-
Lemon Twist
There is a saying that goes “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” I remember a relative once saying this to me and I quickly uttered ‘when life gives you lemons, take them, cut them apart, sew the seeds and create a lemon orchard. Then harvest those lemons and make lemonade. Provide them for pies, for taste expansion in drinks, as ingredients in other foods. Create a lasting legacy that comes from sewing and harvesting.’ When I said these words, the Father was speaking to me. Go. Sew. Fertilize. Expect. Watch and marvel at how I, your Heavenly Father, harvest.
I remember when our son, Benton was just a few months old we learned that Megan was pregnant again with our daughter, Malia. I remember the flood of emotions of incredible joy that our family would be growing and feelings of guilt that Benton would be short changed on attention and love because his time as “the only child,” would be short.
Then, when Benton was 14 months old, his beautiful sister, Malia, was born. The guilt of another child was immediately replaced with a heart that had grown. Benton was not diminished. Benton gained parents whose hearts were expanded by their gracious Father in Heaven. Parents capable of loving two children with greater joy, commitment, compassion and gratitude. I learned first-hand the lesson of a multiplying God in a diminishing World. Then, God in his relentless love gave us Kensley three years later and yet again expanded our love-filled hearts beyond what we believed possible.
There is an amazing paradox to living a life surrendered to and filled by Jesus Christ. When we give our lives to Christ, the World tells us we are giving up independence and control when the truth is we are releasing our limitations for the supernatural expansion plans that God intends for our life. He takes the limited heart that is seeking and replaces it with the limitless heart that he created within us to expand the love that is his Son, Jesus.
A single ear of corn produces around 800 kernels that can translate to hundreds of stalks of corn. A single potato will create 3 to 4 pounds, that equates to 10-12 potatoes. If we ingest this corn or potatoes, we are satisfied for a moment. But, if we allow the God of multiplication to use what he planted within us, the implications are generational and exponential. You have the God-given ability to be the seed and/or the fertilizer for every life that crosses your path.
“Understand, therefore, that the Lord your God is indeed God. He is the faithful God who keeps his covenant for a thousand generations and lavishes his unfailing love on those who love him and obey his commands.” Deuteronomy 7:9 NLT
Your life matters because others need the hope that is your life. Use it wisely. An outwardly focused heart is difficult to restrain. An inwardly focused heart is life limiting and joy defeating. Be radical and love relentlessly. You will disarm the defenses of the enemy and free the life standing in front of you.
You’ve got this!
-
Time Travels
“I went to bed a young man and woke up an old man.” William Danny Mullins, Jr.
I’ll never forget those words spoken by my father in the latter years of his life. It was in that moment of vulnerability and transparency from my dad that I moved from son to fellow brother in Christ and man desiring to better live and love because of his example.
My strong father, my example of good and bad, of commitment and inconsistency, the man that God chose and assigned as my father was human. He was a godly man, seeking righteousness and understanding.
It was in that moment that I saw my father as a little boy. As a young man. As a husband, father, brother, uncle, Christian man striving. I am so grateful that God gifted me those few short years of knowing my dad at a deeper level, taking me from the immature judgement and anger of a child to the acknowledgment, love and respect of a man, to a man, gifted me by my Father in Heaven. My dad.
I so vividly remember watching my father in his last days showing a determination to live and love with greater purpose than I ever could have imagined. He taught me that time is precious and relationships worth the effort. I watched as my dad would struggle to dress, carry himself to his truck, cleverly lift his broken body wracked by decades of incessant strokes that rendered the left side of his body dead, make his way to things that were important. His family. To his church for beautiful fellowship and life-giving encouragement and love that no one other than fellow Believers can understand. To Kroger’s for his daily walks and stops of encouragement, gifts of love through time and genuine interest and Bibles to the employees. Who, in that moment could not comprehend the gift of the broken, old man standing before them with a heart yearning for them to know the Jesus that he knew.
Time is the most precious commodity that we have. We live in a time that discounts time. We live during times that minimizes the value of the wisdom that only time can instill. We approach time with a mentality of not enough time. We seek more time through technology, efficiency, faster, faster, faster. When all the while our Father in Heaven says that he has numbered our days in Psalm, Exodus, Job.
What time is this in your life? What is deserving of your precious time? In some ways I admire that King Hezekiah was given 15 more years of life and knew the specific clock countdown. Sadly, he did not use these years well. The question from the lesson is how will we use our days and years, however many we have left? Jesus lived 33 years, with 3 years of documented ministry and teaching. Scholars and theologians spend lifetimes seeking to understand what he planted in 3 short years. It truly is not the quantity but the quality of our time.
“If tomorrow never comes
Will she know how much I loved her
Did I try in every way to show her every day
That she’s my only one
And if my time on earth were through
And she must face this world without me
Is the love I gave her in the past
Gonna be enough to last
If tomorrow never comes”.Poignant words written by Ronan Keating and so beautifully sung by Garth Brooks. Use well what is fleeting.
“Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.” Ecclesiastes 3:11 NLT
-
Attn: Satan
You cannot have our kids. You cannot have Megan and my kids. You cannot have the friends of our kids. You cannot have our friend’s kids. I declare in the name of the Almighty God that you can no longer have unfettered access to my kids or any kids within my sphere of reach and influence. They are simply too valuable to surrender to your broken and desperate World.
Satan, I know your desperation grows because every new morning you are one day closer to complete defeat and eternal damnation, with no possibility of escape. Revelation 19:20 confirms the plans that God has already established for you and the antichrist(s) for eternity. You have the audacity to quote scripture to the son of the Author of the Word in the wilderness? Then you also know what has been predetermined for you and your angels. So, you attack our most vulnerable, our children, with every wicked desire for their destruction, enticing them to join you in eternal damnation. No more!
Satan, your evil will not prevail against our children. I heard the best description of Hell as “the complete and eternal separation from God, devoid of all hope or promise.” Satan, you are Hell and your desire is to rob our children of the hope and promise that is Jesus Christ. Today I invite all of my brothers and sisters in Christ to join me in this unrestrained fight for our children from a World desiring to destroy.
I appeal to every parent, every grandparent, every aunt/uncle/family friend, brother and sister in Christ and all who proclaim the name of Jesus to rise up and as God’s army on earth, reject the lies of Satan being poured out on our children. Enough!
I am sick of our kids wondering what is important. Grades? Athletic accomplishment? Social measurement by a broken society with wrong value assignment. Let’s applaud discipline in life that equates to performance, all graded against what the Bible says. Let’s believe and accept what the wisest man who ever lived taught us in Ecclesiastes 1 and then throughout that book’s writings.
How different would our kids lives look if our accolades were properly prioritized with everything for Christ mattering and all things in this World, measured against what matters? Jesus! Only Jesus. “Jesus, Jesus, how I trust him.” How would our kids look at this short life if we took an eternal approach with them. That in terms of salvation and eternity, an A in academics, a touchdown, the most stylish clothes, the ‘nicest’ car, the most desirable vacation, dinners ‘to die for’ are temporary and dare I say it, meaningless compared to eternity. That these may in fact be the priorities that determine eternal death versus life. What if our children see us prioritizing Jesus and introducing as many people as possible to him? The only life grade that matters.
So Satan, you cannot have our kids. You cannot have our minds. You no longer can hijack our life priorities. You are defeated. Even in your perverse desperation to wreak as much havoc and destruction as possible in your short days left, you are defeated!
I choose today to guard our kids and all kids that come through our doors. Satan, you cannot have our children!
“Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him.” Psalm 127:3 NLT
-
Pay Raise
“God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers. Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way.” Matthew 5:11-12
I have read the Bible consistently for the past 20 years and have read it through over 18 times. I remain amazed at how counterintuitive the effort and process can be for me. Then I love when God reminds me, ‘don’t be surprised son. Your sinful nature denies what should be natural and instinctive.’ He reminds me that he has given me/us the Bible as the source of light, instruction, hope…a pathway for the pursuit of righteousness. Thank you, Father.
A common phrase in my house growing up and in my adult life has been “don’t take my word for it.” I love how our Dad in Heaven provides us his Word in printed form and lovingly says, “daughter/son, take my Word for it.” Thank you, Lord.
God gave us his Word through the Bible to be the truth during our journey and light for our life’s path. He tells us in Psalm 119 and Matthew 5 among other great, reassuring, life empowering, purpose defining, identity revealing passages throughout the Bible.
Remind yourself that the Bible tells us the enemy (Satan) prowls like a lion, seeking who he can kill and eat. (1 Peter). Then go a step further and understand the confidence of the Enemy desiring to destroy you, your family, your friends, your life. Satan took the son (Jesus) of the Author of the Bible (God) and tempted him by quoting scripture to him (Matthew 4). Thankfully, Jesus being God in human form knew his Word and refuted Satan’s use of scripture out of context until he/Satan knew that he had been beaten.
I exercise because I have Type-2 diabetes and working my heart, my lungs, my core, my muscles is a gift to myself. Spending time in my Dad’s (God’s) Word is a gift to my heart, my health, my joy, my love, my hope…my life.
My encouragement to you is to gift yourself the truth and hope that is contained in God’s Word by spending time in it daily. You’ll be so glad you did and the “life surprises” that await you become mole hills instead of mountains.
You’ve got this!
-
What We Allow In, Surely Spews Out
I don’t know the author of this, but relate to this so much. What we allow in to our hearts and minds will surely spill out. “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” Proverbs 4:23
“I LOVE THIS ANALOGY:
You are holding a cup of coffee when someone comes along and bumps into you or shakes your arm, making you spill your coffee everywhere.
Why did you spill the coffee?
“Because someone bumped into me!!!”
Wrong answer.
You spilled the coffee because there was coffee in your cup.
Had there been tea in the cup, you would have spilled tea.
Whatevr is inside the cup is what will spill out.
Therefore, when life comes along and shakes you (which WILL happen), whatever is inside you will come out. It’s easy to fake it, until you get rattled.
So we have to ask ourselves… “what’s in my cup?”
When life gets tough, what spills over?
Joy, gratitude, peace and humility?
Anger, bitterness, victim mentality and quitting tendencies?
Life provids the cup, YOU choose how to fill it.
Today let’s work towards filling our cups with gratitude, forgiveness, joy, words of affrmation, resilience, positivity; and kindness, gentleness and love for others.” -
Dear Vice-President Kamala Harris and for President Donald Trump, I am praying for you. As you prepare for your debate tonight, I am praying for you.
I am praying that truth will prevail. Not ‘your truth,’ but defendable, identifiable, verifiable truth.
I am praying that a keen awareness comes over you that the Presidency of the United States is not an experiment, but a sacred responsibility to carefully and cautiously protect all citizens first and foremost.
I pray that your heart is revealed and your character exposed.
I pray that today as you prepare, you hear the cries of desperation from parents doing their best to raise kids in an increasingly lawless culture, devoid of moral guidance and foundational life principles sacrificed at the altar of insatiable political desire.
I pray that tonight you exhibit the character of convictions, without thought of audience acceptance or special interest appeasement.
I pray that you choose to reveal who you are regardless of result.
I pray that you will choose God over Country. Country over financial support. Financial responsibility to our citizens over pet projects aimed at the few. That the responsibility of democracy would reign in your lips, be revealed in your eyes and spew from your words.
I pray that the future of a infant girl, a teenage boy, a college student, a welder, a cashier, a newlywed couple, a soldier standing in the gap, a police officer protecting our streets, a firefighter guarding our safety, an EMT caring for the hurt, a nurse covering the third shift, a retired couple seeking peace, purpose and ability would all see that you care first and foremost for them as people and citizens of this great Country and that you are determined to deliver the hope that has been the United States of America for 248 years.
I pray that your love for all is revealed in your answers and that your answers bring trust and expectation.
I pray that you understand how incredibly important our girls are and their right to be protected from confused boys and perverted men. I pray that their bathrooms, their sports, their biologically assigned gender is honored and guarded.
I pray that you affirm our boys and their critical role in our society. I pray that the correction of confusion within our boys from decades of lies is a priority within you, to be delivered through you regardless of micro special interest groups seeking to debilitate and destroy.
I pray that the burden of servitude overwhelms you today. Bringing you to your knees.
I pray that you understand “In God We Trust” is not a clever saying to be printed on our money and above our building, but rather the core, foundational principle that is never to be surrendered.
I pray that you see the insanity of delivering Bibles to inmates but denying them to children in and through our schools.
I pray that you are burdened to welcome all through our lawful pathways to citizenship, with the agreement and understanding that the choice is America defined by a Bill of Rights and protected by a sacred Constitution.
I pray that you are filled with commitment to protect what exists, and consider what enhances by drawing us together.
I am praying for you because the most powerful force that I exists within the World today is the power of prayer.
I pray that you understand the sacred and life protecting words that are God Bless America.
I am praying for you today as you prepare to speak to us tonight.
-
Standing On The Promises Involves Knowing The Promises
‘I stand on God’s Word.’ Great! Consider moving it from under your feet. Opening it on your lap. And filling your mind with its truth, in preparation for the battle that exists every day.
“For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.” Psalm 91:11-12 NIV
Whenever I am meeting with guys, I invariably will say at some point something to the effect of “discount Satan and his patience and abilities at your own risk and the risk of your family.
I have said to our kids that words are only arrogant if they cannot be backed up with action. A little simplistic but used trying to teach them the value of practice, of learning, of preparing before the event. I have become so amazed at Satan’s arrogant confidence that when face to face with God’s son in the wilderness, he tried to tempt him through reasoning by quoting scripture to the son of the Author. Arrogance? Confidence? I’ll let you make that call. Matthew 4:1-11
I recently was meeting with someone and was discussing how Satan never comes through the front door of our lives, but through the vulnerabilities of our lives. In battle, good leaders always shore up the battle lines where weakest. They know their vulnerabilities and take action to make these areas stronger. Similarly, Satan knows and attacks us where we are weakest. Without knowing, understanding, accepting and integrating scripture into all areas of our lives, we are vulnerable to false teaching, the incessant lies, and the attacks of the enemy that are only thwarted through preparation.
2 Timothy 2:15-17 tells us to “Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth. Avoid worthless, foolish talk that only leads to more godless behavior. This kind of talk spreads like cancer…” (NLT)
I encourage you to integrate the concept of continuing education into your life…every day. I believe that fitness is a gift that we give to ourselves. Absolutely and without question, Biblical learning is the fitness of our mind that translates into the peace and understanding that builds our relationship with Jesus, his Father and the Holy Spirit. Paul expressed his frustration with the church at Corinth when he wrote, “I had to feed you with milk, not with solid food, because you weren’t ready for anything stronger. And you still aren’t ready,”. (I Corinthians 3:2 NLT). Gift yourself the relationship that grows with Christ as we learn and live His Word.
I often write and always believe that you and I are built for greater purpose than we can comprehend. I also believe that we must be feeding our mind through scripture to 1) guard against the lies of the enemy, also known as this World; 2) to disciple and encourage others that God places in our path through understanding and truth that is scripture, also known as God’s Word; and 3) to seek, find and live the marvelous plans that God has created us for, to be revealed through the reading of God’s Word and the growing of our mind.
Arguably the greatest Christian to walk the earth was the Apostle Paul, who before his conversion was one of the most scripturally knowledgeable people to walk the earth. He was a Pharisee, educated in scripture from a very young age. He knew what the words said. Knowledgeable in the law. Lacking, then receiving the truth of God’s love through Jesus’ death and resurrection on that road to Damascus.
Gift yourself time daily with the Father through Bible reading and prayer. If you have invited him into your heart, now let him flood your mind with truth.
You’ve got this.
-
Your Gifts are Magnificent
“How great are thy works, O Lord? thou hast made all things in wisdom: the earth is filled with thy riches.” Psalm 103:24 NIV
This spider web greeted Megan Mullins and me this morning on a corner of our garage after some much needed rain. I was immediately drawn to Psalm 103:24 and the awareness of God’s knitting our life together in marvelous ways that may not be apparent during the emerging.
My encouragement to you today is if the Omnipotent Creator of all things created a spider that can build things like this web overnight, think and expect of what he can and will do through you if you trust and believe in His plan for your life and the gifts he has instilled within you?
You are created for marvelous things. Seek and you will find in the pages of the most beautiful of all books, The Holy Bible.
“Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.” Matthew 7:7-8 NLT
-
Significance Exists Within You
“And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.” Acts 9:6 KJV
I was having lunch with a beloved friend this week and was flooded by the awareness of how God shows his love to us by placing people in our lives who walk with us.
I have a beloved brother in Christ who is going through very difficult health issues. I was flooded by the awareness of how God loves us as he and his amazing wife posted testimonies of faithfully trusting and walking in the Savior’s arms as they navigate this hardest of seasons for them.
I was talking with a Pastor friend of mine this week and he shared with me the loss of a very close friend who elevated to Heaven much faster than he or anyone anticipated. Leaving behind a son and questions of moving forward for those left behind. We thanked the Father for healing this brother by calling him home.
I spoke with someone very close to me and had her share the joys or life and then break down in a moment of vulnerability. As she shed tears of sadness and doubt, I was so grateful that my Father in Heaven knew that in that moment, He through me was what she needed.
I watched as new grass grew in spots of our lawn where my wife, my son and I had spread dirt, sewed seed and covered with protective straw. I witnessed the results of faithfully watering these areas during a time of drought in East TN. I saw the results of our labor manifest themselves in new coverage where repair had occurred. God again showed me to trust His faithfulness through actions with expectation.
I took several walks with my amazing wife this week in the heat of late August. Watching our dogs run and play. Keenly aware of the privilege to be the husband to the most amazing woman that I have ever met. Marveling that she married me. Grateful that she walks beside me. Amazed that God loves me so much that he gave her to me as my partner.
So there was nothing exceptional about this week. There was everything incredible about this week. This week was a gift from God with reminders everywhere of his goodness and life’s purpose. Friends. Events. Sadness. Joy. Kindness. Opportunity. The variables that make up the equation that is called life. The quadratic equation of an insignificant person seeing the significance of an ever amazing God.
So my encouragement to you today is recognize that God is with you. That God is everywhere. Allow God to be reflected in all areas of your life. Just as Saul did on that road to Damascus, trust God’s plan for your insignificant life to deliver significance into the lives of all those around you.
You matter because God made you. That is more than enough.
You’ve got this.
-
The Discipline of True Love
“Stern discipline awaits anyone who leaves the path; the one who hates correction will die.” Proverbs 15:10 NIV
I passed what I can only assume was a young mother and was brought to laughter as I watched her sternly looking into her rearview mirror with finger straight and pointed, pushing it forward and retreating backward as she said something to her passenger(s) with great animation and intensity.
I remember those days as I look in the rearview mirror of our family’s life with fond memories and a lot of laughter. At the time, there was little fondness and no laughter. Rather statements like “don’t make me pull this car over,” or “you’ve had it when we get home,” or the ever popular “stop bothering your brother/sister, or I will separate you (with emphasis)!” I recall many, many moments or utter desperation with friends and family who had older children encouraging us to ‘stay with it. It gets better. It is worth it.’ It did and it was and it is.
I then became a little sad, a little nostalgic and a lot grateful as I realized those priceless moments of automobile anxiety were one of many scenarios that have brought our family to today. Two kids now driving, a third close behind. Few drives involving our entire family and the quiet in the car that reflects growth. I also recognized that the moments or corrective intensity were now replaced with conversation, listening, guiding, suggesting, growing. And with some stubborn resistance on my part, surrendering to the maturing and amazing abilities of our children in this next season of our lives. They are flourishing.
“Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it.” Proverbs 22:6 NLT
The parallel of raising a young child to walking alongside a new Believer has many similarities. Being a born again Christian tells us “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” (2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV). The need for cautious, rigid, disciplined living and surrounding ourselves with teachers who guide us with love and stern correction are critical as new Believers so that the course of our new life is set on paths that cause us to grow in our relationship with Christ in correct and true understanding.
Ask any parent of multiple children and they will agree that they have said ‘how can these kids come from the same parents?’ There are parallel truths to raising kids and disciplining new Believers. Consistency. Truth. Discipline. Teaching. Living out what is said. Unconditionally loving. Patience. Walking alongside.
Matthew 7:13-14 in the Bible, the Message translation describes our lives in Christ so well. “Don’t look for shortcuts to God. The market is flooded with surefire, easygoing formulas for a successful life that can be practiced in your spare time. Don’t fall for that stuff, even though crowds of people do. The way to life—to God!—is vigorous and requires total attention.”
As our kids have grown, we say with truth that we love every Season that our kids are in. We refuse to surrender to terms like ‘terrible teens.’ Instead we choose to approach their next season with prayer, preparation, adjustment and prayer. Did I mention prayer?
As I have made a continued effort to grow in my relationship with Christ through learning, behavioral adjustment, seeking and surrounding myself with like Believers, by observing, through understanding and on and on, the magnificence and marvel that is a true relationship with Jesus reveals itself. He has moved me from milk to more solid food that involves revelation and ever-growing faith. He has moved from leading me to walking alongside. The finger pointing of correction has become the warmth of living in his arms of love. The intense correction has become a relationship of His building and encouraging me. Just as our kids grow and develop based upon our attention and guidance, He is growing me daily into the person he created me to be. That is more than enough.
“I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready.” (1 Corinthians 3:2 ESV).
You’ve got this.
-
Subscribe
Subscribed
Have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
