pebbles

It only took me two minutes to realize I had something stuck down there. My workout routine includes some time on the eliptical machine, but my stride was painful as I kept feeling this discomfort on my left heel. When I took my shoe off, I found a little pebble that was the culprit. My gym shoes stay in the bag when I am not at the gym, so how did this rascal sneak into my stuff and disrupt my stride? Well, I really don't know the answer, but I know enough to stop running when every step hurts.

Pain can be a warning to us that something needs to be adjusted. I thought of all the times I needed to make adjustments in my life. Usually there was some accompanying discomfort that triggered the needed changes. The Lord prods us sometimes to make changes by making our lives less than comfortable. Sometimes it is as easy as removing the pebble of sin or worldliness from our lives that brings a needed change. Sometimes we need to just stop and fix that little thing which hurts us.

The Bible says that it is the little foxes which spoil the vineyard. I think that means we need to attend to the little nuisances in our lives so the end is better than the beginning. We know which nuisances to fix, and we know which heel is hurting. We know how to lay aside the little sins that so easily beset us.

Let us adjust our stride today and remove the pebbles from our shoes so we can run toward our destiny in God. Let no little fox ruin your vineyard, and let no pebble cause you to stumble in your walk of holiness before the Lord.

Mark

Bubbles and balloons

Some fly high in bubbles and balloons, but only those who find a place in Christ know the meaning of real shelter and real excitement. When we want to insulate ourselves from trouble by making bubbles and barricades in our fragile world, there is a better place to hide. Those who know Jesus have hidden their lives in God. He covers us, protects us, and carries us into real life.

Balloons are for parties and sometimes for flight, but there is an upward draft of the Spirit of God which will carry us to a sure destination. Those who live in Christ are following the Spirit of the Lord and will reach their destiny in him. He is the life of the real party, and when we know him, we know life.

Don't be carried away by frivolous bubbles or false hopes that only end in the clouds of disappointment. Trust the Lord Jesus and allow him to cheer you up, pick you up, and carry you up to the destination that you were made for!

Mark

Earthquake rattles Midwest

An earthquake rattled us today. Some days we need to be shaken. We need to be shaken from our self centered thinking, our shallow pursuits, and our unbelief.

When Jesus the Christ entered a village or a town, everything was shaken. Old worn out beliefs were shaken. Traditions of men that enslaved earnest seekers were shaken, and sad people in dead lifestyles were shaken to a new and living way. The Hope of the world entered their lives proclaiming peace, announcing good news of happiness, and shook everything in sight.

Today we need a fresh shaking. We need to be shaken with the love of God as revealed in the life of Jesus the Christ. He is the only way to heaven. We need to be reminded that our sin which has separated us from God can only be forgiven through his shed blood. He died on a cross for sinners 2000 years ago and rose from the dead three days later so that we who believe might also live.

Turn from sin, forsake selfishness, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved!

Mark

Google flash flood

I am trying to remember how they started. Google exploded out of nowhere it seems, even as the flood must have come as a great surprise to everyone but Noah in his day. And so it seems that the flood of God is like walking up a canyon when suddenly one hears the rushing wave of water unleashed from upstream with a most unnerving feeling that things are about to change fast. Get ready, your life and mine are about to change quickly friend!

And so to the selfish and unruly, judgment comes quickly on the wicked. Even when it is least expected, God will not be mocked. What a man sows, so shall he reap. Likewise, blessing comes suddenly to the righteous almost out of nowhere, but we know from whence it comes. The suddenly of God is a theme that Mark the evangelist wrote about often. Some use the word "straightway" for suddenly, but the meaning is the same as God invades the now with his power that makes man look small and feeble.

The flash flood of God comes to the righteous. It is nothing less than the flash flood of blessing. Suddenly some day we will wake up and be surrounded by the increase. Better than any Google tidal wave that carries us to cyberland, we will be carried into our dreams and destinies by the coming flood of God. It is a flood of his presence, his power, and his purity.

"Now unto Him who is able to exceedingly abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us.........." (Ephesians 4:20).

Mark

Freedom

There is a freedom in Christ that only He can provide. For those who don't know the Lord Jesus as a loving Savior and friend, the slavery of sin and guilt and evil thoughts create a horrible world to live in. Christians know the freedom that comes when Jesus forgives our sins, but even Christians can fall back into trying to live under the law and all the rules with the "thou shalt not" emphasis that creates another form of bondage or slavery.

The Christ who sets us free from the Law of sin and death wants us to be free and stay free in our inner spirit man. We move into that realm of freedom as our focus changes from trying to avoid doing wrong things to living a life of love. This life of love is the life that pleases God. A "Jesus focus" will take us into the realm of the positive and into the realm of true life. When we live to please him, we no longer are enslaved by the laws of sin and death.

A regular study of the Bible leads us to a deeper understanding of how we can live free as we live by faith. We can enjoy freedom in our inner man when we determine to love God, love others, and love ourselves. This envelope of love covers a multitude of sins and carries us to a heavenly destination at the end of our earthly stay. Freedom is a wonderful part of the Christian's inheritance. Today is a good day to live as a free man "in Christ". As the Bible tells us, "Whom the Son has set free, is free indeed" (John 8:36).

Stay free!
Mark