“…by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope.” Galatians 5:5

Avoiding traffic and red lights is a passion of mine… I hate them both! It more closely resembles an obsession, because no matter how short the trip, I can never stop trying to scoot around those 2 momentum busters. I’ll even take a longer route, just to avoid stopping or sitting still. It drives Katie nuts. And based upon today’s Bible verse, and others like it, I’m sure I drive Jesus nuts as well.

Yesterday, I was at a gas station with only 1 traffic light between me and home. But the light was red! Not wanting to wait, I took a different road that had NO red lights. The only POSSIBLE obstacle could be major southbound traffic that ‘might’ slow my crossing the main highway. But stopping (not my thing) made sitting at the red light unacceptable. So turning up the radio on a Jesus song… I moved.

The road I chose was long enough that I couldn’t see to it’s end. As I drove, I came up on a truck that was moving at least 10 MPH UNDER the speed limit. I was unhappy. Unable to pass him, we drove until, on the horizon, I spotted a school bus approaching. It seemed that the obstacle presented itself to my brain at the same time the yellow, then red lights, of the bus did. It stopped to let kids off!

I’d chosen wrong! Had I taken the red light, I would have been home before the 4^th of 15 kids exited the bus. But there I was… stopped. Waiting! I was eager to move on! Maybe too eager! Because Jesus must have sensed my frustration, and chose to join me in the cab of my truck. Trapped, the only thing I could do was close my eyes, rest my head on the steering wheel, and listen to Him.

This morning, as my eyes traveled onto the page of my Bible, this verse, laying yet unmarked, jumped out at me. I sensed the Spirit gently prodding me to do the math, like a kindergarten teacher to a pupil… “2+2 = ??? C’mon K.C., you can do it!” And I did! What I am meant for is not yet. The price He paid for my righteousness has been credited, but it has yet to be received. It is COMING! AHHH!

As I sit in the messed up, war torn, crazy, evil world, it appears I must choose HOW I will wait for what will be in the future. Jesus WANTS me to be eager… but not anxious! There is nothing wrong with hating the stops and congestion in my life, but my focus is to EAGERLY LOOK FORWARD, by His Spirit’s help, to a righteousness that has my name written all over it.  Lesson learned… for now!

How eagerly are YOU waiting?   

“For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light.” Psalm 36:9

Opening the garage door, light overtook the darkness. There are no windows in there, so as the door arose, what was in darkness became revealed. And what it revealed was out of place! Water lay on a floor that was SUPPOSED to be dry. Waking to the back, I followed the dampness around another dark corner where I could not see. So I returned to my truck to get my glasses and a flashlight.

Wearing glasses didn’t used to be necessary. Age brought that little gift. And I’ve NEVER been able to see in the dark without some kind of light. To try to figure out what was wrong, I needed both glasses and a flashlight. Unfortunately for me, neither of those, alone or together, helped me to see what was causing the problem. I needed more information. So I went looking for additional clues.

It didn’t take long to see that water had backed up and overflowed into the garage from another source. But I didn’t need a flashlight or glasses to see the cause, because the cause was big enough all by itself! Water had backed up into the house and overflowed from every possible location. But it took glasses and light, along with intentional desire, to find and see just what was really going on.

At first glance, today’s Bible verse is one that can be easily read, but just as easily missed. It begs a question, is God a fountain… or is He light? The answer is YES… and BOTH! Life is the opposite of death, and a fountain spewing life is critical for those living in death! Those living in darkness have a need for light. This verse shows me that He is both. But it also reveals something easily missed.

For me to SEE the light, I must first have HIS Light. It is only in His light that any of us can actually see Him. While my natural 5 senses can see the evidence of God, they are useless in actually seeing and knowing Him. It takes HIS light in order to see that, He IS light, and that I am dead and in need of His ‘fountain of life’ in order to live… in Him. Which is all too confusing to lost people!

Reading God’s Word takes His Light, along with eyes that WANT to see… to actually SEE. When I read it, I ask Him to show me how to break it down, asking questions of The Spirit to understand what He wants me to see. Which sounds like a mystery. Until it isn’t. For anyone who WANTS to see and know Him, it only takes a little effort in His direction to do so. Do YOU see?  

“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

“The toilet isn’t flushing and it’s backing up in the bathtub,” said the renters, to me, the owner. That caused me to call my plumber friend for some advice. Which he gladly gave for free! “Just open the clean-out and poke around!” was my friend’s advice. “If it’s clear into the house, the clog’s toward the septic tank. If it’s clear to the septic, it’s in the house. Got it!” “No kidding!” Was my thought!

Opening the clean-out revealed that there was no sign of ‘CLEAR’ ANYWHERE! As I probed the clean-out with a drain snake, stinky water filled up the clean-out and went in BOTH directions. Which only meant one thing… my Septic tank was FULL! Since people were renting the place, I didn’t have the privilege of time to shop around, but called the company my plumber recommended. $700 later!

The plans I’d made last night did NOT include the price of air travel and a hotel room in a different city. I was not too happy to hear that the renters had had problems starting more than 2 weeks ago, but never called, exacerbating the problem and increasing the cost. I had tried wearing rubber gloves and old jeans, but when I was in the thick of it, I remembered, “it is what it is!” and surrendered all hope!

Experience is a good teacher. Having found myself in similar, and often WORSE, circumstances MANY times in my life, I’ve learned that life has many troubles. Which should not be a surprise. Jesus, my Savior, already TOLD me that! In fact, it was life’s troubles that led me to Jesus in the first place! I remember that with Him, when trouble showed up, so did He! And He always brings peace WITH Him.

This next week has me remembering the degree of difficulty Jesus faced in His suffering, arrest and horrific death. In fact, He knew it was coming… yet went anyway. Yes, it was the Father’s will. But He also was going to pay the price of redemption for His Bride… The Church. Stink and all! SO today I am going to remember that life is neither pain nor stink free! But Jesus is with me every step of the way.

How about YOU? Are you on His stinkin’ crew?  Then Smile!!!!  It’s only up from here!

“‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” 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 21:4-5

‘HOOOOOOT! HOOOT HOOOT!’ After that announcement, the big ship pushed off the dock and out to sea. With it, went every personal, priceless and precious piece of Earthly cargo that I love… my family! As the music blared, the tune hinted us onward with the promise of upcoming family fun, joy and togetherness. Standing on the top deck, we watched in amazement as land disappeared.

All 20 of our family had been looking forward to this journey. Having been unable to get together for our annual McChristmas celebration, Katie and I dipped into the retirement fund and announced plans for a springtime ‘McCruise’! A splurge of family fun that would be well remembered forever. A favorite line to my grand-kids was, “you look like you’re miserable.” ”No WAY,” came the reply!

We ate. We played. We danced and ‘hung out’ together as a family for 4 days! And not one of our kids… original, in-lawed or grand, had a bad time. “Thank you”, though not looked for, came anyway. Time proved that ‘McCruise’ was something so outrageously joyful, that it just naturally evoked the response. Every need, care and desire was met on that ship, with the promise of even MORE!

When the ship HOOOOTED it’s departure to return home, I looked around and thought of only 1 thing. ‘Jesus!’ All the time, work, hardships, difficulties and responsibilities that come with being a Child of Most High God, living far from home, took on the perfect picture of what to look forward to when Jesus returns, or I die and move to my Heavenly Home. The only thing I can say is… THANK YOU, Jesus!”

Are YOU headed to Heaven? Are you living now AND looking forward… trying to please Jesus in your relationship, just as though your ticket there depends upon your response to His Love here? Because… it does!

“Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen and will see of me.” Acts 26:16

I stood perplexed before the rows and rows of hundreds of different types and sizes of screws and nails. All of them were made for the purpose of fastening and holding items together. Perplexity turned to frustration as prices for each item varied with each box. I had gone to the store to simply buy a box of 2” screws. I hadn’t realized I was going to need more education before buying.

There were indoor vs outdoor, drywall vs wood, stainless vs treated, phillips vs torx and even blue vs gold and other colors! On top of it all, prices varied according to how many and which type were in the box. I found myself standing and staring in disbelief. How could it be SO difficult to buy a simple item to fasten 2 pieces of wood together. It got even worse when I entered the nail section!

Today’s verse comes from Paul’s story of salvation. He spoke it before King Agrippa because he was under arrest! Having shared the Gospel and his story in Jerusalem, he was almost killed for his testimony. It seemed easier to arrest Paul than to fight the crowd, so Paul was simply defending himself before the King and his important officials. And it almost worked! Ain’t Jesus interesting?

Over 2000 years has found the Church, Christ’s future Bride, as varied and separated as those nails and screws on store shelves. Many different denominations claim the title of being ‘the one TRUE Christian religion.’ I found Paul’s testimony, his ‘get out of jail free’ card, to be the best of all! In it, Jesus calls Paul to Himself to… ”stand up and become a servant and witness for Jesus Christ!”

It’s really that simple. Once I met Jesus, I was arrested and sentenced to death. I agreed to die to myself to allow Jesus to live HIS life THROUGH me. Now, my mission is to stick with, learn, study, apply and spread HIS Word among the many different kinds and types of people in my world. Jesus’ goal is to fasten Himself to them… permanently. I am simply one of many types of fasteners!

Are YOU a fastener in the hands of Jesus? Because He wants you to help Him build His Church!

“…whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Mark 10:43a-44

I’ll just call it an “Insta-conundrum.” Yesterday, Katie and I were walking into a store with both an inner and outer set of doors. Approaching the entry, Katie paused to allow me time to get there and open the door for her. She entered, while at the same time, a lady was exiting toward us, from the inner set of doors. Instantly I was faced with a conundrum as I thought, “what do I do now”?

Katie was set to go into door #2 while I was still holding door #1, with a lady approaching. Without time to really think, I continued to hold the door open until the lady exited, then walked inside to door #2, which had closed. Opening door # 2 for Katie, I realized SHE had had an “Insta-conundrum” of her own. Because she was simply standing there waiting for me to arrive to open the door for her.

From the time I was a little boy my father taught me to honor women. Opening doors and pulling out chairs for ladies was first mandatory, then became automatic, a sign of respect for women. For quite some time, there has been push back from some saying “opening doors for women belittles them by implying that they are weaker, helpless, or unable to open doors for themselves.” I say, “Nonsense!”

I don’t just hold doors for women! As a habit, if there is someone within the vicinity, I ‘get the door’ and invite men and children to go in first too. It is a sign of courtesy and service to others… the kind of generosity that Jesus implied in today’s Bible verse. The idea that giving honor ‘belittles’ another person is actually a selfish idea, since generosity doesn’t HAVE to be rooted in need.

My wife is tough, and she has the ability to ‘get the door’ herself.  In fact, she does it all the time when I’m not with her. But when we are together, I’m ‘The Door Guy!’ For her to pause and wait for me to catch up to ‘get the door’ was equally a sign of courtesy and honor. To do otherwise would be like saying “that door rule is so dumb, I’m just going to do it myself,” removing honor and service from our union.

Serving others is a sign that I’m OK. Since I have Jesus Christ in my life, I am full. Being full, I have the privilege and honor of being generous with that honor. Honoring and serving others doesn’t HAVE to be rooted in another’s need. Just being there, showing up, reaching out, going second, praying for and even saving the last bite for another, proves there’s been a ‘touch of the Master’s hand!’ How do YOU serve the Master? 

“As dead flies give perfume a bad smell, so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor. The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the left.” Ecclesiastes 10:1-2

“OH THAT’S GROSS!!” I needed to brush my teeth, but I’d lost my toothbrush on a trip. Looking through the bathroom drawer, I found an old one I could use. Washing it off with toothpaste and water, I started to brush. About 30 seconds into it I realized something was not right. Putting on my glasses and looking closely, I found a long, blond hair wrapped around the bristles. GAG!

I know there are things I can handle that others can’t. And vice versa. But to me, a hairy toothbrush is worse than eating something that dropped on a floor… even 7 seconds past the 10 second rule! Further investigation proved that the hair belonged to Katie! Which really shouldn’t have bothered me, since I loved her enough to marry her. But hair on a toothbrush, even hers, just freaks me out!

Today’s verse is not an accident. I actually went looking for it because it verifies there are some things that are just plain, disgustingly gross! Imagining spraying dead fly juice on my face doesn’t set well. Which is exactly the point trying to be made by the ‘wisest man on earth.’ There are some things that are simply intolerable to God. And the deliberate folly of fools is at the top of His list.

I had a friend who used to quote this verse to prove that God is a Republican because His heart always leans to the right! Which is hard to argue against. But in today’s world, the so-called ‘agenda of the Left’ is considered gross, or an outright ‘abomination’ to God. For example, standing up to the LGBTQ+ pushers, to protect the children of our society, often makes me feel stinky, cuz it’s gross!

I have learned the hard way that God generally cares more about ‘how and why’ I do something than He does about the ‘what and where’ I do it. Sometimes it is a very thin hairline that separates wise from foolish. But God expects me to know WHERE that line is… and to stay to the right of it. What is going on in YOUR life that God is wanting you to be wiser about? Are you making wise choices?

“If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.” Colossians 3:1

“What’s that?” I thought to myself. I was at an old house on a Key, separated from a beautiful beach by only about 25 yards of trees and brush. Earlier, I had eaten a banana and thrown the peel into the brush. Since there were no garbage cans, and knowing bananas are organic, I simply helped it return to its earthly nature. Later, drawn to movement, I discovered a gopher turtle eating the banana peel!

I’d seen the gopher turtle when I first arrived, saw the hole it’d dug under a walkway and later saw it poking out when I walked by. It seemed to know I was no threat. Maybe it knew there was a law that protects him, since ‘gopher turtles’ are on Florida’s threatened species list. But maybe, that pea-brained turtle knew more than I thought it knew. After all, it WAS eating my old banana peel!

Seeing what I saw made me want to learn more about gopher turtles. I found out they are foraging critters that usually wander around about a 160’ area looking for leaves, roots and possible fruit. They have a very good sense of smell, and given that the area for foraging only existed right in front of me, it must have put 2+2 together and headed my direction… in HOPE!

As I wrote this, I could sense God nudging me to put 2+2 together to sum up that I have enough information in my heart, mind and soul to go forage for some of His Truth to feed ALL of me! I know I was born an earthling bound to this planet. But like all humans, I have a tendency to look up, around and within… for SOMETHING. There is a sense that draws me UP, because UP is where the Master is.

I’ve walked as a son of God for a long time now. I have learned that everything worth knowing comes FROM Christ. Having been spiritually ‘raised to life’ WITH Him, I am always looking for Him, to come to me, from there. And like that turtle, I dig into God’s Word, then go out seeking and foraging for anything He throws in front of me. Are YOU TOO, a smart, satisfied, searching, servant of the Savior?

“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” Galatians 5:1

In the subject line of the Web Browser I simply typed ‘Lenten Devotional.’ Hitting ‘Enter’ surprisingly, produced DOZENS of choices. I say ‘surprisingly’ because I STILL have a hard time comprehending how easy it is to get information, from a cell phone, over the internet. One listing had famous actors presenting a 40 day devotional for FREE! Entertainment with study must have compelled me to ‘go.’

There were lots of choices… ‘What was I looking to accomplish and what actors did I want?’  There were questions about my normal Bible routine, along with suggestions of subjects to add to enhance my Devotional walk. Getting to the end, I was slightly excited. Until it asked for my credit card!

The problem with ‘Free’ opportunities is that not everyone offering ‘FREE,’ really means it! Had they placed a fine print message on page one, telling me that I had to provide my credit card FIRST, I would not have spent the time wasting my time. While it offered me a free week, I had to provide a Credit Card BEFORE I even got started. Billing would automatically start on day 8. To me, that’s not “FREE.”

A lesson I remembered during this incident came to mind. It is often common for Christians to tell people that “salvation from sin and hell is a FREE GIFT in Jesus Christ.” When I received Jesus Christ as a young lad, it actually FELT FREE! Pointing out my sin and shame, with having NO way to rid myself of it, Christ offered me Eternal Life for FREE! All I had to do was “Give Him your heart,” the camp counselor said. And I did. And Jesus came! It wasn’t until later I realized, freedom isn’t free!

The price God paid to free me was HORRIFICALLY HIGH! His Love for me gave Him no choice but to pay it. Now that we have FREELY exchanged lives, He calls me to read and follow His Word… along with many other things along the way. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised at the devotional incident. My love for Christ makes me WANT to get closer to Him. Which takes effort! Are YOU paying the cost of Love for Christ?