Its Not About Me

Colossians 1:13-17

There are so many people who seem to believe that, because they are not wealthy and healthy, and God has not answered their prayers for health and wealth, then He does not hear them or simply does not care. They are wrong. The point they seem to have missed is that He is not here for us. He is not a genie who grants wishes. We are here for Him.

We hear so much about blessings and riches and happiness that we forget about the wrath that is coming, and that the only safe place is in Christ Jesus. That it is a Holy God that we are being saved from. Jesus is the only hope, He is the only salvation. So many have come to believe the lie that the Apostle Paul talked about in Romans 1. The lie for which the Truth was exchanged. The demonic doctrine that there are many ways to obtain salvation, that if you are good enough you can earn your place in Heaven. But to die without Chrst is the most tragic thing that could ever happen.

Christ Jesus is the only way to the Father. He is the Rock. He is the Cornerstone. He is Truth. He is the outside force.

God is AWESOME!

It's Been A While

I haven't written anything on here in a long time. I've had some experiences that I'd like to share. Experiences that have made want to write again.

I won't bore you with everything I've been up to. I'll just start with the more recent stuff.

The Pandemic

I am very thankful to have the kind of job that I do. The construction industry where I live was affected very little by COVID-19. And the company that I work for is even better. They have been good to my wife and I through this whole thing.

It started in November of 2020 when Cheryl (my wife) tested positive for COVID. We both had to quarentine for 10 days. Her symptoms were very mild. Then I tested positive. At first, it was like a bad cold. Then it started to get worse. I began to have trouble breathing. Cheryl ended up calling an ambulence for me. I was taken to the hospital and diagnosed with COVID double pneumonia. I spent a total of 12 days in the hospital, 4 of which were spent in the ICU where my kidneys nearly shut down and my heart developed atrial fibrillation and I almost died. COVID-19 is a very nasty virus.

I began to get well and they finally sent me home. My recovery was going very well. My strength was returning and I was feeling back to my old self.

Sometime in February of 2021 at about three o'clock on a Sunday morning, I woke up having trouble breathing. I went to my doctor the following Monday where he sent me to the pulmonologist. I had a pulmonary embolism.

My breathing continued to get worse and I was put on oxygen at home. At work, I was given a special parking space so I didn't have to walk far, and a new work space where I did paperwork. Light duty, basically. After a week or so, I noticed some swelling in my feet and ankles, then my legs started to swell, then my abdomen and hands. Fluid was building up in my body and I didn't know why. The fluid got around my lungs and my breathing got worse. My doctor put me back in the hospital and they were able to get the fluid out of my body, nearly fifty pounds of fluid. I got the news that I have congestive heart failure. That along with my chronic kidney disease was the cause of the fluid build up.

Now here I am back at home, breathing almost back to normal and most of the swelling gone. I know that God must have a plan for me, because all my doctors told me that with COVID-19 and all my other conditions, I should be dead.

So I decided to start writing again. Until next time...

God is AWESOME!

Won't You Be My Neighbor

Luke 10:25-37

There has been a lot of discussion lately on race relations in the United States. Many discussions have been unhelpful. There are those who would seek to divide and provoke rather than seek unity and healing.

In Luke 10:25-29, there is an interesting exchange between Jesus and a young lawyer. In response to the lawyers question, Jesus told a parable (Luke 10:30-35).

In His parable, Jesus chose a Samaritan as the hero. That was an interesting choice. Jews and Samaritans hated each other. They had been at odds since around 930 BC when Israel split into two kingdoms (1 Kings 12:1-19), Israel to the north and Judah to the south. Jerusalem was the capital of Judah and Samaria was the capital of Israel.

As followers of Christ Jesus, I am persuaded that we should love one another and submit to one another just like Jesus and the Apostles teach (1 Peter 5:5).

It is my firm belief that racism is a lie straight from Satan himself. The thought that anyone is better or different or superior in any way because of what color they are is ridiculous. What can divide people and make them ineffective faster than hate? What can steal the joy of your salvation and kill your focus faster than hate? In Christ, there is no black or white (Galatians 3:27-29).

We are one in Christ Jesus. We are the bearers of His light, pointing to the hope He holds out to us. Let us remain focused on that.

Our enemy is smart. He can wrap a lie up in a beautiful package (1 Peter 5:8). Our wise Father has given us His word and His Holy Spirit to help us recognize the dangers. He has given us everything we need to protect ourselves from the attacks of Satan (Ephesians 6:10-18).

We are brothers and sisters in Christ. Period.

God is AWESOME!

Knowing My Place

Romans 1 and 2

There is this saying: "Some of the meanest people you will ever meet are Christians".

It is sad but true. Many of us forget our place as Christians. It is our job to shine the light on the hope that Christ Jesus holds out. Not to sit in judgment over people. As the Apostle Paul points out in Romans 2, the ones who appoint themselves as judge are just as guilty as those whom they are judging.

So many of us brag about how much we love God and how unashamed we are of Him, but then treat people with such contempt. Our actions and our words, all too often, don't match up (Isaiah 29:13).

As Christians, we will be the only Jesus some people ever see. We have to be careful with our words and actions. We are to love our neighbors as ourselves (Luke 10:25-37).

Just because someone is living a lifestyle that you don't agree with, doesn't mean you have to be confrontational with them. We should love them anyway (Romans 12:18), and demonstrate the love of Christ Jesus in our actions and attitudes and words. If you read the gospels, you will notice that the only people Jesus was confrontational with were the religious leaders. He spent His time with tax collectors and prostitutes. He loved the weirdoes.

Let's be the reason someone comes to Christ. Not the people Paul talked about in Romans 2:24.

Second Wind

Genesis 2:7

I heard a song today that made me think of what happens when God breathes.

In Genesis, God breathed out the universe when He spoke it into existence. He used His own hands to form a man with dust, then, held him close, and breathed. (Genesis 2:7)

The man was alive. Not just an animated figure, but a living creature. How awesome is that?

God told the man how to stay alive (Genesis 2:15-17).

It was not long before the man disobeyed. Adam and Eve did something that had catastrophic consequences. As they desperately tried to find somewhere to hide, their eyes spilled tears for the first time, and their souls began to die. The life that God had breathed into them was slipping away. They were separated from their creator. The tragedy. The horror. The profound sadness.

The Earth was covered with the living dead. The Breath was gone. God was sorry that He had created all that He had said was good in the beginning. (Genesis 6:5-6)

Miraculously, inexplicably, God still loved us. He so wanted that relationship back that He had in the garden (Luke 19:2-10, John 3:16).

God made a way for that to happen. Christ Jesus came and permanently bridged the gap (Colossians 3:2-4) that had separated God from His beloved creation. He once again came close...and breathed. (John 20:19-22)

God is AWESOME!

Gravity (A Heavy Lesson)

James 2:8-10

Science is a wonderful tool for further understanding who God is. Our ability to study the creatures and the elements in our world and observe the universe has taken giant leaps and bounds in recent years. For those of us who are believers, these advances have left us even more in awe of our God and what He has done. (Colossians 1:15-17).

Many great men have studied our world with an understanding that is astounding. Sir Isaac Newton studied gravity and motion. I don't know that science has gotten a firm grip on exactly how gravity works yet, but a lot has been learned about gravity.

Galileo asserted that objects, regardless of mass, would fall at the same rate. The only problem in proving his assertion was the atmosphere. His famous hammer and feather experiment comes to mind. In 1971, astronaut David Scott was able to confirm Galileo's assertion. He dropped a hammer and a feather on the surface of the moon at the same time and they fell at the same rate because the moon has no atmosphere.

I believe God built in the curiosity that is in us, the thirst for knowledge, and the ability to learn and understand so that we could draw closer to Him and bask in His glory (Jude 1:24; Matthew 11:29).

The lesson I see in gravity, and what we understand of it is that no one of us is better than any other. We are all flawed, clumsy beasts groping in the darkness. (Romans 3:22-24; Psalm 73:21-22; Isaiah 59:9-10)

Without the light of Christ Jesus, we are like feathers without an atmosphere to make us float. We would continue to fall like hammers.

God is AWESOME!

A Wounded Spirit

Job 1

In Job 1, we get a peek behind the scenes. God and Satan have a conversation. Satan said that he had been walking all over the earth (Job 1:7). The Apostle Peter put a different spin (probably more accurate) on what Satan does when he's "walking around" (1 Peter 5:8).

God asks Satan a question. "Have you considered My servant Job...?" Of all the people on the planet, God singled out Job.

God can see into our hearts. He sees who we really are. The way God singled out Job made me think of another person who was singled out, because King Jesus could see into his heart as well. In Revelation 2:13. Jesus was dictating His letters to the churches, and in the letter to the church in Pergamum, He singled out Antipas. He called him "My faithful witness...". Because Jesus could see into his heart, just as clearly as God saw into Job's heart. Real love. Real faithfulness. He saw obedient hearts in these men. He saw a willingness to go as far as it took to please their Master. And these qualities were honored by The King. (1 Samuel 15:22).

So Satan, being the accuser, pointed his boney finger at Job. "Well, of course he is faithful to You. You made him rich. The guy lives on easy street. Take all that away from him and he'll curse Your Name." (Job 1:10-11)

Here is something that I don't think we should miss. The devil is the adversary. He is pure evil. God gave him permission to take all that Job had. He did. He took it all. But here is the part that helps us to see who we're dealing with. Why we should cling even closer to our Savior and King. He killed Job's children.

When Job got the news of his children, he tore his robe and fell on the ground and worshiped God. (Job 1:20-21)

Wow. I know most of us ask ourselves if we would have it in us to respond like that. Because our Wise Father could see into Job's heart, He knew Job would never curse Him. Job loved Him.

God can see in all of our hearts. He knows what is in there, even the stuff we don't let anyone else see.

God is AWESOME!