Time moves so quickly. When you are young, you never give death much thought; then you wake up and you are old. James 4:14 “For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.” God gives man a short time here upon earth, and yet upon this short time eternity depends.  “For death is no more than a turning of us over from time to eternity.” William Penn

God allows us the choice during this time to live with Him in eternity in Heaven or choose not to. It is through a choice to accept Christ as the only “Way” (John 14:6), “Grasping what the Bible teaches about Heaven shifts our center of gravity and radically alters our perspective on life. Therefore, we should always seek to keep Heaven in our line of sight. Those who know Jesus should realize that death is the gateway to never-ending joy.” Randy Alcorn, founder of Eternal Perspective Ministries

From my teenage years up through my late 60s I diligently did strength training for my physical body. I could bench press 300 lbs. even being an old dude.

We live in a time and culture chasing after strength. The world’s definition of strength and God’s definition are not the same.

The world would define strength as power through our own ability to overcome that which we are almost impotent. Power is sought, looked up to, and praised. It’s taught, emulated, and admired. Media and books tout and idolize strength. Every age, gender, and ethnicity exalt power and debase weakness. The quest for power weaves its influence into strength training, diet, clothing, relationships, and purpose.

None of us like to suffer but every person who has ever lived has suffered. Looking back on my life I have experienced many occasions to be overwhelmed by suffering. A few of these include a neck injury ending a potential pro football career; being on the verge of bankruptcy after the real estate market crashed; our primary profitable business wiped out by COVID; my wife suffering with cancer for 13 years which ended her earthly life after 55 years of marriage; and other current struggles.

All of God’s people who are revealed in the Old and New Testaments have had struggles and suffering including Jesus Christ. So, why does our loving Heavenly Father allow suffering of His loved ones?

Scripture is abundant with tales where adversity does not have the last word; instead, it serves as a catalyst for growth, transformation, and often- unexpected goodness. It emphasizes that even in the midst of trials, there’s always a nugget of hope to cling onto.

Indeed, the Bible encourages believers to view their struggles from an entirely different perspective. Rather than being pointless or punitive experiences, these challenges are opportunities for personal development and deepened faith. This isn’t just about turning lemons into lemonade—it’s about recognizing that every situation serves a purpose in our spiritual journey. God is always working even when you don’t see it.

The evolution of Valentine’s Day has followed a course similar to the evolution of Santa Claus. It began with legends surrounding an obscure saint (actually, there’s more than one St. Valentine) from early Christian history that oddly morphed over the centuries into something else entirely. Then it exploded into a pop culture and commercial phenomenon in Victorian England (thank the Brits for greeting cards, flowers, and “confectionaries”), with the United States quickly jumping on the bandwagon.

Here are 4 facts about Valentine’s Day: (1) The first Valentine was posted around 1806. (2) Almost one billion Valentine’s Day cards are sent each year on or near February 14 with females purchasing 85% of the cards. This is second only to the number of Christmas cards sent. (3) Americans spent $20.7 billion dollars in 2019 on Valentine’s Day (4) 3 in 10 people don’t celebrate this holiday in America.

Can you imagine nothing? I cannot. I always have to put it into the context of “something”.

A vast number of scientists, astronomers, and cosmologists believe the “Big Bang Theory” was the beginning of our universe with a current estimate of 200 billion trillion stars and planets. (They also put this theory in the context of an understandable “something”.)  

As humans on this planet Earth, we view time from a temporal perspective. Time is what we experience in our daily lives. It’s linear, measurable, and finite. It’s relative and deeply personal. Type A personalities are often time driven, never wanting to be late for anything, no matter how insignificant. Type B personalities are more relaxed and carefree about time; they are not stressed about being late, no matter how significant.

We have an intimate Heavenly Father that trains His kids to become like Jesus.

Earth is God’s training ground for each of us. God uses grace in His training. God’s grace is His unmerited love. Grace means that God showered love and blessing on those who did not in any way deserve or earn it. They deserved His judgment and wrath. But He showed them love.

If I drew a long horizontal line upon which I drew a small dot and asked, “If that is a timeline, what do you think the dot represents?” You might answer that is your life in comparison to human history!”

However, that is incorrect. You immediately may ask, “What else could it be?”

“The line is all of eternity, the dot is human history,”

 “So where is your life?”  “It is just a little tiny speck on the dot, so little one can’t see it.” Counting all the years in the Bible since Creation up to the current time adds up to less than several thousand years which is a very small dot on the line of eternity. Even if your life span on Earth is 100 years, it is a very tiny speck on the dot.

As we start a new year, our rearview mirror can sometimes be our worst enemy. Most of us have an innate tendency to dwell on negative things in the past. Many of those things are a direct result of being hurt by someone else. Those hurts are bumps in our life journey that really jarred us as we went over them. These bumps can become mountains if we continue to look in our rear-view mirror.

We’re all guilty of offending other people, and we’ve all been offended by other people; those are the facts of living in a sinful world. But as Christians we’re told to be forgiving people. It’s impossible to live a victorious Christian life with unforgiveness in our life. It isn’t the offense that destroys relationships, it’s the inability to forgive that destroys relationships.

One more year is now past, and you may be thinking about new opportunities and goals to help you start the new year right. If you’re rolling your eyes at the thought of “New Year’s Resolutions,” let me just state the obvious: There’s nothing significant about January 1 when it comes to goals. There is nothing magical about new year’s resolutions. In fact, research has found that only about 45% of people even make resolutions. (And 35% of those who do quit them before the end of January.)

When I was a youngster, I could not wait to open my gifts under the Christmas tree, especially those from Santa Claus. Since that time, I have come to realize that the best gifts giver is our Heavenly Father. These gifts are by far the most precious in that they are all wrapped in LOVE. These gifts that I have received have also been received by innumerable others throughout history and are God’s good and perfect gifts.

James 1:17 “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”

We all enjoy the temporal delights of this season with the beautiful decorations inside and outside, family get togethers, gift giving and receiving, the Christmas movies, great food, and other festive things that give us pleasure.

As we celebrate Christmas, do we truly understand the eternal significance of this holiday for each one of us? I did not clearly understand this until God presented to me the exciting Big Picture of the Bible which opened God’s powerful and living Word (Hebrews 4:12) to me.  (An abbreviated version of the Big Picture is below; a more detailed version is available at no cost in both books (written and audio) on the website shoeleatherfaith.com.)

“He may have been a wee little man, but he was the kingpin of the Jericho tax cartel. He was a filthy rich little guy, this Zacchaeus. But when he met Jesus, everything changed — not only his heart, but his hands. The same fingers that once reached to extort filthy lucre, now extended with generosity to the poor, and to pay back fourfold anyone he’d defrauded (Luke 19:8) It’s only a few verses earlier in Luke’s Gospel that Jesus encountered another wealthy man, who we call “the rich young ruler.” His great possessions were the barrier to him following Jesus.

The holiday season often comes with a mix of joy and stress. In her insightful article, 10 Calming Bible Verses to Cope with Holiday Stress, Alicia Searl captures this tension beautifully, reminding us to pause, breathe, and surrender our burdens to the Lord. Her reflections, paired with Scripture, offer a powerful reminder that peace is found not in perfection but in the presence of God.

Here are three ways to anchor yourself in His peace this season:

1 Thessalonians 5:18 instructs us, “In everything give thanks for this is the will of the Father in Christ Jesus concerning you.” We struggle with this verse because “everything” includes bad things. Why would our loving Heavenly Father tell us to be thankful or even allow bad things to happen to His believing children?

God is encouraging us to shift our perspective. Instead of focusing on the negative, we are to look for the lessons, growth, and even the hidden blessings in every situation.

Even though Thanksgiving is a once-a-year holiday, we need to exercise thanksgiving every day of the year for the physical benefits and the power of giving thanks to God.

 Physical benefits from GIVING tHANKS/gratitude:

 Gratitude can help relieve stress. We all deal with stress daily. When you’re in the middle of a stressful situation, refocusing on what you’re grateful for can calm the body and mind. This reduces the symptoms of stress. When you choose gratitude over negativity, you also feel less emotionally charged.  

 Gratitude can make you more positive. According to psychologist Dr. Catherine Jackson, gratitude causes the brain to increase the production of dopamine and serotonin. Dopamine is the “feel-good” neurotransmitter. It’s associated with pleasure and reward. It contributes to focus, motivation, and happiness. Serotonin is a chemical that is considered a natural mood stabilizer. It helps reduce depression, regulate anxiety, heal wounds, and maintain bone health. So, a grateful mind allows you to feel more positive emotions.

 “If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart.”  Nelson Mandela

The term "heart language" refers to the first language someone speaks at home, which often represents their cultural and geographic identity.  Unlike a trade language, which may be used in business but not in the home, a heart language allows deep and intimate connection and provides the highest level of significance and comprehension. The heart language is the language of emotions and intimacy. It is how we feel and express our deepest thoughts. It connects us with others on a deeper level.

Election Day in the USA has passed once again and many voters (50% or so) are very upset with some, if not all, of the results. The following article from www.gotquestions.org provides valuable insight into God and politics.

“If there is anything that will spark a spontaneous debate, if not an outright argument, it is a discussion involving politics—even among believers. As followers of Christ, what should be our attitude and our involvement with politics? It has been said that “religion and politics don’t mix.” But is that really true? Can we have political views outside the considerations of our Christian faith? The answer is no, we cannot. The Bible gives us two truths regarding our stance towards politics and government.

The concept of influencers (influencer is someone who has the power to affect the decisions of others because of his or her authority, knowledge, position, or relationship with his or her audience) has been around for quite some time, but the modern idea of social media influencers really took off in the early 2000s.

Before social media, influential figures like celebrities and public figures used traditional media (newspapers, radio, TV) to sway public opinion. The early 2000s saw the rise of influential bloggers. Platforms like MySpace and the blogosphere allowed individuals to amass followings through their niche content. The launch of YouTube in 2005, followed by Twitter in 2006 and Instagram in 2010, supercharged the influencer phenomenon. These platforms enabled anyone with a smartphone and a vision to build a following.