The Visitor Series

The next book in the visitor Series is mine.

Check it out -

The Visitor Sees A Ghost 

 

To see the book on Amazon click here.

Harrowing Times

I don’t have to go into details or examples of how weird things have been lately. Strange unheard of occurrences happening — seems like everyday, and intensifying. What gives with all that? I mean is it a God thing? Or is it the result of weather phenomenons caused by geo-engineers?

I hope you hear me out to the end. What I’m about to say is meant to be an encouragement. I hope my words can be gleaned in that way. I want to help us all be prepared. It’s not easy to say these things but I don’t want any of you to fall through the cracks of fear and worry.

If what I’m hearing is spot on, things - some caused by man and some by God - will get worse for a short while before it improves. This can be disheartening. 

For those of us who know Jesus we should take all our fears, laments and concerns to Him. He has each of us in His hands. No matter how hard it is to believe He does care or will turn things around, we must trust Him.
 

Jesus is our Heavenly Avenger who has the Father’s plan and the final word.

His plan is to bring our focus back to Him and make things better. In my experience, in order to improve one area of my life, God had to remove something else. Of course, I didn’t even realize that an adjustment was necessary.
 

I was recently reminded about the Israelites in Joshua 5:2-9. After they crossed over the Jordan River, they’re told there’s a little thing the elders neglected to do.
 

Circumcision.
 

As a result all the men had to endure the painful act of removing their foreskin in order to be right before God.
 

We have seen and heard of so much loss, but it is not done yet. There is still more to come. The lives we see lost are not lost to God. They have only shifted from the earthly realm to the eternal one. Our loss is eternity’s gain. So as we see more unusual phenomenons and deal with unfolding truths, let’s lean on Jesus through prayer and the reading of His Word. Let’s agree with Him that His plan will be victorious. Let’s be prepared for a revival to hit our land, as well as other nations of the world.
 

These are the days that God is restoring his church to be a light to the nations. Keep your eyes on him. Don’t take your eyes off Jesus. In fact, by focusing on the Lord we can show those around us who Jesus is and what The Almighty can do.

 

Jesus is our defender, our shepherd, our restorer, our hope who will never leave us. (Hebrews 3:6; 13:5-6 ; Psalm 33:20) He’s got this.

 

As an end note: I recently heard that multiple children being rescued from the earthquake rubble speak about a man in white staying with them, feeding them, and playing with them. Like I say, there's always hope.

Crazy Times

As we approach Christmas I think back to the era when Jesus came as a baby. Times were rough. I know the first believers thought that He would make life better, but He didn't. Then when Jesus ascended things got worse. Those who embraced His teachings were threatened, arrested, beaten, or stoned to death. In the midst of these threats I see something that speaks to me - they had backbone and stood up to the pressures of society. Even threats of death did not stop them from spreading the message of Jesus. 

Looking at today and all the craziness - truth being smothered in favor of lies, wars and rumors of war, mysterious weather occurrences - I feel we are living in similar days.

Does this mean Jesus will be returning as the Bible prophecies tell us? 

That would be cool. To be taken away from all this mess. 

But what about those who don't know about God?

Some say things are going to get worse. Others say that God is going to fire up a world-wide revival so that those who don't know Him will find about Jesus. I wonder... could both of these theories be right? What if things get worse while God's power ignites a revival across the nations? 

No one will be able to sit idly by and watch the two sides compete. We will be drawn into the path of revival or settling for the norms of society.

So, a question arises for each of us... are we like the early followers of Jesus? Do we have a backbone? Do we have the gumption to keep our eyes on Jesus so that the wrong thinking of the world does not cause us to back down?

I will confess, in my earlier years I did not always have a backbone and would shift my position based on the arguments given. Presently, my focus has been on Jesus and maintaining a backbone has become easier.

No matter what the days ahead may bring I know God will use it to get His plan accomplished. Being prepared to give an answer... to stand up for Jesus... that's our way of being prepared to receive the Messiah when He returns. (Matthew 25:1-13) Remember - with Jesus - there is always hope.

Author Newsletter

I know I haven't posted in a while but I have been busy on some other writing projects and spending time with Jesus. I hope to begin posting more in the coming months.

One of the things I've been working on is publishing an author newsletter. See the link below. It includes pictures from my summer trip.

If you want to receive the subscription you can leave a comment to this post. I do recommend spelling out your email rather than the correct presentation. (For example: back 2 school at gmail dot com) 

I hope your days are filled with God's beauty and breeze from the Holy Spirit to keep you going in these days of unusual occurrences. Remember, there is always hope.

  https://mailchi.mp/487080ab9585/first-ever-newsletter

God in Plain Sight

It was a bright day as I rested on my patio. My focus was on the trees and the waving of the leaves in the breeze as wind gusts affected the calm that day. I was deep in thought when a bird flitting between branches crossed my focal point. I soon found myself following this creature's movements. 

This bird moved from branch to branch, sometimes hiding among leaves and sometimes on a plain leafless extension of the tree. True to his nature, the breeze didn't shake the bird off his current resting spot. He waited until it was still to move on. As long as I followed his actions, I didn't lose him within the leaves. But when I re-focused back to the tree or bush he landed upon, I lost his location. It took work to locate him again.

But, in losing sight of him I was struck by how the bird was there the whole time, hiding in plain sight. It was in that moment that the Lord showed me a lesson.

If I keep my eye on the the bird I don't lose sight of where he jumps and goes. If I take my eye off of him, even for a short moment, then I lose His location and where he's headed. The same is true of God.

If I think of the bird as representing the Lord and the tree and bush branches as the troubles of life, I get a lesson.

When I focused on the trees, leaves and the wind, I had trouble keeping track of where the bird was and the beauty of it's actions. In the same way, if I focus on the troubles of life then I have difficulty seeing God in what is happening. The thing is... God is right there. He's hiding in plain sight. But if you search for Him, you will find Him. And, He will show you which way to go.

This is easier said than done. Yes, sometimes the troubles of life feel so big and overwhelming it's almost as though they are stealing your breath. But, I can tell you. The more I've practiced this, the easier it becomes. The Bible tells us we will have troubles and trials. (John 16:33, 1 Peter 4:12-19) Perhaps it is easier to think of troubles and issues of this world as a jumping platform to the next place God wants us to go. 

The lesson I learned, don't lose sight of God. I want to see the changes He is making. Also, be ready to move in a new direction. If I stumble along the way, He can be found because there is always hope.

Best Christmas Gift Ever

When Jesus was born the Israelites knew that the Messiah was coming soon. "How did they know?," you may ask. Because even though there had been no word from God in 400 years, they had been given a timeline. The prophet Daniel told them when to expect the Messiah to arrive. (Daniel 9:24-27) The prophet Isaiah told them how it would happen. (Isaiah 7:14; Matt 1:23)

So when the shepherds, the least desirable people to be around, received the announcement they ran to see if it was true. When they found Jesus they spread the word of the angel's proclamation and what they found. (Luke 2:8-20) They continued praising God. What a revival in a time of oppression!

Further in Luke 2, we see Simeon and Anna, both known to be righteous and devout who proclaim they saw the Messiah. Don't you think the priests would have heard their conversations before and after they saw the Messiah? Sadly, they totally ignored this. 

Then the wise men arrive on the scene. From Matthew 2, we see Magi, or royal astrologers, coming to Jerusalem looking for the new king. Reading between the lines and putting the pieces together, we know they were wealthy. In that case, everyone in the city would know of their arrival because of the large entourage that came with them.

When Herod finally schedules a meeting with these men, he has already gathered information from the priests. Have you ever noticed that none of the priests go with the Magi? The men who knew what signs would accompany the Messiah's arrival end up turning a deaf ear. Were they repeating their ancestors' actions? (Psalm 78:35-37)

Have you ever wondered what your reaction would have been? Would you have been a shepherd, or a Simeon or Anna? Running to see God's salvation come to life? Or, would you have been a priest? Standing back and just saying, "Yes, yes, we know that. You go see and let us know so then we think about going." Truly not caring that God had fulfilled the promise they had taught about.

Let's update this thought. There is talk that another revival is coming to this country before the return of Jesus. I believe this. The question to ask ourselves... will I have a priestly response or a shepherd response? Do I know all the signs to look for yet pass it off as nothing because my church life is where I want it to be? Or will I look for the change to happen and grab hold of the dynamics of the revival?

When the population that we think are lost or less likely to burn with the fire of the Holy Spirit starts praising God and shaking things up, how will we react? Let's give it some thought in this season as we celebrate the act of God becoming man as the best Christmas gift ever.

Am I Like Jonah?

The story of Jonah is known by churchgoers of all ages. A man of God was told to go to a city filled with people Jonah could not stand. I once heard that most Hebrews, along with Jonah, couldn't stand that place because the Assyrians living there would impale Hebrews, then hang those bodies at the city gate as a warning to other Hebrews.

When you think about it, who would want to go to a place where you know you will be hated and, possibly, could face death? But God was doing something in that city and He asked Jonah to join Him in that effort.

So the question I felt God point out to me the other day in regards to Jonah was, "Are we refusing to do something God is asking of us?"

Has God asked you to forgive someone who injured you emotionally? He has asked me to do that, many times. It wasn't easy, but I spoke the words several times. And, actually, anytime I remember the pain or begin to dwell on it, I repeat the words of forgiveness again. Maybe that sounds weak to you, to repeat words of forgiveness. But, I can tell you that each time I do it, there is a lightness in my spirit that wasn't there before. (John 5:38-48)

Maybe for you, it's not forgiving a wrong, maybe it's something else. Is God asking you to speak to someone you dislike? Or someone you consider an enemy? 

I think of it this way. How many times have I turned aside rather than cross the room to speak with someone that turned my stomach? How many times have I refused to speak a kind word to someone who was shunned by others? How many times have I turned the other way rather than seeing the reality of the hurt that was happening?

Do any of these sound familiar? Maybe we can relate to Jonah more than we realized. I'm seeing that I can.

Before we condemn ourselves, there is good news, and hope. Just like with Jonah, God gives us time to come to our senses. And when we do... He uses us just like He used Jonah. Notice in the story (Jonah 3) that God didn't go ahead and destroyed Nineveh without Jonah giving the warning. No, God waited for Jonah to wake up and be willing to give the warning.

God will use us once we realize we need to turn toward that action he wants is to take. We are not terrible because of our hesitancy. We are learning the acceptance of God to our struggle to follow His directions. This is great hope for all of us.