Year: 2018

“I have a special project for you.”

 

Mrs. Smith’s eyes twinkled as she shared our assignment with my 8th-grade English class. “You have just finished reading ‘The Pearl’ by John Steinbeck. I want you to give it an alternative ending, come up with your own. Try to write it in the style of Steinbeck.”

 

I was intrigued. Here was an opportunity to rewrite a great work of literature. Steinbeck had woven a masterful tale, how could I craft a more perfect ending? As I pondered the assignment, I was stymied, constrained by my remembrance of the ending of the original story. I had to free myself from preconceived notions of what I thought might be a perfect ending and stretch the boundaries of literary expression. At the conclusion of the assignment, although I was able to craft a different ending, I was disappointed and felt I had not improved upon the original ending.

 

If only this fictional assignment were possible! I sometimes grasp for an alternative ending for events in my life. I long to take back the hurtful comment I made to another when my pride was squashed. I pine to restore the relationship that was broken by my sins. I want an alternative ending, yet knowing that I am constrained and restrained by this existence, I end up wallowing in self-pity and despair. Unlike my English assignment, I cannot devise an alternative ending, to go back in time to undo or redo my actions. What hope is there in this life?

 

Even perfection has its limits, but your commands have no limit.

Psalms 119:96 (NLT)

 

Jesus Christ challenges all believers to trust in Him and be desirous to seek an outcome that is unfettered by man’s limited musings and deliberations. If I rely upon my futile and feeble efforts to restore broken situations, it will only result in despair and failure. Only God can perfectly restore the brokenness that sin has wrought. My frustration results from my lack of faith and trust in God’s ability to perform what He has promised. Can there ever be a perfect alternative ending?

 

…With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.

Mark 10:27 (ESV)

 

Thanks be to God that through faith and belief in Jesus Christ, there will be a perfect ending for our lives. Jesus invites us to give Him our frustrations, pain, and hurt of this life and allow Him to share the burden with us. He promises us salvation and eternal life to all those who confess and repent of their sins and accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

 

Isn’t this the perfect alternative ending for our life?

 

Love and trust the Lord; seek His will in your life.

 

“Ok, Mom. I love you. I’ll call you soon.”

 

The news hit me hard. My mother had been diagnosed with stomach cancer. Within a few weeks, the grim diagnosis was made worse with the finding that it was metastatic and inoperable. My mother had given me the latest update. I knew I must return as soon as possible to Hawaii to see her. My emotions were swirling and my thoughts were disjointed. There were so many things that we needed to discuss but I knew there was one important question that I needed to have definitively answered by her.

 

Arriving in Hawaii the next month, my mother was in high spirits. We spent a morning visiting the local farmer’s markets as the years melted away. When we returned home, I gently raised the question. “Mom, I know you have been going to church for many years now, but we have never had the conversation that I am about to have with you.” My mother’s countenance turned serious as she leaned closer to listen to me.

 

“Mom, do you believe that Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior?”

 

My mother was unhesitating. “Yes.”

 

I continued. “You believe that Jesus died for your sins and was resurrected?”

 

“Yes.”

 

I was relieved but ashamed that I had to be so direct in my questions to my own mother. “Thanks, Mom. Sorry, I had to ask you, but I had to be absolutely sure. I am concerned about your diagnosis but I most concerned about your eternal destiny.”

 

“I understand, son.”

 

At the moment, I was completely assured that no matter what happened over the course of her disease, she would be eternally cared for by the Great Physician, Jesus Christ. For the next year and a half, my mother bravely faced her cancer that slowly robbed her life. As her physical frame diminished, her faith in God grew. In the end, she was ready. When she first learned of her diagnosis, she confided in me that she was also stunned, but then quickly realized that she would now see her Lord sooner than she thought, and this brought her tremendous peace and comfort. I marveled at the courage and conviction of my mother. Her faith strengthened mine.

 

I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well.

2 Timothy 1:5 (ESV)

 

My daughter and son are blessed to inherit a spiritual legacy from their grandmother and mother. Like the Apostle Paul’s confidence in his spiritual adopted son and protege, Timothy, I am thankful that my children have these beautiful and faithful role models in their lives. My mother is no longer here, but my mother is also my sister in Jesus Christ. Someday, in Heaven, my children will be reunited with my mother, their grandmother.

 

Thank you, God, for beginning a great spiritual legacy of faith in Jesus Christ within my family. I pray that you will continue to place a hedge of spiritual protection around our family and all families that have decided to place their trust and faith in You.

 

Love and trust the Lord; seek His will in your life.

 

We had not seen our friends for nearly a year and our family was eagerly anticipating their annual visit to California. They usually stayed with their classmates from college and always found a way to spend quality time with us. On this occasion, my friend suggested we meet for dinner at a restaurant. I agreed and remembered that he had paid for our last dinner and I wanted to return the favor.

 

As soon as we had ordered, I excused myself and found our server. I handed him my credit card and informed him that I would pay for the dinner. He was accustomed to this request and replied he would take of everything. The dinner was an ebullient affair and we were elated to catch up on each other’s lives during the past year. After dessert, I signaled to our server that I would like the check. To my surprise, the server handed my friend the bill.

 

“Wait!” I exclaimed. “That’s not right!” I leaped out of my chair and confronted the server. At the same moment, the server grabbed the bill from my friend. “I am so sorry,” the server mumbled. “Your friend also handed his credit card to me and I forgot you had already given me yours.”

 

“No worries, just make sure you charge my credit card.”

 

I was so preoccupied with this exchange that I did not notice how the demeanor of my friend had changed. The walk back from the restaurant to their apartment was far chillier than the 60 F evening air. Instead of walking alongside me as he did at the beginning of the evening, he walked a block ahead with his wife. My wife later divulged to me that he was fuming that I paid for the dinner since it was at his invitation that we met. Although we eventually smoothed over our misunderstanding, it was an unpleasant ending to an otherwise festive evening.

 

Just once, I would like to get through a day, not just for a few hours or minutes, without conflict. Misunderstandings can be so easily magnified into a broken relationship with long periods of hurt and resentment. The Bible records the first instance of the tragic example of Cain.

 

“Why are you so angry?” the Lord asked Cain. “Why do you look so dejected? You will be accepted if you do what is right. But if you refuse to do what is right, then watch out! Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you. But you must subdue it and be its master.”

Genesis 4:6-7 (NLT)

 

Cain did not understand why his sacrifice was not accepted by God. Instead of seeking understanding and clarification, he let his resentment fester, fomenting into a single terrible action and murdering his brother Abel. At any moment, Cain could have chosen to stop the downward spiral, but he did not. We can choose to quickly end the chill and warmly embrace and defuse the situation or we can choose to let our relationships freeze, unable to thaw. I pray that I will not fall prey to the temptation of allowing a misunderstanding to grow into a tragic sin that controls me.

 

Why is that I cannot get through a single day, hour, or minute without conflict? I need a Savior. I need Jesus Christ.

 

Love and trust the Lord; seek His will in your life.

 

Jake joined our company a year after I joined and was now a fellow partner. I deeply valued his expertise and was equally fond of his kind and generous nature. He just served notice to our group that he was resigning his partnership and joining another group. After the announcement, he confided in me that he was dismayed that the senior partners and founders of the group had not been forthright about future financial compensation and profit sharing for newer partners like us.

 

I dropped by Stuart’s office, one of the senior partners, and shared my concerns with him. Of all the senior partners, I was confident that I would find a sympathetic ear with him. I launched into a passionate defense of Jake’s virtues. All the while, my partner looked at me with a wry smile, saying nothing. Sensing disinterest, I blurted out, “You like Jake, don’t you?”

 

“I like Jake.” My partner pursed his lips, searching for his carefully worded phrase. “I like him less, now.”

 

I glared at my partner. I thought him disingenuous and his comment a cheap shot and I stormed out of his office. It had been a tumultuous year. During a tense meeting a few months earlier, it was revealed the compensation amongst all of the partners was not equal. While there was quick back-peddling, none of the senior partners ever denied it. Jake was the first to leave and within the next two years, three other partners left. The newer partners were seeking financial security and equity and felt an unequal share of the workload was carried on their shoulders. The senior partners were seeking continuity of their legacy and thought the newer partners were ungrateful for their leadership that created the group and afforded them this opportunity. The truth was all of the partners needed one another, yet neither side was willing to come to the table to openly discuss their grievances. The result was a civil war.

 

The beginning of strife is like letting out water, so quit before the quarrel breaks out.

Proverbs 17:14 (ESV)

 

Negotiations are a difficult and necessary part of life. Some pundits state that a good negotiation leaves neither side completely happy or satisfied, with each making concessions. Only rarely have I been involved in a negotiation that I received everything I asked for. Before I became a Christian, I believed that my eternal destiny was a negotiation on a cosmic scale with God. If I was kind to people, did enough selfless acts, and tried to live a good life, I would earn enough favor with God to tip the balance of eternal life in my favor and earn entry into Heaven.

 

God, in His grace and mercy, showed me the Truth. It is never a negotiation with Him, it is all or nothing. Only when I give up complete control of my life and confess and repent of my sins to His Son, Jesus Christ, will I receive salvation and eternal life. No selfless actions, good behavior, or liking anyone more or less will ever achieve this. God gave His Only Son to die for me. God gave up everything to give me everything I needed when I was still ignorant of my true needs. This is God’s way of negotiating, the only perfect way, to rescue a hopelessly lost sinner like myself.

 

Love and trust the Lord; seek His will in your life.

 

Grammy Awards 1976.

 

The competition for the album of the year was the hotly expected competition between the albums recorded by iconic recording legends, Paul Simon, Elton John, Janis Ian, The Eagles, and Linda Ronstadt. Even with today’s generation, some of these names still resonate and are awe-inspiring. In 1976, they were the absolute giants of the music industry, akin to contemporary artists like Taylor Swift and John Legend. When Paul Simon’s album, “Still Crazy After All These Years” was announced the winner, the crowd was elated. Paul Simon bounded onto the stage and enthusiastically thanked the many people who helped him make the album a success. Then, to the surprise of everyone, he thanked one more person.

 

https://www.grammy.com/grammys/videos/paul-simon-wins-album-year

 

Stevie Wonder had won album of the year in 1974, 1975, and 1977. If he had recorded an album in 1976, it is quite likely Paul Simon may not have won his Grammy. Paul Simon’s tongue in cheek comment reverberates as one of the most memorable moments in Grammy history.

 

What makes this moment even more special for me is I was watching the Grammys live on television when he made the comment. I exploded in laughter. Although I shared the incident with many, and it has been replayed millions of times over the last forty years, it is still very special to be an eyewitness to the actual event.

 

For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,” we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain.

2 Peter 1:16-18 (ESV)

 

In this passage from one of Peter’s letters to the believers scattered throughout the known world, Peter recounts a life-changing event that he was allowed to witness. Jesus Christ invited His disciples, Peter, John, and James to join Him on a mountaintop. There, before their eyes, Jesus was transfigured and displayed the radiant glory, splendor, and grandeur that He once had in Heaven before He came to earth as a Man. He stood before them and spoke to Moses and Elijah, and left Peter fumbling for the proper words to say, God, the Father spoke.

 

He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.”

Matthew 17:5 (ESV)

 

As an eyewitness to the actual event, Peter was forever changed. He received the assurance that his teacher, Jesus Christ, was the Son of God and the Messiah and he openly confessed and acknowledged this. Years later, he recalled this incident in this passage cited above from one of his letters to encourage other believers. Although these other believers may not have witnessed what he was privileged to see, they could, by faith, receive the same blessings by believing in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Peter was reassuring all of them that Jesus was crucified and resurrected after three days and now sits at the right hand of God, the Father, continually interceding for all believers who have confessed and repented of their sins and accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

 

As Jesus said to Thomas, His disciple, who would not believe His resurrection until he placed his on fingers in the Crucifixion wounds, “…Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

John 20:29 (ESV)

 

Some of us are fortunate to have witnessed a significant historical event, like Paul Simon’s speech at the Grammy awards, but there is no more important witness than to see the glorified Jesus Christ on this earth. While everyone living today has not seen Jesus Christ in the flesh, all believers have the assurance of His Resurrection and promises through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Through the supernatural intervention of God in our life, we have the conviction, like Peter, of the glorified Jesus Christ.

 

Amen!

 

Love and trust the Lord; seek His will in your life.

 

Blogs on WordPress-Complete

 

“Go in and sit on the chair to the left.”

 

It was fifty years ago when I sat in a similar room, lined by this familiar sound-proof insulation. I placed the bulky headphones over my ears and was handed a device with a button that I was instructed to push when I heard a tone. I was sitting for my audiology examination. When I was a child, I had a series of ear infections, requiring a myringotomy in my left ear. Since then, my hearing was always less than perfect but recently, I noted that I was frequently asking others to repeat what they were saying or leaning in closer to participate in conversations. My family questioned whether my hearing was going bad when I didn’t reply or understand what they were saying to me. I replied with the well-worn excuse, “I can’t hear. I need to get it checked.”

 

After twenty minutes, the audiologist produced two pages of data and explained the findings. “Your hearing is fine. You have a little drop off on the high-frequency range, but that is to be expected at your age.”

 

I was surprised by the diagnosis. “So why does it seem like I am not hearing as well?”

 

The audiologist wryly smiled and said, “It is not your ears that is the problem.”

 

What’s my excuse, now?

 

He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

Matthew 11:15 (ESV)

 

Is it any wonder that our Lord Jesus Christ repeats this admonition six times in the Gospels? The problem is not with my ears. The problem is the organ between my ears. I selectively listen to things that I deem important instead of patiently and politely listening to what everyone has to say. Why?

 

I have no excuses. I am a sinner and I need a Savior. By confessing and repenting of my sins to Jesus Christ, He transforms and conforms me into His image, through the work of the Holy Spirit. Like my selective hearing, Jesus will change my stubborn and selfish nature and allow me to hear what He wants me to hear instead of resisting His voice and guidance.

 

Amen!

 

Love and trust the Lord; seek His will in your life.

 

Blogs on WordPress-Complete

 

 

“You better enjoy life while you can!”

 

The host of the party lifted a glass of champagne and toasted me. A drop of condensation dripped off the stem of his glass as our glasses clinked.

 

“Yup,” he said, sipping his libation. “This is the only life we have to live because as far as I know, no one has ever come back from the dead!”

 

I was about to take the bait but the moment was not right. It was a festive occasion and I wanted to be sensitive to those who were gathered since he was the host. The person speaking to me was Jewish and he was well aware that I was a Christian. The irony of his statement lies in the revelations of the Jewish Holy Scriptures, the Torah. This is the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. There are hundreds of prophecies in the Torah that point to the coming of the Messiah. After thousands of years of Jewish civilization, in the first century A.D., all of these prophecies were fulfilled by one Man, Jesus Christ. Jesus and all of His disciples were Jews as well as many of the first believers. The remainder of the Jews rejected Jesus as their Messiah. The Jews were waiting for a Messiah, who would restore the Jewish Kingdom and overthrow their Roman conquerors. They refused to believe that their Messiah would die a humiliating death on Cross. How could this pathetic charlatan, this son of a carpenter, be their King, their Savior?

 

Why is it thought incredible by any of you that God raises the dead?

Acts 26:8 (ESV)

 

In this passage from the Book of Acts, the Apostle Paul gave an impassioned testimony to King Agrippa about his decision to follow Jesus Christ. He appealed to the King on the basis of his well-known background as an esteemed scholarly Jew, a Pharisee, devoted to the strict interpretation of God’s law. He testified how his own zeal to obey God’s law compelled him to hunt down and imprison other Christians, branding them as heretics and blasphemers. In these very dark days of the early Church, God had other plans for Paul. On the road to Damascus, the risen Savior, Jesus Christ, appeared to Paul and revealed the Truth to him. Paul was converted and confessed and repented of his sins and accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. Paul knew that Jesus was the promised Messiah, as the Jewish scriptures had always prophesied.

 

Jesus Christ is the only person who has ever come back from the dead through His own power. He willingly laid His life down to be tortured and executed on the Cross. It may have been difficult for Paul and many Jews to believe this simple carpenter was their Messiah, His broken naked Body was exposed on the Cross, He was anything but a King or Savior. But three days later, He rose from the dead. He proved to all Creation that He was God. Paul, the disciples, and hundreds of Jesus’ followers all beheld His glorified resurrected Body. It was a miracle but as Paul correctly pointed out, “Why is it thought incredible by any of you that God raises the dead?”

 

Why indeed? God, the Creator of the Universe, raised Jesus Christ from the dead so that all who confess and repent of their sins and place their trust in Him, shall have salvation and eternal life. Only someone who came back from the dead can legitimately make this claim.

 

Love and trust the Lord; seek His will in your life.

 

Blogs on WordPress-Complete

 

“Wow Buddy, you are a big boy now with your own phone!”

 

“I’m a big boy now!”

 

“LOL!”

 

With these exchange of text messages, my son passed another rite of passage, he had his own cellular phone. It is a modern rite of passage, no less significant than learning to ride a bicycle or a young man’s first shave. Every society, culture, and religion embraces and celebrates rites of passage. In Jewish tradition, for example, the bot-mitzvah and bar-mitzvah herald the coming of age for girls and boys, respectively. At the age of 12 years for girls and 13 years for boys, they are welcomed as full-fledged members of the Jewish community and are considered adults. The ceremony involves a recitation of Jewish scriptures in Hebrew before the entire synagogue. It is a solemn and joyful rite of passage with very precise traditions to follow.

 

When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways.

1 Corinthians 13:11 (ESV)

 

I treasure the various rites of passages my son has passed. Yet, my son’s most important rite of passage was not rehearsed or dictated by a carefully orchestrated tradition. It was when he confessed and repented of his sins and accepted Jesus Christ as His Lord and Savior. We would regularly sit together and read the Bible. One day I asked him who Jesus Christ was and without hesitation, he replied, “Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior!” I was surprised and pleased by his answer but wanted to be sure that he understood what he was saying. Looking squarely in his face, I asked him, “What is sin?” My son quickly responded, “Sin is when I disobey God. I am a sinner. I need Jesus Christ.” At that moment, I knew my son had truly come of age. It was not marked with any ceremony. It was an honest confession of his need for his Savior, Jesus Christ.

 

Rites of passage.

 

My son is a young man with his own cell phone and now, he is much more. He has given up his childish ways. He is my brother in Jesus Christ.

 

Love and trust the Lord; seek His will in your life.

 

Blogs on WordPress-Complete

 

 

“You tell the Doctor that I will be seeking out more patients that he has committed malpractice!”

 

The patient rudely hung up the phone on my staff. This patient’s outrageous accusations had infuriated me and my entire laboratory. The patient made an appointment to see his dermatologist for an evaluation of a skin lesion on his arm. After the dermatologist biopsied it and sent it to my lab, I rendered a benign diagnosis. Instead of being thankful, the patient was convinced that I and the dermatologist were conspiring to render a malignant diagnosis as benign, intentionally misleading the patient and deliberately hiding the truth. I immediately called the referring dermatologist who confirmed my suspicions. Just yesterday, the patient exploded into a tirade in front of other patients in the waiting room, accusing the dermatologist and his staff of malpractice. They dismissed the patient from their practice. I wanted to make sure that the dermatologist and I were united on the sequence of events. I was mollified by the disclosure of the dermatologist but remained suspicious. I undertook an internet search on this patient and within seconds, a litany of lawsuits, linked to his name, appeared. This patient had filed numerous unsuccessful lawsuits against defendants as varied as major department stores, local schools, and his local city council. His irrational behavior had a definite precedence. One of my staff shook her head and said to me, “Sorry Doctor. I know this was difficult for you.”

 

“No,” I shook my head. “Nothing to be sorry about. It comes with the territory.”

 

Every occupation is associated with unique challenges embodying nuances that only someone working within each industry can truly relate. In medicine, the patient must trust the physician is working on their behalf to better their health and life. If this trust is breached, it is difficult to reconcile. In truth, trust is paramount if any relationship is to succeed.

 

The disciples of Jesus were the first missionaries. There was no rule book or mentors to emulate. Their guide was the Holy Spirit and their remembrance of the teachings of their Master, Jesus Christ. On one of their missionary encounters, they met Simon, a sorcerer, and charlatan, who practiced his craft to dupe and swindle people. After hearing Peter preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ, he supposedly repented of his former life and became a believer. Trust was initially established. Yet just a short time later, Simon witnessed the power of the Holy Spirit and the true intentions of his heart were revealed.

 

Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, saying, “Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”

Acts 8:18-19 (ESV)

 

The Bible does not give us any insight into the tone of Peter’s speech, but I can imagine the frustration and exasperation that Peter was feeling when he heard Simon’s request!

 

But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity.”

Acts 8:20-23 (ESV)

Some people claim to follow Jesus Christ but their lifestyle and actions prove otherwise. Peter accepted and trusted the confession of Simon but this trust was soon broken. In medicine, if there is no trust, proper medical care cannot be rendered. With God, if we do not trust Him, God will not force Himself upon us. He will allow us to live our lives, apart from His infinite grace and mercy. He will always extend His promise of eternal life and salvation until the last second of our life, hoping we will accept His invitation, but once we die, there are no second chances and we will be eternally separated from God. God is willing to trust us with His greatest act of love and mercy, giving His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for our sins. All we have to do is trust Him.

 

Love and trust the Lord; seek His will in your life.

 

Blogs on WordPress-Complete

 

 

Ralph Wolf and Sam Sheepdog.

 

Many of us are familiar with these beloved cartoon characters that were created many years ago by master cartoonist and animator, Chuck Jones. Here is a classic episode.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kerUbfOQTW0

 

On Saturday mornings, this was one of the many cartoons that I watched. Although I found it amusing, I was also bewildered. Why would two adults who were polite friends outside of the workplace, suddenly become hotly competitive and hostile toward each other, jockeying for a superior position at the expense of the other in the workplace? Surely there are no adults who behave like this?

 

Life does brutally strip away our naivete. When I was in college, I encountered the pre-med syndrome. Some of my fellow pre-med students would do anything to get ahead. To obtain that prized recommendation from a famous professor, they subtly cast aspersions upon their fellow students, all with the implicit purpose of making themselves look good by pushing down the reputation of others. It continued in medical school and residency and those who were inculcated with the doctrine of the pre-med syndrome could not let it go. There were games played during patient rounds, allegations that a particular diagnostic test was not ordered because another resident dropped the ball. It still continues in the workplace. A critical invitation to an important meeting inadvertently leaves off a key individual from the email list. Credit for a successful project overlooks the key players.

 

While these nefarious schemes are occurring, the perpetrators smile at one another with the verbal reassurance that they must work together in support since all are in the trenches together. I never believed that Ralph and Sam could turn off their animosity toward one another simply because the workday ends. The polite smiles and domestic bliss concealed their clandestine actions of inserting a knife into each other’s backs. With imperceptible precision, their weapons of slander and sabotage were positioned until the key moment when the vital organs could be struck and their victims slaughtered.

 

…For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.

John 6:64 (ESV)

 

Ralph and Sam.

 

Some painful life lessons keep repeating. How many hours of wasted time and effort are spent seeking to tear others down instead of developing ways to model and encourage godly behavior? Thanks be to God that He shows us a better way by giving us a Savior. Jesus Christ endured the same type of schemings of men, even by Judas, one of His own disciples. He allowed Himself to be led to the Cross to die and then be resurrected by God. He showed us a more excellent way to live our life by confessing and repenting of our sins and accepting Him as our Lord and Savior. Following Jesus Christ allows us to move beyond the false pretenses and the futile mind games that can paralyze us. We were created to live a life so much richer and fulfilling than Ralph and Sam.

 

Amen!

 

Love and trust the Lord; seek His will in your life.