Worthy Words

Are you ready to give up and die and go home to be with the Lord Jesus? There are some folks who see no need in hanging on in this world fighting against the daily pressures of life. I’m not talking about suicide, but the life that is exhausted by fighting the good fight of faith. They’re just done with conflict and ready to enter into the joy of the Lord. Occasionally it is a sickness or disease that speeds up the decision to depart. I remember my uncle calling me a few weeks before he died. He told me he had only one more place to go. I asked him, “And where is that?” He said, “Up!” His mind was willing but his body was weakening every day. When I went to see him, a few days later, we began to talk about old times and once again he brought up being ready to go see Jesus. I told him that he was not going to live one day longer than the Lord had planned. His departing was not sweet sorrow but a sweet hour and blessed event which will occur to all believers in God’s own sweet time....

Have you ever noticed that from one year to the next it is extremely hard to remember what happens to us on a specific date? Unless it was a day like 9-11 that produced earth shaking events we tend to not specifically recall what happens on that day. Take today for example, Mother’s Day, everyone who has a mother is making some kind of effort to let her know how special she is. A wide range of things will be given as expressions of love and endearment, such as, flowers, cards, eating out and other notable things. But what impact will that hold beyond a few days. I would suggest not much except for the fondness of the moment of being remembered on a special day. As far back as my memory serves I recall my mom being the one who took care of all the critical moments that came my way, most self-inflicted. There are a few so here is a brief but not exhaustive list. Mom held my hand while the doctor pulled a bean out of my nose. Mom held me close trying to comfort me and distract me e...

As a Christ-follower I can tell you that living for Jesus is not always a bright sunshiny day. I’ve experienced spells where I felt like Jesus’ disciples out on the lake in the middle of the night when a Texas-sized thunderstorm breaks forth crying out and exclaiming, “Lord rescue me from this trouble!” After such episodes you have to claim the Word of God to strengthen you or you will find yourself again and again thinking; “This isn’t worth this kind of trouble.” There is just going to be certain periods when the clouds blot out the sun and you are going to have to walk in some darkness for a while. Jeremiah 17:17 is a good verse in times like these; “You are my hope in the day of disaster.” Even the famous ones of the Bible had their moments of walking in darkness. That’s why I treasure Psalm 23 so much. David points out the times of peace when all is pleasant as he takes naps in “green pastures” and follows the way of the Lord by “still waters.” His life is refreshed by livi...

Sin is serious.  John Maxwell, an expert in leadership skills has said, “Sin always takes you further than you want to go, keeps you longer than you want to stay, and costs more than you are willing to pay.”   There is no mistaking sin can be enticing, alluring, provocative, inviting, and even enjoyable, but it is serious and its consequences are substantial.  Once the immediate pleasure of the moment fades away the severity of the consequences begin to surface.  What appears to be a small indiscretion emerges as a voracious monster with an appetite to devour you and those around you.   The Bible’s David and Bathsheba saga is a case in point of a true-to-life soap opera — minus the commercials and comic relief. You can check out all the sordid details of every episode on TBN (The Bible Network) channel 2 Samuel 11. In simple terms, sin destroys lives. God is serious about sin.  It is never hidden from Him and it never comes away without casualties....

It’s amazing how much smaller even the biggest tasks become when you’ve got someone beside you to help. Too many times we tackle challenges alone and try to solve problems on our own —I’m the world’s worst — and ultimately we learn that working this way makes us stress out and become vulnerable to discouragement and defeat. When you accepted God’s call and became a Christ-follower you took on an enormous job. The call to discipleship is to go deep in to the richness of Christ but sometimes it can seem as if you’re drowning in the vastness of all that lies before you. Here’s a tip! You can’t do it alone. It takes two, at least. You need someone to help you get the job done. I challenge you to consider a couple of things. First, take a minute to identify your partners or mentors. In each project, think about their role and your role, how you complement one another, and how you can build on one another’s strengths. Make it a point this week to focus on what’s right in the relati...

People interpret the “abundant life” that Jesus promises as if Jesus was around to insulate us from reality.  But it just doesn’t happen that way. If you trust in Jesus, you can echo David’s famous words in Psalm 23. “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” Notice David didn’t write, “If I walk through the valley…” Rather, he exclaims “even though.” Tough times are inescapable and should be anticipated.  It comes with living in a broken world.  I don’t think that there is one person whom I have ever met who has been exempted from hard times in life.  There is a misconception in much of Christianity that once you experience Christ’s salvation in your life, and Jesus becomes intensely real to you, you are “protected” from tough times in life. Daniel’s life — in the Old Testament book that bears his name —faced horrific hard times   One of the mos...

Under what circumstances, under what conditions would it take for you to walk away from your deep abiding convictions? Before the threat of immediate harm you were bold in your resolve to never leave that which you were walking in, but now it just became real. All the parameters that gave you courage were now face-to-face. At that pivotal moment all your words of commitment flee as you reached your break point. It was “at that point” when the Temple guard grabbed and arrested Jesus that “all the disciples deserted him and fled.” (Matthew 26:56) Not once, in three and a half years, did Jesus ever desert them, but in a moment of extreme fear for their lives they fled from Him at the most pivotal point of His life. This is how we typically are as Christ-followers. When everything is going our way with nothing but blue skies around us we sing “glory to God in the highest” with exuberant glee. But in that moment when we see the wolf coming we leave the Lamb to seek our own fleshly se...