The Power Of Three Little Words

Some of the most significant messages people deliver to one another often come in just three words. When spoken or conveyed, those statements have the power to forge new friendships, deepen old ones and restore relationships that have cooled.  The following three word phrases can enrich every relationship:

I'LL BE THERE - Being there for another person is the greatest gift we can give. When we are truly present for other people, important things happen to them and to us. We are renewed in love and friendship. We are restored emotionally and spiritually. 'Being there' is at the very, very core of civility.

I MISS YOU - Perhaps more marriages could be salvaged and strengthened if couples simply and sincerely said to each other, "I miss you." This powerful affirmation tells partners they are wanted, needed, desired and loved.

I RESPECT YOU - Respect is another way of showing love. Respect conveys the feeling that another person is a true equal. It is a powerful way to affirm the importance of a relationship.

MAYBE YOU'RE RIGHT - This phrase is highly effective in diffusing an argument and restoring frayed emotions. The flip side of "maybe you're
right" is the humility of admitting "maybe I'm wrong."

PLEASE FORGIVE ME - Many broken relationships could be restored and healed if people would admit their mistakes and ask for forgiveness. All of us are vulnerable to faults, foibles and failures. A man should never be ashamed to own up to he has been in the wrong, which is by saying, in other words, that he is wiser today than he was yesterday.

I THANK YOU - Gratitude is an exquisite form of courtesy. People who enjoy the companionship of good, close friends are those who don't take daily courtesies for granted. They are quick to thank their friends for their many expressions of kindness. On the other hand, people whose circle of friends is severely constricted often do not have the attitude of gratitude.

COUNT ON ME - "A friend is one who walks in when others walk out." "Loyalty is an essential ingredient for true friendship; it is the emotional glue
that bonds people. Those who are rich in their relationships tend to be steady and true friends. When troubles come, a good friend is there,
indicating "you can count on me."

LET ME HELP - The best of friends see a need and try to fill it. When they  spot a hurt they do what they can to heal it. Without being asked, they
pitch in and help.

I UNDERSTAND YOU - People become closer and enjoy each other more if they feel the other person accepts and understands them. Letting others know in so many little ways that you understand him or her is one of the most powerful tools for healing your relationship.

GO FOR IT - Some of your friends may be nonconformists, have unique projects and unusual hobbies. Support them in pursuing their interests. Rather than urging your loved ones to conform, encourage their uniqueness - everyone has dreams that no one else has.

I suppose the 3 little words that you were expecting to see have to be reserved for those who are special; that is I LOVE YOU.
-- Author Unknown 

The Home Going

II Timothy Chapter Four

Have you ever been betrayed? Let down?  Have you ever had someone who was near and dear to you turn their back upon you when the going got rough? Have you ever had those you may have invested your life in, suddenly seem to say they no longer wished to walk alongside you? When the storms of life have blown against you, have you even been deserted by a disloyal, fair-weather friend?

If so, you perhaps can sense the hurt, disappointment and heartache Paul must have felt as He wrote the young pastor, Timothy. He tells him that his missionary companion, Demas, has forsaken him because he loved this present world more than the world to come. He speaks of standing before the court alone at his first hearing. All men had forsakenhim. The venerable and grey-haired apostle stands alone at the end of a selfless life of unimaginable persecution, torture, sacrifice and hardship. He awaits the cruel executioner’s axe. At this critical moment it seems that  those he had led to the Lord, labored with had fled in fright.  Only the powerful and all sufficient presence of the Lord Jesus Christ is with him.

When I read Paul’s closing words to his young friend, I am reminded of the story of a missionary of an earlier era returning by ship from the mission field. Following is my version of the story:    He had spent his life there. He had suffered slings and arrows and terrible deprivation in order to give the gospel to those who had not heard. His beloved wife and dear children had fallen on the field, victims of pestilence and plague, and now lay buried in a faraway land.

Now, with his health broken and his frame bent, the veteran missionary totters down the gang plank of the ship. As he makes his way down, he is thrilled to hear the playing of a band and the shouts and applause of a great crowd. He smiles slightly and wonders if it could be possible that his mission supporters have turned out in such numbers to welcome him home. His smile fades to a frown as he realizes the tumultuous welcome is for a famous star who is returning from a triumphant tour.

With great difficulty he hails a taxi and takes his tattered trunks filled with a few meagre, well- worn possessions, to a nearby flea-bag hotel. This is all he can possibly afford. As he throws himself across a lumpy mattress, the hot air of the dank and musty room presses in upon him. He lies there with his body wracked with great sobs of bitter disappointment. Not one single person has come to welcome him or witness his homecoming.

Lying on the lumpy mattress, looking up at the dingy ceiling, he cries out of the depths of his human despair to the Savior he has served all these years. “Why have I sacrificed my loved ones and my life for such uncaring and ungrateful people as these? Don’t they know the price I’ve paid? Does no one care enough even to give me a decent welcome home?” As he sobs broken-heartedly, his mind groping for an answer, alone in the desolate darkness, a still small voice seems to fill his heart and mind and these words seem to echo from the walls of that tiny room, “My son, you’re not home yet!” 

"The Measure of Faithfulness"

The following is from my book: "Gleanings Gospel Gold."

"The Measure of Faithfulness" - We can only be faithful in what we have, and that is enough. We can only use the intelligence with which God has blessed us: sing with the voice He has given us, witness and praise with the lips and tongue He has placed in our mouths or serve with the hands that are ours.

Too often we find ourselves seeking to measure our grain in another's bushel. Our visions of spiritual grandeur become no more than wistful thinking about what might be or might have been. There is no pleasure or profit in this fanciful approach to spiritual faithfulness. In fact, quite the contrary. As has often been said, "Of all the words of tongue and pen, the saddest are, 'It might have been."

We hear a beautiful melody rendered with great inspiration and sigh and say, "If only I had such talent, I would sing to the glory of God!"

We read an inspiring book and close it and think, "If I could only write, I would write a book that would point men to God.!"

We hear an oration delivered with great skill and sincerity; that moves and motivates those who hear it. We respond, "If I could only speaks so eloquently, I would give out the message of Jesus Christ."

We meet an honest and prosperous businessman who has accumulated a store of this world's goods, and we are sure that if God would only bless us with such wealth, we could and would use it all for the cause of Christ and God's ultimate glory.

We hear a visiting missionary tell of the challenges and blessings of a difficult far away field and are convinced that if we could only go there we could become great winners of the lost and that God would use us to lift the spiritual darkness from a spiritually destitute and oppressed people.

As one who attended a theological school and who has been around in the ministry of the gospel for many years, I tend to be a bit dubious of the young student pastor who attends a Bible College four years, preparing for the gospel ministry at home or abroad as a missionary, and never seems to get involved in personal soul winning, jail ministries or other vital outreach ministries in a local church. If he has no burden for the lost all around him, why should we expect a sudden development of a vision for souls as he boards a plane to his chosen field of labor?

God has only asked us to light the corner where we are. We are to be faithful in little things if we expect Him to bless us in all things. He has never asked us to responsible for someone else's field or ministry, but requires us to be faithful in all things He has given us in the place He has placed us."