it’s a test

But He knows the way that I take; when He has tested me, I will come forth as gold. My feet have closely followed His steps; I have kept to His way without turning aside. I have not departed from the commands of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my daily bread.

– Job 23:10-12

No one in the Bible was tested like Job was tested.

He had his moments where he felt sorry for himself.

He had his moments of anger.

He had his moments where he thought he would have been better off having never been born.

But.

He stood his ground.

He never cursed God, never turned his back on His Father.

I hope, that if I am ever tested, I can stand and say that I treasure the words of my Father more than my daily bread.

Have a blessed day.

don’t be uninformed

But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.

– 1 Thessalonians 4:13

September 27th, is always a sad day for me.

You see on this day, 58 years ago, my older brother was born.

But 27 years ago, he went home to be with Jesus.

Over the years, I have learned that he was not the saint that I always thought he was, but that is ok.

So he was not perfect.

I am so thankful that I am a child of a God that sees my flaws, and forgives me anyway.

Knowing this means that I don’t have to grieve as others do, because I have hope.

Hope in Jesus.

Happy Heavenly birthday, Jim. I’ll see you someday. J

Have a blessed day.

See You at the Pole!

For where two or three gather in My name, there am I with them.

– Matthew 18:20

We will gather in His name.

We will shout His praises, we will give Him glory.

How lucky are we that we can praise the one who made us, out in the open, where others can see us, hear us, and just maybe, join us.

How blessed are we that we do not walk in this world alone, but He is with us!

Gather with us at the Flag pole today.

Pray for our nation, our leaders.

Pray for those who are oppressed, for the sick, for the weak.

Pray for those who defend our freedom, for those who are far away right now, and for those who did not come home when their tour ended.

Pray without ceasing.

Join us, He will be there.

Have a blessed day.

perfect peace

You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.

– Isaiah 26:3

I love Saturday mornings. I am usually the first one up and I don’t have anywhere to go, I can sit in my chair with my cat and my coffee and just be in perfect peace.

Song reference!!

Stay close by my side
Keep your eyes on me
Though this life is hard
I will give you perfect peace

In this time of trial
Pain that no one sees
Trust me when I say
I will give you perfect peace

And you'll never walk alone
And you'll never be in need
Though I may not calm the storms around you
You can hide in me

Burdens that you bear
Offer no relief
Let me bear your load
'Cause I will give you perfect peace

Stay close by my side
And you'll never walk alone
Keep your eyes on me
And you'll never be in need
Though this life is hard
Know that I will always give you perfect peace
I will give you perfect peace

So today is not Saturday, but I can feel His perfect peace washing over me.

I’m so glad I have Him.

  

Have a blessed day.

Tomorrow is See You at the Pole!

He is

As for God, His way is perfect: the Lord’s word is flawless; He shields all who take refuge in Him.

– Psalm 18:30

There are so many song references here!

I could literally fill this page with wonderful lyrics that tell you to seek Him (wise men still do!), to lean on Him, to trust Him.

Perfect – Here in Your Presence by New Life Worship

Flawless – Flawless by Mercy Me

Shield – Amazing Grace

Refuge – Refuge by Hillsong

You don’t need to read my daily thoughts to know what a wonderful name it is, the name of Jesus (another song!).

All you have to do is reach out!

If you don’t know where to start, call me!

I will pray with you, I will pray for you, I will do whatever I need to do to show you the perfect, flawless, wonderful Lord I serve.

He is all that, and more.

Have a blessed day.

Wednesday, September 26^th is See You at the Pole!

would you stop?

In reply Jesus said: “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. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He 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. The 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.’

 – Luke 10:30-35

You probably recognize this story as the good Samaritan.

I admit that I have never been beaten and robbed and left by the side of the road to die, but I have been in a dire situation or two with vehicle malfunctions.

I was really surprised at the number of people that did not stop.

I guess that in this day and age, it is not safe to stop.

But was it safe then?

It doesn’t sound like it.

I wonder, if I were on the road to Jericho, if I would have stopped.

Would you?

Have a blessed day.

See You At The Pole 2018

It is that time of year again! . . . 
See You at the Pole (SYATP) is an annual gathering of thousands of Christian students at a flagpole in front of their local school for prayer, scripture-reading and worship, during the early morning before school starts. This year the American SYATP events occur on the 26th  of September at 7:00 A.M. while gathering around a school flag pole.
The events began in 1990 in the United States, where public schools cannot sponsor prayers and some Christians see public schools as hostile to Christian students. It has grown by word of mouth, announcements at youth rallies and churches, and the Internet. It is now an international event; in 2005, over two million students in the U.S. participated, as well as students in Canada, Cote d'Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ecuador, Germany, Ghana, Guam, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Kenya, South Korea, Malaysia, Nigeria, Norway, Peru, Portugal, Scotland, and South Africa. 
. . .  
I know that not everyone that reads this blog is in the same city that I am in.  But here is what I would like you to do. . . 
Meet us at the pole. 
Any flag pole. 
I will be out in front of my office building at 6:55am on September 26th.  I would like everyone that is able to join me. Invite everyone that you know – I would love to see a crowd! 
If you are not located in the same city I am in, gather your friends, your family, your pets, and find a pole. Raise your voice to Him! 
The power of many people praying together is amazing. 
See you at the pole. 

the world is wrong

But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: about sin, because people do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.

– John 16:7-11

Jesus knew that He was going to die.

He wanted so badly for people to believe in Him, to come to the Father so His work here on earth was not in vain.

Look around you  - how much sin and judgment do you see?

Do you think that is right?

The Prince of the world was condemned so that we can be free.

Free from sin, free from judgment and the chance to be with the Righteous one.

What are you waiting for?  

Have a blessed day.

meaningless!

There is something else meaningless that occurs on earth: the righteous who get what the wicked deserve, and the wicked who get what the righteous deserve. This too, I say, is meaningless.

–  Ecclesiastes 8:14

Ecclesiastes is a very interesting book.

The author (some attribute it to Solomon) has some very intense feelings about certain things.

Have you ever looked at someone with a huge house or a fancy expensive car,  thought about the life they lead and felt like it was not right? 

Maybe this person gained his wealth honestly, but is known for his womanizing or treating his employees poorly, but yet he has nice things?

Even Solomon could see that he did some wicked things and did not deserve the wealth that he had, thus the expression that all things are meaningless.

We don’t have to live like everything is meaningless.

We can praise the One who provides, give thanks for the gifts we are given and bless others at every opportunity.

It doesn’t have to be meaningless – that is up to you and what you do with the things you’ve been given.

Have a blessed day.

word!

But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.

– Matthew 12:36-37

Words.

The right words at the right time can make the difference for a lot of people.

But the wrong words,  well, you would not think that something so small could hurt so much.

The words you say will come back to you.

Words are a gift from God, our ability to use them to heal, rather than hurt should make you take yourself seriously.

Keep your word if you make a promise or a vow and if you need to break that promise try to explain ahead of time and definitely make up for breaking your promise.

If you decide to back out, remember that it is not just the person that you failed that you are hurting, but yourself as well, because you will have to give account of your words.  

  

Have a blessed day.

I have hope

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, according to His great mercy, He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

– 1 Peter 1:3

Have you ever felt like you have lost all hope?

It’s pretty devastating.

I’ve been there, and quite honestly, I felt like I wanted to die, that everything was so bad and there was no escape.

Once you lose all hope, it is a long hard road to come back.

Thank God for renewing our hope by sending us His Son.  

Have a blessed day.

if you can’t say something nice

Do not pay attention to every word people say, or you may hear your servant cursing you - for you know in your heart that many times you yourself have cursed others.

– Ecclesiastes 7:21-22

OK, I may have heard this a different way . . . 

As in “be careful whose toes you step on today because they may be connected to the butt you have to kiss tomorrow”.

Alright, that is not very biblical, but when push comes to shove, it is pretty much the truth, right?

I know that I have said some things that when I think back on them, they have made me cringe.

Probably because I am fairly certain that some of the same things have been said about me.

So my thoughts today are along the lines of “think before you speak” because after all, what do you want people saying about you?  

Have a blessed day.

the good and the bad

When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider this: God has made the one as well as the other. Therefore, no one can discover anything about their future.

– Ecclesiastes 7:14

I have really been struggling lately. (yes, honey, I know it is real).

I have been overwhelmed and lost, confused and angry, overjoyed and ecstatic, pretty much “insert emotion here” .

I know that it won’t always be bad.

I know that it probably is not even as bad as I think that it is.

I just finished a college class called Biblical Wisdom, I thought I would never get through it, everything seemed to stand in my way.

Then this verse popped up.

And I read a deeper meaning from one of my professors.

Are you ready?

It’s pretty deep.

“Even if you can’t know what the future holds, you can know who holds the future.”

Wow.

I am not sure I even need to say anything else.

Have a blessed day.

beautiful

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.

–  Ecclesiastes 3:11

Song reference!

Grant me serenity to accept things
The things I cannot change
Grant me the courage, Lord, to change what I can
Wisdom to know the difference
In my weakness You can shine
In Your strength I can fly and

And You make everything, everything beautiful
You make everything, everything new
You make everything, everything beautiful
In its time, in Your time
It's beautiful

Grant me serenity, Lord, and patience
For things will take time
Grant me freedom to walk a new path
And let me feel Your love
In my weakness You can shine
In Your strength I can fly and

And You make everything, everything beautiful
You make everything, everything new
You make everything, everything beautiful
In its time, in Your time
It's beautiful

Lifting open hands to You my Savior
Beautify my soul
Knowing You redeem my pain and failure
Purify my soul
Beautify my soul

And You make everything, everything beautiful
You make everything, everything new
You make everything, everything beautiful
In its time, in Your time
It's beautiful

That is not the first song I think of when I hear these words, but if you listen to Rebecca St James sing this, you will hear amazing things

I think my favorite line is “in my weakness You can shine, in Your strength I can fly and you make everything beautiful”.

Just in case you wondered, if you are reading this, you are beautiful.

You

Are

Beautiful.

God made you, and He makes EVERYTHING beautiful.

Have a blessed day.

remembering

I will never forget this awful time, as I grieve over my loss. Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this: The faithful love of the Lord never ends!  His mercies never cease.  Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each morning. 

- Lamentations 3:20-23

This is a repeat from last year. 

For some, this day repeats in their memory forever. 

For some people, especially the younger generation, this is just a regular Tuesday.

For many it is a day to remember a tragedy that happened to our great nation 17 years ago.

For me, it has a personal note from 1992, when my 17 year old brother was hit by a truck and killed.

Recovering from any tragic event is a challenge, but to turn your face to God in the aftermath of tragedy is to defy the power of evil, and to place your hope in the one Person who can bring good out of even the most horrifying disaster.

I know my little brother is with our Savior.

My hope for the future lies in Christ Jesus.

If you were affected by the 9/11 attacks, may your sorrow and mourning point you to the glorious hope of Jesus Christ, and the restoration He promises.

Have a blessed day!

I swear!

Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’ But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.

– Matthew 5:33-37

How many times have you sworn that you would or would not do something?

I think it was the thing to do when I was a kid.

One of the songs played at my wedding was “I swear” by John Michael Montgomery.

I remember hearing the words “I swear to God” so many times and even though I did not have a relationship with God back then, I remember thinking that was not a good thing to say.

According to the Bible, it is NOT a good thing to say.

Words are words, we should be able to take a man at his word.

We should not make them swear an oath of any kind.

A simple yes or no to our inquiry is all we should need.

Have a blessed day.

reject evil

Do not quench the Spirit. Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil.

– 1 Thessalonians 5:19-22

Reject evil.

That is really hard to do sometimes, when we have society flaunting evil in our face every day, on every platform.

Sometimes I feel like I have a little devil on one shoulder and a little angel on the other (you are welcome for that image).

Who do I listen to the most?

We have so many people out there in the world predicting what is going to happen next, but there is only One that knows the future.

Make the right choices so that your future is with Him.

Have a blessed day.

never fail

For no word from God will ever fail.

– Luke 1:37

I challenge you to find someplace in the Bible where God’s word failed.

I don’t think you can.

God doesn’t fail.  

Have a blessed day.

this is me

But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge; I will tell of all Your deeds.

– Psalm 73:28

In some situations, I talk a lot.

Give me an opening and I will share everything I know about the Lord.

Ask me a question and if I don’t know the answer, I will find it!

This is me.

I love my Lord and I am not afraid to share it.

Go ahead, ask me, I will tell of everything He has done for me!

Have a blessed day.

I don’t belong

Friends, this world is not your home, so don’t make yourselves cozy in it. Don’t indulge your ego at the expense of your soul. Live an exemplary life among the natives so that your actions will refute their prejudices. Then they’ll be won over to God’s side and be there to join in the celebration when he arrives.

– 1 Peter 2:11-12 (MSG)

Ok, yeah, it is another song reference, this time though, I am not giving you the whole song.

Sometimes it feels like I'm watching from the outside

Sometimes it feels like I'm breathing, but am I alive?

I will keep searching for answers that aren't here to find

All I know is I'm not home yet

This is not where I belong

Take this world and give me Jesus

This is not where I belong.

We don’t belong here.

Our home is with God.

I used the Message version of this verse because I thought it made things a little clearer.

Don’t get comfortable here – you are not staying.

Don’t compromise your soul – you’ll want it intact.

Be a living example for others – you may be the only sign of Jesus they see today.

Your actions can make a difference between someone choosing to follow Christ, or turn away.

Have a blessed day.

lost sheep

For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them. I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy. I will shepherd the flock with justice.

– Ezekiel 34:11,16

Song reference!

Before I spoke a word, You were singing over me

You have been so, so good to me

Before I took a breath, You breathed Your life in me

You have been so, so kind to me

Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God

Oh, it chases me down, fights 'til I'm found, leaves the ninety-nine

I couldn't earn it, and I don't deserve it, still, You give Yourself away

Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God, yeah

When I was Your foe, still Your love fought for me

You have been so, so good to me

When I felt no worth, You paid it all for me

You have been so, so kind to me

And oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God

Oh, it chases me down, fights 'til I'm found, leaves the ninety-nine

And I couldn't earn it, and I don't deserve it, still, You give Yourself away

Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God, yeah

There's no shadow You won't light up

Mountain You won't climb up

Coming after me

There's no wall You won't kick down

Lie You won't tear down

Coming after me.

Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God

Oh, it chases me down, fights 'til I'm found, leaves the ninety-nine

I couldn't earn it, and I don't deserve it, still, You give Yourself away

Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God, yeah

I am one of the ninety-nine.

He has left the ninety-nine to come find me.

He will leave them for you too, because you are important to Him.

He will strengthen you, He will heal you, He will protect you.

And in return, you praise Him, glorify Him and share His word.

I am happy to be a sheep.

Have a blessed day.