Category: priorities

Posted in Family, fear, food, friends, Grace, gratitude, life, love, loving others, prayer, priorities, Scripture, thankful, wisdom

Sticker Shock

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23

I was shocked. Most of us are familiar with the term “sticker shock.” That normally applies to cars. You know when we finally decide it is time to shop around for a new vehicle. The air is filled with excitement at the prospect of something new sitting in our driveway. We can feel the neighbor’s admiring smile as they drive by our driveway and admire our new wheels. We can’t wait until we can go to the dealer. There is the car of our dreams. We stop, get out and look and then we see the sticker price and then quickly our dream becomes a nightmare. We quickly get back into our car before we can be accosted by the salesman. We know he is bent on convincing us we can afford the car which is worth just about half the value of our house. Sigh and then sigh some more.

Sticker shock chapter two.  Sometimes it doesn’t take a visit to the auto dealer to experience sticker shock. Sometimes it can be right there in our email inbox.  Just last week I was going through my emails to sort out things I need and things I don’t. I like a nice and neat inbox.  So, I receive several “good deal” emails and occasionally I find some very good deals. Today was not one of those days—but something did catch my eye.

The top of the email advertised a bunch of deals from Amazon—up to 85% off. Well, I learned a long time ago that “up to” doesn’t mean a thing in advertising but still it was intriguing.  I took a look, and something caught my eye—not because it was such a good deal, but because it was a sticker shocker. Amazon was proud to announce that you could buy six regular size Hershey bars for…get ready…hang one…recharge your pacemaker…$5.38.  The regular price was $7.10. I was shocked.

My problem was twofold. First, I guess I don’t buy many candy bars, so I was unaware that candy bars and gold were on the same level these days! Someone reading this will probably think, “Where has this guy been?” Well, apparently on another planet…and that leads to problem two. You see, when I was growing up, and I acknowledge that was a few years ago, I can remember going to the store with my Daddy.  On special occasions he would splurge and buy a six pack of Snicker bars. I suppose it was always Snickers because that was his favorite.  The price was a whopping 49 cents…not for one but for six.

No, I am not stuck in the sixties but the last time I checked candy prices I thought it was like 69 cents…and for the record I thought that was too high.  As you can imagine I had candy bar sticker shock on steroids. The bottom line is everything is going up and everything costs more than it used to so I guess we might as well get used to it.

Of course, there is one thing that is immune from inflation and that is God’s gift of eternal life. Over the centuries it has never gone up…and it never will. You see, when God sent His Son to earth and when His Son willingly died on that Roman cross the price was paid in full. Anyone willing to ask can have the gift free of charge. Imagine all your sins forgiven and wiped away and a forever home in heaven. Oh and did I mention a new Best Friend who will never leave you or forsake you?

I may be shocked about this extravagant gift but not because of sticker shock…but because of love shock. How could the God who made it all pay it all for a world of people who are all unworthy.  And that is the amazing thing.  Because He is God. So, no matter how long your sin list, I hope you will trust and believe and take God up on His amazing offer.  Trust me…He’s got this. Bro. Dewayne

Posted in Family, friends, Grace, gratitude, life, loving others, prayer, pride, priorities, Scripture, thankful, Trials

“Pigdemic”

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every hindrance and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us.” (Hebrews 12:1)

The COVID era was a crazy, crazy thing and time. Nothing so dominated the public’s attention as this, this disaster, this tragedy, this pain in the neck, this maker of our new normalcy like COVID-19.  I eventually caught it twice, but I also caught its first cousin.

Did you know that the pandemic had a first cousin?  Of yes it does.  It is the dreaded…wait for it…pigdemic.  Yup…you read it right.   Pigdemic was a new phenomenon that swept the nation.  It happened when people were forced to stay at home for extended periods of time bored out of their minds.  In this condition, people ate and ate and ate. They ate things that they love, they ate things they like, they ate things they don’t like, and they ate things they have never heard of.   The consequences were weighty.

Clothes magically shrank while hanging in closets, mirrors suddenly made people appear shorter and wider, gravity seemed to take on added strength when people tried to get off the couch and exercise became more difficult, much more difficult.  And that is when I made a self-diagnosis.  I had the pigdemic.  It happened like this.

First, despite my shrinking clothes, I managed to walk 2.5 miles, five or six days a week at a respectable 14-minute mile pace.  Well, one morning, after walking, my wife was going to ride her bike.  I decided I would join her.  After all, riding a bike had to be easier than walking.  So off we went! I was surprised when she was about 40 yards ahead of me and I was panting like a dog on a hot day.  “Hmmmm” I said.  She had to stop and adjust her seat (for which I am eternally grateful) and I told her, “I don’t know if it is because I walked this morning or maybe it is those pesky donuts, but I am tired. This is hard.” She laughed and kindly said it was probably because I had walked.  I was sure it was the donuts.

We kept riding and despite my best efforts, I kept falling behind and I was pretty sure I was going to die.  I was also certain I had the pigdemic.  I wasn’t ready to swear off donuts, but I was close.  Well, I had been hearing a noise coming from my front wheel (which sounded strangely like a pig squealing) but I didn’t think too much about it.  I should have.  I finally told Judy I was going to stop and check out the squealing pig sound.  I did and it turned out my front wheel was off center causing my brake to be about half on. I loosened the front wheel and centered it slightly and got back on.  Two amazing things happened.  The squealing pig was gone and suddenly I could peddle a lot easier.  A whole lot easier.

It turns out I was not about to die from the pigdemic.  It was a brake that was braking when it should have been coasting. I discovered it is amazing when you ride a bike how much harder it is when the brake is on…even a little.  A little braking can quickly break your spirit.  I decided before I ride again, I’m going to check my bike out a little closer and make sure there are no squealing pigs on board.

I wonder if that is what the writer of Hebrews had in mind. He encouraged us to lay aside every weight and every sin that might hinder us from running our race or riding our spiritual bike.  I think it might be.  The weights are things that may not be wrong for us but are just not helpful.  It might be like riding a bike and carrying a ten-pound rock in your basket…just because you like rocks.  Sin, well, we know what sin is. If you are biking it might be like riding with a flat tire.  Not a good idea.  Whether it is rocks or flat tires, the bottom line is life is harder when we carry stuff that we don’t need or that can and will hurt us.

So, if you are riding your bike and there is a sound that sounds like a squealing pig, it probably isn’t the pigdemic.  It’s probably a wheel off-center causing your brake to brake. If life seems a little more difficult, why not ask God and see if you have a rock or two in your basket or worse, a flat tire.  Try praying this prayer from Psalm 139:23-24, “Father, would you search me inside and out, run some tests on me, and see if there is anything hindering me, hurting me?  Would you see if there is something that I’m doing that offends you?  Would you lead me in a way that shows others I am on Your path? Thank-you Father. Amen.”

Now that is one prayer that God wants to answer.  He wants you to peddle through life with the wind at your back, a song in your heart and no squealing pigs on board.  And when you get home you can rest in Him.  Do you know why?  Yup…He’s got this.  Bro. Dewayne

Posted in Family, forgiveness, Grace, gratitude, life, love, prayer, priorities, Scripture, sovereignty of God, thankful, Trials

Choose Wisely

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

But for us, there is one God, the Father, by whom all things were created, and for whom we live. And there is one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things were created, and through Whom we live.” 1 Corinthians 8:6

I’ll take that with extra onions and no pickles.  One of the things I like about fast food is you can usually order your burger or whatever exactly like you want it. You can add extra stuff or leave some stuff off and are you ready for an added benefit?  Well, if you make a special order, for example, if you say, “no pickles” you are almost always guaranteed a fresh meal.  You probably know that many fast-food places keep a short supply of regular sandwiches to speed up service.  Special orders might be a little slower but are well worth the wait.

People like the freedom to choose their fast food just like they like it but think about this.  What about choosing your God? It seems to me that too often we tend to think we can special order God to be exactly how we want Him. You know, not too demanding, always right on time according to our time, tolerant about sin, and understanding about our rebellion.  Well, here’s the deal…God loves you (and the world) but He is not in the business of winking at our sin or compromising His standards. It just ain’t gonna happen.

And trust me, you really wouldn’t want a wishy-washy God and you really don’t want one that you always understand.  After all, if the kind of God you want is no bigger than you…sounds like trouble to me!  I like God to be bigger and wiser and stronger than me. I want a God that is unlimited and unconditional, and the good news is, that is exactly the kind of God He is.

Check this out. Here are just a couple of things that God can do that you can’t do: First, He can give life to the dead. The Bible promises that every person who puts their faith in Jesus will live eternally.  But wait, there is more. If we can give us new life, He can also give new life to a dead marriage or career.  In fact, He can give life to the most lifeless thing in our life.

Second, He can create something out of nothing. In fact,…that is His specialty.  He did it in the beginning and He does it every day.  That’s why it is never out of the realm of possibility with God.  He said Himself, “Nothing is impossible with God.” So, if you happen to be God shopping today, remember to choose One that loves you unconditionally and can do anything. Choose One who can bring life to the lifeless and who can resurrect dead dreams and bust through roadblocks.

When you are looking for a God to worship, be sure and choose One that never makes a mistake and will always be there…choose Jehovah God…the only true God.  Afraid you won’t recognize Him? Just look and listen for the one who declares, “I’ve got this.”  Bro. Dewayne

Posted in Family, Grace, gratitude, life, love, loving others, prayer, priorities, Scripture, sovereignty of God, thankful

Concrete Desert

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” 1 John 4:10

They were all heading straight for disaster, and they didn’t have a clue.  One day, I was walking on our local bike path.  It was early morning but not so early that the sun wasn’t already hot.  It was going to be warm one—especially for Spring.  As I walked, I looked down and saw several, no many, earthworms on the bike trail. They were trying to make it across.

I know, you’re thinking, “Why did the earthworm cross the bike path?”  The answer is “I don’t know but it sure wasn’t going well.”  Some had already bit the bullet and others were in the struggle of their wormy lives.  Most were squirming…doing everything they could to make it to the other side.  The only thing is, I could see what they could not.  They were a long way from home.

I can just imagine one of the worms with the gift of leadership shouting to his friends, “Keep going guys.  You can make it.  Just a little further.”  The trouble is he just didn’t have the whole picture…the view from above.  From his perspective the end was right over there.  From his perspective just a few more inches and they would be home free. Perspectives from ground level are often like that.  That is why we need someone with a better view.

One of the things I love about believing in God is knowing that He has a higher, better view. He can see things that you just can’t see at ground level.  And when He speaks…He speaks true encouragement because He knows what is around the bend or a few days down the road.  God is really good at helping His kids do life.  If only we would learn to listen.  If only…

See, I talked to some of the earthworms as I walked.  I would say things like, “It’s not looking good, partner.”  Or maybe, “Dude, you’re not gonna make it squirming like that.” Then, “Hey, why are you crossing the bike path anyway?”  I just had to ask. Well, no one listened and on they squirmed.  It was going to be a hard day for most of them.

And then, and this is the truth, I would sometimes stop and pitch one or two of them into the cool, wet grass.  It was a random thing that I would do.  I would stop, pick one out, and chuck them to the side.  While not one of them said “thanks” it was enough for me to save him or her from the dreaded concrete desert. It just felt good to save a life—even if it was just an earthworm.  I just hope it wasn’t his cousin I put on a hook last week.

When I thought about this whole perspective and rescue thing I just naturally thought about God.  Along with His great perspective, He cares enough to rescue us.  He wants to rescue every person from an eternity without Him.  I mean He loves us so much…and He loved us before we even thought about loving Him.  The Bible says that we love Him because He first loved us.  He saw all our warts, all our imperfections, all our bad choices and chose to love us anyway.  He loved us before we even promised to try and do things right.  A promise that we could never keep anyway.

Oh, and one more thing.  As I said, I would pick an earthworm to save for no apparent reason.  I just picked one.  God said, “That will never do.” And do you know what, He loved the whole world…everybody…everyone.  Now we still must choose to repent, choose to follow, choose to believe.  But when we do…well, the welcome sign is out.  Welcome home, son.  Welcome home, daughter. And this is the best part.  Should we wander back onto the concrete desert, He doesn’t say, “Good grief or good luck.”  No, He just reaches out, takes us by the hand and pulls us back into the cool, green grass called His presence.  You gotta love that.

Well, I don’t know if you will ever feel compelled to rescue an earthworm or not.  But the next time you see one on the sidewalk on a too warm Spring Day, just remember the time He rescued you.  Remember the time He didn’t leave you out in the heat to become a crispy critter.  No, He reached down and picked you up.  Isn’t it great to have a God that cares? That you can rest in?  That’s got this. Yup…I know it’s so. Bro. Dewayne

Posted in Family, fear, friends, Grace, gratitude, life, love, loving others, Military memories, prayer, priorities, Scripture, Southern born, sovereignty of God, thankful, Trials

Forty

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each morning.” Lamentations 3:22-23

It was a crazy consequence…or was it. I was sitting at the computer trying to figure out what to write. I thought about the eclipse, but I hit that a couple of days prior and it was rapidly disappearing in the rearview mirror, and it wasn’t due to reappear in our area for another 375 years.  I’m pretty sure that none of us, or the sun, moon, and earth for that matter, will be around for that one! So, after pondering for a few minutes, I realized that something important had happened in my life and I should share.

On Sunday, April the 7th, I shared with the church family that I was planning on starting the next chapter in our Jesus journey. I would be stepping down as Senior Pastor after 24 years.  Oh, it wasn’t a sudden decision. Judy and I had been praying and talking and talking and praying about it for more than a few months and we felt it was time for us to surrender to whatever the Lord has next for us. So, we waved the white flag.  What makes it easier for us is that if the Lord is willing, we are going to hang around and be a part of the Dorrisville family.

Well, anyway, about that consequence thing.  I realized that in April of 1984 (as in exactly forty years or four decades ago) I began my final preparations to leave the Air Force to begin my new life as a full-time vocational pastor.  Now trust me…that was a giant leap. At that time my wife Judy and I had two small daughters, ages three and two. We were leaving something we dearly loved, the Air Force, and jumped into a world with no health insurance and a much smaller income. While on the surface I was confident I was also very nervous.

Well God was more than faithful and now we find ourselves once again jumping and once again leaving something we dearly love (our vocational career as pastor and wife). The big truth is that the same God that was faithful forty years ago is faithful today. The same God who led us to four wonderful congregations over the last forty-two years, will lead us till the sun sets.  And yes, the same God who took care of us as we raised our girls will take care of in the coming days.  Just as a standby I told a couple of our deacons to be ready—we might have to move in with them. Smile.

So, God’s timing is always perfect.  If you do a little research in the Bible, you will find that more than a few times the number forty is a big deal! One of my favorites is the fact that Jesus stuck around after His resurrection for forty days just to encourage His disciples.  How great is that. I think He timed this out so I could remember His faithfulness and take another leap of faith.  I’m sure there are many more Grits stories coming and I am also sure some of them will speak of His faithfulness. Our desire is to finish well…celebrating each day and remembering that God is good, God is faithful, and God can be trusted.  If you find yourself at a place where it is time to jump into the unknown, and surrender, don’t worry, you can rest assured that, “He’s got this.” Bro. Dewayne

Posted in Family, fear, friends, gratitude, life, priorities, Scripture, thankful

What Do You Want?

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

Then Jesus answered him, “What do you want Me to do for you?” Mark 10:51

What can I do for you?  It seemed like an odd question but really it wasn’t.  The other day I was at the doctor’s office accompanied by my wife Judy.  The wait in the waiting room was very short and as always, the first stop was the stupid scale.  You can tell this is not my favorite part of any doctor visit but regardless it is part of the deal. After making me face my weight, she took us back to the screening room where she asked questions, and I gave answers. She did a great job and soon we were waiting for the doctor to come in.

The wait wasn’t too long and when he came in, I could sense he was a good guy.  This visit was to begin to hopefully write the final chapter about my pancreas and an abnormally high-test result.  He was a specialist dealing with all the various parts of the human digestive system so I was a little surprised when he asked, “Now, what can I do for you?”  See what I mean about seeming a bit odd.  You are a doctor, and I am a patient…either tell me I’m not broke or fix me. But I wasn’t perturbed by his question…in fact, I was pleased. He wanted to know how things looked and felt from my perspective and I valued that.

Well, we had a great conversation and like our nurse friend, he asked a lot of questions, and I gave him a lot of answers. After a while, he made several suggestions concerning a few more tests to make sure that things were good and, in the end, I felt like he cared and that he understood my need. And, get this, it all started with that odd question, “What can I do for you.”

There’s a story in the Bible with the same question and it might seem crazy too. A blind guy is sitting by the road, and he hears Jesus coming by. He begins to holler asking Jesus to stop and heal him. Jesus calls for him and members of the crowd lead him to the Healer and that is when Jesus asks the question, “What do you want me to do for you?” It might seem obvious since obviously the guy is blind, but Jesus wanted him to acknowledge his need. After all, he might have wanted a new walking stick or seeing eye donkey.  No, Jesus wanted the man to say it, express it—I want to see. So, the guy says exactly that, Jesus heals the guy and well, it was a pretty happy ending.

Sometimes asking the right question is important…very important. Jesus was the master of everything He did and that included asking the right question. I wonder if that is something we need to learn to do better. I wonder if it would help us help others. I am sure it would. I sometimes have the tendency to start talking when I should have continued listening. Our interactions with people—husbands, wives, kids, friends, even strangers are more important than we realize. You can bet that God is great at this. Go ahead, have a conversation, ask a question. He will surely want to know what you really need, and then He’ll let you know…He’s got this.  Bro. Dewayne

Read more from our blog: Grits with Grace – short stories with big truths

Posted in Family, friends, Grace, gratitude, life, prayer, priorities, Scripture, sovereignty of God, spring, thankful, travel

Everyday Miracles

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

You are the God who performs miracles.” Psalm 77:14a

It was a miracle of nature.  Yesterday afternoon a rarity of rarities happened across a somewhat narrow band of the United States.  It started down in Texas and swept, at well over 1,000 miles an hour, up through the Ohio valley before finally exiting in Maine.  It was a total eclipse of the sun and while it does happen…it doesn’t happen often.

The last one we experienced was in 2017 and where I live, Harrisburg, Illinois, well, we just happened to be in the crosshairs of the event. People from all over came to see what was happening right in my backyard.  Then, and long before then, they knew it was going to happen again in 2024 and amazingly once again our part of the world was right in crosshairs. God blessed us with clear skies and what we saw was simply amazing.

A google search says on average, it takes about 375 years for a total solar eclipse to happen again at the same location. Wow, 375 years. That is amazing. An eclipse happens when the moon comes between the earth and sun and that shadow sweeps across the earth and in 2017 and in 2024 that happened to be North America and it happened to be right where my wife Judy and I live.  What some people never see—we got to see twice.

The swath of the shadow isn’t very wide, so you must be in the right place at the right time to experience it. And then there is the question of the weather. People from everywhere booked places to stay and bought tickets to get to an area where this rarity of rarities was happening. But if the weather didn’t cooperate…well the deal was off. Texas drew the joker with cloud cover and storms.  Other parts of the country drew aces with few or no clouds.  They got to see the whole show and we were among them.

Clouds or no clouds, even rain or no rain, those in the path of the shadow got to experience a time when daylight literally became dark. It was totally eerie. Birds bedded down and the ducks and geese that live in our city park, where we were watching, acted strangely as we experienced night in the middle of the day. For those with clear skies the miracle was amazingly clear…for others, well, it wasn’t.  All in the path experienced the phenomenon but some couldn’t see it or all of it and that, friend, is the big truth for today.  You see, every day, miracles happen all around us and sometimes we take note, and sometimes we don’t but that doesn’t mean they are not there.  If solar eclipses happened all the time, we wouldn’t give them the time of day and that is one reason we miss so much of God’s miraculous work in our world and lives.

Hans Christan Anderson said, “The whole world is a series of miracles, but we’re so used to them we call them ordinary things.” Well, he was spot on, and the sadness is when the miraculous becomes ordinary—life loses so much of its allure—a new baby becomes ordinary and a beautiful sunrise or sunset garners only a yawn.  Years before yesterday’s big event people were planning and talking about it.  They didn’t want to miss something that wouldn’t happen in North America for another twenty years.  They didn’t want to miss the miracle. Let’s live in such a way that we don’t either. Let’s keep our eyes on the Son and His Father and surrender to the miracle guide, the Holy Spirit, and trust, and believe that, “He’s got this.” Bro. Dewayne

Posted in Family, forgiveness, Grace, gratitude, life, love, loving others, missions, prayer, priorities, Scripture, thankful, Trials, wisdom

Don’t Let the Door Close

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man.” Genesis 6:3a

It was going to be close. It is something that happens more often than we think.  We are in a building…a tall building…the kind that has an elevator. We are in a hurry, and we look across the lobby and see the door is standing open…as if waiting for us. What a blessing, what a time saver.  We pick up our pace a bit and just a couple of yards from the door, it closes and begins its journey upward…without you. Does this ring a bell? Or maybe the scene is a city bus waiting at the stop and again you think, “What perfect timing” until you hear the airbrakes release and see the door close, and you are left behind in a cloud of stinky diesel exhaust. Yuk.

One of my favorite travel memories was when we were on a mission trip passing through London.  We hopped onto the tube (what British folks call their subway) and were sitting passively waiting for the car to move.  Suddenly, our team leader jumped up and indicated we were to follow him.  Just as he got to the door, it began to close, and he threw himself into the gap, blocking the door from closing. It turned out we were on the wrong train and his selfless action allowed us to jump off and get on the right train!

Sometimes closing doors are just an inconvenience…like elevators, busses, and subways but sometimes it can have a much larger, more dangerous consequence. I’ve long believed that whether it is about a relationship with Him or a change of course in our lives, God opens and closes doorways for us.  I’ve seen this happen in church.  People will wake up one day and decide to start going to church again. They get dressed, drive to wherever, and walk through the door. To their surprise they like what they find and hear and leave wondering why they ever left. They regularly attend for the next few weeks or months and then suddenly they don’t. What happened?

When people rediscover the reality of God, He usually calls them to some sort of decision. It might be a first-time relationship or a return home.  Even folks who regularly attend might find themselves drawn to a new and deeper relationship with their heavenly Father but here is the big truth. In both cases, if the person fails to act, often the door closes…the fire cools…the passion dissipates and suddenly and sadly, an opportunity is missed.

There is a verse tucked away in Genesis that says, “And the Lord said, My Spirit shall not always strive with man” and while the context is not perfect, the truth is. God calls all of us at one time or another, but He doesn’t call forever.  When you feel God talking to you, I hope you and I both will have the wisdom to respond. Whether to come home for the first time or for the hundredth time, when He is speaking, we should be listening…and responding. God is so patient with us, but He does expect us to respond and that is always a good idea.  You see, no matter what or why He is calling we can have the assurance that it is for our good and that means…He’s got this.  Bro. Dewayne 

Posted in fear, forgiveness, life, prayer, pride, priorities, Scripture, Trials

Pilate

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

Pilate said, “So you are a king?” Jesus responded, “You say I am a king. Actually, I was born and came into the world to testify to the truth. All who love the truth recognize that what I say is true.” “What is truth?” Pilate asked. John 18:37-38a

I am a fan of history but that doesn’t mean I know a lot.  I really do like to investigate things of the past. To me it is always fascinating to peer into the past and discover how things happened…or didn’t happen.  And, of course, there is the learning factor.  If we are wise, we can look back and learn. It has been said that those who don’t learn from the past are destined to repeat it. That can be a deal, or no deal but it can also be a tragedy.

I was reading a devotion from Pastor Greg Laurie recently.  He has a great ministry out in California, and he was writing about a guy we think a lot about—especially at this time of the year. His name—Pilate. He plays a minor major role in the Easter story.  He was the Roman leader that interrogated Jesus asking, “What is truth” and then washed his hands, figuratively and physically, of the whole Jesus affair.  In so doing, he condemned Jesus to the cross and by personally rejecting Jesus—he condemned himself to an eternity without God.

In the Roman world, men like Pilate, placed in power by a totally corrupt empire, thought themselves as gods.  They held absolute power and sway over people and their lives. Offend them and you probably would pay heavily for it. I can imagine Pilate that day somewhat drunk with power as he presided over the fate of Jesus. We can see he did wrestle with the decision but in the end, securing his continued power was all that mattered. He couldn’t risk making Rome mad, so he threw Jesus, so to speak, to the dogs.

I never considered what happened to Pilate, but Laurie sheds some light on the matter. He writes, “Pilate gave up everything for power and prestige. And how did it work out for him? According to history, he ultimately suffered banishment from high office to a place called Gaul. There, he was left broken and destitute, unwanted by Caesar, and all alone.”

But wait, there is more, much more. Laurie continues, “One night, under the cover of darkness, Pontius Pilate, the great Roman governor who could have received forgiveness from the Son of God, went out and hung himself. A workman found his body. His craving for popularity cost him everything. Had he chosen to, he could have believed in Jesus on the spot, and Jesus would have forgiven him.”

What an incredibly sad ending to a sad story. If there ever is a time when we need to learn from the past…it is here and it is now. If you are pondering the reality of Jesus and whether to follow Him or reject Him, if you are wondering if it is truly worth it or not, if you are weighing the price, remember Pilate. He indeed gave up everything for power and prestige. There is a song that asks, “What will you do with Jesus, neutral you cannot be. One day your heart will be asking, “What will He do with me, what will He do with me.” God is inviting you into His family. Worried you messed up too much?  You don’t need to. He’s got this.  Bro. Dewayne

Posted in fear, forgiveness, friends, Grace, gratitude, heaven, life, love, loving others, prayer, priorities, Scripture, thankful, Trials, wisdom

Crosses

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but it is the power of God to us who are being saved.” 1 Corinthians 1:18

Crosses. It seems everywhere you look you can see one. As my wife Judy and I were driving back from the Holy Land (aka the south), part out of boredom and part out of curiosity, I would slowly scan the landscape to see what I could see.  It was then that I saw them.  Poked in the ground were three wooden crosses.  They were weather faded and had shifted in the dirt…lazily leaning to one side and then the other.  When I saw them, I sighed, heavily because of what they meant.  At that spot, sometime in the not-too-distant past…three people had lost their lives.

I didn’t know if they were young or old, black, or white, rich or poor.  I didn’t need to know that because all that mattered was three people in a flash of a moment slipped into eternity, most likely with little or no warning. Those crosses and so many others I saw that day and other days always meant one thing—someone had died. Suddenly they were ushered into an eternity with or without God and that with or without was and is such a heavy thought. Eternity with God would mean eternal life and eternity without Him could only mean a forever separation in a place not made for man but for his enemy—Satan.

These words, these thoughts should weigh heavily on us for eternity without God is a grievous thing—a heart breaking thing. One thing is certain—it weighs heavy on the heart of God. I know this because of what happened a couple of thousand years ago on a rugged outcrop outside of Jerusalem.  There a man, a perfect man, the God man died so that no one had to be separated from God ever again.  His death made it possible for anyone and everyone to receive the gift of eternal life and forgiveness. Think about that whenever you see a cross…for it means Someone died and that Someone was Jesus.

So, if you wear a gold cross or one decorated with jewels or if you have one hung somewhere in your home never, never forget what it means…Someone died. Can I encourage you to go one step further—even if you don’t know God or believe in Him?  Can I encourage you to remember why people, lots of people wear a cross, or hang a cross? Well, whether they acknowledge it or not—they are making a statement about a God who loved the world so much that He sent His Son to this earth for one purpose—to die on a Roman cross. Not murdered, not martyred, He went there and died there because He loved you and me. That is simply amazing. And trust me…a God like that can handle anything including your toughest questions.  He’s got that.  Bro. Dewayne