Signs and Wonders

“If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.  And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.”

Matthew 5:29-30

Imagine being a person God uses to heal someone of blindness.

Imagine the one you prayed for did not lose their ability to see late in life.

No, you just prayed with a 90 yr. old who has been blind since birth.

But now they see.

Can you imagine the excitement in their life?

They were blind, not to the physical world around them, but spiritually blind to their sinfulness.

Now, you have prayed with them, they are born again and suddenly they can ‘see’!

Their eyes have been opened to the work of Christ on the cross for them.

You see (pun intended), it may be powerful to have physically blind eyes opened but how much more powerful and blessed when you partner with the Spirit of God and see spiritually blind eyes opened?

I am not minimizing the joy and wonder of physical healing.

Understand, though, that physical healing deals with a temporary condition while spiritual healing has an eternal purpose.

Let’s not seek the physical touch only at the expense of the eternal one.

Where did Jesus’ priorities lay?

Reread today’s scripture to find out.

Was Jesus encouraging self-mutilation?

Of course not!

He knew what mattered most.

He healed the sick and He went about doing good but ultimately the eternal matters mattered most to Him.

Are you just as passionate, if not more so, in praying for someone’s soul as you are praying they are healed of a common cold or even cancer?

Yes, some things matter but it is also true that some things matter more!

Ask God for that passion and wisdom so that when you pray for others you pray for those things that matter most!

The Invisible God Made Visible

“By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

John 13:35

How do you make an invisible God visible?

What can you do to reveal who He is to others and, most importantly, how much He loves them?

The way that you and I make the invisible God visible to the world is by how we love one another.

Our love for one another does not reveal us as His disciples only to some.

Jesus said it will be known by everyone.

Is that happening?

Do others look at the church and, as they look, is the invisible God made visible?

“Not always”, you say?

Sadly, I would agree.

So what is the problem?

Is God wrong in what He said or are we failing to love one another with the genuine love of God?

 Yes, we both know the answer to that question!

Too often our love is manipulative, self-serving and only extended when it is convenient.

His love is perfect, genuine and seeks the blessing and welfare of others.

So how does His love in me grow?

Only through relationship! 

I must choose time with God over all the other things that compete for that time.

Sure, we need to go to work, we need time with our family, we even need ‘alone’ time.

But God should not be left out of any of those parts of our life.

Who knows; when you make time for God in each of these places; the invisible God might be made more visible to those at work, at home and in you!

Rejoicing in Hope

“There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. People will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

Luke 21:25-28

Some events in life are preceded by much activity.

The birth of a child, a wedding day, retirement; all are usually met with a certain amount of planning.

Most would agree that the pace of activity picks up closer to the date.

Just ask any new parent or recently married bride!

Labor pains increase in frequency and intensity just prior to birth.

The last few days before a wedding can make or break the ceremony.

Even in a manufacturing plant, as a department manager, I felt the cyclical pressure of month ending reports and efforts to get sales out the door.

I believe Jesus is returning soon.

He is making His bride ready.

So what should be our response to all that is happening around us?

There are many things we can be doing but one in particular was spoken of by Jesus.

He said to stand up and lift up your heads.

Excuse me if I take a bit of liberty with this verse but I believe as we draw nearer and nearer to Christ’s return we need to be standing and looking up.

We need to be resolute in our commitment and hopeful in our demeanor

It is certainly not a time to go into hiding or to become shrinking violets.

Let others see your hope as you look for His glorious appearing.

It is not a rejoicing in disaster or calamity.

Instead, it is a rejoicing in our soon and coming King!

Make yourself ready.

Stand, lift up your head and rejoice!

Because your day of redemption is coming near!

Caught by Surprise?

“I the Lord do not change…”

Malachi 3:6a

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”

Hebrews 13:8

Recently someone who has been praying with me concerning my employment shared something they felt God wanted me to know.

It was simply this: “You have not been this way before.”

I am in a place in my life and in my walk with God that is not familiar.

But while it may be an unfamiliar place to me it was, and is, I believe where God has me at this moment in time for His purposes.

How about you?

Have you ever faced something new or different in your life that caused you to wonder if God was in it and if He was where He was?

We were reminded this past Sunday of the verses printed above.

 You see, we may face circumstances, events, maybe even tragedies that we have not experienced before.

But that does not mean we are alone in them or that God has forgotten us.

God is eternal and unchangeable.

He had no beginning and will have no end.

We may struggle to comprehend that but it does not change the fact that it is true.

I can cast all of my care on Him with the confidence that, while the path I am walking right now is new to me it has not and will not take Him by surprise.

God is never caught by surprise!

I can commit my past, present and future to an unchangeable God.

How about you?

We Are Being Prepared for a Wedding

“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.”

Ephesians 5:25-27

We often give undue credit to the courser behaviors in our pop culture.

One example is a television show called “Bridezilla”.

It is an hour-long follow-along of a bride as she prepares for her wedding day.

But what is on display is anything but a chaste and gentle lady.

Instead you see a spoiled, often violent, profane woman who demeans everyone and everything (often including the groom) on the lead up to her big day.

The premise seems to be that since it is her day she can do anything she wants and others are expected to tolerate it.

What a contrast to the Bride being prepared for Christ.

In our verses today we read a description of the church, His bride.

 He will return for a bride without stain, wrinkle or blemish.

His bride will be holy and blameless.

He made her holy by giving Himself up for her.

As we discussed yesterday, it was part of the work done through the cross.

So what is our role?

We surrender to the sanctifying work, the purifying work of His Holy Spirit.

Left to our flesh, left to ourselves – the result is a ‘bridezilla” but…

His Holy Spirit, as He is allowed to work in us, is preparing His bride.

Have you surrendered to His work in you today?

No Shortcuts, No Secret Entrances

“Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain,

that is, his body,  and since we have a great priest over the house of God,

 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings,

having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience

and having our bodies washed with pure water.”

Hebrews 10: 19-22

Listen to the words of this song:

“Take me into the Holy of Holies

Take me in by the Blood of the Lamb

Take me into the Holy of Holies

Take the coal

Touch my lips

Here I am.”

We enter the Holy of Holies through the blood of the Lamb.

A way was made for us because of the work that was finished by Christ, the spotless Lamb of God, when He shed His sinless blood on the cross for whoever will receive it by faith.

There simply is no other way!

Not because I say so but because God says so.

Some may boldly proclaim an inclusive God who, in His love, has provided other entrances into fellowship with Him.

But it is in His love that He gave His one and only Son to die for us and then set Him high above all powers in heaven and on earth.

There is no other way into the Holy of Holies.

You need not look for shortcuts or ‘secret’ doorways.

 Entrance is available to you today.

Call out to Jesus Christ, repent of your sins,

confess Him as Lord and surrender your life to Him. 

Your response:

“I go to church every Sunday.

As a matter of fact, I go to a church like His Place, the same as you.”

His response to you:

See lines in bold print above!

It is not through church attendance or any other works.

 All your good intentions cannot make another way.

You know the cliche’-

“The road to hell is paved with good intentions.”

Move from intentions to action…

 Call out to Christ today.

Responding to a “Mary Moment”

“As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him.

She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said.

But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made.

 She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things,  but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Luke10:38-42

It’s not about the message.

It’s all about Him.

It’s not about the music.

It’s all about Him.

It’s not about the method.

It’s all about Him.

When we set out to worship Him alone and linger in His

presence we are strengthened, and we are changed.

There were probably many “Martha” services today – serving, but not sitting at His feet.

Don’t misunderstand; clearly there is a time to serve and a time to minister to others.

But when a “Mary moment” comes to the house we need to sit at His feet and listen.

Have you sat at His feet and listened lately?

We tell Him that we love Him and that is good.

Sometimes, though it is better to be still in His presence and hear Him say to you:

“I love you!”

He does you know.

And He longs to remind us of that.

But we are off in the kitchen preparing a meal or out and about running in a thousand different directions but none of them leading us to Him.

Won’t you take some time this week and sit at His feet and listen?

Nourishing Your Spirit

“Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.”

Psalm 34: 8

What does a steady diet of healthy foods from each of the four food groups provide?

Taken in proper portions and coupled with exercise it should

help to produce a healthy person.

The opposite of that would produce the old adage:

Garbage in = Garbage out

Yet sometimes we nourish our spiritual man on garbage all week long and somehow expect that in a moment of crisis the meager spiritual food we allow it on Sunday will strengthen us like Popeye eating spinach.

The Bible tells me to walk in the Spirit and I will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh.

Note that it is not stand in the Spirit, sit in the Spirit or relax in the Spirit.

 Instead it is the continual forward motion of walking.

In other words when I advance in the Spirit of God I am strengthened in a

way that keeps me from gratifying my flesh.

When I continue to live, move and have my being in the things of God that creates in me a greater desire for more of the things of God.

One gallon of gas might take my minivan 25 or 30 miles but it certainly will not keep me going much past that.

One meal a week on God’s word will not sustain me through all of the struggles, temptations and tests that come along the other six days.

This week try something different.

 Spend some time with God Monday through Saturday.

Maybe you can take what God speaks on Sunday and meditate on it the rest of the week.

Perhaps you can allow the Spirit of God to challenge you to apply

Sundays word Tuesday at work or Thursday at home?

See what a difference it will make in your life when you ‘taste and see…’ more than just once a week.

You Got Your Pound of Flesh, Now What?

 “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”

Ephesians 6:12

One of the most important lessons, and surely one of the most difficult, to learn as we grow from spiritual milk to spiritual meat is the one detailed in today’s scripture.

It is far easier, convenient and gratifying to our flesh to go after the person and not the spirit behind the action.

We become ‘meat eaters’ of a sort by ripping into someone else when the real issue is a spiritual one.

Our flesh walks away satisfied and contented but the truth is we did not get to the root of the issue at hand by attacking the person.

Jesus always got to the heart of the matter.

Whether it was recognizing the religious spirit behind the Scribes and Pharisees or the genuine faith expressed by the Centurion on behalf of his servant;

He was able to see past what was readily evident to the natural eyes and recognize the true spiritual condition.

If I want to ‘grow up and be like Jesus’ it is important that I begin to see and understand all that is going on around me with spiritual insight and discernment.

I must begin to see with spiritual eyes.

The scripture above does not deny that we are in a struggle.

It does redirect our focus from the natural to the spiritual implications of that struggle.

Do you want to grow and mature?

Then you will need to recognize the spiritual nature of the struggles going on around you!

The “T” Word

 “But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.”

Jude 20-21

Boy, if yesterday’s word was hard to receive by many how much more so is today’s?

Few topics are more controversial than ‘praying in the spirit’ or ‘praying in tongues’.

The “t” word!

 I know this is not a topic everyone may agree with.

In fact, many may disagree vehemently but I believe in the scriptural admonition to pray in the Holy Ghost and the building up of my spirit that that prayer can bring.

I can build myself up in my faith as I pray in the Holy Ghost.

Of course, this blog is not intended to be a bible study so we will not look at all the evidence and all the scriptures to support it.

But I do encourage you to look at this topic on your own.

We are looking at those things that move us from milk to meat in our walk with God. Certainly, mature believers have learned to encourage themselves in the Lord.

They have learned to use all that God has made available to do that.

That includes fellowship, worship, study of the word and prayer.

That prayer includes praying with understanding and praying in the spirit.

When I pray in the spirit my mind does not comprehend but my spirit is built up.

I don’t know about you but sometimes I don’t know how to pray as I should.

At those times I have learned to pray in the spirit

Some may reject that because they do not understand it.

 But how many have fully understood God before they believed in Him?

The answer is no one.

 Our understanding is limited.

The Eternal, Omniscient and All-Powerful Creator is not

Trust Him as you build yourself up in the faith, praying in the Holy Ghost!

The “D” Word

 “And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.”

Luke 2:52

“Discipline”; a word many love to hate.

After all, discipline takes all the spontaneity out of life, doesn’t it?

Not at all.

A disciplined life is not a boring life.

It is a life full of opportunities.

It is also a necessary ingredient in moving us from

spiritual babes to mature men and woman of God.

Listen to this definition of discipline:

“Training that develops self-control, character, or orderliness and efficiency.”

 From that definition it is safe to say that an undisciplined person

 lacks self-control and character and exhibits an inefficient life that is in disarray

Which would lead to maturity?

Of course, it is the disciplined life.

We need look no further than Jesus to realize the truth of that.

What we sometimes miss though is that Jesus was born as an

infant and had to learn discipline just as you and I do.

He was born the Son of God but that does not mean that he was born with some sort of a ‘divine silver spoon’ in his mouth.

Like any infant he would have been nursed on mothers’ milk but as a child and a young man he grew to be nourished on more substantial food.

Our verse for today speaks of Jesus growing and maturing.

That did not just ‘happen’ by the laying on of hands but through a disciplined life in which he cultivated a relationship with His heavenly Father

Good relationships don’t just happen – they are nourished.

Nourished and matured through disciplined lives!

“And In This Corner….!”

 “I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it.

 Indeed, you are still not ready.”

1 Corinthians 1:2

A wise trainer knows how much his fighter can handle.

He would not agree to be his trainer on Sunday and then on Monday schedule his new charge to fight for the World Heavyweight Title.

Even if the fighter were capable of holding his own in that match, the trainer has not had the time to learn that about him.

God is omniscient.

 God knows you better than you know yourself.

There is no better ‘trainer’ to have in your corner

Sometimes, you pray and ask God to put you in the ring to fight for the title.

Instead you find yourself sparring with opponents you thought were well below your capabilities.

Funny thing though, those opponents often win, and you discover something about yourself.

Do you know what that is?

You learn that God knows you better than you know yourself.

It was because of His mercy, that He did not answer your prayer to face the Goliath.

You just weren’t ready.

Instead, He gave you a bear and a lion to spar with first.

Often, when I was younger, and I got into trouble; my mother or father used to say

(maybe yours did too) that I had bitten off more than I could chew.

 Remember that expression?

I thought I was up to a task that I really wasn’t yet equipped for.

Spiritually, we need to progress from milk to solid food.

The next couple of days we will look at some things necessary in our lives in order for that to happen.

God has some Goliaths for you to take out in your future, but don’t miss the training that comes with the lions and the bears you currently face.

You are Cordially Invited to…

 “After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.”

Revelation 4:1

The heavens open, not only to pour out, but also to invite in.

As we have seen, an open heaven can mean provision and revelation.

 But we dare not miss this one today –

An open heaven can also be an invitation to “Come up here…”

What are your options when you receive an invitation?

Really, there are only three.

You can accept it, you can decline it or you can ignore it.

There are many, many reasons why we respond to an invitation in the manner that we do.

Sometimes we go out of our way to attend a wedding we are invited to and at other times we use every excuse in the book to decline the invitation to serve in Children’s ministry. But an invitation from the “…Alpha and the Omega…who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty”; do you really want to decline that invitation?

How should you respond then?

Let me suggest the same response we find in I Samuel 3:1,4,10,11

“The boy Samuel ministered before the Lord under Eli. In those days the word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions...”

“Then the Lord called Samuel. Samuel answered, “Here I am… ”

 “The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel! ”

Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”

And the Lord said to Samuel: “See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make the ears of everyone who hears about it tingle.”

Time and space do not permit a lengthy review but please note that Samuel, despite being a child, received an invitation from God to hear His voice and receive revelation.

Samuel had positioned himself (see verse 1) to receive and then accepted the invitation (see verse 10) from the Lord?

You are cordially invited…

Are you positioned to receive?

Are you prepared to accept the invitation from God?

Opened Heavens Bring Revelation

 “In my thirtieth year, in the fourth month on the fifth day, while I was among the exiles by the Kebar River, the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God.”

Ezekiel 1:1

Reviewing what we spoke of yesterday, we noted that when the heavens are opened over a person’s life one of the outcomes is provision. We saw how God opened the heavens over the Nation of Israel and rained down manna on them.

Today we discover that when the heavens opened over Ezekiel he saw visions of God.

Open heavens brought him revelation.

The heavens were rolled back for Isaiah as we read in chapter six of the book named for him. He saw the Lord, high and lifted up. In the book of Revelation, John was invited into heaven where many things were revealed to him.  

Heaven opened and revelation was received.

We have looked at two reasons why we should desire to position ourselves under an open heaven.

 Is that the cry of your heart?

To be under that open heaven when God’s provision and revelation is poured out?

Are you abiding in Christ?

 Are you positioned in Him to receive the blessing the Father wants to pour out?

Some might say, why?

Isn’t that selfish?

If you are truly abiding in Christ then when that provision and revelation is poured out you will not consume it on your own lusts, as the scriptures warn against, you will be seeking first His kingdom and using those resources to advance His purposes in the earth.

The Grain of Heaven

 “for they did not believe in God or trust in his deliverance.
 Yet he gave a command to the skies above and opened the doors of the heavens;
 he rained down manna for the people to eat, he gave them the grain of heaven.”

Psalm 78: 22-24

So what can you expect if God opens the doors of heaven above you?

We can see, from the passage above, that the provision for daily bread was rained down on Israel in the wilderness.

In other words, their essential need for food was met by God day after day for forty years.

I want you to note that the scripture tells us that the Israelites were not believing in God or trusting Him for their deliverance.

God will not abandon you, even when your faith abandons Him.

He opened heaven and rained down food for them.

The received the very ‘grain of heaven’.

Today, He continues to minister to multitudes including those who fail to believe or trust in Him.

In plenty they do not bless Him, but in scarcity they curse Him.

I pray that the open heavens which rain down Gods’ blessings on you do not go unrecognized in your life.

May you be quick to thank Him and praise Him regardless of what others may do.

May you not attribute the goodness of God simply to your own hard work.

 Give Him praise that is due His name!

In Turbulance, Trusting

 “This poor man called, and the Lord heard him;
    he saved him out of all his troubles.”

Psalm 34:6

They say it is always darkest just before the dawn.

The Bible tells us in the second half of verse five of Psalm 30 that:

“…weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.”

If you joined us on that plane ride in yesterday’s blog you recall that it was a very sunny day – at least above the clouds!

But that was not the case on the ground.

In our imaginary plane ride we needed to soar above the clouds to see the sunshine.

Usually, the only way to get above the clouds is by going through them.

That can mean a little turbulence.

Even for the routine air traveler, turbulence can be a bit unsettling.

Unless you are in the bumper cars at an amusement park, no one really enjoys a bumpy ride.

 This unease is magnified when you are a mile up in the air.

Sometimes you and I will experience clouds, darkness and weeping before we see the heavens opened above us.

In the same way that we surrender control of the flight to the pilot we can surrender control of our lives to God.

Once done, we trust them to bring us safely to our destination.

Though a human pilot may fail, for a host of reasons, our heavenly Father never will.

In turbulence trust Him!

Positioned to See

 “Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove.”

Mark 1:10

You’ve landed the coveted window seat.

You wedge yourself in between two armrests, convinced of how sardines must feel

As the DC-10 lifts off the runway you leave behind a dreary, rainy, cloud covered day in Rochester.

The overcast skies have given you an overcast mood complete with a grey outlook.

Moments later you are blinded by sunlight as the aircraft pierces through the thick layer of clouds.

Your frown is now a smile and you believe this day may just turn around for you.

What has changed?

Only your position.

On the ground there is still a massive front of clouds covering all of New York and most of Lake Ontario.

But you are not on the ground.

You are now above the clouds. 

It occurs to you that the sun never really disappeared, it was temporarily obscured

So it often is in our walk with God.

The heavens are opened over us but, unlike Jesus in the verse above, we are not positioned to see it.

We have allowed the clouds of despair and hopelessness to obscure the Son.

He didn’t suddenly disappear and forsake us, we simply moved out of the position of blessing and relationship that allows for intimate communication and understanding.

Even on the stormy sea, Jesus was never far away.

You may be under the clouds or in the midst of a storm.

Don’t let those circumstances move you from the position where the opened heavens can be seen.

 Examine your life today.

Are you positioned to see the heavens opened above you?

Take your queue from Jesus, the right place to be is in the Father’s will!

Under Construction

 “Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain.
Unless the Lord watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain.”

Psalm 127:1

Suppose we were given the opportunity to build Gods’ church?

I know, I know, He is the builder but let’s pretend for a moment that He turned the responsibility over to us.

How do you think we would do?

We would need resources to begin with so who would we pick to fund the work?

Would it consist of bankers, lawyers, professionals, only the rich and wealthy as benefactors?

Of course the church would have to be organized and efficient so we would need the best and brightest of academia as well as the Captains of Industry right?

Funny thing about His church, it has a long history, it is surviving and thriving with its best days yet to come.

And it has had that history because He is the architect and not us!

As a matter of fact, if He did leave it in our hands, we can certainly hold some wrong attitudes toward those God brings into our midst and one of those attitudes is this:

We can say, or act as if; we know best how to grow the church

Imagine if this is our thought process:

“Well we don’t need to grow in this way. We don’t need more single moms struggling to make it.

We need more businessmen, bankers, doctors and lawyers who can fund the work of God.”

How dare we tell God how to grow His church?

  He is asking us to learn to minister and learn to be kind and generous especially when those who come through our doors can offer little or nothing in return.

I suspect God may sometimes withhold those with resources until we can minister out of pure motives to whomever He brings into His house.

Am I saying we need to be perfect?

No!

But we do need to surrender the work to Him and let Him build His church

We work at His direction and not the other way around!

Dependence Day

“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

Yesterday we talked about gratefulness and not taking the blessings of the Lord for granted. Yesterday was also the day we celebrated Independence Day in the United States. While I am truly appreciative for this nation there is a greater freedom we can enjoy. The greatest freedom that can be ours is the freedom from sin that we can receive through faith in the work of Jesus Christ. Do you know Him? Do you have a ‘Freedom from sin day’ that you remember each year?  Do you know the day and place when and where you stopped fighting with God and asked Him to come into your life and wash away your sin? If you can’t mark a specific date on the calendar don’t let that stop you from saying thank you and recognizing how gracious and good the Lord has been to you. You see, for believers Thanksgiving Day is 365 days a year. We don’t celebrate Independence Day but rather ‘Dependence Day’ as we learn to daily trust in God and come to Him for all that we need. Perhaps if you cannot pinpoint a day you made the decision you can make Independence Day your Dependence Day and set the day aside to say: Lord, I thank you for giving me eternal life. I thank you for my daily provision and the very breath I breathe. Without you I am nothing but in you I find joy, peace, love and strength to make each day a day to say thank you and to remember your goodness!

I Thank God for His Good Gift(s)!

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”
James 1:17

The Bible tells us, as you can read above, that all good gifts come from God.

I received a very good gift when I married my wife.

Today (7/3 as I write this) is her birthday.

 I hope you don’t mind that I use this blog to thank God for His very good gift to me!

But also to remind us not to take for granted the blessings that are in our lives, whether those blessings are people, talents or treasures.

It is, unfortunately, so easy to neglect the gifts closest to our heart because we become so accustomed to them being there every time we need them

If you are married, this is especially true for husbands and wives.

I appreciate the sentiment behind this quote from Ronald Reagan and have edited it just a bit by replacing his wife Nancy’s name with my wife Wendy’s name:

“I think it's all too common in marriage that, no matter how much partners love each other, they don't thank each other enough. And I suppose I don't thank Wendy enough for all that she does for me. So, Wendy, in front of all your friends here today, let me say, thank you for all you do. Thank you for your love. And thank you for just being you.”

Would you take the time today to say thank you to God for someone or something you have taken for granted far too often?

Let us model the thankfulness of Christ to those around us by not neglecting the precious and good gifts He has given to us!

It’s Not Always Someone Else

“I will listen to what God the Lord says…”
Psalm 85:8a

Have you ever heard a message delivered on Sunday morning and thought to yourself -

“This really has no application in my life but boy could so-and-so afford to hear this! They are so messed up and so childish sometimes, I just don’t know why I bother calling them a friend. They should hear this today but they never will because they are just too bull headed”

We become so pre-occupied with everyone else’s faults that we effectively rule out the distant, remote, infinitesimally tiny, miniscule possibility that maybe; just maybe, we may need some corrective words or discipline in our own life.

Nah, couldn’t be

It really is them and not me.

I’m willing to admit my mistakes

But when it comes to sin, I always put on the brakes

You see I am mature and perfect in most every way

But them, they fall short day after day after day.

But,

The word brings instruction to one so proud.

Be careful when vanity causes boasting out loud.

Restore a brother gently when he falls down.

Lest you are overtaken too and look like a clown!

So what’s the point?

Don’t be so quick to point the finger at someone else.

God knew you would be there today to hear the message and, the last I knew, His word has great value to each and every one of us.

If you’ve heard the passage a hundred times, listen carefully to it the one hundred and first time and maybe, just maybe, God will have some pearl of wisdom hidden in the message just for you!