‬‬‬‬As I stood in line to pay for gas at a local convenience store, I couldn’t help but notice
that the lady in front of me was covered in tattoos … tattoos everywhere … all kinds of
tattoos, with no particular theme. She had a young boy with her who was no more than
four or five and as she paid for her gas, the clerk pulled out a jar of lollipops and asked
the boy if he wanted one. The youngster glanced back at his mom, eyes wide and a big
smile and he asked, “Can I?” She nodded and the boy eagerly reached inside and took
a red one. “Thank you!” He said. As they exited the store he turned and  let out an
enthusiastic “Thank you” to the clerk.‬‬‬‬‬‬
“That,” I thought to myself, “Is because his mom is a good mother.” Then I had a pang
of guilt. I have nothing against tattoos.  I have family with tattoos. If I think this thing with
Angie is going to work out, I may even get her name tattooed on my arm.  Then why did
it surprise me that this lady’s little boy was not running around in the store like a little
demon, talking back to his mother, and grabbing a handful of the coveted suckers?
It’s because I don’t always look at people through God’s eyes.  I forget that he doesn’t
see what I see when I look at the young goth girl with pink hair, or the grizzled
motorcycle rider.  I forget that God doesn’t care about pigmented skin, dyed hair, or
leather vests.  He sees the heart.  That’s all. We would do well … I would do well … to
remember that.

According to my email for just today, I have won two tool sets, an expensive cooler, a Nintendo, and a
Coleman hot tub. Not only that, I also have three different packages out for delivery, but they were
unable to deliver them for some reason and need my name and address.  Am I a fortunate man, or
what?
Well, I have won nothing and there are no undeliverable packages en route to my home. This sort of
attempt to get personal mail is called “phishing”.  When I give them the information they want, I will not
hear from them again.  At best, they will sell my address and email address to folks, or, if I give them any
financial information, they could steal money from me.
There are evil, unscrupulous, thieves in this world, aren’t there? There are folks out there who are
unethical and have no sense of morals, outside of their own conniving minds and selfishness.  As I said
last week, that is why the Bible is, and always will be, relevant. But…let me take that a step further and
give the reason. 
Proverbs‬ 29‬:18‬ (NIV) tells us: “Where there is no revelation, people cast off restraint”. The revelation
spoken of is the Word of God.  Without the Word of God, there will be nothing to restrain the evil hearts
of humankind. Think about it:  who says there should be a family unit consisting of one man and one
woman? What authority tells us that there are only two sexes?  Where do we get the idea that sex
outside of marriage is wrong? I could go on with a large list of things that the Bible tells us that calls for
restraint. To take the Bible out of the collective consciousness will result in chaos and disorder.
We can certainly see that in the actions of people today.  You can’t believe the Bible and say that same
sex relationships are good.  You can’t believe it and say that transgenderism is normal and healthy.  You
can’t apply Biblical truth and say that abortion is just another method of contraception.  So what does a
society do?  They just disregard the Bible and the accompanying Christian beliefs.  You don’t have to
look very hard to see that in our nation.

The cycle has begun: A new pope and a call for a more “progressive” church. Society cries out again for a
church that changes with the times.  “Things have changed,” they shout, “we know more now than they
did thousands of years ago. The church needs to catch up.” My question is: what do we know now that
we didn’t know then that would change the doctrine of churches?
What do we know about homosexuality that enlightened us about same sex desires? We do not know
what causes same sex attraction.  Is it nature? Are we born that way? Is it nurture? Does culture mold us
to be like that? The fact is that the brightest of true scientists have no idea. All we truly know is that
carnal minds are accepting and tend to be supportive of that lifestyle…Just like they were two thousand
years ago. Nothing has changed.
The same goes for transgenderism and abortion. A fallen and depraved world wants the church to
approve of such and just move on.  But we can’t. The Bible doesn’t need to change. Why? Because it
was a perfect book when written and it is still that perfect book.  You see, people haven’t changed in
these thousands of years. Sure, we may be smarter about some things, able to do rocket stuff, and
certainly the 1965 Mustang is prettier than the rough wagons pulled by donkeys…but the Bible wasn’t
written to give us those things.  The Bible was given to us so that the corrupt heart of fallen man could
be made into a heart that reflected the character and purpose of a holy God. And the heart of mankind
has not changed. Not one bit.
The lust of the heart today is exactly like the lustful heart of people thousands of years ago.  Our hearts
and lifestyles still harbor hate, greed, anger, selfishness, and jealousies as we seek power and authority.
And, yes, people still want to act on deviant sexual desires. That's what the Bible addresses. That’s what
the Bible seeks to change. Every one of those carnal yearnings dishonor the character and purpose of
God. And they bring pain, heartache, troubles, and darkness into the lives of His creation.
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” (Hebrews‬ 13‬:8‬ NIV‬‬)‬‬‬

I recently joined a Facebook group dedicated to Bigfoot sightings. Do I believe that Bigfoot exists?  I
believe it could be possible that a big, hairy woodland creature can be roaming the deep wilderness of
isolated forests.  However, I have not seen any convincing evidence of that.  Every photo is grainy and
out of focus.  And now, with the popularity of artificial intelligence, it can be easily faked.
I don’t, however, believe that if such an animal were discovered it would be what most people want it to
be:  the “missing link”.  Folks seem to think that Bigfoot (also known as Sasquatch, Yeti, Windigo, etc)
would prove that evolution is a fact and the walking fur-balls would link man to monkeys. That’s
laughable because the theory of evolution is laughable.  Something (we don’t know what) exploded (we
don’t know how) and life began (we don’t know why).  That’s a great explanation of the beginning of all
life, isn’t it?
I heard three respected scientists talk about the many reasons that living things can’t evolve.  It boiled
down to the fact that perfection can’t evolve from imperfection. They spoke at length about how
conception disproves evolution.  So many things have to be perfect for conception to occur.  From
ovulation to fertilization to implantation…it all happens perfectly or it doesn’t happen at all.  In order for
a species to reproduce, everything must work perfectly.  Therefore, there was never a time when
conception worked differently and then evolved into how it works now.
The same goes for the entire body.  The heart pumps blood to all parts of the body at specific rates and
volume.  The lungs operate a certain way.  The eyes operate a certain way. Liver, kidneys, and intestines
have to operate perfectly for a body to survive. Am I to believe that there was a time when an
incomplete heart, or lungs, or brain functioned in a way to sustain life?  
God created us in the form it takes to be alive.  Have we adapted in certain ways?  Sure.  We’ve grown
smarter, stronger, and taller.  But we didn’t evolve into a certain species.
Bro. Tony

I heard a good analogy about faith.  It seems a man had stretched a tightrope across a huge waterfall. 
He stood beside it with a wheelbarrow as a crowd gathered. When it had grown quite large, he asked
the people who believed he could push the wheelbarrow across the tightrope to the other side. A few
cautiously raided their hand, but the rest were doubting.  The man threw the wheelbarrow onto the
rope and got behind it.  Slowly, but surely made the long journey across and back.  The people cheered
and clapped upon his return.  He stood before them and asked who believed he could do it again. Every
person raised their hand. He fixed his eyes on a young boy and asked him if he truly believed…without a
doubt…that he could do it again and the boy grinned and shook his head up and down.  “Then get in the
wheelbarrow,” he said.
Needless to say, the boy changed his mind.  You see, true faith means we must climb into that
wheelbarrow from time to time.  But faith…strong, obedient faith will allow us to do that.  Yes, faith may
take us out of our comfort zone, and it may call for us to take a risk occasionally.  But that is the way
faith works. When the Lord speaks to us, especially through His word, we must have faith that He will do
what He says He will. If we truly believe that He can and will work…we will get into that metaphorical
wheelbarrow.
But think on this:  If the boy had enough faith in that man’s ability and he climbed into that wagon, what
a unique and exciting thing he would have experienced.  Would he be scared a little? You bet! But he
would have done something very few people had done…or would do.  I suppose he wouldn’t even know
how to describe what he felt.  It would be an event that would live with him a lifetime.
Do you really want to miss the things God has in store for you as you are obedient?  Don’t you want to
live in the excitement of serving God?  You can.  But it takes faith to get up in that wheelbarrow.

I received a call recently from someone who claimed to be with the “Illinois Gaming Commission” and
he told me I had won a large cash prize. I told him I wasn’t interested, and I hung up.  I knew it would
end up with going to buy gift cards from Walmart and telling him the numbers on the back of the card. 
It was a scam.
I really do not like people that steal.  Especially if they steal from me. They should be ashamed to do
what they do. Imagine lying and deceiving people to rob them of their hard-earned money.  It really
takes a rotten soul to do that, along with terrible character and extremely low morals.  It is even worse if
they try to do it to senior citizens who they hope have somewhat diminished capacity.  (Like me). My
disdain and lack of respect for that kind of person is doubled (at the least) for someone who does that in
the name of Jesus.
Imagine what kind of heart one must have to lie and steal in Jesus’ name.  There is one thing I know: 
Such a person is lost. In fact I’d say that person is an atheist.  There is no way someone could believe in
God and preach what he or she knows is a straight up lie. I believe that is one of the groups that Jesus
was referring to when he said: “Things that cause people to stumble are bound to come, but woe to
anyone through whom they come. It would be better for them to be thrown into the sea with a
millstone tied around their neck than to cause one of these little ones to stumble.” (Luke‬ 17‬:1‬-2‬ NIV‬‬)
It is not only the shysters who tell you to send in “seed” money and the Lord will multiply back to you.  It
is also the prosperity preachers who tell people that if their faith is strong enough God will bless them
with material wealth. What God promises to believers is not material, it is spiritual. He promises us love,
joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness. (Galatians‬ 5‬:22‬ NIV‬‬)
Have you ever thought about the hearts that are easily deceived by the immoral hucksters, though? 
What are their desires? What are they seeking?  I mean, really, are they looking for a relationship with
God or are they seeking the riches of man?  Don’t get me wrong, I believe God has blessed me with
everything I have…but I never asked for any of it specifically.  When there is a necessity (like when our
refrigerator died) I do ask the Lord to lead me to the right thing and to let me know which is the right
thing.  But I do not serve Him so that I can live a more extravagant life.
In the book of Job, the Devil asks God if Job would fear God if all riches were taken away. That’s a good
question for us to ask of ourselves. Would we still love and fear God if we had less than what we have
now? I’ve said it plenty of times: we do not worship God for what he gives us.  We worship Him because
of who He is…the one, true, living God.

I have always said there are certain things…feelings and attitudes…that only Christians can understand. 
Because we are blessed with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, we have spiritual capabilities that are
unique.  Of course He enables us to understand the scriptures that, to the carnal mind…the lost…are
foolish.
But it spreads to more aspects of our lives and behavior. We are told to love our enemy and, because we
are commanded to do that, the Holy Spirit empowers us to love them. It is a spiritual thing.  The world is
not able to truly do that.  The biggest misunderstanding, the one that the devil uses very successfully in
the minds of unbelievers, is that they cannot understand the concept of “love the sinner but hate the
sin”.  It is beyond their comprehension.  Therefore, they equate disagreement with hate. And as a result,
they believe that Christians hate homosexuals, the transgendered, the migrant, and others.
Honestly, in 40 years, I have met only one Christian who expressed a hatred for homosexuals. Just one. 
The vast majority of Christians I am around certainly believe it is an un-Godly lifestyle and thus disagree
with it. Yes, we can get upset about “drag queen story hour” in schools, but it is not because we hate
that person, we simply do not want impressionable children exposed to such a degenerate mindset; a
mindset we want Jesus to heal.
Recently, I listened to a young man sing a song about what Jesus would do if He were here today. I was
astonished at how he insinuated Christians feel and what they do. This guy said that Jesus would not
mistreat and abuse migrants…I did not know that Christians do that, did you?  Yet that is what a fallen
world believes about Christian teachings. I learned, from listening to the song, that Christians have a lot
of hate in their heart, they do evil things, they want to take away rights from women, and Jesus (his
version of Jesus) would not like today’s Christians. 
I dare say that most organizations that exist to help with food, housing, medical needs, orphanages, and
the like are Christian founded and funded. Yes we believe that abortion takes a life, but that doesn’t
mean we hate women. We believe in legal immigration, but that doesn’t mean we mistreat migrants.
While most of us disagree with a system that rewards, and thus encourages, having babies out of
wedlock in homes without fathers present, we still minister to those in that situation.  
But hate? No! We don’t hate people. Do we hate sin?  Absolutely.  But, just as Jesus would have us do,
we sincerely love the sinner.
Say Good things about your Savior

I watched a video of a man standing on the sidewalk of a “gay pride” parade. He was holding a sign that
spoke of God’s opposition to homosexual lifestyle. A woman pastor, decked out in her official attire of
black shirt with the priestly collar, was literally screaming at him. She was furious. “Do you even know
what the Gospel is?” She yelled.  He said “Yes, God loves you, Jesus died for you and wants you to
repent of your sin and be saved.” It looked as though her head was about to explode, and she screamed,
clapping her hands in anger “No! No! No!  It is love! The Gospel is love!”
Please understand that God is all about love.  But the Gospel is not love. Love is the reason for the
Gospel.  Love is why He sent Jesus. Love is why Jesus died on that cross.  But the Gospel is simply what
that man said. It is terribly sad that some ministers, priests, and other religious leaders are leading
people astray, preaching such false doctrine. I’ve often wondered how and why they preach such
blasphemy.
I have concluded that, at least partially, they are living the lifestyle that is forbidden. They are preaching
and teaching false doctrine so that they can give in to the unholy desires of their own flesh. Some are
preaching it out of fear of not being accepted by some people.  Some do not want to hurt anyone’s
feelings.
I passionately believe that no one can read and study the Bible and conclude that homosexuality is an
acceptable lifestyle. Unless…they simply disregard all scripture that conflicts with their own desires. In
fact, I would not be surprised if someone made a LGBTQ+ Bible translation. It would simply leave out
any verses that called out their sin.  I suspect it would be a big seller in the “pride” community.
Say Good things about your Savior.

As I write this, Angie and I have spent a few days trying to see who would be the first one to cough up a
lung. It’s still a close race. However, in our down time we have tried to mitigate our misery by watching
some entertainment on TV. I wanted to watch some “shoot-em-up, sci-fi, spy movies” and she wanted
to watch some romantic comedies.  We compromised and watched some romantic comedies.
As the lead roles found the love of their lives, they spoke of fate, coincidence, and circumstances. No
one hypothesized that, perhaps, God put them together.  Have you considered God’s hand in your
marriage? Let me give you a quick synopsis of my life with Angie.  My family moved my senior year of
high school. I hated it. I rebelled. I didn’t like the school or the people (that was on me…Columbia is a
very nice town with fantastic people). I saw her a couple of times in the hallway and thought she was
the prettiest girl I’d ever seen.  On the last day of school (for us seniors) the girls’ gym class was playing
volleyball and I saw her and walked up to her and asked her out.  I don’t know why but she said yes but
on our third date (a week later) I gave her my class ring and we’ve been “going steady” for almost 55
years. 
Here’s the thing: not once did I ask God what He wanted or was this the right person for me. I was far
away from God in a dark place. In one of the movies we watched, an older gentleman, looking over his
past life, said this: “looking back on all the good things in my life, there were a lot of miracles”.  I
immediately thought “absolutely!!!”  Oh, things could have gone very differently than they did.  I could
have gone to Livingston College on a partial scholarship. I could have kept working at Sears instead of
taking a job at WTVY-TV.  I could have decided not to start attending church where my father was
preaching. 
But looking back…I see the Lord gently prodding, spiritually urging, and opening and closing doors, until I
am where I am. Is my life perfect? Oh, gracious no!  We are the parents of five rambunctious dogs who
are a “handful”, my three apple trees don’t seem to like each other, and my bees don’t know what
season we are in.  But…and this is crucial…I know God is working and I wouldn’t want to be anywhere
else, doing anything else.
Think about where you are…who you are with…and what you are doing. Do you see God’s gracious
hand?  I’d really like to hear how you met your spouse and how you see God in that!
Say good things about your Savior.