Running Out of Bread

It’s Sunday morning.  After getting out of bed and opening up my eyes BreadI realized, “I’m hungry!”  I proceeded into the kitchen to make breakfast when I became aware, “I had run out of bread”.  I hate that feeling of realization when you are all set to do something and you don’t have what you need to do it, and you have to go get it.  This morning’s alternative was to cook cheeseburgers, (which I almost did) or go hungry, so I went to the store.  Even if I had made the cheeseburgers I would still be out of bread.

It was on the drive back home I had the realization that some people run out of bread all the time.  They run out of the “Bread of Life”.  Jesus said in John 6:48, “I am the Bread of Life”.  How do they do this?  They stop going to church.  They stop reading their bible.  They stop hanging out with their Christian friends.  Not all at once of course, but little by little.  Satan’s deceptions don’t happen overnight!  It is a slow process of time that he works on you in order to take over your mind.  You see all he wants is to kill, steal, and destroy anything, or anyone that God has made or loves, and that includes you.

The hard to believe part of this is when these people get hungry, they don’t run to the store meaning to the church, but they start trying to satisfy their hunger with the things of the world which satan has now convinced them is okay.

So go get some bread.  It’s free, because Jesus has already paid the price for you by dying on the cross.  Partake of the Bread of Life all you want.  It does a body good.

A Conversation with God

I said unto the L052012_47JBord, “God I love you so much.  I will do anything you ask me to.  I will go anywhere in your name.  God I’ll even go to Iraq if you want me to.”  But God said, “I want you to go next door and speak to your neighbor.  Maybe you don’t think they care about me, but you don’t know their heart like I do”

I then said, “God I will give everything I have for your Glory!”  He replied, “Thanks but I would rather you look around and give to those you see in need.  Whether their need is food, clothing, or shelter – give.”

“God I could start a great foundation for you.  What do you think of that?”  Then God said unto me, “Go visit the sick, and not just for 5 minutes either!  Sit with them.  Attend to them.  Let them know they are not going through this alone.  Then when you are done with that go visit someone in prison, or at least sit down and take the time to write them a letter.  Let them know that though they are locked up they are not forgotten.  Show them there is hope.”

“But God I want to do something great for you” Then God spoke to me this, “If you want to do something great then give what I did; give your heart, give your time, give your life.”

Mat 25:40  Then the King will say, ‘I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me–you did it to me.’ (MSG)

If God Only Answered One Prayer

One thing I just learned is don’t writ072912TB 230e a blog about contentment.  This past week I had the hardest time remaining content!  Every morning I would wake, and get mad because I’m not getting to live the life I really want to.  I felt bad about this, because I just wrote in my blog how important it is to be content with the life you have.

While I was riding the commuter train I was praying and I begin to run down my list of, “God it sure would be nice if you would answer this prayer request concerning one, two, three, and four.”  Then the thought hit me, “What if God promised to answer only one of those request?  Which request would I pick?”  As I picked one in my mind I then realized this, “Does that make the other request not important?  Could I do without them?  Should I not really be praying about those things?”

The truth is we are to bring ALL of our request to God.  “Phi 4:6  Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns.” (MSG)

This verse coming to my mind helped me get through the rest of the week.  It’s okay for me to tell God the desires of my heart.  The real miracle is when my desires align with God’s desires for my life.  “God, until then, help me not to lose focus of you.”

Another thought:  “When you are intently focused on your life, others who desperately need to know God might walk right by you unnoticed.”

The Life You Should Really Want

Phi 4_11I was talking this past week with someone and it didn’t take long before I realized they were depressed.  I asked them why, and they responded they weren’t sure.  I asked them if they were happy with their current situation concerning life.  They replied, “No.”  Then the question of all questions came to me, so I asked, “If your world looked like you wanted it to what would it look like?”  I mean this is the kind of question my friend Steve usually comes up with, but not me, so it had to come from God!  The person I was talking to said that was a really good question, but wasn’t sure how to answer it.

What if you were asked that question?  Would you be able to answer it?  Would you have a different job?  Live somewhere else?  I hate to ask, but would you be in a relationship with someone else?  If your world could look like you wanted it to would that world be the result of making better decisions?  Have you really learned from the life you have lived in the past?

You can’t live in the past, and you shouldn’t live with regret.  Whatever it was, it happened.  Okay?  So get over it with God’s love, help, and power.  Learn from it.  Give it to God, and allow him to use it to help someone else who is about to do the same thing.  Paul tells us:

(Phi 4:11)  Actually, I don’t have a sense of needing anything personally. I’ve learned by now to be quite content whatever my circumstances.

Contentment is a powerful thing to say, but even a more powerful thing to practice in your own life!  I think once you learn to accept and relax in your current situation it is then that God can begin to lead you to the life He wants for you, and I assure you, this is the life you should really want.

Letting Go

I was at my eye doctor’s office this past week for a follow up visit to some recent treatments.  One of the things they needed to do was take some pictures of both eyes.  It was while I was getting those pictures taken that I heard probably the best example of what real faith is.

Andy, the eye photographer, told me that when he was much younger he went parachuting.  He said that he only went three times, but that is still three more times than I have.  He told how back then they would connect your rip cord to a static line so when you get far enough away from the plane it would tighten and thus pull the cord that would cause your chute to open.  So that only left two things for him to do.

1) Step outside of a perfectly capable airplane of landing to the little 2×4 connected to the bottom of a wing support.

2)  The hardest part: Let go of the wing.

He told me he was scared like crazy!  Not exactly his words, but I think you get the point.  He informed me that the hardest thing to do was letting go of the wing.  He said as he was going 120 mph out there on the wing thoughts would run through his mind, “Who packed my chute?”  “Did they do it right?”  But no matter what came to his mind, he did it.  He let go.

Yes, Andy is right.  This is one of the best examples we have of faith.  When we are faced with a situation that is bigger than us there are a lot of things we can do, but none is better than “letting go” and trust in God.  If you happen to be faced with one of those kinds of situations do what Andy did; “Let go.”

What Does Your Fruit Look Like?

Gen 3:1  The serpent was clever, more clever than any wild animal GOD had matemptationde. He spoke to the Woman: “Do I understand that God told you not to eat from any tree in the garden?”
Gen 3:2  The Woman said to the serpent, “Not at all. We can eat from the trees in the garden.
Gen 3:3  It’s only about the tree in the middle of the garden that God said, ‘Don’t eat from it; don’t even touch it or you’ll die.'”
Gen 3:4  The serpent told the Woman, “You won’t die.
Gen 3:5  God knows that the moment you eat from that tree, you’ll see what’s really going on. You’ll be just like God, knowing everything, ranging all the way from good to evil.”
Gen 3:6  When the Woman saw that the tree looked like good eating and realized what she would get out of it–she’d know everything!–she took and ate the fruit and then gave some to her husband, and he ate.
Gen 3:7  Immediately the two of them did “see what’s really going on”–saw themselves naked! They sewed fig leaves together as makeshift clothes for themselves. (MSG)

Packed into these few verses is so much!  So much of how sin appeals to us.  So much about how we start thinking in our mind that we understood what God “really” must have meant, but He didn’t say.  In verse 4; no the woman wouldn’t die physically, but after disobeying God she begin to die spiritually.  In verse 5 we see the devil tell Eve that she will be “like” God.  The very thing that got him and his followers kicked out of heaven.  In verse 6; Eve no doubt on the first shopping trip pictured how the fruit would match her outfit, and thus complete her ensemble.  In verse 7; was the first time a woman uttered the words, “Don’t touch me!”

Seriously here is how sin works:  Eve saw, Eve thought, Eve touched.  One will sin every time most likely when they “look” too long.  When they “think or reason” in their mind too much, and it is almost impossible to stop once they “touch”.

So what does your fruit look like?  What is your weakness?  What do you need to not look at too long, or at all?  What thoughts do you need to stop thinking?  What, or whom, do you need to not touch?

It Isn’t Finished

jesus-crossempty-tomb-of-Jesus-ChristWhen I was a youth minister in Massachusetts the local ministers from various churches would gather for a pre-Easter service.  Seven ministers would get up one by one and share the last seven phrases that Jesus said from the cross.  I always wanted to be asked to share number 6, “It is finished”, but I was never asked to, so today I will.

Saying the words, “It is finished” can bring relief.  The pain, the distress, the task at hand, or the conflict is over.  No more of whatever was causing such discomfort.  Those words certainly said a lot for the one who spoke them that day, for he was going down a “dead end!”  But was “it” really finished?  Sure the work Jesus came here to earth to do was, but I believe our work was just beginning.

Jesus showed us how to live, pray, “be”, love, overcome, deal with evil, trust our heavenly father, face fear and even die.  When He said, “It is finished” He might as well gone on to say, “You are just beginning.  Now go and show others there is a better way to live.  Don’t just tell them, but show them the love of my Father as I have shown you.  Convince them that in believing in my death and resurrection there is so much hope it will last for eternity.”  For us, it isn’t finished, yet.

Through It All

storms of lifeLife certainly can be rough sometimes.  Maybe not to you directly at the moment, but to those around you.  To people that you know and care about.  Right now one of my coworkers is with her mother who is at the exit ramp of life.  A friend from high school just lost his mother this week.  She was a spiritual giant who will be truly missed.  A family member of mine had her house partially damaged by a tornado that hit near Tulsa, Oklahoma.  You certainly don’t have to look very far to see the storms of life.

I have been listening to the song (a lot lately) “It Is Well” by Bethel Music featuring Kristene Dimarco.  One of the lines in that song, that I really like, says, “The wind and rain still know His name.”  When we are going through the storm we often forget this.  We take our eyes off of the one who can calm the storm, and we look at the circumstances around us.  Doing so will weaken your faith.  Jesus may not directly speak to the storm you are in and calm it, but I assure you He will get you through it all.

First Impressions

This week’s blog is a little late, because I have been traveling. I’m was visiting my kids in Texas, and getting to meet my future son-in-law. This is my first future son-in-law. I’ve got to say, “It’s a little nerve wracking. He’s was trying to make a good first impression, and I was trying not to embarrass my daughter! He said something that was interesting. He said, “I think first impressions should last like a month.”

This made me think about people in general meeting us for the first time. Us meaning those who profess to be a child of God. What is their first impression? Is it a good one? Would a month long first impression be better, so when you tell them, “I’m sorry. I’m really not like this normally” they will believe you? You see when someone does get more time to get to know you they will see that you’re not perfect, but that you indeed are striving to be like the one who is. Jesus

So until we are perfect be mindful of how others see us. Their impression of us may turn into their impression of Jesus Christ. Oh, and to my future son-in-law, I welcome you into the family.

Zombie Dogs

Zombie Dog 2My friend enjoys watching scary movies, but since her husband passed she won’t now.  I can certainly understand as I too have to pull my feet up onto the couch when I get scared from a movie.  I don’t want that thing under the couch to get me!  (It’s probably just lent.)  She says her dogs will usually lye in the living room while she watches most things, but she has noticed they will not go in there if she is watching a zombie movie.  She thinks it is because there are no zombie dogs.

After hearing this I got to thinking about why there are no zombie dogs.  I wondered if it was because dogs don’t taste like chicken. (I don’t know.)  But then I realized that zombie are or were humans and when a human is doing something wrong they want others to be doing it too.  Sin loves company.

My thoughts then turned to what the wages of sin are, and that is death.  (Romans 6:23)  Zombies are dead humans who are still alive.  One reason for them wanting to bite a normal human, other than because they are hungry, is to turn them into a zombie.  To join them in their miserable state of being dead, but alive.

One thing about death is; it is final.  Whatever a person was going through at the time of their death ends immediately when they do.  In some circumstances death can be welcomed, and if the person dying has the hope of eternal life with Christ in heaven then there really isn’t anything to fear.  I find it hard to believe that the “act” of dying is more painful than the process of living can be at times.

So quit living like your dying, and start dying to live.  Jesus said in John 10:10 that He came so that we may have life more abundantly.  Jesus wants us to be fully alive now and to really live the way God intended when we are in heaven.  That kind of life starts by accepting Jesus Christ into your life to be the Lord of your life.  By asking Him to forgive you of all of the sin in your past that causes eternal death.


Okay.  A search on the internet turned up a couple of zombie dog movies.
(This blog post is dedicated to Arlene.)