“He sought God during the days of Zechariah, who instructed him in the fear of God. As long as he sought the LORD, God gave him success.” 2 Chronicles 26:5

I hadn’t seen Dave in YEARS! You know how it goes. You meet and get to know someone, friendship grows…then something happens to separate the relationship. They move away, you get married, or you both fall into different lives that no longer intersect. Yup! There he was… Dave! My old friend…or at least I THOUGHT!

When I saw HIM, my initial reaction was exuberance and joyful surprise. It LOOKED like he had the same reaction when he saw me as well, because he immediately started walking my way. Yea… just 2 good old pals preparing to greet one another…during a pandemic! The thought hadn’t even occurred to me until we were about 7 feet apart. Then ‘The Rule’ hit me about keeping a 6’ safe distance apart. And faster than an approaching bullet, my brain registered ‘Warning!’ Between head and heart, I had a decision to make!

At 6.7 feet I noted that Dave, like me, had not stopped moving. My smile immediately became bigger because before we had even come together for that ‘friend hug,’ a societal ‘no-no,’ I KNEW I was going to get it! In this situation, my relationship with Dave was greater than the fear of a virus. He showed me that it was for him.

2 Chronicles 26 tells a story about Uzziah, a 16 year old lad who was thrust into being the King of Judah. This story has a LOT to do with his mentor…Zechariah. The book says that Zech ‘instructed him in the fear of God.’ In other words, Uzziah had to LEARN how to honor, respect and relate to a God who could snuff him out at any time if he didn’t! It’s a good story. Up until the end when he forgot his learning… AND his place!

What is the opposite of Faith? If you have true faith in God, you can easily guess it. Because THAT thing is the biggest God killer in all the universe. When THAT thing is allowed to rise, IT can become a formidable god that will become harder and harder to topple. I guess I can just as easily say that God is waiting to see how close I want to get to HIM during this so called crisis. It’ll either be Him… or the other thing. And the winner takes all!

“Consider the ravens (cardinals): They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds!” Luke 12:24

A few years ago my wife was gifted an avocado tree. It’s a funny story now, because at the time, when all of her co-workers were gifted Apple Watches, SHE was the ONLY one given the gift of a tree! Did I say several years? Yes I did! And to date we have watched that thing do absolutely NOTHIN’! Nope.. not even 1 avocado!

We bought and planted a lemon tree about 8 years ago. It seemed to take forever to get any lemons. Our first, after 3 years, yielded 9 lemons. Then it got citrus canker! Now we get LOTS of lemons… but they’re ugly and can be pithy at times. But an ugly, pithy lemon is better than NO lemons right? That hopeful rational holds as we watch the avocado tree.

This spring we saw avocado blooms…which is not new. But like before, the blooms turned into little fruit, then just like that…they were gone! Last week as we rested from yard work, my wife noticed our yearly visiting red cardinal as it returned to make its nest in our yard. She was SO happy! There he was… flittering among the green avocado leaves. Then it hit her what he was doing!!! Guess what fell from grace?

Being Bible people, we are well aware of this verse in Luke. It is part of the Beatitude sermon Jesus preached, which is also recorded in Matthew. But in light of our recent discovery, I now have a different take on the verse. I mean.. I didn’t expect GOD to feed HIS BIRDS with OUR AVOCADOS! And just like that red bird flittering our in a green tree… it hit me!

I know his concept well. NOTHING I have belongs to ME. It is ALL God’s! God uses HIS possessions in MY hands to bless HIS creatures. I get that and my wife and I are givers. But I am being convicted that It is MY responsibility to guard my heart against the unlicensed theft of God’s fruit in my heart.

Katie wove a net around the tree to keep the birds away. We didn’t KNOW they were stealing from us until we were sitting still and taking a break. Now we do! Since she put that screen up, you wouldn’t believe what has happened. We have several avocados that are growing rather well… AND NEW buds are coming appearing!

Today, I am late in my posting because I had some concerns that kept me up last night. Remembering this recent event has caused me to put 2+2 together. I wonder what treasure I have allowed flittering thieves to steal from my ‘could be’ fruitful life?

“The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.” 1 John 1:17

One interesting thing about living with my wife, a female, is the random popping up of her questions, ideas and motivational material. As a married couple we share time and space. What beauty FILLS that space is HER domain. GETTING it filled is usually mine. But her request to me yesterday must have come from outer space!

The ONLY thing that makes sense is that she must have wanted me to agree that flowers were necessary for the front of the house. This is a foreign thought and would NEVER ‘pop’ into my male brain. But knowing that did not deter her. Laying on her cute, little wifely voice she asked me, “will you come sit and look at something with me and give me your opinion?” KNOWING this was a trap, I proceeded with caution. It turned out that she wanted my opinion on the color, type and arrangement of potted flowers! I laughed!

Desire is a powerful thing, since what I WANT motivates my actions. Since my wife and I are considered ‘one’ in God’s eyes, HER wants need to be clearly conveyed and SOLD to me in order to make them MY wants. That‘s what ‘being one’ is all about! I am ALSO one with God! And HIS desires REMAIN His until I get motivated to make His desires MINE!

Worldly desires are also called the FLESH. God NEVER couples Himself with my flesh, since there is nothing there He desires. The flesh, as a raging, powerful and impulsive motivator, is a dead man walking! God appeals to Himself and HIS gift of eternal life as His replacement motivator for my life. THINKING about it doesn’t count until I ‘DO IT!’ DOING His will get me the prize…HIM!

After I laughed at my wife’s request, I saw it for what it was. She REALLY, REALLY, REALLY wanted flowers in the front of the house. So much so that she invented the craziest way to get what she wanted…by inviting MY opinion INTO her desire! Come to think about it, doesn’t God do precisely the same thing!

Sending a son to die a horrific and tragic death to win fleshy creatures over is MORE than insane! But that is what God did! And why? Because God’s love for me (and you) is EXTRAVAGANTLY insane! But… it shows how far He was willing to go to win me over. He has presented me a crazy deal…”Believe and do what my Son says, and all I Am and have is yours!” Hmmmmm…it’s not a bad plan to consider!

There are new potted flowers in front of our house. NOT because I care about flowers. But because I care about my wife. Even though finding out what SHE wants can be a VERY interesting venture. So now I must ask… hat does God want from ME? Or YOU?

“…I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body…” Psalm 139:15-16

Waking up today after a hard day of labor yesterday, I wasn’t EXPECTING anything. Which, come to think about it, is a gift in itself. But my wife presented me with a ‘present’ she hadn’t planned and one I certainly wasn’t expecting. She blurted out…”Today is April 17^th!” All I could say was…”Yea??? And???” She said, “today is the day our first child was expected to be born!”

It was just like that! Shocking at first…unexpected… and then pondering, remembering, wondering and then…thanksgiving! Today, I was reminded I have a child I’ve never had the joy of holding, raising or knowing. I thought about him in light of what I KNOW about God…MY Father. Because I KNOW…he’s there…WITH Him. And someday I will meet them BOTH.. face to face.

I say ‘him’ because we think he would have been a boy. And he is not alone. We experienced the sorrow of 3 miscarriages among our 4 WONDERFUL children. If you ask us how many kids we have, we say 4. But in the REALITY of HEAVEN, we have 7! The gift of today was to simply smile DEEP within my being, and rejoice in both remembrance AND in anticipation of a GREAT family reunion in Heaven.

If heaven and eternity were to be represented by the oceans of the earth, this life isn’t even a droplet! But what we do, believe, choose and become is the ‘seed’ by which our eternal existence blooms. Jesus came here as an embryo, grew, died and rose again to give dead people ETERNAL and ABUNDANT LIFE. Both here AND in heaven WITH Him. And if you KNOW HIM as your Savior and Lord, and you read and KNOW His Word, there are wonders awaiting we can never even comprehend.

Psalm 139 is about being planned, created and formed for birth, even BEFORE embryo stage. And if you know God like I know God, It can be a WONDERFUL and JOYFUL experience to simply contemplate Who He is… and what life will be like WHEN I am united with Him in Glory. Try THAT when your feeling gloomy!

So call us crazy… but today we are celebrating a birthday for someone we have never even met. But just like we KNOW that our Savior Jesus Christ lives, so we KNOW our unborn child lives as well. And we KNOW that THEY are both OURS! Oh what a Joy it will be to meet and hug them both!

Happy birthday son!   And… thanks for the gift of a smile. 

“The spirits of prophets are subject to the control of prophets. For God is not a God of disorder but of peace – as in all the congregations of the Lord’s people.” 1 Corinthians 14:32-33

Yesterday I turned to my wife and declared a prophecy. According to Deuteronomy 18:22, “If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the LORD does not take place or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken.” SOOOOOO! Since my prophecy DID prove true, am I now, officially, a “Prophet?” Maybe I have too much time on my hands!!!!

I heard from several people that the Corona-virus stimulus checks had been direct deposited by the U.S. Government. Being in a mood, I simply blurted out, “I’m sure WE didn’t get one!” Now…call it a feeling or a nudge from the Holy Spirit, but I felt LED to check and see. Opening up my online bank account, I discovered both good and not so good news… apparently I am a Prophet! And I even have the Bible to back my claim!

O.K. Now that was fun. AND FUNNY. But to be clear, I am not freaking out about the stimulus check. I’m sure that if any luck DOES exist, time will prove that it ISN’T on MY side. I’ll probably have to make special arrangement to get ours. Hmmmm…which makes me wonder…does that make us special??

I deliberately avoid watching and reading the news. Even reading the headline of a newspaper gets me riled up like the neighborhood dogs when I drop a spoon on my patio. I try to avoid such triggers. But it is HARD to avoid modern prophets while subscribing to online devotionals. Almost every Christian has a prophetic opinion about this virus. It makes me wonder.

Is what I am thinking, feeling or about to do based upon information from God? Or could it be from fear… or even logical thinking? What I am discovering about myself is that, in my flesh, I could make a darn good news reporter. Because a LOT of what enters my mind as a precursor to action, ISN’T from God. The verse today reveals a warning tucked right into it.

Being a Believer does NOT make me an expert on everything Godly. Often, facts become questionable when Faith is mixed in, requiring even MORE scrutiny to navigate my day to day life. God says that ‘my spirit is in my control!’ In other words…BEFORE I start down the path of crazy, I need to rein in my horses and take a deeper look. It is advisable to use the Word of God, Prayer and even bounce my thoughts off of my wife or another believer BEFORE I DO something that COULD be fine..but still NOT God directed.

I have learned that ‘Faith’ is RARELY black and white. When faced with a FAITH decision, I am RARELY certain that what I am about to do will be 100% correct or work. That is why it is called FAITH. These days, while modern ‘futurists’ are predicting the eminent return of Christ and the end of the world, that still small voice inside is calling me to ‘be still’ and ‘follow Him.’ A directive that sometimes ISN’T so easy to distinguish or easy to follow.

What are you doing, or NOT doing, by Faith! 

“Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on Him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.” John 6:27

As I sit here, my body is at war with my soul. My SOUL is satisfied. My BODY is in rebellion! The place where the 2 converge is a war zone. The battleground, while being fought in the present, is REALLY about the FUTURE! Soul and body are positioning for advantage in the NEXT skirmish. It takes the Spirit to place the flag of the winner! Which will it be?

A few months back my lovely wife started thinking again. What THAT means is, she wasn’t satisfied with things as they were any longer. She wanted a change! She is both a female AND an artist at heart. The combination means that everything visual is temporary! The landscaping we had done about 14 years ago is now passe! So it’s out with the old and in with the new! Which creates WORK!

At my age my BODY resists hard physical labor. But my SOUL knows that’s mostly an excuse to simply be lazy. When ‘cheap’ and ‘macho’ finally met, I made some calls and grabbed my shovel. For the last couple days WE have been shoveling and moving over 5 tons of stone! I say ‘WE’ because I have a wife that isn’t afraid to put her muscles where he mouth is either! This morning, we could hardly wake up or get out of bed! Hence.. the war!

The Body wants ease. The Soul wants pleased. And as the war for supremacy goes on, I am grateful that I have been born again and have ‘The Spirit’ to referee! I love my wife more than I hate sore muscles. Jesus DEMANDS that. So I work. And last night, as we moved toward the end of the project, I finally SAW what SHE had seen in her mind. And I LOVED it! Being a man who hates sweat, it takes motivation to move me. Her name is wife.

The Bible verse today has a very important word that I underlined. The example of my landscaping hopefully shows that it isn’t about money or sweat. It’s about something bigger. God Gave His son a BIG mission He was unable to carry off by Himself. So God helped Him. After Jesus ‘’worked’ to please His Father, a BIGGER plan for life was handed to me as well. Which causes a battle within me that needs to have be resolved! What shall I DO?

If I work for temporal things to please myself, I find that I will never be truly satisfied. It takes something BIGGER than myself to bring my soul real peace and satisfaction. Enter ‘’The Motivator…’ Jesus. I have found that when I follow HIS plan for my life, His promise to GIVE me all the simple stuff I thought was so important, really happens! THEN His Spirit opens me up to a life of joy and peace I would never been able to see before when operating on my own. AND I LIKE IT!

“…you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you…” Jeremiah 29:11-14

The U.S. Government and local authorities have issued “Stay at home” warnings because of ‘our’ war on the Corona Virus. A list of “Essential Activities” was put in writing by our Governor. But what “I” was about to do… wasn’t on it. KNOWING I was rebelling BEFORE I did it, I ALSO knew NOTHING was going to stop me!

The occasion was a party. A mass gathering of 11 people (1 over the legal limit) came together to celebrate Coast Parker. ‘He’ was turning ‘3’ years old on this day! ‘I’ wouldn’t miss it because… Coast Parker is my Grandson! Go ahead and throw me in prison! THIS Birthday, some of the family from both sides got together. It was there that I saw 3 year old Reagan.

I had taken my ‘grand-kid famous’ gumball machine to the party where it IMMEDIATELY became a HIT with Reagan. The bubble gum quickly broke down barriers between us because in no time at all, Reagan walked right up to me, and with a mouthful of bubblegum blurted out…”We’re going to have a baby!” Honored to be part of her inner circle, her dad explained, “she’s fun like that! When she plays hide and seek, she just blurts out, ‘HERE I AM!’” Remembering that…I thought about God.

LOTS of people, both Christian and non-Christians, are playing hide and seek with God right now. Some are glad and some are mad. Some have even left the game without telling God… leaving HIM the option to continue alone, or quit all together! But since I “KNOW” God PERSONALLY, I can tell you a BIG secret about MY heavenly Father…He NEVER quits or gives up His pursuit of YOU! ESPECIALLY when there is a crisis going on.

I’m going to do something I don’t usually do here…and stop now. BEFORE I complete these ‘words’ today. Because ‘IF’ you are wanting to find God, you have enough information to go and seek. I’ll even add this cool devotional site I found when I started looking for an image. It says what I wanted to say… only better! So how about YOU friend… Do YOU wanna play with God? Because He’s waiting for you.

Hide and Seek

“You have laid down precepts that are to be fully obeyed. Oh, that my ways were steadfast in obeying your decrees! Then I would not be put to shame when I consider all your commands. I will praise you with an upright heart as I learn your righteous laws. I will obey your decrees do not utterly forsake me.” Psalm 119:4-8

It is Good Friday.. which is an oxymoron when I stop to think about it. Whoever came up with THAT name? The events of Christ’s suffering were horrific…NOT ‘good.’ And besides, I have a disagreement with lots of people that THIS was ‘that day.’ Since I think He was crucified on Thursday. (what do YOU say? ) But eh.. its all semantics anyway… right?. Until it isn’t.

I was reading Psalm 118 because I got a story that led me to research the notion suggestion that it just MIGHT have been ‘THE HYMN’ that Jesus sang with His disciples as they completed their ‘last supper.’ My eye wondered on… and then fell upon these verses in Psalm 119. ESPECIALLY on verse 5… “Oh, that my ways were steadfast in obeying your decrees!” I am a Believer. I am forgiven. And I STILL often feel this way!

Psalm 119 is a Psalm about God’s Word. The Subject of His ‘written’ Word runs through this longest Psalm. But after reflecting on Holy Week, I sensed the Holy Spirit prodding me in His customary manner… ‘Go on a little farther.. it gets even deeper than that!” So I did… and fell right into it!

John 1:14 says, “ The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.“ Then I would not be put to shame when I consider all your commands. That means the ‘WORD’ in Psalm 119 is NOT just WORDS! The WORD is JESUS! It finally registered that the Bible has NO, ZIP, ZERO way of addressing my FEELINGS in verse Psalm 119:5-6. That is…Until Good Friday!

I am Redeemed. A slave purchased COMPLETELY by the Blood of Jesus Christ. I am signed, sealed and delivered into God’s hand’s and Family, ONCE AND FOR ALL… FOREVER! And NOTHING can snatch me out of His hand. NOTHING! Not time, events, sin or personal failure. Not only that, but guilt and shame, which like to hang around like mosquitoes, have NO, ZIP, ZERO place to STICK or hold on to in my life.

What the LAW could NOT do… JESUS DID! I guess discovered ANOTHER GREAT reason why Good Friday is called ‘good!’ And Like the Hymn question asks… “What can wash away my sin? I can DEFINITIVELY answer what ‘I KNOW’!!! NOTHIN’ BUT THE BLOOD OF JESUS! I think I will add a little dancing in my step today! Cuz after all…God is GOOD EVERY DAY!

P.S. I WAS feeling guilty because we stayed up later than usual and I got up later too.  Thus these words are late… But hey guilt.. GO AWAY! 

“Abstain from every form of evil.” 1 Thessalonians 5:22 ESV

I had to get some supplies at the store, and with the Corona thing going on, it seemed best to go to one place. Normally I would have taken a route that would lead me to 3 stores, where each product and price played a part in selection and self desire. Some products taste better at one store over another. While in another, the price may be cheaper. Now, those unstated rules have slowly broken down. And WITHOUT any due process!

If you haven’t noticed by now, our society is changing. When Corona virus was first broke out, there was a run to any store to buy whatever… and almost at any price. Once stocked up, self-possession seemed to change to self-preservation. I could almost touch the tension as I approached the store.

Most people were wearing masks. And since watching people is a sport for me, it was interesting to watch people! It was almost like we were all were playing tag…avoiding anyone who might be “IT.” Wide circles were made around each other. Talking was not done. The normal 2 entrances to the large store had been narrowed down to 1.. with a watcher posted. Though the sign claimed ‘health reasons,’ I suspected it was more to keep down theft. Times have changed.

I am conflicted. The Bible says to ‘avoid every form of evil.’ And while there have been lots of questions as to what that REALLY means, MY question is, when did ‘people’ become ‘evil?’ And I’m not talking in the ‘sinful’ sense. It seems to me that as ‘proximity’ has become evil, the REAL victim now is ‘Care!’ True compassion and caring for people SEEMS to be quickly becoming ‘socially unacceptable.’ And THAT label of evil is something God NEVER intended.

As a Christian I wrestle with what, where and how I might be the hands and heart of Jesus. I sense a distancing by people who normally never would separate. And I can’t help but wonder if, in light of the Scriptures and Jesus call, it is just me. Be careful to not become hardhearted my friends. In Jesus Great Commission… you and I are still…’IT!’