Forgive Me Father, For I Have Sinned

I love the story of the Prodigal Son in the Book of Luke.  As with all of Jesus' parables, many lessons can be drawn.  We all know the story, and I am sure we all see the parallel between the earthly father in the story and our real Father in Heaven.  But I don't think this story ever gets old, and most of us find ourselves in the same shoes of the foolish, young son over and over again.  In fact, if we think we don't, we are only deceiving ourselves.  The Bible teaches us that we all sin, all the time. Oh, how many times have we fallen away, just to come back begging for God's mercy?

I love what the father does in the story.  He stops his son's prepared speech in mid-sentence.  His father was so thrilled that his son had come back that he couldn't even wait for him to finish talking before he ordered a celebration.  It gives me tons of comfort to know God is the same way.  We just can not out-sin the forgiving blood of Jesus Christ...Amen!  So, no matter what we have done and no matter how many times we have done it, God still rushes to embrace us and forgive.  Is there really any Power greater than that?

 Luke 15:22 says, "But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. ²³ Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. ²⁴ For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate."

Father, How incredibly Great You are!  Forgive me of all my trespasses and teach me to also forgive others.  In Jesus name, Amen.

I Don't Belong To This World

Do you remember the singer Phil Collins?  I just read on the news that he has decided to "retire".  According to the article, though, it may not be permanent.  He said he just needs to take a little time off to be a full-time Dad.  He has sold millions of records over the years, so his success as a recording artist speaks for itself.  Now he wants to feel successful as a Dad.  Good for him!  But something he said in the article really caught my attention. He has another reason for retiring.  He said after watching this years' MTV awards, he realizes he doesn't belong to this new musical world.  Being a D.J. for 20-plus years, I agree 100%.  But you don't have to be a D.J. to see how much music has deteriorated.

Jesus taught that we should not feel like we belong to this world.  Instead, we should prepare ourselves for heaven.  That is so hard to do when this world is all that we know.  But as you get older, do you feel more alienated from this world?  When I was a kid, it seemed like everyone was a Christian and went to church.  But today, the media portrays Christians as some radical, not-with-it group.  I am not implying that if you watch MTV or listen to today's music, then you are not a Christian.  In fact, I am probably just venting here.  But there is a lesson to be learned from Collin's interview.  The saying goes "stand for something or you will fall for anything".  Pray that God will help us continue to stand for Him and to not cave-in to the pressures of this world.   

Put God First?

Just the other day, I saw the broadcast of a local church service.  This devotion is not meant in any way to be critical of that church, their pastor, or their members.  The title of the service was "Put God First."  The pastor was a dynamic speaker, more of a motivational kind of speaker than a traditional pastor.  At the end of the service, I was left a little confused.  The next day, the same broadcast came on again, so this time I watched it with "different eyes".  Again, the name of the service was "Put God First".  I counted how many times the pastor used that title or some kind of reference to it.  He either actually said it or allluded to it only 4 times.  But in that same 30-minute broadcast, he "reminded" the congregation that the church sold vitamins for their convenience 7 times.

What does it mean to put God first?  Jesus told the people to seek Heaven first, and then all the others things they desired would be added unto them.  But, as I have to remind myself many times, these two events of putting God first and all other things being added are mutually exclusive events, that is, they are two totally separate things.  We should not be putting God first in order to get the other things we desire.  We should be putting God first because we love Him...period.  We should allow Him, in His infinite wisdom, to add to our lives only the things He deems necessary.  Are we truly putting God first?  God's words through that church broadcast reminded me that many times, I am not.

Deuteronomy 4:29 says, "If you seek the Lord your God, you will find Him if you look for Him with all your heart and with all your soul."

Jesus, please help me to truly put You first in my life and to put everything else third or fourth.  In Jesus name, Amen.  

Where Am I?

I guess just about everybody has a G.P.S these days.  I would be lost without mine.  If you don't have one, you don't know what you are missing.  It is hard to believe that little box can guide you just about anywhere.  Simply type in the address and presto!  One night, I was about out of fuel.  I was traveling on an unfamiliar road and had no idea where I could find a gas station.  But thanks to my G.P.S., it guided me to the closest one.  That saved me.  Bailey starts driving in a year.  I will guarantee she will have one in her car!


God is like a G.P.S.  No matter how lost we get or how far off the beaten path we may go, He can instantly guide us back on track.  We may feel that we are just too lost for Him to find us.  Maybe we feel that we have strayed so far away that He doesn't even want to find us.  No way.  There is no place we can go that he won't come after us.  And don't ever think He doesn't want to.  God specializes in saving us.  If you are a long way from "Home", punch in your address into God's G.P.S.  Trust me, He is there even before you get the address typed in.  Our Lord is amazing.  G.P.S. should stand for God Personally Saves.  Amen!


Chronicles 15:2 says, "The Lord is with you.  If you seek Him, you will find Him."


Father, thank-you for saving me from the beaten path.  Your perfect love is demonstrated each time you come to our rescue.  In Jesus name, Amen,

Eerie Coincidence

Country and rockabilly singer Johnny Horton (North To Alaska) was haunted by premonitions of his own death. To those who were close to him, Johnny had an unusual fear of dying. He was married to Billie Jean, Hank Williams Sr.'s Widow. Williams had died on New Year's Day in 1952. Later that year, Horton and Billie Jean tied the knot. On November 5, 1960, Horton was killed in an auto accident. He had just finished performing at the Skyline Club in Austin, Texas. Incredibly, that was also the last place Hank Williams performed before his tragic death. Both men had kissed Billy Jean at the exact same place and on the exact same cheek before each one's death. Coincidence?


Many people didn't believe Jesus was the messiah that had been prophesied generations earlier in the Old Testament. Many thought he was just an ordinary man, despite the mountains of evidence suggesting otherwise. For whatever reason, people chose to overlook His virgin birth, His performed miracles, His raising people from death, and His power over nature. The Bible documents over 50 prophesies from the Old Testament that Christ fulfilled in the New Testament. A modern statistician decided to calculate the odds of any ordinary man fulfilling just 7 of those prophesies. The probability was staggering! He put it into terms that is easier to understand. He said suppose you take one quarter and paint it red. Then you fill up the state of Texas knee-high with regular quarters. Mix all those quarters together, and then blind-fold a man and tell him to walk into that "state" of quarters as far as he wants and pick one quarter.  The odds of him picking that exact painted quarter would be the same as any one man fulfilling just seven of those prophesies.  Coincidence?  No way!  Jesus is the Christ!
 
Luke 2:11 says, "For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior, which is Christ the Lord."
 
Father, thank-you for the gift of your Son.  Thank you for Jesus.  In Jesus name, Amen.

We Will Miss You, Candi

Our friend, Candi Taylor is gone.  We are sad, confused, angry, hurt, and all the other feelings rolled into one.  I guess the only people who completely understand what goes through a person's mind the split-second that they pull the trigger of their own gun are already gone.  The rest of us are left to speculate and simply ask "why".  I can still remember the numb feeling I received when I was told yesterday morning at school.  She taught at my high school for years, but a couple years ago, she moved down to the middle school.  She leaves an 8th-grade class with students who are also trying to make sense of what has happened.  She also leaves a young son...

God is the only judge.  I remember telling one of our co-workers at the copy machine yesterday.  Obviously it was a shock to her, too.  But she made a comment that really bugged me.  She said, "I wonder what drives a person to commit the unforgivable sin of suicide?  "What could possibly drive them to the point to take their own life and lose their salvation?"  My first thought was in anger, and I wanted to lash out.  I wanted so much to ask her what Bible she reads.  My Bible, the Holy Bible, does NOT state that about suicide.  But, I held my tongue, because again, God is the only judge.  I wanted to give you a link to read about this subject from someone much more qualified than I.  It is supported by several Bible verses.  Please read it if you get a chance.  http://www.gotquestions.org/suicide-Bible-Christian.html

Good-bye Candi.  We will see you again real soon at God's table.

Order of Operations

Ok, here's a simple arithmetic problem for you:  What is  4 + 3 X 5 ?  Did you get 35 or did you get 19?  It all depends on how you look at it.  Did you add 4 and 3 and then multiply that by 5 or did you multiply 3 by 5 first and then add 4?  The correct way is the latter.  The correct answer is 19.  In mathematics, there is a certain order in which we calculate (called the Order of Operations...Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally).  If there wasn't a set, correct order, we could all interpret the problem differently, and thus, get different answers. 

The same is true about the Bible.  Depending on how we read and interpret passages, the true meaning could be all over the map.  I know some passages are very hard to discern, but it is what it is.  We can't add to or take away from any part of it.  We can't twist and turn the meaning around just so it will fit snug into our own personal lives.  Rather, God set the "Order of Operations" and we must take it exactly as He intended it to be.  If we could read it any 'ole way, we would all come up with different answers.  But there is only One answer...God's answer.  I have always loved this saying at Christmas:  X-mas.  Solve for X.  Christ is the only solution....

Psalm 119:160 says, "All Your words are true; all Your righteous laws are eternal."

Oh Father, I ask you to please open my eyes to your Truths each day.  Help me to always follow Your correct order of operations.  In Jesus name, Amen.

Are You Serious?

Students have really changed over the years that I have been teaching and from the years I went to school.  On the first night of my college classes, I generally do those first-night things:  Introduce myself, welcome them to my class, go over the expectations of the class, and then start on page one in the book.  It used to be that everyone had their books the first night and were ready to start digging-in.  But these days, I get this question, "Are you serious?  You are going to actually teach us the first night?"  It starts steam-rolling down-hill from there.  "Do we really have to do homework?  Do you take roll?  Does it matter how many nights we miss?  When do you do make-up tests?  Again, this is my college class, not high school.  After I burst a few bubbles and tell them, "YES you have to be here, Yes you have to do homework, YES you have to study in order to pass", it is amazing how many don't even show-up again.  In 24 hours, I can usually weed through those who are serious about their education and those who are not.

Jesus had it going on!  He had his disciples all around Him and they were so eager to learn from this awesome God/man.  They were all so ready with bright-eyes and bushy tails.  But then Jesus lowered the boom, so-to-speak.  In a nut-shell, He told them that they could not follow Him half-heartily.  There were no kind-a or sort-a; It was all or nothing.  He certainly burst a few bubbles that day.  The Bible verse says, "When they heard Him say this, they turned away from Him and followed no more."  Ironically, the quote is John 6:66.  Are we asking God if we have to do our homework, come to class, and study his Word real hard?  Are we kinda sorta following Him?  Are we serious about our God education?

Father, please help us follow you closer than we have been.  Forgive us, for we are only humans.  But also please help us not to over-use that excuse, either.  You are the King of Kings!  I am very honored to be in Your "Class".

My Hero, Paul

Have you ever felt like God would not pick you to do anything important because you have been too "bad"?  I have...many times.  When it comes to "bad", it didn't get much worse than Paul.  He worked 24/7 trying to persecute Christians.  He was even there when the first Christian Martyr was stoned to death: Stephen.  Paul was, simply put, a thug!

We all know the story.  God spoke to Paul while he was on the road to Damascus ( which by the way, Paul was on his way to persecute even more Christians).  The Bible documents that after Paul realized it was God talking to him, he instantly did a complete 180.  Now, instead of being against God, he was for God.  And the amazing part is that he never even asked Jesus for help.  God chose Paul!Paul studied long and hard to be able to go out and teach others about Christ.  Isn't our Lord amazing?  If God can turn a complete thug around for the better, He certainly can turn you or me around.  There is no sin that any of us could have committed that is bigger than the Power of God's love and forgiveness.  Ask Him to "turn you around" today.

Psalm 94:11 says, "The Lord knows the thoughts of man; he knows that they are futile."

Father, turn me to you and please use me to further your Kingdom, according to your perfect will.

Trot Line

I passed out several fliers trying to sell commercials for my radio show.  I also passed out several fliers advertising the fact that I am available for math tutoring again.  It is almost like setting out a long trot line and waiting to see how many hits you get.  So far, I have had none, zilch, nada.  It is so disheartening.  Oh, I'm not giving up, and I know it takes time.  But still...

We are all like hooks on a single trot line for God.  He sets us all out hoping we can snag a few for His Kingdom.  It is not our job to save them, it is only our job to be available to lead them to Him.  We are like the hook on the trot line.  If the fish is not hungry, we can't do anything about that.  But as soon as God moves them to be hungry, He expects us to be ready to snag them when they strike.  Are you on God's trot line?  Ask Him today to sharpen your "hook", and make you more attractive to the "fish".

Matthew 5:16 says, "In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and Praise your Father in heaven."

Father, help me to lead more people to You, if it be Your will.  In Jesus name, Amen.