Marco Polo

Marco Polo was a swimming pool game that I enjoyed playing as a kid. My friends and I played the game at the community pool that always was crowded with many loud and excited people. In order to determine where my friends were when I was it, I had to be very still to hear their voices over the noise in the pool. I find that life is a lot like that game. There is so much noise in our world today that it is hard at times to hear from the Lord.

Psalm 46:10 (NIV)

10 "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."

What Time Are You On?

We don’t always know the reasons for God’s timing, but we can always be at peace that when God does something is often just as import as what He does.

If you’re waiting for God to do something, don’t despair – trust God and His timing.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 (NIV)

1 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:

Jeremiah 29:11-13 (NIV)

11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.

13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

Trust the Trim

When I was in high school, I took flying lessons. My instructor taught me the value of trusting the trim. To maintain a constant altitude was a lot easier once you adjusted the trim on the plane. It is similar to an automatic pilot. Once set, the plane will fly at a set altitude unless the wind changes of the pilot over rides the trim.

Carrie Underwood sings a song titled, “Jesus Take the Wheel”. When we accept Jesus as our savior, we need to make Him the Lord of our lives. We need to trust Him as the Trim and take our hands off the wheel.

Matthew 10:37-39 (NIV)

37 "Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me;

38 and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.

39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

Hide and Seek

My guess is that you have played a game of “hide and seek”. My 4-year-old grandson loves to play that game with me. Now his hiding is like that Geico Insurance commercial, where people have no place to hide in a desert. Unless he is hiding in one of his older brother’s spots, the only thing keeping me from finding him right away is my lack of looking. My passion for the hunt does not rival his passion for the game. It is very easy for me to get distracted in looking for him.

Satan is the great deceiver. His desire is to distract us from seeking God and His will. What might be keeping you from looking for God today?

Matthew 6:33 (NIV)

33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Spring House Cleaning

Spring is here. Outside the sun is shinning and the freezing weather is, if not gone, soon to be gone. This is the time that most of us plan to clean up around the house. How about taking time to see what needs to be cleaned up in our lives? It is important to evaluate our spiritual walk. Where is improvement needed? Check your live against the fruits of the spirit.

“Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” James 4:8

“Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.” Psalm 51:10

Satisfaction is in the Mind

So often in our lives, we allow our performances to control our attitudes and let a poor performance steal our joy. We think if only we get the accolades, we will be happy. When we finally reach our goals, we are happy for a day or two, then set higher goals, always wanting more, never satisfied.

" Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." Philippians 4:8

Work up a Sweat

I am amazed how many people will spend the time and energy to work up a sweat in the gym. Yet, when more important issues arise, people seem not to invest the same work ethic. We are to work unto the Lord. I believe that this means to put forth the effort it takes to do a job worthy of our Lord. So, don’t let sweat stop you from giving honor to our Savior.

See, we count as blessed those who have endured. You have heard of Job's endurance and have seen the outcome that the Lord brought about-the Lord is compassionate and merciful.

James 5:11

Living up to your name

Joy is a wonderful friend who works at the convenient store where we meet for prayer. Her grandfather gave her the name she to live up to. From my perspective she is very successful in exhibiting joy. At 6:00 in the morning, she will welcome you with a warm and cheerful smile. During the early church days, believers were given the name Christian because of their lifestyle. How will you live up to that name at 6:00 am or pm with everyone who walks into your path?

1 John 2:5-6 CSB

[5] But whoever keeps his word, truly in him the love of God is made complete. This is how we know we are in him: [6] The one who says he remains in him should walk just as he walked. …

Perfect House

From the time I was a teenager I have been dreaming up the perfect house. Over the years I have redesigned the floor plans. I have seen many houses, that others have built, that have impacted my dream house. I have concluded that there is no perfect house on this side of Heaven. God’s plans are greater and higher than any plan we collectively come up with. Jesus is preparing the best for us, the perfect house.

John 14:1-3 CSB

[1] … “Don’t let your heart be troubled. Believe a in God; believe also in me. [2] In my Father's house are many rooms; if not, I would have told you. I am going away to prepare a place for you. [3] If I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to myself, so that where I am you may be also. …

Faith, Hope and Love

Most of us can find where these three words, faith, hope and love, are found in the scriptures. We probably talk more about faith and love than we do about hope. I am thankful for each of these gifts from God, but I want to focus this morning on hope. When I seem to be at the end of the rope, hope is what gets me through. When I can’t seem to overcome it is again hope that gets me through. I love that old hymn, “What a friend we have in Jesus.” To me the best line in that song is “take it to the Lord in prayer.” God doesn’t give up on us. He wants us to overcome the things of this world. He gives us the power to have the victory in our weakness.

Isaiah 41:10 (NIV)

10 So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Take It To The Lord In Prayer

When is that last time you reacted to someone else’s actions? There have been times that my reaction to a situation was not the best action. Not only did I embarrass myself, but also let down the Lord whom I am to honor and serve. Yes, at times people do stupid things. Their actions should not move us to also do things that we will cause embarrassment to our Lord. That wonderful old hymn, Take it to the Lord in Prayer, is a great way to handle any situation.

Proverbs 3:5-7 (NIV) 5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. 7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil.

Names

When I receive a letter with Dear Occupant on the front, I tend to ignore the letter. When someone calls my name, they usually get my attention. When my mom would call me by my first and middle name, she defiantly got my attention. God has a message, a purpose for each of us. He doesn’t address us as occupant. He not only knows our name, but He calls us by name. Did you hear Him calling you this morning with the plans He has for you? If not, I want to encourage you to spend time with Him now.

Isaiah 43:1 (NIV)

1 But now, this is what the LORD says-- he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.

Following Blindly

This morning I found myself sitting at a traffic light facing east. The sun was in my eyes so that I could not see the traffic light. I was behind another vehicle, which I chose to blindly follow. Ever wonder who might be following you blindly? There are times that others might not be able to see the right path or the right timing to make a move, so they follow you. I trusted the driver in front of me to go at the right time. Are you leading rightly?

Matthew 5:14-16 (NIV)

14 "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.

15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.

16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

When we mess up

We will make mistakes, but those mistakes don’t disqualify us from experiencing God’s promises. Unlike our human affections, God’s love never fails and never ends. No matter how many times we’ve failed or disappointed God, He never stops loving us. However, don’t mistake God’s discipline for Him giving up on you.

Romans 8:38-39

“neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Attitude

As a former school teacher, my wife would ask her students, “How is your PMA?” Positive mental attitude has a lot to do with how our day will go. Last night, my PMA was very bad. If I did not change it, I would be in big trouble. I am a minister after all! Knowing that I needed to change it wasn’t the answer as I did not want to change it. Have you been there? It is only when I realized that I need help that I found my answer to my attitude issue.

Psalm 146:5 (NIV)

5 Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God,

This verse spoke very loudly to me. My help would come from God if I placed my hope in Him. This God of Jacob who did great and mighty things in Jacob’s life is the same God that I have. I needed to allow Him to help me with my attitude. I am blessed because of who my Lord is.

Time

A good friend of mine told me that their timing seem to be off. I think they should’ve said, I’ve been focusing on me and my time, not God’s time.

There are many times that I do not understand God’s timing. It’s at that time, walking by faith seems to be the hardest.

11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to End

Merry Christmas

Christmas. It is one of the most joyous Christian holidays, a time to remember the birth of Christ our savior. Christmas is a time to share our blessings with one another, and to be surrounded by the people we love. It is a time for giving, and a time for forgiving. Most importantly, it is a reminder of how much God loves us.

John 3:16 (NIV)
16  "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Pass It On

The apostle Paul explains that there can be a higher purpose in our suffering: we can pass along to others the comfort we have received from God. In a world where the focus is increasingly on our individual needs, God’s plan is that we would have compassion for one another. God wants us to look beyond ourselves to the needs of the people around us, being like Jesus to them.

God . . . comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. — 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Tough Relationships

Ever feel like relationships are hard to navigate sometimes? Sometimes I try so hard to figure out just the right words to say and talk through a situation. Spending time getting quiet can really be the best remedy for messy situations. Taking a step back from all the emotion, frustration and exhaustion to sit quietly with Jesus can do more to get out of a mess in a relationship. Many times I realize that the real issue is not with someone else, but the devil trying to destroy.

1 Peter 5:8-9a, “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith …” (NIV).

Ephesians 6:12, “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.” (NIV)

Heavy Heart

I woke up Thanksgiving morning with a very heavy heart. While Karen and I find ourselves abundantly blessed, it is where we find many of our friends this Thanksgiving season. That morning in my time with the Lord I was struggling. I had received an unexpected blessing while news my friends were receiving appeared to be anything but a blessing. At this time, it was hard for me to give thanks. I struggled most of the day, even knowing that we have a Good God. Have you been there?

Psalm 100:1-5 (NIV)
1  Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.
2  Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.
3  Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
4  Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.
5  For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.