“I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in His word I put my hope.” Psalm 130:5

Recently getting home I could tell Katie was already there. The kitchen light was on and her purse was on the table. I hollered out, “I’m HOOOOOOOOOME!” She was either busy or didn’t hear me. But no matter, I had to run outside again anyway. After coming back in, I asked her a question…and got no answer! Then I started to get nervous!

I searched the house, only to find she wasn’t inside. Silly me, she was probably out back! So I went looking. Nothin’! The last place I looked was in the garage, since that isn’t her usually domain anyway. When I opened the door, I saw that her car was gone! My keen awareness and deductive skills led me to figure she went somewhere, without her purse!! So I started thinking some more! While I did…I waited!

Trying to write today is really frustrating. My computer froze… AGAIN… and I am now WAY behind! I spent ALL those minutes… WAITING! By this time in my life, I should be good at it. But I’m not! In fact, I seem to be less patient as time goes by. Losing time on a writing deadline is 1 thing. Losing and having to wait for my wife…or my God… that’s a WHOLE OTHER THING!

Over the years I’ve pondered the subject of absence and waiting. Does “Absence make the heart grow fonder?” Or is “out of sight out of mind,” more true? I’ve learned that the answer lies in how important that missing something really IS, to me. As time ticked by, my head did some weird things. “Did she leave me? Has she been kidnapped? Has she been in an accident? How will I find out?” It’s even MORE serious with God!

I think concern and worry are step cousins. BOTH start off with FEAR as their battery! After a while, anger starts to fuel the fire as I wonder how they could just LEAVE ME without ANY NOTICE! I calm down when I remember that God… ESPECIALLY GOD…wanders away ON PURPOSE!!! Just to see what I will do! So I did what I have learned actually WORKS! I spend time remembering the promises!

I was there when Katie said “I do!” She has never given me reason to doubt her. After many years of reading God’s Word, I have learned that HE often said, “I will!” Then I relax from the inside out and simply talk to Him, recalling His promised words to me. And like a quiet wisp of air…there He is! Just then, I just heard the garage door open! And all is well!

How well do YOU wait?

P.S. A thought just hit me and I feel foolish. I am reminded that some people won’t ever hear that sound of the garage door again. I don’t know NEARLY as much about waiting on God as YOU do. Though I know enough to know that HE is always there! Ya know? I’ll think I’ll shut up now!

“I am the Door!” Jesus – John 10:7

It happens every day! Multiple times a day even! And it has since I moved into this house. It is so common and ordinary that I don’t even think about it anymore. It just is what it is! I pull my truck into the driveway (I don’t have room for it in the garage), get out, walk up to my front door, and then fumble for the right key to get in. Now how silly is THAT??

I have a lot of keys, so finding the right one, even though I’ve placed my house key beside the bigger truck key, CAN be a tangled mess. When my hands are full, it’s even worse! At night, if I’ve forgotten to turn on the porch light ahead of time, the right key is almost impossible to find. Dropping the keys, in the dark, with my hands full, is a ‘far too often’ occurrence that I NEVER think about fixing!

Katie has a remote in her car for the garage door. She hits a button and drives right on in. When I got The Goldwing, I bought an extra remote for ease of entry. Last week I grabbed it for some reason and threw it in my truck. Days later, it was dark, raining and I had stuff to take into the house. When the truck light came on after opening it’s door, I saw the remote and pushed the button. Guess what happened!!!!

When the door opened and the garage door light came on, I had a eureka moment! WOW!!!!!!! But it was short lived! Because afterward, I felt like a FOOL and started talking to myself!! “That was WAYYYY TOO EASY!!! You moron! Why didn’t you think about putting a remote in your truck a LONG time ago????” Which brings up ANOTHER long term problem of mine. My moron self NEVER answers rhetorical questions!

I can’t say I was stupid, because I really really not AWARE! The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over…expecting a different result. Sometimes even the smartest of us just do things that way! Living a life of routine, common and predictable, can lock my brain. It takes something bigger than wishing to un-skip the record! (anyone under 45 will have NO idea what that means!)

“I AM THE DOOR!” Jesus said that! And as I have preached several times lately, there are only 3 ways to approach that. He is either a liar, a nut-bag…or He’s telling the Truth! By His pointing to Himself as ‘The Door,’ MY only TWO options are to 1. give Him a try. Or…2. Don’t! Which leads to ANOTHER Eureka moment. If my path to the door is dark…He has a solution for THAT TOO!. He said, “I am THE LIGHT of THE WORLD!”

That Jesus….He’s like….SO full of answers! Did ya notice???

“Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” James 4:7

My house, not surprisingly, has 4 corners. Which is not a surprise. But I can tell you that I HAVE been surprised at every one of them over the 30 plus years I’ve lived here. And It just happened again! Like a practical joke when someone tries to scare me, the big black snake around the corner didn’t SCARE me, but it DID STARTLE me! Standing my ground, I watched it slither away in the opposite direction. And I wondered.

Not being an expert, I can only guess if the fleeing snake had been ‘scared’ or simply ‘startled’ away. I could tell it wasn’t going as fast as possible, but it WAS moving faster than normal. And the GOOD thing was, moving in the opposite direction from me! You see, I prefer being surprised by the scurrying tail of a big snake rather than by it’s head!

Last night, our church was invited to a local Town Hall meeting of the county school board. The request went out to all the local churches, because lately there has been a concern that unwelcome, and possibly dangerous pests, may be afoot. Evil issues that have been creeping into families lives have become serious enough that ignoring them might just PROVE dangerous. So we went!

I couldn’t be more proud to see SO many of our folks, as well as OTHER Christian people, showing up to stand out for moral principles. It was evident from the start that the school representatives were the ones startled, as speaker after speaker talked about Biblical values and the school districts need to GET BACK to them! But upon reflection, many of us wondered if the school reps were scared enough!

A number of folks cried out that Christian Values need to be brought back into the classroom. Which, these days, would not be a good direction. The victory of evil and its religion of ‘Fairness’ would dictate that the Koran and Hindu writings get equal treatment and thus, proving THAT win to be a loss. Even Martin Luther King stated that it’s impossible to legislate morality anyway. So we did the next best thing and startled each other!

Man didn’t invent the path to destruction. That was satan! It came upon us through the back door when we failed in standing up against it in the first place! Now that the big snake is in the house, what remains is the determination of how much damage it will do! So I, like other Believers, take our stands! I puff out my chest, and bellow, and yell, and pray to God…that I see a scurrying tail and not a head!

Are YOU standing up for Him?

“You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You.” NKJV

Years ago I was given a treasured heirloom, a .22 rifle once owned by an uncle who had passed. Wanting to be careful with it, I had wrapped it in a thick towel and put it away from light and the elements. When I went to take a look at it, I found it spot marked and pitted from rust! This condition was certainly NOT acceptable. But lucky for me, I am blessed to know a guy!

Otto isn’t just ANY guy. He is an old German machinist who I LOVE to spend time with. MOSTLY because he has GREAT stories that go along with tested and tried advice! It is safe to say that he has forgotten more about metalwork than most people know! Remembering my rusted .22,wanting him to look at it before he went back North for the summer, I gave him a call!

Otto showed up at my house yesterday and we immediately set about our prospective positions. He the teacher, me the student. You see, I didn’t just want the rust to go away, I wanted to LEARN how to keep it from happening again. The process is called ‘bluing.’ He was all words…I was all ears, except when I had questions. The process didn’t take that long and, when done, I felt DOUBLY blessed because my old heirloom had been restored AND I learned how to KEEP it that way!

The first thing Otto said was, “the last guy that touched this has an acid problem.” Since that guy was ME…I asked how he knew. “Fingerprints!” he said. My fingerprints had been left on the barrel, and the acid left behind had broken down the protective bluing finish. Rust was simply inevitable. We both laughed at my acidic touch, which isn’t always funny.

I am a work in progress! It is a lifeLONG process where God is using my personality, conditions and experiences to conform me into HIS image. He calls that process ‘sanctification.’ It is a complex process that is too detailed for me to completely understand or explain. But it works! Just like the verse today works when applied.

To get God’s peace I need to KNOW Him. The process is not complete upon our meeting, but in our STAYING together. When I put my heart, mind and soul in His hands…and my focus on HIM, I have the protection of His peace. No matter the circumstances. When my acidic tendencies leak out because of poor handling, I know it’s time to get back to Him and be reconditioned! True Peace requires KNOWING, and sticking with, the only God who can give it.

Do you know Him? 

“Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom…” Colossians 3:16

I’m feelin’ kind of blue this morning and don’t know what to do about it. I’m just glad that it doesn’t happen often. Ever since last night I have been digging and searching and weighing and measuring, like a gold miner looking for something of value to salvage from all the effort. Looking back, I can say what happened was not intentional. But it DID happen.

It all started with a teaching on Colossians 1:24 where Paul is rejoicing in the fact that he is “filling up in his flesh, what is lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions!” The verse bothered me because; the implication is that Christ’s sufferings were somehow incomplete and not enough! Teaching turned to discussion, then to questions, and then something in me snapped. Admonition crept in like the pistol shot starting a race. Not very subtle!

I live with a VERY serious, VERY good, teacher of little children. In fact, she is so psycho about being good at it, there are times her frustrations are understandable. I believe she is the BEST in the WORLD, and possibly EVER! Truly! She gets SOOO frustrated when kids and parents don’t get it! The parents are the worst! Then she blames herself! To her, failure is not an option. So she presses on. I don’t know if I rubbed off on her or she on me…but let’s just say that frustration hangs around our house…a LOT!

Being a Christian changes a person. It’s supposed to! Once the light goes on and Christ is seen for who He said He was, decisions must be made. And the decisions never stop! He calls us to die to our way and live His. And His way, though the most blessed beyond imagination, creates conflict. We Believers are commanded to live and tell about our New Life. But He PROMISES that when we do, we will see a lot of refusal and frustration.

I hadn’t planned on admonishing ANY one. It just started coming out! When it does, I know that NO ONE can sound more like a jerk than ME! On the way home, even Katie added her weight to the other side of the teeter totter! Hanging in the air…I’m singing the blues. But I can’t stay here forever. So…I’m sorry for sounding like a jerk. But the subject doesn’t lend itself well to frivolity. And it never will!

Hanging with Christ on the Cross is PAINFUL. In God’s eyes…I was right there. His death became mine, my life became His! Some are called to teach, and occasionally even ADMONISH (drive home HARD) STRONGLY, the truth that, suffering and pain are inevitable when becoming, and being, a Believer in Jesus Christ. We are at war with the world, the flesh and the devil. Loss and pain are inevitable. So much so that I can actually MEASURE my effectiveness for Him with a question…”how and where am I suffering for Him?”

What is Jesus Christ costing YOU in your suffering for Him? And can you point to where it hurts?

“Husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.” Ephesians 5:28

Before I begin, I know I am already in trouble! Though honestly…not intentional! When Katie reads this she is going to flip out and say something like, “why did you have to write about me? Didn’t you have anything else to write about?” She is SO wise like that! But doing God’s work often demands sacrifice! So guys…I’m taking a bullet for YOU by actually writing about ME!!

Yesterday before leaving for work, Katie cleaned off the kitchen counter almost completely! Her final words to herself were, “There…I like that!” That it was said within MY earshot should have been a clue! Though I thought the statement silly, I quietly resolved to honor her wishes! Within the hour, I had already dropped food AND the mail there! As Bugs Bunny used to say…”What a maroon!” Guilt had me by the throat almost instantly! But from where had THAT emotion come?

Being married to an artistic person is tough. That she is female makes it harder! And that’s NOT an insult! She likes pretty things, yet grows tired of the same things over and over. True, there have been times when her desire created more work for ME. But I love her. And I know God’s directives when it comes to my wife’s peace of mind. It is today’s Bible verse!

Honestly…what do I care about a completely clean counter? Does it bother me? Is it too hard a thing to take notice and bend to please her? After all, today’s verse goes on to say almost the same thing to wives! But sometimes the verses get distorted! I read 1 version, inserted into a female devotional, that stated…”A husband must see to his wife’s desires, whether they are sexual, financial, physical, emotional or spiritual.” WHOAAAAA!! NOW WAIT JUST A DOGGONE MINUTE! Please note…this version of the Bible verse doesn’t exist in ANY legitimate version! I call FOUL!!!

Paying attention is a sign of respect and maturity. Husbands and wives are actually BOTH called to do just that, by making God’s desires FIRST priority! Being made in His image, both male and female, I have to assume that He possesses BOTH characteristics! When it comes to HIS desires, He EXPECTS me to WANT to please Him. Because what pleases HIM…ALWAYS works out for my best good! Guilt is simply a useful tool in His hands too!!

This morning I woke up to find that I had left something on the counter last night! I am SURE SHE noticed it too! I felt a little guilty when she didn’t say anything because…she COULD have! But she loves ME! And as long as it isn’t too painful, too difficult or too expensive, her wish really SHOULD be my command. God gave me to her, for the purpose of my practice in loving and following HIM! Since HIS commands are OFTEN all 3!

How far are YOU willing to bend for your spouse and for God?

“So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in Him, rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.” Colossians 2:6-7

I don’t think about stuff under the hood! My truck is AWESOME because it pretty much cooperates with my unconcern by rarely breaking down. When it does break down, I know something is wrong! I know people for that! All was well, as my truck and I had been maintaining our mutual non-commitment toward one another. But last week I went out to start it and ‘click click click,’ was all I got!! She had let me down!

To be fair, it wasn’t the truck that failed. It was the battery. I bought a 24 month battery and it only lasted 36! So I slapped a battery charger on it and drove the Gold Wing! Later in the day, I tried the truck and she fired right up! Was it jealousy??? I drove her for a couple days when, being about 2 miles from home, she did it again! This time, I had to call my wife! And THIS TIME.. I wasn’t foolin’ around!

I don’t know batteries. And truly… I don’t WANT to know. I just want them to WORK for me. FOREVER! With NO DEMANDS from ME! This battery let me down, even though it had lived, half again, as long as warranted! I am a HARD and DEMANDING taskmaster! When I took the time and tried to charge it, it only held for so long. Bye Bye battery! Hello NEW!

I paid more for this battery than the last one. So my expectations are HIGH! I’d better get at least FOUR years outta THIS one, since the LAST brand let me down! Yes I’m fickle and demanding like that! But am I any different than anyone else? Don’t we ALL want MORE than expected? Even from GOD?!

There is a BIG sign on the back wall of my church that says, “Jesus Works!” I know because I PUT it there 22 years ago! I placed it there because, at that time, I had been a believer and disciple of Jesus Christ for 31 years. As I like to say, “Jesus had NEVER let me down…even at times when I initially thought He had!” 22 years later, I can STILL say that He is a God of his Word! He’s STILL the ONLY one I recommend!

I HAVE to admit that there have been times in life when I have allowed my ‘truck emotions’ to slop over into my relationship with God! Like when I expect Him to BE THERE, and ALWAYS WORK for ME without any effort on MY part! Even now I can hear Him chuckle cuz…He doesn’t DO that! Ours is a ‘give and take’ relationship. He gives AFTER I’ve taken the time and effort to nurture our relationship, FOLLOW HIM and DO His directions!

I have found a very truthful saying that actually works ALL the time. “USE THINGS…LOVE PEOPLE!” I am VERY good at the first one. But I am STILL working on the second because, my WARRANTOR expects it from me because…He’s a pretty hard and demanding taskmaster! But SOOOOO gushy and loving inside!

How do YOU see and treat God?

“let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings…” Hebrews 10:22

The occasion was yesterday…Easter! It is, what I consider, the biggest Holy Day of the year! Our Church, like so many around the world, is a collection of different believers and followers in Jesus Christ, grouped into 1 place for the purpose of worshiping Him and serving one another. It had been a BUSY week of preparation. Set up, tear down, assemble, cook, clean and then setup again! And it was all because of Lettuce! Kind of!

Easter observes the occasion of the death of Jesus Christ to pay for mankind’s sins, and His rising from that death in conquering victory. The Holy Day gives His followers reason to gather together to celebrate and rejoice! Until Resurrection Sunday, there was one nasty fact that overlayed all of mankind’s condition. We were sinners, separated from our Creator, and destined to perish forever in a Godless place not even prepared for men in the first place! Easter changed that!

All week long we had been meeting and preparing for something coming. Thursday Communion was a time to remember the sorrow and pain of what sin had cost us…AND God’s Son, Jesus! The pain He suffered because of my ‘sin status’ is unimaginable. Saturday we gathered together to prepare breakfast for Sunday Morning. But even at breakfast on Sunday, there was a sense of anticipation. Soon…the church was packed with Lettuce people!

Let Us! 2 words that corporately unite a group of people under 1 purpose. Those 2 words are used several times in the Bible to unify and move us in a single direction. And what a Joy it was as dozens of people, many we don’t even know, came together to glance at the person of Jesus Christ…the one who called Himself, The Way, The Truth, The Life, The Door and the Great Shepherd! From what I could tell…NONE of us were disappointed!

I have been rescued from a fate WORSE than simply dying and moving into nothingness. And not just me! Anyone who finds Jesus’ hand and grabs on, carries with them a SINCERE heart, FULL of assurance that WE ARE part of HIS STORY! FOREVER! So what do we do about that? The I’s become US and together, we draw near to God in Joy and anticipation of what will come!

Lettuce is an interesting vegetable, as leaf upon leaf overlays one another in orderly fashion…forming one complete unit, all stemming and held together by 1 main core. Which leads me to wonder why no one ever used lettuce as a symbol for ‘The Church!’ Let us gather again on Wednesday night and talk about that!!!

All the people answered, “His blood is on us and on our children!” Matthew 27:25

Yesterday was Maundy Thursday, a special Holy Day celebrating the last supper Jesus had with His disciples before being arrested. It ALSO happened to be April 1^st…my youngest daughter’s Birthday! Yes, she was born on April Fools Day! We had her and her family over for our own dinner last night, which turned out to be quite a hoot!

I’ve never been a big prankster on April Fools Day. We had stuff planted outside our house, and as of this morning, we are STILL finding evidence of her and her husbands mischievous hands! While I like to joke a lot, to me, giving 1 single day ‘all ya got’ seems a bit too extreme! My daughter practically LIVES for it! It’s almost like The Day was made just for her! Today, being Good Friday, I can see a resemblance to all things eternal!

Good, or Holy, Friday, traditionally is the remembrance of the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ. I usually take time to read the ends of the 4 Gospels to remember what actually happened. After being arrested in the dark of last night, today starts our remembering the horror of His torture and death. Mel Gibson’s ‘The Passion’ movie attempts to give us visual details, as if written words aren’t descriptive enough! This was not just the killing of Jesus, it was a slaughterhouse. And it marks ‘The Day’ made just for HIM! BY Him!

Jesus is not a man like Gandhi or Mohammad. To not know that is to not understand what He said about Himself, or the Bible, which presents the evidence from writings over THOUSANDS of years! Jesus said that ‘He’ was the ONLY way to get to His Father…GOD! As C.S. Lewis inferred, He never gave us the option of considering Himself just a good teacher. He, is the creator of the Universe (John 1:3) and God the Son. And He came FOR THIS DAY…on a rescue mission!

Lots of people have blown it off or made light of it. According to Jesus’ own words, He died for them too! As I reflect on my life and all the mistakes I have made, both intentional and unintentional, I see clearly that perfect Heaven would be ultimately defiled if I stepped even 1 foot into it. Which is the reason HE, perfect God, stepped into MY imperfection.

Sin is horrific to God. Being steeped in it doesn’t bother me as much. Which is NOT allowable by God as an excuse! The horror of my sin, transferred onto His loving perfect Son, demands that I look SERIOUSLY at His crucifixion and my own guilt! My punishment for my sin is deserved. Why would God even WANT me, let alone willingly DIE in my place? TODAY marks the day, made intentionally for ME, to think about that! It’s no Joke! His blood is on MY hands!!!

How do YOU see Jesus Christ?