The Devil beats his wife, Christ loves his

  There is an old saying that whenever the sun is shining with no clouds in the sky and it rains, that devil is beating his wife.

 Where did that come from? Most of us have heard it so long that we repeat it even though we know it’s just a saying.

  It seems that every country has a devil and his wife story about this weather phenomenon. In some countries, they say the devil is kissing his wife, the devil is spitting on his wife, and many other variations.

  What’s really happening is called a sun shower. A hard rain happens many miles away and is blown by the wind into an area where it falls with the sun shining and not a cloud in the sky. It’s a weather happening, but it’s hardly the devil beating his wife.

  That should be a good reason for Christians to love Jesus. We are the bride of Christ. We are his wife. What’s interesting is that there is no old saying that Christ is beating his wife. Why? Because Christ loves the church so much that he was willing to give his life to give her life.

  It’s the same way that good husbands relate to their wives: we love, protect, provide and honor them.

  Ephesians 5:25 “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it.”

  The wife who lets the devil beat her, must be from another generation.

  These days if you hear of the devil beating his wife, listen for a hard thunder roll...

   That will be his wife hitting him upside his head with a frying pan.

   Ouch!

Glad to receive hand-me-downs

Those who have had many sisters or brothers know what it means to wear hand-me-downs.

In a large family, hand-me-downs are a way of life. The oldest sibling gets the new stuff, but the rest is handed down from one to the other. The one who is the youngest gets all of the hand-me-downs.

A second brother who felt bad about himself always complained about receiving hand-me-downs. One day, he was all smiles and jumped up and down on the bed with joy.

He had received his older brother’s T-Shirts. Instead of sadness, each shirt made him happy because he found out that every shirt had messages, “You are the greatest”,”You are second to none” and “Ask me about the best brother in the world.”

His brother bought shirts with love messages to his younger brother, who he knew would get his shirts. It was a message of love that was passed down and received.

The love of God was passed down to us through 42 generations until Jesus was born in Bethlehem. The message wasn’t on a t-shirt but it was clear that God loves us.

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son so that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

That second brother’s mother was worried when he opened the drawer and found the last set of hand-me-downs from his brother. It was several pairs of jeans with holes in them.

The brother jumped up and down with joy.

Jeans with holes in all the right places! He had nothing but praise for his older brother!

What better gift could he receive with hand-me-down bleached white jeans with holes in them!

That’s really cool!

Juneteenth is official, and so is our salvation

 On June 19, 1865, the slaves in Texas received word that they were no longer slaves; they had been freed by President Abraham Lincoln.

They had been free for 2 1/2 years but didn’t know it because slave masters in Texas didn’t tell them about freedom which came to most slaves on January 1, 1863.

The Texas slaves celebrated their freedom every year since 1865. They called it Juneteenth. It caught on, and all over the country the descendants of former slaves marked their calendars and celebrated what became known as Black Independence Day.

Two years after Mr. Lincoln proclaimed the slaves free, Congress passed the 13th Amendment, but it wasn’t law yet until it was approved by most of the states.

While that was happening, Mr. Lincoln was assassinated in April 1865.

In June of that same year, the Texas slaves heard about Mr. Lincoln’s death and the 13th amendment.

In December of the same year, the states made the end of slavery official.

For the slaves, Juneteenth became their Independence Day.

Now the Congress of the United States has made Juneteenth a national holiday.

It all kind of makes us remember that Christ set us free through his word. But it really wasn’t locked until he shed his blood for us on Calvary. His death and resurrection set us all free.

John 8:36 says, If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

Juneteenth is official in law and in our hearts.

No matter what the enemy says, God has the last word

Sometimes things situations seem dark without any solutions until we remember that God has the last word.

Through man’s eyes, everything is dark until God shows us the light at the end of the tunnel.

Sometimes, defeat seems imminent until God shows us the victory.

Sometimes, our weakness only reveals the path to failure until God renews our strength

Sometimes, our frustrations overrun us till we forget our God can make a way.

No Matter what the enemy has in store for us God has the last word.

Look what Isaiah 59:19 says, “When the enemy comes in like a flood, The Spirit of the LORD will lift up a standard against him.” 

So, if you are troubled by the devil’s work, remember God has the last word.

The benediction is for you, don't leave without it

We hear benedictions at the end of religious gatherings, and we wait for them because they are personal. 

There are a few benedictions that are general, but we are encouraged most by the ones that are personal. They pronounce blessings for us personally, and not just for the crowd.

In the Old Testament of the Bible, believers would often travel many miles to bring sacrifices and to worship. No matter how long they had to wait or regardless of the weather conditions, not a soul would leave until the priest raised his hands and gave the benediction or the blessing.

Even today we still wait for the benediction. Generally, the pastor raises his hands and issues the blessing on all who shared in the worship and gave offerings of time, talent, and resources. Those that leave before the benediction miss their special blessing. 

We need every blessing we can get, especially ones that are personal.

Look Numbers 6:24-26. Count how many times this benediction says "You."

It reads  “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you; be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.

There are six "Yous" in that blessing. It's no doubt, it's meant to be personal

It has your name on it.

It's good to know that God blesses every one of faith, but it's even better to hear his word say ,"You" six times.

That's personal. 

Waiters get tips, God gives favor

 In my college years, I worked as a waiter at a seafood restaurant. The base pay was $56 a week ($1.40/hour), but a good waiter made much more than that in tips.

I turned waiting tables into a science. I learned the tastes of repeat customers, and read up on their hobbies. I asked about their golf game, fishing trips, grandchildren and read magazine clips about things that tickled the fancy of my customers

I always had a good joke, a quote, a compliment on their attire, or something interesting to say.

My goal was to get the “tip.”  To get the tip, great waiters do more than just ask, “Do want more water?” They aim to create an enjoyable experience that makes customers feel good about going out for a meal.

I was good at it and sometimes I earned $350 a week. The tips made the difference.

Through Christ, we are saved from our sins, but God grants favor to those who go above and beyond to minister to others. 

Favor is God’s way of leaving us a tip. Being saved is the base pay, but his favor which he gives through grace and mercy is the “tip."

Look what Psalm 84:11 says, “For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly.”

Daily we work to build God’s kingdom. We walk with the king in the beauty of holiness.

We get a heavenly tip when we go out of our way to help others experience the love and mercy of God as well.

The good news is, God is not cheap. 

He’s a big tipper!

God has a hall of fame, too

   It’s easy to get upset when it seems that others, less worthy, get the honors you deserve; unless you have a humble spirit.

   Nobody knows this better than Jerry Kramer, an all-time pro-football great with Green Bay Packers. Kramer, by any standard, was among football’s greatest players, but it took 45 years for the Hall of Fame to recognize his life work.

   He played 11 seasons, which included 130 games. He was a part of three Pro Bowl Teams and the 1960s All-Decade Team.

   Despite all of the records he broke, the Hall of fame skipped over him for others. He was nominated 10 ten times and let down ten times.

   Anyone else would have been bitter, but he was thankful for all of the other others he received over the years. 

   However, some didn’t forget his work and in 2018 he was nominated for the 11th time, and this time he was immortalized in the Hall of fame.

   Often what we do for God seems insignificant. It is often ignored. 

  We often watch others receive credit and praise for lesser contributions that we have made. 

 

  We may get passed over down here, but God sees what we do. He will reward us with a “well done” and our work will be immortalized in heaven’s hall of fame.

   Proverbs 14:30 says, “A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.”

   Don’t envy others who may be taking credit for your work; It’ll make you sick. Be happy that God knows what you do, and that’s all that counts.

   Welcome to the Hall of Fame

In case of trouble, find your safe place

Most families plan for emergencies, including insuring that everyone knows the location of the safe place.

Some live in regions that are vulnerable to instate fires and floods. Families usually discuss and even practice what they are to do in case of a sudden house fire or flood that separates family members.

In our house, we practiced crossing the street and standing under the tree in our neighbor's yard in case of fire. If separated, we knew to find each other under the tree. We also knew, especially if there was a fire, that if one of us was not under the tree that it was possible that one family member may be still in the building.

It's good to have safe places to go in case of storms and hurricanes.

The storms of life usually happen suddenly and with little warning. When we have done everything that we know how to do we turn to God for shelter. He is our safe place.

That's the thought of Psalm 91: 2 says, “I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”

When life suddenly explodes all around us, it’s good to know that we can turn to Lord who will be our fortress.

He will protect us.

He is our safe place.

Living water doesn't come in bottles

 In Hot Springs Arkansas there is a fountain on Main Street, in the middle of the city, that offers free water.

The fountain delivers pure spring water, right out of the ground. It has absolutely no contaminants in it, no color, no taste, and no chemicals.

It comes out of the fountain 24 hours a day, 365 days a year at 140 degrees.

People from around the world come to Hot Springs because it's the only place in the entire National Park System that offers geothermal water as a potable water supply; that means you can drink it without treating it.

People who visit the Town can drive up in cars and trucks and fill up bottles, jugs, and cans with spring water free of charge. 

Everywhere else in America people pay for bottles of water to drink, but in Hot Springs, anybody who wants a gallon or a hundred gallons of drinkable water can get it free.

Jesus said the good news that he brings to the world brings and hope. He called it living water, or water for life and anyone who wants it can get it for free.

In John 4:13 Jesus said, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life." 

Wars have been fought over water and water rights because we need it to live.

Jesus offers us Living water, for free.

And we don’t have to go to Hot Springs to get it.

In this life, you must hoe a straight row

 When I was young, I spent summers with my grandmother on a plantation in Pantherburn, Mississippi. Old-timers taught us life lessons while we worked the fields.

My uncle said, "Boy, you got to learn how to hoe your row. In these fields and as as you grow up to be a man."

I was five years old, trying to work with a hoe that was nearly three feet taller than me. I watched the grown folks cultivating empty fields and chopping rows for planting cotton that seemed like a mile long, and every row had to be straight.

At the end of the day, everybody had done two or more rows and they were straight as arrows. My little row was about half a football field and was crooked; it looked like spaghetti strips.

My uncle looked at my crooked rows and said, You can't hoe a straight row if you just looks at what's in front of yo' feet. You got to fix your eye on something at the end and go straight to it. It's that same way in life too, boy. Fix your eyes on where you trying to go and not on where you at right now. Ifn' you take your eyes off your mark, it's nary impossible to go straight."

I had my uncle in the fields, in life however, I learned in Sunday School that everybody needs the Lord keep to keep reminding us keep our eyes on the prize or we are subject to hoe a crooked roe every year.

I guess that's the meaning of Proverbs 3:6 says, "In all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight."

My uncle taught me how to hoe a straight row, but learning how to finish my roe, was another lesson altogether. It takes a lifetime to do that.

From my uncle to you, "Don't get distracted, keep your eyes on the prize."

An expensive perfume won't make a nasty spirit sweet

   Some of my friends laugh at me when I tell them that my favorite cologne is “Old Spice.” They tell me that’s a cologne from wayyyyy back in the day.

They are right, I like it. I’ve been wearing it since I was in high school.

  Around the world, people spend tremendous amounts of money for perfumes and colognes.   

   The most expensive perfume in the world costs $1,800 a bottle. It is called Jean Patou’s Joy. It’s the most expensive because each bottle is made from 10,600 crushed jasmine flowers and 28 dozens of roses per bottle. 

    The most expensive men’s perfume is Eau D’Hadrien Annick Goutal Perfume – $1500 for a three oz bottle. It includes citron, lemon, Sicilian lemon, mandarin, and ylang-ylang, which are but some of the citrus fruits that have been blended to create its unique smell. 

    For me, Old Spice tops them all, primarily because it only costs 11.85 for a 4.25-ounce bottle. .What’s in it? Mostly Water, Fragrance, Benzyl Alcohol.

    I figure if I have a nasty spirit, the most expensive cologne in the world won’t do any good. the Bible says our lives send up a sweet aroma to God. That doesn’t come in a bottle.

    Ephesians 5:2 “and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.”

    God won’t check the labels on the aroma we send up before him, he'll check the spirit of the person from whom it originates.

    I guess my Old Spice will have to do in this life. 

    When I get up there, it won’t matter because there will be sweet spirits everywhere

    Stay sweet.

Sometimes, we just need a little help

   There are some people who go out of their way to help others; sometimes they even sacrifice their own safety and security to do so.

  You know them, they are:

•   The neighbor who helps you move into a new house.
•   A co-worker that takes a long drive with you, just to keep you company.
•   An acquaintance that volunteers to help you with a project.
•   The friend that listens as you vent your frustrations.

  All of these are examples of those who go out of their way to help us, with no requirement that we do the same.

  Many people help us because we are quick to help others. the Bible says anyone who wants friends, must show themselves friendly. That also means if you don't help others, don't complain when people leave you to fend for yourself, by yourself.

  Difficulties are easier when we have someone to help us, or even to listen to us complain as we cry on their shoulders 

  It’s tough when you have to face your challenge alone.

  Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 says, "Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall the one will lift up his fellow; but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up. 

  It is good to have friends, but it is even better to know that our Lord will never leave us alone; he's the best friend we can ever have.

  He’s always by our side. 

Makeup hides lines that tell the real story

Suppose the look you had on your face five minutes ago was frozen on your face forever, what would that look be?

Time has a way tracing caricatures of our personalities onto our faces and locking them. It will take a ton of make up and a few plastic surgeries to hide what’s written on our faces.

In the theater, make up artists highlight or try to hide certain lines in our faces that reveal secrets.

For example, when there are deep lines between your eyebrows, it usually means that you frown a lot.

The superciliary arches, or the lines in your forehead reveal that you think a lot.

The nasalabial folds are the lines that run from your nose to your mouth on both sides. If they are deep, they usually mean you laugh and smile a lot. 

Lines under the eyes and dark depressions usually indicate worry, stress, depression or a lack of sleep.

These lines are drawn in our faces by time, they tell who we are and give hints to what type of personality might be hidden behind our makeup.

Galatians 5:22-23 gives us a few personality traits that could paint a love set of lines on our faces. The verse says, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”

These personality traits tell the story of who we should be, the lines on our faces tell the real story.

They can be hidden or masked...

... but they can’t be undone.

What's in the magazines under the mattress?

   You can tell a lot about a person by what he or she reads, or doesn’t read. 

   In the past, folks in our neighborhood tried to impress visitors by having a set of encyclopedias on bookshelves, visible for visitors to see. We had displayed the books, even if we didn't read them. Often our bookshelf titles gave visitors a quick snapshot of our interests and intellectual depth. 

 Everyone made sure there was a copy of Ebony Magazine visible on the coffee table and not “Sepia” the more prurient version of Ebony. We definitely didn't let them see the magazines we hid under our mattresses.

   We even put giant family bibles in our living rooms. They became places where we stored letters and documents, but we never really read the one in the living room; it was for show.

   For the most part, it all worked, at least until we opened our mouths and spoke. It didn't take long for folks to figure out that the great books on our shelves or the family Bibles in the living rooms often gave false impressions.

   What we read directs our conversation. It is said the great minds discuss ideas like freedom, justice, global warming, and world peace. Average minds discuss events such as football games, programs, pageants, and competitions. Those who don’t read much have a tendency to discuss other people: what they wear, how much they have, and who they love and don’t love.

    I’m not attracted to the last category; I love ideas. When I was 21, I decided to read the Harvard Classics which is excerpts from the 113 must-read books including Plato, Socrates, Emerson, and Thoreau.

   Like you, I read the Bible regularly for understanding and guidance. 

   You can tell Christians who read the Bible regularly. Their faith is stronger and they worry less. They are slow to sin and are sorry when they do.

    

   Psalm 119:11 says, "Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee."

   Like you, I read something from the Bible daily. Through his word, God speaks to us in the truths he reveals.

   It's true, God's word is a lamp unto my feet and light unto my path.

She removed the training wheels; I didn't know it

I had training wheels on my bicycle until I was seven years old. Every bicycle I was given always had training wheels, that is until my stepmother said I was too old to be riding a bicycle with training wheels.

She removed the training wheels from my bike, but told me not to fear, she would run along with me.

Every day I went out to ride my bike, she ran along behind me and kept talking to me. It was fun.

After a while, she ran along beside me but she did not say much except I’m here. It was fun.

One day I rode the bike and she took off running beside me. I had fun. The wind was blowing in my face and I paddled very fast. I could hear her voice in my ear saying “You can do it. Keep it up. I got you if you fall.”

When I looked over my shoulder, I saw that she was still in the front yard, waving at me, saying “You can do it. Keep it up. I got you if you fall.”

I was riding without the training wheels! I couldn't believe it! All the while I could feel her hand steadying the bike and whispering in my ear. I really didn’t need the training wheels, I just didn’t know it.

When I think about her running along beside me I think of the Lord’s promise in Psalm 118:6-7 The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me? The Lord is with me; he is my helper. I look in triumph on my enemies.

No matter what we face, we never ride into the future alone. God is always with us whispering in our ear. You can do it, keep it up. I got you if you fall.”

You don't have to ride a bike. He runs beside us every day, holding our hands, giving us confidence.

He says, "I got you if your fall."

Don't judge me until you walk a mile in my shoes

An old proverb says we should not judge others until we have walked a mile in their shoes.

When you are struggling you are often criticized by some who say you should handle it differently. They don’t know, they haven’t walk in your shoes.

Their feet haven’t been where you have walked. They have never sat where you sit.

If you’ve never had children you don’t know what it’s like see them in trouble or face sickness or peril.

If you’ve never been married then you don’t know what it’s like when there is trouble in your home.

If you’ve never experienced the death of a loved one, then you have no idea what it's like to sit on the mourner’s seat at a funeral.

They have not walked in your shoes.

That’s why we love the Lord. He came as a man and faced the same life issues that we face: he was a poor man, who struggled to pay his taxes, didn’t own a home, faced the death of his friends, and was often the target of haters. - He definitely has walked a mile in our shoes.

Hebrews 2:14 says, “Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—“

Jesus came to earth as a man and suffered like we suffer, so that he could understand how we feel and deliver us when we are at our lowest.

It's good to know that he has walked a mile in our shoes.