Beyond the Cross

Beyond the Cross. I was flipping through the channels the other night and came across an old episode of the World’s Strongest Man competition on ESPN Classic. I stopped to watch for a minute before going to bed. These guys are freaks of nature with their feats of strength. The amount of weight they can lift, push and carry goes beyond human abilities. One of the events was to carry two large weighted objects down and back before they could put it down by crossing the line. The fastest to do it was the winner.

One of the guys dropped one of the weights too early before crossing the line and had to pick up both weights and try a second time to get them both over the finish line. Bringing the weights to the line didn’t count, they had to carry them beyond the line to secure victory.

As Christians, we tend to do the same thing. When Christ tells us to bring the heavy weight of our fears, sorrows and burdens to the foot of the Cross and leave them there, we tend to want to carry them beyond the Cross. Maybe we think that leaving them at the Cross will not secure the victory and that only carrying them farther will do so. “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." - Matthew 11:29-30.

When we bring our burdens to Christ and lay them at His feet, only to pick them up again when we leave, we show a lack in faith that Christ can handle our burdens. God knows us better than anyone and understands what we are going through and He wants to help us through our trials. “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” - Hebrews 4:15-16.

Brothers and sisters, bring your burdens to Christ and leave them at the foot of the Cross. He is willing and able to bear all your burdens and make intercession for you to the Father. Do not bear the burden alone and do not pick them back up once you lay them down. We do not need to carry them beyond the Cross.

Have a great day and God bless.

Marks of a Christian

Marks of a Christian. We use a lot of symbols to signify our beliefs as Christians. Some people wear the crucifix around their necks or on their finger or maybe even dangling from their ears. Some have the Christian fish symbol applied to the trunk of their car. Many people have the “Thank You Jesus” signs in their yards. All of these are great things but what about marks of action that show we are who we say we are: Christians. It’s a bit hypocritical to have these symbols as Christians but we don’t “act” like Christians.

So, how are we supposed to “act” if we really are Christians? I think the Apostle Paul gave us a great list in Romans chapter 12 of what the marks of a Christian should include:

9 Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.

10 Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.

11 Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.

12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.

13 Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.

14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.

15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.

16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight.

17 Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all.

18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.

19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord."

20 To the contrary, "if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head."

21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. - Romans 12:9-21.

If we, who call ourselves Christians, live by these things outlined in Romans 12:9-21, we will show the world who we are and what we believe. We won’t have to wear a crucifix, or have a fish on our car or a sign in our yard; people will know by how we act and treat others.

Have a great day and God bless.

Rear View Mirror

Rear view mirror. Driving just under 700 miles twice this past week, through sun and rain and snow, had me spending a lot of my time looking in the rear view mirror of the car. Driving in bad conditions like rain and snow makes you concentrate on what is going on behind you for safety reasons. You never know when you might have to change lanes quickly to avoid something or slow down quickly because of stopped traffic, and knowing where cars behind you are located is important. It’s just as important to know what’s going on behind you as it is to know what is going on in front of you.

I’ve heard it mentioned that the front windshield is so much larger than the rear view mirror because where you are going is more important than where you have been. That statement is mostly true, but our past experiences are important in making our future decisions. Our past failures and successes help us make better decisions on our future. But we should not spend too much time worrying about the things in our rear view mirror, we should learn from them and move on.

“Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead” - Philippians 3:13. The Apostle Paul stated that he forgot what was already behind him (his past failures) and instead continued to strive toward those things that God had prepared for him that lie ahead. If anyone could have looked back on his life and regretted some of the things he had done, it was Paul. However, he left them behind and pressed forward.

Are there things in your rear view mirror that are keeping you from moving forward into the things that God has already prepared for you?  Do you keep looking back instead of looking forward?  Take the example of Paul, forget those things and move forward toward the prize. God has great things planned for you through the front windshield of life. “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” - Ephesians 2:10.

Have a great day and God bless.

Hometown

Hometown. After a harrowing journey on Sunday, we finally made it to my hometown in upstate New York. It was nice to pull off of the exit after spending two hours battling through a snowstorm driving through Pennsylvania. So much of my hometown is still the same as it was when I lived here twenty-five years ago, but there are quite a few things that have changed. One of the things that has changed the most is me!  I’m not the same person I was when I left this place. I left here completely against all things religious and now I come back each year as a born-again child of God.

I don’t believe the same things I used to, I don’t talk the same way I used to and I don’t act the same way I used to. My worldview has changed, I now see the world through the lens of scripture. I look at things and how they relate to the truth of God’s Word. Relationships get harder when you come home and people think you are still the same person you were when you left but you’re not. Most people I am close to understand who I have become and respect that I’m not who I used to be.

I think of Christ, as He grew up the son of a carpenter and then left His hometown. Once His ministry began, He was no longer the Jesus the people remembered Him to be. He left the son of Joseph and returned the Son of God. People had a hard time believing He was the promised Messiah because they had known Him since He was a boy.

“‘Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?’ And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, ‘A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.’ And he did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief.” - Matthew 13:55-58.

I’m in no way comparing myself to Jesus, I’m comparing my situation of going home to the response He had when He returned as well. Neither of us were the same when we returned as we were when we left. Have you left your hometown as a different person than you are today?  I know how you feel.

Have a great day and God bless.

Salesman

Salesman. Within the first seventy-two hours of being in our brand new house, three security system salesmen rang our doorbell to try and sell us new home security systems.  The first one showed up while we were unpacking the moving truck, he came walking right down the driveway with his company literature. Another one rang the doorbell the following day and one more two days later. They must be in cahoots with either the real estate agents or the moving companies.

There’s nothing like moving into a new home and being pestered by salesmen trying to sell you something else after you just spent loads of money on a new house. I understand that they have to make a living and the best time to sell a security system is when someone first moves in, but they could at least give us a week or two!  I’m not a big fan of salesmen in the first place, whether it’s selling cars, furniture or Girl Scout Cookies (just kidding on the cookies). I always feel like I’m getting only one side of the story: the positive.

When we witness to others about Christ, do you think we come across as salesmen?  Are people turned off from Christianity because we can be too pushy or we “sell” them on only the positive things about a relationship with Christ?  Do we make it seem like all the troubles of the world will go away when they become Christians?  Nobody is going to “buy” that, they understand that life is still hard as a Christian. “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world." - John 16:33.

Don’t “sell” Jesus, witness to people about how accepting Jesus as your Savior changed your life. Tell them who you were before Christ and who you are now with Him. Tell them that life isn’t always easy, even after becoming a Christian, but that you now have someone to turn to in times of trouble that understands. “For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.” - Hebrews 2:18. Tell them that your relationship with Christ is about eternal blessings and not earthly blessings. People are much more open about hearing your experiences than they are being “sold” something. No one can ever argue with what Christ has done for you.

Have a great day and God bless.

Adoption

Adoption. November is National Adoption Month. I’m not an adopted child, my parents are my biological mother and father, but I have had the opportunity over the years to know people who have adopted and who are adopted. I was a teenager when one of our close family friends adopted a small boy from the Midwest, and years later another boy. I remember them bringing him home and getting to meet him. His adopted parents were so excited to have him in their family since they couldn’t have their own biological children. It was an exciting time for our family too as we welcomed in a new member to our extended family.

I know that there are people that are probably reading this post that were adopted as small children or maybe have adopted children of their own. Stories vary from person to person on the effects that an adoption had on their lives. Some stories involve children taken out of some very bad situations and brought into warm and loving homes. For every one hundred of those stories, there are stories of adoption not working out as well. I want to focus on the positive changes that adoption has had on so many lives. The future of some of these children have changed forever because of the love of people who adopt and provide a better life.

Spiritually, if you have put your faith in Christ, you are adopted as well. God’s Word talks a lot about being adopted into the family of God. The Apostle Paul talked often about adoption. “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’  So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.” - Galatians 4:4-7.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.” - Ephesians 1:3-6.

For those of you who have been adopted by earthly parents, happy National Adoption Month. For those of us who have been adopted by God when we put our faith and trust in the death, burial and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ; happy eternal adoption. I can’t wait to meet each of you in eternity.

Have a great day and God bless.

Holy Water

Holy water. I heard a new song on the radio called “Holy Water” and it brought me back to my youth. Growing up and playing baseball with the same group of guys for most of my childhood, there was one mother that was a very devout Catholic. When we played on all-star teams, she would bring holy water to all the games and use it on our bats, our gloves and on people themselves. I wasn’t a religious person at that time, so it didn’t really do anything for me but get me wet. We were very successful as a team but I’m pretty sure it didn’t have anything to do with the holy water.

Whether the other guys on the team believed that the holy water helped them play better or not, I couldn’t tell you. But, knowing what I do now about the Bible, I’m know that the holy water had nothing to do with our success. The outcome of our baseball game was not a priority to God. He has no interest in who wins or loses ball games, He does have an interest in how we glorify Him.

I’m not convinced in the power of holy water, but I am convinced in the power of the Living Water!  “Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water." The woman said to him, "Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water?” - John 4:10-11.

“Jesus said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water." - John 4:13-15.

Have you drank from the Living Water?  The water that will never make you thirst again?  Jesus Christ is the Living Water that we need to be drinking of, not the rotten water of this world.

Have a great day and God bless.

Simple

Simple. I don’t know about you, but I like things when they are simple. Like instructions on putting something together or directions on how to get somewhere. I like books that are simple to read and don’t take a lot of brain power to understand. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes I like things that are challenging too, but there are times when simple is just better. The Bible can be both simple and difficult at the same time.

The Gospel message is simple to understand: we are sinners that need a Savior in the person of Jesus Christ. There are parts of the Bible, like the book of Daniel and the book of Revelation, that can be very difficult to understand because of all the symbolism. Imagine living in the times of the Old Testament and having to live under the Law. There were thousands of things that you could and could not do. Who could remember them all? The point was you couldn’t, that’s why we need a Savior.

The New Testament makes it pretty simple for the Christian to abide by. Jesus narrows it down to just two rules: “‘Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?’ And he said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.’” - Matthew 22:36-40.

That’s how simple it is to be a Christian: love God and love your neighbor!  That’s it!  It doesn’t tell us to choose who to love out of all the people, it doesn’t tell us to love people that think and believe like we do, and it doesn’t tell us to love people that look like us; it tells us to love our neighbor. When we love others like Christ loves us, we are never more like Him then at that moment. Jesus loved all of the people that society thought were unloveable: the tax collectors, the adulterous, the sick and the lame. He loved them because He knew His Father loved them.

Have you loved your neighbor today?  The neighbor that doesn’t believe the same things you do?  The neighbor that doesn’t look like you do?  The neighbor that doesn’t go to the same “church” you do?  God loves them, so should you.

Have a great day and God bless.

Revival?

Revival?  For years, major stars from the movie industry, the music industry and the athletic industry have been outspoken about their anti-Christian views. We have heard from actors and actresses, musicians and athletes that push views that go against God’s Word, but there seems to be a new wave of these people coming to Christ. Only they know if their conversion is real or not, and so does God, but our job should not be to cast doubt on their new found salvation. We should support them in prayer.

Recent big name converts like Justin Bieber, Kanye West and Lamar Odom possibly show an opportunity for revival in this country. People like these three men are put high on pedestals and young people are highly influenced by the things they do and say. The conversion of these men, and others, can have a profound impact for Christ. It is still the truth of God’s Word and the convicting work of the Holy Spirit that draws people to God, but the publicity that these men are getting could spur an interest in seeking God.

“And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.”- Acts 2:17-18.

Are we seeing the last great revival of our time where many hearts will turn back to God before Christ returns to bring His Bride home?  I pray that we are for two reasons. First, it means that many will be saved before it is eternally too late. And second, it means we are that much closer to the return of our Savior and the rapture of the church.

Pray for revival to break out, not only in our country, but across the world, as the universal church continues to grow. “For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.
Therefore encourage one another with these words.” - 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18.

Have a great day and God bless.

Masterpiece

Masterpiece. Have you ever wished you were cleaning out your house and found something that looked like trash only to find out it was worth millions?  That happened to a ninety year old French woman a few weeks ago. Getting ready to move, the old Renaissance painting of Jesus Hanging in her hallway was heading to the dump if it wasn’t appraised within the week before the move. The appraiser thought it was worth some money, but when it sold for $26.8 million, it was a much greater treasure than he even imagined.

Imagine having that treasure sitting in your house for decades, thinking it was nothing more than a flea market find, only to find out at the end of your life it was worth millions?  It made me wonder what her life would have been like if she knew about that painting fifty years ago. Would she have sold it and spent the rest of her years living in the lap of luxury on the French Riviera?  Or would she have used the money to help those in need or started a shelter for abandoned children?  We’ll never know!

It reminded me of the story of the man who found a treasure and sold everything he had to get it. “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” - Matthew 13:44.

Or what about the merchant that found the pearl. “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.” - Matthew 13:45-46.

When we finally realize the treasure that is available to us when we put our faith in Christ, are we willing to give everything else away to possess what He makes available to us? When we accept Him as our Savior, we become His masterpiece.  Isn’t that a wonderful trade-off?

Have a great day and God bless.

The Dash

The Dash. I’ve seen many people posting over the last few days about the loss of friends and loved ones. There have been those that were young that passed away and there were those that were old that passed away. I don’t think death is easy, no matter what age a person is when they pass away. Death is something that none of us are going to avoid, unless Christ comes back to call home His bride. So how do we live our lives between those two dates that end up on our headstone?  That dash that separates our birth date and our death date represents our lives, how are we going to live out “the dash”?

Now, you won’t find anything in Scripture talking about “the dash” because headstones in a graveyard didn’t exist during Biblical times; that is rather new to history. However, we will find many references in the Bible to living out our lives to the glory of God. “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” - Romans 12:1-2.

God has given us breath and life for this particular day to use to bring honor and glory to Him. We are not promised tomorrow, so if we are given another day when we awake, we must use it to add to the kingdom of God. “Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit’ - yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.” - James 4:13-14.

What are you doing during “the dash”?  How will people look at your life when it’s over and describe to others what your “dash” meant to them?  We may have been kind of slack so far in building our “dash”, but if the Lord blesses us with another day tomorrow, it can be the first day of building our “dash”.

Have a great day and God bless.

Wildfires

Wildfires. As I watch the news reports coming out of California about the wildfires, I think of our current customers that live and work in that area. I think about how their lives are now completely focused on the potential dangers at hand. I have heard that multiple major highways in the area have been shutdown making it difficult and slow to get from one place to another. I think about how some have had to evacuate their homes, with all their possessions left behind, to seek safety in a different location. How they do not know if they will come back to their homes in the same condition they left them?

I’ve never had to experience something like that and I pray that I never will. But that doesn’t change my concern for them and their safety. Not only for their safety (people I hardly know that well other than work) but also the safety of their families. Being completely on the other side of the country leaves me in a position of not being able to help. The most I can do is pray for their safety and the safety of their families and their belongings. All belongings can be replaced, but lives can’t.

What if our concern for the eternal safety of our friends and family matched up with our concern for their temporary safety?  Would we live our lives with more purpose of spreading the Gospel and it’s eternal saving power if we knew the threat was as eminent?  I’m not only posting this for you, but for myself as well. Am I doing what I need to do to bring Christ to others before it’s eternally too late?

The Bible gives us a detailed description of what Hell is like and it’s not a party like some think it’s going to be. “The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” - Matthew 13:41-42.

“"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.’” - Matthew 25:41.

Eternity in a literal place called “Hell” is real and people who reject Christ will spend it there. What are we doing to spread the message of the saving grace of God to keep as many from going there as we can?  If you are like me, the answer is “Not enough!”

Have a great day and God bless.

Lost

Lost. Have you ever been somewhere that you are somewhat familiar with but not totally comfortable driving in and got lost? Happened to me today. I’m very comfortable driving from the airport to the hotel and to the plant, but have me drive somewhere that I haven’t been and I’m not feeling it. I got a bit lost this evening return from a restaurant to the hotel. I missed a turn and found myself on a back road I wasn’t familiar with. I kept going straight until I came to a landmark I knew near the hotel and then I was back on track.

We can get lost in our spiritual walk sometimes as well. We go through the normal routine that we are familiar with sometimes just out of habit. We say our prayers the same time every day, we may read our Bibles each day, we go to church on a normal routine but then something happens we become lost. Not lost in a sense that we aren’t saved, but lost in a sense that we can’t hear or sense God in our lives.

We may end up wandering in that state for a while just staying straight on the road we are traveling until we find something in our lives that is familiar and we can get back on track. We may find ourselves so lost spiritually that we may need to stop and ask for directions from someone who is on the right path. It’s okay to feel that way sometimes, I think we all go through it. The important thing is that we realize it as soon as possible and search to get back to God. “I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek your servant, for I do not forget your commandments.” - Psalm 119:176.

Maybe you are really lost and don’t know if God is even in your life. God sent His Son to save those that are lost. “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost." - Luke 19:10. He is waiting for you to put your trust and faith in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. If you are lost, seek Him and He will find you.

Have a great day and God bless.

Near to God

Near to God. As I flew recently, I sat by the window and looked out most of the way at the terrain some thirty-five thousand feet below. It’s amazing what you can see from that far up that is probably hours worth of driving to cover. As I sat there, I thought about how close I was to God being that far above the ground. And then I corrected myself that I was no closer to God in that airplane as I was before I took off. God is close to believers at all times because we have the third person of the Trinity living inside us.

Maybe it was the amazing view that got my mind confused about being closer to God at that moment, I don’t know, but I liked the fact that being close to God came to my mind. As believers, there isn’t anywhere we can go that God isn’t near to us. “If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,  even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.” - Psalm 139:8-10. The psalmist had it right, that no matter where we go, God is there.

We draw close to God when we seek Him in His Word and in prayer. God never has a need to draw close to us because He never moves, but we do and because of that we have to seek Him in order to draw closer. “But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, that I may tell of all your works.” - Psalm 73:28.

Have you found yourself feeling like you are no longer as near to God as you once were?  Is there something in your life that has broken fellowship with God?  Confess your sins and seek His face, draw near to Him and you will once again feel His presence. “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” - James 4:8.

Have a great day and God bless.

LEGOs

LEGOs. For the past two days, the kids have had all the LEGOs out in my little guy’s room building all sorts of things. It’s been a LEGO minefield trying to get from one side of the room to the other. They’ve built all different items but set out yesterday in building a house. By the end of the night they had themselves a nice house built from the LEGOs. Of course there was some arguing along the way on how to go about building it, but when it was all said and done, they made a very nice house that they are still playing with tonight.

Luckily, my daughter has some understanding that my son has yet to figure out. He wanted to build the bottom smaller than he wanted to build the top. Of course, that’s going to lead to a house that is not going to be very sturdy. My daughter understands that for the house to be built correctly it has to have a bigger and stronger base than the top of the house. It made me think of the teachings of Jesus on building a house.

“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it." - Matthew 7:24-27.

When we build our house upon the Rock of God, the foundation is sturdy and can withstand any storm that may come, just like the house my daughter made out of the LEGOs. However, when we build our house on the sand of this world, when storms come the house falls because the foundation is not built on God and His Word, just like the house my son wanted to build.

What foundation have you built your life on?  Have you designed and built it upon the promises of God found in the Bible or have you built it on the sand that this world wants you to believe in?  Storms will come and your faith will be tested, but God is faithful to those who build upon Him.

Have a great day and God bless.

Pause

Pause. I was flipping through the channels the other day to find something for the kids to watch while I was working on something else. I came across a family favorite, The Andy Griffith Show, so I stopped it there for them to watch. It was the episode about the guest preacher that had come to town and filled in at Mayberry’s church. He preached on how fast paced their world had become (if he could only see it now) and how we needed to slow down and enjoy some down time.

It sort of went along with the post I shared earlier about the “pause” and how at certain times of our lives we should “pause”, and when we “pause”, we should pray. This world we live in now is definitely more fast paced than the time period of Andy Griffith, and if they thought they needed to slow down then, how much more do we need to do the same today. We want everything done now, we want our kids to participate in everything they can, and we want to fill our schedules until we don’t understand why we don’t have any time.

“Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!” - Psalm 37:7. Be still, that’s a novel idea. Wait patiently, there’s another one. Why do we have to constantly have to be on the go?

“Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.” - James 5:7-8.

We need to spend more time being still so that God can speak to us. It’s not in the busyness of our lives that He speaks to us, but in the stillness of our lives that we hear from Him. “And he said, "Go out and stand on the mount before the LORD." And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper.” - 1 Kings 19:11-12.

Have a great day and God bless.

Stuff

Stuff. You want to know how much stuff you’ve accumulated over the years - move!  It’s amazing how many things you have that you rarely use, that you didn’t even know you had. Neither my wife nor I would consider ourselves hoarders in any way, yet here we are with more “stuff” than we need or want. As you can imagine, all of that stuff has resulted in trips to Goodwill and the landfill.

It made me think of the story of the rich young ruler found in the Bible. It was such an important story that Matthew, Mark and Luke included it in their Gospels. It’s a story about how much of an affect “stuff” can have in our lives. I’m not talking about hoarding type “stuff”, I mean the desire to have more things, things we could do without. Here’s the story:

“And behold, a man came up to him, saying, ‘Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?’ And he said to him, ‘Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.’ He said to him, ‘Which ones?’ And Jesus said, ‘You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ The young man said to him, ‘All these I have kept. What do I still lack?’ Jesus said to him, ‘If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.’ When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.” - Matthew 19:16-22.

It wasn’t the “stuff” that was keeping this young man out of Heaven, it was his faith in that “stuff”. Jesus wanted him to put his faith in Him instead of his possessions, but the rich young man couldn’t trust that what Jesus was offering was better than all that he had. Because of this, it said that the young man went away sorrowful because he was rich.

What you have is not as important as who you have!  If you don’t have Christ as your personal Savior, all your “stuff” means nothing. If you have Christ, you understand that all your “stuff” belongs to Him anyway and we are just stewards of it. We will be much more willing to let go of our stuff the sooner we understand that.

Have a great day and God bless.

A View

A view. As I was flying back yesterday, I sat in the only seat in my row which happened to be a window seat. I usually always book an aisle seat when I travel because of the leg room I need with my bad knees. So, I don’t usually get to look out the window while flying, but yesterday was different. As I flew the twenty minutes from one airport to the other, I watched the familiar terrain below us. I took a picture of the awesome view as I started to think about God’s creation.

Because it was such a short flight, I think we only climbed to about 9000 feet, so you could still see the details of things below. I saw little towns, I saw farmlands and I saw larger cities. In between were the woods and rivers created by God. “And God said, ‘Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.’ And it was so. The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.bAnd there was evening and there was morning, the third day.” - Genesis 1:11-13.

I couldn’t help but think of God’s creation as I looked down on it in amazement at how beautiful it was. I can’t imagine how anyone could believe that all of creation appeared by happenstance. There is so much design in creation that it points to a Creator. “For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.” - Romans 1:20.

Sometimes we need to stop and look at the creation that was made by God, knowing that what we see now is not what was originally made. We now live in a world under a curse that affects the real beauty of God’s creation. “For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.” - Romans 8:22.

Have a great day and God bless.

First Class

First class. For the first time ever, I got to sit in first class today on one of the legs of my flight. Of course it was the shortest leg, only a twenty minute flight, but it was still first class. Due to my recent travels, I have secured quite a few miles and have moved up in rank to get automatic upgrades. But, because I’m so new to the upgrades, they are usually filled by other people ahead of me before they ever get to my name. So, while I get the perks of automatic upgrades, I’ve never actually received the perk of sitting in first class; until today.

My original seat was all the way in the back of the plane, in row nineteen. I was sitting there and a lady came and sat at the window seat next to me and we started up the normal conversation with someone who sits next to you: heading home? where you coming from? how long you been gone? - stuff like that. All of a sudden the guy from the check-in counter was walking down the aisle looking for someone in a particular seat. He stopped at my seat and asked my name. When I told him, he said, “would you like to upgrade to first class?”  I didn’t hesitate in agreeing to the seat change.

As I walked from the back of the plane to the front, I’m sure people were watching to see where I was off to. The others that had been seated in first class sort of looked at me funny when I made my way into their protected territory. They were probably asking themselves why I was getting to move up to the empty first class seat. Some of them probably understood that I was next on the list for the upgrade, but it felt like I was looked at sort of funny for joining their group so late.

It made me think of church. When the invitation is given and people come from the back up to the altar, I think about when I did it for the first time. You wonder what people are thinking as you walk past them to the front. We tend to think the worst - that they’re living in some sort of sin and are there to confess of their wrongdoing. They may be there for that reason but they may also be there praying for a loved one who is lost or they may be praying for something in their life that has nothing to do with sin. Why do we automatically think the worst?

“‘Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.’” - Matthew 7:1-5.

Have a great day and God bless.

Stone Walls

Stone walls. As I was driving through Connecticut this afternoon, I passed through a bunch of small towns as I went along some back country roads. You could tell these were old towns that had probably been around since shortly before or after the Revolutionary War. The style of the houses were just beautiful and in this one town there was a two foot stone wall around the outside of each of the properties. It was just awesome. I thought about how long ago those walls were built.

Not only were the walls built possibly hundreds of years ago, but they were still standing just like when they were first built. I’m sure that some maintenance has been done to them to repair places that may have come apart over the years. I also started thinking about the people who built those walls. These were probably men that had very few tools to construct these walls that still stood where they were built. I don’t know who they were, whether they were masons by trade or the owners of the houses themselves, but whoever built them has left a legacy for many generations.

As Christians, we have legacies that we leave within our own families. I know my wife continues a legacy that started many generations before her. As for me, I am the starter of the legacy for my children from my side of the family. As I said before, I didn’t grow up in a Christian family where a legacy had been established. The legacy from my side of the family starts with me. It is important to remember those that came before us and built upon those before them in establishing a Christian legacy in our families. Maybe you are like me, the first in your family to become a Christian. Or maybe you’re like my wife, the continuation of a legacy that started generations ago. Either way, continuing that legacy is of utmost importance.

“A good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children” - Proverbs 13:22a.

What we teach our children about Christ and leading them to a personal relationship with Him, is the best inheritance we can leave them. That legacy is greater than all the gold and silver and jewels in the world because it is an eternal treasure. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” - 1 Peter 1:3-5.

Have a great day and God bless.

Bad Decisions

Bad decisions. I have to admit, I’ve made my share of bad decisions in my life, both before I became a Christian and after. I think we can all admit to making bad decisions in our lives at some point in time. Some of us may have made more than our fair share, but does making bad decisions make us a bad person?  It’s amazing how many good decisions you can make that no one pays any attention to, but make one bad decision and that’s all you are remembered for. Why do bad decisions seem to stick in people’s minds but our good one’s don’t?

There are plenty of Biblical stories of “good” people making bad decisions that tends to be something they are remembered for. I think of King David and all the good that he had done for Israel when he became king and then he makes that bad decision involving Bathsheba. Because of that the child dies. Or what about Moses, he does all those great things to lead Israel out of bondage and then hits the rock twice for water when he had been instructed only to hit it once. Because of that he’s not allowed to enter into the Promised Land.

I think of the Apostle Peter as well. After all he had done and seen with Jesus, he tells Him he would never deny Him. But, when the time came in the courtyard of Jesus’ trial, he is accused of being one of Christ’s disciples and he denies it, not once but three times. A bad decision made by a good person. It could have been the end of his story right there, but Christ restores him back to good standing.

“When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." He said to him, "Feed my lambs." He said to him a second time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." He said to him, "Tend my sheep." He said to him the third time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, "Do you love me?" and he said to him, "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep.”- John 21:15-17.

Have you made bad decisions in your life?  Have you felt like you let your Savior down like Peter did?  Christ will restore you back to good standing with the Father, all you need to do is confess your sins and ask for forgiveness. He will restore you so that you can continue to do good works to glorify His name.

Have a great day and God bless.

Fantasy Football

Fantasy football. Maybe some of you play fantasy football in a league with your buddies from work, or from college or maybe from high school. Maybe some of you have spouses that play fantasy football and it drives you crazy the amount of time they spend worrying about it. I spend too much time worrying about it too and then get frustrated on Sundays when my “players” don’t do well. And it’s all make believe when it comes down to it, they’re not “my” players and could care less about my score.

I’ve had people tell me that they think the Bible is all “fantasy”. It’s filled with nice fairy tales to make Christians feel good about themselves and unbelievers feel bad about themselves, they say. Maybe you have heard scoffers say something similar about their beliefs about the Word of God. If they don’t believe the Bible is true and it’s the Word of God, it is hard to reach them trying to use scripture because they don’t believe it to begin with.

The Bible has been proven true over and over again that it is not fantasy. Extrabiblical accounts match up to historical events and people that are mentioned in the Bible to prove its authenticity. Archeological finds have proven that long believed errors in the Bible were actually true and just needed to be found to prove it. The writings of Luke have long believed to be completely inaccurate according to history, but more and more of his writings are becoming proven fact.

God even tells us that His Word is true and accurate, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” - 2 Timothy 3:16-17.

Even though the Bible was physically written by men, the content was given to them by inspiration of the Holy Spirit. “And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” - 2 Peter 1:19-21.

So even though some believe that the Bible is “fantasy”, we know from God’s own Word, and from recent proof, that it is not. It is true, every word of it.

Have a great day and God bless.

Late

Late. I hate being late to anything. I hate being late to work, I hate being late to events, I hate being late to church, I just hate that feeling of being behind schedule. I woke up a lot later than I normally do this morning and it just made me feel like I was behind schedule even though there were really no plans to be late for. I think I get it from my father, he always had to be somewhere thirty minutes before it was time. Being late doesn’t bother some people at all, but it makes me edgy. Are you and early person or does the clock not matter to you?

God is never late!  Have you ever thought about that?  We seem to always want God to show up on our timing and not His own. We think that things have to be done according to our schedule not realizing that our schedule may be the wrong timing - ask Mary and Martha. The story of Lazarus’ death reminds us that God’s timing is always right on time. Jesus could have shown up while Lazarus was sick and healed him, but He had something better that needed to be done. So when He shows up four days after Lazarus had already been in the grave, He was met with some questions.

“Jesus said, ‘Take away the stone.’ Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, ‘Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?’ So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, ‘Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.’ When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out.’” - John 11:39-43.

Are you waiting on God to show up in your life to deal with an issue you have?  Do you feel like he has left you alone to deal with this on your own?  Don’t give up, God always shows up right on time, even when we think He is too late. God has something He wants to reveal to not only you, but maybe to others as well, so that He May be glorified.

Have a great day and God bless.

Rescue

Rescue. There was a story on the news and the internet the other day about a dog that had to be rescued from a hiking trip in the mountains. A 190 pound mastiff went hiking with its owner and about halfway through the trip became too tired to finish the hike back. Rescue crews had to be sent up to carry the huge dog back down the mountain. As you can imagine, the terrain isn’t really suitable for hiking down a mountain carrying 190 pounds of dog!  The story did end successfully and the dog was able to go back home with its owner.

I can’t count the number of times that God has had to rescue me from things that I got myself into without thinking it all the way through. I’m sure, just like the rescuers of the dog, there had to be some times that God muttered under His breath, “what were you thinking?”  But no matter the situation, God is a willing rescuer of those that need Him.

All those stories of David when he was anointed king but Saul was still on the throne. How he was hunted down and pursued by Saul and his men trying to kill him. “He rescued me from my strong enemy and from those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me.” - Psalm 18:17. Once he became king, and his children were grown, he was still chased out of Jerusalem by his own son trying to kill him. In all those moments, God rescued him from his enemies. Most of the Psalms are about those trying times.

As Christians, we have a Rescuer too, that goes by the name of Jesus Christ. He rescues us from the penalty of our sins. He rescues us from times of trouble in our lives. And He rescues us from things we won’t even know about until it’s revealed to us in eternity. “The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.” - 2 Timothy 4:18.

More than anything, He wants to hear the words of the unsaved crying out to Him to be rescued from their sins. Just like the psalmist wrote, “In your righteousness deliver me and rescue me; incline your ear to me, and save me!” - Psalm 71:2.  He wants to save you from the penalty of your sins. Cry out to Him to rescue you and He will hear you and save you!

Have a great day and God bless.

So Good to Me

So good to me. In the midst of our everyday life, the complaining about various things like politics, the weather, our jobs and whatever else bothers us, do we ever stop and realize how good God has been to us?  I don’t mean in a material way like money or possessions; I mean in a spiritual way. Have you stopped and thought where your eternity would lie if God wasn’t so good to us in sending His Son?  Sometimes it just overwhelms me when I think about the fact that before time began, He thought about me and made a way for me to have a personal relationship with Him through Jesus Christ.

God has been so good to me even though I don’t deserve it. His blessing doesn’t have anything to do with what I have and has everything to do with where I am going. In all honesty, I’ve never gone hungry, I’ve never been homeless and I’ve never been without the things I need to survive; God has provided for all my needs. He is the Bread of Life, He is the Shelter in a time of storms and He’s the Living Water. He meets all our spiritual needs.

“But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, that I may tell of all your works.” - Psalm 73:28.

“The LORD is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made.” - Psalm 145:9.

“And Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.’” - Luke 18:19.

Have you paused recently to think about how good God has been to you?  The fact that He loves you so much He sent His Son to pay for your sins. He loves you and wants what is good for you, more than you want what is good for yourself. Take time to praise Him for being so good to you.

Have a great day and God bless.

Packing

Packing. Well, we are now two weeks away from having to move out of our house. As you can imagine, it’s getting a lot more serious now as we get closer to the closing date. The packing up of our stuff has begun and we have started moving it to a storage unit since we have about a week between moving out of the old house and moving into the new one. My wife has done most of the packing the past week and I couldn’t be more grateful to her for doing it on her own while I’m at work.

You never really understand how much stuff you have, that you never use, until you start packing up your house. Along with packing the stuff we are taking with us, we have made some trips to the landfill to get rid of the stuff that we’ve held onto all these years for no reason. Neither one us are pack rats that hold on to thing for years, so it was kind of surprising that we actually had so much “junk”. We’ve had to be selective of what we were going to bring and what we were going to get rid off.

When our time comes to leave this earth, either through death or the return of our Lord and Savior, there will be nothing physical that we will be taking with us to Heaven. I’ve heard it said many times, “you never see a U-haul following behind a hearse”.  All that we own will be left to someone else to sort out when we are gone. However, there will be some things that we can bring to Heaven with us: other believers that came to Christ because of our witness.

“For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you? For you are our glory and joy.” - 1 Thessalonians 2:19-20. When the Apostle Paul wrote to the Thessalonian believers, he called them his “crown” that he would be able to boast about when the Lord came back. He could boast because they would be in Heaven with him because of his sharing the Gospel with them and their acceptance of Christ. Paul wasn’t worried about possessions he would take with him to Heaven, he was worried about souls that would be in Heaven because of his sharing the Gospel.

When you stand before Christ to give an account of your life, who will step forward on that day and say, “I am here because you shared the Gospel of Jesus Christ with me”?  The most important thing we can pack for our trip to Heaven is the souls of others - friends and family. Have you started packing yet for your move?

Have a great day and God bless.

Change

Change. I’m not talking about “the times they are a changin’” as Bob Dylan sang about, although I could. It’s that time of the year where you see visible changes almost every day. The temperature has changed in the mornings. The leaves are changing colors. The amount of daylight is changing. We can all see a change in our world during this time of the year. We can feel it, we can smell it and we can taste it (if you’re a pumpkin spice addict). What about you, can people see a change in you since you have become a Christian?

For the most part, when we put our faith in Jesus Christ as our personal Savior, there is no physical outside change that happens. You don’t get this glow that appears around you, nor do you get a halo that shows up over your head. It may put a smile on the face of someone that was once always sad or grumpy, but other than that, nothing physically happens. The change that takes place is usually internal. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” - 2 Corinthians 5:17.

I think of the story of the Apostle Paul in the book of Acts. How he went around arresting people of “the Way” and putting them in prison because of their belief in Christ. But, when Christ showed up on the road to Damascus, a change occurred in Paul that would change the history of the world. There was an immediate change in him after those scales were removed from his eyes three days after meeting Christ. The change was so drastic, people had a hard time believing it was true. “And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, ‘He is the Son of God.’ And all who heard him were amazed and said, ‘Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem of those who called upon this name? And has he not come here for this purpose, to bring them bound before the chief priests?’” - Acts 9:20-21.

Can you remember back to when you accepted Christ as your Savior, are you the same person you used to be, or has there been such a change in you that people are skeptical?  We should see a change from who we once were, to who we are now. Our thoughts should be different, our words should be different and our lives should be different. Are you different now that you met Jesus?  Have you changed?

Have a great day and God bless.

Hardships

Hardships. Have you ever wondered why God allows you to go through things that are hard in life; trials and tribulations you thought you would avoid once you became a Christian?  Why do we suffer the same things that those that don’t belong to Christ do?  Shouldn’t we have an “advocate” that protects us from these types of things?  We go through divorce, financial issues, the death of loved ones, the loss of jobs just like the rest of the world does, but why?

One of my favorite section of verses in the Bible gives us insight as to why we go through trials and tribulations as Christians. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.” - 2 Corinthians 1:3-5.

There are things in my life that I wish I never had to go through and I hope I never have to go through them again, Lord willing. But those trials and tribulations produced in me the ability to comfort those that go through it after me. How much easier is it to talk to someone who has lost a spouse if you have lost one too? Or how much can you comfort someone going through a divorce when you have already gone through one yourself?

Sometimes the trials and tribulations that we go through aren’t always about us. How we handle those trials can serve as a witness to our faith in Christ to those watching who are not believers. It can also serve as an experience for a future event involving someone else that goes through the same trial. The Bible never promises us a trial free life, it actually promises the opposite, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world." - John 16:33.

Are you going through trials and tribulations now brothers and sisters?  What can you do to be a witness for Christ through the midst of it?  What can you learn from it to support other who will go through the same thing later?  “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.”- Romans 8:28-29.

Have a great day and God bless.

Embarrassed

Embarrassed. Have you ever done something out in public that was embarrassing and you looked around to see if anyone else saw you do it?  That happened to me tonight. I was at a hardware store and was loading the things I bought into the trunk of my car. I picked up one of the items that was extremely heavy and when I did the big metal cart that it was on rolled right into my shin. If you have ever been hit in the shin, you know that feeling of instant pain (even after playing soccer for 20 years, it still hurts).

So after I got all of the stuff in my trunk and limped my way over to where you return the carts in the parking lot, I made my way to my car. With my shin still stinging from getting hit, I decided I would pull up my pant leg to make sure I didn’t cut myself. As I bent over to look at my leg, I opened the car door and the corner of the door hit me right in the forehead. There was no cut on my leg, but now I have a big cut across the left side of my forehead. After the sudden flood of pain that came from hitting my head, I realized I was in the middle of a parking lot, so I looked around to see if anyone caught this comedy show.

I didn’t see anyone in their cars laughing hysterically, but they could have been doubled over in the passenger seat trying to catch their breath. Even though it didn’t seem anyone witnessed that event, I was still embarrassed by the stupidity I had just taken part in. I got in the car real quick and found some napkins to stop the bleeding. The bleeding stopped before the feeling of being embarrassed did.

The Bible tells us of a group of people that will one day feel that same embarrassment as I did today, except to a much greater degree and with a more serious consequence. “Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.'” - Matthew 7:21-23.

The embarrassment of thinking that you are a Christian because of your works will one day be exposed on that fateful day. Those that did not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ will be turned away. Those that believed their “works” would be enough to save them will face the embarrassment of being not known by the Savior. There will be many in that day who had masqueraded as Christians only to be exposed that they truly were not. Don’t be those people! Stop relying on your works to save you and give your life to Christ.

Have a great day and God bless.

Firsts

Firsts. Today was a day of firsts. We had a soccer game this morning with the U5 team my son plays on. We have eight players on the team and only three play at a time. All eight players were able to score a goal today, three of them scored a goal for the first time this year. Our best player, who could have scored twenty goals himself, was very unselfish by getting the ball to the goal and letting the other players score. I’ve never seen a four year old be so concerned about his teammates. It was an awesome show of putting others before yourself and a four year old helped us to remember that.

Then, this afternoon, the very first friend I ever had in my life posted pictures of one of her birthday parties and tagged me in the post. It was so awesome to go back to those days and remember first friends like that, especially when you haven’t seen them in almost 30 years. We remember the things that happened in our lives that were “firsts”. They tend to stand out so vividly in our minds. “Firsts” are important to us and they are to God.

“Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce” - Proverbs 3:9. God wants the best of what we have. He wants us to bring to Him the firstfruits of our lives. He doesn’t want what is leftover, like an afterthought, He wants the best. He wants to be first and foremost in what we give to Him. He wants to know that we see Him as the most important part of our lives. When we give Him what we have left, we show Him that what we want is more important to us than what He has commanded us to give.

“Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.” - James 1:18. The Bible describes believers as Christ’s firstfruit. Christ, himself, is also described as the firstfruit of the Resurrection as a promise that we too will be resurrected when the time comes. “But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” - 1 Corinthians 15:20.

Just like we remember the things in our lives that were “firsts”, God wants to be first in all that we do and say.

Have a great day and God bless.

Fall

Fall. I have to admit this is my favorite time of year out of all of the seasons. No, it’s not because of anything flavored with pumpkin or spice; I don’t even drink coffee. I love the smell of fall. I love the cool mornings and the warm afternoons. I love the smell of burning leaves (weird, I know). I love sweatshirts. Fall brings back a lot of memories for me growing up in upstate New York. Fall isn’t quite the same down here in North Carolina. Fall doesn’t show up like it does in New York.

The changing of seasons remind me of the main theme of the Bible: death and rebirth. “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” - John 12:24. You can’t have a rebirth unless you first have a death. Living in farm country, it’s easy to understand the saying of Christ. In order for the rebirth of the wheat, the seed has to be put in the ground to die so it can once again bear fruit.

“Jesus answered them, ‘Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.’” - John 2:19. Jesus understood that for Him to be reborn into glory, He was first going to have to pay the penalty for sin and die a substitutionary death on the Cross. It would only be after His death that He could bear much fruit. That fruit is you and I when we accept Him as our Savior.

We are told that, we too, must die. Not physically, but spiritually. “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.” - 1 Peter 2:24.  We have to die to the sin nature we have and take on the righteousness of Christ. Have you died to sin?  Have you been born again?

Have a great day and God bless.

Suspenders

Suspenders. I ran across an older gentleman today waiting on my flight in the airport. He looked like we was a war veteran of some sort. He wasn’t old enough to be a WWII veteran and looked like he may have been a Korean War vet. He had a Navy hat on and he reminded me of my grandfather because of a certain item of clothing he was wearing. I remember him always wearing a pair of suspenders. The guy I met today not only had on a pair of suspenders, but he had on a belt for extra security.

One of my former bosses used to always use that expression “belt and suspenders” when he discussed making sure we had all our bases covered. This gentleman was definitely a “belt and suspenders” kind of guy. It made me laugh and think about my grandfather. Some people are just programmed that way in their preparation and some people are not.

I’ve heard people explain our eternity the same way. That we can either be prepared for eternity (belts and suspenders) or just take our chances and see what happens. I have heard it said that “I would rather believe that the Bible is true and accept it by faith and put my trust in Christ only to find out after I die that it wasn’t true, than to not believe it and find out too late that it is true.”

“Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.'” - Matthew 7:21-23.

Those will be awful words to hear. Being “religious” or “spiritual” won’t save you. Having a relationship with Jesus Christ by accepting His work of salvation by faith is what saves you. Not going to church, not giving money, not singing in the choir or any other religious work will save you. Only Christ and Him alone.

Have a great day and God bless.

Good News

Good news. Sometimes in the midst of getting bad news over and over again, God breaks into your world and brings you a bit of good news. Even things that we feel have no way of turning out for the good, God answers prayers and shows up right on time and with just what you need. My wife and I have experienced this very thing just this week. When we felt everything was against us, God showed that He was for us. “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” - Romans 8:31.

God shows up throughout the Bible in times of despair and hopelessness to bring good news. In the most evil of days, the days of Noah, when all the earth was doing what it felt was right in their own eyes, God showed up. He chose a man named Noah to bring the good news of His salvation. Noah preached that judgement was coming, that repentance was need and the only salvation from the coming judgement was an ark. In the end, only eight people accepted that good news and the rest perished in the flood.

Another time came when man was once again far from God, even though they thought they were as close as they could ever be. During that time, God sent the Good News of His one and only Son, Jesus Christ. And just as Noah preached, so too did John the Baptist and Christ Himself; repentance was needed and judgement was coming. The only way to escape the coming judgement was to accept the Good News of Jesus Christ.

The Good News has come and the promised judgement is coming too. Have you heard the Good News?  Christ came into the world to save sinners and by believing in His death, burial and resurrection you can be saved from that coming judgement. Have you accepted Christ as you Savior?  He wants you to accept His Good News.

Have a great day and God bless.