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I’m posting this on Valentines Day. I hope you don’t mind if I share my personal thoughts today. My wife’s birthday was the day after Valentines Day so it was always a two day celebration of my love for her. This is the ninth time I have gone through these two days without her. I have never been a big fan of Dr. Zeus, but I saw one quote from him that I have found very useful. “Don’t cry because it is over, smile because it happened.” When I revisit the fond memories of our fifty year marriage, i smile because it happened.

I hope and pray that you are making pleasant memories with your loved ones every day and not just the special days. Life is precious and none of us is guaranteed tomorrow so make those fond memories together. Eventually, either you will be left with those fond memories as I am now, or you will leave the memories for them. People may forget what you said to them. They may even forget what you did for them, but they will never forget how you made them feel when they were with you. I make it a point to have my caregivers and everyone else I encounter feeling better when we part than they felt when they arrived. That is a legacy that is much more valuable than riches or possessions.

As Christians, we have the advantage of knowing that whoever leaves this life first, it is only a temporary separation. We will have eternity to celebrate our love for God and for each other.

Matthew 6:25-34. “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life – whether you have enough food and drink or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?
And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith? So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink> What will we wear?’These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else,live righteously, and your heavenly Father will provide all that you need. So don’t worry about tomorrow. Tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for Today.”

We need to read that familiar passage from Jesus’ sermon on the mount often as a reminder. Mark Twain wrote,”I have had a lot of worries in my life most of which never happened.” I’ve also found that true in my life. When i think about tomorrow my mind always begins with “What if?” Even the things that have happened haven’t been nearly as bad as I had imagined. It is such a blessing when we can leave tomorrow and all of our needs in the powerful hands of God.

When two of my dearest friends recently married each other and became one, I wasn’t sure if I had one less friend or had a two for one super friend now. Thankfully, it has been the latter. Those two wonderful people certainly deserve the joy they now share with each other. They married in a private, quiet ceremony. Now they are planning a celebration party complete with renewing their vows in front of family and friends. The bride has asked me to give her away at that ceremony and I gladly agreed to do so.

I want to propose a toast to the newlyweds at the party. My first instinct is to wish them fifty years of life together, as my wife and I enjoyed. They both already qualify for senior discounts and after doing the math, I decided that wish might be too optimistic. i was trying to figure out how to downsize that wish for them when it seemed like my wife reached down from heaven, slapped me on the back of the head and said, “You lovable idiot! Wish them more, not less.”

When my wife went on ahead of me to heaven nine years ago, our love did not die with her. That is the “more” I need to wish my dear friends. Love in and beyond this life.  Lines from songs come to my mind. For me, “When God calls us both above, honey, you’ll know that you’ve been loved because I’ll go to my grave loving you.” For them, “Loving God. Loving each other. Making music with our friends. Loving God. Loving each other and the story never ends.”

Here’s to Cathie and Jim and their unending love story.

God’s gifts to us are priceless. He not only gives us access to his presence, but His Spirit is within us wherever we go. His grace gives us blessings we don’t deserve, while his mercy protects us from the punishment we do deserve. There are at least five times that I know of, that He has saved me from death or very serious injury.

An old country song says, “Some of God’s greatest gifts are unanswered prayers.” Actually, God answers every prayer, but sometimes the answer is no. The song goes on to describe how God had something much better in mind. There is a drawing of a little girl clinging to a tiny teddy bear. Jesus is reaching out for it with one hand while holding a huge stuffed bear behind his back. The caption reads, “I don’t know Jesus. I love my bear.” How many wonderful blessings have we missed because we are clinging to good ones?

There is an old hymn that tells us to “Count your blessings name them one by one; count your many blessings,see what God has done.” I’m good at math, but looking back at all the blessings over my 80 years of life, I can’t count that high and doing so one at a time would take longer than I have left. So I will continue to recognize each blessing as it comes. I’ll look up and say, “I know that was you, Lord. Thank you.”

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Anton Chekhov wrote, “Knowledge is of no value unless it is put to use.” To put knowledge to use sometimes requires wisdom. What is the difference between knowledge and wisdom you may ask. Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit – wisdom is not adding one to your fruit salad.

Solomon received the wisdom from God for which he asked in prayer. He was considered the wisest man who ever lived (until Jesus came to earth), but his downfall was ignoring what he knew to be unwise when he married many women, including some who were not Jewish and worshipped pagan gods. We must be careful not to let our human desires crowd out our knowledge and wisdom. We can avoid that pitfall by studying the truth of God’s word and being receptive to the prompting of the Holy Spirit within us. However, we can read and study the Bible from cover to cover, memorizing chapter and verse, but until we establish a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ, it is just a useless mental exercise. Once we have that personal relationship, God will help us apply His knowledge and wisdom to our everyday lives.

A noted Bible scholar was asked to sum up the Bible in one sentence. He replied, “Jesus loves me this I know because the Bible tells me so”. True knowledge begins with God’s love, mercy and grace.

I’m back home from three more days in the hospital after yet another surgery on my kidney this time to remove stones. They sent me home too soon so I spent 16 hours in a hospital emergency room only to be sent back home at 3:00 am this morning. This coming Friday, I have to return to the VA hospital again for a final procedure on that kidney. The surgeries have all been completely successful according to the surgeons, but there is still some more work for them that needs to be done.

It kind of reminds me of Philippians 1:6, “And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue His good work until it is finally finished on the day Christ Jesus returns.” I know God is not finished with me yet spiritually or mentally; I just hope and pray that the physical good work my surgeons in three fields began  within my body doesn’t take that long to finally finish with healing.

We receive new life at the time we accept Christ as our savior, but He continues that good work. As long as you’re breathing and your heart is pumping, God isn’t done with you yet.

T

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Happy New Year. I have read that in some cultures the front door is opened at midnight on December 31st to  let out the old year and welcome in the new one. After all I’ve been through in 2022, I thought about opening every door and window last night to make sure it is gone. Time marches on.

.As a boy, I was told that the only sure things in life are death and taxes. As a Christian, I have found several constants in my life. God’s love, mercy and grace are endless, but so is change. When times are tough, we can be sure there will be a change for the better. We need to remember to thank God when things are good, because they can change for the worse.

I no longer make New Year’s Resolutions. Instead, I pray that God’s Will be done throughout the new year. His resolve will take me all the way through the year and beyond. It is liberating to rely on Him to open new doors for me instead of straining with them myself.

I hope and pray that this brief post encourages you to let go and let God in this coming year. He can, and will, open doors you didn’t even know existed. Love, peace and joy to each of you reading this.

The New Age Movement seems to be enjoying a burst of popularity. On the surface, it seems so fair and inclusive. All religions worship God in different ways and although they each take a different path, all roads lead to God and to heaven. As a Christian, I know the major error of that philosophy and so do you. Even the newagers know why true, born again Christians don’t fit into their philosophy. You can mention God all you want around them, but the minute you mention Jesus, you are being too “preachy”.

The center of our faith is Jesus Christ. He teaches us that He is the way, the truth and the life. No one can approach God or enter heaven without going through Him. Jesus Christ was either a delusional egotist who actually believed he was the Son of God; or He is exactly who He claims to be. He leaves us no other option. To believe there is another way to please God and enter heaven with Him, would label Jesus a liar and that is a very dangerous position to take. The founders of all of those other religions are dead and buried. When Jesus stepped out of that tomb in Jerusalem two thousand years ago, He proved by example the gift of eternal life He offers through His sacrifice for our sins. I have mentioned many times that Christian faith is not a religion like those others, but it is a personal relationship with God thanks to the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. No matter how sincere those other worshipers are, they are sincerely wrong. Those other roads will not take them to heaven.

I read the testimony of a former Muslim the other day. He said he left Islam because he studied the life of Mohammed. He became a Christian because he studied the life of Jesus. Jesus doesn’t just teach us the truth; He is the personification of Truth. He doesn’t just show us the way; He is the Way. There is a wave of Christian faith moving through those other religions around the world. When Jesus returns every knee shall bow and everyone will acknowledge Him as Lord of Lords and King of Kings. I’m so glad I have recognized Him as my Lord and King long ago.