He is God not some Good Ole Boy!

⁸ He said, “They are my very own people.
Surely they will not betray me again.”
And he became their Savior.
⁹ In all their suffering he also suffered,
and he personally^[a] rescued them.
In his love and mercy he redeemed them.
He lifted them up and carried them
through all the years.
¹⁰ But they rebelled against him
and grieved his Holy Spirit.
So he became their enemy
and fought against them.

Now there is an enemy you don’t want to have.  From Savior to enemy.  I am sitting in my car at Freedom Florence watching my daughter practice her cross-country running.  I am minding my own business reading throug Isaiah when I am again captivated by a loving God who looks at the love of His life, those who are “…my very own people…”, and watches them rebell again.  He loves them so much.  He wants them to be true at the heart to HIM.  I noticed the change in emotions on God’s part just in these few verses.  He loves them.  He is excited that they are focused on Him again.  He journeys with them in suffering – rescues them personally – redeems them – carries them – stuff you really do with whom you are in love.  BUT they rebelled (I have never done that ) and they grieved the Holy Spirit (I have never done that ).  Now he has moved from the love with them to an enemy fighting against them.  WOW!

I saw Kimberly just run by.  She yelled up to me, “Hey!”  How she loves her dad.  God looked at the love of his life and said, “My people…”  “Mine…”  I love them.  They have come home.  He reminded me again this morning how special I am.  He looked in the window of my truck this morning as I sit here enjoying His breeze, “There’s Jim, he’s mine…”

Surely I will not betray him again.  He redeemed me.  He lifts me up.  He carries me.  I am looking for a day – one more glorious day – when I won’t blow it again.  Sin will be out of the picture.  I will anticipate a day today where my focus will be on Him…where my love will not unfocus for Him… and that is my hope and prayer.  I am reminded that I, too, am a sinner.  I blew it yesterday.  Thank God for His grace.

I am also reminded WHO the love of my life is.  It is HOLY God.  He is not some good ole boy that just travels along with us.  He joins me in my journey today.   But HE joins me in my journey.  I am reminded this morning that there is no one greater that God.  Because of Christ I am in the family.  It is not on the basis of what I have done.  I didn’t earn it.  I should treat that fact with respect and live appreciatively different.

I don’t know why it gripped me this morning but when I read that last line above out of Isaiah, I thougth, “He’s the very last person I would want as my enemy – fighting against me!”  I know the outcome of that battle.  It is over before it starts.  But, I guess I would be the one that caused the fight to start with.

Here she comes again…”Hey!”

Beauty for Ashes…

³ and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.

Maybe it is me, however, I find myself reeling this morning from what I have experienced yesterday.  Mr. Nutter is on his way to heaven an hour at a time.  His heart is in bad shape.  He is weak.  His family is loving and caring for him as well.  I was reminded of a daughter who loves her mother who is struggling with Alzheimer’s Disease.  Having to care for her mom at home while she tries to teach in high school and has very little support in the care of her mother is a tough thing to watch.  I get a call last evening that Vivian Benton has had to move her husband from a nursing facility to McLeod’s Hospice House and she is watching the last hours of his life on this side of eternity pass by.  Her voice was heavy on the phone.  I am looking forward to our time together today as I visit them in the hospice house.   My friend, Steve Pigate, has joined his sister Michelle as they patiently watch post-surgery progress following brain surgery on their mother, Janice.  The surgery went longer than projected at first and now they are patiently learning to trust God through trauma units and life support machines.  The prospects are good for her recovery but it is a critical time this morning.   Sister Mary faces knee replacement surgery this morning in a few hours.

Israel’s hearts were heavy as well.  The darkness inthe national life screamed for some light.  They were ready for the grieving to stop and the rejoicing to begin.  The blandness of their faces needed the oil of gladness and their sad songs needed a bit of praise to lighten up their steps.

While we walk through tough stuff, we still have hope.  Our faith in the living God and the promises of the Word of God find a way of bringing to us in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ a new crown, new oil, and a new garment.  A crown of beauty that will replace the crown of ashes that lay on our grieving heads, new oil from heaven that will brighten up the shine on our faces, and a garment of praise removing the spirit of heaviness.

I am reminded of my life verse this morning – Proverbs 3:5-6

⁵ Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
⁶ In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct^[a] your paths.

And thank you Barry Lord for Psalm 90:14 – heard from those Filipino singers -

¹⁴ Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love,
that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.

Behavior Indicator!

¹ Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save,
nor his ear too dull to hear.

¹¹Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives.

I was thinking this morning that you don’t have to spend one second of your life wondering if Michael Jordan was a great basketball player.  All one has to do is watch the tapes.  I remember growing up in Atlanta watching guys like Hank Aaron hit a ball or Maddox pitch a game.  They were great in the arena of baseball.  There was a corrolation between what they said they could do and what they did.  You simply could tell by watching.  One says that they are a ball player and it corresponds to what you see from their lives.

Isaiah reminded me again that – “¹ Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save,
nor his ear too dull to hear.”  His arm is not too short to save nor his ear to dull to hear.  He can come to our aid and he will hear our plea.  The people of God were living lives that were so inconsistent to the faith they said they held.  They were sinners, liars, people filled with injustice.  It was very difficult to tell the difference between the people of faith and those who had no faith at all.

Then in the same set of readings for today Peter writes asking that in the light of the coming of Christ and in the light of this world in which we live, what kind of life should we live. In his second letter, Peter begins to declare the truth of the soon return of Christ.  I sensed that he was saying that IF you  believe he is coming that should impact your lifestyle.  There should be an urgency to live boldly for Christ in this world today.

I am reminded that today will be full of opportunities to give witness to the fact that if you call yourself a Christian and a preacher and a pastor and a godly leader, then there should be a corresponding behavior.  I desire this morning in a new way for the communication lines to be very open between God and myself.  I want nothing to stand in between.  I take inventory of my lifestyle.  I have a friend who, because of some major stuff going on in his life, finds it necessary and profitable to utilize what is going on as motivation to do an inventory of his life.  There are things that need to be cleaned up, some things that need to be removed, and others that need to be strengthened.  I am proud of what God is doing in his life right now.

G0d is singing that same tune this morning to me as well.  I know his hand is not short and his ear is not dull.

Thursday!

Nancy and I will be on the way home this morning.  We have enjoyed helping Jason and Jenn (my son and his wife) paint parts of their townhouse for the past three days.  Our task is complete and their home has a new facelift.  We, too, have enjoyed being around them.  How we long to be closer to them.  The older we get the more wonderful conversations we have and how our hearts long to see them more.  All we needed was an excuse to share some time with them.  Nancy and I enjoy the creative aspects of painting and watching a place take on a brand new character.

I am reminded that I am not as young as I used to be.  I am blessed by God in so many ways. God has been gracious to provide us with strength and protection as we have worked here.  We are thankful for his goodness.

We are humbled to have such great children.  They bring such joy to our lives.  Jason and our daughter in law Jenn, along with Jeremy and Kimberly are such blessing to us.  Jason left a few minutes ago to go to Baltimore to work as an accountant.  Jenn is a social worker and a student who works with Maryland’s Department of Social Services working with another young woman as a team who deals with families who have their children taken away from the parents.  Jeremy is such a gifted and creative young man.  He is planning on either serving in the Coast Guard or some form of military service with the hopes of being in police work one of these days or working out of his graphic arts skills and talents.  He is blessed of God in his creative abilities.  Kimberly is working hard on preparing for her last semester at South Florence High School.  She is preparing to play tennis and run cross country with the school’s teams as well.  She is planning on going to Florence Darlington Technical College for the rest of the school year with the hopes of attending Charleston Southern University.    We are blessed.

We have enjoyed our visit with Jason and Jenn and now on the way home to see Jeremy and Kimberly (and Lacey, too!).

Psalm 46 – HE Still IS!

¹ God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.

⁵ God is within her, she will not fall;
God will help her at break of day.

⁷ The LORD Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Selah

¹¹ The LORD Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Selah

God is.  And I am glad!

A few quotes from The Shack that came to mind as I thought about God IS…

Papa: “The problem is that many folks try to grasp some sense of who I am by taking the best version of themselves, projecting that to the nth degree, factoring in all the goodness they can perceive, which often isn’t much, and then call that God. And while it may seem like a noble effort, it falls pitifully short of who I really am. I’m not merely the best version of you that you can think of. I am far more than that, above and beyond all that you can ask or think” (98).

Jesus: “Because you don’t believe. You don’t know that we love you. The person who lives by their fears will not find freedom in my love… to the degree that those fears have a place in your life, you neither believe that I am good nor know deep in your heart that I love you. You sing about it; you talk about it, but you don’t know it” (142).

One of the reasons I enjoyed reading The Shack a while back was the picture it gives of God being with us.  He is good enough to give us stories (as we read the Bible) of the past for our reflection, guidance, and an introduction of Himself to us.  His promise is that HE IS with us in the present as he lives in us…so I would have to say that the stories and truths written down in days past are for our guidance in faith and practice in the present.  He WAS to them.  He IS to us right now in this part of my journey.  He IS so much more than we could ask or think…HE IS…

HE chooses to love us in the present as we are journeying together.  I am glad that He is there to catch me when I fall…

“…the Way of Holiness…”

⁸ And a highway will be there;
it will be called the Way of Holiness.
The unclean will not journey on it;
it will be for those who walk in that Way;
wicked fools will not go about on it.

I don’t think I am alone.  I think there are others who are looking forward to things to come.  I have heard that our President and his cronies are going to “fix” our health care system.  I hear him make all kinds of promises while he prints more money that one of these days someone is going to have to pay back after I am dead and gone to heaven.  I watched with unbelief a man walk across a motel in another country with a bag full of explosives and enter eternity.  Eight are now dead including the TWO bombers.  Walk in and fear and terror flood the place.

I know the historical context of this passage.  Hezekiah’s kingdom will flourish and all that, but I take great comfort in this proclaiming a kingdom to come that will bring a way of righteousness.  There will be peace ON EARTH one of these days.  There is already PEACE in my heart and a “…way of Holiness…” that lives inside me in the person of Jesus Christ.  I am looking forward to a place where wickedness no longer runs rampant.

I was encouraged again this morning that a different day is ahead of us.  I am reminded as I read the last few pages of our Bible that we win.  We are not on the loosing team.  Our future is secure.  These momentary times of dealing with life will not rule supreme.

The Holy One is HERE.  The “…way to Holiness…” will come!

Sidebar:  Nancy and I will enjoy a few days in Maryland with Jason and Jenn as we join them in a painting project at their house.  Kimberly and Jeremy are both working and both getting ready to go back to school.  Where in the world did out summer go?  I am praying for Rick as he preaches this coming Sunday.  I will keep you posted as to our progress!

I was wondering if Smith thought this was a good use of a GATOR!

Vicious Dog Pack Attack on a Florida Gator

Perhaps you have seen this; it’s been circulating on the Internet. If not, be prepared for a shock.

At times nature can be cruel, but there is also a raw beauty, and even a certain justice manifested within that cruelty.

The alligator, one of the oldest and ultimate predators, normally considered the “apex predator” in it’s natural eco-system, can still fall victim to implemented ‘team work’ strategy, made possible due to the tight-knit social structure and “survival of the fittest pack mentality”, bred into the canines over the last several hundreds of years by natural selection.

See the attached remarkable photograph courtesy of Nature Magazine. Note that the Alpha dog has a muzzle hold on the gator preventing it from breathing, while the remainder of the pack prevents the beast from rolling.

Not for the squeamish or small children.

All I have to say is, “Father,…”

¹⁸And where these have been forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin. ¹⁹Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, ²⁰by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, ²¹and since we have a great priest over the house of God, ²²let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.

“…let us draw near to God…”

I was thinking of all that the OT folk of faith had to do to approach God.  He was so close, yet so distant.  Only the high priest could enter the holy of holies once per year and make a sacrifice before God and then there was smoke and all kinds of procedures that he had to follow in order to enter the presence of God.  Mess it up and you die!

There is Forgiveness.

No longer any sacrifice needed for sin.

We have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place.

All because of the blood of Jesus.

We have a great priest over the House of God.

I can draw near with a sincere heart.

My heart is cleansed and I am washed where I can enter…

All I have to say is, “Father…”  And he calls me “son”.

We do have such a high priest!

We do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, ²and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by man.

There are times when I long for the real thing.  We have and generic substitute for the real thing from time to time in the drug world and only the “real thing” works.  I watched a family grieve yesterday and the only comfort that would satisfy was that “…one of these days we will be with them again…in heaven…”  – the promise of the real thing.

I laughed at the Coke Zero commercials the other day when the two men who cohort to sue Coke for substituting Coke Zero for the real Coke.  One of the men caught his partner drinking Coke Zero.  It was on!  His partner said he couldn’t resist because it tastes like regular Coke.  It was like the real thing.  Then why not drink the “real thing”.

Some how when reading this phrase “…we do have such a high priest…”, I was caught by the thought that all other priests were simply not the real deal.  They were only shadows of the one to come.  When the Real Deal did arrive and now serves in the Real Sanctuary, there was no need for the other high priest any more.

He did not come to fit into our model, program, or system.  He did not come to fit into the worldly, earthly, carnal, OT way of doing faith-life.  He came to fulfill it and abolish the old forever.  The OLD was simply a foreshadowing of the ONE to come.  When the Real Deal arrives there is no need for the old system.  When the LIGHT arrives the shadows are driven away.

Why is it that we like to hang on to shadows?  They had their religious systems.  We have ours.  God let me let them God and hang only on to Jesus Christ who is the Real Deal.  He does not fit into our molds – He is the mold and standard.  We no longer have to depend on our system to survive.  I am always amazed as I read from the Bible each day that Israel had a lot of trouble letting go of the religious “it’s what we do” and depending by Faith because of God’s Grace in depending on the totally sufficient sacrifice of Christ for our Salvation.  We have a proclivity to want religious structure!  Why?  That is so draining.  Life comes in RESTING in the FINISHED work of CHRIST alone!

WE do have such a high priest!

He is able…

²⁵ Therefore he is able, once and forever, to save^[e] those who come to God through him. He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf.

The phrase “…he is able…” caught me this morning.  I guess you could read it as “…he IS able…” and I am glad that HE is.  He is able to save, forgive, cleanse, bring to wholeness, heal, and on and on and on.  He IS able.  He is ABLE…to save.

Today I get to journey with a family through a very tough time as they have a funeral for their 36 year old son, brother, and fiance’.  I watched last night as they gathered at the funeral home sharing their grief with hundreds of people who had come to express their sorrow to the family.  It was their loss as well.  Chris was surrounded by friends – some he had grown up with ever since they were small children.  It was a tough evening watching people manage life without someone they love.

Chris died as a result of a work related accident.  He was working on some stadium lights 100 feet in the air.  He was standing on the walking ramp around the back side of the lights and some how connected with the power wires there and was electrocuted.  Once the power was cut off, he fell to the ground from that height.  Just writing about it is tough, but last night I spoke to Chris’ friend who was on the ground and saw the whole event played out right in front of his eyes.  Chris died instantly.

I am glad that God is able.  He is able…to save.  I watched with my own eyes and listened with my ears some time ago as Chris struggled with his own salvation and settled the issue one day as he faced some time in the hospital.  I know of no single person who is unable to be saved should they desire to be saved.  We may not feel like we are worthy of being saved but…

HE IS ABLE…!

I remember when I was 11 years old – He is able.  Nancy was 6 when she became a believer…he is able.  The first man I led to the Lord when I got to Florence 21 years ago was a 76 year old man who found out that…He IS able…to save.  I have witnessed to young and old – done nothing wrong to done nothing right kind of people – people who have lived “nice” lives and those who had not been so “nice”…and have discovered -

HE IS ABLE…to save…

Thank You Jesus!

Thank God the Anchor STILL Holds…

¹⁹We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, ²⁰where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.

When life is anchored correctly IN CHRIST you can stand the storms of life.  Thank God!

Will your anchor hold in the storms of life,
When the clouds unfold their wings of strife?
When the strong tides lift, and the cables strain,
Will your anchor drift or firm remain?

We have an anchor that keeps the soul
Stedfast and sure while the billows roll,
Fastened to the Rock which cannot move,
Grounded firm and deep in the Savior’s love.

It is safely moored, ’twill the storm withstand,
For ’tis well secured by the Savior’s hand;
And the cables passed from His heart to mine,
Can defy the blast, through strength divine.

It will firmly hold in the straits of fear,
When the breakers have told the reef is near;
Though the tempest rave and the wild winds blow,
Not an angry wave shall our bark o’er flow.

It will surely hold in the floods of death,
When the waters cold chill our latest breath;
On the rising tide it can never fail,
While our hopes abide within the veil.

I have journeyed
through the long dark night
out on the open sea
by faith alone
sight unknown
and yet his eyes were watching me

CHORUS
the anchor holds
though the ship is battered
the anchor holds
though the sails are torn
I have fallen on my knees
as I faced the raging seas
the anchor holds
in spite of the storm

I’ve had visions
I’ve had dreams
I’ve even held them in my hand
but i never knew
they would slip right through
like they were only grains of sand

CHORUS

I have been young
but I am older now
and there has been beauty these eyes have seen
but it was in the night
through the storms of my life
ohh thats where God proved his love to me

Psalm 101 – Every now and then you need a good bath!

¹ I will sing of your love and justice, Lord.
I will praise you with songs.
² I will be careful to live a blameless life—
when will you come to help me?
I will lead a life of integrity
in my own home.
³ I will refuse to look at
anything vile and vulgar.
I hate all who deal crookedly;
I will have nothing to do with them.
⁴ I will reject perverse ideas
and stay away from every evil.
⁵ I will not tolerate people who slander their neighbors.
I will not endure conceit and pride.

⁶ I will search for faithful people
to be my companions.
Only those who are above reproach
will be allowed to serve me.
⁷ I will not allow deceivers to serve in my house,
and liars will not stay in my presence.
⁸ My daily task will be to ferret out the wicked
and free the city of the Lord from their grip.

It was time for Lacey to get a bath.  I got tired of her walking by me smelling bad.  I had gotten some baby shampoo not too long ago and used it in one of her baths.  She seemed to be frustrated by her dry skin and scratched all the time.  It was time again for a bath so I went to Tractor Supply yesterday and got some medicated dog shampoo.  We have a harness that we put her in attached by a strong strap that keeps her from running around.  She seems to tolerate me giving her a bath real well.  I do it outside.  I have a hose that has a shower setting on it.  I wet her down real good, took the medicated shampoo and began to work it into her.  She liked the rubbing and scratching.  She will shake and get water and suds all over me and the rest of those within fifty feet of her.  Every now and then she needs a good bath.  Her itching has stopped and she no longer smells like wet dog.  I am certain it will last for a few days, but hey, she smells better right now.

Every now and then I, me, Jim Crooks, the preacher, the pastor, the leader of the church, the husband, the dad, the friend…NEEDS A GOOD BATH!

It is always easy to see the warts and bruises on someone else.  It is easy to deal with the stuff in other people’s lives and to give guidance.  But then the Lord puts the mirror up and allows you to see yourself against the loving standard of God.  What a standard for a leader to declare!  This Psalm stopped me in my tracks…

Guess it is time to take inventory!  How am I doing in my praise and worship life?  Am I living a blameless life?  How about my life of integrity at home where those that know me the most?  Can I take inventory of what allow in the eye gate of my life?  What am I looking at and watching?  How connected am I to those who do wickedly as a practice of their lives?  Do I stay away from evil ideas?  Am I ready and willing to stay away from those who slander their neighbors?  How about conceit and pride?  Do I search for faithful people to be my companions?  Do I stay away from deceivers and liars?  Am I ready and willing to see the city of my life and discover where the sin is and ferret it out?

I guess I still hear the Scriptures, the Living Word of God that is our only guide for faith and practice, instruct me to work out my own salvation in fear and trembling.  It is way to precious to leave to chance.  I am reminded again that it is worth the effort and joining us in the process is our wonderful Savior.

OK…let’s get at it!

What if this is as good as it gets?

In light of readings in Hosea…from a preacher who is delivering a message from God to a people who are rebellious and religious…These thoughts come to mind.

In a conversation I had with my friend Ken Smith who has been back in the pulpit of a local church after a 19 year assignment from God to travel as an evangelist around our country, we began to reflect over our lives and the work that we do as pastors.

The major problem that I have is that I am 53 years old and have lived through several generations of people who call themselves people of faith.  We are painfully different today!  The Word of God is still the same and the power of God is still available.  But things have changed!

The whole nature of the world we live in has changed.  We have more advantages than ever.  Technology has made life faster and safer.  We now can communicate faster than ever.  In just 53 years I can now sit at this computer, email a person a note, press a button and the email arrives as fast a lightening.  Texting on the phone is possible now anywhere in the world.  I get messages from Ryan Street who is in India.  I got a cell phone call from Tim Spurling while he was in Romania.  I can carry on a conversation with folk “in real time” over the internet.  I can because of cameras and the internet talk to my son and see him at the same time while he is in Maryland and I am in Florence.  I talked to Fred Kosin not too long ago while he was on assignment in the middle of the ocean serving on an island.   Unbelievable.  Changes are happening faster than we can realize.

The church has changed.  God started out in his grace building a community of faith who could partner with Him in changing not only their own lives but the world.  Now we are a group of people who serve our own religious needs.  The religious crowds care about religious activity not a vital relationship with the Father on a daily basis.  I can ask them to be involved in a family activity that is fun and benefits themselves and folk turn out for the free fun.  Begin to talk to folk about a daily walk with the Father through a daily discipline of reading the Word, seeking what He has to say to them at that moment, ask them to pray and talk to God about what He is saying and they look at you like you have five heads.  We like committee meetings, voting on the color of the carpet, and fussing about the music “we like or don’t like”.  We like to eat.   But when it comes to Worshiping God privately and publicly, getting in a small group and allowing others to be a part of your life and share life with you, and then add to the picture “missions” (giving your life away to someone else for the purpose of the furtherance of the Gospel at your cost), people look at you like you have five heads.

Israel had missed it.  They no longer were living out their daily faith in walking in relationship with God.  Hosea was called to preach to a group of people who had turned their back on this relationship with God and had opened themselves up to a walk of religious activity.  Baptist religion or cultist religion it doesn’t matter one bit.  Religion is religion.  And when people walk after religious activity and religious meetings and somehow think that is all there is to it, SOMETIMES it makes me want to say “is this as good as it gets…”  Religion drains me.  My relationship with the Father excites and restores me.

I am thankful that I get to see change in the lives of people.  I don’t want to hide my head in the sand for I do feel that when it comes to “coming to church and being religious” there will always be a line of people ready to come to church.  However, I am praying today that there is always a remnant of people who care about walking daily with God and obeying his voice.  There were none busier than the Savior who longed for those moments where he could get away and get into the presence of the Father.  He, too, lived among a people who rejected His own message and crucified him for it.  However, there was a group – a small group – but enough to change the world.

I agree with Smith.  Sometimes (and it is only sometimes) I feel like I am standing in the psych ward at the hospital and hear Jack Nicholson say as he did in the movie “As Good as It Gets”, “What if this is as good as it gets?”  After you spend time with families who are walking their marriages right into destruction, watching people ignore the very things that could bring them life and victory, you would wonder some times if the psych ward has not moved to the church house.  I will never get to the place where I submit to the theory that we simply give in and watch religion work without confronting it with the viability and vitality of a relationship with God.

I am depending on the fact that even thought the enemy has come to kill, steal and destroy, that JESUS has come to give us life – ABUNDANT LIFE!   Living in this life may be as good as it gets.  We are on this side of eternity and sins touch is everywhere.  However, HE is as good as it gets.  There is none like HIM!

One of these days we will be free from “here” on earth.  And it will get better.  Alright, I will admit that it is frustrating now.  I will admit that the assignment would be better if I could see massive revival happening.  I am seeing life change and watching God move in the lives of  folk…and for that I  am deeply grateful.  I am 53 years old and have been involved in ministerial activity for 35+ years now.  There is more behind me than before me and I am looking down the pipe at what lies ahead.  I want to end well.  I want to finish.  I want to make a difference.  I want to be God’s man with God’s message for this generation without compromising the Word of God and the heart of God.  OK, if I have to preach to a people like those Hosea has to preach to, and that is my current assignment, then God help me to be faithful.  I think God is frustrated with the condition of man’s heart.  I think He gets ticked when he looks at his people and they care about everything else but HIM and what HE wants.  I think God still sends men to declare HIS truth in the face of a rebellious crowd.  I don’t have all the answers, but at least I get to struggle with it!

Today, Father, in spite of the massive numbers of people who reject you and laugh at your guidance in government, in our communities, and in the church, I am thankful that I get to spend time in this daily assignment that allows me to rub shoulders with a group of people who long to walk with you, hear from you and allow their lives to be changed by the power of God.  I am glad that I get to live my life in front of an audience of ONE!  YOU!  I am trusting you that whether you give me the assignment to preach to a rebellious crowd and watch like Hosea did as the people of God walked right into captivity, or if you give me the chance to lead a group into the promised land, I want to be faithful.

“…so we don’t drift off…

It’s crucial that we keep a firm grip on what we’ve heard so that we don’t drift off.

Keeping a firm grip on anything takes a great deal of concentration.  I watched a group of folk compete in a tug-0f-war contest Saturday evening at Sparrow Swamp Baptist Church.  It was a hoot watching one team pull and the other fall on their faces.  The ones that had a grip and planted their feet well – focused – won.  They got a grip.

Drifting.  I was watching one of the “beach cop” programs on television and heard a woman say that her child had disappeared.  She said she was taking a picture of her other children and looked up and he was gone.  It is amazing how it works at the beach.  You can be in the water playing and the next thing you know if you are not watching end up further down the beach because of how the water is coming on shore.  They found the boy a mile down the beach.  He had drifted down the beach.  Didn’t mean to!

Drifting.  I understand that if you are using a compass in finding your way on a trip that a few degrees off one way or the other can make a major difference.  Not paying attention and drifting off course one degree on a compass – not staying dead on the mark – cost you 92 feet per mile.  It seems very insignificant at the start, but a mile away you are 92 feet off, and at ten miles you are three and a half football fields off the mark. You don’t mean to be off the mark.  A little exactness at the beginning means a great deal of success later on.

Drifting.  Dad’s flying techniques depended on following exact coordinates.  He would have to file a flight plan with the appropriate body and then would have to follow that flight plan when he went up if he was going cross country.  Keeping you safe in the air and making sure they could find you if something unforeseen went wrong was absolutely vital.  Drift a little to the left or right and you are in a a fix.  As a matter of fact you would have to factor in the way the wind was blowing so you could stay on course. You don’t mean to get off course – to drift.  You really have to pay attention to what you are doing so you can be on target.  Thank God for digital instruments and GPS now.  It keeps you from drifting.

Drifting.  I wish I could say that I don’t drift spiritually.  If I said that I would lie.  I have to work on focus a lot.  Staying fresh and making certain that I am staying on target in my own spiritual disciplines.  Salvation is way too precious to take lightly.  It is Monday and there are a lot of things that I NEED to do – or at least I think are major focus areas of my life.  However, focus on my spiritual walk with God is vital to staying connected to God.  For me it is not a matter of HAVE TO but it is a joyful WANT TO kind of thing.  The more I get to know HIM the more I want to be with HIM, hear His voice, and apply what He is teaching me as he journeys with me through this day.

I guess the first step to survival as a Christian “drift off” person is to admit that I have that kind of proclivity.  Maybe I am not the only one with that kind of struggle.  God is getting me back on course every day.

Cheap or Refined – they are still harlots…

“Go and marry a prostitute,…”

It was right there in Hosea.  That’s right sports fans God is speaking to the preacher!  I have read it a lot and yet again I was hooked.  Chapter 1… I am not the first to discover that phrase.  I join a lot of people who found that shocking.  Hosea, prophet of God, was told by God to go marry a prostitute.  I am Baptist enough to know that ain’t right!  But what I have discovered was that my idea of a prostitute is way too narrow.  I only thought of a cheap street walking tramp.

Israel is being a harlot.  The love of the Lord’s life is living a harlot’s life.  They have the best Husband and yet are following after so many other gods…other lovers in their lives.

I was thinking that you are either in love with Jesus and have Him as the ONE love of your life, or you are living the life of a harlot.  It is so easy to have more than one lover.  Cheap or refined you are still a harlot.  You can be a cheesy trashy prostitute or you can be a well dressed Bible Toting Baptist prostitute.  Either way if you have more than one lover.

I don’t want to jump on Hosea’s back or to knock this scripture, but I have seen it happen over and over in this world.  I remember specifically talking to young ladies who fall in love with this good looking stud kind of young man who comes from a well to do family.  The whole crowd is very refined.  He is able to buy a house and has the promise of a great job with a solid education.  His prospects are good.  He has all it takes, but he is LOST spiritually.  The young lady is “committed to Jesus” but is in LOVE with this young man.  She joins herself with a harlot.  They get married and she is frustrated later because he does not share the same values in life.

God tells Hosea that living with a prostitute is tough.  Before you preach to them let me show you what it is like.

I wish I could say this morning that my life was not litered with other loves.  Power, prestigue, position, possessions, have their hooks on all of us at some level.

The Lover of my life called to me this morning, told me He loved me and calls me home again to the one place where real peace and life can be found.

“…the LORD of Heaven’s Armies”

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies!
The whole earth is filled with his glory!”

What must the armies of Heaven be like?  Isaiah was in the Lord’s presence grieving over a lost friend focused on the might of the Lord.  He sees the Lord of Heaven’s Armies…he is blown away.  His perspective is broadened for he sees things that human eyes normally don’t see.  We believe by faith that he saw the Lord high and lifted up.  He describes with certain accuracy the awesome nature of God in all of His glory with the use of limited words.  Words can only partially describe his wonder and awesome nature.  He saw the God of Heaven!  It moved him deeply.

Last night on the news they were interviewing a Marine who was in Afganistan.  4,000 soldiers are there and one of our soldiers died while on the mission.  It is an awesome thing to see the might of the most powerful military in the world.  Think of the ability that we have in sending a missle from one of the submarines in the middle of the ocean and have it land in the window of a store front.  People with that kind of power can be ultra destructive.  We are watching carefully what Korea can do with a nuclear weapon used with a long range missle.  They are a timebomb.  I understand that Hawaii is carefully watching what can happen as they plan a suspected launch on the 4th.  We can only watch.  Iran and Korea all trying to become powerful.

However, in this passage the words that leap off the page for me were “…the LORD of Heaven’s Armies…”  I guess that what startled me was that if we knew just how massive and how powerful the LORD was not to mention the armies of Heaven, we would change our perspective of WHO we would fear and respect.  God can breath on America and we would dissapear.  He can take Korea in all of her pride and power hungry pursuits and dry the country up like a desert.  He must sit in the heavens and laugh at what we call “power”.

He spoke a word and it all started.  He will speak a word and it will end.

Thank God we are under the guidance and protection of “…the LORD of Heaven’s Armies!”

Il Divo

I have enjoyed a wonderful day in Marietta, GA with my mother.  She is an Il Divo fan.   According to their website…” Il Divo were initially brought together by pop impresario Simon Cowell in 2004, following an extensive worldwide audition process. The virtuoso blending of operatic technique with romantic and popular song took the world by storm, with sales of over 22 million. Their first three albums, ‘Il Divo’, ‘Ancora’ and ‘Siempre’ scored 36 number 1 chart positions across 26 countries.”

She called me not too long ago and asked if I would accompany her to the concert.  I was overtaken with the invitation.  We sat third row back in the first balcony.  They performed at the Fox Theatre, one of the nations most historic theaters.  Just walking into that place was breath taking.  Their arrangement of Amazing Grace was stunning.  I will add two songs for your enjoyment.

The Amazing Grace arrangement is embedded on Youtube and not able to be copied.  However, I want you to see it.  Double click on the Amazing Grace piece and you will be directed to Youtube where you can see it…unbelievable!

It was a wonderful evening together.  I am grateful.