Michal Daughter of Saul

²⁰ When David returned home to bless his household, Michal daughter of Saul came out to meet him and said, “How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, disrobing in the sight of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!”

²¹ David said to Michal, “It was before the LORD, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed me ruler over the LORD’s people Israel—I will celebrate before the LORD. ²² I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes. But by these slave girls you spoke of, I will be held in honor.”

Why did he not say, Michal wife of David?  He went home to his household.  She was one of his wives.

It was a mountain top experience like none other.  This shepherd boy now king had a chance to get close up to the One he had worshiped all of his life.  He was captivated by the whole experience.  His praise broke out in dancing.  I have been in services where the moment caused a sister in Christ or a brother in Christ to simply shout!  I know.  Some people would say that is all fake and some of it is nothing but show.  However, there are times when it is real.  Being in the presence of God and celebrating the Ark of God coming home was for David a royal privilege.  He dressed as a Levite and danced before the Lord.  That was how he expressed his love for God at the moment.  It was not about anyone else but David and God.

Now back to my first question.  Why did the scriptures say that she was the daughter of Saul and not the wife of David?  He was home.  Michal was a gift given to him by Saul on the occasion of his killing Goliath.  I wonder if she was ever a believer.  I am puzzled to see how much he loved the wives that he chose.  Michal was a pain in his neck because of her family and lack of belief as you could possibly imagine.  I wonder sometimes if she was miffed because she had to marry a shepherd boy from Bethlehem.  I wonder if she had other plans and dad simply messed the whole thing up.  She may have wanted to be married to someone in his court that that she liked rather than this God-fearing young man.  She didn’t have a choice in the matter.  Daddy gave her to David.  It must have been tough to live in a house the other wives, and you were known as “Michal daughter of Saul” instead of “Michal favorite wife of David”.

I guess that those closest to you sometimes can misunderstand you the most!  They can also hurt you the quickest.  Why?  I don’t know.  It just happens that way.   I am glad that he didn’t quit the ministry or stop being the anointed King of Israel because one person told him he didn’t dress right on Sunday Morning.  David put her in her place quickly.  He loved God more than anyone.  It wasn’t about being King of Israel.  It wasn’t about being related to the Saul family and there is a certain way that those in Saul’s family dressed.  I wasn’t about what the Jones or the Smiths think. He was in the presence of God and was captivated by the whole event.

Some days when I am talking to God or listening to him, I cry.  At other times, I raise my hands.  There are moments where I shout out to the Lord.  Many times I am simply quiet.  Never the less, it ain’t about anyone in the room with me, save one, the Lord God who has my whole attention.

God help me listen to you today.  I hear you call me “your beloved, and you are well pleased with me”.  Your dear Son paid a great price to secure that position for me today.  I choose to stand on that fact.  I get excited walking around with you and journeying with you, wherever we go today.  I want to honor you.  I know people will never understand especially those around me with different expectations.  I am thankful and grateful that you call me your child, and I have the chance to be utilized in the work of your kingdom.

You ain’t from ’round here are you son?

¹⁸But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man ‘unclean.’

I am reminded again this morning that one can only give out what is “in” you!  What comes out of my mouth reflects what is in there!  How do I know what is inside?  I just look at what comes out.  The context contains a group of religious teachers who are after Jesus.  Teachers of the law can be so frustrating.  Their rules are so rigid that keeping them outside is more important than the change on the inside.

“You ain’t from ’round here are you, son?”  I can’t tell you how many times I have heard us say that to Daniel Dulaney.  Daniel is from the foreign country of Alabama.  They do things different in Alabama.  Larry catches it big time at our church.  He is the chairman of our Finance Committe and he is our resident “Yankee”.  Yesteday was the first time in a long time that I actually watched him come to church, enjoy fellowship with the rest of the group, and leave without catching grief for being a resident of the Pee Dee.  People would look at him and say “You ain’t from ’round here are you son?”  They are so patient with us and allow us to enjoy being different.  I like the way they love us and help us to see the grace of God.  We are fortuante to be able to cut up with them and laugh about being so different at times.  These two men are wonderful men and where they are from means nothing except to keep them in context.  Well, let me clarify that.  One of them is an Auburn Fan.  I am not sure what that makes him.

When Jesus was around the religious teachers of the law, he aggravated them.  They were so frustrated by his teachings which were not in keeping with their tradition.  He didn’t wash his hands the right way or not at all for that matter before he at bread.  Pharisees and Scribes, religious people, could take the pleasure out of anything if it meant keeping their rules.  Jesus wasn’t from ’round there.  He came from a place where grace abounds.  I have discovered that the law kills.  I have also discovered that grace gives life.  The law controls exteriors without watching the inside change.  Grace changes the outside by changing the inside first.

You can only give away what’s in you.  And you give away what’s in you by simply looking at what comes out.  If there is murder, lies, deceit, hypocrasy in you that is what comes out.  So when you see what comes out you can know what to work on by simply taking note of what comes out.  It would not come out if it were not there.

I am glad that God looks at the heart.  I am glad that he is patient with me.  I am glad that he gives me a chance to look into my own heart, discover what is wrong and without casting me away from the family, joins me in the task of getting my life cleaned up.

I want to be like Jesus!  You can onlygive away what’s in ya!  It ought to be true when people see us loving others and dispensing grace to a world in need…they would say “You ain’t from ’round here are you?”  They are right.  I am “in Christ”.  He lives “in me.”  I want him to come out when people see me.  I reflect a different set of values as compared to the “religious” bunch of rule and regulation keepers.  I get instructions from a different place.  I am glad!  I like the amazing grace of God.

“Bring them here to me,” he said.

¹⁸“Bring them here to me,” he said.

Yesterday I preached about a little boy who was “moon-struck” or a lunatic as the scripture calls him.  A devil had made his home in the little boy.  He was doing what the enemy always does and that is try to destroy God’s precious children.  The dad had done all he could do to help the boy.  This inner enemy would cause the boy to go into fits of seizures that would cause him to fall into the water and attempt to drown him or to cast him into the fire so he would be burnt.  The disciples were helpless.  Christ wasn’t.  His instructions were “Bring him to me”.  He commanded the devil to leave and the boy was healed immediately.

Again this morning I read of a group of hungry people.  The disciples were helpless.  All they could dig up was a few fish and loaves of bread.  They did not know what to do.  The instructions of Jesus?  “Bring them here to me”.  Jesus fed the people with 12 baskets filled with leftovers, one for each disciple that he was trying to disciple.  The hungry people were in need and Jesus fed them with what the disciples had in their hands.

Jesus no longer lives on the earth and walks as a person by our side.  He lives IN us.  Christ IN us our hope of glory.  We are his children.  We are asked to allow him to interact with our day and watch supernatural things happen right in front of our very eyes because those of us who are the “beloved of our father” will see him work his life out of us where we are in this day.  I am looking forward to what he will do.

There was a hurting child, a hungry crowd.  There were disciples who were wanting to be used but were powerless.  The took their need to Jesus…or might I say that the need brought the people to Jesus.  Jesus was the central figure in it all.  His hand healed and divided the bread.  His presence was felt.  His work was done.  Now a lunatic son is well, immediately and a hungry crowd is fed because they “Brought them to Jesus!”

Oh to God I would do the same with everything I face today!

Sic vox non vobis

⁵²He said to them, “Therefore every teacher of the law who has been instructed about the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.”

OK, the title looks good.  I wish I could read it but I understand it this way – Sic vox non vobis—You are to lay up, but not for yourselves. Old truth and new methods work well together.  I am looking at the bible given to me by Stafford Hebert and the Midland Park Baptist Church Family.  It is Thompson Chain Reference Bible.  I will never forget “Preacher” telling me years ago that the Bible is God’s Word.  Preach it!  He would tell me that all the time.  He like this particular Bible because it had a commentary of scripture commenting on scripture.  He would always tell me to never stop preaching the old time truths of the Word of God.  I celebrate the impact he has had on my life.  He is in his 90’s now and I honor him each week as I pick up my old KJV Thompson Chain Reference Bible and preach from the old ragged edged Bible.

Today God reminded me that I am to stand in the pulpit, open an old Bible filled with history proven and God blessed truth and preach it with no apology.  I get to tell it to a different crowd.  They are new!  But the Old Truth is still the foundation of what I will be preaching.  I am going to the storehouse where truth is stored and I will bring out a bit of an old story told by the lips of my living Jesus  – a parable -  and share it with a new crowd living in 2009.  What a privilege from heaven!  God has honored me today.

The truth is – he gives it to me so he can give it through me.  That is true with money, furniture, preaching, truth, etc.  We are simply the vessels through whom God pours his life and stuff on other people.  We get if from him so we can give it away.  That keeps us from being Pharisees and Scribes, religious snobs who mark people off as the “haves” and the “have nots”.  I find that life in this great rule of Christ is best demonstrated in the way we give.

Every now and then I like picking a version of the Bible that brings a truth to light.  The one that rang my bell came out of the New Living Translation of the Bible.  I get to hold the bible in my hand, stand up in front of a crowd and “…brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.”  Old truth that rings a new bell.

Here is the story of a man who goes into his store house and brings something out.  He brings it out so he can share it.

Oh, God use it today to change lives.  It never gets old.

Click here for Gaither Video – Wonderful Words of Life

I am glad I have a place to go…

28″Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

Maybe it is the fact that I can come that blows my mind.  The offer is to those who are “weary and heavy laden”.  Maybe it is just me getting old.  Compared to Smith and Mahan (inside joke) I am still a young man with nothing to gripe about.  But after a long grinding week I wake up “weary” physically.  I wake up “heavy laden”.  There are things that weight long and hard on all of our hearts.  Things like issues that we deal with in our own life.  I was reminded yesterday how our past haunts us from time to time.  Maybe it has to do with family.  I always think about Jason and Jenn and their being planted in and around Baltimore, MD and the ministry that God gives them in the finance world and in caring for kids who have been neglected.  God was gracious to let them serve people there.  I always pray for Jeremy and the impact of his life with his friends.  He is a talented young man and is very gifted and compassionate.  I always pray for Kimberly for physical protection as she plays soccer and finishes up at school.  “Weary and heavy laden” are two of my traveling buddies.  I am glad that I can bring my wife, my church, the needy families in the fellowship, the hurting…  I am no stranger to those two.

God gave me a place to bring them – “Come unto me…”  There is no place in the world like the being in the presence of the Father.  I sit at our Child Care Center at Southside and watch as little children run and jump into the arms of their parents.  Some of the little ones crawl across the floor to their parents, pull up on their pant leg and all but beg for them to pick them up.  I watch as the little ones find comfort in the big hands of their parents carressing them into their arms.  There is a place to go.  I know that many a preacher has used this text to grind away at those who are lost and tell them if they will come to Jesus they could be saved.  However, I want to celebrate this morning that this child, on this side of eternity’s precious glory, I have a place to go.  And if I have sense I will stay there.  For all I need is in the Father’s arms.

And I will give you rest.  That ain’t a bad thing for those who “are weary and heavy laden”.  Rest is what I longed for at Whitestone Inn.  My room’s door there openned to a covered patio area that has two porch swings.  I spent a great deal of time moving from a bed, to a chair, to the swing, to the chair and then to the bed.  I wanted rest.  I found it.  Several months of worry over a mother in law with cancer, a week or more of watching a stroke be the intrument of God’s grace in getting her to heaven, and then several days of watching a family gather followed by a very dignified funeral for this fine woman, wore me out (wore our family out).  That swing was a place where God allowed rest to come to my own life.

I don’t have to hunt that place down.  He has hunted me down and offers that rest to me.  This morning I stand in that rest.  I am forgiven.  I am cleansed.  I am found.  I feel wanted.  “…Now I wonder whether I have sufficiently realized that during all this time God has been trying to find me, to know me, and to love me.  The question is not “How am I to find God?” but “How am I to let myself be found by Him?”  the question is not “How am I to know God?” but “How am I to let myself be know by God?”  And, finally, the question is not ” How am I tto love God?’  but ” How am I to let myself be loved by God?”  God is looing into the distance for me, trying to find me, and longing to bring me home…God wants to find me as much as, if not more than, I want to find God…”  p. 106, Nouwen, The Return of the Prodigal Son.  Come unto me!  Come home!  It’s where we belong.  It is a place we are created to be!

I am glad I have a place to go.

I was captivated by a song sung by the Annie Moses Band.  “When Daddy Says I’m Beautiful”  Being the day of a young lady, I find myself instantly drawn to the lyric.  However, hearing my own heavenly Father tell me the same thing is part of the ministry of this song to me.  Inside all of us is a little child longing to hear his or her father speak into their hearts.

Once it’s Out…

³ Set a guard over my mouth, O LORD;
keep watch over the door of my lips.

I will never forget Barry Lord standing behind the pulpit asking for a volunteer.  That is a dangerous thing to do.  He is good with illustrations.  His victim was given a tube of toothpaste and was asked to squeeze the contents into the aluminum pie plate.  Once a good bit out, Barry handed him a spoon and asked him to put it back into the tube.  What a joke!   He had toothpaste on the spoon, his hands, the plate and all over the tube and was never able to put it back.  The truth is – “Once it’s out, it ain’t going back in”.  I wish he had a mouth over the end of the tube.  The truth is so obvious.  When you speak those words, you can never get them back in.  When they are out, they are out.

Today in my scripture passages David was being chased by Saul.  Psalm 141 is a reminder from David for God to watch all aspects of his life.  Chronicles passage was filled with “who begat who” and interestingly enough a discussion on who would be the “gatekeepers” at the temple.  Furthermore, then Jesus sends the men out to preach and make a difference in the world.  I never know just where God will tag my own heart.  Today, it has to be with the gatekeeping activity that surrounds my own mouth.

God makes us like we are.  However, how we are made is no excuse to exercise a lack of discipline, especially in how we use our mouths.  I need a guard?  You bet.  At times I need a muzzle like a dog.  The older I am get the better I am getting at disciplining myself to “think” before I speak and allowing a little more grace to be applied to how I say what I say.   It is days like today that I am reminded again just how much God still has to do in my own life.  I will represent Him today in word and in deed.

The other observation is to remember that I have a Traveling Partner in this life who really does want to be a part of my life.  I am one of God beloved children.  He wants me to succeed and to get as much out of today as possible.  Of all the things that I would perceive God having to do, watching over my mouth would not be one of them.  However, David found real comfort in asking God to stand guard outside of his mouth and watch over this gate of his life.  What a way to start a day!  Talk to God and have confidence in his presence with us in that we would be able to stand watch over my mouth.

My sons introduced me to John Mayer.  Put a guitar in his hands and he can perform magic with it.  Now I know it is not a Christian song, but it goes right along with what I am trying to say.  My Stupid Mouth!  Listen!

My stupid mouth
Has got me in trouble
I said too much again
To a date over dinner yesterday
And I could see
She was offended
She said “well anyway…”
Just dying for a subject change

Oh, another social casualty
Score one more for me
How could I forget?
Mama said “think before speaking”
No filter in my head
Oh, what’s a boy to do
I guess he better find what soon

We bit our lips
She looked out the window
Rolling tiny balls of napkin paper
I played a quick game of chess with the salt and pepper shaker
And I could see clearly, An indelible line was drawn
Between what was good, what JUST slipped out and what went wrong

Oh, the way she feels about me has changed
Thanks for playing, try again.
How could I forget?
Mama said “think before speaking”
No filter in my head
Oh, what’s a boy to do
I guess he better find one

I’m never speaking up again
It only hurts me
I’d rather be a mystery
Than she desert me

Oh I’m never speaking up again
Starting now… Starting now

One more thing
Why is it my fault?
So maybe I try too hard
But it’s all because of this desire
I just wanna be liked
I just wanna be funny
Looks like the jokes on me
So call me captain backfire

I’m never speaking up again
it only hurts me
I’d rather be a mystery
than she desert me

oh I’m never speaking up again
I’m never speaking up again
I’m never speaking up again
Starting now, starting now…

He had compassion on them…

³⁶When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. ³⁷Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. ³⁸Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

I have been reading Henri Nouwen’s book The Return of the Prodigal Son.  Nouwen was captivated by Rembrandt’s painting  depicting his perspective of the Prodigal, and began to identify with the younger son.  Here is a young man who took all the inheritance that his father gave him after wishing that his father was dead and squandered it in lustful riotous living.  He took the risk of listening to the sounds of those around him who began to demonstrate that there is some kind of life that is greater than the one that is with the father.  His story starts as he leaves home, consuming his life at the bars in the lap of luxury, finds himself in squalor caring for pigs with nothing, and at the end of it all is back in the father’s embrace forgiven, cleansed and now home.  The father’s beloved has come home.

Nouwen was then encouraged to consider the fact that he might be struggling with the whole story of the prodigal because he might relate to the elder son more so than the younger.  The elder son was just as far away from the father as the younger.  Probably mad because he did not have the courage to chase the fancies as did the younger and risk all for the thrill of it all.  He is consumed in anger, bitterness, and like a Pharisee and Scribe, is consumed in being religious and proper.  He is so far away he is not moved by the father’s joy at the return of his younger brother and because of his resentment and the like does not even have a connection with the father any more.

Nouwen develops the story much more of course.  However, a woman encouraged him to consider the possibility “…whether you are the younger son or the elder son, you have to realize you are called to become the father.  …You have been looking for friends all of your life; you have been craving for affection as long as I have known you; you have been interested in thousands of things; you have been begging for attention, appreciation, and affirmation left and right.  The time has come to claim your true vocation – to be a father who can welcome his children home without asking them any questions and without wanting anything from them in return.  Look at the father in your painting and you will know what you are called to be.  We, at Daybreak, and most people around you don’t need you to be a good friend or even a kind brother.  We need you to be a father who can claim for himself the authority of true compassion.” (p. 22)

I look at the compassion of the father and instantly relate to Jesus who demonstrates for me this morning that he saw the crowds and was moved to stop standing off to the side with hands folded, distant and cold to the needs of people and the joy of the father.  He had compassion for them.  Today I am reminded that words like homecoming, affirmation, gratitude, joy and reconciliation have more to do with the heart of God.  I will run into loneliness, dejection, jealousy, and anger today.  I am a pastor and those things are never far away.

Today, God help me get past my issues with the younger and elder sons.  Allow me to live in the joy of my forgiveness and the sweet knowledge that I am home.  Help me to exercise my vocation of being one who can dispense Grace because I have received it by having compassion for others, being an encourager, welcoming people back home and living a life of trust and gratitude.  I am so thankful that you travel with me through this process.  I celebrate that I am your beloved and you are well pleased with me.  Deep inside me I long to live up to that privilege.

Be Exalted Oh God

¹⁰ For great is your love, reaching to the heavens;
your faithfulness reaches to the skies.

¹¹ Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;
let your glory be over all the earth…”

I am reminded that we are to ask God for our DAILY bread.  My assumption is that we choose every day to depend on God for all things.  It is not YEARLY BREAD…it is not MONTHLY bread…it is not bread for the REST OF YOUR LIFE.  It is Daily.  Daily dependence upon God.  David is running from Saul.  In a cave hiding with his men.  And God protected him again.  Now why that surprises me I haven’t a clue.  God always takes care of us.

The first prayer that made a difference in my life is “God be merciful to me a sinner!”  That prayer from a young eleven year old heart with his head bowed down in the chair in Pastor Gordon’s office secured me a place in heaven.  However, it has not bee the only prayer I have prayed.  Some years later I now join the Psalmist in singing  “¹⁰For thy mercy is great unto the heavens, and thy truth unto the clouds.  ¹¹Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens: let thy glory be above all the earth.” He sings of the mercy of God again.  He never leaves the mercy, truth and the glory of God issues alone.  David is blown away by what our faith in God achieves on the part of the believer.  David steps out of his cave and at the mouth of it begins to sing of the mercy of God and that God would be glorified in all the earth.  He could have easily said as did Pharasees and Scribes how pious he was and the cry of his heart could have been “Be exalted, Oh David, among the heavens.  His heart was set on what brought glory to God.

Asking that God be exalted and that His glory should fill all the earth is no claim to be able to “name it and claim it” on our part.  Extolling God and asking that his glory fill the earth is no relief from being in prison or in a cave, or in some other tough circumstance.  It is our hope that God brings glory to His name in this earth.  He is doing that even though I may not see it.  He is glorifying Himself.

I choose today to celebrate the Mercy and Love of God.  I choose this day to align myself with the Truth.  I choose this day to say to God bring glory to yourself.  Forgive me when I want to take the glory.  My heart is bent to you.  My heart is able this morning to be filled with joy.  I stand in your presence and shout and dance before the Lord because of His wonderful Mercy.  It floods the place.  I am thankful.

He is not waiting for my prayer to declare that into existence.  His Glory fills the earth.  This morning my prayer comes in sync with the truth that already exists.  I join all of the earth and heaven in declaring the Glory of God.

I see the sun beginning to fill the sky.  It is beautiful.  I celebrate the Love and Mercy of God this morning!

Let Go and Let God have his wonderful way…

⁷ For he has delivered me from all my troubles,
and my eyes have looked in triumph on my foes.

He did it again.  He takes care of his children.  I noticed that David who wrote the 54th Psalm was in trouble.  There were foes -  a simple but obvious discovery.  Tough to live on this side of heaven without them.  Especially if one has a serious thought about the reality of evil and the Enemy.  I noticed that this was not his first rodeo with trouble nor with God’s deliverance. I noticed God was watching, planning, organizing, working His way and will in that whole process even though it was not what we call the very best.  His confidence in God is overwhelming.  God developed a strong confidence in him one event at a time.  I also noticed that there is a big God and a little foe.

Worry is a control issue.  Why am I so prone to want to tell God how to do things when I believe he is in control of all things?  At Midland Park Baptist Church we used to sing a chorus that still rings in my head this morning -

Let go and let God have His wonderful way

Let go and let God have His way

Your sorrow will vanish

You night turned to day

Let go and let God have His way

The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.  Those words come from one of the literary giants in the Bible and of all time the 23rd Psalm.  I was reminded again of what I said last night. As I was preaching on it. The Lord is my shepherd today.  Getting control of worry is a daily choice.  Sometimes it’s a moment by moment choice.  The bad news for you is, there’s no seminar, there’s no pill, there’s no formula there’s no magic shot you can take that’s going to solve the problem of worry for you from this moment on, every day of your life.  It’s something that you have to get control of every day.

Stan Coffey’s illustration was amazing.  I heard about a grandfather clock that had been in a family for many generations and had stood in the hallway of a stately mansion.  He had kept perfect time and one day, he began to be concerned about the future and all the work, he was going to have to do.  He wondered how he would have the strength to continue to keep perfect time.  He said, “You know, I tick twice a second.”  He began to figure, and he said, “That’s one hundred and twenty ticks a minute that I’m going to have to tick.”  He said, “That’s one hundred and seventy-two thousand, eight hundred ticks every single day.”  Then he said, “NO, its sixty-two million ticks a year,” and he had a nervous breakdown.  He went to the clock psychiatrist.  The clock psychiatrist said, “Grandfather what’s the problem?”  He said, “The problem is, the future is overwhelming me.  I just can’t face the things I’m going to face.  I just can’t face all the work I’m going to have to do.”

The clock psychiatrist said, “Grandfather, what’s the problem.”  He told him, he had to tick sixty-two million ticks a year and for many more years.  The psychiatrist said, “Well, how many ticks do you have to tick at a time?”  He said, “One tick at a time.”  He said, “Grandfather, you don’t have to worry about sixty-two million ticks.  You have to worry about one tick.  You go back and stand in the hallway and you tick that one tick and don’t think about anything but that one tick and you concentrate on that one tick.  When you tick that tick, then you think about the next tick.”

Grandfather took his advice and he’s been standing in the hallway not for many years and is happy as can be ticking one tick at a time.

Lord it is your day!  You made it.  I heard you invite me to join you in the day.  I will “Let go…”  Let’s go!

Sidebar:  I love Vocal Band Harmony

The Apple of His Eye

⁶ I call on you, O God, for you will answer me;
give ear to me and hear my prayer.

⁷ Show the wonder of your great love,
you who save by your right hand
those who take refuge in you from their foes.

⁸ Keep me as the apple of your eye;
hide me in the shadow of your wings

⁹ from the wicked who assail me,
from my mortal enemies who surround me.

Resting.  Busy.  Hiding.  Running.  RESTING!  People were ratting David out.  Folk are getting killed because of God’s touch on his life and David’s journey through this whole “Saul ain’t right” time.  A whole city of priests, their families – men, women, and children are destroyed persuant to Saul’s demented command.  I guess if the Spirit leaves you, one would go completely mental.  He lost his mind and I guess he loaded his gun and went to the post office of their day and opened up on the nearest thing to him.  He went postal.  He was hunting David down like a dog.  Furthermore, what was David doing?  RESTING!

His relationship by faith with the Lord God was unbelievable.  I was caught off guard with the thought of these four verses.  I read about him praying and God hearing.  I read about him being the Apple of His Eye.  David was so certain that he was under the protective wing of God.  His confidence in his relationship with the Father is so evident.  This question came to my mind.  How did he get to that place?  He had to have had it before the spears started being thrown and the swords started clanging together.  What kind of background developed that kind of confidence in God even in the midst of attack.

It is not about church attendance.  It is not about giving money to the church.  It is not about something that I do.  I cannot earn the right to be in this kind of relationship any more than David can claim that his works provided him the chance to be called the Apple of God’s Eye.  I am certain that David was not the only Apple of His Eye.  Those of us who are in a relationship with God through Christ under the leadership of the Holy Spirit have that same confidence, and we can rest in the FACT that we are his child.  By virtue of our relationship Nancy, Jason and Jenn, Jeremy and Kimberly are the Apples of My Eye.  They don’t have to “earn” the right to be there.  They simply enjoy knowing that they are special to me.  They can REST in that fact.  Furthermore, I will act accordingly to guide, protect, provide, or whatever is needed not because they act right, but because we are in a relationship.

He can face Saul because he talked to God, was intimate with God and enjoyed an affectionate relationship with God.  His relationship with God was so big that Saul’s attacks (even though present and personal) were nothing compared to the relationship he had with God.

Conversations about Spiritual Formation were plenty at the conference and still ongoing.  Leading people away from a “works” mentality into one filled with “grace” is one more challenge for those of us whose current assignment is to lead people into a relationship with Christ.  There is a longing in my heart to help people discover that we walk because of our faith in Christ in the GRACE of Christ.  There is a REST that comes to my heart because I am IN CHRIST.  He doesn’t protect me from the stuff of life.  He protects me in the stuff of life.

In Saul’s eyes, he is a dog and a pain.  Out of Saul’s tormented soul, David is seen as the enemy.  He is hated by Saul and all those who surround Saul.  Oh to get to the place where the only voice you hear is the voice of God telling you how special you are to HIM.  All of us are special to God, but when the heat is on – we become aware of just how special – The Apple of His Eye.  Talk about intimacy!  Apple of His Eye and Under His wing.  Both are protected by their parent.  No wonder the Lord’s model prayer starts off by saying, “Our Father who art in heaven…”  He is my Father.  I am His child.  Furthermore, if He had a refrigerator in heaven, my picture would be on it!

And he does that because I am his child and the Apple of His Eye!

Chocolate Turtles, Peach Jam, Mountain Honey…

⁸ Taste and see that the LORD is good;
blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.

Ole Smoky Mountain Candy Kitchen, Gatlinburg, TN.  Need I say more?  Ever since I was a child…a little child…I have been going down the main street in Gatlinburg stopping by to watch the cooks make pulled taffy.  Watching them captivates me still.  It was always a treat.  Someone can hand me that box of taffy and my mind travels back to so many good places in my own experience.  It is fun watching.

Yesterday I returned home from Whitestone in Kingston, TN.  I haven’t seen Nancy since Sunday right after church, and it was wonderful to get home.  I enjoyed my trip but it is always good to be back at your own home.  Kimberly and Nancy enjoyed their annual trip to the mountains where they hiked and shopped.  Guess where they went?  That’s right to Gatlinburg, TN.  Furthermore, guess where they went while they were there?  You got that right sports fans, Ole Smoky Mountain Candy Kitchen.  They brought me home a taste of the goodies in that store.  I enjoy the mountain honey for it goes good with my Starbucks coffee at home.  They saw Peach Jam.  Mickey Northern has ruined me on that stuff, and now I find another supply…wow!  Chocolate Turtles – caramel, chocolate, pecans, and whatever else they can cram in those little candies from heaven.  I promise you they will not stay on the shelf.  My plan is to open and destroy!

I guess the word “taste” caught me this morning.  I find that candy is not meant to look at, but to “taste”.  It is not enough to see it.  One needs to taste it.  I remember the story of Samson the other day where the lion’s head on its dead carcass was being utilized by bees and was filled with honey.  They “tasted” it and gleaned strength from it.  They could have seen it, admired it, talked about and had a conference where men and women all around the world could give them insight on the honey in the lion’s head.  Until you taste it, experience it, you never get the strength that comes from eating the honey.  It’s like having gifts and talents, and they stay in a person and never get used.  They can sing for the Lord and never “taste” the experience.  They can teach but never do…they simply look at it and never “taste”.

I have gone to this retreat for seven years now.  I remember when I was invited to go and finally made my mind up to go and “taste” or experience it for myself.  I have nothing in my life that compares with what God does in my life because I am willing to “taste” it and not talk about it.  I get up early during the week and make my way to the scriptures each day, so I can “taste” for myself what it is that God wants to say to me that day and the delight is that I have never gone away hungry.  I have also experiential knowledge that God continually is my refuge.  I did not learn that out of a book, but walked it out in my own experience.  Saul is trying his best to kill David.  David knows he is protected by God.  It doesn’t keep him from harm for the spears are still thrown and the armies still seek him out and the crazy man never stops until he dies.  However, God is still his protector every day.  He has tasted it and knows that God will protect him.  He tasted it.

And it is good!

He CAN and he WANTS to…He is God!

O my Strength, to you I sing praises,
for you, O God, are my refuge,
the God who shows me unfailing love.

David is running from Saul.  He is trying to keep his head on his shoulders.  His friend Jonathan and his wife are both being used of God in helping him to escape from a king with a tormented spirit.  Saul tries to pin him to the wall with a spear, he sends out armies to kill him, and he tries to hunt him down.  He promises to not kill him while he is trying to kill him.

In the midst of all that, he goes to God.  At least he is honest with God and tells God that he doesn’t understand why he is hated by Saul.  He carefully lays out, with confidence, his own fears and complaints before God.  He also takes a moment to declare his confidence in God.  He says three things about his God in this verse:  1.  He says that God is his Strength.  2.  He says that God is his refuge.  3.  He says that God is the one that shows him unfailing love.

God is the one that provided him outer security and inner satisfaction.  His relationship to God was real.  This was not his first rodeo.  He had watched God protect him over and over.  His confidence was strong in the Lord. He knew that God could help him and that because of his unfailing love would help him.  Not only is God strong but he is sensitive toward his children.  Not only is God powerful but he is in love with his children.  His power lets us know he can take care of things.  His love lets us know he will take care of us.

Saul may have been king.  Saul moved by his tormented spirit may have caused David a lot of grief but, God was always there to protect and take care of David.  He did not learn that truth at that moment.  He obviously had learned that a little bit at a time through life.  So when the spears started coming at him and the armies at the command of Saul tried to kill him he did not have to come up with some supportive theology of what he would know about God, he already had that hammered out in his life.

When you stand beside Saul you may have cause to tremble.  But, when you stand Saul next to God – you get a completely different perspective.

Our God is an awesome God.  Not only can he take care of us – He really does WANT to do so.  That “unfailing love” stuff takes my breath away.

O my Strength, to you I sing praises,
for you, O God, are my refuge,
the God who shows me unfailing love.

Hard to have a wedding when the Bride Groom ain’t there!

³¹ David assigned the following men to lead the music at the house of the Lord after the Ark was placed there.

As I read the Bible every day I watch God relate to His people.  And the miracle of it to me this morning is that He still wants to relate to us.  He loves me.  I hear Jesus say to me that He will never leave me nor forsake me.  He chooses to live in me.  I get to walk with Him and He allows me to journey with him through life.

It is early on Thursday morning and the blue hues that rest across the reflections of the Tennessee River prepare to give birth to the first streams of sunlight.  It is cool.  Trees are beginning to take shape.  I close my eyes and begin to hear God speak to me inviting me to enjoy the day with Him.  I have no idea where we are going.  I have no idea who I will have the joy of meeting.  The circumstances of the day are not evident.  We have made an agreement that there will be no agenda while we are here.  But I hear God speak to my heart.

The place in Scripture that knocked me down this morning was the 31st verse that said David found musicians to sing all the time and minister at the Temple AFTER THE ARK HAD BEEN PLACED THERE.  If I remember well it was Vance Havner who said that the average Baptist Church could operate without the Holy Spirit’s guidance.  I am more convinced than ever that is true in my own life.  We have a tendency to do things as a lone ranger.  We don’t want to do life with God and we find it a struggle to do life with other Christians.

I like good music at church.  I was raised in a church where my musical training happened at church.  George and Beverly Broom were absolutely vital in my developing a love for music in the church.  I like a lot of different kinds of music.  My parents gave me the chance to develop skills in playing several instruments.  I sang in the choir at church all of my life.  I was a part of the Choral Department at Truett-McConnell College in Cleveland, GA.  I was a part of the TMC Singers.  Of the 35 years of ministry, music ministry was my bread and butter in the earlier aspects of ministry.  I like music.

I have discovered that you can sing because you love music.  I have also discovered that when the presence of God is present “you want to sing”.

All the preparation in the world makes a wedding useless if the bridegroom doesn’t show up.  It is a far more meaningful even if the Main character is present.

But oh, how sweet it is when He is there. He is here, Alleluia He is here Amen.

God, forgive me for doing all this “stuff” in the flesh and my own effort.  Forgive me for forgetting that you are present with me.  I admit that my tendency is to do things the way I have always done them.

I laughed at Daniel…

⁵⁵ As Saul watched David go out to fight the Philistine, he asked Abner, the commander of his army, “Abner, whose son is this young man?”

“I really don’t know,” Abner declared.

⁵⁶ “Well, find out who he is!” the king told him.

⁵⁷ As soon as David returned from killing Goliath, Abner brought him to Saul with the Philistine’s head still in his hand. ⁵⁸ “Tell me about your father, young man,” Saul said.

And David replied, “His name is Jesse, and we live in Bethlehem.”

Daniel is a hoot.  His quick wit makes this week of fellowship for me.  We dog him something terrible.  He earns the right for most of it and is able to quickly return the shot.  He is a lot of fun.  He pastored in upstate South Carolina and now pastors in Houston, MS.  He did a splendid job last evening preaching and God spoke to my heart.

In commenting on his good job he let us know (jokingly) that we could get the CD’s of his message and that his new book, just out, would be available for purchase.  His new book was titled, How Proud I am of my Humility.  We all laughed and ordered one hundred copies each…right!  Usually when you gather that many preachers in a building massive amounts of arrogance are evident around the room.  Whitestone is a place where you can escape that kind of thing.   I come here simply because you really find no one posturing for a prescribed pecking order.  It is just fun to be around a group of guys who want to hear God speak.

I noticed that David had been asked by his dad to carry groceries to his brother and take a gift to the captains.  He got there and noticed that there was a giant threatening and taunting Israel’s army.  His specific deal was that he was attacking God.  The God inside David was a lot bigger than the big rascal who thought himself god of the battle.  David’s confidence in God was solid.  Refusing to utilize Saul’s armor, allowing himself to be himself he stopped by the river and picked up five smooth stones, instructed the big guy that he would kill him, cut his head off and feed him to the birds, he loaded up his sling and dropped the big boy.  He cut his head off and that’s the rest of the story.

Except I was blown away at what he said at the end of it all.  When asked who he was he said, “My dad is Jesse and we live in Bethlehem.”  To start with how could Saul forget who he was to start with.  He had played to help him through his insane bouts with depression or whatever he had.  He sat by him and played his harp.  David could have recounted a thousand things he had done.  He simply and humbly answered the king’s question.

I guess this morning God reminded me that I am fortunate to be forgiven, grateful for the grace that I walk around in, and tickled at the talents he has entrusted to me.  My calling to be a pastor is humbling enough especially when I remind myself from whence I came.  Yet he entrusts to me the gifting and empowerment to accomplish the work he gave me.  When it is all done and over everyday, I can as most of us can stand in front of God with bowed heads of thanksgiving and say, “I am my Father’s son, and he lives in me.”  If anything good comes out of my life it is because He did the work.

Maybe my own dad was right when he taught me that it would be amazing what could be accomplished if people could do things and did not care who got the credit for it.

Good morning, God.  Thank you for a new day!

Tuesday!

l/r W.L. Collins, Jim Crooks, Ken Sandifer, Daniel Inabinet My Accountability Group from Florence

Men need men.  Christian men need other Christian men to touch their lives.  Was reminded again today that it is absolutely vital that we live our lives in contact with other men who care about each other.  The delight of being here is that we all share a common love for God, a vital connection with God’s calling in our lives and a real appreciation for each other.  We come from Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, Mississippi, Georgia, Florida, and for the sake of being politically correct I hope and pray I haven’t missed someone’s state.  Anyway, for what it’s worth, only God could put this kind of crowd together and allow us to be a part of each other’s lives for a week.  We share life while we are here.

Mike reminded me again to check out my love for Christ.  He is alive and that ought to make a difference in the way I live for him.  Daniel walked us through three different places where we were encouraged to find our place, walk at God’s pace and then focus on His face.  God spoke to my heart through each of these sermons.  Usually Ken Smith does all the major teaching and he was kind enough to allow us to hear from God through each other.  What a chance to enjoy the Biblical model.  Ken’s insight at that point was so powerful.

Again, tonight I feel normal.  I am getting some rest which is part of the process.  I have eaten way too much today and am paying for it as I write this.  I am reminded of God’s instructions to Elijah as he sat under the Juniper tree fearfully running for that old witchy leader Jezebel.  He asked him to do several things the first of which was to rest…get some sleep…and then he fed him. He got his strength back and was ready to face life again.

I have discovered just how tiring these past several months have been in my own family’s life.  Moving toward the Easter Season is always stressful for staff at church.  Nancy’s mom being so sick and her death that followed the stroke added to the tiredness in stealthy ways that I did not notice until I had a chance to sit down.  God reminded me that I needed to get away.   I am thankful for those who make this time away a reality.

Kill the camel…they probably taste like chicken!

³ Now go and completely destroy^[a] the entire Amalekite nation—men, women, children, babies, cattle, sheep, goats, camels, and donkeys.”

I started this process a year ago now.  I have been asking God to help me be consistent in reading the Scriptues and hearing from him.  That is a good thing.  There is nothing in the world as frustrating as coming to the Scriptures with a preconceied notion or opinion and then have God shake all that up.   Honoring God requires us to be smitten with questions every now and then.

Getting to choose the kind of God I want to serve is not on the agenda.   Choices would be great.  I want to go to a big room and today if I want to serve a fair God, I could choose door number 1.  A vindictive God would be behind door number 2 so I could go get him and he could “get” the person that just aggravated me…you know kind of like put on them that “tormenting spirit” that kind of slipped up on Saul because “God did that to him.”  Behind door number 3 would be a nice God who made sure that everyone had the same kind of drink as we all sat around and sang “Kum Ba Ya”.  I guess he is never supposed to offend anyone and we are all supposed to be friends, huh?  Behind door number 4 would be the wise God.  If you needed any decision you could just ask and he would give you the answer you need.  I am sitting at Whitestone Inn.  Hearing from God is what I want to do this week.  I ask and just to be honest either my spiritual ears are stopped up or I just ain’t hearing a thing from God at times.  I want to punch door number 4 and the right answer just falls out.

To be honest with you I am discovering three things.  One – God is God.  Second – I am not God!  Third – Keeping those in the right order consumes a great deal of my time.

I bring my American, everything has to be fair, all people should be treated right kind of thing, attitude to the table when I am reading about God.  This 15th chapter goofed that all up.  He tells the priest how to lead the nation – not the president.  Imagine that, a preacher tells the president what to do and he is supposed to listen to the man of God.  Wow.  He tells the priest to go tell the king to wipe out an entire nation.  I am not fond of donkeys.  I have friends who have goats and the baby ones are cute.  I think camels stink (they probably taste like chicken).  Men can fight.  Some men fight like women.   Some women are pretty good at that as well.  But kill babies and children?  Then that question slips off my tongue, “what kind of God would say that kind of thing?”

Excuse me while I take down the sides of the box I have built for God.  I think he laughs when he sees me pick up the Bible and read stories about Him.  He tells my dad, “Watch is brain fry when he reads this one!”  He is not boring.  I can tell you that.  He is God.  He is in charge.  I’m not.

And I am glad!

“…a place where you can check up on your soul…”

1One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret,[a]with the people crowding around him and listening to the word of God, 2he saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. 3He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat. 4When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down[b] the nets for a catch.” 5Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.” 6When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. 7So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink. 8When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” 9For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, 10and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will catch men.” 11So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.

Why the long passage?  It was the text Jerry Mahan used tonight to help focus our attention.   Before I go there, I want to review where I am with you a moment.  Ken Smith has for years wanted to invest his life in the lives of preachers and provide for them a safe place where I can go and rest, reflect, renew and check up on my own soul.  I never do this alone.  I don’t think you can.  And Ken has provided a place where I can do just that with men who have walked together for years now.  I enjoy the time we spend.  I am honored at the sacrifice that has allowed me to be present here this week.  Whitestone Inn is a place of peace.  It is one place where my soul can find rest.

Jerry is our pastoral mentor.  The guy can flat preach and he has a wonderful pastor’s heart.  I am honored to know that those of y0u who are members of  Southside Baptist Church have had a chance to hear him preach.  He has impacted my own ministry.

He reminded us tonight that our measure of success and God’s measure of success may be a bit different.  There were several who were the first four that Jesus called to be disciples.  Peter was probably the most successful as a minister.  Andrew impacted a few lives but you don’t hear a lot about him.  John wrote books of the bible.  James was beheaded following a brief imprisonment.  To mention a few others – Paul started some churches but it was others that God used to really blossom the work that God began in the churches.  Carey, the one through whom God much of our current missionary movement spent seven years in India teaching, preaching and ministering and never saw a single convert during those seven years. Isaiah was given the dubious responsibility to preach to a group of people who would never change and faced ultimate destruction.  His ministry was doomed to fail.  But none of those guys were failures.

Jerry reminded me tonight that God uses a different measure.  God may see that faithful Sunday School teacher who teaches faithfully to a group of Senior Adults, or to a quiet place for two generations in the nursery as far more important as the one who preaches in the pulpit for fifty years.  I am certain that God looks as all the work we do.  When we get to glory and God shares with us our rewards, we will take the crowns we have gained, take them off, and lay them at the feet of Jesus.

Maybe his standard is not the size of the class.  Maybe God will not honor  the man who jumps the highest and shouts the loudest but to the one who will hear those words we long to hear “…well done good and faithful servant.”

The meal at the table was good tonight.  The meal at God’s table was far more meaningful to me tonight.

I am thankful that God gave Ken the vision to create a “…place where you can check your soul.”  Mine was touched again tonight.

Raining in Marietta and that’s a good thing!

If you have ever been to Marietta, GA people give folk directions around her using this as a landmark. On the corner of Hwy 41 and Roswell Street.

¹¹ Dear brothers and sisters,^[c] I close my letter with these last words: Be joyful. Grow to maturity. Encourage each other. Live in harmony and peace. Then the God of love and peace will be with you.

Easter Sunday is always big in a preacher’s life and the same is true in our family’s life.  Being in God’s house on the premier day of Christian History is important to me.  I have only missed preaching one of them and that was ten years ago when my father died.

This year was special to me for several reasons.  I was reminded again of the impact the resurrection had on our family as we buried Nancy’s mom.  The Bible says if we share in his death we shall also share in his resurrection.  If we are believers, die to ourselves and allow Christ to rule our lives, we shall enjoy the benefit of being a Child of God and the promise of going to heaven is ours – Bought, paid for, and secured by the death, burial and resurrection of Christ.  I have discovered that we hook a lot of our hope to what Christ did.

Our friends Debbie and Randy were with us.  Nancy and Debbie have been friends for years.  Randy (Debbie’s husband) and I have had to put up with each other by default.  I really enjoy being around him.  He is a delight.  To look up and see him worship with us yesterday was a delight.  A couple from Central Florida, Sweetwater I believe, met Southside on our web site and joined us for worship.  They were spending time last week in the Shanadoah Valley area and wanted to go to church.  They saw our church site and decided to visit with us.  A young lady who had been visiting with us became a believer yesterday.  It is amazing to be reminded of the impact that a Sunday School Class where friends love each other and the power of having a Children’s Ministry that cares about children.  Unbelievable.  All of them played a part of allowing the Holy Spirit to work through them in caring for a young lady.  It started all over again for that young Christian yesterday.  Harrison gave his life to Christ.  He is six.  He told his mom and dad when he gave his life to Christ that he should have done it sooner it felt so good.  Six mind you…. I had the joy of baptizing him yesterday.  Another friend invited a co-worker to church yesterday and watched as God touched her heart.  Mom’s were praying for sons in Iraq and because of that I was reminded to pray for Will.

Ken and I have been reminded that Marietta, GA is  a beautiful place in the spring of the year.  We eat lunch today with a common friend.  The Right Most Reverend Dr. Randy Brown has the dubious responsibility of picking out the cleanest McDonald’s in Chattanooga so we can enjoy lunch together.  He is my Methodist friend from Winchester, TN.  We enjoy a week together outside of Kingston, TN each year that God graces us with that joy.

I am blessed with an unbelievable God who loves me and cares for me.  I celebrate the fact that forgiveness is mine and my guilt is gone.  I have a blessed family, great friends, and the joy of rest.

It should be easy to ”… Be joyful. Grow to maturity. Encourage each other. Live in harmony and peace. Then the God of love and peace will be with you.”

I am looking forward to this day.  I guess there are a lot of places I could be.  I am in Marietta and it’s raining…and that’s a good thing.  It will be a good thing.

“As for me…”

23 “As for me, I will certainly not sin against the Lord by ending my prayers for you. And I will continue to teach you what is good and right. 24 But be sure to fear the Lord and faithfully serve him. Think of all the wonderful things he has done for you.

Watching people do in the flesh what God only intended to do in the Spirit is a tough thing to do.  God intended to lead the nation through a spiritual leader.  Samuel walked with God and listened to His voice.  God’s way is so different from the world’s way inside and outside of the church.  Finding out what God is doing and then joining Him in what he is up to is such a vital leadership principle.  Kings can lead.  Leading is not the problem.  We can find strong leaders.  What is tough is finding strong spiritual leadership.  It is tough because being a strong spiritual leader is a tough thing to do.  If it were easy, everyone would be doing it.

As for me…I was blown away at his willingness to look in the mirror of God’s heart as it pertains to his calling and not some general “calling”.  God had his hand on him for a task.  He had a responsibility in that moment of history that affected the Israelite history.  He saw it as his spiritual calling to “pray”.  He was a spiritual intercessor between God and the people of God.  To not do that would be a sin for him.  As a leader, his responsibility was primarily to pray for them.  In these two verses, I see five action words – PRAY – TEACH – FEAR and SERVE – THINK.

Today I will recommit myself to pray for myself, my family, my friends and my church family.

Today I will recommit myself to teach people what is good and right.

Today I am reminded of three practical ways to relate to God.
I will fear and respect God
I will faithfully serve Him
I will commit myself to think of the wonderful things he has done

I can accomplish that and I don’t even need a line item in the budget to get that done.  Time alone with God, the Word of God, and the desire to watch people grow in the Lord as I get to teach them is all that it cost.  I guess Paul could do that in the synagogue, in a public place, in a private home, or in jail…it didn’t matter.

I wonder if the difference between a Saul and Samuel had a lot to do with who they were called to serve?  One served people, the other served the Lord.  I was thinking of Jesus’ directive in life when he uttered it in the temple as a young man when he said, “I must be about my Father’s business.”  As I see him hanging on the cross he was doing the same thing.  As he served God, he could not help but serve others.

Thank you God for the reminder.

Sidebar:  This is absolutely a scream!  I know – from the sublime to the stupid…but it is funny!  IT’S THE END THAT OWNED ME!

What more need I say…

¹⁷But, “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.”

I cannot get near Good Friday with out thinking of my father and my Heavenly Father.  My dad died 10 years ago on Good Friday (it was actually April 2nd at the time).  I am thankful for the Other One I knew that died on Good Friday.  Because my Heavenly Father let the Savior, His Son, die on Good Friday, my earthly father who was a believer in the Father through the Son under the guidance of the Holy Spirit could confidently face the great day he entered the presence of God on Good Friday.  I often say because Christ died on Good Friday and rose again on Easter my father could die on Good Friday and be ushered into the presence of God on Good Friday.

Easter Season is more special today than ever.  Ed Crooks and now Betty Treadway – both treasures of this earth who are now enjoying the pleasures of Glory.

What more need I say…Thank you God for the Cross of Christ.

At the Cross
~ Isaac Watts, 1674-1748

~ Chorus by Ralph E. Hudson, 1843-1901
Stanza 1:

Alas! and did my Savior bleed?

And did my Sov’reign die?

Would He devote that sacred head

For such a worm as I?
Chorus :

At the cross, at the cross,

Where I first saw the light,

And the burden of my heart rolled away -

It was there by faith I received my sight,

And now I am happy all the day.
Stanza 2:

Was it for crimes that I have done

He groaned upon the tree? Amazing pity! Grace unknown!

And love beyond degree!
(Chorus)
Stanza 3:

Well might the sun in darkenss hide

And shut its glories in,

When Christ, the mighty Maker, died

For man the creature’s sin.
(Chorus)
Stanza 4:

Thus might I hide my blushing face

While His dear cross appears;

Dissolve my heart in thankfulness,

And melt mine eyes to tears.
(Chorus)
Stanza 5:

But drops of grief can ne’er repay

The debt of love I owe:

Here, Lord, I give myself away -

‘Tis all that I can do!
(Chorus)