Harvest

Harvest. As I drive around the great state of North Carolina, I have noticed that the harvest season has begun on some of the crops along the sides of the road. I have noticed that the lower leaves of the tobacco plants have started the process of being primed. It’s so interesting to watch over the next couple weeks as the tobacco fields become less and less populated with tobacco leaves and the field starts showing through. It won’t be much longer and the corn will start going through the same process.

As fall arrives, the activity of the local farmers starts to get increasingly more frantic. The end of the season is coming and the crops have to be harvested so that they do not die and become useless and money is not lost. Farmers spend their hard earned money each year to plant seeds in hopes that their investment in the seeds will provide profit in the crops.

This time of the year always brings to mind the words of Jesus to His disciples, “Do you not say, 'There are yet four months, then comes the harvest'? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, 'One sows and another reaps.' I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor." - John 4:35-38.

“Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.’”- Matthew 9:37-38. Are you taking part in the Lord’s harvest?  Are you planting seeds, watering those that have already been planted, or are you taking part in the reaping?  This world is in desperate times and the great and terrible Day of the Lord is closer every day. Let us do our part in taking part in the harvest.

Have a great day and God bless.

Not Quite

Not quite. We have probably all had times in our lives when we were “not quite”. Maybe we were not quite the right person for the job. Or we were not quite the marrying type. We could have been not quite smart enough, tall enough, good looking enough, athletic enough and on and on. In measuring up to someone else’s standards, we might always fall into the group of “not quite”. It’s okay to be not quite for someone else, what we have to be worried about is being “not quite” right with God.

I hear it in so many conversations with people who may believe in God but don’t think they have to believe in what Just Christ did. They live their lives on a works-based mentality. They believe if they can just be good enough, if they can just go to church often enough or if they give just enough to charity, that they will somehow be accepted by God. However, on judgement day, when God judges them on their works, they will not quite be good enough, because acceptance by God isn’t about what we do, but what Jesus did.

The Bible is clear on man’s standing with a Holy God:

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” - Romans 3:23.

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” - Romans 6:23.

Eternal life in Christ Jesus is clearly listed as a free gift of God, not the works of man!

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. - Ephesians 2:8-9.

The only way to be a “not quite” is to put your faith in the free gift of eternal salvation, the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  The last thing anyone ever wants to hear from the mouth of a Holy God are these words: “And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.'” - Matthew 7:23. “"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” - Matthew 25:41.

Put your faith in Jesus Christ before it is eternally too late. If you want to know how, please feel free to reach out to me.

Have a great day and God bless.

Hello, My Name Is

Hello, my name is.......  I just started a new job at the beginning of the year and have now been there almost seven months. One of the hardest parts of starting a new job, or moving to a new place, is learning the names of so many people that you have never met before. They have the easy part of just learning one new name, your’s, while you have to learn hundreds. It takes months worth of time to remember names and even so, I find myself still not remembering everyone’s.

One thing that we will never have to worry about is God knowing our name. When we get to stand in His presence, we will not be asked to remind Him of what our name is. For one, He’s omniscient and knows all things, but more than that, He knows us. Each and every one of us He knows by name. He’s known us since the foundation of the world. “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you...."  - Jeremiah 1:5.  “Even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.” - Ephesians 1:4.

God knows us so well, even better than we know ourselves, that there will be no need to tell Him, “hello, my name is.....”. When we see Him, He will call us by name because He knows every hair on our heads. “But even the hairs of your head are all numbered.” - Matthew 10:30. Doesn’t that give you an overwhelmingly comforting feeling that you are not unknown?  In this big world we live in with billions of people, God knows you so intimately that He not only knows your name, but knows the exact number of hairs on your head. That’s a loving and personal God.

Have a great day and God bless.

Buffet

Buffet. There are few things in life better than an all-you-can-eat buffet. After church this morning, we took the family to a pizza buffet by our house because our daughter loves spaghetti and our son loves pizza. What better treat than being able to pick what style you want and how much of it you are willing to endure. It allows the possibility of a great feast for those that are hungry enough. Our crew probably didn’t get our money’s worth at the buffet, but that’s okay, they enjoyed the treat.

The past few months I have been teaching on what Heaven will be like when we get there and last week we focused on if we will eat and drink in Heaven and what the Bible tells us about it. The Scriptures are pretty clear that eating and drinking will not be in the spiritual sense, but we will actually physically eat and drink for all of eternity. “On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined.” - Isaiah 25:6.

Not only was the idea of a future feast an Old Testament promise, Christ also spoke of it to His followers, “I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.” - Matthew 8:11. “You are those who have stayed with me in my trials, and I assign to you, as my Father assigned to me, a kingdom, that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” - Luke 22:28-30. If Christ promises that His followers will eat and drink at His table in the future Kingdom, why would we believe that eating and drinking will only be in a spiritual sense?

I look forward to eternity, when we can eat and drink of the feast God has prepared for us. Food like we have never tasted before, unaffected by the curse currently on the earth. We can eat and drink and be filled with the bounty of God. I look forward to sitting at the table with you who are believers in Christ.

Have a great day and God bless.

Poison Ivy

Poison Ivy. I have been working in the yard all morning and afternoon today trying to make the yard look pretty. It’s been one of the cooler days the past couple of weeks allowing me to be out during the middle of the day. One of the last things I did was cut down some wild weeds growing at the edge of our property to try and reclaim some of our yard.

Among the regular looking weeds were patches of poison ivy mixed in and if I wasn’t careful I would have been right up in it. Special thanks to my beautiful bride for pointing out where it was so I could avoid getting too close to it. I wasn’t so lucky about a month ago as I was pulling some weeds around the bushes and happened to get a whole handful of poison ivy. I had it on the back of my hands and up my wrists for about a week.

Just like poison ivy, sin can hide itself among the normal mundane things we do every day until it sneaks up on us and catches us unaware. We may not even know until it’s too late and we are covered in the after affects of touching it. Wouldn’t it be great if sin came with a flashing neon sign telling us right where it is; pointing out to us to be careful and take caution in that particular area because sin awaits us?

My wife was kind enough to point out the areas for me to be careful because poison ivy was lurching. Too bad we couldn’t have someone go before us each day pointing out areas where sin is waiting to catch us unaware. We do, it’s called the Holy Spirit. We also have God’s Word instructing us in areas of our lives that we are to be mindful and aware of letting sin in.

“Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.” - 1 Peter 5:8-9.

Do not let sin spread like poison ivy. “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.

Have a great day and God bless.

Ultimate Sacrifice

Ultimate Sacrifice. I read a story today about a father that made the ultimate sacrifice to save the lives of his three daughters. A Tennessee family was vacationing in Florida when the man’s youngest daughter got caught in a riptide out in the ocean. The man’s two older daughters went out to help their younger sister and they too got caught in the riptide. The father and another man paddled out on boards to rescue the girls and he lost consciousness on the way back to shore and later died.

I have always wondered what adrenaline must kick in as a parent when our children are in serious danger, life threatening danger. This man’s quick actions to save his children ultimately cost him his own. He sacrificed his life in exchange for the possibility of saving the lives of his daughters. His wife and his daughters now have to go on with their lives without him, but the assurance they have of his love for them has been proven.

I believe almost every parent would lay down their own lives to save the lives of their children, of course there are some that would not. But what about laying down our lives for just a friend, or maybe even a stranger, would we do that?  Some would without thinking twice. The very words of the Apostle Paul touch on this very topic, “For one will scarcely die for a righteous person-though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die-but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” - Romans 5:7-8.

Jesus made mention of it as well, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” - John 15:13. Jesus Christ laid down His perfect, sinless life in our place so that we may take on His righteousness when we accept Him as our Savior. There is no greater love that that; to lay down your life for those that are your “enemies” to give them the opportunity to become your “friends”.

“For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father." - John 10:17-18.

Have a great day and God bless.

Greek to Me

It’s all Greek to me. Spending so much time in airport terminals lately exposes me to so many different people from so many different cultures and backgrounds, especially in the major airports. I get to hear people speaking all sorts of languages as I walk and sit in the terminal. Sometimes I can recognize what language it might be even though I don’t know the language.

I was sitting near a father and son today and they appeared to be from an Asian country but I’m not sure which one. I sat and listened to them behind me as they talked in their native tongue, not knowing what language it was or what they were saying. Whatever they were saying, I could tell that the middle-aged son was trying to explain something to his older father as they waited for the plane to board. The language may have been foreign to me but the tone of the conversation was not.

It got me thinking about heaven and the verses John wrote in the book of Revelation, “After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, "Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!" - Revelation 7:9-10. That verse always makes me think, if the great multitude made up of so many different people, were speaking so many different languages, did John understand every language now that he was in Heaven, or did all the people speak the same language?

After the Flood, God instructed Noah and his sons to spread out and repopulate the earth, but they disobeyed God and all settled in one place. God had to scatter all the people and confound their language to get them to spread out. I believe when we are all gathered back to God on that great day in Heaven, God will give us back one unified language that we all will speak. That is why John could understand that all the people he saw in Heaven cried out, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”

So, as I sit here today in wonder at what those around me are saying in their own native tongue, I believe the day is coming soon that I will no longer wonder because I will understand everything because we will all be in the presence of a mighty God who makes everything known to us who put our faith and trust in His Son, Jesus Christ. Praise God!

Have a great day and God bless.

Fans

Fans. Last night I got to take some time and go to a Major League Baseball game between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Cincinnati Reds. It’s been years since I’ve been to a professional game and it was all that I remembered it to be. The sounds, the smells and the fans. There were fans of all shapes and sizes there last night. There were fans young and old and almost every single one of them was wearing a jersey of their favorite team and player.

We walked through the souvenir shop looking at all the clothing and trinkets, I have to say, there was nothing cheap in that store. Yet all these fans were sporting these expensive jerseys for the game. Kids had them on along with their gloves in their hand hoping to catch a foul ball, homerun or have the ball thrown to them from their favorite player.

These fans were fanatics about their home team and its players and it got me thinking; are we as fanatic about our Savior as these people are about these baseball players?  I mean, what if we got up every day with the same fervor for Jesus Christ as all these people did for this one game played by ordinary men?  What if we went to church as excited about worshiping God as these young kids did about worshiping these ball players?

“Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” - Matthew 10:37-39.

What would our Christian life look like if we sold out to being true disciples of Christ?  What would our Christian life look like if we followed Christ like we may follow things of this world?  I believe our lives would be turned upside down, just like the original disciples of Christ and His Church.

Have a great day and God bless.

Foothold

Foothold. Last year I was able to attend a project management seminar in which Manley Feinberg was the keynote speaker. He is a world famous mountain climber that has scaled almost all of the world’s tallest and most dangerous peaks. He was such an interesting speaker in terms of setting goals and how that relates to mountain climbing. But he said the most important aspect of climbing was the foothold.

He talked about the fact that climbing the steep faces of mountains is not about upper body strength, although it is helpful, it’s about pushing upward with your legs. In order to be able to push, a climber has to be able to have their feet on strong footholds to get the leverage they need. The foothold is the key to successfully making your way up the mountain.

The same is true in the Christian life, where we place our feet and the footholds we establish are the key to successfully progressing through this mountain called life. Christ is the solid rock in which our footholds should be placed upon. “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it." - Matthew 7:24-27.

If we are not careful, negative thoughts and actions can also get footholds in our lives that gives access to Satan to use against us in our walk with God. “Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no foothold to the devil.” - Ephesians 4:26-27. We can allow footholds, both positive and negative, to appear in our lives. It is our job to make sure that our footholds are placed in the strength of God. Do not give opportunity to the devil to use footholds in your life to sin. We must guard where we place our feet. “My steps have held fast to your paths; my feet have not slipped.” - Psalm 17:5.

Have a great day and God bless.

Peace

Peace. It was the big time slogan of the 60’s. Songs were written about it with titles like “Give Peace a Chance” and others. We use it as a catchphrase when we are saying goodbye to our friends. The logo has been used for decades to sell merchandise. But will there ever really be peace in the world with some many cultural, political and religious differences?  How will peace ever be achieved when so many people have so many opposing views on almost every subject that faces mankind?

As humans we search for peace, both for ourselves and for everyone. We look to all sorts of external things in search for some semblance of peace: money, fame, possession, sex, drugs and the list can go on and on. We look for external peace by passing more laws only to upset those that don’t agree with the law. We look to be “tolerant” of everyone’s view only to argue that those that disagree are being intolerant. Peace seems so far away from being achieved internally and externally.

The is only One that gives us the peace internally that we so desire in our lives and His name is Jesus Christ. “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” - John 14:27. True peace, eternal peace, only comes from the One who has the authority to give it. “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.

World peace will never come until after Jesus Christ comes back and sets up His kingdom here on earth for one thousand years. Even during those one thousand years, with Christ available for everyone to see, people and nations will rebel until there is one final battle. Once that battle ends, then peace will finally rule the land (Revelation 20). Peace will come through the completed work of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Are you searching for inner peace?  Are you longing for the day where there is peace on earth?  Both of those are only found in Jesus Christ when we put our faith in His finished work on the Cross of Calvary.

Have a great day and God bless.

Alarm Clock

Alarm clock. The best thing about Saturday mornings is that no alarm clocks go off on that particular day in our house. Monday through Friday it goes off to jolt me out of my peaceful sleep to head off to work. Sunday it goes off so that we can all get up on time and head out to church to worship God. But Saturday, no alarm clock needed (most of the time).

Due to being woken up routinely during the week, my internal alarm clock usually wakes me up about the same time on Saturday mornings anyway. Some Saturdays I can roll back over and get some extra sleep, but most of the time my body says it’s time to get up and use the restroom. The body gets so used to a routine that it will keep it no matter if there is an external alarm or not.

God has given us an internal alarm clock, not to physically wake us up, but to spiritually wake us up. The Holy Spirit is our internal alert system to keep us in tune with the expectations of God. It alerts us to things that aren’t right externally and things that aren’t right internally. It’s that uneasy feeling you get in situations that you know aren’t where God wants you to be. The Holy Spirit works the same way internally when we are thinking of sinning against God’s Word.

“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” - John 14:26. The Holy Spirit is not only our alarm clock but is also our teacher. As we read God’s Word, the Holy Spirit helps us to learn the truth and apply it to our lives.

This internal alarm clock called the Holy Spirit is only possessed by those that have accepted Jesus Christ as their own personal Savior, He is not present in unbelievers. Do you possess the power of the Holy Spirit?  Have you been saved by the redeeming work of Jesus Christ?  Only then will you know the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit.

Have a great day and God bless.

Brain Freeze

Brain Freeze. Oh, the pain is real. To close out our week of Vacation Bible School last night, the church had an ice cream social when it was all over. Homemade ice creams of every flavor were available for tasting. Styrofoam cups were filled with either one favorite flavor or a combination of every flavor available. There aren’t many things that I love more than ice cream, especially chocolate.

As I ate my cup of ice cream in our fellowship building, I looked around the room at about one hundred other adults and children enjoying their ice cream as well. Every few minutes you would see someone stop eating real quick and get that look of absolute pain on their faces as they reached for their forehead. One by one, the brain freeze monster attacked innocent people just trying to enjoy their frozen refreshments. It got me twice. There is really nothing you can do about it but wait and let it pass on it’s own.

As I mentioned yesterday, I lost a childhood friend to cancer this week and the pain is real. I hurt not for him, as his pain is now gone, but for his family. His parents and sisters, his wife and children, and his friends that were left behind. The pain of losing someone hits hard when we are not expecting it. It sometimes becomes overwhelming and we feel that we can’t make it through. There seems to be no immediate relief from the pain of our lose. But like the brain freeze we receive from ice cream, over time the pain slowly begins to ease.

The pain of brain freeze from eating ice cream will eventually go away, but the pain of losing someone never really does. I’ve lost all of my grandparents and my father, and the pain of losing them has never really fully gone away. The memories of all the good times have become a way of getting through their not being here, but they are still missed.

My heart goes out today for the family that are burying loved ones and saying their final goodbyes. I pray for the pain and hurt that you are feeling. The memories of the good times will soon push out the feelings of emptiness and hurt.

Have a great day and God bless.

Detours

Detours. Yesterday, my wife and kids had to go out to run some errands; doctor’s office, bank, grocery store, you know, just normal stuff. Well, on their way they noticed that the traffic was stopped in the opposite direction and decided to take an alternate route on the way back home to avoid the delay.

When the errands were complete, they headed off on their detour to avoid the traffic issues they saw on their way out. Traveling the back roads, they came across some construction in the small town they were traveling through that had the road down to one lane. The original traffic jam that they saw obviously increased the traffic on the back roads as others searched for a quicker path as well.

As they waited because of the construction, a train passed through the middle of town at super slow speed and eventually came to a complete stop across the intersection. They ended up waiting over thirty minutes to get through all the additional congestion caused by the train in addition to the construction. Needless to say, my wife was a bit perturbed when they got home.

But that’s life right?  Even our most prepared plans get detoured by things outside of our control. Sometimes what we see as inconveniences, are God’s way of protecting us or slowing us down. He may be keeping us from dangers we do not see and at times He may be putting us in the path of someone that needs us at that moment in time.

It reminds me of the story of Paul on his missionary journey when God did not permit him to go into Asia and instead directed him through a dream to go to Macedonia. “And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. So, passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas. And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, ‘Come over to Macedonia and help us.’ And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.” - Acts 16:7-10.

Even though detours may be a nuisance at the time, God is in control of each and every situation. We need to learn to ask ourselves, “what does God want me to do as I face this detour in life?”  Allow Him to work through us in our moments of waiting.

Have a great day and God bless.

Children

Children. The Bible tells us that children are a blessing to their parents. I have to fully agree with that statement. As our family gets to celebrate the eleventh birthday of our oldest child, it gives us the opportunity to really look back at how much God has blessed us as a family and our daughter in general.

It’s so wonderful to watch our children grow and their personalities really develop from year to year. We look at our daughter and see so much of ourselves in her actions and demeanor. She really is a collection of both my wife and myself, but she leans heavily to the traits of my wife. As she grows, so does our relationship with her. Our conversations are deeper, our expectations of her grow, and our excitement for her future increases.

All of these things are blessings from God that He chose us to be her parents. We have a great responsibility in making sure that she grows in her relationship with Jesus Christ more than any other aspect of her life. If we can continue to point her towards God and His will for her life, all other things will fall into place according to His plan.

“You shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, that your days and the days of your children may be multiplied in the land that the LORD swore to your fathers to give them, as long as the heavens are above the earth.” - Deuteronomy 11:18-21.

Have a great day and God bless.

Tolerance

Tolerance. A word that has seemed to taken over society the last couple of years. It’s always in the news and used as argument if someone disagrees with your own opinion. It has been in some stories lately regarding the women’s World Cup soccer team. I looked up the definition of tolerance and it revolves around the acceptance of someone’s opinion or actions, and not of the person themselves.

I think that is where the misconception arises. We can be tolerant of people but intolerant or their opinions or actions. We can disagree with what they do and still love them as a person. However, those that tend do disagree with the actions of others are usually quickly labeled as either a racist, a bigot or some other word that ends with the suffix “phobic”. It sometimes comes across that those screaming for tolerance the most can be the most intolerant of others disagreeing with their opinions.

What does Jesus teach us about tolerance?  First off, he always loved and respected the person. Second, He never tolerated anything that went against the Word of God. A great example is the woman caught in adultery that was getting ready to be stoned for her sin. As Jesus requested her accusers to look at their own lives and only those found to be without sin were allowed to cast stones at her, he spoke to her separately. “But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him.  Jesus stood up and said to her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?"  She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more." - John 8:9-11.

He has tolerance for our nature to sin as humans, but He never tolerates us to continue in that sin. “Go, and from now on sin no more!”  As Christians we are to tolerate the fact that people are sinners by nature, because we are too!  However, as Christians, we are never to tolerate the sin and approve or accept it if it goes against God’s Word. We can be loving and intolerant at the same time, just like Jesus was.

Another example was the woman at the well. Jesus knew she had been married five times and was currently living with a man that was not her husband, but He still loved her and offered her His Living Water. “So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, ‘Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?’” - John 4:28-29. He didn’t condemn her but pointed out His intolerance to her sin.

Christians get a bad stereotype of being intolerant because we adhere to the truth of God’s Word. I think we can do a better job of doing both, loving the sinner but hating the sin. If we do it in the reverse order, people begin to draw conclusions that we are hateful, intolerant bigots because that is how we come across without loving them first. It’s easier for those we disagree with to accept our opinion of sin if they know that we love them first, for the sinner that they are, even though we may hate the sin they commit.

Have a great day and God bless.

Ownership

Ownership. We generally like to own things and not have to rent stuff from people where we really get no return on our investment. Whether it’s renting a house or leasing a vehicle, it is always better, financially, to own whatever it is you possess. There’s also no better felling than making that last payment on a house or car and the title becomes your possession as proof of ownership. At that point, we can say it is ours and not the possession of the bank.

I’m a big fan of Dave Ramsey and his Total Money Makeover plan of getting out of debt. My wife and I did that plan to reduced much of our debt and we are closing in on paying off almost everything else. It is satisfying to see the value of our debt reduce month after month and the thought of the freed up money that will result when we are completely debt free. At that point, our “stuff” will actually be our stuff. We will finally have ownership of our things.

Outside of having ownership of physical things, it’s important that we take ownership of spiritual things as well. Our salvation is based upon our ownership of what we have decided about Christ personally. Our salvation is not based upon our parent’s relationship with Christ or our spouse’s relationship with Christ. We have to have ownership of our own salvation. We also need to make sure that our children don’t grow up believing that their eternity is secure because of the decisions we made about Christ. Every single person is responsible for their own relationship with Christ. Ownership is non-transferable!

Sometimes it’s good to step back for a second and reflect where our personal relationship with God is through His Son. Have we personally taken ownership of our own salvation by making the decision to accept Christ as our Savior, or are we just renting and leasing our salvation through someone else’s relationship?  Take some time today to reflect on your own relationship to Christ and make sure you own it.

Have a great day and God bless.

Vacation Bible School

Vacation Bible School. That week during the summer when churches have VBS for all the children in the church and the surrounding community. There are themed Bible lessons, arts and crafts, singing, games and snacks. It is usually a big event at each church that takes weeks of preparation and draws dozens of children anxious to learn about God. I never got to experience VBS growing up but our kids have had the opportunity every year and I appreciate the opportunity that they have.

Our children being able to learn about the truth of God’s Word is of the utmost importance, especially in today’s society that is becoming more and more anti-truth and anti-God. A moral foundation being established with children at a young age,that continues throughout their upbringing, is so important. Our church does a wonderful job with educating the youth.

“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.” - Deuteronomy 6:4-7.

“Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” - Proverbs 22:6. Our duty as parents is to teach our children the Truth of God’s Word so that they are exposed to the commandments, love and grace of God. It is said that children’s minds are shaped at a very young age. As parents, we are responsible for the shaping of those young minds. If we don’t do it, the world will.

“And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, "Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.” - Matthew 18:2-6. Jesus showed us the importance of our children. Are you training up your children to love the Lord?

Have a great day and God bless.

True Love

True love. As I get to celebrate my beautiful bride’s birthday today, the words “true love” kept popping up in different forms as I thought about what to write. She hates the movie “Princess Bride” and I love to watch it just to make her complain about it. The movie is about “true love” between Westley and Princess Buttercup. The movie “Shrek” was on this morning, again talking about the idea of “true love”. It made me think of my own “true love”, Jennifer.

Many times the idea of true love seems like a fairytale as we all go through times in our lives where we have struggles and it seems far from being “true love”. But “true love” pushes through all of those struggles and difficult times. That’s what makes it “true love”!  It is love that doesn’t let any situation stop the love you have for one another. No matter what one person may do, true love keeps on keeping on. It’s a love that lays down its own life for the wellbeing of the other person.

“Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” - John 15:13. True love was shown that day at Calvary, when Jesus Christ laid down His life for all of us. He who had no sins took on our sins to give us eternal life. There has never been a greater true love than that.

Just like my true love for my bride, Jesus has shown His true love for us by His death, burial and resurrection to give us life. Have you accepted His true love?

Have a great day and God bless. And happy birthday my bride.

False Witness

False witness. There’s something extremely hurtful when someone says something about you that is the exact opposite of the truth, especially if it’s done out of jealousy or even a lack of knowledge. My sister had this happen to her this week as some people published some harsh criticism of her husband and herself. It was the complete opposite of what really happened and she had to defend herself against the false witness. Most people already knew the truth but it’s the one’s that don’t and cause the lies to get bigger that you have to set right.

The Bible speaks quite a bit about bearing  false witness against our neighbors and against one another. It starts all the way back in the Ten Commandments: “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” - Exodus 20:16. The same idea is found in Psalms and Proverbs that God forbids us from telling lies about someone. Some of those lies come from a lack of information and some of it comes from just being downright rude.

If we feel like people are bearing false witness against us, we stand in good company.  At the trial of Jesus Christ, false witness were brought in to tell lies about the Savior. “Now the chief priests and the whole council were seeking false testimony against Jesus that they might put him to death, but they found none, though many false witnesses came forward. At last two came forward and said, "This man said, 'I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to rebuild it in three days.'" - Matthew 26:59-61.

The Apostle Stephen faced the same issue in his day as he spread the Good News of the Gospel. “And they stirred up the people and the elders and the scribes, and they came upon him and seized him and brought him before the council, and they set up false witnesses who said, "This man never ceases to speak words against this holy place and the law, for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and will change the customs that Moses delivered to us." - Acts 6:12-14.

I hurt for my sister having to go through this but it’s something we all face at different levels throughout our lives. It’s the sin of man that God warned us about from the initiation of the Law. Do not bear false witness against your neighbor.

Have a great day and God bless.

Awe and Wonder

Awe and wonder. As I sat in the airport this morning, there were two young children, probably around 7 and 9, waiting to board as well. As I listened to them speak, they mentioned that this was only their second time flying, the first being their journey to El Paso. I listened as they spoke of everything that was happening in the terminal in such awe and wonder. I listened to them explain everything that was happening outside the windows to the plane we were getting ready to board.

As I listened, I thought about how manny times in the past few months I’ve sat in a terminal somewhere in this great country with just boredom of all that was going on. Each terminal only slightly different than another. But these children saw such excitement in this new experience they were having and I enjoyed their joy as I watched. Their mother, like me, wasn’t too impressed by the whole event, but those kids were making memories they will never forget of their first round trip flight.

It got me thinking of the early days of becoming a Christian. The awe and wonder of this new life, this new feeling and my new outlook on life. I was excited for what lay ahead. I couldn’t contain the joy I had in my heart for what had happened to me. I was like these kids in the airport terminal this morning. Everything was exciting as I saw life with new eyes.

But now, I sometimes feel, as a Christian, like I do as I sit in the terminal on another trip. Like it’s just routine and I feel bored with the whole journey. I realize this morning that the awe and wonder that once filled my heart for this new found life has turned into routine. Oh, how I long to go back to that feeling I first had. “But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.” - Revelation 2:4-5.

Create in me Lord a new heart!  One that longs for the first  love I once had for you. Forgive me for letting this life you have given me become routine.

Have a great day and God bless.

Flight Cancelled

Flight cancelled. I was all set to fly out last night to El Paso, when about 45 minutes before I had to leave my house, I got a notification that the first leg of my flight had been delayed by over two hours. Not an issue if my connection was only 40 minutes in Dallas. Due to my first flight arriving after my second flight was scheduled to take off, I had to cancel my travel plans for yesterday.

There is nothing more frustrating that having plans changed at the last minute, especially if it involves flights, hotels and rental cars. Meetings will be missed but I was able to reschedule a flight for today and as you read this I’ll be on my way to Texas. The positive thing about the delay was that I got to spend more time with my family last night.

My wife and I spoke about my plans changing as we were getting ready for bed. She mentioned that God was probably just protecting me from something during my journey last night. Whether it was during my drive to the airport or while on the plane, God had a purpose for my cancellation last night. When we look at disruptions to our plans in that frame of reference, we can be thankful instead of disgruntled.

“The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps.” - Proverbs 16:9.

Have a great day and God bless.

Bad Days

Bad days. We all have them, whether we are young or old, bad days just come along. Our little guy had one of those days yesterday. Nothing seemed to go right for him and everything turned into a crying session. It’s one thing to have a bad day when you’re an adult and can understand what is happening, and then it’s another thing when you’re three and can’t express what you’re feeling. It’s hard to be patient during those times with little ones and try to get them to understand why they can’t do certain things they feel they have the right to do.

I think God goes through the same thing with us as His children. We go through bad days and we don’t understand why we can’t do what we feel we have the right to do. We get frustrated, we get mad, we may even cry as we search for answers. With our limited knowledge of what lies ahead of us, we want to forge our own path ahead no matter what, and sometimes God tells us “no”. We are like our three year old, who doesn’t understand what we know and the dangers we may be keeping him from by telling him “no”. He is living only in the current moment and doesn’t understand fully what we do based upon our experiences and our own past failures.

God has no past failures, but He does have eternal experience that we do not; it’s called sovereignty. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD.  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” - Isaiah 55:8-9.

So, as we experience bad days like my little guy did yesterday because of his lack of understanding, let us remind ourselves that God’s ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. Let us go to Him in obedient prayer and not as little children throwing a fit because we did not get our way. He may just let us have our way to show us our limited understanding.

Have a great day and God bless.

Earthquakes

Earthquakes. It’s been a very hectic two days for Southern California in terms of earthquakes. They had a 6.4 on Thursday and then a 7.1 yesterday. The first one didn’t cause much damage but the second one did. I’ve never experienced an earthquake before but people I know have said it’s a frightening experience. Earthquakes are nothing new and will continue on until the Lord returns.

The Bible talks quite a bit about earthquakes. The prophets all mention earthquakes as signs of things to come. Elijah went through an earthquake along with wind and fire, “And he said, "Go out and stand on the mount before the LORD." And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake.” - 1 Kings 19:11.  Isaiah, Ezekiel and Amos all talk about earthquakes. Jesus Christ talked about earthquakes in three of the four Gospels when He is describing the events of the end times, or the Tribulation period. The Book of Revelation picks up on that same message told by Christ. “When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood” - Revelation 6:12.  “And at that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.” - Revelation 11:13.

I think of Paul and Silas in the Philippian jail as they sang praises to the Lord and a great earthquake came and released their chains and burst open the jailhouse door, “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 16:26

Or the earthquake that happened at the death of Christ, “When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, "Truly this was the Son of God!" - Matthew 27:54. And the earthquake that was felt when the stone was rolled away at His Resurrection, “And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it.” - Matthew 28:2.

Earthquakes are nothing new, they been around since at least the days of Elijah and they will continue on during the Tribulations. We must not misunderstand Jesus’ warning about the last days as things that are happening now. His warning was for the time period after the Rapture of the Church and the events going on today are not part of His warning. But are you ready for His return?

Have a great day and God bless.

Ungrateful

Ungrateful. I’ve noticed lately that there are many people that are ungrateful for the many things that this country has provided to them. Most of the people that are coming across as being ungrateful seem to be the same people that have gained the most by living in this great country. I’m not blind to the fact that there are issues within our country and things that can be improved, but I also realize we live in a country made up of people from many different backgrounds and philosophies and there will never be a time when everyone feels that things are perfect because we live in a fallen world.

As Christians, we should be grateful for the things in our lives no matter what situation we may be in. God has provided us with so much, most of all, the gift of His Son and the forgiveness of our sins. We can’t get caught up in the things of this world and comparing what we have and don’t have with others around us. All of these material things are going to go away or become the possession of someone else at some point. Our treasures are laid up for us in heaven.

It’s easy to get caught up in the complaining and ungratefulness of others, but we need to remind ourselves, probably daily, of what we are grateful for: our health, our loved ones, a roof over our heads, food on our tables, etc. God has so richly blesses us with eternal things that the earthly things in this life should be viewed as minuscule.

“Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.” - Hebrews 12:28-29. Have you thanked God with a grateful heart today for His blessings on you?

Have a great day and God bless.

Freedom

Freedom. Independence Day has always been my favorite holiday. The parades, the cookouts, fireworks and it always involved playing baseball. It’s just an all-American holiday. I have such fond memories of this day being a day of fun and family. The whole nation, town by little town, came together to celebrate our independence from Britain all the way back in 1776.

I used to love teaching this subject to my students. The Revolutionary War, the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and Bill of Rights. It was such an unprecedented time not only in America, but in the history of the world. A new nation set upon Christian principles and governed by the people.

Even though this was a major event in the history of the world in which America declared it’s freedom from Britain, it wasn’t the most important event in world history in regards to freedom. The thirty-three years that Jesus Christ spent on earth and His death, burial and resurrection was the greatest event in the history of mankind. It is the only event that brings true freedom to us as individuals.

“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” - 2 Corinthians 3:17.

“For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” - Galatians 5:1.

“Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.” - 1 Peter 2:16.

Enjoy living in the greatest country in the world today and celebrating our Independence Day. Have a great day and God bless.

Truth

Truth. There are a lot of things in our government going on about what the truth is about different topics. It seems that both sides of the “truth” from each party is very different from one another. Each side is calling into question the other side’s version of their “truth”. Fact is that the truth doesn’t belong to either party, it stands on its own ground without input from either side. Our feelings, experiences and personal convictions tend to bend the truth when we share our version of it.

The four Gospels seem to have different versions of the “truth” about what happened during the ministry of Jesus Christ. Septics like to use this argument as a way to discount the validity of the four Gospel writers. However, this is an false argument because the four writers, led by the Holy Spirit, were writing to different audiences. The focus of their audience prompted them to focus differently on the same events. So, what seems to be different versions of the same events, is in actuality the same truth only recorded for a different audience.

Just like in a car accident, which involves both those in the accident, as well as, those who were witnesses, they may have different versions of the same events. Those that were involved in the accident, and possibly the cause of it, will have one version, while the other party involved may have another version. Those that witnessed the accident from afar will have a completely different view than those involved. All of them have a version of the truth and are just reporting it from their standpoint.

The Gospels are the Truth of God brought to man by individual writers trying to reach specific groups of people: some Jews and some Gentiles. All four of them were presenting Christ in a different light. Even though the versions may have some points that may seem to contradict each other, they all still provide the Truth of God.

“So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, "If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." - John 8:31-32.

“But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.” - John 4:23.

Seek the truth in all things but know the Truth has already been given to us in the Word of God.

Have a great day and God bless.

The Walking Dead

The Walking Dead. Anyone out there fans of the show?  I’ve never seen a single episode even though it ran for nine seasons. I’ve also never seen a single episode of Game of Thrones either. I have lived vicariously through the information of others for both of those shows, so I do have a general understanding of what both shows were about. I’m not a big fan of either of those genres, so it doesn’t attract me to watch, even though millions of people love them.

My understanding is that the show The Walking Dead is based upon a group of people fighting for their survival against an ever growing population of zombies. They work together as a team to make sure that they survive the zombie apocalypse and one-by-one, their team gets smaller and smaller because of loses to the other side. I think that is an overall recap of the storyline.

I have always heard that art imitates life and would have to say that this show imitates what spiritual life in this current world looks like. As the tide sways from this country being considered a Christian nation to it now becoming more secular, the number of Christians is growing smaller as the number of non-Christians is growing larger. In a nutshell, the spiritually dead is outnumbering those that are alive spiritually.

Before we became Christians, we too, were once spiritually dead, “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience- among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.” - Ephesians 2:1-3. We were counted among the Walking Dead.

If you have accepted Christ as your Savior, you are no longer dead, but alive in Christ. “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- and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” - Ephesians 2:4-7.

Has there been a specific moment in time when God “butted” into your life? A time that you can put your finger on and say, you went from being spiritually dead to alive in Christ?  If not, let today be the day that you leave the Walking Dead and move into life with Christ.

Have a great day and God bless.

Terms and Conditions

Terms and conditions. I am going to go out on a limb here and say that I am probably not the only one who has accepted terms and conditions without ever ready through what they are. Can I get an “amen”?  Who has time to read through all of that legalese to just get to the end and not understand what you just read anyway?  You need a lawyer to read through all of that to make sense of it, and who really has the time and money for that?  So, instead, we just click on the “accept” button and continue on with life.

The Bible has terms and conditions too. Some of them take no effort of our own, God takes care of all of it for us. Others have certainly conditions we must meet for God to fulfill His end of the agreement. We had an awesome sermon at church yesterday by Pastor Phillip about one of the most important terms and conditions found in God’s Word. Now before you jump all over me, I understand that this was originally given to the nation of Israel, but I’m sure it still holds true today to those of us that call ourselves Christians.

“If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. - 2 Chronicles 7:14. The two words “if” and “then” are the terms and conditions of the agreement. If we do what God has laid out for us to do, then He will follow through with what He has agreed to.

God asks us, as individuals and as a country, to do four very specific things: humble ourselves, pray, seek Him and turn, or repent, from our wicked ways. I think they need to be done in the very order as well. We live in a society nowadays that thinks to be humble is to be week. We instructed to take the tiger by the tail and go after the things we want, even if it’s against God’s will. The final task in the lost is to repent, to turn in the complete opposite direction from where we are currently heading.

If we do those four things, God says that He will in turn do three things for us: hear, forgive and heal. He will not hear us until we have completed the four requirements listed above. Once He knows that we are sincere and completely turned from our sinful ways, then, and only then, will he hear us, forgive us, and heal both us individually and as a country.

The health of this country is dependent on Christians following through on the terms and conditions of this agreement. Non-believers will never do this, it is up to us as Christians to take part in this. Our country is headed in the wrong direction and it’s partly to blame for the lack of backbone found in Christianity today. Will you do your part?

Have a great day and God bless.