“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9

It seemed like it just crept up overnight! One day my swimming pool was crystal clear. The next… not so much! I WILLED myself to NOT believe what I was seeing. But the pool’s pretty blue surface had been overcome with the greeny yellowy film of algae!!!!! Having lived here for 32 years, it was not the first time either! And I KNEW it was ALL MY FAULT!

Algae in my pool has happened MANY times… usually about this time of year. The water had been cool due to the chill of winter. But now that the sun’s heat was shining summer’s glow, the pool temperature was warming. Cooler temperatures mean it doesn’t take as many chemicals to keep algae at bay. But unless I am vigilant, it doesn’t take long for the tide to turn and algae to bloom!

When I got to the pool store to buy some pool shock and algaecide, I was the one shocked! A bottle that used to cost $16 was now $38! Chlorine tablets had increased in price more than 2.5 times from what I used to pay! But unless I wanted to let my pool become a swamp… I had no choice. So I paid and left. But not before having a little conversation with the clerk!

I asked the man behind the counter if he was aware of what was going on in our School Board. He was not! When I briefed him on the horrors of evil being pressed upon our children with the LGBTQ agenda, he said, “I don’t have any children.” When I asked him if he cared about what kids are being taught, he again reminded me, “I don’t have any children.” then added, “so I don’t care!”

When I got home I got started. Letting Algae get a grip on my pool takes money, time and WORK to get rid of. Just like with sin and evil! And God is NOT going to lend me a hand to get rid of it since… it is MY fault that it’s there in the first place!! Lack of watchfulness, effort and spending resources allowed evil in NATURALLY! Now God may give me directions to clean it… but it’s gonna cost ME!

I have a tendency to go over the top when faced with an issue. I threw in more chemicals than the man told me I might need, since he’d already proven he wasn’t that wise. And now I am going to watch what is going on in my pool even MORE CAREFULLY. And now that a MAJOR election for School Board members is coming up August 23^rd, I’m going to work EXTRA hard to get rid of the evil!

How about YOU???     How much do YOU care?  

“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” Romans 8:37

BIG SALE! That is what the mailed flier indicated anyway. MASS SAVINGS!!! O.K., they had my attention. On the surface, it looked like stopping there would save me some money on items I regularly use. Then I saw their advertisement for paper towels…

Wherever there is money, there is math. Because I don’t have a math brain, it takes me a little longer for things to add up! But with this advertisement, it appeared there was a whole new category of mathematics I was unaware of. One manufacturer says that 6=9! Another says 6=12! Still another says that 6=8… which magically turns into 10 on the new packaging! And I am confused!

Paper Towels have always been a source of ire for me because what started as convenience has turned into GOLD for some mathematically minded paper pushers! The downside is that no matter how it’s computed, grabbing a paper towel to wipe up a spill is EXPENSIVE! Just last night at church when coffee was spilled. I went to get the mop, another guy grabbed $12 worth of paper towels!!!! We should have grabbed a rag! Go figure!

The Bible has a lot to say about things of value. But I have learned that ‘God Math’ is kind of like paper towel math… because it’s in a whole new category of its own. For example, God promises that you actually GET MORE when you GIVE IT AWAY! And when it comes to His spilling out His love for me… God’s math is off the charts!

“NO!” is the first word of today’s Bible verse. Which actually begs the question… No WHAT? Looking back, the question on the table is simply, “can ANYTHING separate me from the love of God in Christ Jesus?” It is good to know that when God says “NO!” He means it! But after He answers His own question, He does a fancy dance with the ‘value’ of His love that sounds more like a paper towel commercial!

Romans 8 is the BIG ROLL of security for the Believer in Jesus Christ. It goes on to say that we are not just conquerors because we trust in Him… He says we are MORE than conquerors! Now I don’t know how a conqueror can be or do more than conquer, but God said it and I believe Him. So while the world tries to tell me that less is more, God says, ‘don’t buy it… MORE is MORE!’ I love His math!

So here’s a question… does God’s love add up for you?

“The disciples did not understand any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what he was talking about.” Luke 18:34

“Ya wanna play a game?” Katie hollered from the other room. Thinking about it, I realized it was too late to go out somewhere, yet too early to go to bed. So I said, “Sure, what game do you want to play?” The questions only made the rabbit hole go deeper. “How about that new one you just bought on sale last week?” she called out. And just like that… we entered ‘Wonderland.’

We had been walking through an ‘everything for $5’ store and I saw nothing of interest. That was until I hit a shelf labeled ‘Clearance – 50% off!’ Suddenly I was intrigued! Being frugal and with my attention piqued, a game just kind of jumped out at me. Imagining the hours of fun I would have with my bride, playing a game we got half off at a $5 store, we bought it! Now it was time to play!

Everything was going well as she unwrapped the package. That changed when she started reading the directions. Becoming confused, she handed them to me and said, “here… YOU figure this out!” After trying for several minutes, I did the 2022 thing and asked google for a video! After watching it for 10 minutes, our wide-eyed gazes locked in confusion. She put everything back in the box!

I’ve always felt sorry for the Disciples. Those poor guys had no clue what was going on most of the time! But their sense of wonder at the miracle working, story telling, wise man named Jesus kept them following Him around anyway! They never really even got a glimpse of the big picture until He was gone! But by then, they were so far ‘in’ there was no turning back! Sometimes I feel like that!

With this world sinning and spinning out of control, it gets harder to make sense of it all. Trying to read God’s instruction manual often makes me even more confused, feeling like those very first Disciples in today’s Bible verse. I mean, things shouldn’t be this hard… right? Then it hit me! Falling for a bargain, I thought I was getting some fun! But God NEVER said this life would be FUN!

In the end, Katie said, “it would have been easier to just get a deck of cards and play ‘War’ with you!” It was then I realized… that is EXACTLY what we are doing! Are you keeping your eyes on The Master? Or are you looking for something else? Because Jesus doesn’t bargain!

“My Word that proceeds from My mouth will not return to Me empty, but it will accomplish what I please, and it will prosper where I send it.” Isaiah 55:11

For 28 years I had the honor of selling signs to churches all over America. When LED signs became affordable, I was even more excited, because those signs had the ability to provide more than 1 or 2 Bible messages to a community. My greatest joy was teaching Pastors how to “PUT THE WORD OF GOD ON IT!” Well… that was the idea anyway!

Being a preacher’s kid afforded many opportunities to see for myself the Truth of today’s verse. Simply reading and allowing it to work is the greatest power available to mankind! So I hammered that ministry potential home to interested Church representatives, and many got excited and bought one. But even after providing them with thousands of free messages to use, after a short time, most would revert to something like… “Worship 11:00am.”

My dad founded the church I now pastor and bought one of our manual changeable signs… which meant work, because I insisted he put up 2 different messages a week. When he passed away, I got his job! Changing the sign manually took about 45 minutes. Finally, we were able to purchase an LED sign of our own. Now each week, making up new messages takes me at least an hour!

Technology doesn’t always make things easier, since adding pictures and color takes time. But the effect is powerful! I love watching the Word develop, and then finally see it on the sign. Last week, my newer computer wouldn’t send the messages to the sign! Calling my friend, we discovered there is a reason the sign won’t work! We have a connection problem! But we’re working on it!

If you look up ‘church signs’ in your browser, you will see God’s disappointment in real time. Due to work or inconvenience, VERY few church signs proclaim God’s Word. Most tell of upcoming events that require one COME IN to receive. But the Word of God has NO such requirement! To receive God’s blessing, one simply needs to READ IT to be connected to The Master of the Universe!

Are YOU reading and connecting with His Word daily?  If not.. are you working on it?

The LGBT+ movement has been added to the Roe v Wade Supreme Court battle looming upon the horizon.  ALL which brings war against Children!  These concepts and implementations have been invented and developed by adults… and are waged by adults… against Children.  Children lacking the ability to even conceive of these ideas!  Will YOU mourn and fight and wail and find God’s will for your part to stand up for His Children?  Reading Jerimiah, Lamentations and Ezekial, the Israelites failed to stand up for theirs… and God brought judgement.   How easy it would be for me to ignore what God has laid upon my heart to find ‘Happy Thoughts’ of joy and encouragement.  How easy for you to not have to think about it and simply move on?  I truly believe the ‘Time for Weeping’ is upon Christ’s Church. Will she weep, mourn, seek, stand up and fight for God’s plans for His Families and Children?    

Because They Are No More

Article by Greg Morse, Staff Writer, desiringGod.org

Her time had come, unexpectedly. The morning through the lattice shone with a bright and soft melancholy. In her arms, her second son. The fruit of the night’s long and anguished labor. Gentle tears fall; the child has her eyes.

A former life pressed in upon her. Leah, her sister, Leah. The feud between them over Jacob — for his love and for his offspring — had availed neither. So much of her married life, she now realized, glowed with envy — she wanted more than Jacob’s heart and eye. She wanted his heirs (Genesis 30:1). She remembered her desperate cry to her husband, a lifetime ago now, “Give me children, or I shall die!”

Even at the birth of her first son, Rachel already began to look for another: “And she called his name Joseph [literally, “May he add”], saying ‘May the Lord add to me another son!’” And now, she held him — for the first and last time. The midwife aimed to comfort her with the fulfillment, “Do not fear, for you have another son” — consolation to a dying mother.

How many such golden mornings would this son grow to know without her? How many grandchildren would her wilting arms never hold? As her soul made ready for its unwilling exodus, tears showered the plant just sprouted. She sighs a name, “Ben-oni, son of my sorrow.”

Jacob sat beside his great love, grief gripping him by the throat, yet managing to say, “He shall be called, ‘Benjamin, son of my right hand.’” Son of my right hand, as though to say, “As you depart, my Rachel, my dove, this son — this life you brought forth from death — shall be in favor at my side. He shall be closer to me than a shadow; as close as your memory. This, the last token between us on earth, I will cherish.”

And with that, Rachel departed from the world and was buried on the way to Bethlehem.

A Ghost, Crying

It moves the soul to imagine a mother saying hello and goodbye to her child in the same moment. We can see her with our imagination, gazing around longingly at loved ones, her eyes resting upon her son with a look to bring water from the hardest heart. Ben-oni, Ben-oni.

And it moves us to hear the other two mentions of this mother’s tears in Scripture. As the blood of Abel continues to speak, Rachel too continues to cry.

In the first incident, Israel has fallen bloodily to Babylon. Amid the stunning note of hope given in Jeremiah 31, we hear her:

Thus says the Lord,
“A voice is heard in Ramah,
     lamentation and bitter weeping.
Rachel is weeping for her children;
     she refuses to be comforted for her children,
     because they are no more.” (Jeremiah 31:15)

Near the place of Rachel’s tomb, her voice cries out at the devastation of Benjamin and the other Israelite tribes. The Lord speaks poetically, resurrecting Rachel, as it were, to picture her as an Israelite mother weeping without remedy for her slain and exiled children.

In response, Yahweh comforts her, “There is hope for your future, and your children shall come back to their own country.” He will relent of his judgment, and depicts himself as a Father to Israel, saying, “Is Ephraim my dear son? Is he my darling child? . . . I will surely have mercy on him” (Jeremiah 31:16–20). In other words, he shall be called “Benjamin” — a son at my right hand.

She Refuses to Be Comforted

Hundreds of years later, her consolation is again disturbed.

Herod has done the unthinkable. Furious at the wise men for not divulging the location of baby Jesus, “he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under” (Matthew 2:16). The dragon devoured many to ravage the one.

Matthew writes of the infanticide,

Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah: “A voice was heard in Ramah,

As the brutes went door to door, Rachel again raised her anguished cry. These tears did not signal exile, but extermination. She does not die with her healthy child in her arms — bequeathing her son with a hope and a future — she watches, as baby boy after baby boy is ripped from his mother’s arms and done away with. She weeps, and refuses to be comforted, because they are no more.
     weeping and loud lamentation,
Rachel weeping for her children;
     she refused to be comforted,
     because they are no more.” (Matthew 2:17–18)

Do We Weep with Her?

Because they are no more.

There is a discomforting calm in these words: The deed is done; the violence spent. The water is again calm over the sunken ship. The dreadful stillness; an unholy hush. Little giggles, gone. Creaking floors cease playing the music of pattering footsteps. They are no more.

“Because they are no more.”

What a word to echo through the empty corridors of the world today — and in the United States alone, a child misplaced every minute. Though not ancient Israel, I hear Rachel, from a forgotten corner of the world, weeping. If a pitiless society will not mourn for the missing, she will. If we live too busy to mind the brutality, she isn’t.

Day after day, she mourns as a mother bereft of more children. As one after another is stolen from behind fortress walls, she begets tears without number. Final punctuations fall; biographies end. Nothing left to read, nothing more to say. Towns and cities and even nations full of people — gone — “Ben-oni.”

She looks out from the lattice, daylight rests upon her with a bright and terrible melancholy. How many have never lived to see this dawn? Will we not weep with her — because they are no more?

Greg Morse is a staff writer for desiringGod.org and graduate of Bethlehem College & Seminary. He and his wife, Abigail, live in St. Paul with their son and daughter.

“Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.” 2 Peter 1:2

LOOK!!!!! THERE IT IS! I SEE IT! Katie was so excited that I had to be happy for her. She has had a love of space and rocket ships for years. It was Space Station season, and for the last 3 nights I had to pause the TV show so she could ‘go see it!’ Maybe! I say maybe because there were lots of factors involved, some of which she had no control.

We have seen the space station many times over the years. The most impressive was a couple years ago at the top of a mountain in the clear night sky, With no light pollution, and with cell phone in hand, we knew precisely where and when it was going to appear, as well as the angle of flight. Her enthusiasm exited me as well, and I will never forget it. But last night… eh!

There is an App on her phone that allows her to look up into the skies and see what is what. It provides every bit of information necessary to see the space station pass by in the night. But it can’t do anything about obstacles… like trees, buildings or clouds. All of which can block the sighting. But even if it can’t be seen, she KNOWS that it is there.

Staring into the night sky, not seeing a dog-gone thing, I was happy for her joy and excitement. But had to admit… I was bored out of my mind! I just didn’t share her enthusiasm. Unfortunately I DID share THAT information with her. And it made her sad.

Have you ever cared about something SO much that you wanted to share it with the world? Only to find out that the attitude of many is… eh? And when you try to explain, give details and point it out for a better view, it was dismissed with a yawn for lack of interest? Yea… I have too. But then, So has God!

The Knowledge of Jesus Christ, and the pursuit of Him, brings me Grace and Peace… AND JOY! Pursuing Him through the Word is often the greatest treasure I can find. But then, there are times when the clouds of life, or other obstacles, seem to get in the way and I miss it entirely. I KNOW He’s there. But I just can’t see Him. And it makes me sad. But according to The Word… He is set to show up again… SOON… If I just keep my eyes open and on His Word!

Do YOU see and anticipate the Savior?

“A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.” Proverbs 11:25

It’s GONE! After wrestling with what to do with it for months, I finally decided to just set my old Campbell Hausfeld Compressor out by the road and let it go! It didn’t last out there overnight before someone came along and took it away. May God richly bless them. But I feel conflicted!

I bought the thing from a neighbor over 40 years ago for $35. All it needed was a new motor… and I knew where I could get a good one. After hooking it up, and turning it on, it became almost priceless to me in the lessons it provided. How was I to know It would be so hard to get rid of?

To start off with, we didn’t have much money at the time. I was working in a factory that made air conditioners and furnaces. Daddy in law was the assistant plant manager and gave me a job. All units needed a motor to run, and there were pallets full of them. So I did what many employees did and took one home for my compressor!

The compressor sat in a wood-shop where I earned money for my family by building things. When daddy in law gave us a junk car, I used the compressor, along with learned knowledge from a friend, to paint the car to sell to move to Florida. Then it went into my garage for keeping tires filled, nail guns running and blowing gunk off gunk from whatever! It finally died a few months ago!

All the compressor needed was a pressure switch. I bought one and tried to adapt it… but failed. So I bought a new compressor. But the old one had blessed me so much, I hated to get rid of it. Besides.. the motor alone was worth about $50 used! PRICELESS when I remember the lessons of hard work.. and theft (to name just 2)! I never looked at that compressor without feeling guilty for stealing the motor in the first place! But I never stole anything again!

I ended up setting it out by the road for free, and prayed that someone would be blessed by it. The final blessing was to NOT be such a miser! Now that it’s gone, I’m left with memories and lessons… and someone else just got a blessing for free! Now… I guess I’m just feeling kind of foolishly generous! Ain’t life funny like that?

What life lessons are YOU giving away?   

I saw this and had to read it several times for it to sooth and bring me comfort.  Thought I’d pass it along.

The Payout for Patience – Devotional by John Piper

“As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive.” (Genesis 50:20)

The story of Joseph in Genesis 37–50 is a great lesson in why we should have faith in the sovereign, future grace of God.

Joseph is sold into slavery by his brothers, which must have tested his patience tremendously. But he is given a good job in Potiphar’s house in Egypt. Then, when he is acting uprightly in the unplanned place of obedience, Potiphar’s wife lies about his integrity and has him thrown into prison — another great trial to his patience.

But again things turn for the better, and the prison keeper gives him responsibility and respect. But just when he thinks he is about to get a reprieve from Pharaoh’s cupbearer, whose dream he interpreted, the cupbearer forgets him for two more years. Another painful trial to his patience.

Finally, the meaning of all these detours and delays becomes clear. Joseph is raised up to be the leader of Egypt, second only to Pharaoh. He ends up saving from starvation the very brothers who sold him into slavery. Joseph says to his long-estranged brothers, “God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. . . . As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive” (Genesis 45:7; 50:20).

What would have been the key to patience for Joseph during all those long years of exile and abuse? The answer is: faith in God’s sovereign, future grace — the sovereign grace of God to turn the unplanned place and the unplanned pace into the happiest ending imaginable.

That’s the key to our patience as well. Do we believe that God is working for us in the strangest and most painful turns of our lives?

Devotional by John Piper

“He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.” 1 John 2:2

Homeward bound, it was only 11 am. But I was hungry. Strangely, the principle hit me that it wasn’t lunch time yet, so I HAD to wait for another hour. But my stomach rebelled at that thought and screamed out… WHY?? It had a good point! Then I remembered, in my hunger, that Burger King OWED me… and BK was on the way home! So I pulled in and went inside to speak to the manager.

Last week I had a worker here and stopped off at BK to order some lunch. Getting home, the bag held THEIR lunch… but not mine! I’d been charged for both, paid for both, but only received 1 burger. Grabbing a slice of cold pizza appeased my hunger, but also reminded me to remember what I had paid for but didn’t get! Now that it was just a matter of appeal, I figured it as good a time as any!

Explaining the issue, the manager asked if I had the receipt, I didn’t… which wouldn’t have mattered anyway! If I was lying without a receipt, I could just as easily lie WITH one! Pulling out my business card I said, “I pastor a church and have no reason to lie. But I understand if you can’t give me the burger I paid for.” As he made the burger I paid for but didn’t get, I thought about the situation.

An old hymn came to mind, “He paid a debt He did not owe. I owed a debt I could not pay.” The price for sin (imperfection) is death. Literally a separation from perfect God… forever! And because God is just, He HAS to enforce the rules. Breaking or bending them would only make Him imperfect! The required debt MUST be paid, or appeased. Which is what ‘propitiation’ means. Appeasement! Which is what the manager of BK was doing on my behalf!

I thought about how silly this was. It wasn’t like I couldn’t afford to pay for another burger. But it was the PRINCIPLE of the thing that had me there. I paid a price for something I didn’t get. I had a right to at least ask them to give it to me. They had the right to decline my request. I appreciated the honor of the manager.

Jesus paid the debt I owed to His Father FOR ME… once and for all! Because He did, my debt was canceled…. finished! With no debt outstanding, have the choice to receive His free gift… or not!  But bacause I ASKED and received His payment on my behalf, I have also received His promise! Which makes me His Son… forever! Burger King’s new slogan, though kind of icky to me, does provide the principle for this message. I can either HAVE it HIS way… or BE my OWN way! But I can’t have both!  

Has YOUR debt to God been appeased? Or are you still doing things your own way? God is asking!