August 8, 2007

Good morning. Every morning it is good to let the peace of God settle upon you. A few moments, a half hour, whatever can be set aside to stop and listen as the Lord's world wakes up. You might ask how I can possibly call it the Lord's world when sin stains everything around us. The fact that we have a choice, and that some will choose evil rather than life does not make it any less the possession of its creator. The most excellent thing is that he loves his creations, you, me, rocks, trees, all of his creation. So much that Jesus was sent at the Father's bidding to redeem us from that sin which is draped over everything, trying to cut off the light of our God. Even though some of our fellow humans will roll happily in that covering of sin, we know that Jesus' light shines brightly, over us, through us, and from within each of us who believe in our Lord. Greater love hath no man, than he lay down his life for his friends, and greater love is in Jesus who laid down his life for those who will believe.

Feel the glory of the Lord in you today!

Bucky

August 7, 2007

A great good morning to you! Alas, vacation cannot go on forever and I must return to work today. I pray for peace on this day; for you and for me, that God's peace might descend on us and give us that peace that Jesus promised us. We know that God keeps his promises, but do we believe that in our hearts? You might wonder at the difference. Let me illustrate this way. A religion professor would know from the Bible that God always kept his promises. However, he would also place the Bible on the same shelf as all of the other religious texts. That person knows in his head that God keeps his promises, but does not believe in his heart. Jesus calls us to believe in our hearts that he will deliver all that he has promised us. You may not feel faithful, and in the morning you may not get up and say, "I am faithful". What is most important to remind ourselves each morning is that "God is faithful" I have heard it said before, probably by Pastor Rogers at least once, that we don't have strong faith in God, but we have faith in a strong God. Paul writes that faith is a gift from God, so that we cannot boast of any faith that we might think we have earned. We can boast of our faithful God and the powerful faith that he gives to us. Whether you have a little faith or a lot of faith, God has given you just the right amount for what he would have you to do. As James reminds us, the world will see our faith in the good deeds that we do. Don't get tied up in knots over your quantity or quality of good deeds! The Holy Spirit will point each of us in the right direction, and his guidance will show you where those opportunities for good await you.

Praise the Lord God Almighty!

Bucky

August 6, 2007

Good morning! Yes, I am up on time and sending out this message to you. I am still off work today, putting together another team paper. Next year, and that isn't too far away, I plan on taking vacation without doing school work, and a wonderful change that will be too! It is raining here and Caedmon's Call is on the sound system. It may not be even close to heaven, but it isn't bad either. Cal, the barber, told me that school starts in two weeks. Oh, sweet torment for the kids, only two weeks of freedom and then another long nine months of school. I should be finished with mine before they get out next time and that is something to look forward to!

Today, I felt directed to go back once more to the psalms in the book of, and this you can probably guess, Psalms! The song book of the Bible. At one time it was thought that psalms were the only song s that should be sung in church. The psalms are wonderful, but think of all the great songs and singers we would have missed through the years. Christian music now enjoys some of the most talented people in its history, and that is certainly due in part to the great music they grew up with. Rock, rap, pop, country, bluegrass, and the old time hymns; take your pick and enjoy whatever you like from among a huge selection available these days. Music is a large part of our walk with Christ and certainly shouldn't be restricted to church services.

Praise the Lord for the cleansing rain of his love on our hearts today.

Bucky

August 5, 2007

Good afternoon, and a glorious good day to you as well! The love of the Lord Jesus is great within me today. Wonderful sermons this morning; I especially enjoyed the ministry of Nick Vujicic today on the Hour of Power. It is on somewhere tonight, TBN perhaps. This is the man who was born without arms or legs; he has one stub of a foot. When I think back to the dreams of youth, how many of us wanted to be the football hero or other athletic star of the high school? Most of us had some dream that required the use of all limbs. Remember how frightened most of us were of anyone out of the ordinary. Growing up with a person who has a disability is not experienced by most of us. This man, Nick, faced it every day growing up and probably had some anger issues at times. His testimony now is one of sorrow for those who do not know the joy of Jesus Christ. It is amazing to me that one we all might be moved to pity, would instead pity those still lost in the world. Such changes in a person are all in a days work for Jesus our Lord! Praise God for the powerful testimony of Nick Vujicic!

Another warm day out here, not as bad as July was though. Once again the seasons are moving on, ever changing and yet ever returning. One day there will be a great change though, and Jesus will return to us. Wait patiently, endure, until that great day of the Lord!

God bless you!

Bucky

August 3, 2007

Good Afternoon! I know, you were probably wondering what happened today. Well, those occasional vacation days, like today, are quite the treat. We had a celebration last night for our successful work on that big PCI project that caused me so much grief, along with the schoolwork, in the first half of this year. I feel that a lot of strife has passed by, and now the urge to write is coming on strong once more. Of course, the writing this weekend will mostly involve yet another in a long line of school papers, but there are only six classes and one weekend (this one) left to go. I found out that the son of a friend in Christ is now grown up and teaching a history class at our local college. The one remaining elective for me is a history class, and so I do believe that I will see about attending that one instead of the UoP online course.

I did manage to get out and about to the grocery store and a haircut today. As I get older I like shorter hair more. I do really like long hair on the ladies, but I also respect them very much for the time and effort it takes to care for long hair. Just a bit of personal opinion there! Christmas is just... oops, did I hear an "aaagh, no!" from out there? You're right, probably a little too soon to anticipate... I won't mention it again today. The dragonflies are having a good time over the pond today; I should expect some more little ones before long. Did you know that dragonflies before they molt and become adults are one of the ugliest bugs I have ever seen? The first time I saw some of them in the pond skimmer, I was ready to moosh them on the spot. After seeing one emerge into an adult on my porch, I was once again impressed with God's creation. How something so repulsive could become one of the more amazing insects is quite beyond my understanding. Aeronautical engineers still study dragonflies in hope of creating flying machines that can come close to performing their amazing aeronautical feats. Once more the theory of evolution remains more unbelievable to me than the Creator. The only reason the world clings to theories like evolution is in rejecting God as who and what he is.

Praise God that he is, and as he told Moses, "I am that I am." So simple and yet so far beyond my comprehension at the same time.

God is with you, walk with him this day!

Bucky

August 2, 2007

Good morning! A wonderful August morning is here and the days are counting down toward the start of school. Have you teased your favorite child today, "Look, just three weeks (or so) until school starts!" In the working world, we do not get a three month vacation, and I probably go on about this every year. Yes, I may not miss the hours sitting in class that was elementary school, but I do miss the three month vacation. Is there a vacation from the work of spreading the Good News? Sure there is, and I speak not of when we go home, God gives us rest when we need it. Your job might be to stamp treads on the soles of shoes each day, and the vacations from that job may be sweet to you. A minister might spend each day taking care of his or her flock, and the vacations will be good as well. However, in spreading the Good News, is there a time for rest? I think there is a "yes" to that. Jesus went off alone many times to pray and I would think to rest alone with God. Worn out, we are no good to anyone. If your favorite form of spreading the Good News is to meet people in their homes, and one day you feel that you cannot knock on another door, it is probably time for a vacation. Go to the mountain, as it is sometimes said, and be alone with the Lord. Then take your family somewhere and have a vacation.

No, I'm not feeling worn out writing the devotional. Most days the devotional that comes to me is not a message directed at myself. Praise the Lord for the privilege of writing each morning. I still write this spontaneously each morning. Not sure why, but I feel that writing a stack of devotionals to get "ahead" in case of a sick day or something is not part of my calling. That may change someday, I do not know. For now, I feel called to do it each morning. That may be a part of my own healing from God and I am glad that each of you is here to share it with me. Let the glory of God rise among us today!

God loves you and so do I!

Bucky

August 1, 2007

Good morning to you! It is a fine day in the Lord Jesus. Someone mentioned how quotes from the Bible are often taken out of context, and perhaps our schools have become a place where that is more prevalent than ever before. The example they used was "You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." The quote is used to encourage learning in the secular world, and it is probably no surprise that the source is not credited. The quote is of course from Jesus and the context is more like this: Jesus said to the people who believed in him, "You are truly my disciples if you keep obeying my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." (John 8:31-32) Adds a different meaning to it eh? I don't recall seeing the part about becoming Jesus' disciple first and obedience in the secular uses of that quotation; someone seems to have forgotten that part. Last night, I read in Romans another quote that is often used without the second part. "For the wages of sin is death..." In school we learn that those dots mean that words were left out. You mean that we are told to write in complete sentences, but quotations are fair game for editing? Yes, some things are not applied consistently. Did you know that in our school papers, or any scholarly paper, that you do not have to cite the Bible when using quotations from it? Is that clever or what? Where do we find the sayings of Jesus? In the Bible. And what do we not, according to the intellectual rule makers, need to cite? The Bible. The verse says something quite a bit more positive if we read the whole verse: "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 6:23) That's a pretty important "but" in my estimation, and certainly one we should remember. I accept that free gift and I don't want the wages of sin. Praise the Lord for his sacrifice and the free gift that is given to us through Christ the Lord!

God bless you this day!

Bucky

July 31, 2007

Good morning, let the glory of the Lord shine in you this day! Sometimes I sense that we like to go into our closet and whisper, "Jesus is Lord". The world marshalls its forces against each one of us, and at times we forget whom we walk with. We are not to be undercover agents here on this earth and in this life. Though we are not at home, and living in enemy-held territory, it is not for us to be quiet about our faith. God, the mighty creator of heaven and earth, holds us safely in his hand. With power and authority we go forth in the whole armor of God! Analyze your talents and spiritual gifts, use them in joy for the kingdom of God.

Lately, it seems that a spirit of rebellion has come into me. I don't want to do my classwork, and the house is becoming messy. I have asked the Lord to show me where this is coming from, but please don't be afraid to offer some suggestions. Bible verses that you know or wisdom that you have gained through life may help in this. Sharing is caring as they say! Perhaps the uncertainty that has come upon me lately has something to do with this attitude. The reorganization at work, a trusted counselor moving away, and other trials, seem to have things kind of chaotic right now. Yes, the devotional goes on, one enjoyable and rewarding task that I do like. Jesus told us that his yoke is easy and his burden light, and this devotional is certainly proof of that.

Living in Jesus and feeling the joy!

Bucky

July 30, 2007

Good morning on this great and glorious Monday! What about the other guy? Today I thought about the other person. Often in situations we tend to think first of ourselves and only much later of the other person. When someone is in a position to serve us, perhaps a nurse, doctor, waiter, or other position, we judge them quickly on their performance without stopping to consider their life and what may be going on in it. Servers are expected to put aside all personal feelings or problems and do their job cheerfully. However, we all know that is not so easy. A medical problem doesn't simply go away while a person is at work and may constantly remind them that it is there. It is easy to tell someone else how to solve their problems or to offer unsolicited advice on how they should be doing their job. Then there is the other side of that; we might be in that same position of service and suddenly everyone else should be understanding of our problems. Yes, we seem to be stuck in that beam and mote thing again.

Praise the Lord for the saving power of Jesus Christ! That power does more than grant salvation to us; it cleanses us of bad attitudes and helps us to see the other person as someone with needs and problems much like our own. God doesn't banish all of our problems when we become Christians, and one reason for that might be so that we remember that the other person is hurting too. I once thought all of my problems were unique and that no one understood. As I have grown in Christ, it is a comfort to know that others suffer similar problems and that I can help them or they can help me. No problem is too big for our great God, and sharing our joy and our trials with each other helps to heal and gives us hope. Jesus told us to love one another, and that command still holds true today. It is for our own good that we love others, and it is for their good that they love each of us.

God loves you with a God-sized and enduring love,

Bucky

July 29, 2007

Whee! What a morning! Great sermons and fish going bonkers. The heavy rain yesterday has the pond brimming full, and for some reason the fish are having way too much fun. After the rain we have received the past couple of days, the plants are going to do well for a while around here, lots of lawn mowing. The temperatures have been very nice for the end of July. That's right, the end of July is Tuesday night, we are at the end of another month already. Less than 5 months until Christmas, time to start getting ready! Break out the Christmas music, sing a few carols in the shower for practice, and dust off those decorations, Christmas is almost here! :-) Oops, we should probably get the kids back to school first and maybe give some thought to autumn. It can be hard for some of us not to look too far ahead. It may be a silly song title, but Jesus told us something similar - live for today.

Someone has been praying for me! Don't think that you can get away with keeping that in the closet. My washing machine needed a service call last weekend, but is working fine this weekend. In the world that kind of thing doesn't happen, but in Christ those prayers have obvious effects. I can tell when someone has been praying for me and a great, "Thank you very much!" to you. As always we should pray for each other without ceasing and trust in God for all of our problems. I may be in a dark valley, but the other end is very bright.

Praise God, our Father in Heaven!

Bucky

July 28, 2007

Good morning! We have a rainy day ahead of us it would seem. The customers waiting in line for the sidewalk sale at our store have a cool day for the first time in many years. Praise the Lord for his beneficence! Nothing heavy on such a fine day. A busy day yesterday, and I found out nothing new on the reorganization at work. I'll just have to set that aside and enjoy the weekend, with some homework thrown in to keep the weekend busy. It is time to set the calamities of the week aside and enjoy some time off. Have you ever wondered how much it would take to please God? Have I done enough today, or this week? If faith without deeds is dead, do we need to be a constant, whirling ball of activity for God? If you look at the one example we should always look toward, I think you will find that Jesus had a pace and that he often withdrew to quiet places. None of us has the endurance to do many things simultaneously and do them well. God created us with a need for sleep and relaxation. Trying to do too much will wear us out. Our lives are to be a shining light to the world, if we are worn out and tired all the time, what kind of witness is that to someone in the same state? Leave the guilt feelings at the feet of the cross; God will make it clear when each of us is to act. Rest in our Lord Jesus!

Have a wonderful weekend in the Spirit!

Bucky

July 27, 2007

Good morning, and a Friday morning at that! Let the glory of the Lord shine out from each of us this day. We face the uncertainty of a reorganization at work. I'll let you know how it comes out. The important thing is to remember to submit to those the Lord has placed over me and to do the best I can at whatever duty or project that I am assigned. Every once in a while, our lives have an upheaval or change in direction. Some of us will be moving to a new home or new town, others may transfer to a new position or new company in their work, and some of us may suffer loss or gain in our families. This life is unstable, probably the very reason that Jesus reminded us to build our house upon the Rock, Jesus himself. Look to the Lord while the changes of this life whirl around you; accept the peace that Jesus gives to you. Jesus pours out his love upon us, roll in it, waller in it, and live in that love!

Let you light shine this day!

Bucky

July 26, 2007

Good morning! This morning I would like to share a bit of the Psalms with you.

"Sing to the Lord, all you godly ones!
Praise his holy name.
His anger lasts for a moment,
but his favor lasts a lifetime!
Weeping may go on all night,
but joy comes with the morning." (30:4-5)

In looking at the sunrise this morning, it is clear that beginning a new day is often the time to set aside the worries of yesterday. Many of our problems don't look so bad after a night's sleep. Is sleep then the only restorative for our problems? No, we can read in Psalms about how his anger passes in a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime. David was one to know this; he angered the Lord just as we do. Today is a morning of forgiveness; give your sins and worries to God before you do anything else this day.

God bless you this fine day!

Bucky

July 25, 2007

At the dawning of a new day, a good morning to you! "When God saw that they had put a stop to their evil ways, he had mercy on them and didn't carry out the destruction he had threatened." (Jonah 3:10) Did you ever feel like our country might be near that point; the one where God sends a messenger crying, "Repent! Or suffer the consequences of the Lord's wrath."? Reading or watching the media, I often feel that the sins of America in many ways parallel the sins of the Israelites prior to the destruction of Jerusalem and their captivity in Babylon. Molech worship involved child sacrifice, abortion involves child sacrifice; we can list further sins, but we all know what they are. Should God withhold his wrath from our country? At the moment I remember the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, when the Lord asked if any righteous men could be found then he would spare the city. I do believe there are many righteous men and women in this land. All made righteous by the blood of Jesus. Is there reason to spare America? You bet, and right now we are that reason. Believe in Jesus and spread the Good News, our country is depending on us!

Praise the name of Jesus, our Lord!

Bucky

July 24, 2007 - A Story of Jonah

A Story of Jonah

Jonah received very clear instructions from God. "Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh, and deliver the message of judgment I have given you." (Jonah 3:1) This is the second iteration of the message, given to Jonah after he had been spit out by the fish. We know from our Sunday School lessons that Jonah obeyed the second time around and gave his message to Nineveh. The result was a great revival, how Jonah must have felt the power of the effect his words had on the people! You may have noticed that I said "his" message. Look at what the Lord said to him, "...the message I have given you." Yesterday, I reminded you and my self that when the Lord gives us something, we should take ownership of it in humble gratitude. Thus the message now becomes Jonah's and he probably felt quite powerful after such a dramatic event. A city of 120,000 repents from the "greatest to the least" as the Bible records. Now Jonah is sitting in a small, hand built shelter outside of the city, waiting for the Lord to rain down destruction upon the city. But! the Lord sees the genuine change of heart in the people of Nineveh and changes or cancels his plan to destroy them. Jonah, as any of us might, promptly begins to complain bitterly, perhaps he feels the fool for having given a message that will not happen, but more than likely he is frightened. That power of his message is suddenly rendered moot, and false prophets, those whose predicted events did not come to pass, were often treated rather badly in those times, that is they were stoned to death.

Sitting in that little shelter, the Lord doesn't explain everything to Jonah right away, but simply asks, "Is it right for you to be angry about this?" We often have that same problem, we rail and complain against everything in general or something more specific, and yet do we really have a right to be angry about events that happen as they do according to God's great plan? Jonah was like those workers in Jesus' parable who were angry that those who arrived late were paid the same as those who worked the entire day. Jonah had taken a bit too much ownership; he not only owned the message, but tried to usurp the power of God that was behind the message too! He wanted to exercise that power and destroy a city of now repentant souls. Would any of us have been any different?

Later, Jonah is sent a large, leafy plant to shade his little dwelling. He is very glad of this plant. Here is where the Lord has given me special understanding of Jonah's situation in this little shelter. He, after spending three days in the belly of a fish, was claustrophobic. Think of the terror of that situation, three days waiting for the fish to take one gulp of water and drowning you, 36 hours of imagination run wild in a dark, wet place that you are completely powerless to escape. The fish probably dived like a submarine; it isn't as though Jonah could just step out the side door. The plant provided Jonah shelter from the sun, but outside of that little hut that Jonah had built. He could be sheltered but outside in the open at the same time. What a blessing for a claustrophobic! You can probably imagine Jonah with the BC equivalent of a lawn chair and a cool drink, sitting under the shade of that great plant. But then, disaster.. the plant dies. We are beginning to see the similarity between Jonah and all of us, and he does not disappoint... he immediately starts whining again, just like...us! The Lord asks him again, "Is it right for you to be angry because the plant died?"

Jonah's answer is terribly bitter, "Yes, even angry enough to die!" The Lord then compassionately answers Jonah and explains how Jonah feels sorry for the plant and reminds Jonah that he did nothing to put it there. The last question the Lord has for Jonah, and the one that completes the Book of Jonah, is powerful and to the point. "Shouldn't I feel sorry for such a great city?" A worm was in Nineveh, destroying the people just as one destroyed the plant Jonah had enjoyed. God's message, given to Jonah, who then gave it to the people of Nineveh (we can see that Jonah no longer had ownership anyway) destroyed that worm of sin which had infested them. Who are we a special messenger to?

To God be the Glory!

Bucky

July 23, 2007

Good morning. Yesterday, while doing more of that homework stuff, I noticed a flock of geese flying south. A glance at the calendar told me that this probably had a lot more to do with a lake or pond than any approach of cold weather. If geese needed to fly south on July 22, we would be in what the atmospheric scientists like to call "big trouble". I don't like the season of hot weather, but I am not quite ready for winter just yet.

This morning I read in Jonah about his getting tossed off the ship. The sailors were not bad people, after learning that Jonah had disobeyed God and that they should throw him overboard, they still tried to row back to safety. They couldn't fight God though and were forced to toss Jonah overboard, at which time the storm stopped. Their amazement caused them to pledge their obedience to the Lord and offer him a sacrifice. The Lord can work even in our disobedience! Not that we should make a habit of that; Jonah spent three days in a big fish, probably a whale, but the Bible translation I use says big fish. Jonah goes on to say that when he had lost all hope, his thoughts turned to the Lord. Isn't that the truth? When we are doing well, we don't think of salvation. It seems that at least most of us must hit bottom in our life before we will turn to the Lord. I was no different and I suspect that you came to that same point in your life as well. There is no better one to cry out to in our despair than the Lord who created the heavens and the earth. Praise God for the love of our Father in Heaven!

May God be with you this week,

Bucky

July 22, 2007

Good Sunday morning! Did you ever stop at some point and have the thought that you are not receiving answers to prayer? Troubles come in legions and it seems that God is distant, and then you come to the Word, you come to church services, and all of the sudden here come the answers, not just one, not two, but over and over the answers come and you know without a doubt that God was and is listening in your troubles. I have been through a valley, and have experienced this morning just that kind of answer. Praise the Lord God almighty! You and I are children of God; we believe in His Son, Jesus Christ. Today, receive the blessing, the inheritance, that is ours as children of the Most High God.

We are children of the King!

Bucky

July 20, 2007

Good morning from the cloudy skies of western Nebraska! I suppose that I should say "under" the cloudy skies, the clouds aren't saying anything. Today, I read about the great throne judgment in Revelation. I realized that I do not want anyone to perish in the second death. This may be a step toward that genuine love that we strive for in the strength of Jesus. We may not yet want all of the best for a stranger on the far side of the planet, but we come to realize that we don't want them to perish. I pray that we all have a wonderful Friday and weekend. Show the light of Jesus into the darkness of the world.

Bucky

July 21, 2007

Whew! 0930 and I am already tired. Cleaning the pond, catching some fish and transplanting them to a bigger pond out in the country, and digging some cattails with Gary, has left me worn out early this day. What happened to resting after the work week? :-) Some times there is just a lot to get done on a Saturday and putting it off until Sunday ruins both days. Of course, this weekend is not without its very own school assignments, but each weekend is one closer to finishing this school thing.

Reading the final chapter of the Bible reminds me that Jesus would have each of us know that He is coming soon. We might wonder at times just how soon is "soon". When we are tired of this life, when problems are tough or many, we might wonder a bit more forcefully; we might even suggest to the Lord that now would be a good time. Well, me too, but Jesus is not a rip cord that we can pull, or a pill to soothe an ache; we must wait and endure until his perfect time has arrived. However, he says it more than once to remind us, to comfort us, that his time is soon. We can count on that, and we who believe know that time is short for spreading the Good News. We need not endure much longer. Trust in the almighty strength of Jesus our Lord.

I pray that you have a blessed weekend!

Bucky

July 19, 2007

Good morning, and a sticky one it is too. In more humid areas of the country things get wet from the humidity in the morning, here we get sticky. Have you ever noticed some phrase creeping into your conversation? Mine as of late has been "and that's a fact" appended to things that most certainly are not. "That's a beautiful house, and that's a fact!" Actually that's my opinion, not a fact, and the phrase must go. If I review the books that I have read recently, the answer will probably be found there.

What else do you see going on in the world today? If you point out the events you see moving in the world of politics, business, and government, the world would probably brand you a "conspiracy theorist" or just "quack". Yet, if someone has a plot working and someone else points it out to them, what is the first line of defense? "Oh, pooh! You're imagining things." Yes, they brush it off and try to deflect the investigation. Looking at the media in general, what if there is a power behind the moves we see? Purchases of certain companies, policies of government, who gets elected in politics or who takes over power, can all add up to a great plan of someones. It may appear so disconnected that most would fail to see the plan behind the news events. Pastor Rogers liked to say that, "it is getting gloriously dark!" Never before in history has the ability to speak to the entire world existed, and never before has the world been so open to purchase. When the communist giants held power, there was (in theory) nothing to buy in their countries. Now we see them taking to capitalism with a vengeance. The Internet is reaching to even remote villages and farms through wireless, cellular, and satellite technologies. Solar powered computers are going to be made available to children throughout the world. Gloriously dark indeed.

There is no reason to fear. No matter what plots or events unfold in the world, God is sovereign. Only one plan will come to be in the end, and that is God's plan. Let the glory of the Lord shine upon us this day!

Bucky

July 18, 2007

Good morning! Another warm day in our life on earth, enjoy it while you can. The pond needs maintenance again, looks like my first Saturday task has been decided already. I read this morning of the great celebration in heaven over the Lord's final victory over evil. Revelation 19 and 20 record John being shown the tremendous shouting of praise and joy as Jesus rides forth to the final victory. What a wonderful vision to start the day with, especially after the dark visions of the trumpet and bowl judgments. Right now we travel through a valley, both the big valley that is this life and the smaller valleys that belong to us personally. Jesus is with us through all of that and if anything the darker the valley, the higher we should hold the light he gives to us. Letting our light shine is not just a trite little saying, it is the Good News of Jesus shining forth from us. Let the glory of the Lord shine out from you today. If it seems particularly dark today, ask God for a little more light to shine.

In the Name of Jesus!

Bucky

July 17, 2007

Good morning. The cat is bird watching with an intensity that is the envy of Audobon, they may have a slightly different interest in the welfare of the bird though. So many things on my mind this morning, which one to write about? Last night in my Bible reading, I was struck by how much Paul cared for his readers in Rome. He writes that, day and night he brings their needs before God. That is a powerful testimony. I am sure that Paul suffered as much or more than we do each day. In those days there was not a lot of comfort to be had on journeys, and Paul's were epic. The beating and stoning that he survived by the grace of God probably didn't do his poor ol' bod any good either. Yet his prayers day and night were for other people, other believers in Christ. Bring your needs in prayer to God, the Bible instructs us to do this, but then move on and pray for your friends, neighbors, co-workers, and especially for your brothers and sisters in Christ. Today you get one long prayer request! Tomorrow, who knows, we may even have a devotional again. Actually, prayer is so important in our lives that entire books have been devoted to it and the Bible speaks of it often. Pray day and night, love the Lord Jesus with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength.

God loves you and so do I!

Bucky

July 16, 2007

Good morning. Always Christ is there for me. It does not matter whether it is a normal day or a "bad" day, Christ is there. No, this is not going to be a tale of some lousy day I had, just that this morning I am realizing anew that Christ is always with me and always watching out for me. I am glad that he sits by the right hand of the Father as the Holy Spirit makes intercession for me. Did you ever stop to realize that we really don't know what to pray for much of the time? We often tell God a list of "I wants", many of which may not be best for us. Praise the Lord for his infinite wisdom; He knows exactly what is best for each and every one of us.

Confession: I have a bad case of what a friend referred to as "senioritis". It hardly seems that I can stand another class and yet I am so close to graduation. Have you ever spoken rashly early in life or in a journey and said something like, "that will never happen to me!" How often that comes back to haunt us! Short-timers syndrome, Old Salt fever, senioritis, and many other attitudes and conditions plague those we know or meet in life. We usually take some kind of vow to not let it happen to us and seem to set ourselves up for yet another humbling experience. Probably because we make these promises and vows in our own strength.

God be praised!

Bucky

July 15, 2007

Good morning, it is nice to see the clouds keeping it cool(er) today. Walking through Walmart, I saw the displays of school stuff already. It seems that Christmas isn't the only shopping season that is pushed at a time that to me seems much too soon. The first of August, okay, but the middle of July just seems a bit like torturing the kids. Summer break is only half over for goodness sakes. It seems like I went off about this last year; Walmart apparently didn't take notice of my opinion, how rude of them! :-)

Last night I was asking for forgiveness for my sins, which seems to happen a lot, and the thought came to me that I should call it the "lust of too much". What that means is that often sin begins with a lust for too much. Wanting one woman or one man and entering to a relationship leading to marriage is good for us. Wanting a wife or husband and having an affair is lusting after too much and is sin. When we commit adultery is hurts us more than it hurts God. He is disappointed in us and grieves over our sin, but the hurt is really to all parties involved in the breaking of trust. Pornography, many movies and television shows, and even a lot of advertising is based on that lust of too much. When a person of wealth starts collecting automobiles what happens? You know it, the collection will eventually encompass garages and buildings. In our consumer-driven culture, the lust of too much causes houses and closets to overflow with "stuff"; we have things that we have not used for years, clothes that no longer fit, and furniture that only the pets use. Then we can start in on the credit card debt...

What happens is that "lust of too much" cannot be satisfied, one car (knick-knack, model, figurine, etc.) doesn't make a collection, but two only calls to three, and so on, until suddenly the collection is out of control. Advertisers take advantage of this lust to tell us how much more we need to want and buy. Even Solomon, the wisest man in the Old Testament, fell into the trap of that lust. He had 700 wives and a thousand concubines, and that is just asking for trouble. Now all of this does not mean that we should stop living; you will still need things and want things, not all of that is automatically a sin. However, we can usually tell when we have fallen victim to the lust of too much. If you find it difficult to pay for that last collectible you bought, you may be there already. If the credit card bills are piling up, say it in your best Jeff Foxworthy imitation, you might be a victim of the lust of too much.

Praise the Lord for forgiveness in Jesus Christ!

Bucky

July 14, 2007

Good Morning! What a nice morning too! Last night I thought about the story of the Prodigal Son. If you are at all like me, the prodigal part came easily, even naturally. I cannot remember a time when I was not good at the prodigal part of that story. Rebellion, spending, gluttony, all of these come naturally to a creature stained with sin from birth. Have you ever noticed that all of Jesus' parables have an element of "me" in them? As in, "oops, that's me. I'm often like that." I read the stories of Jesus coming down on the Pharisees and their legion of rules, only to think badly of someone else for some small infraction. There seems to be no getting around the fact that I am all of the wrong things spoken of in the Bible.
That is why the Law points to Jesus, the fulfillment of the Law. Read in Leviticus the extensive rules for how to do everything in life. Is it any wonder the Israelites had trouble keeping the law? What are the corners of the beard anyway, and why should they not be trimmed? I think that God made the Law difficult to show us how we cannot keep it. They didn't back in the day, and we don't keep it now. Prodigals everywhere I look and I am not the least of them. Praise the Lord for forgiveness in Jesus!

Paul tells us in Romans that all have sinned and fallen short of God's glorious standard. Almost 2,000 years later there is no better way to put it. We are all prodigals from birth and only in Jesus can we be saved. Heavy news for a Saturday? Yep, me too, but that is what came to me for the devotional today. On the other hand, we have the Good News of Christ's resurrection and life! He has risen! Conquering death and the grave, none can overcome our Lord Jesus. We cannot be condemned when God has forgiven our sin. Jesus paid the price and we cannot be charged again with the same crime. Hold your hands up to heaven today and rest in the glory of our Lord's sacrifice for us.

Give glory to the Lord this day!

Bucky

July 13, 2007

Good morning. Do you ever find yourself thinking that a problem or trial that you have experienced is unique. You might have that thought, "Why does this only happen to me?" or something similar go through your head. Later, God will bring someone into your life and you find that not only is your problem not unique, but yours is in some way lighter or easier than the next person's. When we speak of stories where God has humbled me in some way, my stories will often come from that direction. At times it can be a longevity or length of time complaint, "Lord, when are you going to heal me from this?" About that time someone will mention that same or a worse problem they have endured for much longer. Ouch, there I go scurrying off under a couch in shame, since my new inch-high size allows me to do such things. Stress at work and a desire to get out? Hardly a day goes by that someone I thought was strong and doing well in the hectic environment does not mention how they have a dream or plan to get out and do something else for a living.

Yes, we will go over it once again. Each of us is a unique creation of God, but none of us has problems that God has not seen before and handled easily in his mighty power and wisdom. Isn't it great to know that God is in control of our problems and knows exactly how to take care of us? We need not fear outcomes when we walk in the Creator and he in us. Let the glory of the Lord rise above our problems and trials.

God bless you this weekend!

Bucky

July 12, 2007

Good Morning! The light of the Lord shines in us today. I pray that one more letter of love might go out to you on this day. What a beautiful sunrise this morning. This is one of my favorite times to write the devotional, that time just before the sun comes up when only the occasional car goes by and even the animals are quiet. The annual harvest report, since I know that I did this last year, is that about half of it is finished. As I drove to Scottsbluff and back yesterday, it seems that about the same number of fields are cut as are not. I saw harvesters working in Banner county; they may have received less rain than we did.

Yesterday, I heard a couple of embarrassing Lord stories. What in the world could that be? It goes like this, we ask the Lord in prayer for something that might seem at first to be a little silly or selfish, an "I want" or "I would like" request, and later, perhaps years later, the Lord answers in a way that humbles us. I thought it might be interesting to collect some of those stories. What stories do you have wherein you received what you asked for and were humbled by the experience? Did the Lord fulfill your request through someone whom you didn't expect? Did a child in some way fulfill your request? I have come to see a God-sized sense of humor in our Lord. Remember the story about the Seven Sons of Seva in Acts? You know the one where the demon responds, "We know Jesus and we know Paul, but who are you?" and proceeds to thump the pretenders to a fine fare-thee-well. Sometimes a person or persons deserve a good thumpin', not the least of which might be myself! :-)

God loves you and so do I!

Bucky

July 11, 2007

Good morning. The rain came last night, along with some lightning and thunder to help me sleep better. Right. Sometimes we get in a pattern of late night storms that can really put a crimp on the sleep time. It does make for a nice, cool morning though. I hear from one of my farmer friends that her wheat harvest is complete. Praise the Lord for that! Did you ever think about practicing to listen? I have often thought that talking comes very naturally to most people, but listening requires more practice. I see in the secular media that there is no need for sexist remarks in this area any longer as a new study has shown men and women are both equally "chatty" in conversation. Years of bad jokes and a few funny ones have just been killed off with one study. Actually, you are correct; the jokes about talkative women will probably not go away quite that easily. I have noticed in our meetings at work that men are just as deserving of those jokes; there are men who do love to hear themselves talk, and just like the women in those jokes, they don't have to say much while doing it. While we should always remember that God created man and woman to be different and how wonderful those differences are, we should also rejoice when an unfair wrong is set right. Either sex has its share of "bum raps" saying one group is worse in some regard to the other, and it is good to see one disproved. Praise the Lord for all of our differences, not just the ones between the sexes!

God bless and keep you!

Bucky

July 10, 2007

Good morning! We have some thunderstorms rolling through this morning, an unusual event for us; our thunderstorms mostly occur in the evening and mornings are clear. Reading in Revelation once more (yes, again!) I read about lightning and think about the symbolism. The throne in heaven is surrounded by lightning and thunder which may signify an impending storm. When the angel throws the coals from the altar down to earth John says that "lightning flashed and thunder crashed and there was a terrible earthquake." That may be literal or a sign of a great storm. The symbol of lightning is used often and not just in the Bible. It is one of the awesome forces of nature that we have no control over. We can reduce our risk by not running around in thunderstorms holding a copper pole aloft, or simply by staying inside a structure, but we cannot control the lightning. I suspect that if we truly understood the forces at work in God's creation that we would not think of the lightning as capricious or random. However, we do know that God is in control of each lightning strike, none will surprise him or catch him off guard.
Events in our lives are no different. They may seem random to us, but to God all was planned out long ago. You and I are saved through his great plan. We run the race to arrive at the place God has already planned for us. Is it not wonderful that God has created this entire universe that we might come to him at the appointed time? The thought of that kind of stretches the ol' mind a bit doesn't it? Today we can watch the lightning and hear the thunder, and then celebrate the glory of the Lord!

God bless you!

Bucky

July 9, 2007

Good morning! The time for me to return to work has arrived... actually just the morning, it isn't quite time yet. It was a nice cool night, but like me, you are probably finding it difficult to cool down your house these days. The heat of summer has got into the cement, the drywall, and most everything else by now. Attention! No, not as in listen up, but as in recognition. We want it, we desire it, but often we don't know how to get it in the right way. One of the big black marks against any organization is a failure to recognize its employees. Worse would be when volunteer organizations fail to recognize the volunteers in some way. Yes, we are storing up treasure in heaven, but it is also good for a peer to say a "thank you" or to send a note or card in even the small things. I don't think that God takes away our reward in heaven when honest compliments or awards are given here on earth; that would be out of character for a loving father, and we know that God is the ultimate loving father. Now if we seek only the acclaim of man, then that is probably all that we will receive. Accept the honest compliments of your brothers and sisters in Christ with good grace and no false modesty. When we say, "Jesus is Lord!" we not only pledge our allegiance to him, but we also pay him a sincere compliment.

Let the glory of the Lord rise from us!

Bucky

July 7, 2007

Good morning and a hot one it is already. That is July around here, not much that we can do about that. Looking over my utility spreadsheet for the past six years in this house, the July bill is always the summer peak for electricity usage. That makes sense, summer begins, the days are long and hot, and the nights short and do not cool down very much. The grass gets a lot of water and the AC runs a lot. This earth-shattering news flash brought to you by ObviousNews! :-)

I took my summer expensive WalMart trip this morning, I should be set on the consumables for a while. I also picked up something that I probably should have done long ago, a personal shredder. All of us should be doing this, and I have been slow to get around to it. A $50 shredder is a relatively inexpensive measure to help prevent identity theft. Of course a shredder does nothing for the Internet stuff that can get any of us in trouble. Back in the day defending your house or herds was about the extent of most people's defensive problems. If a king arrived with an army, a person could become a vassal, be conquered, flee, or fight to the death, and that was about it. Now we can be attacked in so many ways that it is too much ground for anyone to defend. Most people trust in ignorance and luck; I think it better to trust in the Lord first and do what we can second.

I hope that most of you are enjoying some time at the lake or beach on this second Independence Day weekend. I am still in school. Yes, poor pitiful me, but next year it won't be that way; school will be finished and summer will be different. God willing, I will do a lot more writing next year.

May the God of grace and peace be in your heart today!

Bucky

July 8, 2007

Good morning! I see signs that the wheat harvest is underway in these parts. No doubt the hot, dry weather we have seen recently has helped the harvest. The wind has changed directions though and we may see some rain at some point during the coming week. The arrival of harvest is always a milestone each year, no matter what crop and what time of the year it occurs. Jesus used the metaphor of harvest to let us know that the end time is near. It may seem that every year I speak of how close the end times are as yet another harvest arrives. This has happened with or without me for the past 19 centuries and then some. None of us knows when the end will arrive and the harvest will be finished forever, and so we continue in hope and faith while the world scoffs. Today I pray for those who believe in their own intellect, power, strength, or luck. Belief in such things will not save them. No governement, minister, priest, friend, or relative can save anyone, only Jesus saves and he is available to anyone and everyone. Praise God for our Savior!


Bucky

July 6, 2007

Good morning! Time to get up and shake it all about once more. I haven't had my breakfast yet, so that may explain the "shake it all about" thing. Last night was one of the more still nights that I have seen for a while. Even this morning the breeze is nowhere to be seen. Very unusual out in these parts. Today, reading in Revelation, I am struck by the how the personnel in heaven fulfill their duties. The four beasts are saying, "Holy, holy , holy..." and the four and twenty elders are kneeling and setting down their crowns before the throne, as John says, "Day after day, and night after night." That sounds kind of dull and redundant don't you think? Yes, from our human perspective we think of sore knees, aching backs, raspy throats, and other conditions that would cause if we did that here on earth. Not that praising God constantly would be a bad thing, but that we are still too earth bound in our thinking. John reports what is going on, the coloring we give it comes from our own prejudices. I notice, or more likely was prompted by the Holy Spirit, that nowhere does it say the beasts or elders are forced to do this. In fact just a few verses later one of the elders speaks to John, and then the beasts and elders bow before the Lamb. That tells me that this group still has their freedom in heaven, no one is making them praise God constantly. We cannot place our earth bound notions and ideas on heaven, Jesus tells us that he will make all things new. If all things are new from God's point of view, how can we possibly imagine what that will be like? Sorry, but we will simply have to wait patiently to find out just how wonderful the new heaven and earth will be when Jesus comes.

Praise God for the day!

Bucky

July 5, 2007

Good morning! Sleepy and tired from the loss of sleep during the last couple of nights, I sit down to write once more. I am glad that many people had their fun and now I am once more glad that its over for another year. Ha, I get dopey after a few evenings of sleep loss, I can only imagine what living with a new baby must be like for sleep deprivation. Did you ever notice how much more easily the mind starts to wander when short on sleep? Writing the devotional takes twice as long when that happens. Sentences come one at a time, with a lot of mind wandering in between them. You might imagine that during a time of persecution, an organization wanting to make Christians look bad could easily do that by depriving them of sleep. A court defense would be nearly impossible in a comfortable chair in a courtroom where, unlike television, drama is usually lacking. In that we must depend not on our own strength, but on the strength of Jesus to see us through. It is unlikely that Stephen rehearsed or even knew what to say when facing the court in Acts, but when he spoke in the Holy Spirit, whooee, what a speech he gave them! You can read it in Acts and marvel at the work of the Holy Spirit.

God is wonderful!

Bucky

July 4, 2007

Good morning, and a happy Independence Day! Today we celebrate the gaining of our independence as a nation. What have we done with that independence? Looking around we see much good and bad; our major media outlets do not always report the good and seem to delight in bringing us bad news. The Good News is our responsibility. Jesus told us to take that Good News to the farthest corners of the globe, and we are indeed doing just that. You may wonder how you are doing that working each day at the same place, seldom leaving your town, and going to the same church. While the opportunity to spread the Good News exists in every town and neighborhood, just supporting your church with tithes is a good way to help spread that Good News. Television and cable stations carry ministers and evangelists throughout the world every day. Letters come to them from such unlikely places as Saudi Arabia and the Sudan, speaking of how great it is to be able to receive the Word. Children can go to summer camps to listen to the Word through our financial support. Churches remain solvent through our giving. Yes, there is much that we can do by working at that job that we have; independence is in our hearts through Christ Jesus, our Lord. Teamwork in the family of Christ is our greatest asset in spreading the Good News; that is why Paul told us that everyone has their place in the body of Christ. Is it not great to belong to that family?

Let the glory of the Lord shine in our Christian family!

Bucky

July 3, 2007

Good morning! Bone head weather forecast for today: it will be hot. Yes, it's July and the night did not cool off very much, so my forecast is not any evidence for psychic or forecasting ability. Praise the Lord for the new day! Good news for those going to the lakes or oceans, the hot weather will make the water feel that much better, especially if the water is cool. I'm crying again this morning, must be something the cat got into or something outside when I was walking around the yard. Allergies, the new way to make a grown man cry.

How do we go about fulfilling our duty? What is there to help us to do that which is required and to obey the authorities put over us? Our rebellious sin nature will fight against it, the flesh will want to go its own way. Those rebellious thoughts will come, and certainly we should not submit to evil powers. The desire to follow the flesh is strong, but courage and strength are found in the Lord. Baby steps as we grow in our walk of faith lead us to start small. When a boss heaps yet another task on your plate, take a breath, work with your boss to prioritize tasks, and do what you can during your work time. Above all, pray and read the Word. Gather with the Lord often for prayer and reading. I think the best way to start learning how to obey is to simply pray, "Lord, help me to obey."

Let the wisdom of the Lord shine on us today.

Bucky

July 2, 2007

Good morning, almost good afternoon. I am on vacation today and as you will notice from the time this is sent, doing a bit of goofing off! I see a man working in the neighbor's backyard from my window. He is large in the trunk and arms, but smaller in the legs. From his sun-browned skin and muscular upper body, I am not going too far out on a limb by guessing that he does not sit at a desk for work during most days. Actually, I can see they are pouring a patio for the neighbor. Doing cement work on a daily basis will make a person muscular over time. Often we can tell something of what a person does for a living by their appearance, though perhaps not as much as in former days. When my parents and grandparents grew up, office workers dressed well, even in a suit and tie for men and dresses or skirts for women. These days an office worker may not look that much different from a dock worker, with the exception of some sweat and dirt. Many offices, including ours, do not expect and in fact discourage the employees from wearing suits or dresses to work in the office. It may no longer be obvious what a person does each day. Deduction and elimination may help. I don't think anyone would look at me and say, "aerobics instructor", at least not with a straight face. ;-) Does our relationship with Christ show?

Does a relationship with Jesus show on our faces, or in what we do and say? A lack of profane language is not in itself an indication. In spite of what we see in movies, most people do not habitually use foul language. Drinking alcoholic beverages? Again, some people drink too much, some do not, and there is no commandment that says you cannot have a beer. Does it show? I think that it does, but perhaps not to the world that is stuck in unbelief. There are people who show up for work with a bright and bubbly manner each day. They may go home and collapse on their couch in tears, but that part we do not see. It isn't an always cheerful demeanor that sets us apart; Christians are not always happy, we have sorrow in our lives. All of us, at one time or many, have felt the sting of sorrow and in Christ we do not leap for joy during those times; emotionally or physically, or perhaps both, those times hurt us very much.

One day all of our tears and sorrows will be washed away.

Bucky

P.S. I feel this kind of rambles today, not sure yet where it will end up. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

July 1, 2007

Good morning! Well, it is here, July 1st, and half the year is gone into the past. Summer has only just begun, but we will soon be talking about the new school year and how cold the winter will be. The seasons change and one of the best ways to enjoy the season is to talk about what is next. Eh? Can that be true? No, it is actually what happens so much in our lives; we look to the future hoping to drown out the misery of the present. However, Jesus said that he came to give us life and that we would have it more abundantly. Plans are good, and I need to do it more, but living with our head in the clouds is not the way to have life more abundantly. That is one of the more difficult tasks for us as Christians since we are looking forward in hope to the return of Jesus and his taking us home to be with him. How can you or I hope to compete with that vision of Christ's glory! We don't try to compete, but we live in his love and that love reaches out to those who do not yet share in our hope.

Speaking of the other side of the coin, hopeless tasks, I am reading a murder/mystery book that introduces a group devoted to fighting evil in the world. All well and good, but this group does it in their own intellect, strength, and wealth. That is a hopeless task if ever there was one. Satan has far more resources than any or all of us do in our own strength. I do not know how many angels fell with him, but 1/3 of the hosts of heaven must be an awesome number. I cannot think how anyone could possibly think that they could win such a fight without the power of Jesus Christ. Wait, I do know how, they do not believe in Jesus in the first place. Satan must laugh at the pride that would be required to make someone think that they can take on the power of the Prince of this world in their own strength.

For us, let us just run to our Abba when faced with powers beyond our scope in this world. As we grow in our Christian faith, we will have Kingdom authority over all things. However, the first thing is to run to our Father in heaven, our Abba. Children are not afraid to run to daddy when faced with a threat and neither should we try to take on powers that are beyond us in our own strength.

To the glory of God the Father!

Bucky

June 30, 2007

Good Saturday morning! Many will have begun the Independence Day holiday as of yesterday evening. Travel, fireworks, picnics, time off from work, and I would hope that we will all spend some quiet time with the Lord. In looking at (and working on) the pond today, it just might be possible that the first batch of cattails will emerge today. A few Wal-mart water plants were planted or tossed into the pond this spring, so far one lily has emerged and one is trying, but the others have not shown any signs of life yet. Planted too deep, not deep enough, too much sun, hungry fish, who knows? The plants will grow or not at God's will, not mine. Some things we cannot do anything about and we leave them in God's capable and powerful hands. In this sin stained world not all plants will grow, and not all of us will thrive and prosper as the world counts such things. However, in Christ we thrive and prosper regardless of the condition of our bank account or health. We may not see the results of this growth until we emerge in heaven. There what seemed barren in this life may prove to be the brightest and most beautiful flower in eternity.

To God be the glory!

Bucky

June 29, 2007

Good morning! The Good News of Jesus Christ shines through us today. In searching for what Newsweek would have us know about Jesus, it seems that we are to know the artist who painted the most famous of the images of Christ in 1940, but that is it. I don't think that will come as a surprise to anyone; that is about what we have come to expect from the secular news. The better news is that image has been reproduced a billion times. It seems that people, and that means us, want the image of Christ on their walls and I am glad to hear that! For your trivia collection, that image was made from an oil painting by Warner Sallman in 1940, right about then the world needed an image of Christ for its comfort I should think.

The secular world cannot hide the Good News, even when it doesn't realize it! Another fact dug up in the 180 things you need to know; Jesus has never been named in the title of a best seller. I don't think our Lord will lose any sleep over that, and we already know the secular world hates Christ. The Bible, the word of Jesus, still outsells everything else in literature. Let the glory of the Lord shine above this world!

Go forth in Jesus name today!

Bucky

June 28, 2007

Good morning! The fish are active this morning; it must be time to feed them. Newsweek features a list of things that they feel we should know. Jesus is pictured on the cover; I haven't yet found the part that tells what we should know about him, but I suspect it won't be quite right. The best source to learn about Jesus is certainly not a news magazine. We find the Truth in his own word, the Bible. Yes, Jesus was a man who lived about 2,000 years ago. The world knows of him and even the world acknowledges that he existed, but we want to know him, not just about him. There is the big difference. We know of George Washington, Adolph Hitler, Roy Rogers, Genghis Kahn, and many other historical or popular people, but we cannot know them for they are gone. Of all those who have passed before us in this world, Jesus stands alone as someone we can know well after his earthly life has ended. Alone of all historical figures that we can read about in dry historical texts, Jesus lives again.

To God be the Glory!

Bucky

June 27, 2007

Good morning! I enjoyed one of those occasional days of physical labor yesterday, now the time has arrived to make payment in the form of sore and stiff muscles. It will be good for me in the end. The son of one of our brothers in Christ had the interesting experience of going through a police investigation a couple of days ago. The police in their uniforms, the ride in the black and white car, and questioning by stern men. I didn't get much of that as a kid, but from that we might imagine the shock of Jonathan Edwards' first congregation to hear "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" He painted a grim picture and we should note well that the title refers to sinners. In Christ, we are no longer sinners, but set free by his blood on the Cross. Like the young son of our friend was found to be not at fault and was set free, we too are set free in Christ. We should feel that same sense of exhilaration, freedom, and responsibility that he probably felt upon his release from the police station.
The responsibility is in not doing what we were accused of before our redemption, and that is not easy. Each of us needs all of the strength of Jesus to avoid or to confront sin and have the victory. We are set free to live for Christ, and not to fall back into our old ways. Freedom is a heavy responsibility, but one that we would not trade for anything.

God grant us the victory in all of our trials!

Bucky

June 26, 2007

Good morning, and what a fine morning it is too! I like to sing a verse from a well-known hymn, although one that is from a fairly recent time, "Let the glory of the Lord rise above us." I also like to pray, "Let the glory of the Lord rise above ME!" So often we pray in our little world, we don't ask God for the big things. The glory of the Lord will rise above our petty concerns and small ideas. Yes, we have big problems that we bring to the Lord, but what about those big dreams and ideas? Let's bring our grandest schemes and desires before the Lord, we may find that those big plans are less than what the Lord has in store for us. Go with God, let his glory rise above our small-thinking minds and hearts. A beautiful sunrise awaits this morning, let it remind us of the glory of the Lord.

A joyous 'hallelujah" to start the new day!

Bucky

June 25, 2007

Learning, we all do it throughout our lifetimes whether we will admit to it or not. The very learned may be unteachable, but they still learn. In Christ we become learners once more, we are born again with eyes Christ-opened. This morning I finished the main text of the book Into Abba's Arms, by Dr. Sandra D. Wilson, that you know I have been reading for some time now. The appendices contain important information that I will get to soon, but the book was truly a revelation. Not the least of which is the fact that I am not alone in my struggles and neither are you. At times, we get into a self-pitying, arrogant state where we think that our problems are unique and by extension, unsolvable. We, you and I, are unique creations of God, but our problems are more common than we want to think. As I read through the book, it became slow going as I ran into parts that touched directly on my boo-boos as Dr. Wilson calls them in her book. It is difficult when the Bible or another book fingers your hurts directly; for one thing that means that your problem is not unique, else why would a book sold worldwide address it. Did you ever think that, in a Christ-wrought turnaround in your heart, the Bible does not address your problems, it addresses YOU! Praise the Lord for that! After all, why would the Lord want to talk to your problems anyway. He wants to have a relationship with me, and you, and our friends and neighbors. The Bible is addressed to each of us individually, and gains in power as we walk closer with the Lord Jesus Christ. The Way is open to come to the Father, our Abba, and to have a close, loving relationship with the almighty creator of Heaven and Earth.

Let the Son rise among us today!

Bucky

June 24, 2007

Good morning! Well it seems that I was wrong about the fireworks sales starting yesterday. I can live with that, it made for good sleeping last night. If anyone went running down to the fireworks stand to buy some noise, I do apologize for your inconvenience. If I don't sound very contrite, all I can say is that sometimes that happens too. :-)

Have you ever felt a sudden and unexpected need or desire to pray for someone about whom you had not even been thinking? I have come to see that in Christ this will happen. For some of us it may happen more often than with others, this is a gift of the Holy Spirit and like all such gifts, one to be treasured. The object of the prayer may not even know they needed your prayer, but somehow they will realize that they have been blessed or healed because of the intervention of the Holy Spirit. It is great to know that we are connected and protected in this way through Christ Jesus our Lord. If you feel a sudden need to pray for someone, don't hesitate! Pull over on the highway, stop what you are doing and bow your head in prayer for that person. Their need may not wait and God wants us to focus away from ourselves at that moment. Let the glory of the Lord work within us today.

God loves you so very much this day!

Bucky

June 23, 2007

Good morning! We get to enjoy a nice cool Saturday morning, though summer has begun both officially and temperature-wise. Today, if I am not mistaken, will quite likely kick off the fireworks season, not one of my favorite times of the year. Perhaps I will join them this year instead of complaining about them. What happened to my attitude between now and childhood? As a child I wanted nothing more than to spend as much money as I could get my hands on to blow up fireworks, the bigger the better. Now I view them as slightly worse than gambling, throwing money down with no possibility of return and perhaps a headache to go with it. Actually I think older folks tried to explain that to me even back in the day. Each year though I endure the annoying little fire crackers to get to the big show. Yeah, the one where the fire department sets off the big patriotic fireworks display on the 3rd or 4th of July. Now that I still enjoy and perhaps always will. The bursting star shapes remind me of one very startling cosmic display that happened about 2,000 years ago. How the simple-living shepherds and other folk must have stood in awe of the coming of the King.

God is love, love conquers all.

Bucky

June 22, 2007

Good morning! Nothing shines brighter this morning than the love of Jesus Christ. I met a rather high strung dog this morning when out walking. Of course, upon arriving home I was greeted with some suspicion by the resident feline, "I smell dog!" In the family of Christ, we will not be greeted with suspicion when we arrive in heaven. God doesn't need to inspect us there when he already knows us here. Every little thing that we might think is hidden, and it may be hidden from the world and even those who are close to us, but those things are known to God. The Good News is that he loves us, without reservation or condition. There is no "I love you, but..." Unconditional, undeserved love for all who will believe in the Son. Go forth in the light of Jesus today!

God bless you,

Bucky

June 21, 2007

Good morning! The love of the Lord leads us to gather this morning with our Bible, the Word of God. Suppose you wanted to adopt a child. The orphanage showed you all of the children at play from behind a mirrored surface. Over in a corner sits an eight-year old child. Now this child is obviously precocious as they say, but not in the way a doting parent might expect. He sits dealing cards, with the largest stack of chips on his side, smoking a cigarette, and holding a bottle of beer. Perhaps a bit of five o-clock shadow is beginning to show on his young face. As you watch, it is also obvious that he is the bully of the playground. Would this child be your first choice for adoption? Probably not.

Yet, all of us were, metaphorically speaking, just like that when Jesus found us. If some of you ladies did not have five o'clock shadows at the age of eight, don't worry, I'm sure a beard is not required of everyone. The wonderful thing is that Jesus not only adopted us in our worst and most sinful state, he also gave his life to pay the sin debt that we owed to the justice of God. Would you or I have given our lives for the little card playing bully mentioned above? We would have to think about that one for a while, simply sharing a home would be quite the burden to be sure. Jesus didn't think twice about giving his life for us, and then he told us that he was going to prepare a new home for us! Great is the love of Christ!

God's great love goes with you this day!

Bucky

June 20, 2007

Good morning and good day! Praise the Lord for the wonder of his grace and majesty! Why do we need to become as children to enter the Kingdom of God? There are several reasons, trust being one, but I like the way a child runs to the embrace of his or her father. That is what Jesus wants of us, to run into his embrace like a child. Enthusiasm, joy, love, and worship are all part of this running to the embrace of our Father, our Abba. Let the glory of the Lord shine on us today. You may feel set apart or set aside by the world. A tragedy in your life, a condition of your health, or emotional problems may lead to a feeling of loneliness or not belonging. Well praise God that we don't belong to the world, for it is headed for destruction. In time we will arrive at the point where we can thank and glorify God for our trials in this world. Some trials are quite intense; losing a spouse, friend, or particularly, a child, can be terrible experiences as we have seen from our friends in Christ. However, the Lord will bear us up and we will rejoice with him in heaven on that glorious day!
In those experiences of loss and pain, we also have the opportunity to experience the love of those Christ has given to us in this world. That is not to say that any of us should seek out pain or injury, only that in the times of deepest sorrow or pain our Lord truly shines brightly in our life and in those who love as Jesus did.

Let it rise...

Bucky

June 19, 2007

Good morning, it is the start of a new day in the Lord! The clouds are rolling in this morning, perhaps we will get some rain today. Praise the Lord for rain on Tuesday. Today also starts the final week of yet another class for me; time to put another one to bed and move on. That is not to say that the final week is easy, often it is quite difficult, but it is still the end. Sometimes we do that in our Christian life here on earth; we tend to look to heaven and perhaps forget just a tad too much about our duties and mission here on earth. I want to go there too! However, we need to grow in the love of Jesus and in love for our fellow humans so that we can spread the Good News to them before it is too late.

Love one another in Jesus name!

Bucky

June 18, 2007

Good morning! What a nice cool morning this is, and after a night of storms too! The outside cat, Samantha, had her lunch money taken last night, so to speak. She is a small cat and the larger cat from across the street was beating her soundly. She ran home, but the other cat followed closely and finally a neighbor lady called to let me know that my cat might not survive this one. It seems that she no longer has a place outside in the world. That sounds so familiar does it not?
At times it seems like the world chases us back home to lick our wounds and find comfort in the Master. The world is bigger than we are and sometimes we may be soundly beaten down, by overwork, cares, trials, and possibly even physical wounds or bruises. We can always find comfort and healing in Christ. One day all tears will be dried and we can go out into the new world without fear.
All of nature groans to be released from the burden of sin, and last night it was not only groaning, but yowling as well. The conflict in this life will give way to the peace of Christ Jesus when he returns. As for this life, I may need to keep the little yowler in at night, although the firecracker season should help with that this week.

God loves you and so do I!

Bucky

June 17, 2007

Good morning, and God's morning to you. It didn't cool off last night, that is usually the first sign of the summer season. Listen to me go on! In many areas it can be 95 in the daytime and 93 at night because of the humidity. Out here we have a very short humid season when if it is 95 in the day, it may only cool down to 70 at night. That is the extent of our suffering! I know many areas, Camp Lejeune was one, where if someone has an air conditioner it runs day and night. The mornings do not have the coolness that we experience out here and the dew point is almost always high. If there is one thing that I can take from my time at Camp Lejeune it is an appreciation of a cool morning during the hot time of the year... and not having sweat running down all over my body just from standing outside. The funny thing is that you might think that we would have said, "it doesn't get any worse than this" at that time, and we did. However, then we got to go to Grenada.

Some would think that Hell cannot be any worse than some of the things, suffering, or conditions, that they have seen on earth, but they simply are refusing to believe what God says in his word. Believing in Jesus means that you believe what it says in his word, and his word says that Hell does exist and that you do not want to go there! I think one of the greatest examples, and he is always the greatest example, is when Jesus cried out on the cross. I believe that the separation from our Father is what made our Lord cry out. He didn't cry out from the scourging, the torture on the cross, or any other human punishment, but he did cry out from the separation as he bore our sins upon himself. That is what Hell is, and why we should fear the one who can send us there. We do not want to experience that separation! The Good News is that the way to avoid that and gain eternal life is in Jesus. The one who can destroy both body and soul in Hell is the one who took it upon himself to redeem us from that end. What an amazing thing! All we need to do is believe and everything flows from there. When we come to Jesus to confess our sins and receive his forgiveness and love, we already believe that he can do it. Yes, some of the things in the Bible are incredible and difficult to believe, but when we believe, the truth is revealed to us at the pace we can understand.

Each day as I read a little more in the Bible, often covering passages that I have read several times before, new insights come and what a blessing they are. Now some days do pass where it seems that nothing new is coming and that I am simply re-reading old verses. To me that is like a review of basic lessons in school or work, sometimes the steps upward must come after a review of where I have been in the Word.

Some days the devotional just seems to come to me. It can seem that I am writing down a stream that bounces from rock to rock in a twisting, turning course. I know the stream leads to Jesus, and that is all that I need to know.

God bless you!

Bucky

June 15, 2007

Good morning and g'day! What was your stress buster yesterday? I followed the instructions from Pastor Rogers and asked for a stress buster. God threw me a life jacket yesterday and what a blessing it was! I am still laughing about it. Humor, what a great way to bust that stress. It went something like this: As I arrived at work, I was still in the funk so to speak, having a pity party with myself, probably suffering the pangs of depression. After taking care of the e-mails and the morning network checks, I wandered to the dock area of the basement and met the maintenance supervisor, Don. It turns out that someone upstairs had asked him to dispose of something, but there was something hazardous about this object and they had asked him to take care of it. This object had a pressurized gas cylinder on it that would explode if disposed of in a fire, such as the city landfill might do. Don did not feel comfortable and asked for my help. The object was one of those life jackets that you jerk the cord to inflate. I asked for a stress buster and God, quite literally, sent a life jacket! The problem that Don may have had is that too many people use the phrase "blow up" to describe the action of this life jacket, which is true, but has other connotations... like "explode". A life jacket would not be designed to cause harm, so I had no fear and jerked the cord. Those things do get quite cold when they first inflate!

That little incident gave me the relief I needed to take my problem to the big boss; as you might expect, he was not concerned and simply wanted to be kept informed. Sometimes, perhaps too often, we make problems bigger than they are with worry and dread. I thank you all for the verses and stories (and prayers!) to help me through a tough moment yesterday. I will certainly return the favor and pray for each of you. Let the glory of the Lord rise among us!

What a day of rejoicing is soon to come!

Bucky

June 14, 2007

Good morning! Do you ever wonder why you didn't get something done on time? In a discussion with a counselor yesterday, it was mentioned how children who do not receive enough attention from their parents or siblings will "act up" or do something wrong to get the attention they crave. I wondered this morning whether I have been overworked to the point where things are slipping so badly that I am made to feel like a constant "screw-up" or if I am seeking attention in the wrong way as a child might. Now this is very forthcoming and may make you feel uncomfortable; perhaps you didn't expect a personal confession in this morning's devotion! I do not know the answer to the question yet, but I do know that I feel almost constantly like a failure at work. You may feel the same way. What is the cure for it? As we take our problems to the Lord in prayer, we come to realize that He is the answer for us. As Paul told the Philippians, "Rejoice in the Lord always, again I will say rejoice!" That was not idle advice, I believe that Paul felt like we do at times, depressed, anxious, powerful, loved by God, abandoned by those close to him, and many other often conflicting feelings. Paul did not want to take John Mark with him after he had left them on a prior journey. I don't think that was due to not liking the young man, but due to Paul wanting to avoid that terrible hurt that he felt at the first abandonment.

The question remains and here is what I do know. The busy time that to me seems like forever actually began around the middle of last year. It is not just me, the entire department has been swamped, and if any of them are not then that person or group truly has something to feel guilty about! With all that going on and priorities placed on some areas at the expense of others, I am probably wrong in assuming guilt by thinking that I want attention in the wrong way. Maybe that is part of it, maybe not, but I do know that everyone in my group has been very busy for, well, almost a year now. The end does not really seem to be in sight and I also suspect that all of us are self-medicating in some way or another to cope. So while I am feeling sorry for myself at times, it is then that the Holy Spirit will turn my attention to others. Is anyone in danger of alcoholism, drugs, or mental health problems? If I feel this much stress at work, I am sure that others do also, and how are they coping? I need to get ready for work now, but stand by for Dr. Rogers' devotional today, and note once again how it relates very closely to what is bothering me today.

God loves you, please don't forget that today.

Bucky

June 13, 2007

Good morning! Questions will arise in our walk with the Lord, and most often that question is "why me?" or "why is this happening?", or something of that sort. Recently, actually yesterday, that question occurred to me and the answer I received was a Bible verse. Now this answer is not a yes or a no, and as we often see in the Bible stories, gives an answer that only God would give. The verse is Psalms 29:2 and goes like this:

"Give honor to the Lord for the glory of his name. Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness." (NLT)

In our trials we often forget who we should be looking to and who is larger than our problems. We may not receive a yes/no or "this is why" response from God, we may not be able to understand why from our limited point of view. If you or I are letting problems overwhelm us, making them first in our life when we know they should not be, the Lord may, in his mercy, remind us of who is to come first in all things.

Some might say that "hearing" a verse in your mind is strange or funny, I once thought just like that and looking back I would call the condition unbelief. Now, I don't think that to be strange at all, and in fact I expect it as an answer to voiced or unvoiced questions that I ask of our Lord. The Lord has already given us 66 volumes of answers; what we discover in life are the questions.

May God grant us wisdom in this,

Bucky

June 12, 2007

Good morning and welcome to another day in Christ! Do you know what proselytizing is? "You bet", one might say, "It's when you try to spread the word and someone is afraid to hear it." Yes, proselytizing is an ugly looking and sounding word that is applied to any group or sect trying to convert someone to their belief. The world levels it like a cannon at believers of any group, especially in the workplace. Although the meaning, the connotation, of this word can be good or bad depending upon the group trying to win converts, the look and sound of it would tend to repulse. That plays easily into the hands of those who would use ignorance as a weapon against us, or more properly, against Jesus.

We must be prepared in the world, Jesus warned us of the hatred that would come. The world will react when shown its guilt and sin, and like a wounded animal it may turn on you with fangs bared and claws out. Spread the Good News without shame or hesitation. Though in the case of the workplace, we must remember that in accepting a paycheck we are agreeing to submit during the work hours. Some employers may tell you not to mention Jesus in the course of your duties and you may have to keep quiet or move on to another employer. That can cause some controversy even among the family of God, and it can be one of those tough situational problems. Trust in the Lord and bring it to him in prayer. I don't have all the answers for every situation, but I do know that we are not to feel ashamed of Jesus.

Let the glory of the Lord shine out from us!

Bucky

June 11, 2007

Good morning! Do you ever feel apart or not close to God? I suspect we all do at some time in our lives, perhaps more often than we would wish. Every time I feel that way, I wish that I would never feel that way again! Prayer is the answer and not just any prayer, but a prayer for forgiveness and for searching out and doing away with any sin in my life. Yes, Jesus did pay once and for all the price for any sin of ours, but the act of asking for forgiveness serves to humble us, to help rid our minds of the pride that so easily comes upon us. We have a need to submit before the Lord, especially when we have sinned.

It's Monday again and time to go back to work, I cannot end this with our condemnation from sin. The Lord did pay for our sins and we do not need to dwell on them once forgiveness has been asked. God loves us with an everlasting love. He will be with us always, even if or when friends fall away or in the case of persecution, run away as fast as they can. In the darkest moments, God is there, and in the lightest moments God is there too. Some Christians would say that every time it seems that things are going so well, the rug gets pulled out from under their feet. That may seem to be the case in our lives, but God gives both the rest and the struggle against trials. Why not notice that every time it looks dark in our lives, a light shines through and we move on to a time of rest and glorifying God? Is it any wonder that David stated in that famous psalm "Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death." He was ready to traverse that dread valley as long as God was with him, and we should have that same comfort in the companionship of our Lord.

Praise God for his loving walk with us daily!

Bucky

June 8, 2007

Good morning to you! I sit here huddled in a hooded sweatshirt and trying to warm up. You see I left a few windows cracked last night to cool the house down, after all it is almost summer. Well, that did the trick, the house is quite cool this morning. My thermometer read a nice 35° this morning. This is along the lines of what you might expect somewhat farther north or higher in the mountains at this time of the year.

At times I feel compelled to read more of the Bible each morning and evening, and at other times to read less, but to study more in depth. Like many of you, I have a study Bible with commentary on many of the verses and references to other verses. Tonight I begin an in-depth study of Romans, which is a good book to study at some length. There is no set regimen of how much to read in the Bible each day. That is between you and God. However, I would like to share with you what I discover or more accurately, what is shown to me over the next several weeks. Some nights it may only be one verse, I will go at whatever pace the Holy Spirit would have me to go.

I notice in the cloud patterns that there is a strong northern flow up high today, I think that by now most of us have got up and shut some windows and realize the effects of that! It did bring a nice rain yesterday, praise God for that too!

Enjoy God's peace and joy this day!

Bucky

June 7, 2007

Good morning on this very windy morning. I do believe in Jesus! Is there a deeper meaning to gratitude? Can we feel it more each day as we grow closer to Jesus? I think so and I am not sure that it is something that we can work to achieve. It would seem to be different than something we strive for; it seems more like something we grow into as we realize more of the boundless love of Jesus. Like a child who tries on his father's shoes, we do not have the capacity at a young stage of our Christian growth to wear all of the gratitude that we will come to know later. It is the same in many aspects of Christian life; at first we do not love all Christians, or give thanks to God enough, or perform many other things that will come as we grow in the love of Jesus. This is not something to despair about, or to be impatient with, but something to fall into the loving arms of our Abba Father. He will bring us up in his love at just the right pace and only give us what we can handle at whatever stage we are now growing.

Thank you for the notes of support, I enjoy writing the daily devotional and appreciate the time you take to write to me. May God bless you as he raises you up in the Way.

Bucky

June 6, 2007

Good morning, and welcome to another fine day! Let the glory of the Lord shine among us. Have you ever wondered why it is that we work five days per week and not seven or three? The Bible gives us the answer to that, "six days shalt thou labor." That doesn't mean that we must work for our present employer for six days each week, nor does it stop us from taking the courageous step of working part time or half time to spend more time with children. Keeping house is a labor, especially for a large family. There are many forms of labor, but one thing is clear; we are not to spend the days goofing off. I wondered yesterday morning while coming in to work why did not work 3.5 days and have 3.5 days off. There is nothing wrong with working out a deal with your employer to do just that if God would have you to do so. However, that is not license to spend the extra days away from work of any kind. God may call some to volunteer more time at a charity, or more time spreading the Good News, or more time in prayer and fasting. Praying for four hours can certainly take some effort; note the effort Jesus put into prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane before his trial.

There are times when we would take a perpetual vacation, but we know from the Bible that God would have us to work six days. This doesn't prohibit vacations, which can require more patience and physical effort than our normal work! What I am trying to get across is that we should not equate work with work, that activity where we go to an employer and spend time laboring to earn money. Certainly we do not want to fall into working harder and longer because we covet too much. I have been there, and still fight it. This also does not mean that we forsake the Sabbath, that one day of rest commanded by God!

Find peace in Christ Jesus.

Bucky

June 5, 2007

Good morning! It was quiet last night; my new friend didn't make his usual racket. A bull toad has moved into my little pond and that little thing can make a noise! In this relationship, I am learning to take the bad with the good, probably a lesson for me on human relationships. The toad makes an ear-splitting racket some nights, but he also eats a lot of bugs; not unlike a human child. In our human relationships we don't seek a friend or spouse that eats a lot of bugs, but we often fall into seeking the "perfect" spouse: Princess Grace, Sleeping Beauty, Prince Charming, King Arthur; we are conditioned from childhood to seek perfection in a mate, while we grow to learn that such perfection does not exist. It is no wonder that relationships are so stressful!

Have you ever met someone and immediately started cataloging what is wrong with them? He is too this, she is not enough that, and the list goes on. One good change in us would be to start cataloging what is right with a person we meet and even those whom we already know. However, the way to right relationships may be the Way himself, Jesus. I am reading in a wonderful book about how to seek God in my heart, and not just know him from an intellectual standpoint in my head. It is going slowly, the book gives me much to think about and practice, but it is good to know that Christ still has many things to teach me in this life.

May we all be learners in Christ Jesus!

Bucky

June 4, 2007

Good morning, the time has arrived to return to work once more. The temperature yesterday looked to be warmer, but the clouds came and shaded us. That just goes to show how much I know about the weather! I am glad that all of us are sharing the Good News about grace through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. The glory of the Lord shines on us this day!

The classwork that hangs over me on the weekends can at times seem to prevent me from enjoying the break from work. That is an attitude the Lord is working to change in my life. A productive weekend is a break too, and the fact I didn't spend the weekend watching TV doesn't mean that it was wasted, quite the opposite in fact. I heard from another student this weekend who has 6 classes to finish after this one that we are attending now (I have 7) and she said that she is looking forward to a long break after finishing, much as I have said before. Sometimes we like to think that our suffering or trial is unique, that we are put on harder than others. At times that may be true, but most of the time we only like to think so and it isn't true at all. God gives us the strength to complete the difficult tasks and to endure the trials that come our way. I often hear that we should stop whining about how big our problems are, and tell our problems how big our God is.

God bless you on this wonderful day!

Bucky

June 3, 2007

Good Sunday morning! It looks to be quite a bit warmer today than it has been of late. I must admit to some little work today; I was out trying to find a sprinkler zone that is not functioning. I failed to find a single sprinkler head, it's like they have vanished into the earth. The world would like to believe that Jesus vanished into the earth about 2,000 years ago. However, we believe differently. Do I know as the world defines knowing? No, I cannot prove that he is not buried, nor can the world prove that he is. The difference is that I believe that he is not, based on his own holy word, and the world chooses not to believe. The world would have us believe the Bible is metaphor, or worse outright fiction. We must remain strong in our faith that Jesus told us the truth and is the truth. The world is not going to help us in this. In this we must trust in the Holy Spirit; he will show us in God's word, in the words of our brothers and sisters in Christ, and even in the wisdom of children, that he is indeed active in our hearts and in spreading the Good News. Trust in Jesus, our hope and our salvation!

God bless you this fine day!

Bucky

June 2, 2007

Good morning! I greet the morning with exuberance, and so does the cat. His exuberance is simply much more obvious than mine. We grow older more slowly than cats and the excitement of a five year old cat is easier to see than mine. Now the other cat, her exuberance shows like mine does this morning, sort of a slow warming up. Ain't Saturday mornings great?

What do you say when someone says that they cannot be a Christian because they smoke (drink, overeat, lie, et al.)? As a Christ-one, we are followers of the Way. Which perhaps should be followers of the Way, the Truth, and the Life, if we are to reference the verse in the Bible. We are followers of Jesus, but while we strive to become more like him, and not in our own strength do we strive, we will leave behind the bad habits of sin. However, you cannot tell a Christ-one simply because they do not have a vice or vices. Many of us, perhaps all of us struggle with one vice or many. We cannot say that he or she is not a Christian because they are smoking a cigarette, or are drunk, or happen to be committing a sin at any particular time. We come to Christ to confess our sins and ask forgiveness often in this life. If we have been given victory over the physical sin, we probably still struggle with the thought life.

It is a testament to the power of the Holy Spirit that the world does perceive Christ-ones as they perceive Christ, without sin in every way. We know that we are not quite up to His holy standard in this life, but praise God that it does show as we move closer to Him.

Have a wonderful weekend in Christ!

Bucky

June 1, 2007

Good morning! The sky is very interesting today, with pink and deep blue clouds and the sun coming up well to the north of east. May the Lord and God of Heaven and Earth lay his peace on your heart today. Another month has past us as June 1 dawns today. We cannot grasp time or hold on to the days. Each new month is a reminder that we are that much closer to Jesus. Praise the name of Jesus! I pray that everyone has a wonderful weekend in Christ Jesus!

Bucky