Behold The Lamb Of God!

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! John 1:29

Something always bothered me about the birth of Jesus. God had wise men track down our Lord to give Him precious gifts. God had angels declaring Jesus’ birth to shepherds in their fields, but why shepherds? Why not declare His birth to the entire town of Bethlehem? And why a barn in Bethlehem instead of a palace for Jesus to be born in?

Where else would the Lamb of God be born but in a stable, essentially a barn among other creatures. And to whom else would you declare the birth of a Lamb except to shepherds?

We focus on the happy story of a baby born in unusual conditions, a census that leads a Joseph to his tribal home and a pregnant Mary alongside him traveling miles only to give birth in a Bethlehem stable. Bethlehem was the city prophesied where our Lord would be born. But His sacrifice for our sins was also prophesied. It was His primary purpose, to set right the sins of humanity and to make a way for our salvation. It could only come about by the sacrifice of the Holy Lamb of God.

Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together. Genesis 22:8

For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; ‘he will lead them to springs of living water.’ ‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’” Revelation 7:17

The birth of Jesus was a joyous event. The beginning of the end of sin’s hold on humanity had begun. Hope entered the world in the form of a humble child born in humble circumstances. Yet a greater purpose was behind it all. The birth foreshadowed a death and resurrection that would lead to the eternal reign of the Lamb of God and those He would lead into eternity with Him.

Prayer: Dear Lord, it is hard to imagine You giving up the glory of heaven to come to earth and suffer so much for us. Thank You for humbling Yourself to save humanity and to lead us into Your kingdom where You will reign through eternity. Amen.

What Is On Your Christmas Tree?

“Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. Matthew 12:33

Trees figure large in scripture. The word “tree” turns up 257 times in the Bible. Jesus used trees in His parables. He once cursed a tree to make a point about the importance of bearing fruit. And we have made trees a central symbol for Christmas.

We place gifts under trees at Christmas. We decorate our trees with various ornaments, some to remind us of the real meaning of Christmas, others to remind us of Christmases past. We can use trees to help us focus on a Lord who was both born and celebrated at Christmas, and who ultimately was hung on a tree to purchase our salvation.

I encourage you this Christmas season to consider, to look intently at Christmas trees. When you think about gifts beneath the trees, remember that most precious of Gifts, our sweet Jesus. And when you look at the top of the tree, whether decorated with an angel or a star, let it point your heart upward to remember a Lord who died on a tree so that we can be with Him one day in heaven.

I love Christmas. I always have. But what I love more is the Lord of Christmas, the Savior who was born and died to give us a most priceless and precious gift of becoming the children of God.

Prayer: Lord our Redeemer, thank You for stepping down on earth, and rising up to heaven to make a way for humanity to follow after. Amen.

The Power Of Encouragement

 

Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. 1 Thessalonians 5:11

I was in basic training for the Army at Fort Knox Kentucky. Our drill sergeant marched us down to the baseball field and right up to the fence behind home plate. He told us which team he wanted us to cheer for and that we should cheer “loudly”. It was his friend’s baseball team.

His favorite team was not doing very well. They actually looked like “sad sacks” standing around the dugout. But when they got up to bat we started cheering and something amazing happened. These “sad sacks” began to get motivated, more than that they drew strength from us cheering them on. Every batter that stepped to the plate got a hit and ran for the bases. It turned the whole game around and I learned a valuable lesson about the power of encouragement.

A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver. Proverbs 25:11

Being an encourager is a wonderful thing. Contrast that against the words of those who discourage, criticize, and have nothing good to say about anyone. Our words can change the atmosphere around us for good or ill. Our words are important to God. They can reflect well or badly upon us and our testimony as Christians.

Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones. Proverbs 16:24

I have never regretted speaking positive, encouraging words to someone, but I seriously wish I could take back some of the stupid and unkind things I’ve said throughout my life. Our words are important.

But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken. Matthew 12:36

God’s Word is filled with encouragement for His children. God does not want us to be discouraged. Time and again in the Bible Book of Psalms, God encourages us when we are weak, sick, lonely, exhausted, under attack, and discouraged. We can have courage and be filled with encouragement because God is with us, helping us, healing and strengthening us no matter what circumstances we may find ourselves in.

For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope. Romans 15:4

It is wonderful to be encouraged by God and by others. It is even more wonderful to be an encourager to others, lifting them up when they are down, giving them words to strengthen them. Just as my army platoon on that ball field cheered on a team that needed lifting up, we can do the same with our words to others.

Believers have an endless source of encouragement in God. Our Lord lifts us up through hope and faith and trust that He is with us, helping us, and wants us to succeed in living good lives upon this earth. Our Heavenly Provider gives us encouragement, let’s share that encouragement with other believers, and especially with a lost world desperately in need of encouragement.

May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word. Thessalonians 2:16

Prayer: Dear Lord, how often You have encouraged us and lifted us up when we were down. Fill us with the power of encouragement so we can do the same for those around us. Amen.

Woe To Us All

Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. Romans 5:3-4

It was after my third operation. I felt I was beginning to see light at the end of the tunnel. Yet two days later I quickly realized I had a serious infection. I had been through this story before. A year ago after an earlier procedure two days later I had a serious infection that took ten days of IV antibiotics to clear up. So I was pretty sure I knew where I was headed this time–except this time was worse. After going to the emergency room I was quickly admitted for what would be a four day hospital stay. By the end of the first day in the hospital I sent out prayer requests because I knew I was in serious trouble, my fever would not stay down for long and I had not felt so deathly ill in ages.

Fast forward to the end of another ten days of IV antibiotics. Once more I was beginning to see some light at the end of the tunnel. Yet a week later and the infection was back. It took another emergency room visit, a day in the hospital for observation, and eighteen more days of IV antibiotics to finally clear up the infection.

This is not a message to gain sympathy or to say “woe is me”. Rather it is to say “Woe to us all”. For we are all in the same boat. Your boat may not have been sinking exactly like mine but we are all sinking in some way. If not yourself directly, then a dear friend or family member, some loved one is bailing water out of their sinking ship right now. Suffering is part of the human condition. We cannot avoid it.

I have told people in the past that I’m not afraid of dying. I’ve been close to death enough to know that it’s not death we ultimately fear but rather suffering. Why do you think so many people take their own lives? They fear the pain of living more than dying.

In the verse at the beginning of this message the Bible talks about suffering and it attempts to get us to see suffering in a different light. I will admit when I read that verse I’m tempted to roll my eyes and say: “Sure, God.”

    There are other verses like it in scripture:

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds,  because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. James 1: 2-3

In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 1 Peter 1:6-7

Having suffered with serious health issues since my late twenties I can tell you that while I’m no more happy about suffering and trials today than I was back then, I must admit these horrible experiences have deepened my relationship with God, strengthened my faith, and given me more patience–a virtue I have always struggled with.

  

Suffering itself is horrible and always will be. Yet coming out of the other side of it we can choose to be better or bitter. For the Christian who believes God is ultimately in charge of everything, even our trials and suffering, if we look beyond our pain we can see the maturity and wisdom gained from such trials. It does not come easy, it is never pleasant, but our faith can grow if we allow ourselves to sink even deeper roots into our Lord Jesus.

    

Others may have caused our suffering, or we may have brought it on ourselves in some way, or the suffering may simply be part of the vicissitudes of life. Whatever the cause, if we turn our faces to God, and call upon His Name in the midst of our sorrows, He will come and see us through to the other side of our suffering and pain.

Dear Lord, how we dread suffering, yet it is the gateway to maturity in our Christian walk with You. Give us the courage to face our pain, and the wisdom to trust You with our grief and suffering. Thank You for seeing us through so many dark days, and for the days that may yet come. Be with us always Lord. Amen.

Sometimes It Is Good To Have Blinders On

He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” Isaiah 46:10

I have seen it over the years but it finally registered with me the other day while watching an old western show on TV. Often those using horses would have blinders covering the sides of their horses eyes. Looking it up I found out that horses have almost 360 degree vision and can be easily distracted by things around them. You might see horses with blinders on today in Amish communities and areas where they still use a horse and buggy to get around in. Imagine a horse going ballistic every time a car passed by the animal while hauling an Amish family to church and such. It would be a dangerous situation.

We live in the most distracting times imaginable. Sounds from every direction, smartphones to distract us, that sixty cycle hum present in every home running appliances. Then there are news alerts, 24 hour news about tragedies heard from all over the world–something our ancestors couldn’t have imagined. 

We have necessary distractions, worries over ill family members, perhaps troubles at work or with social interactions with others. Then there are fun distractions like video games, get togethers, entertainment of all sorts. It’s a wonder we ever get five minutes alone with God.

Even when praying and trying to get closer to God our mind wanders, the general attention deficit disorder that we all suffer from, not just those diagnosed with it, by living in our modern era we are deluged with distractions. Multitasking is considered a good thing even though you often end up getting lots of things done badly instead of a few things done correctly.

It is a challenge for the Christian today to build up a relationship with God. Though we have churches on nearly every corner, more Bibles available than ever before in history, along with more religious books, podcasts, shows, and technology to bring us closer to God–the busyness of today’s world robs us of that necessary time for God in our lives.

The answer is to stubbornly, or creatively, make time for God. If there is something you are determined to do badly enough–you will find time to do it. It is the same in making time for God.

This world and everything in it is constantly buzzing around our heads keeping us distracted from the most important things in life. Like those horses needing to focus on the path ahead instead of being distracted, perhaps we need some blinders that will narrow our focus to the primary purposes of life including a growing relationship with God.

Prayer: Dear Lord, forgive us for getting so busy and diverted toward other things, and losing focus on You. Help us avoid distractions so we can grow in Your love and grace as we spend time in Your presence, always keeping you in our sights. Amen.

Lamb Or Wolf?

When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” John 1:36

There is a Cherokee parable about two wolves living inside each of us. One wolf represents our better selves, our better nature, while the other wolf represents the worst in us. The story goes that the wolf you feed the most is the one that will grow stronger in you, so feed the good wolf and not the bad one.

Yet for the Christian we are to have no wolf inside of us. We are instead to rely upon the Lamb of God who dwells in every believer. We don’t need to “feed Him”, we simply need to allow Him to live through us and be Jesus in our lives.

Sadly, too often I allow a wolf to enter into the sheepfold of my life. Instead of following the lead of the lamb, I listen to the growling of the wolf and growl right along with him. It is a foolish thing to allow a wolf to reside in the sheep pen. Yet how many times do we react to adversity with the actions of the wolf rather than the lamb?

Selfishness, Anger, doubt, impatience, bitterness, strife, when we allow the wolf to run our lives it ruins our reputation as Christians and it chokes out any good fruit we might produce as God’s children. When someone cuts us off in traffic, or jumps in line ahead of us, or insults us, or treats us or one of our family members badly, that wolf too often rears his ugly head and bares his fangs.

When afflictions strike us we find ourselves howling with the wolf rather than holding on to our Lord with faith. Human nature follows the way of the wolf. It takes the power of The Holy Spirit to lead us in the way of the Lamb.

Allowing Jesus to be Jesus within us is much harder than it sounds. When singing in church, or quietly reading a favorite Bible verse, or sitting outdoors on a lovely picture perfect day–it is so easy to allow the Lamb to shine through us. But let adversity strike, enemies rise up against us or our loved ones, and it is hard to hear the voice of our Lord from the angry clamor around and within us. Reacting in a godly way is only possible by holding fast to the Lamb living within us through His Holy Spirit.

Life ain’t easy. We often have more stormy days than beautiful sunny ones. Life can throw obstacles at us we could never have imagined. And it feels almost natural to “let the wolf in”. But if our life is instead filled with Jesus there will be no room for wolves. We need to walk and talk with Jesus every day and not just look Him up when the storm arrives. If you are anchored to Jesus the storm will not drive you away when the flood comes. And the flood will come. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but it will arrive when least expected. At that time if your life is filled with The Lamb of God, you can not only face the trial, but come out the other side fully vindicated by trusting in Jesus through it all.

Prayer: Dear Lord, The wolf seems to be constantly howling. Troubles come at us from every side. Give us the power and strength to hold fast to You, The Lamb of God, who lives within every believer. Amen.

What's The Deal?

He will call on me, and I will answer him;

    I will be with him in trouble,

    I will deliver him and honor him. Psalm 91:15

Staring down another surgery I can’t help but think about many years ago when you could ask me about my surgeries and I could tell you about just one–tonsils when I was sixteen years old. I’m having trouble keeping count at this point. The surgery I had this spring was supposed to solve my problem, instead it created more problems and more surgeries.

But then I think about people I know of who have cancer. People much younger than myself and even children who have had to fight cancer or other severe illnesses. And meaning no disrespect, but I sometimes can’t help but wonder what God is thinking. It is hard for us with our finite minds to comprehend the amount of suffering and grief and disease in this world and why it is allowed to occur.

Then there is the recent flood that swept away a camp of Christians. So many sweet Christian kids washed away and wiped off of the earth in mere minutes. It is too much to comprehend.

To all these crazy, almost unbelievable situations, God has one answer for us: I Am Here. As the verse above says: He will be with us in our troubles.

God does not always shelter us from the storms that wreck our lives. The wind blows, the lightning strikes, and the floods overwhelm us. We can’t fathom what is happening to us. All we can do is call upon the God we have given ourselves to. And believe He is there in our darkest hour.

Perhaps one day God will explain why we had to go through such difficult periods in our lives. Maybe one day we will understand it all. It is easy on sunny days and good times to sing the praises of God. But storms always come back around, and during those times our faith is tested. Do we still praise Him in the midst of our storms? Those are the times our witness is the strongest and we put down deeper roots of faith in our Lord.

Fellow believers, life ain’t fair and we all have frustrations and events that make us scratch our heads and wonder what is the deal God? Didn’t He see this coming? Of course He knows everything. Though He doesn’t shelter us from every storm He is right beside us to give us strength and faith to stand fast through it all.

Prayer: Dear Lord, life is unfair. And we often do not understand the tragedies that occur. During those times we need You the most to give us strength and peace in all our troubles. Thank You for Your Presence in our lives. Amen.

Removing Dross

 Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord. Lamentations 3:40 

  

  I like to periodically examine my life and living space and remove what is useless, take away the waste material or unnecessary--the dross from my life. 

  There is clutter that can build up in our garage, closets, and throughout our homes. And there is also mental clutter that clogs up the arteries of our thinking. Relationships, habits, activities that are unhealthy should also be regularly examined and the dross removed. 

  I always feel much better when I remove needless clutter and free up my living space inside my home. It takes so little time to let useless things accumulate and requires effort to then remove them. 

  Yet once I remove the unhealthy, the useless, the waste material from affecting body, mind and soul, the cleansing effect is wonderful. 

  Water that is unmoving can quickly become stagnant and poisonous. It is the same with clutter, unhealthy habits, and harmful relationships. We must be willing to remove the dross and let go of those things that needlessly get in our path, keeping us stagnant and from moving forward. 

  When we clean out the closets in our house and in our mind, we not only have a sense of accomplishment, but it also frees up our living space and allows us to think and see things clearly. No more junk hiding out of sight but still in fact taking up space, no more thinking fogged up by worry and dread over things beyond our control and solely belonging to God’s provision and prerogative alone. 

  I encourage you to examine your life, both inside and out, and ask God to help you let go of worthless things that have been holding you down and clogging up your life. Whether material things, old hates and grudges, or long held habits that must go, let the dross fall away and find your life purer within and without. 

  Prayer: Dear Lord, we hold onto things too long, and place too much importance on the useless instead of what’s truly important. Remove the dross from our lives in whatever form it takes. Amen. 

 

 

Stand Fast

Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Ephesians 6:13

My friend Bob has spent many years in a nursing home. He was put there while only in his 50’s. The youngest resident perhaps ever to reside there. Now in his sixties I’m amazed at how he has not lost his fighting spirit. He told me how people there kept telling him to give up, that he would never be able to use the left side of his body that was made all but useless by strokes. They told him he would never get out of there, but he said he will never give up. That God has a purpose for him.

I can tell you when I hear that my lack of courage and faith convicts me. I get discouraged over the stupidest things. I always get my thinking back on track again, but it is surprising how little can knock me over at times.

The verse above admonishes us to ever be ready for battle, and having done everything that depends upon us–to stand fast and trust the rest to God. All we have to do is stand our ground. The battle belongs to the Lord and He will give us the victory.

Troubles come around and around. That is the way of life. My friend Bob suffered strokes that nearly took his life decades ago. He regained most of his functionality and kept going. But the last series of strokes paralyzed the left side of his body and put him in a wheelchair and nursing home. Yet his mind and will is strong and he reminds me that God has kept him on earth for a purpose and I readily agree.

God did not save Bob’s life just on those occasions when strokes almost took him out. Years ago when we were younger men we went fishing at a local lake. My friend Bob was backing his boat and trailer down the ramp to the water while I stood on the dock. Suddenly the Lord told me to pray. I thought it was the strangest thing as I had prayed over our fishing trip the night before. I had also prayed for God to keep us safe that morning. And here God was telling me to pray again. I prayed. Suddenly the boat careened and hit the ramp shoving the boat up into the truck cap which stopped the truck from rolling down the ramp. I was in shock when I went around to the driver’s side of the truck and saw my friend had fallen out of the open door onto the ground, and was nearly run over by his own truck if the boat had not gotten stuck in the truck cap stopping the vehicle.

My friend and I often talk about that event and how God saved his life through prayer. God uses prayer to make things happen. To many people Bob’s life is depressing. Living in a nursing home day after mundane day. Yet God cared enough about him to not only help him survive those many strokes, but also from being run over by his own truck. As Bob says: God has him here for a reason.

God has you here for a reason as well. You may have difficult daily circumstances to deal with, we all do in different ways. Bob’s circumstance is surviving a mundane existence in a nursing home with a disability, but he’s standing fast. Wherever God has put you and whatever the circumstances are you standing fast?

Prayer: Dear Lord, our boat gets rocked by the lightest of winds and we feel unsteady on our feet. But help us, like my friend, to stand fast no matter the weather around us or what circumstances overtake us. Amen.

Putting Things Into Perspective

 

I can do all this through him who gives me strength. Philippians 4:13

Not long ago I talked to a wonderful Christian man who had his foot cut off. The amazing thing about this was that he chose to have it done. Due to events beyond his control he had been unable to walk upright his entire life. He found out that by giving up his foot he would regain his posture and the ability to walk properly. With an artificial replacement he can now stand and walk upright. He told me God gave him peace about the surgery and taking that leap of faith.

I had been dreading surgery for weeks. Considering this man’s story was inspirational to me as I realized my less extensive surgery was nothing compared to what he went through. I also asked God for peace about my surgery and He gave it to me. My surgery went very well and I’m continually inspired by that Christian man through my recovery.

We all face hard circumstances in life. Things that worry us and make us afraid. Often we wonder if we are up to the challenge. The good news is that even if we are not up to the challenge–Jesus is. He is in our corner, helping us through the battles and difficulties we face both large and small.

This week, perhaps even right now, you will face things you had not planned for or some things that have been weighing on your mind and must now be dealt with. None of us are immune from problems and this life will throw many difficulties our way. Faith in the Lord can not only help us with the problems and challenges we are up against, but give us peace in the midst of them. Never see your problem as bigger than God, but always see God as much bigger than your problem.

Prayer: Dear Lord, help us to face fearful circumstances with faith as You empower us and give us peace in the midst of the storms of life. Amen.

Legacy Of Love

 Legacy Of Love

As I have loved you, so you must love one another. John 13:34

A man once described to me how his mother treated him as a child. She treated him like a vile animal, hateful, either unable or unwilling to show him any love whatsoever.

Most of us take our mother’s love for granted. We can hardly imagine our mother’s love not being part of our lives.

Imagine the world before Jesus. People laden with sins, reaching out to pagan gods with offerings that got them nowhere. Even the Jews who had the One True God to worship could not imagine a God who loved them unconditionally.

We live in a post-Christian world. Jesus came among us and showed His love by healing, feeding, teaching, helping, and even dying to bring God’s love and forgiveness to us. The background sound in our lives is a God whispering that He loves us and wants fellowship with us.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

Anyone with an ounce of wisdom knows that we are sinful people. If God’s love is the background whisper calling to us, Sin is always in the foreground shouting in our ears and reverberating in our minds. We know what we ought to do, how we ought to behave, and yet our failures mount up as we struggle to live each day reaching out toward God’s goodness while stumbling over our sins. We needed a Deliverer to save us from ourselves.

Sin is in the world and part of our lives–that is a fact. How to be free from the sin all around us is the problem. Jesus came to deliver us from our sinful nature. He died upon a cross to set us free and give us the promise of an eternity that has no stain of sin upon it. Those who receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior are delivered from the penalties of sin. While in this life we will sin and still stumble from time to time, we are no longer surrounded by darkness. We have a light to guide us away from the pitfalls of sin and into a promise of eternal life with no sin whatsoever. And we have a Loving Father who we will spend eternity with.

"Nothing we do, however virtuous, can be accomplished alone; therefore we are saved by love." — Reinhold Niebuhr

Once we get a revelation of God’s love for us everything changes. When you realize the God who made everything, an all powerful Being, loves and cares for you–nothing else really matters. Not your sinful past, not your trials and struggles today, or worries for tomorrow, everything crystallizes into the fact of God’s love for us. Once you have a revelation of the fact that our temporary struggles with sin and pain will be swallowed up into an eternity of love and fellowship with our Maker everything else seems possible (2 Corinthians 4:17, Matthew 19:26).

A love that was made manifest on a cross exists as a force of love for good in the hearts of those who have committed their future to Jesus. His great love for those who believe is a music that fills our lives and makes the difficulties of this life bearable. More than that, realizing God loves us even when we are not very lovable enables us to also love other flailing human beings. We can love because we are loved. And it all began on the most unlikely thing called a Cross. Love is a verb. Love often involves sacrifice. God is love (1 John 4:8).

Prayer: Dear Lord, life is difficult with many hardships, and we struggle with sin throughout our lives.Yet You brought light and love into this world. Through You we not only have love, we can share that love with others. Thank You for Your priceless sacrifice on a Cross that brought love into our lives. 

A Lifelong Relationship

Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you. Isaiah 46:4

Having just celebrated my sixty-first birthday I cannot help but consider all my years on this earth. Each of us is a book known only to God Himself. The good, the bad, the joy and suffering we have each lived through with endless experiences accumulated make up who we are and fill in the pages of our story.

Much of my own life revolves around ideas formed not only at a young age, but over years of experiences of struggling to live a Christian life. Seeking to manifest outwardly a relationship that came about as a young teen who bowed his knee to the Lordship of Christ. Coming to live the Christian life is a progression of many trials and failures as it is with all Believers for we are never perfected this side of heaven. But we grow at varying rates as we increase in the knowledge of our Lord and learn to follow His will for our lives.

When I think back upon my life about how many times things could have gone horribly wrong, and yet didn’t because of God’s help and intervention, it is humbling to realize how easily my life could have become a train wreck. The outstanding difference in the life of every Christian who has any degree of success is the Lord’s direction and intervention.

This makes me consider those who reject Christ, or simply never have had the chance to get to know their Maker and receive His help in their lives. I don’t want to imagine what my life would have been like without Jesus. It was not always easy even with the Lord’s help, but would have been impossible without Him. Many of you could say the same.

Through affliction, loss, days of pain and suffering, God has been there for me. In my victories, when standing and rejoicing upon the mountain tops, Jesus has been with me. His love and compassion has sustained me through much suffering and affliction, often giving me wisdom and insight to help me through the storms of life. His favor has been evident when “circumstances” all just happen to go my way. The fingerprints of God are all over me because I opened my heart as a kid who understood that God is good and I needed Him in my life.

Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23

Life is short. It flies by faster the older you get. You look at the clock of your life and it is racing by so quickly that you are stunned when you consider how little time you may have left. We have regrets for things we should have done better, or should have left undone. We wish we could do many things over again. But what I’ll never regret is that I felt the Holy Spirit tug my heart strings at church that day and the Creator of everything took pity upon me and saved my soul. It changed everything for the better.

I hope each person reading this is a Christian. But if you are not, now is the time to open your heart to Jesus and enter into a relationship that will not only change your life for the better, but give you an eternity that is priceless. I cannot promise all your difficulties will end, but I can promise you will never go through them alone. You will find peace, strength, and joy that puts hope at the center of your life. No matter how dark or dreary your life may be, there is a better day that comes when Jesus is your Lord. The clock is ticking, and no one will escape our destiny with the death of this body. But the true you who lives inside will never perish. Not if you simply ask Jesus to become the Lord of Your destiny.

Prayer: Dear Lord, thank You for the priceless Gift of Yourself. For your love, kindness, mercy and grace that takes a broken human and gives meaning and hope and eternal life through Your sacrifice upon a Cross. Our sins cost You everything. But incredibly, You freely give us life and salvation. We praise You for it Jesus! Amen.