“But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded.” 2 Chronicles 15:7

The last week, and especially the last 12 hours, have taken a huge toll on Katie & me. Her last words to me before going to bed last night… in tears were, “I’m sad… I’m sore… and I hurt! We’re so stupid!” Holding her, all I could do was concur. What started out 3 weeks ago as an act of obedience and faith, just crashed!

Turning over a half a million dollar house to God to help build our Church didn’t take NEAR as much Faith as it took to wake up this morning… and put my feet on the floor to go on with another day! Within 2 weeks of commitment, Hurricane Helene (and most likely satan) seemed to say, “no way!” And flooded the place!

Within 4 hours of Helene’s flood surge, the house filled with 4 inches of water and receded… leaving only a nursery for black mold. All the years of hard work to build a nice waterfront house have gone down with the tide. After building it up, church members helped us rip out water damaged drywall, molding and STUFF!

Finding myself with the same emotions as David, Job, Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Peter and MOST Believers at crisis times, the ‘WHY’ question doesn’t come. I already KNOW WHY!’ The question is more like, “What was THAT all about?” Did we make a mistake? Misunderstand? Do it WRONG?” We’re human, We heard. We trusted Him!

This morning we awoke to catastrophic resolve… in Him! Encouraging one another, we continue to lick our wounds & listen for HIM! I found myself fighting to sweep away the despair and loss, to count our blessings. Katie found today’s verse and shared it with me. So discouragement and DIS-faith… ain’t livin’ here!

It is not the STUFF of our lives that bring blessing. It is God’s PEOPLE! Had we not, in faith, given that house to God, we would have been facing the loss of this big piece of STUFF…alone. But prayers, sweat, labor and encouragement, by people, stepping up to help, are our greatest treasures on Earth. No STUFF can compare!

THANK YOU for your mutual Faith in Christ and your willingness to sacrifice and help people who need a touch from God’s fingers. It is truly the proof that God loves & uses people to build His Kingdom… not stuff. YOU are truly our blessing from God’s hands. So read those Bible Verse marching orders from God… again!

“Jesus told His disciples, ‘If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.'” Matthew 16:24-25

I’d left the bedroom window open a crack to listen for the approaching hurricane… and slept in! The ‘life threatening storm’ had barely grown or moved through the night, so no sounds alerted me to any danger. Now, Hurricane Helene looks like she’s going to go around and miss us altogether. The sun is even shining now!

In retrospect, there was a LOT of commotion and preparation warning for Helene. Before she even curved around the Key’s, school districts called for a 3 day closure and even some Businesses had shut down. Heck… even ‘I’ brought in a few plants in from outside. A lot of work was exercised… and abated… for no real danger.

Obviously, had we known then what we know now, we would have done, or NOT done, a few things differently. Humans have the tendency to avoid big storms or trouble out of self preservation. But this Jesus guy, who claims to be God, came around 2000 years ago and upset the apple cart warning… DON’T MISS THIS ONE!

Backache, moans, groans and fatigue naturally cause me to want to avoid pain, stress and struggle. Jesus made the offer for an Eternal Life that cannot be found anywhere else. To GET it, I must voluntarily LAY DOWN MY life… and TAKE UP A CROSS and FOLLOW HIM? That doesn’t sound like a very fun plan! But He insists.

I took Jesus up on His offer decades ago, and I can tell you this life has not been easy. Called to care for and teach fellow ‘cross bearers’ the art of dying to self, comes with its own difficulties. Especially when I see saints working harder to throw off their crosses than to embrace them. Denying ‘self’ is not popular.

There is a cross for each of us. It comes with both a promise AND a warning. We will get the GREATEST LIFE… But only THERE! Until then, we are called to deny ‘self’, pick our cross and move along WITH the Savior. So… what are YOU dragging around?

“In My Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and welcome you into My presence, so that you also may be where I am.” John 14:2-3

The Tree stands! It was conceived in the mind of my beloved a couple of years ago. “I’d like to have a bottle tree,” she said. My response? “What’s a Bottle Tree.” and then… “Yea… I can do that! But I need bottles!” She then started saving her Bubble Bath bottles for the future tree. Finally, she had enough!

For her birthday last week, I was determined to make and set up the tree. It took planning, figuring and labor. Most time consuming was the removal of the outside labels on the bottles, after the contents had been used and removed. Cutting a straight tree, I installed it, then used gutter spikes to hang the bottles.

She loves it… mostly because it was her idea in the first place. It sits right outside her Bible Study window where she can see it. Now that the tree is up, I heard word that a Cat 3 Hurricane is planning to swing by tomorrow. Now, to preserve the bottle tree, we’ll need to take the bottles off, or they’ll end up… wherever!

The same people who conceived, designed and built the tree, are the same ones whose responsibility it is to CARE for the tree. Storm winds blow… and the bottles can only handle so much stress from wind before they fly off and become someone else’s trash! It seems God has a somewhat similar problem.

God designed us for His Glory. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit work together for a single purpose… to woo and gain a Bride! Jesus Christ, the Son, came that He might rescue man from the evil one, who’s whole purpose is to blow mankind out of reach of it’s Creator. God has made certain plans in light of the coming storm.

Jesus came into the storm of life, removed our labels of sin, and made it possible to fill us with His Spirit. It is His intent to show off His splendor and bride someday… probably soon! Are YOU part of His Glorious Tree in this storm ravaged world? He hung out FOR you… will you hang out WITH Him? 

“Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” Matthew 24:44

Well YESTERDAY was interesting! I had 3 separate notifications that I’d better wise up and get prepared because… ‘The End is near!’ If the messages were to someone unaware of the Biblical events that mark The End Times, they might be worried. But being just sold out to Jesus, I have ZERO fear. I’m VERY excited.

One story had Israel firing off a nuclear weapon that COULD cause the world to respond in kind. Another was an interview of Max Lucado by Glen Beck about the possibility of AI and microchips being used to sign everyone up for the ‘Mark of the Beast.’ Add inflation and wars, and ‘the clouds’ COULD be opening soon!

It was interesting to grow up a teen in the 1970’s. So much was going on and changing. When Hal Lindsay’s book ‘The Late Great Planet Earth’ hit, we were all convinced that Henry Kissinger was the Beast, and Armageddon was beating on our doors. By the 80’s, the microchip idea was popular. So were prophecy books.

Turns out that it wasn’t a nuke after all and… that bitcoin microchip thing is still in R&D. But the possibility of a HURRICANE DOES exist this week! Gema told me she’s rooting for that one, hoping to get a day off school! Me? I told Jesus that I ABSOLUTELY DO NOT EXPECT HIM TODAY. Maybe He’ll use that to surprise me!

Looking for a picture to use for ‘The End Times,’ EVERY ONE of them were horribly disgusting, violent and scary. Which caused me to check MY attitude about the subject. Having had a love relationship with Jesus for so long, I can’t imagine ANYTHING better than His return. That possibility makes me smile with Joy.

Are YOU smiling? Are YOU ready? Are YOU looking forward to Jesus’ return? Because… it COULD be TODAY! Will He find YOU working with a smile?

“I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants.” Deuteronomy 30:19

“We need more milkweed!” Katie said. The new school year is well underway, and with it comes the process of teaching her young students how ‘Life’ works! God’s Caterpillars to Butterflies is just too big of a ‘show and tell’ to pass up. We bought milkweed, set it out, Monarchs laid eggs, eggs became Caterpillars and… DINED!

The process of nature does not come with scheduled maintenance, supervision or checks and balances. Placing the milkweed plant into a mesh enclosure insures protection from enemies that might harm them. Adding a few extra caterpillars from other plants could only make the ‘show and tell’ more spectacular… right?

Caterpillars are not smart. After decimating one milkweed plant, simply placing another in the same container does NOT mean they will automatically move to it. Once all the leaves of the plant they are on are eaten, there HAS to be a strong drive, stimulus or manual transfer to move them to the new ‘life giving’ plant.

Note the subject of this writing is about Butterflies and NOT milkweed plants! If milkweed was the subject, I could say… “Oh… look at that poor milkweed plant! Those nasty Caterpillars MURDERED it!” And they did! But in noting the process, I took particular interest in the fact that 1 thing lives… only because 1 thing dies!

Seeing the plant decimated, I went out into the yard and grabbed a passion vine plant and placed it in the cage. When Katie got home she told me “Monarchs don’t eat passion leaves… Gulf Fritillary Caterpillars eat those!” So we went to the plant store! After a couple manual transfers, all but 1 caterpillar made it!

I found today’s verse by Googling ‘life and death Bible verses’ and noted that, at NO time, does God automatically transfer ANY human from life to death. Rather, all humans are given the CHOICE to transfer… or not. He POINTS in the direction of His Life Giving Son and ENCOURAGES us to ‘MOVE!’ Our CHOICE affects our kids!

I’d say man’s life on Earth has increasingly decimated it from it’s original form. But God promises that once all the decisions have been made, and all of us ‘caterpillar people’ have either ‘chosen life or death,’ He will make this Earth all new again! So… what are YOU munching on in this world and will it bring you Death? Or Life?  Choose Life!

“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” 1 Thessalonians 5:11

“It’s Time,” I said as I gently opened the door to awaken Gema for school. Gema’s parents are out of town and Katie and I have the privilege of caring for her while they are gone. Today is special. Gema is a cheerleader for Venice High School and tonight is a big game. She needed to be up at 5:30am. MY role was to make sure!

Gema’s schedule is different from mine. I don’t usually get up until 6:30. But today, because of HER choice to serve as a cheerleader, I adjusted MY needs. She breezed through her schedule quickly, so I offered to stop at Starbucks to buy her fav… a “Pumpkin Mocha Chai latte” and an Apple Croissant. She was very happy!

Several times she made the statement “It’s OK Papa… you don’t have to do that!” Gema is not a grandparent, so she doesn’t understand the privilege and honor that comes with being one. I have been blessed by God SO MUCH, and SHE is at the TOP of my blessings list. It was a joy for me to order and pay for her… ‘latte!’

Tonight she will stand in front of THOUSANDS of people and encourage them to ‘cheer’ for the home team. Dressed in a special outfit and waving pom-poms, there will be no mistaking who she is, what she is doing and who’s team she’s on. She will ‘stand out’ in the crowd because she’d made the DECISION to do so.

Jesus has some words for His Team members, and standing along the sidelines isn’t part of the job description. The word ‘Encourage’ isn’t a request or suggestion. It is a COMMAND. Just like His words ‘Love’ and ‘Give!’ They are words that separate us from the pack and make us stand out from the crowd.

My call and choice to become Jesus’ Cheerleader isn’t very popular among the crowds of the world. It often isn’t popular among the smaller crowds of people called Christians and Church Members either. Cheering often falls on deaf or stubborn ears. But Jesus’ commands that both cheering AND following, to be done.

Are YOU an active part of Team Jesus? Or are you too busy doing your own thing to do His? There are crowds of people out there who need to ‘see’ and ‘hear’ what Jesus wants you to ‘do’ and ‘say.’  Are you going to “GO, GO, GO?” I encourage you to take your place on the field of His Abundant Life! Latte-like treasures will be included!

“In building the temple, only blocks dressed at the quarry were used, and no hammer, chisel or any other iron tool was heard at the temple site while it was being built.” 1 Kings 6:7

“WHA WHA WHA WRRRREEEEE” was kind of the sound it made when I fired it up. This Radial Arm Saw was the first major power tool I purchased over 40 years ago. It was loud AND messy! But it could cut wood quick and smooth! Still can! I bought it because my dad had one… my friend had one… and I wanted one!

Back then we were very poor., and it was a reach just to buy it. But I worked in the construction business, had a reason AND a place to have a wood shop. It was easy for neighbors to tell when I was working in that shop. Noise screamed through the walls every time I turned on one of the shop tools to build something.

Today’s verse gives insight into how GOD works. As we have been studying Exodus, we have learned that God can get VERY loud. But when He does, it’s not usually for the benefit of those hearing the noise of judgment. When working on the Temple, no tools were allowed, cuz God doesn’t need or use man’s noisy tools.

I can see the Temple is a type, or example, of the place God inhabits… like my heart! When I get flustered, anxious, worried or lost, I have a tendency to throw every tool at those problems, to get some kind of answer or relief. But like my old wood-shop, people can tell I’m doing my own thing… MY WAY… by the noise!

The Psalm 46:10 verse comes to mind, “Be still and know that I am God.” The lesson is, God doesn’t need MY noisy help to fix my heart, soul and spirit into his abode! He needs me to just relax… and quietly LET HIM. Will YOU?

“Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.” Isaiah 55:1

“Uh… garbage,” I said, then threw the junk mail into the trash. Every week I get something in the mailbox offering a fancy dinner, for FREE! All I have to do is show up! At least that’s the sales pitch. Come to this expensive restaurant and we’ll buy your dinner. The ‘pitch’ is, I have to listen to them tell me how to invest my $!

Sometimes I’m offered travels to exotic places. Or even, how to save money on FUNERAL costs! Yes… even dying isn’t free! Being a salesman most of my career, I know that the first 2 things toward making a sale is to get the potential buyers ‘attention,’ and then get their ‘interest!’ Signing up for a free dinner proves both!

The idea of “Free Salvation” was common when I started out experimenting with Evangelism. Even the Bible says that Heaven is a Free Gift… right? Well… not exactly. Heaven is a gift (Romans 6:23). But ‘The Gift’ was never ‘free!’ A couple translators of the Bible added ‘free,’ presumably to make salvation appealing!

Today’s verse seems to capture the Spirit of God’s idea of Freedom and presents a quandary. “Come and buy… without cost!” When I first heard the message of ‘Free Grace,’ I admit I was looking at it from MY point of view. To gain eternal, heavenly blessing for NOTHING sounded too good to be true. And it was!

I have learned in life that NOTHING is FREE! ESPECIALLY ‘Salvation’ and ‘Justification by Faith.’ In fact, those items literally cost me EVERYTHING I HAVE… AND AM! To get Him… I have to give up ME! Thinking of ‘milk and honey’ rolling down my cheeks, while dying of thirst on a hot desert, is GREAT salesmanship!

Having been the recipient of MASSES amounts of Grace from God, I no longer spout the ‘Free’ word! Because Salvation is a transaction… a sale! Jesus offers ALL of HIM, in exchange for ALL of ME! While the reward is beyond comparison, the cost is ultimate! And He doesn’t make deals. It’s ‘All’ or ‘Nothin’!

Have YOU given’ Jesus your ALL? Are YOU ‘ALL IN?’ If you are, you know that every day is filled with the difficult and expensive proposition of dying to YOUR self-ish ways to gain HIS. But the reward is immeasurable! Have YOU purchased “The Deal of a Lifetime?” If so.. then let go of yourself!

“…store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:20-21

“There it is… and OH WOW… THAT’S HERE TOO!??” I was shocked and in wonder because, over the last couple months, I had actually looked for BOTH items in 2 garages, searching for the items before me! Inwardly rejoicing, I knew THIS time I needed to set them in a special place… and REMEMBER where I put them!

I suffer from a disease that affects the majority of people in this country. I have TOO MUCH STUFF! It’s a hard disease to diagnose because, well… it’s HARD to admit… I’m a junkie! When Katie picked up a couple items to throw into the garbage, I immediately cried out.. “WAIT! I need that!” She rolled her eyes.

Junkies are hard pressed to see that there’s only so much space to put stuff. If I can’t remember WHERE I put it, it is of no use to me when I need it. Looking at one Item that I have owned for about 17 years, I can only remember using it once! Asking a friend if he wanted it, he said, “Sure… ya can’t have too many of THOSE!”

It only took a flash to remember the person who gave me a piece of stuff that I now debated getting rid of. I appreciated him. We were very close friends. But he passed away years ago. Seeing the item made me remember and caused me to miss him. He’s in Heaven now, and I took a moment to treasure a future reunion.

Looking around at stuff made me realize that I can’t take it with me. And that just because “I’ like a piece of stuff, doesn’t mean my family will after I’m gone. No… the greatest treasure I own isn’t something that I can put away and go back to get later. It’s God and People. Today’s verse tells me what to do with BOTH of them.

What are YOUR Treasures in life? Are you sending them ahead?