“But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth.” John 16:13

My neighbors told me I needed to cut my grass! Well… not out loud or to my face. But the message was very clear and unmistakable. They had cut THEIR grass a couple days before, and now, looking at their well manicured lawn, mine looked like a disaster. If I let it go any longer, my lawnmower wouldn’t be able to do the job.

I gave myself the excuse that I really didn’t have the time. But I’d used that one the day before when I really didn’t. Now, having an hour to kill, I knew it only took 35 minutes from start to finish. So I grabbed the lawnmower, put on my headphones, found the music I wanted to listen to and off I went. It was the hottest time of the day!

It took 3 short breaks for Gatorade to get through it, and when done, I was soaked from head to toe with sweat. But God, long ago, blessed me with a swimming pool. So I jumped in! The prompting by my neighbors was not intentional. They were taking care of THEIR stuff, which made me want to take care of my stuff too.

The Holy Spirit is the Greatest gift Christians have, right next to Salvation in the first place. Residing in the hearts of all believers who have received Jesus Christ as their Lord, He has the same distinct skill my neighbors have. He doesn’t have to SAY ANYTHING to communicate EVERYTHING! When something needs done, or undone, I just KNOW!

I’ve tried a LOT of excuses to reason, argue or simply get out of doing something that I KNOW I should, or shouldn’t do. But in the end, my logic fails every time. I know, that He knows… that I know, He knows! It’s just the way God works. Do YOU have the Holy Spirit? How good are YOU at hearing and following His lead?

How does the lawn of YOUR life look?

“Out from the throne come flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder. And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.” Revelation 4:5

The night was uncommon from the beginning. Not being Baseball fans, we drove to St. Petersburg to see the Tampa Bay Rays. Our grandson’s High School Chorus was asked to sing the National Anthem, and we were invited. When we left, it was hot and sunny… and we were in a hurry. We arrived early, ill prepared for the storm that was rolling in.

Leaving in a rush reminded me of the Exodus story. I didn’t look or check the weather, so I didn’t even think to take my raincoat. While walking the area, a HUGE storm let loose and we got drenched. We found a little women’s shop and popped in to get out of the rain. Written on the wall was II Timothy 4:7… “I have fought the good fight!”

In the midst of the storm, as we found protection with a fellow believer, we chatted about Jesus. When the storm let out, we made our way to the stadium and watch and sing ‘The Star Spangled Banner.’ We could hear “The bombs bursting in air’ from the lightning and thunder outside, while we sat cool and dry, comfortably inside.

It was a rocky night… but we were safe and secure. Driving home later, the roads were soaked, as a light rain fell almost the whole way home. As I prayed and asked for a safe trip, I could powerfully sense God’s presence inside the dry car that seemed to simply ‘cling’ to the road. I just knew we were safe as God rode along with us.

It is difficult to explain to someone who doesn’t have the Holy Spirit in them. There is no way for me to remember all the difficult and stormy times I have been through with Jesus. But I am still HERE because he has been through ALL of them with me. I have found peace in learning that, wherever lightning and thunder are… ‘God is’ as well.

Have YOU found peace and shelter in the midst of life’s storms? Does lighting and thunder bring YOU comfort? Maybe, now that you know God is in it, you will find no need to have fear as your companion on life’s road.  

“Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” Matthew 7:22-23

Walking into a restaurant, my eyes immediately locked onto a man who, as memory serves, had played high school football with one of my sons… though I couldn’t remember which one. I distinctly heard him say, “Hi K.C.,”which threw my confused memory into a tailspin. I could not remember his name or anything about him!

He was sitting with his wife and daughter, and a man who wore a Venice High School football shirt. I didn’t know HIM either! His daughter appeared about 6, so I said, “SHE is BEAUTIFUL!” He smiled. When we sat down, Katie asked me, “Who’s that?” I said, “You know… he played football with one of our boys.” She looked confused.

We talked about it, Katie maintaining that she didn’t know the man. Which made me try digging a little deeper for the connection. When we got up to leave, I paused at his table and said, “I’m sorry… maybe it’s my age, but I don’t remember your name.” He said, “Jarrod… and you’re Bill, right?” It turned out, neither of us knew each other!

He HADN’T said my name, I just THOUGHT he did. And while he LOOKED like someone I knew… he wasn’t. I find ‘memory fishing’ a more frequent habit the older I get, and ask Jesus to help me remember as the years get stacked up. Today’s verse is a sad story about a scenario that many will find many people… permanently disrupted.

I also met a ‘John’ yesterday at Lowes. Commenting on his being named after a famous book in the Bible. He actually confirmed “that’s where I got my name!” His grandmother was a Christian and had suggested it. Asking him, “so are you a Jesus guy?” He responded… “not really!” I highly suggested he go read ‘HIS’ book… carefully!

Jesus did NOT pull any punches. In fact, no one in History was ever more clear when He said, “I AM The Way… The Truth and The Life!” ‘There is no other,’ was His claim. I can either believe Him and act on that truth, or deny His claim as a lie. But His judgment of me WILL be based upon MY reaction to His Words. Are YOU a Jesus person… REALLY?