Can't get no satisfaction?

If you feel like you can't get no satisfaction consider the following. Those who have had adultery committed against them know how painful it is. Then there are those of us who have never felt that pain and can only imagine what it would feel like. James puts a little different spin in this in James 4:4 when he says:

 ⁴ You adulterers! Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God.

I believe here he is saying you can't have it both ways. You can't have your cake and eat it too. When a person is intimate with the world it pains God because he wants an intimate relationship with you. Now when we are talking world we are talking about sin and the every thing that everyone else says is okay but is still against what God teaches. 

Sometimes or should I say most times I don't understand people and the things that they do but I can't imagine the when someone cheats on a spouse that they can truly feel satisfied. But then again have I cheated on God and did that really satisfy me? The answer is of course no. John Owen in his book The Glory of Christ said the following. "Only the sight of Christ's glory and nothing else will truly satisfy God's people."
Stop and think about this statement today. If you think about it long enough you will agree that only in seeing Christ's Glory you will find truth and satisfaction. So if you can't get no satisfaction turn away from the world which will be unnatural and hard and turn to Christ.

Pinata Prayers

When it comes to prayer James 4:3 says
³ And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure.

What do you pray for? When it comes to prayer do you treat it like a pinata? Where when ever you want some candy you just grab a bat and take a whack at it hoping something will fall out? All pinata prayers will do is leave you blindfolded holding a bat, nothing else.

This verse should make us consider our motives when we pray. Prayer is not sitting on Santa's lap asking him for the years hottest toy. Prayer should be more like sitting down with your father and having an honest conversation about what is going on in your life. Prayer is not just all about talking it's about listening as well. Don't forget that.

The goal for your prayers should not be to increase your pleasure but to deepen your relationship with Christ. Because in Christ you will find not just pleasure but joy and joy goes much deeper than pleasure or happiness.

Stay Away It's a Trap

Some one asked me yesterday, "How was your weekend?" My first response was it was great I got a two pair of Rock port shoes for less than $40. But then I said you know really the best part of my weekend was the fact that I did three things that I really didn't want to do. I can tend to be selfish with my time and when it was all said and done I gave up some of my time this weekend and it was the highlight of the weekend. So James 3: 14-15 are very fitting.

¹⁴ But if you are bitterly jealous and there is selfish ambition in your heart, don’t cover up the truth with boasting and lying. ¹⁵ For jealousy and selfishness are not God’s kind of wisdom. Such things are earthly, unspiritual, and demonic. ¹⁶ For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind.

Here it says that selfishness is earthly, unspiritual and demonic. So the fact that I realize that I can be selfish with my time and was able to work it through explains why my weekend turned out so good.

Then there is the jealousy thing I have visited with people who are bitterly jealous and the fact that they are so bitter they do not even realize that they are jealous. Those who are consumed by the fact that others have more than they do, do not get a step closer to those things because they are trapped by their jealousy.
I often here people say that the rich should pay more in taxes just because of the fact they have more. They are really just jealous that the so called rich person has more than they do. I have know this for some time but was reminded of the fact on the show Secret Millionaire on Sunday night was this guy started his own company from scratch worked 80 to 100 hours a week then sold his company for 500 million dollars. The guy was 36 not married and no kids. He paid a price for that wealth that some would never dream of. Including the people who want to take a bigger share of his money so they can have a share of it.

To make a long story short like the verse says don't cover up the truth with boasting and lying. Look for any jealousy or selfishness in your heart and ask God to help you with these things for they are earthly, un-spiritual, and demonic. Because selfishness and jealousy are debilitating traps that in the end could kill you physically and spiritually

They didn't tell you this in Anatomy class

What they didn't tell you in Anatomy class was that your tongue is directly connected to your heart. I was reminded of this fact reading James 3 this morning, that the words you choose to use are an indication of what is in your heart, that words mean things and the tongue is a very powerful thing. 
You should ask yourself do the words  you choose build others up or tear them down? Do the words you use praise God or curse the very people he created in his image?  We all do both rather we realize it or not after all we are sinful creatures.

The question becomes can we continually change the percentage? Can we use more of our words to be an encouragement, to praise God, or to spread the Gospel Message instead of the opposite. The next time you are tempted to say something against someone or when you are tempted to spread a little gossip think about the power your tongue has and how you are going to use it. Are you going to use it for good or for evil? Sometimes it's tough as James says in 3:7

⁷ People can tame all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and fish, ⁸ but no one can tame the tongue. It is restless and evil, full of deadly poison.

Sometimes before you speak it may be wise to ask Jesus to proof it. In other words ask Him for guidance. If you don't it's too late to close the barn door after the horses are already out.

In other words once a word leaves your mouth it can never be put back in. The damage will already been done. So choose your words carefully.

I Believe in Pimps

I believe in pimps, I really do. I believe that they do exist. I believe that they do what they say they do. I believe that they can  make a lot of money. But that does not mean that I think what they do is right. That I would put them in charge of my life,  or that I would trust them in anyway. I wouldn't do that.

The same thing goes for God and James 2:19 makes this very clear it says:

 ¹⁹ You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror.

Even the demons and Satan believe in God. They do know he exists but they do not follow him. The same thing goes for the people around us. Perhaps even some very close to us. They may think or say, I believe that God exists. I believe that he is great, he is love, that he created the world. They may even ask him for things when they are in a jam. But they do not know him, they do not trust him, they have no made him Lord, and most important they don't have a relationship with his son Jesus.

The key word in all of this is believe. The Greek word for believe has a far different meaning that what the word means to us today. It means a personal trust. I can say that I believe in pimps. Because I know that they exist. But to say that I believe in a parachute enough to jump out of a plane the meaning of the word believe here is far different. When the Bible talks about the word believe it is the parachute believe. So the next time you or someone else says, "Oh yea I believe in Christ" is it the pimp believe or the parachute believe? It makes a huge difference.

The Punishment Fits The Crime

Have you ever heard the phrase the punishment fits the crime? For instance in our society today the punishment is much different for getting caught going 5 miles an hour over the speed limit than say getting busted for a third DUI. Or getting caught smoking under age and drug trafficking. One tends to get a slap on the wrist, the other can have grave consequences.

When it comes to God's law we too often have the same mind set and think as long as we don't murder somebody we'll just get a slap on the wrist at judgment day. I've got news for you that is not the case. Ranking sin has grave consequences because God is perfect holy and just therefore a simple lie is the same in his eyes as a premeditated murder. Both are a sin and both have the same punishment, death and not just go to sleep and never wake up death but spending forever in Hell death.

So you have two choices. You can either spend eternity in Hell or you can accept Jesus Christ as you Lord and Savior and allow his sacrifice on the cross be the punishment for every sin you have ever committed.

With God the punishment will always fit the crime because God only has one law, don't sin, and one punishment Hell. Trust me you have sinned and you need a Savior. I was reminded of all of this reading James 2: 10 & 11.

 ¹⁰ For the person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as a person who has broken all of God’s laws. ¹¹ For the same God who said, “You must not commit adultery,” also said, “You must not murder.” So if you murder someone but do not commit adultery, you have still broken the law.

I Pity the Fool Who Doesn't Do

Verse 22 is the last verse I will cover in chapter one of James it says:

²² But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.

This for me is the most convicting verse in the whole chapter. Acting on what we hear and practicing what we have been taught. Do we do these things like we should? I know I don't like I should but it's something that I am working on.

Like I have said before the biggest fear I have about being a Christian is becoming religious. Just listening, reading, and studying God's word and not doing what it says. That's religion. This can be taken to the extreme the other way as well and just doing good things and not listening, reading, and studying God's word that is religion as well.

Religion is the road to wrath but a relationship with Christ is the road to righteousness.

So I pity the fool who doesn't do.

Go Ahead, Get Good and Angry

Is there a good angry? There is I was reminded of this in James 1:19-20 where at first glance you may think you should not get angry.

¹⁹ Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. ²⁰ Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires.

There are a lot of good bits of information in these two verses. The first of course is being quick to listen and slow to speak. It seems like listening is a lost art today. To be a good listener first have to care and second not be distracted. Practice being a good listener today.

Second it says slow to get angry. How many need to take that advice? Far to often people fly of the handle way to quickly.

The third and final point I take from these two verses is that it does not say not to get angry. It says slow to anger, this means to think about it. It also says that human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. That must mean there is a righteous anger. Believe it or not there is because Jesus who never sinned got angry. The most obvious example is when he went into the temple and over threw the tables. Below I found what I will call 6 steps to good anger. I hope you will find them beneficial.

1) His anger had the proper motivation. In other words, He was angry for the right reasons. Jesus’ anger did not arise from petty arguments or personal slights against Him. There was no selfishness involved.

2) His anger had the proper focus. He was not angry at God or at the “weaknesses” of others. His anger targeted sinful behavior and true injustice.

3) His anger had the proper supplement. Mark 3:5 says that His anger was attended by grief over the Pharisees’ lack of faith. Jesus’ anger stemmed from love for the Pharisees and concern for their spiritual condition. It had nothing to do with hatred or ill will.

4) His anger had the proper control. Jesus was never out of control, even in His wrath. The temple leaders did not like His cleansing of the temple (Luke 19:47), but He had done nothing sinful. He controlled His emotions; His emotions did not control Him.

5) His anger had the proper duration. He did not allow His anger to turn into bitterness; He did not hold grudges. He dealt with each situation properly, and He handled anger in good time.

6) His anger had the proper result. Jesus’ anger had the inevitable consequence of godly action. Jesus’ anger, as with all His emotions, was held in check by the Word of God; thus, Jesus’ response was always to accomplish God’s will.

Prized Possession

If you could have anything in this entire world that God created what would it be? Jewels, gold, oil, your very own tropical island. The choices are endless.

Jesus who created everything in this world has made his choice. Out of everything he has made Christians are his prized possessions. Think of mankind's most prized possessions and how well they are looked after. They are under lock and key, in display cases or under armed guard depending on the owners resources.

Just think the limits God will go to to protect his most prized possessions. Because his resources are unlimited.  If you are not already, you could be one of his prized possessions.

I have not been able to get out of James 1 yet and James 1:18 makes this all very clear. It says:
 He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession. 

This means those who have been born again by the Gospel Message have became his most prized possession.

Now the question becomes have you accepted Christ as your Lord and Savior? And if you have are you out spreading the Gospel Message so that others may have the opportunity to become prized?

Maybe the thought of being anyone or anythings possession bothers you. The truth is you already are. You either belong to Christ or Satan it's one or the other. The difference when you belong to Christ you know it and when you belong to Satan you don't.

Consider Christ, let him have all of you.

The Devil made me do it.

The Devil made you do it, really?  Are you sure? If you want to blame him you will fall into temptation every time. James 1:14 says:
Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away.

The first part of this verse tells us that our temptation comes only from our own desires. I strongly believe that one person's passion is another's person's repulsion. Some people have a passion for pornography, while others are repulsed by it.

You can look at desires another way. You may have the desire to be thin and you may also have a desire for a big piece of chocolate cake. The key is when that piece of cake is in front of you which desire is the strongest at that time? The desire for the cake or the desire to be thin?
The same thing goes for sin. The Devil can't make you sin, he can and certainly does place things like the chocolate cake in front of you but he can't make you eat it. The decision is yours. It is just a matter of where your strongest desire is.

The last part of this verse uses the word enticed, that is just like bait. Satan uses temptation as bait and sin is the hook. Satan like any good fisherman knows which kind of bait you will be most likely to go for. He will then put it on the hook and dangle it right in front of you. Then when you bite he will drag you away. If you don't get free from the hook before he gets you in the boat you will end up on his plate.

So when the bait is in front of you and you bite, just remember you took the bait. The Devil just put it there. He didn't make you do it.

What is your strongest desire? Sin or the Savior?

The Price of Perfection

After taking a week off from posting this blog, it really feels more like a month. Yesterday I spent some time thinking where do I go next and decided to start the book of James. It was the very first book that I really connected with when I seriously started reading the Bible. I did not get to far into the first chapter in fact I didn't get past verse 4 and was really forced to consider something. The price of perfection.

 James 1:3-4
³ For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. ⁴ So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.

Perfect and needing nothing. Sounds like a great goal but a goal that is out of reach. This verse tells me it is within reach, however the only way to obtain this goal is by going through bad things.

Faith is kind of like a muscle it has to be tried, tested, and developed. Jesus is your trainer who is always putting you through work outs so that when the time comes you will be ready. It takes endurance to succeed and you can not learn endurance. You have to experience and survive to develop endurance which is never easy.

Below you will find two excellent quotes from Charles Spurgeon regarding this topic.

The man who truly possesses patience is the man that has been tried.

Afflictions find out our weak points, and this makes us attend to them. Being tried, we discover our failures, and then going to God about those failures we are helped to be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

Define the Glory of the Lord

How would you define the Glory of the Lord?

Going to make an attempt at it on Sunday.

Preparation

The verse I am preparing for Sunday's message is 2 Corinthians 3:18 which says

So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.

We are going to talk about sanctification the way I look at it sanctification is the transformation process that changes us.

Okay I lied

I have decided to blog some short thoughts that come to mind as I prepare for Sunday.

In preparing the message for Sunday right out of the box I ask the question. “Why did God create us?”

Have you ever stopped to think about that question?

I think the answer is in the very first chapter of the very first book in the Bible.  

Read Genesis 1 and see what you find.

This week

I plan on taking a week off from blogging as I prepare a sermon for Sunday. I will pick up again next Monday morning. I will leave you with the passage that the sermon will be on it is 2 Corinthians 3:18

18 So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.

I would appreciate your prayers as I prepare this message. My prayer is that God will use me to get his point across not mine.

If you would like you may take this time an catch up on some old blogs that you may have missed.

Do you care enough?

<sup>As I finished the books of Acts this morning I had to ask myself the question "Do I care enough?" So I in turn want to ask "Do you care enough?" This all stemmed from two places in Acts, the first was in Acts 20: 26-27 when Paul said:

26</sup> I declare today that I have been faithful. If anyone suffers eternal death, it’s not my fault, ²⁷ for I didn’t shrink from declaring all that God wants you to know.

You need to ask yourself have you been faithful? Have you shrank from telling others all that Gods wants them to know? Do you care if those around you suffer eternal death? Can you say that you have done all that God wants you to do?

The next was in Acts 26: 28-29 where it says:

²⁸ Agrippa interrupted him. “Do you think you can persuade me to become a Christian so quickly?” ²⁹ Paul replied, “Whether quickly or not, I pray to God that both you and everyone here in this audience might become the same as I am, except for these chains.”

What King Agrippa said reminded me of the fact that we do not actually do the persuading only God can do that. I was also reminded by the fact that we should continually pray for those around us who are not yet Christians. Again do you care enough?

Finally when Paul says 'except for these chains' I was reminded that the Christian life is not  an easy life. It is full of challenges and difficulties. It may not be an easy life but it is the best life. As Christians we all have our chains and as Paul also said in 2 Corinthians 12, we may also have a thorn in our sides to keep us from becoming proud.

Once more do you care enough to take your chains and your thorns and use them to bring Glory to God?

Reason and Proctection

Acts 17 for me points out two very different uses of scripture that are key still in our lives for today that we may not use like we should.
The first one is verse 2:
² As was Paul’s custom, he went to the synagogue service, and for three Sabbaths in a row he used the Scriptures to reason with the people.

How often have you used scripture to reason with people. We may do it unintentionally but what if we did it intentionally? What kind of impact could we have on people?

The other is verse 11 it says:

 ¹¹ And the people of Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to Paul’s message. They searched the Scriptures day after day to see if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth.

What ever you hear from others, from your friends, even from your Pastor do yourself a favor and do what the people of Berea did. Search the scriptures for the truth. This way you will be less likely to be fooled by false teachers.

These two verses give us a way to help others and ourselves.

As usual I was reminded yesterday of the pure power of God with everything that went on in Japan. Looking forward to seeing how God will use such a tragedy for good. For some reason he allowed this and somehow it will bring him glory. That is why our God is an awesome God.

What do you do in the dark?

What you do in the dark shows your light.
Acts: 22-25
 ²² A mob quickly formed against Paul and Silas, and the city officials ordered them stripped and beaten with wooden rods. ²³ They were severely beaten, and then they were thrown into prison. The jailer was ordered to make sure they didn’t escape. ²⁴ So the jailer put them into the inner dungeon and clamped their feet in the stocks.
 ²⁵ Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening.

Paul and Silas were in a tough spot. They had just taken a beat down and were thrown in jail for preaching the word of God. They could have been moaning and groaning, sulking, or just plain feeling sorry for themselves but they some thing much better, they prayed and sang hymns to God. The cool thing is that the other prisoners were listening. Whether or not Paul and Silas did this for their benefit or not we don't know. But what they did in the dark times got them out of their dire situation and was most certainly a blessing for those around them. (Read the rest of Acts 16 for the surprising why the got out of jail.)
What do you do in the dark times? Who is listening or watching you? What kind of effect will you have on them? All pretty good questions.

It may be right in front of your nose

Do you have enough faith to believe an answered prayer? Are you sure? I was reminded of this is Acts 12. Because the answer to your prayers may be right in front of your nose.

¹ About that time King Herod Agrippa began to persecute some believers in the church. ² He had the apostle James (John’s brother) killed with a sword. ³ When Herod saw how much this pleased the Jewish people, he also arrested Peter. (This took place during the Passover celebration.) ⁴ Then he imprisoned him, placing him under the guard of four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring Peter out for public trial after the Passover. ⁵ But while Peter was in prison, the church prayed very earnestly for him.

Peter was in jail and it looked bleak because of what had happened to James and all of the "church people" did the church thing and prayed earnestly for him.

You will have to read Acts 12 to get the details but Jesus busted Peter out of jail in a way that not even Hogan's Hero's, MacGyver or the A-Team combined could have imagined. After Peter was freed he went to but of course a prayer meeting where they were probably praying for him and look what happens in verses 12-15


¹² When he realized this, he went to the home of Mary, the mother of John Mark, where many were gathered for prayer. ¹³ He knocked at the door in the gate, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to open it. ¹⁴ When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed that, instead of opening the door, she ran back inside and told everyone, “Peter is standing at the door!”
 ¹⁵ “You’re out of your mind!” they said. When she insisted, they decided, “It must be his angel.”

Again after they may have just finished praying for Peter's safety and Rhoda screams it's Peter! They all thought she was crazy. What does this have to say about their confidence in their own prayers? What about the confidence in your prayers? Do you pray with hope or confidence?

God answers prayer in one of three ways. Yes, No, or Later and he knows which one is best for you. Even though you may not agree at the time. The answer to your prayers may be right in front of your nose.

Zapped

In reading Acts 9 this morning when Jesus zapped Saul I was reminded about the pure power, and mystery of God.

For one Saul had in a sense got permission to hack into every one's computers and was able to see all of their emails and browser history. If any one talked at all about being a Christian they made his most wanted list. He then sat out to get everyone of them. Keep in mind he had already been apart of killing other Christians.

Next as he was on his way to do this he got zapped, a bright light knocked him down and blinded him. Now this sounds feasible to me because I've watched enough military shows to know about less than lethal weapons. But the interesting part is the light did not affect the others traveling with him.
Some thing that is not mentioned is what in the world would these other guys have been thinking?

Then there is Ananias a Christian who Jesus told to go to Saul. I am moved by his faith, for he knew enough about Saul that he was afraid for his life but was obedient enough to Christ to go anyway. Could we do the same?

Verses 15 and 16 are the most interesting to me in the whole chapter they say:

But the Lord said, “Go, for Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of Israel. ¹⁶ And I will show him how much he must suffer for my name’s sake.”

This is where I see the power and mystery of God. After everything Saul had done and was planning to do Jesus said this is who I choose to use. Why would he do that? Then in verse 16 he says I will show him how much he must suffer. If you read the rest of the Bible you will see that Saul became Paul and he suffered greatly for the name of Christ, clear up to death. Saul/Paul however was obedient to the end, along way from where he started.

Now we must think if God could use a man like Saul, what can he do with you. What are you willing to suffer for his name? How far will you go? How can you do the same?
As with Saul/Paul I think the answer is obedience to Christ.
Take a minute today and read the full account of Saul's conversion in Acts 9. I'm sure you will be blessed.

What are people saying about you?

What are people saying about you? Reading Acts 4 this morning, this is what I would like to have people say about me. Perhaps you would too.
Acts 4:13
 ¹³ The members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, for they could see that they were ordinary men with no special training in the Scriptures. They also recognized them as men who had been with Jesus.

I realize that I have a long way to go but it's a goal.
The ordinary and no special training I've got that part down pat. Being recognized as with Jesus (so to speak) working on that. Amazing people by my boldness a very, very long way to go on that one.

Now what about you? Where do you fit in this verse? What do you want people to say about you? More importantly what would Christ want people to say about you?
Some very good questions to think about today.

The Key to Uncertainty

In reading Acts 1 this morning I was reminded of the key to facing everything.

Acts 1:3
 ³ During the forty days after his crucifixion, he appeared to the apostles from time to time, and he proved to them in many ways that he was actually alive. And he talked to them about the Kingdom of God.

When Jesus went through everything that he did on the cross, then died and rose again he very well could have just said my work is done here and just went back to Heaven and been with God. But he didn't, he stuck around for awhile because he had a purpose. He knew how important everyone knew for sure that he was alive and Acts 1 tells us that he is in deed alive.

This made me think of for me one of the most moving hymns I know, "Because He Lives."  Below you will find the lyrics from this song. I hope they have the same effect on you that they do on me. Read them slowly and carefully.

God sent His son, they called Him Jesus
He came to love, heal, and forgive.
He lived and died to buy my pardon,
An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives.

How sweet to hold a newborn baby,
And feel the pride and joy he gives.
But greater still the calm assurance,
This child can face uncertain days because He lives.

And then one day I'll cross the river,
I'll fight life's final war with pain.
And then as death gives way to victory,
I'll see the lights of glory and I'll know He lives.

And then there is the chorus:

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow.
Because He lives, All fear is gone.
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living just because He lives.

That is why these words in Acts 1:3 are so very important to me:

and he proved to them in many ways that he was actually alive

BBQ Joint Reviews

With my new found love of BBQ I have decided to rank and review the places that I have been to. Keep in mind I am still limited in the places that I have been and have not been to the BBQ hot spots in the country like Memphis and Kansas City. I will update this list as my waist line and billfold will allow.

* Overall rating 1-5

1. Jethro’s Des Moines and Altoona *****  

Full service dining a barbeque place with a sports bar vibe, with an extensive menu for a BBQ joint. The smoked steak at the Altoona location needs to be tried once.

Sauces: a vast variety of sauces. The original is the best they offer and one of the best I have had.

Ribs: for me the perfect combination of smokiness, dry rub.

Pulled Pork:  The pulled pork is smoked well, some good bark and consistent.

Brisket: Always good.

Sides: Overall the best sides of any BBQ place that I have been. The Hot slaw is the best. The Mac and cheese is good also. The coleslaw is at the top end.

Overall: The best total dining experience. I have eaten here plenty of times is always consistent. Be prepared to wait for a table, it’s worth the wait.            

The best value on the menu is the ½ rack and two meat dinner for two which comes with four sides.

2. Jimmy Jacks Iowa City *****

Limited service dining (order at the counter) for limited service dining the staff is very friendly and helpful. The menu is extremely limited nothing but BBQ.  Limited seating and backless chairs are one of the only drawbacks. All the food is served on or in paper.

Sauces: a good variety of sauces the original is good but the Cowboy is there best and one of the best I have ever had.

Ribs: So far the best I have had, somewhat sweet and a good full smoked flavor.

Pulled Pork: good smoked flavor

Sides: again the sides are extremely limited only three to choose from. I don’t usually eat French fries but these are the best I have ever had.  

Overall: When it comes to just plain meat and sauces this place has the best. I will drive to Iowa City just to eat here. Have been impressed each time with the staff.

3. Rib Crib ****

Full service dining chain expanded menu. I have only been here once and it was some time ago. All I remember was the ribs and they were good.

Sauces: I just remember liking the one I had.

Ribs: Can be ordered wet or dry I preferred the wet and they were very good.

Sides: good selection of sides.

Overall: The ribs left a very good impression on me for only eating there once. Mason City is the only Iowa Location  

4. Woody’s Smoke Shack Des Moines ***

Limited service dining, neat atmosphere, food served in and on paper

Sauces: only two to choose from both good but not outstanding.

Ribs: a strange but not bad rub no smoke flavor in the ribs, not a very meaty rib, mine was over cooked

Pulled Pork: No bark, no smoke, and a tad stringy for me.

Sides: limited nothing to write home about

Overall: I came out smelling like smoke but never tasted any. On the positive side they had a pan of corn bread out to eat with honey and it was the best corn bread I have had in my life.

5. Bandannas **

Full service dining chain restaurant with somewhat of a sports bar feel

Sauces: a variety to choose from I did not care for any of them.

Pulled pork:  has a good smoky flavor with some good bark.

Sides: A good variety of sides. The coleslaw was very good.

Overall: the sauces ruined the trip for me but we did have something that is not listed on the online menu I think they were called donut holes they were like a mini funnel cake and were very good.

6. John’s Shamrock Barbeque Ainsworth Iowa *

Full service dining expanded menu, dark dated dining

Sauces: a variety to choose from I did not like any of them

Ribs: good smoked, flavor nice bark, I could not find a sauce to put on them I ate them dry.

Sides: a vast variety to choose from nothing stood out.

Overall: The sauces ruined the trip for me. They had sauerkraut soup on the menu that the Shamrock used to serve which has been a favorite of mine for years but this one fell short of what I remembered.  

7.  The Q Des Moines

Full service dining, expanded menu

Do not order the barbeque.  This place in not even worth my time to write a review.

Got Joy?

It is easy to rejoice in the LORD when things are going well, but how much better would it be to be in a place where you can still rejoice in the LORD when things are not going so well. Habakkuk 3:17-18 is a good reminder of that

¹⁷ Even though the fig trees have no blossoms,
      and there are no grapes on the vines;
   even though the olive crop fails,
      and the fields lie empty and barren;
   even though the flocks die in the fields,
      and the cattle barns are empty,
 ¹⁸ yet I will rejoice in the Lord!

This also reminds me of Job 2:10 after losing everything his wealth, kids, and health his wife asked him to curse God and die. Job replied with some very wise words:
¹⁰ But Job replied, “You talk like a foolish woman. Should we accept only good things from the hand of God and never anything bad?” So in all this, Job said nothing wrong.

Not blaming God and being able to accept what we see as bad is the beginning of joy and I would much rather have joy than happiness. Happiness is fleeting but joy runs deep.

It takes sugar to turn lemons into lemonade, and it takes God to turn bad into joy.

American Idol

If you thought you were going to get my take on this year's show, surprise. I have enjoyed it more than I thought I would. But Habakkuk today made me think about idols in America today. We think of the Old Testament day as being a time full of idols, but in America today their aren't any less and possibly even more. First we have to get a proper definition of an idol. Below is Webster's definition of an idol.

1: a representation or symbol of an object of worship; broadly : a false god

2 : a likeness of something 

3: a form or appearance visible but without substance 

4: an object of extreme devotion 

5: a false conception 

 

Our definition of an idol should be anything we make more important than God.

An today in America there are many things that fight for the title of more important than God and we all have different ones. Our jobs, our homes, our stuff, the list could go on forever. The question is what's fighting for your attention? In thinking about this just remember Habakkuk 2:18-19

 

¹⁸ “What good is an idol carved by man, or a cast image that deceives you? How foolish to trust in your own creation— a god that can’t even talk! ¹⁹ What sorrow awaits you who say to wooden idols,‘Wake up and save us!’ To speechless stone images you say,‘Rise up and teach us!’ Can an idol tell you what to do? They may be overlaid with gold and silver, but they are lifeless inside. 

 Do not put your trust into things that are lifeless inside instead put your trust in the ONE who gave you life.

By the way I think a Scotty, Jacob or Casey will win American Idol.

Comes with instructions

As I was reading Titus 2 this morning verse 12 reminded me of something. It says:
¹² And we are instructed to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures. We should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God,

What I was reminded of is anything with value comes with instructions and we tend not to read them. But there is nothing more valuable than your own life and believe it or not you came with instructions too. If you look around your house you'll probably find it. On the front or on the side it will say Bible. Pick it up and read it. Everything you really needs to know is in there.

But...... What about them?

I finished reading the book of John this morning and I find the verse 22 very interesting.
These are the very last words that John records Jesus as saying.

John 21:22
Jesus replied, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? As for you, follow me.”

Jesus knows mankind all to well. We spend so much time saying what about them? It makes me think of someone who get singled out in a line of traffic for a speeding ticket. Their response is likely "what about them"?
This also makes me think of one of my other favorite verses  Job 38:2

“Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorant words?

I think that Jesus is giving us all some very good advice here. I think what he is saying is don't get all wrapped up in what everyone else is doing or not doing but make sure you are following him. If you are truly following him everything else will naturally fall into place. This is by no means an excuse not to speak of Jesus but speaks of God's sovereignty.

Are you one of those people?

Today as I was reading about Peter's denying Jesus three time I remembered a recent comment that was made to me at work a couple of weeks ago. Out of the blue someone said "I heard that you were a pastor." Before I tell you how I responded read          John 18:17-18
¹⁷ The woman asked Peter, “You’re not one of that man’s disciples, are you?”
   “No,” he said, “I am not.”  ¹⁸ Because it was cold, the household servants and the guards had made a charcoal fire. They stood around it, warming themselves, and Peter stood with them, warming himself.
 
When I read these verse Peter did really two things first and worst he denied, second and as equally as bad he just stood around. I am the type of person that really likes to be prepared before I answer any question. However when they said I heard that you were a pastor that was nothing that I would have ever been prepared for. So now I had some choices one was to just to politely say no and walk away, another would have been to do like Peter did and say no and then stand around and blend in. But thanks to words that were given to me from above I said no I am not, then took the opportunity to explain the roles that I do play in the church and I also said as Christians we are not all pastors but should all be ministers.
 
As you are reading this you may be thinking good for Mike. Please don't think that at all because comparing that to Peter's situation is not entirely fair. In my situation I did not feel threatened at all, where Peter did. One question that I continually ask myself is how would I react if I did feel threatened? I'm still not sure.
 
You should ask yourself the same question and prepare yourself for your answer
 

You won't find it on EBay.

The greatest gift of all "salvation" in a sense has a do not open until death sign on it.
I realize this point could be argued but what I am trying to say is that we will not get the full benefit from this gift until we get to Heaven. With that said I think John 14:27 describes the second greatest gift we could ever receive and it does not come from Lowe's, a car dealership, a jewelry store or the mall. You can not even buy this gift on EBay.  John 14:27 says:

 “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.

What could you face today if you truly had a peace of mind and heart? You can not experience true peace without having a relationship with Jesus. Like he says right here it comes from him you can't get it  at Wal*Mart or anywhere online. The cool thing is you can open this gift right now by not running from Jesus anymore.
You can get it just by developing your relationship with him. You will still have troubles in your life, those will not go away in a fallen world but you can still have a peace in those troubles.