All posts by Keith Thompson

The hour I first believed

Life

The great old Baptist hymn Amazing Grace, was written in 1779 by John Newton. For many people over the 236 years the song has been repeated, there is a part that speaks to each person. That part for me is the end of the second verse that reads “the hour I first believed.”

I think we all know that salvation is not triggered when you walked down the aisle in a church or shake the pastor’s hand. For many, that is the point in your personal life when you made your decision public. For others, that is in fact the hour you first believed. You heard the word and believed it in your heart. The moment salvation happens is the moment and hour that you became a believer in Jesus Christ as the son of God.

I walked down the church aisle and made a public profession of faith when I was but a wee lad. I was probably 5-6 years old. My personal salvation experience did not happen on that day, rather it happened over time. There was a point when I was beyond the age of accountability that I knew in my heart that Jesus is the son of God and became a believer. Many people can look back with clarity to the hour they first believed. For me, my hour was over a period of time when all doubt was removed and I knew in my heart that Jesus was real. To this very day if I am asked why I believe, my answer is simple. When the lights are out, and it is just you and your maker in the room, I can say with all certainty that I know there is a God and I know him personally. I know when I pray, I have just walked boldly into the throne room of all throne rooms and just got face to face with God almighty. He always puts his other files away and turns to me and with the eye of a savior and listens to my every word. His eyes know it all and has seen it all. I mean all of it. He knows every good and every not so good part of my life and yet he still loves me. If you want to know a love and an acceptance that will never change, there it is. It is only found in God.

If this is not what you experience, I trust you will find the hour in your own life when you first become a believer. KT

Role playing

Career, Life

Have you ever seen a person you haven’t seen for many years and just immediately go back into the same roles and the same relationship as before? Let’s say you were the kid that was picked on in high school and later in life you crossed paths with the class bully that had treated you badly. Let’s say that there were failed marriages or relationships and you saw the person years later. Let’s say that you met someone who knew you before you changed. These examples could go on and on but you probably know what I am talking about.

I saw a person this past week that I haven’t seen in many years and we unconsciously reverted to the same roles we had all those years ago. I watched it happen in his eyes and I said a silent prayer. God, teach me by this encounter with this old friend. I watched this man who was very accomplished and had done well in life, instantly become the shy, introverted person he was in high school. No reason other than the memory of the past flooded over the reality of today.

Satan wants to keep us in our past. He wants to run the video player of our past and to keep us in that moment. It is because he cannot control the new and improved person you are.

I was in a business encounter lately with a person who was my superior at one time. I saw in his eyes that he still thought I was who I was and he is still who he was. I could tell by his conversation, he wanted to go back into that same role that we had together 20 years ago. He was shocked and a little stunned when I refused to automatically role play with him. See, I am not who I was then and neither are you. I decided in that meeting that I would force a new role play image on my old friend and covert the roles from what they were to how they will be now. It was actually funny watching the old friend come to grips with a different person than he remembered me being.

In your past there may be roles that you once played that you refuse to play any longer. Not for anyone. I would say, stand up straight, poke out your chest, take a deep breath, open your mouth and let whoever you encounter see and experience that you are not the same person as before.

Just because you were a certain way in high school or in your 20’s does not mean you have to be regulated for life to play that same role. KT

Eating fried chicken

Career

One of my very first jobs in life was at the Davis Brothers Cafeteria in Morrow Georgia. I was a dish washer. Davis Brothers Companies owned cafeterias and hotels all over the southeast. You may already know where this is going.

As a side note, I think everyone should work in a restaurant for their first job. It will force you to go get an education or better yourself so you never have to do it again. Ha

So me and my three buds are all either cleaning tables, emptying trash, mopping the floors or washing dishes. In the kitchen, the fryer and grill was right beside where we would wash the dishes. It took us about 2 hours to figure out that the fresh fried chicken was easily accessible to the person washing the dishes. Of course I never ate any of the chicken because that would have been against the rules. Right? Just kidding. I broke every one of the rules. Ha

By the second night of dish washing, we figured out that when the manager walked away, the freshly fried chicken was left unattended. I would fill a rack of dishes, eat a piece of chicken. Fill another rack of dishes, eat another piece of chicken. By the end of each shift, I had probably eaten 20-30 pieces of chicken. I also discovered that being the dish washer was much more advantageous to my appetite that mopping the floors. I therefore, became the best dish washer anyone has ever seen. I also ate more fried chicken than anyone has ever seen! Needless to say, when I went on my official dinner break,,, pause and laugh, I didn’t order fired chicken.

A couple of years ago John Davis who is the son of the founder of Davis Brothers, called to hire us to sell a hotel for him. John Davis is a great American and a really good guy. After we sold his hotel, we were talking one day and I told him about my chicken eating story at the Morrow Davis Brothers Cafeteria when I was 16 years old. We both started laughing and got a good kick out of the 40 year old story. I guess it was a good thing I wasn’t working in liquor store. Ha. KT

Window sale tags

Family, Life

When you enter the front of our house, you walk into a two story foyer and see the steps on your left that go to the second floor. There is a set of three windows on the second floor that overlook the foyer and unless you focus on the second story windows, you really forget they are there.

The other night I was up on the second floor landing working on the air conditioner vent and while thinking about the vent, I was staring at these windows on the second floor. I don’t remember ever really looking at the windows except in passing. Well, as I was looking at the windows and the blinds, I noticed that there are big price tags hanging on each of the three window blinds. I don’t mean a little sticker. I am talking about a 3 inch by 2 inch hanging tag.

I started to laugh and called Elaine to come see. We have lived in this house for 16 years and never knew the tags were still hanging on 3 windows in our foyer. We have had countless parties, Christmas gathering and guests over the 16 years The funny thing is that once we saw the tags, now we see the tags every time we walk by the windows.

I started wondering how many things in my life and in other people’s lives have we walked by and just not seen what was in front of us. It could be tags on the windows or it could be something much more serious like a loved one who needs attention, help and connection.

It’s just a thought, but just maybe we all need to really pay attention to those around us and see the tags in our lives that have the words printed on it that says “look at me.” KT

When you don’t want anything

Life

Have you ever had a day where you are just happy with where you are and what you have?

So many times our prayers, desires and actions are to get something else beyond what we already have.

In a blog a few months ago I wrote about this song I heard. Part of the lyrics when, “I wanted the whole world until my world stopped and then all I wanted was what I had back.” Life is like that song in a way. We want want want when in reality what we already have is a gift and we just don’t know it.

So back to the first question, have you ever said in a prayer “Lord, I don’t want anything today. I just wanted to thank you for what you have already done.” I think saying a prayer like that should be a goal for all of us. Imagine God’s expression when you start the prayer. He gets out his note card to list out your requests on what you need, what you want and what you ask for. Imagine his surprise when you say “I don’t want or need anything today Lord.” I would guess God’s reaction to that prayer is the same reaction you would have if your teenager just came and sat beside you and told you they just wanted to hang out with you. It didn’t happen often when my girls were young but when it did happen, it was a sweet moment.

God loves you just like you love your children. He wants the very very best for you in all areas of your life. Many times we are already so blessed you cannot put words to it, yet we often seek more. Every now and then I think it would be great if what we wanted was what we already had. KT