Expensive Echoes

Expensive Echoes

Wisdom unshared is fool’s knowledge. Imagine a condition that cannot be cured medically, cannot be killed physically, and cannot be slowed with time.

The deadliest disease is not air borne; it is mind-borne. Among the people of GOD; Satan’s favorite weapon it’s not drugs, it’s not the temptation of the flesh, it’s not alcohol, money, physical strength or power. It’s the one thing that contaminates husbands and wives, separates father from sons,
and mothers from daughters.

It denigrates and destroys Gods influence generation after generation, it is more lethal than any addiction or virus, and the more you use it, the less it is known, it is this thing that GOD will hold us accountable for every moment without faith we used it. What is it – It’s silence.

Ninety percent of your pain, ninety percent of your embarrassment, ninety percent of your shame, represents ninety percent of your wisdom. But like grains of salt mixed with water, you can’t figure out how to share the wisdom without separating the shame from it, so we stay silent.

You’re not going to reach spiritual maturity painlessly, nor are you going to reach it shamelessly. There’s going to be some pain and shame involved, and the more vulnerable and transparent you become, the more positive and powerful the effect. Normally one moment of wisdom,
is made up of several moments of shame.

Christ died to himself in every moment of His life. The foundation of the great commission starts with the stewardship of time. Christ is the creator and master of time, He sacrificed every moment of His life for us, including the moment of the cross. Never forget, the Lord remembers when
there was nothing to remember.

In my youth I was walking around believing there was power in pride.In the winter of my life the Lord has shown me there is prestige in patience, there is tenacity in tolerance; there is fierceness in forgiveness. You can beat a person into submission, but you can’t beat a person into forgiveness.
– S.A. Preston

Copyright© 2021 Letters to The Master

Foreword

Foreword

I want you to imagine you turn the corner and stop in your tracks at what you see. There’s a person walking down the street, and they are actually and literally transparent. And as you peer inside of them, you see all the most embarrassing and shameful moments of their life, being played out.

If your life was on the display rack, how expensive would the price tag be that’s hanging down? Would the receipt have the list of people who paid the cost, for the finished product that is you? How many people got used? How many hearts were broken? How many debts went unpaid?

The only way I can possibly say “thank you”, to those people, is to ensure they did not go through all of that suffering, in vain.

These poems, encapsulates many of the lessons and wisdom learned, that I convey using the most powerful medium ever created, the unmeasurable canvas of the human heart.

This book can in no way; compensate, substitute, redeem, or justify, the pain and shame of the past. But, it can warn other people (young and old), and perhaps guide them, to make better decisions, and to seek the Lord Jesus Christ, early in their lives.

Like the conspicuous transparent person on the street; if exposure to controversy, embarrassment, and even shame comes through; based on the cost paid, for the wisdom I acquired, it is the very least I can do.

What a blessing it would have been, for someone to have given me a wisdom book of moments, warning me about the pitfalls of life’s decisions, and how to use GOD’s word and grace, to overcome and navigate through them. May these words bless you practically and spiritually. Enjoy.

Times Holiday

Times Holiday

When I walk in the path of Your righteousness,
and my spirit is full only of Your light.

Village of Virtue

Village of Virtue

There was once a wicked and greedy man,
guilty of cheating many people in the village.

Mind Storm

Mind Storm

The eternal forest is silent.
There is stillness in the mental air.

    The Ruler of an Empath Empire

When the challenges of life are
compared through the vantage point of scripture the entire picture changes.

Not by altering the canvas but by realizing
were no longer painting on it.

The bible is the mind of Christ, lived out through the faith, obedience,
hopes and dreams of his people.

A nation of unique citizens not based
on who they were, or even who we are,
but on who He was and is.

The uniqueness of our ruler is based
on the fact that a king died for subjects yet to be, so that through grace they could be.

-S.A. Preston

Wasted Wisdom©

Have you ever seen a ripple in a pond move backwards?

Imagine what would happen, if the hundred-year-old elders got the attention of the young people in there eighties.

Imagine if the eighty-year-olds spoke as elders, to the young people in their sixties. Then imagine if the sixty-year-olds, approached and spoke as elders to the young people in there forties.

Think about it, even if your twenty you’re an elder of your teens.

If shared with humility and compassion, and not squandered in prideful silence, wisdom can prevent disease, reverse poverty, stop confrontations, and even reduce gang violence and crime.

However, in our nation, our cities, our communities, our neighborhoods, and especially our families, if wisdom leaves us without looking back, we as an uninformed people will never move forward.

   -S.A. Preston

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One Sip At A Time©

I want you to imagine a friend gives you a gift card to a local coffee shop. When you get there the clerk says, “Here try this.” and you take a sip and respond, “Wooh, this taste terrible.” and the clerk says, “Try another sip.” and you hesitantly try it again and respond “Dude this is gross.” but with his coaching you reluctantly finish the drink.

So the next time you go to use your card, there’s the same clerk who gives you the same drink, but this time, it's not as bad as before, and after a while it’s your preferred refreshment.

So one day, you take a friend to the coffee shop and say to them “Here try this.” So they take a sip and respond, “ahh man this taste horrible, how can you drink this?”

So what happened? Simple.You’ve developed an
acquired taste for that drink. I want you to develop an acquired taste for things your spouse does that you don’t like.

If what there doing is not specifically against the word of GOD; then there is a real possibility you have redefined a preference as an offense. And remember just like that drink, take it a sip at a time.

   -S.A. Preston

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The Hidden Kingdom©

Remember the playground days when you and the other kids used to play “follow the leader” and everyone had a turn? Believe it or not that game has blossomed into a lifetime responsibility.

As a believer in the Lord you have people who watch you, many for long periods of time. Eventually if several seasons go by and they gain confidence in your decisions, they will begin to emulate your behavior and the motif of your mindset.

In short, everyone of us has an “influence empire” and within that empire is a congregation of people (some close, some distant), that you are unknowingly, unwittingly and indirectly responsible for.

The most challenging thing about this responsibility, is that you're going to establish this kingdom whether you want to or not. Whenever you make a decision, you never know
what hangs in the balance.

You never know how the Lord is using your life, to bless and influence someone else’s. When you make a decision, especially a pertinent one, remember your decisions are molding the minds of future rulers of hidden kingdoms.

   -S.A. Preston

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Inspiration©

What is inspiration? Is it the way the one you love, makes you feel when no one else seems to care?

Is it the fond memories brought to mind by an old song?

Is it the simple moments the Lord brings to you in the
middle of the most hectic times of the day?

Is it an unspoken “good morning” from the sun, as dawn
triumphantly interrupts a night of worry?

I believe inspiration is all of these and more. It’s the innocent smile of a child, and the admonition of a parent.

It’s the nuances that can’t be described in words, when two pair of eyes meet for the first time. It’s the strength and hope that comes after devastation, when anticipation turns into disappointment.

But most of all for the believer, inspiration comes from the constant
reminder by the Holy Spirit that GOD chose us before we chose Him, and our assurances, rests in an appointment with living perfection, that cannot be altered by our failures, added to by our achievements, limited by our finite mindsets, or distorted by our ignorance, and this is the essence of grace.

   -S.A. Preston

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Dead Battle©

Imagine you're leaving a memorial service and you see something odd. There are two men fighting at a grave site. Of course you're thinking to yourself, “How immature can you get.” As you watch for a minute or two and look closer you realize the horrible truth, and you're in shock.

The man who is being beaten is dead. The other man literally took him out of the grave and is beating on him as if he’s alive. Kneeing him in the groins, flipping him over, punching him in the face.

As bystanders finally pull the man off the corpse, you think to yourself “Clearly this man is unstable and needs help, I would never do that”. But haven’t you? How many times have you wanted to hold a person accountable for an offense, based on a sin habit that the Lord has already helped them overcome, but your anger has that person locked in time?

That person you knew died long ago when that stronghold was overcome, but you're determined to punish them as if they're still alive but the Lord is protecting them, not because you don’t deserve justice, but because from God's perspective
you're about to punish a stranger.

   -S.A. Preston

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Looking Forward to Yesterday©



An old man who is a hundred years old, is admonished by his wife
with a tug, for staring at a young lady in her eighties.

Who is admonished by her husband for staring at a young man in his sixties, as he is admonished by his wife as he stares at a young lady in her forties; as she is admonished by her husband for staring at a young man in his thirties, as he is admonished by his wife for being enamored at the window view of the young lady who is the clerk in the gift shop in her twenties.

As she is admonished by her supervisor as she admires a muscular young man in his late teens, walking down the aisles of the store with his little brother who is six.

As the little brother watches with innocent enthusiasm at a little girl through the gift shop window who is five – and smiles.

   -S.A. Preston

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Super Grace©

With extreme faith comes extreme obedience.

With extreme obedience comes extreme power.

With extreme power comes extreme achievements.

With extreme achievements comes extreme blessings,
in time and eternity.

This is an absolute succession list.
It is not possible to achieve one, without first achieving the others.

   -S.A. Preston

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Invited Intruder©

Imagine that you discover someone has been living in your home without your permission. In fact they have been there for quite some time. Every day they wait until you leave and then they come out. So you setup a trap and it works!

You catch the person who actually turns out to be a homeless drifter. They came in one day when the door was open and has been there ever since. Add to that; they have an issue
that disrupts the entire household.

But when you attempt to throw them out, the local authorities tell you that you can’t because they've been there so long. You can't remove them without an eviction and that's going to take ninety-days. You respond, “What!” “Are you kidding me?” “No that’s the law.” Is it the law of the land? No. It’s the law of your mind.

When you adapt a sin habit, after a time, it becomes a stronghold. When you refused to respond to GOD’s warning to repent and fight against it, you left the door open. And typically it’s going to take a minimum of ninety days of habitually refraining from it, to establish a foundation, to fight against it.

The key, is replacing that habit with a spiritual one. So what happens If you don’t? You leave the door open, for another drifter.

   -S.A. Preston

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Shortcut To Happiness©

One day after a heated argument with his wife, a husband fell asleep and suddenly there in front of him, was his wife
on an operating table.

But instead of organs, every habit and mindset, was completely exposed. Right then, an unmistakable voice said, “Here’s your chance.” to which the husband replied, “Chance to do what.” It was then a light showed a glowing instrument on the table. To which the husband asked “What is this?”

The voice said "it’s a spiritual scalpel, you can remove everything you don’t like, and she will never even know it." Intrigued the husband walked up to the table and picked up the scalpel, as he looked at all the precepts, ideas, and habits.

He then reached out to make the first incision and then paused for what seemed like an eternity.

It was then that he placed the instrument back on the table and said, “I have to change for her, just like she has to change for me. I can’t do this.”, and holding back the tears he said, “Lord, how did you know?” As the dream faded, He heard the Lord say,
“It's ok, she couldn’t do it either.”

   -S.A. Preston

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What Love Looks Like©

A young man wakes up stares into a closet and smiles. As He puts on his outfit, he is very careful to make sure all the parts are correct. The leather cap of the time is set perfect on his head.

The knee-high striped stocking socks are pulled up and his old leather shoes are laced. The double-pleated shorts are connected to the suspenders and his old leather cracked and worn jacket is just right.

As he drives up to the building, he makes sure no electronic devices are in his pockets and even removes his remote-lock from his car keys along with anything else made out of plastic.

As he enters the facility, he meets his aunt who is dressed up in an authentic forties nurse’s outfit. As they walk by the staff everyone smiles because they know where there going.

The same place they have been going day after day. As the “nurse" approaches the park she sees an elderly man sitting on a bench sipping some coffee and enjoying a bagel from a box that says "Winchell’s Bagels" and the expiration date on the batch he’s enjoying says
“please consume before 5/1/1941” .

As she approaches him the elderly gentlemen says with a stern voice, “have you seen the paperboy, I think he’s late”
she replies "Here he is now sir.”’

The young man walks up and says, “Good morning Mr. Johnson” the gentlemen replies, “Don’t Mr. Johnson me, you young people need to learn that the world does not wait for you, and time is money”.

The young man replies “yes sir I understand that” as he gives the perfectly preserved newspaper to the gentlemen the man reaches in his pocket and flips him a silver fifty-cent piece to which the boy says
“thanks Mr. Johnson” the elderly man replies
“You can thank me by being on time tomorrow" “Yes sir” the boys replies.

As the elderly man opens his paper and begins to read, the nurse walks the boy out of the facility, as he give's her the fifty-cent piece.

The same fifty-cent piece that she will set back on the desk
of the elderly man (his grandfather), when he falls asleep tonight as everything about today fades away, and he waits with anticipation for the headlines of tomorrow.

   -S.A. Preston

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Mind Field©



I want you to imagine the Lord lets you see things physically,
but from a spiritual perspective.

So one day you walk up on a person in the office, and their covered with sharp needles from head to toe like a porcupine. So what are the needles?

There triggers, hundreds of them. Each one representing;
a current offense, a trauma from a devastating previous event,
or a choice from the past, that they have not forgiven themselves
for greatly offending someone else.

And anyone who attempts to interact with this person in any way,
has to carefully navigate there way through the maze of triggers,
hoping not to set one off.

Be honest with yourself. Are you really living the Christian life, forgiving on a moment-to-moment basis?
Or are you a living mine field?

   -S.A. Preston

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The First Chef©

The first chef walks into a kitchen. Hanging from the ceiling are all the ideas and concepts and other eternal utensils. As He starts His recipe everyone watches will incredible anticipation.

He grabs a pan of nothingness and opens His cabinet of ingredients. He then adds a pinch of time, and suddenly the pan has capacity.
He then adds love as the base and a teaspoon of
integrity, sacrifice, and joy for intention.

He then carefully adds the eternal spices of endearment, tolerance and then forgiveness and whips the three ever so carefully and they combine to form tenderness.

From His cabinet He sprinkles nuances and aspiration and adds a bit of humility for flavor. With the pinch almost full He selects the two people to enjoy it. He then puts the recipe into the oven of existence and within a pinch out pops – a moment.

He then sets the stage for the meal to be served.

As the young man turns the corner, he catches the eye of the young lady, and the first moment of thousands of moments to come is enjoyed by the two.

   -S.A. Preston

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Invitation to Innocence ©

One night a man had a dream. He was taken from his home
and bound to a chair by two men.

As they stand on his left and right, two other men come walking up the hill, and they have a child wearing a mask, the boy is about six years old. They tie the young boy to a tree and walk away.

Then out of nowhere appears a very tall muscular stranger wearing a black cowl that covers his entire head. He’s carrying a very large leather whip, which He unbridles and carefully strokes it with a cloth soaked in oil.

As the man realizes what’s about to happen, He starts screaming in protest “Stop! For GOD’s sake please stop, don’t do this!” It was then a voice without sound says, “What’s about to happen cannot be stopped, but how it ends is up to you.” The man responds, “What do you mean?"

The voice explains, “The boy will experience agony or joy. If you truly forgive everyone who ever offended you, the boy will not be harmed.”

It was then that the strong man walks up to the tree and violently snatched the shirt away to reveal the child’s back, and the man’s mouth opens in shock. The child’s back is covered with scars, hundreds of them.

The man said, “Who put those scars there.”, the voice replies “You did, how many more will you add”. It's then that the man realizes the truth and sincerely and fervently begins to pray.

He prayed for all the people who had ever hurt or offended him and all the people he had offended, he truthfully prayed for everyone’s health and well-being, as the tears began to fall. As the strongman walked up to the boy and extended the whip the man slowly began to smile.

As the first stroke hit the boys back there was no screaming, instead miraculously one the scars disappeared, and with the second stroke another scar vanished and another and then another, and as they did, so did the scars on the mans back.

The mask was taken off the boy to reveal- himself, the man as a child, the two men removed their mask to reveal himself in hatred and in guilt as they both faded away, and then finally the man holding the whip removed his mask to reveal himself again as the punisher, and protector.

The punisher faded as He walked away pulling and rolling his whip and as he disappeared the man saw the word engraved
on the handle which read “Choice”.

You can beat a man into submission, but you cant
beat a man into forgiveness.

-S.A. Preston

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Petition©

There was once a man who was out of shape and was also made plenty of income but was often broke based on his inability to budget and manage money. So one day he got on his knees in humility and sincerity and prayed to the Lord that He could get himself back in shape and learn how to manage his finances.

Within three weeks all of his prospects and clients dried up and was reduced to one or two. He was getting in at one o’clock in the morning and working extra hard as a handyman just to pay the rent. He then had to go without power for over a year and the only reason he didn’t get evicted was because he had favor with the building manager, who gave him time to pay his rent even after falling behind two months.

He could not spare the gas because he needed his truck for work. So he walked everywhere and saved his change just to get a daily meal of either one fried chicken breast or a can of tuna. He once walked six miles with a scrap-battery just to redeem the five-dollar return fee.

In the midst of his frustration he thought GOD has abandoned Him, but he then noticed something else. He was getting in shape, the symptoms of diabetes had disappeared, he could run faster, the speed from his youth returned, and he learned how to budget.

You need to thank GOD for all the seasons of preparation, it is His way of saying “Yes, your petition is answered, and by the way, because you don’t have the spiritual maturity to deal with what you are physically requesting, I’m going to send you a season of testing and preparation, and you're not going to have to waste money at the fitness gym, or the financial seminar to achieve it.” That’s the GOD we serve. So fear not and faint not. He’s not punishing or abandoning you; He is preparing you for the season He already said yes to!

-S.A. Preston

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Chameleon©

You wake up grumpy, after resetting the alarm three times, grumbling as you walk toward the bathroom. You get out of the shower and is still annoyed as you brush your teeth.

You ignore your spouse when they say, “Good Morning” and head downstairs. In the kitchen you complain about the coffee not being hot enough. You eat breakfast as if it were forced on you. Grudgingly you walk the dog as you think about all the things you need to do this week.

You complained it was cloudy yesterday, and now you're complaining because its only 8:30 am and it’s seventy degrees already.

As you finally get on the road you notice the low gas alarm is displayed “Great”. You pull into the gas station as someone cuts you off at the pump, and it takes everything you have to keep your finger in its rightful and respectful position.

As you get closer and closer to your destination, your spiritual and mental mood changes, your mindset starts to adjust to where your going. As you finally make it to the building the doors open and the deacon says, “Good Morning”. With a smile you respond, “Good Morning everyone, thank the Lord for another day.”

 -S.A. Preston

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Dark Strategy ©

I want you to think about the person you dislike the most in this world.

I’m talking about the person who in their arrogance, think you're avoiding them because you’re afraid of them, but actually you're afraid for them; because they have exhausted your patience and you honestly have no idea what going to happen at the next confrontation. Yeah, that person.

Now imagine not only forming a friendship with that person, but a bond that will last a lifetime. Now you're thinking “no way.” If you don't try,
you may get to heaven and discover something incredible and sad.

The person you thought was your greatest enemy was meant to be your greatest friend, and the two of you were meant to do something great through GOD together, and your greatest true enemy found out, and put forth his greatest effort to interfere – and it worked.

The people you think are your enemies, were never meant to be enemies at all. In fact the greater the animosity between the two of you, the greater your potential for Christ, and your true enemy knew that.

From worldly perspective the two of you thought you were doing the right thing, but from a spiritual perspective… you both got played.

Make every effort to bond with that intolerable person, you may find within that bond is the key to greatness.

 -S.A. Preston

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  Wasted
 Wisdom

  One Sip
AT A Time

  Hidden
Kingdom

Inspiration

    Dead
    Battle

  Forward
       To
 Yesterday

    Super
    Grace

   Invited
  Intruder

Shortcut To
Happiness

 What Love
 Looks Like

 Mind Field

 First Chef

  Invitation
        To
 Innocence

   Petition

Chameleon

      Dark
   Strategy