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7 “To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. 8 I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. 9 I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars—I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you. 10 Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth. 11 I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. 12 The one who is victorious I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will they leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven […]

My grandson and I went to the movies yesterday. It was a good movie. For us that means it was sci-fi with action, special effects and a good story. A good story is a powerful thing. It involves a situation gone wrong, an agent of change and situation corrected. In the movie, a change in one character changed the course of history. It was a powerful story enlivened with action and special effects. We left the theatre believing that a change in one person can change everything. As Christians, it’s a truth we should know, but of which we sometimes need a reminder. Jesus was a big  believer in the power of stories. A good speaker knows that his audience will likely forget the details of theory or theology he is trying to convey, but they will remember a good story and its point. We all have a story and, for those of us who are Christians, we have a Jesus story. A Jesus story relates a life gone wrong, Jesus and a change of direction. Jesus stories are stories of grace, grace as forgiveness and an agent of change. For there to be a real change of direction […]

An off-duty police officer is shot down while investigating a suspicious circumstance. A young child dies in her home when a drunk drive runs way off the road trying to run from an accident. These can only be described as senseless killings. Senseless killing is on the rise. Nearly twice as many Christians died for their faith in the past year than in 2012, according to Open Doors International’s 2014 World Watch List. We should not make the mistake of being comfortable in our lives. We can’t think that we can put off anything. It’s foolish to put off the important to deal with what is pressing. We can’t plan to someday, spend more time with family, enjoy the wonder and beauty of the world God placed us in, or share eternal truths. God has ways of reminding us that our time is limited. As we age, our bodies don’t work as well and start to weaken and collapse. The closer we come to our end, time speeds up. Senseless killing is just another way that God reminds us that we need to do what needs to be done and we need to do it now. We should honor officers […]

No one spends a day flying there and a day flying back to spend a day in Los Angeles. I did. The full story is on my Facebook account. I have to wonder why God would have me go through the last three days. Is there a purpose? Is there any eternal significance or deeper spiritual meaning? I didn’t really do anything there. I drove up to Beverly Hills and Hollywood and out to Venice Beach. I didn’t see anything I hadn’t seen before. I lived in California while in the Navy. It hadn’t greatly changed. The Mexican and Oriental food is still the best.The weather is still awesome. There are still way too many people. Not having travelled much by air in recent years I did learn a few things. 1. Air travel sucks. 2. If you have to fly avoid summer afternoons in the south when thunderstorms are  common. 3. Check your bag. It’s a lot less hassle. 4. If you are tall, pay a little extra for extra leg room if available. 5. Assume there will be delays. 6. Bring a charger for your phone. See number 5 above. 7. Don’t fly out of Lafayette. The […]

“Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves. Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession…Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.” ― Dietrich Bonhoeffer “Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock. Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life. It is costly because it condemns sin, and grace because it justifies the sinner. Above all, it is costly because it cost God the life of his Son: ‘Ye were bought at a price’, and what has cost God much cannot be cheap for us. Above all, it is grace because God did not reckon his Son too dear a price to pay for our life, but delivered him up for us. Costly grace is the Incarnation of God.” ― […]

For the first time in many years I cut my grass yesterday. Earlier in the week my yard guy retired and I decided to take up the task myself. It was hot and dusty and great. There was great satisfaction in seeing an unruly lawn transform into something neat. Besides, the smell of cut grass is great. I suspect it won’t be as rewarding in late August, but we’ll see. My usual job is pretty much like most jobs these days. There isn’t much chance to see something produced. I mostly push paper, not even so much paper these days as emails and pdf files. It’s rare that I can see something I did and can be proud of. This year in addition to our usual spring flower planting, we planted a small vegetable garden. It has been fascinating to see the plants produce. We were intended to maintain the earth and to produce. Modern life has stolen some of that from us. I didn’t cut the grass alone. My grandson helped. He finished up what I started and I sat in a rocker on the porch and watch the great young man he is becoming. It’s a different […]

Matthew 5:10: “Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” If we aren’t being persecuted, we are doing something wrong. More likely, we are not doing something that we should: sharing. Are we yielding ourselves to God to be used by bringing  this Good News (the Gospel) to others, both by our examples and our words. Remember that we all have wonderful gifts from God whether we perceive ourselves as weak, strong or in between. Always remember that God never wastes a hurt! And, He will not waste yours. The Bible shows us that God often does His Best Work through weak people. WHY DOES GOD ALLOW PAIN: Here are the Big Four Reasons. GOD HAS GIVEN US FREE WILL: We are created in His Own Image. This gives us the freedom to choose. We can choose right or wrong, good or bad, life or death. We can accept God or reject Him. Our free will is a blessing and a burden. We often choose what we perceive as pleasure over pain; however, that pleasure can cause immense pain to us and others, and our relationship with God. But, it is our choice! Our choices can […]

Blessed are those who Hunger & Thirst for Righteousness Keeping our hunger and thirst for righteousness means maintaining momentum. Why do we need to Maintain Momentum? Growth is never smooth. If we don’t keep our guard up, we can easily fall back into our old self-defeating patterns. Remember what the cartoon character “Pogo” said when he saw himself in the mirror, “We have seen the enemy, and it is US!” Failing to keep up momentum is setting ourselves up for RELAPSE. COMPLACENCY- our pain level has been reduced [not eliminated], and we think we can live with it. CONFUSION – start lying to ourselves with rationalization, justification, minimization and defending. “Maybe my problem really wasn’t that bad.” COMPROMISE – start going back to the places of temptation. Returning to the risky situation that got us into trouble. When we put ourselves in risky situations, we make poor choices. CATASTROPHE – When we actually give in to the old hurt, habit or hang-up. Hate, resentments and old patterns of behavior. Acting out again THE 4 CAUSES OF RELAPSE: WE REVERT TO OUT OWN WILLPOWER -Taking control of the helm of our ship. WE IGNORE ONE OF THE CHOICES – maybe we think we can’t forgive, or that […]