“Wait five minutes, the weather will change.”  We all have heard that saying.  Unfortunately, it is true about life.  Things change so fast, so quick, that it hurts to think.  After all the thinking, you are left with what feels like only one brain cell and it is hurting.

 

Life is never easy.  You try only to fail at times and succeed at others.  Failures seem more than the successes.  After all this you are left scratching you head and nursing the one remaining brain cell. 

 

Now what?  Jesus came along people who were out cast, hurting, lost for all intensive reason.  He brought healing, hope, peace, and compassion.  One of the best examples is the woman at the well.  She was lost  Jesus came on the scene with hope and healing. 

 

Her hurt life, turn to a life a hope: a reason to live.  Her brain was healed, so was her heart.  He can heal yours also.

For several years I ran a convenient store.  One of our phrases for problems was, “clean up on aisle 1.”  It met that someone broke an item and left the mess.  It could also mean that someone broke something and was there waiting for us to clean up so they could help.   The last one did not happen very often.

 

Several of us can remember this phrase, “If you make the mess you clean it up” or “if you break it, you buy it.”  The idea is that you are responsible for your actions and the consequences of your actions.

 

Followers of Jesus, stay.  If they make a mistake, commit a sin, hurt other people, they stay and clean up the situation.  It is done through love, patience, repentance, and humility.  Responsibility is theirs and they embrace it. They are the solution.

 

I know this first hand.  I have committed the sin.  I took full responsibility for it.  It was mine alone to accept.  While many people walked away, I grew in my faith.  Over time, some came back and relationships were restored. Sometimes the consequences are difficult to accept, but if you repent to God and others, God will see you through.  Just ask David.

It is early in the morning and the first thing on the agenda is morning devotions. and prayer.  I forgot, I did put on coffee.   My devotion is from Hebrews the first chapter. 

 

Who is first in your life?  Ever thought of that?  Do not go by what you think, look at what you spend your time on.  What you spend your time on is first in your life.  What’s your passion?  What drives you?  What is every act in your life proclaiming about you?

 

While morning devotions are important, Jesus is more important.  A lot of people state that He is their Savior but miss the whole point.  He must be the first of their life.  He must be the King.

 

What is first in your life?

I went to my first guitar lesson.  Most of it was concerning theory of music.  The instructor presented the music as a journey.  The first chord is what one ends with most of the time.

 

That is true with life.  Our lives were created by God.  There is a  yearning in our lives that can only be filled by following Christ.  That journey will bring us back to the one who created us, God.

 

There is a problem.  You have to make a choice of whether or not you want to have that journey end with God.  Where do you want to end?

 

Music begins and ends usually on the same chord.  Sometimes it does not and surprises  the audience.  Do not be surprised at the end.  Journey through this life with God and end with Him.

You laid it down on the table.  Right there on the table.  It should be right there.  It is not.  You search, but to no avail.  Where is it?  Finally, you find it in the bedroom on the night stand.  It was not where you thought you left it. 

 

We all go through a time where something is lost because we forgot where we placed it.  Frantically searching every square inch of the house, only to find it somewhere we never expected.  Yet it was on the table.  The stress of the day helps us to forget where we placed items. 

 

But there is something we must never forget, our faith.   Peter writes to cast all our anxieties on God who cares for us.  That takes faith.  Faith that tells us God will care for us.  Faith that takes us to places we never expected, because God is leading us.  Faith that makes us stop, listen to the gentle brook, feel the soft breeze and hear the voice of God.  Never forget your faith.  It is far more important than anything else.

During times of stress it is difficult to sleep.  For the first time in 2 weeks, I slept.  It was six hours, but it was sleep.  Stress does that to people.  The side effects are lack of sleep, appetite, energy, drive, ambition, depression, or even the sense of failure.  During tough times, there’s a lot of tears.  Sooner or later will come anger and bitterness. 

 

Why the stress you may ask?  Difficult times. 

 

Difficult times have driven me to the sanctuary of the church at nights just to talk and listen to God.  Hours seem like minutes.  Some nights no word.  Others a still small voice of encouragement.

 

Do not let the stress get to you.  Do not let it drain you.  Go to God.  Talk to Him.  Listen.  Follow His Word.  See what He does in your life.

It is 5 am and I have been up most of the night.  That is time that I spend in the sanctuary talking and listening to God.  Here it is time to start the day.  Coffee is now needed to remind the rest of the body to get going.

 

For there to be the drink, hot water has to be applied to the coffee bean.  The hot water releases the flavor of the bean.  Thus, coffee.  There has to be hot water though.

 

The same is true in life.  The flavor of life, it”s purpose, it’s meaning is not often found in good times, but in the hot water.  The times of transformation.  Hard times, difficulties, divorce, loss of job, and other hot water events transforms a person.  That transformation can be good and lead to positive changes.  Positive changes that bring growth to one’s self and the others around them.

 

Just like the transformation that comes with encountering Christ.  A transformation that will change one’s life for good.

 

Coffee anyone?

Have you ever been homeless?  If you served in the military as a single person, you might understand.  Homelessness is not a good thing.  When I lived in Salem, IN, homeless vets would occasionally use my place to clean up or do laundry.  

 

It is a strange feeling to know that there is no place to go, no kitchen, no bathroom, or living room.  There is anxiety, depression, and loneliness.  Where is home?

 

For a follower of the Way, home is not here. True followers of Jesus can walk through this world homeless because their eyes are on their eternal home.  They long for it.  They call out to it.  They are anxious for it.  We are homeless and we want to go home.

 

So yes, I am homeless.  For this world is not home, it is yet to come. 

Lowe’s is an incredible store.  A person could stand in there for hours looking at tools, lumber, appliances, grills, plants, pipes, and light fixtures.  There is so much to look and choose from.  A person could lost in there.

 

However, it is best to go to Lowe’s with a list.  It could be disastrous.  The other day I went and left my list at my home.  Bad thing.  It was like a child in a candy store.  I walked out with some items, but not the ones I needed.  Of course, you have to go back.

 

We do that with God.  We come with our list first, stating everything that we want and need.   Maybe, we will stay and stand in amazement of God and His Power, Glory, Counsel, and Love, but often we are off to something else.  

 

Instead of standing in Lowe’s in amazement, we should stand in front of God in amazement.  Try that and see what happens.

Since my military days, I have not worn a hat.  Until today.  This morning I will take a walk and wear a hat that states I am a veteran.  I really do not like things on my head.  It drives me nuts.  A hat is one item that I just cannot do.  Until today.

 

Why today?  What makes this day so different from others?  Because it is new.  It is full of opportunities if I choose to take them.  It is full of adventure, if I choose to walk down that path.  It is a day full of wonder and amazement, if I choose to take it.  It all starts with a hat.

 

However, my day begins with the Creator of life and adventure.  It starts with a conversation with Him.  For God is the author of adventure, opportunities, and wonder.  Start your adventure with the Creator of it all.  See what happens.