Paul was in a Roman prison while writing a letter to the Ephesians that reminds us that whether we are walking free or chained to a wall, our confinement or liberty is in His hands alone, but his main focus aims to encourage unity through the bond of peace, knowing it is sometimes easier said than done. He narrows in on how the Holy Spirit enables us to love one another, patiently enduring each other’s differences while supporting each other toward a more peaceful coexistence. Unity requires real effort, real patience, and diligence in our love for one another. The real unity-killer is impatience and pride. So humility is key. All of us have different stories behind us, and different things that interest or annoy us. Yet we are wanting to grow in our walk with God, and when we focus on this common goal, unity becomes much easier. The Holy Spirit was given to us to help. That is also why unity is so often felt more deeply in small Bible studies, even among those who are quite different in every other way.

The Apostle Paul was a Jewish “Pharisee of Pharisees,” a teacher of the Law, descended from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Jacob’s name was changed to Israel. Israel was a man before it was a nation. The children of Israel were set apart as God’s chosen people—not as an end in themselves, but with a purpose large enough to bring salvation to the whole world. From one man they grew to about 600,000 fighting men during the roughly 400 years they spent in Egypt. God led them out of slavery by His own hand under Moses and gave them the Ten Commandments. Moses is credited with the five books of the Pentateuch, written as he was inspired by the Holy Spirit God gave him. That Holy Spirit was key. Moses could not succeed without it. For centuries it looked as if God favored only one people. He did this, in part, to keep them from worshiping the gods of the surrounding nations. One of the earliest and most severe judgments Israel suffered was the Moabite seduction. Twenty-four thousand Israelites died because they joined themselves to other gods and to Moabite women. Fast-forward some fifteen centuries into the Roman Empire. The Apostle Paul now writes to new converts that the old ethnic divisions and exclusions have been broken by Jesus. The Holy Spirit—not bloodlines—now defines the family of God. Jesus, the Lamb of God, is offered for rich and poor, wise and simple, old and young, every nation, tribe, people, and language. You need only acknowledge your need for the only acceptable payment for your sins—the Lamb of God, Jesus. That first tiny step of faith, as small as a mustard seed, is enough to begin changing anyone into a fruitful servant of the Most High God. All are invited. Israel is now a nation and still has a major future in God’s plan. But the Holy Spirit is what every person needs in order to know God and belong to His eternal family. Moses had this same Helper and wished that all God’s people would have Him. He got his wish. You have a choice. You can confess that you need God’s Lamb, who shed His blood to save you—or you can refuse. If you receive Him, He will send His Helper, the Holy Spirit. God’s plan to save the world is stated most simply in John 3:16–18: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” Jesus makes clear that He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and that He is the narrow gate. The invitation, however, is for all people. God loves you enough to pay for your sins with His own Son’s sacrifice on the cross. Does any other religion have a God who thinks you are “to die for”? Talk to God. He loves it when sinners call on Him directly. He loves you that much. Tell Him you accept His offering, and welcome His Holy Spirit to help you live a far better life—a life that will never end. The promise of Jesus is this: “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.” (John 11:25) Are you Chinese or Japanese? Native American? From Sudan or Norway, Chicago or somewhere else? Have you lived like a “nasty Cretan,” or been “Corinthianized”? Call on God and thank Him for sending His Son Jesus to cover even the worst of us sinners. Paul reached out to the ancient outsiders known as Cretans and to the famously immoral people of Corinth, whose sexual practices would make anyone blush. No one is beyond the invitation. So what will heaven look like? “After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands.” (Revelation 7:9)

And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you used to walk when you conformed to the ways of this world and of the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit who is now at work in the sons of disobedience. All of us also lived among them at one time, fulfilling the cravings of our flesh and indulging its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature children of wrath. Ephesians 2:1-3

Two Dimmensions Meet

My day job is cutting through medical device red tape so products can actually reach patients. The problem is simple: every country has its own rules. Same device. Same safety goal. Different paperwork. Two international groups I have supported are trying to line those rules up. Most people would never guess that Singapore is now in a rare and remarkable spot to help these to Titan organizations work together. If they get this right, trade gets easier and care gets faster. If they get it wrong, smaller companies and smaller countries get left behind. Patients suffer, not just on one country, but everywhere. In 'Medical Device Trade' we don't treat tongue depressors like pacemakers. We say 'A barrier to trade is a barrier to care'. So dialing the regulations to the riskiness of the specific devices, this is not so easy, and now AI is doing some amazing patient-care work as well, but introduce new risks that we cannot ignore. That’s why this year matters. qualitydigest.com/inside/qms…

People often ask, “Why are we here? What is the meaning of life? What is this wisp of vapor—my flesh of dust—here today and so quickly blown away into eternity? What does it all mean?” Paul’s letter to the churches in Ephesians 1 carries the answer: compact in the greeting, then vast in what follows. It is an entry point into everything he is about to teach—how we are to make good and proper use of the time we have been given. Here is the heart of it. We are now, and forever, part of an eternal plan to bring all things under the rule of Jesus Christ. As children of God we have been given responsibilities and roles, together 'with every spiritual blessing', so that peace, joy, hope, and love can actually work in us—and endure into the Eternal Kingdom we are invited to, fully bought and paid for with His own blood. Love, however, is nothing without free choice. He knocks, He does not barge in. It up to us to choose whether or not to open our door. What is life? What we are to do and not to do has more individual flavor than a simple list of dos and don’ts. You are unique—pre-designed, pre-ordained. You will live according to the Perfect Designer of life itself. So have faith. Listen to His voice. Wait. Watch. Then do the living you will discover in His pre-written story—which is an exciting, unfolding, meaningful journey toward eternity. You are not dust in the wind. You are an eternal spirit that will be set free when the dust finally returns to the soil, and you will step into the Life and the Kingdom that you have been invited to.

Growing up I had enough bad church experiences to last a lifetime. To make matters worse, I sold Sunday School curriculum for a Christian bookstore and visited dozens of congregations and few were actually good at helping their people. Most were busy prepping for the big weekend event and were not able to provide adequate spiritual counseling. The better churches operated like small spiritual hospitals. They helped members through crisis, such as divorce, adultery, cancers and deaths of loved ones. They also develop small group Bible studies, not just 'Sunday service'. But for the first nine years of my walk with Jesus, I stayed away from churches. My older Christian brothers were worried I would drift. Their advice was simple: read your Bible every day and pray. I did. I still do. I always will. During those years I was trying to build a photography business while studying it in college. I spent long hours alone in a darkroom. Christian radio was on and I listened to J. Vernon McGee and Chuck Swindoll teaching Scripture while I worked away under that dark red bulb. I guess you could argue I was in church almost every day because of those broadcasts. But nine years in, loneliness caught up with me. My sister invited me to visit a church with Pastor Jerry Mitchell—a former drunken sailor converted in the Navy, a former thief even! God had taken this sinner and turned him into a straightest shooting preacher shaped under the wings of famed pastor John MacArthur. Through this same awesome church God brought along beside me four young men my age with real hearts for the Lord. We grew up in the Lord faster than ever, supporting one another through so many personal trials. "Crossroads" was a Bible Church. Though it had Baptist roots. Jerry would not stay locked in a strict denominational box, so they stepped out and became a Bible-teaching church that just preached the text... straight up, no ice. And yeah, sometimes it burns on the way down. That is how I weigh whether church is worth my time and money. The Radio and a Bible nurtured me along for many years, but fellowship matters much. Its also ideal for finding your future wife or husband! Even so, if you cannot find a church that teaches the bible and cannot care for its ailing members, move on! On Giving Money? Pastor Jerry Mitchell removed 'passing the plate' very early on. His preaching on this was the best I have heard. God does not want 10%. He wants all of you! Some churches push "the tithe" to try to break people free from the grip money has on them. Some promise wealth, "prosperity preaching". PASTOR Jerry Mitchell never pushed percentages, because Jesus never did. Jesus wants 100% of you, not 10% of your earnings. The origin of "the tithe" [the tenth of your earnings] was required long before Israel had a king. Back then, Israel was a theocracy: God was King, and the Levites—supported by the tithe, received no land—and taught the people His Word. That system was meant to keep Israel a holy nation belonging to the Lord. Churches that work well deserve a share of our wealth. 10%? Why not? ... but that's up to you and God! Too Poor to Give? Jesus praised one woman who gave only a single coin, because it was all she had. She alone was praised while others brought huge sums as "gifts". Jesus said “Give, and it will be given to you; a good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over—will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.” I trusted God and as a mostly broke college kid finally, cheerfully gave $15 a month to a Christian Radio I relied on. Shortly after, I got my first REAL photo assignment, which launched my career. God doesn't just replace cold cash, he fills and warms your heart. Always read something, every day, from your bible. Pray and find a good church. God will help you "figure" out what to give and where to spread your bread. Give ONLY-Ever, cheerfully!

Untouched photo this morning. Tide is pulling back from the shore, not a wisp of wind. A faint trickle of seawater meanders toward the sea that’s pulling back. Grass and fir trees mingle with the sea air as three gulls pass over making their classic calls — a subtle morning cry — then a distant wave splashes the shore and the quiet returns. I come here four times a year to escape the busy life and so many responsibilities. I proposed to my beloved wife here. My ashes will become part of these waters after my days here are over and I fly away, higher than any gull. Today I’m working to finish a simple post regarding our contemplations on the meaning of life. Why are we here? What purpose is there in my being? What possibly could I ever offer God Almighty when I am like dust in the wind of Eternity? But right now, I think God is just wanting me to enjoy this moment — His work, His creation, a love note from heaven to His child. #Sea #God #Life #Purpose #Love #Eternity

Ever notice how almost every iconic artist has at least one song about the loneliness of the road? The Rolling Stones — “Wild Horses” Steve Miller Band — “Jet Airliner” Bob Seger — “Turn the Page” Elton John — “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” Neil Diamond — “I Am… I Said” John Denver — “Leaving on a Jet Plane” Gordon Lightfoot — “Early Morning Rain” Jewel — “Goodbye Alice in Wonderland” ... So many more. Jewels lyrics really hit hardest as one of her last songs, written at LAX, waiting to go home. This song propelled her out of the limelight to build a family. These songs remind me that coming home to my wife after two decades traveling the world for work, I'm happiest living where the richer things in life never need a plane ticket. You could build a whole playlist that’s sweetly sad, so diverse and beautiful from those songs alone. They all know the same truth: the stage is bright, the fortune is real, and the wolves of the industry are always waiting in the dark just off the spotlight. youtu.be/jnLHUoXrroI?is=qSn3… _________ #Classic Rock. #Lonely #Music