Month: July 2025

Daylight Savings Time can save us an hour depending on where we’re at. It can make a giant impact on pending choices; good or bad.  Many people hate the hour-changing ritual.  But what if we could change more than an hour?

In the 70s, Tyrone Davis sang, (If I Could) Turn Back the Hands of Time. Imagine what that would mean to us if it were possible. You might still have a job. You might not have mailed out that letter. Maybe the phone call would not have gone through. She might still be here with you. Someone might still be alive. That email/text might still be there. Or, you might’ve sent that info on time.  You may have made the wisest decision ever. Your investment might have gone through making you rich now!  Or, glad you didn’t sign on time. So many things may be different if we could turn back the hands of time.

But we can’t!  We can reminisce.  We can dream. We can fantasize of all the what-ifs in the world. But they won’t help.  Facing reality is in order.  What’s gone is gone.  But, let’s look at another two what-ifs.  What if you decide not to guess or wonder what your life-after-death might be like, and instead make a choice now to trust the One who knows and can tell you exactly all the details with your life this very moment?

What if you wait too late for that choice and die before choosing life in Christ and end up (for all eternity) separated from God? There, you’ll spend an eternity kicking yourself because you didn’t choose wisely.  You’ll lament not being able to turn the clock back.  Daylight Savings Time won’t help you then. Turning back the hands of time won’t buy you any time.  Sure, you’ll have plenty of time to think about it…and it goes both ways: Choose Jesus NOW, and in Him, you’ll be able to say over and over, “I’m so glad I chose LIFE in Christ, so glad, so glad! And to think, I almost missed it!”  Choose now!  Eternity will have no clocks! “Time will be no more” (Revelation 10:6)!  No Rolex watches will be up there! Neither Sundials, time machines, or time-telling gadgets of any type!  One thing you can trust 1000% is, you’ll never want to go back to your old life-ever once you’re in Christ!

Moving Forward,

God Bless!
Sam

Millions of people (erroneously) think they have their whole lives before them.  Unfortunately, tomorrow isn’t promised to anyone.  We’re all standing on the edge of time; on the edge of life.  Life is fragile. While it’s important to seize the moment and live for now, it’s more important to be ready for falling off the edge of time. Almost daily, there are stories of people trekking up/down, across mountains, peaks, valley, vast tracts of land, and falling right off.  I always wonder how many were ready to step into eternity.  A person’s experience, or hiking gear will not help in these situations. No matter how comfortable or expensive one’s shoes or gloves, nothing tangible aids in the spiritual realm. Nothing in the seen world works in the unseen realm.

“Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring-what your life will be!  For you are like vapor that appears for a little while, then vanishes” (James 4:14).

What to do?  We can fall off the edge before realizing it; we can be called into eternity at any time.  Or, Jesus can return for us right now!

“You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect” (Luke 12:40).

If you stand on the edge looking down too long, you’re bound to fall in. Step back, look up, kneel, call God to save you and help you.  Be radical! Your buddies will think you’ve gone over the edge; confirm it! Explain it. Share it!

God Bless!

Sam

When our grandkids were small, 3 and 4, we’d play cartoons for them on videos. Each week we’d ask, “This one?” “Uh…no” they’d say.  “Let me see that one, and that one,” one of them would say.  In the end, they’d always pick the same one: “HELP, HELP, somebody help me;” as Huckle Berry Hound would say!

Decades before our grandkids came along, the Beatles sang Help! Remember some of the lines?

“When I was younger, so much younger than today I never needed help in any way. But now these days are gone and I’m not so self-assured, Now I find I’ve changed my mind, I’ve opened up the doors.”

Have you’ve been there? Remember when you needed no one, but now you’re not so self-assured?  The Yogi you’ve followed was a fake, the things you’ve invested in have gone awry?  You thought you had all the time in the world, and suddenly realize it’s almost gone?  Are you finding yourself saying,

“Help me if you can I’m feeling down, And I do appreciate you being ‘round, Help me get my feet back on the ground, Won’t you please, please, help me? Help me, help me Ooh.”

Hundreds of years before this song was penned, King David cried: “Hear my cry, Oh God; attend to my prayer.  From the ends of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I” (Psalm 61:1,2).

And again, in Psalm 130:1, 2 either David or Ezra said: “Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O LORD.  Lord, hear my voice: let thine ears be attentive to my supplication.”

As time moves on, we tend to find we’re not as agile as in former days.  Maybe not as quick or brave as we once were. Like the song, we needed no one to get by, but maybe now we do.  Like God’s Word, we can cry out to Him.  Even from the depths of our despair, Jesus is present to help us.  From the midst of confusion, He will help you get your feet back on solid ground!  If you need direction for your life this very instance, He will definitely help you!  Check out this scripture:

 “He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand” (Psalm 40:2).

Now that you realize you need Him, have you changed your mind, and are you ready to open up the doors…to your heart, mind, and ways?

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in time of trouble” (Psalm 46:1)

God Bless!
Sam

Ever imagined something one way but it works out a different way? A lot of us have been there.  I once watched a TV program where a young guy climbed a tree and attempted, like Tarzan, to jump to another tree.  Almost as soon as he made his leap, you heard, “Ow, ow, ouch, ouch, that hurt!”

Have you tried painting a few walls like the pros do, or the way people on TV paint?  They paint without getting any paint on themselves. In fact, they don’t even wear gloves, overalls, goggles, or caps.  Last week, I began painting our bathroom. I placed painters’ tape at the bottom of the wall covering the floor tile grout. I had my roller and brush ready. Had the gloves nearby, but who needs that just yet, right? I opted for my mom’s paint roller.  It looked great! After just a few strokes, the roller handle snapped and as it headed towards the floor, I reached for it. My entire hand turned white as did sections of the tiles. I placed the roller on the edge of the paint bucket and it fell right in the paint! I reached in as soon as I could! I guess we can say it was a good thing the tape was there-it spared a few tile-inches from getting fully painted!  Even when I stain wood, using gloves, I still get stain on my hands.

Still recall when, before we married, my wife, only a friend back then, invited my brother Nels, friend Papo, and me to paint her living room. Within a few minutes she was saying, “I didn’t know I called the Three Stooges!  Papo was up on a ladder painting towards the ceiling, and got paint on the side wall-the off-limit wall. I was opposite him also on a ladder painting right to left when, if someone’s head had been there, like the Three Stooges, I would have slapped some paint on his face!  My roller went right off the wall!  My brother had the roller on a broom stick to paint faster…He did! The floors, the wall, himself!  Homeowner, Vivian couldn’t believe her eyes! Of course, we were just testing her!  We made sure to give her more than she bargained for!  I mean, it was a free paint job; might as well throw in some extras, right?!  Overall, we must’ve done a great job…in the end, she did marry me!

 Isn’t life like that; you’re sure things will go like this, but they end up like that. Take King David, he wanted to build a house for God, but God said no. And Peter was ready to go to the grave for Jesus, but ran like a mouse for hidden cheese when the pressure got tough, and, even denied knowing Jesus.

We all have trials, and like the painters, God likes to throw in a few extras, free of charge.  Maybe you’ve planned out your life.  Maybe by 2028, you’ll be all set for the big world out there.  Your significant other is super, and you’re tying the knot.  Might end up with two: a knot in your throat, and a “NOT GONNA HAPPEN as you pictured.

It happens to everyone!  You may never get to walk on water like Peter (Matthew 14:29), or lead a nation like Joseph (Genesis 41:40), but God is in control!

Even when our lives look like a messy-painted floor, not to mention pants, shirts, face, and glasses, God is standing by to clean us up.  He’s the greatest painter! Doesn’t need painters’ tape or drop cloths to daily paint beautiful sunsets or spellbinding sunrises.  He paints a bright future for us better than any artist or professional painter!  And even when we’ve pictured life one way, after all the curve balls, God’s there to see us to His Home, His Way.  And in the end, the Church will be marrying Him!

“For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. The heavens declare the glory of God.  The skies proclaim the work of his hands” (Psalm 19:1 Berean Standard Bible).

God Bless!
Sam

Recommended Song: Song of Love Rebecca St. James 2002

Lonely windswept road.  Where does it lead? Questions. Doubts. Steps to take.  Decisions to make. Shots to call. All alone. You walk the road for miles ahead. Waiting for an opportunity. Waiting for a change. Waiting for a chance.  No one shows up. Time alone. No one but your thoughts. No one but your heartbeat.  About face. Turn back home.

Been here before. Nothing’s changed.  You feel the wind in your hair, you feel the cold in your soul. No blanket to warm you.  You shiver; talk to yourself. Your thoughts answer but you’re not sure.

Road stretches for miles in dark, overcast skies.  Snow seems imminent. Your soul cries out for comfort; to be held, to be warmed.  To be listened to.  You’re waiting to be spoken to on a windswept, lonely road that you’ve walked on many times before.  God has been there watching you, hearing your thoughts and listening to your soul.  He’s been there comforting you. He knows your heartbeats. He’s held you up.

When no one showed, He was there whispering to your heart.  As skies have grown dark, He’s held you near, He’s held your hand.  It’s not your bones or soul that shiver in the cold.  It’s your heart in need of His warmth.

 On a dark lonely road, you tremble. Under threatening and frightening dark skies, God is there speaking to you. It’s time to meet Him. Do not fear.

“And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was” (Exodus 20:21).

About face. Turn back home. Take Him with you. Invite Him to your home and in to your heart; to warm your inner being.  Brew a cup of tea for two. Thaw your cold heart.  Warm your thoughts by the fireplace.  Enjoy the cheese and crackers.  God is your friend.  Feel safe in His presence.  Delight yourself in His company. Glimpse out the window at the road. It is long; stretches for miles. You’ve walked it many times before.  He knows it very well; knows the path you’re on. You have a lot to tell Him. Tell Him your pain, your many lonely miles.  Share with Him how far you’ve been, and the many times you’ve stumbled back. Tell Him you want change.  Tell Him you want a chance at being His child. He’s listening. Here’s there to stay. You’re no longer alone.

Welcome Home,

Sam

I remember listening to Elton John’s Philadelphia Freedom back in ’75-’76. Though not meant to, it was associated with the USA’s Bicentennial. Everyone, the world over, wants freedom. Men and Women have given their lives fighting for freedom. We have freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom to bear arms, freedom of expression, and others (whom to love, where to live), etc.

All the freedom we have is great! We’re allowed certain leeway in life, and are able to accomplish great and astounding things in composition, written works, architecture, etc. But as great as all the freedom in the world is, there’s something it just can’t offer. The religious leaders of Jesus’ day faced the same dilemma millions face today: They felt they were free men.  They thought their freedom afforded them a righteousness that linked them to God as His people. They thought they were “cool” with God and that He smiled upon them.  And so, they told Jesus, “We have never been slaves to anyone” (John 8:33).

But Jesus desired for them to know a truth unheard of; an intangible freedom. One from within, one that was unseen, yet powerful enough to break chains, yokes of oppression, and offer complete deliverance in their lives. What was He saying?

He told them, “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free” John 8:32).  In a nutshell, Jesus wanted the leaders to know He was the Truth He spoke of.  He offered the freedom that can only come from God and Messiah.  His truth delivers us from inner turmoil everyone experiences.  He came to set humanity free from the bondage of sin.  Sin eats away at everything: age, beauty, life, loved ones; even the earth, nature, creation, etc. Sin destroys everything in its path. It tears apart families, relationships, honesty and more. Ultimately, sin brought forth death.  Even if you live a pleasant life with no regrets, no difficulties and nothing to complain about, sin will kill you like it kills everyone else.  Jesus’ death on the cross, defeated sin and conquered the grave: He conquered death.

“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1).

Want real freedom? Want God to break chains in your life? Need deliverance from things holding you back?  Do you want to feel real fireworks in your life? Turn it over to Jesus today. It’ll be the best 4^th of July ever!  As the song, Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone) by Chris Tomlin goes,

“My chains are gone/I’ve been set free/My God my Savior has ransomed me/And like a flood His mercy reigns/Unending love, amazing grace.                                                                                 

God Bless! Be Free!

Sam