1 Corinthians 6:19-20 ( ESV) “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”

 The Bible tells us that our bodies are the temple of God.  The Holy Spirit lives inside of us if you are a Christian that is. So it would make sense for us to keep our bodies in good shape so that the Holy Spirit can minister through us to a lost and dying world.

1 Corinthians 3:16 (ESV ) “Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you?”

It is also true that we are a spirit.  We live in a body and we possess a soul.  That being said, if our body wears out our spirit gets evicted.  Now our soul is made up of our mind, our will and our emotions.  Those three components stay with our soul.  When we go to heaven our soul and our spirit leave our body and go to our final dwelling place. 

Why do I bring this up in a Blog?  There are many people I know that do not take care of their body—their “earth suit” if you will.  See in order to be legal on this earth we need a body.  Even the son of God had to have one so He was born of a woman.

Eating right and exercise are just two components of taking care of ourselves, but they are very important components.  Mentally we also need to “Think Right”. By think right I mean to stay positive.  The Bible gives us direction and instruction on how to think. 

Romans 12:1-2 (ESV ) “ I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”  


Philippians 4:8 (NKJV) “8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.

There you are for the start of a great day and a great life. No one can make you do these things,  they are a free choice, but the choice may determine the quality and length of your life.

Slow down. Go for a walk.  Eat with family. Watch the rain from a porch swing.  Life is a journey and so often we go through life nine miles over the speed limit while talking on the phone and wishing we were somewhere else.  Not yesterday—I slowed down after church and lunch and a hospital visitation and then I became a passenger in some else’s car and I loved it. They drove us to our destination and then we had time to kill.  Time to waste would maybe be a better choice of words. But it was neither dead nor wasted time it was wonderful.  I realized when I am not the one in control or responsible I can totally enjoy the moments.  That’s when I had my epiphany. I’m not in control God is.  God is all powerful, all present, all knowing and in control of everything under the sun. So why don’t I enjoy the moments every day? Perhaps it is due to my misconception of exactly what I am in control of and what I am not in control of. 

I am not in control of the universe. I am not in control of others behaviors nor their choices.  It is easy to tell others, “Let go and let God”.  It is much more difficult to let go and let God.  When we release ourselves from being in control of the universe which is not our job anyway we can enjoy life.  Faith in God’s power and His love for us allows us to relinquish control of what we can’t control anyway. 

 Psalm 46:10 (GW)“Let go of your concerns! Then you will know that I am God. I rule the nations. I rule the earth.”

Here’s to being out of control.  Here’s to letting go and letting God take control.  Here’s to sitting on the porch swing and watching it rain.  Repent for being a control freak and set out to enjoy life and those God has allowed you to do life with.  Go ahead and slow down, go for a walk and eat with the family.  He has got this one.  You can breathe now.  He has that under control too.

Psalm 46:10 (GW) says, “Let go of your concerns! Then you will know that I am God. I rule the nations. I rule the earth”.

Observing how little children treat one another and even their parents I am noticing a decline in manners.  Parents are rude to their children and then children are rude to one another. No “excuse me”, after a burp, no “I’m sorry”, after knocking someone down, forget about holding a door open and that’s just the normal manner thing I expect parents to teach children. If parents are not teaching their children and then the children are not practicing good manners then they won’t teach their children either.  Within a generation we will become an America of rude individuals. The disappearance of manners has already begun.

Philippians 2:3 (NIV) “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves.”

When I was growing up you were taught to hold the door open for your elders, wait for others to fill their plates first, to say excuse me rather than to just interrupt when an adult is talking. When I raised my children I taught them what my parents taught me.  More is caught than taught. If children do not see parents practicing good manners they will do what the parents do not what the parents told them to do.

Let’s bring the bar back up.  Let’s set the example for the arising generation.  Let a car pull out in front of you.  Hold a door open for an older person.  Let the person with young children go ahead and order first. If you have a cart full of items and person comes up with one item let them go first.  It really is the little things in life that matter. Smile and say thank you to others when they return the gesture.   Together we can make America beautiful…again.

Here is an interesting article for more information:  http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=118277&page=1

I often thought that things that were bad were evil and things that were good were God--until today.  When reading my Bible I read Genesis 3:6 (KJV) “6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.”  Good tree bad decision. God said, “No” and His (no), means no.  Something can be good for food, pleasant to the eye, desired to make one wise and be a totally bad evil thing, which God forbids us to partake of.  God knows what is best for us and when He tells us, “No” we’d better listen because our disobedience can affect generations to come, ask Eve.  We are still experiencing the after math of that one act of disobedience. 

The other thing I happened upon while studying is, the effects of compromise and short cuts and their ramifications.  I am referring to the Hagar episode in Genesis 16-21, where God tells us something and then we run off and try to make it happen in our own way and in our own timing.  God forbid we birth an Isaac and then for generations to come,  fight with that which we created. No, thank you. 

So if a tree God told us to stay away from can affect people for 6000 years and a plan to make something happen can start a battle that has lasted over 4000 years, we need to weigh the cost of Good verses God.  In and of our own reasoning we can be totally deceived and cause not just ourselves but multitudes of people a lot of needless pain and misery.

So here is your action step for today. Ask yourself is my decision a good decision or a God decision? Have I asked for wise counsel? Do I know the long term ramifications of my decision?  Do I feel driven or lead?  The reason for the last question is Jesus leads and Satan drives.  If you feel driven hold up and wait for a few days.  A good shepherd leads the flock.  He doesn’t drive the flock or beat the sheep.  Something may look good but its end is death and destruction.  Better to wait and be late,  than to drive on and be dead--just saying.

Christianity Today released the most popular Bible verses for 2014.  Here are the results:

The No. 1 spot went to Romans 12:2 "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind...." (NIV).

But the fourth chapter of Philippians took No. 2 with verse 8, No. 3 with verse 6, and No. 6 with verse 7.

In order, the verses read:

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

Here is the most popular verse in the United States:

Philippians 4:8 (NIV) “8Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”

Probably what surprised me the most is that when you put all the verses together they address the way we are to think, and what we are to think about, so we can have peace, even when we don’t have answers.

I found this encouraging because of the editor’s note. “[Editor's note: Bible GateWay also offers a year-end analysis of the Bible searches of 150 million visitors. One takeaway: Most were searching for love.]”

People want to love and be loved, but the scriptures that drawl them are about how and what we think about.  The reason this encourages me is because as believers, we have the answers the world is looking for.  We need only to have the boldness to share our faith.  I encourage you this week to reach out to those around you that may be looking for love, and share these most popular verses with them, and spend some time getting to know those you associate with.  You may find you have more in common with them than you think and they may very well be looking for the very thing we have.

Oh and here is the article in case you want to read it for yourself:

http://www.christianitytoday.com/gleanings/2014/december/worlds-10-most-popular-bible-verses-youversion-2014.html  

The path we choose can literally mean the difference between life and death. There are many scriptures in the Bible about paths. I like this one because He tells us it is not like God to leave us in a bad place or condition but God would rather show us the right path to take to be in His presence.

Psalm 16:10-11 (NKJV) "10 For You will not leave my soul in Sheol,Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.11 You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore."

Our future will show us what is in our heart.  It is from within our heart that we make decisions. We should not forget all the scriptures we have heard so that our true purpose of life will not be derailed, but be continually fulfilled as we walk in the path of righteousness.  The Bible tells us that one way is wide and it leads to destruction, another is narrow but it leads to life. (Proverbs 12:28 and Proverbs 16:25)  If God warns us of a wrong way we need to prayerfully seek Him and follow His guidance on our journey through this life.  When we are dressed for where we are going sometimes we feel out of place where we are.  Dress your life and soul for eternity.  You may feel out of place while you are on this earth, but you are an ambassador here on earth—your real home is heaven.  Keep a heaven mentality.  Go ahead and dress for success.  Dress for eternity and take off everything that would weigh you down or trip you up.  You have a race to run.  Run as to obtain the prize. (1 Corinthians 9:24 NKJV)

 James 1:21 (NKJV) "Wherefore lay aside all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls." 

After a long vigorous bike ride up a 2,230 foot increase in elevation, I got a surprise . I truly felt God Himself said, "Hey,  you made it all the way up here, now watch this."

Within 15 minutes the massive Steam Engine pulled into the Station, I didn't know existed.  I had just finished a wonderful lunch of Beef Brisket and browsed through a Carriage Museum,  and there she was huffing and puffing from her uphill climb.  Surprised by all the passengers she had in in cars,  as she chugged up the mountain,  I just sat thinking back to our earlier years as a nation,  and how this type of travel would have been the norm.  

An older gentleman was selling his book he'd written and some photos his wife had painted,  and began telling us,  that if we'd wait a few minutes we could see the train turn around.  Naturally I walked over to the place the train was to turn around.  There was no way this train was going to turn around here.  There was not enough room.  The train would tip over,  the curve was to sharp.  Boredom set in,  I contemplated mounting up on my Specialized and heading down the mountain.  But I had a few more minutes and was captivated by the Drone flying overhead.  A young man was controlling the Drone and looked to be filming the entire event.  I thought to myself what a great idea.  All the passengers will want to purchase a copy of this occasion. I should share this with one of the younger people in my congregation and they could start up their own business.  I am always thinking like an entrepreneur.  


Then the train started back up again. It was headed to the end of the trail. I didn't mention my doubts to anyone about what I deemed an impossible turn around for the doomed train--because I figured with all these people here watching, there must be something I don't know.  When the engine reached a fevered pitched I couldn't believe my eyes,  the train started to turn 360 degrees.  Then I noticed it was turning on the  track itself.   (Watch Video) (See Photos below)

It is what I didn't know that made all the difference. What looked like an obstacle to me, was an opportunity to create what's never existed before. They saw a solution, I only saw the problem.  Many years before I was born, someone thought of a way, to do what I thought impossible.  Reminds me of another story, another man, and another problem, called sin.  God thought of a solution, and Jesus was the answer.  This solution like the train's solution, is still solving the problem of sin today...and many can't see that either.

When I was young I wanted to grow up and be on a box of Wheaties.  Heroes and “Big Deals” got to be on America’s boxes of cereal.  We idolized those faces that sat on our breakfast tables and many discussions surrounded the “Who’s Who” of cereal boxes.  Remember the Sugar Smacks character? Okay, well maybe not, but there were some that none of us have forgotten.  Living in Fairmont, West Virginia, the famous face of Mary Lou Retton is still an iconic figure at our local hospital and a street is even named after her.  Oh how the faces of America have changed.  What we tolerate will dominate.

Matthew 10:15 (KJV) “Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.”

It’s amazing how a simple box of cereal helped lead a generation in the direction to aspire to be sports heroes.  Movies about Jedis and princesses caused many to want a light-up sword or a tiara.  Stores couldn’t keep in the Air Jordan basketball shoes; who didn’t have a Nintendo Video Game?  As a society, we watch more TV now than any generation before us. If our fathers and grandfathers would awaken from their graves and sit just one night in the living room of the average American, they wouldn’t believe their eyes nor their ears at what they would see and hear. 

We are surely in the middle of the pot and the water has slowly been turned up and none of us are jumping out.  The walls of our conscience have been painted gradually a darker shade of grey daily and yet we would argue they remain white. Look around, they are actually turning to black.

Mark 8:18 (KJV) “Having eyes, see ye not? and having ears, hear ye not? and do ye not remember?”

The generation arising is still looking for hero’s.  Let’s give them one! Stand up for what is right and just. Do good to those who would harm you. Let your light shine.

By definition the word transit means to move people, goods or materials from one place to another. Many Christians are in transit in the world in which we live.  They are spiritual nomads with no land of their own, looking for water. The Bible tells us that we are to possess land and dig wells and even have water flowing out of our bellies.  The Bible calls us trees of righteousness and that we are to bear fruit in all seasons. (Ezekiel 47 and Psalms 1:3)  

If you study trees you will find it most interesting that their roots go out and look for water.  The roots of a tree will also network with other roots creating a root system.  When storms come the root network helps to keep the trees from toppling over.  We as Christians are to seek the water of the word which will cleanse us and bring us nourishment, as well as network with other Christians in the Kingdom of God.  When we are loan rangers we can be destroyed easily by the enemy of our souls. If we move from one church to another we will remain a weak sapling never coming to maturity, able to find water, or network properly.

It is okay to be in transit but not to stay in a constant state of transition.  We need to move and grow but then we need to stay put and put down roots and allow ourselves to be pruned, sprayed, and mulched and maybe at times grafted onto and into other trees.  As Christians we need to be in covenant relationships.  As iron sharpens iron so too will others sharpen us as we sharpen them. (Proverbs 27:17)

There are 33 verses in the Bible about trees.  Here is one of my favorites: Jeremiah ESV "He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.”

We are not to cease bearing fruit because that is one of the ways others will know we are Christians. (Matthew 7:16)  Trees that are transit never bear fruit.  I encourage you to find a place that you feel safe enough to put down roots.  It doesn't have to be a comfortable place it has to be a place God has called you to.  Once you know that God has called you to settle down and let your roots go down deep.  Start looking for deep waters and you will begin to produce fruit and yes be pruned.  The process may not be pleasant but the rewards are out of this world.

2 Samuel 12:12 Then the Lord sent Nathan to David. And he came to him, and said to him: “There were two men in one city, one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had exceedingly many flocks and herds. 3 But the poor man had nothing, except one little ewe lamb which he had bought and nourished; and it grew up together with him and with his children. It ate of his own food and drank from his own cup and lay in his bosom; and it was like a daughter to him. 4 And a traveler came to the rich man, who refused to take from his own flock and from his own herd to prepare one for the wayfaring man who had come to him; but he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.”

5 So David’s anger was greatly aroused against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the Lord lives, the man who has done this shall surely die! 6 And he shall restore fourfold for the lamb, because he did this thing and because he had no pity.”

7 Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! 

What to do when you are confronted with the knowledge, "That you are the man?"  Whether you are man with womb-woman, or man, the knowledge of your own sin can be devastating.  The greater knowledge is when we come to the realization that God is greater than all our sin and the power of His shed blood can cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  Unrighteous meaning not right, it simply means wrong or wrong standing.  If you are in wrong standing today don't try to cover-up it only leads to greater sin and complications.  Confession brings us back into right standing with God. If you cover-up you will never recover all.  The Bible tells us to bring our sin to the light.  Filthy lusts must be rooted out. Our sins must be dreaded and detested in order for us to love what God loves and hate what He hates.  If we do this then we will remain in right standing with Christ.  Don't try to "Cover-up", give up the cover-up and recover all through the power of the name of Jesus and the blood He shed for you and for me.