tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18542079726077624022024-03-18T11:30:40.775-04:00Encouraging Extraordinary!Encouraging words, lighthearted rants, and devoted thoughts about Life, Faith, Friends, and Family!WilliamPMcGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17692705042673942960noreply@blogger.comBlogger232125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1854207972607762402.post-37067228712150997372024-03-14T10:12:00.006-04:002024-03-18T11:30:07.861-04:00Meeting on a Mountain! <p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUO6bO8P2R4IerJ_Rnr70gmRxWatEVDdm0bPo69JA31el20ua-qzBq3pfbGrkZJbLF-rSyFjxC26VApox4-Y4ovMPLEhwY8aS27tpXcxa-YgsBZvNHG2AXNX4PbB7-OixzGIEpiDO_7B8EiZuxrOdXA0k_NmtHx8Viv_A3Wvm4_UKha_iuVJTHznFGwb0/s640/640px-USAFA_Chapel_from_terrazzo.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="427" data-original-width="640" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUO6bO8P2R4IerJ_Rnr70gmRxWatEVDdm0bPo69JA31el20ua-qzBq3pfbGrkZJbLF-rSyFjxC26VApox4-Y4ovMPLEhwY8aS27tpXcxa-YgsBZvNHG2AXNX4PbB7-OixzGIEpiDO_7B8EiZuxrOdXA0k_NmtHx8Viv_A3Wvm4_UKha_iuVJTHznFGwb0/s320/640px-USAFA_Chapel_from_terrazzo.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.6)" face="-apple-system, system-ui, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Fira Sans", Ubuntu, Oxygen, "Oxygen Sans", Cantarell, "Droid Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Lucida Grande", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 12px;">[[File:USAFA Chapel from terrazzo.JPG|USAFA_Chapel_from_terrazzo]]</span></div><p></p><p><span color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9)" face="-apple-system, system-ui, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Fira Sans", Ubuntu, Oxygen, "Oxygen Sans", Cantarell, "Droid Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Lucida Grande", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: var(--font-size-large);">While in seminary, I interned at Travis Avenue BC in student ministry. We took a mission trip to Colorado Springs to support a local church plant. We caravanned in several 15 passenger vans to a beautiful Christian Camp in the mountains. The first morning, we split up and each van went to a different neighborhood to do Backyard Bible Clubs. I took my vanload of kids to one particular house and it was a rough morning. The neighborhood kids were having a bad day (read “Bill was having a bad day from lack of sleep and general orneriness; the kids were just being kids in a new setting”). The TABC students did a great job of redirecting the youngsters and eventually the kids settled down and our students had things well in hand with the games, activities, and Bible Study they had planned. I decided the best thing I could do with an hour of time that morning was to go have some quiet time with God and get refocused. The neighborhood was just a few minutes from the Air Force Academy, so I wondered if the beautiful Cadet Chapel was open for a few minutes of solitude and personal Bible Study. When I arrived the Chapel was closed so I took a little hike up a nearby trail and found a bench, sat down, opened my Bible and began to read. I eventually was drawn to a passage in Hebrews that was hard for me to understand about an Old Testament king who was also a priest. These two don’t usually go together in Israel’s history. Kings come from the tribe of Judah and priests come from the tribe of Levi. So the writer explains in Heb. 7:1, "This Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God Most High. He met Abraham returning from the defeat of the kings and blessed him, 2 and Abraham gave him a tenth of everything. First, the name Melchizedek means “king of righteousness”; then also, “king of Salem” means “king of peace.'" As I sat there reading God’s Word, some people came up the trail to where I was sitting. One was in uniform and the other was a family with a young man who was considering the Air Force Academy for college. The officer stopped, shook my hand and said, "I'm Lieutenant Colonel Melchisedek.” He asked me a few questions, handed me his card and continued his tour for this prospect. Bewildered, I dug into the passage more.</span><span class="white-space-pre" color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9)" face="-apple-system, system-ui, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Fira Sans", Ubuntu, Oxygen, "Oxygen Sans", Cantarell, "Droid Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Lucida Grande", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: inherit; font-size: var(--artdeco-reset-base-font-size-hundred-percent); line-height: 1.5; margin: var(--artdeco-reset-base-margin-zero); outline: var(--artdeco-reset-base-outline-zero); padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline); white-space: pre;"> </span></p><p class="ember-view reader-content-blocks__paragraph" id="ember1060" style="--artdeco-reset-typography_getfontsize: 1.6rem; --artdeco-reset-typography_getlineheight: 1.5; background-color: white; border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: -apple-system, system-ui, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Fira Sans", Ubuntu, Oxygen, "Oxygen Sans", Cantarell, "Droid Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Lucida Grande", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: var(--font-size-large); line-height: 1.75; margin: 1.6rem 0px; padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); pointer-events: all; vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline);">The writer of Hebrews wanted the early church of Jewish believers to understand that there was a new covenant that was much better than the first one that had depended on their good behavior and a sacrificial system to pay for their sins when they weren’t good. The writer reminded them, Jesus is completely sufficient to save us in spite of our inability to do everything right and have a good day. He is our King, also our eternal High Priest, who offered Himself as the “once and for all” sacrifice for our sins. The incomplete sacrifices of animals made over and over again by Levitical priests who must be replaced over and over again for sins committed over and over again would never be enough. The writer says, “Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office; but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.”(Hebrews 7:23–25) Wow! I have never forgotten how God met me in the wilderness by a chance meeting with a recruiter with a unique name on a hiking trail at the Air Force Academy while studying His Word.<span class="white-space-pre" style="background: var(--artdeco-reset-base-background-transparent); border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: inherit; font-size: var(--artdeco-reset-base-font-size-hundred-percent); line-height: 1.5; margin: var(--artdeco-reset-base-margin-zero); outline: var(--artdeco-reset-base-outline-zero); padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline); white-space: pre;"> </span></p><p class="ember-view reader-content-blocks__paragraph" id="ember1061" style="--artdeco-reset-typography_getfontsize: 1.6rem; --artdeco-reset-typography_getlineheight: 1.5; background-color: white; border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: -apple-system, system-ui, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Fira Sans", Ubuntu, Oxygen, "Oxygen Sans", Cantarell, "Droid Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Lucida Grande", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: var(--font-size-large); line-height: 1.75; margin: 1.6rem 0px; padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); pointer-events: all; vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline);">Hang in there people! God is glad to be with us! I’m praying for us all!<span class="white-space-pre" style="background: var(--artdeco-reset-base-background-transparent); border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: inherit; font-size: var(--artdeco-reset-base-font-size-hundred-percent); line-height: 1.5; margin: var(--artdeco-reset-base-margin-zero); outline: var(--artdeco-reset-base-outline-zero); padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline); white-space: pre;"> </span></p>WilliamPMcGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17692705042673942960noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1854207972607762402.post-66065872079817610722024-02-26T16:08:00.003-05:002024-03-13T06:52:17.375-04:00 Who Are You Becoming?<p class="ember-view reader-content-blocks__paragraph" id="ember1005" style="--artdeco-reset-typography_getfontsize: 1.6rem; --artdeco-reset-typography_getlineheight: 1.5; background-color: white; border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: -apple-system, system-ui, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Fira Sans", Ubuntu, Oxygen, "Oxygen Sans", Cantarell, "Droid Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Lucida Grande", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: var(--font-size-large); line-height: 1.75; margin: 1.6rem 0px; padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); pointer-events: all; vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline);">In college, I took a semester off and worked at the Louisiana World's fair in New Orleans. My first day of work was Ash Wednesday. I arrived at the office a few minutes early, but even after start time, no one was there. I was confused, so in my naiveté I asked, "where is everyone?” They said, “It’s Ash Wednesday.” I thought, “oh maybe they were very religious and just wanted to kick the beginning of the Lenten season off right, having some extra morning devotion.” I quickly learned, however, that everyone had apparently really indulged in the fatness of Marti Gras. I noticed the longer I stayed in that city, the more I not only began to accept this destructive overindulgence, but I indiscriminately embraced the behaviors that devalued others and myself and harmed my relationship with God. It was a city with great fun, food, music, culture, but foolishness came easy for me there. At first I lived in Kenner a little drive from the city. Then I moved into New Orleans. Then some the not so good values of Crescent City moved into me and I became less like the person God intended me to be. God helped me realize I needed to get out of that town and get parts of that town out of me. (No offense to New Orleanians, I loved the food, fun, music, and culture of your great historic city, but in my weakness, I was too easily drawn to become someone God didn’t intend for me to become. My denomination has a seminary there, but at the time I was not drawn that direction. As a matter of fact I was running from God’s call on my life. Also, my apologies if this sounds moralistic or judgmental of others, that is not my intention.)</p><p class="ember-view reader-content-blocks__paragraph" id="ember1006" style="--artdeco-reset-typography_getfontsize: 1.6rem; --artdeco-reset-typography_getlineheight: 1.5; background-color: white; border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: -apple-system, system-ui, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Fira Sans", Ubuntu, Oxygen, "Oxygen Sans", Cantarell, "Droid Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Lucida Grande", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: var(--font-size-large); line-height: 1.75; margin: 1.6rem 0px; padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); pointer-events: all; vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline);">They say you become like those around you. In the Bible, we learn about Lot, the nephew of Abraham. Abraham, though far from perfect, kept seeking God and was blessed. Lot on the other hand kept drifting further from God. At first, he and his family lived on the plain outside of the wicked city called Sodom. Then Lot is living inside the city accepting the city’s behaviors as normal. Then just before God is about to destroy the city, Lot is sitting at the city gate where the leaders sit. He had become just like the worst of those in the city, even offering his own daughters to wicked men. In God’s grace He sent angels to rescue Lot and his family from the coming judgement He would bring on Sodom and sister city Gomorrah. Lot was about to change his mind about getting away from the evil city, but God’s messengers insisted. Genesis 19:16 says, “When he (Lot) hesitated, the men grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters and led them safely out of the city, for the LORD was merciful to them.” God’s plan is always to rescue, but we gotta accept being rescued. We also read that the angels had warned Lot's family not to look back, but Lot’s wife couldn’t resist and she infamously became a pillar of salt, an icon of the consequences of continued and deepening disobedience. Who are you becoming like? When we run toward God and away from evil, we begin to act more like God’s children, but when we are drawn toward evil, we become someone God never intended us to be.<span class="white-space-pre" style="background: var(--artdeco-reset-base-background-transparent); border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: inherit; font-size: var(--artdeco-reset-base-font-size-hundred-percent); line-height: 1.5; margin: var(--artdeco-reset-base-margin-zero); outline: var(--artdeco-reset-base-outline-zero); padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline); white-space: pre;"> </span></p><p><span color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9)" face="-apple-system, system-ui, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Fira Sans", Ubuntu, Oxygen, "Oxygen Sans", Cantarell, "Droid Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Lucida Grande", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: var(--font-size-large);">Hang in there people! God is glad to be with us! I’m praying for us all!</span> </p>WilliamPMcGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17692705042673942960noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1854207972607762402.post-53647218993561009952024-02-10T08:38:00.003-05:002024-02-10T08:38:58.717-05:00Don't Go It Alone!*<p> <span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Don’t go it alone? My sweet bride and I were blessed to go to Maui for our honeymoon. A friend told us about an inexpensive condo in Kaanapali. We had a marvelous time snorkeling, biking, and enjoying the beauty of “paradise,” and I was trying to figure out how a husband is supposed to act around this beautiful human I had espoused. We were told we needed to drive the road to Hana to fully enjoy Maui, so we turned in our standard rent car, got a convertible for the day, put the top down, and started driving. At the time the map wasn’t very helpful to me and audio and video guides weren’t around at the time. Besides, I was a man and wanted to impress my new bride. The manly conventional wisdom of the time was, for a man to ask for help or use a map was a sign of weakness. (Turns out it would have been much wiser to get some conventional help by asking someone.) Our destination was the “Seven Sacred Pools.” We started driving and saw beautiful ocean scenes, cliffs, flowers… it was amazing. I stopped at a place that I thought perhaps was a trail to the Seven Sacred Pools. Anita and I parked, jumped out and started hiking. Anita, said maybe we should ask someone, "this doesn’t look right." And I was like, “no, here’s the trailhead, let’s go.” The further we walked the darker it got in the jungle canopy of the bamboo thicket. I was kinda proud of myself, blazing the trail for my new bride, when she finally spoke up behind me saying, “Bill, I don’t think this is the right trail.” I turned around ready to convince her that the pools must be just up ahead, when I saw her lovely lily white legs covered in black dots… On closer observation, they were mosquitoes, dozens of them sucking the blood out of my sweet new wife. I started swatting them, which didn’t really help because she then had red swat marks on top of white bite welts... So, I quickly said, “You are right, dear. This must not be the trail. Let’s go back.” As we emerged from the deep jungle, Anita, covered in bites and swat marks, was not to be shaken, so we kept driving. We finally found the beautiful Seven Sacred Pools clearly marked with a big sign and we jumped in the water for a moment before driving back. We had been warned “don’t drive the curvy road in the dark!” Fortunately, I did heed that warning and we returned to the hotel without further incident. In my pride and confusion about how a husband who belongs to Jesus really acts, I pretended to know where I was going, when I had never been there before. I thought I was supposed to figure this out “all by myself.” </span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-97625fcb-7fff-fbdb-67fb-38331aa0f586"><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The good news is that in our spiritual life we don’t have to go it alone. As a matter of fact we can’t. If we decide to go it alone or try “conventional spiritual wisdom” we end up on a dark trail somewhere, leading ourselves and the ones we love the wrong direction, and putting us all in harm’s way. Jesus knows that we can be like this, so he tells his disciples (and us):“</span><span style="color: #515151; font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever —</span><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span><span style="color: #515151; font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.</span><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">” (John 14:16–17) He reminds them: “</span><span style="color: #515151; font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">...when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.</span><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">” (John 16:13) Sometimes we need to be reminded that God will never leave us to figure it out all by ourselves. Often the Spirit will speak to us through more mature Jesus-belongers, who have "been there and done that." They can help us know which way to go. Immanuel, “God with us,” says, the Spirit will be <b>with us</b>, and <b>in us</b>, to guide us. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Hang in there people. God is glad to be with us. I’m praying for us all. </span></p><div><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div></span>WilliamPMcGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17692705042673942960noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1854207972607762402.post-17305963963365676392024-01-03T07:00:00.001-05:002024-02-02T06:32:44.897-05:00ALRIGHT!*<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF5rKqQa6w-yM51ciT_HUgCkrB0lrw2JJnSP-ybxgziXWProTNpatcVnk14zn1mg9Yb00-BMStfVjsG0XIBnkiQ1bA-8DpW-uwWIv40APM9ibZuSFVn23RCebHUkGCYYkItP24hP7l5z4kKjHd3j_8Oj7rVvSJdEOu34TXZjTjZBmO3UYX0HcEbj8XxSs/s2264/alright%20alright%20alright.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1698" data-original-width="2264" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF5rKqQa6w-yM51ciT_HUgCkrB0lrw2JJnSP-ybxgziXWProTNpatcVnk14zn1mg9Yb00-BMStfVjsG0XIBnkiQ1bA-8DpW-uwWIv40APM9ibZuSFVn23RCebHUkGCYYkItP24hP7l5z4kKjHd3j_8Oj7rVvSJdEOu34TXZjTjZBmO3UYX0HcEbj8XxSs/s320/alright%20alright%20alright.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"> Moody Center...</div><p></p><p><span style="background-color: #f4f2ee; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: -apple-system, system-ui, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Fira Sans", Ubuntu, Oxygen, "Oxygen Sans", Cantarell, "Droid Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Lucida Grande", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: var(--font-size-large); font-variant-ligatures: none; white-space-collapse: break-spaces;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: #f4f2ee; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: -apple-system, system-ui, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Fira Sans", Ubuntu, Oxygen, "Oxygen Sans", Cantarell, "Droid Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Lucida Grande", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: var(--font-size-large); font-variant-ligatures: none; white-space-collapse: break-spaces;">When my oldest daughter was a preschooler, she was curious about her dad painting a wall in the den with a paint roller. Anita was taking care of one of the other 3 preschoolers in another part of the house at the moment and I had just loaded my roller with paint from the roller pan on the floor. I climbed the step-ladder to make the “W” motion, just like the paint store expert told me. I was using a roller on a pole to reach the high part of the vaulted ceiling. I could see out of the corner of my eye that MA had come through the door and I could hear her stepping on the plastic drop cloth. Just as I looked down, I yelled, “NO!”, but it was too late she had just stepped right in the middle of the roller pan. My shout startled her so much she turned and ran across the room in a frightened toddler scamper, making a footprint of paint with every other step across the carpet (did I mention this was a rental house). I quickly climbed down the ladder, shouting “STOP, STOP!” Which startled her even more and she continued to run, extending the paint trail of tiny footprints across the room. I finally was able to put the roller down in the pan, catch her, and remove the paint covered shoe and start trying to get the paint off the carpet. In my parenting ignorance, I had resorted to probably the least effective method of trying to solve this issue… raising my voice. I had momentarily forgotten that toddling, inquisitive, baby humans are much more important than carpet or paint or anything else. I didn’t have a lot of calming, peace bringing tools in my parenting crisis toolbox at the time, only the one I had grown up with… effusiveness. This ability may have been something good for collegiate cheerleader to have, but it was not always the best parenting technique. If all you have in your toolbox is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. If all you have is effusiveness, every problem should be solved by yelling louder, RIGHT? Though this tactic seldom worked, I had trouble seeing that I needed some more effective tools in my tool box for when the train was about to run off the rails or when it was already a full blown train wreck. I also didn’t realize how many of my decisions were made from fear: fear of messing up, fear of being inadequate, fear of lack, fear of being a bad dad or husband, fear of so many things… In my anxiety, my tool box could not expand or add more tools. The positive tools that I needed could only come if I operated in joy and love, rather than fear. </span></p><p class="article-editor-content__paragraph" style="--artdeco-reset-typography_getfontsize: 1.6rem; --artdeco-reset-typography_getlineheight: 1.5; background-color: #f4f2ee; border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: -apple-system, system-ui, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Fira Sans", Ubuntu, Oxygen, "Oxygen Sans", Cantarell, "Droid Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Lucida Grande", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: var(--font-size-large); font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 1.75; margin: 1.6rem 0px; padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline); white-space-collapse: break-spaces;">We operate in fear when we don’t trust that God loves us, cares for us, is glad to be with us and works all things together for our good. These fears come from a religion based on anger and retribution, rather than a relationship of love, joy, and care. Not that God is not capable of anger and retribution (because His righteousness and honor sometimes require it) but the fact that He loves us enough to send His Son to save us, shows His great love for us. Though He always requires our reverence and respect, He is first about rescue, rather than condemnation. John, the beloved disciple, quotes Jesus saying, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”(John 3:17) God is about making everything new and alright. One of Texas’ favorite sons, Matthew McConaughey says it three times, “Alright, Alright, Alright!” Our assumptions about life need to come first from the fact that God loves us tremendously and He is making everything “Alright” between us and Him. </p><p class="article-editor-content__paragraph" style="--artdeco-reset-typography_getfontsize: 1.6rem; --artdeco-reset-typography_getlineheight: 1.5; background-color: #f4f2ee; border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: -apple-system, system-ui, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Fira Sans", Ubuntu, Oxygen, "Oxygen Sans", Cantarell, "Droid Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Lucida Grande", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: var(--font-size-large); font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 1.75; margin: 1.6rem 0px; padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline); white-space-collapse: break-spaces;">Hang in there people! God is glad to be with us! I’m praying for us all!</p>WilliamPMcGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17692705042673942960noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1854207972607762402.post-30736091138958385492023-12-12T07:44:00.007-05:002024-02-02T06:33:00.621-05:00Look Mom, NO BRAKES!*<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoomgSGyqGq6Fjh7Ww7V6en7mWZ2-9Y9bI1AwgcVC5e_q240DHcQ9q81V7I41IbFJ3C5LTg12vH5KiIP5aklhsAJaFdzcon8WFdDTTP2Tqz3QtUWxsVtso_yIylMpzZbaaD06xUaEaVz9UUGeyKNFj2SaidfqlXzyWrfYvCU8JXfodtD4jjdWqkjoaXMo/s1600/go%20kart.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoomgSGyqGq6Fjh7Ww7V6en7mWZ2-9Y9bI1AwgcVC5e_q240DHcQ9q81V7I41IbFJ3C5LTg12vH5KiIP5aklhsAJaFdzcon8WFdDTTP2Tqz3QtUWxsVtso_yIylMpzZbaaD06xUaEaVz9UUGeyKNFj2SaidfqlXzyWrfYvCU8JXfodtD4jjdWqkjoaXMo/s320/go%20kart.jpeg" width="180" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">photo credit someone on Ebay </div><p></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; white-space-collapse: preserve;">My uncle once showed up at our house with an old motorized go kart he found at a flea market and had been working on. What fun for us in early elementary school… at least for a moment. We cousins took turns driving the go cart in small slow circles in the driveway while my uncle and father stopped us every once in a while to adjust something. We kept it slow because, oh yeah, there were NO BRAKES yet! Everything was fine and fun as we pretended to be racing on the big track. This, of course, was back when helmets were optional and maybe even frowned on for go karts, bikes, motorcycles, etc… I guess they thought we were hard headed enough or maybe it just wasn’t a part of the go kart package at the flea market. When my cousin began his slow circle around the driveway for what would be his last one on that kart, my uncle, for some strange reason, jumped on the side of the kart, Thunderdome style, and pressed the accelerator to the floor, saying "Go faster son!” The accelerator spring that is supposed to “unrev” the engine when the accelerator is released, snapped and the kart began accelerating out of control. My uncle began falling and jumped off, my cousin, however, was seated and un-able to escape. He was wide-eyed and headed for the very steep hill with lots of big trees. He lined up the driveway’s turnaround pad which launched the cart into the air. It hit a tree about 4 feet high and slammed to the ground. Fortunately the impact slowed the engine as my father and uncle ran to pull my cousin, crying and shaking from the kart. My uncle, embarrassed by it all, said to him, “oh, quit crying, you're not hurt.” And that about did it for the go kart thing. Everytime I hear the words, “go kart,” I can see my cousin flying through the air, impacting the tree and slamming to the ground. Interestingly, as teens, my cousin and I would go to the go kart slick track extravaganza in Pigeon Forge to race against each other, accelerator to the floor, drifting through the turns, but this time with actual brakes (but still no helmets). </span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-92be04d8-7fff-57e7-06d6-35beb9e1ec20"><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The apostle John was worried about the early church. He didn’t want them going around accelerating through life with “no brakes.” He told them when we belong to Christ we can stop when it comes to sin. He reminded them (and us) that we who belong to Christ, act like Him, and He did not sin. He says, “</span><span style="color: #515151; font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.</span><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span><span style="color: #515151; font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.</span><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span><span style="color: #515151; font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure. Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness.</span><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span><span style="color: #515151; font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin.</span><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span><span style="color: #515151; font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.</span><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">” (1 John 3:1–6) So, we need to remind ourselves the next time we are operating with no brakes, feeling out of control, unable to stop ourselves from sinning, that we are children of God and He gave us brakes. He makes us like Jesus whose brakes worked perfectly his whole life. Sure, we’re all going to mess up, that’s why Jesus had to come save us, but when we belong to Him, we begin to mature in Him and learn how to use the brakes and turn around when we are heading for trouble. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Hang in there people! God is glad to be with us! I’m praying for us all! </span></p><div><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div></span>WilliamPMcGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17692705042673942960noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1854207972607762402.post-17692997518188982652023-11-26T10:22:00.004-05:002023-11-26T10:22:29.594-05:00I Love My Church!**<p> </p><p><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Wow! I’m thanking God for a wonderful “I Love My Church” Sunday. God involved so many people in this experience. I want to say thank you to everyone who said “Yes!,” when God asked them to engage in this week’s unifying, connecting, fun, worshiping, baptizing Gospel event. I would like to follow one particular God story that changed the lives of one family and blessed many others. I am sure there are many stories like this one, but this is the one God allowed me to see firsthand. I watched and listened as the staff talked about and planned the “I Love My Church!” Sunday. First, there needed to be an outreach to invite those people that either didn’t know Jesus or were not engaged in a church. Jonathan had asked us all to be praying for folks who need Jesus during our October Missions Month. A decision was made to make invitation bags available to take to these people for whom we were praying. The bag was simple: a card and a couple of cookies that said, “You belong here.” Bags, cookies, cards, and crinkle stuffing paper were ordered. A crew of several ABC volunteers came to stuff bags, stage them and pray over them before they were to be picked up. People picked up the bags the Sunday before to deliver them to invite friends, neighbors, family and coworkers. One ABC 2nd grader who herself had been baptized just a few weeks ago wanted 15 bags to take to her friends. Her mother said, “maybe a few,” but this little girl was insistent that she wanted her friends to know Jesus. I’m not sure how many she ended up giving away, but one of the bags she delivered ended up in the hands of a classmate. This classmate showed up to ABC for “I Love My Church!” Sunday. I happened to be in the lobby when this 2nd grader and his mother arrived. I was able to take the two of them to meet Rachel so he could join the Children’s Worship, Bible study, and fun. Mom then went to the worship center. The Holy Spirit moved Mom’s heart with the worship music, compelling Gospel message, and the sweet fellowship of 1000 worshipers. At the invitation to be baptized this woman came to the front of the room full of strangers and said, “Yes!” to Jesus. When she went to the baptistry changing room she was met by Adrian, who talked with her and learned that it was her first time to ABC and that her son was in the Children’s wing. Bill, Jo and the baptism team helped her get ready to be baptized. Adrian went to get this woman’s son, so he could watch his mother’s testimony that she belongs to Jesus through the waters of baptism. He watched his mother, then came to see her afterwards and gave her a big hug. He too wants to be baptized. Conversations about that are ongoing. I love how many people were involved in this continuing God story! There were planners, preparers, goers, givers, teachers, servers, cooks, cleaners, children’s workers, table setters, runners, towel washers… all involved in God’s plan to impact the lives of this family and others with the Gospel.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"><br /></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Pastor Jonathan has been preaching on the Great Commission for the month of October. Matthew 28:18-20 says, <i>“</i><span class="s1" style="color: #515151;"><i>... Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” </i></span><i>(</i>Matthew 28:18–20 ESV) There was a lot involved in the GO-ing (planning, ordering, stuffing, baking, staging, delivering…). But this little girl decided to GO to her friends with bags to invite them to ABC. This young man and his mother came because they were invited. His mother heard the Word of God, the Truth of the Gospel, and was BAPTIZED (and her son may be baptized too). Next in the MAKING DISCIPLES plan that Jesus gave us is the teaching part. This 2nd grader has already connected with the Children’s Ministry director and teachers who are TEACHING him and other kids what life is like when you belong to Jesus. Mom is being invited to an Adult Bible Fellow-ship Group to learn alongside other believers all the blessings, joys, and opportunities of belonging to Jesus. Lord, give us the boldness to GO and MAKE DISCIPLES like this 2nd grader!<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Hang in there people! God is glad to be with us! I’m praying for us all!<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p>WilliamPMcGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17692705042673942960noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1854207972607762402.post-61845038852214555292023-11-23T10:36:00.010-05:002024-03-06T16:55:05.113-05:00And The Flames Went Higher!*<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="color: #999999; font-family: Poppins, Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: center;"> </span><div><p class="article-editor-content__paragraph" data-pm-slice="1 1 []">When I was a teenager, my family owned some property on the lake, with plans to one day build a house on it. It was across the street and down a house or two from the house I grew up in, but we liked it because, “it was on the lake.” My father was trying to determine the best plan to dispose of a large amount of driftwood debris that had floated into our cove and was left stranded there as the water lowered. The idea was to just do a controlled burn. The wood pile was bordered by water on one side, was pretty far from the grass, and with some shovels and hoes, he reasoned that we should be able to handle any sparks that got upwind on the grass. East Tennessee winters are usually very moist, but for some reason not that year. Things were very dry on that sunny February day. We ignited the fire and things were going swimmingly until the wind changed and whipped the small fire into a very large fire, a fire larger than any of us had ever experienced. The embers were jumping several feet into the air and then falling onto the dry grass. Initially we were doing pretty well putting out the small fires with the shovel, but then there were just too many. As the fire began to get out of control, I jumped on my motorcycle and rode quickly across and up the street to my house, while Dad continued fighting the fire. I called the volunteer fire department (with a rotary dial phone that seemed to take forever). The dispatcher informed me that there were several out of control fires in the county that day, and they would try to get there when they could. I rode back to find that much of the field was now burning and my father was working feverishly to prevent the flames from getting to a fence row which would have involved another large adjacent field and no telling how much of the neighborhood. In the meantime, the flames were headed toward the street and whirlwinds of fire were leaping several feet at a time. Fortunately the wind was blowing away from the adjacent neighbor’s house. But unfortunately, the wind was blowing toward the historic “Harvey Farmhouse” directly across the street. “Rivermont” as it was also called, was built before 1900 and we knew it would ignite like a tender box. We were all praying a lot as we frantically tried to keep the conflagration in check. My mother, sister and neighbors had shown up trying to corral the flames. All I could do was try to put out a few small flames as the fire devil jumped the road and lurched toward the old wooden house. My sister had brought a fire extinguisher, but wasn’t sure how to operate it. A neighbor grabbed it and quickly put out the largest flames before they reached the crispy, dry, unraked leaves around the house. Mercifully, after a couple of hours, the wind and the flames died down enough and the old house was spared. God had answered and the fire was contained to only our property. Needless to say, we never tried a controlled burn again. We also, for some reason, never built on that property. </p><p class="article-editor-content__paragraph">When the prophet Isaiah was telling God’s people to remember Who they belonged to, he also warned them with fiery imagery about what would happen to those who were against God. Isaiah 66:14-16 says, “When you see this (God’s restoration, protection, comfort, and blessing on His people), your heart will rejoice and you will flourish like grass; the hand of the LORD will be made known to his servants, but his fury will be shown to his foes. See, the LORD is coming with fire, and his chariots are like a whirlwind; he will bring down his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire. For with fire and with his sword the LORD will execute judgment upon all men, and many will be those slain by the LORD.” I definitely don’t want to be on the wrong side of God’s angry, fiery rebuke. My experience that day on our lake property makes this picture very vivid to me. This is a good reminder to be sure we know we belong to God, because there is no neutral ground. Jesus tells us, ““He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me, scatters.”(Luke 11:23) Believe and belong to Him and flourish like grass! </p><p class="article-editor-content__paragraph">Hang in there people! God is glad to be with us! I’m praying for us all!</p></div>WilliamPMcGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17692705042673942960noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1854207972607762402.post-70263611785934126802023-11-11T10:42:00.002-05:002023-11-15T14:53:05.436-05:00When You Can See It Coming, But Can't Stop It?*<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq5sKTbxI5CunFqPSct63GRuHAnUk3oxOUCQY5qHPAupUSEpBBzZ3edynWeIizG1YZbipqNWfyFtZ9G0Twd5X0Udqpu8kv6Huymz5yvp1m8kIwcQVTT2J0IUMsn0GKtNpTZVDbxMTYbzxBWmRuqwO4FB3_lFksK7qaSyK7yCrymepPifmnh8Snq4cdQyI/s251/kid%20downhill.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="251" data-original-width="201" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq5sKTbxI5CunFqPSct63GRuHAnUk3oxOUCQY5qHPAupUSEpBBzZ3edynWeIizG1YZbipqNWfyFtZ9G0Twd5X0Udqpu8kv6Huymz5yvp1m8kIwcQVTT2J0IUMsn0GKtNpTZVDbxMTYbzxBWmRuqwO4FB3_lFksK7qaSyK7yCrymepPifmnh8Snq4cdQyI/s1600/kid%20downhill.jpeg" width="201" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Photo credit: spreadricenothate</div><p><br /></p><p>When my kids were in preschool and early elementary, we moved to Nashville to serve an urban church. The parsonage was situated on a large hill between the Baptist church at the bottom, where I pastored, and the Methodist church at the top. In the Summers we loved that hill for a homemade slip and slide, we loathed it when kicking the soccer ball, which usually ended up in or near the creek at the bottom of the hill. My son, while learning to ride a bike, took an unfortunate wobble then an uncontrolled turn down the hill. Frozen in fear, he forgot how to use the coaster brakes. Fortunately, he was not injured badly. One of my toddler daughters was in the back yard when I came home from work. She smiled and turned to run to me. I was standing on the asphalt driveway below her and I could see what was coming. She was laughing and running toward me, which in one sense made my day, however, I knew her little legs would not be able to keep up with her quickly growing head and body as she accelerated down the hill. I started saying, “stop!, stop!” and running toward her, but she was just too excited to see her Daddy. She was doing well keeping up with gravity until just before the asphalt and then I saw it happening in slow motion, but I still couldn’t get to her in time. She fell face first on the driveway and her little head bounced when she hit. I finally got to her an instant later (which seemed like an eternity) I scooped her up and waited for tears. Surprisingly there were just a few, but she did have a scrape and pumpknot (hematoma) on her forehead. </p><p class="article-editor-content__paragraph">Don’t you hate it when you see the life choices of someone you care about that will lead to a big crash? You do all you can to warn them: “Stop! Stop!” but they just don’t yet understand all the forces at work in this world. When Paul was encouraging the Corinthian church, he could see that they were highlighting one Spiritual Gift over all the others. Even something as good as a Spiritual Gift could be used as something bad and divisive for the church. Speaking in tongues became the gift that if you didn’t have it, you were not one of the cool kids at church. Those who had it considered it so important they forgot that when we belong to Jesus, love is the most important thing. Paul tells them, “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.”(1 Corinthians 13:1) Paul knows what is coming, that the evil forces at work in this world are going to take even this (and other) spiritual gift(s) and use it against the church. Those with the coveted gift will be filled with pride and those without it will feel belittled and devalued. Both, in their immaturity, will forget that love is greater than any gift. They will forget how it is like them to act toward those around them. Paul tells them, “Brothers, stop thinking like children. In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be adults.” (1 Corinthians 14:20) Paul loved the Corinthian church, but they were forgetting Who they belonged to. When we see an unavoidable social, emotional, Spiritual train wreck coming in someone’s life, like when an adult child chooses the wrong friend group, or significant other, or career choice, sometimes all we can do is try to tell them to stop. But then we gotta be ready to scoop them up and love them “no matter what” as they heal even if they don’t yet understand why they should stop. </p><p class="article-editor-content__paragraph">Hang in there people! God is glad to be with us! I’m praying for us all!</p>WilliamPMcGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17692705042673942960noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1854207972607762402.post-43260728609052483752023-10-27T12:01:00.007-04:002023-11-26T10:25:52.507-05:00Good Fish, Bad Fish...**<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV7AprjAAfWfPMwfKqFK_qhnWkxJ1fWhc8nV7ApdnuaFwqbdCoGQacB_KGqEjBfZgmVKhnxFkj5sZZNqcPufwWT6VpzRPTpc4F_aOFhddkvNXcXvQA7RJguLN8oYslPPNRj3rh5u0B-84GvLHZ2lYRaXJ7EscGWo4lGhGMUlI1VEoGZXqz_1nz-SNSwLQ/s1920/IMG_2394.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1920" data-original-width="1440" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV7AprjAAfWfPMwfKqFK_qhnWkxJ1fWhc8nV7ApdnuaFwqbdCoGQacB_KGqEjBfZgmVKhnxFkj5sZZNqcPufwWT6VpzRPTpc4F_aOFhddkvNXcXvQA7RJguLN8oYslPPNRj3rh5u0B-84GvLHZ2lYRaXJ7EscGWo4lGhGMUlI1VEoGZXqz_1nz-SNSwLQ/s320/IMG_2394.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; white-space-collapse: preserve;">During those long Summer days, My Dad would sometimes come home from a busy day at Norwood Medical Clinic and say, “let’s go fishing!” In addition to being a physician he was also an avid sportsman. It was how he unwound after a stressful day of doctoring. We would hook up the boat and head to the lake. Sometimes we would go right down the street to the boat ramp if we were bowfishing. Sometimes it was a few miles away if we were fishing the mouth of the creeks that fed the Tennessee River and Ft. Loudon Lake. At Stock Creek one evening, I casted my lure and BAM! a fish hit it so hard, I almost dropped my rod. I began to reel and the fish just kept spooling the line…zzzzz… Dad was so excited. He kept saying, "keep his head up!” as I struggled to stay upright fighting the fish. I would reel a little, then the fish would take off again. My dad was sure by the fight of this fish that it was the biggest bass he had seen come out of that lake. The fish and I fought for several more minutes and when I got it to the boat, we discovered it was a freshwater drum. Though this fish is the bane of serious bass fishermen, it sure was fun to catch. It generally is called a trash or “rough” fish rather than a game fish. Drum are not considered a good fish to eat unless you have a Cajun chef close by, because they apparently call it a “gaspergou” and can make it quite tasty. This fish is a freshwater relative of the better tasting saltwater red drum found at seafood restaurants. </span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-d277eec7-7fff-ecbf-baaa-3869774e0c4e"><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 16pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">From the Bible we can see that the Israelites are generally land dwellers, sheep herders and farmers from way back. But when Jesus came, He found a handful of Jewish fishermen living on the Sea of Galilee as the first ones He called to be his disciples. He was trying to describe what His Kingdom was like to them and said, </span><span style="color: #515151; font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 16pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">“... the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish.</span><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span><span style="color: #515151; font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 16pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away.</span><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span><span style="color: #515151; font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 16pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous</span><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span><span style="color: #515151; font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 16pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.</span><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 16pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">”(Matthew 13:47–50</span><a href="https://accordance.bible/link/read/NIV#Matt._13:47" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 16pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span><span style="color: #3372cb; font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 16pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">NIV</span></a><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 16pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">) The amazing thing to me is that Jesus loves all of us and can take the trashiest of us “rough” fish and make us good. Jesus is in the business of changing bad wicked people into good and righteous. The truth is, we are all bad (not one of us is good according to Romans. 3:23), until we belong to Him and His connection with us changes our wicked hearts to make us good. He pays the price and suffers because of our badness. Those who belong to Him He saves from an eternity of weeping and gnashing of teeth in a fiery horrible place called Hell and lets us hang out with Him and all those who belong to Him in a wonderful place called heaven. Gaspergou and Red Drum will all be considered either good or bad. We will either be considered wicked or righteous at the end of our lives on earth and the only way to be righteous is through a real loving relationship with Jesus, He is the only one who can make us right. He died to make everyone good, but we have to choose to belong to Him, He won’t force us to be one of His good fish. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 16pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Hang in there people! God is glad to be with us! I’m praying for us all! </span></p><div><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 16pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div></span>WilliamPMcGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17692705042673942960noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1854207972607762402.post-76137301555159921042023-10-26T10:31:00.006-04:002023-11-26T10:25:18.986-05:00In Perfect Harmony**<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSIH3wSMO1F1F1gufDtjheM5IcH1xUqxXhzEWVNIuNwIxkuNdteMFWwEQpw2DUznpZisxDN3s1G4pxN99Sd9VW9xZpvJXHl_TdQCAwTMun-1YEtjjy-CmUMKIswFf6ym7LDwDlzmHHZnT12v90chC7k1HYYdMh6CIGOTkPIMZiFFMTpYc6mEnZd15Jh_c/s400/asset_395_CocaColaHilltop20160213150028.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="267" data-original-width="400" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSIH3wSMO1F1F1gufDtjheM5IcH1xUqxXhzEWVNIuNwIxkuNdteMFWwEQpw2DUznpZisxDN3s1G4pxN99Sd9VW9xZpvJXHl_TdQCAwTMun-1YEtjjy-CmUMKIswFf6ym7LDwDlzmHHZnT12v90chC7k1HYYdMh6CIGOTkPIMZiFFMTpYc6mEnZd15Jh_c/s320/asset_395_CocaColaHilltop20160213150028.webp" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Credit Adage.com</div><p><br /></p><p> <span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">One Christmas my family was to drive across Tennessee from Knoxville to Memphis, then down into Mississippi to visit some cousins. As we passed Nashville we hit a rare Tennessee snow storm. Traffic slowed to a snail’s pace. Because many southern drivers are not used to driving in the frozen white stuff, traffic crawled like sloths on a skating rink. My Dad, who was an exceptional driver, also had an “I-can-drive-through-anything” attitude and a Jeep Wagoneer. He was a very confident driver (with the exception of an infamous ice storm that froze him out of the car and sent him sliding underneath it only able to crawl back to the garage to abandon the trip he planned to rescue someone else, but that is a story for another day) As we traveled we saw some cars off in the ditch, some spinning tires, and others just sitting on the side of the road with their flashers on. As we progressed single file down I-40, the road oil and dirt flung from the tires of the cars ahead of us mixed with the snow and was smeared by the wipers to create a frozen oil slick on our (and everyone else’s) windshield. It was like looking through gray frosted glass, making travel even more hazardous. When we stopped for gas, everyone was trying to wipe and scrape their windshields but only smearing the frozen mess more. Until a northerner, who was used to driving in the stuff, gave some neighborly advice to those of us blessed to be born South of the Mason Dixson line. The fast talkin’ (expletive) Yankee told us what to do. Everyone really wanted to try this fix, but had to wait until he was gone, so we wouldn’t have to say he was right if it worked. However, behold, it worked! After pouring this stuff on, the icy road slime formed a slush and slid right off with a paper towel and we were back on the road with clear windshields. What was this magical solution? Good ol’ Coca-cola. You know the “I’d like to teach the world to sing, in perfect harmony… it’s the real thing…” stuff, developed right smack dab in the middle of the South in Atlanta, Ga. (for you youngsters here’s the famous commercial </span><a href="https://adage.com/videos/cocacola-hilltop/395" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">https://adage.com/videos/cocacola-hilltop/395</span></a><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">) Who knew that the phosphoric acid that gives Coke its slightly tart taste is also good for cleaning glass. (BTW this phosphoric acid is now associated with causing low bone density for those who consume a lot of sodas - uh oh! Who knew?) We finally arrived in Mississippi several hours later than planned, but had a blast with the cousins for Christmas. Maybe our prejudices were challenged when this “Yankee” was kind, neighborly, and eager to help people be just a little safer in a challenging situation. </span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-2ca86db1-7fff-b2f4-e154-b228990438e7"><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Jesus told a story that confronted the prejudices of his hearers in which He made a Samaritan the hero of the story instead of the respected ones they held in highest esteem. Luke tells it like this, “</span><span style="color: #515151; font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”</span><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span><span style="color: #515151; font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?”</span><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span><span style="color: #515151; font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”</span><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span><span style="color: #515151; font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: #515151; font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”</span><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span><span style="color: #515151; font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead.</span><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span><span style="color: #515151; font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side.</span><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span><span style="color: #515151; font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.</span><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span><span style="color: #515151; font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion.</span><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span><span style="color: #515151; font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him.</span><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span><span style="color: #515151; font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’</span><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span><span style="color: #515151; font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?”</span><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span><span style="color: #515151; font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”</span><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">(Luke 10:25–37</span><a href="https://accordance.bible/link/read/ESV#Luke_10:25" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span><span style="color: #3372cb; font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">ESV</span></a><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">) Let’s go and do likewise people! </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Hang in there people! God is glad to be with us! I’m praying for us all! </span></p><div><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div></span>WilliamPMcGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17692705042673942960noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1854207972607762402.post-86878303661753909882023-09-28T11:02:00.006-04:002023-11-26T10:20:20.090-05:00HotWired!**<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxMnbPYNr3ls0R4oc8lyqDWtINJXiTLrKOnUYz5KKWUMfjQ65Mtu6rEzhdbh_mEIySJD61JIEPW9vq_O2Z5fJ1FcpBHg_QpjA0DLmCMHtG6y2v6SfbC6EK8_Yptp-dVx6nCmxasLZIe69pIhcuJV4mygZl88rmLmVIBeN-a_tFuGH1GUw69isLufy5aoo/s299/hotwire.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="299" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxMnbPYNr3ls0R4oc8lyqDWtINJXiTLrKOnUYz5KKWUMfjQ65Mtu6rEzhdbh_mEIySJD61JIEPW9vq_O2Z5fJ1FcpBHg_QpjA0DLmCMHtG6y2v6SfbC6EK8_Yptp-dVx6nCmxasLZIe69pIhcuJV4mygZl88rmLmVIBeN-a_tFuGH1GUw69isLufy5aoo/s1600/hotwire.jpeg" width="299" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Photo Credit Outdoor Discovery</div><p><br /></p><p> <span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; white-space-collapse: preserve;">When in high school, a church friend and I were excited to go water skiing one Summer afternoon after we got off work. He had a real job… helping run a bearing business. I had the morning shift as a lifeguard at the local pool. We quickly drove the 45 minute drive to the lake, maybe a little quicker than the posted speed limit… at that age, we did everything as quickly as we could to make sure we got every last drop out of our days. People used to say we were either out on the lake running wide open or tied to the dock… asleep, there was no in between. We got to his Dad’s boat slip, threw our skis, vests, and rope into the boat and I started untying from the dock. Then he said, “oh man! I forgot the keys!” He said, “no skiing today, it will be dark before we get back home and come back up here.” I said, “Hang on! Do you have a screwdriver?” I had never hotwired a boat, but had watched McGuiver and thought, “how hard can this be?” He found a screwdriver, turned on the blower to get any flammable gasses out of the engine compartment, and I went to look under the driving console. I touched some wires with the screwdriver and a lot of sparks flew out, tried some other wires and more sparks, but then the engine started. We were in business! We skied hard until dusk, never turning the boat off, and we idled into the dock in the dark. We were quite proud of ourselves until we arrived at his house to see his dad standing in the door with the boat keys in his hand, laughing at us. He said, “you guys didn’t get to ski, did you?” To which we replied, “Sure we did, Bill hotwired your boat.” This, as you might imagine, was not the right answer. He was not happy with us at all. As a matter of fact, he grounded us from using his boat for several days. We were thinking, “how resourceful we are to make this happen.” He was thinking, “they ruined my boat.” </span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-e9d145a5-7fff-54f0-9afb-264647b9442a"><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">As Jesus was talking to the crowds about his cousin, John the Baptist, who had been imprisoned, He highlighted his extraordinary ministry as a prophet. Jesus said that John the Baptist was the greatest man to ever live. John was a rough and tumble prophet who told it like it was, and didn’t pull any punches. He said what he was going to say, regardless of how it landed. John the Baptist carried a heavy mantle to further God’s Kingdom. Jesus says, “</span><span style="color: #515151; font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it</span><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">” (Matthew 11:12) However, Jesus also told the crowds there is an easier and better way. He told them, “</span><span style="color: #515151; font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.</span><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span><span style="color: #515151; font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.</span><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span><span style="color: #515151; font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”</span><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">(Matthew 11:28–30) Sometimes we can try to force our lives to give us what we feel we need or deserve. We can force our faith on ourselves and others. We say, “life is only what you make it.” We hotwire it, jumpstart it, and fake it ‘til we make it, but Jesus says, simply connect your life to me and you no longer have to go around kicking down doors and hotwiring boats to find what faith and life are really about. Jesus says, “I’m gentle and humble in heart.” There is an easiness to our faith life when we connect with Jesus. When Simon Peter connected with the fact that Jesus was, “the Christ, the Son of the Living God,” Jesus told him, “</span><span style="color: #515151; font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”</span><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">(Matthew 16:19) We gotta quit trying so hard to hotwire life and faith and remember that Jesus not only holds the keys and He gives them to us to share with others. Real life is more about connection with Jesus than a forceful determination to make our faith happen.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Hang in there people! God is glad to be with us! I’m praying for us all! </span></p><div><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div></span>WilliamPMcGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17692705042673942960noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1854207972607762402.post-77339719825760656932023-09-18T08:58:00.004-04:002023-11-26T10:18:12.641-05:00A Visitation!**<p> <span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 12pt; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Back when churches did Tuesday night visitation to meet the people who had come as guests on the Sunday before, sometimes those doorstep visits seemed to make a difference in the lives of our guests, but sometimes the visits could seem ineffective and even annoying to those we visited. Some people would not come to the door, pretending not to be home, even though I could hear them telling other family members to be quiet until I went away. One particular Tuesday night, I had collected a handful of names and addresses to go visit. I went to several homes and no one was home. I had one more visitation card in my stack, but I was already late trying to get home and tell my kids “goodnight” and this house was another 30 minutes from where I was and another 45 back to my house. So, I started to head home, so I could join Anita in the bedtime routine of reading, rocking, tucking-in, and praying with our 4 preschoolers. I decided I would visit this couple the next Tuesday. However, I got this overwhelming feeling that I needed to go to this particular house that night. I tried to ignore it and then began arguing in my head with God that I needed to go home. God, of course won the argument, and compelled me to go. So, I turned around to go to this house that would add another hour plus to my evening. I would have to trust that God would give Anita grace, once again, to put all four kids to bed by herself. When I got to the last visitation, the house was huge, but it was dark. I was miffed… thinking that I came all the way out here to visit an empty house. I said a prayer and walked to the door to ring the doorbell; it was worth a try, maybe they were in another part of the house. When I did, lights came on and a young couple came to the door with a somewhat surprised look on their faces. I told them who I was and they invited me in. There were large, dark, empty rooms sparsely decorated. We found some chairs and sat down. They explained they had planned to sell the house, so there wasn’t much furniture left. They also explained that they had visited the church on Sunday in a last ditch hope to save their marriage. They said, “we just prayed at dinner tonight, that if God didn’t show us something, we would be filing for an amicable divorce tomorrow.” I was able to talk with them and tell them I believed the solution was a real and vital relationship with Jesus Christ. They both were saved that night! A few weeks later, they were baptized and invited their friends to come watch. Their friends, who had noticed a dramatic difference in their marriage and lives, became curious, came to church with them and were saved too. All in all about a dozen people began to follow Christ. Wow! And to think that I almost didn’t go that night! I know God didn’t need me to go to their house that night. He would have accomplished His will in their lives in any way He wanted, but He invited me to join Him in that work and what a blessing it was. </span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-0455649b-7fff-782c-675e-a6a0be249cda"><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: Palatino; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 1.2;">The apostle Paul was telling the leaders of the church at Ephesus about how God had urged him to keep going even when it meant sacrifices on his part. He told them,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="color: #515151; font-family: Palatino; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 1.2;">“And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there.</span><span style="font-family: Palatino; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 1.2;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="color: #515151; font-family: Palatino; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 1.2;">I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me.</span><span style="font-family: Palatino; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 1.2;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="color: #515151; font-family: Palatino; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 1.2;">However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.</span><span style="font-family: Palatino; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 1.2;">” (Acts 20:22–24) My being late getting home that night was definitely worth it. God chose to use me to lead that couple to hear and receive the Gospel. My being inconvenienced one night seems silly compared to the hardship, beatings and prison Paul endured. I’m humbled that God had compelled me to join Him and testify to the Good News of His grace. If you feel compelled by God to do something, don’t miss it. God is including us in His plan to save people, their marriages, their lives, their friends! </span> </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Hang in there people! God is glad to be with us! I’m praying for us all! </span></p><br /><br /></span>WilliamPMcGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17692705042673942960noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1854207972607762402.post-90929965111511621752023-09-04T09:29:00.003-04:002023-11-26T10:17:58.053-05:00Are You In Over Your Head?**<p> <span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; white-space-collapse: preserve;">My father and I had been at our houseboat doing some work on it. It was a very hot day, so several people had come to the shore at the state park swimming area about 500 yards from where our houseboat was moored just in front of Norris Dam. You could hear lots of laughing and squealing of kids as their voices echoed over the water and bounced off the dam concrete. At one point the squealing turned to screaming and then yells for help. We stopped our work and listened to see if this was just kids' playful joking or actual screams for help, but after a few minutes of it we jumped in the bass boat and motored through the “no wake” zone toward the shore. It took us several minutes to navigate around the other boats toward the buoys that marked the swim area. At some point the yelling stopped. We arrived in time to see the body of a man with blue jeans, blue face, and no shirt laying motionless on the shore. Everyone had left but a few people who had pulled him out of the water. This man had ridden his motorcycle to the lake and decided to take a swim in his jeans. Apparently, he didn’t realize how steeply the shore dropped off to deep water and was in over his head before he knew it. He was unable to turn around and to get back to the shore. Despite the attempts of others to get to him and bring him back, he had already drowned. Knowing there was nothing we could do, we turned the boat around and let the officials do their work. My father, who was a physician, had seen people who had expired before during his medical training in the Emergency Room and Med School, but this was a first experience for me as a young teen, aside from those bodies in the funeral home who had been carefully made up and prepared for a half-open casket and public viewing. I had lots of questions about what happens to the body when someone drowns. My father answered all my questions from a medical viewpoint. Then as I quietly processed the incident on the way back to the houseboat and the car ride back home, I wondered about this man’s soul. Was he ready to leave this earth? Did he have a relationship with Jesus? Was he in heaven now? Or somewhere else, i.e. hell? </span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-c8d02ea4-7fff-6e42-389e-591db50d8cb7"><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Israel had rebelled against God and had followed the occult gods of the land. Because God loved His people, He wanted them to repent, but they were in way over their heads and unable to give up their connection to the evil ways of foreign gods. So, God allowed them to be defeated and taken into captivity. Jeremiah the eccentric prophet, had warned Israel to repent and turn around, head back toward God. The leaders did not like what Jeremiah had to say against them and at one point threw him into a cistern full of mud, but God had him rescued and pulled out (Jer. 38). Jeremiah never quit trusting God. In one of his writings Jeremiah says, </span><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 16pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">“</span><span style="color: #515151; font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 16pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">... the waters closed over my head, and I thought I was about to be cut off. I called on your name, O LORD, from the depths of the pit. You heard my plea: “Do not close your ears to my cry for relief.” You came near when I called you, and you said, “Do not fear.” O Lord, you took up my case; you redeemed my life.</span><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 16pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">”(Lamentations 3:53b–58</span><a href="https://accordance.bible/link/read/NIV#Lam._3:53" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 16pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span><span style="color: #3372cb; font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 16pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">NIV</span></a><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 16pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">) God still hears our cries for help. No matter how deep in the pit of sin and rebellion, or hopeless despair we are, God hears our cries when we call out to Him. The apostle Paul says, “</span><span style="color: #515151; font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 16pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”</span><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 16pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">(Romans 10:13</span><a href="https://accordance.bible/link/read/NIV#Rom._10:13" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 16pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span><span style="color: #3372cb; font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 16pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">NIV</span></a><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 16pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">) We are all in over our heads. We cannot save ourselves from sin and death, but God made a way through Jesus to be rescued from the pit of hell. He loves us and wants us to spend eternity with Him and has made a way for us to graciously be saved, but it is our choice whether we call out for a relationship with Jesus to be rescued from the evil that has us overwhelmed. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 16pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Hang in there people! God is glad to be with us! I’m praying for us all! </span></p><br /><br /></span>WilliamPMcGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17692705042673942960noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1854207972607762402.post-67587722579925401552023-09-04T09:07:00.005-04:002023-11-26T10:30:24.270-05:00A Seat At The Table!**<p> <span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; white-space-collapse: preserve;">A seat at the table. My paternal grandmother was a widow, she had been since her 40’s. A child of the Great Depression, she was very shrewd with her money, she saved everything… used aluminum foil, small pieces of string, rubber bands, ketchup and pads of butter from a restaurant, and anything else of any perceived value. Interestingly, in spite of her frugality, she was very generous with those she loved. She lived very humbly, except for her car, she loved a Cadillac. Arthritis had crippled her, she walked very slowly and with great pain. Though knee replacement had become an option in her lifetime, she never felt comfortable with spending that kind of money on herself. My family saw her at least once a week. My cousins stayed with her every day after school. She was a smart and curious woman. Her curiosity about people could come off as unkind, or at least insensitive. For example, she once asked a very tall check out clerk at the grocery if she was standing on a box. Mother Mac was not a cook and didn’t have a large place to host people, but she loved good food and her family. Nearly every Sunday after church, she invited my family and my cousins’ family to lunch. One of her favorite places was called Pero’s Restaurant owned and operated by the Peroulas family. It had delicious Greek and Italian food. It was like my big fat Greek lunch, only we were Irish, Scottish, and some Jewish mixed in. They put two tables together to accommodate the 9 of us who enjoyed the crackers with butter before the meal, a great salad, and the veal parmigiana was the best in town. She had a sweet tooth, so we always enjoyed dessert, besides it came with the meal (another great value). We all laughed and teased each other a lot (teasing was one of our love languages). We always left there full of good food, good memories and good times together. This was Mother Mac’s way of taking care of her own and keeping her family together. Later, we all appreciated her intentionality in making this a family tradition, though at the time we may not have recognized it. It helped establish our identity and sense of belonging. If you belonged to Mother Mac you ate lunch together on Sundays. Sunday lunch with Mother Mac was the place we wanted to be, she even welcomed our friends and significant others as we grew older. She used her resources for something important to her, her family. Because of her smart investments, and great generosity, she also helped two generations in her family go to college. Unfortunately, her digestive tract was so compromised by all the aspirin she had to take for arthritic pain, she had to have part of it removed and it eventually took her life. </span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-f7c78baf-7fff-dc63-f40f-74b32f7ad526"><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">God’s people had lost their sense of identity as His people. They had forgotten that they belonged to Yaweh. They had run after other gods that provided no real help or provision. Their gods were not capable of the loving covenant connection that Yaweh provided them. Spiritually, they were bankrupt. Isaiah reminded them as he prophesied of a coming Messiah, that belonging to God means that He loves and provides for those who are His and He has a place for them at the table. </span><span style="color: #515151; font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 16pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">“Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare. Give ear and come to me; hear me, that your soul may live. I will make an everlasting covenant with you, my faithful love promised to David.</span><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 16pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">” (Isaiah 55:1–3</span><a href="https://accordance.bible/link/read/NIV#Is._55:1" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 16pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span><span style="color: #3372cb; font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 16pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">NIV</span></a><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 16pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">) Jesus himself speaks of the kingdom of God as a banquet prepared for all who will come (Matt. 22). If we belong to Him, if we are one of His, if we identify as His, if we are connected to Him, we have a seat at the table. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Hang in there people! God is glad to be with us! I’m praying for us all! </span></p><div><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div></span>WilliamPMcGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17692705042673942960noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1854207972607762402.post-31083552371396429042023-08-16T12:56:00.005-04:002024-03-13T16:10:33.820-04:00Stretched!** <p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh99wu5oJjaRwB5QSmI3GHT74jTqs8XXqTsKrr-zOJCp2MtY9MevcBubqXfDNr3rl9u_szWutGOY2KOK25KYGNUHhC_eWMyNKHRL6ucwF4_kssOm2TpYUEo2432XpsfjQDm7jyyxJSy_YFwjRssVSHmdj0bxcGb69-oyRkQ_TZ6_lyVU9EjHtlmVDDZ17Q/s640/Welcome%20Sign,%20Cordele%20Georgia,%20Watermelon%20Capital,%20Crisp%20County%20Cordele%20GA..JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="378" data-original-width="640" height="189" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh99wu5oJjaRwB5QSmI3GHT74jTqs8XXqTsKrr-zOJCp2MtY9MevcBubqXfDNr3rl9u_szWutGOY2KOK25KYGNUHhC_eWMyNKHRL6ucwF4_kssOm2TpYUEo2432XpsfjQDm7jyyxJSy_YFwjRssVSHmdj0bxcGb69-oyRkQ_TZ6_lyVU9EjHtlmVDDZ17Q/s320/Welcome%20Sign,%20Cordele%20Georgia,%20Watermelon%20Capital,%20Crisp%20County%20Cordele%20GA..JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> Photo: cordelegeorgia.blogspot.com</div><br /><span color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9)" face="-apple-system, system-ui, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Fira Sans", Ubuntu, Oxygen, "Oxygen Sans", Cantarell, "Droid Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Lucida Grande", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: var(--font-size-large);">As a young student pastor in my first church after seminary, I was excited to take my students on a mission trip to work with another church in our state outside of their cultural white suburban comfort zone. So our student leader team prayed together and I felt led to call a seminary friend who was the Pastor of a new African-American church plant in his hometown of Cordele, GA. He invited us to come and help him do a Vacation Bible School and a Revival. He was trying to reach the families in the public housing area where he had grown up. Many of the people worked very hard in the watermelon fields in season. Cordele is actually the self-proclaimed "Watermelon Capital"! I had called my friend and asked him if he was ready for 25 kids and 5 adults to come help him with his church plant for a week. He said, “Yes,” and told us he had everything planned. When we arrived, he had not secured us a place to stay! This was my rookie minister's mistake for not securing these important details myself (kinda silly of me considering that the internships I had were with guys who were planners and overly prepared). He made a phone call and within a few hours we were putting together army cots at the National Guard Armory in town, where we would stay for the week. He had a connection having served in Desert Storm, and still served in the Guard. We then assumed we needed to figure out how and where to feed our kids, so we sent some of our adults to get breakfast foods, lunch sandwich fixin’s and some easy dinners for three days. Before we began he shared this scripture with us: <span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: Palatino;">“</span><span style="color: #515151; font-family: Palatino;">So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="color: #515151; font-family: Palatino;"> I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.<span class="s1" style="color: black;">”</span></span><span style="font-family: Palatino;">(Isaiah 41:10 </span><a href="https://accordance.bible/link/read/NIV#Is._41:10" style="font-family: Palatino;"><span class="s2" style="color: #3372cb;">NIV</span></a></span><span style="font-family: Palatino;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">)</span> </span>The first evening he had us go to the government apartments to invite kids to the Vacation Bible School the next day. We were received well. My friend said he would greet the people and introduce us as the students from church in Columbus, GA who were here to create a fun VBS week for their kids. I thought we would pray, sing a hymn, and go meet the people face to face, hand out balloons and invitations. The pastor got on top of our van with a speaker and microphone, and introduced us. We smiled and waved. Then an instant later he said he felt moved by the Spirit to start preaching. He began calling out the sins of the people in that community by name. We had never heard that kind of preaching and we were taken aback. The tension, as you can imagine, was growing quickly. As his preaching became more animated and intense the crowds began to surround the van and move angrily toward him, shouting, and encircling us. These were not the face to face interactions we were hoping for when we imagined how this event would go. We were still standing there holding balloons and invitations with fear on our faces, unable to fully understand what was happening. He finished preaching and one of our musically inclined adults began to pray then sing Amazing Grace and our kids and a few neighbors joined in. It was enough to calm everyone a bit. My friend got down from the van and instructed us to leave immediately. However, we had earlier instructed our teens to go door to door and invite the children to our VBS after the pastor had introduced us. Before we could stop him, a wonderful big hearted young man with special needs made it to an apartment and knocked on a screen door and the man angrily said, “go away, NOW!” The student was unable to read the elevated emotions of the situation and he was just doing as he had been instructed. The man became more angry as the student continued with his genuine smile and rehearsed invitation. Fortunately, one of the other students saw what was happening, apologized to the man and grabbed this student and they quickly made their way to the van, just as the angry man emerged from the apartment with a knife. We gathered all the kids and instructed them to immediately get in the van and we left with dust flying before a vigilante force came together. </span><p></p><p class="reader-text-block__paragraph" style="--artdeco-reset-typography_getfontsize: 1.6rem; --artdeco-reset-typography_getlineheight: 1.5; background-color: white; border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: -apple-system, system-ui, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Fira Sans", Ubuntu, Oxygen, "Oxygen Sans", Cantarell, "Droid Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Lucida Grande", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: var(--font-size-large); line-height: 1.75; margin: 1.6rem 0px; padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline);"><br style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 1.5;" /></p><p class="reader-text-block__paragraph" style="--artdeco-reset-typography_getfontsize: 1.6rem; --artdeco-reset-typography_getlineheight: 1.5; background-color: white; border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: -apple-system, system-ui, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Fira Sans", Ubuntu, Oxygen, "Oxygen Sans", Cantarell, "Droid Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Lucida Grande", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: var(--font-size-large); line-height: 1.75; margin: 1.6rem 0px; padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline);">We arrived at the Armory wide eyed and hungry. The adults who had stayed to cook, had dinner ready and got an ear full. That night, one of the ladies who had done student ministry for many years started an all night prayer vigil that continued each night. She said she would start and pray for 1 hour and wake up the next volunteer, who would pray and wake the next volunteer. I and 4 others volunteered and more joined us each night. We were like prayer vigil-antes. After some dodgy sleep and lots of prayer on a squeaky cot, we woke up each morning to fresh breakfast. </p><p class="reader-text-block__paragraph" style="--artdeco-reset-typography_getfontsize: 1.6rem; --artdeco-reset-typography_getlineheight: 1.5; background-color: white; border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: -apple-system, system-ui, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Fira Sans", Ubuntu, Oxygen, "Oxygen Sans", Cantarell, "Droid Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Lucida Grande", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: var(--font-size-large); line-height: 1.75; margin: 1.6rem 0px; padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline);"><br style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 1.5;" /></p><p class="reader-text-block__paragraph" style="--artdeco-reset-typography_getfontsize: 1.6rem; --artdeco-reset-typography_getlineheight: 1.5; background-color: white; border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: -apple-system, system-ui, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Fira Sans", Ubuntu, Oxygen, "Oxygen Sans", Cantarell, "Droid Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Lucida Grande", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: var(--font-size-large); line-height: 1.75; margin: 1.6rem 0px; padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline);">The VBS went well for the few kids that attended. On the last night, Ira held a revival at his church housed in an old warehouse. He preached again, but not as angry this time, and several teens from his community made decisions for Christ. He paired them up with some of our students to lead them through a prayer of repentance and connection with Christ. This was another first time experience for our students. They were scared and somewhat timid, then invigorated and emboldened as the Holy Spirit led them through the experience of talking and praying with those who had just made the decision to belong to Jesus. We ended the week, and came back to Columbus with some stories that the parents would not believe. The students said their faith had been stretched, challenged, and strengthened that week. Oh yeah, the next year's mission to Florida was very well planned, but maybe a little less stretching. </p><p class="reader-text-block__paragraph" style="--artdeco-reset-typography_getfontsize: 1.6rem; --artdeco-reset-typography_getlineheight: 1.5; background-color: white; border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: -apple-system, system-ui, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Fira Sans", Ubuntu, Oxygen, "Oxygen Sans", Cantarell, "Droid Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Lucida Grande", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: var(--font-size-large); line-height: 1.75; margin: 1.6rem 0px; padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline);"><br style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 1.5;" /></p><p class="reader-text-block__paragraph" style="--artdeco-reset-typography_getfontsize: 1.6rem; --artdeco-reset-typography_getlineheight: 1.5; background-color: white; border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: -apple-system, system-ui, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Fira Sans", Ubuntu, Oxygen, "Oxygen Sans", Cantarell, "Droid Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Lucida Grande", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: var(--font-size-large); line-height: 1.75; margin: 1.6rem 0px; padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline);">The apostle Paul had stirred up some people with his preaching and they followed him to the next city to cause him trouble. They formed a vigilante group and came after him. Acts 14:19–23 tells us, “Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead. But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city. The next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe. They preached the good news in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said. Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust.” Sometimes our faith journey stretches us and doesn’t look like we thought it would, but God uses it to all accomplish His Gospel plans. BTW Some of those Georgia kids went on to be missionaries, ministers, and teachers of the Gospel of Christ and point to that experience as a significant event in beginning to realize their calling. </p><p class="reader-text-block__paragraph" style="--artdeco-reset-typography_getfontsize: 1.6rem; --artdeco-reset-typography_getlineheight: 1.5; background-color: white; border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: -apple-system, system-ui, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Fira Sans", Ubuntu, Oxygen, "Oxygen Sans", Cantarell, "Droid Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Lucida Grande", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: var(--font-size-large); line-height: 1.75; margin: 1.6rem 0px; padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline);"><br style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 1.5;" /></p><p class="reader-text-block__paragraph" style="--artdeco-reset-typography_getfontsize: 1.6rem; --artdeco-reset-typography_getlineheight: 1.5; background-color: white; border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: -apple-system, system-ui, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Fira Sans", Ubuntu, Oxygen, "Oxygen Sans", Cantarell, "Droid Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Lucida Grande", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: var(--font-size-large); line-height: 1.75; margin: 1.6rem 0px; padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline);">Hang in there people! God is glad to be with us! I’m praying for us all!</p>WilliamPMcGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17692705042673942960noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1854207972607762402.post-39176516040033586562023-07-25T12:06:00.005-04:002024-03-06T16:56:36.018-05:00Feet of Clay: Learning Love from a Tennis Story!* <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I had played tennis several times a week in Middle School at the asphalt courts owned by the church next to my home and loved it. I was hopeful in trying for a spot on the team at my new high school, my freshman year. I was a little intimidated because I was largely self-taught, unconventional and modestly equipped compared to the kids that I would be competing with. They were the well-coached kids. They were every-summer-all-summer tennis camp kids, with elite equipment and facilities. The tryout was a simple challenge system. You could challenge someone for the vacant spot on the team and you got to name the court. If you won you earned your spot, if you lost you were out, no challenge backs. There were 4 of us freshmen trying to make a spot on the team. I had defeated two others and thought I was assured of a spot at least playing doubles (the top 6 players play singles and 7&8 play doubles). My insecurity began displaying itself in pride about those first wins. However, there was a late challenge from classmate #4. He had done his homework and strategically selected a clay court, first, because he knew I had likely never played on clay (his country club was the only place in town that had clay courts) and, second, because he knew the moist court would slow down my serve and forehand. He also knew my feet would slide a little on clay, unlike asphalt and it would slow my quickness. We were fairly evenly matched going to deuce several times. In the end, his strategy had served him well. He had changed the whole game with his court selection and turned my strengths into weaknesses. My dreams of playing high school tennis were dashed to the clay. (I ended up on the swim team, but that’s another story for another day). </span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-83757292-7fff-2d99-7c77-d7a2186cd0fc"><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Apostle Paul was concerned because there were Judizers who had come to the church in Philippi. These hyper-religious people were very impressive with how well they could follow the rules and they insisted that everyone else do the same. These admirable attributes of rule following, sounded like something every Jesus follower should do, but actually this self-righteousness threatened the very core of what it means to belong to Jesus. This salvation based on ascetic rigor AND following Jesus was antithetical to a simple humble relational connection with Jesus. Sure, acting rightly is what happens when we begin to mature in Christ, but the Judiazers made it sound like it was necessary for salvation. Having a place on Jesus' team has nothing to do with our own strength or rule-following ability, and everything to do with a real attachment to Jesus, who changes us and then matures us through relationships with other true believers to do the right things. God's plan, through Jesus, had turned all the strengths of Judaizers into weaknesses. Paul knew this first hand, he used to be one of the best of those super-rule followers. He tells his friends, </span><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">“</span><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ</span><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: 0.6em; vertical-align: super;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith. </span><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Philippians 3:8-9 (NLT2) </span><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">We all have feet of clay, our greatest strengths can be considered our greatest weakness if we value them more than our relationship with Jesus. </span><span color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9)" face="Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 20px; white-space-collapse: preserve;">God's love for us is immeasurably greater than our ability to follow the rules. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Hang in there people! God is glad to be with us! I’m praying for us all! </span></p><div><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div></span>WilliamPMcGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17692705042673942960noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1854207972607762402.post-84933419434209236012023-07-12T10:59:00.004-04:002023-07-31T08:45:37.376-04:00Hot Buttery Popcorn, Warm and Safe Hospitality!*<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiac4_VWpHh4nDgRjhL67Y7hyDxCBbPWwlJaBA-UaZg2Lu4EJ1uqRREa3z3yuDiiPJe1L58JkqTJdCT9ivE-W0584DQkNyCUbd9nR1ToSLAFK1rjVwE90lbjkUDaA7894e7jD0nbvjcGhC5zjgHmDssUuIubjElo3Lt2Vvom43Wnak89AShqPW8_BNCRw/s1125/hot%20buttered%20popcorn.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1125" data-original-width="750" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiac4_VWpHh4nDgRjhL67Y7hyDxCBbPWwlJaBA-UaZg2Lu4EJ1uqRREa3z3yuDiiPJe1L58JkqTJdCT9ivE-W0584DQkNyCUbd9nR1ToSLAFK1rjVwE90lbjkUDaA7894e7jD0nbvjcGhC5zjgHmDssUuIubjElo3Lt2Vvom43Wnak89AShqPW8_BNCRw/w266-h400/hot%20buttered%20popcorn.webp" width="266" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.6); font-family: -apple-system, system-ui, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Fira Sans", Ubuntu, Oxygen, "Oxygen Sans", Cantarell, "Droid Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Lucida Grande", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Photo: Simply Recipes / Mihaela Kozaric Sebrek</span></div><p></p><p><span color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9)" face="Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: var(--font-size-large); white-space-collapse: preserve;">Mrs. Blackburn made the most delicious skillet popcorn, salted and buttered just right, served warm, right out of the pan, with lots of smiles and laughter, and a glass of lemonade in the Summer, or cup of hot cocoa in the Winter. Miss Bonny was a neighbor on our cul-de-sac on Fox Chase Lane with a long straight uphill driveway, so she could see all who entered the cul-de-sac. The driveway up to this lookout was built where an old wagon trail had traversed the neighborhood a hundred years before. She was quite a golfer, who loved to coach teenage girls to play the links, some of whom went on to play in college. Though her husband, Henry, was kind of sickly and ill, she was gregarious and very social. She loved to host my sister and me for impromptu snacks when she saw us playing or riding our bikes around the end of the street circle. The cul-de-sac oval, with four houses, had a little patch of grass inside the asphalt loop, a perfect place to play “rolly bat" or find 4 leaf clovers, but watch out for the bees! Miss Bonny would come out her front door, see us playing, smile and wave us up to her house. We knew that meant a delightful snack was coming. One particular day, my sister decided to ride her bike by herself around the circle, on our little hill in Lakemoore Hills. She was gone for a long time, but when she returned, she was talking a mile a minute, eyebrows up, and smelling like hot buttered popcorn. We knew where she had been. She explained that she had run over a black snake that was so long, it stretched all the way across the driveway. She was so scared that she didn’t stop pedaling until she got to the top of Miss Bonny’s drive. She knocked on the door and Miss Bonnie welcomed her, fixed her the wonderful skillet corn, and later sent her home after making sure the snake was gone. Whenever we heard the 1972 international hit, a cool Moog synthesizer instrumental song, “Hot Butter - Popcorn,” we were reminded of sitting in Miss Bonny’s kitchen watching her pour the oil into the large skillet, waiting for the test kernels to pop, pouring in the rest of the kernels, then shaking the pan like crazy it until the last pops sounded, dumping the steamy white mushroomed puffs into a bowl, drenching them with melted butter and generously sprinkled salt, then putting them in little bowls for each of us. Though I don’t remember her being an overly religious person, Miss Bonny acted like Jesus, welcoming people, protecting them from scary things, offering warm hospitality, and feeding them puffy delicious grains with salty melty butter. More of us need to be like Miss Bonny, a safe, caring, fun, friend to those who are in the cul-de-sacs of our lives. </span></p><p style="--artdeco-reset-typography_getfontsize: 1.6rem; --artdeco-reset-typography_getlineheight: 1.5; background-color: white; border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: border-box; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); counter-reset: list-1 0 list-2 0 list-3 0 list-4 0 list-5 0 list-6 0 list-7 0 list-8 0 list-9 0; cursor: text; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: var(--font-size-large); line-height: 1.75; margin: 1.6rem 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline); white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.5;" /></p><p style="--artdeco-reset-typography_getfontsize: 1.6rem; --artdeco-reset-typography_getlineheight: 1.5; background-color: white; border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: border-box; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); counter-reset: list-1 0 list-2 0 list-3 0 list-4 0 list-5 0 list-6 0 list-7 0 list-8 0 list-9 0; cursor: text; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: var(--font-size-large); line-height: 1.75; margin: 1.6rem 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline); white-space-collapse: preserve;">Before Moses died, he wanted to bless and encourage God’s people, reminding them of His kind protection, provision, and care. God had used him to bring them out of Egypt, he had been with them in their desert wanderings, and rescued them many times from danger. He knew there would be more difficulties to come, but he also knew Yahweh’s arms were not weak. God had already brought them through many trials. Moses told the children of Israel, “There is no one like the God of Israel. He rides across the heavens to help you, across the skies in majestic splendor. The eternal God is your refuge, and his everlasting arms are under you. He drives out the enemy before you; he cries out, ‘Destroy them!’ So Israel will live in safety, prosperous Jacob in security, in a land of grain and new wine, while the heavens drop down dew. How blessed you are, O Israel! Who else is like you, a people saved by the LORD? He is your protecting shield and your triumphant sword! Your enemies will cringe before you, and you will stomp on their backs!”(Deuteronomy 33:26–29 <a href="https://accordance.bible/link/read/NLT-SE#Deut._33:26" rel="noopener nofollow" style="background-color: var(--artdeco-reset-link-background-color-transparent); border: var(--artdeco-reset-link-border-zero); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: var(--artdeco-reset-base-font-size-hundred-percent); font-weight: var(--font-weight-bold); line-height: 1.5; margin: var(--artdeco-reset-base-margin-zero); overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); touch-action: manipulation; vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline);" target="_blank">NLT-SE</a>) Hymn writer A.J. Showalter was encouraging some of his former students who had just experienced tremendous loss with these verses. He reminds them, “What a fellowship, what a joy divine, Leaning on the everlasting arms; What a blessedness, what a peace is mine, Leaning on the everlasting arms. Leaning, leaning, safe and secure from all alarms; Leaning, leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms.” We can take comfort in God’s care and great love for us, but we also need to give that comfort to others in real, tangible ways, just like Miss Bonny Blackburn. It's a great excuse to make hot buttered popcorn for some friends! (Oh and you are welcome for putting these two songs in your head today!)</p><p style="--artdeco-reset-typography_getfontsize: 1.6rem; --artdeco-reset-typography_getlineheight: 1.5; background-color: white; border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: border-box; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); counter-reset: list-1 0 list-2 0 list-3 0 list-4 0 list-5 0 list-6 0 list-7 0 list-8 0 list-9 0; cursor: text; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: var(--font-size-large); line-height: 1.75; margin: 1.6rem 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline); white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.5;" /></p><p style="--artdeco-reset-typography_getfontsize: 1.6rem; --artdeco-reset-typography_getlineheight: 1.5; background-color: white; border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: border-box; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); counter-reset: list-1 0 list-2 0 list-3 0 list-4 0 list-5 0 list-6 0 list-7 0 list-8 0 list-9 0; cursor: text; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: var(--font-size-large); line-height: 1.75; margin: 1.6rem 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline); white-space-collapse: preserve;">Hang in there people! God is glad to be with us! I’m praying for us all!</p>WilliamPMcGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17692705042673942960noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1854207972607762402.post-47510674706805812802023-07-07T11:18:00.006-04:002023-07-31T08:45:26.337-04:00Who Rules?* <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT_iUYk1PZUPjVu_loJLs6j7NRUMqgTlkLWEAPr9RSkCn2WZKHRa2wqrPlbIbAEbCrFbrsXqdBTJjbneZLahzg77SIdXFg0SjAVU3yUWsNsDOEM9BNxvEpn4d94njZ5uT1WNmcHdTWGUITaruXKLobE--XtRhxmztH17k0FhTDoEsSe2KsBAuK38o_oMQ/s880/LIon%20Saeed.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="755" data-original-width="880" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT_iUYk1PZUPjVu_loJLs6j7NRUMqgTlkLWEAPr9RSkCn2WZKHRa2wqrPlbIbAEbCrFbrsXqdBTJjbneZLahzg77SIdXFg0SjAVU3yUWsNsDOEM9BNxvEpn4d94njZ5uT1WNmcHdTWGUITaruXKLobE--XtRhxmztH17k0FhTDoEsSe2KsBAuK38o_oMQ/s320/LIon%20Saeed.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /> <span id="docs-internal-guid-c79ca35b-7fff-653f-8886-cc5389761722"><span style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: -apple-system, system-ui, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Fira Sans", Ubuntu, Oxygen, "Oxygen Sans", Cantarell, "Droid Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Lucida Grande", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: var(--font-size-large);">On safari in Africa, our friend, who had been in the Rhodesian army, was our guide. My college friend and I had been invited to join him and his family as they returned to visit South Africa from the U.S. He drove us in a Landcruiser in the Kruger Park and he was fearless. He drove us up to a large bull elephant that could flip our vehicle with no problem. As we approached, the elephant began flapping his large ears as a warning to back off. Did I mention our guide had no fear? We finally got too close and the elephant charged. Our driver threw the SUV into reverse and backed up faster than the charging pachyderm could run. Just when we thought we were out of danger and far enough away not to be gored by a tusk or trampled under foot, our “friend” put the vehicle back into drive and approached the ticked off elephant again. His ears flapped and our driver inched closer, until once again, he charged. Once again, he sped backward, and out of danger. We were hoping that he felt he had sufficiently scared the Americans, but he was not finished. He did this a few more times, laughing harder at our fearful shouts to please not to do it again. We finally moved on and saw some Zebras, Ostriches,Warthogs, and other game. We watched from 100 yards away as a small female lion unsuccessfully stalked and chased a Giraffe. A bit later, our personal guide saw 3 large male Lions crossing the road ahead of us and drove between them, putting us face to face with a huge male lion inches away from our window. We were so close, I couldn’t get a picture of him with my telephoto lens (the one I thought I would need to photograph lions in the wild). His head was as big as the window. I was just glad he wasn’t hungry for American cuisine under glass at that moment, because the widow would have just been an annoyance to break, before dragging our flailing bodies out of the back seat to dine on us in the SA Highveld (broad grassy, plateau) to be the latest "lion kill" viewed by all the passing tourists. Our last meal would not have been our own. The night before, we had just heard the petrifying roars of one of his own just outside of our Kruger Lodge. His</span><span style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: -apple-system, system-ui, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Fira Sans", Ubuntu, Oxygen, "Oxygen Sans", Cantarell, "Droid Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Lucida Grande", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: var(--font-size-large);"> </span><span style="border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: -apple-system, system-ui, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Fira Sans", Ubuntu, Oxygen, "Oxygen Sans", Cantarell, "Droid Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Lucida Grande", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: var(--artdeco-reset-base-font-size-hundred-percent); font-style: var(--artdeco-reset-typography-font-style-italic); line-height: 1.5 !important; margin: var(--artdeco-reset-base-margin-zero); outline: var(--artdeco-reset-base-outline-zero); padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline);">Panthera leo</span><span style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: -apple-system, system-ui, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Fira Sans", Ubuntu, Oxygen, "Oxygen Sans", Cantarell, "Droid Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Lucida Grande", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: var(--font-size-large);"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: -apple-system, system-ui, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Fira Sans", Ubuntu, Oxygen, "Oxygen Sans", Cantarell, "Droid Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Lucida Grande", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: var(--font-size-large);">cousin had isolated a Wildebeest, he would later eat. His guttural roar was like none other, the power of its reverberation, freezing in terror his prey and us in our tracks. He left no doubt that he was the King of Beasts. The inconvenienced lion on the road gave us a sideways glance and finally walked around the car and disappeared into the bush. We were glad that, at that moment, Solomon’s words were not true in this case, “the lion, king of animals, who won’t turn aside for anything,”(Proverbs 30:30 NLT)</span><p class="reader-text-block__paragraph" style="--artdeco-reset-typography_getfontsize: 1.6rem; --artdeco-reset-typography_getlineheight: 1.5; background-color: white; border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: -apple-system, system-ui, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Fira Sans", Ubuntu, Oxygen, "Oxygen Sans", Cantarell, "Droid Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Lucida Grande", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: var(--font-size-large); line-height: 1.75; margin: 1.6rem 0px; padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline);"><br style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 1.5 !important;" /></p><p class="reader-text-block__paragraph" style="--artdeco-reset-typography_getfontsize: 1.6rem; --artdeco-reset-typography_getlineheight: 1.5; background-color: white; border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: -apple-system, system-ui, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Fira Sans", Ubuntu, Oxygen, "Oxygen Sans", Cantarell, "Droid Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Lucida Grande", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: var(--font-size-large); line-height: 1.75; margin: 1.6rem 0px; padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline);">Sometimes some of us act like lions who won’t turn aside for anything. We act like predators, seeking weaknesses in others to exploit for our own benefit, especially those who disagree with us, or those we see as competitors. At one point in Israel's history, as the Prophet Isaiah is speaking to God’s people, he tells them of a time to come when there will no longer be predators and prey, but all will be at peace, and love will prevail. The Evil One’s ways of destruction and domination will no longer be the norm, but “The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like cattle, but the serpent’s food will be dust! They will not do what is evil or destroy on my entire holy mountain,” says the LORD.”(Isaiah 65:25 CSB) It will no longer be the fearful life of “survival of the fittest,” or “only the strong survive,” or “natural selection” that seems to currently rule in the world. When Jesus came, He showed us another way…He tells us to love each other, even our enemies (Luke 6:35) rather than seek to destroy them. He teaches those who belong to him to be gentle with the weak, not take advantage of the weaknesses of others, but protect them. The “King of Kings,” “Lion of Judah”(Jesus) is driven by love, joy, and peace and He is a protector. We gotta stop acting like the one we used to belong to who came to steal, kill, and destroy, the Evil One, the Predator… We will act like the one who rules our heart, Predator or Protector. </p><p class="reader-text-block__paragraph" style="--artdeco-reset-typography_getfontsize: 1.6rem; --artdeco-reset-typography_getlineheight: 1.5; background-color: white; border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: -apple-system, system-ui, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Fira Sans", Ubuntu, Oxygen, "Oxygen Sans", Cantarell, "Droid Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Lucida Grande", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: var(--font-size-large); line-height: 1.75; margin: 1.6rem 0px; padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline);"><br style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 1.5 !important;" /></p><p class="reader-text-block__paragraph" style="--artdeco-reset-typography_getfontsize: 1.6rem; --artdeco-reset-typography_getlineheight: 1.5; background-color: white; border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: -apple-system, system-ui, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Fira Sans", Ubuntu, Oxygen, "Oxygen Sans", Cantarell, "Droid Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Lucida Grande", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: var(--font-size-large); line-height: 1.75; margin: 1.6rem 0px; padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline);">Hang in there people! God is glad to be with us! I’m praying for us all! </p><div><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div></span>WilliamPMcGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17692705042673942960noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1854207972607762402.post-90181870702192628052023-06-27T09:17:00.007-04:002024-03-06T16:57:20.417-05:00Out of Balance?*<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /> <p></p><p><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; white-space-collapse: preserve;">As a kid, my sister and I used to get excited to go to the playground. We had a few favorites that had forts to climb in and tunnels to run through. These were great for playing hide and seek. One had really tall swings, that would tickle your stomach because you were going so high, and merry-go-rounds, that at a certain RPM, would sling us off when the centripetal force pulled our sweaty little hands off the metal handles, flinging us spiraling to the ground. This was back before the cushioned, rubberized playground coverings and soft mulch, so we got some playground rash raspberries coated in dirt. Some places had seesaws. I always thought the seesaws would be more fun. My sister would get on the other side and because she was older, she weighed more than my skinny childhood self. She had to push a little harder with her legs to make my side go down, so eventually she got tired and just jumped off to go play something else, slamming me to the ground, jarring my whole body, causing me to bite my tongue or clack my teeth together. </span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-f03ab895-7fff-2231-66b4-dfb09384701c"><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"></span><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">In Proverbs 21:21, the wisest man to ever live says,“The one who pursues righteousness and faithful love will find life, righteousness, and honor.” There is a balancing act with this verse between righteousness AND faithful love. If we get it right, there are blessings and life is good! But if we are out of balance, someone gets slammed to the ground like a pile driving teeter totter. Having only righteousness leads us to a fear based, pharisaical self righteousness that is arrogant, narrow minded, and judgmental and God is sure to humble us for not having love for others. But having only love can lead us to accept, embrace, even celebrate sinful behavior, and in doing so, we disrespect God. We and others are harmed because we are going to break ourselves against the Rock Solid Truth of God’s Word. Jesus reminds us of this balance when He says, the greatest commandments are to love God and love others. </span><span style="background-color: yellow; font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"></span><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">He also says, if we love Him, we will obey His commands, and interestingly, He additionally gives us a new command to love others as He does. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I’m no Hebrew scholar, but my research led me to some interesting discoveries. The Hebrew Word for righteousness is… </span><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">tsedaqah.</span><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">You can remember it by remembering the American Pop singer, Neil Sedaka (Breaking up is hard to do). </span><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Tsedaqah</span><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> is right living, right behavior, right thinking, being right with God in all things. It’s the way God’s people act and think when we belong rightly to Him. The Hebrew word for faithful love is </span><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">hesed</span><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">. It is a complex word that has several elements: </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">God gives </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">hesed</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> freely, it is Who He is. It is His loving attachment to us. There is an expectation that God’s People will reciprocate this love back to Him. </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Hesed</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> also has the expectation that God’s people will share His </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">hesed</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> with others. Faithful love does not end, it is forever. </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Hesed</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> is unconditional, it is the “I love you no matter what”kind of love. </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Hesed</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> is a way of living, it permeates life and involves mercy, grace, kindness, favor… in love. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">So Soloman says, pursuing a balance of righteousness (</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">tsedaqah)</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> and faithful love (</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">hesed) </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">come with a promise that we will discover life</span><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">, righteousness and honor. The Hebrew word for life is </span><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">chayyah. </span><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Its plural form,</span><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">chayyim</span><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> and is used as a blessing or toast today.</span><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> Chayyim</span><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> also has complex meanings: life, health, longevity, refreshment, nourishment, and maturity or growth. We have already looked at righteousness (</span><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">tsedaqah)</span><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">. The Hebrew word for honor is </span><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">kavod,</span><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> meaning </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #11293e; font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">glory, honor, respect, distinction, and importance. The word actually means</span><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> heavy or weighty. When someone has </span><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">kavod</span><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">, they are the person others turn to when important answers are being sought. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The truth is we are not capable of living right or loving right unless we have a relationship with Jesus, who is perfect in both of these things. He is perfectly righteous and perfectly loving. He is our righteousness and He is love. As we belong to Him and we belong to those who belong to Him (the church), we begin to mature and act more and more like Him. Apart from Him we can’t do either of these things. As we grow in Him, He blesses us with more life, righteousness and honor. So, let's ask God to balance our righteousness and love teeter totter. We gotta be careful not to disrespect God, by embracing or celebrating the sins of those we love. God's Word is the Rock Solid Truth and it doesn't end well when we say wrong things are right to try to please people. We also, havta be careful love people and not to become self-righteous and judgy. The last time I checked God says we've all messed up. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Hang in there people! God is glad to be with us! I’m praying for us all!</span></p><div><span style="font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div></span>WilliamPMcGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17692705042673942960noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1854207972607762402.post-67888065365266617002023-06-18T07:58:00.011-04:002023-07-07T15:42:06.032-04:00Joy Substitutes*<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikYoLmriKmhoYTNvD69J2tRZRuMvQsglBDTJ1vUC-uwRfUCJHNzPelOmzSsSOXL8qjwLcjRtWhVVZ9dBy5jaouxyIK6iO9veSpRJ26DxVWtILFxt3Br_x1uTjGOqnKMFyCAn8iJksWirbNlSnjmyl3Of2EQ1pjGRUPYTNF7E7nNSb8bBSwfMH5nKtztb0/s225/Eastern%20White%20Pine.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikYoLmriKmhoYTNvD69J2tRZRuMvQsglBDTJ1vUC-uwRfUCJHNzPelOmzSsSOXL8qjwLcjRtWhVVZ9dBy5jaouxyIK6iO9veSpRJ26DxVWtILFxt3Br_x1uTjGOqnKMFyCAn8iJksWirbNlSnjmyl3Of2EQ1pjGRUPYTNF7E7nNSb8bBSwfMH5nKtztb0/w301-h301/Eastern%20White%20Pine.jpeg" width="301" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p><br /></p><p style="--artdeco-reset-typography_getfontsize: 1.6rem; --artdeco-reset-typography_getlineheight: 1.5; background-color: white; border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: border-box; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); counter-reset: list-1 0 list-2 0 list-3 0 list-4 0 list-5 0 list-6 0 list-7 0 list-8 0 list-9 0; cursor: text; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: var(--font-size-large); line-height: 1.75; margin: 0px 0px 1.6rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline); white-space-collapse: preserve;">Tall Eastern White Pines bordered the property between my preteen home and the neighborhood church. One of the tree’s low branches invited me to climb up after a particularly difficult day of Middle School. As I climbed, I looked for the next branch, until I reached my perch, 3 or 4 stories up. My heart pounded with the adrenaline rush from looking down. I felt a bit dizzy, but exhilarated. I was well hidden in the dark green canopy, but coated in sticky sap. I could feel and hear the breeze as it quietly whistled through the needles. It made the tree sway gently. I was suspended there between childhood and young adulthood, heaven and earth, faith and fear. It helped me forget the pain I felt not knowing what to do with the butterflies in my stomach I experienced when I was around girls, or the knot that lodged there when the bullies were close enough to threaten, give a “wedgie,” “nuggie,” a sock in the arm, or deadlegging me. I was also not sure what to do with the disappointment (my own and my parent’s) that came from the increasing number of red marks on my papers, which felt as real as the red heat of an embarrassed face when I responded awkwardly in social situations, or the red marks inflicted on my body by schoolmates who pushed, punched or pinched to show their dominance. My adventurous heart was getting wounded, so I took flight to the tree that day. Another day I may have self medicated with a loaf of bread made into cinnamon toast smothered in butter, or played hours of sports, or escaped to the far reaches of the neighborhood on my bike. Or, perhaps, endlessly mindlessly watching afternoon television featuring Gilligan’s Island and other favorites which left me 30 minutes dumber but still amused enough to not have to think about the day’s challenges and defeats. There were many ways of attempting to "just make it stop hurting." On even more challenging days, I would go nap for hours to escape it all before dinner. </p><p style="--artdeco-reset-typography_getfontsize: 1.6rem; --artdeco-reset-typography_getlineheight: 1.5; background-color: white; border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: border-box; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); counter-reset: list-1 0 list-2 0 list-3 0 list-4 0 list-5 0 list-6 0 list-7 0 list-8 0 list-9 0; cursor: text; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: var(--font-size-large); line-height: 1.75; margin: 1.6rem 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline); white-space-collapse: preserve;">As a new believer I wondered, where was Jesus? What could He do when the cute girl flirted with me (or didn’t even acknowledge me) and I said something awkward, silly or inappropriate. Where was He when the overaggressive classmate made sure I “knew who was boss.” And where was He when the angst, anxiety and fear chemicals took over my brain, rendering it incapable of recalling what I had just read or studied? I read my Bible often and was at church as often as I could go, even attending the church next door on the Sundays my family didn’t go to our church across town. But I couldn’t be at church or reading my Bible every time trouble, temptation, or pain came my way. It was difficult to grasp what it meant in Matt 1:23, that Jesus was called Immanuel, meaning “God WITH us.” I had trouble understanding that the Holy Spirit actually lived IN me (John 14:17), My concrete brain still struggled with where He was when all the physical and emotional pain was happening. I wanted Jesus to actually physically be with me. I was like the Sons of Thunder, I wanted Him to strike the bullies with retribution, not thinking perhaps they were all hurting too and inflicting pain on me was one of their attempts at escaping their own pain.</p><p style="--artdeco-reset-typography_getfontsize: 1.6rem; --artdeco-reset-typography_getlineheight: 1.5; background-color: white; border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: border-box; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); counter-reset: list-1 0 list-2 0 list-3 0 list-4 0 list-5 0 list-6 0 list-7 0 list-8 0 list-9 0; cursor: text; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: var(--font-size-large); line-height: 1.75; margin: 1.6rem 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline); white-space-collapse: preserve;">It took me many years to understand that, as promised, God had never left me or forsaken me, even in the middle of my traumatic experiences (Ps. 9:10). God was glad to be with me as I endured the hardships, but I wanted something more instant and tangible to escape the discomfort, so, self medication came in many forms for me: endless activity, food, sleep, adrenaline rush, solitude, anger, and even more destructive addictive behaviors as life went on. I sought whatever would give my brain a chemical bath and make me feel better for the moment. These things actually added more pain from guilt, regret, and shame. </p><p style="--artdeco-reset-typography_getfontsize: 1.6rem; --artdeco-reset-typography_getlineheight: 1.5; background-color: white; border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: border-box; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); counter-reset: list-1 0 list-2 0 list-3 0 list-4 0 list-5 0 list-6 0 list-7 0 list-8 0 list-9 0; cursor: text; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: var(--font-size-large); line-height: 1.75; margin: 1.6rem 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline); white-space-collapse: preserve;">The definition of joy is “the emotion you have when someone is glad to be with you.” We desire joy from the time we are born, we look for it in the eyes of our parents and those who are in our world. The angel, at the announcement of Christ, said in Luke 2:10, “I bring you good tidings of great Joy that will be for all the people.” God is glad to be with us in great times and hard times, but too often we settle for “joy substitutes,” otherwise known as addictions and self-medications when we are hurting. Researcher Brene Brown says, “We are the most in-debt, obese, addicted and medicated adult cohort in U.S. history.” Our joy substitutes have squeezed God out of our consciousness, fooling us to believe that God lied to us and that He is not with us in our most difficult moments. God does not lie, He IS with us whether He allows us to experience difficulties or not. We have to leave room for Him in our awareness, so we can notice His omni-presence. In order to find that He is with us, we must be seeking relationship with Him, not just seeking relief from our problems and pain. Through the “Weeping Prophet,” God says, “You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.”(Jeremiah 29:13) We cannot keep running to whatever numbs or stimulates us just to make the pain stop momentarily. The pain, guilt, shame, and regret just returns as soon as the chemical brain bath subsides. We gotta start with the most important relationship (our relationship with God), and go for real joy, not joy substitutes.</p><p style="--artdeco-reset-typography_getfontsize: 1.6rem; --artdeco-reset-typography_getlineheight: 1.5; background-color: white; border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: border-box; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); counter-reset: list-1 0 list-2 0 list-3 0 list-4 0 list-5 0 list-6 0 list-7 0 list-8 0 list-9 0; cursor: text; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: var(--font-size-large); line-height: 1.75; margin: 1.6rem 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline); white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.5;" /></p><p style="--artdeco-reset-typography_getfontsize: 1.6rem; --artdeco-reset-typography_getlineheight: 1.5; background-color: white; border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: border-box; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); counter-reset: list-1 0 list-2 0 list-3 0 list-4 0 list-5 0 list-6 0 list-7 0 list-8 0 list-9 0; cursor: text; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: var(--font-size-large); line-height: 1.75; margin: 1.6rem 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline); white-space-collapse: preserve;">Hang in there people! God is glad to be with us! I’m praying for us all!</p>WilliamPMcGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17692705042673942960noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1854207972607762402.post-9893387621069368642023-06-14T09:26:00.010-04:002023-06-26T17:06:09.717-04:00Beautiful, But Empty!* <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0UwO7O1P45_snu1uc9LFMQnZpUs7v7owhEZWYwVXcTJkBDV99v-Pdl8EKgCMh_hw-feCKewccVqPooC7lgoeKEKkySQk_1m5cqfBU1p2OVMkcLwpxDOKqQvD_EhDG6kyNfyvOnt7O1gY0QxI9YrUddpPCG0QwD3ajy9yC7gdYg3DYSVcndikVtu59/s1920/Cathedral.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0UwO7O1P45_snu1uc9LFMQnZpUs7v7owhEZWYwVXcTJkBDV99v-Pdl8EKgCMh_hw-feCKewccVqPooC7lgoeKEKkySQk_1m5cqfBU1p2OVMkcLwpxDOKqQvD_EhDG6kyNfyvOnt7O1gY0QxI9YrUddpPCG0QwD3ajy9yC7gdYg3DYSVcndikVtu59/s320/Cathedral.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Photo: Carrie Borden</i></div><p><br /></p><p style="--artdeco-reset-typography_getfontsize: 1.6rem; --artdeco-reset-typography_getlineheight: 1.5; background-color: white; border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: border-box; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); counter-reset: list-1 0 list-2 0 list-3 0 list-4 0 list-5 0 list-6 0 list-7 0 list-8 0 list-9 0; cursor: text; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: var(--font-size-large); line-height: 1.75; margin: 0px 0px 1.6rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline); white-space-collapse: preserve;">After my freshman year in high school, I had the wonderful privilege of going with my choir to Europe. Yes, you read that correctly, I sang in the choir in High School, not because of my vocal abilities, but because I needed another extracurricular activity to “round out”my time with the Swim Team and Student Government. We toured and sang in Germany, France, Austria, Switzerland... we floated the Rhine River, went to the bear pits in Bern, and saw the beautiful Alps from the resort town of St. Moritz, went to the tiny country of Liechtenstein, went to the place of the filming of The Sound of Music, we even sang in the Mozarteum. The bus was our second home, because we were only in cities for a night or maybe two. The guys once had to pick up a small car to move it so the bus could get through the narrow streets. The trip was wonderful, the acoustics in the Cathedrals in which we sang in Latin and English were amazing. The tones came alive, echoing and reverberating off the beautifully decorated ceilings, stained glass windows, stone floors, and walls and beautifully crafted wood pews, lofts, and pulpits. The buildings used to be some of the largest, most ornate buildings full of people when the Christian faith was highly valued in Europe. Now, the buildings are largely empty and faith is only practiced by a few. We loved every city and had wonderful experiences. Our least favorite city was Paris, not because "The City of Lights" wasn't wonderful with the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Musée du Louvre and other sites, but because someone pulled a gun on us in the train station our first hours there and our hotel wasn't in the best district. On the last morning in France as we were boarding the bus for the Charles de Gaulle airport to return home, I noticed my sister and her friend were not on the bus. Just before they closed the doors, I ran up to their room and frantically knocked on the door with no response. I kept knocking. They sleepily opened the door with a "What is your problem?" attitude. I began yelling, “the bus is leaving.” Their eyes got large, they said something about the alarm not going off and slammed the door in my face. They threw clothes on and grabbed their bags. We barely made it. Because the bus had such a thin margin of time to get us to the airport, the driver would have had to leave the two teens in Paris to fend for themselves, so the rest of the group could make it to the plane in time. </p><p style="--artdeco-reset-typography_getfontsize: 1.6rem; --artdeco-reset-typography_getlineheight: 1.5; background-color: white; border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: border-box; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); counter-reset: list-1 0 list-2 0 list-3 0 list-4 0 list-5 0 list-6 0 list-7 0 list-8 0 list-9 0; cursor: text; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: var(--font-size-large); line-height: 1.75; margin: 1.6rem 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline); white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: var(--font-size-large);">When Jesus was giving the church a warning, He tells them to wake up, turn back to Him, and strengthen their faith before He surprises them with an unexpected and unpleasant visit. The people, who, at first glance, had an attractive facade of being His people, weren’t acting like Him. They had gone away from their relationship with Him and their faith was empty. They were about to miss the boat. To one of the early churches He says, “I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God. Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey it, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.” (Revelation 3:1b –3) I believe this warning is not only for the church at Sardis, but churches in Europe, our own country and around the world right now. As one of our U.S. presidents said, “Whatever we once were, we are no longer a Christian nation.” We need to make sure we are hearing the alarm. We need to make sure we are awake, refresh our connection to Jesus and act like His people act once again. </span></p><p style="--artdeco-reset-typography_getfontsize: 1.6rem; --artdeco-reset-typography_getlineheight: 1.5; background-color: white; border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: border-box; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); counter-reset: list-1 0 list-2 0 list-3 0 list-4 0 list-5 0 list-6 0 list-7 0 list-8 0 list-9 0; cursor: text; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: var(--font-size-large); line-height: 1.75; margin: 1.6rem 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline); white-space-collapse: preserve;">Hang in there people! God is glad to be with us! I’m praying for us all!</p><span id="docs-internal-guid-192e5d2c-7fff-e528-0b4e-5a548f7d737c"><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-family: Palatino, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div></span>WilliamPMcGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17692705042673942960noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1854207972607762402.post-72776275046390882682023-06-02T09:36:00.007-04:002024-03-06T16:56:01.059-05:00The Waters Will Not Overwhelm You.*<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU13RMxusP0zvelPXlVb6e5-FdtTym7jL3gTnJmrKRUJCynmcUQCWtvPn1rDPHPlcqukTdT28l8y-lc7cZ-ZLF9Om2FmkSI0sBAq1PJjwz9jZfDePsJbWOWnuqFfQJRLKu38D9hIK7QmGCnv9gP3sh6sHt-Fn17gP6MYlJvhrs-L0aMk95_fCJtLEh/s1200/waterski.jpeg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><br /></a></div>
The first time I tried waterskiing was not what I expected. I had seen others hang on to the rope behind the boat, come out of the water, stand up, cross the wake and gently sink after letting go of the rope. But my first time, I held the rope, the boat took off, and pulled me right out of my skis. One important bit of information that my instructor failed to tell me, was to let go of the rope if you don’t get up. I had a nasal flush that filled my head and throat and when I finally was overwhelmed by the water, I let go of the rope. I began coughing up and spewing from my mouth what felt like half the lake. My head felt like a water balloon. But undeterred I was determined to try this skiing thing. After a few more tries, I got up and wobbled around behind the boat. Bent over and knock-kneed, I must have looked like a skinny, white, Gumby bobbing around on the waves, until I fell. No one told me that the water feels like concrete on impact at that speed. However, I was hooked, I loved skiing. I can’t imagine the exhilaration Peter felt when he climbed out of the boat onto the waves to walk to Jesus, but this skiing thing was pretty exciting. I eventually learned to slalom, trick, barefoot, jump, and even tried tournament skiing. I took third place in the state of Tennessee in trick skiing as a teen (not a big deal, there were only 3 of us). I even became a ski instructor for a few Summers at my Day Camp. My family bought a houseboat on Norris Lake so we could be on the water almost every weekend in the Summers of my middle and high school years. (Of course on Sundays, however, we went to church first. We had our swimsuits in the car or on under our Sunday clothes, and the boat attached ready to go to the lake right after the last “Amen.”). I eventually learned that I enjoyed being on the lake with the people I loved, and skiing for fun more than competing, but a friend I skied with really loved the competition and went on to win several tournaments and compete nationally in ski jumping for many years until his knees finally gave out. There are many good memories of family and friends on the lake enjoying the Sun, fun, water skiing, and each other. <div><br /></div><div> The prophet Isaiah in His warnings to Israel and surrounding peoples, reminded God’s people of Who He is: He is a God of judgment for those who choose to be His enemies, but those who belong to Him can be sure of His great love, grace, forgiveness, and mercy. Isaiah tells God’s people: “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;” (Isaiah 43:2–3 NIV) When we are barely hanging on and it feels like the stresses of this world are about to overwhelm us, God has us! He says, “For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;” Jesus grabbed Peter when he was overwhelmed by the waves and lost sight of His Savior. He will do the same for us! </div><div><br /></div><div> Hang in there people! God is glad to be with us! I’m praying for us all!</div>WilliamPMcGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17692705042673942960noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1854207972607762402.post-11422203640407062132023-05-26T22:41:00.009-04:002023-06-13T15:39:04.418-04:00Old Blue, Faithful and True!* <p><span color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9)" face="Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: var(--font-size-large); white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p><span color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9)" face="Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: var(--font-size-large); white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9)" face="Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: var(--font-size-large); white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifLBxiSKzbDbVQPwyZozHRiipaUDTzTiwV2pSU0dHyRqvoI7p9XrVz_2uYPQkgHTec8XbUz9_g5HqfVBqdVyuGNi1CS-86wfJMxNazUDv6AvFQbLpnrwfbVMgc3KGvN9I0cXfOy2t8dlILC5BFZ4KTcfFP8jsLRg6gTOTKVruQ4vzaJbUBiY7sRFpV/s1718/Old%20Blue.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1718" data-original-width="1288" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifLBxiSKzbDbVQPwyZozHRiipaUDTzTiwV2pSU0dHyRqvoI7p9XrVz_2uYPQkgHTec8XbUz9_g5HqfVBqdVyuGNi1CS-86wfJMxNazUDv6AvFQbLpnrwfbVMgc3KGvN9I0cXfOy2t8dlILC5BFZ4KTcfFP8jsLRg6gTOTKVruQ4vzaJbUBiY7sRFpV/s320/Old%20Blue.jpeg" width="240" /></a></span></div><span color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9)" face="Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: var(--font-size-large); white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /><span id="docs-internal-guid-26321262-7fff-f835-a5eb-3f8ce540d75c"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 19pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">Not long after getting married, Anita bought me a hybrid Raleigh mountain bike. I was so excited. I had a wanderlust for riding that relieved some of life’s frustrations and gave me an outlet for my ADHD (at least temporarily). She knew I loved biking because I had ridden a cheap, old style 3 speed, with fenders, and a basket, that I had bought from a garage sale while at Seminary. That PeeWee Herman style bike may have embarrassed her a little. Perhaps she bought it to give her a break from my sometimes smothering style of relational affection (handed successfully down to me from my mother). That bike is now affectionately known as Old Blue. It has faithfully propelled me down many rural roads and nature trails in Columbus, GA; neighborhood routes and trails in Austin, TX; urban riverfront greenways and back streets in Nashville, TN; a hundred plus mile, two-day adventure fundraiser called “Jack and Back” from Franklin to Lynchburg, TN; riverfront and mountain beauty in Chattanooga,TN; miles of gorgeous bike paths in Dublin and Columbus, OH and miles of oceanfront roads and beaches while on vacations. In my first church, a medical professional told me I needed to make sure I included physical activity in my daily routine because of the stressful situations I would face in ministry. I enjoyed biking, it was a little faster than walking, but slow enough to enjoy the scenery. Every chance I get, I try to bikexplore and bikenjoy the places where God has me. For some years, it was just me. Then the adventures included a bike for Anita, and then each of 4 kids except the ones temporarily in the trailer connected to Old Blue. Then, as the kids had interests of their own, it was back to just me and Old Blue again. Occasionally Anita would join me on her mother’s mountain bike. In Dublin, OH though, as Anita and I were driving, looking for a new home, we noticed a tandem hybrid at the street in one neighborhood. I said, “I wonder if that is for sale,” and then I asked Anita if she would ride it with me? We stopped and we could hear a man from the garage say, “$25 bucks!”. We began to talk and he, in a thick New Jersey accent, told us that he was a policeman. He discovered that I was a pastor. He excitedly told us he was married to a pastor's daughter, so he wanted to give us the tandem. Anita and I tried it the first time… quite a feat of trust for a strong independent woman, riding behind someone when she had no control over speed or direction. She loved it though. We rode that thing exploring our new city, until literally, it fell apart, beyond repair and we had to call our daughter to come rescue us. Then we bought another tandem cruiser, known as Big Red, and rode it everywhere… until we moved back to TX where the heat caused a steering malfunction and we crashed breaking Anita’s pelvis. Then it was back to Old Blue as Anita healed her bones and worked on trusting me and the bike to take her safely on two wheeled adventures again. Old Blue is over 30 years old, has been tuned up several times, had a new gear cassette, new tires, cables, and chains, new grips and seems to still be strong enough for off road (known to me as “tree bashing”) trips (though trail rides are much more tame than the challenging terrain of yesteryear for this old man). Old Blue has been faithful and true, even through flats, crashes, long grueling rides and lost trails. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 19pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">The Apostle John wanted to reassure those in the early church who may have been unsure about what he future held for them. He knew that Jesus could always be trusted for their future. Times were difficult and uncertain. Governments, rulers, even neighbors and some so called friends couldn’t be trusted. John spoke of Jesus, the conquering Messiah, who would rescue them and defeat His enemies, those who were persecuting His favorite people. John says, “I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.” He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.”(Revelation 19:11–16</span><a href="https://accordance.bible/link/read/NIV#Rev._19:11" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline;">NIV</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">) Jesus is faithful and true and will see us through whatever it is we are facing! </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 19pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">Hang in there people! God is glad to be with us! I’m praying for us all!</span></p><div><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></div></span></span>WilliamPMcGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17692705042673942960noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1854207972607762402.post-46552436013133409762023-05-18T10:34:00.002-04:002023-05-18T10:35:19.154-04:00Just Don't!*<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje9KETPPibT2W4wo2y_6lzFoCx4C7SgolgWTgX3IXd1-ZSuQAg7561cjQ94S3jtGNNckAwLSaYfIrchSowDgrqa2yUu8FAoc0aE35mXnSGR1QrMENFy2aFLX9ALqzq_V7R1F4ZTe_uOySX0ElxHHffPyaK_FUm8-_vPufKOMp3Ot0b7nqYEYqZKs8j/s355/warning.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="355" data-original-width="267" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje9KETPPibT2W4wo2y_6lzFoCx4C7SgolgWTgX3IXd1-ZSuQAg7561cjQ94S3jtGNNckAwLSaYfIrchSowDgrqa2yUu8FAoc0aE35mXnSGR1QrMENFy2aFLX9ALqzq_V7R1F4ZTe_uOySX0ElxHHffPyaK_FUm8-_vPufKOMp3Ot0b7nqYEYqZKs8j/s320/warning.jpeg" width="241" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: -apple-system, system-ui, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Fira Sans", Ubuntu, Oxygen, "Oxygen Sans", Cantarell, "Droid Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Lucida Grande", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: var(--font-size-large);">My family had a mini-farm, 7 acres on the Little Tennessee river that we would visit on weekends and some afternoons when I was in elementary school. I learned to garden, fish, shoot a gun, ride a pony, whittle a stick of wood, pick fresh cherries and eat them right off the tree, and run from an angry rooster (a whole other story). I also learned some new ways to aggravate my sister. One cold day we were checking to see if the electric fence was working. I pulled the finger of my glove away from my finger, so as to not complete the circuit, and touched the fence, saying to my sister casually, “it’s not on.” Her response was to grab it with her whole hand (aaaand wait for it) ZAP came the electric pulse. “OW!” she shrieked, as I laughed and ran away. She was mad as a wet banty hen, which gave her a little extra closing speed. If I hadn’t had a bit of a head start, she would have caught me…! My parents reminded me, ahem, exhorted me, (read disciplined me), saying that we don’t treat our siblings that way. And my sister may have taken the next opportunity to smash a Hostess Twinkie in my face. (Thank goodness we now treat one another a little better). </span></p><p style="--artdeco-reset-typography_getfontsize: 1.6rem; --artdeco-reset-typography_getlineheight: 1.5; background-color: white; border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: -apple-system, system-ui, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Fira Sans", Ubuntu, Oxygen, "Oxygen Sans", Cantarell, "Droid Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Lucida Grande", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: var(--font-size-large); line-height: 1.75; margin: 1.6rem 0px; padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline);"><br style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 1.5 !important;" /></p><p style="--artdeco-reset-typography_getfontsize: 1.6rem; --artdeco-reset-typography_getlineheight: 1.5; background-color: white; border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: -apple-system, system-ui, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Fira Sans", Ubuntu, Oxygen, "Oxygen Sans", Cantarell, "Droid Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Lucida Grande", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: var(--font-size-large); line-height: 1.75; margin: 1.6rem 0px; padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline);">In the early church God’s people apparently weren’t treating their Christian brothers and sisters very well. So Paul reminded them to be kind and gentle with each other, stick together and act like people who belong to Jesus. He says, “ Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” Ephesians 4:2-3 So, the next time we are thinking of being unkind to someone, anyone, just don’t. </p><p style="--artdeco-reset-typography_getfontsize: 1.6rem; --artdeco-reset-typography_getlineheight: 1.5; background-color: white; border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: -apple-system, system-ui, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Fira Sans", Ubuntu, Oxygen, "Oxygen Sans", Cantarell, "Droid Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Lucida Grande", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: var(--font-size-large); line-height: 1.75; margin: 1.6rem 0px; padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline);"><br style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 1.5 !important;" /></p><p style="--artdeco-reset-typography_getfontsize: 1.6rem; --artdeco-reset-typography_getlineheight: 1.5; background-color: white; border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: -apple-system, system-ui, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Fira Sans", Ubuntu, Oxygen, "Oxygen Sans", Cantarell, "Droid Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Lucida Grande", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: var(--font-size-large); line-height: 1.75; margin: 1.6rem 0px; padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline);">Hang in there People! God is glad to be with us! I’m praying for us all!z</p>WilliamPMcGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17692705042673942960noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1854207972607762402.post-39866633429343907682023-05-15T17:29:00.012-04:002024-03-13T16:11:43.785-04:00Are You Fatigued*<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p class="reader-text-block__paragraph" style="--artdeco-reset-typography_getfontsize: 1.6rem; --artdeco-reset-typography_getlineheight: 1.5; background-color: white; border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: -apple-system, system-ui, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Fira Sans", Ubuntu, Oxygen, "Oxygen Sans", Cantarell, "Droid Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Lucida Grande", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: var(--font-size-large); line-height: 1.75; margin: 1.6rem 0px; padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline);"><br /></p><p class="reader-text-block__paragraph" style="--artdeco-reset-typography_getfontsize: 1.6rem; --artdeco-reset-typography_getlineheight: 1.5; background-color: white; border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: -apple-system, system-ui, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Fira Sans", Ubuntu, Oxygen, "Oxygen Sans", Cantarell, "Droid Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Lucida Grande", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: var(--font-size-large); line-height: 1.75; margin: 1.6rem 0px; padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline);">I took Military Science class in College, mainly because I needed another college credit and a couple of friends were in ROTC and they needed soldiers to lead as they trained for service. Both of these men served our country well… thanks and kudos to them and all those who solemnly swore “to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic…” The class came with a lab, which was actually field training. We put on Army issued fatigues and boots, we marched, carried stoppered weapons, learned to ford a raging creek with a rope, repel and do push ups… I am thankful for the small taste of the training our service people go through, it makes me appreciate them even more. We took an overnight FTX, a Field Training Exercise, somewhere in the North Carolina mountains. It was dark and we hiked toward our target. With weapons and a 30 pound pack… and we hiked, and we hiked, we got lost, and for 3 straight hours we hiked. We finally made it to our target point, then we engaged the “enemy.” For a while adrenaline perked us up from the all night hike. We dove into ditches to dodge grenade simulators and enemy “fire” and took over a small “fort.” When the battle was over my M16 was traded for a much heavier M60 from the guy who had to leave for a wedding (a privilege of not being real enlisted soldiers)... with which I again got to hike through the mountains. Then my pack was traded for a heavier military communications pack, that again, you guessed it, I had the privilege of hiking through the mountains. When the FTX was over when the Sun began to rise, after we disassembled, cleaned and reassembled our weapons, and ate some MRE (Meal Ready to Eat) breakfast, the cadre of officers rewarded everyone with a surprise for their hard work. Normally, I would have been really excited to rappel down Grandfather Mountain, in NC, but because I was so fatigued in my fatigues, I couldn’t enjoy it. My mind was foggy and my body was exhausted, I wasn’t even sure I had secured my harness well. I wasn’t present enough to relish the experience with my friends and colleagues. I made it down the mountain with shaky muscles, but not with the exhilaration it should have brought. I was just too tired. </p><p class="reader-text-block__paragraph" style="--artdeco-reset-typography_getfontsize: 1.6rem; --artdeco-reset-typography_getlineheight: 1.5; background-color: white; border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: -apple-system, system-ui, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Fira Sans", Ubuntu, Oxygen, "Oxygen Sans", Cantarell, "Droid Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Lucida Grande", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: var(--font-size-large); line-height: 1.75; margin: 1.6rem 0px; padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline);"><br style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 1.5;" /></p><p class="reader-text-block__paragraph" style="--artdeco-reset-typography_getfontsize: 1.6rem; --artdeco-reset-typography_getlineheight: 1.5; background-color: white; border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: -apple-system, system-ui, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Fira Sans", Ubuntu, Oxygen, "Oxygen Sans", Cantarell, "Droid Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Lucida Grande", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: var(--font-size-large); line-height: 1.75; margin: 1.6rem 0px; padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline);">Sometimes we are just tired, fatigued. Life can get exhausting. The things we would normally enjoy are not as enjoyable because we are just tired. Work, family, friends, demanding schedule, even fun; too much of them can get the best of us sometimes. The weights piled on your shoulders can seem to be increasing as you get more tired. Don’t forget to rest. Don’t forget to refresh. Take a timeout, a Shabbat. Find some time to step away from all the stress. Rest, connect with God, then do something fun. Then you can reconnect and bring your best self to those you love and care about. Get a dose of God’s joy and return to share it with those around you. </p><p class="reader-text-block__paragraph" style="--artdeco-reset-typography_getfontsize: 1.6rem; --artdeco-reset-typography_getlineheight: 1.5; background-color: white; border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: -apple-system, system-ui, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Fira Sans", Ubuntu, Oxygen, "Oxygen Sans", Cantarell, "Droid Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Lucida Grande", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: var(--font-size-large); line-height: 1.75; margin: 1.6rem 0px; padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline);"><br style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 1.5;" /></p><p class="reader-text-block__paragraph" style="--artdeco-reset-typography_getfontsize: 1.6rem; --artdeco-reset-typography_getlineheight: 1.5; background-color: white; border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: -apple-system, system-ui, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Fira Sans", Ubuntu, Oxygen, "Oxygen Sans", Cantarell, "Droid Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Lucida Grande", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: var(--font-size-large); line-height: 1.75; margin: 1.6rem 0px; padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline);">Listen to Isaiah’s reminder to those who follow God: “Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the whole earth. He never becomes faint or weary; there is no limit to his understanding. He gives strength to the faint and strengthens the powerless. Youths may become faint and weary, and young men stumble and fall, <span class="tvm__text--legacy-publishing-emphasis" style="background: var(--artdeco-reset-base-background-transparent); border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: inherit; font-size: var(--artdeco-reset-base-font-size-hundred-percent); line-height: 1.5; margin: var(--artdeco-reset-base-margin-zero); outline: var(--artdeco-reset-base-outline-zero); padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline);">but those who trust in the LORD will renew their strength</span>; they will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not become weary, they will walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40:28-31 (CSB) </p><p class="reader-text-block__paragraph" style="--artdeco-reset-typography_getfontsize: 1.6rem; --artdeco-reset-typography_getlineheight: 1.5; background-color: white; border: var(--artdeco-reset-base-border-zero); box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: -apple-system, system-ui, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Fira Sans", Ubuntu, Oxygen, "Oxygen Sans", Cantarell, "Droid Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Lucida Grande", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: var(--font-size-large); line-height: 1.75; margin: 1.6rem 0px; padding: var(--artdeco-reset-base-padding-zero); vertical-align: var(--artdeco-reset-base-vertical-align-baseline);"><br style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 1.5;" /></p><p><span color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9)" face="-apple-system, system-ui, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Fira Sans", Ubuntu, Oxygen, "Oxygen Sans", Cantarell, "Droid Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Lucida Grande", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: var(--font-size-large);">Hang in there people! God is glad to be with us! I’m praying for us all.</span> </p><p>(Updated version of an older post)</p>WilliamPMcGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17692705042673942960noreply@blogger.com