How Will You Be Different Today?

How Will You Be Different Today?

Daniel 1:8-16-NIV
⁸ But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way. ⁹ Now God had caused the official to show favor and sympathy to Daniel, ¹⁰ but the official told Daniel, "I am afraid of my lord the king, who has assigned your food and drink. Why should he see you looking worse than the other young men your age? The king would then have my head because of you."

¹¹ Daniel then said to the guard whom the chief official had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, ¹² "Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. ¹³ Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you see." ¹⁴ So he agreed to this and tested them for ten days. ¹⁵ At the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food. ¹⁶ So the guard took away their choice food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables instead.

This is part of the text the teenagers looked at Sunday morning. Daniel and his friends were plucked from their home at a young age and forced to learn a new way of life. All the morals and values they were raised with were now in question by the people who had abducted them from their homes. What makes this passage of scripture so teachable is that these young men decided to do what God wanted them to do and not what man wanted them to do.

Consider for a moment how easy it would have been for Daniel and his friends to conform to the world around them. Consider for a moment how easy it would have been for Daniel and his friends to sacrifice their integrity for the fleeting gift of acceptance. Consider for a moment how often Christians conform to the values of this world when God has set such higher standards for his people. While you are considering all of that consider these words from the book of Romans.

Romans 12:1-2-NIV

¹Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. ²Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Too often all we do is read these words without taking them to heart. Our society has become one of no absolutes; instead of black and white the world sees things in shades of gray. As God’s people we are called to something higher than shades of gray and compromising our morals. Often times I hear people try to justify their complacent attitudes by comparing our society to those of Biblical times. The justification is that we have more avenues of sin than the people of Biblical times. Not only is this justification ridiculous but it is false. We may have different opportunities to sin but the act is sin is the same as it was during Biblical times; and it is just as wrong now as it was then. When considering comparing our society to the societies of Biblical times consider the words of Peter.

1 Peter 1:1-2-NIV

¹Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
To God's elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, ²who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance.

Peter was writing to people who were scattered away from their homes not by their own choice. Peter encourages these people through his letter to live a life based not upon their circumstances but upon the providence of God the Father with words like these…

1 Peter 1:13-16-NIV

13Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. 14As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 15But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."

So, how will you be different today? Maybe you will decide to give up a worldly habit, maybe you will reach out and become a friend to a friendless person or maybe you will take a stand for God when you have failed to in the past. I can’t tell you how to be different, but I can tell you that as Christians we need to be different. The way you decide to be different today is up to you. I encourage you to prayerfully consider how you are living your life and how you can be different today.

Be Strong and Courageous,

Paul

Did you ever have one of those days?

Good Evening,

Did you ever have one of those days where it seemed like nothing went right? I had a day like that today. The strange thing is that nothing really went wrong. I went to the office and did my work. I had lunch with all of the wonderful people I work with. I came home and went to dinner with my parents. Nothing went wrong but I felt like I had done nothing right all day.

I have these days occasionally and I am sure I'm not the only one so it makes you have to wonder where these days come from. I definitely feel like days like today are huge weapons in the arsenal of Satan. We know from scripture that Satan likes to attack when we are weak. He attacked Jesus with temptation in the desert in Matthew chapter 4. He used things he perceived would be appealing to Jesus such as power. Satan also used what he perceived to be a weakness to Jesus in the form of hunger.

On these days when nothing seems to go right I, for one, begin questioning everything that I do. I also become moody and hard to be around. These are all things that Satan can use to his advantage if I let him. I am ashamed to say that more times than not I allow Satan to use these days against me and in turn against my relationship with God.

I would encourage you to wrestle and struggle with these days in your life. Seek out the example of Christ found in scripture and try to handle it the way he did. If you look for God on these days you will find him because he never moved in the first place(Malachi 3:6).

I mentioned having dinner with my parents earlier. It was going over to my parent's house that I realized (again) God never moved. I was still in a bit of a funk when I got there but visiting with my parents and seeing the way God works in their life encouraged me. More than that my parents shared some cards that the family here in Pearland wrote to them and they were such encouragements to me.

The next time you have one of those days when nothing seems to go right just remember to look for God. He has never moved but he may reveal himself in places you would not expect. Don't let Satan use a bad day to gain a foothold in your life. I hope this has been a blessing to you today.

Be Strong and Courageous,
Paul

Coming soon

Hello Everyone,

I know it has been an eternity(okay maybe not that long) since I blogged. I know some of you were probably hoping for something new today but I am sorry to say that this blog is only a teaser for the blogs to come.

I am currently sitting in the youth and family education lab at Harding University in Searcy AR. I spent a lot of time here during my college years so this is kind of a walk down memory lane for me. The reason I am here is because I am attending the Harding lectureship. I am learning a lot in the classes I am attending and the keynote lectures I am going to as well. In the coming days after lectureship I plan to share thoughts and stories from this week. Basically if you want to know what I learned this week then you will have to check back in later.

I will leave you with one funny story from this week. I went to my first class yesterday and this student handed me a survey to turn in after the class was over. This was not that unusual and I gladly accepted the challenge of sharing my opinion. Later that day I saw the same girl handing out surveys before the keynote lecture. An older man walked up and asked if he needed one of the surveys and the young lady told him he did not need to worry about that because they were just for students. So apparently this young lady confused me for a college student. It is nice to know that I still look young enough to pass as a student.

I hope you are blessed today as much as you all bless me by being my friends.

Be Strong and Courageous,
Paul Cartwright

A Simple Request

Good Afternoon Everyone,

Have you ever noticed that sometimes when people make simple requests that it can really change your whole perspective? Today I want to share with you a simple request that really made my day and has changed some of my perspectives.

Monday evening I met a few of our young men at the building to leave for our weekly Bay Area Wide Devotional. I pulled the van out of the garage and proceeded to sit and visit with these young men before everyone else got there. In the course of our conversation these guys made a simple request for our youth group to become more involved in service opportunities and activities of all kind. They confided that they want to do fun things but they also know that doing service oriented projects could be fun as well. They further confided that they wanted to do these things so we could have a stronger and closer youth group.

To say that I was humbled would be an understatement. To hear these boys so clearly make those declarations did my heart well. In a world where teenagers are so inwardly focused to hear these young men ask to be allowed to serve God through service took me back a few steps.

My simple request today is that you would pray for our group here in Pearland. I have always believed we had the potential to do some great things and now it looks as if God is opening those doors. Pray for the zeal of these young people and pray that their desire to serve God never leaves them. I hope you are blessed today!!!

Be Strong and Courageous,
Paul

Are We There Yet?

Good Morning Everyone,

If you grew up in a family like mine then that means most summers you took some kind of vacation. Whether it was going to Palestine to attend the world famous Crockett Road Church of Christ VBS, or headed up to Nashville so Mom could finish her education, or touring Major League ballparks we usually managed to get away for a little while each summer. The one common theme on whatever trip it was we were on was the question, usually from me, "Are we there yet?".

Yesterday I went to Angleton to attend a monthly minister's meeting and luncheon. I was driving April's car because I was low on gas and my car was sitting at the Church building. As I was driving the forty or so miles to Angleton is occurred to me that exactly a year ago that I was driving April's car on our trip from California to Texas(I'm pretty sure I asked if we were there yet a few times). It then occurred to me that this is the first time in the past two years that April and I have not been moving to one place or another.

I am proud to say that Pearland is home. We have a wonderful church family here, the working environment for April and for me are great, and we have made ,and in some cases, renewed some wonderful lifelong friendships. As I was contemplating all of these things a scripture became very real to me.

James 4:13-16
Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that." As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil.

Life is indeed precious and we definitely not in control. We like to fool ourselves into thinking we are in charge but when all is said and done God is in charge. Sometimes we need reminders of that fact ,and when we do, God is good to give them to us, we simply need to listen. To all of you who have made our first year in Pearland the best year we have had I want to thank you. You took two people who were scarred and broken and helped us to become whole again. Today I want to leave you with the words to a song that speaks to this and will help you to keep walking with the Lord.

If You Say Go

If you say go we will go
If you say wait we will wait
If you say step out on the water and they say it can’t be done
We’ll fix our eyes on you and we will come

Your ways are higher than our ways
And the plans that You have laid are good and true
If You call us to the fire You will not withdraw Your hand
We’ll gaze into the flames and look for You

My prayer today is that we will understand that God's ways are higher than ours and that his plan is the perfect thing for all of us imperfect people. I hope you are blessed today.

Be Strong and Courageous,

Paul

The Long Lost Blogger Returns

Hey Everyone,

I know, I know it has been awhile but I wanted to take a moment and write a note this afternoon. The purpose of this note is to ask for prayers on behalf of an event that is taking place here at the Pearland Church of Christ tonight at 7:00PM.

As a congregation we see the need to reach our community here in Pearland. The problem is our community is so mobile that door knocking is no longer a useful means of reaching people, we have had success in the past mailing a DVD telling about our congregation to the community but we want to do more.

Our meeting tonight is to discuss congregational and individual strategies for reaching our community. We want people to know that we have a a passion for God and a passion for the lost. I am asking you to spend a few moments in prayer today asking God to bless our efforts. We can plan all we want to but if we go into this without seeking God's blessing then we are setting ourselves up for failure. Thank you all for always being so supportive and I thank you in advance for your prayers.

Be Strong and Courageous,
Paul

What Makes You Cranky?

Good Morning Everybody,

Yesterday I took 11 of our golden-agers into the Texas hill country to take a look at the state flower of Texas the Bluebonnet. We enjoyed the beauty that is God's creation and the fellowship amongst old and young. As part of our excursion we took advantage of being close to Brenham and went to the Blue Bell ice cream factory where we all enjoyed our favorite flavors of ice cream. It is at the Blue Bell factory where I saw the shirt pictured above. It never ceases to amaze me how God can use things like t-shirts to give me ideas of things to write and to teach.

Most of you know my primary ministry is working with teenagers. Any of you who have ever worked with teenagers or had teenagers of your own understand what being cranky is all about. It seems that throughout the teenager years that the slightest thing can make them cranky. What is interesting is that we all have our moments of being cranky even as adults. It was as I was reading this shirt that I began to wonder what God thinks about us being cranky.

Philippians 4:12
I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.

You may read this passage and say that Paul never mentions the word cranky. I would have to agree with you if that is your assessment of the situation. What you do have to admit is that Paul does use the word content. I would propose to you that content is the exact opposite of cranky. If anyone had the right to be cranky it was the Apostle Paul. Paul was beaten, shipwrecked, wrongfully imprisoned and despised by many. In this passage Paul describes almost every aspect of life, both good and bad, and yet he still is able to be content.

As we come to a close I would ask you to think about what makes you cranky. I want you to consider you last experience with becoming cranky and try to decide for yourself how you could have remained content. I hope that we can all learn from our cranky moments and use what we learn so we do not repeat them.

Be Strong and Courageous,
Paul

p.s. I did purchase this shirt and plan on wearing it but don't read into it too much.