“If anyone does not love the Lord, let that person be cursed! Come, Lord!” 1 Corinthians 16:22

Maranatha! It is a prayer I have prayed, even more so lately. It is the word used in today’s verse and simply means, ‘Come, O Lord!’ Looking around at the world today, I find myself on edge and… dare I even say it, growing discouraged. Catching myself, I know that My Savior doesn’t WANT me to be discouraged. UGH!

I learned to swear at a very young age, and haven’t found anyone who occasionally doesn’t. Exclamations in the form of swear words usually come at a point of shock or surprise at the unexpected. Lately I have fallen victim to the problem of NOT seeing what I expect. And I’m not sure which is worse.

Growing up as a kid in the 60’s and 70’s, back in the Billy Graham days, books started coming out proclaiming prophecies of Christ’s soon and imminent return. It seems the world REALLY started going bad back then, and like a spanking, most could tell the world was due! But that was over 50 years ago! Look at it NOW!

World Culture today looks NOTHING like the class I took in High School. Evil has only increased more speedily as time marches on. If we felt like Jesus HAD to come back THEN… today my inner voice cries out “What’s taking you so long?” It gets harder to see hope. Looking both ‘up’ and ‘around’ I ask, “what do I do?

I find instruction for my discouragement in the same chapter that I find the word ‘Maranatha.’ Verses 13 and 14 summarize marching orders for me on how to live in dark, evil days… “Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. Do everything in love.” Seems those words are the boots I am to march in.

Are You discouraged? Do you need some direction to take your mind off of the disappointment that Jesus isn’t here yet… where evil only grows and seems to be winning? Maybe you might want to join me by pulling on those boots and looking ‘up’ instead of ‘around!’ And pray with me… “Maranatha!”

“I will sing to you of your love and justice; Oh Lord, I will be careful to lead a blameless life. I will conduct the affairs of my house with a blameless heart. I will not look with approval on anything that is vile. I hate what faithless people do; and I will have no part in it. I will have nothing to do with what is evil. I will keep people with a perverse of heart far from me.” Psalm 101:1-4

Going through a closet I found an old Boy Scout Handbook, used when my sons lived at home. Turning the pages, I fondly remembered the time spent teaching and learning important life skills like first aid, knot tying, map reading, cooking, camping etc. The front of the manual held the Scout Oath. A personal promise.

Back then, man building skills were taught on top of those life skills. Each Scout meeting required both the Oath and the Law be recited. A Scout is Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean and Reverent. The Laws served as a guidepost of basic character traits each Scout ascribed to, and expected from one another.

Opening my Bible, my eyes fell upon Psalm 101. It reminded me of the Scout Law above, but also gave me even more distinct purposes for each day. Each verse details a commitment that I can lay out and use as a daily goal for my life. Living God’s Life by following these verses builds the Character God expects from me.

Boy Scouting has pretty much faded away as a man building tool. Women and homosexuals came in and changed the program from what it used to be. Learning camping skills are still taught, but building honorable men has gone out the window. The Church today faces the same issues as scouting did years ago.

It doesn’t really matter if one can cook over a fire today. But it DOES matter if a Godly man or woman GETS cooked over one, if they don’t hold to God’s basic laws, maintaining it with an Oath, to be God’s person in this evil world. I’ve discovered that learning and reciting God’s Word, I can react to evil quickly.

Do you have a God Code you live by? Are you in His Word daily to refine your character to match His? God’s intention is NOT that you ‘Do your best…’ but that you DO what He says! Will you?

“The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.” Psalm 18:2

“Get down from there!” I called out to Julie. The Church was helping get stuff out of her demolished trailer when I caught her, high up, on a rickety ladder! She was reaching for some heavy item when I used my male preacher voice and said… “C’mon girl… get down from there. Let ME do that.” It took coaxing… but she did.

During the conversation she told me that she had fallen off a ladder before! I didn’t understand her point. Was she telling me she was an experienced ‘faller?’ I told her I too had fallen off ladders several times. Once, which continues to give me pain to this day. Trading places, she then told ME to ‘be careful.’

My first job out of school required being on ladders and scaffolds up to 40’ in the air. My boss didn’t care that I was nervous and unskilled. He just told me to do my job. Over time, I developed muscle memory and sense that became natural over time. As Julie’s ladder moved under me, I realized time had taken them away!

The sense of impending doom makes me realize I am a mere mortal. Being older, I am even more fragile than before so… I need to be more careful. Today’s verse reminds me of 2 very important facts. 1. There IS a God. And 2. I am not Him! I NEED a Rock to stand on. A fortress and deliverer… a refuge and deliverer!

Psalm 18 is all about KNOWING weakness and frailty… and WHERE to go to find salvation. My God is MY Rock. He does NOT expect me to do the dangerous and impossible. He WANTS to be my Rock! Over time I have learned to trust Him COMPLETELY for EVERYTHING. He’s NEVER let me down. Even when I’ve fallen.

These days, I spend a LOT more time with Him than I used to. I love Him even more! Do You? Are you standing on ‘The Rock’ and His Promises?

“Peter replied, ‘Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.'” Acts 2:38

I LOVE Crocs! You know… the shoes. Years ago I saw my son wearing a bright orange pair and I laughed at him. He smirked, then said… “try ‘em on!” I did… and was sold. I’ve had MANY pairs since. The problem with Crocs is that they have holes. My side yard has gravel, and every time I walk there, a rock gets in my Croc.

We’ve all experienced rocks or pebbles in our shoes. The best word I can think of to describe the feeling is ‘irritating!’ Moving and shaking doesn’t seem to help in removing the rock either. It only seems to make the situation worse. Until I stop, take off the shoe, and deliberately dump it out, it remains a hindrance.

Yesterday I met a man who likes to speak his mind. We have a mutual friend and that was enough to get conversation going. Mentioning God, he started pontificating on HIS philosophy of religion. While it seemed it was his main reason for living, listening was like having a rock in my Croc. It was very uncomfortable.

I listened for a while. Then… a little longer. Finally I had to simply blurt out, “but what about JESUS?” That was all it took to put the shoe on the other foot! He included Jesus in His philosophy of religions, but He failed to make Jesus the CENTER of his discussion. So I asked him “what are your plans for avoiding Hell!?”

At that very instant, he had to stop, take off his proverbial shoe and address the REAL issue. At that point, my job was done. It was like when Peter gave his first sermon after the Holy Spirit came upon, and invented, The Church. Peter’s mission was NOT to be a nice, comfortable guy. But call people to REPENTANCE!

The world is a mess and getting messier. I sometimes get far too concerned with trying to analyze and clean it up, instead of simply pointing out the necessary ROCK that needs to be dealt with. Why not give it a try and simply invite someone to get rid of their rock of sin by receiving Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit?

“Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ.” 1 Corinthians 12:12

Julie’s trailer (mobile home) was a goner. Taken out by Hurricane Milton, all that was left was the job to go through and sort out items she could salvage. The rest… right into the dumpster! I could not even imagine being in her position. The chairs, clothes, knickknacks… EVERYTHING had the “Decide” question over it.

I’d put out the word to the Church for help with the task of picking up items and throwing them into the dumpster. We made a ‘bidding pile’ of things folks might want to take, since everything Julie wanted had already been sorted. One by one they came. In all, I counted 15 people who showed up to help. 2 were neighbors.

‘The Church’ may be just a name of an organization to the government, but it is far greater than even WE can imagine. Jesus gives ‘The Church’ the intimate title of ‘Bride!’ We are NOT just some gang of folks clustering around a food table. We are ALL TOGETHER… 1 body. That body stepped up in a BIG way this last week.

There’s and old saying I like that says, “No one of us has it all together. But all of us together, have it all!” There are NUMEROUS verses in the Bible that not only SAY that, but insist that those IN the Church… LIVE accordingly. I get called cranky for pressing people to come and be faithful to Christ’s Bride. Tho I didn’t invent it.

I love being Christ’s Bride, sharing times with others who are part of it as well, AND working to ADD members to her. One day SOON… Jesus is coming back to GET His Bride to take us to the Wedding ceremony. If I don’t like spending time with her now, I’m gonna HATE Heaven. How about YOU? Are YOU in?

“Do not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.” Exodus 34:14

Killer! That’s my name! It’s SUPPOSED to be! Though it is unfortunate I’m not as good at it as I should be. The noun and the verb are the same. “KILL!” And God means what He says in Romans 8:13, ”By the Spirit, put to death the deeds of the flesh!” ‘Kill’ is not just a title, but an ACTION done by ME. ‘Circumcise your heart!’

Two hurricanes back to back rocked my world, and there is something unnatural in the feelings left behind. Stark reality proves I live in a violent world at war. The election process clearly shows the differences between good and evil, as flesh and Spirit war within hearts. God’s directive for me is to ‘Kill!’ To ‘circumcise MY heart!’

It is no coincidence that one of the enemy’s greatest weapons is to distort the Truth. “Love one another” became grounds for ‘tolerance.’ Tolerance, when moved to the next level, became a license. Then ‘license’ turns to law. EVERYBODY knows that God’s method of purity and birth control is abstinence… not abortion!

Being born in sin comes with traits that linger. Having received Christ’s death and life in my heart does NOT, unfortunately, make me automatically behave perfectly. THAT is a CHOICE. Killing off my evil desires through the Holy Spirit is NOT an option. It’s a command! And I’m embarrassed becasue… I’m supposed to be VERY good at it!

Every minute of every day presents choices to my heart. I can follow God and circumcise the evil desires that the Holy Spirit points out. Or I can let them lie and fester. Festering only makes them grow, making me conflicted instead of effective as His warrior. So today, I will focus on God’s Word and NOT make God Jealous!

Are YOU a killer? Are YOU walking in the Spirit and doing what He has asked of you? Are you circumcising your heart of stone to follow God’s Holy Spirit? 

“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” Timothy 3:16-17

“OOOOOO THAT’S A MESS!” The owner’s lawnmower had been smoking and wouldn’t start, so I bent down to take a look. Grabbing a spark plug wrench, I pulled out the plug to find it had been fouled with oil and was a complete mess! I found the air filter in even WORSE shape! Oil was plugging it up too. YUCK!

How could someone let a machine get into such bad shape? With no one else around, I was convicted because… it was MY lawnmower. I’ve had it for years after buying it brand new. Always reliable, it usually started on the first pull. When the self-propelled cable broke, I ordered a new one and discoveries were made!

I never liked mowing the lawn, but I’ve always liked the looks of the lawn mowed! Katie does too! So the less effort I put out in lawn work, the better it is for me… seemingly! But a lawnmower without proper maintenance, like any machine, will only become gunked up junk! I took the time to clean it all up and it runs great!

I am a living breathing human machine that is owned by Jesus Christ. Unlike a lawnmower, this machine has to be involved in every maintenance operation. My biggest responsibility is CO-operation! Jesus expects me to be involved with, and follow the owner’s manual, to keep my life sharp, fit and useful for His Kingdom.

My mission from Jesus is to become a well-oiled machine for Him and to follow whatever maintenance is called for in the underlined verbs above. Sometimes I don’t work well, and God has to reprove or rebuke me. He ALWAYS sends me to His Word to fine tune my life to meet HIS needs. Not my own. Are YOU in tune? 

“When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.” 1 Corinthians 13:11

Putting things away is not a strong suit for me. Just ask my wife. Being a ‘Git-R-Dun” kinda guy, I tend to list out goals ahead of time, and once that project is done, move onto the next one. If there is something along the way to be done to put a dent into another project, I’ll do that too. Being a ‘doer’ is a good thing. USUALLY!

Jesus Commanded that I be a ‘DOER’ of the Word and not just a hearer only. Often my goals don’t take into account the duty of ‘putting childish things away.‘ I guess I could call it ‘getting UNPREPARED! After going through 2 hurricanes in less than 3 weeks, it’s time to put all the ‘preparedness stuff’ away! UGH!

The wood covering the windows, the generator, the lawn and patio furniture and plants. They all need to go back to the places where they were BEFORE danger came calling. And that goes along with CLEANUP from the mess the hurricanes left behind. Which also brings my life’s messes back into proper perspective.

Worry, anger, fear, concern, duty, care, and even love, are emotions that arise when life comes rudely crashing in. I have found the several of those traits have negative tines on their tools. Urgency can give anger or impatience a pass. But not for long. After the storm, it’s necessary to put everything BACK in it’s place.

Patience, time, love, care and duty STILL have a place. And that place is in the hands of Jesus. ‘HURRY UP AND GIT-R-Dun’ no longer holds the banner over my brain and body. I must put the childish forms of those emotions away and get back to focusing on my walk with Jesus… not my run from Debby and Milton. 

“Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations. Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.” Psalm 90:1-2

UGH! It is a word I have texted many times to many people these last few weeks. Not because I am in despair. More like I am feeling my age. Yesterday, as we drove by the church, we saw Jason and family over there, working away, cleaning up the Church property. Naturally… we joined in. Before we were done. I was!

Jason has a very cool forklift machine that picks up whole piles of tree debris and can carry it out to the front road. But first, the piles need to be formed! That’s where we came in. Picking up and throwing huge tree limbs into piles he could scoop up. We all felt older than we were. But together, it got done.

Psalm 90 came to mind when I awoke and just lay in bed at 4am… unable to fall to sleep. I’d been told before that when that happens, it’s a good time to read my Bible. Pslam 90 just kind of laid itself in a pile before… me to pick up and read. I’d just got started and found myself smiling inside and out, praising God for… God!

Most folks thing of David when reading a Psalm. But this one is attributed to Moses at some time AFTER Israel was exiled from Egypt. It takes a full view of life, including human frailty, divine wrath and a plea for His grace. It was summarized in a song in 1708 by Isaac Watts called, “O God, Our Help in Ages Past.” Heard it?

God has a GREAT BIG COOL Machine called The Church. It’s a Global Corporation. And with it He can and does move BIG things around the world. But He also uses it to move little things too. Like me. I smiled, and deep down praised God for Himself, Moses, Isaac and everything about this life… and the one to come. Then went back to bed and slept in. I pray that YOU will have a Jesus filled day!

Here’s the song