Mike Shepherd's Turkey 2009

Yesterday a good buddy and I went Turkey Hunting. We hopped on his 4-wheeler about 5:30am. It was a perfect morning. We walked up the creek and separated. Just before day break Mike hit his call one time. About 10 minutes later he started calling and it wasn't long before a gobbler responded. He must have been about 200 yards away. Mike hit his call just right and he responded again and again. Then Mike stopped and everything got real quiet. Pretty soon I saw three turkeys coming right at Mike. Two hens and a gobbler. That old gobbler jumped up on a log 25 yards from Mike and BOOM! Mike took him in one shot. Now, if you knew my friend Mike, you'd understand. He's a marksman - a national champion at nationwide shooting matches - he typically scores in the top 5 shooters in international matches - no kidding! Shooters come from all over the world and he competes against them and wins. So, when that old goobler jumped up on that log he had no idea who he was facing. Mike shot him and I saw it all. We laughed, did a fist bump and back pats, we took pictures and a nice video. Mike's going to give the turkey breast to a neighbor and it will be good eaten. It was an exciting hunt.

Listen like Jesus (a six day challenge)

The sign read “You ain’t learning nothin’ when you’re doing all the talkin’.” It reminded me of two Bible verses. “Be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry” (James 1:19). Everybody knows that one. But my favorite verse on listening is less famous. It is tucked away in the OT book of Proverbs. Solomon wrote “Answering before listening is both stupid and rude (Prov. 18:13 The Message). I love that verse but I often violate it. How about you? Let’s try something new – OK? For the next six days (from now till Sunday) let’s try to listen like Jesus. When someone asks you a question don’t be so quick to give a pat answer. Avoid monologue – go for dialogue. Seek first to understand, before you’re understood. Answer questions with opened-ended questions. That’s Jesus’ style. Don’t merely listen with your ears. Listen with your heart. Listen with your eyes. That’s the key. William Glasser found that 70% of what people communicate is through body language, 23% through tone of voice and only 7% through words. If you’re not listening with your eyes you are missing most of what’s being said. Be eager to listen. Speak less. Ask good questions then be quiet and listen like Jesus. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you see what Jesus sees and hear what Jesus hears. Give away attention. Everybody’s craving it because few people are giving it. It cost you nothing but it means everything. Try it for the next six days and you’ll be amazed at how many hurting people God sends your way.

Be an inviter

Andrew was always bringing people to Jesus. Check out three frequently overlooked passages and see if you can spot what I’m talking about. The first passage is John 1:40 Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. 41 The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, "We have found the Messiah." 42 And he brought him to Jesus. The second passage is John 6:8 Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, spoke up, 9 "Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?" And the third passage is John 12:20 Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the Feast. 21 They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. "Sir," they said, "we would like to see Jesus." 22 Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus. Andrew brought Peter, a little boy and some Greeks to Jesus. That’s all it takes. Just find a friend and bring them to Jesus this Sunday. It’s friend day. It’s Easter. They will come if you ask them. Just say “Will you be my friend this Sunday.” Be like Andrew. Be an inviter.

You are his masterpiece.

If you've been a Christian for a while you probably know Eph. 2:8-10 which explains that we are saved by grace not works. Your good works are the result of your salvation, not the basis. You are familiar with that passage. You've read it, heard it - you may have memorized it. But there is a word that jumped out of verse 10 this morning. It made me smile. "Workmanship". Did you know that the word "workmanship" actually means "masterpiece"? In fact the NLT translates verse 10 "For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago." Now that's amazing. You and me? God's masterpiece? That's right! God displays the beauty of his creation everyday but his greatest piece of work is you. You are God's crowing achievement in creation. You are God's masterpiece. The next time you get down on yourself think about that. The way you view yourself is very different than the way God views you. He loves you. You are his masterpiece.

How to make friends