Coming Back

It has been quite some time since I have written here, and this morning, as I sat down to go over my message from yesterday, critique myself and make improvements, I saw a button on the church's web page that had eluded me until today. It shocked me to see it, to be perfectly honest with you, and I was take with its simplicity and tenacity as it has sat there for nearly 18 months without anything new added to it. I stared at it for a while, not knowing what would happen if I clicked on it, but in the end curiosity won out and on it I clicked.

To my surprise, there before me was a blog page...lonely and desolate. The date on the page was May 15, 2017. I was shocked to think that I had not posted here in that long, and so I thought to myself, "Self, you really ought to write something and publish it here. And so, that is what I am doing.

I have titled the post "Coming Back" for two reasons. First, is that I want to express my excitement and joy about "coming back" to the blog, writing out some of my thoughts and feelings for you, those who choose to follow it. I have been away for a long time, and want to come back. I do not promise that I will post every day, or even every week, but I will take the time to post something often. I do not want this page to be left as desolate as it has been for the last year and a half.

The second reason is because my family had a conversation not too long ago about the J.R.R. Tolkien classic, The Lord of the Rings. I was thinking about that conversation when my mind went to a conversation in the book between Gandalf the White and Pippen, the Hobbit. As they await what they believe will be their destruction in the city of Minas Tirith, Pippen turns to Gandalf and says, "I didn't think it would end here." Gandalf replies, "End? The journey doesn't end here. Death is just another path. One we all must take."

For many of us, we have suffered loss in our lives, and at this time of year, it often brings us back to those we love and have lost. But the truth of the matter is that life has a funny way of reminding us just how temporary it is. But as this quote reminds us, death is not the end...especially for the Christian. For us, death is just the beginning of an eternity with our Lord. The journey takes a different path, and we look into the face of the one who is waiting there for us.

I hope that as we enter the Thanksgiving holiday, that you will take the time to reflect on the loved ones who have gone before, the ones who are still with us, and those yet to come. Pray that God's love and grace will be enough for you and that all He has given is more than enough to sustain you through the difficult times.

God bless you this Thanksgiving!

Please feel free to comment or ask a question below.

Happiness vs. Joy--Republished from 2016

Happiness and joy. Two great ideas that go great together. But are they only available together? Happiness is something that has to do with circumstance. If our circumstances are favorable, then we are happy. Joy, on the other hand, has more to do with position. We are joyful because of who we are and who we are becoming in Christ. So let's explore this further...

HAPPINESS
Happiness is an emotion that is derived from things that are pleasant to us. When people remember you on your birthday it makes you happy (or maybe it doesn't...I guess that would depend on your view of aging). When people tell you you've done a good job on a project or an endeavor, it makes you happy. But the problem with happiness, is that it is always (ALWAYS) dependent on external circumstances. It depends on what people say or do to you or for you. It depends on your mood, other people's moods, etc. Basically, it is out of your control.

JOY
Joy, on the other hand, is that which is present no matter what. It is a constant, something that we either choose to be or not be. Joy is not defined in the circumstances of our lives, but rather in the state of our hearts. Paul was joyful, even in the midst of a prison cell, or house arrest. It wasn't a pleasant place to be and I'm sure at times he wasn't happy. But he knew how to be joyful even in the midst of such circumstances.

Do we? Do we know how to be joyful people even when we are crying because a good friend passed away? Do we know how to be joyful people even when we have just lost our job? Do we know how to be joyful people even though we've been gossiped about, lied to, cheated on, or betrayed? No matter the circumstances, Christ followers are to be people of joy. I hope that I exude joy, even when I feel tired and irritable. I hope that you can, too!

We'll see you on Sunday!

Seeing God for Who He Is--Republished from 2016

Our second challenge on Sunday centered around the way that we see God...our view of Him. Now I would venture to guess that no one reading this blog would say that they have actually seen God. We may have seen the results of His presence, or the work of God in the life of someone we know or even our own life, but we haven't seen God in the way that Isaiah did in Isaiah chapter 6.

Read Isaiah 6:1-8.

Now notice some things here about Isaiah's interaction with God.

1--He truly saw God. No filters, no veils, no nothing. He says in verse 1, "I saw the Lord..." and then he explains what all he saw as he was looking at the Lord. So many times when we come to the Scriptures (which is where we truly see God), we come with a set of filters that taint our vision of Him. We come with preconceived notions that come from our past experiences, our upbringing, or our theological bent. But God wants us to look at Him without these filters, and just see Him for Who He is. We need to truly see God...no filters, no bias...and let that change us.

2--When Isaiah saw God for Who He was, he saw himself for who he was. Notice his response to seeing all of this in verse 5: "Woe to me! I am ruined!" A loose paraphrase might be, "Oh no! I'm going to die!" Why? "I am a man of unclean lips (or a sinner) and I live among a people of unclean lips (or sinners), and my eyes have seen the...Lord Almighty!"

When we see God for Who He truly is, then we realize just how much of a sinner we truly are. When God's reality becomes reality to us, our sinfulness becomes that much more apparent. There is nothing more hideous than seeing something you thought was clean held up next to something that really is clean. You thought it was looking good, but then you see that it wasn't all that good at all.

Isaiah identified his lips as unclean. Why was that? Because he was a preacher, and had been preaching for quite a while before this particular event took place. He was struck by the purity of God and that his own words were not as pure as God's words. This caused him to think that God would strike him down because of it.

But God's mercy triumphed over judgement and he sent the angel to purify Isaiah's lips. A burning hot coal on the mouth would have been painful. But that leads to the next thing I want you to think about...

3--When we see ourselves for who we are, it brings pain. God had to purge Isaiah from his sin and so when it happened, He brought pain upon him. Friends, our sin should bring us pain. Maybe not physical pain as in having a burning hot coal touch the part of your body that is sinful, but the pain of knowing that we have offended a righteous, holy, sovereign God. If our repentance and confession doesn't bring a modicum of pain, are we truly repentant? Pain is not always a bad thing.

When I was in college I tried my hand for about a week at weightlifting. Needless to say, I didn't stick with it. But one of the things that I remember my trainer telling me was this..."Pain is just weakness leaving the body!" I never forgot that. And this applies to the Christian life as well. When we experience pain...the pain of repentance, the pain of loss, the pain of being unjustly accused and persecuted...weakness leaves us. Spiritual weakness becomes a thing of the past. We become Spiritual Body Builders that can face the toughest of challenges in the strength that we have been given from the Lord. And we remember that it is not our strength, but God's!

4--Only after his sin was purged was Isaiah ready to do the work that God had called him to do. Friend, what is it in your life that the coal needs to touch? Perhaps it is your mind harboring lust, greed, envy or bitterness. Perhaps it is your hand that reaches out to steal, hurt or hide those things that are unworthy of the follower of Christ. Perhaps it is your lips that speak gossip, slander or lies. Perhaps it is your feet that take you to places you should not be. Whatever the case is, ask God to show you Who He is so that you will have the courage to tell Him where your sin is the ripest. Then He will purge your sin...painful as it may be...and then He will call to you.

Then be ready to say with Isaiah..."Here am I! Send me!"

Feel free to comment below or ask a question. And we hope to see you on Sunday!

Mouth Issues--Part 2--Republished from 2016

Another way that our mouth gets us into trouble is through boasting. We've done it, haven't we? We have all made a statement with absolute certainty that what we have said is the truth! We say things like, "The Pirates will win the division!" or "Bob Dole for President!" or "That's the ugliest doll in the world. Who's gonna buy a Cabbage Patch Kid?" And then we find out that what we said was absolutely wrong. It tough when, as the saying goes, "our mouths are writing checks that our bodies can't cash." But we've all been there at one point or another.

When our mouths begin to boast it is most likely due to a sin of pride. Pride in what we know, what we have or what we do. It can lead us to do things that are outrageous and sometimes just plain stupid.

Jesus gives us an example of a man who boasted in the things he owned. He was a very rich farmer, and one year his crops brought in so much produce, he didn't have room for it all. So instead of giving it away and feeding the poor with it, he decided that he would build bigger and better barns to store all of his goods in. But as Jesus goes on in the story, he calls this man a fool. Why? Because that very night, God came and took him out of this life.

We need to keep a tight reign on our mouths when it comes to boasting. I know a time in my own life when I felt like a fool. I was watching a football game with a friend of mine who happened to be a Ravens fan. The Ravens were playing the Steelers in a Monday Night Football match-up. The Steelers were up by two touchdowns with just over two minutes to go. I was going on and on to my friend about how sorry the Ravens were and how they were going to go down this year. But when the Ravens got the ensuing kickoff, they marched right down and scored in 46 seconds. They then tried an on-sides kickoff which they recovered. They then marched right down the field again and scored another touchdown with 5 seconds left on the clock. They'd tied it up. I was feeling brought a bit low, to be sure. I was so certain, that I didn't even think that about any other option.

God wants us to be careful that our words don't cause us to have to eat them later on. So when you speak, make sure your words are sweet, for in due time, you may have to eat them.

Share a time that you had to "eat your words" by sending me an email or commenting below. God bless you today and we will see you on Sunday!

Celebration--Republished from Thanksgiving, 2016

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

Here are a couple of great old Thanksgiving Hymns for you to enjoy this day of Thanks!

Mouth Issues--Republished from 2016

This week we return to talk about the tongue. James, for all of his concern about how we live our lives in this world, speaks an awful lot about keeping track of the things that come out of our mouths. In chapter one, he speaks to us about the fact that our tongues can disqualify our religion. This is because we need to avoid hypocrisy...the leading killer of testimonies in the world. In chapter three, James picks up on this and really fleshes it out for us. He tells us that the tongue (or our mouths) can get us into so much trouble because we say we love God, and then we turn around and say we hate our brothers and sisters in Christ. This is not what should be going on in the life of the true believer.

Now James gives us some direct examples of the kinds of sins that we might expect from our mouths. Namely slander, judgment and presumption. All three of these are issues of the mouth that need to be addressed if we are going to be holy lights in an unholy world. But to keep from giving away my entire sermon for the week, I'd like to take us to a couple of the issues of the mouth that are not addressed in this passage in James.

Let's talk about gossip today. No, I don't have a juicy story about someone for you to pass on, because this is exactly the kind of issue that God wants us to avoid. Gossip tends to hurt the person who is being talked about. And it can also be cleverly disguised, especially by Christians.

"Hey, I want to share a prayer request about so-and-so." That's probably the most used in the church...perhaps you've even used that one yourself. It sounds so spiritual, doesn't it? But it's really gossip cloaked in a false veneer of piety. What should be your answer when someone says this? Here's my usual response: "Did they share this request with you personally?" If the answer is anything but yes, I walk away. And I also make sure to let the person know prior to their "sharing" that I will be contacting so-and-so to let them know that I am praying about this thing. That usually stops it in its tracks.

Another way we gossip is simply by talking about someone else's problems. If someone hasn't given you permission to talk about their problems with someone else, then it is gossip. So just don't do it.

Yes, our mouth can get us in a lot of trouble, and we can even candy-coat our sin to make it more "easy to take." But it is not good for us, for the church, or for the people we talk about. So let's make a commitment today to not gossip.

Share with me ways that you try to stop gossip before it starts. Comment below if you can, or shoot me an email at jim.augustine1970@hotmail.com and we'll talk. And we'll see you on Sunday!

An Apology and an Announcement

Since the last time this blog posted, three weeks have gone by. For the lapse in anything new, I want to sincerely apologize. The fact of the matter is that my life and ministry over the past three weeks bears a striking resemblance to Six Flags or Cedar Point (let the reader understand…or Google it). Suffice it to say that Ian still trying to get back to “normal” and write something new.

That being said, I invite you to enjoy these past blog posts for the next few weeks as we try to get back on track. These will start tomorrow and continue for at least two if not three weeks. I mad once again sorry for the lack of anything new, but God knows and I am trusting in Him. Until then, thank you for your love and for following our blog.

Think about that today, and God bless you!

Celebration-Week 16

This week, we celebrate the risen Lord with two songs. Comment below if you know who these folks are who are singing these songs (try not to look at the captions...lol.

Hope for Life

Yesterday, we talked about Biblical hope and how it is defined not as wishful thinking, but confident knowledge of guaranteed future events. I want to talk more about this hope because I want you to see that this very hope that we are talking about is hope that lasts.

In the Bible, hope is something that comes only when the Lord is at work. Hope came to Israel when they were in the wilderness when the cloud by day and the fire by night (both physical representations of the presence of the Lord with them) continued to lead them. Hope came to Israel again when their Messiah, Jesus Christ, came. Our hope is found in the fact that the grave is empty…Christ rose from the dead, and because of this, we no longer need to fear the grave, or death, or hell, or Satan, or anything else that seeks to dismay us.

God’s purposes for us include hope…guaranteed future blessings…that will help us to face even the most of uncertain times.

I remember when I had lost my job. The circumstances surrounding it were sketchy, but one of the things that I always knew is that God would honor my decision to do the right thing. And He did. I never lost hope, even when it seemed as if no one would give me a call back or another look. I was struggling at times when God made me wait, but the beautiful thing about it was that the waiting actually helped me to remember my hope.

So what are you dealing with today that is causing you to lose your hope? Remember that God has given you all the hope you need today because of what Jesus did on the cross, and in the power that God used to raise Jesus from the dead!

Think about that today, and God bless you!

Comment below about a time that you found hope in the midst of horrible circumstances!

He is Risen, Indeed!

Yesterday we celebrated the fact that Jesus Christ, God in flesh, died for our sins and then rose again from the grave (just writing those words gives me goose-bumps)! He is alive and well, and He’s coming soon for us!

But the cool thing about this whole deal is that because Jesus rose again, we now have hope that allows to no longer fear death. It has been said that human beings are the only creatures with an innate understanding that they are going to die. And for most people that fear of death is what drives them to do all kinds of things.

I heard of a guy who was so afraid of dying or of one of his family dying that he did everything in his power to keep them safe. He put up nine foot fences around his home, had the latest in home security, bought guard dogs to patrol the grounds, had his house monitored, put in an air-purification system in the whole house, filtered his tap water, and any other safety feature he could think of...he did it. He felt that his family was safe.

But one day as he was pulling out of the driveway to go to work, he didn’t notice his small boy had run out behind his car to get a ball that had gotten away. He ran over his son, and killed him.

We can do all we want to feel safe, but the fact of the matter is that we all know that one day we are going to die. There is nothing we can do to stop it, and there is nothing that will keep that day from coming upon us eventually.

But there is something that happened nearly 2000 years ago that does give us hope. Not hope in the classic definition of “hope” (which is a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen), but a guarantee that this life is not all there is…that, like Jesus, we will rise again!

When Jesus rose from the dead, He did so by the power of God within Him that even the death of His earthly body couldn’t stop. And we are told that the same power that raised Christ from the dead lives in us through the Holy Spirit. Now, follow me on this: if the power that raised Christ from the dead is in us, why in the world should we be afraid of dying? Death isn’t the end. Even if this body made of dirt and dust should cease to function, there is something far more powerful at work in us…it’s the power that raised Christ from the dead…and it will raise our bodies at the proper time and we will be changed.

Changed? Yes. We will be changed. Look at what Paul said:

Philippians 3:21—“He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control.” (NLT)

God’s power at work in us to give us a new body. He is risen, indeed! And we, too, will be risen when we go to be with Him in glory! I hope you know that power today. I hope you have the hope (guarantee) that this life is not all that there is. I hope that you will be so enraptured with Jesus that there isn’t a moment of your life that goes by that you don’t thank Him for what He has done.

Think about that today, and God bless you!

Comment below about how you came to know Christ and the hope that is in you! How have you felt His power changing you even now!?

Taxes

Romans 13:1-7 (NLT)

“Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God. So anyone who rebels against authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and they will be punished. For the authorities do not strike fear in people who are doing right, but in those who are doing wrong. Would you like to live without fear of the authorities? Do what is right, and they will honor you. The authorities are God’s servants, sent for your good. But if you are doing wrong, of course you should be afraid, for they have the power to punish you. They are God’s servants, sent for the very purpose of punishing those who do what is wrong. So you must submit to them, not only to avoid punishment, but also to keep a clear conscience.

                      

“Pay your taxes, too, for these same reasons. For government workers need to be paid. They are serving God in what they do. Give to everyone what you owe them: Pay your taxes and government fees to those who collect them, and give respect and honor to those who are in authority.”

So with Tax Day fast approaching, we need talk about this last paragraph in Romans 13:1-7. Paul says that we honor the government set up by God when we pay our taxes. We should give them because it is the right thing to do. We should pay our taxes because as God also tells us in verse 8, we should not owe anything to anyone. So we must pay the taxes so that our governments can function.

So in these days of struggle and confusion, make sure that you are making the right decisions when it comes to following God. God’s work for you may be to stand up and become a part of the system to effect change. Some of us may just stand up and speak our minds. But all of us need to treat those in authority with respect and honor. Let’s do that this weekend, and for the rest of our lives.

Think about that today, and God bless you.

Comment below on ways that we might be able to show honor to the authorities that God has placed in our lives.

Conscience

Romans 13:1-7 (NLT)

“Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God. So anyone who rebels against authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and they will be punished. For the authorities do not strike fear in people who are doing right, but in those who are doing wrong. Would you like to live without fear of the authorities? Do what is right, and they will honor you. The authorities are God’s servants, sent for your good. But if you are doing wrong, of course you should be afraid, for they have the power to punish you. They are God’s servants, sent for the very purpose of punishing those who do what is wrong. So you must submit to them, not only to avoid punishment, but also to keep a clear conscience.

“Pay your taxes, too, for these same reasons. For government workers need to be paid. They are serving God in what they do. Give to everyone what you owe them: Pay your taxes and government fees to those who collect them, and give respect and honor to those who are in authority.”

                                  

Why is it so necessary to honor our authorities? It is necessary because we are called by God honor the human authority that He has put in place. It’s a question of God’s sovereignty. If we truly believe that God is sovereign, then we realize that nothing that happens, no one who is elected, is not first approved by God. Now it doesn’t mean that all those in authority are godly people. We don’t have to look too far to know that this is the case. But if we believe in God’s sovereignty, then we must also believe that He has placed in those positions, those who are in authority over us.

With that said, we must honor them, not only to avoid being punished, but to keep our consciences clear. If we stand up for what is right, and we are punished for it, so be it…our conscience is clear when we honor authority.

A great example of this is in the third chapter of Daniel where the three Hebrew children, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah (better known to us by their Babylonian names, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego) were summoned before King Nebuchadnezzar when they refused to bow down to the king’s image of gold. Their first allegiance was to God, and they would not disobey Him by bowing before an idol. But when they were brought before the king, they were respectful of him. They didn’t defy him with threats, but they did tell him that their God was greater, and even if their lives were forfeit, they would still honor God over him.

We must respond like they did, and be willing to accept any consequences that may come our way for stating our position. We may lose friends or position or reputation, but we must always do what is right for the sake of our conscience.

So think about that today, and God bless you!

Comment on what you feel it is “out of bounds” for the government to ask of the citizenry, and what you would do if it came down to it.

Celebration—Week 15

Since we are talking about government this week, I thought it best to remind ourselves about this great nation we live in. Listen to these two great hymns that speak to who we are as a nation.

The first is our National Anthem (don’t forget to stand), and some of the verses that we don’t sing that shed light on what F. Scott Key had in mind as he wrote the poem.

The second is America the Beautiful, that speaks about this great land we live in and all that God has done to help us be the people we are called to be.

Think about that today, and God bless you!

Government’s Purpose

Romans 13:1-7 (NLT)

“Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God. So anyone who rebels against authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and they will be punished. For the authorities do not strike fear in people who are doing right, but in those who are doing wrong. Would you like to live without fear of the authorities? Do what is right, and they will honor you. The authorities are God’s servants, sent for your good. But if you are doing wrong, of course you should be afraid, for they have the power to punish you. They are God’s servants, sent for the very purpose of punishing those who do what is wrong. So you must submit to them, not only to avoid punishment, but also to keep a clear conscience.

“Pay your taxes, too, for these same reasons. For government workers need to be paid. They are serving God in what they do. Give to everyone what you owe them: Pay your taxes and government fees to those who collect them, and give respect and honor to those who are in authority.”

Sometimes on this blog, I will send you to another site to read a story, blog post, listen to a sermon or something of that kind. I want to do that today, because I think Chip Ingram gave a wonderful message on the Christian’s response to government. This was broadcast during the elections last year, so some of the content is specific to that. But his insights on the government’s purpose to the people and the Christian’s purpose are quite eye-opening. Please take the time to listen to this today.

Part 1 & Part 2 

Think about that today, and God bless you!

Honoring Authority

This week, I thought it might be good for us to look at some of the things that the Bible has to say about honoring our authorities. With Tax Day looming on the horizon, some of us may have a hard time looking at our government with the respect that we ought, so let’s see what God has to say about government, and what it means to us who follow Christ.

The first thing I want us to see is that God ordains the governments that are in existence.

Romans 13:1-7 (NLT)

“Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God. So anyone who rebels against authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and they will be punished. For the authorities do not strike fear in people who are doing right, but in those who are doing wrong. Would you like to live without fear of the authorities? Do what is right, and they will honor you. The authorities are God’s servants, sent for your good. But if you are doing wrong, of course you should be afraid, for they have the power to punish you. They are God’s servants, sent for the very purpose of punishing those who do what is wrong. So you must submit to them, not only to avoid punishment, but also to keep a clear conscience.

“Pay your taxes, too, for these same reasons. For government workers need to be paid. They are serving God in what they do. Give to everyone what you owe them: Pay your taxes and government fees to those who collect them, and give respect and honor to those who are in authority.”

There is quite a lot to unpack here, so let’s just jump right in. The first thing that we see here is that God is the one who puts people into places of authority. He is the one who gives us our Mayors, our Aldermen, our President, our Congressmen. While we may not see eye-to-eye with all of these people, it is true that God is the one who has placed them in their positions of authority and as such, they must be respected.

Now that doesn’t mean that we just accept what they say and do as gospel and do not stand up when we see them acting in ways that are contrary to the good of the people. These people are just human beings who are fallible and make mistakes. But we must always “disagree” in a way that is “agreeable”…meaning with respect for the position that they are in.

We must also do the right things to keep from being afraid from those in authority. Some would say that if the authority is corrupt, it deserves to be disobeyed. But I also believe that most governments (at least those in America) are not corrupt to the point of wanting to see people persecuted for no reason. I do believe that a time is coming in America when those of us who are Christ-followers might see that kind of persecution, but if and when that comes, then we’ll talk more.

But for now, we must submit to authority. We must do what they ask and not rebel. We must respectfully disagree when the opportunity arises, and we must always respect the opinions of others who may disagree with us. All of this will help make us better citizens.

More on this tomorrow, but for now, think about these things, and God bless you!

Comment below on ways that you feel you can be respectful of the government even when they make poor decisions.

Forgiveness

Proverbs 14:9—Fools make fun of guilt, but the godly acknowledge it and seek reconciliation.

             

Those whom the Bible would call “fools” are people who say things like, “It’s just a little white lie…it’s no big deal,” or “There’s no harm in looking (at another woman/man),” or “I can watch/read/listen to this…it won’t affect me at all!” This verse tells us that the fool makes light of sin. They don’t see it as a big deal.

We live in a culture that does this all the time. No, scratch that…we are a people who do this all the time. It’s not the culture, it’s us. WE are the ones who wink at sin. WE are the ones who find it to be no big deal. WE are the ones who take every opportunity to call everyone else out but ourselves. And in time, we’ll pay for that.

But those who are godly, those who are true Christ-followers, they recognize their sin for what it is. They are willing to confess their sin before God AND those around them. They seek out reconciliation (that means making it right with the one you’ve offended). The end of those people’s situation is restoration of their relationships with both God and those they’ve offended.

I think sometimes we think that if we just cover it up, it won’t be a big deal. But as the song we looked at on Wednesday told us, when we’re Honest there is a much deeper level to be reached in our relationship with God and with those around us.

Comment below about a time that you screwed up and sought true forgiveness and had a relationship restored.

Think about that today, and God bless you!

Words

Proverbs 10:14—Wise people treasure knowledge, but the babbling of a fool invites trouble.

How many times have you seen it? Someone starts talking about things that they have no knowledge about, and it invariably gets them into trouble. About 85% of all situation comedies have always been about someone claiming something that they know about, only to find out later, they were just trying to impress someone, and it got them into all sorts of trouble.

Well, long before the sit-com came God’s Word, and spoke the exact same truth. Far too often we get ourselves into so much trouble because we lie about what we know, or about what we can do, and then we’re called out, and we have to show our cards…and then we have to tell the truth.

This proverb tells us that we ought to treasure the knowledge that we have and not try to impress others by talking about things we have no real knowledge of.

So, while you’re going about your day today, why not try to speak only of that which you know. You might look more impressive that way, and you might learn something from all the listening you’ll do!

Comment below about a time when you boasted about knowing something or someone that you didn’t really know. And then tell us how it turned out.

Think about that today, and God bless you!

Celebration Week 14

Today we celebrate relationships, and not being fools. First up is Francesca Battistelli’s song Honest.

Up next is an old hymn entitled Praise My Soul, the King of Heaven!

Enjoy!

Think about that today and God bless you!

Discipline

Proverbs 1:7—Fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. Only fools despise wisdom and discipline.

The fool…the one with no sense…the one that always seems to be doing the wrong thing. Why? Because they lack the ability to embrace wisdom and discipline.

Now this isn’t the kind of discipline that comes to us when we do the wrong thing, but rather, the training that helps us to do the right thing.

Here’s the issue folks: we are bent to do the wrong thing. Most of us, when faced with a situation that calls for a moral judgement, will always choose the option that best benefits us…regardless of whether the decision is right or wrong. For instance, when a child is faced with the option to take a cookie from the plate when no one is looking, they will more often than not choose to satisfy their own desires.

I remember a funny video that demonstrated this very thing. Kids were offered a marshmallow, and if they refused to eat it for about ten minutes or so, they were then given two marshmallows. The different kids all had a different response to the choice before them, but many of them just chose to eat the yummy treat now rather than wait for more later.

So here is the issue that we face. Those who are foolish tend to not want to go through discipline. They don’t want to put in the work to become better people. They’d rather just be who they are, and forget about the circumstances. In fact, the work to become better is just too hard for them to comprehend, and therefore, they despise it.

But you and I, Christ-follower, should always decide to take the time to be disciplined. In fact, as I write this today, I want to share with you that I, too, have been foolish in this area…opting to try and follow Christ on the “fast-track” and not put the time in that I need to. As a result, I have felt empty, distant and disconnected from Christ. But I am choosing to embrace discipline. I want to honor God with my life, my time, and the decisions I make.

How about you? Will you embrace discipline? If you will, you will be wise, and no fool.

Comment below about ways that you practice spiritual discipline.

Think about that today and God bless you!

Atheists’ Day

The story is told (and I must admit, that I do not know if it is true) of a man who was an atheist. He hated God, and everything there is to do with Him. He so desired to ridicule God that filed a protest with the powers that be to either disband all holidays relating to God (Christmas, Easter, Good Friday and the like) or begin a national holiday celebrating atheism. His crusade took him all the way to a high court in his state, and there he met a judge who really knew his Scripture.

When the atheist had presented his case before the judge, the judge looked at him straight in the face and said, “You make a very compelling argument, sir. But aren’t you forgetting that atheists already have a holiday?”

The atheist was taken aback by the statement, and puzzled, could only manage to say, “We do?”

Smiling the judge said, “Yes. April 1^st. For the Bible says very clearly in Psalms 14 verse 1 that ‘The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God!”’ So, sir, you already have April Fools’ Day to celebrate your atheism. Next case!”

Now I relate that story not to get the dander up of any and all atheists, but simply to introduce this week’s topic. Far too many times, we act like fools. We may not be like the fool in Psalm 14, boldly proclaiming that there is no God. But we may act like fools in other ways. This week, we’ll look at the book of Proverbs and see what Solomon and the other authors of that book had to say about those who are foolish, and hopefully be able to avoid some of the traps that lie ahead of us this week.

So please keep reading this week as we begin our new format. We will be introducing a topic on Monday, and then on Tuesday through Friday, we will be looking at it in more detail. So thanks for reading.

Leave a comment below on how you may have “pranked” someone on April 1^st!

Think about that today, and God bless you!