Good morning, world. Things are looking pretty good from the front porch of my farm in Virginia today. It’s sunny, and things are beginning to green…and before you know it the trees and everything around this farm will come into fullness. As I sat before the Throne of a Mighty God this morning, He used the fields around this old farm to remind me that you “reap what you sow” especially when it comes to the Heart. There are lots of things that go into the making of a green field that will be rich for harvest one day soon, and there’s a whole lot that has to go into me too if I want to be Rich for Harvest and a Vessel that can be of used by God too. It’s understanding what it takes to grow the Good Fruit that makes all the difference in the End Result. Isn’t that the way you look at your Life too?

Plenty of trees around the farm will bud out soon and lots of them weren’t planted here by man – nature did the planting, and God did the Nurturing, and somehow without any help from me, they thrived year after year. There is plenty of green in the fields around the farm too, and when it’s left to grow it will soon get harvested for the cows. But farmers don’t just cut down long grass and weeds to feed their herds…at least the good ones don’t. They do their part to nourish the soil too so that what grows in the fields is rich, abundant, and healthy for the herd. God makes sure to water the fields, and He brings forth the sun to help it grow. But without a little effort on the part of the farmer, what is produced out of the field would be of little use to his herd at all…and the same is true for you and for me. God is always ready to do His Part to grow us into Vibrant Vessels for Service, but He won’t do all the Work it takes to get there. We have to be sure to add all those other things it takes to grow Fruit that is rich, abundant, and healthy too. IF we do nothing to ensure that we produce Good Fruit, all we can expect to grow is weeds. If “weeds” are of no real benefit to a farmer, what good are Weeds when it comes to the Living God? He doesn’t just want “green” sprouting up uncontrollably…He wants GOOD fruit that will be beneficial to His Flock too…and it takes a little work to achieve that.

Weeds are strong and resilient and they aren’t easily controlled. Weeds can grow in every nook and cranny, and weeds grow like wildfire. Some weeds are pleasing to the eyes, and if we don’t know the difference, we’ll easily mistake a weed for a flower. But it doesn’t take long to see that the weed doesn’t produce the fragrance of a real flower and it has no ability to Produce Good. Weeds grow in every direction with no rhyme or reason, and when left unattended they have the ability to snuff the life out of whatever good stands in the way…and so it is with people of Faith. When people of Faith become lazy, and they refuse to do their part to Grow Good, they invite the weeds to take up residence in the Heart, and eventually, the weeds will consume the Good in them too. When the weeds take over in a person of Faith, they end up doing a whole lot of harm in the process too and they have the potential to snuff the Life out of whatever stands in the way. It doesn’t take any effort on our part to grow weeds, anybody can do that! But growing Good Fruit is an entirely different story. Just like the farmer…it takes nourishment, hard work, diligence, commitment, and determination to do whatever it takes to Produce Good fruit that will bring about Good things in the Flock of Jesus Christ.

It’s not possible to completely control the weeds around this old farm, but it IS possible to control the weeds in my Heart, and when I do my Part, God ALWAYS does His. I’m doing my Part to be sure that my Life is filled with Good Fruit so that I can be pleasing to the King AND used by Him to do Good for as long as there is breath in my body.

How about you?

By their fruit you will recognize them. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, by their fruit you will recognize them. Matthew 7:16-20

“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens, God has pitched a tent for the sun” Psalm 19:1-4

Good morning, world. Things are looking pretty good from the front porch of my farm in Virginia today. I got out of bed with no aches or pains and with more energy than many people only dream of having at this age, and I gave thanks to the Living God for a body still willing to cooperate. But it’s not just having an able body that matters the most, it’s having a Sound mind and a Willing Spirit too…and that’s where my morning time with the Lord of my Life comes in. When we meet, my Heart overflows with Gratitude for all that He is and all that He does for me. And when we meet, it’s my time to Condition my Heart. But the mind…now THAT part is entirely up to me. Because with the wrong thoughts, I can destroy it all, and with the wrong thoughts I do my part to thwart all that He has for me today and even for the rest of my Life. He shields my body and gives me Strength. He nurtures my Heart and Tenderizes it for Good, and I make sure to do my part in my mind. Isn’t that the way it is for you too?

It doesn’t do a whole lot of good to work on the Heart, only to leave the mind on auto-pilot to think what it wants to think…spurred on by the Adversary. Thoughts of defeat, failure, heartbreak, judgment, criticism, bitterness toward someone else, or bitterness over our circumstances – ALL these things work against the flow of a Mighty God and His Plans for each of us. The mind is like a digital recorder that can conjure up the worst memories and the most discouraging or destructive thoughts in the blink of an eye, and when it does, all of the Work that we put into the Heart can be slowly snuffed out. God doesn’t just watch our actions, He sees inside the heart AND the mind, and He knows our thoughts without us speaking them at all. It’s not His fault if we have a head full of junk, and He’s not going to be the one to fix it. It’s our job to do our part on the mind, to be sure that the Heart can do all the Good that He has Planned for us. How many times have we heard someone say “I can’t help it” or “I can’t get it out of my mind”, but that’s not true. We have the POWER to “take captive every thought” and clean it up. How many times have we heard someone say “I’m asking God to help me with my thoughts”? He CAN’T you with your thoughts, YOU have to do that part on your own. But the good news is that the more time we spend in His Presence, and the more time we spend on the Heart, the more manageable the mind becomes. And the minute those thoughts start whirling around in our head, we recognize the danger of them and WE take action to evict them. This is the Key to Strength and Growth.

There are countless examples in the Bible of the importance of our thoughts, and it’s pretty clear that WE are expected to control them. We’re instructed to FOCUS on good thoughts – “Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things”. We’re offered encouragement about how everything CAN change IF we do OUR PART on the mind – “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind…THEN you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is”. We’re even warned about how our thoughts reveal the truth of who we really are – “As a man THINKS in his heart; so is he”. We’re shown the way to Hope – “With minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the Grace to be brought to you”. And we know that the heart follows our thoughts “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” The List could go on and on and each example that we’re given is ABUNDANTLY clear that WE are responsible for our thoughts and nobody else is to blame for what whirls around in the head.

I rejoice over strength, stamina, and a healthy body. My heart is consumed with love for the Living God, and I’m ready to do battle within my mind so that I can be ALL that He created me to be and so that I don’t become my own “worst enemy”. I’m laser-focused, tenderized by the King, and ready to do battle..beginning with me.

How about you?

Good morning, world. Things are looking pretty good from the front porch of my farm in Virginia today. Nothing compares to the touch of the Master’s Hand and no artist could ever come close to creating the beauty I see at sunrise. He’s my God and I’m His child and no relationship could ever come close to what I feel for Him. His Word is True and I stand on His Promises and no other book I could read has the ability to Read me. But His Word does! I’ve been thinking a lot about how the disciples hid in fear after the crucifixion of the King even though they thought they knew Him so well. They weren’t quite “there” yet even though they had spent years with Him and they’d witnessed the Work of His Hands. I don’t want to be like the disciples hiding in fear, I want to be like the disciples who later became Champions for Christ…willing to die for their Faith. If that’s the goal for me, then I need to spend as much time in His Presence as I possibly can so that I’m never found hiding in fear but Boldly sharing the Gospel of the One who died for me instead. Isn’t that the way you see your Journey of Faith too?

Fear is a horrible thing and it has no place in the Life of a Believer. When we Invest Time with the Living God and we determine to Absorb the Truth of His Word, THEN we understand there is nothing to fear and we Understand that it comes from a dark place. We know that when we draw near to Him, He’ll draw near to us. We know that He is a Shield around us…our Protector and Provider. We know that He will take us by the hand and Lead us and we know that He’ll keep our path straight if only we’ll Acknowledge Him in all our ways. We know that we’ll never go hungry because the Righteous never will. We know that He has plans for us and we Trust Him with them. We know that there is Power in prayer and that our prayers are like incense in the Throneroom of God. We know He cares about us because He stores up every tear we’ve ever shed in a jar and we know that One Day He’ll wipe the tears from our eyes for good. We know that He has gone to Prepare a place for us and that even though our flesh will give up one day, our Soul will live forever in a new body. We know that our Name is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life and that One Day we’ll get a new name that only He knows. When we Invest in the Living God we learn to stand on His promises and we Know that there is absolutely nothing to fear at all.

The disciples succumbed to fear immediately after the crucifixion because they had no idea what would become of them for following Jesus. They even locked the door to keep their enemy out and they rarely went outside. But then came Jesus! He showed up and He walked right through that locked door to Show His Resurrected self to His people and He removed all fear and doubt once and for all. I don’t know what might become of me for being a follower of Jesus either BUT I have the benefit of the rest of the Story that the disciples didn’t have at first. I know that Jesus can penetrate any heart, any trial, any temptation, and any “threat” and no amount of locks or alarms can keep Him out. He’s my God and I’m His child. If the day comes that my Witness for Jesus becomes too much of a threat to the dark world then I’ll be willing to lay my life down just like the disciples eventually did. After all, Jesus laid His life down for me and I Know the Rest of the Story and I’m Standing on His Promises! I have no fear.

How about you?

I WROTE THESE WORDS IN 2018 – THEY’RE WORTH REPEATING!

Good morning, world. Things are looking pretty good from the front porch of my farm in Virginia today. The sun won’t rise for a while yet, and I’ve been up for a long time. Sometimes I surrender to fatigue, and I look for my rest well before midnight, and when I do I’m up to face the world in what most would consider to be the middle of the night. So, with a rested body and a lot of darkness to go, I set out to work on my heart in the presence of a God who never sleeps. When I opened my eyes in the “middle of the night” I was inclined to stay in bed for a little while longer, but as surely as I breathe I heard Him say “COME MEET WITH ME!”. The God of all things, the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End was eager to meet with His child. Who could ever resist an Invitation like that straight from the Throne of the Living God? Isn’t that how you feel when He wants to meet with you too?

It can be so easy for people to trade time to spend with the Living God for many things. Sometimes it’s a busy schedule and sometimes it’s a little self-indulgence, but most of the time it’s because He’s “out of sight” in their Lives, and therefore He’s “out of mind” too. As surely as I hunger for time with family in this empty-nest phase of my life, He “hungers” for time with me too. We have a Relationship…not just an obligation to meet every once in a while, and as the years pass by we draw closer and closer. Relationships are “give and take” and in genuine relationships there is transparency. In relationships of any kind, there is never enough time, and we always seem to hunger for more. Whether it’s our children or someone else we love when we have a good relationship, we have the DESIRE to be in their presence as much as is humanly possible…and we never seem to get enough time. The very second my loved ones leave my presence, I begin to miss them all over again. Relationships take work, time, and a willingness to “sacrifice” our own needs for the needs of the other. It’s the Relationship part that makes me Hunger for God and it’s the Relationship part that prompts Him to say “COME MEET WITH ME” in the middle of the night.

I can understand why so many people miss out on what their Relationship with the Living God could (and should) be like because there are a whole lot more broken relationships in the world than there are “healthy” ones. Parents with no time for their own children, or parents scrambling for ways to keep their children entertained by something other than themselves. People that spend a whole lot more time looking at a Smartphone than in the eyes of the ones they’re with and those they claim to love. Couples that would rather tune in to television than to each other, and that have convinced themselves that merely learning to exist in the same house year after year without killing each other is some sort of accomplishment to be proud of. As surely as any one of these scenarios will take its toll in the long run because there is no genuine attempt to have a “healthy” relationship, a Relationship with the Living God will too. It’s when we trade Him in for other things that our Relationship begins to suffer, and with each day that passes by we grow farther apart. But a Relationship with the Living God is the ONLY ONE that we’ll ever have that can be mended in a split second with no long-term damage at all. His Word says “Draw near to Me, and I’ll draw near to you”…and He does…every single time. God will always welcome us with open Arms, no matter how long He’s been waiting, and no matter how long we’ve ignored Him, and He’s always eager to “pick up where you left off” to build a stronger Relationship with His Child.

There are countless things that I fall short on in Life…I’ll always be a Work in Progress. But one thing I know how to do, and I do it well; I know how to love and I know how to have good relationships. My family will always have my time, my attention, my love, and my forgiveness and if we ever hit a rough spot in the road, it won’t be allowed to fester. I give my loved ones UNDIVIDED attention, and they know that they’re a priority for me. But the One I give the most to, my biggest Priority of all, the best Relationship I’ll ever have, is my Relationship with the Living God. He deserves ALL of me. He wants my time and my attention. He wants me to be genuine and transparent with Him. He can see right through my attempts to “fool” Him, and He doesn’t let me get by with it because He loves me. Once in a while, He makes Himself known in a Mighty way when He says “COME MEET WITH ME”, and when He does I come running into the arms of the One that loves me the Most.

How about you?

Good morning, world. Things are looking pretty good from the front porch of my farm in Virginia today. The Author and Perfecter of my Faith was already speaking to my Heart long before my feet hit the ground this morning and my Time with Him felt more like a Warrior Preparing for battle than Humble Servant looking for Truth. I’m a Perpetual student of the Word of God and I thank Him daily for a sound mind to learn more, a strong and healthy body to Serve bigger, and an Assignment fit for the King. It’s not enough for me to just “have Faith” because we’re instructed to “add to” our Faith… and that’s where the Sacrifice and Commitment part comes in. Anybody can sit on the sidelines…churches are filled with spectators unwilling to do what it takes to please Him. I know that I’m not called to be a martyr…I’m called to be a Warrior, and a Good Warrior needs Strength to endure the Journey. So, most of the “work” I put into living out a Life for Jesus Christ comes down to me. After all, it takes a Warrior to be willing to “add to” daily, to go to the Front lines, and to walk the Journey of Faith in a world filled with sorrows. Isn’t that the way you see the Journey too?

If I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard “You’re a Christian, you’re supposed to…” I would have retired long ago. It’s never a good idea to critique a Warrior with notions of what YOU think a Christian should or shouldn’t be doing because a Warrior takes Direction from God. Being a Christian doesn’t mean that I’m at the beck and call of everyone who needs help, and it doesn’t mean I’m supposed to attempt to fix circumstances that only God can fix. It doesn’t mean if I don’t take action to remedy their circumstances the way they believe I should that I’m any “less” Christian at all…in fact, it’s a really Good indicator that I take my Lead from the One I Serve instead of being guilted into trying to twist His Will to fit their lives. Nevertheless, some people judge people of Faith based on what they DO and who they help as if Christians are responsible for fixing all the problems they encounter…but that’s not what it looks like for a Warrior at all. Warriors understand the Battle and they don’t lose sight of Who they Represent or what’s Expected of them. Warriors know that the Role of a Christian is pretty simple…we’re supposed to strive to be a Reflection of Jesus Christ in all that we do, and we’re told to share the Good News with as many people as we can…AND we’re expected to “add to” our Faith for the rest of our lives. When you look at it that way, it only makes sense that the Hard Work always comes down to a Heart that is Readied for the Journey, so a Good Warrior puts more time into being readied than they do trying to “fix” a broken world.

In 2 Peter we read, “For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith, goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. The last thing I would ever want to become is “ineffective and unproductive” in my Journey of Faith…so this Warrior makes “adding to a Priority” every day. It’s a BIG list BUT I’m a committed Warrior. It’s a BIG list BUT I serve a BIG God. It’s a BIG list BUT if I strive to “add to” I’ll be a better Servant to the One Who died for me and prayerfully I’ll hear “well done” One Day. When you look at it that way, how could I NOT strive to do whatever it takes to “add to” for Him? I’m a readied Warrior for the Living God!

How about you?

Good morning, world. Things are looking pretty good from the front porch of my farm in Virginia today. This old porch was filled with love and laughter yesterday and although the rockers are empty this morning, my Heart is still overflowing with Joy and Gratitude. When I watched the Master light up the world I saw everything around this old farm come to life…including me. It was almost as if the birds were singing what my Heart was feeling and the entire Experience drove me into the arms of the One who died for me. I set out to ask for Wisdom surrounding my plans on this new day of a new week and to make a few Requests for my life, but I ended up in a place of Praise and Gratitude instead. It’s amazing how a place of Gratitude can override every “burden” and fill the Heart with Joy no matter what’s going on or how big the Requests are. I was too overwhelmed with Gratitude to ask Him for a single thing this morning. Isn’t that the way it is for you when you focus on Gratitude too?

It would be impossible to list all the good things God has done since the Beginning of all time – David says “were I to speak and tell of your deeds, they would be too many to declare.” His Righteousness cannot be measured and His deeds can’t be counted, that’s for sure. If I were to sit on the front porch making a list of His Good Deeds for the rest of my life I wouldn’t begin to make a dent in the list of His Goodness. Despite His neverending Good deeds, it can be so easy for most people to put Gratitude on the back burner while they race through the Journey called Life…forgetting to give thanks in the process. One little roadblock…one little “setback”…one little bit of “bad news” and Gratitude goes out the window while they beg for Him to fix those things they THINK are broken. Gratitude is the Key to Peace and Joy and Gratitude is what propels us forward for good no matter how bad things appear to be on the surface because we are Confident that the One Who died for us is up to something Good if we’ll just allow Him to Work in our lives. This is the Key to Peace through it all.

I talk a lot about my Trials and Tribulations…all those things that I’ve endured so that my Heart could be Tenderized by the King and so that I could become a Stronger (and more usable) Vessel for the Living God. Today I’m a Witness of Hope in a dark world and an Encourager to my brothers and sisters in Christ. ALL the trials have “worked together for Good” because I LOVE Him and I’ve been “called according to His Purpose”, and I am able to recall each turbulent Season with Joy. When you get to the other side of trials and tribulations, Gratitude overflows and it’s easy to shamelessly share the “bad” that it took to get there because the Victory is so sweet! I have been Victorious when things appeared to be hopeless more than most people could imagine. But if I were to be asked about my Blessings…all those things that I have to be Grateful for in this Journey called Life…” there would be too many to declare” too. If I were to sit on the front porch making a list of all the things I have to be Grateful for the list wouldn’t end until I do. There can be no Peace without Heartfelt Gratitude for the Living God…for all that He is and all that He does for each one.

I set out with my own plans in mind today but I ended up with a Heart that is feeling what the birds were singing this morning. I’m overflowing with Gratitude for yesterday, today, and forevermore, and I can’t think of anything at all except my Mighty, Merciful, Miraculous God who sent His Son to die for me. The One “who scattered the stars in the sky and knows them each by name” knows my Name too, and He has it written in the Book of Life. And because of that, I’ll have an Attitude of Gratitude all the days of my Life and my Blessings and all the Victories will always be “too many to declare!”

How about you?

It was undoubtedly a dark and gloomy day in the hearts of the family and friends of Jesus the day after His crucifixion. After all, they had just witnessed the most horrific act of torture known to mankind that led to the death of someone they deeply loved! Today, He would be resting in His tomb. Today His mother, friends, and followers would be mourning His death. But tomorrow? Oh, tomorrow is an entirely different story! Tomorrow will be glorious for them! Tomorrow, they’ll find that He’s missing from the grave. Tomorrow they’ll understand that He DID conquer death. Tomorrow Mary will see angels standing where her Lord’s body had been. Tomorrow the Messiah will show His Resurrected self to the one who weeps outside His tomb. Tomorrow they’ll celebrate the RISEN KING and so much of what He tried to teach them will finally make sense. Hallelujah to the Lamb of God…Jesus Christ, the Risen King! Our Hope. Our Redeemer. Our Deliverer. Our Lord.

Celebrate the King!

Good morning, world. Things are looking pretty good from the front porch of my farm in Virginia today. There are countless things that make this time of year beautiful to me, but absolutely nothing compares to the Time we set aside to Remember what Christ did for you and for me. When I look at this image of the mountain with trees mostly blooming closer to the ground and with just a few scattered green trees at the top, it makes me think about the day of the Crucifixion of Christ and the overall Journey of Faith. I’m sure the ground was filled with spectators that day, some of them salivating and shouting out for Jesus to be Crucified and some of them watching in horror. No doubt a few of them made their way closer to the top of Calvary just like some of the green trees are closer to the top in this image. But the truth is, the closer we get to the Cross, the fewer people we see because so many professed Christians would rather be spectators than they would fight their way closer to the Cross. Isn’t that the way you see the Journey of Faith too?

Today is Good Friday and I’ve often wondered how it got its name. The “good” is the end result of Jesus dying on the Cross so that we might have Hope and a Future but there was nothing good about the way it came to be. Today is a solemn day in my Heart each year as I consider the human side of what Christ did for me. He was brutally beaten to the point of being unrecognizable. He was flogged until the skin tore away from His body. He was spit on. His hair was torn out from His head and His beard. A crown of thorns was placed on His head as they mocked the “king” and the thorns pierced His skin. And then there’s the long journey carrying His cross naked and bloody for everyone to see until He was finally hung to die a slow and miserable death on the Cross. Solemn? That doesn’t begin to describe what my Heart feels and I have a hard time referring to it as “Good” Friday even though the GOOD came ONLY because He was willing to endure what He did. I don’t want a place in the “cheap seats” in my Journey of Faith and I’ll never be a spectator. I want to keep climbing my way closer to the Cross all the days of my Life. Sadly, the closer I get to the Cross, the fewer people I see.

I pity the ones so focused on Easter egg hunts and beautiful bunnies that they fail to teach their children about what Good Friday is all about. I feel sorry for the ones that gloss over His Crucifixion as if a child can’t understand suffering. I’m appalled by the ones who focus only on the Resurrection while they whitewash all that He endured getting there for you and me. Without Friday, there wouldn’t be a Sunday and without Easter, there wouldn’t be a Christmas. Even our churches are shying away from being too descriptive about what Christ did for us to avoid “offending” anybody. I recently attended a Passion play that I took my kids to see every year as they were growing up. People traveled far and wide to see the incredible depiction of the life and death of Jesus. It was graphic. The actor portraying Jesus was “bloody” and he groaned as he walked down the aisle being beaten. It was heart-wrenching. He was hung on the Cross and it looked so real…and then He was Resurrected! Yes, it was “scary” for my kids to see, that’s for sure, but it drove Home the message of the Cross within their Hearts and none of them have ever lost sight of what Christ did for us. It was worth it to share with them. The play today is an entirely different story because they removed the “offensive” and it’s been modified “for these times.” No miracles. No beatings or blood. No sign of the Price He paid for you and me. Today it’s a whitewashed portrayal of the Greatest Event the world has ever known. Yes, the closer you get to the Cross, the fewer people you see, and sadly some churches are taking multitudes with them to the cheap seats to teach them how to be a spectator instead of climbing closer to the Cross.

This is the most important time of year for me. It’s bigger than Christmas or milestone birthdays. It’s bigger than the celebration of new life or a new job. Nothing compares to this time of year! You won’t find me whitewashing what it represents with pastels and candy. I’ve got a front-row seat before the Throne of a Mighty God that sent His son to die for me and I’m not budging! The closer I get to the Cross the fewer people I see and THAT’S what keeps me busy sharing Christ with the world.

How about you?