How Churches Are Like Lemons

When I went to Sunday school as a kid I was graded every Sunday. I was also graded in what was called Training Union on Sunday nights. Each of us had to fill out a checklist indicating if we brought our Bible, read our lesson, did our daily Bible readings, brought an offering and a couple other requirements. Each item was worth points that when added up totaled 100% if all were checked. Sometimes we were divided into groups and after several weeks the group with the highest total won. I rarely was able to check off every item, and was usually one who brought my groups score down. Obviously, I was given a hard time for not doing better. I dreaded having to fill those dumb checklists out, and I hated them. I had problems with grades in school, and it was the same thing in church.

Something like that, I figure, soured many a youngster's hearts toward church. Don’t get me wrong, I love church, but churches do some dumb things that drive people away. I have served in churches all my life. I served in an association of about 73 churches, and I saw things happen in churches that made me shutter. I won’t go into any of those faux pas that pastors, deacons, elders and other church leaders and members committed, but it was no wonder that people left those churches. My parents made me go to church and endure those checklists, but adults don’t have to put up with those kinds of unnecessary mistakes, and I might add unfriendliness.

I have been a Southern Missionary Baptist all my life. Unfortunately, our denomination continues to do things that are causing members to leave. Many churches in our denomination continue to not make it easy for other races to attend and become part of the local church body. I think a large number of our churches have a very unloving attitude toward certain people that commit certain sins that we think are worse than others, and therefore, those people are not welcome. There is still too much politics in our churches, especially the smaller ones. I have pastored a couple of churches where a family or a deacon body controlled every decision made. I’m sure I made a lot of mistakes, but I made them honestly, not with hate or a desire to hurt someone.

My experience as a pastor has helped me see many of the things that drive people away. I learned not to put pressure on people. Some people leave church because they are worn out from doing too much. I used to do things because I felt I had to, was obligated or somehow made to feel like if I didn’t God would not be pleased.  Now I only do what I feel led to do. I don’t let anybody shame me into doing something, and neither should you. If someone does that they are dead wrong. I’m involved in about three ministries at our church, and I feel good about that. Sherri and I are committed to two nights, and we go Sunday for worship, choir and Sunday school. And Sherri and I help with a ministry to the elderly at a nursing home Alzheimer’s unit. We are just old, not elderly. I love my church because it is a place I can serve and feel good about serving. I love the people and our new friends. My church is a great place to worship our God. It’s not a perfect church. I see somethings I don’t like, but not many. So far I haven’t found any sour lemons that will drive me away.

The Five Dollar Jesus

Back in July a neighbor had a moving sale. I didn’t go to it because I figured I had enough junk without going to a yard sale and buying another person's junk. A couple of days after his sale I stopped by just to talk. We talked a while, and as I was getting ready to leave he mentioned an outdoor nativity that he didn’t sell. “I’ll take $10 for it if you want to buy it.”  He remembered that I had complimented it during the past Christmas. Actually I didn’t like it at all. I was just impressed that he displayed a nativity scene, something not seen very often in our subdivision.

I thought $10 was too much because I had no intention of putting it in my front yard. And it was about ninety five degrees, and decorating for Christmas was the last thing I wanted to think about. I said, “You’ll need it when you move to a Maryland, besides I’m not sure where I would put it in my little front yard.” He replied, “Tell you what, give me $5, and you can have it. We can’t use it where we are moving. I would really like you to have it.” That man drove a pretty hard bargain, and I agreed to give him $5.

You might say I bought a five dollar Jesus, and a Mary and a Joseph came with him. Sherri kind of liked it, and we never had an outside nativity. So Jesus, Mary and Joseph are now in the spotlight on our front porch. They look a lot better than I thought they would. I now feel badly that I didn’t give my neighbor the $10 he was asking. I think Jesus is worth at least $10. That sounds bad doesn’t it? There is a reason I put it that way.

Jesus is priceless. He is the Son of God, the second person of the Trinity. He is our salvation, our only hope. Because of what he did you, and I have an opportunity to be royalty and live forever in God’s heavenly Kingdom. There is no monetary value we can place on Jesus. Yet millions of people continue to treat him like he is worth no more than the $5 I paid for that nativity. Jesus means nothing to them. For some the only time they mention his name is when they swear. Comedians on TV make fun of him. Even people who claim to know him worship things like sports, the pleasures of this world  and their material possessions rather than worshiping him. For hundreds of thousands of people Jesus’ birthday is just a reason to buy and give gifts, greet friends with “Happy Holidays”, have days off from school and work, and get with family and friends to eat and drink. Christmas has nothing to do with Jesus for many people today.

What is Jesus worth to you? I hope he is worth a lot more than $5. I remember singing a song that said, “Jesus is so precious to me!” That baby in the manger of our nativities should remind us of how precious, and how valuable he really is. This Christmas think about how much Jesus means to you. The greatest bargain you and I will ever hope to get is that Jesus died and took away our sins so that we will not perish but have eternal life. Jesus certainly is precious!

Some Pieces Don’t Fit

Imagine your life being like a giant jigsaw puzzle. At first the pieces seem to fall into place rather easily because there are several people helping you. As you get older the task becomes a little more difficult as you are making more decisions on your own. You learn quickly that a lot of the pieces you place are chosen through trial and error. Frustration mounts as you find a piece that you know will work, but it doesn’t fit at all. So you begin searching for the right one. Those pieces involving school, vocations, love, marriage, children, finances and many other life decisions can be hard to fit where they belong.

When we begin to reach adulthood our vision of what our puzzle will look like is one of a beautiful screen like a majestic mountain, a lovely seascape, or perhaps that breathtaking sunrise peaking through the early morning clouds. However, as those needed pieces to our puzzle are buried in a heap of other pieces, and we try to squeeze the wrong piece into our puzzle we find that what we first envisioned becomes distorted looking nothing at all like the picture we had hoped to create. The more this happens the more disappointed we become. Depression sets in, life is hard, and many don’t want to work on that puzzle anymore. The frustration level becomes so great you want to simply destroy all the work with one sweep of the arm tossing the whole thing onto the floor.

There are probably pieces to most everyone’s life puzzle that have left ugly blemishes on what has been created. Bad pieces have been mixed in that should never have been used. They were wedged in because we didn’t want to take time to look for the correct piece. We became impatient and chose the easy piece even though it didn’t fit properly. Or maybe we fell in love with a piece that should never been used. Or perhaps we got tired of the correct piece, removed it and replaced it with one that seemed more attractive. That can be true of a marriage, a job, or some materialistic thing we just had to have. Some of the wrong pieces may have been innocent mistakes, while many of them are simply a result of sin.

What if, at this very moment, as you are looking at your life puzzle you are repulsed at what you see. You don’t like the scene in front of you. Can anything be done to make it look better? Who can deal with those mistake pieces, and those sin pieces? The One who overcame sin. The One who died to take away our sin. The One who makes all things new. Jesus is the one who can make our life puzzle a glorious piece of art. It can become more than just a gigsaw puzzle if we completely turn it over to him to restore it to what God intended it to be in the first place. Give your life to Jesus and let him finish what you started.

They Don’t Know

I was was having a conversation with a child and happened to mention Goliath being almost 10 feet tall. We had been talking about getting tall. She seemed a bit confused so I asked her if she knew who Goliath was. She said she had never heard anything about him. I was surprised that a kid 9 years old had never heard the story about David and Goliath. After thinking about this I realized that in our society today children don’t hear the Bible stories that folks my age grew up hearing every Sunday in Sunday school. Most children in our nation are not taken to church on Sunday. And I think that is very sad.

Children don’t hear about Moses seeing a burning bush that was not consumed by the flames, and how he obeyed God by going back to Egypt to confront Pharaoh, or Jonah being swallowed by the big fish, and how the walls of Jericho came tumbling down as Joshua led the Israelites around that wall. They haven’t heard about those friends of Daniel, with the weird names, being thrown into the fiery furnace, and they were not burned the least little bit. And of course how the youngster David killed the giant Goliath with a sling. They miss the story about Elijah praying to God to send down fire from heaven to burn up the wet sacrifice and how he killed those 400 pagan prophets, and how ravens fed him every day while he was hiding in the wilderness. They don’t hear the stories of Jesus feeding thousands of people with a few loaves of bread and just a few small fish, or how he healed people like the lepers, not leopards, and how he raised Lazarus from the dead.

But the saddest and most tragic thing about all of this is children are not hearing the wonderful story about Jesus dying on a cross, and how three days later he rose from the grave. No one tells them that Jesus died for them. Children have no idea that their only hope for eternal life is through Jesus who loves them so much that he died for them.

I heard two men about my age talking about a lady who had all the children in their neighborhood come to her house once a week to a Bible study. She had them memorize a Bible verse every week. These two men were children who were eventually saved because of this wonderful woman. I don’t know how this method of teaching children these great Bible stories about God’s hero would work today, but I do know there is an urgent need to reach children whose parents don’t take them to Sunday school. This is definitely something that should break our hearts. We need to pray for the children on our nation that somehow we can find some way to teach them these wonderful Bible stories, and about our God who loves them so much.

Trusting the Overcomer

Double, double, Toil and trouble.
“Gloom, despair, and agony on me
Deep, dark depression, excessive misery
If it weren’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all…”

Not exactly uplifting words are they? I feel like this sometimes. I think there are a lot of people in the world today who feel as though they have been cursed by the witches spell or assume that they are doomed to experience nothing but bad luck. They live in a dark, miserable place where the sun never shines. They are depressed and see no hope for a bright future.

The truth is there are no witches’ curses, no hexes, no pin pierced voodoo dolls that doom you to a life of misery. Yes, life can be tough. Sometimes we are almost swept away by a flood of troubles. I have never known anyone who has not experienced problems. We live in a world of sin, so bad things are going to happen to us. God never promised us that we would be free from difficulties. He did promise us that he would always be with us. John 16:33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (NIV)

We will have trouble. Jesus told the disciple to take heart. Great advice! Are you experiencing trouble today? Listen to what Jesus said, “Take heart.” In other words, “Hang in there!” Jesus is in control. He has overcome the world and all of the darkness and gloom that you are facing. Are you a child of God? If you are you have a wonderful inheritance waiting for you. That inheritance comes with an eternity that is full of problem fee living. There is nothing that can take that away from you. God loves you and he wants you to be aware of his presence each day. He will give you joy and peace despite the despair that you are experiencing. This is a good day for you to take heart and look beyond your problems. Be thankful that you are not like those who have no hope. You belong to God and your future is brighter than the noon day sun.

The Day After

After a day of eating turkey, ham, many delicious vegetable selections, all kinds of salads, and cakes,and pies some may have decided that they don’t want to eat anything. The thought of having bacon, eggs or pancakes and such for breakfast is disgusting. How can anyone have anything to eat the day after Thanksgiving?

Here is something we gluttons might try. It’s sugar free, gluten free, no cholesterol, non fattening, very healthy, and the most delicious dish ever. I found this on a menu that perhaps you have seen. Here is how it is presented. “Taste and see that the Lord is good…”
This menu even gives a way in which a connoisseur of this wonderful delicacy will thrive, “blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.”  Yummy! Tastes good, and good for you too.

Reference: Psalm 34:8

The Triple Crown of Holidays

Why did the Beatles stop inviting Ringo to their Thanksgiving  dinners?

The triple crown of holidays: Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter. All three honor God, but for different reasons. It is really interesting how each of these fall on the calendar. Thanksgiving is always in November and on Thursday, but on different dates each year.. Christmas is always celebrated in December and always on the 25th, therefore, Christmas is on a different day of the week every year. Easter always occurs on Sunday, but not necessarily during the same month every year. In 325CE the Council of Nicaea established that Easter would be held on the first Sunday after the first full moon occurring on or after the vernal equinox. So Easter is always the first Sunday after the first full moon that falls on or after March 21. It can be as early as March 22 and as late as April 25 depending on when the Paschal full moon is.

Thanksgiving is our national holiday set aside to thank our Heavenly Father for his provisions and his blessings which are many. We celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ our Savior, our Redeemer at Christmas. And on Easter we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, the One who died on the cross as the sacrificial Lamb for the forgiveness of our sins. In that Jesus became our only Hope for eternal life. The one thing that makes all of these holidays alike is that we remember God our Father’s acts of love and grace toward us, sinners, who don’t deserve anything for which we celebrate.

Today, Thanksgiving, don’t forget to praise God for what happened on the first Christmas and the first Easter. If not for Jesus birth and his death and resurrection we most likely would not have a Thanksgiving.

So why did the Beatles stop inviting Ringo to the Thanksgiving meal? Because he would not share the drumsticks.

Thank You Lord

Thank you Lord for my furnace
When winter wields its scorn.

Thank you Lord for my house
That is so toasty warm.

Thank you Lord for water pipes
I am grateful they do not freeze.

Thank you Lord for all I take for granted
To you I am graciously pleased

Thank you Lord for coats and sweaters
And of course long underwear.

Thank you Lord for gloves, and hats and boots
With these the cold wind I can bear.

Thank you Lord for milk and bread
And food upon the shelf.

Thank you Lord for good hot meals
That bring to me sustaining health.

Thank you Lord that I can share your saving love
A truth so true and bold.

Thank you Lord for your Son, Jesus Christ
The one who forever my soul will hold.

A Voice Pleasing to God’s Ears

I imagine there are hundreds of different species of birds. I have no idea how many. There are tiny birds like the hummingbird, and very large birds like eagles. Birds have different kinds of feathers with varieties of colors. Some birds eat seed, or insects, and others eat fish, rotting meat or just about anything they can find. Most birds that I know sing, but they don’t sing the same song.

Every species has their own unique sound. Each song bird sings the same song that its kind has sung for ages. The sparrow sings its song, finches have theirs, the robin is known for his song, and the mocking bird fills the air with a song unlike all other birds. And so it is with each different bird. The songbirds like a choir harmonize to give a beautiful performance.

Other birds try to sing like the song birds, but their voices aren’t quite so pretty. The crow has an annoying sound, and the roosters voice becomes somewhat monotonous at the early morning hour. The duck can try as hard as he might, but comes up short as he tries to make a pleasant sound. These birds can’t help the way they sound. The only song they know or can sing is the one handed down to them by their ancestors.

Humans are a bit like birds when it comes to singing. Some have beautiful voices like the mocking bird, and some sound something like the crow or the duck. Then others fall somewhere in between the mocking bird and the crow. I guess in some way the ability to sing well is hereditary, but I’ve known siblings where one can sing and the other can’t. There is a way that, unlike songbirds, every person can  sing the same beautiful song. Psalm 40: 3 says, “He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God.”

So you sing like a duck or a crow; there is good news for you. You can still make a joyful, beautiful sound. You can sing a song that God will enjoy as much as he does that of the most lovely voice the world has ever heard. That is the voice of the one who praises Him. There is nothing sweeter to God’s ears as the song of praise from the mouth of one who loves Him, a song he put there because of His loving grace.

The Gathering

Our church, individuals who meet regularly to serve, worship and praise God, met last night to eat the annual Thanksgiving meal. We also came to express our thanks to our sovereign God for his mercies and his grace to us.

Person after person stood and shared what God did in their lives this past year. They mentioned how God used others in the  body to minister to them. Those who had been sick, thankful for healing. Those who had lost a spouse, a parent or dear friend spoke of God’s abiding presence and his comfort through the presence of church friends. A woman who had spent 7 years in prison and had recently gotten out was grateful for our prison ministry who supported her and helped her get on her feet. She was grateful for the help that was given her by the church to get her daughter's back. Those who had served on short term mission trips all over the world thanked God for supporting them with donations given by members of the church and the powerful prayer ministry which lifted them up to God.

I thanked God and the church body for loving and accepting Sherri and me these past 8 months that we have been members. We have made many friends and are serving in several ways. The key to meeting people and enjoying the church where you attend is serving. Churches must give everyone an opportunity to serve and work within the body for God’s glory. Getting involved by showing the love of Jesus within the body of Christ is vital to a healthy church experience. I don’t get to preach any more, but that’s fine. As long as Sherri and I can serve the way we are now we will continue to  be blessed and satisfied.

The picture is just part of the long line of hungry church members waiting to get to the bountiful grub that had been prepared by the body. We were standing in what is called “The Gathering Place”. Every believer should gather with other believers on a regular basis and never let anybody or anything prevent them from doing so.

Live Like Jesus

They are kind and good. They are always looking for ways to help others. 

They maintain a peaceful attitude, and they are not disturbed when the bottom falls out of their plans. 

They have a joyful heart no matter what happens.

They exhibited the ability to bite their tongue whenever someone rubs them the wrong way. 

If fact, when someone flys off the handle at them they remain calm and gently do everything they can to help that person calm down.

When they fail or are the recipient of someone else’s failure they do not get upset. They patiently wait, and start over until they are satisfied. 

They are always faithful, because their faith is in their Lord. 

They are successful at the way they carry out all of these character traits because their hear is full of love.

Why do you suppose a person would live this way? 

Why would they try to exhibit love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control? 

They do these things because the traits make them more like Jesus. 

The Last Pepper

So sad it is to say goodbye to the flowers and plants that provided such glorious beauty from spring into the fall season. Hours of fertilizing, watering, pruning and all of the TLC this gardener provided for his leafy friends solidified the bond between the two of us. And today I finalized my farewells tucking in some as they begin their winter slumber to awaken in the spring while offering final rites to the annuals as I placed them on the compost heap. All of them served me well.

The roses, daffodils, lilies, Black eyed Susans and other perennials will return next spring. But now they leave behind a barren space. There will be no daily enjoyment of seeing new buds and blooms.  I’ll miss them and will look forward to spring when they awaken to sprout, leaf, bud and flower.

My annuals have been stubborn about leaving. Many of them have refused to die. They have somehow weathered a few below freezing nights. They have outlived their expected lifespan.  Although they are not as hearty, or as brightly arrayed in their color coat they continue to hold a semblance of beauty.

One small hibiscus has continued to cling to life. In her prime she produced the largest most beautiful flowers I’ve ever had a hibiscus to provide. This, her last offspring is dwarfed and I might even say deformed compared to her other children. But it has been tough hanging on to the very last. She was a good mother.

My beautiful pink clematis has been brought inside. She is going on four years old. I keep her in the corner of the garage during the winter. About February her stems will begin growing, reaching out to grab whatever they can find to latch on to. It seems that she has eyes as last year those stems grew up and over some two feet to find the spokes of my bicycle that was hanging on the wall. These flowers have continued to maintain their beauty despite the fact that I removed their source of life four days ago.

These mums were casualties of the first freeze. They were not as tough as the pansies. I think pansies were misnamed. They don’t give up. They stand strong against the harsh cold fall nights. The pansy digs in and says, “Give me everything you’ve got! I can take it!” Most of these cute little fellows will overcome North Carolina’s winter, and come back in the spring.

The flowering trees lost their flowers a couple of months ago, but this Japanese Maple’s fall leaves  are as pretty as any of those flowering trees.

Finally, my last pepper. I planted six pepper plants, two jalapenos, two green bells, and two  red bells. One jalapeno produced enough peppers for us to have for a soup that Sherri makes. They will  probably last all winter. The other jalapeno didn’t produce one pepper. The same was true of the green bells. One produced the other one very little. The red bells were late. They finally started producing three weeks ago, one more than the other.

People are a lot like flowers, and plants and peppers. We were created to produce, to produce life, produce beauty in the world , and produce the fruit for which God made us. We must try our best to produce what we are expected to produce at exactly the time we are supposed to produce it. We are to be strong in spirit. We are to cherish life, endure the harshness that the world throws at us, and hang on until the very end remaining as lovely as we possibly can.

I want to be like the pansy. I want to remain strong and maintain a beautiful countenance. I want to be tough, not falling under the harsh treatment of the world, or the expectations and unreasonable demands of others. I want to hang onto every moment of life God gives me, and be productive as I work within my calling.

What Color Will We Be In Heaven

A three year old child takes a random crayon from the box and begins coloring a picture in his coloring book. It may be a picture of a fireman, a teacher, a soldier, a mommy or a daddy --it doesn’t matter. Neither does it matter if he uses a red crayon or a green crayon to color whomever he is coloring. The child will like it regardless of the color he chooses, and his parents will praise him for doing a good job.

God made each of us. He made some of us white, some of us dark skinned and the rest of us various shades in between. With God it makes no difference what color he chose to colored us. I don't think our height, our width, nor any other physical characteristics he has given us is a big deal to God. God looks deeper than the color of our skin or any of our other physical traits. He looks far inside of us, all the way into our souls, and he sees the real person that he created.

The wonderful thing about God is that his love for us is not determined by any of our physical characteristics. He loves us all the same. He loves a heavy person just as much as he loves a thin person, the poor as much as the rich, the black as much as the white. As we age, becoming more forgetful, weaker, more stooped, more wrinkled, and slower, God's love for us remains the same as it did when we were young and more physically appealing.

Unfortunately, we sometimes use a different criterion to judge others. Appearance is given too much importance in determining the worth of a person. Someone will decide, “I don’t think I like you because you are too red, too green, have too many toes or have some other characteristic that makes you different from me.” Where did we get the idea that if a person is not like us we can’t love them? We didn’t get that idea from God. God said that we must love everyone, even our enemies. Our appearance is the way it is because God determined long before we were born what we would be like. Each of us were uniquely planned, designed and created by God.

The Bible tells us that one day after we die, God is going to give us another body. It will be a perfect body. That is exciting! I wonder if we will look the same way we look now? Think about that! If we are given perfect bodies will it really matter what we look like?  One last thing to think about as we consider racial issues --are we to assume that we will be the same color in heaven that we are here on earth? I wonder what color I will be in heaven. Maybe everyone will be the same color. When God gives us our new bodies he may just reach in his crayon box, pull out a color at random and color us with that crayon. And he will say, “I really like that!”
You know, I think maybe bright fire engine red is a good color for me.

The Thanksgiving Table

Remember those Thanksgiving days of the past when family gathered around the Thanksgiving table? When in your childhood grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, your mom and dad and siblings would come together for the most delicious meal anyone could imagine. The gathering around the Thanksgiving table was one of your grandmother's favorite times of the year. Her children and grandchildren were all together at her house. She beamed with pride even as she busied herself in the kitchen putting the finishing touches on the bountiful meal. Everyone had their job to do. Grandmother, Mimi, Nana or whatever the grandchildren called her was a master at conducting and ordering all of her helpers to bring the feast together.

At last the meal was ready and all of the family took their places- adults around the big table, and the children, near by, gathered at the kids tables sitting on whatever would hold a small bottom. Even before a bite was taken compliments rang out in anticipation of the delicious dinner that all would soon consume.  The noise level would rise to a deafening level as every voices spoke at once until Grandpa rose and one by one everyone became silent. Maybe he made a short speech, told a funny story or made a funny remark about someone around the table, probably Grandma, all in fun of course. But most importantly he asked everyone to bow their heads and he prayed.

His gentle voice began extolling the wonderful works of the Heavenly Father. He spoke of Jesus his savior. He thanked God for his wonderful family expressing his love for each one. He thanked God for the food prepared by the hands of his loving wife and asked for God's blessings on food, and on family. He thanked a God for the bountiful, abundant blessings of the past year. Then he said, “Amen”, and as he sat down he turned his attention to grandma. She always had something to say before a single bowl was passed. She often provided an explanation about a certain dish, gave an apology or began serving the little ones, but most notably it was evident that she was not the least bit in a hurry to fill her own plate. She would wait until everyone had been served and was busy eating before she would take a bite.

As the eating got underway the conversation was less. Everything was delicious and words spoken were mostly compliments to Grandmother. Pies and cakes were plentiful, and after the table had been cleared of dinner dishes the sweets were plated, coffee was served and stories began to be told. One by one uncles, aunts and grandparents shared funny stories about family members, some  present at the Thanksgiving Table, and some that had passed on years before. Embellishments accompanied each tale, and the youngsters took in every word painting pictures in their minds that they would recall for the rest of their lives. Laughter filled the house, hardy laughter, the kind of laughter that brings tears to the eyes. Every year the same stories were told but they never got old or boring.

Those were wonderful times, those times around the family Thanksgiving table. The memories are priceless. If you are as old as I am many of the ones who gathered around the Thanksgiving table are gone. More than likely you are the Grandmother or the Grandfather. You are at the head of your own Thanksgiving  table and hopefully, you will continue the tradition carried on by your grandparents or your mother and father. It may not be the same, but anytime there is a gathering of family sitting around the Thanksgiving table, whether large or small, a wonderful tradition lives. This year be thankful for the Thanksgiving table, the memories of those precious days around the Thanksgiving table, and the special people who you call family. Be sure to thank God, your Heavenly Father, and always include Him afound your Thanksgiving Table

The Thanksgiving Table

Remember those Thanksgiving days of the past when family gathered around the Thanksgiving table? When in your childhood grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, your mom and dad and siblings would come together for the most delicious meal anyone could imagine. The gathering around the Thanksgiving table was one of your grandmother's favorite times of the year. Her children and grandchildren were all together at her house. She beamed with pride even as she busied herself in the kitchen putting the finishing touches on the bountiful meal. Everyone had their job to do. Grandmother, Mimi, Nana or whatever the grandchildren called her was a master at conducting with strategic percision all of her kitchen helpers to bring the feast together.

At last the meal was ready and all of the family took their places- adults around the big table, and the children, near by, gathered at the kids tables sitting on whatever would hold a small bottom. Even before a bite was taken compliments rang out in anticipation of the delicious dinner that all would soon consume.  The noise level would rise to a deafening level as every voices spoke at once until Grandpa rose, and one by one everyone became silent. Maybe he gave a short speech, told a funny story or made an amusing  remark about someone around the table, probably Grandma, all in fun of course. But most importantly he asked everyone to bow their heads and he prayed.

His gentle voice began extolling the wonderful works of the Heavenly Father. He spoke of Jesus his savior. He thanked God for his wonderful family expressing his love for each one. He thanked God for the food prepared by the hands of his loving wife, and asked for God's blessings on food, and on family. He thanked a God for the  abundant blessings of the past year. Then he said, “Amen”, and as he sat down he turned his attention to grandma. She always had something to say before a single bowl was passed. She often provided an explanation about a certain dish, or gave an apology for something she thought might not have turned out like she had hope.or began serving the little ones. Most notably it was always evident that she was not the least bit in a hurry to fill her own plate. She would wait until everyone had been served and was busy eating before she would take a bite.

As the eating got underway the conversation was less. Everything was delicious and words spoken were mostly compliments to Grandmother. Pies and cakes were plentiful, and after the table had been cleared of dinner dishes the sweets were plated, coffee was served and stories began to be told. One by one uncles, aunts and grandparents shared funny stories about family members, some  present at the Thanksgiving Table, and some that had passed on years before. Embellishments accompanied each tale, and the youngsters took in every word painting pictures in their minds that they would recall for the rest of their lives. Laughter filled the house, hardy laughter, the kind of laughter that brings tears to the eyes. Every year the same stories were told but they never got old or boring.

Those were wonderful times, those times around the family Thanksgiving table. The memories are priceless. If you are as old as I am many of the ones who gathered around the Thanksgiving table are gone. More than likely you are the Grandmother or the Grandfather. You are at the head of your own Thanksgiving  table and hopefully, you will continue the tradition carried on by your grandparents or your mother and father. It may not be the same, but anytime there is a gathering of family sitting around the Thanksgiving table, whether large or small, a wonderful tradition lives. This year be thankful for the Thanksgiving table, the memories of those precious days around the Thanksgiving table, and the special people who you call family. Be sure to thank God, your Heavenly Father, and always include Him around your Thanksgiving Table

Then They Will Know

If a person finds himself in a pickle it will serve him well to know why. Children will grow up to be law abiding citizens if their parents have disciplined them making sure they understand what wrong they did, and why they are being punished. God has standards by which man is to live. The first and most important standards are to know who he is, and to love him with all of their heart, their soul and their mind. When man doesn’t do this he gets in trouble. Throughout history man has refused to accept who God is. It seems today that people don’t care who he is, and even deny that he exists.

There was a man who was a priest and a prophet before and after the fall of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. God gave Ezekiel the message to tell Israel, and the surrounding nations because they didn’t know or accept who God was. They were disobedient and did evil things. There was almost nothing they wouldn’t do. The people of Israel abandoned the sanctuary, they despised God, they rebelled against him, they murdered their babies, and they worshipped the false gods of other nations. They lusted after idols.

God’s message to Ezekiel for Israel came over and over again in this manner, “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because you poured out your lust and exposed your naked body in your promiscuity with your lovers, and because of all your detestable idols, and because you gave them your children’s blood…” and the message goes on describing the gross detestable sins the people committed; perversion of every kind, just like we see in our nation today. Chapter after chapter Ezekiel tells Israel what their sins are, and what God is going to do to punish them. He also tells the people of the pagan nations what The Sovereign Lord says and how they will be punished.

About 30 chapters in the book of Ezekiel which has 48 chapters repeats the line, “This is what the Sovereign Lord says.” The people didn’t care to listen. They refused to hear the warning, just like most people in America refuse to hear the warning. Fewer and fewer go to church, ever. Children are being raised so they don’t know the Sovereign Lord. Men and women choose to live their perverted life styles because they do not care what the Lord says.
Ezekiel told the people what God had to say about their sin and what their punishment would be. Several times God’s word to the people was, “I am about to deliver you into the hands of those you hate, to those you turned away from in disgust.” America may think about this one day.

Time and time again in these chapters of  warning of impending doom God says, “Then you will know that I am the Sovereign Lord.” God wants us to know that he is the Sovereign Lord. He want us to live like we know he is the Sovereign Lord.

“You will be judged according to your conduct and actions, declares the Sovereign Lord.” Ezekiel speaks to us today, “This is what the Sovereign Lord says.” I wonder, who really cares what the Sovereign Lord says? Today’s true prophets and preachers get weary repeating these words to people who refuse to listen. Their hearts ache when people had rather hear a funny story or watch a sporting event, or enjoy the pleasures of the world than to hear a word from God, and know that he is the Sovereign Lord.

Well someday every man, woman, and creature will know that God is the Sovereign Lord, and that he was serious when he demanded our love, our worship, and our praise. Those who refuse to acknowledge him, seek him, and give him the glory will be eternally sorry. Every knee will one day bow before him and every tongue will confess that he is the Sovereign Lord of lords and King of kings. For most it will be too late, because the Sovereign Lord made it clear to us what he expected. And he made it clear what we must do if we are going to spend eternity with him.

America has only to read the book of Ezekiel to hear what the Sovereign Lord has to say to us. One thing that he told Ezekiel to tell Israel was that both the wicked and the righteous would fall under the terrible hand of the evil nation Babylon. When and if this kind of tragedy strikes  America everyone will suffer.  And God said, “Then they will know that I am the Sovereign God.”

Where There Is Quietness

There was a special place I would go when I was a young boy. I spent many hours there by myself enjoying the solitude and peacefulness that it gave me. In the very back of our farm there was a small pond surrounded by woods. Just beyond the pond was a little knoll that gave me the perfect vantage point to sit and enjoy the beauty of this wonderful place. Large oak trees stood majestically providing shade on those hot summer days. The ground was covered with the thickest moss I have ever seen. It was like carpet. I loved lying there watching the squirrels play and pretending that I was whoever I wanted to be. I might have been a soldier fighting the enemy. The oak trees had dropped hundreds of huge acorns, or bombs in my mind, that I launched at the enemy battle ships advancing across the pond toward the allied forces. The pin point accuracy of my acorn throwing gave the Americans the victory every time.

I really enjoyed being a child because I could escape from my simple but real worries of life and enjoy the life I found in my make believe world. I often talked to whomever I imagined to be the characters in this world I created. Don't laugh, everyone of you did the same thing. I would sing. I would shout. I might just make sounds that didn't mean a thing. I was having fun.

Thinking back on those times I realize that on occasion I talked to God. I believe that God loves the time he spends with children. I believe that it was in those quiet times in my special place that God was molding me, and preparing me for my future. I know I sensed God's presence many times in my quiet place--my get away from the noise and voices of the world.

Let me tell you, God still likes to listen to and talk to his children no matter what age they are. Our lives will be full of noise, running, hurrying, disappointments, probably even pain and heartache. We all need a special place where we can be alone with God, and tell him about our troubles. We need a quiet place where we meet God, thank him, praise him and allow him to provide us with strength, wisdom and love as we take on the cares of this world. As we meet daily with God he will give us the ammunition we need to defeat the enemy. Go to your quiet place where you will find hundreds of spiritual acorns that you can use to secure the victory in your life.

Perfect Rest

None of us are superhuman. We all have many limitations. When I was just a kid I could play ball and run up and down the hills and hollers all day long without slowing down. As a teen ager I could work in the hay fields and tobacco patch all day and still have energy to play baseball or basketball at night. When I became an adult I would work each day and still be able to come home and do things around the house that needed to be done. However, there was one common thread that ran true in all the things I have mentioned; at day's end I was always tired. I needed rest. Now, in my senior citizen years I find that I really don't have to do much to get tired. I look forward to a nice nap in the afternoon and I am always ready to "hit the hay" around 10 o'clock at night.

We all need our rest. Not only do we get tired physically, we get tired mentally and emotionally. A good night's sleep renews us from our physical fatigue, but most often relief for mental and emotional fatigue is harder to come by. Sometimes heartaches and troubles bear so heavily upon the soul that finding rest seems a distant reality. Not even a good vacation can help. It seems that a cloud of despair is always there. Where can a person go to find rest?

The Bible does offer an answer. We find the solution in Matthew 11:28 where Jesus says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest". I have come to realize that even though our faith is strong, and we ask Jesus to make our troubles go away, we probably will continue to have those problems, and they may even get worse. We live in a fallen world and because of that we will always have difficulties. I do know that God will give us strength to endure the rough times. All of us have watched as our parents or grand parents aged and in some cases struggled with pain until they died. As Christians we believe that death ushered in that eternal rest that they had prayed for and longed for.

Today you may be extremely weary and exhausted in the depths of your soul. I hope you can find peace in the message of Jesus. "Come to me. I know you are tired and weary. Hang in there because I am going to give you rest. You can endure this short time on earth. Eternal rest is waiting for you. Just come, come to me."

When Life Stinks and Evil Strikes

Thanksgiving is two weeks down the road. Right around the bend and over a couple of hills there is Christmas. Those two holidays have been celebrated by some of us many, many times. Most of us are counting on turkey, dressing and all the fixings, maybe for both holidays, along with the Christmas trees, presents, and several dinners with family and friends. That’s just what we enjoy, and what we do at these times of the year. We are looking forward to the holidays and are counting on being involved in the festive celebrations as always.

There are people just like us that will be doing something else this Thanksgiving and this Christmas. The people at Southerland Springs, Texas will be looking at these special dates differently because of one man who in a matter of minutes took the lives of twenty six people who were simply worshipping God. On October 1 fifty-eight people were killed and over five hundred were injured while enjoying a concert because one man decided to destroy as many lives as he could. This year has seen hundreds of lives snuffed out all over our nation because someone decided that they wanted to kill, hurt, and maim innocent people.

Hundreds who enjoyed the holidays last year are not going to do so this year, and I imagine everyone of them were looking forward to turkey and Christmas trees. Thousands will be grieving during Thanksgiving and Christmas this year. The holidays won’t be the same for them because their loved one tragically died.

I also think about a friend who is currently in a hospital fighting to stay alive. Last year he was healthy, enjoying life and planning to enjoy being with family and friends to express his thankfulness to God, and celebrate the birth of his Savior. I’m sure he remains thankful and will do what he can to celebrate Jesus birth, but this year he will have to do that in a different way. I am also confident that the people in that small Texas community will find the strength through their faith in God to be thankful and celebrate the birth of the Christ child.

We never know what will happen. None of us know for sure what the next two weeks will bring our way, or what kind of Christmas we will have this year. My heart aches for those affected by these evil acts, for my friend who is so sick, and certainly for his dear family. Our lives have been changed by the senseless tragedies of recent days. And our lives are affected when our friends are hurting because of illness.

May we truly be thankful this year and be blessed as we celebrate this Christmas. At the same time let’s not forget these who are hurting and grieving due to these unusual tragedies this year. And be sure to remember our friends who are seriously ill. If you are healthy, and your family is doing well you are extremely blessed and have much for which to be thankful. Praise God in the good times, but remember to praise him in the not so good because we never know what tomorrow may bring.

Smiles Communicate Love

There was almost no one out early last evening. The cool wind was very strong, and the dark clouds brought a few sprinkles. I had the track in our subdivision all to myself for my walk. There is a nice walking trail that winds its way to the track.  My mind was lost in thought, and thinking I was alone was startled out of my wits when this tiny little girl on a four wheel scooter came flying around the track's bend heading right at me. I made some kind of a help me Jesus noise as I jumped out of the way. I turned to see a little girl wearing a teeny helmet headed down the straight away. She must have been no more than 4 years old. 'Where in the world did she come from’, I thought!

As I continued on toward the section of the track that is hidden by trees on each side I discovered this miniature speedster’s parents. They barely looked at me. I am guessing from their appearance they were from one of the Central American countries or maybe some place like Ecuador or Peru. On the front side of the track I again met this threesome. The daughter was slightly in front still on her little scooter, but going much slower. Mom and dad were close behind. I smiled at the tiny speed demon, and nodded to her parents as I motioned toward their daughter. They laughed and nodded back at me. The next time around when I met them the young mother gave me a big smile as if to say, “This is my daughter. I am very proud of her. Thank you for acknowledging her!"  I may be wrong, but that is how I perceived the message from her smile. They went on by, and as I turned to look at them they disappeared into the walking trail.

That brief encounter with this family made me feel good. What did they see in my smile and my body language, I wondered? I think the mother heard me express how precious and cute I thought her daughter was. I think she felt me say, “I approve of your little girl. She is special.” We three adults didn't speak one word to each other, yet we communicated love and acceptance. I knew nothing about them, and they knew nothing about me. Still in those few minutes we were together we communicated the love of Jesus. I don't know about them, but I was blessed by our brief encounter.

How amazingly powerful a smile is. A smile speaks many kind words. A smile breaks barriers. A smile is a gift from God that can calm fears, and certainly make this world a better place in which to live. And more importantly it is something that everyone of us have. I think a good smile makes ladies more beautiful, and men more handsome. I think Jesus must have smiled a lot. I'm sure he did. I know every one of his smiles communicated love and acceptance.

Giving the Devil a Leg Up

Be angry and sin not; do not let the sun go down on your anger. Nor give place to the devil. Ephesians 4:26-27

It is possible to give the devil a little help as he tries to entice us to do things we know we shouldn’t do. I’ve been guilty of giving him a leg up when he has invaded the place in my life where he has no business. To give place to the devil means absolutely that. This is the idea of providing a space so that he can get a toe hold thus making it easier for him to get to our heart. Without our help Satan has no ability to be successful in making us do anything that we shouldn’t do. Paul, uses anger as an example. Anger is not necessarily a sin, but if we hang onto it long enough it will become a very serious, destructive sin. Hanging onto anger is to give Satan lift into our lives.

Here is why the devil can’t get to us unless we help him if we belong to Jesus. Whenever we refer to the Heavenly Father, to Jesus, or the Holy Spirit we are talking about the triune God. God has us covered, and protected from Satan. The Bible says he is our strong Tower. He is a mighty Fortress. He is our Rock. The gates of Hell cannot prevail against his Church. We are the church. Jesus defeated Satan, and Jesus lives within us in the Holy Spirit.

So the only way that the devil can get to us is if we provide that toe hole, that leg up, that place where he can scale the rope we provide for him to get to our hearts and our minds. That is when we get in trouble. That is when we sin. We must remind ourselves what a powerful God we serve. Remember that his love for us is forever, and he will not let Satan harm us if our faith remains strong.

Martin Luther, the father of the Reformation wrote, “ A might fortress is our God, a Bulwark never failing... For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe;
His craft and pow’r are great, and, armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not his equal.”

Then the last line says that our bodies may die, yet God’s truth abideth still. For his kingdom is forever. This is what keeps us going, keeps us fighting, keeps us strong. Our God is a mighty Fortress, and because of that Satan will never get to us unless we help him by giving him a leg up.

Watch Where You Walk in the Darkness

A few nights ago, at around 3:30, I got up to go to the bathroom. As I was coming back to bed I ran smack dab into someone. It scared me to death. What I didn’t know was that Sherri had also gotten up, and had gone to one of the guest bathrooms. She was coming back to bed also, and we ran into each other. Our timing wasn’t very good.

Darkness has long been the source and cause of many of our fears. Some of you when you were little,  like me, were probably scared of the dark and wanted to keep the lights on when you went to bed. Even when I was a teen my dad would sometimes send me to the barn to check on a cow or calf before I went to bed. There is no darkness like the darkness in the country. The wind blowing tree limbs over the tin roof on the barn is a frightening sound when you are by yourself in the pitch blackness of night.

More evil occurs at night than in the daylight. Cowardly acts are done in the shadows of darkness. The Bible says, “And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.” John 3:19.  The light that has come into the world is Jesus. He came to bring people out of darkness. Jesus can turn darkness into light, evil into good.

It is sad that there are so many people who love darkness. That people are committed to a life of evil is tragic. If they don’t change the darkness will be their worst nightmare. They will get hurt and never recover. Neither Sherri nor I got hurt when we were wandering around in the darkness the other night, but we sure did scare each other. But of course we were not intending to do evil. We just needed to go to the bathroom.

Don't forget to set your clocks back as Daylight Savings Time is over until spring. O boy, just what we need, more darkness.

The Show Must Go On

Last night Sherri and I watched our granddaughter, Holly, perform in the musical, Secret Garden, at North Raleigh Christian Academy Squire Theater, where she attends high school. Holly plays the role of Martha, the maid of Mr. Archibald Craven who owns a spacious house in Yorkshire England.

In the accompanying picture Martha and Mary Lennox are going to the Secret Garden. Mary is a little girl who lost her entire family due to a cholera outbreak in India. Mr. Craven, her uncle, whom she has never met,  is her only living relative. So Mary was sent to live with him despite the fact that he really doesn’t have time for her. He is nice to her, but very often forgets about her because of his grief over having lost his wife, Lily, ten years earlier. Lily is the sister of Mary’s mother Rose. I mention them because they are ghost like characters called Dreamers.

Holly plays her part very well as her Yorkshire British accent is extremely good. Everyone is amazed at how well she pulls off her role. Last night in one very touching scene Holly’s character, Martha, is consoling little Mary because she thinks Mr. Craven doesn’t like her, and is going to send her away. Actually it is his brother, Dr. Neville Craven, who is trying to get rid of Mary. Mr. Craven is away in Paris, and Martha tells Mary to write him a letter asking him to come home. Martha opens a trunk to get some paper and a pencil for Mary.

Last night Holly was having trouble finding the pencil. She finally locates it, and in her haste to hand it to the little girl she drops the pencil on the floor. Quickly, Holly grabs the pencil while, in her perfect Yorkshire accent says, “My bad!” “My bad” was probably not a term used back in the time before electricity. As they say, “The show must go on.”.

Holly had two solos, and she did them very well. We also saw the musical on Thursday night, and we are going back tomorrow. As always we are very proud of the way Holly is using her God given talents. She has been blessed to have the opportunity to attend such a wonderful school that has provided her an avenue to hone her acting, singing skills. The theatrical department and this Christian school are probably the best in the Raleigh area. Holly is a junior, and is planning to attend Liberty University after she graduates.

The Value of Words

Have you ever read a dictionary? I suppose not. The dictionary is full of words. Every word we use when we speak is in the dictionary. Actually, today, probably an on-line dictionary. We have every word at our disposal. We have learned to put words together to give meaning to what we want to express. As we add words to our vocabulary we are well aware that we can use some of them to bless others and some to destroy others. Words are powerful, and we must be careful how we use them.

Some words make us feel good. Love, beauty, sweet, precious, safe, and happy are examples of just a few of the words that make us smile. Words like hate, fear, ugly, sick, danger and sad are words that cause us to not feel so good. Unfortunately, we have to use some words to describe pain, suffering, heartache and death. There are many other words that are unflattering, hateful, cutting and vindictive that are intentionally used to hurt others. Some people are very good at using words like these. Most of us have had these terrible words directed toward us. Oh, how horrible we feel when someone decides to attack us with words that are meant to tear us apart, especially when they come from a friend or someone we have trusted.

I thank God for people who make it a practice to speak kind words, words that encourage that make others feel good about themselves. I am thankful for people who speak words of correction in honesty and love. There is a word in the dictionary for people like this. It's friend. All the words we use are free. We can choose any word we want without being charged a penny. But words used in the right way for a positive purpose are priceless. Words that you use can be like gold to those to whom you speak. Which words will you choose to use today? I hope every word you use will define you as a valued Friend.

Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. Ephesians 4:29

How Awesome Is Our God

Sometimes we find ourselves in situations where we have no idea or sense of what is going on. There is such a lack of understanding that being able to grasp the point of what is being done or said is impossible. For instance, I am in the choir at our church. We have been working on our Christmas music since mid August. I have a pretty fair voice, but I don’t read music, and I don’t understand most of the terminology used by our director. Even after all of the rehearsals I still get lost, many times not even knowing what page we are singing. The director will tell us to write something at some place on our music, and I just sit there looking around as everyone else is doing what he said. At those times I’m thinking I shouldn't have joined the choir.

I think this may be the case for many people when it comes to their relationship with God. How awkward it must be for someone who has never been to church to try to take part in a regular worship service. How much sense could the Bible make to someone who knows absolutely nothing about God's Word. New Christians must be greatly intimidated as they begin trying to learn a new way of living. When they read or are told that they are supposed to “Be Holy like God” I imagine they wonder what in the world does that mean.

I have been studying the Bible, writing sermons, preaching sermons, and pretty much devoting my life to learning all I can about God for at least 50 years. The more I learn it seems the less I know about the holiness of God. I know that He is awesome, and wonderfully beyond anything a human mind can even begin to imagine. I know something about his love, his character, his nature, and his power, but what I know about God’s holiness is but a grain of sand on one of the beaches that he created.

As Christians we have the living triune God in us in the person of the Holy Spirit. When we are confused about the terminology of Christian living we should remember that he is the conductor of our lives. He is our way, our truth and life living in us. When we don’t understand he will write on our hearts his perfect truth and will so that we don’t feel lost or out of place. He will keep us in tune, on pitch and on the right page as we seek God’s holiness.

Being Holy

Be Holy as I am Holy…

That is a tough order to fill. This verse bothered me a lot when I was younger. I worked at being Holy, but like Paul the things I wanted to do I didn’t do, and that which I didn’t want to do I did. I became frustrated and at one point almost gave up. “There is no way I can be holy,” I thought. Later I found out that I did not understand what it meant to be holy.

You will never reach perfection as long as you are in this world. You will probably mess up every day. So if you are struggling to reach a sinless, perfect life ease up on yourself.

The passage that I am referring to is in 1 Peter 1:15. But we need to look also at verse 14. “As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance.” Then verse 15 and 16, “Just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; “Be Holy, because I am Holy.”

In Hebrews 2:10-11 we are told where our holiness comes from. “In bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was fitting that God ...should make the pioneer (Jesus) of their salvation perfect through what he suffered. Both the One who makes people holy and those who are made holy, are of the same family, so Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters.” Then In Hebrews 3:1 the author refers to those who have been saved, “Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, whom we acknowledge ias apostle and high priest.

God is our pattern of holiness. Jesus demonstrated holiness. Those who have been saved were called by God. They are chosen to be his children. We who are saved were given God’s spiritual DNA. We were brought into His family becoming brothers and sisters of Jesus. In heaven we will know each other only as brother or sister. We will know only one father, the Heavenly Father.

When we were saved we were made holy at that point. Hebrews 2:11, “Both the One who makes people holy…”  God is absolute in holiness. We know that we have our parents DNA. We resemble them in many ways. I look very much like my dad. In the same way, because we have been made holy, we will reflect the characteristics of God. I don’t look exactly like my dad, and neither can we look exactly like our Heavenly Father in this world. But we should be a reflection of the one who saved us and made us holy. “God does not conform to a standard; He is the standard. God is immediately holy from all eternity. His holiness is not derive.”

The next time you really blow this holiness thing just remember that you are God’s very own child whom he loves. Because you have his DNA he looks at you and sees that you look very much like Jesus. He sees a very strong resemblance, and knows that you are part of his family. But because you are his child you must do the best you can to live so that when the world looks at you they too will see what Jesus looks like. Remember that God’s Holy DNA is in you.