“Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen and will see of me.” Acts 26:16

I stood perplexed before the rows and rows of hundreds of different types and sizes of screws and nails. All of them were made for the purpose of fastening and holding items together. Perplexity turned to frustration as prices for each item varied with each box. I had gone to the store to simply buy a box of 2” screws. I hadn’t realized I was going to need more education before buying.

There were indoor vs outdoor, drywall vs wood, stainless vs treated, phillips vs torx and even blue vs gold and other colors! On top of it all, prices varied according to how many and which type were in the box. I found myself standing and staring in disbelief. How could it be SO difficult to buy a simple item to fasten 2 pieces of wood together. It got even worse when I entered the nail section!

Today’s verse comes from Paul’s story of salvation. He spoke it before King Agrippa because he was under arrest! Having shared the Gospel and his story in Jerusalem, he was almost killed for his testimony. It seemed easier to arrest Paul than to fight the crowd, so Paul was simply defending himself before the King and his important officials. And it almost worked! Ain’t Jesus interesting?

Over 2000 years has found the Church, Christ’s future Bride, as varied and separated as those nails and screws on store shelves. Many different denominations claim the title of being ‘the one TRUE Christian religion.’ I found Paul’s testimony, his ‘get out of jail free’ card, to be the best of all! In it, Jesus calls Paul to Himself to… ”stand up and become a servant and witness for Jesus Christ!”

It’s really that simple. Once I met Jesus, I was arrested and sentenced to death. I agreed to die to myself to allow Jesus to live HIS life THROUGH me. Now, my mission is to stick with, learn, study, apply and spread HIS Word among the many different kinds and types of people in my world. Jesus’ goal is to fasten Himself to them… permanently. I am simply one of many types of fasteners!

Are YOU a fastener in the hands of Jesus? Because He wants you to help Him build His Church!

“…whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Mark 10:43a-44

I’ll just call it an “Insta-conundrum.” Yesterday, Katie and I were walking into a store with both an inner and outer set of doors. Approaching the entry, Katie paused to allow me time to get there and open the door for her. She entered, while at the same time, a lady was exiting toward us, from the inner set of doors. Instantly I was faced with a conundrum as I thought, “what do I do now”?

Katie was set to go into door #2 while I was still holding door #1, with a lady approaching. Without time to really think, I continued to hold the door open until the lady exited, then walked inside to door #2, which had closed. Opening door # 2 for Katie, I realized SHE had had an “Insta-conundrum” of her own. Because she was simply standing there waiting for me to arrive to open the door for her.

From the time I was a little boy my father taught me to honor women. Opening doors and pulling out chairs for ladies was first mandatory, then became automatic, a sign of respect for women. For quite some time, there has been push back from some saying “opening doors for women belittles them by implying that they are weaker, helpless, or unable to open doors for themselves.” I say, “Nonsense!”

I don’t just hold doors for women! As a habit, if there is someone within the vicinity, I ‘get the door’ and invite men and children to go in first too. It is a sign of courtesy and service to others… the kind of generosity that Jesus implied in today’s Bible verse. The idea that giving honor ‘belittles’ another person is actually a selfish idea, since generosity doesn’t HAVE to be rooted in need.

My wife is tough, and she has the ability to ‘get the door’ herself.  In fact, she does it all the time when I’m not with her. But when we are together, I’m ‘The Door Guy!’ For her to pause and wait for me to catch up to ‘get the door’ was equally a sign of courtesy and honor. To do otherwise would be like saying “that door rule is so dumb, I’m just going to do it myself,” removing honor and service from our union.

Serving others is a sign that I’m OK. Since I have Jesus Christ in my life, I am full. Being full, I have the privilege and honor of being generous with that honor. Honoring and serving others doesn’t HAVE to be rooted in another’s need. Just being there, showing up, reaching out, going second, praying for and even saving the last bite for another, proves there’s been a ‘touch of the Master’s hand!’ How do YOU serve the Master? 

“As dead flies give perfume a bad smell, so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor. The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the left.” Ecclesiastes 10:1-2

“OH THAT’S GROSS!!” I needed to brush my teeth, but I’d lost my toothbrush on a trip. Looking through the bathroom drawer, I found an old one I could use. Washing it off with toothpaste and water, I started to brush. About 30 seconds into it I realized something was not right. Putting on my glasses and looking closely, I found a long, blond hair wrapped around the bristles. GAG!

I know there are things I can handle that others can’t. And vice versa. But to me, a hairy toothbrush is worse than eating something that dropped on a floor… even 7 seconds past the 10 second rule! Further investigation proved that the hair belonged to Katie! Which really shouldn’t have bothered me, since I loved her enough to marry her. But hair on a toothbrush, even hers, just freaks me out!

Today’s verse is not an accident. I actually went looking for it because it verifies there are some things that are just plain, disgustingly gross! Imagining spraying dead fly juice on my face doesn’t set well. Which is exactly the point trying to be made by the ‘wisest man on earth.’ There are some things that are simply intolerable to God. And the deliberate folly of fools is at the top of His list.

I had a friend who used to quote this verse to prove that God is a Republican because His heart always leans to the right! Which is hard to argue against. But in today’s world, the so-called ‘agenda of the Left’ is considered gross, or an outright ‘abomination’ to God. For example, standing up to the LGBTQ+ pushers, to protect the children of our society, often makes me feel stinky, cuz it’s gross!

I have learned the hard way that God generally cares more about ‘how and why’ I do something than He does about the ‘what and where’ I do it. Sometimes it is a very thin hairline that separates wise from foolish. But God expects me to know WHERE that line is… and to stay to the right of it. What is going on in YOUR life that God is wanting you to be wiser about? Are you making wise choices?

“If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.” Colossians 3:1

“What’s that?” I thought to myself. I was at an old house on a Key, separated from a beautiful beach by only about 25 yards of trees and brush. Earlier, I had eaten a banana and thrown the peel into the brush. Since there were no garbage cans, and knowing bananas are organic, I simply helped it return to its earthly nature. Later, drawn to movement, I discovered a gopher turtle eating the banana peel!

I’d seen the gopher turtle when I first arrived, saw the hole it’d dug under a walkway and later saw it poking out when I walked by. It seemed to know I was no threat. Maybe it knew there was a law that protects him, since ‘gopher turtles’ are on Florida’s threatened species list. But maybe, that pea-brained turtle knew more than I thought it knew. After all, it WAS eating my old banana peel!

Seeing what I saw made me want to learn more about gopher turtles. I found out they are foraging critters that usually wander around about a 160’ area looking for leaves, roots and possible fruit. They have a very good sense of smell, and given that the area for foraging only existed right in front of me, it must have put 2+2 together and headed my direction… in HOPE!

As I wrote this, I could sense God nudging me to put 2+2 together to sum up that I have enough information in my heart, mind and soul to go forage for some of His Truth to feed ALL of me! I know I was born an earthling bound to this planet. But like all humans, I have a tendency to look up, around and within… for SOMETHING. There is a sense that draws me UP, because UP is where the Master is.

I’ve walked as a son of God for a long time now. I have learned that everything worth knowing comes FROM Christ. Having been spiritually ‘raised to life’ WITH Him, I am always looking for Him, to come to me, from there. And like that turtle, I dig into God’s Word, then go out seeking and foraging for anything He throws in front of me. Are YOU TOO, a smart, satisfied, searching, servant of the Savior?

“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” Galatians 5:1

In the subject line of the Web Browser I simply typed ‘Lenten Devotional.’ Hitting ‘Enter’ surprisingly, produced DOZENS of choices. I say ‘surprisingly’ because I STILL have a hard time comprehending how easy it is to get information, from a cell phone, over the internet. One listing had famous actors presenting a 40 day devotional for FREE! Entertainment with study must have compelled me to ‘go.’

There were lots of choices… ‘What was I looking to accomplish and what actors did I want?’  There were questions about my normal Bible routine, along with suggestions of subjects to add to enhance my Devotional walk. Getting to the end, I was slightly excited. Until it asked for my credit card!

The problem with ‘Free’ opportunities is that not everyone offering ‘FREE,’ really means it! Had they placed a fine print message on page one, telling me that I had to provide my credit card FIRST, I would not have spent the time wasting my time. While it offered me a free week, I had to provide a Credit Card BEFORE I even got started. Billing would automatically start on day 8. To me, that’s not “FREE.”

A lesson I remembered during this incident came to mind. It is often common for Christians to tell people that “salvation from sin and hell is a FREE GIFT in Jesus Christ.” When I received Jesus Christ as a young lad, it actually FELT FREE! Pointing out my sin and shame, with having NO way to rid myself of it, Christ offered me Eternal Life for FREE! All I had to do was “Give Him your heart,” the camp counselor said. And I did. And Jesus came! It wasn’t until later I realized, freedom isn’t free!

The price God paid to free me was HORRIFICALLY HIGH! His Love for me gave Him no choice but to pay it. Now that we have FREELY exchanged lives, He calls me to read and follow His Word… along with many other things along the way. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised at the devotional incident. My love for Christ makes me WANT to get closer to Him. Which takes effort! Are YOU paying the cost of Love for Christ?