Christ put me out of my misery…

13-14Jesus then took the bread and gave it to them. He did the same with the fish. This was now the third time Jesus had shown himself alive to the disciples since being raised from the dead.

Do You Love Me?

15After breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?”

“Yes, Master, you know I love you.”

Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”

16He then asked a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”

“Yes, Master, you know I love you.”

Jesus said, “Shepherd my sheep.”

17-19Then he said it a third time: “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”

Peter was upset that he asked for the third time, “Do you love me?” so he answered, “Master, you know everything there is to know. You’ve got to know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Feed my sheep  John 21 The Message

I have always wondered what Peter must have felt like after he knew he let Jesus down. That glance from Jesus went down to the pit of his stomach when he realized that his big pronouncement of never letting Jesus down went down in smoke. He had failed him.

Were they ever going to clear the air? Was Christ, now that he was resurrected and in their presence, going to say anything to him? He could just zap him. He could just rail off on him. I think it is interesting that Jesus knew that the pain that Peter put himself through was enough, and he did not need to beat him up any longer. There is something about the pain of a guilty conscience that does a work on your character. The scripture says it was the third time that Jesus revealed himself to them. He had two other shots at Peter but did not take them. He did not come out of the grave with a vengeance.

He waits until dinner is over so the conversation would not mess his dinner up. He looks over at Peter and says “Do you love me?” He could have said “Do you know what you did to hurt my feelings?” Do you realize what you have done and how you let me down?” “Do you understand how that affected our relationship? I am the one that made you part of my inner circle, and you did this to show me…?” No, I think as I read this passage, Jesus in a redeeming way looked into the heart of someone that loved him but couldn’t deal with the guilt and asked the question that needed to be above all questions Do you love ME? He really did love Jesus. He had let him down. He had goofed up. His need to be restored is unbelievable. Can you see him jump from the ship and run to the one he loved?

Christ put him out of his misery. He allowed his mercy and grace to convince the young man of his deep love for him. His conversation with Peter was not as with a criminal but as friend to friend. Intimate friends do that kind of thing. Everyone in life will not like me. I cannot make everybody happy. To be truthful I find that it is truer today that I am trying to make fewer people upset at me today than yesterday. I like to be affirmed by the people around me. There are a few, however, that are absolutely essential relationships. I must know that they are all right.

It is an unbelievable experience to be restored in fellowship with someone you love. Thank God that Christ put me out of my misery. I come to him and hear him lean over beside the fire to me and says quietly, “Crooks, do you love me?” I lean back and say - “,I certainly do.” Oh the blessed relief.

They Tried to Stop Him

11 Then the priests and the prophets said to the officials and all the people, “This man should be sentenced to death because he has prophesied against this city. You have heard it with your own ears!”  Jeremiah 26 NIV

8/17/08 China - It is not an accident that the 2008 Summer Olympic Games have the feel of a religious revival - emotion-packed, unifying and ceremonial.

After all, the Olympics began centuries ago as a religious festival devoted to the Greek gods. The original physical contests were sandwiched between processions, sacrifices, altar rituals and banquets. The modern Games, re-established in 1894, used religious elements including the lighting of the Olympic flame, which parallels the ritual performed by vestal virgins at the ancient altar to Hera in Olympia, the Olympic oath that all athletes and officials repeat in unison, and the opening and closing procession of athletes to create an almost supernatural experience.

Beijing’s outsized Opening Ceremony last week fit well within the tradition. It celebrated ancient Chinese traditions, even alluding to sacred texts, Confucian sayings and practices like tai chi.

However, there was one symbolic moment in the extravaganza that revealed China’s unique perspective. Rather than choosing representatives such as astronaut John Glenn, Nobel Prize winner Desmond Tutu of South Africa, Australian champion Cathy Freeman and other notables to carry the Olympic flag as Salt Lake City organizers did in 2002, goose-stepping Chinese military carried Beijing’s flag.

China has long been deeply suspicious of religion, beginning with the Maoist era. At that time, Communist Party officials forbade religious activity by its members or the population. They destroyed thousands of Buddhist monasteries, imprisoned Catholic priests, shut down Christian churches and expelled all foreign missionaries. Eventually, the government permitted five major religions- Buddhism, Taoism, Catholicism, Christianity and Islam - to continue as long as they allowed the state to approve and control their practices. The state even appointed its own Catholic bishops, rather than giving that authority to the pope. It selected an alternative Panchen Lama, a high Tibetan Buddhist official, rather than endorsing the one recognized by Tibetans, and forbids even a single photo of the exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama. The government outlawed Falun Gong - a 20th-century spiritual movement that promotes breathing and movements to purify the soul - and severely punishes its practitioners.

It’s a control issue, says Janet Theiss, director of the Asian Center at the University of Utah.

“These officials care very little about belief, but they do care about people’s behavior and organizational activities,” says Theiss, a professor of Chinese history. “They don’t want religion to become a force for an anti-government movement.”

The Chinese leaders cannot allow Chinese Catholics to revere the pope, or anyone who would challenge believers’ loyalty to the state. Tibetan Buddhism is closely tied to the independence movement, and Falun Gong resembles the traditional, millennarian Chinese practices of Taoism and Buddhism that threatened previous dynastic regimes.

“Memory of that is powerful in China,” Theiss says.

In response to state control, some Christians began to worship together secretly in small groups, known as “house churches.” Since the 1970s, the house church movement has grown exponentially. Even with all the state restrictions, religious activity in contemporary China seems to be surging.

A recent survey on religion concluded that the number of people who describe themselves as religious is a startling three times more than the official estimate, China Daily reported. The poll of about 4,500 people, conducted by professors at Shanghai-based East China Normal University starting in 2005, found that 31.4 percent of Chinese aged 16 and above, or about 300 million, are religious. About 200 million are Buddhists, Taoists or worshippers of legendary figures such as the Dragon King and God of Fortune, and 40 million are Christian, according to 2006 Pew Global Attitudes Project.

Times have changed, and the Communist Party has changed with them, says Paul Hyer, a retired Brigham YoungUniversity expert on China.

Hyer, who taught for three years at a Chinese university and still reads Chinese newspapers every day, says there are several thousand Chinese members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Most joined abroad and now meet in homes.

“A party leader in one province told me young people would rather join a church than the party,” he says.

Now a new kind of Chinese church is emerging: the urban house church, not part of either the state church or the traditional “underground” church. But it is not clear how long such churches can operate without governmental interference.

“They still operate in a gray area, legally speaking,” writes Rob Moll, who spent several weeks last year in Hong Kong and Beijing talking with urban house church leaders for Christianity Today. “Much of their activity has been considered illegal in the past, and though the government seems to be loosening restrictions, churches have no guarantee this will last.”

Storm on the Horizon…

32A Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies:
“Prepare for the worst! Doomsday!
Disaster is spreading from nation to nation.
A huge storm is about to rage
all across planet Earth.” Jeremiah 25 “The Message”

Fay is right out there. “The Hurricane Fay” that is. I have two reasons to be thinking of that storm today. Fred Kosin is serving in Spanish Wells, Bahamas for the past several weeks and is in the throws of what the east side of that storm can throw at them. I am also thinking of Ken Smith this morning who is in Wauchula, Florida and will be facing the same storm predicted to come directly over them with 80 mile per hour winds attached. He has already been through one major storm. It hasn’t been that long when we rode out Hugo right here in South Carolina. I will never forget. May God help us to never forget.

In our readings today (Jeremiah 23-25 and John 19) we are interested in storms as well. God of the Angel Armies is ready to wipe the people off the map for their disobedience and persistent unholy lifestyle. There is a storm brewing and the people don’t even know it. They are not making any preparations. Jeremiah takes a bucket of ripe figs and a bucket of rotten figs as sermon illustrations. Storms of judgment are just around the corner and God is ticked. I felt the lightening bolts as God struck out against the nations. Oh that the people would listen.

John 19 shows another storm where the judgment of sin was dealt with at the Cross. It is hard to read the passage without seeing the judgment on sin and the love that God would have for us in letting that storm blow through Christ’s life. His life is now our life. Storms.

I remember One who can stand in the boat while it is rocking around scaring people to death. Jesus stands in the boat and says “Peace”. Oh that he will speak peace today.

Today is the Lord’s Day, and I get to do what God has called me to do. There are those who will come and the storms are rocking. Their lives in disarray and their marriages in a mess. Folk will struggle like mad with all that they are going through. Storms of cancer rock through lives.

I am hearing Jesus speak “Peace, Be Still”.

They’ll give him a donkey’s funeral…

18-19This is God’s epitaph on Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah:
“Doom to this man!
Nobody will shed tears over him,
‘Poor, poor brother!’
Nobody will shed tears over him,
‘Poor, poor master!’
They’ll give him a donkey’s funeral,
drag him out of the city and dump him.

Jeremiah 22 The Message

2 Kings 24, Jeremiah 22, Psalm 112, and John 18 seemed to be random readings for me this morning. I am also reminded again of how God interrupted me again this morning. I forget who it is that told me this, but I was reminded “that people always remember the last thing you do and not the first things”. No matter how good the start it is how you finish.

Last night Michael Phelps finished well. He never stopped. How he started the race was instrumental to the success of the race. However, it was his last second push toward the wall that allowed his defeat over his opponent by on hundredth of a second. It was the difference between a gold metal and a silver metal. There was no doubt that he finished well. He is now the most celebrated individual in Olympic history. He finished well.

For the record let’s just say that Jehoiakim was a pig - a real low-life of a leader. He exploited people to build his own expensive splendid house. He ignored justice and righteous living. He had no intention of obeying God. He was horrible leader. He reigned as king for 11 years and his reign was filled with abominable acts against God. His execution of Urijah, a prophet of the Lord. He killed the man of God as well as burning the Word of God. He actually tore it into pieces and burned the record written by Jeremiah. You can kill the man, burn the Word of God but you cannot get one ounce of it by the God of the Angel Army ( as one writer put it).

Let’s see. Phelps practiced and focused his attention on winning the Gold Metal and has been rewarded for his actions. One writer called it the “Great Haul of China”. Phelps still has one more race to swim. He has been a record setting champion. Listen to Mark Spitz former Gold Metal icon: “”It goes to show you that not only is this guy the greatest swimmer of all time and the greatest Olympian of all time, he’s maybe the greatest athlete of all time,” said the icon of the 1972 Munich Games. “He’s the greatest racer who ever walked on the planet.” Finishing well? I think so. America is proud of her champion.

How did Jehoiakim fare for his - they gave him a donkey’s funeral - drag him out of the city and dump him.

I want to finish well…

He wants me to go with him…

24-26Father, I want those you gave me
To be with me, right where I am,
So they can see my glory, the splendor you gave me,
Having loved me
Long before there ever was a world.

Ok…it’s Friday. This time of the week it gets kind of cloudy in my head. It is my day off. I enjoy doing something completely different - like cleaning my office at church and at home. It is remarkable how cluttered one can get a place when you are always in a hurry. I am reminded that I need cleaning about as much on the inside. It takes time. It takes focused energy. Getting the clutter cleaned up is a matter of taking one thing at a time and doing something permanent with it. There are things I picked up today that simply needed to be escorted to the little file box I call a trash can. I wish I had the sense to simply get rid of it the first time I messed with it. There are some things that I need to trash because they are simple distractions for me.

I was reading John 17 this morning. It is the greatest recorded prayer in the Bible between the Son of God and His Father. How He loved His Father. The love between them is powerful. Out of that loving conversation, I was reminded that Jesus chose me and wants me to be with Him. There must be something unbelievable about seeing His glory and the splendor God gave him in heaven. I know that glorious presence caused folk to tremble and mountains to shake. His presence and His glory were so powerful that to look at it on this side of heaven would cause death. However, the glimpse that the three gathered with Jesus on the mount transformed their lives as Jesus talked with Moses and Elijah.

His desire for us to share in what he has in glory must be some more experience. I cannot wait. However, until then I am going to look with confident expectation as one of these days I will be living by sight and not by faith. Oh, he wants me to be with him.

Keith Green

For those of you over 50 (and for some others who are younger) the name Keith Green in Christian Music is a standard.

And for those of you who are not satisfied with him on the piano only this next clip is the full recorded version of the same song…enjoy!

Bravo, God, Bravo! Encore!

7 Bravo, God, Bravo!
Everyone join in the great shout: Encore!
In awe before the beauty, in awe before the might.

Psalm 96 The Message

This morning I was captured by God’s beauty and his might. He demonstrates his beauty all around us. Nature explodes with his beauty. Whether I take a microscope and look deep into a cell, or whether I take a telescope and search the heavens all I find is myself captured as I look at God’s beautiful creation. He is unbelievably beautiful in His perfection. To think that one of these days I will stand in his presence and behold the glory of God. That same glory would cause the earth to tremble, the skies to light us and thunder to clap, it would cause that beautiful light around the nation of Israel as they camped around the portable tabernacle. To think that all of heaven is living in the glory of God and all of his beauty is powerful for me this morning.

I celebrate his might. He is powerful to save as one of my friends says from the gutter-most to the uttermost. There is nothing beyond his power. HE can heal and He can destroy. He is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all I could possibly ask or think.

As I live today, God, let me shout Encore! Do it again and let me shout Bravo, God, Bravo!

How Great is Our God.

Make Your home in Me…

4“Live in me. Make your home in me just as I do in you. In the same way that a branch can’t bear grapes by itself but only by being joined to the vine, you can’t bear fruit unless you are joined with me. John 15 - The Message.

Connection with God is absolutely important. We are not built to be self sufficient. We have no innate coordinates that would allow us to connect with vital information that will get us anywhere but in trouble. That is the nature of being separated from God. We were built by God with a need to be connected to Him.

I became a believer at age eleven and at that moment God placed in me His presence in the Holy Spirit. He is there. He has made His connection. His instructions to us are to live in Him. We are asked to make our home in Him. It fits for a child of God to live in Christ. It is being separated that is so weird.

I find a need to be in constant connection with the Father. His part is solid. My part is where the struggle is. I find in my own life, there is a nagging awareness that I am selfish about a lot of things in my life. On a good day, I want to do things my way. However, God spoke again to me this morning through this text to remind me nothing of eternal value happens “by itself”. I am helpless without Him. He is my guide.

I have made my home in religion for years now. I get frustrated with people who are just like me. We rub each other the wrong way, our perspectives do not match, our views of how things are to be done vary, and we live on this side of eternity. To live above with saints we love that will be glory. To live below with folk, we know now that’s another story. Religious activity stresses and burns you out. There is nothing life giving about religious activity.

Being connected to the vine is another story. Making myself at home in Him is another level. Think for a moment. You never see the root of the vine. You can tell whether it is connected. One can tell whether things are right by looking at the vine and the branch. Looking at the fruit lets you know where your root is planted. I want to make my home in Christ and allow my life to reflect my love for Christ.

I was moved again this morning by the song “There is None Like YOU”

Another Friend

15-17“If you love me, show it by doing what I’ve told you. I will talk to the Father, and he’ll provide you another Friend so that you will always have someone with you. This Friend is the Spirit of Truth. The godless world can’t take him in because it doesn’t have eyes to see him, doesn’t know what to look for. But you know him already because he has been staying with you, and will even be in you!  John 14

Watching people win thousands of dollars by picking the right suitcase is not one of my fondest activities. However, it is interesting to notice all the friends you have when you win a lot of money. “Friends” like that want part of the winnings. I remember that in high school it was the one with the most money in their pockets that was the most popular at the time. Let the money run out and the friendships end.

Real friends are those who know all about you and still like you. They continue to hang around you regardless of what is going on in your life. Real friends.

This morning I was captivated by Jesus’ desire to make sure we were not alone. God is over us. Jesus was with us. However, our new Friend, the Holy Spirit, lives IN US. A Gift from the Father fit for a king. He never sends the cheap stuff. He always sends the BEST! He is our Friend. What a friend. He will not leave us alone.

Good morning, Holy Spirit. Let’s get busy with today. I will follow your lead.

Bring back the Passion…

34-35“Let me give you a new command: Love one another. In the same way I loved you, you love one another. This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples—when they see the love you have for each other.” John 13

Being reminded to love one another is so familiar that it’s not a new thought much less a new commandment. However, God put that in context for me this morning as I remembered that my love for other people is an overflow of my own love for God. If I struggle in the area of loving one another then it seems to follow for me this morning that I must be struggling in my love for God.

A Principle: Passionate love for Jesus Christ does not fade by an intentional decision, but by unintentional neglect.

I substitute unintentionally activity for Christ with abiding in Christ.

I unintentionally substitute knowing about Christ with intimacy with Christ.

It is not my desire, but I let legalism replace love at times.

I also substitute the things of this world with the things of God. I don’t intend to. It is not my heart.

It also follows that passionate love for others does not fade by an intentional act, but by unintentional neglect. What happens in my walk with God affects the way I act toward others.

God asked me if I loved him this morning. I quickly answered yes. He then reminded me to let the love that I have for Him overflow in the relationships around me.

Revelation 2 reminds me this morning to remember who Christ is, and what He had done for me. I am also asked to repent of the sin of not loving him with all of my heart soul and mind and from not loving others as I do myself. I am also asked to remember here where I went off track and start again for the first time loving God and letting it affect the way I love others.

I want more than “just a life”

24-25“Listen carefully: Unless a grain of wheat is buried in the ground, dead to the world, it is never any more than a grain of wheat. But if it is buried, it sprouts and reproduces itself many times over. In the same way, anyone who holds on to life just as it is destroys that life. But if you let it go, reckless in your love, you’ll have it forever, real and eternal. John 12:24-25

“…it is never more than a grain of wheat…” It is expected to be so much more than a grain of wheat. It has the potential of so much more. The difference is it refuses to die to this world so that it can blossom in its potential in the next.

There are so many fatal consequences of an inordinate love of this life. I find myself wrapped up in it as much as the next fellow. I watch people as they hug themselves to death. They seem to loose their live by loving it. In order to find the potential one must die. “Sprouting and reproducing myself many times over” seems inviting to me.

I am reminded this morning of Ortega’s song “Give Me Jesus”. There are many things screaming for my attention. Just give me Jesus!

Thank God for Tums - Extra Strength

18“It’s the way you’ve lived
that’s brought all this on you.
The bitter taste is from your evil life.
That’s what’s piercing your heart.”

Jeremiah 4:18

I love coffee. I love coffee from St. Arbucks! (That’s Starbucks for you Auburn fans) Venti latte with three Splendas is my choice. Some have said that real men drink coffee strong and black. They suggest that those who drink “girl coffee” are not real men. I am suggesting that I really do like espresso. In fact, I am drinking Starbucks as I write this morning.

I am assuming that about two hours the caffeine will cause me to wonder where I put the Tums. Too much of a good thing causes me to have a bitter taste in my mouth.

There are things in our lives that we enjoy that may not be right in the sight of God. We find that daily compromise in small areas on a consistent basis cause the conscience to not be so responsive. Failure to listen to the voice of God, a lack of repentance, consistently doing what we know to be wrong leaves a bad bitter taste in our mouths.

The word “bitter” sunk home with me this morning. The wages of sin is death. Sometimes when we sin and we don’t repent then it leaves a bitter taste in our souls.

If we “walk in the spirit we will not fulfill the desires of the flesh”. Galatians 5:16 is clear about that. The cure is not to start doing right. I have found that to be so defeating. We cannot get rid of the taste in our mouth or soul by simply “doing” right. We must walk in the Spirit. I am encouraged this morning by God to continue to walk in the spirit, so I will not fulfill the desires of the flesh.

Now for those of you who wonder, I struggle with the same things you struggle with. I have discovered that being honest about them helps me to deal with them. God works on me just like he does you. It doesn’t have to be ‘big things’. It happens to be that this morning he is at work in my own life. If you are interested in what it is that is bothering me, don’t worry. I have done what you need to do and that is telling it to Jesus. HE loves me.

Jesus has a cure for the bitterness in my stomach. And, it is extra-strength.

Walking around with Jeremiah

6But I said, “Hold it, Master God! Look at me.
I don’t know anything. I’m only a boy!”

7-8God told me, “Don’t say, ‘I’m only a boy.’
I’ll tell you where to go and you’ll go there.
I’ll tell you what to say and you’ll say it.
Don’t be afraid of a soul.
I’ll be right there, looking after you.”
God’s Decree.

Jeremiah 1:6-8

I am glad I have companions. God has been good to me to give me folk who can share life with me. How people survive without companions is beyond me. God let me walk with Jeremiah for a bit this morning. I want to know how he went through his experience as a young preacher. I want to see how he made it. “What was it like, Jeremiah?” His task was tough.

I was 17 when called to this ministry - this calling from God. I am 52. I have known Christ as my Lord for 41 of those years and have been following this calling for 35 years. My current assignment is to be a lover of God, to love my wife and children, and to be faithful to His calling in my life. I walk with Brad and Earl who are called of God to be in the business sector. Jamie, Michael, Rick, Daniel, Jason, Teresa, Jay and an abundant list of others find themselves in similar work as I. Tony and Todd are called by God to guide many other people. Nancy, Mark and many other teachers are called (from before time began) to the task of being a person on task. He knew all this before hand.

I am reminded this morning the truth - Where God Guides, He Always Provides. The Holy Spirit of God knows that we are all born for such a time as this. Jeremiah’s time was tough but God is faithful and will guide us and provide all we need for this great work. Let’s not shirk our responsibility today. Don’t say you are a boy. You are a person called of God to be faithful to the task of this day.

Let’s see: I am a Christian, I am a Husband, I am a Father, I am a Pastor/Teacher, I am a child, I am a friend. Furthermore, by God’s great grace he will see me through the challenges and celebrations of all those. May I be found faithful.

Jesus went and found him.

35Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and went and found him. John 9:35

I can’t read John 9 without remembering how out of touch with the heart of God people consumed with religious activity are. Here is a blind man and he is now healed and they don’t get it. You would think that someone would shout and praise God that a person that was once blind and now can see is among them. They were so consumed with rules and regulations.

I can’t read John 9 and not want to shout because God still does miracles like this. He did this one and gave this man the chance at a new life with sight. I wish I could snap my fingers and make people well. Some are healed and others find God sufficient for the moment. I wonder who has the most faith - the one who has healing faith or the one who prays for healing and doesn’t get it and still has powerful faith in God. I am glad that he knows how to put our bodies back together. Doctors can cut us open but only God can put us back together again.

John 9 shows me something about God. It teaches me that when I am beaten and bruised in testifying for Christ, and when I am thrown out of the temple for simply testifying about what happened to me, when I am alone due to my faith that Jesus went and found him. Jesus heard what they did to this man and in compassion for one of his witnesses he stood up for the one that stood up for Him. I was moved to see Jesus going to this man and comforting his heart.

We are never alone.

God, you don’t seem to make sense!

17-19Though the cherry trees don’t blossom
and the strawberries don’t ripen,
Though the apples are worm-eaten
and the wheat fields stunted,
Though the sheep pens are sheepless
and the cattle barns empty,
I’m singing joyful praise to God.
I’m turning cartwheels of joy to my Savior God.
Counting on God’s Rule to prevail,
I take heart and gain strength.
I run like a deer.
I feel like I’m king of the mountain!

Habakkuk 3: 17-19

“Living by faith is a bewildering venture. We rarely know what’s coming next, and not many things turn out the way we anticipate. It is natural to assume that since I am God’s chosen and beloved, I will get favorable treatment from the God who favors me so extravagantly. It is not unreasonable to expect that from the time that I become his follower, I will be exempt from dead ends, muddy detours, and cruel treatment from travelers I meet daily who are walking the other direction. That God-followers don’t get preferential treatment in life always comes as a surprise. But it is also a surprise to find that there are a few men and women within the Bible who show up alongside us at such moments.” (The Message Bible, Introduction to Habakkuk, p. 1705)

Habakkuk has the unbelievable gumption to say to God what we wish we had said. He gives a voice to my own bewilderment, speaks loudly about the puzzle life seems to spread out in front of me, and is refreshingly blunt as he speaks to God. Today I am reminded again that my biggest need is to remember who is sovereign and who is not. God is the single possessor of the first and I, much to my surprise at times the one not so sovereign.

This “believing in God life” we live brings with it some real challenges.

Sometimes God, you don’t seem to make sense. Nevertheless, I know enough to trust you today. You will help me amid all I face to praise you. When the things of life don’t go like I want them to go or how I figure they should go - I still will praise you.

You are forever in my life
You see me through the seasons
Cover me with Your hand
And lead me in Your righteousness
And I look to You
And I wait on You

I will sing to You, Lord
A hymn of Love
For Your faithfulness to me
I’m carried in everlasting arms
Youll never let me go
Through it all

Hallelujah, hallelujah

There is a River!

On the final and climactic day of the Feast, Jesus took his stand. He cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Rivers of living water will brim and spill out of the depths of anyone who believes in me this way, just as the Scripture says.” (He said this in regard to the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were about to receive. The Spirit had not yet been given because Jesus had not yet been glorified.)

• • There is a river that flows from deep within.
    There is a fountain that frees the soul from sin.
    Come to these waters, there is a vast supply.
    There is a river that never shall run dry. There came a sound from Heaven, like a mighty rushing wind.
    It filled their hearts with singing and gave them peace within.
    The Master gave this promise, the Spirit will descend
    And from your inner being a river with no end.

    There came a thirsty woman, who was drawing from a well.
    Her life was ruined and wasted, her soul was bound for Hell.
    But then she met the Master, who told of her great sin
    And if you’ll drink this water, you’ll never thirst again.

    There is a river that flows from God above.
    There is a fountain, that’s filled with His great love.
    Come to the water, there is a vast supply.
    There is a river, that never shall run dry.
    That never shall run dry.

I Need Thee!

The Spirit can make life. Sheer muscle and willpower don’t make anything happen. Every word I’ve spoken to you is a Spirit-word, and so it is life-making. John 6:52 The Message

’Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus,
And to take Him at His Word;
Just to rest upon His promise,
And to know, “Thus says the Lord!”
Refrain

Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him!
How I’ve proved Him o’er and o’er
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus!
O for grace to trust Him more!

O how sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just to trust His cleansing blood;
And in simple faith to plunge me
’Neath the healing, cleansing flood!

Refrain

Yes, ’tis sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just from sin and self to cease;
Just from Jesus simply taking
Life and rest, and joy and peace.

Refrain

I’m so glad I learned to trust Thee,
Precious Jesus, Savior, Friend;
And I know that Thou art with me,
Wilt be with me to the end.

Refrain

I am captivated this morning that The Spirit can make life. The truth about my own life is that I want to do things through muscle and will-power. I am reminded what a friend, Jeff Pound said to me one day. As a Filipino missionary he decided that he would start churches in the area he served. Against the warnings of his missionary friends about working so hard and the possibility of contracting malaria, he in his own strength and will-power went about trying to start churches. Jeff contracted malaria. He became deathly weak and unable to do anything but lay down flat on his back. He was so weak he could not physically stand against a wall to take a X-ray. He was so frustrated. All he could do is lay there and rest and pray. For the next two years, he could not do the work. However, God provided some Filipino men who stepped up to the task of starting churches. As Jeff would pray and rest, God would move in a mighty way. Many churches started during that time of illness. We were sharing together at Shoney’s when he taught me a principle that I needed to be reminded of this morning.

“More is done through prayer and resting than can possibly be done by personality and push.”

Can you imagine God needing any help? Not only does he know the way and is actively pursuing it, but He is also gracious enough to let us in on the action. Praise God. My job is simply to rest in him, listen to him and obey when he calls.

I need Thee!

He Finished the Work…

Jesus said, “The food that keeps me going is that I do the will of the One who sent me, finishing the work he started. As you look around right now, wouldn’t you say that in about four months it will be time to harvest? Well, I’m telling you to open your eyes and take a good look at what’s right in front of you. These Samaritan fields are ripe. It’s harvest time!  John 4:35-35 The Message

Obedience. I like picking and choosing. I like to control what I want to obey and don’t obey. I am not comfortable with where I am, but I am learning to be obedient to God.

Samaritans. Knowing the prejudicial roots from which I came, I probably would not like them either. I am saved and there is no doubt about it, but I wonder, if God gave me that task to go through Samaria would I be open to seeing God at every place. He did. A Samaritan woman came to the well at noon. She was thirsty and I guess she was trying to satisfy her spiritual thirst with physical water. I wondered if it is different with a drunk or drug addict. They, too, are thirsty. It is noon. She is there alone I am assuming because she did not want to endure the gossip of other women. She had five husbands and the one she was now with was not her husband. The good religious folk would rather talk about her than help her find Jesus. God graciously aided her in finding Jesus. And she did. In fact, according to the Word of God the entire town was impacted by this one woman’s trip to the well.

Disciples. Now there’s a word for you. The verse that struck me today was spoken to an equally thirsty group of men who followed Jesus around. They were physically hungry. Their base needs drove them to leave Jesus at the well and when they returned, they find their Master talking to a Samaritan woman.

Furthermore, God taught me a few things this morning. I was schooled by the Savior this morning and reminded again of God’s will for my own life.

People being saved is Christ’s agenda - color, position, possessions do not matter.
It was Jesus’ job to bring people to God.
It was easy to forget his hunger and thirst while he was doing the will of God.
The obvious thing was he FINISHED THE TASK GIVEN TO HIM.

I hear him say at the cross experience, “IT IS FINISHED!”

The truth is he finished all the tasks. He was introduced to this woman at a well as he was journeying with God, his Father. I wonder if he told Jesus when he got up that morning, “Come on, Son, I have some folk I want you to meet. They are nice people. They need You sacrifice for them. Let’s go have some fun.” A town was forever impacted by the Son of God who started the conversation that led to a town being forever changed.

Finish. Finish well.

God the One and Only!

1 God, the one and only— I’ll wait as long as he says.
Everything I need comes from him,
so why not?
Psalm 62:1

Riding the river through the New River Gorge was a outstanding experience. Some places along the river were smooth and some were class five rapids. There was a mix of experiences. It was so calm sometimes that we could get out of the raft and swim as we went with the slow flow of the river. However, there were other times that we were told to prepare for rough water. Sometimes we relaxed. Other times we were required to brace ourselves and paddle very hard in order to get through the rapid.

Interestingly I never knew what was ahead. I also noticed that several things were necessary. There was a raft. There were partners in the raft with me. However, the most critical person on the boat was the guide. He knew the river. He knew what was ahead. As long as I simply rested in his guidance, I could make it through the rapids.

God is the one and only. No other guide is needed. The Holy Spirit who lives in me wants me to cooperate with Him as God guides my raft today. He needs me to rest in His ability. He wants me to paddle when necessary and not ignore my personal responsibility. I don’t have to worry about the waters ahead. I simply trust the One and Only. Where he leads me, he brings all I need for the moment. I am not helpless when I have the “one that walks along side” me, God’s special Guide.

Everything needed comes from Him.

Baptist’s don’t Celebrate Either!

9-10When the host tasted the water that had become wine (he didn’t know what had just happened but the servants, of course, knew), he called out to the bridegroom, “Everybody I know begins with their finest wines and after the guests have had their fill brings in the cheap stuff. But you’ve saved the best till now!” The Message - John 2:1-12

This story always tickles me because there’s a group of people who have found a reason to celebrate doing so and there is wine included in the celebration. I know it couldn’t be a group of Baptists. (Since I am one, I can talk) Or at least they aren’t telling anyone that they are. (I am not making a statement about the “do’s and don’t’s of drinking wine”. I don’t drink and don’t intend to do so. However, let’s not get lost in that argument. I just think that most “good Baptists” don’t know how to celebrate. There are some things one ought to get excited about.) At any rate, they are having a great celebration. It is a wedding. People are supposed to be happy. People are supposed to celebrate at weddings. It is a happy time. It is something worth looking forward to. The expectation level is wonderful.

This is Jesus’ first visible recorded miracle. Mom goes by and sees a crisis developing. The wedding celebration is not over and the wine ran out. She calls for Jesus and as she goes by the servants of the house she tells them, “whatever he says, do it.” Jesus tells them to take six water pots and fill them with water to the brim. He changes water into wine. It wasn’t just any old kind of wine but the best. Heaven doesn’t give you cheap stuff.

One of these days the Bride Groom is coming to get the Bride. Furthermore, we are going to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. I am learning to wait, but there are days when I really would like for Him to “come on and get His Bride”. The expectation of that event is so powerful in how we live life victoriously now. Jesus has saved the very best to last. He always has done that.

On a personal note:

Here of late I think of my Aunt Jane who is having some more serious surgery today as they replace a valve in her heart. She glorifies God in all she does and her testimony of the power of God is marvelous. She, too, is ready to celebrate the goodness of God now and in heaven as well. I lift her up today in prayer. My friends, Ken and Ken and Randy have had to conduct some big funerals lately. One of them was an influential coach in Wauchula Florida. He had faced so many tough things in his life, and now he celebrates with the King of Kings. He gets to see the Bride Groom. Oh, praise His name. This whole story of leaving the best to last gives me so much hope and peace. Dying is no challenge to Aunt Jane because there is really something to celebrate. She faces the surgery today with calm assurance.

Heaven is a wonderful place
It’s filled with glory and grace
And I’m gonna see my Savior’s face
Heaven is a wonderful place.

Celebrate!

Joni Erickson Tada opens this YOUTUBE video that David Phelps sings “NO More Nights”

This is something to celebrate…can’t wait…

The timeless theme, Earth and Heaven will pass away.
It’s not a dream, God will make all things new that day.
Gone is the curse from which I stumbled and fell.
Evil is banished to eternal hell.

No more night. No more pain.
No more tears. Never crying again.
And praises to the great “I AM.”
We will live in the light of the risen Lamb.

See all around, now the nations bow down to sing.
The only sound is the praises to Christ, our King.
Slowly the names from the book are read.
I know the King, so there’s no need to dread.

No more night. No more pain.
No more tears. Never crying again.
And praises to the great “I AM.”
We will live in the light of the risen Lamb.

See over there, there’s a mansion, oh, that’s prepared just for me,
Where I will live with my savior eternally.

No more night. No more pain.
No more tears. Never crying again.
And praises to the great “I AM.”
We will live in the light of the risen Lamb.

All praises to the great “I AM.”
We’re gonna live in the light of the risen Lamb.

You Haven’t Seen Anything Yet!

50-51Jesus said, “You’ve become a believer simply because I say I saw you one day sitting under the fig tree? You haven’t seen anything yet! Before this is over you’re going to see heaven open and God’s angels descending to the Son of Man and ascending again.”

There are times when I am silenced by what I am seeing. Sitting on Ram’s Head looking over the New River Gorge is a sight that took my breath away. I regret not being able to sit there for a long while and capture more of God’s beauty. It was a beautiful sight to see how God’s hand carved out a gorge for us to enjoy and to learn of his majesty.

I put myself in Nathaniel’s sandals this morning. It would have been enough to see Jesus. Even so, to get near him and carry on a conversation with him would be more invigorating. However, to hear him tell me that he saw me under a fig tree when I knew good and well he couldn’t have seen him like you and I see things would have been an unbelievable moment. Nathaniel experienced something supernatural. His heart would have been beating a thousand miles per hour. It would have been like the woman at the well when Jesus told her she had five men. How in the world did he know.

However, the phrase that blew me away this morning was, “you haven’t seen anything yet”. Jesus tells Nathaniel that he would see angles ascending and descending to Him. One minute Nathaniel could only see what his flesh could see and now he was promised to see things that only God can do. I can’t imagine what was going on inside. There would be excitement. There must have been awe. What would his eyes see?

God loves to surprise. You haven’t seen anything yet! Moreover, I don’t want to miss any of it. Open my eyes Lord!

Let all mortal flesh keep silence,
and with fear and trembling stand;
ponder nothing earthly minded,
for with blessing in his hand
Christ our God to earth descendeth,
our full homage to demand.

King of kings, yet born of Mary,
as of old on earth he stood,
Lord of lords in human vesture,
in the Body and the Blood
he will give to all the faithful
his own self for heavenly food.

At his feet the six-winged seraph;
cherubim with watchful eye,
veil their faces to the Presence,
as with ceaseless voice they cry,
“Alleluia, alleluia!
Alleluia, Lord Most High!”