“What do you see in the clouds?”
My light reading these past few months has been about a small town sheriff. The character keeps saying, “I have to look over the evidence with new eyes. I just might be overlooking something.”
It’s the same with following Jesus. We think we see what we are seeing in our lives, but might we be missing something? We see life from our perspective.
Yet, it’s like looking at the clouds and seeing various formations in them, but they really are not there, are they? They are just clouds.
Sometimes we need a fresh view of God. It’s like what one author wrote, “Learn to associate ideas worthy of God with all that happens in Nature – the sunrises and the sunsets, the sun and the stars, the changing seasons, and your imagination will never be at the mercy of your impulses, but at the service of your God.”
Our God is far bigger than our imaginations could ever imagine; and, He loves revealing Himself to those who want to know Him. Let Him show you what’s in the clouds!
If you need a fresh view of God today, let Him open up your imagination. Allow Him to show you something about Him that you’ve never seen before. It just might expand your vision of how to follow Jesus.

“If there were no thunder, men would have little fear of lightning.”
It is quite stormy outside. It has been raining off and on for the past few hours where I am at today. Kind of nice to see that liquid sunshine fall from the sky.
Then I heard and felt it – thunder, lots and lots of thunder. It was so forceful that it shook the house.
This brought me back to the time when the Israelites stood before Mt. Sinai listening to the voice of God for the first time.
The thunder and lightning scared them so bad that they didn’t want to hear directly from God. They backed away as they thought they were going to die.
There weren’t, of course. But God sent them a strong message. Don’t take Our relationship for granted. You serve a powerful God.
Sometimes, Jesus believers take His love for granted. His mercy becomes expected. And His grace demanded.
Slow down my brothers and sisters. You or the things you do are simply not that important. Your relationship with Jesus is. Don’t make Him thunder into your life to get you to realize it. As out of love, He will.

“Will you let the superficial overtake or become more important than the significant by taking Jesus out of the happiness equation?”
Recent studies show that “suicidal thinking, severe depression and rates of self-injury among U.S. college students more than doubled over less than a decade.”
The author quoted this study and made the point that there were at least two reasons for this: a loss of significance and a loss of a moral compass from a higher source, namely God.
In short, doing our own things doesn’t work.
Significant comes from doing what Jesus said to do, even though it is harder and out of our comfort zone. Superficial is doing what you want to do because it is easier and can be done quickly.
Significant actions bring long-term fulfillment, but short-term uncomfortableness as we are being made competent by Christ. Superficial activities bring short-term happiness, but long-term angst because our actions don’t have lasting meaning.
Actual listening to and following Jesus does work.
I don’t mean what we think Jesus says to do; what “Christianity” has said to do; and certainly not what our church or pastoral relationship says to do.
I mean loving Jesus enough to trust Him when He asks us to obey Him, knowing full well that doing what He says could make us extremely uncomfortable.
Simply put, obeying Him brings significance and meaning to our lives. It gives us a reason to attack each day while facing a world that is quite hostile to His way of thinking.
Yeah it can hurt and sometimes be uncomfortable. In the end, though, it is extremely worth it.

“Always be humble and kind.” Tim McGraw
We ARE NOT as good as we think we are. In fact, there is junk in our lives we don’t even realize is junk until we see it in black and white on the pages of Scripture.
And because this is true, we also don’t realize we are being forgiven for that junk long before we recognize it as sin in need of forgiveness.
This is the sin offering of Leviticus 4. Forgiveness for sin done in ignorance. This is one of the seven sacrifices Jesus fulfilled on the cross, culminating in His statement, “It is finished.”
Thus, we need to stay humble. As Paul writes, “Let anyone who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
As I minister in the realm of law enforcement, I see the ugly side of humanity. I see “good” people on their bad days, and “bad” people on their hellish days.
In order not to become jaded, I filter what I see through the truth: I am just as broken as the next person. I need a Savior who fixes my brokenness today, tomorrow and on the day I will pass through this plane of existence.
If I am to boast at all, I will boast of my Savior, the One who continually fixes my brokenness. This keeps me humble. It also allows me to be kind to other just as broken “good” or “bad” people.
Thank Jesus that you can be fixed! As you do, you’ll stay humble and kind. Everyone, including you, needs a Savior.

“There are only two kinds of people: those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done,’ and those to whom God says, ‘All right, then, have it your way.’” C.S. Lewis
This is one of the best deep sea fishing spots off the Big Island of Hawaii. And the best way to reach these fish is by boat. There is a catch, however. The current just off this point is so strong that a boat can’t stay in the area where the fish are located.
Solution? The local fisherman tied their canoes to this rock. It allowed them to stay in the sweet spot where the best fishing was, despite the strong current.
There is a strong current running in western culture today. It’s the belief that “my truth” and “your truth” are okay, even if they are polar opposite. This current will cause many followers of Christ to drift…if they are not anchored in His Truth.
Life is not going to get easier, but harder for those who want to follow Jesus. There are simply too many other strong currents trying to tug us away the presence of the One we say we love, Jesus.
Want to stay in the sweat spot? Stay anchored to the truths Jesus gives you. His truth will set you free from all the negative consequences of my truth or your truth.