Below is a video I just made. I made it in order to invite people over to the front porch of our parsonage (the place where the pastor of a church lives – that’s me).
I’d love for it to become a reoccurring event.
So, if you are in the Chattanooga, TN area next Friday, June 1st, come on by – and bring your geetar!
First of all, I have no photos to upload and post. If you want to call and talk about it, forget it.
Secondly, I am looking at a computer screen with 1 1/2 times the letters I’m actually typing.
Thirdly, the weeds are still there.
Fourth, I’m an emotional bag of nerves.
Will this be an inspirational post? I don’t know. It all depends. If you have a wonderful life where nothing out of control stresses you out, then you may think to yourself, “Man, I’m glad I’m not that guy.”
On the other hand, you may be in Zimbabwe and might think to yourself, “I wish my problems were as few as his.”
Nevertheless, here’s my story.
Last night I went to bed and was going to set my alarm on my phone. When I plugged it into the charger, the charger port was broke. How/when did that happen??! I have no clue, but that has to be fixed…today!
I had photos I was going to upload for a post, but now I dare not turn on my phone and run down what charge I still have. Should there be an emergency, I will need to make a call. But now my wife can’t get ahold of me, and that’s a big problem – as you will see in just a second.
And if the phone problem wasn’t enough, my glasses broke yesterday. I mean, I literally took them off my face and the dang things just fell apart! We’re not talking a loose screw, or anything – the frame broke!
If you want to know why that’s a big issue, let me just tell you the brand name of the frame: Silhouette. Another expensive fix.
Before my glasses fell apart in my hands, something else decided to up and die – the new lawn trimmer.
Look, I don’t have to mow the lawn surrounding our church, the fellowship hall, and the house we live in; someone else does that. However, that someone is a little bit older and has difficulty getting on and off his riding mower, not to mention trimming the grass around three structures and parking lots. So, in order to help out, while at the same time give me the satisfaction of doing something outside, I broke down and purchased a new trimmer.
Keep in mind, I might be 5+ months past shoulder surgery, but pulling the crank on a lawn trimmer is still not easy. So, after about 50 pulls I almost let loose a string of profanities, but I didn’t. Well… maybe a word or two.
Then, on top of all that, my wife and youngest daughter just drove around the corner and out of sight as they are on their way out of town for 3 days. They are going to a conference in Knoxville, TN.
What’s wrong with that? Well, I absolutely hate it when my wife leaves town, especially with one of the girls. Why? Because they are out there somewhere and I can’t protect them. I’m also pretty clueless when my wife isn’t around to manage things.
It’s sorta kind of crazy, I guess. It’s no big deal for me when I leave town for something, but when my wife leaves town I can’t even sleep at night.
So, as I was writing down all my first-world problems, I couldn’t help but be reminded of a scripture passage – literally, it came to mind as I stepped away to let the dog out to pee:
In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. – 1 Thessalonians 5:18 KJV
No, that doesn’t mean I should be thankful my glasses, iPhone, and weedeater broke. But what it does mean is that I should be thankful that even in the middle of all this brokenness, Christ has a plan for me. Yes, even when things like these break.
I must remind myself that God ordains my footsteps, and it might just be that He needs my witness at a repair shop or return counter. If a broken iPhone allows me to talk about Jesus, wouldn’t that be great?
Then, right after I thought of the above verse from 1 Thessalonians, another verse came to mind:
Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. – Philippians 4:6-7 CSB
No, I can’t always be there to watch over my wife and daughters, but God is there. They are in His hand. He can watch over them far better than I can.
If I keep that in mind I might just get some sleep.
Filed under Faith, Relationships and Family, Struggles and Trials, worship
Albany, New York (Artist: Susan Cassidy Wilhoit)
You folk in New York should remind your lawmakers of this. I have a strong feeling it’s been forgotten or overlooked, but I’ll let you be the judge.
On that note, I think I’ll send a shout-out to my New Yorker friend at Beauty Beyond Bones 🙂
Filed under America, community, Culture Wars, Faith, The Magnificent Fifty
There are times when a hymn can do what nothing else can do. The Solid Rock, written by Edward Mote (1797-1874), has been my favorite hymn for as long as I can remember, and it is to the second and third verse I want to turn today.
When darkness seems to hide His face,
I rest on His unchanging grace;
In every high and stormy gale
My anchor holds within the veil.
His oath His covenant and blood
Support me in the ‘whelming flood:
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my hope and stay.
Darkness does come, whether we want to admit it, or not. There are times when, like Shakespeare, I feel all I’m doing is “trouble[ing] deaf heaven with my bootless cries.” At times His loving face is hidden in the darkness, leaving me to feel like no one is listening, like no one cares.
But I will rest on His unchanging grace.
And when, in the darkness, I feel my ship tossed, I must remind myself that I am not the One responsible for the journey. When the darkness is so thick that it sucks away all light, leaving me only with the sensation of drifting, I must not fear…I must not lose hope…I must stay in the ship.
My anchor holds within the veil.
Am I forgotten? Is my purpose of not importance? What of my value that I should be left alone in the increasing depths of sorrow and doubt? Has He left me to drown as the waters rise around me? Is He unfaithful to finish what He has begun? NO! Of course not! His Word is true, and he cannot lie! He is faithful, even when I am not, and His promise of my rescue is sealed in His own blood!
His oath, His covenant, and His blood support me in the overwhelming flood.
When it seems like everything is caving in around me; when it seems like every place to stand becomes loose soil on the edge of a cliff; when all the advice in the world sounds hollow…
He, then, is all my hope and stay.
On Christ the Solid Rock I stand. All other ground is sinking sand.
All other ground but Jesus is sinking sand.
Filed under Struggles and Trials
Santa Fe, New Mexico (Artist: Susan Cassidy Wilhoit)
Filed under America, Apologetics, community, Culture Wars, Faith, God, politics, The Magnificent Fifty
Someone needs to read this. Is it you?
What would you die for?
What is so valuable that you would risk or even sacrifice your own life? Have you ever stopped to think about that? You should.
The typical things in life that are considered so valuable, when put in perspective, aren’t really worth that much. Even the most “priceless” treasures are not worth your life – or are they? Would you fight a thief for your purse or car? Then you are saying those things are more valuable than your life, for you are willing to risk your life to keep them. It is how people die every day in the pursuit of, and the keeping of earthly possessions. Foolish, frankly.
Even more than concrete items, some value their pride more than life. They are willing to fight to the death, or kill others when insulted or “dissed.” Perception is NOT reality, just as integrity is not determined by opinion; yet, some would rather risk death than be thought of wrongly. So many have yet to learn that what people think of them does not determine the reality of who they are.
From the perspective of family, I would say that most believe life is worth risking life. If my loved ones were in danger, then it would be natural to put my life on the line. Really, there is no argument against this one. But on the other hand, society is very fickled when it
comes to how it determines the value of one life. One life is not as valuable as another, after all. Life is not as valuable to some if convenience or personal pleasure is at stake. I would die for my children, but many kill their own children before birth. It seems to me that values gold more consistently than life itself.
What about beliefs? Are you willing to die for what you believe? Now, this, I know, could open up a whole can of worms; but that’s ok. Just stop and think about it for a moment. Do you believe in anything so much that it is worth more than your own life? When your life is on the line, knowing the difference between what you believe and what is only opinion is of key importance. A martyr is one who will die for what they believe, rather than deny it. Is your faith worth dying for? If not, then how much do you really believe?
But here’s one more thought…how much is YOUR life worth?
Value is determined by what someone is willing to give for it, right? That’s typically the way it goes. So, if nothing on earth is more valuable than your life, does that make your life valuable? Well, maybe to you.
Think about it, to someone else your life might not be as valuable as their own. Would you value the life of a total stranger so much that you would offer your own in exchange? I mean, really? Someone may even be willing to give all of the world’s riches in order to obtain your life, but are you worth it? Who would even have that kind of wealth? That leaves you with nothing more than your sense of value compared to another’s. Your worth against theirs.
Value is relative to the thing for which the buyer will exchange. That’s a disturbing thought, isn’t it?
On the other hand, what if the Creator of the universe offered to die for you?
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. – Rom 5:8 NIV
That would make you of incalculable worth! The King of Heaven, the Son of God, gave His own life in exchange for yours, even accepting your guilts and failures as His own, and paying the death penalty for sin on your behalf.
For he hath made him [to be] sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. – 2Corinthians 5:21 KJV
That makes you valuable. That makes Jesus pretty unique. How many others have done what He has for you? Most of us would die for our children or spouse. Some of us would die for a friend or maybe a good person. But how many of us would give our own life to purchase the life of a stranger, much less a convict, drug dealer, murderer, etc? Jesus did.
You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. – Rom 5:6-8 NIV
That’s the whole reason for Christmas, you know. Jesus had to come to earth as a baby to grow into the Man that would willingly go to a cruel cross. The gift of Christmas is the gift of life, purchased with the life of the Giver of Life. How ironic is that; and how wonderful?
What is your life worth? It was worth the Messiah suffering the most excruciating death Rome could conceive. It was worth the Prince of Peace being shredded by a “cat of nine tails.” It was worth God becoming flesh so that we could know Him. If you are worth that much, and if that kind of price was paid, don’t you think giving your life to Jesus is a fair exchange?
If you would like to know more about Jesus, and how he loves you and died for you, then call this number, 1-800-NEED-HIM. Or, if you would like to talk with me, just send me an email.
Your life is worth it.
Not long ago I did a couple of posts dealing with depression. As best I can tell, the posts were well-received.
One of the main points I wanted to make in those posts was that depression isn’t always something we can help, but something that accosts us no matter our will to be positive.
The following article, “11 Reasons Spurgeon Was Depressed,” was published by the The Spurgeon Center for Biblical Preaching at Midwestern Seminary, and I want to thank a friend of mine, Kevin Woodruff (Bryan College Librarian) for posting it on Facebook.
If you have found yourself depressed, and wonder if it’s only a spiritual matter, the following look at the great Charles H. Spurgeon, a giant among godly men, should give you hope.
Filed under Depression
Trenton, New Jersey (Artist: Susan Cassidy Wilhoit)
Filed under America, Apologetics, God, politics, The Magnificent Fifty
Concord, New Hampshire (Artist: Susan Cassidy Wilhoit)
Filed under America, Apologetics, community, Culture Wars, God, politics, The Magnificent Fifty, worship
Carson City, Nevada (Artist: Susan Cassidy Wilhoit)
Filed under America, community, Culture Wars, Faith, God, politics, The Magnificent Fifty
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The Recovering Legalist 