The After-Oakdale Chronicles

a fine day to get rid of the old you.

“…throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception.”  Ephesians 4:22 NLT

Harsh words, indeed, and there will be many who will insist, “I wasn’t that bad.”

Most of us, though, will acknowledge the truths contained in that little bit of scripture. Most of us know that we did have a sinful nature; that our lives were corrupted by lust and lies. When we lay it all out on the table and look at it one last time before we get rid of it, we can see our behavior for what it was.

Our sinful nature is hidden by darkness, “But everything exposed by the light becomes visible…” (Ephesians 5:13a NIV).

Once we have decided to embark on the journey that will change our lives on earth and guarantee us a place in the Kingdom of God, we will begin to see tremendous changes in everything we think, see, hear, and do. While we will always be sinners (there is simply no escaping that), we can leave our sinful nature behind us if we reach out to Christ and ask Him to help us do so.

Accepting Christ as our savior and “getting rid of the old me” does not make us perfect, of course, but it does bring us closer to the perfection of the Lord, and by maintaining that closeness through prayer, meditation, fellowship, and worship, we can continuously reflect that light which we have allowed to shine in our lives.

Even if someone has lived a lifetime with no love for God and has only one day left in life, it is better to “get rid of the old you” and live that one day in the light of the Lord than to never have experienced His love at all.

In other words, no matter how long we have worn the cloak of sin, we can shrug it off and rejoice at how good we look and how good we feel wrapped up in our new cloak of light.

For some of us, taking that step is difficult. After all, that cloak is comfortable – well-worn and broken in. But that is the nature of sin. That is satan doing his job, packaging his product to make it appealing. But do not be fooled. It’s time to change your wardrobe and discover just how wonderful you look in a wardrobe of God’s love.

Get rid of the old you today, and discover the joy that awaits in the new you.

And for those who have already done so, today is a fine day to pray for those who haven’t and thank God for His love for us all.

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Taken from “TODAY IS….A Gift From God”, (C) 2013 Tony Casson

the perfect day to clean up your temple.

“In the temple courts He found men selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money.”  John 2:14 NIV

Jesus was justifiably upset upon entering a place built to worship God and discovering that it had been turned into a marketplace where people gathered to make a profit. The temple was intended to be a place where people could go to feel closer to God and worship Him but it had become difficult for those who wished to use it for its intended purposes to do so.

Humans being human, that was not the only time that Jesus discovered it being used for something other than prayer. He certainly was angrier another time as He knocked over tables “and said unto them, ‘It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.’” (Matthew 21:13 KJV).

There are those who use church as a place to “see and be seen.” For some it is more of a place to make a business contact than it is to make contact with God. The lesson Jesus was trying to teach was that the temple should be kept clear of sin, corruption, and greed and only be used for the spiritual benefit that is derived from fellowship, prayer, and worship.

Our bodies are also temples in the eyes of God.

“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?” (1 Corinthians 6:19 NASB).

So the lesson we learn from Jesus clearing the temple is one we need to apply to ourselves as well as our church. We all need to ask ourselves, “Is my body a worthy dwelling place for the Holy Spirit?” Are the things we use our bodies for in keeping with what God intended? Do we treat our bodies with respect? Are we clean and groomed, yet not obsessed with our physical appearance? And what about the inside of our temple? Is it a place where we can feel closer to God? Is it a place that is kept clear of sin, corruption and greed? Do we ‘sweep’ it out regularly with prayer and confession? Do we “scrub the walls” of our hearts and our minds with the Word of God?

We are human after all, and as such we are constantly and relentlessly exposed to temptation and opportunities to set up a “flea market of sin” within our very own hearts, minds and bodies. We must all look to clean up and clear out our own temples and continually inspect them to ensure that they remain worthy of the presence of the Holy Spirit sent by God.

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Taken from “TODAY IS….A Gift From God”, (C) 2013 Tony Casson

a great day to ask God to help set your goals.

“Then He said to them, ‘Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”  Luke 12:15 NIV

Can we really claim to love the Lord and then turn around and completely disregard His instruction?

Perhaps we think this statement does not apply to us, but let us consider it for a moment: When we set goals for our lives, on what are we basing them? We should be looking to God for guidance when we set goals, but many of us don’t do that. We succumb to the pressures and the temptations of society and far too frequently we allow greed and envy to control our objectives. We allow advertisers on television, radio, and in print to convince us that our goal should be to buy this car or that TV or this particular phone.

Our goals slowly become more material based and less spiritual based and as a result our time is committed to the efforts to acquire these material possessions.

Jesus’ brother James warned Jewish Christians living outside of Palestine that they should exercise caution in making plans without including God in the process.

“Instead, you ought to say, ‘If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.’” (James 4:15 NIV).

For many of us it is difficult to allow God to be responsible for the direction our lives take. Our confidence is not always what it should be because our ability to see things as God sees, and to understand things as God does, is simply not adequate and our trust is not great enough to take God at His word and accept His promises.

“For the Lord God is our sun and our shield. He gives us grace and glory. The Lord will withhold no good thing from those who do what is right.” (Psalm 84:11 NLT).

And what is right is to ask God to light the way for us and to help us determine our goals.

We would all do well to remember that God put us here for His pleasure, for His glory, and to achieve His purpose. Those material things that we focus on, which cause us to lose sight of many of the teachings of Christ, will not necessarily be denied us if we are living our lives and working towards goals that have been blessed by God. He loves us so He will deny us nothing, but it would do us all well to step back and examine our goals and the influence behind them.

It is acceptable to desire to use your talents and abilities to enrich your life materially, as long as you have God’s blessing, and you can receive that quite easily. All that is required is that you ask God to help you set your goals in the first place. When you do that, everybody wins, and the Lord is happy.

And if God is happy with you, how can you be unhappy in life?

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Taken from “TODAY IS….A Gift From God”, (C) 2013 Tony Casson

a good day to know where to go when you are hurting.

“Never abandon a friend – either yours or your father’s. When disaster strikes, you won’t have to ask your brother for assistance. It’s better to go to a neighbor than to a brother who lives far away.”  Proverbs 27:10 NLT

We are all aware that a life full of the glory and the grace of knowing God does not mean there will be no times of hardship. It does not mean that we will never know the suffering that accompanies the death of a loved one. It does not mean tragedy will not befall us, nor does our relationship with God mean we will never lose a job or have a car accident.

It is not written anywhere that we are safe from any of these trials, as well as others, and there certainly are no guarantees made to that affect anywhere in the Bible. Quite the contrary, in fact. That subject is addressed throughout the Bible, as in Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians when he described what was taking place at the churches in Macedonia.

“They are being tested by many troubles, and they are very poor. But they are also filled with abundant joy, which has overflowed in rich generosity.” (2 Corinthians 8:2 NLT).

So in spite of all of their troubles, they appeared to be full of joy. How can this be? Because of their relationship with God. They obviously knew to turn to God first in time of trouble, but they seemed to also have learned another valuable lesson: To look towards each other for strength and support.

The Lord is the first person we turn to for anything in our lives. God also wants us to turn to our families for support. Spouses, children, brothers and sisters. Unfortunately, our brothers and sisters often live far away, and our troubles may concern the health – or even the death – of a spouse or child. While our spiritual comfort can certainly be found in the Lord, He wants us to turn to our friends and our neighbors who are close to us and can offer the physical comfort that we all require from time to time.

While God can listen to our hearts, and our distant family can listen to our voices, our next door neighbors and close-by friends can give us a much needed hug, hold our hand, cook us a meal, sit with us for a while, take us to a movie, go for a walk with us, watch our children, or any one of dozens of other things that can mean so much to us in our times of need.

In your time of need, always look to God first. And by all means go ahead, pick up the phone and call a relative far away. Then seek out those friends and neighbors who are close-by and always available to help when you are hurting.

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Taken from “TODAY IS….A Gift From God”, (C) 2013 Tony Casson

an excellent day to make sure the inside of the cup is clean.

“You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also.”  Matthew 23:26 NASB

Jesus was a kind, compassionate, loving, humble, generous, healing person who was slow to anger.

But He did get angry at times.

One of the things that produced the most anger in Him was hypocrisy, which is to pretend to have beliefs, feelings, or virtues that one does not really have. Hypocrisy was particularly offensive to Christ in Jerusalem, when He was confronted and challenged by the religious leaders there.

He cautioned His disciples and the crowds of people who listened to Him.

“So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach.” (Matthew 23:3 NIV).

How it must have pained our Lord, Jesus Christ, to say those words: “But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach.”

This is a powerful message, as well as a powerful lesson, to us all.

How often do we see leaders in our communities, our state and federal government, who insist that we all behave one way, but violate the very laws they are sworn to uphold? How often do we see our own religious leaders caught up in scandals as a result of behavior that is the exact opposite of the way they teach us we are supposed to behave?

We become rightfully indignant when those we are supposed to emulate turn out to be hypocrites. How dare they violate our trust?

But wait a minute.

What about ourselves? Do we ever present ourselves as being clean on the outside when we are decidedly less than clean on the inside?

We all need to hear Jesus’ warning to those He was speaking about in Jerusalem when He said, “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside, you are filthy – full of greed and self-indulgence!” (Matthew 23:25 NLT).

Granted, there were times when our Lord spoke in parables as He taught His disciples and others. There were also other times when He was crystal clear, and this was certainly one of them and even though those words were spoken so very long ago, we would all do well to heed them. Many of us fall far short of having “cups” that are as sparkling clean on the inside as they are on the outside.

We would serve ourselves, our friends, and our families well if we would heed the words of Jesus Christ and start doing our cleaning from the inside.

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Taken from “TODAY IS….A Gift From God”, (C) 2013 Tony Casson

a superb day to put first things first.

“Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.”  Exodus 20:13 KJV

“That’s an easy commandment to obey,” you insist. “I would never worship anyone or anything but God.”

Surprisingly, even for many of us who believe our faith is great, it is not as easy as we may think, or insist.

Most of us are also aware that this is the first commandment. But why should it be first? Simply because without God, we are nothing. God created us, God gave us life, and God should be the most important part of our life. We should turn to God first no matter what our mood is or needs are. Just imagine for a moment what the world would be like if everyone accepted Christ and did what He told the Pharisee.

“And He said to him, ‘you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’” (Matthew 22:37 NASB).

“But I do that!” you cry.

Be patient, because some of us will learn a disturbing truth.

Jesus also told the Pharisee lawyer what the second most important commandment is: “The second is like it, ‘you shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22:39-40 NASB).

If we all really understood, and practiced, what Christ was telling the lawyer, we would definitely put God first, but we would also put other people before ourselves.

Still think that you do this?

How many of us can honestly say that our desire for material possessions doesn’t sometimes drive our actions? How often does what we do take precedence over our relationship to God and who we are? How often do we put God on the back burner to take care of ‘me’?

Why do we find it so difficult to believe Jesus Christ when He said, “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need.” (Matthew 6:33 NLT).

No matter how much we try to kid ourselves, money and material things often become our primary focus, and the Bible clearly teaches us that.

“Who but a fool would make his own god – an idol that cannot help him one bit?” (Isaiah 44:10 NLT).

Money – fame – power; these are all modern day idols. They achieve ‘god’ status for many of us without us consciously making them so.

In today’s world it is easy to forget what truly should come first in our lives, but we must endeavor to put things in their proper order. God must always be our first priority, and the only focus of our worship. When we put God first and involve Him in everything else we do, our lives will achieve a fullness and a richness beyond anything we could ever imagine.

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Taken from “TODAY IS….A Gift From God”, (C) 2013 Tony Casson

the ideal day to make sure we are still on the right path.

“Mark out a straight path for your feet so that those who are weak and lame will not fall but become strong.”  Hebrews 12:13 NLT

“Recalculating, Recalculating.”

In this day and age of rapid technological advances, when it comes to traveling, it is very difficult to get lost. With the navigation systems available for automobiles, even if we intentionally stray from the course we have set, we will hear the system inform us that it is recalculating our path.

When it comes to our journey through life, the Lord desires that we all arrive at the same destination, but He also knows that the routes traveled to get there will be very different. Some will be quite direct, while others will require constant “recalculating.” Unlike the systems in our cars that will automatically do this for us, we must show some responsibility and reach out to God for His help in keeping us headed for our glorious final destination of eternal life with Him in His Kingdom.

Since the very nature of our journey should be one of excitement, joy, and anticipation, it stands to reason that we will want others to share the journey with us, or at least follow us. With other people following our lead, we want to make sure that we are constantly “recalculating” to make sure that we have not strayed off course.

This is accomplished by awareness of who we are and what our relationship with God is. Are we including God in all aspects of our lives? Are we relying upon Him to carry our burdens? Do we spend time with Him daily through prayer and by reading the Bible? Do we look to the Lord for guidance and blessings in our decision making? Do we thank Him and praise Him for clearly marking our path so that we walk towards Him with confidence and encourage others to follow?

While navigation systems for cars, boats, planes, and walking are inexpensive and readily available, they will only show the directions from point ‘A’ to point ‘B’. They will not tell you how to deal with problems and difficulties that will occur along the way. Fortunately, these are exactly the sorts of things that a relationship with God will provide: guidance, wisdom, advice, comfort, counsel, strength, confidence, and much, much more.

By all means, use your navigation system when taking that trip to grandmother’s house.

But for your journey through life, rely on God to do your ‘recalculating’ for you and keep you on the right path.

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Taken from “TODAY IS….A Gift From God”, (C) 2013 Tony Casson

a wonderful day to be used.

“Now He uses us to spread the knowledge of Christ everywhere, like a sweet perfume.”  2 Corinthians 2:14b NLT

Much is written about allowing God to use us for His purpose.

The Bible itself instructs us to allow ourselves to be used, informs us that God will use us, and gives examples of how He uses people and things to accomplish His purpose.

Our responsibility is to willingly submit ourselves to being used by God as He sees fit. We are a tool that we must make available to Him to use when He wishes, and for the purpose He best feels we are suited for. If we have special talents or abilities, we must recognize them as gifts from God and ask for His guidance in using them to suit His purpose and not our own.

After all, “Is the axe to boast itself over the one who chops with it? Is the saw to exalt itself over the one who wields it? That would be like a club wielding those who lift it, or like a rod lifting him who is not wood.” (Isaiah 10:15 NASB).

Perhaps our belief is that our talents and abilities are too simple for God to use.

Some of us may feel that we have not been blessed to the degree, and in the same way, as others. We may feel that we are of not much use to God. Fear not, for there are numerous examples in the Bible of God using very average people and very simple things to achieve very great purposes.

Through Elisha, God used a simple jar of olive oil to fill many other jars of olive oil to assist a widow who owed money to a creditor and was in danger of losing her sons to slavery.

When all the jars she had, plus all that her sons could, find were full, “She went and told the man of God, and he said, ‘Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left.’” (2 Kings 4:7 NIV).

With simple horns, God enabled Joshua to break down the walls of Jericho.

He used a clay jar to enable Jeremiah to provide an object lesson of God’s wrath.

With the water from a river God enabled Elisha to cure a man’s leprosy.

And, of course, with only five loaves of bread and two fish, Jesus fed over 5,000 people.

The mother of Jesus was a simple peasant girl, and yet she was told, “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus.” (Luke 1:31 NASB).

Simple things and ordinary people.

It may be beyond our ability to comprehend just how God wishes to use us. It is only important that we willingly, and joyfully, make ourselves available to Him and pray for Him to use us as He desires.

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Taken from “TODAY IS….A Gift From God”, (C) 2013 Tony Casson

not a good day to stand in the hot coals!

“Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned?”  Proverbs 6:28 KJV

Do you obey God’s commandments?

“Thou shalt not kill.” (Exodus 20:13 KJV).

This is one of God’s commandments that the vast majority of us obey. But what is the motivation for that obedience? Are we afraid of God? Or are we afraid of the laws of man?

Perhaps we are just decent people who cannot conceive of taking another person’s life.

“Thou shalt not commit adultery.” (Exodus 20:14 KJV). As we all know, this is another of God’s commandments. Unfortunately this one is broken far too frequently. Why is that? Are we not afraid of God? Are we not decent people? Can we only be trusted to do the right thing when humans make a law?

A considerably higher percentage of people wear seat belts because it is man’s law than the percentage who honor the sanctity of their marriage in spite of the fact that it is God’s law.

Aesop said, many years ago, “Familiarity Breeds Contempt.”

It would take contempt for someone to violate the trust and fidelity that should exist in a marriage. It is true that the more familiar we are with someone, the more apt we are to see those aspects of their personality, character, and plain old humanness, that are negative or unpleasant. So many of us today, men and women alike, have succumbed to that other old adage, “The Grass is Always Greener On the Other Side of the Fence.”

More than likely this appears to be true, but if it is looked at closely, we can see that it is that way only because it is not our grass.

Marital infidelity and sexual sin are such a part of our lives and our society today that we hardly give any of it a second thought. Every popular television show must contain some sort of sexual impropriety or it would undoubtedly fail. The only time the flames of passion are fanned are when the fire is consuming an adventurous or otherwise inappropriate relationship.

We have been warned by God that if we play with fire we will get burned.

“So it is with the man who sleeps with another man’s wife. He who embraces her will not go unpunished.” (Proverbs 6:29 NLT).

The same goes for a woman who sleeps with another woman’s husband. Yet we ignore God’s warning, God’s law, and God’s promise of punishment.

We ask a lot of God, but what about what God asks of us? And does it really make sense to fasten your seat belt, but ignore God?

Probably about as much sense as it makes to take your shoes off and stand in the hot coals.

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Taken from “TODAY IS….A Gift From God”, (C) 2013 Tony Casson

a terrific day to remind ourselves that God loves even the worst of us.

“Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good?”  Matthew 20:15 KJV

Many individuals live their entire lives in the light of the Lord.

They spend time each day reading the Bible and meditating on its message. They offer praise to God for all of their blessings and they pray for their own souls and for the souls of others. They worship at their church regularly, participate in the many missions of the church, and give time and money to help others who are less fortunate. They are good husbands and wives, good parents, helpful and considerate neighbors, and loyal friends. Always sharing a smile and a good word, the impact that Christ has had in their lives radiates from within and is an inspiration, as well as a motivation, for others. They have sacrificed much in service to the Lord, but have also been richly rewarded.

Other individuals come along who are as unlike the individuals described above as night is to day.

Their lives have been lived in a way that demonstrates the power of evil. They have lied, cheated others, and stolen from anyone they could. Cloaked in darkness, they have sinned in almost every way imaginable. They have lived lives of sexual immorality, greed, lust, and violence. Thinking only of themselves, these individuals drank and carried on with no regard for who they inconvenienced, who they hurt, or who they dragged down into the darkness with them. Never once did they go to church, pray to God, or read the Bible. The only time they even mentioned God was when His Holy Name was taken in vain.

One day, late in life, they had fallen so low they could not go any further. From somewhere deep within, a spark ignited a small fire. That small fire lit the fuse of their faith, which exploded in a sudden understanding that something had been missing from their lives. From that understanding came a need for God.

And standing there ready to show them the way was Jesus Christ.

As perfect as the first group of individuals sounded, there developed a jealousy towards the second group for they knew something that the second group was just beginning to understand: God loves us all unconditionally – even the worst of us. No matter how we have attempted to disrupt or destroy our lives, when we cry out to Jesus, finally, for help, we will find the same love, in the same measure, as those who never strayed.

If you are in the first group and have ever known someone in the second group who has finally cried out to the Lord, do not be jealous. Be happy that another stray has found his or her way back to the Shepard.

And if you are in that second group, be thankful that God is merciful, forgiving, and full of grace.

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Taken from “TODAY IS….A Gift From God”, (C) 2013 Tony Casson