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Wednesday, September 9, 2026

STOPPING FOR THE NIGHT!

 

Wednesday, September 9, 2026

 

STOPPING FOR THE NIGHT!

 

2 Cor 5:1

5 For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

KJV

 

          The Greek word for “dissolved” is kataluo which means “to loosen down or to disintegrate”. Kataluma, which is a derivative of the basic Greek word means “to stop for the night; a lodging place; a guest chamber or inn.”

 

          How exciting to know that death is not a destination but a stop for the night. It is a resting place on the way to that which is eternal in the heavens!

 

2 Cor 4:17

17 For our light, momentary affliction (this slight distress of the passing hour) is ever more and more abundantly preparing and producing and achieving for us an everlasting weight of glory [beyond all measure, excessively surpassing all comparisons and all calculations, a vast and transcendent glory and blessedness never to cease!]

AMPLIFIED

 

Lord, your Word is a great encouragement. Let me not worry about my believing loved ones who have left the motel to travel to their heavenly home. Let me not be afraid or even complain about the accommodation at my stop for the night. AMEN

 

Tuesday, September 8, 2026

TRUST GOD IN THE DARK

 

Tuesday, September 8, 2026

 

TRUST GOD IN THE DARK

 

Gen 28:10-16

10 And Jacob went out from Beer-sheba, and went toward Haran.

11 And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep.

12 And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it.

13 And, behold, the Lord stood above it, and said, I am the Lord  God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed;

14 And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.

15 And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.

16 And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not.

 

Matt 14:23

23 And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone.

 

          What your faith is in the darkness, when you are alone, is all that it truly is. All the rest is just posturing and window dressing. It is those quiet and private thoughts that pass between you and your God that is the true measure of your trust. Merriam – Webster defines “trust” as: “assured reliance on the character, strength, or truth of someone or something; confident hope.”

 

          How confident is your hope? It is a horrible question! It is like the bonus question at the end of a major exam. If we get it right, we pass but if not, we fail – even if we answer all the other questions correctly. Personal and not corporate trust is all the trust we truly own. There is a jab among preachers that serves as a way marker for our faith. We will say to one another: “Do you really believe that – or are you just preaching?” How strong is your faith when trouble wakes you in the night; when the outcome of many endeavors is in question? 

 

Hab 3:17-18

17 Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls:

18 Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.

 

Dear Invisible God, let me build a relationship with you that will survive the cold sweats of those dark and alone times of doubt. AMEN

 

Monday, September 7, 2026

WORKING WITH GOD!

 

LABOR DAY

Monday, September 7, 2026

 

WORKING WITH GOD!

 

Ps 127:1

127 Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.

 

          This psalm is likely to have been written for the building of the second temple under Nehemiah. You may recall that Nehemiah had many challenges and opposition to his building efforts. First there was, as he said, “much rubbish” (Nehemiah 4:10). The walls of the city had been broken down, and the gates were burned with fire. Later, after his initial success, there was Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the Ammonite. It grieved them exceedingly that there had come a man to seek the welfare of the children of Israel (Neh 2:10).

 

          Solomon warned that any work done without God’s blessing and cooperation is doomed to failure and ruin. Jesus, in John 6, warned against working only for things (meat) that will perish. He suggested working for those things that are eternal. This indicates a God-focused labor.

 

          Today, when labor is curtailed, let us renew our understanding of and commitment to God-focused labor.

 

 Col 3:17

17 And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.

 

Lord, we pause today to remember that the success of all our labor is dependent upon you. And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us: and establish thou the work of our hands. AMEN

 

Saturday, September 5, 2026

PLEASE TELL ME AGAIN!

 

Saturday, September 5, 2026

 

PLEASE TELL ME AGAIN!


Ps 119:33-38

33 Teach me, O Lord, the way of thy statutes; and I shall keep it unto the end.

34 Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law; yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart.

35 Make me to go in the path of thy commandments; for therein do I delight.

36 Incline my heart unto thy testimonies, and not to covetousness.

37 Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity; and quicken thou me in thy way.

38 Stablish thy word unto thy servant, who is devoted to thy fear.

 

          We are emotionally forgetful! We constantly require reassurance regarding our relationships. A marriage soon falls into disrepair if either party fails to reassure the other of their love and devotion. So, it is with our relationship with God. We are always asking God to tell us again how much He loves us.

 

          We are functionally confused! We need constant instruction and practice to become proficient at doing the will of God. The text this morning is clear when it gives voice to our heart. “Just tell me what to do and I will do it, Lord.” God keeps Himself invisible and He is non-verbal, so we are constantly needing to be told over and over again by reading His Word. Moreover, modern circumstances do not always fit comfortably into Bible language.

 

          We are directionally challenged! We are like sheep who go astray and soon lose sight of the proper path. Without the Shepherd’s rod, staff and voice we become lost. We require constant contact and correction.

 

          We are stubborn and self-reliant! We need to be taught that the best plan is always His plan. We have some wonderful ideas and schemes, but they may not be His plans. We need to be reminded repeatedly.

 

Dear Lord, please tell me again how much you love me. Sometimes I forget. Please tell me that everything will be alright. My circumstances keep trying to make you a liar. Please show me the right way. All my ideas seem stale and doomed to failure. Please, Lord, tell me again. AMEN

 

Friday, September 4, 2026

LET’S BUILD A PASTOR!

 

Friday, September 4, 2026

 

LET’S BUILD A PASTOR!

 

John 10:1-3

10 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.

2 But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.

3 To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.

 

          The Teddy Bear was invented in honor of President Theodore Roosevelt. While on a bear hunt near Onward, Mississippi, Roosevelt’s aid cornered a bear, but the President refused to shoot it. “Teddy’s Bear” was modeled after a political cartoon by Clifford Berryman on November 16, 1902. Now you can design your very own Teddy bear at a company called Build-A-Bear, but “Build-A-Preacher” has not been as successful.

 

          My shepherd friends and I dream of a huge flock of adoring and applauding sheep. We dream of huge facilities manned by an army of loyal hirelings who perform every function except the weekly public sermon. But it is all a dream and not the model for the New Testament church.

 

          The New Testament model is that of Jesus sitting on a well’s edge talking to a tainted and tortured woman who had come for water. It is Paul at the riverside talking to a lady who had come to dye fabric. It is a slow but exponential growth that requires patience and intimacy in shepherding.

 

          Jesus is the model for shepherding. He is the good shepherd who gives his life for the sheep. The shepherd knows his sheep by name because he has been with them in birthing, untangled them from the briars, or pulled them from the mouths of beasts. He wears the dew of morning and feels the heat of noonday. He smells like sheep.

 

 Jer 23:4

4 And I will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them: and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith the Lord.

 

Oh, great Shepherd of my soul, thank you for your leading, feeding and love. AMEN

 

Thursday, September 3, 2026

BEFORE YOU RUSH OFF!

 

Thursday, September 3, 2026

 

BEFORE YOU RUSH OFF!

 

Eph 5:14-17

14 Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.

15 See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,

16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

17 Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.

 

          I am imagining a scene in many homes around me this morning. Parents are still moist from the shower, kids with mismatched sox [which is now a fad], dogs so confused by the rush they don’t even bark! It is a school and workday. Breakfast is a toaster pastry – eaten cold and unblessed without a prayer. Hurry – worry – bury seems to be the plan of too many. Perhaps this is what the Bible means by “the days are evil.”

 

           Our pace is enough to ruffle the feathers of any guardian angel. Hopefully, at some point in the day, we will catch up with ourselves, and things will smooth out a bit. Evil days need divine appointments. When I was working, yes, pastoral ministry was work, I planned short 5-to-7-minute vacations throughout the day. I would quiet the room, close my eyes, and transport myself to some mountain stream or beach. I would list my concerns before the Lord and then thank Him for taking them away.

 

          Adam Clarke was born in 1762 and died in 1832. It took him 40 years to write his commentary on the whole Bible. Yet, in those austere days, he wrote this: “The present times are dangerous, they are full of trouble and temptations, and only the watchful and diligent have any reason to expect that they shall keep their garments unspotted.”

 

Lord, before I rush off in all directions, let me spend a minute or two with you. AMEN

 

Wednesday, September 2, 2026

NOT WORTHY!

 

Wednesday, September 2, 2026

 

NOT WORTHY!

 

Gen 32:10

10 I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast shewed unto thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am become two bands.

 

Mark 1:6-7

6 And John was clothed with camel's hair, and with a girdle of a skin about his loins; and he did eat locusts and wild honey;

7 And preached, saying, There cometh one mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose.

 

          I have been in the service of the King of Kings for more than fifty years. Through those years He has brought me through many trials and showered blessings upon me. The Scriptures we have selected this morning show two reasons for feeling unworthy.

 

          My inferiority makes me feel unworthy. Jacob surveyed his life and remembered that he was a schemer, a cheat, and a liar. He sold a pot of beans for the dear price of his brother’s birthright and then, with the help of his mother, lied to his father to receive the patriarchal blessing. He began his career as a con man working a shell game. Now, as he prepares to return, he has two wives and, as he said, “two bands.” He started his journey with nothing but a staff in his hand and a stone for his pillow. He knows he has been blessed. This speaks of the grace of God.

 

          Jesus’ superiority makes me feel unworthy. John the Baptist knew he was unworthy to loosen the ties of the Master’s sandals. This would be the beginning motion of washing feet, a task reserved for the meanest of servants. But John did not see himself small. He saw Jesus great! He knew Jesus to be the Son of the Great God whose feet had walked the starry heavens. All the synoptic gospels record John’s opinion, and it is then repeated in the Acts. “I am not worthy to loosen his shoe!” This speaks of the greatness of God.

 

          Both witnesses testify against me. I am unworthy because of who I am, and I am unworthy because of who He is. Ah, but He has declared me to be worthy of adoption. He has forgiven my sin and made me His peculiar treasure.

 

1 Peter 2:9-10

9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:

10 Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.

 

Great God, I started with nothing because I am nothing. You have made me significant and valuable by your grace alone. Thank you, Lord! AMEN

 

Tuesday, September 1, 2026

CASTING MY CROWNS!

 

Tuesday, September 1, 2026

 

CASTING MY CROWNS!

 

Rev 4:10-11

10 The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying,

11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

 

          We are created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27) but we are not God. We have installed in us the power of self-determination. We are permitted to make choices and either enjoy or endure their consequences. But we are not God.

 

          I am ashamed to realize that much, if not most, of my happiness is dependent upon God yielding to my will. I pray a twisted form of The Lord’s Prayer saying, “MY will be done on earth as it is in my thinking.” I am spoiled by God’s grace and wear that crown too proudly. Oh, I love God – if He does what I ask Him to do.

 

          But in Heaven, the twenty-four elders fall down in worship. They know what we will ultimately learn. His will is worthy to be followed, and He is worthy to be praised. Their crowns are cast at His feet, and they know and welcome their place.

 

          One day I will fall at His feet as well. I will have shed the body because mere flesh cannot survive the intensity of God’s glory. Only the spirit survives that encounter.

 

1 Tim 6:15-16

{He} is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords;

16 Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.

 

Lord, help me to cast the crown of my own will at your feet and know and follow your will. AMEN

 

Monday, August 31, 2026

THE CHALLENGE OF HOLINESS!

 

Monday, August 31, 2026

 

THE CHALLENGE OF HOLINESS!

 

Ex 15:11

11 Who is like unto thee, O Lord, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?

 

1 Peter 1:15-16

15 But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;

16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

 

          The word “Holiness” is found 43 times in the Authorized Version. It means “sacred.” In First Peter the word “Holy” is hagios which means “an awful thing, sacred, physically pure, morally blameless, sanctified.”

 

          Holiness is quite a challenge. Isaiah saw himself as “a man of unclean lips dwelling among a people of unclean lips.” Then an angel touched his lips with a coal from off the altar. (Isaiah 6) I understand holiness as a gift and not a product and yet we are commanded to be holy.

 

          Being holy requires a conscious recognition of and discrimination between right and wrong. Those lines are horribly blurred in our culture today, but we are required to make right choices. We see moral absolutes in few places outside of Scripture.  “Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.” (Psalm 119:9)

 

1 Thess 3:12-13

12 And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you:

13 To the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints.

 

Dear Lord, the pressure of sin and the longing for purity battle within us daily. Help us to be holy! AMEN

 

Sunday, August 30, 2026

NUMBERING OUR DAYS!

 

Sunday, August 30, 2026

A timely classic

 

NUMBERING OUR DAYS!

 

Ps 90:10 & 12

10 The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.

12 So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.

 

          The older we get the more we understand that life is brief and moves very quickly along. Seventy years seems such a very long time when we are children and that same seventy years seems like such a short span when we are nearing the end of it. So much has been done and placed into the treasure of memories and so much has been left undone that we have a store of regret.

 

          Someone asked George Bernard Shaw this question: “If you could live your life over and be anyone you wanted to be – who would you choose to be?” The answer came quickly: “I would choose to be the man George Bernard Shaw could have been – but never was.”

 

          Wisdom accompanies the numbering of our days. Projects must be prioritized according to importance. We must resist those things that claim urgency and replace them with those things that are truly important because we know there is not time to accomplish both! We assign urgency to the truly important things.

 

          As youngsters, “strength” was taken for granted. We were young and we could do. Now our strength requires effort and sorrow. The Old Testament word for “sorrow” means “to pant with effort.” We wish we hadn’t wasted our strength on unimportant things.

 

          Finally, there is good news! At the very end or our days “we fly away!” The phrase “and we fly away” is translated from only one small Hebrew word. The word “‘uwph” even means “to cover with wings; to shine forth.” Ah, that will be the joyful end when we take flight and shine forth!

 

Dear Lord, help me to wisely apply my heart and my strength to the truly important things today. Amen

 

Saturday, August 29, 2026

JESUS PRAYS FOR US!

 

Saturday, August 29, 2026

 

JESUS PRAYS FOR US!

 

Mark 1:35

35 And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he [Jesus] went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.

 

Luke 22:31-32

31 And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat:

32 But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.

 

Matt 26:36

36 Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder.

 

          Jesus prayed – a lot! He prayed early in the morning before light and before people. Don’t you wonder what Jesus was praying for?

 

          Jesus prayed – specifically! He prayed for Simon Peter regarding Peter’s test of faith. We all know that Peter denied the Lord three times while warming his hands at the enemy’s fire. We also know that he reaffirmed his devotion three times before the breakfast fire after the Lord’s resurrection. Jesus prayed specifically for Peter and that prayer was answered.

 

          Jesus prayed – generally! In John chapter 17 Jesus prayed for you and for me. He prayed in general terms because He prayed for all those who WOULD believe. So He prayed for me.

 

          Jesus is still praying! He sits at the Father’s right hand – ever living to intercede for us. Whatever troubles you today is already being seriously considered in heaven.

 

Thank you, Lord, for praying for me. AMEN