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It has happened to all of us; an unfiltered statement rolls from our tongue and can never be retrieved. Our minds are overwhelmed as we think, “how could I have said that?” I am sure you can relate with me as you remember some of your silly or hurtful, unguarded words of choice. Recently, I read some classic, “I wish I had never said that” statements quoted from Illustrations Unlimited, by James Hewett. Enjoy!

H.M.Warner of  Warner Bro. Pictures in 1927 said, “Who wants to hear actors talk?”

Grover Cleveland in 1905 proclaimed, “Sensible and responsible women do not want to vote.”

A Michigan banker advised Henry Ford’s lawyer not to invest in a motorcar with this classic, “The horse is here to stay, but the automobile is only a novelty.”

For all of you Gone with the Wind fans, think about Gary Cooper’s words, “Gone with the Wind is going to be the biggest flop in Hollywood’s history. I’m just glad it’ll be Clark Gable who’s falling flat on his face and not me.”

Don’t you feel better about some of your “I can’t believe I said that” statements? Reality for each one of us is that periodically words exit our mouths unfiltered. My concern is not our silly or funny faux pas, but the selfish, hurtful and unloving comments that do harm to others. James, as he addressed believers in chapter three has a lot to say about the tongue. Two verses (v9, 10) in particular speak of our struggle.

With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be.

Even as Christ followers, we are apt to use words that deny the very life of Christ within us. Why? From my perspective, two thoughts are paramount. First, I have concluded that most of the time when speaking, we value ourselves more than the person receiving our words. When you and I place high value on our listener, our words will reflect our care. Secondly, I don’t believe we place enough emphasis on who we are internally. Filling our hearts with His Word will definitely affect our words. Reflect on Psalm 19:14: May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.

Christ’s focus was always on the person standing in front of Him. He placed high value on them with a perfect heart. Our hearts are not perfect, but our goal should be to value our listeners with a Christ-like heart of love. Make no mistake that what we say, and how we say it affects everyone we come in contact with. Our words should always benefit those who listen to us. Sure, an unfiltered word will inevitably slip out, but placing the highest value on the person in front of us will have an undeniable effect.

I am praying that even just for today you will place a high value on each person you come into contact with. Your listening will be better, your speaking will be other-centered, and the results will be pleasing to the Father. And if it works today, rinse and repeat!

I am glad that women vote, actors speak, we have automobiles, and my wife gets to watch Gone with the Wind!  And we are so blessed to have a God who cared so deeply for us that He became fully one of us, and gave us such a clear picture of what it is to live the Christ life.  And a model for how to treat everyone with high value.  You want to win a heart and life for Christ?  Try treating them like He would, and let the Spirit do something with it.

Along your journey of faith, you sometimes find strong spiritual application in the most unlikely situations and locales.  One of my most unusual, happened while standing at my kitchen sink.

To set the context, I have never lived in a house with a dishwasher.  So I have spent my fair share of time with a dish cloth or dish towel in my hands.  But before you assume that I am fishing for sympathy, I should be clear and say that over the years I have actually developed a strong affinity for hand washing dishes.  Most times end with a sense of accomplishment, and the activity presents a great opportunity to clear my mind, or do some deep thinking.  On one particular occasion, what came into clear focus provided some powerful spiritual insight and application in my life, that I believe is worthy of sharing with you.

After rinsing the sink clean and putting the dish strainer away, something prompted me to pause for a minute and stare at the empty and ordered sink.  I am convinced that “something” was the Spirit working within me.  What began to come into clear focus was how much my clean sink was the perfect illustration of what I wished my life to be.  Free from the clutter of everyday “dirty dishes” (stresses, problems, conflict, sin).  Spotless and sparkling, clean and … holy.

I thought of the truth that there weren’t any days that I could ever remember where there weren’t dishes to do.  Some nights found the sink in the condition it was at that moment, clean and sparkling.  But many nights found anywhere from a few pre-rinsed and stacked items, to a mountain of sticky, baked on messes.  The first, an illustration of the days lived in Spirit with confessed sin, and a right relationship as my head hit the pillow.  The latter, of those nights ending with an unresolved break in the relationship with the Father caused by seemingly minor, unrepentant sin, or outright rebellion and a filling with self.

I thought further of the contrast in how I deal with the everyday dirty dishes.  And how, although I really do desire a clean sink in the end, I am so tempted to avoid the labor of stacking, washing, rinsing, drying and putting away.  Instead, choosing to take my dirty dishes and hide them under the sink.  You know, put them in the strainer and then quickly close the door.  The sink’s empty, right?!  If someone comes over to visit, the sink looks perfectly clean to them.  But although the “full cycle” and “strainer-behind-closed-door” approaches both appear to accomplish the same thing, only one leaves the kitchen in order, and clean for the start of a new dish day.  In the other, the strainer eventually can’t hold the dirty’s anymore, and they come falling out when the cupboard door swings open.

I am not sure how I saw all of that from a clean and empty kitchen sink, but I’m guessing that some of you can relate.  How important it is to “not let the sun go down” on our anger.  Or allow a break in our relationship with the Father to linger another day.  We are guaranteed dirty dishes every day, and life can get messy.  But we can, and should, desire a clean sink.  In the midst of the desire, hold tight to the truth that the stacking, washing, rinsing, drying and putting away is where God wants us.

Here are a few verses that I find encouragement and challenge in, as the mess of my humanity meets the promises and grace of God.

I Peter 5:7
Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

I John 1:9
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will
forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

John 16:33
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have
peace.  In this world you will have trouble. But
take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Our family had its share of faith opportunities that presented themselves as we began and traversed through last week. I suppose it would sound incredibly spiritual if I told you that we walked through them with heroic faith, no doubt and exceptional wisdom. The truth, however, is that the week included a measure of faith, a bit of concern (never say worry), moments of frustration and then thankfulness as the Father took care of us. Does that sound anything like your week? For every person, each new week starts as a venture into the unknown. For the Christ-follower, we can begin each new week with the confidence of being led by an “unseen Hand”. Just this morning I was encouraged, and also challenged, with how to navigate this (and every) week’s faith opportunities.

A quick read through the book of James challenged my thinking on how to approach the perils of life. Over the years, I’ve memorized many of the words, but often fall short of acting on their call, and enjoying the fruits of their promise. Note just a few of the words to be treasured!

My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials…..
If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach….
But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield….
The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

As we venture into the unknown for this week, what great words to use as a foundation for our confidence. But there is a catch. You and I will only live these concepts through faith. Our emotions will do battle with each and every one of those great truths. The question then will be: will we live by faith or by sight? In reading and re-reading some words from the The Prayer Experiment by Jay Dennis, I was presented with my struggle of venturing into the unknown.

Faith looks to God as the Source; sight trusts in possessions, power and people.
Faith focuses on “Who”; sight is limited to “how”.
Faith measures the size of God; sight is controlled by the size of problems.
Faith seeks God first; sight takes matters into its own hands.
Faith waits on God; sight rushes ahead with self-solutions.
Faith is based on what God said; sight is based on how we feel.
Faith’s seeing-eye-guide is the Bible; sight’s guide is only what is visible.
Faith looks beyond the circumstances to the possibilities; sight looks at how bad things are at the moment.
Faith believes God even when it seems nothing is happening; sight is controlled by the senses and feelings.
Faith doesn’t require that it works out on paper; sight demands facts and figures first.
Faith leaves it in God’s hands; sight picks it back up and worries and frets about it.

Counting it all joy, seeking Him for wisdom and effective praying are accomplished with the faith highlighted in bold. The words that are underlined present the struggle you and I battle each week. There will always be some conflict with faith and sight, but this week you and I can choose to just apply the Word by faith. Be bold as you venture into the unknown, and look for God to do what only He can do!

If you have heard of Maria Panteleyvna, I would be very surprised. She prayed for many years about a particular issue, and eventually it came to pass. Her prayer demonstrated to me the kind of faith that trusts God for the impossible. But more about her later! This morning I read the words, “by faith Abraham”, “by faith Moses”, “by faith Joseph”, and many more by faiths in Hebrews eleven. When I think of my life, could the words “by faith Mike” one day be written as my legacy? You and I live in a culture that speaks eloquently of faith, but also one where we rarely release control of our lives long enough to experience a faith that sees the impossible happen. It doesn’t have to be this way.

My knowledge of Maria Panteleyvna is very limited. I don’t know much about her faith, other than she prayed for her son, and made him cakes at his birthday decorated with the words “Christ is Risen”. Oh, by the way she prayed that her son would bring down communism. His name happened to be Mikhail Gorbachev. Before you have cynical thoughts, ask yourself, “do I believe in a God that can do the impossible”? I don’t claim to have a handle on everything faith, or the fall of communism, but I know God desires that you and I live by faith. I wonder how many people have accepted Christ since the “Wall came Down”. Thanks for praying Maria!

Centuries before the Iron Curtain collapsed, there were walls that kept the children of Israel from Canaan. They faced an impossible task, and God gave them instructions that would be humanly absurd in any century. You and I would have viewed the situation as hopeless. But, by faith they obeyed God. “By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the people had marched around them for seven days” (Hebrews 11:30). I wonder what it was like on the seventh day when the walls came down. God was not then, nor is He today limited by man’s ability. He simply wants us to live with eyes of faith that can see the impossible.

You probably have (as I do) some walls that will never come down, humanly speaking. You even speak eloquently of faith, while believing your walls are just too strong even for God (oops, I shouldn’t say that). Do you believe that God can do the impossible? Were the walls of Jericho and the fall of communism just good stories? No! You have before you an opportunity to trust God by faith for your own walls to come down. Pray, and never stop believing that God can bring them down.

Ronald Reagan said, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.”  I choose to believe that behind all the walls that fall are lots of Maria’s praying. I also believe that God would be pleased if you and I would be simple enough to attack our walls by faith. Let the legacy of your life be “by faith …“, and may the walls come down!

Three times recently I have crossed Alligator Alley in Florida. It is a long lonely stretch of road, and anything but picturesque. Our lives sometimes parallel long lonely roads. Can you remember a time when it seemed nothing would go right, the heavens seemed closed to your prayers (surely God still knew your name), and the road of difficultly appeared to be endless?  We can all relate to backside of the desert, and wilderness experiences.  In those times, one question of primary importance is, how do we deal with long stretches of road that seem endless?

Even the casual reader of Scripture knows about Jesus being tempted in the desert.  Think about how this long stretch of life transpired for Him.  First, it is an undeniable truth that the Spirit led Him into the desert to be tempted.  None of us can truly understand the depth of the Father’s desire to let His Son go through such a lonely period of difficultly.  During the forty days of fasting, Mark and Luke tell us that He was tempted by the devil.  He was with the wild animals, and angels attended to Him (Mark 1:13).  We may struggle to understand why, but in the Father’s design it was needed.  We can only imagine what the days were like: fasting, temptation, wild animals, angels. And I would also assume some intense and powerful time of intercession with His Father.  Our lonely roads cannot compare, but they are still tough.  By way of contrast, it is very instructive to see the method of defense Christ used at the crescendo of the battle.

If you are anything like me, you have wasted some great roads of testing.  We tend to travel long lonely roads with too much emotion and too little biblical insight.  You and I do know the Word, but often in our journey we avoid using it to our advantage as the Father desires.  The pattern for Christ at the moment of truth was to use the Word, and it wasn’t by coincidence.  And through it, He has given us a pattern that works. Satan tempted, and Jesus defended with Scripture (read Matthew 4:1-11).  I don’t see Him debating or avoiding the issue, just using the Word of God.  You have undoubtedly heard sermons on the pattern Christ used.  Too often, however, their application is left somewhere short of the exit door at church. On your next lonely road, or the one you are currently traveling, are you willing to use Scripture as a defense against the assault of Satan?  Christ has given us the model for turning long lonely roads into meaningful milestones. Let’s take His help!

Hebrews 4:15-16 (MSG)
Now that we know what we have—Jesus, this great High Priest with ready access to God—let’s not let it slip through our fingers. We don’t have a priest who is out of touch with our reality. He’s been through weakness and testing, experienced it all—all but the sin. So let’s walk right up to him and get what he is so ready to give. Take the mercy, accept the help.

We all understand long lonely roads. Our Father has chosen for us to travel some. When the miles seem endless and hard, He provides all the grace and mercy we need. To navigate the long stretches when life is hard, clutch the Word and watch Him direct you. And you may just find that the alligator alleys you travel have beauty and purpose you never quite saw before!

The world we find ourselves in seems so obsessed with posture.  Not the “sit up straight” kind that our mothers and teachers insisted on.  No, I’m speaking of the confrontational, stand up straight so I appear bigger than you, drive to the very end of the merging lane so I can get 2 cars farther ahead of you, kind of posture.  We seem to be bombarded daily, and from multiple sides with these types of attitudes.  And it’s hard sometimes not to get caught up in all of it, and find ourselves with shorter fuses and “me” to the second power type thoughts.

A friend was recently sharing a lament about how challenging it was to raise two young and athletic men in this type of culture.  He shared how he spent more time than he could count correcting and instructing while simply watching professional sporting events.  Kids naturally emulate pro athletes, and he has witnessed behaviors in both recreational sports and backyard wiffle ball and nerf football games where kids sought to draw undeserved attention to themselves, or intentionally intimidate other players or neighborhood friends.  While I suppose these kinds of selfish behaviors have been around for thousands of years, I think it’s safe to say Moses didn’t ever consider changing his name to the Spanish equivalent of the number of plagues, or whip out a Sharpie pen to sign his staff after the Red Sea crashed in on the Egyptians.

I was reminded of our modern posture issues as I read in the book of Colossians this week.  Listen to the words of Colossians 3 …

v12
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.

v13
Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 

v14
And over all these virtues put on love…

v15
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts…

v18-22
Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands…
Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them.
Children, obey your parents in everything…
Fathers, do not embitter your children…
Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything… 

A bit different posture than what is mainstream and celebrated these days, wouldn’t you say?!  Submit, love, obey, forgive, let Christ’s peace rule … not exactly end zone dances and end of merge lane types of postures.

Reading on into chapter four, I found the perfect punctuation to my posture thoughts.  In the NIV, the section beginning with verse two is titled, “Further Instructions” (how fitting).  Verse two begins, “Devote yourselves to prayer”.  I think that is the ultimate posture when living Christ in front of others, following the model He set down for us, and living the words of Colossians 3.  And again, not the physiological posture most times associated with prayer … head bowed, on your knees, hands clasped.  Rather, the submissive, interactive posture of listening and dialog with our Creator, and Savior, and Comforter.  The only source of truly perfect posture.

For all of us, a quick review of last week would give a good indication of how we are doing on the contentment meter. The week was filled with a series of events, many of which may have pulled at your patience and even caused a bit of frustration. My week started well, but quickly took a detour. Riding home from a Memorial Weekend military ceremony, my wife, mother-in-law and I decided to get some ice cream. It was a quick decision and I had to make a U-turn to get to our favorite ice cream place. Even with my 87-year-old mother in law and wife riding with me, I received a ticket ($137) for making the U-turn. It was my fault (no sympathy please), but it still started the week off in a frustrating manner. Every week will have its share of U turns that pull at our joy, but we have a chance to learn from the apostle Paul about navigating with contentment.

Picture living in a small apartment as a prisoner, chained to a Roman soldier and still having contentment. Those were the surroundings that Paul faced when he wrote the book of Philippians. Compared to many of the circumstances that pull at our joy, Paul had every reason to feel less than contented. However, he had learned the secret. His life was single-minded in devotion to His Lord, and circumstances were not the determiner of Paul’s joy. Our American Christian culture does well at speaking about the contentment available through Christ, but I don’t see many who have learned the secret.

Philippians 4:11-12
I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.

Set in the context of the church at Philippi showing concern for his needs, Paul makes it fundamentally clear that whether in need or having plenty, he was content. He had discovered that His God was wholly adequate for any situation in his life. His joy was derived from the relationship that he had with Christ, and the conviction that God’s sufficiency in every circumstance was his to enjoy. He had learned the secret. Intellectually, you and I agree, but have we really learned the secret?

If you are in Christ, contentment is God’s provision for you. The difficulty is living in the reality that God is sufficient, sovereign and really concerned about your journey. Learning the secret of contentment will be life changing. Our issue isn’t whether we are struggling financially or living in luxury, but instead, whether we are resting in His sufficiency. Ray Stedman, a great pastor, summed up contentment this way.

“I think what is meant here is that every circumstance the apostle faced, whether hardship or luxury, was not evaluated by his own personal reaction to it, but it was accepted as the Lord’s choice for him in order for the Lord to display his overwhelming ability, no matter the circumstance.”

I wish that I had mastered the secret, but I haven’t. You may feel the same. But you and I both have the same Holy Spirit guiding us, and the same all-sufficient and sovereign God caring for us as Paul did. God wants us to know the secret of being content. It will probably be a directional shift instead of a U-turn. Learn the secret!

Do you ever get frustrated over the battle that rages within you? You claim to love God and sincerely want to do His will. There is no doubt that you want to fulfill His purpose for your life. You have an internal commitment to read Scripture, pray over the needs of others and to have an impact for Christ in your world. But then…there’s the other you! You catch yourself using words that hurt others, having horrible thoughts, refusing to forgive and generally not fulfilling what you feel is God’s purpose for your life. Welcome to the Christian life. We all battle with submitting to the Spirit versus living by the desires of our flesh (old nature).

In How to Be a Christian without Being Religious, Fritz Ridenour captures the battle that you and I will face for the rest of our lives.

What’s your problem? Temper? Impatience?  Self-control? Sex? Being honest? Your thought life? Pride? Laziness? Self-centeredness? Everyone has skeletons, and they don’t always stay in the closet. You want to do right but you do wrong. You want to choose obedience but you choose sin. Sometimes you’d almost swear you were a split personality, a regular “walking civil war.”

You can probably identify with the “civil war” analogy. Others may look at your life and think you have it all together, but you know where you struggle. If you are anything like me, you are often dismayed about not living out your faith in a more effective way. But we all know that there is no need to live frustrated when we can avail ourselves of the Father’s incomparably great power. Although we will not know perfection until heaven, progress in our faith can begin today. Note our opportunity:

Galatians 5:16-18 (MSG)
My counsel is this: Live freely, animated and motivated by God’s Spirit. Then you won’t feed the compulsions of selfishness. For there is a root of sinful self-interest in us that is at odds with a free spirit, just as the free spirit is incompatible with selfishness. These two ways of life are antithetical, so that you cannot live at times one way and at times another way according to how you feel on any given day. Why don’t you choose to be led by the Spirit and so escape the erratic compulsions of a law-dominated existence?

If you are in Christ, the Holy Spirit will lead you and give you directions for the journey. In Ephesians all Christ-followers are commanded to be filled with the Spirit. But we have a choice: to live controlled by the Spirit, or by our own selfish desires. When we seek to live in line with the Spirit’s leading words like patience, self-control, peace and joy begin to define us. If each new day’s feelings control us, then emotions like impatience, selfishness, anger and irritation will dominate us.

There will always be the “civil war” struggles for us. However, in Christ you are given the opportunity to be led by the Holy Spirit (what a privilege). Would it be possible for you to begin today and tomorrow with words like, “Lord, right now I submit to the leading of your Spirit for today…. fill me and use me!”  If you value His leading for everyday, your days will be different. Oh, there will still be “civil wars”, but you will absolutely notice the progress. Take the time today to submit!

My reading the other evening took me to a series of contradictions, at least humanly speaking. They were words that are lived by faith, and accomplished only by the hand of God. Quite frankly, our minds agree with the words, but emotionally we struggle with them. Why? Because these words are contrary to the experience of most Christ-followers. Judge for yourself!

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. — II Cor 4:18(a)
We live by faith, not by sight. — II Cor 5:7
For when I am weak, then I am strong. — II Cor 12:10(b)

Paul, the writer of II Corinthians, was a man who had struggles just like us, but he lived with purpose. He embraced his weaknesses and lived in single-minded devotion to the will of God. I don’t think for a moment that he never failed at living by faith. I do, however, believe that he grasped the significance of eternal realities, and therefore lived with his eyes firmly fixed on the unseen.

Our culture drives us to live by sight, and only speak about our faith. I am convinced that all of us with just a quick moment of introspection would agree that on issues of faith, living by sight is more appealing. But that is not the way God has designed for us to live! He wants us to live with hearts that trust Him for what we cannot see at this moment. Think about what you are battling just today. You may be searching for a new job, praying for your home to sell, praying for a son or daughter to return to their faith, or asking God to move a mountain in your life. Have you noticed the tendency to become sight driven by your concerns? Paul’s example challenges us to be faith driven.

All Christ-followers have built their hope for eternity on faith. Doesn’t it make sense that we can live daily with faith in the One who redeemed us? Sure, it may seem like a contradiction to live by faith, fix our eyes on the unseen and believe that our strength is in our weakness. But when the Father saved you, the rules for living changed. Note your life through these words from A.W. Tozer:

“A real Christian is an odd number anyway. He feels supreme love for one whom he has never seen; talks familiarly every day to someone he cannot see; expects to go to heaven on the virtue of another; empties himself in order to be full; admits he is wrong so he can be declared right; goes down in order to get up; is strongest when he is weakest; richest when he is poorest; and happiest when he feels the worst. He dies so he can live; forsakes in order to have; gives away so he can keep; sees the invisible, hears the inaudible, and knows that which passes knowledge. The man who has met God is not looking for anything; he has found it. He is not searching for light, for upon him the light has already shined. His certainty may seem bigoted, but his assurance is that of one who knows by experience his religion is not hearsay. He is not a copy, not a facsimile. He is an original from the hand of the Holy Spirit.”

Could I challenge you, even for just one day, to look at every obstacle through the eyes of faith? Because although it seems God has designed our experience in faith to be one of contradictions, it is only so through the eyes of our human understanding.  He can be trusted.  Just know, that in that trust, what is seen may often seem confused and backwards.  But as we fix our eyes on what, and who is unseen, the truth becomes crystal clear and absolute-ly right.

Read scripture, breathe scripture, walk scripture.  Live by faith, not by sight.

It’s my opinion that all Christ-followers should be saddened this week. After incredible publicity, last Saturday’s Judgment Day forecast became a non-event. However, end of the world jokes and Rapture mocking was out in full force. You may have even heard the ridicule on late night television or on ESPN (of all places).  It happened because of 5,000 billboards and other pronouncements of the Judgment Day that were broadcast throughout America. While I would not venture to question the motives of those publishing the Rapture date, I absolutely regret that they chose to predict what Scripture does not reveal. And I also regret that the Second Coming of Jesus Christ was turned into “last day on earth jokes”.

While we don’t know the day or the hour, every believer can look to that “blessed hope-the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13b). His glorious appearing is not something to be ridiculed, but on the contrary, for Christ- followers an event to be cherished. From my viewpoint, Christians today tend to be a bit earthbound, and not really looking for that blessed hope. When something is pronounced that is so theologically incorrect, it should cause all of us to reflect on our hope and the reality of His coming. Since we don’t know when that day will be (it could be sooner than later), doesn’t it make good sense to live in a way that pleases our Lord every day?

I typically would not address a specific issue in our posts, but the Lord’s return is not just any issue. As I was reading Scripture this week in I Corinthians, the rapture was referenced and gave me the encouragement to share my thoughts with you. Note what is going to happen.

I Corinthians 15:51-53
Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed — in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 

There is no doubt Jesus is coming. Last week should cause us all to reflect on that wonderful truth. In light of what was portrayed incorrectly as Judgment Day, contemplate these honest questions…

— Do you understand Scripture well enough to detect error?
— Are you living in a way that pleases the Father (not perfect, but progressing)?
— Are you sharing your faith? Now is a great time to initiate conversations!
— By faith, have you accepted Christ as your Savior?

All these questions are important, but the last question causes my heart to pause and be in prayer for all those who might come into contact with this post and not answer a definitive “yes”.

It has been our mission from day 1 at Journey onWord to encourage believers to be in the Word.  But this site, and our hearts, are not exclusive to those who are already believers.  It is our desire, and our privilege to proclaim the gospel to all who read.  We invite any reader into a further dialog on any of the questions we pose, and offer a special invitation to anyone who would love to talk further about that last question.

If you don’t yet know the Savior, don’t delay; accept His gift of salvation.  Not motivated by a day or a deadline, but because Jesus is everything, and the joy of His kingdom is now.  He came “so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of.” (John 10:10 — MSG)