Month: March 2022

Seek Beauty

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“For we are God’s handiwork” Ephesians 2:10

Many years ago when my daughter was in college we would regularly get together in the middle of the week for a dollar movie night at the local cinema. There was one occasion where I happened to choose a movie called, “Pitch Perfect”, thinking it was a film about baseball. Yes, I can already hear you laughing, but probably not as loudly as my daughter was at the time. I soon learned that this film was about collegiate A-cappella singing competitions. Yet in this fun little film I heard them sing a Bruno Mars hit song “Just the way you are.” How can you not love lyrics such as, “And when you smile, the whole world stops and stares for a while. ‘Cause,

You’re Amazing, Just The Way You Are”

We don’t think that way enough. After all, God created you and I, just the way we are, and God does not make mistakes! It’s time for you to discover the beautiful person that you are, and also time for you to see the beauty in others, just the way they are!

Laugh!

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“He who is of a merry heart has a continual feast.” Proverbs 15:15

I love to laugh! From “The Three Stooges”, to worn out cliche knock-knock Dad jokes, to comic films or television, give me a reason to laugh and I’m the first one on board. You may have heard that laughter is the best medicine. Well, that’s actually found in Proverbs 17:22, which says, “A merry heart does you good, like a medicine”. Does God love laughter? How about what we read in Psalm 126:2, where King David says “Then our mouth was filled with laughter.” Just imagine,

God Loves To Hear You Laugh

So what are you waiting for? Enough of the long drawn serious faces when talking about our faith. God invented laughter and he’s just itching for you to discover joy in your worship, in your prayer time, and in your life. Let Isaiah 55:12 be your new motto; “you shall go out with joy and be led forth in peace!”

Penny Lane

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“Therefore, surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses…let us run the race set before us”. Hebrews 12:1

Sometimes it’s easy to forget all those who made our journey possible. The older I get the more fondly I remember those who cared enough to teach me, and reprimand me, and encourage me, and sustain me along the way. Such memories always come through when I hear Paul McCartney and the Beatles sing about a street in the neighborhood where they grew up. He sings, “Penny Lane is in my ears and in my eyes, wet beneath the blue suburban skies,” as he muses with teary eyes and thinks back with fondness, remembering the store keeper, and the fireman, and the nurse, and the banker, and the barber he came across along the way. Indeed we are a collection of memories, so take the time to

Remember Those Who Paved Your Journey

Hebrews 11 takes just such a stroll down Penny Lane, recounting those with great faith who came before us, from Noah, to Abraham, to Moses, to David and so many others. If you want to see what Faith looks like read Hebrews 11, and end with Hebrew 12:1, and realize that you are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses cheering you on as you walk your own journey of faith.

Be Positive

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“If God be for us, who can be against us.” Romans 8:31

While channel flipping through the television last night I ran across “Blast From The Past”, a great comic film of a boy, Brendan Frasier, who is raised in a 1960’s era fallout shelter with his fun loving parents Christopher Walken and Sissy Spacek, until, he get’s his first taste of the world by coming to the surface in the 1990’s. That’s all I’ll share as I’m not going to be the spoiler for this great little film, except to say it opens with Perry Como singing,

“you’ve got to accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative, latch on to the affirmative, and don’t mess with Mr. In-between!”

This Johnny Mercer classic song from 1944 is one of my favorites, for in a very clever way it’s all about living a life of faith. After all, Romans 8:31 tells us that “if God is for us, who can be against us”. Just think, the creator of the heavens and the earth is on your side. With that outlook, you should indeed accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative, and don’t mess with Mr. In-between.

The Do-Over

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“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 2 Corinthians 5:17

World renowned NFL quarterback Tom Brady recently made headlines twice in six weeks. First, he decided to retire after a stellar career, then un-retire and play another season. How quickly things can change when we simply choose to change our minds. No matter where you find yourself in life, from small things, to complete life altering changes,

We All Need The Ability To Press Rewind

The ultimate rewind comes when we invite Christ into our life. Corinthians tells us, “if anyone be in Christ they are a new creation, old things have passed away and all things have become new.” When Christ went to the cross, he took on 100 percent of our sin. Sin, by definition, is simply anything that separates us from God. Christ voluntarily in a great act of love became our intermediary, our perfect advocate, and the singular reason that no matter what our past looks like, our future can be brand new. Christ give us the ability to have the ultimate do-over. Look up, a brand new life awaits.

Moving Day

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“Sing to the Lord a new song!” Psalm 98:1

Why is it that we love new, but we hate change? We love a new car, new apartment, new house, new clothes, new phone, new (fill in the blank), and yet we loath change. Isn’t new, by definition, change? Sometime,

We Just Need To Change Our Perspective

I think David knew this when he wrote Psalm 98, in which he said, “Sing to the Lord a new song”. Sometimes our prayer life can be a bit of a broken record. Same requests, same opening line, same closing line, and so forth. How long would your relationship with a loved one last if you said the exact same thing to them every single day. Mix it up a little! Perhaps pack away your old cliche’s and find some new ways to Praise God, for He is worthy. You’ll be amazed how your attitude toward prayer changes, and a new closeness you feel with your Lord.

Believe

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“I do believe. Help me overcome my unbelief!” Mark 9:24

Jesus meets a man whose son has a tragic sickness. The man says to Jesus, “if you can, help my son.” Jesus says back to him, “If you can?” and I can almost hear Jesus accentuating the word “IF”. Let’s put Jesus words into language that you and I speak today. “Are you kidding me? What do you mean, ‘if I can’. Don’t you realize who you’re talking to? You must, or you would not have asked me in the first place. You’ve seen the miracles in the streets. You know your son can be healed. Why question My ability? Your doubt only only postpones your miracle.” After Jesus says those three power filled questioning words “if you can?”, He then says,

“Everything Is Possible For One Who Believes”

The man then responds to Jesus by saying, “I do believe. Help me overcome my unbelief.” How many times do be miss out on incredible blessings in life simply because we walk around with a timid faith, or we believe in a timid God. If you lack faith in your life, ask for more. Jesus has an endless supply just waiting for those who ask Him.

Dry Your Tears

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“Jesus wept.” John 11:35

Much has been written about this, the shortest verse in the Bible. Jesus wept at hearing the news that his friend Lazarus had died. I’ve often thought, why did Jesus weep? After all, Jesus knew that He was going to see his friend again, and indeed just a few short verses later Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. So,

Why Did Jesus Weep?

Shouldn’t Jesus be rejoicing at the miracle about to come forth? Perhaps one reason Jesus wept was that He knew the reaction some in the crowd would have when Lazarus walked out of that tomb. This was about to be more than sight or hearing restored. This was life restored. He knew the leaders simply could not tolerate a dead man coming back to life, for too many would truly believe Jesus was the Messiah. Jesus knew this miracle would begin his final journey to the cross. Jesus weeps when we decide to ignore who He is, for He knows that literally all we have to do is choose faith and we walk can out of our tomb and truly come to life!

Full Power!

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“God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind.” 2 Timothy 1:7

As a child I would race home from school to watch the latest “Star Trek” episode. Soaring through the universe with Kirk and Spock and McCoy and Scotty captivated my imagination. Invariably, the Star Ship Enterprise would find itself in hot water and the only way out was for Kirk to yell through the intercom that he needed “more power”, and for his chief engineer Scotty to yell back,

I’m Giving All She’s Got Captain!

If there is one ‘full power’ concept that we need to grasp in scripture it is that we need to literally wage war against fear in our lives. An Angel approached Mary and said, “Do not be afraid”. Jesus said over and over again, “Do not worry” and “Do not be afraid”. And Today, Timothy reminds us that “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power!” You will win this war against fear when you surrender your fears to God. You will be amazed at how He responds with a peace that can only come from Him.

Breakfast!

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“Jesus said, ‘come and eat breakfast’.” John 21:12

For as long as I can remember I’ve always thanked God before eating. Sometimes the prayer was more heartfelt than others, and in younger days I’ll admit that one eye was sometimes open and fixated on whatever delicious things had been set before me. Yet somehow, it’s never been lost on me that the meal before me was provided by the Lord. I’ve learned in life,

Be Grateful For Everything

In John 21, after Jesus friends had finished a long night of fishing, Jesus welcomed them back into their camp having cooked breakfast for them. He didn’t have them sit through a speech before eating, he simply loved on them in a way we all love to be loved on, through our taste buds and stomachs. The next time you sit down to eat, take a moment and truly thank the Lord. He made what’s before you possible, and what’s more, he wants you to enjoy it. Be grateful and watch your thankfulness bring forth new blessings and surprises.