Author: Scott

This world is full of limits. Meaning that we are limited on many things that we can do. Need some examples? Certain venues limit you to one bottle of water upon entry. Sometimes there are limits on things we can purchase that are on sale. Those are put in place to let everyone have an opportunity to purchase certain items. There are limits that are set to control us. Or maybe I should say, there are limits to protect us. Speed limits for example. Sometimes we limit our grandkids on certain things. Like one piece of candy. Point is, there are limits all around us.  I’m sure you can think of some. 

There is a limit that we sometimes do without even knowing it. Or sometimes we do it knowing what we are doing. That is putting limits on God. We limit areas of our life that we want him to be in. We limit the control over us that he has. We limit the influence he has on our decisions. We put him in a box. One that we can open whenever we see fit. For example, maybe some of us pray for him to help us with something that “we” want. I know I have been guilty of this. I think we do this because we want control. We want to be the decision makers in our lives. This one might hit home with most of us. Here it is though. Tithing. Do you control how much you tithe? Be honest. 

So today, here’s the challenge. Take God out of the box. Let him take control. Let him influence our decisions. Let him have our lives. If we just get out-of-the-way long enough, great things will happen. Let’s remember God is not restricted by anything. Not by time. Circumstances. Pain. Seasons. Nothing can control God. Unless we decide to not let him take control. No matter what we face. No matter the ups and downs we go through. God is not restricted by any of these. As a matter of fact, God should be the one restricting us. He should be influencing enough that we make decisions based on our faith in him. Take him out the box. And watch what happens. I promise you this, it will be glorious.

Yesterday we talked about pursuing just to be pursuing. Getting caught up in the pursuit. Losing sight of why we are pursuing God. Losing sight of our purpose. When we do that, we can totally miss the point of being called to serve our Lord and Savior. It’s easy to get lost in this. Because, it’s exciting to be “doing” things for God. And it’s easy to think that the more we are “doing”, the more we will be in good favor with God. There’s a real danger here though. Something that can sneak up on us without realizing it. 

This might be hard for me to explain. But please give me a moment here. What can happen is that we can get to the point that we burn out. Not even knowing it. We simply burn out. That happens because we might think that God is guiding us. But our own personal desires have actually taken over. Pursuing to be pursuing. And that’s not good. That’s why I always challenge us to keep God in focus. To keep him in our sites. To let him lead us. There is nothing wrong with doing more for God. There’s nothing wrong with serving as many people as we can. But the key is to make sure that we are always trying to show his grace.  

Each day it is a grind in this world following Jesus. Each day we wake up to battle what the world throws at us. What the world throws at everyone. And it can take its toll on us. God does not want us to become weary in our pursuit of him. He doesn’t want us to become weary in doing good. Because he knows that our efforts can lead others to his glory. He can use us in this manner. So today, don’t focus on the pursuit. Focus on being obedient to God. Put your focus on honoring God. And not just today. Make it every day. And when you feel the load becoming too heavy, lean on God more than ever. Let him carry you. Let him guide you. And remember this, resting is different than giving up. God will help us rest. God will restore us. God will give us the strength we need. And then he will help us move forward. 

I try to wake up each morning and type these devotions on my phone. I try to make the first thing that I do is read the word of God. It really is pretty incredible when you think about it. That we have the technology to pick up a phone and find the Bible at our fingertips. Very convenient. It’s an amazing tool at our disposal. To help us build our relationship with God. But, I think we can all agree that we live in a very fast paced world now. And I believe that it’s going to continue to speed up. There’s nothing wrong with living in a fast-paced world. As long as we can maintain control over what we are allowing to “control” us.

We are called to pursue God. To pursue him in all that we do. But sometimes, we can get caught up in the pursuit. We find ourselves bouncing from one pursuit to another pursuit. We find ourselves pursuing just to be pursuing. Getting caught up in the chase. If we do that, we can lose track of why we are to pursue God. We can lose track of the true purpose. And that is easy to do. Because there’s so much going on. So much information coming at us. So many opportunities for us to pick from. And if we’re not careful, we can easily grow tiresome. Fear not though. If you find yourselves in the situation, there’s still hope.

Maybe you are holding on too much. Trying to have too much control. Trying to dictate what happens. Maybe you can’t let go. Or possibly, maybe you’re not letting yourself let go. When you get to the point where you’re exhausted, sit back. Focus on God. Let him dictate what happens next. Let him help you get re-focused on your purpose. Let him help you prioritize what you need to be doing for him. Let him control the outcome. Let this be a time where you truly find yourself in his grace. Take it all in. Feel his love. Feel his hope. Feel his power. And then get back in the game. But always strive to keep your focus on him.

Ever since 2011, May 22 has had a different meaning for the people of Joplin. The people living here feel emotions on this day that they don’t normally feel. They remember things that happened that seem like they can only come out of nightmares. I will never forget the phone call that we got while we were in Tulsa. Our daughter worked at Walmart at the time. She called to tell us a tornado was headed their way and they were taking cover. Then the phone went dead. Then the next thing we heard was that Joplin was struck by a massive tornado. Businesses were destroyed, including Walmart. And there were multiple deaths. We couldn’t reach our daughter. Our hearts sank. 

As we drove home, we were not able to reach her. But we did catch other family members. And they said she was fine. Fortunately, the store she worked in was missed. The storm went just south of where she was. Thank God. What a relief. But then we began to hear about the magnitude of what happened. Quite possibly the largest storm to ever hit a metropolitan area. It had winds well over 200 mph. It was on the ground for over 20 miles. Just grinding up whatever it touched. Homes destroyed. Business is destroyed. Landscapes destroyed. The destruction was immense. 161 people lost their lives that day. Including kids who just graduated high school. It really was horrendous. 

I retired that year from teaching. And I wanted to do something to help out. So I wrote a book. The intention was to raise money to build a home for someone who lost their home in the storm. I was able to interview 62 families. To tell their stories. The book really is simply a collection of their interviews. Word for Word. I heard stories of those who lost loved ones. Who were there with them when they lost them. I could never imagine what it must’ve been like. And I was humbled to get to hear them firsthand. I was humbled that they would trust me to tell their stories. I was floored by the stories I was hearing. Stuck in their car. Stuck in their bathroom. Watching the roof being sucked off their homes. Having their child sucked out of their arms. Let’s just say there were tears shed over, and over, and over. 

Although what I was hearing was repetitive, each one had its own feel. They were definitely original in the sense of how they experienced the storm. But no matter how different they were, each one came back to a very common point. As we concluded each interview, I asked this question: “Where was God?” And just as they shed tears over, and over, and over, they did not hesitate to tell me that God was with them over, and over, and over. A young girl told me that she didn’t cry or get scared because the angel told her she was going to be fine. Another told me about finding their child in the arms of somebody in a white clothing. And as they approached their child, that person was gone. The child was fine. Others talked about angels holding the walls down. And a father who lost his son, told me that God allowed him to hand his son over to him. Wow! 

I will never forget listening to those I interviewed. Hearing what they had to say. And then re-reading their stories on the pages of the book. And one thing we should all learn from stories like these, is how God is there through storms. Now, our storms may not end the way we hoped they would. We aren’t promised easy. We aren’t promised things will go our way. We may lose loved ones. Just as a father who lost his son did. We may know others who lost loved ones as well. We may lose property. We may see destruction. But no matter what it is we go through, God will get us through. Through his strength we will get through. And if you don’t know this, let’s talk. Make today the day that you do come to know God. So when the storms do come, he will be there to get you through. Because he loves you. He always has. He always will.

The recent weather that we have experienced in this area as we’re thinking about storms. Also, tomorrow is the 13th anniversary of the tornado that hit Joplin in 2011. That was a tremendous storm. I was blessed to interview 60 families that were in that tornado. Their stories truly humbled me. And I don’t mean because they were in the storm. I’m talking about how they handled being in the storm. I wish I could tell you what each of them said. But there’s too many for this devotion.

One that does stick out and is very fitting for what I’m writing today came from a member of the Charlie 22 Outdoors family. His story included his family being huddled together in the kitchen, as the roof of the house was tore off above their heads. And I mean it was gone. They looked up and they saw what was raging outside. His son looked up at him and said that he was scared. He looked at his son, and he said something along the lines of: “No worries son. Whatever happens, Jesus has us.” Wow! Wow! Wow! 

I love the Charlie 22 Outdoors family. I love how people believe in the mission. Believing in it and sharing it with others. Them sharing it with others might mean the most to me. Something else that really hits home with me is the willingness and boldness of our supporters to share lessons with me. To send me videos or other pieces of material that I can learn from. How our supporters are not afraid to hold me accountable. To make sure I stay focused on the mission. I love that. Our supporters are part of our family. And I know you always hear me say it takes me a family to battle veteran suicide. To do what we do takes a family. I received an email from one of our supporters. One of our family members. He sent me a link to a sermon by Dr. Charles Stanley. On storms. I’ll put the link at the bottom of this for you to go watch it. Very powerful. The biggest point of the sermon that I took from it was not so much on storms. But more importantly on how we handle storms. Because it is how we handle them that determines the results of them. Storms will either destroy us or they will develop us. They are inevitable in our lives. They’re going to come. And how we go through them is the key. What gives us the strength and the wisdom to get through them is our anchor. And our anchor is the Bible. God‘s word. We may think that we can handle things on our own. We don’t need God‘s word. Oh man…how wrong we are. How mistaken we are. We all need Godly wisdom to get through the storms that come. And that wisdom comes from the word. So today, make it a habit to go to the anchor daily. To give yourself the security and the stability to face the storms that come. And then let the storms develop you.

Here’s the link: https://youtu.be/qW8JKIMcMuU

“Mom. Dad. I messed up.“ Have you ever heard that? Have you ever said that? I bet most of us have experienced one or the other. Either way, it is not something that you want to hear from your young adult child at 3 o’clock in the morning. Your first thought goes to something terrible has happened. You’re dreading what it’s getting ready to be said next. You’re really worried. Just hoping everybody is safe. Then there is a real sign of relief when you find out they are safe. Nobody is hurt. And actually, nothing bad took place. Just a simple mistake. Something that can be easily taken care of. Very stressful to begin with. It can be exhausting. But turned out to be just fine.

Being a follower of Jesus does not mean we have a stress free life. Actually, I would say just the opposite. Many of us experience attacks daily from the evil one. He does that. He comes at you every way he can. Trying to bring us down. Trying to destroy your relationship with Jesus. Trying to keep us away from God. He’s relentless. It’s also exhausting at times. Battling him. We can grow restless. We can lose sleep. It seems like nothing we can do…can break the cycle. That’s part of being a believer. Knowing the attacks are coming. Knowing the mistakes are going to happen.

But here’s what is awesome about being a believer. Being a follower. Being a disciple of Christ. He knows our pains already. He knows our doubts. And he knows we’re gonna make mistakes. But just as we don’t turn away from our children when they make a mistake, he will not turn away from us. As we are there to help “our’s” fix their mistakes, Jesus is there to help us. When we feel crushed. When we feel broken hearted. When are spirits are down. Jesus is there. No mistake is too great. I hope that my children feel this way about Barbara and me. That we’re always gonna be here for them. Always gonna show them grace. Just as Jesus does for us. Here’s something that I read: “He holds us and pours out His peace. But we need to run to Him. We need to sit at His feet and let Him pour out His love, peace, and grace. And when we do that, when we rest in Him and let Him love us, our weary soul will be renewed and strengthened and ready for whatever comes next.” And that my friends is…Awesome!

We have said several times, being part of this world means we’re going to be part of struggles. We’re going to be part of times of difficulties. Times of loss. Times of heartache where there seems like no hope. This includes times where people that we trust harm us in ways we can never imagine. This includes times where we lose loved ones when it seemed like everything was fine. At some point, we need to realize that we need God to step in. We need God to restore us. We need to focus on the one who can heal us…instead of focusing on what has hurt us. And I think that begins with prayer.

In the Bible, we learn about Job. We learn about his struggles. We learn about how he handled loss. When everything seemed hopeless. He lost so much. Possessions. Health. Even his children. When all of this happened, God gave him instructions to simply pray. God told him to pray. Which is what he did. He prayed. Which is what we all should do. God knows our hearts. He knows what we are going through. He knew what Job was facing. And he was waiting to restore him. Just as he is waiting to restore us in our times of need. But it starts with us. It starts with us praying.

It’s easy for us to wonder why we need to pray if God knows what we’re going through. You may not like my answer. But I think prayer signals that we are submitting ourselves to God. I think prayer signals that we are humbling ourselves before God. I think that prayer tells God that we are focusing on him. That we are focusing on being restored and not on what caused the pain. Sometimes things happen to us that are out of our control. Sometimes they make no sense. No matter what is going on, let’s remember this, we have a God who loves us and understands our circumstances. And he is there to restore us and rebuild us. But we must turn to him first. He’s waiting. Because he loves us. He always has. He always will.

Recently, Harrison Butker addressed the graduating class at Benedictine. A Catholic school. His remarks were pointed and direct. I admire him for being willing to do so. I wish more people would stand by their convictions. I wish more people would listen to what God is telling them to do. And just like it seems to happen when someone takes a stand today, people on both sides of the aisle, picked up their torches and ran with them. Especially on Facebook. I have said many times, people feel safe behind computer screens. So much so, that they will type things that they would never say to someone face-to-face. This morning, I’m going to quote two important points made in the last couple of days.

“Be unapologetic in your masculinity, fighting against the cultural emasculation of men. Do hard things. Never settle for what is easy. You might have a talent that you don’t necessarily enjoy, but if it glorifies God, maybe you should lean into that over something that you might think suits you better.” This was one of the points that Harrison made to the men that were in attendance. Great advice. We definitely live in a time where emasculation of men is taking place. Something that we should be fighting tooth and nail. But I believe we should be fighting it with God and control. Letting him show us how to be men of God. Plain and simple. Using our talents to glorify him.

Tavia Hunt, the wife of Chiefs’ owner Clark Hunt, responded to all the backlash to the speech made by Harrison Butker. The part I want to bring to your attention goes hand-in-hand with what I was saying earlier about both sides of the aisle. I made a comment to a post about the whole thing. I was trying to show how he was praising women for their accomplishments with graduating college. Maybe I should’ve stayed out of the whole thing. But I didn’t. And then I was called a scared Republican. Some thing I can easily shrug off. But Harrison has been called a bigot. He’s been called a white supremacist. And I’m sure he has been called other things. Tavia said this: “I also caution against taking things out of context. Sound bites overlaid with hateful comments are not what we want to model for our children or others. We need more dialogue (and VALUES, IMO) in this country and less hate.” So today, let’s stop all of the backbiting. Finger-pointing. Disparaging each other. Let’s agree to disagree if we need to. Nothing wrong with that. Let’s work to glorify God in both our actions and in our words.

Raise your hand if you have ever felt weary or rundown. There have been times where I found myself in difficult seasons or moments where I wanted to just sit back and do nothing. I felt like I was exhausted. Exhausted from my day-to-day struggles. Exhausted from one step forward and two steps backwards. Nothing I did seem to be moving me in the right direction. Found myself waking up only wanting to go back to bed. Didn’t have the energy to do anything. Basically, I felt weary. These are all statements that I’m sure some of us have said at some point in our lives. Maybe you are saying them now.

If you catch yourself feeling this way, try to be alert. There’s a good chance that Satan is after you. Trying to keep you down. Doing what he can make you feel worthless. To make your situation to feel hopeless. Let’s remember the snake that he is. He is sneaky like that. That is his specialty. To make you feel unworthy. To make you feel like nothing you do matters. Don’t forget, he does this in the darkness because in the light he is exposed. More importantly, remember that God can get you through. He is the solution.

There is a catch though. There is a caveat we must remember. For God to work in our lives and to get us through, we must act. We must do something first. And that first “act of action” is for us to seek God first. Even when times seem bleak, we must seek him. Turn to him. Not only will you show us the way, he will give us the energy to do so. The strength to face the struggles ahead. The wisdom to discern the best course of action. He will take us step, by step, by step. That will require us to endure the journey. Trusting that he knows what is best. And that is how he will restore us. That is how he will restore you. Step-by-step. Day-by-day. Blessing each action you take in your faith.

Losing a job can be humbling. It can rock you to your core. Losing two jobs can be life altering. It can change the course of your life. It did me. In 2005, I lost a job that I had held for over a decade. It made me feel expendable. And that’s a bad feeling. But, I didn’t dwell on it. I learned from it. I built on it. Our faith based basketball program came out of the whole situation. In 2020, due to budget cuts from the virus, my position with the state was cut. But by this point in my life, I knew there was a reason. God was closing one door as he was opening another. Actually, the floodgates opened. Charlie 22 Outdoors exploded after the state let me go.

We all experience loss at some time in our lives. Loss comes at us in many different forms. There’s death. There’s being let go from our jobs. There is the end of relationships. When we play sports, we will lose at some point. And there are so many other ways that we experience loss. It’s going to happen. Nothing that we can do to prevent it. Being human means we’re going to have to face it. Sometimes what we lose has very little meaning in the big scheme of things. At other times, loss can have long lasting affects on us. Sometimes they can’t be replaced.

Although, what we go through can be very painful, God can use those moments in big ways. In the Bible we read of Ruth. Losing her husband was not her end. She remained faithful. Followed her convictions. She didn’t stay focused on what happened. She didn’t stay focused on her circumstances. Instead, she moved forward as she was feeling sorrow. As she was feeling loss. And because so, God blessed her. And those around her saw it. They learned from it. We can all learn from it. We should all learn that God can restore us if we remain faithful. God can take what seems like the end and make it a beginning. God can take what seems like has been turned upside down and make it righteous. God can restore anything if we let him work. And if you let him work, others will see it. And they will grow as well. And that my friends…is glorious.