The Cayman Islands

Posted on July 17, 2024 by wednesdaymorningdevotional

To the angel of the church in Sardis write:  These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars.  I know your deeds, you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead.  – Revelation 3:1

I often wonder what would be said “To the angel of the church in America.”  I hate to be so hard on American Christianity, but if we asked a hundred random people across the country what they thought about the church in America, what would be the consensus?  Right now, do we even have the reputation of being alive? 

This past week, I got to visit the Cayman Islands.  I knew before I got there that I wanted to send some postcards from the post office in Hell (just look it up if you don’t know) and go to Seven Mile Beach.  If you ever get to cruise to the Caymans, never accept a ride from the Taxi pushers rushing you to accept a ride for $12 a person.  If you simply walk one block, you can catch one of the Public Busses for $2.50. 

Our driver was the coolest.  I talked to him, and he answered so many of my questions.  I steered the conversation towards the Lord.  I led with, “Back home, we can’t drive more than a couple of miles without seeing a church, are there a lot around here?”  He said, “Oh sure, lots of churches!”  He then proceeded to point out every church we passed.  We passed quite a few churches on our way to Hell.  I thought of how many churches most individuals passed by over the course of his or her life on their way to Hell. 

I went ahead and went for it: “So do you go to church?”  I got the same response that I get here an awful lot: “I used to.”  He said he used to go to a little Pentecostal church that he enjoyed.  When I asked him why he didn’t still go, he simply said, “They used to be about helping the community, now they just keep money for themselves.”  All I knew to do was say, “Well, you keep serving the Lord, just because His people aren’t that great doesn’t mean that He isn’t.  I know He is the best thing ever happen to me.”  He kind of assured me that He still thought well of God.

Our time together quickly came to an end.  I paid him twice as much as he asked for and told him that I really enjoyed talking to him.  He was such a good dude.

What in the world would Jesus say to His church today?

Lord, more importantly, what would You say to me?  Sometimes I feel like I have the reputation of being alive and I know I’m dead inside.  Other times, I feel so alive, and others would consider me dead.  All I know is that You are the best thing this life offers.  You’ve done so much for my heart, mind, and life these 33 years that I have been saved.  Help me be truly alive in You!  Help me lead people to be truly alive!  I know I can stumble so easily and fall so quickly.  My hope is not in myself and my own efforts . . . my hope is in You.  May Your church find it’s true hope in You once again.  Revive us again!  Fill each heart with Thy love!  May each soul be rekindled with fire from above!  Hallelujah, Thine the glory!  Hallelujah, Amen!  Hallelujah, Thine the glory, revive us again!

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We’ve Got to Get This Right

Posted on July 5, 2024 by wednesdaymorningdevotional

Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.  – Hebrews 12:14

I have written an entire book on how God can and will absolutely make us holy.  Holiness is simply real deal consecration to the one true God represented in the Holy Bible.  A person who is holy acts, talks, and behaves differently than the world.  There is a lifelong process that a true Christian undergoes that makes us more and more like Jesus.  If and only if you are in this process will you see the Lord.  If and only if you are in this process, will others see the Lord in your life. 

As it stands, America has a whole bunch of people who say they know the Lord, but their actions prove otherwise.  I am here to judge no man, but I can simply write what the Bible says.  I will admit that right now, at this point in my life, I feel far away from God.  I feel super mechanical when I read His Word.  I feel like I’m selecting from 100 sets of prayers that I’ve said my whole life when I pray.  I feel like He isn’t answering my prayers fast enough.  I could go on and on about what I feel like, but that matters not one bit.  What matters is what “thus saith the Lord.”  Jesus Christ is my rock and my refuge!  Regardless of my religious activity, I place myself in His righteousness each day.  Because He is righteous, I try to act righteous.  I’m also very aware when I don’t.

Let me ask a question before I move on:  Are you really and honestly trying to live for Jesus?

I ask this because I know when I am, and when I’m not.  I also ask this because I want you to know that it is okay to answer this question with a “no,” and still be a Christian.  If I ever say “no, I’m not” I follow it up with, “Jesus, I want to live for You.  It will not happen unless You help me. Please cover me with the power of the cross and the blood that You shed for me.  Please fill me with the Holy Spirit so that I’m capable of at least looking an ounce like I’m different from this world!”  I felt a wonderful shift in my spirit by simply writing that out, because I mean it in my heart as I write it.  God is the author and finisher of my faith.  If He isn’t . . . then I’m hopeless.  I can’t save myself, and even if I could, I know that I would fail if He truly left me on my own. 

Let me ask another question before I move on:  Do you really and honestly care if someone else dies and goes to hell?

Did you know that there are a LOT of Christians who don’t believe in hell?  I know that I should have put “Christians” in quotations because if you don’t believe in hell, then you have not put your trust in the real Christ.  You have not put your trust in Christ because you don’t believe John 3:16:  For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life.  The word “perish” is in there.  I don’t like it being in there, but it doesn’t matter what I like . . . it matters the way things are. 

Revelation 21:8 says “the fearful, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters, and all liars – they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”  Once again, I don’t like that, but it doesn’t matter what I like.  I’ve been just about all those horrible things mentioned, but I’ve begged on my face for the Lord to make me the opposite of those things.  I gave my life to Jesus when I was 16 just because I read the “all liars” part.  I know some people may read and say, “well I don’t believe any of that.”  The verse literally includes you . . . you’re the second one on the list.  If I recognized that in me, I’d cry out to the Lord, “Help me believe, Lord . . . Please.  I want to believe.” 

As it stands right now, out of 100 people in my circle of influence, maybe 5 or 6 make the attempt to live for the Lord.  The problem with that is probably 50 or 60 think they are living for the Lord.  Yet, they are blatantly sexually immoral, blatantly dishonest in business dealings, and blatantly vile in their speech and conduct.  If you think I’m judging . . . you are wrong.  I have my own set of sins that constantly rise up in me, but I don’t openly flaunt them and say, “This is the way that God made me so He must be okay with it.”   I don’t just keep living in the sin and hope for the best.  I cry out to Him, “I’m sorry, Lord . . . make me different, make me holy!” 

America is not in a good place right now.  This is the first year of my existence that I did not want to go and watch fireworks last night.  It just wasn’t in me.  Some of my most patriotic and best feelings I’ve ever had about our country has come from being in Salem, SC watching the fireworks display and listening to Lee Greenwood.  This year, I sat and watched Gone in Sixty Seconds on television . . .probably one of the dumbest movies I’ve ever seen, not to mention a colossal waste of time.  I sit here this morning and wonder why I felt this way.  I think it is because, for the first time in my 49 years of living, all I see is polarization.  There is this side, that side, my side, your side.  We are all over the place.  We should change the pledge of allegiance to at least end with, “One Nation, with liberty and justice for all.”  Why should we do this?  Because we are certainly not a nation “under God,” and we are the opposite of “indivisible.”  I can only imagine the uproar if they took those words out of the pledge, but it doesn’t matter what we feel like . . . it matters the way things are. 

The bottom line is Christians have got to start acting like followers of Christ. 

Yes, I’m including myself!

We’ve got to get this right.

Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.  – Hebrews 12:14

Lord, as I feel like I just oozed pessimism, I’m not pessimistic.  I just know that Your word says that “this world will pass away, but the word of the Lord will stand forever.”  I know that one day my little vapor that I call a lifetime will evaporate, and I’ll be with You forever.  What a day of rejoicing that will be!  I guess I just never thought I’d see the accelerated process of this world passing away with my own eyes.  Yet, I know that You can save us.  You are still in control.  You can send revival.  I know that You can do all things.  But I also feel like there are just so few workers . . . where are Your followers truly out here living for you? I can think of a handful.  Who is being the light shining in the dark world?  I can think of so few.  I also know that it doesn’t matter what I feel like, it matters what You say and what You have written for us in Your word.  I just read about Elijah feeling like I do now.  You reassured him that there were thousands who hadn’t bowed the knee to Baal.  You simply wanted him to go and pour into Elisha, the next generation, before You took him.  Help me to pour into the right people before You take me, Lord.  I certainly pray that there are tens of thousands upon tens of thousands who still think Your name is great.  I pray there are millions who would rather die than dishonor the great and the true God.  Change me, Lord.  Create in me a clean heart and renew a right spirit within me.  Do this for all who have placed their trust in You.  In a word . . . “Help!”  Amen.

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Starting Sunday

Posted on June 26, 2024 by wednesdaymorningdevotional

Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame.  Their mind is set on Earthly things.  Philippians 3:19

Part of the reason Paul wrote to the church at Philippians was to commend them for how generous they were.  They shared and they suffered right along with Paul.  Paul truly felt like the Philippian church was in this whole “following Christ” thing with him.  In chapter 3, Paul tells them that he is treating Christianity like a race that he is trying to win. He encourages them to do the same.

Paul goes on to tell them that there is a group of people making Christianity look terrible.  These people honestly thought that they were better than others because they had a simple surgery performed on their private parts when they were eight days old.  They preached to new converts that they had to have the same surgery in order to be saved.  It is these people that Paul is referencing in the above verse that I have used for today.  People who above all else, wanted to be in control . . . the very thing we give up when we give our lives to Christ.  In most (not all) American churches, the people who give the most money have the most control.  In many of those cases, their goal in giving money is control.  I kind of wish I didn’t know this.

Today, we have a lot of people who claim to be Christians making Christ look super unappealing.  I’ve gotten in a decent bit of trouble before because I complained about “church people.”  Of course, I know that not all church people are bad, but here is what I do know for sure:  At this moment right now, to the overwhelming majority of food workers who work on Sunday, church people look bad.  Waiters and waitresses simply hate working when the church crowd rolls in.  In a nutshell, church people are entitled, and they are cheap.  Gives a bit of credit to “their god is their stomach,” and “their mind is set on Earthly things,” doesn’t it?

I’m not saying that I can’t forget as easily as the next Christian, but Christ is the greatest thing that has ever happened to any of us.  Don’t we want others to know how appreciative we are for what He has done for us?  Don’t we want to be as generous to others as He has been to us?  Shouldn’t Sunday workers be absolutely amazed at how much more pleasant and more generous the church crowd is than any other crowd?  After all, we just got finished worshipping the One who changed our hearts, changed our minds, and changed our lives!

One time I was with two of my pastor friends.  We ran up probably a $50 tab.  The waitress was not very good.  She was totally preoccupied and distracted . . . we could tell something was wrong.  We talked about how sometimes we didn’t give God good service and how well He tips us anyway.  We threw in $20 a piece and left her $60.  She ran out to catch us, apologized to us, and told us all that was going on in her life.  We told her why we did what we did, and all prayed for her right there in the parking lot.  I will never forget that, and I doubt she will either. 

Starting Sunday, can we just start being generous when we go out to eat after church?  Can we at least start showing love, being patient, being kind, and all the other fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5?  Leave a big tip along with a note that says something like, “I appreciate you coming in to work for us today,” or “God has been good to me, I want to be good to you.” 

I don’t know what you need to write, but thing of something . . . we have a lot of ground to make up. 

Lord, where would we be if you hadn’t been generous?  You gave Your life for us, but we won’t do the same for others.  You give so freely, yet we withhold so stingily.  You show kindness while we show entitlement.  Help us to be like You.  If You went into a restaurant today, the workers would be glad you went to their place.  Help us to fix this, Lord . . . starting Sunday.  Amen.

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What is Happening in American Churches?

Posted on June 19, 2024 by wednesdaymorningdevotional

So a church leader must be a man whose life is above reproach.  He must be faithful to his wife.  He must exercise self-control, live wisely, and have a good reputation.  He must enjoy having guests in his home, and he must be able to teach.  – 1 Timothy 3:2 (NLT)

A quick Google search has told me that there are approximately 380,000 church congregations in America.  At first, that seems hard to believe, but when I drive just a few miles in any direction, I pass several churches.  Here is a question that I’ve often posed to my Christian friends:  Are there enough real deal Christian men, men who truly choose God’s way over the world’s way, men who truly serve God with all their hearts, men who meet the above requirements in 1 Timothy 3:2, to put ONE in each of the churches in America?

If there are 330 million people in the US, 165 million of which are men, and we need at least 380,000 men to put ONE in each church, we need almost .25% of the population’s men to be true God-fearing men.  Consider at least one associate pastor, one youth pastor, and one care pastor (not that every church has one of each), but we get close to needing 1%, one out of every 100 men, to be solid followers of Jesus.

Another quick Google search estimates that Sodom and Gomorrah had around 1,000 people.  Of course, we can’t truly know because that place got utterly destroyed.  Abraham had asked God not to destroy the place if it simply had 10 righteous people (see Genesis 18).  10/1000 is 1%.  Abraham had started with the number of 50 righteous people, that would have been 5% of the population.

Are we at a place in America where we don’t have one out of every hundred people loving God with all their hearts, with all their minds, and with all their strength?

The people I have asked have all said, “Yes, we are at that place.”  I’ve asked students over the years if there is one student in their school that truly loves God and chooses Him over vaping, sex, cussing, social media drama, partying, and whatever else teens so naturally and quickly gravitate to.  Most cannot think of ONE!  In fact, over the years of my teaching at least a thousand students . . . I can think of 4.  One, I will never forget.  Two girls were berating him because he hadn’t had sex outside of marriage yet.  He looked at them and said, “I can become like you anytime I want, but you can’t ever become like me again.”  I never forgot that answer.

I’ve been in a lot of churches in my lifetime.  If you simply can play an instrument, and it proves beneficial to the worship team, most will let you play during a church service regardless of your character.  If you simply make Bible study a priority in your life, most church people will assume you are destined to preach.  Do a quick search on how many Christians read their Bibles, it is dismal.  I would, from my own experience, say that most of the church leaders, elders, and deacons do not make Bible reading, Bible study, and Bible application a priority.  I think they make church attendance a priority, but not spending alone time with God.

I really hope that I’m wrong here.  But the sad reality is that there are absolute giants of the Christian faith falling hard right now.  Preachers that I would swear would have been above reproach are causing some serious damage.  I know my faith is in Jesus and not in man, but I am beyond concerned. 

I remember the first church where I really grew up spiritually for a few years.  The church was decimated by adultery amongst the leaders.  I remember thinking, “Does anybody actually live this stuff out?”  I remember the church I went to after that, some 50/50 vote caused possibly the best church I’ve ever attended to split.  To this day, I still don’t know what it was about.  I remember the church I went to after that, there was this business meeting.  They had borrowed some money from the bank.  The pastor had negotiated a lower interest rate than they thought they were going to get.  He SAVED the church money!  Someone there quickly let him know that he should have NEVER accepted that offer without bringing it before the church.  They told him not to make a decision like that again.  I thought I was in the Twilight Zone.  But I’ll always remember how humble and gracious that pastor accepted the rebuke.  He was one of the real deals. 

Maybe I’m being too brutally honest.  Like I said, I really want to be wrong on this.  I hope it is a case like Elijah when he was depressed in the cave.  He was overestimating his own importance and God let him know that He had thousands who had never knelt before Baal (See 1 Kings 19).

What I think has happened is that we have taken the last part of that verse, “able to teach,” and made that the only requirement.  We have chosen good communication over good character.  We have also learned that a great communicator can build a church empire.  Unfortunately, when that communicator proves to be NOT above reproach, we see the devastation we are seeing now. 

Lord, I pray for a spiritual awakening in America.  Would You please send revival?  Would You set the stage for the hearts of men to truly be turned towards You again?  Strengthen the churches that exist right now, Lord.  May they turn from obvious sin.  May You reignite in the spirit of the congregations a love for Your Word and a passion for Your Name.  I’m not claiming to be anyone here, so will You keep my heart, mind, and soul inclined towards You.  Thank You for being the author and finisher of my faith!  Let us, Your people, see a true revival take place before Your soon return.  Amen.

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Only Trust Him

Posted on June 12, 2024 by wednesdaymorningdevotional

You are my God, save your servant who trusts in you. Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I call to you all day long. Bring joy to your servant, for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. You are forgiving and good, O Lord, abounding in love to all who call to you. – Psalm 86:1

I have come to realize that there have been two phases in my walk with The Lord. Early in my walk, I thought God was always out to get me. In my mind, He was watching me all the time and just waiting for me to do wrong so He could punish. I sure gave Him a lot of fuel to work with. It felt like I just gravitated towards wrong. I wondered why He didn’t change me. I wondered why He didn’t wave His magical hand and make me not want to sin anymore. Like the Adam in the Bible, I blamed Him for as much as I could. Like the Adam in the Bible, I found myself avoiding God. I would say at that point in my life, I trusted in the fact that I had said “the sinner’s prayer,” and that at least I felt rotten when I sinned. Trust in those things didn’t provide much security.

A great shift happened when I began to read His Word and take it seriously. Every believer must have a handle on God’s Word. I find that so few Christians actually read their Bible and spend time in it. It is a private discipline that reaps public rewards. It was five years after becoming a Christian that I began to read it for myself. Looking back, no wonder the above paragraph was true for me. I had no grasp on the Word of God. I had not hidden any of it in my heart that I might not sin (See Psalm 119:11).

Yesterday was a pretty bad day. I needed to go to my Heavenly Father. My first thought was, “I don’t need to bombard heaven right now since I haven’t really been seeking hard after Him.” You see, for a moment, I was trusting in my own goodness . . . my own righteousness. Isaiah 64:6 tells us what to think of our own righteousness. The truth is, as days, weeks, months, and years go by, one of our three enemies will draw us away from God. We have the devil, the world, and our own flesh that wars constantly against intimacy with God. No matter what the reason is that we’ve strayed from God’s real and tangible presence, we can always return to Him.

It doesn’t matter what we feel like . . . it matters what His Word says!

Just like the psalmist in Psalm 86:1, my trust is in Him! Not my own righteousness, nor my own goodness. Most people, even Christians, think they are going to heaven because they are a good person. If you stand before God’s throne with that answer on the day of judgement . . . it will not go well for you (see Matthew 7:21-23). No matter how long it has been since you’ve felt God’s presence, no matter what you’ve done, and no matter how badly you need Him now, you can privately draw near to Him! You have full and immediate access to the God of this Universe!

Come every soul by sin oppressed

There’s mercy with the Lord

And He will surely give you rest

By trusting in His Word

Only Trust Him!

You are my God, save your servant who trusts in you. Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I call to you all day long. When I read that line, Lord, the truth is that I don’t call to you all day long. I am so prone to leave and forget about the God that I love. Help me, your servant to stay more in tune with you, and to be more constantly aware of just how near you are to me. Bring joy to your servant, for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. You are forgiving and good, O Lord, abounding in love to all who call to you. May all who read this call to you today. Amen!

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Constantly and Consistently Made New

Posted on May 29, 2024 by wednesdaymorningdevotional

If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. – 2 Corinthians 5:17

I don’t think there is greater evidence that one has been saved than this:

The sin that I once loved, I now hate.

I’ve never really liked the definition of hate. Not that it is a bad definition, but because hate is generally thought of as the opposite of love. I’ve concluded that the opposite of love is not hate, but indifference. As life goes on, we spend the most time doing what we love. For example, I used to love playing video games, but now I see them as a colossal waste of time. I don’t care about them anymore. They get no more of my time, money, or efforts. I don’t see myself as hating the games I once loved, I’m just indifferent towards them. I couldn’t care less about them.

I think about the thief on the cross that was saved next to Jesus. He simply asked if Jesus would “remember him when he came into his kingdom.” He even said that he knew that he was justly being punished for the wrongs he had done. Think about that, for probably the first time in his life, he felt remorse for things that, up to that point, he carried out with pride. It didn’t bother him then, but it bothered him now. The thing that he once loved, he now looked back on with regret.

I say all that to say this: I was somewhere that I shouldn’t have been yesterday. I knew it before I went. I even felt like I had to leave Jesus at the door to go in. For maybe the first time in my life, I didn’t really enjoy what I was doing . . . I couldn’t enjoy it. God continues to change my heart, my mind, and my spirit . . . even after following Him for over three decades. Sure enough, God was there to meet me at the door when I came back out and rode home with me. Just like those video games back in the day, I no longer need or want this in my life.

Take an honest assessment of the things you allow into your heart, mind, and life. Which ones please God? Which ones don’t? I think a great prayer to pray would be, “Lord, help me to love what You love, and hate what You hate.” Of course, then don’t be surprised when your little world gets turned upside down. Mine sure was.

Thank You, Jesus that I have so little to do with my salvation. You are the author, and you are the finisher of my faith. I’ve come to the conclusion that if it were possible to lose my salvation, I certainly would have done it. Thank You for the Bible, thank You for the Holy Spirit that convicts, and thank You for life change. There is and never will be another like You! Amen!

It took Him just a week to make the moon and the stars, the Sun and the Earth and Jupiter and Mars. How loving and patient He must be, ‘cause He’s still working on me.

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No Longer I Who Live

Posted on May 22, 2024 by wednesdaymorningdevotional

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. – Galatians 2:20

I just had a dream. It was a short dream. I dreamt that I was in a classroom. Everyone was quiet and ready to listen to me. I simply said, “Today, I want to talk to you about how important it is to treat people better than they deserve to be treated.” Immediately and all at once they all began to make excuses and talk to one another about why they couldn’t do it. “You don’t know what this person did to me” and many more reasons were vehemently blurted out. I was trying to get the class back in order, but they would listen to me no more.

Then I woke up.

The dream was so real. I thought and thought about what it meant. My mind went back to so many church services that I went to as a teenager. I remember sermons on “the rules:” lying, adultery, sexual immorality, not cussing, and certainly heard my share of sermons on backsliding. It reminded me of a song by Ty England called “Backslider’s prayer” that came on country radio. Every time it would come on, I’d say, “That’s me!” I’d say that because no matter how hard I tried or how many times I said I was going to stop my favorite sins, and no matter how many times I went to an altar . . . I just couldn’t do it. I always found a reason or an excuse to do the exact opposite of what I knew God wanted me to do. I gravitated towards living life my way on life’s highway.

In real life, I’ve talked to so many teenagers about following the Lord, doing right, and turning from the way they are living. Most of them are brutally honest about it all, which I respect greatly. They pretty much tell me flat out that nobody has, and nobody will follow the rules that they know deep down in their heart are right. I remember thinking the same thing as a teenager, I just didn’t have the guts to say it out loud like they do.

So what do we do?

We preach Christ!

The beauty of an honest answer from a sinner is that they know they are separated from God. Many are willing to admit their sin. At this point, a conversation can be had about how that sin will keep a soul out of heaven for all eternity. God is not going to allow stinkiness and filth into His house any more than we’d allow someone into ours who is covered in mud and been sprayed by a skunk. That person has a date with a water hose before entering any of our homes. The person loaded down with sins must repent. Jesus will always hear from heaven, always forgive their sin, and slowly but surely restore their soul.

Lately, I have been very much aware of my own sins when they rise to the surface. For years, I’d just quickly ask for forgiveness and try to put them out of my mind. Recently, I’ve been holding on to those sinful thoughts on purpose. While holding onto them, I quote Galatians 2:20 and I picture myself being crucified on a cross next to my Lord. I’m dying a slow and painful death, but I’m forcing my sin suffer with me. As I die, the sin which I obviously will not let go of is dying with me. When that sin pops up later, I simply say in my heart, “that sin is dead, it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.”

We don’t need a world full of people trying harder to do right.

We need a world full of people who have been crucified with Christ, and now He is living through them.

Lord, thank You so much for re-igniting in my spirit just how desperately we all need Jesus in our lives. Help each and every person reading this to truly be the light that shines in the darkness. Help us to never look down our noses on anyone. We must all realize that we were great sinners in need of a great savior. Help us to live our lives in such a way that we make You attractive. Give us the boldness we need to speak Your Name to a lost and dying world. May others see our good deeds and glorify You, our Father in heaven. Amen.

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Update

Posted on February 14, 2024 by wednesdaymorningdevotional

If we hope for that which we see not, then do we with patience wait for it. — Romans 8:25

The Lord has had me on two projects for YEARS! I’ve written some songs to the Lord and for the Lord over the course of my life as a Christian. Last week, I finally recorded the last song. I play on releasing “My Life’s Songs” by the end of 2024.

I have also been working on a book called, “The Process: Using the Beatitudes to Explain How God Makes Us Holy.” I am right now halfway through the final edit. These two things are what God has me completing before I write another WMD. I hope this one doesn’t count. 🙂

The reason I’m telling you this, is because it is going to be expensive to produce a physical copy of these two things. I’m writing this to do kind of an interest inventory. If 100 people would be willing to give me $50, I’d be pretty close to being able to print 500-1000 books and 500-1000 Cd’s. This would guarantee you a copy of each one along with a free ticket to whatever venue I choose when I officially release them both.

I’m NOT asking you to send me a thing right now . . . I just need to know if you’d be willing when I’m much closer in a month or two. I’m really hoping to do an event at one of the local performing arts centers where I perform the entire set of songs that I have written, preach a bit from my book, and give out the copies. I don’t know exactly what this is all going to look like, I just want to be done by the time school is out and have the event scheduled for the Fall.

Lord, there is no one like You! Thank You for working in my life like You have. All I ask is that You use me to work in the life of others. May someone else go to heaven because You have worked in my life. Amen .

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Spiritual Disciplines

Posted on January 17, 2024 by wednesdaymorningdevotional

I do believe that I see God moving around me like never before. The thing is, I don’t know if He is simply more active and I’m witnessing it, or if He has simply opened my eyes more so that I can see what He is doing all along. I have seen with my own eyes a young man come to the Lord in a parking lot at a store. I’ve seen a bunch of teenagers who care nothing about the Lord absolutely captivated by the story of Joseph. I’ve seen someone contemplating a return to church years after being hurt by it. I’ve even seen my own unforgiveness melt in the presence of my enemies.

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

When is the last time you prayed? I mean really prayed like Jesus tells us to pray. Yes, I pray while riding down the road. I pray while sitting comfortably in front of my heater reading His Word. Throughout the day, I offer up little prayers here and there. I’m not going to stop any of that. At the same time, none of it is praying the way Jesus says to pray. Do it the way He says to do it and feel what a difference it makes.

But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. – Matthew 6:4

Jesus tells us that the poor will be with us always (Mark 14:7). Every time I’m confronted with the opportunity, my mind plays this game of imagining what the person will do with the gift that I give. Sometimes, I rationalize my way out of it. However, I’ve never failed to be blessed when I simply did Matthew 6:4. There is a way to meet a need without simply throwing money at a problem. There is a way to help and both of you be blessed. Ask the Lord for an opportunity to give in secret. Find out what this reward feels like. I think this even includes sharing the Gospel. We love to air on Facebook that “so many got saved this week,” and “hell lost another one.” Yet, when Jesus shared the Gospel to the woman at the well in John 4, He didn’t even tell His disciples what had happened. He simply said, “I’ve got food that you know nothing about.”

But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. – Matthew 6:17-18

A lot of people get lost right here. Fasting is very difficult, especially the first few days when your body goes through withdrawals. I’ve learned that if you eat well, fasting is a bit more tolerable than if you eat poorly. I read that Jonathan Edwards fasted for 24 hours before he preached “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” Afterwards, all churches in the area opened their churches during the day during the lunch break hours. People, on their own, forsook their food to simply go to the nearest church and pray. They didn’t worry about denominational lines, they just wanted to hang out with their Lord at the closest available church.

How would you like to see a reward like that?

Lord, prompt Your people called by Your Name to humble themselves. There is no better way to do this than to fast. May American Christians be brought to a place where they want spiritual food more than physical food . . . even if just for 24 hours. Bring revival, Lord. Bring Your presence to Your people like You have so many times in the past. Bless us, keep us, make Your face shine upon us, and be gracious to us. Amen.

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Broken Over Sin

Posted on January 3, 2024 by wednesdaymorningdevotional

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.  – Psalm 51:10

Sitting here this morning, I can remember six times when I was truly broken over my sin.  In the verse above, David had taken another man’s wife, got her pregnant, and murdered her husband to cover it up.  He wasn’t even broken over that sin, at least until the preacher came and talked to him.  You can read it in 2 Samuel 11-12.

I only bring this up because it happened to me this past Sunday.  Right in the middle of preaching Daniel chapter 1, I apologized to my wife.  I apologized for doing something that I didn’t really even think about again until that moment in the pulpit.  I looked at her and told her that I was sorry.  Somehow, the sin that lived inside me, all of it, just surfaced and I began to weep . . . I mean sob.  I was in God’s presence, so I didn’t really think to be embarrassed about it.  I simply asked the people to pray while I emptied my soul at the altar.  It felt wonderful.  I don’t know if I have ever felt cleaner than after I said “Amen.”  

I don’t know why I tell you that this morning.  If you’ve never had a moment like this, where God is so present, where you truly see how big He is for just a moment, while at the same time seeing how small you are.  I’m talking about a moment where you see what sin truly does.  I’ve started my Bible Recap Bible study for 2024.  I don’t see where Adam nor Eve was truly sorry for their sin.  All they did was eat a piece of fruit . . . it gave a death sentence to mankind.  You’d think they would have wept bitterly before the Lord.  I’m going to look for it as I read through the Bible again, but I think David is the first person we get to who is truly broken over his sin.

Would to God that each of us would have such a moment.

Lord, I pray for each person reading this.  Give each of us a moment of clarity where our sin is ever before us.  Show us how it is only Your blood, Your mercy, and Your grace that covers it up.  You are so good, Lord . . . yet that goodness is so easy for me to forget.  Help me love You!  Grant me staying power, O Lord, for I know how prone I am to wander.  Bless us and keep us in 2024.  Bless us and keep us for all eternity.  We owed a debt we could never repay, and You paid it.  Help us to never forget.  Amen!

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