“‘BE’ like-minded, ‘HAVE’ the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind.” Philippians 2:2 (Emph. Mine)

I have a new friend who is a fellow believer, though not a member of the church I pastor. Having many of the same interests and life situations, we definitely have things to talk about when we get together. I saw him last night and we happened upon an area where we disagree! What ensued after that was a friendly ‘sales pitch’ session to try to convince the other he was wrong. It was fun!

Jesus is a VERY OPINIONATED GUY! In fact, THAT was what got Him crucified! Being God, yet living inside a limited man’s body had some drawbacks. When it came down to God things, He was immovable. If it was an opinion about food, customs or favorites…He remained silent. The issue between my new friend and I was a Spiritual principle. So what to do NOW?

I have faced this same kind of scenario with this election. Knowing God like I do, and reading Jesus‘ definition of who is guilty of sin (see Matthew 5) I tend to get a little nuts just like HE did when He saw the money changers in the temple! Jesus’ reaction was EXACTLY like His Father’s. It was SUPPOSED to be!

I know the issues facing America and what is at stake. The scariest issue for me is seeing how people react when they ‘think’ this is just about what ‘THEY THINK!’ Biblical History from WAY back to the Old Testament proves otherwise. Thinking with a human agenda and advantage comes at a significant price!

Most of the issues facing this election have a ‘God’s view’ side to them. And when God has a view, he expects ME to back HIM up. Take the abortion…issue because it’s a big one. Psalm 139 is clear! A baby in the womb is a person created by GOD! Killing that person in the womb makes one ‘a murderer’ in God’s eyes. Yet since the year I graduated high school, the law of the land protects a person from a murder charge and turns it into a RIGHT!! Now, the Democratic party wants to expand that right to killing babies OUTSIDE of the womb! God is waiting to see how this one goes!

Almost EVERY issue Americans face this election has a ‘God View’ associated with it. A Biblical precedent that is clearly dictated by ‘DON’T,’ or implied through example. LGBT, Borders, national security, free speech and taxation are just a FEW that loom LARGE in God’s opinion book. God WILL reserve judgment until AFTER each of us casts our ballot. THAT is how HE works!

My friend and I are still friends. The issue we discussed will NOT be settled until we get to Heaven and see the outcome. Because the issue is NOT critical or life-threatening to our mutual goals of loving and serving God and each other, we CAN agree to disagree agreeably (Even though he’s wrong)! But when it comes to GOD’S opinion…do you REALLY want to be on His wrong side?

Are you living and voting like God is watching? As Elmer Fudd used to say…”Be VEWY VEWY CAREFUL!”

“Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.” Romans 12:9

Waiting for our food order, I looked at my wife, who was intently watching a man outside act very strange. It didn’t take long for me to get caught up in the drama as he started throwing things into the air, then gesturing at a man further down the road to ‘come on’ while pointing an object in his direction. When the 2 started to get closer, I dialed 911.

We couldn’t hear what they were saying, but their body language communicated clearly enough. To make matters worse, the phone reception was bad and the operator was asking a lot of questions. So I went outside. Things happened very quickly. FAR too quickly for the 911 operator to keep up, so when the 2 got within reach of each other, I whistled loudly and hollered… “HEYYYYYY… KNOCK IT OFF!” And they did!Late for a meeting, we had to leave but watched 1 man leave, as the crazy man continued to talk to himself and throw things into the air. But at least he was no longer an immediate threat. While I have no idea if the Sheriff’s Department dispatched an officer to the scene, I knew God already had!

Watching the news and election information requires a HUGE sifter! I have heard so many lies and distortions lately that I cannot wait until this election is over. The biggest instigator, as far as I can tell, comes from 2 words stuck together…”I think!” When thrown out to someone who doesn’t agree, it can easily become a fight. And let’s face it…we ALL know when we are looking at a fight.

Looking at God’s Word COULD be a solution! But seeing this verse today actually adds MORE gas to the fire as God PUSHES His followers to ‘TAKE A STAND!’ “CHOOSE!” “ACT!” “PICK A SIDE!” His inference is that knowing evil should be as easy as knowing HIM! And God HATES Evil!

Standing on a street corner holding up Gospel signs is very educational. Having done it now for almost 6 weeks, Our church guys have seen some rather strong reactions. While we LOVE the ‘honks’ and encouragements, we also experience the ugly faced, angry, screamers who are VERY CLEAR in their hatred of anything Godly! Conclusion??? This is NOT an election. This is a Spiritual WAR!

Let me just say it up front…I don’t really CARE about YOUR opinion. I hope I don’t ever stand only on MINE! What matters is what GOD has to say about our opinions, because ONLY HIS TRUTH COUNTS! The question then is NOT about what we may THINK…but about WHO we KNOW! Because there has been a fight escalating ever since the Garden of Eden. And God is VERY ABSOLUTE one sided!

The Bible clearly tells us that NO ONE gets to sit out this eternal debate. To choose NOT to choose is to choose! And God is encouraging us to HATE EVIL.. and to CLING TO GOOD with a LOVING, SINCERE and DEDICATED HEART! Being made in His image…we should KNOW what that means! Anything less puts me on the WRONG side of God’s 911 phone bank!

“For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again.” Mathew 24:21

Cutting grass the other day, approaching bushes that run around the back of the house, a sudden brown streak took of out in front of the mower. A rabbit had been lying there, apparently in hopes of remaining unnoticed, until fear took over and it ran. This is a common occurrence at my house.

My backyard is fenced on 2 sides so there really is only 1 way to go, and that is AROUND. Remaining there would leave the rabbit trapped. Though I do not know why I have them, bunnies of all ages seem to like my yard…until it’s mowing time! When the cutting starts, they wait until the last second, then simply cut and run!

Studying the final chapters of Daniel, there is an advantage to looking backward in time to see how His people responded to God and the times in which they lived. Though written HUNDREDS of years before the foretold events came to pass, God’s Word had been proclaimed, ignored, verified and attacked. Sadly, God’s people rarely heeded God’s Words…choosing instead to hide out and hope for the best. Like a WABIT!

A W.A.B.I.T. is a person who ‘Won’t Accept Biblically Inspired Truth!’ Sadly, that makes up a very large majority of the people of the world. And like the bunnies in my yard, and in spite of the sights and sounds surrounding this fenced-in trap of a world where NO one gets out alive…most choose to ignore, lay low or make a run for it…to nowhere!

I know The Bible. I know what it says and KINDA know what to expect! What is coming, if we don’t pay attention to what God says, is going to be bad…. REALLY bad! With a critical election coming up, many people are choosing to not look to what GOD has to say about how we live. We will either listen, heed and make adjustments…or!!!!

Don’t be a W.A.B.I.T.  

“let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:16

There are some things that require attention more than others. A broken tire is not as bad as a broken foot! Which may be a horrible example…but it made the point! This morning, while it is daylight, I am executing a formulated, multi-step, long term plan that has required time, effort and money to get done! I’m changing a light bulb!

Daylight Savings Time is going to be over this weekend. Which means that we will go back to standard time. Which means that when we gather together at the church for evening Bible Study on Wednesday nights, we will arrive after dark! Our forefathers had the same problem and erected a very bright light on a very tall pole so our people will be able to SEE in that darkness. That light bulb has burned out…AGAIN!

This BULB is a special one! It is a mercury vapor bulb with a mogul base! What that means is, you can’t buy it just anywhere. I tried. It ended up being an online purchase that required research…something our forefathers knew NOTHING about. Discovery led to choices and I had to decide if I wanted the $8.00 regular bulb or a newer LED type bulb for $65! Long time experience dictated my decision.

I remember when the new LED lights first came out. It was said that “they last 10 times longer!” That decision STILL required mathematics to figure out if a $10 LED light bulb was better than a regular old $1 bulb. Over time, it has been my experience that LED lights do NOT last 10 times longer. And since ‘I’m” the guy who has to haul and climb the big ladder to change it, I went old school!

Political talk and reasoning has gotten rather ridiculous these days. Our founding fathers established this great country on the Word of God, which had been around for THOUSANDS of years. God’s way had proven that God’s way WORKS! So they put those laws down in writing. But just as always, there are people today who do not LIKE living under God’s laws and would rather shoot out the light of our working system!

It is essential that every Christian look at the issues today in light of God’s Word and Truth. Then to vote according to HIS terms. That requires research time and effort. Doing it wrong will guarantee some negative repercussions. Which, if you like living in the dark…may not matter to you. It is God’s reminder to ME that He has made ME to be His Light! And in the darkness, that is a VERY big deal!

Your light is special… let it shine!

“But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.” 2 Corinthians 4:7

With the election coming up and so much at stake, our Church had been impressed by the Holy Spirit to do what we have done in the past when difficult situations arise. And that is to gather around our flagpole beside the busy road… and PRAY! With dark storm clouds surrounding the Church, 28 of us ventured out in faith!

Puffing like a prophet, I exclaimed loudly that it has NEVER rained when we gathered like this before!”, As the sheepish saints circled, the forces of the spiritual realms heard and saw us from BOTH sides. We could feel the tension as we prayed and our prayers broke through to Heaven. Soon, the tiniest droplets of rain squeezed through. Just enough to make us all wonder. But we held fast.

7 of the 28 of us were children. As we prayed, my mind went back to when MY kids were little. Then back to when I was too. Therefore, it was no surprise when I saw a few of them begin to fidget! Time was having it’s way and it was time to act. Having a few signs, I waved to one the kids and instructed him to start walking and hold it up to passing cars. Soon, all the kids had joined in, the praying went on, and the rain dared not even TRY to dampen our mission!

When the mission was complete, we left the Church to gather at a local restaurant. When the last car pulled out, the rain POURED down. Gathering around tables, it didn’t take long to realize another potential storm was brewing! Though reservations had been made, the restaurant was largely understaffed. As time began having it’s way again, it was no surprise to find all 7 kids, from 3 different families, gathered around 1 table. Was this a test?

Tensions rose, as 1 hour turned into almost 3! As adults were tempted to melt down, I kept watching the children. The longer I watched, the bigger the miracle grew before ALL of our eyes! The kids bonded together and held out to the end without any major meltdowns or reasons to throw in the towel…except for an occasional spill!

As I sit here writing, I can’t stop smiling! Because ultimately, after growing to 30 in attendance, ALL 30 of us kids held to the title of ‘God’s Kids’ to the end! And God SHINED!!!! I cannot tell you which was the most powerful miracle! But I guess we showed ‘em huh? Thanks kids! I LOVE hanging out with y’all!

“…put (your) hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they (you) will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age.” 1 Timothy 6:17-19

I have felt guilty for the last few weeks…because I AM! Though I have NO excuse, I DO have choices. 2 of them actually! I can either continue to disobey God’s never ending nagging… and thus continue to feel guilty. Or I can admit to being a slacker and DO what He is harping about and get out from under the conviction!

Our Church has been enjoying an outreach sign ministry. Every Wednesday and Friday morning we meet at a major intersection to hold up Gospel signs for Jesus. Knowing we would have to park our cars somewhere, I had asked and received permission from a local business. A couple of weeks ago I asked if they would enjoy some donuts in appreciation. An enthusiastic ‘SURE’ made it an assignment I have YET to complete!

My disobedience has no excuse! But it does have some reasonable ‘holes.’ I ‘unintentionally’ keep forgetting donuts until I’m actually THERE. Then the forgetful justification becomes…”next time!” O.K…let’s just say that I know God is not happy and the nagging continues! This morning, I set my alarm early so I can fulfill my Master’s wishes.

It may be said that I was generous for asking in the first place. After all, it IS a large parking lot. And ‘no,’ I didn’t HAVE to offer donuts, having already received permission. With God’s nagging, I learned and jumped those 2 ‘kindness’ hurdles LONG ago. Now, and since “God isn’t finished with me yet,” He EXPECTS me to put legs under my words!

I cannot speak for ‘Ya’ll” out there…though I can. God the Father can be like God the Mother! Experience has proven that he is NOT going to stop harping on me, once He has set His mind on growing, learning and serving in a particular way. It is a HARD lesson that I continue to resist. But as I get older, I have learned to resist…less.

There is a little ditty I learned long ago that goes like this. “As you amble on in life brother, whatever be your goal, keep your eye upon the donut, and NOT upon the whole!” Making my Master happy is a SWEET way to live!!!!

“If you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.” Matthew 5:23-24.

I was looking for a screwdriver. Specifically, a #2 Phillips screwdriver. I have several! I was in kind of a hurry and just wanted to get a job done. But every handle of a screwdriver I grabbed turned out to be to a standard, slotted screwdriver. Digging deeper I must have discovered at least 10! But NO Phillips of ANY size!

Like an unknown law or principle designed to punish men for something unknown, lost tools are a universal problem! As remembrance of the frustration hit my head, I began to think through possible solutions. The most RIDICULOUS solution that bubbled to the top was, “why don’t you first organize your tools so you know where they are, then put them back as soon as you’re done with them?” I laughed!!!!

At my age I am past getting organized and orderly. To even think it raises the shield of insanity and the argument! “Why…why… it would take too long and require too much work to even put in a dent! After all, I am WAYYYY too far down the road to go back and redo the thing I should have done FIRST…right?”

Yes…God talks to me! Sometimes He even gets irritating! Like with this little nudge toward organization. I find that His way is always better, but then argue for my own limitations and excuses. Then it happens again. And again. 4 times this week alone! And He keeps nudging! Last night at Bible Study, we talked about those nudges.

The key word to the verse today is “remember!” That is the indication of a God nudge! When God gently speaks, through His Spirit, to my brain, “Hey…what about?” The most difficult thing for me to do is to REMEMBER what He reminded me about and ACT upon it. I have learned that often, God is not as much concerned about WHAT I do, as He is about HOW I do it! There seems to be an order to His process. Let me think about that!

What is God trying to remind YOU? 

‘So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”’ John 8:31-32

I own several bicycles. I know this because every time I want to get into a closet in my garage, I have to move them away from the door. Sadly, this is usually the extent of my exercise with bicycles. Riding them generally requires my checking the tire pressures, since it’s usually been a while. After ‘filling up’ a tire, I went into the house and then heard…BOOM!!!!

Having a compressor in my garage is a nice perk. Having 1 and not using a tire pressure gauge when filling bicycle tires CAN be challenging. Since I had been in a hurry, I figured I could GUESS the approximate pressure by feel. Apparently not!

One of the challenging issues of our day has much the same effect, as people have come to believe they can determine what is ‘TRUE’ by how they FEEL! Since feeling is subjective, and the population is larger now than ever, there are MANY more claims to Truth than before. Finding truth then, has become more of a ‘match game’ as folks generally pick what ‘they’ personally like and approve of. But REAL Truth comes with a warning label.

Today’s verse comes from Jesus’ own mouth and begins with that scary little warning word ‘IF!’ To know Truth and be free, Jesus lays a condition that one must ABIDE in His Word! Not just ‘mentally ascent’ to, or simply ‘feel good’ about it. Freedom, He infers, only comes AFTER commitment! Which can sometimes seem like putting the cart before the horse!

This week is only 2.5 days old, and I have already had 2 challenges to my faith and understanding of God’s Word. One was from my own wife! And man…I stepped right into it! She had been reading one writer’s opinion on a well known Bible story, and then came to me to tell me how it REALLY was! Which I love to hear since I love to learn. Except, this time, the conclusion was 100% based upon OPINION and NOT on the facts! Can you say ‘BOOM?’

My marriage is strong and endures these little explosions. Right now I am considered a ‘chauvinist pig who hates women.’ I’ve been called worse. The point is, we are ALL in danger of being swallowed up by falsehood. Jesus said the ONLY way to guarantee to Truth is to ABIDE IN HIS WORD! Which, in the world, practically guarantees some sort of explosion?

What is YOUR gauge for determining The Truth and how is it working?

‘Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”’ Luke 9:62

Yesterday was a work day. I had grass that needed to be cut and overgrown trees that needed trimmed back. To do both required thinking through the work, then planning for the ‘how to’ by gathering ‘tools’ needed to get the jobs done. Having done the best I could at both, I executed the plan. It all went well too…right up to the point of starting!

As soon as I grabbed the mower, the sky clouded up and it started to rain! While not prone to melting when I get wet, the lawnmower tends to clog up with clumps of wet grass. Stuck between plan A and B, brain came up with a plan C…clean up the Garage! It’s not that Plan C wasn’t thought of before. It had lay there as an unexciting project, left undone, from the past.

An hour the garage was done…and so was the rain. Brain then goal shifted to trimming the trees…my LEAST favorite of the jobs. With trash cans, loppers and grit I dove into the job. After a couple hours I noticed that grit was getting grumpy and needed a little something to keep going. Then this verse popped into mind.

I learned a long time ago that I am both my best and worst enemy! Being determined AND lazy are 2 sides of the same coin in my life. When they fight, it is up to another me to make a decision as to who wins. So I have learned to play games of trickery with myself in order to get where I need to go.

There were 5 trash cans and 4 were ALMOST full. With trimmings to pick up, I tricked my lazy self. “just finish filling the cans.” So I did! Then, seeing that the trees looked choppy, I suggested to my lazy self, “just clean those up and be done.” So I did! Noticing some out of place stragglers, I ended up getting some rope and piled those on top of the cans. Then time ran out!

I’d like to say that pushing myself is natural. But must admit that “lazy K.C.” wins far too often. The deciding factor, I think, is how loud or authoritative the voice is I WANT to heat. But that’s tricky because He can be a hard taskmaster! WHERE and to WHOM I look and listen makes all the difference as to what label I become. I’m pushing for ‘servant of Jesus Christ!’

SOW…. how’s your hoed row looking and…how spiritually fit are YOU?