Camellias delight me in the springtime. They seem such a sweet reminder of God’s Love.

It (Really) Is All About Jesus

It’’s all about Him, my Jesus, my loving Lord and Savior,
whether in my past or in my now or in my future, forever;
it’s all about Him who obediently left His throne in glory
and was born a peasant who was welcomed in a manger,
it’s all about Him who sought out those
who most desperately
needed His touch, His words, His stories
of healing and of wonder
as He lovingly touched the blind, the defiled, the sinner and the leper
and immediately set them free
because He brought God’s Love to them;
it’s all about Him—I am totally and completely His,
for He bought me
with His pure and perfect, sinless, blood
He spilled upon the Earth
because He longs to welcome all His children home around His Throne
where all peoples, tribes and tongues
will worship Him in eternal glory.

So, you see, this world, this life (REALLY) is all about Jesus. He is the Savior who God in Perfect love offers us. We need a Savior because we, every single one of us, fall short of God’s perfect plan for our lives, not just for the here and now, but forever. We cannot make ourselves good; we must trust in HIs power and His provision in the person of Jesus. It is God’s desire to walk in fellowship with everyone of us. So, Jesus came miraculously as the Son of God and the Son of Man to live among us, to befriend us and to teach us, to feed us and to heal us, to give us life, to willingly die for us and to rise again victorious—having paid the penalty for our disobedience to God and our sin against Him and each other.

Now, all of this may sound like a standard defense of basic Christian teaching; but  for me it is much more: For seventy years now, I have lived and tested and proved the truth of everything the Bible teaches us about Jesus. Blessed by Christian parents, encouraged and taught by faithful Christian men and women, shepherded supportively by Gospel-preaching churches; I was found by Jesus as my Savior early on.Though I lived a typical mischief-filled life as a young boy, He faithfully guided me and protected me, kept bringing me back into His Way—I the lamb and He my Shepherd.

My life has been much more than good, all because of Jesus. He has used His people to inspire me  and to teach me, and His Holy Spirit to correct and guide me. He has given and developed my natural gifts and spiritual gifts as He called me into teaching. He has given me Christian mentors who have lovingly and patiently guided me in His Way through His Power and according to His Word.

He has granted me a loving, faithful and Christ-focused wife, and two wonderful children and their families. He has given us a calling which took us to Nigeria and then to Niger where we discovered powerful Christ-loving brothers and sisters in the faith who walked along us as we explored together, learning for each other the glory of His plan to build His church in both of those African nations.

I intend to share stories and God’s Work in and through the people and events which have so shaped my life, always for His glory and always deepening my joy, whether in what seemed victories or defeats. These years have hurried by, but God’s faithfulness has been constant. His direction has been constant. His glory has been sure.