“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

DDDDDDDDDDDDDDT! DDDDDDDDDDDDDDT! Every day at this time of year, and just about at the same time, between 7 and 7:30am, a pileated woodpecker arrives at my house and starts making a racket… ON MY GUTTER! When 2 of my grandkids stayed with us this week, they awoke to the sound saying, “WHAT IS THAT?” I told them it was a woodpecker sharpening its beak! But I was wrong!

I had this great idea of sharing the importance of keeping oneself sharp by getting up early and getting into God’s Word. I even looked up a great Bible verse to drive the point home!!! Looking for a picture, I found that gutter thumping woodpeckers are a common occurrence. But the reason has NOTHING to do with sharpening their beaks. They’re ACTUALLY looking for attention from the ladies!

Red headed pileated woodpeckers are always males. In the spring, like all birds, they begin to look for a mate. But while other birds chirp or sing, woodpeckers do it by drumming! The sound marks their territory and lets lady woodpeckers know they are there and ready! Which, in a way, kind of destroyed my theme or idea of sharpening my life with God’s Word. Then God said, “hold on there!”

It may be a funny allusion now, but 45 years ago ‘I’ was drumming in a gutter bar and caught the attention of a VERY fine lady on vacation! We were married in 2 months and have been making music ever since! So the woodpecker’s story relates. But humorously, it doesn’t stop there! You see, the 2 loves of my life are STILL the one’s whose affections I continually look for. So I still drum!

I have found, through time and experience, that diving into God’s Word does indeed sharpen my life… AND makes me more attractive to my mate. The more I learn and grow, the better and more attractive I become to both of them… AND to those around me. “Jesus Works!” Is one of my sayings. And when I say that, I’m not just making noise. I’m sharing a truth, never meant to be kept a secret!

Are YOU attracting God’s attention in a good way? Do other people see and hear you joyfully drumming for God? Or are you just being selfish, loud and irritating? If you’re not sure, why not ask some of your fellow feathered friends how THEY see you? And then go to God’s Word for some drumming tips! After all… the whole idea was invented by Him in the first place!

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.” Hebrews 12:1 NLT

“What the heck happened?” I asked my grandson. He’d just brought me his tangled fishing pole when I suddenly had a flashback to the time when MY kids were little and I took THEM fishing. The #1 rule I learned then was to not even bother taking a pole for myself, since there wouldn’t be time. As I untangled, my other grandson brought HIS pole over with the same problem! “Grampa…..!”

With grandkids visiting, the ideas for “fun things to do” kept popping into my head. Boys LOVE to fish and there’s a big lake at the end of my street. Doing the math, it was common sense that found us sitting on the bank having fun… which started immediately with the first cast! “Papa!” I was glad I had a knife in my truck, because untangling THAT mess was going to be impossible! Ah memories!

I have lots of old fishing gear that’s been unused for a long time. Having dug it out, we made our way to the lake. It didn’t take long to remember that we WEREN’T going fishing… we were going ‘untanglin!’ A thing I had forgotten about since I’d put the gear away long ago. It’d taken years to realize that the cost, frustration, tangles and lack of fish weren’t really worth the idea!

Fishing makes me cuss! It gets me irritable and frustrated too. It’s like volunteering for a broken heart… repeatedly! I don’t like that feeling and I certainly don’t want my grandkids to witness that in me. So when a 7’ alligator made his way to one of the kid’s bait… we naturally switched purpose! NOW they have an even BETTER story to tell than the one about the fish that got away!

Today is a day that is bringing frustration, sorrow and grief to friends of mine. Galen and his wife started off thinking that their marriage was going to be fun… even better than most! Soon into it, Doctor visits became normal. When they amputated his leg years later due to infection, they thought the problem was over. But today they are going to the hospital to remove his other one!

Having known Galen and Paula for a long time, the one thing that I KNOW is normal for them is… they just keep moving with Jesus. Tangles and all! When they hit another snag, it’s normal for them to get discouraged. But then we all KNOW it won’t be long before they’ll be back to giving God glory for the victory that very few people have the ability to see! But Heaven is recording them!

What do YOU do when you, expecting to be ‘living,’ find yourself ‘tangled and confused?’ Do you crumble? Or do you lay aside the frustrations of unmet expectations and apply Faith in God to your circumstances? Are you patiently enduring HIS-story in you like He expects? Because there are a LOT of people watching you! Please join me in prayer for Glen and Paula.

“…one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:13-14

I don’t run… and never have. I tried it as a kid, didn’t like it and decided to not press the subject. If someone was chasing me down with a knife, I’d rather chance on standing and fighting… even though my knife skills are as bad as my running ones. Today’s verse has Paul using a runner to encourage us to ‘strive’ and ‘press on’ toward ‘THE’ prize that Jesus Christ wants us to have. I know how to ‘Press On!’

It’s been a week of ‘pressing on’ for me… which is not unusual. Having a ‘love-hate’ relationship with my vocation, it is usually a joy to be in the business of ‘Cheer-leading God’s Saints along life’s road.’ God puts people in front of me who have been called by Him to ‘run’, ‘strive’ and ‘press on’ toward a particular goal HE has in mind for THEM. MY call is in the position of an encouraging teacher for Him.

Lately I have had the honor of encouraging quite a few saints at the same time. These special sheep are individuals facing very different life circumstances. Several sheep are looking for health improvement. A couple others are being led into vocation changes. Some are just looking for the strength to continue with Joy. But ALL have shared their needs, and I put their names on a sign!

My daughters were beautiful and talented cheerleaders in High School. So I know a thing or 2 about cheerleading. In pressing on through life, it helps to see your name on a sign and other folks calling out your name with encouragement. Giving God’s instructions and holding them up to Him helps during the running process. “GO GO GO!” from the crowd invigorates the runner to keep for the win!

I like being a cheerleader for Jesus. If you are reading this, you can actually help me out! WOUld you help me shout out some names toward heaven to encourage these runners to keep going with joy and look to Jesus for the prize? Please pray for Heather and Rob, Galen and Paula, Amy and Elia, Ian and Ryan! You don’t need to know the details of their race. Just hollering to ‘The Master’ will do!

Thank you  

“If anyone loudly blesses their neighbor early in the morning, it will be taken as a curse.” Proverbs 27:14

BURRRRRRRRP….BURRRRRRRRP!! The sound was loud, irritating and belching forth from Katie’s phone at 4:50 am! Of COURSE it woke us up! It probably woke YOU tool! Looking up the story on the story, it turns out that most of Florida became unglued as well. But, HEE-HEE, it was ONLY a TEST of the ‘Emergency Alert System!’ If the test was to wake us up abruptly to be irritable… it worked!

The news on the news reported the incident as “an accident,” and someone in some office apologized! But then the schedule was posted for future tests and, HEAR THIS, a 4:50am “BURRP” time remains scheduled every other month, through December of this year! OH HECK NO! As far as I’m concerned, this is kinda-sorta like the straw that broke this camel’s back! “TO THE PHONE!”

Living in the 21^st century certainly has its advantages. Modern technology provides all kinds of perks. I used to have to go to the library and utilize the Dewey Decimal System to look up information limited to only the books in that room! Now I can carry the Library of Congress on my cell phone! But in my 67 years, I have NEVER had to endure a test of an emergency system at 4:50am!

There is a process to appropriate complaining! The first thing I need to do is calm down. Which is tough when my instinct of ‘fight or flight’ has been kicked in… in total darkness! Words said in anger or frustration don’t usually come off well. The next thing I need to do is more research. I don’t know… maybe there is a valid reason the State of Florida HAS to wake us up early??! I’ll ask!

In studying and teaching the Book of Revelation recently, I can say with confidence that in 2023, if there is any validity to us living in the Church age of Laodicea, we NEED a globally large dose of “WAKE-UP!” Anyone with any sense of propriety knows that the wheels are coming off the vessel of normal! Evil is being called good and good is being called evil! Now, it’s a fight over definitions!

I want to fight about as much as I want to be rudely awakened at 5am! But my Bible tells me that according to God’s Emergency System, we’re right on time. It is MY job to issue the warning and to explain the what’s and why’s of God’s heart. God wants ALL PEOPLE SAVED and IN HIS SALVATION VESSEL (1 Timothy 2:4)! Unfortunately, that warning is going to sound unpleasant to many an ear!

Are YOU sharing the Good News of Christ? Loud and clear?

“In Him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will, in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of His glory.” Ephesians 1:11-12

Approaching my driveway, I saw a rabbit under the lemon tree. I know If I say a ‘cute, little, bunny,’ people will be more drawn to the story. So there… I said it! As I approached to park in the driveway, a mental question popped into my head, literally right out of the blue! ‘I’ asked ‘me…’ “since the lemon tree is beside the driveway… will the bunny run?” In less than a second ‘I’ answered… “yes!”

I didn’t have any money on the bet, and honestly ‘I’ wasn’t even favoring ‘I’ over ‘me’ in any way! SO I don’t know why I slowed down. I guess I didn’t want to force the rabbit’s decision by being too threatening. Pulling into the driveway, the bunny resisted for just a second… then took off like a shot! ‘I’ congratulated ‘I,’ and ‘me’ was just happy no money had been lost. Then I thought about the news!

Lately there has been a lot of talk about Artificial Intelligence (AI). Elon Musk warned in a new interview that artificial intelligence could lead to “civilization destruction!” And he even OWNS an AI company! With computers in existence that can out-think humans now, there is a legitimate question as to the future of our world, in the face of such power, if ‘it’ is used against ‘us!’ Time will tell!

As I read and study God’s Word, it is obvious to me that the battle of Armageddon is going to be a bet between man and God. Man is going to look at the Almighty and literally snicker! Thinking he has become even smarter than God Himself, man is going to go to war against God. A reprise of what already happened when Lucifer tried to outsmart God. We’re STILL awaiting THAT final act of war!

Having chosen ‘God’s Team,’ I realize that it requires even MORE Faith to live in today’s world. In Revelation, God even says so! So here I sit, like a little bunny beside the driveway of life, having to continually force myself to ‘STAY’ and NOT run! But today’s verse REALLY HELPS me to know that “I” was CHOSEN for this a LONG TIME AGO! I’m choosing to stick with God’s side! How about YOU?

“…and you shall not make a covenant with the people of this land, but you shall break down their altars.’ Yet you have disobeyed me. Why have you done this?  I have also said, ‘I will not drive them out before you; they will become traps for you, and their gods will become snares to you.’” Judges 2:2-3

“Pull harder,” I said to myself. It was kind of funny being my own running-back AND cheerleader! And all over a stupid weed! As I grasped and pulled, the top of the weed broke off in my hand leaving the root intact! “Stupid weed,” I said to myself. Then God moved in to set up the classroom to force me to ponder the question, “If weeds can be considered stupid… how ‘bout YOU?”

I had been cutting the lawn, and in the back were some rather large, leafy weeds. Most of the year, I cut the grass weekly. But in winter, I only cut it about every 2-3 weeks. Truth be told, the good grass seems to go into hibernation and the only thing flourishing ARE the weeds! The one in my hand was big and healthy and, with the top broken off, ‘root’ was now laughing underground!

Having never had a healthy, weed free lawn, I wasn’t sure WHY this one weed was bugging me so much! Great lawns take lots of time, labor and money… none of which I desire to throw into my yard. I have more important things to look after, my life and walk with God being MOST important. Yet right then and there, God was letting me know just how meticulous and demanding HE really is!

Studying the Book of Revelation starts with Christ’s ‘Love Letters’ to His Bride… ‘The Church.’ Anyone thinking Jesus’ isn’t serious about His marriage need only read Chapters 2 & 3 to see His intensity. The tough part is, since He’s already perfect, all the weakness in our relationship falls on ME! His instruction and detail of how and where I need to improve come close to modern day spousal abuse!

As I surveyed my yard, holding the broken weed, it became clear to me that I have LOTS of weeds! And while the abrupt lesson He laid upon me did nothing to make me want to improve my lawn, it DID cause me to look at my relationship with Him with fresh eyes. Things of the world have moved into mine and are thriving toward a takeover coup to make me grow more weedy. Jesus says “NO!”

It is times like the weed experience that make me love Him even more! It is hard to remember 24/7, that the world, the flesh and the devil never sleep. My destruction will never happen because of my relationship with The Savior. But the QUALITY of my life, and my work-ability in His field, are always a target for the enemy. I’m s’pose to watch for and remove weeds that the world passes off as pretty!

So how are YOU at weed recognition? Eradication? Is Jesus pointing at something in your life that has to go? Are you making moves to ‘get it gone’ or are arguing for it to remain? DO you remember that His love and instruction has NEVER failed you in the past?   

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens…” Ecclesiastes 3:1

It started raining last night! Which is a very good thing, since we haven’t seen a good rain in months! Oh, it’s nothing to be concerned about because, here in Florida, it’s just a part of a cyclical time table. We know that dry and rainy seasons come and go. We just don’t know exactly when. About a month ago I took the time to fix a leaky patch on my roof. The rain proved it didn’t work!

Time is an interesting, useful, inevitable, unstoppable wonder of God. It is NOT essential! Scripture says God is eternal, in both past and future. Since God doesn’t need time, it seems possible to me that He created it for humanity… for the purpose of defeating satan. One Day, time as we know it, will be no more! Until then we look forward to and look back on events, calling the in-between points – Life!

Last night Katie and I paid a visit to say goodbye to Larry and Patty, long time ‘snowbird’ members of our church. Every year they come down in the fall, and go back in the spring. We know this! When they come we say “YEAHHH!” When they leave we say “Awwww.” What we remember is the sharing of life in between those points. It is interesting how emotions rise and fall with the calendar. 

This morning Heather, another Church member, is in the hospital for an operation. Over Christmas she came close to dying from a ruptured colon. With that event in the past, the time was set, and has come, to reverse a procedure that saved her life. With the date set, each tick of the clock has been planned and every detail considered by doctors and family alike. Now, it’s an event to experience and move on from.

As we study the Book of Revelation, the one drawback I have discovered over the years is that people always try to predict events and plug the words of The Revelation into a date on the calendar! Which entirely misses the point! The Revelation was never meant to predict, but to let people know that Time is precious. What we DO with it, and how we use it, is being recorded!

Are you more interested in knowing the future than living with Christ in your present? Do you search the Scriptures for future events more than you do for instruction on how to live with Him in the present? If ‘The End’ were to come today, are you prepared to face Him?

“‘In your anger do not sin.’ Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.” Ephesians 4:26-27

“Oops I did it again,” were words I hadn’t even spoken? But I realized that my reaction to what I had seen had interrupted my peaceful morning! In an instant, I ‘felt’ the sound of a jail cell door slamming closed, locking me into the state of unpleasant, unwanted and unintentional separation from the Joy of The Lord. And all I was doing was looking for a place to buy gas!

I have an app that gives me as much as 15 cents off a gallon of gas. But it’s only good at certain locations. Luckily for me, 2 of those stations are within a mile of each other. The price for a gallon of gas, like Jesus, had risen! It was up 15 cents over the day before. But my truck was on ‘E!’ So figured high priced gas was better than walking 5 miles! Then ANOTHER set of problems arose!

Seeing a station in between with gas 17 cents lower than my advertised special, I went to do a U-turn, after I had done the math. Only to be trapped behind 4 cars looking to do the same thing! After finally turning and approaching the cheaper station, I literally watched the price change to 15 cents higher! By the time I got BACK to the other station… IT TOO had raised Its prices. UGH!!!!

Satan and the world had won. My Jesus morning had been interrupted after I had allowed outward circumstances to alter my inward heart. Instead of living with peace and joy, I was frustrated and angry. What’s even worse… I have to admit it happens to me every day! Prices, social issues, politics, greed and selfishness are tools in the hands of satan, who controls the world!

There are almost a hundred Bible verses that allude to satan’s control of this world! Believers like to say ‘God is in control,’ but even God has admitted that He isn’t. But He WILL BE! Until then, I am SUPPOSED to EXPECT trouble, persecution, difficulties and being taken advantage of. AND I’m required by my Lord to MAINTAIN CONTROL of my spirit by walking every moment with Him.

As we study the Book of Revelation, I’m reminded of our assignment to read chapters 2 and 3. There, Jesus has written personal ‘Love Letters’ to His future bride ‘The Church.’ And just like any young lover’s letters, the feelings and details are explicit! In His letters He affirms His love and devotion, but then adds expectations as well. “I didn’t know!” I NOT an excuse He’ll accept!

It is good to know that Jesus is even MORE interested in saving than I am! But He encourages me to get better at it and to keep my eyes, heart and spirit on HIM… my lover… and not on the things of satan or the world! Are YOU steering your way around the obstacles and focusing on Him? 

“As for you, see that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father.” 1 John 2:24

“My pool has cloudy junk in it,” my neighbor was telling me. As he talked, I immediately felt horrible because, before Rick went out of town 2 weeks ago, he had asked me to put chlorine in his pool… which I had! But apparently… not enough. What I heard was “apply chlorine!” What the job ACTUALLY required was ‘pool maintenance,’ and algae had formed as the evidence of my failure!

It’s not like I don’t know what to do. I too have a pool and for almost 33 years I have maintained my own body of water. I remembered once asking a neighbor to do what Rick had asked of me. When I came back from vacation, my pool was emerald green! I learned then that ‘pool maintenance’ is like mixing cement or baking. The ‘Good-job’ proof is only found in the end product.

When I had applied the chlorine to Rick’s pool the last time, a little flare went up. Something just didn’t look right. But it’s not MY pool, so I don’t really know what it’s SUPPOSED to look like. Just for kicks though, I threw in a little extra chlorine and called it done! Then, the weather got warm and it rained… 2 conditions that can easily spell trouble for any pool owner. Even MY pool turned ugly!

People are like pools… everyone is different. Size, as well as what other elements are in the water, determines what needs to be done to maintain a pool’s ‘crystal clear’ look that everyone, ESPECIALLY the OWNER, likes to see. Today’s verse was God’s reminder that my life is in continual need of spiritual maintenance, and that while He is my owner, it is up to ME to make sure it gets done!

In the Church I have learned that one of the expectations God has of His followers is to follow! Doing what He says in His Word moves followers to the next step, which is to help faithful followers learn how to encourage others to follow as well! It’s a tough task because all an encourager can do is encourage! Each follower must take any encouragement to heart and apply what needs to be done.

I feel bad I messed up on the maintenance of my neighbor’s pool, even though I know he doesn’t blame me. But that doesn’t make me feel better. It actually makes me want to be more vigilant and faithful the next time he asks.

Are YOU faithful to God in what He asks of you? Has He prompted YOU to be an encourager to another follower? Are you faithful when He asks? Do you use apparent failure as a tool to get better at following rather than to give up? What is God asking of YOU today?