How's Your Integrity Holding Up?

    Bella, my white Chihuahua (I call her my innocent little lamb), has been stalking me for two weeks now confused about the big change of routine in our life. She is constantly in my footsteps looking for guidance and approval in our new daily foraging. She knows something uncomfortable has entered our life but no entiende. We have heard stories of animals hunting men as prey, even tigers taking children from villages, or a bear following a hunter. Most of us probably won’t have to face threats like these, but we are being stalked every day by something far scarier and far more dangerous than an animal. We, and our families, are at risk, yet most people ignore the stalker. We walk through life ignoring the threats that often surround us. Did you know that Satan is out there right now, stalking you like prey? “Your adversary, the Devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). Jesus warned about false prophets who “Come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves” (Matthew 7:15). Paul warned elders: “Savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock” (Acts 20:29). We face dangers every day, yet we have grown accustomed to them. Our spiritual enemies can do us tremendous harm. None of us would knowingly ignore a coyote, wolf, or prowling lion, that was stalking our family on a walk. But that is what we do when we allow sin to “tag along” with us! Each day we become more comfortable with the world, each day we move just a little farther away from God until Satan devours us.

    [Proverbs 10:9; 11:3] The term integrity has been defined in various ways. Some would say it is the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles. Others would say it is doing the right thing all the time simply because it is the right thing—doing the right thing knowing no one will know whether you did it or not. I want to suggest, based upon Scripture, a life of integrity is what should characterize each Christian. * A life of integrity makes us like Jesus. “…Jesus Christ…went about doing good…” (Acts 10:34-38). * A life of integrity protects our reputation. “Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us” (Titus 2:6-8). * A life of integrity gives us confidence to face eternity. “Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain” (Philippians 2:14-16). * A life of integrity strengthens the message we share with others. “Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation” (1 Peter 2:11-12). Of course, we cannot hide. In fact, Jesus sends us out, calling us, “Sheep in the midst of wolves.” But He warns: “Be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves” (Matthew 10:16). Don’t ignore sin as it stalks your family. If you do, you will eventually get bitten. We must walk abroad in this world, but we must be vigilant as we go! Surround yourself with other Christians to help, and keep your eyes open to spiritual dangers that surround us. Doing the right thing - doing what Jesus Christ would do - will have a huge impact on our own lives and on the lives of others. Are we known as people of integrity? U R the church (James 1:19-25).

The Ripple Effect

My mother had sent me to the little corner grocery for something, I don’t remember exactly, except I was to also get ice cream for a rare treat to have the next night after supper to celebrate my younger sister’s birthday. I clearly remember stepping in the front door of the store and the lights began to flash off and on several times. Being November in Upstate New York the sun had already set and with a final thump, I stood in total darkness. The grocer and his wife excitedly spoke to one another across the room, with concern and a sense of panic. Then with another thump the lights came back on. I made my purchase and went home to find my parents deeply distressed. The radio and television stations had all gone off the air, nothing but a hissing sound and snow on the screen. The fear of nuclear warfare loomed in the minds of folks as a frightful possibility, and the fear was that this had become a reality. It was the hours before we knew for sure this was not the case and a week before we knew what had really happened. An electrical relay had tripped at the Sir Adam Beck Power Station on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls. The stage had been set when the new rely had been inadvertently set too low a few days before; it tripped under load at 5:16 p.m. on November 9, 1965. It was this incident that inspired the 1968 film, “Where Were You When The Lights Went Out?” By 5:27 p.m. New York City had plunged completely into darkness. An estimated 80,000 people were trapped in the subways and countless stuck in elevators. Traffic lights went blank and streets became motionless. 250 flights into JFK airport were diverted. Thousands of square miles of the Northeast Power Grid were void of electricity putting over 25 million people in the dark. Fortunately, many small communities, like where I lived, on rivers throughout the failed grid, with hydro-electric dams, were spared the total darkness as the local generators removed themselves from the grid and supplied power, hence our lights came back on, yet we were in communication darkness. This all happened because of one safety relay being set too low tripping prematurely, overloading other safety relays causing them to trip, and so on all the way through the grid – the “Ripple Effect.”


Romans 14:7] “For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So weather we live or die, we belong to the Lord.” John Donne is famous for his book, “No Man Is An Island”. We affect one another as we interact in daily life; no one lives in isolation; no one lives truly alone. We all cause a rippling effect of our own each day with most every move we make. We would all be amazed if we knew how far out into the world the ripples of our actions of life reached. There has never been, nor will there ever be, a ripple effect like the one caused by the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, the Christ. The ripples of His blood, shed for the forgiveness of our sins, sent waves into the past as well as the future. His life and sacrifice has touched each one of us in a personal and eternal way. We are who we are because of who He was and is. COVID-19 is having a tremendous rippling effect on our world. Our government officials have come just short of declaring Marshal Law, and the assembling of people has become a temporary impossibility without being unlawful (www.floresvilletx.gov). A decision was made not to have worship assembly this Sunday in compliance with local emergency rules and regulations. Hence I’ve been accused of caving into the government and “forsaking the Lord”. Read: Romans 13 and Hebrews 10:25. For the safety of all concerned, we will comply, and NO we don’t expect to make this a habit! Pray for God’s mercy on us all

A Better World Begins With You

Well, I guess Mother Nature is pulling in on our reins bringing the world down from a full gallop to at least a slow trot with this corona virus thing. Sporting events, theme parks, movie debuts and most gatherings of people in close proximity have been closed or canceled till at least the end of this month. WOW! Who would’ve thought it? Pray for the medical staffs around the world as they deal with the tough decisions they must make.


Not only physical, but our world has many moral, ethical, legal, and spiritual problems. As Christians we are concerned about these matters; and rightly we should be. Imagine what would happen if the church united together to solve these problems instead of compromising with the world and fracturing in thought. For example, abortion is a moral plague on our country and the world. Millions of babies have been killed in the name of convenience. So, imagine the church focusing her energy and effort on eliminating this practice by encouraging the alternative of adoption into Christian homes. And imagine it was completely successful. Would our world improve? Yes. Would it mean that the world would then go to heaven? No. There are many things we could focus on that would make our world a better place. Eliminating the drug abuse problem; encouraging the holy state of marriage; Restoring moral principles so people would not lie, cheat, steal, commit murder or other such acts against one another would all be wonderful improvements to our world, but they wouldn’t save anyone from the pits of eternal hell.


We can’t control circumstances. We can’t control the weather, traffic, prices etc. We also can’t control other people’s actions, words, and thoughts. It appears that we have no control over anything. If you have good actions, words, and thoughts, who makes you do these things? It is not true that we have no control. You and only you have control of you. You control your actions, words, and thoughts. No matter how much we want to blame someone else for our actions, we must be honest and admit that everything we do is because we have decided that is what we wanted to do at that time. We might be sorry later, but we must be honest with ourselves: no one makes us do something, say something, or think something. We do what we decide to do. * Who makes you tell the truth? * Who makes you tell a lie? * Who makes you faithful to your spouse or honest in your business dealings? * Who makes you cheat on your spouse or in your business dealings? * Who makes you show kindness? * Who makes you mean? * Who makes you faithful? * Who makes you unfaithful to God Almighty? A better world begins with you!


[2 Corinthians 5:17] “...if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (ESV). It may all seem silly to some, but God’s plan is that none should perish, but that everyone will come to repentance and be saved from their sins through obedience to the gospel of Christ. As people become Christians and submit to the will of God, the world’s problems will become easier to handle because there will be fewer people doing fewer things against the will of God. If we want the world to be a better place, we must have more baptized, obedient, believing Christians in it. More Christians is the answer to a better world. “...if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14). If you are serving the Lord, it is because this is what you have decided to do. No one can make you serve the Lord. If you are serving the devil, it is because this is what you have decided to do. No one can make you serve the devil. What will you decide?

Sin Is Curable

Uncontrolled disease can be horrific. With the current worries about the spread of a new corona virus dubbed “COVID-19,” we have heard the terms “epidemic” and “pandemic” tossed around quite a bit. An epidemic occurs when a disease affects a greater number of people than is usual for an area, and a pandemic is when that epidemic goes worldwide. With any disease, health officials search diligently for the cause, the mode of transmission, and possible clues to protecting the world population. As governments and health systems struggle to cope with the COVID-19 crisis, we are reminded of the worldwide scourge of sin. Immorality and disobedience to God’s word definitely qualifies as a pandemic, because since the beginning of time it has swept across the globe, infecting and destroying millions upon millions of souls. Unlike COVID-19, we know the details of where sin comes from, how it is transmitted, and how it can be cured. Sin has a cause. Some believe Satan, or even Adam and Eve, are ultimately responsible for sin. But the root cause of sin is found in every heart that seeks its own will versus the will of the Father (James 1:14-15). Sin is contagious. We like to think that our lives don’t affect others, but we would be sorely mistaken. The apostle Paul said that “...Bad company corrupts good character” (1 Corinthians 15:33). We can be infected by sinful examples around us, and transmit it to others by our own example.


[Proverbs 12:15] “The way of fools seems right to them, but the wise listen to advice.” Do I always have everything figured out and every situation sized up properly? Am I completely without “blind spots” in my judgment? Are my opinions on given matters always on the money? Is my insight infallible? Of course not! (To all the above) What about you? Yep! That’s true about all of us. We should always be open to suggestions; to advice. Concerning advice, someone once said, “It takes a great man to give sound advice, but a greater to accept it graciously.” Advice is like snow; the softer it falls, the longer it remains, and the deeper it sinks into the mind. This is a good thought to keep in mind when attempting to give advice. Know your facts! Know the person. Speak out of loving concern and interest. Be careful not to be like Job’s counselors. “Miserable,” Job called them. An old Arab proverb says: “Never give advice in a crowd. Admonish privately, but praise openly.” When receiving advice, it behooves us all to look at it carefully. They may be right; it might work! Many people receive advice; only the wise profit by it. Remember Rehoboam! He was intelligent enough to listen to advice, but not smart or wise enough to properly evaluate it. As a result his kingdom was divided (1 Kings 12). Let’s be open to Solomon’s counsel that “...a wise man listens to advice.”


There are many sinful bad habits, addictions if you please, in practice by millions of people who claim they have a disease. Disease invades the body; decisions guide the body. Sin is curable. While finding cures for biological disease is sometimes tricky, the cure for sin is straightforward and has been given by God’s revelation. Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross was a payment for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:2). Those who believe (John 8:24), confess Him openly (Matthew 10:32-33), repent (Acts 17:30-31), and are baptized in water for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38; Mark 16:16) will be cleansed of all past sins. After initial cleansing, we have continual cleansing by confessing our sins to Him and walking in the light (1 John 1:7-10). Yes, there is a pandemic of sin rounding the globe, and the effects are far greater than any physical virus. But thanks be to God who has given us the cure through His Son Jesus, the Christ! Decide to be cured of sin.