“God our Savior…wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.” 1 Timothy 2:3-4

It was my youngest daughter’s 4^th wedding anniversary and her husband wanted to to take her out to dinner. What THEY wanted was a babysitter for their 2 kids. Katie and I wanted to give them worry free time, so we volunteered to watch Coast, who is 2… and Case, who is 4 months old. Coast wanted Reese’s Pieces! Case wanted mommy!!

Before leaving for their evening out, we were given instructions and tips. My daughter instructed us that Coast was to eat an avocado for dinner. At hearing this, and obviously remembering the LAST time we watched them, Coast looked directly at me and said, “Reesy Peesys!” As they walked out the door I was left wondering who was actually in charge!!

Since no “Reesy Peesys!” were to be found, I promised I would run to the store to get some if he ate what mommy wanted him to eat. No problem!!!! And as the cut up pile of avocado chunks began to disappear, he would occasionally look at and say, “store!” But I knew the drill and had my orders. Daughter’s wants first! When the last avocado bite was gone, Coast smiled… and I hit the road!

The first 2 chapters of 1 Timothy are tough and easily confused. Paul writes to Timothy to ‘fight the good fight (1:18), to pray for our government’s leaders to live in peace and quiet ( 2:2) and THEN tells us what GOD wants! In those short verses, and just like my babysitting experience, it is easy to see that not everyone actually GETS what they want. Not even GOD!

These day’s are difficult. The world is in battle mode and this great country is more divided then ever before. News is not good as daily, evil sets up to wage a full scale war against Christ and His Church. And what is our Master’s parting command and ‘want’ for the coming battle? ‘Fight good, pray hard and tell the enemy of THEIR enemy’s desire for their COMPLETE Salvation!’ OBVIOUSLY someone isn’t going to get what THEY want! I FEEL like a middleman… because I am!

Everything worked out well with the evening. There was food and fun, laughter and tears, and “Reesy Peesys!” Even baby Case ultimately got what he wanted! When mommy walked back in the door, Katie handed him over and we left! SUCCESS! I was reminded that NO one gets everything they want… even Jesus Christ. But He’s coming back in His own sweet time (6:14). Then, and ONLY them, will we ALL get what we really want!

“Where your where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:21

A while back I had written about my discovery of water coming from the air conditioner in my house. Just for fun we stated collecting it to see just how much it produced. Which is good… because for the last 3 weeks it has been MISERABLY hot, humid and DRY! Using the collected 10 gallons a day, we water our plants and flowers. Along with some other water saving measures, I calculated we saved almost $30 on the water bill too! Not a lot.. but enough for a couple trips to out eat!

Yesterday I went to dump the bucket into the barrel. It’s not a big deal, since it only takes about 20 seconds to do so. Only 5 feet from my goal the old plastic bucket handle broke in my hand and 5 gallons of water dumped all over the ground! I was surprised at my reaction… which was actually shock and sorrow! I had to pause to think about WHY I felt that way! Then this verse hit me.

Living in this great country, water is typically not an issue. When we want it, we turn the faucet handle and ‘voila!’ So losing 5 gallons of water on the ground is NOT significant. The old bucket wasn’t an issue either. I actually had ANOTHER old bucket with a METAL handle that will NOT break. Switching was quick and easy! But I was STILL shocked at my sorrow over the loss of the water! Mostly because it was a silly reaction for me.

Up until now, I had never CARED about what I didn’t KNOW about. My discovery had made sense in many ways and I had created a system. But I hadn’t calculated on bucket failure. The loss of that water actually brought out just how much I had come to care! And silly as water is, this principle of the heart is not silly at all!

I have TOO often discovered how much I care about things AFTER I have lost them. Loved ones who have passed, relationships that are no longer, dreams that are no longer possible, goals that can no longer be reached. ALL of these things carry a hidden treasure that becomes much more evident AFTER the handle of life breaks and they are spilled onto the ground. Which shocks me again as I am drawn to think about it.

If I had only KNOWN how much I had cared or valued. If I had REALIZED how important that thing or person had become, maybe I would have appreciated or cared for them more carefully. It seems to me that THAT is the point Jesus is making in this verse.

NOTHING on this Earth is more precious than Emmanuel… ‘God with us.’ No money, job, position or relationship can even come close to the treasure of Him in my heart, soul and spirit. His presence in me enhances everything else I posses. The spilled bucket helps me to see that taking Him for granted is a loss I cannot afford to chance. It is a truth I can handle!

For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, in Whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Colossians 1:13-14

I was getting quite frustrated and about to lose my Christianity… and all over a stupid sprayer! Wait… my wife tells me not to say the ‘stupid’ word’ as it is insulting to humans and inapplicable to things! But THIS THING seemed to have human traits! I couldn’t FIND it at first… like it was hiding on purpose!. Then when I FOUND it, it didn’t WORK! Which made my original task 2 additional steps away from accomplishment. This made me even MORE angry… which made me feel stupid!!!

Florida summer heat and humidity bring life to some unwanted things. Mold, mildew, bugs, and weeds are just a few. It isn’t wise to use the same sprayer to kill weeds, on plants to irradiate pests. So I have a couple sprayers to help me keep from killing what I want to live! After finding it, I filled the sprayer with an appropriate mixture, tried to pump it up but… NOTHIN’! It would not hold pressure. AHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Over time, the seals in sprayers can dry out or crack. This prohibits the sprayer from holding air pressure. A trick I learned years ago was to apply some oil to the offending seal, potentially stopping the leak. It worked!!! So after finding and fixing, I was free to finish the job I had started. Unfortunately, I carried along with me a big black mark on my soul and spirit! The pressure was building!

I have had too many let-downs like this lately. Stringing a bunch of them together, after a while, makes me feel ‘stupid.’ And ‘stupid’ is a satan word. The feeling it brings starts to take affect and eventually drys out my zeal for Jesus. When I feel unworthy because of too many failures, I begin to feel like I don’t deserve to reach out to my Savior. “WHY would He even WANT to come close to me… AGAIN!”

A symbol for the Holy Spirit is ‘Oil.’ Today He reminded me that MY failures are NOT the biggest stumbling block to my faith. It is walking away from God believing He is UNABLE or UNWILLING to restore my life. This belief is poison to my soul! An attempt to kill my relationship with the love of my heart.

Praying and receiving the Oil of His Spirit restores and enables me to take the pressures of life, becoming an effective tool in the Master’s hand. I am reminded by Him that He NEVER considers saints to be stupid! He doesn’t like that ‘S’ word either!

“O LORD, you have searched me and known me!” Psalm 139:1

There I was… like ‘groundhog day…’ standing on a ladder gazing into a piece of rotted fascia board. And it wasn’t just deja vu! I had LIVED this before… right HERE… at this same location some 20 years ago! I had repaired it then, and now, staring back at me, was the symbol of my abject failure! Had I fixed it RIGHT.. it wouldn’t be WRONG NOW! NOW… I need to apply experience with wisdom!

Having lived in the same house for 30 years, I have outlived a lot of things that came with it. A third water heater, new plumbing, another electrical box and now.. painting for the third time. Having been a carpenter years back, I knew how to cut and apply a board. I had sealed it up with caulking and painted over it. But the MOISTURE problem that had caused this rotting… TWICE… dominates my intentions. And it is winning!

It is not a far stretch to use this moisture rotting problem as a metaphor for old habits and sin in my life. Every time I get angry or desire something that had my attention long ago, I am reminded of how weak and frail my flesh actually is. Trying to FIX it is a useless waste of time. It will just come back! I can fix this fascia like I did the last time, figuring that I will be dead before it needs repaired again but… It is a relief to know…God does not work like that!

Did you now that God studies and takes exams! Or… the way this Psalm is written…God, long ago, already PASSED and received His Doctorate! And the field of His study? ME! The 139^th Psalm is about ME. How God loved me, made me, knit me, and cared for me. ALL before I was even conceived or born. He KNOWS me better than I can even know myself. He planned and executed my restoration and perfection before I was even a thought… by taking it all my rot out on His own son!

This rotting fascia problem has hit far too close to home for my comfort. Dealing with it AGAIN makes me angry, frustrated, fearful and desiring substitutes that never worked before. I can’t stop it, I can’t fix it, and I sure can’t ignore it! It needs attention… but not mine! I need to go to the expert… and ask, beg, plead, hope and seek HIS solution to this ‘problem of Me!’ It is ONLY in Him that I will receive ANY permanent relief. Thank God He studied ME so long ago that He already knows the solution!! And… He has been waiting for this moment!

“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10

On the crest of my 64^th birthday, the inevitable has come. So facing the music I don’t always hear, I went to my audiologist. I say ‘MY’ because I now have one! The diagnosis was as I expected and her words were prophetic…”you have significant hearing loss and if you ‘WANT’ to hear you will need hearing aids.” I LOVE people who simply ‘tell it like it is.’ That she is a Christian is a plus! The question hung in the air as I left her office… ‘if you WANT to hear.’

Pastors spend a lot of time alone, studying, praying, meditating, preparing, recovering. But the other times are with people. It had been O.K. for me to miss some things in conversation. My squealing grandkids really didn’t need to be heard as much as watched. But lately I have noticed missing names of people, their comments, their stories. All because I inherited my parents ears!

Though my parents have been gone for years, the stories persist. Like the time my mother, eating peanuts with her hearing aids out, accidentally popped one in her mouth… CRUNCH! Like my dad’s pulling his out of his ears as we walked into the house with the kids. Apparently some noise NOT be enhanced! And the tinnitus?? I live, as he did, with screaming in my ears like an electric motor needing oiled! “Do I WANT to hear?” she asked.

When God wanted Moses He lit up a tree with fire! When He called Isaiah, He did so after summoning him before His heavenly throne. The same way with John in ‘The Revelation.’ Rebellious years of saying to God, “if you want me you’ve got to be miraculous in your call,” are LONG gone. The verse today is all the call He is going to give me. And to YOU TOO, most likely. NOT heeding is rebellion!

The most precious and enjoyable times I have spent on this planet are the times I have shared Jesus Christ with people. Whether for salvation or maturing, the sweetness of witnessing fills my heart with joy. He promises that the joy will linger for eternity when He will bless me for being faithful. It is my purpose!!! Do I WANT to hear, act, reach out, touch, witness and make a difference for Him here on earth? Do YOU? No question! I am getting the hearing aids!

“How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?” Romans 10:14

We don’t have live TV in our house. Since live news only seemed to make me angry, I discontinued it 2 years ago. My daughter had an older Roku device she gave to us and after some learning, we were able to watch movies and TV shows without losing our minds. This Mother’s day my daughter asked if mom would like a newer, faster unit. While I am sure it had never entered Katie’s mind, I couldn’t think of anything either. So…. SURPRISE!

My son-in-law was sweet to hook it up too! The power cord didn’t mesh with the older unit, so the tiny wire had to drop to the floor. About 6 months ago I had granted Katie’s long wish of mounting the TV on the wall and running the wire behind it. She was happy. Three days after getting her mothers Day present, she asked this question…”Is that new TV unit really all that much better?” Being a husband for almost 42 years…. I froze!

Some of my Father’s wisdom actually sunk in. He used to say, “never give a job or tie up a newly married couple’s time for their first year of marriage. They are adjusting.” I never really knew what that meant until I got married. One of the biggest lessons a man needs to learn is the secret verbal code of their wives. While it can NEVER be fully mastered… it had BETTER be part of the commitment. I just KNEW Katie’s comment about that TV unit was a code I’d best ‘cipher!’

God created men and women and gave them each a differing part of His character. When either party demands their own way without consideration of their spouse, God’s best way usually gets set on the shelf. So it is true… together we’re better. This verse today might be considered a female version of the Great Commission. Jesus had said, “GO!” Here, the Word throws out several questions to help The Church ‘get it’ on their own. So…. do you?

Wednesday nights at Bible Study we have been learning HOW to ‘GO’ and ‘LIVE’ our life as God’s called into the world He wants to save. God is pleading with us to proclaim the Gospel in several languages. Sadly, most Believers sit there on the couch…fearfully thinking, “what does He mean?”

Compromise is not an option here. I figured out that Katie would rather have a slow TV unit with NO wires hanging down the wall than a fast one ‘with’ wires. My wife is not mean, brutal or unrealistic. Because I love, her I will fix that wire! Likewise, our Lord will not compromise in His methods. When He said ‘Go,’ He meant it! He was talking to ‘ME!” Do I really need to say that includes ‘you’ too? Or do you understand ‘The Code?’

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” Galatians 2:20

This past weekend had us spending time with some of our kids and grandkids. Being an affectionate bunch, greetings and hugs are a standard. When a grandchild comes through the door I don’t just holler, “hey!” from across the room. I get up, walk to the door, bend down and give them a big hug and an excited “WELL HELLO! And HOW are YOU doing? I’ve MISSED seeing YOU!” They KNOW they are loved and welcome here. Then they run to the toys!

Usually, there will come a time in their visit when I will ask them the question…”Hey… who loves you?” It is a simple and fun way to remind them of my heart towards them. More often than not, I will get, in response, “Gigi!” their pet name for my wife! It’s a game we both know very well, because what happens next is EXACTLY what they expect!

The laughter starts when I chase them, which is what they want. When I catch them I ask again.. “who loves you?” If they started the game, they will say again…”Gigi!” Which is a signal for the tickling to begin! After a short while, and while they are giddy, I’ll ask them the question again and get… “Papa!” MAYBE! And here is where I have to be VERY discerning!

We have all been tickled and laughed while enjoying the game. We have all experienced that point where tickling becomes torture! There have been OODLES of article written on the subject that any discerning parent should know. ‘Fun’ can easily become ‘fury’ when the line of ‘force’ is crossed. Fun can easily become rebellion. It is a fact that God knows all too well.

It is easy to coerce a verbal response out of someone weaker. Push them past the point of comfort and their WORDS may change. But the inner heart of a child is precious and tender. Pressed too far, rage and rebellion can easily become an unwelcome response. God, being infinitely strong, could EASILY FORCE us to bow to His demands… if He wanted to. But the response would be the opposite of what He really desires.

God wants me to love Him voluntarily. He wants me to GIVE Him my heart, and REFUSES to TAKE it if I don’t. Even God knows where the line is drawn. That is why I felt drawn to today’s verse when it dropped into my spirit. It was as if God was asking me… “HEYYYY…Who loves ya?” I realize after all these years that He is asking for the both of us! It is my honor to respond with my life!

“I desire to do your will, my God; your law is within my heart.” Psalm 40:8

A fellow Jesus guy and I were discussing our favorite hobby of target shooting when the idea hit… “why not start a group shoot?” The idea made me smile because in today’s world, a certain group of people want the eradication of guns. SO, like it or not, we naturally considered the politics of our hobby and if it was practical for a Christian group. It took 2 minutes to decide! Our first gathering at the new indoor gun range was last night! 11 people showed!

I had invited a High School student who was in JROTC. He had just graduated and I knew he would have a blast. He brought a friend! Another church member, brought a neighbor I had never met. Together, we all registered, made our way to the range and, in groups of 2 to a lane, started the fun. Even though our group didn’t have a name, we were a group!

Shooting is different than bowling or golf. In those groups, emphasis is mostly on scores…even when scoring against oneself. Shooting has that same kind of thing, but with an addition. A LOT of talk and show is about the equipment. “Hey… what are YOU shooting?” This question is most generally followed by a reveal… with the words,” let me show you…” and then… “Would YOU like to shoot it?” Sharing is big in this kind of group.

Tom’s friend was at the end and I HEARD what HE was shooting. If you shoot pistols, you probably already know. This .50 caliber cannon of a pistol is BIG…. LOUD and costs $1.00 just to pull the trigger. He let me take a shot and even recorded me on video.. Yes… it was a big deal!

The Bible, or Word of God, is sometimes referred to as a sword. It is the weapon of our warfare against evil. To wield it correctly means one has to KNOW it, spend time with it, practice using it and then execute it properly. It saves, protects, comforts and keeps us. God’s Word is also the name for His Son (John 1). It is both a tool AND a person!

Believers in Christ are called to unite ‘together’ with The Word as our center. The Word is NOT a toy or an icon. The Word is LIFE. After shooting I went to a fast food restaurant to get a sandwich. I asked the guy behind the counter, “so how are YOU doing?” He didn’t hesitate… “well you know… life!” My reply was from God… “As a matter of fact I am a MASTER at it! Why… are you a Jesus guy?” He said, “no… I meant life… like it’s ups and downs.” My reply was, “exactly!”

It is important to understand that life is a war. He knew it and so did I. The difference between he and I was, I had THE weapon… he did not!. I wanted to share mine! You know… show him, let him take a try to see if he might love it as much as I. He changed the subject. As I left, I could almost hear demons laughing at my loss in the conflict. But I know my similes.. AND my Master. So like the Terminator.. I made a promise… “I’ll be BACCCCCK!”

What weapon do YOU carry?

“Whoever has ears, let them hear – Jesus” Matthew 11:15

I have an earworm and it’s driving me crazy! You know… a song that gets stuck in your head, continually playing over and over? It recently became one for me when my wife came home a few months ago and said, “Hey.. did you ever hear the song, ‘Can He, Could He, Would He?’” I hadn’t… then I did…and now I cannot get it out of my head. I decided to pass on the love!

Last night at choir practice, I unveiled the song for Sunday! I carefully watched everyone as ‘the worm’ did its job! It was HILARIOUS! When ears heard, eyes opened and then rolled in needless rejection! Yup!!! That was the first stage when ‘I’ had heard it too. Then the jokes started! “You’re kidding right? This sounds like a hick song from the hills!” I agreed! So far so good! Then I passed out the music!

True to form, the ear worm had babies, as even the complainers were toe tapping and smiling after a couple times through! Not one person said, “I am NOT singing that song!” If anyone wakes up and recovers from the incident they might write an article on, “HOW to Get Rid of an Earworm!” Oh wait!!! That’s already been done! And it doesn’t work!

After considerable thought, I have concluded that Jesus is the author of ear worms. In fact, with the verse today, I believe He actually encourages them! “If you have ears… HEAR!“ Then He gets specific with truth that hits home!! If it sticks… it’s meant to!

Life carries with it LOTS of things that drive us crazy… and WORSE! I heard it said that the difference between a Christian and non-Christian is that the Christian KNOWS life is tragic! We are stuck in a horrific story that we KNOW was not meant to be. And we ALL search for ways to cope… many of us becoming ‘stuck’ or ‘addicted’ to the worms of this world. But Jesus!

I have tried many things.. some of which still haunt me to this day. But I have NEVER EVER been let down or disappointed by Jesus Christ or the Words that He said. And if you have ears to hear… hear THIS earworm from years ago, which could have come straight from Jesus Mouth… “Don’t stop Believing!” GOTCHA!!!

Oh… and try this for fun…. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZfnoo9pFfw