“From the rising of the sun to its going down the Lord’s name is to be praised.” Psalm 113:3

I had this in my inbox and could not believe the timing.  It was the basis of what we discussed last night for FLAP at Church.  FAR TOO many of you are rolling through life driving your own train… while up ahead the bridge it OUT!  Driving to every whim or desire, you may feel like you’ve got this.  YOU DON’T!  God wants us all WALKING DAILY WITH HIM.  Taking on HIS life and characteristics and dying to ourselves and our petty wants.  

It is often said that God it in control.  He is NOT!  He SHARES control with YOU!  FOR NOW!  Are you living to grow up, and old with Him today and everyday, so that stepping off into heaven will be a natural adjustment instead of a shock?  If you are not spending at least 15 minutes a day with Him in His Word and prayer to get closer… to get your marching orders (that is equivalent to a baby bottle) then, as a preacher told me when I was young and selfish… you are a fool!  Yes.. I just said that!  My job is to challenge you… not make you feel good about yourself.  This is a long one… Grow up and read on please… and be blessed.

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“Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law.” Romans 13:8

Once again I was reminded, by text, that I owed money for services rendered. Drat!!! Discovered AGAIN! I honestly had NO intention of filching on the debt. I had even tried to pay it. But one thing led to another and I just could not complete the transaction. It was not for lack of trying! This time, I was determined to do what was necessary to clear my good name. Even though it was going to frustrate me completely.

Dialing the number for the company to which I was indebted, they SOUNDED nice over the phone. Until it got to the point of having to actually make the transaction. I was told AGAIN, that I needed to log on to my account and follow the instructions. And there it was… The WALL! Impenetrable and unyielding. All because 1. I had forgotten my password.. and 2. They wanted me to make up a new one.. with an unacceptable caveat. I was NOT allowed to use any password that I had used before. It had to be a NEW one!

Have you been forced to change a password on one of your own accounts? To me, writing down a password would be very secure. And REMEMBERING something not normal is well… not normal! All I wanted to do was use the password of MY choosing. But NO! NOT PERMITTED! Again we were at a stalemate. It never was about the money, but about the PRINCIPLE behind gaining access to my own account. Both of us were being stubborn and unreasonable. It made me think of the ongoing unreasonableness of sin and the process of restoration with a stubborn God.

Mankind owes a debt to God for our own sin. And God WILL exact payment. But with only ONE acceptable way to pay! The Blood of His Son, Jesus Christ! Talk about an impasse!!! And it has been the same way for thousands of years. 1 debt… only 1 way to pay. And men have been trying to invent ways to circumvent God’s plan with NO resolution and both parties are stubborn. But God can afford to be!

I remember realizing that His stubborn love was both unyielding AND complete. No other terms were acceptable. So to clear my name and be in good standing… I did what I did online.. I did what they demanded! I made up a new password that I’ll probably never remember, just to meet the requirement.

I am SO Glad that God will NEVER ever forget about ME! My debt has been PAID IN FULL!  I love Him for that!

“For the Word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12

This Christmas was a little different for me for a good reason. With my daughter soon to have our 10^th grandchild, it means that the other 9 have been growing right along. This year, my oldest grandson is 10. It was time to have some fun!

Looking through the list of who and possible what’s for each, I remembered back when MY sons were that age. “Double numbers,”my dad called it! A right of passage. So thinking about it, and asking my son if it was OK, I ordered a Swiss Army knife and a whittling book. I couldn’t wait for the gift giving to begin. When he opened it… he lit up like a Christmas tree! Just as I had figured! The fun was about to begin!

While everyone was busy playing with dolls and games, we slipped out to the side of the house and I cut come tree branches. Taking the time to teach him the safe way to handle a knife, we commenced to ‘whittlin’! Now we didn’t MAKE anything. We just skinned the bark off the branches… and talked! Matter of fact, I let him in on a little secret… whittlin’ is REALLY just about killing time… and talkin! But it’s how men are made!

In a way, the Bible is called a knife! And a SHARP one too! I told my grandson all the safety tips, then handed him a band-aid saying, “WHEN you cut yourself, don’t tell your mom. Moms tend to freak out at blood! Just wrap it up and go tell dad. He’ll know what to do.” I don’t know ANYONE who has ever used a knife that didn’t end up getting cut sooner or later. Come to think it it.. I don’t know ANYONE who’s handled God’s Word, with any seriousness at all, who hasn’t had their life cut up and changed because of the experience.

God knows EVERYTHING. And the very cool part about Him being our Father is that He isn’t interested in keeping it to Himself. He WANTS us to know and grow up ‘in Him.’ Cutting away that bad stuff is just part of the deal. WHEN we get cut, He’s right there to show us what He wants us to know.

My grandson and I got together over the weekend and whittled some more. Which brought my curious 7 year old grandson around wanting to join in. After asking permission of his mom, AND his cousin, we wasted more time… just whittlin’ n talkin! I asked the oldest if he had cut himself yet. “Nope,” was his answer. I smiled at both my teaching AND his learning prowess. But not too serious a smile. Cuz just like life and God’s Word… the cut’s comin! 

“For God so loved ______ He gave His only begotten Son…” John 3:16

Signing up for a 7 night cruise over the Christmas vacation was a wish come true. My wife and I were tired and needed the rest. The price was unbelievably low for a cruise over New Years. But hey… who was ‘I’ to complain. I figured, as long as I didn’t have to row… how bad could it be? Expecting nothing, I couldn’t be deceived. We headed off the day after Christmas.

I am happy to say that the cruise was a phenomenal success. Since I hadn’t expected anything, everything was far beyond wonderful. But halfway through the cruise, we received a notice that the policy for tipping had changed and was going to be automatically billed to the tune of $12.50 per person/per room! The attitude on the ship was mutinous! Some of the folks we had talked to were unhappy with the service of some of the staff… and now we knew why. Staff wasn’t getting paid much.

Since I am a grateful believer in Jesus Christ, I always want to leave a witness and good impression for. But now the gratuity was being forced, and another entity, the shipping company, was going to determine the tip for me. Motivation for excellent service had just gone out the window. Having been a 100% commissioned salesman most of my career… I knew how that felt!

Being on the ocean with no where to go gives plenty of time to read and think. I rolled that idea of motivation around in my head and considered WHY ‘I’ do what ‘I’ do. Soon, verses of the Bible started popping up to feed my train of thought. That could mean only one thing…God was trying to tell me something.

Why did God send His son to die for ME? The Bible is clear. While Christ ‘came to destroy the works of the devil’ (1 John 3:8) that was NOT his primary motivation. His motivation … was His LOVE FOR ME! John 14 records Jesus words telling us that if we love HIM… WE will do what HE says in return. I was convicted… and even preached a sermon on it! The theme? “How much do I REALLY love Jesus?” When asked the question, “what is the greatest commandment,” Jesus didn’t hesitate! He simply said… ‘Love God more than anything else’ (my paraphrase)! I had to look back over 2018 and ask myself the hard question… “did I?”

I am grateful that God placed my failure on His Son and I do not have to bear it. Receiving His grace, I am free because of His love gift. But it doesn’t let me off the hook. I have a life of love and service He still expects from me. And I am committing to doing what He wants… So I tipped my waiter and room steward really well anyway.. and left them with Jesus! Yup… 2019!!! So far so good! 

“Ezra praised the Lord, the great God; and all the people lifted their hands and responded, “Amen! Amen!” Then they bowed down and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground.” Nehemiah 8:6

In the aftermath of terrors from without and injustices from within, how does a society regain stability and safety? The after effects of trauma make it difficult for any community to experience a sense of normalcy. How is daily life restored?

God sent Nehemiah to help the people reestablish life in and around Jerusalem. Those who worked to restore the city walls faced jeers, accusations, and abuse from outside their ranks, and extortion, fear and exhaustion from within. Ezra gathered all together and read the Law aloud in their hearing. When the people understood, they responded with praise, and the healing began.

The crucial first step toward recovery for an individual or a community is to hear and comprehend God’s Word. Belief gives birth to faith, and faith fortified with truth responds in worship.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made.” John 1:1-3

Before it all, the Word of God has always been there, sure and steadfast, holding up the world in constant rotation as we go about our daily life. Without thinking so much about it, we live our life on a planet not made with hands while enjoying much of its resources to our own consumption. Regardless of one’s belief, the Word of God is yet faithful to His command, as the sun is to rising and the rain is to falling. Even in times of crisis, heartache and despair, His Word abides still.  

From our natural point of view, we will never understand it all, but God does. His infinite understanding is never shocked or surprised by anything, for that is a human characteristic. However, it is a perfect example of why we must rely and trust so heavily in the Word of God and not the imperfect world we live in. His Word is His
bond. His bond is who He is.

“I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war.” Revelation 19:11

The week between Christmas and New Year’s Day is the busiest time of the year for theaters. That’s why so many new movies come out over the holidays. People love cinematic stories.

If you look at the plotlines, many movies are, at their core, similar. Someone—an individual or group—is treated badly or is hurt by life’s circumstances or even by purposeful evil. Then a hero saves the day. It is often with lots of vivid visuals and victorious battle cries.

As you read today’s passage, imagine the scene played out as if it were a movie. But it’s not a movie. You’ve read the back of the book, Revelation, and you know how this plotline, the story of Christians struggling on earth, ultimately ends. Lots of subplots may occur in your life, but ultimately the enemy will be vanquished. Jesus will rescue His people and give victory over the forces of evil.

How does the knowledge that you’ll triumph in the end affect your life now?

“A man who remains stiff-necked after many rebukes will suddenly be destroyed—without remedy.” Proverbs 29:1 NIV

Years ago, civil engineers examined a dam in Pennsylvania that controlled the waters of several rivers which flowed down towards a valley where there was a town. Concerned by what they saw, they told the town officials, ‘The dam is unsafe and you are in great danger. You need to relocate.’ The officials said, ‘We’ve heard it all before. The dam is all right.’ A year later the engineers visited the dam and again came back saying, ‘We are warning you; you are in danger every hour.’ By this time the engineers’ report had spread to the townspeople, and they laughed it off, saying, ‘They’re just trying to scare us.’ A few months later the engineers issued the same warning, and again it was dismissed. Fifteen days later a boy on a horse rode through the valley shouting, ‘Run for your lives! The dam has broken and the water is coming.’ But the people laughed at him, certain he was trying to scare them. Suddenly a wall of dirty water struck, and in less than thirty minutes Johnstown was in ruins. More than 3,700 people died that day.

Has God been warning you about certain things in your life: relationships, habits, attitudes? If so, here are two Scriptures you’d do well to consider carefully: “The way of a fool seems right to him, but a wise man listens to advice.” – Proverbs 12:15 NIV – “A man who remains stiff-necked after many rebukes will suddenly be destroyed—without remedy.” The word for you today is: listen, and be willing to take advice.

“This is what the Lord Almighty said: ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. Do not plot evil against each other’”. Zechariah 7:9–10

Many people strive for positions of power. That power can be used for good or evil, to help others or to harm them.

The Christmas season shows a dichotomy of power. Christ, who reigned in heaven, became a powerless baby in a working-class family. He willingly forfeited His power to give us something that even the most elite people on earth could never achieve on their own: eternal life. He gave up His life so that we could have the power of being God’s sons and daughters, and so that we can experience the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

Sometimes we all need a reminder not to seek power through leadership or money or the other emphases the world has. Instead, seek more of the power of the Holy Spirit in your life.