Day of Praise

Sat, 11/30/19, "Day of Praise" 

"For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." - Philippians 1:21 

Please be careful. As a pastor, I've experienced dear friends who have tragically used today's verse to create an eagerness for physical death. Though I won't deny that there's some element of that, God's chief encouragement in the verse is for us to know the "gain" and the joy of "dying to self." 

To die to self is to pray to God, "Thy will be done." To die to self is to set aside our will and wants and desires, saying, "God, your will and wants and desires for me are far greater than anything I could even desire, let alone deserve." 

To die to self is gain! 

Oh, yes, if you search the 100 or so Bible verses with the word "gain," then you can see that there are some things to be gained for doing the old Burger King jingle thing where you "have it your way." But God's Word says that the gains of having it our way are always very temporary at best and negative, destructive, and ruinous at worst. 

To the contrary, God's Word says the gains from dying to self are always positive and lasting, including gaining instruction, knowledge, insight, wisdom, a friend, godliness with contentment, your own life, a good standing for yourself, great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus. and, best of all, you gain Jesus Christ himself. 

And when you gain Jesus Christ, then, well, you can really start living! 

"For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." - Philippians 1:21 

Praise God!

Day of Praise

Fri, 11/29/19, "Day of Praise"

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

Ya know those puzzles where you have two different words? The puzzle challenge is to find the way for the two different words to become the same word. The way to do it is by changing one letter at a time in one of the words to make it a new word. Ooooooh, let me just show you the way. 

Here's the puzzle. What's the way for the word "rear" to become the word "Lord"? Here's the way. You start with "rear". Then change "rear" to "read". Then change "read" to "lead". Then change "lead" to "load". Then change "load" to "lord." Those are the steps along the way for making "rear" to become "Lord."

Jesus also shows us that knowing the way and steps along the way is important. He actually tells us in today's Bible verse that he himself is the Way. He also spends time with his followers, who are called his disciples, so that he can teach them the steps for leaving behind being a new disciple and becoming a mature disciple.

For example, I can look at my own life and see that I once thought that being a Christian was "knowing the Bible and being nice." 

Then, God, through the Bible, showed me that being a Christian certainly includes knowing God's word, like the Bible, but it's more important to know the God of the Bible. And Jesus says that the Way to know the God of the Bible is by getting to know Jesus. So "knowing the Bible and being nice" became "knowing Jesus and being nice." 

Then Jesus showed me that being a Christian certainly includes being nice. However, Jesus showed me it's more important to help other people take steps toward knowing Jesus. And many times helping people know Jesus feels, to them, like we're not being nice because coming to know Jesus always changes our lives and sometimes those changes hurt. The way to knowing Jesus doesn't always feel nice because it includes a cross and various forms of suffering and rejection. So "knowing Jesus and being nice" became "knowing Jesus and helping others to know Jesus."

And now, Jesus has shown me that "helping others to know Jesus" is fabulous, but there's even more joy waiting for those who would know the Lord if we not only help them to know Jesus but also help them to help others to know Jesus. After all, in Luke 15, Jesus tells three straight parables where each parable's ending celebrates the rejoicing in heaven and with the angels and with Father God when someone comes nearer the God of heaven than they were before. So "knowing Jesus and helping others to know Jesus" became "knowing Jesus and helping others to know Jesus so that they could then have the heavenly joy of helping others to know Jesus."

So just like "rear" became "Lord" by changing one letter at a time, God shows us that he'd change us one "letter" at a time so he can shape us into being a follower of the Way, who is Jesus. "Knowing the Bible and being nice" becomes "knowing Jesus and being nice" which becomes "knowing Jesus and helping others to know Jesus" which becomes "knowing Jesus and helping others to know Jesus so that they could then have the heavenly joy of helping others to know Jesus."

And we thank God for every step along the way. 

I encourage you to think about and thank God for how he's blessing you by shaping and changing you one step, one "letter," at a time so that you can both know God and His Son, Jesus, and also know how to help others know him too!

Praise God!

Day of Praise

Thur, 11/28/19, Thanksgiving Day "Day of Praise"

"Give thanks to the LORD for He is good! His love endures forever!" - Psalm 107:1

Happy Thanksgiving, y'all! Happy Thanksgiving! 🦃

Praise God!

Day of Praise

Wed, 11/27/19, "Day of Praise"

With many of our students having exams now and in the near future, I was reminded of this devotion from the archives. 

"Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words." - Romans 8:26. 

So, I'm helping my 14 year old son, Caden, study for a big World History test. In this particular study session, I'm asking him questions from a quiz that his teacher gave to help the class get ready for the big test. The quiz was pages and pages of stuff that Caden had written out. My job was to take each of Caden's written quiz answers and turn them into spoken questions for Caden to answer aloud. 

About halfway through our study session, I got this thought to be silly.

So, with a huge smile, I said to Caden, "True!" And, of course, I thought he'd say, "Ah Dad, c'mon. Give me the rest of the question." 

Instead, without missing a beat. Caden said, "True, Cromwell was open to the idea of religious toleration."

I about fell on the floor from amazement, not to mention gladness, because Caden really needs to do well on this test. And I said, "How did you know that from all these pages of stuff?" And he said, "I told you, Dad; I've been studying!"

Which is a great parable to today's Bible verse. Just like I barely gave Caden anything to work with when I said, "True," sometimes we barely give God anything to work with when we pray because "we do not know what to pray for." (Romans 8:26). 

But even though I barely gave Caden anything to work with, he knew the answer because he'd taken time to study and know the material. So too, even though we barely give God anything to work with sometimes in our prayers, God knows the answer because he's taken time to study and know us. 

So be encouraged, y'all!!! Yes, it's good to have nice, eloquent, smooth-flowing prayers. But when things come up that baffle you, as they do everyday, and a nice, eloquent, smooth-flowing prayer is nowhere to be found in your heart, then just groan or grunt or squeal out whatever you can to God. 

God already knows the rest. 

And he's on it.

Because He loves you.

We know this in Jesus Christ.

So go into today, and know that your grunting, groaning, squealing, sighing, mumbling, bumbling prayers are heard. And they're blessed!

Praise God!

Day of Praise

Sat, 11/26/19, "Day of Praise"

"Then he said to me, 'Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, "Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off."'" - Ezekiel 37:11

Have you lost anything lately? 

Maybe your keys? Maybe your faith? Maybe your hope?

Let's start with the keys.

A friend of mine at church once asked if I'd seen their keys. I apologized that I hadn't. They walked away, still puzzled, and I went into the library to lead a Bible study.

After class, I was walking out to our cars with a student when she took some keys out of her pocket, looked at them in a puzzled way, stopped in her tracks, and said, "Whose keys are these?" I chuckled and said I thought they're the keys of our friend who had lost his. She laughed and went back to return his keys. The keys had never been lost to begin with. A friend was just holding them for a while. 

The whole "lost keys" incident reminded me of today's Bible verse and times when our lives seem "dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off" (Ezekiel 37:11). In the Bible verse, God is actually carrying the "lost" hope and breath of life for a whole nation until it's ready to receive it back. In my own life, I was so blessed when my children and other dear Christian friends carried my "lost" hope in the worst season of my life until I was able to see beyond. 

What about you? I know that some of you are feeling down, wondering what's in your future and wondering if you even have a future. I know that hope is waning for some of you. Life feels dry. And you feel cut off and detached from other people. It feels like the best parts of life have been lost. 

But hang in there. God gave us to each other so we can hold onto and safekeep your "keys," ya know, your hope, your faith, and the strength to look for something good to come your way. All isn't lost. It's just been misplaced for a while. Just long enough to see that, like my kids were for me, the best things in life are always our God and our friends who stick with us until we ourselves can see the brighter view that God has prepared for us. 

So today, let's be on the lookout for each other because somebody has lost their "keys" to life, and we are so blessed to help each other find them. 

Praise God!

Day of Praise

Mon, 11/25/19, "Day of Praise"

"And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him." - Luke 15:20

Let's all act like a dog today. 

As usual, let me explain.

To begin with, many of you who know me are probably being revived from fainting because you know I'm not a fan of dogs. For those who don't know me, I'm not a fan of dogs because I can't escape the fact that, when I was a kid, I was all too often chased by "Freckles" who was the big, at-least-looked-like-a-Doberman, chase-after-anything-that-moved dog who protected his domain up the street, down the street, and any other place that he wanted to claim as his own. 

But that being said, dogs are, to most people, their owner's best friend. What you people, who had no "Freckles" in your life, tell me is that your dog loves you unconditionally. And what you tell me is that your dog shows you that unconditional love by always being a "DoG", that is, DOwnright-Glad to see you. Ya know, you've been away all day, and you pull in the driveway, and your puppy dog can barely contain herself as she wags her tail and makes that "heh-heh-heh" sound and runs in place so she doesn't cross the line and get zapped by your high voltage, underground fence that lets the bully dog in but won't let your sweet little doggie out. Ya know, your d-o-g is just DoG, DOwnright Glad to see ya!

It dawned on me at a hospital once that this is why almost everybody, who otherwise wasn't smiling, will immediately start smiling back at me after I smile and nod at them. It's because I look like a DoG. I look like somebody who is truly DOwnright Glad to see 'em. My goodness, I don't know 99.9% of 'em from the man in the moon, except Miss Ann who's tried to get me to give blood for now 26 years even though I keep telling her that I give every eight weeks at my church. But it doesn't matter if I know 'em or not. Most people seem so glad that I'm not "Freckles" who's lookin' to take a bite out of their, uh, well, out of their sweet little self. And then they're just downright shocked for a moment that I am what I am, namely, DOwnright Glad to see 'em. And then it hits 'em, "That guy is just like my dog, Spot or Fifi or Champ or Bowser; that guy looks like he's DOwnright Glad to see me." One guy even told me he had a dog named "Father" who had red hair, just like me.

But ya' see, gang, that's what the Father did in today's Bible verse. While his wayward, now-come-home son was still a long way off, the Father ran like a DoG to meet that wayward, now-come-home son. And the Father "embraced him and kissed him"; I'm guessing it was some big, sloppy, wet kiss on the cheek. Just like a DoG. 

Who was DOwnright Glad to see the boy. 

So he greeted him with unconditional love. 

And inspires us to do the same. 

Share a smile. Spread the love.

Let's all go act like a DoG today. 

"And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him." - Luke 15:20

Praise God!

Pastor Chris 
"The gospel is the story of Jesus [what God's only Son has done for us that we can't do for ourselves], spoken as a promise." - Robert Jenson

Day of Praise

Fri, 11/22/19, "Day of Praise"

"[Moses said, 'God's word] is no empty word for you, but your very life'" - Deuteronomy 32:47

I promise. This is a clean bathroom story. Well, almost.

A friend of mine and I were making our way to the men's room sink at the same time. He was talking. I was listening. And watching. 

He turns on the water and then starts pumping the built-into-the-bathroom-counter soap container. I smiled and told him the soap was in the store-bought container next to the built-in container. But my friend was so excited to talk about God's work in our church and the Prayer Meeting we were about to go into that he never heard me and he never even looked to see that there was no soap on his hands, even though he was scrubbing away and then thoroughly rinsing as if he'd gotten a handful of the liquid cleaner. 

I told you that this was a clean bathroom story. Almost. 

The problem, of course, was really not my friend's attentiveness. My goodness, shouldn't somebody be allowed to be excited about the Living God without having to worry that a soap container is not really containing soap?

As if the soap container cares, I blame the soap container. I mean that container and connected pump had the audacity to present itself as being full of a life-promoting cleanser. 

But it was empty. 

God aches, at least, when anyone or anything presents himself, herself, or itself as being full of a life-promoting something when, in truth, he, she, or it is empty. 

Good thing, though, that there's one thing in this world that we never have to be suspicious about. There's one thing in this world that, when it says it's full of a life-promoting something, then it's full of a life-promoting something and more. 

As God, through Moses, said in today's Bible verse, "[God's word] is no empty word for you, but your very life." (Deuteronomy 32:47)

Furthermore, God's word itself is not only not empty, but when God sends his word, it does not come back empty either. God's word fully accomplishes what God says it will. So when God makes you a promise, you can take it to the bank and deposit it in full! Read it for yourself in Isaiah 55:11, "So shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it."

And what God's word accomplishes is that it insures that we ourselves will not be empty (2 Corinthians 9:3), but instead that we'll be filled with God's life and love to overflowing (Luke 6:38). 

And, being God's promise, that's no empty promise.

Praise God!

Day of Praise

Thur, 11/21/19, "Day of Praise"

"This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." - Psalm 118:24

Ehhhhhh, I know swapping's not allowed, but it's fun to think about anyway. I was only two years and forty-nine weeks old, but I totally remember looking in the newborn area and asking my dad which one we were going to pick. After all, when my little sister was born, it made sense to me that when you put one in, then you should get to pick one out.

Ya know. A swap.

Kinda like a workday. Wouldn't it be awesome if you could trade it in? Ya know, snap your fingers, and a workday gets swapped for a weekend day. Well, at least for a Friday.

But, of course, that's not how it works.

Unless, of course, you're talking about swapping our perspective for God's perspective. Our perspective on a workday often is "Ugh!" God's perspective on a workday is "This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it!" (Psalm 118:24)

And that's a swap that God's willing to make with us every time.

Oh, and by the way, my little sister, Cheryl, who was born when I was two years and forty-nine weeks old, was, is, and always will be the best. I wouldn't swap her for anything!

Praise God!

Day of Praise

Wed, 11/20/19, "Day of Praise"

For a number of reasons I was reminded of this devotional from my archives a few years ago, so here ya go...

"And thus you shall greet him: 'Peace be to you, and peace be to your house, and peace be to all that you have.'" - 1 Samuel 25:6

So, there's this security guard at the front campus gate of my younger daughter's college. She's very peppy. Lots of energy. High spirits. Lively.

But not so good of a memory.

Last weekend when I pulled onto campus, she said, "Money and food. That's what they want you to give 'em because they don't want to use their money for food."

This weekend when I pulled onto campus, she said, "Money and food. That's what they want you to give 'em because they don't want to use their money for food."

At first, I had to laugh. I'm thinking, "What? Does she think I didn't hear her the first time?"

And then God zapped me. "Hey, Chris, Jesus greets the disciples twice with peace in about two minutes in John 20. So, are you saying Jesus thinks they didn't hear him the first time? Well, you might be right, which is also why the guy says the same basic thing three times in today's Bible verse."

Ya see, gang, God is determined that we hear and receive the blessings of His word, so God says a lot of things multiple times. God knows that maybe we didn't hear him the first time because we were "heavy with sleep" like Peter in Luke 9:32. But whatever the reason, God wants us to have the love and wisdom and power of his life-changing word. So, sometimes God says it twice.

Or more!

So, how 'bout we do the same, starting today? Let's tell people, "God loves you!" And if they're grouchy or sleepy and seem not to hear it, then it's no biggie! We'll just tell 'em again, like God does for us, to make sure that all of us hear of God's blessings!

"And thus you shall greet him: 'Peace be to you, and peace be to your house, and peace be to all that you have.'" - 1 Samuel 25:6

Praise God!

Day of Praise

Tues, 11/19/19, "Day of Praise"

"[Jesus said,] Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known." - Luke 12:2

Some of you have heard this story before, but God nudged my heart to share it again.

I was bad. And I'm not proud of it, but if revealing it will encourage someone else, then I'll go ahead and talk about it.

And besides, God already knows. 

My brother and I were roommates in college, and we'd gotten a pumpkin for Halloween decor. Once we got past Halloween, we needed to find something to do with the pumpkin. For some stupid reason, I decided the garbage can was a lesser option for the pumpkin when we could put it in the back of our friends' closet across the hall. It's important to note that the new, pumpkin-home closet was ridiculously high and only accessible if you stood on a chair, and even then the back of the closet was still terribly hard to reach. That's why I thought it would be funny to put the pumpkin in their upper closet. I thought it would start to rot and to stink, and then they'd look for the smell, and then they'd find it and be done. 

Unfortunately, I didn't count on two things: 1) my totally forgetting about the pumpkin to the point that it was in their upper closet so long that 2) the pumpkin didn't just rot and stink, but the pumpkin also turned into pumpkin soup. It was a mess!

My victim friends, Mark and Rodney, were understandably upset. And conveniently, they blamed everybody except me because my brother and the other "Zombies" (our floor nickname) were always pulling pranks, but I never did anything like that. Never. 

So one day, I get this phone call from Mark; it was about twenty-five years later. We hadn't talked since college. He asked how I was doing. And then he asked why I did it; he asked why I put the pumpkin in his closet. So, I asked him how he found out that it was me. And he responded by saying that the way he found out it was me was that I had just, in that moment, admitted it!

Like Jesus says in today's Bible verse, the truth always comes out, no matter how hard we try to hide it. 

That's why, way back near the beginning of creation, when the first people (Adam and Eve) tried to hide from God and cover their sin, it was futile. Not only did they try to hide it, but they fooled themselves into thinking that God didn't already know. But the truth came out, and Adam and Eve realized that God knew all along. 

And the hidden truth, which is hidden from those who deceive themselves into thinking that they can hide the truth about their sin from God, is that God wants to reveal our sin to us so that God can deal with it by teaching us a lesson in the positive sense and by graciously forgiving our sin. 

That's what Mark did for me that day that he called about the pumpkin, twenty-five years after the fact. He reminded me that the truth always comes out, and then he laughed and forgave my sin, bringing the matter to a close. 

Well, almost to a close. Because a stinking, rotting, college-pumpkin prank will forever be a reminder of the truth that Jesus said. "Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known." (Luke 12:2)

So let's just go ahead and bare it all to God and whoever else needs to know so that lesson-learning, forgiveness, and healing can begin. 

Praise God!

Day of Praise

Mon, 11/18/19, "Day of Praise"

"Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance." - John 20:1

Hmmmm! So Mary Magdalene started her week in the dark with a huge obstacle in the way of where she wanted to go. But she went anyway.

There's at least two ways to look at what she did. One way is that she said, "Hunh, it's dark out, and I know there's a huge stone that I can't move in front of the tomb. But I'm going to see Jesus anyway." And she did that, trusting that since her intent was divinely good, then somehow it would all work out. The second way to look at what she did is that she was so focused on going to see Jesus that she didn't even notice that it was dark outside and didn't remember the huge stone. In other words, with her eyes on Jesus, she didn't even notice the obstacles. Either way, it all worked out. Either way, that's how she started her week.

How are you starting your week? Is there a little bit of darkness? Are you in the dark about some important matters ahead? Is there a large, heavy obstacle in your path? Is there something blocking your way that is bigger than you yourself can remove?

Hey, what would it hurt to try what Mary did? Let's all put our eyes on Jesus to start the week, and I'll bet my last dime, (if I was a betting man, which I'm not), that God will show every last one of us that he's got it all under control and will lead us where we need to go.

Dear Heavenly Father,
Help us, we pray, to start our week with a deep breath for our lungs and our eyes set on you. Shine light in our darkness. And use your mighty hand to nudge our obstacles out of the way. To you, O Lord, be the glory.
In Jesus's name,
Amen!

Have a great day!

Praise God!

Day of Praise

Fri, 11/15/19, "Day of Praise"

"And when [Jesus] had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, 'Receive the Holy Spirit.'" - John 20:22

Yaaay! It's Friday! I'm cheering because I have a secret formula in order for you to have a great Friday.

Are you ready? Are you sure? I mean this is heavy stuff. It's pretty complicated. Drum rooooooooooll!

Okay, the secret formula in order for you to have a great Friday iiiiiiis...

Breathe!

Yes, breathe; breathe in, and breathe out!

In the spirit of simplicity, in today's Bible verse, Jesus came into a situation that was not what he liked. It was not ideal, so he breathed life into it.

In our case, when we come to a situation today that we don't like, then we start by breathing in, which is, as Jesus puts it, receiving the Holy Spirit that God is breathing onto the situation. Then after we take a deep breath, believing that God and God's Holy Spirit alone can truly change anything for good, we then breathe out, which is simply to speak life into a situation. Just as the Bible book of Proverbs contains verse after verse testifying to the death that we negatively breathe into situations when we lie and deceive and have a sour attitude, so too does God's word testify to the life that we positively breathe into situations when we encourage and speak honestly and have a cheerful attitude.

In sum, because God has already poured out his spirit and continues to do so, the quality of your Friday is in your hands, er, I mean, breath.

God has breathed out life so that we can breathe in life from God, and then we can breathe out life to others through the day.

Happy Friday!

"And when [Jesus] had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, 'Receive the Holy Spirit.'" - John 20:22

Praise God!

Day of Praise

Thur, 11/14/19, "Day of Praise"

"You in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish." - Luke 16:25

I have this penchant.

No, I don't mean a pendant. I mean a penchant. A pendant is something suspended from something else, ya know, like an ornament or a piece of jewelry. A penchant is a strong or habitual liking for something or tendency to do something. 

I have this penchant. Specifically, I have a penchant, a tendency to be helpfully unhelpful. Ya know, I've got this ability to show up in a kitchen right after everything has been set on the table, and ask if I can be helpful when help is no longer needed. Or I show up at the sink right after the last dish has been scraped, rinsed, and placed in the dishwasher and ask if there's a way I can help. Ya know, perfect timing. It's a penchant, a tendency to being helpfully unhelpful. 

I feel bad about this penchant of mine. I really do, but not too much, because I've seen and heard that others have the exact same penchant. 

Like one time, for example, I stopped by a retired friend who had visited a European cathedral with thirty or so steps up to the front door. And at the top of the steps was a sign for the handicapped that pointed them to an assistance desk once they got to the top of the stairs. I think that qualifies. Helpfully unhelpful. 

Additionally, another time, I was asked to share a prayer at a local Senior Center Octoberfest. (In German, it's spelled Oktoberfest; so said a Grouchy German known as SauerKraut.) When I stepped in the Men's Room to wash up before lunch, I spotted a button high on the wall between two stations. The sign with it said, "FOR ASSISTANCE, PUSH BUTTON." So, uh, somebody help me out here. How exactly is that button supposed to help? What? Somebody falls down and then screams at the button high on the wall? I think that qualifies. Helpfully unhelpful.

See I'm not alone in my penchant. 

It's a good thing God has a different penchant. God has shown us through Jesus that God has a penchant, a strong or habitual liking or tendency to do something, namely, to actually be helpful!

In fact, in today's verse, that's what "Lazarus" means. The name "Lazarus" means "God helps me." Lazarus had a hard earthly life: laid up, stepped on, stepped over, sore-riddled, poverty-riddled. But Lazarus trusted God's penchant to actually be helpful. And through faith, Lazarus received much help from God: to endure, to persevere, to keep the faith, to inspire, to have courage, to speak wisdom, to find comfort. 

What's your penchant? Many of you have told me your penchant, your tendency is to attract things like stress-producing people, life-complicating problems, and when-will-these-end annoyances. But, hey, don't ask me what to do about your penchant. Remember, I have a penchant to be helpfully unhelpful. 

Instead, take a hint from Lazarus, who had a penchant for faith in God. And Lazarus had faith in God because God has a penchant to actually be helpful!

Praise God!

Day of Praise

Wed, 11/13/19, "Day of Praise"

"You have said, 'Seek my face.' My heart says to you, 'Your face, Lord, do I seek.'" - Psalm 27:8

"Many seek the face of a ruler, but it is from the Lord that a man gets justice." - Proverbs 29:26

Point: God calls us to "seek his face" (Psalm 27:8) because through a face to face encounter with the Lord alone are things in our lives truly made right (Proverbs 29:26).

When I was very small and we lived in Memphis, TN, my parents would take us tadpole hunting. Ya know, searching for baby frogs. We'd catch 'em, bring 'em home, and watch 'em grow up. 

I also remember searching for baseball cards for my collection, for pro football stickers for a big book that was a gas station promotion, and for coins like wheat pennies and 1964-and-earlier silver quarters. 

Searching for many things is fun. Searching for God is critical. 

I've experienced many folks through the years who call the church and want something, obviously believing that the church has a willingness to help, whether it's with food or a place to get married or the baptism of their child. I've also experienced how most of these inquirers have every desire to see the generosity of God's people, but these inquirers have no desire to become a contributor to God's work. I never get mad. But it does make me sad because, though I'm thrilled that people recognize that a church is a good place to get something, I see that many don't understand that a church is a good place to give something. 

No church is perfect; every church is filled with sinners for whom Jesus died. But a church is a place to search for more than coins, baseball cards, tadpoles, and stickers. A church is a place to seek God. And our searching for God is critical because God says that our search for God leads us to discover that God has first and ever-faithfully been searching for us. 

Let me say it again; our search for God leads us to discover that God has first and ever-faithfully been searching for us.

Searching for many things is fun. Searching for God is critical.

So let's serve the Lord today and get together with other believers ASAP to search for and worship the Lord! You'll find that's he's eager to show you his face and bless you with more than enough to share with others! 

"You have said, 'Seek my face.' My heart says to you, 'Your face, Lord, do I seek.'" - Psalm 27:8

"Many seek the face of a ruler, but it is from the Lord that a man gets justice." - Proverbs 29:26

Praise God!

Day of Praise

Tues, 11/12/19, "Day of Praise"

In talking to our college-aged son Caden this weekend, I was moved to reminisce about a devotion I wrote from before he could drive. I hope it makes you laugh at me and thank God for His word. 

"...We may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes." - Ephesians 4:14

My son likes cantaloupe. He doesn't like getting up in the morning. Put those two together, and you get my son eating a nice, plastic bowl full of cantaloupe in the car on the way to school. And when the cantaloupe is gone, the empty bowl gets placed onto the middle bucket seat right next to the big, heavy, pillar candles, which are in the middle bucket seat because I have a wedding in the evening at someone's home. 

So I'm just leaving Caden's school, and I go around the first sharp curve, and the candles do what round, pillar candles do when they're laying on their side and inertia kicks in. They roll. And if it's in the way, those pillar candles will happily roll right into the nice, now-empty plastic bowl and "toss it to and fro" right to and fro onto the floor, along with all that sticky cantaloupe juice and the fork that Caden used.

So I pull up to the next red light, and I, in all my brilliance, reach behind the passenger seat, grab the now "more-empty" bowl, and proceed to put it right back on the same seat and right next to the same ready-to-roll, pillar candles. 

Well, of course, the next curve makes it happen; the candles start to roll "to and fro" and usually I don't recommend this, but I did it anyway. I threw my Big Ol' Bible at the empty bowl, and, lo and behold, it landed right on that bowl right before that bowl went over the edge a second time.

And ya' know what? I thought to myself, "I need to start throwin' Bibles at some people I know because they're gettin' 'tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes,' (which is today's verse from Ephesians 4:14). And what they need is a Big Ol' Bible to land right on top of 'em before they go over the edge another time."

I know y'all think I'm crazy, but I'm tellin' ya, we got these here Bible classes and they're chock full, jam-packed with people whose lives were cantaloupe-bowl empty and gettin' knocked to and fro and over the edge by every big and little thing that came along in life until a Big Ol' Bible came straight from Kansas, along with Dorothy and Toto, and landed right smack on their head.

Ya see, that's what God's word does. God's word grounds us. God's word is like an anchor. God's word is like a paper-weight. In the '50's, they probably would've called God's Word "heavy". And no matter what you call it, God's Word gives roots and a sure foundation to our lives. And I don't mean just knowing that it exists; I mean studying it and learning it and living it, just like Jesus talks about in Matthew 7 with the wise life-builders.

So, I know we've gotten long today. But c'mon people; stop exposing your life to the "elements", getting "tossed to and fro by the 'waves' and carried about by every 'wind' of doctrine" because you're glad to make time for everything under the sun except the Word of the Living God. Read your Bible, sit under God's Word, and see how God "gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers" (Ephesians 4:11) with the expressed purpose of "equipping believers for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes." (Ephesians 4:12-14).

God wants you to be grounded in Him and His Word so that you don't get knocked over the edge.

So make time for God's Word.

Or look up, and watch out for falling Bibles.

Praise God!

Day of Praise

Monday of Veterans Day Weekend, 11/11/19, "Day of Praise"

"The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent." - Exodus 14:14 

So one time, after a full day of Sunday School, worship, ministry committees, community ministry, and a school project, my son tells me he's going to do a workout. He's moving his feet very fast and doing his drills. He's working hard, moving his arms as he runs through his drills, over and over and over. While my son is ending his day at ten p.m. with a workout, I'm eating ice cream, specifically Target brand Birthday Cake ice cream. So my son's working hard, and I'm eating dessert. 

It's a lot like God's call through Moses in today's Bible verse. God will fight; we get to be still. Thank you, God! 

It's a lot like the truth that's celebrated on Veterans Day. Our Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marines, and Navy are poised and ready to fight; we get to rest secure that they will. Our Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marines, and Navy do what's necessary, in every generation, to serve our country and keep it safe; we get to be still. 

And eat ice cream. 

Even Target brand Birthday Cake ice cream if you want. 

Even if you already have, please, thank a Veteran again today...and tomorrow...and the next day! 

Hey, thank a bunch of Veterans! 

I have had a great time talking to, texting with, and emailing many Veterans with thanks over the weekend. They really appreciate it. I'm sure we should appreciate them more. 

Pray for our Veterans today! 

Our Veterans Day parade here in Birmingham is the longest running in the nation. But, hey, we don't need a Veterans Day parade today or tomorrow or any day to cheer for the Veterans in every generation. Cheer on and cheer up some Veterans today! And everyday!

After all, because our Veterans were willing to enter a conflict, then we are able to have peace and many other freedoms that they secure for us, which we enjoy. 

Praise God!

Day of Praise

Fri, 11/08/19, "Day of Praise"

"And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ." - Philippians 1:6

So how did your week go? No matter how you rate this past week, God has a simple encouragement for us today: Don't get down or give up because God is not through with us yet.

Amongst all the great things that God does for us that we cannot do for ourselves, God is ever faithful in sending us His Holy Spirit in order to shape and mold us in the likeness of Jesus Christ.

From the beginning, God's plan was that we would be the image, the mirror, the reflection of the presence, power, and promises of God. God's intent was that other people would be able to look at us and know that there is an Almighty God and that God is with us and for us in Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit.

And God promises in today's verse that if he started the work, then he'll complete it.

So enjoy your Friday and your weekend. Take time to look back on your week, and remember how God came through for you. Take time to look ahead, and anticipate where you'll need some divine guidance and strength.

And then tell some others, especially some kids and young adults, for whom the future can seem overwhelming. Tell them that you are "sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ." (Philippians 1:6)

Praise God!

Day of Praise

Thur, 11/07/19, "Day of Praise"

"As soon as all the kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan to the west and all the kings of the Canaanites who were by the sea heard that the Lord had dried up the waters of the Jordan for the people of Israel until they had crossed over, their hearts melted, and there was no longer any spirit in them because of the people of Israel." - Joshua 5:1

It still ranks as one of the top ten horrifying things I've ever seen.

He was the smallest of our neighborhood playmates, and he'd stumbled into a beehive. It didn't matter that he really hadn't stumbled into it; he had messed with something he shouldn't have. What mattered is that the smallest of our neighborhood playmates was absolutely and totally surrounded by a cloud of swarming bees. Moreover, as he started to run up our street, he was flailing his arms like one of those twenty-feet high cloth men that businesses stick at the street and blow air into so that people are attracted to the business and distracted from safe driving. He was flailing all the way up the street and back because the swarm was easily keeping pace. 

I distinctly remember having nightmares for months about an even bigger swarm that was chasing a flailing me.

I also remember that, at some time around then, God impressed on my heart that God is for the little guy, and not necessarily for the little guy as it applies to size and stature. But God is for those who are surrounded by larger forces and powers and swarms that try to distract us from faith. 

That's what the Amorites and Canaanites were to the Israelites in today's verse. They were larger forces and powers and swarms that tried to distract the Israelites from faith. But God would have none of it. God struck fear in the hearts of those enemies, in the hearts of those larger forces and powers and swarms that tried to distract the Israelites from faith. 

And God does the same today. What's swarming around and beating down on you? Take heart! God will strike fear in our enemies today just like he did in days of old! 

Praise God!

Day of Praise

Wed, 11/06/19, "Day of Praise"

"[Jesus said,] Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal." - John 6:27

Happy Wednesday!

Another day for us to stay after it. Back to the salt mines. Or the grindstone. Or makin' some dough. Or however you describe it. 

But let's not forget what we're really doing here. 

Money, like happiness, is never our goal with our work or our studies in school. The goal of our work or our studies, Jesus says, is "the food that endures to eternal life". And in John 17:3, Jesus tells us that eternal life is knowing the One True God and His Son, Jesus Christ. 

In other words, no matter what anybody else says, our work and our studies have the ultimate goal of relationships: with God, with self, with family, with friends. This is what's meant in Proverbs 22:1 where we hear, "A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor is better than silver or gold." The paycheck or being happy at our job or our school is a byproduct of working and studying for the right reasons. 

It's a faith proposition. It means we go to work and school trusting and having faith that if Jesus says that our focus and goal needs to be relationships and teamwork and the glory of God, well, then we'll trust him and have faith in him so that we'll make relationships and teamwork and God's glory our focus and goal. And we'll trust that Jesus will take care of the money and the happiness parts. That's why Jesus says "which the Son of Man will give to you" in today's verse. He gives us both our true goal, and then he gives us the grades and money and happiness as a byproduct of keeping the main thing as the main thing!

Nowhere is this better illustrated than in Acts 3:6 where Peter said, "I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!"

Peter knew that the real power and the real ability to provide for our loved ones and make a living was not in money, gold, or silver, but instead the real power for daily provision lies in the name of Jesus Christ through whom we know the promises and ultimate provision of the Living God!

So, let's remind the kids as we get them to school, and may God remind us big folks too. The reason we're about to get after it is to glorify God who provides.

Praise God!

Day of Praise

Tues, 11/05/19, "Day of Praise"

For many children and sports reasons, I just had to pull up and resend this devotional that I wrote a number of years ago. 

"For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory." - 1 Thessalonians 2:11-12

Busted!

I don't even remember how I did it, but somehow I broke a decorative cologne container on my dad's bathroom counter. I do remember feeling horrible and trying (unsuccessfully) to hide it. I think I was eight. 

Now, fast forward to today, literally yesterday. I, who tried to hide a broken cologne decanter from my father, accidentally busted someone who was breaking something far worse. And they were older than eight. My stumbling into this had nothing to do with my being a Father, er, I mean, pastor. I was just doing what people do nowadays. I was just checking in and saying, "Hi!" (People do that, don't they?) 

And yet, there was a worse problem. The bigger problem was that they thought that they got away with it. But the only thing they got away with was deceiving themselves.

Why do people do stuff like this? And then why do we try to hide the messed up stuff we do?

It's because we turn a deaf ear to our Heavenly Father's call "to live lives worthy of God" (1 Thessalonians 2:12). We get so wrapped up in the life that the world urges us to live that we lose perspective on what truly is significant.

And yet, that's what we hunger for. We hunger for significance. And God's word, in today's Bible verses, is telling us plainly that the only way we'll find the significance for which we long is when we stop trying to hide everything that's broken in our lives, from cologne containers to relationships, and tell our Heavenly Father that we need help. And then trust Him to help us.

But praise God that, every once in a while, a significant man or woman is exposed to the world through their brokenness.

A University of Florida, star football player, Dominique Easley, a potential first-round 2014 professional football draft pick, suffered a season-ending injury in a noncontact drill at his team's practice on Tuesday.

But clearly, the once probable (but who knows now?) millionaire has his priorities straight and understands what is most significant in life. While still tasting the freshness of his broken body and broken season, the senior defensive tackle tweeted: "Gatornation thank you for all 4 yrs of sticking with me but god has something else planned for & have no worries #believe." (Check out 
http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/09/26/3651048/gators-tackle-dominique-easley.html). In essence, Easley has used this injury to parlay whatever significance football has had for him into an opportunity to testify that trusting God, no matter what happens in life, has greater significance for him. 

Our country needs more men, like Dominique Easley. Easley knows how to convert the brokenness of earthly things into something greater, like a testimony to the greatest things, which include the truth that God makes the greatest men out of the brokenness that destroys lesser men.

For those who know the sports world, you fully understand the significance of what I'm about to say since I'm a University of Tennessee graduate, former Tennessee football walk-on, and current Tennessee fan. My newest hero attends the University of Florida. And his name is Dominique Easley, who's proven himself, through brokenness, to be a man of true significance.

"For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory." - 1 Thessalonians 2:11-12

Praise God!

Day of Praise

Mon, 11/04/19, "Day of Praise"

"Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil." - Ephesians 6:11

God's Word and counsel is clear in today's verse. Knowing that the Evil One will try to undermine your faith and your life today, God calls us to put on the whole armor of God. 

There is one thing, though, that we should all remember. When you put on the armor of God, make sure it's your own armor! This too is not my word and counsel; it's God's. 

Very simply, in 1 Samuel 17:38-47 (which is included below), we hear about Saul "helping" David as David got ready to fight the devil, er, I mean Goliath. Saul thinks he's helping David as Saul "clothed David with his [Saul's own] armor". 

But if you read the story below, you'll see that David "tried in vain to go, for he had not tested [Saul's armor]. Then David said to Saul, 'I cannot go with these, for I have not tested them.'" In sum, David couldn't move in Saul's armor because it was too big. In other words, Saul's armor didn't fit David for the very fact that it was Saul's armor and not David's armor. 

David would have to go battle the devil, er, again I mean Goliath, with David's own armor and nobody else's. And if you read all of Ephesians 6 and then 1 Samuel 17, what you'll see is that God's telling us all that we must go into the day with our own personal faith in God through. You can't lean on somebody else's faith. Somebody else's faith is God dwelling in their heart, which helps you some but nowhere near as much as the help you get when God dwells with Holy Spirit power in your heart through your own personal faith in Jesus Christ!

Yes, it helps when someone prays for you. But someone praying for you is nowhere near the defense against the offensive assaults of the Evil One and the World and Your Own Sinful Flesh that will come at you today compared to someone praying for you coupled with, most importantly, your own deep faith and conviction that God reigns over all life, including yours!

The battle before you today is the battle for hearts. It's a battle of faith. And no one can believe for you. Just like no one can live for you, and, when it's time for you to breathe your last, then no one can die for you.

Our once great nation is losing the battle of faith. We're losing to the Philistines, and we're losing to the Evil One. And our nation is losing this battle for one simple reason: there's way too many people expecting someone else to fight this battle, er, I mean expecting someone else to believe in God for them.

Absolutely, God alone can defeat the Evil One. And in Jesus Christ, God already has! But you, dear friend, are the one who must surrender to the Holy Spirit of The Sovereign God in order to be victorious over the Evil One.

As nice as old Saul's gesture was to young David, David took off Saul's armor because David knew he had to go into the battle and into the day with his own [David's own] personal and living faith in God.

And you, my friend, must do the same.

And when you believe, God's armor and God's victory, will be yours!

(And P.S., it will help our nation today if each of us tells at least one more person the same!)

Praise God!

1 Samuel 17:38-47 - 38 Then Saul clothed David with his armor. He put a helmet of bronze on his head and clothed him with a coat of mail, 39 and David strapped his sword over his armor. And he tried in vain to go, for he had not tested them. Then David said to Saul, "I cannot go with these, for I have not tested them." So David put them off. 40 Then he took his staff in his hand and chose five smooth stones from the brook and put them in his shepherd's pouch. His sling was in his hand, and he approached the Philistine. 41 And the Philistine moved forward and came near to David, with his shield-bearer in front of him. 42 And when the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him, for he was but a youth, ruddy and handsome in appearance. 43 And the Philistine said to David, "Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?" And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44 The Philistine said to David, "Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the beasts of the field." 45 Then David said to the Philistine, "You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, 47 and that all this assembly may know that the Lord saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the Lord's, and he will give you into our hand."