Month: May 2025

This morning I saw this quote from Rev. R.C. Sproul. “Christians have no reason to be smug. We are not righteous people correcting the unrighteous. Just one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread.”

The greatest example of humility is when the Son of God, who took part in creation, left Heaven to become a helpless baby boy. After 33 years of sinless human life, He laid down that life as a sacrifice for our sins and then took it up again on the third day to lead us into the presence of our heavenly Father in the name of Jesus. He will return to Earth as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Until then, we will serve God as obedient children. But we must always remember that our service is not powered by us, but by the power of God’s Holy Spirit within us, just as His light shines through us to keep us humble. It is only by the mercy and grace of God that I am still serving Him until He calls me home when my tour of duty on Earth is completed. All glory and honor to my heavenly Father, my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit within me.

I ran across this modern parable about the reason evil exists.

The barber shop was crowded and the barber noticed a customer reading a Bible as he waited his turn. When that customer finally climbed into his chair, the barber proudly announced, “I don’t believe in God! If there was a God, he wouldn’t allow all of the evil around us.” The customer sat quietly, not wanting to spark a heated argument with someone cutting his hair. When the haircut was finished the customer quietly paid and left the shop. On the way to his car he saw a homeless man with long hair and beard begging. He gave the man some money, then took him into the barber shop, where he loudly proclaimed, “I don’t believe in barbers!! If barbers existed, no one would look like this man.” The barber quickly replied, “Well, he didn’t come to me.” The customer explained, “My point exactly. You see God does exist, but the evil mess you see around you is simply what happens when people don’t come to Him. I came to Him years ago and I hope and pray you make that decision soon, but it has to be your choice.”

There was a post on my timeline this morning. It said, “If faith as tiny as a mustard seed can move a mountain, imagine what a fear or doubt that small can freeze from moving.” Looking back on my long life as a child of God, I remember many times when a tiny fear or doubt hindered my progress toward my heavenly Father and His calling for me. Satan knows he doesn’t have to “throw a monkey wrench” into the works of our Christian life, just plant a seed of fear or doubt in the back of our mind.

Matthew 14:22-33 gives us a great example of how Satan attacks us with fear and doubt. On a boat, in a storm, they saw Jesus walking on the water. Simon Peter called out to Him asking to walk out to Him. Jesus told him to come. Peter took that first leap of faith stepping out of the boat then began to walk toward Jesus. He suddenly became aware of the storm and water under his feet and fear gripped him and he began to sink, calling out to Jesus to save him. Jesus immediately got him back on the boat.

How can we eliminate the tiniest doubt or fear that is hindering our progress? I have found singing an old hymn always does it for me. “Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in His wonderful face and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.”

I have quoted a few lines from Christian songs many times but today I’m dedicating this blog post to a song written by Michael Compton that describes my heart better than I can and I hope it blesses you too.

“When He moves among us all that He does
All of His mercy, all of His love
If the pen of a writer could write every day
Even the whole world couldn’t contain
How much I am blessed

Warmth in the winter flowers in the spring
Laughter in summer, changing of leaves
Food on my table, a nice place to sleep
Clothes on my back and shoes on my feet
I have been blessed

Father and mother, nurtured and raised
Sisters and brothers, memories made
A pastor to lead us, this altar to pray
Stripes that can heal and the blood that still saves
I have been blessed

He’s my shoulder to lean on when I am down
The rock where He leads when I’m overwhelmed
The place where He hides me under His wings
He’s not just a song, He’s the reason I sing
I have been blessed

I am so blessed, God’s so good to me
His thoughts are precious for you and for me
I cannot count them there’s not enough time
So I’ll just thank Him for being so kind
God has been good, so very good
I have been blessed

It feels so good to receive praise, especially from someone we love and admire, we normally don’t think of it as a temptation or test. But scripture tells us, “Fire tests the purity of silver and gold, but a person is tested by receiving praise.” (Proverbs 17:21) How can something so nice test our purity? Pride is a sin. It was pride that drove Lucifer and his followers out of Heaven. How do we accept and appreciate encouraging words without getting a big head or becoming too big for our britches?

Many years ago, I heard a pastor reply to being praised, “I will keep the encouragement and pass the praise on to God who deserves all praise.” Ever since then, I have lived by those words and it has kept me happy and humble. Please don’t misunderstand me. Being proud of others is not a sin. We are called as God’s children to love and encourage others

During my 71 years as a believer in and follower of Jesus Christ, I have faced more troubling and fearful storms than I can count. In answer to my prayers, God sometimes has said “Peace be still” to the storm, but most of those times He said “Peace be still” to my mind and my spirit, then led me through it to safety. Those times strengthened my faith, preparing me for what lies ahead. Jesus tells his disciples (and us), “I am leaving you with a gift – peace of mind and heart. And it is peace the world cannot give you. So do not be troubled or afraid.” (John 14:27 NLT)

The book of Daniel gives two examples of the ultimate storm. Daniel was thrown into a den of hungry lions for praying to God. God did not kill the lions. He stayed with Daniel spoiling those cats’ appetite until the king got him out the next morning. Three young friends of Daniel refused to worship an idol. Facing a horrible painful death, they said, “Our God will save us, but even if He doesn’t, we cannot worship anyone but Him.” They were bound and thrown into a blazing furnace. No screams were heard,so the king looked in and saw all three walking around unharmed with a fourth who looked like the Son of God. When the three stepped out of the furnace, they were not only unharmed, their clothes didn’t even smell like smoke. God didn’t put out the fire, He was with them, shielding them from the heat. The older I get, the deeper my faith and the stronger my peace of mind and spirit becomes about what lies ahead for me.

In this age of “feminism”, “toxic masculinity” and gender confusion, we need to check our manufacturer’s guide to set things strait. The Bible is our Creator’s answers to all of life’s mysteries. God created a man in His image to tend and manage His other earthly creations. God then performed the first surgery to remove a rib from the man to use to create a woman to be the companion of her man and make procreation possible. She was taken from man, not from his head so she could rule over him; not from his foot so he could step on her; but from his side where she would be protected by his arm and kept near his heart. The only recorded time Eve told Adam what to do turned out horribly for the two of them and all of mankind. Those are the only two genders found in the Bible or in human DNA.

One big reason for gender confusion now is a lack of parental role models. My father was a strong provider, protector and leader of our family. But he taught me it is possible for a strong man to show emotion. There were times I saw him moved to tears and I never doubted his love for my mother, my brother or me. I have tried to live my life in a way that is pleasing to God and that my father would be proud of. My parents were both believers in and followers of Jesus Christ. My mother and I were baptized on the same day. She was a loving, devoted wife and mother. The woman I chose to be my wife had a lot of the same qualities and I don’t regret a moment of the fifty years we shared together.

When we think about habits, the first things we usually think of are bad ones. We even refer to addictions as habits, but there are some good habits and even some that are neither good nor bad. One example of a neutral habit is the fact that when I was still walking, I always stepped out with my left foot first even though it had been 50 years since I was in the service. It didn’t make any difference, but it just felt comfortable.

New Year resolutions usuallly contain bad habits we want to stop and good habits we want to start. Why do those resolutions fail? Usually, we don’t stick with it long enough. Psychologists claim we must do something for 21 days before it becomes a habit. Stopping a bad habit takes longer unless you replace it with a good habit for 21 days. I don’t know why 21 days,but it has worked for me in the past.

As a Christian, I have found that most bad habits involve sin and good habits involve actions and words that are pleasing to God. So if I pay attention to the prom[tings of the Holy Spirit, He will help me turn away from sin and toward God. God’s Spirit does not override our free will, but when we ask Him to guide us He will gladly show us how to replace sinful habits with Christ-like ones.

My parents used to warn me not to compare apples with oranges. I know each person is created with unique DNA, fingerprints and personality. So comparing myself with another person would be like comparing an apple with a coconut. I have written before that comparison is a coin minted by the devil; on one side is pride and the other side is envy. Heads he wins and tails you lose. How do we avoid that con game?

First, we need to realize that the Christian life is not a competition, although it is a grueling race to the finish line. Instead of trying to beat others to that finish line, we are encouraged to lock arms with stronger or weaker brothers and sisters so we all cross the finish line together. If I feel the need for comparison, I simply compare who I am today to who I was yesterday, looking for improvement. If I start feeling too good about my progress, I compare myself with Jesus and see how far I still have to improve in order to become truly Christ-like. That is always the attitude adjustment I need.