“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

Christmas is over and it was time to take down all the decorations. It took time to decorate, so it takes time to UN-decorate. Fortunately, when it comes to my outside Christmas lights, I created a quick and easy system meant to save time. And EVERY YEAR it goes well… UNTIL! This year was no exception.

Instead of using nails or screws to hold up my lights, I inserted screw hooks under the fascia board. Putting up the lights requires a step ladder AND an extension ladder to hook the string of lights into place. To REMOVE them, I take a long stick and simply lift the string of lights out of the hook from the ground. NO ladders needed! Well that’s the plan anyway!

There are 40 hooks around my house. Yesterday I easily unhooked ALL of them with a stick from the ground. Except for old #25! You can see from the picture where that one is located! Yup… right at the top of the peak of my gable. What does that mean to me? Well, to unhook my sting of lights from #25, I have to go get, extend, climb, unhook, un-climb, un-extend and put away my big ladder. Which takes longer to do than unhooking all 39 other hooks… combined! It’s troubling!

Jesus made it CLEAR that there would be trouble in this life. Since He didn’t qualify what kind, I just lump EVERY kind into the mix. #25 is just a tiny one! I have the same problem with rope, string and cords that ALWAYS get tangled when I touch them. It’s like a curse, and it may sound silly… but inanimate objects can easily bring out the real beast in me! Lately I have been forced to try a new system.

Inevitable trouble has a way of bringing inevitable anger and frustration that are NOT inanimate! It has taken me DECADES to learn this… but I have seen a connection that can’t be coincidence! In fact, I have come to believe that a little demon just watches to see if I am heading toward a cord or string… and then laughs hysterically as he pulls mine! You laugh? But using that mentality, I have come up with a solution to MY ‘string theory!’

When ol #25, a string or cord come into view, I have learned to be prepared for it. In my head I have PRE-determined that TROUBLE IS COMING (Jesus said so)! At the very second the tangle or snag hits… instead of getting angry and saying bad stuff, I am practicing smiling and saying… “Praise the Lord!” Hey… since trouble is coming… I may as well use it to Glorify the one who warned me… Jesus. Which… silly as it may sound… is EXACTLY the point of the verse!

You think that’s silly? What demon follows YOU? You may want to try out my string theory! It’s free!

“Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will.” 1 Corinthians 9:25

O.K… I admit it. I HATE even the IDEA of working out, exercise or physical training for ANY reason. I have never done it for very long and when I tried, I was repulsed! So I quit! I think it may be because athletics never really called my name as a kid. And since, unlike with my kids, ‘working out’ never became a habit to me, I just don’t have it on my list of to-do’s.

My wife exercises. She got one of those ‘FitBit’ things a couple years ago and monitors her progress of steps like an EKG! I’ve seen her get in crazy in competitions with other family members because “they got more steps than me!” All I can think is.. so? They beat me EVERY DAY and I am not bothered! But SHE presses on and watches her FitBit daily! That is… until she lost it!

You’d a thought the world had come to an end! She tore our place apart looking for it. When I saw her level of passion, it spurred me on to help her look! When we didn’t find it, I manned up and ordered her a new one. But SURPRISE…. as soon as it arrived… she found the old one! THEN… for some CRAZY reason… I decided to see what the fuss was all about and strapped it on MYSELF! BAD move!

I SHOULD have seen it coming! At the end of a usual day for me, she fired of “The Question!” “So… how many steps did you get today?” The earth stopped! Playing a game, I ’made up’ some number! She scowled and cried out, “NO WAY!” She then gave me excuses as to WHY she didn’t get as many as me. It was REALLY funny because… deep inside… I didn’t care!

I never cared for today’s Bible verse either. I mean… the very MENTION of ‘athletic strict training’ turns me off. And since ‘working out’ isn’t in my DNA, I usually blow by it in a hurry. That is until I started to write this story. I discovered I have been ALL wrong!

I THOUGHT the verse dealt with working harder at ‘buffing up’ my Christian life. I was SHOCKED to discover it is NOT! The ESV Bible version clarifies when it says, “Every athlete exercises self-control in all things.” So…it has NOTHING to do with DOING MORE! It has EVERYTHING to do with doing LESS… since ‘self-control’ is the point. Which is STILL frustrating because I’m not prone to THAT EITHER!

So I guess ‘my’ FitBit is having an affect on me. I have found I walk a LOT more than I thought did, sleep less than need, and that my Biblical exegesis is not always perfect. How LONG I wear it remains to be seen, since self-control is a sore subject. But I DO realize I need to walk even MORE steps WITH Jesus to get to where HE wants me to be. Which isn’t really a bad thing after all! So…. who are YOU walking with?

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” Matthew 7:8-9

I have a friend who has a specialized vehicle that his caretaker uses to drive him around. They depend upon that vehicle. I received a message that the ‘check engine light’ was on and the vehicle was acting funny. Being a snowbird and only here in the winter, she asked if I might have a suggestion. My answer? “No worries… I KNOW people!”

You MAY have noticed I didn’t say I know how to ‘repair vehicles.’ But I DO know PEOPLE. And THOSE people, know people who DO! I dialed my favorite connection and followed his instructions. I drove to my friend’s house, picked up the vehicle and then drove it to my connection. My connection guy called a guy HE knew who came over and looked at it…then told me to take it to another guy who specializes in this kind of thing. I did!

Driving only a half mile to THAT place, I had been told by the guy who knows my connection that it MAY still be under the factory warranty! When I got there, I met Bob. We got to talking and it turns out Bob personally KNOWS MY main guy… JESUS! As soon as I mentioned Jesus, Bob perked up with a smile and we turned our conversation to our mutual God. As we did, Bob ran his scanner on the engine! 15 minutes later… it was fixed! For FREE! Turns out It HAD been under warranty all along!

In my vocation I run into a LOT of BROKEN people. Some more severely than others. Interestingly enough, MOST people, and I include myself, default to the idea that we are BROKEN because of what we have DONE! And that SOMETHING has to be DONE to get it right again. When I see that problem, I LOVE pointing to the person I KNOW!

“Heaven is like a good government job… it’s not what you DO but who you KNOW!” is one of my favorite sayings. Being ‘born again’ by my RELATIONSHIP with Jesus Christ, I have a warranty under the hood of my heart. I must confess I get off track when I forget that… then try to DO something instead of asking the one I KNOW!

I am NOT valuable to God because of my actions or deeds. I am valuable to Him because I love His Son! I don’t EARN His blessing, I HAVE it. I don’t add or give ANYTHING to Him by my ‘doing’s,’ but because I ALWAYS call on Him when ‘I am done!’ He is ALWAYS there when I ask…GUARANTEED and for FREE!

Who do YOU know?

“Therefore by their fruits you will know them.” Matthew 7:20  NKJV

2 Corvettes and 2 Mustangs converge on a highway. Which one wins?

Coming home last night I approached the red light. Wanting to grab the open left lane to get ahead of the pack, I was quickly cut off by a Corvette. But I wasn’t bothered, since THAT guy was in the right car and position. THEN I noticed that the car in the middle lane was a High Performance Mustang! And beside him was ANOTHER Mustang. THIS… was going to be interesting!

The light turned red and the 3 cars paced beside one another for about 15 yards. Then the Corvette, an older one, hit the gas. Not as to be TOO challenging… but it was enough! The Mustang driver beside him would have NONE of it, as I heard him down shift and hit the gas! It was on! Naturally I tromped on my truck just to see what would happen. As the Mustang in the far right lane pealed off on a ramp, it left the 2 muscle cars… and me, to ourselves! Then… sadly, the Corvette backed off!

I was whoopin and a hollerin’ at the show when suddenly, merging onto the third lane was a brand NEW Corvette. And he was FLYING! Again, the Mustang would have none of it! He tromped it and BRRRRRRRR…blew past the newer Corvette as well.

O.K. It was a male thing! But those guys bought those cars for a REASON. To them, driving slow is ridiculous! They PAID for that power… and it showed! But what about you and me? Jesus… the God of the Universe, created me for the VERY SERIOUS business of disrupting, and ultimately destroying, satan’s work (1 John 3:8)! The deliberate FRUIT of that power either shows up in MY every day life… or it doesn’t!

A follower of Jesus Christ is called to live an INTENTIONAL life. Hiding or pretending is NOT part of the standard package. I am SAVED and HIS. I have PURPOSE for my life. But am I LIVING like it? Do I boldly display to the world that, “I am a rightful SON OF GOD?” Or am I just playing?

The person who won that little drag race last night was NOT necessarily the one with the fastest car! It was the one who WANTED it the most! So how about you? How much are YOU willing to display that power of Jesus Christ in your life? Because the world, the flesh and the devil are calling you out! You and I are sitting at the red light side by side… and the light just turned green! What‘cha got under that hood?

“Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare.” Isaiah 55:2

We had just walked into the house, having just been out to lunch, when Katie said to me, “what would you like to eat for dinner?” She had to run to Wal-mart sometime in the afternoon to get some things and thought it would be easy to ‘kill 2 birds with 1 stone.’ It proved otherwise.

Thinking about what I want to eat when I am not really hungry is a double edged sword. How can I satisfy a desire for something if I don’t HAVE it yet? Running through my list of possibilities when my stomach is already full does NOT make anything ‘pop out’. In fact, it adds to the frustrations of having to decide something I really have no concern about at the moment. And THAT leads to bad decisions later!

She mentioned we had some leftover pizza and some cheese and crackers for later if we just wanted to ‘pick…’ a term we use equal to cattle grazing. When we do that we just eat whatever is around. This proved NOT a good thing! Because when ‘later’ came and I WAS hungry, I added ice cream and some Milk Duds to my palate!! What is WRONG with me?? I am SICKENINGLY spoiled!

We have all heard stories of prisoners of war or famine dwellers having to live on a handful of grain and a cup water each day… or less! There… there IS NO menu! Life then, becomes a question of, “how badly do you want to LIVE?’ It has been proven that desperate people do desperate things. Last night, I wasn’t desperate!

Did you ever think, “If God were really serious about winning converts, He might have more success if He didn’t offer us so much good stuff?!” I have. The Biblical ruin of peoples in such a way never turned out well, simply because it is not in our human nature to embrace negative situations. Besides, punishment for failure is not in God’s list of favorite things to do either. So I am stuck with a dangerous and continued precedent for my own contentment… CHOICE!

God offers us the BEST stuff, but only when we we make the decision to put HIM above everything else! This verse tells me that ‘satisfaction’ and ‘delight’ are His goals for me. And Heaven will be a place overloaded with both. I am STILL ashamed and blown away by my own stupidity when I make a quick decision to put the ‘Milk Duds’ of life ahead of ‘The Savior!’ I am SOOO glad He is the proprietor of a restaurant called “Grace!”

“Whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” John 4:14

The county where I live decided to implement a new recycling program. One day I came home to find a HUGE blue container on wheels with explicit rules on how to use it. Yesterday was the new kick off date. Since I have 2 properties, one on the other side of town, I have 2 bins. So I co-operated, making the trip and effort to roll both bins to the curb, facing them in the proper direction.

Not wanting to leave the ‘across town’ bin out as an eyesore, I drove the 9 mile round trip, through heavy traffic and government controlled traffic lights, to put it away. But when I got there, it was still full! So I headed back home… red light, red light, red light… you get the idea. I discovered that the one at home hadn’t been picked up either. Though inconvenienced, I wasn’t surprised. New things take time.

Please note, this is NOT a rant against government or its capabilities. In the interest of public safety, traffic needs to be regulated and garbage removed. And I’m glad that “I” don’t have to personally be the one to do it, since paying my taxes gets it done… usually. The fact is that EVERYBODY complains about taxes and the overall failure of government to satisfy us. Then there is the Government of God!

The woman at the well had NO idea she was going to meet the King of the Universe. Had she known, she STILL would not have been able to clean herself up enough to be worthy of His visit. Her failure has stained deep into her soul. Which, surprisingly, is EXACTLY why God came to her with an offer!

The King of the Universe makes the same offer to me… ‘MY’ sin in exchange for immeasurably more than I could ever imagine… and NO garbage. As I reflect on the lack of ANY promise from human government to completely satisfy me, I am reminded of JESUS promise of COMPLETE forgiveness and of LIVING water that COMPLETELY quenches my deepest heart’s need. I willingly sign up for HIS service and recommend Him to you too! I can truthfully say that Jesus is the ultimate Trash Man!

“Praise the LORD. I will extol the LORD with all my heart in the council of the upright and in the assembly.” Psalm 111:1

Having planned my day and exited my house, I heard a familiar DING! Like Pavlov’s dog, I am conditioned to respond to my cell phone, and that DING meant an important reminder was waiting. Before I even STARTED my busy day, my calendar ‘app’ reminded me of an appointment I have made…MONTHS ago. It was for that afternoon! DING!!!!! SURPRISE!!!

I actually have 2 ‘apps’ on my phone that dictate my activities. Along with my calendar I also have a ‘to-do’ list that I create and update as I check them off. I could say that my cell phone is like my very own personal secretary (gee… I never thought I’d HAVE one of those)! But I do!As I gave it some thought, I noted that both of those apps are 100% subject to a single authority… ME! I set it up…I make the entries…I follow them. Which makes ME own boss! In essence… I do what I tell me to do!

This morning, in my daily personal time with God, I found myself counting my blessings. It was no accident that I stumbled onto Psalm 111:1. I hadn’t PLANNED on it. But, the way the Christian Life goes, HE had! So I followed. I noted that the FIRST sentence is a command from Almighty God, who is #1 in my life, to ME…#2. “PRAISE ME!“ It is NOT a request! The second sentence then becomes MY response to the first! “I WILL!” My reaction was a smile!

Life is FULL of choices… do’s vs don’ts and will’s vs won’ts! Can’s vs can’ts and shall’s vs shant’s! At each street corner, I make the DECISION as to which way I will turn and move. I have often found that, even though I CHOOSE my direction, I STILL can get lost. And lost often means finding myself in a tangled mess of frustration, sadness and despair. All of which are MY own fault! Enter God!

God doesn’t MAKE mistakes. EVER. He knows it too! That is why He can confidently say…”PRAISE ME!” It isn’t some cocky demand from an egocentric tyrant. He LOVES me and wants the BEST for me. He KNOWS that way. And when I put Him first, everything else just turns to blessing. Even through storms.

Since Christmas and New years fell on a Wednesday this year, we didn’t get together at church for 3 weeks. Last night, we did. It was at that ‘Assembly’ that I discovered the answer to a pondering question. ‘How long does it take to establish a new pattern?’ Since attendance was about half… the answer might be 3!

If you find yourself too busy with too much to do… frustrated… at your wits end, may I recommend Psalm 111:1? It’s easy to remember since it’s ALL 1’s! The first three for the Trinity…111, and the last 1 for lil ol’ YOU. And if God is your number one and you find yourself lost… you MAY want to switch places, start praising and read on as you count His blessings! They’re listed right there!

“Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly.” 1 Timothy 4:7

I had reason to drive on New Years Day and was not surprised that the traffic was low. A lot of folks had stayed up New Years Eve to ring in the new year, Getting up and at ‘em was not a priority. Most of the stores were closed and it was rather quiet. Except at the gym!

Now don’t get me wrong. ‘I’ wasn’t going TO the gym, but simply driving past one. The parked cars and people running around it was kind of a surprise. It shouldn’t have been! A BIG resolution every year is to get fit. Statistics show that January is the BIGGEST month for gym membership sales. But by the 3^rd week of January, gym attendance goes back to normal. I easily eliminated the potential guilt by driving past it!

When I got home I knew the trip had impacted me, as I was suddenly curious about my own weight. Stepping on my wife’s scale, I was shocked at the number, which was 7 lbs more than usual! Chocking it up to a bad scale, I forgot about it. That is until I went to the doctor for a standard check up and his scale confirmed the number!

It’s right about now that I feel like a loser. And simply by association, you may have even joined me in the ‘guilty’ corner. Except… I am not there any more! Having been tricked before, I learned how to quickly recover! It is God’s will that I become more GODLY… NOT less weighty! And the proof comes in the following verse.

I LOVE the King James version of 1 Timothy 4:8. “For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come. Kinda cool huh? I like to quote it as I drive by bikers and runners on Sunday morning!

Now what scale to I use to measure the size of my God-Likeness? How am I doing in the one area where GOD expects me to excel? Am I making forward progress? Am I looking good in His eyes? Is there an actual way that I can verify where I am? Do I really WANT to know… and am I moving in the right direction as expected? Good questions! And yes… there are exacting answers!

The nurse heard me mumbling to myself as she led me to the examination room. She made my day when she said…”that scale is 7 pounds over!” And JUST LIKE THAT!!! The previous paragraph with all it’s questions is a gauge unto itself. And if you are truly asking those questions of yourself… you are already in the right gym! Feel better?

Update!!

Thanks for your prayers for Bill Brigham.  He had a quadruple by pass and is on the mend!  Please keep praying. For those of you in Florida… I hope to see you at FLAP tonight where we will REUNITE and finish covering the ‘how to’ of reading the Bible, cover your personal questions AND introduce a new series.