I was looking through one of my drawers the other day and came across a notebook; not one of the composition books you buy at the Dollar (+$0.25 now) store, but a really nice cowhide notebook that I had bought sometime in the past couple years from Local Church Bible Publishers. When I first got it, I had been planning on using it to take notes at church (as I had been since 2015), but the notebook I was using still had hundreds of pages left, so I put this new one away for a while. Then I pulled it out before the start of the new year, and decided to use it as a daily logbook of what I do, how I’m feeling, what I’m thinking, and so on; not like a “diary,” but more of a simple record of each day’s highlights and/or lowlights. The reason is that I wanted to be able to look back maybe once a week or so, as well as the end of each month, and definitely at the end of the year, and see for myself what 2023 was all about for me: what did I get done? Did I accomplish my goals? Was this the best year ever, or was it just another year? Where did I travel to? Who was important to me? What was important to me?

The notebook has over 365 blank pages; enough space to have one page assigned to each day, with some left over.

At the start of the year, I kept up with it for a few days, before missing a day or two, and having to catch up. Then at some point, I went about a week without writing anything in it, and had to catch up and try to remember the past seven or eight days.

For some days, I wrote down even mundane activities, like “Buckroe Beach,” even though I had probably stopped in for all of five minutes there on the way home from the real Beach, or “listened into Congress proceeding,” from back when the House of Representatives was electing a Speaker in early January.

Some of the pages—such as the one for Wednesday, February 8—had nothing written; for others such as January 1—New Year’s Day—I used both the front and back to record what I did and where I went and who I was with.

On February 15, I wrote that VCU’s basketball team had won on a buzzer-beater, and that I had gotten some closure on something that had been on my mind for a while (a good thing, that the LORD was showing me was now over). Sadly though, that was all overshadowed because that morning, I had found out that a dear friend had died very suddenly.

On February 21—my birthday—I wrote:
“Tire still not fixed; frustrated”
“Ready to take on Elite 4” (on Pokemon Platinum version, which by the way, is a great game)
“More ups and downs in previous year than I could count, but best year ever”
“Prayed for healing” (especially after the events of the previous week, but also just because of where I was at in mind and spirit)
“Had an amazing thought: one of these blank pages could be the page where I write the beginning of an incredible story.”

On February 23, I wrote that I had an online chat with a friend of mine from Illinois, and under that I also wrote “Challenge Accepted.”

For whatever reason, I never picked up and wrote in the notebook again. Much of whatever happened in the past five-plus months is now lost to history. But that’s OK.

Natasha Bedingfield sang, “Today is where your book begins; the rest is still unwritten,” and Fleetwood Mac sang, “Yesterday’s gone, yesterday’s gone.” There was a television commercial a while back, for a hockey equipment company called Bauer. It starts by showing an empty hockey arena, with a brand-new sheet of ice, and you hear a voiceover say: “If I give you a clean sheet, what will you write? Will your words be long and graceful, or short and sweet? Will it be poetry, or just plain English? If you have something to say, say it now, for soon, always too soon, my sheet will be filled, and this chapter will end, sure as the next one will begin, with a clean sheet; new authors, and a million possibilities.”

There’s a book being written in Heaven right now, a daily record of everyone’s life.

Last year sometime, a Brother from overseas visited and spoke at our church on a Sunday morning; he titled his talk, “The Pages of Our Life.” I wanted to share some notes from it:
Our life is like a book; we each have a “diary,” each page another day in our life (sometimes it’s boring). Some days/pages we wish never happened. But those pages do turn; God will see to it.
We break our vows to God on a regular basis, but we can pray to God for forgiveness and have full confidence that he will perform his vows to us.
Joseph turned the page from the worst of his life, to being second in command in all Egypt.
Esther, at a young age, was asked to bear the burden of Israel on her shoulders; no mention of God is made, no prayers, no angels, yet, just a few pages later, the trial is over.
Jesus’ most difficult moment: in the Garden, when he needed his three closest friends; he knew what was going to happen to him over the next 24 hours. For the joy set before him, he endured the cross and despised the shame; he saw us at the finish line and he is there cheering us on.
“It is finished:” every prophecy Jesus knew had to happen to him was checked off; next page, he was risen in glory.
By God’s grace, the last entry for all of us will be identical: “well done, thou good and faithful servant; enter thou into the joy of thy Lord!”

Amen!

Every day when we wake up, the LORD turns another page and begins a new entry for each of us. What do you want yours to say? Let it be written, so let it be done.

Joy and gladness,

Dan

For most of us, likely over 90 percent of our days “mush” together and are relatively mundane; we wake up, go to our daily activities—work or school or whatever else—and come home and do our normal evening routine, go to bed, and repeat the next day. Then of course there’s those days that we remember well, because we had a good (or not-so-good) time, such as family vacations, weekend trips, dinner out at a nice restaurant, a special event, or whatever else. Then there’s those days that blow everything out of the water.

Today is July 7. I could hardly tell you anything about what happened last week, much less a month ago or a year ago on this particular day. But some years ago, somewhere, July 7 was the best day I could ever remember. There has not been a day like it before it or after, where I can remember literally almost everything about it. I don’t remember what I had for breakfast or lunch or dinner that day, but I do remember what the weather was like. I remember the people I saw and spoke to and some of the exact conversations. I remember who was sitting next to me at certain points during that day, and I remember almost every single “event” that happened; where I went, who I talked to, what I did, what I thought, and so on. A lot of what happened that day, I already knew going in; it’s the surprises that happened that made that day so incredible. If you told me when I woke up that day, that it would be the most memorable day ever for me, and you had told me some of what was going to happen (actually mainly one or two things), I wouldn’t have believed you. From the time I woke up that morning to the time I went to bed that night, it was like everything just went perfectly.

I haven’t told you anything about what actually happened that day; why it was just so great. That’s because the very next day, everything came crashing down; there was no follow-up to what had happened the day before. The fall back to “earth” was pretty hard. But that’s alright; looking back, I’m glad I took a huge fall that next day instead of on July 7, as it allowed July 7 to be a pure, unadulterated day full of excitement and amazement and thrill; undefiled by anything that happened afterward. I remember talking to someone about it a short time later (a week or two) and they told me something to the effect of “well hey, at least you probably learned something from it, right?” John Maxwell wrote a book with the title, “Sometimes You Win, Sometimes You Learn.” When you experience failure, especially after a great success or thrill, it can be tough; but good can (and will, if you allow) come out of it.

We all have our good and bad days, and we never know what tomorrow will bring. But the LORD does know; he is awake day and night, working with us. Sometimes it’s not going to be very fun; other times it will be very enjoyable. He gives us plenty of days we want to be very thankful for, and other days we wish could be smitten from the record. Solomon writes, “In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity, consider: God has made the one as well as the other, so that no one can discover anything that will come after him (Ecclesiastes 7:14 CSB).” But every day is a new day that the LORD has made, so rejoice and be glad within it (Psalm 118:24). He is at work, and he knows what’s going on and how to deal with your worst failures and disappointments.

There was an image going around the internet, of a rose, with the caption: “Only God can turn a MESS into a MESSAGE, a TEST into a TESTIMONY, a TRIAL into a TRIUMPH, and a VICTIM into VICTORY.”

Remember that; failure happens at times, but the LORD is still looking out for you; there’s nothing he can’t fix, no broken heart he can’t mend, no disappointment too strong to overcome.

Sorry it’s been a while; hoping to get back to a more regular routine with this blog.

Joy and gladness,

Dan

The Final Four is here: it’s Florida Atlantic against San Diego State, and Miami against Connecticut. The two winners advance to Monday night’s National Championship Game. Very few people would have predicted this Final Four; it’s one of the craziest we’ve ever seen (along with 2011 when my VCU Rams made it as a #11 seed). But every year, millions of us fill out our Brackets with what we think will happen (mine is below).

If every single game of the NCAA Tournament had an equal chance for either outcome (it doesn’t, but let’s assume you know nothing about the sport and you flip a coin for each game), the odds of predicting all 63 games correctly is about one in 9.2 Quintillion; that’s a 92 followed by 17 zeroes (approximately; it’s not actually all zeroes but you get the idea). 9.2 quintillion is a huge number; much larger than anything we can imagine, because we’ve never seen it. Scientists estimate that there are only 7.5 quintillion grains of sand on earth, so even if you visit a beach, you’re not looking at anywhere close to 9.2 quintillion grains of sand all at once. There are about 31.6 million seconds in a year, so 9.2 quintillion seconds would be about 292 billion (with a ‘b’) years. I ran an NCAA Tournament Bracket Pool (as always) this year; we had 22 people join. Our winner has already been determined—since no one can catch up to him in points—but if Connecticut wins it all, he will have gotten 38 out of 63 games correct; just over 60 percent, while our Bracket Pool’s average would finish at 31.2, which is just a tick under 50 percent. Only six players in our Pool even got one Final Four team correct.

If you shuffle an ordinary deck of cards (a good shuffle, not just cutting a deck right out of the box and placing one half on top of the other), chances are that the order those cards are in, has never been seen before by any deck of cards in all history; that’s because there are 52 Factorial (“52!” equals 52 times 51 times 50, and so on, down to 1) potential ways those cards could be arranged. 52! is a much larger number than 9.2 quintillion; it’s approximately an 8 followed by 67 zeroes.

The LORD is all about large numbers; he told Abraham that his seed would be as the dust of the earth and as the stars of the sky (Genesis 13:16, 15:5). That was at the beginning; by the time Abraham’s nation made it out of Egypt and into the Promised Land, there were somewhere around two million Israelites (Numbers 26:51); the LORD protected and provided for every single one of them, feeding them with daily manna for 40 years. There are still over six million Jews today, and they’re not going anywhere.

Here in 2023, there are about eight billion people on the planet, and the LORD has compassion on all he has created (Psalm 145:9). Not a sparrow falls to the ground outside of the LORD knowing about it. The very hairs of your head are all numbered by the LORD; you are of much more value than many sparrows—which five were sold for a penny in Jesus’ day—and the LORD cares about them, too (Luke 12:6-7). He even tells the number of the stars, and he calls them all by name (Psalm 147:4)!

At the end of John’s Gospel, he writes “Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were to be written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written (John 21:25 NIV).” Jesus’ ministry on earth was only three-and-a-half years, but his ministry in heaven has been going for the past 2,000 years. He has been given all authority in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18), and he works now with all his people, in creation, and in the world governments.

The LORD’s family may be relatively small right now, but one day it will fill the earth. Those who belong to Christ at his coming and those who served him faithfully in their time will only be the firstfruits; Christ and his Saints will reign on earth for 1,000 years, and all nations will come to know the LORD and become part of his family. Israel will be the first dominion (Micah 4:7-8), and the Gentiles will follow (Jeremiah 3:17).  At the end of the Millennium, all enemies will finally be eliminated, and even death will become a thing of the past (1 Corinthians 15:24-26). All the earth will be part of God’s family; a multitude that no one can number.

Amen!

Joy and gladness,

Dan

Three years ago—March 11, 2020—was an unprecedented day.

Just five days before (Friday, March 6), it was a bright sunny day, and it felt like spring; a perfect Friday. My uncle Rob called me; he and I had planned to meet for lunch at our favorite local pizza place, “A NY Slice,” that afternoon. He said he was feeling really good on this Friday, and had called ahead and ordered us a large pepperoni pizza, and that I would probably arrive there before he did, so just find a place to sit and he’d be there shortly after. He and I both arrived and shared a delicious pizza and fountain drinks. Before eating, though, I took a photo of the pizza because it just looked so amazing (I’ll get to why I mentioned that in a minute)

We sat there and talked about all sorts of stuff, but mostly the upcoming NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament (“March Madness”). Neither of our teams was likely to make it to the Tournament this year, although there was still a slight hope that one or both could win their Conference Tournament and get in.

On the evening of Tuesday, March 10, I sat in front of the television and watched the ACC Tournament first round game between North Carolina and Virginia Tech, while watching the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament Final between Hofstra and Northeastern. The craziness hadn’t quite started yet, but there was still an odd feeling that something was changing.

By the end of the night on March 11—three years ago right about now—I posted on Facebook that it had been the most bizarre day I could ever remember: the Dow Jones had plummeted 700 points, there was talk about shutting down all travel from Europe, Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson tested positive for the virus, the NBA had suspended its season, it was announced that the NCAA Tournament would go on with no fans in attendance. All the news stories were about the Coronavirus. People were going crazy.

The next day, all the remaining Conference Tournaments in college basketball were canceled, and finally, the NCAA Tournament was canceled as well.

Church on that Sunday was weird too; we were one of the only churches in Richmond who were still holding services in person. I remember as I was leaving, I looked at one member (I forgot who) and said something to the effect of “see you…sometime…”

I keep that photo of the pizza on my phone as a reminder of how quickly things can change; five days after that photo was taken, the world was a very different place. It was the last photo I took while everything was considered “normal.”

For essentially the rest of the year, everyone had to forgo all their plans, and do everything “virtually” (unless they were looting businesses or burning down churches and police stations and terrorizing innocent people—then for some reason it was totally acceptable and nothing was done about it), all in the name of being “safe”—as if it has ever been 100 percent “safe” to even go outside—but that’s neither here nor there; not what I’m trying to get at here.

Aside from all those around the world who died with the coronavirus, the Pandemic itself was one of the most divisive events in all history, separating even the closest of friends and families. Many more people’s lives were ruined by the lockdowns and mandates; mental health problems skyrocketed, and many people’s businesses and livelihoods went under and have never recovered. I still have hope that one day there will be at least some accountability for all of it; the cost has been way too high to just “let it go.” I fully believe the LORD knows what happened and how it all started, and what it caused, and he will not be mocked. Less people are attending church now than at any other time in the history of this country; the forced isolation ruined the faith of so many, and I couldn’t imagine that sitting well with him.

The Coronavirus has more than a 99 percent survival rate. But there’s a much bigger pandemic that has been raging since the start of human history, and it has a zero percent survival rate: sin. Paul writes, “the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23a).” All have sinned, and thus all have payment due. The good news is that Paul doesn’t end his remarks on sin there; he goes on to say, in the same verse, “but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.” The LORD offers forgiveness and salvation through the great physician, the great healer. There’s no other cure for sin; you can’t just “ride it out (such as when you have a cold or the Flu or the stomach bug, or any other virus for that matter)” and become better by yourself.

It’s written of Jesus, “Surely, he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows…he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities (Isaiah 53:4-5 KJV).”

In the first few verses of Luke 8, you can read a short account of Jesus healing a leper. In those days, leprosy was thought to be a curse from the LORD; those who had it were thought to be highly contagious and they had to wear a face covering (Leviticus 13:45).  The leper says to Jesus, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” Then Jesus reaches out and touches the man and says, “I am willing, be clean!” And immediately the man was cleansed of his leprosy. Jesus could have just spoken the word, but he went a step further: he reached out and touched the man, which would have made him ceremonially unclean under the Law [of Moses] (Leviticus 5:3).

Jesus then enters Capernaum and a Centurion comes up to him, asking to help his servant who is at home paralyzed and suffering. Jesus asks if he can come and heal him, and the Centurion says, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed.” Jesus then says he has not found such faith in all Israel, and to the Centurion, “Go! Let it be done just as you believed it would!” For the Centurion, Jesus’ word was enough. We have [many of] Jesus’ words recorded for us!

The chapter ends with Jesus healing two demon-possessed men. In one of the more bizarre stories in Scripture, the demons are driven into a herd of swine who run violently down a cliff and into the sea. This time, the people plead with Jesus to leave.

Unfortunately, we live in a fallen world: because there is sin, there is disease, unfairness, and violence. It’s not going to get better until Jesus returns to reign as King over all the earth (Zechariah 14:9). In that new heaven and earth that the LORD will create (Isaiah 65:17-23), people will live much longer and happier, healthier lives; even someone who dies at age 100 will only be considered a child. There will be no more Pandemics, no more crazy government overreach (and instead righteous rulership); it will be a wonderful time on earth for all who turn to the LORD.

God said to Israel at Marah, “If you listen carefully to the LORD your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, who heals you.”

Come unto him—Jesus—all ye that labor and are heavy-laden; and he will give you rest. Take his yoke upon you, and learn of him; for he is meek and lowly of heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For his yoke is easy, his burden is light (Matthew 11:28-30).

Joy and gladness,

Dan

Today is Valentine’s Day; if you’re single, today is Tuesday.

It’s always a little interesting being single on this day; I’ve been wished a Happy Valentine’s Day multiple times, but not sure what to say other than “thanks?” But it IS a happy day, if and when you remember that happiness and value isn’t always dictated entirely by relationship status (especially on social media).

The LORD says, “he who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the LORD (Proverbs 18:22 ESV).” Many of us who grew up going to vacation Bible schools, gatherings, and other social events, if you were anything like me, had one major thing on your mind: “I wonder if Jenny is going to be there…” or, better yet, you know she’s going to be there; you’re all nervous and excited at the same time. And of course, when we were younger, crushes didn’t mean a whole lot: you like the girl, she likes you, then the next day, she has a crush on someone else. And obviously as you got older, it was a bit more serious; if you had the opportunity, you spent as much time with that person as you could, you really got to know them and kept in touch and developed an actual relationship. Unless you were really fortunate and you struck gold on your first try, most of them didn’t work out. But hopefully those of you who are now married can certainly agree that the LORD has given you something very good; it’s something to keep in mind when times are tough, that what you have in your marriage is from the LORD.

A distant relative of mine once (actually, much more than once, but that’s neither here nor there) told me that he and his (now deceased) wife never once had an argument, because he always did “whatever the [heck] she asked,” and she did the same for him, because they both knew the other wouldn’t ever ask them to do something that will hurt them. A Brother I think very highly of, said on a Sunday morning, “Choosing a spouse could decide ninety-five percent of your happiness for the rest of your life.” He also went on to say, “Many men quote the verse that says ‘Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands,’ but leave out the second part which says, ‘husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself for it (Ephesians 5:24-25).’”

We live in a world where marriage is often looked at as more of a burden than a joy. In the majority of weddings that take place, the bride and the groom exchange vows, usually promising love and devotion “for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, til death do we part.” They make a vow, a covenant. But as you may know, in this country, the divorce rate is over fifty percent; more than half of all marriages are headed for divorce; there’s infidelity, fighting, and so many other reasons that the marriage ends. Moses allowed Israel to get divorced because of the hardness of their hearts; they were too stubborn to work out differences. Interestingly enough, there is not one instance of a divorce in the Bible. God hates divorce; he hates it so much, he says that even if you are married to an unbeliever, stay with them (1 Corinthians 7:12-13).

There’s a movie called “Fireproof”—I would highly recommend it to anyone; it’s about a Christian couple who is having marital problems, and the husband turns to the Bible to help him repair his marriage; Scripture is full of examples and guidelines.

Some years ago at a Bible School in Indiana; an older Brother was giving a teen devotion (that tells you how long ago this was; long enough that I qualified as a “teen”) and he brought us to Hosea 2:19-20; Hosea was a prophet who was instructed by the LORD to marry a prostitute, as a living parable of Israel. Ironically enough though, even though this is about Israel, the LORD gives a list of things to look for when finding someone to marry: “And I will betroth thee unto me for ever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in lovingkindness, and in mercies. I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness: and thou shalt know the LORD (Hosea 2:19-20 KJV).”

Proverbs 31:10-31 describes the “Virtuous Woman;” who can find her?

I was looking back through some old stuff recently, and I found a letter (in a Word document) that I had planned to send to a girl, many years ago, in response to what had happened between us. It’s a long story that really, looking back, just shouldn’t have happened at all—I should have been wiser and not been so easily fooled. That incident left me heartbroken, but it’s all water under the bridge now. I never sent the letter, and I’m glad I didn’t, because it was really just me rambling; I do wish I’d sent something, maybe condensed down to ¼ of what I originally wrote.

Many times in the past when I was interested in someone, I felt like there was someone else in the way, whether that was competition—a guy who was interested in the same girl—or even another girl who may have been interested in me (and who probably would have been better for me): I can think of at least three different occasions where I could have either been with or at least gotten to know better, an absolutely lovely girl that was there right in front of me, but instead had my eyes on someone else, and now all those opportunities are gone. At the same time, the LORD is in control: so often in the past I tried so hard to make something happen right then and there as if it was the only opportunity ever; I didn’t trust the system and play the “long game,” and it felt like time was never on my side, that if it didn’t happen then, it never would, and I’d miss my chance and it would be gone forever. Lesson learned: wait on the LORD. A friend of mine who got married a few years back, said that when he was single he asked the LORD to find him someone who could help him, and that he could help. Right after his wedding (at the reception), he told me and a few others that he was “kind of at a loss for words right now”—it was the day when he got to see how his big exciting love story all came together and everything finally made sense, that every decision he had ever made, had led him to where he was, on his wedding day.

If you’re like me and are single and waiting and believing that your turn is coming, ask the LORD to help you become the right type of person while you wait, and ask him to help your future significant other do the same, so that when the LORD brings you two together, you’ll be ready for each other. If you’re trying to do the right thing and asking the LORD for help, he will take care of you. He’s able to do exceeding abundantly above all we can ask or think; he is a Sun and shield and will withhold no good thing from them that walk uprightly (Psalm 84:11).

Side Note: Valentine’s Day candy is 50% off at most grocery/drug stores tomorrow; if you’re single, you don’t have to share it with ANYONE.

Joy and gladness,

Dan

There’s a place I spend the last four days of the year, every year. It’s no resort; far from it, nor is it a place that most people would want to spend four days; the main room (pictured at the bottom; click and drag to look around) sometimes smells like lakewater, the hallways of weed, and the carpets haven’t been cleaned in well over a decade. But for the last four days of every year, there’s nowhere else I’d rather be.

Even though I have vague memories of the year-end Conference at the old Governor Spottswood Motel or the “aMeRiCa’S bEsT iNn,” the bulk of my Conference experience has been at the current location. It’s mostly been wonderful, aside from one dark memory that left me pretty upset—but the LORD is able to redeem places; that incident happened well over ten years ago and now, I hardly even think about it at all when I’m there even though I pass right by the place where it happened on multiple occasions every day during Conference. Every day I’m there with those wonderful brothers and sisters, I’m as happy as can be. The LORD is also able to redeem dates in time: on December 27, 2020, I was very sad; for the first time ever, due to the Pandemic, there would be no Conference. It was 7:30 PM, when the Conference was supposed to be starting, and I was at home, unable to get it out of my mind. I imagined that room, dark, empty, and desolate, waiting for all of us to be there one year later. Sure enough, to the very minute, on December 27, 2021, that room was filled with love again.

The theme for this past year’s Conference was “A Thrill of Hope,” the phrase from “O Holy Night,” a famous song about the night of our dear Savior’s birth; below are some of the notes I took at the Conference.

The most anticipated birth in the history of the world was foretold to Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, and David (among many others). This baby was welcomed into the world by old and young, male and female, Jew and Gentile, you and me. The wise men didn’t just say “I’m so excited you’re here” then leave; they fell on their knees and worshipped him. Two thousand years later, the weary world lays in sin and error pining for when the soul will feel its worth, somewhere yonder.

“Let there be light” is the first command in the Bible, and we’re here to channel it. Darkness and light: in hope, we experience both. Even the Moon waxes and wanes—very telling of us; we focus on the negative in the present but the positive in the past. When things happen in our lives, they happen FOR us, not TO us (also maybe THROUGH us). Don’t rob yourself of happiness for fear of grief. Hope fills a void in our day-to-day life. Hope is your mind doing this calculus of steps to achieve a goal. When you think you can get there, that’s a thrill of hope. Hope is a thrill, a charge, because it helps us to achieve that goal.

Existence has to entail action; God has a plan for the earth. Want to be on God’s team? Be ready for action; you can’t just sit there, you have to be doing something. Jesus gave every ounce of energy to God and to us; ask God to do whatever will make us love him more. When we communicate with God, are we just using words, or are we using everything? Legion was all-in; his words, how he said them, and his body: “Lord Jesus, I need you; can you help me?” For us, sometimes it’s just “I’m really not that ‘here’ right now, Lord, but I’m just going to spend some time with you.” Because of Jesus, we can now come boldly and confidently into God’s presence. God works through Jesus; this is what gives us confidence that we will inherit eternal life. There are four dimensions of God’s love; something that takes us deeper than the three dimensions. No one knows how many Jesus will be Savior of; it depends on you. It’s tough not knowing how long we have to go; run the race with endurance. How long? Where are we headed? Where do we go from here? We don’t have control over a future Kingdom date, but we do have control over how people around us experience the Kingdom of God in our lifetime. Choose to bring the Kingdom a little closer to someone now. Keep doing the little things, keep doing the big things; you are choosing to improve the life of another person, and it’s working. Spend that time for the person next to you, giving them glimpses of our destination. There is but one Fruit of the Spirit: Love, which is made of joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).

Salvation wasn’t there yet when Jesus was born, but seeing the baby was enough for Simeon to die in peace (Luke 2:25-32). God has prepared a city (Hebrews 11:16); we have obtained an inheritance: what can we see today that is enough? We can see him today; we can only imagine how much more fulfilled we will be on that day when all the world will see him as he is. This hope is an eternal hope that encompasses all your desires.

In Revelation 3:20, Jesus offers the greatest invitation ever: he stands at the door and knocks. If anyone will hear his voice and open the door, he will come in and dine with him. Don’t let this moment pass.

(Here is the morning exhortation I gave on Friday, 12/30, titled “A New And Glorious Morn”)

This past year at this special place, I made three new friends; interestingly enough, I had known these guys for years, but only at a distance. I also got to hear some great words of encouragement during the morning sessions, had great discussions, whether in a group or one-on-one, and enjoyed lots of great music.

In Genesis 28, we find a story about Jacob, a servant of the LORD, who was on the run from his brother Esau. He went to sleep, using a rock as his pillow, and had a dream of a stairway connecting heaven and earth, with angels ascending and descending. He awoke and said, “How awesome is this place!” Bethel—“the house of God”—was dusty and ordinary, but was made holy because the LORD was there. Of course, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob exists everywhere; his eyes run to and fro throughout the whole earth (2 Chronicles 16:9). Just because he exists everywhere though does not mean everywhere is holy: Times Square, for instance, isn’t what anyone would call a “holy” place, even though the LORD “exists” just as much there as he does in a church building on Sunday morning. A place is made holy by his presence, as in the days of Moses when the LORD told him, from the burning bush, that the place he was standing on was holy ground, therefore to be careful and to approach with reverence (Exodus 3:5). Jesus says, “where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them (Matthew 18:20).”

There’s a hymn that begins,

“Wherever, LORD, thy people meet,

There they behold thy mercy seat;

Wherever they seek thee thou art found

And every place is hallowed ground.”

There’s a million and one reasons I go to that special, holy place in Williamsburg at the end of every year, but mainly, I go because for those four days, the LORD and his people are there. The Apostle Paul tells us not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together (Hebrews 10:25), and the prophet Malachi, the Messenger, wrote that those who feared the LORD spoke often to each other, and that a book of remembrance was written (Malachi 3:16).

I always feel reconverted after Williamsburg; it’s like a “recharge station.” In many past years, I would feel sad to be leaving Williamsburg on December 31; but for the past couple of years now, I’ve felt the opposite: fulfilled and satisfied, empowered, and looking forward to the New Year.

After Conference ended—and as I do at the end of Conference every year—I took a few minutes and sat down in the main room there, by myself, and reflected on the previous four days. Then, as I’ve done the past two New Year’s Eves, instead of heading home to Richmond, I went out to the beach and sat by the ocean for a while, reflecting on the week and the year. My heart was full, and—even though it’s taken me a couple of weeks to finally write this blog entry—I looked forward to sharing that with you all. After having been with the LORD and his people, how could I not want to tell anyone?

The Conference ended with the congregation singing:

“I will enter his gates with thanksgiving in my heart,

I will enter his courts with praise,

I will say this is the day that the LORD has made,

I will rejoice for he has made me glad.

He has made me glad, he has made me glad,

I will rejoice for he has made me glad (glad glad).

He has made me glad, he has made me glad,

I will rejoice for he has made me glad.”

That song has been on replay in my mind ever since.

Grace and peace, and joy and gladness, and love in Jesus, the Thrill of Hope,

Dan

There is a shopping mall in Nashua, New Hampshire; a mall that I’m familiar with, as I’ve been there many times. The way this mall was constructed is interesting; the entire building is in New Hampshire, but it sits so close to the state line that if you walk out of the south end, immediately you’re in Massachusetts. Many people from Massachusetts shop at that mall, because there is no sales tax in New Hampshire.

Some years ago, a tiny part of that mall was across the state line; Massachusetts said that if any part of it was within the state’s border, the entire building would be subject to Massachusetts tax. So, a little sliver of the JC Penney building was removed, and Massachusetts lost any potential revenue altogether.

New Hampshire and Massachusetts are two very different states; many more wealthy people live in Massachusetts, while New Hampshire is seen more as a place that people go to retire. Massachusetts has suburbs everywhere, and New Hampshire is much more rural and heavily forested.

Aside from cultural differences, each state is different politically, and has different laws; in New Hampshire, they just elected a Republican Governor; Massachusetts, on the other hand, just elected a Democrat. In New Hampshire, you don’t have to wear a seatbelt; in Massachusetts (wisely), you do. This is what makes all 50 states different from each other; different cultures and different laws. The laws of New York, for instance, don’t affect the laws here in Virginia. But, if I travel to New York, I’m expected to follow the laws there; the laws of Virginia no longer apply to me as long as I’m not here. The same is true with other countries: for example, I can only fly my drone up 120 meters above ground level (with exceptions) here in the United States, but if I were to go to France, I could fly up to 150 meters, and the law here in America would have no bearing on me while I’m overseas.

But there is a Law that is applicable to believers everywhere, no matter which city, state, or country they’re in; the Law of Christ is never irrelevant. Wherever they are on earth, believers are to love the LORD, and their neighbor. There are no loopholes and no lawyers that can get us off. God’s laws are universal and they cannot be changed; there are no exceptions.

Paul tells the Galatians that the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, and self-control; against such there is no law (Galatians 5:22-23). These nine attributes are legal everywhere on earth—and for Christians, they’re demanded.

Imagine how much better the world would be even right now if everyone on earth obeyed God’s laws of love for him and neighbor. It will become a reality one day soon, when Jesus rules the world in truth and righteousness and peace; in that day, the law shall go forth from Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem (Isaiah 2:3). He will not grow faint or be discouraged until justice is established in the earth, and the isles shall wait for his law (Isaiah 42:4). Only then will there be peace on earth, and goodwill toward men (Luke 2:14).

In the meantime, fear God and keep his commandments; this is the whole duty of man (Ecclesiastes 12:13). He has shown us what is good and what he requires of us: to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with him (Micah 6:8). Go and do likewise!

Grace and peace,

Dan

It’s been eleven days since the 2022 “Midterm” Election here in the United States. For the most part, it went the way the experts and pundits and pollsters thought: Republicans win the House of Representatives, and Democrats keep the Senate. There were certainly a lot of twists and turns this Election season; for a while, it looked like Republicans were headed for a “red tsunami,” then the Supreme Court made their ruling on the “Dobbs” case, which motivated more Democrats; then late in the season, everything balanced out, the economy didn’t get much (any?) better, which put Republicans back in a position to win at least the House and possibly the Senate.

My aunt and I made a bet as to how it would end up; I said the Republicans would win the House, 237-198, and the Democrats would hold the Senate at 50-50; she thought Republicans would win the House 253-182, and the Senate, 52-48. We were both way off on the House prediction (the Republicans did win, but by a much slimmer margin than either of us would have guessed, and there are still five races that have yet to be called); as for the Senate, there’s one “runoff” election next month that will determine whether it’s 51-49 in favor of the Democrats, or a 50-50 hold (in which case Democrats still win).

I was pleasantly surprised at how relatively little tension there has been since the Election; for the most part—except for one Republican candidate for Governor and a Democratic candidate for Congress—the loser graciously conceded and everyone moved on. That’s always good to see, and hopefully it signals a return to “normalcy,” for lack of a better term; often when an election is won, people on the winning “side” celebrate and rub it in the faces of those whose candidate lost; that’s not how it should be, when you consider that the people who get elected to office, are supposed to be there to serve, not rule.

That said though, it was still a very tense few months leading up to the Election; people on every side have been angry. Many of them put their heart and soul into the campaign. They spent countless hours and dollars in support of their candidate, and for some, it even affected their well-being; I lost count as to how many times I saw someone on Twitter say something like “my anxiety is through the roof [over the Election].” Imagine being so worried about whether your guy wins a very temporary position in the United States Congress/Senate, that you lose even a wink of sleep over it, or thinking that the other party winning would somehow mean disaster. We also would hear on social media, “Vote (red or blue) to ‘save America,’” as if this election is the last chance, despite the fact that these are temporary positions; the winner takes office for 2, 4, or 6 years (Congress, President, Senate, respectively), and then if their constituents aren’t satisfied, or want to go in a different direction, they get voted out and someone else takes their place.

Truth is, neither Republican nor Democrat is going to save America. When President Eisenhower took office in 1953, his left hand was on two Bibles, one of which was open to Psalm 33:12: “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD.” This nation continues every day to go further and further from the LORD, even though he is the only one that can save.

I tend to be Conservative; anyone who knows me, knows that about me. But at the end of the day, whether the President/House/Senate is “conservative” or “liberal,” has very little effect; life is much, much bigger than what happens in Washington. For some people though, that’s all that matters. The Psalmist writes, “It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in humans. It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in princes (Psalm 118:8-9 NIV).” Perhaps the reason so many people in this country are angry around Election time every year, is because they are putting their trust in princes (meaning, Presidents, Congresspeople, Senators, Governors, and so on), who are bound to fail them, and there doesn’t seem to be a way out. Remember that the same God who made the mountains and the stars and the seas, and you and me, is still on the throne. He was on the throne when Joe Biden became President last year, he was on the throne last week when this country held its Election, and he will still be on the throne tomorrow, and every day after that. The day will come when the LORD will be King over all the earth; in that day there will be one LORD, and his name one (Zechariah 14:9). Amen!

Grace and peace,

Dan

Happy October!

It’s one of my favorite months of the year, for many reasons: the air is getting cooler, the holidays begin in full next month, and the baseball pennant races are at their climax.

One year ago last night, I was at Nationals Park in Washington, DC. I had been scheduled to speak on Sunday morning for the brothers and sisters in the Winchester area, and decided to make a long weekend out of it and go to DC beforehand; as luck would have it, my beloved Boston Red Sox were in town playing the Nationals! I made a few phone calls and got my friend Chris to meet me at the game. It would be the first time I saw the Red Sox play since I was a kid. As glad as I was to be going to the game on Friday night, I was also a little nervous: the Red Sox were right in the thick of the playoff race, and the game was by all accounts a “must-win;” they were essentially tied with three other teams who were all trying to get two playoff spots, so instead of sitting back and relaxing and fully enjoying an October baseball game, there was a real desired outcome (obviously, I would have wanted the Sox to win regardless).

The Red Sox won 4-2. I stayed up late that night in my hotel room watching the end of the Mariners game (another team who was in the mix); they lost, so that helped the Red Sox. The next morning, I went into the city; I visited the Museum of the Bible (something I’d wanted to do for a long time) and went up the Washington Monument (something I’d wanted to do since I was probably ten years old).

That afternoon, I headed over to Craig and Diane’s place in Star Tannery (near the West Virginia line) and spent the night, and we all had a wonderful Sunday morning; I got to see some brothers and sisters I hadn’t seen in a few years. My heart was full! I drove home the long way—through the mountains—and got home just in time to turn on the TV and see the end of the final game between the Red Sox and Nationals; the Red Sox won, and clinched a playoff spot, and then later that week, beat the Yankees in the Wild Card game, then beat the Rays in the Division Series, before falling just short against the Astros, two wins away from the World Series. It was a surprising run, considering that in the weeks leading up to the Playoffs, the Red Sox had many struggles, and just barely made it in.

Each team plays 162 games in the regular season (sometimes even 163 if there’s a tiebreaker needed); there’s a saying that even the best teams lose 60 times, and the worst teams still win 60 times; every team (usually) wins 60 times and loses 60 times, and it’s the other 40 or so games that separate the contenders from the “pretenders.”

Life is full of ups and downs; Solomon, one of the wisest men to ever live, wrote “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens (Ecclesiastes 3:1 NIV),” and goes on to say “a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance.” You’re going to have some really good days, and you’re going to have some really lousy days.

Israel dealt with 40 years of ups and downs on their way to the Promised Land; they were delivered from Egypt, yet when they didn’t have food, they wanted to go back; they saw miracles, yet suffered plagues; they won battles, and lost others. By the time they entered the Land, many had fallen away and never made it, but some did. Even Moses himself did not get to enter the Land, but he remained faithful and knew that the LORD would make good on his word.

The LORD said to Isaiah, “I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the LORD, do all these things (Isaiah 45:7).” The NIV Life Application Study Bible says, “God rules over light and darkness, over prosperous times and times of disaster, over our struggles and over our victories. Our lives are sprinkled with all types of experiences, and all are needed for us to grow spiritually. When good times come, thank God and use your blessings for him. When bad times come, don’t resent them, but ask what you can learn from these refining experiences to make you a better servant of God.”

David, a man who had more ups and downs than he could count, wrote that the LORD was his Shepherd, whether in green pastures and by still waters, or in the valley of the shadow of death (Psalm 23). No matter what, his cup overflowed.

We too are going to have good and bad days, but count it all joy, knowing that the trying of your faith produces steadfastness (James 1:2-3).

There’s a hymn that starts “For the joys and for the sorrows, the best and worst of times,” and the chorus says, “for this, I have Jesus (repeated).” He is present, and he promises that all who endure to the end will be saved (Matthew 24:13).

One thing to keep in mind is that there’s no carryover: you wake up and it’s a brand-new day; the mercies of the LORD are new every morning (Lamentations 3:23). Whether yesterday was “good” or “bad,” it’s in the past. “Be ye steadfast,” says Paul, “immovable, always abounding in the work of the LORD (1 Corinthians 15:58).” Run with patience the race set before you; look unto Jesus, the author and finisher of your faith (Hebrews 12:1-2). Be diligent, lest you fail of the grace of God (Hebrews 12:15). Whatever you’re dealing with, good or bad, is not to be compared with the glory to be revealed (Romans 8:18), and to receive the crown of glory that the LORD has promised to them that love him (James 1:12).

“But thanks be to God, who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:57)!”

Grace and Peace,

Dan