Verses For The Week

 Colossians 4:2 -- "Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful."

Psalm 107:21 -- "Let them give thanks to the Lord for His unfailing love and His wonderful deeds for mankind."

Weekend Sermon -- "Blessed, Grateful, and Thankful"

      Thanks for stopping by to read the sermon this week. I am grateful for the continued opportunity to post these messages, and I hope that you are all doing well. 

     In the United States, the Thanksgiving holiday will be here next week. This week is the last chance that I will get to post a message on that theme before the holiday is upon us. 

     Thanksgiving was a really important holiday for me and my friend Toby. It was our favorite day of the year. My Mom always made a great Thanksgiving dinner, and both of us ate way, way too much. What strikes me here in the US is that Thanksgiving is getting by-passed now with a big emphasis on Halloween and then people go straight into Christmas. I think we are missing something that should be a lot more important. 

      This time of year here in the US, and other days if you live elsewhere, are important times to stop and reflect on all of the blessings of the Lord. James 1:17 tells us, "Every good and perfect gift is from above." We have all been very blessed in our lives. I know that I have. The Lord has given me good things to eat, a place to live, a job and I was certainly blessed with good parents and a great friend like my friend Toby. We have also been given great blessings spiritually by the Lord. He has given us His Son the Lord Jesus to be our Savior. We are redeemed, and the Lord has prepared a place for us with Him in Heaven so that those who are in Christ can look forward to always being with the Lord. 

     Because of the blessings of the Lord, I am thankful for what He has done for me. I believe that we need to make it a habit of expressing our thanks to the Lord for the good things that He has done. When the Lord hears and answers our prayers, we need to say thank you and not just let it go by. I think we need to continually give thanks to the Lord for taking away our sins and being ever present with us as we make our way through this life. 

     In addition to being blessed and thankful, I want to be grateful. To me, being grateful is a little bit different than being thankful. Gratefulness is like a lifestyle. You realize how blessed you are and you live in a sense of continuing thanksgiving for all that you have been blessed with. 

     I hope that during this coming week whether you are celebrating Thanksgiving or not that you will take time to really count your blessings. Thank the Lord for all that He has done for you and provided for you. Then live in gratefulness for what God has done and for what He has provided. Amen

Prayer Requests

     Please pray for me regarding my health. I am having really bad issues right now. Please pray that I can get well again. 

     Pray for those affected by the storms. Pray that those in Philippines, Vietnam, Alaska, and the Caribbean will get the aid and help that they need. I am glad that group here where I live has gone down to help in Jamaica

     Keep praying for peace. Sudan really needs our prayers. Pray that peace holds in Israel and Gaza. Please keep praying for peace in Ukraine.

     For our prayer focus countries, let us pray for those in the nations of Benin and Jordan. Pray that many will come to know Jesus. 

    Next week, I will probably start posting messages for the Advent season. I will post the verses on Tuesday, and I will post the next chapter in the book on Wednesday. May God bless you all. 

Toby -- The Story Of My Friend -- Chapter 12

 Chapter 12

Although some might not think of this as an unusual behavior, Toby was a dog who liked a routine.  This was certainly true when it came to taking his medicine in the morning.  As I said early, Toby had to take medication every day of his life because of his ulcerative colitis and other ailments.  Each morning, we would put his pills in a cheese ball.  He loved cheese and would gobble his cheese and pills right down.  However, he wanted his cheese ball placed in a certain place.  Toby would not eat his cheese ball if you placed it in his food dish.  You had to put the cheese ball outside of the dish, or he wouldn't eat it.  He also wouldn't take the cheese ball out of your hand.  He wanted the cheese ball placed on the floor.  I don't know why.
    Another quirky behavior that Toby had was his reaction to the phrase, "It's coming".  One day we were watching a movie on television and someone on screen said, "It's coming."  Toby bolted awake and started barking his head off.  He did the same thing later in the movie.  I could set Toby off barking anytime by saying these two words.  I don't know what "it" was, but Toby didn't like it especially when it was coming.
    One of the other things I got a kick out of was Toby's funny noise that he would make.  Toby could make a noise in his throat that was like a yodel and bark and a tongue roll at the same time.  It was loud, too.  He'd only make this sound if you asked him a question.  It was like he could understand exactly what we were saying.  One time, Dad was talking to some people about the county commissioner candidates.  I said to Toby, "You don't think that guy would be any good do you?"  Toby looked at me and made his crazy noise and everybody cracked up.  Toby was right.  That candidate won, and he was a lousy commissioner.
    The two other behaviors I want to mention in this chapter involve food.  At least two Sundays a month, Mom would make her delicious chicken and noodles for dinner. She had a special pot she used just for making chicken and noodles and vegetable soup.  When she would get the pot out to make vegetable soup, Toby didn't even notice.  But on the days when Mom was making chicken and noodles he would race into the kitchen and stare up at the pot waiting for some of the chicken Mom always gave him.  How he knew it was time for noodles and not vegetable soup, I don't know.  My Mom would say to Toby, "Toby, there's no use waiting there, the chicken won't be ready for awhile so just go away."  Toby would go and do something else, but the minute that that chicken was ready, he was back waiting.  Toby loved chicken more than any other food in the world.
     Toby also knew each morning when breakfast was ready.  He would wake me up for breakfast just as Mom was done fixing everything.  I have to give my Mom credit.  Even though she worked every day, she always got up and made everyone a nice breakfast.  She was an outstanding cook and a wonderful person.  Well, Toby wouldn't let anyone in my room when I was asleep, so I was glad that he was looking out for me so that I got my breakfast in the morning.  This is the only time he got me up when I was asleep is when breakfast was ready.  If Toby had to go out to the bathroom in the middle of the night, he would go into my parents room and get one of them up to take him out.  My Mom told him to get me up to take him out many times, but he wouldn't do it.
 

Verses For The Week

 Hebrews 11:6 -- "But in fact, they longed for a better country--a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them."

Philippians 3:20 -- "But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ."

Weekend Sermon -- "They Will Not Prevail"

      Thank you for reading the sermon for the week once again. As always, I am thankful to the Lord for giving me this opportunity. I hope that you are all doing well this week. 

     Today, I want us to focus our attention on a statement made by Jesus after Peter's confession that Jesus was the Messiah. In Matthew 16:18 Jesus says, "And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."

     I want to focus on the end of that verse about the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. There are basically two ways that this verse in interpreted. I think that they are both valid, so let's look at both of them. 

     Some interpret this passage to mean that the church made up of believers in Jesus will on this earth be able to withstand the attacks of the evil one. The powers of hell will not be able to stamp out the church no matter how hard they try. Ultimately, those who are in Christ are the victors over death, hell and the grave, so the powers of hell have no way to be victorious ultimately over those who are members of the body of Christ. 

     This is absolutely true. All of us will have trials and trouble in this life. We who know Jesus will be tempted by the forces of evil to turn against the way of Jesus. However, we are overcomers through the power of the Spirit who dwells withing us. The powers of evil cannot snatch us out of the hand of the Father. When we die, we will go to be with Jesus in the place that He has prepared for those who love Him. 

     Also, the powers of darkness try to thwart the mission and ministry of the church. Persecution and trials are brought against the church to destroy it. However, the powers of darkness cannot and will not overcome the body of Christ. 

     Now, there is another equally valid way to look at this statement of Jesus. We as the people of God are on the offensive against the forces of evil. We are to be actively working to bring light and goodness into the world and stop the oppressive forces of darkness that seek to ruin people's lives. 

     When those who are believers in Jesus are working together to bring good and right and hope and peace into this world, the powers of the evil oppressors will not be able to withstand. The power of the people of God will prevail. 

      We as followers of Jesus have as our mission to bring about as much good as we can into this world. We are to bring hope and healing to this world. We are to bring the message of the life transforming love of Jesus to the world. 

     Ultimately, Jesus will return to this earth. He will cast down all that is wrong and evil. Death and Hell will be destroyed, and Jesus shall reign forever and ever. 

     Let us all work to overcome evil with good. Let us seek peace and pursue it. Let us love God and our neighbor. Amen. 

Prayer Requests

      Please pray for those recovering from the bad storms. There are people who need help in the Caribbean, the Philippines, Vietnam and Alaska. Pray that they will get the aid and the help that they need. 

     Keep praying for peace. Ukraine, Israel, Gaza and Sudan all need our prayers. 

     Pray that people will get the food aid that they need here in the US. 

     For our prayer focus countries this week let us pray for those in the nations of North Korea and Lebanon. Pray that many will come to know Jesus. 

     Next week, I will post a topical message. We will start a new series in the New Year. I will post the verses on Tuesday and another chapter of the book on Wednesday. May God bless you all. 

Toby -- The Story of My Friend -- Chapter 11

 Chapter 11

     Of all of the dogs I've known, Toby possessed the most unusual behaviors I've seen.  He wasn't weird.  He was unique.  He was eccentric.
     One of the strangest aspects of his behavior I discovered completely by accident.  I used to love to watch boxing when I was younger.  I would never miss a match.  I enjoyed working out on the heavy bag and doing shadow boxing to try to stay in shape.  Sometimes to get a little exercise, I would shadow box in the kitchen for a few rounds.
     One evening, while I was pummeling my imaginary opponent, Toby ran quickly to his food dish, and he began devouring his food in haste.  When I stopped boxing, he stopped eating.  When I resumed, the munching recommenced.  I thought that this was strange.  It would come in handy.
     Toby was always sort of funny about eating.  Sometimes he wouldn't eat.  Maybe, something was just slightly out of kilter in his routine, and he would just go off of his food.
     During one of these spells, I remembered how Toby ran to his dinner bowl when I boxed.  I started shadow boxing, and Toby started eating Eukanuba.
     This little trick almost always worked if Toby wasn't off of his food because of his ulcerative colitis problem.  If I boxed and Toby wouldn't eat, I knew that something was wrong and that a trip to the veterinarian was in order in the near future.
     I've never understood what is was about boxing that caused this response.  Maybe, he was a big fan of boxing like me, and this was Toby's version of eating popcorn and watching the main event.
     Another one of Toby's strange behaviors was fish jealousy.  I enjoy tropical fish.  I've never taken the plunge into salt water aquariums, but I've had some pretty nice freshwater set ups.  After being away from the fish hobby, I decided to buy a new aquarium and purchase a couple of nice fish.
     I bought a twenty gallon aquarium, a heater, gravel, all of the needed equipment.  After I set it all up, I put the fish into their new environment.
     Toby didn't like this one little bit.  The first time I fed my new fish, he looked at me with a piercing gaze.  If looks could kill, I'd have been disintegrated.  Toby was jealous of my involvement with some other member of the animal kingdom.
     No matter what I did near the aquarium from cleaning to feeding the fish, Toby would give me a dirty look as if I were a traitor.  He would then snort and turn away in disgust.  After I'd finish with the fish, he would be back to his normal self.
     One afternoon I spotted Toby sitting under the fish tank looking up at his mortal enemies.  I could almost see the thoughts of hate forming in his mind.  It was as if he was sending mental death telepathy through the waters.
     Toby didn't have to be jealous of the fish for too long.  I decided to give my aquarium set and fish away.  I just kept one Betta that I placed where Toby couldn't see him.  When the aquarium went out the door, I thought that I detected a faint smile from a well pleased corgi.
     When I told about Toby and his boxing and eating behavior, I forgot to mention another of his unusual eating habits.   Sometimes when we were at my Grandma's house in Cheyenne, Toby would have one of his not eating spells.  I tried the boxing routine, but that didn't work on the road; it only worked at home.  In order to get Toby to eat at my Grandma's house I would have to feed him by hand.  Sort of.  I would take a few chunks of his food from his bowl and place them outside of his bowl.  Now this is strange.  He would eat these food chunks as long as I placed two pieces outside of the bowl.  Not three, not one; it had to be two pieces.  If I kept doing this, he would eat the entire bowl.  He would only do this at my Grandma's house.  I could never figure this out.

Verses For The Week

 James 1:19 -- "My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this. Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry."

Luke 6:31 -- "Do to others as you would have them do to you."

The Weekend Sermon -- "Shine Brighter"

      It is time for the sermon. I am glad to be posting it, and I am glad that you are reading it. 

     Today, I want to talk about something that has been on my mind for some time now. That is the subject of Christians making a difference in the world. The verses that brought this to my mind most clearly are found in Matthew 5:14-16 that read, "You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on a stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in Heaven."

     The Bible has a lot to say about light and darkness. The world is trapped in the darkness of sin and rebellion to God and His ways. There is a lot of evil and wickedness in this world. No one can deny that. The Bible says that Jesus is the light that has come into this world. He is the light and the darkness cannot overcome it. 

     In our passage today, Jesus tells us that we as His followers are the light of the world, and He tells us to let our light shine. To my way of thinking, these are two different things. By being in the world as followers of Jesus we are light. We are those who shine out the light of the grace and mercy of Jesus into the world so that the darkness of sin is driven back and people can see that Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life. 

     There is another thing that Jesus is saying here. When we do that which is good in the world and work for the good, we are actively shining our light. We are in a sense putting a spotlight on problems and making them disappear. Jesus said that when people see the good works that we are doing, they will glorify God. 

     We live in an age that has a lot of bad things going on right now. We as followers of Jesus need to shine brighter. We need to be actively engaged in shining our light for Jesus and driving out the darkness that is in our world. There are so many things that are problems right now. The world is facing many wars. We need to be the peacemakers that Jesus called us to be. Many in the world are dying from hunger and from treatable diseases. We need to shine the light into these situations and do what we can to overcome these problems and the oppressive systems that cause these things to happen in the first place. 

     What troubles me greatly right now is that we are seeing many engage in hateful conduct to others based on their race, ethnicity or immigration status. Let us shine brighter and remember that Jesus loves everyone. There is no distinction in Jesus. The Bible shows us in the book of Revelation that all people will bow and worship the Lamb on His throne. 

     What I am trying to say is that all of us who are believers in Jesus need to start shining brighter. We need to step up and try to combat the darkness of greed, selfishness and war. We need to be the ones who are making a difference in the lives of people who need help. 

     Each of us has been gifted to work in different ways. However the Lord is calling you to make the world a better place and to shine your light in the darkness, do it unto the Lord with all of your might. Amen. 

Prayer Requests

     I am still having health issues. Please keep me in your prayers.

     Let us keep praying for those affected by storms. There are people in Alaska and the Caribbean who need help, so let us pray that they will get the aid and the help that they need. 

     This week, I want us to focus hard on praying for peace in Sudan. That is a horrible situation. Please pray.

     For our prayer focus countries this week, let us pray for those in the nations of Djibouti and Japan. Pray that many will come to know Jesus. 

     Next week, I will have another topical message. I will post the verses on Tuesday and the next chapter of the book on Wednesday. May God bless you all. 

Toby -- The Story Of My Friend -- Chapter 10

Toby -- The Story of My Friend -- Chapter 10

 I went with Toby on many trips, but I just want to focus on one more that was probably the best trip that we took together.  It was also a trip that almost ended in tragedy.
     On our annual trip out to my Grandma's house in Cheyenne, we decided to go down through Southern Kansas and then visit Colorado Springs.  One of the first places that we visited was Greensburg, Kansas.  This was before the terrible tornado hit the town.  I can't fathom the fact that everything I saw in that town was absolutely wiped out.  Thankfully, the town has rebuilt.
     No offense, but I can't say anything really positive about our trip through Kansas.  Through most of the journey, we passed cattle feed lot after cattle feed lot.  The smell was horrendous.  Even with the windows up and the air conditioner on you could smell that awful stink.
     The trip just about ended at breakfast the next morning.  The folks stopped for breakfast, and I waited outside with Toby.  They brought me something to eat and told me what a wonderful meal they had.  I took a piece of toast and gave some to Toby.  He wouldn't eat it.  He smelled the toast and turned his head away.  He wanted no part of it.  That should have tipped me off right there.
     I thought maybe Toby was having trouble with his stomach.  No, he knew that there was something wrong with the food.  I ate the toast.  About two hours later, I was so sick I thought I would die.  My folks didn't have any toast, and they were fine.  This is just one of many occasions when I should have listened to the dog.
     I recovered overnight, and was well enough to enjoy Colorado Springs.  This is one of the most beautiful cities I've seen.  The city is right next to the mountains that seem to be a reddish color.
     We found a motel that faced the mountains.  We had a great view of the Air Force Academy.  I went out on the balcony with Toby, and the two of us watched the gliders at the Air Force Academy for hours.  These training gliders were taken up by an airplane and then released.  They released the gliders, and then the gliders would circle in broad swoops with the mountains as their background.  Toby fixed on the gliders and watched them go around and around until they landed.
     Later that day, the two of us went for a long walk in the area behind the hotel.  We didn't know it, but we were actually on Air Force property.  There wasn't a fence so we just walked on.  I didn't notice until we got back that there was a sign that warned people that if they went on the land that they were subject to criminal prosecution.  I'm glad no one noticed a fat man and a corgi.
     The next morning, in spite of my Dad's protests, we went up into the mountains.  It was a great day of hiking and enjoying the sun and the mountains.  I was worried about Toby in the evening, however.  I think that we over did things because he wouldn't eat.  Finally, before we went to bed.  I fed him some of his food by hand, and he ate it and then ate the rest of his bowl of food.  We went out and watched the city for a long time.
     The next morning we had to be off.  We drove a short while and decided to travel up to Estes Park by the Big Thompson River.  Along the way, Toby and I got out and took a walk down the river.  When we were there it wasn't a raging torrent, but it was flowing along pretty well.  For quite a while, we watched the trout jumping up out of the river.  Every time one of the fish would jump out of the water and splash down, Toby would growl.  I though that this was funny until he got it into his head to go out after the fish.  Toby leaped into the river trying to get a trout.  I had his leash on, but the current was pulling him away from me fast.  He wasn't swimming too well either.  I went down into the water, and the current was more powerful than I thought.  I had a difficult time keeping my footing.  I grabbed hold of Toby, and I got us back to shore.  We were soaked and the water was ice cold.  I thought I'd lost him down the river for sure.  But, we would have gone together because I was going after him no matter what.
     Dad finally couldn't stand the mountains any longer, so we went Cheyenne.  Everyone went out to my uncle's ranch again except for Toby and me.  We didn't want to have anything to do with any more rattlesnakes.  The two of us walked down to the park and had a nice day and a nice meal.  We watched the ducks in the pond for a long time.  I'm glad Toby didn't decide to go after them.  He just watched them floating along.  We then went over and looked at the old steam locomotive.  On our way home, we looked at the abandoned church behind my uncle's house.  I would have loved to have bought that little church and have started a ministry there.  However, the dentist office had already purchased the church and were going to rip down the building and use the lot for parking.
     I always wished that the two of us could have taken more trips together.  By the time I graduated from college and really had the chance to do as I pleased, Toby was not in good enough health to travel much.  The last trip we took out to see my Grandma, Toby developed some trouble breathing.  The veterinarian said that it was altitude related, and that Toby shouldn't go out to the mountains anymore.  So, the two of us just took brief excursions not to far from home.  We went to Omaha on one trip. On another trip we went out to see the Winston Churchill Museum in Westminster, Missouri.  Whatever we did, it was fun because we were together.

Verses For The Week

 I Timothy 5:8 -- "But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his own household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever."

Proverbs 21:13 -- "Whoever closes his ear to the cries of the poor will himself call out and not be answered."

Galatians 6:2 -- "Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ."