“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.” Philippians 2:3-4

The truck was at the truck doctor’s office, which required that Katie and I share her vehicle. But this provided an EXCELLENT opportunity to show off my love for my wife. If I REALLY loved her, I would go pick her up from work and bring her back home! An excellent, ‘win-win’ plan! But I almost missed the opportunity!

Heading south on U.S. 41, the major 6 lane highway that seems ALWAYS under construction, I was in a hurry. I did NOT WANT to be late. Hugging the far right lane to prepare for a right turn, I was going only a LITTLE over the speed limit. Traffic was flowing well, when suddenly my lack of attention suddenly came to attention! A car shot across the 3 lanes of traffic and was in my path! RIGHT NOW!

It was too quick for me to be scared or even angry. Stomping the brakes and veering left, my guardian angel may have helped me miss smacking that drivers rear end by only inches! By the time I had time to emotionally react with a judgmental horn honk or a raising of my fist, it was long over! I actually thought, “it’s too late for that now anyway!”

The other driver’s move was foolish and filled with poor judgment. As I released the desire to in some way, ‘get even’ with a stupid gesture, I was convicted of the next thought…”you’ve done stupid like that yourself…PLENTY of times!” I was immediatly humbled.

I had left my phone at home accidentally because I was in a hurry. Had I been in an accident I would not have had the opportunity to even notify my wife. Rather than go back into the house to get it, I subconsciously thought, “Oh.. nothing’s going to happen anyway!” So in the matter of about 7 minutes of going to prove my love to my wife, I MOSTLY proved I was MOSTLY FOOLISH!

I was created to follow and Glorify God. NOT lead and ACT like I’m Him! Sin was once and for all defeated at the cross, but this bag-o-flesh still contains the residual smell of its former contents. Because of that, God’s Word is FULL of advice instructing me how to live, act and behave! Which can EASILY become a problem! Especially when YOU don’t do what I WANT you to do and get in my way!!!!!! haaaaaaaa! OOPS!!!! I almost just had another collision!!! 

“But what does it matter?” Philippians 1:18

Lately, I have been discouraged because of the lack of fruit in getting what I want! So much so, I haven’t really given it much attention lately. But yesterday I reached my breaking point… and it really got me down! So much so, I have decided to just give up altogether! MY desired goal was not being achieved. And since hopefulness had fallen to frustration so often, I finally have to just admit it…I quit!

For several months now I have prepared, paid, pained and planted a couple varieties of squash in my backyard. I have watched as the seeds sprouted into beautiful green vines, then cheered as big yellow flowers formed, only to have them shrivel up and fall off! Still determined, I tried again…then again! Nothing! It is time to face reality!

Over the years I have made attempts at growing tomatoes, peppers and even avocados. These only resulted in wasted money, time and effort. My latest escapade with squash only proves, once again, that when it comes to farming…I’m a dabbling failure! The position I am now in has forced me to make a decision I wasn’t prepared to make. But for my own sanity and purpose, I must make it!

I don’t believe my reading the 1^st Chapter of Philippians was an accident. Having been a Jesus’ guy for so long, I don’t even question IF He is trying to tell me something. I recognize His footprints, He method…even His silence! Paul was in prison when He wrote that letter to some church folks he hadn’t seen in 10 years! Having been persecuted, lied about and even physically abused, you can appreciate why he is sounding like he was out his options.

I am thinking that the final answer to Paul’s anguished state came to him like an ‘AHA’ moment! As if he said, “Eureka… I’ve GOT IT!” The verse today being the thing he got! And it COMPLETELY encourages ME! Difficulties, imprisonment, discouragement, signs of the times, and the ‘no light at the end of the tunnel,” leads him to simply say…“IT DOESN’T MATTER!”

I had to smile when I read this story. And then sigh in relief, as I could almost hear Jesus’ actual voice say to me, “Have I EVER asked you to farm vegetables!” It sounds silly now!!! Because it is. But it is refreshing to realize that “I am NOT a FARMER!”  I have been called to teach and proclaim God’s Word. Paul was simply a ‘1 THING GUY!’ His circumstances did not change his calling.

Quitting the squash business really IS…an easy thing to do!!!   But talking about Jesus??? Now that… I CAN do!  

In face of SO much happening recently, and with a big storm brewing out there in the Gulf, I found this devotional VERY encouraging. This is from RayStedman.org

Our Great and Glorious God – Daily Devotional

“Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor? Who has ever given to God, that God should repay them? For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.” Romans 11:33-36

This reminder of the strange ways God works awakens within Paul a tremendous outburst for God’s inscrutable wisdom and his ways with men. You can see certain things that have amazed the apostle: There are the deep riches, as Paul calls them, the deep riches of God’s wisdom and of his ways. They are beyond human exploration. There is no way we can finally fathom God.

There are those who struggle to put God in a box where they can get hold of him and analyze him. But if they succeed in that, they have only reduced God to the size of a man. God is greater than man. He is beyond us. Our minds cannot grasp the greatness of God! We can understand what he tells us about himself, but even beyond that, there is much more that we cannot know. There are depths of riches. That is why we are always being surprised by God if we trust him. He is always enriching us in ways that we don’t anticipate. Then Paul speaks of God’s unsearchable judgments.

For instance, it is clear from Scripture that nothing God ever planned interferes with human responsibility. We are free to make choices. We know it. We feel ourselves free to decide to do this or that, to do good or bad. And yet the amazing thing is that nothing humans ever do can frustrate God’s sovereign plan. Isn’t that amazing? No matter what we do, whether we choose this or that with the freedom of choice we have, ultimately it all works out to accomplish what God has determined shall be done. That is the kind of God we have.

Paul is not only impressed with God’s inscrutable wisdom and ways, but he contrasts it with the impotence of man. He asks three very searching questions. His first one is, Who has known the mind of the Lord? What he is asking is, Who has ever anticipated what God is going to do? Have you? Have you ever been able to figure out how God is going to handle the situations you get into? We all try, but it never turns out quite the way we think it will. There is a little twist to it that we never could have guessed.

Paul’s second question is, Or who has been his counselor? Who has ever suggested something that God has never thought of? Have you ever tried that? I have sometimes looked at a situation, have seen a way to work it out, and have suggested to God how he could do it, thinking I was being helpful. But it turned out that he knew things I didn’t know and was working at things that I never saw and couldn’t have seen. God’s solution was right, and mine would have been wrong.

Paul’s last question is, Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him? That is, Who has ever given God something that he didn’t already have? Paul says, Everything we are and have comes from him. He gives to us; we don’t give to him. He concludes with this great outburst: For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen. God is the originator of all things; all things come from him. He is the sustainer of all things; they all depend on him. As C. S. Lewis puts it, To argue with God is to argue with the very power that makes it possible to argue at all! He is the end purpose. All things will find their culmination in God. He is why all things exist. Therefore, to him be the glory forever! Amen.

What significant changes in attitude and action would result if this grand and glorious Doxology were the basic, day-by-day guideline in our lives? Worship? Humility? Trust? Joyful surrender to God’s will?

“Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then…stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you.” Philippians 1:27…28

The back screened-in pool area of my house is a great place to sit at night, especially when the stars are out. I was doing just that when suddenly, there was a noise just outside the screen! It sounded bigger than a boogeyman, yet more ominous than a ghost. The thought hit, “was what made the sound dangerous?” Striving to remain calm, I had no idea. But I DID have choices!

Living in a subdivision in 2020 is generally safe. Though I’ve seen raccoons, armadillos and even a Florida Panther in the neighborhood, I generally don’t worry about strange sounds in the night. Being a full grown member on the highest level of the food chain doesn’t hurt either! Grabbing a flashlight and a weapon, I cautiously proceeded into the dark unknown.

God’s Word tells us, the highest members of His life chain, that there will be times when fear, doubt, worry or anxiousness may arise. But in every case, He goes on to tell us what to DO about those mysterious thoughts. Here He says to ‘stand firm in one Spirit, stick and strive together in the Faith and to NOT be frightened!’ Which can often seem a tough demand!

This verse is one of the main reasons I don’t understand people to call themselves Christians, yet don’t regularly and habitually go to Church! With COLLECTIVE promises and tools which come from gathering and uniting together, life can EASILY become ‘a lonely YOU against the forces of a dark evil world.’ Unlike boogeymen or ghosts, that world DOES indeed…exist!

God’s ‘Work’ of Salvation has enemies. We cannot see them, hardly recognize them when we do and rarely know how to actually use the weapons we have at our disposal. There is NO doubt in anyone’s mind that 2020 is a year when dark forces are rising. But God has warned us and given us the tools and methods with which to fight.

That noise? It turns out it was just an opossum. When it saw my light, it didn’t play dead…it RAN! These days we need to PRAY and UNITE against the forces of darkness as God’s TRUTH marches on. I’m reminded that when I do that, fear really doesn’t have a very large place to camp out!

Are YOU praying for your family, Church and Country to be on God’s side of the fence? Because the enemy is real and it doesn’t play opossum! Gear up!

“You, Lord, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light.” Psalm 18:28

As the time change settles in, I am increasingly aware of what happens when darkness comes earlier than expected. As time ticks by, my brain starts to log and remember things that I had forgotten about, or taken advantage of, when the light was shining. Plans now require PRE-planning…or at least a different kind of preparation.

Last late afternoon, or in this case night, I looked outside the church just before our Wednesday night get together, and saw darkness where light had been before. It reminded me that I had just replaced the light bulb over our parking lot. Running out to check it, I found the parking lot engulfed in darkness! That new bulb had burned out…having only lasted about a week! People just arriving now had to walk in darkness to get inside to the light.

With the hotly debated 2020 Presidential election over, much of the nation is left hanging with thoughts of ‘what’s next?’ We STILL don’t know the results and it may be some time before we do. That said, I find it intriguing that BOTH side of the aisle, Republicans and Democrats, are united under a mutual blanket of uncertainty. Which may not be a bad thing, since rioters planning to riot now have no excuse to do so!

This morning, as uncertainty and sunrise rose together, I took a deep breath and sensed God’s Presence. What seemed new to me, a perceived dark, anxiousness, suddenly became hidden under the blanket of HIS Light. I was reminded that while I had been sleeping, and horribly I might add, my Heavenly Father, had been wide awake. He already knew all about what was troubling me. And HE was NOT anxious. I smiled when He urged me to join Him.

I love David and his Psalms, since my emotions so often reflect his. This morning I can smile and rejoice with my brother David, who I will one day hang out with, and parallel his sense of wonder that in darkness, God IS my bright burning lamp. He ALWAYS goes before me in both sunshine and storm. NOTHING takes Him by surprise.

I pray that God is YOUR light as well. If He is, you have no need to fear ANY Darkness! Look up and Shine on! 

“For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.” Galatians 5:17 KJV

Oh, how well I know THIS conflict! The fight between the spirit and the flesh lives daily within me. The older I get, the more choices I discover confirming that the battlefield of the will… WILL rage on! And I HATE it! As has been said, ‘a chain is only as strong as it’s weakest link.’ One of my weaknesses…is Nestle Chocolate!

After the discovery of a fatty liver, I realized I had to make a CHOICE about how I wanted my life to go. “Pay attention to what goes into your mouth,” turned out to be great advice.  And I have lost considerable weight from doing that! But for Halloween, we bought candy bars for the pending Trick or Treaters! Then only 5 showed! Having these little bars of temptation lying around has been causing me great anguish!

The last couple days have been good as I watched my intake. So much so, that I felt like “YOU…my man…have REASON TO CELEBRATE! Besides, those bundles of goodness are SOOOO very small… they only have 90 calories each! Besides, they have PEANUTS (and aren’t peanuts supposed to be good for you?).” Before I knew it I had eaten 3! No wait.. I knew! But after the first bite…I just didn’t care!!!!!

You know how it goes because YOU are just like me. Oh, maybe your thing isn’t Nestle chocolate. And if you’re like me, you don’t HAVE just 1 thing.. but MANY! And the battles continue because the lusts of the flesh are REAL! Having Jesus Christ living inside my heart only makes the battles more vibrant!!! GREAT!

I know enough about addiction to know that the battles are RARELY ever won COMPLETELY… here on earth. There will ALWAYS be a desire for that fleshy thing…as long as my flesh lives! But I THANK GOD because it isn’t an ‘eternal problem!’

Jesus took care of the ultimate consequences of my flusty life by wrapping it all up into a neat little package, taking it on Himself, and then KILLING IT! But the DESIRE remains as long as the flesh remains. And I think I know why.

When a battle comes that I KNOW I cannot win, grabbing Jesus hand is the ONLY way I can make it. And the harder the battle, the tighter we grip! SOMETIMES after a skirmish, I turn to thank him with chocolate on my face! He ALWAYS smiles that loving smile, and then reminds me, ”BUT NEXT TIME…!!!!!!!”

How are YOU doing… baby??

“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.” John 15:16

Last night I could barely move without something hurting. This morning, I am STILL sore! I ACHE is a result of a choice I made yesterday. With trees and bushes out of control and needing trimmed, I ELECTED, PICKED, or CHOSE what I would do with my time yesterday. The ‘pickin’ came with consequences that I now have to live with!

Of course I had no idea that I would ache so badly. It’s true…I’m not 25 any more! But since my head forgets to add 40 years to that number, I often think, act and move in defiance of my age. Maybe it’s as a form of rebellion! When “I can still do that” becomes a mantra, it MAY be time to sit down first and REALLY “count the cost” before electing to do something,

Today is Election Day, and millions of people across America will go to the polls and ELECT, CHOOSE or PICK who our governing representatives will be for the next several years. Seeing as how even JESUS participated in an election process, I think it is important that we Believers give the process some import!

“Jesus picked ME!” If you call yourself a Christian, please say that out loud several times. Feel that? Yeah…Pretty good feeling huh? The Bible makes it clear that Jesus’ choice of you was UNANIMOUS among those that got a vote…the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit! But before I get TOO caught up in the feeling of importance, it is important to look at the CONSEQUENCES that come with HIS decision and MY response!

The Bible tells me that Jesus picked ME…FOR A REASON! In other words, He has expectations that He EXPECTS ME to take on as OBLIGATIONS. To be ELECTED by God means that I have a choice in the process as well. Being selected because He expects to see some ‘FRUIT of Good Works’ from His choice, now puts on some aching pressure with consequences.

If Jesus is telling me that MY choices about HIS choices come with expectations and consequences, then choosing NOT to choose is not really a choice! It’s a judgement!   And ‘OUCH…’ that hurts even WORSE!

Got Fruit?!

“If the ax is dull and its edge unsharpened, more strength is needed, but skill will bring success.” Ecclesiastes 10:10

Last week, there were some brutally hot days here in Southwest Florida. October is supposed to be cooler, but it wasn’t working out that way. My neighbor has a fiance that just moved here from New England. It was fun watching him ‘sweat,’ working hard to please her as he trimmed tall bushes in the sun. I was in the shade and planned on staying quiet…until I couldn’t any longer.

“Hey pal, you’re killing yourself in this heat. There’s a way to do that down here!” I went on to suggest a hat, to work in the shade when available, hydrate often and to pace himself. Yes…I stuck my nose in his business! But my nose KNOWS a thing or two…and it cares! I assured him he’d eventually learn…or die trying! We both laughed!!!

It takes time to adjust to a different climate. Especially when one has lived in another most of their lives. There are LOTS of sayings that encourage wisdom over brute strength while working. “Measure once, cut twice.” “A stitch in time…saves nine!” “Let the TOOL do the work!” “The early bird gets…” Well, you get the point! And getting the point…IS the point!

So it is with the most critical climate where God wants people to live. And that is in the world called ‘Faith!’ God tells us that FAITH in HIM is a REAL SUBSTANCE and that without it we can NEVER please Him (Hebrews 11). While most people think of faith as some kind of mystical, hopeful, made up attitude in the face of impossible odds, nothing could be further from the truth. Faith in God is as real as the Bible I read to build it! And it takes work, time and practice to build a good one.

The Master of my vocation has a Handbook filled with job descriptions. Fortunately, or unfortunately, mine comes with some SERIOUS requirements. While others may be told to ‘mind their own business,’ MY job description requires me to ‘stick my nose in it!’ If you call yourself a ‘Believer,’ the basis of that title is your pre existing commitment to follow Jesus Christ. Pastors are called to be God’s ‘sign post’ to help direct your path. USUALLY because of a longer learning curve and experience in listening and applying.

In the world of human nature, Faith usually comes off as just plain stupid! Sometimes it actually IS just a smoky wish on the part of the traveler (but dad… I REALLY want some ice cream). But when I am connected to God, through Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit, His WORD assures me that I CAN know His mysterious will. And when I KNOW it, I am assured of HIS strength and promise that I CAN work, and walk, where the SON shines the brightest!

What’s the climate like where YOU live?