Work, work, work... June 29, 2008

Good Sunday afternoon! I think that I have actually gone a few hours without a phone call from work. On-call weeks can be tough, but this one may take the prize. We also enjoyed near record low temps last night, Kimball may have set a new record. Of course, this is the end of June so a new record low temp is not exactly the beginning of the next ice age. The low 40's is still something to write about at this time of the year. I thank all of those e-mailing to check on me, but nothing more serious than too much work for the past four mornings. I am glad to be needed, but the need has been a tad excessive the past few days. Yes, I am feeling the strain too! If work will let me get away with it, I think that a nap is in order for this afternoon.

Pastor Rogers made an interesting point today, "What would Jesus Do?" We see it on bumper stickers and t-shirts, but often we fail to ask ourselves that very question. The world has, of course, made many a knockoff of that question. I even have a button that asks "What would a Kid Do?" The funny thing is that some of the things that a kid would do agree with what Jesus would do. Trusting completely comes to mind, seeing the good in a stranger before condemning might be another thing that a kid or Jesus would do. However, kids can also be very rude if not taught a better way. Back to the point, WWJD? I think that too often I find myself thinking that Jesus would work himself into the ground; spreading the Good News day and night, laboring to exhaustion every day, placing pressure and stress upon his own performance far in excess of what God demanded, and hurting himself in many other ways. Actually that sounds more like what many of us do to ourselves. The Bible did not record Jesus on the way to chronic stress problems from overwork. There is no doubt that our Lord worked hard and sometimes worked late, but he certainly relaxed and ate well during his earthly life. Jesus and the disciples walked everywhere they went, so exercise programs were not necessary in their day. I suspect that if the Romans had a screening physical for every person arrested, they would have found Jesus to be in perfect health at his arrest. We know from the Bible record that Jesus' health was soon taken from him, but that was only because he allowed it to happen. The world had its day, one day we will have ours. In the meantime, get some rest, exercise, and eat well!

God bless and keep you this week!

Bucky

No Losers in Christ Jesus - June 25, 2008

Good summer morning to you! Have you ever prayed over a sporting event? I'm sure that some of you have, perhaps for a child or a relative, but in some way you have prayed that one team or another win. I must admit that I did last night. Game 2 of the finals was played last night and one team was in real trouble. This team was unranked and had made it all the way to the finals to lose Game 1. I simply didn't want that group of young men to go home after two bad performances, and asked God to give them a dose of energy. Oh my what an answer! If you watched last night, you saw a team down 5-0 in the first inning come back with an offensive performance of some note. Eventually Fresno State won 19-10; I went to bed when they were ahead 15-6. I have nothing against the Univ of Georgia and hope the better team wins tonight. However, I know what it is like to be on a losing team, and I imagine that you do as well. Losing badly in a contest can be very depressing. I once played ball on a team that went 0-18 for the season, not a very fun summer for us. That summer may have "built character" in me, but I wouldn't recommend a child be put through that too often.

How does that relate to our Christian life? We seem to be losing in the world. Many countries want a return to a strong dictator or king, someone to set things right. Others don't know what they want in a leader. It has been years since we saw a clear favorite in our presidential elections. Christian leaders come and go, but the world doesn't seem to change much. How are we to keep our hopes alive in these dark times? One way was spoken by Pastor Rogers before his death in the wonderful Triumph of the Lamb series. He said the times were getting "gloriously dark", as in the darkness before the dawn when the Antichrist arises, but just before the triumph of Jesus over evil for all time. Our champion was not defeated by death and the grave, and He will not be defeated by the forces of this world. You or I may not have won very many contests as children. However, in Christ our race is not against each other and there are no losers among those who believe in Jesus. Run this race in faith and joy, placing your hope in Christ Jesus!

What a wonderful savior we have in Jesus!

Bucky

Strength to Endure - June 24, 2008

Good morning! Yes, it has happened, June 24th this year... my first Christmas CD is playing right now. Sandi Patty, in case you need to follow suit. The day dawns once more, just a minute or two shorter than yesterday, but dawn it does. I could say something about the approach of colder weather, but we have all of summer to go, enjoy it while it is here. Six months plus one day until Christmas, that's not bad for me.

How does a person write a devotional of joy and hope when bad news arrives? The same way that I always must do... by trusting in Jesus. Every one of you endures such terrible burdens. Jesus saw this in His day and sees the groaning and pain even now. My tendency is to think that I am unique in suffering, but everywhere I look I see that this is not true. Jesus set the example for us by suffering and dying on the cross. We can only follow Him and endure in His strength. Yes, that is written correctly. You will have realized by now that your own strength is insufficient to endure in this world. We must one and all look only to Jesus for strength to endure in this difficult life. When we have learned to trust completely in Him, we will have learned what it is to live for Christ.

Ask God for strength in this life, the strength to trust in Him completely.

Bucky

Worshipful and Thankful - June 23, 2008

Good Monday morning! A headline this morning reads: "worshippers thankful that river is cresting." By now, most everyone, even a few hermits, knows that some areas have suffered serious flooding in the past couple of weeks or more. What can we learn from this short headline? For one thing this group of people is worshipping, even during a flood that disrupts their lives and may leave some or all of them without a home. Even more than that, they are thankful for something. I suspect, although I did not read the article, that they are thankful for much more than just the river cresting. That should be the story or our lives in Christ. Worshipful and thankful as we spread the Good News of salvation through Christ Jesus.

Why did I add the Good News part in? There are other groups of people in that same place who are thankful that the river is cresting, but these people do not believe in Jesus. There may even be other groups of worshiping folks in that area, but those folks may not be worshipping God. Our Christian walk should not, cannot, include only the parts we like. We are called to be thankful for the difficult times as well as the good times. In other words we are grateful during the flood as well as the aftermath when all is cleaned up and the flood only a memory. I am not trying to say that we must be thankful for the disasters that come along in our lives. It would be hard to feel gratitude for a flood that kills and destroys, but at the same time we can feel gratitude for life, for the love of Jesus, and that God will always see us through the tough times.

Independence Day is almost here and that means the wheat harvest will soon be upon us in these parts. Please pray for good weather during this critical time for the farmers. By now you will have realized that high prices for wheat and corn affect us all, praying for a good crop is to your and my advantage too!

Sing a song of praise for the new week!

Bucky

Cryin' about Gas Prices - June 22, 2008

Good Sunday morning! Ah, my harping on gas prices has struck a nerve it seems. How much faith do you put in our government, you remember those "representatives of the people", to do something about the gas prices? How much faith do you place in God to take care of us? Reading in the paper yesterday, the people interviewed are calling upon the government. As for me and my household, we will call upon the Lord. As a part of my putting faith into action, I am driving much less and will start taking my lunch to work to avoid one trip home each day. Now to find somewhere quiet to eat lunch away from the cube. The cats' sacrifice will be in not seeing me at noon; I suspect they will sleep right through their "sacrifice".

How are you changing your lifestyle to meet the new cost of fuel? Grocery prices are also up for all of us. This will hurt the restaurant industry as more of us will eat at home to save on food and on gas. I know that many kids depend upon restaurant jobs to get money for school; I know that I did back in the day. What are we to do with signs that the world is imploding around us? Trust in God, just as we do in the better times, so we also must do when things seem darker. Some good news, it seems that China is not using or demanding as much fuel as was once thought. Oil futures are nothing more than bets on which way fuel prices will go. We start using much less fuel and the retail market will not support the bets of $200 a barrel oil. I would be just as happy to see those bets not come true. Let us pray earnestly and put faith into action.

Trust in God. He is in control, no matter how bad things may seem to us.

Bucky

No Control for You! - June 20, 2008

Good Friday morning! I am glad the weekend will soon begin. We had another heavy rainfall last night; I think the church's new parking lot will soon be some blocks down the street. The College World Series is well underway, I missed much of the beginning this year due to traveling. I hope to spend some time watching a few games this weekend.

Have you ever wanted more control? I think that part of the curse on this world is a realization of our own powerlessness. However, like many other parts of the curse, many people refuse to face the fact that God is in control and not each individual person. Throughout society we see attempts to control populations, events, and even individual behavior. Others try to rewrite history, sometimes through scholarly research and other times through increasingly wild guesswork. What is our housing but an attempt to control a small piece of the environment? Dams to control flooding, highways to control travel, rules for this and that, are all attempts to control something. That is not to say that laws are bad, or that we should all go try to sleep in the pasture. However, at some point we come to recognize the sovereign place of God in our lives. This is part of our sanctification process. We come to realize that we can control very little apart from God. You might think that you controlled when you got up today. On the other hand, a little touch of illness and you wouldn't get up, or a call of "fire" at 3:00 am and you would get up quickly and much earlier than you had planned. The best part of realizing God's sovereign power is that we are no longer blown about like flotsam in this sea of life.

People in the world will plan and scheme, work and train, and hope that believing in their own self will cause them a long and happy life. Then some life-changing event occurs and all of their hard work and planning is out the window. Isn't it much better to realize that every dark valley has an end and that God will lead us through? In the world, there is no such Good News, only success as measured in worldly terms or failure, which comes all too often. This dark world needs to know that God is in control and that He has sent Good News of eternal life through His Son, Jesus.

Believe it and receive it today! Have a wonderful weekend!

Bucky

Joy in Prayer - June 19, 2008

Good Thursday morning! The world awaits our presence on this great day in the Lord Jesus! I am writing cheerful words through a sleepy head. :-) I received one of those midnight calls last night, not the big one we are all waiting for, but one of the sleep-depriving ones we get in this world. Wow, I feel that a good nap would do me some good right now. Has your life ever been uprooted due to a change in work schedule? I learned yesterday that many of our retail employees had to change from day work to night work recently. Ouch! That is a change that would cause me no small amount of pain. I am sure that many of them are feeling some kind of discomfort too. Do others need our prayers? Yes, I think that we can see needs both great and small in the world around us. Focusing only on our own needs can be depressing; praying and thinking of the needs of others brings us to realize that we are not alone in this struggle. It all comes back to "love your neighbors as your self." My neighbors might be those in towns under water right now, or those who live next door and must adjust to a radically different work schedule. In all cases, the Lord has provided us many folks to pray for. Do we revel in their misery? Certainly not, but we do take the opportunity to pray earnestly for their salvation and relief in dark times. Praying for someone else is a privilege, and we do reveal our joy in prayer. Let the glory of God shine through us today!

Bucky

No More Guilt - June 18, 2008

Good morning in Christ Jesus! Have you ever heard or read about the gathering of a group to which you once belonged, and then wondered whether you would be welcome? Pastor Rogers writes about the Ghosts of Guilt today. That phrase reminded me of the many times I have wondered whether to attend some reunion or gathering. More often than not the devil presents some event from back in the day to remind me of something I said that was hurtful or simply stupid. We all have those moments in our past, and we need not listen to those ghosts of guilt. If you or I suspect that someone is still hurting from something we said as a child, we can ask forgiveness of that person. More than likely, and I have found this to be true by personal experience, we will find that the other person does not even remember that event, or didn't until reminded by us. That other person may even remind us of an event that we had forgotten that had bothered him or her for years. We should not have lunch with the ghosts of guilt, or perhaps more appropriately, take a midnight snack with them. In the same way we are to deal with stress and anxiety, think on Jesus and His love for you to combat those ghosts.

Should you ever run into a person who refuses to forgive some old slight or injury, then the problem is no longer yours to bear. The root of bitterness can run deep and some enjoy gnawing on its ends. We are to look to the light and rest in the blessed assurance that Jesus forgives completely. Walk away from the bitter person; their healing is in the hands of the Holy Spirit.

God loves you and so do I!

Bucky

God in Control - June 17, 2008

Good morning, and it is good to be writing in the morning once more! I pray that your day will be wonderful in Christ Jesus. I have some catching up to do at home and at work, including packages to mail, e-mails to answer, phone mails, and on it goes. Does it feel out of control? Yes, at times my life does feel like a roller coaster. However, as Pastor Rogers reminds us today, God is in control of both my life and all of creation. We cannot surprise God, and we cannot do something that He does not expect. Events on the Earth do not catch our Lord off guard, though they may seem shocking to us. Does your neighborhood seem dull? That doesn't mean that God has lost touch with it, nor is a bad neighborhood a sign of the Lord's absence. We cannot fall away from the Lord's grasp! How often have you or I felt our grasp on the Lord's hand weakening, only to find that we are held in His mighty hand? There is no need to hold tight when we are held. The news may get you down today, but through and in spite of all that we see God is perfectly in control, just as He always has been.

Love and honor to our Lord Jesus on this fine day!

Bucky

Home Once More - June 16, 2008

Good morning on this rainy Monday in Sidney. We woke up to wet and clouds this morning, but the rain has stopped. As I read the stories about the Mississippi flooding, I realize there are problems much larger than mine going on right now. Towns and cities are filling sandbags in the hundreds of thousands to save homes and property, while other residents are forced to abandon their homes in Iowa. I seem to recall a similar effort not that long ago (1993) and the devastation that happened back then. I would like to live by a river or stream, but like everyone else I would prefer the river not want to move in with me. I would of course prefer that others not have to suffer to put my own problems in the right perspective, but the disasters will come on this earth and those disasters do remind us of how small our day to day problems are in the big picture.

I am glad to be home, but like other trials, this will take a bit of time for recovery. Driving, another stressful and time-consuming activity that doesn't burn the calories it deserves. My mind and body wanted to rebel this morning when I climbed into the truck; I had to reassure myself that I was only going to the grocery store. Too many days of driving and more driving! Praise the Lord that I am home! Wait, I am not quite home just yet. There it is! Too often we think of our house here on earth as "home" when we know very well that our home is in heaven with Jesus. You and I will be truly home one day, but we are not there yet! Hold on for a bit longer.

God bless you all,

Bucky

Prayer Support - June 10, 2008

Good Tuesday morning! I must travel to Mitchell, SD today, and then travel more tomorrow. I hope to have Internet available at the motels and do plan on writing each day. A road trip! It has been sometime since I have traveled for the company. Now to work on my tendency to pack the entire house.

Each day we face a new challenge in Christ. The challenge may be as simple as getting out of bed in the morning; not everyone can do that easily. Each of us may face the end of this life on any given day. Today, reading in Acts, I came upon the story of Saul. One of the first descriptions of Saul states that he was eager to kill followers of Christ. Eager to kill? Wow, and this man became one of the foremost apostles to us, the Gentiles. Yes, we know from some of our earliest lessons in Sunday School about the conversion of Saul to Paul, and from a zealous persecutor of the early church to one of the great Christian writers and speakers of that time. Many are still called to follow a similar path of speaking, writing letters, and traveling to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ. Your path or my path may be somewhat different, but we can all support those who lead many to Christ through their ministries both large and small. What is the most powerful support? Prayer, pure and simple, and something all of us can do.

God bless and keep each of you on this fine day,

Bucky

Encouragement for a Monday - June 9, 2008

Good Monday morning! How does everyone feel today? Not quite at the top of your game on this Monday morning? I am not surprised. We enjoy the weekends and then have trouble getting motivated for work on a Monday. Most of us would have a perpetual weekend if we could. Those of you enjoying retirement will just have to remember what it was like to be in the working world each week. I don't know about you, but in reading Pastor Rogers' devotional this morning, I find a sense of dismay. What is the abundant life? How can I encourage others when I can only think, "bleah, time to start another work week"? The solution is much the same as with regrets. We overcome our attitudes or feelings of the moment, and enjoy Christ's abundance by striving to see what God sees. You and I may writhe on the altar of regret over past sins and mistakes in our lives, but what will God see when we approach Him? He will see the life of Jesus. Eh? How can the omniscient God see Jesus' life in us? Well, it's like this: We believe in Jesus to save us and He gave His life to do just that. We know that God puts our sins away from Him as far as the east is from the west. We know from the Bible that we will be given spotless robes washed in the blood of the Lamb at the judgment time. We also know that a robe covers us completely. Put all of that together and give the Holy Spirit time to work in our lives and, voila! God sees Jesus in each of us. No parade of past sins and social gaffes, no gloomy attitudes about Mondays and work will show in us, just the overwhelming joy of believing in Christ Jesus! Abundant life eternal is given to us now. As the plants across the northern hemisphere bloom with the approach of summer, enjoy the bounty that God has sent to your life. Remember what He sees in you; not what you see in your past, but the perfect, sinless life of Jesus.

God bless you on this fine Monday!

Bucky

Trust in Jesus - June 8, 2008

Good Sunday morning! Today starts a new week in Christ Jesus. Worship, praise, prayer, and possibility all present opportunities to give God the glory. Thank you Lord for the beauty of this new week. I have heard and now read, several references to the fact that Jesus is with us all of the time. We can view that in a negative light, as in don't do this or that because Jesus is watching, or we can view it in a positive light wherein we know and are comforted by the fact that the Creator of all things is with us personally at any moment. You or I may face work, problems, a trip, or even vacation, but the Lord is with us at all times. In the good times or the trials, we have one thing in common, Jesus is with us through all and will bring us to Him. People everywhere are searching for answers to the problems and trials of this life. We have and know the answer, Jesus. The world finds alcohol, drugs, food, companionship, material things, power, and all manner of religions in an attempt to answer or endure the difficulties. None of these things will work for very long. Some things must be consumed over and over, buying things only satisfies for a short time, and friends must go their own ways at some point. The things of this world are transient in our lives and do not bring us peace and joy like the love of Jesus does. Trust in the Lord Jesus to save you and bring you joy in this dark world.

Praise and Honor the name of Jesus!

Bucky

Live on Saturday - June 7, 2008

Good morning! Kind of a lazy start to this Saturday, I have accomplished next to nothing so far this morning. I am still writing this live each morning. I suspect that many devotional writers do not do this on a daily basis, but rather sit down to write up several in a day, perhaps a week's worth at a time. I still like to sit down each morning and write what I feel called to write about. Anyhoo, that is neither here nor there. Someone used that phrase on one of my coworkers yesterday to excuse some poor planning. It hurts when you must rush to do something because another person or department failed to communicate in a timely manner. While such trite phrases as "neither here nor there" can be painful to hear, especially when no apology is forthcoming, that does make a good point. When the problem is upon you, parceling out the blame is probably not going to solve anything. In this world, we are going to find ourselves hurt by other people in ways that are both frustrating and disheartening. Jesus told us that the world hated him first, and we see the effects of that in our daily lives. Some times that other person is not out to "get" us, but is simply a person with many cares and duties of his or her own. Blame is easy to point that finger, but sometimes we simply need to forgive and move into the solution phase. Forgiveness may help the person doing the forgiving more than it helps the person doing the hurting. Certainly when the person doing the hurting is not repentant or contrite, we need to forgive to avoid taking harm from that hurt.

God bless you on this fine weekend in Christ!

Bucky

A Harvest of Joy - June 6, 2008

Good Friday morning! Clear skies greet us this morning, and the rains of yesterday were very welcome. Praise God for the opportunity to live another day in Him! My head is still kind of sleepy this morning, perhaps due to an exhausting week. Has the energy-sapping monster of worry got a hold of me? I have noticed in my life that worry can be exhausting work. It robs a person of sleep and rest; it causes a mental exhaustion that in turn starts all manner of physical ailments, and finally the physical burn of nervousness. With all of that, is it any wonder that a person can feel worn out? So many times Jesus said, "Don't worry" or Don't be afraid" and yet we still do it. Learning to trust completely in the Lord may be one of the more difficult parts of growing in Christ. However, we need not despair that we will never reach that point of complete trust. The one in charge of that work in us, the Holy Spirit, is both very patient and very tenacious. You and I will see the results of the Spirit's work in our lives and minds. The joy of the Lord will come upon us in all of its fullness. When I write of what the Lord has done for me, the energy and joy of His presence fills me.

Give glory to God, and reap the harvest of His joy!

Bucky

Regrets are Joy Killers - June 5, 2008

Good Thursday morning! The rain clouds have been in the area all night and we are getting some good moisture from them today. Hey, guess what? Today is June 5. That is only amusing because I used June 3 on my blog post yesterday, probably a symptom of not writing for more than a week. Whatever the mistake done in the past, today is a new day and date. We do not need to remember constantly the mistakes or sins of the past. How does it feel to be forgiven? One thing that I can relate is that there is no longer a need to writhe in mental anguish over some past sin. Yes, you or I have our moments of despair over a sin or mistake in our past. In the forgiveness of Christ, we need not constantly bring that up before God or even the theatre of our mind. Paul reminded us to strive for what is ahead, forgetting what is behind. He, I'm sure, struggled with the many memories of his past time spent persecuting the new followers of the Way. The stoning of Stephen is only one event that we can read in Acts, but Paul probably put his zealous energy to work daily for what he believed was right in his former life as Saul. Putting what is in the past behind us is one of the most important things we can do. How will you face the world if all that you can remember before Jesus saved you is the sins and mistakes of your past? Remember that Jesus loved you before you received His forgiveness, mistakes and all! Paul could not have written his letters without putting the past behind him, and we must do the same. Once the sin is confessed and forgiven, don't bring it up again. Regrets are joy killers.

Once more, my writing is as much to remind myself as it is for anyone else. The struggle goes on daily with regrets. A good memory is a blessing, but not when used for regret. Just as a good imagination is not for envisioning some disaster, a good memory should be used to remember the times when you or I have been especially blessed by Jesus. On that note, the dreary clouds in my mind begin break up and move away.

The love of Jesus goes with you this day!

Bucky

Avoiding Oaths - June 3, 2008

Good Wednesday morning! The Son of God shines in our lives on this fine morning. Pastor Rogers writes about broken promises today in the context of a parent-teenager relationship. What about all of our other relationships? Who can remember all of the times we made a promise and failed to fulfill that promise? More often than not, the other party will remember. How much easier it is to remember when another person failed to fulfill a promise to us, than it is to remember our own failures to fulfill a promise made to someone. In our Christian walk, we are called upon to forgive, and the world will delight in holding us to this standard. Jesus commanded us to avoid oaths because of our lack of knowledge about what the future may bring. What may seem clear now, may become obscure or even impossible in the future. An oath to perform some act or give something may become impossible to fulfill at some future date.

I was amused by one of the questions our local paper asked the candidates seeking a spot on the town council. The question was: "Will you fulfill the entire term of office?" The more honest answer is of course that none of us can see to the end of a four-year term. Neither you nor I can tell where our lives will be four years from now, much less four years from the time a term of service will begin. I suppose it would have been refreshing to see one of the politicians answer with something like, "No, I intend to serve two years after I win the election, and then retire to another state with lower property taxes." An answer like that would certainly separate the candidate from the pack!

May God bless you on this great day!

Bucky

Blowing the Dust Off - June 3, 2008

Goood morning! The bright sun dawns on a return to the honor and privilege of writing in Christ Jesus. The last time I wrote, Friday May 23rd, was the day I began a vacation and watched a deluge knock out my Internet connection. Yesterday afternoon, we managed to fix all of the problems, a big thank you goes out to Matt Perry, and I am back online. Does absence make the heart grow fonder, as the old saying goes? Yes, in this case, I did seriously miss the writing of this in the mornings. I saved the Saturday devotional that I had begun to write. It was that morning that I came to the realization that no matter what I tried here at home, the Internet had taken a vacation as well. An interesting week to be sure, as it had been some time since I had spent a week without Internet or e-mail.

It was nice to be back at work yesterday, my security blanket still firmly in place. I am reminded that my plan for moving into a new career is fast approaching. A couple of years or so is not that long even as we measure time. Questions arise: will I have the words to produce novels? Will I be able to overcome the laziness that might set in from not having a regular job and boss? The answer to the many questions, doubts you might call them, lies in Christ Jesus. I am glad to be back with you on this fine morning, blowing the dust off my morning writing and moving on to the glory of God the Father!

Once more the privilege of writing a devotional returns and I would first remind you that God loves you and so do I! Trust in the Lord Jesus in all of your endeavors, whether professional, spiritual, or leisure. Other than the occasional storm, our weather has been mild this spring, but that is not true in all places. We pray for those who have suffered loss or injury in the spring tornadoes around the country.

God bless and keep you,

Bucky

Sorrows for Life? - May 23, 2008

Good Friday morning! I do believe that many of us will be taking some time off for this holiday weekend. Yes, Memorial Day has arrived and it is time for a break. I see that my neighbors, at least one of them, are already on the road. I wonder how many travel plans have been cut short by the price of fuel this year? I'm taking a week off, and not going anywhere.

Jesus was known as a man of sorrows, and we can read many examples of his sorrow in the Gospel accounts. Are we then to emulate our Lord in this? Should we be the sad salts of the earth? (Ow, that was painful) I don't think that is what God would have us to do. Jesus carried our sorrows to the cross, and when He arose it was as the glorious Savior. Jesus said that he came that we might have life and have it abundantly. I do not believe that means a life of sorrows. We do have cares and we do go through times of mourning, but these times do not last. Joy should be a characteristic that people notice in us as Christ ones. Is it easy to be joyful all the time? No, perhaps even impossible. We are not expected to be joyful at all times and are even commanded to be sad when our brothers and sisters in Christ are sad. Just as we can share in each other's sorrow, so we can bring each other up once more. I pray that each of you enjoys a wonderful holiday weekend. Do what you would like to do on a holiday, short of knocking over a gas station that is, and celebrate the abundant life in Christ Jesus.

I can see a lot of walking vacations, perhaps all of us will start taking trips on foot and closer to home than in past years. We may take up the activities recommended by the health and fitness wags simply through not being able to afford fuel.

God bless you on this Memorial Day weekend!

Bucky

Strengthen and Build Up - May 22, 2008

Good morning, after a tough night. We went to bed with the wind blowing hard and a promise of rain. After the rain came, we had a period of silence. The kind of silence that wakes you up after the noise of the wind is gone. Okay, so not as well rested as I would like, I will soldier on today.

I am amazed by a passage in the Bible this morning in Luke. Jesus, speaking to Peter just before the prophecy of Peter's three denials:

"Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to have all of you, to sift you like wheat. But I have pleaded in prayer for you, Simon, that your faith should not fail. So when you have repented and turned to me again, strengthen and build up your brothers." Luke 22:31-32

First of all the words "has asked" and who did the asking. Like the story of Job, Satan could not and cannot do what he wants to God's chosen ones. Satan had to ask, to seek permission. That should give you great comfort, and the assurance that God is in control at all times. Next, Jesus pleads in prayer for Peter, and He does the same for us now. The final piece of this is that Jesus knew that Peter would fail, but would also repent. What is our command in this? "When you have repented and turned to me again, strengthen and build up your brothers." We are to strengthen and build up our brothers and sisters in Christ. Encourage them, pray for them, and be there in their time of need... strengthening and building up our brothers!

Feeling a need for some strength and courage today? We all do at some time or other. Let us pray for each other today.

Bucky

Our Mighty God - May 21, 2008

Good Wednesday morning! Sometimes I like to read Pastor Rogers' devotional first and then discuss more from what he began. Pastor Rogers is no longer with us on this earth, but through the magic of modern electronic media and storage we can read his words from years ago. I thought today, "What if you cannot see any traffic on that bridge?" Standing on the banks, trying to work up the courage, and you see no evidence that anyone has ever crossed it. What do you do then? In the case of our Lord, if you see no signs of His strength, then you aren't looking! Consider what we know of the universe. Our houses stand on little pieces of a huge planet. That planet is not one of the large planets and orbits a star that is not considered large in astronomical terms. There appear to be uncountable trillions of stars in billions of galaxies. Too much to grasp? Yeah, me too! However, staying closer to home, we see mighty mountains and rivers, all created by God. We see forests and plains of grass, animals both unique and common, plants of every description and oceans full of fish. Scientist will admit that we know very little about what inhabits the mighty oceans. What endless variety of life is found on our little planet! And we have no idea what may or may not exist out among the stars. We have but to consider the power and majesty unveiled in one thunderstorm to see the saving hand of our Creator. Try to push your house off of its foundation. No luck there? We know from experience and news reports that any thunderstorm could spawn a tornado that takes our house away. Nothing we can do would change the course of that tornado should God allow it to destroy our houses. Yet, we know and believe in a mighty God, who certainly has control of every storm at every moment. The storms will come, but our God is sovereign and we believe in Him!

God bless you on this fine morning,

Bucky

Let the Spirit Guide - May 20, 2008

Good Tuesday morning! Every day can be a good day in the Lord, if only we will step aside in our zeal to make ourselves conform to some worldly image. We find it all too easy to believe what the world says that we should be, some idealized image of beauty, wealth, prosperity, and health. In place of that, we need to look at God's Word and read there what image to strive toward. In the Word, we find that the image of perfection is Jesus. Do you find it strange that no one sculpted or painted an image of Jesus? No, and neither do I. The fact that no image exists is that Jesus would not want us to miss the mark by trying to physically look like him. Like the Israelites in Moses' time who started worshipping a bronze image of a snake, we should not seek some physical image to make ourselves into. We should seek to become more like Jesus with each passing moment. However, in that we will never succeed in our own effort! So why the stress? We have all heard the saying, and I need to repeat it often for myself... Let go, and let Jesus! We are striving toward a mark, we are led by the Spirit, and we must let go of the world's image of perfection. Emotionally, physically, and spiritually, let the Holy Spirit guide you to where you should be.

Praise the Name of Jesus on this fine morning!

Bucky

Where is my Security?! - May 19, 2008

Good Monday morning. I wonder if there was any intent in making the first part of the day, "morning", so similar to a sad emotional state, "mourning". Some days that even seems appropriate... like Mondays! Yes, it's back to work time for most of us, the glorious freedom of the weekend is over once more.

Where's my security?!

Today I read an advertisement/editorial about yet another personal defense course. As usual with these products, the editorial part of the advertisement takes note of the dangers portrayed in the first part of the DVD-based course. A carjacking is played by actors in order to get a person in the proper mood for spending money on personal defense. The object is to get a person to put his faith, and money, into personal security training and such things as weapons. While martial arts training, weapons training, and practicing all of these things can be a notable skill, the real security in this world comes from someone outside the world. In the Bible we learn that God is our strength and our shield. This writing came from no less than the king of Israel, David, a man with some skill in weapons and fighting himself. David commanded armies and yet still put his faith in God, and not in his armies and fighting ability.

Looking at the world, we see many things to fear. Looking at God, we see the all-powerful Creator of all things. We fear when we look in the wrong direction! I am guilty of this, the same as many others are, and you may be too. The world is a fearful place; the people are full of fear, and governments fear. We need to look to our strength and shield, God, in order to have faith, and not fear, while we walk through this life. Like any skill worth knowing, this faith will take constant practice. Faith does not overcome fear in one day, but through diligent application. Start learning a new life skill today!

God will watch over you on this great day!

Bucky

The Theory of the Moment - May 18, 2008

Good Sunday morning! The bright light of late spring shines upon the flowers, just as the bright light of Jesus shines upon each of us.

The Theory of the Moment
In my search for the truth about the many situations, and my reaction to them, that come upon me each day, I form theories about why or for what purpose these happen. One day or week, I may have a certain conclusion or theory about why something has happened or why I feel the way I do at some moment. The next day or week, my theory may be discarded in favor of some other conclusion. Jesus tells us that those who seek shall find. To me, in the context of my thoughts and feelings, this means that the theory of the moment may not be the correct one. The self-pitying theories are probably the worst and least likely to be correct. The anxious theories are the ones that most need to be disproved and banished from my thoughts. However, every theory, right or wrong, is a part of the process of my seeking. I suspect that some of my theories can only be set correct by the inspiration or even direct intercession of the Holy Spirit. The wonderful thing is that this intercession happens quite often. Through reading the books and listening to the sermons of Christian ministers and counselors I find some answers, and through the Bible I find many more answers. Friends, my brothes and sisters in Christ, also bring inspiration and comfort. Since the theory of the moment is so often wrong, I am glad for the presence of the Holy Spirit in my life.

May the presence of the Holy Spirit of God fill your life on this great day in the Lord,

Bucky

What a Day may Bring - May 17, 2008

Ah, another Saturday morning, a day of working and relaxing at my own pace... I hope! We do not know what the day will bring, we can only enjoy the moment. When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the donkey's colt, I think that He did enjoy the moment, but was soon saddened by the sight of Jerusalem and the knowledge of the many who would not believe within that great city. Moment by moment we enjoy and then are sad. In this world sadness follows joy which follows sadness. Love brings togetherness, but also parting, and then reunion. A great day is followed by a miserable day, or a day of relaxation comes after one of intense emotion. All of these things could also happen to us in a single day!

The day may bring the return of Christ, or it may be just another day in the life.. we do not know. Sitting here in my chair, I cannot say for sure what will or will not happen in the next few moments. I can state what is likely based upon past experience, and I can guess what might happen. However, I do not know that a meteorite will not flatten my house, or that the Publisher's Clearing House van will not pull up outside. Neither of those things is very likely! Oops, I just leaned back into the sun coming in the window and now I can't see anything. Ha, blinded by the obvious! The nice morning is turning a bit windy already; it looks like our friend the wind will be with us today.

In all of this unpredictability and doubt, we do have one anchor in whom to trust, Jesus, who loves us dearly. Cling to Him in His Word, the Bible, and cling to Him in spiritual communion. Through all that life throws at us, the Rock is there for us in every way.

God bless and keep you this day,

Bucky

Never Late - May 16, 2008

Good morning on this fine Friday. Praise the Lord for the glory of the new day! A box just fell over in the living room, the cat must be getting up and about this morning. Do things go "bump" in the night in my house? Yes, and all day too. Any spooks in this house would be upstaged by the cats. The arrival of spring seems to get a lot of animals and people out and moving, and we are no different. Walkers, riders, and runners flood the streets, kids are out playing, and birds return from down south. To those of you living farther south, this may seem kind of late to be writing about the arrival of spring, and even for us it is a bit late this year. It wasn't but a couple of weeks ago that I was writing about a blizzard! Late or not, the seasons do arrive. The same may be said about the second coming of Christ, but that same would be wrong. Our Lord is never late, everything He did the first time in this world was done at the perfect time, and everything to come will arrive at the perfect time. Our perception of time is subject to emotions and situations. God's perception of time does not change like ours does. We need not worry that Jesus will be late.

I pray that you will enjoy a wonderful and restful weekend. Enjoy your work today!

Bucky

No Fear, Rejoice in Christ! - May 15, 2008

Good Thursday morning! The clouds are moving in very quickly this morning, probably a sign of rain today. The question today is: what have you or I to fear when the Creator of all the universe loves us? The fears and phobias of this world are many. The media inundates us with stories of weather tragedies, accidents, deaths, wars, battles, and crimes; perhaps thinking that the more we fear, the more of their product we will pay for through subscription or advertising. The media moguls may have a point, for people can and do become news junkies. With all of the bad news, where is the good news outlet? Is there some media outlet that will tell us that 6+ billion people did not die today, or that several million babies were born to blessed parents all over the world today? No, we are left to realize that for ourselves. However, one source of good news does stand out from all the bad news of the world; the Bible. The Good News of Jesus is available to all who will listen and hear the Word of God. Any of us can read about all the terrible things that happened to Jesus at the end of His life so many years ago, but the news does not stop there! Reading on we find that Jesus rose again! Hundreds of eye witnesses saw, heard, and touched Him after the world had executed Him. How is that possible? Whatever made the creation think that the Creator would allow His own Son to die forever?

Rejoice, for Jesus has risen again and He is Lord!

Bucky

The World's Roar - May 14, 2008

Does the world's roar make you cringe and quake? The noise of the modern world, the roar if you will, can make any and all of us feel afraid. You may live in a city where the noise of traffic and sirens awakens you each morning, or you may live in a rural area where the demands of the workday make you tired just by thinking about them. While the lusts of the flesh have not changed since Adam and Eve first ate of the forbidden fruit, the fearsome noise of the world has grown great. Imagine a person from Jesus' time dropped into the world right now. That person's first experience with cars, trucks, jet engines, and the other things that we take for granted each day, would be the most terrifying experience of that ancient person's life. Our bodies and brains haven't changed as much as we might like to think from those bygone days, and the noise and roar of modern life puts a tremendous stress on us. The world's roar does make all of us afraid, though we may not realize it. The peace of Jesus is needed more than ever as we near the end times. Seek His peace in prayer and meditation; enjoy some quiet time with our Lord today.

God bless you all in the name of Jesus!

Bucky

Persistence for Justice - May 13, 2008

Good morning! The clouds have brought us some rain once more, though I slept through it. Did the rain fall on the just and the unjust as we read in the Bible? And which side are each of us on. Hopefully the just. However, do we need to hope, or do we have assurance of our justness? According to the Bible, we are justified by faith in Jesus Christ, there is no need to wonder which side we are on. Jesus has already taken care of justifying us to God through His sacrifice on the cross.

I find the story of the poor widow who sought justice from a judge who did not believe, an unjust judge, to be a valuable lesson. She brought her case before him until he grew tired of seeing her and granted her justice just to be rid of her. Jesus told us to learn a lesson from this unjust judge who still made a just decision due to a widow's persistence. However, note that she believed in justice through her faith. We might be tempted to pray for something that is not good for us with persistence and expect God to answer with a "yes". As we learn persistence in prayer and grow in our faith in Jesus, we will not ask for things that God does not want us to have. Trust in the Holy Spirit of God to bring you persistence in prayer and a generous, faithful heart.

Let the light of Jesus shine through us today!

Bucky

Last Minute Decision - May 12, 2008

Good Monday morning! I read in Luke today about the day when the Son of Man will be revealed. One interesting point is that Jesus said that if one is working on the roof, he must not go down into the house to pack. That is interesting to me in that it seems even up to the last moment, we will still have that choice, Jesus or this world. What saddens me is that some may "go down to pack" when they should be praising the name of Jesus. To me it doesn't seem like a difficult choice, but I have not arrived at that moment yet. I wonder in this day of instant messaging and email, how many would want to go back for their laptop? Foolishness we would call it, but similar things happen all the time in earthly disasters. We must not cling to the things of this earth, and how easy that is to do! Some may have good intentions in that last day, thinking to leave a note giving their possessions to a loved one whom they suspect will not be taken up. Jesus says not to try that. Later, in one of Paul's messages from our Lord, Jesus sets our mind at ease regarding this decision. Those of us who have already decided will be caught up in an instant. That is comforting to know. We need not fear our own wavering at that last moment.

Let the glory of the Lord shine!

Bucky

Mother's Day 2008

Happy Mother's Day! This is the Sunday each year that we set aside to celebrate our mothers. All of us had a human female who bore us to infancy. However, not everyone is blessed with a mother. The circumstances of this world sometimes take mothers away in childbirth or cause mothers to abandon babies. We may not always appreciate our mothers as well as they deserve, but ask a person raised as an orphan and I suspect that you will get a different perspective on what it is to be raised by a loving, Christ-centered, mother in this dark world. Often we can take for granted that which we have always had in our lives. A rich person might take money for granted until they are broke or poor. A person with a job for many years might take work for granted until suddenly they are retired or laid off. Most of us do not have the point of view of an orphan and so tend to take our mothers for granted. Through it all, Mom has always been there for us. That is why it is so important to have at least one day each year set aside to remind us of all that our mothers have done for us in this life. We should do it every day, but the cares and concerns of this life divide us. Husbands and wives come along and then children, jobs, and all the other demands of this life get in the way of appreciating those we love, but who may live in another town far away. Take time today to pray for and express appreciation for your mother to God. Prayer will bless you mother much more than anything you can give physically in this world. However, that does not mean that a note of love and appreciation is not welcome.

From me to my mother on this beautiful Sunday, thank you for being there for me, and I love you Mom!

Bucky

Abundant Life - May 10, 2008

Good Saturday morning! Is there a good reason for eating breakfast before taking off on errands on a Saturday morning? Yes, evidence would suggest that sitting down to a good breakfast might aid in memory skills and the other mental disciplines necessary for operating well in the modern world. We don't need to go into specifics here, but suffice it to say that an extra trip or two was made by someone this morning. Now, I am safely at home and the wind and rain is beginning.

I am grateful that Luke was able to return to work yesterday. An extended time away from work can be difficult for all those involved in the matter. We prayed and in time our prayers were answered to the glory of God the Father. I think the first time that any of us suffers an unexpected injury or illness we have a confidence problem. Our health is suddenly more fragile both in body and mind, and even more than that we realize just how fragile this life can be. In a way we are grateful that this life will soon come to an end, but I don't think that any of us wants to leave behind loved ones. So we have that Christian conflict, I am ready to go home to Jesus and yet we still have a fear of the process of dying. Even Billy Graham, one whom we would consider a giant of the faith, had concerns about the process, though like us, he was sure of the outcome. Don't be ashamed of your fear of dying, Jesus came that we might have life and have it more abundantly. Part of that abundant life is, I think, a desire to go peacefully into the next life without pain or suffering. While "soon" may or may not be on your list of desired characteristics for dying, quickly is another one that comes to mind. We do fear an extended decline, even though that is what most of us will have as the years go by. I feel the decline at 45, and I'm sure that others feel it more or less at their present age.

The clouds and grey of the morning have fallen upon my outlook; let us think instead of life and living for the day. God has given us healing, and we know that by how much time Jesus spent in healing during His ministry about 2,000 years ago. We are lead through the dark valleys in order to help others with our understanding and strength in Christ Jesus. Oh yes, there is indeed abundant life during our time in this life, and our end will not come before the time that God has set. Have courage and faith in Jesus as you enjoy the abundant life that He has promised!

Have a wonderful weekend in Christ!

Bucky

Start with His Lordship - May 9, 2008

Good Friday morning! We enjoyed a good rain yesterday afternoon, something to get the spring plants going. More rain is due over the next couple of days, which will not make the boating crowd happy. However, as a non-boater myself, it is difficult to be too broken up over some much needed rain. One thing that comes to mind today is the tremendous variety of hobbies and activities that exist in the world today, and that doesn't include the many different activities that we call "work". How do we discern what is truly important from all of the complexity of modern life? Jesus will lead the way for those who believe in Him, For those who do not believe, how will they see Jesus to start with? One way is through the media, but more important is our own example. Do you go home on Friday letting your coworkers know that you just can't wait to see what the pastor has for a message on Sunday? Are your kids excited to see Sunday School arrive?

The ending of the work week is about all that we hope for each week. What a depressing thought that is! For another work week soon arrives and the cycle begins anew. What a wonderful testimony it would be for all of us as Christians to obviously look forward to each work week, each church service, each chance to worship God, and every opportunity to spread the Good News. This is not an easy change in attitude and demeanor. I am with you in just making it to the end of each work week. We should pray for each other in this. For the glory of our Lord, spend time praying that we can improve our attitude about this life. We should all be living in victory, not in a downcast, defeated, and depressed manner that shows the world's victory over us. Jesus is Lord! Let us rejoice in that fact.

May God grant us peace and joy in this life and the next!

Bucky

God's Word - May 8, 2008

Good Thursday morning! It is nice to see some spring rain showers come our way. Last night, I began a new study of the Gospel of John, and this morning I read once more the story of the prodigal son. At any other time, you or I could read of the very beginning of Creation, or the about the times to come soon when Jesus will return. We might read the tales of David's heroics and sins, or Solomon's great wisdom and how the Queen of Sheba came to learn at his courts. In all of the world there is not a book like the Bible, and yet in all of the world there may well be no more common book than the Bible. Under the repression of North Korea you might find a carefully guarded copy of the Bible, or on the bedside of an unbeliever in America, you might find a dusty copy laying unused. The greatest libraries in the world contain at least one copy, and the smallest libraries in homes may contain a copy. What is this work of literature that so inspires believers and so incites the non-believer? To a believer the Bible is the very word of God, and to a non-believer it is the target of their most vicious attacks. The Bible, the Word, by its own admission it is sharper than a two-edged sword dividing the world into two distinct sides. A believer in Christ will read His Word daily, a non-believer will ignore or attack the Word in an effort to stamp out the darkness in their own soul. To the believer a precious light in a dark world, to the unbeliever an ancient darkness in their enlightened world. One side holds the truth and one side holds to a lie; which side are we to choose? And there is the center of the matter. We do have one precious right given to us by God himself, the right to choose.

What happens when you or I choose to believe in Christ and accept the Bible as His holy Word? To me, the Bible begins to make sense, to answer questions, and to set a peace in my heart that the world cannot steal. Love pours from its pages, God's patience is manifest in the many sins of Israel, trust replaces fear, and hope displaces despair in the words of Jesus and the teachings of the prophets and apostles. A light shines where darkness once ruled, understanding of God's great plan becomes more clear with each reading, and I gain great comfort in times of pain and striving in this world. The Bible has been proven historically accurate repeatedly, withstanding attack after attack by the intellectual community. Yet, the Word still hurts those who refuse to believe. Taking a step from the darkness to the light is difficult, be patient with those who do not yet believe, and be earnest in prayer for them.

May God's Word go with you on this day,

Bucky

I Don't Mind! - May 7, 2008

Good morning! In reading Pastor Rogers' devotional this morning, I can only say, "left out again!" Yes, the devotionals about marriage often leave us single folk out in the cold. However, I realize that every devotional and sermon is not going to be about me or pointed at me. There may be hundreds or thousands of people in a congregation, and a minister may choose to preach only about a small group on any given Sunday. God leads us, and that means all who believe in His Son, to minister in ways that are specific or broad depending upon God's own great plan. Today, I felt the finger of God pointing at dark corners of my life, and the message is... that I didn't mind!

Before coming to believe in Jesus, not simply intellectually, but spiritually - with the heart you might say - I would go to church or listen to a minister on television or radio, and writhe in guilt. Soon, I would use the excuse that I already felt guilty and didn't need the added stress of yet another minister pointing out my shortcomings. Well, how things do change! Now in quiet prayer, I gladly welcome the message about those dark areas in my thought life. Lust, greed, gluttony, vanity, pride... I could list all the so-called deadly sins and even work up variations, and I am sure that each of us could nod our heads in honest agreement. We have all had sinful thoughts in our hearts, probably every day of our lives. Those thoughts do not have to linger in our minds and hearts, Jesus sends the Holy Spirit to clean house, and praise God for that! Yes, it would still be an embarrassment to have my worst thoughts played out on a giant screen for the public to view. The only thing to do in a moment like that is to point to Jesus and say, "He has forgiven me!" What the world thinks does not matter, the world will not judge us at the end. Only the grace and mercy of Jesus matters and that is given to those who will believe. John 3:16 says "whoever believes", and that means anyone and everyone who believes, has eternal life.

Praise God for eternal life in Christ Jesus!

Bucky

Spring? - May 6, 2008

Good Tuesday morning to you! The sun shines brightly already this morning as spring has arrived in more than just a date on the calendar. The bush is budding outside the window, the green is showing in lawns... and bugs are everywhere. Oh well, we can't have everything perfect in this world. I get excited thinking about the new heaven and new earth that Jesus will bring at the end. What will that be like? Spring without the skeeters, summer without the heat, winter without the cold? I simply don't know what that new earth will be like. Everything I try to imagine seems based upon what I know on this earth. Perhaps there will be twenty distinct seasons in a year, but will we even count years as we know them now? Will plants grow and be tended, or will the plants be tended by lions? Pondering these things makes for a fun exercise, but God has reserved His surprise for us. In the time before that great day of Jesus' return, we do have Good News to share. There is salvation from sin in this world and it comes through Jesus, our Lord. No one must wait to be saved, it can happen now, wherever the person is, and in whatever situation the person may find him or her self. Praise God for His infinite grace and mercy. The ax of judgement once rested on all of us, but now we are forgiven and saved in the blood of Christ.

Take the Good News with you on this fine day,

Bucky

Perseverance - May 5, 2008

Good Monday morning. We are starting the day on a joyous note! I see that Pastor Rogers' Bible links are active this morning, I hope this doesn't trigger any spam filters. Spam filters are a never-ending fight in getting the devotional to you each morning, and that brings to mind something that I have lacked from time to time: perseverance. In the Bible, we also see it addressed as endurance. Both are appropriate in our Christian life. Like exercising, walking with Jesus and as Paul illustrates in Philippians, running the race, requires endurance or perseverance. As always in anything worth doing, quitting is easy. It would be easy to get up each morning and not put in the effort to write this devotional, and the same goes with walking, riding a bike, running, or any other form of exercise. However, not writing each morning would deprive me of a satisfying and joyful start to the day. Not exercising... we all know well the effects of that. Good habits require perseverance to form, bad habits come easily, and that is the way of things in this cursed world. I think the smell of our effort is sweet to God, and like the great leader that He is, He puts far more effort than we do into our salvation and development as saints. As Paul exhorts us to do, we should never stop training and running the race that brings us closer to Jesus with each passing moment. One day we will cross that finish line and be together in Christ's glory. Look on this world with renewed hope and faith in Christ Jesus today!

God loves each and every one of you, enjoy it!

Bucky

The Good Old Days - May 4, 2008

Good Sunday morning! The weather is more seasonal outside today and promises a fine spring day. I hope you are having a wonderful weekend in Christ Jesus.

The Good Old Days

I know that you have heard that expression before, things were better back in the day, or those were the good old days, and many other expressions of nostalgia. You or I have probably been guilty of speaking or yearning for something like that at times. When I started online courses, I occasionally thought how much better it might be if I went back to the school I left twenty-something years ago. However, I know that it would not have been the same and I am glad that I didn't try to go back to a traditional college. I have also thought of moving back to the town that I was raised in, but again, things are not the same there. Most of my friends and all of my family have moved away from there. Time has passed and we need to learn to be content with what God has sent to us today. If we are honest, we will look back and find the same fears and doubts back in the "good old days" as we have today, only now we have a new savior and a renewed faith. Let us all move forward in Christ and show His glory to the world.

God bless you on this fine day,

Bucky

Conflict in the World - May 3, 2008

Good Saturday morning! The bright sunshine belies the cold outside. Yes, May 3 may have a record low this morning. I am struck by the tremendous conflict in me today. On the one hand, I want to hug everyone and tell them that all will be made right if they will only believe in Jesus. On the other hand, I am put off by the scorn and defensive reactions of so many in this world. I fear crowds and being caught somewhere that I cannot get out of, and yet I want to comfort them and make them feel good. Well, that's a good description of our life in Jesus and in this world. All of us, I think, have feelings and thoughts along those same paths. We want to help, and we suffer rejection. Hug the wrong person at work and say "God loves you and so do I!", and you might lose your job. On the other hand, you just might make that person's day and cause them to turn to Jesus and be saved. In this world we will experience conflict, both external and internal. You might look at it as if having no conflict in this world would mean that you are not saved. The Devil will not tempt and try to destroy those who are in no danger of believing in Jesus. God tests us because He loves us and wants us to become more like His Son. The Devil tries to destroy and discourage us, and we are beset with sufferings because he hates us. So, if we are undergoing trials and sufferings... then rejoice, we are saved in Christ Jesus!

Hallelujah to the King of kings!

Bucky

May Snow! - May 2, 2008

Good Friday morning! Wow, what a change in the weather. We are enjoying a spring blizzard this morning, lots of wind and some snow. Is it shameful to pray for a snow day? I don't think so, work is what it is, and we do not have to be overjoyed to go every day. What a birthday present a nice snow day would be. Yes, today is my forty-fifth birthday, praise God I made it this far!

The wind during the past two nights has made me a bit sleep deprived today. My house has many good features, but the wind does make it noisy and difficult to sleep. Vinyl siding: great to look at, miserably noisy in the wind. Back in the old days, a storm like this would just blow through the soddies and houses, literally through. Do we trust in our houses to save us from the weather these days? Perhaps a bit more than in the past, but we still place our faith in God above all. It wouldn't take much more wind to put our lives in some danger. A loss of power, and I speak no words of omen here, could still leave our homes in danger of freezing. However, in Christ we need have no fears for our safety. Yes, injuries and accidents will occur in some of our lives, but we don't need to fear those events. Is it a coincidence that I speak of such things on a day like this? No, the roads are slick, the visibility is poor, and some schools are too frightened of words to close for the day. There may be some accidents in this weather. Trust in Christ and keep the kids home if you feel that you should.

Jesus loves you!

Bucky

Silence is Easy - May 1, 2008

Good morning and welcome to the first day of May, sometimes known as May Day. Yes, fully one-third of the year has passed into history. Today, I looked back upon the year and wonder if I missed any opportunities by consuming valuable time in worry. At times it may seem best to keep our problems and worries inside our own minds, but that may not be the best solution. Silence is easy, but sharing carries a risk of scorn. We fear that scorn though we know from Jesus that we should not. Silence is easy, but sharing takes the burden down to the cross. Share your worries with Jesus and He may lead you to share with friends and loved ones. We all face problems and worries. Sharing with each other may shed new light on those worries,,, they may shrivel in that light.

I have in the past worried about what someone else might think or say. Sharing with a trusted friend in Christ has often shown my worries to be at best only partially true and often flat out wrong. None of us can ever predict what another person will say or do with 100% accuracy; we are all human and surprise each other often. The worries about conflict with others, condemnation from a boss, or a lack of compassion from friends often do not come to pass and turn out to be nothing but empty worries. Those empty worries are self-destructive. If an imagined worry does come to pass, we have then endured it twice, once for real and once in our imagination. Did the imagining do any good? Most likely it did not! Trust only in Jesus, and not in those worries.

Today, for some odd reason, the thought came to me that we cannot lose a contest in Jesus. If you win, take a lottery for example, then God has granted a great blessing to you financially and that is for the best. If you lose a contest, say a team competition, then God has a great blessing in store for you and His way is always the best. Did you get less of a raise than you thought you should, or perhaps no raise at all this year? God has something great in store for you! Did you receive a much greater raise than you expected? Then use it responsibly and to the glory of God the Father!

Praise God for the blessings He gives!

Bucky

The Value of Prayer - April 30, 2008

Good Wednesday morning! Is there any value in prayer? What do we gain for all those hours spent on our knees during our lifetime? Can we calculate an hourly wage from the material gains? Prayer is one of the first things we do in our Christian life. The first time you bowed your head to ask God for His forgiveness, and then in lifting up your head to praise our Lord for His grace; you prayed. Prayer is communicating with God, not only talking, but listening as well. Jesus engaged in prayer daily and spent many nights alone in prayer. Prayer is a part of meditation and a part of calling out for help when in distress.

Our prayers might include material needs and wants, but there is no earthly paycheck for time spent in prayer. However, there is most definitely a fulfilling of our material needs through prayer and I suspect that most of us could point out many examples of prayers answered that involved something material that we simply wanted. We do not calculate the value of prayer in earthly terms, even though our blessings, materially speaking, can indeed overflow. Neither a rich person nor a poor person can be judged as praying or non-praying persons on the basis of their material wealth. Prayer returns several answers from God, from the complex to the simple, involving "yes", "no", and "wait." Prayer may direct us to answers of faith and emotion in the Bible, and sometimes those answers may raise more questions. Prayer brings peace to our troubled minds as we pour out our hearts to God. Prayer brings quiet amid the raging storm of emotion. Prayer facilitates our growing relationship to God as we learn to listen better for His quiet voice.

Once it was necessary for priests to intervene for the people, now we can come before God without fear through the sacrifice of Jesus. In prayer we are allowed to ask "why?" Prayer brings healing, renewed faith, trust, hope, joy, and peace. We need not fear a rebuke from God when praying in the Holy Spirit, who guides us to ask of the Father in faith. One of God's great gifts to us is that He, the Creator, listens to us. Our Creator, the same who created all of the universe, is not too busy or off supervising construction of a new galaxy somewhere, He is actively engaged in listening to all of us and each of us, at all times of the day and night. Pray in faith and confidence. Does prayer have value for us? Oh, yes! I would say that prayer is of great value, whether we put a lot of time and effort into it or only spare a quick moment before some difficult task we must perform. Prayer is the spiritual and mental bread that we need to sustain us in our journey toward God in this life.

Pray earnestly for each other on this fine day,

Bucky

Let Go and Let Jesus - April 29, 2008

Good morning, a new day has dawned. Some mornings it is easy to wake up and see my mistakes. Today is a case in point. Late in the night a very odd dream woke me up, but that isn't the point of this. What happened after awakening is the problem. Satan handed me the football, threw a finger up toward the end zone and I took off with the ball. It was only after an hour or so of tossing and turning that I came to realize that I had carried the ball anxiously to the wrong end zone. I am using a football metaphor that may not seem clear at first. What I am speaking of is the late night worries that drive away valuable sleep; the ones where we know that we should trust in the Lord, but somehow we don't until the morning light. Any of us can stubbornly carry our own worries for much too long. The result is the physical symptoms of those worries such as headaches, indigestion, and others following us into the new day. In failing to leave our worries at the foot of the cross, which we know very well that we should, we hurt ourselves. I did it last night, you have probably done the very same thing at some point.

I have good news for us; the dawn brings a new day in Christ. The worries of the night may deprive us of some sleep, but God brings a renewing and refreshing spirit to the new day. We can go forth renewed in Christ, even after a night of worry after listening to a lie of the devil. Thinking back to many such incidents, I cannot recall any that have ever gone as badly as my lie-induced imagination would have me to believe. People will growl and snap, but we are not to be afraid of them. You or I may lose a job, a house, or some other possession in this world, but we will gain all that and more in Christ Jesus. If any of us is trusting too much in a job, God may take it away so that we realize that He, and not the job, is the provider of all of our needs.

Let Christ see to all of your needs, in this world and the next!


Bucky

Experience to Help - April 28, 2008

Good Monday morning! We are off to work for another week! Today, I cannot but help think that we are blessed in our lives. Yes, there are many obstacles and opportunities in our lives. Some do not have jobs, others do not have a spouse, and many other problems and potentialities that we focus on each day. However, in Christ we live blessed lives full of hope, joy, and peace. Having a condition or experiencing a situation that causes us hardship gives us an invaluable opportunity to help others when they experience something similar. It has happened often to me and I am sure that you can recall the same thing in your walk with Christ. As we work to pray for one another, God will send other people into our lives with needs of their own. Without the experience of PTSD in my life, I would be much less valuable to those around me with stress difficulties of their own. We are allowed, even encouraged, to counsel one another in this life. Each of us knows suffering and through that experience we learn how to help others. Jesus paid the price for our sins on the cross at Calvary, and now He knows how to save us in this life and the next! Trust in the saving power and grace of Jesus Christ our Lord.

God bless you,

Bucky

Closer to Jesus - April 27, 2008

Good Sunday morning! The week begins once more with a day of worship and praise for our Lord Jesus! On a bright and frosty morning out here, we seek the Lord in prayer and faith. How is your imagination doing today? Have you thought about work and imagined some conversation, situation or conflict? No, that's good. You shouldn't on a Sunday morning. My imagination took off on me once more with those anxious thoughts of imagined conflict. I had to laugh. What a silly thing to do to myself on a lovely Sunday morning of rest and worship in Christ! People may not understand the maelstrom of thoughts that can lead a person to anxiety or depression. Praise God that few have the conditions that cause these terrible afflictions. However, as in everything, God can use these mental conditions to remind us where our salvation lies. By trusting completely in Jesus anxious and depressed thoughts are turned to peaceful and loving joy in Christ Jesus. The sun may shine on the just and the unjust, but it also shines on the mentally upset and the peacefully content. Choosing to believe in Jesus can make any of us more at peace as we grow closer to our Lord. He does not save us and then walk away leaving us to struggle with our new faith. Every step of our journey back to Jesus is one of closer friendship and love with our Lord. Praise God the Father for the everlasting and faithful love of Jesus Christ!

May God's great love fill you on this wonderful day!

Bucky

Amazing God - April 26, 2008

Good Saturday morning! I see the first signs of the rummage sale crowd moving about the streets; I may join them in a bit as there are two sales on the next street over. In Guideposts this month, there is a story of a garage sale addict; she had to set limits to her buying, even at garage sales. Can we all agree that it is fun to buy? I think so, and I too have had to set limits for myself. The lure of collecting can become simply another form of greed. This morning, I took a trip to Wal-Mart and bought nothing but necessities... ah!... really, all needed things... ah!... okay, so the Cheeze-its weren't really needed, but they are tasty! I wonder if any of the garage sales have some good books today?

Reading has become a passion once more now that college has finished running me through the grinder. Alrighty then, enough about that. Lately, I have seen many messages regarding the power of prayer. Prayer is one of the best things that we can do for each other and especially for those who do not believe in Jesus. We can pray anywhere and at any time of the day or night, short prayers or long prayers, emotional prayers and quick prayers, all of those prayers are heard by God. We may not see the immediate answer that we want, but we all pray that God's will is done and not our own. Prayer, the powerful and pleasant activity that we engage in daily, has an impact that goes far beyond what we can see. I think that when we see Jesus, He will be kind enough to show us just how far our prayers went in this lifetime. What will we say then? Probably just what we say now... "Wow! You are amazing, God!" Today, take an extra moment or two to kneel down and pray for someone that you know is hurting.

God loves you to pray for others, enjoy it!

Bucky

A Great Deal - April 25, 2008

Good Friday morning! The second time that I have seen the a.m. of this Friday, by the way. The boss gave me an unusual turn of phrase last night as we left work at around 0144, that was: "come in and save the world." Now he meant something else, but this morning I gave some thought to the beauty of that phrase, save the world. You and I may not be able to save the world, but we know someone who can! In a wonderful way that the world cannot match, our Savior makes an offer with no strings attached and the price already paid, believe in Him and you will be saved. Simple, straightforward, and free of the deceits and subterfuge the offers of the world are infamous for having. Want to live in your own home? You must pay a steep price, so steep that most of us can only pay it over 20 or 30 years, plus a lot of interest is added, and don't forget the fees and taxes! In this world, we are often warned that offers that look too good to be true probably are. The offer of Jesus, free salvation and life eternally with Him, has no strings, gimmicks, or traps - believe and you are saved, that's it. What a wonderful Lord and Savior we have in Jesus! On this great Friday morning, enjoy the gift of eternal life in Jesus that each of us have been given for simply believing in Him.

Have a blessed and wonderful weekend in Christ Jesus!

Bucky

Time is Passing - April 24, 2008

Good morning! A popular song from a few years back is entitled, "We have all the time in the world." This may seem to date me a bit, but I was thinking that with the availability of media in this day, a person can be a huge fan of movies from the 1940's, and yet be born as late as the 1990's. Many of the older films have been available on DVD for some time now. The world may feel that it has nothing but time, but we know better. Time is growing short for this world. On the other hand, we are counseled, even commanded in the Bible, to have patience. This would seem to be a dichotomy. How do we have patience and yet keep in mind that time is passing quickly for the world? In this we must know that God's plan will take place in God's perfect time. Jesus may arrive today, or He may arrive in 10,000 years, we simply do not know the date. In this we must count on the patience of our Lord and have faith in His perfect timing. On the other hand, we must spread the Good News to a world in danger of coming to the end times.

Two of Jesus' prime examples in this world are farmers and fishermen, both occupations require a person to learn patience. A farmer plants and then does not see a crop until a few months later. Fishermen may go all day without a strike on their line. Yet both occupations know that the time will come to harvest, one can see the growing plants and the other has signs to watch for as well. The signs are all around us and even in the history books. I believe that we only need to be patient for a short time; a short time that may consist of hours, days, years, or decades, but a short time nonetheless. A popular saying we learn in life is "this too shall pass." Our problems may seem about to choke us, but patience will show us to the end, both in our own life and problems, and in the bigger picture of this world. Stand on the promise that the time is quickly passing us on to the great appearing of our Lord.

God bless you on this fine day,

Bucky

Joy Plateau - April 23, 2008

Good Wednesday morning, and a happy administrative professionals day. Have you been lost in that maelstrom of thoughts lately? That whirlwind of thoughts that takes us to a dark place of dread and anxiety? Our adversary specializes in whispering anxious or depressed thoughts to us. Those thoughts are lies, and we need the Truth to fight them. Today, I thought that the height of joy would be a peak, but that by definition shows a downside to joy. Climbing up to the peak would only leave us with a long slide to the bottom. However, in Christ the joy we will experience in that day that He calls us home is more like a plateau, an unending plateau with no drop off. All through this life we will struggle and race in one direction only... toward Christ. It may seem that your life is pulling you in many directions at once, with demands on your time and resources coming from all points of the compass. However, in the end there is only one goal and one destination, Christ Jesus. I pray that all of us will experience the unending and bountiful joy of Jesus in this life and the next.

Bucky

Too Many Wives? - April 22, 2008

Good Tuesday morning! How would you like to be the judge in whose court the polygamy trials down in Texas have landed? Wow, what a confused mess that must be! Wives, children, and lawyers by the score all clamoring for attention in some way, or trying to avoid the attention entirely in some cases. I do like the colors of the dresses that I have seen in some of the news photos. That's me, amateur fashion critic. This world does tend to produce some complicated tangles in its social situations. How do you decide between freedom of religion, in this case one that believes in multiple wives, and the policy against polygamy? If I recall my history correctly, I believe that Utah was once declared to be in rebellion over polygamy, with federal troops sent in to put down the "rebellion". It is still a strange and sexist turn of the worldly mind that so many religions have believed in multiple wives, but I cannot think of one that has allowed multiple husbands. In this, I think that women have proven wiser than men, as most women would remind us, "who could stand more than one husband in the first place?" Yes, men, I am putting us down once more.

What I see in the Bible, and I do know that the example of Abraham is most often used to justify polygamy, is that Jesus said that one man and one woman are joined together. There was one Adam and one Eve, one Joseph and one Mary, and one Christ and one bride, the church. While our lust of the flesh may lead us to attempt to rationalize polygamy, it seems to me that it is wrong for us to do this. This is one area where further research is needed. Prayer is the first place to go in a situation with doubt and conflicting views, and I am sure that God has more to say on this if we will kneel down and ask Him.

Have a wonderful and blessed day in Christ Jesus!

Bucky

God's Plan in our Suffering - April 21, 2008

Good morning, the new week began yesterday in worship, and it continues today in our work for Christ. You will probably not be surprised to find out that I don't have all of the answers. Not to my own situation, and certainly not to yours. However, I know someone who does have those answers. Especially to the great question that all of us have within our hearts, and that question is "Why?" We might ask, and probably have many times before, "Why do we suffer?". The key to this is, of course, in the Bible. The best example that I can think of is the time that James and John asked Jesus to reserve seats for them in Heaven. Now these will be very special seats, the thrones at the left and right of Jesus' own throne. Jesus asked them if they were willing to pay the price - I'm sure knowing full well that the brothers had no idea just what that cost would be - and then assuring them that they would indeed share in His cup. You might make the connection that this was fulfilled symbolically at the Last Supper. However, both James and John later shared in Jesus cup of suffering, just as we do in this day nearly 2,000 years later.

That cup of suffering, which you and I might have felt upon awakening this morning, is a heavy burden to bear. Take comfort in this: Jesus allows us to share in His cup of suffering that we might be made holy and share in His own glory. Now that glory and the wiping away of our suffering has not happened yet if you are reading this message here on this earth. We share in the suffering that we might be welcomed home by Jesus on that great day of the Lord. Does that ease the pain of our earthly suffering? Yes, I believe that it does, because knowing the "why" of something gives us an insight into God's great plan. Look at it this way: If your boss gives you some seemingly insignificant and onerous task, you have a tendency to rebel and grumble. However, if the boss later tells you why the task needs to be done by you, the "why", assuming that it makes sense to you, will make the entire situation much easier, perhaps even enjoyable, to perform.

My platoon mates and I, serving our time in Marine boot camp, often found ourselves on the receiving end of many seemingly worthless and time-wasting activities. However, upon an explanation from the drill instructor, we would find that the task was indeed worthless and time-wasting. Just kidding, I can't think of any task that did not have some good explanation, though it may not have occurred to us at the time. The explanation for some suffering that you or I may be experiencing this morning may not seem obvious to us right now. I have faith that in the day when we stand before Jesus and look back at where we came from one final time, all of the incidents where we may have cried "why?" to our Father in Heaven will become quite clear to us, and the reason will become crystal clear and perfect, just like everything that God does for us.

Why me, Lord? ...Because I love you!

Trust in God's great plan for you today,

Bucky

Spirit of Victory - April 20, 2008

Good Sunday morning! 2 Timothy 1:7 tells us that God does not give us a spirit of fear and timidity, but a spirit of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. We need to hold these words closely in our hearts, for it seems that this world would have us stay in fear and timidity. Everywhere we look we see advertisements telling us how messed up we are, but God has a different Word for us. That Word is Jesus Christ, and He died for us. Jesus sacrificed His own life not for what we think we might become, but for each of us just as we are now. Is some condition bothering you right now? Know that God hears your prayers and will act in His own perfect time. Rejoice in the Spirit, and live in the light of the Son. One day all tears and sorrows will be washed away in the blood of Jesus. We hold eternity in our hearts so that the transitory nature of now will not defeat us. In His Word, God reminds us that all things happen for the good of those who love Him. I know that you and I love God with all of our hearts, and therefore I know that whatever trials we are enduring right now will work out for our own good. As Pastor Osteen tells us this morning, we are not victims of this world, but victors in Christ Jesus!

God bless you on this fine Sunday morning!

Bucky

Faith is the Key - April 19, 2008

Good Saturday morning! We expect a fine, warm day out here today. I have seen the campers and boats appearing, not unlike the dandelions in my lawn... a sure sign of spring. I read in Luke this morning the story of the Roman officer who believed in Jesus, and never met him. The story goes that this officer sent some Jewish leaders to ask Jesus to heal a valued slave of the officer's. As Jesus was on the way to the officer's house, he sent servants to tell Jesus not to bother since the officer was not worthy to have Jesus in his home. Upon further explanation, the officer says that Jesus can heal from there because the officer recognizes Jesus' authority and gives an example from his own situation. You and I are familiar with the story and I have written about it before this. However, the story remains one of the more powerful little stories from Jesus' life on this earth. A Roman, and an officer, having a faith that astonished our Lord Jesus, is a story that we do well to recall.

Alistair MacLean wrote a book entitled "Fear is the Key" many years ago, and to borrow a bit from that, we live in a book that could be called, "Faith is the Key." The Roman officer explains that he lives under the authority of his superiors and over his men. When he tells one to "go", the man goes, and when he tells one to "come", he arrives promptly. I work under the authority of a boss and when he says to "come or go"...I want to rebel. I also live over two cats, and when I say "come" they stare at me, and when I say "go", they still stare at me. When one sits at the door, I get up and let her out. Sometimes I think that my faith is in that same condition... namely none at all. This is a depressing, or depressed, thought and is probably not at all correct. For one thing, to compare well-trained and obedient Roman soldiers to my situation with cats is unfair to myself.

Cats, unless you have many weeks to spend with them, are famously untrainable. A cat's two overriding concerns are "now" and "I want", a couple things the Lord may hear from us quite a bit. Often we blame ourselves for having little faith; probably thinking that we need great faith in God before anything will happen in our lives that we pray for. However, we only a little faith in our great God for amazing things to happen. How much faith you or I have been given is not the question; the question is how great is the God in whom we place that faith. Great indeed is the Creator and Sustainor of our faith!

To God be the Glory!

Bucky

A Great Day in Christ - April 18, 2008

Good Friday morning! If you are a die-hard Rockies fan, you may not be up yet, or worse not in bed yet. The game ended sometime after one a.m. this morning and fans enjoyed (?) 22 innings worth of baseball. No, I didn't watch, which explains why I can be up writing at 0600 this morning. I think the baseball season is too long already, making each game last more than six hours would be like kicking someone at the end of a long race. Ah, Friday, a day to relax a bit at work, or in some cases to not be there at all. I shall try to do my best at work today, and I hope that you will too.

Work, not something that we always look forward to, and often something we look forward to getting away from, whether in retirement or just for the evening. God calls us to enjoy our work and do well at it. How do we enjoy something that demands so much? Start a little at a time. Work on starting each workday with a positive attitude in Christ. Jesus died to save you and I; we can certainly start each day by realizing that we are loved and worth a great price, that of Jesus' own life! As the dark mornings of winter give way to the morning sunshine of spring, take a moment each morning to face the rising sun and know that the Son of God is risen. We can take a pledge to work on our work attitudes in small steps. Begin with a little prayer, "Jesus died to save me, and He will not leave me. Today will be a great day in Christ Jesus!"

God's great blessing go with you on this great day,

Bucky

A Big Lie and the True Answer - April 17, 2008

Good Thursday morning! In reading further into the coming genetic revolution, I find that it is quite likely that many of the goals will be met. The scientists are not stupid and they do know that their discoveries may be used in either good ways or bad ways. What I fear in this new technology is the big lie. Gaining an ageless body on this earth will not make one immortal, nor free anyone from the pain we experience in this life. What would happen if your or my insurance company would pay for an age-defying genetic procedure, but our relatives and friends could not have this done. You or I might be caught up in a seemingly endless cycle of funerals for dear loved ones. That is seeing the bad side though. What would happen if all of us were able to have some genetic modification and became ageless in these bodies. Imagine how petty irritations might explode over the years. Imagine how the sorrows you know now might grow as the years pass.

I call the promise of agelessness through genetics a big lie because of the possibility that humans might think that through this we will have saved ourselves. We know that only in Jesus will we find eternal life, and not through a lie of simply continuing in the life we have on this earth. Even if our bodies do not age, what would we really gain? Look around you; how long do you want to stay here while Jesus holds a place for you in Heaven? How many wars would any of us like to witness before we go? In the Revelation, we read of unbelievers crying out for death and not being able to find it. Could this be that they did discover a genetic way to cure the aging problem?

How much better is it to look upon our aging as a blessing from God? We have a time piece within us that is counting off the moments until we can be with Jesus. Each new day brings us one day closer to our Lord and Savior! In Christ this is not a depressing thought, but one of great joy and anticipation. Today, I am one day closer to the Lord than I was yesterday! The suffering and sorrow of the past days are gone forever, and I look forward to the day when our sorrows and suffering will be ended by our Lord Jesus...permanently! The coming genetic revolution may make some of life a bit easier. Arthritis, heart disease, cancer, and other conditions may become a thing of the past for some or all of us. However, while we praise God for that, we will remain fixed in our faith in Jesus, the only true answer to the world's ills.

May God grant you peace and joy on this fine day,

Bucky

Old Wine Skins - April 16, 2008

Good morning! At the end of Luke chapter 5, where Jesus tells the well known saying of wine and wine skins, we find the following little gem:

But no one who drinks the old wine seems to want the fresh and the new. `The old is better,' they say." (Luke 5:39)

In a secular sense, we know this means that people are resistant to change. In the spiritual sense, Jesus knew that the Jews did not want to embrace the Good News of the new covenant that He brought to them.

In the military, we learned of commanders who clung religiously to old ways until fired after a humiliating defeat. However, each new war seemed to show a leader from some country doing that very thing. We have a tendency to cling to the old ways! In some cases the old ways are a good place to start; we don't throw out the ten commandments just because they are old. However, the old ways can also be a smothering blanket when someone clings too tightly and refuses to see the Good News of Jesus. Motivational speakers are much more than a dime per dozen these days; that is, they cost way more than a dime and hordes of them wander the corporate landscape. Whether speaking of paradigms or ruts, many of these speakers have a similar message, "Don't wallow in the same old rut." Jesus brought us a new message, life in Him by grace through faith. We must be out and spreading this new message. Trust in the Lord to guide you into opportunities for spreading the wonderful news about our Lord Jesus.

Praise God in the highest!

Bucky

Signs II - April 15, 2008

Good morning, the light awakens us once more to the new day. I saw my first dandelions yesterday, a sure sign that yardwork time has arrived. Signs are what we are told to watch for in the Bible, and signs are apparent in the news and all around us these days. Today in the fourth chapter of Luke, I read of the proclamation Jesus made from Isaiah concerning himself, and how he confirmed it to the people of his hometown. At first, they were thrilled and wondered how their hometown boy could speak so graciously. However, after speaking more, Jesus became the target of an enraged mob, which threatened to push him off a cliff. How did this change so quickly? I suspect they were never ready to accept Jesus as Lord in the first place, and this is what Jesus told them. Every place that Jesus went to, he healed the sick and performed miracles... except in the places where unbelief demanded signs. His hometown of Nazareth, and then the Pharisees and religious leaders in Jerusalem, both demanded signs. Later, Herod would demand a sign in his palace. In no case did Jesus give signs or perform miracles for those whose unbelief prevented them from seeing Him as the Messiah. We are told to watch for the signs, not to demand them! Now we have the entire New Testament to show the signs and miracles performed by Jesus, and we are very glad of it. The signs of the end have begun, but we will not know the time of our redemption from the earth. Be glad for the coming glory of Jesus Christ our Lord, and joyously watch for those signs while spreading the Good News!

Let the glory of the Lord rise in us,

Bucky

The Dark and the Light - April 14, 2008

Good Monday morning! The day dawns clear and bright out here on the rolling hills of western Nebraska. Have you prayed for the world today? I realize that it is fairly early on a Monday morning for a heavy burden such as that, but we must take it upon ourselves to pray for this fallen world. If the followers of Christ do not care enough to pray for everyone, then who will? Loving everyone can be a difficult choice to make. We are bombarded daily with news reports of hatred toward our country and our faith. We view tragedies on television and in the print media. We see the pain and suffering in every day life and wonder if perhaps it wouldn't be better to start over. Rejoice in the fact that God sees all of this too, and He did start over with the new covenant in Christ Jesus. Our Lord did warn us that the world would get very dark at the end, just before the Light arrives to start His new kingdom. The times do look very dark, and that should renew our hopeful expectation of renewal in Christ. As the work week starts today, know that Christ is with us in everything we do. Let His joy burst forth in our labor and in our leisure this fine week.

God bless us all on this great day,

Bucky