Victory Over Anxiety

Solomon once wrote about trusting God and he said, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Lean not on your own understanding but in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your path.” (Proverbs 3:4-5)

The cure for anxiety is hidden in these words. To “acknowledge Him” is to surrender your way to God’s complete authority and His directed way. Become like a slave; give up any right to be free to do as you please and yield your freedom to God’s way as explained in His Word. By doing so you will shift all responsibility for the outcomes of your life from yourself to God. It is the only logical thing to do. Think about this, God knows everything and you only know some things. Contained in that which you don’t know is vital information for your future. Within this unknown knowledge is the data needed to reveal the straight path of your life that takes you from where you are to where you need to go. For God there are no secrets, no blind spots. He sees all and knows all. So He knows which way to go in every situation in life. He has a plan for you and that plan is to prosper you, not harm you!


Over time God reveals to you the information you need to know when you need to know it so that you can walk through the troubled waters of your daily activities.

The writer of Hebrews said, “Without faith it is impossible to please God.” (Hebrews 1:6) God has us walk through life often not knowing the way to go. Sometimes it feels as though we are walking through the valley of the shadow death but as we faithfully live out what we have learned in His Word we wind up walking beside still water and over into green pastures.

Read the Bible every day, talk to your Heavenly Father about your plight and know that He, who sees all and knows all, will make a way where there seems to be no way. He will energize you with times of refreshing that can only be found by people who live surrendered lives.

Bow down to God as Master. Develop a heart of a faithful slave and watch Him meet your emotional, physical and spiritual needs in a perfect way.

Will I Live Eternally?

One of the beautiful promises of Jesus is that of eternal life. He promises to those who will follow Him that He will lead them through life’s trials and tribulations and on into Heaven where everything is as it should be free from the destructive power of sin.

When a person yields their life to Jesus there is quite often a feeling of euphoria but with life’s constant barrage of trials, sorrows and hardships this feeling often fades away causing some to feel as though they have lost the joy of their salvation and maybe even their salvation all together. Thankfully because we didn’t earn our salvation we can’t lose it. Jesus Himself said, “No one can snatch them [His followers] from His hand.” (John 10:28) So the question is not did you lose your salvation it is were you really saved to start with?

A person does not know they are saved because they prayed a prayer. In the last days many will say to Jesus “Lord, Lord,” but Jesus will say, “I never knew you.” Following Jesus requires that you follow! Followers are not saved because they follow they are following because they have been transformed by God’s grace into people who love God and others, who learn to obey God’s Word and who pray seeing evidence of answers to those prayers.

John the disciple that Jesus loved, wanted people to be assured that they would have eternal life so he gave four confirmations. First the Spirit who speaks directly to each person’s spirit, as they read God’s Word daily; the Holy Spirit give assurance to the personal spirit as they follow the way of Jesus. Secondly he notes the change a follower experiences. They start following the ways described in the Bible then they become aware of God’s shaping of their hearts to love Him and people. They begin to separate people from their actions. They love the people but hate their sinful ways. As they pray daily they see the evidence of God’s hand at work in them, around them and through them.

All of this gives them the calm assurance that they indeed will experience eternal life even when they don’t feel the euphoria they once knew. By God’s grace we are saved, kept and carried to Heaven. It’s all by His power, but by a lot of hard work on the follower’s part they grow into people of extreme faith and blessed assurance.

Is God Really in Control?

Is God really in control of this crazy world? After all, people shoot gays in nightclubs, ISIS executes Christians and show it on the internet for all to see, children are abused by parents and people doing good for others die in automobile accidents. It seems that if there is a God and He is in control all people would be safe and good would always see triumph over evil; or would it?

Truth is God allows evil to exist so that we can know Him in a way that would be otherwise incomprehensible. God does most assuredly have a sovereign will that is ultimately done. When all is said and done and time as we know it ends God will have worked every event in time out the way it needed to happen. Job said, “I know that you can do anything and no plan of yours can be thwarted.” (Job 42:2) Paul said, “We have also received an inheritance in Him predestined according to the purpose of the One who works out everything in agreement with the decision of His will.” (Ephesians 1:11) Because God is sovereign nothing happens beyond His control. Sometimes He causes things to happen and sometimes He simply allows them to happen. Either way He has power over everything and every event.

God reveals His desired will to people through the Word of God. He states clearly what He wants people to do. For instance we are to love Him above all and we are to love everyone as we love ourselves. We are to live out The Ten Commandments as we go through life’s journey. However, God has given people the ability to choose to do His desired will or to reject it and do as they please. When they do people get hurt; often times badly. Nightclub shootings, D.U.I. fatal accidents, angry parents beat innocent children.

These evils are why God sent His Son Jesus to die. To make a way for wrongs to be righted in eternity and to bend the hearts of rebellious people towards God’s revealed will. Yes, evil happens but God works good through each wrong and justly punishes those who choose evil over His will and rewards those who seek out His will and do His will. Those who surrender their free choice to His desired will are the ones who have received the grace of God and present themselves as living sacrifices to God so that the Holy Spirit will transform and renew their minds causing them to discern what is good, pleasing and perfect.  May each of us choose the revealed will of God and experience His life altering grace. When we see evil we trust God's ultimate will knowing in time those who are wronged will see justice and receive eternal restitution while perpetrators of evil will rightly receive the punishment that their life choices warrant.

The Way

In the early days of Christianity the people of God became known as people who follow “The Way.” The reason for this is people who are saved by God’s grace profess that Jesus is Lord and they live under His authority. They daily seek out “The Way” they should live. The Spirit of Jesus communicates to those whom He indwells and He compels them to seek and know who God is and what He desires of them.

Isaiah the prophet once said, “This is the way, walk in it.” Every follower of Jesus needs to be able to see “The Way” in order to be able to walk in it. So, God uses the Spirit of Jesus to empower them with the ability to see the pathway of God. By studying the Old and New Testaments the Spirit of Jesus reveals Himself, God and Jesus. Knowing them and seeing how saints of old walked in “The Way” we as modern day disciples learn “The Way” we are to live from day to day. As we pray, the Holy Spirit intercedes between God and us in such a way that we begin to know what to do in each of life’s situations. By comparing our current circumstances to that of Biblical characters the Spirit of Jesus begins to say, “This is the way, walk in it.” As we talk with other godly church friends and family God confirms that we are on the right path or He lets us know to turn and go another way.

Pray and read the Word daily. Develop an inner circle of faithful followers and the Spirit of Jesus will guide you in the paths of righteousness for Jesus’ namesake and you will find the peace of God and “The Way” you were created to live, move and have your being. Then your life will be full of meaning, purpose, joy and happiness.

The Providence of God

Today I had the privilege of serving the Lord at "Our Daily Bread."  If you don’t know what that is it is Pascagoula's version of a soup kitchen where hungry people come and get a good tasty hot meal once a day. 

I always enjoy seeing the people. People that God dearly loves and created for His purposes.  Each of them has an individual story, a past and another day of life to live for God's glory.  Today I saw many seniors, kids, women and men, but the one that stuck out above the rest was a tall guy with many bumps, scars and wrinkles from a hard life. It was one of my childhood friends. He and I grew up on the same street in Moss Point, MS over 50 years ago. He lived across the street and four doors down. We road bikes together and played sandlot football together. He was brutal, strong as an ox and quick on his feet.  My how the years of a difficult life had broken Him down. He is all by Himself now. No family and only a handful of friends, most of which are the shady type.  These days he rides a worn out mountain bike from place to place. His past is full of hair raising experiences and he is always looking over his shoulder to see if someone is about to hurt him.  

Then here is me. More friends than I can shake a stick at, a nice comfortable home, two cars and a retirement plan.  I get to pastor the greatest church family in town and have two grown kids both serving on staff at great thriving churches. I have three healthy beautiful smart grandkids and the best wife a man could desire.  So I began to wonder, how could two boys from the same side of the tracks be so different. One blessed beyond belief and one living from hand to mouth? Grace was the answer I got from God. Yes, by grace I had been saved at a young age and it was by grace that God made me to be who I am. Again it was by grace that blessings had fallen on me.  Even through the difficult times in my life it was God's grace that sustained me.  

I can't help but remember what God told the prophet to tell David when he got a little to big for his britches. "I took you for the pasture from following the sheep and made you king of my People Israel." I don’t begin to know why God called me from that short street on the west side of Moss Point and why He has let my friend journey through such a tuff life, but I do know I and my friend can have faith in knowing that by his grace we shall walk the streets of Heaven together one day in eternity.  

Thank you Lord for your kindness and provision.  My prayer is that You will bless my friend above and beyond all that he can think or ask today and that You will use me to be a blessing to his life.  Jesus be Jesus in me so that I can be Jesus to my friend.  

Love Your Neighbor

By nature I am a non confrontational person, but studying the life of Jesus has taught me that love without confrontation in not love. The Gospels are loaded with Jesus's confrontations with the people he loved.  

 Jesus said, "Love your neighbor as yourself." What does that mean? In a nutshell it means let's want for others what we desire for ourselves. I want to be happy, healthy and spiritually sound. I want to walk in the way of Jesus and experience His love, grace and mercy in an incredible way. In order to do so I must let the truth of God's Word define who I am and let the Holy Spirit that God has placed in me develop me into the image of Jesus. This means I must let God's Word expose my sin and point me towards a better more healthy spiritual me.  So,  if I really love someone and want for them what I want for myself I must expose them to the Word of God even when I know it will lead to a confrontation and a painful conversation. Without confrontation spiritual growth does not take place. Therefore, I must confront the people I love with the uncomfortable truth of God's Word. Every word I say and everything I do is to be seasoned with love for others.  

Wandering Doulos

The other day my faithful dog Midnight Max Doulos and I went fishing. We had been in the boat for about an hour or so when I cast my line towards the bow. As the line was about to hit the water I heard a loud kerplunk! Doulos, who is just a puppy, jumped out of the boat and into the river. At this point we were about 25 feet from a lump of marsh grass with a sand bar about three wide and two feet deep. The rest of the space was all marsh, mud and water.

Doulos swam to the bank and quickly ran into the thick marsh grass just sloshing away. Meanwhile, I had gotten the boat close to that little spot of sand where he came to my whistle. As I stepped out of the boat into foot deep water Doulos looked at me as if to say, “I’m going my own way.” Then he took off into the swamp marsh and all I could see was the tip top of each blade of grass swaying to his movement. I whistled, hollered and called telling him the way to no avail. He could hear me but he was going his own way. Then things got much worse. A violent thunderstorm began to roll in. Lightening was popping all around and the pounding sound of rain was getting louder by the second. Once again with all I had I called to my dog trying to show him the way to safety. That is when I heard a very loud terrifying sound of him falling, splashing then total silence. My heart stopped. All I could think of was the large gator I had seen in that area just a week or so before. My mind could just imagine that gator grabbing him and taking him under the water and I would never see Doulos again.

After a few moments of dead silence a bolt of lightening reminded me of the storm just seconds away. Now I had to make a decision do I leave Doulos here and take myself to safety or do I wait as lightening and rain fill the sky. If I leave him he will surely die before I can return.

After uttering a silent prayer, I decided to lie down in the boat and wait the storm out. After a few minutes there was a lull in lightening and rain, so I stepped out of the boat whistled and called his name hoping to show Doulos the way. This time I saw the marsh grass sway and move. Soon Doulos popped out of the tall marsh grass and into the river just a few feet away. He had heard his master’s voice showing the way away from danger and into safety. When he reached the boat this time he jumped right in the boat! Then off we rode to take shelter under the I-10 bridge.

As we rode I couldn’t help but think about my relationship to my Master, Jesus Christ. He is constantly showing me the way through His Word and by His Spirit. As I walk with Him I hear Him say, “Whenever you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear this command behind you: ‘this is the way. Walk in it.’” (Isaiah 30:21) May we all as followers of Christ learn to respond to the voice of God quickly as He leads us away from danger and towards the still waters and green pastures.

Trusting God Wholeheartedly

“For the eyes of Yahweh roam throughout the earth to show Himself strong for those whose hearts are completely His.” (2 Chronicles 16:9)

God’s eyes are on the earth and He is looking for people who completely trust His hand and when He finds them He does the impossible as they walk in His way. In every believer’s life there arises circumstances that cause them to wonder, “Can I really trust God on this?” It might be a health crisis, a broken or fractured relationship issue, the possibility of financial ruin or the loss of a home or loved one. As we live our lives hard times will most certainly find us. But the good news is you can completely and wholeheartedly trust God because if need be He will move Heaven and earth to protect and provide for you.

This is by His design. Quite frankly God lets us walk through valleys of darkness at times so that we can find out if we really trust Him. Like Hezekiah and his diseased foot (2 Kings 20) or King Asa’s battle against the Ethiopian army (2 Chronicles 14:11). God uses impossible circumstances to test our wholehearted faith. In each of these cases the kings completely trusted God and He worked everything out for their good and God’s glory.

There is somewhat of a formula for those who trust in God. They take delight in Him and by the power of the Holy Spirit they surrender themselves to God and He works out their particular situations for His glory and their individual good. By trusting God wholeheartedly and delighting themselves in Him as they walk in absolute obedience waiting expectantly they experience God’s hand of provision and protection.

A man’s steps are established by the Lord, and He takes pleasure in his way. Though he falls, he will not be overwhelmed, because the Lord holds his hand. I have been young and now I am old yet I have not seen the righteous abandoned or his children begging for bread. He is always generous, always lending, and his children are a blessing. Turn away from evil and do what is good, and dwell there forever.

(Psalm 37:23-27)

Why Read the Bible?

Why Read the Bible?

Today as for so many days of my life I started with the Word of God. Not long ago someone asked me, “Why do you read that Bible of yours everyday?” they shouldn’t have asked this gray hair old man that question. I told them that partaking of the Bread of Life was how I feed my soul. The body needs food or it will die; the soul does too (Matthew 4:4). So, for about 20 minutes he had to listen to me rant on its importance.

Because the Word of God is perfect in every way no one has ever proved it to be false and believe me many have tried. The words of the Lord are pure (Psalm 12:6) and true (John 17:17). Therefore when you read it, heed it and live it its reliability goes from a spoken statement to a practical life reality. God Himself inspired 40 plus men in various ways and at various times to write down the everlasting truths of God’s way. This truth teaches Jesus’ followers as it corrects them and trains them in right living (2 Timothy 3:16).

Knowledge is a wonderful thing but far greater is wisdom that is gleaned from Scripture. By God’s Holy Spirit the perfect way of God is revealed to those who feast on the Bible daily. When a person of faith receives input through the reading of the Word the Holy Spirit brings enlightenment as to how a person is to react to the events of any particular day. The wisdom obtained through each day’s study leads them away from sin and towards a deeper revelation of whom Jesus is and what He has and is doing.

As for me I will start every day with a healthy serving of soul food, God’s Holy Word. I pray that you will too.