Author: Scott

As you read this, it looks like I am being complacent. But please read to the end and you will see the point that I’m trying to make here. Today we have veterans arriving for the weekend. We look forward to this event every year. This is the first one that we do to kick off the next 12 months. And inevitably, the devil tries to do something to intervene. The past two days he’s been at work.

On Wednesday, I noticed that the power door on my truck was a little bit open. Of course this was in late afternoon. Upon further investigation we found out that the motor would not pull the door closed. Yesterday, we worked on it for a few minutes to see if it was functioning again. And it was not. So we had to drive to Springfield to get it looked at. Not a big deal I know. But I need this truck to be able to get down to the field this weekend with the veterans. Definitely a first world problem. But dealing with the truck literally took about eight hours of my preparation away. But here are the blessings. And Satan loses.

Number one: I was at home and not someplace away from here will be found the problem. So I wasn’t stranded. Therefore solving it was simple. Number two: Our volunteers understand what the goal is. I do not need to be on site for this weekend to work. I will be coming and going. Just not in the field. Number three: Two of our board members were able to get a big portion of the windows finished at our new office space. Number four: The power doors and computer systems are almost finished being installed at the office space. Number five: I woke up today. I get to do what I get to do this weekend. There are many blessings coming here. But I think you get the point.

What I’m trying to say is that it’s easy for us to get sidetracked and anxious about things when stuff does not go as we planned it. It is easy for frustration to set in. But it’s also easy for us to find the blessings if we just look. They are everywhere. Even in times when Satan attacks. This morning I woke up to a message from a friend of mine on Facebook. “The deepest level of worship is praising God through the pain, thanking God through the trials, trusting Him when we’re tempted to lose hope, and loving Him, even when He seems distant! Whatever you do, never loose hope my friends! Trust in him always.“ God has this. God has you. God has me. God has us all. This weekend is going to be amazing. Because God loves us. Always has. Always will.

Every time my wife and I finish a conversation as we’re getting ready to leave each other, I make it a point to say, “I love you.“ I do the same thing with my children. And my mother. I even try to make sure I do this with my other family members. Sometimes friends and I will tell each other the same thing. There is no doubt that I love my wife and my family. I love my friends as well. And I try to do all that I can and make sure they know this.

Do you know who else I love? I love Jesus. I love our Lord and Savior. I love the Holy Spirit. Basically, I love God and everything about him. And I know he loves me. He loves us all. I do not doubt that. I have full confidence in that. But you know what, I have never heard the words out of his mouth, “I love you.“ I have never received an email or a text message saying so. I’ve never had a voicemail saying it. Not even a piece of regular mail. Although I have never received any of these types of correspondence from him, I still know he loves me.

God does not need to tell me he loves me. I know he does because he sent Jesus to be with us. Think about that. Jesus left paradise. He left his home in heaven to be with us. He came to earth to be human. He left peace and comfort to endure pain and suffering. He left the protection of his father, the protection of being in heaven, to come and be persecuted by man. Jesus died on the cross for me. He died on the cross for you. He died on the cross for us all. That’s how I know God loves me. That’s how I know God loves you. There’s no doubt about it. Maybe today is the day for you to start believing this. Maybe today is the day for you to tell him you love him and want him in your heart. Maybe today is the day for you to begin feeling the peace and knowing the hope that only comes from God. Because he loves you. Always has. Always will.

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 will 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.

This morning I woke up and read some comments on a post I made on Facebook about prayer. There was confusion on the points I was making. Then I do my morning reading and this is what I read. I’ll quote it because it’s spot on. “We often spend hours each day on our computers or cell phones. We encourage each other via WhatsApp, 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 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. 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, let’s go see the people that we are commenting on their posts. 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 last two 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 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-God understands. He is in control. He is never confused. He doesn’t worry. So today let’s remember this. 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.