KEVA'S CHINA

Almost 29 years ago a beautiful young lady agreed to be my wife.  There were all sorts of activities that went on during that time.  Decisions had to be made about the location of the wedding ceremony, the dress, the after rehearsal  dinner, the preacher, the brides maids and on and on.  All things that had to take place for this wedded bless to come to fruition. 

 I remember one of those activities was the occasion when Keva went down to Wright’s Drug store in the Dixie shopping center in Clanton to pick out the china. Now I wasn’t clear on just exactly why we needed china. We lived in the Ranger station, a little 4 room building at Higgins Ferry park.  Not like we would be entertaining distinguished quest.   But she looked at the books and pictures of knives and forks and plates and cups and all sorts of things and at long last picked out the pattern that was to be our china. 

Kind people, who knew us and wanted to get us gifts, went to Wright’s and paid good money for overly priced plates and saucers and cups and at the wedding shower we became the owners of a beautiful set of china.  I guess that happens to lots of people when they get married.

But I want to tell you about this stuff called china. China is no more than clay which is mixed with other raw elements.  It is put in a fire and become something useful and beautiful.   It is heated and shaped and instead of being a lump of clay it is re-born, remade into china.  China that is beautiful and useful to the owner.

Look out here comes the spiritual connection.

The Word tells us that you and I are, just like the china, initially clay, dirt.  But there is a little thing called Salvation, or being born again that can happen to us when we confess our sins and accept Jesus as our savior.  Instead of being just clay, we become a dish, a plate, a cup that can be used for God's glory.

Well, we got all that china.  We took it home and because it was “special” we put it in a special place.  We didn’t want it to get broken or chipped. So we stacked it all up neatly in a couple of drawers.  “We will take it out and use it on special occasions”, we said.  You know what happened don’t you?  I bet you’ve done just about the same thing.  We have NEVER used that china.  It’s made to be used.  It’s set aside to be used.  But it’s never used.

Christians, when you and I got saved we were remade in order to be used.  We were born again.  No longer clay, but beautiful vessels.  But we are sitting in the drawer and not being used. 

That's why there is more.  There is what I call a “churchy word”, SANCTIFY, which means to set apart for a specific use or purpose.  That’s what we did with the china. We set is apart from the rest of the dishes for a specific or special purpose.  

So we are re-born, constructed in the image that He desires for us.  We are set apart for the work He has for us to do……but we are also made clean, which is the second part of the definition of the word sanctify or sanctification.

Can you imagine us taking that nicely molded and decorated china, putting it in the cabinet and setting it apart for a special purpose and never cleaning it?  We decide to have, let’s say a Thanksgiving meal with friends, and we want to use the china, so we take it out and put it on the table but it is dirty and stained and has left over butter beans on it.  It can’t be used.

Do you get it?  We are remade, set apart but if we are not cleaned, if we are not free from sin we are just a dirty ole cup or plate and can’t be used.  That's not what God had in mind when He created us. 

Lord, I want to be made in your image, set apart for your glory and clean so you can use me.  And, and, when I am clean then and only then can He fill me up with good stuff so that He can be glorified.  Fill that plate with good food.  Fill it with the Holy Spirit and the gifts of the Holy Spirit and let the banquet begin. 

How’s your china?

THREE SENTENCES THAT CHANGED THE WORLD (LUKE 2: 10-12)

There are many quotes that have gone down in history.  Many of us can  quote famous “sayings” that are important to us.  A couple that come to my mind are:

•   "Ask not, what your country can do for you.  Ask what you can do for your country”…JFK
•  "One is no fool who gives what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose”….Jim Elliot
• "Our contest is not only whether we ourselves shall be free, but whether there shall be left to mankind an asylum on earth for civil and religious liberty”…Samuel Adam  
• Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other….. John Quincy Adams

 These are just a few, I’m sure you have others.  But I want to share with you three sentences that I believe changed the world.  These sentences were delivered by a most trusted messenger, supported by the grandest background choir and presented in a most miraculous manner.  After all, the occasion of their presentation was a pretty big deal.  God’s Son was being born.  The sentences I am referring to are found in Luke 2: 10-11.  I hope you have read them and that they are familiar to you.

Let’s break them down a little and see if you agree with me.

 A SAVIOR WHO IS CHRIST THE LORD.  Who actually needs a Savior?  Let’s see, those who are lost.  Those who can’t help themselves.  Those chained to or trapped by something.  Those oppressed by a stronger power.  All of these people need someone to help them.  They need someone to act on their behalf and help them overcome their situation. 

 Until we realize and admit that we are in a situation or condition where we need a Savior, His coming is not good news to us.  Until I understand that I can’t do this alone and that I need an advocate, a rescuer, a deliverer or a knight in shining armor then any proclamation of the arrival of a savior is not good news to me.

•  If my house is on fire but I feel like I can handle this situation with a garden hose and a few more buckets of water,  I won’t call 911. 
• If I am driving around looking for a particular place and feel sure that after a few more laps around the neighborhood I’ll be able to put this all together,  I will never stop and ask for directions or help.  
• If I am sick but am sure that by taking just a few more aspirin I can cure this malady, I will not go to the doctor.

But if I am enslaved by sin, held by chains of habit, oppressed by the will of others or of my own will and come to the realization that I can’t make my life  work…..then the announcement of the coming of a Savior will be world changing for me. 

Who needs a Savior?  I do…and I bet you do too.

 GOOD TIDINGS OF GREAT JOY.  I’d almost guarantee that you can’t find it a 5, 6 and 10 on the nightly news.  If you still get a daily newspaper, it won’t be in there either.  If you can wade through all the commercials on the radio you still won’t find any of it there. 

Good news.  It’s hard to find anywhere. Oh, you can find plenty of folks who will talk to you about the problems that are happening around the block and around the world but not many who will greet you each morning with “good news”.  How would we be changed if we could?

One thing that should change about us would be our attitude.  If we could hear and accept the good news that was presented by the angels on that night so long ago, shouldn’t our attitude change?  In church, at home or on the job, people would be able to see a difference in us because we have heard the “good news”, the “gospel”, the “good tidings of great joy” and we would possess that joy in our lives.

I just stopped by to tell you this morning that the coming of the Christ child, the appearance of Jesus Christ the Lord on this planet is some very good news and should fill you and I with much joy and peace.

YOU SHALL FIND THE BABE.  So if the coming of Jesus Christ, the Savior is such good news, how do I get in touch with Him?  Show me where He lives.  How do I find this Savior?

 God is faithful in showing the way. 

 

·         Initially, on that night, He used the angels.  Their message was unmistakable.  The shepherds stood there in that open field and their knees knocked together as they listened to the instructions. 

·         Later on He used the disciples.  Twelve ordinary men who believed the good news and were committed to sharing it with others, like themselves, who were in need of a Savior

·         The Apostles were also a means to this end.  No doubt you have studied about Paul and his unselfish sell-out to this Christ and the promotion of His kingdom.

·         Common folk back “in the day”, Stephen and the other seven men whose job it was to simply “wait tables” but whose passion it was to tell about that Savior. 

·         There have been countless more “common folk” who pointed the way.  I can name those who told me about the “good news”. I bet you can name those who pointed you in the right direction as well. 

 Shouldn’t it be our intent, no more than intent, shouldn’t it be our unquenchable thirst, our unending hunger our fervent passion to stand in the path and point the way?   Shouldn’t you and I do our part, especially during this time of the year, to share these world changing words and their meaning to a lost and dying world?

“And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.  And this shall be a sign unto you; you shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger”.

 Three pretty good sentences if you ask me. 

 

 

 

 

HOME FURNISHINGS

Recently we had the opportunity to drive over to Tuscaloosa and help our pastor and his wife move to a new home.  I imagine you could tell a few stories of your own about your moving experiences and may understand our situation.   Although we volunteered to help, and although we love to be able to assist our pastor in “just about” anything he wants to undertake, he almost killed a large portion of his congregation that day. 

I thought I was in pretty good shape and could out-work any man half my age.  But if there had been just one more box, one more piece of beautiful antique furniture that I had to move…I think they would have just had to call the undertaker and let him move me.

We can accumulate a lot of “stuff” in just a very short time.  I guess it all comes from the fact that as days and weeks and months and years go buy we find things we “think” we just can’t do without. So, a chair here, a picture there, a rug, a couch a book shelf…and before you know it, you have an 18 wheeler full of furniture or more arranged, stored, stuffed into the four walls of your dwelling. 

The apostle Paul must have understood the concept of furnishing a home.  In II Timothy 5:17 Paul told Timothy to make sure his house was thoroughly, completely, furnished, now get this, so that he could be a perfect man of God.

Paul wasn’t talking about the place where Timothy “hung his hat”.  Instead, he was speaking about his heart and soul.  Now, I’m sure I will have some who will disagree with me.  I have no desire to debate my next statement with them although  I believe I have significant scriptural evidence to prove this convection.  I believe with all my heart that a pure, clean, perfect God intends, no demands, people who call themselves Christians to be pure, clean and perfect as He is.  That condition, that state, is not set aside for someday nor is it meant only for heaven when we walk the streets of gold, it is meant for the here and now while our feet walk the dirty streets of our cities and towns. 

He has provided a way for that to happen.  Because He is omniscient and knows everything. He knew that you and I would not be able to live a Holy, clean, perfect life by ourselves.  So, thank God, He provided us with a Comforter, a Helper who would be “with us” and “in us” as we negotiate this experience we call life. 

Just like the ocean, if broken down, would be H2O and a tiny drop from that same ocean, if broken down would be the identical H2O, not as big, not as mighty, not as powerful but the same. So we as Christians can be Holy as He is Holy.

I could really get into telling you about the infilling of the Holy Spirit here…but I would be chasing a big rabbit and so I will leave that for another place and time.  For now, let me tell you about a few pieces of furniture that you need to have in your spiritual house.  These items will help you, not only to enjoy your stay but will also help you to be useful in God’s kingdom and be a perfect man of God.

First you will need a good table.

I have plans to build a table soon.  I envision a nice long, rugged, wooden table with long benches on both sides with two chairs that sit at each end.  You know, kind of like a Walton’s family table.  I want to build a table like that for times when our family comes over for Thanksgiving or Christmas or birthdays, we can all sit together and eat together.  It might be more difficult than I first thought however.  Problem?  We live in a very small house with a very small kitchen / dining room.  I think I could build the table.  I think I have the materials on hand now.  But when I get the table built, I don’t think it will fit into the house. I might need to re-think this project. 

A table is where you can sit down and be fed nourishing food that will make your body strong and healthy.  Sometimes the food we eat is not all that healthy but it is enjoyable.  Our spiritual table is the same.  It is there that we sit and feed our souls from the Word of God.  I love it when I can just pull up a chair to the Word and eat until I’m full.  Some of the things I consume are words of wisdom, things that are healthy and will benefit me spiritually, now and in the days to come.  Some of the spiritual food I eat is for my enjoyment.  I leave the table smiling, rejoicing, grinning because I just filled my soul with “comfort food”.  Let me encourage you to make sure you have this great piece of furniture in your house.

You will also need a desk. 

To me a desk is a place to study.  I have spent many an hour at my office, sitting behind my desk studying various plans, policies and procedures.  I think the desk in your spiritual house is a place where you not only read the Word of God but also study the Word of God.  There are so many “helps” available to us today.  Bible dictionaries, concordances, study Bibles and translations abound.  Many great men of God have taken much time to expound on the Word and share their understanding in commentaries.  We miss out on so much that God has for us if we fail to study God’s Word. 

Paul told Timothy to “study to show thyself approved unto God”.  It would be very difficult to be the man or woman God intends for you to be if you do not spend time at your spiritual desk studying God’s will and Word for you.

The last piece of furniture that I want to mention to you is a bed.  I believe for many Christians this is a piece of furniture that is not used as it should be.  Beds are for resting and relaxing.  It is there we gain the strength we need to fight another day. 

Many nights I drag myself to bed, tired, sore and unable to go much farther and after a good nights rest in bed, I'm up and at'em once again in the morning ready to work another day.

 

Many Christians use this piece of furniture way too much.  A hard working, diligent, laboring Christian needs a place to rest.  Jesus Himself said, “Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest”.  But that place of rest was for those who actually labor and are heavy laden, not for slackers who sit on their good intentions and don’t work.  (Gospel according to Bill, chapter one).

I have seen good, hard-working, Christian men and women work themselves into the ground and become useless to God or anyone else because they failed to utilize the place of rest.  We need time to rest.  But don’t submit to the trick of the devil to get in bed and stay there.  Rest, then get up and fight again.

These are just three pieces of furniture that you need if you want to have your spiritual house in order and make sure that it is completely furnished.  There are others I am sure. Don’t fail to be the best you can be, with the help of the Holy Spirit by not having your house thoroughly furnished.   

LOST PILGRAMS

If you are 60 years old or older, I don't have to tell you about the pilgrims.  You already know the story of William Bradford and the Puritans or Separatist, later called Pilgrims and how they left England and landed at Cape Cod. You remember how that within the first few months over half of them had died.  You are familiar with how the Indians help by teaching them new ways to farm and raise crops.  And the first Thanksgiving time when they celebrated and worshiped God for His blessing to them.

As a child in school I remember cutting out pilgrims from construction paper and making "place markers" for the people who would be at your Thanksgiving meal.  I especially remember the high black hats and the square buckles that the "men pilgrims" were supposed to wear and the long black dresses, white aprons and white hats that the "lady pilgrims" were supposed to wear. 

I remember gathering with my family and the community on Thanksgiving Day in Calera at a different church each year for the annual Thanksgiving Day service.  Our focus was on "giving thanks to God" for His blessing to us.

But this morning, as Keva and I sat around the breakfast table, I was reminded of something that shocked me. I have always tried to keep the holidays traditional.  We buy those little glass or plastic pilgrim figures at the Dollar Tree and I place them around the house.  We found a cornucopia  and I place it out on the mantel with various kinds of fruits and vegetables. Just stuff to remind us of the Thanksgiving season and it's meaning.

But so far this year I can't find our pilgrims.  I looked in the attic, I looked in the closet, I even looked in the barn....but no pilgrims. I know I'm getting old and forgetful but how could I have lost the pilgrims. We just had them here a year ago.   But I'm reminded that our little pilgrims are not the only ones that have been lost.

Thanksgiving today has almost been overshadowed by the Christmas season.  It's only the 8th day of November and the City of Clanton along with many other cities have already put up their community Christmas tree.  "Happy Turkey Day" is heard all around instead of "Happy Thanksgiving".  To be honest, we have forgotten as a nation and as individuals how to be thankful and Whom we should be thankful to. (I hope that sentence made sense.)  After all, Thanksgiving doesn't "market" nearly as well as Christmas. Basically, we have not only lost the pilgrims from Thanksgiving but we have lost the "Thanks" from our Thanksgiving. 

I'm going to look again this weekend.  I'll go to the storm shelter, I'll dig through some boxes, I'll look under the bed and I will find our pilgrims.  But I'm not as confident about our nation finding our "thanks". 

Hey, do your part this year.  Go on a scavenger hunt and seek out the pilgrims.  Find them and remember their story and then somewhere and sometime this holiday season, give thanks for what the Giver has given you.

MAKING SENSE OF LOVE

I had been doing a little reading and Bible study in the back room.  Softly, quietly an aroma drifted down the hall, past the doorway and into my room.  Immediately I could tell the coffee pot was in operation mode and that coffee was ready to drink. 

Now we are not as advanced in coffee preparation as some are.  We do not have one of those fancy coffee makers that you can fill the night before and program to make your coffee just prior to your waking up in the morning. (Although that might be a good idea for a Christmas gift to myself).  In order for us to get coffee, someone, (and that would be either Keva or myself since Gracie nor the cats neither likes coffee nor are capable of making it) has to go into the kitchen, pour in the water, scoop out the coffee, place it in the coffee maker and hit the button. It takes effort. 

Since the morning was early, I knew I hadn't made coffee.  So the wonderful fragrance drifting down the hallway had to be of her doing.  It had to be by her efforts.  To me, on that morning, it was what loved smelled like.   

 



*******

 

Perrin was spending the night with us.  I had placed some cushions on the floor of the bedroom and a nice warm sleeping bag on top of them for his bed.  He had dropped off to sleep in my big chair and so I cradled him in my arms and gently laid him down on his make-shift sleeping arrangement.  He slept there for a few hours and then I was awaken by his whimper. 

 

I rolled over and saw him hunched down in the floor, with a look on his face that told me he was lost and needed help.  I stepped over to him, scooped him up in my arms and snuggled him in beside me in my bed.  Sometime during the process of going back to sleep he said,

 

"Gwump"?  "Yes, son what is it", I whispered.

 

"Gwump, I wuv you". 

 

"I love you too, Buddy", I said. 

 

To him it was a simply statement.  To me that was what love sounded like.  

 

 

*******

 

My Mama was well known for several things.  One of which was her dried butter beans and corn bread.  Most anyone who ever stayed or visited with "Granny" knew that sooner or later there was going to be a big pot of dried butter beans on the stove and a pone of corn bread in the oven. 

 

If I was going to be at her house at lunch and she knew it, she would inevitably have "butter beans and corn bread" on the table when I got there. 

 

Oh, perhaps not the most elegant meal one could eat.  But to me, it was what love tasted like.  

 

*******

 

Chris and his family live in the old house now.  But when I was a boy it is where we lived.  I could take you back the exact room, the exact place where I used to sleep as a boy.  I can remember on several occasions becoming sick with the maladies that children get.  I'd run fever easily.  You must understand that this was the days before everyone ran to the ER or the "Doc-in-the-box" for their medical problems.  Usually Mom or Dad was the doctor unless it was a problem beyond their scope of training. 

 

It was on such an occasion, as I lay in the bed running a high fever that Dad went into the bathroom, reached up into the old medicine cabinet and took down the bottle of rubbing alcohol.  He would place it in a saucer and kneel down beside my bed.  Then gently he would rub my body with the alcohol.  This was supposed to help reduce the fever. 

 

The thing I remember most about these times is the feel of my Daddy's hands.  They were cracked and rough like dried leather.  Beneath the sandpaper like skin was solid steel, muscles and sinew. How could such rough, dry, cracked, rock hard hands be so gentle?  To me that was what love felt like.  

 

*******

 

I've never physically been there.  I probably couldn't even point toward it. But I've heard the story a million times. A young man, in his early 30's, beaten to within an inch of his life, stripped of his cloths and hanged on a tree.  Not for crimes which he had done but for my crimes, my wrong, my sins.  He suffered there, and died there and at that place and at that time He purchased my salvation and by that single act He provided a way for me to go from here to Heaven, sin free.   To me that is what love looked like. 

 

   



PRAISE HIM HERE LIKE YOU WILL PRAISE HIM THERE

I have consigned myself to the fact that I am a creature of habit.  I do the same thing at the same time every week.  Case in point, every Wednesday, I stop by the church before I go to work for a time of quiet prayer. Then take the cloths to the cleaners, hit the flea market at the cattle barn and then sometime around 9 o'clock make it to work. 

I did that again this week.  The weather was great and as I walked into the sanctuary I noticed how quite it was.  No TV's or radios blaring, no one needing anything, just peaceful and quiet.  I walked down the center isle and noticed that through the window on the East side of the church a beam of sunlight shone through and fell across the altar.  It happened to be in the exact spot where I usually kneel. 

I dropped down on my knees and begin to talk to the Father.  There were several things that I wanted to thank Him for and praise Him for today.

• Our pastor's mom had been miraculously healed and instead of the prediction from the doctors that she had only a month to live, she was now back home doing great. 
• Matt's mom had been in a coma for a week from unknown causes and after much prayer had come out of the coma with a clear mind and doing well.
• A hectic situation at work in which I had lost my employee and had to quickly find another had been rectified
• A financial situation had been satisfied

So I knelt there quietly and under my breath I thanked God and I said "I praise You Lord" and then I stopped......

Was I really praising Him? 

Is this the way praise looks?

Is this the way praise sounds?

The thought came to my mind.  I should be praising Him now like I will be praising Him when I get to heaven.

My attitude on this side of the river should be the same as it will be when I get to the other side of the river.

Praying by faith if praying as if the prayer has ALREADY been answered.

Praising by faith is praising as if you have already received. 

Oh, I'm aware that many times all the praying and praising I can do is to bow quietly in God's presence and weep.  I know that sometimes just to "be still and know" that He is God is what He desires....but there are times we need to be verbal about our praise and our prayers.  There is a place for passion. 

When I stand in that place, before God the Father and Jesus the Son, with the Holy Spirit of God saturating the atmosphere, I don't know how I will behave.  But if I will shout then, I should shout now.  If I will cry then, I should cry now.  If I will praise then and there, surely I should praise Him here and now.

BLOOPER AWARD

I'll admit that most of the stuff I write is supposed to be just a little bit serious.  It may not turn out that way, but it's supposed to be.

That will not be the case here.

Over the desk in my office I have hung a few awards that I have been given over the years.  There is the plaque that I got from the Calera Eagles Football team back in 1980 for "service" given to the Eagles as Athletic Trainer. 

There is one there from the Clanton Jaycees from 1986  which calls me an "Outstanding young man".  I really didn't think I was young back then, but from this vantage point I think they were right, at least I was a young man, not sure how "outstanding I was.

One plaque that always gets attention is a plaque from the Clanton Fire Department.  It is simple enough, just like most plaques.  It says "Presented to Bill Collum 2000, Blooper award.  But on the plaque beside the wording is the gold plated depiction of a donkey's butt.

I've always said that if one could write a book about the funny stuff that happened in emergency services that it would be a best seller.  I know that emergency's are not supposed to be funny...but quite often the things that happen are very funny!  The story of how I received this award is one of those times.

It was mid-winter.  The fire department was accustomed to getting heart attack, stroke, wreck and fire calls during the night.  We were also often awaken from out sleep to "assist a person".  This could be anything from taking a blood pressure, comforting someone who is afraid or picking up someone out of the floor.  That was what this call was all about. 

It seems that an elderly couple had gone to sleep in their separate beds that night.  The tiny little man, we'll call him Pop, slept in his twin bed on one side of the little room.  His, shall we say, "plus -sized" wife, we will call her Mom, slept in her bed across from him.  This arrangement of the beds left a small space between the beds.  It was into this small space that Mom, rolling off of the bed, had fallen into. 

When we arrived, we found her, still face down, clad only in her thin night gown, groaning and complaining. 

"I've been laying here 3 hours", she mumbled.  "He couldn't figure out how to call 911"! It was difficult to hear her clearly because she lay face down in her house shoes her arms at her side pinned between the two beds.

The poor little husband just stood there at the foot of the bed, hands folded looking more like a little boy being scolded by the teacher.

I took a sheet from the bed and covered her.  I knew she must be cold.  It was about that time that the ambulance crew came in.  They always respond to assist.  Charlie, one of the attendants walked into the room, moved toward the lady and promptly stepped on her toe which was now warmly snuggled under the sheet. 

"AW"!, she yelled, "Are you trying to kill me"?

We tried to refrain from laughing at her for her blood curdling yell and at Charlie for dancing around trying not to get on her toes.

This was not my first rodeo.  I had often been called upon to picked up over-weight people.  So quickly I moved into position at the head of the patient telling several of the other guys to fall in along side so we could "hopefully" lift big "Mom" back onto the bed. 

When we were all in place, because I was at the head of the patient and in command of the move, I said, "Ok men, we will lift on three".  I begin to count. "One", the guys were in position.  "Two", they braced for the big lift..."Three" we moved as a well oiled machine.....except.

As I begin my movement to lift "Mom's" head, my left elbow hit a glass of water which had been sitting on the night stand between the beds.  If you have ever watched the old TV show, Six Million Dollar Man you may remember when the hero was supposed to be doing something really fast, the scene would go into slow motion.  There would be a little beeping sound and then the task would be accomplished.

Well, it was sort of like that.  The water glass started to fall, we all stopped lifting and tried to catch it, we moved in slow motion.  The glass hit the top of the night stand and the cold water poured out onto the back of "Mom's" head and ran down into her slippers. 

"Help, I'm drowning", Mom screamed out.  It was over.  No one could lift at all.  We were doubled over laughing at the over sized lady, face down in her slippers, now "drowning" in the ice water.

No, we didn't leave her there.  We regained our professionalism and lifted her back onto her bed.  As we left she was still going on about her stupid little husband, the clumsy ambulance driver and the ......well, you get the idea of the donkey's butt on the plaque now don't you? 

WHAT A GREAT KID!

Tim had gone to sleep at his regular time last night.  He had made sure that all the activities of the day had been put away, his room was clean and all was in its proper place so that when he got up in the morning he would be ready to start a new day. 

He had slept well and as he awoke he lay still for just a moment or two.  His eyes moved but his body reminded in the “I’m still asleep” position.  He took in the pale light shining through his window.  He loved that his window faced the East and as the son peaked its flaming head above the horizon it brought light into his room. 

He stepped out of bed and went about the process of getting ready to go downstairs.  With his cloths on and his face washed and his teeth brushed and his bed made, he proceeded down the stairs.  He was sure that in the kitchen he would see his mom, busily making breakfast for him and his dad.  He could smell the breakfast aromas drifting down the hallway.  Most likely, his dad would be sitting at the table drinking his coffee and thumbing through the morning paper.  They would greet him with a smile and a big hug.  They would make him feel loved, and welcome to be there with them.

Tim rounded the corner and sure enough all was as he had expected.  He responded to their greetings, gave a big hug in return and sat down beside his father at the table.

They shared their morning meal and their morning plans.  They listened as each one told of their hopes, plans and work that was to be done today.  There was no radio, TV or computer to jockey for their attention.  All interruptions were removed.   

The conversation quieted and Tim got in a meditative mood for a moment. 

“Dad?”

“Yes son, what is it”?

“Dad, I just wanted you to know how much I love you”. Tim’s words were honest and straight-forward. 

“Oh, Tim, I love you too”.  His dad said.

“And Dad, I just want to do the things that you want me to do today.  Because I want you to be proud of me and I want to be just like you.”

Dad’s heart just leaped within his chest.  His son had ways of making him so very happy. What more could he want than a child who loved him, wanted to please him and wanted to be like him?  He moved from his chair and held Tim in his arms and hugged him tightly. He realized at that moment that he would do anything for his child.

Wouldn’t you like to have a child like that?

 

 

 

So would God.

PLAYING TO THE CROWD

Recently, I had the opportunity to travel to Jackson, Mississippi to attend a training class for members of the Salvation Army advisory committee.  It was a great learning experience for me.  Over the last 45 years of emergency service I have learned to love and appreciate the work that the "Army" does in emergencies and disasters.  But the Salvation Army is so much more than disaster work. 

Their "officers" are the pastors of the churches (corps) and their members are the soldiers.  Their motto goes something like this:  "To preach the gospel of Jesus Christ to the lost and help the needy without discrimination".  I like that. Simple, straight forward. 

While there in Jackson I had the opportunity to sit under the teaching of several Army speakers.  One that I really appreciated was a delightful lady named (Major) Susan Brown.  Mrs. Brown came here from England over 20 years ago and still has that mesmerizing British accent that I love.  I told her, "If I could not understand a single word you said, I could still sit and listen to you speak all day". 

Several speakers told of the success of the Army.  They shared facts like:  (1) 83 cents out of every dollar that is given to the Salvation Army goes directly to help the needy. (2) For every dollar spent in advertising the Army earns $13 dollars. Those are some pretty good stats. There was a little bit of "yeah us" going on until, until Major Brown got up to give here little 10 minute devotion on Friday morning. 

It's good to be successful she said.  It is wonderful to receive the accolades of the community and our fellow workers, but, she said, "we must play for an audience of one". 

I sat there and thought about that statement.  Who do I play for?  Who do I work for?  Why do I do what I do?  I will admit that many times I play to the crowd.  If I think it will please others, if it will make me look good to them, I'll do it. As our Pastor Lyle Geist says, our lives are driven by the opinions of others. 

Sometimes I play for myself.  If it makes me feels good, if it taste good, if it looks good to me, then I'll do it. My life is driven by my wants and desires.

But Major Brown says, play for the One that matters. 

Work for one boss.  Please one master. 

If I would plan my day around His schedule, if I would say my words for His ears, if my songs were sang to Him and not to the audience, if my prayers were to Him and not words to please the crowd, if I played to the audience of THE ONE and pleased Him, then  I will arrive at the end of my journey I will hear the applause of Heaven and a single voice from the throne saying "Well done, my good and faithful servant". 

BUCKET LIST

I bet you have one.  You may not call it that, you may not even realize it, but you've got one.  A list of things you would like to do before you "kick the bucket".  Well, that's your bucket list. 

I don't have an official one.  I don't have one in writing.  But there have been things that I have wanted to do before I die, I've done many of them, but there are still a few items on the list that I haven't quite gotten around to yet. But my wife.....you know about my wife don't you?

My wife is the kind of person that if she knows I want something....she will do her best to make it happen.  And that's the way this story starts. 

I have always loved musicals.  From the days of Danny Kay, Doris Day and Pat Boone I have loved musicals.  If I would have been born with singing skills, and acting skills and talent....I would have wanted to be in a musical.  I have always wanted to see a Broadway musical.

So when I heard that the musical about the 60's singing group, The Four Seasons, was coming to Birmingham, I got online and tried to find tickets.  There were a couple of problems. 

• The tickets were costly
• I am cheep

So, I forgot about it.  I'll watch it if it comes on T.V.

But not my wife.  She didn't forget about it and for my 62 birthday she bought us tickets to the Broadway musical "Jersey Boys".  We looked forward to going for several months.  When the day arrived, we dressed in our finest.  (Brian and Jamie Leonard would say that I  wore my jeans with no holes in them and a clean t shirt) and we enjoyed an evening at the BJCC concert hall. Scratch another thing off my list.  Thank you wife.  I had a blast. 

Let me give you a brief synopsis of this little play.  The writer of the play laid the story out in four parts.  The beginning was the Spring portion of the story, where things were getting started.  The group formed and put out recordings and struggled to make it.   The Summer acts was when the group was doing great.  They made hit records and lots of money.  They traveled all over the world.  Then came the Fall season and the group started having problems.  Things were not going right. The Winter season brought the demise of the group and each member went his own way.  Appropriately, the group "The Four Seasons" had gone through four seasons of the life of their singing group. 

Great idea for the play-write.  Well, done sir.

Isn't it just like God to teach me a lesson when I'm right in the middle of enjoying myself?  You see, my time here at my job is rapidly coming to an end.  In July of 2014 I will have been involved in emergency services of some sort for almost 45 years.  30 of those years have been spent with the Emergency Management Agency of Chilton County. 

I hate to admit it but I have had some, shall I say, concerns about retiring.  For 45 years, when something went wrong, someone was in trouble, excrement hit the rotating fan blades, I got called.  Hurricanes in the Gulf, tornado's, ice storms, snow storms, haz-mat incidents, fires, plane crashes, train wrecks, helo crashes, truck wrecks, car wrecks, heart attacks, strokes, shootings, stabbings and tire tool fights....it was always something.  But always, someone needed me and I have been blessed by God to be able to respond.

But I've been thinking, that after July, no one will need me.  Younger men will respond.  Smarter people will figure out what to do.  And I will stay at home and watch it on the news.   All the "stuff" that I've learned over these years will be useless information. 

Until, that is, you see it in the light of the Four Seasons.

You see, I have lived through the Spring of my life in old Calera.  The fun times as a boy with cousins and vacations with Dad and Mom in Destin and Fort Walton when they were just little fishing villages. Calera High School, football games, basketball games, track meets, were all part of that season. 

The Summer of my life started early I guess.  Turning 18 and the little thing called the Viet Nam War came into play.  So from the time I joined the Coast Guard, through the birth of my children, volunteer fire department days, Ambulance service days, days when I worked and lived at Higgins Ferry, taught EMS/ fire classes.  First Responder classes, C.E.R.T. classes, CPR classes and so forth. All these were the prime of life and work came hard and fast.

I thought 30 was old.  But I got started in Emergency Management and these were some of my most memorable times as far as service to people in need.  I was sure at 40 it was over for me, but for my 40th birthday my wife again arraigned for me to ride bulls in a rodeo.  Three rodeos attempting to ride three bulls was enough for that little project.  (You know they say you only have to stay on those bulls for 8 seconds.  Heck, I stayed on much longer than that......and then they opened the gate.) At 50 I realized that I couldn't do as much for as long as I used to do, but still I fought fire, worked wrecks and even worked with the Alabama State troopers and trained working off a 100 foot line under their rescue helo. 

I guess Summer and Fall kind of blurred together because now here I am over 60 and winter is rapidly approaching.  For the first time in my life there was something heavy in the office the other day and I said, "I don't think I can pick that up by my self".  That hurt. 

Winter, cold, hard, dark days.  They will come.  But God worked Winter out so well.  Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years and even my anniversary is in the winter.  All things to look forward to.  Winter will not be that long and we will be back to Spring again. 

I hear the Spring flower in Heaven are beautiful. I can't wait until the seasons start all over again.

  

KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE BOAT

A search and rescue (SAR) crew in Galveston, Texas in the early 70's stayed pretty busy. Hardly a day went by that  there wasn't a boat sinking, burning, lost, or broken down.  We spent many hours on and in the waters around that little island.  But there were occasions when life around the boat house and barracks would be dull. It was awful to have to sit around on a weekend especially, with the bright Texas sun, the Gulf waters and the hundreds of vacationers enjoying that beautiful island resort. 

At times the Officer of the Day would have mercy on us and send us out on "patrol". This was not a rescue mission but just a chance to get those pretty boats out in front of the public and let them see the Coast Guard presence.  We liked that. 

As we cruised through the waterways,if we saw a boater who might be speeding through a "no wake" zone or someone who looked like they were doing something unsafe or illegal we would turn on the "blue lights" and stop them.  We would board their vessel and inspect for proper fire extinguishers, life vest, etc.   

Often during these "excursions"  the minds and eyes of the 18,19 and 20 year old boys performing that task would wonder.  The young ladies occupying those pleasure craft would,on occasion be attired in clothing which might not have an ample amount of material to "cover the topic".  One can understand the proclivities of a young man under those circumstances. Our minds and eyes would wonder.

When that would happen it was common to hear these words coming from one of your crew members, "Hey, keep your eyes on the boat". You see the Coast Guard was concerned about the focus of it's crew.  The U.S. Coast Guard wanted it's men to keep their attention on the important points of operating a vessel.  They didn't want their crews to be distracted by other things.

I don't believe the Coast Guard operated on the Sea of Galilee. Nowhere in the Word does it tell us that Jesus ever was a member of the "bathtub Navy" although He did record a number of hours on the water.  But God has the same concern for His people as the Guard has for it's sailors.  He wants those who call themselves by His name to stay focused. He wants them to look in the right direction and not be distracted. He wants them to keep their attention on the important aspects of their journey.

Let me give you a couple of scriptures to prove my point. 

In Hebrews 12: 2 we are told we need to be "..looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith". We are not to compare ourselves to pastors, or other Christians.  We are not supposed to follow new movements and ideas.  We are to "look to Jesus" and keep our eyes on Him. Follow His example and walk in His steps.

Doctor Luke records the words of Jesus in Luke 9:62 when He said, "No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God"

None of us are worthy or fit for the kingdom but it's obvious that if one starts out serving God and then turns away and returns to the "flesh pots of Egypt" that they would be even less "fit for the kingdom" but Jesus goes farther than that. He is concerned about our focus.  He is concerned about what captures our attention.

Where are you looking today?  What is occupying your attention?  Straying from the narrow way is not hard, especially if we are looking at the wrong things or in the wrong direction. Focus on His Holiness, look at the life of Jesus, set your sights on Heaven. Please don't get mad at this old "Coastie" today if I just stop by and reminded you to "keep your eyes on the boat"?  
 

CHILDREN OF A LESSER GOD

ACTS 16: 25-34

I.  A LESSER GOD: 

It is easy to see that Paul and Silas served a God of miracles.  Time and time again in their ministry we see God not only showing up but “showing out”. 

In 1986 there was a movie that came out entitled, Children of a lesser God.  Although the female star of the movie won an Oscar for her performance , I personally didn’t think it was that great.

It was sort of a love story, built around two characters, one a male teacher at a deaf school.  The other a female janitor or custodian at that same school. 

Although I didn’t care for the movie I loved the idea of the title.  It alluded to the premise that if you were deaf your God was less than the God that hearing people served,  thus the title “Children of a lesser God”. 

That is really a foolish notion isn’t it? 

But do you and I think the same thing?  To look at my life and listen to me talk sometimes you  would think that the God I serve is a lesser God than the God served by Paul and Silas. 

Paul’s God would respond to his prayers. Paul’s God could shake the foundations of a Roman jail, break open the barred doors, supernaturally loose the iron shackles that held their hands and feet and cause the stocks to spring open like an old time “jack-in-the-box”. 

His God would work miracles that others saw.  They recognized that God was at  work.  Their knees shook like a teen-age girl at a horror movie. 

The miracles that Paul’s God worked were not only miracles of nature but they were “spiritual miracles” that made grown men fall at Paul’s feet and cry out “What must I do to be saved”?  Miracles that changed lives and families.

QUESTION:  How long since that happened to you and I?  Oh, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked that.  Because you and I serve a “lesser God”.  We can’t expect miracles can we?

If we were honest and truthful we should ask Gene to put this message on the sign out front:

                                                                    Our goals are short-sided

Our faith is too flimsy

Our God is too small

 

Don’t come to our church expecting miracles.  Don’t come to our church expecting your children or your loved ones to be saved.  Don’t come to our church expecting God to deliver your family from habits, addictions, or the chains of sin.  We serve a lesser God.

 

·         Honestly, realistically, practically, you don’t believe that YOUR God can forgive your sins do you?

·         Honestly, realistically, practically, you don’t believe that YOUR God can give you His Holy Spirit and deliver you from the chains of sin so you don’t serve sin, do you?

·         Honestly, realistically, practically, you don’t believe that YOUR God can change the lives of your loved ones do you?

Do you really believe that God can make such a change in you that you can live a life with the “differential advantage” that Bro. Lyle spoke about on Sunday?  Can YOUR God so touch your life that you will live differently and act differently and talk differently and THINK differently than you do now?!

Or, or, ……are you a child of a “lesser God”?

Oh, that we as a church, as a people, as individuals would fall at the feet of Jesus and asked the God of Miracles to do that in our lives. 

He is the “Omni’ God:  Omniscient, Omnipotent, Omnipresent

II.  A FLIMSY FAITH:

But we talk a good game don’t we? 

When I was playing ball all of this “trash talking” was not allowed.  We were expected to show “sportsmanship”.  It wasn’t “in your face”, finger pointing, end-zone dancing ball.  You proved yourself on the field.  You let your playing do your talking. 

Not so today.  If a sack is made, it looks like a tribe of Indians are dancing around the quarterback.  All the pointing and yelling and strutting.  Personally, I don’t like it.  It’s not the way I was taught to play ball.

We do our share of trash talking at church too. We talk about our God who can do anything.  We talk about how He can heal the sick, and provide money for those in need.  We talk about how He can touch the lives of our children and loved ones and save them.  Oh, we talk a good game……but where is our faith?

Our faith is so flimsy we don’t expect God to answer our prayers at all.  Do you remember the story we studied just a few weeks ago of the church that was praying for Peter to be released from prison and when God ACTUALLY freed him and he walked up and knocked on the door…..they wouldn’t even believe it was him. 

Praying for rain is good, but praying for rain and then bringing your umbrella is faith. 

It’s wonderful that we pray and ask God for the things we need…..but where is your umbrella? 

Our faith is too flimsy.  Paul had eyes of faith that could see the Big Picture and see the big goals.

  

III.  SHORT-SIGHTED GOALS:  I wasn’t there that night in the jail at Philippi.  I know you think I am that old, but I’m not.  I don’t know exactly what Paul and Silas prayed about, but I just bet my tractor against your long handled hoe that they didn’t pray:  “God, bless us today.  God, help us to do better.  God, help us be better Christians”

I doubt that they even prayed for God to release them from the chains.  I think Paul and Silas were praying that God’s Kingdom would be lifted up by the things that were happening to them. 

Their goals were not short-sited goals.  They prayed for eternal goals.  God’s goals.  They didn’t look at what made them feel good or their comfort.  They looked at KINGDOM GOALS…..and then PRAISED GOD and sang songs to let folk know where their hearts were.  (THE PEOPLE HEARD THEM)

And when they prayed, and sang and praised God…….THEN CHAINS FELL OFF!

“God my back hurts”, “God I need some money to pay my bills”, “God my car won’t run right”

Oh, I’m not saying that you shouldn’t pray for things like that.  God can and will answer “little prayers” but are we so “short-sighted” that we can only see our little needs?

Where are the BIG PRAYERS? 

“GOD FILL ME WITH YOUR SPIRIT SO THAT MY LIFE WILL GLORIFY YOU”

“GOD SAVE MY CHILDREN”

“GOD SAVE MY SPOUSE”

“GOD DELIVER MY LOVED ONE FROM THE ADDICTIONS AND HABITS”

CONCLUSION: 

Our God is not a “lesser God”.  We serve the same God that Paul and Silas served.  The God, according to His own Word that is “the same, yesterday, today and forever”. 

·         The God who sucked up the Red sea so His people could walk across on dry ground

·         The God who delivered color and light to blind eyes

·         The God who made cripple feet walk, NO LEAP AND RUN

·         The God who fed 5000 from a little boy’s lunch box

·         The God who made dead hearts beat and dead lungs breath again

·         The God who shook jail houses and opened chains and stocks

 

IS THE SAME GOD YOU AND I SERVE TODAY! 

Don’t ask God to “bless you” when He wants to bless the world through you.

Don’t be satisfied for a little “buzz” when God wants to give you an earthquake.

 

 

 

PEPI'S NEW HOME

Pepi had lived in this tiny village all of his life.  For as long as he could remember his family had lived, slept, ate and played in this minuscule one room hut near the edge of the river.  It’s walls were made of mud and straw.  The floors of the hut were nothing more than the  ground on which it was built.  The roof was thatch and was always needing to be re-treated and repaired to keep out the rains.  In the eyes of most of us, this would have been a horrible place to live.  In Pepi’s eyes it was simply home. 

Pepi however had a dream.  I guess you could say his dream was passed on to him by his older brother.  For all of his life his brother had talk about this wonderful place that they would all go someday.  As they sat around the fire at night, he would tell the stories of this far off place where instead of huts the people lived in massive houses.  The floors were not made of dirt but made of beautiful wood which shined and looked clean and beautiful.  Other floors, in the same great house, were as soft as the moss in the forest.  “And the roof” he would say, “the roof is solid and will not let in the rain”. 

He told of streets there that were constructed of firm, solid materials that Pepi had never seen.  No walking through mud and water, no stumping your toe on rocks and limbs, but clean stable streets and roads would lead you to the homes of others who lived near you.

“Don’t forget the walls” his brother would say.  “The walls have beautiful paintings hanging there”.  The only thing hanging from the walls of Pepi’s home were his older brother’s bow and quiver and a few cooking utensils.  Pepi was told of the  windows in those homes.  Windows made of crystal clear material which you could see through.  In Pepi’s home if you wanted to see outside the hut you had to walk outside. 

“What a wonderful place this must be”, Pepi had thought as his brother told these stories over and over.

“Yes.  One day I will go there, Pepi and I will send for you and you can come and live with me”.  His brother told him. “ Work hard, don’t forget what I’ve told you and promised you. I will prepare a place for all of you and when the time is right I will call for you to come to be with me.  I will not forget you”.  Those were the last words his brother had said to him before he left for that wonderful place. And Pepi vowed to never forget those words. 

But the years crept by with no word from his brother.  Pepi grew up and married.  He and his wife had a fine family.  Pepi and his family lived in the same little place where he had always lived.  They worked hard and enjoyed their lives there.  Pepi made a little garden in which to grow vegetables for his family.  He loved his time there beside the river and loved the time he and his family spent together.  But always in the back of his mind was “that place” that his brother had told him about. 

Pepi would tell the stories to his children as well.  He tried his best to describe this land as his brother had described it to him.  He instilled in them, as best he could, the desire to go to this wonderful place someday.  “When the time is right”, he would say, “When my brother sends for me, I will go and then dear children, he will prepare a great house for you as well.  You all can come to live with us there”.  

The older Pepi got the more it seemed that the time would never come. His back grew weary from the work in the garden.  His eye sight grew blurred from the long nights of trying to see in the little dark hut.  His hands grew callused and sore from all the work he had to do. And the vision of that wonderful place grew dim. It seemed that his brother had forgotten him. It seemed that the place he was told of and promised was just a dream that would never come true.  "Why not just forget about the promised place and be satisfied with what I have here by the river".  He thought.

 Until one day a courier came to Pepi’s house.  Pepi had never seen a courier before.  He had a letter for Pepi. Pepi had never had a letter send to him either. The letter was from Pepi's brother in that far away land.  It simply said this:

“It is time my brother.  You house is finished as I promised and ready for you to move in.  Don’t bring anything with you. I have all you will ever need.  All if prepared.  Come as quickly as you can”.

Pepi was so excited.  “Finally, after all these years I can go to that wonderful place”, he said. 

But suddenly, as soon as his family heard that Pepi would be going to join his brother, they became sad for him. 

“Pepi”, they said, “What about your hut?  What about your beautiful garden with all the good vegetables?  What about your children and your friends?  Are you going to leave all this to go to a place where you have never been before?”

“Yes”, Pepi replied, “I have been dreaming of this place and talking of this place and preparing to go to this place all of my life.  I must go now.  You all can come later when your place is ready.  My brother will send for you”. 

“But Pepi, we will be sad to see you go.  We will miss you.  Who will take care of your little garden and who will re-thatch your hut when the rains come?  Pepi, we need you to stay with us.”

“That work is left to you now, my family.  I am going to a place that has been prepared for me.  I have dreamed of that wonderful place all of my life.  Yes, we will be separated for a short time but soon, very soon, your house will be ready and you all will be able to come to where I am”.

Some of Pepi’s family grew angry.  “His brother had no right telling Pepi all that stuff”, they said.  “He was just building him up for something that can never be. Pepi will lose all that he has worked so hard for, for no more than a promise.  I will never believe in some magical, place that none of us have ever seen.  That is foolishness.”

Others said, “Pepi is being selfish.  He is not thinking of those of us who are left here.  We will be left to do his work”.

Still others said, “I would never give up my hut and my garden and my place here by the river for something that I am not sure about.  As for me, I will just be satisfied with what I have here in my village”. 

Soon the day for Pepi’s departure arrived and his friends and family gathered around to see him off.  There were a few tears and some long hugs.  But Pepi was ready to leave. 

“I will see you all again soon”, he said.  “You too will have a place and you will get a message when it is your time to come and live there.  Keep doing your job.  Keep loving each other.  Keep working hard.  Brother will send for you when the time is right.  I am going to my new home.”