The Dash

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

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

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

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

Have a great day and God bless.

Wildfires

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

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

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

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

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

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

Have a great day and God bless.

Lost

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

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

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

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

Have a great day and God bless.

Near to God

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

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

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

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

Have a great day and God bless.

LEGOs

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

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

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

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

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

Have a great day and God bless.

Pause

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

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

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

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

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

Have a great day and God bless.

Stuff

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

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

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

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

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

Have a great day and God bless.

A View

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

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

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

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

Have a great day and God bless.

First Class

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

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

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

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

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

Have a great day and God bless.

Stone Walls

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

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

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

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

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

Have a great day and God bless.

Bad Decisions

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

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

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

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

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

Have a great day and God bless.

Fantasy Football

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

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

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

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

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

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

Have a great day and God bless.

Late

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

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

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

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

Have a great day and God bless.

Rescue

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

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

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

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

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

Have a great day and God bless.

So Good to Me

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

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

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

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

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

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

Have a great day and God bless.

Packing

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

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

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

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

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

Have a great day and God bless.

Change

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

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

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

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

Have a great day and God bless.

Hardships

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

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

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

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

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

Have a great day and God bless.

Embarrassed

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

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

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

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

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

Have a great day and God bless.

Firsts

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

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

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

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

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

Have a great day and God bless.

Fall

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

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

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

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

Have a great day and God bless.

Suspenders

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

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

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

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

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

Have a great day and God bless.

Good News

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

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

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

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

Have a great day and God bless.

Bad News

Bad news. We’ve all gotten it at some point in our lives. Maybe it was the unexpected loss of a loved one, or maybe your company was downsizing and they were letting you go, or maybe a doctor’s visit didn’t go how you had planned. Bad news comes in all shapes and sizes and doesn’t care about your social status, age or race. Most of us will not, and probably have not, received bad news only once in our lives. If you’re reading this today, you have survived 100% of the bad news you have been given so far in life.

So what do we do when bad news comes knocking at our doors as Christians?  What should our response be?  The Bible is pretty clear on what our course of action should be when the time comes: pray. First and foremost, we should personally pray to God for our own situation. We should go to Him with our fears, our weaknesses and our questions. God is big enough to handle all of them. I think of the the life of David between when he was anointed king and he actually became king. The trials and tribulations (bad news) he endured during those times that give us so much of the Book of Psalms. “I sought the LORD, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears.” - Psalm 34:4.

Second, we should confide in our closest circle the need for them to pray with us and for us. Our closest and dearest friends and family will always seek the Lord on our behalf in whatever bad news we may be facing making supplications for our needs. “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” - James 5:16. We know from God’s Word that where two or three are gathered together in His name, He is there. When we ask for His will to be done, He hears our prayers.

Lastly, when we are done praying, we are to pray some more, seeking God’s intervention. “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.” - Matthew 7:7-8. God’s answer may not always be what we think is the correct response, but it is always the right response in accordance to His Will. Even our Savior knew that, “And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, ‘My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.’” - Matthew 26:39.

Have a great day and God bless.

Homecoming

Homecoming. It’s that time of year again. I’ve seen tons of pictures of my high school friends who have kids that are now in high school and all the homecoming dance pictures from this weekend. Everyone was all dressed up and looking pretty in their dress  and handsome in their suits and ties. My alma mater had their homecoming weekend this past weekend with my former college having an alumni soccer game as part of the celebration. Too bad I live about 700 miles away or I would have loved to go back and catch up with old friends and teammates.

There have been some awesome stories in the news the past couple of weeks where high school student bodies selected classmates, that would otherwise be left out, as their kings and queens. Kids with special needs being honored by their classmates by being crowned to homecoming courts. One story told of a girl who had been shot a few years ago, and recovered, being chosen as the homecoming queen. All feel good stories that bring a tear to your eye. Kids that normally aren’t considered the popular crowd being given the spotlight of their school for one special night. I congratulate their classmates for doing such an honorable thing.

Jesus taught His disciples the same principle about honoring those that may be considered less fortunate or not the most popular people. “He said also to the man who had invited him, ‘When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.’” - Luke 14:12-14.

We are blessed when we bless those who cannot provide us anything in return. Those that are not able to repay you for what you have done receive a greater blessing than those that can give back to you what you have given to them. There will always be people more fortunate than ourselves, and there will always be people that are less fortunate. God commands us to reach down and help those that we can without needing to be repaid for what we’ve done.

Have a great day and God bless.

Balance

Balance. Have you ever just lost your balance because you’ve gotten your foot caught unexpectedly?  It hasn’t happened to me often. About ten years ago I got my foot caught in a book bag strap and dislocated all my fingers in my right hand. This morning, on the way to church, I got my foot caught in between the car door and the porch and lost my balance. I didn’t fall hard, but I did do enough to twist my knee. I don’t know if it was more about being embarrassed than being hurt, but I jumped back to my feet as quickly as I could.

Life works the same way, we are occasionally knocked off balance by unexpected events in life. Those events are different for each of us, some may be facing health issues that knock us off balance, some may be facing family issues and others may be facing work or school issues. Life knocks us down and we have two decisions to make: stay down and sulk or get up and keep going.

I think about the prodigal son, when he came to the end of his money and he had to hire himself out as a pig farmer, living in the mud with pigs. He could have just stayed in the slop and decided that it was his lot in life, but he didn’t. He came to his sense and said that working for his father was better than what he was doing at that point. “I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants."” - Luke 15:18-19.

He made a decision to get up from the pig pen and go back home admitting that he had sinned. “And the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.'” - Luke 15:21. When we break our fellowship with God, we need to go back to the Father admitting that what we had done was sin in His eyes. And just like the father of the prodigal son, our Heavenly Father will welcome us home with open arms. “And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.” - Luke 15:20.

Have you fallen in your walk with God recently?  Are you far from Him and don’t know how to go back?  It’s easy; come to your sense and head back to God and admit to Him that you had sinned. He’ll welcome you back without hesitation.

Have a great day and God bless.

Turn Around

Turn around. I was on my way to a yearly event tonight by myself as my family stayed at home. As I was making my way to the event, the Holy Spirit spoke to me to turn around and go back home and spend the evening with my family. I’m going to be doing some traveling soon and will be away from them during that time, I didn’t need to be away from them tonight. I tried to argue with the Holy Spirit that I only do this event once a year, but He wasn’t having it. So I turned around and came back home. I’m glad I did. We had dinner and then a family movie.

God wants us to “turn around” too; it’s called repentance. To repent means to realize the path you are traveling down is the wrong path, so you turn around and head back towards the direction you left. The wrong path is the path that leads away from God, so to turn around, or repent, means to turn back towards the direction of God. It’s not a ninety degree turn, it’s a one hundred and eighty degree turn.

“Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.” - Luke 15:7.

“Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus.” - Acts 3:19-20.

“For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.” - 2 Corinthians 7:10.

I am glad that I turned back tonight and came home to my family. But more importantly, I’m glad I turned back one day about seventeen years ago and came home to my Heavenly Father. He greeted me with open arms, just like the father of the prodigal son, and said, “Welcome home my child, I’ve been waiting for you!”

Have a great day and God bless.

Burn the Ships

Burn the ships. That seems like an odd topic for a post about Christianity doesn’t it?  Actually, it comes from a newly released song that is out on the radio. The first time that I heard it, I didn’t understand what burning ships had to do with God. But, the more that I listened to the song, the more it made sense in the context of the rest of the song. The concept of burning the ships relates to forgetting our past and moving on with our future.

I don’t know about you, but there are many things in my past that I regret, both before I became a Christian and after I became one. The one thing about our past is that we can’t change it, it’s gone, and we can’t do anything about it. All we can do is learn from what we did and apply those lessons to the rest of our lives to make sure that we do not commit the same mistakes in the future.

I think of all of the people in the Bible that had either a sketchy past, or a downright sinful past, that God still used. People that had committed murder, people that were harlots, and people that were the least respected in the culture of their time. God forgot about their past and was more concerned about their future. The Apostle Paul comes to mind. He approved of the stoning death of Stephen and was the hunter of people of the Way. God met him along the road to Damascus and forever changed his future.

“Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” - Philippians 3:13-14. There may be things in your past that keep you from moving forward with life, from doing the things that God has called you to do. We need to forget what lies behind because God has - “as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.” - Psalm 103:12.

Don’t worry about your past, there is nothing you can do to change it and if Satan wants to bring it up, tell him that it has already been nailed to the Cross. Forget what lies behind and keep pushing forward towards the mark.

Have a great day and God bless.

Justice and Mercy

Justice and mercy. It was never more evident than in the courtroom yesterday. A former cop shot a killed a man that she thought was inside her apartment. The problem was that it wasn’t her apartment, she was on the wrong floor. She went to trial and was found guilty of murder and was sentenced to ten years in prison yesterday. Justice was served.

But an amazing thing happened after the sentencing was over: mercy showed up. The brother of the victim offered forgiveness to the lady that shot and killed his brother. He spoke from the witness stand saying that he didn’t want bad things for her life, he wanted her to find grace in the person of Jesus Christ. He got up from the witness stand and went down to the young lady and hugged her as an outward sign of his mercy and grace towards her.

It wasn’t only the brother of the victim that came down to show mercy to the recently sentenced ex-cop. The judge rose from her bench and came down to hug the accused, as well as, the mother of the victim. The judge gave the young lady a copy of her personal Bible that she kept at her bench and instructed her to take the time she was sentenced to, to read it.

I can’t count the number of times that I have heard God spoken of in one of two ways: as a ruthless judge looking to condemn people to hell, or a God of love that would never send anyone to hell. Both descriptions are not fully accurate of who God is. God is a Holy and Righteous God who cannot be in the presence of sin, because of that He must judge sin and those that commit sin. God is love. He loves His creation so much He sent His only Son to die on the Cross in our place. Just like a coin has two sides, so does God.

There is no better example of justice and mercy than the Cross of Calvary. Justice needed to be carried out for the sin of man because God demands justice. But mercy showed up in the form of Jesus Christ who went to the Cross to pay for our sins; that’s love. “For our sake he made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” - 2 Corinthians 5:21. Justice was carried out that day on Jesus Christ so that we who put our faith in Him may receive the mercy of God, just like what happened in that courtroom yesterday.

Have you received God’s mercy? Or are you planning to taking the judgement of your own sins upon yourself in a place called hell?  God doesn’t send people to hell, people choose to go there because they are too proud to accept the free gift of salvation.

Have a great day and God bless.

Potholes

Potholes. On my way to work this morning, as I was going around a turn, I got a little too close to the shoulder of the road and I hit a pothole with my tire. I hit it hard. Hard enough to think that I may have popped the tire. I pulled over a little further down the road just to make sure I didn’t hear any air leaking from the tire. No issues with the tire going flat but it did drive a little funny after that.

But isn’t that a lot like life thought, we are cruising right along with no issues and then out of nowhere we hit a pothole. Maybe it’s a financial pothole, or a health pothole or maybe even a relationship pothole. And all of a sudden things no longer feel right. We aren’t on the side of the road broken down, but things are no longer running like they once did.

There will be potholes throughout our entire lives. Things that catch us by surprise. Some potholes may be bigger than others and some potholes may do more damage than others. But life goes on. We make the necessary repairs and continue down the road. As Christians, we’ve never been promised a smooth road, in fact, just the opposite is true. “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.

Potholes will come, there’s no doubt about it. Make the repairs and keep on your journey to becoming more and more like Christ.

Have a great day and God bless.

Stain

Stain. With us selling our house, we have been doing little projects before the inspector comes out to perform his inspection and dings us for the little things we can fix now. So, the other day, I replaced two pieces of decking that had rotted on one end of the plank. I ripped them out, cleaned up the area and nailed down two new replacement planks in their place. This afternoon I stained them to match the rest of the planks that were originally there. By the time I was done, I had stain all over the side of my right hand where it had hit the rim of the paint can. I was stained too.

The Bible tells us that our sins are stains that God sees when He looks at us before we accept Christ. It was a description that was used in both the Old Testament and the New Testament. “Though you wash yourself with lye and use much soap, the stain of your guilt is still before me, declares the Lord GOD.” - Jeremiah 2:22. As much as we try to hide our sins and clean ourselves up with “good works”, our sins are a stain on our lives. The guilt of being sinful men and women stand before God uncovered until they are nailed to the Cross with Christ.

“And have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.” - Jude 1:22-23. Our stains are a natural part of our fleshly nature. Our flesh wants to rebel against God and that rebellion stains our souls. Those of us who have accepted Christ as our Savior, have had our stains removed, not covered, removed!  They were taken away by the death of Jesus Christ. “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” - 2 Corinthians 5:21.

Have you had your sinful, stained soul forever cleansed by the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ?  He is waiting for you to come to Him in repentance and ask for forgiveness. “Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.” - Isaiah 1:18.

Have a great day and God bless.