“The spirits of prophets are subject to the control of prophets. For God is not a God of disorder but of peace – as in all the congregations of the Lord’s people.” 1 Corinthians 14:32-33

Yesterday I turned to my wife and declared a prophecy. According to Deuteronomy 18:22, “If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the LORD does not take place or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken.” SOOOOOO! Since my prophecy DID prove true, am I now, officially, a “Prophet?” Maybe I have too much time on my hands!!!!

I heard from several people that the Corona-virus stimulus checks had been direct deposited by the U.S. Government. Being in a mood, I simply blurted out, “I’m sure WE didn’t get one!” Now…call it a feeling or a nudge from the Holy Spirit, but I felt LED to check and see. Opening up my online bank account, I discovered both good and not so good news… apparently I am a Prophet! And I even have the Bible to back my claim!

O.K. Now that was fun. AND FUNNY. But to be clear, I am not freaking out about the stimulus check. I’m sure that if any luck DOES exist, time will prove that it ISN’T on MY side. I’ll probably have to make special arrangement to get ours. Hmmmm…which makes me wonder…does that make us special??

I deliberately avoid watching and reading the news. Even reading the headline of a newspaper gets me riled up like the neighborhood dogs when I drop a spoon on my patio. I try to avoid such triggers. But it is HARD to avoid modern prophets while subscribing to online devotionals. Almost every Christian has a prophetic opinion about this virus. It makes me wonder.

Is what I am thinking, feeling or about to do based upon information from God? Or could it be from fear… or even logical thinking? What I am discovering about myself is that, in my flesh, I could make a darn good news reporter. Because a LOT of what enters my mind as a precursor to action, ISN’T from God. The verse today reveals a warning tucked right into it.

Being a Believer does NOT make me an expert on everything Godly. Often, facts become questionable when Faith is mixed in, requiring even MORE scrutiny to navigate my day to day life. God says that ‘my spirit is in my control!’ In other words…BEFORE I start down the path of crazy, I need to rein in my horses and take a deeper look. It is advisable to use the Word of God, Prayer and even bounce my thoughts off of my wife or another believer BEFORE I DO something that COULD be fine..but still NOT God directed.

I have learned that ‘Faith’ is RARELY black and white. When faced with a FAITH decision, I am RARELY certain that what I am about to do will be 100% correct or work. That is why it is called FAITH. These days, while modern ‘futurists’ are predicting the eminent return of Christ and the end of the world, that still small voice inside is calling me to ‘be still’ and ‘follow Him.’ A directive that sometimes ISN’T so easy to distinguish or easy to follow.

What are you doing, or NOT doing, by Faith! 

“Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on Him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.” John 6:27

As I sit here, my body is at war with my soul. My SOUL is satisfied. My BODY is in rebellion! The place where the 2 converge is a war zone. The battleground, while being fought in the present, is REALLY about the FUTURE! Soul and body are positioning for advantage in the NEXT skirmish. It takes the Spirit to place the flag of the winner! Which will it be?

A few months back my lovely wife started thinking again. What THAT means is, she wasn’t satisfied with things as they were any longer. She wanted a change! She is both a female AND an artist at heart. The combination means that everything visual is temporary! The landscaping we had done about 14 years ago is now passe! So it’s out with the old and in with the new! Which creates WORK!

At my age my BODY resists hard physical labor. But my SOUL knows that’s mostly an excuse to simply be lazy. When ‘cheap’ and ‘macho’ finally met, I made some calls and grabbed my shovel. For the last couple days WE have been shoveling and moving over 5 tons of stone! I say ‘WE’ because I have a wife that isn’t afraid to put her muscles where he mouth is either! This morning, we could hardly wake up or get out of bed! Hence.. the war!

The Body wants ease. The Soul wants pleased. And as the war for supremacy goes on, I am grateful that I have been born again and have ‘The Spirit’ to referee! I love my wife more than I hate sore muscles. Jesus DEMANDS that. So I work. And last night, as we moved toward the end of the project, I finally SAW what SHE had seen in her mind. And I LOVED it! Being a man who hates sweat, it takes motivation to move me. Her name is wife.

The Bible verse today has a very important word that I underlined. The example of my landscaping hopefully shows that it isn’t about money or sweat. It’s about something bigger. God Gave His son a BIG mission He was unable to carry off by Himself. So God helped Him. After Jesus ‘’worked’ to please His Father, a BIGGER plan for life was handed to me as well. Which causes a battle within me that needs to have be resolved! What shall I DO?

If I work for temporal things to please myself, I find that I will never be truly satisfied. It takes something BIGGER than myself to bring my soul real peace and satisfaction. Enter ‘’The Motivator…’ Jesus. I have found that when I follow HIS plan for my life, His promise to GIVE me all the simple stuff I thought was so important, really happens! THEN His Spirit opens me up to a life of joy and peace I would never been able to see before when operating on my own. AND I LIKE IT!

“…you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you…” Jeremiah 29:11-14

The U.S. Government and local authorities have issued “Stay at home” warnings because of ‘our’ war on the Corona Virus. A list of “Essential Activities” was put in writing by our Governor. But what “I” was about to do… wasn’t on it. KNOWING I was rebelling BEFORE I did it, I ALSO knew NOTHING was going to stop me!

The occasion was a party. A mass gathering of 11 people (1 over the legal limit) came together to celebrate Coast Parker. ‘He’ was turning ‘3’ years old on this day! ‘I’ wouldn’t miss it because… Coast Parker is my Grandson! Go ahead and throw me in prison! THIS Birthday, some of the family from both sides got together. It was there that I saw 3 year old Reagan.

I had taken my ‘grand-kid famous’ gumball machine to the party where it IMMEDIATELY became a HIT with Reagan. The bubble gum quickly broke down barriers between us because in no time at all, Reagan walked right up to me, and with a mouthful of bubblegum blurted out…”We’re going to have a baby!” Honored to be part of her inner circle, her dad explained, “she’s fun like that! When she plays hide and seek, she just blurts out, ‘HERE I AM!’” Remembering that…I thought about God.

LOTS of people, both Christian and non-Christians, are playing hide and seek with God right now. Some are glad and some are mad. Some have even left the game without telling God… leaving HIM the option to continue alone, or quit all together! But since I “KNOW” God PERSONALLY, I can tell you a BIG secret about MY heavenly Father…He NEVER quits or gives up His pursuit of YOU! ESPECIALLY when there is a crisis going on.

I’m going to do something I don’t usually do here…and stop now. BEFORE I complete these ‘words’ today. Because ‘IF’ you are wanting to find God, you have enough information to go and seek. I’ll even add this cool devotional site I found when I started looking for an image. It says what I wanted to say… only better! So how about YOU friend… Do YOU wanna play with God? Because He’s waiting for you.

Hide and Seek

“You have laid down precepts that are to be fully obeyed. Oh, that my ways were steadfast in obeying your decrees! Then I would not be put to shame when I consider all your commands. I will praise you with an upright heart as I learn your righteous laws. I will obey your decrees do not utterly forsake me.” Psalm 119:4-8

It is Good Friday.. which is an oxymoron when I stop to think about it. Whoever came up with THAT name? The events of Christ’s suffering were horrific…NOT ‘good.’ And besides, I have a disagreement with lots of people that THIS was ‘that day.’ Since I think He was crucified on Thursday. (what do YOU say? ) But eh.. its all semantics anyway… right?. Until it isn’t.

I was reading Psalm 118 because I got a story that led me to research the notion suggestion that it just MIGHT have been ‘THE HYMN’ that Jesus sang with His disciples as they completed their ‘last supper.’ My eye wondered on… and then fell upon these verses in Psalm 119. ESPECIALLY on verse 5… “Oh, that my ways were steadfast in obeying your decrees!” I am a Believer. I am forgiven. And I STILL often feel this way!

Psalm 119 is a Psalm about God’s Word. The Subject of His ‘written’ Word runs through this longest Psalm. But after reflecting on Holy Week, I sensed the Holy Spirit prodding me in His customary manner… ‘Go on a little farther.. it gets even deeper than that!” So I did… and fell right into it!

John 1:14 says, “ The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.“ Then I would not be put to shame when I consider all your commands. That means the ‘WORD’ in Psalm 119 is NOT just WORDS! The WORD is JESUS! It finally registered that the Bible has NO, ZIP, ZERO way of addressing my FEELINGS in verse Psalm 119:5-6. That is…Until Good Friday!

I am Redeemed. A slave purchased COMPLETELY by the Blood of Jesus Christ. I am signed, sealed and delivered into God’s hand’s and Family, ONCE AND FOR ALL… FOREVER! And NOTHING can snatch me out of His hand. NOTHING! Not time, events, sin or personal failure. Not only that, but guilt and shame, which like to hang around like mosquitoes, have NO, ZIP, ZERO place to STICK or hold on to in my life.

What the LAW could NOT do… JESUS DID! I guess discovered ANOTHER GREAT reason why Good Friday is called ‘good!’ And Like the Hymn question asks… “What can wash away my sin? I can DEFINITIVELY answer what ‘I KNOW’!!! NOTHIN’ BUT THE BLOOD OF JESUS! I think I will add a little dancing in my step today! Cuz after all…God is GOOD EVERY DAY!

P.S. I WAS feeling guilty because we stayed up later than usual and I got up later too.  Thus these words are late… But hey guilt.. GO AWAY! 

“Abstain from every form of evil.” 1 Thessalonians 5:22 ESV

I had to get some supplies at the store, and with the Corona thing going on, it seemed best to go to one place. Normally I would have taken a route that would lead me to 3 stores, where each product and price played a part in selection and self desire. Some products taste better at one store over another. While in another, the price may be cheaper. Now, those unstated rules have slowly broken down. And WITHOUT any due process!

If you haven’t noticed by now, our society is changing. When Corona virus was first broke out, there was a run to any store to buy whatever… and almost at any price. Once stocked up, self-possession seemed to change to self-preservation. I could almost touch the tension as I approached the store.

Most people were wearing masks. And since watching people is a sport for me, it was interesting to watch people! It was almost like we were all were playing tag…avoiding anyone who might be “IT.” Wide circles were made around each other. Talking was not done. The normal 2 entrances to the large store had been narrowed down to 1.. with a watcher posted. Though the sign claimed ‘health reasons,’ I suspected it was more to keep down theft. Times have changed.

I am conflicted. The Bible says to ‘avoid every form of evil.’ And while there have been lots of questions as to what that REALLY means, MY question is, when did ‘people’ become ‘evil?’ And I’m not talking in the ‘sinful’ sense. It seems to me that as ‘proximity’ has become evil, the REAL victim now is ‘Care!’ True compassion and caring for people SEEMS to be quickly becoming ‘socially unacceptable.’ And THAT label of evil is something God NEVER intended.

As a Christian I wrestle with what, where and how I might be the hands and heart of Jesus. I sense a distancing by people who normally never would separate. And I can’t help but wonder if, in light of the Scriptures and Jesus call, it is just me. Be careful to not become hardhearted my friends. In Jesus Great Commission… you and I are still…’IT!’

“He (Jesus) replied: “Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Do not follow them.” Luke 21:8

As I have stated before, I am going through the painful process of signing up for Medicare. Since my wife and I turn 65 within 3 months of each other, our mail box has been STUFFED with solicitors promising that THEY have the answer for this time area of my life. I get phone calls, texts and have had 3 folks, unsolicited, walk right up to my door and ring the bell! ALL of which only makes me smell a rat!

Having been and honest salesman, I HATE the dishonest. It is obvious that there is money to be made off the ‘Medicare Supplement’ system, and EVERYONE wants it. What “I” need is someone who can EXPLAIN it to me, plain and clear. What I need is someone to look out for MY best interests. Having just come off Palm Sunday, it is my opinion that Jesus has the same issue!

Just like Moses, God led Jesus across the Jordan River, through Jericho and into what is called Israel, the promised land. The children of Israel plucked 12 stones (see Luke 19:40), one for each tribe, out of the middle of the river and set them up as a memorial to God’s promised deliverance from slavery. All the symbols of the Old Testament should have been CLEAR to the Jews that ‘The King’ was coming.

He came through the Sheep Gate, also called the Golden Gate, on the 10^th of Nissan. The very day that ‘The Lamb’ was to be selected for Passover sacrifice. He then prophetically went right up to the temple (see Psalm 118:27), on a Colt… and the only question Israelites had was… “Who is this?” (Matthew 21:10).

People TODAY still miss the Lamb. Like the solicitors for ‘Medicare Supplements,’ many claim that THEIR way is the only way. The picture above is the perfect example. THIS is a picture of the Sheep Gate today. All sealed up with the ‘Dome of the Rock’ behind and a Muslim cemetery (and a Jewish one) in front. All because Jesus Christ said that He was coming back someday, and through THAT very gate. They forget He said… “I am the door for the sheep!” Bahhhhhh

Here is a website explaining the Sheep Gate shenanigans:

The Story Behind Jerusalem’s Sealed Golden Gate

And for a great video series, watch “Jerusalem, City of Tears City of Hope” on Rightnowmedia.

https://www.rightnowmedia.org/Content/Series/1148

“Cry out with joy, O daughter of Zion! Shout jubilantly, O daughter of Jerusalem! Look—your King is coming; He is righteous and able to save. He comes seated humbly on a donkey, on a colt, a foal of a donkey.” Zechariah 9:9

This last week I had been emailing and testing sources for use during the Covid-19 “Self-Isolation” and “social distancing” recommendations. With lots of time on peoples hands, and not many places to go, it is easy to get bored. So gathering resources from all over, I had been sharing them with everyone on my email list. Last night I discovered I may have been too hasty!

I had recommended a 2 hour long movie made in 1981. called “The Jesus Film Project.” Did you notice 1981? It was created to introduce people, who may not know, about the life of Jesus Christ. Recommending it without seeing it with my own eyes may have been a mistake. Last night We watched it. Well… HALF of it.

Now I’m not saying this film is Biblically or Theologically wrong in any way. In fact, it stuck to the Scriptures very well. It just that… well…lets just say it was great movie with bad acting. In it, Jesus had an English accent and all Bible verses were quoted out of the King James Bible. “What hath God Wrought?” I felt bad for turning it off but I couldn’t handle it anymore. Which led me to think about yesterday…Palm Sunday.

I know some churches have set up live video feeds to broadcast their preacher. I don’t have that technology and, to be honest, I’m not sure I want it…since bad acting would probably scare more people away than reach them. But ‘The Day’… Palm Sunday is VITALLY important as the first day of Holy Week. Here’s why.

In our recent Bible studies about Christmas, The Feasts and The Sacrifices, we have covered this stuff in at church. But I found a link that puts it together VERY well. And yes, I read it! So please forgive me for ‘bad acting’ movie recommendations. But like my wife said, “Thank God it is up to the Holy Spirit to convict people!!! I agree.

Below is a link to a VERY well researched article about Palm Sunday. You can see from the pictures above WHAT journey Jesus made the day he went into Jerusalem, and its significance as prophesied in the Bible. Tomorrow, I will share the shocking facts about WHERE He went in. Enjoy – There is NO acting in this. Please click the link below.

Lamb Selection Day…..

“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” 2 Corinthians 4:16-17

I have been putting of the inevitable and I don’t know why. I am turning 65 this year, and that means it’s time to sign up with the Social Security Administration and Medicare. I have been putting this off for a long time, but the clock ticks and time is running out. That is…unless I WANT to be penalized.

Without even trying first, I had gone to the local SSA Office and had asked for help, since I did NOT want to make a mistake. Thinking I’d get a hands on help guide, I was assigned a password number and told to “go online and register there.” I can’t tell you how many times I planned to DO that, only to NOT do it. But the clock is ticking.

The saying, “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks” is true, not because you can’t, but because old dogs don’t LIKE to learn new stuff if the OLD stuff is working just fine. Which led me to think about my life in Christ…which is both old AND new. Having been a Believer since before I was a teen, I must honestly say that learning and doing ‘new’ things is tough.

When I get in a pickle, which is often, I turn to Jesus. He is ALWAYS there and has never failed me. But having done that, I take Him for granted. I mean…doesn’t EVERYBODY? And the answer to that is NO!!!! Now I find that along with dealing with the SSA… I am being pressed to do Jesus work…differently! And it’s giving me a headache.

Jesus is calling. His message is old… but the recipients aren’t even BORN yet. It is up to me (and you) to get His ‘OLD’ message of Love and Salvation out to a sick world in a ‘NEW’ way! The clock is ticking…

“When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people …” 2 Chronicles 7:13

There is no other way to say it than this… “I was wrong!” All of my years in ministry I have had an ‘open Book’ policy. When someone disagrees with my teaching or preaching interpretation from the Bible, they are EXPECTED to express their views so that we might ‘reason together’ and grow stronger. After all… I could be wrong! And I have been!

The Bible verse today is rather strange in that verse 13 is separated from verse 14 by a comma. It shouldn’t be. My understanding of verse 14 is a much quoted one that says, “if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” In this verse ‘My people’ is ‘ISRAEL!’ NOT America. That said, I had been taught to NOT apply promises that do not apply.

This virus is a killer. And I’m not talking about just physical bodies. FEAR has gripped our world and country and the church has responded in fear. I have been told that meeting is illegal, irrational, stupid and irresponsible. Tucking my tail between my legs, I have felt like a criminal. Last night, I opened a news article and read the Florida Governor’s Executive Order. All I can say is…It confirms what I knew in my spirit and what we have been doing.

2 Chronicles 7 is about Solomon’s dedication of his Mega-Temple! It was his dad’s idea, but since David had blood on his hands, Solomon got the job. But even HE ended up as only a spectator when God showed and FIRED up the flames of His Glory EARLIER in the chapter. Go ahead and read it for yourself. What ensued was the biggest party in the History of Worship! But then came the warning that sounded more like a decree!

“WHEN I shut up the heavens…” not IF! God knew their hearts… and He gave them a conditional warning. ‘Turn to other God’s, and I will turn from you as disaster is delivered to your door.’ Friends, today in America, a land founded on God’s Word, the NEW god is FEAR! I am a CHRISTIAN! And God has convicted me in the study of John 17, that our attaching CHRIST to our lives MAKES us HIS PEOPLE! So I apologize to Him and to you! Now it’s time to act like what we are called… “Christ-Like.”

People who don’t know Jesus are scared out of their minds. The #1 priority and need is GOD! It is up to US to show Him. I find it oxymoronic that stores can stay open to provide ‘essential services’ but somehow a CHURCH has been labeled, by those who don’t know, as something extracurricular. Do you see the FIRST listing in the Governor’s “Essential Activities” list? Now you have proof.

In the coming days I will be sending out our ‘SMART-SAFE’ plans to serve, meet and reach out. We will do it SAFELY and enforce STRICT guidelines as recommended by Medical professionals. As we meed and discover the needs of our area, there will be SAFE ways to serve Jesus Christ in what one evangelist called ‘The Biggest Revival in History! Please stay tuned, informed and prayerful. And send me your ideas! Because It’s time for our land to be healed!