LifeLink Devotional

Friday, March 13, 2020

Many years ago I found something that became instantly precious to me. It was a little notebook that my grandfather, Dr. J.A. van Gorkom, used to write down observations he made while he walked through life. Each observation had a spiritual application. I love that little notebook. My grandpa kept a spiritual perspective about everything, even down to the cracks in the sidewalk which he related to the fleshly cracks we allow to form on the paths of our lives.

Jesus modeled this kind of teaching to us over and over again. He was constantly making observations about everyday life and turning them into a spiritual principle that could transform our hearts and minds.

In John chapter 6, we read the fascinating story of Jesus feeding 5,000 men plus women and children after they had sat all day and listened to His teaching. None of them had come prepared to stay that long, so they had very little food with them. So Jesus, with great compassion for them in their need, took the little food that was available – five little loaves of bread and two small fish, and He miraculously multiplied them to be enough to serve thousands of people, with twelve baskets of leftovers.

The next day, the people followed Jesus to and new location. When Jesus saw them gathered, He said,

 “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.” John 6:26-27

Jesus knew the motive of their heart for using their money to pay for passage on a boat across the Sea of Galilee: they wanted another free meal. So Jesus uses this opportunity to teach them spiritual principles.

1. Don’t work so hard to satisfy your desires in this life, but satisfy yourselves with eternal food.
2. Eternal food comes only from Jesus Christ.
3. God the Father has approved of Jesus being the source of our eternal food.

Then Jesus said,

“I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.”  John 6:35

All the pursuits of life to satisfy the longings of our heart need constant replenishment. The life that Jesus gives us never does. When we feed on the Bread of Life, we will never be dissatisfied with any other bread. When we feed on the bread from this life, we will never be satisfied.

Jesus is the Bread of Life. He is the True Bread from heaven (John 6:32). When we believe on Him, He satisfies every hunger and thirst of the human soul. Be filled with Jesus today.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional

Thursday, March 12, 2020

In one month we will celebrate the greatest event to have ever occurred, the resurrection of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. To prepare for the official holiday, and to make us aware of the daily hope produced by living in His resurrection power, I think it would be appropriate to spend the next month studying fifteen sayings of Jesus. Eight of the sayings declare who He is, and seven of the sayings He uttered from the cross where He paid for our redemption.

The Gospel of John contains seven of Jesus’ “I am” statements, and each one is significant. There is another “I am” statement in the Book of Revelation. The “I am” statements in the Gospel of John point back to the Old Testament and into the kingdom. They prove that Jesus is God and was the God of the Old Testament.

When God revealed Himself to Moses in the burning bush, He told Moses His name is “I AM,” and “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I AM has sent me to you’” (Ex 3:14b).

I AM is the term God used to describe His self-existent nature. He is eternal, with no beginning or end, and exists with no need for input from any other source. We are human, finite beings, with a distinct beginning point in time. God is and always was, since He inhabits eternity.

Jesus authoritatively said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58). The Jews knew what Jesus meant and that’s why they tried to stone Him, but Jesus hid Himself from them because it wasn’t His time (John 8:59). Jesus existed in eternity before Abraham. Like us, there was a time when Abraham did not exist. Jesus directly tells us He existed before Abraham. Therefore, He must be God – and He is!

Over the next few weeks we will discover the incredible truths of Jesus Christ’s identity, His mission, His love, His suffering, and His sacrifice for sin. I am excited to be refreshed in the fundamental principles of the Gospel. Join me tomorrow as we begin our study with Jesus telling us that He is the Bread of life.

Begin praying that the grace of God would overwhelm your heart with the joy of our salvation, and that our love for Jesus would grow.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional

Wednesday, March 11, 2020

Most of us would rather forget the painful experiences of our lives. We would rather not remember the things or the people that hurt us.  We prefer to be comfortable, and never go back to the darkness of death.

But as Isaiah closes out his book of prophecy, he declares the word of the LORD about the political and physical status of the earth during the millennial reign of Christ. All the enemies of Jesus have been conquered and put to death. The King of eternity has descended to the earth and taken His rightful place on the throne of Israel. All the people of the earth, from every tribe and nation, will come and bow down before Him. And as a part of their worship, they will go out and look upon death as a reminder to be faithful and obedient to God.

Isaiah 66:22-24  “As the new heavens and the new earth that I make will endure before me,” declares the LORD, “so will your name and descendants endure. ²³ From one New Moon to another and from one Sabbath to another, all mankind will come and bow down before me,” says the LORD. ²⁴ “And they will go out and look upon the dead bodies of those who rebelled against me; their worm will not die, nor will their fire be quenched, and they will be loathsome to all mankind.”

This is hard for us to accept. Why would Jesus allow the view of Hell to be open to all the people of His temporal Kingdom on earth? I do not presume in the slightest way to know the full answer to that question, but I do know this – the view of consequences is a great motivator and deterrent.

During the Millennial reign of Christ, the earth will be filled with finite human beings. You and I will be in our eternal bodies, not subject to the physical laws and limitations of creation. We will have already seen Christ in His eternal glory and so we will be like Him. 1 John 3:2 says, Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. We who are in Christ in this present age will be raptured prior to the beginning of the next age – the great and glorious reign of Jesus Christ on the earth. Satan will be bound in the bottomless pit for a thousand years, and the earth will be at peace.

However, those people who are alive in the flesh during this time will still have the right to choose to obey the King or reject Him. The consequences of disobedience must be understood, and God requires everyone to see them. The gruesome reminder of rebellion against God will be constantly visible to all the people of the world.

We live in a time where consequences of rebellion against God are minimized rather than memorized. We intentionally choose to consider them inconsequential. We maximize the pleasure of the present while minimizing the probabilities of penalties. We succumb to the same temptation as Eve in the Garden of Eden – we choose to reject God’s truth of His sufficiency and we choose to believe that it will not result in death.

We are becoming blind to the consequences of our sin. We are enamored with the pleasures and have erased the pain that has most certainly resulted from previous choices.

But God would have us constantly look at the consequences of sin. Yes, it is true that our love for God is what compels us to love and serve Him, but true love for God requires a complete view of who He is, and He has shown us that there is justice and condemnation for all who disobey Him. Fear is healthy for all His followers, for it elevates grace to the highest place of praise. Without God’s love for us we too would be subject to condemnation and death. It is by keeping the consequences of sin ever before us that we appreciate the grace of God more and more.

My friends, do not forget the reality of Hell. Do not refuse to believe in the finality and eternity of punishment for sin. Do not think that because you are saved by His blood that you are not subject to His loving hand of discipline (Hebrews 12:4-13). The visible consequences of sin are a gift of God’s grace. Embrace the view of them, for in them is found the love of God.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional

Tuesday, March 10, 2020

Oh the joys of grandparenting. I enjoy the privilege of having grandchildren over for a sleepover. Their arrival at our home is an instant boost. Their eyes gush with love and admiration, and it melts my heart. Their playfulness re-energizes me, even though I’m already old enough to be outrun by a three-year old.

One such sleepover was especially memorable. They arrived late, so it was off to bed right away. They were both tired and fast asleep within minutes. The oldest one rose at 6:40 am and we took some time to talk on the couch while grandma and his brother slept a little longer. When grandma got up and got dressed, it was my turn to go shower and shave and prepare for a day of ministry. I was a little sad that I wouldn’t be there to spend more time with them, but grandma had a great plan for their day.

When I finished dressing, I started to make the bed, knowing that grandma was busy with the boys in the kitchen. There was a flash of the flesh that said I was too busy to make the bed and I should get going to work. I quelled that thought immediately, and continued to get the bedroom in order. Then another thought came to my mind – This is the least I could do for her. I was overwhelmed at that moment with a total distaste for that statement. Why do we say it, and what makes us think that it’s a good thing to only do the least that we could for someone?

I started to think about that statement in relationship to what God does for me. What if He only did the least He could do? As I thought about it, I found myself doing a little bit extra straightening of the comforter and pillows on the bed. I looked around the room for anything else that needed to be picked up or put away. As I left the house, I moved the car seats from my vehicle to my wife’s with extra care and precision, buckling them firmly in place to protect those precious lives.

I started thinking about what God promises to do for His people in Isaiah 66.

Isaiah 66:12a  For this is what the LORD says: “I will extend peace to her like a river, and the wealth of nations like a flooding stream;

God said He would never do the least He could do, but will go beyond what is expected or even deserved. As I read verses 12 through 21 again, I saw so much more than the least God could do. I saw Him granting peace and wealth. I saw the people flourishing, not just surviving. I saw God extending Himself beyond anything He had ever done before to bring people who had never heard of Him to the place of eternal worship. I saw Him extending grace to “newbies” in the Kingdom by promoting them to positions of priesthood. He did far more than the least He could do.

Then I was reminded of one of my favorite words from the Bible – a word used in 1 John 3:1, where it says,

“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.”

When God loved us it was not with the least love He could give – He LAVISHED His love on us. He didn’t just provide enough love to forgive us and grant us eternal life. Instead, He lavished His love on us so that we could be called His children, with full rights of inheritance of all things with His Son Jesus.

I choose to live my life that way. I will seek to not do the least I can for others. I choose to not allow my selfish desires to influence my expression of love to others. From this day forward, I want my life to be lived lavishly – not in a materialistic way to bring honor to self, but with the heart of a servant Savior who lavished His love on me. I will not settle for doing the least I could do. I will serve others to the full extent of God’s love that was lavished on me.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional

Monday, March 09, 2020

It’s not just because this is Monday. I know it’s not the Monday morning blues. It goes much deeper than that. It goes to the very core of my being as I stand before my awesome and holy God. My soul continues to be overwhelmed with a burden for the souls of people who are lost in their sin and are moving rapidly towards eternal death.

Again this morning I read the entire sixty-sixth chapter of Isaiah. In this concluding chapter, God is explaining the final separation of the righteous from the unrighteous – the righteous into His presence on the new earth that will endure forever (66:22), and the unrighteous into eternal punishment (66:24). The judgment of God on the unrighteous will be severe, beginning with the harsh treatment of verse 4, to His fury of verse 14, and His fire and sword of verse 16.

But what I am most burdened with is God’s statement in verse 17.

Isaiah 66:17 “Those who consecrate and purify themselves to go into the gardens, following the one in the midst of those who eat the flesh of pigs and rats and other abominable things–they will meet their end together,” declares the LORD.

I am burdened because it describes good-willed people with religious inclinations and spiritual values who are included in God’s judgment. These are people who have put on an outward appearance of spiritual life, and who participate in religious traditions and sacraments, but on the inside are still lost in their sin.

Every day I make connections with people who are trusting in the wrong things for their security. They trust their goodness, reminding others that they are a good person. They trust their success, displaying their abilities to the world around them. They trust their wealth, building bigger and bigger kingdoms to their own credit. They even trust their churches, seeking to find spiritual security in their obedience to the sacred duties declared by their leaders to be necessary to earn the approval of God.

But their hearts are unchanged from their innate condition of sin. As a result, in one of the most painful and heart-wrenching statements God ever makes, they will meet their end in the same way as those who absolutely rejected anything to do with God and His Son Jesus. The one who did their spiritual duty will be condemned right alongside of the one who did abominable things. That breaks my heart!

But it goes even deeper. I wonder how many there are in my own church, and in my own family, who are trusting in a man-made, man-honoring religious exterior, when in reality their heart has never been transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit through faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord? I am concerned that there are people sitting under my preaching every week who are going through the spiritual motions of faith but are walking through life following those who are doing abominable things.

My friends, there is only One Way to eternal life, and that is through Jesus Christ our Lord. His death and resurrection are the only qualifier for eternal life. And those who have repented of their sin and been forgiven by faith in the work of Jesus Christ on the cross must not go back to a life of sin and compromise with the world. The warnings of the Apostle John are clear:

1 John 2:15-17 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world–the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does–comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.

And again the Holy Spirit speaks through John and says:

1 John 3:9  No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God.

Oh dear people, we must declare boldly whom we will serve. Will we serve ourselves and seek acceptance with the world, or will we serve the Savior and forfeit the world for the eternal world that is coming? There can be no compromise. You cannot serve both because you cannot love both. Make your choice carefully. What you choose to love makes the choice for you, and it has eternal consequence.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional

Friday, March 6, 2020

Isaiah 66:3  They have chosen their own ways, and their souls delight in their abominations;

A line has been drawn in the sand. It is along that line that a chasm will soon be fixed for eternity. For the moment, while the line is still crossable, many people pass from one side to the other and back again as if there were no line at all. As they do, the line becomes obscured by sand being kicked on it. Feet that tread on the truth seeking self-fulfillment are wiping out the evidence of the line.

Back and forth across the line go millions and millions of people. They seem to have good intentions. Actually they are blind to the existence of the line. Their blindness to the line is their choice, having decided not to look at it because they have chosen to look only at their own lusts and take delight in their own desires.

In their blindness to the line they are convinced that they can have all the desires of the flesh and still earn favor with God and attain eternal life. They continually cross the line from religious duty to sinful pleasures and back again. Little do they realize that the line is still there, and one day, maybe very soon, that line will become an un-crossable chasm and they will be trapped for all eternity on the side of death and destruction with no hope of seeing the Creator.

There will be many on the eternal life side of the chasm. They are esteemed by God because of their humble hearts, their repentant spirits, and their awe of the Word of God. They will be the ones who continued to see the line no matter how obscured it became to the rest of culture.

God drew the line in the sand in the Garden of Eden. It has been there ever since. Then one day some 2000 years ago, His Son re-traced the line with His finger dipped in the blood of His own sacrifice.  He declared clearly and concisely that He was The Way, The Truth, and The Life. He stated truthfully that no one can ever get to eternal life with the Father except through His sacrifice on the cross and His resurrection to new life. He taught frequently that crossing back and forth over the line is unacceptable and inexcusable. The person who believes they can cross back and forth between surrender to Jesus and selfish sin is not fit for the Kingdom of Heaven.

As I read Isaiah 66:3 I am deeply moved by the blindness of people to the blood-stained line in the sand. Billions of people who are being misled and deceived by the enemy of God – our selfish pride – to believe that they can obey some spiritual law or sacrament and thereby earn the favor of God, all the while doing only those things that please themselves and fulfill their own desires. I grieve for their souls, knowing that there will be a day when the sand that has obscured the line falls into the eternal chasm of separation between eternal life and eternal death. Their sacrifices and spiritual rituals will mean nothing. They ignored the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary. They will be separated from life forever.

God drew the line in the sand. There is no other way to God than through His Son Jesus. Many people are very sincere about their religions. However, God does not reward sincerity with eternity. He rewards humility – a broken and repentant heart that turns in faith from a life centered on self to a Savior who gives real life. Salvation is not available to the person who intends to keep kicking sand on God’s blood-stained line. Forgiveness is a one way bridge across the line from the side of sin to the side of salvation. Forgiveness is not to be a cheap and easy way for us to keep crossing the line back and forth between religious duty and personal gratification. That is a denial of the Gospel truth and intentionally ignores the reality of the coming chasm.

My friends, many are deceived. Many are doing spiritual duties to earn the favor of God while they continue to seek and serve self every day. Let us blow away the sand that has obscured the line in our own lives, so that it can be clearly seen by those around us. They need to see the line, and be drawn by the Holy Spirit to cross it into the arms of a loving Savior who drew the line with His blood.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional

Thursday, March 5, 2020

We have multiple ones in our house. There’s one in the bathroom for the grandkids to use. One is in the front closet so the grandkids can help in the kitchen. There’s another one in the laundry room. There’s one in the garage. Finally, are four in the living room attached to chairs and the sofa. Our house is filled with footstools.

Some are placed specifically to assist little children in accomplishing tasks. They raise the kids up to higher levels of functionality. Some are available to adults for the same purpose, like reaching the top shelves of kitchen cupboards. Still others are used primarily for rest and relaxation, lifting tired feet off the floor.

One thing is true of all footstools – they were designed and created to assist by lifting up. They never complain about the weight they must carry. They never argue with the user about how they are being used. They are kicked from one location to another so another task can be accomplished. They have cake batter and cookie dough spilled on them by less than careful grandkids that are learning to bake with grandma. They have dribbles of another kind on them from little boys being potty trained. They have absorbed the smell of stinky feet placed on them after a long day of work. Dirty, battered, and sometimes with covers that are wearing thin, they just keep doing what they were designed to do – lifting people up.

Isaiah 66:1 This is what the LORD says: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. Where is the house you will build for me? Where will my resting place be?

So, how are you doing today at lifting up your Designer and Creator? Or would you rather not be the footstool of the LORD God Almighty?

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional

Wednesday, March 4, 2020

Never say never.

We have been warned to be very careful how we use words that express absolutes – words like never and always. Sometimes these words are added to a statement as an emphatic expression of the truth. But for most of us, they are words that are used to try to make a point and convince others of something of which we ourselves may not be convinced.

For example, after being caught for the third time doing something wrong, little Johnny said to his father as the discipline is being enforced, “Daddy, I’m sorry. I’ll never do that again.”

Or how about the married couple that is in a heated argument, and neither one is staying on point. Soon one or both are saying, “You always…!”

The words never and always are valid words when used to express truth. In fact, the word never is used 315 times in the Bible, and the word always is used 129 times. In Deuteronomy 28:13 we read, “If you pay attention to the commands of the LORD your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom.”

God is the God of absolutes. Everything He speaks is absolute truth. Everything He does is absolutely perfect. He never uses never inappropriately. He always means what He says.

As we look ahead to the coming Kingdom of Jesus Christ on earth the prophet Isaiah is given insight into its conception and culture.

• Jerusalem will be a delight to all the nations of the world rather than an enemy. (66:18)
• The wailing wall will become obsolete as God promises that the sound of weeping and crying will never be heard again. (66:19)
• Never again will a baby die. (66:20)
• There will always be prosperity (66:21-23)
• There will be perfect fellowship with God. (66:24)
• There will be perfect peace on earth. (66:25)

What a glorious Kingdom that will be, and all of those who by faith in Jesus Christ have been washed of their sin and born of the Spirit into the eternal family of God will be a part of it.

As I ponder the splendor of our eternal glory in Christ, something has become clear to me that is especially meaningful at this stage of my life. It’s in verse 20.

Isaiah 65:20 “Never again will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not live out his years; he who dies at a hundred will be thought a mere youth; he who fails to reach a hundred will be considered accursed.”

In the earthly Kingdom of Christ, an old man will live out his years, and anyone under 100 years of age is still a youth. So here’s the thought that is dominating my mind right now – from God’s perspective, I’m not getting older, I’m getting younger.

When Jesus returns, the Kingdom of God on earth will be like the first 2000 years of earth’s history when people lived to be over 900 years old. This is incredible. In eternity, we will ALWAYS be young.

So why not change your perspective on how old you really are and recognize that age doesn’t equate to value or usefulness. Come on, start thinking young again, and get busy for God.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional

Tuesday, March 3, 2020

God is in control, and all things are working out exactly as He has planned for His glory and for our ultimate good. Therefore, it makes perfect sense to not be critical complainers but rather to be filled with hope.

Maybe you missed the preliminaries from Isaiah that led up to me making that statement. God spoke directly to the issue of our past and our present and gave us a vision of our future. He declared the past to be forgotten and hidden from His eyes (Isaiah 65:16). He declared that anything and everything about the past and the present will be wiped away in a new creation so that we will no longer remember the former things (vs. 17). Now, in place of complaining there can be rejoicing: in place of sadness there can be gladness (vs. 18).

Isaiah 65:18 But be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create…

Eight years ago, while in the Philippines, I was introduced to the new Dean of Men at the Bible College that serves as the headquarters for the Evangelical Christian Outreach Foundation Incorporated (ECOFI), a ministry supported by missions giving to our church. His name is Christopher Bocboc. We talked for a few minutes, and then he helped me remember something from nine years earlier. I had been invited to an all-night prayer meeting with the students at the college, and he was one of them. I had spent an extended period of time counseling him about his spiritual life and God’s call on his life to full-time ministry. Now, nine years later, there he was as the Dean of Men at the Bible College.

One day on Facebook, Chris posted this, and I wanted to share it with you to encourage you to become people of praise.

Most of us give praise quite naturally. For example, we love watching our favorite sports heroes perform magnificent feats of athletic brilliance. Then we praise them to our friends as we share in their secret wish, just for a moment, that we could feel what it’s like to be in their spotlight! We also praise musical artists and bands when their music entertains or moves us.  Do you praise your friends? How about a boyfriend or a girlfriend? There’s nothing wrong with giving praise to others or even receiving some well earned praise. Yet the one we often forget to praise is the One who is the most deserving of it—God. No person is totally praiseworthy in the same sense that God is praiseworthy. We’re all human. We make mistakes. We let others down. We let ourselves down. But God is faithful. He is always true to Himself and to his word. When was the last time you paused to give praise to God? Is it something you do naturally?

THINK ABOUT IT! David recognized all God had done for Him and paused to praise Him for His faithfulness. Second Samuel 22:4 says” the Lord should be praised.” The next time you hear a great song, instead of praising the band, praise God, the creator of music. The next time you watch an exciting sporting event, praise God, the giver of all talent. Set aside each day to praise God for who He is and what He has done for you.

Be glad and rejoice in what God has created, and to Him alone be all the praise and glory.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional

Monday, March 2, 2020

Isaiah 65:18 “But be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create”

Ah, the joys of a Monday morning. I love Mondays. I’m still invigorated with inspiration from yesterday’s worship of God in the company of people I love. I’m still basking in the blessing of spending quality time with my wife on Sunday. I’m rested and restored because I choose to use Sunday afternoon and evening as a Sabbath day. I’m energized with enthusiasm about the week’s ministry opportunities and waiting with wonder on the work God is going to do.

I know for most people Monday is a drag. But may I suggest that the reason for Mundane Monday is monocular: you know, looking only through one eye rather than two.

When I was first learning to shoot a rifle as a young boy, I was taught something very important by the man who was training me. When I put that .22 caliber rifle up to my shoulder for the first time and looked down the barrel at those open sights, I shut my left eye so I could focus completely on the target. Before I could pull the trigger, he stopped me. He told me to open my left eye and learn to focus on the target with both eyes open.

I had a lot of trouble with that at first. By nature our eyes are separated by space so we can see in stereo, making depth perception possible. In addition, one of our eyes is more dominant than the other, and when trying to line up two objects in a straight line we need to use the dominant eye. Lining up a rifle on a target is very difficult when both eyes are open.

But I did what he said, and kept practicing. Now, when I hunt, both eyes are always open. In that way, I never become so focused on one target that I miss another potential target that may be just left or right of the first one. On several occasions I have been looking through the scope of my rifle at a deer when out of the other eye I see the movement of a bigger deer to one side. Monocular vision limits potential.

One morning last spring, as I checked out all the latest news, weather, and sports, I noticed movement through the window on the other side of the house. I looked up and a bluebird had landed on the top of my birdfeeder. I had been trying to get bluebirds to nest at my house for years, yet they never seem interested in the houses I put up. But this was not about bluebirds nesting, it was about the Lord revealing Himself to me and reminding me not to get so monocular about life that I forget to see His presence around me.

Mundane Mondays are the result of monocular vision. We are so focused on the fun we had over the weekend, or the stresses of life in the week ahead, or the disappointments of life, or any other issue that exists, that we miss the blessings of the Lord’s presence. We have closed the eye that can see the movement of the Lord and we are seeing only the targets visible through the scope of self.  We are so intent on what we can create for ourselves that we are missing the splendor of what God is creating in and around us.

This is not a Mundane Monday – this is a Magnificent Monday. It is a Marvelous Monday. I rejoice that I enter this day and this week with both eyes wide open to see the splendor of God’s presence. I have already seen the bluebird of happiness.

Pastor John