Category: Thought for the Day

A World Tearing Apart at the Seams.

I am not a negative or fatalistic person. But clearly the world is coming apart. In the United States, demographer Neil Howe has written a book, The Fourth Turning is Here. Simply put, the message of this New York Times bestseller is that history repeats in 80-100 year cycles made up of four “turnings.” The fourth turning is the “crisis” turning. The last three “crisis” turnings ended in WWII, the Civil War, and the Revolutionary War. I’m not predicting WWIII or a Civil War, but neither did the vast majority of people living during those previous fourth turnings.

Obviously, look past the United States to Africa, Eastern Europe, Middle East, and Asia and very clearly the world is tearing apart at the seams. Something has to give and it will. And as the world becomes more secular, turning our backs on God, things will get worse. Just ask the Israelites aimlessly wandering the desert and following false “gods” thousands of years ago. We may think we are a lot better now, and a lot smarter and sophisticated, but in many ways we are a lot worse.

Doom and gloom? No, just reality. I’m a very positive person by nature, always swimming upstream. But I don’t stick my head in the sand or ignore obvious signs.

The world is what it is, which makes me turn to God even more. There is one salvation for this world and it is God—Creator, Savior, and Advocate. That is my fall-back, my compass, and my salvation in this world tearing apart, which I believe it will. God is always, and always will be, regardless of what we do to this world.

If you haven’t already doubled down on God now is a good time to start. Only He can really help make sense of this crazy world! He is the constant and always will be. He is my sanity in this crazy world.

Enjoy the weekend and spend some time with God!

Hope Abounds!

I’ll work backwards in this post, leaving the doom and gloom for later.

Hope abounds! Don’t ever lose hope. Whatever your situation is in life or whatever your outlook is on this crazy world we live in, never, ever lose hope. It always abounds in one place, one person—God. Father Creator, Jesus Savior, and Spirit Advocate are where you can always find hope.

How do you find hope? Just turn to God, who is always less than a heartbeat away. There is no religion, no magic, and no mumbo jumbo. Just turn to God and ask Him to gas up your hope tank. Hope always abounds.

We live in a world that is getting darker by the day. It’s not doom and gloom but the reality of the world. It’s tough to see the light through the darkness. It’s tough to have hope that things will get better. But if you fix your gaze firmly on God you will see the light and have hope.

Don’t know how to find God in your life? Just tune out the world and tune in God. Find a quiet place. Be still. Focus. Call to God. Clear your mind of everything but God. I’ll repeat again that He is less than a heartbeat away.

Hope abounds! It’s always there and abounding.

Have a hope filled week ahead. Don’t ever lose hope!

Forgiveness Received After Forgiveness Given

Don’t expect forgiveness from God until you forgive. It’s that simple. And if you question me go read what Jesus said when He taught us to pray. Forgive as you are forgiven. There is no mystery to this.

It’s tough to forgive people sometimes. Tell me about it! But if you are unwilling to forgive then don’t expect forgiveness in return.

We live in an unforgiving world. We love pointing fingers, finding fault with others, and blasting others. Forgiveness is the last thing in the air.

Well, you have a choice to make. It’s pretty black and white. Forgive or don’t expect forgiveness in return. Another simple fact of life that we complicate so much.

Have a great week walking in forgiveness.

A Brighter Day Ahead

The world seems like it is getting progressively darker. It seems that wherever you look there is just bad stuff happening. It’s tough to look through the gloom of darkness and find the light. But there is always brightness ahead if you really look for it.

My brightness right now is my new granddaughter. Whenever the gloom surrounds me I pull out the latest picture of her on my phone and the brightness comes through. But there is always the brightness of God that breaks through any darkness. Jesus is there to save us and the Spirit to empower us through the darkness. They are always a constant in life breaking through the doom and gloom.

If you feel there is nothing that breaks through the gloom just reach for God. He—Father, Savior, and Spirit—are always a constant in your life. You just need to call out to God for a helping hand to lift you through the gloom. God is always there, less than a heartbeat away.

Enjoy the weekend breaking through the gloom!

Power of Negative Thinking

You have heard it said that there is power in positive thinking. Think positive thoughts and positive outcomes follow. Well, I’m here to tell you that there is power—and a LOT of it!—in negative thinking. Negative thinking is like a cancer that spreads until… well until you are in a figurative hole, at best.

The devil (or whatever you call evil in this world) loves to whisper negative thoughts into your ear. The negative thoughts build on each other until you are paralyzed in hatred, fear, or any other negative outcome. Again, negative thinking is a cancer that keeps growing until it crowds out any positive thoughts.

There is a very simple, easy way to stop the negative thoughts. Simply turn to God. He is less than a heartbeat away, always. You just have to turn to Him and ask for help. It’s that easy. Trust me. There is no complexity here. Just simplicity.

Don’t let the negative thinking and its power drag you down. FIGHT it. LISTEN for/to God because He is always there to help. Trust me. Try it. No, try Him.

Have a POSITIVE week ahead. And prayers for all those impacted by the wildfires! My heart goes out to all.

Do You See Jesus?

I see Jesus, or at least try to see Him. No, I’m not some wacko. As part of my New Year’s resolution to look past the “outside” of people, I need to get past the “outside” somehow. My way to do that involves trying to see Jesus in each person, regardless of who they are. Easy? No way! But so necessary.

The hardest thing to comprehend is that God loves each one of us equally and unconditionally. There is no variation. God the Father sent his only Son to die for each one of us and for His Spirit to live in each one of us. So, Jesus has to be there if we just look. At each one of us, in each one of us.

I know this isn’t easy to do. But I know I can’t get past the “outside” of people until I see Jesus in them and look at their spirit.

This is my resolution, at least my top resolution. We’ll see how it works.

Here is to a blessed, healthy, and prosperous New Year ahead!

Resolutions

It’s that time again for New Year resolutions (that typically fall by the way side a week or two out!). All the usual things like dieting, eating healthy, etc., etc., etc. Yea, I’m already pretty good in the exercise category but in the healthy category I need to drink less soda (I don’t drink coffee; hi-test soda is my coffee) and more water. But my number one resolution is to stop looking at people from the outside—what they look like, what clothes they wear—and look at them from the inside.

“The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7

This is my guiding light for my 2025 (and beyond) resolution. I want to look past the outward person and look at the inward person. It’s actually a pretty simple concept but sure is difficult to implement. I’m sure I will screw up time and time again but I will go back to this Bible verse about God telling Samuel to look past everything in selecting the unimposing David as His king.

I wish you the best in following your own resolutions.

Here’s to the very best for a blessed, healthy, and prosperous New Year!

Is Christmas Over?

No. Every day is Christmas if you wake each day celebrating the birth of Christ in you. A new day is a new birth. It’s that simple.

Regardless of what you did the day before, if you repent what you did wrong and ask God for forgiveness, you are forgiven. And the next day will be the birth of Jesus in your heart, if you just allow it.

Christmas is not over if you celebrate the birth of Jesus in your heart each day. And New Year resolutions are meaningless if you approach each day as the New Year, resolving to put sin behind you and Jesus in front of you.

Celebrate Christmas today, tomorrow, and every day in the New Year!

Follow Your North Star

The Wise Men, who were astrologers by trade, followed that they knew best—a star. They followed the North Star as it guided them to Jesus. Whether you know it or not, we all have a “North Star” in our lives that will lead us to Jesus. It’s in our hearts waiting to lead us to Jesus.

Jesus is always there in our lives, not just on Christmas day. He is less than a heartbeat away, just waiting for us to find Him. You just have to quiet your life, reach inside, LISTEN for/to Jesus, and you will find Him.

This isn’t rocket science or religious mumbo-jumbo. It’s just life. Jesus is always there. You just need to turn to Him and follow your own “North Star” to Jesus.

Wishing you a blessed, joyous, and peaceful Christmas!

Unload Your Burdens

What a great New Year’s resolution: Unload all your burdens in life. How and where to unload? The answer is on whom to unload them.

David said, “Cast your burden on the Lord, And He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.” (Psalms 55:23)

Jesus underscored this to Himself by telling us, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)

I wrote the other day about surrendering to Jesus. Completely and totally. When you surrender to Him you off lift your burdens to Him. You give Jesus your burdens and He gives you peace and joy in return. The burdens are gone as long as you really and truly surrender.

If you are bogged down with burdens in life, make this your New Year’s resolution: Unload your burdens on Jesus. Surrender to Him. Your burdens will be gone and in their place will be peace and joy. Don’t believe it? Try it.

Don’t know how to surrender to Jesus? Simply open up to Him and tell Jesus that you surrender to Him. True surrender means you are walking in love. Just as Jesus commanded.

I’ll be back before Christmas but in the meantime start unloading those burdens.

Enjoy the week ahead!