Something Strange

But you should not have gazed on the day of your brother
In the day of his captivity;
Nor should you have rejoiced over the children of Judah
In the day of their destruction;
Nor should you have spoken proudly
In the day of distress. Obadiah 1:12

A strange misfortune, or the Hebrew word neker, happened to Judah, and his brother nation of Edom had a day of rejoicing over it. Today we hear of schadenfreude, or having pleasure from the misfortune of another person. It is not exactly the loving of one another our Lord Jesus commanded. Imagine the Levite or that certain priest not only passing by the wounded man by the road but stopping to do a little dance of joy until that despised Samaritan came by to render aid. Often we wonder whether an action may be bad, or if our inaction is not doing enough, but it seems that we can do both and be doubly in the wrong too. 

So, to avoid something strange befalling us we can avoid sin, help one another, love our Lord God, and praise the name of Jesus. No more problems in this world, right? Well, it seems that Jesus said that in this world we would have tribulation. At least those tribulations will not be from sinful actions or unloving inaction, but from bearing the testimony of Jesus Christ. 

Bear your witness! 

Bucky

Discerning Justice

For the LORD loves justice,
And does not forsake His saints;
They are preserved forever,
But the descendants of the wicked shall be cut off.
  -- Psalm 37:28

This morning I would like to present to you a set of Biblical guidelines for looking at allegations, court cases, and verdicts to discern justice and the truth of the matter. However, when it comes to those things where either side could be lying or either telling the truth, and I wasn't there and have no reason to disbelieve either of them... I just cannot. Especially when it comes to those national media cases with political tones and coloring to them, and both sides appear to have much to gain from a victory, I would like to be able to discern justice. Yet, even after a verdict has been reached by a jury or a judge, I'm not certain in case after case that justice has been given.

So, how about some Biblical comfort? Yes, I can bring out the comfort from David, king of Israel way back about 3,000 years ago. The Lord loves justice, David writes to us, and does not forsake His saints. From the letters of Paul, we know that the saints are those who believe and have been saved by the Savior, Jesus our Lord.

Trust in the Lord and His love of justice!

Bucky

Look To The Lord

Therefore I will look to the LORD;
I will wait for the God of my salvation;
My God will hear me.  Micah 7:7

The word therefore in the scriptures tells us to look at what the prophet wrote to us before this verse. And, therefore indeed are words that could describe our time and the news reports we can read daily. Jesus quoted those words and said that He had come to put them into action. We also wait for our Lord's return for He is our salvation from these evil times. At the end of the verse comes that promise that we hardly deserve: My God will hear me.

Therefore pray for salvation and be heard!

Bucky

Heavy Handed Scripture Hammer

He spoke this word openly. Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. Mark 8:32

Rain came to us last night, praise the Lord! Have you ever quoted a scripture, or what you thought was a scripture, to someone and upon later review found your application to be a bit heavy? If so, then I am glad that I am not the only one. If a jeweler should grab a 5-lb sledge hammer in place of the tiny hammer usually applied, then destruction of a beautiful gem is the likely result. And it seems that at times we too might take up a sledge hammer of scripture when a loving pat would better serve us. The swing and the clank of it make us feel the power, but later reflection brings wisdom. The disciples made mistakes too! In our verse for today we see Peter, full of scriptural righteousness to his thinking, rebuking our Lord. We know from the story that Pete's heavy-handed scripture hammer was out of line and he received a good verbal knock in return. The scripture prophecies that Peter thought were in his now were in fact a 'not yet'.

So, gently and lovingly with the scripture, dear children, for it is powerful and sharp like a sword!

Bucky

The Day We Pray

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. Philippians 4:6

If you have not seen the need for prayer in this nation, then you have not been paying attention. The news media delight in showing the worst events and crimes in our nation daily and for all to see. If that isn't enough for you, then social media can fill in the gaps with all manner of evil comments. Truly we can easily see lawlessness on the increase and the love of many growing cold, just as our Lord foretold on the Mount of Olives.

Paul brought to us an answer to a world of anxiety-inducing news, be anxious for nothing! The method of this answer, the apostle writes, is through prayer and supplication with thanksgiving. Now prayer is no good without directing it to someone who can make a difference, and Paul tells us this is God, the One we know through Jesus as our Father, Abba. What an undeserved and unmerited privilege for us! To come to the Almighty, the Creator of the heavens and the earth and talk to Him, even to make requests of Him, should be beyond our rank and station. Not so! Paul would say, bring your prayer to the Lord, our Abba in Heaven today and every day.

May the Lord our God revive our nation as we pray this day,

Bucky

Much Is Given

For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more. Luke 12:48

Whoop, the pressure is on! For those of us given 60 years and more of life, much will be expected with those much given years. What happened to that bit about enduring to the end? Now I have to present a big resume of my good deeds or else? For those of us questioning whether we have done enough with the much we have been given:

I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. John 15:5

Without Jesus, we can do nothing. So, in place of a focus on piling up the deeds, perhaps we should work on not being without our Lord? And I see that we are to abide in Him in order to bear this fruit.

The first quote from the scriptures is part of a verse and the second is an entire verse of about the same length. Does one outweigh the other? We can get into a game of batting quotes from the Bible back and forth trying to find the one that 'slams' the other person into submission. Or we can each one take up the Word of God and enter into prayer with Him to find out what to do and where to go as we walk with our Lord. As we can see from His words, lots of effort might impress our fellows, but if it is not connected to the True Vine we are accomplishing nothing.

Rejoice in your connection to Jesus!

Bucky

One Obedience

In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice. Genesis 22:18

It may seem like one little obedience story in the word of God, but through it came the Christ child who would bless all the nations. Just one little obedience so many years back that we can hardly believe it. Well, some refuse to believe it and some do not want to believe it, but there it was, one little obedience. Of course, we believe that it was one little disobedience way back in Eden that began the fall of mankind. Then we have this chain of obedience from Noah to Abraham to Moses to David all the way to the king's descendants, Mary and Joseph. Story after story in the word of God shows how a little obedience and God go a long way to bless us even today. So, what little obedience might you or I do today? Perhaps like Abraham, Noah, and all those others the obedience is not so little?  Small or requiring a lifetime commitment, let us go forth in obedience to God this day. 

And He shall never leave us nor forsake us in this!

Bucky

Back To God

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.  John 14:6

Some persons will read the gospels of Jesus and see the New Testament as a way to get away from God and His Old Testament. However, in one of the great verses, in my little opinion, of the gospel of John comes this claim by Jesus that He is the way to God. There are others as well, such as our Lord's ascension where He goes to His Father, and the Revelation where John sees God on His throne and then the Lamb of God. And of course we cannot ignore in the New Testament the army of quotations by all of the writers and Jesus Himself of Old Testament verses. No, seeking the good news of Jesus to get away from His Father just doesn't make sense to the one who believes in the Christ. Now using the New Testament to see Jesus and come back to God, that seems like a plan. And then we can read all the wonderful promises in the Old Testament that Jesus has fulfilled and will continue to fulfill! 

Finding God in Jesus is like finding a pastry where the filling exceeds the delightfulness of the frosting. 

Bucky

Let's Talk About Home

There are many dwelling places in my Father's house. Otherwise, I would have told you, because I am going away to make ready a place for you. John 14:2 NET

There are homes that give us a bit of trouble, homes that we would rather get away from, and even homes that are so beautiful we wish we could afford one. But there is only one home for those who believe the words of Jesus and that is the one He has gone to make ready for us. Many translations of our Lord's statements use the word 'mansion', but why should we limit our Lord to a mere mansion? The dwelling place He has gone to prepare may be larger than we imagine, or smaller. It may not have inside it what we think of here on earth, but will certainly be better than we can dream. We like to think that this heavenly home will not be actively falling apart as houses do here, but that may not be true either. What we do believe from our Lord Jesus is that this home will be more than a joy, greater than a delight, and just right with Him.

Let us talk about our home with Jesus!

Bucky

Blessed Assurance

The work of righteousness will be peace,
And the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever.
  -- Isaiah 32:17

I am probably not the first one to search for blessed assurance in the Bible only to be told that the two words do not appear together anywhere in the New King James version.  What a disappointing development! Does that make that great old hymn a heresy? Some people consider the NKJV itself a heresy since it isn't the King James version of the Bible. Others consider the KJV a heresy since it isn't in Latin...which wasn't the language Moses or Jesus spoke either. We have a pattern formed here. The scripture as we are given it in those various versions is sufficient, but we also have the word of the Spirit of our Lord working in us. The songs, sermons, speeches, and yes, even short notes of devotion in the morning, are all responses from those who believe to the Word of God living in us. Blessed Assurance could certainly take its place among the psalms, but it doesn't have to if doing so will shake the faith of those who need to place boundaries on the Word. 

Sing to the Lord, it's all His work in us!

Bucky

That Rejoicing Commandment

Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! Philippians 4:4

There are those times when it may seem that the Lord has called us into this huge burden. We know that the Lord Jesus told us to bring our heavy burdens to Him, but we still have this tendency toward doubt. Paul the Apostle gave to us a commandment to help and encourage us at all times. Rejoice always. And the great letter writer of the Bible said it again in case we gave into a doubt. However, you and I feel that doubt again, don't we? Yes, how do we rejoice always with this heavy burden of rules and regulations? Again, did we miss that commandment of our Lord to bring those heavy burdens to Him? Paul even gives us another clue in this verse to that life's walk of always rejoicing, it is that state of 'In the Lord'. That which happens to be the place where life is - in the Lord!

Have a rejoicing day in the Lord!

Bucky

He Hears You!

The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. Mark 6:30

Often we gather to hear the words of Jesus and the disciples did too. Those words are of course of the greatest value to us. Here in this verse we see the disciples gathering and Jesus listening. As so few of the disciples' words were written down in the gospels, and there must have been a great many questions in the three or so years the group traveled together, we do not always get to know what they said. However, in this case they reported teaching what Jesus had taught them and doing those things He had shown them to do. What we may miss in this one verse though is Jesus listening. Yes, He heard them out as those disciples told the Lord of their adventures in teaching. What a delight!

Our hope and comfort from this is that we too can talk to the Lord in prayer and know that He hears us. Yes, He hears you!

Bucky

The Worry Imagination Machine

Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?  Matthew 6:25

Out here on the high plains, we are just barely into the daylight hours. And yet I have to wonder how many of us have already blown this morning's commandment from Jesus in this verse? Did the Worry Imagination Machine begin the day with a worrisome scenario manufactured with only the slightest provocation? If the powers that be in the world today produced an Artificial Intelligence that worried like we do they would laugh and then shut the thing off. The powers would join Wile E Coyote saying, "Well, back to the old drawing board." We are so bound up with our worries that if we find someone going about without a care in the world, we think them simple, naïve, perhaps even deficient in a mental way. And yet, that person would be in obedience to the command of Jesus and we... alas, we are the sinners in this. Therefore come to the Lord Jesus in prayer today and ask for His great help in living without worry. 

Trust in our Lord Jesus!

Bucky

The Lost Sheep

But He answered and said, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”  Matthew 15:24

Have you achieved a life of professional success? Are you respected in far regions of the globe for your worldly knowledge? No? Me neither. As the world measures success, I'm not quite there yet and may not make it before the end comes. Do you feel often like a lost sheep sending out a querulous bleat to an uncaring world? Good! You and I are exactly what the Good Shepherd came to this world to find. "But I'm not of the house of Israel, just one of those Gentile dogs," you say. Read the story around our verse for today and see how great faith won the day for a woman of our ken. 

Is the Lord not giving you direction for where to go? Perhaps He already has you there, right where He wants you to be. 

Bucky

For This Sin Too

For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Romans 3:22b-26

At times we may wonder what happened to this person or that from the Old Testament stories. All those who died years and centuries before Jesus came did not have the chance, it would appear, to be saved. Paul answers this question for us in the passage that we would call a run-on sentence in our present age. And yet in this sentence Paul sets down for us that one then and one now has the same condition of sin and falling short of God's glory. All have the same Savior and all may be redeemed in Christ by His grace through faith in Jesus.

To God be the glory by our faith in His Son Jesus!

Bucky

Every

Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth—to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people. Revelation 14:6

The revelation our Lord gave to John to pass along to us in these latter days takes great pains to show how the good news of Jesus goes out to everyone. Several lists start with every and have nation, tribe, tongue, and people in various configurations. And as that message does not go out in vain, we have the assurance of a psalm in Heaven that praises the Lamb of God and assures us that the redeemed are from every one of the four groups.

For You were slain,
And have redeemed us to God by Your blood
Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,
  -- Revelation 5:9b

Thus we see no need for anyone from any nation, tribe, people, or tongue to look down upon any other person, for out of all of those nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues come the redeemed of the Lamb of God!

It appears almost too simple for many to grasp these days. Rejoice in the gospel of Christ!

Bucky

Adventures of the Night

My heart wavered, fearfulness frightened me;
​​The night for which I longed He turned into fear for me.
  -- Isaiah 21:4

Once in a while I am reminded that I have neither outgrown nor out reasoned nightmares. Easter morning was once such example, and though the fearful image left quickly the physical reaction hung on for a bit. Isaiah seems to have enjoyed a similar thing in our verse for today. It is instructive for us that his fearfulness frightened him. FDR said a similar thing in his first inaugural address, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." Isaiah continues how the night he longed for had been turned into fear by the Lord's vision that was sent to him. We like sleep at night, but sometimes it is taken from us by fear. For Isaiah it was to serve the Lord's purpose in prophecy. For us, well, why should we think the Lord cannot use it for good too? I wonder how many of the saints got up to read Matthew 27 & 28 at 0045 on Easter morning still quacking in their boots from a nightmare like I did? And behold, he maketh the sound of a duck in his spelling in place of the quaking like he should!

God bless and keep you in perfect courage this day!

Bucky

Paul's Little Fantasy

Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.  1 Corinthians 1:10

Whoeee! Paul really lays out the fantasy there, don't he? If only Brother Paul could have seen ahead to our current political and religious time he would know the futility of his wish! Hmm, let us see. Paul lived as a Roman citizen under the occupation of Rome where the empire had their ways of disseminating news to the republics of every new law, scandal and celebrity peccadillo. The order of the day was pagan and heathen, and about every other religion one might imagine,  as long as they obeyed Caesar first as the word from their god. Politics was such a rough and often deadly game that even barbarians in the Colosseum might have been more likely to make it to old age and retirement. No, Paul had all the evidence he needed about what our world has become and his pleading remains the same: Come together, be one in Christ our Lord.  

That of course does not mean that it will be easy or even immediate. You likely have a division, disagreement, or dispute with one or more of the saints right there in your own Bible study or church group, no matter how small it may be. As it was for Paul and the Corinthians, so it is for us, we all need our Lord Jesus at the heart of this life, or maybe that is IN the heart of our life.

Love and joy in Christ our Lord,

Bucky

His Awakening Day

These things He said, and after that He said to them, “Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up.” John 11:11

One evening I read a newer translation of the resurrection story and Jesus spoke of His awakening day. As that agreed with what our Lord Jesus said of Lazarus, I thought that term brought a little more clarity to me and you. Easter is how we were taught it back in the day, but that word for the holiday always seems to require additional explanation. Resurrection Day helps and tells us of the event that happened on that day. Awakening Day seems good as well, as long as we do not fall into thinking that our Lord simply had a three-day snooze. The scourging, crucifixion, lancing by the Roman soldier, and most assuredly, His declaration of the giving up to God of His spirit, all tell us that Jesus our Lord died on that cross. What the use of awakening tells us is of the impermanence of His condition, and the promise for us that we too will awaken when He calls us from the grave. 

May we finish well in Jesus our Lord!

Bucky

His Blood Price

Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the value of Him who was priced, whom they of the children of Israel priced, and gave them for the potter’s field, as the LORD directed me. Matthew 27:9-10

The actions of Judas Iscariot are to us like the reaction John has to that woman on the scarlet beast in Revelation 17. We are astonished and wonder what motive went through the man's mind as he went about betraying his rabbi. Did Judas have the scripture from Jeremiah come to him at some point in the affair? Matthew certainly made the connection later, for none of the disciples guessed that Judas would be the one to betray in the moment Jesus pointed him out.

This part of the story of Judas does point out the priests who knew quite well what they were doing with that blood money. While they celebrated their victory over Jesus on this Sabbath, another prophecy loomed over them, one we will celebrate on Sunday. You know how it starts, 'Up from the grave He arose...'

Yes, He did! He is risen indeed!

Bucky

Down To The Grave

Then they crucified Him, and divided His garments, casting lots,
that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet:

“They divided My garments among them,
And for My clothing they cast lots.”
  -- Matthew 27:35

Sunday morning, the one we celebrate every Easter, and the day of our Lord's resurrection. There seems to be no question that Sunday was the day when that big crescendo of music came and we sing, "Up from the grave He arose..." to commemorate the event. So, counting back three nights and three days on my chubby old fingers, we have Thursday, the day Jesus died on the cross. On this day those many years ago Jesus went down to the grave. Some might think the resurrection the most important, since we in our fallen first birth like to put something on top of every subject, but all that Jesus did from Bethlehem to Nazareth to Jerusalem and Golgotha was of the utmost importance to us. However, I must admit that coming out of the stone-cold tomb that morning to greet Mary was awesome and awe-inspiring all at once! It is like... His ascension is so big, but just wait for His return! Jesus has a way of exceeding our superlatives, both all the way and over the top!

Love in Christ our Risen Lord!

Bucky

The Pass Over

Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt. Exodus 12:13

This evening begins the annual celebration of the Passover in Israel. This story comes down to us by way of the Bible and tells of a time of destruction, a highly specific destruction. You likely know the story well from the Bible studies of your youth. The Israelites had been slaves in Egypt for about 400 years, God sent Moses to bring them out of the land, and there was this Pharaoh who was perhaps the world's foremost anti-change champion. But not so much that God didn't need to help out by hardening this pharaoh's heart. God's hardening worked of course, and the final plague upon Egypt would target a group of beings so specific that even today we marvel. The first born of Egypt, including livestock, would all die at once in all the land one night with this one exception - a sign. Only the sign of blood on specific places of a home would cause the destroying agent to pass over a particular house. And that, boiled down to a paragraph, is the reason for the annual celebration of the Passover to this day among God's children of Israel.

Take the time today, if you can, to read that first part of Exodus and how God by His mighty hand separated Israel to Himself.

Love in Christ,

Bucky

Sought Opportunity

Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver Him to you?” And they counted out to him thirty pieces of silver. So from that time he sought opportunity to betray Him.  Matthew 26:14-16

From this short passage two things stand out quickly for us: one of the twelve and betray. For one of the twelve disciples of Jesus to turn Him over to the chief priests for money appeared inconceivable to the other eleven disciples. We can know this from the last supper when no one suspected or even suggested Judas, not even with two named Judas to shorten the odds. So little was Judas Iscariot suspected in this betrayal that after Jesus handed him the cup and gave His word to start the thing, no one among the eleven suspected the man. Judas Iscariot was truly one of the twelve until he wasn't. 

Every year at this time I tend to marvel over this betrayal of Jesus. How easily it went once Judas opened that door of opportunity. The monetary reward was right there ready for him. But, even the betrayer could not start the event until Jesus gave the word to go. 

Great is our Lord and His Word!

Bucky

The King Arrives

The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out:

“Hosanna!
‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’
The King of Israel!”
 -- John 12:12-13

We name it Palm Sunday, and this year we celebrate it on April 2nd. It is the celebration of what Jerusalem thought to be the arrival of the promised king. But where was his army? Those few disciples likely did not have the look of a trained military. Some of them were even known to be Galilean fishermen. And for his war chariot, the man chose a humble donkey's colt. In this moment the expectations of many and the mission one man was on did not come together. The man on the colt would be crowned soon, but it was done in mockery and the crown was one of thorns. Some of those same palm branch holders may have attended Pilate's hearing and called for the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus. How easily do crushed expectations, even wrong ones, turn to anger?

For our part and in faith, we know that Jesus did triumph in His time. He died to make atonement for our sin and rose again on the third day as the King of kings and Lord of lords.

Rejoice in the Risen Lord!

Bucky

A Rejoicing Fellow

The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart;
The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.
  -- Psalm 19:8

We read our verse for today and recognize almost at once a psalm from David. He just seemed to be a rejoicing sort of fellow with his singing and dancing. Then we turn a page or two and read Psalm 22. Wow! What a change in the man. David was what some tried to stamp out a few years ago, emotional. Yes, the man after God's own heart could put on a rejoicing class for us, but he also felt the sorrow of this life. Which do we prefer? Why the rejoicing of course.

As Paul tells us in Philippians 4, "Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say, rejoice!"

Bucky

Love And Commandments

For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.  Exodus 20:5-6

When a subject is on my mind for the morning message, I like to do word searches in the Bible to find where it first occurs. When it comes to mercy the first occurrence is Genesis 19:19, but we know that is far from the first time that mercy happened. Hardly had Adam and Eve hidden themselves when the mercy and love of the Lord God was already in evidence. A sign does not rise up in the Garden of Eden stating 'Mercy Here!' with flashing neon letters. But we can easily see by what God could have done to Adam, Eve, and the Serpent that He did not do by His love and mercy. 

So, on to keeping the commandments! Which, our Lord Jesus gave the bestest method of keeping them by two measures of love - one for the Lord our God and another for our neighbors as ourselves. How much of a measure? Give it all the love ya got! 

Love to you in Christ Jesus our Lord!

Bucky

Giving Us Back

And as he was still coming, the demon threw him down and convulsed him. Then Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the child, and gave him back to his father. Luke 9:42

Are you still having trouble with the guilt-shaming of the world and its powers and principalities? Me too. We have a duty to spread the good news and Jesus is at the heart of that good news. Today this verse from Luke reminds us of the story told then of that child. A child much like we were but with one terrible thing more, a demon had possessed the boy. How and why the child came to this condition are not so important as the One who came to first rebuke, then heal, and finally to restore the child to his father. We too must go through this same process. The sin in us is rebuked, we are healed of our earthly birth, and finally by being reborn in Christ we are restored to our Father in Heaven. We would like to think this process is a moment in time, but from the stories of the disciples it seems to be more of a journey.

Rebuke the sin, be healed of the guilt and shame, trust in the restoration of our Lord Jesus!

Bucky

Dumb Before The Word

So when the children of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, “This is the bread which the LORD has given you to eat.  Exodus 16:15

What is it? The Lord had promised the Israelites bread from heaven, but when it arrived it did not fit their expectations. Perhaps they were looking for loaves of bread like they baked each day. We have the story from Exodus, one of the more famous from the Old Testament, but for them there was this first time. And first time's came throughout the Bible stories, and time after time them olden-timers stumbled and fumbled. Jesus told the disciples what would happen to Him in Jerusalem just before that last Passover, and they struggled to believe Him. Even after His death and resurrection came, one of the disciples wanted direct, physical proof before he would believe. 

We are so smart now with all of our information devices and quick communication. We have the whole Bible too, that council back in the 3rd or 4th century said so. We have everything laid out for us in the prophecies, signs to look for...no way will we be caught by surprise. 

I feel dumb before the Word of God today, my friends. We have been given so much prophecy of the latter days, and yet there remains so much that I don't understand. All is in the hands of our Redeemer and Savior though, no need to worry or fear. 

Bucky

Deceivers In The World

For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. 2 John 1:7

If a preacher sets out to make a ministry and does not confess that Jesus our Lord was a man who lived as a human being, John has a couple of tough names for this preacher. Deceiver and an antichrist, wait, isn't that how we describe the enemy, that adversary who comes to steal, murder and destroy? There are those preachers out there who might be surprised by this appellation from John the beloved disciple. Didn't Jesus endure the 40 days in the wilderness because he had special powers from God? Didn't that Devil fellow indicate that our Lord would be caught by angels should he jump off that tower? These we recognize as being not quite right and certainly not what our Lord Jesus said. Preaching God in human form and named Jesus is a step of faith that some refuse to take. And if they preach their false message to the world, then John names them what they are doing.

So, yes, Jesus my Lord needed to wash His human hands when they got dirty. Praise God for my human brother and Lord Jesus!

Bucky

A Date To Walk With Him

So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were released to kill a third of mankind. Revelation 9:15

It's an appointment - hour, day, month, and year. Sometimes to us the apocalypse or end time seems like a ticking time bomb set to go off at a time we do not know. Other times it seems as if those times will never arrive, like a Christmas that has been postponed indefinitely. On the one hand, the fears of judgments and many deaths lurk. On the other, the return of our Lord Jesus in His great power and glory. It feels as if we are in the middle of two arms of a cross! But we also know by faith that we are not the ones in the middle, for long ago our Lord Jesus took up that cross burdened with our sin so that we wouldn't have to. The cross of our sin would crush us into the dirt, but our Lord Jesus took it to His death and then rose again! So, freed from the crush of judgment that is to come and looking forward to the One who will meet us on the other side of whatever death ends this short life, we rejoice in Christ Jesus today. For this day is the only appointment we need to appear at, this day we have a date to walk with Him through all the hours, days, months, and years.

Great is our Savior, Jesus!

Bucky

The LORD Enthroned

The LORD sits enthroned over the flood;
the LORD sits enthroned as king forever.
May the LORD give strength to his people!
May the LORD bless his people with peace!
  -- Psalm 29:10,11

Keeping watch over the news and other reports, we may little understand the value of the LORD sitting on His throne at all times, forever. To begin our understanding though, we can learn more about this by reading from David's psalms, the prophets, and John as he received the Revelation. Visions of the Almighty on His throne abound in the Word. While they may seem few to us, Isaiah knew that a little vision of the throne in Heaven could be too much as he exclaimed, "Woe is me! For I am lost... For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts! " (6:5). In faith we know that the Lord Jesus lives too, as John sees the Lamb in the midst of the throne. Overwhelmed is common among those who have seen the Lord on His throne. The 24 elders bow down and throw their crowns at His feet. The angels rejoice and the four living creatures thunder around the throne of God. Words just seem to come up short as we try to imagine and understand our great God on His throne.

Yet He sits there, Almighty forever!

Bucky

Practice God Centering

Now godliness with contentment is great gain.  1 Timothy 6:6

We often seek gain in this world, and Paul has given us the means to achieve it! So, what is this godliness and how do I have contentment? Godliness is third from the top behind love and brotherly kindness in Peter's list of things to add to our faith (2 Peter 1). Yes, but what is this godliness? The subject can be lengthy, but one definition I found is: the practice of godliness is an exercise or discipline that focuses upon God*. Godliness has within it a devotion to God and an attitude centered upon God. We may even simplify that for us a bit more and say that godliness is becoming more like God in love, respect, and devotion. Each of us has as our primary example, Jesus the Son of God. Now if that seems difficult to achieve, wait until we try for contentment!

Love and joy to you this day in Jesus our Lord!

Bucky

*From "Value for All Things" and "Devotion to God"in The Practice of Godliness by Jerry Bridges (NavPress, 1983. Retrieved from https://bible.org/article/what-godliness).

Our Iniquity Bearer

He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied.
​​By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many,
​​For He shall bear their iniquities.
  -- Isaiah 53:11

Wonderful, Counselor, Prince of Peace, we have used these titles for our Lord rejoicing in a quite different verse from the same prophet. How often do we remember our Lord as Our Iniquity Bearer? It does not seem an appropriate title for the King of kings, and yet there it is near the end of a prophetic chapter. In this same chapter we learn that our Savior was also despised, rejected, despised again, not esteemed, and although it does not outright say 'ugly', it certainly informs us that He would have no beauty or comeliness. This coming Prince of Peace does not appear to be the one we would pick from among ourselves to be the leader. The prophet by the word of God emphasizes quite the opposite. Those scribes and Pharisees scanning the temple crowd for our Lord at the Passover must have overlooked Him time and time again, since He just wasn't the pretty face one would expect of this new leader who drew people to Himself by the thousands.

That's our Lord Jesus, not just another pretty face! Perhaps it was the bearing of our iniquity that caused His face to look so unlovely and without beauty?

Bucky

His Song Of Lovingkindness

The LORD will command His lovingkindness in the daytime,
​​And in the night His song shall be with me—
​​A prayer to the God of my life.  Psalm 42:8

Lovingkindness and a song, praise the Lord for the blessings He pours out upon us! And a giving back from the psalmist of his or her life to the Lord. Sometimes our life seems like the least of things to give back to the Lord. And yet, the Lord prized that life of yours or mine enough to send His Son to save us. It is a thought to cause gratitude and deep consideration within us as we rejoice in His lovingkindness.

Great is the Lord! His song shall be our prayer this night.

Bucky

Did They Stay?

And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying. Mark 2:4

The need was urgent, the crowd too much, and yet they found a way in by breaking through the roof. I have to ask though, did they stay to repair the damage they had made? Of course we know there was a carpenter nearby, but the scriptures are silent on whether he helped them repair that roof. The paralytic was out celebrating his new mobility and restored health on the way to his house, glorifying God all the way there, so we see that he didn't stay to help. The four friends of his who did the breaking in? I can see Jesus later helping them to repair the roof with his knowledge and skills. It may even be that Jesus released them to go celebrate with the healed man while our Lord stayed and helped the homeowner repair that roof. But, hey, the main point has always been the paralyzed man with no other hope found a new life in Christ the Lord.

Rejoice in a new life in Christ!

Bucky

He's The One I Need

This was now the third time Jesus appeared to the disciples after he was raised from the dead. John 21:14

Other versions may use 'was revealed' in place of 'appeared', and both speak to our need for the Lord Jesus, risen and alive! While His death on the cross satisfied God's judgment for our sin, it is the living Lord that we need for the lifetime journey each must take. The ascended Lord Jesus gave to us His Spirit, living in each of us who believe in Jesus, to accompany us everywhere we may go. And every provision is made by God for us to believe and carry on in faith. The disciples needed more than one or two appearances, and so Jesus came to them for the third time. To us in the latter days, He also gave His word in the form of Bibles to carry and study.

All of these reminders I am going through this morning to help with a bit of a down feeling. There does not seem to be a good reason for it, but He is the one I need. In case you need a reminder, I'll gladly share the good news of Jesus with you too!

Have a joyous day in Christ our Lord!

Bucky

See Him!

And you people of Capernaum, will you be honored in heaven? No, you will go down to the place of the dead. For if the miracles I did for you had been done in wicked Sodom, it would still be here today. Matthew 11:23

Sodom, that city destroyed by the Lord centuries before Jesus' time. A city so infamous that the name is used in relation to sexual sin even to the present age. Did the Lord Jesus get through to Capernaum with this statement? Did their jaws drop in shock that a traveling rabbi could say such a thing to them? But of course when we read the Word of God, it comes around to read us. How do we stack up against the spiritual blindness of the people of Capernaum? Will there be places joining Capernaum down in the place of the dead?

So, the salacious one asks, what sins did Capernaum invent that even Sodom didn't have? No, Capernaum wasn't known that way! It was the sin of unbelief that Jesus pointed out for them. Jesus did miracles in Capernaum, but their unbelief blinded them to who He was. Don't be that way!

Have faith in Jesus and see Him!

Bucky

The Mountains Were Covered

The waters prevailed fifteen cubits upward, and the mountains were covered.  Genesis 7:20

In honor of those struggling in the mountain communities, who may feel a closer kinship with this verse about now, we send up to God our prayers. As we found out in our little town this year, on a much smaller scale of course, snow requires a lot of work to move away from streets, driveways, and doors. Easily one or two big snows can overwhelm us. Let us remain in faith and much prayer for those who have not gone to town or perhaps even seen a neighbor for two weeks or more. Were they prepared? Probably with supplies and tools, but who can prepare for loneliness? 

Trust in the Father our God and pray!

Bucky

Praying For

Now therefore, restore the man’s wife; for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you shall live. But if you do not restore her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours. Genesis 20:7

Abraham's crisis of faith will be for another time. Today, this is the Lord speaking to Abimelech, king of Gerar, who was an innocent party affected by that fib from God's prophet. The Lord made it clear that Abimelech's life was on the line for this sin. The first words in Abimelech's dream are, "Indeed you are a dead man..." Gulp! But the sin did not belong to Abimelech, how fair is that? Certainly it got his attention. Read the remainder of this story in Genesis 20 and marvel at how the Lord addresses this injustice. Note how the Lord prevented a righteous king from sinning. And the power of praying for someone to the Lord. In this dream, the Lord introduces Abraham as a prophet. And the Lord Himself prophecies that Abraham will pray for this innocent man and the Lord will relent from this destruction. And then comes the, but-if-you-don't... Obedience is always the best answer to the word from the Lord.

And in verse 17, we read that Abraham did pray for Abimelech. Restoration follows, and what a great thing our Lord Jesus did in praying for us and restoring us to the Father!

Bucky

Do Not Come Here!

“Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets. Matthew 7:12

News reports and videos from the big snows in California may be a bit frightening to watch in some cases. However, one news report had residents pleading with non-residents to stay away for now. When some event that may not happen again for many years comes along, we have an urge to go and see it. If we find ourselves in that dreaded group of pains-in-the-neck called 'looky-loos' though, we may become part of the problem, or even make the problem worse. This group of folks are not always wise or prudent in their gawking, and they can clog up roadways that are needed for relief supplies and emergencies. As for those of us who believe in Jesus and His words, we have the Golden Rule for living to help guide us. The interesting way that Jesus put it though places an onus on us to do first for others what we want done to us.

But, gee, I don't always know what I want someone to do for me. Well, that's a different problem to take up with the Lord in prayer. When you and I do know, then we have the path laid out for us.

Have a great Friday in Christ our Lord!

Bucky

Walloped By The Plank

And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not perceive the plank in your own eye?  Luke 6:41

If any of us should dare to complain over a problem, then we know by now that everyone else will immediately know the solution that the blind complainer is too stupid to implement. Of course blind and stupid will not be spoken in the flow of words, but we have all experienced this sort of implied criticism in life. In His longest sermon, Jesus offered us a different solution involving specks and planks. As we can read in our verse for today, the plank is on our side, even in the very eye we use to offer that poor blind complainer the simple solution to the merest whimsy of a problem. It is a very different way of looking at our brothers and sister in Christ, or any neighbor that we are to love. What if, due to that plank sticking out there, I do not know so much as I think when my sister in Christ has a problem so great that words come out like tears dropping heavily to the ground? Could it be that my blind and stupid brother in Christ has already tried my simple solution and found it insufficient, or even in effect much like a lit match searching for a gas leak in a darkened room? Has that darned plank walloped another one of my brothers and sisters? 

Oh, Lord Jesus, may I look about with love and seek the solution in prayer before speaking out!

Bucky

Who Does It Belong To?

The earth is the LORD’s, and all its fullness,
The world and those who dwell therein.
For He has founded it upon the seas,
And established it upon the waters.
  -- Psalm 24:1,2

We have been collectively referred to in the Bible by a few names, Gentiles is one, but today we are named in the psalm as 'those who dwell therein.' Each of us has likely been referred to in far less complimentary terms. For this collection belongs to someone by the words of David, who wrote this psalm. We belong to the LORD. This is one of many stumbling blocks in the Bible where we are to choose to believe or not. The world enjoys a limited time where we are allowed to question and doubt this, but in the end when the Judge sits at last on His seat there will be no question of ownership. Those who have believed by faith will go with the LORD to His home, and those who refuse to believe to... you don't even want to imagine that second death. The LORD will then do with His world as He pleases. And we read in the scripture that He pleases to make all things new!

We rejoice that the LORD was pleased to send His Son to save us!

Bucky

Abba, This One Is Mine

Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. Matthew 10:32 NIV

Back in the olden times for me, maybe not quite so long for you, each of us probably had a new friend whose parents we had not yet met. The afternoon went along well after school and we played at something with this new friend. However, sooner or later, the father came home from work and sensed something different in his domain. "Who are you?" suddenly became the main focus as the authority inquired of the newcomer his or her place in this world. A name, parents' occupation, or even a confession of total worthlessness to occupy your tiny bit of space in his house might help, but your new friend could save you all of that with one quick admission. "Father, this is my friend." What came after did not matter nearly so much as that one acknowledgment. Even at a tender age, we could face the Authority with much less fear when we had a friend.

Therefore, we see in our relationship to Jesus our friend a way to stand before the Father in Heaven. We can see how much it means to each of us that the Lamb was found worthy before God to open the scroll of the Revelation. When we stand before the Father, we hope in faith that Jesus our Lord will say, "Abba, this one is Mine." And we have His assurance of that if we acknowledge Him before others here today.

Great is our Lord!

Bucky

Then The Testing Begins

My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. James 1:2,3

When first introduced to salvation and faith we may wonder that it is too easy. Surely, that cannot be it, we ask, eternal life simply for belief in the Son? Yes, the senior disciple thinks, soon the testing of that tender faith will begin. Indeed, as we grow in the faith of our Lord Jesus we will find those tribulations He promised, the trials He foretold, and of course the opposition we are to expect. And a lot of that opposition comes, to our surprise, from that part of us that was in us from the first birth. Didn't that just go away when we were saved? And then we come to know that the walk with Jesus to the end is not so easy after all. If it were easy, then He wouldn't need to walk with us and even carry us part of that difficult way.

The production of patience by testing is not always easy to see. Trust in the Lord Jesus!

Bucky

Withdrew From Them?

But when some were hardened and did not believe, but spoke evil of the Way before the multitude, he departed from them and withdrew the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus. Acts 19:9

They won't believe me, no one listens to me, and other observations may fill your heart on a particular day. "Even the Apostle Paul couldn't get through to these folks," one was known to say. Well, yes, we see in our verse for today how Paul withdrew his disciples from a hardened and unbelieving group. As God does not force belief on anyone, even Paul must at times withdraw from the unbelievers. So, even you and I may run into those we must let go their way. Trust them to God because even in the end times when the terrible judgments of the Revelation are poured out, we read of those who refuse the call to repent and believe.

We believe in Jesus, today let us rejoice in Him!

Bucky

Keep Him In Your Heart

Ye shall make you no idols nor graven image, neither rear you up a standing image, neither shall ye set up any image of stone in your land, to bow down unto it: for I am the LORD your God.  Leviticus 26:1

The Law! We naturally recoil a bit from it as there is a lot of it in the Bible and the penalties are to our eyes quite severe. From this command we also have no images of our Lord Jesus to use in making a statue. "But wait," the stranger from a foreign land asks, "aren't there rather a lot of images of Jesus in a great many forms in your land?" Well, we must admit that there are, but can we know that any are accurate to His face as He walked the land of Galilee in about 30 AD? If one reads the prophecy of Isaiah at about chapter 53, then the images tend to be too beautiful for that description. So, for us there is no bowing down to carved rocks or pretty paintings, but we keep the Lord Jesus in our respective and respectful hearts. Faith, after all, does not need a graven image, especially when it is unlikely to be a true representation. 

Have a faithful day in Christ Jesus, and keep Him in your heart!

Bucky

Fasting Secretly

Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face. Matthew 6:16-17

Those hypocrites in this case wanted to be known by their fellows to be on a fast and to gain recognition and sympathy for their efforts. Jesus assures us that they gain their reward. As today begins the traditional season of Lent, I wanted to remind us that if we participate in the fasting to do it for the Lord in secret as Jesus says in verse 18. For it seems to me in this age that when Lent begins there is a curiosity that overcomes some and we will be asked what we are giving up for Lent. Of course, you and I do not have to go along with this thing at all, but Lent seems to be having a resurgence in the church. As with all ceremonies, methods, and observances from tradition, the Lord looks into the intent of the heart. If we do it for a show to be seen by our friends and neighbors, then we will have that reward. Quietly, secretly, we avoid the desire for attention and fast, or don't, with our Lord as we prepare for the celebration of His resurrection.

Trust in the saving work of Jesus!

Bucky

Transformers?

Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works. 2 Corinthians 11:15

If a wooden plank door transforms itself into a powerful machine then we might be impressed. (Sorry, there was this odd dream.) However, there is a far more awesome transformation coming for those who believe in Jesus. Here in our verse for today Paul speaks of a transformation often seen among politicians during their election runs. The opponent will of course paint a slightly different picture for us. Which one is correct is often up to the voters to determine. That most of our past few presidents have been elected by small margins speaks to how difficult it is for us to determine the real from the transformation presented to us. And with such little observations we are off down the bunny trail. But that transformation promised in the Word though? Here was a man who had lived, been scourged and beaten, crucified, and checked with a mortal stroke of the lance, and lived again. What did He tell the doubter, Thomas? Stick your hand into my side and believe. That dreadful wound was still there, and yet He lived! 

As His Spirit renews our minds daily, and as He will do when we exit this earthly corruption, be ye transformed by our Lord Christ!

Bucky

The Queen Of Sheba

“Blessed be the LORD your God, who delighted in you, setting you on the throne of Israel! Because the LORD has loved Israel forever, therefore He made you king, to do justice and righteousness.” 1 Kings 10:9

A story of a monarch traveling to test another monarch, but it was a biased test. She confessed to Solomon before our verse for today that she did not believe the reports she had heard about him. And we can understand her reservations as stories do tend to grow with time and distance. However, in this case God had provided the wisdom of Solomon, and the riches and power, which so impressed the Queen of Sheba. The queen admitted that this time the story fell short of the legend. This queen was no dummy though, for she praises the source, the LORD your God. As it was with Jesus, it is the outsider who sees more clearly than the children of the Lord's chosen people. And this queen from a far country praises the love God has for Israel and the delight He has in Solomon. 

There ya go, do not let an outsider see what you or I refuse to see. God loves us and delights in each of us. 

Bucky

Lawful (to do!) Good

Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep? Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath. Matthew 12:12

Back in ancient times when I tried to play a particular role-playing game, I always wanted my characters to be lawful good. Later deeds would prove that I had a rather higher opinion of my moral and ethical performance than was the case. In fact, if I were a character in the game during that period of my young adult life, the dungeonmaster would have drawn me aside to advise me to change my alignment or start suffering damage. After I returned to the fold of our Lord Jesus a few years down the road, I with my brothers and sisters in Christ began to see the importance of two little words in there - to do. Those words have become as lovely as lawful and good to us. For we are not players in a game, but disciples of our Lord who desire to do good. And yes, praise our Lord Jesus, it is lawful for us to do good even on the Sabbath.

Thank You, dear Lord, for Your guiding hand this day,

Bucky

Enough Of The Past!

For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles—when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries. 1 Peter 4:3

A message takes me back to ancient times, at least ancient in my little life on this Earth, and the time comes to pull back from reminiscing and take up the mantle of the present. As for Brother Peter's list: yes, there was some of that in my past and it is at times difficult to not dwell on it. In the present such things still tempt and beckon to me, and it requires an effort to stay with my Lord Jesus in the present. Whether past or present though, all sin is remitted by the sacrifice of Jesus. That sin is atoned, paid for, no longer on the books, or the more literal definition of remittance - sent back. Do I deserve such grace? Not by my works to be sure, but there was this man who loved in that perfect definition He gave of the greatest love (John 15:13). Jesus gave His life to save me and all who will believe from our sins.

Let us believe in the Lord Jesus Christ!

Bucky

On A Frosty Morn

Then came the Day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover must be killed.  Luke 22:7

And thus we see the end of poor Passover, and why we now celebrate Easter. Hold up there, Hoss! This is one where we need to dig into the original text notes to see what is translated as simply, "Passover". As we suspect, it does not refer to the killing of a holiday or the feast set down for Israel to observe so long ago, but the lamb of the Passover itself. The word, pesah, in Hebrew became pascha in Aramaic, and referred to the sacrifice, the lamb killed and eaten at the Passover celebration. As we know, Jesus was referred to by John the Baptist right at the start of His ministry as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. (John 1:29). This was no accident of course. God gave John the revelation that at Passover, Jesus our Lord would be our Pascha atoning for the sin we have in us. Even in the Revelation given by our Lord Christ to a different John, we see the only one found worthy to open that revelation is the Lamb who was slain. Again, no accident, but the plan of God at work!

The frosty morning nears dawn, and the hope of our Lord Jesus comes soon!

Bucky

The Pages Of This Time

The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:9

In our verse for today, Peter gives a reason why the Lord has not yet returned and brought to a conclusion the history of this world. We take comfort from that as we suffer and rejoice during this time. And what is this time? Some have called it the church age or the age of faith, others are just living day by day. In each case we are in that time between the ascension of Jesus and His imminent return, by some called the Second Coming. However, the pages of this time in history are not blank pages in His book. Jesus assured us that even the giving of a cup of water to one of His little ones was noted and rewarded. The times and each of us do matter to our Lord Jesus and we rejoice to be in His book. Therefore keep on doing even the smallest of good deeds from a generous heart.

May our Lord God bear you up in faith this great day!

Bucky

Rejoice With Me!

And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, "Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!" Luke 15:6

That time He came to us in weakness was over and our resurrected Lord Jesus rose up out of their sight to go home to the Father. And let us imagine as best we can His homecoming. Gabriel, Michael, and many other angels whose names we do not know, gather around the throne of God. Jesus says those words, "Rejoice with Me!" Our Lord told the disciples that any time a sinner repents and believes in Jesus there would be the same celebration in Heaven. Your time or mine, or when the neighbor in church prayed to be saved, and many other newly reborn saints throughout the ages have brought on that same statement of rejoicing, "For I have found My sheep which was lost!" Why then do we linger here for a brief time? For all those sheep who have not yet turned from themselves to be found by the Savior. May all of our Lord's lost ones come soon.

Pray for the lost ones in the name of Jesus,

Bucky

A Guarantor

This makes Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant. Hebrews 7:22 ESV

Some verses in the Bible seem to say everything we need at once, such as John 3:16. Other verses, such as our verse for today, cry out for further explanation. We recognize the truth in our Lord's name, but immediately want to know, "Better than what other covenant?" And also, what is this new covenant, if we have not yet read the gospels and the epistles. We can find all we want to know and more about the former covenants in the Old Testament. For the new covenant, that better covenant, that Jesus guarantees, we have this in verse 25 of the same chapter of Hebrews:

Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.

Draw near, children, to the God of our salvation!

Bucky

And Yet, He Lives!

For though He was crucified in weakness, yet He lives by the power of God. For we also are weak in Him, but we shall live with Him by the power of God toward you.  2 Corinthians 13:4

The great verse we have studied several times in the past couple of weeks has that one thing we must do, believe. This faith begins with the resurrection of our Lord Jesus in that we believe the testimony of those who saw the risen Lord. As He rose up to be with the Father until that time of His return, we are to wait in faith for His return. Central to that waiting is faith in His living. How could we live with Him, as Paul promises to us in our verse for today, if He did not live? And how could we believe in His return, such as we find in the first part of John 14, if we did not first believe in His life after the tomb? We must believe in all of Him, or we have a chain that falls apart. Fortunately for us, Paul shows that our weakness is not the central factor here, but the power of God. As Jesus lives by the power of God, so we live with Him by that same force. We live with Him because He lives! 

God's power and grace lives in you this day!

Bucky

Believe His Word

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16

Perhaps the strangest concept in this verse is not that God loved His creation, but that anyone can have eternal life by believing in the Son of God. Believe? That's all I have to do? One might ask in reading this verse. The start of believing, or perhaps both happen at the same time, comes when we believe His word. Jesus spoke these words in this verse, and those in the context all around it. We believe those words about believing in Him and we have eternal life. We believe His word and the Word of God comes to live in us.

It seems too simple! I need to say more about it. Ah, beware the danger of over-analyzing it, dear self, and just believe in Him!

Love to you on this Friday!

Bucky

Because We Don't Know

Then they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?”
She said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.”  John 20:13

There are moments when it seems that, like Mary here in our verse for today, we do not know where they have laid Jesus our Lord. In just one scriptural moment, Mary will meet a joyfully living Savior, but in the moment she sorrows as just another lost sheep of the Lord. We too find times and days to weep because we do not know where they have laid Him. And yet, He stands at hand waiting to be seen by us as the living Lord Jesus! Whatever our sorrows and pains on this day, we have only to open our heart to the Lord at hand. In Philippians the Apostle Paul writes, "The Lord is at hand. Be anxious for nothing." Yet we do spend time refusing to look up from our sorrows and blinded by tears when the Lord waits there, just right there, right there at the hand of prayer to be noticed as the Living Lord Jesus! 

Have a little faith in the Lord this day,

Bucky

Take His Word For It

The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”  John 3:8

They found it! You may have read the news reports of the 1/4" radioactive pellet lost along an 850-mile route of desert road in Australia recently. Of course any of us with some knowledge of radioactivity immediately knew that the search would not be done by looking with the eyes for a relatively tiny capsule in such a vast distance. It was found by a vehicle with detection equipment traveling at 43 mph, a much different sort of search than walking the 850 miles while searching the ground with a pair of human eyes. 

In a similar vein, if we were to search for our rebirth in the Spirit by looking around we would only see people who look more or less like us. It is by faith that we know of our rebirth in Christ, and then the fruits of the Spirit will show in time. Faith is, after all, taking His Word for it. 

Believe in the Word God gave to us!

Bucky

Neither Worry Nor Fret

And which of you by worrying can add an hour to his life?
So if you cannot do such a very little thing as this, why do you worry about the rest?
-- Luke 12:25, 26

One extra hour of life is called for, and to add it by worrying? We have some knowledge that worrying will do quite the opposite. And He calls it such a very little thing. To think that worrying and fretting are two of our favorite activities. One might think we would be much better at those activities with all of the practice we have put in. As neither worry nor fretting about have done us any good, then perhaps we should set about to obey our Lord's admonition. Will we gain that extra hour of life then? Let's hope not, for the sooner we are with Jesus the better for us all!

Love and faith to you this morning!

Bucky

I Have Found

And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, "Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!"  Luke 15:6

That a sheep just on the other side of a hedge and overlooked by the shepherd would bring a cause for rejoicing with the neighbors and friends seems unlikely. No, this sheep had managed to get itself into a place that a sheep should not have been able to find. Or, the sheep wasn't just missed on quick look but was missed for several days or weeks. So long was the sheep lost that the shepherd had all but given it up for lost. Thus the rejoicing with friends and neighbors in our verse for today. Now imagine Jesus coming home to the Father in Heaven and saying much the same thing. You and I are of course playing the part of the lost sheep, and so is that friend over there and the neighbor on the street and that fellow in church, and so on. When each lost sheep is brought into the fold, there is that announcement by the Savior our Lord in Heaven, "I have found!" It is a statement of discovery, of rescue, and of rejoicing. 

Feeling lost today? Imagine the Lord Jesus announcing to the saints in Heaven, "I have found this one!" over you as you look up to your Savior. 

Bucky

Any Person Who

 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.  John 3:16

The burdens of this verse are all on the Father. He loved, He gave, His Son, and He gives the everlasting life. Our part is one we qualify for by being part of whoever. In the dictionary, whoever is defined as: any person who. After the 'who' comes 'believes' in our verse for today. There is no qualification for your looks, quantity of sin, your fitness, fatness, fidelity or future prospects, only any person who believes. Whoever can do it, whoever wants to do it, whoever comes to the Father through the Son; it is available to you, me, anyone, any person who believes in Him, the only begotten Son. 

Help someone to be a whoever, whenever... they will believe!

Bucky

Chasing The Neverending

And further, my son, be admonished by these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is wearisome to the flesh. Ecclesiastes 12:12

Since the first six books were published, there have been those of us who wanted to write and to read them. Truly as Solomon observed, there can be no end of making books. And, if we try to acquire a library, there will always be at least six dozen new books on our wish list. If a friend were to help us out by purchasing those books as a gift, it would only awaken the ravenous beast of desire for the next six hundred books. For this we have an admonishment from the wise king: correct the error and be on guard. Too much reading and study are wearisome, and one of the great unfairnesses of the world is that it burns few calories. Living persons are important too, and we can learn much by talking to them. At the least, we can talk with them about the books we have read. This is no idle boast, as the collection of books we know as the Bible can be the beginning of our testimony!

Rejoice in the reading and sharing of His Word!

Bucky

No Peeking!

Then He struck the men of Beth Shemesh, because they had looked into the ark of the LORD. He struck fifty thousand and seventy men of the people, and the people lamented because the LORD had struck the people with a great slaughter. 1 Samuel 6:19

I read in the notes for this verse that another translation states that 70 men and 50 oxen were slaughtered that day. Certainly 50 oxen dying is more palatable to me than 50 thousand persons, but I hesitate to change the word of the Lord to make it easier for me to bear. The ark of the Lord carries with it a serious penalty when a peek inside brings death! But that isn't quite the point is it? The penalty came from disobedience of the law of Moses, and when the ark was set within the tabernacle, even to gaze upon it was to invite death. When we read of the deaths we tend to focus on the ark, but it was the disobedience of the law that brought the penalty.

That a large container covered in gold would invite a peek inside to the mortal flesh we understand. Would you or I be able to resist even today? Perhaps under the threat of that penalty, but we would feel the urge from curiosity if nothing else. The great work of the law of sin and death is that it highlights our need for a savior. That a holy object of the Lord should become a temptation to disobey Him shows the first birth and our need for a rebirth in Christ.

All our faith must be in Christ alone!

Bucky

The Loving Controversy

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.  John 3:16

As I brought up the love of God for the world He created yesterday, it is only fair that I bring up the controversy over this love. There are some in the world who hate this verse we examine once more today, John 3:16. Their hatred stems most often from some form of loss. If God so loves the world, they say, how come He lets people die by war, misfortune, murder, and other means? The patient in the hospital who has lost his health might ask why a loving God would allow such suffering in His world. However, it seems to me that all arguments against God's love boil down to one: If God loves me, why doesn't He run the world the way I want? That was of course the choice offered to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. One tree they were forbidden of all trees in the garden, and it was called the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. We know from further reading and experience that you might also call it the tree of I wanna go my way and not God's way. The name does not matter quite so much as that it was a choice. A choice given to Adam and Eve because love does not force but allows for the beloved to make a wrong decision, and they did. The love of God comes by way of a gift, His Son, and a choice - does a person believe in Jesus or not? 

Thank You, dear Lord God for your great gift in Jesus, your dearly beloved Son. 

Bucky

For God So Loved

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.  John 3:16

Looking around at the world, we see both that which is loveable and some which appears less so. Yet there were no exceptions or conditions placed on this verse. It begins, for God so loved. No one could force the Almighty to love, so God must have chosen to love. God so loved the world we see right now, for the Roman empire of our Lord's time was hardly better than what we see today. Untimely death and suffering were common then as they are now. Sin and hatred lived near love and righteousness just as we can see in our time. This is all useless though, as the great verse of our Lord Jesus simply begins with the stated fact: for God so loved the world. And you and I did not do a thing to earn that love, it flows from our Lord because He chose to love. 

God's love and mine to you and yours!

Bucky

The Comforter: Our Help In A World Of Discomfort

But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me.  John 15:26

A little of the King James Version for you today as I wanted that word for God's own Spirit: Comforter. John gave to us from the words of Jesus another of those verses where the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit appear together. The mission of two of the Trinity in this verse is to give testimony of the Christ, Jesus. And the Paraclete, to use the Greek term, Who is at once our helper, counselor, and comforter, is sent by our great Lord Jesus to be with us in this world of discomfort. We note also that the Comforter is the Spirit of Truth, fulfilling another need we have in a world of deception. Just how close are these persons of the Trinity? Jesus, who is in 14:6 of John the way, the truth, and the life, sends from the Father the Spirit of Truth to testify of Himself. 

Praise God for His Son and His Spirit!

Bucky

To The End

Indeed the LORD has proclaimed
To the end of the world:
“Say to the daughter of Zion,
‘Surely your salvation is coming;
Behold, His reward is with Him,
And His work before Him.' ”
  -- Isaiah 62:11

I did not, as even I'm beginning to think, take a resolution this year to stop writing. The sewer problems continue their 10-day cycle and last week my home PC crashed hard on the monthly Windows update. A few discoveries from this time of trial include that God is still good, the Bible on my table has not broken down, and while I cannot trust the systems and devices of this world, God remains trustworthy and loving to the end.

From the time of Isaiah's prophecy, there has already been a great span of years until now, and none of us know how much further we have to go. To the end of the world then, we and Israel await the return of our Savior and Lord. He is our salvation from the ravages of sin and the mundane little problems that make life here just such an endurance race.

Pray for one another, my friends, God is great and good!

Bucky

Without Jesus

They have all turned aside,
They have together become corrupt;
There is none who does good,
No, not one.  Psalm 14:3

Without Jesus, we have this observation from David, king of Israel. It is not a flattering message to us, nor a thing to be proud of. And this is what we have to offer God in exchange for salvation. Then to those living in darkness came a message of love and hope in Jesus. We might wonder, how are we to take this? In faith each receives the message of love from God, or rejects it and goes his own way. One might ask, "Am I worthy?" Of course not! But the Lord Jesus, the Lamb of God, is worthy. There is none who does good among us, but there was One who came down from Heaven to save us. We do not deserve this salvation by our own works, but we can gain it by accepting Him. Salvation: it is the strangest of one-sided deals, and yet the most wonderful!

Have a joyous week and love one another!

Bucky

Learning In The Struggle

But recall the former days in which, after you were illuminated, you endured a great struggle with sufferings.  Hebrews 10:32

Good morning in this new year! I have been gone or off the air for a while now, and you may be wondering, what's up with that? A vacation would have been a strange event, but it wasn't that and I would have told you. The sewer in my house backed up, twice. And after trudging down the stairs one evening to scoop the stuff up from my basement shower and bag it out to the trash, I resolved not to do that again. And so began my morning trips to find a potty before the need became urgent. Plus there was that trip to the laundromat which I had not done in years. An inconvenience to be sure, but one that takes up time from my morning routine. Of course the writing of my testimony should always come first due to the Great Commission and so on, as some would point the Pharisee finger at me. All I can say in defense is...try telling that to my digestion! There are biological processes in us that just have to complete their mission or dire consequences come. One morning this week I only just made it too. 

While 'great struggle' might be over the top in this example when compared with what others have endured, it was a struggle nonetheless. I have learned more ways to conserve water, and that my faith in Christ remained even in the times when I got down a bit. 

Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. v35

Bucky

At The Overwhelming

From the end of the earth I will cry to You,
When my heart is overwhelmed;
Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
  -- Psalm 61:2

As a little sheep from the Lord's pasture we are often overwhelmed by events and emotions. While it is not always the answer to run away from troubles, it is always a great answer to run to the Lord with our cries. 

It will not surprise any of you to learn that this is from a psalm of David. It seems that when seeking out verses about worry, fear, or overwhelming, I will find that David was one who knew these things from his experiences. At the ending of this year, any of us might feel that overwhelming sorrow, despair, anxiety, or other crushing feeling that brings us down, down, to a heartfelt wail to the Lord. David published his overwhelming in a song. We can bring ours to the Lord in prayer. "Lead me to the rock that is higher than I," David wrote. We know this Rock as Jesus the Christ. Our Lord Jesus knows the weakness of every sheep in His flock. Come to Him little sheep and wail your hurt to the Good Shepherd. 

Place all of yourself in the hands of the Shepherd!

Bucky

Be It Resolved

So they resolved to make a proclamation throughout all Israel, from Beersheba to Dan, that they should come to keep the Passover to the LORD God of Israel at Jerusalem, since they had not done it for a long time in the prescribed manner. 2 Chronicles 30:5

Israel in the time of Hezekiah had done the backsliding thing and failed to keep the Passover as prescribed. This is one of two instances of the word resolved found in the NKJV of the Bible. In both cases, the key is not making the resolution, but in the doing of it. So...in our verse for today we can congratulate them for making the proclamation? Yes, the performance of the Passover we can leave between them and God for today's lesson. What we want to gain from our resolutions as we prepare for the new year lies in the doing. They made the proclamation as resolved. Therefore go carefully with your resolutions this year. After the 'Be It Resolved' on the proclamation, be sure there is the doing with commitment. Else, it would be better for us to have not resolved it.

Be it resolved in Christ our Lord that we do what we resolve to do! Amen.

Bucky

Love's Conveyance

He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.  Colossians 1:13-14

To convey is to transport or carry something to a place. The man who died on the cross believing in the kingship of our Lord Jesus was conveyed that day to Paradise. To convey is also to bear a message from one to another. As we have received the message of our Lord's love for us, so we in turn convey that love to others who have not yet heard the good news of Jesus. How do we convey this message? Some say actions are best to show the love, while others say that words tell it best. Use the means and methods God has given to you, and I will carry the message in the way that God has blessed in me. 

We are borne to the kingdom on a conveyance of love!

Bucky

Happy Christmas!

Then the dove came to him in the evening, and behold, a freshly plucked olive leaf was in her mouth; and Noah knew that the waters had receded from the earth. Genesis 8:11

Nope, no symbology or foretelling in this verse. That the angels appeared to the shepherds at night in Luke 2 and make us think of an evening birth is just coincidence. Then our Lord was baptized by John with water and the Holy Spirit of God came down like a dove, just happenstance. Then Jesus said that He was the true vine and we the branches, just a mere trifle. Then Daniel foretold that the Messiah would be cut off at 62 weeks in 9:26, and that would not make us think of a freshly plucked olive branch even if Isaiah does name Him the Prince of Peace in his own chapter 9. And Noah knew that the waters of judgment had receded from the earth. I just don't see how we can see anything in this verse relating to anything else.

It requires a lot of denial to not see the beauty of the foretelling of our Lord Jesus from Genesis to the Revelation. We have peace with God through that little dove and olive branch born in Bethlehem.

Have a happy and joyous Christmas Eve in Christ our Lord!

Bucky

Happiness And Cheer This Year?

And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”  Revelation 21:4

Christmas time is here, but is everyone feeling the happiness and cheer that is expected of them? The song from that famous Christmas special begins like this:

Christmas time is here
Happiness and cheer
Fun for all that children call
Their favorite time of year.

When Lee Mendelson wrote the lyrics for the well known Vince Guaraldi tune, even poor Charlie Brown didn't get the feeling we are supposed to have at Christmastime. Some depend on family to help with the cheer, and this year the weather will prevent some Christmas reunions. Others by reason or circumstance don't have families to go home to this year. And then there is me with what seems to be my annual Christmas downer message about those who have suffered this year. Mental illness is often highlighted at this time also, simply because so much happiness and cheer does go around the world for a few days and the sufferers cannot participate. It just isn't everyone's best time of the year. It will happen, and no one needs to regard themselves as worse or less because this year does not bring the happiness and cheer. In fact, a time comes soon when God wipes away the tears from our eyes at a moment when it seems like happiness and cheer would be the order of the day. So, pray and be understanding of those who struggle through the holidays, and be glad as much as you are able this year. 

Rejoice in the Lord! He returns soon to wipe those tears from our eyes. 

Bucky

Abba, Father!

Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit.  Matthew 1:18 

This morning we woke up in the frozen north. There are many places further north and higher up that might be colder at this moment, but at -17°F and with a new covering of snow, we are there in spirit and in circumstance.  Looks like the high in the Bahamas will be about 77° today. It is a contrast to be sure. Another one is that you and I are not betrothed this morning and one of us has not been found with child. However, my ridiculosity is not the important point but that little prepositional phrase there in the verse, 'of the Holy Spirit'. Most societies do not want to admit to a breakage of the rules when it comes to marriage and engagement. And it was especially important in Mary and Joseph's time since those rock-chuckin' Judeans seemed always ready for a stoning. That they had other methods to deal with unwed pregnancies appears in a later verse. But, can we so easily get past that little phrase, 'of the Holy Spirit'? There is the Christmas miracle. Jesus' daddy was the Holy Spirit! 

Merry Christmas to you, and may we say with Jesus, "Abba, Father!"

Bucky

It's About Light

Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”  John 8:12

Isaiah spoke the promise that those who walked in darkness would see a great light. Jesus presented Himself to the Pharisees and others gathered there as the fulfillment of that promise. As you will know from your Bible studies, this immediately provoked a division among those listening to Him. Some called Him a false witness, others decided He was a blasphemer, and a few believed in the Lord Jesus. To believe in Jesus as the Son of God and our Savior remains the central choice in this life. Those who love the darkness don't want to go there. And Christmas is such a great time to celebrate the Light of the World too. Refusing the Light of the World, they miss out on so much during this time of His birth celebration. 

We can pray for them to receive our Lord and Savior,

Bucky

Food On My Mind

Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you all things, even as the green herbs.  Genesis 9:3

After Noah and his family landed on Ararat, this dietary change was given to them by the Lord. We can hardly imagine the change from what was before the flood to what came after. However, there was also this, "And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be on every beast of the earth." (9:2) So, it wasn't like Noah could just run up and take a bite of these moving feasts, er, beasts, but the art of pursuit and hunting came to be. Does that mean that the wedding feast of the Lamb told in the Revelation will be more steak or more potatoes? It may be both, or neither. For in each great change in the word there tends to be, well , great change. If the washing of the flood brought one change, what will the washing of the blood of the Lamb bring to us? Even sticking with the diet theme, as I have food on my mind this morning, we can hardly imagine what food will be served at that great feast. New wine would be a good thing to count on, Jesus made that promise to us just before the cross. 

Challenges abound, but Jesus has blessed us this morning!

Bucky

Fallen For It

Behold, you trust in lying words that cannot profit.  Jeremiah 7:8

If I brought this to you today, you might think that I'm referring to your latest Wall Street venture. It seems that there is always a false prophet willing to lie when it comes to stocks these days. When the message comes through one of God's prophets though, we can be assured that it wasn't about investment advice. Judah in the time of Jeremiah was looking quite a bit like a nation we are familiar with today. 

So, along comes Jones with some advice for us. How do we tell which are the lying words and which are not? Perhaps you know a Jones and can tell us to never  believe anything he says. However, there is another thing about this hypothetical Jones of ours, he is the minister of a popular Christian church. What do those people know that we do not? Or, perhaps they are all fallen for it. We can only go to the Word of God in prayer and meditation to seek an answer. Depending upon what you or I think we know, as the Proverbs tell us, carries too much risk. Better to trust in the Lord! 

Keep a warm heart for the Lord in these cold days!

Bucky

Beginning The Age Of Faith

Inasmuch as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things which have been fulfilled among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account, most excellent Theophilus, that you may know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed. Luke 1:1-4

Was Luke even there? We like Luke for his work as a detective and investigative journalist in the stories of Jesus. Like us, Luke probably never met Jesus or even saw Him from the outside edge of a multitude. Instead, Luke spoke with Mary, and many others to gather material for his report to Theophilus. Luke had to believe first, just as we do. Luke lived at the beginning of the age of faith. And as we read of angels, shepherds, jumping babies, and sudden outbursts into songs of praise, (and that is just in the first stories), we read that something huge, strange, and world changing is at work in Judea. However, we must first believe in Jesus or these marvelous stories will not live in us.

Have faith and joy this Christmas!

Bucky

Storehouse of Snow

Have you entered the storehouse of the snow, or seen the armory of the hail, which I reserve for the time of trouble, for the day of war and battle? Job 38:22-23

A storehouse of snow? It would be tempting to think that some of that snow has got out and come here this past day. However, this snow in that particular storehouse has a reservation on it. The reservation is for the time of trouble, and the day of war and battle. While we might say that these are troubled times, a quick read of the Revelation tells us that we are in the 'not yet' times. The questions God poses to Job and the judgments revealed in His Revelation are much more serious than our smaller challenges we face today. God does not love us less though when our daily problems are easier than a storm of 75 pound hailstones or a third of the oceans turning to blood. Our problems are enough for today, and the Lord's love has not stopped.

We will be moving about a bit less freely today in our little town. The blizzard did not miss us this time.

Love in Christ,

Bucky

Warning Words

“Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore hear a word from My mouth, and give them warning from Me. Ezekiel 3:17

Yesterday, I got the quilts out from their storage. The day belied the need for them but warning words had come from the watchers. To the north we have blizzard warnings this morning; for us only a winter storm watch. Either way, our autumn comes to a close about a week early. We too have a duty as watchers for God to warn those who think things will simply continue on to some far distant conclusion. Reading in the Revelation this weekend, there is a warning there too of a storm coming. Do we continue on as if this storm will never break over us, as the world wants to do, or do we give warning words? Imagine some friends leaving to go north into that warning zone this afternoon in a car unsuited to traversing a blizzard. We would warn them.

Have a great and exciting week in Christ as we watch for Him!

Bucky

For Us Today

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Hebrews 13:8

There are those times when one might think that to live back then, any then will do, that things would be just so much better as we walked with the Lord. This statement from Hebrews is one of a great many in the Bible directed at us as we try to deceive ourselves into thinking that this other time would be better for us. We are given today, right now in fact, and that is it. Flying in the face of my youthful desire for several science fiction shows, I can no more go forward or back in time than I can wish myself to Jupiter. While you and I can both imagine ourselves in another time and place quite easily, that isn't living. The wonderful reason that we live in the here and now is that Jesus our Lord stays the same, perfect and wonderful, everyday as He walks with us and we with Him.

Persevere and continue on the way with our Lord Jesus!

Bucky

The Fringe of Power

Wherever he went—in villages, cities, or the countryside—they brought the sick out to the marketplaces. They begged him to let the sick touch at least the fringe of his robe, and all who touched him were healed. Mark 6:56

Reading this small portion of Mark this morning, do we need to wonder anymore why the Roman soldiers divided and drew lots for our Lord's garments. These were objects of magic power! I have to wonder though, did they continue to work when no longer on the holy and, at that time, dead body of our Lord? It is stories such as this one from Mark that caused a huge trade in holy objects of yesteryear to tourists of many types in the Middle East. However, like those desperate people reaching for the hem or fringe of our Lord's robe, I cannot help but think that they missed the target. Jesus did not say that these people got it. He said the Roman centurion understood it. Yes, the one who thought himself unworthy to have the Lord in his house, and knew that it was the authority in Jesus that was the real power to heal. Even the woman who first touched that holy hem was told that it was her faith, not grabbing a bit of cloth, that healed her. We are not missing something today by not being able to reach for His robe, trust in His authority today.

Have faith in our Lord Jesus, whatever answer to prayer you receive.

Love in Christ Jesus,

Bucky

Born Again

Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” John 3:3

Reborn in Christ, born again, it is the most basic of the fundamentals of our faith. And yet, we hardly understand it any more than Nicodemus did back in the day our Lord spoke these words to him that night. Of course the first and tallest step to enter the kingdom of God was taken by our Lord Jesus when He paid the ransom for us on the cross. After that it became real easy, right? Wasn't there something about being directed to the left or right as we walk? No, after Jesus paid our ransom, all we have to do is go be reborn.

You may have attempted an explanation, seen the look of incomprehension on your audience, and asked to start over. Well, that isn't really starting over since they all heard that first attempt. Or, you may have been on a project team that reached a roadblock and heard someone say, "We need to back up to the start, and try a different path." Both sound a bit like starting over, but they are not. What Jesus told us to do by the Nicodemus meeting was far more profound. Reborn? How do we...? And we are in the same baffled place as the Teacher of Israel. What Jesus calls for is so deep and so far from our experience and knowledge that it must be the work of God's Spirit. What is our part in this? Believe.

Believe in Jesus, and be saved!

Bucky

The Time Of Struggle

And Jephthah said to them, “My people and I were in a great struggle with the people of Ammon; and when I called you, you did not deliver me out of their hands. Judges 12:2

From the wars and rumors of war, we might think the time of struggle is now. However, the folks of Jephthah's time would make their case for their day just as well. And then there are the struggles that come to us on whatever days they will come. Some of these struggles are great and some are little, but come they will. For a nation or a people there will be times of greater and normal struggles too. As Jephthah found, there will also be times when we count on a friend to help out and help does not appear. He was later delivered by the Lord, which as we know from our struggles is where he should have turned in the first place. No blame from us to Jephthah though, for how many times have each of us tried to win the struggle alone only to come to the Lord later after our strength has quite failed to win the day?

To the Lord in prayer with you!

Bucky

Oh Sister, We Will Miss You...For A Little While

For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 4:14

We who believe in Jesus the Christ bear a certain weirdness in the sight of the world. The coroner may say they died, but we say they have gone to sleep in Jesus. Some will say their condition is permanent, but we see from this side the temporary nature of it. We miss our brothers and sisters in Christ for a little while. However, that little while is not that of forgetfulness but of an eternal reunion soon to come.

I read with delight the obituary of a sister in Christ. The delight was not of course for the sorrow her husband and children must endure for a time. Nor was it over the loss her close friends will feel. The delight is found in the testimony of this obituary to the love of Jesus in her life. Rich men may try to make much of how they will give away an enormous fortune when they die. But a testimony of the enduring love of Jesus and His salvation even as we go to sleep in Him, now that is a treasure for all of us to share in!

May we all in Christ bear such a lovely testimony on our sleeping day,

Bucky

He Is With You

And it came to pass at that time that Abimelech and Phichol, the commander of his army, spoke to Abraham, saying, “God is with you in all that you do.  Genesis 21:22

Now those are words of encouragement! It is a thing we forget at the worst of times, and fail to remember at the best of times. That God is with you and me should be a foundational thought in every moment, but is it always so with us? For those who refuse to believe, it is one of the most frightening of thoughts to occur to them. For those of us who believe in God, we sometimes try to go at the problem alone through our pride. Even in a moment of fear, when it seems that the thought of God with us would be foremost in mind, we tend to tremble in our misery for too long. It is past time for us to remember the name, Immanuel! We say it as 'God with us' but recall it personally too - God with me!

Rejoice always in Immanuel!

Bucky