Respect

One of the reasons why our world is in the shape that it is currently in is because of the misconception of the meaning of "Respect." We have defined respect in such a way that it meets up to our standards.
I remember one Sunday afternoon, when I was about sixteen years old, I was talking to one of my counselors and we were just joking around. I made a statement that changed the whole mood of the setting. "You have to earn my respect"; Oh boy, if you guys know Sis. John, then you know she got me real good. Immediately after I made that comment, she sat me down and explained in detail what respect really means.

In the Bible God created Adam from the dust of the ground in the image of God. Every human-being from the past, the present and the future comes from Adam. All of us are just like Adam, we mess up.
However, our world has defined "respect":
* As something that we have to "earn" from others.
* As something that you give to receive (you give respect to get respect).
There are many more definitions of respect that we use to meet our standards.

Brice Point: None of us come from dogs or even monkeys. Which means that I'm not going to treat anyone like a dog or a monkey nor will I settle for doggish treatments. I'm going to treat everyone with respect for the simple fact that he/she comes from the same "dust" that I came from. There isn't any such thing of "I have to give respect to get respect." We should all respect one another due to the fact that we all are human-beings. There should be a LEVEL of respect because we all comes from dust.

Some believe, because they are so accomplished that "little people" need to earn their respect. Now, I'm not speaking in terms of authority over individuals (For example: Students must submit to teachers authority), I'm speaking of those who tell other human-beings that "I'm successful and in order for you to shake my hand, you will have to prove that your worthy of shaking my hand."
Yeah, one maybe more accomplished than the other, but WE ALL ARE FROM DUST!

Remember, Adam sinned against God. All of us has sinned against God in some form or fashion. Sometimes we forget that we are not perfect. How? We make statements such as "I can't stand him/her", "I have no respect for him/her", "I've lost all my respect for him/her" and much more. Have we forgotten that there was a time when we did something wrong against God? What if God decided to treat us the way we treat others?
I stop saying "I can't stand him/her." Why? Because who an individual is is an application of the lesson that they learned from past mistakes. When we come across those who dislike us, let them know that "I just can't help yourself, I come from Adam."

"Who we are today is applications of the lessons that we learned from yesterdays mistakes" ~ S. J Brice

All us came from Adam, Adam came from the dust of the ground. That means, we all have dusty character traits. We all have something within our personality that we need to dust off.
So respect all because all came from dust. Let's make this world a better place, and it starts with you.

Peace ~ S.J Brice


Genesis 2:7 "And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils that breath of life; and man became a living being."

Precious Lord ~ The Birth of A Famous Song

THE BIRTH OF THE SONG 'PRECIOUS LORD'

Back in 1932, I was 32 years old and a fairly new husband. My wife, Nettie
and I were living in a little apartment on Chicago's south side. One hot
August afternoon I had to go to St. Louis, where I was to be the featured
soloist at a large revival meeting. I didn't want to go. Nettie was in the
last month of pregnancy with our first child. But a lot of people were
expecting me in St. Louis. I kissed Nettie good-bye, clattered downstairs
to our Model A and, in a fresh Lake Michigan
breeze, chugged out of Chicago on Route 66.

However, outside the city, I discovered that in my anxiety at leaving, I
had forgotten my music case. I wheeled around and headed back. I found
Nettie sleeping peace-fully. I hesitated by her bed; something was
strongly telling me to stay. But eager to get on my way, and not wanting
to disturb Nettie, I shrugged off the feeling and quietly slipped out of
the room with my music.


The next night, in the steaming St. Louis heat, the crowd called on me to
sing again and again. When I finally sat down, a messenger boy ran up with
a Western Union telegram. I ripped open the envelope. Pasted on the yellow
sheet were the words: YOUR WIFE JUST DIED.

People were happily singing and clapping around me, but I could hardly keep
from crying out. I rushed to a phone and called home. All I could hear on
the other end was 'Nettie is dead. Nettie is dead.' When I got back, I
learned that Nettie had given birth to a boy. I swung between grief and
joy. Yet that same night, the baby died. I buried Nettie and our little
boy together, in the same casket. Then I fell apart.

For days I closeted myself. I felt that God had done me an injustice. I
didn't want to serve Him anymore or write gospel songs. I just wanted to go
back to that jazz world I once knew so well. But then, as I hunched alone in
that dark apartment those first sad days, I thought back to the afternoon I
went to St. Louis. Something kept telling me to stay with Nettie. Was that
something God? Oh, if I had paid more attention to Him that day, I would
have stayed and been with Nettie when she died.

From that moment on I vowed to listen more closely to Him. But still I was
lost in grief. Everyone was kind to me, especially one friend. The
following Saturday evening he took me up to Malone's Poro College, a
neighborhood music school. It was quiet; the late evening sun crept through
the curtained windows. I sat down at the piano, and my hands began to
browse over the keys.
Something happened to me then. I felt at peace. I felt as though I could
reach out and touch God. I found myself playing a melody, once into my
head that just seemed to fall into place:

'Precious Lord, take my hand,
lead me on let me stand,
I am tired, I am weak, I am worn,
through the storm, through the night lead me on to the light,
take my hand, precious Lord, lead me home.'

The Lord gave me these words and melody, He also healed my spirit. I learned
that when we are in our deepest grief, when we feel farthest from God, this
is when He is closest, and when we are most open to His restoring power.

And so I go on living for God willingly and joyfully,

until that day comes when He will take me and gently lead me home.

-Tommy Dorsey-

For those too young to know who he is , Tommy Dorsey was a band leader in
the Thirties and Forties. Did you know that Tommy Dorsey wrote this song? I
surely didn't. What a wonderful story of how God CAN heal the brokenhearted!
Beautiful, isn't it?

Worth the reading wasn't it? Think on the message for a while.
Thought you might like to share this, I just did..

The Tea Cup

This is an anonymous reading which beautifully illustrates how the divine Potter works with his people to mold them into the kind of vessels that will bring him honor and glory. Enjoy!


The TEACUP

The TEACUP looked like an ordinary teacup until it spoke: "You do not understand. I have not always been a teacup. There was a time when I was nothing but red clay. My master took me, rolled me, and patted me over and over and over. I yelled, "Leave me alone!" But he only smiled and said, "NOT YET." Then I was placed on a spinning wheel and spun around and around. I screamed, "Stop it! I am getting dizzy." The master nodded and said, "NOT YET." Then he put me in an oven, and it was terribly hot. I thought he would burn me to a crisp. I yelled and knocked on the door. I could see his lips moving as he said, "NOT YET." Finally, the door was opened and I began to cool. Then suddenly he painted me all over, and the fumes were horrible. I cried, "Stop it! Stop!" He only nodded: "NOT YET." All at once he put me back in the oven and it was twice as hot. I begged, pleaded, screamed, and cried. But he only said, "NOT YET." Then at the last minute, just when I knew I would never make it, he opened the oven and placed me on a shelf. An hour later he handed me a mirror and said, "Look at your self." I was beautiful, really beautiful.

"As I gazed at my beauty, my master said; "I know it hurt to be rolled and patted, but if I had left, you would have DRIED UP. I know it hurt to be spun around and around. But if I had stopped, you would have CRUMBLED. I know it hurt in the oven, but if I had stopped you would had CRACKED. I know the fumes were bad when I painted you, but if I had stopped you never would have HARDENED. But now you are a finished product. You are what I had in mind when I first began with you!"

Brice Point: Do you see how God is patient with us when he is molding us through the storms of life? Notice the reactions of the clay, doesn't it reminds us of how we scream, yell, beg and even demand things at God? Beloved, whenever your in a storm, those dark moments in life, just remember that he is shaping you to look beautiful when the sun comes out.
When life gets just bit harder, just tie a knot at the end of the rope and hang on.

Jeremiah 18:4 "And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter; so he made it again into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make.

~ Peace, S.J Brice