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

So let us be thankful, because we have a kingdom that cannot be shaken. We should worship God in a way that pleases him with respect and fear. Hebrews 12:28

Lead Serve Love: 100 Three-Word Ways to Live Like Jesus can be purchased for Kindle here.

Want to read more of Gregory E. Lang’s devotions? Dive into Letters to a Friend: Simple Lessons in Christian Living, here.

The post Say Thank You appeared first on Gregoryelang.

Share Your Joy

To share your joy with others, to love others as Jesus loves you, is not only a form of thanksgiving and praise, but a way to cause others to wonder what you are so happy about. If you are moved by the power of faith and the constant comfort found in the presence of Christ, you should eagerly tell others about Him. Share your joy.

I have obeyed my Father’s commands, and I remain in his love. In the same way, if you obey my commands, you will remain in my love. I have told you these things so that you can have the same joy I have and so that your joy will be the fullest possible joy. This is my command: Love each other as I have loved you. John 15:10-12

I am proud of the Good News, because it is the power God uses to save everyone who believes – to save the Jews first, and also to save those who are not Jews.  Romans 1:16

Our faces, then, are not covered. We all show the Lord’s glory, and we are being changed to be like him. This change in us brings ever greater glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. 2 Corinthians 3:18

It is written in the Scriptures, I believed, so I spoke. Our faith is like this, too. We believe, and so we speak. 2 Corinthians 4:13

I pray that the faith you share may make you understand every blessing we have in Christ. Philemon 1:6

Lead Serve Love: 100 Three-Word Ways to Live Like Jesus can be purchased for Kindle here.

Want to read more of Gregory E. Lang’s devotions? Dive into Letters to a Friend: Simple Lessons in Christian Living, here.

The post Share Your Joy appeared first on Gregoryelang.

Getting Over Sheba

A true story of a man who loved a dog.

My fiancé had recently left me for her college basketball coach because, she said, she wanted to be with someone more her intellectual equal. I was managing my grief by listening to Willie Nelson’s Red Headed Stranger over and over again late into the night while drinking copious amounts of Pearl beer and eating fried chicken livers when my uncle stopped in one evening to check on me. Eyeing my growing empty beer can pyramid and pile of greasy tear-soaked wadded up napkins, he said simply, and convincingly, “Boy, you need a dog.”

The truth is he needed to get rid of a dog. He had two grown Irish Setters and a live-in girlfriend who thought the house wasn’t big enough for two indoor ponies, so he tricked me into relieving him of one of his four-legged problems. “You can have either one,” he said, “but you have to make your decision and take one today.” I studied the male, a really big Setter named Big On’, and the female, a somewhat smaller and sweet beauty named Sheba. The decision was easy; Big On’ enthusiastically mounted everything, but Sheba acted like a recent graduate from some canine charm school in Charleston, SC. She had a presence about her and carried herself with great dignity.

Sheba was beautiful. She was svelte and wore a chestnut brown and orange coat that never matted. She had perfect teeth, always held her head up straight, rarely left her tongue hanging out and dripping on the floor, and sat, stood, even slept, in a gracefully poised position as if she knew she was about to be discovered as the model for an up and coming gourmet  dog food label. She was my Rene Russo and I loved her. Apparently Big On’ did too, for he tried to mount her one last time as I stepped off my uncle’s porch to lead Sheba to my car. My uncle laughed, his girlfriend none too discretely celebrated, and Sheba looked at me gratefully, as if I had just rescued her from a life full of misery and annoyance.

I took Sheba home in the first car I ever owned, a nearly worn out ’68 MGB with holes rusted through the floorboards. The plastic rear window of the canvas top was sunbaked nearly opaque yellow so I kept the top open most of the time, and Sheba loved it. She recognized the jingle of my keys and lunged toward the door of my apartment as soon as I picked them up. We would jump in and barrel around Macon, GA, looking for signs of the Allman Brothers and nibbling on fried drumsticks purchased from the Pig and Whistle. Sheba nearly always sat in the seat up on her hindquarters with her front paws draped over the windshield, her long ears flapping about in the wind ever so elegantly. I loved red lights back then because at nearly every stop, some gorgeous woman would roll down her window and ask about my dog. Sheba was both my Rene Russo and my wingman. And one of the best things about her is that she did not care a lick about basketball.

Sheba was my constant companion. Had service dogs been a fashion necessity back then, she surely would have worn a bejeweled service vest. She served me loyally, keeping me happy throughout the time of my pursuit of a Master’s degree and halfway thought my PhD program (funny how a few cruel words can set you on a course). When I lost her suddenly and tragically, I was heartbroken. I was living in Athens, GA at the time and courting a tanned and freckled tennis-playing redhead who I had just convinced to go skinny-dipping when my telephone rang. It was a neighbor from up the street calling me to say he had just found my Sheba in a ditch, lifeless. Guilty of self-indulging distraction to the point of parental neglect, I swore off dogs forever as I covered my beloved Sheba, the one soul who had loved me unconditionally, higher education or not, with tear moistened earth.

I was true to my oath; I did not want anything to do with dogs for years. I even avoided relationships with dog owners, including willing virgins, so you can see that my conviction was quite serious. One Thanksgiving eve while with my extended family back in Macon, I was telling stories to my cousins’ children about their parents’ youthful mischief and misdemeanors and stomping my feet to keep the bounding mongrel puppies someone brought to dinner from climbing up on me. “You used to love dogs,” one cousin scolded me, and my sympathetic sister defended me by observing, “He’s never gotten over Sheba.” And she was right; I had buried my heart with my precious dog.

 Years later and one evening just after my 25th high school reunion, I sat in a bar with a cheerleader from back then with whom I had become reacquainted. We were drinking cold beer and competing with one another about who could tell the best hard luck story, sharing the details of our failed relationships and other disappointments and tales of misery, when she suddenly said to me, “I know the perfect woman for you. She never wants to get married again either.” Of course, when I met said woman, a redhead (there is a pattern developing here), I fell in love immediately and only fourteen days later asked her to marry me. I could not help myself; she was nearly perfect. I say “nearly” because she was, I’ll be damned, a dog owner. “Meet Princess,” she said, holding up a rescued, gnarly, bug-eyed Pekingese who promptly bit me with what few teeth she had left in her head when I reluctantly reached out to pet her.

My wife Jill was wholly enamored with Princess, who she swore to be a brilliant dog of a fine upbringing. I disproved this myth one day by squatting down to call out, “Here mayonnaise, come here mayonnaise,” to which that brilliant dog came running. Princess and I endured what can best be described as a love-hate relationship for almost ten years – she loved to annoy me and I hated her for it – until I saw my wife in tears, stroking the then frail little dog asleep and snoring in her lap. Jill whispered, “Please don’t die on me yet.” Immediately, I felt sick. Actually, my heart hurt. From that moment to her last breath, I saw Princess differently. She was someone my wife loved dearly, so I had to love her too. Not long after, I received a text message at work that said simply, “Princess got her angel wings.” I cried for my wife, and I cried for Princess.

Naturally, it did not take long for Jill to bolt upright in bed one Saturday morning to proclaim, “Today, we are getting a new dog.” I raised a bit of fuss, to no avail. On our way to the county kill shelter, we discussed what we did and did not want in our next dog. We easily reached agreement on one thing – no Pit Bulls, nadda, no sir, none whatsoever.

We entered the shelter of some two hundred dogs on death row and moaned about how difficult it would be to pick the single best dog. But as soon as I turned the first corner my eyes locked on a small dog in a crate among a wall of similarly situated dogs, this one curled in a knot, shivering in abject terror, and looking at me with pleading yellow eyes that obviously communicated, “Please save me.” That afternoon, we went home with Buttercup, a fawn coated little Pit Bull about eighteen months old, a Pocket Pit they called her (they lied, unless you wear a hunting jacket with a pocket large enough to carry a medium sized nanny goat) who had been found abandoned and tied to a tree with no water and food.

Buttercup imprinted on me and followed me everywhere about our house and around the neighborhood where I spent considerable amounts of time trying to convince anxious neighbors she was not a vicious breed, that she was too damn small to be a Pit Bull. The more I defended her, the more she was mine, and one morning I found myself cupping her gorgeous resting bitch face in my hands and professing my undying love for her. Except for one thing. I was not going to stand on our front porch calling out, “Buttercup!”, to get the attention of our dog. Inspired by the color of her eyes, we revised her name to Sunshine Buttercup, Sunni for short. Yes, that’s spelled with an “i”. A smart man must yield to his wife every now and then.

In a stroke of brilliance, Jill suggested we get Sunni’s DNA tested on the hope there were non-vicious breeds in her family tree that we could refer to when explaining what kind of dog Sunni is. We eagerly opened the report when it came and read what we had known all along. There it was, all scientifically verified and displayed in a pie chart, Sunni’s ancestry – 25% Staffordshire Bull Terrier, 25% American Staffordshire Terrier, 25% Bullmastiff, 12.5% Boxer, and 12.5% Undetermined Mixed Breed. “She’s a mutt,” we insist when asked, “and we can prove it”.

During the last three years, my days have been filled with Sunshine. Jill and I walk a few miles before sunrise each morning and again after dinner, with Sunni, my vicious dog, rolling over and going belly up whenever we are approached by neighbors who no longer fear her. We’ve eaten gallons of crunchy peanut butter and thrashed about for hours fighting over lengths of indestructible rope that never lasts long, and we go for drives along the Gwinnett County backroads. Today, I drive a Porsche and keep the top down nearly as often as I did on the old MGB, and like Sheba, Sunni likes to put her face in the wind. But unlike Sheba, Sunni is too squatty to stretch from seat to the top of the windshield, so instead she hangs out over the passenger door, ears and tongue flapping wildly as we go, and drool splattering across the flank of the car. Sunni looks nothing like Rene Russo, rather a lot like Babe Didrikson, and when we pull to a stop at red lights, folks in other cars roll up their windows and lock their doors.

One recent Saturday morning, Jill, convinced Sunni had reignited zealous dog love in me, bolted upright in bed again and announced, “Sunni needs a sister.”

It’s a bit of a rollick having two dogs vying to take turns hanging their faces out the window of a speeding Porsche convertible, but somehow Sunshine Buttercup and Polly Petunia, 75%  American Staffordshire Terrier, 12.5% American Bull Dog, 12.% mixed breed, probably including a Beagle (so we answer “part Beagle” to explain her), manage to get equal flying time. And some days, wind in my hair, sun in my face, dog hair in my nostrils, a trace of slobber on my cheek, I like to think Sheba is riding along with us too. I image her riding high above the windshield, smiling in that way elegant dogs do, and occasionally looking back at me, reassuring me she still loves me.

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