“One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city.” Acts 18:9-10

I held 3 items in a box on the way to the checkout line. The last man had a cart FULL. Seeing my few items he said, “go ahead of me!” Blessed by his kindness, I blurted out, “Oh, God Bless you!” His response was, “Oh… I wouldn’t go THAT far!” And I IMMEDIATELY detected a divine appointment! “Oh… I go that far all the time!” I said. And then started sharing Jesus!

I’ve been doing it that way for decades. That doesn’t mean it always came naturally and without fear. In fact, I’d been pressed by Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, for a LONG time before I actually started DOING it. When I did, it took time and perceived failures before I learned to rely on HIM instead of my own speaking skills. I’m His witness cuz He SAID to be!

The power of words is powerful. But I’ve learned that the power of His NAME is even more-so! Anyone can mention ‘Buddha’ or ‘spirituality’ and never offend a soul. But just say the name ‘Jesus,’ and watch people cringe. But that’s true because Jesus IS Power! I have learned that opening up my mouth for Jesus is the greatest honor and adventure on the planet.

Acts 18 gives today’s verse as kind of a comfort to Paul. I don’t know if Paul was having second thoughts or was worried, but for whatever reason, Jesus personally came to him with the nudge to flap his gums! Then Jesus gave him the task, ability and the power to do so. I find it interesting Jesus said the last line. Because He didn’t really HAVE them until Paul spoke!

If you are a saved Believer in Jesus Christ, this Bible verse is meant for you too! We didn’t come to salvation until someone SPOKE the Good News to us. And your family, friends or associates won’t either. Leaving the job of witnessing to someone you care about, to someone else, is just cruel and dangerous. Paying attention and saying ‘Jesus’ will get you in.

I can attest to the truth of this verse, at least so far, in that I have never, EVER been threatened, hit or abused by ANYONE I’ve shared the Gospel with. True, they may have never wanted to have anything to do with me after that! But hey! If they don’t want my Jesus, why would I want to hang with them? So… are YOU boldly learning and proclaiming the Gospel?

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.” Colossians 3:23

Most every week I get a local grocery store flier in the mail. I like to look and see if there are any savings on products I use regularly. After seeing several items on sale, I headed to the store to purchase them… 1 item being some cooked ham. Growing up, Isaly’s in Pittsburgh was known for ‘Klondikes’ and ‘chipped ham.’ At $1.99/lb… I suddenly wanted some!

At the Deli counter there was 1 man already being waited on. With at least 5 other people walking around behind the counter, I waited for 10 minutes as the man in front of me kept ordering items. I was wearing a Jesus shirt and hat, so decided I’d better put on my outer Godly-patience outfit. When the man was done, he walked away. And so did the deli gal!

It took some time but I finally called the gal and asked where the $1.99 ham was. The answer was, “we don’t carry that in this store!” Later, checking out with other items I told the cashier how often I come for sales, only to find the items not available. She told me,” they are supposed to offer you another brand at the same price!” She sent me back with a name!

The deli gal wasn’t happy to see me, & I figured it was the shirt. I gave her the name of the manger and asked her to please give me 1 pound of the $4.99 ham for $1.99. “Company policy, I was told!” She grunted. When I said, please ‘chip it,’ she said, “you’re asking a LOT!” When done, I gave her a $2 tip saying, “it’s for your helpful arm AND a righteous principle!”

OK. I know I didn’t make a fan for Jesus. But standing there the entire time, and being treated as I had been, my hat and shirt were the only explanation. Before I’d said a word, I was judged. But I get it all the time and have learned to deal with it by giving a little extra Jesus kindness. The deli gal has a job. But then, so do I. But MY boss’s policy is today’s verse.

Because I am His, I KNOW when unrighteousness comes my way. But I ALSO know when ‘I’ slip and become the AUTHOR of unrighteousness. My Master expects me to work harder, more diligently and with HIS HOLY Spirit always present. Because EVERYTHING I DO MATTERS. Are YOU obeying the unctions of the Holy Spirit through YOUR hands, heart and life?  

“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?” Luke 6:21

As we ended our walk around the block, Katie stopped under the house and intensely gazed upward at the rotted fascia. It must have been the intensity of her stare that got my attention, because I followed her eyes up to the corner of the house, finally seeing what she was looking at! There, sticking out like a sore thumb, was the fascia I started to fix LONG ago.

OK. I don’t know how long it’s been, but it has been quite a while. I had started the repair, when I saw that it was going to take more effort, time and material than I had anticipated. Then something else caught my attention. My lovely wife never spoke about it, and I simply removed the offensive sight so far from my memory that it never came back to my mind!

The older I get, the more I suffer from ‘selective seeing!’ This morning I saw, and walked passed, a dying palmetto bug on the floor 6 times before I finally remembered I was going to pick it up the first time! Yesterday, after I set up the ladder to fix the fascia, I remembered that I’d left my saw at my son’s place. Sadly, I felt relieved that I COULDN’T fix it! WEIRD!

I’m beginning to see that one of the greatest enemies of redemption and sanctification is simply ‘wanna!’ I have worked 10 times harder doing things for other family members and Jesus than what it would take to fix that fascia. Even now, embarrassed that I am even sharing it, is not enough for me to care. I simply do not WANNA fix it! OK… I realize now… I’m a pig!

The mystery of my NOT being able to see and make adjustments to OBVIOUS repairs to my house, gets magnified when I look at my own heart. Even Jesus is baffled because He ended His story with the ‘WHY’ question (see today’s verse)! Fishing for an answer gets me no bites because honestly (dare I say it?) I simply don’t care! I now recognize I have a serious problem!

It’s just me and Jesus alone in the room now. And I can see him tapping his fingers on his crossed arms. Which forces me to see the nail scars on the back of his hands. UGH!!! I HATE it when He does that! (just being honest). But HE asked the question… and He expects an answer! Knowing Him as I do, He’ll wait as long as it takes for an answer. So I’m thinking!

And what about YOU? Are YOU facing a confused Savior awaiting YOUR response to WHY YOU’RE not DOING what is OBVIOUS to everyone else? Uh-huh! Tick-Tock baby!  Have a nice day!

“Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense.” Proverbs 19:11

The wait time for the service procedure was going to be about 2 hours. Having anticipated it, I took an intense, historical book to read. Walking into the waiting room, 1 side had a loud TV, so I chose the other. Settling in, it didn’t take long before distractions began. A couple of girls began loudly conversing, and the gal beside me started laughing at a very long internet show.

Of all the Spiritual Fruits listed in Galatians 5, the most difficult one for me is patience. MY plan was to sit in the quiet and do some studying. A plan which was immediately scuttled when other folks in the room executed THEIR plans for the afternoon. I then tried to ignore them and go on in spite of the noise. Which didn’t really work. So I became offended!

“Wherever I go, there I am,” is a true statement. But then again, so is Jesus’ promise “I am with you always, even to the end of the world (Mt. 28:20).” I had a quiet thought to ask the gal beside me what she was listening to, but didn’t want to interrupt like I was being interrupted! So I didn’t! This morning, reliving those 2 hours in my mind, I sense Jesus saying… I SHOULD have!

Everything with Jesus is a learning opportunity. I am learning that the more I pay attention, the more ‘opportunities’ present themselves. Looking back, I can see that I ‘could have’ at least asked ‘laughing girl’ what she was listening to. At best, I may have found a resource to make ME laugh. OR, I may have had the opportunity to share Good News WITH her… WITH Jesus!

The greatest news I ever learned, besides how to be saved, is the fact that Jesus is never offended! As the old saying goes, “there is nothing I can do to make Him love me more… or less!” He already paid for all my sins, and now, every offense against Him can be turned into an opportunity FOR Him, if I just dedicate my time and plans to look.

So now, after paying attention, I have a spiritual backup plan for when my soul becomes offended! But will I remember that next time? Because there WILL be a next time! And it’s up to me. But how about you? What is Jesus trying to teach YOU in your areas of weakness? Are you working on listening and putting those lessons into practice?

“…since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.” Romans 1:19

The picture says it all. And it’s not cute or funny. I ran into a reality of this picture last week, looking for a parking spot at an over crowded lot. A Cadillac was taking up 2 spots! A day later, driving behind yet another Cadillac, I noted the driver swerving from the center of their lane to the very edge of the middle line, blocking traffic. It was rude and selfish.

Now I’m not saying that all Cadillac drivers are rude. But I’ve noticed a pattern among certain types of drivers. When someone slides all over their lane and ‘rides the line,’ they are showing no concern for fellow drivers on the road. Whether blocking someone from passing them, or parking beside blocking them, love and courtesy toward others seems NOT a priority.

Florida just passed a law prohibiting driving slow in the left lane. It doesn’t seem to have had much impact. The roads seem to reflect what has happened in our society. The ‘Me’ generation has arrived onto the highways of life, displaying a lack of care for law, respect, God and others. And as a T-shirt of mine says… ‘Normal isn’t coming back, Jesus is!’

Now I know I can be as selfish and arrogant as the next guy! Sometimes, sadly, even more! But being a jerk or disrespectful on purpose is something my Master has a STRONG opinion about. Romans 1 and 2 plainly lay out God’s view. God had laid rules and boundaries into the hearts of people. And people KNOW what decency is. There’s NO excuse for disrespect.

The saying, “God said it. I believe it. That settles it!” is really only 2/3rds true. “God said it.. That settles it!” is the intention of God. Unfortunately, KNOWING Truth cannot guarantee obedience to Him. It takes a willful desire to WANT to please Him, to please Him. Receiving and following Christ replaces ‘being good!’ HIS intentions should determine my actions.

I backed off of a very rude driver the other day when I moved over and got behind a slower driver in the right lane, allowing the rude, and possibly violent driver, to get WAY ahead of me. I just felt God moving me over there, and obeyed… which is typically NOT my usual method of handling rudeness. But I swear I heard Him say, “Good Boy” to my heart!

It seems clear to me that ‘non-God’ followers can easily overwhelm God’s followers. When I was young, it didn’t SEEM to be that way. Now, as society pushes it’s own agenda beyond boundaries, I am trying to pay closer attention to The Master and follow HIS lead. It seems to be a whole new education. Are YOU TOO trying to pay more attention to Him as you drive through life?

“Then Jesus declared, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.'” John 6:35

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to go with my son to help work on his cottage. One of the perks of going there is the big dock that overlooks the Gulf of Mexico. Yesterday, the water was as clear as crystal. A few other families were out there as well, and I watched a little boy catch 2 fish… to my zero! He was as giddy as a 5 year old could be with a fish on the line.

A few other folks were catching fish, and as I looked down into the water I could clearly see hundreds of different kinds of fish. The natural question of the day was, “what are you using for bait?” In every case, the answer was some kind of natural bait that fish are used to eating. I had an artificial shrimp on my line and, try as I may to make it look real. It didn’t!

After about an hour, with only a few tugs at the bait, we called it quits and headed back to work on the cottage. Our goal was to make it more appealing and comfortable for his family to want to go and visit there. It wasn’t hard to figure out what to do. All we had to do is use our own sense of comfort as a gauge for success. ‘Cool’ and ‘clean’ became the ‘bait’ target.

When it comes to bait, there really isn’t anything more powerful than using hunger and thirst as targets for catching things. People included. Jesus carefully laid out His Father’s plan in His ‘fishing for men’ task. Having carefully crafted the plan, God sent His Son to us, in the form of a man, to get to know, understand and entice us to come to Him to be satisfied in our needs.

One of the easiest gauges I use, to KNOW if I am walking with the Lord, is to check my satisfaction levels. Am I hungry? Am I thirsty? Is God supplying all my needs? Do I find myself with a desire to look for anything else? And if I am, is that desire an artificial, or a real need? There are enemy desires that can look very appealing, but prove only fake… and fatal.

What captures YOUR attention? Can you see that there are things out there that, while they may bait you into offering satisfaction, only let you down? ‘Jesus Works’ is a saying at our church… and for a reason. Because He DOES! What are YOU fishing for?

“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15 KJV

I was on a mission. My son wanted a new cabinet top and I, being the one with the truck, volunteered to pick it up. These days, anyone can log onto a smartphone and look up what’s in stock at the local lumber yard. He was in Tampa, but looked up the store closest to me and saw they had 3 of what he wanted in stock. So I hopped in my truck and headed north!

When I got to the store I asked the department head where I might find the desired counter-top. Taking me to the location, I discovered that there were not 3… but 2. And both of those had been damaged in shipping. I then asked if there were any at the southern store. Looking up on his phone, he stated, “they have 7 there.” So I hopped in my truck and headed south!

When I got there, I had to ask the department head where they were, because the store layout was different. When he pointed to the back of the store, I walked back to find that, instead of 7, there were only 2. And BOTH of those had been damaged in transit. Picking the one that would display the least likelihood of offense, I unhappily loaded it into my truck.

The one thing I learned through this process, is that what the store’s app said they had, and what they ACTUALLY had, were 2 different things. AND that even though they might have them, there was no guarantee of their condition. I finally settled for a slightly damaged one, because I was not going to drive 100 miles to hopefully find another one in perfect condition.

One of the first verses in the Bible that I ever learned at my Father’s guidance was today’s verse. I deliberately picked the King James version, not because it’s the one I learned, but because it’s the one I think most closely resembles the original intent of the Author. It starts with a command! “YOU… STUDY!” The NIV version says ‘do your best!” Errr? Unacceptable!

Everyone who knows the Bible, even a little, understands the problem that comes from private interpretation! It is possible to make the Bible say anything anyone wants it to. But because Bible Study REQUIRES intense, intentional hard work WITH the Author, the work I put in can’t be just the best I can do. Study brings out the best of who He is.. into who I am to be!

So before I run off telling everyone what I THINK the Bible is trying to say, I am reminded, as I see BOTH my dad’s in my mind’s eye, to STUDY IT CORRECTLY! Truth requires the stamp of it’s Author! Are YOU studying to SHOW yourself approved by Him??? 

“Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever.” Psalm 125:1

Apparently… I don’t trust God! ME!?! As I write this, I can hardly believe the words I read back to myself. But after the lousy night’s sleep I got last night, along with all the stuff that’s been rolling around in my head, I don’t know what other conclusion to make. After reading about David, I searched for a Psalm for some peace, and landed on this verse!

It would be easy for me to just blame it all on God! After all, Psalm 127:2 says that the LORD, “grants sleep to those He loves.” It would be a simple logical conclusion to say, “well I didn’t get any sleep last night… so God must not love me!” But that would be ridiculous! God DOES love me. So the problem of sleeplessness MUST lie in the weakest link… ME!

Not one to believe in coincidences, I am left to roll today’s verse around in my head and dig deeper for what He is trying to show me. I remembered the illustration of ‘The Chair’ I learned when trying to describe faith. I can actually look at a chair and believe that it can hold me. But I do not really ‘exercise’ that faith until I plant my butt down onto it! OOOOH!

If unshakable faith comes to those who ‘trust in the Lord,’ then the problem of a disturbed night of unrest MUST be the result of MY NOT trusting in the Lord! As I write those words, I can sense God giving me a pat on my back and saying… “that a boy!!! You’ve got it!” Which means, the only person who needs to make an adjustment in our relationship… is ME!

So excuse me for, once again, distrusting God in the middle of my night. I’m just going to throw this junk off onto God’s shoulders and let it go! Do YOU need to do the same thing? Thank GOD that back-steps are just another part of the Dance with my Savior.   

“…you are not your own. For you were bought with a price…” 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

It was Sunday morning and time to wake up the kids for church. Going to the door, I opened it… halfway! The door stopped when it hit something. Looking in, I saw my 2 grandsons lying just inside the door… on the floor! Looking at the blowup mattress, I immediately saw the problem. Half inflated, they must have rolled off of it in the middle of the night.

We have 2 mattresses, but the one we grabbed apparently was the one with the slow leak. Being late the first night, I tasked the oldest of the 2 with a job saying, “Duncan, put your finger here. This is the button that blows up the mattress. If it goes down in the middle of the night, just press this and it will inflate.” The first night he had it down. Saturday? Nada!

Finally, waking up, they both laughed. Apparently they had been in such a sound sleep, they hadn’t noticed the mattress collapsing. When they rolled onto the floor, they didn’t realize they had a problem and slept right through it. Had he noticed, it would have been a simple 15 second task to hit the switch and fix it. Now… this is just a funny story. But it’s not always!

Losing sleep and not even noticing doesn’t count as an oops. But there have been MANY times when, failure to take responsibility or perform a simple task, cost me plenty! It doesn’t take much for an oops to become a catastrophe. I remembered to drop my taxes in the mail yesterday. Had I missed today’s deadline, it would have cost me dearly! Life has lessons.

As I read Psalm 24:1 today, “The Earth is the LORD’s and everything in it,” I remembered the New Testament verse that I used for today. As I meditated on that verse, I was led to remember the First Commandment as well, “You shall have NO other Gods before Me.” It’s a rule that was handed down from God to me, with an expectation that I CHOOSE to KEEP it.

Putting Duncan’s finger on the switch and showing him how to take care of himself should his bed collapse, is not much different than today’s verses. The cost of NOT seeing God as my Creator and Master will result in MORE than just an oops or a night sleep. The decision to live life to the full, with God as My Master, is MINE. I can choose Him, or sleep right through Him.

Are YOU choosing to Choose Jesus?