John 3:16 Amplified Bible (AMP) 16 For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten ([a] unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life.


The beauty of this scripture is that it confirms that complimenting others, a principle that I am very fond of, evolved from God. It also confirms that the power of the principle is two fold.

To compliment is the action of giving that which completes and/or fills up.  A complement is that which completes and/or fills up. God’s unconditional love inspired him to compliment us with the complement that completes us, validates us, and makes us whole. This is certainly a principle that we should mimic.

One of the most encouraging aspects of true relational communication on any level is the exchange of complements – genuine, from the heart complements that verbally communicate to others that they are valued. There is no greater feeling than to feel valued or have personal value validated by another.

However, too often in today’s society, I have witnessed people complimenting others in ways that are intended to secretly destroy, demean, and belittle; I have heard complements that are condescending, patronizing, and rooted in motives of jealously and insult. I have developed an open hatred for this type of complimenting because it misconstrues what I believe God demonstrated when He gave us “The Word," the ultimate complement.

“I like your lil’ new dress,” is an example of complimenting with such a complement.   At the surface level it appears that nothing is wrong with this phrase, but upon closer examination, its motive and its meaning are twisted. The verb like means to take pleasure in; however, the adjective little means, to make little of. It sounds as if the speaker is saying; “I take pleasure in your new dress.” What is actually being communicated is, “I take pleasure in and make little of your new dress because I don’t have one myself,” or “I take pleasure in making little of your new dress to make you think that I am complimenting you, but really I am laughing at you." "You look pretty with your make up on," and "You are handsome now that you've lost weight" are a few similar twisted complements that were given to me by a friend after she read this devotion.   

A comparison of these entities creates an awareness that often escapes many.  If you have ever walked away from a complement feeling unsure or perhaps even put down, you understand firsthand my strong dislike of this “off brand” complimenting.  In His unconditional love for us, God gave us His all. The psalmist David said, I would never offer sacrifices unto God that cost me nothing.  A person filled with hate, ill will, and trickery loses nothing to offer patronizing complements.  The recipient only feels the hurt, the person who thinks he/she is getting God’s example of what a complement should be. 

Stop right now and think about the complimenting you’ve done recently.   If any part of your complement was given for any reason other than edification, you have some confessing to do.  From now on, lets compliment others with complements that validate the God on the inside of us and provide Godly value to our brothers and sisters.   

Amen. 

When I was just a babe in Christ, I was taught the acronym A.C.T.S. It was taught to me as a method of daily communing with God.  I believe it to be effective; therefore, I have never forgotten it.  I have attached my own personal prayer to it as an example to perhaps help and guide others.  My prayer is that you benefit as much from the acronym (ACTS) as I have.  My hope is that you find my personal prayer useful as an example.  My request is that you take the acronym and make it your own; take my example, and incorporate your own life, your own purpose into words.  My desire is that once you do, God will meet you at place where you need Him.  Blessings to All!  


ACKNOWLEDGE: God, I bless you for waking me up this morning.  You are the awesome animator and illuminator of every breath I take in this life and the next. Giver of my salvation, gifts, talents, purpose, destiny, provision, and inspiration, I bless you!

CONFESS: I humbly and thankful approach you this morning. Willingly yielding my life as an open book because I know that you require a cheerful giver in me.  Laying my sins of omission and commission before you.  Desiring first and foremost your forgiveness, your approval, your presence. Turn your search light upon the totality of my being.  Let no stone be unturned, let no skeleton remain in the closet of my life, let no secrets remain in this eternal conversation that is my journey, let it all be revealed to you in this moment for you knew me before I was in my mother’s womb; you fashioned me even when I was there.  You know every part of me. You know the purpose for which you created me.  

THANKSGIVING: Thank you for your PRESENCE in my life: past, present, and future.  As far back as the days that you kept me before I knew you or wanted to on to salvation and learning to walk this Christ walk with integrity, to the last word, mistake, and/or lesson learned that radically changed my life and even to this moment you have been with me.  Desiring to fulfill your plan in me, leading me, guiding me, challenging me, changing me, correcting me, chastising me, and comforting me you never let me go.  When I consider it all, taking inventory of the life that you’ve given me, how can I not desire to give it back to you with a heart of gratefulness in a capacity that blesses your heart. 

SUPPLICATION: Father, I offer this prayer sincerely and in humility.  Because I do, your word tells me that you will give me the desires of my heart in accordance with your will.  Therefore, I acknowledge you as Lord and Savior of my life, I confess my sins unto you and receive the fullness of your forgiveness; I am thankful beyond measure, and my supplication, my plea, my desire, my request is this: Breathe on me, inspire me, encourage me, to use every gift, every lesson learned, every fiber of my being to full capacity to the accomplishing of my purpose for your kingdom purpose.  Guide me with your Spirit, with your Word, and with your Conviction.  Help me to be more effective today from this moment on than I have ever been in my life.  Allow your Super to rest upon my natural bringing Glory to your name and creating prosperity for me so that I can continue to reciprocate the blessings and comforts you’ve bestowed upon me.  Grant me love and wisdom that I may use for the purpose of inspiring your people to unlock their individual potential and purpose in you.  Let my relationship with you produce the overflow of these things along with True Worship, Inspiration, Teaching, Healing, Etc.  Continuously remind me of the Humility to say ‘Thank You’, and to return all Glory back to you.  Each morning that I awake on this side of eternity, allow me to enter into your gates with this demeanor of thanksgiving and into your courts with this capacity of praise. And when I awake on the other side of eternity, may the life that I have lived grant me acceptance into your presence where I may lay my crowns at you feet. 

This is my prayer to you Lord, Amen!

Nehemiah 8:10… Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

          How do you know? Is it working for you? Yesterday, I discovered a great definition of Joy.  Joy is the passion excited by the acquisition or expectation of good. This definition is one that I have adopted because it postulates that Joy is composed of passion, is always on active display, bridges the gap between two realities that each one of us live in every day, and yields good. 
          For starters the definition asserts that Joy is a bi-product of our individual internal inspiration, our passion. It’s a two for one deal in that while giving us passion, Our Maker also gave us Joy! Passion fuels our gifts and talents; therefore, it plays tenor to our gifts and talents, which serve as vehicles; the world sees our passion(and Joy) through our gifts and talents. Those talents flow out of an irrevocable calling also from God, which instructs our hearts of our purpose, our lane, our niche, our zone, our avenue for achieving the great commission.  The purpose of our passion is to sustain those gifts and talents while they in turn sustain us as we carry out our calling. Joy is the passionate excitement that we should carry Er’ minute of Er’day as we embark upon this one time terrestrial journey. This excited passion should bridge the gap between our personhood and our lives. 
          Forrest Gump was right! “Life is like a box of chocolates.” And while you “never know what you gonna get”, your passion should always be on active display.  It should not just exist, but it should be actively displayed.  According to the definition, passion is excited; it is enlivened, thrilled, animated, motivated, enthused, stimulated, electrified, aroused, and energized! Have you ever witnessed an individual that possessed passion powered by any or all of these adjectives, and you couldn’t tell? Allow me to show you another way. Prayer every morning proves that our faith simply exists. Intentionally planning and activating activities with Joy that help accomplish things prayed for proves that our faith actively exists. Both are required; however, the latter should always follow the former.  When the “acquisition” of good is good, and well, when the acquisition ain’t so good, Joy posted by passion and proven by excitement should persist. It should persevere because we posses promises that provide a knowing “expectation.” 
          Certainly not least, this definition admonishes the believer that Joy should also take on a passionate persona that is activated not just when acquiring the good but during the “expectation” that good will eventually come.  Promises that propose that “God is not a man that he should lie” that “His promises are yes and amen,” and that "we should count it all Joy when we go through diverse trials…” As true blue believers, we hold unswervingly to these promises. 
          See, it’s like this Man and Woman of God: Joy is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not yet seen.  Now I can hear you in your biblical scholar voice say, “Wait a minute Beam! That’s the definition for Faith.” (Lol), and you are absolutely right.  However, while I openly admit that it is not my intention to mess with your theology at all, it is my desire to submit to you that if your Faith is actively on display, shouldn’t your Joy equally be on display as well? If we really know and trust God, shouldn’t our passion constantly be excited by the acquisition or expectation that "all things work together for the good of them who love Him; who have been called according to his purpose?" Now that’s JOY! 

Unless of course you have not heard or heeded His call…now, that’s the passion of a different purpose…tune in tomorrow!  

                So, you probably completed at least 1,000 tasks yesterday, right? Do you feel significant yet? This morning during my run time with God, as I thought about and thanked Him for yesterday, last night, and this morning, He reminded me of a great truth. 
               Although I worked hard yesterday to get a lot of things done:  I got my Canterbury tales project created, I shared resources with my fellow teachers, I finished getting essays graded, I lesson planned HARD during my planning period,  none of that gives me significance.  I heard a great devotional yesterday about being blessed, I started the College Prep students on a great novel audio, I gave my wife a S.H.M.I.L.Y reminder, I had a good discussion with my daughter, I ran hard this AM, I helped my step-son with write a poem for homework, but none of that gives me significance. 
               Significance is found in my motive and proactive decision to give God ALL of me.  It is found in the mindset that is created between Us before all of this starts. It is found when I give Him the first minutes of my day.  It is found in the moment that He accepts my obedience and sacrifice  to meet Him. It is found in the inspiration that He gives me in return  that allows me to do those things and that makes me consistently significant.  

     "Sometimes your feel like a nut; sometimes you don't. Almond Joys got nuts, Mounds don't, because…" This is one of my favorite old school candy bar jingles because its message is one that crosses over so eloquently into our day to day lives.  
     Sometimes the VICTORY is won by simply pressing past how your feel in order to activate your Faith! We don't always feel like getting out of the bed for a morning run or a morning devotional or a morning anything.  It is in these times that we have to take the advice of the Apostle Paul. "...But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead." While our human nature begs and craves for its natural desires, as Christians, we must remember that we "walk by Faith and not by sight." 
     Simply pressing our way past our feelings and tapping into our Faith is a strong start to a day that could otherwise be disastrous.  If you find yourself in a press today as you wake up, I want to encourage you to tap into your FAITH! Let it guide your Feelings! That is where God is waiting to meet you; it is here that He will begin to encourage you.  You just have to keep running in order to get there.  
     Sing a song,  say an audible prayer, do something that connects your feelings with your Faith.  Hello Faith; I'd like to introduce you to my feelings this morning! BLESSINGS

     4:00 AM -- My internal alarm clock has chosen this time to begin telling me that its time to turn over a new leaf.  After laying there looking at the clock for about 15 minutes, I start to sense the cares of the world ruminating in the back rooms of my mind.  Thus, before they can reach my living quarters, I roll out of the bed, get dressed and start my morning run. Now, I have to tell you that I don't always feel like running, and often times my Running Partner doesn't meet me until after the first 100-150 steps.  He does that to make sure I am serious; I am sold on the fact that God only moves toward those who are moving towards Him.  He shows up, 'right on time', and begins to transform my mind while I am running.  Some mornings, like this morning, I wish that He would show up and begin speaking to me as I walk out the door, but that is rarely the case.  
     This particular morning it didn't happen until the latter part of my two miles.  As I ran through the sounds of 'Christian Run Music Vol. 3', thoughts about issues from yesterday ran through my mind…but I Just Kept Running.  A praise and worship issue; "How will you handle that?"…Just Keep Running! Lesson plans for today's AP class; "What will you do to ensure learning?"…Just Keep Running! Don't forget to make that phone call that you failed to make yesterday; "When will you make it?"…Just Keep Running? You need to reward those around you in order to ensure continued growth and success; "How will you do that?"…Just Keep Running! "I created you to worship; create an opportunity for communication, keep me first, and I'll speak through you…Now Just Keep Running! You know this poem and it goes right along with your unit. One of your students even suggested it the other day; now implement it…Now Just Keep Running! Make yourself a note on your phone calendar to remind you to make the call; I've already spoken with her…Now Just Keep Running! I am a rewarder of those who diligently seek me, and so you should be too.  That's a good thing…Now, Just Keep Running!" 
     By the time I am finished running, I am revived, renewed, refreshed, and reinvigorated. And though my lungs are at full capacity, my legs are a little wobbly, and I am a little winded, I have physically jumpstarted my day while God has spiritually done the same; all I had to do was take Forrest Gump's advice and "Just Keep on Runnin!" 
     BE ENCOURAGED this morning as you begin your terrestrial journey! Know that as you start, He who has begun in you is faithful and just to complete it.  He will meet you, but you too have to Just Keep Running! BLESSINGS and have a SUPER-FANTASTIC DAY Friend! 

Its sudden it shifts, blowing my sanity to bits,
One day its “hit” the next moment, it’s a distinct “miss”;
That’s just life. 
And yet it never makes me think twice,
Because while sometimes it’s horrible, 

Where do you turn when you need a PEACE BIGGER than life’s TRIALS? 
And all the while, you need an ANSWER BIGGGER than your mind’s many QUESTIONS? 
And you’d settle for perhaps just a suggestion, 

Turn where when you need a SUPER-NATURAL SOLVER that can see to a PROBLEM that’s already BIGGER than your vision to fathom its fix??
And your constant prayers seem to be getting old, and that quick! 

Where do you turn when the season in your life is DARK with no obvious sign of DAY, 
When you need the LIGHT more radiant than the utter INTERNAL DARKNESS that won’t seem to go AWAY? 

When you’ve gone down a hill, and your destiny seems to be spilled, ramped and raging out of control; and you need a BRIDGE over troubled waters to carry you as the strength in your legs has grown tired and old? 

When you finally see an UPWARD path amidst unending steps and swirling waves, 
Only to reach the path, to find that you’ve miscalculated the directional math, and what seemed a RESSURECTION is closed off by DEAD ENDS in EVERY DIRECTION! 

Now you really need PROTECTION, when you are DOWN TO NOTHING desperately waiting for SOMETHING, ANYTHING, that would end the never ending TURMOIL for which you’ve had more than enough…

When you’ve turned in every which way, and it doesn’t seem to be “turning around for you”, when the FACTS of life are not indicative of what’s really TRUE
The ENIGMA of an answer you seek at these and all other ends, 
Is found at the INCEPTION of all things, and where this poem begins…

So, now that you’ve drunk these words in, and discovered an empty cup, 
It is without further ado, that as your guide in this moment, I invite you, to…
Turn Up…

Inspired by the Spirit of the Living God
written By CLBeam 
HclbS

          1 Peter 13-16 says: 13 Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. 14 As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 15 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16 for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”[a].  This particular portion of verse 14 speaks to me because ignorance, by definition is the lack of knowledge, the condition of being uneducated, or uninformed. If we never admit our ignorance as it relates to a particular thing, how can we ever gain knowledge about that thing? How can we 'be holy'? 
            In today’s society, we make ignorance out to be a horrible thing or something that is attributed to youth and immaturity. It is neither! Failure to admit your ignorance is an INTEGRITY issue that affects young and old alike.  FAILURE TO ADMIT IGNORANCE IS A HORRIBLE THING.  You can never receive help on issues that you never admit that you need help on.  And I can guarantee you, from personal experience, that those issues will resurface again and again and eventually, if left unchecked, will sabotage even the greatest of things.
          When I was 27, I got married to a wonderful woman. I had holistic knowledge of Christ’s rules for life and marriage; however, there were some specific things that I didn’t know. There were some deep internal and elemental questions that as a man, I needed answered; I needed them answered so that I could be honest with myself about those areas.  Why am I getting married? Are they sound reasons? What things do you need in order to have a lasting marriage? Do I have those things? Do ‘we’ have those things? Is love just a commitment or should there be something more? What is the difference between being ‘in love’ and love? Do I need both? Do I realize that if I am not careful here that I could possibly cause great hurt and harm to not just myself but to one that I am vowing to protect?
          Instead of asking those questions, I let PRIDE cause me to hide my ignorance. I went to pre-marital counseling classes, and I discussed the things that didn’t embarrass me, the superficial things, and I smiled and pretended that everything was great. But the knowledge I received only helped me to the degree that I was wiling to open up to receive it.  Several years after we were married, my wife and I even taught Marriage Counseling classes, but the same pride and hidden ignorance resurfaced.  Instead of allowing the knowledge I was teaching to truly address my hidden issues, I focused on how I could present it so that it could help others. “I didn’t need help,” I foolishly told myself.  The areas that I did not expose my ignorance in were the ones that eventually led to the demise of my marriage.
         At the ripe old age of thirty-six, after a major mistake that changed my life and the lives of many that I care deeply about, I have allowed God to reveal to me my lack of COMPLETE Integrity.  Through this act, He is teaching me to admit my ignorance.  I am learning that there is no such thing as partial integrity.  I  am learning that TRUE INTEGRITY can only be created when there are no secrets within me; I am being reminded that TRUE INTEGRITY only exists when the person that I am in  my inner most private life and the person that I am in my my public life are no different. 
          With those things, I am learning that with God, FAILURE is never FINAL. I am learning that mistakes are often the first step to the manifestation of miracles if we allow them to be, and that mistakes should be turned into messages and shared so that others don’t make the same mistakes.  I am learning the essences of John 12:47, when Jesus says: 47 “If anyone hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge that person. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world.
          To all those who read this and knew me on a personal level, I offer my sincerest apologies for allowing my PRIDE and PERSONAL Ignorance to create an action that hurt so many of you that I care  for dearly. It was never that I didn’t truly love and respect you; I simply wasn’t at a place with myself that I was ready to seek the truth on some deeper issues in my own character. I take full responsibility. I often feel that I let you down, that I myself down, and I let God down.  I only hope that you can find it in your hearts to not condemn me but forgive me instead.  If not, I love you still.  I KNOW that Christ has and will forgive me.  
           For those of you who do not know me on a personal level, I pray that my example will cause you to take a second look at the hidden ‘ignorances’ in your life, that God gives you the courage to let go of foolish PIRDE and ask the deep personal questions you need answers to. I pray that this happens before those hidden issues create some disastrous occasion in your life.  I pray that you realize the miracle of this moment that God has given you to become more of what he wants you to be. 
          Take this opportunity to take the advice of Proverbs 4:23 
Keep diligent watch (take inventory) of your own heart, for out of it flow the issues of life.
          BLESSINGS!