The Swinging Gate

⁹ I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture.

We have talked regularly about the sacrifice Jesus made for all of us, but I really like the way that this verse is worded. He is the gate. I live in Western Kansas and lived in Missouri for a long time. There are a lot of gates in those places due to all of the livestock.

It is an interesting metaphor, but if we give it a little bit of thought, an animal who is in the largest pasture in the world, with more freedom than any other animal is still restricted by a fence and a gate. In order for them to get out of captivity, they must go through the gate.

It is the same with us, we are in a fallen world. We are destined to the lake of fire unless we accept Jesus as our savior. He opens our gate to a blissful eternity.

Make it a great day in the trenches. Be exceptional at being you.

Love,

Yancey

Because We All Fall Short

Romans 3:23
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

As Christians we are striving for something much bigger than ourselves. We are pursuing a way of living that we can’t accomplish on our own.

Sin has always been paid for in blood. Before Jesus’ sacrifice it was paid for in animal blood.

Since that time, sin has been paid for with Jesus’ blood.

I’ve been reading and listening to the Bible via The Bible Recap. I read the prescribed reading for the day and then I listen to the podcast that goes with it expanding on what I read.

The main focus as of late has been that everything that God planned to have happen has happened, no matter what human error has done.

We will fall short of God’s perfection, but we can make our pursuit of Him as close to perfect as possible.

Make it a great day in the trenches. Be exceptional at being you.

Love,

Yancey

Ordinary Mistakes

Last year I wrote about reading the Bible in one year for 2023. It was a daily reading that bounced from the Old Testament to the New Testament to a Psalm to a Proverb. My old recorded was March 27th. I’d never gotten past that day.

I didn’t miss a day last year, even with open heart surgery. I haven’t missed a day this year, either. I’m currently using the Bible Recap plan in my YouVersion Bible app. I like it because I can listen while I read. It is like learning from my school years.

I say all of that to say this, there is a lot of lying that goes on in the Old Testament.

The serpent lied to Eve to get the ball rolling, but there are plenty more by the people the Bible is about. Abraham, the father of many nations, lies twice. Sarah lies to God. Jacob lies to Isaac, Isaac lied to Abimelech, Jacob’s sons lie to him and so on.

These are all the people we learned about as children. There were songs about many of them, but they made mistakes and God stuck to His plan and used these people who lied.

We make mistakes, but he can use us, as well. Be ready and willing.

Make it a great day in the trenches. Be extra being you.

Love,

Yancey

We Belong

1 Corinthians 12:16
16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body.

When we belong to a church or when we attend regularly, we become part of that church family. When someone is gone, they are missed.

We have to realize that we are an important part of the church body. Even further, the pastor could be considered the face as could the music leader, but where would either of them be without the sound people. They may have a great message or sound terrific, but if the congregation can’t hear them … we all have an important role.

Make it a great day in the trenches. Be exceptional at being you.

Love,

Yancey

Being Humble

1 Peter 5:6
⁶ Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.

Obviously the comedic irony here is that Jesus’ parents are bragging about being His parents.

I think when we appreciate the irony, we can see the true lesson there. We all have special talents, and we all have special gifts. We just need to make sure we understand where those talents and gifts come from. We’re at not for the Lord, giving us those opportunities to shine, we would not be able to do so.

Let’s remember to always glorify God with our actions and our accomplishments.

Make it a great day in the trenches. Be exceptional at being you.

Love,

Yancey

One More Move

John 19:30
30 When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

Pastors, we have arrived at another Sunday. Thank you for everything. Go be exceptional.

The link has a story of a painting that is called Check Mate. It is of the devil playing chess with the black pieces and the person he is playing is In obvious distress.

A champion chess player walked by the pairing and stood there observing the painting. He tells the tour guide that the king has one more move.

That is the point, our King had one more move to save us. The enemy doesn’t win, Jesus does. In turn, His move was our victory, as well.

It’s told in a powerful way and worth the listen. Make it a great week in the trenches. Be exceptional at being you.

Love,

Yancey

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How Majestic Is Your Name

Psalm 8 :: English Standard Version (ESV)

How Majestic Is Your Name

To the choirmaster: according to The Gittith.[fn] A Psalm of David.

1 O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens.

2 Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger.

3 When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,

4 what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?

5 Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings[fn] and crowned him with glory and honor.

6 You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet,

7 all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field,

8 the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas.

9 O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Thank you Lord for your majesty and sovereignty! You are worthy of all glory, honor and praise! Thank you that through the Lord Jesus Christ, his perfect life, death, and resurrection, you have made any who chose to believe that we are your adopted children, co-heirs in Christ, and we are your stewards on this earth until we will be crowned with glory and honor when you return!

O Lord, our Lord how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Special Attention

Job 7:17-19
17 “What is mankind that you make so much of them,
that you give them so much attention,

Job is in the midst of Satan pestering him in this passage. However, he still refers to how much God cares about us. When we face trials, would we be as in tune as Job is?

I can’t say that I would.

Something we all can strive for.

Make it a great day in the trenches. Be exceptional at being you.

Love,

Yancey

I Forgot and He Showed Me

Genesis 11:7
7 Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.”

I didn’t remember the scripture above. I was reminded once I reread it, but I didn’t remember it today.

Here’s why that matters.

Today I was wondering why God created other languages for the earth. I knew Ge had a reason, I just didn’t know/remember what it was.

I had that thought for roughly 15 to 30 seconds around 3:00 pm today. Fast forward to 8:45 pm or so and I’m reading my Bible “assignment” for the day. Out of that assignment comes this scripture.

I just thought that finding the answer to a random thought I had today in today’s reading was more than a coincidence.

Make it a great day in the trenches. Be exceptional at being you.

Love,

Yancey