Month: June 2023

Today is the last day of the sixth month of the year. Basically, we are halfway through the year. How did that happen? We’ve all heard how time flies as you get older. Hard to argue with that. Every year seems to come quicker and go by faster. One day or youngest child is just an infant. The next, you look around and she’s turning 20. We’ve also heard how time flies when you’re having fun. I think that partially means that the things that we enjoy doing never seem to last long enough. I could be wrong. But that’s how I view it.

Looking back at where the last six months have taken us, we’ve talked about several things. Dealing with obstacles. Overcoming challenges. Celebrating victories. Enjoying successes. And more. But the reoccurring theme that always pops up with what we’re reading and writing about is God‘s grace. How God‘s grace is involved in everything. Because it’s through his grace that we are able to rejoice no matter what it is that we’re facing. Because it’s through his grace that we have the strength to overcome whatever comes our way. And also, because it’s through his grace that we feel the love and hope the only comes from Jesus. When we look at our lives like this, it’s easy to see that his grace is truly involved in everything. And everything means quite literally everything.

How do we know this? We know this because we read this. It’s in God‘s word. The Bible tells us that God‘s grace is sufficient. And I know sometimes it’s very hard to believe this. Especially, whenever things seem insurmountable. But even in times like that, times that seem insurmountable, we still turn towards God for his grace. I believe that is because often we do not know what else to do. Where else to turn. Sometimes even those that do not believe will ask for prayer. Seeking God‘s grace. That’s how powerful it is. I often pray for God to put a hedge of protection around my family. To cover us with his cloak. That’s my way of asking for his grace. Have you ever asked for his protection? So today would be a great day to ask for God to cover you. To ask him into all aspects of your life. Let his grace go to work on you. And then others will see his hope and his love through you. Just think about where that could go. So glorious.

If you have ever received some not so great news, raise your hand. If I were to take inventory at this point with all of you reading this, I would expect to see every one of you with your hand up. I can’t imagine going through this life and not ever hearing something that wasn’t necessarily good. I guess there’s a slim chance someone out there has always received good news. And if there is, I’m happy for you. But chances are, at some point or another in our life time, we are going to receive news that really isn’t what we want to hear at all. And sometimes it comes at the most inopportune time.

Some of us find out about illnesses that are not curable. Some of us find out about accidents that are horrific. Some of us may be called into the office to find out that we have been let go from our jobs. Some of us may learn about the death of a loved one. I think you get my point. Not so good news can sometimes become a regular occurrence. I know our family has had our share of it. And I also know this about our family, through it all we have been able to get through it because of the grace of God. God has provided us hope and comfort through difficult times. God has provided us peace. He has even provided us wisdom on how to get through tough times. And I’m certain that he will continue to do so.

Jesus came to earth and died on the cross for us all. He did so because his love for us is that deep. He has paved the path for us to join him. And that is what gets us through the difficulties that we’re going to face. Knowing that he is there for us. He is waiting for us. When I say us, I’m talking about you as well. I’m talking about everyone. Unfortunately, some of us are going to give it a shot on our own. We’re going to go through this lifetime trying to figure it all out without God in our lives. I couldn’t imagine trying that. Knowing where that takes us in the end. I couldn’t imagine it. But some of us do. So today, if you don’t know Jesus, make today the day that you come to know him. Make today the day that you welcome Him into your heart. Receive the peace and hope that ONLY comes from him. And if you know Jesus, maybe today is the day that you reignite your fire to serve him. Either way, if we have Jesus in our lives, he will get us through those times that are not so good. Know that. Believe that. Trust that. Because it’s true.

This morning I woke up to several text messages. Some were sent last night after I was in bed. Others came early this morning. The majority of them were from veterans that I have been blessed to work with the last few years. I’m always humbled by what they send me. The ones that I received recently varied from thanking us for supporting them, to showing me photos of items for the banquet, and to a link of a video about a former Navy SEAL finding faith. Pretty awesome stuff. I’m so thankful that they feel close enough to me to share these with me.

In the video of the Navy SEAL, he talks about searching for answers to his questions in various places. Astrology. History of the world. Science. And more. He was in a bad place trying to figure out how to best handle his thoughts. Let’s just say, he wasn’t finding what he was looking for. Does this sound familiar to anyone? I’m sure it does. I can relate to this. The good news is that he kept looking. And ultimately he found Jesus. And with Jesus, he found the answer to every question that he has ever had. And I say that he has found the answer to every question that he is ever going to have as well. That’s pretty powerful. Especially in the world we live in today. The mess that we live in. Does anything make any sense anymore? Sometimes it’s hard to say yes to that question.

The Bible tells us how to handle what it is we’re facing. It tells us how to handle the mess that we are in. It tells us to trust the Lord with all of our heart. And that might be the best advice we would ever get. Because it’s hard to know who to trust now. Different media stations offering different opinions. Different politicians offering different solutions. Different this. Different that. Who’s right? Who’s wrong? That is so hard to determine. Today let’s cry to God for wisdom. Let’s cry to God for strength. Let’s cry to God for the Holy Spirit to move in us. We may not be able to change the climate of the world. But we can change the climate around us if we do this. Let’s lean on God. Let him take control of our hearts. Just as the Navy SEAL did. And let’s watch the peace and the hope that we receive change our lives. Because Jesus is the answer.

Couple days ago I posted a picture online of Barbara and me with Coach Armstrong’s daughters. They are all married now. They are women doing very well. Seeing them always reminds me of Coach. And when I think of him, I think of all the times that we sat and just talked. There are moments at the gym before and after people would arrive that we would just have conversations about life. No topic other than life. There were times that we talked about certain world events. Certain people in our lives. Critical conversations. Conversations that he was teaching me morals and values in. And I know I’ve said this before. Coach was so much more than a basketball coach. I miss those conversations. I miss those phone calls. I miss him.

Nobody will ever replace Coach Armstrong. That void will always be a void. No doubt about it. But I have been blessed the other men have stepped in to different roles in my life. Some men I have known for several years. Others for only a couple of years. Veterans and civilians alike. And I know that God was preparing me and them for my life without Coach Armstrong. Each of them bringing different aspects to the table. Mentors. Advisors. Accountability partners. Brothers in Christ. And I am very thankful for each of them. That is so very important. Having this type of relationship with others, is so very important to all of us. People who can actually help you keep your life on track. Even help you change your life. The Bible tells us how important this is. The Bible warns us just what bad company can do to us.

So today, ask yourself who your mentors are. Ask yourself who your influencers are. Ask yourself who holds you accountable because they love you. Ask yourself who celebrates your victories. Your successes. Take a look who you have surrounded yourself with. Your inner circle. I’m not telling you to abandon anybody that you love. I’m just telling you that we need people of Christian character in our lives for very important reasons. We must remember just how important Christian associations are. Relationships with people who believe in Jesus. Who strive to serve Jesus. Because they can influence you in so many different ways. Work. Hobbies. Homes. And more. And I think a good piece of advice is…Pray over this! Pray over your circle. Pray over who influences you. Pray over who you should let influence you. God will show you. If your relationships are built on material items or social ideals, they will end as soon as those items and ideals go away. That I promise you. Place God first in your heart. Place God first in your relationships. And watch how God changes your life and those around you. He will do so because he loves you.

This morning I have to admit I was struggling to think of a topic to write on. Nothing really hit me like it usually does. Nothing really stuck out to inspire me. Waiting for God to show me what to read and write on. Just sitting here. Struggling to come up with something. And then I realized, right there is my topic. 

We all go through times where we seem to struggle and nothing we do can fix it. Nothing that we can do seems to solve the issue. The struggle seems to linger on, and on, and on. Sometimes by our doings. Sometimes by the doings of others. I think it’s during those times that God is building us for what is to come. I think it’s during those times that God is using what we are facing to teach us something. But I also believe that we must view it this way in order for us to learn what God is trying to teach us. I’ve said many times that one of the greatest gifts that God has given us is ability to choose. And that includes the ability to choose how we view things. We can choose to be a bitter at what has happened. We can choose to be bitter about what is happening right now. Being bitter about something only results in us being bitter about something. That’s not good.

Now, I am not saying that we shouldn’t feel pain or be upset about something. That’s part of being human. That comes from being part of this earth. It’s going to happen. It’s unfortunate. But it is going to happen. What I am saying is that we can choose to use tough moments as building blocks to grow closer to our Lord and Savior. One of the ways I think we can do that is by praying. Maybe we know the solution and we need to pray for strength to put it into action. Maybe we know the source of the struggles and we should pray to know the way to make those sources go away. Or maybe we just need to sit and pray for wisdom. To be still for a moment. And to let God work on our hearts and our minds. I don’t know your situation or your struggles. But I know God has the answers. You can choose to face them on your own. And you might possibly solve them. But you might not. Or we can choose to let God guide us and no matter what we face, the end will be glorious, and God‘s grace will be revealed. 

So, yesterday I was watching the Top Gun movies. I remember the first one coming out when I was a kid. After watching it, we were all going to be pilots. I don’t think any one of us went on to do that. At least I don’t know anyone who did. When Top Gun Maverick come out last year, we were thrilled to go watch it. And it did not disappoint. If you haven’t seen it, I recommend it. It was worth the wait. But I’m not writing about a movie today. There was a couple lines near the beginning that kind of hit home.

I don’t want to give away the story of the movie for those of you that haven’t seen it yet. So I’ll be short. Tom Cruise‘s character, Maverick, is getting ready to do a test run on a plane. One of the guys helping monitor this flight said to him, “Do you know what happens if you go through with this?“ Maverick’s response was, “I know what happens to everyone else if I don’t.” This may sound cheesy. But it was a powerful moment in the movie for me. And it made me think about something else.

Let’s go back 2,000 years in our minds. Let’s go back to the last night before Jesus was arrested. I’m wondering about the conversation that could’ve taken place. Might’ve taken place. I’m wondering if someone could’ve said to him the same thing: “Do you know what happens if you go through with this?” And I can imagine Jesus’s response being very similar. “I know what happens if I don’t.“ Jesus knew what was getting ready to take place. He knew why he was here. He knew tremendous pain was coming. Can you just imagine! He knew all these things, and he still took it upon himself. Because, he knew his purpose was to be sacrificed for us. He had to go through with it to pave the way for us. He had to go through it to show us what love looks like. Holy cow! Now…can you imagine what Life might look like today if He chose not to? No thanks. So today, let’s work on lifting others above ourselves. Let’s remember that many people don’t know Jesus. And remember what happens if they don’t come to know him.

I grew up in a household with one TV. As a matter of fact, the first one I remember having was black and white. And whenever dad was home, we watched what he wanted to watch. Being a soldier, he liked war movies. He liked westerns too. But, he preferred war movies. I enjoy them myself. Especially World War II movies. Like the Big Red 1. And I believe it’s because of growing up in that household. When I was a teacher, I prefered teaching American history. Because, I got to teach on the wars that the American soldiers fought in. Don’t get me wrong. It’s not that I think war is good. I think that it’s an important part of our history. And we need to remember that. And we need to honor those that lost their lives. Actually, we need to honor all of our troops. 

In the Bible, there are stories about battles. Stories of war. But more importantly, the Bible has imagery. Imagery of war. Imagery of battles. And from times thousands of years ago all the way through now, there’s a battle taking place. It is spiritual warfare. It’s a war against the demons of hell. And it’s ugly. But what’s awesome about our God is that he gives us everything we need to face this battle. And sometimes it’s personal. It’s personal because we fight our past. Maybe even our present. But most definitely, we fight for our future. We don’t have to let our past define us. We can learn from our past. Especially from our mistakes. We can learn from our choices that were destructive. That’s part of the blessing from God.

Fighting this battle, it’s up to us to stay in contact with God. Especially, during times of struggles. We need to remember he gives us everything we need. We also need to remember that the victory has already been declared. Jesus did that for us on the cross. And just as we must honor all of our troops, we must honor Jesus and what he did for us. Even more so. Stay in contact with your Lord and Savior by praying. Talk to him. He wants to hear from you. Staying close to him will keep giving you the weapons that you need in this battle. Staying close to him will help you heal from your past. It will help you solidify your present and your future. And the greatest victory is this: We can have eternal salvation with our Lord and Savior in heaven.

Some of you may know this already. but currently, the World Special Olympics are taking place in Berlin. This morning on ESPN, they showed a video of a 50 meter race. That race featured three men. One of them actually crawling. It was pretty awesome. The guy was doing what he can. Making the best of his circumstance. And let’s just say, his arms are jacked! 

Yesterday was our Monthly Men’s Bible Study. If you haven’t been able to join us yet, you should. If you’re not local, you can do it on Zoom. It’s the third Thursday of each month. Right now we’re going through Hebrews. The topic yesterday was on mountains we face. We all have those. And just as soon as we climb one mountain, we face another. They keep coming at us. Illnesses. Anxiety. Depression. PTSD. Even facing death. All mountains. One of our guests was diagnosed with cancer several months ago. Talk about a mountain to climb. I bet some of you can relate. What stands out about his circumstance is how he faced it. He told his doctor this when he found out he had cancer: “It’s a win-win situation. If cancer takes me, I go to heaven. If I beat cancer, I’m still alive here. It’s a win-win.” He was making the best of his circumstance. So powerful.

All of us are going to struggle at times. Especially, when we face circumstances that seem overwhelming. They seem hopeless. We can lose our joy. We can lose our peace. We can lose our hope. But…I would like to suggest this. Our circumstances do not have to define us. They do not have to control us. We can face them knowing that our God is bigger than all of them. The Bible tells us to not be anxious about anything. It tell us to always be thankful in everything. Anything means anything. Everything means everything. So that includes our circumstances. Even the ones that are not good. Even the ones that seem hopeless. Our  identities are in God. They should define us. And people should realize that about us when they see us. So today, let’s not allow our circumstances to control us. Let’s control them. By changing how we view them. By letting God take control over them. If we do this, we change everything about what we are going through. And just like our guest said yesterday, they become a win-win no matter what the results are.

Three years ago we were stuck right in the middle of the pandemic. If I recall, Joplin was the hotbed for the country during the month of June. Hard to believe that it’s been that long ago. Recently in the month of May, President Biden declared that the public health emergency and the national state of emergency had both ended. Much of life has returned to normal. But it is definitely a new normal. Just think about how people work remotely. Definitely an example of the new normal. Although the pandemic may be over, there are still lingering effects. For me, it’s how I view things. What is important. What really is not important.

As life moves on, COVID-19 is still a virus that mutates into other variants. There will be infections. There will be sickness. And for some, there will be death. It is here. It’s not going anywhere. I am not sure we will ever know the exact number of infections. But I’m certain it is well in the millions world wide. COVID-19 leaves people with numerous questions for God. For many of us, I imagine that the virus attacked them emotionally. Mentally. And spiritually. Chances are that you know someone personally who had the virus. Maybe even lost someone to it. My family had to face the death of the man who raised me. It was shocking. I felt countless unexplainable emotions. Anger. Sadness. Abandonment. Confusion. Helpless. 

In the Bible, we read of people feeling the same feelings. David is an example. David felt anger and anguish. But just as he was feeling these feelings, he felt confidence. And he also was able to praise God. Even when going through difficulty and pain, David found rest in God. We can too. I never doubted God‘s presence through all the turmoil that we went through with COVID-19. Actually, he comforted me throughout the whole time. I felt his love. His unfailing love. And I was reminded that God is forever. The pandemic is not. I was reminded that even when we stare death in the face, God is with us. Pain and suffering is part of this world. It’s part of life. But the hope we get from God overcomes it all.

At many of our events, we try to give out Bibles the last day. The ones that we give out are covered in brown vinyl. Look a lot like leather. And we engrave our logo on the front of them. They make for a very nice gift. Often times, we hear from guests that this is the first time someone has given them a Bible. And that’s humbling. But what’s important about what takes place during those moments is not the action of giving them a Bible. Yes that is important. But the point of that moment is this, we tell them that the answer to every question that they may ever have will be found in this book. And that is true.

Have you ever had a moment where you were confused about something and you opened up the Bible? You simply opened up the Bible and the verses that popped up on the page you open to were exactly what you needed to hear? Something is going on in your life that you needed encouragement. And there it was. Something is going on in your life that you needed guidance. And there it was. That’s awesome. I think that’s God’s way of saying to us: “Here I am.”

The Bible is full of stories. Full of history. Full of advice. When we read the Bible, we can find encouragement. We can find hope. We can find love. But I think we find those, if we are seeking God while we read. The Bible is our manuscript. It is our directions for our lives. It is our instruction manual. The Bible is full of wisdom. The Bible is all of these, because the Bible is a gift to us from God. We read about putting on the armor of God. To help protect us. A big part of us that needs protected is our minds. Because Satan is going to try to infiltrate us. Trying to get into our minds. If we turn to the Bible daily, we help protect our thoughts. And this protects our minds. So today, try to start making it a daily habit to read the Bible. BUT…be sure to seek God while you do so. If you’re not doing it already. And if you are doing it already, continue seeking wisdom from God. Seek his peace. Seek his hope. Seek his love. All of us need these. I know I do.