Category: Book

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The Value of Inheritance

Yesterday morning as I was cleaning house my mind began to think about the inheritance we have as followers of Christ. Strange, right?

Have you seen those shows where people are sought out by someone from a law firm? Someone has died and named them in the will as a beneficiary of their estate. It’s always a feel good story…someone down on their luck, scrapping to get by and then there’s this knock at the door. “We’re so glad we found you! Our client died and you have been left one hundred thousand dollars.” Tears flow, the music swells and there’s lots of hugging.

Or what about those websites you can visit to see if you have any unclaimed money? You know the ones the States have to publish by law so they can return refunds to people; things like utility deposits, inheritances, tax rebates, etc. It’s fun to wonder if someone somewhere has left us something.

They have!

That someone is God, the Father. When Christ died, his will or covenant was initiated and we, who became Christians, are the beneficiaries of the will. We have an inheritance!

“15 I have heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all of God’s people. 16 So I never stop being grateful for you, as I mention you in my prayers. 17 I ask the glorious Father and God of our Lord Jesus Christ to give you his Spirit. The Spirit will make you wise and let you understand what it means to know God. 18 My prayer is that light will flood your hearts and that you will understand the hope that was given to you when God chose you. Then you will discover the glorious blessings (inheritance) that will be yours together with all of God’s people.” Ephesians 1:15-18 CEV

“His glorious power will make you patient and strong enough to endure anything, and you will be truly happy.

12 I pray that you will be grateful to God for letting you have part in what he has promised (inheritance) his people in the kingdom of light. 13 God rescued us from the dark power of Satan and brought us into the kingdom of his dear Son, 14 who forgives our sins and sets us free.

These verses, and many others, written by Paul tell us that God has given us an inheritance. Jesus, Himself, told us what we have been given because we choose to follow Him.

“A thief comes only to rob, kill, and destroy. I came so that everyone would have life, and have it in its fullest. ” John 10:10 CEV

A full and abundant life are part of the inheritance God has provided us. He has rescued us from the darkness and the thief who wants to destroy us. Our inheritance includes forgiveness of sin, peace, joy, power, authority, strength, health, provision, protection – it’s all in the Word.

“The Spirit God gave us (inheritance) does not make us afraid. His Spirit is a source of power and love and self-control. II Timothy 1:7 ERV

“The yes to all of God’s promises is in Christ (inheritance). And that is why we say “Amen” through Christ to the glory of God.” II Corinthians 1:20 ERV

It is imperative that we learn what has been given to us and we do that by reading God’s word. I remember the first time I read “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” after realizing this was part of my inheritance.

I wept!

I was overcome by the revelation that Jesus had died that horrible death on the cross and provided me with all the strength I need each day. It was overwhelming to me! Let me leave you with one more verse on our inheritance.

“Remember that in the past you were without Christ. You were not citizens of Israel, and you did not know about the agreements with the promises (inheritance) that God made to his people. You had no hope, and you did not know God. 13 Yes, at one time you were far away from God, but now in Christ Jesus, you are brought near to him. You are brought near to God through the blood sacrifice of Christ.” Ephesians 2:11-13 ERV

It would be irreverent for us to refuse what He died to provide. We have a great inheritance; we have been made joint-heirs with Jesus. Let’s boldly use what He has provided.

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Do It Again

Have you ever noticed how sometimes things we had victory over in the past come back and start to cause problems again? Little things like temper, doubt, pride, insecurity, jealousy, criticism or even laziness.

This morning it’s not about writing a thought that will inspire or encourage; it’s about DOING what we have already been taught. We should never stop learning, never stop receiving good teaching but it’s imperative that we LIVE what we hear.

“17 Everything good comes from God. Every perfect gift is from him. These good gifts come down from the Father who made all the lights in the sky. But God never changes like the shadows from those lights. He is always the same. 18 God decided to give us life through the true message he sent to us. He wanted us to be the most important of all that he created.

19 My dear brothers and sisters, always be more willing to listen than to speak. Keep control of your anger. 20 Anger does not help you live the way God wants. 21 So get rid of everything evil in your lives—every kind of wrong you do. Be humble and accept God’s teaching that is planted in your hearts. This teaching can save you.

22 Do what God’s teaching says; don’t just listen and do nothing. When you only sit and listen, you are fooling yourselves. 23 Hearing God’s teaching and doing nothing is like looking at your face in the mirror 24 and doing nothing about what you saw. You go away and immediately forget how bad you looked. 25 But when you look into God’s perfect law that sets people free, pay attention to it. If you do what it says, you will have God’s blessing. Never just listen to his teaching and forget what you heard.

26 You might think you are a very religious person. But if your tongue is out of control, you are fooling yourself. Your careless talk makes your offerings to God worthless. 27 The worship that God wants is this: caring for orphans or widows who need help and keeping yourself free from the world’s evil influence. This is the kind of worship that God accepts as pure and good.” James 1:17-27 ERV

If we aren’t doing the things that God has put in His word for our instruction we cannot be surprised when our lives experiences are less than we hoped for. We need to be diligent to keep “doing” God’s word. Here’s a novel idea, we can’t do God’s word if we aren’t reading it. We must apply what we read and hear. It’s like anything in life that we become skilled at. We have to keep doing it or our skill level decreases.

I’m glad you join me each day for this blog. It is my goal to stay focused on God’s word. I ask you to put Bible reading on the top of your “to do” list each day. You won’t regret it.

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Everyone Needs a Cheerleader

And the fans go wild…

Do you remember your high school or college years when you would go to the “big game”? The teams would be engage in battle; the rivalry would be intense. Often the home team would be down in points and the cheerleaders would do their best to get everyone in the stands up on their feet and cheering for the players.

Hearing the crowd cheering for you can be game changing!

The thought of a cheering crowd is what came to mind as I was reading my Bible this morning.

“Think about what we have in Christ: the encouragement he has brought us, the comfort of his love, our sharing in his Spirit, and the mercy and kindness he has shown us. If you enjoy these blessings, 2 then do what will make my joy complete: Agree with each other, and show your love for each other. Be united in your goals and in the way you think.” Philippians 2:1-2 ERV

Can you hear it from the grandstands of heaven? The cheers of encouragement coming from the mouth of Jesus; the Holy Spirit calling us in to the huddle and speaking words of kindness and mercy into our lives as he sends us out on the next play.

We are never in this Christian walk alone. God, our Father, owns the field, the lights, the ball and we can keep playing until we win!

“You used to be far from God. Your thoughts made you his enemies, and you did evil things. 22 But his Son became a human and died. So God made peace with you, and now he lets you stand in his presence as people who are holy and faultless and innocent. 23 But you must stay deeply rooted and firm in your faith. You must not give up the hope you received when you heard the good news. It was preached to everyone on earth, and I myself have become a servant of this message.” Colossians 1:21-23 CEV

We are on the winning team. There’s no greater coach than the Holy Spirit. His job is to strengthen us and give us proper training through the power of God’s word. We are on a team with other Christians. We need each other to accomplish the goal that God has given us.

“…But if you live to please the Spirit, your harvest from the Spirit will be eternal life. 9 We must not get tired of doing good. We will receive our harvest of eternal life at the right time. We must not give up. 10 When we have the opportunity to do good to anyone, we should do it. But we should give special attention to those who are in the family of believers.” Galatians 6:8b-10 ERV

You may feel like it’s fourth down and you’re still nine yards from the goal but your front line is strong; there stands faith, joy, hope, mercy, peace and the Word. The gates of hell and all its players cannot prevail.

“But you, Lord, are a mighty soldier, standing at my side. Those troublemakers will fall down and fail— terribly embarrassed, forever ashamed.” Jeremiah 20:11 CEV

Run forward – all of heaven is cheering you on! You WIN!!!

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Power of Forgiveness

Yesterday Dave and I watched a movie that had been produced in 2010 in Australia. It is based on a true story about some nuns and nurses who were held captive by the Japanese on an island during WWII.

Sisters of War.

The nurses and patients were abandoned by the doctors when the Japanese occupied the island and a small group of soldiers hid out in the jungle trying to fight the Japanese as best they could.

The bishop who founded the church, several priest, a contingent of nuns and some native converts were the others who occupied the church and hospital compound. The story focuses on one nun and one nurse.

What amazed me the most was the way the nuns lived out their faith. They always tried to encourage those around them and chose to pray for and forgive those who tortured them.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies. Pray for those who treat you badly. 45 If you do this, you will be children who are truly like your Father in heaven. He lets the sun rise for all people, whether they are good or bad. He sends rain to those who do right and to those who do wrong.” Matthew 5:43-45 ERV

These are the words of Jesus; if it weren’t possible to love and forgive in the worst of situations then He wouldn’t have commanded us to do so. I was amazed by the kind resolve that the nuns displayed through most of their captivity.

And then I had to ask myself how I would have handled such a situation. We often lose our loving attitude over simple things; being cut of in traffic, someone playing loud music at midnight (yes, it happened), a dishonest politician, a deceptive co-worker, etc. Very few of us have had a face the horrendous situations that these women did.

This morning I awaken with a deeper resolve to love and forgive.

“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its taste, it cannot be made salty again. Salt is useless if it loses its salty taste. It will be thrown out where people will just walk on it.

14 “You are the light that shines for the world to see. You are like a city built on a hill that cannot be hidden. 15 People don’t hide a lamp under a bowl. They put it on a lampstand. Then the light shines for everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, you should be a light for other people. Live so that they will see the good things you do and praise your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:13-16 ERV

These too are the words of Jesus. I encourage you to live as salt and light in this world; it can certainly use our example!

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Great Is Our God

The vastness of the mountains are just a small reminder of God’s greatness!

The joy I feel each morning is almost inexpressible! God is SO faithful, SO good, SO precious! Life’s experiences do not diminish the goodness of my Father God but instead they serve to illuminate it. Since God is unchangeable, He is always loving, always gracious, always giving, always faithful, always just and always merciful, our devotion and love toward Him should never be based on our circumstances but on who He is.

He doesn’t bring the adversary to test us but when the adversary comes if we remember who He is, we will come through any test victoriously because of our faith in God!

Don’t let the enemy steal your joy with distracting cares and anxious moments. Wake up each morning praising our God and Father who has led us in the past, is walking ahead of us in your present and preparing a glorious future for us!

”I will praise you, LORD! You saved me from the grave and kept my enemies from celebrating my death. 2 I prayed to you, LORD God, and you healed me, 3 saving me from death and the grave. 4 Your faithful people, LORD, will praise you with songs and honor your holy name. 5 Your anger lasts a little while, but your kindness lasts for a lifetime. At night we may cry, but when morning comes we will celebrate. 6 I was carefree and thought, “I’ll never be shaken!” 7 You, LORD, were my friend, and you made me strong as a mighty mountain. But when you hid your face, I was crushed. 8 I prayed to you, LORD, and in my prayer I said, 9 “What good will it do you if I am in the grave? Once I have turned to dust, how can I praise you or tell how loyal you are? 10 Have pity, LORD! Help!” 11 You have turned my sorrow into joyful dancing. No longer am I sad and wearing sackcloth. 12 I thank you from my heart, and I will never stop singing your praises, my LORD and my God.” Psalm 30 CEV

Thank you Lord that you have made me strong. I trust you!

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It’s a Great Day to Be Alive!

Last week we spent some time talking with friends about when and why we started a ministry to farmers and ranchers, folks who worked round the clock. That was over 35 years ago. At that time there really weren’t too many occupations where you had to work on Sundays – yes, emergency personnel, first responders, food service industry and some grocery stores but not many others.

We took “church” to those on ranches and involved in youth rodeos. These were the folks that worked 24/7 during the planting and harvest of their crops. We knew, we had been one of them. Even if you had a few hours of rest from work on a Sunday morning there still wasn’t enough time to shower, change clothes and get to town in time for church. So we took church to them.

And then there were the kids – the rodeo kids, most of them ages 5 to 19. They loved rodeo and they loved the Lord but some of them had been told that if they loved the Lord they had to give up rodeo and be in church on Sunday. So we took church to them.

We had a wonderful time during those years. We love people and we love the Lord and it was so great to be able to tell them that He loved them no matter where they were; they could be horseback or covered in field dust, it didn’t matter to God. He saw their heart.

“But the Lord said to Samuel, “…People judge by what is on the outside, but the Lord looks at the heart…” I Samuel 16:7 ERV

Now, don’t get me wrong I’m not putting down church attendance. I believe it is important that we receive good teaching; it’s vital for our spiritual growth. And the importance of good Christian friends is incalculable. They are the ones who pray with us, encourage us and support us. It means so much to get an email or a card that says “I was just thinking about you and I prayed the Lord would bless you.” Some of my oldest and dearest friends are those I have from church.

“We should keep on encouraging each other to be thoughtful and to do helpful things. 25 Some people have gotten out of the habit of meeting for worship, but we must not do that. We should keep on encouraging each other, especially since you know that the day of the Lord’s coming is getting closer.” Hebrews 10:24-25 CEV

It makes no difference if it’s a Sunday or a Thursday, if we dress in a three-piece suit or dusty jeans, if our church is a brick building with stained glass windows or an outdoor arena; the important thing is that we set time aside to worship the Lord and have association with other Christians. That is what helps keep us strong.

There’s an old country song that I love. These are the lyrics:

“Oh, the place where I worship is the wide open spaces
Filled by the hand of the Lord
Where the trees of the forest are like pipes of an organ
And the breeze plays an amen choir.

All the stars are the candles and they light up the mountains
Mountains are altars of God
Oh, the place where I worship is the wide open spaces
Where the sun warms the peaceful sod.” by Red Foley

Wherever you are today, whatever you are doing, today is great day to be alive, thank the Lord for it!

“This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us be full of joy and be glad in it. ” Psalm 118:24 NLV

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Peaceful Cuddling

Yesterday we came to the Phoenix area to spend some time with our girls and their families. Kaci and Stephen are off on an anniversary weekend; happy anniversary. Kim and Austin have Sam & Kristine at their house for a weekend of fun and we came to help out and play.

I was holding Kristine yesterday afternoon and she started to get sleepy. She cuddled in to my chest and was content to fall asleep there. Awww! That feeling of peace, security and the ability to rest. It’s enviable.

I can’t help but think that is what our heavenly Father wants us to do – cuddle in and rest. He wants us to fall asleep resting in Him and He wants us to wake up and start our day the same way.

What was the first thing on your mind this morning? Was it thoughts of joy that kept your heart at peace? Or was it the kids, your job, health, finances, a relationship, the world crisis? Whatever it was, the Lord has a solution.

God cares for you, so cuddle in and let Him handle your worries. His lap is cozy enough for you to snuggle up and draw strength from Him.

“God cares for you, so turn all your worries over to him.” I Peter 5:7 CEV

His Word is powerful enough to change the course of rivers and set the boundaries in the sky; so at His word your world can change from disorder to order. Don’t let anything hold you back from enjoying the Father’s presence, His power and His word.

“The rules you have given me to follow will be mine forever. They give me great joy. 112 More than anything I want to obey your laws always, until the end of my life.” Psalm 119:11-112 ERV

Don’t rush, settle back, close your eyes and feel the Father’s warm embrace. In Him, all is well!

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Time to Get Ready

This morning I was reading in the book of Revelation about the heavenly city and how it was prepared like a bride for her bridegroom. It reminded me that six years ago we were preparing for our youngest daughter’s wedding.

“Then I saw New Jerusalem, that holy city, coming down from God in heaven. It was like a bride dressed in her wedding gown and ready to meet her husband.

3 I heard a loud voice shout from the throne: God’s home is now with his people. He will live with them, and they will be his own. Yes, God will make his home among his people. 4 He will wipe all tears from their eyes, and there will be no more death, suffering, crying, or pain. These things of the past are gone forever.

5 Then the one sitting on the throne said: I am making everything new. Write down what I have said. My words are true and can be trusted.” Revelation 21:2-5 CEV

There is so much planning and preparation for that one day, that one very special day!

We as Christians should be preparing too; preparing for a lifetime of eternity in the presence of our loving Bridegroom, Jesus. Our new life in Christ is eternal life and eternal life starts when we accept Him as our Savior. It doesn’t start when we die but it is a life of living in the power and character of Almighty God. We are to be living this out each day with the same excitement and anticipation of a bride waiting for her groom.

“Jesus has the power of God. And his power has given us everything we need to live a life devoted to God. We have these things because we know him. Jesus chose us by his glory and goodness, 4 through which he also gave us the very great and rich gifts that he promised us. With these gifts you can share in being like God. And so you will escape the ruin that comes to people in the world because of the evil things they want.
5 Because you have these blessings, do all you can to add to your life these things: to your faith add goodness; to your goodness add knowledge; 6 to your knowledge add self-control; to your self-control add patience; to your patience add devotion to God; 7 to your devotion add kindness toward your brothers and sisters in Christ, and to this kindness add love. 8 If all these things are in you and growing, you will never fail to be useful to God. You will produce the kind of fruit that should come from your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” II Peter 1:3-7

God has provided us with everything we need to be a bride without spot or wrinkle – great and precious promises. As I see it, He has bought us the dress, prepared the venue and hired the caterers. The cake is being decorated and the flowers arranged. It’s time to give Him glory and praise for all He has done.

“ You also know we did everything for you that parents would do for their own children. 12 We begged, encouraged, and urged each of you to live in a way that would honor God. He is the one who chose you to share in his own kingdom and glory.
13 We always thank God that you believed the message we preached. It came from him, and it isn’t something made up by humans. You accepted it as God’s message, and now he is working in you.” I Thessalonians 2:11-13

Time to get ready; our bridegroom is coming!

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Amazing Love

As I sat down to write this morning, I once again became overwhelmed by the Father’s amazing love!

He loves us – in spite of our past mistakes and failures. He loves us through our victories and joys. He sees our future and His love continues! From the beginning, when He started it all, the total of creation, He did it for us.

“God said, “Now we will make humans, and they will be like us. We will let them rule the fish, the birds, and all other living creatures.” 27 So God created humans to be like himself; he made men and women. 28 God gave them his blessing and said: Have a lot of children! Fill the earth with people and bring it under your control. Rule over the fish in the ocean, the birds in the sky, and every animal on the earth.” Genesis 1:26-28 CEV

And when man chose to go their own way instead of being obedient to Him and His instruction, God immediately instituted a plan that would bring us back in to right relationship with Him.

“Everyone was going to be punished because Adam sinned. But because of the good thing that Christ has done, God accepts us and gives us the gift of life. 19 Adam disobeyed God and caused many others to be sinners. But Jesus obeyed him and will make many people acceptable to God.” Romans 5:18-19 CEV

God’s love reached through time and made a way for us to have unbroken relationship with Him. He has never stopped loving us – He never will!

It’s so hard to describe the depth of God’s love for us. It’s like trying to describe the beauty of a sunrise, the softness of a kiss or the brilliance of the night sky. Words seem inadequate, some things just have to be experienced.

The Apostle Paul wrote these words to Christians who lived in Ephesus. He wanted them to know, to experience, the depth of their new life in Christ and the blessings that had become their inheritance.

” My prayer is that light will flood your hearts and that you will understand the hope that was given to you when God chose you. Then you will discover the glorious blessings that will be yours together with all of God’s people.

19 I want you to know about the great and mighty power that God has for us followers. It is the same wonderful power he used 20 when he raised Christ from death and let him sit at his right side in heaven. 21 There Christ rules over all forces, authorities, powers, and rulers. He rules over all beings in this world and will rule in the future world as well.” Ephesians 1:18-21 CEV

The power of God’s love cannot be defeated. God’s love never fails!

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Remember the Past

I am so thankful for a good memory. It’s very important to me to remember the past. From those memories I draw encouragement for the present and hope for the future. The last few days I have been recounting the events of five years ago; that’s when we left Montana and came back to Arizona.

What an answer to prayer!

We said good bye to some very dear friends and we started our journey. We didn’t get far on our first day but the first steps were taken and that’s what was important. Each day we take steps in following the Lord. Each day, each step brings us closer to Him.

Sometimes we end up walking a new ground without the familiar love and support we have known. It’s in those “alone” times that we deepen in our relationship with the Father and listen more intently for the voice of the Holy Spirit as He gives us direction.

“The Lord is my shepherd. I will always have everything I need. 2 He gives me green pastures to lie in. He leads me by calm pools of water. 3 He restores my strength. He leads me on right paths to show that he is good. 4 Even if I walk through a valley as dark as the grave, I will not be afraid of any danger, because you are with me.” Psalm 23:1-4 ERV

Forward progress doesn’t always come in great distances covered. More often it comes from moment by moment, hour by hour, mile by mile forward movement in developing who we are in Christ. It’s important to stop and rest – to come aside, to be refreshed and then to pick up and begin again, faithfully following and moving forward in what the Lord has called us to do today.

Five years ago, we were excited about our move to AZ, we were joined on our journey by our son Koy and his girlfriend Kym. They met us in Salt Lake City and helped us complete the drive and the unpack at our new home. We so appreciated that, it’s good to have help for difficult chores.

You may not know the exact destination on your journey, you might be like the Apostle Paul who wrote these words of encouragement:

“I don’t mean that I am exactly what God wants me to be. I have not yet reached that goal. But I continue trying to reach it and make it mine. That’s what Christ Jesus wants me to do. It is the reason he made me his. 13 Brothers and sisters, I know that I still have a long way to go. But there is one thing I do: I forget what is in the past and try as hard as I can to reach the goal before me. 14 I keep running hard toward the finish line to get the prize that is mine because God has called me through Christ Jesus to life up there in heaven. 15 All of us who have grown to be spiritually mature should think this way too. And if there is any of this that you don’t agree with, God will make it clear to you. 16 But we should continue following the truth we already have.” Philippians 3:12-16 ERV

Let memories of your past bring you hope and encouragement. The Father will never abandon us!

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