THE PROMISE KEEPERS

GENESIS 15 

The word promise means “a declaration assuring that one will or will not do something”.

Promises used to mean something.  A man’s word, what he says to you, what he tells you, in the past was as good as a signed contract.  A man would no more break a promise to you than he would steal your mule.  But that was then and this is now.  

People in our world today give no value at all to their word.  They can look you in the eye, show every indication of sincerity and honesty and all the while in their hearts and mind know that what they are saying is not true.   

In the past there were jokes made about used car salesmen and their proclivity to say things that were not true.  Today instead of jokes it is an understood FACT that local, state , national and international leaders and politicians “would rather climb a tree to lie than stand on the ground to tell the truth”. 

There should be a way, a method, a system that would assure us that when someone says something to us, when they promise us something that it will be done.  “Oh, we have a system like that”, you say.  If someone is untrue to us we can take them to court.  REALLY?

When the highest leaders in our nation will sit before the investigating committees and the court system, look squarely into the camera  and tell a lie and not be held accountable for it….does that prove to you that our system works?  

I will be the first to admit that the systems that were in place in the Bible days were not exactly what I would indorse.  A child who “smart-mouths” a parent could be taken out and stoned to death in the street…..a bit harsh.  A wife who was unfaithful to her husband……murdered…..without hesitation.

A man who hits another man and puts out his eye could have his own eye gouged out and everyone is good with that.  

And what about promises?  Well they had a plan for that too.  It was called “The Blood Covenant”.  

The blood covenant was the most binding covenant any two people or groups of people could enter into. Once performed,  to the only way out of it is by the death of one or both of the covenant makers. It is something that is never entered into lightly.  Actually, it was part of an old Chaldean custom and covenant.   

This is the way it worked.  When two people entered into a covenant or made a promise to each other they would “seal” that promise in this way.  They would take a live animal and cut it in half (many times this was called “cutting” the covenant instead of making the covenant).  They placed the two halves opposite each other and in a place where the blood from the animals would run down in a pool. (perhaps on the sides of a ditch or a ravine).  Both men would then walk through this blood, between the halves of the dead animals and by thus doing they were saying, “If I break my part of this covenant, you may kill me and cut me in half as these animals”. 

There was no “I’ll take you to court” or “you will repay me money”….you sealed your promise with your life’s blood.  

Yes, I agree with you.  If we did things in our day and time as they did back then……..ummmm. 

So with that in mind, lets read about one of those covenants which took place with our old friend Abram.  Let’s read Genesis chapter 15 the entire 21 verses.   

Here we find God making a promise, a commitment, a covenant if you will with Abram.  God tells him that He will bless him with a child and with decedents that could not be numbered.  They would be as the stars of the sky.  God even walked Abram out into the night sky and showed him the stars to emphasize the promise.   

God also promised that this very land on which Abram was standing would be his and his decedents forever.  He mapped out the boundaries.  (Just in case you are wondering who is going to own the land in the middle east, go back and read what God said and compare it to a current map.) 

That was God’s part.  What was Abram’s part?  He and his decedents would live according to God’s commands.  Simple enough, right? 

But all this seems impossible through Abram’s eyes.  You see Abram doesn’t even have children and he is an old man by this time in his life.  His wife is an old woman way beyond the years in which a woman can have a baby.  Even if they had children, and that was a BIG IF, how could they take over this land?  There were already kingdoms, nations, cities and forces established here.  The words, AIN’T NO WAY, formed on Abram’s lips. 

God tells Abram to set up the contract.  A cow, a goat and a ram plus a dove and a pigeon.  Abram cuts the cow, goat and ram in half but the dove and pigeon he leaves whole.  He places them on the “contract table” and awaits the “signing” of the contract.   

Can you imagine the fear and trepidation that must have been going on in Abram’s head?  Oh, he was sure that God could keep His part of the promise but he knew there was “no way” that he, Abram could keep his part.  Surely, this covenant was going to mean the end of Abram and his family.  But he did what he was told.   

While Abram is waiting on God (look at the person next to you and tell them, “Sometimes I have to wait on God to move”)  Birds swoop down and try to destroy the contract.   

“Come on man!  I’m jumping through all the hoops.  I’m doing what I have been told and taught to do.  I’m going to enter into this contract if it kills me and it probably will, and now I’ve got to deal with birds trying to steal the sacrifice?!!!!” 

I bet you’ve had to deal with your share of “angry birds” haven’t you?  I know that I have in my lifetime.   

·         Just when you think you have done all that God has asked you to do the old black bird of doubt flies down and tries to take away your assurance.  

·         Just when you are working your hardest for the kingdom and think that you are just about to get things accomplished,  the red bird of anger swoops in and tries to destroy your relationship with other Christians. 

·         And there you sit in Sunday morning worship service trying to have a positive outlook and an up-beat attitude and the old blue Jay of depressions flies down and puts a frown on your face and a cloud in your sky.   

·         These old birds and a million others like them circle you like a flock of vultures.  Their wings block out the SON.   

What can you do?  Do what Abram did. 

Abram understood that he might not be able to affect the contract.  He knew that he did not have the strength to make all this happen but he could “shew” away the birds.  And he did.  He stood out there with his doubts and his confusion and his depression and his fear and he “shewed” away the birds.   

Shewing birds is not easy is it?  Oh, you can do it  but it would be much better if you had some help.  What if Sarai would have stood beside him and threw a few rocks at those birds?  What if she would have gotten her broom and begin running those pesky varmints away?   

 But here is my favorite part of the story.  Look at this.  When it was darkest, when the sun was going down, when the “horror” of darkness fell around him….. 

God walked through the ditch.  For a long time I read this story and taught this story but it took a while for me to see the significance of the two lights.  You very well know that I am not a Bible scholar.  I have no degrees or education.  There may be another logical, historical, practical reason why things happened like they did….but this is my read on it.  

The first light was from the smoking furnace.  This was a smoldering pot of hot coals.  It was used to start a fire in those days.  The smoking furnace represents God the Father.  He would be the first to walk through the blood.  He is all-powerful, all-knowing and ever-present.  He could without a doubt keep His end of the bargain.    

And then,  Christian think about this, then when Abram couldn’t take that walk.  When walking that blood path would have meant certain death for Abram and his descendants……someone else walked the blood path for him.  Someone with another light, a burning lamp, a torch, walked down that path.  It wasn’t God.  He had already walked through the blood.  He had already signed the contract.  It wasn’t Abram.  He could not walk the walk.   

Doing so would mean certain death.  Who then carried that burning lamp?  Who would walk the blood path and put his name on the contract? 

JESUS THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD, JESUS THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE, WALKED THE BLOOD PATH FOR ABRAM……AND FOR ME! 

And discouraged Christian, fearful Christian, depressed Christian, angry Christian, I just came by to tell you….Jesus walked through the blood for you too!  Jesus said, “I’ll sign the contract” and the covenant was finalized. 

Abram still had a long way to go.  His journey was a lengthy one and one filled with troubles and trials.  He would still have to  believe in the promises that God made to him.  But each time he came to a place where he faced Satan and his demons…….he remembered the promise and moved on with faith. 

To me that is one of the most moving stories in the Old Testament.  No matter how many times I go back and read that story it blesses my heart.  But what can we gain “practically” from this story?  What can I take away from here tonight that will help me be a better Christian?  Here it is.   

1.  Shew the birds.  Your friends and family, your church family, your pastor, people you work with every day are being surrounded by “birds” of doubt, fear, confusion.  Look at the people in this church.  Look at the people in this room.  Pick out someone, anyone and help them.  How? 

·         Prayer

·         Notes

·         Calls

·         A kind word 

2.  Look for the promises. I’ve reminded you of this for many years now.  The Word of God is packed with promises. Promises that are not only for the people of that time but promises that are for you and me.  SEARCH the scriptures.  Don’t just read them, search them.  There are thousands of Bible helps; concordances, Bible dictionaries, different translations, study books, the computer, all there to help you study. 

Look for the promises.  Ask Him to show you the ones that you need right now.  He’ll point them out to you if you will make an effort.  He will make them come alive to you and stir your heart when you read them.  He’ll even help you memorize them. Claim those promises as your own. 

3.  And never forget who walked through the blood to finalize that contract with you.  It was your loving Father and His Son Jesus Christ.  Hear these promise they made to you:

Isaiah 41:13;   “ I the Lord your God will hold your right hand, saying , Fear not: I will help you”.

Psalms 50:15;  “Call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you”.

Jeremiah 33:3;  “Call on me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things which you do not know”.

  They are the ultimate Promise Keepers

BACK TO THE ALTAR

 GENESIS 13:4

In the last few posts we have learned that in the early days of human history, somewhere, at some point in time, for some reason, “men begin to call upon the name of the Lord”.  They realized that God was all-powerful, ever-present, all-knowing and all-loving and that He was a God whom they could call upon for help.  And then those men “called out” or prayed to Him with passion and intensity and God heard and answered their prayers. 

We also learned that men established a “place to pray” which they called and altar.  They came to this altar for predominately three reasons which were:  

• Gratitude
• Sacrifice
• Supplication

We have learned about some of these men, Seth, Enos, Enoch, Noah, Methuselah and Abram and have traced their journeys throughout the middle east.   

In the last post we left Abram at that little place where he established his altar and called on the name of The Lord.  We want to continue our journey with Abram now as we read chapter 12 verse 9 and following.  I hope you will take time to read that portion of scripture. 

We see some interesting things that happened in the life of Abram at this time that often happen in our lives.  Notice that Abram:

·         Went South

·         Went through a famine

·         Went to the land of Egypt

·         Got into some trouble

Going South:  Without ever reading it in the Bible, without ever hearing a preacher preach about it and without ever hearing a teacher teach about it, you know and I know that when we come to that place of the altar and we offer thanks to God for His kindness to us, and we sacrifice our sins, and our selfishness and our all there and we even offer up sweet smelling prayers to Him that we can’t STAY there.  We get up and leave the altar and continue our journey through life.  And as we do we come through times when things “go south”, or go bad for us.  (If you are one who still says amen this  would be an appropriate place for that uterance).   

Famine:  As Christians, we go through times of “famine” as well.  At the altar the sweet water of life seems to flow all around us and soak and saturate our beings.  When we kneel at the altar we partake of the Bread of Life but when we leave the altar, when we leave that place of prayer for any extended period of time, we begin to travel through a “famine”.  We experience some dry times.  

Egypt: Those of us who speak “Christian-ess” often refer to getting away from God or wondering away to places where we shouldn’t be as being in “Egypt”. We are in bondage, we are enslaved, we are pressed-upon by evil.  

 

Get into trouble:  I heard someone say that if you have never had anything bad happen in your life to just hang on, it’s coming.  Someone also said that men and women are usually in one of three places.  Just coming out of trouble, in trouble or just about to get into trouble.  

So when all this stuff happened to Abram we see in Chapter 13: 3-4 that Abram  and his family went back to the place where they had been, they went back to the altar.   

 I primarily want to address the premise that you cannot survive on simply one trip, one decision, one experience at the altar. If we are to survive and prosper and be productive as Christians we must make the altar or our “place of prayer” a place where we go “continually”.  We read last week scripture that told us to “be instant in prayer”, to “pray without ceasing”.  We should never get to the place where we think we can just run in to the closet, say our little prayer and run out and get the results of our prayers that we expect and that God wants us to have.   

I spoke in the last post about “Dollar Store prayers”, or prayers that don't cost us much.  Now I want to introduce you to “Doorbell prayers”.  I’ll do that with a little story that happened to me when I was much younger than I am now.

Many years ago, our should I begin the story, “Once upon a time”,  I attended a little Nazarene church in Calera. I don’t recall my age at the time.  I would guess I was about 11, I could have been as old as 14-15, I just don’t remember.  But at that time we were about to have a revival at our church and our young pastor asked us to go out into the community and give out fliers with information about our revival and invite people to the services.  It seemed like a reasonable request.  But at that point and time in my life I was very timid.  I did not like to talk to people.  I was embarrassed to speak to folks that I did not know. ( I know that's hard for you to imagine).  So it was going to be a big step for me to go into the community, knock on doors and invite people to our church. Why, I didn’t even have a community.  We lived in the country.   

But I determined that I was going to do the things I should do. So I went to my Grandmother’s house and chose that street to do my inviting.  

I gathered my stack of fliers, I practiced my speech and took off down the street to do my job.  Usually people will say a little prayer when they go to visit or talk to people.  I was no different.  I prayed,  “God, please don’t let anyone answer the door.  I’ll just leave the flier and move on”.    

 It was something that was uncomfortable.  It was something that was out of the ordinary, it was something that cost me time and effort.  But I felt like I had to do it if I were going to be pleasing to God.   

 

Back then there were not that many doorbells on houses but there were a few.  Most of the time when you went to a house you simply knocked on the door.  So I knocked, or rang the doorbell  whichever I did, I didn’t do it loudly.  It was a little knock, a quick or tiny ring of the bell.   

“Don’t let them answer, don’t let them answer” 

Do you know that out of all that “inviting” and giving out fliers that I did that afternoon, I didn’t get one single person to come to the revival.   

No wonder I didn’t get a single person to come to revival.  I was too much into what “I” wanted and not what God wanted.   

Can I tell you that we pray like that.  We do doorbell  prayers.  We come to God and often we are uncomfortable, we are doing something out of the ordinary, it is something that cost us time and effort and we don’t want to hang around.  We do a simple little “knock, knock” or a tiny “ring” and quickly move away and go about our business.    

“God bless my kids.  God help my spouse.  God help the preacher on Sunday.  God visit us and give us a good service on Sunday, AMEN”.  And we run on down the street doing our own thing.  

NO WONDER WE DON’T GET ANSWERS TO OUR PRAYERS, NO WONDER WE DON’T SEE RESULT, NO WONDER OUR KIDS ARE LOST, OUR LOVED-ONES ARE SICK AND OUR SERVICES ARE DRY!!!! 

We need to pray. We need to establish that place of prayer.  We need to come to the altar and offer our thanks, sacrifices, and intercessions and prayers.  And if God doesn’t answer we need to RETURN TO THE ALTAR.  We need to be persistent.  

Please read Luke 18 verse 1-8.   

Notice that the judge says because she “troubleth me” or she bothers me or she pesters me, “I’ll give her what she wants” 

This lady didn’t just tap on the judge’s door, she didn’t just ring the doorbell and run, she troubled him and got her answer.  

One of the most recognized verses of scripture regarding prayer is this Matthew 7:7-8: 

“Ask and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock and it shall be opened unto you; For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth, and to hi that knocketh it shall be opened”   

We like that verse don’t we?  What does it say God will do for the person who doesn’t ask? 

 

NOTHING 

What does it say He will do for the person who doesn’t seek?  

 

 ABSOLUTELY NOTHING 

And what does it say He will do for the person who doesn’t knock, or who rings the doorbell and runs? 

 

NOT ONE SINGLE THING!

 

I encourage you not to be afraid of the altar.  Don't get tired of asking, seeking and knocking.   RETURN TO THE ALTAR.  If you do,  IF YOU ASK, IF YOU SEEK, IF YOU KNOCK…….God will do His part.

A PLACE OF PRAYER

In my previous writing we discussed the place in the Word which talks of the First Mention of Prayer in the Bible.  It is only a few chapters along the road where we find the second place in the Bible that speaks of men “calling out to God”.  Although that story only covers a few chapters and talks of only a few generations it spans a vast amount of years.  

We will turn our attention now to a man named Abram (You already know that later on God changed his name to Abraham).  You may know how God told Abram to leave his home, his family and the things that he knew and go to a place unknown to him.  He was simply to trust God to show him the place and how to get there. 

After much travel he winds up in a place called Bethel (house of God) and travels from there Eastward between Bethel and Hai.  (A good trivia question would be what is significant about the town of Hai or Ai?) 

At that place between Bethel and Hai Abram builds an altar.  I doubt that men waited this long (literally thousands of years) between the time that Seth and Enos prayed until they called out again, but it’s the next time that it is mentioned.  In Genesis 12:8 we are told” 

“..there he built and altar unto the Lord and called upon the name of the Lord”. 

Abram established an altar or a specific place to pray.  I could go down another trail here and talk about establishing a specific place where you pray.  I believe it is important to have that place where you go daily and meet with God.  But instead I want to talk to you about three reasons why we go to an altar.  Now this altar can be a specific place or simply any place where you call out to God, but this altar is established for at least three reasons.   

1.  We go to the alter (to prayer) out of Gratitude.  After the flood, the first thing Noah did when his feet hit dry ground was to build and altar to thank God for His protection and care.  We need to go to God in gratitude and thanksgiving more often than we do.   

2. Another reason men established and altar was to offer sacrifices to God.  The word sacrifice is a painful word, it is a giving up word, it is a word that is not a shallow, everyday praying kind of word.  The Hebrew word used here is “mizbe’ah”, meaning “a place of slaughter or sacrifice”.  There are times in our lives, more times than we want to admit, that we should sacrifice things to God.  More than the times of salvation and sanctification. (I’d love to talk about the two works of grace here but will refrain from chasing those rabbits as well).  Time that you and I should take inventory of our desires and wants and habits and proclivities and see what’s pleasing to God and “sacrifice” those things on the altar to Him.  We don’t do enough house cleaning.   

3.  The third reason men should come to the altar or should come to a place of prayer is to offer incense, or prayers of supplication.  The Hebrews were a “visual” people. They liked to have something to look at and handle.  So they had an altar on which the fire was continuously burning.  They brought incense there and offered it to God as a symbol of their prayer.  The ascending smoke signified their prayers rising up to God. 

We should follow their example.  When they came to offer sweet smelling sacrifices to God it was not something that they bought at the Dollar Store.  The incense cost them.  We should never bring cheap prayers to the altar.  These formal, structured, good sounding prayers probably “stink” to a God who is expecting and deserves prayers that are from deep in our souls.     

So consider these points the next time you pray.  Why are you going to God in prayer?  Is it to thank Him, to offer or sacrifice something to Him or to send up a sweet smelling request to Him.  Those are the reasons we have an altar.  That’s why we should pray. 

THE BEGINNING OF PRAYER / GENESIS 4:26

After a couple of years off I started last week teaching Wednesday night Bible study again.  I missed the discipline of studying God’s Word.  Oh I read the Word on a daily basis but there is a difference in reading and studying.  But that’s not why I’m writing this.  

I want to take the Bible studies that I am presenting on Wednesday night and compact them, consolidate them and  form them into an arrangement such that you may get the honey without having to rob the hive.   

Let me quickly offer the disclaimer that this, as most of my writings, are not my exclusive ideas.  Much of what I say and write is drawn from the wells of great writers like Jim Cymbala, E.M. Bounds, and others.  This is only my version. With that said, let’s get to it.  

Any of us who have read and studied the Word are familiar with the story of the creation of Adam and Eve.  We can easily name their two sons Cain and Able.  We have been awestruck as we read how Cain, because of his unacceptable gift was made to hate his brother and kill him.  But how many of us can recall even name of Adam and Eve’s third son?  

In the 4^th chapter of Genesis, we are introduced to the son that God gave Adam and Eve to replace Able.  His name was Seth.  Now if you study the Word you will see that Cain, after the killing of his  brother was cast out and he and his decedents became ungodly people,  not doing the will of God and doing their own thing and going their own way.  But Seth then was given to be the son who would follow the Creator God and serve Him.

In Genesis 4:26 we are given a small, simple little statement that usually goes unnoticed as we read our way through those first years of man’s existence on this earth.  However, some have said that it is one of, if not the most powerful moments in the history of man.  It starts out simple enough. It simply mentions how God gave to Seth a son who was named Enos but then look what it has to say. 

                “…Then men begin to call on the name of The Lord”.

 Up until that point and time in history men and women had recognized God as the creator God.  The God who created everything and managed everything.  But then, at a certain time and place, we don’t know exactly what day it was, or where it happened on the map, we don’t know what caused it to happen, but at some point, “men begin to call on the name of The Lord”.   

Something caused them to do this.  It might have been the death of a child or a spouse.  It might have been that the crops were bad or the land was flooding.  It might have been that a neighbor was giving them a hard time or that someone was sick.  We simply don’t know what caused this occurrence but at some point and time for some reason, men begin to call out to The Lord.    

When I teach First Responder classes and EMT classes I instruct my students that most of the time the average citizen will not call 911 for some simple little thing that happens in their life.  But when they do call 911 they expect someone to arrive to help them do something that they themselves cannot do. They are looking for a hero.  That is exactly what Seth and Enos and their families did at this point in time in history.  Whatever it was that was facing them at that time, they realized that they could not handle it and that they needed a Lord, a God who could.  And so they cried out to Him for help.  

They cried to a Lord who was omnipresent (everywhere all at once), omniscience (all knowing) and omnipotent (all powerful) and may I add my own “omni” word, He was all-loving.  He loved and cared for them more than anyone else could ever love or care for them.  

Folks I hope it doesn’t take something awful to happen in your life before you come to that “place”.  I hope that you will use common sense and the leading of the Holy Spirit to convict your heart and “call out” to this Lord who is the only one who can save you and help you.   

My first point then in this little lesson is to recognize that “The Lord, He is God. Someone said it this way, “You must realize that there is a God and it ain’t you.” Until He is your Lord and your God you cannot call on Him for help.  

I will make my second point quickly.  Notice that they “called out” 

Calling out here is not a simple request.  It is not a “if you please, Sir” moment.  It is a desperate, passionate, fervent cry.  It is a cry that is sincere, a cry that is frantic, the cry of a drowning man.  

Just suppose that someone was trapped in a two story burning building.  He struggles to reach the telephone.  As the heavy black smoke cuts off his breath, he desperately dials 911. 

“Help, my house is on fire and I’m trapped in the upstairs bedroom” he screams into the phone.  “The fire department is on the way” the dispatcher replies.  “But wait” the man says, “I’ve just planted new grass on my lawn. Tell them not to drive that big truck over that newly planted grass.  And I know the door downstairs is locked.  Ask them not to break down the door, please, it cost lots of money” 

Foolish right?  But don’t we do the same thing.  “God help my son.  God help my daughter.  Lord be with our church……but do it my way,”  Our prayers are not desperate.  Our request are not fervent.  It is only when we realize that we are calling out to a God who is the only one able to answer our prayers and our cry is desperate that we can expect an answer and help from Him.   

So just to sum up; my two points are: 

1. Recognize that The Lord is the one who can and will send the help you need.  It is He that is able and willing and the only one who can do it. 

2.  Call out to Him.  Don’t dilly-dally around and try to use the right words and sound holy and proper.  Get serious about what you want and what you are asking.  Get specific in what you want God to accomplish for you. 

That’s what Seth and Enos did when they came to that place in their lives.  And whether it’s the first time you have prayed or just once in a lifetime of prayers follow that guideline and know that He will not fail to answer when we call on Him. 

LOST

I guess it is understandable, reasonable, even expected that in over 42 years of emergency service, responding to sinking ships, plane crashes, house fires, wrecks, shootings, heart attacks and the like that there will be times when you will lose a victim or a patient.  I have done that.

There have been times when I have walked away from a scene and have been sadden by the loss of a life; times when I questioned whether or not I preformed the  correct procedure, used the best methods or followed the best practices in order to save that victim.   “What if”  I had done this or not done that.  There have been many time I played the role of “Monday morning quarterback”. 

But there has never been a time, not one, in all these years when I walked away and felt like I hadn’t given it my best.  There has never been a time that I walked away and haven’t “left it all on the field” for those who had providentially been placed in my care.  And I’m proud of that.

But I lost another one this week. 

Oh, I wasn’t there to take his vital signs, or start the I.V.  I wasn’t there to intubate, defibrillate or preform CPR.  I didn’t even know he had died until a week later.  But I lost him. 

I stood on that wind-swept hillside in a little forgotten graveyard on a lonely road in the backwoods of Bibb County yesterday and I realized that I had lost him.

It would have been comical if it were not such a sad situation. 

There were six people who were required to be at the grave side service.  There were the two undertakers from Georgia who had to transport the body.  There was one over-seer from the county, who was required to be there for the burial.  There was the old country preacher who was hired by the family to perform the service, and two black grave-diggers who had just one more job to do before they went home for the day. 

According to the preacher, this man left behind a loving sister.....but they had not spoken in 10 years and she wasn’t there.  He left behind a daughter.....who was in jail on drug charges and wasn’t there.  He left a grandson.....who was in foster care and wasn’t there, and he left behind a “very special friend and care-giver” who didn’t get along with any of the family and wasn’t welcome there. 

There were six family members there.  These were good old country folk, blue jeans, over-all’s, they smoked at the side of the grave before the service.  “I guess that’s ok isn’t it”, one said.  One was barefooted even as cold as it was.  “Oh, this is the way he knew me and this is the way I’ll come to the funeral” one said.  Six of them and not a tear shed. 

There were no pallbearers.  The grave-diggers, the undertakers and myself gathered at the end of the hearse and served in that capacity by carrying the casket to the grave.   There were two little containers of flowers  sort of like the ones you would get at one of those discount flower places.  There was no music except one little mockingbird that I heard off in the hardwoods to the west of the cemetery.   

As the relatives sat down by the grave side the old preacher prayed for the “grieving family”.  He read from a paper someone had given him that contained information about those who were left behind.  At one point he almost dropped that paper into the open grave.  He read the 23^rd Psalm and then prayed again, I think it was the  same prayer he prayed initially.  That’s it.  His job was done.

“I’m glad he didn’t take too long”, one of the family members said,  “Let’s go home”.

And we all walked away. 

But this time I walked away knowing that I hadn’t done my best.  I walked away from this scene knowing that I had been too busy, too tired, too tied up in what I wanted to do to be bothered with one old man.  Instead of “leaving it all on the field” I had left one behind.  I had lost him.   

I could present some good excuses.  After all, he lived in Georgia and I lived in Alabama.  I only knew him because he owned the property next door to me.  I only saw him a hand full of times in the few years we had known each other.  But I lost him.

Not once did I tell him what a good man he was.  Not once did I tell him how much I appreciated the things he did.  I never mentioned to him that I valued his friendship.  Oh, I prayed for him.  I cried out to The Father on his behalf.  I asked God not to let him go out into eternity without Jesus.  I invited him to church and church functions when he was around.  But I don’t ever remember telling him that I loved him or that God loved him.

If I read the Word correctly, we, as Christians are called to be God’s hands, feet, voice and heart. We are called to “stand in the gap and make up the hedge”.   I wonder how many more gravesides I’ll stand at before I put that calling into practice. 

HEAVING LINES

The entrance to Galveston harbor and the Houston ship channel are protected from the Gulf of Mexico by two jetties.  The jetties were built in 1879 and are constructed of massive rust-colored rocks which have stood the continuous onslaught and relentless attack from the Gulf for all these years. 

The North jetty reaches 7 miles out into the Gulf and the South jetty reaches 5 miles out.  They are there to protect the ships  from the rough seas but on occasion can become tools of destruction when a ship loses power and is carried  by the waves  and tide into their unyielding and unforgiving arms. 

It was an occasion such as this that I’ll tell you about. 

In the early 1970’s Galveston had a massive shrimp fleet.  There were hundreds of professional shrimp boats that called Galveston their home port.  Some were modern, well-maintained, up-to-date fishing vessels but others….. well, let’s just say they left a little to be desired.  It was usually these less than cared-for vessels that we were called upon time after time to “rescue”.  Usually it was nothing more than an engine failure and we played “wrecker” and went out and towed them back to port. 

On some occasions the gigantic piles of rust would spring a leak and we would be called upon to use our pumps and equipment and try to keep them afloat until we got them to a place where they could be repaired.

This particular day’s call went something like this.  A disabled shrimp boat had been fishing below the North Jetty and had lost all engines. The seas were high and the winds blew hard on the old vessel.   Instead of dropping anchor and calling for help the captain felt that he would just let her drift until he got the engines going again.  He let her drift too far.

His boat was quickly pushed toward the North jetty and just shy of being crushed on the jetty rocks it ran aground and stuck fast in the shallow sand.  Now the waves had their way with this old vessel.  With her bow stuck fast in the sand the stern took a beating from the Gulf waves and she begin taking on water.  In spite of all that the crew could do the ship was going down. 

That day we were manning the Coast Guard  44377 motor life boat.  This boat was  44 foot long ,self-righting boat.  Meaning that if it rolled over in the waves and if you could hold on and stay with the boat for about 30 seconds, it would roll back in an up-right position and  continue to run and function.  It had water tight doors and twin Cummings diesel engines. It was great for rough seas and a fantastic search and rescue boat.

 From the Coast Guard base to the North side of the North Jetty was about 12 miles.  Fighting the wind and waves it took us almost an hour to arrive on scene.  Needless to say these men were in a mess.  Our coxswain maneuvered our boat as close to the troubled ship as we could get.  If we got too close we too would run aground and be torn apart by the waves.  But there was still a good distance between our boat and the shrimp boat. 

We could see the  captain and his two crewmen on the deck.  They had their life jackets on, were soaking wet from the crashing surf.  On their faces were expressions of the fear that had swelled up within them.  ( After 40 something years I can still see the fear in the faces of those  men.) When they saw us pull up they begin waving their arms and calling out to us.   They expected us to pull up alongside and take them on board.  They expected to just jump from their boat onto ours and be safe and dry.  But it wasn’t going to happen. 

“This is as close as I can get Bill”.  The coxswain yelled over the roar of the wind and the crashing of the waves. 

The rescue line was long, heavy-duty and weighty.  Even being young and in good shape (at that time) I would never be able to throw that line, that far, in that wind.  But in the Coast Guard we had a little thing called a heaving line.  It was a small, strong line with a round weighted ball on the end.  One end would be tied to the rescue line and the other would be thrown to the shrimpers like a baseball on a string.   I would be able to toss that line to the  shrimp boat   They could then pull the rescue line over, tie it around their waist and jump into the water.  My seaman and I would then pull them across the distance between our boat and theirs and bring them to the safety of our vessel.  It wasn’t what they had in mind but  that is what we did.  With the coxswain holding the 377 steady I tossed the heaving line and one by one we pulled the crew to safety.

Just another day at the office…that’s what we were there to do.  We had been trained and equipped and had practiced and we did our job.  We all went home alive. 

I tell you that little story to remind you of what you and I as Christians are to do on a daily basis.  Let me see if I can apply it.

 On a daily basis, you and I cross paths with men and women who are in trouble.  They may look good and act good and carry on a good conversation but on the inside their life if falling apart like that old shrimp boat.

It’s not waves of water that crash in on them and threaten to sink their vessel.  The storm is not caused by the angry Gulf of Mexico but the storm is caused by a lost job, dwindling finances, a rebellious child, an unfaithful spouse, temptations that are out of control or the sickness or death of a loved one.  Sometimes it is simply the “daily-ness”  of life that has them sinking.

It is these people who will be more than happy to accept the line that you and I toss them.  It is in the storm that they are most receptive to The Savior.

But you are probably like me.  You don’t want to deal with those situations because you don’t know what to say or you don’t know how to council them.  You are not confident in tossing out the right line. .

In the Coast Guard we had lots of lines.  We had big lines, little lines, long lines and short lines.  We simply used the line that was appropriate for the situation.  Let me just give you a few good “lines” that you might commit to memory or at least keep close where you can get to them quickly.   Toss these lines out and just see who you might be able to help or pull in. 

In LONELINESS:  John 14: 18

In DEATH:  Psalms 23:4  /  Romans 8: 38-39 /  I Corinthians 15:55

In FEAR:  Isaiah 41:13 

In WORRY:  Philippians 4:19 / Psalms 32:7

In TROUBLE:  Naham 1:7 / John 16:33

 Also, you know that it’s not hard for us to talk to someone about the weather, work, sports, news, or life in general.  Wouldn’t it be good planning, training, practice for Christians to stow away some good “lines” to be able to use in conversation when the situation presents itself?  Let’s see if I can help.

WEATHER:   

·         Leviticus 26: 4   Then I will give you your rains in their season, and the land shall yield its increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit.

·         Matthew 16:3  And in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.

The weather is in God’s hands.  There will always be Summer, winter, Spring and Fall.  It is up to Him to give the weather and up to us to live in it and through it.  (Gen. 8:22)

WORK: 

·         Genesis:  2:15:  The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.

·         Proverbs 16:3  Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established.

·         Colossians 3:23:  Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men

Man was made to work.  We should commit our work to God and whatever we do, do a good job of it just like we are working for Him. 

HEALTH:

·          1 Corinthians 6:19-20:  Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

·         Proverbs 17:22 :  A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.

·         Proverbs 16: 24:  Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body

Our bodies do not belong to us, they are God’s.  We should take care of them, being joyful and speaking kind words are medicine which anyone can administer.   

I’ll leave a little work for you to do.  Make up your own lines.  When you enter into a conversation with someone and you can throw out a heaving line….do it.  A simple verse of scripture or statement of encouragement might be just the thing that they need.  They may go down in the storm if you don’t toss them a heaving line.