It Is Greener On The Other Side

"I will get up and go to my father..."(Luke 15:18)

Standing ankle deep in mud at work one day, a thought came to mind...it must have looked so much better on the outside of that pig pen, than it did for the prodigal son on the inside. He had wished his father dead, taken his inheritance, blew it all on wild living...now broke and  friendless he found himself ankle deep in mud, and neck deep in hopelessness and despair.
The only thing that could save him from this mess was getting up out of that pen, out of the mud, out of the mindset that there is no way out and no forgiveness, then head back to his father. 

We as Christians often find ourselves in situations where we have left our Father, where we have walked away from His side out from under His protective wing, in search of what we think is better or more satisfying, only to find out that we have traded precious jewels for miry mud. What's so sad is, that often it takes so long for some to notice the mess that they are in, until it is hard to tell if they are a son or a pig.
We have to make a decision that when we fall, we don't wallow in our self pity, but we, get up and go to our Father, realizing that nothing is better or more satisfying than being in the presents and the favor of our loving God. 

So is the grass greener on the other side of the fence? It always is when you are standing in pig crap.


Vern

All Bark and No Bite

“Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul.”
(1 Peter 2:11)

Someone once said, “If you were not strangers in this world, the hounds of Hell would not bark at you.” This is so true…when you stand out like a stranger, not strange as in weird & goofy, but as someone who doesn’t belong to this world, then the hounds will bark. But don’t be afraid…their bark is much worse than their bite.

When my son was about 8 or 9 we lived three houses down from one of the most ferocious looking dogs I had ever seen. He looked like a cross between a Rottweiler and a pit bull. Large, white & looked like he was on steroids & his bark was very deep & very loud & very often. I instructed my son to watch out for this dog & if he was out playing and saw the dog roaming the neighborhood, to make sure that he came inside immediately.

One day I was inside & my son was out playing in the front yard, I looked out the window to check on him…to my freaked-out surprise he was standing face to face with this deranged, evil, monstrous dog and was holding a piece of rawhide while the dog chewed on it! I bolted out of the door like Cam Newton through an offensive line, except when we played Alabama & made a mad dash to save my son from being mauled by this savage beast. I yelled at him to get away from the dog & heard the neighbors older son say, “Don’t worry, he’s harmless”. About that time my son let go of the rawhide & the dog tried to hold onto it as it slithered out of his mouth. “He hasn’t got a tooth in his mouth”, yelled the neighbors son. I watched as the dog tried to pick up the rawhide. When he did, it once again slid right out of his mouth. He was as toothless as a newborn baby. I sat & laughed…the vicious man eater was a toothless rawhide smacker.

The hounds of Hell are much like this old dog…they look mean & sound bad, but truth be known…they have no bite, no power whatsoever. Their bark is much worse than their bite. So when they bark, when they make fun, when they joke about the way you live to honor God, count it as a blessing…that you are seen as a stranger in this world.

Vern

Bernie...Crucified with Him

“Knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin…” (Romans 6:6-7)

There was a movie back in the late 80’s called “Weekend at Bernie’s”; it was a story about a couple of young insurance executives who discover their boss is deceased. Believing that they are responsible for his death and that a hit man won't kill them if Bernie is around, they attempt to convince people that he is still alive. Throughout the movie they take Bernie with them everywhere. They have him dressed up & they go as far as to tie his legs & arms to theirs to make it look like he is walking with them.

Romans 6:6-7 reminds me a lot of Bernie, we after we are saved, often find ourselves trying to hang out with our old self, that same old self that was crucified with Christ, see when we accept Christ, our old self is crucified, dead & buried…but was never resurrected. So in order for it to be with us, we have to drag it along. The thing is, it’s just like Bernie…dead, lifeless & we will only grow tired & look ridicules lugging it around. It will also keep us held back from being able to accomplish what plans God has for us. Lay that old self to rest…God has much better things for you.

Vern

Diapers and Wisdom

“This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words.”
(1 Corinthians 2:13)

One Sunday our study was on Proverbs 1 and we were talking about where wisdom today can be found. Our study gave us a list of places that you could or could not find godly wisdom and when I went through it with the youth they answered like this:

Me: “As I call out these items, let me know if godly wisdom can be found in them”.

Me: “Movies?”

Youth: "Depends” they replied.

Me: “What about church?”

Youth: Depends”

Me: “TV?”

Youth: “Depends”

Me: "Parents?”

Youth: "Depends"

Me: "The guy behind you in English class?”

Youth: “Depends”

Me: "What about the Bible?” 

Youth: “Of course you can!”

They said that with no hesitation. 

I still went on, 

Me: “Your youth minister or leaders?"

they went right back to “Depends”.

Me: “What about books or yourself?"

Youth: “Depends & Depends”.

Everything on that list, even churches, depended on what type it was, in whether or not you could find godly wisdom in them…except for the Bible, God’s Word.

The answer they were giving reminded me of something. They continually answered “Depends” and for some strange reason whether it be my 14 year old brain or the subliminal influence of years of TV commercials, my mind went straight to diapers…Weird Huh?

All of those things from Movies, to TV, to books or even churches, depended on one thing… were they godly? But like a Depends diapers, they could be full of it, or they could be clean. They could be good or they could be bad. But in all these places you have to be very careful in looking for godly wisdom. We know, without a doubt that we can go to the Bible, God’s Holy Word for a never ending source of truth and wisdom…never to be lead astray.

Our youth know that, do you? How much time do you spend in God’s word? Is it something that you share with your family? Is it the main place you seek your source of wisdom? If not, God wants to lavish you with wisdom. He wants you to overflow with the wisdom that only He can give. Is wisdom calling out to you?

“Wisdom calls aloud in the street, she raises her voice in the public squares; at the head of the noisy streets she cries out, in the gateways of the city she makes her speech: "How long will you simple ones love your simple ways? How long will mockers delight in mockery and fools hate knowledge? If you had responded to my rebuke, I would have poured out my heart to you and made my thoughts known to you.”
(Proverbs 1:20-23)

Vern

A Fixer Upper

"You were bought at a price."
(1 Corinthians 6:20)

When a person purchases what they often call a "fixer upper" house, they expect to have to do a good bit of renovations. A lot of scraping paint, caulking, removing old lumber & replacing it with new, ripping out old carpet, replacing sheetrock, remove old light fixtures, install new trim, a lot of repainting, heck They may have to totally gut the whole house & start over to renovate the purchased home...just depends on how bad off it is. But even through all of that, the owner doesn't want to destroy that house, but to make that house something of worth, something of value, their intent is not to destroy the house, but to restore it to its former glory or better. They see the potential in what most people would give up on & mow down.

When God purchases us, He may have to pull off some old boards, He may have to scrape off some old paint, He even may have to totally gut out our lives, to renovate us, but He doesn't want to destroy us...His intentions are for us to become someone who will glorify His name to make us someone of spiritual value, someone of spiritual worth.

This came to me during a fundraiser for a friend's ministry that God has placed on his heart. The ministry is called Renovation Ministries, please take the time to check out the website & follow God in how He may want you to get involved in helping them renovate the lives of those who God loves & most have given up on.

Vern

Insane Tire Repair

“The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel: To know wisdom and instruction, to discern the sayings of understanding, to receive instruction in wise behavior, righteousness, justice and equity; to give prudence to the naive, to the youth knowledge and discretion…”

(Proverbs 1:1-4)

There was a man who had a flat right in front of an insane asylum. He got out & started working on changing the tire, while an inmate quietly watched his every move from inside the gated yard of the asylum. While changing the tire the man would place all his lug nuts in the hubcap he removed from his flat tire, so not to misplace them. But when he was struggling to place the spare on the car he stepped on the hubcap, slinging the lug nuts onto the road, where all five rolled through the grate of the drainage ditch. The man became angry & started talking to himself, “What now…what now…UHHGG!” as he paced back & forth wondering how he would get those lug nuts out.

The inmate that had been quietly watching throughout this whole ordeal spoke up. “Why don’t you take one lug nut off of each one of the other wheels & place them on that spare. Then drive down to the closest gas station & buy a new set?” The man stood there in amazement at the inmate’s words then responded, “That’s a great idea, but what are you doing in that asylum…I thought you were crazy?”

The inmate replied, “I may be crazy, but I ain’t stupid!”

In the first chapter, verses 1-4, we see what the book of Proverbs was written for, to know wisdom. This is even more important for us as Christians; in 1 Corinthians 1:30 we see what or who that wisdom is…Jesus Christ. This is exactly where wisdom or knowledge truly begin (Proverbs 9:10).

You can attend all of the schools of higher learning & obtain all the degrees you want & have all the PHD’s, MA’s, MSED’s, DVD’s, CD’s, MSNBC’s, ect…& still have zip in the way of true wisdom. The Book of Proverbs is about how to obtain that true wisdom & how to rightly use that wisdom. The younger a person starts in this book the better. But without knowing Christ as Savior & Lord, this book will do you no good, until you do. Again He is the key…He is true wisdom, & knowing Him as well as following the truths in Proverbs will keep you from being as the inmate said earlier…“stupid”.

“Wisdom is the right use of knowledge. To know is not to be wise. Many men know a great deal, and are all the greater fools for it. There is no fool so great a fool as a knowing fool. But to know how to use knowledge is to have wisdom.” (Charles H. Spurgeon)

Vern

Checker's of Light

“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.”
(Matthew 5:14)

I was taking one of  my kin folks to the airport on a Saturday night, had to be there an hour early for the flight. They are an hour ahead so I thought that we were doing good & had left in plenty of time. But due to a road name change, my bad sense of direction & the fact that we would be late even if we would have left the day before. We were just that…late, only by 5 minutes, but never the less…late. And you guessed it; they had given her seat away, weird how they did it within 5 minutes but it takes them an eternity to reserve you one. She made new reservations for 6am the following morning, which means it will actually be 5am…they are an hour ahead.

We rise & shine & leave the house by 2am, being sure to get her there on time… & we do. She is there in plenty of time to make her flight & I headed back.

 As I drive out of the airport I notice something, shining like a lighthouse on the rockiest island in the deadliest sea. Like a shining star in the darkest night, there it stood with all its grand excellence, in all its majesty…“Checker's”! 

Now I don’t know about you, but when I get up out of bed no matter the time, I’m hungry & when I saw “Checker's” my mouth started watering. I was excited…I couldn’t believe it was open…it was 4am…did you hear me? F.O.U.R. A.M.! I know!! That's  what I said!

I couldn’t help but pull in & get something to eat, I mean God bless em’ they were working fast food at 4am hated for them not to get to serve someone. I got up to the speaker & saw that there was no breakfast only burgers…even better!! A burger, fries & a sweet tea for breakfast…number one! It was great…& that sweet tea… it kept me awake all the way home.

In Matthew 5:14 Jesus tells us that we are “the light of the world” we are like a city on a hill that can’t be hidden. During those days when it got dark, it got dark. If you were out in the fields watching the sheep, you could see a city on a hill for miles; you couldn’t help but see it.

Jesus wants us to be that way. He wants to shine through us in such a way that we can’t be looked over or missed. That people see what we have & they want what we’ve got. A lot like “Checker's”, I couldn’t help but see it, it was really lit up. They had just what I needed to fill my empty tummy & to help me make it home safely. 

We have what the whole world needs. We have the only thing, the only One that will fill their emptiness & get them home safely. Be that light…that can’t be hidden.

Vern

Iron City Blues: Sites Can Be Deceiving

“My God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation. He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior from violent men you save me.”
(2 Samuel 22:3)

It all started with an idea that stemmed from us guys at work getting together for a weekly Bible study & a time to hold each other accountable for how we were living our lives. We got to talking one day about planning a camping trip just a time to goof off & fellowship…that turned into a decision to take an overnight canoeing/kayaking trip. During the planning I was nominated to find a place that would accommodate our plans. The plan was to take our camping supplies with us on the canoe & camp out on a sandbar then finish up the next morning. I searched the net for just such a place. It wasn’t long till I found one in another state & from the looks of the pictures on the site, it was awesome. Beautiful mountains, clear cool water & a few small rapids. That was the place! I called & made reservations & the trip was planned…or what we now like to refer to it as…“Vern’s stupid place he picked that could have cost us our lives but by the grace of God we lived to tell about it, trip"…a little long & wordy, but it works.

We all piled in a 4 door truck with our junk in the back & headed out early one morning for Tennessee. It was a good trip, everybody was cracking on each other as normal & Map quest was handling the directions. But as we got into the Tennessee town…Map quest wasn’t much of a help. Where Map quest ended…our destination was not, so we stopped to ask directions from the only person we saw, a little old man sitting on the front porch of an old store front, that may have been condemned if it were in any other town. I rolled down my window & asked if he knew where we could find our location, his words were just what I expected, “Turn right, right here, head on straight…you’ll see it unless you miss it”.

As we headed down that road the cab of the truck started to get very quiet. If I said that this place looked just like the place the dudes went canoeing, in the movie “Deliverance”…I wouldn’t be exaggerating…it was freaky. We got to the place & it was one of those old gas stations with gas pumps out front that didn’t work…someone had hand-painted, with a very shaky hand, I might add, a sign on the side of the building, we were there…whether we wanted to be or not.

Not a lot of customers, handful of locals…who stared…a lot. We walked in & looked around. It was a rough lookin’ place with some rough lookin’ people. They had that "Our parents were 1st cousins" look…they didn’t seem happy to see the business. There was one very normal looking person there…she was working behind the counter, very attractive girl, I approached her & said that we were there for the overnight canoe trip. She just looked at me for a second & said…in her deep southern tone… "Ye are?”. That kind of set me back, the look on her face was a very puzzled one, but I said "Yes, it was listed on your website". I told her that we were going to go about halfway & then camp on a sand bar. She looked very disturbed & said, “People round here don’t like people on their land.” But she said we could stay at the campground about half way down. Sounds good I thought, it wasn’t far past the store there & we could just leave our stuff in the truck & get it when we get back from our first run.

I went to the restroom before we left & just before going in, I saw a movie poster hanging on the wall…yep, you guessed it…“Deliverance”, with the caption, “This is the weekend they didn‘t play golf.” I yelled at the others & told them to look. Needless to say…we all were feeling as though we fit the part, but my plans were to be Burt Reynolds & no way was I gonna squeal like a pig...sorry bout that reference. But anyway...we hurried outside to wait on the drivers that would take us up river.

It was hot & we were becoming kind of uncomfortable as we waited on our drivers. I thanked the Lord when they finally showed up…until I saw them get out…two boys about 16 or so with cigs hanging out of their mouths & very red eyes…they giggled a lot too. They were in an old, white, rust spotted, 12 passenger van, with about 16 passengers & pulling a trailer of canoes & kayaks. We loaded up & I quietly prayed for a safe trip to the drop off & away we went. If they weren’t doing 70 to 80 up the winding hills of Tennessee, the Pope’s a Baptist.

We got to the drop off point which was behind someones house, & as we piled out, I wanted to kiss the ground. But we had to hurry & get a canoe & follow the dude that showed us where to put in. Did I mention that he had a Mohawk & a large tattoo on his back of a skull & crossbones? But in place of the crossbones there were paddles & over the top of it so beautifully etched into this dudes back was, “Paddle or Die”. Well we felt as though we were in good hands…but glad it wasn’t for long. When we hit the water we went guideless, two canoes & one kayak & we paddled as fast as we could to put distance between us, the “Paddle or Die” guy & his motley crew of drunken buddies.

When we got on down the creek, we slowed down. Man, was it beautiful. There were places with high mountain cliffs on either side, all kinds of plant life & the water was awesome. But paddling along we ran into several people who frankly…made me go back in my mind to that poster in the store. We passed one guy who was up against a high bank in his beat up, flat bottm boat. He was facing out toward the creek with his dog sitting beside him. He was kind of in the bushes but visible. Chris, one of the guys with us called over to him, “Catching anything?” His reply was… “I ain’t fishin” with a sour look & a scruffy cigarette smoking voice. So we paddled a little faster. We came across a couple of intoxicated parents, trying to give away their child & some old guys in lawn chairs in the middle of the creek with a strong smell of pot in the air. Of course Chris feels the need to strike up a conversation with these guys too. When one of them asked if it was going to stop raining…Chris told him, “It has to start raining, before it can stop” …it hadn’t rained the whole time we were there.

We had a good time until we finally got to the take out point for the camp out. The take out point was in the middle of the rapids…go figure. When we finally got out, we tiresomely pulled our canoes up on the bank & started looking around for the campground. We didn't see it...because there wasn't one! We found that out when we asked the old man with a glass eye, who was loading up our canoes. We asked him where we could camp, he said, as he looked around, as if he was looking for a place, "Well, guess you could go down there somebody's been burning stuff down there". We were standing in a small field beside some type of old factory that was very loud. The field looked like it was a city park, about two hundred years ago with old rusty swings & stuff.... I think one of the swings read, "George Washington swung here"...sorry that was bad.

We walked around that park debating with each other, "were we staying or going?", we made up our minds when the young kids...like very young kids, came riding by on four wheelers with cases of beer strapped to the front...& drinking one as well. We decided that one day in that town was enough. We remembered Davey Crockett State Park that we passed on the way, the decision was made...camping at the Crockett it is.

We returned to the canoe place to ask if they would refund half of our money since we were only staying one day. I told the girl that there was nowhere to camp. She graciously gave back the money & looked very relieved...kind of like she was on our side...I almost wanted to ask her if she was being held against her will. While she was refunding our money, there was a guy behind us, he was a short balding guy with suspenders & a super tight Star Trek t-shirt that didn't quite cover his belly, he informed us that we could camp on down river. He said "It gets really nice down there. There are waterfalls & rainbows..." We just said live long and prosper & pretty much ran out, jumped in the truck & headed for the state park.

We spent the night camping in a safe beautiful area...at that time we did not know, that we had just survived the most notorious city in the south, we didn't know they had no type of law enforcement. We didn't know that there was a blues song about this Tennessee town. These things we didn't know until we returned home & looked up the site that started it all. I noticed a video that I missed the first time. I watched it, then yelled for all the others to come in & watch it...we all were shocked. You can watch it too & see why I can no longer pick the place for our get togethers.

Click here to see the video

https://youtu.be/T0euDJn9G98

Vern

I'm A Finger

"My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.”
(John 10:27-28)

Dr. J Vernon McGee tells of a dear little lady, who talking about the assurance of her salvation, she once said, “Nobody can take me out of His hand.” Someone replied, “Well, you might slip through His fingers.” And she said, “Oh my no, I couldn’t slip through His fingers; I am one of His fingers”.

Some do not give God much credit when it comes to being able to secure someone eternally. “I mean yea He can create the world from nothing in six days , take the dust of the earth, breathe a breath of life into it & make man, He is King of kings & Lord of lords, but save someone & keep them saved…come on.” But that is the way some think. Look God is God & what else do you need to know. Jesus said in John 10, that those that His Father gives Him will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of His hand. We my friend, if you have accepted Christ as Lord & Savior, are saved & saved forever. You did nothing to earn or deserve your salvation & you can do nothing to keep it or lose it. God gave it to you, you accepted it & he sealed you with the Holy Spirit to guarantee your salvation: “In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation--having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God's own possession, to the praise of His glory” (Ephesians 1:13-14).

Remember what the lady said, “I couldn’t slip through His fingers; I am one of His fingers”, when we accept Christ, we not only are saved from the wrath that is to come…the Lake of Fire & total separation from God, but we become part of the body of Christ (Romans 12:5), & our eternal security lies totally with Him.


Are you a part of the Body of Christ? If not you can be today…repent & turn to Jesus Christ for salvation, make your life secure, let death, be a thing of the past…death is no worry, when you know that you or your loved one will live on (1 Corinthians 15:55). Jesus wants us to know that we are saved, not hope that we are, not wish that we are, but know…“These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life” (1 John 5:13) & in knowing, is true freedom to live for God & follow His will.

Vern

Hands-On Temptation

“But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust.”
(James 1:14)

Little Billy was told not to eat any sweets before supper, so his mom was furious when she found him in the pantry on a stool with his hand in the cookie jar. “Billy! What are you doing?” his mom shouted. Billy just looked back sheepishly & said, “Fightin’ temptation”.

We often find ourselves “fightin’ temptation” with our hand in the cookie jar. We try to get as close as we can to sin…without sinning. But we also mistake temptation for sin itself & when we mistake temptation for sin…when we are tempted, we feel as though we have already sinned, so why not act on it, I mean we have to ask forgiveness for it anyway…right? But actually temptation is not sin at all.

In James 1, it tells us that we are all “…carried away & enticed by our own lust”, kind of destroys that “the Devil made me do it” argument, huh? But this being “carried away & enticed” is not sin. We often forget that Jesus was taken out & tempted by Satan himself & did not sin.

James goes on to tell us that, “…when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin”. In other words, when we act on that lust, that is when we sin or that is when that sin is birthed. If a bad thought crosses my mind & I am tempted by it, that’s not the sin, but when I take part in it, then that’s sin. For example, let’s say that I am tempted to lie; now that isn’t a sin…until I do it.

So if we are just being tempted by that cookie, we can overcome it through Christ without sinning. But if we go stickin’ our hand in the jar…it’s time to repent.

Vern

To the Potter's Pleasing

"But the vessel that he was making of clay was spoiled in the hand of the potter; so he remade it into another vessel, as it pleased the potter to make."
(Jeremiah 18:4)

In Jeremiah 18 God sends Jeremiah to the local potter’s house to help him get a visual on what He was going to do with the “house of Israel”. Israel had been wandering away from God for sometime & had turned to false god’s & immorality. God had planned to discipline them but was willing as always to give them a chance to turn back to Him.

Reading about Jeremiah’s trip to the potter’s house got me interested in seeing a potter at work for myself…I mean the only time that I’ve seen a potter at work is in the movie “Ghost” & that wasn’t quite what I was looking for, for an illustration. But I did watch one online from start to finish, & noticed how amazing it was to see this lady take a slab of gunk & make a beautiful vase out of it. It reminded me of what God wanted to do with Israel & what He wants to do with you & me & how we need to be willing to be formed.

When the lady started, she started with just a messy lump of clay. If it would have been set to the side, it would have just been a blob of worthless mud, useful for nothing. You couldn’t just stick some flowers in it & make it beautiful, you couldn’t drink out of it & you sure didn’t want to eat off of it. It had to be molded, shaped, worked into a useful form by the potter…& this lady was the one to do it. She took that slab of goop & plopped it down on the wheel & then put her hands on it & made sure that it was centered. Then as the wheel turned, she carefully formed that clay into a vase. Now there was only one thing that could have kept her from making this clay into what she wanted it to be, & that was the consistency of the clay. The clay had to be moldable, she did all the work, the clay just allowed her to do it.

When we first come to God we are no more than a mess of useless clay. Like that clay we can’t make something out of ourselves & we are not good for anything without the potter’s forming. But when we accept Christ, God puts us on His potter’s wheel & through salvation He centers us by indwelling us with the Holy Spirit, & when we are at the right consistency He starts to form us. Getting to the right consistency is probably the hardest part of this whole process…we have to come to the place where we realize that we are nothing & only God can make us something. Adrian Rogers said it best, 

“The only thing God makes something out of is nothing, so if you will become nothing, He will make something out of you”.

As we allow God to work on us, we become who & what He wants us to be. We become useful for His work…what once was formless & useful for nothing…becomes beautiful & able to accomplish God’s plans. 

There was one other thing that the lady did to this clay to make it into that beautiful vase. She placed it in a hot oven & baked it…or cured it. God often allows things to come into our lives to test us…to cure us…& like that clay, to strengthen us. The heat made that clay able to hold it’s useful shape.

If you do not know Christ today, accept Him as your Lord & Savior. If you have done this, then allow God to work on you, to form you into what is pleasing to Him & be at the right consistency for Him to be able to form you, through spending time with Him in daily Bible study & prayer…in a relationship with Him. Also, be willing to keep your eyes on Him when troubles or persecutions come & see it as no matter what happens, God is still in control & through all of this, you will allow God to make you into the person…the beautiful person, that He wants you to be & you will be able through Him to accomplish His will for your life.


Vern

Sin Against Love

“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
(Romans 5:8)

James was all out of ideas since the economy went south. Out of money, lost his job & on the brink of insanity wandering how he would pay his bills, he came to his ill thought out plan…a robbery. James thought “It wouldn’t be right but it would work…I mean times are bad, people have to do something to survive”. But there was one thing holding him back…Mrs. Parker. She was a little old, widowed lady with not a lot of money, but what she did have she gave willingly to anyone who needed it. She new James from church when he uses to attend, before he lost his wife & his job & every so often she would send a check for $5 to James about once a month, with a note that read “God loves you & so do I, trust in him” . The thought of her good deed was a passing one as he confirmed in his heart that robbery was the only way.

So he decided to rob the convenience store two towns over…hey, it was one he never shopped in anyway, no one would know him there. The day came & James had mustered up enough courage or stupidity to go in to the store with gun drawn. The lady behind the counter started crying for him not to hurt her as he yelled at her to give him all the money in the register. While he was screaming at the girl, someone grabbed James’ arm, it freaked him out so bad that he spun around with the gun & pulled the trigger. As the body fell to the floor James turned pail white… “I never wanted anyone to get hurt!” James dropped to his knees & cradled Mrs. Parker in his arms. She had just stopped by the store to pick up some bread for her grandson who was attending the local college in town. “James” she said, “God still loves you & so do I”, the last words that James would her from Mrs. Parker, but words that would last forever in his mind. The robbery was bad enough, but living with the knowledge that you really hurt someone who truly loved you, no matter what, was almost unbearable.

God’s love toward us is great, Romans 5:8 tells us that He loved us & died for us, even when we didn’t care about Him. I often find myself, after falling to sin, cringing for the fact that I sinned against a God who truly loves me. I sinned against love…that is the worst sin that you can commit…a sin against love.

Vern

Memphis Blues

"Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!"

(John 1:29)

I was with our youth on the annual "Street Reach" mission trip, sitting doing a morning quiet time outside the church on the streets of Memphis. While just sitting & being quiet, I heard a door open across the street on a little run down house that was surrounded by a 5 to 6 foot chain link fence with a big sign on the gate that read "Beware of Dog". A little old man waddled out the door with a bag of trash in his hand, he opened the lock on his fence that was attached to a large chain, he hurried out the gate threw away the trash went back in, locking it behind him. Three large dogs came up to him he patted each one on the head & then went back inside & locked his door.

The next morning in the same place, I watched an older white man walking down the street, he looked up saw a young black man walking toward him, he immediately crossed to the other side with a frightened look on his face.

While working with the children on our site we witnessed a man standing outside a car beating a man in the car & cussing him very loudly. I was between the kids & the fight, I yelled at them & told them to stop that there were kids around, but they he didn't listen. I looked back at the kids & saw fear...there were some that it didn't bother, but those that could see it well seemed scared. All of these situations made me feel that this city was hopeless...I can understand why this city is well known for the blues.

All of this got me thinking about how sin brings nothing but fear & imprisonment. The kids surrounded by violence, the old man crossing the street & the little old man who locked himself away in his own house, all of them fear the sin that lives around them. I was thinking about how our sin doesn't just effect us, but everyone we come in contact with. Memphis is a place that after dark & even during the day, you wouldn't want to walk the streets...all because of people who choose to live in sin. If only they would choose to accept the only one who could set them all free from sin & the Memphis blues. There is hope & it is Jesus.

Please be in prayer for Memphis, Brinkley Heights Church & their ministry Street Reach. Pray that they make a difference daily & that God would protect them & give them great success in spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ to the children & adults of Memphis.

Vern

Armor All

“Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground”
(Ephesians 6:13)

They say that the Battle of Saratoga may have very well been the turning point of the Revolutionary war, due to a group of men called Morgan’s Rifles, lead by Daniel Morgan a man who by all means was a great sharp shooter. It’s said that they did not miss what their sights were focused on.

During that battle Morgan & his men were fighting the British when it’s said that Morgan gave an odd command:

“Forget the poor fellow that fights for six pence a day, and concentrate your fire on the epaulets”.

An Epaulet is the shoulder decorations that the British commanders would normally wear on their jackets. What Morgan was saying was…take out the leaders. That’s what made the difference in the Battle of Saratoga & may have made the turn in the Revolutionary War…the loss of too many commanders. Now I find that to be a good thing & I am by no means comparing Daniel Morgan to Satan, but what was done in that battle is exactly what Satan does to the Church…focuses his fire on the leaders, the ones who take a stand, the ones who are doing something for Christ. Satan says, “We can’t shoot at all of them…shoot at the leaders, hit those who are taking a stand, those who are making a difference.”

There’s a saying that “The ferocity of Satan’s attacks on you are in direct proportion to your potential usefulness for Jesus Christ”. Are you leading, are you making a difference? Are Satan’s attacks becoming ferocious?

I was listening to a pastor the other day, who gave some tips on how to protect you from those attacks, by every day putting on the Full Armor of God that is listed in Ephesians 6.

“Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground…” We are told first to put on the armor of God, so that when Satan comes, we will be ready. What good would it do, to wait until your enemy got in your face for battle, to put on your armor? Don’t wait, put it on ever morning, be ready & stand firm.

Put on the “belt of truth”, this belt holds the whole thing together. Without it, the breast plate would flop around & there would be no place to hang your sword. When you put on the belt, say, “Lord only truth today, no deceit”. God wants us to be truthful. Live your life without lies, often it seems the easy way out of a tough situation that Satan brings your way, but Satan himself is called “The father of lies”. We need to live upright & honest.

Next put on “breastplate of righteousness”, this protects your vital organs…mainly your heart. Without it on a battle field, you would not last long. In putting it on every morning say, “Lord only what is pure today”. Only put into your mind that which is pure. Be careful what you take in…keep focused on what’s pure. David left off his righteousness for a day & fell hard with a lady named Bathsheba. If you go into battle with one piece missing, that will be were Satan will strike, your weakest point.

Then put on the sandals of “the gospel of peace”. These sandals are not your everyday flip flops with a strap. They were more like a wrap around shoe type sandal with cleats on the bottom, a lot like football cleats. If an offensive lineman had on slick bottom leather loafers while trying to block a defensive lineman from killing his quarterback, he would be pushed all over…the cleats help stabilize his stance. They were made to help the soldier to stand his ground. That’s exactly what the gospel does for us; it gives us the stability we need to stand on. The Holy Spirit living in me gives me the peace I need through troubling times in my life that Satan may throw at me. So in putting on the sandals of the “gospel of peace” say, “Lord only your peace today, not my worry”, let His peace guard your life.

The next item is the “shield of faith”. Roman soldier’s shields were almost as long as the soldier who carried it, it was a full body shield. During the wars they fought, they would often encounter flaming arrows. They were arrows that had been coated on the end with a flammable substance, set a blaze & shot at the enemy, this arrow would cause terrible damage to whoever it landed on. But the shields that the soldiers had protected them from these attacks, our shield of Faith will protect us as well. Just like the shield helped the soldier not to fear those flaming arrows, we have no need to fear the arrows that Satan shoots our way, we can rest in our faith in God. When you take up the shield of Faith say this, “Lord, only faith today not fear”, have faith in God, He loves you & will protect you.

Now take the “helmet of salvation”, the helmet in battle was a very important part of the armor, without it you could loose your mind…literally. To battle Satan, you must be in your right mind; the only way to do that is to be in Christ & have the mind of Christ…you must be saved. Salvation is the only way to be in your right mind. When putting on the “helmet of salvation” say this, “Only the cross no other power”, there is no other power that will work or that we need other than the power that Christ provided from the cross & resurrection.

The last piece of the armor the “sword of the Spirit” the Word of God…the Bible, is very important, it is the only offensive part that you have, the rest is to defend with. But it is the most neglected part of the armor in today’s society. J. Vernon McGee said that almost every home in America has a copy of the Bible, if you don’t have one, you can ask & someone will give you one. In most “Christian’s” homes there are at least four or more Bible…but who is reading them? We can not neglect God’s word & make it through this battle of life. We can put on all the armor we want, but when it comes time to fight…we will be seen as unarmed, when our enemy comes fully loaded, if we do not have our “sword of the Spirit”. When Jesus encountered Satan in the wilderness, He used God’s word to defeat him, we do too.

Without knowing God’s word we can get pulled into all sorts of false teachings. I had a guy send me a video the other day & that was trying to prove that Jesus was not God. In the video they used the book of Jude, written by the brother of Jesus, to say that he was warning about a group of people who had infiltrated the group of believers & these infiltrators had been teaching that Jesus was God & that Jude knowing Jesus so well was saying that Jesus was not God. Now this is the verse they used Jude 4 & this is how they quoted it, “For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality.” The Guy who was asking the question said, “Now I’m a Christian, but all they showed is really good evidence that Jesus was not God. How do I defend that?” I thought to myself, are you kidding me…lets actually look at what Jude 4 truly says, “For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality...” It does say that, but read the rest, “…and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.” If the guy would have picked up his Bible & actually read it, he would have had no reason to ask the question he did…he would have seen the attack of Satan & fended it off with God’s Word. When you are taking up the “sword of the Spirit” say this, “Lord, only what you say, not my feelings”, the guy asking the question about Jesus being God was going on how that video made him feel, not by God’s Word.

Now that we have on the “Full Armor of God”, it goes on to tell us, “…pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints”, be in pray at all times. Prayer meetings & things like that are fine, but we often feel as though when we leave one, that we are through praying. We need to be a people of prayer, people who pray at anytime & any place. We need to stay in constant contact with God. The soldier could put on the armor & hold his sword, but if he didn’t train, it would all be for nothing, much like trying to live the Christian life without prayer.

When asked, a Roman commander said that one of the reasons that Rome fell was due to laziness. Rome got comfortable & lazy, they stopped the military drills & the soldiers petitioned Cesar asking to be able to not wear the heavy, bulky armor. They hadn’t kept in shape, they hadn’t trained…they were weak & they couldn’t handle the extra weight of the armor. When they went to battle the Goths, without their protective armor…they were defeated. The sad part is that no one stood up & said, “Put the armor back on!”

When we face Satan day in & day out, without God’s armor…we too will be defeated. The Full Armor of God is one of the main things we are lacking in the church, so I’m saying now…”Put the armor back on!”

Print off the portion below & keep it with you, tape it in your Bible, put it in your wallet or purse & daily put on the armor of God:

“Lord only truth today, no deceit”
“Lord only what is pure today”
“Lord only your peace today, not my worry”
“Lord, only faith today not fear”
“Only the cross no other power”
“Lord, only what you say, not my feelings”
Pray at all times

Vern

Kill The Epaulets

"Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. "

(Ephesians 6:11)

They say that the Battle of Saratoga may have very well been the turning point of the Revolutionary war, due to a group of men called Morgan’s Rifles, lead by Daniel Morgan a man who by all means was a great sharp shooter. It’s said that they did not miss what their sights were focused on.

During that battle Morgan & his men were fighting the British when it’s said that Morgan gave an odd command:

“Forget the poor fellow that fights for six pence a day, and concentrate your fire on the epaulets”.

An Epaulet is the shoulder decorations that the British commanders would normally wear on their jackets. What Morgan was saying was…take out the leaders. That’s what made the difference in the Battle of Saratoga & may have made the turn in the Revolutionary War…the loss of too many commanders. Now I find that to be a good thing & I am by no means comparing Daniel Morgan to Satan, but what was done in that battle is exactly what Satan does to the Church…focuses his fire on the leaders, the ones who take a stand, the ones who are doing something for Christ. Satan says, “We can’t shoot at all of them…shoot at the leaders, hit those who are taking a stand, those who are making a difference.”

There’s a saying that “The ferocity of Satan’s attacks on you are in direct proportion to your potential usefulness for Jesus Christ”. Are you leading? Are you making a difference? Are Satan’s attacks becoming ferocious?

So how do you protect yourself from those attacks? By every day making sure that through a time spent with God, that you put on the "full armor of God". It's simple, the closer your walk with God the more and easier He can and will take care of you. God wants you close so He can walk with you through this life. So that it is His strength that you are relying on and not your own. Satan is more powerful than you...but not your Father. 

Vern

Eye-Catching Love

“Now as to the love of the brethren, you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another…”
(1 Thessalonians 4:9)

“Love one another” is used in the New Testament about 12 times. Jesus tells us that it is very important that we love one another, so important that He commands it. He says that the way others will know that we are His disciples is by the way we love one another.

When we look in 1 Thessalonians 4 we see where Paul was speaking with the church of the Thessalonians, in verse 9-10 he tells them that they need to keep on doing what they are doing in loving their brothers throughout Macedonia, Paul says that they are doing such a good job at it & there is no need to write them about loving one another, because they were “…taught by God to love one another”. What does that mean? How did God teach them to do that? Two words…Holy Spirit.

God plainly tells us in 1 John 3:10 that, “By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother”. God tells us that if we do not love our brothers in Christ that we are not His at all. These Thessalonians loved their brothers in Christ, because the Holy Spirit that lived within them loved their brothers in Christ.

Do you love your brother? If not, there are only two things that could be wrong:
1) you are saved & away from God, which makes it very easy to find fault in your brothers. I saw a sign in a church parking lot yesterday that read, “Faults are thick…when love is thin”.
2) You are not saved at all. If the Holy Spirit lives in you, then you will not be able to help loving your Brother in Christ. “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.” (1 John 4:20).

In conclusion, all of this is concerning brothers or sisters in Christ, it’s how the world sees us in the Church (the family of God), that will often draw them to or turn them away from God, we…when we love one another as Christians…will then turn our love outwardly as well. In the twilight years of the Roman Empire In the middle of corrupt persecution and massive misunderstanding, and in an age when serving others was thought to be undignified, Christians, instead of fleeing disease and death, went around ministering to the sick and helping the poor, the widowed, the crippled, the blind, the orphaned and the aged. The people of the Roman Empire were forced to admire their works and dedication. “Look how they love one another,” was heard on the streets. How great would it be, if in today’s time, it could be heard of us…“Look how they love one another”. Many people came to Christ because of the love they saw from those Christians.

Are people interested in who God is based on what they see in your life, the way you love your brothers & sisters in Christ? If not do something about it…let’s live our lives to honor God, so the world can see.

Vern

Heart Scan

This is a Journal entry from our Church website…

“I’m going to write on something other than our reading today. I’m sitting here in my office, drinking a cup of coffee and reading my Bible. At the same time my heart is hurting for this church. It is during tough times that you see the character of a person. When things go well, we tend to have good attitudes; however, when things are difficult our true colors will shine through. I want to point us to a part of scripture that Paul talks about his time of weakness. In 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 he writes, “But he said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in my weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” What Paul is saying is that he is strongest when he’s at his weakest because he is relying on God’s strength, not his own.”

“Don’t you think that should be our attitude as well? Rejoice in budget cuts? YES!!!! Rejoice in having no pastor? YES!!!!! Rejoice in people leaving the church? YES!!!! Do I believe that at this moment our church is boasting in our weaknesses? No I don’t. Why can Paul do it and we can’t? The truth is we can do exactly what Paul is doing. Our attitude can be the same as Paul’s. The reason it’s not is because we don’t believe God’s grace is sufficient. For the most part we are a church who can talk about God, but we have no idea who He is. We are a people who wallow in our weakness instead of a people who rejoice in it. We have become people who pray because we are in trouble, but we failed to seek God when things were going well. I’ve heard a number of people say that “we need God to intervene so that we can get back to where we used to be.” MAYBE GOD ALREADY INTERVENED BECAUSE HE DOESN’T WANT US TO BE WHAT WE USED TO BE…Just maybe God wants us to be weak…. Maybe God wants our weakness so that we no longer rely on our own strength in abilities, but instead Christ’s power rests on us.”

“Do we want to be a strong, healthy church? I do. If so, we need to embrace the fact that we are weak, because when we are weak, we are strong. If people want to leave because of hardships, God bless them, God has something in store for those who stick it out, those of us who aren’t ashamed of our inability, but who are confident in God’s ability. We do need God to rescue us as a church, but it’s not from finances or anything else. We need God to rescue us from ourselves. When we move out of God’s way we will see amazing things happen. We are seeing amazing things happen now in certain areas of this church. We have potential of being a great church. I don’t mean a big church or a wealthy church, but a great church. Great churches are churches who are focused on God and God alone, who are constantly in the community serving those around them, who are humble enough to admit their inadequacies and allow God’s power to carry them. Do we want to be that? I hope so.” (From “Daily Connection Journal” Shane Collins)

I do have one problem with this journal entry…I didn’t write it.
May God bless Grace & allow us to be worthy of His blessings.

Vern

Running

(Question) “Is it a common thing to have a passive Christian that knows what he needs to do, he knows he needs to fight the good fight of faith against the devil but he doesn’t fight enough because he becomes passive lazy? I find myself fighting passivity on a regular basis.”


I wish it wasn’t, but it is very common. It happens to a lot of Christians. It’s cool you brought up “fighting the good fight” a well known quote of Paul, a man who though he was a strong apostle he had his times of struggle as in Romans 7, like all Christians do. But Paul also told us how to stay strong in our faith & how not to grow weary & lazy in doing good. “…run in such a way as to get the prize.” (1 Corinthians 9:24) Paul tells us to run to win. Often we just run with no true goal in mind…we’re just out there running. I found out once that running is not my thing; I was a random runner & also realized that if you run a mile away from the house, it’s also a mile back. Who knew? But we often accept Christ like that, & then we get lazy in what it takes to grow & see it as being hard & loose focus on that prize.

Now Paul goes on to tell us that, “Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training”. Look at it this way, when a person is training for a race, he has to eat right & exercise, if he didn’t eat well & he gorged out on junk food & didn’t exercise at all or just half way did it when he did, then he would feel bad physically & would feel more like laying around watch TV than running a race. It’s the same thing with us spiritually. When we don’t read our Bible & spend time in pray or maybe we do but half way do it, then we get spiritually lazy, which in turn often causes us to get physically lazy as well. As Christians we have to be strict in our training, to run the race of the Christian life.

So it often comes down to us having to get with God, & like David, ask Him to search our hearts & show us where we are & then get back to where we need to be with Him to be able to run that race properly. It takes Bible study & prayer for us to grow…the closer we get to God, the more He will teach us, the more He will use us & the more we will be able to run this race through Him & win.




Vern

Jim's Truck

“Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”

(2 Corinthians 5:17)

Jim had an old beat up truck that he worked on constantly…it seemed like he worked on it more than he drove it. Jim had this truck for years, it was old and worn out when he got it, and seemed destined to stay that way, no matter how much time he poured into it. 

Jim took this old truck touched it up with some paint, put new seat covers on the old ripped up seats, replaced the tires and rims…but the motor was shot and Jim just didn’t have the money to replace it. No matter how much Jim fixed it up on the outside, the truck was still a problem and he had to keep on spending most of  his Saturdays as a shade tree mechanic.

One Saturday morning Jim woke up to find his truck under the shade tree where he had left it the day before, planning to do some more patch work on the motor, but today the truck had some other parts sticking out from underneath the front end…it was the legs of his father who had just finished installing the new motor that Jim couldn’t afford to buy.
“Dad, I’m going to do everything I can to pay you back for that motor.” Jim said. His father just smiled and said, “Son I didn’t purchase this motor expecting you to pay me back, I purchased this motor as a gift because I love you and because I could.” Jim hopped in the truck started it up, he and his father took her for a test drive, the truck was just like new.

When we come to Christ, we can’t fix and repair our old nature…but it does become just that…our old nature. No matter how much we fix ourselves up on the outside we can’t be new until our spirit, is replaced with a new one, the Holy Spirit, then and only then can we become a “new creature” in Jesus Christ.
It’s not improving on the old nature, but living in the new one.

Vern

The Whistle

“…those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.”
(Hebrews 9:15)

In the neighborhood where I grew up, I had anywhere from five to ten friends who at any given moment were ready to roam the neighborhood in search of fun. Whether we were playing baseball, riding bikes or working on our ninja skills, pretty much everyone of us knew that no matter where we were or what we were doing, that when one of our fathers called…it was time to go. My dad had this loud whistle that could be heard for miles, but if I was too far away to hear it, I was too far from home. It seems like all my friends had a father who had a distinct whistle or yell, but whichever they used, it was a clear signal that we best be on our way…you didn’t want to hear it again, unless you were close enough to yell “I’m coming” & yell it loud enough for the calling father to hear…or it could get messy.

Whether or not your earthly father ever called you while you were out playing…you have heard or you will hear your Heavenly Father’s call at some point in your life…you may even be hearing it now. What does He sound like? You know… you know God’s calling as well as I knew my fathers whistle…it’s that longing to fill an empty space in your life, that you’ve desperately tried to fill with everything material, and nothing at all satisfies. It’s that hunger for true peace for your weary mind. You know it & to ignore it would be senseless. When my father whistled, I didn’t worry about what my friends thought, I took off. I knew when he called it was time. 2 Corinthians 6:2 says “Behold, now is ‘THE ACCEPTABLE TIME,’ behold, now is ‘THE DAY OF SALVATION”. Not later, but now.

Hebrews 9:15 tells us that those who are “called may receive the promise of eternal inheritance”…all will be called…but will all listen? In this world there are only two kinds of people, the “whosoever wills”…and the “whosoever won’ts”…make yourself a “whosoever will”… today (John 3:16-18).

Vern

Get Off the Bank and Into the Boat

“And He said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

(Matthew 4:19)

A great Greek philosopher once said that “A bad day fishing is a million times better than a good day at work”, okay maybe it wasn’t a Greek philosopher, but I’m sure one heck of a philosopher had to have come up with it.

At any hint of warm weather the banks of the river near where we live start to fill with old & young looking to entice a fish to the bait they have just thrown out. They all set along the shore intently watching to see if their bobber even slightly moves & when it goes under…BOOM! They set the hook! But more often than not, they are there to hang out with friends or maybe family, they sit on the bank talking, eating & drinking, enjoying the day not really caring whether they catch a fish or not & living by the rule, that you don’t fish in the rain.  

I was thinking the other day as I watched the men fishing, that we as the church are a lot like the fishermen on the shore. We go to church to hang out & visit with our friends & family, to just fellowship & enjoy the get-togethers, ever once in a while throwing out some bait to try & lure some non-believers to church & often only “fishing” for a certain kind of fish. Some decide to stay home at the drop of rain.

When Jesus called the disciples to become “fishers of men”, they knew exactly what He meant, for most of them fishing was a way of life. They knew fishing was hard work. They knew the heartache of a bad day without a single fish & the joy of a good day when their nets were full. These guys didn’t sit on the shore; they got in the boat, sailed out in search of the fish, threw out nets & pulled in all kinds. Often the waters were rough & dangerous, but they still went fishing.

When God called you to be a “fisher of men” he called you to the boat, He called you to weep for the lost & to rejoice when they are saved, to go out & cast out the net & trust Him to fill it…but He never called you to just sit on the pew & every once in awhile, casting out your bait & watching your bobber hoping someone might come to church, heck He didn’t even call us to invite people to church. He called us to make disciples…to share the gospel. Do you want people to come to church? Share Jesus with them. Get off the bank & into the boat…we may not have much longer to fish.


Vern

Attitude Adjustment

"Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus"
(Philippians 2:5)

Through out church history churches have split over the silliest things from the color of the carpet to the difference in the styles of music to who should be in charge of cooking the fried chicken for the yearly singing & “dinner on the ground”, I mean Betty’s chicken is always to dry & that Annie Mae I tell ya, bless her heart, her chicken is way to grease it’s like your chewin’ on a bottle of Wesson Oil…any way, there is a church in Louisiana whose roof is green on one side and red on the other. This was done because some members of the church stubbornly wanted green and other members unyieldingly wanted red. The disagreement was so intense that the church was going to split because of it. Fortunately, a compromise was reached and the church did not split. Unfortunately, the red and green roof is a monument to the surrounding community of the disunity within the body of Christ. Church splits are an awful thing, something that should never happen, but often do because of one thing, we forget who our attitudes should be like, we forget in whom our unity lies.

Paul tells us in Philippians 2 that we as the church should be "...like-minded, having the same love...” what "same love" is it referring to? Is it just, love for each other or being people who love their community? No, it’s nothing like that; this verse is speaking of Christ. What always causes petty arguments inside the body of the church, is when we forget our true love, our reason for being in the body...the one who saved us. When we are all focused on Christ & His will, we don't have time to sit around & find petty things to gripe about, nor do we want to. We become "...one in spirit and purpose", because we are concerned about the will of God instead of will of self.

When we forget about self & put others first, we take on the most important thing that will heal any rift in a troubled church…we take on the attitude of Christ.

Vern

When the Wheels Fall Off

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”
(Philippians 4:6)

There's a story that is told about the Architect of the Panama Canal, Ferdinand Lesseps, the story says that one day while at his desk in the study of his houseboat just off shore, pouring over the plans for the Panama Canal & submerged in his work, his son was playing with a toy wagon at his feet. The little boy was pushing the wagon all around the floor & around his father’s feet, when all of a sudden one of the wheels on his wagon came off & rolled across the room. The little boy chased down the runaway wheel & he immediately took the broken toy to his busy father, who stopped his very important work, took the toy & in one twist of the wrist, popped the wagon wheel back on to its miniature axle. Ferdinand returned the wagon to his waiting son & the son returned to his play.

Philippians 4 tells us to “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” In laymen’s terms, “Don't worry about nothin', but pray about everything”. It goes on to tell us that when we do that "the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." God's peace will be with us, we can have peace in any trouble. Paul, the man who wrote this should know better than anybody, that God's peace "surpasses all comprehension"(2 Corinthians 11:23-33).

Also notice that Ferdinand's son didn't look at his problem & say, "This just isn't a big enough problem to take to my Father." No he just took it. His father also didn't look down at Junior & say, "Look son I'm busy with an important project, I just don't have time right now." He just stops everything & fixes the problem...nothing his son could ever bring to him would be too small of a problem, if it bothered his son that he loved. Nothing is ever too small of a problem to take to your heavenly Father. When the wheels fall off, where do you turn, where do you go when everything seems to be falling apart? Ferdinand's son didn't think twice, he took his wagon & wheel straight to the only one he knew that could repair it...straight to his father.

Is God your Father? Is He your savior? He can be...go to the top of this page on the right hand side, you can click to see what the plan of salvation is, as well as how to accept that Plan. Or feel free to email me at vernmason1@gmail.com.

Vern

To Teach or Not To Teach...That Was The Question

“Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment.” (James 3:1)

This is a question that I received online:

“Will teachers of the word of God be held to a higher standard than others? I’ve been feeling called to teach, but have heard that the Bible says that teachers would be held more accountable than others. I really want to make sure that I make the right decision.”

Yes, in James 3:1 the Bible says, “Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren…” James is warning against becoming a teacher of God’s word. Why? He goes on to give us the reason, “knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment.” He encourages his fellow Christians to not become Teachers of God’s word because of the higher level of accountability a teacher will be held to by God. God takes His word seriously, because many can be, have been & will be lead astray by false teachers...this is the main reason that it is truly important to read, study & know the Bible for yourself, instead of just listening to someone else tell you what it says.

Now is that all that James is saying here, for Christians not to be teachers? No, he is just giving a strong warning against taking the calling of a teacher lightly. I’m afraid that many people today do take the teaching of God’s word way to lightly; they sometimes become teachers for the wrong reasons. It might be that they felt pressured into it by their church; maybe there were not enough teachers so they just took the job. It may have been that they just wanted to try it out. Maybe their mom told them that they would make a good teach. Whatever the reason, if it's not a call from God, they shouldn't teach. Some who teach may not pick up the word & study until the night before they teach & may never go to God in prayer about how to or what to teach. Either way, if a person is not called by God to teach, again, they should never do it, God WILL judge teachers more strictly.

We do however need to remember that God does call people to teach, it is one of the gifts God gives (Ephesians 4:11). If God calls you to teach, there is no need to fear that calling. But you should be more than dedicated to the task that God has given you & remain an instrument in His hands & devote yourself to the study of His word.





Vern

A Fool and His Money

"But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?”
(Luke 12:20)

A very wealthy man passed away & his sons, daughters, grandchildren, cousins, ect… all gathered in the grand study of his lavish estate, greedily awaiting their reward for being kin to this wealthy man. The lawyer entered the study with the will in hand, “How much did he leave!” the family asked with excitement. The lawyer smugly answered, “Everything…he left it all.”

Someone once said that there are no pockets in a shroud & you never see a hearse towing a U-Haul, those are all very true & Jesus states it here, In Luke 12. In these verses Jesus gave a story of a very wealthy man whom He labeled as a fool. But notice what kind of man this guy appears to be. On the outside he seemed to be an upstanding citizen, a good neighbor & a great family man. He was very successful & lived in a very nice part of town. He wasn’t crooked; he wasn’t mixed up in shady business deals, he wasn’t an alcoholic or keeping a lady on the side, but Jesus still calls him a fool. Why?

By what he says & does, he put all his thought on himself & he’s covetous…he was storing up for himself. He wasn’t concerned with the needs of the poor, but with the needs of himself. Boy does that sound like us today. We…& notice I’m using “we”, because I’m apart of it…We have become a people more worried about what we have & what we want than what others may truly need. Now don’t get me wrong, Jesus isn’t saying don’t save for a rainy day, God does give us the example of the ant (Proverbs 6:6-8). He is saying, don’t hoard up for yourself. This guy in the story was putting up more than he could ever use, while people around him may have been in dire need. Jesus called him a fool for that, “You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?” This guy had collected all these earthly treasures, but had not laid anything away in Heaven.

This epitaph fits well here:
“Here lies john Racket, in his wooden jacket. He kept neither horses nor mules. He lived like a hog. He died like a dog, and left all his money to fools.”

Again this man stored up riches for himself & stored nothing up in Heaven. He was living as though this life was it, you know the “Eat, drink & be merry…for tomorrow we die” mentality. It wasn’t that this guy was outwardly bad & awful, but inwardly he hadn’t done a thing. He was focused on himself & his wants instead of the wants of Jesus & he was called a fool.

I sat in the living room of a man who lived in our town, he was a very wealthy man, had land & a great business. While there I shared Jesus with him. I asked him “If you died today, would you go to heaven?” he said, “I don’t need that stuff, I’ve got all I need.” About a year or so later, I heard that he passed away; it broke my heart, because I heard that others who shared with him heard the same reply. I drive by his home daily & every time I do, I think of that night in his living room & I wonder now if he would change his mind. “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Luke 12:34)

Vern