Koxie's Diaries

Recently I preached a message called The Enemy called Mediocrity in church. The message was God's specific word to me for the year 2013. It felt like He was preaching to me! He was screaming at me and scolding me to get my butt off my sedentary lifestyle and live my life to the full; to empty myself of all that He had deposited in me so that I don't go to my grave full. I dare say my life hasn't been the same since that day and I feel I must put this message up somewhere where it can be accessed and read by someone... someday... Who knows, by reading this, your life might receive that same dramatic change mine did. Below is an excerpt from that message:  Mediocrity means moderate to inferior in quality; lacking exceptional quality or ability; having undesirable or negative qualities; not very good or great, ordinary, average, second-rate, insignificant. Mediocrity is a silent, yet deadly enemy of man’s destiny and purpose; many fall into its trap at some point

Happy New Year! Looking forward to what this new year might bring, I can’t help but wonder if 2012 will be the year when Jesus comes back. But then I also wonder if I’m ready. All of my life I’ve had to “be ready.” As a child, I had to be ready for dinner by washing my hands. As an adult, being ready for important responsibilities continues to be an ongoing reality. But I’ve come to realize that nothing is more important than being ready for our reunion with Jesus. Speaking of Christ’s return, John tells us that “everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself” (1 John 3:3). Looking forward to Jesus’ return fills us with hope—not a wish-list kind of hope, but a solid expectation that motivates us to keep our hearts from sinful distractions and rivets our attention on becoming more like Him. If we really believe that this might be the year of His return, we will be more ready to forgive, to seek forgiveness, and to share God’s unconditional love with others. As we consider the possib

Our Church was saddened to learn this week of the death of one of our most valued members, Someone Else. Someone's passing creates a vacancy that will be difficult to fill. Else has been with us for many years and for every one of those years, Someone did far more than a normal person's share of the work. Whenever there was a job to do, a class to teach, or a meeting to attend, there was one name on everyone's list: "Let Someone Else do it." Whenever leadership was mentioned, this wonderful person was looked to for inspiration as well as results; "Someone Else can work with that group." It was common knowledge that Someone Else was among the most liberal givers in our church. Whenever there was a financial need, everyone just assumed Someone Else would make up the difference. Someone Else was a wonderful person, sometimes appearing superhuman. Were the truth known, everybody expected too much of Someone Else. Now Someone Else is gone. We wonder wha

My mother used to ask me, "What is the most important part of the body?" Through the years, I would take a guess at what I thought was the correct answer. When I was younger, I thought sound was very important to us as humans, so I said, "My ears, Mommy." She said, "No. Many people are deaf. But you keep thinking about it and I will ask you again soon." Several years passed before she asked me again. This time I told her, "Mommy, sight is very important to everybody, so it must be our eyes." She looked at me and told me, "You are learning fast, but the answer is not correct because there are many people who are blind." Stumped again, I continued my quest for knowledge. Over the years, Mother asked me a couple more times and always her answer was, "No, but you are getting smarter every year, my child." Then last year, my grandpa died. Everybody was hurt. Everybody was crying. Even my father cried. I remember

By Horatio Gates Spafford 1828-1888 Born: October 20, 1828, North Troy, New York. Died: October 16, 1888, Jerusalem, Israel, of malaria. “Praise the Lord, O my soul.” Psalm 146:1 It is well ... with my soul! It is well, it is well, with my soul. HYMN HISTORY: This hymn was written by a Chicago lawyer, Horatio G. Spafford. You might think to write a worship song titled,'It is well with my soul', you would indeed have to be a rich, successful Chicago lawyer. But the words,"When sorrows like sea billows roll ... It is well with my soul”, were not written during the happiest period of Spafford's life. On the contrary, they came from a man who had suffered almost unimaginable personal tragedy. Horatio G. Spafford and his wife, Anna, were pretty well-known in 1860’s Chicago. And this was not just because of Horatio's legal career and business endeavors. The Spaffords were also prominent supporters and close friends of D.L. Moody, the famous preacher. In 1870, however, t

Between you and I, I am not seeking human approval, not even yours. I do not need it. But I am living and dieing for the approval of one man, Jesus Christ. Many of our problems are due largely to our insistence on living as though the invisible is non-existent when in reality, Existence is Invisible. All things are possible when you develop the habit of going into the presence of the invisible God and asking, "Lord what do you think about this" and then acting on whatever is revealed to you. There is no knowledge outside God. To know anything on any matter, no matter how lofty or how mundane, just ask the Creator. He exists, He can hear you and He wants to help you, seriously. God reveals secrets. You can know what is known only to God. Who am I? I do not know, I did not make myself. But my life is a process of finding out and unfolding who I am. You do not know me. I do not fully know me. I am a process, being transformed daily. I know who I have been up till today but I hav