February 18, 2022
Good morning–
Perhaps something like this has happened to you. You’re six years old
(a LONG time ago for most of us!), and as you run around the house
you break a vase. Your short-term plan is to hide in the closet. But
it turns out that’s your long-term plan too, as soon as a parent comes
upon the scene.
And then one day, we may or may not have been disheartened when
we read, or heard from the pulpit:
“But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” [Matthew 6:6]
I say disheartened because who among us has never once wished
that they could hide something from the One who sees what is done
in secret. But wait, there’s more:
“Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” [Hebrews 4:13]
Nothing is hidden? Everything is uncovered? I’m doomed! And as the
Bible records, hiding from God is not exactly a new development. Just
ask Adam and Eve:
“Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden.” [Genesis 3:8]
And hiding from God will continue right up until the Second Coming:
“They called to the mountains and the rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb!'” [Revelation 6:16]
Doomed? Not if you are one of God’s children:
“And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming.” [I John 2:28]
Blessings to all,
–Keith
February 11, 2022
Happy Friday to you all–
One day, a long time ago, a fish clambered ashore and started
breathing the air. Eventually his offspring grew legs, morphed
into frogs, and then apes, and finally into human beings. That
is the creation scenario that some people believe. On the other
hand, some believe:
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” [Genesis 1:1]
“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” [Genesis 1:27]
Now here is where some believe that God’s creativity input stopped
with Adam and Eve, and we’ve just been rolling the dice ever since.
Let’s see what the Word says:
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” [Jeremiah 1:5]
“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.” [Psalm 139:13]
And even after we’re born, God continues to create (if asked):
“Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” [Psalm 51:10]
Hundreds of words can be used to describe God, but the one I wanted
to focus on today is: Creator. One could say that this aspect of God is
the one that sets all of the others in motion. We can appreciate God’s
love, mercy, justice, omniscience, etc., but every so often we should
praise Him as the Creator of All Things:
“You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.” [Revelation 4:11]
Blessings,
–Keith
February 4, 2022
Good morning–
A lot of stories on the news lately are all about racial justice. Some
feel that the only way to achieve this justice is to pursue something
called equity, which apparently is different than equality. The race
that the Bible comments most on is the human race, and equality is
one of the hallmarks of Christian racial justice:
“There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” [Galatians 3:28]
Ever since Paul taught this to the people of Galatia, everything has
been peachy keen, right? No, it has not. Think Holocaust, slavery
in the South, or women fighting for the right to vote. These things
happened because people did not adhere to the truth of the verse.
Another verse that points out our equality:
“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” [Romans 3:23]
So whether you’re Jew or non-Jew, enslaved or free, man or woman,
all have fallen short. Nobody can feel comfortable being told that they
do not measure up. But our hope is in the next verse:
“and are justified freely by his (God’s) grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”
Equality is not going to be achieved by pronouncements from leaders
or by legislation–it has to be accomplished in your own heart. Perhaps
a good place to start is contained in this verse:
“…Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.” [Romans 12:3b]
Oh, how many times have I wanted to quote the beginning of that verse
to someone! But perhaps it is proper to start with the guy in the mirror.
How about you?
Blessings,
–Keith
January 28, 2022
Greetings to one and all–
Who is this Jesus anyway? That is, who is Jesus to you? I suspect
if all 62 of you replied, I would expect 62 different answers. Or more.
To the point: is Jesus God? Or is Jesus less than God? This question
came up several months ago in some email exchanges, you may recall.
My mission in exploring this is not to offend, but it is my strong belief
that any question can be discussed, and answered, from the Bible.
Yes, there are verses that can be interpreted that Jesus is less than
God, to wit:
“…for the Father is greater than I.” [John 14:28c]
But I would propose that at the time Jesus made that statement, it was
because He willingly:
“…made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.” [Ephesians 2:7]
One verse proving that Jesus is God is the previous one:
“Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped.”
I know what ‘equality’ means, and I also know what ‘one’ means:
“I and the Father are one.” [John 10:30]
Further proof that Jesus is God is written in Matthew 25:31-46, with a
couple of verses listed here:
“All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats…Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” [vs. 32, 46]
A reading of these 16 verses points to the job of determining the final
destination of all people, which is like the biggest job ever, is it not?
Does this sound like the kind of job that God would sub-contract out to
a lesser being than Himself? Or does it sound like a job that only Jesus,
as God, can do?
Blessings,
–Keith
January 21, 2022
Happy Friday morning–
I mentioned last week that communication methods seemed
quite primitive back in Jesus’ time in comparison to today–no
cell phones, TV, or radio. So whenever Jesus told a parable,
or Paul told a story, or prophets prophesied, the listener had to
use his or her imagination to picture the scene.
One of my favorite parables/teachings to picture is the following:
“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” [Matthew 7:13-14]
When I form a mental picture, I see (on the right side for some
reason), a 6-lane highway packed with shouting people. The
road is just cresting a hill, and then goes downward at an ever-
increasing angle. On the left, I picture a dirt footpath leading up
the side of a hill, with quiet people climbing in single file.
So the wide and narrow roads are self-evident, but what are we
to make of the narrow and wide gates? I used to think that the
gates represented the time of one’s death, when one’s final
destination was already determined. Now I’m thinking that the
gates represent the time of one’s decision about which road they
desire to travel on, which I get from a verse from a similar teaching:
“I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.
He will come in and go out, and find pasture.” [John 10:9]
Who doesn’t want to be part of the crowd? Sometimes life is easier
if you are in agreement with most people, if you are in the ‘majority’.
Jesus prophesies that the majority will chose to travel that wide
road that leads to destruction, so actually being a part of the minority
is a good thing in this instance.
So if my mental picture is accurate, I would conclude that our job is
to pull as many of those other people off of the broad road as possible.
While there is still time.
Blessings,
–Keith
January 14, 2022
Good morning–
Riddle me this:
“But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.” [II Peter 3:8]
No one is able to mathematically explain this verse, but putting math
aside (my HS students did it all the time), I believe the meaning is
really quite simple. It means the Lord God is not constrained by our
earthly sense of ‘time’ regarding days, years, etc. It’s not that He is
not involved with our sense of time–He did, after all, create for us
the concept of our ‘days’, separating the light from the darkness (see
Genesis, chapter 1). Scientists call this the rotation of the earth.
But I’ve been thinking a lot about several verses on timing, especially:
“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.” [Romans 5:6]
Why was it just the right time? There was no TV, radio, or telephone.
There wasn’t even the internet. If we were running the show, wouldn’t
we want to wait until communications were better? Oh, I’ve heard
the arguments: The Greek language was fairly universal, especially
among the writers. The Roman road system was not equaled until
1500 years later. But why was 2000 years ago the right time?
I hope you’re sitting down, because here’s my take on why it was just
the right time–because God said so. Full stop. We love to schedule
things in our life–everything if we’re being honest. But often we are at
a crossroads. Is it better if I determine the correct time for life’s events,
or is it better if I yield to God’s timing, even if I don’t understand it?
I’d guess that we’ve all got a story or two about when we forged ahead
in our timing, to our regret. And when we’ve waited for God’s timing, to
our gratification and reward. There must be a lesson for us in that
regard, if we are willing to learn it. But stay sharp–there’s another
timing crossroads right around the corner.
Blessings,
–Keith
January 7, 2022
Good morning, everyone–
If someone wants to accuse me of thinking too much about Heaven,
I would have to answer, “Guilty, as charged”. And why not? If one
were going to move to New Zealand for the rest of their life, for
example, would not that one try to learn about New Zealand? Thus
my interest in Heaven. How about you?
The Bible speaks a lot about Heaven, but I would bet that with the
totality of verses in the Word, we still don’t know 1% of 1% of all there
is to know. For the remaining 99.99%? That’s where faith comes in.
If God prepared it, and Jesus has built a dwelling place for each of us
in it, that’s good enough for me:
“In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you.” [John 14:2]
But wait, there’s more. After the 1000-year Millennial reign of Christ
on earth prophesied in Revelation 20:1-4, we read this:
“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.” [Revelation 21:1]
A new Heaven and earth? Now my Faith machinery has to kick into
overdrive, as I can scarcely take it in. How can a puny-brained one
such as myself faithfully process information about a new Heaven
that’s over 1000 years into the future?
Here’s what I should do. I should understand that faith is a long
journey, a journey that is best accomplished one day at a time, one
step at a time. We are taught that each day has it’s own problems,
so we should not worry about tomorrow’s troubles (Matthew 6:34).
Expanding this reasoning, each day also has it’s own opportunities
to have faith, to show faith, and to be a faithful witness to others.
Tomorrow: same thing.
Blessings,
–Keith
December 24, 2021
Merry Christmas, everyone!
The Christmas season has morphed into quite the extravaganza,
with all of the parties, parades, entertaining, cooking, shopping,
decorating, traffic, and a general expansion of lights and noises.
Certainly there is nothing wrong with celebrating Jesus being born
into the world, but I fear that the celebration ‘activities’ can have the
effect of obscuring the main point.
I would like to propose a different type of celebration to be done
during some point in this Christmas season. It should be done in a
quiet moment, by yourself, and it will only take a few minutes of
your time. Afterward, you can return to the lights and noises if you
so desire.
First, close your eyes and bring to your mind the realization that the
God we worship, the Sovereign of His Universe, has dozens of
attributes, but the one that He most shares with us is His attribute
of love:
“For God so loved the world…” [John 3:16a]
“…God is love…” [I John 4:16b]
He relentlessly loves us, despite this fact:
“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” [Romans 3:23]
So for a few moments this season I propose that we put aside all of the
lights and noises, even put aside the shepherds, the angels, the star, the
wise men, and close our eyes even more tightly to focus on the One who
willingly stepped out of Heaven to be born a baby, a baby just like us.
Paul leads us in understanding Jesus’ humility and sacrifice:
“Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness” [Philippians 2:6-7]
It amazes me that God proves His love for us through a little baby:
“This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.” [I John 4:9]
So you get to decide if we should celebrate this season with the extra
present or the longer string of lights. Or perhaps God would be more
pleased with our ‘celebration’ of a quiet moment worshipping the baby,
and realizing He comes as a God who loves us. Relentlessly.
Again, wishing you a Merry Christmas,
–Keith
December 17, 2021
Good morning–
Unlike people who have intelligence, I tend to learn lessons the hard way.
If I even learn them at all. But I stumbled upon one life lesson in my
late teens/early twenties because I was faced with some major changes
in my life. Most were positive changes, some were negative, and all
presented a situation with an unknowable outcome. The lesson I learned
was: whoever handles ‘change’ the best leads a more peaceful life.
And aren’t we all going through some changes now. The youngest one
in this email group just had her second child, and the oldest just turned 97
yesterday (Hi, Mom!). As for the rest of us, jobs disappear, bodies and
houses age, we lose a loved one, and so on. And is it just me, or do the
changes seem to be coming faster and faster?
Thanks to God, one has the option of accepting a refuge from change:
“The LORD is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him,” [Nahum 1:7]
One also has the option to try to ignore God and handle all of the changes
on their own. Let me know how that works out, because I’ve seen it in the
past and it’s not a peaceful scene. To me it makes more sense to ask for
help from the One who never changes:
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” [Hebrews 13:8]
Those early major changes that I asked for help with? Every one was a
change that worked out to the good. Not immediately in some cases, but
positive at some future point. Changes were more peaceful for me because
I knew that He would guide me in the right direction.
Newsflash! More changes are just around the corner for all of us. Here’s
praying that you and I faithfully request the help that’s right there for the
asking, because “He cares for those who trust in him.”
Blessings,
–Keith
December 10, 2021
Good morning, everyone–
When George H. W. Bush was running for President in 1988, he
talked about ‘1000 points of light’ to illustrate how volunteerism
could benefit America. Some made fun of this idea, but others
took it to heart and tried to help their communities, to be one of
those 1000 points of light. Perhaps even you did, and perhaps
you do so to this day.
You might recall that I wrote about light several weeks ago, but I
think it is subject that deserves further comment. I actually did not
realize until this week that the ‘God is light’ concept is mentioned in
the first chapter and the last chapter of the Word:
“And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.” God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness.” [Genesis 1:3-4]
“They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light.” [Revelation 22:5b]
I believe in the Genesis account we are talking about ‘God-light’, not
sunlight, as the sun (called greater light) was not created until verse 16.
And in Revelation, we are talking about the Godly light of Heaven.
If candidate Bush thought America needed 1000 points of light to
counter the darkness of 1988 (otherwise known as the good ol’ days),
how much more darkness is there to overcome today? Jesus could
not be more clear about our duty:
“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” [Matthew 5:14-16]
1000 points of light is not going to cut it today. What this world needs is
for someone to be that one-thousand-and-first point of light, because
there is no shortage of lost people who need to see our “Son-shine”.
Blessings,
–Keith
December 3, 2021
Greetings–
A word that recently seems to be increasing in usage is ‘activist’.
In fact, some people use it as a job description, like, “Meet my new
friends, Stan the Lawyer and Nick the Activist”. Maybe Nick even
has it printed on his business cards.
What is activism? The original meaning was doing things with energy
and decision. What things? I suppose it could be anything, but it’s no
stretch to assume that the intent of activism is to have a positive
influence on the subject. History will show if racial, economic, political,
gender, climate, or policing activism have had positive influences.
Here I must confess that when I hear the word activist, my first thought
is a negative one. But aren’t we supposed to be activists for Jesus?
“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'” [Matthew 25:40]
And our activism ‘activities’ don’t have to be some huge undertaking:
“And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward.” [Matthew 10:42]
One often does not know in real time what God’s purpose is:
“Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.” [Hebrews 13:2]
Activism is not just some cerebral activity, note the ‘action’ words in the
above verses: you did, anyone gives, entertain strangers.
We are instructed to ‘do unto others’, not ‘think about doing unto others’, if
we are attuned to our God Appointments. So let your activism for Jesus be
the positive influence that the outside world needs to see during these
difficult times. Because these times would be even more difficult were it not
for you activists out there. Thank you.
Blessings,
–Keith
November 26, 2021
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone–
Watching all of the news lately (may the Lord forgive me!),
it is clear that many people are neither happy nor thankful.
So wishing them a Happy Thanksgiving seems like an exercise
in futility. The danger for the Christian is that it is so easy to be
brought down to their level of despair.
People are not happy because the things that they count on,
such as friends, family, government, can let them down at any
moment. The media, the court system, and our political leaders
no longer represent everybody. They only present one side of
various issues, and it forces us to pick sides. Or does it?
Many think that there are two sides, liberal or conservative,
Republican or Democrat, and if that were the case, I would be
in despair also. But I believe there are two different sides that
others do not consider; God or Satan, Christ or the antichrist.
Division is hardly a recent development:
“The people of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews, others with the apostles.” [Acts 14:4]
Sides have to be chosen, because the time for straddling the
fence is over:
“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.” [Matthew 24:42]
Happy and thankful one will be forevermore if they choose wisely:
“…But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” [Joshua 24:15b]
Blessings,
–Keith
November 19, 2021
Happy Friday, one and all–
On occasion, I have heard someone say that we aren’t perfect. and that
in fact ‘only one person has ever walked on water’. But I say, not so fast:
“Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” “Come,” he said.
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus.” [Matthew 14:28-29]
I cannot imagine the courage and faith Peter must have had to take that
first step. But when he started to sink, he had to endure the Lord’s words:
“You of little faith…”. Meanwhile, back in the boat, 91.7% of the disciples
did not even have the ‘little faith’ that Peter exhibited. Full disclosure, with
my natural fear of water, I probably wouldn’t have even been in the boat
to begin with!
“Faith” is a word we hear a lot in sermons, Bible studies, etc., but what
is faith, exactly? Is it, for example, the same thing as “belief”? I guess my
home-made definition of faith is: complete belief. Unquestioned belief.
As luck would have it, the writer of Hebrews defines faith in chapter 11:
“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” [v. 1]
I’m not inclined to try to add anything to the above definition, but I do want
to remind us of something that it took me a while to understand:
“For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.” [Romans 12:3]
It appears that our faith in God is a gift from God Himself. At whatever
age, once one seeks God, that one is given faith. Maybe a little at first,
but added seeking results in added faith. And once God provides that
faith, it would be a shame to waste it on other things. Like fear.
So in this season of thanksgiving, we should remember to thank the One
who provides us with our faith.
Blessings,
–Keith
November 12, 2021
Good morning, everyone–
Since yesterday was Veterans Day, we should start by remembering all
of the veterans who have served our country over the years. Thank you.
The Rev. Dr. Charles Stanley, long-time pastor of the First Baptist Church
in Atlanta, Georgia, often tells the story of his very first sermon. He was
very young, and I’m sure quite nervous, and his mother slipped him the
following verse prior to the church service:
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” [Joshua 1:9]
And this was the springboard to a lifetime of preaching and saving souls.
This verse is not meant just for Joshua or Rev. Stanley, but for us as well.
The verse includes the reason for courage–because “God will be with you”.
Courage is noticed by others:
“When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.” [Acts 4:13]
Courage is one of the hallmarks of the believer:
“For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.” [II Timothy 1:7]
So why am I talking about courage? Because if my understanding of End
Times is correct, the closer we get to the return of Jesus, the more that
courage will be required of us:
“But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days.” [II Timothy 3:1]
Perhaps we should ‘practice’ courageousness now, because I suspect we
will need to draw on that practice in the future. And, according to Joshua 1:9,
God will be with us at every turn.
Blessings,
–Keith
November 5, 2021
Good morning–
For the few of you who may not know, Bill Belichick is the very
successful coach (6 Super Bowl wins) of the New England Patriots.
His mantra to each of his players is: “Do your job”. The thinking
was that if every player focused only on what his job was on each
play, the end result would likely be a team victory. Truth be told,
this even helped my pool game. Instead of thinking about the score,
the weather, the time, whatever, I focused on my job on each shot.
It seemed to really help me. But I digress.
Many think that their job is what they do for work. I would say that
we have more jobs than we realize. The jobs for a typical man might
be: employee, husband, father, brother, son, friend, neighbor, boss,
grandfather, town resident, American citizen, worker for God, etc.
Note what Jesus says about work:
“As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work.” [John 9:4]
(I believe that the ‘night’ Jesus speaks of has at least three possible
prophetic meanings, which I need to study further–your interpretation
welcome)
And how are we to approach this work?
“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men,…” [Colossians 3:23]
Recalling a recently-quoted verse, we have guidance to do our jobs:
“For we are God’s workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” [Ephesians 2:10]
The quarterback cannot do the center’s job, and vice versa. I am not able
to do your job, and perhaps you are not able to do mine. No problem.
Our individual jobs have been prepared, in advance by God Himself, no less,
for us to do. If we chose not to do our individual jobs, then they don’t get done.
We should do our jobs so we can hear these words:
“…Well done, good and faithful servant!…” [Matthew 24:21b, 23b]
Blessings,
–Keith
October 29, 2021
Happy Friday, one and all–
In my previous Friday emails, I’ve always tried to, purposefully, write each
one as a stand-alone message, always dependent on whatever insight
God seemed to be conveying to me that week. Today, however, I want to
share a couple of feedbacks from last week’s email, in which I stated that it
was my main goal in life to get to Heaven.
One brother suggested that a good main goal would be to do God’s will:
“I desire to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.”
[Psalm 40:8]
Another brother mentioned that a good main goal is to know God better:
“…And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.”
[I John 1:3b]
These goals, and many others, are worthy to be considered as primary
goals of one’s life. I tend to focus on ultimate goals, but it is good to break
it down to other, earth-bound goals. In the meantime, I was pleased to get
your feedback!
Yet another brother commented on my statement regarding how one should
give their main effort to attain their main goal:
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this is not
from yourselves, it is the gift of God–not by works…” [Ephesians 2:8-9a]
Yes, the act of salvation is a gift which has nothing to do with our individual
‘effort’. Full stop. My reference to effort was meant to fulfill the next verse:
“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good
works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
So in conclusion (I’ve been told that these three words in a sermon will
awaken the deepest sleepers!), thank you for your recent replies to these
emails. I think it is important to consider additional opinions on the various
subjects that are discussed each week.
Blessings,
–Keith
October 22, 2021
Good morning, everyone–
With all of the ‘noise’ we have to put up with in these times,
I think we would do well to step back and re-examine the big
picture, namely, what is your main goal in life. Some have as
a goal to make the most money, have the most toys, or to
achieve the greatest fame and importance. Others have less
selfish goals, but the question remains: what is your main goal?
Although I would love to use somebody, anybody, as an example
to answer that question, I’m afraid I am relegated to showing my
cards and publicly answering that question about myself. Such
is the lot of the email writer!
My main goal in life is: to get to Heaven. There it is, a four word
goal that supersedes all of the other secondary goals and noises
that my life entails. So how do I achieve that goal?
“Jesus answered, I am the way and the truth and the life. No
one comes to the Father except through me.” [John 14:6]
But how should I prioritize all my other, secondary goals?
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these
things will be given to you as well.” [Matthew 6:33]
But what will it be like in Heaven?
“He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more
death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things
has passed away.” [Revelation 21:4]
Finally, if I achieve my main goal of Heaven, how long can I stay?
“Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.” [Psalm 23:6]
So perhaps we could sit back, close our eyes, and review what we
determine to be our main goal in life, and whatever that is, determine
to put forth our main effort to achieve that main goal.
Blessings,
–Keith
October 15, 2021
Good morning, all–
“And as for you, brothers, never tire of doing what is right.”
[II Thessalonians 3:13]
Easy to do, is it not? Let me confess, sometimes it is not. We’ve
all been through a lot lately, so perhaps it was a little easier to
tire of doing what is right. But God rewards persistence:
“Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.” [James 1:12]
It’s easier to ‘never tire’ if we are with other believers:
“Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of
doing, but let us encourage one another–and all the more as you
see the Day approaching.” [Hebrews 10:25]
And I love the introduction to Jesus’ parable of the persistent widow:
“Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they
should always pray and not give up.” [Luke 18:1]
So if our Lord and Savior teaches us to not give up, that’s good
enough for me.
Blessings,
–Keith
October 8, 2021
Greetings–
“When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion
on them and healed their sick.” [Matthew 14:14]
I don’t often look up words in the dikshunerry (as I’m sure you can
tell), but I checked out ‘compassion’. Among several meanings,
it is defined as: suffering with, having pity on, wanting to help.
Many passages describe the compassion of Jesus, among them:
“When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because
they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”
[Matthew 9:36]
The thing that strikes me is that Jesus was able to show compassion
on entire crowds, or groups of people. So what would that look like
in 2021 if we are to emulate Jesus? For example, are we to show
compassion for all of the refugees who have crossed our border?
How about all of the homeless on our streets? We have no shortage
of groups of people who need compassion.
But here I will stop and confess that I have difficulty showing com-
passion to entire groups, as Jesus did. It’s something I need to work
on. Perhaps I’ll start small and help that old man over there carry
that heavy box. Or explain to that teen that Facebook doesn’t think
she is ugly. Or give that hard-working waitress a larger tip than
expected. I’ll start small and see where it leads. And I know where
to go to get my instructions:
“The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.” [James 5:11c]
Blessings,
–Keith
October 1, 2021
Happy October, everyone–
“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” [I Thessalonians 5:11]
Paul oftentimes admonished his readers to do something that they were not doing. In this instance, he states that they were in fact already encouraging and building each other up, but yet he persists in compelling (re-compelling?) the Thessalonians to encourage one another and build each other up even more.
What’s my take on this verse? It’s that in this world, believers cannot get, or give, too much encouragement. Is encouragement important? Have you been watching the news? Christians are under assault, both from the world and from Satanic forces: “For our struggle is…against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” [Ephesians 6:12a,c]So for the past few months I have made an effort to encourage people. I try to thank people more than I used to, for sermons, music, leadership, writings, and even for their encouragement tome. We cannot oppose this ‘dark world’ or the ‘spiritual forces of evil’ alone–we must band together to build each other up.
And I’m sure that most of you are further down the encouragement path than I am. But perhaps you can think of that one person, or couple, or church worker, or child, who could use a little extra building up from you. Perhaps that will be your next God Appointment. I will close with a passage that gives me great encouragement: “…And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words.”
[I Thessalonians 4:17b-18]
Blessings,–Keith
September 24, 2021
Good Friday morning–
One of the phrases that I learned in the Saturday morning Men’s Bible study was something called a ‘God Appointment’. This is a time, scheduled by God, that puts you in a position at just the right time, and in just the right place, to do something to further the Kingdom. Or not. Your choice.
To the outside world this is known as luck or coincidence. But if one is attuned to the promptings of the Spirit, one recognizes when they are being set up by the Creator of All Things. I am confident that millions of souls have been saved because someone did their job during their God Appointment.
My favorite example in the Word was when Paul just ‘happened’ to be in Athens, and he just ‘happened’ to walk past an altar: “For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD…. [Acts 17:23a]
Here’s how Keith would have handled this God Appointment: “You stupid, stupid pagans! Building an altar to something you don’t even know about! What is WRONG with you people?”
But let’s see how Paul handled this Appointment: “…Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you.” [Acts 17:23b] And he proceeded to explain to them about creation and God and Jesus in the balance of chapter 17.
Do you look for God Appointments in you life? Do you recognize them when they come your way? Do you keep the Appointment? If you skip a doctor’s appointment, you will likely get, say, a $75.00 bill coming to your mailbox. How much greater is the cost of skipping a God Appointment?
Dare I say, the cost could be the eternal destination of the appointee. We, and especially I, could perhaps open our ears, eyes, heart, and mind a little more, the better to detect our next Appointment.
Blessings,–Keith
September 17, 2021
Greetings, one and all–
The lively discussions we have witnessed about these emails over the past couple of weeks made me think about the Bible. In particular, it made me think about how no one knows all there is to know about the Bible. Not one.
For true believers, the basics are pretty clear–it is God’s Word, with the authors being inspired by the Holy Spirit, and it is a living document useful for any age or circumstance of one’s life: “All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.” [II Timothy 3:16]
And yet, 1900 years after it was completed, and after millions of men and women with brilliant, God-directed minds have spent billions of hours studying the scriptures, what do we have to show for it? For starters, we have over 10,000 Christian denominations and house churches, many believing something slightly different than the others. And that’s just in this country. One might conclude that this ancient book has outsmarted us all.
Show of hands if this has ever happened to you: you read a verse perhaps five times, but on the sixth reading, you get it. The same words, in the same order, but now it suddenly makes sense. It’s like that verse was written just for you, for you alone to understand at just the right time.
So instead of concern about denominational differences, we could consider that if that one verse was written just for you, then maybe it’s not a stretch to say that the entire Bible was written just for you–God’s written love letter, if you will. Your personal searching and study of God’s Word is just between you and Him: “See how I love your precepts; preserve my life, O LORD, according to your love. All your words are true; all your righteous laws are eternal.” [Psalm 119: 159-160]
Blessings,–Keith
September 10, 2021
Good morning, everyone–
I think the first order of business is to take a quiet moment to remember those who lost their lives 20 years ago tomorrow in the terrorist attacks on our country–
*******************************************
There’s a subject, one that I’ve mentioned before, that I just can’t get out of my head in light of multiple current events: “Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God…. For he is God’s servant to do you good….” [Romans 13:1,4a]
Paul does not limit ‘authorities’ to the head person (president, prime minister, governor, etc.), but to all level of authorities. So I maintain that the God who knows the number of hairs on my head is able to establish, say, who the mayor of Hanson is.
So one reason I can’t get this subject out of my head regards Afghanistan. In accord with the above verse 1, God has established the Taliban as the authority in that country. And per verse 4a, God has established that authority to do good for the Afghan people. And lest you think that God doesn’t get involved with pagan countries, recall that when Paul wrote these verses, pagan Rome was the authority.
Do not these same verses apply to America? God has established President Biden (and Congress) as the authorities to whom we are to submit, because they are in office to do us good. You may already be seeing the good breaking forth in America. Speaking for myself only, I am not seeing the good–yet.
One lesson that I’ve learned is that God’s timing and Keith’s timing seldom (if ever!) match. Paul does not say that the good will start from Day #1, so I am hanging my hat on the fact that good will result, in God’s time, because I accept the truth of the Word of God.
Blessings,–Keith
September 3, 2021
Good morning–
Last week I submitted a partial list of the things that are happening in this world which are causing us to be uncomfortable. And I mentioned that the biggest problem was wandering from God.
If anyone doubts the seriousness of wandering from God, then a brief review of human history might be instructive, and we can start from the start: Adam (and Eve) wandered from God: “So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken.”[Genesis 3:23] All people except Noah’s family strayed from God: “So God said to Noah, ‘I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth.'”
[Genesis 6:13]
And there is no shortage of times that God’s people wandered: [see: Old Testament]
As you can tell from these examples, and perhaps from your own personal experience(s), wandering from God has dire consequences. Which brings me to the ‘elephant-in-the-room’ question: has the United States of America wandered from God? Which America does God see, the land which sends out thousands of missionaries, or the land of 60 million abortions? The land that took God out of the schools, or the land filled with millions of true believers?
So has America wandered from God? That question will answer itself at some point in the future. Can a single individual such as me or you keep our country from wandering? I would say no. But can I keep myself from wandering? Yes.
Perhaps if enough people answer ‘yes’ to the last question, we may still be able to keep America from wandering further away from the Creator of the Universe.
Blessings,–Keith
August 27, 2021
Good morning–
I doubt that anyone would disagree with the following statement– we are living in uncomfortable times. Uncomfortable times ebb and flow, but unless my eyes are lying, the uncomfortableness is growing at an ever increasing pace.
Where to start–Afghanistan, big tech, China, cities, climate change, Congress, crime, fires, floods, inflation, Iran, media distrust, national debt, North Korea, nuclear arsenals, pandemic, race, Russia, Southern border, terrorism, wandering from God, etc.
To those who are still reading, the above items are in alphabetical order for easy reference. I think history will show, and in fact is now showing, that the biggest problem on the list is the last one.
If these items are the main subjects of your day, then your future uncomfortableness is assured. On the other hand, things will go better if you look to the One who can really provide comfort: “Shout for joy, O heavens; rejoice, O earth; burst into song, O mountains! For the LORD comforts his people and will have compassion on his afflicted ones.” [Isaiah 49:13]
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.” [II Corinthians 1: 3-4]
“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” [Psalm 23:4]
I suppose one could choose to be as uncomfortable as one would like by dwelling on some combination of the items in the above list. On the other hand, that same one could freely choose to seek, and find, comfort from the ‘God of all comfort.’
Blessings to all,–Keith
August 20, 2021
Happy Friday, one and all–
Is it just me, or does it seem like there’s a lot more selfishness going around these days. I suppose I should have seen it coming: “But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud,…”[II Timothy 3:1-2a] People seem more selfish with their time, money, and investment in friendships. They are demanding THEIR rights, THEIR freedom of expression, and THEIR belief that only THEIR cause is just. Perhaps they need to be selfish in order to show their importance. After all, there’s no importance as perfect as self-importance.
Now I know you’re not selfish, and I hope I’m not, but I bet we all know one or more people who are. But that’s not the way of The Way, is it: “Turn my heart toward your statutes and not toward selfish gain.” [Psalm 119:36]
“He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” [Micah 6:8] “…All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’** Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.” [I Peter 5:5b-6], **[Proverbs 3:34]
I submit that we are to humbly and unselfishly follow Jesus’ imperative to spread the gospel to all people with whom we come in contact. And, if necessary, use words.
Blessings,–Keith
August 13, 2021
Greetings–
If you watch some news stations (sadly, not all of them) you will have learned that America has a refugee crisis on the southern border. So this got me to thinking about the word ‘refugee’, and who qualifies to be labeled such.
Thanks to Adam and Eve, one could say that we are all born in the same country–let’s call that country Sinland: “…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” [Romans 3:23]
Although it’s not our fault what country we are born in, nevertheless it should be our goal to leave that country and be a refugee, as Jesus observed about His disciples (and future followers): “They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.” [John 17:16]
Peter recognized our refugee status:
“Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.” [I Peter 2:11]
So I don’t mind being a refugee from Sinland, as long as I have a better location to aspire to: “But our citizenship is in heaven…” [Philippians 3:20a]
Sinland or Heaven–another easy choice, is it not?
Blessings,–Keith
August 6, 2021
Happy Friday, everyone–
I read another interesting concept in a book that I just finished, and I will do my best to pass it along in this note.
Imagine that you are an avid Boston Red Sox fan (a scenario that may be close to home for some), and you are watching the game live on TV. Your beloved Sox trail during the entire game but finally win the game in the end. But while the game was in progress, you were nervous for the entire time.
The next day you decide to watch a replay of the game. Your beloved Sox still are behind for the entire game, and yet you notice that you are not nervous at all. Why? Obviously it’s because you already knew what the outcome would be.
I think this concept could be applied to life. One could choose to approach life nervously or fearfully. Perhaps that’s why Jesus persisted in telling his listeners to “Fear not” and “Be not afraid.” OR, one could choose to replace that fear with faith. Why? Because we already know what life’s outcome will be:
“For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.” [I Thessalonians 4:16-17]
“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him.”
[I Corinthians 2:9]
“And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.” [Revelation 21:3]
One can choose to approach life more faithfully, and less fearfully, once one understands and accepts what life’s outcome will be.
Blessings,–Keith