Author: Scott

We’ve been talking recently about dealing with different emotions or other issues. Let’s continue that trend today. This is important stuff. Have you ever experienced pain? What about experiencing suffering? Or betrayal? Or any emotions that come with anxiety? Well of course you have. We all have. And chances are that we all will again experience some of them again. They come with being human. They are part of living in this world. 

Psalm 118:6 says, “The Lord is for me, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me?” Truth is, we have experienced fear and pain. All of us. We have experienced betrayal. We have experienced suffering. We have experienced death. Once again, all parts of living in this world.

But with the Lord in our hearts, we can get through these things. And even better is the fact that the glory that we receive when we leave this earth is so tremendous, that anything we experience while on earth, is nothing! It pales in comparison. We have no idea what we’re in for. It’s going to be beyond our wildest dreams and imaginations. That’s what I think the verse is talking about. The glory awaits us because God loves us. Always has. Always will.

How often do you tell others the truth about how you feel or how you are doing? I mean the total truth. I’m not saying you’re lying sometimes. What I am saying is, there are times we don’t tell people exactly how we feel. When someone asks us how we are doing, often our response is, “Fine.” Or, “Good.” Or, “Well.” Even when we might not be any of those, that’s how we respond. Maybe it’s because embarrassment, insecurity, or some other feeling that we have, that keeps us from letting others in on what we are truly thinking or feeling. 

But when it comes to God our father, he wants us to call on him in truth. He wants our prayers to be honest. Even if they are painful prayers. He wants honesty. Not because he wants to hear us suffering, but because he loves us so much he wants to help us through whatever we’re facing. Or just the opposite, he wants to celebrate with us if we come to him with a truthful prayer or praise of something that’s bringing us joy. And if we are really honest with ourselves, we know that God already knows what we are thinking anyways. We might as well pray the truth.

Remember that Jesus came to earth in flesh. He experienced everything and anything that we might go through. Pain and suffering included. He understands. He knows how we feel. He knows how we are going to feel. He knows which emotions we’re getting ready to face. He knows us better than we know ourselves. He is willing and ready to hear what we have to pray. Whether asking for help, or telling him the good news. He’s ready. He is ready to help us grow and work to become more like him. He is ready for us to repent and change. He is ready for us to be vulnerable. Honest. Truthful. He is ready to hear about our fears and about our triumphs. Let’s go to our knees, and be honest with our Lord and Savior. Because he is ready and he loves us deeply. Always has. Always will.

October is the month for Halloween. The scary month. The month of fear. There are even TV stations that air horror movies throughout the entire month. Thinking about this, reminds me about the feeling of fear. It reminds me of anxiety. We all experience these at one point or another. Sometimes to the point that we have panic attacks. I don’t know that feeling. But there are people that I love that do know that feeling. And it’s very fearful for them. 

Even as believers, we can feel both fear and anxiety. Do you know what causes it in your life? Do you know the source? How often do you experience these? These are all important questions. But I think the more important question is this…”Do you turn them over to Jesus?” Whatever they are. Whatever the causes are. Whatever the sources are. No matter how often you experience them. If we can turn these concerns over to Jesus, then we can battle them. We can have victory over them. No longer slaves to them.

So today, let’s remember this very important point about anxiety and fear. This very important point about how we can face them. The point is this, the sacrifice that Christ made for us has set us free. His sacrifice gives us what we need to defeat fear and anxiety. His sacrifice gives us what we need to defeat all of our emotional enemies. I know that sounds easier than it really may be. But it is the truth. Through his love we are set free. You might be wondering why it is we experience these things if we are free. And that is a great question. Let me try to answer this. I think that God allows us to go through hard times like anxiety and fear, so that we will turn to him for strength. Especially after we fail at battling them on our own, we will turn to him. And doing so demonstrates his glory. Shows everyone the way to face tough times. Shows everyone that he will help us through them because he loves us. He always has. And he always will.

We had a baptism at our latest event: Operation Roaring River. We have another one happening this coming Monday. Read that again. Two lives being changed. Amazing. Our veterans feeling the Holy Spirit more in their lives. Veterans realizing that they need our Lord and Savior in their lives. Simply amazing. That’s because when the Holy Spirit is present, there’s a peace that you cannot explain. There is a comfort that you cannot explain. That’s because the Holy Spirit is beyond our understanding.

When it comes to peace, isn’t that what we are all seeking. Aren’t we all trying to find that place in our lives where there is peace and calm. A place where we can put aside the disruptions that come with our daily lives. Or maybe some are looking for just a moment of peace. Where nothing else interrupts that feeling at that moment. And that’s what finding peace can do for us. 

No matter where we are, there is only one true place to find peace. There’s only one place where we will find the calm that we are searching for. There’s only one place that we will recognize, at that moment, nothing else really matters. That “place” is in God’s grace. The love that we find from Jesus is the only place that we’re going to find true peace. No matter where we are. The river. The state park. The hunting blind. The golf course. Work, home, family events, wherever or whatever it is, the only place we will find true peace is with Jesus. And that’s because he loves you. Always has. Always will.

I grew up playing sports. Football, baseball, basketball, track, etc. I even played soccer when we lived in Germany. After I graduated college, I coached basketball through the school system and privately for 20+ years. So pretty much my entire life, I have been part of different sports teams. But it wasn’t until my young adulthood that I truly learned about the only team that really matters. God‘s team. Don’t get me wrong, I learned a lot about life playing sports. I thought life lessons through sports. And I still love watching sports. So I am not disparaging those at all. But when we get down to it, God‘s team is really what’s important.

When we think of it that way, we realize there are two teams competing against each other. God’s. And Satan’s. They’re not just competing. They are in a full-fledged war. And I have played on both of them. Not proud of it. But I was on Satan’s team for quite a while. I’m not really sure I knew that I was, until I became part of God‘s team. That’s pretty crazy. But it’s the truth. 

And there’s another truth that I am 100% certain about. The truth that we find in the Bible. The truth that we feel through the Holy Spirit. The truth that comes from God‘s grace. The truth that I’m talking about is that Jesus loves you. He loves me. He even loves our enemies. His love is never ending. It’s all encompassing. He loved us before we were created. He loves us now. And he will always love us. It is through his love that we will receive eternity of peace in heaven. And that’s not crazy. That’s just the truth. He loves you. Always has. Always will.

Recently, a close friend of mine and I were talking about the climate of our country right now. It’s not good. There’s so much fighting back-and-forth between political parties. Backbiting happening inside friendships. Betrayal in relationships. Lying, stealing, even killings. The list goes on, and on, and on.

But through all of this, there’s one constant. Always has been. Always will be. Jesus! He is the constant in our lives. No matter the turmoil or the storms we are facing. No matter the trials that lie ahead of us. No matter where we are going, Jesus is the constant. Isn’t that awesome!

Everything that we have been through and are going through, he understands. He understands it more than we do. And he will see us through all of these things. All we have to do is ask him to. That’s it. His love for you and me is so tremendous, that all we have to do is ask. Don’t ever forget, God loves you. Always has. Always will.

There’s a saying that we learn something new every day. And we do. Sometimes it may be something of great importance. Other times it may be trivial. Something simple. But either way, we learn something new every day. Or I think that we should anyway. The same can be said about our growth as Christians. As we move along in life, we should grow in our faith. We should learn something daily through Christ, that we can use to serve others.

There are different seasons that we go through. That can apply to every aspect of our lives. Personal. Career. Family. And Faith. As one season comes to an end, another one begins. Barbara and I have been through a few of those. Probably getting ready to go through one now as we are now empty-nesters. It’s very important for us to remember that as we go through the changes, that we continually ask God to help us along the way. To teach us. Because…he can give us the greatest wisdom we will ever need.

In the Bible, we read that Jesus tells us to learn from him. You can view it as a suggestion if you want to. But I would think you would be mistaken. It seems to me, he’s “telling” us to do so. So it’s not a question whether or not we should. And it’s good that we learn from Jesus. For a variety of reasons. Helping our souls. Strengthening us. Cleansing us. Building us. Helping us become better servants for him. Jesus is an example that we should all follow. The Example! If there comes a time that we believe we have it all figured out, we should probably re-examine ourselves. So now, let’s conclude with something that I read: “Jesus does have it all figured out. He has our lives figured out. He has the trials that we are going to face figured out. He has the successes that we are going to enjoy figured out. And because he has it figured out, he has it all laid out for us.”

One of my dear friend’s (Russ Ferguson) hosts an annual event called No-Retreat Men’s Archery Shoot. It’s a fundraiser to give contributions to someone in the area who needs it. Most often, it’s with someone who is going through a health battle. What is pretty awesome about the location, is that it is the exact location where I got to meet Russ. Years ago. When he was doing a very similar thing for a young girl, who had just been in a car accident and paralyzed. Very similar to me. I have been blessed and humbled to be invited to speak at this in the past. Whenever I am asked to do something like this, I definitely feel like I’m not qualified to do such a thing. So I try to speak as if I’m talking to myself. Often I talk about my journey seeking God.

You see, we are all on a path. The path that God has laid before us to come to him. The path is our direct path to eternity. Because it brings us right to Jesus. and that’s how we receive eternity in heaven. Through him. No way around it. But we must take the first step and move that direction. I look back at my life before Jesus. And what I realize is how far off the path, that I was. I was searching for happiness in all the wrong places. I didn’t realize that I was going to get exactly what I needed from God…until I turned to God. And that’s how he operates. He will give us exactly what we need when we need it. And sometimes we don’t realize it’s what we need until we do get it. Isn’t that cool! 

So now, here is the challenge. Here is my request of you. If you’re off the path, get back on it. Remember, the worlds tells us what it has the offer is what we should want. And that’s why there’s such confusion. It’s a mess. Because what the world offers is self gratifying. Plain and simple. And the self gratification is temporary. It’s going to end. For example, if your friendships are built on something that is self gratifying, your friendships are going to end when it is gone. I know from experience. Another way of looking at it is that self gratification is a Band-Aid. What I mean by that is, eventually it’s going to come off. And you’re left with the problems you had before. There’s only one way to receive the peace and hope we are all looking for. And that is by getting on the path. Following the path. Staying on the path to God.

Sin is sin. No matter how you view it, sin is sin. No matter how you want to view it, sin is sin. And no matter how our friends view it, or want to view it, sin is sin. Why is it sin? Because Jesus says so. That’s why. Jesus views it as sin. But the good news is, we can strive and work on being free of sin. And we will be free of it, when we are in heaven. What a reward that will be.

In the Bible, we read of Zacchaeus. He tries to do things without being seen. Sinning in the dark. Can you relate? Are you doing things that you don’t want others to see because they are wrong? Looking at things on your phone? Or on TV? Or doing things with someone you shouldn’t be? Or maybe you’re justifying what you’re doing because you think what others are doing is worse. Sometimes we try to make the Bible fit what we desire. Instead, we should be desiring to make our lives fit what’s in the Bible. 

If this is the struggle that you have, ask for strength and wisdom on how to overcome these things. The love and grace that comes from God is beyond our comprehension. He can see you through. He will see you through if you let him. You’re never going to be sin free. None of us will be. But God will give you the tools to battle your sin. Just like Zacchaeus, we can be transformed. We can face our sins and we can push them behind us. And we can help others at the same time to be transformed. Which is God‘s plan for us. To take our broken lives and use them in a way to bring him glory by showing others the light that only comes from knowing him. God does this because he loves you. Always has. Always will.

One of the things that brings me great joy is when my phone rings and I see that it’s one of my children’s names on caller ID. Or even when one of the text messages that comes through is from one of them. I love when I get to speak with them. Sometimes they’re calling to just let me know how their day is going. And there are times they call with questions. I even get the opportunity to give them advice. It’s really great to hear their voices. Or to read their words in text. Point I am making here is that I love hearing from them. Just as our father in heaven loves to hear from us.

Do you take time to talk to God our father? Be honest. How often do you do so? Some people make time in the mornings before their day starts. Others that I know do it in the evening time before they go to bed. What a great way to finish the day! Now ask yourself, how is it that you talk to God? What do you do? Do you bow your head and go to your knees? Or do you do you like I do, and talk to him while you’re driving? However it is that you have these conversations, God loves them. He loves hearing from you. Prayer is key to our relationship with our Lord and Savior. Because it is how we communicate with him. So it is something that we should cherish and celebrate at the same time. And trust me, it’s something that God cherishes as well. It might be hard to think of it that way. But it’s true. Our father in heaven loves to hear from us.

The Bible tells us to give all of our worries and cares to God. That’s because God cares about us. So if there are times that are difficult, go to God. Just as children go to their fathers on earth. We can do the same thing with our heavenly father. He wants to help us through those moments. And let’s remember this as well, as much as we know that God is there for us in our moments of need, he is also there for us in our moments of success. What great opportunities those present for us to praise him. To thank him. To love him and celebrate him. So let’s not limit our conversations with God to asking for help. Talk to him when you have something that brings joy. He loves that too. Because he loves you. Always has. Always will.