Sheep Food

  God has been around for a very long time.   And He simply …Never changes. He never has and never will. The reason being- He’s God. He does not need to change. He’s perfect just the way He is, not to mention, Holy and Loving and Righteous.   In Him, there is no varying like shadows do in the day (James 1:17). He is the same, yesterday, today, and forever. (Heb. 13:8) and we can read right there in the very last book of the OT where He makes it known quite clearly: “I am the Lord, I do not change.” (Mal 3:6)   I know we get fascinated with TV shows that feature things like old houses, old cars and even people getting ‘make-overs’. Nothing wrong with that. In fact, that’s kind of what the gospel and the plan of salvation is all about…giving humanity the ultimate ‘make-over’…as in “IF any man is in Christ, he is a New Creation”. (2 Cor 5:17).   Because of our fallen and selfish-sin nature, we were in a desperate need of a makeover. So Go...

  Is it not amazing how quickly things can turn and change when a new king comes in to power?   (Nope…not ‘going there’!). I’m talking about the new king that came to power in the Book of Exodus that changed the lives of all of Abraham’s descendants when they were living and multiplying down in Egypt. It all started out good…when Joseph was used by God despite all the ill will brought on him by his brothers. God knows how to turn a bad situation around and use it for good quicker than you can shake a stick at. Trust me on that one. (Gen. 50:20)   I mentioned it the other day and will again here as I find myself drawn back to the story of how so many Israelites went from a place of God’s blessings and multiplying there in Ex. 1:7 to becoming enslaved and in bondage. We should have a basic understanding that all we read about in the OT of Abraham’s descendants is a type or a foreshadowing of the church today. Much truth to be gleaned for sure from those accou...

  A few years back, I had the opportunity to go down to Shreveport with my good friend, Sam, and shoot a college football bowl-game. It turned out to be quite a day as I found myself standing next to a familiar face there in the end zone prior to the kickoff. This guy was also shooting the game but not because he was a professional photographer on assignment. His son played for one of the teams and that is how I met Ken Griffey Jr. There we stood, side by side throughout the whole game taking pictures, chatting and whatnot. When his son scored a touchdown, the ESPN cameras could not get enough of airing footage of the proud and rather famous dad down there in the end zone. For some reason, I don’t think they mentioned my name even though I was getting all the same air time with Junior since I was standing right next to him.   It was a fun and memorable afternoon for sure.   Let me say here that I really did ‘meet’ Ken Griffey Jr. We had pleasant conversat...

  “We had nine decisions this morning at church service...Praise the Lord!”   Nine decisions? I bet there were a lot more than that made but they probably centered more around where folks were going to eat after church...If...it ever lets out. (HA!) - Admit it...we’ve been conditioned over the years to endure preaching for only so long. Is it not funny how we can find fault with one group of people for doing something that we are guilty of doing ourselves-like be ‘conditioned’? Remember awhile back where so many folks were rolling their eyes at people who wore mask to attempt to help slow the spread of the virus. The term ‘sheeple’ was tossed out frequently...they saw this as the government coming after them to ‘condition’ them’. I only mention that because those very same people have been ‘conditioned’ themselves as they sit on church pews for 30 minutes and when the clock gets close to noon, they get restless and hungry and anxious to get about their day.  I u...

  We’ve had a few cars pass through our household over the past 42 years. And while I am no mechanic, you do learn over time how to work on them to keep them running (older cars, at least)...especially when you don’t always have the funds to pay an expert to repair them. There was a lot of ‘figuring it out’ back in those ‘lean years’ ...long before YouTube was a thing too. I have changed out a few starters, and water pumps, and alternators...along with U-joints and tie-rods, not to mention a good number of calipers and brake pads.   But it was my first malfunctioning fuel pump that stands out to me that I remember most. It was on our ’89 GMC Suburban. We had stopped by to have lunch at a friend’s house after church and when we got ready to leave, the engine would not start. Kenneth asked me to raise the hood and he poured a little gas in the carburetor and then had me turn the key. Sure enough, it fired right up...and then quickly died. After repeating this a few...

  Have you ever woke up from a really ‘hard sleep’...and laid there a moment or two waiting for your brain to ‘turn on’ or ‘come out of sleep mode’ (computer talk)? I know if I’ve been traveling...it really kicks in as I lay there in the dark asking myself...’where am I again?”  Or what about when driving somewhere and your mind had drifted off and you missed a turn and then you ‘come back’ and start to notice something seems off and you are not where you should be. It can be quite a jolt to the system. (Did you catch my post about showing up at the wrong airport when I was returning home after the twins were born?)  Multiple readings in the NT seem to suggest that the condition of the ‘church’ in the last days (prior to the return of the ‘Bridegroom’) will be one of either asleep (Matt. 25:5) or ‘fallen away’ -deceived. (1 Thess. 5:1-7; 2 Thess. 2:1-12)  To come out of either condition, spiritually speaking, can be a jolt to the system as well. I would liken it to...

  A flood is coming.   Might be hard to believe that if you live in one of the many drought-stricken areas we hear about all the time. But then we tend to look at the ‘natural’ more than we do the ‘spiritual’.   Jesus was often having to stop and explain to His disciples after sharing a message or parable somewhere what it ‘really meant’. Take the Parable of the Sower that is recorded in 3 of the 4 gospels. He used a ‘natural’ illustration of a man sowing some seed and what happened to that seed. It was later that when the disciples asked Him what that all meant, you begin to see clearly Jesus was talking about something else that took on a new meaning and understanding.   He actually refers to it as the ‘mysteries of the kingdom’ that are only revealed to disciples and not those on the ‘outside’. (Mark 4:11). In fact, He actually goes on to ask them this question: “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parabl...