Tag: faith

Posted in Family, fear, friends, Grace, gratitude, life, Scripture, Southern born, thankful, travel, Trials

Sharks, Riptides, and God

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but one of power, love, and sound judgment.” 2 Timothy 1:7

I am a Florida boy. I was born and raised in Jacksonville, Florida.  All my life I have made multiple visits to multiple beaches. I well remember making regular trips to Jacksonville Beach and spending the day baking in the sun and swimming in the ocean.  My sister Agnes and her husband Jim lived in Daytona Beach for several years and we would spend time each summer at their house.  Sometimes it was solo and at least once it was with my sister Kathy.  Again, more baking in the sun and more swimming in the ocean.  Later, after Judy and I were married, our vacations were often to Panama City Beach.  We would always wait till after Labor Day when the prices dropped. What did I do there?  Well, I bet you guessed I baked in the sun and swam in the ocean.  It was who I was…it was what I did.  But this Florida boy has just about given it up.  Why?  Well, here’s the answer.

First, but not most importantly, is the sunburn thing. We now know that over exposure to the sun can be a major contributor to skin cancer.  And trust me, I have enough time in the sun to be more than a bit overcooked.  It became some sort of twisted ritual where I would go with the full intention of getting a bad sunburn. It was like a rite of passage. So, I gave all that up.  The skin doctor told me if I didn’t, I would regret it. Oh, I know they have sun protection but enough was enough. I believe I finally wised up.

Now for the real reason.  Two words:  sharks and riptide.  Yup, that’s right.  You see, regularly and all too frequently, and especially in Florida, shark attacks are way up.  Recently, there were three shark attacks within six miles of each other. While all survived, one 14-year-old girl lost her hand and leg. I know the odds are supposed to be low, but I wonder if those that bumped into Jaws didn’t think the same thing?  I don’t know but I think I will be swimming more in the pool and less in the gulf.

Now riptide.  This weekend in Florida—six people became victims to this monster called riptide. Two young adults, as in under 25, checked into their hotel, changed into their suits and went to the beach and promptly drowned when they were caught in a riptide. What a heartbreak. What a difficult thing. Riptide is a current, often invisible from the surface, that can pull you away from shore. Now all of this and all of that is not supposed to be a “Debbie downer.” Rather it is meant to help you and me understand that sometimes the world, often the world can be a dangerous place—a place where we need help—we need God.

Now I’m only speaking for me and I’m not saying I will never swim in the ocean, but I sure plan to think about it before I do. It just makes sense to be careful. Now let me tell you about another ocean where none of this applies. What and where? It is the ocean of God’s grace and His faithfulness.  In that ocean you never have to be afraid. In fact, that ocean helps us deal with the oceans that cause us to be afraid.  Shannon Adler said, “Fear is the glue that keeps you stuck. Faith is the solvent that sets you free.” We should not walk in fear—rather we should live by faith. Faith and common sense can help us enjoy life as He wants us too.  If you find yourself drowning in fear and consumed by faith eating sharks, remember that your Dearest Daddy is greater than anything you might face. Oh, and never forget, He’s got this.  Bro. Dewayne

Posted in Family, forgiveness, friends, Grace, gratitude, life, love, loving others, thankful, wisdom

Living Loud – Living Love

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

“I give you a new command: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you are also to love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:34-35

Have you ever wondered what people think…of you…of Christ because of you.  I recently attended the Southern Baptist Convention in Indianapolis, Indiana. Contrary to what you may have heard on the news, overall, the tenor of the convention was almost Christ like. It would have been nice if a stranger could have walked into the meeting and figured out quickly that these people were different…different in the way we talked, walked and spoke. I love what Jesus said in John 13:35. There He said, “I give you a new command: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you are also to love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

It’s ironic that He tells us it is a new command but in reality, it has been the message all along. What is different is the measurement of that love—love as Jesus loves—unconditionally and without limit. And, of course, it is the same love for all the people…All.The.People. And here comes the best part.  He tells us it is this love that will show, and people will know, that we are Jesus’ people.  Not where our car is parked on Sunday morning at 10:15, not our dress, not our bumper stickers or our tee-shirts—nope, it is His love lived out in us.  When we finally figure that out and do it—well, we had better keep the baptismal tank filled.

Something that will help us to remember to live this love out is something that Watchman Nee said.  Here it is, “Outside of Christ, I am only a sinner, but in Christ, I am saved. Outside of Christ, I am empty; in Christ, I am full. Outside of Christ, I am weak; in Christ, I am strong. Outside of Christ, I cannot; in Christ, I am more than able. Outside of Christ, I have been defeated; in Christ, I am already victorious. How meaningful are the words, “in Christ.” What is unusual is that he doesn’t mention love, but he does describe a life filled with Christ’s love. And when we get that, we will start loving like we should.

Someone said, “Live in such a way (filled with love) that those who know you but don’t know God will come to know God because they know you.” How true…how powerful. I hope today we will ask God, through the Holy Spirit, Jesus in us, to help us love like Him. No, we can’t, but with Him by Him and through Him…we can because, “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

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

Singing before the Sunrise

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

For we walk by faith, not by sight.” 2 Corinthians 5:7

It happens every year…just about this time.  One of the amazing things about God’s creation is the preciseness of it all.  You can predict the time of the sunrise a hundred years from today within seconds.  The seasons come and go with precise assuredness, and it is not an accident.  Oh no, it is by intentional design.  The Creator God of it all is the God of details and He doesn’t miss one.  Just a couple of years ago here in Southern Illinois we were freezing and had a dose of snow, sleet, and ice.   Then the following Monday it was just over seventy degrees, the grass was greening, and the limbs of the trees were swelling with anticipation. They all know it is time.  Even late snow won’t upset the apple cart.

I know sometimes we worry about some things and sometimes we worry about everything, but nature just doesn’t seem to have that problem.  Sometimes I long for that.  When things around me seem so confusing and threatening, when it seems that the new normal isn’t normal at all…I just tend to worry.  But nature doesn’t miss a beat.  A few mornings ago, I got up at my somewhat usual 5:30 am (don’t ask me why) and began my day with a cup of coffee and some time with Jesus.  It works well.  The coffee wakes me up and my time with Jesus sets me up for a brand-new day. 

At 5:30 am the sun is still sleeping so the skies and the countryside are still dark…very dark.  But something happens every year…just about this time.  Somewhere in my yard, somewhere outside my window a songbird starts to sing.  I’m sure it is a different bird every year and it might even be a different bird every day but long before daylight, he or she decides to sing.  I find it very…refreshing.  Though it is dark, the songbird sings in anticipation of what is coming.  Somehow, they know that the darkness of night is just about over, and the sun is going to rise.  They seem to know that the darkness cannot last forever…it must give way to the power of light.

By faith, the songbird sings its celebration of Spring and of a new day.  And do you know what?  Sure enough, in about thirty or forty minutes, the dawn begins to break, and God honors their faith.  Day in and day out the songbird sings and day in and day out God is faithful.  I think there is a lesson there for us. Actually, there are two lessons to learn.  First, is the lesson of our faithfulness.  The songbird sings not because it sees the light but because it believes the light is coming.  Tucked away in a letter that Paul wrote to the church located in Corinth are these words, “For we walk by faith, not by sight.”  We.Walk.By.Faith.

The songbird sings by faith and God calls us to walk by faith.  Walking by faith believes that what God has said will come to pass.  And the second lesson?  It is the lesson of His faithfulness.  Our faithfulness is based on a faithful One.  We have all lived long enough to know that put your faith in the wrong thing and you’re toast.  But put your faith in the One who is faithful, and it is the sanest, most logical thing that you can do. In 2020 it was difficult to find sure footing.  Everywhere you stepped it was shifting sand and honestly, 2021 wasn’t much better. The one exception to that was God.  The God who was God in March of 2020 when we started that COVID mess is the same faithful God today, four years later.  He does not change. You can take that to the bank.

So tomorrow morning, even if it’s out of the range of my hearing, a songbird will begin to sing in the darkness.  It will be announcing, by faith, that a new day is coming—daylight is coming. And Lord willing, most of us will awaken from a night of rest.  For some it may be dark and for others quite light, but for all of us we have the opportunity to take our first steps in the new day.  I hope they will be steps of faith…faith in a Dearest Daddy who loves us enough to guide us, to help us and to lead us.  All we must do is believe…in Him…in who He is and what He said.  He has never failed, you know.  It is totally foreign to Him.  He can and will come through…not matter what.  So, go ahead and peer out into the darkness as the songbird sings and know, “He’s got this.” Bro. Dewayne

Posted in Family, fear, Grace, gratitude, life, love, loving others, prayer, Scripture, sovereignty of God, Trials

Just Beneath the Surface

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1

I stood at the window and looked.  It was a cold morning in January…and it was getting colder. Overnight an arctic front had blown through leaving a heavy dusting of snow and falling temperatures all accompanied by a blustery north wind that made the cold seem even more frigid. The morning light was just breaking so it was still dark and as I looked, I saw despair…saw nothing that seemed to offer hope.

Life is like that sometimes, isn’t it?  Everywhere we look there are challenges.  House fires, accidents, perplexing situations with our careers and injustice are all around us. We have several in our families who are struggling with cancer and end-of-life stages. Well-used bodies are beginning to fail. Even though the life journey for them has been long, it is still difficult to face the fact that some goodbyes are not far in the future.

And then there is tomorrow.  Tomorrow I will be officiating at a funeral for a much too young 18-year-old high school junior.  He was struck by an automobile and didn’t survive the encounter. It is going to be hard—there is just no way around it.  See what I mean?  Life can often seem like the view from my winter window.  It would seem so hopeless…except for one thing.  Spring.

You see, all things equal, I know something.  I know that sleeping beneath the cold and perhaps frozen earth are grass and plants from last year and while they are sleeping now, they won’t sleep forever.  In just a couple of months, a few weeks, they are going to burst back into the sun and life will begin again.  It is going to happen because that is the way God made it. He created the seasons for us to…enjoy.  It is hard to understand that on this cold January morning, but it is true. And this cold morning is going to help me appreciate the new life when it happens.  I will have a deeper appreciation of life.

So, if your life seems like a frigid morning in January, know this.  God wants, God desires to bring life in the Spring. Whether it is an encounter with eternity or a dark time with no sign of light, God wants to bring hope into your story.  He gave His Son for that very purpose.  Jesus died on a Roman cross so we could live.  He defeated death by coming back to life that first Easter morning. Just like the first flower brave enough to bloom in early Spring, so He bloomed to offer hope…to each of us…to all of us.  All we must do is believe, to have faith.

All the wishing in the world won’t change the view out my winter window…but time will.  And in His time, He will bring Spring to yours too.  Don’t give up.  Just believe this.  Right below the surface of your life, just like the cold, frozen ground outside my window, there is life, and that life is going to burst out of the ground one day.  There is hope…even where you are now.  Struggling to believe?  Don’t worry…He can help you with that too.  He who requires faith can give faith.  He’s got this.  Bro. Dewayne

Posted in Family, fear, forgiveness, life, prayer, priorities, Scripture, sovereignty of God, thankful, Trials

Three Days, Day 2

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the Lord upholds him with His hand.” Psalm 37:23-24

 I never saw it coming. Day one of “Three Days” was so awesome you would think that the day following a trophy day would be at least somewhat awesome, right?  Let me tell you that is not always the case.  If you read, “Three Days, Day One” you know that my day job is being a pastor and one day recently, I and the church, had a “trophy Sunday.”  Now I need to be honest and let you know that not every Sunday qualifies as a “trophy Sunday.”  In fact, some of them can be pretty difficult but that’s not a deal because it is just the way life goes.  “Less than days” have nothing to do with where you work or what you do—it has to do with life.  Like I said in day one, when you have a really good day, put it on your trophy shelf so you can easily find it when you need a reminder that you are blessed.

Well, you know that Mondays always follow Sundays.  It is no accident that Mondays get a bad rap.  It just seems that if you are going to have a challenging day, Mondays get the call and in my case, that is exactly what happened.  So after the trophy day at church that Sunday, I bounded (slight overstatement there) out of bed about 4:10 am, ready to embrace the day.  Because it was Thanksgiving Week and because my wife Judy and I were taking a trip down south to see family, I only had two days in the office that week.  I expected and needed some productive time.  There were several things that just had to get done before I left but I was confident that I could get it done.  So, like a horse in the starting gate, I raced to the office…early.

When I got to the office, for fortification, I made a cup of coffee and then hit the spacebar on my computer and immediately noticed that it was a little slow to wake up. “Hmmm,” I said, wondering what was up with that. It did eventually start responding but things were just not right.  One of the things I had to get done was to update the electronic sign for our church.  To do that my Apple computer needed to talk to the sign which— speaks Windows—think EngIish and German. I have a program on my computer that is supposed to act like a translator but it was on strike. From there things just went downhill.  Not only was the Apple computer not speaking to the Windows sign, everything, and I mean everything,  just came to a standstill.  No matter what I did, no matter how many times I restarted the computer, nothing helped. I watched the clock as my precious day slipped away through my idle hands.

Now, I believe in God.  I believe that God directs my day and my path.  One of my favorite verses in the Bible says, “The steps of a good man (good as in God’s goodness) are directed by the Lord and it is He who directs His path.”  I know it and I believe it though my faith that particular day was sagging.  In fact, I left the office that day feeling just a little put off with God.  I mean didn’t He know I had to get this stuff done?  Didn’t He know I only had a little time to get a lot done?  Well, I finally just blurted out to Him, “God why are you doing this to me.” I was frustrated and maybe, just maybe a little angry…if not at God at least the circumstances.  Looking back, I realized that I was having a little case of “spiritual amnesia.”

Spiritual Amnesia?  Yup…it’s a real deal and I really had it.  You see, I had forgotten the “trophy Sunday” and even forgot to revisit it to remind me of God being a good God.  I had forgotten that I believe that God directs and plans my day…meaning He had planned that day as an exercise of faith and trust…in Him.  I forgot it all and that was not fair to Him, my wife, Judy, who bore some of the brunt of my frustration and anybody else who happened to be close enough to feel and hear my frustration that day.  Are you getting the picture that Monday was not a “trophy day?” Ever had a day like that?  Trust me, I get it and I understand and so does our Dearest Daddy.

Well, that night, I sat down at my home computer and worked and watched how that same God that I had grumbled about multiplied my time and efforts and much of what I needed to get done, got done in just a couple of hours.  It was then that my “spiritual amnesia” fog began to clear.  It was then that I remembered that God doesn’t do things to people…He does things for people.  You see that non-trophy day was about learning—-I was in “God school” and He was teaching me things like faith, trust and patience.  I also remembered the rest of that favorite verse.  It says that even if I should stumble and fall, I will not, can not, be completely cast down because He, God, will pick me up.  I may fall in a mud puddle of frustration but He loves me too much to leave me there.

So the day ended better than it started.  I went to bed that night with a feeling that no matter what tomorrow held, I would do what I could do and just leave the rest to Him.  I got out of bed, had my coffee and had a little talk with Him and He whispered to me that He would be with me that day and that no matter what He would not abandon me.  I knew that somehow the third day of “Three Days” was going to be ok and that what I write each day is indeed true, “He’s got this.” Brother Dewayne

Posted in Family, fear, gratitude, life, prayer, Scripture, thankful, Trials

Spiders and Snakes

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.” Psalm 23:4

I don’t like spiders and snakes.  Nope, never did and never will.  That was the title of one of those crazy songs from the seventies. Of course, back then there were several crazy songs but after all—it was the seventies.  Crazy or not, it was one of those songs that I could sure identify with. We lived on two acres of land and a lot of it was, well, weedy.  And sometimes Daddy or Momma would decide that it would have to be mowed…by push mower.  I can remember well slowly, ever so slowly, working my way through the tall weeds.  I was sure, really sure, that somewhere out there were giant anacondas just waiting to grab my leg and wrap me in their death grip.  Nope, I don’t like snakes.

Oh, and I sure don’t like spiders either.  While I never saw the giant anacondas that lurked in the forbidden zone of our two acres, I saw plenty of spiders.  Our house had wooden siding and at each corner where the siding went a different direction, there would be the perfect spot for these flesh-eating black spiders to hide.  And while I never saw one of them eating anything, my young mind had no problem imagining what went on in their web covered holes.  If the hole had been big enough, I am sure their dens would have been filled with little boys’ remains.  Nope, I don’t like spiders.

But of all the spiders that called 6008 Carlton Road home, the dreaded banana spider was the worst.  The banana spider (I’m sure that is not the correct name, but it was what I called them) would spin their webs out in the low hanging branches and in between two or more bushes.  They were about the size of a small house dog (well, it seemed they were) and they had long legs and a long and narrow thingy in the back.  Their webs were extremely tough and usually had a zigzag pattern. While I managed to avoid them most of the time, sometimes, well, I didn’t, and it seemed that is always when I was mowing the yard.

It would go like this.  I was one of those “can’t hold still” and big imagination kids.  So, I would be pushing the lawn mower fast (to get done…that was just my nature) with my mind somewhere either in the woods or the kitchen—dreaming of a peanut butter and mayonnaise sandwich.  Zipping along, ducking occasionally for a lower limb, I would almost always manage to walk right into one of these spider webs.  To this day I can still remember just how much I hated it.  The web would get wrapped around my face and unlike the black flesh-eating spiders who lived in the cracks on my house, these guys didn’t hide—they were always there. Boy, do I hate spiders.

Well, looking back and being a little wiser, I know now that those big black spiders didn’t eat little boys after all.  No, they were fond of small insects.  And those massive banana spiders really weren’t trying to wrap me in their web so they could save me for a midnight snack.  They too were insect eaters—howbeit bigger insects than their cousins.  So, while I know the threat was not real—the fear was.  In fact, it was very real.  And that is the way it works, isn’t it? So often the threats that we feel, we sense around us are not real.  Most of the things we fear never, ever happen, but the truth is— fear does.  We find ourselves wrapped in its tight web, paralyzed, wanting to break free but bound.

There might be several answers to fear and knowledge is one of those.  Often if we can gain a clearer understanding of what is driving the fear, it will scamper back into its dark den.  But another thing that sends fear on the run is a strong faith in our God—our Dearest Daddy.  When we realize that He is greater than anything we might fear, when we believe that He will always be there, fear retreats into the dark places it came from.  The light of faith shows us that we have nothing to fear.  When David, the shepherd turned king of Bible days, was writing about death, he said, “Even if I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.  You are with me.”  Did you see all of that great truth?  Death is but a shadow and God is with us.  Now that will put fear on the run.

So today, if you accidentally wander into a web of fear, just remember that the thing we are fearing has no more grip than we give it.  If you can call God Father, well, He is greater than even death.  He loves you and wants to walk with you. My earthly Daddy never walked with me when I mowed but if he had it would have sure helped.  My spider stomping Daddy would have given me the confidence I needed.  I’m glad to let you know that your heavenly spider stomping, fear killing Daddy is beside you and if you listen, over the din of noise, you can hear Him saying, “I’ve got this.”  Bro. Dewayne

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

Chicken Little

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

I know that You can do anything, and no one can stop You.” Job 42:2

Poor Chicken Little.  He had it all wrong.  The story is told of a little chicken (aptly named Chicken Little) who was walking one day, and a bird dropped an acorn which hit him on the head.  Chicken Little assumed that the sky was falling and the world as he knew it was coming to an end.  He rushed to tell the king and along the way told others of the bad news. They in turn joined him in the quest to tell the king. The only problem was… the sky wasn’t falling.

When I was a kid, like so many of us, I wrestled with fear.  There was the standard fear of the dark.  When the lights went out, my heart rate went up.  My vivid imagination allowed for plenty of strange things to be seen in the darkness and sometimes even in the light.  I remember as a six or seven-year-old sitting in the bathtub and seeing “eyes” peering at me from inside the overflow drain.  “Maybe it is a snake” I thought.  “Perhaps it is a giant rat inside the drain.”  Regardless, I feared taking a bath until one day I got brave.  I took a flashlight into the bathroom and shined the light in the drain.  It turned out to be the tops of two brass screws inside the drain.

When I was a little older the fear thing still lingered.  With too many people and not enough house, I found myself sleeping in the dining room.  Mom and dad moved the table somewhere and put a twin bed there instead.  We lived in Florida and trust me it was HOT, and it was HUMID and air conditioning was something that we DIDN’T have.  Each night I would crawl into bed, a fan in the window at least stirring the warm evening air. And each night the monsters would come out.  Of course, they weren’t real.  Of course, they didn’t exist. Right…but try telling that to a young boy with a vivid imagination.

I had to do something, and I did.  I would reach down and pull the sheet and bedspread over my head and lie still.  I don’t know if the idea was the sheet and bedspread would somehow protect me or if they would simply hide me.  But there I would hide, sweating, and praying, that whatever hid in the darkness wouldn’t eat me.  I guess it worked because I’m still here today but boy was it HOT!

I guess I finally overcame most of my fears. To some degree fear is still a stalker in my life.  Instead of rats in a drain or monsters in the dark or bad guys in the house, it has become the uncertainty of tomorrow.  And I know I am not alone.  Every time we turn on the news, we are told that the sky is indeed falling and that the end of the world as we know it is coming.

I am a guy who gets to serve God and people as a pastor and there is one thing I know.  God is in charge, and He is bigger than any of it and all of it.  You may have heard of a guy named Job—and no he was not related to Steve Jobs, (smile).  His sky in fact did fall and he ended up losing everything.  Well, actually his “why don’t you give up and die” wife stuck around, but so did his faith in God.  In fact, in the midst of his hot mess, Job said this, “I know that You can do anything, and no one can stop You.” Score one for Job.  He believed that God was in charge, that God had a plan, and that nothing was going to happen on His watch unless He said so.

Now that is some real good, real comforting, real “you take that fear” news.  But you also need to know that sometimes that can be hard.  God’s plans don’t always mean I get what I want…in fact, often it means the opposite.  But hey, I was the guy who manufactured monsters in his head.  But it still means that God is good, that God is faithful, and that God can be trusted.  It does mean that He is watching out for my good and He is working to bring His glorious plan to pass.

I still think that for the most part it is time that we turn off the bad news.  The broadcasters know that bad news “sells” and they are dishing it out by the buckets full.  Corrie ten Boom, a concentration camp survivor from World War II said, “If you look at the world, you will be distressed.  If you look within, you will be depressed.  But if you look at Christ you will be at rest.” What powerful and true words.  If you are not a God follower perhaps this sounds a little far-fetched.  Trust me…He is worth checking out. He is the real deal…not church…not religion…and certainly not the fear mongers. You can rest in Him…because He’s got this. Bro. Dewayne

Posted in birthday, Family, fear, friends, gratitude, heaven, life, Scripture, sovereignty of God, thankful, Trials

Happily Ever After

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in Your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.” Psalm139:16

Cinderella and happily ever after.  Most of us grew up knowing at least something of fairy tales.  When I was younger it was largely by reading books.  In those days, Mr. Disney was just getting started and there were few animated films but slowly things changed.  Over the years, what was once only printed on the pages of a book became alive on the screen before our eyes…and it was amazing.  For years there were the classics, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Pinocchio, and Peter Pan to name just a few.  And the list has grown and grown.  When we watch them, we often want to be them. As the story plays out and ends with the dramatic “happily ever after” we sigh and long…if only.

Each fairy tale, every animated story begins with a “once upon a time…” It sets the stage for the story and then slowly, and almost invariably, the plot develops and oh so often there are plenty of bumps and bruises along the way.  There is usually a bad guy or guyette and they slosh their mess all over the screen, hurting and wounding.  And then, right when it seems that they are going to win…things turn around.  Good overcomes evil, the weak become strong and the impossible becomes…possible. Just about then the “happily ever after” music begins and we smile at the end, we savor the redemption, and we leave feeling good but knowing that story could never be our story.  Or can it?

You see, all our lives begin with a “once upon time…” All of us have a beginning.  In fact, today just happens to be my birthday and on this day, I think about my, “once upon a time.”  On that day a grand story began to be written.  A little boy with dreams about a big future. A teenager trying to figure out what life was all about.  A husband and later a father trying to figure that out—still trying to figure that out.  Twelve years in the service of his country and forty years in the service of his King. Mountains and valleys, wins and losses, victories, and defeats—fighting monsters and dragons and loving his fair maiden and their princesses. Whew…what a journey.

And honestly, there were times when I would ponder how all this would play out.  Having watched a whole lot of “redemption” movies where the end is always exactly how we would want it, I wondered, “What about this story?”  Perhaps you have done the same.  Perhaps you have wondered how your story will end.  Perhaps you have longed for a different story…a different prince or princess, a different role, something, anything different.  Well, I have some good news for you.  The Playwright for your story never makes a mistake and never gets it wrong.  He has been writing stories since before the beginning of time.  In fact, the Bible says that He wrote every scene of your life before there was a “once upon a time.”  In Psalm 139:16 it says, “You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in Your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.” Wow…how about that?

But wait…it might just get better.  So, every story, including yours, can be like every fairy tale.  A beginning, a story filled with up and downs, bumps and bruises, toads, and princes.  But here’s the best part—every story can have a “happily ever after.”  No, really.  You see the same book and the same God who promises that every day, every scene in your story has been written and planned promises a “happily ever after.”  Oh, it is not always here, though sometimes it is.  It is in eternity.  When we are willing to put our faith and trust in the Prince of Peace and the King of Kings we have the promise of an eternity that is beyond our wildest dreams.  Believe what He did and choose to follow Him and heaven is the end of the story.

It is nice when the story, our story, plays out like we want and wish. It would be nice if every detail was just as we would have written it. Perhaps, but maybe not, because the One who writes the story, our story, is far wiser than us.  We probably won’t be able to understand or see that entirely till the end but, well, that is what faith is all about.  So, trust Him for the grand finale. It is going to be a wiz-bang finish.  And until then…enjoy the show…savoring the good scenes and trusting in the hard ones.  He’s got this.  Bro. Dewayne

Posted in fear, friends, Grace, gratitude, life, New Year, prayer, Scripture, sovereignty of God, thankful

The Captain

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of Man is this? Even the winds and the sea obey Him!” Matthew 8:27

It was a long, long time ago.  There are many historical events that are almost timeless.  They carry with them a mystical allurement that keeps them alive in the minds of people.  No matter how much is written, when that event is mentioned, immediately interest is peeked, eyes focus and ears open. Such is the story of the Titanic.  It was on May 31, 1911, that the Titanic was launched.  Now launched didn’t mean open for business…ready to sail.  No, it meant that Titanic had what it needed to be called a ship but not what it took to make money.  The hull, the keel, the engines all were in placed but people don’t pay for that…they pay for the good stuff, the nice stuff, the luxurious stuff.

Well, almost a year later, on April 10, 1912, all that stuff was in place and the great Titanic was ready to set sail.  The appointments of luxury were amazing.  For that time and that place there simply was nothing like the Titanic.  Of course, there were different classes of people who bought tickets—from the very rich to the improvised poor looking for a fresh start in America. But the Titanic was really…or was she?

Four days after her maiden voyage began, she struck an iceberg and, in a few hours, sank in the icy North Atlantic taking with her well over a thousand souls.  While all the details are a matter of debate, most agree that the basic design of the ship was flawed.  The watertight compartments instead of being totally sealed allowed water to overflow from one compartment to the next.  Like a cascading river, the water flowed from one compartment to the next sealing the fate of the “unsinkable” ship.  Not one detail for the comfort of the Uber rich was overlooked and yet the one thing that could have kept her afloat was.  Amazing…and disconcerting…worrying.

I think what prompted me to write this story was the New Year.  We all, well those who were awake, watched the ball fall, the peach drop, the fireworks explode.  We celebrated; we partied launching into the seas of another New Year.  But as we launched, did anyone, did someone, did I, did you stop and examine the “ship” that was going to carry us into 2023?  Did we carefully craft the “luxurious” while ignoring the crucial…the vital?  Did we plan diets and dream of vacations while being strangely silent about the most important? Did we launch into 2023 without the one thing that would ensure our safety…our survival?

What is the one thing?  Better yet, who is that Someone?  Well, the answer is Creator God. These days I still feel compelled to make sure we understand that I am not talking about church (though that is profitable) or religion (though that can be good) but I am talking about making sure He is the Captain of our ship.  Try this on for size.  When the Captain of your ship is the Master (and dare I say Maker) of the storm, there is great comfort.  The passengers have the calming assurance that no matter what, He is there, He is ready, He is in charge.

One time the disciples of Jesus found themselves in the midst of a terrible storm, in what could only be described as an oversized rowboat.  They were frightened to the point that they thought death was imminent. Just about then they remembered that Jesus was asleep at the back of the boat.  They woke Him with a shout of “Don’t you care we are about to drown?”  Well, Jesus got up, spoke to the wind and waves, demanding calm…and it happened.  He then asked the guys about their faith.  Where.Was.Their.Faith.  Looking around at the now calm sea and their frail oversized rowboat they asked a question, “What kind of Man is this? Even the winds and the sea obey Him!” Hmmm…good question.

The answer, of course, is that He is and was a one-of-a-kind Man, a Man like no other, God in human form. He was the Captain and Master of the storm and what was true then is true now…with Jesus in your boat you don’t have to fear. So, as we launch into 2023, shouldn’t we make sure that our Captain is Jesus, and shouldn’t we invite Him to lead and guide us?  Any unknown, any new horizon can be frightening…unless the Creator and Master of it all is on board.  If He is…we don’t have to worry because we have the confident assurance that, “He’s got this.” Bro. Dewayne