Living Unfiltered for God

Last week, Barbara and I spent our 25th anniversary celebrating with a little much needed R&R and “just us” time in Charleston, SC. There were several times in the weeks leading up to our trip, however, where it seemed we might not make the trip. Looking back, I’m sure it was the enemy trying to keep us from some very important divine appointments. While not everything went the way we planned, we made some new friends and came home with some wonderful “God stories”. This is just one of them… One of our main objectives for our stay was to visit the Charleston City Market. When we had been to Charleston years ago, we only had a little bit of time there and so we were looking forward to taking our time while we perused all the booths and wares. We were specifically looking for gifts for several grandchildren’s birthdays, while also looking for a special anniversary gift to, and for, each other. About an hour into our shopping, I noticed Barbara striking up a conversation with th...

We often hear the expression, “Be a light!” If you are a Christian, we are taught that we are to shine Christ’s light – to emanate His Light that lives within us to the world around us. Have you ever really thought about what that means, though? Or how to practice this on a day to day basis? He said to them, “ Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead, don’t you put it on its stand? For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open . ( Mark 4:21-22 NIV )   Several weeks ago, I was reading through a devotional with some others that posed a question I had never thought of before. In the “For Reflection” area, it stated the following: “There are different kinds of lights (traffic lights, flashlights, spotlights, florescent lights, candle lights, lighthouse, torches, lamps) - which one best describes you? Why?” This really got me thinking. Like anything else when it comes t...

My wife and I recently completed a “40 Day Prayer Challenge” that we were participating in with some good friends of ours. There were numerous things that happened over that time – many that could be considered miracles – to and through, each and every one of us. There are probably a dozen stories that could be written about. Right now, though, I’d like to spend a couple of minutes sharing about a concept that was mentioned late in the study ( Draw the Circle by Mark Batterson), that we were using as a guide for the challenge. Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.” When the Lord saw that he had gone over to lo...

In the last four posts, we have been studying some lesser-known, or at least less talked about individuals from the Bible. All of them have played an important role in the broader story that is HIS-story. Our final character though, Ananias, exhibits perhaps the best example of what it means to live unfiltered for God. That is, when we hear God prompt us to do something (however that may work for you), we do it. We all know the story of Paul. How he was originally known as Saul and made quite a name for himself by persecuting (and worse) any and all Christians that he came across. We also know of his “conversion experience” as he was on the road to Damascus one day. Scripture records it like this:   As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”   “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.   “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting, ”...

Have you ever wanted something so badly, that you prayed if God gave it to you, you would give it back to Him? Sounds a little crazy, doesn’t it? Yet, that is precisely what the individual we’re about to look at did. We’re almost done with our recap of what the Youth of Florida Family CFO discussed out on the dock early each morning. When Thursday came, it was time to study a little more about another great woman of the Bible… Hannah. Hannah was one of two wives of Elkanah. (A detail that required a little extra discussion that early morning.) His other wife had given birth to multiple sons and daughters, while Hannah’s womb, “was closed”, and had not produced any offspring. This was a constant point of irritation to Hannah, as her rival “provoked her.” Once, during their annual visit to Shiloh, where they worshiped and sacrificed, Hannah, while in the presence of Eli, the priest, started weeping and praying. In her deep anguish Hannah prayed to the Lord, weeping bitt...

(Continuing some reflections from Youth Devotions and Communion at Florida Family CFO camp last month...) The purpose of our discussion on the third day of the week, was to go a little deeper into the story behind one particular, well-known verse. I’ll start this post the same way I began the lesson that morning with the teenagers… Which verse in the Bible do you think is the most popular to quote, or at least the most well known? Who said it? Who was He talking to? After the first question, there were several good answers provided, but the consensus of the group settled on John 3:16. (I’ve said before, this was a smart bunch of kids!) Of course, I had to follow it up with the question, “Where is that verse found?” After a few seconds of looks of confusion, they realized I was just seeing if they really were awake that early in the morning! The second question was trickier. Their initial answer was John. A logical and reasonable choice. But then, they zeroed i...

The second day of our Dock Devotions focused on one of my personal favorite characters, and stories, in The Bible: Abigail. Her name appears in only a couple of different chapters, but the part she played in history – particularly the future King David’s history – was enormous. The discussion was based on 1 Samuel Chapter 25. As usual, a bit of context first. David and his mighty men as they are called, had been on the run, trying to avoid King Saul. King Saul knew that David had been anointed King and wanted to kill David so that this would not take place. Shortly after the Death of Samuel (who, many years earlier, had anointed David to be the future king), while still trying to hide from Saul, they came to a town called Carmel. They arrived during a festive time, so David instructed his men to ask Nabal, a wealthy landowner, for any provisions, “you can find for them.” The request included the fact that they (David and his men) had been in the area and had done nothing to h...