Finding Laughter In Difficult Times

Utter blackness on a moonless night,
A zillion stars swept the skies.
As God stooped into humankind,
Glory and riches left behind.
Mary birthed the giver of life
Joseph tended the needs of his dear wife.
Darkness was pierced by a baby’s cries,
Catching the busy world by surprise.

God Bless!
Sam

It was our high school senior year and we were getting ready for our yearbook pictures. We were all given the address, but most of us were confused. The location was very near the school, yet no one had ever seen a photo studio there. Nevertheless, we went. What happened was photographers rented an old, abandoned building.
When I walked in, I kind of bumped into a guy all dressed up in a nice suit. We both quickly turned around and apologized to each other. I thought this was the photographer. I then noticed he was a fellow student, Ramos. Turns out, the students were all dressed up-unrecognizable to each other, yet the photographers were all dressed down. Hippie-looking, they quickly took our shots and off we were.
New suits hid the students. Nice hairdos camouflaged the old selves. “Wow!” we said to one another. “Didn’t know you could look this good,” some said. “Yeah man, it’s just for a dumb picture, you know?” others said. Here we were facing the reality that in a few months we’d be kicked out of school-something we were excited about but at the same time nervous for. Mandatory draft had just ended before our 18th birthdays and some of us were relieved. We could now focus on our dreams and the future.
That was the 1970s. It was when a song was released, Garden Party by Ricky Nelson. I thought it was nice song. I told my mom about it and she actually knew about the singer! I couldn’t believe it. She told me he had been like an Elvis Presley, a Rock & Roller who joined the service, came home, no longer felt like rocking, and no one recognized him anymore, ‘cause he didn’t look the same or felt the same as in earlier years. She had some of the facts right. He did go to a Madison Square Garden concert to sing his songs. No more a clean-cut version of himself, but a long-haired fella, he tried pleasing the crowd. However, the fans only wanted his old hits-not new songs. They even booed him off the stage. That’s life. We can’t please everybody.
Some people tend to picture God as an old man in a long robe giving out commands in His deep, baritone voice. NOT! He never changes (Hebrews 13:8), He’s always the same! Doesn’t age! He’s eternally the same in every way! Shouldn’t be hard to identify Him.
However, He came to earth as Jesus. He dressed in a suit of flesh. He lived amongst us yet no one recognized Him. He spoke the Word, spoke of God the Father, performed miracles, yet men were clueless. “From where does he get this wisdom and the power to perform these miracles?” they asked (Mark 6:2).
Growing up, I remember reading the short fortunes that would come with Bazooka gums at the end of the comic strips (remember those?). One said, “Wear a different face tomorrow and see what happens.” Great advice. Here’s something a bit better. Give your life to God and he will dress you in righteousness: “And that you put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness” (Ephesians 5:24).
God will dress you with His holiness-a new suit, if you will. Friends and family will be surprised when they “bump” into you. You’ll be a different person. Some will want you to be the way you used to be, to sing the songs of old. They’ll want you to return to the old man. They’ll boo you. That’s ok. You can walk off the stage of the old life and on to a new platform.
The ugly sin that we inherited at birth will get replaced by God’s love and grace. It won’t be temporary, but eternal. Not just for the “picture- moment,” but for as long as you continue to honor God and to walk in obedience to His Word and will. You’ll graduate to becoming a New Creation” (2Corinthians 5:17).
Start this year following His dreams and the future He has for you (Jeremiah 29:11). In fact, get drafted into His Army, into His Kingdom.
God Bless!
Happy New Year!
Sam

Author, my mom, little brother (back), brother Ruben

Most People associate love with the month of February, but real unconditional love comes in December. Christmas exudes Agape love. It’s perfect, pure, and sacrificial love. It expects nothing in return. Two centuries ago, love came down from heaven to live amongst us. God became man to redeem man. Love came wrapped in a blanket. It came in a baby’s cries. Love came in the most-humble of ways. Mary didn’t travel 80-100 miles in a luxurious limousine to a 5-star hotel suite. She traveled the distance by animal over rough terrain to a minus 5-star inn. Nazareth wasn’t a high-end place either. It was considered lowly, as in poverty, as in filth. It was looked down upon as a ghetto. Hence, Nathaniel said, “Can anything good come from Nazareth” (John 1:46). Humanity loves the high places. We love accolades. We love recognition, we like the pat on the back. We like entertaining to the point that we might get invited back. We give to get. We love working to get somewhere. We work to gain. There are plenty of exceptions, but in general, that’s us. That’s where Christianity distinguishes itself from all other religions. God made sure Jesus, the Creator of Heaven and Earth, the richest-ever, laid it all down to be born in the most-humblest of places, a manger. He had the most-simplest accommodations, His birth was witnessed by the lowly: shepherds and animals, and had His arrival obscured versus headlined in the local papers(!).
True love, God’s love, doesn’t sound a trumpet for the things it does. True love flourishes in obscurity. It thrives amongst the most-needy, it honors God in obedience, it doesn’t seek its own, it sacrifices for the needs of others, it doesn’t grumble if its quarters are an inn-a smelly inn. True love is willing to die for others. As missionary leaders at our church in Brooklyn, N.Y. our pastor made it clear we were to donate to, or help those individuals/organizations that couldn’t in any way pay us back. God came wrapped in flesh. Walked humbly amongst His creation. He shared His love everywhere He went. He healed the sick, delivered the demonic-possessed, forgave sins, and did the ultimate: showed the world how much He loved them by willingly laying His life for us all. Christmas is the time of love. Whether you’re outside making snowballs, inside baking muffins, roasting lechon, wrapped in a blanket by the fireside watching the snow covering the earth, cooking for 1 or for for 100, or out in the Caribbean kayaking, wrap your arms around God and thank Him for Jesus. Wrap your love around those you meet. Lay your life at the tree like Christ did. See humanity the way the Godhead does: lost souls needing a Savior. Celebrate this Christmas with renewed hope, and perspective. God knows all your needs, hurts, and wants. He also wants you to understand that life is more than what we perceive or touch. Feel the needs and hurts of others and do your best to meet them. That’s true Christmas. Those are the finest gifts.
“Whoever shall confess that Jesus (Yeshua) is the Son of God, God dwells in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love; and he that dwells in love, dwells in God, and God in him” 1John 4:15, 16).
Merry Christmas!!

God Bless!

Sam

Christmas tree 2021

I remember as a small kid drinking Kool-Aid. I liked it but the biggest drawback was the ton of sugar needed to make it desirable. That was before they introduced the pre-sweetened type. One thing I enjoyed was when the juice was almost all gone, as I drank, the sugary water would slowly pour into my mouth as I held the cup bottoms-up for a while. One day I was excited to show my mom what was flowing into my mouth. When she saw it, she said, “Ah, next time as you’re almost done, shake it some. So, the next time as I was nearing the end of my juicy experience, I remembered her words and shook the cup. It swirled around and I held my cup, bottom up high, closed my eyes to enjoy that sugary rush, and nothing came out! I was disappointed! I showed mom and she said, “Good, that is what you wanted, right?” I said “NO!” “I wanted more sugar, not less!” Now I had to wait for the next time!
Sometimes shaking things up doesn’t give us what we’re expecting. Jesus came to shake things up. Before His time on earth, people were like that sugar at the bottom of my cup: clumped, dissatisfied with their lives, comfortable with knowing that their parents had once served God, but satisfied that they didn’t really need Him in theirs. During their lifetime, they grew tired and bored with “serving” God. “It is weariness,” they claimed ( Malachi 1:13).
But when Jesus came to earth, He was known as a radical. He took matters He stirred the people, He challenged them to live the law more than simply know the law. He took things even further. He often said, “You have heard…but I say…”(5:38).
Why? Because He wanted the people to know that it wasn’t about being religious like saying, “I’m a Lion’s fan because my father was one, my mom, my uncle…” He wanted them to act like a lion, become a lion. In other words, live the law. Live the Word, etc. This Christmas, do more than be religious. Live like Christ. Give of yourself like He did. He gave His life a ransom for us (Matthew 20:28). He was born to shake things up. He’s coming back and He will definitely shake things this time around. You’ll want to be on His side when that happens.
“Whose voice then shook the earth: but now has promised, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also the heavens: (Hebrews 12:26). For those on His side, life will be sweet.
Merry Christmas!
God Bless!
Sam

The Big Job truck from Christmas, 1964

Kids love playing in the snow! Mixing fresh snow with what’s already on the ground for good snowballs is not uncommon. So scenic it is to see a field completely blanketed in snow and maybe a small cabin in the distance flanked by a few withered-looking trees. There’s a peaceful-quiet resting upon the land. Silence hushes over the scene. Like a silent movie, kids can be seen moving about chasing, jumping, diving, throwing, etc. looking like silhouettes against a blinding backdrop of the white, powdery stuff.
Our lives are quite the opposite: noisy, sometimes loud, hectic, stressful, and for sure, filthy, blotched with the stain of sin. A stain that cannot be removed by any effort known to man. Not even Ivory Soap with 99 44/100% potency could get the job done. God, however, has known for all eternity that only one stain-remover is “Highly” recommended: Jesus’ shed blood. How can blood remove sin? you might ask. How can something red remove filth? His shed blood covered all of humanity’s sins. His sacrificial love for you wiped away your penalties. He’s made you clean & whole. Jesus says, “Come, let us reason together, though your sins be red as scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they be as crimson, they shall be white as wool” (Isaiah 1:18). Picture that scene again. God’s grace upon your life is like a field blanketed in fresh-dropped snow; virgin snow-not a footprint in. It’s ready for fun. It’s ready for new experiences. Dive in, leave your footprints. Bask in the stillness, lay on your back and feel those flurries falling on your face. Enjoy the peace that only The Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6) can give. “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27).
Make this Christmas not a Santa, reindeer, and elf-place, but a Heavenly Father, Jesus, and Holy Spirit-¬¬place. As great as commercial Christmas is with all the colors and décor, the true meaning lies elsewhere: The birth of a Savior, Jesus, Emmanuel-God with us.

Merry Christmas!!

God Bless,

Sam

Growing up I think most of us went through the same things: wanting to look older when we were young, and trying to look young as we aged. Decades ago, I read from a newspaper columnist a reply to a concerned reader, a young girl, about her age. The reply was something like: Don’t be afraid to say you’re 14, you’ll be 21 for many years to come…. We’re concerned with our looks-which is normal, however, some people are obsessed with it. I remember hearing comedian Phyllis Diller saying something like: This afternoon I noticed my panty-hose had fallen and wrinkled around my ankles-then I remembered I wasn’t wearing any! Yep, most of us want to look “Forever Young.” Don’t think creams and ointments are going to change anything in your appearance! Yes, they’ll help, but aging is inevitable! Things can help us look young, but no one has dibs on staying young. I recently sent my cousin a picture of one of our past Christmas dinners and she wrote back “Was that at your house, we all looked soooo young!” I replied, “Yes it was, we look so young because we were young!” The picture was from Christmas 2000.
We can see a TV character and instantly recognize how they’ve changed from a few years before. Change, transformation, aging, whatever we want to call it, will happen to all of us. The fountain of youth dried up in the Garden of Eden. It did so when sin was introduced through disobedience to God’s Word, to His commands.
Wouldn’t you like to retain your good looks? Wouldn’t it be great to keep all your teeth, all your hair-in the right places, all your smooth, young-looking skin? Wouldn’t it be great to feel no pain? Imagine being 648 years old and being able to see things in the distance just as well as when you were 12? Imagine your skin being wrinkle-free at age 18,000,962, and being able to remember everything you learned? Imagine recognizing everyone you know?? But WAIT!!! If this offer sounds too good to be true….it isn’t!! That’s right!! Not only is this all possible but that’s just the tip of the (soon-melting) iceberg! Render your life to Jesus NOW, serve Him, and He will grant you ETERNAL Life!! You don’t have to wait until you “kick the bucket,” to “pass on”, or to “drop dead” to begin your free subscription to everlasting life! You’ll start now and if you die before He returns, you’ll flow right into it from the moment you breathe your last breath on earth. He is the Fountain of Life. He’s not available in cream, ointment, or even pills, but you can drink His Living Water and you can eat the Bread of Life. Just call His Name and tell Him to abide in your heart. Make room this Christmas in the inn of your life, invite Him in to the inn of your heart. That will be your best Christmas present ever!
Look me up at the gathering table in heaven. I’d like to hear your story.
Merry Christmas!!
God Bless!
Sam

It’s a nice song by Carroll King. Anticipation keeps us on the alert of things being waited on. As the saying goes, “A watched pot will not boil.” While we’re busy looking at the clock or waiting by the phone for a call or text to come, time seems to lag. My mom says that when I was 4, I asked early in the afternoon when Santa would come. She told me he’d come in _the night. But I didn’t quite understand that. She then said, “After you go to sleep.” So, it was a no-brainer for me, I put on my PJs and she asked what I was doing. I told her I was going to sleep! It was 4 pm!
Sometimes we want to speed things up. We want to expedite them; we want to rush them. Some things we need allow to happen at their pace. Take Thanksgiving Day. We actually have all day to thank God for His manifold blessings-and trials. If we’re in a rush, we can begin thanking Him beforehand-anytime we please. In fact, start now.
Christmas is around the corner and maybe you’re thinking of how it isn’t here yet. It will be here before you know it! Make sure your reasons for rushing it is for worshipping Him. The first thing the Magi did, was not give Him all the treasures they had brought. Most of us would have done that. We would have wanted to impress Joseph & Mary with the gold, incense, and myrrh. We would have said, “Ehh, what-da-y’all think??” “Nice, heh?” “We’ve brought them from hundreds of miles away…” But instead, they worshipped Jesus even though He was a baby that didn’t understand what was being said or what was going on. Worship is what the King deserves. Later on, we can share gifts and food, etc.
He’s in no rush, never has been. Galatians 4:4 & 5 tells us: “But when the fullness of time was come, God sent forth his son made of a woman, made under the law to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.” God is always patient.
He has all things under control. Our times are in His hands (Psalms 31:15). Relax, rest, & slow down. Now, hurry up and get yourself ready for the birthday of the soon-coming King of Kings and LORD of Lords!
God Bless,
Merry Christmas!
Sam

Like a tornado that’s miles from touchdown, or an impending snow blizzard about to hit, or even the dark skies just before a volcano erupts, such darkness and gloom can overwhelm those around it. Such has been the spiritual condition of mankind for centuries since sin entered this world. Warnings from God through prophets and judges went ignored. Not even a universal flood which wiped out over a billion people could cause humanity to turn from its sins and bow before the God who made them.
Some two thousand years ago, the gloom of darkness continued to hover over the minds of men. Ritual-after-ritual would not take away the act of sinning. They sufficed for the moment. They appeased God’s requirements. But a spiritual hunger remained. A darkness loomed. A thirst for more of God lingered within the human soul.
In this darkness, God sent His Son to be born of a virgin-the only way to keep sin out of the picture. With the virgin-birth came Hope for the world. Jesus, AKA. Emmanuel, God with us, saw and knew the pain of darkness among men. The Prince of Peace was here. He came to change the lives of men at that very moment, and in the long run.
Years later, Jesus would proclaim, “If anyone is thirsty let him come to me….I am the bread of life…I am the light of the world…” These words He shared because only He could meet those needs in mankind. True Christmas is Christ come to the world to save its most precious inhabitants: you and me.
Merry Christmas!
God Bless!
Sam

What’s life like up in the mountains away from most of civilization? Let’s see. Last week, beginning on Sunday, November 7, power went out in the evening all the way through to Monday morning: 17 hours total of running our backup generator. Power gets restored. Lasts less than four hours. It goes again for 19 hours, 45 minutes until Tuesday morning. Two and a half hours later, gone again. Fixed again, and gone again. This time for 26. 5 hours.
Before power left, I was feeling my throat itching. Next day it was pretty bad. By the third day, I knew I was sick. With the generator going, my wife and I had to run down to get more diesel. Finally, Weds, Nov. 10, power was restored for good. Restoration came after 7 p.m. and since the generator continues running for 100 seconds after power returns, the neighbors down below were holding their breaths. Suddenly the generator turned off and I could hear a bunch of neighbors say, “YAY!” and clap as it was now official our ordeal was over. It’s interesting that our generator always performs a 5-minute self-diagnosis Thursdays at 1 p.m. I’m pretty sure that when it went off some neighbors may have thought: “Not Again!!”
The cold however, is still going strong-12 days later as it pours outside. Finally healed after a total of 17 days. Nevertheless, we thank God for our generator-and for His protection. How was your week? Remember to thank God for the little stuff too, runny nose, cozying by the fire, tv movies…etc.
Today we’ll be enjoying our traditional yellow (red) rice with pigeon peas (gandules), turkey, gravy, pasteles, green peas, green beans, carrots, lettuce, tomatoes, pumpkin pie, apple pie, brownies, ice cream, Ruffles, etc. and wash it down with Pepsi/water.
“O give thanks to the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth forever. O give thanks to the God of gods: for his mercy endureth forever. O give thanks to the LORD of lords: for his mercy endureth forever. To him who alone doeth great wonders: for his mercy endureth forever. And hath redeemed us from our enemies: for his mercy endureth forever. Who giveth food to all flesh: for his mercy endureth forever”
(Psalm 136:1-3, 24, 25).
God Bless,
Happy Thanksgiving!
Sam

    Some years back on TV I watched all these strong guys play around with heavy duty things.  Some wore refrigerators and stoves as knapsacks. Others, like the Flintstones, lifted car frames and walked around like we did with empty boxes as kids on Romper Room.  They carry truck batteries, pull trains, toss steel or cement balls like marbles for fun.

    These are the guys you can picture at a counter laughing and telling jokes.  One is on your right & the other on your left.  As the jesting continues, one places his hand on your suspenders and the other pats you on the back causing you to go flying through a wall while your drink flies up in the air and when you reach the end of your sling, your suspenders snap you right back like a jet in time to catch your cup and take a drink! “GOOD, EH?”  they say as you gulp and try to recover from your sudden trip.  When they give you a high-five, they send you flying through windows and landing across the lawn. 

   Yep, they’re strong alright. They have legs built like concrete pilings, bulging muscles, and necks larger than my thighs.  But what if there was a different type of contest?  What if there was a “Weak-man’s Competition?  Something only for weaklings. 

   Can you imagine?  Who would win?  Let’s see.  You’d have the Q-Tip lift, the Match-Car lift.  They’d lift toothpicks, matchsticks and probably cry, howl, or faint from paper cuts!  They’d have to see who could toss a Frisbee and have it land completely behind them. Or who can carry a few whiffle balls!

   These are the guys that get sand kicked in their faces all the time.  They’re the ones built like toothpicks, in fact, they’d probably snap easily.  They’re the ones whose muscles droop down the farthest and they would probably be the most impressive!

   There would be the paper airplane flying competition, house of card building, carrying the least amount of water droplet in an eyedropper, and we can’t forget the ultimate swimming-  pool noodle challenge where individuals would battle opponents “to-the-end” from a height of 2 inches off the ground for the prestigious All-Around Weakling Award.

   Our society is all about strength, mighty deeds, great looks, bodies to-die-for, stiff muscles, stiff hairdos, chiseled jaws, buns of steel, etc.

   However, God isn’t impressed by all that, at least not for His kingdom.  He doesn’t want our strengths causing us to think we have saved ourselves or that through our power and self-sufficiencies we have acquired our salvation.

    Man, in general, wants to be in control.  We want to show off our accomplishments, how long we can hold our breath, how long we can pray for, how much we know, how holy we are, etc. Those things lead us to believe we’ve reached God because of things we’ve done.  It separates us from others who have done less. God wants our dependency on Him alone.            

   He did the sacrifice. He bore our sins. He died for us-we didn’t.  Therefore, our strengths are of no value to Him.  Neither is our wisdom, though He’ll use these later in life once we acknowledge Who’s in charge.

     Scripture tells us “Because the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom; and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.  But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong; He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things-and the things that are not-to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. Let him who boast boast in the Lord” (1Corinthians 1:25-31).

If we’re going to brag, let’s brag about what God has done in us, not how strong we are or how amazing we were to resist a temptation, etc.

   I don’t want to sound as one who has a flaky (potato) chip on my shoulder, but come on, I’ll arm-wrestle you, just don’t squeeze too hard.  I don’t want to break a nail.

God Bless,

Sam