Getting away with Murder

 

January 29

 It’s true!  I killed a man. A nice man some people thought. I knew differently. He appeared to be the ideal family man.

I knew differently.

" He walked in lewdness, lust, drunkenness, revelry, drinking parties and abominable idolatry." (1 Peter 4:3)

 

This man needed to be destroyed. I killed him. And I got away with murder. I killed my old self.  I'm a new person. Alleluia! There is a second chance God. Praise the Lord. Now I really know differently.

 

 “ I say to you, unless one is born again, he can not see the kingdom of God."
(John 3:3)

Ice Storm

January 27

 

Everything is glare ice," creek, crack crash.  Branches are snapping off the trees like brittle spaghetti. It is still raining so

I retreat from the yard and stand under the overhang. There is a large crack and thud. A huge branch falls from the elm and is imbedded into the ground where I had been standing. I stare in disbelief.

Some would say 'thank your lucky stars.’ That is how I felt once, but now I say luck and stars has nothing to do with it.

 

“The very hairs of your head are numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows."  (Matthew 10:30-31)

God's Love is unlimited but...

January 23

 

Dr. Jerry Kirk, a  preacher from Cincinnati  said, "God's love for us is unlimited but our ability to receive that love is limited because our receiving mechanisms have been damaged by the world around us.” He asked Dora, twice a widow, what made her upbeat. "Every cardinal I see, I hear Jesus say; 'I love you'.”

 The notion of damaged receptors speaks to me. The solution shared by Dora and Jerry has changed how I look at all birds, not just Cardinals. How are your receptors?

 

"Consider the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap… yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?" (Matthew 6:26)

Are you a Neighborly Water Tower?

 

January 22

 

Driving the rugged arid parts of Arizona and Colorado, I notice a single pile of rocks up on top of a mesa. I learn that these are called "water towers." These rocks tell travelers below that from this point you can see water.

Those Native Americans and pioneers who erected these water towers were truly being neighborly, pointing the way to survival. The water towers are no longer needed but stand as monuments of brotherly love. I need to be a water tower to my neighbors.

 

 " You shall love your neighbor as yourself." (Matthew 23:39)

The Holy Spirit Takes Over

 

January 20

 

The report is not coming together. I can’t find my notes. I pace. I slam draws. My wife softly urges prayer and sleep. At five I am at my desk. My mind is going a mile a minute. I’m recalling missing details. By seven my bible class prays for God's hand over me. By ten I make my presentation.

 The Spirit takes over the meeting. For every question raised an answer is given.

The hour ends with applause. Go God. 

 

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." (Philippians 4:6 NIV)

Old Car Important Teaching

January 19

 

Normally when my car is unlocked the trunk is unlocked but now the car is unlocked and I can’t get the trunk open even with a key. The garage owner tries several times-no go. “Take it to a locksmith,” he says.This morning I notice a lone key on the house rack. I try it. The trunk opens. 

For most of my life I was trying the wrong keys to open the meaning of my life. Then I found the one key that stands alone. Who holds the key to your life?

 “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."  (John 14:6)

You are where you choose to be.

January 17

 

     “He is 18, on drugs, is unemployed and has been arrested for stealing. She is 17, pregnant by him and drinks heavily. Both are school drop outs.”

 

The speaker, a minister, lecturer, and author, is addressing a men’s retreat. He asks, "You are the parish priest and this couple comes before you, wanting get married. What do you tell them?

 

After the laughter fades, he says “That couple was my wife and I twenty three years ago.” His point is  we are in life exactly where we have chosen to be.

 

Life is a result of the choices we make. We can choose to believe or not. It is our choice.

 

“He who believes in Him is not condemned but he who does not believe is condemned already…” (John 3:1)