In the process of Photoshop retouching my past cartoons I came across one featuring this important scripture.

2 Corinthians 10:5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

With this  great scripture in mind, I feel sometimes like I  am serving 60 years to life in the Alcatraz of my Mind. To often I find instead of holding every thought captive obedient to Christ I have become become captive to my  thoughts.  I become a walking talking Abbott & Costello comedy skit where I end up  on the wrong side of  the county jail bars of my mind.

In these times my weary brain becomes lost  in the tasks of another anxious day living in this very broken spinning out  of  control world leaves me frazzled, weary, and  downright .. pouty.  Now pouty may be cute when it is  my 4 year old granddaughter, but when it is 61 year old ME.. just ask my wife Mary, it's not cute.

So what  do I  do?  I read aloud again 2 Corinthians 10:5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

I am one  of  those folks who likes my food  ever so slightly overcooked.  I like the cheese on my pizza to be golden.. maybe even a 'dark' golden.  I like my bagel toasted dark contrasted with a spread of cream cheese. I  want it to hear a slight CRUNCH when I  bite into it.  And I like DUSK where the sun has  just dropped peacefully below the western horizon but before the  black of night,

Of course choosing dark over light in the weighty matters of bagals and pizza is fine, but in matters of the SPIRIT.. always choose the LIGHT.

This  Present Darkness is a Christian novel by Frank Paretti published in 1986 for adults showing a contemporary view on angels, demons, prayer, and spiritual warfare as demons and angels interact and struggle for control in our lives and communities.  And though this book was  fiction, I  believe this  battle is  real.

Of course there is obvious  DARKNESS of this  world, but I am  surprised by many Churches Frog in the  Boiling Pot perspective on life where God is fit into societal norms rather than the other way around as  God intends.

"In God We Trust" may be the official motto of the United States of America, but in this  world's  shadows we move closer to a Godless reality found in Judges 17:6 In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes. ​

I live in America where moderation is not the modus operandi. We like big, and more, and we supersize whenever possible.  Too much for us  often is not enough.

I  am not saying having nice home, car, etc are bad things  at all, but modesty and  moderation does not come easy to  Americans. IMO

But what  if we temper  our lives with those 3 verses in Philippians.  What if  we were known for  our  moderation, prayerful, and thankful to  our  God?  Then the peace of  God that  does pass all understanding is there  for each of us no matter if we are living check to check or encumbered with the trappings of  wealth. 

​Be poor in Spirit (humble) Mt. 5:3 , faithful to our  God and caring of others in the moments  that  make up  your day. Then this  whole moderation concept should take care of  itself.

May God lead, use, and bless  your lives in ways that  are  beyond your dreams.

Jeff

2018 has started out with many challenges/opportunities for my life.

• My employment status has become a bit 'spotty', though I am thankful to start a new job next week once my background check comes back.  LOL, what kind of dirt can this background check uncover on a 60 year old, church attending, non drinking, Scandinavian who has been married to the same wonderful woman for almost 34 years, and regularly is seen with his grandchildren?  Hmmm.. maybe this is all a front for the Minnesota Mob.. most likely NOT!
• Also, my wife and I just bought a Town home near our grown kids and their families.  This is a wonderful change but also like any move has come with plenty of work as we settle in.

I add in my penchant for looking back at mistakes in my life including a season where drink was on it's way to ruining all that I had. These regrets are mixed with thankfulness for God's protection and restoration through my bumbles and stumbles.

So sometimes.. like the children of Israel in Exodus.. I want to go back to Egypt.  Ok, in my case it would be rural Wisconsin, but the point is I want to go back to a place and time where it was simpler and a chance to redo all that I should NOT HAVE done.

The author of the book of Hebrews does not mince words when he wrote  
.. it is hard to get it across to you since you’ve picked up this bad habit of NOT LISTENING!  ... You ought to be teachers by now, yet here you are needing someone to go over the basics on God.. AGAIN! You need MILK, and  Milk is for BABIES!  Hebrews 5:11-14 (MSG).

BUT then again..  there are plenty of meaningful scriptures exhorting us to have the the faith of a child.

Over the next week as we were unloading boxes and arranging rooms, the snow was melting and again Spring seemed right around the corner. 

Well actually around that corner we found Mother Nature spewing out more winter rage starting on April/Friday the 13th where we transitioned from freezing rain to a full blown blizzard resulting in 18 inches of snow and the winds were I believe 25-30mph.  Yeah Spring?

So again, what is always winter, but never Christmas.  April in Minnesota!
​
Ok I do realize Spring will come eventually. In fact my wife Mary told me last night the forcast is for the temperature to be in the 60s all next week. That would be nice, and I trust my wife, but..  Mother Nature?  Not so much.

I know sometimes in everyones lives it feels like 'always winter but never Christmas'.  Not the go sledding, or skiing kind, but a cold, dark existence where literal and figurative storms rage threatening to destroy everything. 

The loss of a job, marriage tensions, divorce, sickness, death, depression, anxiety, and a host of other factors in our lives that are more threatening than an April blizzard.  The answer to all these storms and more is the Jesus who calms the seas.

• Then Paul enters the scene and is blinded, beaten, stoned, snake bit, shipwrecked, and logged more jail-time than Otis from the old Andy Griffith show.

Now fast forward to today .. I am sitting in my warm home in a country that has allowed me freedom to worship. While the outside temperature may go below zero in the Minnesota winter months I have my gas fireplace warming me as I type. 

But.. is Persecution on the rise? I do see a fast moving trend in the news that alarms me where traditional Christian values are under attack.

Recently Jo Behar from the TV show 'The View' called Vice President Mike Pence mentally ill because he prays to Jesus  for direction for our country. 

​Pro-life, traditional marriage stances are demonized as political hate speech by the ever growing 'progressive' profane, vulgar lifestyles of the 'rich and shameless' .  

The body of Christ should be unwavering and unapologetic of the gospel message.  If we really believe Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except by Jesus. Jo 14:6, then shame on us as believers when we are silent.

I am a pretty good guy.  I did not keep a good tally of my bad behaviors versus good choices on my pocket abacus , but I still attest I am 'pretty good and not so bad'.

But no matter how good or bad I am, getting into Heaven is always about God's Grace and not about my relative goodness.  His grace is sufficient. 2 Corinthians 12:9

So in my case, being pretty good never felt so.. good.

So rest easy there is no entrance exam to get into Heaven. You will not need to know the names of at least 10 of the 12 disciples, or know the names of the sons of Nahor in Genesis 22. hint: Their names rhyme with fuzz. 

At the Pearly Gates you will not be greeted by a Gate Keeper suspecting you of smuggling in contraband (ie devils food cake?).

​The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.  Genesis 6:5

This was the report card for mankind by God just before He commanded Noah to build an ark.  The letter grade for having the inclinations of your heart being only evil all the time got them a.. F!  They failed!  Mankind did not even show up for class or open a book (figuratively speaking).  There was no extenuating circumstances to consider so get ready, and be sure to update your flood insurance policy cuz it's gonna be getting wet.

Of course evil all the time is not a description of the church and God's people and if someone is outside the church just to be clear does not make someone evil.. BUT I see society as a whole being like 'frog in the boiling pot' unaware of how hot the water is. Cooked in what he thinks is a Jacuzzi while drinking a pitcher of margaritas.

Insert REVIVAL here!

BUT.. If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14  

I know 2 Chronicles 7:14 was written a long time ago to the nation of Israel, but I believe the promise to restore and heal our lands is true today... and not just for Israel.

So what if.. our nation sought the face of God? Then God  would maybe paraphrase/revise Genesis 6:5.

​The Lord saw how great the goodness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only to love GOD and care for others all the time.  Genesis 6:5 (revival edition)

May God bless each of you today in your pursuit of God and for a revival that changes the world.

​Jeff

The time it takes to accelerate from 0 to 60 (mph) is a commonly used performance measure for automotive acceleration in the United States and the United Kingdom. 

For me 0 to 60 (yrs) I will use as the performance measure of my spiritual growth because on 8/14/17 I reached mile marker 60.  Next stop.. Methuselah-land in the year 2926 (0 to 969)