Grady Russell

I thought you all might want to know that my self-imposed moratorium on blogging has been lifted. It is good to be back in touch with my cyber-friends. I can’t think of a better reason to get back to this scene than sharing some news from our nation’s capital. My son, David Russell (Davidblog.com) was recently featured in the Washington Post. David and his Pastor (Mark Batterson) were interviewed regarding their activities in the blogosphere. Pastor Mark recently hired David as the technology pastor, or digital pastor, or whatever technical term you choose to use, for the National Community Church, which meets at Union Station in D. C. How did they meet? Cyberspace! The church is entering a new era in communications and every pastor and church leader needs to keep an eye on these young men and follow their lead. I for one choose to do so. Hope you will, too! Check them out! Here is the link to the article in the Post.

My posts are few and far between, but I am too busy to be upset! There is much activity around the church and family. Many difficult things are before us and many great things are happening right in the middle of our challenging experience. God is revealing so many truths to me right now. I am amazed by the wonderful people He is sending to my side. I am inspired daily by the power of the word of God. I want to encourage everyone who finds these words to turn to God. Submit to God’s authority. Surrender your will to the awesome will of God. Think on good things. Focus on Christ. Accept His sacrifice for your sins and move forward in victory. More posts are coming in the near future. How can I have such joy in the midst of life’s storms? I am counting my blessings. Have you counted you blessings lately?

Stephen Covey wrote a powerful book, “The 7 Habits of highly effective people.”
1. Be proactive. You are responsible for your life. Decide what you should do and get on with it.

2. Begin with the end in mind. Think of how you want to be remembered at your funeral. Use this as a basis for your everyday behavior.

3. Put first things first. Devote more time to what’s important but not necessarily urgent.

4. Think win-win. Have an abundance mentality. Seek solutions that benefit all parties.

5. Seek first to understand, then to be understood. Don’t dive into a conversation. Listen until you truly understand the other person.

6. Synergize. Find ways to cooperate with everyone. Value the differences between people.

7. Sharpen the saw. Continually exercise and renew four elements of your self: physical, mental, emotional/ social, and spiritual.

IF you follow these principles you will become a more effective person.

The Apostle Paul defined seven habits of highly effective Christians in Philippians;

4 Always be glad because of the Lord! I will say it again: Be glad. 5 Always be gentle with others. The Lord will soon be here. 6 Don’t worry about anything, but pray about everything. With thankful hearts offer up your prayers and requests to God. 7 Then, because you belong to Christ Jesus, God will bless you with peace that no one can completely understand. And this peace will control the way you think and feel. 8 Finally, my friends, keep your minds on whatever is true, pure, right, holy, friendly, and proper. Don’t ever stop thinking about what is truly worthwhile and worthy of praise. 9 You know the teachings I gave you, and you know what you heard me say and saw me do. So follow my example. And God, who gives peace, will be with you.
Philippians 4:4-9 (CEV)

Do you want to be a more effective believer in Christ? Follow Paul’s advice.

First, be glad. God demands gladness.

“Tell the heavens and the earth to be glad and celebrate!”
Psalm 96:11, CEV

“This day belongs to the Lord! Let’s celebrate and be glad today.”
Psalm 118:24, CEV

Second, be glad. This one must be important! Gladness is contagious. Want to get glad? Hang out with happy folks. Want to find happy folks? Go to church. Not the sad church or the fighting church. Go to a happy church. Find happy believers and get with them. Happy believers hang out in happy places.

“It made me glad to hear them say, “Let’s go to the house of the Lord!””
Psalm 122:1, CEV

God grants happiness to His followers.

Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart.
Psalm 97:11 (NKJV)

Gladness is so vital to healthy Christianity that it gets two slots of the seven healthy habits. Make gladness a doubly important part of your daily life!

Third, be gentle. It is one of the fruit of the spirit. You will be much more effective in your life for God if you choose to walk the road of gentleness. Leo F. Buscaglia said, “Only the weak are cruel. Gentleness can only be expected from the strong.” Prove your spiritual strength through gentleness with others.

God considers gentle folks to be beautiful and special folks!

“Be beautiful in your heart by being gentle and quiet. This kind of beauty will last, and God considers it very special.
1 Peter 3:4, CEV

Fourth, live as if the Lord will soon be here. That last sentence in verse five is a strong statement. “The Lord will soon be here!” If Paul believed then that Jesus was coming soon, shouldn’t we be even more convinced of His soon arrival? The early church greeted each other with the word, “Maranatha!” It means, “The Lord is coming!” Our activities should always be guided by this fact. Have you considered your actions in the light of the soon return of Jesus Christ?

Fifth, don’t worry about anything! Mark Twain wrote, “Drag your thoughts away from your troubles… by the ears, by the heels, or any other way you can manage it.” I agree. we have only so many days on this planet. I just computed my thirty (possible) remaining years and I have only about 11,000 days to serve God. Why waste even one in worry?

Jesus had something to say about worry.
“I tell you not to worry about your life! Don’t worry about having something to eat or wear. 23 Life is more than food or clothing. 24 Look at the crows! They don’t plant or harvest, and they don’t have storehouses or barns. But God takes care of them. You are much more important than any birds. 25 Can worry make you live longer? 26 If you don’t have power over small things, why worry about everything else?27 Look how the wild flowers grow! They don’t work hard to make their clothes. But I tell you that Solomon with all his wealth wasn’t as well clothed as one of these flowers. 28 God gives such beauty to everything that grows in the fields, even though it is here today and thrown into a fire tomorrow. Won’t he do even more for you? You have such little faith! 29 Don’t keep worrying about having something to eat or drink. 30 Only people who don’t know God are always worrying about such things. Your Father knows what you need. 31 But put God’s work first, and these things will be yours as well”.
Luke 12:22-31(CEV)

When you choose not to worry, even when circumstances seem to promote worry, you have enabled a more powerful attitude in your life. If you want to be an effective Christian, make a habit of not worrying!

Sixth, pray about everything. This should help those who are struggling with worry. Martin Luther said, “Pray, and let God worry.” Prayer is a vital aspect of every believer’s life. Yet, we spend so little time in prayer. I am convinced that the more I commit to prayer the less I need to commit to worry. Abraham Lincoln understood the central importance of prayer. He said, “I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go.” If we fail to pray as we should, is it possible that God would permit events to occur that would drive us to our knees before Him? I believe so. Pray now or pray later. The choice is yours.

I like to identify with Cornelius. You will find his story in Acts 10. We are told;

He was a godly man, deeply reverent, as was his entire household. He gave generously to charity and was a man of prayer.
Acts 10:2 (CEV)

According to Scripture, Cornelius and his household were the first Gentiles to receive the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Prayer brings you into deeper intimacy with God. James wrote in chapter five of his letter that praying Christians are powerful and effective!

The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective.
James 5:16b (NRSV)

If our prayers are effective, our lives will be effective! So pray!

Finally, have a thankful heart. Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Think, and be careful what thou art within; For there is sin in the desire of sin; Think, and be thankful, in a different case; For there is grace in the desire of grace.” Every born again believer has should be thankful. Grace has come into our lives. Thankful hearts are happy hearts and happy hearts are effective in stirring desire within others to know Christ.

In everything, give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
1 Thessalonians 5:18 (KJV)

Do you thank God for the difficulties? Are you appreciative of the uncomfortable circumstances of life? God is in control! Thank Him!
These seven habits will help you become a healthy believer! If you will choose to make them part of your life, you will find that there are benefits associated with these godly traits!

The benefits; Peace beyond understanding!

Then, because you belong to Christ Jesus, God will bless you with peace that no one can completely understand. And this peace will control the way you think and feel.
Philippians 4:7

The secret to activating these great habits in your life?

Keep your mind focused on things that are true, pure, right, holy, friendly, and proper. Think about things that are worthwhile and worthy of praise.
Philippians 4:8

May we all exhibit these seven habits of highly effective Christians!

Can we live without compromise today? Daniel is an inspiring example of godly living. He chose to serve God without compromise. God honored and blessed his actions. Daniel’s godly lifestyle served to please God, although it displeased some men. Daniel put God first. Men sought to punish him, but God protected him and made him thrive.

We learn from Daniel’s life that, with God, it is possible to be highly successful without compromising your godly principles. The world around us strives to break down a believer’s commitment to Christ.

1. Daniel was a man of purpose. The Book of Daniel reveals that Daniel “purposed in his heart.” Every believer must become a person of purpose!

2. Daniel was a man of principle; He would not eat the king’s food, choosing rather to honor God even in his diet. Wow! What if we all honored God in our diets?

3. Daniel was a man of purity; his enemies could find no fault in him. No wonder he rose to positions of great respect and authority. Matthew Henry said, “The way to preserve the peace of the church is to preserve its purity.” Stay pure my friends.

4. Daniel was a man of prayer. When his enemies wearied the king into the evil decree, Daniel kept right on praying. Nothing should keep us from our commitment to daily prayer. Martin Luther King, Jr. said it well; “To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing.”

I am learning daily the importance of purpose, principle, purity, and prayer in my own life. These qualities of character will help me succeed without compromise.

What about you?

Living in conflict? It is part of life. Yet, God has given His followers powerful tools to overcome conflicts in life.

4 Why do you fight and argue with each other? Isn’t it because you are full of selfish desires that fight to control your body? 2 You want some-thing you don’t have, and you will do anything to get it. You will even kill! But you still cannot get what you want, and you won’t get it by fighting and arguing. You should pray for it. 3 Yet even when you do pray, your prayers are not answered, because you pray just for selfish reasons.
4 You people aren’t faithful to God! Don’t you know that if you love the world, you are God’s enemies? And if you decide to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God. 5 Do you doubt the Scriptures that say, “God truly cares about the Spirit he has put in us”? 6 In fact, God treats us with even greater kindness, just as the Scriptures say, “God opposes everyone who is proud, but he is kind to everyone who is humble.”
7 Surrender to God! Resist the devil, and he will run from you. 8 Come near to God, and he will come near to you. Clean up your lives, you sinners. Purify your hearts, you people who can’t make up your mind. 9 Be sad and sorry and weep. Stop laughing and start crying. Be gloomy instead of glad. 10 Be humble in the Lord’s presence, and he will honor you.
11 My friends, don’t say cruel things about others! If you do, or if you condemn others, you are condemning God’s Law. And if you condemn the Law, you put yourself above the Law and refuse to obey either it 12 or God who gave it. God is our judge and he can save or destroy us. What right do you have to condemn anyone? James 4:1-12 (CEV)

It seems the best way to deal with conflict in our lives is to surrender to God. Yes, conflict is a part of life, but surrender to God is the beginning of the end of conflict. I am attempting this in my own life. Try it in yours! Read the verses above. Meditate on them. Are you in total surrender to God. Are you resisting the Devil? Are you approaching each potential conflict in humility? Are you wavering in your decisions? Are you giving in to selfish desires? Are your words harsh and cruel? Resolving these questions for your own situation will make resolving any conflict much easier.

Fighting over stuff? “Everything in heaven and earth is yours O Lord and this is your kingdom. We adore you for being in control of everything. Your hand alone controls power and might and it is at your discretion that men are made great and given strength.” 1 Chronicles 29:11-12 (version unknown)

When we realize that everything belongs to God, selfish motivation must give in to humble acceptance. We conflict with others because of our own internal strife. We strive within ourselves because of the underlying conflict with God. Clean up your act! Get right with God. Resolve your own internal inconsistencies. Conflicts with others will then become much easier to resolve! Make peace with God and within your own life and become a peacemaker today!

I have shared with you about my favorite version of the Bible. Now I will share my favorite holiday. Care to guess? Christmas! Yes, Christmas; the day of the year when virtually all commerce grinds to a sputter, streets and highways look quite forlorn for their lack of activity, and people everywhere are gathered with family.

Our home is filled with family. Our children have all made the trek to enjoy the holiday with mom and dad. My kids will inevitably pose the question, “Dad, what do you want for Christmas?” My answer is just as predictable, “To have my family around me.” I, honestly, some-times fear that I will be so convincing that they give me only that! Yet, that is my greatest joy in this life, spending time with my family.

As I consider my years of ministry, I remember many times that I put others before my own. I still do. My family still understands. You see, they are all called to the same journey. Still, my heart yearns for time with these great people that God has ordained to share the journey with me.

I could not have taken the first step along this way without my wife. We have been traveling together for thirty-one years and counting. Yes, it is possible in America to stay married to the same person all of your life. I remember the conversation with God, when I shared my deepest convictions that I could not do what He was asking without her alongside. He agreed, and touched her heart, too! God is so good! I am so often reminded that my convictions were correct. In fact, I need her and love her and enjoy her more today than ever.

She and I have watched with great joy as God has drawn each of our children and their spouses into the journey as well. Christmas has been a great part of our growth as a family and as sojourners with God. It is easy to see why; the Babe in the manger. The darkness of that first Christmas was sent into perpetual retreat by the light of that Child. He is the Light of our world; the light of my world. In every Christmas decoration, every Christmas greeting, (even “Happy Holidays!”) and every moment of the Christmas season, I experience again the wonder of that night in Bethlehem so long ago.

What other event could cause Americans, such noble titans of commerce and industry, to cease from their labors? Only Christmas! After all the pre-holiday madness there is on that day the joy of opening gifts, (yes I got everything I wanted and more!) eating my wife’s fabulous and famous recipes, remembering the events of the year (loss and difficulty as well as blessing and prosperity) sharing stories and laughter with our family, and stopping to consider once again the reason we do these things – that Babe in the manger.

Christmas is my favorite holiday because of all those things and because God found a way to include me in His family. Some have envisioned a place where it is “always winter and never Christmas” but God has given His Son, The first Christmas Gift, so that me and my family, and all who accept that Gift, can live in a world where it is always Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all and best wishes for your journey, as well.

Here is my second entry. I am amazed by the number of readers! Thought you should all know that I am a pastor in Winter Garden, Florida. You can find my church website under my links.

One of the first things you should know about me is that I am a huge fan of the Contemporary English version of the Bible. Don’t get me wrong, I love the King James Authorized Version and the wonderful poetic flow of the language. I enjoy the NIV and the translation called The Message, too. The Amplified is also very useful, but for my daily reading and for most of my sermons, I rely heavily on the CEV.

Let me give a brief comparison of the CEV and the KJV.

In the book of Job, we find that Job loses his children, his wealth, his health, his friends are blaming him, and his wife is telling him to curse God and die. It seems that things could not get any worse. Then a storm of Biblical proportion comes into Job’s hometown and God finally decides to speak. In the 38th chapter of Job, in the KJV we read, “Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said, 2Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?” Beautiful language but what does it mean? In the CEV we read, “From out of a storm, the Lord said to Job: 2Why do you talk so much when you know so little?” Powerfully descriptive words which tell us to be as brief as our understanding.

I shall endeavor to do so in future entries.

God bless!

As the title states this is my first attempt at communication in the blogosphere. I owe a great deal of gratitude to my son, David Russell (davidblog.com)

Thanks, son.

Here is wishing all my friends and family a wonderful Thanksgiving as we remember and give thanks to our Lord Jesus Christ for all of His great blessings.

May you all live in the abundance of God’s love!