By Brad Campbell –

Just a thought to help start your week.

You’ve not heard from me via these “thoughts” in a week or so, and I have a fairly good reason. Among several other things that have been going on in our small little world, our eldest daughter was married this weekend to the love of her life, and we couldn’t be more proud.

This simple little sign was attached to their back window as they drove off the other evening. Just two little words, but they mean so much — “Just Married.” Of course they mean that the couple just got married. But think of it this way — Am I “just” married? Do I “just” do what I have to do and no more? Do I “just” call myself a Christian, or do I live like one?

My wife and I were “just married” nearly three decades ago, but it has been so much more than “just” marriage! There have been ups and downs, laughter and tears, and happiness and sorrow. We are so much more than “just” married. We are in love.

So let me ask you one simple thing this week. Do you “just” call yourself by His name, or are you in love with Him?

“Just” a thought!

Just a thought to help start your week.

We have adjusted our clocks to reflect the time change.  Autumn has officially arrived.  Just look around you at all the beautiful mums in a variety of colors, such as this bright yellow one.

I don’t know why this particular plant is called a ‘mum’.  Perhaps someone looked at one and said, “Mmmmm, that looks pretty,” and the ‘mmmm’ eventually turned into ‘mum’.  Or maybe some kid said, “Hey Mum, I like your pretty flowers!”

Well I doubt either of those scenarios is really true.  But regardless of why this plant is called a mum, may it never be that we Christians are called mum.  We should be quite the opposite – speaking up, speaking out, and making a difference in this world.

There is no time to be mum!  We have an increased urgency to share the Good News with the world around us – a world so dark most days that it desperately needs to see the light.

Enjoy the bright mums this fall season.  But even more so, pledge with me – No more mum!  I have a story to tell!  And folks are truly dying to hear it.

Just a thought.

By Brad Campbell –

Just a thought to help start your week.

Fall is in the air.  Temperatures are slowly dropping.  Even the warm water in the pond has a mist settled over it because of the cooler air.  The colors of the leaves are changing, and everyone I meet on the street seems to have a new spring in their step, similar to the one they get when winter has finally disappeared and warmer weather arrives.

So, if a change in seasons can be so beautiful, so uplifting, so encouraging, why are we so scared of changes in our lives?

Jobs change.  Families change.  New little ones arrive while others have gone on to leave us behind for a little while.  These changes can be scary, or at least make us uncomfortable, so we dread the changes.

Isaiah 40:8 tells us that “the grass withers and the flowers will fade away, but the Word of our Lord will stand forever.”  While the uncertain ever-changing world spirals all around you this week, hold close to the fact that God’s Word will never change.  When He tells you He loves you, He means yesterday, today, and forever.  When He promises to walk beside you, guide you from ahead, and push you from behind all at the same time, believe it!

God is good.  God is love.  That doesn’t change.  Try to be the one who provides stability in your circle this week.  Folks need to see “no change” for a change!!

Just a thought.

By Brad Campbell –

Just a thought to help start your week.

On display in the museum adjacent to The Alamo in San Antonio, Texas, are many items relating to that battle and the people and area around it.  Among those items are the ones pictured here – Sam Houston’s sword and David Crockett’s rifle.  Both of these men, long gone, are remembered for their refusal to back down and their stance for their beliefs.

My wife and I are proud owners of a handful of old Bibles given to us along the way from now deceased relatives or their family members.  These precious items remind us of loved ones long past and their stance for their beliefs as well.

In the end, a sword is just a sword, and a rifle is just a rifle.  But a Bible – well that’s a different story entirely.  This is mainly because God’s Word never changes.  It does not rust or decay.  Once hidden in our hearts, it is kept and not forgotten.  Even the pages of those well worn Bibles will one day be gone, but His Word will stand forever.

This weekend, my family and I were able to attend a homecoming service and I was blessed to preach at the church where my father pastored for nearly three decades.  Older ones have gone on.  Younger ones sit in their pews.  But the Word was still the same!

As you stand this week, stand on the memories of those gone before us.  Stand on the fact that their causes were great.  But stand even taller on the Word of God, and allow it to lead your way in the week ahead.

Just a thought.

By Ryan Kelly –

Most people only see sin when it results in a noticeable outcome like divorce, theft, bankruptcy, or some other painful outcome. The result of the sin is seen, but often the source is unseen.

Biologically, a fungus is only seen when the reproductive portion of the organism rises above the surface. This is seen most often with mushrooms. The mushroom is not the body of the fungus itself, it’s the evidence of the rootlike mycelium body under the surface. This mycelium is the true organism, not the visible mushroom. If you tear off the mushroom, the fungus lives on. To kill the fungus, you must kill what is underneath.

For us, we can fix the visible result of sin. We can force people to be sexually pure, to not get a divorce, to not steal or make bad choices. But unless we eliminate the evil and sinful desires of the flesh, we are fooling ourselves to assume that sin is not with us.

We must attack what is below the surface and in the name of Jesus destroy the sin within us. Through the power of Jesus darkness cannot stand against the light (John 3:20). Draw to Him, and sin will have no choice but to flee from you. This is one important step at seeking righteousness through your relationship with our Savior.

Just a thought to help start your week.

Have you ever wondered what a dog might do if it ever caught its own tail while running in circles?  Well, this deer wasn’t actually running in circles, but it had just about caught its own tail here.

Some weeks have us running in circles, don’t they?  I’m sure most of us have a full calendar, whether we have meetings or places to go or things to do in our own self-imposed hurry-it-along schedules.

Don’t get so caught up running in circles that you miss the world around you this week.  A dog spins and spins chasing its tail, all the while oblivious to our laughter.  Had this deer actually caught its tail, I would have been amused whether the deer noticed me laughing or not.

You can spin in circles all week long if you choose.  But in doing so, you might never actually catch up.  And, the other folks around you are quite amused by watching, whether you realize it or not.

Slow down.  Stop.  Quit spinning.  Get your bearings.  Focus on the priorities.  And then go straight ahead into the week, knowing you can cover more ground for the Kingdom by walking a straight line than you ever could by spinning in circles.

Just a thought.

By Brad Campbell –

Just a thought to help start your week.

Have you ever thought about how you would like to be remembered?  Today happens to be Columbus Day here in the good ole USA.  We remember Christopher Columbus, who is credited with discovering America.  Interestingly enough, did you know that native American tribal governments and school systems do not observe this holiday?!  So Columbus is remembered by all, but only celebrated by some.

You’ve heard me speak of my treks to graveyards.  On one recent trip to a rather dilapidated old cemetery, I ran across this grave, or rather a group of graves.  I assume that the custom built structure is one grave.  There is another grave marker propped here on one end.  There are at least 3 markers stacked on top of the original structure.  And, what you can’t see in this picture is that there are another 2 grave stones propped haphazardly against the other end.

I doubt seven people are buried in this grave.  Only two of the markers had any legible names still on them.  Are they all gone and forgotten?  Doesn’t anyone remember?

How will you be remembered when you are no longer on this earth?  Let’s challenge each other to make the world a better place this week by sharing the love of Jesus.  Granted, not everyone may remember us, and even if they do, it may not be fondly.  However, let time worry about those things.  Concentrate on how you will be remembered for the life you live TODAY.

By Brad Campbell –

Just a thought to help start your week.

This photo was made on a trip to Nashville, Tennessee, a fascinating city.  As you look at this photo, you are looking toward downtown Nashville with its many entertainment-related venues and restaurants.  I’ve always been fascinated by a city’s downtown.  Downtown seems so daunting, but adventurous.  So large, and yet so manageable.

I think of Johnny Cash and “Walk the Line”.  When I think of visiting “downtown” I think of the many times I walked a line to downtown as a kid, for any number of reasons.  I think of countless family trips to Memphis and Nashville.  I think of walking downtown St. Louis and Washington, D.C.  Each place very large, but each so accessible.  In every location, there is the possibility of danger, but there are also many trained professional officers protecting the public.

If I can relate that picture of a large place to one of a larger personage, allow me to say that the men and women who stand in defense of our nations, our downtowns, and our neighborhoods each and every day stand larger than life, both adventurous and approachable, both fun and all-business.

Countless emergency service personnel in the form of police officers, EMT’s and other ambulance personnel, and those in the armed services put their lives on the line for each of us – some of them doing so many times a day.  They stand large, ready to defend.  They stand large, families of their own to represent and protect.  They stand large because we need them.

And yet, it seems as if our officers also stand these days with a target on their backs.  I’m straying from my usual Monday morning focus to remind us each in the week ahead to pray, pray, pray.  Pray for our emergency personnel.  Pray for those who need defending.  And, today, thank God Himself that even when those who serve so well seem to be the focus of an attack of evil, they continue to walk the line for us each day.

This week, I’m asking all of you, my confidants, neighbors, friends, and loved ones, to please take a moment and pray specifically for the families of three young officers from my home state of Mississippi who were taken out of this world by violent means this weekend.  They deserved better.

Evil is rampant.  I pray your week ahead is free from it.

 

By Brad Campbell –

Just a thought to help start your week.

From time to time, I spot woodpeckers just like this one hard at work in our back yard.  This particular bird is steadily tapping on the tree, no doubt looking for a meal.  Constantly searching, constantly feeding, always hard at work.

In those words is a very clear picture of the way God the Father wants His children to spend our days.

We should be constantly searching for Him in our lives, searching for the Truth in front of us, searching for ways to be a much greater witness in the week ahead.

We should be constantly feeding on His Word, taking it in as nourishment to our souls at every possible opportunity, whether in our own private study time or in church worship gatherings.

And, we should certainly be constantly hard at work, but not just hard at work at our present employment.  We must be hard at work in sharing the love of Jesus with a hurting world all around us.

Mimic the woodpecker in your week ahead

Just a thought.