Author: Scott

Feeling sorrow and pain is part of being human. They are emotions that we are created with. God gave us these intentionally. I look at them as part of his tools for us to really understand what we should view as being important. Tools to help us to understand where to put value. The year 2021 brought these emotions to me and my family like no other. We lost three men within months of each other that were very important in my life. My biological father in January. My father figure in March. And my stepfather in August. I could go on and on about how each one of these men shaped my life. But that’s not the point of this devotion.

Feeling joy is also an emotion that we have. Another amazing part of being created. Once again, a tool that God uses to teach us what is important. Just as pain and sorrow can rock us to our core, joy can lift us to a height that we never thought imaginable. It can move us to tears. Watching our children and our grandchildren brings us great joy. Being with somebody experiencing their first successful hunt can bring us joy. Celebrating the victory of your favorite sports team does as well. I’m sure we all have other examples. Once again, not the point of this devotion.

We are going through this week of being thankful. Today, I am thankful that our God instilled in us emotions. Emotions that include pain and joy. If you think about it, they really are amazing. In his famous speech, Jim Valvano told us to have our emotions move us to tears each day. As he was dying, he understood the importance of pain and joy. I am so thankful that our God loves us so much, that tears from emotions were part of his plan. Sure, I don’t want to feel pain. No one does. But I’m thankful that I can understand what is important. I am thankful that I get to go through pain and joy. I am thankful, because they give me a full heart. And they will give you a full heart too. Because…God loves us. Always has. Always will.

I want you to take a moment and think about the “climate” of the world. And I am not talking about the weather. What I mean is the civil unrest that we’re seeing all across the planet. Everywhere you look, there is hatred and vile. Evil has become good. Good has become evil. And it seems to be perpetuated by the media. if you need an example, just look at what’s happening in the Middle East. 

Now, as you think about this, I still want you to think about being thankful. What are we being thankful for? That can be hard to do when you’re thinking about evil. But…today I am thankful that we have the ability to denounce and combat evil. Thankful that we don’t have to let it take hold and control us. We don’t have to let it make us fearful. We don’t have to accept it. That’s because we are covered with the grace of God. That’s what I’m thankful for. The ability to pray to the Lord and Savior and not let evil take over. 

Unfortunately, we live in a world full of evil. Satan is doing his job very well. You don’t have to look very far to see it. Global terrorism. Domestic violence. Child abuse. Etc. And just simply hating your neighbor instead of loving them. Evil is everywhere. But the good news is this, Good is everywhere too. Peoples’s hearts are opening to serve others. Miracles are happening daily. The Holy Spirit is moving and changing lives. Ultimately in the end, we win. Christianity wins. Satan will not be victorious. Jesus won that for us on the cross. The victory has been declared. So today be thankful. Be thankful that we have a loving God. And his love is much greater than any evil that we will ever face. No amount of suffering we have on earth will compare to what we’re going to feel and see in heaven for eternity. Because God loves us. Always has. Always will.

Today is Monday of Thanksgiving week. A week where we will all celebrate with annual customs with friends and family. A week that includes meals prepared by hands of those who love us. And we cannot forget that there are football games and Black Friday shopping frenzies. I’m certain that there are other customs. These are just what come to mind. 

There is nothing inherently wrong with any of these. In fact, I’d like to suggest that we all find ways to bring our loved ones together. Whether it be by food, football, shopping, etc. Being together is important. It can strengthen the bonds we have. It gives us the opportunity to reflect and remember times from our younger years. Maybe times that included loved ones no longer with us. Or maybe times that were the beginnings of traditions we now have. 

But as this week begins, I’d like to also suggest that we truly think about what we are thankful for. What is it that really rocks us to our core? This might include things we never really thought about. Or maybe things we had forgotten. Let’s take a few moments to think about this: What are you truly thankful for? Then let’s go one step further. Let’s pray of genuine prayer of thanks. Go to our knees and open our hearts and be thankful. I am not going to make suggestions on what you should be thankful for. I am certain that you know what they are. I am simply saying let’s give thanks to our Lord and Savior for these things. And while we do so, let’s be sure to be truly thankful for his love and grace. Because if we’re truly honest, that’s what really matters.

Here’s an interesting question: “How can something we can’t see control so much of who we are, determine what we feel and what we do and what we say or don’t, dictate how we move or sleep, and inform what we want, what we hate, and what we love?”

What we are talking about here is our thoughts. They have tremendous control over our actions. The good and the bad. And even more interesting to me is that even though they have so much “control” over us, we ultimately have the ability to shift the focus of them. We can decide what we think about. What an amazing gift that God has given us. 

In the Bible there’s an example of someone doing exactly that. The Apostle Paul. Talk about someone doing a complete 180. We know his story. Before converting, Paul was known as Saul. He worked on sending believers to prison. Men and women alike. While on his way to Damascus to arrest and extradite Christians back to Jerusalem, Saul was confronted by Jesus. And from that moment on, he shifted his thoughts to serving our Lord and Savior. Paul “chose” to live under the power of the Holy Spirit. We can do the same thing. The world tells us how we should think and view things. How we should believe. How we should agree with the masses. But the Holy Spirit gives us the same power that Paul had. This is the same power that raised Jesus from the dead. That’s the power to shift our focus. The power to take control of the battle in our minds. The power to serve God by serving others. Is today the day for you to take control? Maybe it is.

Who we surround ourselves with is very important in determining who we are and what we represent. Our relationships are very important. And often times, if not all the time, our thoughts and behaviors can determine our relationships. Therefore, it’s important for us to have a clear mind and think appropriately. Keeping all of our focus on God. Even in the dark times, we should strive to keep our focus on him. If we do so, he can help us keep our thoughts and our behaviors where they need to be. And that will help us keep our relationships healthy.

But what about relationships that are unhealthy that we want to keep? Like with family and close friends. And what about thoughts that seem to reoccur? Or behaviors? I would like to suggest that we spend our time trying to determine a way to fix these. That would require us to figure out what causes these. God can help us figure this out. If we pray to him for wisdom on how to work on unhealthy relationships, and how to keep our thoughts more pure, he will do it. 

And here is the good news. If we do this. If we focus our energy and our efforts on God. If we let him guide us in our thoughts and our relationships,  then we might be the light that leads those that don’t know him-to him. Wow! Talk about doing a 180. We can take our inner thoughts, our inner emotions, and turn them into tools to show others God‘s grace. And that might be what leads them to salvation. Instead of wallowing in despair of what we are going through, we can work through them with God’s unending love. Instead of allowing ourselves to live day by day in unhealthy relationships, we can strive to show others God’s unending love. And that’s awesome. So let’s try to take our thoughts captive. Let’s try to work on our relationships. And let’s let God’s love take hold. Just imagine the testimonies that we will have if we do so.

Some of the best advice I was ever given, and that I can give, is to be thankful and give praise throughout all things. No matter the situation. No matter the outcome. Be thankful. They may be difficult to find, but there are blessings in everything that we experience or go through. August of 2023, we had a serious health scare with our daughter after the banquet. Ended up in ICU. But the blessing that came out of that was finding a doctor that she can relate to and learn from. Not easy to find something to be thankful for when your 19 old daughter is going through something like that. But it was there. God saw us through.

God will see you through just as he did us. Through everything. Whatever causes anxiety, depression, anger, etc. God will see you through. But we must act to have that happen. We must bring all of our issues before him. Lay them at his feet. He knows what we’re going through. He has paved the way. Let’s humble ourselves and bring our concerns before him. He is waiting. He is capable. He can do what we cannot. His grace has us covered.

I would like to quote some thing that I read earlier. “Worship the Lord. Fix your eyes upon Him. Take your eyes off of yourself and off of your circumstances and set them securely upon your Lord.” As you worship him, always remember that he is God. He loves us all. His plans for us are good. No matter what we are going through, the plans are good. Our vision may be blurry. We may not see what the end goal is or his plans are. But he loves us. And he will always, always, always be here for us. All we have to do is go to him with open hearts. And don’t forget, the victory has already been declared. The cross did that. 

Doing what we do, we get to work with veterans and their families from all across the country. It really is a blessing doing so. Unfortunately, many of them are dealing with anxiety, depression, PTSD, and other emotional trials. Each day presents new challenges. Just knowing what they have to deal with can also cause a mixture of emotions. Can you just imagine? I can’t. I don’t pretend to. What they saw while they served is beyond my comprehension. There’s nothing wrong with them. They just have stuff that they’re dealing with. But don’t we all.

Here is a quote from something that I read before: “Sometimes we feel like there’s something waiting to sabotage us. Waiting for that one moment to ruin our days. That one moment to ruin our lives. The feelings can actually lead us to believe that there’s something wrong with us.” I’d like to suggest that this is one of the tools that Satan uses. Makes us think that God has forsaken us. Makes us think that we are failures. And sometimes, makes us turn to solutions that are not going to actually work. Temporary solutions. For example, substance abuse. Or other self-destructive activities. 

It’s easy to believe that there’s no hope. There’s no future. There’s no purpose. There’s no reason to live. Once again, tools used by Satan. Sometimes even believers can think this. But truth is, no matter how bad it gets, Jesus is always there. And he provides us hope. He provides a future. He provides a purpose. He provides a reason to live. He provides peace that only can come from him. And here’s something that I love about our Lord and Savior. Jesus provides strength and solutions to what we are facing. Read that again! Strength and solutions. The problems of the world are not going to go away. We’re gonna face them. But with him in our hearts, we can handle them. Trust God‘s word and keep your eyes on his love. Do these things, and you will feel a calm. You will feel a peace. Because God loves you. Always has. Always will.

This is a quote from something I read, “The next step in battling against your toxic thoughts is to replace those thoughts with God’s truth. The best place to find God’s truth is in His Word.“ Pretty straightforward. The truth is easy to find. It’s in the Bible.

Just as easy as it is to find the truth, it is easy to find the lies of the world. All you have to do is turn on the TV. We are being flooded with information that really is simply false. This is allowed now. If you don’t believe this, or follow this, then you are wrong. If you disagree with us, you are wrong. If you criticize or try to correct someone, you are wrong. Etc., etc., etc. I don’t recall a time in my life when a person was right and wrong at the same time. Not to this extent. No matter what you say or do, you are right and wrong at the same time. No matter what you believe, you are right and wrong at the same time. How did that happen? Why did it happen so quickly? I don’t know the answers. But I do know this, Satan is on the prowl.

And I know this too, there really is only one truth and one constant in this world. Jesus. He is the truth. He has remained steadfast. And he’s going to continue being the truth. He will never waver. He will always be here for us, no matter what the world says. Christ is the foundation. And as Christians we can stand firm in this truth as well, the pain and suffering that we endure on this earth pales in comparison to the glory we’re going to receive for eternity in heaven. Simply awesome! So none of the lies that the world tells us will be able to sway us from the glory that God has for us. None of them. God has us. God loves us. Always has. Always will.

A dear friend of mine shared this with me. I find it very fitting since it is deer season. Even for those who are not deer hunters, this devotion should hit home. Because the blood of Jesus is for us all. The bloodtrail is awesome because at times it is the only thing that connect us to to the animal that gave his life for us.  If we lose the bloodtrail, we can lose the animal.  If you get off the bloodtrail, it can take you through briars and thickets that just waste time. At times it is hard to follow and requires work, other times it is easy to see. Sometimes the bloodtrail takes you right through the briars, but it still leads you to the prize.

In our faith, Jesus left a bloodtrail.  When we lose sight of it, we can get lost.  When we stay on the bloodtrail, even though the briars of life tear at us and tangle us up, we are making progress toward the prize.  The bloodtrail leads to the lamb that gave his life for us. This bloodtrail leads right to the foot of the cross.

Jesus has paved the way. He shed his blood for us. He gave his life for us. We will see him if we stay on the trail. He’s waiting. Maybe today is the day for you to get back on the trail. Maybe today is the day for you too step onto the trail for the first time. Or  maybe today is the day for you to accept Jesus into your heart and follow him. He’s waiting. He will always be there. His blood trail will never disappear. All you have to do is get on it and follow it.

Yesterday was the end of a busy week for the ministry. Actually, let’s use the word productive instead of busy. We were in Branson all week at Veterans Village. Setting up there on November 4. Tearing down on November 10. Several veterans helped set up and man the booth. Hundreds of Veterans came by to visit. Vietnam Veteran Larry Cloud was the lead volunteer there for the week. Such an amazing job. Operation Whitetail was November 10-12. We hosted six different veterans for the weekend. They came from Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Indiana, and Wisconsin. So awesome that Veterans Day was in the middle of it. Each of them was able to take a buck. So blessed.

What does all of us have to do with the devotion? It’s really pretty simple. We can come up with one word. Serving! The ministry was built on the motto: “Serving those who have already served.” And that’s exactly what the last week was about. Serving. That’s it. Serving other people. Isn’t that what we are called to do? Didn’t Jesus say that we are to go and make disciples? I believe so. We are called to go out into the world and tell others about Jesus. To show his grace. To show his love. We are called to lift others up and serve them. Put them above ourselves. And it was awesome getting to watch all of that happen these past few days.

So today’s challenge is one that we have put out there several times. We do so, because it’s important. We do so, because Jesus wants us to do what the challenge calls for us to do. Today’s challenge is for us to find ways to serve others. So today, look for opportunities. Find ways to serve others. Keep an open mind, because it might take some creativity on your part. As you do so, remember this very important component to the whole process. Make sure you are serving to serve others. Keep that in your heart first. Don’t look to benefit personally. Keep Jesus the focus in what you do. And I promise you this, he will bless your efforts. And that means people will see his grace. They will see his love. And that is awesome.