Inspirations from the Funny Farm

Matthew 25:21 The master was full of praise. ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!

I think one of the greatest errors of our Christian walk is the fact that all too often we look for the BIG things. We spend too much time looking for God to show up and show out in a really big way that catches our attention and the attention of others. We watch for His miracles. We pay close attention to miraculous healings and life changing events. It is true that God is behind all of these things. He is, but it is also true that our great big wonderful God also has His hands in all of the little things that are ongoing in our daily lives. He slows us down and puts an obstacle in our path to prevent an accident. He blesses us when a friendly stranger pays for our coffee or lunch. He places someone in our path that speaks the exact words that we needed to hear at that very moment. He cares about every little thing in our lives, every little detail.

Yes, my friends, God really is in the little things too. Because He cares about the little stuff, as His children, we should care about the little stuff too. As Christians, we are to be the hands and feet of Jesus right here and right now. We mistakenly await the moment that Jesus reveals His spectacular big plan for our lives. We wait for that awesome opportunity in which we can really show the love of Christ and make an impact for the kingdom, but as we all know, those opportunities may not come around every day. So what are we to do in the meantime? We are to take care of the little things.

In Matthew 25, we read the parable of the talents. Scripture is speaking of a form of money, but as a parable, we can relate the term talents to the many talents that God has given us. He expects us to use those talents for His glory, and we can’t just sit around waiting for the big opportunities. We can’t hide our talents away and wait for the return of the Master. No, Peeps, the talents we have been given should be used on a daily basis. Our Master has entrusted us with much, and we must ask ourselves, what are we going to do with our talents? What has God entrusted us with? He has placed us in specific relationships in which we are to invest our time and talents. He reveals spiritual, physical, social, and economic needs in our own communities. His Holy Spirit gently taps on our heartstrings and opens our eyes to those in need and to those who are lost. One of the greatest gifts that He has given each of us that we are obliged to give away to others is the gift of love. Oh yes, that little gift of love shared with perhaps someone who feels unloved or unlovable goes a long way for glory of God.

God has blessed our lives with many little talents and abilities, and He has blessed us with much love. We must not hold onto all of these little things. No, my friends, we must use these little things to further the kingdom of God. When we began to use the little things faithfully for the glory of God, He will give us more responsibilities. I don’t want to show up in heaven one day, and get to the judgement seat and hear, “But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away. Now throw this useless servant into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Rather, I want to hear these words, “Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!”

If you feel like God has only entrusted you with the little things, be thankful that He has trusted you with these things. Don’t hide them away or wait for the next big thing to come along. Use those little things, follow God’s lead, and allow those little things to glorify the Father for when we do this, the little things become big things for the kingdom!

John 15:7-8 But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father.

Sunday night, we had a night of praise and testimony at church. Our praise team really did an extraordinary job singing and leading with some good old time gospel mixed in with a bit of contemporary music. It was wonderful. My husband and I were discussing the music later, and we admitted that we had both received a wonderful blessing that night. It is always a blessing to be able to take time to simply praise our wonderful Father. This morning, and old hymn has been running through my brain. The hymn is called Standing on the Promises and it was written by Russell Kelso Carter. Let me share one of the verses for you. Standing on the promises I cannot fall. Listening every moment to the Spirit’s call. Resting in my Savior as my all in all. Standing on the promises of God.

I like to know the history of these old hymns, and when I did a bit of digging, I learned that Mr. Carter was actually an ordained minister who later became a doctor. He suffered from a heart condition and many crises in his early years which caused him to search the Bible for the healing promises of God. He said that after he began claiming and holding on to the steadfast promises of God, he slowly regained his strength and his heart condition healed over a period of several months. He stood firm on the promises of God. And just like Russell Carter, you and I can stand firmly on these promises too.

Promises are made to be kept and not to be broken. According to a web search, there are 8,810 promises in the Bible, 7,487 of which were made by God to humankind. (Quoted from Pepperdine Digital Commons.) This is quite reassuring because of two things. First of all, God has never broken a promise and never will, and secondly, because we know that God has never broken a promise, we know that these promises are trustworthy. Let’s look at a few of these many promises.

God will turn all your ashes into beauty (Isaiah 61).

God hears your cries (Psalm 10:17).

God brings good out of suffering (2 Corinthians 4:17).

God gives us peace (Isaiah 26:3).

God will provide (Philippians 4:19).

God will sustain us (Psalm 94:18).

And my favorite, God will never leave (Hebrews 13:5).

Yes, my friends, promises are made to be kept, and our loving, holy Father has kept every promise that He has ever made. He continually works everything out for our good and His glory. If you have lost your way and are feeling out of sorts this morning, grab your Bible and look for the promises of our good, loving Father. He will never leave or forsake you, and He will bring peace and comfort to you in your time of need. He is ever present, and we can surely stand on His promises to get us through the best days and the worse days.

God never promised to remove all of our trials, troubles, heartaches, and difficulties. However, God did promise that when we are surrounded by conflict, strife, and trouble, we can trust that He will give us assurance, security, and peace that only can be provided through a loving relationship with Him. The non-believer can not comprehend this, but as a child of God, we know. We can trust Him. We can believe in Him. We can stand on the promises of God.

Galatians 2:20 My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

John 15:9-12 “I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you.”

What do people see when they look at me? On the outside, they are going to see a kinky haired woman who is aging rapidly. The knuckles of my hands are knotted and swollen. My hair is graying faster than I can color it. The wrinkles of time are appearing on my face. I’m not twenty anymore. That is for sure. I do try to tame the mane. I take anti-inflammatories for the arthritis. I color my hair every few weeks, and I do apply wrinkle cream when I think about it. I do my best to try to look presentable to the world, but I still fail miserably. I am so very thankful that the outward appearance is not really what matters most in this life. What really matters is what is on this inside of this shell of a woman. Christ lives within me! The Holy Spirit resides right inside this aging body, and He keeps me strong, and fresh, and raring to go. I know that He is there, but when other people look at me, do they see Him in me?

I pray daily that I shine the light of Jesus in my actions and my daily walk. I pray that I can be a beacon of light for Him. I pray that others see Christ in me. Some days, this is pretty easy. On a good day, it is super easy to remain upbeat and be happy and smile all day, but what about those bad days? Do people see Jesus in me then too? Oh my, I pray that they do for it is during those bad times that we can really shine for Christ. When things get tough, the tough get going, but where do we get going to? That depends completely upon your relationship with Christ. If we allow Christ to be at the center of everything, we will depend upon Him in every single situation we encounter…the good times, the bad times, and all of the in between times. And when bad times come our way, well, we simply “get going” to Christ. It becomes second nature. We realize that we need Him in every aspect of our life, and when we turn to him during the storms, people will see Him shining through us especially during difficult seasons.

When we allow Christ to be the ruler of our hearts, we are no longer that old person we once were. We don’t change our outward appearance, but what is on the inside becomes completely new and fresh. We no longer live for ourselves, but rather we live for Christ. He resides in us, and He shines through us to all who see. When we remain in Him, we are filled with unspeakable joy, and that joy overflows from within us even on the bad days. Others will see the joy of Jesus within us when we are going through the most difficult storms of life. That, my friends, is when others really see Jesus in us. That is when He really shines.

C. S. Lewis said, “Don’t shine so others see you. Shine so that through you others can see Him.” This should be our goal every single day. Each day I pray and ask Jesus to let others see Him in me. I know that I fail so many times. The old self seems to get in the way too many times, but praise God that He never gives up on me. Being a reflection of Christ in our daily walk could possibly be the only image of Christ some people ever see. It could be the only glimpse they get of Christ. Some will never step foot in a church. Some will never ask about Jesus. But if we strive to be like Him, filling our hearts with Him daily, continually reading His Word, and living out the love of Christ in all we do, others will see Jesus in us. Let us make sure that others see Him in us each day.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble.

Matthew 18:19-20 “I also tell you this: If two of you agree here on earth concerning anything you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you. For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them.”

Yesterday was a day that I have been anticipating for over a month. Our church ladies’ ministry has been on a temporary hiatus due to COVID-19. We recently regrouped and planned out a tentative schedule for the coming year. To kick off 2021, I invited the ladies to my home for a Mugs & Muffins event. I was hopeful that we would have a sunny day, and praise the Lord, that is just what He gave us. Twenty two ladies attended, and because of the beautiful weather, we were able to safely gather on our back deck overlooking the creek. My husband and I prepared spinach quiches, fruit platters, summer sausage and cheese platters, blueberry muffins, and banana nut muffins. My friend, Lisa, made some delicious pecan pie muffins. We had coffee, milk, water, and a variety of juices. After filling our plates up with food, I led a devotional from my blog post of yesterday, and we brainstormed about upcoming activities and missions for the coming year. We prayed together. We spoke out concerns and praises, and yes, we joined together in corporate prayer. It was a truly wonderful day. This fellowship with sisters in Christ is something that I have been desperately missing over the past year. These ladies aren’t my biological family, but they are my family for sure!

I was fortunate to be part of a pretty large family. My daddy and mama had four daughters. My daddy remarried and gained two more daughters. Yes, I was one of six girls. I grew up in a house with five sisters. My daddy was severely outnumbered. I am thankful for the relationships that were built with my sisters growing up. Having a house full of sisters taught me much about family and friendship. I am still closely in touch with my sisters, and now, God has blessed me with an additional family: my faith family.

Being a part of a church is much more than just tuning in for a morning sermon once a week. Being part of a church is being a part of a family. We are all children of God, and as such, we are brothers and sisters in Christ. We are not just people passing one another on our way to our pews. No, we are family, and as family, we know each other. We talk to one another, we pray for and with one another, we know what is going on in the lives of one another. We encourage each other. We share hope, and love, and oh so much more.

God did not create us to live out this life alone, and He didn’t put us on the glorious planet to isolate from one another. No, my friends, God created us to love one another. Brothers and sisters in Christ help one another succeed. We lift one another up. And when we come together in prayer, two or more agreeing on a concern, and we bring our prayers to the Lord, He will hear our prayers. His Word tells us this, and I believe it. I’ve actually seen it in action more times than I can say.

I am so thankful for my five sisters, and I am very grateful for my wonderful brothers and sisters in Christ. God has every single detail in our lives all figured out, even down to the fact that we need these wonderful people in our lives. God may not have given you biological brothers and sisters, but if you are His kid, you have a humongous family! Don’t miss out on an opportunity to share your Christian walk with brothers and sisters that God has given you. Gather with your faith family today!

Hebrews 4:16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

This is one of my favorite verses from the book of Hebrews. A few years ago, my co-workers made a t-shirt for me that had a big coffee cup on it, and the words, “This girl runs on coffee and grace. Hebrews 4:16” I have just about worn the threads out of that t-shirt. It is true though. I love Jesus and coffee, and I’m so thankful for the undeserving grace that He gives me daily. I’m sure I could do without coffee if I had to, but I can’t go one minute without Jesus. I like coffee a lot, but my true love is for Jesus. Coffee may give me a boost to get up and go, but it is the love, grace, and strength of Jesus that keeps me going day in and day out. Just for fun, let’s talk about our relationship with Jesus and coffee because let’s face it, I spend a lot of time drinking coffee while talking to Jesus. I’d like to use an acrostic for the word Hebrews to accomplish this task and review a few things about coffee that perhaps isn’t so appealing, and a few things of Christ that very desirable.

H-HABIT

E-EASY

B-BITTER

R-REGULAR

E-EXPENSIVE

W-WATERED DOWN

S-STALE

HABIT. Drinking coffee can definitely be habit forming. I used to be addicted to sodas. At first, it was Coca Cola, and then I became infatuated with Diet Coke. It wasn’t until I was in my forties, and I realized the negative effects that aspartame was having on my health, that I gave up my love for sodas. My husband introduced me to coffee, and I’ve been hooked ever since. It’s not merely the habit of drinking a cup of coffee, but rather it’s an addiction. If you drink as much coffee as I do, and you skip it for about 24 hours, the little men with jackhammers in your head will start pounding away reminding you of the detrimental lack of caffeine. This, my friends, is how our relationship with Jesus should be. It should be habit forming, and so much so that if we miss even one day in His presence, we get an overwhelming craving for Him. Praying, seeking Christ, and reading His Word should be such a habit that it is second nature to us.

EASY. Thanks to the latest and greatest technology, the perfect cup of coffee is only a few seconds away. We have a Keurig, and after much trial and error, we have found the perfect coffee for us, and it is so simple. If you keep the water reservoir full, all you have to do is drop a K-cup in the Keurig, press a button, and voila, the perfect cup of coffee. That’s about as easy at it gets. We try to make this Jesus thing hard. We try to make all of these lists of laws, rules, and regulations that we must follow, but when we do this, we are not giving Jesus the credit He deserves. A loving relationship with Jesus is easier than making a cup of coffee. All you have to do is ask Him into your heart. That’s it. No strings attached. He has already done all of the hard stuff. All we have to do is give Him our heart, and He will take care of the rest. Easy peasy.

BITTER. Don’t you just hate a bitter cup of coffee? I think the bitterness of coffee is what turned me off to it for so many years. I have always enjoyed the smell of coffee brewing, but for years it was that bitter taste that turned me away. I started off my affection for coffee with heavily flavored concoctions. My husband called it fru fru coffee. I tried all kinds of flavors, and I found many delightful blends. Eventually, the coffee didn’t taste bitter anymore. I came to enjoy the robust flavor of coffee. Unfortunately, there are quite a few who claim to be Christians that walk around oozing with bitterness. The words and actions that are emitted are sometimes so bitter that it could easily turn someone off to Christianity. As followers of Jesus, the aroma and flavor that we should be sharing is one that is sweeter than honey. When are hearts belong to Jesus and our minds are on things of Him, there is no room for a bitter spirit within us.

REAL. Although there are a variety of flavors and richness of coffee, there are actually only two types: caffeinated and decaffeinated, AKA the real stuff and the fake stuff. I drink coffee for the taste of it, but I have to admit that I love that little caffeine kick that it adds. I keep a few K-cups of decaf coffee in the cabinet for late night cups, but that is a rarity. I like the real stuff. I love the boldness of a rich cup of caffeinated coffee. But coffee can be deceiving. It may look like a real cup of coffee with a delightful boost of caffeine, but in reality, it could be a big old cup of decaf…fake coffee…not the real deal. Christianity is much like this. Everyone falls into one of two categories: either you are a Christian or you are not. There is no middle of the road here. You can’t sit on the fence. Either you are all in or you are all out. People play the game frequently. They boast of their religion. They look real on the outside, but there is no fruit. There is no heart change, no Jesus on the inside. They are playing the game…they are fake…and are not the real deal. We must live out our Christian walk being real with everyone we come in contact with. We must share Jesus and let others know that He is the real deal and that we are really in love with Him.

EXPENSIVE. Y’all, coffee can be very expensive, especially if you like to drive through Starbucks or PJ’s Coffee or one of the many other specialty coffee shops. They serve up delectable coffee flavors with a frothy top, blended in ice, or even served over ice. They will design your coffee half-caf, full caf, low fat, whole milk, sugar or no, and pretty much however you desire it. But that professionally prepared coffee comes at a price. It’s much more costly than making a good old cup of hot coffee in the comfort of your own home. Salvation was expensive for Christ. He died on that cross for each and every single one of us. He was tortured and crucified so that we may be made right with the Father. This was the single most costly gift of love ever given, and it didn’t cost us a single red penny. I’ve heard so many say that Christianity is too costly. You have to give up this or that, or perhaps you have to become someone else, live a different way, or act differently. It is not until we accept this precious gift that we truly understand. The Holy Spirit gradually changes us. We don’t want to be the person that we used to be, and we slowly but surely become the person Christ intended for us to be, and although Christ paid the ultimate price, it didn’t cost us a thing!

WATERED DOWN. When I first started making coffee, I made it a little on the weak side. It was watered down. In fact, I can remember my daddy coming over for a cup of coffee, and asking me what was in his cup. When I replied that it was coffee, he informed me that the stuff in his cup was not coffee because he could see right through it. He told me coffee is supposed to be black and rich. It shouldn’t be watered down. Christianity shouldn’t be watered down either. I have grown so weary of watered down Christianity. It seems that it is the nature of our current culture to pick and choose the parts of the Bible that people want to follow and ignore the rest. Sins are ranked on a scale of not so bad to horrible, and those that are currently considered not so bad are gradually being accepted as good. People, we can not water down the Word of God. If we accept that the Bible as the living Word of God, then we have to also accept that the entire book is the truth of God. We can’t water it down. We can’t pick and choose the parts we like. We have to love the whole Word. Don’t water down the truth, my friends. It is God’s Word.

STALE. Before I learned to love coffee, I owned a coffee pot that I kept stored away deep in a kitchen cabinet. I also kept a bag of coffee in my freezer to try to keep the coffee from growing stale. My mom was an avid coffee drinker, and when she came to visit, I pulled out that pot and those frozen coffee grounds and brewed her a pot of coffee. On occasion, she would share with me that the coffee had grown stale. I laugh about it now because I realize that a poor bag of coffee could feasibly live in my freezer for five years before getting used up. That allows for plenty of time for the grounds to grow stale. Talk about stale! Stale coffee is undesirable. It has lost its flavor. It’s boring. It is no longer of any use. I fear that this is what is happening to the church these days. People are staying away from church due to safety needs during this pandemic. Many times we are watching live streams of services online. I’m so thankful that online services are available for those who can’t meet in person, but I fear that this is leading to a world of Christian consumers rather than contributors. We can enjoy a livestream service from our sofa, but we can’t serve from our sofa. We miss out on a very big part of worship which is community, community with fellow believers. We can’t feel the power that is felt in a church full of believers praising and worshipping together. We need the church when we aren’t fully present. We need to meet together so that we do not grow stale in our faith. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. (Hebrews 10:25) We need our church family, and our church needs us. Meeting together rejuvenates us, refreshes us, and keeps us from growing stale.

An old meme says, “Men should make coffee for their women because it says so right in the Bible: Hebrews.” I don’t know about all of that. At my house, whoever rolls out of bed first brews the coffee. He brews and she brews. My husband makes my coffee just the way I like it, and I make his coffee for him just the way he likes it. However, making a cup of coffee isn’t the first action of my day. No, my friends, before coffee comes prayer. I wake up and thank my Lord and Savior for another day and ask Him to guide my path as I begin a new day. Coffee comes right after prayer, and with that cup of coffee comes a big old dose of Jesus. Yep, that’s right, I sit down at our kitchen table and dig in the Word. I do this out of habit, and I pray that it is a habit that sticks we me for the rest of my life. I know that living for the Lord will not always be easy, but I know that He will guide my steps. I pray that I never appear to be a bitter Christian, and that the sweet flavor of Jesus rolls off of my tongue in speech and in my actions. I also pray that I continue to be real in my walk. I have always been a what you see is what you get kind of girl, and I pray that others see Jesus in me when they look my way. I pray that I never forget the price Christ paid for my salvation, and may my remembrance of this keep me from living a watered down Christian life and from growing stale, May we start each day with prayer, a big old cup of coffee, and a little Hebrews. Then we can truly approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

John 15:13-14 There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command.

Friendship is truly a precious gift from God. Everyone desires friendship so much so that the world of social media is making millions of dollars by making internet friend connections. Facebook has over 2.74 billion monthly users, Twitter has 330 million, and Instagram has another billion. Those numbers are astronomical, and it shows us that this world is a world full of people who desire friendships. As I think about all of the wonderful friendships that I have held so dear over the years, there is one friendship that stands out above them all: my friendship with Jesus! There is an old hymn that I have probably sang since my earlier years called What a Friend We Have in Jesus written by Joseph M. Seriven. Today, I’d like to focus on the lyrics to this wonderful old hymn:

What a friend we have in Jesus. All our sins and griefs to bear. What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer. Oh, what peace we often forfeit. Oh, what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer. Have we trials and temptations? Is there trouble anywhere? We should never be discouraged. Take it to the Lord in prayer. Can we find a friend so faithful? Who will all our sorrows share? Jesus knows our every weakness. Take it to the Lord in prayer.

As a young child singing this song, I’ll admit that it was hard to fathom this relationship with Jesus. This Jesus that we sang about sounded pretty amazing, but how in the world could I carry everything to Him? I didn’t know where to find Him. I couldn’t see this friend called Jesus. In my childhood days, I knew who He was because I had been in church since my birth. I had heard about Him, but I didn’t really know Him. But as I grew older, I learned that this Jesus friend we sang about all of those years was a friend indeed! He became my best friend.

God has blessed me with some truly wonderful friends through the years. Some friendships lasted but a season, however, some of the truest friendships which budded during my childhood continue through to this day. There are people that God has placed in my life that I can truly count on. There are friends who are there to listen when I need to rant, who lend a shoulder when I need to cry, and who encourage me when I am feeling down, I thank God for these people who are an irreplaceable part of me. God knew I would need these friends, and He provided them for me…each and every one at just the right time. But more importantly than all of the wonderful friends that I have been blessed with over the years, God gave me Jesus. He gave me the truest of all friends. There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. (John 15:13-14)

Yes, Jesus came to earth as fully man and fully God, and He laid His life down for each and every one of us. There is no greater love than that. Jesus is the very best kind of friend to have. He bore all of our sins and griefs that day on that old, rugged cross, and because of this amazingly unselfish act of love, we have the privilege to bring everything to God in prayer. Privilege is a right or a benefit. We have the right to bring everything to God in prayer. Isn’t that amazing? And it is all because we have this wonderful friend called Jesus. With Jesus as our Savior, we don’t have to forfeit peace or bear pain. It is true that we will have trials and temptations. Oh, my friends, we see trouble everywhere we look, but with Jesus, we don’t have to handle any of the these things alone. We can take all of our burdens straight to the cross. We can put everything at the feet of our Lord and Savior. There truly is no friend as faithful. He knows our weaknesses, and He gives us His strength. He loves us so much more than we can ever comprehend.

What a friend we have in Jesus! He is a true friend indeed. Do you have a personal relationship with this Jesus? If not, I beg you to get to know Him today. You won’t regret it for even a second. Give your pain and sorrow, trials and temptations, and trouble to Him today. He will give you peace like you have never known. He is a friend indeed when you are in need, and if you don’t have Him in your heart, you are a friend in need!

Romans 8:28 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.

Since gradually becoming a little bit more mature in Christ (I still have a long ways to go to reach maturity), I have become very fond of Romans 8:28. I realize that God truly does cause everything to work together for the good of His kids who love Him and who are called for His purpose. Our pastor always says, “It’s rigged…for our good and God’s glory.” I must confess that I have borrowed his little catchy phrase more than a time or two over the past few years because it is very accurate.

I could sit here and list hundreds of examples of God causing everything to work together for my good and His glory, but I know you don’t have all day to read my ramblings. I will give you a specific example, however. A few years ago, I felt a tugging at my heart to go on a foreign mission. I had made a mental note to call our local Baptist association to find out when a trip would be coming up, but I kept putting that mental note on the bottom of the pile of notes that were sitting in the warehouse of my brain. Every few days, that thought would come back to the surface, and I would dwell on it for a brief period of time, but then, I’d tuck it away again. Out of sight, out of mind. This went on for a while. I had even spoken to my husband about this desire for missions that I kept thinking about. I thought about it a lot, but I didn’t act on it. Then, I arrived home from work after a hectic, crazy day. Jeff was offshore. I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to feed all of our critters and our children when I received a call from a chiropractor friend of ours. She said that a medical group would be going to Iquitos, Peru, for a medical mission trip that summer, and they were in need of one more provider. She wanted me to pray and consider going with the group. I talked to Jeff who, as I said previously, was working offshore, and he immediately said, “sign us up.” So we prayed, and I signed us up, and that trip was a life changing event in my Christian walk.

God placed it on my heart that I needed to do a foreign mission. He may not have verbally told me that this was what He wanted me to do, but His Spirit nudged me…continually…repeatedly, preparing my mind, over and over again until I received that phone call. Not only that, we had actually received a nice bonus and tax return that particular year, and the cost of the trip, travel, airfare, food, and lodging was sitting right there in our bank account waiting to send us on a mission trip. It was almost like God said, “Get ready, girl. I’m fixing to do something big through you.” And I think I heard Him say, “It’s all rigged, girl. It’s rigged for your good and my glory!”

We signed up for the mission trip, got all of the necessary vaccines, and began preparing for the unknown. I’ve participated in local missions, but I didn’t know anything about foreign missions, not first hand at least. Did I mention that neither me nor my husband speak Spanish, and I was unsure of how we would even communicate with these people? There was a lot of fear within my husband and myself. There was fear of the unknown, fear of the language barrier, and fear of stepping outside of our comfort zone. Every single detail was worked out, from the preparing my mind before I even received the call to go, to covering the expense of the trip, to having interpreters assigned to translate for us, and wouldn’t you know it, God gave me a beautiful, sweet translator who became a very good friend. God worked out every single little detail.

I loved my time in Peru. My heart broke 500 times while I was there. My heart ached for the lost, the sick, and the poor. My eyes were opened to exactly how blessed we Americans are and how much we take for granted. I saw lives changed while there. Seeds were planted and harvested, but do you want to know something? I thought I was going to Peru to be a blessing to the people there, but it turned out that the joke was on me. I was the one who walked away with a humongous blessing. This trip opened my eyes and my heart for missions, not merely foreign missions, but all missions. I realized what a lost world we live in, and my heart was forever changed. I was no longer satisfied with my Christian walk on the sidelines. No, that trip put me in the game. Now, I can’t help but see my mission field in every aspect of my life…my job, my town, my state, and so on.

It is all rigged, my friend. God has this whole thing we call life rigged, and because He is God, He has it rigged for our good and His glory. If something keeps coming to the forefront of your thoughts, if there is a tender nudging from the Holy Spirit, listen up folks. Pay attention! God is most likely preparing you for something big, something good, something life changing, and something that will truly bring glory to Him. Yep, it’s rigged!

Romans 1:18-20 But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness. They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.

A man went into a barber shop for a hair cut. Pleasantries were exchanged, and the barber proceeded to cut the man’s hair. While the man was sitting in the barber chair getting his hair cut, he read his Bible. After the barber was finished with the man’s hair, he said, “I don’t believe that God exists.” The man was very puzzled and asked why. The barber proceeded to tell him that if God existed there wouldn’t be so many people hurting, suffering, abandoned, or alone. This left the man speechless. He wasn’t sure how to respond at that moment. He left the barber shop, but just as he reached the sidewalk, he turned and saw a man with very long hair and a long beard. He walked back into the barber shop with the young long haired man, and stated, “I don’t believe that barbers exist.” The barber laughed and said, “Yes they do. I am standing right here. How can you say that?” The man said, “If barbers exist, why does this man have long hair and a long beard. Barbers must not really exist.” The barber replied, “Barbers do exist, but this man has to come to a barber to get his hair cut. He can’t get it cut if he does not come to the barber.” The man smiled and said, “Exactly! God exists too, but the reason there is so much hurting, suffering, abandonment, and loneliness is because the people do not come to Him.”

The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship. Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known. They speak without a sound or word; their voice is never heard. Yet their message has gone throughout the earth, and their words to all the world. (Psalm 19:1-4) The existence of God has been debated time and time again, but try as the non-believers may, they just can not disprove the existence of God or Jesus Christ. I’ve completed studies by Lee Strobel and J. Warner Wallace. Both were proclaimed atheist, one a journalist and one a homicide detective. Both spent time and energy trying to disprove the existence and resurrection of Jesus. They truly investigated the Bible forensically and evidentially and tried to prove it to be false, but in both cases, these men not only were unable to disprove the Bible or the existence of Christ and the resurrection, they fell in love with Christ and the Word, and they are now proclaiming the gospel to others.

Our universe gives us overwhelming evidence of the existence of God, but just as no one can be forced to go to a barber for a hair cut, no one can be forced to believe in God. Yet, it doesn’t take a renowned journalist or homicide detective to look around at the created world and see the evidence of God’s divine power. It is so amazing that it makes believing in Him and His existence the only option. The heavens proclaim His glory. The skies reveal his craftsmanship. God doesn’t have to yell and scream, “Hey, I’m here! I exist! Look at me!” No, that’s not his style. He speaks without a sound or a word, and His message has gone throughout the earth and to all of the world. When we see the created world, we can’t help but ask ourselves how it all came about.

It is human nature to ignore the obvious. We tend to take things for granted. The sky and the earth has always been here for as long as mankind has existed. Why question it? Because the God that created it also created you and I in His image, and He wants us to get to know Him. He makes His existence obvious to even a knucklehead like me because He wants a relationship with me. As insignificant of a being as I am, the very thought of a God so amazing wanting to know me makes my heart sing. Scripture reminds us that God was there in the very beginning before this earth existed. (Genesis 1:1). God has no beginning and no end. Time and space do not bind Him. (Psalm 90) And that always present, wonderful God who always was and always will be wants a relationship with each of us so much so that He gave His own Son as a propitiation for our sins so that we could be made right with Him. (John 3:16)

It is true that there is much hurting, suffering, abandonment, and loneliness in this world, but it doesn’t have to be that way forever. God is here, but He doesn’t force Himself on us. He makes Himself known in all of creation, and He gives us His Word. The means to salvation has been spelled out to us, but we each have to make a choice to come to Him. There is really no excuse for not knowing Him. I’m so thankful that I know my God and my Savior exists. I want to shout it from the rooftops because I don’t want to spend eternity in heaven alone. I want all of you Peeps to be there too! If you don’t know Him, today is the very best day to recognize the existence of our holy Father, and accept Christ as your Savior. And if you already really know Him, get up and get out there and tell someone about Him today. You may be the one to plant the seed, or you may be the waterer, but God will gladly use you to bring others to Him today!

Matthew 7:17-20 A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.

Galatians 5:22-25 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there.  Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.

Spring is coming. In just a few short days, we will be turning our clocks ahead an hour, springing forward with Daylight Savings time. We will find an extra hour of daylight at the end of each day. I get excited thinking about the spring days that will soon be arriving. We actually got a little taste of spring in the air yesterday with a day filled with beautiful blue skies and sunshine. As my father-in-law would say, “it was a blue bird kind of day.” With spring comes gardening. We grow a lot of our food right here on the farm, and I love to garden. Digging in the cool, dark soil and planting seeds is soothing to the body and mind. We plant the seeds, we water, and then we wait. God provides the sunshine and additional water with rains from above. It seems like it takes forever for that first little seedling to break through the soil and burst forth, but as quickly as one arrives, another will break through, and then another. The watering helps in this process of seed to seedling, but do you want to know what else that water helps produce? Stinking weeds! Yes, every year we grow some very beautiful weeds, and we spend many hours pulling weeds. We realize that the weeds will prevent the plant from thriving and producing adequate nutrition. It seems like the weeds suck the life right out of the fruit bearing plants. There is one weed in particular that our garden seems to be fond of growing: pigweed. It is a weed with sharp thorns, and it grows fast and it gets big. It will take over a garden in a week if allowed to thrive. I despise the pigweed the most, and I have spent many a day gardening planning my conversation with Adam and Eve when I get to heaven. We are going to have a discussion about pigweed for sure.

When I look at my own life, I see a lot of pigweed growing at times too, and I’ve learned that if I water those weeds, they will surely grow. Remember Jesus’ words in Mark chapter 4. He taught of the parable of the different soils. Christ reminded us in those words that spiritual fruitfulness or barrenness depends on the type of soil in which the seed of God’s Word is planted. Jesus talked about the choking influence of the thorns and weeds noting that they squeeze the life out of the fruit producing seedlings, leaving no room for fruit production. Jesus talked about the the weed of worry which pulls us in a direction away from Him and His glory. We are all guilty of allowing this stinking weed to creep in from time to time. It can come in the form of a distraction such as busyness. It can look like insecurity, or it can just appear to be a problem that we dwell on rather than dwelling on the Problem Solver. The second weed that Jesus warned of is the deceitfulness of riches. We live in a very rich, prosperous country, but wealth is deceiving. It allows us to rely on ourselves for our provisions, and it deceives us into thinking that we are in control of our finances. Wealth causes us to have a numb heart in response to God’s direction in our lives. The third weed that Jesus spoke of was the desire for other things. Oh, aren’t we all guilty of watering this weed and letting it grow? We want what we don’t have, and we tend to forget that we already have what we need. If we water any of these weeds for a little while, they will grow and flourish, and when these weeds flourish, they choke out our production of fruit.

Galatians 5:22-25 reminds us of what we need to do differently. But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. We must not water the weeds in our garden of life, but rather water the good fruit producing seeds. Allow the Holy Spirit to take control and help us to produce the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. When these seedlings begin to break through, water them like crazy. Get in God’s Word. Study scripture. Talk to God and ask Him to use your for His glory. Remind yourself that Christ has already nailed those wicked weeds to the cross and crucified them there. We shouldn’t be watering weeds when they’ve already been crucified!

What kind of weeds are you watering today? Are you allowing weeds to take away your joy and keep you from enjoying the fullness of life in Christ? Maybe it’s time to start weeding the garden. Let us stop watering weeds, and instead, let us water in the fruits of the Spirit and go out and be fruitful for our Lord and Savior!

Hebrews 10:25 And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.

I Thessalonians 2:8 We loved you so much that we shared with you not only God’s Good News but our own lives, too.

Acts 2:42 All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer.

Colossians 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

Eugene Peterson, author of The Message, gives an excellent description of the fellowship community of God. He says that the church community is “a grouping of persons whom God has called together, whom God will keep together, and who will survive by God’s grace.” I don’t know about you, my friend, but I am forever grateful that God saw fit to group me with the people that He called me to gather with, and I am very grateful that He keeps us together. I am a member of a small Mississippi church. We are not great in number, but we make up for that in spirit and love. COVID-19 has been a difficult season in all walks of our life, and it has affected the church as well. People haven’t been able to gather as usual. We have worked through the glitches of video streaming services, gathered in our cars for parking lot sermons, and finally, we have returned to the sanctuary. It is still somewhat different. I’ve missed seeing the faces of many members of my church family, especially the elders, but I have noticed recently, with the availability of vaccines, a few of those precious faces are returning.

For the past few weeks, we have taken a “break” from Sunday night services to have a time of fasting and prayer to seek God’s will and direction as we move forward. Last night we had a “break-the-fast” breakfast for supper fellowship meal. It was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! Seriously, y’all, gathering together and fellowshipping with your church family is not only good, it is a necessity. We Baptist love to get together and enjoy each other’s company over a fellowship meal, and this Baptist in particular has truly missed our time of fellowship.

The men and ladies of the church came together and laid out a feast for the eyes and the taste buds. We had a variety of sausages, waffles, glorified grits, quiches, breakfast casseroles, muffins, cinnamon rolls, hot biscuits, gravy, jelly and jams, fruit, milk, juices, and coffee. The food was quite delightful, but it wasn’t the food that made the night perfect. No, it was the fellowship. It was finally being able to gather with my people at my home church, hear our pastor share scripture and wisdom, and visit with those people that I love so dearly.

This is not a perfect world. Our church is not the perfect church. We are not perfect people, but there is one thing that joins us in unity as a body of believers, and that is the perfection of our Savior. When we have the good fortune of gathering together with our brothers and sisters in Christ, we are given the pleasure of dwelling upon the lives of those we love. We share our life experiences, our accomplishments and defeats, our cares and concerns, and we share the love of our Father with our faith family. These times of fellowship are so encouraging and sweeter than honey from the comb, and Christian fellowship rejuvenates our mind, body, and spirit.

I pray that you have great fellowship with your faith family, and if you don’t have a home church or a faith family, I pray that God places you at a church with a family that may not be perfect, but who will be perfect for you. Don’t neglect gathering together with God’s people. It truly is blessing to fellowship with other believers. Relationships blossom, wisdom is shared, and we are further equipped to go and tell others the Good News of the gospel.