“…put off your former way of life, your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be renewed in the spirit of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” Ephesians 4:22-24

It started when Katie took down the Christmas Tree. It seemed just yesterday we put the Christmas decorations UP! Too much, too fast, with not enough time to enjoy seems to be the theme of Christmas. We have a deal with the decorations. She does the inside, I do the outside. Pondering on what to do yesterday, the thought, ‘take down the Christmas Lights,’ hit me. Several times! UGH!!!

Putting the Christmas lights UP are WAY more time consuming than taking them down. Having done it for years, I have a system that works well and fast. But for some reason, I couldn’t get the engine of that job to start. The nudge ‘JUST DO IT’ succumbed far too easily to the, “Eh… maybe later,” idea. ‘Later’ fished around for some good reasons for support, but failed to pull any weight. Sooo!

As I expected, the job didn’t take long at all. Within half an hour, I was done. And I actually felt a sense of accomplishment and relief that I wasn’t being bugged about it anymore. That is until the NEXT thing hit my head! And the ridiculous fishing for excuses started all over again! It seemed that I hadn’t learned a thing! Maybe what I needed was a better, fancier version of ‘a round TUIT!’

When Jesus knocked on my old fleshy heart and wanted to take possession of it, I opened the door and welcomed Him in. It is a decision I have never regretted. I just didn’t realize the extent of what His ‘take over’ meant! Over the years, we’ve had numerous, and sometimes ugly discussions. In the end, He usually wins. But there is ALWAYS a NEXT TIME! Putting off and putting on is difficult!

I know we ALL have the same problem. But that doesn’t really help much. In the end, a crashing plane full of people will NEVER find a way to turn that experience into a party! With the Holy Spirit, my old self ALWAYS faces a ‘one on one’ experience. Until ‘He’ has Won! When He does, I always have the same feeling of accomplishment and relief. Put off… Put on! It’s a job that never ends!

How are YOU doing with that command? What are YOU needing to get ‘a round tuit?’ Cuz He’s waiting!  

“…we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance…” Romans 5:2b-3

“Monday, Monday, can’t trust that day.” That song, written back in my kid days, was being lived out as I made calls yesterday. Starting off well, it became apparent that for many, it was already going downhill. Listening to the sheep under my care, as they bleat out their woes, is actually an honor for me. It is my calling to listen, and then give True Hope from the Word of God. It never gets old.

Sometimes I read the Word of God and think God is whacked out of His mind! “Glory in (y)our sufferings?!!” THAT’S a phrase I RARELY see put to use. But then I am reminded that Jesus, The Word of God, suffered a WHOLE lot more in 1 day than I have in my entire life! And HE says… ‘Rejoice in sufferings!’ MY job is to DISCOVER and PRACTICE what HE preaches. Then pass it on to fellow sheep.

Galatians 1:4 says Jesus “gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father.” So on one hand, He agrees that I live in an evil age and have a NEED to be rescued. But He has no plans to pull me out of it! God’s Word says that if I follow and obey Him, I CAN be ABLE to GLORY in my suffering, living INSIDE this evil world! THAT sounds nuts!

C.S. Lewis said, in ‘The Problem of Pain,’ that “We can ignore even pleasure. But pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains; it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” The logical question is, ‘why doesn’t He just throw the megaphone away!’ The answer is, He didn’t create pain in the first place! WE did that ourselves!

The point is, every ouch, bump, loss, hurt and uh-oh produces something. Usually it comes out in tears of sorrow, which can easily lead to anger and bitterness. God says those pains are simply the evidence that I was not MADE for this world. What I am experiencing was never intended in the first place. That should lead me to REJOICE because, there IS a HOPE and a PLACE where I DO belong!

Jesus calls me ‘The Light of the world.’ Lights shine in DARKNESS. Since I am LIVING in a dark evil world, He wants me to SHINE more than I WHINE! One day I will live where darkness cannot. But until then, I am called to adjust my mind to live brightly THROUGH the dark times by HIS power! That is His prescription for the day. So…. what’s in YOUR head and how are YOU doing at shining?

“Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name; make known among the nations what he has done. Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts.” Psalm 105:1-2

It was easy on the Cruise… waking up without an alarm! Walking in the sunshine, then through a buffet with dozens of options of foods to choose from, it was easy to be happy and rejoice. I had no worries, cares, pains or responsibilities. As I read Psalm 105‘s first 5 verses, it was easy to praise and thank the LORD for all his benefits. Waking up to the gray cold of today, I admit some difficulty!

Because someone had asked, I went straight to work looking for the answers to the questions. A spirit of ‘back at work’ had caught me by surprise. My vocation calls for ‘work’ as much as any other. But it wasn’t long before I sensed God’s Spirit prodding me. “Did you do YOUR home-work?” He was asking. I knew what He was saying and knew that, before I had even started the day, I’d blown it!

So what’s a guy to do when he’s caught… after supposedly knowing better? Though easier said than done, I HAD to stop! Then I considered. Then I turned the pages of my Bible to the very same home-work assignment I had given the church yesterday. And there on the page was the assignment. Give Praise to the LORD! Remember what He’s done. Sing to Him. Then the song just came.

No… I didn’t write the song. But I knew it! As I remembered all the blessings and benefits He has overflowed to me, the song became easy to sing. Which is actually the meaning of, and for, my entire life! I am here, not there. A dreary cold day naturally darkens my mood. Life… is tragic, hard and dark without Jesus! The only point to it all… is HIM! It is my joy and purpose to Believe and sing!

As a believer and recipient of God’s life, the only way I can actually mirror and display Him is through my connection with Him. If there is none, my light dims. So priority 1 is to make the connection. The Word, and the song, helps me to do just that. Have YOU made ‘The Connection’ today? If not, turn to Psalm 105 and sing along! You know the words… It’s a song for the “Home-Sick”

“Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him…” Psalm 37:7

It was correct yesterday, but not today! Our Snowman themed bathroom has a Christmas Countdown Snowman where the numbers are to be changed daily. I noted it read 4 days, when today, there are only ‘3’ more days until Christmas. Seeing the right number for yesterday… today, made me smile. Because I was presented with the opportunity to change the number.

Psalm 37 is an AWESOME Psalm. The heading in my Bible says, ‘Trust in The LORD.’  If you want a great Christmas blessing, read it for yourself. My attention had been drawn to the words ‘do not fret,’ in verses 7 and 8. It warned that evil men will be around, and even seem to SUCCEED in their evil plans. And where a ‘But’ may seem appropriate, God uses the word ‘WILL’ further on in the Psalm.

As Christmas draws near, I find myself focusing more on the promises that Christmas brings. At 68 Christmases, I have learned that ‘being still’ before the LORD, in trust and Faith, is MUCH more enjoyable than fretting. Though I admit, I DO know how to fret. I found that fret and worry only succeed in making me tired and grumpy. Turning toward the Prince of Peace makes me still.

Not much has changed in the 3000+ years of time since David wrote those words. People are born… and people die. Some are REALLY good. Some are REALLY evil. But in the scheme of things, neither last very long. As I ponder on ‘being still’ before the LORD, I realize that, too often, I have my countdown calendar set to the wrong time! That MY TIME on Earth is NOT what Jesus is counting.

Jesus made promises LONG ago (in man time) that STILL have not yet happened. Some might see that as a reason to NOT believe in God. Trouble was here before Jesus was born, and it hasn’t changed in the 2000+ years since. But God WILL CHANGE THINGS. Just because He hasn’t returned YET does NOT mean He isn’t coming. So I’m setting my life clock on HIS-STORY time. Not mine.

How many days do YOU see ahead of you? How are you living them? For Good? For Evil? FOR Jesus? Are you waiting like a snowman in 20 degree weather… patiently? Because that is His Word for Today. 

“Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!” Luke 1:45

It’s a silly little thing! At least that is what I thought when I read it. Katie’s old Bible was laying there on the table, so I grabbed it for my ‘time with Jesus.’ It just so happened to open up to this verse, and I read it. Immediately I felt The Holy Spirit plop right down beside me, and nudge me with wonder. ‘Has Believed!’ ‘Has said’ My focus was drawn to the word ‘has!’  Which was VERY Weird!

I take a lot of things for granted, and once learned, I don’t really ponder or question what has become common to me. So why was He zeroing in on ‘HAS?’ So I looked it up! One dictionary said, ‘has is the third person singular of the present tense of have.’ Mary (singular person) HAS (in her possession now) believed (past tense) what the Lord HAS (present tense) said to her! I’m confused!

To further complicate things, I used ‘Bible Hub’ to look up every known version of that verse in every known version of the Bible and… those words are not there! I was reading from an NIV version, but the Bible Hub’s NIV version didn’t read like the verse that was written in Katie’s Bible! Mary possesses ‘belief’ in something the Lord has said to her about something to be accomplished!

Even reading that last paragraph makes my head spin. Until I sensed The Holy Spirit’s smile. I could almost hear Him say… “Yup! You’ve got it!” Wait.. WHAT do I HAVE? The answer came… but slowly. “FAITH!” Mary was then, currently, acting upon the Faith she HAD put in God’s PAST words, and was NOW moving in His pointed direction to accomplish something in the future! FAITH!

I was reading the story of Christmas. A story that had been foretold thousands of years before, and actually happened! Years ago I got nudged by the Holy Spirit and given the opportunity to Believe THEN what He HAD told Mary… so I too could believe and have Faith that HER God would accomplish in ME something I too… won’t see until later. I guess ‘I’ HAS BELIEVED TOO!

It may seem complicated. But it really isn’t. I know God personally and have placed my faith in Him. Every morning I wake up, I point my toes in the direction of that faith, moving forward with confident assurance that what He SAID… He will DO. Later! And that is just fine with me. I don’t need to know everything, as long as I know HIM! Do YOU ‘HAS BELIEVED’ TOO? Merry Christmas!

‘What can I get her?’ is ALWAYS a December question. In the spirit of Christmas, it is a tradition to give Christmas gifts to the ones I love. Being that there are 20 of us in our immediate family, that question is never easy to answer. Since gifts fall into different categories, the choices become hard. There are very few things my wife and I NEED. And what we WANT can be as fuzzy as a cloud!

I already bought my bride a few gifts. They are hidden and unwrapped in the original store bag. The gifts are already hers, even though I haven’t given them to her yet. I bought them because that’s what we DO at Christmas. They are items that she NEEDS, which get used up and discarded when they’ve worn out. Needs are expectations, tho not REALLY ‘presents.’ Good.. but not great!

Growing up, Christmas was always my favorite Holiday. I LOVED getting presents. Being poor didn’t really help though. Most of the presents I received were needs, therefore the first ones handed out by my mom. Socks… ‘YEA!!’ Underwear… ‘THANKS!’ A new pair of blue jeans… ‘WOW!’ All needs. All appreciated. But I knew the GOOD gifts would come LAST! So I waited.

I remember both my favorite, and my worst Christmases as a kid. My favorite was when my parents cleverly hid all the BIG boxes and revealed a VERY NICE Drum Set. I’d bugged them for a year! The worst was when my brother and I received an HO scale train set! I wanted a train set like I wanted The Plague, and my disappointment was palpable. ‘How’d my parents screw THAT up?’

Usually the ways of man are opposite of God’s ways, and the area of gift giving is an example. In 2 Peter 1-4, we find that the absolute GREATEST gifts possible, are the one’s given FIRST. Faith, Grace, Peace and Knowledge of God are HUGE! They are both needed… AND wanted. The gifts that make my life better FOR Him, the ones that take extra effort, found in Verses 4-9, come AFTER the BIG gifts.

The bland gifts, the ones that make my life shine in a Godly manner, take determination, time and practice to master. Some I still haven’t. Things like goodness, self-control, godliness and brotherly love often get a response from me like… getting underwear from my mom. “OH GOD… you mean I HAVE to love THAT GUY? AND be kind to him? Even though I want to punch his lights out? UGH!”

But the walk of a Believer has LOTS of benefits. And The Word tells me that if I GRATEFULLY receive and use the BIG gifts, AND work on applying the NEEDED ones, I will get extra bonus gifts when I get to heaven in the form of a ‘RICH welcome!’ As opposed to a poor one! So today, I am committed to making God’s NEEDED gifts shine out. And anticipate even MORE… later in Heaven.

How about YOU? Are YOU daily working on making your life and light shine like God wants and expects?

“I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in.” Romans 11:25

“We made him!” It was the final response in my conversation with a man at a self-checkout lane in a local store. I only had 5 items, and all of them had barcodes. So why not! Standing at the end of the lane, watching… overseeing… was a man with a bunch of badges on his store uniform. He looked official, and was there to help customers with any problem. AND, as I figured, watch for any theft.

I was buying Christmas lights, which, with my continued conversations with God, had put me in a wonderful mood. When the register beeped, the guy came over to help. I boldly exclaimed ‘Merry Christmas!’ When the transaction was over, I pressed a little and asked, “are YOU a ‘Jesus Guy?’” He said, “I’m Jewish!” I said, “I’m sorry!” When I tried explaining Jesus, he said, “Hey… we MADE Him!”

His statement was interesting, acknowledging A religion. But his attitude seemed to hint that MY faith was secondary, and less superior to HIS. Which has some truth to it! I ended the conversation with, “Yep! If it wasn’t for the Jews, we wouldn’t have any faith at all!” His face contorted. I sensed his brain going, but nothing came out! Exiting, I said, “Thank you for Jesus! MERRY CHRISTMAS!”

Israel has been in the news since its inception in 1948. More so lately! In trying to wrap my head around the world vs Israel thing, I can’t help but be guided back to today’s verse. They have the START of the truest faith on earth, but have stopped just short of actually receiving its greatest treasure… The Messiah! “I” have HIM! Along with His blessing AND calling… to help them see!

Jesus has come into the World to set us free from the wages of sin and death. Upon receiving Jesus as my Lord, I received His treasures as well. But with the riches of His grace comes the responsibility to assist Christ with His Father’s WORK! I am called to proclaim the message of Christ’s Good News to the whole Gentile world. Doing so draws Israel closer to their own divine appointment with God.

I personally deem the Jews HIGHER than Christians, in the order of God. Because he did have a point! Jesus was ‘Made in Israel!’ But The Christ… The Messiah, has been offered to the entire WORLD of those ‘without God,’ which is what ‘Gentile’ means. Knowing Jesus PERSONALLY, it is my honor to share Him, so eventually, both Jews and Christians can go Home to be together with Him.

Are YOU sharing God’s plan for unwrapping the hard hearts of both the Jews, and the Gentiles by sharing The Gospel with whoever comes into your world? The Story of Christmas is worth telling!

“Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:16

It happens every Christmas! We gather the decorations and set up the trees and lights. And every year, without fail, I’ll plug in a strand of Christmas lights to discover that many of the lights… don’t! They worked LAST year when I put them away in the box. But now… nada! “What could have happened?” I wonder. And every year, without fail, I determine that THIS YEAR… I’ll figure it out!

Years ago I saw an infomercial defining the half-lit problem.. but with a solution! “With this tool you will be able to fix or repair ANY Christmas light issue!” The timing was perfect, so I bought one! It’s somewhere in one of my tool drawers. After giving false reason for hope over a few years, I finally gave up and threw it in there, determined to keep the promise to not touch it again! EVER!

I’m trying, I’m REALLY trying! I HAVE to let the Christmas half-lit, light problem go! But in looking for a picture to use for today, I mistakenly read the captions underneath! MANY had the hopeful subheading, “How to fix your broken Christmas lights!” Now, I can feel myself slipping backwards, being drawn to a hope that there MUST be a solution to half-lit lights! I have a sick need to FIND IT!

Pondering, this verse came to mind. It seems that The Creator of the Universe has the very same problem I have… ‘kind of.’ Since He created us to be lights, you’d think that He’d make us so that we’d ALWAYS light. But that just ain’t so! Because He IS Love, God HAD to build us with ‘Free-Will’ in our filament! Which is even MORE contrary and difficult than store bought Christmas lights.

Free-Will means I don’t HAVE to light, if I find reason NOT to, or simply WON’T! Reading His Word, from the Old Testament to the New, I see that He tried MANY different ways to force, sell, punish and even reward His potential ‘Half-lits’ to go ‘full on!’ But even the sacrifice of His own Son left the solution of a ‘Lit-Life’ in the hands and hearts of the lights themselves! Most… simply won’t!

The Gift of Christmas is God’s final attempt to a world of Half-lits. This is His LAST chance and attempt before God throws the Half-lits into the ‘never to be used again’ drawer and walks away for good. Every potential ‘Light of the World’ must make their decision… ‘On?’ or ‘Off?’ I am SO blessed that at this time of year, no matter the hardship or pain, I have His promises to keep me lit!

Are YOU a Light to the World? Are you Shining? Or do you need to have a conversation with your maker and find out how TO shine? Because He wants to ‘turn you on!’

“I have posted watchmen on your walls, Jerusalem; they will never be silent day or night. You who call on the LORD give yourselves no rest, and give him no rest till he establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the earth.” Isaiah 62:6-7

I hadn’t been watching the news, and no 1 thing hit me like a single event to talk about. Except for my Morning Study with Jesus. That in itself is enough. I’ve noticed lately that Israel isn’t in the news NEAR as much as it was when the October 7^th attack by Hamas took place. In fact, I had to go looking for news related to what is going on now in Israel. Which should seem very strange!

Reporters have gone in search of new stories, since Israel is an old story. Why waste time huh? So now, since we are heading into the Presidential Primaries in America, we hear about the chaos in our own political and economic world. In Florida, we are being warned of an upcoming storm this weekend… right when Christmas Shopping is supposed to peak. Hmmmmm

But as I was reading Jesus’ parables about seeds and planting this morning, I found myself in Isaiah 62 and Ezekiel 33, landing on these 2 verses. The one from Isaiah REALLY stood out, because I felt like God was trying to tell me something. And it mimicked what I felt over these last few weeks. Israel is God’s Bride. His Old Testament tells all about their sordid relationship. And ‘I’ have a part to play.

Breaking down the verse, ‘I’ Call on the LORD! ‘I’ have been watching the news concerning Jerusalem, Israel, and this verse seems to be telling me that ‘I’ am a Watchman on the Wall for Israel… and that ‘I’ have a JOB to do! That job is to support Israel in these difficult times… AND to continually PESTER GOD HIMSELF to get done the job of making Jerusalem the praise of the Earth!

Our Church is taking an offering and offering prayers. I have asked our people to set their alarms every night at 9pm to pray for Israel and America. I contacted Samaritan’s Purse and was told they are raising money to send directly to help the victims of the October 7^th attack AND to supply the current soldiers with medical and food supplies. 100% will go there. So far we’ve raised $8,000!

If YOU would like to support Israel with the gift of money and prayer, right where it needs to go, YOU can send a check and mark it ‘Israel.’ 100% of it will go TO Israel and their recovery effort. But even if you don’t send money, God expects us ALL to be PRAYERS and ‘GIVE GOD NO REST until HE establishes Jerusalem as the center of praise to Himself.’ You now have a mission. God bless you.

If you would like to send a tax deductible support gift directly to Israel… Send Checks to: 

The Congregational Church, P.O. Box 367, Laurel, Florida 34272

All monies will be combined into 1 check and sent out before 2024