Cardiac Christians

Do you ever stop and think about your heart? In all the murder and mayhem shows on TV what’s the first thing they do when they discover a body? Check to see if there is a pulse, a heartbeat. Life begins and ends with the heart.

Hardly much bigger than your fist your heart will beat 60 times a minute, 3600 times an hour, 86,400 times a day. If you live to be 70 then your heart will have beat 25,550 days and your heart will have beat 2,207,520,000 times. Every minute of our lives the heart pumps over 1 1/4 gallon of blood through our bodies, that's almost 80 gallons of blood an hour, 1902 gallons of blood a day; and again that is just one day.

The above information I pulled off of Webmd.com…why? I have been having some issues with my heart… physically and spiritually. In my usual way, when I want to understand something…I research it. Also, in my usual way, I research in every available context. Most importantly, The Word of God.

The Word of God uses the word ‘heart’ hundreds of times from the first time it is mentioned in the book of Genesis until the last time it is mentioned in the book of Revelation.   Very few of those instances refer to the organ that beats in your chest. Instead it refers to our love, our loyalty and our attitudes, both toward God and toward others.

What Makes a Heart Unhealthy?

Most of us have heard of Hardening of the Arteries but there is also a hardening of the heart and it happens as a result of the walls of the heart thickening. Eventually as the heart wall becomes thicker the heart muscles in effect become hard and unable to pump blood the way they are supposed to.

In the bible we read of people having a hard heart and that means that they are not responsive to God and his will. To have a hard heart means that you have closed yourself off from God, from his teachings, from his guidance, from his correction and ultimately from his Grace. You have thickened the wall between you and God; you have made it more difficult for God to work in you the way he wants to.

Matthew 12:35 A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart.

Often what is defined as heart disease doesn’t have anything to do with the pump itself but with the rest of the mechanisms breaking down. Hardened or blocked arteries, clots, and leaky or faulty valves; plumbing and the electrical. Often as Christians our hearts are in the right place but the things outside our heart prevent us from being healthy.

Matthew 22:37-39 “you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and your entire mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

Ask yourself concerning the physical and spiritual heart:

Do I consume too much and the wrong types of spiritual and physical food? Do I do ‘the right stuff” for my spiritual and physical heart?

People talk about a cure for cancer and yet heart disease kills more people than cancer and… we have a cure! Sometimes it takes something dramatic to happen; a heart attack will often cause people to change their lifestyle but sometimes not. If you want to reduce your chance of heart disease you will quit smoking, get your weight down to a healthy level and start exercising (Work in progress for me).

In our spiritual life if we want to have a healthy heart it boils down to the same things, what we consume and what we do. It’s not enough to say you love God and love others if that doesn’t affect how you live. Time and time again we read that a tree will be judged by its fruit and that salt water and fresh water can’t come from the same spring.

Faith by itself isn’t enough!

It’s not too late to change…..

I want to change.

Do you?

Camp Followers

“The number you have reached has been DISCONNECTED. Please check the number and try again.”

“If you don’t remit payment by…. Your service will be DISCONNECTED!”

Guess what I am writing about today…you got it!!! Molecular Biology! Ha Ha… well it sounded funny.

Do cell phones, the Internet and cable TV (to name a few) make you feel disconnected from the world? For example: Cell Phones….There is a connection between the idea of place and the reality of cellular telephones. Places are unique and we strive to experience them as a kind of engagement with there uniqueness. Cell phones are precisely the opposite. Can you remember who you called yesterday morning (without looking at your phone)?

What are some feelings associated with disconnection? Isolation; “left out”, “out of the loop”; lack of identity; lack of purpose or just feeling you don’t belong. Eventually it can lead people to resentment, apathy, and depression. Disconnected people often make bad decisions.

What Causes a Feeling of Being Disconnected? How about when the group is overlooking new members; or is uncomfortable with people who are perceived to be different. The disciples were shocked to see Jesus at Jacob’s well talking to the Samaritans in John 4. Why? There is a genuine concern about “outsiders” and not knowing how to connect, or being intimidated by them.

Sometimes people say that they are not involved because they feel disconnected. However, it is often the other way around. The reason they may feel disconnected is because they are not involved.
When someone is not involved, they have a limited investment in the group’s mission. When someone is not involved, they have a limited sense of ownership.

When someone has hidden sin and unrepentant, it may lead to a feeling of being disconnected in the Church. When you are disconnected from God, you will not have positive connections with God’s people.

A Lack of Forgiveness will lead to a feeling of disconnection. A lack of willingness to move with God will result in a feeling of disconnection. There is disconnecting when being part of the group is not a priority.

So, what’s the solution?

We must reach out to everyone, because we never know who is feeling left out. Our Church ministries must target people that match the purpose for that ministry and those who feel left out need to evaluate themselves, and ask themselves some tough questions…..Am I reaching out to others?.

Proverbs 18:24 a man that hath friends must show himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.

Don’t wait for people to come to you…go to them. Then ask yourself:

1.       Am I seeking and making an effort to be involved, or am I waiting to be asked?

2.        Do I have repentance to sin in my life that has created a wall around me?

3.        Do I have a lack of Forgiveness in my heart?

When Moses was in the wilderness heading for the Promised Land and when the pillar of fire moved, everyone in the camp moved with it. If you stayed behind, you were on your own. No water from the Rock…no Manna.

Are we being ‘left behind’ because we don’t want to move along with the rest of the Camp in what God is doing? Or are you a Camp Follower?

An Encouraging word

When I was in elementary school, my best friend had the most unusual name. For privacy reasons, I’m not going to divulge his name but trust me…it was odd. He was also the son of an unwed mother. Besides having an unusual name, in a time where divorce was almost unheard of, he was singled out as a fatherless child. The other kids would pick on him; make up new names for him but the comment that I knew hurt the most was, “Who’s your daddy?”

When asked that, he would withdraw within himself and tears would form. He never participated in any before or after school activities. He withdrew from everyone but me.  Even though I attempted to build him up and he trusted our friendship, he always questioned my sincerity.

In 6^th grade, we started changing classes in school instead of sitting in the same room all day. One of the classes was Music Appreciation taught by Mr. Friedell, the schools choir master and also my church’s Worship Leader. While calling role call to identify the students, he came upon my friend’s name. Stopping, Mr. Friedell looked at him and with a puzzled look asked him, “Do I know your father?”

Of course this just devastated my friend. As the tears were running down his face, Mr. Friedell spoke, which I consider to this day, as being led by the Holy Spirit.  He stated, “Oh yes…You’re a Child of God”! It was like someone just turned off the water fountain. A smile came over my friend face and for the first time outside his family and friends, I saw a look of joy!

Later, my friend started attending my church and participating in the school and church choir. I had never realized how great a tenor voice he had. After High school we went our separate ways, I went to the US Navy and he accepted a scholarship to Julliard School…a private conservatory college in New York for aspiring musicians, actors and dancers.  Today, he is a Professor of Music at a prestigious New England University… a Christian full of joy!

Isn’t it amazing how one word of encouragement can change your life?

1 Thessalonians 2:11, 12 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.

As Christians we need all the encouragement we can get! We need encouragement because it’s easy to become discouraged.

So, how do we encourage?

1.       We encourage people by using PLEASANT words without spite. Proverbs 12:25, “Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs it down, but a good word makes it glad.”

2.       We encourage people by recognizing what God has DONE through them.

3.       We encourage people with GRATITUDE for how they have blessed us. 2 Thes.1:3, “We ought always to thank God for you, brothers, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love every one of you has for each other is increasing.

4.       We encourage people by BELIEVING in them. 2 Tim. 4:11, “Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry.”

5.       We encourage people by speaking well of them to OTHERS. 2 Corinthians 9:2, “for I know your readiness, of which I boast about you to the Macedonians, namely, that Achaia has been prepared since last year, and your zeal has stirred up most of them.”

6.       We encourage people by NOT discouraging them. Proverbs. 16:21 the wise in heart are called discerning, and pleasant words promote instruction.

7.       We encourage people by listening to them, praying for them, and taking their concerns SERIOUSLY!

Some people think that frustrating others will make them try harder, that saying, “You can’t do that” will challenge them to succeed. This is not a true statement.

A study was done by psychologist Dr. Henry H. Goddard, on energy levels in children. He found that when tired children are given a word of praise or encouragement, it showed an immediate upward surge of new energy. When the children are criticized and discouraged, it showed their physical energy take a sudden nose-dive.

Those results could be probably be duplicated in adults. When we are praised our energy levels go up. When we are criticized our energy levels go down.

I challenge you to encourage other more and more. I challenge you to energize God’s kids!

Life is like a motorcycle

There are all sizes, shapes; colors and what have you with motorcycles these days. Yet, they all have something in common, we get on them at the beginning of our journey and we get off at the end and in between it is all a matter of balance. Just like we come into this world head first and go out feet first; in between, it is all a matter of balance.

You might justify your ride by saying it keeps the mileage off your car, and that’s important but not that important in the rain and cold. You might attempt to make an environmental or economic case for riding but the reality is if it wasn’t fun you wouldn’t be doing it. Catching the bus is a lot more economical and better for the environment and I’m pretty sure if you checked with any motorcycle enthusiast there won’t be a bus pass amongst you.

This really has nothing to do with this writing except it refers to motorcycles. This guy had a shirt on the other day with a motorcycle on the front but written on the back it said, “If you can read this…..my wife has fallen off the bike…”!

There is something about the wind and sun and the freedom on a bike that makes you want to grin when you crank the throttle. Bottom line is riding a motorcycle is fun. Life is supposed to be fun; I know that through the years there have been philosophers and theologians who have disagreed with that premise. Their philosophy is basically “Life is hard and then you die.”

We live in a world of beauty, we have the capacity to love and be loved, and we can make things of beauty and things to make life easier. God is not some sadistic entity who created mankind just so he could watch us be miserable. The winner in the long run is not the person who gets the most years in their life but the person who gets the most life in their years.

Have you ever done something fun that after a while wasn’t?  Like riding your motorcycle and it really starts to rain….you know that stinging rain; or it’s so cold that the rattle isn’t coming from your bike but your teeth; or there were so many bugs on your visor that you had to stop and clean them off and maybe you rode so long your butt wasn’t going to let you forget it?

The reality is that life is like that, it is supposed to be fun but sometimes it isn’t. There are times when life is hard, its cold, your butt is sore and the visor on your helmet is covered in bugs. And that is life. We don’t always place first, we don’t always have a job we love and we don’t always marvel at the beauty of the day.

There are times that you are fighting with your spouse, the kids are giving you a hard time and your boss is a jerk. Sometimes it’s hard to get out of bed in the morning and face life, but it will get better. Every mountain has a top, every storm has an end, and every night has a dawn.

King David who wrote most of the Psalms in the Bible went through dark times, when his friends had deserted him and his former mentor was trying to kill him, and you thought you were having a bad day, but he wrote:

Psalm 30:5 Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning.

Like the motorcyclist, we must maintain balance in our lives as Christians. Balance your life now because the life of Jesus is now in you through the power of the Holy Spirit. If the earth ever got out of balance it would spin chaotically into space destroying life as we know it. The same is true of your life. Jesus Christ needs to be at the center of your life, and all other things need to come from your relationship with him if there is to be balance in your life.

Paul wrote (not me the other Paul): “He is before all things, and in him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:17).

Take a lesson from the motorcyclist…they know a lot about staying in balance.

Arguing With Myself

To expect perfection in each other is unrealistic, this exists only in happily-ever-after fairy tales. You want to be happy in life? Don’t always agree with others. The sooner we accept that, the better we will be able to adjust to each other and enjoy togetherness.

Billy Graham once said, “Happily incompatible is a good adjustment."

Conflict is unavoidable! How we handle those conflicts can help us improve or destroy our relationships with others and with ourselves.  Isn’t it amazing how prone to conflict we human beings are? We can find an excuse or reason for conflict about almost anything!

On my desk, worn, faded but right where I can see it always is the following quote:

“Peace is not the absence of conflict but the presence of creative alternatives for responding to conflict…”

I’m not sure who spoke this. I do know it’s very much a part of my life for many reasons. Mainly because I argue a lot… with myself! I have conflicting thoughts and ideas… This is how I deal with my inner and external conflicts:

1.       Proverbs 15:1 “a gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” Have you ever tried to argue in a whisper? It is equally hard to argue with someone who insists on answering gently. You can control the other person’s tone of voice by controlling your own tone of voice.

2.       Proverbs 15:2 “The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouth of the fool gushes folly.”

James 1:19-20  My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry,  for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.

A contractors motto: Measure twice, cut once.

My motto: Listen twice, speak once. (Work in progress)

Lengthen your fuse. Take time to value the person making the statement so that you evaluate carefully what they are saying before you respond. In other words, people matter more than the position you hold! Who they are is far more important than what they say!

3.       Proverbs 15:3-4 “The eyes of the LORD are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good. The tongue that brings healing is a tree of life, but a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit.”

Some fights are not worth the effort. When we enter into some arguments, we say things we don’t mean, raise our voices and our blood pressure so that we boil over and spill out things we should have never buried in our heart and mind in the first place!

4.       Ephesians 4:15 “Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.”

If your truth is not balanced by love or your love not balanced by truth, then what you have to say is laced with selfishness. When you argue without speaking the truth in love, you are only trying to impress, not impact. When it comes to communicating with each other, it can never be either “Truth” or “love”. It must always be Truth and Love.

So, there you have it, a plan for dealing with conflict.

You want to know a secret (it’s not a secret for those of you who know me)? I’m still working on all these points in my life. It’s a daily decision for me…this is why I argue with myself!

Super Single Mom!

This is not just another Mother’s Day blog. I could sit here and write about how great Single Moms are… most of them are. I could sit here and say how we need to honor them more than most…we should. Instead though, I’m going to write about Single Mom’s and there faith example from God

My mother, though married, raised us as if she was a Single Mom. My father was there physically but that was pretty much it. He didn’t provide for the family. We’re not going to talk about him right now though…just Single Moms.

“Faster than a speeding toddler, more powerful than a cocky teenager, able to leap roller blades, bicycles and sports equipment in a single bound! Is it Superman, Spiderman or the Incredible Hulk?

NO!                                        It’s AWESOME and SUPER SINGLE MOM!!!

Who disguised as chief cook and bottle washer (Laundry attendant and taxi driver and Disciplinarian…you get the point), fights a never ending battle for TRUTH…JUSTICE…and time alone in the bathroom!”

David Letterman posted this Top Ten List of…..”You know you’re a Single Mom”:

(I edited in a Christian sense)

1.       You know you’re a Single Mom when you automatically double-knot everything you tie.

2.       You know you’re a Single Mom when you find yourself humming a Jason Bieber song as you do the dishes.

3.       You know you’re a Single Mom if you pray to God out loud so your children can hear you.

4.       You know you’re a Single Mom when you can never go to the bathroom without seeing a little hand poking underneath the door and a small voice ask, “Whatcha doing?”

5.       You know you’re a Single Mom when you actually start to like the smell of strained carrots mixed with applesauce.

6.       You know you’re a Single Mom when the only time you can read your bible is at 3AM.

7.       You know you’re a Single Mom when you actually start understanding SpongeBob cartoons.

8.       You know you’re a Single Mom that, if you had the time, you’d write a book called: "101 Fun Crafts to do with Dryer Lint and Eggshells."

9.       You know you’re a Single Mom when you spend a half hour searching for your sunglasses only to have your teenager say… “Mom, why don’t you wear the ones you pushed up on your head?"

10.   You know you’re a Single Mom when you are out on a dinner date with a Christian Man, enjoying some real adult conversation, when suddenly you realize as you are talking you have reached over and carefully started to cut up his steak!

I’m sure you have a few of your own; I’d love to hear them!

1 Kings 17:7-24 is a story in the bible of a single Mom. In this story this mother went through a lot. She experienced a real roller-coaster of emotions. There was a famine in the land; she almost died of hunger, and no husband to provide for her. A single mom with a son to feed. I know that’s tough and it can be stressful!  My Mom had 4 boys to feed.

She experienced the joyous providence of God when Elijah the prophet entered into the picture. She had food to eat. It was miraculous. Suddenly her son took a turn for the worst. The boy couldn’t breathe, he stopped breathing – he was dead. Her world just fell apart (verse18) it speaks of her utter despair. Her hopes for the future is gone, she has no one left in her life – alone, afraid, with no backup plan, no life insurance, nothing! Perhaps she felt guilty of her sins – but most of all, it was just pure pain!

Even Elijah was confused (verse20) he probably was attached to the boy. After all he was a guest with them for many months. More than likely he stayed up nights with the boy, telling stories of God’s heroic deeds, horsing around with him. He lived with them, ate with them, spent time getting to know them. Then the boy died.

This is the type of faith that God’s looking for in the heart of a godless, faithless world we live in.

In the New Testament, this single mom’s faith is mentioned as something that God Himself endorses.

In Luke 4:25-30 - Jesus is speaking to a crowd of worshippers in a Jewish church. Jesus spoke of this single mom’s faith; it came across as insult to the people Jesus spoke to. And he was speaking to folks who are like you and me, churchgoers. This story occurred in the middle of a church service, on the Sabbath day. They became very angry at this, they manhandled him, they were upset enough to kill! All because he cited this Sidonian single mom’s faith as an example of faith!

Jesus was using this unbelieving single mom to drive home the point, it takes more than living in an Israelite home to become a child of God, it takes trust, faith, investment of your life, in God alone. Living in Florida doesn’t mean you’re automatically a Tampa Bucs fan….there’s a lot of Steeler fans too! (A little too many if you ask me…Ha!) Having a Prophet in your home doesn’t make you a Christian.

This single mom’s faith is a lesson for us all.

Like all of us, Single Mom’s need God. They need to be real and cry to God like that desperate single mom. Show your loyalty to Him as you cling to every word from God even though you don’t grasp it all at once. That everything in life is no accident. It is purposeful to lead you back to God, to know His love. There is enough grace to cover all your bases.

While you still have breath, while you still struggle, there is always hope. You can resurrect your life today in the power of God!

You have to be Super Single Mom and let God be your strength!

You’re Pace Car

I used to watch NASCAR every Sunday but I stopped watching it because I realized it was my excuse to take a nap on Sunday.  My excuse isn’t what I want to write about though. If you never seen a NASCAR race your probably one of the few in this country. This writing is about:

Who is your pace car?

Some say racing is a simple sport; it’s just a matter of taking a left turn, then taking a left turn, then taking another left turn. Some think, “How hard can that be? You go around in a circle as fast as possible!”  It’s a little more….you have to have control!

Let’s talk about restrictor plates….and I’m not referring to the license plate on the back of your car.  Restrictor plates in NASCAR restrict the flow of air and fuel to the engine therefore slowing the car down. Without a restrictor plate, your racecar could go over 225 miles an hour. Ever try to take a turn at that speed?  You would lose control very quickly and it can get pretty scary when you lose control!

How about your life, do you have a restrictor plate on it?  Or are you racing out of control? There was a country song back in the 90’s that spoke of this. “I’m in a hurry to get things done; I rush and rush until life’s no fun…” This song says a lot about how we live our life. We all rush around trying to get things done, but do all these things we try to do really matter? Are you racing through quickly and you don’t know why? Do you need a restrictor plate?

We have become a society of "I want it now. “Ask someone under 30 to imagine life without a laptop, cell phone, video game, and iPod and they can’t do it. Anyone who was born in the 60's-70's... We are the last generation who played in the street. We are the 1st who played video games and the last to record songs off the radio on a cassette tape.

We learned how to program the VCR before anyone else, play from Atari to super Nintendo. We are the generation of Tom and Jerry, Bugs Bunny and The Flintstones. We travelled in cars without seat belts or air-bags and lived. We did not have flat screens, surround sound, iPods, Face book, Twitter, computers & the Internet...But still had a great time!

So why are we all in such a rush that life is no fun? Does your life need a speed limit? Do you need to slow down? Are you so wrapped up in the got to get there now way of life that you are speeding out of control?

When I was a kid, we used to have soap box derby races. Not the high performance derby cars of today though. Back then we had baby cart wheels, a board for a seat, string for a steering wheel and sneakers for brakes.  Helmet…….ha! Like you wish!!! One time we got into a 4 car accident racing down the hill. In my excitement to win, I hopped back onto the derby car and won the race. There was only one problem though, it wasn’t my derby car!

There are several derby cars that we have the option to ride in our lives. One called “success”; one called “anger”; one called “jealousy” and one called “wealth” (I’m sure there are a few more but you get the point). They can all throw us off but will it be the right derby car that we get back on? Just as we can’t be racing out of control, we also need to make sure that we are on the right race car. Don’t let jealousy be what propels you down the track, but rather focus on what God wants for your life. You can’t let someone cut you off because you ran out of control.

There will be those that will try to cut us off at the pass, or cause us to drive into the wall, but how we handle them will determine if we manage to finish the race or go out of control. Keep your restrictor plate on (Prayer is the best restrictor plate I know), read the owner’s manual (um…God’s Word) and keep your focus on the only car in life that will never cause you to lose control or veer off the track.

Allow Jesus to be the pace car of your life.

Hebrew 12:1 “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”

“Have ye not read?”

Our church sponsored a very important and educational conference this past weekend. I learned a lot and there were many facts I hadn’t realized. The talks were on creation science and how evolution theories were just dead wrong. They presented many facts… some I knew most I didn’t. You want to know what I really took away from all these great talks?

There are things in the Bible that, if taken as part of the whole, are very beneficial to us. Yet those same scripture, if taken alone, can be very harmful. Now this thought may seem very simple in its form but to hear some other people talk…it’s the hardest thing they have ever done. The only way to understand parts of the scripture is to understand the whole Word of God.

When Jesus was questioned about the law, his answer started with, “Have ye not read?”

We would expect a spiritual leader to have read his Bible wouldn’t we? Yet, it was to the rabbis, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the Chief Priests, Scribes and Elders that Jesus posed this question. “Have Ye Not Read…” Shouldn’t they have known better?

Here is the trouble with Christianity today, we will listen to every Joe or Jane who says they are a prophet;  claim to have some new revelation from God, and ignore the one and only revelation we really have from God which is the Word of God…the Bible.

“Have ye not read?”

“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” Hosea 4:6a

What would we know about the human condition was it not for the Word of God? Our salvation must be a response to the Word of God, and the question that will be asked of every soul…

“Have ye not read?”

Reading Is Essential To the Growth of the Christian!!!

Thy Words were found, and I did eat them; and Thy Word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by Thy Name, O Lord God of hosts (Jer. 15:16).

I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food. (Job 23:12)

Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeded out of the mouth of God”

 “Have ye not read?”

What about your quiet time? What about your Bible reading? Are you keeping up with that? The greatest threat to your Christian life is not the attacks of the ignorant upon your Bible but your personal neglect of your Bible.

“Have ye not read?”

D. L. Moody wrote on the fly-leaf of his Bible these words: "This book will keep me from sin, and sin will keep me from this Book."

This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou may observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.” (Joshua 1:8).

“Have ye not read?”

We watch the great sports stars on the field of play and admire their skills. Some of that talent is natural, but a large part of it comes from consistent practice. We listen to great musicians, forgetting about the hours they spend in practice. Do you practice and spend regular time in the Word of God?

“Have ye not read?”

Perhaps you think you don’t have time to read the Bible every day. If you are too busy to read the Bible every day you are busier than God ever intended any human being should be, and you had better let some things go and take time to read the Bible.

Have ye not read?

Ignorance is no excuse. Driving down a highway, do you read the road signs?  Whether you read them or not, does the law still stand? How about God’s Law?

“Have ye not read?”

We need to understand that when we are judged of God, the one recurring question we will be asked is “Have ye not read?” and willing ignorance is no excuse.

Have you not read?

Why doesn’t Paul smile?

If you want to catch happiness, open your Bible and go fishing.

Some people wonder why I don’t smile a lot and it’s true… I don’t.  I do smile but probably not even close to as much as I should. By some, I’m considered a funny person. I love to tell jokes and look at the whimsical side of life. Yet, it’s rare to see me smile.

Does that mean I’m not happy….not at all. I can honestly say that life does wear me down a bit and sometimes I’m a bit grumpy. (See my blog on the 2 Frogs). I’m working on my smile but I am a happy person. There is more to my smiling abilities and mostly I don’t smile for physical reasons. Ask me sometime…I’ll tell you.

This blog is about happiness and joy and why you and Paul SHOULD smile,

1 Thessalonians 5:16 – 18

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

Have you ever seen a Christian who just seemed to walk in the glorious joy of God’s happiness? It seems that no matter what they are doing, or where they are going, they always seem upbeat, happy, and focused on others. We all say that we want to be happy. And, many of us actually search for ways to make us happy, but the problem is that we usually search in the world.

There are no words to describe a joyful feeling, but if you have ever felt it, you know what I am talking about, and if you have never felt it, well, you have no idea what I am talking about. According to God, we are to have that feeling of joy all the time. You can look in a lot of places, but there is only one place a person can find that kind of joy.  That place is in Jesus Christ.

Do you want Him badly enough to give up the very control of your life and turn it over to Him? Have you kept such a tight control over every aspect of your life that you have ended up shutting Jesus out? Even if this describes you ‘just a little’, let me ask you one other question. Are you happy being this way?

LUKE 10:20 - Rejoice because your names are registered as citizens of Heaven.

PSALM 118:24 - This is the day that the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it.

Can you think of any situation in your life that God will not be there to go through with you? Can you think of any sin you might be able to commit that God cannot spare you from?

A few years back, I was almost homeless. I lived in a garage with nothing but a bathroom and a sleeping area. My vehicle was on its last legs and I was unemployed. I made just enough money to pay rent for the garage, keep my car running and somehow pay my bills from my Veteran disability. I lived paycheck to paycheck.

Even though the situation seemed pretty hopeless, I was happy. I prayed every day and read God’s will for me. In God’s time he gave me a job, a better place to live and a trustworthy vehicle. God doesn’t give you anything you’re not ready for and because I was Thankful for what I had.

The only way we can find joy is to pray without stopping, and give thanks for everything because it is God’s will for us to do so.

PHILIPPIANS 2:13 for god is working in you, giving you the desire to obey Him and the power to do what pleases Him.

PSALM 37:5 Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust Him, and He will help you.

It may not be easy to rejoice about everything in your life; to pray all the time; to give thanks in everything, but it can be done. The more we truly trust in Him, the more He helps us by giving us everything we need to rejoice, pray and give thanks.

We can go around with a frown on our face, always looking at how bad things are and feeling sorry for ourselves, or we can go around with a smile in our heart, rejoicing for all the good things we have in life. God does not want us to worry and fret. He does not want us to be unhappy, always looking at what we wish we had instead of what we do have.

Remember the story about the man who had no shoes? He was very sad till he met a man with no feet. All of a sudden, having no shoes doesn’t seem to be too big a worry, does it?

Think about what your biggest problem is right now. Do you think it is a problem to just you, or do you think it is a problem for God, too? Every problem we have can be traced back to one thing: The fact that we did not get our way about something.

Rejoice in those things you have in your life. For us to be ungrateful and walk around in misery every day is to deny Christ His rightful place in our life

Which Frog are you?

I’m a grumpy old man.  I should have seen it but I didn’t, it took my son to call me a grumpy old man yesterday for me to realize…he was right! In my attitude, that is.  I realized I have been critical of a lot of things in my life. My drive for success in my faith, business and home drew me away from what was really important. God’s love!

Where are you heading…Are you a Grumpy old Christian?

You know you are a grumpy old Christian when you are critical of everything and everyone.

 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (Phil 4:8).

You know you have slipped into the grumpy old Christian category when your words are nothing but critical comments to others about others. People do this with sarcastic humor; With derogatory remarks about others; When they share unnecessary information with others for the purpose of exposing another’s weakness; When they share detailed prayer requests about others; When they can only see people’s faults and when you can only share the churches faults.

Here’s a reality check: God uses imperfect people to do his perfect will.

Here’s a reality check: God uses imperfect churches to do his perfect will.

James 1:26, 27 - If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

I went to the dermatologist this week to have him check out some bumps and grinds.  He found a mole that I had him remove immediately and checked for cancer. I’m sure it will come back negative. But I thought it would be a good idea to get it removed so that it does not become a problem later in life. If there is something on my body with the potential to cause cancer then I want it removed so that I eliminate the possibility of cancer.

A critical attitude will do the same to an individual that cancer will do to the physical body. It slowly kills; it makes them weak in the kingdom of God and even a danger in the kingdom of God. Does something in your attitude toward life and others need surgery? Do we say things like, “well, that’s just me!” or “It’s the way I have always been?” The sad fact is too many times we accept discouragement in changing our attitude and we accept defeat.

I read this story on the Internet but not sure where it came from. There were these 2 frogs and they had fallen into a can of cream, the sides of the can were very slippery. The 1^st frog said, “Well, that’s it. Were dead! Who needs another frog in this world anyways?” After a short time, he drowned. The other frog decided to just swim around a bit in hopes that an idea for escape would come to him. After a while, he hopped out of the can. See, he churned that cream so much, it turned to butter!

We need to churn towards our positive attitudes and the Love of God… else you might get creamed!

Thinking inside the Box!

As my son was growing up; I watched a considerable amount of SpongeBob SquarePants with him.   If you’ve never seen this cartoon, it’s actually somewhat entertaining. It’s about life underwater centered on this sponge dude, named Sponge Bob. In this one episode, SpongeBob ordered a brand new TV Set, one of the really big ones too.  When the TV finally arrived, SpongeBob and Patrick wanted the box, not the TV itself. They saw more fun in playing with the box then with the big TV itself.

Kids love boxes like this. They can make them into anything they desire: a fort, a castle, a ship, and a house, or whatever. And they don’t care what was in the box to begin with. They don’t care how expensive the gift was that was inside. They just like the box.

Some Christian’s look at life like SpongeBob and children look at a box. They see only the box itself – they see only their circumstances of their life. And they enjoy their box; they enjoy their circumstances in life… as long as everything goes fine. BUT if something happens to the box… they’re none too happy.

Have you ever had to throw this box away? How did your kids respond? I bet their response was like my son’s…almost biblical. He was weeping, wailing and gnashing his teeth!!!  When Christians feel the box of their life is being torn apart how do they respond? With weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth! They cry and they mourn and they struggle because they’ve haven’t understood what really gave the box its value.

The box my son played with had value because of what was inside as does our lives in Christ has value. Not because of our fragile exteriors but because what’s contained inside. Pagans doubt God because they lack the good things inside the box. They don’t have the Holy Spirit within, there box is empty. We all pretty much know what it feels like to be empty, don’t we.

When we Christians experience doubt it’s often because we forgot that God was in the box to begin with. He was there all the time! He was in the box and outside the box and everywhere around. If we become selfish; rely upon our knowledge; forget to put God first; and try to handle our own circumstance our boxes can seem empty. Even then, there not…we just think they are.

In Mark 6:3—44 Jesus feeds the thousands. This is a great “In the Box” teaching!

 Mark 6:36 But he answered, "You give them something to eat." They said to him, "That would take eight months of a man's wages! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?"

All 5 thousand ate though without handing over the wages. Jesus was trying to get the disciples to look in the box and not at the circumstances. Jesus was trying to show them they could do all things, thru Him, there strength and there provider. He wanted them to stop looking at the outside of the box.

Every Christian has to go thru that experience. At some point in our lives God has taken us to the box and ask:

What’s In Here? Is God in your box? Or is it empty?

Thinking outside the box has its important aspects too. I am writing this to make sure that before you start thinking outside the box… make sure your box isn’t empty!