Ecclesiastes 12:10

     Ever try to check in only to find out the hotel is full up? Ever stay at a friend’s house only to find out there isn’t a bed or even a couch to crash on? Ever get invited to come along but there isn’t a seat in the car or a spot at the table?   Nobody likes to feel that way. Left out, forgotten about, and on the outside looking in.     So, consider Jesus words in John 14:1-4: "Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. "In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. "If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. "And you know the way where I am going."   Jesus didn’t want his disciples to feel like they had been abandoned. He wanted them to know he had plans for them. There was a place for them. There was space for them. And most importantly there was a way ...

    People like to comment on things. If you don’t believe me, just post something online and wait for the takes to come rolling in. People can’t seem to help themselves. Even when their opinion is irrelevant or unwarranted, they can’t resist chiming in.  Many times those comment don’t do much of any good and may even cause great harm   I think it might have to do with our pride. We expect everyone wants to know our take since we are so important.  If we don’t remark we might not be relevant anymore.   This concept, I think, is seen in John 3, when we read about a discussion involving John the Baptist disciples. In verse 25 we read, “ Therefore there arose a discussion on the part of John's disciples with a Jew about purification .” The next line is John’s disciples going to him with their concerns that all the people were now going to Jesus to be baptized. Why the odd transition?   Maybe in the discussion, the people quoted Je...

      Back in February, the Oklahoma City Thunder had to make a dramatic halftime change. It wasn’t their play that was the problem, it was their jerseys.     That night the Thunder were hosting the Atlanta Hawks. Now once upon a time the rule was home team wore white uniforms and the away team was the color but the NBA has for several years now, has allowed several alternate uniforms that teams can wear. This is great for jersey sales but it can create some mix-ups. So, the combinations have to get league approval before the game.   Somehow, they didn’t realize that Atlanta’s red "icon" uniforms and the Thunder orange "statement" jerseys were almost the same color. So, for the first half, both teams looked exactly alike. The players didn’t seem too affected but for the fans, especially those watching on TV it was a nightmare. The league made the call at halftime that somebody had to change and since the Hawks only had brought the one uniform, the Thu...

      There are two pictures on our fridge. One is of me in the second grade. The other is of my son Calvin at the same age. Chances are you can’t tell which one is which.   Luckily for him, he has grown out of that hindrance. He is taller and better looking now. But for a time, the similarities were eerie. Father and son looking so much alike.   In John 12:45 Jesus says, “ He who sees Me sees the One who sent Me ”.   For Jesus, The Father and Son were alike. To see one was to see the other. The Hebrew writer says Jesus was “ the exact representation of his nature ”. Colossians 1:15 describes him as “ the image of the invisible God ”. 2 nd Corinthians 4:6 tells us, “ knowledge of the glory of God ” is “ in the face of Christ ”.     Often ‘if you know the father you know the son’. Maybe it in their faces or their speech pattern or just how they live and breathe. All those are exactly true for Jesus.     If we want to know and u...

    When Jesus went into the region of Tyre in Mark 7, he was trying to keep a low profile.  It didn’t really work.  A mother that had heard of Jesus went to him to help her child. Matthew’s account tells us that she didn’t just ask she pleaded. She cried out. She wouldn’t go away even when Jesus didn’t answer her and the disciples tried to send her away. Even when she was told that Jesus' mission was to first go to the Jews, she begged for the ‘crumbs that would fall off that table’. After all that, Jesus couldn’t say no. He sent her home knowing that her daughter was now cured.   We need more mothers like that. Mothers that know what their children need most of all is Jesus. Women who don’t let obstacles and hindrances keep them from getting what they need for their children. Mothers who will take anything as long as it comes from the Lord.   I know some moms that remind me of this woman. Women who ‘wrestle’ their children to church each week, fight thru ...