By Brad Campbell –

Just a thought to help start your week.

This is a simple concrete birdbath.  It sits in a public place not far from where I live.  This particular day, it was unoccupied, but it was full of water.  Why would a birdbath need water if there are no birds around?  Why the water if it isn’t being used?  Why have a place for hot birdies to cool off if they don’t take advantage of it?

Why be kind?  Why smile?  Why share a pat on the back or a hug?  Why bother?  Because somewhere stands the one person who needs it!

Somewhere close by there are birds that will take advantage of the cool water of that concrete birdbath.  If the water wasn’t there, they would have to go elsewhere.

If we aren’t kind, loving, and sharing with the world around us, then how will they receive it?  The Bible asks us these questions. “How will they hear unless they are told?  And how will they be told unless we tell them?”

How will the world feel loved, how will our neighbor come to know Jesus, how will we ever make a difference unless we are first willing to share?  You keep a birdbath filled with water because the birds will soon need it.  You share the love of Jesus in this very messed up world of ours because even though they may not realize it right this minute, they need it!

How will our world ever change for the better, unless we are willing to make the effort too?

Just a thought.

By Brad Campbell –

Just a thought to help start your week.

The world is full of evil.  That statement is not a revelation to any of you.  What may catch some of you off guard is that we are the world.  At the root of all of it, there is evil – sin.  And there seems to be such a distance between good and evil.  Two very opposite ends of the spectrum.  Yet, they are connected, because we are the connecting link.  We look around and see the sin and evil, failing to realize that but by the grace of God, there we go as well.

The picture I’m sharing is one of many I’ve taken through the years of our National Mall in Washington, D.C.  Using the ‘zoom’ on my camera, this shot is taken from the Lincoln Memorial looking across the reflecting pool through the World War II Memorial, past the Washington Monument, to the United States Capitol Building.  Each of these spots seem very close when you look from one to the next.  However, there is a distance of two miles from the Lincoln Memorial at one end to the Capitol Building on the other.  Each is separated by distance.  But they are all connected because of where they stand.

We look at the sadness, destruction, and riots across our country, and we think that because we are separated by distance, it isn’t anything with which to concern ourselves.  Yet, we all stand connected as citizens of this great nation.  And yes, I said great.  There is no making it great, or returning it to greatness.  The United States of America has always been great.  And we should stand united in prayerful support of our leaders.

The reality is we are all connected.  Through it all, we can see the pain and the greatness from one end to the other.  Evil will always be present at one end.  But praise God, He is always at the other.  Just look!  Through it all, He has not moved!  Great is our God.  Stand united and proclaim His greatness this week!

Just a thought.

By Brad Campbell –

Just a thought to help start your week.

Quarantine.  Lockdown.  Social distancing.  Call it what you wish.  We all have different opinions and emotions wrapped up in this experience.  Congregational worship has been changed for all of us.  And although some have learned how to broadcast through the internet, tune in to a radio or television preacher, or even attend a drive-in type service, none of these can compare to being in God’s house in person with other Christ followers and Bible believers engaged in corporate worship!

This photo is of my church.  You know, I have always cringed whenever I would hear a preacher of any kind refer to a church with that phrase – “my church”.  It is, after all, not mine.  It is God’s.  It is ours.  We make up the church.  To say it is “my church” implies that it all belongs to me, all the people answer to me, and I am in control.  Well guess what.  I am far from in control, but I am so thankful God is!

And because all these days, weeks, and months we have been forced to find other places and ways to worship instead of appearing inside the church building, I looked at my photo and automatically thought, “I’m so ready to be back in my church!”  My church.

I claim it.  Not arrogantly, but because I long to be there.  I’m ready to be back worshiping together in God’s house, in our church building, in my church – filled with my fellow believers, my friends, my family members, singing my favorite hymns, and worshiping My God!  This week, name it and claim it.

Looking forward to being back inside my church.

Just a thought.

By Brad Campbell –

Just a thought to help start your week.

I’m sharing a picture of a flower garden with you this week.  If you’re like me, you need to see some beauty in the midst of the chaos.  Many people are struggling really hard right now in many different areas.  We are trying to remain strong for those around us.  And yet, some days are dark and dreary, much like some stormy days we’ve had recently.

We need to see some beauty.  So here is a picture of a flower garden.  There are different types of growing plants.  There is an arch and a pathway on which to walk.  There is open space.  Perhaps you have flowers growing in your yard or in pots sitting in your kitchen window.  Focus on the beauty.

The simple beauty of the world around us can actually bring us much closer to the Creator.  You wander around in the garden, and you realize you are much closer to Him.

This particular little garden just happens to be across the street from the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.  Not only is God’s beauty present, but His church house is nearby.

I believe our response to any crisis can make or break us.  Our attitude about the difficulties can carry us along or bring us down.  Our own focus on the situation can help or hinder us.  All of those things are in our power.  Ours.  On what are you focused?  The dirt, danger, and distress?  Or the beauty in the midst of it – the helpers, the heroes, the individuals who are working so very hard to maintain some beauty in this hurting world.

Stop and smell the flowers.  You’ll be glad you did.

 

Just a thought.

By Brad Campbell –

Just a thought to help start your week.

The world in which we live is changing rapidly, many times daily.  One thing our COVID-19 quarantine or shelter-in-place orders have given us is more time, it seems.  Of course we’ve always each had 24 hours in our day.  But doesn’t it seem as if a lot of those hours were wasted?  For so many of us now, there seems to be the extra time we’ve wanted for reading a good book, cleaning out the garage, or simply enjoying the beauty of God’s creation.

This particular picture is from the beautiful Anna Ruby Falls near Helen, Georgia.  These water falls, as beautiful as they are, require time and effort to reach.  You must hike quite a ways up a mountain side pathway in order to experience the beauty of the falls.  But I assure you, the time is well worth spent.

How are you spending your time?  Believe me, I understand that there seems to be trouble all around us.  Folks are in a panic.  The economy seems to be in trouble.  Jobs are in jeopardy.  Our health is in danger.  However, God hasn’t changed.  He hasn’t moved.  He is ever-present.  He knows all about it.  And the beauty of His creation is something to behold.

The birds are singing.  The roses are more beautiful than I’ve seen them in several years.  And the clear cool water will continue to flow.  Sometimes it requires an effort to behold, though.  Maybe you can’t leave your home or property right now, but get up out of that easy chair.  Explore the yard or just sit by the window or on the back porch.  You might not see a water fall, but I can promise you that God’s beauty and His presence are evident all around you.

Try focusing on nothing but His beauty this week.  It won’t necessarily make the problems go away, but your focus and your attitude (and perhaps your blood pressure) will all benefit.  At the top of that mountain side, the beauty of the water falls and surrounding area was breathtaking.  And this was so, because we did not focus on the long, very steep hike back down the mountain!  We were only focused on the beauty of it all.

Praying for a beautiful week for you.

By Brad Campbell –

Just a thought to help start your week.

This little sign hangs in my bathroom.  It simply says, “Live Like A Wildflower”.  I’ve always thought it was a neat little sign, but only lately have I begun to really think about what it means.  How does one actually live like a wildflower?

Well, you’ve heard me, perhaps more than once, remind us that we are to bloom where we are planted.  We are to make a difference right where we are.  That could be part of what this means.

But I think it goes a little deeper than that, especially right now.  You see, wildflowers are hearty.  They are strong and resilient.  They pop up where and when they choose.  My yard currently needs mowing.  In the midst of the grass are little wildflowers.  There are tiny blue ones, small white ones, blooming clover, and the occasional dandelion.  A wildflower is strong because it overcomes adversity.  It grows through the weed jungle, popping up sometimes in cracks of the concrete or asphalt, and wherever else it can.

Right now, in our ever changing world, perhaps for the first time in some of our lives, we really understand the truth of never knowing what tomorrow holds.  So let me challenge us each to live like a wildflower.  It’s ugly out there.  The world needs a bright pop of color.  Folks need to see God’s people standing strong in the midst of the mess.  We must make a different on the concrete or asphalt this week.  Live like a wildflower.  Overcome adversity.  We must.  The world depends on it.  And God expects it.

Just a thought.

By Brad Campbell –

Just a thought to help start your week.

Spring is literally on its way.  The birds are singing their praises to the Master all around us, and the days are a little warmer.  It won’t be very long until you’ll see the dogwoods blooming, if some aren’t already.

Look closely at the dogwood flowers.  I’ve always heard that the dark spots at the ends of the 4 leaves represent the marks in Jesus’ hands and feet from being nailed to the cross.  The center of the flower represents the crown of thorns.  And in a sense, the 4 petals make up a cross shape.

God certainly is in the nature around us.  My question to you this week is, “Is our nature found in God?”  Or worded a little differently, “Is our nature Godly?”  This simple little white flower seems to represent the great love of Christ.  Do our lives represent that same love?  Can folks look at us and see the marks of Jesus?  Can they see the scars of life representing the things He has brought us through?  Do we represent Him in our world?

Spring means light and life, sunshine and warmth, beauty and new birth.  Does your life represent these things?  Praying you have a ‘spring’ in your step this week, and that the light of Christ warms your heart and the heart of those with whom you share.

Just a thought.

By Brad Campbell –

Just a thought to help start your week.

One of my neighbors’ bulls took a chance with getting caught in the fence and tried tasting the grass on the outside.  In fact, he probably would have never noticed me going by, had I not stopped to snap his picture.  For whatever reason, all the grass in the several-acre pasture didn’t satisfy him and he reached outside for something different.

How often does the grass seem greener on the other side?  How often do you catch yourself during the week daydreaming about doing something else, something different, something exciting perhaps?  I have a feeling most of us are guilty of that from time to time.  But I also have a strong feeling that God placed us in our current pastures because He wants us there.

Perhaps He intends for us to focus not on where we think we could be, but on where He has already called us to be.  In our several-acre pasture full of promise, with much green grass still to explore and many friends roaming the pasture with us in need of knowing the Shepherd.

In your week ahead, I pray you’ll remember that it’s never wrong to look outside the fence, to pray and to want to be more for the Lord, but don’t let that keep you from being all you can be right where you are!  Look around. Of all the cows in the pasture, you are the only one with his head stuck between the fence boards.  Maybe the others all knew what you seem to be just figuring out.  The grass really is greener right here at home!

Just a thought.

By Brad Campbell –

Just a thought to help start your week.

Some of you probably have pictures similar to this, or you’ve at least seen them.  This is our last name, but represented by photos of different objects for each letter.  This and the cross you see as well are hanging on our living room wall.

Now I don’t need my name plastered on my wall in order to remember who I am.  But our name is displayed with the cross that represents His Name.  For my name (me, myself, and I) is nothing without His Name.  Without Him, I truly am nothing.

Our church choir has recently been practicing a song entitled “Your Name,” and I woke up with the words going through my head this morning.  “Your Name is a strong a mighty tower.  Nothing has the power to save but Your Name!”

There is no power in the name of Campbell.  In fact, the original meaning of that name is “crooked mouth.”  Oh, but His Name!  His Name is the reason I’m alive today and forever.  My name displayed along with His.  The wall is complete.  Nothing else is displayed there.  Who do you and your name represent this week?

Just a thought.

By Brad Campbell –

Just a thought to help start your week.

Besides the holidays each year, November or December bring with it for my household a reminder that the cat, “Patches”, is due for her annual shots.  Patches is an outdoor cat, and she has the freedom of roaming the area where we live.  In her eleven and a half years, she’s only disappeared twice for more than a day at a time.  She’s like me most of the time, a homebody.  So when the time comes for a trip to the vet, she has to be tricked by treats or petting or whatever so that I can hold her long enough to shove her into her crate.  You can see from my picture that this is not a favorite activity of hers.  Neither is it one of mine.  However, it is something that certainly must be done.  It’s the plan, the schedule, the necessity to help keep her healthy and safe.

Ever feel caged up by life?  Maybe you feel that you were shoved into your circumstances by some invisible hand against your will, out of your plans, wild-eyed and wondering what could possibly come next.  Think on this.  What if the Maker never grabbed us up and brought us in for a checkup?  What if He never called us home, gathered us in His arms, and yes, sometimes, allowed a cage to hold us down, so that He could take care of what’s best for our lives?

Patches’ shots are necessary for her.  The short trip to and from the vet’s office certainly does her no harm.  And once it’s all over, I open the cage doors, and she runs off into the yard to do whatever it is that cats do all day, none the worse for wear.  And soon the trauma of the cage and the vet and the shots are all forgotten, just another part of making it through life.

And one side thought.  Because I am allergic to the cat, just the short time with her on vet day gives me a very scratchy throat and headache for the rest of the day.  But I do it because it’s necessary.  I dare say that God gets no enjoyment out of having to reel us in for a checkup either, but He does it because it’s necessary, because He loves us.

May your cages, your checkups, your shots, your trauma, by God’s design, be helpful and oh-so-temporary.  Endure.  For the child of God, it won’t be long until those cage doors are opened by His hand once again!

Just a thought.