“‘My food,’ said Jesus, ‘is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.'” John 4:34

Having barely started the morning, I received a call from my son to invite me fishing. When not driving ships, Clint likes to fish. So with the invitation to join him, I quickly agreed. It had been about a month since we went. The last time, all we caught was sea trout. I noted everyone in the boat threw them back! It’s been YEARS since I’d eaten ANYTHING caught!

When we started fishing, it was in hopes of catching Redfish. The fist tug of the line was hopeful, but yielded nothing more than a big fat trout, which I promptly threw back! But something kept nagging me in the back of my mind. When the second trout hit, I decided I was going to keep it and fry it up. It was then I started having a ball… and caught several.

Fresh fish is good. And since I caught them yesterday, last night was the time to fry them up. The back of my mind told me they were really good, but recent experience said, ‘probably not.’ Frying them up gave me some pretty good anticipation, because they looked pretty in the pan. Pan to plate, plate to mouth and all I could say was… “MMMMMM!”

The FIRST person I notified with that word was Clint. He had the same experience I had. None of HIS fishing pals had kept them, so he didn’t either. My experience gave testimony to him, and now the next time we go, he’ll be keeping some too! Just like Jesus’ experience! Jesus food was to do the will and work of His Father… because that’s what sustained Him.

I find the ‘Will’ and the ‘Work’ of the Father listed in John chapter 6. I’ll let you go fish for it yourself. But it’s good! The way I KNOW that it is, is the same way I rediscovered the flavor of sea trout. I tried it! Have YOU tried a tasty sample of God’s ‘Will’ and ‘Work?’ What are you waiting for? You will be surprised at how tasty His food really is!

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

There was an invisible boundary between us. I knew it… she didn’t. For her to recognize it, I would have to point it out! Doing so could cause discomfort in the conversion and force the smiling lady in front of me to make a decision to unsmile. Because I regularly see her at a mutual location, pointing it out could bring permanent discomfort. What to do?

I fished around for as delicate an intro to the subject that I could, and immediately disregarded, “So, will you burning in Hell forever?” Since EVERY person born on Earth is actually born headed in Hell’s direction, it was a legitimate question! But I saw no sense in destroying any possibility of witnessing for Christ by taking that approach. So I went in nice.

“Do you go to church anywhere?” became my opening line to try to access where she was on the Salvation Train. It still left a little room for judgment, but was safe enough to breach the subject and get it started. “Well, I have an unorthodox approach to religion,” was her statement back to me. “My dad is Catholic and my mom is a Muslim!”

It would be nice, had the conversation led to a conversion for Jesus. But it didn’t. There was no time. But I knew that our paths would cross again. So I gave her ‘The Verse!’ The one that Jesus uses of Himself with the article ‘The!’ Because ‘a’ leaves choices that Jesus never intended. ‘THE’ is definitive. ‘THE’ leaves no choices. Then I asked her what SHE thought.

The invisible boundary had been crossed, leaving room for further discussion. But now she knew where I stood. I prayed that the Holy Spirit would lob that “THE” statement around in her mind until we crossed paths again, and I could carry on a Jesus conversation.

Do YOU look for ways to bring Jesus up in conversation? Who has He put in front of YOU that He would like you to share His Good News?

“When I said, “My foot is slipping,” your unfailing love, Lord, supported me. When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy.” Psalm 94:18-19

I was comparing notes, thinking out loud, commiserating. The two of us, over the phone, talked life, difficulty and stress. Both of us have been anxious for a while and it seemed we were looking for common ground. One thing for sure, we weren’t looking to STAY in the situations we found ourselves. So commiserating was like therapy. Something had to give!

Nobody likes to be in a hole. To be down, depressed or anxious takes on a life of its own. Having been in situations like this before, I know there to be no stopwatch. That is part of the journey. I go until it’s over… HOPING ‘over’ is soon. But never really sure. All the while, I talk to Jesus. At times it seems like He isn’t listening. But I know He is. He saw my foot slip!

A lot of things have been happening to a lot of people in our church family. Tough things. Sickness, pain, sorrow, loss. Each carries it’s own weight that needs to be carried. How far and for how long varies. But I have found it to be a mistake to think that I am alone. Today’s verse says so. There are LOTS of verses in the Bible saying ‘God is ALWAYS there.’ He is!

I have found that difficulties can come from poor focus. Sometimes I THINK I am walking and talking with Jesus. But then I find my head and hands full of stuff that he never put there! Before I can have any relief, I must drop the luggage and let Him have them. I guess since I can’t take it with me, I need to let it fall behind. And put my focus and trust on HIM.

Today I am going to let anxiety fly away and let HIS consolation bring me joy. How about YOU?

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.” Ephesians 6:10

A call was sent out to help with the Church house. Working on painting to sell it, folks had come and dove in. Yesterday, Mike showed up to help, offering to work on electric. That threw me for a loop for a little bit, since my head was in painting mode. But he does electric stuff! And it was a good thing he showed! Checking all the outlets, he had questions.

One outlet in particular had him baffled. “Is there a switch that powers this outlet?” he asked. I guess he thought I should know… but I didn’t. Finally after hitting breakers and switches, it was determined that that particular wall outlet LOOKED like it should have power. It even had a power wire connected to it. But alas… there was no connection!

Electricity isn’t really magic. Wires run to a central circuit breaker box that has a connection to the Power Company’s lines. From there, individual wires run to each outlet or switch. It’s a simple matter. No connection? No power! It is not a difficult concept to understand. The same concept applies to GOD’S power as it does to electrical… is there a connection?

Unlike plumbing, electrical lines don’t have the ability to be clogged. They can be cut or shorted. But they are either connected… or they are not. I have found it is the same with my spiritual life. I am either connected with God through the Holy Spirit, or I am not. I have found that there are lots of things I can do to cut the connection and stop God’s power flow.

Today’s verse is not a request. It is a command. If I belong to God, It is my duty to connect to Him… and STAY connected. Then, to use His power to do the things that He has instructed me to personally do. Even when that something is to rest and meditate upon HIM. So… how is YOUR connection to God? Are you powered up with HIS might?

“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 6:12

Today is a BIG day for my Grandson Isaac McCay! He is a High School Wrestler, and today is the day that the district meets and they start ferreting out the winners from the losers. The ONLY way to do THAT… is to have a ‘wrestle off!’ Each school will bring their best and finest, and they will fight it out. By the end of day, Isaac will either be considered a winner… or a loser!

Now don’t get me wrong! Isaac is AMAZING! There is NO WAY he would EVER be considered a loser in ANY category. He is brilliant, wise, handsome, talented, caring and just plain “better than ME when I was his age.” So said his father. I knew how Colt felt. I had the same goal and dreams for my kids growing up yesterday. But today… there will be a fight!

Looking back over my life, I have a privilege of hindsight that my son Colt doesn’t have. Colt is already WAY past where I was at his age. I can see that I have succeeded in my goal of building a son better than myself. And not just 1… and not just a son! ALL my kids are successful Jesus adults. It was a fight. But I am proud to say… Katie and I are winners!

But my life is not over! Today, I will face a fight as well. And wrestling with the devil and his staff is already planned… the devil has set the stage. I may not want it. But I really don’t have a choice. The devil is bringing the fight… to ME! And it is all because of who ‘I’ represent. Being a child of God and future Bride of Christ… the fight is coming… for ME!

The biggest issue I face before I step outside to face the day is, ‘who’s side am I going to fight for.’ Even though I belong to Jesus, I CAN simply set back and disengage from the match… and lose this day to evil. But because evil IS coming, I have to decide if I want to prepare and suit up, or take a knee and not bother. As Frankie told me this morning… it’s about choice!

So what are YOU going to do today? Will you choose to fight with and for Jesus? 

“…no eye has seen…no ear has heard, and… no human mind has conceived” — the things God has prepared for those who love him.” 1 Corinthians 2:9

I was listening to music on the radio… PUSHING! I drive my wife nuts when she’s with me because I am a button pusher. If I don’t like a song or commercial that’s on, I push buttons until I find something I do. The song, “I Can Only Imagine,” by MercyMe, came on and I listened. Later, when John Lennon’s “Imagine” came on. I quickly hit another button! Then, I began to really imagine…

At FLAP (our Church Bible Study) we often discuss questions we might ask God, if He granted 2 minutes with Him now. It is ALWAYS interesting! Over the years, I think I’ve heard it all…”Will there be pets in heaven? Marriage? Ice cream? Dancing? Beer? And once, from an elderly lady, SEX!?” ALL the questions point to satisfying the real inner desires of the person asking the question.

Larry Gatlin had a song years ago that had this chorus:

Will they have Mogen David in Heaven?
Dear Lord, we’d all like to know
Will they have Mogen David in Heaven, sweet Jesus?
If they don’t, who the hell wants to go?

You can now appreciate the issue. If MY thing won’t be there… why bother imagining Heaven good? The Bible is clear. If I find myself imagining what heaven WILL be like, and mentally approve ‘only’ the things ‘I’ like, I might get into trouble. In fact, the verse today tells me that when it comes to imagining what Heaven will be like, I needn’t bother!’ It’s an impossible and selfish waste of my time!

I smile now, sitting with Jesus, and think about the Heaven questions some more. I can imagine myself asking Him, “Lord, will there be ___________ in Heaven?” And before I ask, I already KNOW that if it isn’t in His Word, I WON’T get an answer. But I CAN hear Him reply to me, “But ‘I’ll’ be there! Is THAT good enough for you?” It is at that moment I smile cuz… I have no more questions!

Are YOU content with Jesus… or are you looking for more?

 “I the LORD search the heart and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve.” Jeremiah 17:10

Finishing the yogurt for breakfast, I opened up the door to throw away the plastic carton in the recycle bin. But the door hardly opened! The recycle can was so full, it was keeping the door from opening. So I reached my hand up under the counter, pressed down on the garbage and opened the door. Then I took the whole can outside to the recyclable can.

No… it was not an amazing feat. Yes… I should not have let the recycle bin get so full. Sure… it pointed to a tiny streak of laziness on my part. You bet… I made a kinda sternly promise to myself to be more diligent in the future. But I guess I’ll see how it goes. To ‘take out’ or ‘stamp down’ seems to be the call on the collecting of garbage. ‘What’ and ‘when’ do I?

I have found that dealing with my collection of trashy things I do and think is similar to collecting the garbage in my house. Just being alive makes collecting trash a given. I am a spiritual being in a fleshy body. The 2 are ALWAYS at odds. The one that tends to take over and dominate my life is the one that gets ignored the most. Paying attention is important.

God says in today’s verse that He WILL repay everyone according to their conduct and deeds that they DO. Being a Christian and fully forgiven does NOT absolve me from ’takin’ out the trash’ that collects in my life. Yes… trash IS inevitable! But I have learned that the more trash I have collected, the less likely I will have a trash dominated mindset! So I clean house!

No… this is not a great big mind blowing Word of the Day. But it DOES show the importance of keeping my mind, eyes and heart on Jesus… and NOT on TRASH! That is why I get up each day and start it with Him. I don’t want the trash to overtake HIS place in my heart. How about YOU? How does YOUR trash bin look?

“But my God shall supply all your needs according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19

It was a long weekend for Katie and I. Rare. With a sunny afternoon before us, we found ourselves with time on our hands. “What shall we do?” found us out on the water in our 2 person kayak with a fishing pole. Baiting it, I handed it to my wife, who is not really a fisher-woman. She caught a little fish, and I threw it back. But the next tug on the line was bigger!

The bobber sank and she cried out, “Oh MY!” And with that, the line went slack… the hook disappearing from the end of the line. Not having any more hooks, we paddled leisurely along in the sunshine. That is until she exclaimed those same 2 words with fear! When I cried, “WHAT?” She said… “don’t you see that big gator? Oh No! What are we gonna do?”

Truth be told I hadn’t. It was about 20 feet from us… at least 10 foot long! I had quit looking for gators over the years, because they’re usually hauled out of those canals before they get that big. But not this one! All I could do was laugh. I knew that gator wasn’t going to bother us. We were MUCH too big for it’s little brain to compare with food! We paddled on.

In retrospect it’s a good story. That big fish that got away? Eh… we didn’t need it. We had spaghetti waiting at home. The fact that we GOT home, at least in Katie’s mind, was evidence that WE were the ones that ‘got away!’ This picture was taken on the return trip! All in all it was a very good day! And we appreciated not getting what we didn’t really need!

Many of our Church folk are going through some tough times right now. Lots of physical and mental stuff lurks both above and below the surface… some of it appearing ominous. It’s times like these that retrospection helps remind me of one of my favorite verses. Today’s! Peaking over my years of living this verse, I am SO happy for SO much that ‘got away!’

Are you grateful? Why not thank and praise Jesus for all the stuff you DIDN’T get that you MAY have deserved! 

“Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place.” Psalm 51:6

“MMMM Shiny!” was all I could say… because that is EXACTLY what it was! My neighbor pulled me aside to show me the treasure he’d discovered up the road. “Can ya believe it? Someone was throwing out a perfectly nice grill… and I GOT IT!” “Yup,” was all I could say… as it beamed in the light! “You sure are a lucky man! When do we eat?”

Yesterday I came home to see that same shiny grill out by the road. When I asked him about it, he told me that it was a piece of junk. “It was all rusted on the inside and wouldn’t work!” Now he was worried how he was going to get rid of it if someone didn’t come take it. He said, “maybe I can put it back where I found it!” But I reminded him “Finder’s keepers!”

It is not hard to be easily fooled! Especially these days. As my neighbor discovered, things may look GOOD on the outside, but be a total waste on the inside! When I read this little Psalm in a devotional, my thought was, ‘MMMM Shiny!” Cuz a Psalm written by David usually is.” Until I remembered that Psalm 51 is about David’s confession of adultery and murder!

Just watching TV or movies, it is easy to see that there are LOTS of pretty people out there in the world. But I’m experienced enough to know that the old saying is true. “All that glitters is not gold!” Everyday I get tested or tempted to take a short cut, settle for quick, or go for the shiny! It is not until I stop, surrender and spend time with God that I find REAL treasure.

What about you? Are YOU looking for the easy, shiny, quick inexpensive way toward a real relationship with God and His people? How does YOUR life look to the world? To God? Why not spend some good quality time with Him and the Holy Spirit and read His Word? Maybe start with the short powerful book of Ephesians?