Communication

We live in a day of communication; emails, texting, instant messaging, cell phones and now something called twitter. What happened to the living breathing face to face relationships? Relationships are most meaningful when they are lived out face to face and heart to heart. Sure all these things are wonderful but I don't know about you, I like people and face to face contact. Would you rather read I love you or hear I love you? That's a no brainer to me. I would much rather hear it than read it. But many times I am afraid we have the same response to God. We can't send Him an email or an instant message. But it is for sure He wants us to communicate with Him and it is through something called prayer. One day Jesus disciples asked Him to teach them to pray. This is what He told them; Luk 11:2 And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.

Luk 11:3
Give us day by day our daily bread.

Luk 11:4
And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. That's wonderful so people in our day just started saying what has been called the "Lord's Prayer." But wait that is not what the disciple asked, is it? They didn't say give us something to quote and repeat they asked "teach us to pray." So the Lord gave them a pattern of pray. Here let me show you what I mean. The first thing the Lord did was to Praise-Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.

The next thing was Needs- Give us day by day our daily bread.

The next thing was Forgiveness- forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us.

The next thing was Protection- And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.

It's much better if we start off our prayer with thanking God and Praising Him for who He is and what He has done for us. We all have needs and He knows it, and wants to help us; all we have to do is let Him. But we all get sin into our lives and we need to ask God on a daily basis to show us our sins and then we need to ask Him to forgive us our sins. That way we keep in fellowship with God and I for sure want to stay in fellowship with Him. Don't you? We for sure need protection from the evil that's around us every day. Now that's not only communication but that's also building a relationship with God. In other words it is me getting to know Him. When I know Him I can hear Him better and so can you.

 

The Dash

Life is short. How short? As short as a dash! Do what, you may ask. Every time I go a cemetery I am reminded of just how short life is. Have you ever noticed what is on the grave markers? It will give the name of who is buried, when they were born and maybe something about their life. My Dads reads like this John H. Sosebee Born September 10, 1921 – Died December 27, 1986 there is a train that indicates that he worked for the Railroad and then 43 years which tells everyone who sees it what his occupation was and how long he worked for them. The thing that catches my eye is that dash which tells me life is short. I read of two family members who were best of friends, then one day one reminded the other of something that had happened 30 years early. One thing leads to another and they haven't spoken to each other since. Each believes that it was the other ones fault and neither will forgive. What a shame, life is just too short not to forgive. I was 18 years old when I left home. I thought if I was ever going to see the world I had to get out from under my Mom and Dad's care; or as the way I looked at it prison. The year was 1968 and without any advice from my parents I Joined the USAF and three weeks later I was gone. May I say that was not the smartest thing I ever did. Then I married without telling my parents. I was home on leave and met this fine looking young girl and in a week we were married. I could go on and on but here is what I want to say. Three months before my dad died I took the time to ask him to forgive me of my actions from when I was young and didn't realize how brilliant he was. You see forgiveness is the key that unlocks the handcuffs of hate. Now I didn't hate my dad and he had forgiven me long ago. But I wanted him to know that there was nothing in my heart but love for him and that he was and still is my hero. Three months later on December 27, 1986 a Saturday night around 9:30 or 10:00 PM when I said good bye, I love you, talk to you tomorrow little did I know that would be the last time I would hear his voice. Somewhere after 11:00 he took his last breath and was gone. That person that you think and may have very well done you wrong; why don't you take the first step and mend that relationship. No it will not change the past but it will enlarge the future. Ephesians 4:32
And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.

1John 2:12
I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake. When I read those verses I am reminded that God has forgiven me for all my wrong doings and I should do the same. Don't leave this world with unforgiveness for it only breeds bitterness and remember your dash is coming.

 

They Didn’t Know

As we read our Bibles we read of great men & women like Daniel, David, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, Esther, Ruth and many more. What do we remember these great people for? Daniel; the man thrown into a den of lions, spent the night and walked out the next morning. A wonderful story! There was also David, the teenager who killed the giant that had the Israelite army terrified. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego; the three men who were thrown into a fiery furnace and were not burned but were seen walking around. Those are not just stories those are actual events that took place. As I read about these men and women it is easy to overlook something very important. As I read about Daniel on his way to the den of lions he had no idea what was to happen to him. As David was headed down to meet a man everyone else was terrified of he too had no idea that he hadn't seen his last sun rise. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego didn't have any idea they would walk out of the fiery furnace. It's easy for me to read about these men and say "go on Daniel God will deliver you." I like Paul Harvey know the rest of the story, but Daniel didn't. As the man behind the curtain in the Wizard of Oz told the Tin man, lion and scarecrow they had something the others didn't have. So it was with these men. They had put their trust in God! I love what Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego told King Nebuchadnezzar.

Daniel 3:13 Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Then they brought these men before the king.

Daniel 3:14
Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up?

Daniel 3:15
Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made; well: but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?

Daniel 3:16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter.

Daniel 3:17 If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.

Daniel 3:18 But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.

They didn't know what was going to happen to them. Neither do you and I. We can trust in ourselves and our abilities or we can do like these people did. Still hanging pictures on the Greyhound?

 

Hanging Pictures on a Greyhound

Picture in your mind a man getting aboard a Greyhound bus headed across country. After the bus has pulled away from the station the man stands up, and begins to hang pictures on the walls of the bus. What would you think? I personally would think he was a nut! But is that not what most Christians do? James says our life is but a vapour James 4:14
Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. The question we may need to ask ourselves is "where will we live the longest?" We may spend too much time planning life here and too little time planning for life there. In the race of this life we may lose sight of what God has for us. I believe God wants us to have rest; one only has to read Psalm 23 to see and understand that.

Rest from doing things My Way Because "The LORD is my shepherd"

Rest from Endless Wants Because" I shall not want "

Rest from Weariness Because "He maketh me to lie down in green pastures "

Rest from Worry Because "he leadeth me beside the still waters "

Rest from Hopelessness Because "He restoreth my soul "

Rest from Guilt Because "he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness "

Rest from Pride Because "for his name's sake "

Rest from the Valley of Death Because " Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: "

Rest from The Shadow for Fear "thy rod and thy staff they comfort me "Rest from Loneliness Because "for thou art with me "

Rest from Shame Because "Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies "

Rest from Disappointments Because "thou anointest my head with oil "

Rest from Envy Because "my cup runneth over "

Rest from Doubt Because "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life "

Rest from Homesickness Because "I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever "

So what did you say was brothering you? Have a restful week.

The Crowd

When you see a crowd of people what do you see? Well, when I see a crowd they may be filling a stadium or flooding a shopping mall. When I see a crowd I see people, a herd of human beings. I see a flock of faces and that's it. As I was reading I noticed something, it's found in the book of John Chapter 10 and verse 14 -"I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep," and In verse 3 we read
"he calleth his own sheep by name" When I see a crowd I see faces with no names but when God sees faces He knows their names. Like a shepherd knows his sheep so God knows those who have given their hearts to Him. Now listen to this!
Isaiah
49:15 Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.

Isaiah 49:16 Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; Our Name is on "God's lips and on His hands. Every Friday night men & women come to an addictions meeting. They are hoping I will say something to help with their pain. Hoping I have the answer. They are saying "I made some mistakes" I need help. I hear them saying I listened to the politicians and they have lied. The system has failed me. The minister I look to has compromised. My wife has left me or if I don't get some help I'll have to leave. What do I tell them? I start by telling them about a time when my life was much like theirs, but the sad thing is that I didn't know it. I went to a Church one Sunday morning in April, 36 years ago and heard words I had never heard. I had heard the name Jesus and the name God but never had I understood what He had really done. On that morning I gave Him my heart and I stepped out of the crowd and into His family and now my name is on His lips and graven upon the palms of His hands. Every Friday night I get to meet with some of the finest people in all the world and I get to watch God do what He did in my life over and over again. Sometimes we have to get to the bottom before we can look up. Have a great weekend and ask God to do something wonderful in someone's life tonight at the Reformer meeting.

 

Feeding the Wolf

I read a story of a granddad as he was trying to teach his grandson about life. He said "a fight is going on inside me." It's a terrible fight and it's between two wolves. One is evil, he is anger, he is envy, he is self-pity, he is lies, and he is ego. The other wolf is good; he is joy, peace, love, hope, kind, generous, truthful, compassionate and faithful. His grandson asked which wolf will win granddad. He answered the one I feed." I am afraid we all have the same fight going on. We may not look at them as wolves but none the less the fight is there. Sometimes we call it biting our tongue or we might say I felt like hitting them in the jaw. We struggle with our behavior at times. I have had to go and say I am sorry for what I said more than once. I shouldn't have acted like that; can you find it in your heart to forgive me! You see I really want to be kind, loving, generous, truthful, sincere, as well as faithful but I am not always that person I so desire to be. The reason why I am not is found in the Bible;
Romans 6:16
Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? Did you see it? I yield myself to the wrong wolf and I become the servant to the wrong things. The same is true if I yield myself to that which is good, the other wolf. So why don't I yield myself to the right wolf? Could it be my attitude? We all like to think we are right and that our idea was the best, my performance was better than anyone else's the judges just didn't know real talent when they saw it. Too many times we are like the man who angrily jumped out of his car after a collision with another car. "Why don't you people watch where you're driving? You are the fourth car I have hit today." It's always someone else's fault not mine or ours is it?
2 Corinthians 5:10
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. We will receive according to what each of us has done on our own. We will not be able to blame anyone for our bad behavior; we will have to take full responsibility for our actions.
Today, feed the good wolf.

Grudges

While none of us have ever seen a grudge, we have all seen the results that come when people hold grudges.  We've all seen the unresolved conflict, breakdown and family arguments that have resulted from grudges. You can hold a grudge. You can carry a grudge. You can put it on your shoulders and bear a grudge. Many even talk about how they can nurse a grudge. When you nurse something, you feed it and keep it alive. You can do that with a grudge.
Grudges don't add to your life! They strip you of joy and happiness. Is it healthy to have grudges?
Ephesians 4:31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, (loud quarreling), and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: (naughtiness, wickedness) Ephesians 4:32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. The real tragic thing about grudges is that people will walk around and carry them for weeks or months or even years. You can do that with a grudge, you know. They only take away life.  They take away your potential of growing into a more loving, kind, gracious and merciful person. God says, "Let it go."  It's time to trade in your grudges and replace them with the life-giving love of Jesus. As you reflect on all the ways God showers you with His love, isn't it time you lay down your grudges and make it your goal to pass along God's love instead? Be ye kind, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God has forgiven you through Christ. Now you do likewise.