Following The Son

“ But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.” II Corinthians 4:7 I heard a great message that I jotted down this past year about this verse above. I don’t recall who shared it, but just want to note that I’m springing off of someone else’s thoughts. I found this both challenging and encouraging. In Paul’s day vessels carried 3 things: Trash Vessels were used to transport trash. Garbage had to be transported out of town. Had you and I lived in the first century we would have a clay vessel used for our trash just as we have wastebaskets in our homes today. Trinkets Clay vessels were also used to store things. Perhaps you have a drawer in your kitchen or desk that is filled with all sorts of random items. Commonly referred to as the “junk drawer.” Had we lived 2,000 years ago we would have had a junk jar. Treasure Finally, you would keep your treasures, or your valuables, in an earthen vessel

Nigel Richards of New Zealand is an excellent Scrabble player. He’s so good he enters tournaments and competes with the best of the best. He recently won the French-language Scrabble tournament in Louvain, Belgium. That’s a rather impressive win in any language, but there’s something unique about Nigel’s win. He doesn’t speak a word of French. What Nigel is really good at is memorization. So good he has also won Scrabble tournaments in other languages. How does he do it? He memorizes Scrabble dictionaries. He’s able to then recall thousands of French words, accurately spelled, but unable to use them in a sentence or give you their definitions. Impressive? I suppose. But reality is, Nigel has a head filled with words that are of no value to him outside of a Scrabble game. That’s not what the French language is for. What good is being able to speak words that have no meaning? Biblical language never had this intended purpose either. Memorizing Bible verses can be fitting

She was 95 and had been bedridden for some time. Four years ago I was sitting with my grandmother talking about life. She’s with Jesus now, and greatly missed. She laid there in her bed, and I sat in the chair next to her. That’s when she said it. “I’ve learned you just have to be satisfied with what you have.” I quickly grabbed a pen and wrote it down. Her words could have been lifted from the page of Paul’s epistle to the believers in Philippi. “ I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:11-13 Philippians 4:13 is one of the most misused passages of Scripture. We use the well known, “I can do all things,” verse to refer to everythi

This morning I had the privilege of being a part of the mortgage burning celebration at Springville Assembly of God in Springville, NY. It’s a great church with an 80 year history of impacting its’ community and the world. Pastor Stan and Dawn Handzlik have faithfully served the church and community since 1985. The following is just a brief summary of the message I gave today to encourage and challenge the congregation. It’s a word that applies to all of our local churches as well. The church isn’t about bricks and mortar, or wood and nails. But God uses buildings and works in them for his glory. The Church needs to be a place that sends. Paul writes to the Romans that he hopes to stop by on his way to Spain. I love to travel so everything about, “stop by Rome on the way to Spain,” sounds amazing to me. But Paul isn’t on vacation. Paul is going to Spain to fulfill the great commission. He’s taking the gospel to the end of the earth. Paul isn’t going to Spain to sip es

“I only have one seat.” I’ve heard it before. I heard it today. We’re headed to Springville, NY to join a great church for a celebration tomorrow. My wife and I are traveling together from San Antonio, TX and our flight had a connection in Philadelphia. We fly on standby since our son is a pilot for the airline. It’s an enormous benefit, but occasionally we encounter what happened this afternoon. We get separated. Usually if this was to happen I send Sarai on ahead of me, but on this trip I took the earlier flight since I’m preaching tomorrow. She should catch up, but this was a “just in case,” decision.  So I boarded the plane, and took the only available seat. Unfortunately this was in first class. Hey, it happens, and sometimes you just have to take one for the team. As I sat there in my spacious seat with plenty of leg room, and my coffee in a ceramic cup eating my complimentary Brookshire dark chocolate snacks a Bible verse came to mind. “ They are no longer t

Stephen Bradbury was an unlikely medal winner in the 1992 Winter Olympics.  He advanced through every round only because other speed skaters either fell or were disqualified.  In his final race, over 50 yards behind the leaders, every skater collided and fell and he coasted across the finish line to win Australia's first ever Winter Olympic gold medal. It was truly a case of "the last shall be first." It wasn't that Bradbury hadn't worked hard to get there. He had trained for years, and training accidents had nearly cost him his life on two occasions. Years of hard work and determination had finally paid off, and yet even he knew that he wasn't really the best. (Look him up on YouTube. You’ll be glad you did). Sometimes we may look around at others at church or in ministry and think, no matter how hard I try I can't be like them. The good news is you don't have to be. You just have to stay focused on who God has called you to be, and in th

Jairus’ 12 year old daughter was sick. Really sick. In fact, it looked like she wasn’t going to make it. Every parent knows what it’s like to have a sick child. It’s always difficult, but if it’s serious it’s really difficult. I can’t relate, but I do remember praying as my 5 year old son was being examined in the emergency room in the middle of the night. Thankfully a treatable infection was discovered as the cause of the blood he was passing, but those were scary moments. Jairus came to get Jesus. Sounds like a good idea, but don’t miss this dynamic. Jairus is the ruler of the synagogue. If you follow the life of Jesus you know that he and the religious leaders didn’t exactly hit it off. But we still find this encounter. “ He (Jairus) pleaded earnestly with him, ‘My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live’.” Mark 5:23 This is the perfect time for Jesus to say something like, “Well, I guess you should have th

The headlines read like this: “ The Winter Olympics Feature 2,951 Of The World’s Greatest Athletes, And Also This Woman” “Elizabeth Swaney: The Olympic halfpipe athlete who doesn’t do tricks” “The Story Behind The Least Impressive Performance Of The Winter Olympics” If you haven’t heard of her yet, you probably will. Elizabeth Swaney competed for Hungary in the Winter Olympics in the freeski halfpipe today. Turns out she’s not from Hungary. She’s from California. Turns out she can’t do any tricks, but competed in an event where you are judged on tricks. Elizabeth beat the system.  She traveled around the world for the past two years and competed in enough events to qualify. But once you get to the Olympics you have to place among the top 30 athletes to compete. She came in 34th. However each country can only send 4 athletes to the event. Countries like the U.S. had 6 women qualify, but 2 can’t compete. When the numbers were in, Elizabeth was in the top 30. The

"You're in for a great show!" These were the words or our host last July 4th. We were invited over someone's home in NJ whom we had never met before. The home was beautiful and right on a lake. The weather couldn't have been better. The food was delicious. We were having a great time, and it was all leading up to a grand display of fireworks. The owner of the home told stories of how incredible previous shows had been. He told us of how they were going to bring boats right out onto the lake, and as darkness settled in we all got ready. We set up camping and lawn chairs, sat around on the dock, and laid in the grass. Then we waited...and waited...and waited. They never came. Hey, it happens. Sometimes things don't go as planned, sometimes things don't work out like we thought they would, sometimes life can throw some real curve balls our way. It isn't always in something so simple either. It happens in every area of life. The Psalmi

There’s a lot of choreography that goes on in the Olympics. Years can go into planning a routine. The music in the background is often an orchestra led by a masterful conductor. Countless hours are poured into insuring it all comes together. Nothing is left to chance. “ In their hearts humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps.” Proverbs 16:9 For the child of God our lives are in no way simply left to chance. A divine choreographer is at work. A supernatural conductor is orchestrating the events of our lives into a symphony. The good, the bad, the easy, the difficult are blended together. “ And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28 If God can get a slave boy audience with Pharaoh by having baby Moses rescued from a river basket; If God can get Joseph from slavery to Prime Minister by having him falsely accused; If God can get a Moabite woman i

There's no shortage of controversy surrounding the movie series, 50 Shades of Grey. The latest edition was released to theaters this past weekend. The controversy is with good reason. Although many movies and tv shows are ungodly these are movies so vile that the entire country of Malaysia outlawed the original, England rated it NC17, and many theater owners refused to give it screen time in America. Yet the newest version was the leader at the box office on its’ opening weekend. This past year the #metoo movement prompted civic groups to threaten boycotts and sponsorships to be pulled over sexual exploitation and abuse. Yet, many of these same groups and corporations have remained strangely silent about the release of a movie series that objectifies women in such a vile way. There is nothing grey about abuse, exploitation, prostitution, or any other sexual sin. This is all black and white...crystal clear.  I’m never surprised when unbelievers act like unbelievers. The

We will hear a lot about love today. It’s a tricky word in English. I can say I love tacos, love bowling, love traveling, and love my wife. Every use of the word means something completely different. I’ll save my thoughts on my love for tacos for International Taco Day (Thursday, October 4th this year). Let me share a few quick thoughts on our love for our spouses. Love is Spoken “ A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart,...For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.” Luke 6:45 Telling people we love them is so important. This is especially true with those most dear to us, and our spouses top this list. Sarai and I have been married for over 28 years. Anyone who has been married for many years has experienced some ups and downs along the way. Thankfully we’ve had far more ups than downs, but even in the down seasons we always tell each other we love each other. I never leave the house without kissing my wife and telling her I love he

Tomorrow is Valentine's Day. One year I gave Sarai the same box of candy I had given her the previous year. Not literally. But somehow I went to Walgreens and walked out with the same box I had purchased the previous year. One Christmas I gave Sarai the same necklace I had given her the year before. Not literally. But somehow I went to the jewelry store and picked out the exact same necklace I had the previous year. Truth is I'm nothing like the romantic men you see on TV, or in movies. I wait to the last minute, buy gifts that get returned, and don't remember half of what my wife assures me she's told me. Sometimes I forget to put the seat down, or for that matter, even flush. Yikes! Although those things are true I’m not going to quit trying to improve as a husband. Fortunately for me, “ Love is patient. Love is kind.” I Corinthians 13:4 That’s good news because I know Sarai loves me, and I love her more than I ever knew I could love someo