It's a given, you have to talk about the Super Bowl on Super Bowl Sunday, Right? Well, this is Super Bowl MONDAY  and the New York Giants have won, and just like Super Bowl XLII, it took a late fourth-quarter rally led by quarterback Eli Manning, the game’s MVP, and another great catch by a backup wide receiver.This is the apex of the football season, every team aspires to play this game at the beginning of the season, in baseball it is the World Series (note to the Braves, could this be our year?). In listening to the pre-game shows I listened to all the stories about Manning and Brady and all the reasons it was so important to each of them to win this particular game. For Tom Brady it would have meant definitely getting into the Hall of Fame. I remembered the touching story of Kurt Warner, back in 2009, and how he was told to "get another dream", yet but he kept trying and became the starting quarterback for his team.. he didn't give up. When a person is named MVP (Most Valuable Player) of the football game, what does that person have to do to earn that prestigious title? He has to have played an exceptional game, having to either run more yards, received  more passes, or thrown more passes that are received, in other words he has to actually BE the M V P!  Who would be some MVPs out of the most famous men in the HISTORY of the world? When our current President went into office, a commentator (sorry it's been too long to remember which one) said that now he was the most famous man in the whole world!  I have to disagree with that, even if you leave out some of our more famous Presidents and Astronauts who made history by ending wars or walking on the moon, there is one man who's efforts trump Abe Lincoln, F.D.R, J.F.K, John Glenn, Neil Armstrong,  Sir Alexander Fleming, the inventor of penicillin and many more wonderful and awesome things I could mention here. Who would that outstanding man be? You guessed it, Jesus Christ, Superstar! I have heard people, who ought to know better, say, "I think Jesus was just a great teacher," and then compare him to other philosophers or men, and it just plain offends me. He couldn't be just that: No great teacher would claim to be God if he wasn't. Either Jesus is conning 2.3 billion people who believe a lie, or Jesus actually is who He SAID He was!  Who, exactly, did He say He was? John 14: 6 "I am the way, the truth,. and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me." What do you do with the truth once you have discovered it? You believe the truth,  DO the truth, Stand for the truth and Spread the truth! Titus 2:7 (LB) "Let everything you do reflect your love of the truth and the fact that you were in dead earnest about it." Notice that Jesus said, "I am the truth.." He doesn't say truth is a religion, or a ritual, or a set of rules. He says "I"!  Truth is a person, His name is Jesus. Using the word 'religion' brings something else up in my mind: I am sick of hearing people call someone who has a real conviction for following Jesus and who is trying to live a good and righteous life, "religious" or say that we have a "religious spirit". If that's what it is, then I am happy that way! I grew up wanting to look like some beautiful movie star such as Sophia Loren or Liz Taylor, but today, when people look at me I want them to be able to see Jesus, the MVP in my life! Who is yours? The Gaithers penned my thoughts in this song "Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, there's just something about that name, Master, Saviour, Jesus, like the fragrance after the rain. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus let all heaven and earth proclaim, Kings and kingdoms may all pass away, but there's something about that name."
Remember to pray 2 Chronicles 7:14 for our country and play the game of life with the best MVP, Jesus Christ, Superstar! Be Blessed!

I was thinking how everything we hear on the news is bad news. Look at the magazines while you're in the check out lane at the grocery store; covers list the tragedies of the stars. If people weren't eating it up, if it weren't flying off the shelves, they would quit printing it, right? So we must all be bad news, gossip junkies! Our politicians are at each others throats and people listen, report, pick apart, repeat until we all know it all! Then when the conventions comes and they have to pick one candidate and he has to pick one Vice candidate, they have to find a way to unite. None of this is new,Ecclesiastes 1:9-14 What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. Is there anything of which one can say, "Look! This is something new"? It was here already, long ago; it was here before our time. There is no remembrance of men of old, and even those who are yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow. I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. I devoted myself to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under heaven. What a heavy burden God has laid on men! I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind. Without us taking up the burden to pray for our land, 2 Chronicles 7:14 "If my people, which are called by my name, will humble themselves, and pray,and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." Our land will not prosper as long as we are sitting on the fence about whether to recognize God, not only in our own life, but as the healer of our land. Seems everything is a mess! Verse 15 of that chapter goes on to say "What is twisted cannot be straightened; what is lacking cannot be counted."If you look at human lives and look at all the people who have been "twisted" by hurt, sin, and dark choices it is truly astonishing. Humanly speaking "what is twisted cannot be straightened" as soon as you fix one person another is damaged somewhere else. It seems hopeless. What is lacking cannot be counted. Who can count the lack of food, clean water, unpolluted air, basic finance, education, in the world today - or the lack of love, kindness, co-operation and civility? Or the greatest lack of all - people to take the good news to those who have not heard so that they may be saved. My friend, we cannot be "weary in well doing", we have to fight the fight. Jeremiah was complaining to God, Jeremiah 12:1-4 Why do bad people have it so good? Why do con artists make it big?You planted them and they put down roots. They flourished and produced fruit.They talk as if they're old friends with you, but they couldn't care less about you.Meanwhile, you know me inside and out. You don't let me get by with a thing! God answered, then gave him some advice! V5-6 "So, Jeremiah, if you're worn out in this footrace with men,what makes you think you can race against horses?And if you can't keep your wits during times of calm, what's going to happen when troubles break loose like the Jordan in flood? Those closest to you, your own brothers and cousins, are working against you.They're out to get you. They'll stop at nothing. Don't trust them, especially when they're smiling. We can't change things by wishing it, there is an old adage that says "If wishes were horses beggars would ride", you have to be an activist! Not by carrying signs and protesting, but by spending quality time in your prayer closet! Trouble at hand? Jesus gave us a list of things to watch for and then said "When you see these things begin to happen, look up, lift up your head, your redemption draws near!" I add, Selah and Amen! Be Blessed!

When you read that title did it conjure up visions of the Rolling Stones with Mick Jagger prancing across the stage? Do you KNOW who the Rolling Stones were? This is not about them, just borrowing the title to their song because I want to talk about satisfaction, or lack of it, in ourselves. You can say the same word with a change of intonation or body language and it will mean something entirely different. For instance, if I looked at you with my hand on my hip and said "Are you SATisfied?" You would know that I was being sarcastic. If I rubbed my tummy after a hot fudge sundae and said,with a sigh, "Now I am satisfied", you would know that I had probably been craving chocolate all day and finally got it. My morning coffee is probably the closest to fulfilling the "satisfied" button all day, unless I miscounted the scoops and made it TOO WEAK! We can be satisfied with a job well done, something that we have accomplished that seemed too hard to even try. There is satisfaction in winning an argument or finally  fighting back and making that mean statement to someone who has hurt you, however, that satisfaction is an empty one, it doesn't last, and it leaves a very bitter taste in the mouth of the speaker. Proverbs 12:14 (Amplified Bible)From the fruit of his words a man shall be satisfied with good, and the work of a man's hands shall come back to him [as a harvest].A satisfaction in knowing that your heart is right with God.  Psalm 17:15 Because I am righteous, I will see you. When I awake, I will see you face to face and be satisfied. You can see he was talking about waking in death. Psalm 22:26The meek shall eat and be satisfied: they shall praise the Lord that seek him: your heart shall live forever. What do you need for your life to be fulfilled, to be completely satisfied? Money, health, relationship? All those things are important to our life, that is true, but at the end of the day, when you lay your head on your pillow for sleep you can still have that "hole in your soul" that is not filled. I see people that over-indulge in food, drink, or drugs to be satisfied Then there is the person that feels the only way to satisfy their personal need is to have sex with everyone they date, somehow feeling that the momentary closeness of two bodies making physical heat will last through the day, the night or make a life. Most times when people hook up for sex only relationships, one of the parties end up devastated because they mistook the fleeting need of the person they had sex with, as love, then when they find out that it was just that one physical act and it is over, there is devastation. What I can't figure is why it goes on over and over with the "seeker" of personal satisaction, filling their fleeting need, then feeling empty, used, and, often times, accusing God of letting them down and being responsible causing for their loneliness, taking people away from them, and the inevitable "WHY?" There is only one real lasting satisfaction: Only Jesus, Only He brings Redemption, Full And Free there's A Yearning, In All Our Lives that only Jesus satisfies. (lyric by Steve Green) Another song: Only Jesus satisfies your soul, only He can take your life and make it whole, He'll bring you peace you never knew, sweet love and joy and heaven too, only Jesus can satisfy your soul. (Author un-known to me)  God gave us a wonderful world in the Garden and we gave it up for "appetite", the forbidden fruit. Don't give up your "garden" for the sake of ANY appetite. Be blessed, only Jesus can satisfy your soul.

Do you have children? I have two, ten years apart, a girl and a boy. Raising each of them was totally different from the other. One was dolls, fancy dresses and hair bows; the other was bikes, roller skates, baseball and wrestling. I love them both more than life and would do anything they needed, within my power, to see that they were happy. There were times they did things that merited punishment and administering it was the hardest thing I ever had to do. Genesis 2:7 God formed Man out of dirt from the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life. The Man came alive—a living soul! My first child, I thought no one had ever had such a perfectly beautiful baby, flesh of my flesh, bone of my bone. God put breath into His first child, Adam. This was someone he could talk to, walk with in the cool of the evening, someone to take care of the land and the animals. He gave Adam dominion over it all. God thought Adam needed a companion that was more like him. V 21-22 God put the Man into a deep sleep. As he slept he removed one of his ribs and replaced it with flesh. God then used the rib that he had taken from the Man to make Woman and presented her to the Man. The Man said, "Finally! Bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh! Name her Woman for she was made from Man." Now God had two children to love, He walked and talked with them, until one of the children disobeyed in such a grand way that He had no choice, they were punished. God was disappointed. His creation had failed. Satan walked into the Throne room one day, God asked him where he had been, "Checking things out on earth", he answered. "Have you considered my good friend Job?" said proud Papa God, "Yeah, you protect him, why wouldn't he be loyal to you?" You know the story, Job was tried, almost beyond human endurance, but he passed the test. Jesus passed the test with flying colors! He died on a cross to save the souls of the offspring of God's first children, the disobedient ones, what greater could He give than His life? Can you imagine watching your child die in agony? I couldn't stand to take mine to the doctor for their shots! If something happened to your internet connection and you were incommunicado, no social network, no email, no contact, someone would certainly miss talking with you and wonder where you were! If one of my children doesn't talk to me, I look them up and find out why! I am thinking that some of us have become incommunicado with God and I wonder if He doesn't miss our company. One of my children can't take the place of the other, and I can't talk to God for you. I can go in my dad's room several times a day, take food, check the room temperature, bring something to drink, many little things; but sometimes I will go in and as I am walking out he says "Please sit with us for a little while. We get so lonely for someone to talk with." Anytime he says it I am surprised, I have been in and out all day, yet he wants to talk. I don't take the place of my siblings or the grandkids, I can't replace them. No matter how many 'saints' there are on this earth, no one can take YOUR place on God's lap. It's you He wants to hear from. Has it been a long time since you talked with Him? Have you ever re-connected with an old friend, one that you haven't seen for years? I have found that within the first few minutes, it's like we've never been apart and we fill in all the gaps in a hurry. I was listening to a sermon, preached by a brilliant speaker Dan Tomberlin, and he was speaking of the son who left home, taking his inheritance, and returned home after becoming "a pig". The father was thrilled to see him,to the dismay of the elder son. This wise father took time to talk, to communicate, to explain the situation to him. That's when I thought about how we have lost the practice of communication with our Father God. Talk with God, He loves you so! Be blessed!

When you were a child, what did you "pretend" to be? Did you become the thing you aspired to be? Me? Thanks for asking! First choice was a school teacher, second choice was a nurse! I encouraged my children to take up education, or study medicine! My son studied at Georgia Tech and graduated, but his dream was not in engineering or in finance. I encouraged him to follow his dream, he enrolled in Life University and studied to become a Chiropractor, and four years later he graduated as the Valedictorian of his class! He is now a Chiropractor, with his own clinic. My daughter attended Georgia State and worked as a teacher in our church school. She is an amazing wife and mother of two. Her son,11, was diagnosed at the age of four with Juvenile Diabetes. She became acquainted with every facet of the disease and keeps him adjusted so well that he is in excellent health, her daughter is a typical 19 year old in college. So, I'm not a teacher in a school, but I must have done something or taught something right to raise two such wonderful children. I envisioned being a wife with a husband that came through the front door, like Ricky and Lucy, or Warren and June Cleaver, and said "Honey I'm home, what's for dinner?" Then there's the part of me that wants to feed the world, to teach an amazing, eye opening, revelation revealing Bible study, or lead a prayer group that can change the world, yes, you are right, I had a lot of lofty dreams. The biggest one though, through everything else, was that I wanted to write a book full of wonderful stories or maybe one great epic novel. Maybe it's just that I never settled on one thing so steady and strong to make it come to pass. There is one more thing, it was, and is,the desire to hear the voice of God completely and clearly and know what His will for my life really is. Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. Someone gave me a little piece of stained glass with the picture of a hummingbird and that scripture inscribed on it. I thought of the times that God had spared my life! Being thrown through a windshield and landing on the hood of a car that was hanging off a bridge high over a river was one of those times. I was only nine months old. So I thought, if God hadn't had a plan for my life, it would have been easy to let it end right there, it didn't, I'm still here. God gave me the gift of life and I need to use it for His glory in some way. Now, what about you? What are your dreams and visions of your future? Have they come to pass, or have they flushed along with all the other waste in your life? Joseph had dreams, telling his brothers was his big mistake as it raised jealousy and they tried to kill him, however he survived to save their lives! Queen Esther was just a girl that was brought into the house of the King, simply because she was beautiful, with a lot of other young women. Her mission was to save the Jewish people, her people. She was afraid for her life and told Mordecai so, Esther 4:13-14 Mordecai sent her this message: "Don't think that just because you live in the king's house you're the one Jew who will get out of this alive. If you persist in staying silent at a time like this, help and deliverance will arrive for the Jews from someplace else; but you and your family will be wiped out. Who knows? Maybe you were made queen for just such a time as this."God has a perfect plan for your life, and it may be of great importance,if it is a plan that needs to be carried out and you choose to ignore it, He WILL find someone else. Do you want someone to take your place in the plan of God? I know I don't! Think, maybe the dream you had fell through because it wasn't the best for you! Dream big, God will either help it come to pass or edit it, but you never know unless you try! Be blessed!