communication

Memorial Day Monday, May 28, 2012 (6:54 a.m.)

Awesome God,

Thank You. Four hours ago I was singing ♫All glory, honor, power is Yours Amen♫ from the worship song Cannons. Now I’ve gone in the completely opposite direction with ♫Hot Diggity Dog Ziggity Boom what You do to me♫ I love it! I have absolutely NO idea where You’re going to take our time together and I’m so excited to go there with You.

Our family is currently having a big, HUGE problem with communication. At first I thought it was going on peripherally. On the outside. Not directly affecting us here at home. Yesterday I realized that is not so.

Quoting Strother Martin as the prison captain in the 1967 movie Cool Hand Luke, “What we have here is… failure to communicate.” That was the first movie I remember seeing that upset me to my very core. It took me years to use the phrase “man’s inhumanity to man” to describe my angst over what I had seen.

Interesting how long it takes me to recognize whether it happens in real life or in the movies. The Longest Yard and Dances With Wolves are two other movies that have that same unsettling outraged effect on me. What to do? What to do? Especially when I see mercy and grace being withheld amongst my own.

Thank You Blessed Father that we get to come before You asking for prayer. We’ve made mistakes. Many of which we aren’t even aware. You are good. Quick to forgive. Forgive and heal our family I pray.

Our experience in church yesterday coincides with the scripture I am reading under the topic COMMUNICATION. In Acts 8:26-40 Philip follows an angel’s leading to “Go over to the road that runs from Jerusalem through the Gaza Desert”. There he encountered a eunuch of great authority reading aloud from the book of Isaiah. When it was clear that the man did not understand what he was reading, Philip explained it.

“As they rode along, they came to a small body of water and the eunuch said, ‘Look! Water! Why can’t I be baptized?’ ‘You can,’ Philip answered, ‘if you believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.’”

Philip’s example shows us the importance of Listening First. Originally he listened to the angel’s leading and then to the eunuch himself. Beginning with the Scripture the Ethiopian was reading, he used many others to tell him about Jesus.

Quoting The Life Recovery Bible concerning sharing our spiritual awakening with others, “The way Philip communicated is a model for us. He was sensitive to allow God to lead him to someone who was ready. He wasn’t so intimidated by the man’s status [that of being the Treasurer of Ethiopia] that he hesitated to share his story. Philip began by listening carefully. He tuned into the man’s need and interests and then explained their relationship to the message he was prepared to share. Whether we are zealous or shy, following this mode can help us communicate our message in a way that people can understand and receive it.”

Teach me Father. Show me how to become a better communicator of Your Word. Your Son. Your promises.

I love You. Help us learn the communication skills necessary to make a positive impact in this world for You. Thank You. Amen.

(558 words ~ 8:09 a.m.)