Nothing To Do With Anything
7-22-2026
Jim Abbott grew up dreaming of playing baseball with his friends, even dreamed of someday playing in the major leagues, but the dream was considered all but impossible.
The reason? Jim was born with only one hand.
Still, every day he would practice throwing a rubber ball against against a brick wall, quickly shifting his glove to his hand to catch the rebound. In the process, he developed speed, strength, and accuracy. Soon, he was good enough to play Little League ball with his friends, in spite of his handicap. And then, good enough to stand out as a top level pitcher in high school. And good enough to lead the University of Michigan to two Big 10 championships, where he was also named the nation’s best amateur athlete.
Even good enough to be drafted by the California Angels in 1989.
A few years later, while playing for the Yankees, he experienced the highlight of his career: He pitched a no-hitter against the Indians during the ‘93 pennant race. In a post-game interview, he said…
“When the final out was made, a lot of things went through my mind. The only thing that I didn’t pay attention to was my handicap. It had nothing to do with anything.”
Today there may be so-called limitations in your life that you’ve let yourself believe are holding you back … but, ultimately, they have nothing to do with anything.
That’s because we serve a God whose power knows no limits, and whose grace can sustain us through whatever life brings our way. Even the circumstances that appear, on the surface, to be impossible — they have nothing to do with anything, because we serve a God whose power has everything to do with everything.
But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves. (2 Corinthians 4:2)
Blessed Is The Nation
7-8-2026
We just celebrated 250 years of freedom in the United States of America. I hope your celebration included family and friends and, of course, Jesus. But I want to address something that troubles me.
There are those who would say that it is inappropriate for a church, for a pastor, for a Christian to celebrate such a patriotic event. Without hesitation I say, “I stand for the flag, but I kneel at the cross.” And I am not embarrassed to celebrate the freedom we enjoy in the US.
To borrow from Josh Howerton:
I love my King of Kings more infinitely than any earthly ruler. And there is an Eternal Kingdom that has infinitely more allegiance from me than any earthly country.
In the Bible, God established 3 institutions for the good of the world:
– The Family
– The church
– The State (governments)
This means that a Christian man should seek to be…
– A family man
– A churchman
– A statesman
Last week, we celebrated the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States, and part of being a “statesman” is loving your country.
– A family never gets better unless the father LOVES his family.
– A church never gets better unless people LOVE their church
– A nation cannot get better unless people LOVE their nation
So, to be clear, I unapologetically love my country, and I thank God for the historically unique way Christianity played a role in the founding of our nation. I will continue to celebrate moving forward, not IN SPITE of the fact that I’m a Christian, but BECAUSE I’m a Christian, who is grateful to God for what He has done in the past and imploring Him to pour out his Spirit in our culture for the good of its future.
In the words of the song by Carman, “We need God in America again!”
Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord…… (Psalm 33:12a, NIV)
Build Good Habits
7-1-2026
I can’t say that what I’m about to share is overly spiritual (or is it?), but I’m pretty sure you’ll find it (at least some of it) helpful. I saw this on social media. There isn’t a lot there that’s helpful, but take a look at this and see what you think. It’s titled:
Habits I Picked Up from Adults Who Actually Have Their Life Together
1. They use calendars for everything. They don’t trust their memory with important dates, appointments, or deadlines.
2. They write things down immediately. If a thought, task, or idea isn’t captured right away, they assume it’ll disappear.
3. They make tasks smaller than necessary. Instead of “clean the house,” it’s “put away 5 items.”
4. They use timers constantly. Timers help them start, stay focused, and avoid falling into hyperfocus.
5. They keep important items visible. Out of sight often means out of mind, so they design their environment accordingly.
6. They build accountability into their lives. Systems, routines, clear goals, and deadlines help them stay consistent.
7. They stop trying to do everything mentally. Checklists, reminders, notes, and systems carry the load.
8. They plan for bad days. They create routines that work even when motivation disappears.
9. They focus on consistency, not perfection. Missing one day doesn’t become an excuse to quit.
10. They work with their brain, not against it. Instead of forcing themselves to function like everyone else, they build systems around how they naturally operate.
The most important one:
They read their Bible, pray, and have quiet time with the Lord EVERY SINGLE DAY.
Again, maybe this doesn’t sound “overly spiritual”, but you’ll find these principles sprinkled throughout the Bible……….just sayin’.
I love you all!!
God is Faithful
6-24-2026
Last Sunday, as we continued with Elijah’s story, we learned about the faithfulness of God toward the widow at Zaraphath. Here’s a more recent story of that same faithfulness in a completely different situation.
During their agonizing imprisonment at the Nazi camp in Ravensbruck, Corrie ten Boom and her sister Betsy suffered from ill treatment and lack of medical care. They were treated worse than common criminals, even though the only reason they were there was because they had sheltered some Jews who were trying to escape the murderous torture of the Nazis. The prison where Corrie ten Boom and her sister Betsy were confined was an overcrowded, rugged place. The living conditions in the barracks were atrocious. It was filled with disease and malnutrition. And they feared that they, like so many of the prisoners around them, would soon die themselves. In the misery that they experienced in Ravensbruck, often they were forced to depend wholly on God every single day to meet their need. And God heard and answered their prayers, sometimes demonstrating in a miraculous way His protecting power.
For instance, on one occasion when Betsy was desperately ill, Corrie realized that the tiny bottle of Davitamon oil, which is vitamin K, which was critical to her sister, was down to the very last drops. Corrie wrote in her book, quote, “My instinct was to horde it. Betsy was growing so very weak, and she needed this medicine. But others were ill, just like Betsy was, and it was hard to say no to eyes that burned with fever and hands that shook with the chill. I tried to save what was in the bottle for the very weakest, but even these soon were numbering 15, 20, or 25”. Corrie’s heart went out to them, but she desperately feared that if she shared all these precious drops with all the other sick people, she would rob Betsy of the only chance she had to live through the experience of Ravensbruck.
Betsy, herself, was a woman of great faith, and she recognized her need for medication, but she reminded Corrie almost every day of the account of the widow of Zarephath, who shared with Elijah and whose handful of meal and small amount of oil lasted as long as there was a need. And Betsy was convinced that God could perform a similar miracle for her. Corrie initially laughed at her sister and thought it was crazy. She said, “God doesn’t do stuff like that in modern times”. But then she said, “Pretty soon, I was a believer. Every time I tilted that little bottle, a drop appeared at the top of the glass stopper. It just couldn’t be”. She said, “I held it up to the light, trying to see how much was left, but the dark brown glass was so thick, I couldn’t see through it”.
Each day, she continued to dispense what she thought was the last drop in the bottle, until one day when a female guard, who had shown kindness to the prisoners before smuggled a small quantity of the medicine into the barracks for the prisoners. Corrie was thrilled. Now she had more of what was necessary to keep everybody alive, but she first determined to finish the drops in the bottle, and that night she said, “No matter how long I held it upside down or how hard I shook it, not one stinking drop would fall out of that bottle. It was empty”.
God had proven himself to no less than a woman in the same way He had proven Himself thousands of years before to the widow of Zarephath. If He would do that for the widow and for Betsy and Corrie, He will do it for you. Trust Him, for He is faithful!
A Different Perspective
6-17-2026
Have you ever thought about looking at The Fall of mankind from a different perspective. One pastor decided to help his church see it a little bit differently. He stepped up to the pulpit and read from Genesis Chapter 1, then expounded on creation and the unmistakable love for the Created that went into it. As he did so, a painter slipped onto a stool next to him where a large easel had been placed, and began painting a lovely, spacious meadow scene in oils.
The artist was unusually skilled, so we could barely concentrate on what our pastor was saying as trees, lake, midday sun, tall grass, and blue/red sky sprang up in front of us.
Then, just as the painter put his finishing touches on the canvas, our pastor pulled a pan of black paint out from under the pulpit, dipped both hands into it, then turned to the easel and smeared them all over the freshly created scene.
The congregation’s reaction was nothing short of shock! Some even expressed what they were feeling as they watched their pastor smear black paint on the beauty that had been created. The beauty wasn’t totally gone, but many parts of it were completely blotted out, most of it was marred, and none of it could ever be the same. The ruin was complete.
Never had the concept of The Fall been so well expressed. Through Adam’s disobedience and Eve’s deception, there went the human family, still beautiful but defaced; still existing but marred, never in this life to be all it was meant to be.
You and I have, most often, considered The Fall from Adam and Eve’s perspective, looking at what it cost them……what it cost you and me. But have you ever considered what it cost God? Here he’d just created beauty, only to have it permanently desecrated by one act of disobedience. God had perfect intentions for humanity, only to have His handiwork brutally smeared.
It’s a wonder that God didn’t just wipe everything out and start again. He could have, you know. But He didn’t. Instead, He chose to demonstrate His immense love for His creation – for you and for me – by extending love and grace and forgiveness.
May we maintain this perspective on God’s love for us. Humanity ruined so much through sin, yet God loves us even more through His grace.