These Dumb Idols

Good morning on this Thursday! Paul tells us: "You know that you were Gentiles, carried away to these dumb idols, however you were led." (1 Corinthians 12:2) The usual thing to start this message would be to list a bunch of activities and call them idol worship, and then list a bunch of people or devices and call them modern idols. In that listing, I might of course step on this person's hobby, and that person's job. An idol is of course anything we place before God or trust in first before we come to our Lord. For one it may be this thing, but for another that thing is merely an enjoyable hobby. Yes, we have run into sects who say that all hobbies are idolatrous and that every moment should be spent in drudgery and worship of God; often in their pious zeal making it difficult to tell which activity is which. Jesus gave us a better example: children.

But what does this example mean? We seem to lose the knowledge of becoming child-like, without growing up childish, and yet mature at the same time into responsible, working adults. Perhaps we never had that knowledge. Maybe, such a thing is not possible until Jesus makes us into what He desires. Birds would be a lot more useful in the garden if they pulled up and ate weeds, but they don't. Cats would be great around the house if they ran the vacuum once in a while, but they hide from it. We may not be able to become as little children without falling into the horrors of adult childishness, unless we first come to Jesus and surrender to Him. Attempting to avoid dumb idols without the Spirit of Christ in us might be right up there with wishing for weed-pulling birds and house-cleaning cats. Salvation is the start of our journey with Jesus. We have much to learn and a ways to grow in Christ!

God's love and grace to you,
Bucky

Getting The Job Done in Battleground America

Good Wednesday! Heavy subject, light treatment...or is it? As I mowed the back forty this morning, that is the back 40 feet in my case, I realized that many Christians are quite different from each other in the methods used to spread the Good News. Like my weed and grass mowing, it doesn't particularly matter whether I go north to south, east to west, mow in diagonals, or even make curls and loops - the job gets done. We have many ways and means to spread the good news of Christ and many are called to different worlds. A far planet might indeed be interesting, but we are not at that point. The different worlds we are called to plant the banner of Christ in are worlds such as Hollywood, Broadway, Washington D.C., large corporations (a different world to be sure), small companies, university campuses, and many, many others. At each world the good news arrives to a battle in progress.

I believe the numbers of indifferent persons and those who have never heard the good news of Jesus are decreasing rapidly. Yet, never since Jesus arrived have those on either side of Christ been more divided. We get the job done in a battleground from small towns to farmsteads to major cities and everywhere in between. We also run into strong and passionate opposition in every place that we go. And don't think that because you are silently eating a meal that the enemy does not recognize your presence on turf the Adversary may claim. In fact, Jesus may have led you there just for that very purpose.

The Internet is of course a place under the clouds of war. I saw just such a battle on Facebook this very morning. We may lament a soldier deserting the cause of Christ, but Jesus made a promise to all who He calls His sheep - "I will never leave you nor forsake you, even to the end of the age." That is quite a promise not just to those who labor for the cause, but especially for the one who has turned his back on family, friends, and all he once believed. Unlike the case of a soldier in the armed forces of the world who deserts, Jesus does not leave His wayward sheep in the camp of the enemy without watching over him or her. The prodigal has a sure guardian, even if he must eat a bit of pig food before heading home.

Let's keep getting that job done as Christ leads us,
Bucky

Plow in Hope

Good morning! In 1 Corinthians 9:10, Paul writes: "For our sakes, no doubt, this is written, that he who plows should plow in hope, and he who threshes in hope should be partaker of his hope." What Paul refers to comes in the verses preceding and reminds us of the Old Testament law that [the farmer] should not muzzle the oxen while it treads out the grain. Paul argues that this was written for our sake and not because God was worried about the oxen. We note however that when the law is obeyed, both the farmer and the oxen benefit. The ox gets to eat while he works, and the farmer gets to build character.

It would be easy for the farmer to calculate how much grain the oxen are eating while the threshing is going on, and to reach some conclusion about profit and loss. The oxen, after all, could eat a lesser grain, the farmer might calculate, and so the profit would be better with the muzzle in place. But, there is that law. Why did the Lord have to go an make that one? Are you sure Moses didn't sneak that one in to have a good laugh? Building character goes against our sinful instincts. Sharing with the oxen doing the work does not come easily to us. If we won't share with the beasts though, how will we learn to share with the neighbor?

How do we plow in hope without that character God builds in us? The man with character farms in the hope of sharing God's bounty, confident that God will provide the rain, the sun, and nutritious soil. The one who plows without hope farms with a heavy burden of expectations of hail, fire, pillagers, and other calamity on his mind. Little wonder that what survives he is not willing to share even with his faithful beasts for he has already destroyed his crop in his hopeless mind.

We may not see the harvest this morning, but plow and thresh in our great hope, Jesus!
Bucky

The Best Chair You May Imagine

Good Monday morning! Oh, that almost sounds like a mistake was made somewhere. Which one of these doesn't go together? Whichever part you don't like, it is Monday morning and let us do our best to make it good. Okay, a man looks at a smashed clay pot. He doesn't know what a pot looks like, but over the years he glues the pieces back together as best he can. He does not know if any pieces are missing, or if he has too many pieces for one pot. However, the shape he glues back together he uses to say all pots are thus and such. Then, just to go quite over the edge, he says the creator of this pot, the potter, looks like a better version of his cobbled together pot. Silly, right? Yet, we look at humans in the way they are now, and we do much the same. We don't know what Adam and Eve looked like when God walked with them in the Garden of Eden. We don't know what God looked like then, nor can we see Him now. So, why then do we see God's throne as some piece of furniture, as in, the best chair you may imagine is what God's throne must look like?

Paul tells us that we see poorly, as in a bad mirror. We often take what we see so poorly, and make some all-encompassing, live-daily-by-it statement (which we then adjust over the years as we learn and grow). Jesus told us to make no judgments. Here we go again. Jesus summarized and totaled the Law and the prophets in two little commands: Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, mind, soul, and strength. And, equally as important, love your neighbor as yourself. Working on those two commands is probably more than we can handle. We will need the strength, courage, and authority of Jesus to make some headway in loving like that. Perhaps, just maybe, we will see the seat of God's power is His great love. The more we love, the more we become like Him. My mind is trying to see a big chair made out of love, but it's having trouble with that. Looks like I need to come closer to my Lord.

Have a wonderful week in Christ!
Bucky

Sorry, God Didn't Consult With Me

Good Saturday! I hope your day goes well and the Good News lives in you! We like to beat ourselves up with the 'should have known' thing. Of course, sometimes that analysis is correct, as in when we are saying it to admit a mistake. Much of the time though, we use it to say we should have been in the knowledge that only God holds, and then we are quite wrong.

You leave a person's house to run an errand. Everything was fine, the elderly male person under your care was watching television, and there was little chance the television set would harm the fellow in any way. The programming on the television is a different case which I am not addressing here in this discussion. However, while you are gone the dude goes and expires on you. The brand-new 83" wide screen television monitor didn't fall on him, he just reached his expiration date at the very moment you were needed elsewhere. What do you say in that case? "I should have known! Oh, it's all my fault. If I had been here..." Do you take the television set home real quick and put his old one on the stand?

You, should have known? Who do you think you are in your omnipotent knowledge? I should have known? Sorry, God didn't consult with me. And, why should God, the essence and embodiment of perfection, consult with us in any case? We tend to blame ourselves for too many should-have-knowns when we had no way to have known. If you steal the former fellow's TV set with the weak rationalization, "He would have wanted me to have it." Then put it on a weak stand and it falls on you and kills you dead. Well, then yes, you should have known that the wages of sin is death because Paul said that in the Bible. For the stuff we don't know let us walk in faith with the One who does know all things. We'll leave the burden of that responsibility with our Lord.

Have a better Saturday in Christ,
Bucky

What Exactly Is Going On?

Happy Friday to you! Now that is a dumb question to put in the title. How should I know in a general way what is going on, much less the exact things that are going on? However, I can point you in a certain prayer direction that will put you in touch with the One who has a handle on that. My God knows all things, so I don't have to know what exactly is going on. My mind is not capable of holding and retrieving that much information in any case. Hebrews 1:3 gives me some comfort when I try to think through too much of just one day's earthly activity. "He upholds the universe by the word of His power." Jesus has it all under control! That is a great comfort to me.

In an overwhelming world, we feel lost often enough. So much is out of our control that we are easily led to despair. I wonder at times how many men and women have entered politics in an attempt to gain some control, only to find that they really don't have all that much even in such lofty offices as president, governor, or senator. Do dictators cling to the throne hoping to control just a bit more of their miserable lives? What exactly is the diva shouting orders at her staff hoping to control? The general can send the troops marching, but still his meeting with death approaches. I can take allergy pills, but still the morning sneeze attack comes...sorry, gotta pause a bit.

20 minutes later...Okay, what a great example of my lack of control! I can't even control my own nose. Nope, I did not know that would happen this morning either. I'm glad the One who loves us and died to save us from sin is in control. He upholds the universe with His command, and He upholds me through a sneeze attack too. The big things and the little, all under His control. What God does not rule on immediately, He can overrule later, if He so chooses. He lets us try and fail, He is also there with us when we try again and succeed. Hallelujah!

Bucky

Dewey Depthcharge

Good morning on this Thursday winding down toward the end of May. You may have run into this type of boss in your young life. In seeking to find the lurking subversive in his domain, this boss lays out patterns of preemptive depth charges as he speeds through the waters of his sea. Employees are either sycophants or subversives waiting to happen. So, he goes through the working day dropping bombshells, er, got off track there, depth charges. Explosions in his wake are common as the employees seek to relieve the tension just created by his passage. After all, they can't take it out on the boss, they will lose their jobs, so they blast away at each other. A perfectly functioning workplace may soon be reduced to infighting, backstabbing, and toxic words simply by the raving imagination of this (usually) authoritarian boss. The funny thing is, in blasting away with his authority in that way, the boss creates the submarines he fears!

Did Jesus do this very thing? In seeking to save, did our Lord instead create the sinners? Nope, not a case of Dewey Depthcharge at all. Jesus died to save us in His great love. If we doubt that sinners existed before Jesus came, we have an entire Old Testament of examples and stories to read and learn. Another example is our experience before salvation. Jesus did come to bring the sword. And, indeed, after salvation we go to war, or war comes upon us. Mammon rises up against the Master; the Carnal Man fights the new spirit Jesus places in us. The powers and principalities of this present darkness make war upon the Christian soldier standing there in the full armor of God. There is a similarity, but Jesus started the war out of love so great He gave His life to save. Jesus saw the sickness of sin and brought a painful cure. Dewey Depthcharge saw enemies where none existed, raised up a war that cured nothing, and brought only useless pain.

Let us follow the story of Jesus. If you are stuck in a 'Dewey's' little war, I'm heartily sorry about that. My prayers go with you.

Love in Christ,
Bucky

P.S. Why, yes, this is based on a true story in Dewey's case. However, 'Dewey' goes back many years, before I knew most of you. We need not name him or seek to find him, and I pray that he has grown over the years, for the sake of his subordinates at least.

What May It Become

Great pumpkins! The first of the pumpkins have appeared as little green plants. Is it hard for me to believe that those little plants will one day produce large, orange melons? You bet it is at this point in their growth cycle. My life in Christ probably looks very like that to the Great Gardener who planted me. If I could see what I may become, nay, will become in the fullness of God's time, I might not need faith to drive me on. To me, my life often looks like an ugly little plant, good for nothing and apt to never produce fruit of any save the most noxious kind. Jesus has something different to say.

Each of us will or has reached a point in the Christian journey with our Lord that we see nothing but foul sin in all areas of life. Like the little seed that just fell into the ground, broke open, and sprouted this tiny little plant, the life we share in Christ may not look much like what we expect of the fruit promised, but seemingly unborn. Peace, patience, joy, lovingkindness? At times it seems that I have none of these things. God could never accept such an ugly little plant as me. Too late and so wrong! God has already accepted me and you in Christ Jesus, His Son. We don't have to worry about what we will become in Christ, the Gardener has it under control.

Weeds and thorns? Oh yes, there will be lots of distractions and chokers in this little garden of life. That is a good subject for another time. God's grace and peace to you on this great pumpkin day!

Bucky

He Is

Good morning! I gazed for a moment at a definition. Two types of these things are global and local. One declared outside a function is global; the other declared inside is local. Hmm, I began to turn a few early morning brain gears. Jesus lived on the earth and declared himself, therefore He is global. Jesus died and rose again and lives in us through His Holy Spirit, therefore He is also local. One little problem, the definition is for a variable, and Jesus is most definitely not a variable. Once more I run into trying to fit Jesus into some sort of box or definition. He is, and I cannot make Him into what I think. It is worse than trying to pound the ol' square peg into the round hole. This is the creation trying to define the Creator.

The Judeans of Palestine back in Jesus' day tried to make Him king. This seems rather bizarre to us, but I guess if we go back to the first king we may find some insight. Saul knew nothing about ruling as a king. The Israelites wanted a king to stand between God and them, a form of rejection with which God was not at all pleased. In a strange twist, the Israelites seemed to think of their king in terms of ownership: as in, "We went to God and demanded a king, God relented and gave us one, so therefore we own the king." God said through Samuel His prophet that the king would not act that way, and would in fact rule in the more familiar (at least to us) authoritarian way. Saul did, but centuries later the Judeans seemed to have that same backward idea of kingship and tried to force Jesus to be their king. Just like with a programming definition, Jesus didn't fit into their box. Jesus is the King of kings, not a king by human election or force.

Some things in life seem to be similar to our Lord. Not surprising, the stamp of the Creator is going to show through even under the stain of sin. However tempting it may be though, I cannot fit the Lord into my definitions and perceptions. Me limited, Him not. He is; I am because He created me. I don't make Him by my definitions - He is. How do I find out more about who He is? Read His word, seek Him in prayer, and live in Christ as He lives in me. He is; I'm glad!

Have a great new day in Christ!
Bucky

Remembering the Fallen

Good morning on this Memorial Day! So, question for the day: As we live in Christ in today, are we doing wrong to remember those who have fallen in the past? Well, let's see; do we remember Jesus daily, reading His words and those He inspired in long dead writers? Do we recall those words spoken by our Lord in John 15:13: "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends." Yes, we most certainly do well to remember those who laid down their lives in the service of country, friends, loved ones, and freedom.

To forget those who made the ultimate sacrifice is to dishonor the one who made His sacrifice to free us from the law of sin and death. To throw away their sacrifice via forgetfulness, thoughtlessness, or idleness is to dishonor their lives, those who loved them, and the One who died to save them from sin. We have a duty to the fallen to remember and to use that sacrifice well. At any moment in time, we may disagree with the office of the President, or the current Congress, or even what the Supreme Court decides. We may disagree with that government on whether our military should be in a far country at all for the reasons stated in the press release. But this is not the day for political argument. Today, those who sacrificed their lives in the service of our nation are honored. We do well as we remember them in prayer, honor, parade, and ceremony.

One day each year is set aside for a people as one to remember the fallen with gratitude, to honor the sacrifice of a life, and to hold dear that most precious thing another gave up for this nation. That day is Memorial Day, and this year it lives in us today. Have a wonderful day as you remember those who sacrificed all.

Love,
Bucky

Once Is Enough

Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:38)

A stumble and a fumble in our Christian walk and we think that this gift will be removed from us. Peter spoke the words of definite strength "you shall" without adding exceptions. Peter went on to say, "For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call." (v 39) I believe that the Lord called everyone, but many will not hear and heed that call. This does give us hope that our children, who number themselves for a time among the afar off, will hear that call and return to Jesus. We can testify to this because many of us did that very thing.

From the prodigal pigpen, we heard once more the call of the Lord our God, and we turned to head on home. Guilt and shame arose in us; we looked at visions of rejection and utter humiliation, but the feet turned to the call of God and we walked on back to the place where Jesus lives in our heart. When we got there, Jesus did not heap on the shame, but welcomed us to a feast. From time to time, we may simulate this journey in small ways when a fall into sin takes us out of the house of God for a bit. Once is enough for the prodigal journey, because Paul reminds us that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. Paul was convinced, and we must be as well.

And now, since you and I have repented and been baptized in the name of Christ, we shall and we did receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Once is enough, put aside doubts, and thank God for our precious gift.

In the name of Christ Jesus,
Bucky

Time For

Good Thursday morning! We had some rain last night, at least a couple of times, and we are glad for it. We are especially glad it was not accompanied by fearsome winds or hail. The garden is planted. I am a bit later than others, but then I didn't have to cover my plants with blankets and such on those frosty mornings. I like the seeds that instruct me to plant after all danger of frost is past. Around here that means planting in July, which for some things is too late. It was time for planting my garden, now it is time for patience. The flowers told me to expect a bloom in 75 days. What? I want to see lovely flowers like, today! Alright, maybe I can water them for a week or so, but 75 days? That's like more than 2 months. Some of God's works take a bit of time. Impatience, common among us little earthlings, is not actually a virtue. Plants will spring up overnight, but they are tiny things and growth follows God's plan and timing.

Solomon told us that there was a time and season for everything under the sun. We might translate that just a bit and say that in Christ we have a time for everything under the Son. We await our Lord's return with all the patience we can muster, and then we ask the Lord for more patient endurance. We watch as children grow away from the church, and try our best to wait patiently for the Holy Spirit to work on them and bring 'em back to Jesus. Waiting for that 'time for' can be particularly difficult.

Is it time for financial security? Not for many in this nation. Even those that appear to have it right now can be wiped out by one medical disaster. That is, if it isn't time for the new insurance premiums to take away a family's financial security first. We don't have any security in this government, nation, state, or world, but that isn't news to us because it was time for placing our trust in God a long time ago. As we like to say, it's time for us to live out our faith in Christ alone.

Bucky

Making Excuses

Good morning! Ohh, my aching head...it's like a hangover without the fun the night before. So, does that mean I think a headache would be somehow 'worth it' if I got to be drunk and stupid the night before? The voice of conscience speaks: "Face it, bub, we've made excuses for our sin before." Yes, I have, and as a Christian man, I suspect that most all other Christians have found the self making an excuse for sin at some point as well. "God created me that way," is a favorite of some. I won't say it is my favorite, but that thought may have crossed my mind a time or two. We are like Adam hiding in the bushes. The excuses are creative, inventive, and so very wrong. The right answer is confession and repentance, but making excuses tends to come to mind quickly. We look up in hope for that day when the heart is cleansed by the blood of the Lamb and there is no more sin to make an excuse for, forever and ever. Today, on the other hand, we find it easy, maybe too easy, to make that excuse and hand it to the self.

Near the beginning, we have that funny story. Adam walked with God in the cool of the day. What a privilege! What wonders did God show to Adam during those walks? Then, Adam sinned, and we get that moment. Adam hides in shame and then tries to work in an excuse that blames both God and his wife! "The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate." Creative, inventive, and so very wrong. The excuse making we face today began right there. Adam's manhood to stand up for his wife, gone. The man's close relationship with his God, hidden in the bushes. The authority who once tended the plants and named the animals of the Garden, cowering in shame and fear. Our attempts at excuses for sin today look just as ridiculous, if we could only see it.

Have a great and awesome day in our great and awesome Lord!
Bucky

Awards Day

Good Tuesday morning! The thunderstorm season brings a few things we don't always enjoy to their fullest. Strong winds blowing things down or around the yard, hailstones that knock holes in stuff, and the always fun washout of roads and bridges. These are awards we might rather refuse given the chance. At the local elementary school this morning, the children have an awards day they look forward to, not the least of which is the awarding of summer vacation. As adults, we don't get an awards day very often. In fact, you or I may have trouble remembering the last time we attended an awards ceremony where honors came our way. If you don't happen to be some sort of athlete or celebrity, awards can be kind of sparse in life. Then, when an award of some kind does come our way, we are often left feeling inadequate or undeserving for some reason. How do others handle this thing so well? Who knows, maybe that other person has the same feelings but manages to conceal it better.

An award day will arrive when our Lord Jesus gives us what we deserve. Now that is used in a vaguely threatening manner here in our culture, but I don't think Jesus had that in mind for His return. No one would look forward with joyful anticipation to getting what we deserve when it comes to sin and punishment. However, the love of Jesus took care of that on the cross. Grace and mercy says that when Jesus proclaims an award day, it is to give us something wonderful. When the moment arrives and we start to feel inadequate, Jesus may have something better for us to feel.

Joy and peace to you,
Bucky

All is Not Darkness and Doom

Good morning! A new week with all of its possibilities has begun for us. What is going to happen this week? Well, if I knew then I could call myself a prophet. If I had the knowledge to produce a report on Sunday night that outlined even at a high level, for sure and for certain, Monday through Friday, I could bid my services out to the business world and be rich, and I'm talkin' really rich. But, we know that is not the case. Not that business wouldn't pay, but that I know just as much as the next guy over there across the street, and that doesn't amount to any certainty. All and any of my predictions could be easily wiped out by a new disease, a bout of flu, the spotting of an asteroid headed right for Earth, and mostly just by the daily events of a big world. That does not amount to enough 'for sure' to to sell to anyone with half a brain. Since my path to fame and fortune is closed off that way, I'm glad that faith and trust in God are still the way I chose to follow.

About 2,000 years ago, God gave the disciple John an outline of the end times. Before that time though, we were given four trends to watch for prior to that great and awesome day of the Lord. According to Daniel (12:4) we will see knowledge increase and people rushing about. According to our Lord himself at Olivet, (Matt 24:12) we will see lawlessness abound and the love of many grow cold. Now, take those four things and read any of the global news websites. See how many articles fit one of more of those four trends. Why, it's all the news! Or is it? Maybe it is just all the news that is given to us.

I believe there is also a force for good at work in the land. Goodness is of course one of God's wonderful characteristics. We know that the harvest is ripe and that workers are going forth into the fields. I believe a third Great Awakening is happening even now, slowly at first, but gaining momentum day by day. This time the awakening will extend globally. It takes a discerning eye to see it in the news we are given, but all that is happening is not limited to darkness winning the day. God has not left the world to the dominion of darkness. Our Lord has not given up on us. What a hope we have in Christ Jesus!

Bucky

We Know, But Maybe We Don't Hear It Enough

Good Saturday morning! I was thinking today, a dangerous occupation at the best of times, but what I thought was not so dangerous, or maybe it is. We know that Jesus loves us, but maybe we don't hear it nearly enough. Let me say it to you this morning: "I have an overlooked un-secret to share with you this morning...Jesus, really loves you!" Yes, this statement is so not secret. Yet, we go about most days as though it is the most highly-classified and closely held secret that ever crossed the desk of the most zealous 'Top Secret' stamper in the NSA. (In fact, the NSA invented levels above Top Secret to satisfy this zealous stamper, but we don't need to go into that this morning.) It's no secret! Jesus loves each of us with a love that abided right up to the cross and right out of the grave and on to Heaven. That love abides in Him today. What? 'Abided' isn't a word? Then how is it that the love of Jesus abided in Him so well? :-)

I am glad this morning that Jesus loves me, and that His love abides in Him and on me. We all might take a page out of that book of love and share it with others this morning. Now, don't skip the dear friends in Christ just because as we like to say, "They already know that Jesus loves them." They do, but not one of us hears it often enough. It is so special to hear it from someone else that we don't realize how special it is. Try it out on someone, see what happens.

Jesus loves you deeply this morning!
Bucky

All The Worldly Things

Good morning on this most excellent Friday! Last night I witnessed a playground accident. Small brother on swing, enjoying his moment even to the point of showing off how high he can go. Tiny brother wants some of this and heads for the swing. Mom, engaged on the teeter-tooter with a daughter, can see what's coming and starts yelling at both brothers. Dad, minding the slide with yet another kid, can see what's coming and yells at the swinging brother to stop. Doesn't tell him how until too late. I across the street trimming a bush can see what's coming and know better than to add to the confusion by shouting too. Not that anyone can hear my shouts in any case. Tiny brother is too young for school and thus does not take into account the physics of a pendulum, force, momentum, etc. Whack! Tiny brother goes flying, small brother learns new way to slow down swing, parents freak out. Much wailing and crying fills the evening air. The tiny brother, down but not out, joins in with a little crying too. Severe scolding arrives for small brother with much criticism of his swing safety, stopping distance, etc. The poor child learns in one glaring moment that this world really stinks in a lot of ways. A moment of joy is ruined by the ignorance of the young, an accident Mom and Dad could not stop, and the rapid application of blame. We've all been there in various roles throughout our lives.

The amusing thing last night was that three adults clearly saw what was coming, but for all our talents, strengths, experience, and abilities we could in no way stop the accident. A rich man could not have bought something quickly enough to stop it. A strong young man could not move quickly enough to stop it. Not one of us held the wisdom in the moment to say the right thing to stop either little child. Neither Mom nor Dad's volume caused the reaction they desired. (The small brother could have heard them several blocks down the street.) Yet, so often it is upon all these worldly things that we depend for salvation before we come to believe in Christ alone. Jeremiah passed on a little help from God in this matter.

Thus says the Lord: "Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, let not the mighty man glory in his might, nor let the rich man glory in his riches; but let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in all the earth. For in these I delight," says the Lord. (Jeremiah 9:23-24)

Bucky

The Timelessness of the Good News

...does not depend on me. Happy Thursday! I am glad today that my belief in Christ brings justification with God. It does not depend on how I feel today or how I felt on Tuesday. (Thank God for that.) Charles H. Spurgeon wrote this morning on the believer gaining justification right now. Well, yes, he has been dead for more than a century, like 1892, so maybe he didn't write this morning. However, I did get the devotional from him this morning. Have you noticed how things are getting sort of timeless these days? I can sit down at my computer, hop on the Internet and read the words of Jesus, Spurgeon, the apostle Paul, Augustine, C.S. Lewis and A.W. Tozer (who both passed the year I was born), and many others as though they had written them this morning and sent out e-mails. Have almost 2,000 years passed since the time of Christ or not?

Even in more recent times, one can turn on the television and watch shows that were filmed in the 1960's as though they were produced last week. When television showed a Bonanza episode back then, the only hope of seeing it if you couldn't be home was a rerun during the off season. Now, I can sit down and watch them all if I so desire, even to the point of turning into a big puddle of goo in front of the television monitor. We have trouble imagining the missing of a show on television and never seeing it again. So, tell me again why I sometimes think that the words and actions of Jesus happened so long ago that all is distant history and I don't feel His presence right here and now?

I get the impression today of time compressing. It seems this morning that maybe the ascension of Christ and His return are just about to come together, and the past nearly 2,000 years will be as a fleeting headache. All that pain forgotten in a moment of timeless joy as our Savior, our Champion, appears in the sky to bring us home. The good news of Jesus Christ made timeless in moment of joyous reunion. Amen!

Bucky

Turning My Mind To Him

Good Wednesday morning! On most days, I begin the devotional with a greeting in a similar manner. This is of course to remind myself of what day has arrived. Indeed there are some days where I entertain a short debate on what day is up to bat. On the other side of that carefree attitude is the dreadful situation. Very nearly all of these DSs are imaginary in nature, that is, they exist only in my mind. This is part of the cross that those with mental illness bear. The imaginary dreadful situation is so intense that we have difficulty separating it from reality. A big part of our training, whether psychology-based or Christian-based is in learning to turn the mind away more quickly, with the ultimate goal of simply refusing to start any vision of a dreadful nature. As a Christian, I find the most effective turning away from the DS is to turn my mind to Jesus.

A good theological exploration in the Bible, or a tough issue raised in prayer with Jesus is just the ticket to turning my mind to Him. A walk outside for an hour is made possible by 'talking it out' with the Lord. Jesus, through His Holy Spirit, leads my mind in the right direction and I discover new truths in Christ. This is not always easy.

The world, its prince, and my carnal nature conspire to remind me of weakness, death, suffering, evil, and all the other stuff that make this world a tough place to live. If that won't do it, a quick perusal of almost any news website or program will do the trick just fine. There are many dreadful situations I imagine, but there are many that are quite real too. At the very least, with my Lord's help, I can eliminate the imaginary ones and trust in Him for the strength to endure the real ones.

God's mercy and grace to you,
Bucky

The MegaMotorMouth Fail

Good Tuesday morning! At least it ain't snowing? Doesn't help much when it is this cold on a May morning. At some point in the far distant past of your life, at least we hope this now belongs only to the past, you probably said something you came to regret. I know that I have. Sometimes the devil even helps me remember those times in all their writhing pain of shame and remorse. The time we hope won't come around again is that time when the mouth, that megamotormouth just kept going on and on when we would have been much better off to have just kept quiet. Peter had a couple of those times in his life as an apostle. Paul may have done so and forgot to write about it in his letters. James, now he speaks from what appears to be humiliating personal experience.

"Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell." (3:5-6)

Yo! We think that may be overdone a bit, at least until painful recall brings back to mind one of those times in life that the ol' megamotormouth left us feeling the sting from the fires of hell. A world of iniquity comes to rest on us when the tongue takes off on its own. We may even imagine the time will come that such brilliant argument spews forth from our tongue in righteous anger that the opponent is left speechless and flabbergasted. However, when we let the megamotormouth go off, the result is most often one of personal humiliation. Few us are good at speaking out in anger. The flame of anger and speech usually are best kept apart. I have known men who seek out solitude just to give their angry words room to vent where no gets hurt. Probably a good idea that.

Of course, we place our hope in Jesus that one day the heart will be cleansed so that regrettable words never come forth again. Hallelujah for that day!

Bucky

Drippy Day Meditations

Good morning! I hear a one foot figure floating about on the news and it involves snow. We didn't get any snow out here, but then we are grateful not to have the tornadoes either. Sometimes it is good to ride the storm out in the middle. Soon, would be a good time for a shower and then to get going out to clients. Oops, I see snow flakes in the air. I wonder if this comes as a result of my playing a Bing Crosby Christmas album on my PC this morning. I don't have one subject for the devotional this morning or one title that stands out above the clutter in my brain. What occurs to me is that we never know what statement or condition may not speak to an unbeliever to send him/her seeking, asking and knocking after Jesus our Lord.

We may look up to the Lord in supplication seeking only to endure a circumstance in the valley of death's shadow. Yet, that faith may speak to someone we did not observe watching us from a little distance. The affliction or tribulation that causes my mind to turn inward in prayer for relief or steadfast strength may throw out a seed I didn't see. The seed may find fertile ground in another with the same tribulation. Those who do not yet believe suffer similar distress without the hope we have in Christ. You and I may never know what action or patient endurance affects a planting of that same hope in a fellow sufferer. Let us today live in Christ and trust Him to shine the light all around us.

Yours in Christ Jesus,
Bucky

Are We Like Peter Gone Astray?

Good morning! I walked into the kitchen with my water glass this morning to find a pile of cat on the floor (of cat, not from the cat). Most of the time, his poses are more the classical cat poses seen back to forever, including the leg in the air like a feline exclamation point one. This morning the thing appeared to have collapsed into an indefinite pile of fur. I guess we all have mornings like that as we get older. So, the NFL draft began last night. I watched the chart on my PC as it slowly filled in toward the bottom. I wondered though, who would you and I pick for our life team. Not among the young college football stars, but among anyone at anytime. Did you choose Jesus as your first round pick? You didn't? What happened?

We may think that Jesus chooses us, or that He is maybe already the coach and is therefore ineligible for the draft. Perhaps, we see our Lord as the team owner and drafting Him as ridiculous. Whatever the reason, are we like Peter gone astray in this? You see, at one moment in time, Peter had the opportunity to have the Lord, the Son of God, wash his feet. Peter refused. Perhaps the disciple felt that the King of kings was too good, too high and mighty, to do such a humble task. Yet, Jesus said that Peter would have no part of Him if he could not allow this service. Yes, Jesus does choose us first, but we also choose Him. He is coach, captain, Lord and leader, but the Lord also serves us even in the humble things. As our redeemer, Jesus owns our very life, but He calls us friend. We would do well to draft Jesus as our first pick. He is after all, quite capable of acting as owner, coach, and best player on our life team.

God's blessings to you on this great Friday in Christ!
Bucky

A Small Light

It's May 8th and the snow is falling, nothing out of the ordinary going on around here. Snow on top of the dandelions, a robin bouncing around in the flakes, white on the green tree leaves, nope, pretty much what we expect in May. Let's talk illusion this morning. Sin and its prince are good at illusion. Sin seductively says that all the stress will go away if we just indulge in a little sinful behavior. The illusion breaks when that behavior brings only more sadness and stress.

One night, with the light behind me in the kitchen, I stared down the stairs into the dark basement. All seemed profoundly dark, even impenetrable to my sight. But, another night I left a white laundry basket down there. On this night, the illusion of dark depth was easily dispelled by the white color of the basket. As God's lights in a world of darkness, we are those little lights that dispel the illusion of dark depth. The world can see us, and by the life we lead know that it is not impossible to be saved.

The whip of the law never worked, but the love of Jesus does. Every time one of us refuses to sin, we shine the light of "I love you" to the world of darkness. You and me are small lights, but that is all it takes when the darkness is illusion. In the time of Jesus, those living in darkness saw a great light. Today, there are many little lights pointing the way to the great light of Jesus.

Shine a little light today by being who you are in Christ,
Bucky

Don't Ya Just Hate That?!

Good Wednesday! Note the inspired use of the interrobang in the title. Yesterday, an article may have slipped by you. So, I will yank the chain on your headlong rush toward ignorance, and bring it up again. This was a good news article, so we shouldn't miss it.

I can attest to hearing the bad news from more than one pulpit. Many of us can witness to the same thing. Here it is: 50% of marriages end in divorce, and most are unhappy. At one time, I thought that was just true of Sidney (the one in Nebraska), because Paul Harvey, no less, called it the divorce capital of the U.S. on a broadcast. Where did this 50% figure come from? Well... therein lies the lie that has been repeated by the pastors of America. Don't ya just hate that?! That figure was a projection based on trends seen in the 70s and early 80s, and the expectation (didn't we address those recently?) that the new no-fault divorce laws would increase the rate of divorce. But, we have the good news. Not true it seems, never made that figure, didn't come close to it. Praise the Lord.

Look for the new book, The Good News About Marriage, by Shaunti Feldhahn and read some better news about her research and what her team found through stopping to look, as opposed to repeating an untruth. Hold it! Let's address that bit about catching the Church, the bride-to-be of Jesus, in the wrong. It's going to happen.

In the early days, just after Jesus ascended to Heaven, the church was born and lived in infancy. Paul, Peter, and the gang of apostles worked to grow the new church in the power of the Holy Spirit. Just short of 2,000 years later, maybe the church is no longer an infant, but even as a young adult church, so to speak, we the church are quite likely to make mistakes and be caught in the wrong. Only God is perfect, we as the growing church are going to make mistakes and repeat an untrue statement now and then. Jesus will make sure His bride is ready for the wedding of the Lamb. Somehow, all those brothers and sisters in Christ with our disagreements on this or that bit of theology, the misquotes and mistakes, and even those groups who concentrate too much on one aspect of God at the expense of His other qualities, will be brought together as the spotless bride to our great Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ. Yes, the church can grow from a few mistakes, just as each Christ-one does through the Spirit of God.

Have a Spirit-growing day in the grace of Christ Jesus!
Bucky

Do You Suppose Jesus Knew?

And... there is a Monday after the big 51 birthday. Just when you think nothing stranger can happen. At what age do Mondays get banned? Shouldn't I be old enough now to start the working week with maybe a Funday, ya know, the one that comes right after Sunday? No? Ah well. Years and years ago, I used to get picked near the last for teams at recess. Then, I joined the Marine Corps, went to boot camp, and enjoyed the very same privilege. Do you suppose that Jesus knew way back when that many of us would know the sting of being chosen last in this world?

Even in a job search, if a person does not get the job, that is the same as being chosen last, or worse, not being chosen at all. We feel the sting. You're not suitable. I was looking for someone with a bit more experience. How 'bout the dating thing? I was looking for a man/woman with something else. You're not my type. I'm not ready to settle down yet. All ways of being chosen last or left out just like that playground time back in the day. It hurts emotionally and physically to be left out or put down. Of course none of us would force something as important and long term as a marriage on someone just to avoid hurting. Jesus knew then and He knows now that we will get hurt in this world.

The usual advice is to 'let it go'. I'm not all that usual, so I'll give some different advice. Take it to Jesus. Talk it over with our Lord in prayer. Yes, if the playground thing still hurts, talk it out with the Savior. Jesus knew we would suffer a lot in this world, and He said so in John 16:33. Jesus may have something new to say to you on this day. Something like, "Little child, I chose you!"

Bucky

My Happy Birthday

Good morning! As the sun shines through another breezy day, I realize that this is the 16th birthday since the prodigal came home. Birthdays, I think, are a bit more special after something nearly stops the normal sequence of marking off the years since birth. Living becomes more precious when a close view of that grim spectre (I like to call him 'Morty') passing by, but not quite stopping, graces life. Why alter the flow with a cute nickname? Well, it just doesn't do to receive extra years from my Lord and then spend them in morbid fear of the shadow of Death that Jesus conquered so many years ago.

Morty likes to bluster and threaten. Many in the world flee his presence with every ounce of their strength. On the other hand, it does not do for us to embrace the ugly thing by constantly moaning to Jesus to 'take us home'. The world condition we see in the news does not lend itself to learning to enjoy being here, but I believe that is what our Lord would have us accept. Yes, we are to yearn to be with our Lord, but at the same time He wants us to love one another. The bride, the church, longs to see the groom, our Lord Jesus. Yet, we also must long for one another. We do that by suffering and living and rejoicing together.

At one time, I felt that birthdays might be just as well ignored. Now, I am glad to celebrate. We are here together. Morty has been allowed to separate some over the past year, and in spite of him we look forward to our eternal reunion. Morty is a silly character in that he can hurt, but cannot win. Jesus already holds the victory. I'm 51 today! At the tender age of 35, I shook hands with Morty, but he was not allowed to separate me from those I love. Now, I am learning to enjoy being here in a world that, though fallen and cursed, still belongs to God the Creator. We may not belong in this world in the condition it is in right now, but one day we will see it renewed.

Have a happy birthday with me in the love of Christ!
Bucky

Ha, ha, oops! Forgot to post this yesterday! I must be going over the hill this year.

Swinging the Self Bat

Good Saturday morning! Okay, the baseball seasons are going strong, so it's time for us once more to have some sort of weak sports analogy. The subject came up again, as it does from time to time, about how hard we are on ourselves. Yes, the worst critic of me is usually me, and you are most often your own harshest critic. Imagine for a moment that we are watching a baseball game. Live, on television, whatever you like. If you don't like, at least try to bear with the story teller for just a moment or two.

Casey is on the bench today because he is overused in a famous story. The first batter we see for the Provencal White Sox is George. I like George as a plumber, so he might as well spend some time on the ball field this morning. George approaches the plate, does the thing batters seem to do like whacking his cleats and adjusting his ensemble, then steps into the box. "Play ball" calls the ump, and the pitcher winds up. The ball is thrown, and suddenly George takes a mighty short swing and whacks himself on the leg. What in the world?

For lack of any idea which rule covers this, the ump hollers, "Strike One!" After all, George did swing and the ball was thrown as per usual. The pitcher shakes his head; the catcher is rendered speechless, and the ump tells them to play ball once again. The throw, the play at the plate... George whacks himself again! Now the entire crowd is silenced. Is this some new and strange play? Something to distract the fielders perhaps? We may never know, as with the final pitch, George takes a bigger swing and succeeds in knocking himself out cold.

Of course this is crazy talk, or George has gone 'round the bend, or something. No batter would take his wood or aluminum batting stick and smack himself. Yet, when it comes to criticism, we often grab a figurative self bat and proceed to whack away at our self-respect, ego, love (as in loving your neighbor as your self), and even our ability to face others with our head held up, if we beat the poor self enough with this bat. Yes, a accepting criticism and feedback does help us learn to treat others with respect. While we are doing that though, let us learn to treat the self with respect too. After all, Jesus loves that self with an everlasting love!

Bucky

National Day of Prayer

Good morning as we look to pray for our nation on this National Day of Prayer for 2014. On a day many years ago, a king stood forth to dedicate a house of worship to his God and for his people. In his dedication and prayer, Solomon made an interesting note that might be considered by many a shortcoming in his father, King David. His father did not get the job done. We know from the stories that David wanted to build a temple to the Lord, but that he was refused by the Lord. In this prayer of dedication we have another view on that incident. Through Solomon, God says this about David: "Whereas it was in your heart to build a temple for My name, you did well in that it was in your heart." (2 Chronicles 6:8)

I like that the Lord saw what was in David's heart and gave him credit for doing well even in what he did not get done physically. We tend to think of the many things we have not done for the Lord. That the Lord allows us to build church buildings, give offerings and gifts, help the poor in His name, and many other things is a great blessing and privilege. However, we don't always get to do all that we want to the glory of the Lord. We can take comfort and maybe stand a little taller in that what was in our heart to do for the Lord is noted and commended by our God.

Today, let us thank God for our nation. No, it most certainly is not perfect and good in all its ways. We don't kneel down in prayer ignoring that all is not right in our country. However, we can give thanks to God for the goodness we have in Christ, the generosity of this people who believe in the Son of God, and the land we hold dear. Perhaps for this day of prayer, we can set aside the partisan slings and arrows and look to God together. Seek the Lord in prayer, ask for wisdom and goodness from Him on this day, and look for the Lord to answer in a big way.

"Let Your priests, O Lord God, be clothed with salvation,
And let Your saints rejoice in goodness." (2 Chron 6:41)

God bless you all on our National Day of Prayer,
Bucky

It Happens To Us Too

Good morning on yet another windy day. We may like to think that following Christ protects us from the things of this world but we know such is not the case. A Christian is not guaranteed a quiet, peaceful passing in his old age at home surrounded by friends and family during his last moments. Although that does happen, we too are subject to the destruction and death from the violence of the world. A ministry many of us listen to during the evenings on MyBridge radio, Family Life Today, lost a man in the Arkansas tornadoes. Two of the man's daughters also died in the storm. We suffer when we hear about things like this, and we mourn too.

We look forward to that place where safety is the norm and there shall be no more sorrow or mourning. Until that time comes for all of us who are found in Christ, we know that the disasters of this fallen world happen to us too. In Job 1:18-19, the family of Job is killed by our common adversary with a great wind that collapses the house in which they had gathered to fellowship. The methods of the enemy probably have not changed in thousands of years. Does this mean that Satan murdered these people? Not necessarily, death happens in this world, and we know it very well. Death is something Adam earned for us by doing the only thing God told him never to do. The good news is that the Seed of Abraham conquered Death and the Grave. We don't have to look at death as the end for our fellow warriors in Christ. We mourn, but we know of the great hope we share in Christ Jesus.

As we learn in the military service, let us stand in the full armor of God, pick up the sword of the Word, and return to the fight. Some have fallen, but in Christ we stand until that day we are reunited with our Lord and our brothers and sisters in Christ. God bless you all,

Bucky

Over-matched!

Good Tuesday morning! Last night, I was over-matched by a pop bottle. Yup, all 42.2 fluid ounces of it. I couldn't drink the thing in one meal. I forgot to ask who was selling this behemoth of personal pop bottles. (The 2 liter and larger sizes I consider to be family sizes, and certainly wouldn't attempt to drink one at a meal.) The world over-matches us too. Not one of us can hope to match the world's forces of nature, government, or many other juggernauts that can end our lives, happiness, or well-being. Then, we run into one little statement of our Lord's in John 16. Yes, look carefully right at the end of this chapter. "...but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."

"Hey! Overcome the world? When's that gonna start?" You and I may say when we read this. It surely doesn't seem as though our Lord has overcome the world in the present time, does it? Yet, He tells us to be of good cheer? We must always remember that God does not see time as we do. When Jesus gives the word, it's a done deal, but we may not see the fulfillment for a while in our time view. The prophecies in Ezekiel and Revelation of our Lord's victory over the military might of the world is a done deal, but to us these things have not happened yet. Before Jesus tells of His overcoming, He also reminds us of the tribulation we will endure in this world. Obviously both cannot happen at once to us in our time-limited view. Our Lord is there for the troubles with us, and is there at His victory. All is under His sovereign control, even in those things that He chooses not to control such as disasters and accidents, and the bad choices we get to make. In a fallen world with our fellow fallen people, we will have tribulation, but, be of good cheer, the overcoming victory of Jesus is as good as in the books.

To God be the glory!
Bucky

Someone Like Me?

The April showers have arrived this morning. I seem to recall hearing the wind much of the night. This morning the article opens with what is supposed to be a shocking question: "Still think STDs are something that can't happen to someone like you?" (Women's Health) Why yes, actually, if the past several years are any indication of the future, my risk is quite the lowest. Ah, but there is the problem for someone like me, or for someone like you. The past is no reliable indication of what tomorrow may bring. An area of life that appears safe from temptation one day, may be the area the enemy brings out his big guns in tomorrow.

Someone like me may feel safe from a particular sin today, and then be gasping from the speed of my fall into that very sin tomorrow. The devil seems to love pulling the rug out from under a Christian standing confidently, but foolishly, on the throw rug of past success. What feels distant on the threat board today, may be a major enemy tactic tomorrow. Job sat easily at the dinner table one day, then the messengers began arriving.

All that is needed to throw life into seeming chaos is the right set of circumstances. A little overwhelming stress, one too many phone calls with bad news, and suddenly the child of the King finds himself in the fight of his life. Forget for a moment to call upon the Savior, and the hands may reach out for something seductive that appears to offer relief. Sex, drugs, rage, grumbling, and all the other things that have tempted humans since near the beginning of Creation are still here for us to fall into, especially if we think we got it made in that particular area of sin. Yes, someone like me is vulnerable to most anything the world throws at me...when I try to stand on my past success instead of in Christ where I belong.

The grace and peace of our Lord Jesus to all,
Bucky

But, I'm Only Human

Good Saturday morning! Yes, you may have heard correctly, the long experiment with standing up to write has ended. I can tell you that it is a good way to stop writing entirely. Better by far to lean back in the chair a bit and find something to prop up the feets. I think they call it a foot stool for some reason. I'm not sure what are all the health reasons not to sit all day, but I think taking 5 or 10 every hour to walk around is better than trying to stand. Okay, there is your practical part of the lesson based on my experience today. What can I pass on in a spiritual sense this morning?

Early this morning, waiting for the sun to come up, I thought that my tendency to make mistakes is excused by the fact I'm only human. Is that true though? What am I saying about God's creation when I do that? What we don't know is how many mistakes Adam made in the Garden of Eden before that really big one. It may well be that God did not create our ancestor to make mistakes in his gardening duties. Perhaps the expression should be something like, "But, I'm only fallen and in need of a Savior." That which we know as human today may be very different from what God created in the beginning and saw that it was good. What we will become in Heaven may be just as far from what we know today.

Enjoy the weekend in Christ Jesus,
Bucky

A Cleanup Day

Good Friday morning! It's cleanup day here in the little town. I don't see much waiting for pickup down the alleys though. It may be that every house is already pared down to just the essentials, or that all is valuable, functional, and necessary for living, recreation, and play. Yeah, right, that sounds like the American homes I've been in, sure it does. How many of those same homes have full garages, full basements, attics, storage sheds, and off site storage barns? We tend to accumulate a lot of stuff. An annual cleaning up day is probably good for us. If not to throw out stuff, at least to consider what could be sold in a yard sale or auction, or dare we say it, donated to those in need. Oho! Why does my soap box say, 'materialism, on it this morning? What is that noise I hear from conscience?

It may be because I knocked apart and hauled out some furniture pieces that I had saved for one of those projects that never get started. So, now I feel qualified to get on the ol' soapbox and preach a little. Um, hmm, a little gaze around the homestead may reveal some clingers of my own. Stuff I don't need, don't use, and don't even remember why I held onto may even now be hollerin' "Hypocrite!" I suspect that if all preachers, teachers, and writers in the Word ever refused to take up any subject in which he or she was not completely and totally right with God we wouldn't have very many devotionals, sermons, or books to read and hear. All of us need grace, and more often than not, a devotional subject is or has been a problem for me too. Perhaps that 'lesson of the log' helps us to develop understanding and sympathy before we take up the preaching.

Have a great and wonderful today in Christ!
Bucky

The Burden of Tomorrow

Good Thursday morning! But...tomorrow is Friday, how can that be a burden? Ah, but not just any tomorrow do we worry and fret over. We like to live in the anxious tomorrow all the time. Jesus calls to us from now, today, right here and right now. The imagination takes off into tomorrow, ready to heap upon us the dread of an unlikely day. Like a credit card that charges unseemly interest by flogging the brain, we borrow short-term dread from an imaginary tomorrow. What a burden to carry into today! The peace given us by Jesus trampled under by the anxiety of a day never to come. Oh, that we would stay in the comforting arms of Jesus today!

Maybe a little melodramatic there, but the shoe does fit many of us like Cinderella's glass slipper. We think of all the dread remotely possible with an active imagination, add a few highly unlikely scenarios, and take off into feeling awful under a burden of anxiety. We don't feel the peace of Christ because we have tripped an avalanche of imaginary grief that fell down on top of it. The loving arms of Jesus feel distant because we are looking into a future that we cannot possibly know. Yet, those loving arms, though we don't feel them physically, are about us even as we look into the darkness.

Never leave us or forsake us, he said, and that is true even when we look in the wrong direction or at a wrong time. Be comforted in the present. Let the future worry about itself. Trust in Jesus today and walk with Him in this day. Stopping those dark thoughts is difficult. That is why tomorrow is such a burden. Let us walk together in Christ today.

The blessings of grace to you on this day,
Bucky

He Will Be Here in The Morning

Good morning on this fine day! Did you fall asleep while saying your prayers last night? I did too, and you know what? God was here this morning when I woke up! I have in the past felt guilty for falling asleep during my talking with God. Yet, now I cannot think of a finer thing than to say my last words before the nightly rest to my Lord. Why shouldn't I fall asleep in the everlasting arms of Jesus? If I am so uptight in the Law that I must speak some ritual sign-off at the end of prayers, how am I free in Christ? Gasp, whatever will become of that uptight law keeper if he cannot say those closing ritual words just before the plunge into that undiscovered country?

Ritual prayers may have a place, but as for me just talking and listening to the Lord is the way to follow. I could sit down at the computer and attempt to write the perfect prayer. Perhaps, I would succeed in my opinion after some weeks or months of labor. Then, a year later, I might open up that perfect prayer file and, hey!, it wouldn't be perfect anymore. My needs may have changed, but more likely my knowledge of God and His great love grew up a bit more. The perfect prayer is the one given wholly and unreservedly to God each time we pray.

Let me, dear Lord, not worry about the form but simply throw myself into your grace on this day.

Bucky

Staying With The Brethren

Good Tuesday morning as the students head back into school after Easter break. Here is an interesting verse: "And [Joshua] said to them, 'You have kept all that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, and you have obeyed my voice in all that I commanded you.' " (Joshua 22:2) The context of the verse is the return of the eastern tribes to their land beyond the river Jordan after helping the other Israelites in a lengthy war. Joshua blessed them for not leaving their brothers. We can learn from that a lesson in faith, as in keeping faith with our fellow soldiers in this fight.

The world dumps a lot of bad things on us. This cursed earth not only brings forth a lot of stickers, but a lot of sickness and grief as well. Humans go out of their way to hurt and kill each other, and of course we have the accidental things that come along in life. We need each other, and keeping faith with our brothers and sisters in Christ is of particular importance in our suffering. Is this always easy? No, it is not. We each suffer, and sometimes that gets in the way of our being there for our brothers. How important then becomes the promise of Christ to NEVER leave us or forsake us? We need each other, but we need our Lord Jesus more.

Now, to remember that the bad things come and go, while my Lord is always here with me! Have a great day in Christ and with Christ!

Bucky

Relationship Builders

Good Monday! I didn't pester you all weekend, so lookout this morning. No, no, that isn't the way to build relationship. Why did Paul tell us to let our gentleness be known to all in Philippians 4:5? Another translation uses 'reasonableness, but the advice is the same. We often want our ability to handle any situation to be well known, or our physical strength, or the facade that is the outside of our body, or even the fame and wealth of worldly success. No doubt all those ways will bring some kind of relationship, wealth and fame in particular. However, the Bible calls for a better way to build relationship with our brothers and sisters in Christ. No, actually the verse calls for us to show our gentleness to all men, that is to all human beings. It is simply another way of saying, "Love your neighbor as yourself." And, is not gentleness, lovingkindness, reasonableness, and other relationship builders following the command of our Lord to do unto others as we would have them do unto us?

Of course, the carnal man isn't much of a relationship builder. The carnal man steeped in the wisdom of the world wants to crash in like the Incredible Hulk (though on the outside he resembles more the incurable bulk). Today, let the carnal man submit to the will of the spiritual man and let us build some relationships. Gentleness, love, encouragement, peace, kindness, these are the way to relationship, and let us not forget that power we are given: forgiveness. Amen. Joy and gratitude to our Lord who rose from the dead!

Bucky

The Lamb of God

Happy Good Friday to you! I cannot think of a better subject for the Friday before Easter than the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. The prophets of old said that He would come. John the Baptist had the privilege of saying "There He is!" Jesus told the woman at the well that He was the One. The world and its prince were glad to say, "He died." We have with our brothers and sisters in Christ, the disciples, saints, martyrs, and apostles, a great privilege to say, "He lives!"

The cross paid the price, but the resurrection gave us the promise. We testify to the life of the Lamb of God that we may share in His triumph. Because He lives, we live eternally in Christ. Good Friday is Good News applied to our sin debt, but Resurrection Sunday is the news of eternal life we live for. Jesus did so much for us in one weekend that we hardly do justice in our Easter celebration. Praise God that each year we have the opportunity to add to the celebration of Christ's death on the cross and resurrection from the grave.

You or I may have to work through this weekend, but we will celebrate Christ in our heart. The time of His return is near. The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world has not forgotten us down here. Have a great Easter weekend in Christ Jesus!

Bucky

There Have Been Times...

Good morning, complete with clouds and the promise of rain or snow. In life, there have been times when I thought I was smart, but acted stupidly. There have been times when I thought I was kind, but hurt someone. I may have thought tough love, but the passage of time shows only cruelty. We all have those things in our past, whether we realize it or not. Our rebirth in Christ does not automatically mean that we will never do it again, unfortunately. In the moment, we may think that we are doing the right thing, but later on the realization comes that quite the opposite was the case. I hate those times and I really wish that I would always do the right thing. Praise God that I and all of us can learn in the Spirit.

As we grow in Christ, we learn to pause at times and listen for the prompting of the Holy Spirit. We don't do the same things in all cases. The enemy's traps must become more elaborate to catch us and trip us up. Is it any wonder that grandparents know how to spoil the grandchild, yet also hold the wisdom to not harm the child with too much spoilage? They have learned through a difficult bout of parenting how to raise children. We learn through a difficult bout of life how to live in eternity with Jesus and each other. Of course, most of the work by far is done by our Lord. We learn in the 'boot camp' of this life how to serve in the eternal blessing of Heaven. Praise God for this time of learning!

Bucky

Did Jesus Suffer a Headache?

Good morning, with wind, on this new day! Listening to the wonderful song "Midnight Cry", I think of the many midnight cries that have issued from me. I have yet to go home with that kind of midnight cry, but that does not mean God didn't hear me. Waking up to a headache is one of those tribulations in this life that can cause me to cry out around midnight. What seemed a good night's sleep is interrupted by pain in the noggin. This morning, I had to ask if Jesus suffered a headache. The temptation of course is to take points away from Him if He didn't suffer every possible ache or pain that we suffer. As we approach Good Friday this week, we are well reminded that our Lord suffered much worse.

Not only did Jesus suffer those things recorded in the gospels, but He also suffers along with all those who call on His name. Jesus suffered the punishment for our sins on the cross. I don't have to worry that Jesus might have suffered less than me, or somehow used His authority to cut himself some slack at some point in His earthly life. In fact, those were the very points Satan used to tempt our Lord out in the desert, and He fell to no sin. "Make it easy on yourself, turn those rocks into break loaves." Yet, our Lord stood firm on the Word of God.

When pain comes in this life, we want nothing more than to get out of it, or have it end, or get some relief from it. It sounds obvious, but pain hurts. Relief or rescue may not come right away. Most of us, probably all of us, have suffered pain the bigger part of our lives, sometimes more and sometimes less. We must count it a privilege to suffer a bit of what our Lord suffered on the cross. Rather just have it end? Yeah, me too. But at least for the time we suffer we can call on the Lord to help us endure and to count it a privilege in Christ.

Grace to you in Christ Jesus,
Bucky

False Promises

Good morning on this Tuesday! I gaze upon the picture of a great library. Then, I wonder if the fireplace is ever lit for the enjoyment of reading a good book. Wait, no comfortable furniture! Only a couple of benches. I begin to suspect that the fireplace with its logs is only for decoration. Perhaps the chimney is sealed off to retain heat. We live in a world of false promises. A corporate office building boasts an entrance with comfortable couches and chairs in groups for easy conversation, but the employees behind the locked doors labor in little cubicles and noses are vigorously applied to the proverbial grindstone. The bank holds out the promises of loans for homes, but in reality many in need of a permanent home cannot qualify for the loan to purchase one. This is not to get you down and depressed on a Tuesday. We know the world is full of these false promises.

Who do we look to for the promise of real and lasting joy, comfort, peace, love, and eternity? Jesus, of course. A lovely fireplace on earth may be just for show, but there is no need to mourn over it. This whole earth is just for show; one day it will all pass away. Once upon a time, I was refused a loan for a house. But, now I know that my Lord has gone to prepare a permanent place for me in Heaven. Labor, toil, work, these things are here and are not always pleasant for us. We know this is but the training period before eternity. Businesses may have guest foyers the employees are not allowed to touch, homes with fancy landscaping may hide a mess inside, buildings may hide an ugly purpose behind a designer facade; hooray for them. We know all this is not the promised land, but that time we endure before the eternity Christ gives to those who believe in Him.

Once, God created this beautiful place for Adam, and our ancestor blew it. We have the promise of a new paradise awaiting us, and for a short time we must endure a rough, cursed place. Let us labor to shine for the glory of God in this place, that He may quickly bring us to our eternal home with Him.

Bucky

Pray and Walk Away

Hmm, should be "Return to Winter Devotional" But, the sun is coming up way over where it doesn't shine in winter. What is wrong with this picture today? Power outage yesterday morning, snow, wind, but look how late it stayed light in the evening; what is wrong here? I have all these great ideas for devotionals...until I stand before the computer monitor with an empty head. (Contrary to popular opinion this is not a normal condition.) Ah well, pray and walk away! That is not just a rhyme to encourage play. We often shoulder the project or task solo, as in trying to do it without the Lord. We get bogged down, or stuck, or stumped, or whatever word we want to use for coming to the end of what skill or strength we possess. To pray is to admit to the Lord that we need His help, that we need Him in our work. Walking away allows us to let go of that control we so desire in our earthly nature.

Jesus invited those with heavy burdens to come to Him. There was more in that command though than just coming to our Lord. "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30) Promises and comforts such as, "learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart..." sound like the best kind of teacher. Of course, what could be a better promise than the Son of God affirming that "I will give you rest."

Bring your burden to Jesus on this cold Monday morning,
Bucky

Content, Not Complacent

Good Saturday! A day that we often get up just a bit more slowly than during the working week. Have you ever dreamed of bathrooms? I don't mean a house with one or two, or even three. No, this dream was of a condominium home with about 20 rooms, 12 or more of these were bathrooms in my dream. Bathrooms with huge showers, including benches and chairs, and little bathrooms with combined shower stalls and toilets, something like an RV might have in it. And of course, all sizes in between, all very bright, white, and clean. I think that sometimes God likes to have some fun with me in dreams. I have wanted to remodel a bathroom downstairs in my house; I have a dear friend who wants to remodel hers, and I have been looking at bathroom pictures at work for my website development. All of that seems to have combined into a quite humorous dream of a home that must be some plumbing contractor's dearest wish. I have to ask though, is my wish to remodel a bathroom a lack of contentment in my situation?

A bathroom may do its job, and we may be content. However, I don't think that to be content in what God has provided need be the same as complacency. God gave us minds and brains, and we are to use those for His glory. This world is fallen along with man, and things are far from perfect. I believe that we can be content, as Paul had learned, and yet not be complacent in how things are in the world. Imagine politics or government if all Christians were content and complacent. To be content with God's material blessings, I don't believe means that we must complacently accept what is obviously not as good as it may be with some effort and resources. God may indeed give us something that is less than optimal to see what you or I might do with it. Perhaps, the best thing the Lord gives are those things that we can improve on with the work of our hands and minds. No home we are blessed with will be perfect so that God may bless us with work to improve and enjoy together with Him.

Imagine the place Jesus has prepared for us in Heaven is not perfect as we think it should be, but is a complete mess in every way. However, God does not expect us to complacently accept, but would have us to work with a certain carpenter to remodel and restore and have a good time in making this place a beautiful heavenly home. Yes, that may well be Heaven as God knows it.

Enjoy your Saturday in Christ,
Bucky

The Pain of Mocking

Good Friday morning! Next time we do this on a Friday, it will be Good Friday. Today the question is a humbling one for me, because I have done this in my past. The question is: Have you ever mocked? Since most of us began life as babies and grew up into toddlers and kids, chances are good that we have mocked or been mocked. The usual first step is to point out a difference in a little toddler body. Second, the kids in school make a different word of another kid's name. As a born Sealey, I still remember a kid pronouncing it 'silly' ad infinatum until the mock was firmly entrenched in my memory all these years. Kids are creative, so every name given to children - first, middle or last - has been mocked in several ways, I'm sure. Even pronounced correctly, we have the ability to put an inflection on a name that mocks. Is it any wonder then that God made His name holy and put a law on that to keep it that way?

You and I can easily recall the kid we called by some derogatory name, or we can recall the name given to us that we didn't like. Cain and Abel probably came up with mocking nicknames for each other way back in the first days. We tend to grow out of it because of the pain of mocking. The thirty or forty-something year old man still using all the old nicknames people didn't like at the class reunion comes across as more than a little pathetic. We don't like to see an adult person mired in childishness. Partly because such a person tempts us to mocking way too much! Jesus gave us a positive, pro-active method for this sort of temptation. Do unto others as you would have them do for you.

Mocking is painful when received. As we grow to be more like our Lord, it becomes painful when given as well. I hesitate to think of the mocking our Lord endured on the way to Calvary. Mocking comes from a hating heart, and our Lord endured more than we can ever know. Praise God that none of that caused Him to hate in return. When we give mocking, He gives mercy and forgiveness with healing. When we must receive or endure mocking, our Lord gives us strength and faithfulness with His comfort.

Rejoice in the Friday!
Bucky

Maybe There Isn't One

Hmm, a tiny rappelling artist on my light fixture; not quite what I expected this morning after my Bible study. What is the difference between wishful thinking and faith? At first glance, it may seem to be the unlikeliness of the event. The Bible is full of unlikely outcomes though. How likely is the Red Sea to part right now and allow me to walk across on dry ground? Yet, the Bible tells of that very thing happening. Perhaps we missed something in that story. The event was highly unlikely until God said that is what would happen. So we can mark down one difference right there. When God gives His word, no longer is wishful thinking an issue.

A woman approaches a man in a crowd hoping to simply touch his garments and have her illness healed. Wishful thinking indeed, except that in this case she knew the man as the Son of God, a healer and prophet. She came in faith and went away healed. Another difference we can mark down, come to Jesus believing and a desired outcome is faith, not a wish. Or, maybe the wish is fulfilled by faith, and thus is not a bad thing at all. Another comes to the Son and says, "If you will..." God's will makes a thing possible, no matter how unlikely the outcome seems to us in our world-raised view. Maybe there is no difference between faith and a wish except in the action.

Prayer brings a wish to God in faith, and then God may say yes or no. Not all of our desires are good for us to have fulfilled, and God will deny the request. As any parent or boss knows, it is not easy to say no to requests when you want to give those you love all they desire. Perhaps the world looks down on wishful thinking to stop us from bringing the unlikely to God in faith. Wonders and miracles may be stopped by those who believe in Christ refusing to ask, seek, and knock at the doors of faith. Have we learned to edit our requests just because they seem wishful thinking in the world's view? James reminds us that we have not because we ask not. The world's prince can stop the miraculous if he can keep the children of God from asking in the first place.

God may give the thumbs down to your wish. However, it was very unlikely that a group of hungry lions would refuse a tasty meal for an entire night.

God's grace and peace to you,
Bucky

Nope, Don't Work That Way Neither

Ha, working on my new program this week - spading the garden. One problem I can see already is in digging for a bit and then trying to switch over to typing. I think it diminishes my usual blazing speed of 20 or 30 words per minute. Hmm, yup, I never did exactly smoke those typing tests back in the day. Of course, if I could type over 200 wpm, then maybe I could impress God and He would choose me. No? Man, what does it take? We know that is the wrong direction. An impressive resume of skills and education may impress a human boss, but that isn't what God is looking for to fill His team. I don't know about you, but I find it too easy to think that God is looking for those with enough degrees, certificates, skills, gifts, talents, or experience because that is what the world looks for in a man. Oh, wait, I forgot that one thing the world seems to value above all others - he or she looks good on TV.

Okay, maybe I ain't that either, but I seem to recall some interesting verses regarding who God might choose. Verses such as Matthew 11:28, "Come to Me, all you who are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." All you? That sounds like just anyone who is burdened in this world. I think I can qualify there. How about that famous one, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." Hmm, I think most of us can make it into 'whoever'. How many is most? Probably, and you can see this one coming, whoever wants to believe! Oh, yeah, qualified for the team once again!

God doesn't choose the special or accomplished people. God chooses people because we are all special to Him. Born again in Christ, we are now re-creations of God.

Enjoy the day with Jesus!
Bucky

I Can't Take That!

Oops, I was just caught messing with the laser switch. Someone knows well the sound of his nemesis being activated. Now to carefully let the cat go back to his morning nap. Okay, all is quiet again. Now, over the years I have accepted many a criticism of myself. The critical remarks that slip off my tongue now and then are little compared to the volume and frequency of self-disparaging remarks I have heard in my mind. Why does it not work when I give myself a compliment? Why are we so wired to be negative toward the self when Jesus told us to love our neighbors as ourselves? If I learned to love my neighbor in the same horribly critical way that I showed love to myself, I would soon have no friends or neighbors.

Perhaps it is something in our western culture that causes so much self rebuke and criticism. Whatever the cause, we are going to have to learn to drag ol' third wheel along when we learn to love God and our neighbors more each day. A cart with two wheels going forward and one sideways will not get anywhere fast. Love of the self needs to join the other two loves and grow in the same direction. God sees all of my imperfections, sins, and failures, and yet He loves me with an everlasting love. Maybe it is time for me to get on board that love boat and learn to love me too!

Have a loving day in Christ!
Bucky

It Doesn't Work That Way

Good Monday morning! I know you have seen the little old ladies in the commercial, mostly because I have seen it and I don't even have television service. "None of this stuff works that way!" she says. If you have tried self-improvement and self-salvation, you know what this is all about. Psalm 127:1 reminds us: "Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it. Unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain." This is easy to take as, "I shall do nothing until the Lord gets me up and moving with His mighty hand." From my experience, that is not quite what the Lord meant there. We do have a calling to perform, and we do have work to be done for taking care of the self and those who depend on us. However, first we must seek the Lord and His will. Prayer comes before the performance, in other words.

Often, I think I know exactly what needs doing to improve my life and my situation. I take this view and present it to the Lord in prayer. I fail. What went wrong? I tried to build my house without the Lord. I watched the dark countryside in the dark of night on my own, and in my own plan and strength. I didn't wait to hear the Lord's will, but took off with the rolled-up plans for my will in hand. The Lord has a good plan for me. Jeremiah 29:11 tells us, "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope." The way ahead is plain: I must first seek the Lord's will and follow His building plan. I stay awake to guard the city when God commands, and not when I think it best. Hoo, the metaphorical talk is falling thick today!

We have the Lord's good pleasure ahead for us, but we will have trouble reaching the party if we take off on our self-prophesied, self-improvement plan. Ouch, glad I don't have to attempt saying that out loud. A self-improvement plan is by nature a list of rules and regulations. If that is what we want, the Bible has plenty of those for us. Organizations of all sorts like to add more. Talking heads on the Internet and television can dump on many more. The Lord tells us, "Come to Me, all you who are heavy burdened, and I will give you rest."

Start the week out in Christ, and go easy on those self-imposed, self-righteous rule books.

Bucky

The Grim Spectre of Separation

Good Saturday morning! I'm hoping you can work at home doing something you enjoy this morning. A classmate posted her separation on Facebook. Our family saw the grim spectre of separation pass close by this past week, but it has moved on for now. We also suffer separations in this life. Divorce, job loss, people moving on to a new opportunity, or a child leaving the home all give us pain in this life. While some separations are more painful than others, we all walk through the valley of death's shadow every day. Even a joyful separation such as a child marrying and moving away to the city causes a little pain in the separation. We don't get to keep everyone we love close by in this life. When one moves on into the next life, that separation is quite grim for those of us left to say, "farewell for this brief time!"

Though we go about our duties, work, and play, the grim spectre of separation haunts us with occasional reminders. Of course, we also have those times in this life when we suggest to the Lord that a good time for the rapture of the church has arrived. In the moment, we would gladly separate ourselves from the world to avoid some pain. Since we're all still here, I can assume that prayer didn't work. We look to the rapture as a way not to enable the grim spectre, but to defeat it. Jesus rose from the dead to prove to us that He had overcome death, the substance of the shadow I am calling a grim spectre this morning. With Jesus holding the victory over the substance, we need not fear the shadow. Separations hurt us, but one day Jesus will hold the big reunion, the one that never ends. I look forward to seeing y'all there!

Love in Christ,
Bucky

That's The Best You Have?

The end of an exhausting work day. Two days of nearly constant phone calls, hours of grunt work to push a new web site, passwords impossible to recall, problems to solve, and now, NOW, the rotting pumpkin shows up with gray nastiness oozing out the backside where I couldn't see it! Ha, ha, ha! Like Sisyphus I laugh at you! That is the best you can do to the tired Christian on a Thursday evening? World, I mock thee. My God is all powerful; my Savior with me at all times. Of course I discover such a thing at the end of a long day and weary week, I expected nothing less of you. But, you cannot have me. I will not sink down to despair when the good news of Jesus lives in my heart!

The morning of Friday is here! A new day to glorify the Lord. The week may be tough, but the week will end as has been commanded by God long ago. We mock the world's woes in the strength of the Lord, but never to test the Lord. No, for we know that should the Lord withdraw the least of His strength, we would be lost in a tidal wave of worldly persecution. We stand only in the strength of our Lord. The world may lay us low at times, but Jesus has overcome the world. One day, He will reign. Not that one who desires our destruction now, but the One who died to set us free. He, the Christ, will reign forever. For a little time we are tried in the furnace of the world. Sometimes we can laugh at the trial, other times we weep for the pain of it. One day, one day very soon, our Lord Jesus returns to take up His kingdom. May it come swiftly on the wings of the morning!

Bucky

Is That a Proper Excuse?

Good morning! The week totters on toward its conclusion and work awaits us. Yesterday, the discussion turned to music. Like politics, music can be a very polarizing venue. Some support their freedom of expression, others their rights to avoid hearing objectionable 'noise'. There are those musicians who come up with an act that portrays worship of the devil, satanism, and evil acts. It might be said that they are in it for the money and do not really believe in these things. Okay, but is that a proper excuse? If a person says that his job is in banking, but in fact he makes a living robbing those banks. Would we say that he has a proper excuse? Probably not, certainly the long arm of the law would place him in a sort of protective custody for his criminal actions.

As we live in Christ, we don't get to separate making a living at our work from our behavior at church or when the pastor is watching. Jesus didn't die for our sins at home or down at the local bar while leaving alone that workplace because, as they say, everyone has to make a living. If the musician makes songs praising Satan, but then says it's all a goof and they don't really believe in it, are they not the hypocrite? We don't get to steal from the boss and then say how good we are in church. We can't excuse our betrayal of a co-worker to get ahead in the corporation as making a living for our family, and then take the family to church as though all is right with God. We don't want to become the legalistic judgmental Christian, but we don't want to be the hypocrite.

But, ya know, hold my life up to the microscope of God's law and you will find something hypocritical, something sinful, or a chaffed conscience. Your life probably has a few legal holes in it too. We are not perfect, and in fact Paul reminds us that all have sinned and fallen short of God's standard. We need Jesus, and in only in Christ can we be righteous. Only the cross makes us free of sin's penalty, and only in grace do we live. Praise God for the forgiveness of sin and the free gift of God in Christ.

Bucky

Uh, What Is That A Sign Of?

Good mid-week morning! Sounds kind of weak, like maybe an attempt to shorten the ol' workweek. Hmm, ever have a house grow in your dream? A friend let me into his home in my dream, and it was nice and rather large; say, in the 3,000 sq. ft range. A big home, but not a mansion by any means. However, when I woke up in the dream, I couldn't find my way out of the house. Rooms with people staying in them occupied what I thought was the front entry. After asking me about buying a house, a man told me my truck was, "12 minutes that way." Wait, what, 12 minutes? A person can walk at least a mile in 12 minutes, probably a mile and a half or more. I dreamed a house that grew to something more than a mile to walk out in at least one direction. What is that a sign of? Approaching insanity probably, maybe I'll forget to mention that one to my counselor.

As we studied the Revelation, we read many signs and wonders. While it is tough to tell from this side of the Tribulation, some signs are literal and others are metaphorical or figurative. As we read of yet another earthquake in the news this morning, we know that Jesus told us in Matthew 24 that these would come, a literal sign that is fulfilled. The 1,260 days in Revelation 12, 13, and 17 are most likely literal time spans. Peter did say that a day is as a thousand years to God, but we shouldn't take that as 1,260,000 years for the time the two witnesses will do their thing. The 75 - 100 pound hailstones unfortunately are likely to be literal, though we might wish for something a bit less crushing. However, we also read of signs like the woman standing on the moon and clothed with the sun. If that sign is literal, it will be hard to miss a woman of such dimensions. We can safely call that one figurative, but with God literal is certainly possible too.

Signs are tough. We may like to see signs, even yearn for God to show us one. We may also be terrified that He would give us a sign. Most dreams are just dreams, and we shouldn't use them as a guide to our day. The Scriptures are far better guides. Prayer is a more sure means of communication with God. Walking with Jesus is our sure pathway and His light is in His word.

Love in Christ,
Bucky

Some Folks Practice More Than Me

Good morning! As I bumbled and stumbled my way through vocalizing some words in my Bible lesson this morning, I realized that some folks practice talking much more than I do. Now, this is not an insult to them. A person can talk quite a bit more than me and never come close to being known by the pejorative, 'blabbermouth'. Each of us has something he or she likes to practice. We have a passion for some skill and practice follows without coercion. No one must force us to practice or practice more, as happened when we were children and only wanted the performance and praise without the practice. As fallen human beings, we need to practice to perform well.

We see the minister of many years flawlessly giving a sermon, and it looks so easy. What we didn't see was the years of training, practice, and short, stumbling sermons that came before. It may seem funny, but even our sinning requires practice to avoid mistakes. The first time your child told a lie, you probably wondered if he or she was brain damaged so obvious was the fiction in the tale. Your parents and mine could tell of a similar incident from our childhood. In most cases, we gave up practicing such things as a moral code was instilled in us. As we grew older, we learned through some trial and error that some skills would remain beyond mastery, no matter how much practice we applied. Since the Air Force made it clear that half-blind aspiring fighter pilots need not apply, I learned at the tender age of seven or eight that this skill would not be on my future resume.

People practice skills that you or I may not possess because they enjoy a passion and then see some success in that area. Some of them become among the best of humankind in their particular skill, and often we enjoy watching them perform. However, Jesus did not say that He had come to save the best and brightest, or the most skilled and proficient. Jesus came to save all of us who believe in Him. No matter how many skills we have tried and failed at, we can call upon the name of Jesus and be saved for all eternity. When it comes to talking well, perhaps there will be time in Heaven for me to practice that skill. Eternity should be just about right.

Love in Christ!
Bucky

I Feel The Sting

Good morning as the debate rages outside. Snow or rain? The weather seems in a mood for either or both today. This weekend, I felt the sting of powerlessness. We don't much like that feeling. I think given the choice all of us would choose to live filled with the power to do something about many of the things we live with every day. A bunch of titans would walk the Earth. Need some money? I make you rich through my power! Need some healing? I make you well right now! The government not to your liking? Well, let me just make the adjustments you want! The problems we have now would of course be multiplied exponentially as billions of powerful titans changed everything that bothered every one. Then, there is the obvious question; if all of us were powerful, who would we help?

We may feel the sting of powerlessness, but it is best to follow God's way. Far better for all of us that One alone holds the ultimate power, and that He holds the wisdom, righteousness, and love to match it. We have faith and prayer. Those may seem puny in comparison, but that is because we tend to look at ourselves first. All those great qualities of God become available to us through faith and prayer. Does that mean that God always responds exactly in the way we wish? Ah, no, even the billions of wishes in the world are in conflict much of the time. However, we also gain the power to wait patiently on the Lord's way, and to trust in His answer as the best way.

For our comfort in this latest trial, let us recall James 5:16 "Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective." Oh, the power and effect I hoped for! To the prayer closet, Christ's man!

Love and affection in Christ,
Bucky