TCOJC Blog

I remember learning punctuation in school, but I don’t remember when.  It didn’t “click” for me as quickly as some things did, and I remember even in high school being unsure of which marks to put where … especially when it came to commas, semicolons, and colons.  This week`s eDevotional is not a writing lesson, so please don’t hold it against me if I’m not grammatically correct after bringing up the subject.  But, one thing I do remember is that we use commas in the middle of sentences, and we use periods at the end of sentences.   “What does all this have to do with God?” you might ask.  Read on.

I believe our lives are like a big compound (and sometimes complex) sentence.  I also believe that the period belongs at the end, not near the beginning or anywhere else in the middle.  I see the tendency in myself and others, especially when things aren’t going well, to give into the notion that things will never change.  It’s also easy to paint people (maybe someone who has let us down in some way, or maybe even someone we hardly know but judge solely based on their appearance or current circumstances)  in a permanent light where the Lord simply has them in transition.

The Lord used a parable one time to illustrate the danger in judging people (ourselves and others) too soon.  He spoke of a man who sowed good, wheat seed in his field; however, his enemy came during the night and sowed tares in the field.  When they sprang up, the man’s servants wanted to jump in and pull out the tares, but he told them to wait, fearing they would also uproot some of the wheat by mistake.  He told them that at harvesting they would do the separating.

The Lord will one day place a period at the end of our lives, but until that day he gives us commas … places for us  to pause briefly, for our circumstances to change, and best of all for us to change.

God bless, and have a great week!

I was reading in the bible this morning and didn’t get very far before I began questioning myself.  I was reading the 15th chapter of I Chronicles, which records how David returned the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem.  It had been constructed by Moses, as designed by God; and the Lord had chosen it as a place for his glory to dwell.  It had been placed out of sight and out of mind in the days of Saul, but  David had an overwhelming desire to return it to it’s rightful place in Jerusalem.  The first verse says that he prepared a place for the ark of God.  Almost immediately the question came to me, “Am I making the right preparations for God to dwell with me?  Am I ordering my life (the time he gives me each day) in such a way that He feels welcome in it?

I know the Lord desires that daily communion because he filled me with his Spirit, the Holy Ghost, the promise he made to his disciples when he told them, “Even the Spirit of truth, … he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.”  I also know there are other things competing for my time and attention; and though they are certainly not as important, they often carry a greater sense of urgency.  Mark put it this way by saying, “And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.”  I have found, within myself, that when I give place to every mosquito of life through the day (reasoning that later will be a more convenient time to  pray, read, and meditate with the Lord),  by the end of the day (with my mind numb and by body weary) communing with the Lord no longer seems convenient.  However, when I take the time, to include the Lord in my day … throughout the day, desiring that closeness with Him, creating that place for Him; then, I am more intensely aware of His presence, am more at peace, more joyful … and in turn more aware of opportunities and more willing to share the love of God and the joy of that I feel with others.

David, in preparing a place for the ark, in making the journey (moving it) the way the Lord had specified, in sacrificing and praising through word and song all along the way, laid the foundation for a glorious celebration of victory where he danced confidently with joy before the Lord with all his might.  Let us prepare a place for the Lord as well, let us order our daily life by his word, let us sing his praises and testify of his infinite grace and mercy; and ultimately let us shout the glory down as we victoriously celebrate His entry! Hallelujah!!!

GOD BLESS AND HAVE A GREAT WEEK!

Bro. Mickey

My son, John, recently introduced me to a wonderful biography about a man named Louis Zamperini.  He overcame seemingly insurmountable odds to lead a great life.  He started out on the wrong foot as a young boy, but his older brother helped get him on the right track and he went on to become a 1936 Olympic medal winner in track, almost breaking the four-minute mile (despite his competitors willfully injuring him during the course of the race).   When World War II broke out he became a gunner aboard a B-24 bomber.  His plane crashed into the Pacific Ocean during a routine flight, and he and the pilot survived over 45 days aboard a life raft before drifting within reach of the Marshal Islands (then controlled by the Japanese).  Before they could reach land they were picked up by the enemy and spent over two years in various POW camps suffering daily beatings, humiliating mental torture, starvation, and disease before being released, following Japan’s surrender.  After returning home, he continued to be plagued by the haunting images of his captors (one particularly abusive officer who was called “The Bird”).   Those memories filled his waking hours and followed him into sleep each night.  He sought relief through drinking and soon became an alcoholic.  He became obsessed with the idea that if he could only return to Japan, find “The Bird”, and repay him in kind by torturing then killing him, he would finally be able to free himself from the nightmares and flashbacks.  Through his drinking, depression, and growing rage, he nearly lost his family (his wife left temporarily with their daughter before eventually returning).  He never was able to free himself by taking revenge on “The Bird”; however Louis Zamperini did find the freedom he so desperately desired.  And it came unexpectedly in a place he never would have imagined.

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Of all God’s creatures I know of only one that is capable of the concept of time … man.  Inside our minds we carry mental recordings of past events, both failures and successes, and are able to recall them at will.  We then take these memories and use them in conjunction with current conditions to achieve future successes and avoid future failures.  We form strategies and plans for what we will do tomorrow, next week, next month, next year.  At the same time, it is critical that we remember it is only in the here and now that we are able to act.  There is no “DO” in yesterday, there is no “DO” in tomorrow; the only day with “DO” in it is today.

Eccl. 9:10 tells us, “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.”; and Gal. 6:10 states, “As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.”  I encourage you to take action today; do good things today that move you towards the positive goals you have set; do things today that change you so that you become the best person you can envision yourself to be; do things today that positively affect those you contact  (especially those who reside within your circle of influence).

God bless and have a great week!

As the story goes, two gentlemen stood by the coffin of their deceased friend during the visitation.  As they looked down on his earthly remains, one commented to the other,”I wonder how much he left?”  After a brief pause the other friend slowly remarked,”All of it.”  Ecclesiastes 5:15 tells us that we will take nothing of our earthly labor with us on the day of our departure from this life.  Furthermore, it says, just as we entered into the world (naked) so shall we leave it.  However, even though we cannot take anything with us, we can ensure there is something waiting for us at the close of this life.

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