Author: E. DeWayne Swann

Pop the Top

Years ago, while visiting my Grandmother in Cobb Hospital, and watching her mentally and physically slowly leave us through Alzheimer’s over the years. One particular time as she was there and the news got out, we saw different family members gathered to visit her and comfort her through this one of many stays.

As I arrived, I saw that my Mother was already there with a number of cousins and other family members. My Grandmother was having a pretty good day, so as I entered the room, she looked at me and asked who I was? I replied DeWayne, and I could see the look of confusion on her face, so I added what most of my close and immediate family referred to me as and that was Dinky.  She then smiled and said you are one of Littlelynn’s boys, right? Littlelynn (Little-one) is what she called my mother, and that is another story for another day).  I told her she was right and just sat and listened as different people came and went that day.

As I observed the counteraction with different people, I saw that she was enjoying the attention and then someone asked her how she was doing? The answer was “I am doing great; I don’t understand why I am in here I want to go home”. I asked her if she wanted to go fishing with me, and her reply was “Let’s go!” after a few moments of hearing how good she was doing my cousin Ricky came in and joined in on telling her we were going to get her up and take her with us to the lake. She was all for it, and she was as sprite and active as could be.

Then just like that, things changed, the Doctor walked in and said, “How are you doing today, Mrs. Jarrell’s?” and then her response was, in a weak in sad voice, “I’m not doing good at all, I feel terrible.” As she laid back and closed her eyes as if she had no strength to even speak. And then me trying to encourage her and play with her I said, “awe that’s not what you were saying a moment ago, you said you didn’t see any reason why you are in here and you felt good enough to go fishing with me and Rick.” In which that didn’t go over to well with her, she sat up in that bed and said in an angry voice, “You ain’t purdy (pretty) you ain’t purdy at all, if I could get out of this bed I would…,” and at that time my Mother said get out and get out now! Rick was laughing, and she didn’t seem to care for that either, so he said hold up Cuz I’m going with you.

So, down we went to the break room.

After standing a pulpit in a number of churches over 30 years, you get where you can detect conviction on people’s faces. I remember when I was in church as a child. Usually bored to tears and ready to go home or anywhere except sitting in that church. That the preacher would finely wind down and the song leader would come up and start the invitation. Sometimes I wanted out because I had other thing I rather be doing, and other time was because I was under so much conviction that I wanted out, and I wanted NOW!

When a preacher says let’s sing just one more verse there is a reason and usually an excellent reason, and that is that they see something that you don’t. What we see is someone standing there holding the seat in front of them so tight, until their knuckles are white. They are hoping to get out of that church, and to get out NOW. The Holy Spirit has come down and the spirit of conviction is on their face. We as preachers see this, and we want to give them every chance we can for them to move. This could be the last time for them to accept Jesus Christ as their Savior. So, just one more verse. When you hear that, I ask you to please start praying for the ones hearing that invitation.

Back to the elevator ride down to the break room. I am extremely claustrophobic, and so when I get on an elevator and the doors close, I usually start talking, to get my mind off the fact that I am in a little room and the doors just closed and everyone is breathing up all my oxygen. The thing that I normally start talking about is the Bible and what Jesus means to me. That day was no different. It works as a fantastic evangelistic tool because the ones in there with you have nowhere to go, so you have only a few seconds to present the gospel.

This was one of those occasions, except the conviction I saw this day in that elevator was on my cousin’s face. Ricky was more like a brother to me than a cousin. Years ago, when his mother was pregnant with Ricks little brother Steve, and he was born, they brought him home and showed him to Ricky, and said here is your little brother. Rick told him he didn’t want him; he wanted Dinky for a brother. As I said, we are close.

Now we have made it to the break room and Rick started asking questions about being “Saved”. So, I told him all he had to do is ask the Lord to come into his heart in the form of The Holy Spirit, Accept the forgiveness of his sins and Believe that God has giving him the gift of Salvation through Jesus Christ, who paid the price for the forgiveness of those sins. He said that he wasn’t sure about all this stuff. He like me, was raised in church, he has seen how some people are on fire one week and gone the next, and he said he didn’t want to be like that. I said I didn’t want him to be like that either. I wanted him to be like Jesus, not people. He then asked how do you do that? How do you accept salvation?

We were standing in front of a Coke machine and I had just dropped two quarters in and asked what he wanted. He said a Coke, I pressed the Coke button and down it came. And the Spirit of God did also. At that moment God gave me an example to share with Rick. I reached and got the Coke and said this is Salvation, this is a gift from me to you, I paid the price and it cost you nothing all you have to do is reach out and take it. I held it out to him, and he reached out and took the Coke from my hand. Then he said is that all there is to Salvation? I just have to take it?

He like most would think that I would have said yes and all would be well. But I didn’t, instead I reached and snatched the can back from him and said, nope see I took it back, this is where God showed up, and I said a lot of people think just saying words gets them Saved, but there is more to it than that. I then popped the top of the drink and handed it back to him and said now drink that. He took a few swallows and I said “that is Salvation”, you have to make Christ a part of you, you have to invite Him in to your life.

When he was just holding the can of Coke, anyone could do as I did and take it away from him, but now that he drank the Coke it is now and forever a part of him and there is nothing I or anyone else could do to get that out of him. That is Salvation, Making Jesus Christ a part of you by Believing on the price that was paid by the Father, through the Son, by indwelling you with the Holy Spirit. That is “SALVATION”.

We need to do as Christ said for us to do, after feeding the thousands with a kid’s sack lunch of 2 pieces of fish and five little biscuits. And then miraculously walked on water, and then tells the ones that followed after another meal that they have to take Him in them through the eating of His flesh and drinking His blood. Take His character, take His Love, take what he is holding out and giving to you freely, all you have to do is accept it. It is not about asking for forgiveness it’s about accepting the fact that you are already forgiven.

Feeding the Five Thousand

John 6:1 After these things Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. 2 Then a great multitude followed Him, because they saw His signs which He performed on those who were diseased.  3 And Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat with His disciples.

4 Now the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was near. 5 Then Jesus lifted up His eyes, and seeing a great multitude coming toward Him, He said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?”  6 But this He said to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do.

7 Philip answered Him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may have a little.”

8 One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him, 9 “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?”

10 Then Jesus said, “Make the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. 11 And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down; and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted. 12 So when they were filled, He said to His disciples, “Gather up the fragments that remain, so that nothing is lost.”  13 Therefore they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten. 14 Then those men, when they had seen the sign that Jesus did, said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.” NKJV

Then we see Jesus Walks on the Sea and then He speaks about being The Bread from Heaven

John 6:22 On the following day, when the people who were standing on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other boat there, except that one which His disciples had entered, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with His disciples, but His disciples had gone away alone —  23 however, other boats came from Tiberias, near the place where they ate bread after the Lord had given thanks —  24 when the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they also got into boats and came to Capernaum, seeking Jesus. 25 And when they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, “Rabbi, when did You come here?”

26 Jesus answered them and said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.  27 Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.”

28 Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?”

29 Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”

30 Therefore they said to Him, “What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You? What work will You do? 31 Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'”

32 Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven.  33 For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

But we saw in this story that Jesus is foretelling of the last supper and then we can see that in Matthew:

Jesus Institutes the Lord’s Supper

Matthew 26:26 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.”

27 Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you.  28 For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.  29 But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.”

30 And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. NKJV

It is reemphasized in First Corinthians:

Institution of the Lord’s Supper

1 Corinthians 11:23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”  25 In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”

26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.  NKJV

 

I believe that many of people that are sitting in the “Church” building today have taken the can and never popped the top. We the preachers and teachers sometimes do a poor job of letting them know that just saying words are not the same as having a draw of the Holy Spirit of God.

We sometimes just say to repeat after me, and they say words and there is no repentance and confession of being a sinner. We have a gift of salvation given to us but we have to accept the gift of forgiveness. We don’t have to ask for it, it is already ours all we have to do Believe!!! The Bible is clear that all sins were and are and are going to be forgiven. It is not about forgiveness, again it’s about accepting that forgiveness, or popping the top and drinking it in.

We must take the Bread and eat, “His Body.” Taking the “Bread of Life” and let it nourish us;

John 6:35-59 (NKJV) 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…
⁴⁰ And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”…
⁴⁷ Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life.
⁴⁸ I am the bread of life.
⁴⁹ Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead.
⁵⁰ This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die.
⁵¹ I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.”
⁵² The Jews therefore quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?”
⁵³ Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.
⁵⁴ Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.
⁵⁵ For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed.
⁵⁶ He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.
⁵⁷ As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me.
⁵⁸ This is the bread which came down from heaven–not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever.”
⁵⁹ These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum.

 

We also see that Jesus said we must take the Cup and drink, “His Blood.” Take the “Cup” The Living Water and quench the thirst that is everlasting. As we see when Jesus spoke to the Samaritan woman at the well, He said;

John 4:10 (NKJV) Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”…John 4:14 (NKJV) “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.”

 

Accept that “Forgiveness” Like when I offered Ricky the Can of Coke is like saying the words, but when you pop the top and take it in you no one, and I mean no one can take it away from you then. That is accepting Jesus as your Lord and Savior. And then you will see that there is nowhere else to go as Peter said, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Also, we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And if not then we see as the students of Jesus did;

 

Many Disciples Turn Away

John 6:60 Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, “This is a hard saying; who can understand it?”

61 When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to them, “Does this offend you?  62 What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before?  63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.  64 But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him. 65 And He said, “Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.”

66 From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more. 67 Then Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you also want to go away?”

68 But Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

70 Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?”  71 He spoke of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, for it was he who would betray Him, being one of the twelve.   NKJV

I always find it amazing that our Lord lets those leave, he offered the can and all they had to do is pop the top, but they chose to leave, they chose to walk away, and He let them walk away and then He even asked His own disciples if they too were going to leave. It was so freeing as a minister to see 1 out of the 12 that walked with Jesus knowing that he saw the same thing as the others but that one chose not to pop the top. It took me years to understand that you will not reach them all. The bottom line is the hearer’s choice to accept or walk away. And Jesus let him do just that, walk away, and even betray him.

Never does the scripture after the Death Burial and Resurrection, say that we have to ask for forgiveness, it says that we need to accept His forgiveness.

Confession, admitting that we are sinners and need to accept the forgiveness.

1 John 1:7-10 (NKJV)
⁷ But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
⁸ If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
⁹ If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
¹⁰ If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.

And then we need repentance, to turn from the way that we were living and follow Christ and Him crucified for the remission of our wrong doings, “sin”.

Luke 5:31 Jesus answered and said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.  32 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”  NKJV

Luke 24:47 and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. NKJV

Acts 26:20 but declared first to those in Damascus and in Jerusalem, and throughout all the region of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent, turn to God, and do works befitting repentance. NKJV

 

2 Cor 7:9 Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing. 10 For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death. NKJV

God is giving everyone more time to come to repentance;

2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. NKJV

Rick did latter accepted Christ and even went on to be a minister of the same Gospel I tried to share with him that day. Because he not only took the can He popped the top, drank it down and tried to get as many as he could to also “Pop the Top.”

 

The gift has been given. The can is in your hand.

All you must do is;

Pop the Top.

 “A Magic Dime”

Before we left on the adventure up the Dusty, Rocky Road. Granddaddy would always give every one of us a dime.

A “Magic Dime”, I call it a magic dime because when we got to the store it would buy pretty much whatever we wanted, always a box of Cracker Jacks, then maybe a Coke, or a bag of chips, and 5 or 10 pieces of penny candy.  All that for his magic dime. Then we would go back to his house and enjoy what WE bought.

After every visit with them, as all 5 grandkids loaded up to come back home to Georgia, Granddaddy would give all of us another dime even my Mother and Dad got a dime. This dime wouldn’t buy in Georgia what the magic dime would buy in Alabama. Believe me when I tell you I tried. It just didn’t work the same here.

Off to the Big Apple Store we went, I gather up what I got with Granddaddy and I put my Coke, my Cracker Jacks, and my ten pieces of penny candy on the counter, the clerk rang up my stuff, and then said “that will be thirty-five cents.” I set the dime down on the counter and reached for my things, except they were not mine, I hadn’t paid the full price yet, so I left with only the candy.

 

Years passed and as we matured, we found that the dime wouldn’t buy much unless we were with our Grandfather.  You see, our Granddaddy had an open account at the store and whatever we purchased with our magic dimes was put on his account.

See the magic wasn’t in the dime but in the presence of the one that had control of the account. Granddaddy. Are you getting where I am going with this?

Life is the same way; we think that WE pay our way here and there, when the whole time its God that supplies our needs.

Philippians 4:19 And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. 20 Now to our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen. NKJV

Luke 12:29 And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind. 30 For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that you need these things.  31 But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you. NKJV

Malachi 3:10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this,” Says the LORD of hosts, “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it”.  NKJV

It’s all poured out from heaven.

It all comes from the one that controls the account. GOD. When I went on my own and try to spend my dime all I got was face value for a dime. But when I go with the one that has control of the account. More than what it’s worth was poured out.

 

After all, where did we get the first dime to start with. IT’S ALL HIS.

 

Remember the lesson of the dime. Give generously to the ones you love as our Grandfather did for his grandchildren and as our Heavenly Father gave so much more to us. It is with this in mind that you support your ministries and remember who gave you “The Dime”, and who carried you on that dusty rocky road?

 

Someone once said that a nickel is bigger than a dime, but remember that the dime has more value. For me especially if it is from Granddaddy.

So, what are you doing with your “Magic Dime” that God has entrusted you with?

Dusty Roads, and Strong Shoulders

At times, I get reminiscent about my youth and simpler times in my life.  And today April 8, 1911, Joe Busby was born, today would have been my Grandaddy’s birthday.

When I was just a child, two or three times a year my family would go to Fort Payne Alabama to visit my Grandmother and then up to Lookout Mountain to visit my step Grandparents there. My step Grandfather never showed any difference between me and his natural grandchildren, my brothers, and my sister.

On every visit we (the grand kids) would go for a walk up the old dusty dirt road he lived on and go to the local store at the end of the road.

As we ventured down that dusty, rocky road I began to get tired, and the rocks were beginning to take its toll on my feet. So, Granddaddy threw me up on his shoulders. Granddaddy was one of the kindest and most humble people I had ever met, He was very trustworthy and very respected, a great mentor and role model to try to emulate as much as possible.

I was just 5 or 6 years old but I remember him carrying me on his shoulder, as if it were last week, I don’t recall ever saying anything about the walk, but he looked down and saw me struggling and up on his shoulders I went.

I wonder how often in our struggles without saying a word God just grabs us up and places us on his mighty shoulders, we go. The Bible says over and over how God guides and carries us:

Deuteronomy 33:12 Of Benjamin he said:

“The beloved of the LORD shall dwell in safety by Him, Who shelters him all the day long; And he shall dwell between His shoulders.” NKJV

Psalms 17:5 Uphold my steps in Your paths, That my footsteps may not slip. NKJV

Psalms 119:117 Hold me up, and I shall be safe, And I shall observe Your statutes continually. NKJV

Psalms 139:10 Even there Your hand shall lead me, And Your right hand shall hold me.

11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall fall on me,” Even the night shall be light about me;

12 Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You, But the night shines as the day; The darkness and the light are both alike to You.  NKJV

Again, that got me thinking about the nature of God.

The poem about footprints in the sand. How when there were only one set of tracks is when He carried us. I think that is what He wants to do the whole time. I truly believe that if there are ever two sets of tracks it’s when we are trying to do things on our own.

Now if Jesus is in my heart in the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and Jesus is in the Father, so how many tracks should we see?

Someone once likened God as a Father teaching a child how to ride a bike, How He runs along behind holding the bike and making sure that it doesn’t fall over, then when the time is right, He lets go and off we go on our own.

However, the more I read the scriptures, the more I believe that God does not want to ever let go,

He never intends for us to make it on our own,

He is always there and only when we try to do it on our own are we left to do just that, on our own.

Why would we want it on our own if we didn’t want to do something we shouldn’t be doing anyway?

I can make it on my own, but it is so much easier to do it Gods way and stop pulling away, because He will let you leave, in Luke 15:1-7 we see in “The Parable of the Lost Sheep”, then Luke 15:8-10 we see “The Parable of the Lost Coin.”

Then, Luke 15:11 The story of “The Parable of the Lost Son” reads:

Luke 15:11 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”.

The Father will let you go even though He knows that is not what is best for you, and as the saying goes:

“Sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you want to pay.”

As we see in this story;

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.

“Keep you longer than you want to stay and cost you more than you want to pay.”

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.”

“But when he came to himself,” when he realized that things were better off at home, and the rules were not that bad after all,

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.”

See the Father is looking for your return every day.

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.’

The sin is already forgiven!

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. NKJV

Treated the son as if he never left. Understand the fellowship may change with God, but the relationship never changes, if you are his child.

I believe He always carries us, if we let Him. We have seen that in “The Parable of the Lost Sheep”.

Luke 15:4 “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?  5 And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.  NKJV

There are those shoulders again. So, happily He carries us.

Notice this even though I was on my Granddaddy’s shoulders, I was still on the dusty rocky road.

The circumstance did not change, where I was had not changed, my destination did not alter.

What changed was instead of me taking the steps it was Granddaddy,

Instead of me facing the rocky road, he took it on him.

Instead of my weight on my feet they are on his.

Remember who is carrying you!

It’s not my Fault!

Or was it?

Being the youngest of five, I always had someone to blame for my wrong doings. (Not that I did that many things wrong.) I have one brother that rarely did anything bad.

If something went wrong and the question was asked “Who did this?” the answer was always “My Brother.” Knowing that he never did wrong and would be forgiven for the minor offense very quickly rather than me messing up again.

Even after we were grown and My Brother was in basic training for the United States Air Force in Texas, a question by my Mother went like this, “who left that cup on the counter,” or “who left that plate on the end table” or and one of my favorites, my Dad’s shoes in the floor and the question was “who do these shoes belong to?” and the answer was always “My Brother.” No matter the only people in the house all day was me and my Dad, the answer was “My Brother.”

It’s good to have a person to blame things on, that way it’s not my fault if I am wrong. As I have mentioned I was raised in a somewhat legalistic Church, the hair had to be long on a girl and short on a guy. Women had to wear dresses, and they had to be long, and all men had to wear suites, the clothes on their back were more important than Jesus in their heart.

I have taught Sunday School for almost 30 years, that includes at my home Church, small group, home studies, hospice home care class. I have preached in nursing homes, Alzheimer’s ward, youth detention centers, and a number of Churches in west Georgia and east Alabama. In doing all this preaching and teaching, I would bring lessons at first the way I was taught.

If I said “you needed to dress in dresses and suits.” It’s not my fault, that’s what I was taught.

If I said “you have to be in Church every time the door is opened.” It’s not my fault, that’s what I was taught.

If I said “you have to use a certain kind of Bible.” It’s not my fault, that’s what I was taught.

If I said “your hair had to be a certain way.” It’s not my fault, that’s what I was taught.

If I said “you have to sing certain songs a certain way.” It’s not my fault, that’s what I was taught.

If I said “you have to pray a certain way.” It’s not my fault, that’s what I was taught.

If I said “you have to give a certain amount if you have it or not.” It’s not my fault, that’s what I was taught.

Now what is important is the reason I was taught all this, the way I was is:

It’s not their fault, that’s what they were taught.

 

That reminds me of The Parable of the Ham

A child stood and watched her mother prepare the annual holiday ham. The mother carefully cut each end of the ham off before placing it in the pan. The child asked, “Mother, why do you always cut the ends off the ham?” The mother replied, “Well, that’s the way my mother always did it.”

So, the child called her grandmother and asked, “Grandma, why do you always cut the ends off the ham?” The grandmother replied, “because that’s the way my mother always did it.”

Finally, the child called her great-grandmother and asked, “Great-Grandma, why did you always cut the ends off the ham?”

The great-grandmother replied, “Because the ham was way too big to fit in my small baking pan!!”

 

So, the cycle must stop. I must stop blaming My Brother, and even stop blaming the way I was raised. You see time and time again with young people that are committing crimes, the reason was “it’s how I was raised.”

Now after you get a certain age it’s all on you. You make the call and do wrong you are the one responsible.

As Dr. Michael L. Brown posted on Twitter:

“Regardless of my genetics, my upbringing, and my life experiences, I alone am ultimately responsible for my actions and choices.”

The same goes with my Teaching and Preaching, after a while I am the one responsible for leading people the wrong or misguided way.

Paul told Timothy his son in the faith in:

2 Timothy 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. KJV

The word study means:

NT:4704 spoudazo (spoo-dad’-zo); to use speed, i.e. to make effort, be prompt or earnest: KJV — do (give) diligence, be diligent (forward), endeavour, labour, study.

(Biblesoft’s New Exhaustive Strong’s Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright © 1994, Biblesoft and International Bible Translators, Inc.)

2 Tim 2:15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.  NKJV

2 Tim 2:15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. NIV

2 Tim 2:15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth. NASU

2Tim 2:15 Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth. NLT

I love the way the Amplified Bible reads it:

2 Timothy 2:15 Study and do your best to present yourself to God approved, a workman [tested by trial] who has no reason to be ashamed, accurately handling and skillfully teaching the word of truth.  Amplified Bible (AMP)

 

Now my job is to do my diligence, work hard, do my best, and Study the Word of God, rightly handling the word of truth, so I will not be ashamed when I am presented to God. Dig into the scripture and find out what is being said and why it’s being said. Then and only then do I do my best to tell what is being said in the Holy Scripture.

I have read the Bible through a few times, and when I came across something, I didn’t understand I would jump over it and keep on reading.

But now I stop and dig, study, and do my best to see what God is telling me. I love looking at different translations and see what words are different and why. That is what gets me in the Bible even deeper.

After looking through the scripture I can’t find anywhere that it says to wear a tie, it’s just not in there.

I never saw Jesus when on a sea shore or along a mountain, or in a garden tell the smelly people to go get dressed before He would talk to them.

I never read one word, not one, saying before He healed them that they needed a haircut.

There are so many things we get so bent out of shape over that I believe God really does not care about.

I was a Carpenter and Craftsman by trade, and my Dads home was just around the corner from my house. (I had to pass his to get to mine) A lot of days on my way home, still having the residue of the day on me, a little sawdust, maybe some stain on my hands, a little paint on my pants, and sweat running down my face.

I would drop by to check on my Dad. I would knock on the door as I opened it and walked on in, see its “MY FATHERS HOUSE” I have a key and I have freedom to come in at any time. And I knew no matter how I looked or even smelled I was always welcome there.

My Dad would usually be on the sofa, and he would get up and a big smile would be on his face, because his boy came by to spend some time with him. I may be wrong but I think that is the way God is, just happy to spend some time with me.

We get so caught up on the outside of a person the way they look and dress we miss out and never get to know the inside (the heart) of the person. Thank God He looks at the heart.

1 Sam 16:7 But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” NKJV

I have never not ever read in the red letters of Jesus to “turn your King James Bible” to a particular verse.

It is not there!

So why for the life of me do we get so excited if someone is reading a different translation than we have, and how on earth does that make you more spiritual than someone else because you sing from a red hymnal instead of a large screen.

I have been a part of both worship services and felt His very presence in both.

I have sat and even preached in Church services that had a hand full of people and God moved in a mighty way. Then I have sat in Church services with 1500 to 2000 people and had the same God convict and move me to tears with His presence.

What difference does it make if you open a Bible Book, a phone app, a lap top, a Kendal reader, or a Nook Book with apps. (The Nook is what I use because I can carry five different Bibles a Strong’s Concordance, and a Matthew Henry Commentary and over two hundred sermons that I have already brought.)

A friend of mine Tim Croft said, “I bet someone got upset when they opened the first book Bible rather than unrolling a scroll.”

Any reason to try to look more spiritual than those that don’t do it your way.

We the Church keep on and on debating on which Bible is the best, which songs are the best, which type of music is the best, which way to dress is the best, and we need to stop.

Just because they are not doing it the way we are does not mean it’s wrong, it’s just different.

You never see Jesus heal the same way twice, He raised three different people from death, three different ways.

The little Girl he said in Mark 5:41 He gently speaks “Little girl, I say to you, arise.”

For the widow son he stopped the funeral: Luke 7:14 Then He came and touched the open coffin, and those who carried him stood still. And He said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.”

And His friend Lazarus we see in: John 11:43 He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!”  NKJV

One is in a bed one is in a coffin and the other is in the grave.

And Jesus handled them the different, but the message is the same Jesus SPOKE! One a whisper, one talk, and then He yells for Lazarus. Why then can’t we all let Jesus’ speak different today to different Churches. And yet be the same God.

 

Another example:

Jesus Heals Blind Bartimaeus in Mark

The blind man said to Him, “Rabboni, that I may receive my sight.”

52 Then Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road.  NKJV

 

A Blind Man Healed at Bethsaida in Mark 8

25 Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up. And he was restored and saw everyone clearly.  NKJV

A Man Born Blind Receives Sight in John 9

6 When He had said these things, He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva; and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay. 7 And He said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which is translated, Sent). So he went and washed, and came back seeing.  NKJV

 

Three different blind men, one He just speaks, two He used spit, one He adds touching him, and one He made a mud pack and told him to go wash.

All three healed by Christ but each case a little different, and the reason is, we are all a little different.

I don’t know if you haven’t noticed but the world is going to hell, and we are arguing about what translation of the Bible is the right one.

 

It’s the one Paul carried; HE WAS WRITING IT AT THE TIME.

Along with other inspired men of God and it was not in 1611, it was in the first century.

All we have are TRANSLATIONS of the original Word of God.

 

I believe that God loves us all the same. I also believe that He treats us all different because we are all different, so why do you think if everyone is not like us that they are wrong. Here is something to ponder, what if it is you… that is wrong?

So, after pondering on this for a while I have come to realize it was my fault,

I should have checked… what I was taught.

from my book, “Something to Ponder.”

The Gift That Keeps Giving

Years ago, I was fishing in Pine Valley Lake with my Uncle J D Swann. Everyone called him “Uncle Dee”, whether related to him or not.

Whenever Uncle Dee would show up, he always had something with him, doughnuts, fruit, cookies or candy.

More than the things he brought was that he brought his sense of humor. (I think it runs in the family) He always had a joke or two. And they were always clean, sometimes a little corny, but always funny.

He was the kind of person (when he was in a good mood) that you just loved being around. A very smart man and Inventor, very kind to kids and I even saw the day that he let my sister put curlers in his hair, just because she asks if she could.

As we were fishing that day, he was catching fish after fish, and I was not. He would reel in one after another as I was reeling in moss. Cast after cast I am bringing in nothing. After about an hour of this, I had enough.

I said, “Uncle Dee, what are you fishing with over there?”

He spoke. “This little Rapala lure.”

I asked, “You got another one of them?”

He didn’t say anything, so I thought he didn’t hear me. How could he not hear me in this old 14-foot boat? Or maybe he didn’t want to share.

He then reeled his line in and cut off the lure and threw it to me. I asked if he had another one, and he told me no, not with him, but he had other lures he could fish with and knew that I didn’t, so he tied a different lure on and went back to fishing.

I tied the Rapala on my line and started catching some fish.

He still was catching more than me, but at least I was catching some now.

At the end of the day fishing with Uncle Dee, I reeled in my line and cut his lure off and tried to give it back, and he said it was mine and I could have it.

It was a gift.

I then asked him if he didn’t want it any longer?

He said yes, he wanted it, but that’s what made it a gift.

He said if he didn’t want it, he would have thrown it away, but it had worth and value to him, so it was worthy of being called a gift.

From then on, I have tried to live by that rule when giving or even buying gifts.

If it doesn’t have worth to me, why would I think it would be something someone else would want it.

If it’s not something I would want to keep, then again, why would anyone want it. It has to cost me something for it to be a gift and not just trash.

The Bible says over 170 times to Receive but it says over 860 times to Give.

That’s 5 times more.

Luke 6:38 Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”  NKJV

If you give a certain amount of money, that amount and more will be coming back to you? No.

You give to help the expenses of the Ministry or Church. Look at the return — Preachers get paid, the church bills get paid, Missionaries are sent to share the Gospel. Churches can do more to help reach others.

As a return, souls will be saved, lives will be changed and great is your reward.

Luke 21:1And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury, 2 and He saw also a certain poor widow putting in two mites.  3 So He said, “Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all; 4 for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had.”  NKJV

Understand this, if you give to get you got. But if you give because of Love you get. Get it?

Matthew 6:19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. NKJV

Remember “You can’t take it with you when you go, but you can send it on ahead.”

“You can give without love, but you can’t love, without giving.”

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. KJV

He Gave and you Got. Ponder on the cost of that Gift.

John 15:13 Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. NKJV

The gift my Uncle Dee gave me that day has brought me hours of enjoyment.

It gives me memories of a better time and carefree days.

It gave me a life lesson that I can pass on to you today.

That was some 50 years ago.

I still have that little Rapala lure, I don’t fish with because I am afraid, I could lose it.

It has more value than just being a lure, it was a gift from my Uncle Dee.

I told this story when I preached his funeral in March 2008, and I held up the lure.

It was a gift.

It was something of worth to him.

When thinking about supporting a ministry or giving to your church, helping a missionary, or the youth ministry (and I am talking above your tithes) You may say, “Well, that is going to cost me something.”

Yep, that right, that’s what makes it a gift.

The coming weekend tells of the Greatest Gift of All. Jesus’ sacrifice on Calvary’s cross and His resurrection.

HAPPY EASTER   

Expiration Date

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

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

Therefore, what I was thinking about was my Mother pouring out some milk, and a statement I saw put 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 already worked out how the game would end.

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

I also believe that God knows every possible move we can make and has an end planed 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, that 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 that 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 get 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 planted a verse in a young child’s mind?

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

Ever send a card or a letter to encourage someone?

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

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

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, 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 company’s want their money back after a while. (as if I didn’t 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 would 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 3:00am 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’s 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 sat 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 Eddies Ministry Sweet Spirit Band, I ask 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 waiting on “are you okay brother?” or “I am so sorry you are going through this.” Or even “just hang in their 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 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 a 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 don’t 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 Gods time.

Where do I go when I hurt? Part 2

CHASING AFTER GOD

Psalm 42:1-5, 11 (NKJV)
¹ As the deer pants for the water brooks, So pants my soul for You, O God.
² My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?
³ My tears have been my food day and night, While they continually say to me, “Where is your God?”
⁴ When I remember these things, I pour out my soul within me. For I used to go with the multitude; I went with them to the house of God, With the voice of joy and praise, With a multitude that kept a pilgrim feast.
⁵ Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him For the help of His countenance.

¹¹ Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; For I shall yet praise Him, The help of my countenance and my God.

A young teenage boy had just gotten his driver’s license. When he got home, he asked his father, who was a minister, if they could discuss the use of the car. His father took him into his study and said to the boy, “I’ll make a deal with you. If you bring up your grades, study your Bible a little, and get a haircut, then we’ll talk about the use of the car.”

After about a month, the boy came back and again asked his father if they could discuss the use of the car. They again went to the father’s study where his father said, “Son, I’ve been so very proud of you. You have brought up your grades, you’ve studied your Bible diligently, but you didn’t get your haircut.” The young man waited a moment and replied, “Dad, I’ve been thinking about that. You know, Samson had long hair, Moses had long hair, Noah had long hair, even Jesus had long hair…” His father interrupted him at that point and said, “Yes son, and they walked everywhere they went!”

He was so close, but so far, from getting what he wanted. The boy was willing to pay most of the price, but not all of the price. The boy knew what he wanted. His desire was strong. But there was a problem: he wasn’t willing to go all the way. He wasn’t willing to pay the entire price.

Listen to me carefully. Most of us know what we want in life. Most of us have goals, objectives, and dreams. Most of us want a good job. Even though the salary is important and pays the bills, it is just as important for us to be happy in the job we have. Most of us would say that what we want in life is for our kids to grow up to be healthy, happy, and well- adjusted. Most of us want our marriage to work. And yes, most of us even know what we want in our relationship with God and the church. In most of those situations, we will do just about whatever it takes to make them work, won’t we?

Unfortunately, though, when it comes to our relationship with God and to His church, we sometimes allow other things to hinder that relationship. We are willing to go only so far with God. We are willing to go only so far with the church. When we get to that point, and I might add that point is different for each person, when we reach that point, we stop. At that point, we find ourselves backing up, pulling away, or being unwilling to get any closer to God or to our church family. We want to get close; we just don’t do it.

I want you to understand something. God has a desire for you. God’s desire is to have a close, personal relationship with you. God wants to be the driving force in your life. God wants to be the Lord of your life. Listen to me carefully. God wants to be more than just involved in your Sunday life. God wants to be involved in your everyday life. That’s God’s desire for each of us.

However, here’s the question for us. Are we going to let God be in control of our life? Let me ask that question in a little different way: when you think about control in your life, what controlled your life last week? Was it your schedule that controlled you? Was it your job that controlled you? What about your family? What about your free time? What controlled you? What was the driving force behind what you did last week?

When we look at Psalm 42, we quickly see an individual who had one driving force in his life—he had one focus—he had one desire—worshiping God. Everything in his life seemed to revolve around his desire to worship God. For that writer, the greatest priority in his life was worshiping God. Period. That’s it.

That’s an amazing priority, isn’t it? It is really amazing when we read further in Psalm 42. As we continue to read, it becomes painfully obvious that the writer was not in a good situation. The writer was lonely. He was separated from everyone else. He felt abandoned. His entire life seemed to be crashing in around him. However, the writer was determined not to let those things drag him down. His focus was certain—his hope was secure—no matter what came his way—he was determined to worship God.

But, notice what the writer tells us. He was so far away from the Temple or from any house of worship, that he just did not see how he could worship God. Because he could not worship God and without genuine worship in his life, he was afraid, he was alone, he did not see how he could keep going. He wanted to worship; he just didn’t know how he could worship.

Can you identify with those emotions? Maybe a better question would be, who can’t identify with those emotions? Unfortunately, we are so often overwhelmed by our thoughts of loneliness, by feelings of being separated, or by feeling abandoned by those we love that we can’t seem to keep our focus on God. We want to focus on God, we just hurt so much that we can’t. When that happens, we find ourselves in desperation, feeling as if there is no hope whatsoever. It’s almost like we think it is us against the world.

Now, notice how the writer of this passage responded to his problems. As we examine these verses, we see three ways that the writer kept his focus on God. The writer found that these three things would endure no matter what the activities of the week, no matter what the emotion of the moment, and no matter what happened in his life that day. The writer found that these three things kept his focus on God and on worshiping God.

The first thing the writer found was this. He found that a HUNGER FOR GOD BRINGS FOCUS TO LIFE. Too often, here is what we do as we think about worship. When we think about worship, we think that before we can worship that we first must try to get away from the world. Before we can worship, we think that we must find the perfect place to worship. Before we can worship, we think that we must get closer to the heart of God. We think that when we do those things, then and only then are we ready to worship God.

Somehow, we have gotten the idea that we must wait until the work week is over, that we must wait until Sunday, so that we can gather in the appointed house of worship, at the right time, and with the right people. We think that we must have a pastor, a choir, ushers, and a special building before worship can begin. We think that if we do all of that, then worship can and will take place.

But here is what happens when we gather for worship with that frame of mind. We sit down and we wait for the action to begin. When the action begins, we simply sit and watch the action. Every so often, we glance at our watch to make sure that everything is staying on schedule. You know, the football pregame show comes on soon, the restaurant will fill up if the Methodists get out first, or the roast will burn in the oven if we are not home on time.

When we gather for worship like that, with that attitude, with that mindset, yes, worship is going to be comfortable. Worship is going to be easy. Worship will be somewhat satisfying and meaningful. But listen to me carefully. When we worship like that, we find that worship is not very demanding. That is the opposite of what the Bible says that worship should be.

The book of Psalms brings discomfort to that type of worship, it causes us to think, doesn’t it? Look again at Psalm 42. Notice everything that is wrong with these verses. Psalm 42 was not situated in the Temple. The writer was nowhere near a worship place. He was not in a place where life was easy. In reality, the writer was far away from Jerusalem. The writer was so far away from the Temple that he could only look back to the good old days of worship. Happiness and joy from worship were in the past. All he knew in his present was tears and sorrow. Because he could not worship, he was in despair, in hopelessness, and in grief.

Notice how the writer responded to being unable to go to the sanctuary and worship God for so long. The writer was panting. He was dry. He was parched. He had a deep, painful, hunger to worship God. Now, the psalmist was not panting for air, thirsting for water, hungering for food, or crying from pain. The psalmist was not desperate for those things. His one desire, his one focus, was on God and on worshiping God.

Listen. That is what genuine worship is. Worship takes place when we focus on one need—our need for God. Worship takes place when we refuse to be content until we meet God in a real and personal way. Worship takes place when we admit that life is out of control until a relationship with God is restored. Could it be that you have the same need today, a need to meet God? Is that what brought you to church this morning? Are you searching for a real, strong relationship with God? Are you looking for God today? If you are, you have started in the right direction—by worshiping God.

Now, we must understand something here. Just because we have God as our focus does not mean that we are sitting on top of the world. Here’s what having our focus on God means: we recognize our need and we know that there is only one source of satisfaction. The psalmist came to the conclusion that there was no hope that could be found in human solutions. The writer said that there is only one center of focus. God was the only source of hope for him. Only God deserved to be worshiped.

Secondly, the psalmist found that a MEMORY OF GOD LEADS A PERSON TO PRAYER.

Listen. When we are focused on God as our only hope, He becomes the One we talk to when we pray. When we focus on God, He becomes the One that we turn directly to in prayer. When we go directly to God, as our only hope, we find something. When we pray like that, we find that we don’t mince our words. We don’t repeat what we think are the right words of prayer which will please God or will please those standing around us. When we go to God like that, we thirst, hunger, and pant after God.

Notice the verses again. The psalmist remembered the excitement of his hometown. He could still remember the days worshiping with his family. He could still see people marching in procession to the Temple in Jerusalem. He could still remember people expressing thanks for the good things God had given, people praising God for His presence, and people looking to God as the Savior of life. But those were the good old days. Now, there were no more praises, no more parades, no more talk of God. The only question he was asked now by his friends was this: “Where is your God?” His friends told him that God had forgotten him. All the writer heard was mocking— “If God loves you so much, where is He?”

Now, you need to hear me. When we stop to think about God, when we focus on God, our thoughts will always lead us to prayer. But, listen, prayer does not bring automatic success. Prayer does not guarantee that God will grant our request or meet our needs. Now, does that mean that all our hope is gone? No. When we focus on God, when we turn to God in prayer, many of our words will be cries for hope and help. But here is what happens even when our prayers are cries for help: when we pray, our prayer reminds us that we can trust and know that God’s love is still there. Even then, God can remind us that God is still our true source of comfort.

Okay, what is the result of our prayers? What is the result of focusing on God? That’s our third idea this morning. The psalmist found that HOPE IN GOD DISPELS DESPAIR. Here’s the reason we worship. Worship demonstrates our hope in God’s future actions. Listen. We worship—not because we have all the answers. We worship, not because God has cleared all the obstacles. We worship, not because the right people invite us to join them. We worship God because we have a deep-seated need to know God. We worship because we know that God is the only source of hope for our lives.

That is why we worship God. We do not worship for some magical reasons. We do not worship to get our way in the world. We do not worship simply to appease God. We worship for one reason—God is our only true hope in this world! We worship, we really worship because we love God.

Pappy was a pleasant fellow. His face was quite drawn from age, but when he smiled, even his wrinkles seemed to smile with him. Pappy owned a pawnshop. Everyone who knew him respected and adored him. There was a room in the back of his shop where he spent time tinkering with his own precious items. He referred to the back room as “Memory Hall.” In it were pocket watches, clocks, and electric trains. Pappy enjoyed spending time in Memory Hall. Sometimes, he would close his eyes to relive a sweet, simple childhood memory.

One day, Pappy was reassembling an old railroad lantern. As he polished his lantern, he heard the bell on the shop door. The bell had been in Pappy’s family for over a hundred years. He cherished it dearly. Pappy left Memory Hall to greet his customer. At first, he didn’t see anyone. His customer was shorter than the counter. Pappy said, “How can I help you?” The little girl looked at Pappy with her big brown eyes, then slowly scanned the room in search of something special. She said, “I’d like to buy a present for my grandpa. But I don’t know what to get.”

Pappy began to make suggestions. “How about a pocket watch? It’s in good condition. I fixed it myself,” he said. The little girl didn’t answer. Finally, she walked to the door. She wiggled the door gently to ring the bell. The little girl smiled with excitement. “This is just right,” the little girl bubbled. “Momma says grandpa loves music.” Just then, Pappy knew what she wanted, his bell. He didn’t want to break the little girl’s heart. “I’m sorry, but that’s not for sale. Maybe your grandpa would like a radio.” The little girl looked at the radio and sighed, “No, I don’t think so.”

In an effort to help her understand, Pappy told her the story of how the bell had been in his family for many years and that was why he didn’t want to sell it. The little girl said, “I guess I understand. Thank you, anyway.” Suddenly, Pappy thought of how the rest of the family was gone—that was, except for his estranged daughter whom he had not seen in a decade. Pappy thought, why not pass the bell on to someone who would share it with a loved one. He said, “I’ve decided to sell the bell.” The little girl, said, “Oh, thank you. Grandpa will be so happy.” Pappy felt good about helping the child even though he knew he would miss the bell.

Later that evening, Pappy prepared to close up shop. He found himself thinking about the bell. He thought about the child and wondered if her grandpa liked the gift. He knew that any grandfather would cherish anything from such a precious grandchild. Just then, as he turned off the lights in Memory Hall, Pappy thought he heard his bell. But he knew that was ridiculous, he had sold his bell. In a minute, he heard the bell again. He turned toward the door and there stood the little girl. She was ringing the bell and smiling. Pappy was puzzled, “What’s this? Have you changed your mind?” “No,” she grinned. “Momma says it’s for you.” Before Pappy had time to say another word, the child’s mother stepped into the doorway. Choking back her tears, she said, “Hello, Dad.”

Listen. God is waiting for you to come home to Him. He has done everything possible to let you know of His love for you. He gave His only Son, Jesus, to die on the cross for your sins. Now, He waits for you. Now, He waits for you to worship Him, to put Him first in your life, in every decision, in every avenue of your life. How about it? Will you do that today? Will you come home to God right now?

 

 

Where do I go when I hurt?  Part 1

 Psalm 42

Psalm 42:1-11 (NKJV)
¹ As the deer pants for the water brooks, So pants my soul for You, O God.
² My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?
³ My tears have been my food day and night, While they continually say to me, “Where is your God?”
⁴ When I remember these things, I pour out my soul within me. For I used to go with the multitude; I went with them to the house of God, With the voice of joy and praise, With a multitude that kept a pilgrim feast.
⁵ Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him For the help of His countenance.
⁶ O my God, my soul is cast down within me; Therefore I will remember You from the land of the Jordan, And from the heights of Hermon, From the Hill Mizar.
⁷ Deep calls unto deep at the noise of Your waterfalls; All Your waves and billows have gone over me.
⁸ The LORD will command His lovingkindness in the daytime, And in the night His song shall be with me– A prayer to the God of my life.
⁹ I will say to God my Rock, “Why have You forgotten me? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?”
¹⁰ As with a breaking of my bones, My enemies reproach me, While they say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”
¹¹ Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; For I shall yet praise Him, The help of my countenance and my God.

A young boy had misbehaved and was sent to bed by his mother. Just 5 minutes later he cried out Mom, I’m thirsty, can you bring me a drink of water? No, go to sleep. Five minutes later. Mom? What? Can I have a drink of water? She says I told you no and if you ask again, I’m going to have to spank you. Five minutes later Mom? What??? When you come in to spank me, would you bring me a drink of water?

Psalm 42 is referred to as a Maskil. A Maskil is a teaching, Psalm. While many of the psalms are written by David, I believe this one is written by a different; while many of the Psalms is written as praises to lift up to the Lord this one is written to teach God’s people some specific truths that we need to understand. We need them.

• When we are going through a time of discouragement
• When our walk with the Lord has become dry and plain
• When we are experiencing a time of depression
• When we are simply going through the motions and life has lost its meaning

Have you ever been there? More important, are you there right now?

The writer of this psalm is in a dark place. Many of us know what that is like. Because we have had a loved one who has gone through a very dark time—or on an even more personal level—we have been through this kind of darkness. I read several facts about depression this week. Let me share a few.

• Depression affects approximately 19 million Americans annually. About 10 percent of the population. By the way, these are only the ones who seek treatment.
• Nearly twice as many women are affected as men.
• The fastest growing group using antidepressants today are children—under the age of 5.

The Psalmist gives us 3 questions here for us to consider. Let us look.

1. Where can we go when we need to meet with God?

When we need to hear from God? V. 2b.

¹ As the deer pants for the water brooks, So pants my soul for You, O God.
² My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?

The writer here is in great need/pain. He is at a time in his life when his spiritual life had apparently dried up. He is thirsty. He says, my soul pants for you O Lord just as a deer pants for water. The word pant means to breathe quickly in a labored manner.

A deer pants for water when he has been running. Perhaps running to safety, maybe just tired but definitely in need of REFRESHMENT and when a deer experiences this, they move as quickly as possible to take care of that thirst. They want water.

The writer here is in the darkness of his life and he says v. 3 my tears have been my food day and night.

³ My tears have been my food day and night, While they continually say to me, “Where is your God?”

He is too troubled to eat, the streams are streaming down his face; he can taste them constantly. And to top it off people are saying to him all day long, “where is your God?” “Where is your God?” They’re watching him. They watch us. They’re testing him. The test us. Don’t you love it?

When Job was going through so many difficulties—he had lost the farm, His house, cattle, then his whole family—everything—his health, his friends did this exact thing to him. They said, call out if you will but who is going to answer you? Even his wife turned against him and said why don’t you just give up, just curse God and die. I think this is where we get the phrase, with friends like this who needs enemies? Too many of us when we see that someone is down—they’re hurting—we only make matters worse. Men are saying to him all day long—where is your God now? Where is your God?

The psalmist remembers—he says it here—v.4.

⁴ When I remember these things, I pour out my soul within me. For I used to go with the multitude; I went with them to the house of God, With the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept a pilgrim feast.

These things I remember. How I used to go with the multitude. I was the one leading the way to the house of God. And he seems to answer his own question. Where can I go and meet with God? ……. right here…at His house.

2. He then poses a 2nd question and again he poses the question to himself. This time he says in v. 5 “Why are you downcast O my soul? Another version says why am I so depressed? Why am I so discouraged?”

⁵ Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him For the help of His countenance.

Perhaps you have asked that question before. It is a common question that that believers ask. And they ask many times because of one of several myths. Lies that we as believers have bought into.

Several myths.

1. We believed that when we came to Christ, that our lives would be easy. We believed that God owes us something. One TV evangelist told his listeners to put pictures of the things they wanted on their refrigerators

• A Cadillac
• A diamond necklaces
• A husband
• A house

Or whatever and then claim it in the name of Jesus. People shake their fist in the air and demand that God do a particular thing.

What we miss is an important truth. God is with us in our suffering. Immanuel. When all is well, we say we are blessed, God is with me. Let me give you a different truth here. God may be with you more in your suffering than He is in our times of prosperity. You just haven’t realized it.

2. A second myth. When we came to Christ, we believed that our happiness is based on circumstances. It’s not. It’s based on trust. You see there’s always going to be something wrong. But it’s a matter of focus. A matter of perspective. But sometimes we believe in our circumstances more than we believe in God. And we forget how much God has helped us in the past.

Again, he answers his own question. Why am I so discouraged? So depressed? Here is the answer. Put your hope in God. The word is Elpis. Not Elvis. Elpis means hope. When we say hope—I hope for this, I hope for that, we are speaking of desire. But in the NT, elpis means desire plus expectation. Jesus is our hope—I not only desire to be with him, I expect to be with Him.

3. A third myth. We accepted the belief that Christians cannot/should not be depressed. Believers are not immune to this thing called depression. Nor are we immune to cancer. Or heart disease.

3rd question. V. 9. Why have you forgotten about me?

⁹ I will say to God my Rock, “Why have You forgotten me? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?”

We usually ask this question when we see a friend who seems really blessed, things are going really well, yet we know they have been living like the devil. And we don’t like it. We shout at God. Lord have you forgotten about me? Have you forgotten my address? Can you not hear me? I’ve been there. You’ve been there. The psalmist asks why must I continue mourning?

My bones hurt. My enemies make fun. They ask again, where is your God? Why am I down? What can I do? Here it is. Put your hope in God.

The story is told of a young man who was searching for God when he came upon a priest who was praying by the river. The young man interrupted him and said sir I want God more than anything in my life. Can you help me?

The priest jumped up, grabbed him by the arm, dragged him into the river, and plunged his head under water. After holding him there for a minute the priest pulled him up out of the river. The priest again said “Tell me, what do you want?” He said I want God more than anything else. He then dunked him another time asked the same question and then again, each time holding him under even longer. He then raised him out of the water and the man was kicking and screaming…… struggling to free himself. The young man coughed up water and was gasping to get his breath. When he eventually quieted down, the priest said now “tell me, what do you want? The man replied “Air!” answered the man. I want air more than anything. The priest said, very well, now “Go home and come back to me when you want God as much as you just wanted air.”

Most of us don’t really want God more than anything else in the world. We want Him especially when things are going very well. When we’re in trouble. When we hurt. When we can’t pay our mortgage. When life is caving in. But what happens when everything gets fixed. What do we want then? Not God. We put our focus on other things. If you are going through a struggle right now. Listen to these words from a pastor several centuries ago. “Don’t let your trials be wasted on you.” Whatever you are facing, give it to God. Ask Him to walk with you all the way through it. And whatever you do, never give up on God.

Next week;

Where do I go when I hurt? Part 2

CHASING AFTER GOD

The Storms of the Night

Text Matthew 14

 

Matthew 14:22-33 (NKJV) ²² Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away.

Made = NT:315 anagkazo (an-ang-kad’-zo); from NT:318; to necessitate:  KJV – compel, constrain.

NT:318 anagke (an-ang-kay’); from NT:303 and the base of NT:43; constraint (literally or figuratively); by implication, distress: KJV – distress, must needs, (of) necessity (-sary), needeth, needful.

(Jesus had just fed the thousands)

Matthew 14:17-21 (NKJV) ¹⁷ And they said to Him, “We have here only five loaves and two fish.” ¹⁸ He said, “Bring them here to Me.” ¹⁹ Then He commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass. And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitudes. ²⁰ So they all ate and were filled, and they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments that remained. ²¹ Now those who had eaten were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

 ^Then

²³ And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there. ²⁴ But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary.

contrary. = NT:1727 enantios (en-an-tee’-os); from NT:1725; opposite; figuratively, antagonistic: KJV – (over) against, contrary.

(If they went to the north the wind was there, south, there. Ever have days like that, no matter which way you go it seem that there is a storm brewing) (but remember who put them there)

²⁵ Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea.

(The fourth watch, toward three o’clock in the morning,)

²⁶ And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out for fear. ²⁷ But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.”

(PRAY Please always pray before doing any Bible study)

Introduction:

There are some 35 separate miracles of Christ record in the Gospels and are divided into two categories One are healing miracles where He ether healed the sick or raised the dead… the next are miracles of nature, where He said peace be still and the storm stops, or turns water into wine, the one we just read is of nature. all the miracles of Christ point to the future they point to truths that are listed in the book of Revelations, e.g. the raising of the dead says that all death one day will be done away with, the casting out of demons’ signals to God invasion on Satan and his ultimate defeat. The healing of the sick and the provision of food tells us that someday all suffering will be done away with. But now we see Christ walking on a stormy sea, and this too points forward to a time of complete victory over the kayos of this earth. But it also speaks to us for today for the Storms that we face each and every day. And everyone has storms in their lives.

There are bright sunny days of summer and there are the cold windy days of winter,

There are days abundant flooding and there are days of drought.

There are days of joy but there are also days of sorrow.

There are times when our highest hopes are blasted, our noblest dreams are shattered.

There are times when our brightest sunrises are turned to our darkest nights.

The storm of adversity will rage, the wind of disaster will blow, and the tide wave of grief sometimes will beat in against our lives, and emotionally we find ourselves beat to shreds. And as one preacher put it, sometimes we must go to the kitchen of sorrow and lick every pan.

God does not build for us bridges over trouble water that the easy way out.

Sometimes God calms the storm but sometimes He calms the believer and lets the storm rage on.

Now we see Peter and look at who is already in the stormy sea, Jesus.

²⁸ And Peter answered Him and said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” ²⁹ So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus.

(Look what happened when you take your eyes off Jesus)

³⁰ But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!”

(Pray your heart and your needs.)

³¹ And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” ³² And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. ³³ Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, “Truly You are the Son of God.”

Mark 6:52 Marks account of the same miracle

52 For they considered not the miracle of the loaves: for their heart was hardened.

They forgot what Christ a few hours earlier had just done, do not forget what he has already done for you, look back and know that he is already there.

or as Dr. Tony Evans said, “We often doubt what God will do because we have forgotten what God has done!”

Hebrews 13:5-8 (NKJV)
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?”
⁷ Remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct. ⁸ Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Heart was hardened, over exposure under response to the truth. It’s that You hear the truth over and over and walk out and never do anything with it.

James 1:23-25 (NKJV) ²³ For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; ²⁴ for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. ²⁵ But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.

We see the three Hebrew boys were not saved from the fire, but in the fire. Jesus was there with them.

Daniel was not delivered from the lion’s den but delivered from a den of lions.

And look at the apostle Paul at his trouble,

2 Corinthians 11:22-33 (NKJV) ²² Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? So am I. ²³ Are they ministers of Christ? –I speak as a fool–I am more: in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often. ²⁴ From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one. ²⁵ Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; ²⁶ in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; ²⁷ in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness– ²⁸ besides the other things, what comes upon me daily: my deep concern for all the churches. ²⁹ Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to stumble, and I do not burn with indignation? ³⁰ If I must boast, I will boast in the things which concern my infirmity. ³¹ The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying. ³² In Damascus the governor, under Aretas the king, was guarding the city of the Damascenes with a garrison, desiring to arrest me; ³³ but I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall, and escaped from his hands.

Jeremiah was in a storm of exile and percussion and tears that his prophecies came out.

Hanna (the mother of Samuel) in a storm of infertile that she emerged as a Godly mother.

It was a storm of exile at Patmus that John wrote the book of Revelations

When it looks so dark and there is no way out, know that God is at work.

There are some things that God can do in a storm that he cannot do in fair weather.

God know that we play in the calm but we Pray in the storm and most Christians will tell You that their closest time with God is in the storms. Understand God controls the storms.

Why Trials come our way.

By Norma Head

It seems when times are getting hard.

And things are looking bad,

That’s when we call on the Lord the most.

When we are very sad,

But if you stop and think a while

We need Him most of all.

When things are good and we can smile

But then we seldom call,

Why trials come our way.

They help to keep Him in our hearts

When on our knees, we stay.

 

The best example in the Bible is Joseph Gen.37: (Potiphar) Butler saves Baker killed,

He was never going down he was going up, from the pit to a palace.

1Peter 4:12-13 (NKJV) ¹² Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you;
¹³ but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.

In the Book

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’s a single thorn in the flesh or a crown of them mashed on our heads, suffering teaches us to feel.”

 

Do You ever wonder why bad things happen as we see in John 11?

John 11:21 Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if you had been here, my brother had not died.

John 11 :32 Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if you had been here, my brother had not died.

John 11:35   Jesus wept.

This is why.

2 Corinthians 4:8-18 (NKJV) 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.
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.

2 Corinthians 5:1-11 (NKJV) ¹ For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. ² For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven, ³ if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked. ⁴ For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life. ⁵ Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. ⁶ So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. ⁷ For we walk by faith, not by sight. ⁸ We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.
⁹ Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him. ¹⁰ For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.¹¹ Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are well known to God, and I also trust are well known in your consciences.

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. For 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.

We go through Storms so the world will see how God’s people will react!

Matthew 27:38-42 (NKJV) ³⁸ Then two robbers were crucified with Him, one on the right and another on the left. ³⁹ And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads ⁴⁰ and saying, “You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” ⁴¹ Likewise the chief priests also, mocking with the scribes and elders, said, ⁴² “He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him.

Why do we go through such things, so others can see Christ Jesus in us.

As Dr. Charles Stanley said “Nothing speaks louder to an unsaved world than a Christian that suffers successfully!”

Matthew 27:54 (NKJV) ⁵⁴ So when the centurion and those with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying, “Truly this was the Son of God!”

Back to: 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.

 

The Story of Paul and Silas locked in a jail and look at the outcome.

Acts 16:22-34 (NKJV) ²² Then the multitude rose up together against them; and the magistrates tore off their clothes and commanded them to be beaten with rods. ²³ And when they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to keep them securely. ²⁴ Having received such a charge, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.
²⁵ But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. ²⁶ Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed. ²⁷ And the keeper of the prison, awaking from sleep and seeing the prison doors open, supposing the prisoners had fled, drew his sword and was about to kill himself. ²⁸ But Paul called with a loud voice, saying, “Do yourself no harm, for we are all here.” ²⁹ Then he called for a light, ran in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. ³⁰ And he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” ³¹ So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” ³² Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. ³³ And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes. And immediately he and all his family were baptized.
³⁴ Now when he had brought them into his house, he set food before them; and he rejoiced, having believed in God with all his household.

 

Til the Storm Passes By

Artist: Bill & Gloria Gaither, Album: Turn Your Radio On

Lyrics

In the dark of the midnight

Have I oft hid my face.

While the storm howls above me

And there’s no hiding place.

‘Mid the crash of the thunder

Precious Lord, hear my cry.

“Keep me safe ’til the storm passes by.”

 

‘Til the storm passes over

‘Til the thunder sounds no more

‘Til the clouds roll forever from the sky

Hold me fast, let me stand.

In the hollow of Thy hand

Keep me safe ’til the storm passes by

 

Many times, Satan tells me.

“There is no need to try.

For there’s no end of sorrow

There’s no hope by and by.”

But I know Thou art with me.

And tomorrow I’ll rise.

Where the storms never darken the skies

 

‘Til the storm passes over

‘Til the thunder sounds no more

‘Til the clouds roll forever from the sky

Hold me fast, let me stand.

In the hollow of Thy hand

Keep me safe ’til the storm passes by

Keep me safe ’til the storm passes by

 

How to Sleep on a Stormy Night

Matthew 7:24-29 (NKJV) ²⁴ “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: ²⁵ and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. ²⁶ But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: ²⁷ and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.” ²⁸ And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching, ²⁹ for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

 

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

I saw this story in Instagram:

A farmer was looking for a new farm hand, so as he was interviewing a young man, he asked him what was his qualifications were? The young man replied “I can sleep through a storm. This puzzled the farmer. But he liked the young man, so he hired him. A few weeks later the farmer and his wife were awakened in the night by a violent storm ripping through the valley. He leapt out of bed and called for his new hired hand, but the young man was sleeping soundly. So, they quickly began to check things to see if all was secure, the found the shutters on the farmhouse had been securely fastened. A good supply of logs had been set next to the fireplace. The farmer and his wife then inspected their property, they found that the farm tools had been placed in the storage shed, safe from the elements, the bales of wheat had been bound and wrapped in tarpaulins, the tractor had been moved into the garage, the barn was properly locked tight. Even the animals were calm and had plenty of feed. All was well. The farmer then understood the meaning of the young man’s words “I can sleep through a storm” because the farmhand did his work, Loyally and faithfully when the sky was clear. He was prepared for any storm. Moral, preparation and diligence during calm times leads to peace and security during difficult times.

Just always remember:

God is too good to be unkind, to wise to be mistaken, and when you can’t trace His hand, trust His heart.

Give Me A Man

 1 Samuel 17:10 (NKJV) And the Philistine (Goliath) said, “I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together.”

As we look at the world today, we quickly see the how they are trying to do away with masculine men. Telling the young men to be in touch with their feminine side. We are being bombarded with television shows that are taking the lead masculine role and filling it with women. And emasculating the men. They whip them down and will not allow them to be the leaders. The police programs now show little tiny girls taking down a big bad man. I stand six foot and go over 350 pounds and I doubt that I would even know if one of those little women hit me, other the less than whip me down, throw me over, and cuff me. I do not see that happening.

In the 1960’s and 70’s my Uncle Dee would often pay us a visit, I remember his after shave lotion smell to this day. It was “Old Spice,” and the advertisements at that time made me want to wear “Old Spice” too.

The scene was a manly man returning home from the sea, walking along the coast line town and all the women running to the doors, and windows to get a look at him. The man always had somewhat of a smile on his face. He would throw a bottle of “Old Spice” to their husbands and boyfriends.  In the 80’s their ad even said “nothing say masculine like “Old Spice”.

Today’s ad has a big burly man sitting on a sofa with his wife, girlfriend, or significant other, whatever the case may be. And we see the wimp sitting there crying because the girl has used his body wash and bragged about how it makes him smooth and soft and she was using it up. How right he is SOFT. I do not want anything that is going to make me a blubbering idiot because I do not feel smooth like a little girl. Give me a break.

They even have one commercial in which he comes into a hotel restaurant and wants to know who used his bodywash. And when all three of the women sitting at the table start saying how good it is and passing it around, he grabs it from the last one takes some of her food and storms off. Really makes me want some of that sissy stuff.

We are seeing the demise of masculinity daily, at first little by little. But now with boldness. The world today is doing its best to remove the man and his role in the work place, the home, and even the local Church.

We need men. Men of God, and to be a Man of God one must be a Man of prayer, E.M. Bounds in his book “Power Through Prayer” one section says this;

Men of Prayer Are Needed

“WE are constantly on a stretch, if not on a strain, to devise new methods, new plans, new organizations to advance the church and secure enlargement and efficiency for the gospel. This trend of the day tends to lose sight of the man or sink the man in the plan or organization. God’s plan is to make much of the man, far more of him than of anything else. Men are God’s method. The church is looking for better methods; God is looking for better men. “There was a man sent from God whose name was John.” The dispensation that heralded and prepared the way for Christ was bound up in that man John. “Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given.” The world’s salvation comes out of that cradled son…. This vital, urgent truth is one that this age of machinery is apt to for-get. The forgetting of it is as baneful on the work of God as would be the striking of the sun from his sphere. Darkness, confusion, and death would ensue.

What the church needs today is not more machinery or better, not new organizations or more and novel methods, but men whom the Holy Spirit can use, men of prayer, men mighty in prayer. The Holy Spirit does not flow through methods, but through men. He does not come on machinery, but on men. He does not anoint plans, but men, men of prayer.”

We need not just Men but Men of God!

What does it mean to be a man of God This term is common in the Old Testament, but very rare in the New Testament. In the Old Testament it is used to refer to prophets’ example such as Samuel, 1 Sam. 9:6: Shemaiah of l Kings 12:22; Elijah in 1King 17;18; then we see Elisha, 2 Kings 4, Next Igdaliah, in Jeremiah 35:4. We also see the writers of Scripture such as Moses: Deuteronomy 33:1; David, in Nehemiah 12:24,36); We also see angelic messengers (Judg. 13:6,7). In all these cases, “man of God” refers to someone who is sent by God to speak for Him.

In the New Testament, “man of God” is used once to refer to Old Testament

prophets 2 Peter 1:21, once in a general sense 2 Timothy 3:16, 17, and only once specifically of an individual. This individual is Timothy. In 1 Timothy 6:11-16, Paul addresses Timothy as “Man of God.”

1 Timothy 6:11-16 (NKJV) ¹¹ But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness. ¹² Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. ¹³ I urge you in the sight of God who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus who witnessed the good confession before Pontius Pilate, ¹⁴ that you keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ’s appearing, ¹⁵ which He will manifest in His own time, He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, ¹⁶ who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen.

Why should “Timothy be singled out as the only man in the New Testament to be called a man of God?

First, in the tradition of the Old Testament men of God, he was one: Who was called by God to proclaim His word (2 Tim. 1:6).

Second, Timothy had been sent by Paul through the Holy Spirit to minister in Ephesus, in a very difficult and challenging situation: Paul called Timothy “man, of God” – in order to remind him of the awesome responsibility he bore to safeguard the truth against the false teachers in Ephesus, and also to encourage him with the reminder that he belonged to God, and therefore God was standing with him in his trials.

(1) A man of God is known by what he flees from. Verse 11, “But you, O man of God, flee these things…” what things?

1 Timothy 6:9-10 (NKJV) ⁹ But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. ¹⁰ For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

(2). A man of God is known by what he follows, after. Verse 11 “…pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness

(3)  A man of God is known by what he fights for. Verse 12 “Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.”

(4) A man of God is known by what he is faithful to. Verse 13 and 14. “¹³ I urge you in the sight of God who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus who witnessed the good confession before Pontius Pilate, ¹⁴ that you keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ’s appearing,”

This is an excellent practical outline for every man of God who is called to speak divine truth.

The problem is we do not even have “The Man of God” in the modern Church today, now we are seeing even in the Churches a falling away of masculinity all in the name of getting along and coexisting with this failing world system. The Church now has Pastors that wears pink and purple pastels, has man buns and ponytails and makeup. They are more concerned with the paint colors of the interior and exterior building rather than the fact that the Church is dying under their so-called leadership. And we as Christians are call to do the very opposite of that.

2 Corinthians 6:16-18 (NKJV)
¹⁶ And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell in them And walk among them. I will be their God, And they shall be My people.” ¹⁷ Therefore “Come out from among them And be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you.” ¹⁸ “I will be a Father to you, And you shall be My sons and daughters, Says the LORD Almighty.”

We are to set the example not play “follow the leader” if the leader is the world.

We need to choose the right path and be the manly man that people will follow. I remember a Pastor in a weekend retreat I was working say. “If you are the leader and you turn around and no one is following, then you are just a man going for a walk.” Not a leader.

The Former Pastor of my Church that I was raised in, Pastor Ben Turner was a Man’s Man. A real leader. If he asked you to do something like stucco the wall outside the foyer. He was there plastering the wall while I, a 15-year-old kid mixing the cement and brought it up for him as he did the work. The leader gets his hands dirty.  I saw him day after day nailing up stain grade oak with my Dad. Or putting up ceiling grid and the tiles again with my Dad as I was cutting the tiles as they installed them. Not sitting high and mighty in the pulpit just telling people what to do and never doing anything but spend the money that he did not sacrifice for. We did not hire the work out; we did the work with our own hands. I would have followed that man anywhere he asks. I would have fought and died for him. Pastor Ben was a leader; the other guys, they are just a men going for a walk.

Men have a choice to make, either we will be the Man that Goliath is calling for and prepared for the battle against Satan. That is the man God is wanting us to be, or we can be what is being sold by the world today as a wimpy watered-down version of a man.

Without the Men in the Church leading, the Church will fall, it has been proven over and over. The same is for the family. Without the Godly influence of the Man in a family, in most cases it will fall. And in all cases, it makes a difference. We see across America, 2022 data indicates there are approximately 18.3 million children who live without a father in the home, comprising about 1 in 4 US children.

About 80% of single-parent homes are led by single mothers.

Children from single-parent families are twice as likely to suffer from mental health and behavioral problems as those living with married parents.

Children with an actively engaged father perform much better in school, some data shows that they are 33% percent less likely to repeat a class and 43% more likely to get A’s in school.

In a study of 56 school shootings, only 10 of the shooters (18%) were raised in a stable home with both biological parents. Eighty-two percent grew up in either an unstable family environment or grew up without both biological parents together.

So, we see not only Goliath call for a man, but also every fatherless child.

63% of youth suicides come from a fatherless home,

90% of all homeless and run-away children come from a fatherless home,

85% of all children exhibiting behavioral disorders come from a fatherless home,

80% of rapist motivated with displaced anger come from a fatherless home,

71% of all high school dropouts come from a fatherless home,

70% of juveniles in state operated institutions come from a fatherless home,

85% of all youths sitting prisons come from a fatherless home.

Do men matter? YES, now more than ever.

I saw the following graph on Facebook and it makes the point of how important the masculine Fathers is in the converting the family to following Christ. When you convert the Dad in most cases you get the whole family. With the Dad first 93% chance of the whole family. With the Mom it drops to 17% and when the children first it is down to 3.5%.

Not only the Church is needing men, real men. The family needing them just as much. As Tony Evans says, “the Church is made up of families”

And without the dad’s the family is NOT a God designed family.

We have a choice to make, one of the most masculine men in movies is Clint Eastwood. And in one of my favorite films is “The Outlaw Josey Wales,” in one of the later scenes Josey (Clint Eastwood) met up with the Comanche Chief Ten Bears (Will Sampson). We see Josey as he meets with Ten Bears to negotiate a truce:

Josey Wales:
You’ll be Ten Bears?

Ten Bears:
I AM Ten Bears.

Josey Wales:
I’m Josey Wales.

Ten Bears:
I have heard. You are the Grey Rider. You would not make peace with the Bluecoats. You may go in peace.

Josey Wales:
I reckon not. Got no place else to go

Ten Bears:
Then you will die.

Josey Wales:
I came here to die with you. Or live with you. Dying ain’t so hard for men like you and me. It’s living that’s hard when all you’ve ever cared about has been butchered or raped. Governments don’t live together–people live together. With governments, you don’t always get a fair word or a fair fight. Well, I’ve come here to give you either one or get either one from you. I came here like this so you’ll know my word of death is true, and my word of life is then true. The bear lives here, the wolf, the antelope, the Comanche. And so will we. Now we’ll only hunt what we need to live on, same as the Comanche does. And every spring, when the grass turns green, and the Comanche moves north, you can rest here in peace, butcher some of our cattle, and jerk beef for the journey. The sign of the Comanche, that will be on our lodge. That’s my word of life.

Ten Bears:
And your word of death?

Josey Wales:
It’s here in my pistols and there in your rifles. I’m here for either one.

Ten Bears:
These things you say we will have, we already have.

Josey Wales:
That’s true. I ain’t promising you nothing extra. I’m just giving you life and you’re giving me life. And I’m saying that men can live together without butchering one another.

Ten Bears:
It’s sad that governments are chiefed by the double tongues. There is iron in your words of death for all Comanche to see, and so there is iron in your words of life. No signed paper can hold the iron. It must come from men. The words of Ten Bears carries the same iron of life and death. It is good that warriors such as we meet in the struggle of life… or death. It shall be life. [Draws his knife and cuts his palm, and Josey does likewise. They then grasp hands with each other, becoming blood brothers] So will it be.

Josey Wales:
I reckon so.

What choice do you make as a man? Do you choose life or death?

Alistair Begg. Says it this way; “God’s word is the key by way of the invitation that comes. “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread he will live forever.” The instrument that God uses is His word so that we might come with faith, you see because when I teach the Bible to you it either becomes an instrument of life or becomes an instrument of death either we receive it and then inter into life or we rejected and we continue perishing.”

Hebrews 4:12 (NKJV) For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

I chose Life

So now Men you have a choice to make you either will choose “Life” to be a Man of God or you can choose “death” the way the of the world. And that is the way Satan is leading the man to go. For me;

 “It shall be life.”