“But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. This is why it says: ‘When he ascended on high, He took many captives and gave gifts to His people.'” Ephesians 4:7-8

Normally I write the Words of the Day in the morning, and while I had several ideas to go on, I could NOT get past the overwhelming feeling of gratefulness. It is all because of YOU! The only explanation I have comes from this verse today. Jesus Christ gives Gifts to His people. And the gifts ARE PEOPLE! SO I want to acknowledge and thank YOU… for YOU!

You’ve probably heard me say the line that “No one of us, have it all together. But all of us together, have it all!” It is a description that perfectly describes family and friends…and more importantly, ‘The CHURCH!’ So THANK YOU for being part of MY life. Knowing YOU makes ME a VERY WEALTHY MAN!

May God’s Peace and Joy reign in YOU today!

“Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.” Proverbs 22:6

Last night Katie and I were treated to a royal gathering. The royal guests included my daughter and her family, and my nephew and his. Three couples, 3 Princes and 1 Princess (all 4 and under) shared play, dinner, discussion, royal history and advice. Though not advertised, the theme of the evening could easily have been called ‘Raisin’ Royalty!’

I haven’t seen my nephew for several years, since his living in California prohibits backyard get togethers. Being Family, we all shared a history that goes even BEYOND his lifetime. I shared stories about his dad while they all filled me in on the joys and challenges of being young parents! With kids playing in the pool and running around us, THEY were the obvious focus of attention. Which is the way it’s supposed to be.

Having spent the morning at the hospital and on phone calls and texts with MY sheep (the Church), I realized that life is am ever-learning and recalling experience. When I reached down to pick up the baby, my brain IMMEDIATELY went into recall mode! “Support his neck! Hold him so any sudden move won’t cause him to flop out of your arms! HE CAN’T WALK YET so DON’T STAND HIM UP! Beware of projectile vomit!”

I got away with all of them except the latter. Holding him tight, he kept jumping up and down… then threw up on my legs! What would be horrifying if an adult was humorous with a baby. Why? Because that’s what babies do! As we actively sat there, it was no surprise to me that the conversion was predominately on how to effectively raise great children! Being Christians…that means ROYALTY!

As Believers in Christ, we are destined to rule and reign with Him in Glory. What happens HERE is literally Spiritual Training. Unfortunately, and far too often, God’s kids expect GOD to do most of the work…as if by magic. It’s apparent by the kinds of requests I get. “Please pray that __________ gets healed, _________ gets a job, ________ gets relief from pain and ________’s life gets better or saved.” As a kind of spiritual dad, it becomes MY duty to explain THEIR role in the process. And it’s ALWAYS WORK!

I think that we are all children and all parents at the same time. Always learning, recalling, encouraging and cleaning up vomit or poop (yes both happened last night)! But I have to remind myself that when I was born into His family, the position came with expectations and responsibilities. The older I get, the bigger they are! But after seeing my nephew and all the parents last night, I KNOW they are all going to be JUST FINE!

So…..how old are YOU?

“For those God foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.” Romans 8:29

I was sitting in the Medical Lab waiting to be called for my annual physical. I had tried to resist, but there was no way to get the blood test done without wearing a mask into the office. They supplied me one and I joined 5 other masked hombres in silence. Not being used to the mask, I got a tickle way up in my nose, which grew into a HUGE irritation. Then the question hit me, “to pick…or not to pick??”

I didn’t want to cause alarm in others by indulging in unacceptable behavior. Neither did I want to risk the chance of shoving a potentially diseased finger up my nasal passage! As the irritation grew, I couldn’t even find a magazine to hide behind, since during this so-called pandemic, magazines are outlawed too! Finally I buried my nose into the bend in my elbow and rubbed hard! It was then I heard…”Mr. McCay?”

Reflecting on that experience, and after reading this Bible passage again, the comedic side of God seemed to be leading me to the question, “does God pick His nose?” Digging deep, that was the question I got! Saving the next natural question, “does God even HAVE a nose,” for later, I started to scratch the itch!

The question of predestination and the debate of election (picking) believers based upon God’s foreknowledge, has been going on for centuries. I don’t mind telling you that I think some MAJOR theological bigwigs are simply out of their illogical minds when it comes to the subject! And it all has to do with the nose!

Does God pick me because He knows I’ll pick Him? Or do I pick God because He knows I HAVE to pick Him? In all my digging I have come to the conclusion that the answer to BOTH questions is YES! Which in EITHER case, points to this absolute fact… ‘I am living proof that… God indeed…DOES pick His knows!’

Do you?

“All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. But (because of His great love for us) God…” Ephesians 2:3

It was a birthday for my 4 year old grandson and my daughter, wise as she is, called to ask, “Hey… how would YOU like to give the birthday boy the thing he wants the most?” Feeling like I was being played, I didn’t care and said…”SURE!” She sent me the picture of a VERY cool looking Remote Control (RC) Car. She even offered to order it for me from Amazon to have it delivered. After looking at it, I called back and said… “Order 2!!”

Boys like RC Cars and ALL of my grandsons have them. I don’t! I figured having an RC Car to add to the Bubble Gum machine and the ‘Skeeter Gun’ just might win me some Grampa points! When they came to the house, I showed them the car, and off we went to the front yard. I didn’t realize ‘I’ was about to be tested!

A car is for driving. And my 2 grandsons took turns driving it into a tree! When 1 drove, the other chased it! Several times, they’d pounce on top of it like a cheetah on prey, then pick it up and haul it back to throw it down to start again!! My daughter saw my eyes and started laughing. She knows me too well, and it was all I could do to keep my mouth shut!

Being honest, I don’t like RC Cars. They take time and practice to master and they don’t interest me enough to invest. But I don’t like them most because of how I felt when the kids were playing with them. I found myself getting upset when my grandkids treated them in a way that could easily have broken them. They were having fun! I was getting reminded of MY tendency to CONTROL! Sometimes…I’m an idiot!

God made me and I am HIS. Like an RC Car, He could EASILY MAKE me do His bidding and force His will on me. Instead, He set me FREE and even allows me to make a wreck my life! And the crazy thing is, no matter how many times I make a mess of His life in me…He NEVER stops loving and giving Himself to me! Cost is no object! He paid with His LIFE!

I’ve concluded that I don’t really care about RC Cars! I care about the sons! It is not my job to control them, but to teach them. And THEY, along the way, are teaching ME a LOT about myself! So next time they ask, “can we play with the RC Car,” I’ll have to remind myself to ‘R’emember ‘C’hrist and let them go play! After all, they always come back to me when it breaks…or the battery dies!

“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.” Proverbs 13:12

We had our Granddaughter over this weekend, which is an occasional occurrence when her parents go out of town. Though it only happens a few times a year, the 3 of us have developed a kind of ritual. First thing on Friday night SHE decided where she wanted to go for dinner. When we got home, it was time to pick a movie. I didn’t realize how low our standards were!!!

It was Gema who said, have you ever seen “Teen Beach?” Apparently she had and, fancying herself as a dancer, she liked it enough to watch it again (OH GOODY!). I was going along for the ride because I didn’t have any suggestion of my own. When the opening scene started with singing and dancing on a beach, I felt myself being sucked into the vortex of meaningless entertainment!

I like 50’s music and musicals enough to be drawn into the story. But describing the movie as ‘hokey’ would be an understatement. It was brainless and cute, entertaining and nonsensical, cheesy and nutty at the same time. The last movie scene ended, as it had begun, with a dance number on the beach! After the credits rolled, Disney + automatically rolled right on into…you guessed it…’Teen Beach 2.’ Katie & Gema were ecstatic as plans were made to watch IT on Saturday night!

As we did things on Saturday, “Tonight it’s Teen Beach 2,” kept coming up. In a kind of weird way, I started looking forward to it! I didn’t know how much, until they told me that “Teen Beach 3” would be watched on Sunday Afternoon! My heart didn’t flutter, but SOMETHING registered! Getting home first on Sunday, I was asked to find the movie and have it ‘ready to go’ when they got home. Little did I know!

Desire, mood and attitude have a LOT to do with what I look forward to. When something I really love is hovering on the horizon, I find life easier to navigate even ‘rough’ seas. Long patches of ‘not so much’ can make me despondent and grumpy. Katie doesn’t like grumpy and neither does Jesus! They BOTH remind me over and over again that I am to be JOYFUL! And that for my joy to last, it cannot be based on silly nonsense. I must look to things that really matter.

As I surfed the TV, my heart began to flutter. It turns out, there IS NO ‘Teen Beach 3’ movie! They never made one…but MIGHT!!!! I became confused because I couldn’t decide if the single tear falling down my cheek was from joy or disappointment! So I thanked God, wrote a note to them and then took a nap! Sorting my feelings will just have to wait for another day!

So…….what are YOU looking forward to?? REALLY!!!

“(be)ing confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 1:6

I walked into the gym and didn’t see my 3 tough-guy, work out friends in the back corner. These High Schoolers are an inspiration, and a hope to me, for many reasons. Standing alone adjusting the music pumping into my headphones, one of them came up to shake my hand and say hi! He was working out! In more ways than 1!

Taking off my headphones, I smiled and greeted him. Pointing over to his friends at the leg machine, I couldn’t believe my eyes!!! The weight those guys were pushing was so great as to be humbling! There’s NO way I could do that! I went over to say hi and ask how much was on the machine! “463 pounds,” they said!

Maybe I’m wrong, but it seems to me that everything in a gym is based upon WEIGHT. When I walk up to a machine and see that the last person to use it pressed TWICE what I did, it makes me wonder why I even bother! After all, ‘I’M GOING TO DIE ANYWAY!’ It’s an excuse I use a LOT to try to get out of working out. But people who care about me don’t really fall for my excuses!

When I stood in awe at the machine, I had this crazy idea and said… “Can I give that a try?” My young friends said…”SURE!” And moved away to let me in. They DIDN’T WALK AWAY! “You can DO IT!” was the mantra I heard as I heaved and pushed that 463 pounds… 1 time! They cheered me. And I felt like a champion.

Let me get this straight! I didn’t feel like a champion because I lifted the weight! I felt like a champion because of the guys who encouraged me! The guys have no real reason to even pay any attention to an old guy like me, much less cheer me on. But they DID. And, like weight on a bar, their actions proved the inside strength of character in their heart. And I appreciate them!

God pays attention to me! When HE wants to WORK OUT… HE comes to ME! I don’t deserve it and don’t even know why He bothers! But He DOES! His Word even gives me a promise that when I LET Him IN, He WILL work His Character OUT… through ME! Which usually comes in ways that ‘I’ can’t see.. But OTHERS can! I have learned to pay attention and always try to keep the door of my heart and spirit unlocked for Him to have access.

Are YOU letting Him Work Out – In You?

“I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in His word I put my hope.” Psalm 130:5

Recently getting home I could tell Katie was already there. The kitchen light was on and her purse was on the table. I hollered out, “I’m HOOOOOOOOOME!” She was either busy or didn’t hear me. But no matter, I had to run outside again anyway. After coming back in, I asked her a question…and got no answer! Then I started to get nervous!

I searched the house, only to find she wasn’t inside. Silly me, she was probably out back! So I went looking. Nothin’! The last place I looked was in the garage, since that isn’t her usually domain anyway. When I opened the door, I saw that her car was gone! My keen awareness and deductive skills led me to figure she went somewhere, without her purse!! So I started thinking some more! While I did…I waited!

Trying to write today is really frustrating. My computer froze… AGAIN… and I am now WAY behind! I spent ALL those minutes… WAITING! By this time in my life, I should be good at it. But I’m not! In fact, I seem to be less patient as time goes by. Losing time on a writing deadline is 1 thing. Losing and having to wait for my wife…or my God… that’s a WHOLE OTHER THING!

Over the years I’ve pondered the subject of absence and waiting. Does “Absence make the heart grow fonder?” Or is “out of sight out of mind,” more true? I’ve learned that the answer lies in how important that missing something really IS, to me. As time ticked by, my head did some weird things. “Did she leave me? Has she been kidnapped? Has she been in an accident? How will I find out?” It’s even MORE serious with God!

I think concern and worry are step cousins. BOTH start off with FEAR as their battery! After a while, anger starts to fuel the fire as I wonder how they could just LEAVE ME without ANY NOTICE! I calm down when I remember that God… ESPECIALLY GOD…wanders away ON PURPOSE!!! Just to see what I will do! So I did what I have learned actually WORKS! I spend time remembering the promises!

I was there when Katie said “I do!” She has never given me reason to doubt her. After many years of reading God’s Word, I have learned that HE often said, “I will!” Then I relax from the inside out and simply talk to Him, recalling His promised words to me. And like a quiet wisp of air…there He is! Just then, I just heard the garage door open! And all is well!

How well do YOU wait?

P.S. A thought just hit me and I feel foolish. I am reminded that some people won’t ever hear that sound of the garage door again. I don’t know NEARLY as much about waiting on God as YOU do. Though I know enough to know that HE is always there! Ya know? I’ll think I’ll shut up now!

“I am the Door!” Jesus – John 10:7

It happens every day! Multiple times a day even! And it has since I moved into this house. It is so common and ordinary that I don’t even think about it anymore. It just is what it is! I pull my truck into the driveway (I don’t have room for it in the garage), get out, walk up to my front door, and then fumble for the right key to get in. Now how silly is THAT??

I have a lot of keys, so finding the right one, even though I’ve placed my house key beside the bigger truck key, CAN be a tangled mess. When my hands are full, it’s even worse! At night, if I’ve forgotten to turn on the porch light ahead of time, the right key is almost impossible to find. Dropping the keys, in the dark, with my hands full, is a ‘far too often’ occurrence that I NEVER think about fixing!

Katie has a remote in her car for the garage door. She hits a button and drives right on in. When I got The Goldwing, I bought an extra remote for ease of entry. Last week I grabbed it for some reason and threw it in my truck. Days later, it was dark, raining and I had stuff to take into the house. When the truck light came on after opening it’s door, I saw the remote and pushed the button. Guess what happened!!!!

When the door opened and the garage door light came on, I had a eureka moment! WOW!!!!!!! But it was short lived! Because afterward, I felt like a FOOL and started talking to myself!! “That was WAYYYY TOO EASY!!! You moron! Why didn’t you think about putting a remote in your truck a LONG time ago????” Which brings up ANOTHER long term problem of mine. My moron self NEVER answers rhetorical questions!

I can’t say I was stupid, because I really really not AWARE! The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over…expecting a different result. Sometimes even the smartest of us just do things that way! Living a life of routine, common and predictable, can lock my brain. It takes something bigger than wishing to un-skip the record! (anyone under 45 will have NO idea what that means!)

“I AM THE DOOR!” Jesus said that! And as I have preached several times lately, there are only 3 ways to approach that. He is either a liar, a nut-bag…or He’s telling the Truth! By His pointing to Himself as ‘The Door,’ MY only TWO options are to 1. give Him a try. Or…2. Don’t! Which leads to ANOTHER Eureka moment. If my path to the door is dark…He has a solution for THAT TOO!. He said, “I am THE LIGHT of THE WORLD!”

That Jesus….He’s like….SO full of answers! Did ya notice???

“Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” James 4:7

My house, not surprisingly, has 4 corners. Which is not a surprise. But I can tell you that I HAVE been surprised at every one of them over the 30 plus years I’ve lived here. And It just happened again! Like a practical joke when someone tries to scare me, the big black snake around the corner didn’t SCARE me, but it DID STARTLE me! Standing my ground, I watched it slither away in the opposite direction. And I wondered.

Not being an expert, I can only guess if the fleeing snake had been ‘scared’ or simply ‘startled’ away. I could tell it wasn’t going as fast as possible, but it WAS moving faster than normal. And the GOOD thing was, moving in the opposite direction from me! You see, I prefer being surprised by the scurrying tail of a big snake rather than by it’s head!

Last night, our church was invited to a local Town Hall meeting of the county school board. The request went out to all the local churches, because lately there has been a concern that unwelcome, and possibly dangerous pests, may be afoot. Evil issues that have been creeping into families lives have become serious enough that ignoring them might just PROVE dangerous. So we went!

I couldn’t be more proud to see SO many of our folks, as well as OTHER Christian people, showing up to stand out for moral principles. It was evident from the start that the school representatives were the ones startled, as speaker after speaker talked about Biblical values and the school districts need to GET BACK to them! But upon reflection, many of us wondered if the school reps were scared enough!

A number of folks cried out that Christian Values need to be brought back into the classroom. Which, these days, would not be a good direction. The victory of evil and its religion of ‘Fairness’ would dictate that the Koran and Hindu writings get equal treatment and thus, proving THAT win to be a loss. Even Martin Luther King stated that it’s impossible to legislate morality anyway. So we did the next best thing and startled each other!

Man didn’t invent the path to destruction. That was satan! It came upon us through the back door when we failed in standing up against it in the first place! Now that the big snake is in the house, what remains is the determination of how much damage it will do! So I, like other Believers, take our stands! I puff out my chest, and bellow, and yell, and pray to God…that I see a scurrying tail and not a head!

Are YOU standing up for Him?