Thank God for Cancer

                How many times has someone gone to the doctor for a routine check up or a minor injury that would not go away?  And how many times have they received the worst possible diagnosis from those routine visists?  The diagnosis that they don’t want to hear is cancer.  In 2016, an estimated 1.7 million new cases of cancer were diagnosed and approximately 600,000 people lose their battle with this horrible disease.  And that is just in the United States alone.

                Unfortunately my family is not immune from those statistics.  On August 11, 2017, my father in law lost his battle with cancer.  He fought the disease until the very end.  Even when the doctors gave him little hope of surviving being taken off the vent, he fought for two more days.  And in those days he was able to tell the family that he loved them.  He slipped from this world holding his wife’s hand after telling her that he loved her one last time.  He was finally able to rest.

                Cancer stole him from this world before we were ready to let him go, but it also gave him an eternal life.  My father in law was a good man.  He would go out of his way to help people and make sure others had the things they needed.  On many occasions he gave hurting people money to buy food or pay a bill. He would give them food out of his own freezer to make sure they ate.  It was not uncommon for him to give someone a ride to help them get to work.  But even with all the good deeds, he realized something was missing.  As he lay in the hospital one afternoon, he was led to 

Jesus and accepted Him as his personal savior.  And now he is walking the streets of gold.

                But his story is not that much different from thousands of others that come to Jesus.  They go through life being a good person, helping the sick and poor and feel they are making a difference in the world.  They make their own way and rely on their hard work for everything they have.  God becomes an afterthought right up until the realization hits them they can’t overcome their situation.  Then God, in that still small voice, starts talking to them and they find their way into His presence.  They finally accept that He gives them a way to win the war.  They may lose the battles in this life but they win the war over death.  And they are awarded the same reward as someone that has been in the presence of God all their life.

                Mathew 20:1-16 shows us that everyone is given the same reward no matter when they come to Jesus.  It reads, “1 For the kingdom of heaven is like the landowner who went out early one morning to hire workers for his vineyard. 2 He agreed to pay the normal daily wage and sent them out to work. 3”At nine o’clock in the morning he was passing through the marketplace and saw people standing around doing nothing.  4 So he hired them, telling them he would pay them whatever was right the end of the day.  5 So they went to work in the vineyard.  At noon and again at three o’clock he did the same thing.  6 “At five o’clock that afternoon he was in town again and saw some more people standing around.  He asked them, “Why haven’t you been working today?”  7 “They replied, ‘Because no one hired us.’  “The landowner told them, ‘Then go out and join the others in my vineyard.’ 8 “That evening he told the foreman to call the workers in and pay them, beginning with the last workers first.  9 When those hired at five o’clock were paid, each received a full day’s wage.  10 When those hired first came to get their pay, they assumed they would receive more.  But they, too, were paid a day’s wage.  11 When they received their pay, they protested to the owner, 12 ‘Those people worked only one hour, and yet you’ve paid them just as much as you paid us who worked all day in the scorching heat.’ 13 “He answered one of them, ‘Friend, I haven’t been unfair!  Didn’t you agree to work all day for the usual wage?  14 Take your money and go.  I wanted to pay this last worker the same as you.  15 Is it against the law for me to do what I want with my money?  Should you be jealous because I am kind to other?’  16 “So those who are last now will be first then, and those who are first will be last.”

                God doesn’t care when you accept Him, He just wants to fully accept Him.  Like most things in life, it’s never a good idea to procrastinate but your reward will still be waiting on you.  Thank you Lord for always knocking on the door our hearts waiting for us to allow You in.

Taboo Gift

                Walk into just about any traditional church in America and you will get just about the same response from every congregation when the subject of alcohol is brought up.  Drinking alcohol is a sin and you should abstain from taking a drink.  One of the most often things said when it’s pointed out that Jesus drank wine is the wine back then is like grape juice today.  These statements are not only false but they are not even Biblical. 

           

     So what is the truth about drinking alcohol?  David says it best in Psalms 104:13-15.  It reads, “13 You send rain on the mountains from your heavenly home, and you fill the earth with the fruit of your labor.  14You cause the grass to grow for the livestock and plants for the people to use.  You allow them to produce food from the earth—15wine to make them glad, olive oil to soothe their skin, and bread to give them strength.”  God provided us with the fruits to be able to enjoy His gifts.  Ecclesiastes 9:5-8 tells us that God approves of drinking of wine for enjoyment.  The NLT translation reads, “5The living at least know they will die, but the dead know nothing.  They have no further reward, nor are they remembered.  6Whatever they did in their lifetime—loving, hating, envying—is all gone.  They no longer play a part in anything here on earth.  7So go ahead.  Eat your food with joy, and drink your wine with a happy heart, for God approves of this!  8Wear fine clothes, with a splash of cologne!”  Clearly drinking wine is not a sin nor should it be seen as taboo in the church.   

                When we dig a little deeper on the subject, we find that Jesus drank wine in celebration.  The first miracle Jesus performed in front of disciples was to turn water into wine at a wedding celebration.  This miracle was recorded by John (John 2:1-12) and caused the disciples to believe more in Jesus.  But if wine was a sin, then why would Jesus choose turning water into wine as His first miracle?  Wine has always been used in celebrations and other gatherings throughout the Bible.  The last super that Jesus shared with the disciples, Jesus took a glass of wine and passed it around as a symbol of the blood He would shed for our sins. 

                These are just a couple of examples of wine being consumed in the Bible.  But does that mean we are free to drink without consequences?  Just as with any gift that God gives us, Satan can take that gift and turn it into a sinful act very quickly.  And the Bible warns us not to become drunkards.  Ephesians 5:18 says, “Don’t be drunk with wine, because it will ruin your life.  Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit.”   So there is a fine line in enjoying the gifts of God and allowing that gift to become a sin.

                God gave us the gift of wine for our enjoyment and to be consumed in moderation.  It is completely up to us individually to choose whether or not to have a drink of alcohol.  And if God convicts you about consuming wine, that does not mean that it is a sin for others to have a drink.  We have to be very conscious of the message that we are telling others when we judge them for their choices on alcohol.  Wine is a gift from God and needs to be treated as such. 

                Lord, thank you for providing all the gifts You want us to have.  I pray for the Christians that judge others because they feel alcohol is a sin.  Lord only You have the power to judge us for our choices.  Lord, I also pray for the brothers and sisters that struggle with alcohol.  In Your name I pray, amen.

               

                

Six Inches

             

  There are many things that come to mind when I think of half of a foot.  Six inches made the difference when the Tennessee Titans were in the Super Bowl.  If the receiver could have stretched just six more inches, then they would have won a title.  Around lunch time every day, you can see people flooding sandwich shops looking to feel their stomachs with a six inch sub.  The phone you carry is probably about six inches long (unless you are me and you need the bigger screen).  A dollar bill is around six inches long.  So in the grand scheme of things six inches is a very small measurement unless you break it down and then it becomes a pretty important part of life.

                Six inches also could mean the difference in life and death.  I have a friend that can testify to how half of a foot meant that he could tell me the story.  He was inspecting a roller coaster and fell off of it.  When he hit the ground, he broke bones and was injured, but he was alive.  The piece of ground that he fell on was about six inches from a concrete sidewalk.  Had he been over just a few inches, then his head would have hit the concrete instead of landing on the grass.  So six inches meant everything to him that day. 

                Eternal life and eternal damnation can also be measured in six inches.  When you measure the distance from your head to your heart, it measures about six inches in length.  Jesus is a very well known historical person.  You can do the research and find Him without any trouble.  All the Jewish leaders knew who Jesus was before they put Him to death.  They all used their heads and never allowed Jesus into their heart.  The disciples on the other hand got to know Jesus with their heart.  They followed Him because they wanted the relationship with Him.  They decided that the relationship with Jesus would ultimately lead to eternal life.

                The choice is the same today as it was then.  You can be like the Jewish leaders and know Jesus with head or like the disciples and know Him with your heart.  Knowing Him with your head will lead to Him telling you depart from me, I know you not.  While building a relationship and allowing Jesus into your heart will gain you an eternal life.  And you will hear the sweetest words to ever be spoken, “Well done my good and faithful servant.” 

                So six inches in worldly terms is a very small distance, but could have lasting effect on you.  But in the eternal life, six inches is the greatest gap ever to be seen.  Don’t allow half of a foot to cause you to be separated from God.  You have an opportunity today to go from knowing about Jesus to Jesus knowing you.  All you have to do is develop a relationship with Him.  He will stay closer to you than any other person you know.  He will be there when you are down and feel like no one loves you.  Even when you go through the dark times in your life, Jesus will still be right beside you.  So the real question that needs to be asked is, how big is six inches?

                Lord, thank you for putting people in my life to show me how important six inches can be.  I pray that six inches doesn’t keep anyone from the eternal life that You have promised to all of us.  Lord I pray for anyone right now that knows about You, but has not allowed You to get to know them.  I pray that the six inches between their heart and head is not what stands between them hearing well done and depart from me.  I pray that anyone reading this, which is not in a relationship with you, find someone to pray with them about their salvation.  Thank you Lord for allowing me to continue writing the things that You put on me to write.  In Your precious name I Pray, Amen.

Broke.....n

             

               In the world today, it is hard not to allow things to tear at you.  Every day you see more and more things that make you wonder if this world has completely been lost.  There are people out there doing all sorts of dreadful and cruel things to the disabled and children.  Every day people are murdered for no reason.  Protests are happening on behalf of criminals because they are “good” people.  And the list goes on for pages and pages of all the things that tear at us.  We are living in a broken world and developing broken people.

                Every now and then you have to stop and look around you to see that the people in your life are just as broken as the world.  The stress of family members battling diseases that can’t be won or families torn apart by the effects of addiction can be hidden deep within people.  The questions of how all the bills will get paid this month and how will they have enough left over to feed everyone still linger every night when they go to bed.  These people are broken, but you would never know it because they get up and hide behind a smile every day.  Brokenness is a worldly problem that has very personal connections with everyone in it. 

                With all the brokenness that is out there today, it is hard to fall back on the words David wrote in Psalm.  He talked about giving hope to people that are broken.  Psalm 34:17-18 says, “The Lord hears his people when they call to him for help.  He rescues them from all their troubles.  18 The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.”   But with so much pressure being put on people, it is hard to follow David’s teachings and know that God is there waiting on us.  We feel like we can survive on our own without asking for help.

                No one is immune from having their spirit broken at times either.  The pressures of the world become greater than we can deal with and we are ready to give up.  We see the light at the end of the tunnel but we know that it is a train coming straight for us.  The world is about to run us over and we have nowhere to run.  We are right in the path of the destruction that is looming.  And in the aftermath of being run over by the world or our personal hell, we also have to look back to David for another verse of encouragement.  Psalm 147:3 says, “He heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds.” 

                In the world we live in today, I hope David is right.  There are people that have been beat down and chewed up with fear, stress and every other emotion that can weigh on you that need God to heal them from within.  They need their brokenness bandaged up so they can get up with a genuine smile on their face and tell people how God brought them trough the trials of life.  The world will always be broken and people will always be pushed to their breaking point, but when they stop to catch their breath they will hear God telling them, “Be still, and know that I am God!...”(Psalm 46:10) . 

                It is time for everyone to stop and listen to God and not the world.  The world is a broken place and causes us to become broken people, but God is the healer of all things broken when we allow Him to take control. BE STILL, AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD!  This is something that will calm the stress that comes from being BROKEN.

                Lord, I pray for the broken. Amen.

Jesus’ Best Friend

                Have you ever had a friend or loved one that you were so close to that you thought they would never betray your trust?  Did you trust them with everything you have?  Did you ever have to question their loyalty to you?  Did they turn out to be that person or did you lose that person because they turned their back on you?  How did you react to that person?

                Simon Peter was that type of person in the life of Jesus.  He was one of the first people Jesus called on when he started His mission.  Jesus called a dirty fisherman out of the boat and

befriended him.  I would dare to say that Jesus and Peter became the best of friends.  They were together almost every day and Peter became one of the more vocal members of the group.  Peter was one of the people Jesus could trust with everything.  Peter showed his loyalty on many occasions but none greater than in the garden when Jesus was arrested.  He was ready to fight to save his friend from being arrested.  Luke 22:33 tells us of the loyalty that Peter had for Jesus.  It reads, “Lord I am ready to go to prison with you, and even to die with you.”  Don’t we all wish we had a friend like Peter?

            But Jesus knew Peter better than he even knew himself.  Jesus knew that Peter was loyal to Him until the pressure of the world got to him.  Jesus even predicted that Peter would turn his back on his best friend.  John 13:38 says, “Die for me?  I tell you the truth, Peter—before the rooster crows

tomorrow morning, you will deny me three times that you even know me.”  So Jesus knew that His friend would walk away from Him when he was confronted by others about his relationship with Jesus.  Peter didn’t have the strength to hold up his end of their friendship when the world came knocking.

                How many of us are really like Peter?   Not just in our relationships with our friends but in our relationship with Jesus.  Do we really take the stand for Jesus when the world looks at us and says you are a follower of Him?  I know in your heart right now you are answering the question just as Peter did, “I am ready to go to prison with you, and even die with you.”  But are you really stronger than Jesus’ best friend?  I pray that you are never put in the situation where you have to make that decision.  But if you are and you follow the same path as Peter, then remember there is still hope for you. 

                Jesus gives us that hope, just as He did Peter.  Luke 22:31-32 is that hope.  It reads, “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift each of you like wheat.  32 But I have pleaded in prayer for you, Simon, that your faith should not fail.  So when you have repented and turned to me again, strengthen your brothers.”  Jesus knew the heart of Peter, just as He knows our heart, and knew that Peter would come back to Him.  Jesus knew Satan was ready to make Peter’s life hard and Peter would fail under the pressure.  But He also wanted to let Peter know that he could come back to Him and be a stronger leader to his brothers.

                So I ask again, are you really stronger than Jesus’ best friend?  Peter succumbs to the pressure of Satan and turned his back on Christ, we will also turn our backs on Christ at some point.  But when we do, we can rely on the hope that Jesus gave to Peter.  We can repent and be brought back into the fold with Him.  But that is only the first step in the process.  We can’t just stop there; no we must now be ready to strengthen our brothers.  We have to be ready to stand in the gap for another or give a testimony of our trials to show others the redemptive power of Jesus.

 

                Jesus, thank you for showing us, through Your friend Peter, that we can fail You but there is a way back to You.  Thank you for giving us hope in our times of failing You.  You made a way for us to have a relationship with you and thank you for wanting to have relationship with us.  Lord I pray for the person that the world is pressuring to the breaking point right now.  I pray that they will come through those trials and will have a testimony for others that show Your shinning light.  Lord I pray for those that are strengthening others with their testimony.  They may have come through a fire, but that doesn’t mean they are done with their own tribulations so I pray for them as well.  Strengthen us Lord to handle the situations we find ourselves in.  In Your​ name I pray, Amen.

Scorched Earth

                November 28^th 2016 was one of the worst days in the history of the Great Smokey Mountains National Park.  That was the day that thousands of acres of beautiful mountain land was

burnt in a large forest fire.  A fire that was started by two individuals for no reason other than wanting to start a fire.  These two individuals destroyed millions of dollars worth of property, cost the city of Gatlinburg in tourist revenue and tragically caused the loss of lives.  There was so much scorched earth in the wake of these fires that it should take years for everything to recover.

                But the beauty of God’s great creation is that it can turn tragedy and turn it into a work of beauty.  Already this spring, the trees are starting to bloom, the grass is starting to grow back and the cities are rebuilding with new buildings.  It is amazing to see trees with the black soot several feet up and new growth coming out above the burnt bark.  There is green grass sprouting in the places where the ground is still black.  So because of the

fires that destroyed the ground, there will emerge great growth that will be as beautiful as ever.  God’s glory will once again be seen by all the visitors of the Great Smokey Mountains National Park in the very near future.

                The wildfires are also a metaphor for the lives of so many sinners in the world.  They have taken what was once a beautiful and promising life and allowed sin to scorch the landscape of their life.  Sin, just like the fires, burnt everything in their lives.  It destroyed the most beautiful part of their existence, their personal relationship with God.  Sin has burnt down so many of the avenues and bridges people build in hopes of making their life have meaning and purpose.  They are living in a world full of darkness all around them.

                God’s creation also extends to every person today.  Just as the trees and grass are starting to have new growth, the sinner has an opportunity to have new growth as well.  The sinner was shown the path to rebuilding their relationship with God when Jesus was put to death on the cross.  He made atonement for everyone of us on that day.  That day also planted the seeds for new growth when the

fires of sin ravage our lives.  As we allow the Son to shine through us, the splendor of God’s mighty creation starts to have new life among the soot and ashes all around us.  Over the course of time, the new growth will completely cover up all the scorched earth that we once had.

                Lord, tonight I pray for anyone that has allowed sin to burn in them for so long that they feel like they have lost all hope.  I pray for the redemptive power of Jesus on any one that feels they are too far removed from God.  I pray that they realize there is always hope as long as they are alive.  Lord thank you for making a way for us to come back to You and realizing that You created everything to have new life after the fires of sin have burnt us.  Thank You for the healing power of the blood of Jesus.  Lord, I also want to pray for everyone affected by the wildfires in East Tennessee.  The fires destroyed a lot of things, but You are the creator of all and Your beauty will be seen again in the mountains.  In Your precious name, Amen.

where'd He go

                After being baptized, Jesus was led to the desert by the Spirit too fast for forty days and night.  Satan came to Him and tempted Him with every possible thing.  But with every temptation Jesus had a reason not to fall for the tricks of Satan.  He held strong on the word of God and knew the season would come to an end soon.  Where was God while His son was fighting off the temptations of Satan?  Did He just leave Him alone to teach Him a lesson?

                Just as Jesus had to go through His season of temptation, we all have seasons that Satan throws everything at us.  He makes sure that we struggle to deal with normal day to day life or he shows us a reward for cutting corners.  Satan doesn’t want us to stay faithful to God.  And when we go through these seasons, we fill very distant from God.  We allow ourselves to think that He no longer loves us or we don’t need Him.  We fall into the spiritual desert.  Everywhere that we look is just empty space with no hope for recovery.  So where did God go?

                Why would God allow us to go through the times of hopelessness?  Why would a loving God become distant from His children?  Should He not rescue us from the depths of despair we find ourselves in at times?  Why would He allow Satan to tempt us in ways that would drive a wedge between Him and His children?  These questions really go back to the simple question of where’d He go?

                Answering the simple question of where’d He go is a complicated process.  Because when you dig deep into the questions mentioned above, you will find that God never left us.  He has always been right there waiting on us to call out to Him.  He doesn’t want us to have times of hopelessness, but will allow us to fall so we have to look to Him to recover.  Satan will always be there when we allow our thinking to stray away from the Grace of God.  He is a predator in the dark lurking and stalking us.  His only desire is to drive the wedge between us and God.  Those temptations, good and bad, have nothing to do with us; they are intended to hurt God.  This is why we have to remember that God is always right beside us and is waiting for us to call on His name.  Deuteronomy 31:8 gives us the answer to the question of where’d he go.  It states, “The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."  So God is always there even when we are going through the deserts of life.

                So my original question of where’d He go needs to be restated as Where’d he Go?  God never left us alone, we walked away from Him.  So really we allowed ourselves to be lost in the world and not maintain our focus on God.  We always have the free choice to serve a mighty God and we need to stay grounded in His Word.  The seasons of hurt and despair will come and we will be angry at God for what we are going through, but remember He is always there when we call out His name and will wrap His loving arms around us.  He is closer than a brother when we allow Him to come into our deepest parts.  God will not leave us even when we think that all hope is lost.  We are the ones that leave God.  So I ask again, Where’d he Go?

                Lord, I pray right now for anyone that is going through a season of dry spirit.  I pray that You will invade their thoughts with an overwhelming feeling of love and acceptance.  I know that You can change how we feel because You changed my feeling of hopelessness.  You are always with us and I pray that You make yourself known to anyone that Satan is tempting right now.  In Your Holy name I pray, Amen

God Doesn't Save Avatars

                The use of social media is at an all time high around the world.  Just about everyone has a page that they have created to share their life with their “friends”.  All the sites allow the users to post a picture of themselves so all their friends know who they are.  These profile pictures are called avatars. 

Your avatar can be anything that you choose for it to be.  Most people use a picture of themselves or something of interest to them.  But there are other people that put up a fake picture in order to deceive their “friends”.  These are the people that usually make up everything on their page in order to be liked by more people.  Their social media life is a complete fabrication.

                The real question that comes to mind when I think of avatars is how many people that call themselves Christians are nothing more than avatars?  They are walking around the world saying all the right things in order to be accepted and liked by others, but they are completely fictional.  They lead a life around other Christians that is an example for others to follow, but in private they are completely different.  They put on the fake profile in order to deceive the people they want to like them.  These are the people that are lukewarm in the church, even though they give off the appearance of being on fire for God. 

                There will come a day when these people will be judged by God and not man.  They will have to stand in front of God and make an account of their life.  Their avatar will be removed and they will be seen for who they are.  Only then will they understand what Jesus said in Mathew 7:21-23.  “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.  Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’  Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you.  Away from me, you evildoers!’”  So instead of being allowed in the gates of heaven, they will be cast in the pits of hell. 

                We all know people that are using their avatars in the church today and are trying to impress others with their knowledge or status.  You may even be one of those people yourself.  Whatever the case may be, God doesn’t save your avatar.  He wants to know the real person behind the fake persona.  He wants a personal relationship with us and not just “friends” on social media.  He doesn’t need you posting, tweeting or snap chatting your feelings, He wants you to have a conversation with Him.  He wants us to put the social media mentality down and truly get to know Him.  Then you will really get to know what a FRIEND is.

                Lord I pray for anyone that lives an avatar life. I pray that you strip my avatar from me and bring me closer to You.  Lord I pray for anyone that lives two separate lives.  You are the only way to make our life the same in and out of the church.  I pray that you give us the desire to make the relationship real and not a fake profile for show.  Take the social media mentality from us and replace it with a true desire to have You as a FRIEND.  In Your name I pray, Amen.

Agape Love

                Joey and Kim had been dating for almost a year and were thinking about taking their relationship to the next level.  They were both active in their church and knew what the Bible said about being equally yoked in their relationship.  Joey was the son of a long time minister and knew his parents would want the young couple to seek the wisdom of other couples that had been married for many years.  Kim on the other hand was the first person in her family to become Christian.  She came from a broken home and had only had limited interaction with father.  She really didn’t understand why Joey was so adamant about meeting with older couples.

                Reluctantly Kim gave into Joey’s persistent asking about talking to another couple.  He arranged to have dinner with a couple that had been married for almost fifty years.  The older couple had watched Joey grow up in the church and knew his parents very well.  They were excited about the opportunity to mentor a young couple just as another couple had done for them years prior.  They prayed over the notes they prepared for Joey and Kim.  They wanted to make sure God has His hands in everything they told the love birds.

The evening started out with the pleasantries and storytelling from over the years.  The older couple loved being able to tell the younger generation about how God put them together and all the adventures they had through their marriage.  They joked about how their parents and grandparents didn’t give them a chance to make it in the world.  The couple explained that their life had never been easy but was very rewarding.  God had blessed them with four great kids and a flock grandkids and great grandkids.  They beamed with pride when talked about their family and how God had been at the forefront of everything they had done. 

As dinner was winding down, Joey finally asked the one question that he needed the answer to.  He asked the older man what it took to make a marriage last.  Joey was expecting the gentleman to give him the standard answer of put God first in the marriage, but instead his answer was completely different.  The old man looked right into Joey’s eyes and said you must cleave unto your new wife.  He then quoted Genesis 2:24 from memory.  He explained that when the two are married, they become as one flesh.  They should have agape love.  Joey was so stunned by the response that he didn’t ask what he meant by agape love. 

Over the next few days, Joey spent every possible minute trying to understand what the old man meant by agape love.  Finally when he was about to give up, he asked his mom what it meant to

have agape love.  His mom did not hesitate to pull out her Bible and went to 1 Corinthians 13.  She said this is the love that God has for us and it is the love that we need to have for our spouse.  She started reading from verse 4, “4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude.  It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.  6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out.  7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.”  When she finished, she asked Joey if he could live up to those standards with Kim.  If he could, then he would have agape love for her.  She then reminded him that we are all created in the image of God and that He loves us unconditionally with agape love.

Lord, I pray tonight for my wife.  I know I have not lived up to the standards You have set out for me.  But by Your grace and mercy I am given the opportunity everyday to show her that I have an agape love for her.  You gifted her to me and I want to show her that Your gift is precious to me.  Lord, I also pray for anyone that is going into a relationship that is built on a brotherly or physical love.  Lord, transform that love into an agape love and take them deeper into their love for each other by them going deeper in their love for You.  Father you have laid out the perfect example of agape love for us, so I pray that we can follow the example and honor You in the process.  Thank you Lord for the love and mercy you bestow every day on the undeserving people that we are.  In Your precious name, Amen.

Not My Church

                The Jones family was new to the small town.  Bill’s company had moved him there to run their factory.  Bill, his wife Ann and their three kids, April, Jason, and Mary, enjoyed the small town.  They loved the slower pace and were settling into their new lives.  Bill and Ann knew they needed to find a new church home for the family.  They started visiting some of the churches in town.  It didn’t take very long for almost everyone in town to hear that the family was searching for a church and one of the pastors decided to make a visit to the family’s home. 

                The pastor reached out to the family and they invited the pastor over for dinner.  The pastor and his wife arrived at the Jones’ house very excited to meet the family and tell them about their church.  As they sat down for dinner, Bill introduced the pastor to his kids.  Jason met the pastor first.  Jason is a handsome, athletic young man that has a very bright future.  The pastor knew he would make a great addition to the youth group at the church.  Next Bill introduced his oldest daughter, April.  April is a sophomore in college.  The pastor looked twice at April when she walked into the room.  Her hair was multiple colors and she had many piercings and tattoos visible.  Finally, Bill introduced his youngest daughter, Mary.  Mary seemed a lot like Jason when she was introduced to the pastor.  She was a beautiful young woman that loved basketball and volleyball.  All three children were very well mannered and polite.  The pastor enjoyed meeting all three kids.

                Dinner was going great for the family and the pastor.  They were all getting to know each other and the family was starting to like what the church had to offer.  The church had something for every member of the family.  There were several different adult classes, they had a college class and the youth group was the largest in town.  Everyone started getting excited about the possibility of finding a church that met the needs of the entire family.   As dinner finished up, Mary excused herself from the table and ran to the bathroom.  The pastor’s wife started to get concerned for the girl and asked Ann if there was anything she could do because she was a nurse.  Ann explained that Mary would be fine and that she hasn’t been feeling good for the last couple months.  The sickness was just part of the process Mary had to live with and it would pass with time.

                The evening started getting late and the pastor knew it was time for them to head home.  As they gathered their things, Mary returned to see the pastor off and apologize for leaving the table.  The pastor’s wife gave her a hug and told her that she would be praying for her condition.  Mary told the pastor’s wife that she and the baby greatly appreciated the prayers.  The pastor was astonished that he just heard that Bill’s sixteen year old daughter was pregnant. 

           

     Bill and Ann walked the pastor and his wife to the door.  As they were leaving, Bill told the pastor they looked forward to seeing them Sunday morning for services.  The pastor turned back around to Bill and said that they may need to keep looking for a church to call home.  He explained that his congregation was very traditional and the family would probably not be as welcomed in the church as they would like.  Jason would be welcomed with open arms and April would win the members over with her charm.  It would take some time for the members to look past the piercings and tattoos but they would eventually come around.  But the congregation would not accept a pregnant, teenager that was living in sin.  The pastor didn’t want to hurt the family anymore and encouraged them to try the more contemporary church in the next town over. 

                This story is an exaggerated rendition of things that happen, but there are congregations and churches that make families feel unwelcome because of their situation.  They think that people who are different from them or have made mistakes should not be welcomed.  Some people put degrees on sin and refuse to allow the sin to enter their sacred church.  They become very judgmental when they see others hurting.  Churches loose the thought that they are a hospital for the hurting and start believing they are a museum for saints.  These churches have lost the focus of why Jesus came to Earth in the first place. 

                When churches decide that they have the right to judge or even turn people away because they don’t fit their image, then they have become just as bad as the sinners they are trying to keep out.  They have forgotten the words Jesus spoke in Mark 2.  He replied to the Pharisees, when they questioned why he was eating the tax collectors or “scum”, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor- sick people do.  I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”(Verse 17)  These churches that don’t want sinners to ruin their image are no different from the Pharisees.  Jesus is still calling all the sick and hurting to Himself.  He is still eager to have dinner with the “scum” that are in world.  Those are the people that need God in their lives. 

                Just like the three kids in the story, there are different kinds of people in the world.  They are all uniquely different but are all the same.  Jesus came to save everyone, not just the people that fit the image of a church.  It doesn’t matter what your sin is, sin is sin.  Jesus wants everyone to get to know Him and turn away from their sinful past.  But just because you turn away from your past does not mean that you will not have the reminders of that past.  Just as a sixteen year old, single mother will have the reminder of her sin, we all have the memories of our past.  The church should be the last place to turn those memories into condemnation.  And every time they judge someone for their past, they are condemning them for it.  When they turn their past over to Jesus and He washes it white as snow, the church should follow suite and welcome them into the fold.

                Lord I ask for forgiveness for ever making anyone feel unwelcome for their past sins.  I pray for any church that has lost the desire to be a hospital for the sick and hurting or have become judgmental towards people that are different than their image.  Lord we all have sinned and fallen short of Your glory and it’s only through You that we will ever have a chance in this world.  Lord I pray for all the churches that have lost their purpose of serving the lost.  Only You can change the hearts of the members of those churches.  In Your Holy Name I pray, Amen

2016

                It’s been said many times that 2016 has been one of the worst years in history.  There have been over 100 “celebrity” deaths during the year.  The presidential election caused many hurt feelings on both sides of the aisle.  Terrorist attacks happened all over the world.  Cancer took the lives of many people across the country and world.  Racism exploded in many of the states resulting in the loss of lives for no reason.  Droughts caused ideal conditions for forest fires in the Smokey Mountains which resulted in the loss of more lives and destroyed property.  And the list goes on and on. 

                But 2016 will not even register on the list of bad years when we look at it in the scope of eternity.  Once we change our thought process, we will see that all the things that happened around the world didn’t change who we are.  We still get up, still have people in our lives, and still have the opportunity to live our life.  All the negative things that have gone on can’t change the fact that we are still alive.  They can’t take away the opportunities we still have every day. 

                The biggest opportunity that we have is to serve our Father in Heaven.  God’s love for us has no end and He is always there for us.  He is there through elections, the fires, the terrorist attacks, and even when cancer comes calling.  God never leaves us even though we go through hard times.  We feel like He has left us because we have to deal with the results of sin in the world.  But all we have to do is call on His name and He will bring back the peace we have lost. 

                So to say that 2016 was the worst year would be a gross mischaracterization of God’s power.  The only way that this would have been the worst year in your life, you would have had to die and not known Jesus.  Then I would agree that this was the worst year in history for you.  But since you are reading this, then you can still get to know Jesus.  It doesn’t matter if you have been a Christian all your life or you don’t know Jesus, you are still given the chance to have a relationship with Him.  You could make the upcoming year the best year in your life.  And no matter what happens in the world around you, you will have the confidence of knowing that your future is secure.  He is waiting with arms open wide for us to come to Him. 

                You do not have to allow the world around you to dictate what a good or bad year is.  When you know who created the world and everything in it, then you will always have the hope of great years.  That does not mean that everything in life will be roses or you will not have to deal with adversity.  It means that you will know where to lay all your burdens down.  The world still affects all of us, but we don’t have to allow it change our outlook about it.  God is in control and He will make us a way out of all situations when we turn them over to Him.

                Lord, I pray for this world.  I ask for Your hand of protection over this world.  Lord I pray for a peace to fall over this land.  Give people the strength and desire to make this a better place for everyone.  I pray for the people that don’t know you.  I pray that someone introduces them to you in the upcoming year.  Lord please open up their hearts and minds to You.  Lord I pray for the new year and all the possibilities that lay ahead for all of us.  You alone can change the desires of our hearts.  Lord I pray for all the things that the world said made this the worst year and You use those things to bring glory back to You.  In Your name, Amen.