“When you take a census of the Israelites to count them, each one must pay the Lord a ransom for his life at the time he is counted. Then no plague will come on them when you number them.” Exodus 3:12

Visiting my son for the Super Bowl was a fun experience. Weeks earlier when I found out the Bucs were going to be in it, I called him, “Super Bowl party at your house?” His response was a reluctant and cautious…”sure.” Now that the day had arrived, it was clear the biggest item on the agenda was FOOD! We could have called it ‘the Supper Bowl, since EVERYBODY came with the stuff! Well almost!

When we got to the door we were greeted first by the same one who ALWAYS greets us first…Macy the dog! As I walked to the kitchen carrying pulled pork, she was right behind me immediately acting like I was her best friend! She remained EVERYBODY’S ‘best friend’ for the rest of the evening! Which is, I guess, EXACTLY what a family dog is SUPPOSED to do!

Sitting with a plate of food, Macy came up and planted her nose right on my lap, and with a wagging tail, stayed there! Though the noise and commotion was high, I felt myself transfigure to the top of ‘Reflection Mountain’ with my own one word question…”WHY?” It’s been 2 days since the event, but it seems God isn’t done teaching me lessons over that event. But is He ever?

Yesterday I was drawn to open a devotional entitled, “10 things selfish people do!” I guess I wanted to see if I was??? It turns out I was completely uncomfortable with the ‘10 things.’ I copied and saved them in a notebook file for reference, placing the word “DON’T” before each one. As I read today’s verse in a DIFFERENT devotional this morning, I was reminded of these previous events and came to the conclusion that God is a blatant sneak AND tough teacher!

People are people and dogs are dogs. Sadly, and far too often, people become dogs too. In my quest of, “WHY is this dog’s nose on my lap,” I discovered something in myself. Macy isn’t there because she LOVES me. She is there because she wants my food…or to be petted or played with! She is selfish. She is a DOG! Which leads me to wonder…am I simply a D O G to G O D as well?

In the Old Testament EVERYBODY had to pay a tax when they were counted in the census. There was a COST to being counted! Transferring to the New Testament, Jesus reinforced this Truth when He said, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me (Matthew 16:24). Which leads me to a legitimate question…”Is He really serious or is he just playing with me?!”

I know there are people out there who will take offense at this and think me an animal or pet hater. I’ll heed their comments about as well as Macy did when I whispered to her, ‘go away!’ Because days later, I’m still too busy trying to learn what that selfish, begging dog is trying to teach me for Jesus! And it’s discomforting enough!!!

What do YOU want?

“I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No man comes to the Father but by me!” Jesus – John 14:6

My phone rang and it was an unknown caller from California. I don’t answer those calls because they’re usually telemarketers. A minute went by when I heard the ‘DING’ of my answering message notification. As I listened to the lady on the other end, I could tell she was upset. I cut off the message and dialed her back. Maybe I shouldn’t have!

YEARS ago, while visiting the LA area, I remembered seeing this strange road sign warning drivers to watch out for supposed ‘illegal aliens’ crossing the highways. At the time, this was a hot political topic. Wanting to use it for HEAVENLY purposes, I put the picture on our church LED sign with the message, “THERE WILL BE NO ILLEGALS IN HEAVEN!” Last week I just pulled a bunch of messages from the past and re-posted it again. Thus..’the call!’

The gal wasn’t kind as she berated ME for my unkindness, insensitivity and offensiveness. She had stated in her message that she was a Christian. I laughed uncomfortably and asked her to ‘slow down.’ I tried to explain to her that it was a ‘PLAY ON WORDS!’ That since she was a CHRISTIAN, she would KNOW and understand that there will be NO ONE ‘illegally’ crossing over into heaven. She simply went off on me AGAIN!

I’d like to tell you the conversation ended amicably. It didn’t! In her mind I was a bigot and uncaring. Having NO intention or desire to fight, I simply quoted my favorite Bible verse…John 14:6. “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No man comes to the Father but by me!” ANYONE who is a believer knows this as a direct quote from Jesus Christ. She was undeterred!

“There will be NO sneaking in or jumping over the walls of Heaven to get there!” When she again accused me of ‘not being kind,’ I finally admitted it. “You’re right! I’m not! I’m just being lovingly truthful because HEAVEN will be CLOSED to all outsiders!” When her voice rose a pitch, I simply left her with the words, “the Gospel is offensive to those who are perishing!” Another ‘play on words’ that combines at LEAST 3 other Bible verses I know!

Somewhere along the way I had to make a decision to either be politically correct (NICE) or lovingly truthful. If people don’t know Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and receive His free give of eternal life, they will spend their eternity in the Lake of Fire! THEIR CHOICE! “I” didn’t say that… GOD DID! My job is to share that Good News. Even if it labels Jesus and me…offensive!  Got it???

So….who are YOU offending?  

“I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.” 1 John 5:13

I’ve been regularly going to a place where I had the chance to meet 3 teenage tough guys. I say ‘tough guys’ because they are smart, grounded, inquisitive, athletic and, soon to be, BRAVE! I say ‘BRAVE’ because soon, they will put all those other qualities to the test when they step out of the comfort of their parents homes and into a world of their own. I wanted to test their readiness.

I already know they are not followers of Jesus Christ. They already know that I am. Which presents an interesting challenge! How can I present ‘The Gospel’ to VERY smart young men without turning them off or scaring them away? We have a camaraderie already, so when I saw them yesterday, I prayed for some guidance since, I ALSO share camaraderie with Jesus Christ…the Lord of the Universe! An idea came into my mind!

Telling them I was teaching a Bible Study and would LOVE their help, I asked them THEIR opinion of the difference between ‘BELIEF’ and ‘FAITH.’ We held discussion, clarification and interaction and, as a group, came up with the following statement. ‘Belief’ is something you ‘think’ to be true…’faith’ is something you ‘know’ to be!

I believe it was Mark Twain who said, “It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.” I believe this quote to be true! But after doing some research, I have faith that Twain really didn’t coin the phrase. No one REALLY knows where it originated and we can’t really find out. But today’s Bible verse goes beyond BELIEF to provide solid FAITH about a subject many would like to know. Our eternal destiny.

Standing on the edge of a skyscraper would take a LOT of faith AND belief in the subject of gravity. KNOWING what would happen if I fell should make me VERY careful about what I BELIEVE in my ability to stand there without doing so. Believing I could ‘fly’ would not change the principle of gravity! So I’d best be VERY careful in my next step.

I am looking forward to our next meeting and discussion. When it comes to these tough guys, I am in for the long haul. I know they’re thinking about what we discussed and won’t be ‘put off’ because of it when we next meet. God’s interest, and therefore MY interest, is to help them discover TRUE FAITH in the only One who can truly help them when they fall! Because, having been fallen myself…I KNOW!

Please pray for them and me.  It can get a little scare up here!  knowhadimean?

“So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.” Galatians 5:16

Do the demons of Hell have power over the natural world? Can they break things, crash things and specifically…can the demons of Hell hide my tools? Yesterday I needed a wire brush for a job I’m doing. I own 2 of them. Having everything ready otherwise, I went to get one. The longer I searched, the more frustrated I became, Finally, I shouted in anger, “Demon! At judgment I’m going to see to it you get double punishment for messing with my brush!” We both laughed and laughed!

There are times when my own insanity surprises even ME! We’re having some pavers put in at our house and the contractor called to do the unheard of…he moved us UP 3 weeks! Which is a GREAT thing…but now I’m in a hurry to prepare. Things don’t usually go well when I’m in a hurry. When things don’t go well, I tend to do the natural ‘fleshy’ thing and look for someone, or something else, to BLAME!

When I got back to the job WITHOUT the brush, there, lying 3 feet away, was an old swimming pool wire brush I could have used from the start…IF I had been paying attention! So I did the only natural next thing and…thanked Jesus for putting it there! Excuse me while wipe away the tears from laughing at that last sentence!

Humor helps me see the ridiculous! The events above ACTUALLY HAPPENED! In retrospect, I deserve the ‘loony bin!’ NOW it is time for the ‘come to Jesus meeting’ and confess that the ONLY person responsible for the whole ‘Wire Brush Affair’ is ME! If I would just get organized and disciplined, I would put my stuff away in an orderly fashion so I’ll know where it is! But who has time for THAT?

Events like this make me wonder WHY God loves me so much! I used to say that when God needed a laugh He’d just switch over to the K.C. channel! After all, I never disappoint! Except that, based on the verse today, He doesn’t find my antics acceptable or funny! He EXPECTS better and is on course to help MAKE me that way! Humor and blame aside, it is MY decision HOW I walk! But after ‘The Wire Brush Affair,’ I am sure the demons of hell are scared to death of me!!!!!!!

“And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” 2 Corinthians 3:18

Walking past the window my eyes caught a glimpse of movement. There in the birdbath was a BEAUTIFUL male cardinal…you guessed it…taking a bath! Mesmerized, I stood there motionless…transfixed on this wondrous sight. Suddenly I was shocked, as a ‘thought’ zinged through my brain. Its message, like an arrow shot out of the blue, was…”that’s not really a big deal!”

It was later that I began to ponder the message and wondered. After all, there are MILLIONS of cardinals around the globe. Presumably…they ALL take baths. So SEEING it with my own eyes really wasn’t that big of a deal. I was blessed by the seeing. But it was merely a happenstance experienced by 2 created beings. Well…ONE if you don’t count the cardinal that didn’t see ME! Walking away, a sacrilegious thought came zinging in! ‘So…is seeing God REALLY that big of a deal?’

I told Katie about my experience and thoughts. Her eyes widened and she stepped back, apparently to avoid the lighting that would be coming to strike me dead! Lightning that ‘I’ knew would NOT be forthcoming. Why? Because I knew that THIS thought CAME from Him! So I ask YOU. Is seeing God REALLY THAT BIG OF A DEAL?

God IS Majestic, Wonderful, HUGE and Omni-EVERYTHING! Even Moses SAW the burning bush and wanted to get closer to get a closer LOOK! He never anticipated that ‘the burning’ in the bush was THE GOD who wanted MUCH MORE than just a look!! God IS! And while seeing Him may be exciting and mystical and magnificent…if that is ALL that happens, then simply SEEING God is NOT that big a deal! Because even GOD wants MUCH MORE than that!

God did not make me to just keep around as decoration! His longing is NOT to just SEE me and have an “isn’t that nice?” experience! The WONDERFULLY HUGE DEAL is that God wants to INHABIT, INDWELL and TRANSFORM ME! He wants a RELATIONSHIP with ME! He wants me CLOSER, STRONGER, and TRANSFORMED to become MORE LIKE HIM! With EVER INCREASING GLORY! WHEW!! That’s a LOT of capital letters!

Simply seeing God, even for who He is, is NOT that big a deal if I don’t ALLOW Him His wish to come into my life to CHANGE ME make me His… and vice versa. Anything less than THAT experience is simply nothing more than an “o wow, look at that,” event. If you have MET God and are undergoing His continued, GLORIFYING, TRANSFORMATION, you know exactly what I mean. If not, you might just want to keep on walking. Because simply SEEING isn’t that big of a deal and is NOT His intent!

“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10

When the weekend was fresh, I had only a few plans. That was until I got a ladder and made my way to the roof to repair a leaky gutter. That led me to later standing on the roof with a friend of mine, listening to his expertise on how to repair my 32 year old flat roof! He had brought some roofing materials on Saturday morning and left me with “get it done by Sunday evening…it’ gonna rain!”

You already know what I did this weekend. When I wasn’t doing my church related duties, I was on the roof following my friends instructions. There were several steps in the process and each one had to be completed before the next one could begin. After Church on Sunday I needed a nap, but awoke with a start when I envisioned his face and heard his words…“get it done by Sunday evening…it’ gonna rain!” But WHEW!!!!! With his command and faithfulness…I got it DONE!

The first thing this morning I looked outside and noticed that it didn’t rain! I don’t know why, but I feel kind of disappointed and even a little foolish! Having prepared for something that never really happened, I’m slightly let down! I wouldn’t have had to work so hard if I had known that it wasn’t going to rain after all! Which is silly… because I SHOULD be glad that at least the roof job is DONE!

Long before I was created and born, God had a plan to use me for His good work. EVERYBODY has a part in that plan. As I live and grow, more preparation takes place as more good works get completed. Preparing and executing the work are always simultaneous. I never really know in advance what is coming! To be honest, sometimes I’m not even sure what I’m preparing FOR. And that, I guess, is the point!

I am NOT my own! I do not run my own ship. I turned the wheel of my life over to Him and He holds the title. I CONSTANTLY have to remind myself that I don’t NEED to know what He is doing or going to do, only what He is requiring of me RIGHT NOW! If I am preparing for a storm and the storm doesn’t come, I have prepared. THAT was the job!

In retrospect I have to chuckle. It’s the start of a new week and the roof that I hadn’t even known was bad, is repaired! But the gutter still leaks! Go figure!!!! I guess I still have some work to do! How about you?

“Make level paths for your feet,” so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.” Hebrews 12:13

In the effort of preparing to bring joy to my lovey wife, I found myself doing something I have never done, with the goal of meeting an exact specification, of which I have NO idea! I’m sure it’ll turn out just fine!

Living for 32 years in a house with my artistic wife has had it’s challenges. She gets tired of things looking the same and likes to change them to meet a standard only SHE knows. And she KNOWS it when she SEES it! I’m not complaining. Just stating facts. With new pavers going in next month, I have been working to get everything ready. I discovered that leveling ground is an art!

Our patio area must have been built on a Monday. While it LOOKS good, the runoff from major rains pool water in places we do not want. Even the gutters were hung wrong! The water runs and pools to the middle! We hope to eliminate where rain rests with new pavers. One area REALLY needs to be re-leveled to do that. Using my eyeballs, I found that task more challenging than it looks!

Hebrews 12 has been coming up to me a lot lately. It’s subject is about my cooperation with God to meet His standards in order to properly grow. If you’re like a lot of folks who think, “it doesn’t matter what you believe as long as you’re sincere,” you will not like this chapter. It is full of exact details of what God expects ME to DO, with disciplinary warnings if I DON’T! It, too, is harder than it looks!

What I believe, and do, CAN HURT ME. AND…it can hurt others as well. That is why ‘measuring’ my faith is not only possible, it is a requirement. God provides the tools and help to do what He expects, and His expectations do not change! But He is clear as to WHO is the one to do the sweating! It’s ME!

The world, even the Christian one, is FULL of ridiculous fairy tales that, when applied, will NOT help when the floods of pain, hardship or testing come. So God tells me, when it comes to being SURE I am walking in His ways, that ‘I’ am the one responsible to make sure the way I’m going…really IS…level! And I too, will know it when I see it!

“Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.” 1 Timothy 4:16

I have developed a habit that I don’t like. I accidentally discovered it when I got out of bed and found myself, first thing, stepping on a scale! In the couple seconds I stood there awaiting the digital scale’s calibration, I realized it was about to tell me if I would be ‘happy’ or ‘disappointed!’ Then thought hit me…”hey meathead…are you outta your MIND?” Which is probably the most sane thought I had for the rest of the day!

After a physical about 6 months ago, I was told to lose some weight. That diagnosis has caused me to make many changes, altering my lifestyle. Stepping on a scale, something I rarely did, is now a common occurrence. While standing there waiting for the ‘BEEP’ and result, the thought of my mental state led to a term I’ll call “Hocus Focus!” After acknowledging that I AM nuts…the NEXT question was, ‘but what am I nuts FOR?”

Today’s Bible verse didn’t just come to me from my daily Bible reading. I actually went LOOKING for it with the attitude of, “can you tell me where to find the flour?” After meditating on its meaning, it appears to be more like discovering a cure for cancer! The subject of the verse is ‘YOU!’ And I mean ‘ME!’ Like SO many Bible verses, GOD is indirectly speaking to ME. And He isn’t asking questions. He’s giving COMMANDS!

If I can’t swim, the easiest thing to do is avoid water! Weight is not MY primary problem! But HOCUS FOCUSING on it can take my eyes OFF of what my problem REALLY is. What I do, where I go, what and why I believe and how I allow those primary things to dictate my life is what ‘the Doctrine of my life’ really IS! AND THAT affects other people as well. So God is telling me I’d better discern, watch and FOCUS VERY carefully.

There’s an old saying, “the main thing, is to keep the main thing, the main thing!” In a world full of turmoil, sorrow, manipulation and lies, the most important thing, as far as the Bible concludes is, ‘what is true, and is my main focus standing upon that truth? ‘ Reading more into this verse, the prize for doing just that ISN’T a microwave or a new car! But ‘ETERNAL LIFE!’

What I DO today is FAR more serious than I previously thought! MAN…I’ve got to get rid of some REALLY SERIOUS dead weight! 

“… my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19

I can SEE again! Or at least I THOUGHT so! One of the lamps in the house had broken and needed repair. Which was both good and bad news. Good in that, I knew how to fix the problem! Bad because, I MAY have gone overboard! As I was reflecting on the purchase of the repair parts, I got ‘The Nudge!’ Was God tying to tell me something??

The lamp had been driving me crazy for a while. When it finally broke I went online to look at how much it would cost to get the part to fix it. Unlike the old days, shopping online provides PLENTY of options. I discovered that I could get the part I needed for $6.99. Shipping was free, as long as I spent more than $25! But after clicking through all the options, I found a site where I could actually get FOUR of that same part…FOR ONLY $8.99! I should have quit while I was ahead!

The box came with 4 parts. Using 1, I now had 3 more for the future…JUST IN CASE! The box of parts sat in the living room, driving Katie crazy, for a week before I mentally accepted the fact that I had to PUT them somewhere! But in a garage FULL of pieces and parts…WHERE could I put them where I would REMEMBER them WHEN I needed them? Having NEVER needed to fix this particular part on a lamp in my life…EVER…I now had 3 more for any possible future failure. And they ONLY cost me $2 MORE!

O.K…I MAY be overthinking this! But then again, maybe not! When the water line to my ice-maker sprung a leak last week, I bought a couple parts that ended up being ‘left over’ then too! I stuck them in a tiny corner of one of my dozens of drawers with the thought, “I’ll remember I put them there!” But now…I’m guessing that when I die, my kids are going to go CRAZY sorting through all the VALUABLE STUFF I left behind! And there’s that nudge again!

Does God supply ALL my needs at the exact time I need them? Is it possible that He already supplied.. but I lost or wasted it? Do I need to become more organized? Is it time to clear out the garage? Or should I make out a will to prohibit any sibling fighting over my treasures? Should I have SAVED the $2 and just got 1 part! It’s all so confusing! But with the lamp repaired, at least I can SEE!!!! Or can I?

Today’s Bible verse adds some confusion to itself too! Depending on which version I looked at, the first word was either ‘AND’ or ‘BUT!’ Some versions left those off altogether. To me…there is a BIG difference between AND and BUT! But before I start thinking too crazy AGAIN…I’m just going to focus on the most important part of the verse, “MY GOD SHALL SUPPLY” and leave the rest right there…in the corner of that drawer…where I’ll NEVER forget it again!!     What bright idea!!!