Eternity is a Long Time

When God comes through for you the sense of gratitude you feel – or should feel – is immense. Arguably the sense of gratitude should start at the moment of salvation. When you have been saved from the condemnation of this world through faith in Jesus, your thankfulness should be out of this world. If you truly understand what you have been saved from, then nothing else can come close. Sometimes we only look for the big, audacious miracles or instances in our lives where we can point to and say to others, “Look at what God does”. However, by being a little more soft-hearted and open, you will see beautiful “smaller” miracles, joy, gifts, doors that were opened or shut that are all the work of God. This is why it is so important to keep a soft heart so we can recognize the many movements of God in our lives. But we are soldiers of the God of Creation who loves us more than we do ourselves. Like any loving father would do more for his children other than providing half the necessary...

  Manger of Jesus (right) below the Church of the Nativity In late 2013, I had the opportunity to visit Israel while I was stationed with the Army in Jordan. During our swift, 60-hour tour of numerous sites in the Holy Land, we visited the Church of the Nativity. This church, like so many in the area, was built on top of an historic site in order to protect the site. In this case, it is the manger where Jesus was born. At least, that is what is believed. The site is in Bethlehem, it is a manger, Jesus was born in Bethlehem in a manger, so it is close enough for me! The entrance for the manger is behind the alter in the church and there was quite a line the day we went. I was at the back of our group and, for a few minutes, we were the last folks in line. Then, a group of nuns came in. It was obvious they were nuns from the habits they wore, but theirs was a very different color — almost a lavender. There were about 25 or so and they were in four neat rows that would make a drill se...

  When you feel a firm lump on your body, you know it’s not a good thing. That’s what I found Sunday night while I was getting ready for bed when I was washing my groin area. I won’t keep you in suspense, I am going to have surgery in three weeks to remove the lump and the doctor will have it biopsied. What I really want to tell you is the awesome way God showered grace and favor on me when I went to the doctor’s office on Wednesday. Since the lump was not hurting me on Sunday night, there was no need to go to the emergency room. I told my wife on Monday morning and started making calls to urologists. My insurance (Tricare Select) allows me to go straight to a specialist without getting a referral. There was no doubt as to which type of specialist I was going to see; I did not have to waste my time with going to a general doctor. The first urology office I called said they could see me in six weeks. Since I was in charge of my care, I decided to keep trying for a better deal. The s...

  One of the great wonders and one of the great mysteries is how God the Son left His throne in Heaven and became 100% man while remaining 100% God. He didn't come as a fully grown man, He came into the world after growing for 9 months in Mary's womb with all the pain, blood and bodily fluids that comes with childbirth. As an infant He cried when He was hungry, He fussed when His teeth were coming in. He wobbled as He took His first steps. As He grew, He surely fell and scraped His arm or knee and got sick with a cold from time to time. He was sinless but He did not do everything perfectly. Why do I say this? Because the scriptures describe Him as simply the carpenter's son; not that He was the very best at everything He did. He was not a superstar in human form doing human things because that would take away from His eternal message. During His life on earth He was meek and lowly and not at all great looking ( Isaiah 53:2 ). He could blend in the crowd because He...

I was thinking today that we need more of God in our world. Then I stopped and realized how wrong I was to say this. Not that we don't need God - we most definitely do. But we can't have "more of God" since He is the great I Am. He is ever-present - omnipresent. There can't be "more" of Him. What there can be is more appreciation of Him and more love for Him. The more we love Him and reflect His love for us the more we will feel His presence in our world. Without this appreciation and reflection - our world becomes a very cold and dark place. That's why John writes in Revelation 21:23 regarding the New Jerusalem: "And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb." I am so looking forward to seeing this.