“In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity.” 2 Corinthians 8:2

“O.K. class… put your books away!” meant only 1 thing… ‘pop quiz!’ When I was a kid in school, I HATED pop quizzes! Unannounced tests of how well I had been ‘paying attention’ in class were unwelcome because I usually hadn’t been! This would be proof! As both a student and teacher of God’s Word, I have learned that God LOVES to give pop quizzes! I received one last night!

Checking out of the cold grocery store proved to be a test, as the little ol lady in front of us moved slowly and chatted to the cashier about things in general. I was surprised to see cases of coke and a big turkey because they looked much too heavy for her to be lugging. That’s when I heard the call of The Master! Taking mental note, we finally got through. I found her standing beside her car, right next to mine.

At my age and in my vocation, tests don’t bother me as much as they used to. I learned to expect them… DAILY! “Excuse me ma’am, but may I help you load those things?” It wasn’t a big deal for me and KNEW it was a pop quiz when I heard her reply, “Oh God bless you!” Smiling at the verification that this was indeed a God quiz, I replied, “Oh He does ma’am!” He does!”

God’s pop quizzes have become a welcome sight to me. Receiving an ‘A’ on a test that involves time or money is not really a problem. God ‘tested’ those out of me long ago. But the hardest tests I face now deal with ATTITUDE! Admittedly, I carry a ‘C- average’ for those, and have for some time. It’s proof that Jesus owns ‘all my STUFF,’ but that ‘all my heart’ area needs work!

“Needs improvement’ after a test doesn’t discourage me because I KNOW that He loves me. If He didn’t He wouldn’t bother with the testing in the first place. Holding onto lessons learned the hard way gives me reason to keep learning, since living in blessing is MUCH more fun than living in fear or doubt. Right now Jesus and I seem to have a different opinion on the definition of ‘FUN!’

When the store lady over-praised me for helping I got embarrassed. “I am a pastor,” I said, crediting God. “Do YOU go to Church anywhere?” Having passed MY test, I inwardly smiled that the tables had turned. Now it was HER time for a quiz! Under conviction, I watched HER squirm to the negative, then invited her to MY church remembering, it’s GOD’s job to grade the quiz!

In what areas of life is God testing YOU? How are you doing in your studies? What grade would you give yourself? What grade would HE give you? Are you generously and joyfully learning? Are you growing in the hard areas? Because He loves you and wants a witness, the tests will keep coming!

“In the fourth generation your descendants will return here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its limit.” Genesis 15:16

“Oh my God,” was all I could think or say! Katie is always the one interested in watching the early returns from any election, so the TV was on and the human commentary was trying hard to impress! As I listened I could not put a word to my feelings. Mad? Sad? Confused? Disappointed? They were ALL there pointing to the basic Biblical principle, ‘we reap what we sow!’ And ‘Harvest’ is coming!

Living in America for 67 years, I have seen it at its best and worst. Being a democracy, both of those adjectives bear fruit ONLY after the nation has voted to take it into a certain direction. The PEOPLE have a say, and the Ship of State steers in the direction of the majority. It was not hard, even in the early results, to determine that America is headed in a very precarious and dangerous direction!

The story of Abram in Genesis 15 has always intrigued me. There is far more to it than can be covered here, but the ‘sin of the Amortites’ is notable because THEIR sin, the collective wrongs of that nation, were the same ones that America has been dabbling in for far too long. Sin breeds sin, and as the children of evil increase and grow, evil simply becomes the norm. The Godly diminishes.

The Amorite people worshiped the moon (satan and created things) as their God. Sacrificing infants to that god became standard practice. Sexual deviancy increased because, lust fulfilled only leads to the need for something bigger and more deviant to satisfy. With the environment being held like a god, demands for abortion ‘rights,’ along with the LGBTQ+ agenda, America is looking FAR too Amorite like!

“The difficulty in life is the choice,” is one of my favorite sayings. That phrase, coined by Irish novelist George Moore around 1900, has proven itself true over and over again in my life, as well in the collective life of both Church and State. Bad choices reap bad results, which can lead to even worse outcomes so that the fate of the chooser(s) can almost become predictable! That is… almost!

I am a Child of God by Faith in Christ Jesus. He called me… I answered. That makes me special! YOU TOO, if you have chosen to follow His call. What that means is, I am NOT to be shaken by what I SEE. But instead, I am called to represent and speak about the one I KNOW! That makes ME a Light meant to shine out in the darkness. And as darkness grows, God expects my light to only grow brighter!

Are YOU a being light, shining brightly in an ever darkening world? If so, why would or should darkness scare you?   SHINE ON you LIGHT BEING you!

“…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” Romans 3:23-24

“AHHHH!” I heard the scream from the other room and IMMEDIATELY knew the cause. Katie had walked into the other bathroom, only to be met by a scene that ALWAYS causes this reaction. I also knew what was coming next, “Did you see this?” Snickering to myself I replied, “Yea… but I knew it wasn’t going anywhere.” And then the natural, “is it dead?” So I said, “I don’t know… touch it!”

Living in Florida does have some disadvantages, one being Palmetto Bugs. If you have a house here, you WILL see an occasional Palmetto Bug. I use a spray that insures that if they walk over it, they will eventually die… just not right away! If you grab at them in the early stage of their ‘going on to eternity’ phase, they will ‘will’ themselves to RUN! I choose to just leave them alone for a while.

Writing carries bugs of it’s own. Yesterday’s ‘Words of the Day’ invoked 2 corrections for errors I had made. 1 was theological and 1 was grammatical. THANKFULLY I appreciate having friends who will tell me when I make a mistake so I can learn from them. I’d rather be told my errors than walk around feeling dumb and totally clueless. Some people take correction personal, get mad and cry ‘UH-AH!’

No one needs to tell me I am a dirt-bag and a pig. I already know! In fact, the condition was so apparent that even after receiving the FREE GIFT GIFT God offered me through His Son Jesus Christ, it often remains my default position. FEELING bad for DOING bad makes me THINK I AM bad. And like my bride’s reaction to a ‘not yet dead’ bug, God hates it! HE says, “K.C.’s dead! You are my SON!”

Before starting this writing, I received an email from someone I haven’t heard from in a very long time. It was to the point…”take me off your email list, I am not interested.” I must admit a slight tinge of hurt from K.C. the pig, but after quickly swatting it to death, all I could feel was sorrow. Not from a rejected writer, but because I know this person is in VERY GREAT NEED of KNOWING God’s Grace.

I have the choice to believe what I want to believe. Agreeing with today’s scripture is not hard. But neither is wallowing in it. NOT going on to read and know how God sees me now is the biggest crime in the history of crimes. When I received Christ’s call to “Come to me,” I had to take the responsibility of learning to see myself as GOD sees me. Not dead in sin, but alive in Christ!

How do YOU see You? Have you been touched by the Master’s hand and are you ‘living proof’ of His Life?

“Jesus stood and said in a loud voice,’Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink.'” John 7:37

“Gotcha!” After seeing the anole about to scoot under the couch, I planned and timed my movement quickly! Successfully grabbing the critter, I then opened the front door and threw it out into the yard… out into an environment where it was ‘created to survive. Remembering the tragic event of that morning, the thought hit, “Oh how I wish it was that easy with people!

Leaving the hospital with another member of our flock, I was told that the lady, wearing the mask, and socially distancing, was going to go down the elevator ALONE since, “she was special.” When I asked, “and what makes you special,” her response, “I have cancer,” didn’t really do anything to endear me to her. I responded, “that’s interesting because so do I!” It went downhill from there!

Using standard powers of observation, it was obvious she was older than me. Her hair was short, not because it was cut that way, but because of either chemo or radiation. She was thin. The mask she wore indicated she truly believed wearing it would buy her more time, indicating to me that she thought life was precious. So I felt qualified when I asked her, “Do you know my Jesus?”

The 2 creatures I encountered in 1 day were similar in many ways. Both were living, yet both were dying as well. Similarly, both had an encounter with me, which presented each of them with a chance and a choice. Unfortunately, using information BOTH believed to be true, they chose to simply flee from my presence. Fortunately for the anole, MY will was able to overpower his!

Lizard-like anoles are dumb creatures having neither a soul, nor the ability to reason. Since the Garden of Eden, they have been programmed to flee from people who were created in God’s image WITH a reasoning soul. Not knowing any better, the anole did what it was programmed to do. I don’t know WHY I felt bad for the little guy, but I didn’t want to see it die of thirst, so I set it free.

Maybe a secret as to the failure to impress the dying lady lies in that last sentence. 1 sentence that sounds SO noble and caring, yet contains the word “I” in it 4 times! When left to itself, free will can get SO complicated. The ‘I’ at the Hospital, had already elevated herself to the position of her own God, and sensed danger when the name of Jesus was mentioned. And rightly so! He is dangerous!

The Anole had no choice in the matter of it’s salvation. The lady, by her own choice, MAY not be so lucky. Instead of choosing eternal life, she has already chosen eternal death. My feeling bad has nothing to do with her salvation, except that it caused me to speak life to her. Maybe that will give her pause to consider just how thirsty for life she really is. But first, she’ll have to take off the mask!

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6

“We finally got our new doors!” That’s what the texted message said. It came along with this picture. I was out of town at the time, so I was sent the important news, for which our church  has been waiting months! The news also included some very personal information for me alone. Since I am the preacher, and since I am at the Church more than anyone else, I needed a key to get in!

Keys are important because they are necessary to enter or utilize something that normally would be locked or prohibited from use by the general population. When Katie got her new car we received 2 sets of special electronic keys. I say special because, even though I don’t have to insert it into a keyhole, ‘The Key’ MUST be present for the smart electronics to work and allow passage.

Recently I went to the gym and saw a man with a shirt that had Hemingway’s comment, “There is no hunting like the hunting of man.” Assuming he was military I just couldn’t resist the door to see if it might open! “So… you’ve hunted men? That’s incredible because I’M a man-hunter too!” He looked at me like I was crazy and I said, “I hunt and fish for men for Jesus! Do you know Him?”

The biggest and baddest door that EVERY person on earth faces is the door of death. Since death has a 100% success rate and EVERYBODY dies, you’d think that people would be clamoring to find the key to beating it. But being in the Jesus business, I have found that these days, most folks don’t even consider the options. Even though man’s Creator made the ‘The Key’ free to ALL!

‘I AM’ is God’s name. Jesus said it, and then added that if ANYONE wants ‘The Way’ to beat death, all they have to do is come to HIM! And Truth? He made it clear that ‘Truth’ ain’t a THING… but HIM! And Life is what is freely offered as a benefit HERE as well as THERE in Heaven. The KEY to all life is simply and easily offered and acquired… by Jesus Christ!

Do YOU know Him? Are YOU spreading ‘The Good News’ about the Key!

“My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.” John 5:17

“Ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!” That had been my attitudinal spirit for the last week since back from a beautiful, fall mountain vacation. I hadn’t even hit the plane when difficult news hit my cell phone. It was time to get to work, which required hitting the ground RUNNING! So being used to it, that is what I did. Little did I realize that, while I knew what I was doing, I got started a little before Jesus!

In my early years, I made my living based upon what I did. In the factory, I worked as a spot-welder and got paid based upon how many pieces I spot-welded together. It was easy to compute. 1, 2, 3 … times the amount paid per piece equaled PAYCHECK! I was fast and good at it. When commission only sales called, I could take my total sales, times it by 10% and PAYCHECK! Not now!

This week had left me in a funk and I didn’t really know why. I told Katie, I needed some inspiration, something new to give me a boost! My ‘helpmate’ was kind and sent me an email to encourage me. But it didn’t work! I was called to do a job and I was doing it by rote, operating on past experience, knowledge and power to get this new need filled. Then I hit empty! All by myself!

Being too old to panic, my spirit grabbed my surfboard as I hit the usual sources for inspiration and power. Prayer… nada! Christian videos… zip! Devotionals… nope! Bible reading…nothin’! Having been here before as well, all I could do was snicker! Obviously the problem was ME… and Jesus was going to use the opportunity to show me something. He can be such a comedian!

My last ditch effort was to go into my semi-darkened library and start thumbing through books. When my finger fell on an old one that used to be my Father’s, one I had read several times in the past, my spirit received a little jolt! I dropped the other 2 books from my hands, sat down and got reacquainted with God’s method. Shaking my head I realized… I had started working without Him!

God and I are pretty tight, but every once in a while I get too used to Him! When that happens, I make assumptions, run ahead and get started before my heavenly Daddy says ‘go!’ The funny part is that sometimes He just lets me… GO! When I fall down I sometimes turn around and sense Him laughing since, ME trying to play and work like God is simply… funny! I didn’t need new… but old!

Are YOU running ahead of God with plans and power of your own? If so, how’s that working for you? Can you find your way back to God and simply reconnect before you do anything?

“Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.” John 12:26

“HOLY….!” was my thought as I walked into the dimly lit hospital room. Because of so many tubes in the way, I could not recognize the person in the bed. But I knew her and thanked God she was out cold! Not wanting to disturb her, I prayed silently, then walked out of the wing, only to run into her husband on his way in to see her for the first time since her surgery. Neither of us were prepared!

When he saw her, I immediately saw the depth of his love for his bride. I held onto him as the tears came. When he touched her, she started to move… which was NOT supposed to happen! Subconsciously realizing her hands were bound, she struggled, bringing in the nurse who said, “she has enough drugs in her to knock out a horse!” The next 2 hours then became a battle of wills!

5 entities, all symbols of authority and desire, occupied the room. Nurses, husband, wife, Jesus Christ and satan… and of them had an agenda! It was readily apparent Jesus was the most calm one in that space. As she fought to reach reality, the staff followed rules, satan emitted fear and her husband and I spoke words to reassure and calm her down. What happened next… was miraculous!

The husband had just lost his mother to cancer less than 24 hours before. With 2 little boys to care for, he did! As she slowly came into reality, she motioned and her husband understood. Holding her phone while she frantically pushed buttons, she was scrolling through dozens of Christian songs for one in particular to help her. Hitting ‘play,’ we heard, “Fear is a Liar,” and she began to calm down.

After the breathing tube was removed and her hands released, we held hands and prayed. Then it was my turn to tear up because I had again been blessed to see the mighty power of Jesus Christ as He alone…prevailed. I actually felt like I was stealing…because I was! 18 months ago, this couple didn’t even KNOW Jesus Christ! Now they, through this, were living proof that Jesus is… ‘The Savior!’

When the husband spoke, principalities, powers and dark kingdom forces recoiled at his simple words. “If I didn’t have Jesus, I’d go crazy right now!” Last night, in a text, after I asked her how SHE was doing, she texted, “I’m a pincushion in the Hospital with a colostomy bag, a 10” incision, missing appendix and a piece of my colon, yet on the other hand, I’VE GOT JESUS SO I AM DOING GREAT!”

No sermon on earth can top an experience like that! Because seeing IS Believing!

Are YOU honored to have Jesus Christ as YOUR calming Savior and Lord? Do you Follow, Serve and Show Him to the world?

“..my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” 1 Corinthians 15:58

“Are you ready?” It was the question the “Technologist” asked me. Technically speaking, he was an ‘MRI Technologist’ who was about to send me into an MRI scanner; a round tube that many find claustrophobic. Guessing he was trying to determine if he was going to have any problems with ME, I asked HIM a question. “Are you a Jesus guy?” He responded, “Nope, and I’m not interested!”

Since he was about to probe me, I felt compelled to do the same to him, “why aren’t you a believer in Jesus Christ?” “I don’t believe in religion,” he said. I replied, “then what about physics? You want to talk physics… because physics PROVE God exists!” “No,” he said. “I don’t want to talk about it!” And with that, he went into the other room and sent me into the tube! I prayed, “Well Lord, I tried!”

Technology is amazing! After a blood test over a year ago, certain chemicals indicated a need for more info by an MRI. The MRI used technology to send radio waves into my body to re-align the hydrogen atoms inside me. As hydrogen atoms return to their usual alignment, they emitted different amounts of energy. The scanner captured and created a picture using that information.

The Bible verse today clearly gives me the technical specifications for what ‘I’ am supposed to do with my life in Christ. I am called to be a scanner and emitter of His Word, sent out into the world, to do HIS work. The image I present is meant to match His! The information gathered in that work is meant, like an MRI, to form a picture of the soul of the person receiving the probe by The Holy Spirit!

Doing God’s work does not always go well! Sometimes the receiver is defective beyond repair. Other times, the transmitter (me) is affected, whereby the signal may not be sent or made clear. The world, the flesh and the devil are infamous for trying to foul out and distort the message and messenger! But the technical facts NEVER change! They, like the mission of Christ in the world, ALWAYS work.

An MRI is NOT a HEALING machine. It is a picture taking technical wonder. I STILL must go to a Doctor, who will scan the images for a diagnosis and treatment. It is MY responsibility to follow HIS instructions if I want to stay healthy. But it’s MY choice. Just like it is MY choice to stand firm and do the work of The Lord, or to be moved in another direction. There WILL be powers trying to move me!

Are you bearing the Image of the Savior and doing His work… no matter what you see or experience? THAT is why you are here!

“…just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we bear the image of the heavenly man.” 1 Corinthians 15:49

Today, many in the world celebrate Halloween. A time of innocent fun as children of all ages dress up in costumes and go door to door seeking treats. Providing threats of ‘tricks’ if treats are not provided have been gone for decades. But the Harvest Festival still exists, though brewed in controversy. Looking into the mystery of death has been placed ‘off limits,’ and sort of made safe!

The ancient Irish festival of Samhain (pronounced saw-when or sowin) is rarely practiced because of its mystical properties. Instead, harmless fun and parties are proposed to fill in the gap. It seems something keeps calling people to this kind of special day of rememberance. And I sometimes wonder that we may have gone a little too far in sweeping it under the rug! Because ‘death’ is still very much alive!

I have a Christian brother who is, right now, facing the untimely death of his mother. She is still young, so statements like, ‘this isn’t supposed to happen’ and ‘life isn’t fair’ become fair game… along with the biggest question from the lips of men, “Why God?” They are mortal attempts at making an extremely difficult situation, somehow a little more bearable. They always fail.

My friend is in a hole! Having been there several times myself, I have attempted the impossible. Which is to say or do something to try and make his situation a little better than it really is. Pitifully impossible is a better description. Looking again at death actually makes me relive ‘my’ times in the hole. And while never cause for celebration, it provides a needy reminder for my soul.

Because I am a Believer in Jesus Christ, sin and death were the very first subjects I had to learn to become a Christian. The world doesn’t like to talk about such subjects, but God insists! AS an unsaved human, I’d more like to give God a fun slap on the back and say,”don’t take it so serious, I was only kidding!” I forget that sin is serious business, and it’s cost is even more serious. Until!

For all humans, the wage of sin is death (Romans 6:23). But the mystery of ‘Life’ is even bigger. These mortal weak and temporary bodies, when given into the nail-pierced hands of Jesus Christ, WILL bear the image of the Heavenly! From dirt to Glory! And while death is uncomfortable to talk about, keeping quiet about it is a dirty trick never meant to be covered up by a mask.

Will YOU share the real ‘treat’ of eternal life with someone who is lost?