Mayor of Myrtle

“Mayor of Myrtle”.  That’s what we nicknamed our four year old son this week while we were on vacation in Myrtle Beach, SC. It seemed that everywhere we went, our little guy walked right up to complete strangers and announced his full name and that he was four years old. It didn’t matter if we were on the beach, in the hotel, playing miniature golf or shopping, he was going to introduce himself to anyone he came across - hence the new nickname.

One encounter in particular stood out above all the others. He was down at the water’s edge collecting seashells with his little orange bucket and there was a group of three older couples sitting in their chairs right beside him. We watched as he just started a conversation with the older lady sitting on the end. They talked for a few minutes and he handed her one of his shells and came back up to where we were sitting.

The following day as we were sitting on the beach, that same lady came to where we were with a shell of her own for our son. She said that she was going to keep the shell that he had given her and when she got home she was going to write his name and the date on the shell to remember him. It was such a sweet gesture by her to make it a point to share a shell with him like he had shared with her.

He had such an impact on that lady with the simple acts of starting a conversation and sharing what he had with her that she will probably never forget their encounter when she sees that shell with his name on it. Made me wonder if I have the same impact on people’s lives, like my son does, that people wouldn’t ever forget our encounter?

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” - Matthew 5:14-16.

What impact are we having on this troubled world?  Are we letting our light shine by striking up conversations with strangers and giving them something that we have: the Good News of the Gospel?  “As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!’” - Romans 10:15b.

Have a great day and God bless.

Quarantine

Quarantine. With most of the nation being put on quarantine for the next month or so (North Carolina is until the end of April), it made me wonder if there were any Biblical incidents of quarantine. In the very book of Genesis, we have our first story of a quarantine. “Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight, and the earth was filled with violence. And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. And God said to Noah, ‘I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth.’”- Genesis 6:11-13.

But there was one man and his family that found favor in the sight of God because he was a good man. God gave Noah instructions to build an ark for the protection of the upcoming destruction of the earth. Anyone who heeded the warning of Noah over the next 100 years, while he built the ark, would be allowed to get on the ark and be saved.

But after 100 years of explaining why he was building the ark, no one listened but his own family, “Then the LORD said to Noah, ‘Go into the ark, you and all your household, for I have seen that you are righteous before me in this generation.’” - Genesis 7:1. Imagine preaching for 100 years that the world was coming to an end and the only one that believed him was his own family. “Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters came upon the earth. And Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons' wives with him went into the ark to escape the waters of the flood.” - Genesis 7:6-7.

Most of us are now in forced quarantine for the next month or so with only our families. Christ is returning soon and then destruction will consume this earth. Are your family members going with you to heaven?  Are you prepared for heaven?  Have you accepted Christ as your own personal Savior?  Noah preached that punishment was coming for 100 years. Christ has been preached for almost 2000 years now. He is coming soon!

Have a great day and God bless.

Social Distancing

Social distancing. It has become the buzzword of 2020 due to the spread of this worldwide Corona virus. People are being asked to self quarantine and practice social distancing in an effort to slow down and ultimately stop the spread of this virus. People are taking precautions not to interact with the elderly, as they seem to be the most prone to not be able to recover from the effects of the virus. I’ve seen stories of people talking to their elderly parents and grandparents through windows of nursing homes and I’ve seen the picture of the little boy and his grandpa playing tic-tac-toe on opposite sides of a glass door.

However, social distancing can have other positive effects outside of just protecting the elderly and those with a higher risk of being unable to recover. It can force families to slow down and spend time with one another. It can force people to either deepen their relationship with God, or maybe even search for God during this difficult time. It can force neighbors to rely on one another for help and even put their needs above our own. Social distancing is not a new fad, ask introverts!

Jesus, Himself, practiced social distancing at times. There were times when He was tired from the constant push of the crowds looking for physical healing. After feeding the 5000, He sent His disciples on ahead to the other side of the lake and took some time to distance Himself from society, “Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone” - Matthew 14:22-23.

He sought time for just Himself and His Father. He needed time to reconnect with God. He needed to realign Himself with the will of His Heavenly Father. What an example that is for us. When the events of life have physically, emotionally and spiritually drained us, do we seek time to reconnect with our Father?  Do we disconnect and search for His will instead of our own will or the will of the world and news media?

Not only did Jesus socially distance Himself when He was worn down, He socially distancedHimself when He was in spiritual distress. The night before He was crucified, He distanced Himself once again to plead with His Father, “And he came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him. And when he came to the place, he said to them, ‘Pray that you may not enter into temptation.’ And he withdrew from them about a stone's throw, and knelt down and prayed, saying, ‘Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.’” - Luke 22:39-42.

We are living in troubling times with a contagious virus to deal with. We have been asked to distant ourselves socially from others to help contain the virus. During this time, who are you turning to for relief of your physical, emotional and spiritual concerns?  There’s a God that would love to reconnect and re-energize His children.

Have a great day and God bless.

New World Order

New World Order. Pandemic, panic, chaos, hoarding, school closings, stock market crashing, government restrictions and curfews. You would think this is all from an upcoming movie, tv show or book release, but it’s not, it’s what is going on in our world today. A lot has changed since just the beginning of this month; fear has set in and people are acting like the end of the world is at hand. I’ve even read some posts that want to correlate the events of today with the end times events of the Bible.

I can understand where they want to make the two relate to one another, but the next prophetic event on God’s calendar hasn’t occurred yet. Both the Apostle Paul in his letters to the Thessalonians and the Apostle John in his letter to the seven churches in the book of Revelation elude to an event to start the events of the end times: the Rapture of the church. When a large amount of the world’s population suddenly disappears, then the end times begin.

The events that are occurring today are setting up those events we find starting in chapter 4 of the book of Revelation and going forward. We have a mass pandemic that no one seems to know how to keep it from spreading. We have people all over the world that are hoarding things like toilet paper, milk, bread and other basic items out of fear. We have world stock markets crashing with no bottom in sight at this point. We have world governments putting restrictions on their people to try and help contain the spread of the virus.

All of these things sets the world up for a person to step out onto the stage with a solution to all the world’s problems. That person will have answers, will be well spoken and will steal the hearts of people all over the world. All he will want in return is all authority over government, finances and religion. He is the Anti-Christ and he is waiting for those holding him back to be removed: the church. Once the church is Raptured from here, he will be unbridled to unleash his terror on the world. At first he will look like the answer to all the world’s problems, but he will turn and people will be too far along to reverse his course.

The only answer to ending the rule of the Anti-Christ will be the return of the true Christ. Jesus will return and defeat the Anti-Christ, the false prophet and Satan and will establish His kingdom here on earth for a thousand years. The question is will you be gone with the Rapture of the church or will you be left behind to deal with the punishment of God?  That’s a question only you can answer. If you want to know more on how you can be saved from the tribulation to come, let me know, I’d love to share Christ with you.

Have a great day and God bless.

Y’all Need Jesus

Y’all Need Jesus. My wife asked me to run out to the local grocery store today to get two containers of icing for a desert she was making for tomorrow. I got to the store and grabbed the two containers and headed to the check out line to pay for them. Once I was done, I made my way to the door just as two employees were coming in with loads of grocery carts. I waited for them to come in before going through the door.

One of the two ladies mentioned the t-shirt I had on that read “Y’all Ned Jesus” and said “amen”.  She also mentioned she would be front and center at church tomorrow praying for everyone’s health. I agreed with her and wished her a good rest of her day and finally headed out the door.

As I walked out the door and started through the parking lot, a young lady was coming into the store dressed in a long robe-like dress and a hijab. I knew right away what her religious beliefs might be and how they were very different from mine. As I walked towards her it was obvious that she easily read my t-shirt and the message on it.

As we approached each other, I smiled at her and said “good afternoon, how are you?”  She smiled back at me and said “good afternoon, I’m fine, thanks for asking.”  We both smiled at each other once again and continued past each other in our opposite directions. No confrontation, no dirty looks, no avoidance of one another. Just two people, with two different religious belief systems, who were able to be civilized and pleasant to one another because there was no other reason not to be.

“Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.” - 1 Peter 2:12.

Have a great day and God bless.

Children

Children. Over the past month I have spent a large amount of time traveling through airports from the east coast to the west coast. There have been long layovers, cancelled flights and multiple delays. As I have sat in the various terminals this month, I have been afforded a big chunk of time to people watch. Let me tell you, there are some strange ones out there, but that’s for a different post some time in the future.

Children always catch my attention. Infants, toddlers, small ones and soon to be teenagers. I like watching how their parents interact with them at the various ages. To see those infants flying for the first time, maybe going to be their grandparents on the other side of the country. They are either in their strollers or strapped tightly to their mother’s body so that her hands are free.

Watching the toddlers roam around the airport makes me smile. Some parents give their children quite a bit of leeway, while others keep them close by with a highly watchful eye on what’s going on around them. One thing is true for children no matter what their age may be, their parents think that they are the best thing on earth, and rightfully so.

Every parent has a bias that their child is the prettiest, most handsome, smartest, most talented, and so on and so on. There is nothing wrong with that, as parents we are proud of our children. We brag on their achievements. We brag on their good looks (usually coming from the mother’s side). We show all the pictures we have of them on our phones. It’s what we do as parents.

God feels the same way about His children. He looks down at us and feels a sense of pride that we belong to Him. He is most proud of His children when we do things that glorify Him. If He had a cell phone, He’d be showing off your picture around His throne.

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations."  - Jeremiah 1:5. He’s known us before our own parent’s knew us. “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” - Jeremiah 29:11. Before we were born, He had plans for us.

God loves His children. God takes pride in the things we do to bring Him the glory. Are you a child of God?  If not, there is not better time than now to become one.

Have a great day and God bless.

Overbooked

Overbooked. I have a hard time understanding, in this day and age of technology, how an airline can overbook a flight. I can see it being overbooked by a person or two, if they happen to make reservations at the same time online, but the chances are slim it would happen. But how can a flight get overbooked by two whole rows of people?

As I sat at the gate today in Dallas waiting to get back to snowy Greensboro, the lady at the gate made an announcement that the flight was overbooked by eight people. EIGHT PEOPLE!!!!  That was two whole rows of extra people for this flight. Not only that, how did they not know this until about 30 minutes before we boarded?

Every plane has a limited amount of seats, the bigger the plane the greater the amount of seats, the smaller the plane the less seats there are. Simple to understand right? Yet, today our flight was overbooked by eight people. Like normal, the airline started giving away vouchers for future flights and as the price they offered went up, they finally got their eight people to give up their seats so we could head out.

It got me thinking about Heaven and the abundance of room there for those that accept Christ. There will never be a time where a heaven is overbooked. No one who accepts Christ will ever be turned away. No one who accepts Christ will ever be offered a voucher for another date. There is room for everyone to receive the grace of God.

“For if, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the ABUNDANCE of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.” - Romans 5:17.

God wants you to accept His free gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ. Those that accept Him will never be turned away. God’s love, grace and mercy can never be overbooked.  We serve an awesome God!

Have a great day and God bless.

Death

Death. It’s something we will all face. Whether it’s the death of a parent, a spouse or a child, death affects us all. Sometimes it’s the death of someone famous, like Kobe Bryant today, that makes us realize how fragile life is. There is not a status that keeps death away. It doesn’t matter if we are young, rich, healthy or famous, we are all at the mercy of death. Unless Christ returns soon, we will all experience death. Would you say that you are spiritually ready?

The Bible speaks about how short our lives really are in comparison to all of eternity. “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. We are not promised tomorrow. We don’t know the time or date of our last breath. We need to be ready now for when that time comes.

I don’t know what Kobe’s religious beliefs were, I’ve never really heard him speak about it. What I do know is that all of us will be held accountable for the decision we make in this life regarding Jesus Christ. We have the time from our first breath until our last to put our faith in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. If we do, the death Christ paid for on the Cross will be accounted unto us. If we do not, we will be held accountable to pay for our own sins throughout eternity. “And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment” - Hebrews 9:27.

As we mourn the death of Kobe Bryant because of his fame on the basketball court, we should take this time to not only reflect on our own mortality but to also look at those around us who may not have made a decision to trust Christ yet. Death is imminent, judgement is promised, salvation has been offered through Jesus Christ. Pray for those that lost loved ones today, pray for those that still have an opportunity to accept Christ.

Have a great day and God bless.

Beyond the Cross

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

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

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

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

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

Have a great day and God bless.

Marks of a Christian

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Have a great day and God bless.

Rear View Mirror

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

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

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

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

Have a great day and God bless.

Hometown

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

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

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

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

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

Have a great day and God bless.

Salesman

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

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

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

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

Have a great day and God bless.

Adoption

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

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

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

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

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

Have a great day and God bless.

Holy Water

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

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

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

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

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

Have a great day and God bless.

Simple

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

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

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

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

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

Have a great day and God bless.

Revival?

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

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

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

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

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

Have a great day and God bless.

Masterpiece

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

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

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

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

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

Have a great day and God bless.

The Dash

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

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

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

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

Have a great day and God bless.

Wildfires

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

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

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

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

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

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

Have a great day and God bless.