“Whoever pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity and honor.” Proverbs 21:21

It is something most of us do every day 6 days a week… except for holidays. And though I am the one to usually do it, my wife will still want to know if I did! Without thinking about it, I usually have an expectation or anticipation as I make that daily journey. A hope that something of ‘benefit to me’ will be there… in my mailbox!

When I opened the mailbox yesterday, it was full. A couple of envelopes were so big they had to be folded in half to fit in there. I wondered! After carrying my bundle into the house, I started to go through it like a lottery player with a ‘scratch off.’ But when I was done, I felt like I had just been played for a loser! Literally EVERY single piece of mail was an attempt by someone to SELL ME something! In other words…organizations had just paid MONEY to the U.S. Postal Service… to try to get mine!

Advertising is an art. Companies spend a LOT of money to discover the best return for their investment. If it costs, $1000 to make $140, you can bet they will not ever do that again! But even if $1000 brings in $1200… there WILL be an attempt to stuff my mailbox again with a more carefully considered effort. Yesterday’s trip was an example of just that.

Sadly, being in ministry, I get a lot of junk mail. Having been in sales, I don’t like wasting people’s time if I have no interest. So when I PURCHASED a product from 3 different ministry sources in the past, I was NOT expecting that I would be placed on a list and badgered for more cash! But alas, that is how it works. I was disappointed because it seems that even ministry has become big business. From the marketing information, that these folks weren’t ‘pursuing righteousness and love,’ It seemed that they were pursuing the money in my wallet!

There is an old question that helps to guide a salesman to success. “WHAT does a person want and WHY do they want it?” helps keep from wasting everyone’s time. If your product answers those 2 qualities in a prospect, you are then offering a reasonable solution to their meet THEIR need. Honest salesmen are more like trouble shooters who solve problems. Until the SALESMAN’S need for money becomes more important than the needs of the customer. Like now! I threw the whole bundle of mail in the trash! Which is what I usually do… every day! This leads ME to a question. What am “I” pursuing.

God tells me through His Word that if I pursue HIS righteousness and love, I WILL reap something bigger than what I would if I did not! I have personally discovered this bit of wisdom to be 100% true. If I FREELY make YOU an offer you cannot refuse, will you refuse it? Or live in anticipation? Here it is… “Seek God and His desires FIRST! The rest just falls into place.”

 You’re welcome! No charge!

‘”Therefore, Jeremiah, go and warn all Judah and Jerusalem. Say to them, ‘This is what the LORD says: I am planning disaster for you instead of good. So turn from your evil ways, each of you, and do what is right.'” Jeremiah 18:11

This morning I heard my wife shriek! She likes to do devotions as she stares out at the side of the house where her flower garden lies. Birds and squirrels usually frequent the habitat… but not today. Her peaceful world was interrupted when 2 big rats ran in front of the glass door. “AAAAA!”

For the last couple weeks we have been hearing the pitter-patter of little feet at the same time in the morning! We knew where the sound was coming from. Rats had found a hole into our attic and made it their home! AGAIN! Being the man of the house, I did what any normal man would do. I put off the task of climbing up, in and around there for as long as I could! ‘Could’ arrived last night as I decided TODAY was the day of e-RAT-ication!

It was dark yesterday when I put on my headlight and asked my wife if she wanted to join me. She was creeped out at the very thought! I knew the rats had left to go out slumming in the darkness, so I went up, out and around the house to see if I could find their entryway. I discovered a new hole in some fascia and patched it. This morning, with full bellies from a night of carousing, they had lost their home! Having expected this result, when she shrieked… I smiled!

Lots of folks like to claim the Bible verse of Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” I have never heard ANYONE lay claim to Today’s verse! WHAT! It isn’t CONVENIENT? Picking and choosing is a poor way to approach Scripture. It is also a poor way to live!

ALL of us have songbird-squirrel times. All of us have rat times as well. Our natural reaction to a RAT is ALWAYS repulsive. We have been programmed to see them as the dirty, disease carrying vermin that they are. Until we ALLOW them entry and get used to their co-habitation. We KNOW they have to go…but inconvenience, lack of time, desire and money have a way of putting off their exit.

The moral of this story is simple. I have things in my life that have GOT to GO! Unfortunately I have allowed them to live in me so long, I am used to their presence. Heck.. sometimes I dress them up and even PLAY with them. But a dressed up rat is still a rat! And the CHOICE as to how long it stays is still in my court!

“If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.” 1 Corinthians 12:26

It had been a while since my wife and I had gotten away together by ourselves. We were desperate to do so. Since she had Monday off I planned a trip to do something we had never done before. So after church on Sunday, we quickly grabbed what we thought we needed and headed to the Florida Everglades for an overnight stay and an air-boat ride. It seemed strange to have lived here so long and never been on an air-boat. We had visions of flying across the open grass like they show in the brochures. But that didn’t happen.

When we got to the hotel, we again discovered that theory and reality were two separate things. “we could have brought,” became a saying as we discovered there really wasn’t a lot to do down there at night. RURAL was an understatement! The air conditioner and TV didn’t work right and neither of us slept very well. But we were in ‘together.’ The next day, adrenaline started to flow as we got onto the air-boat and into the mangroves where our guide ‘opened ‘er up!’ There…theory and reality met once again!

While it was exhilarating, we never REALLY went that fast, never REALLY got out of the mangroves, and didn’t REALLY see anything we hadn’t seen before. But we REALLY laughed and joked and had a good time all the same. Because we were there, alone, TOGETHER! Which was REALLY our main goal all along!

The Church is called ‘The Bride of Christ.’ She resides, presently, on Earth. We all know, Earth is NOT how Earth was created to be. We ALL carry within our being the knowledge that things are NOT what they were meant to be. Reality and theory are common bedfellows as joy and disappointment can come from the same event. But “The Bride” has a distinct advantage. We are all in this TOGETHER!

Church is a place were blemished saints congregate to strengthen and support one another. We all KNOW we are headed for a perfect future! But for now, the realities of life can be disappointing. THAT is why it is so important that we stick together. Thorough joys and sorrow, fears and cheers, we have the ability to encourage, pray for and support each other. It is a gift that we tend to take for granted. We should not!

My wife and I share our experiences together. From now on, when someone mentions ‘The Everglades’ in our company, we will look at each other and smile! We have ‘been there and done that!’ When someone tells us they are headed that way, we might even suggest a thing or two to make THEIR trip more enjoyable. But that does NOT mean WE wasted the trip!  

“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of Him.” 1 John 5:14-15

We have a wall fountain at the entryway of our house. It has been there for probably 10 years… which means it has probably been 17, as time flies when I look backwards! Obviously for the fountain to work, there has to be an electrical pump in the water to MAKE it work. As in ALL things earthly, pumps go bad… so I have had to change it out numerous times. It is about a 20-30 minute job… USUALLY!

Even if you are not savvy (why are there 2 v’s in this word?) about things electrical, you are STILL smart enough to know that electric and water do NOT mix. The job requires special connectors and a crimping tool to do it right. I bought the pump, started the process, then could not find my crimping tool. I searched high and low for a couple days, off and on, and then ended up borrowing one. When my 36 year old electrical tester died… I went and bought new one of those too! I was ready!

The job took longer than usual because the wiring is older, and so am I. The crimping tool wasn’t what I was used to so I snapped a connector and had to start again. Making sure the waterproof connections were good, I taped… then taped again… to make sure no water would get in. It was frustrating… but I love my wife and she loves the sound of running water! She was due to be home in about 10 minutes so I filled the fountain, flipped the switch and… nothin’! I was upset!

When I work, I talk to God. Paul says to pray without ceasing… so I do. “OK Lord.. where’s my crimper?” “Tape?” “Think THIS will work, Jesus?” “Sorry I got mad… again!” “PLEASE LORD!” “Where’d I lay my glasses?” “Here we go now, Lord!” “GRRRRRR!” After all that, I discovered the pump was bad from the manufacturer! A 30 minute job became a failure after 3 days…off and on!

Stuff happens.. or sometimes it doesn’t! Teaching a series on Faith, and NOT blaming God for anything, I asked Him a fun question, “Lord… all that work, hope, praying and asking really didn’t go very well. I know that you say to ask and you shall receive… but why did I have SO much trouble?” Later, while still pondering, I faintly heard His answer…” I’m not in the pump business!” I smiled.

Long ago I had learned a lesson that is rarely taught. I had discovered the hard way that asking, then getting, was missing something critical in the middle. The verse today clarifies it.  Do the words, “according to His will” jump out? They should. Because they hold the key to the saving of a LOT of grief.

John 6 tells me that God has a ‘Job’ and a ‘Will!’ And that anything outside of either of those descriptions is extra and does NOT require His attention. While some folks like to throw out that God cares about EVERYTHING that connects to our life, I find that this train of thought is usually just an attempt at getting our own way. Which like my pump… doesn’t always work! God and I are good! 

 Our wall fountain has just become a planter!

“Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.” Romans 12:9

This morning was a typical day for my wife and me. The alarm went off, we both got up, I poured my coffee… AND hers. She went to 1 room to spend her quiet time with God… I went to the other. After a few minutes I heard her holler… “Happy Valentine’s Day!” I repeated, “Happy Valentine’s Day,” then added, “I didn’t buy you a dang thing!” She responded with, “I didn’t buy you a dang thing either!” And THAT.. was our Valentine’s Day!

I abhor, regard with horror, hate, and detest Valentine’s Day! If you know me, you know that. If you don’t… you do now! I refuse to go into the history of this day because its origin is cloudy at best. Personally, I believe it was invented by an unhappy woman in a back room of Hallmark… or the lunch room of a candy or flower shop! The advertising world has implanted into the male brain..”dude.. don’t be a loser.. buy your gal something special today!” Women have been programmed to respond to the day with.. “What’d ya get me?” And I protest!

You may think me mad… but being a male, I don’t notice that WOMEN are pressed to do ANYTHING special for their men. Real men don’t swoon over a card, flowers or candy. What real men WANT is already known. But I don’t see an increased budget in advertising for ANYTHING in that arena. So let me be the Lone Ranger, since fair is fair… “Ladies…take special care of your man today!” I may deserve a medal for that from the men… or a lynching from the ladies. SO be it!

You may wonder why I am so ridiculously opposed to the idea of this day. Well it is actually very simple. If I TRULY LOVE my wife…and if she truly loves me… should LOVE not be displayed EVERY day! If you catch my drift, you would realize that loving Valentine’s Day is a sell out! If you do, you are settling for WAY too little and YOU have been conned!

We awoke, I honored her by pouring the coffee, we said, “I love you,” to each other and then we went to worship God individually… together! And THAT my friends.. is the MEANING and SECRET of a romantic and God centered relationship… because it is impossible to correctly LOVE each other without loving GOD FIRST! First… I am not worthy of it. And second…I don’t have the capability!

Today’s verse has many versions to it… both positive and negative. We are called to LOVE unfeigned, sincerely, without dissimulation, deceit or hypocrisy. We are THEN commanded to abhor, regard with horror, hate, and detest all EVIL. Finally we are to cling, cleave, hold onto and hold fast to everything GOOD! It sounds to me that those instructions are not directed toward a single day!

If your love relationships consists of yours and mine … you have a problem. God demands that we give EVERYTHING to HIM.. and to those we cherish. There is to be no ‘I, ME or MY’ in any relationship. It is ALL OURS! That is how God shares Himself with me… and that is what He expects from me in return. I refuse to simply BUY something because Hallmark wants to make a buck! 

 Happy Day to you and yours!

“I have set the Lord always before me. Because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.” Psalm 16:8 KJV

I was behind in my honey-do list and found some time to get several things done around the house. Work for me generally includes gloves so I don’t have to spend so much time cleaning the grunge from under my fingernails. I buy the Dollar Tree gloves in multiples so I always have a pair on hand. Going to my truck, in a hurry as usual, I dug behind the seat where I usually throw my gloves when I am done with a job. I came up with 6… and they were ALL LEFT HANDED!

I’d like to say I laughed and thought it humorous. But being honest, it made me angry! How can I possibly LOSE 6 right hand gloves? Where did they go? Is there a systematic pattern I go through that causes the problem? Are sinister forces at work… deliberately upsetting my timeline and spirit… just because they can? (yes… I really gave that one a serious thought!)

David was right handed. I know because he refers to his right hand a lot. The majority of people are right handed… therefore the right hand has come to symbolize a person’s strength. Now that my mood, plan and timing had been interrupted, my attitude instantaneously switched dwarfs! I went from ‘Happy’ WITH the Lord to ‘Grumpy’ in the flesh faster than Superman can change suits! But I was MORE upset that I could so easily ‘be moved’ than I was at the loss of the gloves.

It has been said that Michael Jackson used his famous right hand glove to cover the affects of a skin disease… which may be true. I KNOW ‘I’ have a dis-ease when my flesh gets uptight at interruption. I ALSO KNOW that there is only 1 remedy! It is holding onto HIS powerful hand.

Of all the spiritual questions asked, this one is the most common… ‘how can God love me when I am such a sinner?” It is an underlying question that ALL believers experience. Feeling dirty and carrying the evidence of grunge under my nails, how can God even love me? While looking up the different versions of this Scripture, I discovered differing punctuation as well! Which leads me to believe previous saints wrestled with the same question.

Some versions use a period between ‘me’ and ‘because.’ Some use a semicolon. I have set the Lord always before me(.;) because…! I think HOW this verse is punctuated makes a difference. My spirit is not free and secure because ‘I’ have made it so. I am free and secure because HE has made me so. By turning to Him and placing my strongest hand into HIS… I can rest assured that I shall not be moved from my secure position… no matter how I feel! In other words.. I vote for the period version!

Driving home from running errands I was going past the Dollar Tree. I pulled in and bought some more gloves because… I am NOT going to let the loss of a glove.. and my mood… stop me from getting the job done. Right Lord?

“And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” Colossians 3:17

The other day I found myself in the very important roll of supervision. A couple of my grandkids were here and I noticed an extreme excess of energy flow. Being an expert, I knew that kind of energy had to be purged before it blew up into something messy. So I took them out front to run around the yard. Setting down in the grass, my eyes noticed some weeds in my grassy lawn. Being an expert child watcher, I had the ability to pick out those weeds while child caring. Some call that multi-tasking! I call it smart!

While watching and pulling, I remembered having written about this weed thing before, utilizing the metaphor of weeds to sin. Suddenly this Bible verse popped into my head, creating a path of potential wisdom I had not yet seen before. So I spiritually took a walk with Him. Apparently He thinks I can do MORE than just 2 things at once! The thought struck me… ‘Whatever you do – DO!’ DO-DO! There HAD to be a double meaning!

I distinctly remembered the last time I started pulling weeds, and that back then there were a LOT more weeds then than there were right now. At that time, I was pulling them to get rid of them in the present! I hadn’t REALLY thought about the impact weeding THEN would have on the future! I began to see what He was trying to teach me. Less weeds had produced less seeds! And apparently less seeds produced less weeds! A no brainer?? Indeed…! But I sensed that there was something more to this idea!

One way or another I was going to have my way with the weeds. Even if I didn’t pull or chemically treat them, I would run over them with my lawnmower. My life, whether I thought about it or not, had an appointment with weeds… regardless of my plan or thought about them. I was discovering that faithfully PULLING them was more effective, in the long run, than just running them over! Using the same 2 hands to pull them (in advance) was FAR more effective than using my hands to push the mower later!

If I am doing something ANYWAY, is it possible to mix faith with that event ahead of time, WITH the expectation of seeing a greater result…. on purpose? Apparently it is! My understanding of ‘Faith’ was being sharpened by The Expert! The path is opening up into a field!

Hebrews 11:1 has always been a mystical verse to me. I have swallowed the pat explanations of it being a mystical thing that I’ll never REALLY understand here. But deep down, that explanation hasn’t settled well! I am seeing that Faith is not a mystery… it is a WORK! A DOING of something in the physical… all the while EXPECTING a spiritual long term result. It is not something to ATTAIN. It is a secret weapon to be used in ordinary workings of my day to GAIN an ultimate spiritual result. This Bible verse proves it.

Today’s verse does not stand alone. It is repeated in 1 Corinthians 10:31 and Proverbs 3:16. So it must be important! The question I seem to be continually pressed to ask is.. “how can I DO.. RIGHT NOW… what I am DOING… for Him and with Him? ALL THE TIME!” Hmmmmm. THIS is going to take some serious and deliberate multitasking!

“How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul, with sorrow in my heart every day? How long will my enemy have the upper hand?” Psalm 13:2 NLT

Moving slightly faster than the speed of traffic, I noted the light about half a mile ahead… AND the one after it. Utilizing my ‘superior to monkey’ brain skills, I calculated the timing and KNEW I was going to hit the first red light for 1.7 minutes and the next one for 3! If I made a right … NOW … I could take a little shortcut and utilize the eastbound light and save 2 minutes. Which I did! Which is crazy! Because I had absolutely NO where I HAD to BE in 2 minutes!

Elvis wrote a song with the lyrics, “We’re caught in a trap, I can’t walk out…” I can see how the ‘we’ and ‘I’ apply because when it comes to my red light mania, my wife knows I’m a psycho! It has been said that wherever you go, there you are! Which is true. But SOMETIMES… my wife is trapped WITH me! You see… HER crazy is ME!

I have mentally calculated my expenditure for gasoline and can see that rushing ahead to save 2 minutes actually costs me MORE money than sitting and waiting at the red light! But realizing that there is a monetary cost to my mental state has not diminished my behavior. Every addict KNOWS what is wrong with them!! How to get FIXED is another matter! But I am beginning to sense that God has a plan for me… because I am getting tired! I am beginning to get the sense that… He has me right where He wants me!

I have never learned to simply sit still and control my inner being very well. I am either running or resting. When I am thinking, I am running in my head. Which is often a painful trip because of where my mind likes to run! I know there are supposedly drugs for that! But at 63, I have no interest in drugs for ADD. Besides… its too late now and I now my condition isn’t one that can be fixed like a headache! THIS is going to take a power superior to my own!

I am not writing this stuff for anyone but me. Lord knows I am not trying to change the world! I am just trying to get a handle on MINE! I’d LOVE to get to the point where my head rests still and doesn’t run ahead of me to a crazy place! The advice I give to others is not always what I take myself! But I KNOW that to ‘give up’ something I must also ‘take on’ something as a replacement….

O…O…O….! I believe I may on to something…Did  I just sense that that my Heavenly Father just uncrossed His arms! And… OHHHHHHH! Is that a smile I can see…. starting to break out on His face?    Hmmm!   MAYBE!!!!!!!!!!!

“The Lord shall cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that speaks proud things: Who have said, ‘With our tongue will we prevail; our lips are our own: who is lord over us?’” Psalm 12:3-4

My head hurts! Both the outside and inside! My dad has been gone now for about 18 years. But he is still memorable because of what occasionally creeps up in my life. He had bouts with pilar cysts on occasion, and that wonderful trait has been passed on to me. Yesterday I went to my favorite doctor and he cut two of them out of my scalp. NO!!! THIS is NOT a picture of MY head!

When I went to see my son last week, his wife told me was in a sore mood. HE had just had a big pilar cyst cut out of his scalp… and he was rather cranky! Apparently passing on the love continues. MAYBE next time we can get together for a family discount!!!!

The pain on the inside of my head is NOT from cyst removal. But the problem is no less inherited. My mind carries within it the propensity to think things that it should not. Inherited flesh sees to it that even at my best, I still carry with me the bent of stinkin’ thinkin’! And like those pesky cysts, which only grow larger when left alone… well those thoughts have ‘got to go’ because they are not good for me! What to do? I go to the GREAT Physician and His Word for eradication surgery.

I like my doctor. He is also a friend of mine. Truth be told, I’d rather spend time with him as my friend than as my doctor. But it’s nice to know that when doctoring needs done, a friend holds the scalpel! It is the same scenario with God. God is also my friend and He loves me. But LOVE is an ACTION that often goes where it is NOT exactly welcome! Just like my earthy physician gives me sound advice for a healthy life, so does my heavenly Doctor!

There is a TV show out now called ‘Dr. Pimple Popper.’ It is popular for a VERY weird reason. We ALL seem to react in the same way to the grotesque! Our first reaction is to repel and say “OOOOO GROSS!” But for SOME reason… we seem go back for a second or third look! It is the same with the sin of stinkin’ thinkin’. There is an inherited, grotesque fascination with it. THAT is why we need help in getting rid of it!

This verse today, when taken literally, portrays a picture of some cranky folks standing around with no lips! But it is a metaphor for judgment. Jesus said that HE ALONE was THE only ‘Truth’ in the Universe (John 14:6). Whether you think He is, or is lying, or just plain nuts… is YOUR decision. But for anyone claiming that ‘TRUTH’ title for themselves, this Psalm says they will be ‘cut off’ from God’s world. Their own opinions of themselves will not be welcome. Me? I’d rather get stinkin’ thinkin’ cut ‘out’ HERE… rather than let it fester to get cut ‘off’ THERE! Scalpel?