As many of you may have realized, my last two posts, “Quantum Entanglements” and “The Winter Raffle” were not available to read for most of you. They have been stuck in cyberspace while upgrades have been made to the systems that drive these deliveries to FaceBook, LinkedIn and your inbox if you have registered to have our posts delivered that way. To say the least it has been frustrating for me.
First of all, in fifteen years of writing more than 2150 posts, I have never failed to post on a Sunday or Thursday night. I guess it is a discipline thing. That’s what thousands of readers expect and what I have come to expect from myself. Every once in a while, there has been a technical issue but it has never been anything that has delayed more than one post. And as you probably know, I try to make it easy and convenient to read my writings each week. I hope that you know that they are written with love.
That having been said, we have created several options for each of you to get my posts. You can follow Transitions by The Book on FaceBook, or you can follow me on LinkedIn. Some folks who don’t use these social media apps prefer to get the message delivered to their inbox as an email. In order to do that, you can go to our website, TransitionsbyTheBook.com and in the lower right side, you can subscribe to the posts. You will receive a confirmation email asking you to confirm your interest. And don’t worry, it’s not forever… you can unsubscribe at any time if you get tired of my writings. And if you want to, you can visit our website anytime where all of my posts are archived. That way, you can always go back and read something that may be an encouragement to you in a time of need.
Several weeks ago, we had an issue with FaceBook changing some settings that prevented our post from being displayed. Aimee, our technical genius, got that fixed and then, wouldn’t you know it, LinkedIn and our email pathways suffered similar issues that prevented our posts from going out. To say the least I was disappointed and very worried about the inconvenience to our readers. Because, when it is all said and done, that is the only way that I have to communicate with our audience.
Here’s the surprise. A number of people either emailed me, called me, or messaged me on social media to let me know that they had not received my last two posts. While I was quick to apologize for the inconvenience, it immediately became apparent that people contacted me because they were concerned! They weren’t worried about the inconvenience, but they were worried about me… Was I away on vacation? Or, more importantly, was I sick? Was I okay? I couldn’t believe the outpouring of care and concern that enveloped me.
I’ve grown up much of my life taking care of others. As an oldest son, I was taught to make sure that I laid down my life for others – it was a thing that I was trained to do from my earliest recollections. As odd as it may seem, the idea of so many people being concerned about me never crossed my mind. But you know what? It was an incredible blessing to me. I reflected on the relationships that I have developed throughout the years, both in the corporate and the ministry worlds. And it validated that the thousands upon thousands of hours connecting with people through TBTB has borne much fruit. I don’t directly interact with very many of our readers on a consistent basis, but I loved hearing from so many of you during this latest “crisis.”
Thank you for your concern and for caring. It’s the way the Jesus wants His community of believers to act. As brothers and sisters in Christ, we are to care for one another – and I have been the recipient of that caring this past week or so.
Our verse for tonight is a small verse that implores us to care for one another and show interest in the wellbeing of others. This TBTB community of believers has certainly demonstrated this command of Jesus, spoken by the apostle Paul, during the problems we experienced recently. Paul, in his letter to the Philippians, tells them, and us, in Philippians 2:4-5, “Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus…”
My encouragement this evening is that as believers, we are brothers and sisters in Christ, trained by the Lord Himself through His Word to reach beyond ourselves to show care and concern for others. My prayer is that we will all experience these surprises from time to time to remind us that our efforts are appreciated by others and that we are all important to the mission of God in this world. Have a great day in the Lord, grace and peace… and thank you again for your kind words and thoughts.