“For God so loved ______ He gave His only begotten Son…” John 3:16

Signing up for a 7 night cruise over the Christmas vacation was a wish come true. My wife and I were tired and needed the rest. The price was unbelievably low for a cruise over New Years. But hey… who was ‘I’ to complain. I figured, as long as I didn’t have to row… how bad could it be? Expecting nothing, I couldn’t be deceived. We headed off the day after Christmas.

I am happy to say that the cruise was a phenomenal success. Since I hadn’t expected anything, everything was far beyond wonderful. But halfway through the cruise, we received a notice that the policy for tipping had changed and was going to be automatically billed to the tune of $12.50 per person/per room! The attitude on the ship was mutinous! Some of the folks we had talked to were unhappy with the service of some of the staff… and now we knew why. Staff wasn’t getting paid much.

Since I am a grateful believer in Jesus Christ, I always want to leave a witness and good impression for. But now the gratuity was being forced, and another entity, the shipping company, was going to determine the tip for me. Motivation for excellent service had just gone out the window. Having been a 100% commissioned salesman most of my career… I knew how that felt!

Being on the ocean with no where to go gives plenty of time to read and think. I rolled that idea of motivation around in my head and considered WHY ‘I’ do what ‘I’ do. Soon, verses of the Bible started popping up to feed my train of thought. That could mean only one thing…God was trying to tell me something.

Why did God send His son to die for ME? The Bible is clear. While Christ ‘came to destroy the works of the devil’ (1 John 3:8) that was NOT his primary motivation. His motivation … was His LOVE FOR ME! John 14 records Jesus words telling us that if we love HIM… WE will do what HE says in return. I was convicted… and even preached a sermon on it! The theme? “How much do I REALLY love Jesus?” When asked the question, “what is the greatest commandment,” Jesus didn’t hesitate! He simply said… ‘Love God more than anything else’ (my paraphrase)! I had to look back over 2018 and ask myself the hard question… “did I?”

I am grateful that God placed my failure on His Son and I do not have to bear it. Receiving His grace, I am free because of His love gift. But it doesn’t let me off the hook. I have a life of love and service He still expects from me. And I am committing to doing what He wants… So I tipped my waiter and room steward really well anyway.. and left them with Jesus! Yup… 2019!!! So far so good! 

“Ezra praised the Lord, the great God; and all the people lifted their hands and responded, “Amen! Amen!” Then they bowed down and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground.” Nehemiah 8:6

In the aftermath of terrors from without and injustices from within, how does a society regain stability and safety? The after effects of trauma make it difficult for any community to experience a sense of normalcy. How is daily life restored?

God sent Nehemiah to help the people reestablish life in and around Jerusalem. Those who worked to restore the city walls faced jeers, accusations, and abuse from outside their ranks, and extortion, fear and exhaustion from within. Ezra gathered all together and read the Law aloud in their hearing. When the people understood, they responded with praise, and the healing began.

The crucial first step toward recovery for an individual or a community is to hear and comprehend God’s Word. Belief gives birth to faith, and faith fortified with truth responds in worship.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made.” John 1:1-3

Before it all, the Word of God has always been there, sure and steadfast, holding up the world in constant rotation as we go about our daily life. Without thinking so much about it, we live our life on a planet not made with hands while enjoying much of its resources to our own consumption. Regardless of one’s belief, the Word of God is yet faithful to His command, as the sun is to rising and the rain is to falling. Even in times of crisis, heartache and despair, His Word abides still.  

From our natural point of view, we will never understand it all, but God does. His infinite understanding is never shocked or surprised by anything, for that is a human characteristic. However, it is a perfect example of why we must rely and trust so heavily in the Word of God and not the imperfect world we live in. His Word is His
bond. His bond is who He is.

“I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war.” Revelation 19:11

The week between Christmas and New Year’s Day is the busiest time of the year for theaters. That’s why so many new movies come out over the holidays. People love cinematic stories.

If you look at the plotlines, many movies are, at their core, similar. Someone—an individual or group—is treated badly or is hurt by life’s circumstances or even by purposeful evil. Then a hero saves the day. It is often with lots of vivid visuals and victorious battle cries.

As you read today’s passage, imagine the scene played out as if it were a movie. But it’s not a movie. You’ve read the back of the book, Revelation, and you know how this plotline, the story of Christians struggling on earth, ultimately ends. Lots of subplots may occur in your life, but ultimately the enemy will be vanquished. Jesus will rescue His people and give victory over the forces of evil.

How does the knowledge that you’ll triumph in the end affect your life now?

“A man who remains stiff-necked after many rebukes will suddenly be destroyed—without remedy.” Proverbs 29:1 NIV

Years ago, civil engineers examined a dam in Pennsylvania that controlled the waters of several rivers which flowed down towards a valley where there was a town. Concerned by what they saw, they told the town officials, ‘The dam is unsafe and you are in great danger. You need to relocate.’ The officials said, ‘We’ve heard it all before. The dam is all right.’ A year later the engineers visited the dam and again came back saying, ‘We are warning you; you are in danger every hour.’ By this time the engineers’ report had spread to the townspeople, and they laughed it off, saying, ‘They’re just trying to scare us.’ A few months later the engineers issued the same warning, and again it was dismissed. Fifteen days later a boy on a horse rode through the valley shouting, ‘Run for your lives! The dam has broken and the water is coming.’ But the people laughed at him, certain he was trying to scare them. Suddenly a wall of dirty water struck, and in less than thirty minutes Johnstown was in ruins. More than 3,700 people died that day.

Has God been warning you about certain things in your life: relationships, habits, attitudes? If so, here are two Scriptures you’d do well to consider carefully: “The way of a fool seems right to him, but a wise man listens to advice.” – Proverbs 12:15 NIV – “A man who remains stiff-necked after many rebukes will suddenly be destroyed—without remedy.” The word for you today is: listen, and be willing to take advice.

“This is what the Lord Almighty said: ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. Do not plot evil against each other’”. Zechariah 7:9–10

Many people strive for positions of power. That power can be used for good or evil, to help others or to harm them.

The Christmas season shows a dichotomy of power. Christ, who reigned in heaven, became a powerless baby in a working-class family. He willingly forfeited His power to give us something that even the most elite people on earth could never achieve on their own: eternal life. He gave up His life so that we could have the power of being God’s sons and daughters, and so that we can experience the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

Sometimes we all need a reminder not to seek power through leadership or money or the other emphases the world has. Instead, seek more of the power of the Holy Spirit in your life.

“But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.” Galatians 4:4-6 ESV

Like you, life has been BUSY! Christmas is coming fast… and like most everything else in life, Christmas preparation has proven to follow commandments 11 and 12. The 11^th declares “It always takes longer” and the 12^th, “It always costs more.” But like it or not, ‘Christ’s-Mass’ is on the way. The clock on the wall WILL signal Christmas Day, and no amount of time or money can change that.

Yesterday I received news from my lovely wife that she has no presents for me. Since we are doing something special together over Christmas vacation, ‘that’ is going to be her gift to me. I wasn’t alarmed or upset at all, since I don’t really NEED anything. You see… I am a wealthy man in that respect. But the HARDER part FOR HER is… I don’t really WANT anything either. It is a wonderful pinnacle of life now shared by my son, Colt.

Colt told me last week that he asked his wife for a special kind of gift this year. He said, “if you can think of something you want to give me, take a picture of it and put it in a card. NOT SPENDING MONEY is your gift to me!” My son has arrived at this stage of life earlier than I had!

The magic of Christmas is different for children. You don’t have to experiment to prove it either. Think about handing out gifts to your children that contain only PICTURES of what they wanted! Yea… you get it! But how would they feel about not getting what they NEED? As a parent… THAT, my friends, would be horrific.

The Bible tells us that when the clock ticked of the perfect time, God send HIS Son.. to purchase ‘The Thing’ man really NEEDED. Eternal Life! But the CHARACTER of God went FAR beyond just my need, and even FARTHER than my greatest want. God’s ‘Will’ made me His legal heir! This Christmas Eve and Christmas day, I invite you to think about THAT! What could anyone give a Child of God? Pictures, for now, suffice!

I ran through the store last night and saw a big pack of no-show- white socks. My son-in-law tells me that these are the style today. Apparently I look silly wearing my old ones. So I bought them, gave them to my wife and said, “Merry Christmas to me!” At least THIS child of God is going to look… COOL!” Are YOU part of the Family?

Merry Christmas brothers and sisters! And MARANATHA!

“But God demonstrated His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8 MEV

Once again I found myself staring at the printer. I had just enough paper to make the copies I needed. Three pages, but pages 2 & 3 needed to be back to back for this job. Three pages on two. Being on the last page, I looked at the printer, set page 2 into the paper feeder and hit ‘Print!’ What came out was page 2 and 3… on the SAME PAGE! Here’s a thought… was I making copies?? Or just wasting paper?

If you have been a child, student, employee or a Christian, have you discovered that one of the most important lessons learned is that it isn’t WHAT you do.. but HOW you do it that matters? And that MOST of the time, WHY carries a lot of weight in the mistake process. Looking down at the paper feed, I noticed I had preciously placed an orange sticky note that read, “face up – top forward.” I hadn’t paid attention to my previous painful experience! Realistically … I was just wasting paper!

I have learned that God is usually not as critical of WHAT I do as He is with HOW and WHY I do it! Often times I use the excuse, ‘I didn’t know.’ This is the plea of ignorance! What does God think about that excuse? Well, looking at the root word for ignorance, it starts with ‘ignore.’ Not a good thing! We all have learned the saying, “ignorance of the law is NO excuse.” I tried using it on a Policeman once after being pulled over for speeding! He just shook his head!

The thought hit me, “I wonder if pain was involved in Jesus birth?” He was in Heaven looking down on EVERYTHING He had made. He knew EVERYTHING there is to know. And yet, He stepped off His throne and dove into the womb of a human… to ‘knowing NOTHING!’ I wonder if that hurt a bit? While I don’t know the answer, I DO know that human ignorance …is VERY painful indeed.

I have often heard folks say, ‘I don’t read the Bible because I don’t understand it, don’t like to read, or don’t have time.’ All excuses of WHAT they ‘don’t do.’ None of which are acceptable to God. While we were YET sinners… even before I was born… Christ made the decision to die for me! What, how and why are clearly spelled out because God is an ‘ACTION’ God. Being made in His image, I am expected to pay attention to my what’s, how’s and why’s concerning His action toward me.

This Christmas season is a PERFECT time to access my Faith in Christ. WHAT am I specifically doing for Him? HOW am I growing in my personal walk with my Savior as I try to copy His life in me? WHY do I choose one way over another? It is my job to ask those questions of myself …and Jesus sheep. Much of the time we ‘THINK’ we are copying Jesus… but in reality, aren’t we just wasting time?

HOW and WHY do YOU do WHAT you do? After all… Ignorance is NOT bliss!!

“Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath.” Hebrews 6:17

The shrimp was already in the pan, sautéing with garlic, onions and spices, when the thought hit me… “am I doing this right?” Reaching for the creole seasoning, only to find we were out of it, I substituted cayenne pepper instead. The card called for red wine, and we didn’t have any of that either… but I found a can of beer in the back of the fridge, cracked it and poured some into the pan and the rest down the sink ( I hate beer). Setting down to eat with my wife, she made the comment, “it tastes different this time.” It ALWAYS does!

As a chef I make a great carpenter! Consistency it an issue in my culinary skills. That is why, when we have our men’s breakfast every other Saturday, we go to Perkins! I like Perkins. It meets all of our needs. It has room, a great atmosphere, good service, prices and FOOD CONSISTENCY! I order the same thing every time and every time it tastes the same! Which is EXACTLY what I count on.

When it comes to God, the Bible assures me that He NEVER changes. Hebrews 13:8 says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” I have come to LOVE that about Him. Oh there have been times I have pressed, tested, pleaded and screamed for Him to break His consistency. ESPECIALLY in the area of discipline. But His love and actions toward me are ALWAYS in keeping with His loving promises.

1 John 4 repeatedly points to the fact that God is love. If you have spent any time with Him, testing and trying and growing, you know that His love is not a gushy, squishy feeling. But an action. He knows my sin, needs, wants and desires. And He never varies from His promised commitment to mold me into the image of His Son, Jesus Christ. Sometimes thorough blessing… other times through discipline. But I can ALWAYS count on the fact that He will not change directions on me and will ALWAYS do what is best for my life.

Christ PROMISES me eternal life with Him in Heaven. But for NOW He promises to make me into a God-like person. I can count on that. So if you want GUARANTEED good shrimp and grits… don’t come to my house. If you want a guaranteed God you can count on… reach out to Jesus. He’s ready to make a masterpiece out of YOU. He NEVER fails.