If you fly almost anywhere out West you see the great amount of wide open spaces.

Between the cities in Arizona, Utah and Nevada there are vast open spaces of empty
desert, mountains.

There is great beauty there, great unending valleys and stark high-rising cliffs.

In our own lives there are places of unexplored territory, great areas of beauty and expanse, yet untapped in available resources and usage.

At this moment, you know of un-surrendered acreage in your heart and mind that has great opportunity for beauty and usage.

God has great intended use for the unexplored territory.

Those Canyons and Peaks out West are there to be looked at, explored and climbed upon.

That open and available space in your life is for God’s Hand to fashion and develop. As His Hand has made great beauty out West, God desires your available spaces to be filled with His Plan, His Word, His Spirit to fully involve you in particular practices of His Life.
For it is His Life and Light we are living in and His Hand which is carving out our Peaks and Points to fully reveal Him.

Open and available space is meant to be put to use. Out West its for appreciation and Beauty.
Within our hearts it is meant for Acts of Love, Acts of Spiritual Courage and The Revelation of Our Lord.
As the “Heavens declare The Glory of God and the Firmament showeth His Handiwork” out West….
Our available spaces are meant to reveal The Kingdom, which is present wherever Jesus is which is wherever we are if He abides in our hearts and lives.

You have open and available space.

As the Parks are set aside to be preserved, do not allow your open spaces to be “set aside”.

Call in The Creator.
Call for His Hand to maximize the use of your available space.

Terry
March 30, 2015

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Yesterday we celebrated Jesus’ resurrection. He appeared to His followers. He had fulfilled prophecy and defeated death.

But there was more.

He stayed for forty days.

From yesterday that would be through May 15th. He was here for a good while.

Think about that,

He remained to allow the disciples to have verification.
He remained to validate the rumor of His Resurrection by appearing to hundreds of people, and to Paul.

As I think about this, I wonder where were the Pharisees and what were they thinking? What did Pilate do after hearing about His appearing?

By appearing to about 500 people, His appearing was not kept a secret. There was too much excitement among His followers for it to be a secret.

He was here to validate His earlier Words. He stayed to encourage His Disciples. He remained to finish off His Teachings.

He stayed and brought Peter back into the fold. Peter would not have become the Leader he did, if it were not for Christ forgiving his betrayal, if it were not for Christ instructing him to “Feed my Sheep”.

He stayed 40 days and allowed what He had said earlier to settle in the minds of His followers.

He remained and instructed His Disciples to be filled with The Holy Spirit…as described in John 20.

He told them He would never leave them. He stayed to assure the disciples of His Trustworthiness.

He told them He would not forsake them. He didn’t.

He stayed, ate with them, probably laughed and shared His Joy with them, showing them He
was true and honest in His Word.

He brought them salvation, they had not received it before His death, It had not been achieved yet.

He finalized His teaching and instructions.

He gave reality to the Hope He had preached to them earlier.

Over the next 39 days, be conscious of this. Ask Him to reveal Himself to you in these days, as He revealed Himself to so many in the Epilogue of His First time here.

Terry
April 6, 2015

Psalm 112, a devotion from yesterday.
The words of David review what a Man is like, who delights in doing things Gods Way.

I have said this before…Be careful not to chafe at authority for It will always be present in your life. Delight in it.
Proper authority gives you an understanding of the landscape. It gives you boundaries.

Who among us would not think the Authority present in Gods Way …
Is correct, Holy and worth following.
If a man cannot agree with that…will construct his own god.

Settle your heart in the ways of God.

Establish your heart in the life described in Psalm 112.

Read it.

What in this psalm is not to be desired ?

Terry
March 19, 2015

Someone once asked the question,”What in your life would be evidence of your Christianity?”

Think about that.

In your life currently….what would be the evidence of your Christianity?

Church attendance? Giving money to charities? Being in a “small” group?

All of these could be attributes of a Christ-follower. They could also be evidence of a person who does not have a large number of friends, needs tax deductions or likes Choir music.

You know those are not elements of salvation.

They indicate preference and can be acts which believers carry out.

If you stood before a judge tomorrow…
What have you done lately that would give him the evidence to convict you of being a Christian?

Merely looking different than the world does not qualify.
Hitler had a mustache different than most and it has become a “Logo” item.
Ghandi gave up a law practice, fasted profusely…wore clothes like Christ….but said he did not believe in Him.
Billy Graham is not the best preacher who ever lived. There have been better orators.

Yet, its the subject he talks about. The consistency of his messages which give rise to his belief.

What does the world expect from you?
What are the words coming from your mouth?
What are the meditations of your heart…which eventually become your words and actions?

It’s living out Matthew 5.
It’s living out Romans 8.
The fulfillment of it would be having Galatians 5 become reality in your daily walk.

Walk, talk, think and live as JESUS did.

The Word tells us how.
His Spirit within us will leads us into the “how”.

That’s evidence to get that judge to convict you.

Terry
March 17, 2015

I have had the privilege and extreme blessing of being able to stay at some of the best resorts in our country.

The past few days I have been honored to be at what many rankings call “the best resort in the
US”….Pelican Hill.

It is my favorite resort. It’s beyond great.

Sitting in the massive jacuzzi in the Men’s Spa, I looked at detailed Italian architecture, marble and stone. Outside the patio of my room one can see the Pacific Ocean.

The entire facility is extravagant, beautifully detailed.

As I looked around and walked in all this beauty, the thought arose in my mind that this was all developed by someone to whom God had given great gifts, wisdom and ability.

But God did not make and build this place.

Michael Jordan has sons in whom he gifted his DNA and probably instilled in them great insights about how to play basketball.

None of them are Michael Jordan.

Michael gave them gifts….but they are not him.

What God has intended for us is far beyond the beauty of the best resorts.

Heaven is not and will not be build by men to whom God gifted great talent and ability.

Heaven is and will be build by GOD HIMSELF.

Isaiah 64:4 and I Corinthians 2:9 state what my takeaway says.

The beauty you see in the best place you have ever seen or visited is trash compared to what God has prepared and has in store for those who believe in Him, accept His Son, and give their lives to Him.

The best and eternal resort Destination.

Terry
March 10, 2015

Today’s devotional was about gossip and the promotion of it.

There are two takeaways in my mind.

Knowing something negative about someone can happen because of friendship, communication or personal experience.
Knowing something about someone, however does not privilege you to make it part of your conversation with others.

Some people desire to seem “in the know” by spreading gossip, and you know in your mind and heart what gossip is.

STOP IT

Stop that acidity at the point of knowledge in your mind. Stop it before it spreads past you. You do not have to “get it out”.

One more thing…when you hear it…

STOP IT.

I once heard one of my closest friends speak something negative they heard from another source about someone we both knew and liked. My friend spoke it without malice….just repeated what had been said.

I knew it to be false.

Without attacking my close friend, I spoke up and with emphasis told my friend that what he had heard and just spoke was incorrect.

Even if it’s spoken without malice or negative intent…do not let it go beyond that point.

Stand up, speak up and defend.

STOP IT

Terry
March 3, 2015

For many years I would take three bounces, look and concentrate on reaching the back of the front rim, get the feel right on the leather, bend my knees and release the ball properly.

Repetition can create success. I do know that repetition creates memory.

When one includes precision with repeated physical movements, muscle memory occurs.

Muscle memory allows one to stand behind a stripe, concentrate and perform successfully when hundreds, maybe a few thousand people scream.

This same type of memory can create efficiency in our Spirit as well.

Reading the Scriptures repeatedly, dwelling on the words. approaching our Lord in prayer, with pursuit and diligence….creates a spiritual muscle and the memory to give you the ability to STAND, endure and get through circumstances which can buffet you.

Use Scripture to confront all circumstances, whether good or bad, for The Word should be put to work not only in dire straits, but also when full sails and a prompting wind are moving you forward.

Put your practice time in.

Terry
March 2, 2015

Have a friend who has moved here and has been trying to sell a house for years, and recently did.

I have another friend who has moved from here and is making decisions on
buying a house in that new city.

Both sides of a similar decision. Buying and Selling. Coming and Going.

Life leads us to see people come into our lives….while others leave our circle and go on to new ones.

In my life I have done a good bit of coming and going.

I believe God can use us if from cradle to grave we never changed locations.

To a greater extent, I believe God purposes to move us into new and plowable ground to enrich not only us but those from whom He intends us to touch.
And, He does intend us to touch.

He stretches us in these changing locations. He allows us to meet new people and grow from that contact….and He uses us to be influential in the growth of those people we come to know.

Changing causes us to walk out into water that is over our head and that floats us up to where our feet do not touch bottom.

If we stayed in one place too long our feet can get rooted in sameness, comfort and predictability.

God has it for us to be growing. He is conforming us into The Image of His Son. That confirmation cannot be realized if the conformee is cemented into a rigid and antiquated existence.

As CS Lewis said….”He means to redo the whole structure”.

Allow God to move you to new locations. While it may not be a new city or a new residence….it can be a level of life you never knew you were capable of.

As my friends who are buying and selling – buy what God is conforming you to and sell that new message to the world you live in.

Terry
February 27, 2015

It’s a verb.
It’s a command.
It can be positive or negative.
Intentional or accidental.

Are you having intentional, positive impact on the people you live with, interact with and socialize with on a regular basis?

If you are….continue on and pray God leads you and guides that IMPACT toward good results.

If you do not know about your impact… then purpose to make it happen and achieve positive outcomes. Step out of yourself and get involved.

If you see wrong…work to right it.
If you see or sense impropriety in s friend life, convey that to them not as an indictment, but in and through a conversation where you convey your concern and ask strategic questions aimed at the impropriety.

Be purposeful.

You would not let someone drown if you saw them flailing in the water. You would get help or attempt to go to them.

If you see a friend “flailing” in their marriage, their job, their walk with Christ, they are drowning without being in the water.

Get them help.
Go to them and help.

Bring a positive impact to them with your intentional actions.

Only one of three helped the wounded man on the roadside. Two otherwise good people passed by,
but the Samaritan stopped.

Stopped from his journey, stepped away from his planned timetable and forever impacted the
needy one with his time, money and concern.

Who do you know by the “side of the road” today, in need of your impact ?

What are you prepared to do about it?

Terry
February 20, 2015

There is good and bad in the world. Most of the time, what we focus on is what we will see.

A friend sent that comment to me. I have seen it true I my life.
One can find what he wants to find, wherever he wants to find it.

I went to Samford.
There were ample opportunities for me to find good and godly things and activities.
There were also ample opportunities for me to seek and find any wrongful activity or behavior I wanted. A couple of times it got presented to me easily.

We have the choice, wherever we are to seek and find uplifting behaviors or the behaviors we would not share among church friends.

It’s not where you are…It’s who you are. It’s WHOSE you are.

As Christ followers we can make “Christlike” decisions. We can also ask Christ to leave us alone while we go into a sinful behavior/ activity.

However…..He cannot.

He is bound by His Word to never leave you nor forsake you.

You can find what you want to find wherever you are.

Remember JESUS s in you and He is not leaving.
Be careful to not help Him recall why He was crucified.

Terry
February 17, 2015