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Be Bold

If there was ever a time to be bold in the Lord, it is now.

Be bold in our witness before the lost.

Be bold and fearless in our faith as this dark and perverse world continues to turn its back on God.

God has called us to be bold!

Joshua 1:9 MSG Haven't I commanded you? Strength! Courage! Don't be timid; don't get discouraged. GOD, your God, is with you every step you take."

Be bold in our prayers for a revival within our corrupt government and claim God’s movement within those immoral ranks of the political parties.

May our country kneel before the one and only true King, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Have a blessed and BOLD day in the Lord.

The Early Morning Encounter

I woke up earlier this morning than usual.

Since I couldn’t go back to sleep, I made the morning coffee and headed to the hot tub.

I turned off all the outside lights and soaked in the hot tub in the dark.

As I laid back, immersed in the hot water, feeling the pulsating massage to my body, I fell into a deep time of worship with God.

I stayed in my personal refuge longer than normal as I waited for the daylight to arrive.

It was a powerful meeting with the Lord.

They all are but this morning was even more so.

I thought I would share that today.

I didn’t ask for anything, I just thanked him for everything and started naming the things I was thankful for.

The next thing I knew, my coffee was cold, and it was daylight!

Meeting with God in the morning is a great way to start our day.

Why should we spend time with God in the morning for prayer?

Well, Jesus did it.

Mark 1:35 NIV Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.

I can see Jesus, early in the morning, getting up before daylight, rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he tiptoed around the disciples and found a quiet place to sit.

No one was around.

He was in his secret, solitary sanctuary, he had precious moments alone with his Father.

Jesus took the time to rise in the morning to meet with God.

During the day, he and his disciples were often bombarded by crowds of people competing for his attention.

You see, even for us today, the world is competing for our time all day long.

That to do list keeps getting longer and longer and the days keep getting shorter and shorter.

Making time for the Lord BEFORE the day starts is so rewarding and satisfying to the soul!

Why not at the end of the day?

That works at times, but seriously, sometimes we are just wore out and ready to sleep by the end of the day! Right?

If you haven’t tried an early morning prayer and worship time with Jesus, I encourage you to try it.

Psalms 143:8 NIV Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life.

May God bring you a word of HIS unfailing love indeed!

Are You Sounding the Alarm?

Yesterday I spoke of hearing the alarm and taking heed to it. Amen?

But today I want to ask you if you are sounding the alarm for others?

Too many Christians look the other way today.

Too Many Christians accept ungodly behavior of their family and friends.

Too many Christians tell others that are living in sin, “God loves you just the way you are.”

Too many Christians are confused and ask themselves, “Why did God make them that way?”

But that is not what God wants his children to do.

Noah’s message from the steps going up to the ark was not, “something good is going to happen to you!”

Amos did not confront the high priest of Israel proclaiming, “Confession is possession!”

Jeremiah was not put into the pit for preaching, “I’m okay, your okay.”

Daniel was not thrown into the lion’s den for telling people, “possibility or positive thinking will move mountains!”

John the Baptist was not forced to preach in the wilderness and eventually beheaded because he preached, “Smile God loves you!”

The two prophets of the tribulation will not be killed for preaching, “God is in heaven and all is right with the world!!”

No! Instead, what was the message of all these men of God?

Their message can be simply put in one word, Repent!

Throughout the Bible we are told to repent for the sins we have committed and turn to the Lord.

The Bible tells us that we are to believe, confess, repent and be baptized and then live a life holy and pleasing unto HIM. Amen?

There is a message that we are to preach to the people, which is not only of salvation, but also of repentance.

We are all to man our watch towers and tell others when the enemy is coming!

Do you?

Do you speak the truth in love to those around you?

If not, you become responsible for their death in that sin!

Ezekiel 33:6-9 NLT (6) But if the watchman sees the enemy coming and doesn’t sound the alarm to warn the people, he is responsible for their captivity. They will die in their sins, but I will hold the watchman responsible for their deaths.’ (7) “Now, son of man, I am making you a watchman for the people of Israel. Therefore, listen to what I say and warn them for me. (8) If I announce that some wicked people are sure to die and you fail to tell them to change their ways, then they will die in their sins, and I will hold you responsible for their deaths. (9) But if you warn them to repent and they don’t repent, they will die in their sins, but you will have saved yourself.

May God give you the wisdom to recognize those to sound the alarm for and the courage to do it!

Have a blessed day.

The Alarm Sounds!

Tammy, Ethan and I all went to the North Point Marina to place new bed sheets over the two bench seats on Delilah-Ruth (our houseboat). 

The sheets we had on the bench seats were covered in spider webs and eggs etc.

If you leave the seats exposed, the spiders leave a nasty mess on the seats that will stain them permanently!

I started up the boat while Tammy cleaned the seats off and covered them with the new sheets.

I also started the water heater to check it and turned the onboard water pump on to check it.

After taking some measurements at the base of the helm for some repairs, we were ready to head back home.

Just as we were about to leave, we decided to take Delilah-Ruth out for a ride. 

The weather was calm enough, so why not, right?

I started the engine back up and we untied all the deck lines and shoved off.

Just as the boat was clear from the slip, the warning alarm came on!

The high-pitched noise is very irritable and within a minute or two, we were back inside the slip with the engine shut off.

As with just about everything that we own, I have become very intimate with Delilah-Ruth.

I quickly checked the oil reservoir and found that it was over three-quarters full. So I disconnected the low oil sensor so we could take the boat out. I would order the replacement part right away.

I started the engine, but the alarm continued to sound!

Again, being intimate with Delilah-Ruth, I knew that the alarm now meant that the engine was overheating. The odds are that the sensor has gone bad.

But since there is a remote possibility that the engine is overheating, I shut off the engine and will continue troubleshooting soon.

We headed home a little disappointed but knowing that we made the right decision to not go on out on the lake.

If the engine is indeed overheating, it could be a 5,000-dollar mistake or even more!

Then I would have no one to blame besides myself, right?

Do you pay attention to the warning alarms in your life?

I am not talking about your car or other item that you own. (Those are important!)

I am talking about in life.

We all receive warning alarms when the enemy is closing in.

It might be a small still voice telling us that we should not do something that we are about to do, but we ignore the alarm!

If we ignore the alarms in our life, they can really cost us in the end, amen?

Ezekiel 33:3-5 NLT (3) When the watchman sees the enemy coming, he sounds the alarm to warn the people. (4) Then if those who hear the alarm refuse to take action, it is their own fault if they die. (5) They heard the alarm but ignored it, so the responsibility is theirs. If they had listened to the warning, they could have saved their lives.

May your ears be attentive to the warning alarms in your life.

Have a blessed day

You Hear the Whisper?

I did my morning devotional by Elisabeth Bennett, with a few of you this morning and I just had to share it.

Have you ever heard that critical spirit within yourself telling you, that you’re “too hard on yourself,” “too rigid,” or “need to let things go.”

In every instance in which other people are expressing sentiments like these, they are recognizing your inner critic and calling out its abnormality. But none of those comments actually tell you what your inner critic is and what it’s doing to you.

Here is the thing, these are your own deep thoughts lashing out against you.

All of us hear different things. Maybe you have heard something like;

“I can’t believe you ate two cookies! You deserve to feel grossly fat.”

“You’re so stupid! No wonder no one trust you!”

“You should just stop trying until you learn to do things right!”

“That was so dumb! Why did you say that?”

Maybe your inner critic sounds like your dad when he was harsh and angry with you.

Maybe it sounds like the voice of your first-grade teacher who corrected you in front of everyone. Maybe it sounds like someone you know, or used to know, who has said unkind things to you.

No matter whose voice you have taken on to carry out critiques in your head, being aware of what you’re hearing and how it impacts you is the first step to making sure it doesn’t drown out what God might be trying to whisper to you! Amen?

Your inner critic might be loud, but it certainly doesn’t get the final say on who you are. Right?

So, no matter what your inner voice is screaming at you, you can rest assured that God’s voice is always kinder, gentler, and more compassionate than you’d expect. Amen?

1 Kings 19:11-12 NIV (11) The LORD said, "Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by." Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. (12) After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.

May this find you listening for the whisper from God over your inner critical spirit.

Have a blessed day 

The Aftermath

Every adventure ends with an aftermath of dirty equipment.

Starting early this morning, I have been cleaning up the gear that we have been using the past week.

Both Seadoos have been cleaned and are now covered back up and ready for the next trip to the lake.

The truck has been cleaned and almost put back together.

I still need to pull out the grill and camp stoves and clean them as well as pulling after operations maintenance on the motorhome.

The list seems to be getting longer and longer!

Ethan is never happy to have to clean the equipment after we return from our adventures.

But he is learning that the reason we have so many things is because we clean them after our adventures. Amen?

The Lord blesses us with whatever we have, so why wouldn’t we take care of them, right?

Luke 16:11 NIV So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?

May this day find you taking care of whatever the Lord has blessed you with.

Unintended Consequences

Have you ever thought about the unintended consequences of something you are about to do?

Then after you think about the possible repercussions of what you are about to do, you decide not to do it?

Or maybe, you don’t think about it, and do whatever you were going to do and then BAM! The worst thing that you couldn’t imagine happens.

The word of God tells us that sin will cost us our life, right?

Romans 6:23 KJV For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Okay, so the wages of sin is death, then why do we sin?

Well, people do not sin because they intend on dying. Right?

People sin to fulfill the wants of their flesh.  

People sin for pleasure.  

People sin for a “good feeling.”

If a person steals, he does so to benefit himself, not to be incarcerated.

Incarceration is the unintended consequence.

If a person commits adultery, he does so to please his own desires.

Divorce, illegitimate children, and disease are the unintended consequences.

My ex and her lover ran off together and look at the Unintended Consequences! They had a failed marriage and we found each other. Praise the King!

I have asked hundreds if not thousands of people this one question (after they explained the predicament that a bad decision has gotten them into), “If you had thought everything through would you have gone ahead and __________?” (Fill in the blank with your sin mistake)

EVERY TIME they shake their head and simply state, “If only I had thought things through.”

We have all been there, amen?

I pray that today, you find yourself analyzing the unintended consequences BEFORE making any decisions.

Have a blessed day.

Schedule Change

Sometimes the hardest thing for us to do is to adjust to a change in our normal routine. Amen?

It may be something that you already knew was coming but it was still a challenge to do something later in the day than first thing in the morning as part of your normal routine.

We used to go to the gym almost every morning but haven’t been there for months now.

The biggest reason is because of the change in the routine.

Even though no one, especially Tammy and Ethan, wanted to go so early in the morning, there was really nothing else going on to impede the trip to that better fitness workout.

Trying to “fit in” another hour during the rest of the day just hasn’t worked out.

Tammy and I both know that we need to start going back to the gym, but it’s the “what time do we go” that always becomes a barrier.

I tell all that so that you understand that I also have issues with rearranging my schedules.

But sometimes we just have to make the time, one way or another, amen?

Today is a good example.

We were headed to Gatesville this morning during the time that I would usually do my daily blog.

I didn’t get up earlier to get it done so I knew that when we got back to camp that I would have to work on it then. (Which is now. LOL)

Since I had to adjust my schedule to make sure I still sent out my daily blog post I thought it was fitting that I say something about time management. Amen?

The word of God tells us that we need to be careful and be sure to use our time wisely. Amen?

Ephesians 5:15-16 BBE (15) Take care then how you are living, not as unwise, but as wise; (16) Making good use of the time, because the days are evil.

I pray that this finds you being able to rearrange your schedule and use your time wisely to glorify the Lord.

Have a blessed day.

WEAR RED

Today is Friday and most of my friends already know that it has a special meaning.

It means Remembering Everyone Deployed. 

We all wear red until they come home, amen?

Most of us wear red church shirts if we have them or some other red shirt we might have on Friday’s

After the murder of our 13 U.S. Soldiers this week, it is a grim reminder of why we wear RED on Fridays.

On this day, in 2006, Seth Hildreth was killed in action. One of a few soldiers that I knew personally while supporting their until in Iraq.

Afghanistan is a mess, and we all have opinions why it is in such a mess. But none of our opinions are going to make any difference.

On the other hand, our prayers will indeed make a difference. 

We need to pray over those still deployed, including civilians and native Christians.

I pray this prayer over them and that they feel restrengthened, and that courage that is needed during this time.

Psalms 46:1-2 NIV (1) God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. (2) Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,

I also pray that their sights be true and if needed they hit their mark to protect others.

Psalms 149:6-7 NIV (6) May the praise of God be in their mouths and a double-edged sword in their hands, (7) to inflict vengeance on the nations and punishment on the peoples,

Have a blessed day

How is Your Diet?

As I was sipping coffee with the Lord this morning, sitting at the campsite picnic table, I watched the familiar huge herd of deer standing within a couple feet of another camper.

That person had her hand out and was trying to coax in the nearest deer for a morsel of food in her hands.

This is the same site that the deer have been visiting since we have been here.

They have become accustomed to being fed by humans.

In the past few days, these same deer have gotten with a few feet of us as well.

The whole group of them just stand there like they are waiting for us to give them something to eat also.

There are numerous articles on why they should not be fed like this. Reasons vary from the safety of the human (especially during rutting season) to proper diet for the deer. 

One article stated that the deer “forget” how to forage or scavenge for their own food.

I guess you could say that they become lazy and go for the “fast food” campsite food instead of what they should be eating. LOL

Once the deer leave the campsite with a full belly of whatever the camper was feeding them, they don’t forage on anything else.

Unfortunately, in most cases, everything the deer needs for their diet in naturally growing in the surrounding area. But since they are feeling good and have a full belly, they don’t eat it.

I felt sorry for the deer because they just don’t know any better and for the fawns that are with the herd, its their way of life. They have grown up eating “campsite fast food.”

This made me think about us and our spiritual diets.

We are supposed to test the word we received, amen?

1 Thessalonians 5:20-21 MSG (20) and don't stifle those who have a word from the Master. (21) On the other hand, don't be gullible. Check out everything, and keep only what's good.

We have to check it out and make sure what we are given to eat spiritually is good for us. There are those out there that are misleading so many. This is why many who call themselves Christians have accepted things that are not of God into their lives and their family’s lives.

But this should not be any surprise since we were already told that false messages will be preached.

2 Corinthians 11:13-15 MSG (13) They're a sorry bunch—pseudo-apostles, lying preachers, crooked workers—posing as Christ's agents but sham to the core. (14) And no wonder! Satan does it all the time, dressing up as a beautiful angel of light. (15) So it shouldn't surprise us when his servants masquerade as servants of God. But they're not getting by with anything. They'll pay for it in the end.

Maybe you have been digesting some spiritual food that you shouldn’t be eating.

Maybe that spiritual camper has been coaxing you with a tasty morsel of food.

Today, I pray that you start testing every word that is received and be sure it is the food that you are supposed to be eating.

Have a blessed day.

Disbudding the Flock

After posting yesterday’s blog, I thought about our goat herd back on the farm years ago.

God spoke to me many times by using the farm maintenance and herd management quite a few times in the beginning of my pastoral ministry.

When the Lord made it perfectly clear to me that I was to pastor a church I was scared and I told him, “I can’t do this. I can’t be a pastor.”

He simply said, just treat them with the love you are treating your goats!

I understood that.

Simply put, I gave them food and water.

At one time, we had 60 head of goats.

When I got home, I would walk out here to check on my flock and they would come to the fence and greet me with their joyful bleating.  

I would love it because they were happy that I had arrived and was about to feed them.

Are you happy and excited when you arrive to church and eager to be fed? Just asking?

When I entered in through the gate some would stand on the rear legs and put their front legs on me waiting for my touch of affection and for me to talk to them.   

Others would stay back towards the rear ranks, but ears were perked jump and just waiting to hear my voice.

Are you the excited one or the back row member? I’m just meddling….

I would go to the feed trough and take a broom with me to sweep out the old residue left from the day before.  

The goats did not care about the residue and would have eaten the food I threw in on top of it but I wanted them to have the best food. 

I wanted them to have the unadulterated and purest food I could provide! That leftover food could cause some health issues later.

This food was a special mixture that I made for them 1-part- sweet stock, 1-part medicated chow and 1-part oats!   I remember that because that was what worked the best!  I mixed it a little at a time to be sure they got a really good mixture!  

I attempt to do the same thing with the word of God as I feed the flock spiritually.  

The word is unadulterated, but the mixture used to feed you is my concoction based on not just what you like but what works best!

Jesus changed the method but never changed the message, amen?

While they were eating, I would go to the water trough and dump the trough out and with my hands wipe the slime off the bottom. 

Then rinse it out and fill it up with fresh water.  They didn’t know or care that I was doing this as long as they had water to drink.  But I wanted them to have the unadulterated and purest of the water that I could provide.

Good word, amen?

Then while they were eating I would caress them and assure them I was there for them and they liked that!  

They enjoyed me petting them but while I was petting them, I was looking for blemishes!   I was looking for wounds from trials and tribulations!  I was looking for sickness!  This is the job of the shepherd!  Based on my findings I may have to administer medicine to the flock!  One of the things I did with the youngest ones was hold them and check their heads for the budding of their horns!  And when the time came, we had to disbud them for their own good.   This protected the others around them from injury and kept them from getting stuck in the fence and possibly dying.

The disbudding process was a family affair because it took quite a bit of time to corral up the little ones that needed to be done and after the rest of the flock herd the first one screaming it was REALLY hard to catch the next one!

This disbudding process was something we had to do but we hated it!  The little ones would SCREAM while the disbudding iron was on their head and the hair was burning and the mother was bleating from the other side of the fence slobbering as she trotted around back and forth along the fence not knowing what we were doing!  

Then we sprayed the purple disinfectant on the open wounds and then gave them their shot!  

So, during the disbudding process there would be chaos and trouble in the flock as they felt helpless and maybe even felt like I had become their enemy!  

You ever been mad at the preacher?

You ever been mad at God?

Was it during your disbudding?

You know as soon as we released the little one, usually still screaming and the mother still bleating, the kid would run straight to its mother and start feeding on its mother!  The bleating stopped immediately, and everything was basically back to normal except the babies were running around and playing with purple spots on the foreheads.

Nearly every Sunday, the Holy Spirit does some disbudding on the flock while I am preaching.

The only difference is in this case is you have a choice on whether or not to be disbudded!  

Right?

But remember, we are blessed to have a FATHER that corrects us.

Job 5:17 NIV "Blessed is the one whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.

He disciplines those he LOVES

Proverbs 3:12 NIV because the LORD disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in.

When I think about the emotional pain I felt while disbudding the flock, I wonder how God feels when he has to disbud me.

May you be willing to be disbudded today and allow God to bring correction.

It ultimately saves us!

The biggest threat to the goats with horns is getting caught in the fence on a hot summer day in Texas!

They can be dead by the time I get home from work.

Without us being disbudded, could result in being caught in that spiritual fence of disobedience and we find ourselves spiritually dead!

Have a blessed day

Culling The Herd?

Yesterday evening Tammy, Ethan and I all sit in our campsite and watched at least sixty deer make their way through the park.

It was so relaxing to see the young ones playing and the bucks testing out their antler skills.

One thing we noticed was that nearly all the bucks had spike antlers.

The does were all pretty thin and ribs showing too.

This reminded me that Texas had started culling out spikes years ago because it was believed that the spike buck was due to a genetic defect.

Today, it is a big debate on whether culling out the spike bucks even works.

Another popular belief is that the spike bucks are due to a malnutritional diet because of overpopulation.

That could be the case here at a Corps of Engineer Park where everyone is feeding the deer.

Like I said, we watched over sixty deer meandering slowly through the park with no worries.

We have been to Texas State Parks and seen very healthy deer that obviously are getting the nutrition they need to grow those healthy antlers.

I did a search on the internet and learned that the TPWD (Texas Parks and Wildlife Department) do draws for people to hunt the deer.

I learned that they do this to control the overpopulation of the deer.

Just based on the difference in appearance of the deer at these two paces supports the culling out the herd.

The Texas State Park deer are very healthy looking let alone the size of their bucks too.

This made me think about the culling of the human herd that is coming!

Matthew 13:49 NIV (49) This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous
Wow! That is a culling that we need to be ready for, amen?

Matthew 25:32 NIV (32) All 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.

Here is what God gave me as I watched those scrawny little does and spike bucks this morning.

How nutritional is your diet?

Woe! That is it! 

If we eat the spiritual food we are supposed to eat while grazing in the spiritual camps that we should be in, we will be healthy (righteous ones). Amen?

Ask yourself today. “Am I on that nutritional diet I should be on?”

Hey, we all want to be with the sheep when the culling starts amen?

May this find you grazing on the nutritious spiritual food that you should be.

Have a blessed day

Happy 35th Anniversary

Today makes thirty-five years with the love of my life.

I couldn’t finish telling God how happy I was for bringing Tammy into my life while sitting in the hot tub this morning. (Fifteen-minute time limit in the hot tub)

So, I thought I would just say it today on my daily blog post.

Happy Anniversary Tammy!

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 NIV (4) Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. (5) It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. (6) Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. (7) It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. (8) Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.

May ya’ll have a blessed day today.

Looking Forward to a Worship Service?

This is Sunday and I just wonder if you are looking forward to a good worship service?

You better read this entire blog before you answer.

Today’s message is about getting connected and staying connected to God. Amen?

John 15:4-7 GNB (4) Remain united to me, and I will remain united to you. A branch cannot bear fruit by itself; it can do so only if it remains in the vine. In the same way you cannot bear fruit unless you remain in me. (5) "I am the vine, and you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will bear much fruit; for you can do nothing without me.

We must get connected and STAY connected, amen?

So, what disconnects me from God? It is sin. Amen?

We must daily crucify our flesh to STAY connected, amen?

Galatians 5:24 MSG Among those who belong to Christ, everything connected with getting our own way and mindlessly responding to what everyone else calls necessities is killed off for good—crucified.

Listen when you get truly connected to God, you will hunger for something more than a worship service.

You will hunger and thirst for a worship experience…Amen?

May this find you connected and ready for a worship experience today!

It Is Just a Vapor

This morning, while sipping coffee with the Lord in our hot tub, I was reminiscing about Ethan standing on my chest and me holding his little baby hands.

I used to lay in the hot tub lounger, and he would want to sit on me and then stand up on my chest as long as I held his hands.

He was only four or five months old.

It seems like that was yesterday but this morning I realize that it wasn’t because my little boy is going on his first chaperoned date!

Where did the time go, right?

As we all get older, we share with each other about how fast our life has gone by.

This should be no surprise because the word of God tells us our life is but a vapor.

James 4:14 NKJV whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.

Life is so short, and our days are numbered.

Psalms 90:12 NKJV So teach us to number our days, That we may gain a heart of wisdom.

I learned yesterday that a first cousin of mine has passed away. 

He was only 42 years old.

Yes, our days are numbered, and we do not know when they are up.

May you enjoy today, making memories and gaining wisdom.

Do it while you can because our life is but a vapor.

Have a blessed day.

The Right Frame of Mind?

With all the opinions, attitudes, and strife created by all media, how do we keep in our right frame of mind?

We have been distracted by the panic-demic for what seems like forever and now the Afghanistan nightmare unfolding before our eyes daily.

All of this is going to distract us from having the right frame of mind.

As our lives become more and more inundated by various forms of media, we must ask the question, "What do I fill my mind with?"

We cannot ignore what is going on around us. But at the same time, we cannot let the current events rule over our every thought!

If we ponder over the news and other media outlets, our frame of mind is NOT going to be that transformed mind that we are supposed to have. Amen?

Romans 12:2 KJV And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Paul mentions our minds, our thoughts, and the processes of the mind. 

It is the “renewal of the mind” with which he is concerned.

This is a daily function. It requires that daily devotional, Bible studies, alone time with God. Amen?

Ask yourself, “Do I spend more time in the word or the world?”

Our Lord Jesus was concerned about our minds when He said, “You shall love the Lord your God with...all you mind” (Matthew 22:37).

So, in closing, I ask the question, "With what do I fill my mind?"

To properly answer it, we need to examine ourselves as to whether we are filling our minds with the world or with the word.

If our mental diet consists predominantly of the world, don't be surprised when we start thinking and living like the world.

The effects, no doubt, will be devastating.

But, if we allow the word of God to shape our minds, even when disturbing external circumstances accompany our lives, we will be standing safely on good and holy ground.

May this find you in the Right Frame of Mind today!

Have a blessed day.

Keep Your Distance!

We had our weekly Bible study last night and I shunned all to keep their distance from me and our family.

The look on their faces was that of shock and bewilderment until I stated that our oldest son and his family all have Covid.

Then they all respected our “safety bubble.”

The folks that were placing their Bibles on our table moved to another table to stay safe as well.

The one good thing that has come out of the panic-demic is common sense about spreading any and all viruses! Amen?

This social distancing to keep safe made me think about how God also warns us to keep our distances to be safe.

For instance, Sin is something we are supposed to keep a distance from, amen?

Proverbs 4:14 GNB Do not go where evil people go. Do not follow the example of the wicked.

If we get too close to sin, we may find ourselves infected with that sin, amen?

The Bible says to “shun evil,” to “hate it,” to “avoid” it and “flee” from it.

It calls for us first to see it for what it really is, to recognize it as a serious threat.

And then to get some distance from it, to avoid it, to flee it, to run with pace the other way.

The problem is that we too often tolerate it in and around us.

We say it’s OK for evil to be our neighbor, around our house, in our refrigerator, on our screens.

We minimize evil like it’s benign, not toxic, not the parasite, the virus that it really is … until it’s too late!

The Bible tells us to avoid all the spiritual viruses that we may encounter.

1 Timothy 6:11 GNB But you, man of God, avoid all these things. Strive for righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness.

So, let’s keep our distance from these things if we know what’s good for us. Amen?

Have a blessed day!

Do You Have a Routine?

Well, we all have a routine, right?

My normal routine in the morning is to get out of bed, shuffle to the kitchen and start the coffee, take care of business in the bathroom, and then get a cup of coffee and head to the hot tub. After fifteen minutes in the hot tub, I feel so much better and head into the house to read my devotionals and then work on this daily blog.

This morning, due to the rain, I had to adjust my routine.

Thank you, Lord, for heating pads! LOL.

Has your daily routine been interrupted?

With all that is going on in this dark and perverse world, it is easy to get distracted from our daily routines.

But we must stay focused on God always.

As we pray for the persecuted Christians, we should also praise God that we still live in a God blessed country.

Our country may not stay that way as we all know that the end times are drawing closer and closer.

Keep your routine and I encourage all to keep praying for God to intervene with all the ungodly chaos in our country as well as the world.

One good example of staying focused on his routine was Daniel in chapter six.

Read the whole chapter if you like but I am sharing the key verse that illustrates that Daniel is not wavering from his daily routine for any ungodly policies in his life.

Daniel 6:10 GNB When Daniel learned that the order had been signed, he went home. In an upstairs room of his house there were windows that faced toward Jerusalem. There, just as he had always done, he knelt down at the open windows and prayed to God three times a day.

May this find you keeping your routine and if you don’t have one, starting it today!

Have a blessed day.

My Desire to go on a Trek

Last Sunday I preached “Just Add Water” (link to sermon) and during the sermon I mentioned backpacking and going on a trek.

I had a yearning to go on another trek as I prepared the message and now I have even a deeper desire to experience another trek.

A trek is when a backpacker goes on a two day or longer trail.

In April of 2019, Tammy, Ethan and I did a two-day, one night trek at Colorado Bend State Park (link to a 46-minute video of us on the trek).

Tammy had her knees replaced in September of 2018 just a week after I had my stroke.

Now that makes a great pair, doesn’t it? LOL. 

Due to my restricted eyesight, I almost walked off a thirty-foot cliff!

Tammy was hurting but has fond memories of that two-day trek. 

She wishes she could go on another but her physical challenges are in the way.

We still talk about the Gormon Falls and walking along the river for miles.

Anyway, wonderful memories are made while on a trek that can not be made or experienced in any other way.

My first and only long trek was at Philmont Scout Ranch in 1976 and I still catch myself reminiscing about that. I still remember being at the top of Baldy Mountain and Shaefer Peak as well as taking Shaefer’s Pass to the Tooth of Time.

I think that the closeness we feel to God while deep inside Mother Nature’s trails has a lot to do with the longing to want to return for another dose of that closeness.

In August of 2019, I went to the top of Guadalupe Peak (link to 51 minute video of that weekend), the highest peak in Texas. 

The original plan was for Ethan to hike to the top with me and spend the night but due to some physical challenges we were unable to do that. 

I have fond memories of the spectacular views as I hiked to the top and back down.

I am contemplating another trip in the near future to celebrate my 60th birthday! I don’t want to do it by myself but that is an option.

At the beginning of this year, I was riding a bicycle due to my own physical challenges and told my wife then that I would go backpacking again if possible.

Well God has allowed me to overcome those physical shortcomings and I am getting more serious about heading out on a trek.

As I was sitting in the hot tub this morning, I thought about how we also have a yearning desire to experience a GOD moment, amen?

Do you find yourself longing for a TREK? 

Not, the backpacking trek but a spiritual TREK!

That is True Revival Encountering the King!

Many of us have a Holy Ghost experience from the past that we long for, right?

I pray that you get to have your own personal TREK today!

Have a blessed one!

Just Add Water! (Title is link to yesterday's sermon)

While working on my do-it-yourself project in the backyard, it was time to pour some concrete. So I went to LOWES and bought some Quickrete! Which is Concrete. Well sort of. If I threw the dry stuff in that hole, it probably wouldn’t reinforce my drive as needed. BUT, if I JUST ADD WATER, it becomes a mix that will solidify and reinforce my drive as needed, amen?

The Lord stopped me in my tracks when I had said, “Just Add Water” and I realized that we are not complete or WHOLE without the LIVING WATER either. Amen?

Just like that sixty-pound bag of Quikcrete is basically useless until it is made whole with the water, we are also just an empty dirt suit also useless until we are filled with the LIFE GIVING WATER. Amen?

Read the following story about a woman becoming whole by “JUST ADDING WATER”

John 4:5-14 GNB
(5) In Samaria he came to a town named Sychar, which was not far from the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. (6) Jacob's well was there, and Jesus, tired out by the trip, sat down by the well. It was about noon. (7) A Samaritan woman came to draw some water, and Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink of water." (8) (His disciples had gone into town to buy food.) (9) The woman answered, "You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan—so how can you ask me for a drink?" (Jews will not use the same cups and bowls that Samaritans use.) (10) Jesus answered, "If you only knew what God gives and who it is that is asking you for a drink, you would ask him, and he would give you life-giving water." (11) "Sir," the woman said, "you don't have a bucket, and the well is deep. Where would you get that life-giving water? (12) It was our ancestor Jacob who gave us this well; he and his children and his flocks all drank from it. You don't claim to be greater than Jacob, do you?" (13) Jesus answered, "Those who drink this water will get thirsty again, (14) but those who drink the water that I will give them will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give them will become in them a spring which will provide them with life-giving water and give them eternal life."

Jesus’ mission was about transforming losers to winners in life. Amen?

Many of us are still trying to repent in a good enough way that we can feel worthy of God’s love and forgiveness.

Many of us are still feeling so unworthy of the love that has been offered to each of us.   It sounds too good to be true.  

Jesus who offers us the greatest gift of all, His love and His Forgiveness, in other words His Grace.  

I encourage all to JUST ADD WATER today by simply asking Jesus for a DRINK!

Amen?

If you haven’t clicked on the Title, please do and enjoy!

Have a blessed day!