“Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 18:3

“In the Name of The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit.” I’ve Baptized plenty of people in my day, and even had the privilege of doing so in the River Jordan, at the very spot they say Jesus was Baptized. But this week was absolutely the best experience I have ever had. The Church was blessed with their extended family, as two children shouted out, “WE BELONG TO JESUS!”

It started when their parents told me their kids had specifically asked if THEY could be Baptized, saying “we’re ready and want to be.” Katie and I met with the whole family to ask and answer questions. We wanted to make sure they both knew ‘exactly’ what they were really asking for. There was NO hesitation! They knew EXACTLY what Baptism meant and were MORE than eager.

After the service, we were asked to join the family at a local restaurant. Walking in, the table that was prepared stretched the entire length of the restaurant! Grandparents, Uncles, friends and Church families gathered around with their kids, as we had a celebration Sunday Dinner. Someone counted 27 people! It truly was a picture of what we can expect, and WILL experience, in Heaven!

Looking down the table at each participant, I knew that every person there had made a decision for Jesus Christ. That made Jesus the CENTER point of the extended table. I thought, “it just can’t get better than this!” Then it did! Waiting for the bills, none came! Dad had paid the full price! When I asked, “why,” he said, “Because the money’s not mine anyway!” I saw where the kids got their Faith.

Are YOU going to be joining Jesus’ Heavenly Banquet? Do YOU have the heart of a little child? Have YOU placed your Faith in the one who paid for your entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven? It isn’t hard. Even little kids can do it and YOU are invited!!

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5–6

Not having thought, I had a thought, but didn’t take the time to think about it! Later, it finally caught up to me. We did something last night we hadn’t done in quite a long time. We were invited to go out for Karaoke. I can’t even REMEMBER the last time we did that, but it’s been over a year at least. It was fun to go back and enjoy the company. Unfortunately I did NOT leave a good impression.

We met our friends, and then I went up to get something for us to drink. There were no waitresses there, so self-serve was the way it worked. We watched, talked, laughed, sang and commented. After a while, we got up to leave, saying our goodbyes to everyone. Almost! It wasn’t until we got home that a couple thoughts shot across my brain. Things I SHOULD have remembered… but didn’t!

There are rules of etiquette for almost every situation. Things everyone learns over time, then either follow… or don’t. NOT following or doing what is expected, gets judged by the rules of the room and the people who are there. It’s only right and fair. Later last night, I remembered that I had left our glasses on the table, walked out in the middle of a singer, and didn’t say goodbye to one of our party!

Currently, I am in a state of feeling bad because, even though it’s been a while since I was there, I’m SUPPOSED to remember and DO what is right. That is the ‘job’ that God expects from me. This morning Katie sent a devotional that nailed that principle down when the writer said, “God is on The Throne. YOU are on ASSIGNMENT!” Part of my job is to leave a good and godly witness for my boss!

I have friends and loved ones who remind me of my assignment, and I SO appreciate them. Today, there are people I can apologize to. But there are people I don’t know, who will remember me as a rude preacher who broke the rules. Thankfully, today is another day. And I have a COUPLE assignments. 1. Remember and do what’s right. And 2. Go make new impressions for Jesus!

Now the question is, what do you need to do today to fulfill the assignment God’s given you? Because God is STILL on the Throne, and YOU, like me, are STILL on assignment!

“…but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me.” Romans 7:23

“Pssst! Hey! Who’s THAT guy?” Turning around in my booth at restaurant where I was having lunch with my friend, an Orthodox Priest, a man kept peppering me with questions. “Where’s his Church? What kind is it?” ‘Father,’ as everyone calls him, had just gotten up to use the Men’s Room. The man’s interest piqued, I asked HIM, “where do YOU go to Church? “I DON’T!” was his reply.

My friend looks like a Jesus superhero, standing out in a crowd, with his black frock and big, shiny, gold cross swinging through the crowd. When I told the man I might be able to help, since I was a pastor as well, he looked at me like I was a 7 year old dressed in a Batman costume at Halloween! But I pressed on. “Then what do YOU believe I asked?” He barked, “I am an INTELLECTUAL!”

It started to get really good. When he told me he was a former college professor with a Masters degree, I asked him what he thought would happen when he died. “Nothin’,” he replied. “So you think you’ll just become worm food?” He began explaining his faith in science, stating that it was impossible to know, since “no one had ever died and come back to life!” “What about Jesus,” I asked?

Right then, his Lordship, the Father, returned from the restroom and, though he had no idea of the impression he was making, stood at the edge of the table looking down at the questioner. When I filled him in on the conversation, Father joined us from his lofty position! The man sputtered non-intellectual gibberish. But with a moral compass broken long ago, he couldn’t understand. Father invited him to Church.

We are ALL born with today’s Bible Verse SCREAMING at us from within. WE KNOW what is right and wrong intuitively, because God has branded that onto our very souls. It takes willful force to un-believe it. As Father and I played good preacher – bad preacher, the ‘intellectual’s science’ was crumbling all around him. Saying “this is no use, I’m leaving,” I waited outside. In 2 minutes Father came out with a grin, “Ya know, that guy just might show up in my church!” I refuse to buy a frock!

YOU KNOW, deep inside, what is good and evil. And YOU KNOW, deep inside, if what you are doing and thinking is deserving of a smile or a frown from Jesus. Are YOU grateful to be His?

“Let no one deceive you by any means.” 2 Thessalonians 2:3

I’d been scammed! But the lady on the phone had been SO very nice! We had airline tickets and a plan to take a trip in October. Things happen, and we decided to adjust the timing. Looking up the airline I saw the 800 # and the caption, ‘answer within 5 minutes!’ The LAST time I had to deal with them, I was on the phone for over 45! So I hit dial.. and ‘nice lady’ introduced herself!

I didn’t have my glasses on. The large letters were readable. The lady had access to the airline’s information and even sent me changes in the schedule from the airline’s website. When she told me the cost to change the flights, I almost fainted! Same trip… 3 less days… $900 MORE! Having been a salesman most of my career, I should have known when she asked, “How much you wanna spend?”

It all went well, or so it seemed, until I went to dinner and the machine declined my card! But my trust in ‘nice lady,’ especially after 35 minutes on the phone with her, never wavered. After a text message, I looked up my credit card account and saw charges made by a company I didn’t know. I called… and yes… I was in the process of being scammed!! My evening was spent on the phone!

I feel stupid and embarrassed. My wife hadn’t done a thing, but because it’s her account too, she’s involved. So I am still working on trying to fix this situation with as little loss as possible. But there WILL be loss. And all because I really wasn’t paying CLOSE attention to what I was doing. I KNEW better, I just didn’t ACT like I did! A common problem among humans who happen to be sinners.

Pain is a pain. Regret is the same. But I am a child of God by faith in Christ Jesus. That does NOT guarantee me ANY kind of special treatment on this earth. All kinds of bad stuff happens to me just the same. Sometimes, even MORE. But as I shared with a fellow believer yesterday, EVERYTHING we go through can be, and IS used by God to teach and benefit us down the road. Even pain and regret.

So I’m in ‘Scam Class 101’ today. And I’m paying attention to make sure I pay attention the NEXT time something like this comes up. God tells us to learn, act, be careful and to follow Him. He gives us His Word, Spirit and fellow Believers to learn from. But He does NOT guarantee I will not be scarred. In fact… scars always come along with being His Warrior!

Have YOU been scarred or scammed? Are you learning and leaning on The Master? Because there’s another scar or scam coming… right around the corner! You’ve just been warned! 

“‘Because he loves me,’ says the Lord, ‘I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.'” Psalm 91:14

“They’re BAAAAAA-AAACK!!” The rats that is. But honestly, having grown up with an ex-exterminator, I know for a fact that they were never REALLLY gone! The few I had caught before may have put a dent in their numbers, but in reality, it was a very small dent! And before anyone gets all freaked out, disgusted or judgy… I’ll remind you of a fact… they’re around YOUR house too!

The old saying ‘out of sight, out of mind’ works wonders for our mental security. When our children had nightmares over things ‘out there,’ we got creative and protective in our wisdom. For whatever fear they had, we came up an answer to combat them, responding to their fears with our own strength. When my little daughter worried about burglars, I showed her my bat! She slept well!

Rats are out there, in the dark, all the time! They are smart and cunning. I set some traps out and caught 3 right away. Since then, when I check the traps, I find the traps have been ‘set off,’ with no rat to be found. They are sneaky, and somehow LEARN to be even sneakier! I swear they’re a by-product of satan. No matter how hard I try in my faith, satan tries even harder to trap me! It’s tiring!

I found myself reading the temptation of Christ this morning, landing in Psalm 91. When satan came to Jesus, he quoted from this Psalm, but left part of it out as bait to trap Jesus. But Jesus is no rat! He saw the trap and avoided it. But the entire Psalm is an EASY trap for ANYONE who loves God. Because it promises a LOT of things (like rescues) that honestly, we don’t always experience!

The devil has learned my weaknesses and knows where I am vulnerable. He LOVES it when I puff out my chest and claim my invincibility ‘in the Name of Jesus.’ When rescue, from pain, sorrow, hurt or fear doesn’t come… satan makes sure to rub this verse, and others like it, into my heart to try to get me to feel abandoned. Sadly and much of the time, it works. Trapping me again in defeat or despair.

But God! The verse satan left out was “He will guard you in all your ways.” Seems straightforward to me! Except that MY ways are NOT ALWAYS God’s ways. Satan knew that Jesus knew that… and omitted it. But do YOU know it? Because if we are walking in GOD’S ways… ANYTHING that happens HERE, will NEVER keep us from His rescue to THERE!

Mighty, wearied, warrior… have YOU been baited or are you feeling trapped? Don’t stay in the darkness or take the bait! Why not read Psalm 91

“They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” Acts 2:42

This last weekend proved to be quite interesting as Katie and I had several opportunities to get together with people – over food. There’s nothing better that can break barriers and provide opportunities to share lives with one another, than fellow-shipping over vittles! Everyday this weekend I was able to spend time with different people over food, but the results were all the same.

Last night we got to see some old friends that we hadn’t seen in over a year. Kevin and I had worked together for decades. But now that we don’t, chances to talk have to be cut out and planned for. When we got together last night with our wives, conversation flowed and questions rolled on. “How are your kids? What are they doing? How old are they now? What and how are YOU doing?”

Dinner lasted for about an hour and a half. We spent another half hour out in the parking lot continuing discussions about life, age, health and prayer concerns for other people we mutually know. But it really didn’t strike me until this morning, when thinking about having dinner, I realized we actually had Church! All of us love Jesus first, and conversation flowed around Him over dinner!

We may all be traveling this thing called life, but we are NOT all traveling it TOGETHER. There are lots of reasons and purposes for all kinds of people living out there. Most are selfish. But like ships passing in the wind, we can see each other without really knowing or appreciating each other. But add Captain Jesus to the mix and life courses will fall in line as we sail toward a common horizon.

It is a fact that 2 ships that are moving parallel to each other will have a tendency to come closer together! I didn’t know that until this morning, therefore don’t take credit for the information. But interest had me looking up the reason that happens. A couple people said it was ‘The Bernoulli effect.’ Others stated it was the ‘Coriolis Effect!’ I’ll have to ask my sons, but I know it is true!

When fellow Christians get together and move together in the same direction, especially when food is involved, they tend to become closer together! And while I can’t be certain of the Science, I CAN tell you for a FACT that in reality, it is the Jesus Principle! And bumps along the way are only natural. Are YOU in a fellowship relationship with Jesus and His People?  

“He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.'” Mark 16:15

“Oh no,” I thought! “I must warn my daughter!” That was the immediate reaction when I saw the story on my phone last night of not one, but TWO shark attacks at New Smyrna Beach, Florida this last week. My daughter and her family, with 3 little grandkids, live there and go to that beach regularly. As I thought about warning her, a BIGGER concern swept across my brain. So I didn’t!

The news feed on my phone gives me just enough info to keep me ‘kind-of’ in the know. At the bottom of the page to this shark-bite story, I saw ANOTHER picture with the headline, “Bison Pins Man To The Ground In Yellowstone National Park!” It made me think… about news, information and sharing! Isn’t it funny that my attention was drawn more toward attacks from wildlife than politics!?

Having been a Florida guy most of my life, I’ve been to the beach HUNDREDS of times! I’ve never been bitten by a shark. I don’t know anyone who has, either! I’ve come within 6’ of a shark while scuba diving, just waved hi, and got no bite. Having never been to Yellowstone, My daughter and her family have, and they came home ‘unpinned by a Bison.’ But yesterday’s story was… interesting!

Bad news travels fast! It seems the more sensational the story the faster it travels. Pictures give stories life, and get the victims… empathy. But I did NOT want to scare my daughter. To do so would keep her kids out of the ocean FOREVER! Not wanting to promote fear, I said nothing. I don’t need to warn because my son in law is VERY smart! He’s been surfing those waters all his life! He knows!

Today I find that sensational news sharing is done to make profit. The shark story said “more shark attacks happen when more people are in the water!” DUH! The Bison pin was due to a dude wanting to get up, too close, for a sensational picture! We can FEEL the teeth and horns… and we squirm! Now my thoughts. How involved am I in spreading the worst, and best, news in the world?

My daughter is too busy with kids to read these words. And while Charles is the one who posts them online, he’s smart enough to not pass on ‘ridiculous fear’ as ‘important information.’ But there IS REAL IMPORTANT information that NEEDS to be passed on. And Jesus HAS given us the command in today’s Bible verse. Are YOU involved in promoting His-Story of guaranteed rescue from death?

When it comes to sharing the Gospel… it’s O.K. to be sensational at it!

“But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.” Philippians 3:20

“OUWWWWCH!!! THAT HURTS!” Having just purchased a blood pressure contraption, Katie was at her first attempt to try to use it. I figured there was no reason for me to get involved, though I could see she was getting frustrated. The first time she tried it she did something wrong and it squeezed her arm so hard she winced in pain! I hit the ‘Stop’ button and she, with a bruised arm, survived!!

For most people, blood pressure is a non-issue. Having the need for equipment to monitor blood pressure can mostly be found in the drawers of the elderly. Katie had completed a required physical for Medicare and found that she, like her genes could predict, has high blood pressure and needs to monitor it. I told her, “But you’re only getting old on the inside honey!” She was not amused!

After learning HOW to use the contraption, it was her job to monitor and record her daily readings. The next couple days I saw her flustered, seemingly trying to solve some kind of puzzle. Complaining that something “wasn’t fair” or was “not right,” she said that the results were still too high! “Something must be wrong,” she said! It was like she had failed a math test! So I intervened again!

“Honey, there IS something wrong” I said. “But as smart and as beautiful as you are, it ISN’T YOUR FAULT! Peaches… we are getting old!” She had no comment, as she seemed to settle into that fact. Later, I called Bob from the church. He sounded rough! Asking him how he was, he said, ‘getting along, but my hip is the problem! “How old are you?” I asked. “80,” he said. I almost fainted!

It USED to be that, to me, anyone who was 80 was ANCIENT! Taking a moment to do the math, since it takes longer to do so, I calculated Bob was only about 12 years older than me! “OH DEAR LORD!” I laughed out loud and Bob joined in. I realized, I’m not getting old… I’m getting CLOSE! Because soon enough… Jesus, Heaven’s joys and the rewards I have been working for will be right before my eyes!

What could I do? I broke into the chorus, “When we all get to Heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be!” and my mood adjusted. But how about YOU? Are YOU looking forward in excited anticipation of seeing Jesus and your eternal home? No worries, He’s coming. But keep working for Him! Cuz it ain’t like we’re getting a busload together to go today!  

“Elijah went before the people and said, ‘How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.’ But the people said nothing.” 1 Kings 18:21

“CUCKOO, schwhirrly-schwhirrly, Cuckoo,” was a different sound than we were used to. But by looking at the new clock on the wall, we were able to verify that it was indeed… 1:00! My wife giggled while my daughter, who was over for dinner with her family, rolled her eyes! Hanging on the wall was a brand new Cuckoo Clock that I had purchased Katie for her Birthday!

28 years ago I bought a Black Forest Cuckoo Clock for our 18^th anniversary. She had mentioned that she always wanted one, so I decided the idea wasn’t a bad one. The clock became the center of attention for my smallest grandchildren whenever the Cuckoo came out! They loved it! So did I. Except for nighttime cuckoos! Thankfully, it had an off switch! Over 27 years, it’s needed repairs.

We purchased the same clock for my son and his wife when they got married, but they left it behind in a move! When OUR Clock finally died this year, I was told that the weights on the clock were actually it’s undoing! That because of their unreliability, it’s hard to find someone to fix them anymore. So I bought her a battery operated one. It LOOKS the same, but it sounds funnier!

One thing I’ve discovered about Cuckoo Clocks is that people either like them, or they don’t! There seems to be no wavering opinion. Today’s Bible verse actually amazes me. Because about 2700 years ago, the people remained UN-opinionated about which god WAS God! Elijah, being God’s man at the time, decided a little contest might help the folks along in swaying their opinion!  And it worked!

Today is not unlike it was all those years ago. The weight of multitudinous opinions on SO many issues is taking its toll on all of us. The courts are log-jammed with cases aimed at defining what should be acceptable in society. God has been put on the back-burner, so verdicts have been absolutely CUCKOO! But as the clock is ticking and the hour is approaching!

God only wants to know one thing… What is YOUR living opinion about His Son, Jesus Christ?