Happy 17th Birthday, Katie!

 

"But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him." - Jeremiah 17:7

Katie, we love you and are very proud of you!  We hope that you have a great day today, your 17th birthday!  It has been a joy watching you grow up.  You make us laugh so much, and laughter is something we all need desperately.  Keep on being the person who God created you to be, and remember to trust in Lord always and put your confidence in Him.  May you not only be blessed, but may you also be a blessing!

Good? Not even close!

According to Merriam-Webster, "pressure" is "the application of force to something by something else in direct contact with it."  "Squeeze," according to Merriam-Webster, is "to exert pressure on or compression against another object."  As I think about these words, "pressure" and "squeeze," I can't help but think about one of my favorite commercials by Minute Made.  In one of their commercials, they use this incredible line: "Put good in; get good out."  The commercials shows an orange being squeezed with that amazing juice flowing into a glass.  This is making me thirsty for some Minute Maid orange juice just thinking about it!

I am convinced that we are feeling much pressure in our world today; we are being squeezed by the circumstances of life.  If you look at social media, read the news, or watch much television, you probably see and hear much of the same that I see and hear.  People are being as mean and rude to one another as ever before.  I had a conversation recently with someone, and we didn't agree with each other's opinions.  However, we were not rude; we did not raise our voices.  We just chose to disagree in a pleasantly.  One thing I said was this: "I am not perfect, but neither are you.  I am not always right, but neither are you.  I am not always wrong, but neither are you."  With that being said, we both agreed on this one thing: We are all sinners in need of a Savior.  Romans 3:10 says, "As it is written: 'There is no one righteous, not even one.'"  Romans 3:11-18 goes on to say, "There is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God.  All have turned away; they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.  Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.  The poison of vipers is on their lips.  Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.  Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know.  There is no fear of God before their eyes."  I am convinced that many of us, if not all of us, think we are good.  GOOD?  NOT EVEN CLOSE!  The Bible tells us the truth about ourselves apart from God.  "There is no one righteous, not even one."  "There is no one who does good, not even one."  

The pressure we are feeling and the squeeze that is being put on us reveals what is truly inside of our hearts.  Apart from God - His love, grace, and mercy - we are doomed because we are sinful!  If Romans 3:10-18 was all the truth that we had, it would be a tragedy with only death and destruction in the end.  However, Romans 5:8 says, "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."  Romans 6:23 says, "For the wages of sin is death, BUT the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."  Through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we can repent of our sin and be forgiven.  By God's grace through faith in Jesus Christ, we can "put off" the old clothes (the old self) and "put on" the new clothes (the new self).  As God's children in Jesus Christ, we are forgiven and freed from the penalty and the bondage of sin!  We don't stand before God in our own righteousness because we don't have righteousness in and of ourselves.  We stand before God in the righteousness of Jesus Christ.  The Minute Maid commercial says, "Put good in; get good out."  If we want to truly be good to one another, we need the only One who is good - Jesus.  If we want to truly love God and love one another, we need the One who is love - Jesus.  In a world that is full of darkness, hate, and pure evil, we need light, love, and goodness.  As Christ followers, we have that light, love, and goodness in us by way of the Holy Spirit of God through faith in Jesus Christ!  That is something to celebrate, but that is also something to live out loud!  We are children of God, but we are also ambassadors of God in this world. 

Lord, help me be a vessel of Your light, love, and goodness to others.  Even in disagreement, help me treat others with kindness and respect and love.  Help me each and every day to show others Your heart and Your ways by denying myself and taking up the cross and following You.  Lord, I desperately need You.  I trust You, and I trust Your Word to me.  I rely on Your love and Your Spirit within me. Greater are You in me than he who is in the world.  May Your kingdom come.  May Your will be done.  Amen.

Happy 29th Anniversary, Marty!

 "Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever." - Psalm 107:1

God has been so good to me.  When I was 13 years old, I repented of my sin and asked Jesus Christ to save me.  God's love, grace, and mercy has overwhelmed me over and over again throughout my life.  Back in 1989, God allowed me to cross paths with Marty Ann Hill, and we've been on the same path ever since then.  On August 14th, 1992, she became Marty Ann Hill Thomas, and it has been an incredible journey ever since.  

Happy 29th Anniversary, Marty!  I love you so much!  You show me the love of God in so many ways, and I am truly thankful for you.  Each and every day that I wake up, I thank God for you!  My prayer is that God gives us many more years together and many more days for me to wake up and give thanks to God for you!

We Are God's Handiwork

One of my favorite passages in the Bible is found in Ephesians 2:1-10.  While we were dead in our sins, God reached down and made us alive in Jesus!  Only God could save us, and He did save us through the life, the death, and the resurrection of Jesus!  That is good news for you and for me.  That is good news that we should be overwhelmed by each and every day that we live.  God, who is rich in mercy and full of grace, loves us so much that He would send His one and only Son to live for us and die for us.  Paul goes on to tell us in Ephesians 2:8-10, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast.  For WE ARE GOD'S HANDIWORK, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

I've been thinking about this passage of Scripture a lot lately, especially the words, "WE ARE GOD'S HANDIWORK."  My wife and I love our children; we thank God for our children.  However, there are many times that we forget a very simple truth: Our children are GOD'S HANDIWORK.  Think about this truth with me for just a moment.  If we are not careful, we can very easily begin to idolize our children and their accomplishments.  If we are not careful, we can very easily begin to use their lives and their accomplishments to glorify ourselves.  This is dangerous for parents, and this is dangerous for children.  Several years ago I wrote down a statement on a little piece of paper.  I found it this morning on my desk, and this is what I wrote: "We are not God's trophies that sin on shelves collecting rust and dust.  WE ARE GOD'S HANDIWORK, created to display His grace and express His kindness in a world that desperately needs to see Him and know Him intimately."  Neither I, my wife, nor my children are trophies.  We don't simply belong to each other; more importantly, we belong to God.  Trophies are inanimate objects; they don't have life; they don't have spirit.  Trophies lack movement and power.  God created us in His image, and He breathed life into us.  God created us for intimate relationship with Him, and He created us in Jesus to do good works that glorify Him.  

Parents, let's remember that the children God has blessed us with belong to Him.  Our children are GOD'S HANDIWORK and not our own.  Our children are created to glorify God and not ourselves or themselves.  And everyone, let's remember that all of us are GOD'S HANDIWORK.  We all belong to Him, and everything we say and do should be for His glory and not our own.  God loves us.  God loves us so much that He has saved us from our sins so that we might have life - full and eternal!  Never forget that WE ARE GOD'S HANDIWORK!

This Father's Day

"Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." - 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Back on May 29th, I thought about my dad more than any other day.  On May 29, 1989, my dad died of a massive heart attack.  He was coaching my little brother's baseball game.  About halfway through the game he started having the symptoms of a heart attack.  We called an ambulance, and my older brother and I began walking him to the parking lot.  He didn't make it far, collapsing right behind home plate.  I was a month away from my 16th birthday.  Those early years were tough, and I didn't make them any easier by feeling sorry for myself.  To be honest, there are still many days that are not easy.  I do wish my dad were still here, enjoying those Dodger games and living life with my mom and my brothers and all of his grandchildren.  However, God has been gracious to me and has helped me grow in my faith.  I don't sit around feeling sorry for myself any more; rather, I thank God for my dad.  I thank God for everything my dad showed me and did for me.  I thank God for the memories I have of my dad.

Back on June 10th, I thought about my daughter Hillary more than any other day.  On June 10, 1996, my daughter Hillary was born, and I became a father.  It was one of the most incredible moments in my life.  To see my wife become a mother and to see God's beautiful creation in her arms was something I still have not fully absorbed.  We were overwhelmed as new parents, crying and laughing and fearful and fun.  There are probably many more words I could use to describe us, but you get the point.  However, on November 6, 1989, our daughter Hillary passed away after complications from surgery due to a brain tumor.  To say it with few words and as delicately as possible, we were crushed and broken.  It was the most difficult circumstance we have ever endured in this life.  Much like the times after my dad died, those first few years after Hillary died were tough.  And once again, I didn't make it any easier by feeling sorry for myself.  And once again, to be honest, there are still many days that are not easy.  Hillary would have been twenty-five this year.  I envisioned her as a young woman, maybe married with her own child or children.  I envisioned her living life and working, chasing and catching her dreams.  But over these past few days and weeks, I find myself in a good place.  I thank God for my daughter Hillary.  I thank God for those days, weeks, and months we held Hillary in our arms.  She had big and beautiful brown eyes, and her smile is engraved on my heart and my mind.  Yes, I thank God for everything we experienced as parents of His beautiful creation. 

Another difficult circumstance in this life was watching my father-in-law suffer from cancer.  My father-in-law was a very good man, and he loved me deeply.  I learned so much from him, especially how to love our children.  He loved his daughters and sacrificed greatly for them.  When he died from cancer, we surrounded him and prayed over him.  It was hard for me to watch Marty as she said goodbye to her daddy.  It was hard for me to say goodbye, as well.  Over the years, Marty and I understand how incredibly blessed we were to be there with Mr. Dock and our family.  We are thankful for all of the blessings God gave us with her daddy, with my daddy who just happened to be my in-law.  Yes, I thank God for everything we experienced with Dock Hill and all of the memories that we hold in our hearts and minds.

God has been patient with me.  God has been gracious to me.  God has been good to me.  I am thankful.  I am thankful for Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior.  I thank God for my wife and my children.  I am thankful for the full and the eternal life He has given me.  Are the circumstances always pleasant in this life?  Are the circumstances always easy in this life?  Am I always right and good with my thoughts and actions in this life?  The answer is the same on all of these questions for me: "No."  I thank God for His Word.  His Word is truth.  I love what Paul says to the Thessalonians.  He tells them to "rejoice always."  He tells them to "pray continually."  He tells them to "give thanks in all circumstances."  I love what Dr. David Jeremiah says in his commentary: "Give thanks in all circumstances does not mean giving thanks to God for bad things that happen but realizing God is at work to produce good, even in bad circumstances." And I also believe that as children of God, He is always with us and always for us.  I can look back and say without a doubt that God was with me and for me during the difficult circumstances I faced with my dad and my daughter.  I thank God for His overwhelming presence in my life, both then and now!  I am learning to rejoice always; I am learning to pray continuously; and I am learning to give thanks in all circumstances.  As Father's Day approaches, this Father's Day means even more to me.  This Father's Day is another day for me to choose thankfulness and to live thankfully for God, my Father, who loves me and is always with me and for me!  I love what David says in many of the Psalms, and I will say it today as a prayer and blessing: "Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever."