“And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.” Malachi 3:18

All I could think about was…’Whew!!!! It sure is HOT out here!’ Mid June in South Florida tends to remind me of blessings I had just experienced. Like with SO many examples in life, I reap the benefit AFTER the benefit has passed. Which proves the saying true! “You don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone!” Sweating faster than my clothes could absorb, I welcomed summer!

Now I’m not complaining! Just stating facts. When mid June hits, the sun comes out with all of its power, humidity rises, the rains fall and the grass grows! It is the season of life in the heat! And SOMEONE needs to get out there and gut the grass down to size. That someone is me. I’m the grass cuttin’ guy. So donning proper attire to protect from the rays of the sun, sweat and dirt…I sallied forth with the mission in mind!

Katie tells me I look OK no matter what I wear. That is until I put on my grass cutting attire. I think she describes it as “ICK!” But I’m not trying to win a fashion award. I just want to get through the process without getting a nasty sunburn or faint from heatstroke! Besides, I am told, at my age, that exercise is GOOD for me! Though I think my Doctor may be a sadist!

In the heat of the sun I personally have several distinct advantages. I have a swimming pool and air conditioning in my house and truck. So while the heat may rise to uncomfortable levels, it won’t take long for ME to get some relief. As long as I remember to prepare appropriately for the coming elements.

The Book of Malachi is the last book of the Old Testament. Interestingly enough, it is a book that ends with a curse! For centuries God had given His chosen people warnings about the do’s and don’t of what it would take to REMAIN His special people. Unfortunately, Israel’s claim in Malachi 3:14 sums up their attitude with, “It is futile to serve God.” Which pretty much guarantees, in Chapter 4, that there is a MAJOR HEAT WAVE a comin’!

These days, It IS getting hot out there! And in more ways than one. It seems that each day brings more creative approaches by individuals to demand their own selfish ways…as if they are entitled or deserve better than what they have. This leads to an ultimate end that, God says, WILL sort out the special from the common.

When God has had enough He will turn on the heat by sending His Son. In other words, if I think it’s hot NOW…I need to remember that it is only going to get hotter. And the way I need to prepare for THAT day is to ‘Serve Him’ well HERE…today! I’m putting on my hat as I write! What are YOU serving? 

“I pray that you… grasp… the love of Christ, and know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” Ephesians 3:19

Geese do it! So do cars and trucks. Especially when prompted! I’m talking about honking here! And when it comes to prompting a honk, especially from a big semi-truck, our church has got the best dog-gone honk prompter this side of Heaven. One might even say he’s so full of enthusiasm for God… he bubbles over!

Enthusiasm is a word that describes a strong excitement of feeling, inspiring zeal or fervor. It is a word best experienced than explained. When enthusiasm is present, trying to describe it would be an undersell. It comes from the Latin words, ‘en’ (in) and ‘theos’ (God) and actually means ‘God within.’ If Church were a car dealership, ‘enthusiasm’ would be the balloons and banners on a ‘Big Sale’ day!

As far as I know, there is no real measuring tool for enthusiasm. And while this Bible verse recommends that we all be ‘filled’ with it, ‘IT’ is one of the few things that you just know when you see. But ‘it’ really isn’t a word that stands on it’s own. There has to be an object that sets the emotion off. And strangely, the object itself doesn’t even need to be valuable. It could be a sports team, a child walking for the first time, or the winning of a free manicure!

Now I am not a big sports fan, and baseball holds no personal enthusiastic appeal whatsoever. Winning a pair of tickets to a World Series wouldn’t even get a ‘yeah’ out of me. But that isn’t BAD…it’s just a personal choice. The wonderful thing about God is that ‘any’ and ‘every’ one CAN benefit and be filled with His fullness! And God’s fullness CAN be addictive!

A couple times a week, our Church stands out on a busy corner and holds ‘Jesus’ signs. There is one sign that I keep separate for Vic. It says, ‘HONK IF YOU LOVE JESUS.’ From the picture, it is easy to tell why I insist that he hold it. Because, and I have seen this many times myself, even a grumpy ol truck driver, when faced with Vic and his sign, can’t resist a ‘HONK!’ This week his wife Wanda showed up to help, and SHE didn’t let Jesus down either!

I’ve used this favorite Bible verse before because of its mystery and appeal. It just blows my heart and mind to read that I can PERSONALLY know God, and His Love for me, because of His son Jesus Christ. AND that He WANTS me to be filled with Him. Because when I am…it SHOWS!

What are YOU filled with? 

“I pray that you…grasp…the love of Christ, and know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” Ephesians 3:19

We were sitting on the sidewalk dining ‘en plein air.’ It was a BEAUTIFUL day as Katie and I enjoyed each other’s company. Soon, 2 folks were seated right beside us, and so close I could have almost eaten off THEIR table! There were only 2 of them. But the way the older woman was behaving, they were ALMOST a party of 3!

It was obvious that the women were mother and daughter. It didn’t take long to figure out the sad reality of their lives. The third party at their table was a dog, all dressed up and sitting in a stroller. While mom barked short sentences to her daughter, she kissed all over the dog and talked baby talk to it. At one point she held out a piece of ice for the dog to lick. It was all I could do to keep my mouth shut!

The daughter was in her early 20’s and wore rebellion in her demeanor from head to toe! Poorly dressed, tattooed up and grossly over weight, she may have SAT there…but it was obvious she wasn’t there because she WANTED to be. It was easy to see and hear why! The loving attention that SHOULD have gone to the daughter was being audaciously poured out upon her rival… A DOG!

It isn’t hard to see and know that there are a LOT of things wrong with the world. What SHOULD be plain to people, because God MADE it plain to people (Romans 1:9) is that we were created for a unique and special purpose. Our position in the chain of creation was to be the dominant representative of Almighty God in the world. Made by Him…FOR Him. With each one of us being filled with the person and Glory of our creator.

To ascribe human traits to that which is not human can be entertaining. Cartoons and movies do it all the time because it is profitable! But to assign those undeserved traits to an undeserved thing, instead of to another human being, ESPECIALLY those under our care, is not only sin…but idolatrous treason! And God WILL have something to say about it at judgment.

here is NOTHING more special, valuable or deserving of God’s love and Grace than those for whom it was created. To steal a human privilege and present it to an animal or thing SHOULD cause alarms to go off inside our hearts. Which is why God calls us into the blessedness of being FILLED with ALL of HIS fullness, so that we can go about the business of proclaiming that privilege to those for whom it is intended.

My dad used to leave everyone he talked to with the words, “You are Special!” He said it because, whether they knew it or not…they WERE! They are words human beings ALL need to hear…AND GRASP! Do YOU realize how special YOU are to God? He died proving it!

It All Depends On Me – A daily devotional for June 10th – From your friends at RayStedman.org

So [Sarai] said to Abram, The LORD has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my maidservant; perhaps I can build a family through her. Genesis 16:2a

Sarai’s difficulty was simply that all of her actions grew out of a basic philosophy, which, put very simply, says: God has told me what He wants; now the rest of it depends on me. This is the philosophy that led to all the heartache and sorrow that Abram and Sarai experienced.

You will recognize that this is a very common and widespread philosophy. We continually think and act this way in the church today. We say the reason God’s work is not going forward as it should is that we are not trying hard enough. The barrenness in our experience is due to the fact we have not really put ourselves into this. Let us hold some more committee meetings and get going. It all depends on us.

We find in our Bibles what we call the Great Commission: Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation (Mark 16:15b). This is the goal God wants us to fulfill, we say; now the rest is up to us. We must plan all the strategy, raise the money and determine where it will be spent, and convince candidates that they should go.

We hear our Lord say in the first chapter of Acts, You will be my witnesses (Acts 1: 8b), and every truly Christian heart says, All right, Lord, this is what you want me to do—I will do it. We never bother to find out how He wants it done or whether He has a program to carry it out. We start out in fleshly zeal and pass out tracts to everyone we meet or corner people at meetings. When it all fails, we recognize that something is wrong, and we wring our hands and quit.

Perhaps the worst thing of all, and certainly the matter before us in the story of Abram and Sarai, is that in reading Scripture, we learn we are supposed to be conformed to the image of Christ—so we set out to start trying to be like Jesus. We make up a list of rigid rules for acceptable behavior. We work our fingers to the bone and spend hour after hour in church neglecting our family, our own life, and everything else in order to do things for the Lord. We note how the community around approves our strenuous efforts and pats us on the back for our faithful spirit. But despite all the effort and sincerity, deep in our hearts we know there is nothing but barrenness. Or, if there is fruit, it is not the kind we wanted. It is forced and unnatural, sustained only by continual effort.

This was what happened to Sarai. Note the sacrifice, the seemliness, and the appearance of selflessness. The result is fruit all right, but it is Ishmael, not Isaac—the fruit of the flesh rather than of the Spirit. In some moment of illumination we ask, Why are we so barren? Where is the impact, the power? What has become of that living vitality we see in the early Christians? It is all a result of failing to learn God’s way as well as His will.

Life Application – Do we live and work in restful trust in the God who is totally adequate? Are we instead anxiously bending every effort to help Him accomplish what only He can do?

“Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” Colossians 3:2

A friend of mine is a snowbird! That means he and his wife come down to Florida in the winter, then go home when the snow and cold are gone. He had asked if I would occasionally check on his place for him. I was doing just that, when I noted the discrepancy in the numbers on his thermostat! The thermostat had been set to 78, but the thermometer was registering 87! It was clear to me that, HE had a PROBLEM!

As much as I didn’t want to, I called to give him the news and to ask what he wanted me to do. He had a 2^nd thingamabob above his thermostat, and he had me make an adjustment to it. When nothing happened, we both confirmed something was definitely wrong. He hung up to call his ‘AC Guy!’

In only a few moments he called me back to tell me that nothing was wrong after all! That 2^nd thingamabob was a controller to a dehumidifier. What we both learned was that the temperature was 87 degrees, but the humidity in his home was low. Apparently HEAT isn’t as much a problem as HUMIDITY! What WE saw as a potential problem…really wasn’t at all!

It was the same day that I read an old devotional on this very issue. Since I am not one who believes much in coincidence, I had to smile at God’s timing and what He was trying to show me. The story told of a woman who had changed her WHOLE LIFE from being grumpy and grouchy to a life of joy and peace. It all changed when she saw her life in Christ as a thermostat. NOT as a thermometer!

Thermometer’s can only tell the average temperature in a room. They cannot adjust it! A thermostat change sets actions in motion that will adjust the ROOM to the desired temperature! The concept, along with this Bible verse, helps me see that I do NOT have to be a slave to my surroundings. That with Jesus Christ I have the ability and power to set, adjust and even BE the change that makes MY life more comfortable.

I know this sounds like an elementary school lesson. It should be standard operating procedure for me by now. I am ashamed that it isn’t. But I AM GRATEFUL that on a very hot day, God enabled me to learn a MAJOR lesson of life, at the possible expense of someone else!!! AND that no matter what I may SEE…it really ISN’T as hot as seems!

What is YOUR mind set on?    

Faith Conquering Fear – A daily devotion for June 8th – From your friends at RayStedman.org

“Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.” Genesis 15:6

Paul refers to this mighty act of faith in Romans 4. He reminds us that Abraham believed God before he was circumcised, that is before he had any continual guarantee that God would do what He said. Paul infers from this that acceptance before God has nothing to do with circumcision, as the Jews were insisting. Paul says that when Abram heard God say, So shall your descendants be, that he looked up into the stars and saw their vastness and their multitude and relaxed—resting in faith upon the power of God.

If we focus our view on Abram’s faith, we are going to miss the point of this whole matter. There is a sense in which we make far too much of these men of old and their faith. What mighty men of faith, we say. How tremendous to believe God against all the evidence of the circumstances around. If we only had faith like that, we could do the things they did! Then we compare our feeble faith with theirs and try to work up a feeling of faith within us until we are turned into spiritual hypochondriacs, always going about taking our spiritual temperature and feeling our spiritual pulse. It is indeed true that when God saw Abram’s faith, it was reckoned to him for righteousness; but it is also true that when Abram saw God, he reckoned Him able to perform what He had promised, so he was able to rest his faith on God’s adequacy.

What was it that made Abram’s faith so strong? The answer is that he did not look at the difficulty so much as he looked at the One who had promised. His eye was not resting on the problems, but upon the Promiser. When he saw the greatness of God, the might and majesty displayed before him on that summer’s night, he said to himself, It makes no difference how I feel or what difficulties may be involved. The Creator of that multitude of stars is quite capable of giving me an equal number of descendants.

So we read the great sentence, He believed the Lord, and he credited it to him for righteousness. This does not mean that this was the first moment that Abram was reckoned righteous before God—that is, this is not the moment of his spiritual regeneration. The book of Hebrews makes clear that when he left Ur of the Chaldees, in response to God’s command, his obedient faith was also credited to him for righteousness. This incident under the stars is simply one instance out of many that illustrates the way in which God credits righteousness to the person who believes. Abram believed God about the promise of a coming son and was reckoned righteous by faith.

Today we are exhorted to believe God about the Son who has already come, and when we cease our own works and rest in helpless dependence upon that living Son, we too are counted righteous by faith. And that act of faith that first introduces us to the power of God exercised on our behalf must become an attitude of faith governing each moment of our life.

Father, teach me the folly of self-dependence and the glory of God-dependence. In every moment of fear, lead me to cast myself upon You, reckoning upon Your promise to be my shield and reward.

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” John 14:27

It’s later than normal. But so it was last night as well! Saturday afternoon at 3:15pm I noticed our air conditioner was not conditioning! As the temperature of my house rose, so did my discomfort. Having been here before, I did 2 things I do very well! I whined…and then I called Mike!

It’s not that I am not handy! I know how to fix a thing or 2. But, as I must confess, Air Conditioning repair has only 2 steps. Kick it first…then call Mike the AC guy!! Having moved past step one with no result, Mike assured me he would get out here ASAP! Which meant Monday! The AC store was closed until then and I needed a part that he didn’t have. After asking for reassurance that I was his favorite customer…Monday was locked in!

I can’t begin to tell you the peace I had through the whole process. Facing 2 nights without the comfort of AC was REALLY about making choices. We had offers and options from family and friends, but they came with a lot more hassle than just simply grunting it out! All of our stuff is here at the house and it just SEEMED easier to stay than go. After putting the ceiling fan on HIGH, we settled in for 2 peaceful 2 nights of sleep. KIND OF!

I tried several different things to make it easier. I took a bath first, then a sleeping pill. I kicked covers to the floor and even opened some windows to get some cooler air into the bedroom. All THAT did was make me muggy on top of hot! So I moved to the couch and finally, after about 2 hours, fell asleep! Having lost 2 hours, I am behind. But I am also fatter!

I know it sounds stupid, but I weighed myself this morning! I had a hunch that there MIGHT be a connection between my circumstances and my decisions. With all my grandkids here last weekend, I had purchased LOTS of JUNK FOOD! I discovered that as I got hotter I made a conscious decision to offset my discomfort with something tangible to fill the void! A whole 5 pounds worth!!! Now for the horrible confession!!! I pigged out on the junk food because, deep down, I felt like I DESERVED IT!

It’s a simple formula. Suffering produces self pity, which gives way to temptation. Now that the damage is done and Monday is here, the ball field where the world, the flesh and the devil played looks more like a junkyard! And, just like my Air Conditioning unit, ‘I’ need repaired. But I am blessed to have ANOTHER name on my speed dial. It’s time for my fat self to call Jesus!

Who’ya YOU gonna call? 

Are you rolling, moving, setting, positioned and engaged WITH GOD?  Or are you just getting by, hanging in there, waiting to see what happens or going with the flow?  This is a SERIOUS consideration.  God HATES ‘chillaxing!’  EVEN if it’s with HIM!  Sometimes His inactivity is there to get YOU moving!  And I have discovered, the longer you sit at the oasis sipping tea, the worse the situation can actually become.  Warriors war!

The High Cost Of Letting Down – A daily devotion for June 4th – From your friends at RayStedman.org

As soon as Abram is back in the land, there is the tent and the altar again. There is no tent or altar in Egypt. That is, there is no pilgrim character, no place of worship or cleansing, and no fellowship in Egypt. But even back in the land, Abram must return to the place where he made an altar at the first, and there Abram calls upon the name of the Lord. In other words, time spent in Egypt is wasted time! There was no growth in grace in that land. He had to come right back to where he was when he went down to Egypt. He had material gain to show for the time in Egypt, but nothing but barrenness and weakness spiritually.

Have you discovered how true this is? When you forsake the pathway of faith, when you refuse to walk in fellowship with God, when you depend upon the resources of the world to satisfy the empty hunger of the heart, these are wasted years! They may literally be years. I know of those who have lived almost all their Christian lives in Egypt, and all they have to show for it is a barren, wasted, empty, boring existence.

When Abram at last returned, what did he find? There is no mention of famine when he returns, but I think the famine is still going on. Remember, Abram was driven out of Egypt. He was not yet ready to leave it of his own choice, and this would indicate the famine was still raging in Canaan. Also, the quarrel that soon developed with Lot’s herdsmen over the pastureland suggests there was still a severe shortage of feed. But though the famine still continues, Abram is no longer troubled about it. Why not? Because, when he reached the land, the first thing he did was to call on the name of the Lord! This is what he should and could have done when the famine first struck.

The name of the Lord stands for all the resources of God. When we cash a check, we are calling on the name of the person who signed the check. When Abram calls on the name of the Lord, he is discovering the resources of God. He discovers that God is able to meet his needs despite the famine, the trial, or the circumstances. Just as Paul proclaims, My God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19). May I, like Abram, learn that in Egypt there is nothing but heartache and sorrow and danger for me and my loved ones, but in You is all I need to meet my deepest cry.

Life Application – In times of testing and trial it can be difficult to hang onto God. Have we discovered that calling on Him is far better than paying the high cost of other kinds of relief?

“Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come.” Mark 13:33

Well it’s official. We are now, ‘on watch!’ My daughter is the one who put us there, so I guess this is pretty serious stuff. With no turning back now!! Pregnant and due at the end of this month, she called to ask if we would keep our phones handy and be prepared to move immediately. When the call comes, Katie and I will watch our 2 grandsons during the delivery. But to clarify… we are on WATCH… NOT ‘On Duty!’

With 4 of our own children, this will be the 14^th time to be actively engaged in the miracle birth of family! We are SOOOO excited! This will be interesting and slightly different because my daughter Calah will be delivering a baby girl. They even named her…’Cypress.’ So with all things moving toward HER ’special delivery,’ we ARE alert and watchful. Because we WANT to be!

There is a difference, you know! A difference between being ‘on watch’ and being ‘on duty!’ Being ‘on watch’ is hopeful, expectant, ready and eager. It presumes preparation and activity based upon love and desire. ‘Duty,’ on the other hand, even SOUNDS forced. It is something you do because you HAVE to. Failure to ‘do one’s duty’ implies unwelcome penalties, which only adds fear to the motivation behind it.

The description of ‘Love,’ as outlined in 1 Corinthians 13, ends with a bold statement of fact…‘Love never fails!’ Of all the emotions that cause us to action or reaction, love is the one that is supreme. And like my baby granddaughter growing in the womb of my daughter, love only GROWS with time and care. Which makes me BOLDLY proclaim that I am MADLY in LOVE with the AUTHOR of LOVE! And I know WHY!

I find it interesting that Jesus didn’t tell His listeners HOW to watch. Just that they are required to! Some may watch out of fear or duty…but their motivation has the potential to fail as time drags on or resources run low. Not so with a ‘love’ watcher. Anticipation is it’s own fuel and end. Watching in love is reliable and expectant. And no cost is too high.

As the birth pains of the world grow more violent, vicious and loud, anticipation of SOMETHING is in the air. For most folks, fear is the accompanying emotion. But for folks like me, who are invested in love toward the expected arrival of our Savior, we don’t NEED to be TOLD to keep watch! It just comes naturally! AND with a smile.

What are YOU looking for?