Tag: God

Posted in life, priorities, Scripture, travel, wisdom

Swiss Army Knife

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17

Everyone should have one.  Well, if you know anything about me you know that I love gadgets.  I like the kind of gadgets that you must plug in, the kind that need batteries and the ones that need neither.  I have discovered on my gadget journey that sometimes a gadget may get the job done but not as well as the real deal.  Case in point—a Swiss Army knife.

It all started back in 1891 when someone determined that the Swiss Army needed a knife that would do what knives do and a couple of other things—like open a can of beans. At first, they ordered some knives from Germany but politics and pride being what they are, they looked to make one in Switzerland and just like that the Swiss Army knife was born.  Just like babies do, over the years the knife grew and grew.  Now one of the models is called the Swiss Champ and has 33 tools tucked away in eight layers. But wait—there is more.  The monster of Swiss Army knives is called the Giant and it was built just to prove that they could.  It included every tool the company ever made—87 tools in all with a whopping 141 different functions. Now that is a gadget and a half.

One thing about Swim Army knives is they allow you to do many things but often not as well as the real tool.  In other words, the screwdriver may drive a screw, but I wouldn’t not try to disassemble an engine with one.  They will work in a pinch but that’s about as far as it goes.  Now there is something that is kind of like a Swiss Army knife, but it is perfect in very way and that is the Word of God.

The Bible is the champion when it comes to helping us do life and unlike the Swiss Army knife—it does all things well.  Paul was writing to a young preacher man named Timothy and he told him, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” Do you see it?  It is useful—and not just for one thing but many.  Now that doesn’t mean the Bible is an expert in everything (it doesn’t address cooking spaghetti) but it does mean that what it touches and talks about—it is the go-to Book. It can be trusted, and trusted, and trusted.

So, ladies, why not buy your husband or boyfriend a good Swiss Army knife for his next birthday or perhaps Christmas this year. After all, every guy needs at least one. And speaking of at least one—all of us need a copy of God’s Word.  When it comes to doing life—it can’t be beat. Scattered across its pages you will find over and again those encouraging words, “I’ve got this” and He does.  Bro. Dewayne

Posted in communication, forgiveness, Grace, life, loving others, Scripture

Three Questions

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” 2 Corinthians 5:17

He nervously paced the floor as the preacher preached.  My wife Judy and I were visiting family in South Georgia. We were at her brother’s house…patiently waiting as his wife prepared us some good southern cooking…chicken and rice, green beans, and a hearty salad…with peach cobbler and ice cream for dessert.  Thinking about it…maybe we weren’t so patient after all.  Anyway, one thing led to another and so her brother, who spent his life as a preacher, began to share a story.  Many years ago, he had decided that God was calling him into the ministry and at that time he was filling in wherever he could.  He was still learning and practicing.

Well, his Daddy was the assistant warden at the local work camp…a sort of low security prison…and he suggested that he might find a captive audience there…pun fully intended.  So, her brother began to preach there at the jail.  They would lead him into the dining hall, bring in the prisoners and then…they would lock the doors.  He would begin to tell them about God’s love for broken people…just like them…just like us.  And, while he was preaching, this old man would walk the floor, slowly pacing, and in his own way, engage with the preacher.  It was a grunt here and moan there, but it was obvious he was tracking where the preacher was going.

One time, at the end of the sermon, he came up to Judy’s brother and asked him if he could tell him about a sermon he had.  He told Judy’s preacher brother that his sermon asked three questions.  “First,” he said, “Do you have religion?”  Now the question wasn’t about what church you attended but rather did you know God personally.  You see that is the whole point of Jesus…that if you are willing to believe what Jesus said and believe in what He did…you can be a part of God’s family.  That was first because it is most important.  So, do you have religion—that kind of religion?

The old man spoke again and said, “There is another question.”  He wanted to know if you had religion, was it the “catching kind?” The old man was wise enough to know that religion that ain’t worth catching, ain’t worth having. The truth is too often the reason people aren’t interested in what we are “selling” is because it doesn’t seem to be working for us. And, if it isn’t working for us, why would it work for them?  Now, that’s a good question.  So, if you are the religious sort, is your religion worth catching?

Finally, the old man said, “Now the third question is this.  If you have religion, and if it is the catching kind…if anyone catching it?”  See, he knew that real religion, the kind that Jesus brings…brings change.  The Bible says that if anyone believes in Jesus, they become a new creation…the old life passes away and the new comes. We have a couple of fellas in our church that met Jesus while they were serving time in prison, and they will gladly tell you that they came out different than they went in.  That kind of religion is worth catching.  That kind of religion is worth sharing.

Well, with that the old man turned away and Judy’s brother went his own way too.  But do you know what?  He never forgot that old man’s sermon.  In fact, he preached it a time or two and now here I am writing about it.  The old man didn’t have much education and I’m not sure he ever made it out of prison.  But right there where he was, he was making a difference. You know, God created us to make a difference and those three questions can help us determine if we are. You can tweak those questions to read like this.  First, do you have something you are passionate about? Second, is it a passion worth sharing with those around you? Third, is anyone catching your passion, your dream, your vision?

For me the greatest passion of life is knowing God personally and trust me…it is a passion worth sharing and certainly worth catching.  Now remember, I’m not talking about religion in the plain old sense or church in the ordinary sense.  I am talking about experiencing the life changing power of the grace and forgiveness of God.  If you haven’t caught it yet…well, trust me it is worth catching.  God loves people…all people regardless of skin color, economic status or how long or short their sin list might be.  Your sin can’t out grace God’s grace.  You need to know this.  He wants to know you personally and wants you to personally know Him.  And, no matter what you have done, rest assured, He’s got this.”  Bro. Dewayne

Posted in communication, Family, life, loving others, Scripture

Nothing Is Impossible!

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. For nothing will be impossible with God.” Luke 1:34-35, 37

 It was almost unbelievable.  My wife, Judy, runs an Airbnb.  Airbnb was founded in California by a couple of guys who needed to make some cash.  Since there was a shortage of places to stay in the city where they lived, they decided to rent a spare space they had as a nightly rental.  They threw an air mattress on the floor and ran an ad.  What happened next was just amazing.  The room was booked all the time and well, the rest is history.  Today it is a multi-billion dollar corporation that works as a clearing house for people who have property they want to rent on a nightly basis.  One of those is us.

We had a two bedroom apartment over our garage that was sitting empty.  Judy researched and worked hard, and now we have a business that is a supplement to our retirement income.  As a side benefit, we get to meet a lot of people from all over the United States and sometimes from overseas.  Judy loves to host people, so it is just a win all the way around.

As I said, we get to meet some pretty wonderful people.  One of our favorites bordered on almost incredible.  We’ve had lots of really good people stay with us and a lot of them are Christians.  But the first fall we were renting, we had a younger couple stay with us and they began to tell us a bit of their story.  I was chatting with the husband while Judy was chatting with the wife.  I thought I heard the word “grandfather” and the name “Kenneth Taylor.”  So, I pushed pause on my conversation with her husband and said, “Excuse me, did you say that Kenneth Taylor was your grandfather?”  And she replied, “Yes.”  We had read his children’s story books to our girls many times, so I had to know the story.

Kenneth Taylor was a regular walk around guy who loved Jesus—a lot.  He really wanted his children to know God like he did.  Sadly, there wasn’t a scripture translation available that they could understand.  Back in those days it was the King James Version (KJV) and it was written on a grade level way too high for kids.  He got the idea to paraphrase the Bible into a language that was easy to understand. He wanted his ten kids to understand God’s Word like he did. In 1954, he had to ride a commuter train about an hour each way to work in Chicago, so he came up with a plan to paraphrase the New Testament into modern English during his commute.

For seven years—seven years, he would put his Bible on the seat next to him and put a yellow tablet on his leg and he would literally read and then write—read and then write. He started with the gospels and went from there.  When he got finished he called his new paraphrase, Living Letters and it was released in 1962.  Well, he quickly found out that the Christian world was not ready for that—they were still struggling with anything besides KJV. No one was interested in publishing Living Letters.  So do you know what he did?

He and his wife took their limited savings and  begin publishing Living Letters.  The Living Letters would later be called The Living Bible. Slowly, ever so slowly, he began selling this paraphrase of the Bible and then something happened.  The Billy Graham Association called and asked if they could publish a special edition to give away at their crusades.  They wanted something that they could give to new Christians when they became Jesus followers and they thought the Living Bible would be just the thing. They ordered and purchased half a million copies. It was a huge success. Oh and along the way he started a new publishing company.  If you follow Christian publishing you just might recognize it—Tyndale House Publishing.  How amazing is that?

Just think—an ordinary, walk around guy who loved Jesus, decided to do something about something.  He was very intelligent and way committed, but really, he was just an ordinary man who loved Jesus.  And the paraphrase of the Bible he created on a yellow tablet strapped to his leg has helped millions get to know Jesus or know Him better.  It wasn’t easy and it wasn’t fast, but he stuck with it and God used him in a big way.

So, what about you?  What niggle do you have?  What thing is there that God is maybe, just maybe, calling you, leading you, to do?  What ministry does He want you to lead or birth?  What way can you bring some light into this way too dark world?  One of the greatest miracles in the world involved a young Jewish girl who was maybe as young as 14 or 15 years old.  God chose her to give birth to His Son.  She was just an ordinary, walk around girl who said yes to God.  When she said, “How can this be since I’ve never been with a man?” God just said, “Hey, with Me anything is possible.”  Anything is possible.

I know, in our day, everything seems impossible.  We can’t seem to get anything right. But that’s only because we are excluding the One who can make it happen.  Remember what God said…with Me anything is possible.  When we choose to put God back in the mix of our lives, well, there’s just no telling what can happen.  There you go.  I hope you will never forget Kenneth Taylor’s story and I hope you will never forget that God wants to use us to do something big for Him.  Don’t let the unknown scare you—it’s just a new adventure about to start.  You can rest in Him.  He’s got this.  Bro. Dewayne 

Posted in Grace, gratitude, life, missions, prayer, Scripture, sovereignty of God, travel

We Need Rain

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.” Psalm 37:4 

It was drier than two-month-old bread.  So this story is a rerun but it is so appropriate because we are so dry here in Southern Illinois. And besides that…it is one of my absolute favorite stories.  Now back to the story. Word on the street is that we are in a drought. I know this because my grass is brown…very brown. It reminds me of another time and another need for rain. It’s been many years now, but the story is as fresh as today’s bread.  We were on our second trip to Niger, West Africa.  We would fly forever and finally arrive in the capital city of Niamey.  There were two things that were always the same.  It was always very late at night, and we were always totally exhausted.  After a day getting acclimated, we would load up and drive all day on one of the few paved roads in the entire country.

Niger is a sub-Saharan country in West Africa.  It was on the edge of the Saharan Desert—hot, dry, and dusty.  Our journey would take us to a small city in the middle of nowhere.  We would stay with a family there who were kind and filled with hospitality.  As is customary, we would settle in and then go see the “chief” of the village.  We would meet, greet, and thank him for allowing us to come and stay in the village.  On this particular trip we were distributing food to several dozen families in the area.  Because of the extreme dryness, food was always in short supply and because of a few years of drought—it was life-threatening.

As we met with the chief, we told him we were servants of the Creator God and asked him if there was anything that we could pray for.  Without hesitation, he said, “I want you to pray for rain. It hasn’t rained here in a very long time, and we are desperate.  We have prayed but no rain has come.”  We prayed there and then and told him we would pray more—even asking people in America to pray.  And we did, both.

What happened next is the things of legends—except it is not a legend—it is truth.  After immediately contacting some of our folks back in America and praying ourselves…again…we went to sleep.  Sometime in the middle of the night, the wind began to blow, and the temperature began to fall.  Soon, there was the sound of a distant thunder.  Then, as we stood in our doorway and watched, a heavy rain began to fall.  David, one of our team members, was soon out dancing in the rain.  All of us were dancing in our hearts.

We would later learn that our friends in America, watching the radar online, saw a storm develop from nothing and move across our area.  As we danced in Africa—they were dancing in America.  That very night, right at three inches of rain fell in that village on the edge of the desert.  It was unbelievable.  It rained for several hours and fell so hard that several walls, made of mud, straw, and manure, collapsed.  A couple of storage buildings lost walls too.  When light finally came small lakes of water were everywhere.  We would be using the four-wheel drive feature on our trucks for several days.

I can’t remember if the chief came to us or summoned us to go to him, but that day we had another conversation.  He thanked us for praying and said that our God did what their god did not do.  He was grateful for us coming to the village and invited us to stay as long we wanted—and to return as often as we wanted.  Such are the wonders and miracles of the one true God.  This would not be the last or only miracle we would witness in West Africa.  It is amazing what God can and will do if the primary focus is to glorify His name.  I sometimes wonder if the people there still speak of the night of the rain.  I know we do.

There is an intriguing scripture in the Psalms—a collection of Hebrew hymns in the Jewish and Christian Bibles.  It is found in Psalm 37:4. It says that if we are willing to delight ourselves in God, He will give us the desires of our heart.  At first that sounds like a “rub the bottle and a genie pops out” story.  Trust me…it is not.  You see the first part is key—when we delight ourselves in God—then our desires align with His desires and when that happens—miracles do too.

Today, let me encourage you in a couple of areas.  First, if you haven’t thought much about Creator God—Jehovah God—in a while—why not revisit Him?  I believe you will come to the same conclusion I did years ago.  He is amazing.  And then, as we journey through this these challenging days, let’s commit to making His desires, our desires.  Let’s get on the same page with Him and watch, in wonder, what He can and will do.  It may not be exactly what we want but it will be what is exactly right.  He doesn’t make mistakes.  Wrapped up in all of this is that powerful truth we end each story with.  It is good news for this day and every day.  We can have the confidence assurance that, “He’s got this” and He does.  Bro. Dewayne

Posted in Grace, life, Military memories, Scripture, sovereignty of God, thankful

Mysterious Ways

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “Those who look to Him for help will be radiant with joy.” Psalm 34:5

They say that God works in mysterious ways…and I believe He does.  Throughout my years as an adult believer, God has shown up in different ways and it always leaves me feeling very grateful.  When people ask me can God be trusted, without hesitation, I can give an unqualified yes.  And I can say that not only because the Bible tells me so but because of the times He proved Himself.  Some were big and some were small but each one, every one, was significant and real.

Let me tell you a story.  When my wife Judy and I were married I was a buck sergeant in the Air Force and, well, things were quite lean.  With a lot of help from the Lord (and that’s another story), we were able to travel to Germany together for a three year stint.  We loved it but honestly things were even more financially tight there than here.  With the fluctuation of the German Mark and the fact that things just cost more—there were plenty of times when there was more month than money.  It was during one of those times that God showed off.

Judy and I had gone to the Base Exchange (the store on base) to get a few things that we had to have.  It was one of those times when there was more month than money and we had to carefully choose what was important.  Well, I don’t remember the details, but we had a discussion right there in the store about what to do.  Now when I say discussion, it wasn’t exactly a friendly chat but neither was it a hollering match.  In fact, I’m grateful because I don’t think we’ve ever had one of those.  But anyway, it was a little “heated.”

Well, we made our way to the front of the store and the tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife.  Like I said, I don’t remember the details, but it was all about money—or rather, the lack of it. And, I can probably say with certainty that most of the heat was coming from Sergeant Taylor and not his sweet wife. So, there we were standing in line, me yakking and sweet Judy holding her tongue.  And just about then…it happened. Believe it or not, over the din of the crowd I heard something sliding…being pushed on the tile floor.  I looked down.

As I looked down, there at my feet, was a crumpled up twenty-dollar bill.  I was shocked. I couldn’t believe it. I think I said, “Judy, look down.”  We both were flabbergasted.  Apparently, and I do believe this to be right, that crumpled up twenty-dollar bill was just what we needed to get past whatever crisis we were going through.  Now, to put your mind at ease, there wasn’t any way to determine who had lost or dropped the money. As far as I am concerned God had acted on our behalf.  He put it there.  He is the One who somehow caused me to hear the slightest of sound of paper on a tile floor.  It was my Father who caused me to look down.

Well, we picked up the gift and went to the cash register and paid for our items with what God had provided.  It was amazing.  What else is amazing is how quick my demeanor changed too. Frowns changed to smiles. Frustration turned to peace. Hopelessness changed to hope. You know, I personally believe that things like this happen all the time—everyday and in various ways.  The reason we don’t usually see them is that we aren’t looking. The reason we don’t recognize them is we tend to explain them away.  Small miracles become mere happenstance and sadly, we miss the blessing, and He misses His glory.

All the events of that day were the orchestration of my Dearest Daddy.  The tight budget that I looked on with distain was the setup for God’s grand provision.  Without the first, the second wouldn’t have happened.  One of the authors of the Psalms wrote and said, “Those who look to Him for help will be radiant with joy.” And, that Grits family, is the truth.  So, starting now, starting today, let’s look carefully, let’s listen carefully for the Whisperer whispering, “Don’t worry child…I’ve got this.”  Bro. Dewayne 

Posted in Family, food, friends, gratitude, life, loving others

Taking Care of Family

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “If you help the poor, you are lending to the Lord—and He will repay you!” Proverbs 19:17

I know I didn’t know them…but I felt I did. As a pastor, retired or not, I occasionally receive a call from either a funeral home or a family that has experienced the loss of a loved one and they don’t have a pastor that can help them.  Well, one day that happened.  A mother had died and her sister, on behalf of the family, contacted me.  Could I help them?  I agreed but I had a request.  I try and make every service personal and special and since I didn’t know her or the family I asked they provide some personal memories of their mom.  Graciously they did, and in so doing they painted a picture.

She and her husband was blessed with five children—a challenge and a blessing. When the sister sent me some information, it became painfully apparent that life had been financially hard.  Their mother had worked at a local manufacturing plant but was constantly being laid off.  When she was, she worked as a cook at one of the local restaurants.  It finally reached the point where the inconsistency of the one job made the other more attractive and she began working all the time at the restaurant.

She appreciated the consistency of the restaurant job, but it made for an even tighter budget at home.  I was moved by the comments of each one of her children.  They were so appreciative for a Momma that did everything possible to provide for them.  They spoke of gratitude for a roof over their heads, food for their stomach, and heat in the winter.  One spoke of the fact that regardless of the fact that Momma and the family were broke, somehow, someway, she made sure there were presents at Christmas and on their birthdays. That meant a lot to me.

At the service I rhetorically asked, “What does success mean?” It was one of those questions that I didn’t expect an answer…but I got one.  Quietly, one of her sons said, “Being comfortably full.” When he said that it moved me…it still moves me.  In a world where it seems everyone one has so much, in this family’s world abundance was a roof, some heat, food for their stomach and on a real good day, being comfortably full.

After hearing from her son, I went on to say that to me success is owning the things that money can’t buy…the things that don’t come from Walmart or some other store.  Success is five kids who at their Momma’s funeral talk about the sacrifices she made, the hard work she did to make sure they had a roof over their head, some heat, and food in their stomachs.  I then read a story paragraph that someone wrote about success.  It said, “What is success? Success is living well, laughing often, and loving much. Success is gaining the respect of those who know us best; finding and living our purpose and leaving our world better than we found it.” I finished that service in deep appreciation of a 72 year old mother who did that and so much more.  She gave her five kids a home.

I’ve written several times that money was pretty thin when we were growing up but I am sure we had more than this family and these kids.  I’ve written before how much I appreciated the fact that Momma and Daddy always made Christmas and birthdays happen.  It may have been courtesy of the local finance company but it happened.  Now I am reminded that there were and are plenty of people where even that would not have been an option but somehow—they make it happen.

So, I’m just writing to say thank-you to someone I never knew—but felt I did.  I want to say thank-you to five grown up now kids who taught me to even more deeply appreciate what my Momma and Daddy did. They too made it happen whether it was a roof over our heads, or fuel oil in our kerosene tank or food on the table.  Let me encourage you to take the opportunity to thank the ones who made it happen in your life—whether it was years ago or yesterday.  Maybe take the time to whisper a prayer of gratitude for those in your family—or maybe even outside your family—that made it happen.

Maybe, just maybe, you can be one that helps make it happen.  Maybe you know someone who could use a little help.  Maybe God has given you a little more so you can share with those who have a little less. Proverbs 19:17 says, “If you help the poor, you are lending to the Lord— 

and He will repay you!” I like that.  When we share, we are being the hands and feet of Jesus and that is always a good thing.  You may be the one that your Dearest Daddy uses to whisper in someone else’s ear—someone who is struggling to make it happen.  And what is He whispering? He’s saying, “I’ve got this.” Bro. Dewayne

Posted in communication, food, life, priorities, Scripture

Here to Help–Not to Hurt!

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, to be with you forever.”  John 14:15-16

Ok…just one more…I promise.  This week I wrote a story about a new adventure I had with a company that helps people like me reverse their diabetes.  If you haven’t read the first two, why not wander over to http://www.gritswithgrace.com and check them out.  You will find out there were some highs and lows.  A couple of times, within the first couple of minutes, I was ready to chuck the whole thing out the window. But then, when I had a few minutes to think about it, it began to make at least some sense. 

I wrote about all the cool gadgets that this company gave me to help monitor where I was in the journey.  I have access to the information but so do they…and they are watching.  So far…they must have liked what they’ve seen because they said I am doing very well. One of the reasons for that is this gadget called a Dextron G6.  It is a continuous glucose (or blood sugar) monitor.  Every five minutes it tells the wearer their sugar level.  When you eat, you can see in just a little while what that meal did to your blood sugar levels.

It is interesting to eat, wait, and watch for the results.  You eat some bad stuff (usually bad for your sugar level but good for your tongue) and before long your sugar level is up where it doesn’t belong.  You see it and so do the folks at this company.  When I see it, my response is, “Wow, I guess I shouldn’t have eaten that…or at least not so much of that.” Usually that leads to a second response that asks the question, “Was is worth it?”  When my coach at the company saw it, she would gently nudge me in a better direction.  The goal is to make a better decision next time…and that sounds fair to me.

Did you know we Jesus followers have something like this when it comes to doing life? Yup…we sure do.  You see, our monitor that tells us how we are doing is called the Word of God, or the Bible. This marvelous Book is not a book of rules but rather a guidebook, a roadmap for doing life.  And, if we are wise, we will read and then follow it.  It really helps (and this is just like the monitor thingy) to see the Bible as a friend and not an enemy—not just rules but helps. So, when we decide to go down a path that is not good for us, what we know and what we can know, will help us make better decisions.  It gets better.

You see not only do we have the Book, we have a Coach to help us and encourage us and He is called the Holy Spirit. One of His jobs is to help us see our sin as sin and point us in a better direction. And, by the way, we must not see Him as an enemy but rather a friend, a dear friend who never wants to hurt but always wants to help us.  Jesus described it like this, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, to be with you forever.”  What a great word…Helper. So, from where I sit, two of the best decisions we can make as Jesus’ people is to know, trust, and follow God’s Word and then listen, obey, and trust the Holy Spirit.

When we start to believe that God is for us and not against us, when we start to believe that God’s Word can be trusted, and when we start to believe that the Holy Spirit is here to help and not to hurt, well, I think life is just about to get better…a lot better.  I saw some pretty cool results from my diabetes wellness adventure, and it all began when I started watching and trusting the gadgets they gave me and believing my coach was my friend.  It is true with them, and it is true with God. He is worthy of our trust, and He will be there for us…always.  Don’t you doubt it for a minute—He’s got this.  Bro. Dewayne

Posted in Christmas, Family, life, loving others, Scripture

How Time Flies

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk—not as unwise people but as wise–making the most of the time.” Ephesians 5:15-16

They say that time flies–and I believe it. These days I am shocked about how quickly the days pass. Just like playing cards fly in the hands of a professional dealer so the days of our lives zip by. Even in these retirement days, the days just zoom by. I may have to remind myself what day of the week it is but I never find myself wondering why the week is dragging by. This week, I said to my wife Judy, “Wait, is it Friday already?” And it was. Time indeed flies.

This past week, we were down visiting with the Guest clan in Vienna. For some reason we began talking about their dog Zoe and how old she is.  I was amazed when my daughter Becca (Zoe’s dog mom) told me that she (the dog not Becca) was going to be ten years old this Christmas. You see I remember full well the night Zoe showed up. It was Christmas Eve and for years (there’s that time word again) we have always spent Christmas Eve with the Guest tribe. Well, that year, they had decided to get the kids a dog for Christmas. After the kids were safely asleep in their bed, dreaming about sugar plums, Jonathan and I hopped in the car and drove more than a few miles to get Zoe.

Soon we were back at the house with one of the cutest, little dogs you can imagine. We soon decided to join the kids and do some dreaming of our own and before you could say, “Merry Christmas,” it was Christmas morning. We opened presents and had a grand time and soon (another time word) the last present was opened and the kids thought it was all over. Just about then, Jonathan brought one last wrapped box into the living room and there was Zoe. They were ecstatic times two. I remember one of them saying, “Can we keep her?” Well, the answer was yes and while Zoe was a gift to the kids it soon became apparent that Zoe was Becca’s new baby. 

Well, here we are ten years later, and the joy of that Christmas Eve and morning are as fresh as last night’s dew. I still can’t believe that ten years have come and gone. I was sixty-one then and now I find myself staring at a soon arriving seventy-two. And here is what I know. I know that whatever we intend to do we need to do it. That is what Paul, the guy who wrote a chunk of the New Testament, meant when he wrote, “Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk (or how you live)—not as unwise people but as wise—making the most of the time. How wise is that?

The bottom line is only God knows how many days we have but we do have this one. Need to tell someone you love them? Do it now. Need to make a new commitment to God? Do it now. Need to finish that God project? Do it now. Whatever it is…do it now. You may not have tomorrow…but by God’s grace…you do have now. And do you know what? He’s got your now! Bro. Dewayne

Posted in Family, forgiveness, Grace, heaven, love, Scripture

Returning Your Borrowed Faith

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “God saved you by His grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.” Ephesians 2:8-9

Sometimes borrowing is just easier than owning. Sometimes. A long while back I heard something that was both comical and true. Someone said, “It is better to have a friend with a truck than to go and buy a truck.” Once again, rather comical and at least partially true. Here’s part two.  “It is better to have a friend with a pool than to own one.” Let’s be honest, if you own a pool all the upkeep and maintenance becomes your responsibility. All the bills for all the chemicals are all yours. It’s pricy.

You see, borrowing is one of the great things about having great neighbors and friends. I can’t tell you how many times a someone has bailed me out by loaning me this tool or that. And there have been plenty of times when I was able to return the favor and help a friend or neighbor out. But there is one thing that we have to own. There is one thing that we have to decide about and then own and that one thing is–our faith.

You see, when we are kids we kinda coast along on our parents or grandparents faith and that works pretty good for a while. But at some point along the journey, we have to own our own faith. I’m sure the age varies and I’m sure it is different for each person but each of us have to reach a point when we own our faith and we realize we can no longer get by on borrowed faith.

Someone said, and it is true, that God has no grandchildren. If we are going to be in relationship with Him and if we are planning on making it to heaven, it will have to be based on a personal faith in His Son Jesus Christ. It is truly amazing and amazingly true that God welcomes anyone and everyone into His family. There are no barriers or restrictions. The one caveat is that we have to come to that point where we own our faith–where we decide that Jesus is Who He said He is and that He did what He said He could do.

So what do you say, is it time for you to return your borrowed faith to your parents or maybe your grandparents? Are you ready to believe not because your parents do but because you do? Are you ready to put it all on the line and declare your faith in Jesus–not as a historical superman but as the Savior of the world–your Savior? If you are, you will find that God is waiting to welcome you.

You know there is something to be said about owning that tool–there is a certain joy and satisfaction in being the owner. That is definitely true when it comes to faith. To have the confident assurance that Jesus is yours and you are His is one amazing feeling. So go ahead, return your borrowed faith and accept His offer of your very own. Afraid He isn’t willing? No way–nothing gives Him more pleasure than to see one of his creations become one of His kids–by faith.  Don’t worry–He’s got this.  Bro. Dewayne

Posted in communication, gratitude, life, priorities, Scripture, wisdom

Blood, Sweat and Tears

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. Because if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like someone looking at his own face in a mirror. For he looks at himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of person he was. But the one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom and perseveres in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer who works—this person will be blessed in what he does.” James 1:22-25

It just didn’t seem right. So the other morning I was up and at ’em early trying to do some yard work before it got incredibly hot. We have a lot of flower beds and a lot of flowers but along with those flower beds come a whole lot of weed things. Now these are not the standard “pull ’em up” weeds. These things are tangly vine and small tree-like things that like to grow into long vines and big tree-things. All of that means it is an on going battle–man vs weed things.

My main weapons of choice in dealing with these evil green things are a pair of hedge clippers and a pair of lobbers. Again, the goal is not to dig them up but rather to cut them off as close as possible to the ground. So, I dive in and start whacking here and whacking there–lobbing here and lobbing there. Before long I had several piles and at least I could tell I was making progress. But it came with a price. The longer I whacked and lobbed, the hot I got and before long two things were very apparent.  First, I was sweating up a storm–if storms sweat. Second, I was literally exhausted. All that bending over and whacking and lobbing made me feel ever one of my years.

Well, eventually, the job was mostly done–or at least as done as it was going to be that day. Now I wear one of those know-all, tell-all Apple watches. It has three rings that measure my movement, my exercise and how many times I stand.  The goal is to close all three rings by the end of the day. If you don’t, it is kind enough to remind you of what a loser you were that day. So, I decided to take a glance at my watch and my three rings to see how close I was to closing them–especially the exercise one.  Well, guess what?

Believe it or not, after all that work, after all that sweating, after all that whacking and lobbing, it gave me credit for a grand total of three minutes of exercise. Now folks, that is just wrong. I just about died from heat exhaustion and hard labor and all I got was a lousy three minutes. Talk about injustice. After pouting a while, I came to a conclusion. You see, the watch’s definition of exercise and my definition of exercise were totally different. In order to get credit–I had to exercise according to the watch’s rules. Fair or not–that is the deal.

Somewhere along the road of discovery, I thought about how that is like when I read the Bible–God’s Word. You see, sometimes some people think as long as they read the Bible they get some sort of credit. As long as they are reading, it is supposed to magically change them. In fact–that’s mostly just not true. You see for the Bible to change us we have to apply what we read.  Application is the change agent not just reading. 

Just like my watch will only give me credit if I am working according to the rules, so God’s Word can make a difference in our lives only if we are willing to apply what we read. So, let me encourage you to take the next step in your Bible time. Let’s move from just reading to applying the powerful truths of His Word. It is a game changer. Your Father in heaven is just waiting to help you so don’t worry.  He’s got this. Bro. Dewayne