“Sow righteousness for yourselves, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the LORD, until he comes and showers his righteousness on you.” Hosea 10:12

Everyone’s been talking about it for a couple months at least! “When is it going to rain? It is SOOO DRY! We REALLY NEED IT!” Well last night, at my house, we finally got it! The night before we got teased when a slight tinkling shower breezed by. But last night! BOOM! The sight, sound and smell of the freshly falling rain had been missed. The pool that had dropped 8” rose 1”. A welcome sight!

This morning, as I looked at the yard, the color had changed overnight! Drab, dead brown turned to bright, lush green as thirsty grass got a drink of life giving blessing. As the rain fell, it was hard to see out the window clearly, as semi-darkness and raindrops, beating against the window, blocked the sight of the promise of what was coming. But sunrise brought clarity and hope. Thank You Lord!

It is a blessing to be here… at 68! I have gone through those years of having to make a living working out in the hot Florida sun to support a family. It was HARD! I think and pray for those who find themselves there now… sweating and struggling to ‘make it.’ It was in THOSE times that I heard God’s call to ‘Sow righteousness, break up unplowed ground and seek the LORD ‘for myself!’ I did.

But living backwards doesn’t work. Looking back at the way things were doesn’t help to get me where I need to go. God promises showers of righteousness and blessing AFTER the seasons of suffering, difficulty and preparation. It’s just the way His system works. He offers us the blessing at the END! He HAS to. The reward of Faith can only come after faith has had it’s walk. With difficulty.

Soon enough, I know tongues will complain again. As hurricane season approaches, the wagging of the tongue will be, “When will it STOP!” From both views we see that this earth and the life we live is NOT how it was intended to be. Someday there WILL be perfection. THAT will be Heaven. Until then, He calls me to sow, plow, dig and sweat, looking forward to His future Reign of Righteousness!

Reading His Word, singing and praising are HIS tools to get us through. Left to ourselves, we usually find artificial substitutes, then complain and grumble! Sooo… how does YOUR field look? How do YOU see it?  

“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” Colossians 3:12

Forget yesterday… ‘cuz that is EXACTLY what I’d like to do! Yesterday was simply a bad day! From the very start I was whining… and for me, whining only tends to get worse. My foot ached as I headed to a Podiatrist with a case of Planter Fasciitis. I KNEW God was not to blame for my pain and I wasn’t expecting a miracle. Looking back on the day, I probably should have been.

It started when the Doctor prescribed a steroid shot in my heel. I’ve had LOTS of shots in my life. I’m a tough guy. Until then! I should have seen it coming when he asked the nurse to ‘hold down his leg.’ Not remembering that kind of pain before, I tried hard to hold-fast. As I groaned in agony, I did not feel the slightest compassion or kindness toward the Doctor, which made me feel worse as I left!

Later, at The Dollar Tree, I simply wanted to go in and get some Advil. It should have been a 58 second transaction. As I approached the cashier, a lady seemed to jump right in front of me and said, “it should be an even swap!” Huh??? She laid down a pile of about 25 items, right beside what looked like another pile of 25 items she was returning. ‘Patience’ was not among either pile!

Then, having decided to buy a pre-roasted chicken for dinner, Katie went to bring the car around, since my foot was still throbbing. An older lady was the acting cashier.  As she took care of the customer ahead of me, the pain and seconds co-mingled.  Impatiently I noted ‘speed’ was not her forte!  When it was my turn I warned her about the soggy bag, just as the chicken dropped out of the bottom. I groaned!

Have ya ever felt like the very next thing that should come from the hand of God was a slap to the head? I KNOW when I am not behaving or feeling like I should. Being a Follower of Jesus… AND as a called Minister of the Gospel, teaching classes on this stuff IS my forte! But following and LIVING it… isn’t always! Today’s verse tells me to ‘cloth myself’ with what Jesus hands me!’ See the list!!

Pain, sorrow, circumstances etc. only make bad things worse. I KNOW what Jesus wants and expects of me… but I can sense His ‘UGH!’ when He is trying to get me on His page. The GOOD news is that today is better! And for YOU… YOU don’t have to worry as much about being the target of Jesus’ glance of displeasure. I already hold the title for ‘slowest-learner!’ Thank you Jesus for YOUR Patience! And PLEASE Jesus… show me how to be, and act, JUST LIKE YOU!  

“I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ.” Philippians 3:8

WHAT A MESS! And the SMELL??? As much as I did NOT want to clean it up, no one ELSE was going to! So reluctantly, and minus enthusiasm, I got started. After all, it was my fault! I had set a garbage bag, filled with old refrigerator food leftovers, on the corner of the garage floor. Moving the lawn mower around in a hurry, I didn’t see the garbage bag lying there. Ever noticed how plastic bags and metal mowers don’t go well together?

Garbage day around here is Thursday and it was Friday morning. Which meant that I had missed setting a garbage bag out. Now that the mess and smell were dripping over the floor, the horribly stinky contents had to be SUPER wrapped… since it was going to lie around for almost another week until NEXT trash day next week!  What a nasty job.

Last night, listening to some good Christian music, I found myself in an uncomfortable conundrum. While listening to songs about the ideal Christian Life, something started to smell…REALLY bad! I was reminded by my conscience, or an ugly little demon, of some things I had recently said, done and felt.  I realized that the smell was coming from ME, and soon started to FEEL like what I was smelling! Garbage!

One of the hardest concepts to understand is the one concerning who I AM in Christ. Romans 8 says that, “There is NO condemnation to those who are in Christ.” But at the moment, I sure didn’t feel or SMELL that way! I FELT like a piece of rotting garbage. And it was time to take out the trash!

If the King continually points out to his son, the Prince, that he is a failure, he’ll soon have a failure for a Prince. When the father points out that the Prince is ROYAL and NOBLE by BIRTH, and that the title carries expectations and favor, he’ll see a Prince arise! The difference is the point of view. According to God, there is ONLY ONE view that matters. HIS!

I was feeling down, like a failure,  Stinky, smelly and disgusting!  But that was not God talking to me. I knew the ONLY way to eliminate that trash was to TAKE IT OUT! I had to replace it with what GOD says about me… because of what His Son did on MY behalf! But “I” HAD to be the one to remove and replace my stinking thinking!

I AM the Righteousness of God in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21). The ONLY person who can make me feel like garbage… is ME! I just felt like that surpassing knowledge was worth passing on! Are YOU focusing and living by the Words of The King?

“To be sure, sin was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not charged against anyone’s account where there is no law.” Romans 5:13

Katie asked me, “Can I plug in my Kindle, it’s only at 3%?” It was 10:15pm and we were preparing for bed. The sentence wasn’t new and, in fact, it’s a regular occurrence at my house. She has a Kindle, a phone and a watch that need charged regularly. The problem is, regularly ain’t regular. Liking to lay in bed and read before she goes to sleep, she was only going to get about 2% more at best.

The charger she uses for her Kindle just so happens to be the same kind I use for my phone. Often she can’t find where she left hers. Her request meant unplugging my phone in order to use MY charger to charger HER KINDLE. Which is not a big deal because, what’s mine is hers and what’s hers is mine! But the lack of charging thing she doesn’t regularly do affects me as well.

I am NOT publicly calling out my wonderful wife. Comparing the list of MY failures, weaknesses and bad propensities overshadows hers like an eclipse! I actually drive HER even MORE crazy with the STUFF I leave lying around. I asked her, “why don’t you keep your stuff charged? All you have to do is plug it in and you won’t be scrambling around all the time?” Then I looked at the counter!

Today’s verse is NOT a ‘little thang!’ Jesus knew that taking care of the penalty of my sin was going to be inconvenient. The BIG problem was not so much the offense… as it was in ‘The Law’ itself! ‘The Law’ not only set the tone for right and wrong, it established the penalty for being broken and DEMANDED PAYMENT. To do a proper job, Jesus had to do something with ‘The Law!’ And He did!

The 10 commandments are not all of them. Actually, there are 613 laws in the Old Testament! And we break them regularly! To do the ‘Work of Salvation,’ Jesus had to pay the penalty for my sin AND get the Law out of the way, which could nail me again later. He did that by nailing the Law to His cross as well as my sin! ‘Taking it out of the way!’ (See Colossians 2:14).

That fact of the Law’s death is something I fail to plug into often. Since I have been Born Again and Christ lives inside of me, I CANNOT be charged with sin any longer. My life is His, His life is mine, and The Law that COULD have separated us has been REMOVED and LOST! Kind of like my wife’s chargers! Now, I have the means to plug in to Christ as STAY Charged… If I so choose!

Staying ‘Charged’ is a ‘Charge’ Jesus gives to me. He WANTS me plugged into Him, at 100%, ALL THE TIME! His Charger is the Word… The Bible. And when I spend time reading, resting and meditating on His Word, He fills me. Just like He can fill you. So… when it comes to Jesus, at what percent are YOU? Oh.. And please don’t tell my wife about this ok?

“If the world hates you, understand that it hated Me first. If you were of the world, it would love you as its own. Instead, the world hates you, because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world.” John 15:18-19

Meet Bullwinkle… cuz that’s what the locals call him! He was hanging out near my cabin, at morning and dusk, in the same field he usually does. His daily life is like a routine. We saw him in the same field last year, the only difference was, there were several OTHER big bull (male) elk in the same field he occupied. They were further away… but they were there. This year, Bullwinkle was all alone.

One doesn’t have to look close at the picture to see that Bullwinkle is not your typical Bull Elk. See his antlers? Note that they do not stand up, but rather stretch out to the side. Did you notice that the 2 sides of his antlers do not match? That observation is the same one the cow (female) elk notice as well. What crowns his head turns them off and… he gives off no threat to other bulls.

Pondering these facts, alone myself one morning, I watched him graze and thought about the ‘why’ of his existence. Bullwinkle is a loner! And he’s a loner because of what crown’s the top of his head! At the basics of nature, the Elk world isn’t really all that different from man’s. ‘Sex appeal’ and ‘machismo’ are at the top of a social order where Bullwinkle doesn’t even rank! “So sad,” you say?

Today’s verse might give a clue as to why I don’t always fit in with the crowd. The words came out of Jesus’ mouth, so they are true. His words come with both a warning and a responsibility. Putting Jesus at the ‘Top’ of my life is going to affect my social popularity! But I am required to remember that Jesus has ‘chosen me’ to be on His Team, which is NOT the most popular one, BECAUSE of Him!

Walking and grazing with Jesus is MORE than O.K. with me.  Is it O.K. with you?  If so, like Bullwinkle, you can expect to be called out, isolated at times and even given special instructions (or missions) for The Master!

“Then we will no longer be infants, tossed about by the waves and carried around by every wind of teaching and by the clever cunning of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into Christ Himself.” Ephesians 4:14-15

In taking our vacation this year, Katie and I decided to take Granddaughter Gema along with us. Having only flown in a plane once before at the age of 2, she was looking forward to the trip. None of us, including her, anticipated a problem. We probably should have. You see, Gema is prone to getting car-sick and often suffers from motion sickness. But WE were going by Jet!

It all started as a slight case of nausea, as her mom drove us to the airport. But Gema was feeling a lot better by the time we boarded the plane. We sat her beside the window for the exciting view and she was all smiles as we lifted off into the air! That is until about 20 minutes later when the Captain announced what Gema didn’t want to hear. “It’s going to be a bumpy ride folks… ALL THE WAY!”

I felt SO bad for her, wishing there was something we could do to help. None of us thought car sickness would transfer to a PLANE! If she had known, she could have taken medicine that helps with that condition. But she had none, and neither did the flight attendants. Covering herself, she closed the window and leaned against it. I couldn’t resist a picture. She laughed after she saw it later.

As far as I can tell, just about EVERYONE EXPECTS that life should be smooth, fun, easy and comfortable. You don’t believe that? TRY Listen to comments of people traveling along life’s road. Or listen closely to yourself! I know I whine and moan a LOT when things get hard or absurd around me. That whining or complaining comes from an expectation of something BETTER I had anticipated.

Jesus pulls no punches. NO WHERE in the Bible does He promise a care free, fun, healthy, untroubled existence! NO WHERE! The sad part is, when things go wrong the tendency is to blame HIM for every nauseous moment, believing that He has the ability to fix anything… which is absolutely not true! His promise is to go THROUGH the waves of turbulence WITH us. NOT to eliminate them!

Gema learned more about her weaknesses and will be better prepared the next time. We will too. Learning and growing in His Truth with Him as our leader is EXACTLY what this bumpy ride of life is all about! Are YOU looking to Him for life’s travel directions? Or are you just winging it?

“Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd.” Mark 6:45

Sleeping well, FINALLY after a night of restlessness, I was awakened by a boom! Drifting off again, the boom came just a little louder! Then again, only longer. Initially thinking it was a dump-truck, my brain started paying attention to determine just what that sound was. Once concentration entered the game, sleep was no longer possible. So looking outside at the sunlight, I lay thinking.

It was only 6:45am and it’s summer. Katie doesn’t need to be up for school, so neither do it. But I was! The thought shot across my clouded mind, “Why not spend some time with me?” Recognizing the nudge as coming from the Master of the Universe, I really couldn’t come up with a reason to turn Him down. Besides, I was awake anyway. Walking to get coffee, I heard BOOOM!

My bedroom window faces east. It was sunny that direction. As I looked to the west, it was dark and cloudy. A much needed rain storm was brewing out there, so I smiled at the thought of a quiet rainy morning with Jesus. Opening my Bible to where I had left off, it fell on the same time I was awakened… Mark that 6:45! I had some questions last time I read, so I looked up the Greek words.

After feeding the 5000, Jesus IMMEDIATELY COMPELLED (made, forced, constrained) His disciples to get into a boat and head across the lake. I had questions, so I asked Him… ‘Why did you have to FORCE them to get into the boat?” When I heard another ‘boom,’ an answer hit me. Some of His disciples were fishermen. Maybe they SAW a storm brewing and didn’t want to go! ‘MINDBOMB!

That same Scripture states that Jesus remained behind and DISMISSED (sent away, released, set free) the crowd. When another boom struck, it was slightly quieter. I could tell the storm was NOT coming my direction, but I had been left with a great question and lesson. Would I prefer to be His disciple sent into a storm, or to be a part of the crowd released from under His guiding hand?

The foolish statement that ‘God is in control’ isn’t even backed up by Scripture! The disciples had already voluntarily placed their lives into the guiding hands of Jesus, giving Him the right to point to difficult times ,trials and troubles… even if only to teach them His Faithfulness. Those who came to get free food and miracles were sent away to become empty again. The lesson was clear.

The Allen’s, like the Watson’s, have faced a tremendously difficult storm, seeming only to lose… at least according to the world’s standards. Jesus didn’t cause Keri or Larry’s death, but He sure is using it to teach them, and all of us, a lesson of His Faithfulness in life’s most difficult of storms! And though often not fun, for ME, choosing to go where HE points is better than being dismissed by ‘The Master!’

What do YOU think?