Finally, I was the Smartest Guy in the Room

 I think….

I will get some rebuttal as well as criticism for this but I just have to tell it.

I have never (not ever) felt like I was the smartest guy in the room.  Most of the time I am in the company of people that I esteem and admire. I am aware that sometimes our interests are not the same but I always want to learn from others and therefore always consider others smarter than me.

That all changed last night when I frequented a local “fast food” restaurant.                                                                                       Oh my, I thought that I might lose points from my already challenged IQ score. The longer it took for my order to be delivered the more I was “dumbing down”. It took a long time.  I thought my School of Ministry Certificate of achievement might be recalled.

I was nervous. Alvin and the Chipmunks were singing , and Good Grief,….. I was able to understand them. Some guy in a yellow and red suit kept saying things to me, the same things, over and over. I finally just stopped talking with him…took my chicken thingy and went home.

Having said all this I am beginning to think that maybe I wasn’t the smartest guy in that room either.

Maybe some rest  …..

In the Bonds of Calvary

I’m a Citizen by Choice

Because I was not born in this country it became necessary for me to make a choice.

I suppose I could have lived here without citizenship. But when offered the opportunity be a citizen of this great country I gladly and eagerly jumped at it. So…I am a Citizen By Choice.

I love this country. I know the the Pledge of Allegiance, I love the Flag and the Star Spangled Banner.

I served for more than ten years in the armed forces (USMC) . I am  proud veteran.

Today I am deeply touched as I remember all the men and women with whom I served. Some of them died for their country that we might have freedom.

And, the thousands who paid the ultimate price should never be forgotten.

Thank you to all who served  and those who are serving now.

That is why we have freedom and that is why I’m A Citizen by Choice

In the Bonds of Calvary,

My Turning Point

 Sometimes I just wonder about what I am doing to make my part of  the world a better place. Almost always I end up thinking about what I am not doing.

So today is going to be a turning point in my life.

I am going to call a forgotten friend.

I will drop an old grudge. I’ve been hanging on to this thing long enough.

I will free myself of envy. I will no longer concern myself with the fact that others have more than me,  are promoted faster, or are better looking.

I will stop magnifying small problems. Majoring on minors has been stealing too much of my productive time.

 I am going to lighten up.

 I wil begin to read  something uplifting.

 I am going to tell someone  “I love you.”

In the Bonds of Calvary,

Sometimes I Need to be Alone

The word “alone” means to be apart from other people.

Sometimes I find myself alone because everyone has gone about their own business and I wasn’t included.

At times, it is my choice to be apart from other people….”alone”.

I like people! I enjoy people! I like being at events. I look forward to the crowds at campmeetings and assemblies.

Even football games with 90,000 people

Yet there are times when I desire to be alone.

Times when I crave solitude.

I just want to be by myself.

There are other times when I want to be with Sandy and my family.

There are times in my life when privacy, quietness and only the most significant unions are important.

Maybe that’s the reason we burn out and burn up….because we just don’t take enough time to be alone

with ourselves and with God.

Maybe ………?

Maybe I need to be alone.

I’m thinking out loud again,

 

 

In the Bonds of Calvary,

God Keeps His Word

As Christians we go through difficult times.

I suspect that sometimes it is because of sin.

I suspect that sometimes it is because of rebellion.

But sometimes, these difficult times come for no reason.

We can be assured that God’s Word of Grace, Hope, and Comfort has always been there for His people during hard and difficult times.

I am comforted to know that today.

In the Bonds of Calvary,

The Wheels Grind Slowly…..Sometimes

There are some things that came to my mind as I awoke this morning.

 First, I am aware that things don’t always go the way I would like for them to.

Sometimes I wonder (mostly after waiting what seems like a long time) when the answer is coming.

 So here is the principle to which I will hold:

GOD WILL DO WHAT HE SAYS. The wheels grind slowly, but they do grind.

 Secondly, GOD WILL WITHOLD PUNISHMENT IF MEN REPENT.

Thank God for his patience and that He is not willing for any to perish.

 Thirdly, GOD WILL PROTECT ME THROUGH ALL CIRCUMSTANCES.

Nothing is going to touch me without His approval. I don’t need to fear any untimely events since He “numbers our days and will determine when my work is finished”.

 I am going to trust Him completely and entirely for His ability, His power, and His endurance to complete His Call.

 In the Bonds of Calvary,

I Have HOPE

I believe that HOPE is a great source of motivation. I have often said that a person can live longer without food, water or air than he can without out HOPE.

Very little is undertaken or accomplished in our lives without some hope of success. To be void of hope is to be filled with despair.

Hope is more than a wish for a favorable outcome or a thought that some good fortune will come our way.This is the unrealistic kind of hope that causes people to gamble away their hard-earned money on lottery tickets. Or, expect to go to heaven without any real basis for such belief.

All worldly hope is tottering and has no reasonable expectation of fulfillment.

My HOPE is in Him. Not in wishful thinking, not in conjecture.

My HOPE is in Him, based on the historical fact of His resurrection.

And, when I trust Him……my HOPE is increased!

 In the Bonds of Calvary,

Ain’t Nothing But God

Thirteen months ago I was diagnosed with inoperable stage 3 lung cancer. The prognosis was anything but good. In the beginning I was told there was nothing that could be done. WE PRAYED! I mean we really prayed and then there was chemo, and radiation.

Three months later another catscan. Amazingly, there was some shrinkage.

Three months later, another catscan; more shrinkage. This time with no chemo or radiation….just prayer.

Yesterday I had another catscan.

Though I am fully aware that there are no significant biological changes that take place between the scan and the reading of the scan I am equally aware that this is a time that my faith was really challenged.

Thoughts came into my mind that troubled me. I had to remind myself that “I am a man of Faith’.

I had to remind myself that God had given me a Word and I needed to hang tight to His promise.

I had to remind myself  that He would never forsake me.

The first words out of the mouth of the oncologist when I entered her office were, “Everything looks good. There are no signs of spreading or growth. As a matter of fact, there is some additional shrinkage”. “Keep doing what you are doing and come back in four months.”

That was good news and that ain’t nothing but God!

In the Bonds of Calvary,

The Church is not a Rose Garden!

The church is not a Rose Garden

But it is God’s provision for us, and it is so much better than every alternative.

In the Church we are living alongside others who are also trusting God.

Encouraging one another – sharing whatever blessing we have with each other.

And, trusting God for His full provision.

But you and I have to make a choice.

That we will turn away from our life on the run from the oppressing enemy.

That we will give up your discontentment – searching for that one place where everything will go our way, where we won’t have a care in the world.

The Church is God’s provision for us.

And in the local church God will weld together an army for His glory.

 That’s what I want to be a part of.

 In the Bonds of Calvary,