Eating Spider Webs

Each morning my 8 year old daughter and I go out the back door, onto our deck, down the stairs to the yard, along the side yard, and into the car. I bring her to school each morning and then head into the office.

At the beginning of the school year this year I wondered why each morning, as soon as we got out onto the back deck, my daughter stepped aside and insisted that I go first. After 3 or 4 days my curiosity got the best of me so once in the car I asked her what was up.

Hannah explained to me that on the first few mornings that we had made our trek to the car, she walked through spider webs. The first time it was horrible. The second time she had definitely learned her lesson. After that I was to plow the way for her! I don't mind. I'm her dad and she's my cute little girl. We all would do anything for those we love.

Jesus also loves us sacrificially. He was willing to leave His heavenly kingdom and to thrust Himself into a horribly unpleasant and painful situation for us. The hound of heaven sent His only Son, Jesus, to take the sin punishment that we deserve. The Bible says: 'Christ died for our sins ... and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day...' (1 Corinthians 15:3-4) Jesus died for us so that we could be forgiven. What will your response be to His act of selflessness?

God Uses People - My Brother Goob - Episode 1

It was in rustic cabin one at Camp Tispaquin that I sat with my camp counselor and prayed to ask Jesus to come into my life. As a first grader I had no idea of the ramifications of this milestone day of faith in Christ.

But my older brother Goob (pictured right), the sports director at the camp, sure did. On my first day back home after camp he burst into my bedroom and shared his excitement about my decision for Jesus.

This began a 12 year period where the hound of heaven used my brother to teach me what it meant to have a relationship with Jesus Christ. This involved road trips where he drove and instructed me to read portions of Scripture and loving admonitions when I too closely adopted sinful behavior. But mostly it was an extended period of time when my brother just reflected the love of Christ by spending quality time with me, loving and encouraging me.

I Want My Mommy

This is me, in a tent, at age 12! I'll never forget this summer. I'd signed up for a two month mission trip. A huge bus picked me and a bunch of teenagers up in Hartford, Connecticut. They drove us down to Merritt Island, Florida for two weeks of training at a mosquito infested boot camp. I'd been away from my family for a week at the most but this was my first full summer away from home.

When I arrived at boot camp I was assigned a tent with three other teenage guys. I'll never forget that first night laying in my sleeping bag in the dark. My 'tent mates' were joking around and talking but I was nearly in tears. I wanted my mommy! I felt scared and lonely.

But I was not alone! The Bible says that the hound of heaven is with us all the time and knows us all intimately. Check out this prayer recorded in Psalms 139: 'O LORD, You have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thought from afar. You scrutinize my path and my lying down, And are intimately acquainted with all my ways.'

God is interested in you and wants to have a relationship with you. He loves you but your sin stands between you and Him. Confess that sin and turn your life over to Jesus. Get to know God. He knows and loves you!

We're All Messed Up!

I'm very sensitive to poison ivy. If I get within a mile of it I'm sure to be itchy within two days. They've got that stuff now that you can 'apply before exposure' but I'm too lazy to run down to the drug store to buy it. Worst of all, I can't help but scratch the stuff once I break out. I know it's a horrible thing to do. A couple of years ago I was scratching the poison ivy on my leg and ended up with an infection. My doctor was very upset and put me on antibiotics.

In some ways the way we relate to sin is different. While different folks have varying degrees of sensitivity to poison ivy, we are ALL sensitive to sin. We all face temptation and we all, at one time or another, choose a path contrary to God's will.

Much like our reaction to poison ivy, however, we all have a predisposition to do the wrong thing and scratch! That's why Jesus, when teaching his disciples about prayer, told them to pray that they would not be led into temptation. The Bible says that 'all have sinned'. It also says that at salvation that sin problem can fixed. 'If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.' (1 John 1:9)

We're all messed up! But the hound of heaven is faithful and will allow us into a relationship with Him, if we are willing to admit to our sins and ask for forgiveness.

Choices, Choices!

My kids lead a carefree and happy-go-lucky life so I got a kick out of the amount of care and time they took in picking out pumpkins from the pumpkin patch this year.

It's amazing to me how often we adults let circumstances and pressures dictate to us how we spend our time. If we would only take as much care in deciding how we spend our time as my children spent in finding the perfect pumpkin!

We so often get distracted by unimportant things. In the Bible the writer of Luke describes a visit that Jesus made to the home of some friends. One host, Martha, frantically spent all of her time preparing the meal. The other host, Mary, soaked up Jesus' company. Luke records that Mary 'was seated at the Lord's feet, listening to His word'. When Martha griped to Jesus about Mary's lack of assistance Jesus, instead, praised Mary for choosing what's best.

The hound of heaven wants nothing more than to have an intimate relationship with us. We can begin that relationship by opening up our lives to Christ.

Believe or Balony? - Time Flys! - Episode 3

At the recent Veterans Day parade in our city I especially enjoyed the parade of antique cars driving by. That was until I saw this car that reminded me of my friend Lance's car from high school. I have fond memories of cruising around in Lance's cool car. But surely it's not an antique! Antiques are the cars that my dad and grand dad drove around in. Not me! Am I already of the 'antique generation'?!

On The Table: The older you get, the faster time seems to fly.

Believe! In a prayer recorded in the Bible the writer says: 'Behold, You (God) have made my days as handbreadths, And my lifetime as nothing in Your sight; Surely every man at his best is a mere breath.' (Psalm 39: 5)

Life Hound Principle: The hound of heaven wants to have a relationship with us. We need to respond to his invitation before it's too late! The Bible says: 'Seek the LORD while He may be found; Call upon Him while He is near.' (Isaiah 55:6)

Believe or Balony? - Never Safe - Episode 2

So I've got this OTHER friend. He was raised in the church. He's a good guy and sincerely tried to do everything that he was told to do by the church. And he was fairly successful at it. He was your perfect parishioner! But his church never taught about having a right relationship with God. They never taught how a person could have assurance that he is forgiven and that he is a child of God. So in spite of my friend's noble efforts he lived a life of fear and uncertainty!

On The Table: All we can do is our best. We do the best we can to follow the teachings of the church and, in the end, hopefully our good works will outweigh our bad works and God will let us into heaven. But you never can be sure.

Baloney! The Bible says: ‘And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.’ (1 John 5: 11-13)

Life Hound Principle: In prayer ask Christ to come into your life and save you. If you do, the Hound of Heaven lovingly grants you eternal life. Then you can KNOW that you have a right standing with God and will spend eternity with Him in heaven!

Believe or Balony? - Near Death - Episode 1

So this friend of mine is high up on the roof of a Habitat for Humanity house. He's nailing down shingles up near the peak when he decides to take a look over the edge down to the ground below. He realizes how high up he is and it starts to scare the crap out of him. When he tells me this story he says: 'I nearly killed myself building that house. After all that, I better make it to heaven!'

On the table: Spending eternity in heaven with God depends on your good works. If you go to church, get confirmed, get baptised, and do good works for the poor, you'll go to heaven.

Baloney! The Bible says: ‘For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.’
(Ephesians 2: 8-9)

Life Hound Principle: Because of His great love for us, God sent His Son Jesus down to earth to die on the cross as punishment for our sins. There is nothing we can do to save ourselves. We will go to heaven only if we trust that Christ's one good work on the cross was sufficient to save us.