This is What I Think

Every four years in The United States we have the privilege of electing a leader who has developed into not only the leader of our country but the leader of the free world. Here we are again making that decision. I am going to vote and I hope that you will vote as well. The question is how do you determine for whom will you vote.

For me it is easy. The first test is which candidate do I feel most closely aligns with what I see as biblical and moral principles. Which candidate do I believe will give America the best opportunity to be a beacon of light to the rest of the world and which candidate do I believe best takes care of the interest here at home. For me personally the decision is made in that order. I am not trying to impose that process on anyone else. I have spent most of my adult life coming up with that formula and it is the way I am bent and I am comfortable with it.

So I have made my decision. Both candidates fail when it comes to domestic policy for me. I just don't like or agree with their position or record on domestic policy specifically their economic policies. So I am left to make my choice based on the first two parts of the equation, which way the heaviest for me anyway.

I believe morals should have the greatest impact on that decision. And so I choose to vote for the man that I think best reflects what I believe to be biblically moral. Neither candidate comes up to the place that I personally think that stance should be, but one does present himself a lot closer to a biblical moral standard than the other.

My ballot is in the kitchen. I am going to vote. It is a privilege and a responsibility that I take seriously. I hope you will vote as well. I hope you will vote for the man that gives America the best opportunity to be beacon of the "Light of the World".

By the way there is an amendment to establish in our Florida law that marriage is an institution that reflects a man and a woman being the only recognized legal marriage in Florida. Not even a moments hesitation in my decision. Of course we should establish that is what marriage is because that is what God establishes as marriage. I am a Christian and I want the laws of this land to reflect biblical principles so that He will continue to keep His hand upon this land.

God bless America and may she choose to bless the rest of this world on His behalf.

He Knows

This whole thing about trusting God's heart is simple when it is just a thought you share with someone. It is easy when you investigate His past behavior in the Word and even in your on life. However when you are in the dark and all you hear or see is something that is scary or overwhelming it is not quite the same.

I know God is good. I have seen His goodness. I have heard the testemonies of His goodness. But it is dark. I must hold to God's promise and wait for His provision. He is always faithful. He is always right on His time schedule.

There are times in our lives that we just have to come to the realization that "He Knows" and simply trust Him.

Happy Birthday!

As it turns out October is a big birthday month for me. My wife, my son and my daughter all have birthdays in this month. In the last several days I have been to four birthday parties and I am going to another one this Saturday. That's a lot of candles (some more than others), that's a lot of birthday cake. Fun to watch the various response to birthdays. Little kids are just giddy, cake, parties, gifts. What's not to be excited about. My wife was excited about her party not because of her birthday but because she celebrated it with her grandchildren. I talked to a friend yesterday and he is not really excited about celebrating his day. Seems like he is concerned about the number. I encouraged him by telling him the number is really one year more. See if you are having your fifty-ninth birthday you are actually going into your sixtieth year. (hehehe)

Well I guess it is ok to celebrate birthdays. That is a day that God knew was coming and was excited over. You see God loves you. He has a plan for your life. His plan is that you are a part of His plan for His world.

I thought about my place in that world yesterday. I was considering my place in the grand cosmic scheme. (Don't ask why?) Look at this passage of scripture:
Isaiah 40:15
Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing.
You know that made me seem kind of small. Well I have been trying to lose weight but that is not the kind of small I was going for. All the nations are a drop in the bucket, what does that make me. I had said to God that I knew I was just a "speck". And compared to what Isaiah said I was concerned I had overstated my size.

I was feeling kind of small and insignificant when I remembered another scripture:
Luke 12: 6-7
"What's the price of two or three pet canaries? Some loose change, right? But God never overlooks a single one. And he pays even greater attention to you, down to the last detail—even numbering the hairs on your head!

No matter what month yours comes in, Happy Birthday! Remember no matter what you are going through and at whatever age, God loves you and has a plan for your life.

Perspective

It is always interesting to me to hear people talk about the same subject only to find out that although they may use the same words to describe something, their perspective and understanding of those words can put them worlds apart.

I am thinking today about what it means to be a part of a church. Specifically the local body of believers. When someone says they have made a decision to be a part of a local body we all see that through our own lens. In other words what ever being part of the local church means to you is what you think others are saying when they say they belong to the local body.

We see these things based on our history or lack of it. We make decisions based on what is going on with us at a specific time. Our level of involvement is based on what we think of what is being presented to us or ask of us.

All of these things and a little money will get you, well coffee with Steve. However, what does the bible say about this. Most of the bible is prescriptive not descriptive. In other words the activities that we read about in the bible are impacted by the society of that particular time, but the principles of those activities transcend time and space. So what the church did as activities in Acts and what the church does as activity today may not be the same but the principles that drive the activities should match exactly.

For instance "God so loved He gave His only begotten son". The activity is that God showed His love for the world by sacrificing Jesus on the cross for you and for me. The activity is death on a cross. The principles are "love", "gave" and "only". The principles are that love is a choice and it is unconditional. That does not mean that you are to physically sacrifice your child for the salvation of the world. It does mean that the love that we engage through Christ is not cheap and it does require more than we might think at first glance.

The question for today then is, "what does a love for the local church look like based on God's sacrifice for us?" You will still have to answer, but look through His lens not yours.

Think

Do you ever stop to think about why you are going to do what you are going to do today? I suspect if you do it will bring a great deal of impact to what you do.

This past Sunday I met a lady at church who shared with me these thoughts. She said "the other Sunday I came to this church for the first time and during the time that you talked about giving you said "your job is a privilege not a right"." She went on to tell me how much that affected her life and she said everyday when I go to work now I think about the privilege I have of working at my job and it has changed everything about my job. She told me how much happier she is to go to work and how much more productive she is becoming.

That is happening because she added the value of thinking about why she is going to do what she is going to do.

I have another friend who is telling me that in the middle of a great crisis in his life the Lord is reminding him to start everyday with gratitude for everything in his life. You know, when I stop to think about how much God has done for me, it is hard to be to upset with what I have to confront today.

Now, what if I start out by thinking about why I am doing and thankful for the opportunity to do it, hmm.

Maybe I will be a lot happier, a lot more productive and a whole lot more content.

Be blessed!

Fight

Daniel 4:14
"Don't be afraid of them. Put your minds on the Master, great and awesome, and then fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes."

There are times when the bible surprises me. I found this little spot in the story of Nehemiah rebuilding the wall and it jumped out at me. There was a serious crisis. The crisis became obvious that it was life and death. Nehemiah was saying this project of rebuilding the wall is an important project. But your family's survival is at stake. Fight. Fight for your family.
We all have important things, but what is more important than the eternal destination and peace of our family. The bible says "what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul". I feel the same way about my wife and sons and daughter and grandchildren and all of my family.

There is a battle going on for our families. As important as all of things in our life may be, we must be vigilant and when the enemy comes and attacks our families, we must pick up our weapons and armor and go to war.
I say to our congregation from time to time, "Satan does not want you to have a bad day or a bad week or even a bad year. He wants to kill you." Well guess what, he has the same intention for your family. Your brother, sister, son, daughter, his intention is destruction for them all.

We are involved in a lot of important projects. I don't want to take away from the importance of doing life.

1 Peter 5:8
8-11 ...The Devil is poised to pounce, and would like nothing better than to catch you napping. Keep your guard up. You're not the only ones plunged into these hard times. It's the same with Christians all over the world. So keep a firm grip on the faith. The suffering won't last forever. It won't be long before this generous God who has great plans for us in Christ—eternal and glorious plans they are!...

It's a Process

I was praying yesterday and it seemed as though I heard the Lord say to me "it's a process just keep working at it." Actually I was giving Him thanks for some good news that I had been given. Not the kind of news that changes your life forever but if that news were a process and a pattern it would change your life forever.

I am probably just like most people . I think I prefer the big intervention that just changes everything. You know the miracle that wasn't here yesterday and today it is and now everything is different.

God doesn't always work that way in fact I think His pattern is probably the opposite. He meets our needs on a daily basis. He gave enough manna for the day. The miracle of feeding the Israelites in the desert was no less of a miracle because it happened on a daily basis.

Nehemiah experienced this kind of provision and intervention. Let me just share a little of it with you as he and his people rebuilt the wall of Jerusalem.

Nehemiah 4:
4-5 Nehemiah prayed, "Oh listen to us, dear God. We're so despised: Boomerang their ridicule on their heads; have their enemies cart them off as war trophies to a land of no return; don't forgive their iniquity, don't wipe away their sin—they've insulted the builders!"

6 We kept at it, repairing and rebuilding the wall. The whole wall was soon joined together and halfway to its intended height because the people had a heart for the work.

11-12 And all this time our enemies were saying, "They won't know what hit them. Before they know it we'll be at their throats, killing them right and left. That will put a stop to the work!" The Jews who were their neighbors kept reporting, "They have us surrounded; they're going to attack!" If we heard it once, we heard it ten times.

13-14 So I stationed armed guards at the most vulnerable places of the wall and assigned people by families with their swords, lances, and bows. After looking things over I stood up and spoke to the nobles, officials, and everyone else: "Don't be afraid of them. Put your minds on the Master, great and awesome, and then fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes."

15-18 Our enemies learned that we knew all about their plan and that God had frustrated it. And we went back to the wall and went to work. From then on half of my young men worked while the other half stood guard with lances, shields, bows, and mail armor. Military officers served as backup for everyone in Judah who was at work rebuilding the wall. The common laborers held a tool in one hand and a spear in the other. Each of the builders had a sword strapped to his side as he worked. I kept the trumpeter at my side to sound the alert.

19-20 Then I spoke to the nobles and officials and everyone else: "There's a lot of work going on and we are spread out all along the wall, separated from each other. When you hear the trumpet call, join us there; our God will fight for us."

21 And so we kept working...

God is looking for people who will recognize His plan and cooperate with Him. Sometimes He comes down and gives us a miracle that stops everybody in their tracks. Most of the time He requires that we follow Him step by step trusting His wisdom, His direction and His daily provision.

Keep working!