Farming

Farming. Yesterday I talked about spring being sprung and the rebirth of all that has been dead all winter and how that reminds us of the resurrection of our Savior. This past week, as I’ve driven back and forth to work and especially in the area around my house, the sight of tractors on the road and in the fields have been unmistakable. They have been everywhere, and we even saw one working well after dark on Friday night. It’s that time of year to get the fields ready to be sown.

It got me thinking back a few months ago when these same farmers were out in their fields reaping what had been sown the previous spring. As they work this spring turning over the soil and getting the ground ready for it’s crop, it reminded me of the teaching of reaping and sowing in the Word of God.

“Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.  For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.” - Galatians 6:7-8. This is always the scripture that is usually used when the idea of reaping and sowing is talked about. It is usually in a negative light, which is a true teaching, but it is not the only idea spoken about in terms of reaping and sowing.

The idea of reaping and sowing is used by the Apostle Paul when he speaks about giving, “The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” - 2 Corinthians 9:6-7.

Paul also uses the idea of reaping and sowing in terms of winning souls to Christ. “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. For we are God's fellow workers. You are God's field, God's building.” - 1 Corinthians 3:6-9.

Maybe you get discouraged because you don’t seem to be winning lost souls to the Lord, but maybe God has you working for Him as the planter of the seed. Or maybe God has you working as the one who waters that seed that has already been planted by offering encouragement to those seeking Christ. Or maybe you are one of the ones God is using to experience someone accepting Christ. All of those roles are important to God’s plan of saving lost souls. But in the end, it is the final work of the Holy Spirit of God that saves people, not us.

Keep sowing the seeds of Christ’s love for lost sinners. Keep watering the seeds that have already been sown. And keep alert for the opportunity to watch as God does the reaping of the work we have already put in. To God be the glory!

Have a great day and God bless.

Spring

Spring. Green. Allergies. It that time of the year and the weather has been beautiful the last couple of days. Everything is green. The trees are budding and the Bradford Pear trees are all white and pink and in bloom. The sound of lawnmowers have been rumbling the past couple of weekends and so it begins. Everything that was once dead has sprung back to life and the rebirth has begun.

It is so fitting that this is the time of year that we celebrate Easter and the resurrection of our Savior. What the world thought was dead and over, arose again in final victory. We celebrate the Risen Savior. Just like spring and the rebirth of all the flowers and trees, so too was the rebirth of Jesus Christ.

Just like he had told His disciples, He arose from the grave and appeared to them and hundreds more. The grave couldn’t hold Him. The power of Satan had been broken. Every Sunday when we go to church, we are celebrating the resurrection of our Savior on the first day of the week.

Even though spring brings about things that we may dislike, such as allergies and mowing, the events of spring remind us of the resurrection of our Savior. Enjoy the rebirth of the creation of God and remember our Savior.

Have a great day and God bless.

Old Friends

Old friends. It’s always great to catch up with old friends when we get the chance. I got the chance earlier this week when I got to go to lunch with a former colleague. I get that chance when I travel back to my hometown once a year. It’s always great when we can just sit down and reminisce about the days we used to spend together.

I also think about those that are no longer with us. Either because of old age or sickness, they have passed away and we can no longer spend time with them. I think about my dad often this time of year because it’s opening day of baseball season. He loved baseball and he loved his Orioles. I miss talking baseball with him.

But the Bible talks about a time when we will once again get to be with those we loved and that have passed on. Those that have passed away and accepted Christ as their Savior will be awaiting us that have done the same. We will have the rest of eternity to spend with our old friends but even better we will have all eternity to spend worshiping our Savior.

“But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.  For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.  For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep.  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.” - 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17

I look forward to seeing my Christian friends and family that are now in the presence of Christ.

Have a great day and God bless.

Boring

Boooooooring!  Ever had one of those teachers in school or maybe a lecturer at a work conference that was so monotone and boring that you had to fight to stay awake?  Makes you wonder why they even do what they do for a living if they can’t be somewhat excited about there job. How can you not show enthusiasm for something that you spend most of your waking day doing?  Really makes you look at them and wonder why they even do it.

I bet non-Christians look at us sometimes and see how unenthusiastic we take being a Christian and wonder why they would even want to be like us. There are some Christians that make you wonder why they have no joy in their lives and how they could be so bored with life. If anyone should be excited about life, it should be us!!!  We have been given a new life in Christ and we should be shouting about it from the rooftops. People should look at us and say, “wow! I want what he/she is having!”

But too often we portray this mundane and monotone lifestyle that doesn’t attract anyone to want to have what we have. I’m not saying we should be out partying it up, but we should be living life with some excitement. Our sins have been paid for!  We once were dead but now we are alive!  Isn’t that what the father of the prodigal son said?  People should look at us and know who we are: Christians!

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us ALIVE together with Christ-by grace you have been saved” - Ephesians 2:4-5. He made us alive to show that Christ too is alive. We don’t serve a dead Savior, we serve a Savior who is ALIVE!  We should also be alive in how we live our lives. Don’t be a boring Christian, show the people around you that you are alive because your Savior is alive!

Have a great day and God bless.

Pain

Pain. As I sit here writing today’s post, I have some serious pain in my chest and left arm. I used to think it was a heart attack and went to the doctor to make sure it wasn’t. After about doing that five or six times, I realized it wasn’t my heart. I found that I have a gluten intolerance and one of my side effects of eating gluten is fibromyalgia. I get serious pains in my chest and arm every time I eat something by mistake that I shouldn’t have eaten. It goes away over time but it’s not fun to go through.

As I go through this pain, I feel bad that I even complain about it, thinking of the pain my Savior went through for me. To be put through a fake trial before the Jewish religious leaders, blindfolded and smacked, have the beard ripped out of His face and spit upon, what do I have to complain about?

After the fake trial, He is taken out into the courtyard, stripped down, and beaten with a cat-of-nine-tails. That’s a whip with shards of bone woven into the end of the straps of the whip. As He’s beaten, the skin of His back is ripped off to the point where His bone is showing through and He is bleeding profusely.

When the whipping is over, He is forced to carry His Cross from the courtyard, where He was beaten, to the Place of the Skull, Golgotha. As He carried His Cross through the streets of Jerusalem and out the gate of the city, the crowds are screaming at Him along His path.

When He gets to the place of His death, He is laid upon the Cross with spikes driven through His wrists and ankles to hold Him up on the Cross until He dies. The crown of thorns still cutting into His skull since the beating He took in the courtyard. There on the Cross, He hangs until He gives up His own life in place of mine. And I have the nerve to complain about this current and temporary pain. God forgive me!

My Father’s Business

Sanford and Son. I used to love that show back in the 70’s. Yes, I’m old enough to remember watching that show. Old man Fred Sanford ran a junkyard and his son, Lamont, worked along with him. As Fred tried to wheel and deal on all those money making scams that never seemed to work out in his favor, Lamont was running the business they way it should have been. Lamont was about his father’s business.

In our sermon at church yesterday, Pastor Phillip spoke about Jesus being about His Father’s business. The story is found in Luke chapter 2. Joseph and Mary went to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover and when the Feast was over, headed back home to Nazareth. After a full day’s journey, they realized their twelve year old son, Jesus, was not with them. They had to go back to Jerusalem to find him. In today’s society they would be reported to child welfare services for losing their child!

But when they get to Jerusalem, they find Him , three days later, teaching in the Temple. He is sitting among the teachers of the Temple listening and asking questions. Not only that, He was answering their questions as well to their amazement. Imagine the awe of these learned men as they sat and listened to the knowledge of this twelve year old and His insight to the Word of God. But He was the Word of God in the flesh!  They just didn’t know it yet.

When His parents find Him, they ask Him what He is doing and if He understood how much that He has scared them by not being with them. Jesus gave no apology for what He had done, He just responded to them, “Why were you looking for me?  Don’t you know that I have to be about my Father’s business?”  However, He submitted Himself to the authority of His parents and returned with them to Nazareth.

Let me ask you, are you about your Father’s business?  Are you about sharing the saving message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ?  Are you about winning souls to God for all of eternity?  That is the business of the Father and that is what He has entrusted you to while you are still here on earth. I want to be found being about my Father’s business when He returns for me, how about you?

Have a great day and God bless.

The big “G”

Big “G” or little “g”?  Which do you worship?  Who has the biggest part of your life, the God of the universe or the gods of this world?  It’s a tough question and if we are really honest about it, the little “g” gods have way too much of our lives. The little “g” gods are all those things that we put a greater priority on than big “G” God. When we do that, the Bible calls that idolatry. We are all guilty to some extent.

The idea of the big “G” and little “g” came from reading the story of Paul in Athens in Acts 17. As he makes his way up to Mars Hill to give his Gospel message to the intelligent men of Athens, he passes through all these altars to the gods of Greece. Noticing there was one altar to the “unknown god”, Paul uses this as his point of entry into their world.

He talks about how religious they must be to have so many gods. He points out that this “unknown god” that they have made an altar to is the Lord God. Paul shares the Gospel message with them through the resurrection of Jesus Christ and that all men will stand before their “unknown god” and be judged. Some of the men mocked him, others wanted to hear more and some even believed and joined Paul by accepting Christ.

People in this world today are searching, even if they won’t admit it. They are looking for truth, they are looking for peace and they are looking for a way. We have the answer!  We know the One who is the way, who is the truth, and who is the life - Jesus Christ.

Which one is more important to us, the little “g” gods that take us away from our worship of God, or the big “G” God that we will one day stand and give an account of our lives to?

Have a great day and God bless.

It Should’ve Been Me

It should’ve been me!  Have you ever used that line when you didn’t get something you deserved?  Maybe it was that promotion at work that someone else got, who doesn’t work nearly as hard as you do, but seems to be best buddies with the boss. Maybe it was that girl or that guy that you thought you’d spend the rest of your life with, but they chose someone else instead of you. We’ve probably all had situations in our past that we look back on and say, “it should’ve been me”.

My moment was just after college when I had a baseball tryout with a minor league team near my home in New York. There were three of us trying out that day and I felt I performed better than the other two guys in almost all the drills they put us through. But in the end they kept the other two guys and sent me home with my tail between my legs. I left that day with the strong feeling that it should’ve been me and not them. But God had different plans for my life than baseball. A few months later I got the call to move to North Carolina and the rest is history.

There may even be some of you that had a horrible event happen in your life that may have taken the life of another person but by God’s grace you survived. Maybe it was an accident or maybe something else happened but you look back at that event and say “it should’ve been me”!  That is a really hard thing for some people to get over when they survive something that someone else doesn’t, and they question God as to why He let them survive. If that happened to you, God allowed you to live because it wasn’t your time and He has something still left for you to do.

The only thing in life that we can really say that “it should’ve been me” is the punishment for our sins. It should’ve been me hanging on the cross for my own sins and not my Savior. It should’ve been me wearing that crown of thorns for the things I did. It should’ve been me beaten and spit upon for the life that I lived and not Jesus Christ. But He loved me so much that He was willing to take my place, to take my punishment and to pay my penalty. He died on that Cross of Calvary so that I could be forgiven of my sins. He died for me!

He died for you too!  Have you accepted His free gift of salvation?  Have you accepted that it should’ve been you on that cross instead of Him?  Put your faith and trust in Him and He will save you from the punishment of your sins. All He wants is for you to believe that He is who the Bible says He is.

Have a great day and God bless.

Unanswered Prayers

Unanswered prayers. A phrase that Garth Brooks made famous by a song by the same name. I bet some of you are even singing the lyrics to that song now as you continue reading. What are we to do as Christians when we feel that God is not answering our prayers?  Maybe we feel that our prayers are just hitting the ceiling and not making their way up to the throne of God. Rest assured that God hears your prayers.

I have always heard that there are three answers that God gives to all prayer requests: yes, no and not yet. There are prayers that we pray that are completely in tune with the will of God and the timing is right and because so, He says “yes” to our prayer request. Then there are prayers that we pray that God directly tells us “no” because they are either outside the will of God or we are asking for the wrong reasons. The final answer that God gives to our prayers is “not yet”. There may be prayers that we pray that are in the will of God but are not in the timing of God or right for us at that particular point in time. So He asks us to wait. These seem to be the prayers that we feel are “unanswered”.

There are so many examples in the Bible of God saying “yes” almost immediately to prayer requests. I can think of Paul being told “no” when he asked for his thorn in the side to be removed. But what about the “not yet” answer of God to prayer requests, are there any biblical examples of that answer?  I think there is.

In the story of Hannah in 1 Samuel chapter 1, she was barren and prayed desperately to have a son, even promising to give him back to the Lord if He answered her prayer.  It had seemed to her that the Lord’s answer was “no” but she kept at her request. When the priest Eli saw her praying, he thought that she was drunk because her mouth was moving but no words were being spoken. Once he found out that she was just pleading with God that He would answer her request, Eli told her to return home, her request would be granted. Not long after, Hannah conceived and brought forth the prophet Samuel. It was never a “no” from God, just a “not yet”. It was in God’s will for Samuel to be born but the timing had to be right.

Maybe there is something in your life that God just doesn’t seem to be answering and you feel like giving up, don’t do it if you haven’t received a definite “no” from God. You may just be going through the “not yet” stage. Keep asking and keep praying. “And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.” - Luke 11:9-10.

Have a great day and God bless.

Prison

Prison. At this exact moment in time while you are reading this post, whenever that is, God is in prison. Does that shock you?  If God is omnipresent, which He is, He is in all places at all times which means that right now He is behind bars. Ever think of it that way?  In the worst of places that we can think of, God is there.

Do you believe that there are Christians today that are in prison?  There are!  Here in the United States and elsewhere around the world. In some countries Christians are put in prison because of their faith. They have not broken any laws other than following Christ and now their lives consist of confinement. There are men and women in the United States that may not have went into prison as a Christian but found Christ while they were incarcerated and will come out as a Christian.

Is there any Biblical evidence that God is in prison?  I think if we asked Paul and Silas, they would certainly say God was in that prison in Philippi on that night they were there. The story is found in Acts 16. Paul and Silas removed an evil spirit from a slave girl that was making her owner quite a living by fortune telling in the city. Because they did this, they were arrested, beaten and thrown in prison. “And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely.
Having received this order, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.” - Acts 16:23-24.

That evening God showed up!  While being in chains, Paul and Silas starting praying and singing hymns of praise to God and when the time was right God caused an earthquake to bust open the prison door and remove the shackles. “About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone's bonds were unfastened.” - Acts 16:25-26. God showed up to prove to the people of Philippi that He was real and that Paul and Silas were His messengers. It turned the life of the Philippian jailer and his family upside down.

There isn’t anywhere that we can go that God is not with us. There are times in our lives when we may feel that God doesn’t know what we are doing, but He does. There may be times when we may feel that God doesn’t see us, but He does. No matter your situation, God sees you and when you praise Him even in that situation, He will show up!  Ask Paul and Silas.

Have a great day and God bless.

Who?

Who?  Not the band from back in the day. Not the World Health Organization. It’s a question that we often ask throughout the day. Who is it?  Who did it?  Who was it?  And I could go on and on with who questions. But the question “who” was asked by Jesus two times with two very different answers. One of those answers is the most important answer you can ever give.

Who?  That was the question that Jesus asked his disciples. First He asked them who other people said He was. “Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, ‘Who do people say that the Son of Man is?’” - Matthew 16:13. We hear all sorts of answers when we ask the world who Jesus was. Some say He was a great teacher, some say that He was a good moral example and some say He was just a fictional character that was made up by man to fill a religious void.

But that was not how the disciples answered the question by the response of what the people of their day thought. “And they said, ‘Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’” - Matthew 16:14. Their answer was that the people thought Jesus was one of the very important historical figure of Jewish history. Even though they were all incorrect.

Then the most important question ever followed right after their answers, “He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’” - Matthew 16:15. He asked this question of those who knew Him best. Those that had spent both night and day with Him.  It’s the question that will be asked of those that stand before God.  “Who do you say Jesus Christ is?”  What will your answer be?  That He was just a good teacher, a good man or a fictional character?

Simon Peter jumped right in with the correct answer because he knew who Jesus was. “Simon Peter replied, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’” - Matthew 16:16. Jesus was, and is, the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God. That is the answer to the most important “who” question in life. The answer you give will change your eternity. There is only one right answer to the question of who Jesus is: the Christ, the Son of the living God!

Have a great day and God bless.

Mulligan

Mulligan. That unofficial “do over” you get when you are playing golf with a bunch of your buddies. You know, when you hit the ball five feet off the tee on the first hole or you hit it directly in the pond and you have to grab another ball out of the bag and hit it again. You only get a certain amount of mulligans until your friends just won’t let you pull that anymore.

Ever had a mulligan in life?  One of those times you did something you could never imagine yourself doing and you wish you could just go back in time and take a “do over”?  I’ve had my share of mulligans in life both before I became a Christian and even after I became one. I’ve wished many times I could go back in time and change some of the things I did, but we can’t. There are no real mulligans in life. We have to face our mistakes and move forward.

It reminds me of the story of the Apostle Peter. After boldly stating he would never foresake the Lord by denying he knew Him, a few hours later he did just that, just as Christ told him he would. And in the moment Christ needed His followers to be by His side, Peter was hiding in the shadows watching all the events of the evening unfold. I’m sure at that very moment Peter wished he could take a mulligan.

Days later he had the opportunity to face Christ once again after the Resurrection and make things right. Even though he couldn’t go back to that fateful night, he could go forward from where he was. Christ asked him three times if he loved Him and all three times Peter responded that he did. The mulligan that Peter could not take on his own was granted to him by Christ. Christ gave him the mulligan he so deeply desired.

The same thing happens to us in our lives, Christ offers us the mulligan we wish we could use. By His death on the Cross, our sins are forgiven and are removed from God’s memory as far as the east is from the west. What I have been calling a mulligan, the Bible calls grace. The free gift that we do not deserve to receive. Grace, grace, God’s grace. Grace that is greater than all our sins.

Have a great day and God bless.

God Only Knows

God only knows. I have heard it said that character is who you are in the dark, who you are when nobody is around. Those moments when we are all by ourselves and nobody would know what decisions we made: right or wrong. We would get away with it and nobody would ever know. But God knows.

I put that in a negative connotation that the decision we make are always going to be bad ones when nobody is around to see them. I’m sure there are many times we make the right decision even when there is no one around to see them because we are people of good character. The Bible tells us to do our good deeds in a manner that one hand doesn’t know what the other one is doing (Matthew 6:3).

All of us go through things that the rest of the world has no idea that we are going through, not even those closest to us. Things that go on in our thoughts and internal conversations that we keep inside and don’t share with anyone else. God knows every one of those conversations. He is part of that thought process because He is always listening even when we don’t speak. God always knows.

He cares about everything we are going through. Every struggle that we face externally and every struggle that we face internally. God knows everything about us. All the things that we hide from the world by the masks we wear when we are in public, God knows. All the times we may cry all alone when no one is around, He knows about those moments. He is right there by your side.

The Bible puts our worth to God this way: “Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.” - Luke 12:6-7. We are not forgotten by God and we have great worth to Him.

Maybe you are going through something and no one else even knows about it because you have kept it inside. Maybe you are facing some internal struggle about a major decision and feel like you are all alone in this. God knows all about it and you are not alone. He cares for you and is waiting on you to come to Him with your fears. God only knows.

Have a great day and God bless.

Be Different

Be different!  We celebrate differences between people. The color of our skin, our nationalities, our sexes, and our handicaps. Everyone is different in some way from everybody else and that’s okay. It would be a very boring world if we were all the same. But God didn’t create robots to just follow programmed orders, He created individuals that have a free will to think and do as they see fit.

But when we become Christians, God has a new set of standards that He sets for us based upon His Word and we are no longer to live like the rest of the world. The world will never lead people to salvation, it will lead them to the falsehood that living good will be good enough. That is the lie of Satan because he is the current prince of this world. But the King of kings wants us to live differently.

Paul told the Ephesians the following: “Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart.  They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.  But that is not the way you learned Christ!” - Ephesians 4:17-20.

We are to be different than the unbelievers because they don’t know any better and we do. Their heart has been hardened and calloused by this world. Our eyes have been opened to the truth and we should live like we now know it.

Paul continued: “assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” - Ephesians 4:21-24.

Live differently. Be different. Not because of pride but out of humility of knowing the truth.

Have a great day and God bless.

Well Done

Well done!  Everyone loves to get that praise when we have worked extremely hard on something and when it’s finished, it worked out exactly how we wanted it to, and people notice and praise us for it. Kids especially love to be praised for the little things they accomplish on their own. It gives us that warm and accomplished feeling inside that we did it.

I heard those words this morning from my boss praising one of my coworkers on an awesome job they did in finding a solution to a difficult problem. You could just see the pride in that person’s face for being recognized for that accomplishment. When things like that happen and you are publicly praised for what you did, it makes you strive to do more because you feel appreciated.

It reminded me of the story found in Luke: “When he returned, having received the kingdom, he ordered these servants to whom he had given the money to be called to him, that he might know what they had gained by doing business. The first came before him, saying, 'Lord, your mina has made ten minas more.' And he said to him, 'Well done, good servant! Because you have been faithful in a very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.' And the second came, saying, 'Lord, your mina has made five minas.' And he said to him, 'And you are to be over five cities’” - Luke 19:15-19.

The Lord has given each of us specific gifts and talents that He wants us to use for His glory. If we use those gifts and talents, one day we will here the Lord say to us, “Well done my good and faithful servant!”  If we don’t use them we will feel the shame of letting down our Savior. We won’t lose our salvation, but we will not get to hear those wonderful words.

Are you using your gifts and talents to glorify God?  If you are, keep up the good work. If you aren’t, there still time to get to work!

Have a great day and God bless.

Thorns

Thorns. It’s that time of year again when those thorn bushes along the edge of my property start growing back. We had them bush hogged this winter so I need to make sure I keep up with them this year and not let them get out of hand again. There is nothing worse than mowing along the line of thorn bushes and getting pricked by every one of those bushes. The littlest one seem to hurt the most when they get ahold of your skin.

We have thorns in our lives too. Things that seem to feel like a hindrance to living the full Christian life possible. Things in our lives that seem to hold us back. Maybe it’s mistakes we made when we were younger that we wish we could go back and do over again differently. Maybe they are physical handicaps or shortcomings that we feel are keeping us back. Whatever they might be, they are not a hindrance to the power of God.

The Apostle Paul has his own thorn: “So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited.” - 2 Corinthians 12:7.  We are never told what this “thorn” was, but there have been multiple ideas of what it might have been.

Whatever the thorn was, Paul pleaded for God to remove it: “Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me.” - 2 Corinthians 12:8. But God did not remove it and instead used it as a way to make Paul lean on the strength of God: “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’  Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” - 2 Corinthians 12:9.

What is your thorn?  Have you prayed to God to remove it?  Has He not answered your prayer?  He may want you to depend on His strength and not your own. He may want to use that thorn as part of your testimony. Whatever it may be, thank God for it and asked Him for strength to use it to glorify Him.

Have a great day and God bless.

Reflection

Reflection. I have to admit that the reflection in the mirror in the morning ain’t all that pretty. If I’m truly honest, it ain’t that pretty when I fix myself up either. Our reflection tells us a lot about ourselves. When we look in the mirror we often see all the blemishes and faults looking back at us instead of the things God sees in us.

Yesterday we looked at Jesus Christ as the exact imprint of the Father. We saw that he was not a reflection of God’s glory but was the same glory that the Father was, that’s what made Him an imprint. As Christians, we are commanded to reflect the glory of God by how we live our our lives. We are to reflect the light of Jesus Christ.

Jesus gave us the instruction to be a light so that people see us and glorify the Father: “Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” - Matthew 5:15-16.

Do the people we come across day in and day out whether at work or just when we are out and about see God in our lives?  Do they see the reflection of His light?  When we look in the mirror do we see only our flaws or do we see the glory of God reflecting from within us?  God wants us to draw others to Him because we let our lights shine.

Have a great day and God bless. The

Imprint

Imprint. Those of you that live up north are still leaving imprints of your boots in the snow or maybe you can still make snow angels. Down here in the south the imprints being made are in the mud because of the amount of rain we have gotten so far this year. And some of you have made a trip to the beach already this year and have left some imprints in the sand as you walked along barefoot.

An imprint is the exact replica of what has been pushed into whatever the medium is that was used: snow, mud or sand. We make imprints of the hands and feet of our little children to remember one day how little they once were while they eat us out of house and home. Our fingerprint is an imprint that is unique to only us and can not be replicated by another.

The writer of the book of Hebrews tells us that Jesus Christ was the exact imprint of the nature of God the Father. “He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.” - Hebrews 1:3a.  Jesus Christ was not a reflection of the Father but an imprint. The two terms, reflection and imprint, mean two different things.

A reflection gives off the glory of something else. The moon offers no light of its own but reflects the light of the sun. An imprint is the exact replica of what has been impressed into it. The glory of Jesus Christ was the same exact glory of God the Father. Jesus was not reflecting the light of the Father, He was also that same light. The Father and the Son have the same radiance of glory.

Jesus told His followers that if they have seen Him, they have also seen the Father. Jesus had the imprint of the exact nature of God, not the exact physical appearance because God is Spirit. We are to be a reflection of the glory of God but we’ll discuss that tomorrow.

Have a great day and God bless.

Coexist

Coexist. I see these bumper stickers all the time on the back of cars as I drive throughout the country. It’s the lie of Satan and people are falling for it left and right. There will never be coexistence because there never has been coexistence. Even the first two brothers in the Bible, Cain and Abel, couldn’t coexistence and had to be separated. The world views represented in the bumper sticker can never coexist with one another, and especially not Christianity.

The first symbol, “C”, is the crescent moon and star of the religion of Islam. Even though Muslims claim to share the same God with Christians, their writings and beliefs prove that to be incorrect. The second symbol is the iconic “peace” sign. It is actually and anti-Christian symbol using an upside-down cross. The third symbol represent both male and female signs and represents the feminist movement, transgenderism and homosexuality spoken against in the Bible.

The fourth symbol is the Star of David and represents Judaism. Even though it is closely related to Christianity and where Christianity started, it denies Christ as the Messiah. The fifth symbol is the “i” dotted with a witchcraft pentagram (no explanation needs here). The sixth symbol is the yin and the yang of Far Eastern religions of Buddhism and Hinduism which believes in nature as god.

The final symbol of the bumper sticker is the Cross of Christianity. It’s very fitting because when you finally come to the Cross of Christ, no other religion will ever follow after it. Many times people have to go through trying so many other things like those symbolized in the bumper sticker before they come to the Truth.

Like I said earlier, this is the lie of Satan to try to get the world to believe that it really doesn’t matter what you believe, and that all roads lead to God if you believe something. LIE! LIE!  LIE!  The Bible makes that clear in the following verses:

“Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son.” - 1 John 2:22.

“And every spirit that does not confess Jesus, is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already.” - 1 John 4:3.

“For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist. - 2 John 1:7.

“And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." - Acts 4:12.

Don’t let the world force you into believing this lie of Satan. There is no coexistence. There is only one Truth. It didn’t come from Muhammad, Buddha or Allah. It comes from God, Jesus Christ and their Word; the Bible.

Have a great day and God bless.

We’re Not Worthy

“We’re not worthy! We’re not worthy!”  That famous line was made popular by Wayne and Garth on Saturday Night Live and then in their own movie “Wayne’s World”. They would fall down at the feet of some movie star or rock star and bow up and down yelling “we’re not worthy”.  They did it because they were in awe that they were in the presence of a star.

As Christians, we will one day do the same thing, but not at the feet of a star. Instead we will fall at the feet of the Son, in awe, with a feeling of not being worthy of being in His presence. It happened to so many people in the Bible when they realized who He was, even the Apostle Peter: “But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, ‘Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.’” - Luke 5:8.

There are times in all of our lives as Christians that we do not feel worthy of being called Christians. But our worth is not found in the things we do, it is found in who we are in Christ. God looks at us and sees His Son and His righteousness and not our own (because we have none). I feel that way sometimes when I get to teach and preach God’s Word. I think to myself, “I am not worthy to be doing this”.  But it’s not about me, it’s about Him.

“‘Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.’” - Revelation 4:11. He is worthy of our praise because He died in our place for our sins. Remember that you are worthy to God, so much so, that He sent His own Son to bear the punishment of your sins on the Cross of Calvary.

Have a great day and God bless.

Home

Home. Dorothy just wanted to go back home. She just wanted to get back to Kansas. She wanted to get back so bad that she followed the yellow brick road all the way to Oz in hopes that the Great and Powerful Wizard could grant her that wish. With the help of the Cowardly Lion, the Scarecrow and the Tin Man, she made it to Oz and ultimately made it home. It’s a great feeling to make it home.

Every year, my family and I travel north to visit my family for Thanksgiving. It’s always great to see them and spend time with them since it only happens once a year, but there is nothing like the feeling you get when you make it home.

As Christians, we long for going home. Not this place called earth and not this short period of time we call life, we long for our eternal home with Christ. This life we now live here on earth is just a vapor of time in comparison to spending eternity with God. That hope that we have allows us to endure the trials and tribulations of this world because we know it is just temporary.

“So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight.  Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.  So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please Him” - 2 Corinthians 5:6-9. This world is not our home, we are just passing through on our way to glory.

“But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared for them a city.” - Hebrews 11:16.  Do you desire a better home?  Are you not ashamed to call God your God?  He has prepared a place for those that are His children, a place we can call “home”.

Have a great day and God bless.

Heart

Heart. That was the request of the Tin Man to the Great and Powerful Oz. All he wanted was a heart to fill that empty barrel chest of his. It wasn’t too much to ask for, was it?  He just wanted a heart so that he could feel love and care for others, but be careful what you wish for!

The Bible makes it clear that man’s heart is wicked and evil right from the very beginning. We saw it in Noah’s day: “The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his HEART was only evil continually.” - Genesis 6:5. And it was no different during the days of Jeremiah: “The HEART is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” - Jeremiah 17:9.

But when we come to Christ in a humble manner and confess our need for a Savior and repent of our sins, He gives us a new heart and we can echo the words of David: “Create in me a clean HEART, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” - Psalm 51:10. The heart can be both wicked and it can be a joy to God.  It starts out completely wicked until we give our hearts to God.

As I watched the Tin Man get his heart, I imagine it to be like the new heart that God gives us when we accept the free gift of eternal life through His Son. He takes from us the old wicked heart and places within us a new heart, full of love for Him and other people. Have you had a heart transplant?  Or are you still holding on to that old wicked heart from your birth?  God wants to give you a new heart, a heart that longs for Him.

Have a great day and God bless.

Smarts

Smarts. All the scarecrow from the Wizard of Oz wanted was a brain. He just wanted to be smart. He wanted to make informed decisions. It wasn’t too much to ask for. I’m sure there have been many times when people have looked at me and the decisions I have made in my life and said, “man, if that guy only had a brain!”  I’ve felt like the scarecrow at times in my life.

I’ve heard the argument many times that Christians believe in the “fairytale” of Jesus Christ. That we use our belief in Him as a crutch to get through the difficulties of life. That we have some sort of “blind faith” in a make believe religious person. I thought that way myself when I “didn’t have a brain”. But belief in Jesus Christ is not a blind faith, actually it should be the exact opposite. It should be a “know so” faith.

I got on a plane last week and went to Cincinnati. I have no degree in aerospace engineering or anything like that, but I got on the plane with the faith that it was going to get off the ground, fly to Cincinnati and land safely when we got there. It wasn’t “blind faith” that I got on the airplane. I didn’t believe in a fairytale pilot. It was based upon experience and knowledge. I know thousands of planes a day, for months and years leave airports everyday and land safely at their destination. I don’t know everything about how that works but I trust those that do and design and fly the airplanes.

It’s the same thing with our faith in Christ. We don’t know all the answers to all the things about God and Jesus Christ, but as we gain knowledge and we see Him working in the lives of others, we begin to grow our faith. The Bible instructs us to use the minds that God has given us to search the Scriptures, to seek after truth and to know more about Him. There is nothing “blind” about it. God gave us a brain so that we can know him with all our hearts, all of our souls and all of our MINDS!

Don’t ever let someone treat your faith in Christ as a mindless fairytale. Let them know that you studied the Word, you’ve experienced His truth in your life and you know He is who He says He is. You are no scarecrow!

Have a great day and God bless.

Courage

Courage. It was what the Cowardly Lion from the Wizard of Oz longed for. Although he pretended to be fierce, in reality, he was nothing more than a coward. All roar and no bite. Like one of those little tiny dogs that barks and barks and barks and as soon as you take one step towards them they run off with their tails between their legs.

When it came right down to it, the Lion had all the courage he needed all along, he just didn’t know it. When push came to shove, he stepped to the forefront with the courage that was always there.

That word “courage” always reminds me of the book of Joshua in the Bible. It was a time of transition for the nation of Israel. They were getting a new leader as the torch was being passed from Moses to Joshua. They were getting a new land, the Promised Land, as their forty years of wandering was coming to an end. It was a scary time for them individually and as a nation.

I couldn’t imagine the fear that Joshua must have had in his heart as he takes over for one of the most beloved leaders in Israel’s history. Everyone he knew and loved, besides Caleb, had died over the past forty years because of their disbelief and rebellion. Joshua is now taking over with the knowledge that across the Jordan River awaited multiple battles with strong enemies to claim the land God has promised them. He needed courage.

God encourages him with these words: “No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you.  Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them.  Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go.” - Joshua 1:5-7.

And, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go." - Joshua 1:9.

God has not given us a Spirit of fear, but has instead instructed us to have courage, not in our own strength, but in who He is. He will never leave us and He will never forsake us. He loves us way too much. Whatever you may be going through, go through it with courage that God is with you. He knows the battles that are ahead and He is going into them with you.

Have a great day and God bless.

Inheritance

Inheritance. We have all wished, at one point or another, that we would get that letter in the mail, or that phone call, that some extremely rich relative that we never knew we had passed away and left us an inheritance of millions of dollars and we were set for life. It’s the thing movies are made about but never really come true. There’s no rich uncle, no millions of dollars and no inheritance. Just dreams.

We may have an inheritance of some sort left to us by our parents but probably not worth millions. We may even be working towards leaving an inheritance for our children when we are gone. But if we know Christ, our inheritance is already set and just waiting for us in the future.

That’s what’s unique about inheritances, someone usually has to die for it to take place, unless you are as bold as the prodigal son and demand it while your parents are still alive. In the case of Christians, someone did die for our inheritance to be put in place: Jesus Christ. We have not received the full reward of our inheritance yet, but we have received the guarantee of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is God’s down payment of our future inheritance.

The Apostle Peter put it this way - “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” - 1 Peter 1:3-4.

The Apostle Paul said this about our guarantee - “And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.” - 2 Corinthians 1:21-22.

Our inheritance is waiting for us in the future. It is imperishable. It is undefiled. And it is unfading. Awaiting us in heaven. Right now we have the gift of the Holy Spirit as a guarantee of that future inheritance.

Have a great day and God bless.

Grateful

Grateful. Today I had the awesome opportunity to fill in for my preacher at our church. I am grateful that he trusts me enough to take on such an important responsibility and I don’t take it lightly. So, because of my gratefulness, I preached on the topic of being grateful. I spoke about the story found in Luke 17 about the one grateful leper.

There were ten of them suffering from the same disease that was really a death sentence for those who had it. These ten men cried out to Christ as he passed through the area of Samaria asking the Master to have mercy on them. As Jesus usually did, He showed them mercy and sent them to see the priest so that the priest could declare them clean even though the were yet to be healed.

Following His direction, the lepers went off in the direction of the priest and along the way they were healed. I would assume all ten of them were grateful that the disease was gone, but only one turned that feeling of gratefulness into worship. The one turns back and falls at the feet of Jesus worshipping Him for the mercy He had shown.

Do we do that enough?  Do we actually stop and think of the death sentence that awaited us until Jesus had mercy on us?  That the Good News of the saving power of Jesus Christ was even presented to us?  Do we turn that grateful feeling into a time of worship at the feet of the Savior?

Or do we continue on like the other nine lepers who were healed did?  Do we take our salvation for granted like it was something that we deserved or was owed to us?  God forbid we ever get to that point!  We should have grateful hearts daily and return to the feet of Jesus to worship Him daily. His mercy and grace is deserving of our gratefulness and worship.

Have a great day and God bless.

Zip the Lip

“If you don’t have something nice to say, then don’t say anything at all!”  How many heard that growing up as children?  Yet when we become adults we seem to forget those sage words of advice. Whether it’s gossip, backbiting, or just flat out being ugly, we should all go back to that wonderful saying we were told as children, especially if we call ourselves Christians.

We can’t turn on the evening news any longer without most of the stories being “hearsay” or “a person speaking in anonymity”. Lies, hurtful, and jumping to conclusions without having all the facts seems to be all the news channels work off of nowadays. Sitcoms aren’t any better. Awards shows aren’t even worth turning on. All of them seem to thrive on tearing others down that don’t agree with their way of thinking.

As Christians we have the obligation to have our words to be powerful and uplifting and not use them to hurt others. The Apostle Paul told Titus “to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.”- Titus 3:2. We should all go back to that great saying above.

Our words are to be positive and used to build up, or edify, other.  “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.” - Ephesians 4:29. This includes what we post on social media!  I don’t know how many times I have cringed at some of the things I used to post that was hurtful or unnecessary. I have tried to make it a point not to do that any longer.

If I don’t have anything good to post, I don’t post anything at all. I don’t share it or comment on it (no matter how much it may make my blood boil or how wrong it may be). Our words should be positive and uplifting.

Have a great day and God bless.

The Dog Track Rabbit

The dog track. It always makes me think of the 80’s sitcom “The Golden Girls”. Sophia always spent some of her free time going to the dog track to wager some money. Sometimes she would come back successfully and sometimes she would not. In the south Florida area of Miami, dog tracks are a big thing.

I don’t know if I would find it interesting to go to a track to watch muzzled dogs run around a track chasing a fake rabbit that they will never be fast enough to catch, but I’ve never been to one. I do love watching the Triple Crown horse races every year but I don’t know if they are comparable. Why go to a track to watch something chase after a fake prize with all their heart and soul never having the chance to catch it when you can watch humans do it everyday.

We are programmed by the world to chase after fake rabbits in hopes that some day we will finally be satisfied by catching it, even though we will never do it. Every time we feel like we are going to catch the rabbit, it gets a little further away than before. We do the same thing in this life we live: if we just had a nicer car, a bigger house, a better paying job, and on and on and on. We never catch the rabbit because we want something more.

The Bible says we are to be content in all things. “Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.  I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.  I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” - Philippians 4:11-13.

That’s the real context of the popular verse Philippians 4:13. Paul was saying he could do all things (those listed in verse 12) because Christ gave him the strength to be content in what he had. Paul was no longer chasing rabbits like he was before his conversion on the road to Damascus.

Are you content in what God has given you?  Are you truly finding strength in Christ to do all things in the situations He has put you in?  Or are you chasing rabbits around the course hoping to find satisfaction in things you’ll never find as satisfying?  Find satisfaction in Jesus Christ and not the things of this world.

Have a great day and God bless.