We All Need Jesus

Today I was meditating on the parable of the rich fool which goes like this in Modern day terms.

There was a wealthy man who had accumulated many material things through the course of his life. One day as he walked out and surveyed all that he had attained. The fine cars, the boats, the home of his dreams, the career of a lifetime yet he found himself unsatisfied so he said to himself "I know what I can do! I will build a bigger house, buy a more expensive car, and get another degree so I can start a new career". So after many years of hard work he once again found himself having met his goals, and he said within himself now I can finally kickback, Chill out, and enjoy retirement with all of my possessions, but sadly that very night he died. As he stood before God he realized that on that very night his soul would be required of him and that all of the things he had accomplished and achieved meant absolutely nothing compared to eternity.

This is the story of someone that lived life going from temporary high to temporary high. We have all been there living life for the next level up, the next feel good moment, the next weekend, the next hobby, etc. etc. There is always a next, but there is only one Jesus who will outlast time and space. As a matter of fact, He cannot even be measured according to time and space for the Bible says that He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. He has no beginning and He will have no end. This is why I have determined that I am not going to sell out my life for this side of eternity, because this side is just a mere blink of the eye compared to the wonder of an eternity with Jesus. I wonder where is your life headed right now? Which side of eternity are you living for?

Seasons Change

Spring is finally here and summer is on its way. Thank God, for a South Louisiana boy the winter I have experienced here has been near torture, but hopefully I will get use to it. I am so thankful for the warmer weather. It seemed as though winter was going to last forever.

The same can be said about life at times, there are moments when we go through those winter seasons, so to speak, and it appears that it is never going to end. Someone has said that a great tree, even though it appears lifeless in winter, is actually growing more in this season than in any other it just can't be seen. So next time you are in a winter season of life decide to grow beyond your obstacle so that when Spring comes it will be all the better. Remember weeping may endure for the night but Joy comes in the morning, the night may be long but the the dawning of a new day is certainly coming.

Jake

Golf is in the Air

I shouldn't have watched the Masters! Every year about the time the masters is played the golf bug begins to reveal its ugly head, and unfortunately I seem to always succumb to the temptation to go play. I must admit I am hooked on golf (my wife would say I am hooked on several hobbies).

The other day I got the chance to go and had a great time. The fact that golf can be so difficult is an intriguing thing to me. You really wouldn't think it would be so hard at first glance you think to yourself "O.K. this is going to be easy" until you start playing. Now I am at the stage where I can consistently get it to the green with a two putt for par, but unfortunately that is about the extent of my game, it all goes down hill after that.

This causes me to think about our walk with Christ. So many get so close to truly developing a genuine relationship with Jesus, the kind of relationship in Him that leads to victorious living, incredible faith, and a better life. However, it is so easy to give up on God especially when it gets hard. I have frequently stated that it is easy to do what's right when doing what's right is easy. But it is another thing altogether to do what's right when adversity comes. What I have learned is that if I will hold on to God when it gets tough, he will lead me through those difficult times and at the end of the thing I can say like Paul "I have finished My course" even if it took many more strokes than it should have taken, I didn't give up.

The Undisputed Champion

"O death, where is your sting?
O Hades, where is your victory?" (1 Corinthians 15:55)

Death couldn't handle Him, and the grave couldn't hold Him.
Thats My King - S.M. Lockridge

At this time of the year I seem to always find myself in awestruck splendor at the work of the cross and the power of the ressurection. In a moment of time the kingdom of satan was conquered, and his apparent victories in the Garden of Eden and at the cross were reversed by Jesus death and resurrection. From the vantage point of Jesus victorious return, death and hades (The Grave) have no power over Christians, because Jesus has already conquered both. He is and always will be the undisputed Champion of Heaven and Earth. Praise the matchless name of Jesus.

Persistence Wins the Day

This time of year is a great time for fishing. Man I love fishing and fortunately for me my son does as well, after all the Bible does teach us to train up a child in the way they should go. I figure that means teach them to be passionate about the things you are passionate about too- (O.K. that's my own opinion, but it sure works well with my wife). Recently I took my son fishing to a beautiful lake in south Mississippi called Lake Okhissa, we had alot of fun and caught some nice fish.

In the photo above my son is holding a nice bass that he caught. However, the picture only tells a brief part of the story behind the fish, what you can't see is that Bradyn (my son) threw about 5,000 times and 25 different lures to finally catch this fish. Getting an 8 year old to fish for 2 solid days without catching a fish is a miracle in and of itself, much less asking him to really fish for those two days, but to my surprise Bradyn stuck with it determined to catch a bass before we left that lake. Through heat, rain, tangled lines, broken lures, and plain boredom he somehow managed to keep casting and in the last 30 minutes before dark on the second day Bam he hooked one at long last he had caught his bass and a nice one at that.

As I was thinking about how proud I was of him for pressing through the adversities and receiving his prize God began to speak to me. So many times in life we give up, throw in the towel, bail out right before the breakthrough that we are so desperately needing, is about to occur. Maybe you are reading this and in need of a miracle breakthrough in your life, remember that God knows what you need and when you need it and His timing is perfect. Don't give up on God because He hasn't given up on you. Keep casting because your miracle is out there waiting to be caught!

Tangled Up

Yesterday, I took my 8 year old son and 2 of his friends out to the lake here in our subdivision for a little fishing. What an experience that was! I spent most of the evening untangling lines out of trees, getting hung lures off of stumps, and even looking for a lost cell phone. Somehow in the middle of it all I did manage to catch a few fish.

After I got home I got to thinking about our trip and how tiring it was, but even though it was some work on my part my son and his friends had a great time. Then I thought that the same could be said about God, so many times we are like the little boys finding ourselves tangled up in life, loosing our way, and needing Gods help. I am so thankful that God is always there to untangle our mess, and help us to find our purpose once again. Maybe you are reading this and can relate, maybe you have lost your way, so to speak. I encourage you to cry out to Jesus, because He is our loving father and no one loves you more.

A Picture of God

Recently, we took a family outing to the dog park at Shelby Farms and what an outing it was. If you can imagine 3 small children and a bulldog at a dog park where the grass is filled with, well lets just say smelly surprises. It never fails that the Pastors dog is the dog at the park who needs obedience training, not to mention his kids. It was fun though, but Ashley and I sure took a sigh of relief as we loaded everyone back up into the car to head home.

After a few days I came across this picture that we took while we were there of the boys and the dog (Vinnie). As I was looking at the pic, God suddenly began to speak to me as He seems to always do in the strangest of moments. He said this this picture is a picture of Me. I couldn't quite figure it out until He quickened my mind to a movie I recently saw - Marley and Me - great movie - In a nutshell the movie was fundamentally about one thing, the simple things in life that bring happiness and love you the most. At the end of the movie John began to reflect on all of the great years that his family had with his dog Marley. As he reflected he came to the conclusion that a dog is one of those creatures that loves you for just you, doesn't matter how mean you are to him, how many times you lock him outside, or punish him, or how aggravated you get with him, he just continues to love you right up until the bitter end.

Then God brought me back to the picture and showed me that in that picture contained three beings that absolutely and unconditionally love me, my boys and my dog Vinnie. Even though I haven't been the perfect father by any stretch, or the perfect dog owner, each of them still choose to look beyond my flaws and see my good points. Then God said to me "Now do you get the picture?" God is the same way with us. We can all say that there are moments when we throw God out of our lives, or forget about him altogether, but when we need Him the most He is always there just waiting for us to return to Him. He always has his hands of love out in hopes that we will become the person that He has destined for us to become. He loves us just the way we are, we don't have to do any special tricks, know any special things, look or dress a certain way for God, He just accepts us all of the time, any time, and every time.