Debate

Debate. That’s what they call it, but it has become less debate and more like mud slinging, back-biting and quarreling. It’s not a one party issue either, if it was the opposite party, the same thing would have occurred.  It’s hard to believe they are so-called “all on the same team” as you watch them. The debates have been on this week and even though I didn’t watch any of it, I did read about them after the fact. This is what our political system has come down to: one-line zingers that gets you the most press the day after.

The sad fact is, is that most of our churches have become the same way. We have divided up into denominations, or factions, declaring our way of thinking and translation of the Bible is better than another’s in hopes of bringing in more congregants. We quarrel over minute facts that are meaningless to the overall plan of salvation. The Apostle Paul dealt with these same things in the Corinthian church, so it’s not just a modern day issue. “What I mean is that each one of you says, "I follow Paul," or "I follow Apollos," or "I follow Cephas," or "I follow Christ." Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?”- 1 Corinthians 1:12-13.

The Bible is clear in how we are to live our lives as Christians, especially with one another, “Remind them of these things, and charge them before God not to quarrel about words, which does no good, but only ruins the hearers.” - 2 Timothy 2:14. If we are set apart by Christ, shouldn’t we act like we are different from the world?  Now, I’m not saying that if someone if doctrinally wrong, that we approve of their teaching, but if they believe and teach the Gospel of Christ, we should not be tearing them down. We are one with Christ and belong to Him.

This world already does whatever it can to discount the teachings of the Bible and if we discount one another, we are only playing into their hands. It was so good to see recently, that our little county in North Carolina, came together to improve the lives of people in our community. Churches from every denomination working together to make our county and better place. No arguments, no quarrels, and no back-biting, just brotherly love with one goal in mind: to show the love of Christ to our community. Well done to the 1200+ people who represented Christ during Impact Yadkin!

Have a great day and God bless.

Black and White

Black and white. For the most part, we like things in the world to be black or white, right or wrong. It helps us to better understand our world, but when the lines between black and white begin to blur, that’s usually when the trouble starts. Grey areas tend to be the areas where division starts and wars begin.

God and His Word are definitely black and white. What He says is truth Is truth, and what He says is sin is sin. We get into trouble when we start to question His truth by making comments like “that was only during Bible times and doesn’t apply today”. It is also a mistake to try to take God’s Word and interpret it to make it fit into the lifestyle we want it to fit in. I see it quite often in the news that people want to say if Jesus was here today He would support this or that.

Jesus definitely loves people wherever they are at in life but He definitely doesn’t love the sin they are living in. The woman at the well, the woman caught in adultery, and the Pharisees in the Temple. He loved them all but told them to repent from their sin. Things were black and white with Christ and there was no grey. “This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.” - 1 John 1:5.

Satan is the master of blurring the lines between black and white. It started in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve. “Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God actually say, 'You shall not eat of any tree in the garden'?"  - Genesis 3:1. See how he took what God used as a black and white statement and turned it into a great area by using their doubt in what God actually said?  He made them use their own judgement of the Word of God to cause them to sin.

Don’t fall for the grey of this world that wants to blur the lines of God’s black and white Word. What God says in His Holy Word is the Truth and not up to our interpretation. Live by His Word and don’t fall victim to the lies of the devil’s grey areas.

Have a great day and God bless.

Limited Time Offer

Limited time offer. As I was sitting in the airport yesterday waiting for the last leg of my journey, the flight a couple of gates over was overbooked. The lady working the desk kept making offers for travel vouchers to anyone who would wait for the next flight to the same location. She started out at $250 for anyone who would give up their seat on the flight and the offers kept going up from there every 15 minutes or so. I think that the last offer I heard was at $750 to anyone willing to give up their seat.

As with most things, it was a limited time offer because that flight was going to have to push back from the gate at the scheduled time. The opportunity was going to pass and when it came right down to it, if no one took the offer, people were going to be removed from the flight and have nothing to show for it. I don’t know if anyone was kicked off the flight or the limited time offer was accepted by someone or not. I do know the flight left and there were no shouting matches at the gate when it left.

Eternal life in the presence of God has a limited time offer as well. We are given this life to make the choice to either accept Christ as our Savior or to reject the free gift of salvation. No one gets a second chance after they die, the decision has been made and no one can pray you into heaven after you’re dead. The Bible says, “For he says, ‘In a favorable time I listened to you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you.’ Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” - 2 Corinthians 6:2.

“Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed.” - Romans 13:11.

“For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him.” - 1 Thessalonians 5:9-10.

This life has a limited time offer in place for securing our eternal destination. We choose to spend it in heaven or in hell by what we do with the free gift of salvation through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Have a great day and God bless.

Room Service

Room service. I’m not one to really take advantage of room service when I travel because I’m more inclined to just go and get something to eat and not want to bother someone to have to wait on me in my room. However, on my recent stay, there weren’t any restaurants around the hotel and the hotel restaurant was under construction. Even though it was under construction, they did offer room service.

So, for I think for the first time, I took advantage of room service for my evening meals. I called down my order and within twenty minutes or so I had my food right in my room. It was pretty cool to just be sitting there and have someone bring you your food. It was a great service and one I could take advantage of going forward, but I probably won’t.

It got me thinking about serving and being served. It’s nice to be waited on sometimes and have certain services provided to you when it is outside the norm. It is also important that we act as servants too and provide to others what they possibly cannot provide for themselves. Our nature tends to lean toward wanting to be served and against wanting to serve others.

Even Christ touched on this subject when speaking to His own disciples, “It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." - Matthew 20:26-28.

So, as my time traveling comes to a close and I enjoyed the room service on this trip, I find myself wanting to serve more than be served. It’s a battle of my spirit to move away from the tendency to want to be served towards the will to want to serve others. I’m sure I’m not the only one battling these feelings.

Have a great day and God bless.

Marriage

Marriage. Today marks fifteen years since I was blessed to marry my best friend and my better half. Honestly, she’s probably the better three-quarters of our marriage. She is such a Godly woman and great example for our kids. She shows our daughter how a Godly wife and mother should act and she shows our son a wonderful example of the type of woman he should look for in a future bride. I am blessed to have such a wife.

Marriage isn’t always easy, but besides my salvation, it’s the best things that has ever happened to me. It has changed me for the better (I hope she thinks so too). Marriage takes a lot of work to be successful from both of us and many times I fail to hold up my end of the covenant. The patience of my wife has grown stronger over the past fifteen years due to my testing it so many times.

“The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain. She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life.” - Proverbs 31:11-12.

“She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.  She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.” - Proverbs 31:26-27.

“Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all."  - Proverbs 31:28-29.

Thank you for loving me all these years. I couldn’t, and don’t, want to do this life without you. Love you more than anything.

Have a great day and God bless.

Turbulence

Turbulence. As you can probably tell, I did some traveling yesterday. About halfway through the flight from Charlotte to Milwaukee, we hit some major turbulence. It must have been some air pockets from a storm below us because we dropped about three times in a matter of fifteen seconds. Big drops too, like cups coming off the tray drops!  Everyone gets a little nervous when something like that happens and they start grabbing onto arm rests and the back of the seats in front of them.

I was watching a movie on my iPad, so I didn’t pay much attention to it. I’ve been on enough flights the past three months that it doesn’t really phase me anymore. Flying into El Paso gets you used to turbulence because of the desert heat below the plane. I’m not saying I like it, I just know to expect it on most flights so I don’t concern myself with it when it happens.

Life provides us with turbulence at times as well. Things seem to be going so smooth and then all of a sudden, boom!  Turbulence!  Things get bumpy for a while or we have sudden drops in life when we thought it was going so smoothly. If we go into life with the expectation that turbulence is going to come, we can handle it better than if we think life will always be a smooth ride. It’s not that we have to like it, we just need to expect it so we aren’t thrown for a loop.

Jesus told His disciples, “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. He told them, and us, that this world is going to give you some turbulence, but that we should have peace because He has overcome this world. Jesus’ three-plus years of ministry was filled with turbulence, but He knew it was coming so He did not concern Himself with it. He knew why He had come into the world: to save the world from their sins. Everything else was just a part of the process; turbulence and all.

Are you going through turbulent times in your life right now?  Take heart and have peace, there is a time when it will be over. Take with you the peace of Christ and hold on to Him.

Have a great day and God bless.

Rude

Rude. Some people are just so rude it’s hard to imagine what goes through their heads when they act that way. Do they feel like they are the most important people on the face of the earth that certain courtesy rules don’t apply to them?  This is especially true when flying. I was on a flight this morning and a “gentleman” (I’ll use that word loosely) felt that having his music blaring through his earphones wasn’t disturbing to all the people sitting within three rows of him.

I mean it’s not just in airplanes either, in restaurants, shopping areas and anywhere else you have to come across people in a public place, people are rude!  I always wonder if they do it on purpose because they just don’t care or if they are hoping someone my complain so they can go ballistic. I certainly hope they aren’t Christians that act this way.

So, how are we supposed to act when we are in public place and call ourselves Christians?  The Bible makes it perfectly clear what our actions and attitude should be. “Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone” - 2 Timothy 2:23-24a.

“Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.
And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.” - Colossians 3:12-15.

Don’t be rude when you are in public places, it doesn’t show well for calling yourself a Christian.

Have a great day and God bless.

Lost and Found

Lost and found. That random collection of odds and ends that seem to never have a match and never find and owner, only to be discarded in the end. Jewelry, hats, gloves, umbrellas, keys, sunglasses, and on and on. There are lost and found locations at schools, work, churches and even at malls. It’s the place where the collection seems to be always growing and no one ever claims a thing. Are we embarrassed to look in the box and say, “hey, I think that’s mine”?

Whenever I see a lost and found box, it always makes me think of the story of the prodigal son. You probably know that story very well yourself; a young man demands his inheritance from his living father and goes off to another town and blows it all on a wicked lifestyle. When he’s broke and living in a pig pen, he decides to go back and ask forgiveness from his father and be hired as a servant.

He gets home and his awaiting father runs to meet him and throws his arms around his filthy neck and celebrates his return. He calls for his servants to bring the boy a new pair of shoes, his finest robe, his signet ring and to kill the fatted calf because they were having a celebration. This welcome completely surprises the young man.  And then the father says the words that always makes me think of the lost and found box, “‘For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.' And they began to celebrate.” - Luke 15:24.

If we are Christians, that’s our story and that’s how our Heavenly Father sees us. We once were dead in our trespasses and sins and we decide to turn back home. God anxiously awaited our return and when we were still making our way towards Him, He ran to meet us to celebrate our coming to Him. We went from a state of being “lost” to now being “found”.

Have you ever been found, or are you still in the lost box?  Have you ever been claimed by God as being His son or daughter because you claimed the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ as your own?  God doesn’t want you to be lost, He wants you to be found. Those items that never get claimed in the lost and found box always end up being discarded. Don’t let that be your eternal fate.

Have a great day and God bless.

Tug-of-War

Tug-of-war. It’s one of those great games that you can still play at any age. I’ve seen pictures lately of kids playing it at their end of the school year field days and I’ve seen pictures of adults playing it during Memorial Day picnics. Bragging rights are at stake as soon as you pick up that one end of the rope and start pulling. But what about that inner tug-of-war that we battle with ourselves everyday whether to do what we should or to do what we want?

That inner battle is real in the Christian life!  I face it everyday. I know what I should be doing in a spiritual sense, but my flesh wants to do the exact opposite and satisfy itself. The Apostle Paul calls it the battle between our spiritual life and our earthly, or carnal, life. He even struggled with the same things we do.

“For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.” - Romans 7:14-20.

I see this tug-of-war in my own life in my marriage and my family. I come home from work in the evening and my flesh just wants to sit down and relax and sit in my recliner. My wife and kids haven’t seen me all day and they want my attention too. I know in my heart that I need to help out when I get home, whether it’s helping clean up after supper, playing outside with the kids or getting them ready for bed, but my selfishness wants to just sit and relax. It’s a battle, and I know what to do, but the flesh just doesn’t want to do it. Can I get an “amen”?

Don’t feel like your failing because of this inner tug-of-war that we all go through. Keep pushing on and feeding the spiritual side and we will find ourselves winning more battles than losing. The battle never ends, it’s waiting for us every morning when we wake up.

Have a great day and God bless.

Award or Reward

Award or Reward?  I really never thought about the difference between the two words until I heard someone talking about it on the radio. I have always known that we will be receiving rewards in heaven so I wanted to see why God’s Word said about awards. Nothing. It’s not even in the Bible one time. So that got me looking into the difference between an award and a reward.

What I found was that an award was usually given for some sort of achievement, for example, winning a spelling bee, competing on a sports team or finishing a project at work. There is usually nothing of value given for the award, it is only seen as intrinsic value. An award is usually given by one person to another person in front of a large group of people as a means of recognition for one’s achievements. All based upon human ability.

A reward on the other hand is different. It is usually received for some sort of work being accomplished that is measurable and above the norm, like returning a lost wallet or pocketbook. There is usually something of value given as the reward whether it is monetary or a prize. The reward is usually given to one person but not always in a public setting as a means of recognition.

In Heaven, we are told that we earn rewards for our service as Christians here on earth. The reward that is most often discussed in the New Testament are crowns. Believers will receive the reward of Crowns for what they have accomplished here on earth that is measurable and above the norm. Not everyone will receive the rewards. We don’t know if we will receive the rewards in front of all of the Heavenly host or just one-on-one in front of God. We do know that rewards, and not awards, will be given in Heaven.

“Watch yourselves, so that you may not lose what we have worked for, but may win a full reward.” - 2 John 1:8.

“The nations raged, but your wrath came, and the time for the dead to be judged, and for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints, and those who fear your name, both small and great, and for destroying the destroyers of the earth."  - Revelation 11:18.

Have a great day and God bless.

The Greatest Of All Time

G.O.A.T.  The Greatest Of All Time. We hear that little phrase more and more when we talk of sports and music. Who is the greatest of all time in a certain field and why do we believe so. It makes sports radio and casual talk with friends more interesting. There can never be a consensus because most often we are comparing people who never competed against each other during the same time period.

Is it Michael Jordan or Lebron James?  Is it Babe Ruth or Barry Bonds?  Is it Gordie Howe or Wayne Gretzky?  Is it Bart Starr or Tom Brady?  There is no right or wrong answer that you can defend with absolute facts and statistics. What we do know is that they were all great in their time against their opponents according to the rules of their era. That’s it, no further discussion needed on who the Greatest Of All Time is.

In reality, it doesn’t matter. In eternity, no one will be discussing who the greatest was in any particular field at any particular time because we will be standing at the feet of the One that has been and always will be the Greatest: God the Father and Jesus Christ the Son. There is no argument over this fact!

“For I will proclaim the name of the LORD; ascribe greatness to our God!” - Deuteronomy 32:3.

“Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable.” - Psalm 145:3.

The is only One who deserves the title “Greatest Of All Time” and that is the God of the Bible.  He is the only One worthy of our praise. He is the only One worthy of the glory of being great.

Have a great day and God bless.

Bullying

Bullying. We can probably all say that we have been bullied at one time or another in our lives, either when we were young or possibly even as adults. Some of us may even be bold enough to admit we have been the bullies at some point in our lives too. A vast majority of us, if we are honest, could say that we have been on both sides of the bullying issue. We have most likely bullied others that have been smaller or weaker than us and we have probably been bullied by people older and stronger than us.

The idea of bullying made me think if there were any examples in the Bible of well known bullies. I thought of two, one Old Testament and one New Testament, but there are probably many more. Just happened that my two bullies share the same name: Saul!  King Saul bullied David to the point that he chased him around the nation of Israel trying to kill him because he knew he had been anointed to be the next king. Saul, later known as Paul, was a bully to all the Christians in and around Jerusalem. He was such a bully, that he even chased them down and put them in jail for their beliefs. Stephen was stoned, with Saul’s approval, because of his belief that Christ was the Son of God.

No one has ever been bullied into believing in Christ as their Savior. People make that decision because they are loved into it. We show the love of Christ to them in all that we do and they see how we live our lives and that should draw them into wanting what we have. If you can bully them into Christianity, then someone can bully them out of it.

“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 5:16. Let the light of Christ draw men/women to Him, not bullying.  “Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.”- 1 Peter 4:8.

Have a great day and God bless

Reunion

Reunion. I had the privilege to head down to South Carolina this past weekend to spend time with my wife’s family on her father’s side. I got to meet her aunts and uncles as well as most of her cousins and their children. She hadn’t seen some of them in over fifteen years, so it was a great reunion with a lot of hugging, laughing and eating. It was great for me to get to know that side of her family.

It got me thinking about reunions and stories the Bible tells about seeing family that you haven’t seen in many years. It brought me to the story of Joseph and his brothers. After being sold into slavery by his brothers, Joseph made his way up the chain of command in every situation that he was in. It culminated in being the second highest in command in the empire of Egypt.

When his brothers arrived in Egypt because of a drought, Joseph was finally reunited with the very members of his family that tried to do away with him. For most of us, that would have been the time of retaliation, but not for Joseph. These were his brothers, and whatever they had done to him was in the past and he was overjoyed to see them after many years.

It also brought to mind the story of Jacob and Esau and the opportunity they had to reunite after a major falling out over a birthright. The point is, no matter what trials and tribulations we go through as families, when we have the opportunity to reunite and see each other once again, our family bond is stronger than anything else we go through.

There will be a final reunion that Christians should be looking forward to; the reunion of believers to Christ and to other believers. That glorious day is coming, hopefully soon, when we will be able to spend eternity in the presence of our Lord and Savior. We will once again see family that also put their trust and faith in Christ. Oh, glorious day!

“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 4:17-18.

Have a great day and God bless.

Father’s Day

Father’s Day. This is always one of the hardest days of the year for those of us that have lost our fathers. For those of you that still have your fathers, be thankful for the time you still have with them and that you have the ability to celebrate with them today. This day always reminds me of my father and the things that he had taught me throughout his life.

My dad taught me the meaning of work and providing for your family. He taught me that, as a dad, we have to do whatever we have to in making sure that our family is provided for. In all the things that my dad provided for us, the most important thing he provided was his time. He was always present for everything we did as kids. He was at all of the sporting events, even coaching most of the time, and all of our school events. It never stopped, even with all my traveling for college sports.

My father was loyal to my mother and loyal to his friends. My dad taught me to help those that are in need and whenever you borrow something, you give it back better than you got it. This post would be too long if I listed everything my father taught me. I’m thankful and blessed to have had him as my dad.

I’m a father now, have been for almost 11 years, and I know that at times I fail, but I do my best to do the things that my father taught me with my own children. I have a lot of improvements to make, but I’m trying. If I can become half the day that my father was, I’d be happy.

We have a Heavenly Father that is the greatest example of what true Fatherhood looks like. He is always accessible, He is always providing for us, and He always has our best interests at heart. Do you know Him as your Heavenly Father too?  There is never a better Father than God.

Have a great day and God bless.

Mr. Grinch

“You’re a mean one, Mr. Grinch!”  Doesn’t seem like the right time of year to be talking about the Grinch, does it?  The kids watched the new Grinch movie yesterday on Netflix and Timothy spent the rest of the day singing those words. I ended up watching it with them too as I worked from home.

As I watched the end of the movie when the Grinch’s heart grew three sizes that day and he decided to bring back all the Christmas stuff that he had stolen from Whoville, I realized just how much of a Christian theme the end of the story had.

The people of Whoville did not arrest him, they didn’t chastise him for what he did and they didn’t kick him out of town telling him
never to return. They showed him grace. That’s forgave him. They invited him in to join in the celebration with them. They allowed him to have a place of honor in the festivities.

That’s what God does for us. When we spend most of our lives robbing and stealing from the love of God, He still shows us grace. When we see the error of our ways and our hearts grows three sizes and we decided to return to Him, He shows grace. He doesn’t condemn us, He doesn’t turn from us and He doesn’t send us away telling us never to come back. Like the prodigal son, He puts us in a place of honor and celebrates our return to Him.

Do we treat people that come back to us with a changed heart with that same grace?  Do we look to really find what the root of the issue was?  The Grinch wasn’t really mad at Christmas, he was lonely and looking for friends and a family. What are those that hurt us really looking for?  Love?  Friendship?  Family?  Let us show grace to those who repent and seek our forgiveness. “Bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.” - Colossians 3:13.

Have a great day and God bless.

Scared

Scared. Have you ever been scared to death?  Have you ever scared someone else to death?  I have to admit, I like scaring people. I get a kick out of scaring people and I know for a fact some of you do too, but I won’t mention any names. I remember scaring one of my friends from high school pretty good.

There was this man who built an elaborate labyrinth out of the middle of the woods as a tribute to his son who had died in a car crash when he was a teenager. Why he decided to build a labyrinth, no one knows. What we did know was that it was a painstaking task because it was a brick and mortar labyrinth and not just made of bushes. There were statues and everything inside the labyrinth. The entrance slowly came up out of the ground until it was well above ten feet tall at the center.

Well, as the story goes, we were in the local grocery store and we heard one of our friends planning a trip up to the labyrinth that night with a group of girls in the next aisle over. So we decided to beat them up there and hide within the labyrinth until they got there. We made it there and parked somewhere different so our car didn’t give us away. After about a mile trip into the woods to find it, we were ready for our visitors.

As you can imagine, when we jumped out from inside the labyrinth, our unsuspecting visitors were scared out of their minds. A lot of screaming and running ensued and people were a little upset with us. But everyone got over it and we still laugh about it.

It’s scary to come across things we don’t expect along our path. We probably spend way too much time being scared about things that we create in our own minds that never materialize. The Bible speaks pretty often about the idea of fear, in fact it tells us 365 times to “fear not”. “You came near when I called on you; you said, 'Do not fear!'” - Lamentations 3:57.

“There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.” - 1 John 4:18.

Have a great day and God bless.

Lawn Mowers

Lawn mowers. Lawn equipment and I don’t play well together. It seems that both lawn mowers and weed eaters like to mess with me no matter how well I try to maintain them. Well, the lawn mower monster showed up again yesterday and bit me. There is nothing worse than being in the middle of mowing and have the lawn mower break down and you have to leave the rest of the yard looking like a jungle. I have about a quarter of a well groomed lawn.

I was riding the mower yesterday and all of a sudden it started running a bit rough and then it just cut off completely like it had run out of gas. I knew I had a full tank when I started so that couldn’t be what the issue was. When I lifted up the hood of the mower, a small fuse connected to the carburetor was smoking. I knew that couldn’t be good. I went to the hardware store to see what their thoughts were on what had happened. They sold me a small part and said that should fix it. Well, not being mechanical at all, I did more damage to it than I had started with.

I got upset with the fact that I didn’t get the yard done. Then a got more upset that the lawn mower was broken and then it just rolled into being disappointed in general. I came in the house and my wife knew it was bothering me even though there really wasn’t much I could do about it at that point. I felt bad that I had let my situation dictate my attitude for the rest of the evening.

I have so much to be thankful for: no one was hurt, the lawn mower can be fixed and I have awesome friends that have offered to let me borrow their mowers so I can finish my yard. The Bible says, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” - Philippians 4:8.

So through all of this I will think of the good things that God has blessed me with and I will praise Him for it.

Have a great day and God bless.

Edification

Edification. About a dozen years ago or so, my wife and I went to the NC State Fairgrounds for a concert of one of my favorite Christian bands, Third Day. A group opened for them that I didn’t know much about, called Building 429. They were very good and we both became fans of their music. What I always find interesting is how Christian bands come up with their band names. Some of them are very evident, Third Day, Casting Crowns, etc.

Building 429 had a very interesting story of how they came up with their name. They took their name from the scripture found in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. “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. So, the “429” comes from chapter 4 and verse 29 in Ephesians. And the word “Building” comes from the word used right in the verse.

As a Christian, we should not allow any corrupt talk come out of our mouths. Whether we are talking with unbelievers, and most importantly, if we are talking to believers. Every word should be used to edify, or build up, one another. There is enough negativity in today’s world that, as Christians, we should not be adding to it. As our mothers always told us, “if we don’t have anything good to say, don’t say anything at all!”

We never know what problems and issues other people are going through and we should be the type of people that change someone’s day for the better instead of adding any additional grief. We need to be careful with our words. We live in a culture where sarcasm and quick-wit seem to rule our conversations. I admit, I can be a sarcastic person most of the time and need to do a better job at biting my tongue.

If you get the chance today, or the rest of this week, use it as an opportunity to build someone up instead of tearing them down. Remember Building 429 and let no corrupt words come out of your mouth. Some people may be surprised at the change in your conversation.

Have a great day and God bless.

Bus

Bus. My senior year of high school, a group of us took a yellow school bus to our senior prom. We got all dressed up and rode as a group to the prom instead of all of us riding separately. The lady who drove us to all of our high school sporting events drove us to the prom, picked us up and drove us to the after prom party and then came back and picked us up the next morning. We used to call her “Fred” and she got all dressed up as well and even decorated the bus for the occasion. What a fun time we all had together that night.

When I tell that story to people now, they sort of cock their heads and look at me strange. But we knew who was on our bus and that we were ultimately safe during all of our travels. My good college buddy, Peter Pessetto, always tells his clients to check who they have on their bus. Some people don’t need to be on our buses with us because they drag us down and we need to make sure we only have those on our bus who build us up. The same thing goes in the Christian life. We have to make sure we don’t let Satan on our buses.

Not only do we need to check who we have in our lives but we also need to check what things we let into our lives that can give Satan a foothold. “Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.”  - Ephesians 4:26-27.  It’s not just the people on our bus that can lead us into temptation to sin, but there are also things we let into our own lives that tempts us to sin. We can’t let those things have a seat on our bus either.

“Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?  What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever?” - 2 Corinthians 6:14-15. “Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you, and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty."  - 2 Corinthians 6:17-18.

It’s good for each of us to take a look at who, and what, we have allowed on our buses. Sometimes we need to remove people from our bus because they are not equally yoked with us. We also need to remove actions in our lives from our bus that do not glorify God. Have you looked recently to see what you have on your bus?  It may be a good time for a role call.

Have a great day and God bless.

Power

Power. It’s a pain when it goes out. Due to getting so much rain so fast last night, our power went out at the house just before we went to bed. It was only out for less than ten seconds, but it was just annoying enough to have to reset all the clocks. As soon as it goes out, everyone seems to panic for a split second. We worry about it getting hot in the house because the air conditioning is off and we worry about the food in the refrigerator going bad.

What about when we lose our connection with God?  When our so-called “power” is out with Him?  We lose connection with the power of God when we have sin in our lives. Sin causes us to lose fellowship with our source of power.  “If we say we have fellowship with Him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.” - 1 John 1:6.  Sin keeps the Holy Spirit from working in our lives to be in the will of God.

To keep the power on in our lives we need to make sure our account is right with God and that we keep our sins confessed. “But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.” - 1 John 1:7.  Our lives work better when we keep our sins confessed and allow the Holy Spirit to work. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” - 1 John 1:9.

Does the power of God seem to be missing in your life?  Maybe sin is keeping you from possessing the full power of God. Confess your sins to Him and let Him cleanse you from all unrighteousness and see the power come back on in your life.

Have a great day and God bless.

Pride

Pride. We have become a society that celebrates sin by calling it “pride”. We have a whole month celebrating this original sin of pride. It was pride that Satan used to lure Adam and Eve to sin against God by promising them they would become like Him. Why do we have pride In sin and celebrate some sins and not all sins?  What makes some socially acceptable and others not?  What makes some sins illegal and some, something to have “pride” in?

The Bible is pretty clear on what God thinks about pride, and being proud: “I will punish the world for its evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; I will put an end to the pomp of the arrogant, and lay low the pompous pride of the ruthless.” - Isaiah 13:11. The root of all sins usually starts with pride. “For all that is in the world-the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life-is not from the Father but is from the world.” - 1 John 2:16.

If you did a search of your Bible about the words “pride” and “proud” you will find that almost all of the references are shown as being a negative thing. The only thing that we should really have pride in is what Jesus Christ did for us because we had nothing to do with it. Most lists of things that God hates has the word pride or proud in it. “The fear of the LORD is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate.” - Proverbs 8:13. “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” - Proverbs 16:18.

There is a coming day in which those that are proud will be brought low. “And the haughtiness of man shall be humbled, and the lofty pride of men shall be brought low, and the LORD alone will be exalted in that day.” - Isaiah 2:17. It is better that we humble ourselves now then being humbled against our will later. We can bow the knee now and recognize God for who He is, or we can bow it later and confess what we denied for all of our lives. “Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” - Philippians 2:9-11.

Have a great day and God bless.

Disappointment

Disappointment. We all go through it at different stages in life. When we are young we may be disappointed that we didn’t get a lollipop when we asked for it. As teenagers we may be disappointed when someone turns us down when we ask for a date. When we are older we may be disappointed when we don’t get the job or promotion we want or expected.  Disappointment happens in many ways and it happens to all of us.

So how do we move on from disappointment?  We have to remember that our plans for our lives are not always God’s plans for us. The things we desire in our hearts for how our lives should go may not be the best overall direction God has for us. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD.” - Isaiah 55:8. There is nothing wrong with having dreams and goals. However, we need to be ready for them to take a back seat to what God has planned for us.

I know some people in my life that are disappointed with how things have gone recently and that’s okay. We need to keep moving forward knowing that God knows best, and even if we are disappointed now, God loves us and will never do us wrong. If you are disappointed today because something you planned didn’t go how you expected it, take heart, God may just have something better for you up ahead.

Have a great day and God bless.

Reputation

Reputation. Someone’s reputation is a valuable thing. It is also a very delicate possession. It takes years to develop your reputation and seconds to kill it. Your reputation also varies from person to person based on events that happen between the two of you. You may have a stellar reputation with one person only to find that your reputation with someone else is the exact opposite.

As Christians, our reputation is extremely important. We are sometimes the reason why unbelievers feel they don’t need Christ. If we call ourselves Christians but live our lives the same way the world lives, then why would they need a Savior?  We are the reason that people don’t come church because they feel the church is filled with “hypocrites”. Sometimes we are!  We say one thing and do the opposite. That is not drawing unbelievers to Christ.

Believe me, I’m talking to myself here too. This all goes through my heart before it ever reaches your eyes. I have to ask myself often if my reputation matches up with what my mouth claims to be. To be honest, it hasn’t always been so. I’ve done many things to ruin my reputation as a Christian. It’s a daily struggle to make sure I am walking with Christ. I’m sure you feel the same way as well. Our reputation is important. How people see us is important too, not for our egos, but for our witness of Christ.

We can’t be like the church in Sardis though, “You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. - Revelation 3:1. What we can’t do is be fake. We must be real and we must be genuine or people will see right through us. That’s where they feel we are “hypocrites” which means to wear a mask.

Have a great day and God bless.

Weeds

Weeds. I think I do a better job at growing weeds in my yard than I do growing grass. I can grow grass like a champion in my gravel driveway, but not in the yard. I spray for weeds constantly and my wife pulls weeds like it’s going out of style. Why is it so easy for weeds to grow and so hard for grass to grow?  Is it the soil?  Is it too rocky or is there too much clay?  I don’t know the answer but it does remind me of one of the parables of Christ.

“And he told them many things in parables, saying: ‘A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear.’” - Matthew 13:3-9.

When we share the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we do not know much about the ground we are planting the seed in. Some of those we share with may not be interested at all because maybe things are going too well in their lives and they don’t feel they need a Savior. Some may be so distracted by the things of the world that they listen but soon go back to the pleasures of the world.

But sometimes, that soil has been worked by someone else who has the shared the Gospel before us and it softened their hearts. And when you share the Good News with them, the time is right for that seed to take root. We never know the soil that has been prepared before we arrive. Our job is to continue to plant seeds and sometimes it’s our job to just till the soil. Maybe our job is to just pull and kill the weeds that may choke out future seeds.

Whatever it is the Lord would have us to do, we are to continue to leave seeds along our journey called life. Sometimes we till, sometimes we weed and sometimes we plant. Either way, keep doing what Christ commanded us to do, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." - Matthew 28:19-20.

Have a great day and God bless.

Planner

Planner. Are you a planner or do you just go with the flow?  Do you make to-do lists and stick to them no matter what and if it gets messed up it just ruins your day?  Are you married to your opposite?  Do you make plans and your spouse goes with the flow, or the other way around?  I spend all week at work making timelines and trying to keep the team in line with following them, so when I get home I would rather just go with the flow.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with making plans: short term or long term. I think it is good to make plans about what we want to accomplish for the week and even plans for what we want to accomplish for the next several years.  However, we need to make sure that our plans aren’t so rigid that God can’t use us in ways that He wants to because our plans get in the way. We have to be ready to allow God to direct our paths. “In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” - Proverbs 3:6.

Our plans are fine as long as they match up for God’s will for our lives. If we become too attached to our plans, God may have to break us from them in order to use us, just like the potter does the clay. Our only concrete plan should be to use our lives to bring glory and honor to God and to share His message of salvation through His Son Jesus Christ.

Have a great day and God bless.

Prayer

Prayer. The spiritual leaders of our country have asked the nation to make today a national day of prayer for our political leaders and our president in particular. We live in dangerous times both within our country and from our enemies abroad. Satan has blinded the eyes of so many and has gain the hearts and minds of many that are in powerful positions. The Bible is clear that he is the prince of the power of the air at this current time. “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” - Ephesians 6:12. The prayers of God’s people are extremely important and powerful. 

“Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer.”- Romans 13:1-4. 

Notice that Paul’s command to believers was not reliant on any of the leaders being from our favored political party. We should pray for our leaders first and foremost to have a relationship with Jesus Christ and second that they would make decisions based upon the Word of God. “Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.” - Titus 3:1-2. 

Pray for our country and our leaders today and everyday that we may live in peace. 

Have a great day and God bless.