Donald Trump.

Donald Trump. No matter how you feel about him. Love him or hate him. Like him or loathe him. He is our new president. There isn't anything anyone can do about it. So all the protesting, crying, having temper tantrums, violence, burning cars and looting are not going to change this fact. He is President. You know what I am going to do for Donald and his family? I am going to pray for them. It says in Gods word that we are supposed to do that. 1 Timothy 2:2 New Living Translation (NLT) 2 Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. I'm not trusting in Donald for anything, but I am trusting that God will use him to change things. Bring people together. Erase the racial divide, bring the country back to God once again. To us it all seems impossible, but to God all things are possible. Matthew 19:26 New Living Translation (NLT)26 Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.” We are entering a new era. An era of uncertainty and chaos. The world is more out of control than ever before. Jesus gives us this hope in John 16. John 16:33 New Living Translation (NLT)33 I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” We have never had a President like this before in the history of our nation, therefore we are facing at least four years of uncertainty. So trust me, we will have trial and tribulations, but I also know that Jesus has overcome all these things and so shall we. Donald will be President for the next four years, but we have Jesus who is the beginning and the end. The Alpha and the Omega. King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Jesus is eternal. I pray that Donald will lean on Him for guidance and direction to lead and make this country great again.

Confirmation.

One act of obedience. Providing a ride to church for a couple of people, and God opened up the floodgate. I have been given the opportunity to minister to my fellow co-workers these past three days. I've always had the opportunity to do so, but this week has been different. There have been a few deaths in co-workers families the past week. One lost a nephew. Another lost a mom, and one lost a grandson. Lots of sadness going around at work. People I work with know that I am a Christian, and I am a Christian pastor. So, one by one each of these people sought me out, and began to confide in me, telling me all about their loved one and the pain that they were going through. Did not matter what I was doing at the time, I would stop and listen and offer support and comfort. They would cry, then laugh. Struggle to get the words out. Ask for prayer. Ask for advice. As I am looking back on the last few days, I thought there it is. Confirmation that God was using me in a more mighty way than I could have ever imagined. He gave me the task of giving a ride, now He was giving me the task of listening. To encourage and lift up. I made myself available to them whenever they needed it. I thank God for all of this. For giving me ears to hear, a heart to receive and feet to respond. Thank You Lord for the gifts that you have given me. I pray that I use them for Your glory!

Used In a Mighty Way.

I was lying in bed the other night when The LORD spoke to me. He told me that He is using me in a might way. I'm just not seeing it from His perspective. You see, one of my prayers every morning is to be used in a mighty way by God. I tell God that here I am. Use me, send me, do something mighty with me today. And then the phone rings. It is a woman from church who is telling me that she is sick and will not be able to make it to church on Sunday. She asked me if I could pick up the two ladies that she usually picks up for her. I told her that I could absolutely do that for her. So I started to mentally make plans on what time I had to leave in the morning to pick up the two extra riders. That's when God spoke to me. He said "I am using you in a mighty way. You are picking up these two ladies and bringing them to church." My response was like, "umm Lord, that's not what I had in mind." You see in my mind He had me preaching to large groups of people. Leading prayer at some big event. You know, something huge, something God worthy. While all He wants is for me to give someone a ride to church. You see it says in His word that His ways are not my ways. His thoughts are not my thoughts. Both of His ways are higher than mine. (Isaiah 55:8-9) It says in Luke 16:10 (NLT)10 “If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities. It's like God is telling me, "if you'll be faithful in picking up these two ladies and bring them to church, I will give you something larger to do later." So, who am I to say that my mighty way is better than God's! Lord, I give you all the praise and glory in the big stuff and the little stuff. You are in it all! Amen!

Dry Skin.

Somewhere between the first of October and sometime either in April or May I have what I call my dry skin season. My hands dry out and fingers start to crack and split open. Sometimes,no actually most of the time it is very painful. The cracks and splits are at the most in-opportune places all the time. On the side, in the middle of my index finger. Makes it hard to put on my socks and shoes, and then to tie them, oh my! The corners of my thumbs, right by the nail. The tops of my pinky knuckle. I'm talking deep splits when straight, and then if you bend your finger it gets even worse. Mine get so bad that they will even start to bleed. Yeah, I love this season. So I am very thankful that God has used people to create lotions, or skin softeners, to help with this problem area. So I usually apply it right before I lay down for bed. I lather up pretty good, and the start to rub it in. And then the stinging starts, when the lotion gets into the cracks. Stinging and burning. Not pleasant at all. I'm like "what did I do?" Then guess what? How do I make it stop? I start to pray! Now you may think that it is silly to pray for this but, nothing is to small or to big for God right. So as I lay there, my fingers and hands stinging like crazy, I pray! I pray for God to help my hands to stop from stinging and burning. For them to be healed from the cracks and splitting over night. To feel much better the next morning. You know what? They do, because He does. He hears my prayer, and within a couple of minutes the stinging and burning go away. I am able to fall asleep. (Thank You LORD) The next morning they do feel much better. Not completely healed, but much better none the less. I am thankful that my God doesn't just focus and act on the big time prayers. He hears the small ones too. They all matter to Him! All the praise and glory to Jesus, Amen!!

2016!

2016. Wow, what a year. As I sit here on this New Years Eve and look back, I know a lot of people are ready for it to be over. To much negativity and issues. So many people being offended by everything and everyone. Yes, this has been a strange year. Take the election for example. A lot of people are upset over who won. All I know is that no matter what, God is still in control. Jesus is still the Lord of Lord's and King of King's, no matter who is in office. There have been a slew of celebrity deaths this year. Yes it is sad that people that we have watched on t.v. or in movies, or listened to their music have passed, but what about all the police officers, firefighters and soldiers that have died as well. They have died doing their job. Protecting us and trying to keep us safe. All everyone wants to focus on is the negative. Well, I want to focus on the positive side of 2016. God blessed me with another trip around the sun to celebrate my 49th birthday. My wife and I celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary. Our daughter graduated high school and started her freshman year of college. She has been able to drive home three times with a car that has well over 230,000 miles on it, with no issues. Each trip is 500 miles one way and 8 hours long. We thank God that she has such a reliable car. Both my wife and I were able to stay gainfully employed. We were able to pay all of our bills and on time. We were able to take a family vacation this summer to the west coast, where I was able to preach at my father in laws church. My credentials were renewed for 2017. I give God all the thanks for that. I give God all the thanks for everything. We have had some health issues in the family this year. Some hospital stays, broken bones and surgeries, but with God's mighty healing hand and the power of prayer, He brought everyone through. We were able to volunteer and give back to our community more than ever this year. Help some people out. God has really blessed us this year, and I am going to focus on that. If you look for the negative, you'll find it. I am looking for the positive's and blessings and focusing on what God has done this year. Looking forward to seeing what He has in store for us in 2017. I am expecting great and mighty things. All praise and glory to my God! AMEN!!

Christmas Present.

I ordered a Christmas gift online the other day that I needed for our family Christmas party on Saturday. I thought that I ordered it in plenty of time to get it before the party. Then I got the email, stating that the estimated time of delivery would be between 12/16 - 12/19. I'm like "what?" I need it at least by the 17th. So if it came on the 16th or 17th, I would be good. I started tracking the package the very next day. The website updated, now saying it would deliver on the 19th. No good. Not cool Robert Frost! It would say things like, in route from here to there. In transit, blah, blah, blah. Still saying the 19th. Then on Friday it says that it is in route to the Sycamore post office. I'm like "sweet, I'll just go pick it up before they deliver it." I go over to the post office and inquire about picking up said package. The clerk proceeds to tell me that they have received in four pallets of packages that they have not gone through yet. If I wanted too, I could call them before 9:00 the next morning and if it was there, they would hold it for me. I woke up around 8:30ish and debated whether or not I should call. I decided not to as I remembered what the clerk said the day before, about how busy they were. I didn't want to bother them, so I didn't. I decided to put into Gods hands. I would trust that if He wanted it to be delivered on Saturday, it would be. I went back to the tracking website and to my surprise it said that it was out for delivery. Delivery on the 16th. Praise God! He came through once again, like always. I went out to our mailbox a little while later that day and viola, it was there. Hallelujah. Brought it in the house, wrapped it, and took it to the party and gave it to the person whom it was supposed to go to. All the time I am thinking, that if I can trust God for something as small as this, waiting for a package to deliver on a specific day, how much more can I trust Him with everything else! God is into details, big or small, and I thank Him for that!

BLESSED ASSURANCE.

Blessed Assurance, the song. I've heard it hundreds of times. The Third Day version is my favorite. Although our church worship group does a fairly decent job as well. This past weekend I happened to hear it twice. Once on the radio and then at a funeral my wife and I attended. When I heard it the second time, I knew that God wanted me to learn something,to tell me something. That's how He operates with me. When He brings the same thing repeatedly two or more times He's trying to get my attention. Doesn't matter if it's a Bible verse. A song. A message I heard on the radio or t.v. If I hear or see the same thing multiple times, that's my que. from God. So the song 'Blessed Assurance', what is He trying to tell me? That I am blessed? I am assured of my salvation and that I am going to heaven? I don't have to doubt any of that. Not that I do. Does He want me to share my story, and my song? To continually praise Him all day long? What? What could it be? I dreamt about this song on Sunday night, while waking up Monday morning singing it out loud. What are You trying to say LORD. What do You want me to get out of this? Give me Your eyes and ears to see and hear with. I want Your blessed assurance. I will continue to praise Him, till I get an answer! And answer He will!