inside our toolbox

Several places I go have these huge toolboxes that amaze me. Walk through Lowe’s, and you see them. They are taller than me and just big. They have lots of doors, storage and even some surprises. Another place I see even bigger toolboxes is at NASCAR races. Their toolboxes not only have tools, but several people can sit on the canopy covered top and watch the flat screen TV’s that are attached to them.

That brings me to a question: what is in your tool box? Before I give you a spiritual answer, you might want to know that I use a couple draws in an old cabinet for my toolbox. I also use a couple of old fishing lure boxes to hold little things. Truth is I am not much of a tool guy, but that is a side note.

As we talk spiritually there ought to be lots of great things in our spiritual toolbox that will help us live on purpose and deal proactively with the people we are around. Here are some verses with a few of the tools we should use and understand well.

Philippians 4:6-9 NLT

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. 8 And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. 9 Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.

There are a few pieces that stick out in this toolbox. With these we will have our focus on God and our source of strength solely as Him.

PRAYER --- this is conversation between God and us, and it is a two-way conversation. Listening is even more important than talking. Staying in close communication with God is vital to living with the purpose God has given us.

PEACE --- peace is the result of important choices we make. Like the first two verses talked about when we worry less, we will have the presence of God’s peace in our lives. Peace becomes our protection as well as inspiration for us personally and for the people we interact with.

TRUTH --- if you will recall, truth is called “the belt of truth” in the armor that Ephesians 6 talked about. Truth guards and holds things together. Yet we have to be careful what we call truth. It is what God says that is truth. Further, truth is a person. In John 14:6 Jesus said, “I am the truth”. To follow Jesus is to pursue and share truth.

HOLINESS --- God told us that we are to be holy because He is holy, but my thought here is the fact when we want people to be close to us they have to have some special qualities that we care about. When holiness is part of our lives, we are able to grow closer to God. Holiness can be characterized as Christ-like. That is what we share and pursue when we know our purpose.

ACTION --- putting in to practice what we learn from God is our action. He is kind, He is peace, He is holy, He is forgiveness and love and strength… The list goes much further.

This is a short list of things that ought to be in our toolbox, but each of these tools leads us to understand the quality and importance of all the tools. I pray that we will put aside what doesn’t matter and hold tight to what does matter. Let your toolbox be filled by God.

Have you heard of EDITH BURNS?

Edith Burns was a wonderful Christian who lived in San Antonio, Texas . She was the patient of a doctor by the name of Will Phillips. Dr. Phillips was a gentle doctor who saw patients as people. His favorite patient was Edith Burns. One morning he went to his office with a heavy heart and it was because of Edith Burns. When he walked into that waiting room, there sat Edith with her big black Bible in her lap earnestly talking to a young mother sitting beside her. Edith Burns had a habit of introducing herself in this way: "Hello, my name is Edith Burns. Do you believe in Easter?" Then she would explain the meaning of Easter, and many times people would be saved. Dr. Phillips walked into that office and there he saw the head nurse, Beverly. Beverly had first met Edith when she was taking her blood pressure. Edith began by saying,"My name is Edith Burns. Do you believe in Easter?" Beverly said, "Why yes I do." Edith said, "Well, what do you

why is it Good Friday?

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Day 8 in Cuba

We have just come off and incredible weekend, and it is day 8 of the mission trip in Cuba. Thank you to all who have been praying for this trip, the mission team and the impact it will have on those we serve. Please don’t stop praying. Last week Alex and I served with a mission team in the mountains of southern Cuba. There were several challenges, but God gave us safety, provision and opportunity to serve some of the sweetest people I have ever met. No running water… sporadic electricity generated by a small, logo dammed up river, no transportation other than animals, limited food sources and more. These people love the Lord and sharing their faith with others. Over the weekend we made our way back to Havana. On Friday our vehicle broke down leaving us on the side of the road for several hours. We then boarded a bus and rode 14 hours. We arrived safely and even got some rest. Sunday was so, so good. We visited two partner churches. In the morning we were with one church that

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