The flood and the promise

"The LORD smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: "Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done.""
                  Genesis 8:21

Getting up this morning in the mid-Atlantic you can only hear the heavy rains. I thought that I would visit God's promise to Noah and to all of us that he would never flood the earth and destroy all living creatures. We can be assured of this.

It is funny how I was thinking about how difficult a drive to work it would be. Then I read the story again and was reminded that while it rained for 40 days and nights, the land did not dry up for 150 days. That is one long commute. And I only have myself in the car. I cannot imagine being with 2 of each of the animals of the earth. What patience Noah had.

If I could just practice one hundredth of the patience that Noah must have had on that ark I will be happy.

God Bless you as you enter the end of the week.

Give thanks each and every day

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."
                  John 3:16

This has got to me my all time favorite verse in the Bible. It says it all. It means something so special to me, having two sons and two daughters, and knowing how much I love them. I would step in front of a moving locomotive to keep them safe. I can not imagine watching them suffer as God watched His Son, Jesus, suffer on the cross.

Is not that reason enough to wake up every morning and go to bed every night with a prayer of thanksgiving to God. He has given us new life, eternal life, through the gift of His "one and only Son". If that was a gift, how can anyone fathom that everything else in this world is a gift from God. From the mountains, to the rivers and oceans, it is all given to us. Now, we must use it with God in mind. That is where the problem lies. We are a society that slowly (lately quickening that pace) is turning away from God and allowing the devil to tempt us more and more with thoughts that we control our own destiny, we are in charge, we do not need God's divine help.

How can we turn our back on the One who gave us such a precious gift. If your kids get you a heart felt gift for your birthday or Father's or Mother's day, would you turn around immediately, right in front of them, and throw it in the trash? No, of course not. You would take it to the office, show it off to friends, maybe post a picture of it on your facebook page. But how many of us are willing to put this wonderful gift God has given us on display at the office, or on their facebook page?

This is a question we should all ask ourselves. Why aren't we sharing this incredible gift with others?

I wanted to share one more time that I am honoring a friend who passed away and others that have won the battle against breast cancer. I will be running in the annual Susan G Komen Race for the Cure this Sunday in Hunt Valley, Maryland. Would you like to honor a loved one, a survivor, or just help me in my effort to help this great cause? If so, please click HERE to go to my page and make a donation. Every little bit helps. 

God Bless your Wednesday.

"...And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
                              Matthew 28:20

A powerful statement made by Jesus to the twelve disciples in the Great Commission. This was after He told them to go and make disciples of all the nations. He instructed them to spread the word of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and He promised that He would be there with them until the end of time.

But Jesus was talking to all of us through the disciples. He is and always will be there for us, interceding for us to His Father. He wants us to spread the good news of His death and resurrection. He wants us to live in His Father's image.

How can we, poor miserable sinners, accomplish this? By showing our faith in Him through our words and actions of kindness. Volunteer, go out of your way to help someone, love one another as God loves us, unconditionally, and most important forgive as we have been forgiven.

God Bless you.

I am running in the Susan G Komen Race for the Cure on Sunday in Maryland. If you feel moved to do so, please visit my page and help raise money for research for a cure for breast cancer.

No one moved your cheese

"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever"      
                           Hebrews 13:8

Have you read the short book "Who Moved My Cheese?" It is an interesting read and is meant to prepare people, specifically in the business world, on how to hand the inevitable change that occurs as markets and the economy changes. We are assured that on this earth things will change. We can't stop it but we can be prepared for it and accept it.

But I am going to say that while the book makes great points, the way to best handle change here on earth is to keep focused on the One that never changes. Keeping our focus on Jesus Christ allows us to lift up our worries and concerns to Him as we are instructed to do. Unlike the story, where one day the cheese was gone, we are assured in Hebrews that each day when we wake up Jesus will be there. As a matter of fact, He will be there whenever we need Him. He is there even when we think we do not need Him.

Take comfort in this as you can be assured that no matter when, no matter how, when you Pray through Jesus Christ, God hears you and will answer you.

God Bless your Friday and weekend.

"So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, "Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me."
                        John 11:41-42

Is it not amazing that Jesus had to thank His Father, God in front of the Jews at Lazarus' grave so that they would believe He was sent by God? How then, if these men witnessed Jesus bringing Lazarus back from the dead, can we be amazed when non-believers do not believe?

The Holy Spirit must touch our hearts and souls and grant us the gift of faith. But the Holy Spirit can only work through the Word of God. So we must whenever possible share the Word of God with those unbelievers. Share first in your acts of kindness out of the love of God. Then share what you know. Share your favorite verse. Make your favorite verse one that speaks the true love and promise of God.

Pray that others that have not been touched by the Holy Spirit will be. Pray that your actions and words will help to convey the love of our God.

God Bless you.

Lord help me to persevere in times of trouble.
Lord give me strength to reject the ways of the world.
Lord let the light of Your Son always shine through me in everything I do.
Lord send the Holy Spirit to help those around me.
Lord give me strength to support those in need even when it seems like a lot of work.
Lord give me this day my daily bread.

"Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times."
                                                      Matthew 18:22

The explanation for seventy-seven times in my NIV Bible said this could be seventy times seven times. But in reality, 77 vs. 70 X 7, does it really matter. What Jesus was preaching here is that God instructs us to always forgive our neighbors, not in begrudgingly but in love. He does not mean we should keep a tally of every time we forgive someone and then on number 78 suddenly say we don't have to forgive them any more. No, God wants us to forgive as Jesus asked Him to forgive those that crucified Him.

I think the key phrase in Jesus' statement on the cross is "for they know not what they are doing". Cannot we say that about the sins we commit from time to time. Especially in today's world of open promiscuity, encouragement to do what is best for us or what feels good. Sometimes I think we become numb to the fact that we are sinning. Society tells us that if it feels good, it must be good. Our younger generations can hardly discern right from wrong any more.

Pray that we will wake up, reject the works of Satan and know what we are doing and when it is wrong.

God Bless your Tuesday.

Unlike a job, with God we aren't performance based

In reading my morning devotion that was based on Exodus 20, the Ten Commandments, I started to think about how even though God gave us these 10 clear instructions on how to live, what is right and what is wrong, we are still not judged by how well we keep them. Unlike our jobs where we may have goals for bonuses, goals just to get to the next level, or just goals that we want to do in order to get ahead personally, the Ten Commandments are not like that. It is only through faith in Jesus Christ that we can attain our eternal life. Nothing we do can get us there.

Does this mean we should not strive to keep the Ten Commandments? Absolutely not. As a matter of fact, we should be working harder to keep them, then we work at attaining our earthly goals. Just imaging if we all took as much time and effort to keeping them as we do in go after those goals that are set for us at work. Wouldn't this world be a much better place?

God Bless your work week.

Let yourself be carried

"For I am the Lord, your God,
     who takes hold of your right hand
  and says to you, Do not fear;
     I will help you."
                 Isaiah 41:13

No one ever promised us an easy life. As a matter of fact, when Adam and Eve ate the fruit from the tree of knowledge, that sealed the deal. Death, sin, suffering were all introduced by that act.

But throughout the Bible, God gives us reason to work through our discouragements. In this particular passage from Isaiah, it is clear that God is speaking through Isaiah, telling us that we should not fear those things that discourage us. If we call upon Him, He is right there with us, hand in hand.

This makes me think of the famous poem by Mary Stevenson, Footprints in the Sand. The poem is so beautiful as it shows God's great love for us, His children. Take a moment, click on the link above, and just meditate on the wonderful thought of how God will carry us all through our times of trouble. Do not be discouraged in these times, but instead pray that God will lift you up and carry you across the sand.

God Bless your Wednesday.

Follow the right guide

"But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you."
                                       John 16:13-14

On this election day here in the United States, hold on to the words as written in the Gospel of John above. Do not be drawn into false promises by politicians, but instead go to the polls with our one and only guide, Jesus Christ, on your mind. He will guide you, as He always does, if you open yourself up to His wisdom and ask in prayer for His guidance.

He is the only one that can lead us to eternal life in heaven. Do not be fooled by false promises. There is only one promise you should hold onto.

God Bless you on election day 2010.

We all know John 3:16

"For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him."
                             John 3:17

We have all seen the rainbow hair in the end zone attached to the head of the guy holding the sign that reads John 3:16. And it is a terrific passage from John's gospel. But it is always good to read the passages around a famous verse so that we can pick up on context. John 3:17 is interesting in that it shows God's true love for all of us. He did not send Jesus into the world to condemn us, but instead to save us. And what do we need to do in order to be saved? Nothing, we are already saved by God's Grace. The only thing we can do is reject that wonderful gift, denying Jesus Christ as our savior.

This is a very important point. Our good works come from having faith in Jesus Chris as our savior, they are not done to gain entrance into the heavenly kingdom with God. Our faith in Jesus leads us to want to be like Him and that is where our good works come from. Do not be lured into thinking that anything you do will get you closer to heaven. There is only one way and God has already given that to us in His Son.

God Bless the start of your week.

"Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin."
                                      Romans 3:20

An interesting passage from Romans for today's devotion. God wants us to be conscious of our sins, but even if we kept every law God declared, we would not be righteous in His eyes. We are justified by grace alone, a gift from God, given as His Son on the cross at Calvary.

Another sitting of "The Truth Project" from Focus on the Family last night. Lesson 4 was "Who is God?"

What an incredible lesson this was on how God reveals Himself through the Bible. Dr. Tackett is quite passionate in his instruction and it puts Christians in the right mindset, to learn as much as possible through the Bible. I can't wait to dive into more, to truly know God as He reveals Himself. He instructs us to do this throughout the Bible. I pray that I will fight off the distractions of our society to take a deeper look into gazing at the face of God.

God Bless your Friday.

Hold your tongue

"The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell."
                       James 3:6

We have all heard the expressions hold your tongue or bite your tongue. This is usually when we have said something that is offensive or nasty. Our tongues can get us into so much trouble, mainly I believe because there does not seem to be a direct connection to our brains at times. We say things that we immediately would want to take back. But words can be so hurtful that they damage beyond repair.

It is funny. I like to think that I demonstrate my faith through my actions. I've always been more comfortable doing that. I have had several dozen instances where my tongue has gotten me into trouble. With my parents, with my spouse, even with my children. I thank God everyday in my prayers that He sent His Son to take the burden of my sin away. But that does not mean that I do not also pray for Him to help me in my daily life to not use my tongue for hurtful messages. That just defeats any good actions I may do as a result of my faith.

We must remember that our words are part of our actions. Our words are what others use to see if we are Christians. If I help an elderly person across the street, but then turn around and use my tongue to speak wrong at a driver that blows their horn at us, my actions cannot possibly be speaking louder than my words at that point in time.

God Bless your Thursday.

Our slate wiped clean

"About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, 'Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?' - which means, 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?'"
                                          Matthew 27:46

What a powerful passage we read in today's devotion from the Gospel of Matthew. The significance of those words spoken by Jesus on the cross is the root of our salvation. It is how we are justified before God. At that moment, God transferred the sins of the entire world onto the shoulders of Jesus and then punished him for those sins.

He wiped our slate clean from all of our sin, past, present and future.

Is it not a small ask from God for us to follow his laws? After all, His Son was perfect, followed every law and yet was punished so that we may be forgiven of our sins. I think it is a small price that we pay because Jesus paid the ultimate price for us.

God Bless you!

It got me thinking

With the US celebration (if you want to call it that) of Labor Day yesterday, it got me thinking about some random thoughts on labor and this country's trends in regard to the subject. While the original holiday was rushed through Congress in a mere 6 days in 1894 to attempt to reconcile with labor unions after the Pullman Strike.

So while so many consider it the end of the summer or the celebration of the American work ethic, it is in reality just another holiday created to appease a specific group. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy a good cookout or the last chance to swim at the club, but the thought of this being a great holiday of significance is wrong.

I started to think about what is going so wrong in this country of ours. Certainly the destruction of the traditional family is high on my list. I by no means am attempting to alienate any group of people, particularly those families that find it necessary to have both parents working. But we must think about what this does to our families as time goes on. We collectively let others raise our own children. And the worst part is that our government not only condones it, but supports it with our lousy tax structure.

Yes, there are tax breaks for day care of our children, but none for those parents that sacrifice (yes a strong but accurate term) in order to raise their own children. If our political system was what our fore fathers had truly envisioned, I think I would have to throw my hat in one of the rings. Everyday, we struggle with air pollution from too many vehicles on the road, high unemployment numbers and the like. But what if we had someone that was gutsy enough to lay out a plan to reward families where one spouse stayed home (yes, I'm not even advocating which spouse) so that a tighter family unit could exist. What would this mean?

Maybe I am living in a bubble, but I think this would mean less traffic nightmares at rush hour (after all wouldn't we eliminate a good portion of the number of vehicles on the road), and unemployment would be much lower if not nonexistent because the number of workers vying for jobs would be less. 

Again, just some random thoughts as we celebrated another Labor Day here in the states.

May God bless you and the United States of America.

An experience and a lesson

"God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."                     2 Corinthians 5:21

My family had an experience this week which ties a little bit into this verse from my daily devotion today. My youngest son who is 7 years old broke his elbow very badly on Tuesday afternoon. Yesterday he had surgery to place pins through the elbow at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Children that age get to choose a parent to walk back with them to the operating room as the anesthesiologist puts them to sleep for the surgery.

What an incredibly hard thing to go through. You stand there, not being able to help you own flesh as they slowly dose off. You are then told to go out to the waiting room and they will let you know when the surgery is done. My son was incredibly brave yesterday, never complaining and only saying he was a little nervous. Little did he know just how nervous and frightened his dad was. But God gave me strength which I had prayed for to be strong for him. The surgery went well and after about an hour of pain and confusion he was getting back to himself. What a blessing.

This, and the devotion today, got me thinking about how hard it was for God to watch as his sinless Son, Jesus, was crucified. Not only the crucifixion, but the torture He endured up to his death. My son's elbow was broken and had to be fixed. God's son was perfect, not broken. It was us that were and still are broken. Yet He sacrificed His Son to fix our broken lives as sinful beings. And He was not sent away to be told later when the procedure was over. He was watching as His Son was tortured to death.

The love I have for my children is indescribable. The love God has for us, His children is so much that it is hard to even comprehend. Let us all pray that we, too, can show that same love to our siblings here on earth.

God Bless your Friday.

A sermon that hits home

It is amusing how a sermon can ring so true either as we hear it or later as we experience one of life's curve balls and reflect back upon the words of a sermon. There are times when we walk into church with a burden or challenged in our effort to love one another by some event that has caused strife in our lives. We sit there and something in the sermon, or the Word for the day touches our hearts and it is as if God is talking directly to us (and I think in these times He is).

The sermon this past Sunday was on how we can expect challenges and hard times throughout our lives here on earth. Just when we think we are over a hurdle, another one pops up. But we can have peace in knowing that God gives us the tools to handle all of life's challenges. We just need to ask for, and be willing to accept, His help.

This week has been a roller coaster. Friday, my wife and I visited a new surgeon for a second opinion on her recovery from major back surgery in April. What a joy it was for us to hear this man's words of comfort, to hear him answer our questions, questions that the previous surgeon either ignored or shrugged his shoulders. Then, yesterday I received a very good offer for new employment. It is the perfect position for me allowing me to lead a diverse team and witness to many. But back to the challenges, my 7 year old son broke his elbow in two places. It is a severe break and he needs to see a specialist. Yes, life here on earth will continue to be full of challenges. But in prayer I have peace in God's grace and love for me and my family. I know that he will get us through yet another challenge.

God Bless your Wednesday.