Finding Laughter In Difficult Times

Sometimes we hold things in for long periods of time.  At a given time, we need to release all tension, anger, hurt, and emotion we’ve held captive within.  That release is most safely done through tears.  Weeping is healthy.  Think of those who have lost their homes during recent storms, or through fires, or scams.  Some may have lost loved ones-unexpectedly.  People are known to have been betrayed by close friends.  Jesus can relate: “Even my own familiar friend in whom I trusted, Who ate my bread, Has lifted his heel against me” (Psalm 41:9 NKJV).  Judas betrayed Him. Weeping can release hurts we are not even aware of.

Weeping is temporal.  Aside from God’s love, nothing on this earth is forever.  God shows us there’s a balance to every emotion and every trial.  Today we weep, but tomorrow we’ll rejoice.

I don’t know if Jesus will have us stand with our hands at our sides while He unravels his quadrillion rolls of paper tissues and  proceeds to wipe the tears from our eyes, but He will end our suffering.  He will make sure nothing else ever, brings tears of sadness or hurt to our eyes.  In a nutshell, today’s your day to weep.  Tomorrow’s a different story.

Meaning? Your weeping’s almost over!  Time to start rejoicing!  In the meantime, don’t keep it all to yourself!  Remember, you’re not the only one weeping!   Jesus knows your hurt and pain!  He lost a very dear friend-Lazarus.  At seeing his sister and the Jews that accompanied her weeping, He was deeply moved within.  One Bible commentator said Jesus trembled with emotion.  At that moment, we’re given the Bible’s shortest verse: “Jesus wept” (John 11:35). See, He’s not this distant robot-of-a-person who randomly, and distantly performed miracles.  He has feelings just like you and me.  He can relate to us because He lived amongst us as a human.

So, now that you know…You have to share with others your pity-party-but in victory!  “Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep” (Romans 12:15).  Show your compassion to others who are in the same boat you’re in.  Be the strong one.  Strengthen another person.  Remember:

“Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning” (Psalm 30:5).

See ya on the other side of weeping,

Sam

So, between 1985 and 1988 we had a dream of building a cabin in the woods so our three little jack-rabbit kids could have a place to roam and hop around in. We knew we couldn’t afford a house in New York, so we aimed for Puerto Rico-somewhere we knew nothing about but my parents had just relocated there. We accomplished our dream. Bought a log cabin kit without any land to build on or a builder to erect it. Later, purchased land unseen, met our builder, realized our dream, and worked hard at it for the next 34 years.  Built it the way we wanted it with lots of sweat and tears.  There were new experiences everywhere.

Building together can strengthen a relationship and strain it as well.  In the end, we’re better for it.  Our three kids also had major experiences as well which have helped them in their current lives.  Building up is an opportunity to start afresh.  It’s a time to dream, and to see if God was factored in or not.  If He wasn’t, now’s the time to invite Him in. How? First, don’t try to fix your mess. Instead, look within yourself.  Acknowledge yourself a sinner in need of a savior. Open the door to your heart, invite Him in.  He’ll work changes within you.  You’ll “see His face” in that you’ll sense His presence in your life all the time.  As you read His word, you’ll see what He’s like. As you build your life around Him, He’ll build you up.  He’ll mature you as a believer.  He’ll nourish you to withstand Satan’s guiles and fiery darts.

Just as building our home has taken years, don’t expect to build up your life overnight.  Early on, I learned a lot of what the Bible taught and I mastered just about everything in the book of Revelation.  I thought I was done. I knew it all. While, yes, I had the knowledge, the experience part was missing. Now, that’s where I’ve been at for most of these 29 years!  On-the-job-training!

“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing” (1Thessalonians 5:11).

Pics: Top Left-Logs Galore! Top Right-Time To Build! Above Left: Work Crew, Above Right-Built!

God Bless!
Sam

It was a coldish day on November 22^nd, 1963 when I remember a sudden rush-rush everywhere. Teachers were sobbing as they rushed us 6-year-old kids to quickly get on our coats, line up, and were rushed outside.  Out there, I met up with my older brother, Vincent, who was in the same school, in the 8^th grade.  I told him about our being rushed out and the teachers crying, and he told me the president had been shot. It was a day where things in the USA changed. The respect for authority was gone.  It would mark the beginning of break downs, with more to come.

On September 11, 2001, the USA had another major breakdown.  The world would never be the same after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center Twin Towers.  My youngest brother worked at one of the towers and he usually changed his entrance schedule with his boss alternating between getting there at 7 and at 9.  That day, he was to arrive at 9 when he saw one of the planes flying low overhead.  Thankfully, he was a block away when it all happened.

Ours is a broken-down world, not just in buildings and deaths of leaders, but in morals, communication, dignity and respect for human life, as well as in relationships with others.

Has your life come toppling down lately? Like a giant tower, has every “floor” toppled after several bad experiences? Let’s see, you lost your job?  You fell behind on the rent?   Your schmucky boyfriend dumped you for the bratty blonde? Oh, you’re the bratty blonde?! Sorry. The nose job doesn’t look so hot?  Oh, it was a bloody nose caused by…

Regardless, breaking down can be a good thing; heck, even a great thing.  It won’t seem it at the moment, but it is. To everything, there is a time and a purpose.  When our lives break down, it’s normal. We can’t escape them.  And while we don’t condone terrorism, the actions God requires from us are:  “If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14).

As individuals and nation, we tend to allow pride to reign over us. There are many things we need to break off.  God tells us to break off the horoscopes, the psychics, the witchcraft, the drinking, the gambling, the illicit affairs, the lying, the cheating, etc. (Deuteronomy 18:10-13).  Let me break it down for you: This is your time to break away from bad experiences and break down the walls you have put up that separate you from God; namely, sin. Read it!

“But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear” (Isaiah 59:2).

You do want to see His face and be heard, right? Tune-in next time!

Sam

PS Listen/watch This World by Caedmon’s Call. The world offers plenty; just not what we need.  Break off with the world.

Our son is a great example of ignoring signs, warnings, directions, etc.  Back in 1990, our dirt road had just been created. The gravel on it were large.  We were excited to see a mountain carved and a road appear. All five of us along with my mom and youngest brother were there checking it out.  We told our son not to run-but he did, downhill. Pretty quickly, he fell forward and the screams rang across the mountain range.  He was almost ten, but the rock stuck within his knee as the blood gushed out, made him feel like a 5-yr old. I picked him up. Threw him in the car (ok, I placed him), and off we went to the hospital. After treatment, he learned his lesson-for the time being.

Another time, he was about 16 when like a mad rider, he whizzed across our roads downhill on his miniature bike.  I told him, “Be careful, remember: it’s to the dentist we’re going, not to the doctor.  A few minutes later as we waited for him, and he didn’t show, we thought something might have happened to him.  A few minutes later, he came home staggering in pain.  “What happened?” I asked. “I fell on the turn” he said.  “So, where’s the bike?” I asked.  “And where are your glasses?” I drilled him. “They’re out there on the back road where I hit a hole” he said. I headed back and found his pretzeled bike and equally disfigured eyeglasses!  Back to the hospital.

Fast-forward about another 10 year: our son was dropped off a few blocks from his house by a friend and coworker. “Go straight home and don’t hang out around here” he was told. It being a few days before Christmas, he decided to hang out near a bakery.  He soon noticed a car coming towards them and suddenly slow down.  The minute he saw that, he realized what it might be: a drive-by-shooting! He quickly rose, attempted to run, but fell.  He couldn’t understand why, but got up again, and fell again.  He realized a bullet had ricochet off the sidewalk and pierced his shin bone. The intended target, however, never got  up again.  Back to the hospital; only this time, for a long while and returning on a wheel chair for several months before graduating to crutches.  Did I fail to mention our daughter fracturing her two arms…?

After each “accident” he needed healing.  True, he disregarded all the signs, but thankfully, God is merciful.

“But You, O LORD, are a God merciful and gracious, Slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness and truth” (Psalm 86:15);                    

Your issues might be more serious than these trivial ones.  But, nonetheless, might require healing.  Whether it’s physical, mental, or verbal abuse, sickness, a disease, losing a job, your home, your loved ones, or a splintered relationship, God is better than any glue out there and able to put you together.  He can heal every part of you. Are you heeding His warnings?  Are you following His signs?  Are you listening to His voice?  Fear Him! Cry out to Him!  Check it out: “But for you who fear My name, shall the Sun of Righteousness arise with healing in His wings;” (Malachi 4:2a).

“Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for thou art my praise” (Jeremiah 17:14).

Healing is for the hurt who need it from God.

Sam

REALLY??  But not exactly what you might think. See, because of sin, God ordered the death of Israel’s enemies all the way from men and women, to children and infants.  Why? To prevent offsprings’ claims to false promises, as well as to prevent retaliation.  But that’s in the natural, everyday living.  In the spiritual realm, things are different.

Jesus has never wanted His body, the church, to fear men for their violence, threats, or acts of torture.  In fact, in Luke 12:4-7 NKJV, He said:
“And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.  But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him!”

In other words, Satan may send man to kill off God’s people for different reasons, but that’s all he can do.  See, Jesus defeated him at the cross.  Jesus defeated Death.  Jesus has the keys of Life and Death. Satan’s powers are limited.  But God, can not only kill, but also cast one into hell.  Additionally, in Matthew 10:28, we’re told that the enemy can’t kill the soul.  However, God is able to destroy both the soul and body in hell.

Does that mean that those false teachings out there are true-that God will annihilate those in hell? Nope. Does it mean we create a following declaring that the soul can be killed? Nope! Notice, only God can destroy us because He has the power.

So, do we kill? Nope, not unless it’s gossip, discord, infidelity, etc.  We should “kill” things that hamper life. What of those who bully and torture us? In due time, they’ll be gone.  Either God will convert them, or bring them to accountability.

In Psalm 37:35, 36, the psalmist said, “I have seen wicked and ruthless people flourishing like a tree in its native soil.  But when I looked again, they were gone! Though I searched for them, I could not find them!” (NLT)

God says: “They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of Jehovah, as the waters cover the sea” (Isaiah 11:9).

Time to move on!

Sam

Recent hurricanes, Helene and Milton, plucked up or uprooted vegetation, trees, houses, and bridges from their foundations and scattered them about.  A lot of items, including vehicles, were destroyed and sent down rivers in South and North Carolina as well as Tennessee, and parts of Georgia.  Hurricanes and tornadoes are devastating; yet, as painful as uprooting things can be, that’s what God has in mind for us, in a different sense.

In the gardens of life, along with plants and flowers, grow vines and weeds.  Left unchecked, they overrun everything to the point of choking the goods and overtaking the garden.

We may be firmly planted in Christ, or at least planning on serving Him in the near future, but there might be seeds, weeds, or vines needing uprooting. Do you have need of plucking out envy, jealousy, gossip? Are there seeds of indifference in your garden? Do you need to uproot bitterness  or unforgiveness? Are you holding grudges against friends, your ex, or your spouse for past or recent transgressions?

What about anger and malice, do I throw in spite and defamation? Couples can live together and still be separated by un-plucked plants/vegetation.  All these issues are addressed elsewhere throughout scripture.

God seeks for our lives to be like the garden of Eden; pleasant, serene, and bringing forth life.  But we can’t if our lives are overrun by weeds.  They need plucking immediately!  See, once sin was introduced to the garden, man was kicked out (Genesis 3:22-24).  That’s why He said, “And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you.  It is better for you to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire” (Mat 18:9).

A garden is to be a place of harmony and wholeness. It’s where we commune with God, the Father.  It was in a garden that Jesus was communing with His Dad when He was arrested.  Once again, peace was disturbed; but this time man wasn’t uprooted, but God was by sinful man.

A time to pluck that which was planted is serious business. Satan, our enemy, loves to plant into our lives, seeds of contention along with everything that causes discord (Matthew 13:24-30).

This season is designated to bring us closer to God.

God Bless!
Sam

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.  He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be more fruitful.  You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.  Remain in me as I also remain in you.  No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine.  Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

I am the vine; you are the branches.  If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.  If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.  If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.  This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples” (John 15:1-8).

Now that you’re planted in Christ, He wants you to

1. Remain in Him.
2. Bear fruit in Him
3. Allow His pruning
4. Know you’ve been cleansed by His word
5. Allow His word to remain in you
6. Show others you’re His disciple by bearing much fruit

In a nutshell, the only way to remain in Christ is to stay close to Him.  Stay planted in Him and in His ways.

God Bless!
Sam

Back in our New York, Brooklyn apartment, we had plants growing everywhere.  I would take some to the school where I taught, and they’d grow too. We had one small plant we took lots of care with.  We’d water it, place it in the sun, and look after it.   One day, I decided to transfer it to a larger pot.  To my surprise, it was fake!! I couldn’t believe it! Neither could my wife.  But the rest of the plants were real.

So, we’re here in Puerto Rico where everything grows-everything, but what we plant!  Nothing we’ve planted has grown.  We know plants need good roots to grow strong. Somehow, ours didn’t develop them.

Have you planted yourself in the ways of God? You need Him in your life as Lord and Savior, and need a good Bible-based church as well as the desire to seek and follow Him.  Don’t get caught up in all these videos proclaiming everyone to be false because they might have misquoted someone or missed a verse.  Do make sure the doctrine is sound.  Develop roots in the things of God.  What does that look like?  Don’t depend on others to grow for you.  In other words, read and study for yourself.  Do your homework.  Be real; not an artificial plant.

Others can’t walk for you either.  Walk with Him by spending time with Him in His presence and in His word.  Soon, your roots will go down deep.  You’ll not be swept aside by false doctrines or hearsay.  

“How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night.  He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season And its leaf does not wither; And in whatever he does, he prospers” (Psalms 1:1-3).

Today’s your day to plant-yourself in God,

Sam

People enjoy living in the past.  Sometimes it’s easier than moving ahead.  We can get comfortable within the past in areas that suit us.  We can avoid pain, frightful moments, and the unseen.  Staying in the past doesn’t help us in the present or the future if we can’t face them.  When embracing the ‘now and here,” we can refer to the past if there are helpful insights for guidance.

Jesus lived in the past…present, and future all at once.  He’s not limited by time.  He’s the I AM. Always NOW. 

He made a comment to the religious leaders of His day that shocked their socks off.  Their words, to be sung millennials later, by Jean Knight in Mr. Big Stuff, are echoed at the close of their discussion below.  Follow this conversation He had with them:

“Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever obeys my word, will never see death.  At this they exclaimed, “Now we know that you are demon-possessed!  Abraham died and so did the prophets, yet you say that whoever obeys your word will never taste death. Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets.  Who do you think you are?”   

Since they didn’t believe He was God in the flesh present before their very eyes, they missed everything He was trying to show them.  Here’s the clincher:

“Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day, he saw it and was glad.” “You are not yet fifty years old,” they said to him, “and you have seen Abraham!”  “Very truly I tell you, “Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am” (John 8:51,52,53, 56,57,58)!

That’s when they picked up stones to end His life, but He escaped.

To be crazy, He would have had to say, “Before Abraham was born, I was.”  But He didn’t!   The Great I AM was in their midst and they missed Him.  He was in the past with Abraham as well as in the present with them.  He’s eternal, knows no limits.  He’s always in the present and able to weave in and out between time and space as we know it.

God had made a promise to Abraham that seems to be incomplete in scripture.  After asking Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac, Abraham said God would provide a lamb for the sacrifice in Isaac’s stead (Genesis 22:8).  God, however, provided a ram.  It is believed that God showed Abraham the future revealing the Lamb of God; Jesus, laying down His life for humanity; thus, providing the Lamb which was slain from before the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8).

Look to the future!

You’ll live forever!
Sam

In Indiana Jones, the Last Crusade, Indy is ordered to search for the cup of Jesus. Based on demographics, logical reasoning, he locates the correct one.  Were the cup to be found today, like many other ancient archeological finds, people would kill for them.   Everything today, it seems, is worth selling for wealth, fame, and social media acknowledgement.  Indy, had to get it for his dad’s recovery, and would have donated it to a museum.  We tend to idolize everything around us. People pay big bucks for artists’ handkerchiefs, vehicles, homes, and even undies.  The cup of Jesus would break the bank.  First, because it ‘d prove Him real, and second, because He drank from it. But a cup is so much more than its purpose or use.

                                    I’LL DRINK TO THAT

When we agree on something, we’ll say, “I’ll drink to that.”  In other words, “I’ll offer a toast to it,” or, “I’m for that.”  But when we think we’ll be toast, we’ll pass.

In heaven, in respect to saving the human race, God asked, “Whom shall I send?” “Who will go for us?” And, No one could go.  No one was capable of redeeming mankind.  But One was!  “Then said I, Here am I; send me” (Isaiah 6:8).  Jesus was willing to go rescue humanity from the hands of Satan and his demonic host; from sin, eternal darkness, and perpetual separation from God.

At the appointed time, when Jesus was facing the cross, when in agony He prayed to the Father, He said, “Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt” (Matthew 26:39b).  A little later, after being apprehended, when Peter swung his sword and slashed a servant’s ear, Jesus confirmed His stance to Peter, “Put up they sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it” (John 18:11)?

When faced with a life and death scenario, the first Adam, failed by not drinking the cup of temptation and thereby keeping sin at bay.  Instead, he passed the cup (of blame) to Eve and both sinned.  But not this second Adam, Jesus, He drank the cup-the bitter cup of humility, punishment, shame, and torture; the sacrifice for sin, and saved us all!

THIRSTY?

Drink the cup of eternal life!

Sam