“We ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies.” Romans 8:23

Our Church has a Memorial Garden in the back, where the cremains of over 2 dozen former Church and family members lie in rest, awaiting the return of our Savior Jesus Christ. It was my father’s idea. He felt that scattering precious ashes to the wind seemed disrespectful. So the Memorial Garden was set up, without markers, as a place go, remember and pray. WORK just kinda came along!

As it stands, only half the Garden has been kept up. That half is where the people are. The other half just kind of… GROWS! And since Florida is a flowering state, stuff grows like crazy! We don’t have a regular gardener, so when things get out of hand, whoever feels led goes to the garden to trim or pull weeds. This last week Katie and I felt led to get to work. This morning… we groan!

‘Out of control’ describes the ‘other half’ of the Garden, and trees, weeds and vines have grown to that state! The ONLY way to get things back under control is to get in there and manually pull, cut, trim and haul away the debris. When the temperature and the humidity hit in the 90’s, desire and expectation often fail to meet! Realistically, it’s gonna take longer than we thought!

As hours passed by yesterday, we both became sweaty messes. Passing a point where I had no more to give, I looked toward the site where my father’s ashes lay and actually felt jealous! Where HE is now, I will go. But not just yet. For now… I work, sweat and groan! As I remembered this Bible verse, my soul became buried in sorrow, but my spirit was refreshed with God’s Hopeful promise!

This world is EXACTLY how it was for Adam and Eve after ‘The Fall.’ The curses of work, weeds, sweat and death remain as evidence of sin’s consequence. Yet my desire to live, enjoy, prosper and flourish point to the inward Truth, written on my heart by God, that THIS is NOT the way things were meant to be! In joyful sorrow, He calms me with His promise… Where He is… I will go… but not just yet!

Will YOU be there with Him? And are you looking forward, with Hope, to the trip?

“Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Luke 6:38

It has been said, “When you play with fire you either get burned or smell like smoke!” And while I don’t know who said it, I can vouch for the accuracy of the statement. Except for now! Technology has proven that as time passes, convenience just seems to happen! And Katie and I were conveniently sitting by a fire, completely safe… and NOT smelling ANYTHING!

A dear friend had asked a favor. He had a large wooden yard ornament that ‘needed some repair’ and, having mentioned that I used to be in carpentry, he sprung the repair request in my direction. “Sure!” I said. “I’ll take a look at it.” When he got it to me, I couldn’t imagine how he got ‘miracle worker’ out of ‘carpentry!’ “Just take it home and look at it,” He said. So I put it in my garage.

Because ‘the thing’ was so broken and rotted, I determined there was no way it could be fixed. Every once in a while he’d ask, “did you take a look at it yet?” and I’d just laugh, thinking there was NO way he was serious! After it sat there for over a month, I heard something in his voice that made me realize ‘the thing’ was VERY sentimental and important to him. So I adjusted my impossible level.

It took a few months and plenty of ‘miracle,’ but it got done and he was more than pleased. One day we received a package at our door. Opening it I found a box of blue, glass rocks and some kind of cover! A couple weeks later an outdoor propane fireplace was delivered. In our discussions I had mentioned that we used a fireplace that burnt artificial logs, but the stink and smoke was nasty!

Last night Katie asked, “would you like a fire tonight?” Instead of a grumpy look, my face just smiled! Being the fire builder, I’m the one who ends up stinking! But now… with only the turn of a knob, we enjoy a clean, non-smelly and smokeless fire! It is WONDERFUL! And it’s all because my friend gave me something I thought was impossible, and then blessed us back in return! Just like God does!

The rules of giving were written BY God! As with most rules, there are doubters and naysayers who question the possibility of receiving AFTER giving! But just like the rule of gravity, how many times does one have to fall off something to certify it’s authenticity? Sitting beside my wife and beside a beautiful fire reminded me that… truly, one getteth AFTER one giveth! But giveth-ing cometh firsteth!

Have YOU tested God’s giving and receiving principle?

“…be made new in the attitude of your minds; and put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” Ephesians 4:23-24

Decorating the house for Holidays is a ‘thing’ for Katie. With the 4th of July approaching, putting up the Patriotic decorations became a priority. My daughter painted a picture of an Eagle’s head we both like, so Katie hung it on the front door. When I shut the door, the painting crashed to the floor, breaking the frame! And while fixing broken frames is not ‘my thing,’ it had to be done.

I learned that PLANNING can take as much, or more time, as DOING! With each repair idea came a need for a different tool. I have LOTS of tools. As I planned my work I worked my plan. But even as I’d line up 1 corner, it would misalign another! Determining I needed either 6 hands or more tools, and having neither, the project is taking longer than I had hoped! Kind of like my life!

There are days when I feel like a broken picture frame. If someone were to ask, “How are you doing?” I’d have to answer, “it’s complicated.” Reading this verse this morning while looking in the rear-view mirror at yesterday, I got a clearer picture of what’s really going on. Being made body, soul and spirit, I realized they go together like gasoline, muriatic acid and a match! Life is WAR!

With NO benefit of choice, I was born an enemy of God. Human sin had placed me in that position. Thankfully, God wasn’t happy about my condition, and took the necessary steps to get me back onto His side… at The Cross! But while the opportunity to ‘get right’ was there, the CHOICE to JOIN God rested upon MY shoulders. The challenge to ‘be right’ still does. And it starts in my mind.

Inside this aging body lies a soul and a spirit. And all 3 are constantly at war! When mind gets an idea, body is too tired. When God’s Spirit calls, soul and body battle to answer. Reading the Bible can give me God’s clear direction as to where I should go, but my THREE-GOS have to decide to unite and actually DO it! NOT doing it can become tiring… and complicated! Because ‘I KNOW!’

I was CREATED in God’s Image to BE and ACT like God. I KNOW when I am not! His Spirit inside continually prompts me to walk in the direction He is pointing. Obeying Him is the only thing that allows me HIS peace and joy. Made to be like the image I hold, I am His framework that constantly needs work to keep it together. I have been framed to display HIS Image!

Are YOU showing Him off?  Or are you in need of repair!  He’s GREAT at fixing frames if you will let Him!

“Count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.” Romans 6:11

My 8 and 5 year old grandsons were over yesterday, and because it was hot, they ended up in the pool. A favorite game of ours is my throwing pennies into the water and their diving down to get them. After I ran out of pennies, it was time to introduce them to something new. What happened next was a good lesson for anybody who wants a more abundant life!

I challenged the oldest to dive down to the bottom and stay there. Because he had a tendency to float to the top, I stood on him to keep him underwater. Over a minute later, he still wasn’t struggling. But I let him loose and he came up laughing saying, “that was cool!” His younger brother then hollered, “do that to me too grampa!” So I held BOTH of them underwater… while their mom laughed and videoed the scene!

“Horrible!” or “Child abuse!” some might say. But attempted murder is probably more like it! What I DIDN’T say was what made all the difference. Because floating above them was a scuba tank with 2 regulators supplying air to them! Though underwater, they were breathing just fine! And LOVING IT! What under normal circumstances would be considered horrific, had just become a great time!

Unless one is a fish, breathing and underwater do NOT go together. When Jesus told Nicodemus that to enter Heaven one had to be ‘Born Again,’ His words were shocking! They still are! People who haven’t exercised Faith in Christ have the tendency to drown in the sea of common sense, rather than trusting in the Savior. Jesus is just trying to get them under… to show them the life that is greater!

My grandsons are smart. They know staying underwater too long can be a serious problem. They SAW the contraption with the hoses floating in the water, but my trying to explain the scientific and practical applications of scuba was NOT going to get them down and keep them down. What they needed to do was what they did! They TRUSTED me… then gave it a try! Just like Jesus asks us to do!

Faith requires action. That means that I can be told over and over that God is good and that His ways are better and more joyful than what I am used to. But until I do more than just , and be willing to dive under and be held by Him, I will NEVER experience the REAL life He promises me. But FIRST, I must be willing to die to my own old way of seeing and doing things!    I’ve tried and… Jesus Works!

Have YOU exercised faith in Jesus Christ and been Born Again? If so… how’s it going?

“Wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight; stop doing wrong.” Isaiah 1:16

I have a couple of older cars, which is what I prefer. It’s not like I wouldn’t LOVE a new car for both my bride and myself, it’s just that the cost for new does not justify the benefits. So we keep our 18+ year old cars going. To do that requires me to have a mechanic… and I do! I am blessed because my mechanic is ALSO my friend and a fellow Believer! Lately, he’s been making a suggestion!

When I last took my truck to him, I had run out of electrical tape to cover the flashing indicator dashboard lights. He repaired the problem and then did an inspection on my vehicle because, like I said, he is also my friend. When I picked it up, he said, “we need to get this back in soon… your back brakes need to be replaced!” My response was, “O.K.!” But my thought was, “Pshaw!!!!”

Look… my brakes have been working fine! I have not had even 1 incident when I pushed on the brake pedal and my truck didn’t stop. But… we made an appointment to get my truck to him last week… then I completely forgot! Still, I can tell you that I haven’t had even ONE close call with any braking issues! BUT, like I said, he’s my friend, so I guess I’ll humor him and get my truck to him this Friday.

I have learned that maintenance is such an inconvenience! It takes time, effort and determination to keep things in good working order. Me being me, I don’t like wasting time on things I don’t see as THAT big a problem. Reading the Old Testament Prophets lately, I see that Israel had the same issue! Their attitude was, ‘why bother cleaning up when we’re having so much fun in the mud?’

As I look around at America, I no longer have to look OUT THERE to hear a news story that indicates a ‘stopping problem!’ Just looking around my own little community, I see lives that are completely out of whack and headed for disaster! As evil becomes more acceptable and normal, I am reminded that STOPPING… will soon become an impossibility! A crash is certain!

Reading the Word is ALWAYS inconvenient to me. It is obvious that ‘I’ am NOT Israel… and that ‘I’ alone am not America! When I read the Word it is easy for me to tape over the dashboard lights that indicate that ‘I’ have any problems. Sometimes, it takes more than a little nudge by my friend ‘The Holy Spirit’ to help me see that “I” do indeed… have a ‘Stopping Problem!’ And it’s Shop Time!

How’s YOUR life going… and stopping?

This devotional popped up in my email and, if you have been listening to me over the last several months, mirrors my own heart.  America is in a heap of trouble and heading for the cliff!  WE are ‘The Called’… the ones who have been given the responsibility to be light and salt to our world.  That means we are to DO something!  There are voices out there saying the same things.  Here is a perfectly eloquent example.  

Find a Storm to Stir You

Article by Marshall Segal Staff writer, desiringGod.org

Complacency falls softly, even pleasantly, on a sleeping soul. It’s the secret to its appeal and power over us. The complacent crave comfort, quiet, ease — an inner life resembling a calm lake just after sunset. The birds have fled, the fish descended, the other animals have hidden themselves away for the night. Even the water stops to rest. Serene. Peaceful. Undisturbed.

Complacent people may still do a lot of things — just not what matters most, what requires more of us. Few of us, of course, think of ourselves as complacent. Life is “full” and “hard” and often overwhelming. But underneath there’s an eerie stillness — not the stillness of peace and security and joy, but of a spiritual stagnancy. Like a child in a car seat during rush hour, the harried rhythms of life slowly lull our souls to sleep.

The Bible stays closed for days at a time. Prayers are quicker and less frequent. We keep one eye on our email, our texts, our feed. Conversations linger near the surface and feel inconvenient. Excuses multiply for missing church. Needs around us go unnoticed. We go to sleep and wake up anxious and distracted, and we’re not sure why. The spiritual seas within us go from restless to sluggish to dormant.

Unless, of course, God lovingly sends a storm to awaken us:

Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works. . . .

Provoking Good

The pastoral charge in Hebrews 10:24–25 can easily become so familiar that it’s no longer provocative. The storm it describes can begin to sound more and more like a gentle breeze.

Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

The Greek for “stir up” means “to provoke” or “to agitate.” The same word is used just one other time in the New Testament, and it’s used (surprisingly) to describe the “sharp disagreement” that arose between Paul and Barnabas over John Mark (Acts 15:39). There’s a kind of sharpness in the imagery. Shake one another, unsettle one another, upset one another — with a holy interruption — until love spills over and good works spring to life.

Why reach for such strong language to describe ordinary life together in the church? Because, like any good preacher, the writer of Hebrews knows how easy it is for any of us to settle into lives of little love and few good works. He knows how deeply and regularly we need brotherly storms to keep our souls alert and alive to God.

First Step in Good Stirring

How do we send these brotherly storms in love? The first step in stirring one another up may be so obvious we miss it. It comes in the next verse: “not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some. . . .” The first step in stirring up one another is simply to see one another face to face — to consistently gather in the same place with the explicit purpose of enjoying and obeying Jesus.

Many of us tasted the painful absence of this over the last couple of years during lockdowns and social distancing. We tried hard to bridge the gap with technology, but we all felt its inadequacy. One of the many good lessons God was teaching us amid all the confusion, tension, loss, and heartache was that we need to be stirred, we need more than Zoom calls and livestreams, we need to meet. God has given presence a soul-stirring power that texts and screens cannot replace.

And yet some, then and now, neglect the gift and necessity of presence. Why had some made a habit of avoiding the gathering? The excuses may have been many and varied, but they likely shared a common root: some unrepentant sin (next verse, Hebrews 10:26). They knew deep down that sin went to church to die, and so they found ways to stay away from church. Maybe it was secret sexual sin. Maybe it was bitterness over past hurt. Maybe it was envy over another’s marriage, or children, or home, or success. Maybe it was an idol of me-time. First, they had a bad morning and missed worship once. Then a couple times in a month. Then most of the summer. Over time, absence was no longer an anomaly, but the norm. A habit.

The storms we all need only come when we each keep investing what it costs to meet. Week after week, we need to be awakened. We need to be reminded that God exists. We need to be reminded that he really came in the flesh, died a sinless death in our place, and three days later broke out of the grave. We need to be reminded that all the burdens and responsibilities that feel so heavy and demanding are small and light next to our coming reward. We need to be reminded that sin will ruin us. We need to be shaken free from the sleepy spiritual fog that so easily sets in. In other words, we really need to meet.

Love Prepared for Us

When we stir one another up to love and good works, we join God in something he has been conceiving over centuries. We’re being used by God to enact a plan he outlined before the world was born. “We are his workmanship,” the apostle Paul writes, “created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10). Any good work we do today is a good work that God himself has prepared for us.

“God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him” (Ephesians 1:4). And he knew precisely what shapes and colors that holiness would take. He knew and planned the details of our love, our patience, our kindness, our generosity and hospitality. The good steps we take, with his help, are steps he placed in front of us. Before God poured the Pacific Ocean, he had planned ways for us to step in and sacrifice ourselves for others. Before God laid out the sunflower fields in Italy, he had planted needs that we would uncover and meet. Before he formed the Himalayas or carved out the Grand Canyon, he had prepared fruitful conversations for us to have, even this week.

And we get to help one another walk into those good works, works written out for us, specifically for us, before we knew what one was. In fact, our stirring others up into this Christ-like love is one of the many good works God prepared for us beforehand.

Consider One Another

Perhaps the most overlooked dimension of the command to stir one another up, however, is how personal it is: “Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works.” Literally, “one another” is the object of the verb consider: “Let us consider one another . . .” Provoking one another well begins with studying one another well. It means paying close enough attention to know each other’s particular abilities and plans, temptations and fears, challenges and opportunities. These are the kinds of questions we might regularly ask as we consider one another:

• What strengths or abilities has God given you?
• What specific callings has he placed on your life?
• What other needs has God put around you?
• Who, in particular, has he called you to love? And who do you struggle to love?
• What are areas you excel in where I could affirm grace in you?
• What are areas you struggle in where I could come alongside and encourage you?
• What fears keep you from taking good risks and making sacrifices in love?
• How might God use me to help you carry out the good works he’s planned for you?

Often, just asking good questions is enough to spark the right kind of awareness, selflessness, creativity, and love. And asked consistently enough by people who love us and know us well, they can serve as something of a spiritual alarm clock, calling us out of cycles of sleepiness.

So, who stirs your heart out of the soothing calm of complacency? Whose friendship awakens the right kind of conviction, ambition, and joy? And who might need you to be that loving storm for them?

Marshall Segal (@marshallsegal) is a writer and managing editor at desiringGod.org. 

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9

It seemed like it just crept up overnight! One day my swimming pool was crystal clear. The next… not so much! I WILLED myself to NOT believe what I was seeing. But the pool’s pretty blue surface had been overcome with the greeny yellowy film of algae!!!!! Having lived here for 32 years, it was not the first time either! And I KNEW it was ALL MY FAULT!

Algae in my pool has happened MANY times… usually about this time of year. The water had been cool due to the chill of winter. But now that the sun’s heat was shining summer’s glow, the pool temperature was warming. Cooler temperatures mean it doesn’t take as many chemicals to keep algae at bay. But unless I am vigilant, it doesn’t take long for the tide to turn and algae to bloom!

When I got to the pool store to buy some pool shock and algaecide, I was the one shocked! A bottle that used to cost $16 was now $38! Chlorine tablets had increased in price more than 2.5 times from what I used to pay! But unless I wanted to let my pool become a swamp… I had no choice. So I paid and left. But not before having a little conversation with the clerk!

I asked the man behind the counter if he was aware of what was going on in our School Board. He was not! When I briefed him on the horrors of evil being pressed upon our children with the LGBTQ agenda, he said, “I don’t have any children.” When I asked him if he cared about what kids are being taught, he again reminded me, “I don’t have any children.” then added, “so I don’t care!”

When I got home I got started. Letting Algae get a grip on my pool takes money, time and WORK to get rid of. Just like with sin and evil! And God is NOT going to lend me a hand to get rid of it since… it is MY fault that it’s there in the first place!! Lack of watchfulness, effort and spending resources allowed evil in NATURALLY! Now God may give me directions to clean it… but it’s gonna cost ME!

I have a tendency to go over the top when faced with an issue. I threw in more chemicals than the man told me I might need, since he’d already proven he wasn’t that wise. And now I am going to watch what is going on in my pool even MORE CAREFULLY. And now that a MAJOR election for School Board members is coming up August 23^rd, I’m going to work EXTRA hard to get rid of the evil!

How about YOU???     How much do YOU care?  

“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” Romans 8:37

BIG SALE! That is what the mailed flier indicated anyway. MASS SAVINGS!!! O.K., they had my attention. On the surface, it looked like stopping there would save me some money on items I regularly use. Then I saw their advertisement for paper towels…

Wherever there is money, there is math. Because I don’t have a math brain, it takes me a little longer for things to add up! But with this advertisement, it appeared there was a whole new category of mathematics I was unaware of. One manufacturer says that 6=9! Another says 6=12! Still another says that 6=8… which magically turns into 10 on the new packaging! And I am confused!

Paper Towels have always been a source of ire for me because what started as convenience has turned into GOLD for some mathematically minded paper pushers! The downside is that no matter how it’s computed, grabbing a paper towel to wipe up a spill is EXPENSIVE! Just last night at church when coffee was spilled. I went to get the mop, another guy grabbed $12 worth of paper towels!!!! We should have grabbed a rag! Go figure!

The Bible has a lot to say about things of value. But I have learned that ‘God Math’ is kind of like paper towel math… because it’s in a whole new category of its own. For example, God promises that you actually GET MORE when you GIVE IT AWAY! And when it comes to His spilling out His love for me… God’s math is off the charts!

“NO!” is the first word of today’s Bible verse. Which actually begs the question… No WHAT? Looking back, the question on the table is simply, “can ANYTHING separate me from the love of God in Christ Jesus?” It is good to know that when God says “NO!” He means it! But after He answers His own question, He does a fancy dance with the ‘value’ of His love that sounds more like a paper towel commercial!

Romans 8 is the BIG ROLL of security for the Believer in Jesus Christ. It goes on to say that we are not just conquerors because we trust in Him… He says we are MORE than conquerors! Now I don’t know how a conqueror can be or do more than conquer, but God said it and I believe Him. So while the world tries to tell me that less is more, God says, ‘don’t buy it… MORE is MORE!’ I love His math!

So here’s a question… does God’s love add up for you?

“The disciples did not understand any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what he was talking about.” Luke 18:34

“Ya wanna play a game?” Katie hollered from the other room. Thinking about it, I realized it was too late to go out somewhere, yet too early to go to bed. So I said, “Sure, what game do you want to play?” The questions only made the rabbit hole go deeper. “How about that new one you just bought on sale last week?” she called out. And just like that… we entered ‘Wonderland.’

We had been walking through an ‘everything for $5’ store and I saw nothing of interest. That was until I hit a shelf labeled ‘Clearance – 50% off!’ Suddenly I was intrigued! Being frugal and with my attention piqued, a game just kind of jumped out at me. Imagining the hours of fun I would have with my bride, playing a game we got half off at a $5 store, we bought it! Now it was time to play!

Everything was going well as she unwrapped the package. That changed when she started reading the directions. Becoming confused, she handed them to me and said, “here… YOU figure this out!” After trying for several minutes, I did the 2022 thing and asked google for a video! After watching it for 10 minutes, our wide-eyed gazes locked in confusion. She put everything back in the box!

I’ve always felt sorry for the Disciples. Those poor guys had no clue what was going on most of the time! But their sense of wonder at the miracle working, story telling, wise man named Jesus kept them following Him around anyway! They never really even got a glimpse of the big picture until He was gone! But by then, they were so far ‘in’ there was no turning back! Sometimes I feel like that!

With this world sinning and spinning out of control, it gets harder to make sense of it all. Trying to read God’s instruction manual often makes me even more confused, feeling like those very first Disciples in today’s Bible verse. I mean, things shouldn’t be this hard… right? Then it hit me! Falling for a bargain, I thought I was getting some fun! But God NEVER said this life would be FUN!

In the end, Katie said, “it would have been easier to just get a deck of cards and play ‘War’ with you!” It was then I realized… that is EXACTLY what we are doing! Are you keeping your eyes on The Master? Or are you looking for something else? Because Jesus doesn’t bargain!