Ephesians 5:1 – “Be followers of God, as dear children”. One of God’s many amazing creations is the mockingbird. There are about 17 different kinds of mockingbirds throughout the world, but what really makes them unique is their ability to mimic sounds around them. They have been known to imitate humans, songs of other birds, a dog barking, a rooster crowing, a piano playing, and even a car honking, a squeaky door and a cat meowing. What a remarkable creation!
Read MoreGet Busy Livin' or Get Busy Dyin'
Ephesians 2:10 (Amplified Bible) "…[taking paths which He prepared ahead of time], that we should walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us to live]."
One of my favorite movies of all time is Shawshank Redemption, based on a true story of Andy Dufresne, a man wrongly accused and imprisoned for murder. He spent 19 years at Shawshank Prison, until he escaped through a tunnel, the length of five football fields, that he partly forged with a small rock hammer, and the remainder through raw sewerage.
Read MoreThe Real MVP
John 19:26 – “Then when Jesus saw His mother and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, Woman, behold your son!”
This past week we witnessed a scene that warmed the hearts of people all over America. It was during the acceptance speech of Kevin Durant after being named the 2014 Most Valuable Player in the National Basketball Association. He led the league in scoring and had an unbelievable season. But it wasn’t the baskets he made, or his rebounds that impressed America. No, it was the way he spoke about his mom, Wanda.
Read MoreTake Three Times Daily
Proverbs 17:22 – “Laughter does good like a medicine”
A man was driving along the highway, when he saw the Easter Bunny hopping across the middle of the road. He swerved to avoid hitting the bunny, but unfortunately it hopped in front of his car and was hit. The basket of eggs went flying all over, the candy too. The driver, the sensitive man that he was, as well as an animal lover, pulled over to the side of the road, and got out to see what happened. To his dismay, the colorful Easter Bunny was…dead.
Read MoreI Can See Clearly Now
Luke 6:42 “First cast out the beam out of your own eye, and then you shall see clearly to pull out the splinter that is in your brother's eye.”
Isn’t it interesting how a little piece of dust in your eye can make everything you see blurry? You can’t even focus. You try blinking, opening your eyes real wide, but no matter what, you can’t see clearly. It’s not until your eye starts to water that you can get that dust particle washed out.
Read MoreJesus Loves Me, This I Know
Ephesians 3:19 - "And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God."
I heard a magnificent story the other day of a minister from Oregon who was assigned to provide counseling to patients in a state mental illness facility. When he arrived for duty, he was sent to a padded cell with a large group of deranged, barely clothed people. The stench of human excrement filled the room. When he tried to talk with the patients, they responded with groans, moans and demonic-like laughter.
Read MoreI Am Second
Matthew 6:33 – “Seek first the Kingdom of God…”
I’m going outside the box for a minute and share with you what I believe is some great news about an organization called I Am Second. It’s a movement meant to inspire people of all kinds to live for God and for others. Athletes. Musicians. Business leaders. Actors. Your next door neighbor. People like yourself. A movement that says, “I can’t go it alone”.
Read MoreJoint Checking Account
Romans 8:17 – “And if children, then heirs, heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ”.
For those of you who are married (or want to be one day), on your wedding day, you most likely received lots of checks made out to Mr. and Mrs. [your names]. What did you do with those checks? If you deposited them, it was probably into a jointchecking account, or at least I hope so! And in order to deposit them, both of you had to sign your name on the back of the check.
Read MoreLife Lock
Matthew 4:3 - "And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread."
LifeLock, an identity theft protection company, makes this promise to its customers, "At LifeLock, we help protect you against more than just credit fraud and identity theft, we alert you whenever we detect that your personal information is being used. If you become a victim of identity theft while you are a LifeLock member, we will spend up to $1 million to hire experts, lawyers, investigators, consultants and whoever else it takes to help you recover".
Read MoreWhat Baseball Can Teach You About Life
Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning, God...”
Get it, in the big-inning? Inning? Baseball? I believe God is a baseball fan! Just kidding with you, because I'm a big baseball fan. Spring training is a tradition that baseball teams and fans look forward to every year. No matter how the team did last year, players are full of hope that a new season will bring a fresh start. And it’s true, in spring training, every team is tied for first. Expectations are high, confidences are high, spring is the season of new beginnings.
Read MoreThe Wagons Are Coming
Genesis 45:27 - Amplified Bible - "But when they told him [Jacob] all the words of Joseph which he had said to them, and when he saw the wagons which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their father revived [and warmth and life returned]."
Are you an optimist of a pessimist? Consider this. When Jacob's sons came to him and said their brother Joseph, his favored son, was dead, he believed their lying report. Then when the same sons came to him many years later and said that Joseph is alive, and he's the governor of Egypt, he couldn't believe their true report. It was easier for him to believe the negative news, and harder for him to believe the positive news...it was just "too good to be true". That's pessimism - the tendency to dismiss the light and embrace the dark.
Read MoreAlways Run With Your Mouth Open
1 Samuel 17:45,48 – “Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. So it was, when the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, that David hurried and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine.”
One of my goals this year is to increase the distance that I run. Interestingly, I have discovered that how I breathe makes a big difference in my results. I recently came across an article that argued the point of whether runners should breathe through their nose or breathe through their mouth when running. The general consensus among runners, experts and scientists was, “mouth breathing is by far the best way to breathe while running”.
Read MoreWhere Are the Bulldogs
Genesis 32:26 - "And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me."
Did you know that bulldogs are trained to control unruly cattle (bulls) and large game such as boars? They have very powerful jaw muscles that help them to lock down on their target. They have an amazing will and determination, it's nearly impossible to get them to release their grip, no matter what the circumstance. How? They are created with a facial structure that helps them to continue to breathe while locking down.
Read More