I couldn't be better!

For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living. (Romans 14:9 KJV)

The ultimate message of our faith. The one truth that must be accepted to receive eternal life. 

This is where the line is drawn in the sand. 

Nearly every day someone asks "How are you?" My response is always "I am great!" or "Fantastic!" or "I couldn't be better!" The reason for this response is not the immediate circumstances. Trust me, I have bad days. My life is certainly not perfect. The reason for my extreme response is the truth that Christ died for me on the cross, rose again, and promises eternal life to those who believe. I believe! Now that I am assured about my future, I can take every day with excitement. My life is great because of my future. There is an end to pain, suffering, stress, and the trials of life. How can you not be excited about life with the great prospect of living with Christ for eternity? 

Praise God for my life and the great future I have here on Earth and in Heaven. Praise God he blesses me every moment with his wondeful love!

Good vs Evil - 9/11

10 years ago today. America was attacked by evil. The result was the toppling of the Twin Towers, destruction of the Pentagon, and a plane full of true Americans crashing into the Pennsylvania countryside. It was a sad day. It was a day of awakening. It was a day where our nation came together to face adversity.

We lost many innocent lives on that day. We have lost many good young men fighting that evil over the past 10 years. It truly is about Good vs Evil. I know our country is far from perfect. We are the most Christian nation on Earth, but we have continued to turn our back on God. We have done wrong when we try to topple foreign governments or kill their leaders. We have been arrogant at times and our judgment is not always just. Even in all our sinfulness, we are still a compassionate nation like no other. We contribute money and resources throughout the world to fight aids, hunger, to support human rights, improve the environment, and help the cause of freedom. Those that are trying to kill us are evil.  We are not evil. Our nation is a good and caring nation. We try to help and in our efforts, sometimes we fail. Sometimes we make things worse. But, we must continue to fight evil. We must continue to have compassion for others. We must continue to try to make this world a better place, even at the risk of making mistakes. We can not let evil dictators kill their own people. We can not let women be treated as property. We can not standby when a nation dies of hunger while its military and leaders steal from the country. We can't let the color of someone's skin or their religious choosing determine wether they live or die.

We must fight for the freedoms of others throughout this planet. God has given us the ability to choose our own destiny. He does so even if we choose poorly. People need to be free to choose, even if they do so poorly. I will do everything I can to help them choose Christ and eternal life. I want the opportunity to be able to share that message. I don't want to force them. I just want the chance to tell them of the love of Christ. They will need to choose. But, without freedom, they won't even get the chance to choose. That's what evil wants. Evil doesn't want people to have the opportunity to choose because it knows the power of the message.

Today is a day to remember. It is a day to remember those that have lost their lives, but it is also a day to remember that we are in a battle. We are in a battle every single day we walk this earth. We are in a battle of Good vs Evil. The great news is Good will win because Jesus has already won us the victory on the cross. It's just a matter of time. The bad news is, many people don't know the victory in Jesus. The true Battle is being able to have the opportunity to tell them. We all need to join the army to fight that battle. That battle must be won! Good vs Evil. Life vs Death.

Sunrise / Sunset

Psalm 72 (New International Version, ©2011)

 ¹ Endow the king with your justice, O God,
   the royal son with your righteousness.
² May he judge your people in righteousness,
   your afflicted ones with justice.
 ³ May the mountains bring prosperity to the people,
   the hills the fruit of righteousness.
⁴ May he defend the afflicted among the people
   and save the children of the needy;
   may he crush the oppressor.
⁵ May he endure^[a] as long as the sun,
   as long as the moon, through all generations.
⁶ May he be like rain falling on a mown field,
   like showers watering the earth.
⁷ In his days may the righteous flourish
   and prosperity abound till the moon is no more.

What are the things in  your life that are constant? What are the things in your life that, no matter what happens, you can rely on them? I can give you plenty of examples of things that are not reliable. Every time I supervise one of my athletic events, I am SO nervous until my workers and officials show up. Why? Well, people aren't always reliable. I have owned a few motorcycles in my time and I can tell you, they are not reliable. I am sure you are making your own list.

The sun and the moon are reliable. The sunrise and sunset are so reliable, we know exactly when the sun comes up every day and when it will set every night.

This Psalm was written as the hope for King Solomon. But, it could have been the hopes we have for ourselves or our families. We want prosperity. We want justice. We want to flourish. But, just like Solomon, these things are fleeting. The only constant, the only thing reliable, even beyond the sun and the moon, is the Love of our Lord. We so often ignore this fact. We are in search of prosperity, power, justice, and the things of this earth. All of these things will pass away. The only constant in this universe is God! Search for him, seek him, know him and you can add another constant. You can add Eternal Life to your list of constants. That will be worth it!

I have a lot of stuff!

Psalm 49 (New International Version, ©2011)

 ¹² People, despite their wealth, do not endure;
   they are like the beasts that perish.
 ¹³ This is the fate of those who trust in themselves,
   and of their followers, who approve their sayings.^[d]
14 They are like sheep and are destined to die;
   death will be their shepherd
   (but the upright will prevail over them in the morning).
Their forms will decay in the grave,
   far from their princely mansions.
¹⁵ But God will redeem me from the realm of the dead;
   he will surely take me to himself.
¹⁶ Do not be overawed when others grow rich,
   when the splendor of their houses increases;
¹⁷ for they will take nothing with them when they die,
   their splendor will not descend with them.
¹⁸ Though while they live they count themselves blessed—
   and people praise you when you prosper—
¹⁹ they will join those who have gone before them,
   who will never again see the light of life.
 ²⁰ People who have wealth but lack understanding
   are like the beasts that perish.

In Garrett, Indiana I am one of the Rich. When it comes to the average person in my town, I have more than most. I have a lot of stuff. It may be hard for you to believe as an Educator I can be considered Rich. There are many people in this world who make more money than I do and have more things. But, all "riches" are relative to what they are compared to.

As a member of the "Garrett Elite" please do not be overawed by my wealth. As with all of us, I can't take a bit of it with me when I leave this Earth. When we die, our options are the same. We are either going to live in eternity at the feet of Jesus or we die a horrible death, sentenced to life apart from God. It doesn't matter what I have on Earth or what I leave behind. We will all be perfectly equal as we worship the King of Kings. If you are going to envy anything I have, envy the eternal life I have been promised. I have nothing in my possession and I have done nothing that will endure except my commitment to Jesus Christ. God doesn't look at the stuff in my house. God looks at the stuff of my Heart!

I have truly been blessed on this Earth. I don't deserve it. I did nothing of myself to acquire this wealth. It is all a gift of God. I praise him for all he has given and I promise not to think to highly of myself lest I forget my savior. It is he who gave the greatest possession I have ever had. He granted me Eternal life as a sacrifice of his own.