A Message From An Eccentric

Do you know someone you or others consider eccentric? Do you consider yourself eccentric? Are outlandish clothes appealing to you? Or do you prefer fashionable clothing? Would you take someone seriously who looks very different from what you expect?

The vast majority of us have our own little ticks. Each one of us will do or like something that is not really in the norm. We experience something different and find we like it. It, then, becomes part of who we are. We take on this new and exciting eccentricity.

I’m sure there are some who will argue they have no eccentricities about them. Yet if we talk to others who know us, they can likely point out at least one strange thing about us. No, it isn’t strange to us, but it is to others. After all, we see strangeness in others. So, why should we expect there isn’t something strange about ourselves?

There was one who was dressed rather strangely who had a monumental task. Think about John the Baptist. A man who wore clothing made of camel’s hair and used a leather belt around his waist to keep it closed. Do you have a picture of him in your head? Does his hair stand out all wild and unkempt? Is he yelling out the coming of the Messiah? Are his eyes a bit on the wild side, bulging out of his head?

What about his food? He eats locusts and wild honey. Would you eat locusts? What if you were living in the wilderness and had to fend for yourself? How do you gather wild honey? Do you have to fight off the bees to gather it? You might have to tend to bee stings and welts as they try to keep you from stealing their honey.

Back to our earlier question. Would you listen to someone dressed like that and having a diet as such? Would you go out into the wilderness to hear what he has to say? Many did, including the Jewish leadership. His message was powerful and impactful. He drew crowds of both common and important people.

John’s message was one the Jewish people had long waited to hear. It had been roughly four hundred years since God had spoken to His people through a prophet. Here was John, dressed like a crazy man, fulfilling a long-awaited prophecy. In fact, he was asked if He was a prophet or Elijah. He told them he was not, and he was not the Messiah they were looking for. John told them to wait, the Messiah was coming.

I pray we all allow for some eccentricities in each other’s lives. I pray we realize we are all unique, with different tastes. I pray each one of us is willing to hear God’s message from whomever it may come from. Don’t judge based on appearance. Relish in our differences. Listen for God’s message. Accept His message, no matter the source.

Mark 1:6 John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.

Straight Paths

Are you looking for the right way to go? Do you long for direction in your life? Do you have a tough choice ahead of you and need good counsel? Would you like to know if you are going down the correct path for your life?

We all need guidance and direction from time-to-time. Our knowledge of the various paths can be very limited. Sometimes we think we know what we are getting into, only to find out after the fact there was much we didn’t know. It can be tough making decisions with only partial information.

There are many avenues for obtaining information. We can perform research through books or online. Although, we must be careful to gather information from creditable sources, whether online or in books. We can also interview or question people who have already gone down the path we are looking. Again, we must be careful to find creditable sources. Not everyone we talk to will be truthful about the pathway or the end result. We must remember, they are telling us about one perspective.

A prudent person will use all of the above listed avenues, do some critical thinking and compiling of information, and they will ask God for guidance. God will provide the necessary guidance when we ask. He will make it clear whether we are to follow a specific path or not.

Just like our Scripture today states, God will make our paths straight. Though we can blindly ask God to guide us, I believe He wants us to do a little leg work of our own as well. He wants us to weigh out the positives and negatives of our options and ask Him for guidance. He may very well tell us to go down the path that appears to have more negatives. Remember, He knows the outcome already. So, if He is clearly telling you to go down one path or another, trust Him.

Today’s Scripture doesn’t tell us to not have an understanding. It does say that we are not to lean on our understanding. What does it mean to lean? It means to put more weight on one thing over another. For instance, when we lean on a fence, we are putting our weight on it to relieve some of the weight on our feet. So, the Scripture is saying, don’t put more trust in your own understanding than you put in God’s.

I pray we all put our trust in God. I pray we lean more on God than we do ourselves. I pray each of us will do our research and ask God for guidance to make the best decisions. Do your research. Be careful to us creditable sources. Ask God for guidance. Trust God will point you down the best path.

Proverbs 3:5-6

Trust in the Lord with all your heart

and lean not on your own understanding;

in all your ways submit to him,

and he will make your paths straight.

To Tell The Truth

Have you ever wondered about the supernatural? Do you ever think about God being supernatural? Do you believe people can see visions? Have you ever heard someone prophecy? Do you believe God speaks to us today?

We are told in several places throughout the Bible that God is always with us. Many of us agree, but we quickly cast it aside. Oh, we’ll agree every time it is said, and we may even say it ourselves. Yet, I’m not convinced we truly believe it.

We have been promised the Spirit of God will be poured out on us. Prophets in the Old Testament testified it would happen. Jesus said He would send a Helper or Advocate to be with us. We see the testimony of how that took place on Pentecost with the Apostles. Yet, we still struggle with believing it deep in our hearts.

Perhaps it will take a personal experience to convince us. Sometimes, I think we all look for physical proof before we believe. Yet, that isn’t faith, is it? Faith is believing in something we can’t see (Hebrews 11:1).

I wonder if we aren’t just a little afraid of believing God’s Spirit is always with us. After all, if He is, He knows every thought, every action, every word we say. Yet we are also told of wondrous experiences we will have, if we believe and follow.

We are told that we will prophecy. I’m not convinced that means all of us will see the future. You see, one of the definitions of prophesying is to tell the truth about God. So, we will become a witness for Jesus. For many of us, that is a scary thought.

We are also told we will dream dreams and see visions. These may be about the future, but it is more likely they will reveal truth to us. God works in mysterious ways and one of them is through our dreams. He reveals His truth to us through these dreams or visions, just as He reveals His truth through the prophesying of others and in His Word. Perhaps some of us have had dreams or visions and have quickly cast them aside, afraid of what they may mean.

I pray we all accept the wonderful gift of God’s Spirit. I pray we accept that God is always with us through our faith in Him. I pray each one of us will be a witness for Jesus, prophesying His truth to others we encounter. Believe in the unseen. Have faith that God is always with you. Accept the gift of His Holy Spirit. Be a truth teller. Abandon your fear for the love of God.

Joel 2:28 “And afterward,

I will pour out my Spirit on all people.

Your sons and daughters will prophesy,

your old men will dream dreams,

your young men will see visions.

Even on my servants, both men and women,

I will pour out my Spirit in those days.”

Be A Messenger

Have you ever sought to be a messenger for someone? Have you thought about the importance of the messenger? Would it depend on who the message was sent from and to? Do you think that would elevate the status of the messenger?

I’m sure many of us have no inclination to be a messenger. In fact, we have probably, at some or another, been the messenger carrying messages back and forth between two friends who are now former friends of each other. Perhaps we have experienced a worse situation, carrying messages between our parents.

Our experiences with messengers in today’s world prevents us from holding them in high esteem. Of course, at no time has the messenger been held higher than the person sending the message or the person receiving the message.

Throughout history, there has been many messengers. Some of them are more well known than others. I’m reminded of a book I once read titled “A Message to Garcia” by Elbert Hubbard. It was on the Commandant’s Reading List when I was a Marine. It is a very short book, about 65 pages. It makes an inspiring point about the courage and drive of the messenger to deliver a message that could have dire consequences, if not delivered.

Prior to the invention of telephones and radios, the military relied heavily on messengers. They were important during the battles of the Old Testament. They were important during Rome’s conquest of many nations. They were important during our own Civil War.

One particular messenger in the Bible had an amazing task. He was not only to be a messenger, but he was to prepare the way for the Lord. He wasn’t merely proclaiming what God wanted, he was telling people that Jesus was on His way. He was to prepare the hearts and minds of the Jews to accept Jesus as the Messiah.

Can you imagine having that kind of responsibility? He was to carry out what the prophets Isaiah and Malachi had foretold hundreds of years earlier. Not only that, he knew the prophecy and knew the Jewish leaders and priests knew the prophecy. How was an ordinary man supposed to carry out such an important prophecy?

As we know, John the Baptist did carry out his assigned task. He certainly garnered the attention of the Pharisees and Sadducees. He also captured the attention of the Jewish people and baptized them for the forgiveness of their sins.

I pray we all become messengers. I pray we take up the task of carrying God’s message. I pray each one of us will carry the message of Jesus in our heart and share it with others. Be a messenger. Carry God’s message. Tell others about Jesus. Fulfill your calling.

Malachi 3:1 “I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the LordAlmighty.

Return To God

Have you strayed from God? Do you feel as though you are wondering aimlessly? Are you considering returning to Him? Are you wondering if He has forgotten you? Do you want to cry out to ask Him?

There are some of us who have strayed from God, perhaps for several years, and we have returned. There are some who have strayed and have yet to return. Straying is not that uncommon. In fact, we know it is one of the problems facing the church today.

The church is not the only one to face this issue. Israel faced it on multiple occasions throughout their history. God had provided for them on many occasions, sometimes on a daily basis. Still, they grumbled and walked away from God.

Too often we read their history and wonder how they could disobey God. Yet, we read hundreds and even thousands of years of their history within just a few minutes without the perspective of living their lives on a daily basis. As we live our lives daily, what will be our excuse a hundred years from now when someone reads our history?

It is in our daily lives, our moment-by-moment decisions, that we leave God behind. We decide that “just this one time won’t hurt” and take a step away from Him. We think, “I’ll make it up later” assuming we have years to make up for doing something we shouldn’t, and believing God has a scale that balances our good versus the bad.

Yet, we would be wrong in either case. It is by God’s grace that He accepts us. Our desire to cry out to Him is just what we need. Much as the Israelites cried out when they realized they were wrong we need to cry out to God.

Some of us may feel as though God has left us, abandoned us. We want to cry out to ask why. If we feel that way, we should cry out. Ask God to come back into our lives. When we cry out to God with an earnest heart, He will answer. God waits patiently for us.

I pray we all cry out to God during this advent season. I pray we ask Him to remember our needs and fulfill them. I pray each one of us will remember to take God with us each day. Cry out to God. Ask God to come into your life. Carry Him with you each day. Ask Him to guide your decisions.

Lamentations 5:19-22

You, Lord, reign forever;

your throne endures from generation to generation.

Why do you always forget us?

Why do you forsake us so long?

Restore us to yourself, Lord, that we may return; 

renew our days as of old

unless you have utterly rejected us

and are angry with us beyond measure.

Thanks Be To God

As we celebrate our Thanksgiving holiday this year, many of us celebrate it very different than we have in years past. Many of us celebrate as an individual family unit rather than with our larger, extended family. Though there are many traveling across our country, many are not.

We have all been affected by a microscopic virus, whether we have been infected by it or not. Our celebrations seem to be a bit muted this year. We try to raise our hopes and attitudes. We make valiant attempts at putting on a smile and brush away our frustration. Yet, there is hope for all of us. We have reasons to be thankful.

We may experience some downs over the next few months as we continue to wade our way through the mire and muck of a pandemic. But those of us who have accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior have already received a kingdom made by God. We may not see it now, but it is better than all those beautifully wrapped packages on Christmas morning waiting for us.

We have a choice to make. We can complain about being couped up and restrained from being with our extended family. Or we can give thanks to God for His rich blessings. We can choose to be miserable or be thankful and joyful. Guess which one will make us feel better.

You guessed it. When we are thankful, rather than complaining, we feel better, our attitude is better, we’re a joy to be around, and we please God. So, let’s be thankful for what we have and who we have in our life. Take stock in how you have been blessed and give thanks to God for all of it.

Though our family will not join in a large gathering today, I am thankful for a family to spend the day with. You see, I’ve spent several Thanksgiving Day’s without family. I know what it is like to spend Thanksgiving in an apartment or a house by yourself. So, I’m feeling extremely blessed during this time of restraint to have a family to be with. My heart goes out to those who do not.

I am thankful for the technology available to us. Because of it, I can continue to post messages to the members of the three churches I serve. I can provide a special video message to them. I can continue to serve them through online worship services. I can continue to host prayer request calls and pray with them. In 1918, they didn’t have these tools nor options during that pandemic.

Today, be thankful for all you have. Be thankful for the family you have. Be thankful you can use technology to reach out to one another. Most of all, give thanks to God for providing all of it. Know that He does love each one of us and He will bring us through these difficulties.

Hebrews 12:28-29 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.”

Caring For All

How well do you take care of your brothers and sisters? Are you caring for them with love? Are you being hospitable to people you don’t know? Are you caring for those who are being mistreated and suffering from injustice?

Many of us will care for our brothers and sisters. We care for our immediate family. We may care for some of our extended family, but there are usually some extended family members we don’t really like. Some family members are blood relatives, and some become relatives through marriage.

Most of us will care for those who are mistreated, as long as it is something we agree with. Yet, if our family or cultural environment doesn’t agree it is an injustice, we usually won’t go against the tide. We fail to look at it through the eyes of God, through Scripture.

Rarely will we include prisoners in our thoughts and prayers. Our standing assumption is they are in prison for a valid reason and don’t deserve our sympathy. Yet, God can work in prisons as well. He can change lives for the better.

The only time we may take care of a stranger is at a distance through various charity organizations. We wouldn’t dare to invite a stranger into our home. Yet, we see in today’s Scripture that some have entertained angels by doing so. Now, this doesn’t mean we should invite every stranger into our home. It is highly likely there will be a tugging at our heart when it is the right person to invite.

Now, here is the catch about brothers and sisters. It is not just physical family members we are to take care of. The brothers and sisters the writer of Hebrews is talking about are our Christian brothers and sisters. Much like our physical families, there are some we don’t really like. Yet we are told to pray for them and care for them all the same. This is the love of God showing itself through us.

Our love and care are to extend to everyone we know, and we encounter. We are to see all people through the eyes of Jesus, who cares for everyone. We like to put caveats on that love. We like to say, “But God, if you knew what this person did.” God does know and loves them anyway. He continues to pursue them, and He may just use us to do so.

I pray we all love everyone we encounter with the love of God. I pray we keep our Christian brothers and sisters in our prayers. I pray each of us will show more love and care each day, and perhaps entertain angels. Love one another. Pray for one another. Be hospitable to all. Pray for those in prison. Stand up for those suffering from injustice. Be thankful at all times.

Hebrews 13:1-3 Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.

Two Mites

Do you think of yourself as a giving person? Have you taken an objective view of your giving? Are you willing to give when it costs you your comfort? Or are you only willing to give when you have an excess? What do you think God wants you to do?

Many of us give to help others at different times of the year. We are more likely to give as we approach the holidays. Our giving will go to organizations that will feed the hungry and clothe the poor. It is good for us to give this time of year to help others. But what about the rest of the year?

We are blessed with more than we need. Oh, we don’t think so. Yet, that is our wants being interpreted as needs. We, in this country, have allowed ourselves to be twisted by the media, our favorite stars, and peer pressure to the point of forgetting what being in need truly means.

The majority of us give out of excess, even if we think we don’t. Here is a quote from a fourth-century monk, Basil of Caesarea, for all of us to ponder during this giving season.

“This bread which you have set aside is the bread of the hungry; this garment you have locked away is the clothing of the naked; those shoes which you let rot are the shoes of him who is barefoot; those riches you have hoarded are the riches of the poor.”

As we decide to hoard rather than give, perhaps we can think of those who truly are in need. We might also take these thoughts with us as we go through the rest of the year. Perhaps we change our mindset and start looking for ways to share what God has blessed us with.

As we give to those in need, whether through organizations we trust or our churches, we might also want to consider giving our time. It is not just money, clothing, and food needed; volunteers are needed as well. We might simply sit down to a meal with a homeless person.

We have been blessed by God to live in a country with far more than we need. True, many of us have worked hard to accumulate what we have. Yet, we forget it is by God blessing us that we are able to work to earn our pay. God blesses us with the purpose of us blessing others. We show our thanks to God when we share His blessings.

I pray we all give to help others during this time of need. I pray we show our thanks to God by blessing others through His blessings. I pray each one of us will give thanks and share what we have with others, not only during this holiday season, but all year long. Give thanks to God. Show thanks to God. Give to those in need. Share your blessings.

Mark 12:43-44 Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”

Needing Rescue

Are you looking to be rescued? Are you looking for a superhero to come in and save the day? Do you feel like a damsel in distress? Do you feel like you have been abandoned behind enemy lines? Do you know there is a Savior waiting for you to ask for His help?

We all have down days. We all experience times of feeling abandoned. Some of those times are worse than others. Some are minor and others cause us to weep crocodile tears for hours or days. We look for someone, anyone to reach out a helping hand.

It can be completely debilitating when we have those especially bad times. We become motionless. We are drained of energy. We curl up in the fetal position in bed and have no desire to move. Or we wonder aimlessly, not seeing anything around us.

It is in times like these we need to remember we do have a Savior. He has never and will never leave us. I know, it’s not like He is there with us physically, like a real person. Or, is He? Have you ever thought that He just might be right there in front of you?

We see in Hebrews 13:2 that some have entertained angels without knowing it. We know that God works through people. So, how do we know Jesus doesn’t show up for us physically? Perhaps He is not in the form that we expect, but He may very well be there in the person who is offering a helping hand at the very time you need it. He may be the stranger who offers you an encouraging message. He may be the person with the bright eyes that passes you in the store.

As we look toward a Christmas like no other in our past, we all feel a darkness about us. We feel as though something is missing. We long for times past when things felt normal, unchanged, and traditions were kept. Yet, we know this Christmas is not the same.

The Jews felt much the same way as they were held captive in both Egypt and Babylon. They cried out to God to send a Savior. God promised to send His Messiah, but it wouldn’t happen in their lifetime. Perhaps this year we can identify with the Jews in captivity in the Old Testament more than we ever have before.

I pray we all hold on to the promises of God. I pray we continue to cry out to God for deliverance. I pray each one of us will remember that Jesus has said He will never leave us, and He will return. Hold on to God’s promises. Ask God to deliver you. Trust Jesus is always with you.

Isaiah 19:19-20 In that day there will be an altar to the Lord in the heart of Egypt, and a monument to the Lordat its border. It will be a sign and witness to the Lord Almighty in the land of Egypt. When they cry out to theLord because of their oppressors, he will send them a savior and defender, and he will rescue them.

From Darkness To Light

Do you feel as though you are in the dark? Do you feel as though you are being overrun? Does it seem as though everything is going wrong all at the same time? Do you know that you have been saved from the darkness and no longer need to live in it?

We all face times when we feel the entire world is against us. There are times when we feel as though we are being overwhelmed by our situation. It feels as though the light we seek it so far out of our reach we can’t see it. Or we feel as though the light at the end of the tunnel is a train headed our way.

Unfortunately, there are some of us who allow the darkness to consume us. Once we start the downward spiral, we give in. This leads us into a deep depression. Once in that deep depression, it becomes very difficult to get out. Often, we need professional help.

Yet, there is an answer to the darkness we face. An answer that will keep us from the deep depression. Our task is to recognize when we start down that path early and reverse course quickly. How do we reverse course?

The first thing we need to do is remember we have a Savior. He is a Savior who has already rescued us from the darkness. He is a Savior who will continue to rescue us from it. We are to turn to Him in prayer, asking once again to be rescued.

As we put our trust and faith in Him, He continues to pull us from the darkness into the light. He raises us from the depths to new heights. Our Savior is not merely a human, but He is the Creator of all things. Isn’t it comforting to know the Creator is on our side?

Jesus has redeemed us from every mistake we have ever made and will ever make. He has redeemed from our disobedience. He has pulled us out of Satan’s hands. Did you notice all of those sentences use a past tense? In our present situation we are redeemed.

God, through Jesus, has guaranteed us an eternal inheritance of spending forever with Him. Our inheritance is beyond our wildest imagination. Our inheritance eliminates all darkness, living forever in the light of God.

I pray we all decide to ask God to rescue us from the darkness we face. I pray we decide to live in the light of God. I pray each one of us will ask God to rescue us each time we start to feel ourselves going down the dark path. Recognize the darkness. Ask God to pull you out of it. Live in God’s light. Remember God has guaranteed your inheritance. Trust your Savior.

Colossians 1:13-14 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.