Author: Scott

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.

Yesterday was the beginning of firearms deer season in Missouri. I, along with many of my friends and family, will take to the hunting blinds or tree stands all throughout the state. Hunting game that we anticipate and prepare for each year, just as soon as the season ends. 

We talk about being called to be fishers of men. We’re “fishing” for men that are lost. Men who need to know Jesus. What this means is that we’re called to go find those people (men and women) who don’t have a relationship with Jesus. And then to serve them in a manner that reflects God’s grace. 

With it being deer season, I’d like to say that we’re called to be hunters of souls. Just as we fish for men, we should be “hunting” for those with lost souls. We should prepare for that one moment. Prepare for when we can witness when that moment comes. We should anticipate it just like we do each opening weekend. Anticipate that God will send us someone who needs us to show who he is. And that’s really the “harvest” that matters. So let’s challenge ourselves to prepare for and anticipate so we can be ready when the time comes.

Over the years, members of the military have served our country. That means they have served us. Many of them have willingly laid down their lives to protect and defend, in wartime and peace, the Constitution of the United States of America and its freedoms. We can attend a church of our choosing. We can own a Bible. We have the freedom of speech. The freedom of assembly. The freedom of the press. We have the Second Amendment as well. We have these freedoms, rights, and more, all defended and protected by the members of the military.

Today, November 11, is Veterans Day. Today we celebrate all who have served or are currently serving in the armed forces. Today we honor and celebrate them. Today let’s take time to pause, reflect and pray for our veterans and their families. Let’s thank God for all of them. Let’s ask God to put his cloak around them and protect them. Let’s ask God to protect their families as well. 

If you are a veteran, know that we love you. We thank you. We honor you and value you. Today we want you to know how much we appreciate you. And we are here for you. We love you. And God loves you.

Yesterday, I was talking to one of our veterans about what they saw during combat. Believe me, it wasn’t pretty. Many of us, if not all of us, have seen or done things that beat us down emotionally and spiritually. Things that we can’t seem to let go of. Things that can take us to dark places. Things that lead us to points of anger. Even to points of rage. Or maybe to points of extreme anxiety or depression. We get caught in the downward spiral and we find ourselves in places we cannot handle, and then we react or respond in ways that are not rational. 

Satan is good at using this tactic against us. But as good at this as he may be, our Lord and Savior has this covered. He has already defeated our enemy. He has already taken our times of emotional turmoil and cast them aside. He has beaten Satan back. He did that for us. He is beating him back now. And he will continue to do so. 

But why? Why does God allow these times in our lives? I believe he allows these moments so we can turn to him. We can pray to him. We can ask for his help. And when we do, we get to witness the awesome power and glory that only his grace provides. His love for us is beyond all reasoning. And these are moments we can learn from and build our faith stronger on. Then just think of the testimonies we will have to share with others. We will be able to witness to them because we’ve been through it. Oh isn’t that incredible! God’s plans are beautiful. And going through tough times are part of his plans. And the reward of eternity is awaiting us who trust in Jesus. Because God loves us. Always has. Always will.

What are you reading? What are you watching on tv? Or listening to on the radio? Is there a blog or a podcast you’re following? The reason I’m asking is because these forms of information can have direct impacts on our lives. How is that? 

What we are thinking does. Our thoughts do. If they are toxic, they can negatively affect our lives. Our relationships. Our everything‘s. I’m not saying that what you are reading, watching, listening to, etc., are bad. What I’m saying is that “how” you take all that in can be.  How you let them impact how you think can be. It’s no secret that I am a 1980s hair band fan. Def Leppard. Motley Crue. Metallica. But they are simply entertaining to me. I don’t let them control how I view things. How I see things. How I think things.

I’m not trying to tell you what to listen to or watch. I’m just trying to tell you that our thoughts do matter. They matter more than we realize. They matter because they are important in determining who we are. Who we become. They matter because they can keep us from God‘s truth. And that’s where the danger lies. Toxic thoughts can destroy us. Without us even realizing it. They can tear our lives apart. They can ruin our relationships. Maybe it’s time to analyze our thoughts and see how they are directing us. Maybe it’s time to let God‘s word take over and let God take control of our thoughts. If we do that, he will take control. And how awesome will that be!