Leaving a Legacy: Making a Road Map for Those We Love

More than 20 years ago, I bought a leather-bound International Inductive Study Bible. One of the features that appealed to me was the wide margin. There was room to take notes, including what is called "Lessons for Life".

Over the years, I've made notes about things I've learned, insights I've gained, and prayers I've prayed. I've underlined verses, claimed then, and dated them. When I've prayed for a particular person (usually my son, Ryan), I've written the name in the margin.

Not long ago, I mentioned one of these notations in a blog post. I called it a "Message in the Margin". A friend (Cassandra Weeks) commented on the notations in the margin of her mother's Bible. She called them "road maps," showing the way in a Bible that's a roadmap in itself. 

In a manner of speaking, that's what I'm making for my son. I leave notes in my Bible for Ryan. One day, I hope he'll treasure this worn Bible and savor every word I've left him.

Many of the verses I've underlined have his name and a notation of the date in the margin. When he reads it, he'll know I prayed that verse on that day for him.

In other places, I've written, "for Ryan:" and something specific I've prayed or a life lesson I want him to remember.

I didn't plan this at the start, but somewhere over the last twenty-four years, in the midst of the Scripture Road Map that is the Bible, I began to build a specific map that's designed for Ryan alone.

The Bible is a holy book and to be treasured above all other books. When I write in my Bible, I do it because I've been impressed by God to notice, claim, remember, apply something specific to my life, or pray something specific. My notations are generally neat, often tear-stained, and point me to the most significant moments of my life. 

When I think about eternity, my one sad point is that I can't take my Bible with me. Instead, I'm leaving it for my son and praying it will be as precious to him as it has been to me.

It's a kind of legacy I'm leaving. A legacy of faith, scholarship, and Bible literacy, and it's no accident. 

Leaving a legacy that makes a difference is a choice we make. It doesn't happen automatically. It requires intention and effort. That's what I'm doing. 

Some people leave tons of money and great investments. I'm choosing to leave a legacy of truth. 

Let's pause for a moment and consider the kind of legacy we're leaving. Are we intentional about the life we live? The decisions we make? The "things" and resources we plan to leave behind?

If we want to make a difference for generations to come, we must start now. So don't delay. Decide the kind of legacy you want to leave and get started. 

"Thy word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path." Psalm 119:105 nasb
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In case you missed it, here's the link to yesterday's post: Reading Through the Blessing Jar 

I need your prayers as I write the James study. It will be online and in your place, at your pace. Available January 15th. Make plans to join us. We'll have a digital community for discussion and questions. 

If you'd like to help support this ministry, here's the link to give: Global Outreach Acct 4841 If you'd rather use a check or money order, make it out to Global Outreach. Remember to put "Account 4841" on the "for" line. Mail it to: Global Outreach, PO Box 1, Tupelo MS 38802

#Bible 

Reading Through The Blessing Jar

Toward the end of 2015, I saw a suggestion online about a Blessing Jar. The idea was to write down a blessing every day and put it in a jar, then read them at the end of the year. It sounded like a great idea, so I gave it a try. Doing it every day eventually fell by the wayside, but I added blessings off and on all year. 

Last night, I read through those little scraps of paper and was utterly astounded at the blessings I'd received. It gave me a much-needed surge of hope for 2017. 

No matter what comes, God will take care of me. I can see that reality from the sweet care He gave in 2016.

Some of the problems I faced are surprising. I'm not sure how I found myself in such a situation. Some are miraculous. Some are simply the kindness of friends.

Here are just a few of the precious blessings from last year:

"I tried to root hydrangea leaves from online directions and it worked!"

"Ryan pushed Sam in a wheelchair so he could join us on the Tanglefoot Trail."

"I have enough money to pay the first of the month bills." (written on the 30th of the preceding month)

"Unexpected book sale. Made $13."

"Terry Manning's photograph of MLK helped me see his ministry in a new way."

"Ole Lou not doing well, but still eating canned food."

"120 people signed up for the Hosea study."

"Bought a ribeye on sale for $3 and I'm finally not fasting!"

"The Clay Papers is #1 in Amazon Kindle Free Spiritual Devotionals."

"Wow. Still #1. I'm on the Amazon best-seller list!"

"24 of the 29 people at the prayer retreat made public decisions to follow Christ more closely today."

"Jan and Edith prayed with me about my decision. I have peace and clear direction now."

"Needed to buy a bag of feed but only $4 in cash. Found enough change around the house to total $7.21. I have 26 cents extra!"

"Friends helped me get the hay in out of the field before the rain came."

"Blue skies today after days of gray."

"Lost phone in the road while chasing Maggie. Mail woman and Sam both drove over it but not on it. Phone unharmed."

From finances to phones, I was blessed. Sometimes the blessings came straight from the hand of God. Sometimes they were delivered through friends and family. 

I've read through those slips of paper again this morning and given thanks for every one. A sense of wonder and awe has overwhelmed me.

Scripture makes it clear we're to enter God's presence with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise. I've done that today, because I took the time to make a note of the blessings I'd received, and it's a precious place. 

Why not make a blessing jar of your own for 2017? It takes a little discipline, but this side of the effort, it's totally worth it. 

"Enter His courts with thanksgiving,

And His gates with praise.

Give thanks to Him; bless His name;

For the Lord is good;

His lovingkindness is everlasting,

And His faithfulness to all generations."

Psalm 100:4,5 nasb

What blessings did you receive in 2016? I'd love to hear about them. Feel free to share in comments. Let's enter His courts together with our thanks and praise.

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In case you missed it, here's the link to yesterday's post: Welcome to 2017: My Word for the Year

I need your prayers as I write the James study. It will be online and in your place, at your pace. Available January 15th. Make plans to join us. We'll have a digital community for discussion and questions. 

If you'd like to help support this ministry, here's the link to give: Global Outreach Acct 4841 If you'd rather use a check or money order, make it out to Global Outreach. Remember to put "Account 4841" on the "for" line. Mail it to: Global Outreach, PO Box 1, Tupelo MS 38802

Welcome to 2017: My Word for the Year

Welcome to 2017. 

Several people have announced their "word for the year". I didn't know this was a "thing", so I haven't chosen a word, but if I did, it would be Jesus. 

This year, I want more Jesus. To follow more faithfully. To see Him work in more lives. To experience more grace. To love more extravagantly.

To have more Jesus, there will have to be less Leanna. Less pride. Less selfishness. Less whining. Less grumbling. 

My 2017: Less me. More Him.

It doesn't seem possible that I can make those changes, but I found a beautiful word from God in Haggai that's a game-changer. 

The number of people who'd returned from captivity to Jerusalem was pitifully low. Rebuilding the temple was too much for them, and they had given up. The temple construction project was untouched for years.

Finally, God spoke into the situation and gave them the word they most needed. It's the one we most need, too. 

"'Take courage... and work; for I am with you,' says the Lord of Hosts." 

Haggai 2:4 nasb

"I am with you." We're not alone in the work that needs to be done. The Holy Spirit, our Comforter, our Helper, is with us. 

The One who created the heavens and the earth by speaking them into existence is with us. He made rhinos and rabbits, whales and waterfalls. He can handle whatever we face in 2017.

There will be changes and challenges this year. Not everything that happens will be what we consider "good", but none of the hard times will be wasted. None of it will be faced alone, no matter how lonely we feel.

Take courage, friends. God is with us, and we are not alone.

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Do you have a "word" for 2017? Comment below.

In case you missed it, here's the link for yesterday's post: The Five Dollar Miracle

Thanks to all who participated in the 2016 blog countdown. I'm stunned by the number of people who read all seven posts! What a great finish to 2016!

#Jesus #2017

The Five Dollar Miracle

I had the most beautiful experience yesterday. It was too wonderful not to share. 

Shortly after I arrived at Global, I met the Anthonys, a missionary couple who serve in Honduras. They were my first Untapped Power Grid missionaries, so they're special to me.

While they were home on furlough, they spoke at Hope Church. James talked about a "Five for February" fund raiser they had done. They were doing a building project and every board cost about $5. They asked people to donate five dollars in February. So many people responded that they were able to complete their building project. They did it with five dollar donations. 

It was such a simple concept that I asked God to give me a "five dollar program". 

I calculated all manner of options for what five dollars could do in a prayer ministry, including how far I could drive on five dollars. Nothing worked, so I dropped the idea (mostly), but would occasionally remind God about the five dollar deal.

This week, a friend who has received my blog by morning text since before it was actually a blog asked to come by. She had something to bring me, she said.

She came yesterday. We sat down with a pot of tea and thick slices of zucchini bread. She had a gift bag and a beautiful box. "I need to explain about this box," she told me, so we sat down for a chat. 

A year ago, she was struggling in her relationship with God and asked Him to speak to her and help her with spiritual discipline. He put on her heart, among other things, to save all her $5 bills for the next year. 

She's faithfully saved every $5 bill that's come her way. This week, she asked God what she should do with the money. She wanted to bless the people who'd poured into her life over the years. The answer was very clear. "The $5 bills are for Leanna."  

It's was quite a wad, and it totals a donation of $490. "It can help with your travels," she told me. She didn't know it, but I'm planning a prayer trip to an as-yet-undisclosed location, and that money will go a long way toward covering my trip. 

God orchestrated that $5 deal before I had the first conversation about me partnering with Global in some way.

Before I'd become a missionary with Global Outreach.

Before I'd met the Anthonys. 

Before I heard about the Five for February fund raiser.

Before I'd asked Him for a $5 deal.

She was faithful all that time, even though she didn't understand what God was doing. 

The evening before she came, I wrote to one of our missionaries, "Our Father knows your name. He knows your need. He'll provide."

Yesterday, He spoke those same words right back to me in a tangible way. 

We both shed tears over that box of bills. 

He knows my name and He loves me in such personal ways that I'm utterly astounded. He loves us; He loves you in that same exquisitely personal way. 

I'm looking forward to seeing what other sweet and beautiful things our Dad has planned for us in the coming year. He's such a good, good Father... 

"How precious also are Thy thoughts to me, O God!

How vast is the sum of them!

If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand."

Psalm 139:17,18 nasb

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I need your prayers the most, so, if you can only do one thing to help with this ministry, please let it be prayer for me to be a faithful, creative, and effective witness for Christ. 

If you'd like to make a $5 donation of your own to help support this ministry, here's the link to give: Global Outreach Acct 4841 If you'd rather use a check or money order, make it out to Global Outreach. Remember to put "Account 4841" on the "for" line. Mail it to: Global Outreach, PO Box 1, Tupelo MS 38802

In case you missed yesterday's post, here's the link: Keeping the Main Thing the Main Thing

#Christian #devotional

Keeping The Main Thing The Main Thing

I've written about the mission statement of Jesus more than once, mainly because Jesus consistently had it in mind. (click here and here for those previous articles)

We have a well-rounded, meet-every-need Savior. 

In a very real way, He actively "kept the main thing the main thing." Jesus had a teaching/preaching ministry, healing ministry, feeding ministry, deliverance ministry, and a prayer ministry. He did it all, but not necessarily all on the same day. 

Early in His ministry, Jesus was in Capernaum. He taught in the synagogue there, then healed the sick and cast out demons. 

At the end of a very long, hard day, He went to "a lonely place" to pray, but the multitude crowded in. "Please don't leave. We want you to do some more exciting things. We have more people who need healing. We need more miracles." (That's the Leanna paraphrase, but it seems, from Scripture, as if that's what they meant.) 

Jesus declined their invitation. What He told them is interesting in light of all He'd done in their town.

"I didn't come just to dazzle you with miracles. I came to preach the Kingdom of God in as many places as possible." (This is the Leanna paraphrase of Luke 4:43) 

His objective was not a healed body, but a healed soul.

That's it. The Kingdom of God is the "main thing," and Jesus kept that in mind. He did many other types of ministry, but all were done with the purpose of sharing the Good News of the Kingdom of God.

It should be our "main thing," too. Every act of mercy, bit of food handed to the hungry, shelter for the homeless, bit of clothing for the naked, and every visit to the imprisoned should be done with one objective in mind. Sharing the gospel of Christ. 

His mission statement should also be ours. We, too, should have as our objective to preach the gospel in as many places as possible.

Today, no matter what "job" we do, let's make the most important work a priority. Preach the gospel of Christ to all, whether in word or deed. 

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I'm interested in the creative ways in which the Kingdom message is being preached.  How have you shared the gospel? What ministry efforts have you used to accomplish gospel-sharing? 
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In case you missed it, here's the link to yesterday's post:  Taking the Long View

As you consider your year-end giving, please consider including support for this ministry, which is totally dependent upon the support of those who partner with us. We need your prayers, your hands to help, and your financial gifts to continue.

Here's the link to give: Global Outreach Acct 4841 If you'd rather use a check or money order, make it out to Global Outreach. Remember to put "Account 4841" on the "for" line. Mail it to: Global Outreach, PO Box 1, Tupelo MS 38802

#Christian #devotional

The Eternal Perspective: Taking the Long View

God doesn't usually give me a spotlight to shine on my path and make the way clear. Most of the time, I have just enough light to take the next step. I can easily end up focused on the path rather than my destination.

Holding on to the big picture of eternity takes some effort.

When the angel delivered his message to Mary, a teenaged girl, his announcement changed the direction of her life forever. 

Until her angelic visitor arrived, she expected to marry Joseph, live in a room attached to his family's home, have children, serve her family. It would be hard work, but joyful. She and Joseph would grow old together.

In response to the angel's message, Mary replied, "I'm the bondslave of the Lord. I want what He wants." (Luke 1:38, Leanna Paraphrase)

Instead of the life she anticipated, she almost lost Joseph before the wedding, endured gossip and scorn, became a widow early, and watched her first-born Son die on a cross. It was a difficult, heartbreaking life.

Shortly after the angel delivered his shocking news, Mary visited her relative, Elizabeth, and spoke an amazing truth. "From this time on all generations will count me blessed..." She wouldn't be counted blessed any time soon, but one day she would. 

Mary chose the long view. The eternal perspective.

She understood that we're just passing through this world. No matter how hard, everything here is temporary. We will one day enter eternity, where there is no more suffering, no more sorrow, no more gossip, no more scorn. In our heavenly home, the truth will be known.

In that holy place, Mary's life would make sense to everyone, including those who scorned her. She chose to look toward eternity and it made her hard times bearable.

We'd be better served by focusing on eternity, too. This world is a broken place, filled with broken people. There's more than enough hurt and sorrow to go around. We'll all experience more pain than we want before our life is ended.

It's easy to let anger over the hard times grow and allow bitterness to take root.  It's a short-sighted response, though. 

No matter what we face, things will be different in eternity. One day, others will see how God used the circumstances of our lives to bring blessings, not curses. Everything will make sense. 

Today, let's take a look at our lives, and the circumstances we face, from an eternal perspective.One day, it will all make sense, so thank God in advance and embrace with joy the life He's give. . 
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In case you missed it, here's the link to yesterday's post:  The Message in the Margin

As you consider your year-end giving, please consider including support for this ministry, which is totally dependent upon the support of those who partner with us. We need your prayers, your hands to help, and your financial gifts to continue.

Here's the link to give: Global Outreach Acct 4841 If you'd rather use a check or money order, make it out to Global Outreach. Remember to put "Account 4841" on the "for" line. Mail it to: Global Outreach, PO Box 1, Tupelo MS 38802
#Christian 

The Message in the Margin: The Benefits Package

People have commented several times recently about my "worn and battered" Bible. The signs of twenty-plus years of continuous use have begun to show.

Some of the pages are tear-stained. 

Some of the pages have been read so many times that they're loose from the spine or worn through.

Some of the pages have notes all the way down the margins. 

Those notations are, generally speaking, Holy-Spirit inspired messages that address a specific need in my life. I've begun to call them "Messages in the Margins". 

I'm starting a new series, (probably a sporadic one) called "Messages in the Margins". It's drawn from the notations along the edges of the pages.

There's a note by Psalm 103 that reads, "The Benefits Package". This psalm of David is a song of praise to God for all the good gifts He gives us. 

"Bless the Lord, O my soul..." David wrote. My notation says, "Bless: adore God for His goodness and return thanks."

David didn't stop at saying God is good. He listed some of the ways in which He is good to His people. In a way, it's a "benefits package" for those who love and follow God.

1) He pardons our iniquities.

2) He heals all our diseases.

3) He redeems our lives from the pit.

4) He crowns us with lovingkindness and compassion.

4) He satisfies our years with good things

5) He renews our youth like the eagle.

6) He performs righteous deeds and judgments for those who are oppressed.

7) He lets us know about His righteous deeds.

8) He is compassionate and gracious.

9) He is slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness.

10) He is not always angry.

11) He does not always discipline us. 

12) He does not give us what we deserve.

13) He has removed our sins so far away from us that we can never find them again. 

14) He pours out lovingkindness on us.

15) He understands how frail and fragile we are.

16) His lovingkindness never ends.

17) He is sovereign over everything and yet He cares about us.

The word translated as "lovingkindness" implies the idea of "leaning toward" and is also translated as goodness, kindness, mercy, and faithfulness. 

Picture this in your mind's eye for a moment: God leans toward us with the intent of being good, kind, merciful, faithful to us. He deals with our sin, but not the way we deserve. 

Instead of unrelenting anger and discipline, He offers forgiveness, healing, compassion, defense, redemption, understanding, love, mercy. 

We trade sorrow for joy, pain for healing, turmoil for peace, despair for hope. It's a great deal, and far better than anything the world offers. All He asks in return is repentance followed by obedience. 

Today, we'll make the transition from one holiday to the next and begin to get ready for the new year. As we do, let's ponder the Benefits Package God has provided for us and embrace the relationship with Him that makes it possible. 

"Bless the Lord, O my soul; 

And all that is within me bless His holy name.

Psalm 103:1 nasb

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In case you missed it, here's the link to yesterday's post: Searching for the Homeless and Finding the Hungry Instead

As you consider your year-end giving, please consider including support for this ministry, which is totally dependent upon the support of those who partner with us. We need your prayers, your hands to help, and your financial gifts to continue.

Here's the link to give: Global Outreach Acct 4841 If you'd rather use a check or money order, make it out to Global Outreach. Remember to put "Account 4841" on the "for" line. Mail it to: Global Outreach, PO Box 1, Tupelo MS 38802
#Christian