“I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.” Ephesians 3:16

“RRRRRRR,” said the chainsaw! Cutting fallen and leaning trees, I was fighting time and light because the sun was setting. Musing that Hurricane Ian didn’t need that much time to knock ‘em down, I didn’t hear the incessant ding, ding, ding of my phone. When it turned quiet, I noticed I’d missed 2 phone calls and 16 texts! Sore and tired, it’d been like that for days! I needed some power!

Driving home in the dark and looking at my phone would have been dangerous AND illegal, so I made it my priority to ‘get power’ by heading home to my wife, a shower and some food. When I got home, Katie hollered, “Cori finally got power!” Having no electricity for 9 days, her family could now enjoy the comfort and ease that electrical power brings. Then I remembered the texts… and knew.

Good News spreads FAST, though I’m not so sure it spreads as fast as BAD news. But while I was cutting away, my whole family was on a ‘group text’ with Cori making textiful praises and cheers for her family’s good fortune. My son-in-law texted, “Thank you Jesus!” I had to text remind him that “Jesus didn’t do it, thank the linemen!” Jesus would have had it on in under a minute! Haa Haa!

Because I am not God, there is only so much I can humanly do. Add to it the sorrow that comes with NOT being able to do more, plus the difficulty of accessing and setting priorities, Hurricane Ian had turned into a storm that still churns within my soul. Hearing the praises of victory and restoration can easily be squashed by bad, sad news of loss and pain. Either way, because I am His, I want to cry!

Coming to Jesus and receiving the Holy Spirit’s power takes a toll on a person. Because His heart is my heart, I am much more sensitive and caring… and driven. I hurt when I see people hurt. But I also hate evil and selfish stupidity with a passion that is holy and intense. Speaking out makes a Christian a target! But Jesus warned that with power, comes light! Darkness HATES Light!

Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 3 warrants a reading of the whole chapter. It is ALL about power and HOW to get it! ‘Power Central’ is God, ‘The Lineman’ is Jesus Christ, and The Power’ is the Holy Spirit. With that formula in mind, it is simply a logical statement that, “if someone doesn’t have power… it is their OWN fault! And “Why?” Because HIS power is ALWAYS available! ALWAYS!

If I do not have and use His power I will be a joyless, human being walking around in dark weakness. Focusing on bad circumstances, instead of the Holy Spirit’s power to endure, simply keeps me lost and unlit for Him. A fault of my own, requiring me to plug in to Him through His Word, and POWER UP! I am called and BY GOD to simply, “Be like the moon – REFLECT The SON! NOW – HIS light is on – IN me!

Are YOU a power receiving, beacon of light for Jesus Christ? A Shocking Revelation for God?

“Reach down from on high; set me free and rescue me from the deep waters… (then) I will sing to You a new song, O God.” Psalm 144:7-9

‘LOOK UP!’ That was the first thought I had when an urgent call came with a need to provide a tarp for a blown off roof from Hurricane Ian. What had been, in this area anyway, the worst storm in history, where black skies churned with as much as 155 MPH winds, now displayed a sky with not a cloud in sight! After looking up, I determined I needed more information, so I started looking around.

Quickly going to my smart phone and seeing I had been blessed to not lose cell service. I typed in ‘WEATHER’ for my local area. The forecast called for ZERO rain for the next 7 days! Not only that, but Hurricane Ian had actually sucked the heat and humidity out of most of the air, leaving the weather beautiful! Then I learned, today is the beginning of Yom Kippur, The Day of Atonement. I smiled.

Reading the Old Testament can be difficult. Which is why I suggest that new believers avoid most of it, until they have a working understanding of the New Testament. In the Old Testament Law, Yom Kippur was a time of fasting and praying for the forgiveness of sins from God, along with a LOT of regulations, rules and LOTS of BLOOD from sacrificed animals. It used to be LOT of WORK to get free!

In reading today’s verses out of Psalm 144, I can hear David calling out to God for help and rescue from the perils of deep waters as well. Thinking about that, it hit me that when those deep waters hit, God’s command to David HAD to be the same one He had given me… “LOOK UP!” And David did! But the blessing of God’s presence didn’t, and couldn’t, come to David until he first LOOKED UP!

Once David looked up and perceived the presence of God, he was able to look around and see the benefits of what God had already supplied! Instead of freaking out, David was able to rest in the love and deliverance God had already supplied. Today, I do not work hard to keep rules and spill animal blood, because Jesus Christ has already paid the complete price for my sin. COMPLETELY!

There are times when the storms of life seem to deliver a dark cloud, followed by what could seem to be a ‘knock-out’ blow! Because Jesus Died for me and sent The Holy Spirit to live inside of me, I have the ability to hear His voice through His Word as He gently whispers… ‘Look Up!’ It is then I can drop my cares and rest in the arms of His provision. So I’m glad I’m not an Old Testament guy!

As I write, there are organizations and people FLOODING into our area by the THOUSANDS! They are bringing help and resources I have NO way of meeting myself. Every power or tree truck I see, I wave and give a thumbs up. Because, whether they know it or not, they were sent by God to help us all out of deep water! SO I look up and thank God, humbly asking for His love, joy, and patience.

Are you looking up or freaking out in your storm tossed life?

“I will praise you, O LORD. Although you were angry with me, your anger has turned away and you have comforted me. Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The LORD, the LORD, is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. With joy (I) will draw water from the wells of salvation.” Isaiah 12:1-4

A B C D…. L M N Ohhhhhh! The lesson is elementary. My Katie is a preschool teacher whose job it is to teach children the basics… like the alphabet! It’s harder than imaginable because, once memorized, it becomes basic common sense. But initial learning is tough! 1 letter off or out of place… and oops! Like last week when ‘I AM’ became IAN! 1 letter off… and we’re blown to hell!

I THOUGHT I’d memorized the basics, until Category 5 Hurricane Ian visited. The long hard lessons of following God for decades found me giving… not taking. As a pastor, selfishness had learned to shift to give way to Service. When calls of inquiry turned into “I need,” my focus began to moving by a ‘1 letter off’ shift in priority. From I AM to IAN! Looking back 1 letter, I see I must return to the basics.

Writing a letter to God after being so exhausted this last week, I started with, “Help Lord!” then stopped. Funny and presumptuous, those 2 words. Because why should He? After all I was created BY Him for the purpose of HIS Glory and HIS ability to live and reign in me for the purpose of showing the Devil… WHAT? DO I really need or deserve to know? Is it my place or right to demand or expect equal rights with God? How dare I!

In living in a worldly hell of people fighting to have their way, do I follow their lead to add my 2 cents? How foolish! Yet in my search and climb to fall into the Maker’s lap, I can see how glorious He is, then slip back to! But then it is easy to slip, turn my head around and see and judge the greedy sin of others! A place I had just left! My focus has shifted 1 position to look at them instead of Him!

I AM… YOU ARE! Joining with Isaiah, the writer of this Scripture, I cry out, “I love you Lord, and I long for you! I wish us to be us again. Not because I deserve or add anything to your equation. But because ‘I’VE’e tasted your ‘L’ove and LIVE for another. Be exalted, Oh God, in, by and through me. For I need and want only you! My JOY only comes from I AM. Ian deserves NONE of my attention.

What is it you think YOU need or want?

Waking up earlier, on purpose, it was still dark outside. Taking coffee to the place that always starts my mornings I wondered, ‘Do I read my Bible first or check the weather report?’ It’s not a question that often comes. But then, neither do hurricanes! Since there is a statistically probable chance one may come, I decided It best to be open to God’s directive by first knowing what I’m facing!

For the first time in years, the thought hit me yesterday to dig out the plywood to cover the windows. Where it came from I can’t be certain… but it came. Looking at the weather and praying my heart out in faith had not changed the direction of the predicted storm… as I had believed. God’s hand HAS moved bigger storms than this away from us. But so far… not yet. So the plywood thought occurred!

Both life and Scouting have taught me the importance of being prepared in the wake of any kind of difficulty. Faith, being neither blind nor stupid, requires evaluation! Simply saying, “eh… it’ll be fine,” does not make it so and Scripture never gives awards for leaping off the cliffs of life without first evaluating what, when, why and how! FACTS, ‘a hurricane is on the way, I have plywood… put it up!’

Fear is something I don’t do very well. The Master of my life has told me, through His Word, to NOT fear, so I actively work on trusting Him. While I know that there is NO verse in the Bible that says, ‘God helps those that help themselves.’ Neither is there a verse that says, ‘Just have Faith and life will be smooth!’ After all, Noah had to build the ark! It took him, and God’s patience, 100 years to do so.

Like Paul, I am supposed to live my life in Christ as an example to follow. That means being careful what I do because people are watching. So if there are folks watching me today, I want them to see me praying in Faith that my God will move the Storm away, but see me preparing as if He won’t! Either way, He remains the quiet in the midst of all my storms!

“I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation.” – Paul – Philippians 4:12

“Hey!! How about a cheap frozen Pizza tonight?” The words came out of my mouth after Katie asked what we could eat for dinner. We usually eat something quick and cheap on Sunday nights… so $5.50 and hour later, the oven was pre-heating. 8 minutes into a 10 minute process, I began making adjustments because the pizza wasn’t looking like it would meet my expectations!

Our oven runs hot, so instead of 425, I set it to 415. Under the oven light, the pizza was looking under-done. So I cranked the heat up a little. A minute later, I turned it off completely because it was too brown around the edges. Pulling it out after 12 minutes, it was what it was! DONE! Half the pizza was over-cooked, half was under-cooked. But being hungry, we ate it with contentment!

While writing this, my phone went off with an urgent text telling me that Tropical Storm Ian, which was SUPPOSED to turn away from us, had made an adjustment in the night and now MAY actually strengthen and hit us! His text came from anxiousness because, while he has a house here, he’s actually 5 states away! I’ve learned that anxious pre-storm calls are more predictable than weather!

If you’ve lived in Florida for as long as I have, you have lived through MANY storm warnings. And if the media and retailers have learned anything, it’s that ‘fear sells!’ Preying on those who fear is profitable because of what I call ‘The Contentment Factor!’ People don’t like unpredictable, uncomfortable situations and will spend lots of money to acquire just a small shot at contentment!

Today’s verse rests right in the middle of a list of experienced variables. From good to bad, Paul had seen them all. Through him, God is trying to warn and teach us that there are 2 possible directions from which contentment can arrive. From the outside or inside. God goes to extreme measures to prepare us to choose HIS REAL contentment, which ONLY comes from Him and from the inside.

Adjusting the oven and fiddling with externals may change the look of a pizza, but if contentment is determined by meeting external expectations, then disappointment and anxiousness are guaranteed! Like Paul, I have learned that preparing for the worst, expecting the least, and trusting GOD to meet my needs no matter what, is the key to being truly content. Weather forecasts do not even faze me!

Have YOU, like Paul, learned ‘the secret to being truly content in every situation?’ Because there WILL be tests!

F.A.I.T.H. – Fear Ain’t In This House!

“Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?’” John 11:25-26

I fell into a hole last night and didn’t even see it coming! We were out with some friends singing Karaoke when Karen came up and asked if I had attended the funeral of Dylan. If you have ever had a punch in the heart like this one, you know the feeling. In an instant, my life changed. The ‘falling into the hole’ process starts with a dark, confusing attempt to find something solid to stand on.

I met Dylan after meeting Karen. We had been at the same place doing the same thing we were last night. She was a teacher, and after finding out what I did, she asked if I’d be interested in mentoring a 9^th grader who could use some help. One thing led to another and, about a month later, I met Dylan. Soon, Dylan brought 2 friends and we had weekly appointments. Then time moved us.

For about 2 years Dylan and I got together. Two years of creative thinking, adapting and praying to discover what I could do that would be beneficial. Donuts and Breakfast Sandwiches soon became a staple. But I ALWAYS made sure that Jesus was there as well. I know he heard every word. But time and events move, and the desires of a 14 year old are a lot different than at 16.

Other than desire over time, there was no 1 reason we stopped getting together. After a while, and after too many no shows, we just grew apart. I couldn’t MAKE him meet with me, so time brought us to a fork in the road where he went in another direction. I’d call him once in a while… he was doing well. My last call was around Thanksgiving last year. Last night I heard he had been killed in January!

I’m still in shock and didn’t sleep well last night. I’d wake up and he was on my mind with questions that I had no answers for. Finally, after running to Jesus in the midst of them, I placed those questions into His hands by faith. I am thankful that I had the opportunity to meet this young man and share what I could about life and The Savior.

One thing I have discovered out of this news is that I am honored to have met, gotten to know and to share the real meaning of life with a young man that no longer has a life here on this Earth. The sad story makes me want to remember that life is sad. And that there is truly only 1 hope in all of it. The ability to share the love of Christ and His Grace is never wasted. So I will continue to share.

Are YOU telling people about The Savior?

“As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” Proverbs 27:17

BAHHHHHHM!  The sparks were flying last night.. and if you weren’t at our Bible Study you missed quite a show! Studying Colossians 3, we were diving into what it means to be dead WITH Christ and yet alive IN Him. One thing led to another, and 1 question to another. Soon, it seemed, everyone got their toes stepped on. Then the questions and opinions got louder! Then, because I had to… so did I!

I cannot begin to tell you how much I love and appreciate our special, little flock of sheep. As I thought about it, I’m thinking our ‘specialness’ might be the reason for our small size! Our sheep are so tough, few are willing to fit in! I’ve said it before, our sheep are SMART when it comes to the Bible. They are also opinionated and not afraid to show it! So when the tone raised up, I did too!

Many of the points they were trying to make were valid… kind of.  But they were missing the MAIN point where Jesus was trying to move us.  The comments weren’t getting us any closer. Finally I yelled… “STOP!!!! YA’LL KEEP TALKIN’ ABOUT STUFF YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT!” It got quieter! Smiling inside, I reminded myself, ‘these are my kind of sheep… cuz they’re not afraid to speak up!’

Visiting an office yesterday, I was waiting my turn when a long haired hippie from my generation walked in. The receptionist told him to please sign the register and sit down. He responded, “if ya want me to do something, tell me NOT to do it!” He didn’t know, but he’d just recited the idea found in Romans 7:7. My sheep had heard something they didn’t believe, so they argued! It’s natural!

To be a sheep is a special calling. Answering His call makes me special because I must realize, like every other Believer, either the hard way or the easy way, that JESUS is the Master. I am His servant! When getting together with Him and His other sheep, one thing is certain… sparks are gonna fly! And if I can’t handle sheep sparks… maybe I’m not as BAAAAAAAAHD as I think!     I LOVE our Flock!  How BAHHHHHHD are YOU?

P.S. The following is a sheep’s guide to being one. I HIGHLY recommend it

Don’t Give the Enemy a Seat Session 1

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, (then) he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5

The day being Katie’s Birthday, I was out looking for special things. Not for things ON special, but things that WERE special… to HER! Having personally known her for over 45 years, and making a point to study and learn what she likes and dislikes, I was using that acquired knowledge to buy things I figured SHE would especially like. Then I discovered just how special, special could be!

My bride loves Twizzlers… Cherry Bites are her favorite candy. Going to a local store I found them in the candy aisle where, above the shelf hung a sign that said “2 for $4.50.” What surprise and joy it was to find out that I could actually get what she wanted at a special price! Grabbing 2, I went to the checkout where the lady said, “that will be $9.63 please!” My response was… “HUH?”

It turned out that the ‘special price’ was for ‘rewards members only!’ And since I hadn’t swiped a rewards card first, I was not entitled to the special discount! Providing some helpful suggestions as to why I really AM special, nothing would work! Then I remembered my special bride and asked,” Will you substitute my wife’s phone number? Instantly… ‘I’ became ‘special’ too… and saved $4.81!

When it comes to so many things in this life, and in the next one too, “it’s not what you do… but who you KNOW!” In the case of the candy, my special connection to my special wife made ME special too! Today’s verse is a Heavenly Special offered by Jesus Christ to ANYONE! That is… anyone who WANTS to take advantage of His offer! It’s a HUGE savings… but it’s not free!

Marriage can be a struggle when 2 independent people choose to lay aside their own interests to meet the interests of the one they love more than themselves. It’s like a law of diminished returns! When I give up my wants in favor of my lover’s wants, I get back more than I gave up! And Jesus promises the same special! Fruit becomes MUCH fruit when I join Him as a Rewards Member!

The cost isn’t really a debate. In fact, to get His special requires that I give Him EVERYTHING! Not just all my money… but the whole wallet, all the clothes, the house, the car and MY will for anything other than HIM! But the rewards to those who willingly take advantage of His offer… are out of this world!

So how about it? Are YOU special?

“For we will surely die and become like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again. Yet God does not take away a life; but He devises means, so that His banished ones are not expelled from Him.” 2 Samuel 14:14 NKJV

I just know that today is going to be special, because today is our Church’s 2^nd meeting for the ‘Good News Club’ at our local Middle School. Being the first of it’s kind in the entire USA, we are excited to have the opportunity to share the Good News with kids this age. Being the 2^nd meeting means we’ve already had a 1^st! Unfortunately, we didn’t make it a week before receiving some bad news!

I didn’t personally see it, but I was sent a screenshot of some comments on one of our School Board members Facebook websites. I had to look at it twice before even registering a reaction, because the first look made no sense. Someone had attacked the club calling what we are doing ‘Christofascist Indoctrination,’ and ‘the worship of an imaginary sky daddy!’ And it got worse!!!

The picture attached showed a man on a cannon (representing God) aiming… and then blasting away a 4 year old child in flames! Beside the child was written the word ‘Leukemia.’ The message was loud and clear. The writer was insinuating what many people believe… that every death, accident or disaster is caused by God! The claim is outrageous, sad and WRONG! And it is also my fault!

I say it’s my fault because I am a part of The Church that has been infiltrated by an evil force that our loving God WARNED would be coming. The Church’s responsibility is to make sure that the evil NOT win! Unfortunately, I have heard FAR too many Believers in Christ repeat the same stupid idea with words like, “God must have needed an angel… so he took your baby!” I want to vomit!

The idea that God ‘TAKES’ people is disgusting, even though it may be well intended. It makes folks feel better that their loved one is no longer suffering and is now with God, in Heaven, where there is no more pain or sorrow! But even an idiot can see the illogical reasoning the myth leaves behind. “Since God takes life, then HE is responsible for killing MY BABY!” So they hate Him for it! STUPID!

I say “STUPID” as loud, obnoxious and disrespectful as I can! Because I want EVERYONE to know… telling people, directly or indirectly, that God takes life as some master plan is EVIL, WRONG and BAD NEWS! ANYONE who thinks, says or insinuates that notion needs to STOP! The fellow who took time to write a scathing review of Good News has been damaged because of this kind of Stupid News!

I am a Christian… a firm, faith-filled lover of the God who LOVES ME SO MUCH… He sent His Son to be MURDERED FOR ME! How dare I say, or allow other members of His Church say things that misrepresent Him… and without correction?! It is MY DUTY! If you are a Believer, it is yours too! An 11th Commandment could summarize the previous 10 by saying… ‘Thou shalt not be Stupid!’

Do you believe, or are YOU causing other people to believe, evil things about your loving Heavenly Father that are untrue? I am called to tell THE GOOD NEWS… and that is what I will do!  How about you?