“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 6:12

Today is a BIG day for my Grandson Isaac McCay! He is a High School Wrestler, and today is the day that the district meets and they start ferreting out the winners from the losers. The ONLY way to do THAT… is to have a ‘wrestle off!’ Each school will bring their best and finest, and they will fight it out. By the end of day, Isaac will either be considered a winner… or a loser!

Now don’t get me wrong! Isaac is AMAZING! There is NO WAY he would EVER be considered a loser in ANY category. He is brilliant, wise, handsome, talented, caring and just plain “better than ME when I was his age.” So said his father. I knew how Colt felt. I had the same goal and dreams for my kids growing up yesterday. But today… there will be a fight!

Looking back over my life, I have a privilege of hindsight that my son Colt doesn’t have. Colt is already WAY past where I was at his age. I can see that I have succeeded in my goal of building a son better than myself. And not just 1… and not just a son! ALL my kids are successful Jesus adults. It was a fight. But I am proud to say… Katie and I are winners!

But my life is not over! Today, I will face a fight as well. And wrestling with the devil and his staff is already planned… the devil has set the stage. I may not want it. But I really don’t have a choice. The devil is bringing the fight… to ME! And it is all because of who ‘I’ represent. Being a child of God and future Bride of Christ… the fight is coming… for ME!

The biggest issue I face before I step outside to face the day is, ‘who’s side am I going to fight for.’ Even though I belong to Jesus, I CAN simply set back and disengage from the match… and lose this day to evil. But because evil IS coming, I have to decide if I want to prepare and suit up, or take a knee and not bother. As Frankie told me this morning… it’s about choice!

So what are YOU going to do today? Will you choose to fight with and for Jesus? 

“…no eye has seen…no ear has heard, and… no human mind has conceived” — the things God has prepared for those who love him.” 1 Corinthians 2:9

I was listening to music on the radio… PUSHING! I drive my wife nuts when she’s with me because I am a button pusher. If I don’t like a song or commercial that’s on, I push buttons until I find something I do. The song, “I Can Only Imagine,” by MercyMe, came on and I listened. Later, when John Lennon’s “Imagine” came on. I quickly hit another button! Then, I began to really imagine…

At FLAP (our Church Bible Study) we often discuss questions we might ask God, if He granted 2 minutes with Him now. It is ALWAYS interesting! Over the years, I think I’ve heard it all…”Will there be pets in heaven? Marriage? Ice cream? Dancing? Beer? And once, from an elderly lady, SEX!?” ALL the questions point to satisfying the real inner desires of the person asking the question.

Larry Gatlin had a song years ago that had this chorus:

Will they have Mogen David in Heaven?
Dear Lord, we’d all like to know
Will they have Mogen David in Heaven, sweet Jesus?
If they don’t, who the hell wants to go?

You can now appreciate the issue. If MY thing won’t be there… why bother imagining Heaven good? The Bible is clear. If I find myself imagining what heaven WILL be like, and mentally approve ‘only’ the things ‘I’ like, I might get into trouble. In fact, the verse today tells me that when it comes to imagining what Heaven will be like, I needn’t bother!’ It’s an impossible and selfish waste of my time!

I smile now, sitting with Jesus, and think about the Heaven questions some more. I can imagine myself asking Him, “Lord, will there be ___________ in Heaven?” And before I ask, I already KNOW that if it isn’t in His Word, I WON’T get an answer. But I CAN hear Him reply to me, “But ‘I’ll’ be there! Is THAT good enough for you?” It is at that moment I smile cuz… I have no more questions!

Are YOU content with Jesus… or are you looking for more?

 “I the LORD search the heart and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve.” Jeremiah 17:10

Finishing the yogurt for breakfast, I opened up the door to throw away the plastic carton in the recycle bin. But the door hardly opened! The recycle can was so full, it was keeping the door from opening. So I reached my hand up under the counter, pressed down on the garbage and opened the door. Then I took the whole can outside to the recyclable can.

No… it was not an amazing feat. Yes… I should not have let the recycle bin get so full. Sure… it pointed to a tiny streak of laziness on my part. You bet… I made a kinda sternly promise to myself to be more diligent in the future. But I guess I’ll see how it goes. To ‘take out’ or ‘stamp down’ seems to be the call on the collecting of garbage. ‘What’ and ‘when’ do I?

I have found that dealing with my collection of trashy things I do and think is similar to collecting the garbage in my house. Just being alive makes collecting trash a given. I am a spiritual being in a fleshy body. The 2 are ALWAYS at odds. The one that tends to take over and dominate my life is the one that gets ignored the most. Paying attention is important.

God says in today’s verse that He WILL repay everyone according to their conduct and deeds that they DO. Being a Christian and fully forgiven does NOT absolve me from ’takin’ out the trash’ that collects in my life. Yes… trash IS inevitable! But I have learned that the more trash I have collected, the less likely I will have a trash dominated mindset! So I clean house!

No… this is not a great big mind blowing Word of the Day. But it DOES show the importance of keeping my mind, eyes and heart on Jesus… and NOT on TRASH! That is why I get up each day and start it with Him. I don’t want the trash to overtake HIS place in my heart. How about YOU? How does YOUR trash bin look?

“But my God shall supply all your needs according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19

It was a long weekend for Katie and I. Rare. With a sunny afternoon before us, we found ourselves with time on our hands. “What shall we do?” found us out on the water in our 2 person kayak with a fishing pole. Baiting it, I handed it to my wife, who is not really a fisher-woman. She caught a little fish, and I threw it back. But the next tug on the line was bigger!

The bobber sank and she cried out, “Oh MY!” And with that, the line went slack… the hook disappearing from the end of the line. Not having any more hooks, we paddled leisurely along in the sunshine. That is until she exclaimed those same 2 words with fear! When I cried, “WHAT?” She said… “don’t you see that big gator? Oh No! What are we gonna do?”

Truth be told I hadn’t. It was about 20 feet from us… at least 10 foot long! I had quit looking for gators over the years, because they’re usually hauled out of those canals before they get that big. But not this one! All I could do was laugh. I knew that gator wasn’t going to bother us. We were MUCH too big for it’s little brain to compare with food! We paddled on.

In retrospect it’s a good story. That big fish that got away? Eh… we didn’t need it. We had spaghetti waiting at home. The fact that we GOT home, at least in Katie’s mind, was evidence that WE were the ones that ‘got away!’ This picture was taken on the return trip! All in all it was a very good day! And we appreciated not getting what we didn’t really need!

Many of our Church folk are going through some tough times right now. Lots of physical and mental stuff lurks both above and below the surface… some of it appearing ominous. It’s times like these that retrospection helps remind me of one of my favorite verses. Today’s! Peaking over my years of living this verse, I am SO happy for SO much that ‘got away!’

Are you grateful? Why not thank and praise Jesus for all the stuff you DIDN’T get that you MAY have deserved! 

“Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place.” Psalm 51:6

“MMMM Shiny!” was all I could say… because that is EXACTLY what it was! My neighbor pulled me aside to show me the treasure he’d discovered up the road. “Can ya believe it? Someone was throwing out a perfectly nice grill… and I GOT IT!” “Yup,” was all I could say… as it beamed in the light! “You sure are a lucky man! When do we eat?”

Yesterday I came home to see that same shiny grill out by the road. When I asked him about it, he told me that it was a piece of junk. “It was all rusted on the inside and wouldn’t work!” Now he was worried how he was going to get rid of it if someone didn’t come take it. He said, “maybe I can put it back where I found it!” But I reminded him “Finder’s keepers!”

It is not hard to be easily fooled! Especially these days. As my neighbor discovered, things may look GOOD on the outside, but be a total waste on the inside! When I read this little Psalm in a devotional, my thought was, ‘MMMM Shiny!” Cuz a Psalm written by David usually is.” Until I remembered that Psalm 51 is about David’s confession of adultery and murder!

Just watching TV or movies, it is easy to see that there are LOTS of pretty people out there in the world. But I’m experienced enough to know that the old saying is true. “All that glitters is not gold!” Everyday I get tested or tempted to take a short cut, settle for quick, or go for the shiny! It is not until I stop, surrender and spend time with God that I find REAL treasure.

What about you? Are YOU looking for the easy, shiny, quick inexpensive way toward a real relationship with God and His people? How does YOUR life look to the world? To God? Why not spend some good quality time with Him and the Holy Spirit and read His Word? Maybe start with the short powerful book of Ephesians? 

“Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, For it is God who works in you to will and to act on behalf of His good purpose.” Philippians 2:12-13

It’s a simple matter. When I want to open the garage door, I simply push the button. When done, 2 contacts connect to complete a circuit and electricity is sent to the garage door motor. If the door is up, it goes down. If down, it goes up! It’s just that simple. I had a door button that gave me problems. I changed it. Now the new one isn’t working well either!

I sometimes try to get creative. I push it at the top. Then… at the bottom. Sometimes I wiggle it! But it can take as many as 12 pushes before the command to ‘OBEY my will’ gets through. It gets frustrating. I figure I am going to have to get another new button. When it comes to my Faith and Walk with God, I sometimes wonder how God can put up with ME?

Today’s verse seems to put all the will and power on God. But then it adds a duty on MY part… “Work out your own salvation… with FEAR AND TREMBLING!” HUH? Verse 13 says that God is working in me TO will and act on His good purpose. That seems like the button has been pushed, and it’s time for ME to open up and let my Faith out of the garage!

MAYBE I need to have a little chat with God to determine IF I need to actually go somewhere BEFORE I go. And if so, WHAT He wants me to do that is in HIS will! Are YOU taking the time to find out what God wants from you? Are YOU working out HIS plan for you? If not… maybe it’s time for you to push His button.  Don’t be nervous.  That’s what He wants!

 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” Matthew 4:19

It started off with a setback! My grandson Cash had invited me to go fishing, and while I was finishing up some errands, he said he’d go get bait. I’d planned to meet him in about an hour. When I got there, he said His cast net had been ripped and he didn’t have that many bait fish… but we went anyway. Once to his spot, the fishing began. But nothing happened!

I used to fish a lot more when I was younger. I had a great dock that friends would let me use. But they sold the place and I was banned. Now, I go where invited. Unknown places, along with the sporadic nature of fishing, tend to yield low results. It takes a little more salesmanship to get up the ‘go.’ This time, I got to asking myself why I felt that way?

Cash and I moved around to different spots, ran out of bait, then I said, “how about we go to the fishing store and get you a new net? He liked that idea. Soon, we found ourselves back out on the water at a different spot, and we were catching fish… KINDA! The bait’s gods must have been praying real hard because we weren’t catching any keepers… only junk fish!

It was a magical moment out by the water. The temperature was perfect, the sunset beautiful, low bugs, junk fish were biting… and I was with my Grandson making memories! It didn’t take long to drop the idea of catching a big, edible fish to appreciate our time well spent. Having to clean and cook the fish disappeared when we went to Wendy’s!

This experience made me stop to think… “What do I do, because I belong to Jesus. And WHY do I do it?” Today, Katie sent me a devotional that was perfect timing. After just having learned that I often do things because I ‘OTTA,’ there’s a very big benefit ino taking time to figure, and change to do things, because I “WANNA!” I have referenced the story below.

Why do YOU do the things you do? Would changing your purpose to joyfully serve help? Or do result expectations get in the way? Think about it. Cuz I am! Happy day to you!

“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.” Hebrews 10:24

Opening the door at Church, all eyes shifted from each other… to me! And man… I was uncomfortable. The Ladies were meeting for their Bible Study. Interrupting them was like walking into the middle of a bunch of camo clad recruits, covered in mud, at a boot camp! It’s not that I COULDN’T interrupt them… I just knew by their looks… that I SHOULDN’T!

Every other Monday the Ladies of our Church meet. I don’t go there, but I am privy as to what goes on. When Katie gets home, I get an update. I’ve never heard of a bad experience yet! It’s why I encourage all of our ladies to go. This verse, and the next one, are a kind of passive aggressive command. “Get together! Spur one another on to love and good deeds!”

The Christian life is FAR from easy! Being selfish, hell-bound sinners from birth, it takes the miraculous to even get us to look His direction. Once ‘IN,’ it takes some of us longer than others to see that this is a love relationship that costs EVERYTHING! Once I learned that it cost Jesus EVERYTHING to save me, I then learned it costs ME everything to live it! OORAH!

I admit it. I’m lazy. I don’t like being ‘spurred on’ to do things… even good things for Jesus! It’s even worse to have a job being the spurrer! But I notice it is a command and not a request. We are ALL expected to GROW UP into Christ. To put Him… and others… FIRST! To do that requires I put myself WAY down on the list and get busy busting chops. Mine first!

So it is my hope that today’s message will have you see the glaring eyes of Jesus, or one of His servant’s, as they look at you with expectation and a question… “What are you going to do with and for Jesus… and others… today? Are you putting Him First? C’mon recruit! join me… and us… and grunt it out!! It’s NOT a suggestion!

“We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.” 1 John 1:3

“WOW! THIS IS COOL!” I said to my son Clint the Harbor Pilot. We were in the pilot boat and got diverted to pick up another pilot before returning to the station. It is one thing to HEAR about the process of how ships get piloted in and out of Tampa bay. It’s another to actually SEE it. There I was… a visitor, only because of the relationship I had as Father to my son.

For several miles, we had been 2 ships following each other carefully! One big, one small. We pulled up close to the outbound ship, which was traveling about 15 mph, and when it was time, the pilot jumped from the big container ship to the pilot boat. His job was done. It felt a little strange being introduced to a fellow just added to the boat miles from shore!

I’ve had the opportunity to ‘fellow-ship; with some pretty amazing people under different kinds of circumstances. Last week, Dee and Ed were facing her difficult operation with anxiousness. Yesterday at Church, I was extremely blessed to be among Church members who had come to hear God’s Word and to ‘Fellow-ship’ together. It was an A+ experience.

This morning, Randy and Vicki were coupled together, as he was about to undergo some medical tests. With Vicki at His side, Katie and I, for a brief moment, had the chance to call and fellowship with them and pray. I was mesmerized again by the power of Fellowship, with Jesus Christ being the center of our focused attention. What a blessing He has given us.

The Church exists to pass on the Good News of Christ’s entering Fellowship WITH us. The more I read, and the older I get, the more I appreciate spending time and situations with God’s People. Where I may be weak, another will be strong… with Jesus providing the Strength. Tonight… the Ladies will get together! What a blessing Fellowship provides.

Please fellow pray for Randy and Dee and the rest of your Family at home and Church. We really are blessed to never have to face difficulties alone. How may we share with YOU?