Don't Role Over

Sometimes it doesn’t pay to get up in the morning. I heard that line when I was a teen. It came back many years later when experiencing a bad day at work where nothing seemed to go the way you expect it. They are only two instances where I had opportunity to take a step back and wonder. . .

We are at another one of those times right now when we have been told we can back off on the isolating and . . . well, you know what happened. It’s not that we were not warned and people were told to go slow and stay safe. Well, many didn’t, and . . . ‘sometimes it doesn’t pay to . . .’

But I think it’s a great day to get up and get focused and come out on top. Our world has been built on possibilities. It’s our human condition where, when we reach a barrier of any type, we dig in our heels and push forward. It’s a time when we can believe in ourselves and the power of overcoming any obstacle.

Maybe it’s more than that. Maybe it’s in these moments where we see what is ultimately waiting for us at the other end of the tunnel.  And these individual moments give us hope and a clear mind to carry on and “GET IT DONE”.  2 Corinthians 4:16-17 says it best. “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all”.

Sometimes it doesn’t pay to get up in the morning but if we do, the rewards are out of this world.

Something to think about – as we jump out of bed one more time.

Rob

Dream Big

Got a question for you.  Are you a dreamer? If you are a dreamer, you are probably an optimist as well. What I mean by that is you always seem to come up with something to do, accomplish or just take hold of and run with it. I guess I’m one of those people as well. I also look for the best in everyone and the potential of the human spirit.

Which takes us to the other side of the coin where pessimistic people have said to me, “Get real”. Henry Ford would have never accomplished what he did without being optimistic. Edison invented the light bulb by being a dreamer. Don’t get me wrong, there are times when we need realists. They are the people that bring us back down to earth. There were people that told Henry Ford to get real. You may not know this but Ford Motor Company was not the first car company he help start. That company would eventually be called Cadillac Motor Company. Didn’t work out for him. He didn't lay down and give us, he started all over again.

That is another quality of a dreamer. They never give up. 

We are at one of those crossroads. Life has become very different. Some people are moving more toward being a realist as the world can’t see anything good coming out of this pandemic. Don’t tell the researchers who are getting closer and closer each day in not just getting a vaccine but also a cure. They are the people that will take us to the new normal and celebrate many accomplishments even in the face of obstacles.

Jesus did the same thing. He chose 12 optimistic men to take over when He finished His work. At first, they stumbled. But almost right away, they got back up again. Then, they dreamed the dream of a world filled with people who wanted to follow someone who knew not only where to go but how to get there. As our places of worship slowly open again, we will again dream of a future where the church will lead to the truths of Jesus Christ and we will dream bigger dreams we never felt would ever happen again.

Something to think about.

Rob

All about Truth

Who do we believe? I mean, really? There are so many people out there with opinions (and that is all they are). Even the statistics l love, are wrong at times. Just recently I heard that many statistics are wrong or should I say it, made up. NO? Not that as well?

A long time ago I heard a line that should be so important to us but unfortunately, we have probably forgotten it. Here goes: “Never tell a lie. If you lie about something, you have to remember who you told and who those people told of what you lied about.” This means you have to have an amazing memory. 

That might be the reason many elected officials never answer many question but dance around the question. I love my job because it gives me opportunity to share the truth. God is real. The reason I say that is because it’s the truth. And if you like to know why I say this, read the following verse:   

John 8:32 “. . .Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” This was in relation to the words Jesus spoke. He was telling the people to listen to what He was saying. He wanted them to not just to hear what He said, but to think about it and test it for truth. But there was one more thing He was telling them. They need to live the truth.

Within this modern society there is just too many lies. Too many people want to think they know everything about everything. Unfortunately there are way too many individuals who don’t test for truth. They say, well this person is so smart; they should know what’s right.  When I was in seminary I wrote an article for one of my classes and I found a book that I thought could become the basis of what I was writing on. Little did I know, none of it was true. When I got the paper back, four big red letters greeted me: FAIL. He explained that all the information in the 400 page book was made up.

The Bible is truth, and it will help you find the truth even in a world of made up information. Always check the information because what some people say is good for us, sometimes is only good in their eyes. My bible has small print. There is so much in it, small print is what I have. And when someone tells us to read the small print, I pick up my bible. ‘The truth will set you . . . FREE.’

Something to think about

Rob  

Prayer Changes Everything

The facts are evident everywhere in the world. More people are praying now than have been praying for a very long time. I know I have been praying more, and believing that God is listening. We all wonder what percentage of people has joined the heavenly chorus in prayer. Probably double digests would be appropriate.

But what are we praying for? Who are we praying for? Why are we praying in the first place? And who are we praying to?  All good questions and they all have varied answers. The truth is, having this world wide pandemic has literally brought us to our knees. That’s a good thing.

The first time we earnestly pray is when there is no one else to turn to. This is what David wrote: Psalm 5:2  “Hear my cry for help, my King and my God, for to you I pray.” That my friends is the time when we all pray. We need help and no one else can give that to us. So, we go to God and see if He can help.

Did you also know that we pray more for others than we pray for ourselves? It’s true. How many of you have prayed for someone who has a positive reading of Coronavirus? That is what makes us human beings. In some way, well, in many ways we care for others. It bothers us when others are suffering. And even if we don’t really have a belief system of our own we still call out, “Oh God, help us”.

The most interesting part about prayer that I know about is it does two things. First it changes me. I believe in tough times, God is the only place we can go. Secondly, it changes things because I believe, not just in God but that He can do anything He wants and that includes healing.

Lastly, how are we praying? In 1 Thessalonians 5:17 it reads, “pray continually.” Hurting people need a healer, or as the hymn we sing at church goes,

       “On they go through private pain

                                         Living fear to fear

         Laughter hides their silent cries

                                      Only Jesus hears

                                      People need the Lord, people need the Lord

                                      At the end of broken dreams, He's the open door

Something to think about & keep praying.

Rob