“‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” Revelation 21:4

Being too young to worry about it and too old to take it for granted, the subject of ‘death’ somehow crept into my thoughts as I was pilfering through my room. I call it ‘my room’ because it’s not an office… since I don’t really DO anything in there except throw my stuff.   In the corner, instead of the attic, was a container labeled ‘Summer/Winter Clothes,’ which provoked another thought!

Early last fall I had climbed into the attic and pulled down the box to get some sweaters. Now that spring is here, it’s time to pull out the summer stuff and put away the sweaters! Living in a changing world, it’s a regular ‘thing’ I do! My room holds stuff that prepares me for that world. Out of nowhere a funny question hit my head, ‘what’ll happen to all my stuff when I’m dead?”

Though it hit out of the blue, it wasn’t the first time in pondered my passing. In fact, I already KNOW what will happen to my stuff, cuz my kids told me there’d be a dumpster rental! Which begs another question. Since I have it here but can’t take it with me, will I need this same kind of stuff when I get to Heaven? So I did what I do, turned to my Bible, and landed on today’s Verse.

‘No more tears’ says a lot! Not so much about me personally, but for the whole human race entirely! People cry over all kinds of things, some more than others. If tears are gone, then physical and emotional hurts and pains will have to be removed. That means I won’t need a lot of the kind stuff I’m holding onto now! Stuff like sweaters and shorts… or even workout equipment!

Being a Jesus person is a daily, interesting adventure! Things that come or happen often lead to questions or situations beyond my ability to know for certain. Because Jesus lives inside of me through His Holy Spirit, worry and wonder don’t have very far to go for solutions. The Master has already confirmed, in His Word, that He has everything in my world, and the next one… covered!

Are you sweating details better left in God’s hands? Do you worry about things or do you look at life through His ‘forever eyes?” Do you find joy and peace in reading His Word on a regular basis? 

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.” Romans 12:1

“Trash or recycle?” Katie asked me this morning. After my initial “Huh?” she explained that the handful of pens in her hand had quit writing. Her inquiry was in which bin to throw them… trash or recycle? Surprisingly, it was a spiritual moment! After telling her the subject of today’s message, her mouth and eyes opened in ‘WOW’ fashion, then we both exclaimed… “PERFECT!”

The theme for tonight’s Bible Study will be… what we ARE doing now, and what we WILL be doing in Heaven. The answer can easily be found in every book of the Bible. But I’m convinced that the proper description and display of ‘Worship’ has been abused. If someone asked for a modern example of worship, they’d be more apt to get a shiny gold pen rather than a written line of text!

The idea that worship is raised hands, closed eyes, swaying bodies and lips repeating, “You are worthy oh Lord,” just doesn’t sit well with what today’s Bible verse is trying to convey! God has perfect Holy Angels surrounding His throne continually proclaiming His Holiness and worth. My little voice adds no value to their message. What is God trying to say in the message of the pens?

Katie and I have different reactions when pens quit working. If it is in her hand and it stops, she tries a few times to see if it will go again. If it doesn’t, she throws it away! In her words, “a pen is supposed to work! When it doesn’t, I have no desire to try to coax it to do its job.” Me? I’ll try heating it in my coffee or with a lighter. I’ll even apply enzymes, sucking on the tip to make it go!

The purpose of a pen is to write. The purpose of man is to…? When Lucifer chose to oppose and take over God’s position, it is interesting to note that the weapon of God’s choice to defeat him was NOT to throw him away. His most bold move was to bend down to form a weapon out of… DIRT! Filling the dirt-bag with Himself, God announced His plan to all of creation. His enemies laughed!

Being a dirt-bag in a dirty world, getting dirtier by the day, is a tough assignment. Is my job to simply squeak out some shiny noise about God’s value among the dirty? Or, as seems to be indicated by today’s verse, am I to yield my life to Him and allow Him to personally introduce Himself to other dirty people by allowing Him to touch them through my hands?

Am I doing what He created me to do? Are you? Even in the dark times?

“I remember the days of old; I meditate on all Your works; I consider the work of Your hands. I stretch out my hands to You; my soul thirsts for You like a parched land.” Psalm 143:5-6

“There are 2 kinds of people,” I said to 2 of my grandkids. When I’m with ANY kids I like to dump wisdom on them! Since I’m more partial to my own grandkids, I REALLY like to slather it on! If they appreciate it or not is not really my call. Farmers farm, teachers teach and gram-paws are supposed to pass down wisdom! “Goal oriented and task oriented people,” I continued… “which are YOU!”

Driving the car I held them captive! Their captivity showed when they rolled their eyes in a, “here we go,” kind of way! They had been content to ride silently in the car, listen to the radio or look at their phones. Me? I knew that the time we share is rare and priceless… AND I want our time to matter since, one day I’ll be dead! I’d like them to have something WISE to say at my funeral!

Since they didn’t know about goal or task oriented people, I told them that Goal oriented people are focused on reaching a particular objective, while task oriented people focus on doing things. That while BOTH types of people are necessary, each of us has a bent toward one trait or the other. Summing the conversation, I said, “a way determine your own trait is to ask ‘whaduhyawant?’”

Being a goal oriented person, I don’t like rules. Rules are great for hemming task oriented people into their roles, but I have found that often, there are ways to get things done that don’t fit within a list of rules. Hence, my discomfort with the Old Testament Law! Since there are 613 laws, it’s not uncommon to focus on 1 so much that I break another without realizing. I needed a big picture!

As I was reading IN The Word that Jesus IS The Word, the Holy Spirit gave me an elbow nudge with the thought that “Jesus IS The Law!” When that idea exploded inside me, something actually settled in my heart too. I LOVE Jesus! I want MORE of Jesus. And maybe, If I put JESUS as the goal and head of my daily life, doing ‘The Law’ will just come about naturally. Whaduh’I’want? I want more Jesus!

So… that all being said, lemmie ask YOU… Whaduh’U’want? What and where do you focus your time and efforts? Are you reading and meditating on God’s Word… His Son? I pray today’s verse will be a big help to you… no matter HOW your oriented!

“When you go to war against your enemies and see horses and chariots and an army greater than yours, do not be afraid of them, because the Lord your God, who brought you up out of Egypt, will be with you.” Deuteronomy 20:1

“Ughhhhhh!!!” was the sound I made, because it was the feeling I felt! In the writing world the description is called Onomatopoeia… a word that mimics a sound. I was feeling that way because I realized the job in front of me, but I didn’t really FEEL like doing it! It wasn’t a hard or labor intensive job… it was just not going to be fun! I needed a motivator to adjust my attitude!

Katie’s new car showed the evidence of many a small battle. While the multitudinous dead carcasses of bugs splattered on the front evidenced her victories, the job of cleaning them off and waxing it to prevent further carnage fell upon me. If you’re looking for a dead bug cleaner offer… I’m not your guy! But the job needed done so I did what I do and started by turning on some Jesus music!

Ever since I was old enough to ‘DO’ stuff, I found that, for me, doing it with music made the job easier. Varying between rock music, country or Christian, depends on my mood and attitude. If you come around when I’m really blue, you’ll likely hear Elvis singing Gospel music! But I wasn’t that low so, Oldies slowly changed my attitude and lifted me up enough to get the job done. VICTORY!

In reading up on the story of David and Goliath last week, I found today’s Bible verse in the notes of my Scofield Bible. When I turned to the Old Law I was quite surprised! Right there was God giving a command to the Israelites that, BEFORE they go into battle, they’d better ‘check their attitudes!’ After committing to be a warrior for God, Rule #1 was “Do NOT be AFRAID! HMMMM!

Being an emotional kind of person, I have to confess that ups and downs too often follow external circumstances. I can easily see how facing a big or difficult job can naturally start off with a poor attitude. But a poor attitude can determine how far one can rise in the altitude of any work environment. As God led me through The Word, I found LOTS of God commands about my attitude.

Sorrow, happiness, worry, fear and anger are just SOME attitudes that can determine the altitude, or success, in the areas of faithfulness, encouragement, gentleness, patience, love, joy, and peace. I discovered that God has PLENTY of words telling me what my attitudes should be. All of them pointing toward, as His child, DOING something with, and through Him. I can hear Him singing!

How is YOUR attitude as you face family, friends, associates and the world? Do you have your Jesus face on?

“Help us, God our Savior, for the glory of your name; deliver us and forgive our sins for your name’s sake.” Psalm 79:9

“What we’re watching is not a political movement… it is evil!” Those were the words of Tucker Carlson this week BEFORE he was fired (or left) from FOX News. The story was so big I received SEVERAL links and posts from fellow Christians. Which is interesting because I don’t watch ANY news! Presumably I was sent the link because of my vocation. Listening to the speech… I say Amen!

I don’t say Amen because it’s my job to do so. Having lived 67+ years in America, I can remember from where we came. As a boy I prayed the Lord’s prayer and said the Pledge of Allegiance every morning in school. To NOT participate would have brought discipline. I saw the church rise, and lose, when prayer was taken out of school. I was a senior in High School when Roe v Wade was passed!

What I see today truly fits Tucker’s definition. This is NOT about politics. This is about the satanic kingdom of evil invading and taking over our individual hearts and societies. Many Believers in Jesus Christ have been warning this for decades! Unfortunately the deliberate deaf will not hear! At this time, evil has MORE than created just a beach-head! It has taken over government, schools and businesses.

Frustrating is a nice way to describe my feelings. In years past I taught Revelation as a future serious possibility! Now, it is here! And it is MORE than just serious! The picture today may offend some people. But it represents the whole gambit of why we are… where we are! Interestingly enough, the picture led the story in “The Times of Israel!” They should KNOW how a country gets taken down!

As far as speeches are concerned, Tucker Carlson didn’t give one! What he gave was a SERMON! A sermon lays out a story with a problem, and ultimately gives God’s opinion and advice as to where and how that story might end. Tucker’s Sermon ended with the encouragement that, since Evil has invaded our country… “maybe we should all take, like 10 minutes a day, to pray about it.”

And THAT is PRECISELY where YOU come in! So PRAY!! Then once you pray… ask God what He wants YOU to DO about it as well! Because you know where this is headed if we don’t attempt to stop or slow this evil down! Are YOU engaged in God’s Battle?

“I pray that you…grasp…the love of Christ, and know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” Ephesians 3:19

We were sitting on the sidewalk dining ‘en plein air.’ It was a BEAUTIFUL day as Katie and I enjoyed each other’s company. Soon, 2 folks were seated right beside us, and so close I could have almost eaten off THEIR table! They were only 2 people, but the way the older woman was behaved, they became a spectacle of 3!

It became obvious the women were mother and daughter, and it didn’t take long to figure out the sad reality of their lives. The third party at their table was a dog, all dressed up in baby clothes, sitting in a stroller. While mom barked short sentences to her daughter, she kissed all over and baby-talked to the dog! At one point she held a piece of ice for the dog to lick as a treat. It was all I could do to keep my mouth shut!

The daughter was in her early 20’s, wearing rebellion in her demeanor, from head to toe! Poorly dressed, tattooed all over and grossly overweight, she just SAT there silently conveying disgust. It was obvious she wasn’t there because she WANTED to be. Soon, it became easy to see and hear why! The loving attention that SHOULD have gone to the daughter was being audaciously poured out upon her rival… A DOG!

Knowing God through the perfection of His Word, It isn’t hard to see that there are a LOT of things wrong with the world. What SHOULD be plain to people, because God has MADE it plain (Romans 1:9), is that we were created for a unique and special purpose. Our position in the chain of creation was to be the dominant representative of Almighty God in the world made BY Him…FOR Him. Each one of us being filled with the person and purpose of our creator.

To ascribe human traits to that which is not human may be entertaining. Cartoons and movies do it all the time because sadly, anthropomorphismis profitable! But to assign undeserved traits to undeserved things instead of people, ESPECIALLY those under our care, is not only sin… it’s idolatrous treason! Something God WILL have MUCH to say about it at judgment.

There is NOTHING more special, valuable or deserving of God’s love and Grace than those for whom it was created. To steal a human privilege and present it to an undeserved animal or a thing causes alarms to go off inside my head and heart. Which is why God calls humans into the unique position of being FILLED with ALL HIS fullness, to go about the business of proclaiming that privilege to the ones for whom it was intended.

My dad used to leave everyone he talked to with the words, “You are Special!” He said it because, whether they knew it or not…they WERE! But those are words ALL human beings need to hear… from God through you and me!

Do YOU realize how special YOU are to God? Do you thank and praise Him by receiving those words and then graciously pass them on to others? Because the Good News is only Good News when it is shared! And proclaiming it isn’t a ‘ruff’ job!

“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