Author: Scott

One thing that I have been blessed with, is being surrounded by people who are like-minded. People who are believers. People who hold me accountable through love. People on the same mission to show God‘s grace to those that don’t know him. To be a light for those that don’t see him.

In the book of Hebrews, we are warned about not getting together with other believers. That it’s a good habit to have regular contact with other believers. It’s a bad habit to not do so. Going to church is a great opportunity for us to be with other believers. Church can look different for different people. Sometimes it’s in a church building. Sometimes it’s in a deer blind. Sometimes it’s on the side of a pond bank. Other times it can be in the front seat of a car on a trip. Whenever we have fellowship in God’s name, we are having church.

So today, let’s try to find places to be with other believers to help build our faith. And build theirs. To strengthen our testimonies. Let’s find a community that’s trying to serve God. Let’s make this a habit. Let’s break away from the bad habits. Isolating ourselves. Not seeking help when we are struggling. Not helping our fellow believers in their struggles. Let’s make it a good habit to find those that we can trust to help us get through a hard times. Let’s turn to God in times of need. Let’s also turn to him when we celebrate. Surround yourself with people who love you and hold you accountable through love. God created us to be people who need fellowship. Because he knows fellowship can help get us through.

This is the month for the bald eagle watching in Stella, Missouri. I don’t know about you, but I love watching those birds. Especially in flight. They seem to be just soaring above us. Almost as if they’re enjoying it. They probably are. Just floating in the wind. Thousands of feet above the ground. It’s kind of cool how my emotions get excited when I get to see them.

Something else I enjoy is being in the deer blind as the world wakes up. I also enjoy being out there in the evening as well. Watching the world go to sleep. It’s hard to beat being in the creation. Taking it all in. When that first bird chirps in the morning, it seems like the rest of the wild life begin to arise. Almost like clockwork. God did an amazing job creating these animals for us to enjoy. And it’s true, the creation is for us to enjoy. We must respect it as well. But it’s there for us to enjoy. And the Bible tells us that God loves us more than he does the wildlife. So we know he’ll provide. 

If you look at things this way, then we realize that God will give us all that we need. He will provide for us. What he provides may not come the way you want it to. Or the way you hope. It might come a little pieces. Or maybe all at once. It may be obvious. Or it might take some thinking on your part. And it may not come when you want it to. Or when you wish it would. But his timing is perfect. Remember he knows your desires and your needs. He knows what you long for and would you require. Keep him in your heart. Keep him as your focus. And he will give you everything he has for you. Because he loves you. Always has. Always will.

Here is something that I recently read: “We often spend hours each day on our computers or cell phones. We encourage each other via Facebook and Instagram; send hearts and hugs; etc., but what we may not realize is that this isn’t necessarily the way Jesus has shown His love!” This is interesting to me. There’s nothing wrong with communication this way. I often do so. But we should work to make sure that we are not only serving others through typing or texting. Let me try to explain. 

This reminds me of the saying, “Actions speak louder than words.“ The Bible tells us, to not just love with words or speech. But with actions and with truth. Jesus is the ultimate example of this. Leaving his throne to join us on earth. And then to suffer a tremendously painful death. Teaching us how to love with action. I’m not saying we have to die for others to show love. But we can do different tasks for them that show it. Buying groceries. Mowing the grass. Visiting in hospitals. I’m sure you can find other ways. Especially since our words can be confused. Sometimes people don’t understand exactly what we’re trying to say. Sometimes we’re not being very clear.

So today let’s show our love through deeds. Not just typing. Let’s turn our words in actions. Let’s make sure our actions show true love. Instead of typing a reply, maybe let’s go see the people that we are commenting on their posts. Let’s help someone else who is in need. Etc. Let’s be the light that others can’t seem to find. Let’s remember that sacrifice made for us some 2000 years ago. Because we already know-Actions speak louder than words.

Have you ever had somebody or something come into your life that made you question, “Why?” Have you ever had an experience that made you question, ”Why?” Questioning, “Why am I going through this? What is the reason why this is happening?” Of course you have. If you’re being honest with yourself, I’m sure you would agree that you have had these questions run through your mind. I know I have. Several times. Been through things that really made me question what was going on. Especially these recent years when Barbara and I lost four very important men in our lives.

Just when you think you have it all figured out, there will be moments when you simply don’t understand what is going on. Moments when life will not seem good. Actually, life will seem like it’s very bad. Very, very bad. But we have a loving God, therefore we want to know why. We want to know why we’re going through something like this, especially if it’s bad. These moments could even have us questioning our faith. Even weakening our faith. Causing anxiety. 

I don’t have all the answers. But I know this. The Bible tells you that real peace is found in resting in the wisdom of God. He has the answers in His loving hands. We don’t get peace by understanding everything. We don’t get peace by knowing why things happen. Not true peace anyway. True peace will come when we trust God knowing that he is in control of all things. Even if they rob us of our peace. I know that this is complicated to understand. And I know this…As much as we don’t understand, God understands everything even more. He is in control. He is never confused. He doesn’t worry. So today let’s remember that trusting in God through all things will give us a peace. Even in the moments and times that are bad. Even when life doesn’t make sense. He has us, and he has it, in his hands!

Here’s something for us to think about and ponder today. What are you faithful to? Your spouse? Your kids? Your job? Your country? What about your favorite sports team? And what are you not faithful to? Your health? Your finances? Other things? As you think about these questions, you might realize what exactly you are prioritizing in your life. 

Something else to think about is this, no matter how faithful or not you are, God is always faithful. He will remain faithful. No question. We can’t debate it. Because there is no debate. God will remain faithful because his faithfulness comes from who he is. It has nothing to do with who we are or what we do. His faithfulness is never in question. 

When you take God into your heart, when you begin to trust him and let him guide you, everything changes. Your life changes. Your eternity changes. These things change because of his faithfulness. His love, grace, wisdom, and hope will remain faithful. You can count on these. You can rely on these. You can rest assured that he has his arms of faithful love around you. You can rest assured knowing that he will not let you go. You can rest assured knowing that he can be trusted even when you are not. And you can rest assured that he will be faithful even when you are not. Because he loves us. He always has. He always will.

I often say, “Give me a long enough, I can mess things up pretty good. I can get into God’s way for sure.“ What I mean by that is without God directing the way, I have definitely messed up. And I’m sure I will continue messing things up trying to do them on my own. I bet many of you have felt, or feel, the same way too.

No matter what we are facing in life, no matter what we are going through, God will see us through. But believing is the key. Believing is the magic word here. We must believe in God. We must believe he has a plan. We must believe he is in control. And we must believe that we can’t do it alone. I know it’s hard to do that. Because we live in a world where we call the shots. We pave our paths.

In the Bible, we read that God tells us to “fear not” in our daily lives. This is to give us the strength to keep going. So remember this, no matter what we have done, no matter how bad we mess it up, God is there. Even if we think we are at the end. That there’s no turning back. God is there. So keep going. Keep pushing. Fight the good fight. Keep your eyes on God and you will feel his hope. You will experience his grace. Get out of your way long enough to let him show you. He will because he loves you. He always has. He always will.

On this morning, one year ago, many people were waking up to hear the news about what happened to Damar Hamlin in the football game the night before. Many of us watched it live. It was really difficult to watch. He went into cardiac arrest after making a seemingly routine tackle. The medical personnel performed CPR on him for several minutes and were able to get his heart beating again. I think it’s fair to say that we watched him die and then be brought back to life. The NFL made the right choice and canceled the rest of the game.

As the medical team was doing their work, a majority of all the players and coaches went to their knees to pray. They didn’t know what else to do. So they prayed. Which was the right thing to do. I am a firm believer in the power of prayer. I have been on the receiving end of the power of prayer. My family has as well. Friends that I know too. When we find ourselves facing difficult times, we should turn to prayer. Why is that? My answer is this: I know that we serve an awesome God. A loving God. A God whose plan is beyond our understanding. But it is perfect.

I would also like to suggest something. Many of you are already doing this. Many of you are not. And I know that I need to be more consistent myself. Let’s begin making prayer a priority in our lives. And I don’t mean pray just pray. I mean let’s make prayer a real priority. Let’s be diligent about it. Let’s be focused on praying when we are praying. Maybe we should all begin each day going to our knees in prayer. Just as human fathers want to hear from their children, God wants to hear from us. His children. It’s a way that we can “bless” God. Let’s not just pray when times are tough. Instead, let’s pray for his guidance. Let’s ask him to lead us so we can serve him. And after we pray this prayer, let’s believe and know that he will guide us. Because he loves us. He always has. He always will.

You are not alone. God has you. Years ago Hezekiah had to speak these words to his people. They were getting invaded. He knew that the people were fearful. He knew where that fear came from. He knew they would forget who God is. He knew they would forget His almighty power and glory. Hezekiah knew that he couldn’t just be a good king and a skilled general. He knew he must also be a wise pastor to his people. 

As they were preparing for the Assyrians, he didn’t want the people of Judah to think that they were left alone. He wanted them to know that they had been blessed. And not forget God was with them. He told his people: “Be strong and courageous! Don’t be afraid or discouraged because of the king of Assyria or his mighty army, for there is a power far greater on our side!”

Being fearful isn’t something that only pertains to people from years past. Being fearful is a human experience. Therefore, we experience it in today’s time as well. But also, experiencing God is not something that is only reserved for past times as well. God is present today. And he will be present in the future. So when you experience fear, or experience times of uncertainty, remember that God is here for you. And as the Bible tells us, “Be strong and courageous.” He will see you through. But it’s up to us to turn to him. It’s up to us to ask him. It’s up to us to let him take control.

Here we are beginning a whole new year. As we age, it’s interesting to me how we view New Year’s Eve. How we celebrate it. Or how we don’t celebrate it. Some of us stay up to watch the ball drop in our time zones. Others of us watch the ball drop in New York City, and then call it a night where we are. Some of us are sleeping long before midnight. So many different emotions that people feel as a new year begins. Excitement about it. Doubt about it. Determined about it. Or fear about it. These emotions are natural.

Sometimes we look at our lives and we wonder why they don’t like those around us. Because we envy them. It can be natural to do so since we are human. Sometimes we try to manipulate our circumstances to get what we want or desire. That’s natural as well. Wishing we had more things. Or more opportunities. More of this. More of that. Also natural because we are human. There are even moments that we will lower our standards because of disappointment that we are trying to avoid. Expecting less of ourselves to do so. And as we stated earlier, this is natural because we are human. 

But you want to know what we have in our arsenal. We have grace. We have grace from God. Which gives us the ability to have faith. Grace and faith. Incredible! These are gifts from God. Therefore, they are not natural. They are not human. Because they are of God. So as we will begin this new year, let’s realize that God gives us the power to believe. He gives us grace in what we are facing. He gives us hope and peace. He gives us the ability to look at this new year, this new beginning, as a new opportunity to grow stronger in him. And to serve others. Let’s build our lives on belief in him. Let’s boldly seek him. And let’s see where he takes us.

Today is the last day of the year. Yes, I know. And I agree. This year has flown by. It was full of highs and lows. Joy and sorrow. Triumphs and tragedies. We have struggled at times. And we have celebrated as well. But, we made it. We’re moving on into 2024. For some it might be a fresh start. A time to begin anew. For others it might be more of the same. A year of building on from where you are now. Regardless of where you are now, or where you are headed, know that “purpose” is in the plan. 

There are 3 points to this I think we need to remember. First, our purpose is to know God. Not just know who he is. We should strive to “know” him. Second, our purpose is to make disciples. We should strive to help others get to “know” God too. Finally, God has a purpose for us. Unique to each of us. He’s paved the path for us. Even in times of despair, there’s a purpose for us. We should strive to find it and follow it. No matter how hard it might be, we should work to fulfill the plan. 

Here’s what is cool about these points. If we let him in, God will work in us. We will accomplish all three of these through him. He’ll give is the strength to do it. He’ll see us through. The Bible tells us that we have the tools. We can work “with everything good for doing his will” in our daily lives. So as we finish 2023, and move into 2024, let’s remember where we’ve been, where we are, and where we’re going. Let’s learn from our struggles. Let’s build on our successes. And let’s strive to find and fulfill our purpose for God. As we do so, let’s be thankful and praise him for the opportunity to do so. And let’s celebrate knowing that the victory has already been declared. All the while, let’s be mindful that God loves us. Always has. He always will.