Do Not Turn Cold

But we don’t need to write to you about the importance of loving each other, for God himself has taught you to love one another. 1 Thessalonians 4:9 NLT

This is not the way I wanted to celebrate Memorial Day this year. Shingles, isn't that an old folks problem? Hmm, maybe that shoe fits me now.

Paul wrote what he didn't need to write, since God had taught the readers already. In our age though, I'm not sure that we should not be reminding one another frequently. There should be not much question in any mind in our nation now that we are being terrorized. Schools, grocery stores, movie theaters, and other public places, have been used too often since about April of 1999 as murder zones. You know the names of many of them. It seems that a time foretold by our Lord Jesus at Olivet has come. It is not to refute Paul that we remind one another of our love, but that lawlessness has been increased and the love of many turns cold. We do not want to be among those turning cold in our loving hearts.

Love to you from our Lord Jesus and me on this day,

Bucky

It's A Promise

Behold, I will bring it health and healing; I will heal them and reveal to them the abundance of peace and truth.  Jeremiah 33:6

The Lord's promise becomes so staggering within the story. God has just told of the death of those working to tear down houses to shore up the defenses of the city. And suddenly, there is this promise of health and healing. Something we can relate to this day may be the futility of those long ago people laboring to repair a wall that would fall anyway. God had already said so and now He notes that they will take their place among the dead bodies. Then, that promise! A return and with health and healing! It jars the mind to be reading of rebellion, war, and death; and then to see the promise of health and healing so suddenly. It is the desire of our Lord, it would seem, that even as we fall or falter in our steps, He is preparing the days of peace and truth for us with health and healing. 

So, as you stumble a bit this morning, reach out to the One who brings healing, our Lord Jesus,

Bucky

One Piece Of Junk

A little yeast makes the whole batch of dough rise! Galatians 5:9

Ruined! One lapse of judgment and all of the efforts at cleaning up the property were brought to ruin by the one piece of junk he allowed in. Yes, the phone call of grudging complaint confirmed it the other morning. So much for three months of effort and expense. This bit of judgment may not be correct, but it does make for a great example for those who would stand before God's judgment throne and depend upon their own goodness. Imagine the eternal horror of the books being opened and a lifetime of effort failing to compensate for that one bit of sin junk revealed therein. 

I picture my good deeds like a pile of dirty, yellow feathers. Dirty because there is a self-interest in doing good deeds to compensate for evil deeds. Yellow because they are done out of a sense of fear of punishment since I must or should do them as I have been taught. Feathers since when the dense, dark, weight of my sin is placed on the other side of the balance, they go flying, almost weightless, and do me no good by way of compensating. Praise God for providing a way, or maybe that should be a Way, since He is a person and He has a name. 

Praise God for Jesus!

Bucky

Does Eschatology Cause Life Burnout?

Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition.  2 Thessalonians 2:3

Adrian Rogers once mentioned that some of us were so heavenly minded that we were no earthly good. Paul told these same Thessalonians in his letter for today to get back to work and earn their bread. It is easy to see that spending too much time in thoughts of how things will be might well cause us to despair and burn out on what we see all around us. We walk a balance beam between working as if Jesus will return at any moment and working with the knowledge that many have passed from this life over almost 2,000 years without seeing that glorious return. We should study the wonderful promises and dire warnings of the end times. But, we also walk with our Lord today at work or school or wherever life has brought this day.  Yes, sometimes it feels like closing the book on the end times is almost like shutting the door on a good dream. Patience friends, what we suffer in this time will be made glorious in our Lord and Savior! 

Waiting for the Return!

Bucky

The King Said Believe

And he said, “Listen, all you of Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you, King Jehoshaphat! Thus says the LORD to you: ‘Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s. 2 Chronicles 20:15

They had marched for some time from their homes throughout Judah, gathering men from villages along the way until the army came to the marshalling area somewhere around Tekoa. The men were plainly terrified and hungry, having faithfully fasted as the king had commanded since news of the invasion had come. But now the day of battle was upon them. Perhaps it was the royal command for all of Judah to fast that had brought down upon their heads the seriousness of the battle to come. Maybe it was the reputation of the invaders waxing great as the stories were retold day after day. When suddenly, the voice of a prophet few seemed to know rose up in their midst and spoke a strange promise. Victory for the Lord, but no battle for the men of Judah, said Jahaziel, a Levite. Was it the Lord speaking, or another of those false prophets, the men wondered. And then the King said, "Believe..." and bowed down to the Lord. The men bowed too, they were safe in the Lord their God.

The world comes to a tough place, but we only have to believe in the King of kings!

Bucky

Worldly Advice

You can’t become famous if you hide like this! If you can do such wonderful things, show yourself to the world! John 7:4 NLT

If you can? The brothers had not read the four gospel accounts at this time it would appear. We know this because we have read those accounts and the brothers are present near the start of our Lord's ministry. However, some indication must have been present in their minds to even ask this question. Jesus said something, Mary told stories of Bethlehem, or tales of the miraculous had already gathered around Jesus to show that He was someone special. So, the brothers of our Lord gave Him the usual worldly advice: go up to Jerusalem and become famous. You know, like He was another traveling show just waiting for His big break into fame. We know that fame did come to Jesus, but not because He set that as His goal. Our Lord's goal was nothing less than our eternal salvation.

Rejoice in the Lord Jesus today,

Bucky

Closer Than

Now it is true that I am a close relative; however, there is a relative closer than I. Ruth 3:12

Which relative is closer? We can never be closer to one another than the one who comes to dwell within us. Family was important in Ruth's day, but Jesus gave to us His Spirit. A natural question from the unbelieving world may well be, "So, what does that feel like?" Tough question! What does my soul feel like to begin with? If I knew that, then I might be able to describe whether God's Spirit in me adds, um, spiritual weight? I don't even know the terms that might define such an indwelling. Is it a scalar quantity such as speed? Did the Spirit slow me down spiritually? Or did the addition go the other way? I can tell you that I sense, yes spiritually, a certain amusement as I fumble about with questions such as these. Praise God for His gift of the Spirit!

Love and gratitude to God and to you!

Bucky

Famine In The Land

And there was a great famine in Samaria; and indeed they besieged it until a donkey's head was sold for eighty shekels of silver, and one-fourth of a kab of dove droppings for five shekels of silver. 2 Kings 6:25

Famine is a common subject in the Bible occurring in 90 verses in the NKJV from Genesis 12 to Revelation 18. Famine has been on our minds from time to time in the past couple of years as product shortages and inflation have made things difficult to obtain or high in cost. The cost of fuel right now may even remind us of these poor folks buying what is about 3/8 of a litre of dove droppings to heat up their food. No, it doesn't sound like an amount that would burn for very long, and five pieces of silver does seem rather expensive. The point today is that famines have been with us for a very long time. What we see today may be the opening of the first four seals, or it might be just another of the waves in the economy that come and go through the years. What we need to remember is that Jesus told us not to worry over what we will eat tomorrow. And no, there was no exception listed by our Lord about the time some state dictator got up in a poopy mood and started a destructive war that brought inflation and shortages after a pandemic that did the shortage thing too.

There, how many writings today will give you a massive oversimplification of the past couple of years like I just did?

No worries in Christ our Lord!

Bucky

Is A Law Necessary?

You shall not curse the deaf, nor put a stumbling block before the blind, but shall fear your God: I am the LORD. Leviticus 19:14

Reading our verse for today, one might wonder if such a law was necessary. And then with a bit of reflection on our past behavior or that which we see around us...yes, such a law and many more are needed. The Lord hoped, I believe, that Israel would not need this law because of their love for their neighbors. Alas, due to that nature of sin each was born with, the law of fear was needed. When we read the law, it is easy to think of a nation of cruel children. Do this and you will prosper; don't do that lest thee be punished. And as most of us have grown up from the childish stage of life, we recognize the need for moral teaching with a promise of punishment for trespassers. However, as those who believe in the forgiveness of Christ our Lord, we also look ahead with eager anticipation to that day when loving our God and every neighbor will be written on our hearts. And then, those laws of fear and punishment will no longer be necessary.

Have a loving day in Christ our Lord,

Bucky

Conviction Before Convincing

And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment. John 16:8

The Helper, what an interesting job description! What a difficult job when we look at that first one. Convicting the world of sin would seem quite easy, but without that conviction does anyone call themselves sinner? However, we often get hung up on the first and forget that second one: righteousness. Wait, given our belief in Jesus and convinced of our sin, we surely realize that the second one does not belong to us without Christ our Savior. Uh, oh! Judgment is coming too. In faith though, we see the relationship of our sin, through the righteousness of Christ, and the judgment given to Him. Indeed, in the next verses our Lord Jesus explains how that relationship works. Please take a moment to study it when you have the time. 

Christ our righteousness! We are convinced. 

Bucky

The Protest

​In that day he will protest, saying,
​​“I cannot cure your ills,
​​For in my house is neither food nor clothing;
​​Do not make me a ruler of the people.”
  -- Isaiah 3:7

As protesting and the right to do so are much in the news lately, again, I ran a word search on the NKJV and did not find the word 'protest' used much in the Word. There is this one from Isaiah for our verse today, and it has an interesting story behind it. This is not a prophecy of Jesus and those times when the Judeans would try to force Him to be king. It is rather a foretelling of difficult times ahead for God's nation and a people reaching out to each other instead of lifting their hands in prayer to the Lord. We may be guilty of that in this age as we go to the polls every fourth year to elect a ruler over us. The world may be part of this movement as we look around at how many billionaires are taking power, getting elected to office, or are given a crown in this time. Can't recall that last one happening? The opening of the first seal in the Revelation may be close, and that one seems unlikely to protest his/her rulership, though it may appear that way in a show of false humility.

Remember the Lord, and look to Him for salvation,

Bucky

Thank God For Jesus

Now therefore, our God,
We thank You
And praise Your glorious name.
  -- 1 Chronicles 29:13

The verse from David's song seems so simple and obvious, and yet we may well wonder at times if we do it enough. Thanking God and praising Him might be most easily forgotten when we feel good, or at least relatively pain-free, and when we are well occupied with tasks. And yet, we might forget also when we are bound up with pain and are doing nothing because of it. So, if thanksgiving and praise of our Lord is limited to a time of feeling good and having nothing to do, then yes, we probably aren't doing it enough. Easy enough it seems to implement some praise by taking a moment out of our busy good day, but it seems rather odd to us to give praise and thanks to God when we just feel terrible. Much easier on those rough days to gripe, moan, complain, and petition our Lord for relief, and most immediate relief at that we beg! I believe that God likes all of our contact with Him, and whatever your need today, just pray.

...and thank God for Jesus, who opened the way for our prayers!

Bucky

With Speed

He will lift up a banner to the nations from afar,
And will whistle to them from the end of the earth;
Surely they shall come with speed, swiftly. Isaiah 5:26

Sometimes we find a verse that supports our point of view. And at other times, such as this day for me, we find a verse that just ain't happening in the moment. If the Lord whistles this morning, He will need to provide the locomotion because my speed is slow even by my standards. And if I don't seem to fit this verse, the next one is even further afield from my tent of slowness. It is on these slow and stumbling days that I am glad the Lord did not seek out a team of athletic all-stars to populate His kingdom! But wait, is not that one over there who believes the state record holder in several sports? Of course! The athlete is not excluded and neither is the award-winning actor. However, when I look at the Lord's church all around the world, it does not seem to be that strength, wealth, fame, or for my sake this day, speed, are the determining factors in the Lord's sheep selection, just faith. And we can have slow faith or fast faith today. 

Slow today, but when the Lord whistles - moving with sure speed!

Love to you, 

 Bucky

Today, This Day

And Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. Exodus 14:13

This week appears to have several 'days' in it, which would seem an obvious and unnecessary statement until one sees all of them on the calendar. Today alone is Cinco de Mayo, Children's Day (in Japan), Thursday, and the National Day of Prayer. A few of us also had a special day earlier in the week where we turned a bit older. This is why I must include Thursday in the list as a reminder to myself of which day it is. This day could be something special in a similar way to what the Israelites and Moses saw back in the day. Today, this day, could be that day of salvation for many who do not yet believe. And we may enjoy the privilege of starting that with prayer to God our Father. Today might also see another defeat of a group not unlike the Egyptians for someone who believes in God and has not the power to defeat the enemy in their own strength. God, I believe, very much likes to be our salvation in every way.

Rejoice in the day and pray!

Bucky

One Having Authority

Then they were all amazed and spoke among themselves, saying, “What a word this is! For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out.” Luke 4:36

From the beginning of His ministry, Jesus spoke differently than other traveling rabbis and preachers. The people were amazed as they saw unclean spirits depart at His command. The people talked among themselves, as people will do, and they had something new to discuss. This man from Nazareth by the name of Jesus spoke in a way these people had not seen before. However, it would be easy to get caught up in our Lord's effective power and desire it. Or to recognize His authority over the unclean spirits but refuse it for yourself, as a great many have done. Far better for us to get caught up in Jesus! And I do mean that literally in these end times.

Have a rejoicing day in Christ the Lord!

Bucky

Hope In The Love Of God

Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. Romans 5:5

That question about whether the Holy Spirit was limited to those immediately there at Pentecost is answered once more by Paul in his letter to the Roman church. We also have an answer to what may be a faltering hope in you or me this morning: no disappointment is in store for us on that matter. Our hope in Christ may seem a bit weak in the knees on a day when the world appears to be winning. For the past couple of years this seems to be every day. Paul reminds us that our hope is not based on the state of the world, but in the love of God. In John 3:16 we read that God sealed His love for everlasting with His only begotten Son.

Yes, that hope satisfies!

Bucky