Thoughts From the Back Deck...

[Barnabas and Paul] preached the good news in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. —Acts 14:21-22 Happy Reformation Day! What kind of table do you have? Our home has a rectangular table. The room itself is small but we can squeeze in 9 elbow to elbow at the table! We can serve only from one end of the table as the other rests against the wall. I have been thinking about relationships with people. It comes to mind often. Jesus was all about relationships with people. So is God our Father. Relationships between people are important. Maybe give a listen to our Solid Ground sermon kick-off where we talk about Doors being open and closed (10/29/2023).  I did a little research and here is what I found... 1. We have a circle of 1-3 really close friends. These are those we share struggles and secrets with as we move through life. These are t...

“... You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman.   “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil...” ~Genesis 3 Ever notice what Satan, the serpent, does here? He does not try to tell Adam and Eve there is no God. Satan attacks the goodness of God.  "Hey, Eve! God is keeping you from cool and awesome things! There is so much you need to experience and you need to live! Open your eyes! Everything is good for you!" Today, Satan still comes at us.  Not everything is good for us.  I was listening to a newscast this morning talking about the addictive nature of META aka Facebook and Instagram. The causes of depression connected to social media use in teens is clear according to studies.  Not everything is good for us. Too much fast food.  Not everything is good for us.  Too many hours working.  Not everything is good for us. Unrestrained and uninhibited anything i...

There are "those days" . "Those days" when I do not want hear the news, not see the light of the morning sunshine through the window blinds. "Those days" where I would rather stay in bed all day.  I know some struggle with these thoughts in ways I can't begin to understand. Please let me know so that we can pray together. Your struggles with depression are real. While it is impossible for me to walk in your shoes that does not mean we can't walk together. You are not alone. There is help, not hopelessness. For me, "those days" where I want to shut the door on the world, are days where I usually find myself spiritually dry.  I miss the fall of the year when the colors change. Green to many shades of yellows and reds. All too soon the leaves drop. At first, the leaves are still as soft and pliable as they were when attached to the tree but soon they change. The leaves begin to crunch underfoot. Instead of being soft and plia...

I stood at the door with two police officers to tell a woman from my church that her son had died. She let out a howl of pain when she saw me with the officers. She knew what we were there to tell her before a word left our lips. It took my breath away.   I stood at the front of the church. People looking at me. Suddenly they all turned and looked to the entrance of the church. My bride-to-be came around the corner and made her way on her father's arm toward me. It took my breath away.   I was sitting in our home in Alaska, relaxing with my kids playing on the floor. We heard a rumble in the distance. Next thing we knew, before we could even get off our backsides, the house pitched and shook. Earthquake! Seconds seemed like endless minutes. It took my breath away.  Many hours passed. There is little an expectant father can do. Ice chips. Help your wife move. A back rub. A walk through the hospital halls. Words to coaching. Words of prayer. When I was finally h...

Proverbs 31:30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. As the texts I use for each one of my "Thoughts from the Back Deck" are whatever someone or some computer spits out, this is an interesting text following my wife's 55th birthday yesterday.  We were married in 1990.  We have had our struggles along the way. Laugher? Absolutely.  Tears? Plenty. Anxiety? From time to time. You name the emotion, it has been part of your journey with the Lord together as husband and wife.  So here is MY insight (thoughts) reflecting back on over 30 years of marriage.  1. My wife has remained charming and being charming is not deceptive to me because of who she is. She is a child of God and my wife.  2. Physical beauty is fleeting. As I have reminded people often... I used to have hair, I was better looking! (...at least in my own mind! Please don't take that away even if I am delusional! 🙃) Yet for my wife, h...

Last Saturday I had another funeral. A young mom passed into the arms of Jesus as she waited for a liver transplant.  Sad? Yes.  But she got it.  She understood the bigger picture.  In her Bible, she marked and had it open to the story of Mary and Martha with Jesus visiting them. Below are the last two verses of this narrative.  41  But the Lord answered her,  “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things,   42  but one thing is necessary.  Luke 10: 38-42 In the movie City Slickers, there is a point in the movie where Curly aka Jack Palance (photo) helps Bill Crystal. He states his observation about all the people who come to the dude ranch to vacation and get their anxiety knots worked out. Curly tells the younger city slicker, Billy Crystal, it doesn't work.  In life, you need that "one thing". What the "one thing" is, is different for everyone. This has become known as "Curly's Rule" in pop cult...

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:4 "See what I am involved with and how I do good things." "I just love all people." "Live and let live, that is my motto." "I am a good person." "I am spiritual." "be good to others and good will come back to me." What does it mean to be "poor in spirit?"  The word "poor" means... Lacking Less than adequate  Meager Of little or small worth Inferior in quality or value So put it together...  To know our spirit is lacking in a lot of things. Love. Faith. Trust. Hope. Understanding. Commitment.  Our spirit is broken due to sin.  We, the spiritually poor, understand no matter how much we try, we are morally bankrupt. We fall short in the eyes of God and have no chance at the kingdom of heaven.  Another way to think of this is that we confess we are poor in spirit. We understand we need Jesus and there, in him, rests the ...

Psalm 19:14   Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight,   O  Lord , my rock and my redeemer. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart STOP! Just STOP! No need to go any further so let's just STOP right there! I'm a dead man!  My mind is like a Rat-L-Trap . Not a rattle trap (but that works too!), but a Rat-L-Trap . Don't know what that is? It's a well-known fishing more for bass. The Rat-L-Trap is a fishing lure that when cast, will sink until you begin the retrieve. The lure makes a very distinctive and loud rattling noise as it moves through the water. It is also a lure that has to be used carefully as the 6 exposed hooks will latch onto every piece of weed, twig, limb or rock that it passes by underwater becoming snagged, running afoul, or knocking the lure out of the optimal rhythm. Some of you recently witnessed my Rat-L-Trap tendencies a few weeks ago when I was preaching at t...

Nobody likes testing. I have two daughters in college and it's midterm time. They are stressed and worried about their grades. My son is studying for his private pilot license. He has to score a 💯 or he has to take it over.  Yuck! Tests suck! As a follower of Jesus, how do we handle tests? 1. We all fail but Jesus passed the test for us. We are made right with God by the work of Jesus. 2. Sometimes God tests us to confirm and strengthen the faith and trust we have through the Holy Spirit. Think of Abraham and Sarah or Abraham and Issac, Joseph, Job, David... 3. God says "test the spirits" 1John 4 to know the truth so you will not be deceived. There is a lot of false teaching, bad philosophies, and views passed off as truth. 4. God invites us to test Him but always that we discover HIS WILL for He will show us what is good, acceptable, and perfect. Romans 12:2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing yo...

How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.” Isaiah 52:7 Your God reigns.  Your God, not someone else's.  Your God reigns. As bullets and missiles fly in war, your God reigns. In the hospital, like dear friends of mine are going through right now, your God reigns. In the fight against cancer, your God reigns. When the sirens and flashing lights of fire and ambulance move to help, your God reigns. Standing in the grass next to the casket, your God reigns. In the political theater, your God reigns. In our schools, your God reigns. As the church aka followers of Jesus struggle against the gates of hell, your God reigns.  At the end of a long day, as you rest in your home, your God reigns. When you find yourself on your knees not knowing what to do next, your God reigns. In a shaky economy,  your God reigns. ...

I have mainly two kinds of shirts in my closet.  I have a bunch of Bass Pro Shop shirts. Every color they make I have. They are a great "everyday" wear shirt as they are lightweight,  thin, and vented back with mesh to keep you cool in the Flordia heat. I am easily spotted most weekdays at the church and school in these shirts. They last forever. They wash up and don't need an iron. They cost about $14 a piece on sale.  Can you say "BARGAIN!" The other shirt you will find in my closet. Dress shirts. White, black, or blue. Long sleeve. Look more professional and costs more too... A lot more. As I am a bigger guy, usually taking a 19"-20"/neck size, and need extra cloth on the shirt so it stays tucked in, the colors and choices are few! The cost is usually in the range (when can find any) of $60-$90 a shirt. I have one blue, 1.5 black (one of the shirts is regular length rather than long!) and two white shirts. They last a long time. The clot...

We are down a vehicle. Our vehicle is in the shop for a new transmission (3rd one! That is another story altogether!). As the auto unions are on strike, we have been told there is no idea of when it will be fixed. No parts for the foreseeable future. We wait in limbo. I want a "new" vehicle. I want a reliable vehicle.  Contentment. Living contentment out can be tough!  Ads on the internet, social media, TV, billboards, shops, and shopping malls have the best of the best products in the windows when you walk by. All things are marketed to grab your attention and scream "Buy me!"  Go to Wawa or Racetrac for gas. Step in to pay and you will be assaulted with counters and racks full of things screaming "You need me! Buy! Spend! You are thirsty! You are hungry! You need a $4.00 piece of beef jerky and a $3 water!" That is the little stuff and yes it adds up but the big stuff that we see our friends or neighbors with, that is killer! The new car. The...

I see the pictures and hear the stories coming out of Israel right now. Heinous acts against women and children. Defiling the dead bodies of people. Putting multiple kids in dog cages after carrying them off as trophies of war.   War on its own is bad enough. We know war has been a part of the human race since the fall into sin.  I think one of the big lies that we tell ourselves today is that people are good. That is simply not the case. While the pictures coming out of Israel now are deplorable, we should also not ignore the violence that happens in our homes, neighborhoods, and city streets here and around the world. No area of the world where people are found is exempt from violence.  We are not "basically good people"/as we are told today. Our hearts are inclined away from God and towards our selfish desires. The human race, in total, lives in an ongoing broken state that will never be fixed by laws or governments. We are sinful people! It leaves me ...

Psalm 63 O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;  my soul thirsts for you;  my flesh faints for you,   as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. What a beautiful way to start a prayer.  O God : a way to honor, and acknowledge God as being a part of everything. Nothing happens without His knowledge. He is... Creator. Sustainer. Delivered. Defender. There is nothing in all the world that stands without Him.  you are my God : Personalized! God is my everything. He has provided me with all I have. He has done everything for me and I am fully aware of his love and care for me. earnestly I seek you: God you give and I receive. God knows me, my faults, and my strengths. I am fully known. My response is Lord, I want to know you. I seek to be a part of the relationship you have initiated with me.      my soul thirsts for you : To know God is my desire. To my most inner being, I know I need His love and forgiveness. Don'...

Habakkuk 2:14 For the earth will be filled  with the knowledge of the glory of the  Lord   as the waters cover the sea. I had a difficult ministry decision confront me this week. It happens. Never fun. I have made decisions that I later regretted.  Things I decided to do. Things I decided not to do.  It's never a fun time when you are looking back and wishing for a "do-over". "I should have responded by saying..." "I wish I decided to not do..." "I did not give enough grace too..." "I gave too much time too..." "I should have kept my pie-hole shut!" You pray. You look into the Word of God. You speak to others. You seek God's direction. You wish you had the wisdom of the Lord. I have two places I go that help me get perspective when my mind rolls over and over with the desire for "do-overs":  The woods. The water. Although I enjoy hunting and fishing, these opportunities are most often for me: 1. Change of sce...

Proverbs 27:1   Do not boast about tomorrow,   for you do not know what a day may bring. In the world we live in, boasting is a bit of a problem. We might not call it "boasting". Think about it... •Not just a photo taken with our phone but a photo with filters to smooth out all our flaws.  •We post where we eat. •We post the fabulous things we do. •We post the wonderful places we visit. • Dating site encounters seldom live up to the hype (so I am told!!!)  •We are always happy. Ok, this might be an over-the-top statement for most of us reading but there is a lot of this going on everywhere these days from Facebook, TikTok,  Instagram, and even X (the social media site formally known as Twitter).  What we say, what we do, what we think, has become our world. And our world revolves around us. We are the center of everything. That is the danger.  Because it is false. Because there is no true, lasting happiness there..."for you do not know what a day may b...

I But let all who take refuge in you rejoice;      let them ever sing for joy, and spread your protection over them,      that those who love your name may exult in you . —Psalm 5:11 My prayer for my kids growing up was that they would always walk with the Lord.  ... it's still my prayer. It will probably be my prayer until the day I die.  I love to boast in the Lord as I look around and see what God is doing in people's lives.  Yet I also know it is sometimes we can't see where God is working. As a pastor, I have had many tearful moments with parents and grandparents who have been praying for years that their kids/grandkids would return to following the Lord.  Tears of pain. Tears of regret as questions abound.  Tears of misunderstanding. Tears of loneliness. Tears of fear. Tears of uncertainties. Has God given up on them? Is God hearing the prayers for their children? Where is the refuge? Where is the joy? Wher...

Words are important. It's important that your words and mine express love as we have been loved by Jesus. Jesus we see helps us and his disciples use words like love, grace, and mercy. When a couple of the disciples voice to Jesus, that maybe some people in a village should have lightning rain down on them, Jesus voices his view on that in a loving way. When a bunch of men shouting, bring a woman to be stoned, Jesus speaks in a loving way and changes their minds.  Philippians 1:9-10 And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ... As important as it is to speak, to use our voice, there is a reminder for us that speech should and does communicate actions.  Too often I find myself hearing about "love" but the voices shouting (and that word is used on purpose), are shouting in anger. Voices shouting out love but calling for compulso...