Hidden Treasure

Today's story is brought to you by the pastor of our church. It's actually a story HIDDEN INSIDE of another story. I think that's why I like it so much.

The story is found in the Book of Acts, the 20th chapter. Paul is going to be preaching, but then something happens.

"On the first day of the week we came together to break bread. Paul spoke to the people and, because he intended to leave the next day, kept on talking until midnight. ⁸There were many lamps in the upstairs room where we were meeting. ⁹Seated in a window was a young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on. When he was sound asleep, he fell to the ground from the third story and was picked up dead. ¹⁰Paul went down, threw himself on the young man and put his arms around him. “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “He’s alive!” ¹¹Then he went upstairs again and broke bread and ate. After talking until daylight, he left. ¹²The people took the young man home alive and were greatly comforted." - Acts 20:7-12

Are you ready to start digging? How can I encourage you to grab a shovel and begin? Well, how about if I tell you that the "hidden treasure" in this story.  . . is Jesus? There is no mention of His name, but the clues, the gold, is everywhere.

Verse 7 - "the first day of the week" - this is Sunday, the Lord's day.

Verse 7 - "we came together to break bread" - communion? fellowship? Jesus said, "I am the bread of life." - John 6:25

Verse 7 - "Paul spoke to the people" - what was Paul preaching? It was the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Verse 7 - "he intended to leave the next day" - Jesus preached HIS message right up to the day HE left too.

Verse 7 & 8 - "midnight" and "many lamps" - it was dark. We all were in darkness, until we "saw the light."

Verse 8 - "the upstairs room" - the kingdom of heaven? Where did Jesus hold The Last Supper? In an upper room.

Verse 9 - "Eutychus" - just a coincidence here, but the first and last syllables of Eutychus are pronounced YOU and US. seriously? In this story, Eutychus represents "you" and "us."

Verse 9 - "sinking into a deep sleep" - so will you and "us" sinking into a deep sleep (eternal death ie. hell) without Jesus.

Verse 9 - "picked up dead" - again, this is us without Jesus.

Verse 10 - "Paul went down" - and so did Jesus - from heaven to earth. Why? To save us. But I am getting ahead on myself.

Verse 10 - "He's alive!" - and so are we when we receive Christ. It is nothing we ourselves have done. It is Christ alone!

Verse 11 - "Then he went upstairs again" - and so did Jesus after His resurrection.

Verse 11 - "talking until daylight, he left" - this represents Jesus talking with his disciples for 40 days AFTER his resurrection. And then Jesus left.

Verse 12 - "The people took the young man home alive and were greatly comforted." - the rapture of the church? When Jesus and the heavenly host come to take US home?

This story is simply amazing, but it is only REALLY amazing if for those of us who have heard the story and been brought fully to life. If we don't hear the message, if we do not come to life, in Christ, we will fall into the outer darkness and truly die.

My prayer is that all of us would embrace this message, this gold that we have found, and embrace Jesus, just as Paul "fell on Eutycus" in verse 10.

Forgot that one.

The Very First Responder

There are two types of people in this world - those who see a need and do nothing, and those who actually make an effort and do something about it. Why the difference? What makes one person keep walking while the other one stops?

“A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. ³¹A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. ³²So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. ³³But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. ³⁴He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. ³⁵The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’

³⁶“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” - Luke 10:30-36

That, of course, was Jesus' parable of The Good Samaritan. But why didn't the other two men stop? They were both "religious." Shouldn't THEY have shown mercy? And that was exactly Jesus' point.

Let's fast forward to a present day hypothetical scenario. There is a shooting, or gang members are beating up a cop. Where are the good samaritans now? Everyone is videoing the event, but no one is DOING anything.

The term "first responder" is kind of a misnomer. We give the term to our police, firefighters, and paramedics. But really, the very FIRST responder is the one who called 9-1-1. Right?

"For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead." - James 2:26

In the parable, Jesus was showing the  differences in their hearts, not their social or religious position in life. Basically, the condition of the heart is more important than any social or religious standing.

I am a Christian, but if I do nothing with my faith, I myself am nothing. Dead. Just another bad example in this parable we call life.

This past Saturday, my wife noticed a neighbor's "tree branch" had fallen onto the road. When we ventured outside to move it we discovered it was more like half of the tree. I scurried back to the house and got my chainsaw. Soon it was all cut up and moved out of the way, the roadway cleared. Although cars went by as we were working, no one stopped to help the two old folks clearing their roadway for them.

My wife and I didn't really think anything about it. Neither of us filmed ourselves or took selfies together with the fallen tree. We saw a need, we took care of it, and returned to our home.

It's pretty simple, this Christian life we live. It's "Golden Rule" simple. The question is, how will WE respond?

In Memoriam

It's Memorial Day here in the US of A. What's everybody up to? Going to a veteran's memorial service? Driving back home from a big weekend up north?

I personally don't think we spend enough time honoring those who sacrificed their lives in order for us to be free. I wonder if our younger generation (those under 20) understands just what it means. They have no idea what war is like.

The last US war ended in 2021 - Afghanistan. You remember that hideous withdrawl, right? 13 US soldiers died that day. Here are their names.

Marine Corps Lance Cpl. David L. Espinoza, 20, of Rio Bravo, Texas

Marine Corps Sgt. Nicole L. Gee, 23, of Sacramento, Calif.

Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Darin T. Hoover, 31, of Salt Lake City, Utah

Army Staff Sgt. Ryan C. Knauss, 23, of Corryton, Tenn.

Marine Corps Cpl. Hunter Lopez, 22, of Indio, Calif.

Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Rylee J. McCollum, 20, of Jackson, Wyo.

Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Dylan R. Merola, 20, of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.

Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Kareem M. Nikoui, 20, of Norco, Calif.

Marine Corps Sgt. Johanny Rosario Pichardo, 25, of Lawrence, Mass.

Marine Corps Cpl. Humberto A. Sanchez, 22, of Logansport, Ind.

Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Jared M. Schmitz, 20, of St. Charles, Mo.

Navy Hospital Corpsman Maxton W. Soviak, 22, of Berlin Heights, Ohio

Marine Corps Cpl. Daegan W. Page, 23, of Omaha, Neb.

I know that other soldiers have died serving our country since these 13 perished in Afghanistan but these 13 came to mind for me. And look at their ages. All but one of them were in their 20's. Most of them in their EARLY 20's.

They were strong and courageous. I do not know if any of them knew The Lord. I hope they did. But this Psalm is for them regardless:

"Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle; he is my steadfast love and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield and he in whom I take refuge, who subdues peoples under me." - Psalm 144:1-2

May this Memorial Day be one of rememberance and honor for the fallen heroes of our country. And may there be no more names added to the list of the dead.

Thank you for your service and your sacrifice, and may the Lord above guard the hearts of their families and friends . . . today and always.

Choose Wisely

“As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a whole heart and a willing mind; for the Lord searches all hearts, and understands every intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever." - 1 Chronicles 28:9

That was King David, giving advice to his son. But it is also something we ALL need to remember as we go through this life.

There is a huge difference between BELIEVING in God and KNOWING God. Choose the latter. Remember, Solomon requested knowledge when God gave him a choice of whatever he wanted. It was a wise choice, and God told him so. Still Solomon eventually ignored the knowledge he had gained about the One True God and turned after other gods through his foreign wives.

We face many decisions in life. Which will we choose? God-honoring choices? Or what WE want?

Read the last sentence of that verse above and let it sink in for a moment. Forever is a long time.

For most of my life I chose the things that I wanted, not what God wanted. Poor choices have a way of haunting us for the rest of our lives. Godly choices come without regret. 

Do you remember the old knight from Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade? He gave some good advice.

"You must choose. But choose wisely. For as the true grail will give you life, the false grail will take it from you."

The life of a Christian is one of obedience to God's will. We must choose wisely in our decisions and actions. Jesus followed the will of God, The Father. Shouldn't we?

"For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me." - John 6:38

Look at two of the biggest issues of our day - abortion and sexual dysphoria. What side is God on? What is His will? Search the scriptures and you will find the answers.

"¹⁶There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him: ¹⁷haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood . . ." - Proverbs 6:16-17

Is there anything more innocent than a baby?

"You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination." - Leviticus 18:22

Need I say more? There are churches who "afirm" gay marriages and relationships. They have made an unwise decision in the eyes of God.

Jesus spoke about men simply looking at a woman with lust. He called it adultery of the heart.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ ²⁸But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart." - Matthew 5:27-28

Our decisions can have eternal consequences. Let us choose wisely, for the eyes of God are upon us.

Choose Wisely - Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade

Zion

The Bible is amazing! It has been preserved for our reading today for thousands of years. Scholars have studied it. Entire nations have built their foundations on its laws and precepts. And still, new things are being revealed from the scriptures. 

Today, I listened to a song by Aaron Shust. I've listened to his songs for many years and have seen him in concert a few times. Yet somehow this song has eluded me. Until today.

As you can tell by the title, the song is about Israel. It's actually about God's promise to return them to the land he promised them on oath.

"The whole land of Canaan, where you now reside as a foreigner, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God.” - Genesis 17:8

What I really love about this song is that every word, every line, is scripture. Somehow, Aaron captured a variety of verses and formed them into a beautiful song, honoring God and His people, Israel.

What if we did that with our own lives? Speaking or writing ONLY using God's Word. That might be tough. Try it sometime. It's harder than you think.

Although, as I wrote those words, I realized that there IS a time when we can easily speak in verses. 

When we pray . . .

"Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name . . ."

See? These verses also come ro mind . . .

"Gracious Lord, you are my Shepherd. I shall not want. You make me lie down in green pastures, you lead me beside still waters, you restore my soul."

"Who am Lord I that you are mindful of me? That you should care about me?"

"Into your hands I commit my spirit, Lord."

"You are the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, beginning and the end."

"Amen."

I guess it's not so hard after all. Now, let's try Hebrew. Lol!

"Adonai elohenu. Adonai echad. Shema Israel."

Zion - Aaron Shust

What's In A Name?

Early Saturday morning I awoke at 1 AM. I got up, went to the bathroom, and returned to bed. However, I was not able to get back to sleep. The name of someone from the Bible kept repeating itself in my head.

Eliehoenai, Eliehoenai . . .

Who the heck is Eliehoenai anyway? I finally dozed off, hoping not to forget this guy's name until morning so I could look it up. Here's what I found.

Eliehoenai was man's name from the Old Testament. He was a Korahite, and a returning exhile. He was a descendant of David, and both a Simeonite and a Benjamite. He was also a priest of the Lord.

But the cool thing about the name Eliehoenai is in it's meaning. 'El' means 'God' and 'ehoenai' means  'towards Jehovah (are) my eyes.' Basically, it means 'my eyes are on God.' What a cool name!

AND, it is a great reminder for all of us. No matter what situation we find ourselves in, we should always 'Eliehoenai' - look to God.

What does YOUR name mean? My name is Bob, or Robert. It means 'fame, bright, glory, honor, praise, renown, shining, light.' I was named after Robert the Bruce, king of Scotland.

Do our names, given at birth say anything about who we are . . . who we become? What about Jesus?

The name Jesus means 'Yahweh saves' or 'Yahweh is salvation.'

Perfect.

"²⁰Behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him (Joseph) in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. ²¹She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” - Matthew 1:20-21

Perfect.

Nephilim

If you open up your Bible app and search for the word 'nephilim' you will get two scripture references - Genesis 6:4 and Numbers 13:33. First, a definition . . .

Nephilim were the offspring of fallen angels mating with human women. With that in mind, we read . . .

"The Nephilim were on the earth in those days - and also afterward - when the sons of God (Bene HaElohim - i.e. angels) went to the daughters of humans and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown." - Genesis 6:4

The other nephilim Bible reference is in the Book of Numbers. Moses sent spies into the land of Canaan to see what was there before they entered in to it. The spies came back with a report.

"We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.” - Numbers 13-33

They were giants, and strong.

I watched a video by Chuck Missler recently that seemed interesting. He was teaching on Genesis 6, saying . . .

"Unless you understand Genesis 6 you will not understand much of the Old Testament, much of the New, and certainly have a prophetic blind spot."

Okay, I'm listening.

At the 11:20 mark he says this: "there was a gene pool problem," intimating that the fallen angels producing offspring (nephilim) was part of the reason for the flood. 

God starts talking with Noah about bringing a flood on the earth in Genesis 6:9 - just a few verses after Moses wrote about the nephilim.

My question is this: If the flood wiped out every human on earth, other than Noah and his family, how could there be "descendants of Anak" in Numbers 13?

Aha! An error in the Bible!!

Let's stay calm and think abput this for a minute. Angels are eternal beings, right?Yes. Even fallen ones? Yes. Were the fallen angels, including Satan, alive after the flood? Yes. So, what prevented the fallen angels from coming to earth after the flood and having sons by "the daughters of humans" then. Nothing. End of controversy.

The nephilim are fascinating creatures. Goliath was a giant. Did he have a fallen angel in his lineage? Unknown. But it wouldn't surprise me. What do YOU think?

Golden

"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." - Matthew 7:12

That's The Golden Rule. And that was Jesus speaking, part of the Trinity that Christians worship. I had enough English in school to recognize that that verse is also A COMMAND. It is not a suggestion.

So, how are we doing with that? As a people, and as a nation, as a church, and as individuals? We are failing. We are not following Christ.

That's a problem. That's a REAL big problem. Especially in light of THIS verse. Again, it is Jesus speaking.

"Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say?" - Luke 6:46

He's asking us WHY we are not following His commands. What will our answer be?

“³¹When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. ³²All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats." - Matthew 25:31-32

Trust me, you not NOT want to be one of the "goats".

It seems rather simple on the surface. Follow the commands of Jesus and all will be well with you. Yet somehow none of us can do it. We have all disobeyed God.

Our only hope is repentance, and God's saving grace. And his merciful forgiveness for those who love Him.

In the meantime though, we must keep trying. Our reward is not in THIS life, although God DOES bless us here. The real "payoff" comes later . . .

"³And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. ⁴He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” - Revelation 21:3-4

Come, Lord Jesus!

Shine

Have you seen it? Sure you have. It happens every spring. Life from lifelessness. In our yard it's the tulips and hydrangeas. I mean, there was nothing there when the snow melted. Then somehow, seemingly overnight, green shoots rose up from the ground.

And it's not just plants. It's trees. It's the spring peepers in the local swamp. It's the birds singing in the tops of the trees. It's a time of renewal and refreshing.

How does all of this happen? Does the dandelion "know" when it is time to burst forth from the ground? Do geese "know" when it is time to fly north? Do we "know" when it is time to put the snowblower in the shed?

Jesus spoke about this cyclical pattern when referencing his own death.

"Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds." - Matthew 12:24

And this . . .

"He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. ³²Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.”" - Matthew 13:31-32

This pattern of birth, growth, reproduction, and death is prevalent in every living thing. It can be seen in the changing seasons as we go through each year. It is truly a miracle. A cyclical miracle of God's creation.

This same pattern is also visible in our faith, or so it seems. When we become born again, our faith is new. There is tremendous growth. It is abundant and flourishes. Then, we begin to fade. We've lost that 'fire' for Jesus. Our faith grows dormant and sadly, for some, it dies. But God . . .

Oh yes! But God, indeed!! God provided a way to break this endless cycle by eliminating death and replacing it with eternal life. 

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." - John 3:16

As we go through this earthly life, let us shine brightly for all to see. To make visible just what God has done on our hearts.

"I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh." - Ezekiel 36:26

Here's a few of the lyrics from a song by the Newsboys:

Shine

Let it shine before all men

Let 'em see good works and then

Let 'em glorify the Lord

A 10-minute message from Peter Furler of the Newsboys . . .

Shine Sermon - Newsboys

Are We Obedient?

"At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon during the night in a dream." - 1 Kings 3:5

This, and many other verses in the Bible, testify to the fact that God speaks to people in their dreams. Well, here's an interesting little story for ya.

Early Thursday morning, I awoke with a sudden desire to go visit "Uncle John", if you catch my drift. After taking care of that distraction, I tried to get back to sleep in my living room chair but failed.

I finally succeeded in The Chair, but for some reason I was still incredibly exhausted. And, upon hearing my wife stirring in the next room, I headed off to the spare bedroom to hopefully continue catching up on my lost sleep. That's when I had a dream.

I was in a sparsely decorated room with two other people. One was a man, about 15 feet away, setting up some lighting equipment off to the right.

He asked, "So, what was your biggest takeaway from your association with the PDGA?"

[PDGA = Professional Disc Golf Association. Yes, I was a member. Yes, I made money playing disc golf.]

I answered, "Probably my PDGA number - #1127. That's pretty low. But all that means is that I am pretty old."

Then I turned to my left and there was a woman sitting across the table from me. It was Jacqui Heinrich - Fox News' White House correspondent.

What?! Yeah. I have no idea. Anway, she looked troubled and asked, "How do you find the balance between what you do and your personal life?"

Odd questioon, but I smiled and said, "You are an answer to prayer." I continued . . .

"I am a Christian. I follow Jesus. He is my example and my Savior. His life is an example to me of sacrifice and devotion.

I look at MY earthly life. My relationships - my wife, my kids, my friends - and I wonder, do I sacrifice myself for them? I certainly hope so."

And that was the end of my dream.

I have no idea who the guy was nor why Mrs. Heinrich was there. However, it was her question that was my answer to prayer. It was an opportunity to share my faith with others.

I told this whole dream to my wife who pondered it along with me. I told her that in OUR relationship I have tried to sacrifice my own selfish desires and serve her and others FIRST.

Later that same morning, my wife walked into my office as I was reading 1st Kings (The verse above). She kissed me twice and told me that she loved me. That usually doesn't happen.

So, is that it?  Is that all that came out of this dream?

I continued with my day until 3:00, when I turned on the TV. There was an ad playing for some vitamin supplement. I never really noticed this guy's name before but today, after that dream, his name caught my attention. "Heinrich." As in Jacqui Heinrich? Hmm.

"Okay. What's going on here?

So, I went on Facebook, found Jacqui Heinrich's Facebook page, and sent her a message. It was short and to the point and included this verse:

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight." - Proverbs 3:5-6

I then continued . . .

I am not aware of your relationship status or your faith. I just felt like I should send you this message.

Thanks for reading this. If this is from God, it will find you. May God bless you and guide you.

I have no idea if this whole thing was from God or not, but one thing I DO know, and that is I want to be faithful and obedient.

The message is in her inbox. The rest is up to God and His Holy Spirit.

Are we always obedient to God's leading? I don't think so. We miss many opportunities to witness to someone, or to pray for someone, WITH that person.

We must continue to be bold. Time is getting short.

Like I said, I don't know whether or not this dream was from God, or what it meant. But I DID get two kisses and a hug from my wife so if that's all that comes from this, it was worth it. 🙂

Believing Is Seeing

The Matrix was on TV last night. Even by watching just a few minutes of it, I was reminded just how true it is when Morpheus says, "You've been living in a dream world."

And so have those who have not received Christ yet. When we place our faith in Jesus, and receive the Holy Spirit, we become changed. A friend of mine describes it this way:

"Since placing my faith in Jesus, I see things differently. It's like being in the shower. Once you've been washed clean by the shed blood of Jesus, you pull back that curtain, and you see everything differently than you did before."

Ain't that the truth!

The sad thing though is that people we love just can't see and feel the same things that we do. And that hurts. Why? Because we are destined for different places after we die.

One could focus on that alone and remain depressed for the rest of this earthly life, but that's not what God wants us to do. Read this:

"See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. ²Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is." - 1 John 3:1-2

[1st John is a great book. It's short and to the point, and if you look closely as you read, you can discover a checklist of sorts to determine whether or not you are truly saved.]

But let's get back to our topic. "You don't know what you don't know." Our pastor used that phrase on Sunday. It stresses the importance of reading The Bible.

We can say that we believe in God, but then we come across verses that test our beliefs. For example . . .

"You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe - and tremble!" - James 2:19

James was saying that there HAS to be more to our faith than simply "believing" in God. There must also be evidence of that belief in the things we say and do.

In the very next verse, James tells us that " faith without works is dead." He then goes on to say . . .

"For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also." - James 2:26

What James is getting at is this: What do we do with your faith? Do we go to church and that's it? Do we put money in the tithe box and say "look how much I have given?"

The Apostle Paul said, "Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ." - 1 Corinthians 11:1

And what did Paul do? He preached the Gospel everywhere he went. How are WE doing with that?

Two Are Better Than One

One more disc golf related story for you this morning. When we go disc golfing, do we head out to the course with only one disc? No! Why not? Well, it's because discs vary. Some are heavier than others. Some are more stable, some less so. They fly differently. They ALL have different uses.

And that's just the discs we use. What about going disc golfing by ourselves. Is that preferred, or is it better to have someone with you?

I am old. My eyesight is failing, my back and my knees are cramping my game. Literally. Yet I still go play once or twice each week. Would it be better if someone went with me? Maybe. Probably. Yes!

We had a clean up event at our local course. We threw a round, picking up sticks as we went. On the last hole I was making my approach shot. The fairway slopes down towards the basket and is strewn with rocks. The footing was awkward and I fell.

"Are you alright?" my playing partner asked. Thankfully I was. But what if I wasn't. How long would I have been lying out there with a broken hip until someone found me? If I would have lost a disc, would I find it quicker by myself, or with someone helping me search?

Also, while we were playing that day, the friend I was playing with confided in me that one of his relatives was struggling in his marriage. I have since included the troubled couple in my prayers. Two ARE better than one.

"⁹Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor:

¹⁰If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.

¹¹Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone?

¹²Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken." - Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

And here's something worthy of note. This passage of scripture speaks about TWO being better than one. Up until the last verse when it says, "a cord of THREE strands is not quickly broken." WHO is that third strand?

Who do you think?

"Triples" anyone?

God's Provision

I'm sitting on a bench behind the #6 tee pad at my local disc golf course, known as The WEDGE. This place is where I often go to spend time with God. Like this morning . . .

When I think about this course in particular I think about the man who first put it in. His name Is Neil and he worked many hours to build this place. My friend Neil is a believer, and he goes to my church.

I was out here the other day with another man who was helping me clean up all of the fairways. He is my friend Devin. He too is a believer. He also goes to my church, and has been a great help.

There are two other courses in our area. Two other men helped put those in. One was a mentor of the other - a teenage boy. The mentor is my friend Alex. Alex is a believer. Are you sensing a pattern yet?

All of us men love disc golf, but we also love the Lord. More.

I sit here in awe, contemplating just how much the Lord has provided in this place. I work out here every week. And how did I get permission to create new holes, to put in baskets, and tee pads? I got permission from the high school grounds guy. That's my friend Matt. And he too is a believer in Jesus.

Oh yeah, speaking of sitting on the bench. My friend David helped assemble many of them. Dave is also a believer. We met at a disc golf tournament.

God has truly provided everything on this disc golf course. He has provided inspiration, friendship, and opportunity to reach others with the Gospel. How can we NOT praise Him!

"But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." - Matthew 6:33

"And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus." - Philippians 4:19