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Poor Man’s Proverb #25: Do You Know Who You Are Talking To?

It is always a good idea to treat people with kindness.  Why is that you ask?  Well, for starters – you never know who you may be talking to.  Hebrews 13:2 gives us the following instructions.  “Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.”

Note 2 self: This scripture became real to me in 1986.  I was in the Air Force at the time and was home on military leave.  On this particular day, I had been approached by three panhandlers at separate times.  I gave them all money.  At this point, I was not interested in giving away any more money.  So when the 4th panhandler approached me outside a restaurant that I was getting ready to enter, I thought to myself – “This bank is closed.” The man who approached was an old man who was clearly destitute. He said, ” Young man can you spare a $1.00?”  I lied and told the man that I didn’t have any money. He looked at me and turned his head slightly to the right and asked again with a sincere voice, “Young man – are you sure don’t have any money that you can spare?”  I looked at him and turned my head slightly to the right and said,  “No, I don’t.”  At that moment, I turned away from him and was about to go into the restaurant. As I turned the Holy Spirit spoke to me and said, “You know you have money, give that man $2.00.” So I turned back around, and the man was gone.  The restaurant was on a broad commercial street.  I had only turned away from the man for 2 seconds.  There is absolutely no way that he could have ran, walked or drove away in that short a period of time. There was no one in the immediate area. The man simply vanished. 

I was overwhelmed with guilt because I knew I was wrong. I thought, someday I would have to explain to God why I lied to one of His angels not once but twice.  So, to the question – Do you know who you are talking to? I did not. Be careful my friends; you too may be in the company of angels.

Blessings to you all, my friends.

Daniel

The Note 2 Self Guy

 

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Poor Man’s Proverb #24: Do Your Plans Have A Fatal Flaw?

Many of us spend hours, days, weeks and even years trying to come up with plans for our lives. Certainly, there is nothing wrong with planning for our future but many of us do so at our own peril.  You see,  our plans have one fatal flaw.  We often make these plans at the exclusion of God.  Why would we not include the one person who knows the future and who wants what is best for us?

Note 2 self: Want a compelling reason to include God in all our plans? Jeremiah 29:11 reveals the pure heart of the matter.  “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

The bottom line is this; God has plans for us. His plans for our lives are complete with the promise of watching over us.  Therefore, we may want to file 13 (throw away) our plans.

Blessings to you all, my friends.

Daniel

The Note 2 Self Guy

 

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Poor Man’s Proverb #23: Do You Want To Be A Superhero?

When I was a little kid, I always wanted to grow up to be a superhero.  I thought that having superpowers and using them for the good of humanity would have been awesome.  Was it a pipe dream or was it really possible?

Interestingly enough, the Bible gives some advance intelligence on this question.  In John 20:19,  Jesus appears to His disciples after His crucifixion. “That Sunday evening the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly, Jesus was standing  there among them and said, “‘Peace be with you!”’  It is important to note that Jesus was in His resurrected body at this point and He walked through walls.

In Luke 24:36-53, Jesus appears to the disciples and then goes to heaven.  He became visible to disciples out of nowhere and then ascends to heaven. In other words, He could fly.

Note 2 self: Followers of Christ will eventually receive resurrected bodies (1 Corinthians 15:42-43). I believe we will have similar superpowers as Jesus as we will have resurrected bodies like His.

To the question, do you want to be a Superhero? Why not, you will have superpowers.    

Bless to you all, my friends.

Daniel

The Note 2 Self Guy

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Poor Man’s Proverbs #22: Are You Giving Other Christians The VIP Treatment?

As I watch the news, I am reminded that our world has gone absolutely nuts.  It’s a dog-eat-dog world; often devoid of love. This is not God’s design for mankind. He tells us in Matthew 22:39, “… Love your neighbor as yourself.” God gave us this command for a reason.  If the world followed his directive, it would change life as we know it.

It has been established that we are to love our neighbors as ourselves but is there any special treatment required for fellow Christians? Galatians 6:10 answers this question.  “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.”

Note 2 self: In other words, we are to roll out the red carpet for our Christian brothers and sisters.  We should go the extra mile for those who share our faith.  To the question, do we treat other Christians as VIPs?  The answer is a resounding YES!

Blessings to you all, my friends.

Daniel

The Note 2 Self Guy