Holy Hands Christian Ministries, Inc.
1637 Maryland Dr.
Albany, GA  31707
(229) 594-1053 Office

holyhands@holyhandsministries.org

"Fuzzy" Theology

II Peter 1:14 13 Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle [tent], to stir you up by putting you in remembrance; 14 Knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle [tent], even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath shewed me.

Recently, my mother died in the Critical Care Unit of our local hospital while tenaciously struggling to hold on to life for her last several weeks.  While I prayed and read the Bible to her, she suffered what seemed a massive stoke that shook her body like a fragile tent in a violent storm.  A few seconds later, her body relaxed in peace as the raging storm passed.  It was as if someone had removed the main stay of a tent and it slowly billowed to the ground, empty of its former occupants.  A few minutes later the medical staff removed all the tubes and wires that seemed to tether my mother to her earthly existence.  Her life here on earth was over.  It was time to untether the cords that bound her and fold up the collapsed tent, never to be occupied again.  Her soul was now free from the grip of this world's storms of pain and suffering and grief, unbound by the cords of this life to enter peacefully into the next.  Such was the end and beginning of her life.

I realized that like the Apostle Peter, this life is only a "tent" that must inevitably be untethered from the earth and put off like our day clothes when the night of death comes.  Like my beloved mother, we who have Christ still have hope for eternal life where the storms of life can no longer molest and shake our earthly tent.

I Thessalonians 4:13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. 15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

In this we shall find our comfort.  Thank God for His indescribable gift of our mothers and His comfort and hope.

Matthew 5:4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.

by Pastor John

I Corinthians 15:19-23 (ESV)
   19 If in this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.
   20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ.

This is my second year of gardening peppers.  It is a much more exciting prospect the second time around for this city-boy because I know what will follow.  The plants grow, then little flowers bud and finally, the first fruit of my care and anticipation pushes its way through the dead pedals of the formerly tiny flowers.  It is a pepper, the first!  And now I know that many will follow because my pepper plants are following the Divine plan of God, established at the dawn of their creation.  First the flower, the flower dies, the first fruit, then many to follow.

I was recently browsing my Facebook page, when I noticed someone had posted a Youtube video of "Jesus Christ Superstar", the finale, when Jesus emerges from his grave, alive and full of glory.  Many of the players are dancing around excitedly as the play's theme is played loudly and energetically.  It is a grand celebration. I wanted to get up and dance, too, in excitement.

The excitement of seeing the first fruit of my home garden peppers and the excitement of seeing a musical portrayal of the resurrection of Jesus Christ helped me understand the spiritual significance of the metaphor of "firstfruits".  With the first pepper comes the assurance of more peppers, I know for sure, now.  With the knowledge I have been given by the Spirit of Christ's resurrection comes the assurance of faith, that I too will follow Him when the flowering of my life ends on earth.  "Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ."

 19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

Life is much more exciting when you see evidence of what is coming next.  From my first pepper, I know more peppers will come.  From the knowledge of Christ's resurrection, I know I may follow into eternal life and encourage others with this hope.

by Pastor John

(Romans 19-20 ESV)
For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.

This morning, before Church, I found myself sitting on my patio looking at a yellow pot with a trans-planted flower given to us by our friend, Annora.  As I looked at the beautifully intricate flower laced with pinks and whites, I mused to myself, "Wow, Awesome!"  I was transcending the cares of world just meditating on God's beautiful creation, simple yet intricately created from earth and flower bulb.  I was getting a "spiritual high" from a yellow pot and a flower.

I flashed back to days of my youth in the 60's and 70's when the "flower children" were getting high on pot and saying things like "wow, awesome" at things of little or no consequence in life.  Today, because of a new life in Christ, I have spiritual eyes unassisted by any mind altering substance to see and experience the things that are truly "fearfully and wonderfully made" by God, himself.  The greater miracle is that during times of closeness to God, I see that I, too, am fearfully and wonderfully made in the image of a loving God.  Even when looking at a yellow pot and a flower.

(Genesis 1:27-28 ESV)
   27 So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
   28 And God blessed them.

I must be getting old and sentimental, seeing so much in so little.  Yet some others see it, too. They too can say, "wow, awesome" when they see a flower on a Facebook page.  My hope and prayer is that they, too, will see that they are wonderfully made in the image of God, himself.  There is no other "high" like it; not even in the memories of the "flower children".

Psalm 139:13-14 (ESV)
For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb.
14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.

Stop, pray, and go get spiritually high on one of God's wonderfully made creations.  You might even see yourself in a new way.

by Pastor John

Blind Faith

Hebrews 11:1 (ESV)
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

Flowers have no eyes to see, yet they always seem to find their way outward and upward until they find their way to full bloom and glory.

Each spring, my wife Lisa and I plant a Mandavilla plant next to two trellises.  And each spring, the plant reaches out, inch by inch, suspended in thin air, without fear, toward the trellises it cannot see until is grasps hold of them and spends the rest of the summer climbing upward as each new flower proclaims the glory of its beautiful creation.  All this, without eyes to see where it is going.

Oh, that this were our nature, to reach upward without sight into thin air without fear.  Yet, those of us who know Christ, do reach out at first with some trepidation each new season in our life and grasp hold of the spiritual trellis that leads us upward.  After several seasons, it becomes less fearful because God is faithful to uphold us.  We are becoming mature in our faith and pressing on toward the heavenly prize as God reveals more of his faithfulness.

Philippians 3:13-15
13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you.

If we reach out and press forward and upward, our hope is that He will give us the blind faith of a Mandavilla and we too will blossom in His glory without fear.  Amen.

by Pastor John

John 20:19-29 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.”28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

Thomas gets a bad wrap (pun intended) as the unbelieving disciple for demanding to see before he believes. Yet when confronted by the resurrected Christ to see (touch) and believe, he believes without seeing (touching).  Thomas becomes the first to confess Christ as Lord and God.  You cannot make a greater confession of faith than that.  It exceeded that of the other disciples in scope and depth.  Jesus was not only Lord over all his life, now, but God himself, unwrapped (see The Gift Unwrapped) for all to believe.

Jesus is not rebuking Thomas when he says, "“Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”  He is saying, "See, it is more blessed to believe without seeing because your faith now comes from Me."

John Wesley's Commentary - John 20:28: And Thomas said, My Lord and my God - The disciples had said, We have seen the Lord. Thomas now not only acknowledges him to be the Lord, as he had done before, and to be risen, as his fellow disciples had affirmed, but also confesses his Godhead, and that more explicitly than any other had yet done. And all this he did without putting his hand upon his side.

See, seeing is believing without seeing when if comes from God.  Be a believing Thomas, this Easter.  You will truly be blessed.

by Pastor John

John 20:6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and entered into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying, 7 and the cloth that had been on his head, not lying with the linen cloths, but rolled up in a place by itself. 8 So then the other disciple who came first to the tomb also entered in, and he saw and believed.

The other disciple came, saw the burial clothes of Jesus unwrapped and rolled up in a place by itself, and believed.  Jesus was God, wrapped in human flesh and crucified to bring us the gift of forgiveness and thus, salvation from the deadly eternal consequences of sin. (see unwrapping the gift).

The scattered wrappings apart from the gifts on any Christmas day means the gifts have been opened and received by their intended beneficiaries.  The joy of the gifts are now being experienced in full.  On Easter morning, the other disciple believed because the gift of God had finally been unwrapped from death to resurrection.  The empty wrappings proved it.  The promise was true, forgiveness is real and life is eternal; the gift has been wrapped, delivered, unwrapped and received.  Oh the joy that floods our souls, something happened, and now I know, he touched me and made me whole.

Will you become the other disciple and unwrap your gift from God and believe?

Luke 2:12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”...John 20:7 and the cloth that had been on his head, not lying with the linen cloths, but rolled up in a place by itself.

John 1:12-14
Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God-- [13] children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God. [14] The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Blessed Easter, enjoy your gift.

by Pastor John

John 13:1, 5 (ESV) Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.... 5 Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

We may not know how to love as Jesus loved. Most of us cannot even conceive of it enough for it to be recognized as His love in our interactions with others. But, we can start at the other end of His love by doing the most simple deeds of kindness, like washing dirty feet, carrying your mother's purse or letting someone in front of you at a grocery line. You will be beginning where Jesus left off. He has already taken care of the harder stuff.

Matthew 25:22 (ESV) 22 And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here I have made two talents more.’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’

Now go and look for some dirty feet or someone behind you in a grocery line...maybe your mom wants to go shopping.

by Pastor John

(Numbers 11:4-6, 18-20 ESV) Now the rabble that was among them had a strong craving. And the people of Israel also wept again and said, “Oh that we had meat to eat! 5 We remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. 6 But now our strength is dried up, and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at.”

18 And say to the people, ‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat, for you have wept in the hearing of the LORD, saying, “Who will give us meat to eat? For it was better for us in Egypt.” Therefore the LORD will give you meat, and you shall eat. 19 You shall not eat just one day, or two days, or five days, or ten days, or twenty days, 20 but a whole month, until it comes out at your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you, because you have rejected the LORD who is among you and have wept before him, saying, “Why did we come out of Egypt?”’”

My wife and I recently went on a cruise and boarded the next generation of cruise ships' maiden voyage for our vacation.  The ship was called "The Dream".  Beautiful ship, beautiful accommodations, beautiful people and gourmet food without end.  After the first day of travel, I mused to myself, "I wonder how much it would cost to just cruise around the world for one whole year?"

It wasn't until the fifth day of the cruise, "Chocolate Day", eating my chocolate covered banana fritters, that the formerly "beautiful people' around me started looking like just so may hogs at the trough. And I was right there with them; "pigging out" on the infinite variety of chocolate covered "slop".

Oh, let me return to my simpler life, to the love and fellowship of my church, my family and even the uniformed faces of those in the prison I serve as chaplain.  I want my spiritual food, again.  Keep the escargot, château breon, and chocolate covered banana fritters.  I want the bread of life!

John 6:31-35 (ESV) Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” 32 Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34 They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.”

35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.

I thank God, it only took me five days and not 40 years to wonder around in the desert of this world's luxuries before I became hungry again for the things of the Spirit.  Two days later I found myself home, back in church with my family.  Today, I am truly satisfied.

(Matthew 5:6 ESV) “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

by Pastor John

"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." Matthew 28:19-20

This past Thanksgiving Day, I realized why I had carried around that little brown bottle of Nitroglycerin tablets for thirteen years, never needing to take one.  They were waiting to save my life when the "big one" came by surprise.  It was during the climax of the disaster movie, "2012".  How prophetic?  During the movie, just when the end of the world as we know it was taking place, the theater was rocking with special effects, and the hero and heroine found themselves "outside" the modern day Noah's Arks. How would they be saved from the "Big One?"  I did not find out!

I was busy dealing with my own personal confrontation with death...a heart attack!  Right there in the middle of the theatrical "end of the world", I was facing my own end.  Into my pocket went my hand, then into my mouth went those little white pills I carried for thirteen years, never needing a one.  Then, to the hospital for more nitroglycerin and five stints to snatch me from death by MI (Myocardial Infarction).

The "Big One" came, but, I was ready because I had carried with me that little bottle of pills I had no use for thirteen years.  The day I needed them to save my life, they were there because I had carried them with me always, even to the day I was rocked by my end of the world.

Jesus said, "But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. 37 As were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, 39 and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man." Matthew 24:36-39 ESV

This experience made me realize the day I will need Jesus Christ the most will be when I stand in judgment and face eternal death or eternal life.  And that will come by surprise!  What will determine the outcome will be, did I carry God's Nitroglycerin Pill, Jesus Christ, those many years I did not seem to need Him?

11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. 13 And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. 14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. Revelation 20:11-14

Don't leave home without Him.

by Pastor John

Veiled in flesh the Godhead see
Hail the incarnate Deity
Pleased as man with man to dwell
Jesus, our Emmanuel
- Hark the Herald Angels Sing, vs. 2, Charles Wesley

"Jesus is the reason for the season" is only part of the story of Christmas.  What we see represented in art and story of Jesus' birth in a manger is only the wrapping on a much greater gift of  God's love, mercy and grace...Jesus' death and resurrection.

The hymnist, Charles Wesley, has captured this great truth in his Christmas hymn, "Hark the Herald Angels Sing".  Jesus' human body is only the "veil" of God himself, the wrapping. Jesus becomes "God with us, Emmanuel." The reason for his wrapping himself in Jesus is to shed his blood on a cross for us to be close to God, again, and to have all our sins washed away in His sight.  We can now be friends with God because he hung his gift of forgiveness on the tree of Calvary (the cross) wrapped in Jesus who gave his life for us who were so far away.

Col. 1:19-22 (NLT)
For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, [20] and by him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of his blood on the cross. [21] This includes you who were once so far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions, [22] yet now he has brought you back as his friends. He has done this through his death on the cross in his own human body. As a result, he has brought you into the very presence of God, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.

Like the gifts under our Christmas trees, they remain only wrapped boxes with our names on the labels until the gifts are unwrapped and received.  Then the gifts our truly ours.  Will you receive the gift God wrapped in Jesus and hung on the true tree of Christmas, the Cross.  If you do, you will know the true "reason for the season."

(John 1:12-14 NIV)
Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God-- [13] children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God. [14] The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Merry Christmas, enjoy your gift.

by Pastor John

James 1:12-16 (NLT)
God blesses the people who patiently endure testing. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. [13] And remember, no one who wants to do wrong should ever say, "God is tempting me." God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else either. [14] Temptation comes from the lure of our own evil desires. [15] These evil desires lead to evil actions, and evil actions lead to death. [16] So don't be misled, my dear brothers and sisters.

The latest fuzzy creature to visit us has been a little field mouse.  As the temperatures outside are getting colder this cute little rodent has found a way inside our home and has enjoyed of all things, our cook book (I guess he likes the delicious pictures).  We found portions of it reduced to confetti like shreds mixed with the sure evidence of a mouse--droppings!  What to do?

The slightest hint of a broken mouse in a mousetrap was out of the question for my animal loving wife, Lisa.  Having to trap and dispose of a live mouse glued to the floor of one of those little mouse motels, out of the question, too.  What to do?....Hire a professional exterminator!

Low an behold the commercial exterminator was scheduled for his regularly contract visit in a few days. Ask the exterminator.  He arrived, Wednesday morning, full of political commentary and conversation as he toured my home with the spray tank at his side and the spray wand swinging about like some famous symphony conductor.  It was Congress this, the Administration that, spray here, spray there.  I finally interrupted, "We have a mouse!"  "No problem, I will get some 'drop bags' after I finish;" the symphony of politics and poison continued unto completion, a masterpiece, never a wand beat or a political point missed.

"What are drop bags?" I asked.  "They are great," he said, "The mouse will think these are the 'tastiest treats' he has ever tasted."  "He will eat and eat and then he will get thirsty and leave your home looking for something more to drink, and the more he drinks, the thirstier he gets until he dies outside in the cold."

WOW, there's a message there!  Many of this life's "tastiest treats" lured us into a life that consumed, but never satisfied us.  The more we consumed, the more we wanted until we, by the grace of God, saw what lay at the end of this path of consumption...our own demise, outside the love, comfort, and protection of our God.

Each of us have our own particular "drop bags;"  they are all equally harmful or fatal to our life here and eternally.  Pray for help each time they are placed in your path.  Then, look for the way through them.

Philip. 4:13 (NLT)
For I can do everything with the help of Christ who gives me the strength I need.



by Pastor John

Holy Roller

John 8:34-36 (NLT) Jesus replied, "I assure you that everyone who sins is a slave of sin. [35] A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever. [36] So if the Son sets you free, you will indeed be free.

"Bobby" our new bob-tailed cat (Manx) returned from his first trip through the required "valley of the shadow of death"......The Vet...to get neutered.  When we arrived home in our driveway, we opened the car door, opened the "kitty casket" (pet carrier) and Bobby sprung forth with an energized new spirit and began rolling in the grass, rolling in the sand and finally, rolling in his favorite spot in our bed...set free from his imprisonment in the veterinarian's cage and home rolling in his freedom, shedding the scents of his captivity and rolling on the loving scents of his home. "Free at last, Free at last, thank God Almighty, I'm free at last."  Bobby became our new little holy roller.

Those of us who have been imprisoned by our former passions and have faced the dark abyss of our captivity can well understand the biblical metaphors of darkness and slavery to sin. For those who have been set free by the Son, we can even identify with "Bobby", rolling in the joy of being "indeed free," washing off the foulness of our old life and rolling in scents of a new holiness.  We were made clean. Not by grass or sand or our favorite place at home, but by the blood of Lamb.  This experience is enough to make a "holy roller" out of the best and the worst of us.  It may even make you want to shout here on earth and eventually in heaven.

Rev. 7:9-10, 14 (NLT)
After this I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white and held palm branches in their hands. [10] And they were shouting with a mighty shout, "Salvation comes from our God on the throne and from the Lamb!"

[14] And I said to him, "Sir, you are the one who knows."
Then he said to me, "These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb and made them white."

by Pastor John

For Thou Art With Me

Psalm 23:4 (KJV)
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

"Bobby" our new bob-tailed cat (Manx) made his first trip through the required "valley of the shadow of death"......The Vet...to get neutered.  I guess from a cats point of view it is like some ghoulish horror story.  First he was snatched from the comfort and stability of his care free cat world, our yard and home.  Then, he was placed in a small casket like device called a "pet carrier" and whisked off to the dark valley of the veterinary's office to be drugged into total unconsciousness while the Evil Vet does unthinkable things to his body.

Yet, he did not go through this terrible ordeal, alone.  "Stick Monkey", his favorite inanimate companion went with him to provide comfort and remind him of the familiar smells and touch of his heavenly home under the care of the neighborhood's greatest lover of animals, my wife, Lisa.

Two days later, he made it back home, alive and well, though a little changed, to sleep, play and become a kitty "Holy Roller" (the next Fuzzy Theology).  Both "Bobby" and his companion, "Stick Monkey", returned to their former place of rest and peace--the recliner in my office.  They made it through the "valley of the shadow of death," together.

Life seems to require that we go through our own dark valley at least once, mostly several times. Jesus did not promise a life of perpetual rest or peace; He just promised that if we stay close to Him he will send his "Stick Monkey" with us, the Holy Spirit, to remind us that we are not alone and He has prepared an eternal home for us.  The experience will even change our character for the better.

Several years ago, I had a heart attack and had to have open heart surgery.  The surgeon said I only had a 50/50 chance of living and did I have anything I would like to say before the surgery.  I waited for the rush of fear to overwhelm me, but it did not come.  I remembered the words of Jesus, "And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age."  I looked up at the surgeon and said, "Let's go."

John 14:15-17 (MsgB)
"If you love me, show it by doing what I've told you. [16] I will talk to the Father, and he'll provide you another Friend so that you will always have someone with you. [17] This Friend is the Spirit of Truth. The godless world can't take him in because it doesn't have eyes to see him, doesn't know what to look for. But you know him already because he has been staying with you, and will even be in you!

Thank God we do not have to walk through our required dark valleys alone!  Amen.

by Pastor John

1 Cor. 15:8-10 (NLT)
Last of all, I saw him [Jesus], too, long after the others, as though I had been born at the wrong time. [9] For I am the least of all the apostles, and I am not worthy to be called an apostle after the way I persecuted the church of God.
     [10] But whatever I am now, it is all because God poured out his special favor on me—and not without results. For I have worked harder than all the other apostles, yet it was not I but God who was working through me by his grace.

You can learn a lot from peppers!

My recent experiment in pepper gardening keeps teaching me lessons (see Too Many To Count).  The latest lesson is that "it is never too late in time" and sometimes in nature "late" can produce more.

My pepper garden has four different kinds of peppers, tabasco, jalapeño, red chili, and habanera (hot!). All but the red chili pepper began to bear fruit in short time.  Not much, but my labor was not a complete bust except for the red chili.  Because the red chili did not bear any peppers the first time around, I considered it genetically defective and began figuring out a way to uproot the plant, toss it and plant another jalapeño plant.  At lease I knew the jalapeño would grow.  Don't want to make the same mistake, twice, with another red chili plant.  Sloth and perseverance in watering the plants brought signs of new hope for the red chili...it finally flowered the second time around, meaning the possibility of some peppers.

And then the miracle happened.  Many more tiny blossoms, and, the plant began to grow...one half, twice, three times the size of the other pepper plants.  And, even more little baby peppers than all the other plants combined.  It was as if, late in time and facing the possibility of being uprooted and tossed into the dumpster, the red chili plant took on a new and fruitful life that exceeded the other ordinary pepper plants.

Like so many of us who have faced the possibility of our own eminent extinction, we discover the true meaning of life, "late in time."  Because of the grace of God, our eternal gardener does not uproot us from this life and toss us into the eternal dumpster of death before it is too late to bear some spiritual fruit.  We are given another chance to find true meaning in this life, a little older, wiser and later...but not too late. Thank God it is never too late see things and be things, differently. Amen.

More often than not, late in time, for those of us who have faced the possibility of our own mortality, we will produce more fruit than your average pepper plant.

Matthew 20:13-16 (NLT)
"He answered one of them, 'Friend, I haven't been unfair! Didn't you agree to work all day for the usual wage? [14] Take it and go. I wanted to pay this last worker the same as you. [15] Is it against the law for me to do what I want with my money? Should you be angry because I am kind?'
     [16] "And so it is, that many who are first now will be last then; and those who are last now will be first then."

(Hebrews 13:2 KJV) Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.

The unexpected blessing that came from adopting an abandon kitten we named, "Bobby" (see Despised to Be Loved), turned out to be that "Bobby" is a great hunter of grasshoppers!

For two years, now, my wife Lisa has succeeded in "renewing" our yard with gardens and flowers and daily "policing" of sticks that may have fallen from the many trees that bless our property with much shade and an endless supply of pine straw for the gardens.

But, for years, the great nemesis of the "perfect yard" has been the "cursed" grasshoppers that have been feasting on the leaves of our largest and most beautiful flowers.  The flowers are breathtaking in all their beauty and splendor, but the wide green leaves are scarred by the giant insect pest's last family feast.  Try as we might to chase them off, they would always sneak back, unawares, and leave another beautiful long green leaf scared for all to see and detract from its flower's glory.

World renowned American psychiatrist Karl A. Menninger said, "Money-giving is a very good criterion of a person's mental health. Generous people are rarely mentally ill people."

Like the scarred flowers in our garden, we try to renew ourselves through our own efforts to little avail, sometimes.  It seems the harder we try, the more the personal nemesis of our character defects sneak back to create more scars in our best efforts to beautify our life and make it whole.  It is only when we turn away from our "personal makeover" efforts and reach out to help another in need, that a miracle begins to happen...It is as if the person we were helping turned out the be an "angel unaware" who blessed us by capturing the day's grasshopper and preventing it from devouring another leaf in the garden of our new life.

And like the unintended blessing of loving and caring for an abandon kitten, we have to do it, "daily", to continue to receive the blessings of our "angel" grasshopper slayer, "Bobby".

Slay the grasshoppers in your life, daily,
By showing kindness and care.
Because you my be entertaining angels,
Almost certainly, unaware.   

(Matthew 10:42 NIV)
And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward."

by Pastor John

1 Luke 6:38 (NLT)
If you give, you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full measure, pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, and running over. Whatever measure you use in giving—large or small—it will be used to measure what is given back to you."

For this "city-boy", growing food was a mystery better left to the equally mysterious class of people called farmers. It never occurred to me that maybe I could join this special of class of "food growers" by planting a garden in my back yard until I noticed a barren square of my neighbor’s yard. It had been cleared of all grass and vines and various other growing "whatnots" that I regularly mow down in my yard.  I watched carefully to see if my neighbor was trying to grow something.

Low and behold after a few weeks of watering and care, strange green things began to emerge from the ground.  They grew taller and began to sprout pitifully small flowers that you would not even give to a child.  "What a bust", I thought.  That is why such things are better left to farmers...no "green thumb" for us city folks to make things grow.

As the weeks continued I saw the miracle...little green things that looked like tiny vegetables growing where the flowers were...food!  And it was growing in my neighbor’s back yard!  "Man, I got to try this." If my neighbor could do it, maybe I could, too!  Off to the Home Depot, garden section, to buy four pepper plants.  I was going to be part of a miracle by eating the "food of my very own labor."

After weeks of care and watering of my "mini-square" of a garden, the first fruits came forth....six peppers, and two of them were already on one of the plants when I bought them, one plant had no peppers, and some phantom garden thief stole one of my biggest peppers! Not quite a "bust", but not very much to brag about...a lot of care and pitifully little fruit.  However, I continued to water the pepper plants because I could not bear to see them die at the hand of my neglect.  Maybe they would survive the mild winter here in GA and produce another six peppers...big deal.

Low and behold, four weeks later, all four plants "exploded" with those "pitiful little flowers." Another week later, PEPPERS!!  So many peppers, they were too many to count.  I was now part of that special group of people that can bear fruit you can eat.  All because I was faithful with my pepper plants, even when they did so little the first time around, I experienced the miracle.  I was faithful with a little and it grew too many to count.

Jesus promised he would measure back what we would give and the measure we receive back would be "too many to count." But, he did not say it would be easy or immediate.  It might even be disappointing for a season.  Later on, however, it would produce an “abundance,” if we would be faithful to His promise with the little measure he gave us at first.

Be faithful with what ever He gives you.

You can learn a lot from a pepper!

Matthew 25:19, 29a(NLT)
"After a long time their master returned from his trip and called them to give an account of how they had used his money...To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance.

1 Cor. 1:28-30 (NLT)
God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important, [29] so that no one can ever boast in the presence of God.
     [30] God alone made it possible for you to be in Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made Christ to be wisdom itself. He is the one who made us acceptable to God. He made us pure and holy, and he gave himself to purchase our freedom.

"Bobby" our new bob-tailed (Manx) kitten is the latest member of our loving family of cats.  He was tossed away in the alley behind our home near our garbage dumpster.  Despised by his previous owners, he was tossed out like so much trash to make it on his own.  Alone, frightened and abandon, all he knew to do was to cry out piteously under a bush near the trash.

Little did he know his cries were being heard by the greatest cat lover in the universe, or at least the neighborhood...my wife, Lisa.  She responded according to her nature, to love and protect kitties, and followed the cries to "Bobby". What was formerly a despised kitten, treated like trash, immediately became acceptable...a part of a new family filled with love.

Just like so many of us who were rejected and despised by a world we held so dear, Jesus was listening through our tears as we cried out from a life that had so quickly turned to trash.

If we let Him pick us up, love us according to His nature, we too will become acceptable, again.  Only this time it will be in a much better family.  We will become children of God and members of His Christian family on earth with the hope of eternal life in heaven, where there will be no more tears or sorrow.  What was rejected and despised by this world is now acceptable and loved by God.

Rev. 21:3-4 (NLT)
I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, "Look, the home of God is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. [4] He will remove all of their sorrows, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. For the old world and its evils are gone forever."

Thank God we were despised to be loved!  Amen.

Philip. 3:14 (NLT)
I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us up to heaven.

My first attempt at amateur horticulture, four years ago, was to replant an Easter Lily in my back yard under a hedge row of overhanging foliage sunken in a ground cover of leafy vines.  In other words, the darkest most crowded section of my yard.  Little did I know that lilies need "sun to full sun" to grow.  For the following three summers...no lily.  The symbol of Christ's resurrection died in its darkened corner, amidst the choking vines.

Low and behold, four years later, stretching two feet just above the dirt was the stem of a beautiful lily pressing forward along the ground through the darkness and clutter of vines to a patch of light. There was the blossom, in all its glory, hanging over the edge of the wooden border of my yard.  It had found the light! It was alive again and in full bloom.

Jesus promised that the seed of his Word planted in "good soil" would produce much fruit.  But he did not promise it would always be easy. Darkness and the choking cares of the world would try to overcome it.  My Crawling Lily taught me that the Good News planted in a fertile heart can overcome the darkness and cares of the world, if one just presses forward towards the light.  We may have to crawl our way through for many seasons, but our resurrection to a new life here and in eternity is assured, whether lying close to the ground or standing tall.

John 16:33 (NLT)
I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world."

by Pastor John

Romans 6:6-8 (NLT)
"Our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. [7] For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. [8] And since we died with Christ, we know we will also share his new life."

 Evil Cat, formerly the neighborhood's feral "Topcat", has entered into a new life as Blackey, our beloved family pet (see "Saved by the Blood").  The transition was not easy at first, because it required his "neutering" by the Vet, which surgically crucified his feral nature.  After his recovery, Blackey was unaware of his "new nature" because of the years of "Topcat" status in the neighborhood.

I watched his first confrontation with the aspiring new "Topcat" who crossed into his former neighborhood territory.  As in the past, he lowered his haunches, growling eerily and stalking his new enemy.  Blood, biting and wrestling on the ground was to be the natural outcome of this vicious new dual for dominance.

But, to my surprise, after a few moments of staring at his potential mortal enemy, Blackey stood tall and relaxed and just walked away, returning to his yard as if nothing had happened.  The old power of this former "Topcat" was gone.  He just did not have it in him to fight any more.  Content, he returned to the safety of his own yard and enjoyed the peace of living among his new family of Kitty, our older and wiser "neutered" family cat, my wife, son, me and the family of Christians who worship at the Chapel on our property.  The habits of years instinctively sprung him into deadly action, but his new nature would not carry him into the bloody battle for dominance.  He is a new creature, with the "neutering" of his old combative drives.

Over time, even the neighborhood confrontations ended, except for occasional scuffles with his fellow pet, Kitty, for the dominance of a lap or a place on the bed with us at bedtime.  He is even finding out that grooming Kitty with a few licks to his older and wiser face in those hard to get places to clean can make a place for him on a spare lap or spot on the bed.

Blackey is gradually finding his place in our family of beloved pets.  The old nature is gone and the old habits they formed are gradually disappearing from his instinctive behaviors because they have "lost their power."  He is also learning to operate in the power of this "new life."  Strife, violence and dominance have been "neutered" to make a place for peace, love and finding his place in a loving family.

Like so many Christians, who have crucified the "old sinful self" with Christ, the "new life" is not automatic or without conflict with the habits of the former way of life.  The good news is that, like Blackey and so many other Christian who have struggled to grow into their new nature, Christ takes the power out of our sinning.  It drives us less and less and brings us dissatisfaction more and more. The new nature takes the fun out of sinning!  Life seems more peaceful and loving when we love each other as a family of Christians.  We even discover that serving each other in love helps us find our place among the children of God, instead of competing for it.

After much struggle, we will discover, like Blackey, it is better to stand tall and relaxed and just walk away from sin's confrontations and return to the place in our new family and "lick each other's faces" (greet and serve each other in love).

2 Cor. 13:11-14 (NLT)
Dear brothers and sisters, I close my letter with these last words: Rejoice. Change your ways. Encourage each other. Live in harmony and peace. Then the God of love and peace will be with you.
     [12] Greet each other in Christian love (Greek: sacred kiss). [13] All the Christians here send you their greetings.
     [14] May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

by Pastor John

"So as I laid on the table, I'm coming back into my body; and I told one of my doctors to move his hand because the thorns are making me bleed on his hand. And blood started running down my face. And I told the other one to move his hand because on my hands and on my feet there was blood. All of the places where Jesus had blood when He died."

"I never had believed in Jesus; I wasn't going to go for it. I never would have, but let me tell you Jesus is alive. And I started screaming 'Jesus Christ come to life!' And I walked out of that room...jumped off of that table...and headed for a cold shower 'cause that's the last thing you would ask me to do after a fight."

"I started screaming words like 'hallelujah I've been born again.' They thought I was crazy and hurt, so they took me to the hospital. They thought I was losing my mind. And they ran all kinda tests on me for two or three days, and nothin' was wrong with me. But I saw the glory of God...I saw it! And let me tell you that Jesus is alive...there's a living God, and I didn't even know it. I was wondering about it before, but now I'm not wondering. I know!"

These are the words of George Foreman, former heavyweight boxing champion after a bloody battle for the title against Jimmy Young.  Exhausted from the fight and covered with his opponents blood, he saw the blood of Jesus Christ and was saved in his moment of greatest weakness.  He was brought to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ's blood by the wounds of another.

Recently, we discovered the neighborhood's feral Topcat, Evil Cat was our nickname for him, near unconsciousness under one of our bushes next to the house.  He was shaking and weak from his latest battle for dominance of his territory and covered with blood, crying.  Unlike other encounters with EC, he did not dart off into the neighborhood fleeing our attempts to reach out as in the past.  He just faintly cried, paralyzed from his latest battle.

We gently pet him through the blood that covered his body, searching for his wounds and trying to comfort him in his dying moments.  As we continued to minister to this wild cat we discovered that the blood was not his, but the wounds of the another tom he had earlier fought.  We nursed and fed him outside for several days until he recovered his strength.  Our kind deeds to this wild tom was complete, or so we thought.

Over the next few days, EC would peer into our side door window and cry for us to feed and pet him.  He sought us outside each time we came home to be loved some more.  Gradually, we let him come inside for food and affection.  He was a different creature after his battle with death and the covering of the blood.  We called him NC for "Nice Cat".  He was a new creature who has joined our family of loved cats all because of the blood of another.

Ephes. 2:13 (NLT)
But now you belong to Christ Jesus. Though you once were far away from God, now you have been brought near to him because of the blood of Christ.

Heavyweight boxing champ George Foreman, EC, and so many battered human souls before have been snatched from death to new life by the blood of another, Jesus Christ.  We truly have been healed and brought into the fellowship of love and God's eternal care.  Thank God, that through His wounds we were healed.

Isaiah 53:5 (KJV)
But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

by Pastor John

***

P.S. NC, now named, "Blackey", was recently neutered to change his feral nature.  But, that will be another "Fuzzy Theology".

Love Me, More!

Jesus replied, "The most important commandment is this: 'Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. [30] And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.'” (Mark 12:29-30, NLT)

Life changed with the adoption of “Kitty”. Kitty is an over sized gray tabby cat with a one track mind. Love me! Outside he is the king of his domain. Inside, we are his domain and his one and only demand is to hold him, pet him, scratch his face, be his nap time cradle, the taster of all our food, the center of our attention...to love him. In return for all this devotion and love we learn how to love “Kitty”. As months, and now years have gone by, he has become part of our daily living routine within his domain. We no longer object to loving Kitty; it is our habit, now.

Recently, Kitty has developed a new way to say, “Love me!” After his morning love routine, he vocalizes what seems to be a protest, Meow! If we ignore this new feline command, he begins to nip our ankles until we respond to him in light our discomfort. It seems as if through inflicting pain upon our vulnerable bare feet, he is saying, “Love me, more!” We now find ourselves in a new dilemma, daily: Love Kitty more or suffer the discomfort of this demanding pet. Of course we are forced to love Kitty, more!

My wife picks up Kitty in the mornings, now, and says, “Look at 'Kitty Boots', he loves me.” He just got a new name, “Kitty Boots!” God is telling us something about the nature of His love though the example of His creation. He is saying, “Love Me, more!”

When we first come to know the love of God, it is fresh and personal. As the months and then, years pass, our love and devotion become routine, even forgotten for short periods of time. Life seems to fill, again, of painful reminders that all is not well with our soul. God is nipping at our vulnerabilities to remind us that we still need to love Him – Love Him, more!” For the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes those he accepts as his children. (Hebrews 12:6, NLT)

When we finally do respond with a renewed and personal love to His painful nips in our life, He reveals to us His new name, “God is Love”

Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is born of God and knows God. [8] But anyone who does not love does not know God—for God is love. (1 John 4:7-8, NLT)

Life getting painful, again?...Love God, more!

Flying the Friendly Skies

Knowing the will of "Kitty"

"Kitty" is a 30 plus pound oversized gray tabby cat who joined our family several years ago because friends of ours could not take him to their new retirement home.  He is the most strong-willed pet we have ever experienced.  He always gets his way by hook or crook.

When he wants to sleep on our bed and we firmly push him off, he bounces like a fly-back ball and paddle from the floor to the bed, again.  He never gives up.  He sleeps on his side of the bed, now.  He can make his will known.  He knows how to use others to get his will, too.

When he wanted to go outside in the morning, he would meow in front of the door until I would have to put my coffee down and go to the door.  I resolved to let him meow until I finished my coffee.  I will not be mastered by a cat!  It is my house and my morning coffee.  "Kitty" did not agree with my resolve.  He just changed his tactics. He would use my wife to get his way.

My wife, Lisa, takes great pride in her house, inside and out.  She is a meticulous decorator and house keeper.  Everything has to be perfect.  "Kitty" seems to know this.  Now, when he wants out, he no longer uses his ineffective "meow", he takes his oversized claw and slowly scratches it vertically down our freshly painted wall next to the door.  The terribly irritating noise it makes communicates to my wife's home pride-he will blemish the "perfect" decor of the den.  "Look what 'Kitty' is doing to the wall!, Go, let him out before he ruins it!"  Like "Kitty", my wife's will is strong, too; too strong, especially in the area of our home.  "Two is greater than one." "Kitty" wins again in the test of wills.  "I am undone!"

Now "Kitty" just calmly goes to the door in the middle of my morning coffee break and looks over his shoulder at my wife.  I know the message of "Kitty's" immutable will.  I surrender, again, daily. I do the will of "Kitty". I can hear him, now, load and clear, in the stillness of the morning.  "Open the door and let me have my way."  The door is opened and the rest of the morning remains to be enjoyed in peace and harmony in my home."

I have even found the secret of enjoying my coffee break, uninterrupted and in peace. All I have to do is go to the door, first, open it and ask, "Kitty, do you want to go outside?"  "Kitty" gets his way with me, and he doesn't even have to ask any more. I know his will, now, because it is part of my life, every morning. I am at peace.

"Kitty" has taught me how to know the will of God without him having to force it on me through disturbing my peace and the peace of others close to me because of my selfishness. Listen before he speaks, open the door, first, and enjoy my peace after I have submitted to His perfect will.

P.S. My wife loves me more for loving "Kitty"; so does "Kitty".

John 14:14-17 (MsgB)
Whatever you request in this way, I'll do.
[15] "If you love me, show it by doing what I've told you. [16] I will talk to the Father, and he'll provide you another Friend so that you will always have someone with you. [17] This Friend is the Spirit of Truth. The godless world can't take him in because it doesn't have eyes to see him, doesn't know what to look for. But you know him already because he has been staying with you, and will even be in you!

Why The Change In Attitude?

Metamorphosis

Good morning, the change is this...I see now, how I really do belong to him. First, He says that He knew me before I was formed in my mothers womb (Jer 1:5)  And all my life I have felt that connection. Then in 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, I can identify. (With what He reveals to me). How I went through these sinful ways but the blood of Jesus cleansed me.

  For example, yesterday I watched this tape about God's creations and they were describing the caterpillar's eating habits. How it ate of the leaves of a poisonous plant yet it doesn't harm the Caterpillar it only serves to protect the butterfly as she's laying her eggs because the butterfly lays her eggs on that same plant and the birds stay away from her. It's the poison that the Caterpillar digested that ends up serving a far greater purpose. I know some how that all that I've been through all that I have digested, so to speak, is for an even greater purpose.

As a mother comforts her child

Artist: Kathy Mann, 2006

Genesis 1:20 (NLT) And God said, "Let the waters swarm with fish and other life. Let the skies be filled with birds of every kind."

My new life, my new walk with God is enhanced with a vision of God's most beautiful creatures.

Some months ago just as spring had begun, my granddaughter was begging me for a bird feeder.  Well just as those precious gems do so well, she wore me down.  (It only took an hour.)  Off we went, on a mission.  We returned from the store with a humming-bird feeder and the liquid to fill it.  We sat outside, and together we put it together, hung it and filled it.  Ok, Mission Complete!...So I thought.

Not so, God in his most infinite and endearing love knew all along...

One day as I was sitting, on my couch in the living room, worrying and fretting, absorbed in all I didn't have, it happened.  My eyes were fixed on the feeder just outside the window.  And God began to speak to me, just not in words.  There was this feeling of kindness and gentleness as I had never felt.  He said, "Now, right here, you have everything."  He wowed me!  He made this creature just for me.  It was perfect and it was loving the nectar we placed there for it.

At that moment, I couldn't want for anything else.  It was God talking to me through a humming bird.  Now every day I wait for his love to shine once again and He does, every morning and every evening.

Last week I left a meeting and noticed a female cardinal flying around my car. As I approached, I expected the pretty bird to flee the danger of a human as most birds do. Instead the bird kept flying around the passenger window of my car. "How odd?," I thought, this bird is not afraid of me. I thought maybe God was giving me some kind of sign. Within a few moments I realized that God was saving my "sign" for another occasion. The mother cardinal was attacking its own image in the side view mirror and leaving a lot of "bird droppings" on my passenger door.

I realized that the confused little red bird was trying to protect her nest, not from danger, but the imagined danger of her own image in my mirror. All the time leaving her nest unprotected from the real threats. God was giving me a message after all!

How often have we fought useless battles that are in our own mirrors, the fear and worry of our imaginations. All the time neglecting the real issues challenging us and making a mess for others to clean up.

If God can take care of sparrows, how much more will he take care of us.

Matthew 10:29-31 (NLT) Not even a sparrow, worth only half a penny, can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. [30] And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. [31] So don't be afraid; you are more valuable to him than a whole flock of sparrows.

Recently I adopted a fluffly gray cat who won my heart by his habit of wanting me to hold and cuddle him constantly.  I cannot do much crocheting when he's around, and I have to pick him up quickly when he starts to climb my leg.  Neither do I mind, for my love for him is unconditional. Perhaps I love him even more because he has feline leukemia and may die within two years if God doesn't heal him. 

Several months ago I lost to leukemia a beloved cat I'd had since his birth.  I stayed with Charlie at the vet's when the doctor gave him a shot to sedate him and left before the final euthanasia injection.  By then, Charlie was not aware of anything, anyway.  His last awareness was of being in my arms.

This morning during my devotional time, Fluffy settled down in my lap and went to sleep.  Instead of moving him so I could reach my devotional books (I had my Bible on my bed already), I contented myself with reading the Scriptures only (at least until Fluffy moved). 

Afterwards, I meditated on Fluffy's behavior.  He was curled up on my lap with his head on my left arm.  He was perfectly content and went to sleep - no worries, no troubles of any kind to keep him awake. 

Isn't that the way our Father wants us to be?  Fully trusting him, resting in his big arms of love, and not worried about anything? Letting him hold us, not just in the bad times but in the good ones, as well?  Reaching for him, seeking his face, and yearning to hear his voice?

When Fluffy sleeps in my arms, he exposes his soft underbelly - a sign of vulnerability and trust that I will not hurt him.  Just as Fluffy trusts me, it is my prayer I will trust my heavenly daddy with all I am and have, leaving the outcome of every situation in his capable hands. 

Have a blessed day!