Genesis 12:9 - “And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the south.”

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My wife was excited about how much money she gained last month in a retirment compensation plan from a previous employment.   Then she looked at how much money she had in it two years ago and realized that those gains still don’t get her back to where she was.   This is much like the problem we have in our spiritual lives when we deter from God’s direction. We think we’re making gains, but it’s still not what we had when we were with Him.

I happened to be reading the story of Abraham in Genesis 12 yesterday right about the time my wife told me that and in the place where I was reading, Abraham was told by God to go to this land that “He would show him.”  So they get to this land and God has Abraham look out over the land and tells him that He will give this land to him.  At this point, Abraham realizes that this is pretty good and he actually builds an altar to God to commemorate what God has said and done.  Then here’s the issue; it’s the verse above.  Abraham keeps going.  Hold up Abraham, God said that this is your land right here.

Now here’s the moral of the story.  You’ll have to read through the end of Chapter 12 and the beginning of Chapter 13 to really get this point, because in reading you’ll find that when Abraham kept going, he started making up lies and things to protect himself and by the time his lies caught up with him, he ended up right back at the same place where he had pitched a tent and built an altar to God.

That’s the point that seems to parallel, in some snall way my, wife’s money issue.  In the middle of all of Abraham’s self-directed exploits, he may have thought he was going somewhere or that he was gaining a lot of stuff down in Egypt, but the minute he got ahead of God, he was making no progress and only when he got back to that last place  where he knew God had him, could he then be profitable.   This is the story of Jonah, the story of the prodigal son and it’s the story of you and me.

We have this weakness that causes “self” to rise up and sometimes go our own way.  When we do, we need to soon realize that we are gaining no ground and as soon as we can, we need to get back to where we know God had us.

Romans 8:10 - “And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.”

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I didn’t get a chance to watch the Academy Awards last night and it really isn’t that I didn’t get a chance to watch them, it’s just that I really had no desire to.  I did notice however that one movie that I can’t believe I never wrote about, won an award.  Sandra Bullock won a best actress statue for her role in the movie, “The Blind Side.”  I’m pretty critical of all movies and there aren’t many that I think are very good, but this one was pretty good.

Before I even saw the movie I heard live interviews and discussions with Leigh Anne Tuohy.  She was the lady who took in Michael Oher when he was a homeless teenager living apart from his drug-addict mom.  Most have probably seen this movie or you should see it if you haven’t, so I won’t go into it.  Another movie that did extremely well at the awards last night was “Hurt Locker,” a movie about an ordinance disposal team in Iraq.  I was shocked that this movie did so well, even though I really get into all things Iraqi and I watched it solely for that reason.

Like The Blindside, I think Hurt Locker underscores a basic point about how much better real life is than imagination.  I mean there are lots of fantastical movies out there and I heard that Avatar was really good, but I haven’t seen that, but the simple story of the triumphs and tragedies of every day life is what appeals to our most basic instincts.  The Blindside had no special effects and a simple storyline of someone helping someone else.  The budget was a measly, by Hollywood standards, $29 million.  The budget for Avatar was reportedly $310 million.   And in this day and age where most movies are at the box office for a couple of weeks and gone to make money in the DVD market, The Blindside was at theaters many months after I saw it and might still be.

Without alluding to the great Christian message in The Blindside, it underscores the point made by the title above, real life is so much better than a movie.  If you take the time today to really live your life in Christ, that is, to go into “character” by putting on the Spirit,  it’s going to make for a really good movie.  It might not win an Academy Award, but you can best believe that God Himself and the heavenly host are giving you a standing ovation.

Colossians 3:3 - “For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.”

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I was at my old high school this week, which is majority black/African American and I ran into my old friend, the one who always makes a point, when in front of others, to say “hey Mr. Republican,” and that’s usually when the discussion starts and so it did the other day.   My first response when he greeted me in front of the other coworkers was, “don’t hate me because I believe in working for a living.”  Then we went on to discuss current political disagreements and of course while I didn’t demean or denigrate the President in any way, I voiced my disagreements with his policies.  The other coworker seemed surprise that I could have legitimate disagreement with this President.  I think it was because I’m black.  Shocking!!!

The t-shirt by P-Diddy would be fine if that were only the thought of some hollywood celeb as he is, but sadly the thought that “blackism” is something to be prized runs as well through some of our Christian brothers and sisters.  As I read through this article, I realized why blacks stay so closely knit together on political and other issues and the article points it out also.  In many cases it is for fear of being called a “race traitor.”  Of course it takes some degree of intestinal fortitude to stand up to the withering heat you can sometimes get if you do voice disagreements with prominent black officials and many are just not up to it.  It’s easier to just belong than it is to stand up for what you believe in.  Now I know some blacks who do it, but many are actually intimidated about saying anything negative about the President’s policies even if they strongly disagree.  So where does all of this fear come from?  It comes from not having an identity greater than color.  When we accepted Christ, we got a new identity which really should supersede any past identity we had, including that of color.

Now the first response from some blacks who read this will be a posture of defense.  Those are exactly the people I’m talking about.  When they make their defense, they won’t talk about their support of President Obama’s policies, they will talk about why he is better than George Bush or John McCain or Sarah Palin and that’s the problem.

This same old comparison of man to man; such as the Republicans continually referring to Ronald Reagan as though he was someone to seek after and the Dems do it to a lesser degree with Bill Clinton because of his “personal” issues, shows that our standard is much too low.  People we’ve got to expect more from our leaders.  That’s the great thing about a democracy, we always get what we want in this country and then we usually complain about it.  We’re electing these leaders year after year and then complaining about those we’ve elected.

Our election of leaders and deciding who we are going to follow should not be based on race, party affiliation or anything so trivial, but instead on issues of character and a track record which shows that they truly care about the things they espouse.  As for black people, whether it is because we’re historically used to voting for Democrats or we simply prefer to vote for people of our same skin color, you’ve got to get over it.  Christ should have fixed that for you and if he hasn’t, pray about it.  It’s a great life when you stop seeing yourself as the black man/woman and start seeing yourself as the Christ man/woman.

Now don’t hate me because I worship Christ for a living.

Ephesians 5:13 - “But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light.”

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Yesterday in Montana, a judge ruled against a high school valedictorian who was not allowed to give her valedictory address in 2008 because in it, she credited God for her success.  She filed suit for violation of her first amendment rights.  Of course you would expect to see the American Civil Liberties Union in support of her cause since that’s what they are supposed to be about, i.e. civil liberties, but when Christ is involved, they never seem to care as much about that liberty.

At any rate, this student in Montana was asked, as part of her address, to speak about what helped get her through school.  Some people wanted to thank the football coach or the track coach or their uncle or a particular teacher, and they were permitted to do that.  The only thing they would not permit, by their own admission, was for her to attribute any achievements to her belief in God.  Shocking!!!  The student is appealing to the Montana Supreme Court.  We’ll pray that those judges judge righteously.

This underscores much of the fear that the world has with Christ.  Moves by some states, including mine, Texas, that now allow bible classes in public schools will help demystify some of that fear and once again introduce children to the message of Christ at a young age.  However, in the long term, the world is just going to be the world.  The world doesn’t want Christ or what He has to offer them.  Nevertheless, we’re here and because we are, we get to do things like the young lady in Montana is doing and be that light or as they probably see it, that thorn that makes them uncomfortable.  So be it.

Today, you have been chosen to “be the thorn.”  That’s just the way it will be for you if you decide to live for Christ.  You are going to make some people uncomfortable, because light and darkness don’t coexist well.  Your light shows the world’s darkness, so you can see why it is most difficult for Christians to have any “popularity” here.  We don’t mind at all though because we know that we’re for one reason as we live the Christ life, to be the light or as they might see it, to be the thorn.

2 Thessalonians 3:10 - “For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.”

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I’m not exactly sure when it happened, but I think it was around the time that our government started paying people for not working.  Yeah they called it “unemployment.”  I’m sure people of my mom’s age and older remember when that was a ridiculous notion, that strong, able-bodied men and women would simply not work and have excuses why they couldn’t.  Well not only do we have that writ large into our culture, but we have a habit these days of “rewarding” such behavior and all in the name of “help.”  People, the message today is to let you know that what we sometimes do in the name of help, can really be more hurtful than anything else.

Now I had a lot of my own great words to support my belief that we shouldn’t reward laziness nor should we encourage it, but I’d prefer to just let God’s word convince those who think we should help “all” people because they need it.  Read these and lets see what God says about it.  Sorry I had to add the commentary.

Proverbs 19:24 - “A slothful man hideth his hand in his bosom, and will not so much as bring it to his mouth again.”  (This is why he shouldn’t eat.  He won’t feed him/herself.)

Proverbs 21:25 - “The desire of the slothful killeth him; for his hands refuse to labour.” (No work; he’s killing himself.)

Proverbs 22:13 - “The slothful man saith, There is a lion without, I shall be slain in the streets.” (We have new excuses today; “they don’t pay enough.”)

Proverbs 26:14 - “As the door turneth upon his hinges, so doth the slothful upon his bed.” (Of course this doesn’t mean not to get sleep, but it means that laziness is despicable; compared to a door hinge?  That’s really lazy.)

Okay that’s enough.  The point is we should all work.  That doesn’t mean we should necessarily be employed by some institution, but this is the principle of work.  A man sitting at home day in and day out and doing nothing because he gets a government check is most despicable and an insult to many people who fight diligently for employment and find odd jobs here and there to keep from taking a government check to support themselves or their families.

In the end, our government doesn’t help when they give checks out to the former types.  There are many who need help and we, the church, should be there to render aid and assistance, but many others don’t need our aid, they are fulfilling God’s principle of work; they just need a whuppin.

Matthew 25:41 “Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.”

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The really frigid temperatures and record-setting snowfall across much of the nation last month, created many visual spectacles.  The picture above is one of them.  In the southern half of Texas, it is quite common to see a cactus growing most anywhere because our winters are just not that cold, but this year it was different.  The picture of this cactus plant was taken at my brothers house and when I saw it, I echoed what not only I was saying about the weather, but what the cactus, wilting under the frigid single digit wind-chill temperatures, must have been saying too, “I wasn’t built for this.”

We use many phrases to describe situations that we were not made for, like, “a fish out of water” and there are clearly many environments that are not conducive to our growth.  The picture above reminds me of that fact in my spiritual life.  We were never really built to live in a state or “environment” of sin and likewise, the very condemnation for that sin, hell, was never designed for us.  It was “prepared for” Satan and his angels.

So today when you find yourself facing temptation or when you look at a certain aspect of you life, think about the picture of the cactus above and utter those words, “I wasn’t built for this.”  Because like the cactus s and the effect of the frigid weather, sin causes us all to wilt.

Psalm 95:7 “For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. To day if ye will hear his voice,”

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I knew it would happen again.  My horses have their choice of pasture, but in order to get to the other side of the fence, they have to go through tough brush and it’s really difficult.  So one day the larger horse, Gypsy, wandered over there and seemingly soon realized that the grass may have looked greener, but nobody is feeding me over here.   To teach her a lesson, I fed the other horse near the fence in the correct pasture.  After making that mistake twice, it seemed she learned her lesson and stopped venturing into “greener pastures.”  That was probably about a month ago.  A couple of weeks back, I remarked to my wife about Gypsy and said that “after the passage of time, she, like the children of Israel, would forget and wander back to try to feed herself instead of waiting on the feed from the “master.”

Boy how well should we all know that story?  I know I do and I’m not just talking about Israel; I’m talking about me.  It happens to me when I’m just not content with the current offerings of “the Master.”  So I venture into other pastures and then realize that what He was feeding me was so much better.

Yesterday Gypsy wandered over there again and I knew that the weather was going to be bad last night, with a lot of rain, so she was left out in the other pasture while her pasture-mate, Jackie, was placed inside a nice warm, dry stall.  It wasn’t anything special that Jackie did, she just stayed in the correct pasture where she knew she was getting fed.

Today, we need to stay in “His” pasture.  That doesn’t mean that there won’t be times when we get rained on even in His pasture, but it does mean that He will provide for us even in the rain.  He sees the coming weather and He is able to take us in, but if we aren’t in His pasture, I’m not so sure He’s not trying to teach us a simple lesson; “Stay in the right pasture!”

Psalm 133:1 “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!”

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As I listened to our policymaker’s yesterday, it was exhausting to hear people from both parties talking about “what the American people want.”  Each would then go on to profess his/her beliefs about what you and I want as related to the passage of a healthcare bill.  They are our elected officials and should be respected as such, but sometimes I see them all as simply clueless to the people they’ve been elected to serve.

In the finaly analysis, I think that the American people want to see our elected officials acting like mature adults, able to talk to each other and come to some measure of agreeement, at least sometimes.  The Democrats had large election gains back in 2008 because the Republicans had done poorly when in charge.  The Democrats turned it around and now, when in charge, are performing just as poorly and each side simply seems to want to point out the foibles of the other side.

I think I can speak for most Americans when I say, we want to see them all work together for the common good.  We want to see them solve a problem together.  I know that the Christian standard is high, but we want to see them dwell together in unity.  That doesn’t mean that they have to agree on everything, but please agree on something and move forward with that.  That’s what we all really want.

Luke 19:38 “Saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest.”

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Well today is the big day in Washington D.C.  They are having the long-awaited for “Health-Care Summit.”   Oh no, not another summit.  Will this be like the “Beer Summit” that the President hosted after the race issue a few months back?  Well this one is supposed to be for real.  For real in the sense that it’s supposed to bring people together to conference as the high level officials that they are.  I’m not sure that ever truly happens in Washington D.C. 

Nevertheless the other meaning of that word, “summit” speaks to a pinnacle or the top of a height of something.  So to put all other summits in perspective, I think that a summit about the “Highest” is in order for our country.  It doesn’t have to be held in Washington either.  You can have that summit today.

We have the awesome privilege of being able to “conference” with the highest official there is.  In that conference, we always leave feeling that things will work out, even if the world passes away and all that is in it.  That’s a real SUMMIT!

John 17:16 “They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world”

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I’m not a critic but I tend to be quite critical.  Not that it is any particular ambition of mine to be so, but I simply don’t mind sharing my honest opinion about most anything.  As you can expect, that attitude does not endear me to many people.  So at the risk of upsetting some, I want to once again “share” my opinion on the remake of the classic “We Are The World” video that recently hit the airwaves.  I think the song may mark my maturity, 25 years later, more than anything else.

Here’s my take:

I thought the original was a great song, written with great depth and sincerity and performed likewise.  The newest version, which “updates” the lyrics, but maintains much of the original script, just doesn’t seem to move one to that same sense of reverance.  For sure the remake itself is for a great cause and even as everyone feels the call to render aid to the people of Haiti, this song still seems to leave you thinking, “what was that about?”  I mean Jaime Foxx does a “Ray” impersonation during the song which is kind of funny, but when that is juxtaposed against what is going on in Haiti and the cause for which they have united, it seems unlike the time or place.  Then you get to the rappers and a few of them get more time than most any of the individual vocalists and they’re all using that same vocoder or voice box thing which is the trademark of Lil Wayne, T-Pain and whomever else does their style these days.  Of course I love rap music and of course I don’t care for their trash and perhaps that’s a personal bias on why I can’t take them seriously on a song that was originally created with a sense of spirituality.   They do manage to mix in a few gospel artists to show that “we are the world,” but of course the correct phraseology is that some of them “are” the world and the rest of us are just “in” the world.  Of course if that upsets them and seems to divide rather than unite, that’s not my fault.  They can argue with what God said in the scripture above.

God’s people are simply aliens here and we will one day return home.  For those who are “of” this world, they can truly sing that song.  They are the world.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 “All  scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

¹⁷That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”

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Of course I’ve now entered into the Small Business world and I’ve noticed that there’s no shortage of advice; from books to tv programs to articles on the internet.  I don’t even know if we need formal schooling anymore except to teach people to read because it’s all out there for you if you can simply read.  Anyway, I’ve noticed that much of the training that I received in the Marine Corps is the same stuff that is being used in business.  All of the leadership and work principles seem to be pretty much the same.  What’s interesting is that while I was being trained in the Marine Corps, I often thought about how those principles were the same ones that were being taught to me as a Christian.  So now every time I start reading some business tips or information on how to properly manage, my mind immediately starts drawing the principles from their origin which is scripture.  Here is one I stumbled onto today.

The FoxNews Small Business Center ran these helpful tips on their website today.  You’ll see how they comport with God’s business principles.

The title was “Here are 8 ingredients the experts say make up a good – and therefore successful – small-business boss.”  And in order they are as follows: (I added the scripture)

No. 1: Put customers first.  (Philippians 2:3 - Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.)

No. 2: Put employees before yourself, but after customers.  (Colossians 4:1 - Masters, give unto your servants that which is just and equal; knowing that ye also have a Master in heaven.)

No. 3: Help employees excel.  Luke 22:32 - (But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.)

No. 4:  Cut back on benefits and other employee compensation as a last resort.  (See #1 above.)

No. 5:  Look forward.  (Luke 9:62 - And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.)

No. 6:  Create a long-term plan.  (Proverbs 16:9 - A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps.)

No. 7:  Have an exit strategy. (Mark 6:11 - And whatsoever place shall not receive you, and they hear you not, as ye go forth thence, shake off the dust that is under your feet for a testimony unto them.)

No. 8: Become an expert.  (Colossians 3:23 - And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;)

God has really given us all that we need in His word and it doesn’t matter if you’re running a business, a church or a home.  The word of God prepares us for any and everything that we will face in this life.  Use it today and be prepared for tomorrow.   

James 1:23-24 “For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:

²⁴For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.”

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We talked about this last week and so I was shocked to see this headline in the news today, “Study: Global Warming To Bring Stronger Hurricanes.“  I mean with all of the recent reports of errors and lies about misreporting and deception and not to mention the record-breaking cold that encapsulated much of the nation, you would think that the people behind this myth would have moved on to something else.   And if you read the article, you’ll see that they talk about it as though there has been no controversy about  it at all.  Amazing!!!

Sometimes we do this in our personal lives.  We forget the facts and go on with whatever it is we want to do.  That’s what the scripture above is talking about.  We look at ourselves in a mirror; we see problems or issues that we need to address and then we go right ahead as if we saw nothing.

Understand today that God doesn’t reveal truth to you, about you, for you so that you can just know it.  He reveals it so that you can react or respond to it.   God could keep dropping snow to make the point that there is no global warming just like He can keep bringing up our personal issues to show us that we need to make a change.   Today, heed the words of Michael Jackson and start with the “man in the mirror” and “make that change.”

2 Samuel 12:13, 14 (first word) “And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD. And Nathan said unto David, The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die.  ¹⁴Howbeit”

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Three months after the vehicle accident which exposed the sordid sex scandal of the world’s number one golfer, Tiger Woods is poised to make his first public appearance Friday morning.  He will be speaking to a small group of “friends, colleagues and close associates” in Jacksonville, Florida in the Sunset Room on the second floor of the TPC Sawgrass, home of the PGA Tour.  No one is quite sure what he’s going to say, but he will not be taking questions.

Reporters, pundits and people of every persuasion will have advice for what Tiger ought to do and I think Tiger would do well to heed the advice from Brit Hume below and he should read the passage about David and how he responded and the words of the prophet when David’s  “iniquity” was uncovered.

If you read that passage, you’re struck at how gracious the Lord was to David as soon as David confessed his sin.  This is of course the first act of repentance.  Once he does that he will realize that God wipes away sin as easily as we do it….HOWEVER!!! (”Howbeit” in King James) That’s the part that gets us.

See that’s why we don’t want to get mired in sin even though we have a gracious and loving God, because there is always a “however” to even the sin that He forgives.  The “however” part of God’s forgiveness is not God getting even, it’s there for us to realize that there are consequences to disobedience that could last for a really long time, as they did with David and his household.

We all just need to remember that God is truly gracious and He casts our sins as far as the east is from the west, “however,” we don’t want some of the consequences that come from sin so we need to stay in Him and pray that we continually follow Him.

Matthew 13:23 “But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”

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The above picture shows the pasture I seeded and aerated about a month ago.   From a distance, it appeared nice and green, thick and full, but I went out to cut it the other day and that’s when I noticed the streaks that you can see.  I know exactly what I did.  As I was driving the mower, I failed to cover the entire area with the fertilizer/seed mixture and so the areas where the grass is less grown up is the area that didn’t get any or very little of the mixture.  When I first saw it, my reaction was to blame the fertilizer because I tried a different type than I usually use, but I see now, the problem wasn’t the fertilizer, it was my application of the fertilizer.

That’s a great picture of our lives and how we so often disbelieve some point in scripture because it seemingly hasn’t worked for us, but as was the case with my pasture, it’s not the seed or word of God that is our problem, it’s our application of it that leaves “streaks” in our lives.  That problem I’m having with greed, envy, lust or anything else is because I haven’t properly applied “the fertilizer.”

The scripture above is telling us that it’s not just enough to have the seed.  We must make proper application of it.  That means hearing it, understanding it and using it in our daily lives.  The word of God is truly like the fertilizer/seed mixture because not only does it get the weeds out, but it allows for the growth of all the good things that should be in the pasture of life.

Today, thick, green, full and rich is the way you will grow when you realize that the fertilizer is good and if you’re having problems, it’s in the application.

Luke 10:27-29 ²⁷And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.

²⁸And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.

²⁹But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?”

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This scriptural passage is a great prelude to any discussion on race.  It gives us such a great example of how we are to behave in this world with regard to others.  It’s a great passage because it doesn’t tell us how to behave with others who are like us or the same color that we are and it doesn’t even tell  us to how to behave with others with whom we can identify.  Quite the contrary; it tells us how we are to respond to people not like us, who need our help and in circumstances that could put us at great risk and then Jesus goes on to say that these are our “neighbors.”

Race is such a big issue in our country because many organizations have been formed to address the plight of disenfranchised or discriminated peoples.  Surely that has worked for some and could even be necessary today in some cases.  The problem that is prone to exist in these types of organizations is that they could determine that this is the “only” group of people that they are here to help.

The parable that follows the scriptures above is a great story where Jesus identifies that the priest and the Levite passed up a “certain man” who had been beaten and robbed.  Perhaps this person wasn’t a part of the group that his organization was designed to help.  In other words, if I’m part of the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) and I see a distressed non-colored person, what do I do?  I don’t pass that person up like the priest and the Levite to go help a “colored person.”  No, I identify with humanity without regard to color, but instead with regard to compassion and I perform as the Samaritan did and boy did he help.  You know the story.

See the Samaritan is really like many of us with regards to race.  Samaritans were basically mixed breed anyway so they didn’t get as caught up in the Jew/non-Jew issue.  People who begin to identify with the purity of their race have it all messed up.

Today, our neighbors come in all colors.  How do you decide which ones you are going to help?  I think it’s easy.  Like the Good Samaritan, your neighbor is figuratively speaking, right there on the side of the road.  Don’t pass him or her up to go find a neighbor to your liking.   This is God’s plan to show the world that love has no color and every man, woman and child is my neighbor.

Zechariah 3:1-4  “¹And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him.

²And the LORD said unto Satan, The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; even the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?

³Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel.

⁴And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment.”

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Like someone scratching their nails on a blackboard is the only way for me to describe how I feel whenever I hear someone bring up the issue of race in a discussion about the rights of homosexuals.  The line usually goes something like this, “it’s the same bigotry and hatred that prevented black people from ______,” and you can fill in the blank or either they’ll say, “that’s the same way they treated black people 30, 40 or 50 years ago.”  Both statements are terrible statements to make in a discussion about homosexual rights.  Now some of you right now are saying to yourselves, “well it’s true.”  NO IT’S NOT!!!  Remember, everything that is true is not “the truth,” as I like to put it.

Now those statements could be true separately, but they are not true when coupled with other issues like homosexuality.  Let me explain to you what’s happening here.  Satan has his game face on for this one and he’s playing just like he played with Joshua in the scripture above.  Satan stands as the “accuser” of the saints.  He knows about all of your filth first-hand because in most cases, he was behind it and he always uses it against you later.

That’s exactly what he does on a personal level and that’s exactly what he wants to do with our nation.  He knows about the past transgressions of America and there have been many.   However, like he always does, he wants America, just like he wants you and me, to always live in our past transgression, our filthiness, so what does he do?  He keeps bringing it up, especially when you’re going to do something that he doesn’t want done.  That’s where we are on all of the anti-homosexual legislation in this country (Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, Defense of Marriage Act (defining marriage as between one man and one woman).  Every time we bring up maintaining that correct, biblical and appropriate stance in our country, ole Beelzebub brings up our filthiness and past transgressions; accusing us so as not to move forward on “righteousness.”  Don’t let him do it.

In our personal lives, we’ve all done things that were wrong and if we let Satan use that today to keep us from doing right, then we’re simply “wrong again.”

Today in the United States of America, if we choose to uphold God’s standard, go for it and don’t let Satan put us on a guilt trip about yesterday.   As I heard a speaker say at a recent seminar, “don’t do what’s legal, what’s normal or required by the regulations, do what’s right.”  I think that’s the way we ought to approach all of today’s issues because if we start making decisions based on the past, we’re most likely going to be wrong again.

2 Kings 2:21-22  “And he went forth unto the spring of the waters, and cast the salt in there, and said, Thus saith the LORD, I have healed these waters; there shall not be from thence any more death or barren land.  So the waters were healed unto this day, according to the saying of Elisha which he spake.”

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“Pick that up!  Throw that away!  Put those chairs back!  Clean over there!”

Those are examples of phrases that I would normally utter to my cadets after completing a training evolution or hosting a function at our high school.  In addition to us cleaning up the things that we had used, I would then go on to have them clean up something that we didn’t use, but was out of place.  In the beginning the cadets would respond, “we didn’t make that mess,” but they soon realized that it didn’t matter and my answer to them was always the same, “lets leave it better than we found it.”

I reasoned with my cadets that any physical environment should be in a better state of order or cleanliness just because you were there and likewise for us as believers, every physical environment, social environment or every organizational setting should be better just because we were there.  That extends to personal relationships, friendships, families and most especially marriages.

Places should be better because one of God’s people was there.  People should be better because one of God’s people was there influencing the relationship and lives should be better because God’s people use their gifts to serve humanity.  God’s people simply make things better.

The scriptural passage above describes God’s prophet Elisha healing the land by casting salt among the waters.  It’s a great picture of what God has done with His people.   That’s why we are called “the salt of the earth.”  He has cast us amongst this barren land for the healing of the waters.  Yes, we were put here to make things better.

Today, I won’t try to enumerate in this writing the millions of ways that you can make things better, but if you endeavor to do so, you’ll find that in most every second of every day, you can leave your mark on the world and leave it better than you found it.

1 Corinthians 1:28  “And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are.”

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Our church was participating in an MLK parade during the recent holiday and as always, we try to do something innovative and different.  This year we pulled a trailer with a make-shift church on the back, complete with pulpit and pews.  The speaker was reciting MLK speeches from memory as our portable speaker system blasted it out along the mile-long route.  As always, I followed alongside the vehicle walking and passing out mini-flyers with scripture and our church information to parade attendees.  I also picked up candy that our kids were throwing to onlookers and I would hand it to the people, in most cases kids, watching the parade.  I would get lots of reactions from the people as I handed them the candy and greeted them with “Good Morning.”  One young teenage girl particularly struck me with her actions.

I watched all morning as the kids scrambled every time candy was thrown and in some cases they began fighting over the much-coveted treasure.  So one time as I picked up candy that had been left in the street and began redistributing the candy, I noticed the young girl and it appeared that she may have been mentally handicapped.  That’s what we call it, but I’d say she is not as mentally handicapped as many of us.  I grabbed a few pieces of candy and rather than me dividing it between the kids surrounding her, I handed it to her and as soon as I did, I noticed that she began to make equal distribution to those with her, a stark contrast to all of the “normal” kids who had been fighting over the candy to see who could get the most.

Isn’t that a good lesson for us?  And we call them “mentally retarded.” The scripture reinforces a point that I make often about how God can take the things and people that we discard as small, lacking, ignorant or dumb, and use them to teach us some of the greatest lessons in life.

Today I need to check myself and be sure I’m not the one who is mentally retarded.  Whenever I’m more concerned about “me” getting mine than sharing what I have with others, then it’s clear, I’m not only mentally retarded, but I’m spiritually retarded as well.

John 3:18-19  “He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.  And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.”

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Global warming activists were all prepared to hit Washington D.C. Monday for what was billed as the nation’s largest act of civil disobedience to fight climate change — only to see the nation’s capital virtually shut down by a major winter storm.  The Speaker of the House was supposed to speak, but she was out of town and her plane was delayed by the weather so she couldn’t make it.  The House Select Energy Independence and Global Warming Chairman Edward Markey, who was scheduled to speak at the global warming event, also canceled his appearance because of the inclement weather.  I mean how does it feel to be the Chairman of a committee for “Global Warming” and the city you’re in sets an all-time record for the most snowfall ever?  As one speaker I heard this past week kept reiterating, that would be called “a clue.”

This entire dialogue about man-made emissions causing global warming is a hoax, but not necessarily an insincere one, but it’s brought on by the same thing that always leads man astray and that is man’s desire to listen to himself rather than to listen to God; men chasing lies rather than truth; men choosing darkness rather than light.

That’s the man-made problem that we all need to be concerned about and truth be told, if the inventors of “global warming” did that, they would realize that God is saying, “I control the weather and you don’t.”

Today, man is the source of all of his problems, but man would be amazed how those problems would disappear if they corrected the only man-made problem that matters; believing on Him.  Because as the scripture says, if you don’t have that one fixed, you don’t have to worry about global warming, you’re already cooked (condemned).

1 John 5:12  “He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.”

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Perhaps I’m still having a hangover from the Get Motivated seminar that I attended on yesterday, but I was thinking about how my life has changed over the many years concerning my appetite for sports, tv and other activities.

I still remember quite vividly as a 28 year-old Captain in the Marine Corps living in the BOQ (Bachelor Officer’s Quarters) in Quantico, Virginia, waking up at 10 A.M. to go to the TV room to watch ESPN during football season.  I would then depart that room when it was almost midnight as the last football game was going off.  That, ladies and gentlemen, is an addiction of the worst kind.  Of course I didn’t think so then because it was “just something I liked to do.”  Isn’t that the case with any addiction?  So what happened?  Well in a nutshell, I got a life.

I now look at how little time I have each day as I attempt to make every minute count and I realize all of the many minutes and hours I wasted in my life from previous years.  It happened because I was not at all concerned about the transcendent purpose that God had for me.  Yea, I was a Christian and knew God had called me to do good things, but I wasn’t making application of that daily to see how God was manifesting every minute of every day for me to live in that purpose.  This might all sound kind of nebulous and vague, but here is the question that God wants each of us to answer every minute of every day, “how is this thing that I’m doing right now, fulfilling God’s plan for my life?”

When I finally got a life, I exchanged football for Saturday afternoons with children, many who had no father.  When I finally got a life, I exchanged the TV set for simply the opportunity to pour into the lives of those around me. Amazingly, when I got a life and moved away from the TV, God invented the DVR so that any show that I really wanted to see, could be seen on His schedule and not my own.

Today it might not be college football or tv that’s keeping you from living in God’s transcendent purpose, but I can tell you this, if you don’t wake up each day motivated about the possibility that life brings, then you don’t have the life that God intends for you.  You can get that today by simply seeing today as preparation and part of the great plan He has for you.

Today, get a life because He has truly given you one.  You now simply must live in it.

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