Summit Baptist Church of Little Rock, Arkansas passed the collection plates as usual last Sunday, but this time the congregation didn’t place money inside…they took it out! It had recently come to the attention of the Church leadership that there were several needy families in the congregation, and after delivering a sermon on giving the plates were passed with $5,000 cash already inside of them. The pastor told the congregation to take what they needed, and they did.

Among other uses, the generous “reverse donations” helped pay medical and electric bills, buy children’s school clothes, and replace a worn-out washing machine.

God explicitly instructed His people to open our hearts and help the needy, and the members of Summit Baptist Church obviously took that instruction to heart. What a great lesson for the rest of us.

One of the biggest controversies among those of the Christian faith is the one concerning “predestination” (the belief that God has predetermined whether each and every person will ultimately go to Heaven or hell before he/she is even born). In this post I will try to explain my thoughts on the subject…

God is an omniscient being, and as such he knows absolutely everything that has ever happened and absolutely everything that will happen in the future. God is never surprised or caught off guard. Therefore, by definition, He knew even before the creation of Adam exactly who would and who would not ultimately enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. But He did NOT predetermine who would go where.

Now on the surface, those might appear to be conflicting statements, but in reality they aren’t. Even though God already knows which decision each of us is going to make concerning our salvation, it is still up to us to make that choice, free from any coercion on His part whatsoever. It is up to each of us to hear the Gospel and decide whether to accept the free gift of salvation or reject it. The fact that God already knows what we will ultimately decide has no bearing on the fact that it is still our choice to make.

As an illustration, let’s consider the lowly ant. If we decide to have a picnic and there is an ant anywhere in the vicinity, you can be absolutely certain that it won’t be long before he invites himself to crash your party and partake of your meal. But although you already know that any ants in the area WILL make the decision to show up at your picnic, that knowledge on your part has no bearing whatsoever on the fact that the ants still have the free will to decide on their own whether to show up or simply pass on by. Even though you already knew they would make the decision to show up, their attendance was not predetermined by you. In fact, you would probably be perfectly happy to have them pass right on by! Of course the ant isn’t on an intellectual level with us, and we certainly aren’t omniscient like God, but the principle still applies.

Another thing to consider: If God had already predetermined who would and who would not make it into Heaven, there would be no reason for Him to instruct us to spread the Gospel unto every corner of the world. After all, our efforts would be of no consequence whatsoever in the end, so what would be the point?

The bottom line: God does indeed know ahead of time who will ultimately be joining Him in heaven some day, but He did NOT predetermine who would have that privilege and who would be denied. That would be unjust to the extreme, and since He is a perfect and just God, He would never do something like that. When it’s all said and done, it really all boils down to this: Each of us must make the decision on our own whether to accept Jesus’ supreme sacrifice as atonement for our sins or reject it and spend eternity in hell. And we cannot blame God for the consequences of making the wrong decision.

I was up and at ‘em quite early this morning so I decided to treat Houdini to an early breakfast followed by a long, leisurely walk. After quickly devouring his bowl of “Fit & Trim”, the big lug started galloping around the dining room to let me know that he was ready to go outside. Well, outside we went, and after he took the time to smell a bush or two we headed down the narrow country road that runs past our place.

Since I was having some trouble with my hip, I thought it might help loosen it up a bit if we walked faster than usual. Now Houdini is a wonderful dog, but he doesn’t like to get in a hurry about anything unless there is food involved. Although he wasn’t too keen on the idea of a fast walk, he semi-trotted along beside me nonetheless, panting all the way as if he had just finished an uphill two mile run.

As we approached the small plot of woods that lay across the road from our property, Houdini slowed to a walk and quietly pulled me towards a small opening in the tree line. Sitting there on the bank approximately 10-12 feet in front of us was a young red fox. It appeared to be not more than a few weeks old, and it was shaking like a leaf. Thinking that maybe its mother had abandoned it or somehow met an untimely demise, I briefly entertained thoughts of “catching” it and taking it home with us for a bit of TLC (care and feeding). But then common sense took over and I realized that the cute little critter just might be infected with rabies!

Just as the great white one and I began to turn around to leave, I heard a rustle in the brush behind the fox, followed by the tell-tale bark of its mother. The cute little fellow took one last look at Houdini and me, then turned on its heels and quickly disappeared into the woods. Momma fox had come back for her youngster after all.

On the walk back home I got to thinking about how that mother fox had risked taking on both a human and a 150 pound dog in order to call her child to safety, and it warmed my heart. It’s quite clear to me that God has instilled in mothers of all species an inherent love for their children along with the obligation to do whatever might be necessary to protect them. Momma might not always be right, but she will always be momma – and a good momma never forsakes her children.

If money could buy happiness, Hollywood stars wouldn’t wind up dead from overdosing on drugs.

If money could buy happiness, professional athletes wouldn’t go to prison for treating God’s creatures inhumanely.

If money could buy happiness, the rich and famous wouldn’t have to bail their kids out of jail or sign them into rehab.

If money could buy happiness, politicians wouldn’t prematurely end their careers by engaging in behaviors that they themselves have voted to make a crime.

If money could buy happiness, TV evangelists wouldn’t bring shame and reproach to their fellow Christians by engaging in immoral behavior that they themselves have rightly preached so strongly against through the years.

If money could buy happiness, the dictators of the world wouldn’t derive their pleasure from mistreating the poor souls who find themselves living under their rule.

If money could buy happiness, fewer people would waste every penny they have trying to achieve it.

One of the great truths of the human experience is that money cannot, and will not buy happiness. Some of the richest people on the face of our wonderful planet live the most miserable lives, and some of the poorest are content with what God has given them and enjoy every day with smiles on their faces and joy in their hearts.

The relative handful of wealthy folks who do live happy and contented lives tend to spend much of their time and money helping others bring happiness and joy into their lives.

True happiness only comes from our caring and loving Creator. We humans cannot manufacture it on our own or buy it from others. Like salvation itself, true happiness and contentment has only one source: God.

After all the rain we’ve had over the past few weeks, the sunny afternoon we’re enjoying right now is a real blessing. But the day sure didn’t start out so nice! It began raining in buckets around 3am, and it rained hard, off and on, until well after the sun had come up. Standing water was everywhere on the highways, and if you drove over 35 miles per hour on the Interstate you could feel the car begin to hydroplane. The creeks and rivers are up, and every low spot on the ground is now a miniature lake.

But right now I’m sitting here looking out the glass doors in my dining room at the glorious sunshine, marveling at the glory of God’s handiwork. Our God is a loving God, and after every storm has passed He graciously allows the sun’s rays to burst through the clouds once again, and on occasion He even treats us to a magnificent rainbow.

Life is somewhat like the weather. When it’s raining it seems like it will never end, but when it does (and it ALWAYS does) the sun is so much brighter and our spirits so much higher than they were during the storm. Our Creator is always in charge, and although it might seem on occasion that He must be preoccupied with something else when we need Him most, rest assured that HE is always there, always in charge, and always ready to bring on the sunshine when He feels the time is right.

This time last year the weather was so dry here in the southeastern United States that potable water was becoming scarce and the farmers had such puny hay crops that they had to sell off a lot of their livestock for pennies on the dollar. The drought did have one “benefit” however: Grass grew so slowly that we only had to mow our lawns about once a month or so.

Well, this spring and summer have turned out to be pretty much the opposite thus far. We’ve had plenty of rain, water supplies are back to their normal levels or better, and it’s almost impossible to keep up with the mowing because the grass is growing several inches a week. Yep, what a difference a year makes!

You know, when things aren’t going so well, we humans tend to want to point blame and bicker with one another instead of being thankful for what we do have. And when things are going great, we all too often fail to realize that it’s God’s loving hand and his mercy that turned things around for us.

We all need to remember one thing: Times might be good, or they might be bad, but God is ALWAYS great and merciful. He ALWAYS deserves our love and praise, even during the times when we don’t really feel like giving it.

If you were like me when you were a kid, it seemed like the summers lasted for forever and a day. School let out for the summer in the first week of June, and classes didn’t start back up until September. Back then, summer vacation really seemed like a vacation. But somehow the magic of summer just doesn’t seem quite as magical once you’re all grown up and having to work for a living.

All those endless summer days filled with riding bikes, playing “Cowboys and Indians”, Little League baseball and swimming have somehow been replaced with going to work, mowing the lawn, tending to various aches and pains, and numerous other “adult” activities that are a lot less enjoyable than the ones we enjoyed as youngsters.

This year it seems like summer is just slipping away from us. The sights and smells of the spring flowers are still fresh in my memory, yet here we are, already in the final week of July - and August will surely have come and gone before we even realize that it has passed us by. If you think about it though, the entire year seems to zoom right past us nowadays. When I was a little boy it seemed like birthdays only came around every two or three years, but now it seems like they come in bunches. Like Rip Van Winkle, I fell asleep at 28 and somehow woke up 20 years older.

But there is good news in this story as well. Every new sunrise marks the start of a brand new day, and those of us still alive and kicking can feel blessed when we think about all those folks who pass on at too-young an age. It used to be rare and quite shocking to hear that someone I went to school with had passed away, but now that sad news comes all too often – almost routine in fact. But for now, for today at least, the good Lord has seen fit to allow me to witness the dawn of a new day. It might be a good day or bad day, but either way it will be a blessed day. After all, He has given me at least one more opportunity to wake up and “smell the roses”.

A lot of my friends, loved ones, and acquaintances have already made the transition from this life to the next one. I will too some day, but until then I’ll keep on waking up and thanking the Lord for the privilege. It’s going fast, but it’s still summertime. Likewise, our lives are going fast as well, but we can still enjoy what remains of them and be thankful for the privilege. Every new day that dawns is a bonus – a true gift from God.

Ricky Skaggs has achieved great success in the music world in several genres. He is best known for his many Top-10 Country hits of course, but his real love has always been Bluegrass and Gospel music.

After making his fortune in the Country Music world, he ultimately returned to his Bluegrass and Gospel roots. We had the pleasure of seeing Ricky and his fine band Kentucky Thunder perform live a couple of years ago during “Bluegrass Month” at Dollywood, and to say the least the show was simply awesome.

While browsing around YouTube this evening I stumbled across a video of Ricky singing a beautiful Gospel number entitled “Somebody’s Praying”. This wonderful video showcases not only his amazing vocal talents, but his obvious love for the Lord as well. Click, listen, and enjoy!

Every few days or so we hear a news report about yet another child that has gone missing. Thankfully, some of those children will eventually be found alive, but far too many will not. It’s beyond the comprehension of most sane people how someone can bring harm to a small, innocent child, but it happens more often than most of us even realize.

I believe that God has a special place in His heart for people who do not have the capacity to protect themselves from those who would do them harm, and I also believe that goes double for children.

Like so many other little girls and boys, little Caylee Anthony is now in His holy presence, far removed from the troubles and mistreatment she had to endure during her short life on this earth. Surely the eternity she will be spending in Heaven will be sweet indeed, but the ultimate punishment of the person responsible for sending her there so prematurely will surely be severe and never-ending.

“…Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.”

God bless the little children.

2 Corinthians 5:10 – For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.

We live in a world that is full of unbelievers, but there will come a day when every man, woman, boy and girl who ever drew a breath on this earth will not only know with 100% certainty that God exists, but that He is indeed the all-powerful and all knowing Creator and Master that He proclaims Himself to be. In other words, in the end there will be no unbelievers. Many will still be lost and headed for an eternity in Hell, but they will ultimately believe in the Lord and call upon His name.

On Judgment Day, every knee will bow in front of Jesus, our Saviour and ultimate judge. Every tongue will confess that He is Lord, but for the unsaved it will be too late. The wise among us will come to understand that God is in fact real, and that His Son Jesus Christ bled and died on the cross for our redemption – and they’ll do it before they die their earthly death and end up having to bow to Jesus and be dealt the worst punishment a human being can ever receive – the “sentence” of eternity in a fiery hot hell.

If you’re one of those people who doesn’t believe in God, you need to think long and hard about this: Someday you will believe in Him – that much is certain. Whether you end up spending eternity in Heaven or in Hell depends entirely upon the timing. If you would like to accept Jesus as your personal Saviour and know for sure where you’ll be going after you die, click here to learn about God’s simple, yet extremely important Plan of Salvation.