Set Up

Then Samuel said to the people, “Do not fear. You have done all this wickedness; yet do not turn aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart. [1 Samuel 12:20 NKJV]

Is God gracious and merciful or what? I mean, how could He possibly overlook those things the Israelites had done over the years? Well, they are His chosen people and it is apparent that He intends on keeping His promises to them; no matter what. They asked for a king to rule them instead of Him; He gave them one. After warning them, He still gave them one knowing what tragic consequences they would endure because of their misguided choices. His love for them is such that He was willing to let them have what they wanted even though it would bring hardship upon them. Have you ever been the victim of your own choosing? I have. When I was ten years old my best friend and I decided we wanted to chew tobacco. His mom and dad owned a store and we used to drool when they would cut off a plug of “Bull in the Woods” for some guy. We waited until one day when his dad was in the back and had us watching the store for him. We cut us off a chunk and took off! We hid behind the store and began chewing like cows in green grass. We swallowed as much of the juice as we spit out. When we became ill from it, I remember going home and mom panicking because she thought I had been poisoned! Dad did not seem too concerned though. It was years later when dad told me that he had overheard us discussing our plans and relayed it to my friend’s dad; yep, we were set up. I believe that God will do the same thing every once in a while. No, He never sets us up to fail but He will give us the desires of our hearts; even though they may not always be what we should have chosen. The good news is; He is still there for us. Ready and willing to put us back on the right track. He gave us Jesus in order to reconcile us to Himself following our rebellion. Dad and my friend’s dad never reprimanded us for our little fiasco; they let us reap the consequences as our punishment. God did the same thing for Israel. Just as our dads never quit loving us as sons, God never quits loving His children. Yes, He will allow His children to suffer dire consequences of their actions but He is ready and willing to forgive them if they are ready and willing to repent. Sin brings mortal consequences upon us. Unforgiven sin brings immortal consequences upon us; eternal destruction in hellfire. Have you been making some bad choices lately? Are you suffering the consequences of your actions? Then listen to the words of Samuel today: “Yeah, you’ve done all this junk, but put it behind you, come back to God, and then serve Him with all your heart.” I lost my best friend in 1983 as a result of a car accident; he never chewed any more tobacco though and neither have I.

Pretty Doggone Fair

"And yet Israel keeps on whining, 'That's not fair! God's not fair.' "I'm not fair, Israel? You're the ones who aren't fair. [Ezekiel 18:29 The Message]

“It’s not fair!” Oh my, how many times have we heard that? I have an advantage when it comes to pastoring; God blessed Glenda and me with wonderful children; twin boys and a daughter! When we were driving down the road in the minivan and would have to resolve issues by taking something away from one or the other to stop them from hitting each other with it only to hear the shriek cries of; “that’s not fair”, and then answering with the most common answer ever given to kids from parents: “Life is not fair.” I had no idea then that God was preparing (priming) me for the pastorate!

While standing at the graveside committing the body of the infant child and looking upon the wrenched faces of the young parents I have said it. Sitting in the hospital room watching the dear old Saint that had lived his life for Christ struggle to inhale his next breath I have said it. Watching in Scripture as a thieving murderer was released and an innocent Savoir was condemned to die I have said it. You have said it too. At times when it seemed it was the right or perhaps the only thing to say. “Why do I have cancer and the dope head down the street does not?” “Why did my mom end up with Alzheimer’s and the grumpy old cuss across the street has a good mind at ninety five?” “Why did my child have to die and others are allowed to kill theirs by abortion?” Yeah, you’ve said it; or at least thought it. God knows what is fair. He invented fair. Fair to God is so important that He gave His only begotten Son for it. It is not fair that you and I should be held accountable for the sin of Adam and Eve. It is not fair that we should have to pay for our sin because our two, irresponsible ancestors, failed to obey God. Therefore God made it right. He took their sin, and ours, upon Himself. He turned the curse of death into a transition of life; eternal life. Are we grateful for it? Do we treat Him fair by accepting His offer of redemption? Do we treat Him fair by trusting Him in every aspect, every moment, every event, every tragedy, and every stage of our life? Do we treat Him fair when we feel He is not treating us fair? Ouch! Being treated fair does not mean we will be treated equal. Jesus went to the Cross and was abandoned and left to suffer and die on it by God. He did it so that we would not ever have to be abandoned by God. I don’t know about you, but I think that was pretty doggone fair.

The Naked Truth

Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. [Hebrews 12:2 NKJV]

Oh no! I’ve overslept! I forgot to set my clock ahead Saturday night and now it’s almost ten thirty! Then I am at my office hearing all the people coming in to church. I go out to greet them and realize; I am just in my underwear! I try to sneak past everyone back into my office to find my clothes and the next thing I know, I am standing in front praising with the choir; and still in my underwear! Oh Lord! I cannot go into the pulpit in my underwear! Then, as you have figured out by now; I wake up. That was Friday night. When Saturday night came you can bet I checked several times to make sure I set our clocks right and that the alarm was right. I am still thinking about taking an extra set of clothes and keeping in my office.

Now think about Jesus being humiliated by having His garment stripped from Him. Some like to think they left Him some covering and all the pictures drawn of Him on the Cross have Him covered to protect His dignity; I think they are wrong. All other criminals were stripped naked when they were crucified; why would they not do the same to Jesus? I am sure they did and the reason they did is because we learn from Scripture that Jesus was “In all ways tried (tempted) as we are.” He was humiliated beyond measure that He may empathize with our humility. Sin is the root of humiliation; our first ancestors were humiliated when they realized, after an encounter with the devil, that they were naked. Clothes came to symbolize the covering of shame. The naked body went from being beautiful to its Creator to being perverted by His creatures. The body of Jesus was stripped naked in the end just as the first Adam was in the beginning. The first Adam was clothed by God after being humiliated; Jesus was un-clothed by God to be humiliated; that our perverse ugliness and sinful body of “death” could be done away with that we may once again be presented beautiful and pure to our Creator. God now clothing all of us that “have put on Christ” having accepted Him as our Savior with His righteousness!

(Special Edition) Plan For It Now

Hey Gang,

Felt impressed to share this one asap. I do my best to discern and obey the Holy Spirit.
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Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. ~ Matthew 6:34 (NIV)

My teenage daughter and I were heading out to pick up a pizza. As we came out of the restaurant I asked, “Do you want to drive?” She is only thirteen and knew I was joking. As we drove back home I begin telling her some things about driving. I said, “See that car up there? In just a few seconds we are going to be where it is now. You have to think like that when driving.” Then I said, “The faster you are going, the quicker you will get there.” With that she looked at me like, “Duh, yeah dad.” I told her, “That sounds like something Yogi Berra would say.”

I think that is kind of what Jesus was saying here. We never make it to tomorrow, do we? When the clock passes midnight it becomes “today.” Yesterday we were looking forward to today. Now that we are here, we are looking forward to tomorrow. Let’s stop there. Each day brings new things with it. Some we were expecting, some we were not. Japan never expected the earthquake on Thursday that happened on Friday. There were plans being made on Thursday that did not include an earthquake. That date on many people’s calendars had doctor appointments scheduled, weddings scheduled, meetings scheduled, surgeries scheduled, and funerals scheduled, but not one of them had penciled in an earthquake for 2:46 P.M., Friday afternoon, (their time). Now you can see why Jesus said to concentrate our energy and efforts on today. We have to plan of course but we should plan knowing that our world could be turned upside down. What will we do if it happens? Now lets add another event; the return of Christ. What if on HLN Friday morning instead of hearing about an earthquake in one part of the world, the reports were of thousands of accidents around the world and millions of people were missing? The media would eventually bring up the “rapture” but how many would accept it; especially if they were left behind? Listen, we are heading toward that day; today may be the day. If not, then it will be tomorrow; we don’t know which tomorrow, but it will be one of them. In one of those tomorrows out there; it lurks. At midnight, at high noon, or maybe at ten after two on a mundane Tuesday, a rainy Monday, or a sunny Friday; He will come. There will be plenty of trouble that day. Get ready for it today; let the troubles of today persuade you to prepare for the troubles of tomorrow. If someone had asked a person that perhaps died in the Tokyo earthquake at 2:40 P.M., “Are you saved? Are you ready to meet Christ?” The person would have had only 6 minutes before his decision would become final. Do not pencil in on your calendar, “Will get saved this Sunday.” Do it now.

A Robin. A Worm. A You.

Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? [Matthew 6:26]

I see a robin pilfering through the grass along my ditch line this morning; head turning from side to side as his glaring eyes search for an earthworm pushing its way up through the soft wet soil in order to find the warmth of the sun and the nutrients on top of the ground. Within seconds of piercing the topsoil, the finely tuned eye of the bird focuses on it and what started out for the worm as a journey to find food and comfort becomes a free breakfast for Mr. Redbreast. My daughter Hannah would say, “Poor worm.” Think about that for just a moment; created to be food; fulfilling the will of God by filling the craw of a robin. Consider that the next time you wonder what your purpose in life is! To us that worm is fish bait but to God that worm had a higher purpose. We generally do not value worms, insects, and the like but birds do. God could have made us to be food for birds but rather He chose to put a higher value on us. The only reason you are a human today instead of a robin, an earthworm, a blade of grass, a cuckle burr, or a rock is because God decided before He ever formed you in the womb of your mom to create you in His image. That means, what He had in mind for you; what He imagined in His heart you were to be. An eternal spirit created and designed to bring Him glory with your life. Now you can understand the gravity of the question Jesus asked; “Are you not of more value than they?” Do you mean more to God than a bird or a worm? Absolutely. The worm and the bird have no soul; not created in His image. He purposely designed that little robin so that I may look at him and be awed by the power of the One who created me. He allowed me to look at the bird He created by way of an intrinsic, complicated organ known as an eye; also His creation. How dare you to think that you are not worth anything. All the thought and creativeness that went in to bringing you to life was for the purpose of glorifying your Creator! You please Him by being you. You are priceless to Him; so much so that He paid for you with His own flesh and Blood. Jesus never died for the robin or the worm; only for you. Think about it. Well, got to go, I see a starling in the yard; wonder what he will find to eat?

The Truth Interpreted

No prophecy in the Scriptures ever comes from the prophet's own interpretation. ~ 2 Peter 1:20 [NCV]

“You’re a good interpreter dad,” Hannah said to me yesterday. We had lunch following service with my son and his wife. Hannah said this after the waiter had come to take our orders after we had been surveying the menus for a bit. “How do you figure that?” I asked. She said, “When the guy asked ‘What will you guys be having today’ you interpreted it into your Southern tongue for us.’” All I said was, “Whacha all wont.”

Now I don’t have an issue with my interpretation. After all we southerners have a way of keeping things simple and to the point. I simply used three words to ask the same thing it took him seven words to ask. The Bible has been translated into many different languages so perhaps it is time we got a few Southern scholars together and translated it into our “tongue.” Even if we did that it would still be our take on what God inspired in the first place. Old Pete reminded his readers that these false teachers who were going about teaching their own doctrines were twisting the actual truth. The Holy Spirit inspired him to put these words onto the parchment that we have as our text today. Those whom God used to record His words did not interpret the truth as they saw fit. Although we have the Scriptures translated into hundreds of languages and several versions, the truth still stands as God gave it to begin with. I never argue over a particular version or translation that others may read. In fact I study a bunch of versions and translations. Thomas Jefferson wrote his own version and did not include any of the supernatural aspects of Jesus’ miracles because he believed the four Gospel writers added them on their own. He even left out the resurrection of Christ in his version. That was his private interpretation of the Scriptures. He has found out by now he was wrong. I hold to the belief that God guards His word. I believe what Jesus said; “When the Holy Spirit comes He will guide you into all truth.” The Holy Spirit came when Jesus left. He is here now and will be until the church is taken to heaven. I believe He surveys all the versions, translations, and interpretations that we apply to the Word. Our society today struggles with the truth. Millions do not even believe there is absolute truth. Understandable seeing how as we have been lied to from the White House to the church house. Jesus said that the devil is a liar and the father of all lies and he is still using people to lie today. No, the Bible was not produced by the mind of men putting their thoughts on parchment the way they believed it. The Bible was produced by the Living God inspiring, (breathing into), the truth into the minds of those He used to write it. Peter was an eyewitness to Jesus. If the devil tried to tell him something that was wrong; Peter would have known it. You and I were not there with Jesus but the Holy Spirit was. Therefore I take His Word for it. Bless all yall.

Wheelbarrow Faith

With God all things are possible. ~ Matthew 19:26

“If you say so;” A common phrase among those of us who are not totally convinced that what someone is telling us is true or even possible. People watched as a man walked a tight wire across Niagara Falls. After returning he then walked it again a second time blindfolded. After that he then pushed a wheelbarrow across it blindfolded. The people cheered as he accomplished these feats. He then asked a fellow standing in the crowd; “Do you think I can do that again?” The guy quickly said yes. The fellow then said, “Then how about you getting in the wheelbarrow this time?” Our faith cannot be measured by what we say or even think but rather by what we do. You and I are programmed naturally to reject things that do not appear logical to us. How can you push a camel through the eye of a needle? It has to be a trick question or an impossible feat. The truth is you cannot; but God can. God is the Master of impossibility. His works are not limited by our logical assumptions. He deals in miracles and we live in doubt. Why? Maybe because we have not actually seen Him push a wheelbarrow across a tight wire blindfolded. Could be that we have to take someone else’s word for what He has done. The doctor says, “I’m sorry, but the results are positive for cancer.” A friend says, “I will pray for you; God can heal you.” You think, “If you say so.” You have seen many die from the disease so your human logic reasons that it is only by chance that some survive it. The truth is all survive it. Disease kills bodies; not souls. Jesus saves souls, not bodies. He sacrificed His body that our soul might be saved. Man cannot save a soul, it is impossible for us to do. God can do it though. Look around; do you see any life forms around you at this moment? God created them. So go ahead and put a blindfold on your doubt and get into the wheelbarrow with God; live by faith and not by sight.