I have a recommendation

How many times have you asked someone for a recommendation, be it any kind of recommendation? Myself, I have sought recommendations for medical doctors, places to get flat tire fixed, printing needs like banners, a recent request was about screen printing on t-shirts and embroidery work. My list could go on, but I’m rather confident we all have a history of asking others for a recommendation. Probably my biggest request for recommendations comes from conversations about food. I enjoy eating, I like a lot of different foods, I am not opposed to trying new foods either, so food recommendations is one area I seek recommendations regarding, big time. Recommendations can be scaled rated, star rated or just a verbal encouragements to try. 1-10, 5 Stars, or the expression, “Its not bad, you should try it”, saying it was so so to me, but you might love it, knowing taste buds in food are different for everyone. If you are on social media there are platforms totally designed for recommendations of every sort. Even TicTok has creators committed to providing feedback on their experience and their recommendation on products and services. Trip advisor is a good application for recommendations of every sort too, but there is one subject area that nearly each of these mentioned doesn’t address. Churches, religions and such, there are no categories matters of faith through institutions that allow or permit recommendations. I wish on Trip Advisor you could recommend a church when traveling through in a particular area, or a chance to read a recommendation on churches when working in an area on a short term bases or even for an extended period of time. On Facebook there are opportunities for recommendations but many churches don’t utilize that tool or other social media or public relations tools. Nevertheless, I would love to see the chance for recommendations to be supported on the various platforms. The opportunity to provide a recommendation and the opportunity to read a recommendation being sought, are both equally important. I have a recommendation that I want to share and my recommendation comes from my personal experience, not from what heard someone else say, it a first hand, first person recommendation and testimonial. Life is best lived with support, encouragement, resources, education, experiences and recommendations that are trusted advice. Various platforms from which you could post a recommendation do ask a question regarding your association with the product or service you are recommending. Trip Advisor asked such a question. They do this because they want to provide an honest evaluation without personal gain for posting a review. The motivation behind recommendations is always a worthy exploration for credibility and trustworthiness. I want to assure you that there is no personal gain for me in making a recommendation that you give Jesus a try. No personal gain for me sharing what I’ve learned about Him and there is no personal gain for me repeating the story of God’s love and plan. Jesus doesn’t love me more, because I write a newspaper column. Jesus doesn’t love me more than you because I am a preacher. There is no personal gain for me if you believe in Jesus, but you my friend have everything to gain, if you believe. I have 5 reasons that I confidently recommend Jesus to you: 1). Jesus is available 24 hours a day 2). He is the real deal! He is no imitation, He is God’s Son 3). He doesn’t like you, He loves you, this makes all the difference 4). He has a plan designed specifically with you in mind. Get to know Him and you will see 5). I have discovered peace through Him My list of reasons for a positive recommendation I can add too easily. I am just praying on this recommendation, you trust me and take a chance. Until then

Who is the Lord?

I love the stories of Pharaoh from the Old Testament in the Bible. Especially the interaction between Pharaoh and Moses. I would suggest right at the start that both of these two individuals were stubborn and had plenty of excuses, redirects, pay no attention attitudes at times. Moses had excuses as to why he should be excused from going to speak to Pharaoh without any hesitations. God answered that for him however. I can identify with Moses for sure. As I write this column, I am confident that none of you have ever suggested to God that there was someone else better suited for a job. It is so easy, at times, to find excuses. I am, not discounting the importance of such busy schedules in our lives, but it sure easy for me to get side tracked and allow the most important thing to slip from its ranking. Pharaoh was simply, the most powerful person in the land and what he said went. It is without a doubt challenging, when you are first fiddler in the band, to all of a sudden start playing second fiddle. It is an ego buster for sure. In the band world, taking second seat is an honor, but if you’ve been first seat, then get ready for bruised feelings when it is necessary for you to step back and allow others to lead. Moses did go to Pharaoh but in the eyes of most there was no success. Pharaoh simply saw no need to comply with Moses instructions from the Lord. Exodus 5:2 is a great example that puts my mind to spinning, thinking about the question Pharaoh asked Moses. “Who is the Lord that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord and I will not let Israel go.” “Who is the Lord”?, great question and Pharaoh answers the question he raises and addresses to Moses perfectly, with the right answer, “I do not know the Lord..”. It is always challenging to respond to a question from someone you don’t know. It is always difficult to send an answer to a question when you have other questions related, that you don’t have answers too. Pharaoh is easy to identify with, for me. Now, if I wanted to provider a big nice spiritual answer, I would share that I can’t identify with Pharaoh. When I hear the voice of God speak, I act. I go, I don’t hesitate, I get moving. Boy of boy, those answers sound so good. I heard, I obeyed. However, anyone that is honest with themselves, knows that if that is your answer, you are living on a higher plain than the life those of us who struggle, identify with. “Who is the Lord”? Is the most important question you will ever answer in your life. It might bar this is a question you have never yet considered answering. Nevertheless, the question is there and your answer is waiting to be returned. God is listening, what are your thoughts? What do you know about the Lord? How many conversations have you had? What were the circumstances when you raised the question? All these answers play a part in you understanding who He is and what His plan is for you. The answer “I do not know the Lord..” is powerful. Pharaoh’s answer is honest, it is truthful, it reflects the exact moment, it revert helps describe the situation too. Pharaoh doesn’t know the Lord, what he needs is an introduction. Now I would not like to experience the type of introduction Pharaoh received, but sometimes a strong introduction fits the calling order just fine. Pharaoh and Moses had plenty of conversations, but a hard heart makes for chiseling work to be done, cutting down the hard edges so the heart will not be restricted and can function. A hard heart, makes for difficult breathing. Pharaoh was having a hard time. I never want God to be required to get my attention through hard actions. I’d rather figure out today who I think He is and then respond accordingly. A willful surrender is always the best first step, in discovery. Until then

The focus of Jesus

It is amazing just how fast we can lose focus and our attention be everywhere else, except where it should be. In the New Testament of the Holy Bible there is a passage from the Book of Mark that describes just such a situation. Thee scripture passage reads, “As Jesus was leaving eh temple, one of his disciples said to Him, “look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings!” Mark 13:1. Imagine the situation. You have been running around with, hanging out with, sitting and listening to and going wherever Jesus goes. Just imagine? You’ve no doubt recognized that what He is saying, the miracles He has been performing, the teachings He has been sharing, add all these together have earned Him the reputation that Jesus is a lot more than just the son of Joseph and Mary. Every time Jesus teaches, speaks, tell a parable, peopler are asking, who is this guy? As you can imagine, everyone has an opinion about who Jesus is too. The Pharisees believed Jesus was an imposter. Jesus to them, was someone that acted like He had authority. Jesus talked and acted like He had authority and this alone touched every nerve in their bodies. They never liked Jesus and they were plotting and scheming ways to shut Him up and stop Him from their first encounter with Him. Eventually they determined the only way to handle Jesus was to kill Him. In Jewish society there was a Scribe in every village. The role of the Scribe was to handle matters of law. Getting a divorce as one example. But anything that had to do with the law, they handled. They were challenged by Jesus because Jesus said He came to fulfill the law. You, no doubt can image the frustration, when the job you’ve been doing, is all of a sudden challenged, because this guy named Jesus show up in town. Yet for followers of Jesus, they are excited, they are believing He is the Son of God. Followers of Jesus believe He is the Messiah, the promise of God to the Jewish people. This is the situation, can you imagine? In the scripture passage from Mark chapter 13:1, Jesus has been teaching, instructing at the temple. The conversations have been serious, these question raising conversations have been challenging, Jesus is preparing His followers and those who are seeking to understand who He is what the Kingdom to come is all about. Jesus has also been attempting to prepare His followers for the death He is going to experience, so we can have eternal life and forgiveness of our sins. Again, its easy to imagine why those “in-charge” are upset, bothered and frustrated with Jesus. However, the one thing Jesus is working towards is that His followers will understand. So imagine, you been listening to Jesus, you are a follower and the first question you have or the first comment you have, after sitting under His teaching is one about how beautiful the stones are that are a part of the temple and how beautiful the buildings are. In my lifetime I know what it is to lose focus, to get distracted from the main thing, to chase a rabbit, to get lost in my own world too. The business of Jesus is and should always be our main concern as followers. It is easy to think that Jesus business is Jesus business and its separate from our other affairs. It takes a lot of discipline to make the business of Jesus a part of all our business interest. For followers of Jesus we can get lost in handling and dealing with the affairs of life and eliminate the thoughts and teachings of Jesus, by thinking those are separate. In my friendships, I need to remind myself as I am a friend to my friends, that I need to be the type of friend to them, that Jesus is to me. In my work relationships. I need to remember how I handle business affairs, treat co-workers and fulfill my responsibilities, should be the way Jesus taught us to handle our interactions with others. If we are not careful in life, we will get to living life and admire the wrong things, when Jesus should be our total attention and we use our happenings in life to further His cause. Be careful not to admire stones and buildings when people are the focus of Jesus. Until then

Heart to Heart

There is always something that seems to be getting in my way. What I have discovered, after a self examination, that something is nearly always me. To face such a reality of truth can be challenging. Growing up as a child, whenever something went wrong and my parents confronted me by asking, “did you do this?”, the best answer was to always blame it on my brother and sister. No child admits they have done something wrong. Not blaming anyone but the issue I am addressing dates back to that situation in Genesis. Romans 5:12 tells us that because one man’s sin entered into the world, and death because of sin, so death spread to all men, because all have sinned. Ephesians 2:3 reads that we were born children of wrath. If we want to blame someone for our failures, good luck because my discovery was it was all on me. Passing the blame is a natural reaction in life from childhood to adulthood. Even though it is a natural type reaction, it doesn’t make the practice correct. Personal responsibility is very challenging and holding oneself to accountability is a true inner battle. We all know what it is like to have others encourage us by pushing or pulling us to get us where we need to be, but when it is all up to us, ourselves, to get us motivated, moving forward and evaluating our actions, it is challenging. In the last chapter of the Book of John in the Bible, there was a moment where Jesus and Peter had a “heart to heart” talk. You have an image immediately about what you think a “heart to heart” talk is. Maybe it was a school teacher who said, listen we’ve got to talk. Possibly it was a grandparent that wanted to have a conversation with you and they talked a bit stern and were firm with words as they attempted to get our attention. It could very well have been a parent who, like my mother would've said, “Buster you sit yourself down right here, me and you are going to talk”! For Jesus, this conversation happened with Peter after His resurrection. It was His third such appearance to the disciples and this happened at the Sea of Galilee. The disciples were not expecting Jesus. Scripture records they didn’t even recognize Him, but once he got to talking, after he had instructed them to go back and cast their nets and fish again, they got to remembering such scenes and experiences that had happened before. They were sitting down, cooking fish on the sea when Jesus and Peter had a one on one, “heart to heart”. When you are striving for self improvement, I would strongly recommend the example Jesus provided with His conversation with Peter. I have discovered in my life that when I attempt to ease into a situation, it always goes haywire. The best approach is established before the “heart to heart” begins. Best practices are to treat people honestly and fairly and if that is your pattern, then going straight to the heart of a matter in a conversation shouldn't be a problem. This practice includes dealing with ourselves. Loving ourself is not selfish. Loving ourselves is healthy. It provides a foundation to help others, because we have been honest with ourselves. Self-evaluation, like any evaluation, should never be designed to crush someone, destroy self-worth or be cruel. The purpose is to grow, learn, see new options, consider other ways to accomplish goals, steps to working around issues and success, because you took time to not blame others but rather you assumed responsibility for you words and actions. Jesus asked Peter one question that went straight to the heart of the matter. Peter, Jesus said, “..do you love me”? Jesus actually asked Peter three times this question. Seems very appropriate for Jesus to ask him this three times, because after all it was Peter that denied Jesus three times, gathered around a fire, hanging out with the crowd. In this “heart to heart” Jesus wanted to know exactly where Peter was, especially since he had so powerfully denied even knowing Jesus and not being a follower. Let us also recall that it was Peter who said, “He would never deny Jesus”. I think I understand Peter rather well I’ve been there myself, how about you? Do you love Jesus? Until then