Category: Scripture

Posted in Scripture, life, Family, gratitude, friends, marriage

Fifty Years–The Great Adventure

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also praises her. Many women have done noble deeds, but you surpass them all! Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the LORD will be praised.” Proverbs 31:28-30

It’s not always easy. So imagine you are Shakespeare and you are drawn to write a romantic scene for the ages. In your mind you see a beautiful, young maid standing on a balcony and below a charming prince. Both are madly in love with the other but what do you say, what do you write? You settle on, “Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?” Well, it probably wouldn’t have been my first choice, but hey, it surely was a crowd favorite. Ok, let’s try again.

This time you are a lawyer and a writer. It is 1814 and you are watching as the British bombard Fort McHenry in Baltimore during the War of 1812. The outcome of battle seems in doubt.  You wonder if the young nation will survive the nigh? As dawn begins to light the sky, He was inspired after seeing the American flag still flying over the fort. His poem describing the battle and the American victory was published within a week with the suggested tune of the popular song “To Anacreon in Heaven”. The song with Key’s lyrics became known as “The Star-Spangled Banner” and slowly gained in popularity as an unofficial anthem. It finally achieved official status as the national anthem more than a century later in 1931. But finding the right words just couldn’t have been easy.

Now imagine you are celebrating 50 years, five decades, of marriage and you find yourself trying, struggling to find the right words to put to paper. You know and every person in your world knows, that when you met and married Judy Dawn Allen you married up–way up. And honestly, we both know that we did absolutely nothing to deserve the blessings and grace that God has poured on our lives. We were two young kids, she younger than me, and by grace we were able to follow Him down a path that cannot be any less than amazing.

We walked together down the path of twelve years in the military. I can tell you two things. They were lean years and yet they were some of the best years. Then God whispered and we jumped from the security of the Air Force into the arms of our Dearest Daddy. Together we served four churches, I pastored and she ministered and all four opportunities were a pastor and wife’s dream. No we weren’t perfect, neither were our congregations but we all loved Jesus and each other and that was more than enough.

Along the way, God blessed us with three incredible daughters and sons-in-law and eight grandchildren. When we get together we are a little wild and a little crazy but that is what makes our tribe a great tribe. In my middle daughter’s home there is a writing that says, “In this house…we are real, we make mistakes, we say I’m sorry, we are silly, we have fun, we give hugs, we give second chances, we forgive, we laugh a lot, we love each other–we are a family.” The truth is that is true most of the time. But even if we get off course…we always find our way back to true north.

I’ve said it before and I will say it again. If you want to stay married for fifty years there are three important things. First, keep breathing. Second, keep God dead center in your marriage universe. Believe what He says, do what He says and love Him like crazy. Finally, be sure and marry an incredible person–like Judy Dawn Allen. Any success I’ve enjoyed in the military and in the pastorate and any success our children have enjoyed so far in life can be directly traced back to my wife and their mother.

Judy–thank you for sharing these decades with me. These words, straight from the depths of my soul, still fall short of describing my deep love for you. Short of God’s grace and mercy and His salvation of my soul, you are His greatest gift to me. And I am sure you are a key partner with Him as you both have assured me over and over again that, “We’ve got this.” I love you. Dewayne 

Posted in communication, Family, life, Military memories, Scripture

Left, Right, Left

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.” Galatians 5:25

Keeping in step has been a part of my life since I was in eighth grade. I suppose it all started with the Emerald Buccaneers. They were a drum and bugle corp that my sisters and I belonged to in Jacksonville, Florida. We would toot our horns and bang our drums and do our best to stay in step. In fact, I believe stepping together was just about as important as playing together. Anyway, we learned to march.

My big, and I do mean big, lesson in marching came when I joined the Air Force in 1972. Starting with day one we were drilled and drilled some more on the fine art of keeping in step. I can still hear our drill sergeant as he called the cadence, ” Left, right left.” For some this marching thing came pretty quickly–for others, well, not so. For me, because of my experience with the Buccaneers, it came pretty easily which is pretty amazing since I have exactly zero rhythm.

It was relatively easy for the drill sergeant or the drum major to tell if we were in step or not.  If our heads were bobbling and bouncing around he knew we were out of step. When our heads were steady…well, we were. When we were out of step, he would occasionally count the cadence to help us get back in step–left, left, left, right left. Shortly, and hopefully we were once again marching as one.

The other day I was reading one of my devotions and rediscovered a great verse in the Bible. It was written by Paul, a guy in the Bible, to the church that was located in Galatia. In Galatians 5:25 he wrote two important things in fifteen words. The first was, “If we live by the Spirit.” It might be better translated, “If we want to live by the Spirit.” The Spirit of course is the Holy Spirit and in many ways He is like my drill sergeant in the Air Force or my drum major in the Emerald Buccaneers. One of His jobs is to help us keep in step with the Father, and the Son, and of course, the Holy Spirit. And the bottom line is this. If we want to live in the power, and peace, and wisdom of the Holy Spirit, we have to learn to walk in step with Him. Walk in step with Him and experience the essence of what the Christian life, or walk, is all about.

When we marched in the Air Force and in the Emerald Buccaneers, we had to learn to listen. Marching wasn’t a time to left your mind wander. Wandering minds always led to bobbling heads and bobbling heads always meant we weren’t in step. There isn’t a great mystery to keeping in step with the Holy Spirit.  It begins and ends with us committing our heart and spiritual ears to Him. We learn to listen when He speaks. His voice may not be audible but it is certainly real. Learn to listen and you may hear two distinct things. First, a spiritual left, right, left. Translated it simple means, “Walk with me, step by step by step. The second thing you will hear, if your listen carefully, will be His calm assurance not to worry because, “He’s got this.” Bro. Dewayne

Posted in communication, Scripture, Trials

Watch Your Fingers

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless.”  James 1:26 

It sure hurt. It sure was embarrassing. I know all of us, and I do mean all of us, have done things that were just down right embarrassing. Some of them were rather public and some were private but they were embarrassing just the same. And then some of us have done some things that were painful and embarrassing and that is today’s story.

I’m a people watcher and I think that is largely because all people have stories and sometimes those stories are part of their physical appearance. Have you ever been standing in line at the grocery store and noticed that the guy in front of you had a banged up finger nail? By that I mean one or more of the nails on one of his hands was black or even missing. Well, I certainly have and I always wonder what happened. Most times I have to resist the urge to ask them what happened. You know, did you hit your finger with a hammer? Did you slam your finger in a car door? Did you drop something on it? You get the idea. I guess I am just curious like that.

Well, if you look on my left hand and my middle finger, you will notice a small but definitive spot under my finger nail. It isn’t big enough for you really to notice unless you were looking. Well, this week something happened that caused me to join the painful and embarrassing club. It goes like this. I had just gotten home from a stay in Vienna (remember this is the one in Illinois and not in Austria). I couldn’t find my shaving kit so I called my wife Judy and she suggested I go check again in the car. I was munching on a piece of toast as I went. After checking the car, I closed the trunk and was heading back to the house. There was one bite of toast left so I chucked it in my mouth and, get ready, chomped down before my finger was out of the way. I bit my own finger. My front incisor came down right on my finger nail and let me tell you–it hurt.

I’m pretty sure in the annals of my life history I had never before bit my own finger. I’m also pretty sure I never want to do it again. Almost immediately a dark spot appeared under my nail. I’m glad to report I didn’t cuss but it may have crossed my mind. Smile. So for the next half hour or so, my finger throbbed and I kept checking to see if my nail was going to fall off. Gratefully it did not nor does it appear to be a threat but it will be a long time before I forget how painfully embarrassing that was.

The most amazing thing was to realize just how much downward biting force my mouth had. I simply didn’t realize how strong my jaw muscles are. I’ve seen those shows about alligators but I’m pretty sure they’ve got nothing on me. And then a bell went off in my head–as deadly as my bite might be–my careless words, my harsh and unkind comments are worse–much worse. James, the half brother of Jesus tells us, “And among all the parts of the body, the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself. People can tame all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and fish, but no one can tame the tongue. It is restless and evil, full of deadly poison.” Now that is a hard but powerful truth.

So two bits of advice come from this story. First…don’t bite your finger. It will definitely hurt and if you do–don’t tell anyone. Oops. Second, if you do bite your finger or if you know someone who did, learn from their mistake. The tongue that resides in the mouth can cause more pain than your bite can. Honesty, it is very hard to control the tongue but I know someone who can help us. If we are Jesus followers, He’s our Dearest Daddy and He can and will help us do this difficult task. You might say, “He’s got this.” Chomp! Bro. Dewayne

Posted in Family, friends, life, love, loving others, marriage, Scripture

The Power of Remembering

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “But then I recall all You have done, O LORD; I remember Your wonderful deeds of long ago. They are constantly in my thoughts. I cannot stop thinking about Your mighty works.” Psalm 77:11-12

Remember not to forget. You know, God is big on this remembering thing. When Jesus was just about done with His mission here, He met with His disciples on a Thursday night and did two important things. He washed their feet and served them a special supper. Washing their feet was to remind them that they were supposed to serve one another. And, just in case, one or two or all of them thought they were too important to serve He told them just like He the Master was willing to wash their feet so they should be ready and willing to wash the feet of others. Just a gentle nudge in the right direction. They would need it.

He also served supper that night. It was a simple affair jam packed with meaning. He took a loaf of bread and invited them to have a piece. He explained that the bread represented His body that would soon be broken on a Roman cross. Then, He gave them a sip of wine and explained that the wine represented His blood that would soon be spilt on a Roman cross. He told them as often as they ate the bread or drank the wine, they should remember–remember Him, remember what He did and why He did it. They would need that too.

While there are plenty of things we need to forget–you know, the sticks and stones and broken bones caused by harsh words and actions of friends and enemies, there are plenty of things we need to remember. In other words we need to forget the bad stuff done to us and remember the good things done for us. Let the bad go and hug the good. That is true with God stuff but it is just as true in our daily walk about life. And, it is especially true in love and marriage.

Recently I discovered something that was literally a game changer. When they invented the iPhone and all its cousins, they also invented the portable, go anywhere camera. If you are like most people we now can snap digital pictures all day long. Snap one here and snap one there. They have no development fees so feel free to snap away. Unfortunately we tend to never look at them. They are usually just filed away. Well, this game changer is a feature featured on my iPhone. Let me explain.

You see, I have the ability to search for all the pictures I have on my phone of my sweet wife Judy. Then, I can tell the iPhone to show them when I mash the magic button to turn the screen on. Wait there is more. Then I can tell it to show a different picture every time I do that. So whenever I get ready to use my phone, a different picture of a different adventure with my wife Judy shows up on the screen. Each one reminds me in full and living color of why I love her so much–and why I love our live together. It has been like a fresh breeze of our lives together and it is awesome.

So, if you have a smartphone, be sure and see if it has this feature and turn it on. You can choose your spouse, your kids or both of them, your pet, or your walk about life. But in the process you are going to remember all the things we have to be thankful for–and most likely–it will be a bunch. Oh, and you are also going to be reminded how many times God has whispered in your ear, “Don’t worry, I’ve got this” and that will be a whole bunch too.  Bro. Dewayne

Posted in Scripture, life, Family, gratitude, Father's Day

My Daddy

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

“You are the salt of the earth.” Matthew 5:13a

I think you would have liked my Daddy. With yesterday being Father’s Day and all, I just felt like I needed to tell you a little bit about my Daddy. On a Sunday morning in 1974, he up and moved to heaven. As far as I was concerned we both were too young.  He was 62 and I was 20. If I was to try and describe my Daddy I would probably go to the Bible and look at some of the characters there because my Daddy believed the Bible and in a very good way, my Daddy was a character.

My Daddy was like Adam–the very first man in the Bible. While there is a lot to be said for Adam the one think that sticks out to me was that he was a hard worker and so was my Daddy. Everyday, without question, he would get up and go to work at the Jacksonville Naval Air Station where he worked on jet engines. His shop was not air conditioned and since it was Florida it could get kinda hot and humid. It was my Daddy who taught me to value work. He was the one who taught me to take the family push mower and go from house to house knocking on doors and asking, “Sir or Ma’am, would you like your grass mowed for $2.00?” Yup, I made and spent a lot of money mowing grass. He’s also the one who taught me to get a job washing dishes at a local restaurant for seventy-five cents an hours and to bag groceries for a dollar an hour. My Daddy, like Adam, knew the value of hard work.

Oh, and the fella in the Bible who built things like an ark–my Daddy was like him too. No, my Daddy didn’t build an ark but he sure knew how to built a home. He and Momma put their lives together and eight kids later made a home. Neither one of them was perfect but they sure did love us a lot. They sacrificed so much and made sure that the house we had, an old repurposed Army barracks, was not a house but a home. Together they built a marriage and home and taught us to love one another–even when it was hard. My Momma and Daddy both knew the value of love.

My Daddy was also like that guy in the Bible named David who was a giant killer. When one of them, Goliath, decided to challenge God and His people, David took a couple of rocks and took care of him. Giants didn’t bother David and they didn’t bother my Daddy either. Raising eight kids wasn’t easy–in fact you could probably say it was ginormous. Plenty of times, despite all he did, there was more month than money but somehow the lights stayed on and the table was always set. When his heart gave out and he had to retire, he would work all night as a security guard just to make sure we stayed afloat. My Daddy knew the value of keeping his family secure–even when it meant killing giants.

When Jesus was teaching that day on the side of mountain, he looked at the people and all the daddies there and said to them, “You are the salt of the earth.” He was telling them that they were the foundation of all that He was about to do and teach. My Daddy would have fit right in there because he was the foundation of my small part of the world. I remember the time I came in from a late night date and he was praying at the kitchen table. I also remember the time he was leading us in family worship and he was kneeling at his chair talking to God. Those are precious memories. My Daddy was indeed the salt of the earth. He was a good man who loved God, loved Jesus and loved me. And along his life journey, he learned and taught me that no matter what, our Dearest Daddy could be trusted and could and would say, “Don’t worry…I’ve got this.” Bro. Dewayne

Posted in communication, forgiveness, life, Scripture

2 Peter 3:9–Freedom from Sin

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “The Lord does not delay His promise, as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9

It’s the new kid on the block. The United States has many federal holidays. Some have been around forever while others are relatively new. Juneteenth is one of those. Juneteenth, officially known as Juneteenth National Independence Day, is a federal holiday in the United States. We celebrate it every year on June 19th to remember the end of slavery in our country. The name “Juneteenth” was first used in the 1890s and is a mix of “June” and “nineteenth,” which refers to June 19, 1865. That’s when Major General Gordon Granger made sure the Emancipation Proclamation was finally enforced in Texas, the final enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation in Texas at the end of the American Civil War.

Juneteenth was recognized as a federal holiday in 2021, when the 117th U.S. Congress enacted and President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law. Juneteenth became the first new federal holiday since Martin Luther King Jr. Day was adopted in 1983. I have to admit that at first I didn’t realize it was a national holiday and I surely didn’t really know what it meant. When I grasped the meaning and understood it marked the end of slavery in the United States, well, it took on a whole new meaning. Slavery, one of the great sins of our nation, was finally outlawed. Though it didn’t solve the racism problem in our country it was a giant step in the right direction. Martin Luther once said that he had a dream and prayerfully one day that dream will come true.

Sometimes dreams come at a great price. When I thought about Juneteenth I also thought about the fact that God sent His Son Jesus to set men free. Since the garden, mankind has been enslaved to sin and there was nothing we could do. There was no escaping it–no defeating it. But when Jesus came, died, and resurrected on that first Easter morning–that changed everything. Listen carefully–Jesus came to set men, women and children free.

In John 14:6, Jesus calls Himself the Way, the Truth and the Life and if we are willing to place our faith and trust in Him we can be genuinely free. Jesus said in John 8:32, “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” That is what adds such power to what Jesus said in John 14:6–Jesus is the truth and knowing Him will set you free. How about that? Not being good, not being religious, not keeping the rules–just knowing the Truth–just knowing Jesus.

2 Peter 3:9 says, “The Lord does not delay His promise, as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance.” God is holding back His judgment to give each person the opportunity to experience a day of freedom from the bondage of sin. For that to happen, each person has to turn to Him for forgiveness. So why not let God give you your own Juneteenth Independence Day? Why not surrender your life to Him? No matter your sin debt, He can handle it. Rest assured, He’s got that! Bro. Dewayne

Posted in Scripture, Grace, thankful, gratitude, heaven

Cuddling Up with God

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the expanse proclaims the work of His hands.” Psalm 19:1

We were snuggled under a blanket. So this week we are in Vienna (not Italy but Illinois for our bigger world readers) taking care of the grand dogs while the the family is down in Florida on vacation. Zoe and Riley are pretty special pups and we love watching them. Becca and Jon live just outside a quiet Southern Illinois town in an equally quiet neighborhood. Since we live in the center of our small town…we love the quietness.

Last night I was snuggled down on the couch under a blanket. The air conditioning and the ceiling fan were both cool enough to make it feel nice and cozy. In fact, we love to sleep cool. We have four, that is right four, fans in our bedroom and each night we turn the air conditioning down. In the winter, it is not uncommon for us to open a window or two to let the cool and sometimes cold air in. Why do we do it? Because we love to cuddle down under a quilt or blanket to sleep!

So it was kinda natural that I had rounded up a blanket to cuddle with on the couch. So there I was cuddling when suddenly I heard, and the the the pups heard, a knock at the back door. They kicked into guard dog mode and I looked over at the door only to see my wife Judy outside. I went to the door and opened it and asked the obvious question, “What are you doing outside?” Well, it turned out that she had gone outside to see what God was doing that night and the door had locked behind her.

She said, “Dewayne, you need to come out and see the stars.” Well, I really wanted to go back to my cuddling on the couch but I decided I needed to see what she was seeing. I stepped out and there, in the darker darkness of the country side, was a sky full of beautiful and bright stars. I was overwhelmed. It instantly reminded me of the starry skies I would see in Africa. Well, anyway, we sat down and were amazed. The skies were just ablaze with God’s creation and they were all shouting His glory. As we watched, we saw several satellites making their silent but fast journey across the night sky. I was blessed to see a shooting star shoot across the sky. It all was just amazing and I told Judy I was so glad she shared it with me. If I had stayed inside I would have missed all. And then it occurred to me.

Just like I was cuddled under a blanket on the couch, there I sat cuddling under a blanket of stars filled with amazement at the wonderful, great God we served. I quoted Psalm 19:1 that says, “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the expanse proclaims the work of His hands.” And I knew for certain it was so. It was like listening to the finest choir singing the finest hymns of praise–all directed toward Him.

Well, after a while, we went inside–hoping for a repeat performance on another night soon. Cuddling up with God under His blanket of stars was so overwhelming and yet peaceful. Just like cuddling under a warm blanket on a cool night, so cuddling with the creator of the universe is beyond worlds. I felt safe and satisfied knowing that no matter what, I can rest with Him because, “He’s got this.”  Bro. Dewayne

Posted in communication, food, life, missions, Scripture

The Life of the Firefly

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making His appeal through us. We plead on Christ’s behalf, “Be reconciled to God.” 2 Corinthians 5:20

I’m glad I wasn’t born a firefly. One of the joys of summer occurs either late May or early June. It is about that time that fireflies, or as I was raised to call them lightening bugs, make their appearance. Each evening as the sun sets, these fellows make their appearance and turn the evening from mundane to exciting. But you had better look fast because their act doesn’t act too long. It goes something like this.

Lightening bugs begin their journey as larva in the ground. In fact, they live there for two whole years. During that time they apparently dig around and eat grubs and things. Their whole existence is a time of preparation for what comes next. After about two years, something tells them its time to surface and they transform and emerge from the ground as lightening bugs. Now listen to this. First, they only live for about 20 to 25 days. That’s it. And the object of their whole existence above ground is to find a girl lightening bug and start a family. Once that is done…so are they. But wait…there is more.

Would you believe that when they emerge from the ground in their lightening bug bodies–they don’t eat. In fact, when their metamorphosis is done they don’t have a digestive tract and no way to eat or process food. Remember how I said those two years were all preparation for their next life? Well that apparently includes nutrition. So, no fried chicken or pecan pie for them. All they do is fly around, lighting up, trying to impress the girls. Imagine that…not eating. Ever.

I guess that means a lightening bug would be a really poor Baptist because everyone knows that a Baptist loves to eat. You give a Baptist a potluck dinner and it is party on. But not for Mister Lightening Bug–nope–and that is not only sad but hard to believe. Am I the only one who is trying to figure out why God created them that way? Well, it seems to me that God knew they might get side tracked if there were potlucks and the one thing that mattered wasn’t potlucking but rather starting a family.

Fortunately God didn’t think it necessary to try that trick with us. He has challenged us and trusted us with sharing the good news of the Gospel with the world around us. And truthfully…we do indeed get sidetracked. So how do we keep the main thing the main thing? We learn to listen to the Holy Spirit who lives in every person who believes in Christ. And then we listen to the heart of our Dearest Daddy as we read His word. When we pray, “Father help me to keep the main thing the main thing, His reply will always be, “Don’t worry…I’ve got that.”  Bro. Dewayne

Posted in forgiveness, Grace, life, Scripture, spiritual battles, Trials

Interest and Consequences

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

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

There’s a couple of things you ought to know. First, the devil is not your friend…ever. No matter what he says, no matter what he promises. Someone once said the only constant in this world is change. Check. And that is true in the physical world but in the spiritual world there are two constants–God is good and Satan is a liar. The second thing you ought to know is that sin is always a bad deal. No matter how good it sounds or how good it feels…it is a bad deal. Let me illustrate that for you.

So imagine you get your credit card bill in the mail. Imagine you had several large purchases that month. Even though you try and pay it off every single month…well this one is a little more than you can handle. Let’s say the bill is for $5,500.00. So as you are pondering what to do, you notice that the nice credit card people have a plan “B.” They say, “Instead of paying the card off (the very smart thing to do) you can make a minimum payment–just $113.00 a month. Wow…that would sure help…right? Wrong. You see, if you make just that minimum payment, it would take you…and get ready…seventeen years to pay the debt and with interest instead of paying $5,500, you would pay $15,515.00. What? Can that be right? Well it not only can be…it is. You see, the nice credit card company is going to charge you a whole lot of interest to use their money.

That nice credit card company isn’t so nice when you have to make payments and trust me they never were your friend to start with. Now Judy and I have two credit cards–we use one for gas (which pays us 5% for every dollar we spend) and the other credits us with travel miles for Delta. Both are paid in full each month and by the way when we can’t pay them off–out come the scissors.

So what is the point of this little financial lesson. It is all about sin. You see, like the debt became bigger and bigger because of interest so sin grows bigger and bigger. The old song says that sin will take you further than you want to go, make you pay more that you want to pay and stay longer than you want to stay. No matter how enticing sin seems–remember there is always a payment due and it can be big…real big.

God made a way through faith in His Son Jesus whereby our sins can be paid in full–forgiven. But the fact is we will still sin in this imperfect world and while God removes the penalty of that sin–the consequences–the interest if you will–remains. Satan will surely lie to you and try to convince you that a little sin never hurt anyone. Really? Well, once again remember that little sin nailed Jesus to the cross.

Be wise friend–both with your finances and with your sin. The bondage of debt and the guilt and shame of sin are two masters you don’t need. Don’t walk–run away–run to your Dearest Daddy who loved you too much to leave you in your sin and loves you too much to face that hot mess alone. He is waiting to help. Gratefully and always, He’s got this.  Bro. Dewayne

Posted in communication, Grace, gratitude, Scripture, travel

New Every Morning

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “Because of the LORD’s faithful love we do not perish, for His mercies never end. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness!” Lamentations 3:23-24

 ¡Hola! Soy una petunia mexicana. So on one of our recent journeys, my wife Judy made an essential stop at a local nursery to buy some plants for our yard. When we are in the south, whether it is as far south as Georgia or as close as Murray, Kentucky, we need to check out two things–what houses are for sale and what plants can we bring home. In this case, we were in Alabama at a Lowes and she brought home a petunia mexicana. In case you don’t speak Spanish (I don’t) the opening line says, “Hello! I am a Mexican petunia.”

So it turns out that our transplanted friend loves Southern Illinois–probably because it is southern. She carefully planted it in a large pot filled with Miracle Grow potting soil and the rest is history. In the few weeks that she has been in our backyard, she has just flourished. The greenery is green and lush but the best part are the blooms. Here’s how it goes. The day begins with it being covered with petite bluish purple blooms. They last the day and then they are done. By evening all that is left is the lush greenery. But there is a surprise coming.

You see, the next morning as the sunrises, new blooms appear. The whole plant is once again covered. It really is just beautiful. At the end of the day the whole process starts over again. But as sure as sunshine, the blooms are there and beautiful. It reminds me of one of my favorite scriptures. You see, in Lamentations 3:23-24 we read, “Because of the LORD’s faithful love we do not perish, for His mercies never end. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness!” Did you see it?  Just like the Mexican petunia provides a fresh bouquet of flowers each day, so God in His marvelous grace provides a bouquet of mercy. How about that.

Just as He provided manna each morning for the children of Israel, so He provides His mercy for us each and everyday. He is always faithful and always right on time. The Hebrew even suggests that it isn’t just any old mercy…it is the mercy that we will need for that particular day. I find that so assuring and so amazing.

So if you want to come by 217 and check out our Mexican friend, feel free to. She is at her best in the morning–just like God’s mercies. God bless you today as you journey with Him. And always remember, “Recuerda que, pase lo que pase, ¡él puede con esto!” Oh, in case you are wondering that says, “Remember no matter what, He’s got this!” Bro. Dewayne