A Little Extra Charge

Thanksgiving feasting passes for another year but the leftovers remain for a while. As winter begins, I start charging up my truck battery every couple of weeks. Living in a small town as I do, the truck does not go far enough in a day to charge the battery, so I must give it a little extra charge. I have found that my walk with Christ requires a little extra charge from time to time. Perhaps it is due to not driving enough miles each day in His word. Maybe it comes through an insufficient current of prayer. It may well be that this life is just too tough for the children of God and we need that little extra charge on a regular basis. Above all, it may be a reminder that I can never bring myself home to God's Heaven in my own strength.

We need the constant current of prayer and meditation in the Word. We also need that extra charge at times. In this season, we may find it in Christmas songs or in Christmas programs at the church. We may find a little extra voltage in the joyous faces of children at Christmastime, or even in a cheerful greeting from our brothers and sisters in Christ. All of this simile and metaphor may be the long way of saying that you and I need Jesus every day, even every moment.

Have a very merry Christmas in Christ!

Bucky

Happy Thanksgiving!

To my brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus, Happy Thanksgiving! I pray that your celebration of Thanksgiving holds joy, peace and the love of Christ.

Giving thanks to God for our many blessings,

Bucky

It's Tough To Be Thankful Sometimes

The day before Thanksgiving dawns with a promise of change in the weather. Last night, I slept like the proverbial log, very easy to be thankful. Unfortunately, my log was one rolling down a rocky hillside, much tougher to be thankful. We all have those circumstances and situations where we find it tough to thank God. We have a few examples in the Bible where our heroes of the faith found the same problem. Paul asked three times for a certain thorn in his side to be taken away. The great apostle wasn't feeling the love in his circumstance until God explained to him the reason and provided the grace. Jesus, our Lord and Savior, asked that a terrible cup might be taken away from Him, but obeyed God and said, "Not My will but Thine be done." We are grateful to Him because the reason was to save us!

It's tough to be thankful sometimes. Tests, trials, tribulations and other circumstances come our way frequently in this fallen world. If you believe in Jesus, then I doubt you have it easy. The world just doesn't like to go easy on those who believe in the One it hates. Yes, there is an evil power behind that hatred, and yes we do get to share in the suffering of our Lord because of it. However, between us and that hate is the sovereign power of God, and we can be thankful for Him. Like Job, we may suffer many terrible things in this life, but we are always in God's mighty hands.

Thank You, dear Lord, for Your grace!

Bucky

Grace Makes Thanksgiving

Two days, and the travel has already begun. Thanksgiving means getting away from home for many, for others it is a time to stay put. In either case, we trust in the Lord to guide us and keep us safe against the day of His returning. This spirit of faith in us also causes us to speak out for Christ as Paul tells us in today's scripture:

"And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, 'I believed and therefore I spoke,' we also believe and therefore speak, knowing that He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus, and will present us with you. For all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God." (2 Corinthians 4:13-15)

In this, we also learn where our giving of thanks comes from - grace. What an amazing thing that grace raises up in us the thanksgiving that God desires from us. We learned a couple of days back, or many books and a thousand years or so in Bible time, that the Law commanded thanksgiving offerings only come from freewill. Since all good things come from God, how do we choose to give thanks? This is what Paul tells us in this verse this fine morning. Where grace comes by way of faith in Christ, thanksgiving to God our Father will abound to His glory.

Amen, come Lord Jesus!
Bucky

Thanksgiving Week!

It's here! The week of thanksgiving leading up to Thanksgiving! I realize for some that the holiday is all about travel, food, football, food, time off work, food, shopping, and food. However, as we recall who saved us from our sins, granted us grace for eternal life, and promised to come back for us, we tend to get all thankful at this time of the year. We don't know the author of this psalm but he or she said it quite well.

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,
And into His courts with praise.
Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. (Psalm 100:4)

Be thankful to Him, and indeed we do on this week especially. This may well be the manner in which the saints will enter into the New Jerusalem when it comes down in the great day of the Lord. This may be how you and I will enter Heaven should we sleep before that time. Thanksgiving and praise lead us into prayer and meditation, worship and song here and now. How much more will the sight of our Lord's city cause us to burst out into thanksgiving and praise! Great will be our rejoicing when Jesus comes to take us home.

Enjoy this week of giving thanks to our Lord,

Bucky

Magnify The Lord!

How does one magnify the Lord? It seems at first an impossible thing to accomplish. The Lord is all present and all powerful, how can a worm like me magnify the Lord? Yet, a couple of times in the Bible we have answers to that. First our psalm-ic friend David tells us of magnifying the Lord with thanksgiving.

But I am poor and sorrowful;
​​Let Your salvation, O God, set me up on high.
I will praise the name of God with a song,
​​And will magnify Him with thanksgiving. (Psalm 69:29-30)

So many lessons on life and living come from the psalms that we might well expect to learn of this in the music of the Bible. Obviously we don't make the Lord bigger in size such as one would magnify a grain of sand with a magnifying glass. Instead we magnify the Lord by telling of Him in our thanksgiving. Jesus is our salvation. Therefore, we spread the Good News of Jesus Christ just as He commanded. Which is how Mary began her great thanksgiving song.

"My soul magnifies the Lord" (Luke 1:46)

Look, we have a Christmas lead in for thanksgiving. Let our souls magnify the Lord in thanksgiving this holiday season!

Bucky

The Voice of Thanksgiving

One of our greatest witnesses in this life is the voice we use toward the Lord. Is it one of anger, shaking the verbal fist at God over this thing or that thing that happened to you? People see that and they wonder, 'Where is the love?' Like Job, we may demand to meet God in court over a seeming injustice in our lives. We also, like Job, may in time be brought up short by the realization that we are quite in the wrong. David tells us of a better way to proclaim the Lord: with thanksgiving.

That I may proclaim with the voice of thanksgiving, And tell of all Your wondrous works. (Psalms 26:7)

The voice of thanksgiving may not gather the same attention quite so quickly as anger, but we can see that it is a much better witness of our Lord's goodness and mercy. The love they seek is in the wondrous works of God. We get to tell of them!

During this season of giving thanks, let us speak with the voice of thanksgiving. If your day is so terrible that you cannot think of anything to be thankful for, ask the Lord and let Him show you the way, or even better - the Way. Even on the worst of our days, the wondrous work that Jesus did for us still holds us safely in His salvation. We can be thankful for our Lord Jesus when things seem just awful. When the trials of life threaten to overwhelm, witness with the voice of thanksgiving that God loved the world so much He sent His Son to save you and me.

On those worst of days, the voice of thanksgiving might just lift us out of our self-pity and into the knowledge of God's love. Give it a try!

Bucky

Freewill Offerings

Just a bit over one week from now, we will offer up to God our thanksgiving on a holiday not coincidentally named Thanksgiving. In the Law we have this command from the Lord:

"And when you offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving to the LORD, offer it of your own free will." (Leviticus 22:29)

Some things, holidays being one, can become institutionalized and religion-ized until we forget that the original command and purpose was that it be of our choice. God didn't want thanksgiving that was done from duty or obligation, particularly that which was forced by an authority. So we have a command from the ultimate authority that thanksgiving be done only when freely chosen. And they say the Bible is without humor.

We see that now, but there was a time when it was dark to those of us who did not believe. What good is a religious system that commands freewill? How do you control the people that way? Of course, God wants our thanksgiving to come from a thankful heart full of love. We should give thanksgiving offerings to God often, but not because we have to or feel it is our duty. Offer it of your own free will, what a great privilege and honor! How many times in this world have you been made to obey some regulation and not understood the need? Here is one that commands that it be followed only out of the freedom to choose to do so. If I have any authority and command you to celebrate Thanksgiving, then I ruin its goodness for you. As God commands, do it of your own free will.

In God's grace,
Bucky

Do You Feel Anger?

A good question for any day, but especially so when the news media reports on events that should make most anyone angry. Terrorist acts, deaths of children, persecution of Christians, lies of politicians, a bright sunny day in a place where you ain't - there is usually something for everyone when it comes to anger. Jesus felt anger too.

In and of itself, anger is not sin, for we know that Jesus never sinned. We can be angry when anger is called for, but the peace Jesus gave to us should always return. Remaining angry for too long tends to cause damage both inside and out. Jesus even told us to be angry and sin not (by David in the Psalms (4:4) and Paul quoting the psalm in his letter to the Ephesians (4:26)). The second part of David's verse tells us a valuable insight: "Meditate within your heart on your bed, and be still."

After the anger comes, we may need at times to repair to the bed for some meditation alone with God heart to heart. I have at times found to my embarrassment that my anger was unjustified and myself just downright in the wrong. Of course, if the anger is directed at God, we are always going to end up that way.

Enjoy a peaceful day in Christ!
Bucky

The Latter Days

Reading Acts 2, I find it interesting that just after the outpouring of the Holy Spirit energized the disciples, Peter stands up and reminds the crowd of the words written by Joel the prophet. You recall some of the words:

But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

​

‘​And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God,
​​That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh;
​​Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
​​Your young men shall see visions,
​​Your old men shall dream dreams.
​​And on My menservants and on My maidservants
​​I will pour out My Spirit in those days;
​​And they shall prophesy.
​​I will show wonders in heaven above
​​And signs in the earth beneath:
​​Blood and fire and vapor of smoke.
​​The sun shall be turned into darkness,
​​And the moon into blood,
​​Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD.
​​And it shall come to pass
​​That whoever calls on the name of the LORD
​​Shall be saved.’ (Acts 2:16-21 from Joel 2:28-32)

This is a prophecy about people making prophecies. You might even come up with a tongue twister, "Peter prophecies per the prophet's prophecy that people will prophecy!" That was so hard that I had trouble typing it, forget speaking it.

This prophecy is the one that sometimes gives us trouble. Was that dream I had last night significant? Should I be telling the world? Am I young or old? Our part is not with the young men or the old men for they are 'yours'. Where we fall is in the menservants and maidservants of God, the 'My' part. Ever wonder why there are so many men and women preaching today? This prophecy is why. God said once through Joel, twice through Peter, and again through all of us that this would happen. Don't knock those menservants and maidservants: you and me and they are part of this new army of prophets speaking through God's Holy Spirit. Have fun, prophet of God!

Bucky

Not My Will, But Thine

Ah, Friday, what a great day for God to release me from suffering! I know this works because that is what happened when Jesus asked that God take away the cup of suffering from Him! It worked right? Anyone? No? Uh oh...

We know from reading the Word that Jesus said those great words signifying His eternal submission to the will of God His Father, "Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done." (Luke 22:42) We win because God's will did not waver and His Son did not escape the suffering. Therefore, should we ask for God to remove our suffering when our Lord and Savior did not escape His? Do we dare expect such a thing even on a Friday? Actually, given that Friday may have been the day of our Lord's greatest suffering, we might be way off base in asking for release on this day of all of them. "Nevertheless not my will, but thine..."

In this life, we face much suffering. Like Job, God doesn't send the suffering to make us hurt, He doesn't send the suffering at all. We may be targeted specifically by the Adversary, like Job, or things may just happen in this fallen world. We may have a spouse who tries to cheer us up by saying, "Curse God and die!" like Job's wife did. Or, we may have friends who gather to verbally beat a confession out of us as Job's friends did, fully convinced that Job had done something very wrong. Think of the alternative Job's friends were desperately trying to avoid: the man had done nothing wrong and yet his life was turned upside down by disaster after disaster. You can see why Job's friends earnestly wanted Job to have done something heinous that they could easily avoid doing.

I cannot claim to be without sin in my own thoughts and actions. How much more should I suffer than my Lord Jesus who did nothing wrong? Hmm, but Jesus did all the suffering for my sins in my place. Better to ask, "How do I merit such a sacrifice on my behalf?" Of course, I do not merit any such thing. The love of God sent His Son to save me from my sins. So, why again do I dare to ask for removal of suffering? God is good and I have faith in His goodness, love and mercy. No quality of mine is enough for this asking, it is all dependent upon God's goodness and love.

May God bless us on this Friday and every other day too!

Bucky

Blindsided!

Isn't that the way it goes in this world? We worry about one thing that might happen while another is sneaking up on us from the rear. In case you haven't heard yet, Sidney is losing the cabling plant owned through the years by Prestolite, Krone, ADC, Tyco, TE Connectivity, and finally Commscope. Some of that mess o' names were parts of/subdivisions/subsidiary companies of the other, but for the people working there it meant their jobs and means of making a living. I dealt with them for many years and bought a ton or two of cabling with their various brand names. Many Cabela's facilities boast cable that has served well and lasted for many years. The plant will be sold, so there is a possibility that it will be purchased quickly and put back into operation, but possibilities never put food on the table and they don't usually pay very well.

A pile of years ago, I might have worried more over the loss of my supply (the cable), but today the Lord has brought me to see the plight of the people. Uncertainty in your finances is a frightening way to live. The fear spreads throughout the community as wallets and purses get held more tightly. Do we declare the Holiday Season of Fear or do we look elsewhere for assurance?

I have held that dreadful season a couple of times in the past decade, and it is probably the least fun way to spend Thanksgiving and Christmas. Looking to God is definitely the way to go, but it must be every morning and evening and quite a few times in between. The fear creeps back in every day through the myriad of little things we do. Pay a bill and wonder how many more times you can afford to pay it. Buy groceries and you are reminded of the dwindling or empty pantry back home (if you still have one). Little luxuries like a movie or a CD become risky if not impossible. Those and many other things project that fearful uncertainty right back into the forefront of your mind. Each time, returning to the Word of God with verses memorized helps to turn us back to God in prayer. In those times of fear it is then that we realize what Paul meant by constant prayer. Fight the fearful uncertainty with the blessed assurance of God.

Pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ,

Bucky

The Armor We Wear

Snow falls on this Veterans Day. It may well have done so on the 11th day of the 11th month so many years ago when the First World War concluded with a treaty. Someone then coined the phrase The War to End All Wars. It wasn't. Perhaps a reading of the Bible might have prevented that little slogan that so badly failed. WWI was terrible, but in the Bible Jesus tells of wars and rumors of wars before the end. We may need to give those folks from long ago a break though. The Revelation speaks of conquest, war, plague, and famine. The time before the war, the great war, and the influenza epidemic right after that war may well have seemed that a fourth part of the world had indeed suffered under the four horsemen of the apocalypse. Then along came the great depression as though to confirm the famine part. Had we lived in those times, we might well have thought the end had come, the tribulation started and Jesus on the way with the hosts of Heaven.

So where do we stand in relation to eternity on this Veterans Day? Several of us have served in those wars and rumors of war, all of us have lived through it. Earthquakes shake the ground in diverse places. Persecution happens all over the globe. Yet, Jesus has not come to take His beloved home. We soldier on.

Indeed, Paul used the model soldier of the Roman legions to issue all of us a set of armor for the war we fight daily. A breastplate of righteousness, polished and gleaming. Not our righteousness but the imputed righteousness of Christ Himself. The helmet of salvation - not earned, but given to us, protecting our head and the wonderful mind inside. A belt of truth to protect our softer parts, and who is the Truth but Jesus our Lord! Feet, those important carriers of us when all mechanical things have failed, shod with the gospel of peace. A shield of faith to protect everything and a weapon of unsurpassed potency that is the Word of God.

We celebrate today those who served in our nation's armed forces, and we do well in that, but in Christ all of us are veterans of the most important war, the war to choose eternal life.

Bucky

One Hefty Lesson, Please!

Whew! I think I expended all I had in the Bible study lesson this morning, so I have nothing left for you. While I am quite exhaustible in many ways, the dear Holy Spirit of our Lord is perfectly not. We have within us a well that never runs dry. When I have tapped out and dried up, the Lord has only begun. No desert has ever dried up so fast as those of us who depend upon a personal store of love, grace, peace, and hope to share with others. Our personal store is tiny; the tank of our cistern very small indeed. We have so little to share that few will notice when we dry up and blow away. However, tap into that inexhaustible storehouse of love and joy contained in God's Spirit within and we gush with the flow available to the least of these.

When it comes to love, joy, peace, patience, kindness and the other fruits of the Spirit, God is never stingy or miserly. We have all we can hold and then some. We drink all we can and overflow with the goodness. One hefty lesson from the Word, please! And God pours it on us with both His mighty hands. We reach for the regular coffee and find the pot filled with super-mocha-cafe-espresso triple-brewed ultra-Atlantean blend. (Please don't ask me "Where can I get some of that?") In other words, God is always ready to help when we have reached the end of the little bit that is our offering to Him. Ask and ye shall receive!

Have a wonderful new day in Christ!

Bucky

Back to the Book

Advertising uses the word 'creamy' a lot to describe various food products and occasionally some that are not for food. One might think that the best ingredient to use for making something creamy would be cream. However, we are just beginning to come out of the cholesterol scare of the last 2 or 3 decades so cream is still not often used to make something creamy. In our Christian training we have access to a great many books that are not the Bible. Though the books are helpful and good for us, we still need the pure word of God. It is interesting that even with our common abuse of many words, the one set of books that remain biblical is the Bible.

Of course I won't be totally correct in that. In this age of writing most anything on the Internet, someone will have used 'biblical' for something other than the Bible. What we want to get at is the yearning we have for getting back to God's Word often. Max Lucado's book, 3:16: The Numbers of Hope is a wonderful book, but it doesn't replace John's gospel (and was never meant to, I'm sure). Various commentaries are great to have on the book shelf, but still we like to reach for the the Bible, that great book on which the commentaries are commenting. The Spirit calls us back to the Word, and what a wonderful Word He is!

Every word of God is pure;
He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him. (Proverbs 30:5)

Bucky

What A Mess We're In!

No, no, the little cloud is not on the horizon; the entire sky is covered in the darkest thunderheads. The danger is not faraway; it's right here! There are those days when the trouble seems to have arrived in the blink of an eye. The little cloud of warning yesterday has grown into the full-blown hurricane this morning. It's just too bad I missed the little cloud. We all have days like that.

Whether we fell asleep and missed the warning signs or the storm came quicker by far than we expected, the troubles are now here and fear rises to choke off our action. We can hardly pray for the fear that blankets our thoughts and emotions. God must be off on vacation. What happened?! Panic seems too tame a word for what we feel, and everyone talking about it doesn't help to get a handle on the thing. Yet, somehow, God's throne is not rocking and rolling on the waves of trouble. The crystal sea before the throne remains still and calm. Isn't God paying attention? What a mess we're in!

When prayer does come, we always find the same thing - God is not upset or afraid. His Holy Spirit is not agitated within us by our thoughts of fear, but perhaps just a little disappointed that we haven't showed up in prayer all the sooner for our feelings of dread and despair. The wolves may be scratching at the door and the buzzards circling overhead. Horrors of the world may parade themselves before you. The peace of our Lord is still given to us.

David faced times of fear, and from them come great psalms: try Psalms 56 & 57 when that time of fear comes to you.

Bucky

Let Us Look For The Lord

The Unbeliever looked for the Lord in books but found nothing to convince him. The Unbeliever looked for the Lord in humans and found no one good enough. The Unbeliever looked for the Lord in nature but found only striving and blood. The Unbeliever looked for the Lord in technology and science and the other deeds of man, but found no hope there. He read the Christian Bible, but found it full of much of what he had already discovered. The Unbeliever then, through lack of evidence, convinced himself that God doesn't exist. The world welcomed him with open arms, a hero to the unbelieving. Someone wanted that unbeliever though, someone who does not give up easily.

Years passed, and the Unbeliever felt the pains of growing older. Modern medicine helped him some, but cures for the worst of his ills and pains were themselves often brutal, slow, and not entirely effective. While looking upward from a hospice bed one morning, the Unbeliever began to ask, "God are you there?" Death stood in the corner of his room, but something held it at bay for the moment. A cacophonous parade of sins marched past, but greatest of all of them, the champion anchoring the entire line, was his own cherished unbelief. Near to Death it stood, powerful and unrepentant, a sin to be reckoned with. The Unbeliever had found no hope in his unbelief and he had none to comfort him at the end. Death drew closer.

Suddenly the parade ended, frozen in the midst of their celebration, stopped cold by someone. A man stood beside Death. A man of no particular beauty, one that a person might overlook in a crowd. He told the Unbeliever that the entire parade of sin had been paid for long ago on a cross near Jerusalem. As the man had paid for them, he wanted them back. All the Unbeliever had to do was believe.

We know that story in a way because we too looked for evidence of the senses at one time and found it not. We walk near Death every day as the multitude of possible deaths pass us on every side. We wish that every unbeliever might meet the Lord and believe as Doubting Thomas did. Some do meet Jesus: Paul on the Damascus road, Stephen as the heavens opened before him, and John as he was called up there. One did not believe and two very much did believe in the Lord. Most of us will not get to meet our Lord until that moment when He brings us home. Yet we believe, and we pray for those who do not. Those prayers are not ignored. Perhaps even now a lifelong unbeliever will meet the Lord in his last few moments. Keep on praying!

Have a wonderful day in Christ!

Bucky

No Denial, Just Prayer

Have you ever been bothered by something? Some would have us do a sort of mental trick by repeating a denial until the problem somehow magically goes away. If you've ever had a hungry kid or pet, you will know that the brink of insanity is much closer than one might think and that repeating nonsense is one way to get there faster. A much better method we find is to bring all problems to God in prayer.

Prayer is our constant communication channel to the Creator of Heaven and Earth. A privilege of staggering proportions is prayer. No denial, just prayer. We realize and speak our need for God by prayer. Jesus taught us to pray and gave us a model to follow. Many times our Lord went away by Himself to pray to God. In His final moments on the cross our Lord Jesus prayed by calling out to God. We follow our Lord by praying.

Denial probably never solved anything. Prayer on the other hand brings you and me to God. He already knows about the problem. What He wants is for us to come to Him in prayer. Paul reminded us to let our requests be made known to God. (Phil 4) Find new strength, good help, endurance, perseverance, encouragement, and resolution in prayer. Don't be afraid of wearing out the divine ears, Jesus told us to come often to prayer and repeat as needed.

In Jesus Name!
Bucky

Faith In...

In my own strength I have accomplished nothing worth mentioning. Actually, even those unmentionable accomplishments were accomplished under the strength God gave to me before I knew that God had strengthened me to have faith in Him. What did I just write anyway?

Faith in all things is our journey with Christ. We don't come by this naturally, for born as sinners we look first to the things we can sense. I cannot feel faith, or touch it, or see it. Yet, I know that it is there in me. Where did this thing come from? The Book of Hebrews tells us that faith is the substance of things hoped for; the evidence of things not seen. (11:1) Paul tells us in his letter to the Romans that it comes by way of gift. I didn't earn faith, find it by the roadside, or accomplish it in my strength. My faith came by way of a gift from above. First through Christ who died for us, and then by way of the Holy Spirit given to us. I don't get to claim that it was my accomplishment. I cannot mount the podium to receive a faith award, yet I received an award of faith just the same. How did I rate such a wonderful thing?

It can only be through God's love that we are given such faith in what we cannot see or feel or touch. Faith in writing comes when I begin writing; I don't deserve it, but I do get to exercise it. Faith in ministry comes to those who minister. They deserve it no more than do I, yet the ministers minster in faith so well. Faith in Jesus comes to those who believe in Jesus. Part of me wants to grab faith and present it to those who do not believe. "Here it is! See it?" But that cannot be or faith would no longer be faith.

Glory to God for the gift of faith,

Bucky

I Love to Have Him Here With Me

In its terrible pride the diabolical part of me seeks to proclaim some extreme. Gladly it would say that I am the worst of the worst in something or the most of the most in something else. The Lord is with me always though. His Spirit and my spirit communing together in holy fellowship. The Lord tells a different story about those extremes. I love to have Him here with me. For what that diabolical pride would speak of me, I don't need. I am content to be one of many sheep in my Lord's pasture. Special because of Him, and not through something I have done or failed to do. Blessed through His grace and not through my merit. Saved by His blood and not by a religious system. Just a sheep in the Good Shepherd's flock is much better than anything that diabolical pride has spoken in any case.

Each day we need to be reminded of and take into our hearts our Lord's presence. The Lord will not leave us because we don't think of Him on a particular day, but the day goes so much better when we take that time to pray, meditate on the Word, and just be aware of His presence in our lives.

Imagine the Lord always waiting to hear from us. Eager to hear our slightest and briefest thoughts directed to Him in prayer. We don't need a priest to tell it to, nor a carefully edited formal prayer. We only need to speak to our Lord from the heart, at any time and at all times. Blessed and glorious is our Lord, who loves us so much that He wants to hear from you and me today!

Have a loving and graceful November with the Lord Jesus!

Bucky

When I Don't Hesitate

One day I will not hesitate to thank God for the painful and sorrowful things in this life, and then I will know that my faith in Jesus has grown. I base that knowledge on the verse Paul wrote back in the day:

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28)

All things? Yes, the painful and the sorrowful working together for good to those who love God. Seems a bit far out there right now. The first thing I pray for is relief from the pain and strength to endure the sorrow. I don't like pain; it hurts. Sorrow is something that I would be glad to do without.

By the time Paul wrote to the Roman church, he was probably a middle-aged man. He knew by this time both sorrow and pain, yet he still wrote down that verse. The great epistler did not say some things or just a few of the nicer things in life, but all things working together for our good. I do not yet know all of God's purpose, but it must really be something to make pain and sorrow work together for our good. Of course, those are not the only things working together.

We also have God's Son, His great love, His goodness, mercy, grace, His Holy Spirit, brothers and sisters in Christ, God's Word, and many other wonderful things working together for our good. That sounds better! Perhaps I will hesitate less in knowing that it is never just the pain and suffering, but a whole lot of better things coming down from God our Father for our good.

Have a worshipful Halloween weekend!

Bucky

The Other Side of the Dark Place

I have enjoyed a long-term relationship with a certain dark room in the basement of a house. Not a house that I have lived in, or one that I can recall visiting. The house changes from dream to dream, but in the basement is always this dark room full of fear of the evil one. The room is so possessed that my dream self struggles to speak the name of Jesus in those dreams. Three times last night I had that dream, but the last one was the most interesting. In it, I visited the room on the other side of that dark room.

On the other side of the dark place, a thin sliding door of metal separated the rooms. No lock or latch kept the door closed, but in that room I was told that two women worked a laundry for many years. What kept the darkness bay? The voice told me that their faith was equal to the task throughout those many years. Faith, not good deeds or clean living (pun fully intended), just an abiding faith in Jesus. A lesson for me in a dream that has plagued me for a long time.

Faith as a sliding door? Yes, for too easily we slide aside that faith and indulge in the fear. Yet, that door of faith is made of metal representing strength and durability. But faith is not only the sliding door, for we take our faith with us. It wasn't the faith of the door that kept the evil at bay all those years, it was the faith of the two women in their Lord and Savior. We are issued a powerful weapon in the Word of God, but we also have that shield of faith in our gear. At times that shield may seem pitifully small and thin, but it is enough when that faith is in Christ the Lord!

Enjoy a faithful day in Christ,
Bucky

Undeserving and Rightly So!

Good morning on this autumn day! A devotional message I read this morning asks what or how do you and I feel when accepting the love of God? I will answer that one; I feel undeserving and rightly so! As God has made me more aware through the years of His training of that sinfulness that lurks in the animal and diabolical parts of this Christian, I rightly feel undeserving of His great love as shown in Christ. Yet, God did not base His decision to love us on how we feel.

Long before we were born on this Earth, God sent His Son to save us. Jesus told parables about the kingdom of Heaven in that time. He often started with, "The kingdom of heaven is like..." Throughout the ministries of my youth, that was taken to mean: This is what you should be like and you are not! In other words, a stick to be beaten down with, and for quite some time I was indeed beaten well down. Yes, we should strive to be like Christ, but Jesus said to us what the kingdom of Heaven was doing to save us. You, pearl beyond price, Jesus gave all to purchase on the cross.

Jesus was that tiny mustard seed planted in the field of a big world. Read the kingdom of heaven parables in Matthew again. As you read each one, know that Jesus was telling of Himself and what He was doing in the world. Jesus planted the good seed and weeds were sown by another. Jesus gave all to purchase you and me. Jesus wanted to settle accounts with His servants, but they weren't ready for that final settlement. Therefore, Jesus paid the full price to redeem us all. We owed an amount that we could not pay, so Jesus forgave us. Jesus is the bridegroom and He is coming!

Of course I don't deserve His grace; if I deserved it, it wouldn't be grace!

In God's amazing grace,
Bucky

Facing His Goodness and Love

We have a severe trial ahead of us. Today, we must face God's goodness and love. Hold it there, mate! You say that is a trial? Yes, I do. You see, we can face the thought of a just God and a set of rules. Do this and you're okay with God; don't do that or you will be condemned, etc. The Pharisees were okay with that too. Facing only God's justice, we have a clear path ahead, or so we like to think. Then, Jesus came along. He said that what we do is only part of the problem. Even what we think condemns us, but that is only another part. Finally, the Law proclaims us guilty and condemned just for being born of the line of Adam. So, even if we do all the right things according to the Law, if we don't have faith and believe in Jesus, then we stand condemned because of Original Sin? That pretty much sums up our plight. We can't win.

Exactly, but we have a Savior, and therein is our trial. When we believe in Jesus, in place of standing trial before God's justice, we now stand trial before God's love and goodness. And what a trial it is! We cannot save ourselves, Christ has saved us. We cannot justify ourselves to God; Jesus gives us right standing with God. We cannot live in righteousness; God imputes His Son's righteousness to us through faith in Christ. We cannot cleanse ourselves; Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. We expect at any moment to see God's justice come crashing down, but Jesus brings us God's love and goodness. What an awful trial to face on a Friday!

Enjoy a righteous Friday in Christ!

Bucky

Destruction is Only Half the Answer

So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. And so it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. (1 Corinthians 15:42-45)

Many times it seems to us that destruction is the answer. A problem presents itself in life and the way to remove the problem is to destroy the device or structure that is the seat of the problem. A city council has a plan to revitalize the community and an old structure stands in the way. Perhaps it has become an eyesore or worse, a den for drug addicts. The owner may not have the resources to remodel or cleanup the building for a host of reasons. The city council moves to condemn the property and, we hope, the owner is compensated fairly for his or her loss. The building is demolished and the problem is removed, right? Not quite, the destruction part, while at times satisfying to us, is only half of the answer.

A vacant lot may have some uses, but a construction of some type will have much more benefit to the community. So goes Paul's argument about the resurrection. We must become something better. Sanctification can be seen as a gradual dying of the old person, the one lost and enslaved to sin, and a rebirth of the new. Sown in weakness to sin, pain, grief, and many other things that would be wholly out of place in Heaven, we are raised in the power of God to eternal joy, love, peace, and life. After Jesus rose from the grave His terrible wounds bothered Him not at all. No pain... on some days, that alone seems reason enough to embrace the new life in Christ. We will have so much more though that we cannot imagine God's eternal home. There's some good news for today!

God's grace and peace to you in this life, right now!

Bucky

What Was Yesterday?

A lot of yesterdays rise up to rebuke me in my life. Like many a Christian before me, I have a pack of howling yesterdays that would throw me down and devour me from inside. It is time I take up the Word of the Lord and rebuke them instead. What was yesterday? A day that is gone. I cannot reclaim it or redo it. Should I be given the chance to recast that yesterday with a group of celebrities supporting my role and a script written by the best screenwriters, it might make for a fun movie but it would still be gone forever. Instead, I just have my life given to me by God through my faith in Christ Jesus. Why pray tell would I want anything better?

Faith tells me that God cast the players in my yesterdays with the same care that He watches over today. Lessons learned from tough experiences were all taught by the Great Teacher, carefully and in His great love. Whatever failure or tragedy played out on that terrible yesterday was not for one moment out of God's sovereign control. Better still, that yesterday need not affect me on this day if I will rest in my Lord's love and gentle grace. I can make today better by learning to trust in the Lord all the way. Then, there will be one less yesterday joining that dreadful pack.

What was yesterday? Just a day that is gone, leaving us one day closer to our reunion with Jesus. Get up today and start again with fresh mercies from God's grace.

Bucky

Slipping In With a Bag o' Dirty Rags

It is easy to believe in a system of accomplishment whereby we show up at the pearly gates and present Peter with a trunk full of our good deeds. We would like to have the disciple open the lid and gaze in wonder at the jewels and treasure therein and even marvel, "Why couldn't I have been this good!" But it ain't that way. Instead, Peter would open up the dreadful, stinking trunk and gaze with horror upon our dirty, filthy old laundry; the sad result of a lifetime of selfishly performed deeds meant to save us from that which we cannot remove on our own. Isaiah said that all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags (64:6). Why would we present such a thing to the Lord? Why try to slip into the Lord's heaven with a bag o' dirty rags? Yet, that is the aim of many a religious system in the world.

In place of that, Jesus gave us a new way, Himself: the Way, the Truth, and the Life. After that, He just promised to return and bring us to that place He has gone to prepare. (Read John 14:1-6) He saves us and He brings us home, what a deal for us! Indeed if it is accomplishment we seek, then the accomplishments of our Lord and Savior are something to boast about. Enduring the scourging and the cross, rising from the dead, and ascending to Heaven, these are but a part of the Lord's accomplishments on our behalf. Perhaps the most personal accomplishment of our Lord is also the most precious to us: the Good Shepherd comes personally to save each of His lost little sheep. I love My Lord and what He accomplishes!

Amen, come Lord Jesus!
Bucky

A Most Potent Word

Sit down and take up your Bible like a novel; read it cover to cover like the best page-turner. Tough to do, right? The Word of God has a potency that other writings lack. His story cuts right down deep into the mind and spirit. We have trouble taking all of it in at once. Just to sit down and read one of the gospels from start to finish is difficult. "Too much!" we say to the Lord, asking Him to ease off on the volume of blessings, teachings, conviction, and spiritual music we hear from one reading of one gospel. Perhaps a small letter like 3 John we can manage in a sitting, but watch out, that smaller part of the Word can cut deeply as well.

For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)

Read one verse at a time in many parts of the Bible and the teachings abound. Other places hold marvelous stories that cover a few chapters. We use the stories to learn and to teach children how they should live. Reach for comfort in one psalm or in one paragraph. Heed the warning of a few prophecies or seek guidance for living from one epistle. Realize the wonderful future we have in Christ from prophecies of the eternity to come. Read a genealogy of difficult names and see the constancy of God from generation to generations. We have so much to gain from God's Word!

In the land of shadows, those living in darkness have seen a great light,

Bucky

Dropping on the World's Charts

Ah, the first freezing night, now we know that autumn has come! Once upon a long ago time, I was described as a smart kid. Then, years later in the corporate world, it was said that I was fairly intelligent. Last night, a person on the phone used the term 'not very' in front of my intelligence. It would seem that I am dropping on the world's charts. The funny thing is that I don't particularly care what the world thinks on that matter anymore. God's Holy Spirit has made me smart enough to believe in Jesus, and He is all I really need.

The world has some harsh measuring sticks for us, but we don't need to go into all of them this morning. Why hurt our own feelings? God has some different yardages for us. Want to be good enough? None of us are good enough for His standard, but He loves us with an everlasting love. Want to be strong enough to walk to Heaven? Can't happen, mate! Yet Jesus will bring you home when your time arrives.

In the world we need some measurable advantage: luck, physical strength, lineage, political power, beauty, wealth, or even intelligence. That worldly part of us wants to think that some combination or earned amount of those things will save the person or race. We may strive for years to accumulate more of one or all of them and envy those who seem to have an abundance. After Jesus saves us from all of that, we come to know that stuff matters less than we thought. Luck and wealth are slippery and not to be trusted; beauty and strength fade with age; power and intelligence can leave us in a moment; and all are born in the lineage of Adam. In fact, to be reborn into the lineage of Christ Jesus is the smart thing to accumulate in this world, and that salvation is freely given to all who ask of Him!

Have a wonderful, chilly Friday in Christ!

Bucky

Where From Here?

Do you ever get up wondering where the Lord is leading from this place? Is it back to the same workplace on this day? Back in the time of Jesus, slaves had no choice in the matter. Though financially or otherwise it may not seem like it, we have much in the way of choice for our work and career. Do you expect big changes today in your situation? Many people have lived and died with little in the way of change from generation to generation. Are we better off now than some group of they were back in some then? We don't know the answer to many of our big questions, but we do know that Jesus promised to be with us always.

In the Bible, we find that God never changes. God speaks in Malachi 3:6, "For I am the Lord, I do not change." While our life may at times seem as the ocean's rising and falling, twisting and turning, and with currents carrying us far away from where we think we want to be, God remains steadfast and unchanging. Problems afflict us daily, sometimes greater and larger, but other times lesser and more manageable, yet God stands firm. When we are tempted to feel as Job in full cry, we might want to recall this one:

"Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened,
​​That it cannot save;
​​Nor His ear heavy,
​​That it cannot hear." Isaiah 59:1

At that time, the iniquity of Israel had separated them from God's hearing and saving. Now that is a terrible time to be in! We do live in a wonderful time, for Jesus has taken care of that separation for good. We can daily, moment by moment, bring our ills, conditions, circumstances, sins, temptations, problems, potentials, possibilities, presumptions, plans, and gratitude to the Lord in prayer. Thanksgiving is in fact a great place to start.

Thank you, dear Lord my Father, for this great and wonderful day in Your sovereign grace,

Bucky

Carried On The Shield? Maybe Not!

My neighbor's wife endured to the end through a period of dementia and recently went home to be with Jesus. We sometimes enjoy a little allegory by comparing our entry into Heaven to that of a soldier completely expended in the field and wounded in battle. "When my time comes they will carry me home on my shield of faith to my heavenly home," we say with a self-serving wave of pity-me thinking. Indeed we may well be expended completely in this life and leave it as a soldier wounded and carried from the battle. However, I'm not sure we should confuse that with our entry into God's Heaven.

How quickly did Jesus heal the woman's daughter in Matthew 15:28? "From that very hour..." in the NKJV, and might we not be healed from this life in the same way in that very hour of our departing? Certainly! Let us plan to go home as saints. The prodigal would gladly throw himself at his father's feet to beg for a place as the lowest of servants, but the good father raised him up in love. I believe that our Lord Jesus is more than capable of bringing us into His heavenly home in far better shape than we leave this life. Let there be no wounded ones dragged over the threshold of Heaven. Let us instead accept His healing and come into Heaven with our heads held high as befitting the army of our Lord. Then, we can kneel at His feet willingly and with great joy.

To the glory of God, we fight this battle! Have a great day in Christ,

Bucky

Desperate People, Amazing Grace

Good morning on this autumn Tuesday! Trees are changing their leaves, don't you wish you could change the demons in your mind so easily? We live in an age of desperate people. I watched a news segment some years ago where people desperate for relief from their pain actually grabbed honey bees and incited them to sting their bodies. Most folks work to avoid such things, these folks claimed it helped for a while. Folks suffering mental illness seek relief in all sorts of directions, but I can tell you from experience that the sure cure seems to be the return of Christ. Until that time, we have what Paul rejoiced in during his years of trial - God's amazing grace.

We find a lot of temporary and very short-term solutions to problems in this age. We have more drugs, religions, and techniques available to us than at any time before us thanks to the nearly instant communication we have with most of the world. If a new drug is discovered in Africa today, we can easily hear about it later this afternoon. Should someone invent a new pain-relief device in Asia later on this morning, we may well have an order form available on the Internet by noon (and beware that deluge of orders even if the thing isn't yet proven to work!). Things happen so quickly in this age. Desperate people rush to and fro as knowledge increases by leaps all around us. (Daniel recorded the prophecy on that one a long time ago.)

In all of our trials and suffering though, one thing we have that will let us endure to the end - God's grace. Desperate people need amazing grace. Beneficial drugs are good, techniques to mitigate pain are helpful, but only one thing is sure for us, God's grace will bring us home. I cannot say who is suffering more, thee or me, at any given time, but I do know we both have God's amazing grace freely available through faith in Jesus Christ.

Enjoy a graceful day in Christ!

Bucky

Love Thy Neighbor

Life became much more complicated when the command to love our neighbors went into effect. The character on the television show spouting off the line telling us to look out for #1 may have an idea for keeping life easy, even simple in the short term, but Jesus gave us that command again. I don't need to cite examples in this, we all know by now that living life selfishly is easier in the short term. Even stalwart Christians will find such a strategy calling to them now and then. If I look out for me first and get all my problems beaten into submission, then I'll be ready and able to help out the person next door, right? Hmm, anything that starts out with 'me first' could be a problem as we follow Christ.

On the other hand, the command to love our neighbors was not one of ignoring the care of self and your family either. Jesus was asked about the greatest commandment, perhaps in yet another attempt to trap Him with words, and He told us those two great commandments.

Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one. And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:29-31)

In another gospel, Jesus says that all of the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments. The second is what we are looking at when we are called to 'Love thy neighbor'. Note that the commandment tells us to love our neighbor as our self. Not only do we love as well as, but at the same time as, and with the same regard as we love our neighbor. Is that backwards? Not in all cases I think, for some do indeed find it easier to love another and much harder to love what they see inside of themselves. God created both of us, the neighbor and the self, and He loves us with His perfect love.

Have a happy Indigenous Peoples Day!

Bucky

How Does He See Me?

The fog approached me as I walked toward it. The effect on my vision much like the approach of old age and death. What do we know? Only that God holds us securely in His hands and that after that fog bank has passed we will be with Him in a better place. Until then, we are much given to concern over our status. How does God rate my actions today? Did I do the right thing in that situation? Where do we go from here?! Another batch of questions we need not worry over.

Each morning, God rises with us and takes a look at us through His Son. Paul reminds us that we are justified by faith in Christ Jesus (Romans 3:24); that nothing can separate us from the love of God (Romans 8:38-39); and have the gift of righteousness in our Lord Jesus (Romans 5:17). We like the short version in this age, and that is that God looks with His love through Jesus and sees you and me as justified and righteous or 'just right'!

Enjoy your status in Christ today,
Bucky

Not So Far Away Now

Courage, we need it more often than we think, but probably a lot less than we fear. Last week, we were reminded that Christian persecution is not so far away as we thought. The first to stand in the face of death and proclaim the title, Christian, needed some courage. How much did the second one need though? Indeed it is often the next time or the second time that we need more courage than the first time we stood in Christ facing our fear. The second time we know more of what we face, and that may make it worse than the first time when most of our fear was of the unknown. So how much knowledge must we gain to face what we fear fearlessly? I'm still working on that one.

Perhaps it is the wrong answer! The prophet Daniel spoke of knowledge increasing, but at the same time people rushing to and fro. Is it possible that more knowledge of the earthly thing does not diminish the fear as we had hoped? Many times Jesus spoke the words, "Do not be afraid!" Does our Lord hold another answer than that of study and knowledge? As always, our answer is in Him.

If human knowledge could banish all fear, we would surely be fearless by now. It seems that whatever the sum of humankind's knowledge becomes, it will in no way banish the fear of death, injury, hurt, or loss. Building up a treasure house of knowledge here on earth cannot conquer the fear that Adam gained in his fall. We need, as we always do, a Savior and Lord to show us the way of courage now, and one day that eternal peace with Him where fear has no place and no voice. The temptation to be afraid will come at us in this life both from within and from without. However, we have a Good Shepherd who will lead His sheep home and strengthen us to courage in this fight.

Blessed be the name of Jesus!

Bucky

"Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." John 14:27

Behold, The Ravenous Horde!

We visited a home yesterday and found something a bit unusual in this age: a housewife and her six children. Each morning at breakfast time I 'm quite sure she knows the full meaning of the term 'ravenous horde'. I'm thinking along these lines because I have not had my breakfast yet. We must, however, when searching for that reason to go on spreading the good news of Jesus Christ remember that out there is a ravenous horde straining for any bit of better news than the world offers. We have plenty of the bad news to feed on, but each of us who walks with Christ knows some good news to share. As you set out to do your bit for the King of kings, behold, the ravenous horde!

Jesus said it better as He told the disciples that the fields were white; ready for the harvest. (John 4:35) The church age is not over just yet and we face that same view of fields ready to hear the good news we hold. Let the light shine and the day break. Our Lord is wonderful beyond description and faithful to the end! Send forth the good news of salvation that endures beyond the grave and overcomes the tribulation of this world. Rejoice! that you hold an imperishable faith in "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world". (John 1:29) Be glad, for the joy of the return of our Lord Jesus Christ comes near!

And have a great day in Jesus too!

Bucky

Some Good News, Please!

After reading the first couple of chapters in Paul's letter to the Romans, indeed even much of chapter 3, one might be ready for some good news of Jesus Christ. After a thorough pummeling by the Law and the Prophets, Paul concludes his argument that all stand guilty before God's judgment. The excuses for the heinous sins outlined in chapter one are shot down by Paul's reasoning, the condition of our depravity is exposed for all to see, and we are ready for some good news. Seldom can a minister preach on that first part of Romans without sneaking in a few hints that something better comes. The receivers of the Word sit ready in their seats pleading, "Some good news, please!" Indeed, it is not long in coming. The conclusion of the Law that all have sinned and fallen short of God's glorious standard is followed by the good news of justification by faith in Christ.

We don't remain spitted and roasted on the Law for long before Paul begins to let us in on the cure for our awful condition. Born sinners, we are reborn in Christ to something far better. Unable to save himself in any way, the sinner awakens to find that Jesus has accomplished all that needs doing for salvation. Grace is freely given to those with no means to pay. The satisfaction of our judgment price was paid through Christ Jesus long before we were born into that sinful sickness. How did we ever come to have it so good? Of course, no one who believes does so because he or she feels any entitlement to salvation. We trust in the undeserved favor of our Lord Jesus who died to save all those diabolical sinners caught and standing guilty before the Law. Good news for those with no possible way to save ourselves.

Rejoice in the Good News of Jesus our Lord!

Bucky

Following Jesus

Back in the days of Rome, we hear a story about a disciple of Christ named Lastus. This name was not as one might imagine given at birth. Lastus earned his name through years of diligent effort in the wrong direction. Thus, when the call came from the Master, "Follow Me", Lastus went last and didn't quite know where the group of new disciples had gone. Making the best of it, Lastus arranged for news of this new rabbi and his disciples to be sent to him. While this was good news of a sort, Lastus missed out on the opportunity of many lifetimes - he didn't get to see Jesus perform those miracles that came in the messages 'from the road' as it were. Lastus had all the information, but he didn't have what was best. In his time, the best was to follow Jesus wherever He went for as long as Lastus was allowed. That way, Lastus might one day be called Firstus, or whatever the Master chose for him. It's a dumb name to begin with, but you can see the picture.

In this age of faith, we don't get to follow Jesus in the way the disciples did back in their time. We might go to Jerusalem and walk the steps where it is thought that Jesus carried His cross, but that was done long ago, way before our time. We follow in faith, but still we must follow and go when the time to follow has arrived. In some things, I don't think that will be a problem. When the Rapture comes, for example, I don't think we will look around and maybe think about staying a bit longer. Nope, Jesus calls and all who are called by His name will follow immediately. On the other hand, day by day we also are called, and sometimes we may hesitate or delay. The call may be as simple as prayer or to meditate in the Bible, and we find something else that needs doing first.

Cleanse our hearts and strengthen our minds, dear Lord, to follow You right away and immediately each and every day in this life. Amen.

Bucky

Stormy Morning, Joyous Day

The morning begins with a storm or just the return of something annoying, but you know that kind of day. How do we ever become that person who rejoices in the day the Lord has given when we have so many days begin that way? Another of the impossible commands of our Lord perhaps? Some days, I think it would be nice to just chalk up all that I cannot seem to overcome to impossible commands, but I don't think the Lord would have me give up in that way. Yes, the commands of the Lord do set a standard that we cannot meet, but that is only in the efforts and strength on our own that it is impossible. All those tough days at work or home invite us to put all our efforts toward that point where God's glorious provision and strength take over, and we rejoice in His triumph. Of course, who gave us the strength to get up on that tough morning?

When my strength is exhausted, I am overdue for thanking God for the strength He gave me to exhaust. Indeed, it takes an effort of gratitude to remember the truth of Jesus' words, "“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing." (John 15:5) In Christ, we see the stormy day as a time to thank Him all the more for the strength and grace already provided to us, even before we get started facing the day. Rejoicing comes when we know that God is always there with us, the storm just makes us realize a bit more.

Have a joyous day in Christ!
Bucky

The Lesser Eggs

Once upon a time, I purchased almost without thinking the most expensive eggs in the grocery store. These were sorted and selected for size and uniformity, given little red markings, and sold in a nicer package than the 'cheap' eggs down in the bottom of the cooler. With the better eggs one could learn the muscle memory that cracked the eggs without any surprises such as shells in the pan or leaving egg all over the counter. Not so with the lesser eggs I deal with now! One might crack with the tiniest tap and leak all over, while the next leaves me wondering if will need a hammer and chisel to break the shell.

In this life, you have experienced that same sorting and selecting from an early age. Anyone remember being chosen last or near the last in those grade school teams? Like many others, my lack of future professional-caliber athletic talent did not go unnoticed by those choosing their teams for the big sports contest. When it came to sports, I was a lesser egg. You may have come to the same conclusion in some other sort of contest. When the cream rose to the top of the corporation, somehow you were left behind. The academic awards came and went, but you weren't even invited to sit in the audience. Most every sheep in the flock of the Good Shepherd has been rejected by the world in some way. We are the lesser eggs. We are in good company.

For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant,
​​And as a root out of dry ground.
​​He has no form or comeliness;
​​And when we see Him,
​​There is no beauty that we should desire Him.

​​He is despised and rejected by men,
​​A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
​​And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him;
​​He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. (Isaiah 53:2-3)

Looking at the famous people of our world, we may well realize that not one would choose us for the team of worldly buff and wonderful rich folks. Jesus went around choosing His team carefully too. A despised tax collector? I'll take one of those. Fishermen cheap at twice the price? Give me several for My team. Zealots are a real pain in the neck? Give me one for the Twelve. A doubter? I need one of those for sure! Oh, and I'll take that one who will betray me to be crucified too. We may well look at what we have to offer Jesus and wonder how in the world He could choose us for His team. Of course 'in the world' is the problem with our view! A dozen lesser eggs in the world's eyes we may well be, but Christ chose us just as we are. Does our choosing confound the princes of this world? Well, praise God for that!

In Christ,
Bucky

The Land of No Man

In the world today we still find lands that no nation or person claims as their own. Sometimes it is war that has made the land uninhabitable or politics in the past left an area in dispute. Whatever the reason, there are these places where people don't go. Then there are those odd places called cities where some folks like to live stacked a hundred deep on one little piece of land. Above all of these human conditions is God. "For every beast of the forest is Mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills." (Psalm 50:10) The cattle on a thousand hills? God has obviously been out to the Nebraska Sandhills. Many other places as well, for cattle have spread along with humans over much of the Earth. Of course those places with no hills or cattle belong to God too.

For some reason a rather odd phrase came to be used for those lonely places where not many humans live or walk, and that is 'God forsaken'. This is confusing given that God is omnipresent. One or the other must be untrue. And that is our comfort, for wherever you or I may go God is there both before us and with us. We never walk alone even in those places where it may seem that our brothers and sisters in Christ are far, far away. A trip to a new place need not be anxious given that our Lord is already waiting for us at the destination and travels with us every step of the way.

'Lonely Christian' seems to be an oxymoron we get from not paying attention to where God is.

Bucky

How Big is Your 30th Piece of Silver?

We don't know why Judas was happy with 30 pieces of silver to betray the Son of God, but we might have somewhat in common with this most famous of traitors. Perhaps as they counted out the silver to hand over, Judas noticed that the last one was particularly large and shiny. 20 pieces may not have been quite enough for that piece of property and the house Judas had in mind. The disciples had walked quite a few miles with Jesus over the past 3 years, maybe Judas had in mind outfitting the group with horses or a wagon. We can guess until we grow weary of it, but we too have our price. Just how large is that 30th piece of silver that will cause you or me to fall into sin?

As we look back on the testing we have endured in this life, often we find that the sad part of those sins - at least when we fail and fall - is how little it took to get us there. We might ask of ourselves, "Couldn't ye have held but a bit longer?" as we see what little resistance we gave in the effort. Of course we are weak, but you and I are not dependent upon what strength we have to save ourselves. We need our Lord Jesus, because that 30th piece of silver is just embarrassingly small so often. We need the Lord when our strength to resist proves so slippery and weak. We need the Lord because we just don't have what it takes and He has already proven that He does.

Praise the Lord Jesus for His almighty strength!

Bucky

Blood Moon

Three times in the Bible we see the reference to the moon like blood, and the sun turned into darkness: Joel 2:31, Acts 2:20, and Revelation 6:12. Last night, we saw the thing itself, but the sun was not dark like sackcloth of hair. If the sun turns dark today, would that count or does the order of the signs have priority? It's easy for us to get worried over the signs and the times, running about like nursery story characters telling of falling skies. When Jesus gave His signs on the Mount of Olives, He was careful to say that all these things must happen, but the time of the end is not yet. However, we may have cause to worry in that all the things Jesus said must happen may have happened already. Eek! No, not time to run screaming into the streets. The final sign is actually one with the most hope built in. "And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come." (Matt 24:14)

Two things indeed grow closer with each passing day - that the disciples of the Lord will be hated by all nations for His name's sake and that the gospel of Jesus will be preached in all nations. Wait, can those two things happen at once? Of course they can, the Word of God divides as the choice to believe or reject Christ is made. Even in this nation we see that those who refuse to believe in Christ don't want to hear the good news of the kingdom at all. As the Word goes forth unto all nations, the world divides into those who love Christ and those who are anti-Christ. This division of faith culminating - you can see it coming - in the choice of a world leader who is Antichrist.

For us, our Lord is Christ and we have naught to fear in this time near the end.

Bucky

The Friendship of Jesus

One friend, by his own choice, was doomed to perdition. Of the others, a number too great to be counted, our friend Jesus lost not one. Friends, a term we rejoice in, especially when it involves us and Jesus. Gladly would we assume the title of servant to the Lord Jesus, but He would not have the relationship remain at that stage. To the disciples, the Lord said:

“No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you." (John 15:15)

All things heard from the Father passed from the ears of Jesus to His friends. Servants are kept in the dark about plans and ideas, but not so the friends of the bridegroom. We rejoice in His coming wedding. We get to help in the planning and in the labor of preparing the great day. We long for the union of Jesus and His bride. What great love the bridegroom must have for His betrothed! Indeed, Jesus spoke to this love:

“Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends." (John 15:13)

Jesus did just that at the cross called Calvary. The bride could not be saved by her own efforts. The friends of Jesus were lost except that something extraordinary be done to save us. Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice for His friends. When Jesus called us friends, He meant it all the way.

Rejoice in the day, even if it brings tears and sorrow,

Your friend in Christ, Bucky

Then He Healed Them

In the news these days we see crowds of refugees coming from the Middle East, mostly from one nation. I thought that one particular verse today might shed an interesting light for us. "Then His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them." (Matt 4:24) The man spoken of in this verse is of course our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

In that day, all of Syria knew of our Lord and they came to be healed. Where does that leave us today? Have the people of Syria once again heard the call to come to Jesus? Is that why they are coming west instead of north or east? Perhaps some think they can get rich in Europe or America. That has happened before. Others may think that flight to anywhere is better than where they were. That too happened in the earlier migrations to the west. Many reasons may exist, but the closer any refugees come to us, the more they should hear the good news of Jesus.

At one time, all of Syria knew the healing power of Jesus. That can happen again.

Have faith in Jesus, trust in His sovereign control of events in this world,

Bucky

Opposite Dreaming?

Rain! Hooray! The Lord sent us some good rain last night and we are grateful to Him. Why then did I dream about the desert and thirst? No foolin', I walked into a mall in Las Vegas alongside someone I did not seem to know. We were met by a group of people preparing for a worship service, all dressed in various colored uniforms. I asked about the attire and was told that each denoted a level of achievement in the religion. "Cult, we're out of here!" My dream self said and we tried to turn around and leave. The headman said that we had to leave out another exit, and we followed him and walked and walked. Finally, he opened a door that let out onto the desert. The choice was to face the desert and possible death by thirst, or, to turn around and join the cult. We weren't told what color uniforms the initiates got to wear.

Anyway, to cut it short, my dream self and the companion went out into the desert. Yay, score one for faith in Christ! Of course, if all cults were so easily spotted by their use of bad uniforms, no one would have trouble avoiding them. I guess I gave my dream self an easy one in that regard. The temptation to join a system of achievement that supposedly leads to salvation is a strong one in us. The enemy has used it to good effect throughout the years. The fiery dart from the enemy usually begins with, "You're not good enough." The funny thing is, that's true, none of us are good enough to save ourselves. However, the way to salvation is not paved with our effort or achievement.

Praise God that Jesus is the way to salvation, and His way is paid for, constructed, and ready for all who will believe in Him!

Bucky

Heaven, um, Where Is It, Please?

Saved by Christ Jesus, we are going to Heaven. Does anyone know where it is? The atlas section of the local gas station doesn't seem to have a road map with that destination on it, and who knows whether a car would go there in any case. The Internet holds some various ideas about what one must do or achieve to get there, some of them are conflicting, but no map, globe, or coordinates seem to exist to point out a destination. Flying directions might work since it would be a bit disappointing to die and find out that Heaven was a place we could just walk to, but that doesn't seem too likely either. I wonder if one might find a guide to lead us there?

Ah, there it is. Jesus also promised to return and take us to that place He has gone to prepare for us. We don't have to know where it is when we have the Shepherd to lead the flock home. No sheep knows the way, but every one of us little sheep knows the Way, the Truth, and the Life. A road map to heaven is useless knowledge for us when we cannot get there in our own ability. What we don't need to know, the Good Shepherd knows very well. Our Lord knows how to get every sheep home to His place. We just follow the Way on our way home.

Have a great day in Christ,
Bucky

The Scale of Sin

A day's work, a night's sleep given up to serve others, surely I am saved now? Nope, never, negative, how many times must I remind the me that good works done to save the self is the very definition of selfish? Had Jesus died on the cross to save Himself first it would have done us no good. I cannot hope to pile enough good deeds on some scale that I cannot see in a vain (that's the selfish vain) hope of at least balancing the sin. How horrible to have to stand in line at the judgment day hoping the weight of good deeds I bring is enough to make the scales tip in my favor.

Imagine for a moment that is the case. God sits behind a giant balance scale. A soul approaches the judgment stand with his bag of good deeds. God places the sin we all bear on one side. It is black and heavy, as in uranium heavy, so dense that no light escapes and it seems to seduce more light into it. The scale tips the wrong way with a hearty clang. Uh-oh...

The sinner, for that is what the scale says now, approaches and begins to lay the ping pong balls of good deeds on the other side. A lifetime's worth of occasional good deeds piled up as high as the scale can hold quite fails to move the sin upward one bit. Sorry, pal, it still says sinner in spite of all your efforts. Then, just when all hope seems lost, Jesus takes the weight of sin away. "I paid for this, it doesn't belong here!" He says.

Not one of us can ever hope to make up for the wrong we have done by performing good deeds. None can apply enough good works to balance the sin of Adam that weighs us down. Our hope is in Christ. Jesus saves.

Rejoice in Christ this week!
Bucky

No More Trophies!

Last night I took up my post as a night camper/gymnasium guard at the trophy room of the Julesburg High School. Ah, a great chance to find out about Burt's exploits back in the day. Trophies filling the room with plenty of time to peruse and learn. Lesson learned: your school doesn't really know what your name is. On one wall it might be Burt and on the other 'Bill' will do for the plaque. Small schools also tend to have runs of championship trophies. After 14 hours on duty in the trophy room, I have changed my mind. No one should have or be allowed trophies. My brother in Christ might be Bill, Bubba, Blanche, Burt, or Betty, who cares what his name is as long as it isn't on a trophy! The large trophy room became a small prison after fourteen long hours on duty. And 3 flies in a 600 sq ft trophy room is definitely 4 too many.

My irritation threshold is so abysmally low! Many a person has endured far worse without complaint, well, maybe with just a little complaining. It is so easy to get tired a little and stop praising the Lord. Grumbling against the Lord is dangerously close when the complaints get going. Even if we just stick closely to the facts like, my everything hurts this morning, my eyes are crossed, and I'm pretty sure this new t-shirt they gave me has developed a funky smell overnight, we may want to watch more closely for the blessings God has given in this latest test. For one thing, I'm here to whine, moan, and complain with great energy and enthusiasm this morning. The Lord blessed us with a thundershower last night, our first in quite some time. Cyclists don't seem to be too odd, although that weird headgear began showing up this morning. Blessings abound even in the midst of a trial by hours.

Have a great weekend in Christ!

Bucky (I think. I didn't find my name on a trophy anywhere.)

Here They Come!

No, not the refugees in the news lately. We have a bit of an invasion taking place today in our little town as scores or hundreds of bicycling persons arrive to take part in the Pedal the Plains ride. The question to ponder in this might be: what if these were refugees from a foreign state, like maybe Boulder or Fort Collins, and they wanted to stay? Where would we put them? Do we even want them here? Towns much like ours in Europe are facing that question even today. People from a different religion (they worship open roads and sweating) arrive at the town border wanting to settle in but they dress so differently (funny tight shorts and weird headgear). What do they want? (To ban all cars and trucks except bicycle support vehicles, of course.) We might one day be called upon to answer this very question. Who are the least of these and what happens when they knock on the door asking for food, clothing, water, or, gasp, a place to stay for awhile and then move in for good?

We all have comfort zones, yes, even in our walk with Christ. One day, you or I might just have to get relocated out of that comfortable zone of life and into something quite different. Jesus does not always allow us to stay in the same place and do the same job for decades and centuries. Okay, centuries might be a bit much; we might even want a change if we had the same job for that long. After 400 years or so at the big company up on the hill, you might plead and beg God to send you on a mission to the Congo. Change can be a frightening and anxious prospect whether it is for a long weekend, as ours is, or for the foreseeable future such as a career change or marriage (yikes!). Always the answer for those who believe in Christ is the same: Trust HIM!

And with that, the soldier of Christ went to guard the gymnasium from sleep walkers and people in weird headgear.

Bucky

Set In Our Ways

It seems that learning a foreign language works way better in kids than in older adults. Memorization skills decrease with age or maybe we just forget everything. The brain pathways of kids are more open to new learning, I guess, while the old folks like us are just set in our ways. So, if someone has reached the age of say... a little ways past maturity, does that make the work of the Lord more difficult? Will resetting a new Way for those set in their ways require more effort of the Lord? Might as well ask: is anything impossible for the Almighty? Hmm, let's see...

When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless." (Gen 17:1)

The Lord imputed righteousness to Abram at the tender age of 99 and set him on a new way. Perhaps we are not so old and set in our ways as we might like to think. God set me on His new Way long before the age of ninety and nine, but I don't believe for a moment that it would have made any difference had I been 109 or 199. The Lord speaks the word and it is done, hence the title Almighty. The work of salvation does not depend upon age or our strength of will: it is God's will and our age is no impediment to the Almighty. The same goes for all of those annoying bad habits and besetting sins of mine that I think are set in my ways. When the Almighty removes them they will be removed for good. In the meantime, I am reborn in Christ and walk before Him blameless!

The cyclists are coming, EEEK! Have a great day in Christ! :-)

Bucky

Clam Strips

Clam Strips: a line of clams glued to a waterproofed wooden strip for decorative purposes in salt water aquariums. Which is of course a definition made up out of nothing but my own imagination. If I make up terms to suit the moment, soon the language of my writing will be incomprehensible to one and all, including myself. When Paul began writing his letter to the Romans, he did not seek to define Christ. Jesus had already come as a baby to Bethlehem and lived the life of Christ. Those who followed Jesus after the cross became known as Christians. Paul did write to the Roman Christians to answer the question that many of us have run into from time to time: What or who is a Christian? No, Paul didn't explicitly state that, but he answers the question so well in his letter to the Romans that we can play the Jeopardy game and give the question to Paul's answer.

Paul's answer is both simple and complex. Those who believe in Christ are Christians (Romans 1:16), but then there are 15 more chapters of Romans plus the remainder of the first chapter written to answer that complex question. In the same way, the life God leads us through is both simple and complex. There are simple commands that are at times hard to place into practice, such as "Love one another.", and then complex questions such as: Why am I the way I am?

We also live with a monster who lusts after the things of this world, desires control, believes in self-righteousness, and thinks it is basically decent and good. Paul takes a few chapters at the beginning of Romans to say, "Nope, it ain't!" The good news is of course that it doesn't end there. We are reborn in Christ through the love of God, and while the journey is tough, we will arrive home with Jesus one day.

There, Romans in a nutshell. The rest is of course details we all need to know. Have a great day in Christ Jesus!

Bucky

A Season of Griping

If a man dies, shall he live again?
All the days of my hard service I will wait,
Till my change comes. Job 14:14

Mornings have the feel of autumn, but the days not so much. 'Tis the time of change, not quite summer but not quite fall either. Nights and mornings say one season, but days and evenings speak more of another...and the sun seems to go down 20 minutes earlier each day.

Job was in a deep funk. He had good reason, or so it seemed to him, but he also forgot that he had a good God. On the other hand, Job expected a change and he was going to endure to the end. Where do we expect a change for the good to come from except from a good God? Job expected some kind of change for the better, perhaps deep down and unspoken was a faith in the goodness of God.

The temptation to enjoy a season of griping is strong in us, but we must remember the goodness of God. The suffering we endure today builds our faith for eternity. We are encouraged to endure to the end through seasons of change and years of decline. God's victories will come in their due time. The return of Jesus comes quickly for us. Rejoice that the end of suffering is near!

In God's grace,
Bucky

A Book on the Shelf

Saturday, a day for action while Sunday often has time for reflection...if we will sit with the Lord and take that time. Does reflecting time cause problems for us though? Do we walk up to a library that is the past of our life and take down a book of sorrows? Sometimes I have done this thing. The book on the shelf that I grab is one full of regrets, pains, sorrows, embarrassing moments, or some such book that I need not review. Such books may be good for a quick lesson, usually 'Don't do that again' is the lesson, but not for reflection and certainly not for that shaming and guilt the enemy would heap upon us by walking again in such mistakes.

Perhaps each of us should have one book on an actual library shelf that is a reminder to us never to read it. The book need not be one of sin such as pornography or graphic violence. A novel you didn't like or a book on a subject you abhor might do well for us as a reminder of those books from our past that we should never take down from the shelf. If the Tempter hands you that book, put it back on the shelf! The lesson has been learned and the mistake not repeated. Take down the book of blessings and remind that enemy of God's goodness and love. We do have better books to read from, or, failing to think of any of the blessings God has granted in our past, we can take up God's Word from the table and read what is best for us.

Enjoy a great September weekend in Christ!

Bucky

No Matter What Happens

It may have been during a time of calm in his life that Paul dictated the great words from Romans 8 when he said: "For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (vv 38-39) but something had convinced Paul that here was a thing that could not be changed by circumstance, distance, or time. The love of God in Christ would not change due to a catastrophe, a trip to a far country, or even the passage of the years as we grew older. A foreign power could not rip it away, a thief could not steal it, nor a perceived separation in our mind overthrow this thing. The great apostle through the Holy Spirit or through experience and reason, or all of the above, knew and believed that God's love in Christ was an immovable and inseparable thing.

It is good and godly for us to remember on this anniversary of 9/11 just what Paul discovered. We face trials of our faith daily, some greater and others of a smaller nature. The trials to come may be greater by far than 9/11, and then we have the judgments revealed to us by the Word in the books of prophecy. This is not to frighten us, but to remind us that nothing can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

God's love and grace to you,
Bucky

What Help Today?

Each day stands before us with its demands for action. Whether it is at work or at home, we have needs and wants that require our attention and effort. Prayer, faith, and gratitude start with God, but what help does He give to face each day? In Ephesians 6, Paul tells us about a set of armor and a weapon that we are issued to join in the fight. Good stuff there! In John 14:27, Jesus tells us of the peace that He alone gives. "Not as the world gives" He says to us as we are given the peace Jesus knew with His Father and in His heart. Probably the most important help we are given each day is the presence of the Lord's own Spirit.

The constant and renewing presence of our dear Holy Spirit helps us and advocates for us as we walk the road of a day. The Spirit makes intercession for us with words and groans beyond our ability to speak or utter in the presence of God. Guidance in decisions, reminders of Scripture, and a sense of God's enduring and steadfast presence in times of trouble and in times of calm come to us from the Holy Spirit. Perhaps most of all, the Holy Spirit whispers often to us, maybe constantly to each of us, in our darkest moments and in the brightest day that God loves you and me, always and forever.

Let me this day, dear Lord, pass on a helping of Your love to all I meet. Amen.

Bucky

The Journey Builds the Character

Wednesday already? As I held down my toaster switch this morning, I had the opportunity to reflect on past sins. Had I attempted to review every one of them from my life I would surely have burnt the toast to a flaming crisp. On the other hand, after the lesson is learned, we are well advised to move on out and forward with our Lord Jesus. Constantly going over all the past sins that are forgiven and set aside by God is not a joyous way to live. Shame, regret, and sorrow can wash away all the joy we have in Christ, if we let such things go on. We live from now and go forward in Christ. Put the past to rest at the foot of the cross.

Then, let us take that journey to build the character that glorifies God. We are walking with Christ, learning from Him, imitating Him as best we can, trusting fully in the Lord to finish His work in us. The journey from now forward is toward that time when the Lord returns in His glory and calls us home.

Grace and peace to all God's children!

Bucky

I Don't Think He Would Like That

Long weekend, short morning and it's time to get back to it. Wherever does the time go? It would seem that some of that destructive hail returned to the area last night, but our little town was spared. Maybe we just cast the right spells? Not likely! We don't mess with that stuff because a warning voice in the mind suggests, "I don't think He would like that."

The witch of Endor (or En Dor) had the power to recall the spirit of Samuel from the grave (see 1 Sam 28), but no one came out happy in the affair. Saul still lost his kingdom and received a prophecy about his imminent doom, the witch feared for her life after discovering the deception, and Samuel didn't seem exactly grateful to be called back from the afterlife. A story good for us to recall when we feel like messing around with anything smacking of the witchcraft. However, we will often hear a warning deep in the thoughts when approaching something that is of nature that is not of our Lord.

When we come upon a method that we don't think Jesus would like, we will hear that voice or get that impression of warning. The Holy Spirit does not always speak in words but will give us a hesitation, a feeling, or sense that this thing is not something He would like. As we go through this life, it is good for us to test methods and actions that we may consider and ask, what would He like?

Have a great week in Christ!
Bucky

Inheriting the Word

The first time the word 'word' appears in the New King James version of the Bible is in Genesis 15:1.

After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”

Of course, we get a chance to do the old head smack, for we should have known that the first time the word arrives it would have to answer one of our most common needs - Do not be afraid. What a privilege for Abram to be addressed by God, but how is it that we always seem to be afraid? That's no question; we know quite well the story of Adam hiding in the shrubs after eating the forbidden fruit. Throughout the Word, when the word of God arrives it usually begins with a command and a reassurance. The command is to not be afraid and the reassurance is that there is no need to be afraid. God told Abram, "I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward."

Not only are we not to fear because of God's presence, we are also not to fear God's presence. He is our shield and our reward. We do not labor for nothing because God is our exceedingly great reward. But this promise was made just to Abram, not you and me. Ah, hmmm, and only Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit so we don't inherit sin, and the Law came only to Moses and a few of his buddies down below building some sort of gold barnyard animal, and Jesus came first to the Jews, and surely that Revelation thing didn't mean me, did it?

Praise God that after we inherited the original sin just by being born in this world, we got the chance to inherit all the blessings by being reborn in Christ. We inherit God's blessing to Abram and the righteousness of Christ by our rebirth in His family. The Revelation given to John was given to you and me too, and of course, that place Jesus has gone to prepare for us.

Have a great weekend this Labor Day!

Bucky

Strange Days

An odd noise comes across the street from the school to the north-ish from me. What can it be? Kind of sounds like someone raking gravel with a leaf rake. Is this the start of a strange day? Maybe, I won't know until I walk it with Jesus. However, we all can remember some days where many things came together at once and we accomplished much in that day. There are also those days where a strange dream gives way to an odd morning and then a weird afternoon. We don't know what caused the thing, but it goes down as one of those kind of strange days. That one day though, that one really takes the cake, or does it.

The day Jesus returns has a few clues that we shouldn't miss. In that day, Jesus says, there will be weddings. Uh, how is it we are to know that from any other day? Indeed, our Lord speaks of normal things going on right up to that great day when He returns. Like the day when the first rain, a deluge, fell just after Noah was sealed up in the ark, we won't notice anything particularly ominous or promising about that day. Everything will be so normal that someone somewhere might even say this cannot be the day, can it? Good news! Every day that seems most perfectly normal with normal things going on all over the world is a possible day for Jesus to snatch us up and take us home to be with Him.

But...there will be signs.

Have a perfectly normal day in Christ!

Bucky

Because I Am With You

Doubts enter into the consciousness of the minister of God. Why should I be the one to encourage the flock when I feel so down myself? He asks. The singer feels a bit of weakness in the morning of the big performance. Yet, she steps out onto the stage to glorify God. I can tell you that the writer does not always sit down with a good idea for a devotional each morning. We all face times of doubt that we are remotely qualified to be doing what we are for the Lord. The answer Paul received to his requests for thorn removal seems good to us:

And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. (2 Corinthians 12:9)

God's grace is sufficient for our doubts, but like little children we sometimes continue in asking, "Why should I do this thing?" Of course if we look only at our weakness and tendency to faint on the roadside, we may never accomplish a thing in the Lord's service. Jesus gave the answer even as He gave the commission, "I am with you always..." The knowledge that keeps many a minister, singer, and writer going in what they do is the same answer. When faced with a time of wondering how to carry on and endure to the end, we all receive that same short answer from God, "Because I Am with you always."

When our strength is but weakness and our endurance amounts to nothing but a desire to fall down by the roadside, Jesus reminds us of His constant presence. A presence of encouraging, strengthening, empowering, and of course His steadfast tender loving care of every sheep in His flock.

Rejoice in Christ!
Bucky

Unbelieving Doubters and Doubting Believers

Yeah, or something like that. This morning I got together with God and a few brothers in Christ, and we held a study on the last chapter of John plus a bit. The famous stories of Thomas and his conditions for belief at the end of chapter 20 of John's gospel brings to mind the unbelieving doubters we run into. The story of Peter and his questioning by the risen Savior brings to mind the doubts of believers that we all have at times in our walk with Christ. Of course there is so much to learn and read in just one chapter of John (plus a bit), that I quite forgot to get to my point about the UD-DB's, and that is that Jesus is the cure for both of them.

In John 20, Jesus returns when Thomas is present and overcomes the wavering disciple's last unbelief with a solid proof, Himself that is. On the other hand, Jesus lets Thomas know that the real blessing is reserved for those who believe in faith; that is, without seeing the risen Lord in person and putting a hand into His wounded side. In John 21, Peter takes a walk with Jesus after breakfast and for each of that disciple's denials Jesus asks for his love and gives him a mission. Both men have their position in faith and both receive their cure from Jesus.

When we walk with Jesus, we will at times have our doubts about our salvation, peace with God, the steadfast love of the Lord, and other things. Yet, those arise from looking at the self. Jesus with tender care will bring our focus back to Him. We may not see or touch Him, but we will know that He is here with you and me.

Have a believing day in Christ!
Bucky