James 3:1-5 "Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check. When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark."
As I was shopping last night telling store clerks, no thank you I don't need help.....I'm just browsing. One thing I noticed was how it is so sad the way customers come in and wreck all the organized shelves and the workers have to fix the mess. Back at the ranch, while I was wrecking our checkbook by spending money (oh, oh!) Jim was home with one of the boys listening to him say he doesn't need help he's a loser and he is going to end up in jail anyway so it doesn't matter. It is so hard when we hear these words come out of a young man's mouth, it makes us realize how the words we speak says it all. It is so hard to get through to anyone when they have been called a loser all their life, that they are not a loser. Last night while Jim was milking cows with this young man, trying to BUILD him UP he would say.... hey, Hector, you're a winner, you can be a winner...... Several times throughout the hour they were milking Jim would tell him this, and then stop just to give him a hug. By the end of the hour Jim finally got an answer from him, when he asked him, "so what can you be Hector?" With a real slow drawn out answer he said, "a winner." It wasn't very convincing but it is a start.
Our job is a very hard job, and we need all the prayer support that we can get, because like the scriture says we are judged more strictly being teachers to these young men, we stumble, we will not be perfect until we are in heaven with our Savior Jesus Christ. We are trying to take a heart that has been broken, ripped, calloused, wrecked by a small thing called the tongue. We have to rebuild this broken heart, to learn how to love and that it is okay to love. We make mistakes because we are human but we try everyday to make a difference in these young men's lives. Is it easy? No, it can be very hard, trying and frustrating. Is it Rewarding? Yes, very! Especially when we get a report card from the school and see that a young man is on the honor roll now instead of mostly F's, or when young men pray for a little 4 year old girl everyday. or when they start to feel good about themselves instead of thinking they are a loser. The most rewarding thing is when they accept Jesus as their personal savior to be Lord of their life.
So please help us out by praying that we can be builders in the young men God entrusts us with and not wreckers. Pray for our tongue because some days are harder than other, when they push us to the limit because they want to see if we are still going to be there for them.
I'm so glad our Father up in Heaven is who HE is because I know there are times when I push Him to the limit to see if He is still going to be there for me.
Thank you Jesus for loving me through it all.
Builders for Christ,
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