Author: E. DeWayne Swann

Expiration Date

As I have stated, My Dad used to say occasionally, “Sometimes I sit and think, and sometimes I just sit.”

Well, today was one of the days that I sat and thought.

Therefore, I was thinking about my Mother pouring out some milk and a statement I saw on Facebook that said, “We don’t have an expiration date.”

Well, I beg to differ.

We do have an “expiration date,” the Bible says in:

Ecclesiastes 3:2 A time to be born, And a time to die; NKJV

We all will face death sometime or another.

Hebrews 9:27 And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, NKJV

With that said, we all have an expiration date stamped on us. For most, we do not know when that day will be.

I truly believe we can accelerate that date, and in the same thought, I believe we can also extend that date.

Ecclesiastes 7:17 Do not be overly wicked, Nor be foolish: Why should you die before your time?  NKJV

The milk may have been poured out before its time; even when it was still good and it could still have some use after the appointed date stamped on the carton.

I think a lot our own lives are that way, we can take our own life before its time, or even taking years off our life with things like smoking, drinking, and as much as I hate to admit it over eating, I think we can do a lot of things to take years off our life.

I was playing a game of chess years ago on a computer. After a few minutes of play the game told me I had 12 moves left and I would be in check.

No way I thought, then after the next move it said I had less than 5 moves. Apparently, I made the wrong move. The computer knew every possible move I could make and had already worked out how the game would end.

I think life is that way; we make the wrong move, and it costs time in our lives.

I also believe that God knows every possible move we can make and has an end planned for each move we make, which gives us free will. However, God is always in charge and always knows the end.

Back to the game, I made 2 more moves and was in check and then mate. Needless to say, I do not play that game anymore.

But the game of life goes on, and what we do with it is up to us.

Ecclesiastes 2:16 For there is no more remembrance of the wise than of the fool forever, Since all that now is will be forgotten in the days to come. And how does a wise man die? As the fool!  NKJV

Solomon was the wisest man outside Jesus Himself to ever walk the earth, and he still had the same thoughts, discouragements, and worries as we do.

What is it all about?

We can work our whole life, and what we gather and accomplish is gone when we are. I don’t have to be like that, I believe that it was Andy Stanley who said, “You can’t take it with you when you go, but you can send it on ahead.”

Think for a moment of the lives you have touched, the souls that you were a part of sending on to Heaven eventually.

Through your giving to the Church for outreach and missions. By saying the right thing to the right person at the right time. By you personally, to lead someone to the Lord.

You may say you never did anything like that. Well, did you ever watch the nursery at a Church so the parents could sit in a service, or teach a Sunday School class or VBS class, and plant a verse in a young child’s mind?

Ever drop an extra dollar in the plate for missions or someone in need?

Ever send a card or a letter to encourage someone?

Have you ever dropped by the hospital to visit someone who is hurt?

Have you ever brought a meal to someone in need or picked up a check after a meal for someone that hurt?

 

Jesus said it this way:

Matthew 25:40 “Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.”  NKJV

Ecclesiastes 12:13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is man’s all.  14 For God will bring every work into judgment, Including every secret thing, Whether good or evil. NKJV

The saying “it ain’t over till it’s over” seems to apply. As long as you have breath, as long as you are on this side of the grass, you have a mission, and that mission is to live for Christ.

Philippians 1:21a “For to me to live is Christ…”

For me to be alive, Christ is alive, and the reason the first-century Christians got so extremely happy with a new convert. There was another person to live for Christ. Christ had another mouth to speak on His behalf, two more hands to carry His gospel, two more feet to go and help those in need.

 

My mentor Reverend Ben Turner once said, “If you are going to hammer at least build something.”  So, since you are still around, do something profitable for the cause of Christ.

With that said, we all have an expiration date stamped on us.

Don’t you want to accomplish something for Jesus before we meet Him face to face?

 

I was having lunch at Wallace Bar-B-Q one day, and some waitress’, knowing that I am a minister, had a question about suicide. After hearing their questions and hearing their concerns about the subject, I related the following story to them:

In 1991, the office job I had, overseeing eight concrete construction crews, was taken away from me, and I went from telling these foremen what to do to working for one of them and asking how to do it. My pay was cut, according to my accountant over $30,000.00 that year. I tried to keep living like I was, except on credit cards, but I soon found out that the Visa, Master Card, and American Express companies want their money back after a while. (as if I did not know) I was behind on every payment, and that’s not what I do at all. I made sure the house payment was made. I may sit in a dark and cold house, but at least I have a roof over my head.

My wife decided she didn’t want to be with me three years earlier, and so for three long years, I would pray and beg God to send her home, believing that would happen and happen real soon.

But it didn’t happen, and the day came that a Deputy came knocking on my door and served me divorce papers, and I am now at what I was looking at as the end of all I could take, and that morning around 2:30 to 3:00 am I heard Satan say “you don’t have to hurt like this, there is a way out, the 357 magnum is right there.”

I find it amazing when Satan talks to you it is not in an echo chamber voice, or a dark deep evil voice, but it was in a soft southern draw, and sounded, well it sounded a lot like me, cause that’s how he does it, through my mind and in my voice.

I said God “I can’t take anymore, (and I couldn’t but I learned that night God can if I give it to Him.) so the rest of my talk with God went something like this, “I am about to see you face to face and if you don’t want me to do, what I am about to do you better stop me now” and (another conjunction, there is still more to the story.)

At that very moment, as I watched the chamber turn and the shell line up as the hammer went back on that old Colt.

The phone rang. I thought, who could that be at this time of the night? God maybe? So, I set the weapon down and picked up the phone. Before I could say hello, a preacher friend, Eddie Rogers, said, “God told me to call you and tell you to STOP! Do you hear me?” I answered, “Yes, I hear you.”  Ed then said, “Can I go back to bed now?” I said, “Sure, and thanks.” He said goodnight and hung up. I cleared the weapon and went to bed, myself believing God was not near done with me.

A few weeks later, as we were meeting for a prayer time for Eddie’s Ministry Sweet Spirit Band, I asked him if he remembered calling me that night, and he said he did, then I ask, did he not want to know what was going on that night?

He said he thought I would share the reason with him when I was ready, so I told him the story, and waited for “Are you okay, brother?” or “I am so sorry you are going through this.” Or even “just hang in there, brother, everything is going to be alright.”

Instead, I got “you idiot, (it’s good to have a few friends like that, just a few.) Is that how you really want to face God Almighty with a smoking gun in your hand?” I said, “No, not really, and I promise it will never happen again.”

My Expiration Date could have been that day, my choice, I believe, if I had pulled that trigger that moment, it all would have ended right then.

A few weeks later after sharing that story that day at Wallace’s, I had a lady come up to our table and say, “I was here a couple a week ago, and I was setting right behind you when you told how you almost ended your life, and that you didn’t want to face God with a smoking gun in your hand. I was here to eat my final meal. I have chronic pain, and I was just going to eat and go home and take every pain pill I had and just end it all. But I thought, did I really want to face God with a stomach full of pills? And after seeing how God is still using you, I went home and had a great talk with my Heavenly Father, and I just wanted to thank you for sharing what you went through, because it saved my life too.”

You never know who you are reaching, or how God is going to use you, or even when God will use you. It may be in a Bar-B-Q house in Austell, Georgia. Or in a pulpit in a church, just know when God is ready for you, let Him do the calling, because you don’t want to pour out that milk before its time. You do not want to face God for the first time with a smoking gun, a stomach full of pills, a bloody wrist, or any other than His reaching down and saying it’s time to come home.

Remember, as we read earlier.

A time to be born,

And a time to die.

Don’t punch your Expiration date before God’s time.

 

The Last Words

Excerpt from “Something to Ponder”

… Now that brings me to “The Last Saying of Jesus on the Cross.” The seven sayings of Christ, as they are called.

Please if you will just let me have the freedom to put what I see as what our Savior was saying from the cross in my words, I am not trying to put word in His mouth or to take away from the scripture in any way, I just want you to Ponder, please and just look through my eyes for a moment.

One:

Luke 23:33 And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left. 34 Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” NKJV

Forgive who? The ones that put Him on the cross? The criminals on either side of Him?

Luke 23:32 There were also two others, criminals, led with Him to be put to death.  NKJV

I believe that he was talking about all of us, I think he was saying  “Abba, Daddy please forgive them for all their sins for this is the reason You sent Me for “not to condemn the world, but that the world through Me might be saved” for I am now taking their place.”

And at that moment all sin was paid for ALL everyone, from Adam to the last person to ever be born on this earth of ours, ALL. We Just have to accept that Forgiveness.

Two:

Luke 23:39 Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, “If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us.”

40 But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, “Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.” 42 Then he said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.”

43 And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”  NKJV

I now see Jesus looking at the lowest of low, they didn’t like to just crucify anyone, he had to be beyond forgiveness from man, because they would at that time just make slaves out of them, but this one man, this sorry good for nothing sinner in his last hours ask for, and accepted the forgiveness of Jesus, and as a result, I believe we all should hear the same words of Jesus say at the moment of our conversion, “No need to worry I assure you that one day you will be with me in Heaven”.

It doesn’t matter how bad we think we are Christ will and has forgiven you.

Three:

John 19:26 When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold your son!”  27 Then He said to the disciple, “Behold your mother!” And from that hour that disciple took her to his own home.  NKJV

I now see Jesus looking down at his Mother and his young disciple John standing, and I am sure they were crying and in pain for what they are witnessing. And I am sure Mary did as we all do at those moments that we are losing someone to death, we remember times in the past. We see in Luke:

Luke 1:26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”

We see the angel say “highly favored one”, and “blessed are you among women!”

This is “highly favored and blessed”? Having to now see her son face Calvary’s Cross. And the story goes on:

29 But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. 30 Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. 33 And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”  NKJV

Luke 1:35 And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. NKJV

She knew that this child of hers is of God, and she knew that this was in some way Him doing His “Father’s business”.

As we see also in Luke:

Luke 2:41His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. 42 And when He was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem according to the custom of the feast. 43 When they had finished the days, as they returned, the Boy Jesus lingered behind in Jerusalem. And Joseph and His mother did not know it; 44 but supposing Him to have been in the company, they went a day’s journey, and sought Him among their relatives and acquaintances. 45 So when they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem, seeking Him. 46 Now so it was that after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. 47 And all who heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers. 48 So when they saw Him, they were amazed; and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You done this to us? Look, Your father and I have sought You anxiously.”

49 And He said to them, “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?”  50 But they did not understand the statement which He spoke to them.

51Then He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them, but His mother kept all these things in her heart. 52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men. NKJV

Did you see that “His mother kept all these things in her heart”? She kept all this, that Jesus was the son of God, and He was about His Fathers business.

And then His disciple John, over and over said that he was the one that Jesus loved:

John 13:23 Now there was leaning on Jesus’ bosom one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved…NKJV

John 20:2 Then she ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved…NKJV

John 21:7 Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” NKJV

John 21:20 Then Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following…NKJV

Remember he was one of “His favorites”. And if you will allow me to tell you what I hear in the verses of Jesus saying it is:

“Mother, look at John, (this student of mine that I know loves me, and that I love,) he will be taking care of you from now on”.

“John, look after Mother for me, (I know you love me, so take care of Mother)”. And then the Bible says “And from that hour that disciple took her to his own home”.

John took care of Her as if She was his own Mother.

Four:

Mark 15:33Now when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. 34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which is translated, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”  NKJV

Every Easter I hear preachers preach and say how God turned His back on Jesus while on the cross because He is Holy and can’t look upon all that sin that He had to bear. I’m sorry but I can’t even a little except that. Yes, God is Holy, look with me back at the sinners in the Old Testament that God Himself promised He would never leave or Forsake.

Deuteronomy 31:6 Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.” NKJV

Joshua 1:5 No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you. NKJV

1 Samuel 12:22 For the LORD will not forsake His people, for His great name’s sake, because it has pleased the LORD to make you His people. NKJV

1 Chronicles 28:20 And David said to his son Solomon, “Be strong and of good courage, and do it; do not fear nor be dismayed, for the LORD God — my God — will be with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you, until you have finished all the work for the service of the house of the LORD. NKJV

Psalms 37:25 I have been young, and now am old; Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, Nor his descendants begging bread. 26 He is ever merciful, and lends; And his descendants are blessed. NKJV

Psalms 37:28 For the LORD loves justice, And does not forsake His saints; They are preserved forever, But the descendants of the wicked shall be cut off. NKJV

Isaiah 41:10 Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’ NKJV

Isaiah 41:17 “The poor and needy seek water, but there is none, Their tongues fail for thirst. I, the LORD, will hear them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. NKJV

And then the New Testament in Hebrews:

Hebrews 13:5 Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”  6 So we may boldly say: “The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” NKJV

Are you seeing this, that God looked at all these sinners and all the sin ever since Eve took that first bite of that fruit, until the last sin that will ever be committed? So, what makes people think that God will turn his back on His “Only Begotten Son”? Because of sin, again I just don’t buy it. The first thing Jesus said on the cross was “Father, forgive them” “Father” He is there with him, and the last thing He said was “Father, into Your hands” Again, “Father” are you understanding this, at what point did God leave, and at what point did God return? I believe that this was in reference to Psalms 22, at this time if you wanted someone to look at a Psalm, they would say the first few words of that Psalm. Like “Make a joyful noise” you would look up Psalms 100 so look with me if you will and notice the parts I underline:

The Suffering, Praise, and Posterity of the Messiah

To the Chief Musician. Set to “The Deer of the Dawn.” A Psalm of David.

Psalms 22:1 My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? Why are You so far from helping Me, And from the words of My groaning? 2 O My God, I cry in the daytime, but You do not hear; And in the night season, and am not silent.

3 But You are holy, Enthroned in the praises of Israel. 4 Our fathers trusted in You; They trusted, and You delivered them. 5 They cried to You, and were delivered; They trusted in You, and were not ashamed.

6 But I am a worm, and no man; A reproach of men, and despised by the people. 7 All those who see Me ridicule Me; They shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, 8 “He trusted in the LORD, let Him rescue Him; Let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him!”

9 But You are He who took Me out of the womb; You made Me trust while on My mother’s breasts. 10 I was cast upon You from birth. From My mother’s womb You have been My God. 11 Be not far from Me, For trouble is near; For there is none to help.

12 Many bulls have surrounded Me; Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled Me. 13 They gape at Me with their mouths, Like a raging and roaring lion.

14 I am poured out like water, And all My bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; It has melted within Me. 15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd, And My tongue clings to My jaws; You have brought Me to the dust of death.

16 For dogs have surrounded Me; The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet; 17 I can count all My bones. They look and stare at Me. 18 They divide My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots.

19 But You, O LORD, do not be far from Me; O My Strength, hasten to help Me!

20 Deliver Me from the sword, My precious life from the power of the dog.

21 Save Me from the lion’s mouth And from the horns of the wild oxen!  You have answered Me.

And now we see the Praise for delivering and rescuing Him did you catch that last part of verse 21 “You have answered Me” and the chapter goes on.

22 I will declare Your name to My brethren; In the midst of the assembly I will praise You. 23 You who fear the LORD, praise Him! All you descendants of Jacob, glorify Him, And fear Him, all you offspring of Israel! 24 For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; Nor has He hidden His face from Him; But when He cried to Him, He heard.

25 My praise shall be of You in the great assembly; I will pay My vows before those who fear Him. 26 The poor shall eat and be satisfied; Those who seek Him will praise the LORD. Let your heart live forever!

27 All the ends of the world Shall remember and turn to the LORD, And all the families of the nations Shall worship before You.  28 For the kingdom is the LORD’s, And He rules over the nations.

29 All the prosperous of the earth Shall eat and worship; All those who go down to the dust Shall bow before Him, Even he who cannot keep himself alive.

30 A posterity shall serve Him. It will be recounted of the Lord to the next generation, 31 They will come and declare His righteousness to a people who will be born, That He has done this. NKJV

Do you see all the references here to the crucifixion?  I believe that our Savior was just saying look up Psalms 22, a Psalm that was written a thousand years ago when David prophesied what I am going through right now.

Five:

John 19:28 After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, “I thirst!”  29 Now a vessel full of sour wine was sitting there; and they filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on hyssop, and put it to His mouth.

We look back at the first time Jesus ask for something to drink,

John 4:7 A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.” …NKJV and then:

John 4:10 …you would have asked Him, (talking about Himself) and He would have given you living water.”  NKJV and He has Living Water:

John 4:14 …but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” NKJV

All through the crucifixion we see the humanity of Jesus. At any time, He could have claimed His Deity of the very Son of God. I remember a song that was sang a lot when I was growing up:

“He Could Have Called Ten Thousand Angels” by Ray Overholt:

They bound the hands of Jesus in the garden where he prayed

They led him thru the streets in shame

They spat upon the savior so pure and free from sin

They said, “crucify him: he’s to blame

He could have called ten thousand angels

To destroy the world and set him free

He could have called ten thousand angels

But he died alone, for you and me

Upon his precious head they placed a crown of thorns

They laughed and said, “Behold the king”

They struck him, and they cursed him and mocked his holy name

All alone he suffered everything

When they nailed him to the cross, his mother stood nearby,

He said, “Woman, behold thy son!”

He cried, “I thirst for water,” but they gave him none to drink

Then the sinful work of man was done.

He was all Human and all God. So, then He had to come as a human because you can’t kill God. I love a quote I heard from Major Ian Thomas and it goes something like this “Jesus being God never ever acted more than being a man, and man being man never ever acts less than being God”. So yes, as the song says “He could have called ten thousand angels, to destroy the world and set him free He could have called ten thousand angels”, and I truly don’t want you to miss this “But he died alone, for you and me”.

Six:

John 19:30 So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.  NKJV

Back to “He Could Have Called Ten Thousand Angels” last verse:

To the howling mob he yielded: he did not for mercy cry

The cross of shame he took alone

And when he cried, “It’s finished,” he gave himself to die

Salvation’s wondrous plan was done.

Yes, “Salvation’s wondrous plan was done”. Jesus had completed all the prophecies in the Old Testament, hundreds of years before His birth.

The Prophecy: Isaiah 53:3 says, “He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.”

The Fulfillment: John 1:10-11 says, “He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.”

The Prophecy: Psalm 41:9 says, “Even my close friend, whom I trusted, he who shared my bread, has lifted up his heel against me.”

The Fulfillment: Mark 14:10 says, “Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Jesus to them.”

The Prophecy: Zechariah 11:12 says, “I told them, ‘If you think it best, give me my pay; but if not, keep it.’ So they paid me thirty pieces of silver.”

The Fulfillment: Matthew 26:14-16 says, “Then one of the Twelve – the one called Judas Iscariot – went to the chief priests and asked, ‘What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?’ So, they counted out for him thirty silver coins.”

The Prophecy: Isaiah 53:7 says, “He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.”

The Fulfillment: Mark 15:5 says, “But Jesus still made no reply, and Pilate was amazed.”

The Prophecy: Psalm 22:1-2 says, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, and am not silent.”

The Fulfillment: Matthew 27:46 says, “About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?’ – which means, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?'”

The Prophecy: Psalm 22:7-8 says, “All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads: ‘He trusts in the LORD; let the LORD rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him.'”

The Fulfillment: Matthew 27:41-44 says, “In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. ‘He saved others,’ they said, ‘but he can’t save himself! He’s the King of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, I am the Son of God.’ In the same way the robbers who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him.”

The Prophecy: Psalm 22:15 says, “My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death.”

The Fulfillment: Matthew 27:48 says, “Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a stick, and offered it to Jesus to drink.”

The Prophecy: Psalm 22:17-18 says, “I can count all my bones; people stare and gloat over me. They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.”

The Fulfillment: John 19:23 says, “When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom.”

When He said, “It is finished!” It was like an artist signing his portrait, it was finished and accomplished, but it was and is far from over.

Seven

Luke 23:44 Now it was about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. 45 Then the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn in two. 46 And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, “Father, ‘into Your hands I commit My spirit.'” Having said this, He breathed His last. NKJV

I got this from an email Rethinking Jesus’ Words from The Hebrew Original

By Dr. Eli Lizorkin-Eyzenberg – February 1, 2018

“It makes perfect sense that Jesus would quote this particular psalm while hanging on a Roman cross.

We read these fitting words in Psalm 31:1-5

In you, Lord, I have taken refuge;

let me never be put to shame;

deliver me in your righteousness.

Turn your ear to me,

come quickly to my rescue;

Be my rock of refuge,

a strong fortress to save me.

Since you are my rock and my fortress,

for the sake of your name lead and guide me.

Keep me free from the trap that is set for me,

for you are my refuge.

Into your hands I commit my spirit; (בְּיָדְךָ, אַפְקִיד רוּחִי)

deliver me, Lord, my faithful God.

The Hebrew word translated, “I commit,” is “אַפְקִיד” (pronounced afkid). This word has a meaning that is much closer to “I deposit” – which necessarily signifies a future “reclaiming” of the thing deposited. A vivid image might be that of checking in a coat at theater or restaurant, or even money into the bank, with the definite intention of getting it back. While the English word “commit” can also be used to describe giving something with the purpose of claiming it back at some point in the future, it might just as well mean the giving of something without stating any clear intentions for the future. In Hebrew, on the other hand, the unequivocal meaning of this verse is the temporary submission of one’s spirit into the hands of God – giving it into “His custody,” with the definite intention of receiving it back.

This shows that if we take the time to compare the original verse Jesus was reciting from Hebrew, a simple, but significant insight into the words of Jesus on the cross will emerge. The words Jesus uttered were nothing less than a declaration of his great Israelite faith.  He was confident that as he deposited his soul into the hands of his Heavenly Father, he will surely get it back at his resurrection. What happened three days later proved that Jesus did not hope in vain”.

I think maybe, just maybe, God had His mighty hands out the whole time, and then Jesus said, “Father, ‘into Your hands I commit My spirit.'” And then, just maybe, God said something like this “I’m right here. I haven’t gone anywhere. I’m not going to leave you. I love you,” and into The Fathers hands, he accepted His Spirit and then

“Having said this, He breathed His last.”

But thank God it wasn’t over;

Luke 24:2 But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. 3 Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments. 5 Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them,

“Why do you seek the living among the dead? 6 He is not here, but is risen!

Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, 7 saying, ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.'” NKJV

 

Legacy

Recently, my Mother and I were talking about how many children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and even great-great-grandkids she had. She has five kids, twelve grandkids, twenty-eight great-grandkids, and three great-great-grandkids, totaling 48 as of the day of this writing. This is her legacy, among other things.

Do you see the progression? Five kids, and with those kids, she has 12 grandkids, and with them, she has 28 great-grandkids and three great-great-grandkids so far. The legacy gets larger with each generation.

A former pastor we had when I was a young teenager was named Brother Frank Holcomb, and he once said, “If everyone won one and that one, won one and then that one, won one, before long there wouldn’t be one left to win”.

Now, that takes me back to October 19, 2017. As we sat at Tranquility Hospice Care, in Austell, Georgia with My Dad Elvin Swann, I noticed quite a few people were there to see my Dad. He was just hours away from his homecoming to be with our Heavenly Father.

I don’t know how many people came that day, with family and friends. I know there was a little crowd in his room. I was told that the waiting room across the hall had a few people, and the break room was full of folks that came by to say their goodbyes.

As I surveyed the crowd, I had a thought: how many of these people came to accept Christ as a result of the man lying there in that room? My Dad accepted Jesus as his Savior in October 1966. As a result of his conversion, we had a number of family members come to know Jesus as their Lord shortly thereafter. He may not have been personally responsible for leading them to the Lord, but as a result of his life, they had accepted Christ.

So, I started looking around, and the best that I could tell there were only three people that came through that day that he didn’t have something to do with them coming to Church and eventually accepting Jesus as their Savior. I am not saying that they wouldn’t have been Saved if he hadn’t made a change in his life, but we may never know for sure.

That brings me now to my Mother, She taught Sunday School for years, and she taught summer Bible School year after year. She taught a youth small group that wasn’t called that then but that what it was. She had at times in my Aunt Irene Evans home 20 to 30 kids there. They were there to hear Bible stories and to have some snacks, and a prize for 1 child each week in that group attended weekly during that summer. I know of 4 of those young men who went on to become Pastors and Preachers. She worked at a Christian Children’s Home for a little over 28 years, and while there, the kids would use her as a place to bring their disagreements that they couldn’t share with anyone else. She would listen to them, and sometimes, all that they needed was someone to listen. And then give Godly advice that could be used and not in any way disagree with their Houseparent.

Out of the kids she taught over the years and the ones that my Dad got are responsible for coming to Church I honestly believe that there are hundreds if not thousands that will be in heaven as a result of my Godly Parents.

I got this off the internet in where a preacher said:

“One of my favorites ‘minor characters” in American history is a man named Edward Kimball. There aren’t many people who could tell you the historical significance of Edward Kimball. After all, he is so un-famous that he doesn’t even have his own Wikipedia page. But through his simple service to God, he has had a worldwide impact.

In 1854, Kimball was a Sunday School teacher in Detroit, and one day he went to visit a 17-year-old boy who was in his Sunday School class who had little interest in God or religion. During his visit with this young man at his job in a shoe shop, he led the boy into a relationship with Christ. That young man was D.L. Moody, who went on to become one of the greatest evangelists in the world, sharing the gospel with 100 million people, as well as founding Moody Bible Institute and The Moody Church in Chicago.

But the story doesn’t end there. Through his ministry, Moody was responsible for a London pastor named F.B. Meyer coming to faith. Meyer was responsible for J. Wilbur Chapman coming to faith, and Chapman influenced Billy Sunday, another prominent evangelist of the 20th century. Billy Sunday was integral in a man named Mordecai Ham coming to faith. And Mordecai Ham was the preacher responsible for leading a young man named Billy Graham to Christ.

And that, my friends, is a spiritual legacy.

Some years ago, while talking with a preacher, I stated that I have no legacy, I have no children and as a result no legacy, the preacher asked how many people have come to know the Lord Jesus because of my preaching? I said quite a few, I think. he then went on to say How many people have you seen in the ministries that you worked with come to know Christ? I said hundreds. He then went on to say How many times have you prayed for pastors and preachers and seen souls saved? Again, I said plenty, I’m sure. How many times have you worked at an altar and talked with people out and about and seen them come to Christ? I again said I am not sure, dozens I suppose. Out of all those that you helped come to the saving knowledge of The Lord Jesus Christ and the ones that they led to Him, and then those that they led to Him, they are your Legacy.

That takes me back to my Parents. just thinking about the ones that came to Church because of my Dad, He did a weekly visitation, even at times all alone, but he went. And then the ones that my Dad and Mother ministered to over the years at the preachers and the teachers that are out there now as a result in them just being faithful to the call to go. I see a GREAT and MIGHTY LEGACY.

Now, I leave you with this: What kind of legacy do you have, and are you leaving?

It is your fault, so be careful what you are taught. Know that God is still working on you and is carrying you on His strong shoulders, and let Him. Because you can do all things through Christ if you let Him fill you with His Holy Spirit. Don’t cover your light; let it shine. when you are caught in the rough, keep swinging till you get out and never give up. When fishing for souls, make sure to use the right bait.  And know we all need some help sometimes. And never forget that You Are His Favorite!

Please leave a great Godly Legacy.

Taken from the book “Something to Ponder.” last chapter. Can be ordered from this website.

Don’t You Care? Part 4

And then the question, “What manner of man is this?”

Rev. Ben Turner, my mentor and Pastor, said in his message “What Manner of Man Is This”??

Everybody sees Him differently

3 Hebrew boys would see Jesus as the 4th man in the fire

Ezekiel saw Him as the wheel inside a wheel

Noah saw Him as an arc of safety

Solomon saw Him as the rose of Sharon

Jacob saw Him as a golden ladder top in haven and the base on the earth.

Israel saw Him as a star out of Jacob

David saw Him as the great Shepard

Daniel saw Him as a Stone cut out of a Mountain

Abraham saw Him as the great and mighty builder

Ruth saw Him the provider of hands full on purpose

Moses saw Him as the smitten rock

Church saw Him as the foundation of the rock on which it was built

Sad sees Him as the comforter

Leper sees Him as the healer (great Physician)

Lost sees Him as the way

Hungry sees Him as the bread

Thirsty sees Him as the water

Pilgrim sees Him as the faithful guide

Accused sees Him as the faithful witness

Disciple sees Him as the teacher

Weary sees Him as the rest

Pilot or boat captain sees Him as a compass

Weak sees Him as the strength

Sheep sees Him as the Shepard

Astronomer sees Him as the bright and morning star

Bride sees Him as the fairest among 10,000

Gentiles sees Him as a light to lighten the way

Merchant man see him as the purchaser

Ship of Zion see him as the captain

Preacher sees Him as the energizer

Tired sees Him as the strength

Troubled sees Him as builder of mansion

Captive sees Him as the deliver

Unhappy see Him as joy without end

Dead see Him as the resurrection and the life

The sinner I hope they would see him as the pleading savior caring for their soul.

Everybody sees him different!!!

How do you see Him?

John 1

The Eternal Word

(Gen 1:1-2:3)

1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. NKJV

 

What Jesus called Himself 7 I am’s of John

1 John 6:35-36 And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.

2 John 8:12 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”

3 John 10:7-10 Then Jesus said to them again, “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.  8 All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them.  9 I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.

4 John 10:14-16 I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own.  15 As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.

5 John 15:5-6 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.

6 John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

7 John 11:25-26 Jesus talking to Mary on the way to Lazarus’ grave: 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.  26 And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

back to “Intense Moments with the Savior”

But learning to feel carries with it both a blessing and a curse: a blessing because those feelings are what lead us out of ourselves; a curse, because once out we can never again go back and enjoy the simple pleasures of a self-absorbed life.

(Field of dreams when the doc steps off the field he can’t go back)

Suffering sensitizes us not only to the world around us, which is needy, but to the world within us, which is needier still, and ultimately to the world beyond us, which we long for in so many ways. Yet in so few ways do we ever fully realize it. Until we suffer.

When He was on the Cross…

Matt 27:40 And saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross.

Matt 27:42 He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him.

Matt 27:54 Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God.

He will put you in whatever you need to go through to get you to a point to say “Truly this is the Son of God”

His Cross where God Himself would die.

Why did He come to earth the way He did? Cause He could not die in heaven, so He came here…

Intense Moments with the Savior

Then we realize that this is not our home, that our home is with him who suffered and died and left this earth to prepare a place for us. Once we understand that and who it is that keeps a candle burning for us in the window, then the road ahead, however long, however difficult, is infinitely easier to travel.

When the storm is past and it will pass there will be work to do.

Then we see in Mark 5:1 A Demon-Possessed Man Healed and in Mark 5:21 A Girl Restored to Life and a Woman Healed. All after going through the storm.

Now the question is do you care?

Pray

Don’t You Care? Part 3

Does He care?

3 Hebrews was being burned, and He got in the fire. …

Dan 3:22 Therefore, because the king’s command was urgent, and the furnace exceedingly hot, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. 23 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.

24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished; and he rose in haste and spoke, saying to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?”

They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.”

25 “Look!” he answered, “I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.”

Oh, King God can deliver “but if not”   you lose oh King

Nevertheless

Sometimes we must get the old stuff tying us down burned off.

The fire freed them of their binding. And He was with them through it all.

When we are in the fire He is there with us.!

We never never never go through the fire alone.

He is there with us in the fire.

Does He care?

Job …

Job’s Repentance and Restoration

Job 42:1Then Job answered the LORD and said:

2 “I know that You can do everything,

And that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You.

3 You asked, ‘Who is this who hides counsel without knowledge?’

Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand,

Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.

4 Listen, please, and let me speak;

You said, ‘I will question you, and you shall answer Me.’

5 “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear,

But now my eye sees You.

6 Therefore I abhor myself,

And repent in dust and ashes.”  NKJV

It comes with a price but look what you learn, you learn more about God through the trials

Charles Spurgeon “God is too good to be unkind, to wise to be mistaken, And when you can’t trace His hand, trust His heart.”

Does He care?  How much dose God care???

John 3:16-17

16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.  17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

The most important question you must ask yourself is what Brennan Manning said in the book “Ragamuffin Gospel,” “Do you believe that God loves You?” 

 Does He Care????

John 11:23 Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again.

24 Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.

25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:

26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?

27 She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.    KJV

I think God allows us to go through stuff just to ask, “Do you really trust Me.?”

He was in the Ship with them. They were never alone.

Heb 13:5-6

5 Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”   6 So we may boldly say: “The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?”   NKJV

 

Even Jesus was in the middle of the Storm. Listen they were never alone.

“Intense Moments” with the Savior by Ken Gire

INTRODUCTION

Our Savior’s life was not an unbroken succession of intimate moments that changed people’s lives, or incredible moments that captured their attention, or instructive moments that challenged their thinking. There were intense moments too. Moments when he overturned the tables of moneychangers and moments when money changed hands, and his enemies turned the tables on him.

As we focus on these intense moments, we see the Savior as a son who learned obedience through the things he suffered. But through this apprenticeship of suffering,

Jesus learned something else.

He learned to feel…?

He learned the feeling of hunger from his forty days in the wilderness and thirst from his feverish hours on the cross. But he learned to feel a greater hunger in the wilderness than bread alone could satisfy and a greater thirst on the cross than mere water could relieve. He learned the pain of rejection and the sorrow of unrequited love.

We learn to feel in much the same way. We learn to feel when our faith is tested in some wilderness. When our best-laid plans go awry, and our bravest prayers go unanswered. When we’re belittled by a crowd or betrayed by a colleague. When we’re deserted by our friends or done in by our enemies.

Whether it is a single thorn in the flesh or a crown of them mashed on our heads, suffering teaches us to feel

We learn from the storms!!!…. from the fire   from the disappointments      from the rejections   from the heartaches .

This is why.

2 Corinthians 4:7-18

Cast Down but Unconquered

7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. 8 We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed — 10 always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. 11 For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. 12 So then death is working in us, but life in you.

13 And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, “I believed and therefore I spoke,” we also believe and therefore speak, 14 knowing that He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus, and will present us with you. 15 For all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God.

Seeing the Invisible

16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. 17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, 18 while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.   NKJV

Back to our text:

He never answered their question!!!   “Don’t, you care?” it’s to ask questions but pay close attention how He answers.

39 Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm.

Could you imagine what that was like? Jesus got up and the winds lay down, then He got up and the storm sat down!

Winds listen (His deity)

40 But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?”  

Look at what you have been through before and now this is what it takes to lose your faith?

We often doubt what God will do because we have forgotten what God has done!

Why are you so fearful and have no faith?   365 times the Bible says to fear not.

Back to our text:

41 And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, “Who can this be,

(What manner of man is this,) that even the wind and the sea obey Him!”

Here is the whole reason for the story. Fear God more than circumstances.

After Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection they feared very little.

Hebrews 13:6 So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.  KJV

Next week: What manner of man is this?

Don’t You Care? Part 2

 

We see Jesus in his humanity sleeping.

He laid down (His humanity)

Laid His head on a pillow, likely a sandbag used as a ballast

They forgot who was on the boat with them. We seem to forget way too often!

Can you sleep on a stormy night????

How to Sleep on a Stormy Night

Matt 7:24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:

Matt 7:25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.

Matt 7:26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:

Matt 7:27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.

Matt 7:28 And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine:

Matt 7:29 For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

 

Been there not just read about it.

What is your spiritual life built on????

Ps 11 if the foundation be destroyed what will the righteous do?

What kind of foundation are you built on, and can you sleep on a stormy night?

38 But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?”

Ever feel like God is asleep and not there?  He is not asleep!!!

Ps 121

God the Help of Those Who Seek Him

A Song of Ascents.

121:1 I will lift up my eyes to the hills —

From whence comes my help?

2 My help comes from the LORD,

Who made heaven and earth.

3 He will not allow your foot to be moved;

He who keeps you will not slumber.

4 Behold, He who keeps Israel

Shall neither slumber nor sleep.

5 The LORD is your keeper;

The LORD is your shade at your right hand.

6 The sun shall not strike you by day,

Nor the moon by night.

7 The LORD shall preserve you from all evil;

He shall preserve your soul.

8 The LORD shall preserve your going out and your coming in

From this time forth, and even forevermore. NKJV

Back to our text:

38 And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?

 

Then the question.

“Master, Master, carest thou not that we perish ?”

Don’t you Care???

38 But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?”

Alistair Begg said, “Notice what they ask, this is the worst of all questions. This is a terrible question. Teacher (didaskala) don’t you care If we drown, oh ask Jesus something else don’t ask him this. don’t you care if we drown, Jesus must have looked up into the eyes of the questioner and thought to himself hey I called you into my band, didn’t I? I wouldn’t have called you if I wasn’t gonna take care of you, don’t I care, the reason I’m in the boat is because I care, the reason I’m in the world is because I care, the reason that I’m going to go to the cross and die for you guys is because I care.”

Have you ever felt that way? Ever wonder if you were all alone and God didn’t care? I have, that all-alone feeling… when your ears fill up with tears.

When I stood in the pulpit and helped with a funeral for a 17-year-old girl, I wanted to ask it.

When I fell through a ceiling and messed up my back up, I wanted to ask it.

When cousin Ricky Harper passed, I wanted to ask it.

When every time my family got smaller here, we have had right over 30 family members pass away since my Dad died. And every time I wanted to ask it.

When I held my Dad’s hand as he took his last breath, I wanted to ask it.

But I did not because I KNOW HE CARES.  And you can too.

Does He care?

John 11:35 Jesus wept. 36 Then the Jews said, “See how He loved him!”

Jesus in his humanity crying.  

John 11:35 he wept because He hurt when the ones He loves hurt.

He loves you just the same.

Jesus in His deity Raising the dead

He cries when we hurt

Does He care?

Acts 6:1 Seven Chosen to Serve

Acts 6:2-7

2 Then the twelve summoned the multitude of the disciples and said, “It is not desirable that we should leave the word of God and serve tables. 3 Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business; 4 but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”

5 And the saying pleased the whole multitude. And they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch, 6 whom they set before the apostles; and when they had prayed, they laid hands on them.

7 Then the word of God spread, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith.

NKJV

Stephen Accused of Blasphemy

Acts 6:8 And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and signs among the people.

Acts 7:1 Stephen’s Address: The Call of Abraham

Acts 7:9 The Patriarchs in Egypt

Acts 7:17 God Delivers Israel by Moses

Acts 7:37 Israel Rebels Against God

Acts 7:44 God’s True Tabernacle

Acts 7:51 Israel Resists the Holy Spirit

We need more preaching like this. Of course, you see at what cost.

Acts 7:51 “You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you. 52 Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers, 53 who have received the law by the direction of angels and have not kept it.”

Stephen the Martyr

54 When they heard these things they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth. 55 But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, 56 and said, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!”

57 Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord; 58 and they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not charge them with this sin.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.  NKJV

Stephen being stoned stood

 

When you are in trials he stands and takes notice.

He stands at Gods right hand interceding for you.

Does He care? Ray Botz, …  Who nailed Him there this child of peace and mercy who nailed Him there come face me like a man who nailed Him there. Then I turned and saw the hammer in my hand.

I nailed Him there with my sins and my transgressions.

A Love of Life, or A Life of Love

Rev. Chuck E. Sprayberry

Luke 12:13-25 (NKJV) ¹³ Then one from the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” ¹⁴ But He said to him, “Man, who made Me a judge or an arbitrator over you?” ¹⁵ And He said to them, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.” ¹⁶ Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. ¹⁷ And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’ ¹⁸ So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. ¹⁹ And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.” ‘ ²⁰ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’ ²¹ So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.” ²² Then He said to His disciples, “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on. ²³ Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing.
²⁴ Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse nor barn; and God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds? ²⁵ And which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?

 

We can make four observations from the parable of this rich man:

1. Man can never be satisfied with possessions – he will always seek after more or better riches in order to add to that which he already possesses.
2. Success often “dooms” men to needless worry and anxiety – the more a man has, the more he worries about keeping it and protecting it.
3. Success may result in an unreachable desire for peace and rest. – They hope one day to be at peace and rest as a result of the riches they have accumulated. However, you cannot buy peace and rest with worldly possessions.
4. Death, when it arrives, cuts the soul off from all worldly possessions immediately and irreversibly.

By all the criteria of his time and ours, this man would have been considered successful. However, he did not recognize there was a more pressing spiritual need in his life.

He loved life and the things of this world, which are at best temporary, more than anything else.

Jesus comments in Matthew on how difficult it will be for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven because of their love for this life and the comforts and possessions they can acquire in their lifetime.

We are specifically warned against allowing the love of the world to become the most important thing in our life.

1 John 2:15-17 – “Love not the world, neither the things [that are] in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. (The love of the Father is not the driving principle of his life – Author’s note) For all that [is] in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof; but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever.”

If the love of the world is the driving principle in your life, then the love of the Father cannot manifest itself in your life as fully as he would like.

What will having a life of love bring about in your life?

1. Sorrow over sin in our life
2. Compassion for lost souls
3. A desire to help those in need

Jesus commands us not to have a love of life, but a life of love.

Matthew 22:30-40 – “Love, the greatest commandment.”

Jesus then showed what it means to live a life of love.

John 19:17.18 – “they crucified him” – the greatest act of love.

Jesus showed us that he loved us more than life itself when he willingly went to the cross to pay the price for our sins. As God, he could have lived a life as comfortable as any king that ever walked the earth. However, he chose to live a hard and difficult life ending the most cruel death man has ever devised. He did this so we would have the opportunity to clearly see exactly how much he loves us.

If you honestly asked yourself today, “Do I have a love of life or a life of love?” what would your answer be?

October 21, 2012 · 1:36 am

The Gift of Grace

By: Rev. Chuck E. Sprayberry

Scripture: Luke 15:11-24; Ephesians 2:8,9

Luke 15:11-24 (NKJV) ¹¹ Then He said: “A certain man had two sons. ¹² And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.’ So he divided to them his livelihood. ¹³ And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living. ¹⁴ But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want. ¹⁵ Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. ¹⁶ And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything. ¹⁷ But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! ¹⁸ I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, ¹⁹ and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.” ‘ ²⁰ And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. ²¹ And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ ²² But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. ²³ And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; ²⁴ for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be merry.

We are going to examine the parable of the Prodigal Son in order to see an example of grace being bestowed from the Father to the Son.

The son leaving the father was a conscious decision.

• He requested his part of the inheritance.
• He waited several days before leaving. (He had an opportunity to change his mind.)
• He had a plan laid out to support his decision.

He gathered ALL together when he left:

• There was no intention of returning

He spent ALL he had while he was in the foreign country:

• There was no provision to support his return.

When he “came to himself,” he was at the end of his rope.

• No means of support
• No means of improving his condition
• No source of comfort or happiness

The journey back to the father began with the recognition of where he was.

For every step he took in leaving the father, he had to take the same number of steps to return. The return was without any of the comforts or pleasures his wealth had provided during his departure.

The son was receiving justice for his actions. It did not come immediately, but it did come.

He intended to return home and throw himself on the mercy of his father.

The father extended grace to his son and went further than the son had hoped.

• Justice – Getting what you deserve
• Mercy – not getting what you deserve
• Grace – getting what you do not deserve, unmerited favor.

The Robe: A symbol of provision.

• Justice – you deserve to be wearing your rags.
• Mercy – you can have that which I no longer want or need.
• Grace – you can have the best.

Shoes: A symbol of family position.

• Justice – you don’t deserve to be part of this family – you left.
• Mercy – You can stay, but do not get too close.
• Grace – You are welcomed back in full fellowship.

Ring: A symbol of trust.

• Justice – You can never be trusted.
• Mercy – You can have limited trust once you earn it.
• Grace – Your rust is fully restored.

Feast: A symbol of joy and gladness.

• Justice – You do not deserve your return to be celebrated. Who cares?
• Mercy – You may get a party, but people are just there for the food, not you.
• Grace – Your return is truly joyous and celebrated.

The father is the perfect picture of grace in this parable.

• Justice has no concern for you at all.
• Mercy may be there if you come and get it.
• Grace will come running to you.

When mankind was expelled from the garden and fell under the curse of his sin, he was receiving the justice due him.

God had mercy on us and made it possible for man to have knowledge of him and a relationship with him through the Old Testament covenant.

Christ took us one step further, and by grace made it possible for us to have our relationship with God perfected.

Ephesians 2:8-9 (NKJV) ⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not of works, lest anyone should boast.

October 21, 2012, · 9:19 pm

Sitting at the Table

I grew up in a family of hunters and fishermen, (and fisher’s women my sister and Mother really love fishing too) and when uncles and cousins would drop by, we would sit at the table with my Dad, My Mother would usually prepare a meal or at least a snack and some coffee, and then the stories would start.

My Dad told the best stories, and he really had a way of telling them. You would feel as if you could almost step into the adventure as it unfolded. There was always a lot of laughing, and at times, the others involved in the story would jump right in and add some more parts of the story. Some sounded unbelievable, and when it looked like we were not buying the story you would hear, “Isn’t that right Jimmy, or Charles, or Dee, or Glenn” or whoever was part of the adventure. They all had a chance at telling their stories too. And again, when they needed affirmation, you would hear “Isn’t that right whoever?” usually they would turn to my Dad to confirm the story. Sometimes he would say “It didn’t happen that way,” just to get a rise, but then he would agree and say, “That’s just how it happened.”

Over the years a lot of the stories about how many fish were caught, or how big that Deer was, were told over and over. They never grew old and as the years went on more and newer stories were added on, one of the greatest days for me was when my Dad was telling one of his adventures, and he said, “Isn’t that right Dink?” (I am Dink) Now I’m part of the story, not just a listener, but someone in the story.

Over time and as I grew older more and more stories including me were added. My Dad would say, “Me and Dink we were at Flying S, or Pine Valley, or Big Canoe fishing,” and the story would start, and then as I started hunting and again more stories with me in them were told, like, “we were at the hunting camp, or over at the “he did church”. (that’s what we call one of our hunting spots and that’s another story for another day) See the more time I spent with my Dad, the more stories we had to tell.

 

I was taught not to just go kill something to be killing it, I was taught to hunt for what you would eat, I hunted for 23 years before dropping my first (and only) deer. The main reason I hunted was to spend time with my Dad, and brothers, nephews and friends. I just love getting away and some of my best prayer times are and were in the deer woods hunting. Some of the best bible discussions and witnessing to friends and family is on the lake or in a boat. They have to listen in the boat they have nowhere to go.

My Dad taught me that every hunt and every fishing outing can be an adventure, and a possible story, it’s up to us.

While we sat at the table with my Dad, and others, we would get comfortable and know this is going to be a good night of adventures with people we that love.

 

On July 4th, 1990, I took the pulpit for the very first time. I brought my very first sermon. The title of that sermon was “Sitting at the table with Jesus.”

In the course of the weeks prior to that Wednesday Night, I received all kinds of advice, some solicited, some not so much, for instance a preacher friend named Tiny called and gave me some verses to read and then ask “if I had butterflies in my stomach,” my reply was “yes, very much so,” and he added “don’t worry they will turn to alligators before it was over.”

Another piece of advice was from one of my greatest friends Margie Sprayberry, she told me “When you run out of soap, get out of the tub” other words when you said what needs to be said, shut up and sit down.

That should tell you a lot about my support system at that time.

My sermon was based on the text in John12 after Lazarus was raised from the dead, he had a chance to just sit down with Jesus and tell him about his adventure.

I thought that was very cool, sitting with the very creator of the universe. Having a meal with the Gentle Shepherd and listening to His stories.

John 12:1 Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was who had been dead, whom He had raised from the dead. 2 There they made Him a supper; and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with Him.  NKJV

In another translation it is rendered “reclining at the table with Him.”

John 12:2 So they made Him a supper there, and Martha was serving; but Lazarus was one of those reclining at the table with Him. NASU

 

Now that is when it really got me thinking, reclining with Him, Wow just sitting back and taking it easy with Jesus. Being that comfortable around Jesus that you would just lay back and take in what is being said. Listening to His adventures and telling of the things to come.

They may have heard of the meal that Martha worked so hard on, and Mary just sat and listened to the stories as in Luke.

Luke 10:38 Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. 40 But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore, tell her to help me.”

41 And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things.  42 But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”  NKJV

Or how Peter got out of the boat, or the feeding of thousands with a kid’s sack lunch, I am sure there were stories after stories.

 

We don’t meet Lazarus until John 11. And as that story goes, he gets sick, and the sisters send for their friend and healer Jesus. Now four days later Jesus shows up and well just read it for yourself.

John 11:17 So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days. NKJV

We look at our guy Lazarus, God didn’t let him know when he was laying there dying that everything would turnout okay. Or that it was, so he could be in one of the greatest stories in the bible. God didn’t let him know what kind of witness he was going to become because of what happened to him. He and his sisters just had to trust Jesus, even to them being four days late, that He (Jesus) knew just what had to happen. But look what did happen.

John 11:40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?”  41 Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.  42 And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.”  43 Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!”

I heard a preacher say one time He had to call Lazarus by name or that whole graveyard would have emptied out.

44 And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with grave clothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Loose him, and let him go.”  NKJV

“Loose him and let him go.”  Now that is one great ending.

 

While sitting at the table with Jesus in John 12 we meet Mary the Worshiper and Martha the Worker. But now Jesus adds Lazarus name to his list of stories, and Lazarus is now in the story, as I was with my Dad.

Not only does Lazarus get to hear Jesus tell his story, he gets to put some personal input in the story as well, and people come to hear Lazarus’ take on the story and how Jesus raised him from the dead.

John 12:9 Now a great many of the Jews knew that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus’ sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead. NKJV

So, we see the Worshiper and the Worker but now we meet the Witness.

I believe that God wants the same for us, and it’s up to us, if we sit at the table with Him.

In Revelation Jesus said to the church, us Christians.

Revelation 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.  21 To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.

22 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”  NKJV

 

The more time you spend with The Heavenly Father the more stories you will have to tell as well. And that is our responsibility, to share the Gospel with the world.

 

Are you telling your friends and family the stories of what Christ has done for you? Even in the hard times that we go through, share how God brought us through them. There is a reason for them so you too can have a story to share.

 

The very purpose of the book “Something To Pounder” and this webpage is to share a few of my stories.

So, if you will, pull up a chair and sit with me as we,

 Ponder over what God has to say.

As “We sit at the table with Jesus”.

 

Friend Part 2

 As Christians, we should know that Jesus is our friend, but we also need to make sure that we introduce the surrounding people to Him. One of the talks in a Christian weekend retreat that I work with on occasion, says “Make a friend, be a friend, and bring that friend to Jesus.”

I have this penned in the back of my Bible

“If I just do my thing and you do yours, we stand in danger of losing each other and ourselves, we are fully ourselves only in relation to each other, and the “I” detached from the “thou,” is disintegrating. I do not find you by chance, I find you by an active life of reaching out” by Walter Tubbs

Did Jesus not say in Mark 16:15 …” Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. NKJV

All the world and let everyone as you come in contact with them know about Jesus. As it has been said, “No one cares how much you know, until they know how much you care.”

I love the Randy Newman song for “Toy Story”:

“You’ve Got A Friend in Me”.

You’ve got a friend in me, You’ve got a friend in me,

When the road looks rough ahead, And you’re miles and miles,

From your nice warm bed, You just remember what your old pal said,

Boy, you’ve got a friend in me, Yeah, you’ve got a friend in me.

You’ve got a friend in me, You’ve got a friend in me,

You’ve got troubles, I’ve got ’em too, There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for you,

We stick together and we see it through, Cause you’ve got a friend in me,

You’ve got a friend in me.

Some other folks might be A little bit smarter than I am,

Bigger and stronger too, Maybe,

But none of them will ever love you, The way I do,

It’s me and you, boy.

And as the years go by, Our friendship will never die,

You’re gonna see it’s our destiny, You’ve got a friend in me,

You’ve got a friend in me, You’ve got a friend in me.

 

The word friend is found some 58 times in the NKJV, 22 of those are in the New Testament. Jesus used the word 14 of those 22 times.

Why does one need a friend, Solomon said in Ecclesiastes that two is better than one, and we need to make sure the one with our one is the one that God desires for us to have in our lives.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 (NKJV) 9 Two are better than one, Because they have a good reward for their labor. 10 For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, For he has no one to help him up. 11 Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; But how can one be warm alone? 12 Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

 

I saw this and was compelled to add it to this chapter;

“It occurred to Pooh and Piglet that they hadn’t heard from Eeyore for several days, so they put on their hats and coats and trotted across the Hundred Acre Wood to Eeyore’s stick house. Inside the house was Eeyore.

“Hello Eeyore,” said Pooh.

“Hello, Pooh. Hello Piglet,” said Eeyore, in a Glum Sounding Voice.

“We just thought we’d check in on you,” said Piglet, “because we hadn’t heard from you, and so we wanted to know if you were okay.”

Eeyore was silent for a moment. “Am I okay?” he asked, eventually. “Well, I don’t know, to be honest. Are any of us really okay? That’s what I ask myself. All I can tell you, Pooh and Piglet, is that right now I feel really rather Sad, and Alone, and Not Much Fun To Be Around At All. Which is why I haven’t bothered you. Because you wouldn’t want to waste your time hanging out with someone who is Sad, and Alone, and Not Much Fun To Be Around At All, would you now.”

Pooh looked at Piglet, and Piglet looked at Pooh, and they both sat down, one on either side of Eeyore in his stick house.

Eeyore looked at them in surprise. “What are you doing?”

“We’re sitting here with you,” said Pooh, “because we are your friends. And true friends don’t care if someone is feeling Sad, or Alone, or Not Much Fun to Be Around At All. True friends are there for you anyway. And so here we are.”

“Oh,” said Eeyore. “Oh.” And the three of them sat there in silence, and while Pooh and Piglet said nothing at all; somehow, almost imperceptibly, Eeyore started to feel a very tiny little bit better.

Because Pooh and Piglet were There.

No more; no less.”

(A.A. Milne, E.H. Shepard)

 

We must be very careful not only to whom we call friends but to whom we let in our life as a friend.

I like what a young preacher in our Church once said in one of his first sermons, and that is if you take a white glove and put it on your hand and then submerge that hand in mud, the glove gets muddy. It is never said that the mud got glovie. (I know that glovie is not a word, but do you get the point.)

So, we need to be very careful who we accept as a real friend, if the person brings you down, and takes you away from the ones that once lifted you. If that person takes you places that you once would not go it would hurt your testimony. If that person uses language that brings dishonor to God and makes you look cheap. So, if that person has more influence on you. Then you start emulating them instead of representing Christ. There should be warning horns going off big time in your heart and mind. You should step back and look and see if you are getting muddy or if they are getting “glovie.” My bet is the mud is winning, if you step back from real friends and start following this kind of people you are not doing them any good, and you are not doing you any good either.

Well, Jesus hung out with sinners and bad people. Yes, He did, and he showed them love and brought them around to His way, by the example that He led. Not by acting like them. I am not saying you cannot have bad people in your life as friends, I am saying do not let them lead you away from the witness that took you years to build up. Satan would have nothing better than to tear you down.

Remember “Make a friend, be a friend, and bring that friend to Jesus.” Not make a friend, be a friend, and let that friend take you away from Jesus.

So, here is the question, are you getting muddy, or are the ones you are hanging with getting “glovie?” If you are a Christian and you allow someone to take you down the wrong road, and you are allowing them to tear down the witness that God had in you then I say it is time to do as Joshua said in the book that carries his name:

Joshua 24:15 (NKJV) 15 And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”

You must choose whether to follow God or follow the world! Sometimes the one that is leading you down the wrong road may be waiting for you to make a stand and say NO, I’m going to follow God. Just so they can see if this Christian stuff is real in your life and if, so then they may want to follow Christ themselves.

James 4:4 (NKJV) … Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

As I have said in the past and am sure I will say again and again. When God is talking about neighbors and friends, I don’t think he is talking about what kind of friend you have but what kind of friend your friend has namely YOU.  Are you loving that friend enough to say to them, I will serve the LORD! Do you love them enough to let them leave, because Jesus did? He gives us a choice, to love them and live for Him and lead them out of hell. Or watch them go on their way while destroying your testimony and your witness.

I beg you to love them enough to bring them to Christ. “Make a friend, be a friend, and bring that friend to Jesus.” That is real love.  They are worth your love, but not at the expense of taking away the love you once had for God and his word.

Let them see the Love of the Lord in you and they may just want it too. It has been my experience that most people living a Godless life are looking for something or someone and I promise you that something is God himself and that someone is you showing them the Love of God.

I heard a preacher say once that he could tell the ones not as close to God as they once were. They were in the Church down front, then about halfway back in the Church, and then in the back, and then in the overflow, and then they were gone. It is always gradual. One small step at a time away from Christ and for every step you take away it is one more step closer to Satan and his way of life, which leads to destruction.

I once had a great quiet time and now my time is quiet. I once went to Church religiously (did you see what I did there?) now my religion is anything except Christ. I once went to Sunday School or Small Group and now I am in places that I know that God is heartbroken over. Does He stop loving you? NEVER!!! But there will come a time when someone who once watched how much you loved God and how you would not compromise your belief in Him. They are seeing something different, and they may say if that is Christianity, I want no part of it. Is your moment of enjoyment worthy of their soul?

As I stated at the beginning, I have several people that I know, but I only have a few people that I call Friends.

The classic 1993 Western Tombstone is full of memorable quotes from Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, and the infamous Cowboys of Southern Arizona. After a major shootout at the river, our heroes are regathering themselves, and Doc Holliday (Val Kilmer) walks over to the side of the river leans over, and coughs, and Cactus Jack Johnson (Buck Taylor) Says, “Doc what are you doing out here, you should be in bed,” in which Doc’s reply was, “Wyatt Earp is my friend.” Then Cactus Jack said, “I got lots of friends,” here is where I can relate to Doc because he said, “I don’t.”

God calls everyone his friend. Are you in need of a friend let me tell you where to get a friend.

Proverbs 18:24 (NKJV) A man who has friends must himself be friendly, But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

Can we find a friend so faithful? Whom will all our sorrows share?

Jesus knows our every weakness; Are we weak and heavy-laden? Cumbered with a load of care? Precious Savior, still our refuge—Do thy friends despise, forsake thee? Take it to the Lord in prayer! In His arms, He’ll take and shield thee. Thou wilt find a solace there. Blessed Savior. Thou hast promised Thou wilt all our burdens bear; May we ever, Lord, be bringing All to Thee in earnest prayer.

Can we find a friend so faithful? Yes, His name is Jesus!!

I hope and pray that the ones who call me a friend and that I live up to their expectation. I hope that when my name is spoken people can say he is my friend.

I hope that I follow the example set before me in Christ Jesus.

I hope if you ever have called me a friend you still can.

But I know me, I know that I have let people down, and I know that I probably have said or done something that I shouldn’t have said or done. And hope and pray that my friends can forgive me and that I can forgive my friends who have let me down.

I was recently removed from a post and blocked from adding anything to the page on Facebook. The post was my home Church that I have been a part of since I was five years old, at the time of this writing I was sixty-one. So, I was not happy, it wasn’t anything bad I posted it was just an old picture of the Church and I said I miss that, Church. After I put a rebuttal on my personal Facebook page and about 50 people commented on my post, I received a message apologizing and said the block was removed and ended by saying “God bless my friend.” I do not know who misinformed the person writing me that we were friends, because we are not. I have never talked to the man who messaged me. We are not friends, not my definition of a friend. We think because we add the word friend that makes us friends. But in my book, it does not.

The example that is set before us is Jesus himself. He forgave us even before we let him down and keeps loving us anyway. Let us try to live that way and remember:

“Make a friend, be a friend, and bring that friend to Jesus.”