The Squeeze Principle

by Tim Howard

When I was a small boy I hated naps with a passion. My mother’s love for naps, however, greatly exceeded my hatred and I was doomed to take one each and every day.  I think her love for them was rooted in the fact that she got a break from me.  If the truth were known, it may have been her favorite time of the day!   I recall one afternoon waking up from one of those naps and within a few minutes, my mom told me to go back to bed.  Curious as to why, I asked for a reason (in a demanding tone) and she said, “Because you got up on the wrong side of the bed.”  That didn’t make sense to me but I soon learned she was talking about my attitude. 

A person’s attitude is connected to his or her focus and perception of life. In my specific case, I hated naps and a bad attitude manifested itself.  One man calls it the ‘Squeeze’ principle. It’s when the pressures of life try to squeeze your hope, joy, and peace out of you. The pressures do not create the attitude - only reveal it! 

In Acts 16:22 –25, Paul and Silas were having a challenging day.  They were being squeezed!  They had been preaching the Gospel in Philippi and the crowd was attacking them.  They were ultimately beaten and thrown into prison.  About midnight, “Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.”  As I read this narrative, I asked myself: “Isn’t there something wrong with this picture?”  They have been stripped, imprisoned, put in stocks, and now they’re singing. Not to mention they had done no crime.

I would have expected this verse to read that Paul and Silas were having a pity party and complaining at midnight or blaming God and others for their current dilemma.  The truth, however, is that these two men simply focused on God and not their current situation. Their focus and perception created a positive attitude while others listened intently.

A positive attitude in the midst of dark times will influence people greatly.  Don’t forget the greatest impact of your life will often come at the time of greatest pain.  Maybe you’re being squeezed right now.  How are you handling it?  Are you reacting, blaming and criticizing? Or are you responding, focusing on the future and trusting God?

When life squeezes you – God wants to build your character!

To build character you don’t need to get up on the other side of the bed! You need to:

1. Have the right values.

One educator said: "Teaching kids to count is wonderful, but teaching them what counts is best."

2. Do the right thing.

People of character know there is no right way to do the wrong thing. If you start something wrong, you'll end wrong. You've got to do the right thing.

3. Be the right kind of person.

When you walk humbly, live a lifestyle of giving, do acts of kindness and consider others before yourself. You are the right kind of person.

4. Have the right attitude.

Someone said that your attitude will determine your altitude! 

By the way… I have learned to love naps.  I wish I could take one each and every day.

Who Are You Following?

by Tim Howard

How many of you have ever played “Follow the Leader” as kids?  The rules are simple. You pick a leader; everyone gets in a line behind Him or her and tries to imitate whatever he or she does. I’ve always thought that’s a pretty cool picture of what it means to be a Christian. You simply follow Jesus! Go where He tells you go, say what He tells you to say and do what He tells you to do.  The W.W.J.D. is a good thing to ask when you are making decisions of any nature. What Would Jesus Do?

Following Jesus is a recurring theme in the New Testament. The apostle Paul wrote: Follow me as I follow Christ.  When Jesus called His first disciples he said: “Come, follow me,” and as they followed Him their purpose and perspective changed. As Jesus walked along, He saw Levi sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed Him. He ultimately became the one who wrote the first Gospel in the New Testament. Then He called the crowd to Him along with His disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny himself or herself and take up their cross and follow me.

Following Christ will change you for the good – People follow many leaders but not all leaders are worth following. If you are looking for a mentor or someone to follow make sure you’re looking for the right thing.

Character is more important than charisma. Someone may look impressive and their rhetoric may sound persuasive but without character, they will lead you in a direction you should not go. When I read 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 and use the word, character rather than love, I understand what Paul is trying to communicate in this passage. Here’s what it says:

If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don’t have character, I’m nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate. If I speak God’s Word with power, revealing all His mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, “Jump,” and it jumps, but I don’t have character, I’m nothing. If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don’t have character, I’ve gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without character. True love will reveal true character.

The same Apostle sets forth a standard for leaders who are worth following: A leader must be well thought of in the community. Cool and collected, accessible, and hospitable. He or she must know what they are talking about and not be overly fond of wine to the point of drunkenness. They must not be pushy but gentle, not thin-skinned nor money-hungry.  He or she must handle his or her own affairs well, because if they can’t oversee their own lives well, how can they lead others?

Do you notice the Apostle Paul doesn’t talk too much about skill, abilities or talents? Not because they are unimportant but because without the essential quality of Character a leader worth following will never develop.

Jesus fits all the criteria above and more. That’s why I follow Him. He is worth following! Who are you following?

In Due Season

by Tim Howard

I was brought up in Maine, a state that offers four distinct seasons. While talking with a person who visited this state recently for the first time, I was told he was thinking about relocating to Bar Harbor, Maine. My council to him was simple. Don’t make any decisions until you have experienced all the seasons. Each one is totally different than the ones we experience here in Hanford.

I have my favorite season and possibly you do as well. God, however, is the creator of every season and there’s something positive about each one.  Maybe he gave four seasons for our pleasure or possibly to afford us some variety. But one thing is sure, He uses each season of our lives to develop character and make us more like him.  

“But let endurance and steadfastness and patience have full play and do a thorough work, so that you may be people who are perfectly and fully developed [with no defects], lacking in nothing.” —JAMES 1:4 

James encourages us to patiently walk through every season of life. Don’t be in a hurry to move on. Enjoy and even endure if necessary where you are currently planted because God is at work in you! When you are working on something - That something is working on you!

Things happen in “Due Season.” Note, It’s God’s season, not ours. We are in a hurry; God isn’t. He takes time to do things right—He lays a solid foundation before He attempts to build a building and we are God’s building under construction. He is the Master Builder, and He knows what He is doing. We may not know what’s happening, but He does, and that will have to be good enough. 

Some seasons are more difficult than others but all seasons are significant and play an important role in our overall development. Paul tells us: “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time (in due season) we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Galatians 6:9 

In order to bring forth fruit you will need to plant, cultivate, water and work. Some blood, sweat and tears will be required. These seasons are not necessarily fun or as glamorous as the fruit-bearing season but without them, there will be NO fruit. 

David gives a promise to those who put God first and choose to follow him closely in every season of their lives. “They will be like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit ‘in season’ and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he or she does prospers.” Psalms 1:3

What season of life are you in right now? Is it a season of new beginnings? Exhausting labor? Great difficulty? Tremendous fruitfulness? Abundant Joy? Whatever season of life defines your current situation, one fact remains true. A new season is on the horizon!

Learn to relax in the current season. Even as you change from sweaters to short sleeve shirts for the summer heat, adjust your thinking to enjoy your present circumstances. 

Rather than asking God to deliver you ‘from’ the season, ask him to deliver ‘to’ you the necessary tools to make this season fruitful. If you do, you will Bloom Where You Are Planted. 

Get Into the Huddle

by Blake Cromwell

Jack Kisling, a Denver Colorado columnist wrote the following;

Two prosperous middle-aged business partners, along with thousands of others like them, attend a big National Sales convention in Chicago.

It’s five hectic days of meetings, reports, seminars and panel discussions and by the end of the second day both of them are dazed, weary and eager for diversion. One suggests they go out on the town, have dinner, a few drinks and a little fun.

“We could catch a show,” he says. “Maybe one of the topless joints.” Then with a wink, he adds: “Maybe hit one of those pickup places you know. Check out the broads.”

His partner looked puzzled, “You’d try to pickup women?”

“Yeah something like that,”

“No thanks. And by the way, I’m starting action tomorrow to dissolve our partnership.”

The other’s jaw drops. “Huh? Are you out of your mind?”

“No” replies his partner, “I’m telling you I don’t want to be in business with you anymore.”

“I don’t get it. What are you talking about? Why?”

“Because it just occurred to me that a man who would cheat on his wife would cheat on his partner.”

There is a mentality that says loyalty to marriage vows and faithfulness to a business partner are not the same. But I think most of us would disagree. Faithfulness, or lack thereof, to one’s spouse reflects a person’s character just as much as faithfulness to one’s business partner. A person’s character effects everything they do and say.

How’s your character? Is it consistent in all areas of your life or do you make exceptions in “special cases”?

In my opinion the church is the best place to build character. It’s a place where we receive encouragement, instruction and help. Church is actually a lot like a football huddle in that sense. In football, the huddle is just one part of the game, but it is an essential part. Games are won and lost in that circle. Many have gone into the huddle tried and ready to throw in the towel. But within that circle words are spoken that inspire weary men to go out again and give it all they’ve got.

After the huddle it’s application time. The huddle just encourages the player to do what they know is right, after that, they’re on their own.

So it is within the huddle of the church. We receive encouragement, instruction and help; then we go back to our family and our jobs and apply what we know is right.

Too many in our community don’t do to well in the areas of honesty, faithfulness and even justice. They loose their values and principles under the pressures of temptation.

What our world needs is a holy huddle. This weekend at one of the churches in the Kings County there are pastors waiting with words of instruction and encouragement especially for you. So get out there and do what’s right!