ARE YOU READY?

Hebrews 4: 1 – 7

I really enjoy movies that I categorize as “Guts and Glory” movies. These movies usually feature the armed forces, and for the most part the good guys win, and even if they do lose it is an honorable death. In a good deal of these movies, they show our heroes training to be ready to go to war.
One of my favorites is Heart Break Ridge with Clint Eastwood as the grizzled old Marine Gunnery Sergeant. At one point in the film, in the middle of the night, an emergency call for deployment to go to combat comes, it’s purpose was to find out if the marines were ready to go and had the proper equipment to fight.
The military trains to be ready, sports teams train to be ready, musicians practice, actors rehearse, and Doctors attend seminars, all to be ready for when the time comes.

Are you ready for when your time comes to enter the Kingdom of Heaven?

4 Somewhere it’s written, "God rested the seventh day, having completed his work,"
5 but in this other text he says, "They’ll never be able to sit down and rest."
6 So this promise has not yet been fulfilled. Those earlier ones never did get to the place of rest because they were disobedient.
7 God keeps renewing the promise and setting the date as today, just as he did in David’s psalm, centuries later than the original invitation: Today, please listen; don’t turn a deaf ear… (The Message)

Training isn’t easy.
It requires time and dedication to our faith.
Training alone can be fruitless because we have a tendency to ease up and get lazy if we don’t have someone to keep us accountable, or encourage us, or even lead us in the direction we should go. As an example, I am trying to read the Bible in 90 days. All I have to do is read 12 pages a day. I started out gangbusters, even reading ahead in case I had a bad day. Well, a bad day came followed by another and then another. Before I knew it, I was so far behind, that I skipped over books and passages that I have read recently in order to catch up. I’m still a day behind right now. Again, Why? I’m doing it alone and I let up. But I keep on plugging hoping for fewer bad days.

Get started in training now. Find a partner or a group, find a path to follow, lead it yourself if you have to, but get ready for that day when you will stand alone in front of God. Hopefully He will say; Welcome good and faithful servant.

God’s call may come at any time—so be ready all the time!

HAPPY TOGETHER

Genesis 2: 15 - 25
I did a teaching on this subject when I was chaplain for the LSMC. I used song lyrics from Charlie Daniels, quotes from wickipedia, I found some macho verses in the Bible, and even used the words I heard from a friend about standing on our own two feet. It all comes down to one phrase;

IT IS NOT GOOD FOR MAN TO BE ALONE!

It’s the only time during the creation that God said that. Everything else was good but that.
It is still true today. When asked what the worst thing is about solitary confinement, most prisoners will answer; not being able to see another face, to communicate with someone else, and not being able to touch another human being.
When asked, most single people will tell you loneliness is the worst thing about being single.
The NIV uses the word helper, KJV uses help meet.
The Hebrew wording is “Ezer Kenegdo”. This is a notoriously hard phrase to translate because it means much more than just helper.
It means life saver.

That’s exactly what we are to each other, we are life savers.
We sustain one another and we bring peace to each other.

ALL FOR ONE, ONE FOR ALL

Philippians 1: 9 – 18

I know it will be hard to believe, but when I was a younger man, I was no stranger to the feel of handcuffs being placed on my wrists by an officer of the law. This was a direct result of my use and abuse of drugs and alcohol. I was a fast learner, I only had to “fall down the stairs” once to know that I would always co-operate with the cops after that. At times like this the only thing on my mind was my own well being. I could care less about anyone else including those people I claimed to love.
What I’m trying to say is that it was a very selfish experience, it was all me, me, me.

Paul, being in chains, made it an opposite experience. He made it all about Jesus. He made sure that the entire Palace Guard knew the Gospel, and preached the word to them daily.
12 Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel.
13 As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ.

Paul was able to reach out and take the word to others outside the palace that he w as held prisoner. He wrote letters to different people and churches, and sent disciples out into the world to preach the word of God.

14 Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly.

He knew that not all the brothers had pure intentions, and that some were preaching the word in hope for personal gain but that didn’t matter, the word of God was being preached throughout the known world.

18 But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice,
19 for I know that through your prayers and the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance.

No matter what our station or situation is, we are all capable of bringing the word of God. Everyone in our public and private lives should know our beliefs, and we should share them freely without need of motivation.
Folks, I’m struggling to find a way to wrap this up. I just can’t seem to come to a conclusion.
The title of this teaching is All for one, one for all. No matter how we slice it, Jesus is the one.
Praise him.

Sorry about the way this ends. I will try harder next time

ROMPER, BOMPER, STOMPER, BOO…

Deuteronomy 18: 9 – 14

The Romper Room teacher in Boston when I was a little kid was Miss Jean. I watched every day hoping that she would be able to see me in her “magic mirror” and either wish me a happy birthday, or tell me that I was being a good boy. Of course it was fake, but I was young enough to believe it for awhile. As a teen we played with an Ouija board trying to “contact” the spirit world. That turned out to be foolish too.
Why did I do these things?
Or maybe the real question is why do “we” do these things?
I think that we all have this fear based need to know the future.
The ancient Israelites were desperate to know their future, and God knew that they would be tempted to consult ungodly sources for answers. So He warned them to stay away from mediums and those who contact the dead

9 When you enter the land the LORD your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there.
10 Let no-one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft,
11 or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead.
12 Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD, and because of these detestable practices the LORD your God will drive out those nations before you.
13 You must be blameless before the LORD your God.
14 The nations you will dispossess listen to those who practice sorcery or divination. But as for you, the LORD your God has not permitted you to do so.
God knew that these practices would prevent ancient Israel from being a holy, set-apart people who would be a blessing to all nations. The future for Israel was determined by their faithfulness to God’s covenant, not the words of soothsayers and psychics. Reliance on these evil practices indicated a failure to trust the Lord with their lives.
When we are desperate for information about our future, we should turn to the sovereign God of heaven. He is the only One who holds the answers we seek

THE ANSWERS

BOWLED A GOOGLEY

1 Peter 4: 12 – 19

We are all familiar with a good old all American curve ball. A googley is the same thing only it’s a pitch (Bowl) in Cricket rather than Baseball.
Why did I use this particular example to open this teaching?
Well, it’s really just because I can.
Actually, I thought it might be interesting to think of things, or look at things, in a slightly different way.
We’ve all heard it before that just because we accepted Jesus into our hearts that life was not going to be all skittles and beer. There are going to be troubles.

Peter knew this and wrote about it so that we wouldn’t be surprised.

12 Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you.
13 But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.
19 So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.

I know that I have gone through many such times. I wrote before about a prayer group that started during the night shift that I used to work. On nights that I wasn’t there another employee, seeing the popularity of the prayer group, and claiming to be a fellow Christian, held meetings on his own, and began “laying on of hands” in inappropriate ways on the female clients, we were both suspended for his actions. He worried about his job; I praised God for getting suspended for doing his work, knowing that it would give Him glory.
I was bowled a googley and the other guy was struck out. The prayer group lived on, but we had to change the time to be held before 11 PM, rather than during the overnight shift.
Troubles are to be expected. Yet we may well be shocked by the circumstances facing us. But God is never surprised! He permits our trials, and He can enable us to respond to them in a way that honors Him. In God’s strength, we can face life’s most troublesome curveballs.

WHAT THE…?

Psalm 59

Ben Carpenter has muscular dystrophy and gets around in an electric wheelchair. One day as he was crossing an intersection, the light changed and a semi-truck caught the handles of Ben’s wheelchair in its grille. Unaware, the driver started down the road, and before long Ben was being pushed along at 50 miles per hour. Soon the rubber on the wheelchair’s tires began to burn off.
Passersby saw the bizarre sight and phoned 911 to inform the police. When the truck driver pulled over, he was astonished to see what was attached to his truck’s grille. Ben had a big scare but escaped without injury.
When I first heard of this story, I thought to myself; “Whoa! That must have been some wild ride”. Then I asked myself; “What would I have done in the same situation”?
I remember that Ben himself said that he had never thought that he would have gone that fast in his chair, and that he just held on and prayed that it would end.
Ever feel that way, like your life is speeding out of control, and all you can do is sit there and pray? Kinda scary when it’s going on isn’t it? Kinda confusing too, right?

How do you think David felt? First he was lovingly invited to the Palace to play harp to soothe the king, and suddenly Saul is throwing spears at him trying to kill him! If he knew what one was, I’m sure that David would have felt as if he was on some unending Roller Coaster.
So, what did David do?
He prayed and praised God.

1 Deliver me from my enemies, O God; protect me from those who rise up against me.
2 Deliver me from evildoers and save me from bloodthirsty men.
4 I have done no wrong, yet they are ready to attack me. Arise to help me; look on my plight!
14 They return at evening, snarling like dogs, and prowl about the city.
15 They wander about for food and howl if not satisfied.
16 But I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love; for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble.
17 O my Strength, I sing praise to you; you, O God, are my fortress, my loving God.

So when life feels like you’re strapped to the grill of a speeding truck, and no matter what you do, it won’t stop, go right to the throne and pray.

When troubles call on you, call on God.

POWER

Exodus 2: 11 – 15, 3: 7 – 12

Niagara Falls is one of the most spectacular sights I have ever seen. The roar of 6 million cubic feet of water each minute makes it the most powerful waterfall in North America. Few people, however, know that more than 50 percent of the river’s water is diverted before it reaches those falls via four huge tunnels. This water passes through hydroelectric turbines that supply power to nearby areas in the US and Canada before returning to the river, well past the Falls.
As a member of the Keepers Of Odd Knowledge Society, I am fascinated to hear things like that, and having seen the falls, I can’t imagine the power that would be displayed if that other 50% were to go over the falls in front of my eyes.

Okay, can we talk here? Don’t you think that we would love to have others think of our lives as powerful, loud, and spectacular like Niagara seems to be?
To be sure, that in nature, that kind of power on display is awesome, but in human terms, we know that power like that simply corrupts.

Power needs to be tempered to be affective. Purpose comes from Niagara when it is diverted to generate electricity, and Moses needed to be humbled before he could be affective for God’s purpose. In chapter 2 of Exodus, we see that Moses is a prince with great power until he commits murder and has to run for his life, to become a pauper in the desert. Finally, there, God could use him.
Exodus 3:
10 So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt."
11 But Moses said to God, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?"
12 And God said, "I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain."

No matter how powerful we are, or become, whether physically, financially, or even politically, we will spin out of control and burnout in a most spectacular fashion if we don’t rely on the greater strength of God.

Nothing is more powerful than strength under God’s control.

SWEATIN’ TO THE OLDIES

2 Corinthians 4: 7 – 18

How many people do you know that are workout freaks? You know the ones I’m talking about, there are people who run, ride bikes, lift weights, and take aerobic classes all before breakfast. What does it get them? Does it guarantee eternal life? No matter what we do, we will always get old, our bodies will deteriorate, and we will die.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not against physical fitness, in fact, I’m in favor of it. It can and does make us feel physically better, and my Dr. tells me it’s better for us than taking medication for what ails us. All I’m saying is that it gains us nothing. Our bodies will always betray us with increasing pain, loss of stamina, and poor eyesight, among other things, it’s just a long down hill slide to the grave.
But, and it is a big but (No pun intended), as we decrease physically, we can increase spiritually. How’s that for good news?

16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.
17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.
18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

That means the more we workout our spiritual selves, the stronger we get day by day, no matter what happens to this shell we call a body. We may use the body to experience the world, and that’s cool. I love to travel around and take pictures, meet people and eat at diners or a Cracker Barrel, but our spirit prepares us for eternal life with Jesus.

Many of us fear aging with all the trouble it brings. But when we are gradually stripped of everything that props us up, whether wealth, independence, health, dignity, beauty, or all of the above, we are left with more and more of God. So no matter how old you are, it’s not too late to dig deep into God’s Word and invest more and more time in your spiritual well-being. You’ll see the payoffs, now and later. The older you get, the better you can become!

Let’s try sweatin’ to the Ancient of Days.

WHATEVER YOU DO

Colossians 3: 12 – 17

Before I married the Lovely Mrs. Block, I used to work the graveyard shift for a transitional facility, which is kind of a stepping stone between a detox and a halfway house. When I first took the job I did it with the understanding that it was an awake position. In other words we were required to stay awake all night doing light paperwork and remaining on alert for the safety of the clients we housed. As staff, we also had a not so silent agreement that we would take turns sleeping for a few hours each which was in direct violation of the rules we understood when we were hired.
I went along with this agreement happily for quite sometime until the Pastor of the church I was attending then, preached on these verses.

17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

After meditating on the lesson, I asked myself a question; “How am I giving glory to God by taking a nap”? I went to work that night and explained to the others that I worked with that I was unable to go along with them and sleep, but that I would leave it up to them to change their behavior, and would not say anything to the boss.

At first I was looked on with distrust b the folks I had developed a relationship with, but, that passed and it afforded me an opportunity to pray with clients who couldn’t sleep, which grew into a voluntary late night group for about 30% of the clientele.
God was given glory those nights.

This has been a long drawn out example of what the verses are about and it may seem as if I am blowing my horn, I’m trying not to, I’m just trying to show that listening to the word of God began to change me and the place where I worked for the better.

Try following the example that Paul laid out for us in these verses paying particular attention to verse 17, and see what happens. If we are able to be true to the teaching, then we should begin to see things change in our daily life.

WE ARE THE BODY

Romans 12: 3 – 13


There are days when I read something that I disagree with politically, or theologically, and all I want to do with my writing is to rant and rale against the article that spurred the anger in my flesh. I want to point out the hypocrisy of leaders with their do as I say, not as I do attitudes.
A political example is when Al Gore comes along with his: “The Earth has a fever” movement.

He recently held a conference in Washington D.C. and asked that all attendees to either ride bicycles or take public transportation to the event, to reduce the “carbon footprint” of the conference, while he and his entourage arrived in a fleet of limos and SUV’S that remained parked and idling running the AC for the entire time that Mr. Gore and his family were in the conference, thereby increasing the "carbon footprint" for all involved, so that they would be able to get into a nice cool car for the ride home.
Examples in the Christian community include Jimmy Swaggert, Ted Haggard, Jim Bakker, among others, and we all know the widely publicized activities they were involved with.
There you see? There I go again. I had intended to write on my interpretation of the verses for today and I went on an almost wild rant. What started it was an article on air pollution and its global impact. An Associated Press report quoted atmospheric scientist Dan Jaffe: “There is no place where you can put away your pollution anymore.” Every nation shares the world’s atmosphere and is affected by the actions of others.
I thought to myself; “That’s right”! Then I thought that’s the way it is in the body of Christ. Everybody is affected by the actions, or inactions of others. Every time a high profile leader falls short of the glory of God, we are all held up as hypocrites in the secular media. Our obedience to the Lord may seem insignificant in the big picture, but it breathes freshness and life into the spiritual atmosphere of every believer. The interesting thing to me is that Paul knew this stuff and wrote about it in the book of Romans.
3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.

4 Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function,

5 so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.
10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.
Let’s all follow the teaching of God. Okay?

We don’t live unto ourselves,

We’re part of one another;

For good or ill we touch a life

Of sister, friend, and brother. —D. De Haan

CATERING SERVICE

I’M OKAY, YOU’RE OKAY.

Ephesians 1: 3 – 10
I don’t know about you, but sometimes I feel like I don’t measure up especially after I’ve done a foolish thing or believe that I missed an opportunity to speak about salvation. I really want to be an effective evangelist. Seeing other people bring the word to others with such ease and grace, makes me feel that my efforts are a feeble comparison to what others do.
Do you condemn yourself because you aren’t as spiritual as you think you ought to be? Do you see yourself as a second-rate disciple, lacking the gifts and graces possessed by fellow believers who seem to be models of prayer, witness, and service? We can rise above the mood of self-rejection and enjoy grateful self-acceptance when we put our lives into the nail-pierced hands of Jesus. “In Him we have redemption through His blood, [and] the forgiveness of sins”. We are accepted and chosen by Him.
4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love
5 he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—
6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.
7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace
8 that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.
9 And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ,
10 to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment, to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.
How can we possibly ineffective? The answer is we can’t. Jesus made us the way he wanted, and gave us the gifts that he wanted us to have.

All praise to the Lamb, accepted I am,

Through faith in the Savior’s adorable name;

In Him I confide, His blood is applied;

For me He hath suffered, for me He hath died.

Accepting Jesus’ free gift of salvation frees us to accept ourselves.

Create Your Own God

Psalm 146

At work one day, I got into a discussion with another staff member. We were talking about what is right and what is wrong. She believed that it is an amorphous subject. People create their own ideals of what is right and wrong. I disagreed. I told her that there was definitely a right and wrong for everybody to which she disagreed.
I then said well, what if I think its right to shoot you? She said that would be wrong because it is against the law. I asked who determined that. She said;”law makers”. I then said that there really was a right and wrong then. She continued to disagree.

A report in Newsweek magazine said a youth pastor asked his teens who they think God is. One said He was like his grandfather: “He’s there, but I never see him.” Another suggested He is “an evil being who wants to punish me all the time.” The last teen concluded that everyone is right because that’s what they really believe.
Do we decide who God is by taking a poll? Is He a being we can make up as we go along? This create-your-own-deity idea is increasingly popular today. And it is extremely dangerous. It robs us of knowing who our heavenly Father really is as Scripture describes Him.

5 Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God,
6 the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them the LORD, who remains faithful for ever.

Okay.
So, how do I wrap this up?

I guess God is who he is and not who we choose him to be.

“…AND YOUR LITTLE DOG TOO…”

Jonah 4

I love my dog. He’s just this big, dumb as a box of rocks, Golden Retriever who seems to think that everybody on the planet was placed here to play with him, and to love him, as he gives love in return. He will run to get excited bring you one of his toys and then lick you into submission. The only things he likes better than people are food and sleep.
Yep, like I said, I love my dog. I am also thrilled to know that God loves him too.

How do I know that God loves my dog?
It’s written in his word.
Long before animal rights became a global issue, the story of Jonah shows the attention our Creator gives to all His creatures. As the story ends, the Lord expresses concern not only for the citizens of Nineveh but also for their livestock. And earlier, God gave Moses laws that extended certain protections even to animals (Ex. 23:4-5, 12).
11 But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?"

I love the fact that God cares for animals so much, that he mentions them with compassion when he describes a city that He is concerned about. He obviously loves animals as much as he loves us. After all, he put them here as well, didn’t he?
Though humans alone are made in the image of God, the story of Jonah and other Bible texts show a link between caring for people and animals. The conclusion seems clear. If God cares even for livestock, how can we ignore the needs of any person for whom His Son died?

In trees and flowers of the field,

In creatures large and small,

We trace the watchful care of Him

Who planned and made them all. —King

God cares for us and calls us to care for His creation.

IF YOU CAN’T SAY ANYTHING GOOD…

James 3: 1 = 12

How many times have we heard someone say; “If you can’t say anything good, don’t say anything at all”. It’s one of those wise old sayings that have their basis in the Bible. Ain’t it funny that these “wise old sayings” really have some merit for our lives? As a kid, I thought that these were just tired advice from Ben Franklin and that they had no relevance in my life. I was about to learn a few quick lessons.

For those of you who don’t know, I have been married twice. (The first was a terrible mistake) one day my ex-wife was talking to a cousin of mine, when she said to him; “You know, Uncle Jimmy (my father) never liked you”. That turn of the tongue has affected my relationship with him ever since and that was @ thirty years ago.
I thought it would be funny if I spread this rumor about the sexuality of a man I worked with, his reputation at work was eventually restored, and I almost ended up being fired.

7 All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man,
8 but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
9 With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness.
10 Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be.

It is essential that we use our words with great wisdom and care. Consider carefully the words you choose. Will they be seasoned with the balm of grace or with the poison of anger?

A careless word may kindle strife,

A cruel word may wreck a life,

A timely word may lessen stress,

A loving word may heal and bless. —Anon.

It is better to bite your tongue than to let it bite someone else.

WHY PRAY?

Luke 11: 1 – 11

The simple answer to this question is; “Because Jesus did”.

Jesus prayed without ceasing, taught us to pray by giving us an example of how to do it, and then told us why we should pray.

2 So He said to them, "When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
3 Give us day by day our daily bread.
4 And forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one."
So the question comes up again; why pray?
In prayer we are approaching the Creator of all that is, someone who can make us feel immeasurably small. How can we do anything but fall silent in such presence? How can we believe that whatever we say matters to God? The Bible sometimes emphasizes the distance between humans and God and sometimes the closeness. Without question, though, Jesus Himself taught us to count on the closeness.
Jesus understood better than anyone the vast difference between God and human beings. Yet He did not question the personal concern of God, who watches over sparrows and counts the hairs on our heads. He valued prayer enough to spend many hours at the task.
9 “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
10 For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
13 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"
I am awed that God wants to hear from me daily, and wants a relationship with me, and I don’t really understand why, I just know that it is true. Who am I to not want to have a relationship with him? So I pray. I pray for myself, my family, and my friends.

I relied heavily on ODB today basically because my words just didn’t make sense to me, I just couldn’t express myself the way I wanted to and ODB said it pretty well.
So “Big Ups” to Our Daily Bread, and I will try harder tomorrow.

GIFTS

1Corinthians 12: 4 – 11

Christians who bury their gifts make a grave mistake.
Don’tcha just love that saying? To me it just says it all about spiritual gifts, we all have them, but only a few people actually use them. Whether its fear, or lack of self esteem, or even apathy, there are just some of us that will sit in the background and do nothing, feeling as if they don’t have any gifts.
The Apostle Paul disagrees with this self assessment.

4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit.
5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord.
6 There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.

If we look at a typical church, we can see examples of all this. Not everybody can be a Pastor, so there are some who welcome people, ushers, people working at the collation area for after service, Sunday school teachers, child care workers, even the guys who clean the bathrooms.
Yes cleaning a bathroom can be a spiritual gift. If you don’t know what gifts you have, volunteer for a ministry in your church that interests you, or meet a need you learn about. Then ask yourself if you saw God work through you and if you had joy as you served. Ask fellow believers if they think you’re gifted in that area. And ask the Lord to help you determine where you fit in His plans.

Help us, Lord, to work together

With the gifts that You bestow;

Give us unity of purpose

As we serve You here below.

ORDINARY, EVERYDAY, STUFF

Isaiah 25: 1 – 9

Last October I was riding my bike when I was hit by a front end loader. As I said in my testimony of this incident, God healed me of a broken back and other things. But, one of the things I don’t talk about that frequently is that when I look at the damage to the bike, I have to say; “Why do I still have a right leg”? Everything on the right side from the front fender to the saddlebags is crushed.
I say this not to bring focus to myself rather I hope to bring glory to God by talking about the small stuff He saves us from, or allows us to go through, every day.

When things happen to go wrong for us, we have a tendency to ask; “Where was God when this happened”? On the other hand, we praise Him whenever things go extremely well.
It’s kind of like our appreciation of white blood cells. How many infections or bacterial invasions do these elements of our blood fight off everyday? Most of us have knowledge of what these little cells in our bodies do, but we don’t think about the daily battle they wage.
That’s how we think of God. When we go to the store and don’t get into an accident, or when we bring home a paycheck that we can use to feed our families and pay the bills, or even when our kids wake up in the morning, we have knowledge of Gods existence in our lives, but we don’t think about it a whole lot.
Oh sure, we may thank Him for His protection, and another good day, in our nightly prayers, but we are rarely aware of the ordinary problems He has solved for us.

1 O LORD, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done marvelous things, things planned long ago.
4 You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in his distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat. For the breath of the ruthless is like a storm driving against a wall
5 and like the heat of the desert. You silence the uproar of foreigners; as heat is reduced by the shadow of a cloud, so the song of the ruthless is stilled.
9 In that day they will say, "Surely this is our God; we trusted in him, and he saved us. This is the LORD; we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation."

A powerful message to hear and a wonderful hope for our lives with Him.

God’s goodness undergirds our lives

In many silent ways;

His blessings are beyond compare

—For them we give Him praise. —D. De Haan

God keeps giving us reasons to praise Him.

MAD COW DISEASE

SERVICE

Romans 12: 1 – 8

My father was a veteran of WWII. I tell you this as a set up because he tried to instill in me what it meant to be in the service, to sacrifice myself for something greater than me, and what it was like to follow a code of conduct.
I of course was too busy trying to be a hippy to listen to him. I didn’t have time for all this service to country stuff; I was a Baby Boomer, not some kind of government sponsored robot why should I sacrifice my lifestyle for my country?
Then one day I did it. I sucked it up and at twenty two years of age, I walked into a recruitment office for the United States Air force. I was at the end of my rope, I was out of work, drinking way more than I should, and I figured that I could use the discipline to help straighten up. I was rejected, but, that is a story for another time.
I’m not sure that the point of this story matches up to what Paul is saying here, other than to introduce the discipline needed to follow a code of conduct, but, this is what he’s talking about here.
Step out of your comfort zone and don’t follow the crowd.

1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.
2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.

Following Christ is not an easy thing to do, it’s a challenge. It’s the only sacrificial thing that I know of that sets you free. It’s what we call, in the halls of 12 step recovery, an

AWOL (Another way of life).
I’ve said before that Salvation ain’t for wimps, and here is where the rubber meets the road. Paul has given us a set of instructions to follow; kinda like “Christianity for Dummies”, laying out what it is we need to do to begin our new life.

Here is my heart, Lord Jesus,I have but one for Thee;

Oh, let my heart be Thine alone,

Thy will be done in me. —Mick

A life given fully to God is at the heart of true sacrifice.

IF YOU LOVE ME

John 14: 15 – 24

15 "If you love me, you will obey what I command.

How many times have we used a phrase similar to that to get what we wanted? We usually used it with the opposite sex, and would throw in the word “really” for emphasis.
We are not like Jesus, we use words like that to get sexual favors, and He had more pure motives when He used those words.

Jesus wants us to live by his commands, by the word of God.

By our natures we are rebellious, and not usually in a good way. Our parents tell us that the stove is hot; we touch it anyway because of our curiosity, and get burned. We are told that the hill we are looking at is too steep for sledding, and we end up with cuts, bruises, and sometime a loss of consciousness.

We are flawed beings, and really don’t like to follow orders, or even suggestions, unless it gets us what we want. Our rebellious or willful streaks often lead to unhappy outcomes. In anger, Moses struck the rock to get water rather than just speak to it as God had commanded. He forfeited the privilege of entering the Promised Land with his people. Jonah disobeyed an order to go to Nineveh and was given 3 days to think about his choice inside a big fish
What does it take for us to obey Him? Will we obey simply because we love Him?
23 Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.
24 He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.
Nothing between, like worldly pleasure:Habits of life, though harmless they seem,Must not my heart from Him ever severHe is my all! There’s nothing between.
Obedience is another word for love and loyalty.

I HATE WHEN THAT HAPPENS

Romans 12: 9 – 21

When I have made plans, I hate when something comes along to change them. When I have settled into my chair for a comfortable night, I hate when somebody comes to the door to interrupt my peace. When things just don’t go the way I want them to, I hate it.
Why? Because I’m a selfish man like all of us are. Our first instinct is to think of ourselves before others.

Form the very beginning of my life; I had to learn that there are people to be considered other than myself. I want to be completely selfish; it’s how I’m wired, it feels good to look out for number one. Too bad there is that pesky thing called love.

Ro 12:9 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.

That verse says it all.
Then there’s this one.
Ro 12:10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.

Arrrgh, how frustrating is that? Honor one another above yourselves?

I was there when they crucified my lordI held the scabbard when the soldier drew his swordI threw the dice when they pierced his sideBut Ive seen love conquer the great divideWhen love comes to town Im gonna catch that trainWhen love comes to town Im gonna catch that flameMaybe I was wrong to ever let you downBut I did what I did before love came to town

Powerful words from a powerful song. And it kind of explains my life before and after meeting Jesus.
Love makes us want to change plans, welcome strangers into our homes, and yes put others ahead of ourselves.

I GOT THE BLUES

Psalm 22: 1 – 10

Pain and fear usually cause us to cry out to God. We wonder why he doesn’t hear us and why he seems to be so far from us. We are miserable and feel as if the world has turned against us, and we want comfort and to be free from pain and humiliation RIGHT NOW!

Yet we consider our place in God’s love, and know of his greatness and his presence in our lives, the lives of our fathers and of others, and we still feel as if we are not worthy of his grace.
How can I be worthy? We ask ourselves. We don’t even fee like we are human beings.
We even hear others mock us by saying; “He’s a Christian, why doesn’t he act like one”, “Let his God save him”.

9 Yet you brought me out of the womb; you made me trust in you even at my mother’s breast.
10 From birth I was cast upon you; from my mother’s womb you have been my God.

We know who God is, and we know our place in relationship with him. Why do we continue to forget all this when we are put upon.

David sang the blues; I guess that means that he was human. I know that we sing the blues; I guess that makes us just as flawed as David.

Look, we all feel bad from time to time about the situations that we find ourselves. Let’s just not forget who really is in charge and really begin to rely on him.

OKAY?

I GOT PLENTY OF NUTHIN’

Philippians 4: 10 – 19

I have been in situations like Paul describes. I’ve had times when I was comfortable, and times when I had nothing. Heck, there was even a time when I was homeless. There is one thing that I was never able to accomplish though; I was never content no matter what my situation was.
Now don’t get “all up in my grill” thinking that I’m comparing my life to that of the Apostle Paul. All I’m saying is that I can relate to some of his experiences, and realize that I don’t measure up to his example.
Let’s ask ourselves; what is the difference in our lives from that of Paul’s?

Hab.19 The Sovereign LORD is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights.

Strength in the Lord; I have a confession to make here, (I’m sure you all can relate) I say that I rely on God for everything. Truth be told, I sometimes rely on my own strength to get by. I really do try to FROG, but I come up short, a lot.

13 I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

Paul not only said this line of advice, I’m sure that he lived it, relying on the strength that only God can give.
In all of life, we need the strength of our God. He alone can give us “feet” that are swift and strong. He alone can equip us for all of the uncertainties of life, for He alone is our strength. Along with Paul, we can be assured: “My God shall supply all your need”.

LET THERE BE LIGHT

AMEN

The word Amen is a most remarkable word. It has been transliterated from the Hebrew, to the Greek, from the Greek to Latin, and finally from Latin to English and many other languages making it the same word, (barring dialect and pronunciation) in every language of the world, so that it has become a universal word sometimes called the best known word in human speech

But, what does it mean, where does it come from, how and why is it used? The questions and answers can go on for quite a long time.

I was surprised to find out that the word is used a relatively few times in the Bible. Where some words such as watch or watchers are used hundreds of times, Amen is only used 52 times and for the first time in the book of Numbers (chapter 5: 22, May this water that brings a curse enter your body so that your abdomen swells and your thigh wastes away." "‘Then the woman is to say, "Amen. So be it.") That’s the fourth book of the Pentateuch, and it’s to confirm a curse! How’d that come to be?
You’d think that a word that has become so universal would have been used earlier, had a better introduction, and used more frequently.

So what else do we find?

In Judaism, amen is a communal response to be recited at certain points during the prayer service to affirm a blessing made during that prayer.
In some Christian churches, the congregation is likely to call out Amen in response to points during the preacher’s sermon.
In English there are two primary pronunciations, Ah-men and Ay-men. One is used at the end of a hymn, relegating this form to music while the other is used at the end of prayer to affirm speech.

The word has some fascinating meanings;
To support, confirm, be faithful, to uphold, nourish, To be established, be carried, make firm, to be carried by a nurse, sure, lasting, verified, confirmed, reliable, faithful, to be certain, to believe in, stand firm, trustworthy.
And most importantly, it is the title of Jesus.
Rev, 3: 14 “Write this letter to the angel of the church in Laodicea. This is the message from the one who is the Amen––the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s new creation:


As we found out earlier in this teaching; Amen is used only 52 times in the Bible. We have also come to learn that if things are repeated in the Bible, it is because God wants us to pay particular attention to it. We’d think that a word with such rich and deep meaning would have a special place in the word and in our daily life.
Think about it. How many times during the day do you say Amen whether out loud or to yourself?
I know that I will say it several times. I haven’t counted yet, but it might be interesting to find out. I say it at the end of each payer (I pray at least 5 times a day) and I will say it if I agree with what somebody says, and when listening to sermons on the radio, the computer, or in person.
So maybe that’s where God has placed its significance through repetition, not in His written word, but inscribed on the hearts of those who follow him.

The next time we use the word Amen, let’s meditate on its many meanings and its place in our lives.
Nehemiah 8:
5 Ezra opened the book. All the people could see him because he was standing above them; and as he opened it, the people all stood up.
6 Ezra praised the LORD, the great God; and all the people lifted their hands and responded, "Amen! Amen!" Then they bowed down and worshipped the LORD with their faces to the ground.

May the Lord bless and keep you
May he shine his face towards you and encourage you
May he turn his face towards you and give you peace
AMEN.

MORE THAN A FEELING

Genesis 24: 61 – 67

A man went to his pastor for counseling. In his hands were pages of complaints against his wife. After hours of uninterrupted listening, the pastor couldn’t help but ask, “If she is that bad, why did you marry her?” Immediately the man shot back, “She wasn’t like this at first!” The pastor, unable to hold back his thoughts, asked, “So, are you saying that she is like this because she’s been married to you?”
So, whats the deal with love in marriage? Many people fall in love then get married, while others do the opposite, usually through an arranged marriage. It is apparent to me that love in a marriage is more than a feeling; it is a commitment to that marriage.
67 Isaac brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah, and he married Rebecca. So she became his wife, and he loved her; and Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.
Ge 29:18 Jacob was in love with Rachel and said, "I’ll work for you seven years in return for your younger daughter Rachel."
The Bible gives us examples of love in marriage; Isaac married Rebecca, then fell in love with her, while Jacob fell in love with Rachel and worked for her father for seven years before being allowed to marry her. Neither relationship was perfect, they had there bumps in the road, but they lasted their lifetimes.
As I said, love has to be more than a feeling. Why? Because the divorce rate is over 50% and because of that we suffer and our children suffer. Love has to be a commitment to the person we have married. Biblical love is about our willingness to do what is good for another. Husbands are instructed to “love their own wives as their own bodies” (Eph. 5:28). So, walking in obedience to the Lord, let’s keep our marriage vows to love “till death do us part”.

“For better or for worse,” we pledge,

“Through sickness and through strife”;

And by the help and grace of GodWe’ll keep these vows for life. —D. De Haan

UNITED, WE STAND.

Galatians 3: 26 – 29

It really bothers me when every election season, liberal politicians try to divide the population by social standing, heritage, color, religion, gender, sexuality, and even age. Popular themes like “Two Americas” are used to support the views of a certain group of people, create a sense of victimhood, and set one group against the other.
At times like this, I run to the truth and comfort of the word of God. Here I am reminded of how the Lord see us not how human leaders do.

26 You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus,
27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

In a world where pride and prejudice abound, Jesus offers us the joy of unity across all the lines that so easily divide us. In Him our diversity doesn’t divide but rather unites and enriches us as we recognize that we all have Jesus, His Word, and His ways in common. As we embrace Him together, our differences become secondary and our mutual love for Him drives us to love each other as He has loved us.

Verse 28 really says it all, doesn’t it?
If we read His word, how can we possibly be divided? How can any prejudice exist? How can anyone see themselves as a victim?

We are all one in Christ Jesus!

In His kingdom, pride and prejudice are out, and love and mutual acceptance are the order of the day.

Christ’s love creates unity in the midst of diversity.

GONE FISHIN'

CAN’T WE ALL JUST GET ALONG

Hebrews 12: 14 – 25

Bitterness sucks! I’ve learned that bitterness only consumes the vessel that contains it. And for me to permit bitterness to control or infect my life in any way whatsoever would be to allow those who imprisoned me to take even more than they’ve already taken.
Whenever I start resentment, and don’t take care of it, it grows and begins to take over everything in my life. it gets to the point that the bitterness is all that exists. To use a gardening metaphor, it’s like a weed that goes unchecked; it just winds its roots all throughout the garden patch until nothing else lives, no flowers bloom, there’s nothing left but the weed.
I believe that bitterness is what the writer of Hebrews had in mind when he penned his warnings. Some of the Christians may have been considering returning to Judaism because of persecution and injustice. Like a small root that grows into a great tree, bitterness could spring up in their hearts and overshadow their deepest Christian relationships.

14 Work at getting along with each other and with God. Otherwise you’ll never get so much as a glimpse of God.
15 Make sure no one gets left out of God’s generosity. Keep a sharp eye out for weeds of bitter discontent. A thistle or two gone to seed can ruin a whole garden in no time.
16 Watch out for the Esau syndrome: trading away God’s lifelong gift in order to satisfy a short-term appetite.
17 You well know how Esau later regretted that impulsive act and wanted God’s blessing—but by then it was too late, tears or no tears.

When angry feelings go unchecked, they’ll mushroom into hate; so don’t let time feed bitternessForgiveness must not wait.

Bitterness is a root that ruins the garden of peace.
I leaned heavily on ODB this morning. For reasons unknown to me, I just can’t seem to focus, something that happens from time to time, it usually means that I haven’t gotten enough sleep.

I hope you can understand and overlook my shortcomings.

CHURCHES THAT CARE

Philippians 2: 1 – 11

There was a time in my life when I thought that I had found a church home. Truth be told I met my wife there and figured that we would be attendee’s for the rest of our lives. But, once we were married, things began to feel different, almost as if we didn’t belong anymore. Don’t get me wrong, the fellowship was wonderful, but it always felt like there were two levels of people; ones that were in the inner circle, and ones that were not.
At the time I wasn’t sure what was right, but I knew that this was wrong. I thought that church was supposed to be like the center of our community, and here it wasn’t, for us anyway.
I know it sounds like I’m complaining, but just wait a second.
My wife and I stumbled blindly into a church one Sunday in late November where we were made to feel welcome from the time we crossed the threshold, the next week, my wife went into the hospital for a small procedure, where she received flowers and a visit from the Pastor, and I received phone calls from parishioners asking if I was okay and if I needed anything from food to prayer. (I took the prayer)
1 If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion,
2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.
3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.
4 Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
This, I thought, is what church is supposed to be like and it appears that God agrees with me. We began to feel as if we belonged to a new large extended family and that we were called to become members and change the way we walked with God. We really began to grow and mature in our faith.
5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross!
9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
It was only a brief little note,Or a word that was prayerfully spoken,Yet not in vain, for it soothed the painOf a heart that was nearly broken.
Far too often, it seems, we limit the significance of church to what happens on Sunday. But the church is to be so much more. It is to be a safe haven, a rescue station, a training center for spiritual service.

YOU NEVER CHANGE, YOU NEVER FAIL

Revelation 21: 1 – 4

Many writers such as H.G. Wells, Arthur C. Clarke, and others, tell stories of a bleak future for mankind, many movies and TV shows depict the same thing. The world has become cold and dead and people have become no better than animals wandering the vast wasteland of what used to be civilization. There may be one or two outposts where humanity flourishes, but these enclaves turn out to be places of evil and selfish oppression, where mankind has transformed into just another type of predator.

God sees our future quite differently.

1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.
2 I saw the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.
3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.
4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."

The biblical view of the future is very different. It tells us that God is Lord over time itself: “With the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day” (2 Peter 3:8). We can be optimistic about the future because God will replace our world with a new one. In that new heaven and new earth we will experience blessed fellowship with our Creator for eternity. Even now, Jesus is preparing a place for those who love Him (John 14:1-3), a place where “there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying”.
I will take the Biblical view over that of famous agnostics every time.

If God has made this world so fair,Where sin and death abound,How beautiful beyond compareWill paradise be found! —Montgomery
Jesus is preparing a place for us and preparing us for that place.

GO INTO ALL THE WORLD

Romans 10: 13 – 17

In John 3:16 we read, "For God so loved the world." But what about His love for individuals? The rest of the verse reveals the central purpose behind God's sacrifice of His Son: "That whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." Therefore, without exception, every person may interpret John 3:16 like this: "For God so loved me”.
That thought of individual love scared the dog out of me at one time. I could grasp the love of the world, but not the love of me as a single being. Yet the love of God has to be individual and personal. How else can anyone be saved?

13 for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."
14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?
15 And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"
This is what the Great Commission is all about.
A. B. Simpson, a great missionary of the past, often hugged a globe to his chest and wept over the world's lostness. Yet his global vision was marked by compassion for individuals. You and I also must feel the responsibility to take the gospel to our world—by sharing the good news with one person at a time.
Unfortunately, we often think of the Great Commission in terms of "foreign missions" only. "World missions" is perhaps a better term, for that includes our nearest neighbors, who are part of the world to which God has called us. And we are already there!
Like A. B. Simpson, embrace your smaller world through earnest prayer as you consider lost individuals in your family, neighborhood, and workplace. Then, as you seek to live and give the good news, expect God to open doors of opportunity.
Mr 16:15 He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.
Let God produce the opportunities, then take advantage of them. Remember that you may be the only Bible that someone may ever read.

FROG

Isaiah 46: 1 – 11

When I was about 13 years old I became very sick. I didn’t know at the time what had hit me. All I knew was that, all at once, I puked, lost control pf my bowels, and fell on the bathroom floor because I lost all my sense of balance. I have never felt so sick in my life. I lay on the floor helpless, I couldn’t move, my mother had to come and clean me up and my father had to carry me to my bed. All I could do was lie in bed and cry because it felt as if I was falling and spinning and it wouldn’t stop. I was afraid that I was going to die and I wouldn’t let my father leave me alone. I was afraid to be alone and completely helpless and had to rely on my parents for everything. It turns out that I had an inner ear infection which still affects me today.
Having to rely on others so completely was not an easy thing to do, especially for a kid that has just gotten used to some independence.
Adults have issues about dependence also. We have taught ourselves the unbiblical principal of self reliance we forgot that we have to rely on a “higher power” to help us through our day.
What we have to learn to do is FROG.
Fully
Rely

On
God!

4 Even to your old age and grey hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.

In some twelve step recovery programs, they tell you that if you cannot accept the idea of God, you can make anything your higher power upon which you can rely. This never really works; everyone comes to rely on God sooner or later.

6 Some pour out gold from their bags and weigh out silver on the scales; they hire a goldsmith to make it into a god, and they bow down and worship it.
7 They lift it to their shoulders and carry it; they set it up in its place, and there it stands. From that spot it cannot move. Though one cries out to it, it does not answer; it cannot save him from his troubles.

So just remember, in times of trouble; FROG it, when you’re feeling down; FROG it, when you’re sick or in pain; FROG it, when you just can’t go any further; FROG it. When things are going really well; FROG it and read the word of God.

FRESH FRUIT

Psalm 51: 8 – 13

Is there anything more sweet tasting than an apple that you just picked off a tree in the fall? Vegetables we have grown to eat are, by far, tastier than what you can get at the local super market. Milk from the farm seems to be cooler and thicker than milk that has been overly processed at a factory. Even when we find the love of our lives, is there anything more intoxicating than those first few months?
Freshness is the key.

10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

I need that kind of freshness in my relationship with God. I can have too many stale attitudes—impatience, criticism, and selfishness—and not enough “longsuffering, kindness, gentleness,” which are “the fruit of the Spirit” (Gal. 5:22-23).

When I first came to know the Lord, I didn’t know any scriptures; I just knew that I was in a relationship that I had never known before. It was years before I was able to get myself to read the Bible all the way through. I had read the Bible at least twice before I comprehended the words in Psalm 51. What I read floored me. I couldn’t believe that I had read it before and not felt the impact of the words written by David. There, on the page, was my life’s story. When I was done reading, I felt renewed, refreshed, restored, I felt that first blush of love all over again, and I didn’t want to let the feeling go.

As David repented of the sin in his life, he prayed, “Create in me a clean heart.” Then he petitioned God: “Restore to me the joy of Your salvation”. Confession and repentance of our sin renews our fellowship with the Lord and allows us to joyously begin anew.

Ain’t it cool when you can do that each and every day?

“KEEP YOUR FILTHY HANDS OFF ME”…!

Exodus 11

The title of this teaching is the beginning of a quote from one of my favorite movies; “The Planet of the Apes”.
Not the Mark Walberg remake, but the Charlton Hesston original.
The character “Taylor” was prone to angry outbursts throughout the movie. Funny, now that I think about it Hesston’s character in “Soylent Green” was the same way, not to mention his character in; “The Ten Commandments”. Anyway, back to my original thought.
Taylor was riding with Luna down the beach when he comes across the remains of the Statue of Liberty, when he got off his horse for his final angry outburst when he came to the realization of where he was and what had happened in the past. We are led to believe that the leaders of our society had caused the destruction of our civilization in one cataclysmic event.
We have the ability to harden our hearts against our fellow people, and commit acts of self destruction in order to witness the defeat of our enemies. When Pharaoh refused to let the people of Israel leave Egypt, thousands of innocent Egyptians died because of his stubborn will. Perhaps the knowledge of what was about to happen to Egypt’s firstborn on that first Passover night caused the great anger Moses felt as he left Pharaoh it was going to be a night of devastation and sorrow because the ruler was in a fatal frame of mind.
8 All these officials of yours will come to me, bowing down before me and saying, ‘Go, you and all the people who follow you!’ After that I will leave." Then Moses, hot with anger, left Pharaoh.
9 The LORD had said to Moses, "Pharaoh will refuse to listen to you—so that my wonders may be multiplied in Egypt."
10 Moses and Aaron performed all these wonders before Pharaoh, but the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let the Israelites go out of his country.
It’s easy to condemn Pharaoh’s willful disobedience to God, and very difficult to face our own. But this passage forces me to ask, “Is my attitude choking the life out of someone close to me?” Oswald Chambers said: “The right of life is insisted on all through the Bible. As long as I do not murder anyone outright the law cannot touch me, but is there someone dependent on me to whom in the tiniest way I am not giving the right to live, someone for whom I am cherishing an unforgiving dislike?
Our hearts become hard through repeated refusals to yield to God. But they can be softened by obedience. When we say “yes” to God, the result is relief and life-giving release for our families, colleagues, and friends.
The way of obedience is the way of blessing.

HEART PROBLEMS

Zechariah 7: 8 – 14
Pharmaceutical companies make billions of dollars selling drugs that prevent hardening of the arteries, a condition that can lead to heart attacks, which kill thousands of people every year. A more serious condition than hardening of the arteries, however, is hardening of the heart, and it cannot be prevented by any wonder drug. Ever had that problem? Have you ever let your dislike for someone or something fester and build that you didn’t care if it lived or died?If you have had this experience then you know the damage it can do to, especially to yourself.
13 “‘When I called, they did not listen; so when they called, I would not listen,’ says the LORD Almighty.
14 ‘I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations, where they were strangers. The land was left so desolate behind them that no-one could come or go. This is how they made the pleasant land desolate.’"
I have read these verses a few times and felt sorry for those that experienced that kind of desolation until I realized that I was one of those who were scattered by the whirlwind. I discovered that one area of my hard heartedness was towards Sen. Teddy Kennedy. It was a hatred that was bred since childhood for reasons that I will not go into; it was just a hatred that grew with each passing year. I said to anyone that would hear that bad things could not happen enough to him or his family. I was wrong and I told those close to me that I had let it go, but the truth is that I hadn’t. I had ignored the word of God and it was beginning to eat at me. I had to change.
11 “But they refused to pay attention; stubbornly they turned their backs and stopped up their ears.
12 They made their hearts as hard as flint and would not listen to the law or to the words that the LORD Almighty had sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets. So the LORD Almighty was very angry.
Recent events have changed my feelings. With the news of Ted’s brain tumor, I was able to pray for him and his family and ask God to forgive me for my feelings toward them. While it’s important to keep plaque from forming in our arteries, it’s even more important to keep our hearts from becoming callous to people who are important to God: widows, orphans, aliens, and the poor it’s crucial to follow our doctor’s orders to keep our arteries from hardening. But it’s even more crucial to obey God to keep our hearts from becoming hardened to the needs of others.
Ask God to bring to mind a person who needs the help of someone with a soft heart.

1'ST WORLD WAR

OOPS

SHOW ME A SIGN!

I LOVE ME, SOME ME!

Psalm 26

Terrell Owens, wide receiver for the Dallas Cowboys, is famous for the phrase; “I love me some me”. T.O., as he is called, is a very narcissistic self centered individual who appears to pout and stamp his feet whenever things don’t go his way.
I hate to admit it that I sometimes act the same way. I want things to go my way. And, if we are truthful, we are all pretty much the same way.
So we have to ask ourselves a strange question.

ARE WE PRAYING TO GOD, OR TO OURSELVES?

What do I mean by that question?

Well, when falsely accused, for example, I plead with God for vindication. I want my name cleared and the guilty person held accountable for the harm done to my reputation. But then I get impatient with God and try to vindicate myself. I may as well be praying to myself.
I will also pump myself up by listing my good qualities in that prayer as if God has no idea what kind of person I am. Who am I listing my qualities for anyway?

1. Vindicate me, O LORD, for I have led a blameless life; I have trusted in the LORD without wavering.
2 Test me, O LORD, and try me, examine my heart and my mind;
3 for your love is ever before me, and I walk continually in your truth.
4 I do not sit with deceitful men, nor do I consort with hypocrites;

I think that’s what David is doing here. There is just a hint of a pity party going on don’t you think?

We need to change that attitude and get to the truth of the matter and know just who it is that we are praying to. We need to pray to God, not ourselves.

8 I love the house where you live, O LORD, the place where your glory dwells.

This is where we need to be; loving the place where “His” glory dwells, not where our egos live.

Let’s start praying to God and not to ourselves.

FORGIVENESS IS AN UNNATURAL ACT

Genesis 45: 1 – 15

Forgiveness is achingly difficult, and long after you've forgiven, the wound lives on in memory. Forgiveness is an unnatural act.
Remember what happened to Joseph? He was sold into slavery and thrown in jail all because his brothers were jealous of him. When Joseph was able to rise to power and his brothers came before him, he was able to forgive them and save their lives by providing for them and their families.

4 Then Joseph said to his brothers, "Come close to me." When they had done so, he said, "I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt!
5 And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you.
10 You shall live in the region of Goshen and be near me you, your children and grandchildren, your flocks and herds, and all you have.
11 I will provide for you there, because five years of famine are still to come. Otherwise you and your household and all who belong to you will become destitute.’

I don’t know that I would be able to do that. I probably would be able to forgive, but would not go out of my way to save them. Heck, I’d probably not event tell them who I was, and just laugh quietly to myself over the state they were in.

If we read the few chapters before 45, we see that Joseph struggled with that situation as well.
Thankfully, for God, the Bible, and the salvation of the world, I am not Joseph. He came through with flying colors and the rest is history.
When grace finally broke through, the sound of Joseph's grief and love echoed through the palace. What was that wail? It was the sound of a man forgiving.
1 Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all his attendants, and he cried out, "Make everyone leave my presence!" So there was no-one with Joseph when he made himself known to his brothers.
2 And he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard him, and Pharaoh’s household heard about it.

Forgiveness is achingly difficult, and long after you've forgiven, the wound lives on in memory. Forgiveness is an unnatural act.

FORGIVENESS OF SINS

Psalm 103: 1- 12

2 Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits—
3 who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion,
5 who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

I do love the comfort given by God in the book of Psalms. Old Davey, he knew how to write too. He sang the blues a lot, but he also knew how to lift up.
From as long as I can remember, I have heard that God forgives our sins. That alone makes me feel better. Yet, we should never get the idea that our sins are taken lightly by the Lord. But when we acknowledge our guilt with true repentance, God is ready to forgive because of what Jesus did on the cross.

There is a story about a little boy that had just been tucked into bed by his mother, who was waiting to hear his prayers. But he had been naughty that day, and now it was bothering him. So he said, "Mama, I wish you'd go now and leave me alone. I want to pray by myself."
Sensing that something was wrong, she asked, "Bobby is there anything you ought to tell me?" "No, Mommy," he replied. "You would just scold me, but God will forgive me and forget about it."
The kid knew two things; first that he acknowledged that he had done wrong, and that he was truly repentant, second he knew that God would be quick to forgive him.
Don’t you just love the faith of a child? They don’t have any of the cynicism that we adults have layered upon ourselves by living in the world. They just believe.
We need to have that childlike faith and admit our wrongs and go to God for our comfort and forgiveness.

DRAGON SKIN

Ephesians 4: 17 – 24

Imagine what Dragon skin would look like. Wouldn’t it be tough, hard, scaly, and pretty thick? It would probably be ugly, dark colored, with all kinds of lumps and bumps, and it would be hard to penetrate.
At least that’s how I imagine it would be like.
What would Dragon skin look like to you?
About this time I imagine you’re asking yourself; “What the heck is he talkin’ about”?
Ow!
Remember what you were like before you came to know the love of Christ, how you looked spiritually, or how you were seen by other people?
Nnnnn!
17 So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking.
18 They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.
19 Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more.

Ouch!

22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires;
23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds;
24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

Arrrgh… that stings!

In the fifth Chronicle of Narnia, "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader", Edmund, Lucy, and their spoiled cousin Eustace are summoned to help on a quest in the Eastern Sea. Along the way, Eustace is tempted by enchanted treasure and turned into a dragon. The desperate dragon accepts the help of the great lion Aslan, king of Narnia. But Eustace can only be freed by allowing Aslan’s claws to painfully tear off the dragon’s flesh.

Dragon skin, we all have it, we’ve worn it for years, and it has become comfortable. Yet, we know that we must rid ourselves of it. And, it’s going to hurt getting out of that skin we’re in.

Trust Jesus. Let the pain be a lesson to not turn back because it will only hurt worse the next time.

HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN?

John 6: 60 – 71

How could this happen?
In John 6, Jesus delivered His "I am the bread of life" message. It was a sermon so controversial that, at its conclusion, many of His followers went away and stopped following Him. They chose to stop listening to the voice of Christ. When Jesus challenged His disciples as to whether they would also walk away, Peter wisely responded, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life”.
How could people who have heard the words of the living God walk away? I mean they were right there, sitting with him, walking with him, hearing everything he said, yet they chose to walk away after one message. Why were they there in the first place? Was it just the trendy thing to do?
60 On hearing it, many of his disciples said, "This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?"
61 Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, "Does this offend you?
62 What if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before!
We, as a people, can tend to be shallow and afraid of commitment. When we hear things that may mean we have to take a firm stand, we leave rather than show ourselves to the world as being different or set apart.
But there are always a few who get it right, even if they have to be hit over the head with the truth.
67 “You do not want to leave too, do you?" Jesus asked the Twelve.
68 Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.
69 We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God."
Where do you stand? Which side are you on?

DEATH AND DESTRUCTION

Ephesians 2: 1 – 10

Whether I knew it or not, at one time in my life I followed the leadership of Satan. This was not a conscious choice on my part. It’s not like I woke up one morning and said; “This God thing just isn’t working”, “I think I’ll try the other side”.

1 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins,
2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.
3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.

Like Paul said, I was living among them satisfying the wants of my flesh, my sinful nature. To borrow a phrase from W.C. Fields; “Everything I like (or want to do) is either illegal, immoral, or fattening”. I had no clue.
Then I came to believe in the saving power of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy,
5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.

That was it, free gift, I was washed clean; neither God nor man had nothin’ on me. But as it turns out, even though the gift is free, the ride isn’t.
I know that this sounds like a contradiction but it isn’t really, we are called to show Christ to others by the changes in our lives. We are shown the work that God had chosen for us from the beginning.

10 For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

God has tasks planned for us to do while we are on this earth, not to pay our debt but to honor our Savior. Life from here to heaven is not a vacation cruise; it’s a wonderful privilege and calling to serve God.
We are not saved by good works but for good works.

USED

Matthew 25: 31 – 40

There are many people out there that do what they do in the name of God, yet they do not have faith in Him. They can convince a great many people that they have come in God’s name.
Yet, like the demon said to the seven sons of Sceva; “Jesus I know. Paul I have heard of. Who are you?
God will separate them in the end from those who truly follow him.

35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,
36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

These are the things that we are called to do. Jesus talked about it in chapter 22 when he spoke of the greatest commandment;

36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?"
37 Jesus replied: "‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’
38 This is the first and greatest commandment.
39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

I wake up every day with all intentions of following that command, yet, I will fall short most of the time. But, God places us in unique circumstances where our abilities match the problem He wants to fix. So we must continue to wake up every day and do what it is we do.
By God’s design, there lies in wait for youimportant work that no one else can do.Just as the planets find their paths through space,You too must grow to fill your proper place. —Thayer
When God shows you a problem, He may ask you to be His solution.

DO YOU KNOW ME?

Psalm 139: 1 – 6

I love to read mystery and suspense novels, and watch detective shows on TV. I just think that its fun watching them put all the various clues that seem to have no connection together and come up with a conclusion that is the perfect solution and the world makes sense once again. Justice has been served.

The world we live in is full of mystery and none of it ties up into a nice neat picture that makes sense, and there is rarely justice in this world.
In a world of mystery, it’s a comfort to know the God who knows all things.
1 O LORD, you have searched me and you know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3 You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.
4 Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD.
5 You hem me in—behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.

In times like these, it’s comforting to know that we have a God who doesn’t need to assess the situation—He already knows everything perfectly well. In Acts 15:18 we read, “Known to God from eternity are all His works.” He never has to wonder or resort to inductive reasoning.
Despite our finiteness, our lives rest in the hands of the One who knows all the whats, whys, and whens we’ll ever face. As we trust in Him, He’ll guide us in the path He desires us to take, and His way is never wrong.
I don’t know if this teaching makes much sense. I keep writing and looking for better ways to explain my thoughts. ODB does a fine job, and I probably should have just copy pasted that, but, I gave it the old college try.
Anyway, I guess what I’m trying to say is that God knows what’s going on. He knows all about us, and our comings and goings, but most of all, God knows our heart, and that’s the bottom line. Our hearts are where our true selves live, and it’s where our relationships begin.
God is the One who sees the whole,His knowledge is complete;We see but portions of the truthAs lines that never meet.

COURAGE

2 Timothy 1: 6 – 12

I have a helmet sticker that reads; “Salvation is not for wimps”. Some will read this and see the image of nails being driven into flesh (after all that is the artwork on the sticker), but there will be others who will know the courage that it takes to serve Jesus with all you got.
When I was in my late teens, maybe early twenties, my friends and I would go to swim in the quarries in Hingham. These were very cool places to swim; the water was crystal clear and cool, the only problem was that the only way to get to the water was to jump. This jump was very intimidating. Depending on which quarry we swam that day, it could be anywhere between 6 to what seemed like 150 feet. I was scared. I was also with a group of guys my age that were my friends, and soon to be liquored up on cheap beer, if I didn’t go along and jump, I would never hear the end of it.
I needed courage.
I felt like I was flying, it also felt like I just jumped off the top of the Empire State Building and was about to crash onto the pavement below and really ruin somebody’s day, but I did it. I jumped, and it didn’t matter what my reasons were, I took that leap of faith that I would live through the experience.
(All that now remained was the climb back up the rock walls)

7 For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.
8 So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God,

Courage is one thing you need if you want to get God’s work done.
Courage makes a good theory, but sometimes we need help to practice it. We have many opportunities to step out of our comfort zone to serve God. When we don’t have courage, we need to be reminded of God’s promise in 2 Timothy, and we need others’ encouragement to take the leap.

We really do need courage to step out of our “comfort zone” (aren’t you sick of hearing that phrase?) and take that leap of faith (can I possibly think of anymore clichés).

I guess the bottom line is; don’t be ashamed of your belief in God. Let others know what it’s like to have that kind of relationship. Tell others what God has done in your life and maybe, just maybe, they will come to know courage too.

COMPLAINTS

Numbers 14: 1 – 5, 26 – 27

There is an old chestnut that goes; “The squeaky wheel gets the grease”.
The saying refers to the fact that if we complain long enough, and loud enough, we will get the result we desire.
I remember once when I was about 14, I went shopping with my mother and she bought me a new pair of dungarees. I was going out after supper with my buddies, and I was wearing shorts at the time. I asked Mom if I could wear my cool new jeans that night, to which she replied; “No”. Shocked by her response, I added the “Magic” word; “Please”? No!
Determined to get my way I launched into a string of; please, please, please, please, please, please… Well you get the idea; I went out that night wearing these dumb white shorts. The next day, my mother told me that after I asked the first time, she was in process of changing her mind until I launched my tirade of pleases, she then became resolute that there was no way she was going to comply.

Complaints rarely get us the outcome we want. We either; wait longer, hurt more, get more frustrated, or wish we never complained in the first place because of the outcome.

2 All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, "If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this desert!

26 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron:
27 “How long will this wicked community grumble against me? I have heard the complaints of these grumbling Israelites.

How’d that work out for them?

The biblical principle “Do all things without complaining and disputing” (Phil. 2:14) is an important one. The ancient Israelites discovered this when, because of their constant complaining in the wilderness, they were judged by God and not allowed to enter the Promised Land.

A complaining Christian is a contradiction in terms.
A pastor in Kansas City gave what seemed to be an impossible challenge to his congregation—to go 21 days without complaining (the amount of time some say it takes to develop a new habit). Special bracelets were distributed to participants as a reminder to live complaint-free lives. A movement was started, and millions of bracelets have been distributed all over the world.

Think you can go 21 days?