Saturday, September 3, 2022

September 3, 2022

I got to spend the day with the baby of our family, Ethan. He is such a joy, but all boy! We spent most of the day on the side-by-side, all-terrain vehicle because he loves riding on it. After being outside for a while, we came inside to get a snack and something to drink. He’s only 2, but he knows what he wants. Upon his many trips to the refrigerator, he pointed to a pack of ground beef, so I made him a hamburger and cut it into small chunks. He ate a couple of bites and was ready to go back outside. When we came back in, I noticed that some of the hamburger was missing; Rudy, my dog, climbed onto the table and had eaten all but three pieces! We don’t give Rudy table scraps because he has gastrointestinal issues, but he doesn’t know what’s best for his health because he’s a dog. He will probably be sick all day. 

Sometimes, as humans, we don’t know what’s best for us, even though we can think things through in our minds. Many people do what feels good to them without considering the consequences of their actions. Imagine knowing there is a God and still doing things that displease him. God knew we were stupid like Rudy, so he gave us the blood of Jesus as a healing salve, an ointment to cover the wounds we caused ourselves. Stay in touch with God. Repent daily so your injuries can begin to heal. God is a good Father who will forgive because he loves us dearly. 


and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. Matthew 6:12

Friday, September 2, 2022

September 2, 2022

Richard and his guys are gaining control of the landscape on the property. Trees and hedges are getting cut that has been left unkempt for years. It is exciting to see the beautiful things becoming exposed. There is a multi-car garage his dad built, a pond, and many other features you wouldn’t have a full view of if they hadn’t diligently worked to clean it up. However, while exposing the good things, it also reveals some ugly stuff like a giant box truck, car chassis, motors, auto parts, and so on, that were left outside to rot. It will take some time, but eventually, it will get cleaned up. 

Does this scenario remind you of anything? Everything gets exposed when you accept Jesus, and he takes over your life! When he begins clearing the trees in your mind, your good characteristics start to show, but you can also see that old junky car sitting in the yard with grass growing around it. It’s ugly! And he wants you to get rid of it! Do away with the trash piled in your mind, so Jesus’s characteristics come to the forefront. Set your mind on the things above and haul away the unnecessary debris.


Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. Colossians 3:2


But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. Colossians 3:8-10

Thursday, September 1, 2022

September 1, 2022

We had an apartment become available late in the afternoon on Monday. We reached out to a couple of people who were interested, but they ultimately declined our offer. Then on Tuesday, a young woman and her mother looked at it and determined they wanted it. We didn’t hear from them on Wednesday morning as expected, and when I reached out, they didn’t respond. Then another woman contacted me, and after seeing it, she also determined that she wanted it. She then left to get the money but didn’t follow through as she told us and failed to respond when we contacted her.

Meanwhile, I had been receiving messages from a young man who was also interested. He came, saw the apartment, made a decision right then and there, and made arrangements to get the funds and sign the lease. Then immediately after accepting him as our new tenant, we hear back from both women, only to crush their spirits. They had missed their opportunity for a new home because they had procrastinated and stopped communicating. One of them sobbed when I told her. 


The time for your decision to follow Jesus is waning. Don’t be like the women in this story; left without a home because of procrastination and indecision. 


Everyone knows John 3:16, but have you ever read the verses that follow? Read the words of Jesus and make a decision today to accept him as your Savior. Then we will welcome you into our family, and you will no longer be left homeless and hopeless.


“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.” John 3:16-21

Wednesday, August 31, 2022

August 31, 2022

We may have only a short time to prepare for tribulation if we have to face it. It doesn’t matter if you believe we are pre-trib, mid-trib, or post-trib; the preparation is the same. Root yourself deep in the Lord. You cannot half-heartedly believe and get through any tribulation without being firmly rooted in Jesus. Here’s what Jesus says:

yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away. Matthew 13:21

If you’ve been a little wishy-washy, with one foot in the world and one foot in heaven, now would be the time to shore up your belief, leave your worldly desires behind, and go full bore into seeking Jesus. 

We must stay ready!

Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. Matthew 24:42

Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. Matthew 24:44

Run hard after the Lord and start now.

Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:12-13

But from there you will seek the LORD your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul. When you are in tribulation, and all these things come upon you in the latter days, you will return to the LORD your God and obey his voice. Deuteronomy 4:29-30

Tuesday, August 30, 2022

August 30, 2022

Sound the alarm! 

“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Matthew 3:2


Brace yourselves; the Shemitah and the Feast of Trumpets, begins September 25th at sundown. Will tribulation start on this day? Is this the day Jesus will gather the wheat? 


His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” Matthew 3:12


It is better to be safe than sorry. Time is very short. Don’t be shy about telling your unsaved friends and family about Jesus. Encourage them to proclaim him as Savior before it’s too late. 


What will be exciting for us will be devastating for the unsaved. Be bold! Start today. 


If nothing happens, you will still have the opportunity to share Jesus with those you missed, but if it does, those you told that accepted him as Savior will be safe and will enter the kingdom of heaven with you.

Monday, August 29, 2022

August 29, 2022

Rudy, my dog that shivers and shakes when we get in the car, loves to ride on the side-by-side. Both of my dogs love it. I take them for a ride every morning; I want them to enjoy their lives as we do. They put their noses in the air to capture the breeze as we make our way down the driveway. Needless to say, we have all enjoyed our move back to the country. They love being able to run free without a leash, and I love that I don’t have to worry about them getting hit by a car, being we are far from the main road. The Lord wants you to feel that kind of freedom. Whether our nation remains free or not, no one can capture your soul as long as you have Jesus as your Savior. He died on the cross to release you from the chains that bind you and rose again so you can live free from your burdens. If you are a Christ-follower and are still living with the pain from your past, or living with the weight of sin, ask Jesus to help you release it to him. He wants you to inhale the breath of God like a fresh breeze and become unleashed to roam the countryside of your mind in complete freedom.  

Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. John 8:34-36

Sunday, August 28, 2022

August 28, 2022

We are still filtering through all the stuff my father-in-law had collected for years. I expect it will take us some time to sort it all out. I was looking for a small bistro table for extra seating and decided to check in the warehouse where we stored his collection. Not only did I find a cute little table, but I also found some unique items that might make beautiful decor. He definitely had a good eye for design, but I’m still trying to figure out the exact direction he was going; slowly but surely, the items reveal his thoughts. He and I have always loved the same things, so I’m not surprised to find beautiful items that I also love. If you approach the Bible by looking for nuggets of information that the Father left for us, you will find that we have much in common with him. He created us, so why wouldn’t the bits of information come to life as we search the scriptures for guidance? God has left us a treasure trove of his living words, but it’s up to us to search them out for the direction we should go. Open the chest today and see what kind of treasures are waiting for you to uncover. 

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Matthew 13:44