“You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.” Psalm 16:11

D’ja ever have one of those days? You know what I am talking about. A day where life comes at you at 110 mph and it is all you can do to simply hang on? It can come from any angle… body, soul or spirit… or any combination of the three. Mine came from deep within my soul. For the 2^nd time this week I was notified of the passing of one of our church saints. Yep… one of those days!

First Don passed. Then yesterday, Louise. One of the toughest parts of ministry is the return visitation of Dr. Death. He is rude, ill-mannered and shows up at the most inconvenient times. He NEVER fails to capture my attention and drags me away to places I have been, but don’t particularly care for. So I knew where we were going. But the journey is never one I can get used to.

As an old man, Don fought age and Alzheimers. Louise fought pain and illness. BOTH of them did it with a courage and grace that gives me something to aim for. I’d see them walking slowly into the church, coming to worship their Savior. And I could not help hearing the voices of other folks NOT there, choosing to stay home because “it was the only day they could sleep in!” inevitably the contrast made them nobler in my eyes.

Painfully, Dr. Death never comes alone. He brings memories with him. My dad, brother, mother and friends. He reminds me that one day he won’t just come for a visit. But will take me away too. But knowing and loving THEM, It is THEN that I see him for the liar that he is!

I try to imagine what it must feel like to have been Louise, with a body so sick and in pain. And like Don, who was trapped with Alzheimers. I try to imagine what it must be like to just SUDDENLY AWAKE in Heaven and see Jesus, Glory and all the Saints. How suddenly that Joy must hit. How LARGE it must be. And how unexplainable here! But THAT is THE blessed hope of all Believers who KNOW Jesus Christ as their Savior. And it is what we all look forward to. But first, we must face Dr. Death!

Death always brings a double edged sword, with sorrow on one side and Joy on the other. Both cut deeply into our souls. Maybe that is why the mourning process takes so much time. One cannot sort all those emotions quickly. Mortals weren’t meant to have to. So, like you, I follow the Dr. where HE leads. But I remember that no matter where his stormy visit takes me, it will never ultimately overcome me. Thank you Jesus for the saints, AND for the promised joy and blessing of hanging onto You.

Anyone who listens to The Word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. James 1:23-24

Since my wife works a job that has explicit hours, and I don’t, I am usually at the house when she gets home. I know, it’s sort of a role reversal kind of thing. But it is what it is. Not so strangely I USUALLY try to ‘not’ look like a bum when she comes through the door. She believes she married a ‘Knight in Shining Armor,’ and I don’t want to deliberately tarnish the image. She recently came home and laughingly said, “WOW!!! Your hair is a MESS!”

This is NOT a message about my wife’s insensitivities… OR my HAIR! But rather what MY perception about myself happens to be. Having come in from outside where the wind had been blowing, I hadn’t looked in the mirror. When I did I found that she was right!

It takes a big person, with a servant’s heart, to discern the difference between what one ‘thinks’ and what one ‘knows.’ Mark Twain said, “It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.” I have just revealed one of my biggest weaknesses! And maybe one of yours??

“Wherever you go, there you are,” is credited as a Buddhist statement. I don’t know that Buddha didn’t rip it off from Jesus! But the concept is one I can verify as accurate. Sometimes I actually ‘believe’ that what I am ‘thinking’ or ‘doing’ is A.O.K. Even when it is NOT! USUALLY folk’s FIRST reaction to a statement like, “WOW!!! Your hair is a MESS!” becomes defensive…“No it doesn’t!” Even if the defense only happens internally! The fact is, most humans don’t believe they are wrong. And if you are a Christian under the Grace of God… that last statement is CAN become arrogance!

The Word of God is like a mirror. It never lies, distorts or sugar coats the Truth. Reading it actually takes bravery because, to even approach it requires a certain ‘uncertainty’ about oneself. To actually read AND apply its Truth requires an act of Superior-Sainthood! Far too often I read it and have to say, “ouch!” But here’s the lesson…Jesus says THAT is the proper attitude, AND the ONLY one that brings ‘blessed’ results. What do YOU think?

“Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them… Does this offend you?” John 6:56 & 61

It was dark when I went to close and lock the front door. The day had been spent and it was close to the point of its end. A good thing too, since it was not that spectacular of a day. A lot of information had come to me yesterday and it had left me with a sense of caution. As I closed the door, outsside I heard a huge “BOOM!” I surprised myself that I didn’t even pause… click! The door was locked!

I do not know exactly what the sound was. SOMETHING had gone wrong! But there was one thing I had immediately assumed… the BOOM did NOT concern ME! This morning, though I still do not know what it was, I discover that I am more AM concerned that I was not concerned!

John 6 is a VERY troubling chapter in the Bible. It starts off with a good story of Jesus feeding the 5000. But it quickly dissipates into some rather dark, nasty and gruesome images. It begins with THOUSANDS of people following and getting fed by Jesus and ends with the vast majority of them closing the door on the miracle worker! In between, Jesus clearly and simply explains WHY He came and WHAT He came to do! His words and question to them then, is His same message and question to YOU! And it is SUPPOSED to sound like a sonic BOOM!

I have often said that the REASON people are told NOT to discuss religion and politics is because that is what we SHOULD be talking about. Those 2 entities absolutely define our lives. To dismiss or ignore either one renders us victims to those who press their point harder. I sense I am being prophetic when I say that our Churches and Nation are headed for trouble! Again!

I am seeing signs that the big picture is about to explode because I am noticing individuals are either not hearing the BOOM or are not concerned. But they will be affected by it. Far too many self described ‘believers’ I know are yielding to the sound of another boom. And though not so loud, it IS causing a change of direction. Doors are being closed, ears are being turned away, and just like that…Christ is on the other side of the door.

What do you believe? Or maybe I should ask, ‘what are you DOING?’ Is what you claim to stand on firmly under your feet? Or is it just noise? Can your faith be defined by what you will NOT do as much as it is by what you ARE doing? Because if Jesus message is true, and I KNOW that it is, eating His flesh and drinking His blood carries some VERY big requirements in the way you react to ‘BOOM!’ And Jesus STILL asks, “Does this offend you?”

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. His mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning. Lamentations 3:22-24

(From Pete Briscoe) One morning, I drove my family into the raw beauty of east Texas where a close friend of mine was waiting with a trailer of horses, saddled and ready to go. We climbed on, uncertain at first, not sure of where we were going or what the ride would be like. The horses walked at first, carefully circling. Then we headed into the unknown for six hours.

Through the brush, up over hills, building up speed as we went down into a creek bed, galloping full speed in about six inches of water. In my mind, scenes from that day still play in slow motion, like a movie; water spraying into the deep blue sky, glittering like shards of crystal in the rays of sunlight. Hour after hour with my wife and three kids—it was as near perfection as life can get on earth, I think. Just an amazing day.

I always have a hard time coming up with a vivid picture of what life “in Christ” is like. But that day got pretty close to a life lived in the grace of God. I see that day very much like Kingdom living on earth.

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2:8-10)

Jesus, the Son, saved us by grace. God, the Father, like my friend, prepares good works in advance for us to do. He gets the horses saddled up for us. And then the Holy Spirit prompts us and pushes us, empowering us and producing fruit through us.

What’s your job? Get on the horse. Stay on the horse. Be carried along. Trust… and hang on.

Abba Father, thank You for this day. For a day full of Your mercies that are new this morning one more time. Take me for the ride, Lord. I saddle up, and I hang on, trusting You with whatever this day might bring my way, ready to allow Your Spirit to propel me into any work that You have prepared for me. Amen.

The Son of Man will return…… “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you suddenly like a trap.” Luke 21:34

First I saw it… then I heard it. But neither made any difference. The marriage of urgent need, unexpected timing and just dumb luck found me in the middle of an outside job. Our church sign had broken and the man who knew how to fix it was in California. He had called me on my cell phone and was waking me through the troubleshooting process. As I stood outside, my concentration was on him. NOT the approaching nasty storm.

In the story Scripture above, Jesus had just told His disciples about ‘The Day!’ It followed His warning that ONE DAY, and NO one can know when, the clock of Earth time will chime ‘Game Over!’ THEN… the clouds will part and HE will return. Was it Good News for them? Well, it depended upon what was on their hearts! But the story is for ME as well.

One version of the Bible says to ‘NOT be weighed down with ‘dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life’ I had to look up the word ‘dissipation.’ It means ‘unrestrained indulgence in physical pleasure.’ Sounds bad, huh? But that doesn’t necessarily infer everything bad! It can just as easily mean wasting time or snoozing in life. The main thing Jesus is pointing to is our ‘Focus!’ ‘Be Careful about what your HEART is FOCUSED upon!’

What I am doing at the moment does not necessarily point to where my heart is focused. We ALL have to work, eat and sleep. But there is a predominant underlying motive that always dominates us as we do the normal everyday things of life. It can be found by asking the simple question, “what do I REALLY want?” It takes ‘courage’ to ask the question of myself. And shocking honesty to HEAR the answer!

There is a storm coming. Everyone knows it. Whether it comes by your natural death or ‘The Day’ holds little importance. What MATTERS is, what is YOUR overall heart FOCUSED on RIGHT NOW? Are you living to escape responsibility, seek pleasure or escape? Or are you focusing on bigger eternal issues? And yes… you already KNOW what those are!

Jesus is trying to say that the time to examine your heart’s focus is NOW. NOT when the storm comes. And friends… the storm IS coming! Where is YOUR heart?

Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; Isaiah 49:15-16

Our church has a nice LED sign that I enjoy changing. It continually proclaims God’s Word and principles to our community. I try to have at least a dozen messages a week rolling over and over… 24/7! Two weeks ago it got stuck with the same messages, which was an issue because some were dated! I received the new sign part and quickly set about installing it. I turned on the sign and… NOTHIN’!

If you’ve learned about computers you know what RAM, ROM and EPROM memory are. When I changed the sign last time, the messages were locked in. When I turned the sign off and on, the same messages came up. I just could not program anything NEW into it. Now that the memory part had been changed… the computer could not remember ANYTHING… since the NEW part had NOT been TOLD what to remember! Get it?

In a Bible Concordance the concepts forever, forgave and forgot are in just that alphabetic order! Interesting? ‘I’ think so. Because if you are in Christ and you have asked Him to be your Savior and Lord, that is EXACTLY what He has done with your sin. Past, Present and yes… even FUTURE sins!

This concept is a hard one to understand because we humans do not have the ability to do forgive that way. And KNOWING that we sin, it is difficult for us to FEEL like those sins have REALLY been forgiven and forgotten forever! But thank God… it is not our JOB to UNDERSTAND it. It IS our joy to receive it!

In the Bible verse today, it is HARD to imagine a brand new mother forgetting her new nursing baby. But the Bible says that it IS possible! But what is IMpossible is for Jesus Christ to forget about YOU. WHY?? He carries the scars and remembers the pain it took to redeem YOU! Your forgiveness was EXPENSIVE to Him. And YOU are more important to Him than some sin He came and died to remove!

“Lord please forgive me for my sin,” is a common cry to heaven. Guilt, shame and remorse feed that prayer. God knew how much BIGGER His Grace needed to be to overcome your weaknesses. So picture this… the next time you feel like crying out for forgiveness for a sin, for which He has already paid, try listening to Him saying…”What sin?”

Forgotten, forgiven, forever! What a Savior!

May my cry come before you, Lord; give me understanding according to your word. Psalm 119:169

Going out the front door to get the mail, I caught swift movement in my peripheral vision. Turning my head, I saw about a 4’ black snake ‘hi-tailing it’ in the opposite direction. I smiled, but didn’t stop my mission, as there was no need! When I returned from the mailbox, he was long gone. I looked for him, but saw no trace. It is the way things are SUPPOSED to be!

I am not afraid of snakes. The sight of it caused no surprise or fear in me because I have LEARNED some things over the years. ‘Learning’ requires taking the effort and time to study, absorb, test and verify information. My years of experience had verified that snakes in the wild do not like people! When a snake is surprised by a human, its first reaction is to flee. If too close… then it will bite! And that is how it is SUPPOSED to be.

The 119^th Psalm is 176 verses long and is written around only 1 subject… God’s Word, the Bible! Like the A,B,C song, each section starts with a letter from the Hebrew alphabet, presumably for the same reason we use the process to teach our kids. It makes it easier to remember. We are encouraged to REMEMBER ‘IT’ because ‘IT,’ God’s Word, is VALUABLE!

If you surf this Psalm you will find LOTS of trouble and problems. Side by side, interlaced with the author’s search for comfort, you will see words like wickedness, sin, persecution, fear, falsehood, hate, deceitfulness and… well you get the picture. It deals with the realities of life. Like snakes on my front patio, our mingling is inevitable. But FEAR is optional!

I have grown to despise even the THOUGHT of predestination! That ‘everything happens to me for a reason’ and is dictated by God is a Buddhist teaching… NOT a Christian one. Life and the things that happen in it are fluid. God, being God, can use anything that comes my way for my benefit or growth… even the bad stuff. So regardless from where things come, they can be a tool in God’s hand for our mutual good (Romans 8:28). That means God is even MORE awesome than the idea of His being a dictator of all life events.

It is a blessing to know that all the bad stuff that flows into my life, when placed against the backdrop of God’s Word, will have the natural reaction to flee or be temporary! But I can only SEE that when I KNOW that! Do you know God’s Word? Are you reading and learning it? God’s Truth, when learned, drives evil away naturally! He doesn’t even have to say ‘Scoot!’ And THAT is how it is SUPPOSED to be.

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28

Yesterday, being ‘Labor Day,’ I did NO labor! And I’d like to say I feel pretty good about it! But I can’t… and I don’t really know why. The day was declared a national holiday back in 1888, designed to celebrate the working man’s contribution to the development of our great country. It is a day of rest… from working!

My wife and I lounged around the house. Well… I did. ‘She’ worked on all kinds of things. She called it ‘catching up!’ I read and napped! She was singing. I got lazier! By end of day, ‘she’ had a list of accomplishments, I had…. nothin! Our time had been free, and we were invited out to dinner. FREE! Somewhere along the conversational way someone said, ‘Ya know, God helps those who help themselves.’ And the guilt dagger stuck in my spirit… for about a second!

That Bible verse, ‘God helps those who help themselves.’ gets quoted a LOT. Which isn’t good. Because it isn’t in the Bible! I don’t know who invented it, but I know it wasn’t God. It SOUNDS good because in a world of entitlement, people are increasingly not sheepish in expecting a hand out. The ratio of jobs to willing workers is a national tragedy. But when it comes to eternal Salvation and the Abundant life Jesus offers, ‘helping Him out’ only gets me into trouble.

The Word of God says that ‘the wages of sin is death. But the GIFT of God is eternal life. Romans 6:23. We can no more earn or deserve heaven than we can create a perfect world. While we know it, it is a very hard concept for any of us to totally accept. I keep getting this feeling like I need to ‘help out’ in some way. And THAT is where I get into trouble.

God does not need help. His love for me is so big, and my situation was so impossible, that only HE could pave the way for my restoration to Himself. I have to keep reminding myself that anything I try to ADD to His plan of salvation only scars the painting! And I have provided Him enough scars!

It is a fact that the hardest thing I do is to simply ‘REST’ in Christ’s completed work and TRUST Him. I find I have to constantly fight the urge to earn His benefits or to become deserving of His Grace. It is HARD to simply REST in Him. But that is EXACTLY what He asks of me. THANK YOU Lord for taking my burdens, and giving me rest!

Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. 2 Corinthians 4:1

Taking, on Faith, that God was asking us to ‘pray and ask Him to remove the red tide,’ we did! And HE DID! I was actually more interested in ‘HOW’ He was going to do it, as opposed to ‘IF’ He was going to do it. The HOW turned out to be LOTS AND LOTS of RAIN! Then the calls started coming! Men with businesses where working outside is their way of making $$$ started calling and letting me know that… they weren’t! Making $$$ that is!

For me yesterday, a scheduled meeting had left me alone as the other party didn’t show. Two calls I was expecting, didn’t happen. Someone I had counted on to DO something, didn’t. Through the unveiling of the day, I had forgotten my phone, THEN my computer, and I had to go back to where I had been to pick up what I previously had!! Ever have one of those days?

2 Corinthians 4 HAS to be read and heard through the voice of a Drill Sargent. My attitude and how I hear it can ONLY be effective if I look at it as an expectation from God AFTER disappointment, failure or loss have blown through like a hurricane. Looking at the rubble, my response is expected to be… ‘”Let’s Git-R-Dun!”

Typically when I have a down day my wife is up. When she has a disappointing day, I usually can encourage her. But every once in a while… we hit down TOGETHER! And then… well… all we can do it focus toward God and His Word and wait it out! And remember that our hearts belong to HIM… and we CANNOT lose!

Yesterday I was told by my working guys that the weather was supposed to be raining badly today. As I write, the sun is shinning as bright as can be. How about THAT? I am reminded that the tick tock of time and God’s plan’s RARELY takes into account my attitude. He EXPECTS my attitude to adjust to HIS plans. Not the other way around.

Sometimes I have to go back to where I had been to get what I previously had. I am SOOO glad I have the written Word of God to help me do just that! Please do not lose heart!