By His Wounds We Are Healed

Isaiah 53:5

But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.

We have a thing in our home. It has been a long time – even back when the girls were young – even before the girls. One of us would say – I love you – and the other would say – I love you too. The next response would be something like – I love you more. With the grands – the next few minutes would include math – such as I love you one hundred times or I love you ten thousand times eventually ending with I love you infinity.

We express our love for one another – we don’t hold back. I even tell the grands I have something to tell them – and before I can whisper in their ear – they say – I know what you’re going to say Pop – you’re going to say you love me. I love that they know they are loved.

Expressing love is something that should come naturally within families. Unfortunately – there are families that have a hard time expressing their love for one another. I’m so glad we are not one of those families. I hope that your family is not one of them either. If you are one of those families – be the one who breaks the mold and start expressing your love for your parents or your children (or your spouse).

Jesus loved us – while we were still His enemy – while we were sinners. Romans 5:8 – But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. While we were His enemies – sinners outside His grace – Jesus died on the cross to forgive our sins. He suffered and died for us.

Remember this passage? John 15:13 – Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. Jesus showed us His love by dying for us – laying down His life. Over and over we should hear Jesus saying – I love you – when we remember our salvation and His grace.

Here Comes Thanksgiving Day

Matthew 10:37-39

³⁷Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; ³⁸ and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. ³⁹ Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

Thanksgiving is prime family time and it is sneaking up on us folks! It arrives this Thursday. Do you have the whole week off? Do you have Friday off? I hope you get some time off to spend with your family. Family time is a special time. I remember a number of years ago – a football game on Thanksgiving Day – the Harbaugh Bowl – where the 49’ers and Ravens played each other on Thanksgiving – a family affair with brother’s Jim and John Harbaugh as head coaches. I wonder who is playing this year? I haven’t looked yet this year.

In our home – the time between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day is always a special time for family gatherings and time spent together. We gather as a whole family several times (we miss all four of our parents now – but we try to keep the traditions going).

What are you planning for the holidays to come? If you don’t have a plan – better make some soon. I hope you and yours have great family time throughout the fall and into the winter and the holidays. Don’t forget to keep Christ in Christmas when it comes. Remember – don’t go into debt to buy gifts for the children (or yourself). They will end up playing with the box anyway – and then you will have to pay the bills in January (or throughout the year).

I Plan Most Everything

Proverbs 16:9

In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.

I plan most everything! My wife would say I over plan. I remember learning to plan family vacation routes with my father. We would put the map (yes – a large paper map) on the hood of the car or even on the dining room table – and map out our route. We would plan the turns and breaks we would take – all through the trip. The things we wanted to see – and places we planned to visit. Often – the plan went off without a hitch. Most of the time – if you plan well – you will have success. Surprises come – but – a well thought out plan typically enables us to overcome surprises.

I plan most everything! I was planning on being retired on July 1^st of 2021. I had plans to play golf – travel with my wife – spend more time with our children and grandchildren. I certainly didn’t plan to have heart surgery on June 1^st before retirement. Yet – God not only provided the BEST surgeon for my procedure (a long story but I’m having surgery 2 months before he leaves the practice and all of it was put together inside 2 weeks time) – but – at one of the leading heart hospitals too. It is a complicated ablation surgery – but I should be home that evening or the next day. After one week of taking it easy (meaning no driving or going up and down stairs) – I was good for a closing revival at 1st Church on June 13^th thru 16^th that year.

Relationships Are The Key

Romans 9:28

God doesn’t count us; he calls us by name. Arithmetic is not his focus. The Message

Today’s devotional thought is an observation based on nearly 45 years of ministry. I hope it makes sense to our readers. It is based on Scripture but has some personal opinion/experience in it. I pray we will all take something away from this devotional.

A number of years ago Jenna Ryan (now Jenna Simmons) – gave her testimony at a revival at First Church. She reminded the congregation that in the end it is all about relationships. As we give and hear testimonies – we are telling and hearing parts of our story and the stories of others. The more we tell and hear our story and the stories of others – the more we are known and get to know others.

We will have a time of testimony at our upcoming revival (June 6-9). I hope we will soon be able to share testimonies again in regular worship. Hearing the joy God brings to others builds our faith and deepens our relationships.

It has been my experience that one of the most important reasons people decide on a church family to join is finding a place where they can connect – where they are known. This shouldn’t surprise us – for years we were told that people are looking for a place where they are known by name if we watched Cheers. If people want a bar where they are known – surely they would also be interested in a house of worship where they are known. At least in the smaller to mid-sized church families this would hold true I believe. Those who want to get their worship on in anonymity usually flock to the larger churches where they can slip in and slip out.

Marriage – What Does God Say?

Genesis 2:18

The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”

Marriage is the backbone of our society. The nuclear family – husband (father) – wife (mother) – and children – is the foundation of our culture. Most all experts report that the breakdown of the family is a primary root of the destruction of our culture.

What are your views on marriage and the family? In this day and age when people are living together before or without marriage; divorcing at an increasing rate; when debates rage concerning who may get married (same sex partners for instance); what are your views on marriage? It is important to know where you stand on issues of importance like marriage – the cornerstone of our society. We need marriage as a foundation of our culture. The family is our main stronghold.

A great place to start any discussion or study on marriage would be the Word of God – the Bible. In the Bible we see what God’s view of marriage is and how we should understand marriage. Here are a few passages. Can you find others?

Genesis 2:18 – The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”