Thursday, August 13, 2015

It came from the Bible!


I have purposely tried to leave out my faith mostly because for a large part PEOPLE have a misconception that CHRISTIANS think that they are perfect because they follow JESUS CHRIST. 
       Thankfully THAT'S FALSE! I follow the Word of God because I am a busted and broken individual. There has only been one person to walk this earth that has ever been perfect and His name was Jesus Christ. 

Now that I have made my proclamation stick with me. I'm from the south but I promise the thumping of my Bible is over. 

I bring this up because I don't always have the best attitude, wording, MOUTH, or even ideals. When I do start to stray I look into the Bible and I find little gems of wisdom. Now I'm going to break down Matthew 5:14 in relation to the fire department. You don't have to believe in Jesus to get what I'm gonna say here. If you want you can just write me off and read the rest of what i have to say to have more ammunition to hate me. That's OK. I respect your right to have your own opinion. For the rest of ya, HERE WE GO...

Matthew 5:14 "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden."

You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden...

I was first brought to this notion in church at Jacksonville NC's First Baptist Church by Pastor Jason Brinker. The first part is a gentle reminder. It basically means people pay attention to whats going on. YOU can mean you personally, as a company, or even your whole department. For this discussion were going to go with the literal. LIGHT is substituted with example. YOU ARE THE EXAMPLE... you still with me? THE WORLD were going to call your community/department

So part one is now UNDERSTOOD as follows: YOU ARE THE EXAMPLE TO THE DEPARTMENT.

LETS GET TO PART TWO...
You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden
Now A CITY were going to call your crew. ON A HILL isn't exactly going to be replaced but rather understood. I want you to understand in this text its referring to standards. We strive to hold ourselves "UP TO HIGH standards." As we read "cannot be HIDDEN" this too needs to be understood. Its explaining that your actions and TRUTH/STANDARDS will outweigh and dark that can be cast over you by others.

Some companies have mythical reputations.
The US Navy SEAL Trident is awarded to those that prove
they can stand up to the highest standards of the military.
In part the second phrase of the scripture is UNDERSTOOD as: YOUR CREWS HIGH STANDARDS WILL OUTSHINE ANY DOUBT OF OTHERS.

Matthew 5:14 now reads: You are the example to the department, Your crews high standards will outshine any doubt of others.

This has been a theme of allot of others now internet famous. By no means am I trying to reinvent the wheel. I'm just giving you a different way to understand and back the message. Simply, BE A LIGHT. Be a flood light, box light; hell, be a candle. I don't care. Just be a light and draw people into the message. When someone comes to you all high and mighty saying you're just drinking the Kool-Aid and getting all this "garbage" from the internet you now have a shot to fire back with. This didn't come from the internet, IT CAME FROM THE BIBLE!