by | March 12, 2016 · 6:30 am

He Heard! Selah.

“I cried unto the LORD with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill. Selah.” – Psalm 3:4

FullSizeRender (1)Selah. It’s a musical notation meant to make us pause and reflect on what we’ve just read (or sung – the Psalms were songs). And what better to think about than the Lord of heaven hearing our cries?

I Cried

קָרָא qârâʼ (kä·rä’), translated as “cried,” could mean to recite, read, cry out, or proclaim. But in the context, and especially sense this word has also been used of animals crying out – and since the root of this word has to do with the sound a person makes when confronted unexpectedly, or accosted – I think the cry David made was more like a loud, desperate call for help . . . like the desperate plea from a fallen child.

Just think about that for a moment. Are you a parent? What does it do to you when your child cries out for help? What does that cry sound like to you? When your child is being chased by a dog, or when he falls and gets hurt, does he recite his proclamation of displeasure? You know the difference, don’t you?

So does God for His children when they cry out for Him.

He Heard Me

What an expression of hope! What an expression of joy! David was thrilled that God would actually hear him when he called.

“He heard me from his holy hill” was an expression humility…of wonder…of amazement that the Holy One would be mindful of him (Psalm 8:4). But it was also a testimony to David’s enemies who had said previously that there was “no help for him in God” (Psalm 3:2).

Oh, God hears! David wrote this song as a testimony to that fact. He reminds us that heaven is not deaf, but attentive and listening. Our prayers are not worthless words read or recited to a spaghetti monster in the sky. No, there is a God, and He hears His own.

Pause and think about that for a while. 

 

 

 

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by | March 11, 2016 · 3:02 pm

Spin, Spin, Spin

When the newly-twenty Katie was just a wee tike, she loved to spin and spin and spin. It didn’t matter whether or not she got anywhere, just as long as she went in circles.

Hmm… she could have been a politician.

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by | March 10, 2016 · 9:35 am

A Given Example

“For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done unto you.” – John 13:15

Every Christian has a particular place of influence. God has chosen to place me within a 33,000 lb. rolling metal box full of children. Sometimes I have wondered “why?” The answer is pretty simple: “For I have given you [as] an example…”

In the above verse it was Jesus who was telling his disciples that He was showing them how to act, how to serve. Jesus had just washed their feet in an act of true humility and grace. What was His point? If the King of Glory can be a servant, so can we.

But not only has Jesus set an example for us to follow, He has given each of us the responsibility to be an example. He wants us to do as He has done unto us.

The Apostle Paul, under the inspiration of the Spirit, told Timothy, “be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity” (1 Timothy 4:12). Why is it so important to be an example? Because others are always watching.

As a Christian bus driver, I am always being watched. I am being watched by not only students, but also parents, teachers, and co-workers. Because I am being watched, it is important that I mirror the humble example set by Jesus. As a matter of fact, my example in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity, and humility is the only way to witness when I can’t speak openly of my faith.

One thing that may be hard to understand, but should be encouraging, is that no matter where the Christian goes, so also goes the Holy Spirit. It is our very presence that can make a difference in the lives of others when we do the humble, mundane activities of life in a Christ-like way. The lost can “see” Jesus in us. I pray these kids see Jesus in me, even if I’m not allowed to speak of Him.

Each new year I look at all the empty seats and wonder, “Who will sit here?” Every seat represents a soul. Every seat represents an eternal future known only to God. And here, alone in the bus, I ask God to make me an example…one that somehow makes a positive impact on someone now, and for eternity.

Be an example where YOU are.

 

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by | March 9, 2016 · 5:51 pm

The IMB: How Did We Get Here?

The following was written and posted today (March 9) by Dr. Randy Davis, Executive Director of the Tennessee Baptist Convention. It was so heartbreaking that I not only had to share it here, but I will be sharing it in our prayer meeting tonight.

It was a dark day two weeks ago when International Mission Board President David Platt stepped to the microphone to inform Southern Baptists that 983 missionaries and 149 IMB staffers were stepping…

Source: The IMB: How Did We Get Here?

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by | March 9, 2016 · 11:24 am

Blog Roll or Blog Slice?

Blog Roll or slice

I have a question for all of you about blog rolls.

For several years I have had the same list of blogs on my “blog roll.” Yesterday I took them all down – all of them.

Why? Because I wanted to start over with a fresh list, one that more accurately and fairly listed blogs which I either visit or endorse.

However, how do I do that? What is fair? And for that matter, how many to I post a link to?

To be honest, I don’t read as many blogs as I’d like, simply because I don’t have that much time. Every once in a while I will go on a binge and do a lot of clicking, reading, scanning, and “liking.” I may even leave a few profound comments. There’s just so many blogs out there, and I can’t read them all.

So, how should I do this? Should I list every single blog I ever visit more than once? Should I list a long blog roll of 50+ websites, many of which I may rarely visit more than once a month, or less?

Or, should I just give you a “slice” of what’s out there? Like, what if I listed the blogs of people I really like, along with some popular ones everybody else likes?

Or, what if a “slice” of blogs consisted of those whose owners commented here? I could, let’s say, keep a “top 10” slice; the ones who commented the most (“likes” count half) would be at the top of the list, all others further down.

Interesting.

You see, I just don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings, you know? I mean, if you own a blog and only post once a year, should I put you in the “roll,” much less the “slice”?

What do you think? Leave a comment, please (It may help your score 😉 ).

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by | March 8, 2016 · 11:19 pm

And the Verdict Is…

 But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold. – Job 23:10

Our Example

Whenever things get bad, who is it that we think of? We think of old Job, the man who endured the worst the Devil had to offer, yet without losing his faith in God.

Job lost everything he owned, plus his children, and even ended up sitting in a pile of ash while he scraped boils with broken pieces of pottery. Even his wife, probably out of a combination of desperate pity and blame, said, “Curse God, and die” (Job 2:9).

But what made it worse was Job’s friends! Yes, his own friends, trying to help, assumed everything he was enduring was a judgment from God, because surely Job must have done something terribly wrong, right? Why else would God be doing all this to him?

Nevertheless, Job was faithful; he never cursed God. As a matter of fact, Job said, “Though he (God) slay me, yet will I trust in him” (Job 13:15). What an example to follow!

The First One

But what most people tend to miss is this: Job didn’t have a Job-like example to follow. No, Job was the first of his kind.

When Job said “when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold,” he wasn’t talking from experience, or from the learned lessons of others. If you’ll look back to the first chapter, Satan had never done all this “sifting” before. So, Job had no precedent on which to base his assumption that the circumstances he endured would produce a 24-Karat ending.

All Job really had going was his faith in a good and faithful God. Actually, he had no idea that what he was enduring was a trial by fire. A careful study of the context of Job 23:10 will show that all Job wanted was an audience with God – the God who couldn’t be found – so that he could plead his innocence. “If I could ever get the chance,” thought Job, “I’d argue my case, He would try me, and I’d be proven innocent – I’d come forth as gold.”

God Is Working

goldBut God was working on Job, only Job didn’t know it! Even though he couldn’t find God (Job 23:3-4), Job was in the cradle of God’s hand. The trial was removing all traces of dross, refining Job, and he was well on the way to becoming “pure gold.”

So, consider Job, the one who never gave up or blamed God, even when his world was collapsing.  It may not seem like it, but the furnace you’re enduring right now could be nothing more than the Refiner’s fire.

Like Job, God “knows your way” – He knows all about you. So remain faithful, remain hopeful, and rest assured that one day you will come forth as gold.

“Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.” – James 1:2-4 NLT

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by | March 8, 2016 · 3:14 pm

Why So Sad?

Prayer

This morning I had the opportunity to meet with several other pastors from our area for a time of prayer. We met at White Oak Baptist Church where Dr. Tony Wilson is pastor.

Let me just say, it’s a great thing when pastors can get together and pray for each other, without having to worry about being jealous. Too many pastors are jealous of the ministries of their peers, but it shouldn’t be that way. We should be praying for each other and for the greater good of the Kingdom.

Picture

While we were there in the kitchen area of the church where we met to pray, I noticed several tables covered with stuffed animals and a few toys. Evidently, all of these were about to be taken to Jamaica on a mission trip.

Something about those piles of stuffed toys made me pause. I don’t know why – maybe it was all the color catching my eye – but I had to take a picture.

image

Once I finished editing this picture (with BeFunky), I looked at it and then realized that this was probably the saddest picture I’ve ever seen in my life! I just couldn’t figure out why.

UPDATE: I figured out why this picture makes me feel sad. The little teddy bear all alone, just tossed on a pile of other unloved toys. It’s just lying there, staring upwards with unblinking eyes, wondering where everybody has gone, unable even to right itself. Abandoned.

Good grief. I’ve got issues.

What are your thoughts? (about the picture, that is)

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by | March 7, 2016 · 12:46 pm

Did You Say “Chasten”?

“Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying.” – Proverbs 19:18

Mouths of Babes

Around 9 or 10 years ago, when I was vice president of a local Kiwanis Club, I would go read to young children at a Head Start day care program. These children were around 4 or 5 years of age.

One day I took my two young daughters with me. They observed the unruliness of several children in the class and later commented. Haley, who was only around 5 or 6 herself, asked, “Daddy, why won’t that teacher just spank those kids?”

“Because that’s against the law, Haley. Teachers can’t do that,” I replied.

“Well,” Haley huffed, “those children need a whipp’n, so somebody needs to change the rules!” Out of the mouths of babes, people. Out of the mouths of babes.

Chastening

I know that many of you reading this will disagree – some vehemently – but there is really only one way this verse can be interpreted – and it has nothing to do with “time outs” or being grounded. For example, consider these other verses…

“Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.” – Proverbs 22:15

“The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame.” – Proverbs 29:15

“If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?” – Hebrews 12:7

Spanking is something that is frowned on, if not illegal in today’s society. Child psychologists, with all their worldly wisdom (and that’s key), urge parents to never physically discipline their children. Government agencies even control parents with the threat of prosecution. But what is biblical? What is wise?

While There Is Hope

As one who works with children of all ages, I can testify that a lack of discipline is at the root of most unruly behavior. Our school systems are completely helpless in the face of youth who have no fear of punishment.

Solomon says, however, that chastening a child is one way to ensure a better future, even if the child, at the moment, cries out in protest. The great Matthew Henry said, “It is better that he should cry under thy rod than under the sword of the magistrate, or, which is more fearful, that of divine vengeance.”*

How many teens are in jail today because parents were too timid to use the “rod of correction?” How many instead have fallen under the “sword of the magistrate?”

While there is hope, learn to say “NO!” While there is still hope, take away the phone and video games. While there is still hope, take away the keys. While there is still hope, don’t buy those designer clothes. While there is still hope, don’t be afraid to chasten.

As we watch the news these days, the NIV translation of Proverbs 19:18 really hits home: “Discipline your children, for in that there is hope; do not be a willing party to their death.”

Be the parent and chasten when necessary – while there is still hope.

*Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible: Complete and Unabridged in One Volume (Peabody: Hendrickson, 1994), Pr 19:18.

This post was adapted from a post previously published on ProverbialThought.com.

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by | March 5, 2016 · 10:49 am

No Help? Selah

Many there be which say of my soul, “There is no help for him in God.” Selah. – Psalm 3:2

FullSizeRender (1)Selah. It’s a word that instructs us to pause and consider what was just read or sung (the Psalms were actually songs). But what good is there in pausing to think about people who want to discourage us?

“There is no help for him in God.” How depressing those words are! Do they make you want to give up? Do you believe them?

Fortunately, King David, the author of most of the Psalms, did not believe what the “many” said of his soul. And neither should we, that is, if our hope Christ.

The Many

Let’s start with thinking about the “many.” Who are they? In the case of David, they were the ones who were intent on usurping his throne and replacing him with his son, Absalom. Like modern propagandists they tried to weaken King David’s resolve by removing all hope in his Rescuer and Deliverer. They struck at the very core of who he was by attacking his faith in the very God who promised “thy throne shall be established for ever” (2 Samuel 7:16).

Who are the “many” in our lives? Jesus spoke of them as men who love darkness rather than light (John 3:19) and the “praise of men more than the praise of God” (John 12:43). Paul describes them in Romans chapter 1 as those who suppress the truth by their wickedness (18), refusing even to retain the knowledge of God in their minds (28).

So, the ones who say that God will not help are the very same ones who refuse to know nothing about God. Think about that one for a moment! What do they know??

The Help

David was not about to lose hope in his God. In a later Psalm we read : “My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth” (Psalm 121:2). Who were they, those who refused to know God, to tell David the One who made heaven and earth…the One who promised to establish his throne forever…the one who delivered him from the lion, the bear, and the Giant…was unfaithful?

David had seen the mighty Hand of God in action. He has been witness to His deliverance and protection too many times before. That is why in the very next verse he could proclaim with confidence in the face of those who would discourage him:

But thou, O LORD, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head. – Psalm 3:3

Just Wait

There may be people who say the very same things to you that they said to David as he hid for his life in the caves. They mock your faith and hope as you huddle in the dark, waiting for deliverance. But just hold on, believer! His promises are true! You’ve seen the way He works, and He’s not done, yet!

The “many” have no clue what they’re talking about; they can’t see your soul and they don’t know your God. So, just wait on Him, and you’ll never be ashamed (Psalm 25:3a)!

Selah.

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by | March 4, 2016 · 6:12 pm

Two-Decade Daughter

Happy Birthday!

Yes, happy Birthday to my middle daughter, Katie Marie! She has been two decades in this world.

20 years ago I witnessed firsthand the miracle of birth. I did not get sick, or faint, or anything like that. Actually, I held it all together, along with a 35mm camera and an 8mm handheld Sony video recorder (at least I think that’s what I used). I would describe some other things I had to do, but that’s another story entirely.

My wife was wonderful through the whole process of Katie’s birth, never once insinuating anything negative regarding the marital status of my parents at the time of my birth. All she did was scream, sweat, and puuuuuuuush. I know, because I told her to. And then out came the perpetual smiler.

It was Katie’s day of birth, and I remember it well…at least the parts my mind has not blocked.

Katie with nephewdog Henry

Katie with nephewdog Henry

Happy Reminder Day!

Katie’s 20th birthday is also a day to be reminded how old I am getting (just me; my wife doesn’t age). Twenty years ago I was in my late 20’s and had just gotten my first non-bag cell phone (an Erickson flip phone). I could touch my toes with ease, wear smaller sizes of pants, and brush my hair. Now the only hair I brush is on my face and coming out my ears.

The fact that my little baby girl is now 20 is also a horrible reminder of how fast time passes by. It seems just yesterday she was crawling around in a diaper, carrying her bottle around in her mouth as her tiny teeth were latched on to the nipple, looking like a deformed white baby elephant. Her favorite word was “ball,” and as she learned to sing, the word “milk” got inserted at random into every song: “Jesus loves me…milk…this I know, for the Bible…milk…”

College girl selfie.

College girl selfie.

Now Katie is a beautiful young woman who drinks from a straw and rarely crawls around on the floor. These days she looks nothing like a baby elephant, but more like sunshine that blinks. She sings all the time now, too – without mentioning milk.  And, fortunately, she changes her own… she dresses herself.

And she loves Jesus 🙂

Time flies, doesn’t it?

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