Top Ten List

Here are today's Top Ten reasons that you should become a Christian (or be grateful that you ARE one):

#10 - Hope - "But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." - Isaiah 40:31

#9 - Love - "And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them." - 1 John 4:16

#8 - New family - "For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” - Matthew 12:50

#7 - Sins forgiven and forgotten - "As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us." - Psalm 103:12

#6 - The Holy Spirit - "And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." - Acts 2:38

#5 - Heaven - "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him." - John 3:36

#4 - Peace. No war - "He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore." - Isaiah 2:4

#3 - Glorified body - "The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body" - 1 Corinthians 15:42-44

#2 - No darkness - "This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all." - 1 John 1:5

And the #1 reason for becoming a Christian . . . Jesus!!

"If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." - Romans 10:9

This was a fun little Bible study, but these are just ten reasons that I came up with. There are more. What are your top ten reasons to believe?

The Parable of The Stairs

There was a time when we could run up and down the stairs with great ease. Two steps at a time! We had tremendous energy. These days however, going down the stairs can be a dangerous thing!

Stairs go up and stairs go down. Stairs are designed to get us from one level to another. The choice is up to us which way we want to go.

Until this year my wife and I had just one step to get up into our house. This year I added a single step to make our journey easier and safer. Our old knees just aren't what they used to be.

We humans like things easy. In addition to plain old stairs we also have ramps, escalators, elevators and lifts. They all accomplish the same thing - getting us from one place to another, up or down.

Our faith journeys involve similar stairways. Each comes with an accompanying decisions. Are we going to go up, or down? Will our journey be difficult of easy? The choice is ours.

He's a little tip from someone who has gone up and down stairs his entire life. Going up the staircase is more difficult than going down, but the view from the top is fantastic.

You know, by choosing Jesus to be lord of your life, you can instantly get from one level to another. You can change levels by not choosing Christ too, but the view!

Choosing Christ is like coming out of a dark basement, into the light. Not choosing Christ is like . . . well, it's like doing down and endless flight of stairs into a darker and darker world. We DO have a choice however. Let's go UP!!

Post-Christmas Blues?

It is now a couple days after Christmas. Things have pretty much gotten back to normal. And that, I think, is part of our problem.

Think back to the time of Jesus' birth. The shepherds most likely went back to tending their sheep. The wise me went back home. So did the angels. Even Mary and Joseph went back to a slightly normal life - life with  baby. But Jesus was new. And it was His "newness" that gave hope to the entire world.

We all lead pretty normal lives, by the world's standards. We go to school or to work. We eat breakfast, lunch and dinner. It's easy to settle back into a pre-Christmas routine. But Jesus breaks the mold of traditional thinking and sameness and challenges us to think.

There are basically two different types of people in the world. hose who have encountered Jesus and those who have not. Have YOU been changed?

Here's an example of someone who was changed in a flash. Literally.

"As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. 4 Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?”

5 And he said, “Who are You, Lord?”

Then the Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. [a]It is hard for you to kick against the goads.”

6 So he, trembling and astonished, said, “Lord, what do You want me to do?”

Then the Lord said to him, “Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” - Acts 9:3-6

Paul became changed. He was one man, then he met Jesus and he became changed. Have we had that life-changing encounter with Christ yet? Or are we still the same? Still following the pattern of "The World?" Make a change. Get off the bus.

Can't Sleep?

Some people have trouble falling asleep at night. Not me. My problem is waking up in the middle of the night THEN trying to get back to sleep. How about you? What keeps you up at night?

For me, once my mind gets going at two or three AM, it's hard to shut it off. I find myself thinking about one thing after another. Next thing you know an hour has gone by. How about you? Do you find yourself awake at night when you really don't want to be? What do YOU do?

Sometime during my nocturnal awake time I invariably ask myself. "What are you doing? What are you thinking about? It's 3AM!" The keyword is "focus".

That's when I pray - to get my mind off things of this world and re-focused on things above.

"Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things." - Colossians 3:1-2

When I begin praying about the people in my life or the thankfulness I have for all that God has done, I find that my singular focus calms me and reigns in my brain to the point where God alone is in my head. That is a wonderful place to be. And that's where it should be.

Dreaming of Eden - Skillet

Why?

Joelle 2010

Why is my heart so heavy? Why do I lie awake at night seeking answers to unanswerable questions? Asking "Why?" seems to be part of who I am. Why? Well, there IS a reason.

The answer to THIS unanswerable question is found in two places - the Gospel of Matthew and in a tree. Yes, a tree.

First, from Matthew . . .

"The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me." - Matthew 26:11

Why would Jesus tell His disciples that the poor would always be with them? An unanswerable question? Perhaps. Let's learn something about trees before we answer that question.

Did you know that trees need to struggle in order to help them grow? It's true. Wind blowing against a tree causes it to produce some tougher, "structural" wood that helps it stand up against external forces.

The University of Arizona created and enclosed bionic environment to study plant growth. They had trees in their special enclosure but the trees never reached maturity. They fell over because they structurally could not hold themselves up. They collapsed under their own weight. They needed a struggle in order to grow strong.

Back to the poor in Jesus' statement. "The poor you will always have with you," Jesus said. Why? Here's another question we must answer first. Was Jesus talking about the financially poor? Or the spiritually poor. I think it was the latter.

Basically, what Jesus was saying is "The poor in spirit you will always have with you." There will always be a need for people to come to faith in Christ. Why? So that WE can grow!

Are you a child of God? If you are then you are the person God wants to use to speak to others about Jesus. Is there someone in your life right now who is spiritually poor? Is someone experiencing a storm right now and encountering high winds? Are they in danger of collapsing?

Jesus is the answer to all of the questions the world is screaming for answers to. We know what the answer is. OUR "why" question from Jesus is "Why aren't you telling people about me?"

Oh, the kid in the picture. Her name is Joelle. She is the sister of Chere, the 20-year old kid I told you about last week who was murdered. Joelle is experiencing a storm in her life right now. She has been missing for five days. Please pray for this young soul, that God would place a Christ follower into her life. That she would come to know Christ - our strength and our hope.

Joelle present day

Only Jesus - Casting Crowns
The Role Of Wind In A Tree's Life

Take Me Home Tonight

I have been walking around for the past two weeks with a song in my head - a hymn - Christ The Lord Is Risen Today. That's understandable I guess. It was Resurrection Sunday not that long ago. But this morning's wake-up song was different. Eddie Money's Take Me Home Tonight. What in the world?

The chorus of the song was playing on repeat in my head so I got up. I didn't want to wake my wife.  LOL! There were a few lines from the song's chorus that got my attention though so I wrote this short story to record them.

Take me home tonight
I don't want to let you go till you see the light
Take me home tonight
Listen honey
Just like Ronnie sang
Be my little baby

"Take me home tonight". Think about that for a moment. Isn't that every Christian's prayer? That Jesus would return tonight and take us home? You betcha!

The second line of the chorus is also interesting if you consider, what if it was sung by The Holy Spirit? "I don't want to let you go till you see The Light." Yes!

And then the last line, "Be my little baby." What was that that Jesus told us in Matthew 18 . . .

"And he said: "Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." - Matthew 18:3

And then again in Matthew 19 . . .

"Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." - Matthew 19:14

Are YOU ready for the Lord to return and take us home tonight? Do you and I have the faith of a little child?

Christ the Lord Is Risen Today - Charles Wesley
Take Me Home Tonight - Eddie Money

Christmas Letter 2017

The beginning of "the Christmas letter" is always an enjoyable time for me. It is a time of reflection and praise as I look back on the year's events. "The reason for the season" always seems to get lost in the hustle and bustle of Christmas shopping and holiday traffic. It shouldn't be that way.

When spring arrived this year so did the reasons for praising God - the One and Only reason for the season. In April I began building a tiny home for Him - a future shelter for area homeless. This is what the tiny home looked like at the end of April . . . two days before my near head-on, roll-over, 60-mph car accident.

The accident was a blessing in many ways. First, the air bags did their job and I was able to climb out of the car. Two days later I was back at work, praising God for His protection. This was my car the day after.

July was a good month. Bev and I celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary by taking a trip to Mackinac Island. We love that place. This year we had an amazing conversation about our faith with the chef at our B&B - Rosie. What an amazing lady.

And speaking of amazing ladies, Miss Emma Elaine was born to our daughter and her husband on July 4th. What a precious gift SHE is!

As I reflect on all of these events in our lives this past year it occurs to me that, when added together, they represent The Gospel of our Lord, Jesus Christ, our Messiah.

In the tiny home we see an example of us humans trying to build our lives on our own, without the help of God. In the end, doing things on our own leads to death (the car accident). We need someone to rescue us. If we place our faith and trust in Jesus (the bridegroom) we can have a successful marriage lasting far longer than just 40 years. It is through our belief that God forgives ALL of our sins that we become born (Emma) . . . again.

And that is why we celebrate the birth of Jesus. He was born, to die for us so that we might live.

^"17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! ¹⁸ All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: ¹⁹ that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. ²⁰ We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. ²¹ God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." - 2 Corinthians 5:17-21

May God bless you all this Christmas. May you draw closer to God this year than you have ever been. May Jesus be born in you and may you play your drum for Him every day of your lives. Love you all!

Be Born In Me - Francesca Battistelli
Little Drummer Boy - For King and Country

Do Not Be Afraid

I watched the news like everyone else did. The stories coming at us through the television screen hurt deeply. There was disbelief. I could almost hear the cry of the atheists, "How could a loving God allow this to happen?"

The evil that exists in our world is very real, very frightening and is seemingly everywhere. So how do we make it through each day? How do we manage to stay sane when the world around us seems to be going crazy? Let's explore that, my friends, with a few Bible verses. First is this . . .

"4 Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God." - 2 Corinthians 4:4

Satan controls this world and the people who do not know God. Remember that, ALWAYS, as you watch the news. Satan is doing this stuff! And now, one more chunk of scripture to absorb into our minds and into our hearts. A prayer offered by Jehoshaphat as they were about to be attacked by three armies all at once. The people of Jerusalem gathered together at the temple and Jehoshaphat prayed this prayer.

"5 Jehoshaphat stood before the community of Judah and Jerusalem in front of the new courtyard at the Temple of the Lord. 6 He prayed, “O Lord, God of our ancestors, you alone are the God who is in heaven. You are ruler of all the kingdoms of the earth. You are powerful and mighty; no one can stand against you! 7 O our God, did you not drive out those who lived in this land when your people Israel arrived? And did you not give this land forever to the descendants of your friend Abraham? 8 Your people settled here and built this Temple to honor your name. 9 They said, ‘Whenever we are faced with any calamity such as war, plague, or famine, we can come to stand in your presence before this Temple where your name is honored. We can cry out to you to save us, and you will hear us and rescue us.’

10 “And now see what the armies of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir are doing. You would not let our ancestors invade those nations when Israel left Egypt, so they went around them and did not destroy them. 11 Now see how they reward us! For they have come to throw us out of your land, which you gave us as an inheritance. 12 O our God, won’t you stop them? We are powerless against this mighty army that is about to attack us. We do not know what to do, but we are looking to you for help.” - 2 Chronicles 20:5-12

That certainly sounds like a prayer that we might offer up to God these days. Did you catch the line in verse five that said "the community of Judah and Jerusalem?" The entire nation of Israel came and prayed! When was the last time we as a nation did something like that? 9/11? This is how God responded as He spoke through one of the men standing there - Jahaziel.

"15 He said, “Listen, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem! Listen, King Jehoshaphat! This is what the Lord says: Do not be afraid! Don’t be discouraged by this mighty army, for the battle is not yours, but God’s. 16 Tomorrow, march out against them. You will find them coming up through the ascent of Ziz at the end of the valley that opens into the wilderness of Jeruel. 17 But you will not even need to fight. Take your positions; then stand still and watch the Lord’s victory. He is with you, O people of Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid or discouraged. Go out against them tomorrow, for the Lord is with you!” - 2 Chronicles 20:15-17

The nation prayed, God answered, and then God delivered.

"24 So when the army of Judah arrived at the lookout point in the wilderness, all they saw were dead bodies lying on the ground as far as they could see. Not a single one of the enemy had escaped." - 2 Chronicles 20:24

The solution to the world's problems can be found in this story. It can be found throughout the Bible!

14 “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.  2 In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.  3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.  4 And where I go you know, and the way you know.”

5 Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?”

6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." - John 14:1-6

The lesson brought forth in this story is one that needs to be remembered and preached to the world today. When people talk about ISIS and they talk about terrorism, explain to them the ways of the Lord. Tell them about the safety and shelter they will find in the arms of Christ. That knowledge, that saving faith, is something this world desperately needs to know.

Jehoshaphat

The Road Less Traveled

So many things from our high school days get forgotten. At age 62 I have probably forgotten more things than I ever learned in my life but I do remember SOME things. Like high school English class when we had to read poems. That sucked. I remember that! But I do remember this one poem. I have always loved the last three lines of it. You've probably heard them. The words are a kind of a guide for my life but I wasn't sure why until today. Please read this wonderful American poem with me.

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

- Robert Frost

Do you tend to take the road less traveled? Do you tend to make choices CONTRARY to public opinion simply because you prefer not blending in with the crowd? Or going along with the flow. Do you do that? Perhaps that is why movies like Robin Hood, Hunger Games and Divergent appeal to me so much. The underdog, the rebel, the non-conformist . . . that's me.

I'd like you to read something else if you would. It's from another piece of literature penned long ago. See if you can see any similarities between these two writings you have read today.

"13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." - Matthew 7:13-14

It seems to me that "the road less traveled" these days is the one that leads to Jesus. Same-sex marriages are now the law of the land, the Ten Commandments are being removed from a court house by Oklahoma's Supreme Court. The road just keeps getting narrower and narrower.

Many people I know have left the narrow road in favor of the one their friends are walking on. They would rather be with the majority. They would rather fit in. Why? I think it's because they are afraid. Afraid of being left alone. Afraid that no one will love them. Afraid they will be picked on because they're different. Sad.

Have you seen the movie Divergent? I watched it this past weekend. It's about futuristic society where everyone has a role. Everyone must fit into that role or they are destroyed. The people who don't fit in are called "divergents." They are the ones who choose the road less traveled.

Do you like to fit in with the crowd? Even if the crowd might be wrong?

The world we live in now embraces that which once was considered abnormal. We kill our children at the rate of 125,000 each day. We have passed laws legalizing suicide. We embrace same-sex relationships contrary to God's decrees. The younger generation has determined that sex before marriage is normal, expected, and so they are having babies out of wedlock. What once was, is no more. And what was narrow, is now wide.

To be a Christ follower in today's world is becoming increasingly difficult. In the coming days we will be persecuted, shunned in society because of our beliefs. We will be the strange ones, the oddity in society. In the eyes of the secular world we will become divergent. Check that. Guess what. We already are.

"20 Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter." - Isaiah 5:20

Divergent Trailer

Resurrection

Last weekend we celebrated the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord, Jesus. Throughout Old Testament history there were sacrifices for various offenses against a Holy God. The sin offering required blood - blood of a bull or . . . a spotless lamb. Jesus, the Lamb of God, WAS that sacrifice for OUR sins. It is through our belief in Jesus, our faith in Him, that we receive eternal life.

Look at the ministry life of Jesus through the eyes of His disciples. He was their teacher, their mentor. They followed Him wherever he went. They spent three years of their lives with Him, learning from Him, praying with Him, worshipping Him. But all throughout their time with Him I think they still had some doubts. I point to Peter as my justification for this belief.

Peter talked the good talk. When Jesus told his disciples that they would all leave Him, Peter denied it saying, "I will never fall away!" They ALL said the same according to the scriptures.

31 Then Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away because of me this night. For it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ 32 But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.” 33 Peter answered him, “Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away.” 34 Jesus said to him, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” 35 Peter said to him, “Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you!” And all the disciples said the same." - Matthew 26:31-35

Yet, on the night Jesus was betrayed and arrested the disciples all scattered like roaches when the lights go on. NO ONE stayed with Jesus. They all hid in the shadows . . . waiting . . . wondering.

Then Jesus died - nailed to the cross. Their King, their Lord, their teacher and friend . . . dead. What now? What do we do now?

I think all that occurred up to this time was pretty normal. People die. People we love. It's part of life. They must have been devastated. And talk about a testing of one's faith. Yikes! The person who had said He was the Son of God was now dead and buried. What must have been going through their minds. The disillusionment. The disbelief. But then something happened that changed the world. Jesus rose from the dead.

Have you ever had one of those life-changing events? Something devestating happened and you didn't know what you would do from that moment on? Tragedy, although very traumatic and painful at the time, can draw us closer to God.

I was at the funeral of a friend once who had died of cancer. He was in the military so they had full military honrs at his funeral. Impressive to say the least. Incredible moving. As I stood there watching the honor guard folding the flag from the coffin my boss came up to me and said, "Wow. I really need to get my act together. What do I have to do?" I told him, "You have to surrender." He shrugged his shoulders and walked away.

Another aquaintance of mine had lived kind of a wild life. Partying drinking, working late hours. One day this man had a heart attack. As he was lying there in a hospital bed he spoke to his wife about God for the first time since their wedding day. He thought about God and he thought about changing his lifestyle. But that's where it ended. He returned to his sinful lifestyle where he cheated on his wife, leading to a divorce.

Our biggest problem, our biggest shortcoming as humans is . . . we talk the talk, just like Peter and his disciples. But when the poo hits the fan we turn and run, fearing for our very lives. Our biggest problem is ourselves.

"I  don't want to volunteer at Ruby's Food Pantry this morning. It's raining and I'm tired." Or, "I'm not going to church today. I want to sleep in." It's statements like that, by professing Christians, that really tell the tale of who they are . . . and in whom their faith resides.

The disciples were just like that. Just like us. On the night Jesus was betrayed, Jesus asked them to keep watch while He went off to pray. Did they obey their teacher, their God? Nope. They fell asleep. And so it is with us. We are asleep while God tells us to keep a watchful eye on OUR enemy . . . Satan. Yet we don't. We fall asleep. We haven't changed in 2000 years. We're still disobedient, selfish sinners. What will it take for us to change all that? How can we truly be resurrected from this life of sin we are living?

Look to The Cross!! Look to the empty tomb!!

Jesus rose from the dead conquering death. Triumphing over the darkness that is tightening its grip, ever-increasing it's domination of our world. It's almost to the point now where it's too late. What can we possibly do to escape the coming wrath that sin and this world has to offer. Well, honestly and truthfully, the only way out of this mess we have created is . . . to die.

We must die to self. We must repent of our sins, not just some; ALL of them, and run to Jesus. DO not walk! Be like John and Peter, who when they heard the news of Christ's resurrection, they RAN to the tomb! So it should be with us. Jut like I told my boss that day at my friends funeral. We must surrender our "selves" life Jesus surrender HIMSELF in the garden. He became  a representation & sacrifice for OUR sin. He died. But then came the resurrection.

If we, our current sin-filled selves, truly die, and place our faith in Jesus, then shall we live. We will become resurrected, just like Jesus. In our death we shall find new life. If you have never surrendered all . . . think about the direction your life is currently taking. Is it truly the direction that God has asked of you? Or have you fallen asleep? Surrender to authority and savior of the world, Jesus, today. Only then will you die and be reborn. Only then can there be a resurrection in YOUR life.

I encourage you to read First Corinthians 15 for Paul's thoughts on the resurrection. You can read it here.

I Surrender All - Israel Houghton

The Cross - Billy Graham's Message to America