Month: April 2023

It stood in the corner of our garden. For nearly a year, the branches were unchanging. While there was some glimmer of life with an occasional green leaf, it finally stopped growing and the branches slowly shriveled. 

Several years earlier, my daughter enlisted the assistance of our neighbor, who had a green thumb, to help her with her middle school project of planting and growing a fruit tree. She bought an apple sapling, and our neighbor found an ideal location to plant it in our backyard. We had no doubt we would soon have fresh apples, especially under the tutelage of our skilled neighbor. 

Why didn’t it grow?

We had the oversight of an expert gardener. We planted it in an ideal location. We diligently watered and fertilized it. There was no evidence of insects or animals that may have damaged or eaten it. Even our neighbor shrugged his shoulders. He had planted the same type of tree in his yard under the same conditions and it thrived. What was the difference? We reluctantly concluded the sapling may have been bad. 

Like plants, why do some people grow spiritually and others do not? I had a college classmate who later attended seminary, intending to enter full-time ministry. I admired his faith. He was a leader in our college Christian fellowship. He was a gifted speaker and writer. He was matriculating to a renowned seminary. I was quite excited to see how God would use him. Sadly, things didn’t work out the way we both had hoped. After completing seminary, he drifted and dated a woman whom he got pregnant. They married and he never entered the ministry. He moved out of the area and we lost contact. 

Light is sown like seed for the righteous and gladness for the upright in heart. 

Psalms 97:11 (NASB)

God desires for all of us to grow in faith, deepening our relationship with Him through belief in Jesus Christ. When He plants the seed of faith in our lives, God blesses everyone with the skills and ability for it to nourish and grow. It is our responsibility to act upon it and honor and nurture this relationship. We may have been placed in the ideal environment to thrive and flourish. Yet, even with the support of family, friends, and fellow believers in Jesus Christ, we may fail. 

There is hope. Unlike our dead apple tree, we can still be regenerated. No matter how far we have strayed from God, no matter how much we have been entangled by the worries and cares of this world, we can still return to God if we repent of our sins and rededicate our lives to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. 

Praise God for His grace and mercy to those who love His Son, Jesus Christ.

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

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Joseph Pulitzer emigrated from Hungary to the United States in the mid-19th century. By the beginning of the 20th century, Pulitzer created a publishing empire that included the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. His donation founded the Pulitzer Columbia Graduate School of Journalism, which, in 1971, began the Pulitzer Prize for journalism excellence, honoring its benefactor. After he passed away, his sons continued to maintain the empire. However, by the third generation, the grandson, Peter Pulitzer, squandered most of his wealth with poor investments and a costly divorce. Today, despite the eponymous journalism prize and the school of journalism, a Pulitzer family member is not involved in publishing, and the family fortune is a fraction of what it once was. 

“The first generation makes the wealth. The second generation maintains it. The third generation blows it.”

This quotation is a generalization, but like the Pulitzer family, there are many real-world examples. Of course, a blame game often results. One generation blames the other for either not properly preparing them or failing to provide a good transition plan. What does God say about families and generations? A great dynasty began with King David. His son, Solomon, maintained it and added to its glory. Expectations were high for Solomon’s son, Rehoboam. Instead, he blew it by ignoring the advice of his father’s closest advisors, leading to a civil war that fractured Israel into two kingdoms. 

Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it. 

Proverbs 22:6 (NLT)

The irony is that Solomon probably wrote this verse. How sad that after he passed away, his son failed to follow his instructions. There are no guarantees in life. As parents, God commands us to train our children, understand the precepts of God’s teaching, and provide an example of living by faith. However, this does not excuse our children from obeying God’s teachings. 

Grandchildren are the crowning glory of the aged; parents are the pride of their children. 

Proverbs 17:6 (NLT)

God desires to bless families. Grandchildren are not condemned to blow it. God’s ideal is to see the third generation become the crowning glory of the family!  While it may be wealth and material possessions, the most important legacy we can leave with our children and grandchildren is a legacy of faith in God.

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

We purchased our house 24 years ago. It was a brand-new construction and advertised as a home built with state-of-the-art materials and construction techniques. We soon learned the ugly truth, continually revealed through the revelation of how the builders cut corners in nearly every phase of the project. From leaky windows in our breakfast nook and bedrooms to Styrofoam bases for our cement walkway, to using cheap PVC piping to connect our water main to our home, it has been a series of disturbing discoveries. The beautiful facade of our new home hid the ugly truth. 

It was lipstick on a pig.

We had no reason to suspect such deception. The builder had a good reputation for building other quality homes in the area, which was one of the reasons we purchased this home. However, when we compared notes with other homeowners, we discovered they had encountered similar issues. As the adage states, buyer beware.

Thousands of years ago, King Solomon called out the deceitfulness of unscrupulous business dealings with a remarkably modern and humorous proverb.

“Bad, bad,” says the buyer, but when he goes his way, then he boasts. 

Proverbs 20:14 (NASB)

Some things never change because our hearts have never changed. Whether in business dealings or legal transactions, we must be wary of anyone with whom we do financial transactions. 

Lipstick on a pig. 

How desperately we need the saving grace and mercy of our Savior, Jesus Christ, in our lives!

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

…even though I have received such wonderful revelations from God. So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud. Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 

2 Corinthians 12:7-10 (NLT)

Whenever I read this familiar passage from 2 Corinthians, written by the Apostle Paul, the same questions that have perplexed Christian believers and scholars for centuries are raised. What was this thorn? A physical affliction? A psychiatric disturbance?

As I have shared in a previous blog, my recent COVID infection left me without my senses of taste and smell. From the most current data, at least 95% of COVID patients who have experienced this, usually recover the full capacity of these senses, usually within a few weeks to months. However, an unfortunate 5% may never recover, in spite of interventional medical therapy such as steroids. 

I realized that if my condition continued, many of my eating and drinking habits would change. Instead of adding sugar and cream to coffee, I could drink it black. I sensed the bitterness but nothing else. When I ate my spinach salad, I did not have to add a dressing or other condiments and simply eat it plain and unadorned. In fact, I did not have to grill a steak or fish or smoke a piece of meat, since I would not discern any difference in the entrees. It would be better and cheaper simply to eat a generic protein bar. 

While one immediate benefit is a reduction in grocery and eating expenses, it is also a sober reminder that what once was a creative outlet for me as well as an opportunity to bond with friends and family, would no longer be the same.

As I reflected on this dramatic change in my life, I realized that if God were to grab my attention with a thorn in my flesh, He could not have picked a more impactful and sharper one than this. As many regular readers of my blogs know, next to God and my family, my passions in life are music and food. When I shared my plight with a colleague, he said, “Oh no! It’s the worst punishment for a foodie like yourself!”

Indeed. I would never presume that my thorn in the flesh was as debilitating as the Apostle Paul’s. However, God does place a thorn or thorns in our flesh to shake us out of our complacency and recommit our faith and lives to serving Him. Whatever the outcome, God is in control and only He is worthy of our praise, not our complaints.

Let the power of Christ work through me.

Amen.

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

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For the first time in my life, I contracted COVID. Thankfully, I was fully vaccinated and double boosted. My symptoms were mild, like a bad cold. After quarantining for the mandatory five days and retesting negative, I returned to work and resumed most of my normal activities, taking the recommended distancing and masking precautions. All seemed as it was a week before this all began, except for one thing. I could no longer smell or taste. These effects of a COVID infection are familiar to most and well-documented and all of us have experienced some degree of this when suffering through a bad cold. However, there are very few accounts that detail what it means to lose these two important senses. 

I could discern impressions, but not the actual flavors. If I ate a pistachio, I could discern salty with a hint of sweetness. Yet, it could have been an almond or peanut. There was no flavor distinction. Same thing with drinks and wine was the worst. It is a complex drink with a barrage of flavors. I sensed nearly every impression as it flowed over my tongue, but with no distinction. No blackberry, peppery, cherry, tobacco or tannin flavors-familiar descriptors of many wines. The taste buds of the tongue were properly functioning. The problem was the nerves that transmitted the information were inflamed and damaged. The stimulated taste buds did not communicate the nuances of the flavors to the brain. This dramatic change reminded me of the spiritual truth the Apostle Paul taught in his letter to the Corinthian church.

Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely. 

1 Corinthians 13:12 (NLT)

Even with all of our senses intact, we cannot completely perceive the full glory of God. We cannot appreciate the complete providential Hand of God directing our existence and the world’s events. Only when a believer is in the presence of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, in Heaven, will all of our senses be completely and perfectly working. We will see and experience God perfectly, as we were created to be. 

My senses of taste and smell were hindered by my infection. God willing, it will recover. However, it is a reminder that God has an even greater blessing for my senses when I meet Him someday. On that wonderful day, I will truly taste and see that the Lord is Good!

Hallelujah!

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

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It was a Sunday afternoon, and my parents had returned from inspecting a condominium they owned. Several years earlier, my parents bought it in partnership with my mother’s younger brother. They were renting it out for the past year, but after the renters left, they wanted to inspect the unit. They learned from their property manager that the unit was left in shambles and would require a great deal of work to restore it. The three of them met at the condo earlier in the morning. From the moment they entered our house, they were yelling. It was the middle of their argument, but I was still able to reconstruct some of the events. 

“It’s a mess! So much work to do!” My father threw his car keys on the table. 

“I told you when we bought it, I wasn’t sure we should do this.”

“NO! We were all in agreement when we bought it.” My father was screaming. “You only changed your mind when your brother said, for the first time ever, this morning, that he had his doubts! I told both of you that we were ALL in agreement when we bought it. Now he’s changing his mind and YOU sided with him, against me! Don’t talk to me. Blood is thicker than water!”

I was frightened. I was only ten years old and had never seen my father act like this toward my mother. 

“Blood is thicker than water!”

He repeated it again and again and slammed his bedroom door. At that time, I did not understand what my father meant by this. I soon learned that he meant that familial blood ties will always be stronger than other relationships. Regrettably, my father even applied this to his own marriage to my mother. He was convinced she chose her brother over him. It was the breaking point of their marriage and the next day, my father moved out of their bedroom. Within a year, they had separated and filed for divorce. 

But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin. 

1 John 1:7 (NLT)

Blood is thicker than water.

Over fifty years ago, this statement precipitated the heartache of my parent’s divorce and the rupture of our family. When I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, I learned a new meaning. Through the blood of Jesus Christ, we are saved and redeemed. His blood brought healing and peace to my life and restored the relationship that sin had ruptured between myself and God. 

Only the blood of Jesus Christ is thicker than any relationship we can have. His blood is life-affirming and life-regenerating. Even relationships that appear hopeless can be reborn through the power of the Resurrection. 

Amen.

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

“You’re so right!”

I let out a hearty laugh and fist pumped my friend. I loved spending time with Jake. We shared so many interests and had similar opinions on a wide variety of topics. When I first met him, I sensed he was a calm and collected man. Listening to him speak to others, I presumed his character must be similar and I decided that I wanted to get to know him better. It was the halo effect in action. Thankfully, my initial impression of him was true and we became friends. It also had the unexpected and pleasant consequence of making me become more like him. The more time I spent with Jake, the calmer and more relaxed I became. Even others noticed it. The halo effect had been transferred to me! 

Psychologists and other pundits describe the halo effect as a cognitive bias, whatever we feel about a particular person influences how we think about their character. It originated from early Christian art where Jesus Christs and the saints were portrayed with a golden halo over their heads. The effect created an aura of heavenly light portraying the person as good. In Jake’s case, the halo effect was definitely confirmed. I received a bonus by incorporating some of his positive traits within my own personality.

Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it. But do this in a gentle and respectful way. Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ. 

1 Peter 3:15-16 (NLT)

God acknowledges the effect that others have on us and we may have on others. However, He tweaks our expectations. God intends for others to see our character so that they will clearly see our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Our lives need to be transparent so that others will see more of Jesus and less of us. And the more we yield ourselves to Jesus Christ, the more we will become like Him, bathed in His glorious light. 

This is the true halo effect! 

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

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He was shot and bleeding from his side but somehow, he managed to drag himself to the secluded cabin. He had to. His wife and daughter were being held hostage by a villain who would kill both of them in less than an hour unless he showed up with the money he demanded.

In every show, novel, and performance, there is a relentless struggle against time. If there were no time constraints, there would be no urgency, drama, or tension. The tyranny of time draws us into the plot and makes us hang on to the end, eager to see the outcome.  The most dramatic example of this is seen in the life of Jesus Christ. 

The disciples that Jesus chose to be with Him surely loved every moment they were with Him.  They witnessed numerous miracles and within a very short period of time, Jesus had performed two amazing miracles, feeding at least five thousand and four thousand people, on two separate occasions, with only a few loaves of bread and fish. Everyone saw the power of their Lord! It couldn’t get any better than this. How did Jesus respond? At the peak of His popularity, Jesus bluntly told His disciples that he would die.

Then Jesus began to tell them that the Son of Man must suffer many terrible things and be rejected by the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, but three days later he would rise from the dead.

Mark 8:31 (NLT)

Wait! What? What did Jesus mean that He would die? They were with the Messiah. He would restore the Jews to power and overthrow the Romans occupiers. He would establish God’s Kingdom on this earth. The disciples thought they had all the time in the world. Now, they were told that He was on a timeline of death. Jesus’ revelation should have encouraged them to action, instead, they were confused, even doubtful. Indeed, some of His followers even left Him.

Why would Jesus say this? 

The tyranny of time holds no power over God. God created time. His existence supersedes time and is never limited by it. Our finite existence is subject to the physical laws of the universe which God placed into motion. God uses time to teach us to rely by faith upon Him. With every situation we encounter, no matter how dire or hopeless it appears, God is in control. There is no greater proof than the Cross. Embedded within Jesus’ statement that He was going to die was an even more important timeline. Three days later, He would rise from the dead. For thousands of years, the great saints and prophets looked forward to the day when the Messiah would come. Jesus fulfilled all of these prophecies but not many recognized that some of these prophecies also spoke of His death and resurrection. It was a timeline that few, if any, could comprehend. 

The Good News is our lives will not end with death but will continue for eternity in Heaven in the presence of Jesus Christ. God conquered the tyranny of time by His victory over death through faith and belief in Jesus Christ. 

Amen!

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

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It was a lazy Saturday afternoon, and I was chilling at home. The doorbell rang and I assumed it was a delivery person. To my surprise, it was my neighbor who was walking his dog.

“Hey, you’ve got a leak!”

I was disoriented. “What do you mean?”

He pointed to the side of my house. “You have a leak in your sprinkler system. You need to turn off the outside water valve.”

“Uh thanks!”

Confused, I exited the house and saw the water gushing from my yard filling the driveway and overflowing into the street. Oh my! I quickly rushed to the outside valve that controlled the water flow to the house. However, after turning it off, the water flow continued unabated. Frantic, I called my buddy who immediately rushed over and was able to turn off the main water valve that led to the house. 

So many thoughts flew through my mind. This would be a costly repair, especially on a weekend. However, if I had not been at home, it would have been a lot worse. Many travel blogs advise homeowners to turn off their water valve to their house to prevent a leak from a water line or broken toilet tank, something we have experienced in the past. However, this issue was something different. It was the line connecting the main water pump to the house. Turning off the house water valve would have done nothing to prevent or mitigate the damage. 

It was an important lesson, both practical and spiritual. If I am to truly address a problem, I must properly identify the source, the root of the problem. It would be like taking aspirin for chest pain when one is really experiencing a heart attack. 

For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. 

Ephesians 6:12 (NLT)

We can channel our energies to fight the battles we think we may be able to win, but we are deceiving ourselves when it comes to our spiritual battles. Our battle is with Satan and his demons. Like the hidden connections from our water main to the house, we are not always aware of these attacks because it is happening in the unseen spiritual world.

Thanks be to God that He gives us spiritual vision through the Holy Spirit, when we place our faith and trust in Jesus Christ. All unseen dangers will be revealed by following Jesus Christ, the light of the world!

Amen!

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

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The Covenant School shooting in Nashville, TN, rocked an already school violence weary nation. Immediately city leaders, clergy, and concerned citizens issued statements of support and encouragement. However, there were notable dissenters.

Talk show host David Pakman mocked the Covenant School community. “Very surprising that there would be a mass shooting at a Christian school, given that lack of prayer is often blamed for these horrible events,” he wrote in a since-deleted tweet. “Is it possible they weren’t praying enough, or correctly, despite being a Christian school?”
Source: Foxnews.com

In the aftermath of a horrific school shooting, Pakman and others on social media took to blaming the victims. It was a despicable and deplorable accusation. Yet, it reveals a dark truth about the human heart that will even weaponize a tragedy to support one’s agenda, particularly when it denigrates Christians.

If a tragedy like a school shooting cannot even bring communities together, what hope is there? How can we make sense of this? We cannot. It makes as much sense as mocking an innocent man dying on a Cross.

But Jesus was saying, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” And they cast lots, dividing up His garments among themselves. And the people stood by, looking on. And even the rulers were sneering at Him, saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if this is the Christ of God, His Chosen One.”
Luke 23:34-36 (NASB)

Our Lord, Jesus Christ, died on the Cross for sinners like all of us. Even in the last hours of His life, when He was in indescribable pain, He prayed for others. In this fallen world, this is the only way we can make sense of any tragedy, by coming before the Cross. All of the pain and suffering of these shooting victims, all of the vitriolic attacks against Christians, were borne by the broken body of Jesus Christ as He hung on the Cross.

We do not know what we are doing. How desperately we all need a Savior. We need Jesus Christ.

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

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