“But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ…” Philippians 3:20

“How YOU doin’ taday?” was the question. My friend had asked it of me, later in yesterday’s afternoon. A question USUALLY begs an answer, but this question really doesn’t want a ‘thorough’ one. It is more of a greeting than a question. A long explanation is not only not necessary…it is frowned upon. So the customary and acceptable answer came out as, “Fine.” Truth be told…I wasn’t!

Oh don’t get me wrong.. It wasn’t like anything was terribly WRONG. It was just that everything wasn’t wonderfully RIGHT either! It was a day where everything I touched seemed to go wrong. From laying down my keys and not remembering where I put them to taking time to sort through thousands of bolts to find 5 correct ones…but finding only 3…at 2 different hardware stores! And then I lost my phone!

The mood meter in my soul was steadily rising from ‘Eeyore the donkey’ to ‘Chicken Little’ as I eagerly searched, retraced my steps, and then called in my wife to help. I had had it at the church… but not at home. The trip home was on my motorcycle. “SURELY I hadn’t laid it on the passenger seat before I had driven home!!!!” I thought. But it was nowhere to be found. Anxiety arose, as what I had taken for granted steadily became my most prized possession! But that is EXACTLY what had happened.

In a last ditch effort I began walking the path I had ridden an hour before…EAGERLY searching and hoping and…there it was! Lying face down ON the road…unbroken! It was like a miracle and I praised God for the gift of NOT getting what I deserved for being so unappreciative and clumsy. My emotions went from panic to supreme joy in an instant! Having lost a phone once in my life, I KNEW what LOST really meant.

I am a found lost person. Which seems like an oxymoron. But it is truth. And I don’t find myself thinking through the consequences of that as often as I should. Being a Believer in Christ, I am mostly hopeful that things should go well. When they don’t, I get rather down about it. My phone episode made me wonder if I have it backwards.

Being a citizen of Heaven is not my typical mindset. I think from where I AM…NOT where I am going to be. Thus, the journey of my spirit, encased in flesh, is an emotional one, as I go from pain to joy to pain again. Paul just gave me a different perspective with 2 words that do not typically go together…and turned them into a goal. “Eagerly await!” It’s a BIG God lesson. Which makes me wonder if HE had anything to do with my phone????

“Look to the Lord and His strength; seek His face always.” Psalm 105:4

A medical professional was the one who made the statement and I could not agree more. “I’m over it!” This coved-19 ‘pandemic’ is WAY past old. Restaurants have been opened for a week, with limited seating, but the people’s experience hasn’t changed. In fact, it seems to have gotten worse!

My hot water heater sprung a leak so my woman and I headed to one of the big hardware outlets. We entered to find practically EVERYONE wearing masks and gloves. Loud speakers blasted out command warnings on ‘safe distancing’ which we have heard for almost 2 months now. The difference was…MORE people were ‘masked up’ than ever! Their actions showed no relief. “I thought… it’s too much too late!”

I asked an employee where I could find my part. “Second section, on the left, from the end,” he huffed. He hadn’t even paused to look me in the eye! After looking there for almost 10 minutes, I saw him coming from the other end of the long isle. “I’m sorry pal…”I can’t seem to find it,” I shouted. He responded… “THIS end!” and gruffly handed me my part.

I got to the grocery store and came upon a man wearing a bucket over his head with a clear plastic cutout. A sign on the back of the bucket said something like, “I’m healthy and I’m going to stay that way!” Behind the plastic he was wearing a mask! And he was buying a lottery ticket! That did it…”You are absolutely crazy!” I gruffly said! “Jesus is what you need.. NOT a lottery ticket”

The Bible verse today is ONLY good and true if God’s strength and face are ALWAYS available! Apparently, according to God’s Word…they are! The verse before it says, “let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.” So I concluded…”if I am seeking the God’s face, Glory and strength… should I not be exhibiting Joy?” It was THEN…that that still small voice inside my spirit whispered…”Then why aren’t’ you??? Bucket head!?????”

“Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.” Matthew 24:28

I was at the church with a couple young tough guys to dig a trench. One of them was attracted by movement on the front, sloping lawn and said, “look there’s a tortoise!” When I followed his gaze, I saw what to me, was a ‘turtle.’ Which was interesting. Walking over to take a look, it appeared to be digging with its back legs. A thing turtles do! Soon…it got even MORE interesting.

We set to work, when about 20 minutes later my eye caught movement. It didn’t register at first, but a crow, starling, blackbird or whatever, had apparently seen the same sight we had seen earlier. The turtle was gone, but where it had dug was of particular interest to the bird, which was now pecking at the turtle’s dig sight. 2+2 soon added up and I intervened by grabbing a cement block and placing it over the spot of attention.

Looking back on the whole thing is now of considerable interest to me. A turtle, or a tortoise, made a trek across a 5 acre property and scratched in the sand. What we saw was a wonder of God’s creation as it laid its eggs. What the crow, starling, blackbird or whatever saw…was food! After bearing witness, I chose the side of the testudine!

One of the biggest wars that we face in the 21’st century is the war for attention. All around the world politicians, companies and activists are ‘actively’ trying to grab our eyes, ears and hearts to win attention. With both money and power at stake, the one who grabs the most attention wins influence. No matter if its Godly or evil! It has become an intense war.

I told people about the experience and received accolades for protecting the turtle’s interests. Which proves life is better than death. But then I thought about the bird! What if my interference caused it to starve to death??? And then I thought about the turtle…

It was a painted turtle. I looked it up. Seth called it a tortoise because it was on God’s lawn… which the difference. Turtles live MOSTLY in the water while tortoise’s abide MOSTLY on land. NOW I wonder if turtles have a sense of humor!! I went over later and gently pushed the dirt around (doing just what the bird had done) to see if there were any eggs. And couldn’t find a thing!

MAYBE the turtle was like the politicians or media and just wanted to gain attraction or a laugh? I mean, isn’t it funny, queer, weird and ironic what gets our attention? ESPECIALLY since you probably just noted I just wrote the word ‘queer!’ I think the lesson Gods wants me to get is that I should be MUCH more careful as to what gets my attention!

“Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed–not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence–continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling,” Philippians 2:12

Its been a long couple months of not ‘being out.’ With this pandemic thing going on there wasn’t really a lot of options. Restaurants and businesses were closed so, other than working around the house, boredom set in. BUT…I hadn’t expected for it to make itself at home!

Katie has an electronic bathroom scale that was given to her as a gift. It hides in the darkness of her closet and is rarely seen by me. But when it it quit working and she tried to change the batteries, she pulled it out and set it on the counter. That’s MY cue to take a look at it. After pronouncing it dead, and after having nothing else to do and nothing to lose, I took it apart. Which went rather well…until I STEPPED on it for a test run!

I was in absolutely horrified! I am not a health nut or physical fitness freak. I blessed with good genes (except for the cancer one) and pretty much eat what what I want. But there it was…3 digital black numbers staring up at me screaming ’190 -how do ya like THAT….pig!” I had gained at least 10 pounds and had never weighted that much in my entire life. THIS was not acceptable!

I don’t know about nutrition and exercise. When satan comes to tempt me, it isn’t uncommon for me to say ‘yes yes!’ so losing the weight is foreign territory for me. As is self discipline! But the decision to either accept my weight or change it were the only 2 options. So I quickly invented the ‘S&S’ K.C. Diet. ‘Sweat and starvation!’ I made up outside manual labor jobs to do and replaced food with water. This isn’t fun!

Jesus said to ‘WORK!’ Which is kind of the opposite of His FREE gift of salvation. Which makes Christianity easy…and yet hard. It’s FREE… but it costs you your LIFE! And you only get HIS life when you GIVE YOURS away! Oh…and FREE includes WORK! But if I want to be rid of the piggy, sinful flesh, I must WORK at following HIS Spiritual plan for me. He’s very patient…but persistant!

I read that following Jesus is at LEAST a tough as learning how to play the piano. It takes time and discipline. Even if one doesn’t HAVE it! And there is no quick or easy way. In THAT domain I have learned a fairly good system. I call it the ‘S&S’ K.C. plan. More SONful…less SINful. And no…it isn’t usually fun either. But Jesus and I are working on this FREE thing together. Since ‘HE’ IS the scale.

“For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:30

Bill had heart surgery and was going to be laid up for a while. Going through the Dollar Tree, I spied a Sudoku book and thought…why not? I mean… it’s a time killer, aids in concentration, is in large print and only costs…well you know. I hand delivered it to him, and a few days later it was handed back. I should have thrown it in the trash.

I didn’t…so it’s in my bathroom where, working on my concentration seems to have become a priority. One rule I learned about Sudoku is that it should be done with a pencil and eraser. But all I had was a pen. Not a good start. THIS particular book seems more advanced than most because easy… ain’t! But it DID get me a $100 belly laugh when I opened it and saw this!

Katie found my book while taking a bath. I wasn’t there when it happened, but the evidence told the entire story! Having messed up a couple of so called ‘easy’ ones already, she simply turned the page to start a new puzzle…and stopped…just that fast! She heard me laughing in the other room and put 2+2 together. “You found my nine!” she exclaimed! Smart girl!

I wasn’t laughing AT her. After all, she is a wise woman who rests somewhere at the pinnacle of God’s intended for women. I was laughing at the irony of how easy it is to make ‘easy’ so hard! After all, the evidence of MY failure lay just 5 pages before hers! And as I thought about it, I have to admit…I have NO idea WHY that ‘9’ was so funny!

Anyone who is a ‘born again’ believer in Jesus Christ knows that being one is NOT easy! In fact, my relationship and love for Jesus Christ is SO tight, I could laugh in His face at this Bible verse and say, “WHAT on EARTH were You THINKING?” and get away with it! But I also know Him well enough to KNOW… HE wouldn’t get the joke! Because HE… was serious!

Why do I make following Jesus Christ so HARD when HE makes it clear that it isn’t supposed to be? Why do I walk around most of the time feeling like a LOSER instead of victorious? If light and easy are HIS way…why isn’t it? I think it may have to do with my own expectations.

Katie told me that when she picked up the book and looked, her immediate thought was, “OH…this will be easy..” She wrote her answer based on her expectation. And was wrong! When we feel foolish, it’s humanly easier to just walk away than to correct or start over. Impressions are just that powerful…unless you’re Jesus. I just read, “The cross is proof that Jesus doesn’t ultimately expect my perfection.” if so, then start over’s are just plain normal. And THAT, my friends, makes me smile!

“…everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” Matthew 7:8

Standing before me, looking more like a surgeon than a waiter, I had asked. And though the mask he wore hid his face, his whole body was rebelling at the question. So I asked again, in a different way. And he lied to me…again!

Being the first day the restaurants were allowed to open after the ‘pandemic,’ it was a fun occasion for us. I missed taking Katie out to eat. I also hated that restaurant employees had it hard and planned on a good meal and nice tip. Wearing a hat with a cross on it, I made sure my waiter knew where I was coming from. I thought we hit it off…since he called me ‘my friend’ several times. He seemed genuine and I genuinely I liked him…until the lie!

It was check time, and I just decided to throw it out there along with the big tip. “So… are you a Jesus guy?” He gave me the ‘blow off’ answer… “I believe in God.” So I asked the next question. “Which God?” It seemed he started speaking in tongues! Because what he answered made NO sense at all. “I don’t presume to know about different gods and believe”… blah blah blah!

He had shown promise! In his concern and fear about a virus, he seemed ripe to discuss the subject of something MUCH more certain and worse… hell! But no! He showed no concern, care or interest in even pursuing the subject of salvation! And it is more frighting to me than any disaster. People today talk endlessly about temporary things, but not about eternal things after life ends! Death looms over us all…and few consider to ask about a solution!

Even though he showed no signs of interest, I pointed to the cross on my hat and explained the torturous death Christ died for HIM.. out of love. I then handed him a card with the Gospel, even though he told me he had heard it all before! This morning I prayed for him, and ASKED God to give my waiter ‘friend’ a little kick in his spiritual buttuski.

After considering the scenario over and over again, I did everything I could have done. Jesus asked me to ask the waiter. I asked Jesus to serve the waiter. Which leads me to ask… What is Jesus asking YOU to ask for?

“’You of little faith, why are you so afraid?’ Jesus to His disciples, after a storm nearly sinks their boat…” Matthew 8:26

We just finished laying our yard with a rock border and then filled the whole area with stone. I walked out in the morning to find that rocks had been knocked over…some moved. Initial shock turned into a BIG smile, as my next words were, “why those little….!”

We had our entire family over last week during the tail end of this Covid 19 virus ordeal. Three of my youngest grandsons had been out there playing in the new stone area just having a ball. I had not gone out to check on them since, why mess with perfection right? But the evidence of what they had been doing lay before me.

Here’s the funny part. Having been a kid myself, a LOOONG time ago, I never even THOUGHT about boys being boys. While my wife had designed a beautiful rock garden, our grandsons saw it as a construction site! Moving the rocks back into place, I was sorry I had missed the fun! I won’t the next time!

I personally believe it was satan who kicked up that storm on the Sea of Galilee. I mean you couldn’t ask for a better opportunity to destroy the whole ‘lot’ of his enemies. Including God Himself! This ‘pandemic’ thing has a gone WAYYYY past reasonable and…I believe I can see satan’s hand very clearly, as his plan is always the same. Destruction and fear.

God created the universe and mankind, NOT FOR US. But for HIM! Being creative and imaginative Himself, He planted those qualities in the hearts of men (and kids). But He did NOT leave! He stuck around to be an integral part of His plan to inhabit the hearts of people. He KNEW it was going to get tricky at times. But undeterred…he stayed! And invites!

Rules of safety and self preservation were never a part of God’s plan. God is wild and fierce, and He calls us to the action of joining Him in battle. A vandal has stuck his hands where they do not belong… and God is calling you and me to join Him in an epic story of “not on MY watch!” And THAT is ALL a part of the fun! Now, the only thing Jesus wants to know is…are going to ‘rock’ by Faith… or fear? It’s time to join Him!

“He (an insignificant, no named angel) threw him (satan) into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time.” Revelation 20:3

I got a BIG Butt…but didn’t really know what to do with it! Being on the frugal side is what got me the butt. I had family coming over and thought it’d be fun to make a meal. Looking at the grocery store ads, I saw ‘pork butts’ were on sale…CHEAP. I was sold and ended up with a big one. The only question I had was… “Now what?”

I MUST confess…in my almost 65 years, I have never cooked a pork butt! Maybe it’s the SLOW thing or maybe it’s that I’m not a huge pork fan. But I was about to learn something new all the same. The first thing I learned was that I had been deceived all those years! It’s NOT a butt…but a shoulder. Butts are hams! Cute! The next thing I learned was that ‘low and slow’ means just that. I ended up pulling and all-nighter!

The big butt had been slow roasting for 6 hours. When I checked, it didn’t look like what I knew it was supposed to. So I put it back into the heat for 2 more hours. After nothing had changed, and being too tired to mess with it, the recipe words, “you can’t over cook a butt” came to mind. So I just closed the oven door and went to bed, choosing to operate by faith!

The Bible verse today is kind of like a BBQ. When Christ returns to set up His 1000 year reign on earth, the times will be unprecedented. Peace, justice and prosperity will be His method as He provides EVERYTHING good for His kingdom. Buttttt…all things will change at the stroke of a 1000 year clock! Can you see why?? Go ahead…read it again and see if you can find it.

We humans don’t truly understand God things very well. When we try, we often end up JUDGING God for things we would NEVER allow…since WE would NEVER let some things exist if WE were in charge. And one of those things lies in the word ‘MUST!’

Satan is a liar, murderer and a deceiver. It is what he does. In human wisdom, we would take him out behind the barn and put a bullet in him! Case closed! Yet God says ‘MUST!’ And only after the shock and horror of that word can one begin to grasp the concept that ‘Choice’ is God’s Gold. His patience, love and desire to give me a chance to choose Him over everything else, operate like the heat of a BBQ…’low & slow.’ Because to get to a butt like me…He must!