“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:14-16

Walking through a landscape nursery, I wasn’t looking for it when I saw it. The plant just sort of ‘popped out,’ causing me to stop in my tracks and stare. Having never seen a pepper plant like that one before, I marveled at it’s beauty. As the sun made the colors shine and come to life, I wanted it!

I had just spent over $60 for milkweed plants. Katie likes spring butterflies and butterflies like milkweed. Since I like Katie, I decided to get some for her. Returning the cart, I saw the pepper plant in all it’s glory! The longer I looked at it, the prettier it got. Though an unusual plant to give to a woman, I figured Katie would appreciate it. So I bought it!

The key to any gift is presentation. Once home, I placed it in front of her flower garden where it would be easily seen… figuring she would HAVE to notice! True to habit, when she came into the house, she passed by the glass doors to admire the flowers. Her jaw dropped and she let out a gasp! “Where did you get THAT?!” “At the pepper plant store,” I replied.

Ephesians 4:8 fulfilled a prophecy of Psalm 68, both which show God receiving and giving “gifts to men.” Which is how it goes! I received the gift of joy in the beauty of the pepper bush. In turn, I presented that joy as a gift to my wife. She blessed me again with the joy of her favor. Which again… is how it goes.

New Life in Christ is promised to all who choose to receive it. But like the ‘flower’ gift of the ‘pepper bush,’ His gift is hidden in mystery. Presentation is everything, and when mystery is added, the gift becomes even more desirable. After he reveals Himself to me, He asks ME to go and show it off to the world by doing things HIS way! In turn, HE gets glory from ‘showing off’ our true colors! And that’s how it goes!

Are people amazed by YOUR Jesus life and asking, “Where did you get THAT?”  Shine on!

“’Drink, my lord,’ she said, and quickly lowered the jar to her hands and gave him a drink. After she had given him a drink, she said, ‘I’ll draw water for your camels too, until they have had enough to drink.’” Genesis 24:18-19

‘Florida’ means ‘Covered in Flowers,’ and because my wife likes flowers, we have our share. Flowering is kind of a necessary hobby for her because she likes pretty. But pretty doesn’t just happen without work! I like pretty too… which is why I married her. Let’s just say ‘work’ and ‘pretty’ kind of go hand in hand.

Water is the biggest need for plants in a hot climate. No water, no flowers. So I came up with a couple of ideas to get water without having to pay for it, then pour it into the dirt! One of those ideas is a rain barrel that catches the rain coming off the roof. Once collected, we fill jugs, carry and distribute that water around to the posies! It’s a daily task.

I know we have 31 jugs which we fill from the barrel, because I counted them. This allows the barrel to collect as much rain as possible. When it is dry, that stored water is a blessing. Yesterday, while passing the time, I was figuring out how much water we use when the story of Rebekah and Issac came to mind. It’s a classic Bible love story that makes a type of point!

The story is in Genesis 24 and is worth reading. Choosing to go deeper, I did both the work and the math. Master Abraham sent his Chief Servant to go find a wife for his Son. With a 10 camel entourage, the servant flipped up a prayer to God, asking a sign for success. That Rebekah was beautiful was not one of them! He wanted to see her work ethic!

10 camels, 26 gallons per camel, a 2.5 gallon water jar, 8 lbs per gallon and over 100 trips to the well produced about 260 gallons, weighing over a ton. And it was transferred QUICKLY! The servant had found His Master’s Son a worthy bride! And pretty too!

I said this is a type of a point, because Bible stories are written to MAKE points. The Master represents God. The Servant is the Holy Spirit. The Master’s Son is Jesus. And Rebekah… since I am a member of Jesus’ Church… is ME! The proof of my character and loyalty lies in just how good and enthusiastic a water boy I am!

Jesus said, “Go into the world and carry the Gospel with you.” And just like I enjoy a smile from Katie as I help with her flowers, I hope and want to make Jesus smile as I enthusiastically splash His Truth around! Cuz I KNOW He’s watchin’!

Get the point?

“Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me.” John 14:21

Needing some shelves in my garage, I was looking forward to the task. It had been many years since I’d done any kind of carpentry work. 45 years ago I had started in carpentry to provide my betrothed a living. It was back then I learned, often the hard way, from a seasoned old codger who expected me to do it right! As I picked up my saw, I remembered!

Whenever hands reach for a saw, a gun, a knife or even the steering wheel of a car, there are rules to LIVE by. These inanimate objects have no brain, but serve as tools to do their master’s bidding. If the user does not choose to follow the rules, life can be severely disrupted! Setting saw on plywood, instinct kicked in and I remembered those commands.

“SET the blade to the depth of the cut. WEAR safety glasses! AVOID the blade! WATCH the extension cord and PLAN for where it will follow. MOVE smoothly with the speed of the saw. For a straight line, watch where you’re going… NOT where you’ve been!” In seconds, I had them down and proceeded. 12” inches later I could tell, by sound alone, I had missed one!

If you’ve ever cut wood with any kind of saw, there is a satisfying rhythm to it. As the blade cuts, it creates a sound. That sound tells an experienced person how fast or hard to push and the resulting quality of the cut. The sound of my saw told me the saw-blade was dull. Not having another, I did the ‘next right thing’ and slowed the movement of the saw.

My Master Jesus has commands, or rules, that He wants me to live by. Though they are in black and white, and sometimes in red, they often turn gray or dull when time comes to actually apply them. ‘Giving’ seems rather simple, until pen and checkbook are in hand. Honoring and obeying? EASY… until a selfish heart is pricked! What then?

The hard way of learning has taught me that there is no way around the hard way. Jesus told me to keep my head in His Word and remember the basics every step of the way. Even when it gets hard.  And that if I watch where I’m going, and not where I’ve been, He will always be out in front. I am simply called to KNOW and DO … the “next right thing!”

Are YOU cutting it with Jesus?

“Even as fools walk along the road, they lack sense and show everyone how stupid they are.” Ecclesiastes 10:3

“You’re not going to believe this,” were the first words out of Katie’s mouth as she walked in the door from work. Pulling up this picture taken 10 minutes before, she said, “What is wrong with this world? Are people really THIS STUPID?”  Her naivety can be so cute sometimes!

She went on to say, “whole families traveled the Oregon Trail over 2100 miles without signs this huge and ugly. Yet people can’t cross a parking lot without 3 of them trashing the landscape?” I didn’t have the heart to tell her only about 20% of those Oregon Trail travelers actually went all the way. AND that they trashed Wyoming, sacrificing long term benefit for immediate ease. Fools tend to do that!

Later that afternoon, I pulled into another parking lot and saw a man, about 10 years older than me, drive up in a sporty little BMW convertible (WHY?) with the top down. I watched him get out of his car, then lock the door with the key… the top still down!

Now I admit to being FAR from perfect. Though not be the brightest bulb on the tree, I am not stupid. In fact, ‘stupid’ is at the top of my personal list of intolerable things!  I can handle ignorance. But not the stupid! God made me in His image, gave me a conscience (basic common sense) and later wrote the Bible. While today’s cell phones grant access to every kind of information in seconds, foolishness just seems to grow!

Those signs are there to speak to pedestrians, “Walk Here!” To drivers, “beware of walkers here!” But to the owners, and the zoning officials who require them, the signs say, “don’t blame us if stupid happens… we warned you!” Which is EXACTLY WHY God sent His Son and gave us His Word. So what other name can be given to someone who doesn’t pay Him attention

Does the world see you as foolish for God? Or does God see you as a worldly fool?

“Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:20-21

I have stuff! LOTS of stuff! So much stuff that I have nowhere to put it except for whatever empty space happens to be available when I am done with my stuff! Being a reasonable guy, that space is where I put it. But when I need or want it again, I can’t remember where that was! I need a place for my stuff! Shelves!? Yea!!! Those!

I was given plenty of 2×4’s by someone who had the same idea, but didn’t get around to doing it. I’ve had them for a while. The trouble is, they’re just laying around taking up space until I get around to building them. The trouble with THAT is, what do I do with my stuff while I’m building the shelves over where my stuff is now?!

As I was rearranging and organizing to build shelves to rearrange and organize, I came across some stuff I had forgotten about. A very full case of files from when I was a Scoutmaster, over 20 years ago. Which was about the last time I looked at it!

I was about to just throw it in the garbage… hesitated… looked inside. BIG mistake!

That bag, along with boxes of other stuff… is my life! Looking through it, I remembered the thousands of hours and money I invested in kids… mine and others. Then there’s the tools and materials I use, and still need, to maintain the investment in my home. I can’t just throw those away because there is still a need! So… shelves!

I realize that someday I will be dead and other folks will go through my stuff without the same memories or needs. I’m pretty sure they’ll chuck it all in a trash bin to make room for their stuff! Then I remembered this verse and wondered, “Does Jesus have shelves in Heaven?

If He commands me to store my treasure in Heaven, just where does He put it all when I send it on? Does it take up space? Can it be sorted through and reused? These are silly questions I have no answers for, but they do make me think about the things I store up there.

God is in the People Business. Because of that, whatever I do, with and for people, are the treasures God receives and stores on my behalf. If they are treasures, then they will be worth holding onto and remembering. My job is to send them ahead. God’s job is to store them. How He does it, I need not know? Maybe HE has shelves too!

Are YOU sending anything valuable ahead of you to Heaven?

“Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!” 2 Corinthians 9:15

Indescribable is the perfect word for the gift I ordered for my wife! There are words that may be used to TRY to explain. But they fall short of definition, by a long shot. Let’s just say that the chasm lying between intention and actual has yet to be defined!

While online, an ad popped up from a clothing manufacturer. In 45 years of marriage, I have NEVER had the thought this picture presented. Suddenly, I had an overwhelming desire to surprise my bride with that dress! I could visualize her wearing it and sense her joy when she received this beautiful thing! So I ordered it! And 1 more!

Though it took several weeks, the 2 packages finally arrived. I was SO excited to present this offering of love to my beautiful bride. But just in case I told her, “you don’t have to like it!” Which, as it turns out, MUST have come from the Holy Spirit! Because when she opened the package, her eyes bugged out in a shocking, silent stare.

The look on her face was UN-describable… which means ‘impossible.’ As she stared, she turned the dress over and over, looking at it from every angle. Finally, she spoke… “this thing is uglier than SIN!!! What were you THINKING?” Which gave me the clue that she didn’t like it! But my emotional anticipation of joy had to go SOMEWHERE!

The look on her face set me off. I didn’t think her reaction would be so extreme! Then mine was the same. I started howling with uncontrollable laughter and could not stop! Describing WHY the dress was so bad only made me laugh harder! I hadn’t laughed that hard in years! When she tried it on at my insistence, the laughter bellowed from both of us.  It did NOT look like the picture, but was worth every penny of the $30 I paid for the thing!

While I hid the other package, I mentally analyzed the chasm between intent and actual! Somewhere between theory and reality, I discovered another ‘no-man’s land.’ Having crossed a gulf of sincere intention, I learned that imagination can be very dangerous. I had imagined beauty and appreciation. I got ‘The Comedy Station!’

UN-describable means ‘impossible’ to define. IN-describable means about the same… but go ahead and give it a try anyway! My love for Katie is rock solid real, as is my love for God. And while I may have difficulty explaining or showing it, they both LOVE how I try! It’s the continual trying that makes ALL the difference! Even if it leads to laughter!

How would YOU describe YOUR love for God?

“He who was seated on the throne said, ‘I am making everything new!’ Then he said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.’” Revelation 21:5

“The Chair” was part of a full Living Room set that was purchased during Christmas, over 30 years ago. We had just purchased our new house, and being much larger than anything we had ever owned before, we had rooms to fill. When Katie saw the red plaid, it jolted her artsy heart and BAM! It was ours. And still is!

“The Chair” has become both HOLEY AND HOLY! It is on this throne where my queen, and God’s daughter, sits every morning to commune with the Master of the Universe. There are holes in places worn out by time. But though the outside wears away, it is still the most comfortable place for her to meet God. And therefore… Holy!

The furniture reminds her of the clothes of the Israelites when they wandered in the desert. It keeps functioning… except for a hole or 2! We have tried several times to find something to replace it. But nothing strikes her like this set did. One year, after visiting 15 stores, I said, if you just stop, I’ll use the money and take you to Israel!

Reading Scripture helps me to know God’s heart. Being a HUGE fan of God’s plan for the future, I’m reminded that He does NOTHING without considering the past! He will take everything that has been corrupted by sin, and make it NEW! He won’t throw it away, He will bring it to it’s original perfection as intended! “God don’t make junk!”

The process of RE-storation is costly and takes a LOT more time. Jesus created everything in just 6 days! Restoration got underway as soon as Eve chomped on bad fruit and has been going on ever since! It’s hard to comprehend, because society applauds throwing out the old to get brand new! An offer I made to my Bride for “The Chair.”

After visiting 5 stores, I cut to the chase… “I’ll buy you a BRAND NEW CHAIR and then have it professionally upholstered in any fabric you want!” THAT put an immediate stop to the shopping. AND to the idea of replacing the chair! She said, “I love my chair! I’m going to redo it myself!” Now how can I argue with that, since she has the same mind as our God! But I ALSO know, like God’s job in restoring EVERYTHING… this ain’t gonna be simple!

Are YOU excited anticipating YOUR ‘All New’ home in 100 years?

“Who is this who keeps darkening my counsel without knowing what he’s talking about?” Job 38:2 (ISV)

It happened TWICE yesterday. And both times, I was talking with a fellow believer about God and His sovereignty. One was just debating for the fun of it. The other was in a HORRIBLE situation. Though from different poles of seriousness, their conclusion ended the same. I couldn’t keep my mouth shut.

Bill is my friend and a fellow believer. He’s an old guy who, by even his own account, should have died YEARS ago. My visit to him was more than serious. He was suffering in sorrow because his son was dying! My calling was to pray, encourage, strengthen and give Him Jesus. All was going well, until he said those words!

“I’ll be ok when God sees fit to take him!” Bill and I have a very good relationship. We can shoot straight and ‘tell it like it is!’ But he was just guilty of NOT straight-shooting! So I let him have it… in a humorous bantering way, of course! Cuz even ‘I’ have SOME compassion on the hurting! But… Bill just called my Dad a murderer!

Later, I went to the gym. I hate the gym, but love the guy who owns it. We are experienced Christian brothers able to debate without anger. He’s trying to turn me into a Calvinist. A Calvinist believes that GOD appoints people, by HIS choice, to go to heaven or hell. In other words, GYM-man just called my Dad a murderer!

Now I don’t have stupid friends! For long, that is. But they are not stupid. They read and understand The Word of God better than most. Their words don’t come out because of spite or ignorance. They are simply drawing conclusions from the mysteries that come from real life entangled with the Real God! Just like Job!

To me, saying that God TAKES people in HIS time is to call God a murderer. Saying too, that God creates people to send them to hell, is calling God a murderer. I can’t help but react to the charge, because I KNOW God PERSONALLY as MY Daddy! And NOBODY calls MY DADDY a MURDERER without a fight!

This matter will NEVER be settled, this side of Heaven, because there are Bible verses to support both sides of the argument. As for me, I simply refuse to see my Heavenly Father as ANYTHING other than what He has personally shown me. Perfect in Love… ALWAYS! And THAT is the way ‘I’ see it! To me… any other way is just a bad idea!

How do YOU see God?

“What then shall we say, brothers and sisters? When you come together, each of you has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. Everything must be done so that the church may be built up.” 1 Corinthians 14:26

I’m a child of the mid 50’s. He… maybe the late 80’s. My drumming days were long over before he was even born! When he came to church about a year ago and found out I still have my drums, he told me he was a musician and said, “we ought to get together and jam!

We didn’t know each other and shared only 1 thing… Jesus! The music he listens to, I don’t. Bands he knows about, I’ve never even heard of! His favorite style, as far as I can figure, is more Johnny Cash meets Bob Dylan. Having never heard a cool drum solo from either of their bands, the slow, country, folksy rhythms don’t naturally draw me. And he wants to JAM?

I played drums to all kinds of music with LOTS of musicians… from Rock to polka, my mantra was often, “no, I don’t know that song, but get started and I’ll catch up!” Drumming was my favorite hobby in life, until it got me my FAVORITE thing… my Katie! After her, drumming in bars was happily prohibited. She wasn’t about to lose HER drummer to another groupie!

A few months ago, Steven and I started ‘Jammin.’ Honestly, I didn’t expect much. Still don’t! HE’s more visionary than me… which is a good thing! He comes up with ideas and we’ll start to play. Soon, he’ll let me know with a facial expression that he doesn’t like this or that, or he’ll banter a suggestion opposite of mine. Then I banter back my dusty ideas! Done-ing it!

Done-ing! If it isn’t a word, it should be. 2 men from 2 different generations with completely different styles coming together, rubbing each other’s ideas… sharpening, grinding and sweating in an unfinished church building without air conditioning! FOR WHAT? Did you read the verse? Because the common denominator for BOTH Steven and I lies in it’s truth!

LOVING Jesus is not enough. Lots of people claim to. But what separates REAL lovers of Jesus from the fakers… is a servant’s heart. TRUE Disciples of Jesus Christ FOLLOW Him and DO what He says and showed by example. He SERVED bums like me with the purpose of building up a Bride. Humbled by that thought… He called me to do the same, commanding… “See my Church… DO the same!”

Steven thinks we could become famous. I just laugh at the illusion. But knowing this verse, Jesus Christ personally AND what ‘The Word’ says about the future… Steven has a point! Someday in Heaven, we will be called before Jesus, with an audience of EVERY BELIEVER in the history of the world in attendance, and Jesus will say… “Steven… K.C…. play us a tune!” And the Glory of, from and for Jesus Christ… will dance!

What are YOU Done-ing for His Church?