I need a drink!

¹ As the deer longs for streams of water,
so I long for you, O God.

There is something about a hot cup of coffee in the morning that makes my day start off right.  It is Monday.  In preacher talk that means you are usually tired from the preaching the day before and all of the interaction you have had as you minister to the needs of people.  I like my coffee. I also like a cool drink of water when I am real thirsty.

I remember how cool the water was at Jesse Bell’s farm in Roopville, Georgia.  The old house stood on the hill right at the road.  The old barn, hay still hanging from the bails that all but packed the loft above.  Just at the back edge of the old house out near the fence stood the old well.  You let the bucket drop, hit the water and as you crank the handle that pulled the bucket back up the rope would tighten, and soon you would be able to get a cool drink of water.  I remember how good it tasted when you were thirsty.

I got the same kind of feeling at Elkmont Campground in the Smoky Mountain’s National Park.  I believe it has been two years, since I visited the campground.  How I enjoyed remembering our camping trips, skipping rocks on the stream that flowed through the middle of the park, stepping through the slimy rock that covered the floor of the stream, and kneeling down on one of the rocks and getting a mouthful of that cool clear water.

I guess every Sunday reminds me that thirsty people come to the church house.  It could be because of  “dry” experiences in their marriages, a tough time struggling with depression, a rough time of helping children that walk away from God’s best in their lives, or many other issues that follow us to church.  I woke up this morning thinking about one woman who described with such passion her longing to hear from God because she feels He is not listening to her.  That longing in her heart resonated in my own heart as I read of the longing in this psalmist’s heart as he faced his exile.

The person writing the psalm is fully engaged in the drought.  Their thirst is painfully obvious.  However, it is not a thirst for water but for God himself.  There is God as well, and I am thankful that this person was no stranger to Him.  He longed after him.  His relationship with God must have been deep, and he must have enjoyed close fellowship with God at the sanctuary.  He obviously watched the animals who are thirsty find the stream and drink answering that deep need in their lives.

I am reminded of a Samaritan woman who was at a well at noon. (John 4)

^7-8A woman, a Samaritan, came to draw water. Jesus said, “Would you give me a drink of water?” (His disciples had gone to the village to buy food for lunch.)

⁹The Samaritan woman, taken aback, asked, “How come you, a Jew, are asking me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?” (Jews in those days wouldn’t be caught dead talking to Samaritans.)

¹⁰Jesus answered, “If you knew the generosity of God and who I am, you would be asking me for a drink, and I would give you fresh, living water.”

^11-12The woman said, “Sir, you don’t even have a bucket to draw with, and this well is deep. So how are you going to get this ‘living water’? Are you a better man than our ancestor Jacob, who dug this well and drank from it, he and his sons and livestock, and passed it down to us?”

^13-14Jesus said, “Everyone who drinks this water will get thirsty again and again. Anyone who drinks the water I give will never thirst—not ever. The water I give will be an artesian spring within, gushing fountains of endless life.”

I am so thankful that the stream that flows from God never dries up.  Sometimes not having something causes you to want it even more.  There is a longing in my heart today for fellowship with God that will continually satisfy.  Only He can.

If you live long enough all of us will end up being thirsty.  I have good news this morning.  God has provided an answer to that thirst in the person of his son the Lord Jesus Christ.

I need a drink!

“Thriving in the house of God”

⁸ But I am like an olive tree, thriving in the house of God.
I will always trust in God’s unfailing love.
⁹ I will praise you forever, O God,
for what you have done.
I will trust in your good name
in the presence of your faithful people.

Sweet Communion!  I am challenged again this morning to remember that my strength and vitality flows out of my communion with God. I also celebrate the fact that when facing challenges of life there is nothing in the world like being around God’s people in the house of God.  Where would I be had it not been for the Lord who is on my side?  God and God’s people.  I am reminded that God’s provision includes those friends around us who care about us and pray for us on a regular basis.

Ken Smith and Ken Sandifer are two men who pray for this man.  I am grateful.  Sunday mornings are special because each Sunday I know when I awaken that Ken Smith will have sent me an email that includes comments of his love for a group of men, encouragement to keep on kickin’ in this calling, and a prayer from his heart that has to do with us.  I cannot begin to tell you how much that means to me.  Those in my “house of God” pray for me.  Ken Sandifer calls my name out to God each day and prays for my family as well.  The other day while visiting Ethel Petit she turned to me and asked me how my family was doing.  She called out Nancy’s name and then began to ask me about each of my family.  You don’t do that kind of thing unless you are praying for them on a regular basis. Cecil Gray drove up in my driveway Friday morning to let me know that he and Sharon were thinking of Nancy and her family as they deal with the steady declining of her mother’s life.  They are part of that provision the Lord brings our way.

David’s heart was full of grief.  He was hurting because of the deaths of some in his father’s house.  However, his confidence was not in his great ability to be king or in his ability to be a warrior for God but in God.  He called himself an olive tree – a plant that is fat with fruit and useful to God and his people.  He said that he would thrive in the house of God.  He delcared that even though things are tough around him, he will still thrive.

I will always trust in God’s unfailing love.  Smith reminded me again of what Steve Brown told him…when you go to the cross of Christ, you should stay there until two things happen – one, you should give your life to Christ and become a believer in One who would take your place, and two, you should stay until you see just how much you are really loved by God.  David reminded me again this morning that I can confidently trust in God’s unfailing love.

Will it last?

1 Corinthians 13 – “Love never FAILS…”

I can hear Wesley McElveen tell me that 1 Corinthians 13 comes after 12 and before 14.  Sometimes I have to overlook what he said, but he said a mouthful when he said that.  You cannot take that passage out of context.  I remember reading yesterday 1 Corinthians 12 and commenting to myself that 13 is connected in context to what comes before it.  It is all set in the context, of how we exercise spiritual gifts in the church.  The context sets forth that we are to conduct ourselves as brothers and sisters not in the context of competition but in the spirit of Love.  In the body of Christ love is a powerful expression of the presence of Christ in our midst.  It should permeate all that we do.

The verse that gripped me was the short phrase that reminds me that love NEVER FAILS.

I like to wander around flea markets and antique shops.  I am blown away at what people will save and sell.  My attention was stunned the other day when I saw the price on a lunch box in the store.  They wanted an unbelievable amount of money for a “rare” lunchbox in good condition.  I remember kids having those when I was going to school, and they would throw them around at each other.  Christmas Day was another encounter with this same thing.  We would get toys that we thought we just had to have.  Our lives could not go on without them.   We would take a Christmas Catalogue from some store and mark what we thought we wanted for Christmas and somehow magically Santa would slip down the chimney we did not have and make all of our wishes come true.  We would awaken to find that the living room was transformed into a toy store.  Three months later they would be scattered among the rest of the toys under the bed or in the toy box. What I thought would last forever and be the very thing I could not do without, fit right in with the rest of the temporary things.

I guess that what rattled my cage is – what is temporary and what is permanent?  What never fails?  What will be around at the end of it all?  Somethings do not last.

You don’t have to hunt long as a pastor to spend time with people who are facing major crises in their marriages.  I have discovered that the kind of love that Paul talks about here would do a lot to help keep a permanent touch on marriages.  I wish everything in life was fair.  I wish everyone had a great marriage. I wish I could make a mirror that a couple could look into, and they would instantly see how self-centered they are and how they expect everyone else to meet their need.  I wish I could watch couples give their lives to Christ and allow His presence in them to transform their temporary self-seeking ways into a permanent “dying to self” kind of life that gives to another because of their worth to God and to themselves.  The only mirror that is seen is the one that I looked into this morning – The mirror of God’s precious Word – The Bible.

There has been no cure for selfish self-centeredness except for the provision made by Christ on the cross.  The kind of love that Paul talks about here is the kind of love that is permanent.  It is the kind of love that motivates one to care for and love another for their good and not some selfish means.  It is obvious that when you approach marriage with the idea that you are going to get something out of it then you realize how temporal that becomes.   However, when a couple is committed to Christ and His life, God gives you a shot at spending your life ministering to the other person.  That kind of love is permanent, and it never fails.

I am reminding myself that Christ is my life.  His kind of love never fails.  It has delivered me from the prison of self-satisfaction, and given me the chance to help others.  It gives me a chance to give Christ’s life in me away.

Love does last!  Love is not a thing.  Love is a person – Christ.  When you become a believer in Christ he lives in you.  Wonders of wonders that would thrill my soul would be that the body of Christ, the Bride of Christ, would love each other and exercise their gifts for the common good of all.  I know I will experience that in the life to come.  However, it would be a delight to my soul to see more than a glimmer of it every now and then.  Oh, that we would let the Love of Christ flow out of us.

You can only give away what is in you!  It is either “you” or “Christ”.  I am not certain there are many other options.

Christ never fails!

Giver or Taker

⁷Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.

School is in!  God just called the roll, and I told him I was present.  He asked me to open up my text book this morning to 1 Corinthians 12.  He catches my attention as he winked when he told me that the reason I have been blessed with my giftedness is for the common good.  I wanted him to say for “my” common good.  No matter how one twists this verse one can never find a way to make it say what I wanted it to say.  I was reminded again that I exist for others.

I am a part of a family – The Family of God.  There is no room in the family for those who just want to sit around and soak it up all the time.  This “sit and soak” bunch want someone to meet their needs and satisfy their tastes for being entertained like they want to be entertained.  We are members of the same family.  The Holy Spirit equips us to be a vital part in the family of God.

I am thankful this morning for Clarice Hall and Mary Anne Litton who are faithful each week to visit folk who are shut in or in a nursing home in our city.  They spend a great bit of time doing that.  Deborah Barnes comes to mind as she selflessly arranges for our weekly visit to the Carolinian where I teach a Bible Study.  I could not do that without her.  James Hill comes to mind who for years has been standing at the front door of our church worship center greeting people and handing them an announcement guide.  His legs now hurt and he has had to change assignments.  I never heard one gripe or complaint out of him.  I was greeted each week with a smile.  Joe Montrose, you are to be congratulated.  Joe and Cathy Rhoden, Bill and Clarice Hall, and Mark and Emily Jordan has been such a big help to me as I prepare to baptize folk in our church.  I could not do that without their giftedness and willingness to serve.  Joe Poston trims and cares for a rose garden on campus.  Mark Barnes and his Sunday School class build ramps for hospice patients.

I want to be a person that wears out giving to others.  There may be a certain grace needed to be a thankful “taker”.  However, we get what we get to give it away.  God gives it to us, so He can give it through us.  Our ‘family’ is our assignement.  We have what we have for the common good.

God is always at work.  Christ did not die for a religious system.  He died for people.  He took my sins and my sorrows and made them his very own.  He bore my burden to Calvary and suffered and died alone.  How marvelous, How Wonderful and my song shall ever be…how marvelous and wonderful is my Savior’s love for me.  We never look more like our Savior when we are giving.

Check your motive, Crooks!

³¹So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

It is amazing what you do when you are being watched by someone else.  I laughed at Kimberly last night.  South Florence Girls Soccer Team played Conway High School last night.   Barry and Melanie Lord, Renee Orr and I traveled together to the revival meetings in Lake City, SC last night.  Our travels carried us past the high school soccer field.  I made the comment that I could see my girl out on the field as we passed.  Barry and Melanie asked me when the next game was to be played and I told them on Friday night at 6 p.m.  They said that if it wasn’t raining that they might come to the game.

Kimberly loves Melanie Lord.  They struck up a great relationship while walking at the YMCA. (They tell me it is a great place to exercise – especially since we make a large monthly donation to the joint – I blame my lack of participation on “time change”…makes me feel good about being fat, tired, and lazy…and the piece of Pecan Pie goes a long way to helping that attitude)  Anyway, I told Kimberly when I got home last night that Mrs. Lord might be coming to the game Friday night.  You should have seen the look on her face.  Smile from ear to ear.  She knew someone she cared about would be watching.  She always sees Nancy and me in the stands.  But Friday night may be special to her.   She will do her best because Melanie will be watching.

Do all you do to the glory of God!  If that means helping my child with homework, cleaning up the dishes, washing the car, ministering in the hospital, or whatever…I am to do all of that in the light of Who is watching and for HIS glory.

Thank you God for the reminder.  Gentle words from God that help to keep a stubborn preacher on the right track.  How sweet it is!

Sidebar:  We had a great meeting last evening.  I was so impressed at this loving church.   I remember when I came to Southside 20+ years ago.  Calvary has the same kind of church.  I cannot wait to see them blossom.  I am convinced it will take someone who loves the Word of God enough to preach it, patience as you begin to turn a big ship a little bit at a time, and a lot of love for people – all kinds of people.  What a privilege it was to be with them last evening.  I preached a sermon out of John 21

What they had
They had Togetherness
They had Experience
They had all the tools necessary

What they needed
Jesus – Am I living in such a way in my relationship with Jesus that I would notice if he were not present?

What he asked of them
Asked a question – Got any fish?  Have your present efforts brought any results?
Instructions – Fish on the other side of the boat – Change directions
Results follow – Net was full when you do things Jesus’ way
Satisfaction

I am reminded of God’s goodness.

Grace

Woke up to this song this morning…wow!  Thank you Jimmy Wilson!

Swimming Upstream…

25Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. 27No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

Budget cuts!  “I am sorry, Hannah, the funds in the Mission Budget are in the budget but not in the bank.” Hannah McKenzie, one of our college students, wants to go to Peru.  Normally supporting her is an easy thing to do for our Acts 1:8 Mission Team has funds to disburse.  The economy is challenging every aspect of our church.  I have also been painfully aware of how this economic situation is causing all of us to tighten our belts.  The work still needs to get done, and we are having to find other creative ways to meet the challenges.  I have listened over the past several weeks where budget cuts are clipping management positions filled by men who are qualified and needed but due to budget needs their positions are being filled by younger and lesser paid folk.  The systems are getting overstressed and employees are getting more stressed out than ever.  It would be easy to simply give in to the economic situation and do something less than excellent.  To use the circumstances around us as an excuse to sit back and complain and not allow God’s creative juices to flow in our lives is a sin.  We can do our work with excellence.  It may not have all the bells and whistles that we could have if the money was there, but we can still do excellent work for God and we can still be persons of excellence as we face tough economic times.

For those who don’t know, I am in a revival meeting this week.  We go through Wednesday night.  I am discovering that people are no different in Lake City than in Florence, SC.  The tough thing about preaching the life changing gospel is that it takes fighting, discipline, and real stretching.  It is competitive which requires strict training.  It is tough to swim upstream.  Why swim upstream when we can get a raft and float with the rest of the crowd downstream?  Why in the world would you fight when so few are fighting with you?  Why?  Why not just join the rest of the crowd and be average at best -  mediocre madness.  Any individual can be average.  It seems that to be different would cause you to stick out like a sore thumb.

Eight principles:
Principle of Ownership – This life I am committed to is God’s.  He owns it.  He is Lord.  I died to myself and let Christ run the whole thing.
Principle of God’s Man – I am committed to allow God’s pattern to be the rule of life.  I am thankful that he has an organized way of doing his business.  He equips us this way.  Thank God for the special gifting he gave our leadership in our church.
Principle of God’s Gifts – God uses all the people in our church to serve him.  There is no room for these giftings to be wasted in selfishness.  We are called to serve.
Principle of God’s Word – Still the only guide for faith and practice – I still read the Word of God and seek to discipline myself to seek God’s face daily through the Word of God.
Principle of Communication – “Have you prayed about it?”  “Are you listening to God?”  Not talk about prayer but practice praying
Principle of Cooperation – This is not a democracy but a theocracy,…so we don’t vote – we obey – together – We are one as Christ is one!
Principle of  Celebration – Worship – we worship privately corporately and regularly – it is a discipline that helps me keep “Who is in command?” clear in my life each week!
Principle of Commitment - burn bridges – serve Christ only – Dead to self and moving forward following Christ as my only leader.

The first time I heard that was when a friend shared them with me years ago in a revival service at Southside Baptist Church.  We were much smaller and yet these principles still ring true in my own heart. Mediocre Christians don’t worry about detail.  They could not care less about those eight principles.  I am confident that most Christians have gotten to the place where they want a show on Sunday morning and not a war to fight every day.  Discipline and excellence are not a key part of their lives.  It is so easy to flow downstream with the rest of the folk.

I know.  I am one of you!

Alright God!  Let’s go upstream again.  I am ready for the fight.

Sidebar:  Last night in Lake City it was a blast to hear from the Pentecostal Holiness Church Choir.  They rock!  We had a building full.  There were more last night than on Sunday.  God honored our time together last night.  It was good to see Alan, Tammy and Alexander Clabo from the Florence area.  I was glad to see “Nurse Potter” last night.  Chris, you would have been proud of your mom.  She is a singing saint.  I will be there tonight and tomorrow night.  Pray for us.  God is at work.

Hey? Why can’t we just share the land?

¹⁰ They did not dislodge the Canaanites living in Gezer; to this day the Canaanites live among the people of Ephraim but are required to do forced labor.

It is not like it wasn’t clear.  They knew what they were supposed to do.  They were to go conquer the land and get rid of all the people living there.  It was to be a land purified for God and the people of God.  They were to get the place cleaned up and usable for the glory of God.  You would think that it would be OK to “share the land”.  You’d think…

Sharing the Land.  Sharing the land with my family would be a good thing.  Sharing the land with others related to my family would be alright.  Share the land with just anyone?  I don’t think so.  I hear couples stand at an altar and say “…forsaking all other…”.  They are committed to each other.  There is a new land together to conquer.  Run the other inhabitants off.  That is just one example that comes to mind.

Carelessness?  Cowardice?  Lack of Faith?  Fear?  It could be carelessness.  There are times when we don’t pay attention, and we get careless and before  we know it we are captured by the very things we should have run out of our home, our character, our practice, our hobbies.  When things begin to threaten our relationship to God, our spouse or family, our testimony, we should run it off.  I am too much of a man to admit to cowardice and fear (but don’t tell anyone – I am not comfortable confronting some things).  Lack of faith?  Do I have to be this honest this early in the morning?

The word that scares me is – compromise.  They were told to get rid of the Canaanites not make them slaves.  They kept them around and made money off of their service.  Just how much of something that I know God told me to get rid of can I keep in my life before it causes me a lot of trouble.  Addictions start with the first touch, the first look, the first page, the first “whatever”…,and before you know it you are hooked.

I guess the most insidious part of this whole thing is that the people thought they knew more than the Creator!

Thing hadn’t changed much.

Maybe that is what God and I need to talk about today.  You think?

Sidebar:  Barry Lord has been the intentional interim at Calvary Baptist Church in Lake City, SC for a year now.  They were gracious to honor me by allowing me to preach a series of messages as we seek revival and renewal at that church this week.  Yesterday was a big day, and I appreciate those who added to our comfort and were so gracious to me.  It is a joy to travel each day with Barry and Melanie Lord, Renee Orr to Lake City.  I am thankful to be a part of that team.  Rod Ruth is playing percussion for us this week.  It was a delight to see Darren and Ashley Lord this weekend as well.  Darren and Ashley led in worship.  He is doing that at a new church start in Nashville, TN where the two of them live.  I know Barry and Melanie were thrilled to see them.  I was so amazed at how God is growing them up and using them for the glory of God.  We were graced of God to see men and women responding to the voice of God at each service.  I covet your prayers.  Pray for us at 7 p.m. tonight!

It’s Sunday…

“…because you have followed the LORD my God wholeheartedly.”  Joshua 14 NIV

Maybe it is just me.  I can settle for that!  However, I don’t feel I am alone.  There are days when the nature of what I am called to do by God catches up with me.  There is a longing to be “…completely faithful and to follow the LORD my God wholeheartedly”.

Being vulnerable is not one of my favorite qualities.  Maybe it is because I am not comfortable with other people handling me being honest and real about how I feel on Sunday Morning.  Maybe it is my own weakness.  Could it be that I can’t enjoy the benefits of grace yet?   However, I am sitting at the computer thinking about leading a corporate worship experience, longing to see God move renewing and reviving a group of people in Lake City, knowing that God is the only one who can move that group, while at the same time not wanting to be the one who stands in the way of that move of God, (as if I could).  For me (and I can’t speak for my fraternal partners in the ministry) it is a holy moment to preach and lead a group of people spiritually as they worship God and seek His face.  I know I do not have to be perfect.  I am certain that His work in our midst will go on for 35 plus years of doing this proves that to be the truth.  But for some reason what I am in reality (you know, it is that part of you that is real and completely different from the fantasy that comforts your thoughts from time to time…that part of you that you really would rather not think about…but yet God sees…you know that part) catches up with me.

Today I get to celebrate forgiveness again.  I get to lead people who are just like me in their callings who have “…leaky vessels…” just like I have.  It makes preaching exciting to know that we all are just sinners saved by the grace of God.  I come to a place where I have nothing in the world to claim but the grace and power of God.  I am not excusing sin for I make choices just as others do.  I am simply rejoicing in that God allows us to prepare to enter His presence as a group.

There is a unique balance between who he is as Holy LORD and the one whom we call FATHER!  His character never changes.

Maybe it is the fact that early on Sunday my inadequacies and my faults and my sinful self-centered nature catches up with me.  I am reminded, however, that MY inadequacies, faults and sinful self-centered nature caught up with HIM on a not so good Good Friday on a cross.  It was there – on Friday – that God dealt with my sins.  “It is Finished.”  At least that is what HE said.

That one day makes three days later unbelievable!

Hey, It’s Sunday!  Praise God.

Down at the cross where my Savior died,
Down where for cleansing from sin I cried,
There to my heart was the blood applied;
Glory to His Name!

I am so wondrously saved from sin,
Jesus so sweetly abides within;
There at the cross where He took me in;
Glory to His Name!

Oh, precious fountain that saves from sin,
I am so glad I have entered in;
There Jesus saves me and keeps me clean;
Glory to His Name!

Come to this fountain so rich and sweet,
Cast thy poor soul at the Savior’s feet;
Plunge in today, and be made complete;
Glory to His Name!

Glory to His Name, glory to His Name:
There to my heart was the blood applied;
Glory to His Name!

They said or He Said

Overconfident?  Maybe so.

Send out a few spies to Ai.  They go and look at Ai.  They come back with a great report.  There are just a few men, and we can whip them.  We don’t even need to carry the whole army.  Joshua simply listened to them. The next thing you know they are bringing 36 men home in body bags.  36 men killed and Israel is stunned.  Joshua is broken by the deaths and defeats.  He goes before God and God told him that there is sin in the camp.  It might have been helpful to be clean before you carry out warfare.

Verse 3 -(NIV)  “…they said…”  How powerful is a group of men who go to look at something and come back with an opinion?  No matter how great the group, the only One who knows what is going on is the Lord.  Yet, I did not read that the group of men gathered with Joshua around the Word of God and prayed before God begging the instructions for the war.  Instead they pooled their combined wisdom and in the best attempt they believed (based on their past unbelievable victory at the hand of God at Jericho) they could whip this little do nothing of a town.  No instructions.  No voice of God.  Do what “makes sense” without checking in with the Master Warrior…the Lord of the Armies of Heaven…  Sounds like the pattern that I get caught up in from time to time, and I don’t think I am alone in the process.

I am not suggesting for a moment that we are to hang our brains like our hats at the door when we come to do business for God.  However, I am suggesting that the only guide for faith and practice is the Word of God.  I am suggesting that we have more than confidence in our ability to talk to God based on the blood of Christ.  I am reminding myself this morning that the starting place for life is not by having a “gathering” and pooling the wisdom of the group.  It is interesting to find myself looking at the Word of God, reading the Word, meditating on it and hearing God speak to me through it.  God does speak to his children!

I am reminded again this morning that Peter sank in the water while walking on it to the Savior.  I would suggest that the reason he could walk on the water was that he was standing on the promises of God which are secure and powerful for life.  He walked on the water until his faith was in the waves he could see rather than the Word of God which was keeping him afloat.

God, forgive me when I listen to my own wisdom without checking in with You.  I am so given to listening to what “they say” rather than selling out to what I know to be what You Say.  I long to do what pleases you.  I want to be prosperous.  Forgive me for the many wasted days of walking in my own wisdom and insights.  I give you my day, it’s counseling sessions, the opportunities to be with people, and the pleasure of being with my family.  You are more than amazing.  You are God.  I thank you for the many you put around me.  Family and friends are so powerful in my life.  However, God today I need a fresh word from you, and I need you to guide my every step.

The temptation for me is to walk in the energy of yesterday’s victory.  Overconfident?  Maybe so!  I pray my confidence will be in the Lord.

He made it…

Two things come to mind as I read the first few verses of Joshua.

The first was – Moses Won!  Legalist’s beware.  For those of you who can’t stand grace and mercy and live in the world where you have to work your way to glory, I have some good news for you.  Moses made it.  Alright he goofed up and disobeyed God.  So have I.  I am not for a single second affirming  “do as you please” kind of life.  However, I want to celebrate God’s Amazing Grace this morning.   I didn’t lead a group of people through the desert and was never told to speak to a rock so that water would come forth and instead get ticked and strike the rock and disobey God.  OK, he did.  Furthermore, he blew it and it had some ramifications unique to his relationship to the Father.  However, I find it pretty cool that at the end of it all when you look back from the end – he was chosen by God to lead a nice size group of people through the desert and get that crowd going in the right direction,  he had a chance to mentor a young leader, he had a chance to see the Promised Land, and on top of all that God did all the funeral plans and buried Moses Himself.  My first response this morning is outside of all the other applications of Moses life, I find it rather refreshing to notice that when life is over, we get to enter the reward that is planned for us.  Forgiven.  Child of God.  Home with the Father.  I bet the moment he met the Father was a delight for those old weary eyes.  He served God all these years and when he was absent from this body he was present with his Lord.

The second piece that ran across my mind this morning flows out of yesterday in my life.  How Joshua missed the old mentor.  There are some precious moments among dear friends.  When you are up close and personal to the leader of the nation you get to see things about him that are powerful in terms of how they impact your life.  What a joy to see a man so normal that he cried out to God in his pain, see a man blow it like Moses did, and get to see him walk through all of that right before Joshua’s eyes.  We learn so much.  I can imagine that as Joshua said goodbye to Moses and “hello, Promised Land” that it would not be long before his heart would be saying “I wonder what my old friend Moses would do in this situation?”  “I wish he were here!”  I bet Joshua cherished the time he had with him and missed him now that he was gone.  No longer was he under the umbrella of a close godly friend.  He was now the one who was the leader.  I know God is our leader.  I went to Sunday School, so I know to hold my hand up and say “teacher, God is my leader!”  But there are times, given to us by the grace of God, where leaders need leaders.

Leaders need prayer partners.  I lost a friend yesterday.  God decided to let one of my prayer partners go home to heaven yesterday.   The last thing in the world I would have expected to hear was to walk in the office and have Pam call me and tell me that the Mrs. Crawford had passed away.  I could not believe it and did not until I actually saw her body in the Emergency Room at Carolina’s Hospital.  It was true.   Her “home going” left my heart grieving.  No day ever passed where she did not call my name, Nancy and the rest of my family out to the Lord.  The older I get the more I treasure my partners in prayer.  She loved the Word of God, and she loved to pray.  She was a godly woman of unbelievable integrity.  She and her husband, now reunited, were of the sort that when they told you they would do something, nothing would get in the way of fulfilling that promise.  A handshake was enough for both of them.  She nor her husband needed to shake your hand for their word was their bond.  A promise made was promise kept.  That generation is dying off.  That upsets me!

What a legacy she left for her family.  She sacrificially cared for her invalid husband for years.  She believed the Word of God with abandon.  Mrs. Crawford was a woman who prayed.  I grieve for the rest of her family for someone in the house will have to step up and fill the praying shoes she left empty.  God will comfort them.

This morning a 53 year old preacher sits at his computer grateful for the impact that she had on my life.  I also find a longing in my heart to find several others who will step up to the plate and be my daily prayer warriors.  More do that than I realize and for that I am comforted and moved this morning.  A funeral in the morning at 11 will be a simple honor in comparison to the wonder of wonders she is experiencing right now.

Of all that I can say about Mrs. Crawford…my heart is reminded that “she made it…”

But we have…

¹⁶“For who has known the mind of the Lord
that he may instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.

Holy.  Perfect.  All-knowing.  All-present.  All-Powerful.  So perfect that if one looks on Him, they will die.  His ways are not our way.  His thoughts are not our thoughts.  I read this verse this morning, and it popped out at me.  “I have the mind of Christ.”  I was reminded that this God who is so high and holy, so perfect in all of his ways has looked down on this child of God and allowed me to have the mind of Christ.  This verse has a built in cure for “cocky” people for who can know the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?”

The Message speaks it this way – Spiritually alive, we have access to everything God’s Spirit is doing, and can’t be judged by unspiritual critics. Isaiah’s question, “Is there anyone around who knows God’s Spirit, anyone who knows what he is doing?” has been answered: Christ knows, and we have Christ’s Spirit. The context is a question that Isaiah asked.  Paul answered it to the Corinthian church.  Christ knows.  He is God and He knows.  And to top all of that I have Christ living in me in the person of the Holy Spirit.  I am reminded this morning that I have an internal GPS from heaven who allows me to receive what God is saying and gives me complete wisdom to apply what he is teaching.  I don’t have to go to the temple to ask the monk or guide.  I have The Guide of life the Holy Spirit, the Paraklete (the one who comes along side of me) living, guiding, and applying the Truth of God’s Precious Word in my life.  He is instructing me today and giving me guidance THROUGH THE WORD OF GOD that guides me where I am at this moment and will give me a great help in applying this Word.

I am confident that I will be tempted today.  Can’t get away from it.  But I am not alone.  I was thankful again yesterday that the Holy Spirit guides, warns, leads, convicts…just a few of his inner methods of guiding me every day.  I will not have to beg Him to speak to me today.  He will be my guide again today just as yesterday.  I confess my sin, clean my path and ask for His guidance for each moment of this day.

I have the mind of Christ.  I can look at life today through the eyes of Christ.  I can live in each moment in the power of the Holy Spirit and reflects His values and character.  I choose today to be loving and to respond in kindness.  After yesterday’s reflections, I can be empowered to wait on the Lord and be patient.  Thank God for the presence of God in my life.  I will be empowered with God’s wisdom to hear through His ears.  Noting my complete weakness and sinfulness, I am amazed that God invests that kind of presence in my life.

The thought is that we HAVE it.  It has been gifted to us by our heavenly Father who wants us to know Him and fellowship heart to heart with Him.  We remember that He is God, and I am not.  And I (one in whom the Holy Spirit dwells) will watch God help me keep that in the right order today.  There is something in my heart that longs for Him to lead me.  With the newness of this day I am excited about what I am going to learn by listening to the mind of Christ today.

It is wonderful to see God do miracles.  It is powerful to watch him invade this earth with his unbelievable power.  I am reminded that we are so consumed with the “big shot miracles” that we fail to remember that some of the greatest miracles will happen right under our noses as the Holy Spirit guides me through a temptation, gives me wisdom to listen to someone who is hurting, empowers me to keep on kicking, assists me as I share and encourage people today, and as I become an instrument in the hand of God to exhort others to Godly living.  I can’t wait.

Who can know the mind of the Lord that we may instruct Him?  We have Christ.  And he knows the mind of God.  He lives in me.

I praise HIM today!

“Jim Crooks” and “Wait Patiently” used in the same sentence? – Now that’s funny!

¹ I waited patiently for the LORD;
he turned to me and heard my cry.

I laughed when I read this verse this morning.  I laughed because I could have never written it – impossible.  The part about “waiting patiently” – nope!  That would have been said by someone else.  I am not sure I sleep patiently.  I can eat quick.  I talk a thousand miles per hour.  I wear people out when they are walking with me at the hospital.  I want to get to the end of a topic quick.  I need just the end of the story and never interested in the journey you went through to get there.  Wait?  I don’t think so!

But I am learning.  I watched as two parents  brought a young couple with them to church for the first time after much prayer and invitation.  They both came and the gospel was heard.  We are waiting and watching for God to do a new thing in their lives.  I watched a young lady come forward and ask for prayer for her mother.  It seems to me that she is waiting patiently on the Lord.   I have known this mom for years and to find her daughter, a beautiful young lady now, standing with me at the altar praying for her mother was unbelievable.  Wait?  We have to.  I have seen siblings pray for one another.  Many times all I see with siblings is a fight…yet this one intercedes for her sister.  Oh, how my heart is moved when you see what waiting patiently on the Lord produces.

Joey and Michelle Poston have always been special to me.  I remember when they started dating.  He was a lucky young man, but then again all of those Poston boys have been fortunate to over marry.  February 14th – 16 years ago I was preaching on the symbolism contained in a  marriage ceremony.   I had the stage set up like I would at a normal wedding.  I moved through each area and explained what our commitment to each other means.  At a certain time I told the people that the best way to demonstrate all of this would be to have a wedding.  I had the congregation all stand and Joey and Michelle entered that worship service and unknown to all but a few I married them that day.  It was fun watching the people respond to this wedding.  This gave me a chance once they left the building to have all who wish to do so to stand and re-affirm their own wedding vows.  It was a special day. 

This past Thursday, I got another special message.  Joey and Michelle have been “waiting patiently on the Lord, and he heard their cry”.  I knew that they were quietly yet deliberately seeking to adopt a child.  Joey informed me that the two of them will be able to adopt a child in June or July.  I could have shouted, and did shout out loud in my car as I read the message.  My heart jumped with joy as I watched God IN HIS PERFECT TIMING do a work of grace in the life of a little mother, this developing child, and in the life of a couple who are waiting patiently on the Lord.  The Lord’s timing is everything.

Not only is he changing the person I am praying for but he is so interested in changing me.  I am certain he is speaking a word to my heart this morning asking me to place my confidence completely in Him.  Either he is God or he is not.  Either he is in complete control of all things or else we are in a mess.  Either he knows all things and is all powerful or we have believed a lie.  He is all that He says He is and MORE!  He is God.  I can place my confidence completely in Him.  He can be trusted.

“Resting” – “waiting patiently” – “trusting”  all go together.  He is not asking me to do nothing.  Just asking me to watch and see what He is doing and get involved with HIM.  He is in perfect control.

One can “rest” as long as they can trust the relationship.

Verse 5 contains this thought -

⁵ Many, O LORD my God,
are the wonders you have done.
The things you planned for us
no one can recount to you;
were I to speak and tell of them,
they would be too many to declare.

How great is our God!

I will carry you…

²Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

One of the first lines in Amy Grant’s song “Carry You” is “…lay down your burden and I will carry you…”  Maybe you can relate to me when I say as I read this verse today, “Come on God, I have enough stuff to carry without carrying the weight of a lot of other people.”  It’s the human side of me.  But I came face to face again with the call of God on my life as a pastor and as a Christian who reflects the love of God to other people.  Momentary self-centeredness gives way to the joy of ministering to others.  It is amazing how my own needs get met as I have the chance to minister to others.

What is wild is that I have been contemplating messages to preach over the next several weeks that focus in on what Jesus is saying to us from the Cross.  The scriptures record seven statements from the Cross.  I read the gospel story especially the part where he carried my sins to the cross and there he died for them along with the sins of the world.  He carried my burdens.  Last week I focused in on Forgiveness.  This morning I celebrate that God in his great mercy because he carried my burden forgave me.  Ravi Zacharias shared this poem as he preached at an LDS Church lifting up Christ as he spoke on the uniqueness of forgiveness provided by Christ

He came to my desk with a quivering lip.
The lesson was done
“Have you a new sheet for me, dear teacher – I’ve spoiled this one?”

I took his sheet, all soiled and blotted
And gave him a new one  -  all unspotted

And into his tired heart I cried,
“Do better now my child.”

I went to the throne with a trembling heart.
The day was done.
“Have you a new day, Dear Master – I’ve spoiled this one?”

He took my day all spoiled and blotted
And gave me a new one – all unspotted.

And into my tired heart He cried,
“Do better now my child!”

What a gospel message we have for a world who so desperately needs this one.  In a moment or two I will put on a suit and travel to the church house where many will sit and listen and worship our God.  I will hear more than my heart can handle…it happens each week.  One will come and describe the pain of a marriage going south.  Another will journey through their struggle with a child.  A young man will be searching for a wife or companion with whom to share his life.  A young lady will do well to smile through the stuff she had to listen to last evening as her mother and father fought.

I was so moved last week by Don Navorska who in his kindness of watching me preach with four concrete blocks strapped to my body as I tried to illustrate the need to forgive and release the weight of unforgiveness to our congregation.  He told me as the service was over that when I came in the door all labored with the 80 pounds of weight that all he wanted to do was to come up along beside me and help to get under the burden of the weight of those blocks.  His only worry was not messing up my illustration.  His heart spoke deeply to mine.

I am reminded that the kindness of Christ is best described as we get up under the burden of a fellow believer and carry that burden with them.  I have watched that happen in so many places.  I see a group of people gather around Jay and Caroline as they deal with the epileptic seizures that Hanna Moriah is dealing with.  I think of the numbers of you that walk along side Allan and Tammy Clabo as they deal with her heart condition.  I have watched as a group of women gather around Harriett Elmore as she worked through her heart stress the other day ending up in the Emergency Room and comforted by several women whose lives stopped in order to come along side her as she hurt.  I have seen members of our church love each other like that.

He carried us.  We look a lot like him when we carry the burdens of others.

If it were easy, everybody would be doing it…

²²But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. ²⁴Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. ²⁵Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.

When Nancy started teaching at McLaurin, I remember the annual Field Day event. Sometime between mid-April and mid-May classes would gather outside for some of the wildest competition ever. I absolutely hated “dress-up relay”. My shoes, my pants, my shirts, my…my…my… were the “wear” of that race (could have been that my big old self was big enough to make their “little Ole self” look, well let’s just say thuggish). We all but had to throw the things away after all those youngun’s had tried them on and stomped them to death.

I did like other relays: baton relay, tag relay, spoon and the egg relay, kick a ball relay, and of course the last and grand experience of the “tug of war”. Competition was part of the practice. There was none of this that was for wimps. All were involved somewhere in the process but there was a winner. Second and third place ribbons were handed out. Everyone got some kind of ribbon as the years went by. Then suddenly the “we have to please ever one and make everyone happy and everyone has to have the same kind of…whatever ” crowd wanted to make sure that we cut out all competitions and treat everyone the same in order to let them be participants. Now they have stations and everyone gets a drink, everyone participates in the same event, and now no one gets a ribbon (lifelike…don’t you see…life is always fair and everyone should get the same job without competition…dear God in Heaven help me not to preach here). No need for strategy and stress over who is the lead in a certain relay and who will run with who…they are all just a like and everything is ‘fair”. Enough of that preaching…wow!

One of the most interesting relays was the “three legged relay”. Two students would pair up and agree to stand side by side. The inside legs of the two would be bound with a band. Four independent legs were now three, and you had to work together as a team. Interestingly the groups would practice all this ahead of time knowing that the races would be happening in a few weeks so periodically Nancy would go outside only to see them practicing for the three legged relay. Having the right partner was key to your success. Learning to run in sync with each other was a real challenge since two people had to do something together. I also learned that one had to take the lead and the other had to allow that person to lead.  Nancy would see them line up at the start line, signal the start of the race and those who were new at all this would start falling and stumbling over and over.  It took them a while but they would get over the finish line.

Maybe you are like me. When there are two of us doing something together, I want to be in the lead of the event. That is normal for a lot of people. But I have learned that if you are to get anywhere in a three legged relay you have to “die” to what you want and decide to follow the lead of the other person. Otherwise you are in for the fight of your life.

Being a believer in Christ started in may of 1966. If the Bible is true, and it is unbelievably true, then the scripture teaches that the Holy Spirit now lives in me. He is the seal or promise from God that I won the race, will be winning the race every day, and will eventually win the race in Glory one of these days marked by God. What a deal! I don’t have to run to win. I already won. He is called “the one who comes along side of me”. Let me stretch it to say we are in the middle of a three legged race. “…keeping in step with the Spirit…” takes a commitment on my part to stop thinking in terms of me leading and allowing Him to lead the whole race. Where I get in trouble is when I want to do what I wish.

Sounds easy to do. But, you try it! It takes a lot of practice and coordination. It takes two people who love each other enough to work together toward getting to a desired goal. For some reason, this morning I heard God say to me that if “we” want to get somewhere today together then it would help the process if I would walk in step with Him. I know it is the “Sunday School answer” to admit that is true. However, just being honest and humbly human, I realize that I have a lot of work in the area of running this three legged relay with Him.

I wish I could tell you that it didn’t feel like cheating, but when you are running a three legged race, and you want to win…it flat ain’t bad to have God as your partner!

See you at the finish line!

All I do is run the joint…

²⁰ My old self has been crucified with Christ.  It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.  Galatians 2:20 NLT

I love to eat Chinese Food.  Furthermore, no I don’t care how much MSG or other additives they add to the stuff.  And I don’t want to hear all the Kitty jokes.  The other day I was driving down one of the streets in our town and noticed that they had closed the restaurant.  A few days later there was a sign out front that informed all of us that the place was under new management.  They were giving the place a new overhaul and preparing to open back up under new management.

I am reminded today that at 11 years of age, I allowed NEW OWNERSHIP to take place in my life.  I now have a new owner that actually lives in me.  I am able to share that because I was crucified when Christ was crucified, and now I share in the blessed reality of NEW OWNERSHIP.  All I do is “run” – manage – the joint. I OWN nothing but manage everything.

Suppose I ran a little shop.  The economy was really bad.  I was struggling to make ends meet, struggling to make a go of that little shop.  Supposed a king  came and said, “I have unlimited resources.  Why don’t you let me just take over ownership of your little shop, and you just manage the place?   My shop will have a new owner who lets me run the joint by faith in HIM – the One who died for me.  I am managing the place for the new owner.

We had staff meeting this morning.  Table for two at my house.  The owner reminded me of his vision statement for the joint.  He reminded me that he is more than sufficient for all I will have to do in managing the joint for him this morning, this afternoon and the rest of the day.  He assured me that we could meet anytime we want, and if  I needed His advice, he was open for discussion at any moment.  We will have another staff meeting this evening and discuss the days events.  He told me of his confidence in what I can do with the place, and if I blow it, he will guide me through all the adjustments.  He gave me the promise of his presence with me and in me.

I am going to run the joint the way it all started – by FAITH in Christ Jesus.

Shop’s open!  Under new OWNERSHIP!  Old owner is now the manager.  We are getting the place cleaned up.  The OWNER is inspecting the joint every moment I am alive.  I am so glad that I don’t have to do this by myself.

Test to see if I love Him…

The LORD your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul.  Deut. 13 NIV

⁴who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, ⁵to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.  Gal 1NIV

The first verse the stopped me was Deut. 13… The thought of God putting us to the test to find out whether you love him with all of your heart and soul threw me.  Doesn’t HE know that?  He is God, isn’t He?  Nothing hidden from his eyes.  Then I remember it ain’t about God but about my own self discovery.  It is about ME finding out whether I love HIM with all of my heart and soul.  Of course the Sunday School answer is “yes, and again I say Yes!”  That is the “put your coat and tie on and take your King James Version of the Bible to church” answer.  However, do I benefit from taking a moment on Tuesday morning to reflect on my love for HIM.  I know I love “me”.  If, on any give day, you catch me right, I really do want to do what pleases me.  Believe it or not I sometimes get ticked when God doesn’t arrange my day to please me.  He knows my schedule.

The context of that verse has everything in the world to do with remaining pure and focused on HIM.  We cannot keep our focus pure by accommodating the belief systems of the  infidels who invade our world.  I am reminded by reading that passage that God is pretty interested in a life that is focused on him.  He did not do the “let’s see how much we can accommodate the world around us” thing.  I read that and didn’t feel like “seeker-sensitive” was where he was landing.  Sounds like to me, he intends to keep the focus pure.  Offending people?  He didn’t offend them.  He got rid of them.  It seems that once you get in HIS Presence – HE was the focus and not those around him.  He did not give the “seekers” a chance to bring their stuff into the camp.  He kept the focus pure.  (Just and observation…may be off base…, but it is what I was thinking).  I agree with Eugene Petersen – “There is a great market for religious experience in our world;  there is very little enthusiasm for the patient acquisition of virtue, little inclination to sign up for a long apprenticeship in what generations of Christians called holiness”.  I wasn’t given instructions when I became a believer.  No one walked me through the expectations.  I was a product of the ‘let’s market Jesus and make him palatable for our generation group”.  We did not want to offend people.  I am not certain that you would feel good being in the context listed here if your goal is to be “sensitive” to those around us…it seems that sensitivity’s focus is on God…not those around us.  It did not say do we love those around us with all of our hearts and souls.  Furthermore, yes, once you are filled with HIS presence you are interested in those HE Loves.  Let’s not get the cart before the horse.  Let’s keep it in the right order.

I am glad that our worship of God does not have to be stale and meaningless to a generation of people who are seeking the Lord with all of their heart and soul.  I think the challenge of today is to keep the focus on HIM and not on ME.

Tested?  I never liked a test.  I never liked to study.

Do I love him?  The Sunday School answer is YES.  The deep longing in my heart is to affirm the same.  Maybe it is like the invitations that I give each week…”It may be a little too soon to tell!”  I have a day full of opportunities to find out.  What a great day to be alive!

Just thinking out loud.

There is NO doubt about HIS love for me…

He is your praise…

²¹ He is your praise, and He is your God, who has done for you these great and awesome things which your eyes have seen.

It is a good practice to spend time on Monday morning reminding myself that God is my praise.  If there is anything of worth and greatness it is the fact that My God is God.  He HAS done for me these great and amazing things which my eyes have seen.

Can you imagine what their eyes saw?  I wonder if you ever get the tingle out of your system when you stand at the feet of that shaking mountain with the lightening and powerful reminders of God?  I wonder if you ever forget the provision of God as they travel through the desert wondering?  I wonder if they ever took the cloud by day and the pillar of fire at night for granted?  I wonder if you are ever able to eat a quail and not remember the goodness of God?  Wearing shoes and they never wear out?  You have to be kidding!

You would think they would never forget, and that they would be people who would be falling all over themselves with praise to God.  He is our praise.  He is our God.

You would think.  However, if I am honest with myself, it becomes a healthy practice to rehearse the goodness of God.  Of all that we “do” for Him or in his name, it is only when he shows up and shows out that we find ourselves blessed.  This morning I am reminded of the glory of God which screams, “He is HOLY!”  Of all that we can say about Him – He is holy – rings true in my head.  The angels that are around the throne in Isaiah and Revelation are surrounding God with a declaration of his holiness.  He says Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord God Almighty.  If that is true of the angelic creatures IN His presence…how much truer should that be of a little old preacher in South Carolina.

He is my praise.  I worship HIM.  He is the reason I am alive today and given the joy of pastoring Southside.  I am grateful every morning for the men and women God has granted me the privilege of working with as a staff.  They are wonderful people.  It is a pleasure each week to pray, dream, plan, and execute a worship experience.  However, I am reminded that unless the glory of God falls on us and the Spirit of God leads us, we are just “busy”.

Forget Him?  I don’t think so.  Or at least not this morning.  It is Monday.  Time change happened yesterday and I agree with Mike Mott who declared that we should get a lawsuit together and sue whoever decided it was a bright thing to change the time.  It nailed Sunday attendance.  I am certain that it will affect some other aspects of the ministry.  Whoever that little devil who took my morning away needs to be horse whipped.  Ok, I am through whining!  IT is Monday and I can feel it, more so today than yesterday.  I had a busy day.  Preached three times, baptized Chandler (the young son of a mother who led him to Christ), watched people deal with the whole idea of forgiveness and forgiving, celebrating a birthday with a friend at the nursing home and spending a moment loving on Elizabeth Woodson, counseled with a woman who lost her job and lost her direction, visited sister Dora at the hospital trying her best to meet Jesus face to face, and then spending time wtih my family finishing up a project or two.  WOW!  God is Good all the time.  Monday or not…if there is anything worthy of praise it is our God.

Led

Send out your light and your truth; let them guide me. Let them lead me to your holy mountain, to the place where you live.

Yesterday was unbelievable.  For a few moments I left the Treadway’s home and traveled to one of my favorite secret spots.  Furthermore, if you don’t know me then don’t tell anyone my secret spot.  I found…(you will be surprised)…a Starbucks coffee shop.  Three shot venti latte with three Splenda’s…awesome stuff.  What I enjoyed was sitting outside the store with that cup of coffee in the cool 75 degree breeze reading a book and enjoying the divine diversion from the rest of the days activities.  It refreshed my soul and spirit.  I needed a break.

I cannot imagine what must have been on David’s plate as King of Israel.  Think of the people who wanted his advise…the people who wanted his throne…those who needed his judgements…I can’t begin to imagine what he faced.  He needed a break.  He needed a place where, in the midst of his circumstances, he could go and find peace.  He found it.  It’s discovery did not happen while in an office but in the fields of his youthful assignment as a shepherd.  He learned to listen there.  He heard the Word of God as a small child and was reared to listen to the truths of Scripture.

Where you go for help reveals more about you than you admit.  Where do I go for help?  What do I trust as my guide for life?  In this case there are two trustworthy guides.  Guides who can carry you through all circumstances.  Not some flunky who has never been there but divine highly trained guides who can take you to the summit of life.  They come in pairs.  Light and Truth.  These two carry me.  “I will never leave you nor forsake you”…those words carried by the light of God in the midst of tough circumstances.  “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again…”  are words that remind me of His love and care.

As a young Boy Scout, our Troop 277 would hike portions of the Appalachian Trail in the North Georgia section of the trail.  It stretches from North GA to Maine.  I was excited about each trip.  Hart Gates, our Scout Master, would prepare for our trips.  Each of them had something to do with climbing a significant summit area.  The trail was clearly marked most of the time.  We had a great guide and a map that gave us all the details we needed for a successful trip.  The map told us where the water supplies were and where there were significant places for making camp overnight.  We would study the map, and before long we actually saw what the map indicated we would see.  Now this was long before GPS or any other kind of satellite guidance system.  All we had was a compass, map, and a trained guide.  We made it from point “a” to point “b” because we trusted our guide and the map provided.

If you want to climb a mountain you need a Guide and a Map.  We have both.

Led!

Thank you, Jesus.

Thank you, My Guide…

Can you imagine where HE will lead me…

I hear him say, “Yea though I walk through the valley of death I will fear no evil, FOR THOU ARE WITH ME…” and I remember something about a rod and staff being in his hands.  Sounds like a Guide to me!

As an aside you will grant me the privilege of obsessing as I reflect constantly on the struggle that my mother-in-law has with cancer and the challenge that we all face in dealing with how that affects us.  It is hard not to see Scripture without pressing it through what we all are going through.  I watch as that much unwanted guest of cancer slowly but deliberately steals the life that so defined her life and applies pain in doses that are sometimes hard to manage.  However, there are many who have walked on this mountain with the Guide of the Universe only to be blessed by meeting Him in person as he frees them from this curse of living on this side of eternity.  We wait.

Led!

The old hymns not only teach great Biblical truth but are healthy reminders of God’s care and character during these days.  Oh that we could teach these to a new generation.

Guide me O Thou great Redeemer
Pilgrim through this barren land.
I am weak but Thou art mighty
Hold me with thy powerful hand.
Bread of heaven
Feed me till I want no more

Open now the crystal fountain
Whence the healing streams doth flow,
Let the cloud and fiery pillar
Lead me all my journey through,
Strong Deliverer
Be Thou still my strength and shield.

When I tread the verge of Jordan
Bid my anxious fears subside
Death of death,
And hell’s destruction,
Land me safe on Canaan’s side,
Songs of praises
I will ever give to thee.

Big God – Big Wings

7 How priceless is your unfailing love! Both high and low among men find [b] refuge in the shadow of your wings.

You don’t need shadows or wings unless it it too hot or too bright.  I am reminded this morning of men and women in Iraq who find the shadow of a tank or personnel carrier to be a welcomed place from the scortching sun.  I clearly remember going to Jesse Bell’s farm in Roopville (that’s right sports fans…there is a place called Roopville) GA.  Work is never done at a farm.  Cattle to tend to.  Fences to mend.  Grass to bushhog.  There was a litany of “to do” items when it came to that kind of thing.  It would be a major wake up call for some young men and women if they had to adopt a get up and get it done life on the farm.

Two things become obvious when you work on a farm like that.  One, you get hungry and you are never picky.  You simply want something to eat because you have worked off the calories of the day.  The other has to do with a big shade tree and a well on the farm.  I remember both.  The well was deep and the water was cool.  I remember carefully letting the bucket down into the well so as not to get trash in the water.  You could feel the bucket tilt and fill with water.  The weight of the bucket promised that cold water was on the way.  Hot, sweaty, and thirsty find refuge in the shade of the old tree and the coolness of a long drink of water.

How would we survive if it were not for the shade of God.  In the shadow of his wing.  Words like protection and refreshment come to mind.  However, the one part of that shadow is where it is located.  It under his wing.  His wing is right up next to his heart.  The intimacy of that picture blows my mind this morning.  I am grateful for a Big God with a Big Wing next to his Big Heart.

There are a lot of things that cause heat.  Circumstances about that give birth to times where we need to be under the shadow of God’s wing.

There is a place of quiet rest

Near to the heart of God!