09.20.2023

“Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” Philippians 2:4 ESV

I saw it before I stepped in it… but then was called to step in anyway. Grateful to find a spot in the already full parking lot, I got out of my truck and headed to the store, weaving the path between cars. Looking ahead, I was lucky to see it before I stepped in it. Gum! Right there! Lying on the ground for someone to step in! So I stepped over it! THAT’S when I felt God’s nudge of interruption.

Turning around, I walked back and crouched down to look at the mess. What I saw was NOT gum, but a small smashed cap to a plastic water bottle. My judgment of whoever it was that spit gum out on an open parking lot had dissipated. So I stood up and headed to the store. Two steps into my walk, I KNEW it would come before it actually did. Another nudge from God said, “go pick it up!”

Now EVERYONE KNOWS that spitting ABC (already been chewed) gum onto a sidewalk where someone might step on it, is BAD FORM! It is messy, inconsiderate and mean! To have no guilt or nudge of correction means that God’s voice has been tuned out… possibly forever. And if there is one thing I have learned the hard way… it’s that keeping tuned in to hear God’s voice is for my own good!

God loves EVERYBODY! And while we are NOT ALL God’s Children, God is ALWAYS in the business of trying to MAKE MORE people His children. He does it by using MY words and actions. I am His. And because of that, He counts on me… to count on Him. The first nudge was to see if I really cared and was paying attention. The second was to see if I would actually OBEY what He was telling me to do.

Caring, and then DOING something about it go hand in hand. And yes, I know that sometimes there are even BIGGER tests than just noticing and picking up a small piece of litter. Sometimes He asks BIG things from me. But if I am not paying attention to the little things, I will never notice Him directing me to the big ones. Recognizing and doing something about it only comes with time and obedience.

Are you cultivating and knack for listening to God’s Spirit? Do you pay just as close attention to what He tells you He wants you to DO WITH those nudges? Are you faithful in doing them? Because in a messy world full of the unconcerned, He calls His kids to be VERY much concerned. And sticky situations are His specialty!

09.19.2023

Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles strive after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.” Matthew 6:31-33

The conversation caught me by surprise… but the surprise was a welcome one! I was with a large group of fellow Believers in Christ celebrating a meal with the family of 2 children who had been Baptized. Their zeal and joy were contagious. As I was preparing to leave, I ran into a man who seemed to want to challenge the whole event. Yes, he’d been invited, but I couldn’t figure out why!

HE was the one who threw the first volley, questioning faith in God. I always love opportunities because of my vocation! When He stated that, “anyone who thinks their ‘religion’ is the only one, is arrogant!” “Well then,” I replied, “I’m arrogant!” His response was, “well if I do end up standing before God, I hope He’l show me mercy and let me in!” Sadly, I thought, ‘not a chance, pal!’

When I told Katie about the conversation, it only took a moment for her to brighten up and smile. Then she said, “I believe in Diamonds. In fact, I like them a LOT. I can’t tell the difference between a fake or a real one with my own eyes, but I do believe I like them. I’d love to have one! I know they have them in the Jewelry stores! Maybe If I’m passing by and drop in, they might just give me one!”

Katie said all that while wearing a fairly nice diamond ring on her own hand. The story about HER diamond ring goes WAY back, taking me YEARS of hard work and upgrading to get it for her. Yes… ‘I’ gave it to her. But it was FAR from FREE! The point of her story was obvious. Thinking back to the conversation, I then realized WHY my friend, and fellow Believer, had invited that man to his party.

Love knows no limits and is the greatest motivator of all mankind. Greed and selfishness may make many a millionaire. But only LOVE wins hearts. My Christian Brother had invited his friend to his kid’s Baptism celebration because… he loves him. He told me later that he’s been working on that friend for a long time. He was hoping the joy and love of the celebration might show Jesus’ love to his friend.  And that he would believe as well. 

I know there is a Heaven. I know I love and want to go there. But Jesus isn’t going to GIVE me His eternal life, just because I show up there. The cost was the most extreme payment for ANYTHING in the History of the World. And Jesus paid it ALL. But if YOU want it… YOU must seek Him, and ask Him for it! Do YOU have it? Are YOU showing that fact off to your friends? Do YOU love that much?  Now is the time to SPARKLE!

09.18.2023

“Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 18:3

“In the Name of The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit.” I’ve Baptized plenty of people in my day, and even had the privilege of doing so in the River Jordan, at the very spot they say Jesus was Baptized. But this week was absolutely the best experience I have ever had. The Church was blessed with their extended family, as two children shouted out, “WE BELONG TO JESUS!”

It started when their parents told me their kids had specifically asked if THEY could be Baptized, saying “we’re ready and want to be.” Katie and I met with the whole family to ask and answer questions. We wanted to make sure they both knew ‘exactly’ what they were really asking for. There was NO hesitation! They knew EXACTLY what Baptism meant and were MORE than eager.

After the service, we were asked to join the family at a local restaurant. Walking in, the table that was prepared stretched the entire length of the restaurant! Grandparents, Uncles, friends and Church families gathered around with their kids, as we had a celebration Sunday Dinner. Someone counted 27 people! It truly was a picture of what we can expect, and WILL experience, in Heaven!

Looking down the table at each participant, I knew that every person there had made a decision for Jesus Christ. That made Jesus the CENTER point of the extended table. I thought, “it just can’t get better than this!” Then it did! Waiting for the bills, none came! Dad had paid the full price! When I asked, “why,” he said, “Because the money’s not mine anyway!” I saw where the kids got their Faith.

Are YOU going to be joining Jesus’ Heavenly Banquet? Do YOU have the heart of a little child? Have YOU placed your Faith in the one who paid for your entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven? It isn’t hard. Even little kids can do it and YOU are invited!!

09.15.2023

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5–6

Not having thought, I had a thought, but didn’t take the time to think about it! Later, it finally caught up to me. We did something last night we hadn’t done in quite a long time. We were invited to go out for Karaoke. I can’t even REMEMBER the last time we did that, but it’s been over a year at least. It was fun to go back and enjoy the company. Unfortunately I did NOT leave a good impression.

We met our friends, and then I went up to get something for us to drink. There were no waitresses there, so self-serve was the way it worked. We watched, talked, laughed, sang and commented. After a while, we got up to leave, saying our goodbyes to everyone. Almost! It wasn’t until we got home that a couple thoughts shot across my brain. Things I SHOULD have remembered… but didn’t!

There are rules of etiquette for almost every situation. Things everyone learns over time, then either follow… or don’t. NOT following or doing what is expected, gets judged by the rules of the room and the people who are there. It’s only right and fair. Later last night, I remembered that I had left our glasses on the table, walked out in the middle of a singer, and didn’t say goodbye to one of our party!

Currently, I am in a state of feeling bad because, even though it’s been a while since I was there, I’m SUPPOSED to remember and DO what is right. That is the ‘job’ that God expects from me. This morning Katie sent a devotional that nailed that principle down when the writer said, “God is on The Throne. YOU are on ASSIGNMENT!” Part of my job is to leave a good and godly witness for my boss!

I have friends and loved ones who remind me of my assignment, and I SO appreciate them. Today, there are people I can apologize to. But there are people I don’t know, who will remember me as a rude preacher who broke the rules. Thankfully, today is another day. And I have a COUPLE assignments. 1. Remember and do what’s right. And 2. Go make new impressions for Jesus!

Now the question is, what do you need to do today to fulfill the assignment God’s given you? Because God is STILL on the Throne, and YOU, like me, are STILL on assignment!

09.14.2023

“…but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me.” Romans 7:23

“Pssst! Hey! Who’s THAT guy?” Turning around in my booth at restaurant where I was having lunch with my friend, an Orthodox Priest, a man kept peppering me with questions. “Where’s his Church? What kind is it?” ‘Father,’ as everyone calls him, had just gotten up to use the Men’s Room. The man’s interest piqued, I asked HIM, “where do YOU go to Church? “I DON’T!” was his reply.

My friend looks like a Jesus superhero, standing out in a crowd, with his black frock and big, shiny, gold cross swinging through the crowd. When I told the man I might be able to help, since I was a pastor as well, he looked at me like I was a 7 year old dressed in a Batman costume at Halloween! But I pressed on. “Then what do YOU believe I asked?” He barked, “I am an INTELLECTUAL!”

It started to get really good. When he told me he was a former college professor with a Masters degree, I asked him what he thought would happen when he died. “Nothin’,” he replied. “So you think you’ll just become worm food?” He began explaining his faith in science, stating that it was impossible to know, since “no one had ever died and come back to life!” “What about Jesus,” I asked?

Right then, his Lordship, the Father, returned from the restroom and, though he had no idea of the impression he was making, stood at the edge of the table looking down at the questioner. When I filled him in on the conversation, Father joined us from his lofty position! The man sputtered non-intellectual gibberish. But with a moral compass broken long ago, he couldn’t understand. Father invited him to Church.

We are ALL born with today’s Bible Verse SCREAMING at us from within. WE KNOW what is right and wrong intuitively, because God has branded that onto our very souls. It takes willful force to un-believe it. As Father and I played good preacher – bad preacher, the ‘intellectual’s science’ was crumbling all around him. Saying “this is no use, I’m leaving,” I waited outside. In 2 minutes Father came out with a grin, “Ya know, that guy just might show up in my church!” I refuse to buy a frock!

YOU KNOW, deep inside, what is good and evil. And YOU KNOW, deep inside, if what you are doing and thinking is deserving of a smile or a frown from Jesus. Are YOU grateful to be His?

09.13.2023

Let no one deceive you by any means.” 2 Thessalonians 2:3

I’d been scammed! But the lady on the phone had been SO very nice! We had airline tickets and a plan to take a trip in October. Things happen, and we decided to adjust the timing. Looking up the airline I saw the 800 # and the caption, ‘answer within 5 minutes!’ The LAST time I had to deal with them, I was on the phone for over 45! So I hit dial.. and ‘nice lady’ introduced herself!

I didn’t have my glasses on. The large letters were readable. The lady had access to the airline’s information and even sent me changes in the schedule from the airline’s website. When she told me the cost to change the flights, I almost fainted! Same trip… 3 less days… $900 MORE! Having been a salesman most of my career, I should have known when she asked, “How much you wanna spend?”

It all went well, or so it seemed, until I went to dinner and the machine declined my card! But my trust in ‘nice lady,’ especially after 35 minutes on the phone with her, never wavered. After a text message, I looked up my credit card account and saw charges made by a company I didn’t know. I called… and yes… I was in the process of being scammed!! My evening was spent on the phone!

I feel stupid and embarrassed. My wife hadn’t done a thing, but because it’s her account too, she’s involved. So I am still working on trying to fix this situation with as little loss as possible. But there WILL be loss. And all because I really wasn’t paying CLOSE attention to what I was doing. I KNEW better, I just didn’t ACT like I did! A common problem among humans who happen to be sinners.

Pain is a pain. Regret is the same. But I am a child of God by faith in Christ Jesus. That does NOT guarantee me ANY kind of special treatment on this earth. All kinds of bad stuff happens to me just the same. Sometimes, even MORE. But as I shared with a fellow believer yesterday, EVERYTHING we go through can be, and IS used by God to teach and benefit us down the road. Even pain and regret.

So I’m in ‘Scam Class 101’ today. And I’m paying attention to make sure I pay attention the NEXT time something like this comes up. God tells us to learn, act, be careful and to follow Him. He gives us His Word, Spirit and fellow Believers to learn from. But He does NOT guarantee I will not be scarred. In fact… scars always come along with being His Warrior!

Have YOU been scarred or scammed? Are you learning and leaning on The Master? Because there’s another scar or scam coming… right around the corner! You’ve just been warned! 

09.12.2023

“‘Because he loves me,’ says the Lord, ‘I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.'” Psalm 91:14

“They’re BAAAAAA-AAACK!!” The rats that is. But honestly, having grown up with an ex-exterminator, I know for a fact that they were never REALLLY gone! The few I had caught before may have put a dent in their numbers, but in reality, it was a very small dent! And before anyone gets all freaked out, disgusted or judgy… I’ll remind you of a fact… they’re around YOUR house too!

The old saying ‘out of sight, out of mind’ works wonders for our mental security. When our children had nightmares over things ‘out there,’ we got creative and protective in our wisdom. For whatever fear they had, we came up an answer to combat them, responding to their fears with our own strength. When my little daughter worried about burglars, I showed her my bat! She slept well!

Rats are out there, in the dark, all the time! They are smart and cunning. I set some traps out and caught 3 right away. Since then, when I check the traps, I find the traps have been ‘set off,’ with no rat to be found. They are sneaky, and somehow LEARN to be even sneakier! I swear they’re a by-product of satan. No matter how hard I try in my faith, satan tries even harder to trap me! It’s tiring!

I found myself reading the temptation of Christ this morning, landing in Psalm 91. When satan came to Jesus, he quoted from this Psalm, but left part of it out as bait to trap Jesus. But Jesus is no rat! He saw the trap and avoided it. But the entire Psalm is an EASY trap for ANYONE who loves God. Because it promises a LOT of things (like rescues) that honestly, we don’t always experience!

The devil has learned my weaknesses and knows where I am vulnerable. He LOVES it when I puff out my chest and claim my invincibility ‘in the Name of Jesus.’ When rescue, from pain, sorrow, hurt or fear doesn’t come… satan makes sure to rub this verse, and others like it, into my heart to try to get me to feel abandoned. Sadly and much of the time, it works. Trapping me again in defeat or despair.

But God! The verse satan left out was “He will guard you in all your ways.” Seems straightforward to me! Except that MY ways are NOT ALWAYS God’s ways. Satan knew that Jesus knew that… and omitted it. But do YOU know it? Because if we are walking in GOD’S ways… ANYTHING that happens HERE, will NEVER keep us from His rescue to THERE!

Mighty, wearied, warrior… have YOU been baited or are you feeling trapped? Don’t stay in the darkness or take the bait! Why not read Psalm 91

09.11.2023

They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” Acts 2:42

This last weekend proved to be quite interesting as Katie and I had several opportunities to get together with people – over food. There’s nothing better that can break barriers and provide opportunities to share lives with one another, than fellow-shipping over vittles! Everyday this weekend I was able to spend time with different people over food, but the results were all the same.

Last night we got to see some old friends that we hadn’t seen in over a year. Kevin and I had worked together for decades. But now that we don’t, chances to talk have to be cut out and planned for. When we got together last night with our wives, conversation flowed and questions rolled on. “How are your kids? What are they doing? How old are they now? What and how are YOU doing?”

Dinner lasted for about an hour and a half. We spent another half hour out in the parking lot continuing discussions about life, age, health and prayer concerns for other people we mutually know. But it really didn’t strike me until this morning, when thinking about having dinner, I realized we actually had Church! All of us love Jesus first, and conversation flowed around Him over dinner!

We may all be traveling this thing called life, but we are NOT all traveling it TOGETHER. There are lots of reasons and purposes for all kinds of people living out there. Most are selfish. But like ships passing in the wind, we can see each other without really knowing or appreciating each other. But add Captain Jesus to the mix and life courses will fall in line as we sail toward a common horizon.

It is a fact that 2 ships that are moving parallel to each other will have a tendency to come closer together! I didn’t know that until this morning, therefore don’t take credit for the information. But interest had me looking up the reason that happens. A couple people said it was ‘The Bernoulli effect.’ Others stated it was the ‘Coriolis Effect!’ I’ll have to ask my sons, but I know it is true!

When fellow Christians get together and move together in the same direction, especially when food is involved, they tend to become closer together! And while I can’t be certain of the Science, I CAN tell you for a FACT that in reality, it is the Jesus Principle! And bumps along the way are only natural. Are YOU in a fellowship relationship with Jesus and His People?  

09.09.2023

He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.'” Mark 16:15

“Oh no,” I thought! “I must warn my daughter!” That was the immediate reaction when I saw the story on my phone last night of not one, but TWO shark attacks at New Smyrna Beach, Florida this last week. My daughter and her family, with 3 little grandkids, live there and go to that beach regularly. As I thought about warning her, a BIGGER concern swept across my brain. So I didn’t!

The news feed on my phone gives me just enough info to keep me ‘kind-of’ in the know. At the bottom of the page to this shark-bite story, I saw ANOTHER picture with the headline, “Bison Pins Man To The Ground In Yellowstone National Park!” It made me think… about news, information and sharing! Isn’t it funny that my attention was drawn more toward attacks from wildlife than politics!?

Having been a Florida guy most of my life, I’ve been to the beach HUNDREDS of times! I’ve never been bitten by a shark. I don’t know anyone who has, either! I’ve come within 6’ of a shark while scuba diving, just waved hi, and got no bite. Having never been to Yellowstone, My daughter and her family have, and they came home ‘unpinned by a Bison.’ But yesterday’s story was… interesting!

Bad news travels fast! It seems the more sensational the story the faster it travels. Pictures give stories life, and get the victims… empathy. But I did NOT want to scare my daughter. To do so would keep her kids out of the ocean FOREVER! Not wanting to promote fear, I said nothing. I don’t need to warn because my son in law is VERY smart! He’s been surfing those waters all his life! He knows!

Today I find that sensational news sharing is done to make profit. The shark story said “more shark attacks happen when more people are in the water!” DUH! The Bison pin was due to a dude wanting to get up, too close, for a sensational picture! We can FEEL the teeth and horns… and we squirm! Now my thoughts. How involved am I in spreading the worst, and best, news in the world?

My daughter is too busy with kids to read these words. And while Charles is the one who posts them online, he’s smart enough to not pass on ‘ridiculous fear’ as ‘important information.’ But there IS REAL IMPORTANT information that NEEDS to be passed on. And Jesus HAS given us the command in today’s Bible verse. Are YOU involved in promoting His-Story of guaranteed rescue from death?

When it comes to sharing the Gospel… it’s O.K. to be sensational at it!