Author: admin

“Your own wickedness will punish you.  You will see what an evil, bitter thing it is to forsake the Lord your God, having no fear of him.  I, the Lord, the Lord Almighty, have spoken!”  Jeremiah 2:19

Aaaaahhhhh!!  Shriek!!!!!!!  Wow!  Them’s some powerful words.  I don’t know about you guys, but that just scared the begeezies out of me.   You’re probably thinking holy mackerel, I can’t believe she just blurted out that scary verse.  That can’t be in the Bible, you say?  That’s not the God I know, you say?

I didn’t put it there to scare you or TO shock you.  I put it there for the Flag Factor.  What’s the Flag Factor?  Glad you asked.  It’s actually a rabbit hole moment.  I’ve been reading in Genesis, I love, love, love Genesis.  It is riveting, no kidding!  When I start in Genesis I just can’t put it down.  It’s like a good book?!?  Anyway, where was I?  Ok, right – the Flag Factor.  There was a verse in Genesis that had a cross reference in Jeremiah.  This is where the trail began.

I found that the prevailing theme of the Book of Jeremiah is that of national sinfulness and imminent judgment.  It’s a book of warnings.  The messages of Jeremiah was to convince God’s people to turn from their sin back to Him.   Know anyone else with that same message?  Jeremiah was written to Israel, specifically, the southern kingdom of Judah and its capital, Jerusalem.  Ah, he’s talking to the folks of The Holy City.  The same Holy City that Jesus rode through on a colt on Palm Sunday while the crowds sang Hosanna!  Hosanna!  We’re a little bit like Israel too, aren’t we?  Disobedient to God one minute, singing His praises the next.

Anyway, Jerusalem was destroyed, the Temple was destroyed, and the Israelites were captured and taken off to Babylon.  All because of sin.  Sin has serious consequences.  We don’t like to think about that too much.  Jeremiah is a book of messages from the Lord.  Jeremiah the Prophet gives the messages from the Lord, issues warnings, and then weeps in anguish for their disobedience because he knows they are working out their own destruction.  As I was reading, I came across this verse and couldn’t stop thinking about it:

Blow the ram’s horn throughout the land.  Cry out loudly…Lift up a signal flag toward Zion.  Run for cover!  Don’t stand still!  Jeremiah 4:5-6

Lift up a signal flag.  It’s the Flag-Factor.  Why would you wave a flag?  To signal.  To advise.  To warn.  To alert.  Jeremiah was one flag waving dude.  Change your ways, be obedient to God, because there are consequences.  The alarm was sounded because the message was alarming.

But God also gave Jeremiah a message of hope for the captives:

“The truth is that you will be in Babylon for seventy years.  But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised, and I will bring you home again.  For I know the plans I have for you,”  says the Lord.  “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.  In those days when you pray, I will listen.  If you look for me in earnest, you will find me when you seek me.  I will be found by you”, says the Lord.  “I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes.  I will gather you out of the nations where I sent you and bring you home again to your land.”  Jeremiah 29:10

Here’s the beauty of the message – God rescues his people – to give them a future and a hope.

So, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation whatsoever to do what your sinful nature urges you to do.  For if you keep following it, you will perish.  But if through the power of the Holy Spirit you turn from it and its evil deeds, you will live.  Romans 8:12-13

Same message.  It sounds much more palatable from Brother Paul though, doesn’t it?  More gentile, more lovey, less harsh.  Nevertheless, the message is the same.  Sin has consequences.  Here’s the beauty in the message, God gave us a way out, the only way out.  God sent His Son, they call Him Jesus.

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.  Romans 6:23

Don’t you just love the buts…the free gift of God is eternal life, a future and a hope, through Christ Jesus our Lord.

Here’s the question I asked myself – if we as Christians are to build each other up, we are to encourage each other in the faith, we are to help each other stay on the path to the narrow gate, shouldn’t we also be flag wavers?  Shouldn’t we be sounding the alarm?  Would we let our children walk into the street if we saw a car coming?  No, we would tell them to stop, look both ways, decide whether you have time to cross before the oncoming danger.  Stop.  Look.  Listen.  Why would we do that?  Because we love them and they could die.  Jeremiah loved his people enough to wave the flag.  Paul loved his people enough to wave the flag.  John loved his people enough to wave the flag.  Peter loved his people enough to wave the flag.  Jesus loved his people enough to wave the flag, in the form of the cross.  Shouldn’t we too love our people enough to wave the flag?  To alert.  To warn.  To signal.  To advise. To sound the alarm.  Isn’t that what we’re called to do?

“I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb.  Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my spokesman to the world.”  Jeremiah 1:5

Look what the Lord said to Jeremiah.  There are so many messages packed into that one verse.  We’ll leave all that unpacking for another time.  It says what it say.  Look at Jeremiah’s response to the Lord:

“O Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I can’t speak for you!  I’m too young!”  Jeremiah 1:6

Jeremiah’s saying “Send Aaron!”  We too have many excuses, don’t we?  But look what the Lord says to Jeremiah:

“Don’t say that, for you must go wherever I send you and say whatever I tell you.  And don’t be afraid of the people, for I will be with you and take care of you.  I, the Lord, have spoken!”  Jeremiah 1:7-8

So, are you willing to wave the flag?  To warn?  To alert?  To advise?  Do you love someone enough to do that for them?  To save them from the consequences?  Are we afraid to do that?  Sure we are.  But didn’t He say He would be with us?  Didn’t He say He’d take care of us?  He, the Lord, has spoken.

It is our job to take care of each other.  After all, wouldn’t you want someone to signal the flag for you if you were headed in the wrong direction?   Me too.  If we truly love each other we will signal the flag and we will appreciate it when the flag has been waved our way.  That’s what true love is.

Taste and see that the LORD is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him!

Psalm 34:38

Literally. 

I’d left a Bible sitting on the couch and we came home to this.  You’d think the Worst/Best at 10 years old would be over eating the stuff she shouldn’t.  For years you could leave things laying around, except for socks, and she wouldn’t mess with them.  Now, all of the sudden, she’s decided to eat it if it’s laying there.  The other thing the Worst/Best has taken to chewing on is an old magazine we roll up to encourage her not to jump through the window when a car goes by with a whack on the bottom (don’t go all PETA on me a whack with a magazine doesn’t hurt a 90 pound, fully unglued, dog).  It just seems a little ironic to me that the two things meant for good in life (hers and ours) don’t really work unless applied.    

When I saw this chewed on Bible, so many thoughts came to my mind – I’m sure they did to yours as well. Initially I was annoyed, but then I thought she did something I (we) should all be doing.  But the one thought that gave me pause was that I want to be that hungry for the Word of God.  So hungry that I want to completely devour like Jeremiah.

When I discovered your words, I devoured them. They are my joy and my heart’s delight, for I bear your name, O LORD God of Heaven’s Armies.

Jeremiah 15:16

What food for thought.  I won’t belabor the many metaphors and puns that immediately come to my mind about this incident. I’m sure your wheels are turning too.  But, it does remind that the Word of the Lord is to be consumed, not by dog, but by man.  (It does not good just sitting on the couch.) In fact, many versions call it feasting — feast on the Word of the Lord.  If we are followers of Christ, why would we not want to take it in?  It is our provision, our sustenance, our life.  It is meant to be read, absorbed and applied to our lives.

We can come up with all kinds of reasons excuses for not feasting on the Word of the Lord, but James laid it out too perfectly for us, didn’t he – to know what we’re supposed to do and not do it is a big problem.  Here’s the thing, the Word can change our lives but not if we don’t read it.  The Word is filled with such love, hope, encouragement, promise, comfort, peace, mercy and grace.  Don’t we all need just a little bit of that in our lives?  The Word is also filled with protection, instruction, teaching, boundaries, and guidance.  Don’t we all need just a little bit of that in our lives as well?

Yes, he humbled you by letting you go hungry and then feeding you with manna, a food previously unknown to you and your ancestors. He did it to teach you that people do not live by bread alone; rather, we live by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.

Deuteronomy 8:3

Think on it.

You keep track of all my sorrows.

You have collected all my tears in your bottle.

You have recorded each one in your book.

Psalm 56:8 (NLT)

Thou tellest my wanderings;

put thou my tears into thy bottle;

are they not in thy book?

Psalm 56:8 (KJV)

You’ve kept track of every toss and turn through the sleepless nights,

Each tear entered in your ledger,

each ache written in your book.

Psalm 56:8 (MSG)

What beautiful words.  Words of comfort.  Words of reassurance.  Words of life.  Words of love. These words have hugs built right into them.  Arms wrapped.  Holding.

Our tears flow freely over life, trying to wash away all that would cause us pain.  They are full of hurt, fear, loss, longing, disappointment, brokenness, separation, pain, illness, and even death.  I don’t have to tell you that life is hard.  You’re living it.

Whether our tears fall in big round drops or in salty streams, every bit of moisture is collected.  The mother’s tears for a son are collected.  The wife’s tears for a husband are collected.  A child’s tears for a parent are collected.  A friend’s tears for a friend are collected.  Think about the number of tears shed in a single day on this earth.  God surely has a huge reservoir in Heaven – an ocean of tears.

“Where have you laid him?” he asked.  “Come and see, Lord,” they replied.  Jesus wept.

John 11:34-35

What a comfort to know that He who collects my tears also shed tears.  That’s right.  Jesus wept.  Jesus was sad, broken, grieved by the loss of his friend.  I marvel at that.  Jesus, the One.  Jesus, the Healer.  Jesus, God of the Universe.  The One who could dry every tear experienced pain, loss, grief.  His tears fell too.  What does that say to me?  Jesus knows exactly how I feel.  How you feel.  Exactly.

“Why are you crying?” the angels asked her.

“Because they have taken away my Lord,” she replied, “and I don’t know where they have put him.”  She glanced over her should and saw someone standing behind her.  It was Jesus, but she didn’t recognize him.  “Why are you crying?” Jesus asked her.  “Who are you looking for?”

“Sir, if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and get him.”

“Mary!”  Jesus said.  She turned to him and exclaimed, “Teacher!”

Mary Magdalene found the disciples and told them, “I have seen the Lord!”

John 20:11-18

Mary’s tears were collected too.  But guess what?  In the midst of her tears, she saw Jesus.  She was looking for Him and, He called her name.  He appeared to her.  I don’t know if He will visibly appear to us – He has the power to do that, you know.  But I do know this, that in our tears, through our tears, while they are being collected, He calls our name.

So what do we do about this thing called life that causes so much pain for so many?  We look to the One who chose to experience what we experience.  We look to the One who knows what we’re going through.  We look to the One who will guide us through the pain.  We look to the One who calls our name.

We are told there are only two things we can be sure of in life – death and taxes.  That’s not true, at all. We can only be sure of Jesus.  He has promised us his unfailing love, forever.  I can’t promise you that life will be easy, but I can promise you – He promises you – that whatever causes your tears to fall, whatever course your life is on, He knows what you’re going through.  He is collecting every tear that slides.  He’s calling out – Mary.  He’s calling out — your name, My child,  it’s Me!

There will be a day when no more tears will fall for those who know Him…

I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Look, the home of God is now among his people!  He will live with them, and they will be his people.  God himself will be with them.  He will remove all of their sorrows, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain.  For the old world and its evils are gone forever.”  Revelations 21:3-4

Until then…Through our tears do we turn to Him?  Do we look to Him for the answers?  Do we look to Him for the comfort?  Do we look to Him for the healing?  Do we look to Him, the only One we can be sure of?  Can we say we have seen the Lord?

I was sure by now

God you would have reached down

And wiped our tears away

Stepped in and saved the day

But once again, I say “Amen,” and it’s still raining.

As the thunder rolls

I barely hear Your whisper through the rain

“I’m with you”

And as Your mercy falls

I raise my hands and praise the God who gives

And takes away

And I’ll praise You in this storm

And I will lift my hands

For You are who You are

No matter where I am

And every tear I’ve cried

You hold In Your hand

You never left my side

And though my heart is torn

I will praise You in this storm

I remember when

I stumbled in the wind

You heard my cry to you

And you raised me up again

My strength is almost gone

How can I carry on

If I can’t find You

-Casting Crowns

There are a couple of graveyards not far from where I work.  I’ve never visited them, until a couple of weeks ago.  In my pursuit to persist in the presence of God, sometimes during lunch I go for a prayer walk.  By myself – just me and Jesus.  On my walk, I pass a couple of graveyards up on South Street.  One on each side of the street.  They’re beautiful.  I’ve always thought graveyards were beautiful, not in a creepy way.  They just usually look so neat, rows of headstones, some with flowers, some without.  Big monuments, small monuments.  Usually very uniform and tidy.  Orderly.  Old.  Obviously, very peaceful.

Even though I’ve probably been by those two graveyards at least a thousand times in my life, I never really thought about them until recently.  I don’t know who owns the graveyards.  Just by their appearance they are owned by two different graveyard-owners.  Does one own a graveyard?  Anyhow.  One of them looks over the City.  The other on the opposite side of the street backs a wooded area.  Both are surrounded by a lovely stone fence.  One is bolted shut, one is not.  Both are beautiful.

While walking by last week, I started wondering how old some of the stones were.  I couldn’t get in to the bolted graveyard but the oldest stone I could see through the bars showed that the person memorialized there was born on December 24, 1795 and died September 13, 1879.  Does that not blow your mind?  This person was only 19 years older than our Nation, and lived to be 84 years old.  Ponder that.

Anyway, today while walking by the graveyards, I checked out the graveyard on the opposite side.  To be honest, I can’t believe I walked in.  Here I am in my dress and sneakers, tiptoeing through a cemetery, not in a creepy way.  As I’m walking around, which I have never done before except at funerals, I’m checking out the age of the headstones.  I was interested in seeing how old the tombstones were on this side of the street.   What I did find spoke right to me, not aloud, but deep in my heart.  I found the monument of Alexander Cooper.  Mr. Cooper was born April 16, 1775. Mr. Cooper was born before our Nation was born!  Mr. Cooper died September 4, 1852, at the age of 77 years old.  That’s crazy to think about, isn’t it?  Mr. Cooper was born nearly 250 years ago.

Written on Mr. Cooper’s grave marker was the following:

A man without reproach.

A Christian humble and decent.

An Elder who ruled well.

Sober, grace, temperate.

Sound in faith.

A life of usefulness terminated in a peaceful death and his rest is glorious.

Obviously, I didn’t know Alexander Cooper, but reading his headstone makes me wish I had.  Who wouldn’t want to know that kind of person?  By the look of it, Mr. Cooper was everything we Christians aspire to be on this earth.  He was blameless.  He was humble.  He was decent.  He was fair.  He had a sober, graceful temperament.  His faith was solid.  His life benefited others.  He died a peaceful death and is living in glory.  Don’t you want that?  Better yet, don’t you want others to say that about you?  I do.  I want my life to say that I’m blameless, a Christian, humble, decent, fair, sober, grace-filled, with a firm foundation.  I want others to think that I was useful and I’d prefer to die a peaceful death before I dance in His glory.  Yep.  I’d be happy to be compared to Mr. Cooper, he appeared to be a Godly man.

Therefore, I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God.

Ephesians 4:1

Paul urged the folks at Ephesus to live a life worthy of being called by God.  We need to do that as well.  We all want to stand before our King and hear him say:  “Well done my good and faithful servant.”  Don’t we? How do we make that happen?  What do we need to ask ourselves?  Is our faith solid?  Are we blameless?  Are we humble?  Are we decent?  Are we fair?  Is our temperament graceful?  Do we need to change so others will see God in us?  What attitudes do we need to adjust?  What words do we need not speak?  What actions do we need to take?  He who began a good work in us will be faithful to complete it, if we’re willing to let Him.

Spring is such an amazing time of year.  From dark to light.  From brown to green.  From bloom to flower.  From death to life.  With each passing day the earth is awakening from it’s slumber, some days a little slower than others, like Monday.  But, under that Spring snow new life is bursting forth.  It’s beautiful to watch.

Not only is Spring a sight to behold, it is a sound to be heard.  Did you know new life has a sound?  If you listen carefully, you really can hear the Earth awakening.  You can hear the snow melting, the water trickling, the mountain yawning, the grass growing, blossoms opening, Spring peepers peeping, birds chirping, wings flapping.  It’s a beautiful sound.

There’s another sign of Spring in our neck of the woods.  Cows.  Yep, cows.  Spring is separation time on the farm behind us.  The young and old cows are separated and selected for sale.  It makes me a little sad.  I’m a fur lover, so I try not to dwell too much on it.  Farmers have a completely different perspective than I, it is their livelihood, the way they make their living. 

Any kind of separation is really quite awful to think about.  A cow and calf being separated, and the cow searching for her young.  The separation sounds assault the pleasant Spring sounds.  The bawling sound is loud and constant.  We usually sleep with our windows cracked because I love the night sounds, but more often than not during separation time, I find myself on the couch with the TV on in the middle of the night.  It drowns the sound.  But, it is a sound of Spring.

After about a week of searching and calling, eventually, the mother cow just moves on when there is no response.  She’ll stop calling and prepare for the next new life.  As a human, I apply emotions and feelings to cows which may not exist. Cows either forget about their young or accept the loss and move on to produce another.  I can’t quite understand it but I’m not a cow and that’s the circle of life for livestock.

When I was walking the other morning with my hat pulled tight over my ears and humming to block out the sound, I was thinking that the mother cow must feel like God does during separation.  We are all separated from Him because of our sin, but He calls each one of us just as the mother calls her young. Sometimes we answer the call, sometimes we don’t.  We may bound after Him for a short period of time, but then allow the temptations of the world to intervene and somehow we find ourselves separated from Him.  He calls, but when we wander with the world, it’s like turning on the TV in the middle of the night.  We try to drown out His voice and fill the call with other things, we busy ourselves with life so we don’t have to respond.

But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day.  The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.

2 Peter 3:8-10

You know, the Lord wants everyone to be with Him for eternity, that’s why He hasn’t yet returned.  He’s calling us and waiting for us to respond.  No response is a response.  Chew on that.

Please don’t think I’m comparing the Lord to a cow.  It’s about the separation, the calling, the response, or lack thereof.  He calls and calls to us – come to me all you who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest – come to me and I will lift your burdens – come to me and I will be your provision — come to me and I will love you like no other – come to me and we will live in eternity together forever, never to be separated.

Jesus calls us o’er the tumult

of our life’s wild, restless sea;

day by day his voice invites me,

saying “Christian, follow me!”

Jesus calls us! In your mercy,

Savior, help us hear your call;

give our hearts to your obedience,

serve and love you best of all!

Anyone who doesn’t know Jesus is separated from Jesus – not just a little, but completely, forever.  This past Sunday we celebrated Easter.  We celebrated the resurrection of our Living Lord.  That cross, as awful as it was and as hard as it is to think about, was the calling.  Jesus’s death on that cross bridged the gap between God and man so that there is no longer separation.  The empty tomb was the cry that went out, your sins are forgiven!  Sin no longer separates us from God.  All we have to do is answer the call!

Have you ever noticed a years old road?  Dirt, gravel, asphalt, or one of my Grandfather’s favorite terms, macadam.  The other day the Worst/Best and I were taking our morning walk on a years old road.  It’s the road to and from our house.  The road we walk on, drive on, ride on.  I suddenly noticed something about this road I’ve been traveling on for the past 10 years.  Something that I would not necessarily notice if I were driving or riding on the road.  Something I would only notice if I was walking…it’s not flat.  Now I don’t mean that it has hills or movement with the terrain, the road itself is not flush with the ground.

Because of years of weighty traffic – cars, trucks and tractors, the road has gotten compacted where the wheels roll making this ever so slight ridge in the middle of the road.  It’s not as noticeable to the seeing eye as it is to the walking feet.  It’s not a king of the mountain size ridge, just a modest rise.  It’s just enough to notice the path on either side is lower.

If you are not on one side or the other of this hump in the middle of the road it can mean disaster – a stumped toe, a twisted ankle, an all out fall, especially if you’re walking in the dark.  The voice of experience talking here.

As I’m walking along, I notice that I have been trying to walk the middle of the road and it made me feel completely off balance.  I realized that I couldn’t safely walk on the middle of the road.  I could not straddle the lanes.  Straddling on the ridge was dangerous, it could cause missteps and could land me on the wrong side of the road.

If we choose our path, which side of the road we’re going to walk on, we are less likely to find ourselves drifting to the middle and losing our balance.  But, that also requires us to pick what side of the road we will travel on.  Another thing I noticed is that the middle of the road is wider than the grooves the tires cut.  The groove on the right side is narrower than the middle.

As I was walking it occurred to me that I could either stumble down the middle of the road in the dark, which will eventually result in jury, or I could walk on the right side.  Same with Jesus. There is no middle ground with Him.  It’s a red letter thing.

“Anyone who isn’t with me opposes me, and anyone who isn’t working with me is actually working against me.  So I tell you, every sin and blasphemy can be forgiven—except blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which will never be forgiven.

Matthew 12:30-31

There is no middle ground with Jesus.  For or against, it’s just that simple, in fact it is exceedingly clear.  Walking the middle of the road, one toe in-one toe out of the world is super dangerous terrain.

I will lead blind Israel down a new path, guiding them along an unfamiliar way. I will brighten the darkness before them and smooth out the road ahead of them. Yes, I will indeed do these things; I will not forsake them.  Isaiah 42:16-18

As I think about Holy Week, I think of that lonesome valley that Jesus traveled.  Even though He knew the events about to unfold before Him, events predicted long ago, Jesus chose the road to the cross for me, for you.  He chose the cross so that I didn’t have to walk an unbalanced, unstable, uneven road. He chose the cross so that I didn’t have to trip along in the darkness.  He chose the cross for my salvation. He chose the cross so we could chose life.  How could I not chose Him?

There’s just no middle road here, no gray…we can’t have two masters.  Chose today whom you will serve.

We’re heading into the time of year when we’re noticing the outside, when we’re checking out our lawns and fields more and more, right?  Kind of like a bear emerging from his winter residence, we’re stretching it out and looking to get busy outside.

Our meticulous lawners are just getting geared up.  Whether you turn the key or pull the string (a hundred times), the work’s about to begin.  Us lawners are getting prepared.  Mowers have been serviced, new string for the whacker, fertilizer and lime bought, general cleanup of leaves and sticks on the horizon. 

So, when the worst-best and I walk the fields this time of year, we notice field things, like the circles in the field above.  There are several.  Some bigger than others.  Very strange.  Perfect circles.  No, it’s not a crop circle.  I thought that too.  Out at our place, that’s what we call them, but a little digging has revealed that these dark almost perfect circles in our front field are called Fairy Rings.  Isn’t that a cute name?  That sounds a lot better than crop circles, doesn’t it?  Crop circles are manmade, Fairy Rings are fungi made – oh, that sounds a whole lot better, doesn’t it?  Fairy Rings are actually said to be a sign of good luck and fortune.  I’m liking these Fairy Rings more and more.  

Unfortunately, despite the cute name, Fairy Rings are actually a lawn or field disease.  Fork lore has it that little fairies dance the night away in these circles resting from time to time on toadstool chairs.  Actually, that’s the cause of the circles, toadstools.  I’m not going to get all science on you because I can’t, but as best I understand it, these fairy rings should be called fungi rings.  This fungi grows from the middle out, feeding on decaying organic material creating a crusty layer just under the soil to create a perfect circle.  You may or may not see the mushrooms, they may be under the soil and only come out at night for the dance (wink-wink).

Anyway, these Fairy Rings, or this lawn disease, seems to be most prevalent in sandy, under-watered, or poorly fertilized soils, and can cause serious damage.  Fairy Rings usually do not develop in highly maintained lawns.  Hmmm.

Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock.  Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock.  But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.”

Matthew 7:24-27

The wise man heard Jesus’s teachings and obeyed, he built his house upon the Rock.  The foolish man built his house upon the sand, he rejects the teachings of Jesus, and his house will fall off its base.

With joy you will drink deeply from the fountain of salvation!

Isaiah 12:3

Are we well-watered?  Are we drinking deeply from the perpetual fountain provided by God through Jesus His Son? 

Then Jesus told this parable: “A man had a fig tree that was planted in his vineyard. He went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any.  So he said to the keeper of the vineyard, ‘Look, for the past three years I have come to search for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Therefore cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’

 ‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone again this year, until I dig around it and fertilize it.  If it bears fruit next year, fine. But if not, you can cut it down.’ ”

Luke 13:6-9

Are we giving ourselves the nutrients we need to maintain a healthy, well-balanced heart?  Are we feeding on The Word of the Lord that quenches every hunger of our heart?

Sandy, under-watered, poorly fertilized soils.  We must be very careful that our lives don’t end up like Fairy Rings.  It is so easy to get sucked into the dance once the music gets going, if we are on sandy, under-watered, poorly fertilized soil.  We need to keep in mind that that ring is made of fungus.

How do we prevent Fairy Rings?  We maintain our lawn.  How do we do that?  From the inside out.  We rake, we dethatch, we remove the buildup of dead matter.  We build on the Solid Rock and not in the sand.  We continually drink the life giving Living Water.  We keep our lawns well fertilized with nutrients found in The Word. We poke holes in the soil to allow aeration of the Spirit so that the crusty mold does not get a grip and release toxins that can decay our hearts.

While praying the other morning, the Lord “spoke” to me, you know that still small voice.  He will speak to all of us — one way or the other (sometimes whether we want to hear it or not), when we take our cares, our worries, our thoughts our praise to Him.  I was praying about a particular situation, one I’ve been praying about for years.  I spoke my prayer – Lord, I am so tired of their bad attitude and insolent behavior!  He whispered – As am I!  No kidding, that’s exactly what came to me.  It’s funny how He seems to speak loudest in His whispers.

I was like that’s great, we’re both on the same wave length, we both feel the same about this situation and now things are going to change, answers to prayer are forthcoming.  Finally, this disposition that makes everyone uncomfortable and leaves all around feeling inadequate and wondering what they’ve done to that person to deserve such treatment or nontreatment, is going to be taken care of.  WooHoo!  After years of praying – breakthrough — the Lord understands – can’t you hear the chorus of angels – Ahhhhhhh?  The Lord has seen how others have to walk on egg shells, guard every word and be uncomfortable and I just know He’s going to do something about it.  As I was pondering what life could be like in this situation, think bliss, I hear the bird song do do do do do do…

…ERCH, STOP, WAIT…WHAT?!?!?! For about half a second I thought, what’s He mean by that?  Is He talking to me?  Naw, impossible!  I drifted back to my bird song paradise.  But my mind continued to hark back to that thought, As am I, what does that mean?  He’s going to handle it, right? Wait, who’s He even talking to?

And then, THWACK!  It occurred to me that The Lord may have been speaking tongue-in-cheek.  What an idiot am I!  For sure He was talking about the other situation, but for sure, He was talking about me.  How do I know that?  Because the Lord speaks correction to His children.  I am a child of God.

I’m slowly (turtle like) learning that rarely, if ever, are God’s messages just for other people.  The same messages, healings, rebukes and corrections He speaks for others, He speaks to me.  Can I get a witness here?!?!? 

You see, He may have had exactly the same thought about me as I had about the other situation – that’s the tongue in cheek.  I am so tired of Beth’s bad attitude and insolent behavior!  Five little letters speak volumes.  As Am I.  I feel sure He said it with a little smile on His face and kindness in His heart.  Yes…Jesus loves me (and you)!

So, sounds like I need to not just pray for the other situation, but for my own.  It dawned on me that I most likely definitely was treating insolence with insolence, bad attitude with bad attitude.  Seems natural to me.   But, if I am a child of God, I’m no longer a natural man (or woman), I’m a spiritual man (or woman).  That changes everything, doesn’t it?

The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.  The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one.  “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.  I Corinthians 2:14-16

Paul said it right there — as a child of God, I have the mind of Christ.  When I really think about what that means, it’s a little like — Wow!  I am His! I am equipped! I am adequate!  I am a spiritual man (or woman) – can I get a witness here?!?!?  The natural man (or woman) doesn’t have the mind of Christ.  If one doesn’t have the mind of Christ one will naturally have a bad attitude and be impudent and disrespectful.  The mind of Christ knows better than to treat bad attitude with bad attitude, contempt with contempt, difficult with difficult.  If we don’t live like we have the mind of Christ, we live like a natural man, if we live like a natural man, the natural man will not see the mind of Christ.  Got it?  If we have the mind of Christ, we must act like it so others can learn to know Christ.  Although He doesn’t need to, He has partnered with us, He works through us to reach natural man.  Will we join Him?  Will we confess our sins, put on the mind of Christ?  With Him we never have to walk on egg shells, guard every word or be uncomfortable.  I am loved, I am adequate, I have the mind of Christ.  That’s the message to the natural man (or woman), to the world. 

As Am I…Just As I Am.

Just as I am, though tossed about

with many a conflict, many a doubt,

fightings and fears within, without,

O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, thou wilt receive,

wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve;

because thy promise I believe,

O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

My God, what can I say to you — except that I love you more than words can express?

I love you for what you are to all creatures. In all their forms and every moment, they owe their life and happiness to you. It is far beyond what my narrow imagination can conceive, but everything they know is from you.

But I adore and love you far more for what you are in yourself.

Even after creating so much, your reserves of perfection remain untouched, and can never be used up. Your infinite perfection makes you your own happiness.

You are your own end. You are worthy of a respect that never depends on anything outside yourself.

You are first, most beautiful, and only. Greatest and only great.

Possess all my soul! And surely you do possess it.

While I feel your sacred Spirit breathing on my heart, causing me to love you, I also feel the reality of this human, animal life.

If ever I knew the appetite of hunger, my soul hungers after righteousness — and longs to be more like you (Matthew 5:6).

If ever I felt thirst, so also my soul thirsts for the living God — and pants for more of your favor (Psalm 42:2).

If ever I have longed for my bed after a long journey, my soul rests on your grace — and returns for rest in your embrace.

And if ever I have enjoyed seeing the face of a friend, I rejoice in seeing your face, O Lord — and in calling you my Father in Christ.

That is who you are, and that is who you will be, for time and eternity. What more can I do, but commit myself to you for both?

I leave it to you to choose my inheritance and order my affairs (Psalm 47:4). My only business is to serve you, and all my delight is to praise you.

My soul follows hard after you, God, because your right hand upholds me (Psalm 63:8). Let is still bear me up, and I will press on toward you, until all my desires are fulfilled in the eternal enjoyment of you! Amen.

Philip Doddridge

You see this beautiful little tree was our neighborhood Christmas Tree.  Neighbor Karen started with red bows.  Neighbor Robert added some lights.  The LeMasters came along with a Star.  All unplanned.  Without coordination, each adding their touch to bring this little tree to life for the folks traveling Poor House Road.  That little tree became a seasonal landmark in our neighborhood.  It was used as a point of reference – up, over, to the left, to the right, behind, beside, around the Christmas Tree.

After the season, the tree was stripped and the decorations carefully put away and each neighbor looking forward to pulling them out next year.  There’s only one small problem…the tree is gone!  Our sweet little Christmas Tree that brought us Kumbaya and joy was hacked down.  Yes, I know hacked sounds rather violent, but if you saw the equipment being used by the tree “trimmers” aka tree “hackers,” you’d think that term was mild.  I can only imagine how she must have felt.

You see, our little three foot tree just happened to be growing under the power lines beside the road.  It was the tree “hackers” job to clear everything growing under the 30 foot power lines.  It wasn’t their job to determine what type of tree it was, whether it would ever grow 27 more feet, how round it would be, how sturdy a base it would have, or even if it was a threat to the powerlines.  They were to just hack it down and not ask questions.  The first thought that came to my mind when I saw she was gone was that the “hackers” had committed such an indiscriminate act.  They had thoughtlessly, haphazardly, carelessly removed her without one iota of consideration.  So sad.

My immediate next thought was how many times a day do I indiscriminately hack down something or someone?  Thoughtlessly, haphazardly, carelessly, without one iota of consideration? When I really put my mind on it, I guess I’m not so different than the “hackers” I’ve been complaining about.  Whoa, that smarted!

My next thought turned to our word of the year at Church – intentional.  Are we intentional people?  Are we thoughtful, are we conscience, are we careful people?  I suggest that the opposite of intentional can be indiscriminate.  If we are not intentional, we are indiscriminate.  If we are not thoughtful, we can be thoughtless.  If we are not conscience, we can be unconscious.  If we are not careful, we can be careless.  If we do not guard our hearts, we can be heartless.  So, now we get to the point.

You know, the Bible has much to say about guarding and it gives instructions that are exceedingly clear, another term that keeps popping up in Church. 

Above all guard your hearts for everything you do flows from it.

Proverbs 4:23

As the face is reflected in water, so the heart reflects the person.

Proverbs 27:19

Above all else, guard your heart, for it affects every you do.

Proverbs 4:23

Ah…the wisdom of Solomon.  Everything flows from our hearts, it reflects who we are as people, and our hearts affect absolutely everything we do in life.

But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them.

Matthew 15:18

Ah…Matthew, who in old life was known as a master “hacker,”  lays it out and doesn’t mince words.  His words are exceedingly clear.  If we fail to intentionally guard our hearts, our lips are sure to speak indiscriminately – indiscriminate words, indiscriminate tone, indiscriminate intentions, indiscriminate timing, indiscriminate conversation – all have the same tree “hacker” result – something or someone is cut down.  As God people, we don’t want to be responsible for such acts.  We don’t want to be governed by our lips, but by our hearts.  We must intentionally guard our hearts to protect from being indiscriminate!