Love

Romans 8:38-39 says "For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.  If it is in Jesus that I find the love of God, then I would be foolish to disregard Him in favor of my own desires.  Chasing after my own wants has always left me with an empty feeling at the end of the day.  Whenever I have chosen to chase after God's wants I have experienced contentment, even when the end result doesn't seem gratifying in a worldly sense.

Salvation

God's salvation was originally revealed to the nation of Israel but they, for the most part, rejected it through a desire to work their way to God.  Acts 28:28 says that salvation was then revealed to all nations and that they would listen.  I wonder how many people still think that they can earn their way into God's favour.  It seems painfully obvious that a finite, sinful human could never truly offer anything of value to a perfect, omnipotent God, yet we continue to believe that we can provide something He wants.  All He really wants is for us to come to Him in child like faith, and acknowledge that He is Lord and that Jesus fulfills the requirement for our righteousness.  Without that child like acceptance, we can never really please Him.  With it...the possibilities are endless.

Faith

We all want to be accepted, loved and provided for. Through our faith in Christ, His followers know that they have these needs met. Hebrews 11 says that the definition of faith is the manifestation of things we hope for but can't see. The object of your faith determines what you can expect.

I have faith that the sun will rise tomorrow, but the sun can only do so much. I have faith in my wife's love for me, but her provision for me is limited. I trust in Jesus for eternal life. According to John 3:36 He can provide that. If I have eternal life then there isn't much in this current life that can truly harm me. Now, that should inspire boldness.

Normal

One of the basic truths of the Christian faith is that "normal" is not always right. That means that "right" is not always normal. What I see by faith contradicts what I see in the world around me. That makes it very hard to stay on the path set before me.

Pelicans

Watched pelicans dive-bombing fish last night and wondered why they don't work harder to catch more fish. You see, they just fly around, in a leisurely fashion, waiting for fish to come near the surface of the water so they will be more easily caught. How lazy! If the pelicans were truly industrious (like us humans), they would create high levels of stress for themselves by collecting as many fish as possible in as little time as possible. Then they would find ways to store the fish safely, in case certain, less motivated pelicans wanted to steal the fish. Then, when most of the day was gone, they could frantically squeeze as much flying time as they can into what time is left.

But noooo...They just hover around, acting like God will just provide for their every need. Stupid birds.

Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things.
Matthew 6:34

The Beach

I watched an older couple on the beach today as they played in the ocean and held hands and talked. Then I saw a young couple put sunscreen on each other before playing in the water. Why do I seem to want space from my family while on vacation? Instead of running and playing, I seem to want to run and hide. I love my wife and kids, but I sometimes feel the need to be back on the road, going to a new place. Or maybe an old new place. Or, maybe, this is just what a mid-life crisis feels like. Too old for young romance, but too young for that true comfort zone that comes with maturity and acceptance.

The Beginning

Started this blog while on vacation. Not sure what prompted this, but I know that everything has a purpose. The beach is as beautiful as ever. The beauty shows that God's blessings rain on all of us, whether good or bad. The hurricane damage shows that we are all affected by this broken world just as equally. As I see the effects of this world on people's lives I remember how hard it was to have no hope. Now I have hope, but I don't always know how to share that hope with others. Each day we have an opportunity to influence other people for better or for worse. If I don't share the hope found in the Bible I'm being an influence for the worse.