Time Machine

    Way, way back my church used to do Vacation Bible Schools. When we had VBS we would take the children in a "time machine" and go back to Bible times to hear from someone from that time. Doing this got me thinking: "what if we would actually have a time machine? Would any of the people from Bible times want to change something they did? Would we want to change anything we have done?"
   What about you? If you had a time machine and you could go back and change any one moment in your life would you do it? Why would you want to change that event? Do you regret a decision you made? Well, I cannot speak to your answer because I don't know what your answer is; so, I will speak to my answer. I would not go back and change anything in my life.
   Some of you may have a hard time believing my answer. I have made choices in my life that were not the greatest choice. I could have done things differently and gotten a different result. However, if I would have made different choices, I would not be the person I am today. If I would have made different choices I would not be where I am at today. If I would have made different choices, I may not have been able to reach as many people for Christ.
   I am a firm believe that everything happens for a reason. It is difficult to hold onto that at times. However, over and over in the Bible we see God's perfect plan coming about. God also has a plan for our lives as well.
   In Genesis we find the story of Joseph. Joseph was betrayed by his brothers, sold into slavery, falsely accused, thrown in prison, and forgotten. I'm sure Joseph wondered if there was something he did wrong. He may have wanted a time machine to go back and try to get along with his brothers more. In the end of Joseph's story, he saved not only his family but also all of Egypt and more. In Genesis 50:20 Joseph says to his brothers: "As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today." Joseph had to go through all of those difficult things as a test to see if he was ready to rule and save so many people.
   If you need more convincing check out Romans 8:28 which says: "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." It may be hard to go through difficult times, but they happen for a reason. We just need to trust in God and his perfect plan for our lives.
   So, would you go back and change an event in your life if you could? Why or why not? How can you choose to trust in God's prefect plan each day?
Image from here.

Do You Believe in Miracles?

I love stories. I enjoy reading them, watching them in videos, and hearing them from people. I don't really know why I enjoy stories so much. Maybe it's because I grew up with people reading them to me. Maybe it's because they take me on new adventures. Or, maybe it is a combination of reasons.
Now that I am a teacher I read many stories to students. The students love hearing the stories. However, I've found that there is one genre of stories that students enjoy hearing a lot: fairy tales. I also like hearing fairy tales. I am talking about the "and they all lived happily ever after" ones not the gross ones. Why is it that we enjoy fairy tales so much?
I think there are a few reasons we enjoy fairy tales. One is the fact that the characters "All live happily ever after." We know that problems happen in the story but we also know it will all turn out alright. Another reason is the stories are not real. We get tired of reality and how nothing seems to go right. The final reason is because there is usually some element of magic in these stories.
Now, again, before you call me a heretic for saying I enjoy these stories because of magic, hear me out. What is the magic in these stories? The magic that happens are things that usually cannot occur in real life. The magic is impossible. We enjoy impossible things. It excites us. It enamors us. It makes us believe that there's something, or someone, more out there.
Well, believe it or not there is magic that occurs in real life. No, we don't have fairies going around granting wishes. What we have is something better: we have God. No, God doesn't work like the magical items or people in fairy tales. Instead, he works things for our good. He does this in everyday things and occurrences. He does this in everyday miracles.
Psalm 77:14 says: "You are the God who works wonders; you have made known your might among the peoples." Think back to Bible times: how many miracles can you point out? There are over 150* miracles just listed in the Bible. Does God still perform miracles today? Maybe not like he did in the bible but he still works miracles. The problem is we tend to not see it. A miracle could be you are really thirsty but you cannot get to a water fountain and you don't have a water bottle. Then someone comes up and gives you a water bottle. That's a miracle! That person had no reason to come up and give you a water bottle and yet, he did!
Now, that's not to say that God doesn't still perform miracles like he did back in Bible times. We hear of amazing stories of people praying for healing for someone and that person is miraculously healed. We hear of stories of many people coming to Christ. That's a miracle! We hear stories of people being saved from very scary situations. Those things that happen are miracles. And, we need to be sure that when these miracles happen, we thank and praise God! He is the one who works things for our good. He is the God of miracles. He's the God of making impossible things possible.
So, do you believe in miracles? Do you praise God when miracles happen? 
* https://www.spiritoflifeag.com/how-many-miracles-are-there-in-the-bible/

Image from here.

The Power of Perspective: Happy New Year!

   Some of you know that each year I give myself a spiritual resolution. I challenge myself to come up with one area in my spiritual walk that I need to grow in. This year I challenged myself to be more thankful. I did this though my prayer time with God. Each time I would pray I would start by praising God. Then I would thank him for five things, people, or events that happened that day or something reminded me of them that day.
   The interesting part of my choice is that I chose it before I even knew COVID existed. The year before this year I realized that even with all the problems that come in my life I have a lot to be thankful for. Many times we forget that simple fact: we have much to be thankful for.
   It isn't always easy to be thankful. This year I got the flu for the first time, got strep throat, was in quarantine for three months, did not get to go on my official vacation, did not get to coach for three teams I usually coach for, had to go through a lot of changes at work, and so on.
   Perhaps you had some of these things happen to you as well. 2020 was not an easy year for many of us. However, this journey of trying to be thankful has taught me that it is all about perspective. Let me show you what I mean: I got the flu this year, which was not fun, but I had a warm place to stay and a family who took care of me. I had strep throat this year, which was not fun, but my sister stayed home with me to take care of me. I was in quarantine for three months, which was not fun, but I got to spend more time with my family. I did not go on my official vacation this year, which was not fun, but it made me more thankful of the time I got to spend at Camp YoliJwa later when I counseled. I did not get to coach three teams I usually coach, which was not fun, but I was thankful for the time I got to spend with the teams I worked with in the fall. I had to go through a lot of changes at work, which was not fun, but it made me realize how lucky and thankful I am for a job.
   Do you see my point? Yes, 2020 has brought a lot of problems. We have a choice when those problems come up: we can focus on the bad things or we can focus on the good things that we have or that come out of those bad things. I am very thankful that God led me to have thankfulness as my spiritual resolution this year. It helped me get through the year, be thankful even when it was hard, and to trust in God through it all.
I hope that as you look back at 2020 you try to see the things, places, people, and events that you have to be thankful for. I pray that as we move into 2021 we all remember that we have much to be thankful for.
   So, are you choosing to try to be thankful in all things? How can you remember to be thankful each day? Will you choose to trust in God and his plan?

   Philippians 4:6-7 and 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

   Image from here. 

Jesus is the Star

   The day is finally here. It is the day where hope entered the world. It is the day where the person who created true peace came into the world. It is the day where a baby's cry sounded so joyful to those there on that special night. It is the day where God showed his love to us by sending his Son to earth. God had many different signs happen that day. He had many different people involved in the day that his Son was born on earth.
   One group that he had involved was wise men. Now, contrary to typical manger scenes the wise men were not actually there the night Jesus was born. In Matthew 2 we find the wise men visiting King Herod asking if he knew where the King of the Jews was. Long story short they found the child, presented him with gifts, and left.
   Out of all the people involved in the Christmas story I find the Magi some of the most interesting. We don't know how many of them there were. We don't know where they came from. We don't know what religion they followed. We refer to them as kings, but they were just astrologers. Granted, they were astrologers who were rich enough to buy expensive gifts but astrologers, nonetheless. These men saw a different star in the east, knew that it was a sign of the King of the Jews, got gifts for him, dropped everything they were doing, traveled for who knows how long to find the King, went to Herod who was not the nicest man, finally found who they were looking for, gave him gifts, and left.
   It seems a bit anti-climactic doesn't it? They spent all that time and money just to spend a bit of time with Jesus. Do you think they thought it was worth it? It may be difficult for you to answer that question from their perspective so let me ask you a different question: would you have dropped everything to follow the star?
Before I continue pause and actually answer that question honestly please. Think about the fact that it is going to cost you time and money to follow a star. Think about the fact that you don't know when that star is going to go away so if you are going to follow it you had better do it soon. Think about the fact that there is no guarantee that you will actually find the King of the Jews.... Would you still follow the star?
   New question: what if that star was Jesus? Would you follow the star if it was Jesus? You still will lose time and money, but you will be giving it up for Jesus. You will get to see Jesus. I believe that's why the wise men decided to drop everything and follow that star. They wanted the chance to see Jesus, even if it was just for a day.
   Many of us have wondered what it would be like to meet Jesus face to face. Well, we may not see Jesus face to face on this earth; but, if we have accepted Jesus as our savior, we will see him in eternity. But once we accept Christ, our job isn't done. We must continually choose to follow Christ each day. Matthew 16:24 says: "Then Jesus said to his disciples, 'Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.'"
   I must wonder if the Wise Men understood this verse even before Jesus said it. They dropped everything to follow the star. They denied themselves comfort, money, time, etc. Just to follow a star in order to see Jesus.
   Nowadays we say that Christmas is about Jesus' birth. However, I feel we tend to forget that with all the decorating, present buying, crafting, parking space issues, caroling, and general hustle and bustle of Christmas. We forget with all that going on that Jesus is the star of Christmas. He is the reason why we celebrate. He is the reason we have hope, peace, joy, and love in our lives. He is the reason why we are saved through God's grace. Why shouldn't we want to deny ourselves to follow Him?
   This Christmas day I encourage you to take some time to ponder if you are truly following Christ. Are you choosing each day to deny yourself to follow Him and show others His love? If you are not, what are you going to do to remember to follow Him each day?
   Matthew 2, Matthew 16:24

   Here is a little video to remind you about how Jesus is the Star of Christmas: https://youtu.be/WjIGPSIFEBA

A Strong Foundation

   One day while I was at school with my students, one of them built a tower. The student was very proud of the tower. The student kept calling me over to look at it. I saw it growing higher and higher. It got to the point that I knew the inevitable would happen: the tower would fall.

   I kept quiet and watched. Sure enough the tower came down with a crash. Then the student looked at me. I just shrugged and said "bummer, maybe you should try to build it again." The student began to build again. And, again the tower fell.

   The next week we did a lesson about the book "Yertle the Turtle" by Dr. Seuss (spoilers ahead). We talked about how Yertle's tower of turtles would have been stronger if he would have had a better foundation. Then we built Yertle a tower together.

   This got me thinking about how we try to build our own towers. We think "I can build the biggest tower all by myself. I don't need any help." Yet, some of us don't build on a good foundation. The sand of the world isn't a strong foundation. The rock of God is a strong foundation. If we spend time with God, pray to him, and read his word we will have a strong foundation. That's how we grow in knowledge and make a bigger impact for him.

   So, what is your foundation built on? Do you have a strong foundation built by knowing God? How can you make your foundation stronger today?

   2 Timothy 3:16-17 and Matthew 7:24-27

   Image from here.

You Can't Touch This

   One of the things I do with my students is what teachers call brain breaks. Students have a tendency to have issues focusing for long periods of time. Or, they just may need to get some energy out. Thus, we will do some simple dancing for them to get their wiggles out so they can focus again. One of the songs they dance to is "You Can't Touch This." It's a clean version of the song.
   This song brought out a game the kids like to play. It's kind of like tag but the game is always going on. When someone comes up and tries to take their toy or do something mean they say "you can't touch this." It makes me laugh and think about what would happen if we would do this in real life.
   If we have a problem and it makes us stressed, sad, or frustrated we could say to those emotions "you can't touch this." Why could we say this? We can say this for a few reasons. We can say this because we have control of our emotions. We may not be able to control what happens to us but we can control how we react to the problems. We can also say that because no matter what happens to us on earth Jesus has already won.
   John 16:33 says: "I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world." We will have trouble on this earth. But, this earth isn't the end. No matter what happens to us Jesus is with us. Jesus died so that we could have a relationship with him. He also died so that we could be with him forever. That's amazing to think about. And, that's why, when we have problems on this earth, we can say "you can't touch this. Jesus has got my back."
   So, will you trust in God when problems arise? 

Image from here.

God's at Work

   Many of you know I am a preschool teacher. Thus, I work with many different children who come from many different places. One child came to my classroom who was a 5 year old who had never been in childcare before. My co-teacher and I quickly realized that she was used to getting what she wanted.
   For example: one time the children were on their beds after lunch. During this time the children are being called to use the bathroom and working on independent work on their beds. Well, during lunch this child was playing with her food (we could also tell that she was sleepy). My co-teacher and I decided that she would not be allowed to have independent work until she could sit quietly on her bed. When it finally registered with her that she was not allowed to have the toy she wanted she began to cry, scream, and kick her bed.
   Now, for those of you who have not worked with children this age, this is not typical reoccurring behavior for a 5 year old. Yes, children would have temper tantrums every once in a while but this one was the third one that day. My co-teacher went over to the child and told her that she seemed tired and that maybe she should go to sleep. If you guessed that didn't get her to calm down you are right.
   Why was this child crying so hard? She was crying and having a temper tantrum because she wanted what she wanted when she wanted it. In her mind, she should get the toy to play with because she wanted it. She wasn't thinking about the fact that she wasn't using good manners at lunch. She wasn't thinking about the fact that she was tired. She wasn't thinking about the fact that her teachers were trying to prepare her for life; because in life you don't usually get what you want if you throw a temper tantrum.
   Okay, so at this point you may be wondering why I am telling you this. Again, I have a point; and that point isn't how you should care for your kids. My point is that sometimes we act like this child. We may not cry, scream, and kick but we do pout and complain. When something bad happens in your life what do you usually do? Normally, if you are a Christian, you ask God to take the problem away. When you really want something to happen what do you usually do? If you are a Christian, you usually ask God to give it to you.
   When we ask God for something we may get a few different answers: no, yes, or wait. And, there is one outlier that we sometimes get: yes, but not in the way you expect. God is a good Father. He loves us and gives us what we need and not always what we want. However, sometimes we forget this fact and act like this child. We complain about how hard our lives are. We pout when things don't happen the way we expected.
   What happens in these hard times or when we want something is that we forget something very important. We forget that God is a good Father. We forget that God loves us and cares for us. We forget that we are called to be joyful in all circumstances. We forget that God is at work even if it doesn't seem like it. God works all things together for our good. At times, we may wonder what he is doing but we need to have confidence in him and trust in him. We need to remember that in good times and bad times God is at work.
   So, what do you do when things are not going the way you expected? Will you trust that God has a plan for your life? I encourage you to thank God each day for the blessings he has given you and for him loving you.

   Image from here.