“Jesus answered, ‘Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit.'” John 3:5

I am a good father and have THE 4 most wonderfully, amazing kids ever born. But I’m not braggin’! I can SAY the first thing because of the second, and the second thing because of the first. Time is the factor that allows me to conclusively make that statement in the first place. My kids aren’t kids anymore and range in age from 34 – 40, which is old enough to know AND prove that they really are…wonderfully amazing!

I was there for every birth. Since Katie had willfully determined to go ALL IN with the, at the time, new, Lamaze method of natural childbirth thing, I was in the room when my kids came in to the world. And while I’d heard of Dad’s ‘cutting the cord’ of their children to welcome them into the world, I neither asked for, nor was given, the opportunity to actually do so. Could THAT be the secret to wonderful kids??

I don’t feel cheated because I didn’t cut my kid’s umbilical cords. After all, it’s just a symbolic ritual anyway. I deliberately went looking for today’s verse because I HAVE been given the opportunity, commission and duty to birth new babies into this, and another world! And it happened again yesterday. Not symbolic…but LITERALLY!

A week ago I had the privilege to witness and lead a man to New Birth in Christ. Once done, we were BOTH joyfully excited. YESTERDAY God completed the team when Katie and I were honored to witness the rebirth of his Wife, while the whole family sat around a table for lunch! All of us were blessed to watch God move and work, through His Son, by the power of the Holy Spirit…as old ties of THIS life of sin and death were cut to make way for the NEW!

I am ALWAYS blown away by the act of someone being Born Again in Christ. From understanding that they are sinners deserving of the Lake of Fire, to the asking and receiving a NEW Life because of Christ’s death and resurrection, some births may seem more emotionally exciting than others. But no matter HOW one FEELS at New Birth, the birthing process is ALWAYS MESSY! In a labor room, 1 goes in and 2 come out. In the ‘New Birth’ process, the patient literally DIES.. and a NEW person is born! And Funerals are not pleasant!

I do not miss having babies because I am just that kind of person. To me, no amount of cooing can overcome the crying, pooping, puking and fidgeting of a new baby. But that didn’t mean I didn’t do my part as a father. In New Birth of Salvation, SOME inclinations are overcome by the power of the Holy Spirit. But there are lots of learning steps to growing up in Christ. And each step, with the help of Jesus People, moves HIS baby toward AMAZINGLY WONDERFUL!

How Amazing are YOU?  

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” Colossians 3:23-24

The phone beeped the sound that a text message had just come in. Having recently completed some hard physical labor in very humid weather, I had been resting comfortably under a ceiling fan. Since it was easier, I called Jason back instead of texting. How was I to know that a simple question would lead to an opportunity to touch, and BE touched, by the Lord of the Universe?

Jason was working on the children’s playground at church and just wanted to know where he might find something. He wasn’t asking for physical help, but I just couldn’t help myself. I quickly put on my scruffy work clothes and headed his way. As soon as I had I arrived and opened my truck door, it was as if I had entered the Holy of Holies.

Taking a survey of the situation, Jason was on his hands and knees…but he wasn’t praying. He was working on a hold in the ground beside the swing-set! His truck door was open and an awesome Christian song was blasting truth into the air. Knowing I was about to sweat, I didn’t care. And under the shade of the big oak tree, I couldn’t help but summarize the moment by saying what I felt. “Doesn’t this feel like we’re stealin’?” He quickly laughed and agreed.

I believe men (and that includes women) were created to Glorify God in a unique way. God has VERY POWERFUL ANGELS that circle Him constantly proclaiming His Holiness and perfection. He doesn’t need a dirty, sweaty man to do that. MY uniqueness, and even BETTER Glory for God, comes when I choose to partner with Him to do HIS work, and will, in an evil world…behind enemy lines. Which was what we were doing!

To lead Christ calls us to follow. To live, we must die to ourselves. And to be served, we are told we must serve. It wasn’t a mystery that Jesus Christ was there. I could almost see Him leaning down and peering into that hole right alongside Jason. I certainly sense the Holy Spirit’s presence as we, a Father and a Grandfather served, not only our OWN children, but others as well. Knowing Jesus’ opinion of little ones, it was no wonder He was there so powerfully.

We worked, talked, shared, served and got even more dirty and tired. But in the end we really didn’t notice. We had gone where NO angel has ever tread before. For Angels know NOTHING of weary bones, hot days, sweaty bodies and making Godly choices under the duress of fatigue, sin and human logic. Only men can have that experience. And it ALWAYS requires CHOICE!

As we left Jason told me that there was still some more work to do, but that he’d do it himself since it wasn’t much. I couldn’t believe he was actually going to STEAL from me like that! I commanded, “whenEVER you plan on being here, you’d better let ME know what time!” Angels don’t know anything about working under a clock either!

Are YOU working out for Him?

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.” James 1:2-3

It’s that time of year again and I have a war on my hands! Years ago we planted Florida Pitch Apple, or Autograph Tree. Because of HOA rules, we cannot have a fence between houses. But this plant does the job! TOO well! Capable of growing up to 40’ tall, I have to trim it back every year to keep it in check. So far this year, I have filled 20 cans and am not quite half done. But THAT is NOT the war!

When this tree is full and green, it is BEAUTIFUL. As you can see by the picture, it isn’t anymore! And THAT’S a problem for Katie! Ever since I started cutting it back, she has grumbled like I was cutting off her toe! To make matters worse, we have been watching a TV series where the husband did the same thing to THEIR trees, and the wife won’t stop grumping! To make matters worse, THEIR trees haven’t grown back YET!

I’m getting older and the base of these trees is getting bigger. It takes more work, time and a higher ladder each year to do the job. And I’m gonna tame these trees if it KILLS me! Because it just may! But before anyone thinks negatively of my wife, its a fact that MOST women hate tree trimming. When it comes to trimming and pruning away the overgrowth of our flesh, most men do too!

There are overgrowths in my life that need to go! Big, bushy things that look attractive and beautiful to me. But are noting but ‘work suckers!’ They take time and energy away from my TRUE spiritual life and rob me of GENUINE joy. And while ‘I’ may like these big shady things, Jesus does not! And when Jesus doesn’t like something, His Father doesn’t either! Soon, the Holy Spirit will be sent with a VERY BIG SAW!

Cutting back, pruning and taming overgrowth is ALWAYS painful. But as The Bible says, it is NECESSARY! A good soldier cannot run in battle carrying 100 pound backpacks! And while my Army Ranger friend may argue, it’s a FACT they can’t run far or long! My flesh LOVES a good time. If given a choice, it would STAY on vacation! God makes sure it doesn’t HAVE a choice, since He’s in the business of growing saints. Not trees!

Spirit is opposed to Flesh and Flesh to the Spirit. God uses MANY tools to get rid of the pretty…but unnecessary! And no matter HOW much I may scream, He won’t stop. Because, as I have learned, when in HIS hands, PRETTY becomes MUCH more BEAUTIFUL. And He loves me FAR too much to let me just root and shoot!

What is God cutting away in YOUR life? 

“By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles?” Mathew 7:16

Wanting to surprise my wife with a clean car, I was detailing around the backseat. When the cleaning cloth hit something gooey stuffed inside the window button…I yelled “WHAAAAAAAAT”? Right there, in that little nickel sized area, was a wad of ABC gum (Already Been Chewed!). As I tried to remove the evidence, I HAD to come to the logical conclusion that at least ONE of my grandchildren is EVIL!!!

Being a father of 4 kids, and now 10.5 grandkids, I didn’t even KNOW there was such a thing as parental PTSD . But there HAD to be because I was experiencing it! I remember the back seats of, not one but TWO vans we had trashed when our kids were young. Climbing ‘back there’ was ALWAYS like entering ‘The Cave of Disgusting Surprise’! Now that my wife’s nice car had been hacked, I felt violated…or something!!

Immediately, after finding the gum, I started a checklist! “Who has been back here and who is the culprit!?” We don’t drive grandkids around that often, and since I had no way of carbon dating the evidence to an exact date, I quickly surmised that it could have been ANY of them. And then, “since ANY of them COULD have done it, they’re ALL GUILTY!” I finally settled with, “Grandchildren are EVIL!”

After coming to the ‘evil grandchildren’ conclusion, I realized I was actually smiling! The memory of those vans took me back to incredibly busy, but wonderful, days with my children. Children bring a whole blessing of their own because, nowadays…we’re just busy! So I cleaned up the gum as best as I could, dropped the desire to discover the perpetrator, and then told Katie. She wasn’t happy but…she smiled too!

Lately, the Lord has been showing me some rather messy, uncomfortable facts. Specifically, that the evidence of actually being a son of God ISN’T that I said a prayer one time when I was young, to ask Jesus into my heart! The EVIDENCE is ACTUALLY… my FRUIT! In other words…what I DO proves EXACTLY WHO’S I AM! And while I have gotten a LOT better and BEING better over the years, I STILL show ENOUGH evidence of EVIL behavior to make me nervous! Which is actually a good thing!

The old saying “Once saved ALWAYS saved” has Biblical merit.” Once I am born again, I CANNOT become UNBORN. But rebirth comes with real and hard physical evidence. If I am a new creature, I will hate and despise the things that God hates, and be COMPLETELY disgusted at myself when I DO them. Loving worldly things is evidence that some folks really AREN’T ‘Born Again!’

After cleaning up the mess, I was convicted that ‘I’ had made a mess of my own. Being reminded, I faced my Father and admitted it, thanking Him for forgiveness and the strength and wisdom to not do it again! Then I smiled! Because I realize that it ISN’T that I’m simply saved…it that I am saved and CHANGED!

Are YOU?

PS  THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRAYERS.  Dickie is SUPPOSED to come home today.  

“whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve…” Matthew 20:26-28

This is a picture of my dear friend Dickie. As I write this, Dickie is in the hospital with some sort of infection. From what I can tell, no one seems to know what is wrong with him or what type of infection he exactly has! Which, as his friend, is frustrating. I can’t even imagine what it must be like for Dickie! I took this picture yesterday when I went to visit him… for a reason!

When I walked into Dickie’s room he was slumped over. Since he can’t move on his own, he must have slid into that position. Having no idea how long he had been like that, I knew it would take someone who knows HOW to move someone with Cerebral Palsy…to move him. At that moment, it wasn’t me. So I went and got a nurse. After a couple nurses adjusted him and left, I saw a plate of food beside his bed.

Since Dickie can’t move on his own, he can’t feed himself either! Heck. He can’t even TELL anyone he’s hungry…since he can’t really talk either! So there I was with my friend, who loves Jesus more than anything, AND a conundrum. Troubled, I threw a prayer to our mutual Lord saying, “what should I do?” Within a nanosecond I could picture Jesus with His hands up saying…”DUH… FEED HIM!”

Loving Jesus Christ has produced times when I was called to step out of my comfort zone and DO something. Times that require action and not just thought. Knowing Dickie had ended up in the hospital because he was not swallowing his food well, I picked up the spoon and started feeding him little bites…all the while saying to my friend…”now buddy if you don’t swallow, or if you choke and die, I’m gonna be in a WHOLE LOTTA TROUBLE here!” As I fed him, we had church!

Holy moments often come when not expected. Understanding God often comes from simply acting upon what God says. In that moment, I better understood what God meant when Paul wrote, “God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.” I wasn’t shamed, I was humbled. AND BLESSED by my friend.

I said I posted his picture for a reason. I’d like to ask you to join with me in praying for Dickie and those who surround him. That if they are medical staff, that they will wisely get his condition diagnosed and remedied. And if they are non-believers, that they will see God in Dickie. And that WHEN God finds YOU in a situation that makes you uncomfortable, that you will step up, listen to Him, and then DO what He says!

What is God asking YOU to do?

“As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” Proverbs 27:17

When I was in Junior High School, my father went ‘all in’ to satisfy an old desire. I came home from school and there in the basement were huge boxes, their contents being assembled into large power tools. Ultimately their various pieces became a 12” radial arm saw (with shop vac and attachments) and a wood lathe. My father’s secret desire was born.

Dad told me that his favorite class in high school was wood shop. I knew that he had dropped out of school to join the Navy, but didn’t know this part of his story. So I pressed him for details. Apparently his shop teacher took a liking to the guys and knew just how to relate to them. He even let them, “smoke cigarettes and play mumbly peg!” Yes… you read that right! The impression of that teacher was long lasting because, there before me, lay a tribute to his educational technique.

As time went on I learned that my dad’s passion for wood shop had absolutely nothing to do with wood. He couldn’t build a thing! After the blades and chisels got dull, all they produced was smoke! He didn’t know how to sharpen them or care. So the tools mostly just sat.

Now don’t get me wrong. I am NOT dishonoring my father. ALL of us have tried new things that we thought we would like, only to find out that they actually SOUNDED better than they were. I learned a lot of lessons from his desire. My brother and I learned how to play ‘mumbly peg’ pretty well… AND how to make ‘billy clubs!’

After getting married, my first job was carpentry. As a frame carpenter in training, I learned that when smoke comes off the saw while cutting lumber, it’s time to stop and sharpen your blade. I thought, “OH… new concept!” And therein lies another great lesson in life.

Being a Christian, a male and a pastor, I have run into LOTS of smoking lumber. Having been there myself, I can recognize it quickly. There are really only 2 choices in life. Like ‘good and evil,’ we can choose to either walk ‘by sight,’ or walk ‘by faith.’ And the verse today clearly tells us what God expects of His own.

Today’s verse shows that the way God tunes us is by using other folks of faith to spark, grind and sharpen us into the people He wants us to be. An old saying says ‘where there is smoke there is fire.’ In God’s world, we can also say. “Where there are sparks, God’s heroes are being sharpened!” And that is MY heavenly Father’s ‘NOT so secret’ desire.

So… how sharp are YOU? And what do YOU really want? 

“But you, dear friends, continue to build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit.” Jude 20

It was 7:55am and I had already blown it. Like watching David Banner transform into ‘The Hulk,’ I KNEW what was happening, yet was helpless to stop it. Since it was easier to just go with and let it out, rather than try to control it, I morphed into a crazier man than usual. And hated myself for the transference. The clock now said 7:56 am!

I had an appointment at 8am. The place was on a busy road I had been on MANY times before, so ASSUMED I could easily find it. Upon realizing that I had failed in my assumption and was wrong, I did the next most logical thing and stopped to put the address into Google Maps. It was then I SHOULD have gotten some relief by realizing that there are more stupid people out there than ME! As Google took me even FURTHER away from my destination, I started to yell and bang the steering wheel! I was glad my clothes didn’t rip!

When I got to my appointment I was 15 minutes late! Which is TOTALLY unacceptable for me. In my frame of mind I knew I HAD to calm down before I went in. Not wanting to be seen as a Hulk out of place, I prayed and asked the Holy Spirit to get ME back. It took a minute but I knew He had already started the process.

I heard it well said years ago that I am a Heavenly Treasure in an Earthen vessel. That the process of complete and actual sanctification into a perfect being will never happen HERE! God is at work in me and slowly convicts and changes me into the image of His Son Jesus Christ. It’s not HIS failure, but an inherent problem with the material He has to work with. The process is universal and has no shortcut.

My selfish and sinful nature, called the flesh, is ALWAYS opposed to God. It takes a cooperation of my spirit with God’s Holy Spirit to conform myself into what God expects. It is ALWAYS up to ME to start the yielding, and it is ALWAYS HARD WORK! I HATE that I transfer into ‘The Hulk’ as frequently as I do. And anger is only ONE of my triggers! But the fact that I HATE that part of me is evidence that I really belong to God in the first place!

Being a work in progress means that I will always have a job! But it doesn’t mean that I am a hopeless case. There are LOTS of us out there! A point the receptionist must have assumed in the appointment process. When I apologized for my tardiness she said, “You weren’t REALLY due until 8:30. We just give everyone an earlier time to make sure they get here!” Feeling a hint of another transfer, I wondered if God doesn’t do the same thing!

Are YOU looking better every day?

“For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.” 2 Timothy 1:7

For the last week I have become the butt of other peoples jokes. After a blood test, my friend and doctor decided that he needed a little more information to determine if I have a condition. So he scheduled me for an MRI. It wasn’t long before I received a call from a representative of the radiology company with a list of requirements BEFORE I showed up for the appointment. And THAT’S when it all started.

Among the do’s and don’ts, I was required to NOT eat certain foods 3 days before. And to NOT eat anything they day before and TO drink plenty of water. The final instruction was to have an enema. At my age I have never had one before! Just the thought of it turned me a little unsure, and turned my FRIENDS into comedians.

I have been through MRI’s before. Having learned from my father a LONG time ago that fear is more of an enemy than the actual event, I just decided that I was not going to let fear drive me. It’s a lesson that he taught me as a little boy, when I had to get those allergy shots with the square needles! It is ALSO one that I learned in Church when it came to Bible prophecy.

Both Christians and Non Christians have a fascination with what is going to happen to the world?” The Bible is FULL of action packed warnings and visions of wars, wrath and judgment to come. Because of world events, it’s natural to read the Bible and speculate if we’re at the end. Analyzing speculators are quick to jump on the bandwagon because… fear sells books and movies. But I don’t buy into it.

Jesus said to put my life into HIS hand and to TRUST HIM. Several hundred times the phrase FEAR NOT is found in the Bible. For those of us who place our lives and hopes in Jesus Christ, NO FEAR should be our mantra and PEACE our standard demeanor. An in depth and educated discussion on Biblical prophecy can be fun, exciting and theologically beneficial. Butt in the end… we really don’t KNOW how everything will turn out EXACTLY.

I know Jesus Christ. I am personally an expert on Him. My relationship with Him is rock solid and continues to grow. So when this whole enema thing came up, I looked at it like I did shots, needles MRI’s and Biblical Prophecy. Because I know Jesus, I don’t have to fear. Turns out in the end…there was nothing to worry about after all!

Are YOU NERVOUS?

“Jesus said, ‘If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’” John 8:31-32

It was the second day in a row that I entered the business. And just like the first, there, right at the door, was ‘The Doorkeeper!’ Call him the screener, security, front man or whatever…his job was to make sure EVERYONE obeyed the rules. And the rule was, wear a mask and answer the questions. Because the day before took far too much time, I was irritable.

MY opinion is that the whole mask thing is wrong, unscientific, politically motivated and it has gone on for FAR too long. But I wasn’t ASKED my opinion. I was asked to “answer the questions.” AGAIN! When I joked, “I already said ‘no’ to ‘em yesterday,” he took offense. “Sounds like you’re telling me how to do my job!” was his response. I was IMMEDIATELY contrite and apologized, adding “I’m not a normal kind of preacher!” Then round 2 happened!

I watched his face soften as I had hit common ground. His next question was, “what version you think is best?” Knowing I was being set up, I said, “NIV or ESV…you?” “King James,” was his reply. When I asked “Why,” “1 John 5:7,” was his response. And just like that, we were friends! Sorta!

When I get a Bible verse with a ‘disputation’ attached to it. I like to do the research. EVERY common version of the Bible will lead you to today’s Bible verse and point out that Jesus Christ is God and THE ONLY Savior of mankind. When disputing comes into the discussion, reading ALL the versions, along with the original language and commentaries, is a CINCH in the ‘smart phone’ age and usually clears things up. Not this time!

It happens that I HAVE both versions of the Bible AND a smart phone. It took me all of about 8 minutes to find out what his beef was. I had fun because I also LEARNED something new. Now that I understand his position, and have an even clearer opinion of mine, I am ready to face ‘The Doorkeeper’ again and pick up where we left off. You see…I am DETERMINED to WIN!

I’m not going to tell you the controversy. Betting you a dime to a donut (an old saying that probably should be changed to $1 to a donut) I’ll bet YOU HAVE a smartphone and know how to use it. I’ll let YOU have your OWN fun if you want to look it up yourself! Me? I’m ready! And when I see ‘The Doorkeeper’ again, I’m not even going to bring it up! I’m going to WIN by keeping my mouth SHUT and him as my friend.

On…I’m just curious…how do YOU spell that circular shaped delicacy of goodness with the hole in the middle? And who really cares? The main thing… is to keep the main thing… the main thing! Are YOU FREE?