A Subject So Important

But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery. Matthew 5:32

For a few moments of pleasure something dies, for the wages of sin is death. So, divorce is the pleasure and sex is the death. I have never been married so pardon me if I get something backwards here. What I wanted to study this morning is that subject so important that Jesus Himself gave an exception in the Sermon on the Mount, sexual immorality. Divorce is of course serious, and our Lord doesn't hand out exceptions without the most serious of reasons. This sexual immorality thing must be critically important.

I have read translations of the Word that use unfaithfulness in place of sexual immorality or even fornication. By that, one could see a wife being unfaithful with many other things including alcohol or drugs, gambling, an idol, or of course sexual unfaithfulness. Jesus used the wife in His great sermon, but I'm sure He well knew that husbands could be unfaithful immoral fornicators too. In fact, I'm sure he knows even as we think about it, you mental fornicator! It's tough when just the mention of sexual terms can get the flesh going in the wrong imaginary direction.

The good news is that there must be sexual morality too. I know from my early education that it involves drunken storks and lanky rabbits in sacks. And apparently it happened just outside of my house in the grass under the apricot tree, because I had a crop of baby bunnies this year. Too bad I wasn't called to participate, I might have learned all about sexual morality. There would appear to be some connection between marriage faithfulness and sexual morality too. I think our Lord counts on us to get it.

Have a great day, try out some of that sexual morality,
Bucky

Feeling Joyful

He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. Revelation 19:13

How do we go about feeling joyful in the midst of such suffering? Not by denying it, that's for sure. The Revelation shows us the Lamb with His robe dipped in blood. Not only did our Lord die to save us, but He also knows the suffering on the Earth and His robe shows it. However, His name is not bloody; it is called The Word of God.

In this is wisdom: first read the word of God and get to know the Word of God better. Leave off the news of the world for a while each day and study God's word first. It is easy in this age of information to open the news, but we must be prepared for what is reported to us in this dark age, and to do that we should first armor ourselves with the word of God. The Word shows us what is coming, and thus we should not be surprised by the blood in the news. The Word also shows us what is coming after this time of darkness, and that is a promise that is not dark at all!

On this foggy morning, imagine the fog clearing away suddenly to reveal a bright new world. And that is what will happen to this present darkness quickly one day. It will be cleared away by our Lord to reveal His bright new world, shining in the light of His love. Believe it, for it is given by His Word!

This fog will clear, trust in Him!
Bucky

The Happenings of Today

“Starting with Samuel, every prophet spoke about what is happening today. Acts 3:24

Peter said this around 30 A.D. and it remains true on this day as well. The prophecies of the Lord are happening today. Now the fulfillment may not be the sudden dramatic event that we look for, at least not yet, but the Lord's word is fulfilled even as we go about our daily lives. Each day someone believes in Jesus. Each day we contribute in our small way to the return of our Lord's kingdom. Each and every day the servants of the Lord go forth, most of us to a job that appears on the surface to do nothing for the kingdom of God. On the surface that is.

Meeting those in need of a savior is what our Lord Jesus did every day. He went into the taverns of the time and the synagogues. He walked in fields and rested in homes. He spoke to thousands in the daytime and met individuals at night. Our Lord was the messenger of His own message! We meet people in our work, and we have a chance each day to show the work of the Lord going on in us. Few work places will pay us to speak the word each day, but we show it in our passion for the work, attention to excellence, going the extra mile, and perhaps that hardest of all things in this age or any other: not complaining.

Yeah, haven't quite achieved perfection in that last one yet.

The prophets told us what is to come in their time, and much of that is happening today or is right on the doorstep. We have so much to eagerly wait for in Jesus!

Bucky

Faith In, Armor Up!

Then Jonathan said to the young man who bore his armor, “Come, let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised; it may be that the LORD will work for us. For nothing restrains the LORD from saving by many or by few.”
So his armor bearer said to him, “Do all that is in your heart. Go then; here I am with you, according to your heart." 1 Samuel 14:6-7

Here was faith in action, and yet those warriors of God did not strip down to their undies and walk over to the enemy camp. Why not? Wouldn't that prove the way of faith even more? It would seem alright then to demonstrate our faith in God along with our gratitude for the tools He has provided by the usage of what we have at hand. It may be in a time of tribulation that one of us has nothing to use in the fight - neither weapons nor armor - and are then dependent upon our Lord. It also may be that we have weapons or other tools near to hand and that we pick them up in faith and gratitude, for in that circumstance too we are dependent upon God.

There are so many different situations in the Old Testament stories that it is foolish to test God by dropping what He has provided to us without His express command to do so, such as when Gideon was told to send all but a small amount of his forces home. The saying goes that the Lord works in mysterious ways. Yes, but our Lord also works with what He has already provided to us, including the faith we have in Him.

And what about that armor bearer? We should have that same trust and confidence in our Lord Jesus. Whatever you say or do, Lord, I'm with you!

Bucky

All Who Hate Me

All who hate me whisper together against me;
​​Against me they devise my hurt.
​​“An evil disease,” they say, “clings to him.
​​And now that he lies down, he will rise up no more.” Psalm 41:7-8

David wrote this psalm from a position of paranoia maybe? No, David had enemies and lots of them. We do too, but we don't always think like this. We tend to think of those who love us, and let it be ever so! For God loves us, and our brothers and sisters in Christ do as well. However, if you think for just a moment of the enemy and his minions, we do have cause to speak as David does here in his psalm. There are those powers and principalities of this present darkness, as Paul pointed out, that mean our downfall, harm, and even death.

However, the best fix for this is not to think on those dark powers constantly, but to remember the sovereign almighty power of the Lord who loves us. In Job, the Devil had to get a pass from God to do what he would to poor Job and his family, and servants and livestock - let us not forget them. All who hate me do not get a free pass around God to do whatever they please either. God placed restrictions on what was done to Job. All who hate us would like to do whatever they please, but God's will is the stronger.

We need this fight, this present tribulation, to develop our faith, but always we are guided and protected by the One who loves us. We wear the full armor of God with good reason, but we do not stand alone in it.

Praise to our Lord Jesus who stands with us on this day!

Bucky

A Raw Deal

Then the king said to her, “What is troubling you?”
And she answered, “This woman said to me, ‘Give your son, that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.’ So we boiled my son, and ate him. And I said to her on the next day, ‘Give your son, that we may eat him’; but she has hidden her son.” 2 Kings 6:28-29

Sons didn't go very far between two hungry women back in those days. Forgive me; it is a weak attempt to deflect with humor that chilling sentence in the holy scriptures: "So we boiled my son, and ate him." This is not that ancient equivalent of the modern cannibal horror movie, and the chill in the heart tells it. An Israelite writing ancestor of Stephen King didn't come up with this line, it was spoken by a desperate woman to a different sort of king.

It is interesting to see the king in his ignorance asking, "What is troubling you?" But, it was the injustice of her neighbor that seemed to bother the woman more. It wasn't, "Sire, we had to boil my son and eat him; when are you going to get rid of those armies besieging the city?" She was upset that her neighbor had reneged on the deal and she felt the raw end of a bad bargain in her hands. At least there was the desperation of extreme hunger in that time. These days mere convenience is enough to end the life of children.

So, is a raw deal troubling you today? I know, we can scarcely admit any raw deals on our part in light of such suffering in the scriptures. We have it easy in this age having never suffered a siege in this land in our lifetime. God has been good and gracious to us, and we have food to eat with many other comforts. Better than that is the deal we got on the price of our sin: God's Son paid it all!

Let us rejoice in gratitude to our Lord today,
Bucky

Jerusalem, Capital of Israel

David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years. In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years over all Israel and Judah. 2 Samuel 5:4-5

In Jerusalem, David reigned...3,000 years ago. The new king of Israel has not yet come, but today in Jerusalem, the United States moves its embassy back to the capital of Israel. And the angry seas of the end times have risen up in protest.

So what does that have to do with us way over here? A question that may arise today, but most of us do watch Israel in these times since so much of the end times prophecy concerns the Holy Land. This may be the start of the next stage. It may lead to that treaty which will kick off the final seven years. It may... not seem to do much. We have waited what seems a long time to us since we first learned of the Tribulation, the Antichrist, and of our Lord's return to claim us from the world's darkness. We may well wonder if this ceremony today will move it along.

Yes, there are days when the darkness presses on us that we long for the Rapture of the Church and the return of our Lord Jesus. We may run to the scriptures to see if we can mine a verse or sentence which definitively or vaguely or just might say that this event today means something that would allow us to determine the day and hour of our Lord's appearance in the clouds of His glory. But, it won't happen. Jesus said that no man knows that appointed time, only the Father in Heaven. Sorry, as auspicious as this day is, it isn't going to give away the answer.

Have a great day in Christ Jesus, and wait patiently for His time!

Bucky

Right-seeming Lawlessness?

"Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness." Matthew 23:28

When the snake fellows in that church out east get bitten and die, it is easy to understand the error. But when we go into that situation claiming the protection of God while practicing the foolishness of men we find it harder to understand why God would let us fall on our foolish backside. Of course Jesus gave us the answer as He answered the Devil during that great temptation in the wilderness when he quoted Deuteronomy 6:16, "You shall not tempt the Lord your God."

How do we recognize the times we are working a right-seeming lawlessness? As always, we need the discernment only our Lord can give. For man or woman has that human ability to convince the self of how right we are in almost any situation before the outcome is known. Sure, we can also recognize foolishness after the fact has lowered the boom on us. It is the discernment of the Lord we need when standing before the doorway of that thing we want to try: "Is it faith and trust in the Lord, or am I foolishly tempting Him?"

By way of example! Walking into a dark alley on the seedy side of town, you belt out your favorite tune, "I Just Got Paid and Have Lots of Cash Money, Honey!" Yes, a good example of stupid-seeming foolishness, the end result probably a robbery and maybe a good beating for your foolishness. On the other hand, you want to spread the Good News of Jesus into that same dark alley, so you walk boldly in trusting in God to save you from your foolishness. What? How is that right-seeming lawlessness? You might well ask. Take a flashlight, fool! Better yet, have a friend drive behind you with his car headlights on to light the way. What good is spreading the good news to an empty alley? (They left to spend that other fool's money.) What good is it to preach boldly while falling into that trench someone dug to repair their sewer line? And of course, make sure first that God says, "Go!" Without His blessing, even the right-seeming stuff can be lawlessness if we are in disobedience to our Lord.

Rejoice in the Lord on this Friday!
Bucky

Bubba The Baseless Prophet

“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. John 14:1-2

With the first words of this passage of scripture our Lord Jesus shows that He knows each of us. "Let not your heart be troubled," says the Lord. And then He gives us the good news of faith and by that faith swiftly separates His sheep from the world: you already believe in God, believe in Me too. There our Lord Jesus stands equal to God the Father. If we believe that, the world will reject us, the religious ones of God's own nation will reject us, and those who refuse to believe there is a deity will reject us. Do you feel rejected yet? However, for those of us who believe in Jesus, these are not the idle words of Bubba the baseless prophet but the very Word of God.

That really is the faith, isn't it?

We read the words of our Lord and believe in this new place; the place He has been preparing for almost 2,000 years. Then, there are others, they may or may not read the words of our Lord, but they put those words in the same category as Bubba shooting off his mouth after a few drinks at the local tavern. Bubba, of course, has no more knowledge of our future than a stump rotting quietly in the pasture. For those who believe in our Lord Jesus, His words are precious and true, speaking to a wonderful future that we cannot quite see from here, and He has gone to get this place ready for our arrival.

Faith in Him is such a comfort in this dark age,

Bucky

The Good Spirit

Teach me to do Your will,
For You are my God;
Your Spirit is good.
Lead me in the land of uprightness. Psalm 143:10

Two things King David asks of the Lord in this verse: first, to be taught by the Lord to do His will, and second, to be lead by the Lord in the land of uprightness. Many years later in history, I and many like me ask those very same things. How does our spiritual ancestor, David, think to ask these things of the Lord?

David claimed the Lord as his God. This is serious business, for in order to claim God as his, he first had to acknowledge that God is. Many in this world refuse to do even that seemingly small step. Others will claim an easier way: that is, to manufacture a god or a bunch of them and live the way he imagines those deities would be pleased with were he in their place; which, he really is since they do not exist in the first place. To live with God, one must accept His word, and that word has much to say about our need for God and His salvation. It is in this word where we find David asking the Lord to teach His will. Therefore, David also acknowledges that God's will is better than his own will for living this life. There is a lot of serious business going on here!

Then, David makes a claim on God's Spirit: that it is good. I am glad for that because to submit to a god whose spirit is mean, or petty, or cruel, or worse, evil, would be the very worst thing imaginable and then some! Such important words to study and believe for us too: "For You are my God; Your Spirit is good." Our entire life to that moment of death hinges on this truth, and eternity is assured on it too. For if our God is not good, then we are doomed. Like David did thousands of years ago, we ask for these two things because of the other things in this verse. It would be perverse for us to ask this of a god who was anything less than good. It is from this verse that we say, "God is good." And may we always remember this verse in full and thank God for His eternal goodness.

God is good, and, He loves you!
Bucky

A Treasured Possession Of Our Lord

“I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. John 17:20-21

Believe in Him, for all those who believe in our Lord Jesus are the treasured possession of our Lord. Here in the garden near the end of His earthly life, Jesus our Lord prayed earnestly for those to come who would believe in Him through the testimony of His disciples. And we do! But how our Lord prayed that we would become one, just as He and the Father were in each other in their great loving relationship which we scarcely understand now. From His prayer, we must believe that this can happen!

From all those denominations of Christian, from the east and from the west, from the past and present unto the future, let all those who believe in Christ become His treasured possessions through our faith in Him. Let us know that we are becoming one in Christ, so that the world will see our oneness in Him and believe. It does seem a far country to travel to right now, but our Lord will guide us safely to be one in Him.

May God our Lord guide us swiftly to be one in Christ His Son as the end grows so very near. Amen.

Bucky

Have Faith In Me

“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. Galatians 2:20

Are you afraid of some outcome that is not yet decided? Probably, for that is a state we tend to slip into in this life. So many trials have come our way that we expect others to help us into another one just any day now. Some might say that we are defensively preparing ourselves for the worst possible outcome, but we only find a lack of faith.

Yes, the Lord calls us to have faith in Him. When we are sore beset by imagined terrors of an imaginary future, it is the Lord who reminds us to, "have faith in Me." For we must remember in those difficult times brought on by experience and imagination working together in the worst way that it is God who is in charge. As Paul found, it is no longer you and me living this life but Christ in us. The trial is not the circumstance we see all around us, but the decision to live by faith in God or a sort of anti-faith built of what we think we know.

Except for the revelation by prophecy that God has given to us in His Word, we cannot know what tomorrow will bring; so why then do we imagine a tomorrow and beat ourselves bloody with it? Good question! As we look around at the circumstance today, let us remember God's call to us: "Have faith in Me!"

Amen.
Bucky

Last of the Exiles or First of the Remnant?

And it shall come to pass in that day
That the remnant of Israel,
And such as have escaped of the house of Jacob,
Will never again depend on him who defeated them,
But will depend on the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. Isaiah 10:20

Years ago we began buying new houses, and I was one of them in this case, until the new neighborhood in the old hometown was completed around 2003. This week, the last of those new homeowners from back in the day put their house on the market. It brought home to me the ending of the great adventure I stepped into way back in 1989. It gave to me once more that urge to grab the one responsible and shake him well and good until he admitted what happened to cause the great fall of this enterprise. I know better.

If there is one person at fault, he or she might be too afraid of some vigilante justice to admit the fault. More likely is that it is no one person's fault. Perhaps it is the fault of all of us who worked to build up what turned out to be just another sand castle in this world; another House of Usher coming to a great fall. I begin to wax literary.

What causes mourning in me over this is the broken and strained relationships. A family who became a part of that enterprise moved away this week. A couple of friends from way back in the early days retired not long ago. Others are still hanging in there. Are they that remnant? The problem with waiting for the remnant is that each of us is not permitted to know whether we might be the first of the remnant or just another sad story among the last of the exiles. I was in the first group of exiles, but where may others fall as the last of the sand blocks tumbles and crumbles to the ground?

The good news is that in Isaiah's day there was a remnant. And in our day, there is a rapture and we may get to meet Jesus in the clouds of His glory all together as one! The promises of God contain our hope in this dark world. And our great hope has gone to prepare a place for us!

Have a great Friday in our wonderful Lord Jesus!
Bucky

A Little Present

And their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, then do this: Take some of the best fruits of the land in your vessels and carry down a present for the man—a little balm and a little honey, spices and myrrh, pistachio nuts and almonds. Genesis 43:11

A gift, the little comes from the balm and honey, but the gift itself was no small matter. Israel and his family were in trouble and they wanted some help from the man. So, Israel told his sons to take a gift to the man to open a second round of negotiations. They were hoping for much more in return, so they grabbed up some nice things from a land in famine. I wonder if salvation could work the same way?

Hardly. When we come to the Lord Jesus and offer up all that we have, we only offer the famine. No sweet honey, no soothing balm, just the contents of an empty cupboard do we offer our Lord in exchange for eternal life. We offer up no righteousness for Him to build on and no justice for Him to share. We might try to promise things that will be, such as what a great missionary we will be after He does the saving bit, but that is offering Him the future which only He can give. Pistachio nuts and almonds are quite tasty, what we offer our Lord to save is vile and repugnant. Yet, there is our Lord Jesus saving all who come to Him and call on His name. No best fruits do we have to offer, only the worst of sinners, and still the lovingkindness of the Lord saves all those who come to Him. What an amazing Lord we serve!

Thank you for all the kind birthday wishes yesterday!
Bucky

Dare You Accuse The Elder?!!

Do not receive an accusation against an elder except from two or three witnesses. 1 Timothy 5:19

Fifty-five is an interesting number, perhaps one worthy of double honor. Today, I am elder with a foot in the door of elderly. Soon I will be able to see the start of the footpath to ancient! There are two fives in my age now; not the childish five plus five of ten or even the youthful five times five of twenty-five, but the slightly (in my case) more mature fifty and five years of fifty-five. I am as old as those folks I once thought were old folks, but with the realization that those old folks weren't all that old yet, and some were nowhere near as old as 55. Yet, there is also the knowledge that there may be many more of these birthdays to come, or, do we dare hope for that great snatching away of the church before this comes 'round again next year?

Paul helped in the beginnings of the new church with rules such as this one. And it brings to mind that this day, though special to me, is not all about me. Today, a man stands accused at trial and there is only one witness, the alleged victim. An elder is a position of responsibility and maturity, not just elder like me, and it was a position of responsibility held by this man. Paul told Timothy to refuse even to hear the accusation unless at least one other person could be found to bear witness. Since not every circumstance has two or three witnesses, crimes after all may be committed by one person against another in a lonely place, how does a judge or jury decide who is telling the truth?

We cannot help with that, none of us were there. Which brings us to our wisdom point for the day: be sure in our positions of responsibility to have witnesses. We might call them accountability partners, mentors, or even Bubba the church secretary, but we need to have that witness. And we need to love them as we love ourselves. Paul in his love for his disciple would not let Timothy decide the one-on-one cases, and that is a good thing for us to remember too. It may not be possible for me or you to look at one party or the other, both perhaps dear to us, and decide which is right or wrong, truthful or bearing falsehood. We also, like our brother Timothy, must remember to wait, the first one to accuse does not get the benefit of the doubt when the other party may be unaware that an accusation has been made. People, other than writers of course, do make up wild stories with some ulterior motive in mind. While we are waiting, there is always prayer: God does wonderful works in loving response to our prayers every day.

Love in Christ Jesus,
Bucky

A Good Story, With a Tough Point

Then He began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a place for the wine vat and built a tower. And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country. Mark 12:1

Jesus told some stories with sharp points to them, and the religious leaders of Judea did not fail to understand some of the more pointed ones. The Parable of the Wicked Vinedressers got them right in their religious pride and they sought to harm the storyteller. You can read the rest of the story in Mark 12:1-12, of how the wicked vinedressers hurt and killed the owner's servants until finally the son was sent. "They will respect my son," the owner thought. But the hearts of the vinedressers had become so evil that even the son was murdered by them. Was this foolishness on the part of the owner?

To the world, what is a provision of many opportunities to do the right thing looks like foolishness. We forgive seventy times seven times and the world calls it foolishness. The Lord continues to send prophets, preachers, missionaries and ministers; and these are slandered and slain, and the world may see this as foolishness. "Why does the master not come himself with force to slay those wicked vinedressers," one might ask. They will not see that when our Lord does come with the force of His vengeance against those who would hurt and kill His servants that it will all be over. No more chances to repent and do the right thing. The wicked vinedressers of the world will be cast into the outer darkness. It is a tough point, and one the world would deny. That denial will not change the ending of this story though. Repent while the Lord allows time for the world to do the right thing.

Bucky

What is Poor? Which is Rich?

The LORD makes poor and makes rich;
He brings low and lifts up. 1 Samuel 2:7

Some would claim that it is hard work that makes a person rich. That is a way to take credit for what appears good to us. If I am rich, then I must have worked hard and deserved this condition of wealth. Look how good I am! Poor on the other hand generally happens to someone. No one claims to be deserving of poverty due to his lack of effort, it just sort of happened. A different form of attention is desired here, one in which guilt and shame are not heaped on the victim. Look at me, this isn't my fault, pity me and give me another opportunity to become rich like you. Yet, what is poor? Which is rich?

If I could write a check this morning and purchase the Union Pacific Railroad, assuming the check did not immediately cause an unseemly mirth and choking fits of laughter such to render everyone helpless, I could be considered rich. In a realm closer to reality, I had a tasty breakfast this morning with bacon, fried eggs, toast with peanut butter, and coffee. I feel quite rich right now and I am grateful to God for His provision. So which is rich? Given that any check written by me with enough zeros behind a number to cause a large public company to pay attention would only cause hilarity at the bank just before they had me arrested, am I then to be considered poor? Perhaps not, but if I should have no food to eat or money to purchase any food tomorrow, would I be poor then? If our entire judgment of rich and poor is based on what we are able to do or not do, is this not a relative measure? So, what is poor and which is rich?

Am I lost in an argument that I can never solve?

Hannah prayed the prayer from which our verse for today comes. She prayed it way back before 1,000 BC, or something like 3,000 years ago. They had rich and poor then, and we have rich and poor now. This morning, I am not going to solve any problems we think we have between rich and poor with just a little writing on my own. God, on the other hand, must have a purpose and a plan going on, for He could solve any rich/poor thing right away and right quick. Whatever might be thought a problem on my part may in fact be on the Lord's training plan for me on this day. To be suddenly made from rich to poor or back the other way might delay my journey home from here in Prodigal Land, and I don't want that!

For the call has gone out for all of the prodigal sons of Adam and daughters of Eve to return to the Father, and it is toward home we must turn. Let us follow our Lord Jesus home from this day until our journey is completed.

Bucky

At That Time

At that time Michael shall stand up,
​​The great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people;
​​And there shall be a time of trouble,
​​Such as never was since there was a nation,
​​Even to that time.
​​And at that time your people shall be delivered,
​​Every one who is found written in the book. Daniel 12:1

We know there is deliverance, this and other verses promise it, but we do not know the timing. "At that time..." our Lord says, and faith is content with the Lord holding that time safely for us against the many things in this world that would distract us. I don't like the foretelling of a time of trouble, especially one of which the Lord says, "such as never was since there was a nation." My imagination runs away and hides from that awful knowledge, for it does not take much to think back on all the persecutions, tortures, wars, diseases, and other troubles that have come and gone over the years, and then put a 'worse than' in front of them all to see something of this time of trouble that is foretold.

However, encapsulating all this time of trouble are those two great promises: Michael standing up - the one who stands watch over the sons of Daniel's people, and that deliverance for "every one who is found written in the book." Many other promises in the Word of God speak of deliverance for those who believe in our Lord Jesus. As that time of such trouble approaches in this world, it is these loving promises of our Lord that we must cling to in faith. Trouble will have its time, but at that time we have God who loves us in His everlasting goodness.

In Christ we live,
Bucky

What Is Good For This Life?

For who knows what is good for man in life, all the days of his vain life which he passes like a shadow? Who can tell a man what will happen after him under the sun? Ecclesiastes 6:12

Have you looked at your monitor to discover that a cough or perhaps a sneeze got by your cleaning vigilance and now, ew, the white background shows the funk? I hope you are not eating breakfast while reading this! I would like to present myself before God like that white screen: clean, perfect, showing not the smallest sign of the former funk of the world. My vigilance is suspect, however, tainted by quite large signs of self-interest. I want to see myself as good, but the Law shows a different picture. Without a cleansing by One who has no stain of sin to transfer to my 'screen', I am going to discover a bit of a mess where I hoped all would be clean and white.

Solomon, who was given all that we think good for us in life including wisdom, riches, authority as king, power, and talent, wondered who can know what is good for man in life. The wisdom granted the king by God is what caused him to ask the question. Where it leads those who will believe in our Lord Jesus is to, well, Jesus our Lord! Who can know what happens after? He does, for He died for our sins and lived again. Who can know what is good for man in life? He does, for He came down into a manger in Bethlehem and lived the life of a man. His life was one that was not spent in vain. His life was given for us, to save us and to cleanse us from the stain of our sin.

The good questions in life lead us to Him; the good answers are Him! Praise Jesus our Lord and Savior!

Bucky

A Rotten Imagination

Then the LORD said in His heart, “I will never again curse the ground for man’s sake, although the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done. Genesis 8:21

As the Lord promised in His heart to not destroy all life from the Earth again, man was tinkering around with a rotten imagination. Yes, I too have lived for brief periods in my rotten imagination. Some might call it daydreaming, but from my youth just as the Word states I have gone often to my imagination for entertainment, wishful thinking, and to churn over some emotions for a spell. And I can read in this verse that I'm not the only one who has done and does this. Some of you may not seem very imaginative to me, but this verse has told you out! Sorry, the Bible does not let the hidden things lie covered from those who will read and study its words of wisdom.

Alas, now that my rotten imagination has been exposed for the sinful thing that it is, I shall now write everything that comes to mind and share the burden with you. No, no, no! The Spirit calls for some much needed censoring even as He works within me to change that imagination to something better suited to the service of the Lord. Is it any wonder the dear Spirit of our Lord Jesus begins His work in such a dark place? Out of the heart, our Lord said way back in the day, comes all the rotten stuff that gets us into so much trouble with Him and the Law. Thank the Lord that His Son, who first paid the price demanded by the Law for this rotten imagination of mine, is the One who will faithfully cleanse me from all unrighteousness!

It's a great day in the Lord!
Bucky

Right Now, Wherever They Are

I tell you, in that night there will be two men in one bed: the one will be taken and the other will be left. Two women will be grinding together: the one will be taken and the other left. Two men will be in the field: the one will be taken and the other left.” Luke 17:34-36

Jesus tells us of that night in this passage of His holy word; He tells us of the Rapture, for the unbeliever a greatly chilling prophecy. We don't know the date or hour of this great event or what each individual will be doing when it comes, but we do know it will happen right now, wherever they are and we know that people in general will be sleeping or working. In this Jesus shows that He knows the times and time.

The time is so immediate and quick that men and women right beside each other doing the same activity, working or resting, will be taken completely by surprise. One will be taken and the other left behind. The times are what we have in this age in a deceitful attempt to confuse the issue. In one part of the world it will be dark and people sleeping, while in another part folks will be doing their work. Note how we typically sleep for 1/3 of each day or about 8 hours, and the Lord shows one pair sleeping and two pairs awake and active. He knows the times, and the times are right now, wherever they are. It may be just past midnight tomorrow in Auckland, New Zealand, but that won't stop the right now of the Rapture happening all over the globe at the Lord's command, and over here we will not have to wait for that tomorrow to come.

We may also see in this passage two men in one bed, and in this age of tolerance in the world that is indeed a warning for us that the timing of this great event is near. Has that not happened before in many an age? Sure, but acceptance of such things is perhaps more widespread across the world than ever. Time for us to be watchful; the time is very near!

Grace and peace to you in the Lord Jesus Christ,

Bucky

Fallen Adam, Fallen Me

Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” Genesis 1:26

There is a temptation to think that one of us, or perhaps a hero of the faith from the list in the book of Hebrews, might have done better in Adam's place. After all, we think we have some small idea of the consequences from Adam's decision to partake with Eve, his wife, of the forbidden fruits of that tree. Surely, we pridefully think, that with such knowledge of what the fall caused we would not do such a thing and inflict it on the generations of man to come. Bah, in thinking such things we forget the advantages Adam had in that garden God made for him.

Adam had no genetic defects or conditions passed down through the generations of a family. None. Created from the dust of the Earth that God saw was good, Adam did not need to send in a saliva sample to test his DNA. He had no genetic twitch along the DNA chain that would cause him to think he was born a football or any other strange thing, a sort of claim that is oddly common in our age. Adam had no parents to blame for a faulty upbringing. A quick temper was not passed down from a father given to smacking little Adam around at the slightest offence. For Adam had no earthly father and he was never little. Even a mistake in childhood did not follow Adam into his adult years on that permanent record we were warned about as kids. Adam probably had no idea that alcohol, drugs, or many other things could alter his mood, make him act like an ass, or grab his mind in a near unbreakable hold. Adam was innocent in the best possible way, strong in all the ways a loving God created him, and able to walk shamelessly with His Father God in the cool of an evening in a garden without any danger to his person from the animals whom he had dominion over. With none of those advantages, how could one of us ever think we would not fall like Adam did but much more quickly and without the excuse of Eve doing it first?

As Paul pointed out in Romans, with a little summarizing by yours truly: fallen Adam, fallen me, and all of us need a new Adam to bring us back to the Father. Praise God that Jesus our Lord gave Himself to bring us home to God our Creator!

Bucky

Fearing the Pain

Fear took hold of them there,
​​And pain, as of a woman in birth pangs. Psalm 48:6

Have you injured, sprained, strained, torn, or broken something in your leg at some point in this life? Often in such a condition every step can become an exercise in fearing pain. Soon, you may have trouble walking at all, and all the other parts of the body start sympathetically feeling the pain too. With so much pain going on it is no wonder that we begin to fear any more pain. With each step an adventure of the worst kind, it may not be long before a person gives up the fight and seeks help, perhaps even going so far as to visit a doctor! Fear takes hold of us in this life, and often it comes from pain.

It is interesting that today's verse sits in the middle of a psalm glorifying God, almost like there is more to the immediate picture than our pain. It is hard to know anything beyond the present hurting, but faith led the sons of Korah to write about the glory and beauty of God even as they too knew the pain and fear of this life. The kings of this psalm are all of us. We live in wonder as we look upon what we read of our God in the Bible. We wonder as pain comes and fear, and soon we are fearing the pain, and yet, there is our God. Beautiful, kind in loving, gracious in judgment, and always well aware of every painful and fearful step we take.

Take one more step, pilgrim, we are on the way to the Promised Land, and our God will see us there!

Bucky

No Words Added

And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine.” Revelation 6:6

I had to check this prophecy for eggs, but it does not mention the recent price jump we have seen at the grocery store. Once again I missed my chance to invest in the futures for some product that rose dramatically in price. If indeed the Easter celebration is to blame for the shortage, then we can certainly fix that next year. For the celebration of our Lord's resurrection is in no way dependent on boiling eggs. However that was not my question in looking at the Revelation this morning.

I wondered if we should in our keeping watch for signs of the end add eggs or peanut butter or any other shortage item to the list of those things mentioned in our verse for today? I don't think barley is all that common in our diet anymore, and I haven't worried over the price of wine for years. But there is that curse at the end about adding anything to this prophecy, and I don't want any of those plagues added to me.

We might be unsure whether Jesus or John added those words to the Revelation, but I think John did this and for a good reason. John, in his wisdom from the Lord, did not want the Revelation, already a fantastic prophecy, to become a legendary fantasy by storytellers adding embellishment over the years. John may have seen some embellishment on our Lord's ministry by the time he received the Revelation of our Lord Jesus, and he wanted to make sure that sort of thing was stopped.

So, no adding the eggs? No, but in place of John passing along an exhaustive list of every food product ever used from Adam to the return of Christ Jesus, we can know that any food will become short in supply and ridiculously expensive in the Tribulation. Good thing there is a Rapture first!

Rejoice in Christ today!
Bucky

The Storehouses of Snow

“Have you entered the storehouses of the snow,
or have you seen the storehouses of the hail,
which I have reserved for the time of trouble,
for the day of battle and war? Job 38:22-23

A portion from that first one seems to be coming our way on Friday the 13th. According to the Lord though, this snow and hail is reserved for a particular day. Will the snow and hail be deployed to add to the confusion of battle or to put a stop to it? Blizzards will come and go as they have for many a year. The question put to Job was of a different order altogether. Storehouses containing such snow and hail that the time of trouble, that day of battle and war will be affected. Just how much snow and hail would this require? Like Job, we have no chance of answering that question, nor have we entered those storehouses. God knows things that we do not.

Of course He does! That does not mean that our Lord is any less good or loving. The mysteries of our Lord are not there to harm those who believe in the saving grace of His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. I believe those storehouses of hail and snow are set aside to put a stop to that day of battle and war, and to gain the attention of those who need to pay attention to our Lord. Among the many great and terrible things that will happen in the end times, this is another that is a shout from the Lord, "I am here, and I want to save you from your sins!"

Let us pray that all of them will answer His call. If they will not, the Lord may drop a snow drift on top of them as a timeout to reconsider.

Have a great Friday in Christ Jesus!
Bucky

Bread From Heaven

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you. And the people shall go out and gather a certain quota every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in My law or not. And it shall be on the sixth day that they shall prepare what they bring in, and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.” Exodus 16:4-5

Behold! The local grocery store shall open this day and there shall be no charge! But, each must take only what he or she needs for one day and no more.

You and I can imagine the brief period of chaos in and outside of the grocery store that announcement would cause. It would be quite difficult for any of us to obey the law with so many piling up cart after cart and hauling them out. Fights would ensue with shelves inside the store quickly emptied, and the police would have to be called in to restore order. Even with trucks lined up out to the highway to restock the shelves, it would take quite some time before people would gather only according to their daily needs, and some few would still attempt to gather more and sell it on Ebay. We know this would happen because we feel the temptation too.

Like the Israelites of ancient times, we do not have it in our fallen selves to obey the law. Therefore, as I cannot trust myself to only gather what I need, I shall go on a diet and not participate in that gathering. Nope, obedience to the law means not skipping my daily quota as much as it means not gathering too much. We cannot escape the law that way. Some have tried to move away from our Lord's command to love our neighbors by living where they have none. It seems once more that the answer to obedience comes from our Lord much like that manna did back in the day: daily, free of charge, and only available from Him. Maybe the answer is Him!

Yes, Jesus our Lord is the Bread from Heaven. How do we gather our daily quota of Him? The same way Paul and Silas did: prayer, singing hymns, thanksgiving, fellowship, loving, and the study of His word.

Bucky

Deep Scars

And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”— therefore the LORD God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.

Why? we might ask, was this necessary? Imagine living forever with a growing accumulation of deep scars. No, not those scars you see on your skin, the surface of the body, but those deep scars - the ones that do not show to the eye.

We have scars on the mind, emotional scarring, that does not show to others. It can come from many things in this life such as betrayal and the separation of a loved one by death. These scars are deep and they hurt us until we see our Lord and He dries our every tear. Now, once more try to imagine living forever with this sort of awful thing piling up as the decades, centuries and eons go by. Scar upon scar, emotional hurts and wounds going back to early in our lives and no end of it in sight, ever. It was a great mercy to us that God had Adam driven forth from the Garden and the tree of life.

Many of you have told me stories of these deep scars in your life. These things also tend to rise closer to the surface during those times of stress when we have taken on too much, or too much has come our way whether we wanted it or not. The best answer is to go directly to our Lord in prayer as quickly as possible, and so much is indeed possible in His love!

Bucky

Died Without A Name

Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city. Yet no one remembered that same poor man. Ecclesiastes 9:15

Fame: the flesh seeks after it desiring its imagined benefits. Here Solomon recalls a man who was the opposite of famous, and yet he did a great thing in his wisdom. No honors came his way, no one remembered his name or his face, and yet the city owed its salvation to him. Get ready O man or woman of Christ the Lord, for you and I may die just as famous as that wise man.

We may not live a life of notoriety; no one among the rich and famous may know us, and our name may not make even the list of Who's Not. Yet, we bear the words of light and wisdom: the good news of Jesus Christ. And the gospel of our Lord is the one thing that can save a city.

Poverty may be our lot in life, yet there is wisdom in the Word of God. The monthly bills may seem an unwinnable battle, retirement may have retired from your presence, and you may have no financial answer to a major disaster in life, but you do have the wisdom of knowing your Lord and Savior. You have the power of God in you to save an entire city!

What wealth we have in the Savior! The world may not know our name, but the Savior does! Rest in Him,

Bucky

Made Manifest

In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother. 1 John 3:10

To be manifest is to be made apparent or seen clearly.

There is going to be a change in those who give themselves to Jesus. John here points out that the touch of God is going to show in the behavior of the saved. While the world wants all to come together as one people, there is a division going on perpetrated by the very Word of God. The division that takes place internally in Hebrews 4:12, also is made manifest in the world as a population. We don't get to have the old flesh of sin show up in Heaven with the new spirit of righteousness.

Some would say that churches must include everyone in order to show brotherly love. However, the Word speaks in the Revelation of people who do not belong in His churches. There are those who are the children of the devil made manifest who also want to come into the church without repentance. It is like the Bride of Christ is putting on the robe of His righteousness while the enemy is handing her the filthiest of rags and demanding that she wear these too. And then the big lie is spoken, "See how judgmental this Church is? She must include all or she does not love as she ought." Sorry, but the Bride of Christ cannot be any less than perfectly prepared to wed God's Son. And for that we must be separated from the sins of this world.

Those saved by the blood of the Lamb earnestly desire our purity; and though we are not there yet, a manifest separation is taking place each and every day. The most obvious time will be that of the Rapture when one will be taken and the other left behind. Now that is a manifestation!

Grace and peace to you who belong to the Son!
Bucky

There's Something Wrong With You

Suppose a man marries a woman but she does not please him. Having discovered something wrong with her, he writes her a letter of divorce, hands it to her, and sends her away from his house. Deuteronomy 24:1

This verse today appears to be an easy out for a man. Moses gave us this and it is even done under Islam to the present time. Must be a good idea to have lasted so long, eh? When I read just this verse to start the chapter, as a writer I see the setting and characters: man, wife, house, and this is what is going on at this moment in the story. There is neither praise nor condemnation, just a statement of the circumstance. God is not saying that a man is allowed to do this and it is alright with Him. Later, Jesus seemed rather cold on the idea of divorce except in the case of unfaithfulness, and of course cold to my Lord Jesus means sin to me.

What is interesting is the abrupt termination of a relationship. Arranged marriage or chosen freely, this seems just too easy, too quick. It may not have happened that way, the scriptures are at times very understated. The man may have had to go before the elders and explain what exactly did not please him about the woman. Yes, it does seem unfair, but this devotional writing isn't about judging the ways and times of the folks back in the day. What it is about this morning is relationships. Every relationship, it seems to me, is going to come to that point where one discovers something wrong with the other.

Most of those wrongs are going to be simple differences in how we do things. Detail-oriented persons tend to irritated by the big picture types. A perfectionist would have difficulty relating to a 'good enough-er'. The neatness fan is rubbed wrong by the slob. There are a legion of examples. Yet, neither method may be wrong in God's sight. The relationship that gets past this point of irritation can grow into an excellent team with one partner adding the other side of a difference to the other and making the sum of the parts that much greater. (There's an old saying I'm mucking up there.)

So, when I get to that point in a relationship where I say, "There's something wrong with you..." the other person will no doubt have long since discovered several things wrong with me; I might even receive a detailed listing with cross references, but wait, that isn't the point I was trying to make! It is at that point that prayer and the guidance of our Lord's dear Holy Spirit will lead me to accept the difference, and then add it to our team to the glory of God. With God's wonderful help, I might even learn to not state it in quite that way!

Have a better relationship with one another on this day, even if there is something wrong with me.

Bucky

From Him

Both riches and honor come from You,
​​And You reign over all.
​​In Your hand is power and might;
​​In Your hand it is to make great
​​And to give strength to all. 1 Chronicles 29:12

David knew from Whom his position and possessions came. Do we always know the same thing? I have on occasion laid back in a chair and stated that I had earned my rest. On what did I base that? My complete knowledge of how much work is required to earn a rest in that particular chair and at that that special time? How much time did I earn for that rest? Much better it would be to praise God for that rest which He dispensed to me at that time.

David knew that all good things come from God, and that gratitude and honor is our best action, not crediting the self with glory that rightly belongs to our Father. Rest is needed by us at times, but earned it? How could we ever know that? A grateful attitude can help me and you to avoid grabbing the glory that belongs to Father God. A 'Thank You, Lord' goes a long way with Him. A prideful attitude of how we earned something, not so much.

From Him come the good things in life we can enjoy without guilt. From Him come grace, faith, love, kindness, goodness, self-control, and all the fruits of the Spirit that we need. And, riches, honor, power, might, and of course, rest all come from our Lord God. Praise and honor to our Lord, who dispenses those good things without limit.

Bucky

Esteemed Him Not

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 53:3

Esteem: respect and admiration, typically for a person. There was a day when no man gave our Lord Jesus the respect and admiration due the Son of God. We are so embarrassed by that situation that we will even try to deny it. Yet, there He was on the cross, bearing the death of a criminal along with all the sin of you and me. We cannot admire all that sin, even though some portion of it belongs to each of us. Isaiah, Israel, and all the rest of us did not esteem the Lord Jesus on that day. And then came the risen Lord!

Mary Magdalene thought Him a caretaker. A couple of disciples failed to recognize Him. And Thomas refused to believe until he could see and touch Him. Somewhere in the varied reactions and expectations, an example of each of us can be found. I might well have made the same mistaken conclusion that Mary did as my mind has been known to connect a few circuits in the wrong order in times of stress. And Mary had every reason to be stressed as she thought her Savior dead and buried on that Sunday morning. Peter and John had to be informed as they were not there in the cemetery. Peter might well have been sleeping the exhausted sleep of the guilty over his three denials, but the Risen Lord Jesus was going to fix that too.

Each of us may give up the shame of that day when we did not esteem Him, for in the Risen Lord we are healed by His grace. Let go of the unworthiness you think you know and live in the worth beyond compare our Lord has given to each of us by His grace. Once we did despise and reject Him, but in His death and resurrection we are forgiven and reborn to a new life in Him. Now is the time to live in Christ!

His grace, peace and love to you on this Easter Monday!

Bucky

So Different

For the earth will be filled
With the knowledge of the glory of the LORD,
As the waters cover the sea. Habakkuk 2:14

As the waters cover the sea... that is one thorough covering! Yes, though it may not look it now, this earth is due for a new covering. It will not be just any ol' whitewashing job either, but a renewal that only the Lord can do. Try to imagine for a moment or two the entire earth filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD. We can't; our imagination doesn't quite span that far, but we do know through faith that it will be a wonderful and amazing thing to behold. An earthful of glorious knowledge to be sure!

As we look and remember our Lord's death on this day, we see the Earth as it is now. Sin runs rampant around the globe and unbelief is so common that it becomes popular. Sunday, the day we celebrate our risen Lord, we will rejoice in the Earth as He will make it, renewed and risen from the dead. An Earth filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD will just be soooo different from what we know now, just like the difference death is to eternal life, eh?

Have a great Good Friday in the knowledge of our risen Lord Jesus!

Bucky

Who Has Believed?

Who has believed our report?
​​And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? Isaiah 53:1

So begins a chapter that without the gospel accounts of our Lord's suffering would be difficult even for us to believe. What sort of a hero or champion arrives to save others through suffering? How does one go about healing through taking stripes from a whip on one's body? The prophecy given to Isaiah is so alien to what a person might expect from a savior that many will doubt it, and yet that is exactly what Jesus did as this week came to a close back in His time.

Arrested in a peaceful garden as He prayed, taken to the chief priest's house to begin suffering blows to His body in the middle of the night, and suffering upon suffering piled upon Him until He was so disfigured that people could not look upon Him. Our Savior. How did He do it?

As our Lord said back in those days, He had the authority to lay down His life for us and to take it back up again. And this He did to save those who will believe. And all those who believe this report are those He gives the right to become the children of God. What a privilege! What a delight to know the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ! How strange that He did it in this way, but there it is.

Have a great and holy delight in our saving Lord Jesus!

Bucky

The Lion's Share

But one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals.” Revelation 5:5

Some days our burden seems lighter than others. Enjoy those days, for we know that will not always be the case in this boot camp to eternity we call life. It is on those days that the faithful look back and see that our Lord Jesus is carrying the lion's share of our burden. Each of us may never know just how much of that burden we groan under that He carries for us, and on the tough days the lion's share is just as much and perhaps more than on the lighter days.

It is in this Easter week every year that we do well to remember the burden our Lord Jesus carried to the cross, our iniquities. While our Lord struggled with His cross, probably already beaten and scourged past the point a human body could recover, He also carried on Him the sin of us all. It is here in our image of the written word of God that we best imagine that terrible burden. Yet, something changed from what seemed the victory of darkness over our Lord Jesus to what John saw in Heaven. The willing Lamb of God who died for our sins had become a lion, and not just any lion.

As the hosts of angels, strong angels, and mighty angels watched helplessly, none was found worthy to take and open the scroll that told of the end. John wept, until an elder from around the throne of the Almighty told him some good news. There is a message here for us too. Weeping over the suffering of our Lord is certainly a good thing, but better still is to look to the Lion as He bears the Lion's share and rejoice in His strength. The Risen Lord Jesus has carried our sin to the cross and won the victory that we could not. In Christ we live!

Bucky

Integrity Breach!

Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die!” Job 2:9

Integrity: the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles, moral uprightness. This is what Job held onto even in the face of what may be the worst advice one person gave to another in all of the Bible. (Perhaps second only to: "Try this fruit, Adam, it's really tasty!") When we speak of our reputation or our good name, this quality is what we hold dear. Should a person gain a reputation for a lack of integrity many career paths will close down. Most newsworthy scandals involve an accusation or allegation of an integrity breach, and if it turns out to be true the consequences are often severe. Many people over here do not care one way or another about the sport of cricket, but you will see in the news articles about an integrity breach in the Australian national team, and you will feel some outrage over it.

We can know how important it is by the many ways in which we are tempted to breach our integrity every day. If we fall into that temptation, we can live with the regret for the remainder of our lives, even if we are never 'caught' at it. Of course, God knows all things so that little integrity breach you or I committed back in the day did not go unnoticed. Just sitting here and writing this, instances of my own integrity breaches come back to haunt me from the distant past. Which, at least shows how much the Lord has produced a desire in me for integrity.

So, like Job, we all want to hold fast to integrity because our Lord Father in Heaven values it, and because He has grown in us a desire to hold it tightly. How are we going to do that? In Christ the Lord of course! My grip is too weak to hold onto something so valuable on my own, I will trust in Him! As Paul said, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." (Phil 4:13)

Bucky

An Infinite God Prepares The Bride

“Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless?" Matthew 12:5

Jesus taught. Why? There must have been a need.

For a thousand years, back to David's time and more centuries back to the time of Moses, and even more centuries back to Abraham, Israel had the Law and the prophets. Yet, here was the Son of God teaching them. Those who had spoken with God had passed on what He said, yet more education was needed it seems. Yes, the people of God were not perfected yet, though some did try to claim it when the Son of God tried to teach them.

Today, pastors by the score preach on a Sunday morning, Sunday school teachers by the hundred teach classes, and there are countless prayer meetings, Bible study classes and courses, and written works by the multitude. Yet, still the Bride of Christ needs to learn and understand.

The Israelites were made blameless by their atoning sacrifices. The Church, the Bride of Christ, is made righteous by the blood of the Lamb, and yet we must continue to learn and grow. Not only are we not yet perfected, but we have an infinite God to study. Our Lord God is perfect from eternity past and will be unto eternity future. The Bride, that is the church of those who believe in Jesus Christ, has been made worthy by the blood of our Lord, but then we must be cleansed, prepared, and dressed for the big wedding. As the young woman takes a great deal of time to prepare for her wedding, so our Lord is taking the utmost care to prepare His bride.

Jesus hasn't returned yet? Well, we just need a bit more preparation before that great day of the Lord Jesus Christ. Trust in Him!

Bucky

A Whole Bleating Flock

“And he shall bring to the priest a ram without blemish from the flock, with your valuation, as a trespass offering. So the priest shall make atonement for him regarding his ignorance in which he erred and did not know it, and it shall be forgiven him." Leviticus 5:18

Oh look, it is the law of Moses with all of its death penalties, but what is this about mercy for ignorance? Apparently ignorance of the law was not an excuse, but with the proper trespass offering it could be forgiven. No apparent about it, mate! It is stated in the law quite plainly. I am so glad that ignorance has an atoning priest and that He made the proper trespass offering for us long ago. While ignorance and atonement may not work in traffic court, it is a relief to know that there is mercy for us in the court that hands out the eternal penalties.

Imagine waiting your turn in the Court of Heaven with a few dozen of your fellows who have also just perished from the earth. You notice something to read on the walls of the hallway outside that dreaded court, and feel a bit of gratitude because your eternal fate is on the line in that courtroom. Like your fellows, you didn't want to hear about Jesus back there on earth because that was one way to become unpopular, perhaps even poor or worse. But you knew that you were basically a good person and while God might condemn someone like that dictator fellow who murdered all those people back in the day, surely He would not have it in for you, right? So you begin reading the law, the law that you will be judged against, and hardly do you start down the list when all these rules and regulations jump out. Sabbath, Passover, corners of the beard? What are these things? What does it mean to covet your neighbor's wife? Fortunately, there is our verse for today: you start looking around for a ram or two 'cuz your need for some trespass offerings has just become obvious.

Most of us can see that our chances of making it into Heaven by obedience to the Law were lost long ago. We came to Jesus for mercy and grace because the Law had knocked us down so often that we knew we had no chance against ol' Mose and his rules. Even if we just summarized it by the two commandments of love that Jesus gave us for the Law and the prophets, we knew that there was that time, and that other time, and the time last week, and no, even that could not save us, and a whole bleating flock of unblemished rams probably would not be enough for atonement under the Law. We may be ignorant of some laws in Leviticus or Deuteronomy, but as Resurrection Day approaches, we are not ignorant of a certain trespass offering who died to save us from our sins!

Thank You, dear Lord, for Your wonderful Son, Jesus Christ the Lord!

Bucky

While the Earth Remains...

“While the earth remains,
Seedtime and harvest,
Cold and heat,
Winter and summer,
And day and night
Shall not cease.” Genesis 8:22

Near the beginning, this was one of the great promises from our Lord. Near the ending, which we believe is imminent, this remains one of the great promises of the Lord, though maybe a bit more ominous sounding than it was back in Noah's day. Yes, those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ make ourselves less popular in the world by speaking of an ending. While the Earth remains the lovers of the darkness get to play their sinful games of strife and money loving. The ending of the Earth means something else, perhaps even a judgment which those who love this world most definitely deny.

Spring has begun, at least on the calendar, and we wonder once more, will this be the last one before the ending? Not usually, no. Spring does not seem to be a proper season for the downcast countenance, the dour face, or the downtrodden words. We look forward to renewal and the blooming of plants; we celebrate the risen Lord Jesus and enjoy the warmer days. The Lord told us what is coming to make us aware and awake, not to send us into a depression. While the Earth remains, we can rejoice in the saving grace of Jesus Christ!

A choice of each day is to mourn our lot, or to rejoice in Him while we are content in where He has us right now. Spring is one season where mourning our lot in life does seem rather out of place. Winter is coming to a close and blossoms will soon appear on fruit trees. Our Lord Jesus rose again in this season and soon He will return in His glory.

Great is the name of our Lord Jesus Christ!

Bucky

Hear The Words of Warning

"But if you will not hear these words, I swear by Myself,” says the LORD, “that this house shall become a desolation.” Jeremiah 22:5

Back in the day, God sent several prophetic messengers to Israel and Judah. At least some, perhaps all, of these messages were written down and preserved for us. We know from the prophets that the children of Israel were often in trouble with the Lord. Jeremiah is no exception to this and he gave to them a stern message from God, which we can paraphrase as: hear or be destroyed.

The key words are 'will not', for they are the heart of disobedience before the Lord. Eve was encouraged by the serpent to do her will and not God's will in the matter of one little fruit. Adam decided that he would follow Eve's will instead of God, and his disobedience caused all the thorns in the world. We have a decision we make quite often of a similar nature: my will or His will. In order to follow my will when it is different from God's will, I must say that fateful, "will not" to Him. When I or anyone else would follow our will as opposed to God's will, we must hear the words of warning.

Jeremiah passed on those very words to the kings of Judah. We know from the Bible that the kings decided for the will-nots, and Judah did become a house of desolation. Why was their will so important to them? The same reason ours is, I suppose, we want to be in charge when we drive our ship onto the rocks of perdition.

I am so glad that Jesus saved me from my will, for my will is such a dangerous thing to myself when it is disobedient to my God. The will of my Lord is what is best for me; so says the Spirit, as I hear the old man of the flesh screaming like the spoiled and willful brat that it is. Down, brat, let us follow the Lord!

Bucky

Great Upset!

Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; and he saw the linen cloths lying there, and the handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself. John 20:6-7

So, a #16 seed defeated a #1 seed last night in the NCAA basketball tournament, not sure I can top that. I'm being disingenuous of course, every one who believes in Jesus knows the story of how a man beaten, scourged, and crucified got up on the third day, folded his burial handkerchief and came out of his tomb alive. As upsets go, that story cannot be topped, but the great upsets of the Bible go on.

A nation of former slaves was trapped against the Red Sea by an army, well-armed and well-mounted on the best chariots of the day. The former slaves walked across the dried up sea bed between walls of water to freedom and a new life; the army was drowned when they tried to cross behind them.

The star persecutor in the Pharisees was on the way to Damascus to continue his string of victories, when he was stopped by a light shining into his darkness. Paul returned from his defeat by becoming a champion of the Lord's kingdom.

Sports upsets are interesting to us, but they don't hold a candle to the upsets of the Bible. The work of the Lord Jesus Christ has upset many an earthly power, including all of those little sand castles we once trusted in back in our lost sheep days.

Enjoy a happy St. Patrick's Day in Christ Jesus!
Bucky

Authority and Power

Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases. He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. Luke 9:1-2

Power and authority: yes, there is a distinction between those two; one might be described as the ability to do a thing while the other is the legal right to do it. Jesus gave to the Twelve both the ability to make a demon or a sickness go away and the legal right to do so. A magician through some sort of arcane spell may gain some power over a demon, perhaps to make it go away or to gain something from it. I have no idea how to do this and don't particularly want to know. On the other hand, unless granted by the sovereign ruler of Creation, that magician has no authority. Power is available in many forms but authority can only come from the top, the reigning authority Himself.

Our government has some authority over us, but none over a tornado. It would be cruel indeed if God had granted authority over tornadoes to each state governor, for example, and not one of them over the years had stopped any of the many tornadoes that have taken life and property from us. Of course, as far as we know, no government has yet achieved power over a tornado either, or maybe it has.

The detonation of a large enough nuclear weapon would most likely vaporize even the largest thunderstorm, the thing that spawns tornadoes. However, the cure would be much worse than the disease. While that power may be sufficient, we the people have not granted to our elected government the authority to wage war on tornadoes with nuclear weapons, and hopefully we the people will never be so foolish.

All this Friday morning babbling of mine about power and authority brings up an important point: we often wish for the power, even in prayer, but don't always ask for or even accept the authority. It sounds a bit strange, I know, but I have noticed this thing in me too. Jesus did not hand out the power without granting the authority, which He being the Son of God always delegated from His own authority granted by God. It may be that the old man of the flesh in me desires the power to do as he pleases, while he fears the authority which would have the power used as God pleases. The reborn spirit of the saint within me, perhaps weary of the constant abuse of power the man of flesh has done, seems to fear both the power and the authority. And thus, I end up accomplishing little for the kingdom of God.

My head is spinning now.

What I need to remember is that God the Father is sovereign and that He has given all authority in Heaven and on Earth to the Son, and what authority the Son has granted to me, He will not have me carry alone. Thank You, dear Lord.

Bucky

Broken Relationship

Hear, my children, the instruction of a father,
And give attention to know understanding. Proverbs 4:1

Fathers are to instruct their children, and no father is better at that than God our Father. Of course in order to gain that instruction we must pay attention. Unfortunately, we often spend our time seeking attention in place of paying attention. In this age we have so many avenues to gain that attention too.

Sometimes in one or more of these attention-seeking avenues we hear of a stunt so foolish as to cost a person his life, and we are left to wonder where the instruction of a father fell short. Yet, we also understand the desire for attention that led to the foolishness. In the broken relationship that man caused in Eden, we lost that walking with the Father in the cool of an evening that Adam enjoyed. Now, the Father desires our attention in prayer and supplication but He does not always get it. We desire the attention of the Father but do not always realize that we have it. We also desire the attention of those we share this Earth with, and so the quest for attention from us that sometimes goes too far and strays into foolishness.

How much might we learn today if only we would give attention to the Father?

Bucky

Comparative Christianity

​They covet fields and take them by violence,
​​Also houses, and seize them.
​​So they oppress a man and his house,
​​A man and his inheritance. Micah 2:2

So, how goes the time change? Cruel question to ask for sure. So cranky was I made by this latest time change that I noticed my brother in Christ had gone and bought the best house in town. I was jealous. "Why not me?" I asked the Lord. Down the street I saw coming out of the jewelry shop a sister from our church and she was fairly dripping with glittery jewels. I was jealous, and I asked of the Lord, "Why not me?" Then almost blowing my knickers off, the scion of our pastor blew by me in his new sports car. "He shouldn't have that," I bellowed covetously toward the Lord's throne, "it should go to me!" Time to change the time back I guess.

Perhaps the example is a bit extreme, but we do have this temptation toward comparative Christian living. We look at those televangelists and some of them do have some nice homes, airplanes, glittery jewels, and other things in their possession. We should thank God for the blessings He has bestowed upon a brother or sister in Christ, but we tend to criticize and complain instead. In the test of humbly grateful vs. grumbly hateful we fail. Sometimes we even fall into that horrible covetousness where we not only want the thing, but we don't want our brother or sister to have it.

Paul rejoiced that he had learned to be content in whatever circumstance the Lord sent in his life. Envy and coveting are not content. Those two will constantly compare my circumstance with others and show how short I am, or worse. The worse is to come in ahead by their evil estimation and open the door to pride.

Peace, contentment, kindness, joy, and the love of our Lord Jesus Christ are bestowed upon us; let us rejoice in what God has given!

Bucky

Live Again

If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come. Job 14:14

Does it feel kind of like that this morning? The appointed time change has come once more and our twice annual self-torture begins again. Why call it a self torture, you may ask? We elected those bananas to serve in Congress, and since all of them serve us so well, it must be a self-inflicted thing, right? Perhaps it is time to remind our elected representatives to serve us and knock off these time changes.

Many a person is asking that question this morning, "If a man die, shall he live again?" Of course those questions are a bit facetious, but it nevertheless is a question Job asked in all seriousness having not yet seen the Redeemer. Our Lord Jesus is our answer to that question and soon we will celebrate again the holiday of His resurrection. If a man die, shall He live again? Yes! And He did it for us. He led the way, He is the way, and He will show us the way.

Great is our Risen Lord!
Bucky

This Verse

Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. John 14:12

This verse has caused so many questions throughout the history of the Church. Those same works of my Lord Jesus do not appear to have been done by me thus far in this mortal life. Many a Christian has wondered about this because, a bit of church singing, a little preaching, maybe a few writings here and there, these do not seem to add up to the resume Jesus compiled in just about three years of works done in His ministry, and of course none of us can compare our works with His death on the cross and resurrection. So, where are these same works that I am to do, because I most certainly believe in the Lord Jesus Christ?

Opening the eyes of the blind, making the paralyzed to walk, curing the sick with a touch, and casting out of demons were all done in my Lord's works. I have done none of these things. Even the disciples struggled to perform them and failed at times. And these are just the same works, we haven't attempted the greater works He spoke of yet. Some ministers have excused us by way of saying, 'works greater in extent...' or something like that, but what does that even mean? Others avoid the question. Me, I would like an answer because I see great needs all around me.

Perhaps to begin, one could study how Jesus did His works; by what power and authority did our Lord do what He did?

“Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works." John 14:10

You see when I attempt to do those works on my own, I try to appropriate the power and authority of God. Jesus did no such thing. I think the key to verse 12 was given to us in verse 10. It is not a failing or shortcoming on my part that I cannot do the works of Jesus and greater works than these; God did the work all along through my Lord Jesus. The greater works are also keyed on what Jesus said, "...because I go to My Father."

I also might want to learn what Jesus considers a greater work. I tend like most of us to think of a number. If Jesus healed three sick people, then I must heal 12 to have a greater work. A simple mathematical sort of equation. However, God is not quite so predictable as I might think, as we have seen in many Bible stories. Jesus told them that he who would be greatest must become the least. Could that mean that a greater work by my Lord's definition might appear to be a lesser by mine? Once more I have raised more questions by attempting an answer!

Pray for guidance for all of us on this great day in the Lord!

Bucky

Jesus Chose That Guy?

Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Luke 6:37 TNIV

Jesus chose the twelve men who would become His disciples. They are named, and one of the names agreed upon in the gospels is Judas Iscariot. Jesus chose that guy? Yes, the one who would go on to betray our Lord to His death was Judas the traitor. Jesus chose that guy to be one of the twelve, His disciples.

Jesus chose me too, and I cannot claim that my sin was any better or worse than that of Judas. While I am not one of the twelve disciples, being instead toward the other end of a long line of discipleship stretching out almost 2,000 years, my choosing of Him shows that He had chosen me already. You make the same claim and unless you happen to be a previously unknown paragon of virtue from your earliest decisions your sin probably is no better than Judas' either. We, together, make quite the collection of saved sinners and it is all due to our Lord Jesus. Not one of us can claim to have earned our salvation, and not one of us can claim to be better than that guy.

Unless, of course, you want to take up condemnation, and then you may want to review our verse for today. I don't want to be condemned; therefore, I will not condemn that guy, Judas, or that fellow over there, or that young lady on the street, or any other neighbor whom I am to love as myself.

Have a joyful day in Christ, even in those tough times down in Sidney.

Love, Bucky

No Confounding, Please

O God, You know my foolishness;
And my sins are not hidden from You.

Let not those who wait for You, O Lord GOD of hosts, be ashamed because of me;
Let not those who seek You be confounded because of me, O God of Israel. Psalm 69:5,6

No confounding, please. We can tell right away that this prayer is not from Jesus, for there was no sin found in Him and no foolishness either. So, which man or woman of the Bible was brave enough to put his or her sin and foolishness out there for all to read throughout the ages? David, King of Israel of course. I wonder how that made the people of Israel feel? I'm guessing they didn't run around touting their foolish and sinful king to the Gentiles around them.

We have an ideal and we seek it in our leaders, ministers, and even spouses. We are at times shocked, shocked I say, that our elected, crowned, or appointed leaders are not the ideal of human behavior that we expected. Divorces have come about when the perfect spouse found and married in the youth of life is later found to be only and merely human. A mere human with sins and foolishness found on board, how ghastly! Even our ministers were called to an ideal of behavior by none other than Paul, the former chief persecutor of the new church of Christ; the same man who wrote that all of us had fallen short of God's glorious standard. When a famous minister falls from that ideal, we are again shocked and disappointed. Perhaps they too have prayed as David did.

If I believe the Bible, God's word, then I cannot claim this ideal of human perfection, and thus along with King David must ask that no one be confounded or ashamed because of me. We all must pray this prayer as we learn selflessness and love toward our neighbors. Especially we pray for those who do not yet believe in Jesus the Christ, and who may not yet realize that a Christian in this world is praying just like David did, "Let them not be confounded because of me, Lord, for You know my foolishness and my sins are not hidden from You."

Christian does not mean perfect; it means forgiven. Rejoice in our Lord's grace!

Bucky

The Redeemer Returns!

With a little wrath I hid My face from you for a moment;
But with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you,”
Says the LORD, your Redeemer. Isaiah 54:8

Wrath, little; but kindness everlasting, and so the Lord greets us this morning! At times from our lowly view the wrath may seem overwhelming and the kindness far away - like it happened way back when and won't come until some unimaginable future day. However, the trials of today are not wrath, and we know it in our spirit. The Lord reminds us that this time of trial is but a moment in His great plan for us. His everlasting kindness brings to us the mercy we need. And that is just what it will feel like when our Redeemer returns to bring us home!

We may think that since we live in the moment His wrath is on us all the time, but it was only for a moment, and that moment was only to bring us back to Him, and the moment may not even belong to you and me but to our Lord and Redeemer. We have tribulation in this age, but it is the everlasting kindness of our Redeemer that upholds us in this time. His mercy brought us grace, and God's grace does not stop even for a moment. Ya know, we can claim His wrath, and we deserved it before He saved us, but it is much better to claim His mercy and grace, after all He earned it for us and gives it to us freely. I think I'll quit moaning 'wrath' and instead explore His everlasting kindness.

Have a healing day in body and spirit through our Lord Jesus Christ!

Bucky

Rockin' or Rock Chuckin'?

And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. Mark 14:26

A hymn? Do you mean they didn't sing one of the psalms? What argument just popped into your mind? Our Lord Jesus had just begun something new with the Communion. I wonder how long it took for believers to begin arguing who was right and who was wrong? There was a time in the church when only psalms were to be sung. Then there was a time when only Watt's hymnal was to be used. Then there was that time when the Pope was called 'Antichrist'. And that other time when a reformer nailed some notes to a door. Now we have rockin' churches with bass and rhythm guitars and a drum line. Always, throughout the ages we have seen the changes and the controversy, even a little rock chuckin' - or worse - between those who claim to believe in Jesus.

To paraphrase Joshua, as for me and my family, we will trust in our Lord Jesus and His forming and reforming of His bride-to-be.

The church has grown since the twelve disciples first gathered with their Lord Jesus. We love to note that our Lord chose them and not the other way around. To Peter, Jesus said that on this rock He would build HIS church. What all the arguing, fighting, and rock chuckin' seems to forget is that it is His rock and His church. What seems to us an ever dividing church full of disagreement and strife is somehow in His power and authority coming together to be married to the Lord Jesus Christ.

There are those times when we cannot see how He will ever get it done, but faith says that He will! Rejoice in the Lord!

Bucky

That Woman

I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. And when I saw her, I marveled with great amazement. Revelation 17:6

Poor Grace the woman we read about yesterday was a fictional gal that could be any of us at some point in our lives. This woman in our verse today is unfortunately not fictional. She is not just some character cooked up by John, but is a force to be reckoned with in the time of the end. On the other hand, she is not one woman either. We learn at the end of chapter 17 that she represents a great city that reigns over the kings of the earth.

We will want to be quite careful with this woman. John saw her and marveled with great amazement, but the angel immediately asked, "Why did you marvel?" As it turns out, only those whose name is not written in the Book of Life are to marvel at this beast. The woman and her beast are apparently quite seductive and John was caught gazing a bit too marvelously. A warning to us as the time for the rising of this city and kingdom is close at hand. The woman and the beast will work together to martyr many for their testimony of Jesus Christ. We hope to get out of here via the Rapture before this happens, but if the time of its reign should come we must not marvel at this woman and her beast.

There are other warnings of what is to come in the end times, but there are a great many wonderful promises from our Lord too. Do not give up our hope in Him!

Bucky

Grace N. Gratitude

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy. Philippians 1:2-4

As her steel-eyed gaze swept the congregation of the All Saints Holy Church of the Righteous Redeemer, Grace found the people in their proper places with their mouths closed and attention locked on the pastor. Woe to the one who stepped out of line in Grace's church and few indeed needed a reminder of her wrath. Children were silenced and crying babies quickly removed from the sanctuary in Grace's church; order in the service and discipline in the Christian life were the orders of the day. The name of Grace N. Gratitude was sadly ironic.

To all appearances, Grace lived the perfect life. Her house, a lonely place where the pastor and church deacons sometimes appeared before her for inspection and correction, held no objects that might cause temptation and was kept immaculately by a quiet housekeeper who lived quietly in a small house at the back of the property. Sometimes Grace even remembered her name. The gardener came daily and kept all things in order; he only mowed the lawn during Grace's three-hour Wednesday morning Bible study when she would be without exception gone from the home. Grace kept her vigil over her house and her church by her cold legalism and a stranglehold on the church finances. Grace was rich, you see, but not in the way of the grace our Lord gave to us by His sacrifice.

Self-righteous Grace N. Gratitude had never felt the need for grace and her only gratitude came when she found something in a neighbor to correct, and God knows, she thought, the world needed a lot of her particular corrective skill. The bank president, the town council, and every school teacher and official had felt the sharpness of Grace's tongue. For they too lived under her dominion. Without Grace's money, no bank loans for homes or new businesses could be lent. If a street needed to be paved, it was Grace who gave permission or denied it depending upon her whim. Grace was grateful that God had placed her in a town that needed so much correction.

Grace made sure on the first of every month that her last will and testament was in order, for one day her departure from this world would open the way for decadence if she did not work her will through her will, so to speak, as Grace allowed herself her one monthly chuckle.

Thursday morning, Grace presided over the funeral of her longtime pastor. Sunday morning she looked up at the new pastor and was horrified to discover the face of the very man she had voted down in the quickly-assembled church board meeting. The man was dirty, she noted, with sawdust in the lower folds of his ill-fitting trousers. The new pastor held up the giving lists, Grace's pride and joy with their names and system of bronze, silver, and gold stars for giving 10, 15, and 20 percent of income faithfully each month, and he burned them in the pulpit, setting off the church smoke alarm, the one donated by Grace, in the process. The filthy man pointed back to the confessional and penitence booths built by Grace's maintenance man at her expense and said, "Those will no longer be needed here, I will remove them this week." Grace N. Gratitude felt a lump of outrage swelling in her chest, tightening like her purse strings.

Control would quickly be reasserted at the next meeting of the church board tonight, she vowed, this lack of discipline before the law could not be tolerated!

The pastor threw Grace N. Gratitude off the church board.

And then the wretched man spoke a sermon of grace, mercy, and the forgiveness of sin through faith in Jesus Christ. He spoke of breaking chains and living in love for God and neighbors. He spoke of depending only on the providence of God. The slightly unkempt man publicly forgave Grace N. Gratitude, right there in her former church. And something in Grace N. Gratitude's little head popped with an almost audible sound. Perhaps it was just a spiritual purse string.

Grace and peace to you from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ!

Bucky

Big Changes In The Storm

​I would hasten my escape
​​From the windy storm and tempest. Psalm 55:8

Every time my faith is tested and strengthened I want to do as David contemplates here in the verse for today. Yes, I cry out to the Lord to hasten my escape almost from the moment the storm's wind beats on my door. I am much like my brothers and sisters in Christ in this.

We like the times of calm seas for sailing, a sunny temperate day for walking, and a full pantry for eating. However no one becomes stronger in the faith in those times. Anyone could remain true to the Lord if faith were never tested. A quiet repose after an easy life shows little of faith, but faithfully praising God through a storm of epic proportions shows a strengthened faith upheld by the Lord Himself. And that storm can bring big changes in life that show our need for faith in Him.

As we close out February of this year, many are facing big changes. Saying farewell to a company that provided a job for years, leaving a town and home that have been theirs for decades, and all the emotional upheaval that entails is coming for many in this area. Pray for a strengthening of their faith and ours as the storm is upon us. Those left behind will need faith too, as the economic loss will affect them for good or bad. Steadfast endurance is called for, as the recovery from such a loss may take years. In all of these storms and changes though, our Lord Jesus Christ remains faithfully with us.

Fear not, rejoice in the strengthening of our faith in Christ!

Bucky

Hear the Word, and Get More

Then He said to them, “Take heed what you hear. With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given. Mark 4:24

This at the first may seem to be a complex verse, but from what I have learned thus far in my study of the word, God wants us to hear and understand His word. The Bible is not like that claw arcade game where most of the time the player reaches in and all the prizes slip away from his grasp. There is usually no trick to hearing and understanding the word of the Lord; we simply ask of Him and His Holy Spirit teaches us.

So, simple and straightforward it is! We read a warning to be cautious in what we hear, and surely this will also pertain to reading and seeing. Then, we are warned that to be stingy in our measure will bring the same back upon us when we need to receive. And finally, when we hear what our Lord is saying through His word, then we will be given more of it. Is that it?

A great thing about the Word is that if you dig in with a teaspoon, it will teach you in like amounts. But if you go into it with a shovel, that too will return to teach you in the same measure. And if you are a real champion of the Bible study, you can dig in with a steam shovel and get a return by landslide amounts. The Word of the Lord is shallow enough for a quick skim, or deep enough for some steadfast drilling-down study. We will not run out of God's word in this short lifetime. Even Methuselah did not live long enough to outlive the riches of our Lord's Word. So, feel free to measure yourself a healthy amount of God's word today, there is more than enough for all of us. As you read, hear the Word and get some more!

Love in Christ Jesus,
Bucky

Somehow We Know

Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning,
For in You do I trust;
Cause me to know the way in which I should walk,
For I lift up my soul to You. Psalm 143:8

Take only this verse for this morning and examine the One to whom this is addressed. Wait, all we get is 'Your' and 'You', yet we know just like the translator did to put a capital on those words for they are addressed to our Lord. Somehow we know.

Could it be the lovingkindness? A word used often of our Lord. How about lifting up the soul? For something so valuable to each of us, only the Lord will do for entrusting our soul. But people throughout history have been easily misguided and led astray to many strange ends. Here we also see the prayer - cause me to hear Your lovingkindness and cause me to know the way. We know the words of praise and prayer to the Lord by the Spirit in us, but we are born fallen and need the guidance of our Lord to return to Him. Even born again in Christ we need His guidance as we walk with Him on this life's journey.

Somehow we know the prayer of a man lifting up his soul to God, probably by the leading of the Spirit in us to pray for those same things. So close do we draw to our Lord and each other that we may even know this to be a psalm of David, and indeed it is. "Hear my prayer, O Lord," "deliver me, O Lord," and "Revive me, O Lord," resound in this psalm and in our hearts as our brother calls out to his Savior. We know through our Lord!

Bucky