Author: Scott

Zion Clark was on the latest episode of America’s Got Talent. When you get time, try to find him online someplace and watch him. It will be worth doing. Anyways, what he did was pretty incredible. But more incredible is his story. He was born with Caudal Regression Syndrome. This is a very rare condition. Basically, he was born without legs. As tragic as that was, he ended up in an orphanage. Living in that system until the age of 17. He was bullied. Physically. Mentally. Emotionally. Lived a difficult childhood. It’s hard for me to imagine what that must’ve been like for him. As he got into high school, he began wrestling. And that helped change the course of his life. Because he pressed on. Even after he lost over 200 of his first matches. He kept going. Eventually he became one of the top three wrestlers in the state. Because…he pressed on.

God has a purpose for us all. He has a purpose for our lives. No matter what we are going through. No matter the difficulties. We must press forward. There’s a purpose. Moving forward is a choice that we have. Just as Zion made the choice to move forward. And that is an act of obedience. It’s a way for us to praise God. To rely on God. To trust God. Moving forward is also an act of defiance. Because it’s an act of defiance against Satan. Because he doesn’t want us to move forward. Because it shows that we are not going let him control us. Influence us. He wants to destroy us. Pressing on defeats him.

Trials and conflicts are going to come. Tough seasons are going to come. Remember there’s always going to be a source. Either from inside you. Or from the outside. For Zion it included  those that bullied him. Might have actually started from when he was abandoned by his parents. And most likely there were some internal conflicts for a while. Some of us probably can relate. Let’s recognize the sources. And then let’s make the choice to keep moving forward. To keep pressing on. Headed towards the goal that our Lord and Savior has for us. Let’s remember this: When we are at our weakest, that can be when God can be the strongest for us. Nothing is intimidating for our God. Nothing is impossible for him to overcome. He is here for us. Because he loves us. He always has. He always will. 

We are very aware of the fact that Charlie 22 Outdoors is only going to be successful as long as God is the focus. The mission states it very clearly. If we continue to keep our eyes on that, God will bless our efforts. We know that. We often ask you to keep praying that that is the case. That we always keep the mission as the focus. And we thank you for lifting the ministry up. Your support means the world to us. We also know that the ministry is successful because of the talents of the volunteers and others that are involved. We know that going in alone would only lead us to failure. It didn’t take us long to realize the formula to success is to find opportunities for people to utilize their talents and then get out of their way. I often say that I can mess things up if you give me long enough to be involved with it. Can any of you relate to that?

As we continue talking about love, there’s some similarities between what we were mentioning above about going it alone as compared to having God involved. The Bible tells us to love others as God loves us. The only way we can do that is by having God help us love others. Barbara and I love one another. I love her with all that I am. And I believe she loves me the same. But we both will tell you, that we love God first. He is our number one. Each of us is one another’s number two. He’s first. We are second. He is always looking for us to look to him first in our marriage. And we try to do that. And that’s how our relationships with other family members and friends should be as well. He should be first. They should be second. 

There are many reasons why this should be the order. Obviously, if we do it this way, then we will view our relationships as blessings from God. Even when there is turmoil. Because God’s love is a weapon for us. It’s a way for us to battle the attacks that will come from the outside. God can do for us what we can never do for ourselves. And, God can do for our relationships what we can never do for our relationships. No matter the situation. No matter the relationship. If we choose to have God‘s love first, they will be successful. Just as keeping God first in the ministry, it will be successful. So today, let’s all strive to keep our eyes on God. Let’s turn to him first in all that we do. Do this…and watch how your life is blessed.

There’s a saying, love never fails. There’s a lot of truth in that. And I believe that because I believe that in our heart, if we love through everything, then we are at peace. Because that’s a gift from Jesus. When our heart is surrendered to Jesus, love will triumph. Now I know it’s not easy to do this all the time. Especially when someone has hurt us. Or even when there’s a family dynamic that is hard to navigate. But I also know that it is possible. And that is awesome.

Let me try to explain this better. With Jesus as the foundation of our life, we see other people differently. We see difficulties differently. We see tragedies differently. We see hurt differently. The love that we get from Jesus is greater than all of those things. It’s a different love. And that allows us to view things differently. This all contradicts what the world says. I get that. But that is one of the things that makes being a believer so incredible. It’s hard to explain to somebody who is not. But there is a peace in our hearts that only be described by the love of Jesus. His love for us. And then our love for others through Jesus.

Trust me, I have failed at loving others all the time. Many times. I have been guilty to cry out for justice. Especially when someone has wronged my wife or children. My first instinct is to retaliate. But I have been able to navigate and overcome those situations through the power of our Lord and Savior. When I did so, he gave me a peace in my heart. And then it turn gave me the ability to love. I do believe there is a time for justice. Most definitely. But I must trust that God sees, God hears, and God will make it work for good and His glory in the end. Once again, I realize this may not be easy to do. But it is something that we must do. Remember this, God loves your enemy just as He loves you.

Recently I watched a movie about Rich Mullins. For those of you that don’t know him, he was a Contemporary Christian artist. He was very talented as a songwriter and recording artist. He even wrote music for Amy Grant. You might recall one of his songs. Awesome God. It was a very popular song when it came out. But as talented as Rich was, he had some very deep conflicts. Internal and external. They stemmed way back to his childhood. He didn’t get along very well with his father. His demons lead to issues like alcoholism and anger. Things he battled a long time. There was a line of the movie that stuck out to me: “God loves us for who we are. Not for who we want to become.” And that’s perfect for someone struggling like Rich. 

I have been reading a lot on conflict these past few days. How it can bring us down. How it can affect our relationships with others. It is amazing how even though we try to not let it impact us, it can do so. We can try to act like it doesn’t. But I imagine most of us know what I’m talking about. We go about our daily activities with the conflict in the back of our minds. It doesn’t go away. Especially if it’s conflicts with someone externally. And then someone, not knowing so, brings their name up. Or maybe you see them someplace. Internal conflict. External conflict. Either way. It’s still there. 

Unfortunately, we are all going to experience some type of conflict at some point in our life. The good news is no matter what we’re going through, God can show us his grace. God‘s love is greater than any conflict we ever go through. And since we have his love and grace on our side, conflict can be temporary. And if it’s temporary for us, then it is a season. Seasons come and go. And that’s the good news. The hard part is that it could be difficult for us to find the root of what’s causing the issues. Sometimes they are obvious. Other times not. But no matter what we’re going through, let’s not lose sight on the fact that our faith can get us through. Let’s not lose sight on God. Not loose sight of his grace. Just remember he loves us for who we are. And just as the song proclaims, “Our God is an awesome God.”

Barbara and I have been blessed to have three amazing children. And we have four incredible grandkids. With one more on the way. Our family gives us amazing joy. So much joy. We smile when we think about them. We have a group text going. And when our phone dings because one of them has put a message out, we don’t waste time opening it. Because most often, one of them is sending us a photo or a funny meme. FaceTime has been an amazing tool to keep touch with our daughter and son-in-law stationed at Gulfport, Mississippi. It’s helped us keep up with our grandson. Telling us about his monster trucks. The point here is, we love our family.

As much as family can provide us with great joy, we could also find sorrow. Deep sorrow. Tension within family or friends can be heartbreaking. Sometimes it seems like no matter what you do, it doesn’t go away. You can’t seem to get it to end. It’s always there. It can be immediate family or friends. Or maybe it’s outside the house or outside your close circle. It can be something that they are the root of. Or maybe it’s something that you caused. Doesn’t matter. Tension like this is heartbreaking. And for some reason, we seem to let our pride get in the way of healing it. I find that confusing and interesting.

I think we all want peace and harmony. Especially within family and friends. I think that Satan realizes that if he can divide families and friends, he can keep us from doing God’s work. He knows that he can preoccupy us with the divide. He knows that our hearts will be tied up with what’s going on. He knows that as times like this happen, we must still live. Bills must be paid. We must remember that he is sneaky. This is all part of the spiritual warfare we’ve been talking about recently. He attacks our hearts. Gets us pointing fingers at each other. Letting our pride get in the way of our healing. Makes us think that it’s up to the other person to take the first step. That’s pretty clever on his part. So today, let’s do what we can to heal our hearts. Let’s let Jesus take control. If we can do that, then we can heal the tension. Just think how strong our relationships will be with Jesus at the center.

This past weekend, we watched a documentary on Netflix. I don’t want to give the name to you in case you want to watch it. After you read this, if you want to watch it let me know. I will give you the name. But the part of it that I wanna talk about today was a sacrifice that one of the people in the documentary made. He literally sacrificed himself to save another person. And there’s a very good chance that he did so knowing he was going to die. So his last action on earth was to save another person. That’s pretty amazing. Does that sound like any other sacrifice that we know of? 

Obviously, you probably realize I’m comparing this to the sacrifice that Jesus made. His last action on earth was to die for us all. That’s quite possibly the greatest action ever taken by a man. Ever! He went to the cross for us all. There is no doubt that’s pretty amazing. And what’s even more amazing, is the fact that he still had us on his mind as he died. Because he loved us. He loves us now. He’s going to always love us. As he was dying, he asked for God to forgive us. Could you do that?

I would like to think that I would lay my life down for my family. My wife. My kids. My grandkids. That I would be willing to take their place if it came to that. The Bible tells us that there is no greater love. So I would hope that I would be able to do so if ever I needed to. But would I really? What a tough question. And what a tough question it would be if one of them had betrayed me. Just as Jesus was betrayed. Would I still be willing to do so in that situation? Now, I’m not comparing the guy in the documentary to Jesus. I’m not comparing myself to Jesus. But, I am saying that we should all follow his example for us. Should we die for somebody else? That’s for you to decide. Should we love others like Jesus? The answer to that is always going to be most definitely YES. So today, let’s work on loving others like Jesus loves us. I know that may be hard. It’s hard for me. But we should be doing so. Let’s follow his example.

We’ve talked recently a few times about different issues and problems that many of my friends have been going through lately. Difficulties that seem so hard to overcome. Some of these have been due to attacks from the outside. Some of them have been brought on by themselves. But they are definitely having some hard times. We can also look at what’s happening at the national level. And worldwide. So many things taking place. We can’t turn away from it. Because it’s always there. And I really believe that this is a spiritual war taking place. Many of us internally. And many of us externally. 

The human part of us wants to reason why it’s happening. Figure it out. Look for answers. I’m guilty of that. I would like to suggest this. Spiritual warfare is because of Satan attacking. If you have been reading these devotions for any length of time, certainly you have read one where we mention that he is very sneaky in how he attacks. That’s because he is a snake. He is a serpent. Hiding. Waiting for opportunities. His opportunities come in the forms of our friends, families, jobs, hobbies, etc. He uses any means that he can. And even with God on our side, we still try to make sense of it. As we said, that’s human. I promise you this, nothing will make sense. Unless we view it as spiritual warfare.

Now…we must focus on how to fight this type of battle. Here’s what I believe. You may disagree. But this is what I believe. We must pray. Pray for the Lord to intervene. Not just in the middle of the battle. But to intervene by going right to the hearts of everyone involved. Including us! This type of prayer is going to give us the peace that we need to internally overcome what we’re going through. It will also give us the wisdom and knowledge we need. Obviously, we can’t control the hearts of others. So we may not see their hearts change. But we still must pray. Because God can take over their hearts too. I’m not saying just sit back and watch things happen. I’m saying let’s God lead our actions. If we do this, then we will have the weapons necessary to expose the evil that Satan is orchestrating. Then that will help us defeat it.

This past week I had a variety of conversations with many different people. One conversation was about the struggles that a friend of mine has been going through for the past few years. Trying to determine his next step. Then the next day spoke with a friend on the phone for a while. Very similar situation. Been going through some struggles. Also trying to figure out his next step. There were a few more very similar types of conversations. With other people that are struggling. All trying to figure out their next step. Then there were those conversations with people that are doing good work. Having difficulties. But not struggling. Simply going day by day. Doing God’s work. Also working on their next step. 

Now…here is what is awesome about every conversation that I had. No matter what it is we talked about. No matter what it is that they are facing. The struggles. The difficulties. The successes. The next step. No matter what. Everyone of them talked about serving God. Following God‘s plan. No matter what! And that is awesome. That is very motivating and humbling. One of our volunteers recently sent me a message with a quote: “Your mission is to love, serve, and share the Hope of Jesus Christ. Your mission field is wherever you are.” 

Her message hit home. It really did. And I find it very fitting for this last week. It goes right along with every conversation that I had. No matter where we are, we can love. No matter where we are, we can serve. And no matter where we are, we can share the Hope of Jesus Christ. No matter where we are! God can use us in ways we can never imagine. Wherever we are. Even when we are trying to figure out our next step. Even when times seem difficult. God‘s grace can still be shown. So today, please remember your mission field is wherever you are right at this moment. Realize that and find a way to serve. Maybe with your family. Maybe with your friends. Maybe with your neighbors. Somebody at the store. Do what you can to show God‘s grace. No matter where you are.

Today is Anna‘s 20th birthday. It’s hard to believe that our youngest child is 20 years old. But that’s where we are. She’s 20. This is been her year to try to start figuring out what she wants to become in life. Trying to figure out where God is taking her. And that has been our advice to her the whole time. The same advice that we gave to our other two children. Same advice that was given to a Barbara and me as well. To let God guide her footsteps. Let him lead her. Even when bumps in the road come, never lose sight of God. Even when the “wilderness” tries to cover her up. Because where he’s taking her…is greater than she could have ever imagined for herself.

And that’s the same for all of us. The same promise to everyone of us. God promises us that the wilderness is not our destination. It’s not where we are going. It’s merely a bump in the road. And we can get over bumps. And if we do everything that God tells us to do, we will get through anything that we are facing. And that includes the dark times. Actually, the dark times can become glorious times because of God‘s grace through it all.

I have found myself in those places many times. I allowed myself to go there. My decisions led me there. Especially when I was trying to figure out my path. My course. Because, I was doing it alone. I was battling it by myself. Didn’t think I needed help. Didn’t think I needed God to show me. And that is because I did not know God. I did not have a relationship with him. Often times, we don’t know what we need, until we get what we need. And that’s exactly what happened with me when I developed a relationship with Jesus Christ. I knew right then. I knew that I needed him to guide me. We all do. So today, let him lead you. And the destination is going to be amazing.

The last couple of days I have been able to witness some amazing acts of people serving others. I have also been able to read about some. People doing things just because they should. People doing things because their hearts tells them to do so. People doing things because that’s what we are supposed to do. Serve others. This morning I read about a friend of mine changing a tire for somebody he doesn’t even know. They were pulled over. Needed help. So he did it. Recently, another friend of mine went out of his way to push a stranded vehicle out of an intersection. The driver needed help. So he did it. Yesterday, I received similar assistance. A friend of mine went out of her way to help convert files that we need for an engraving. I needed help. So she did it.

We are called to serve one another. To lower ourselves below others, and lift them up. Jesus gave the perfect example to the disciples. The last night he had with them, he taught a very important lesson. One that we should all learn from. One that we should all follow. Even when he knew he was going to be betrayed, he still served. Even when he knew he was going to be arrested, he still served. Even when he knew he was going to be crucified, he still served. He served by washing feet. He lowered himself below his disciples and washed their dirty feet. Now ask yourself if you would do this. Some of you might. And that’s awesome.

He didn’t do that to wash their feet. It was a lesson. Teaching the disciples, and all of us today, how to truly serve others. You lower yourself. That’s exactly what he did. Something that we all need to self analyze about ourselves. So today, let’s look at ourselves and determine if we are serving others. Let’s look at ourselves and determine if we are serving ourselves over others. Let’s be honest. Then, let’s find opportunities to serve others. If we’re having a hard time finding them, let’s create opportunities to serve others. And don’t think that little deeds don’t matter. They all do. We have no idea what we are going to do, at a certain moment, for a certain person, who’s going through a certain difficulty, that could possibly change their lives. Read that again. And again. And again. God‘s timing is always perfect. And if we serve others through him, it will be perfect as well.