I Believe, I Believe!

Titus 1:1-3

 Paul, a bondservant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s elect and the acknowledgment of the truth which accords with godliness, in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began, but has in due time manifested His word through preaching, which was committed to me according to the commandment of God our Savior; (NKJV)

At work, we used to have a customer that owned a local marina that used to bring marine starters to us to rebuild.  The owner of this marina was fairly up in age; he was at least eighty years old.  Throughout the many years that he was a customer for us, I never could get him to understand that my work had two offices.  The Warehouse office, where he would bring the starters and sign the paperwork to pick them up is different than the office that is upstairs and to whom he would speak to on the phone.

One thing I remember about this man was that he liked to give younger women kisses.  He would even talk about it on the phone.  After realizing this fact and also after realizing that he couldn’t seem to understand on the phone that I wasn’t the person he talked to in person, I decided fairly early on to go along with his questioning.  Every time that he would ask on the phone if he could have a kiss, I started telling him, “yes”.  This would make him happy and he’d say that he would give me a kiss next time he came in.  Let’s just say that the woman that worked downstairs in the Warehouse office, thus, used to complain about him and say that he always gave her kisses when he came in.

One thing that stood out to me from tonight’s sermon in Titus is that it’s important what we believe or whom we believe in.  It’s vital that we have accurate knowledge of the God that we are talking to that is based on truth from the Word.  I love that song that was played tonight during the video “I believe, I believe, I believe in the Word of God.”  Let’s believe in the Word of God and give “acknowledgement of the truth” that Jesus Christ is our God and Savior.

-RB

Titus 1:4

To Titus, a true son in our common faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior.

Don’t Miss the Blessing

My sister in Christ once said to me, “if you don’t do what God asks of you, He will find someone else; and you will miss a blessing”. This pearl of wisdom has been rolling around in my head a lot lately. At school a few months ago, a young boy named Sean asked my son, Jack, about I-camp. I have to interject a quick note here. I did not want to encourage a friendship between Jack and Sean. Sean was wild and I was a little worried about his influence. Anyway, as my son came to school with news about what he had experienced at Shiloh, Sean would ask more questions.

In the meantime, I could not get Sean out of my mind. I would think about him during odd moments throughout the day, even at home. I don’t normally chase people down to talk to them about Jesus. If they cross my path I encourage them, pray for them and pray with them; but, tackling people for Christ just isn’t my speed. Anyway, as I found out, Jesus doesn’t tackle either; He gently leads or in my case gently pushes me in the right direction. He kept telling me to invite Sean to WOW but I kept forgetting. As it turned out, He didn’t want me to do it anyway; He wanted Jack to invite him. So, I suggested to Jack that he invite Sean. That was all it took, Sean started going by himself.

This went on for a few weeks and God kept encouraging me to invite him to church on Wednesday nights. Well, I kept telling God I couldn’t. We didn’t have the money for gas; my husband hadn’t worked in months. God just said to me, “Don’t worry about it. I will handle this, just do it”. Then my inner voice would fill my head with doubts. What would Sean’s parents say? Would they be angry and think I was interfering? One day, I just bit the bullet and invited him. He said yes at once, and his parents were fine with it. Well, then there were a “series of unfortunate events” which kept stopping us from taking him. One night there was a terrible storm so church was cancelled.  Another night Sean was at our house, all set to go, but then he got so sick I had to take him home. Finally the day arrived when we were on our way.

God had kept insistently telling me to ask Sean about his salvation. I resisted this too. I wasn’t sure how to ask it, I didn’t want to turn the kid off by asking if he was saved. Anyway, I got my courage up (God got my courage up) and I just asked him on the way to church. Sean did not know what this meant, so we three talked about it; and I shared my testimony. I couldn’t really hear what the boys were talking about after this, but suddenly Sean said he wanted to be saved. It seemed so sudden and quick to me, but then I remembered this had been work God had started in the fall.

“For we know, brothers and sistersloved by God, that he has chosen you, ⁵ because our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction.”

1 Thessalonians 1:4-5

ms

The Richness of NOW

Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people?  Who will go for us?”

 I said, “Here I am.  Send me.”

 Isaiah 6:8

 15 years.

That is how long it has been since my husband and I moved from our 3 bedroom-2 bath home on Rose Road back home to Georgia.   We left the flat marshy lands of Vancleave, Mississippi to travel home for a job in Macon, Georgia.

Little did we know when we left that God would call us both into full-time ministry.  My call had already come a year earlier.  I remember hearing a sermon at youth camp.  The minister preached a sermon entitled “Get Out of the Boat”.  I knew God was asking me to surrender to His call on my life and thought at the time that it would involve music.  It some ways it does, but the ministry is much bigger than I envisioned.

Within a few months of our move, we were (once again) serving alongside a youth minister as lay leaders and within a few years my husband would receive his own call (Ministry that costs you nothing accomplishes nothing.)  Within five years of leaving our newlywed home, our lives were radically changed:  two kids, full-time youth ministry, one parent passed on and another dying of cancer.

Needless to say, the years of transition were difficult.

This past weekend we were able to once again visit our newlywed city.  We traveled to visit friends and stayed over to go to our old home church.  I have been back a few times over the years and tried to prepare my husband for what I have experienced.  I told him,  “Fifteen years is a long time.  People will look at you and that look of vague remembrance will come into their eyes.  They will then either make a connection or they will nod and move on.  Don’t let it hurt your feelings, dear, it’s been a long time.”

Was I ever surprised!

Upon stepping into the doorway, we were met with great smiles, slaps on the back and bear hugs.  Women change their hair so much these days that it took me a minute to remember a few of these friends from days gone by!  (I haven’t changed my hairstyle or hair color (ouch) in these 15 years, so it wasn’t as hard for them, I reckon!  I’m sure I’ll still be wearing this ponytail in 20 years and my kids will sign Mom up for some talk show make-over!)

It was so wonderful to see this old church, thriving with almost 600 in Sunday School!  It was great to sit in our old “Young Married” Sunday School class and look around and remember. (Some of you guys need to move up, seriously!)  It was good to sit under a good word, even though our former pastor is no longer there.  The music program has grown and what a joy to see the “Young at Heart” choir share a special.  I’m glad they did because these folks weren’t “young at heart” 15 years ago.  They were in the choir with me!!

Over all, it was a joy!  Do I pine for those days?  Do I wonder what happened to the good old days?  Would I return?

No.

God is moving today.  Now.  He is alive and He is working in the life of my family.  He was then, and that was good, but that was then, and this is now.

I like now.

Praise be to God who granted us a good place to spend our newlywed years.  But He knew He needed to get us to a place where we would not miss the passing of our dear parents.  We needed to be available to those two grandparents so they could enjoy the final years with their grandchildren.  We needed to be in a place where God would clearly call my husband and he would respond.  How smart of God to call me first!  That way I was already on board (or should I say, “out of the boat”) and not as likely to talk my husband out of his calling!

This past weekend was wonderful, but you know what made it so wonderful?  The presence of Almighty God who was there 19 years ago when we were there, 15 years ago when we left, 11 years ago when we surrendered to His call, and today as we traveled back from the golden memories into the richness of NOW.

-bbm

“Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.  Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you.  And be sure of this:  I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Matthew 28:19-20

 

Woe to You

Matthew 23:23-24

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.  You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.

I spent this afternoon after church cleaning out my car so that it will be clean for our little vacation trip next weekend.  I know one thing, if I washed cars for a living, I’d have to charge at least $100 per vehicle to clean it…and that does not include waxing!  Anyone need me to wash your car for you?

It takes me an entire day to really clean out the inside of my car and to wash the outside.  In between services today, I was only able to clean the inside because I ran out of time to wash the outside.  I’ll have to do that another day.

When I’m cleaning my car, I can never do a quick clean.  I have to wipe every single thing in the car down so that my car looks brand new.  I guess I’m a little OCD about some things because I can’t stand to have dirty door jambs, or dusty paneling, or smeared windows (this can be a problem when little kids like to draw on my frosty windows…I have to really control my anger!)

At work, we always have a similar problem with one of our cleaning processes.  No matter which employee gets moved into the rotor department, they always spend too much time cleaning the rotors.  These rotors are going into alternators that have probably been rebuilt four or five times already.  In fact, when customers get the alternator, they can’t even see the rotor because it is inside the unit.  Therefore, there is no value added in making the rotor look spotless and brand new.  It’s a good thing that I don’t work downstairs in production at work because I would probably have been fired after the first week!

Just like I can’t imagine cleaning my car just halfway, God is warning the Pharisees in Matthew 23 about halfway obeying Him.  In fact, you can’t halfway serve God.  We talked about this in Reach Bible Study this morning.  As we learned by the example of Cain and Abel, the Bible shows that a person is either a Christian or not a Christian; there is no in between.  That is why God is calling the Pharisees hypocrites.  That is also why God keeps telling them “Woe to you”.  In Pastor Danny’s sermon tonight, he said that anytime you see the word “woe” in the Bible, you can replace it with “stop, look, and listen.”

God warned the Pharisees about ignoring “justice, mercy and faithfulness”.  Pastor Danny talked about the condition of our nation, our church, and our families.  Let’s not ignore the important matters…woe to us!

Have you turned to God to make you completely clean?

-RB

Matthew 23:25-26

 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.  Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.

Pray for our Leaders

Psalm 78:1-4

      Give ear, O my people, to my law:

Incline your ears to the words of my mouth.

      I will open my mouth in a parable;

I will utter dark sayings of old,

      Which we have heard and known,

And our fathers have told us.

      We will not hide them from their children,

Telling to the generation to come the praises of Jehovah,

And his strength, and his wondrous works that he hath done.

ASV

My wife brought our only TV from the kitchen into the living room and plopped it down on to the ottoman so we could sit by the fire and watch the president of the United States of America as he addressed the country and the congress.  My family has been praying for our president and we will continue to do so.  As the president continued to share of all the major changes and reformation that he intends to bring to our country, I happened to turn around and look behind me.  There he was!

He was standing there in his pajama shirt, his big boy pants (which is a pull up diaper) and a cowboy hat from Tweetsie Railroad.  He was so busy.  He was standing in front of his playdoh table hard at work.  Several thoughts ran through my mind as the president shared of the new and promising future for our country in light of his sweeping reform all the while my son gave the Larry Boy some new green hair.  I thought of my three-year old playdoh cowboy, and the fact that the decisions that are being made in Washington DC today are shaping the world that he will raise his family in tomorrow.  I thought of how strong in his faith he is going to have to be to live the Christian life in the country that is losing all sense of morality before our very eyes.

In that moment, I became overwhelmed with the incredible responsibility that we have to pray for our leaders and to raise up young men and women of faith who will hold the bar at the Biblical standard and will and wave the banner of faith in the face of persecution.  Will you take a few minutes today and pray for the generation that is coming behind us and pray for our leaders. – BP

Psalm 78:5-8

For he established a testimony in Jacob,

And appointed a law in Israel,

Which he commanded our fathers,

That they should make them known to their children;

That the generation to come might know them, even the children that should be born;

Who should arise and tell them to their children,

That they might set their hope in God,

And not forget the works of God,

But keep his commandments,

And might not be as their fathers,

A stubborn and rebellious generation,

A generation that set not their heart aright,

And whose spirit was not steadfast with God.

ASV

God Prepared a Means for Salvation

And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way of the Red sea, to compass the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way. And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread (Num. 21:4-5).

The full meaning of much discouraged is that the people were impatient. And when people become impatient, everything seems to go wrong.

The Israelites finally exposed their real feelings concerning the provisions of God. Our soul loatheth this light bread. Their discontent proved that they did not clearly perceive the purpose of God for bringing them out of Egypt.

Because of their unbelief, the Lord’s marvelous protection from the desert dangers was withdrawn, and thousands of people were bitten by poisonous snakes and died. Until this time, there is no record of anyone being bitten by a serpent (Deut. 8:15). Just as the bite from a reptile was deadly, so their unbelief would lead to spiritual death. Again, they realized their need for the Lord and His protection.

Because of Moses’ intercessory prayer, God prepared a means of salvation for His people. God instructed Moses to make a brazen serpent and display it on a high pole. Although the dying Israelites may not have deserved to be healed, all who believed in the promise of the Word of God and beheld the serpent of brass were healed (Num. 21:9).

All mankind has been poisoned by that old serpent, called the Devil (Rev. 12:9), who perpetually torments his victims. And sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death (James 1:15).

God sent His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh (Rom. 8:3; II Cor. 5:21). Sin brought eternal death, but all who will believe the Word of God and accept Christ as Savior will have eternal life.

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life (John 3:14-15).

-sbc.net devotion

Thought for Today:

And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve . . . the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord (Josh. 24:15).

Christ Portrayed:

By Moses who prayed for God to save the people (Num. 21:7). Christ Jesus; Who was faithful to Him that appointed Him, as also Moses was faithful in all his house (family, i.e. the Israelites) (Heb. 3:1-2).

More Than an Itch and a Scratch

Ephesians 3:17-18

And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ. (NIV)

I recently heard a story of two men viewing the Atlantic Ocean while aboard a cruise liner. As they stood on the ship’s deck gazing across the wide expanse of the ocean, one says to the other, “Look at all of that water, as far as the eye can see.”

The other replied, “Yes, that’s a lot of water, and it’s only the surface . . . ”

Sometimes in our personal spiritual journey with God, I wonder if we ever get much below the surface.  God is the Almighty, Sovereign Creator of the universe, but do we really take the time to plummet the depths of His character, glory, and grace?  Too much of modern spirituality just skims the surface of God’s character, and we are easily satisfied with a passing familiarity with Him.  We casually sail across the ocean of God’s goodness, never taking the time to go deep into His heart to know Him better, greater, and closer than before.

Personally, when I have taken time to focus and redirect my time to hearing from God, I have been overwhelmed at His presence.  Sometimes asking Him to slow down because so much comes so fast.  It seems God was waiting to open the floodgates when I did more than scratch the surface of my faith.

But the key to knowing God better is found in what we can do every day.  Any of us can take an annual retreat or set aside a weekend for “spiritual renewal,” but knowing Him better happens day by day.  Reading the Bible, everyday.  Developing our prayer life, everyday.  Practicing spiritual disciplines, everyday…everyday…everyday.

What will you do today-and everyday-that takes you below a casual spirituality into the deep recesses of God’s heart? Yes, God’s character and glory are as wide and great as the sea, but have we ever journeyed with Him below the surface?

I long to do that very thing, but I too often choose not to.

BR

Hosea 6:3

“So let us know, let us press on to know the LORD.” (NASV)

When it Rains, it Pours

Job 38:1-2; 34

 Then the LORD spoke to Job out of the storm. He said:

 “Who is this that obscures my plans

with words without knowledge?…

…“Can you raise your voice to the clouds

and cover yourself with a flood of water?

I had an interesting Monday this week…it definitely wasn’t boring.  All day long there was a drip coming down from the ceiling near the copier in the office.  It was steady dripping down about every 30 seconds.  Now it wasn’t raining Monday and it had been several days since the really hard rain last week.  I put a bucket under the drip and then I told my boss that there was now a new drip that has appeared, but this one was different from the others because it is not raining outside.

My boss and the maintenance mechanic, therefore, moved the ceiling tile so they could see where the drip was coming from.  When they moved the tile, what they found was a really, really large bubble.  It was huge!  In fact, they had to move four of the two foot square ceiling tiles to see it.  The ceiling insulation was so full of water that it was hanging down and formed a big ball or bubble.  The dripping of water was where the water had started to come off the side of the bubble flap and leak out because it was hanging down so low.

The guys at my work thus went and got a large trash can and stuck it under the spot.  The maintenance mechanic took a knife out and was going to cut a slit in the plastic insulation so that the water would drip into the trash can.  However, they decided instead to just push up on the bubble so that the water would flow out more in the same spot on the side.

As soon as the maintenance man pushed up on the ball of water, the insulation couldn’t stand the pressure any longer and it just busted out water all over him; all over the office floor; on one of my printers; on one of my shelves of paper; on the credit card machine; and about half of it made it into the trash can.

Now, what I didn’t tell you already was that the maintenance mechanic was not having a good day.  He caught me earlier that day messing around with the 30 thousand dollars each alternator testers.  I had carried my flash drives home and I could not find any at work.  Therefore, in order to shuffle data around like I needed to, I had to do it the hard way.  I had to open the testers up and cut some of the wire straps that he had nicely arranged for the computer plugs.  (I think he worries that I’m going to tear the testers up…and maybe rightly so!)

Then, towards the end of the day, when he was ready to clock out and go home, he has to come upstairs and look at a dripping problem that I had pointed out…only to find himself soaked in water from his head and glasses all the way to his feet.  I was concerned at first, but at the same time I was trying to hold back my laughter!  When it happened, He didn’t say a word, but spent the next hour helping to clean up the mess.  (I was able to hold my laughter until the cleaning was done and he had left.)

Even though the situation was really funny to me, I was very impressed with the way that he controlled his temper.  He didn’t scream or yell one time, but seemed to just take everything in stride.  I found his attitude of self-control and restraint to be very admirable.  May I also be found to remain in control when life gets chaotic around me. Whatever storm life brings, may I not forget how awesome God is.  Like Job, may I remember all of the magnificent things that he has done and trust Him as being in control.

-RB

Job 42:1-6 

Then Job replied to the LORD:

 “I know that you can do all things;

no purpose of yours can be thwarted.

You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?’

Surely I spoke of things I did not understand,

things too wonderful for me to know.

“You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak;

I will question you,

and you shall answer me.’

My ears had heard of you

but now my eyes have seen you.

Therefore I despise myself

and repent in dust and ashes.”

English 101

Then his daughter, also named Herodias, came in and performed a dance that greatly pleased Herod and his guests.  “Ask me for anything you like,” the king said to the girl, “and I will give it to you.”  He even vowed, “I will give you whatever you ask, up to half my kingdom!”

She went out and asked her mother,

“What should I ask for?”

Her mother told her,

“Ask for the head of John the Baptist!”

Mark 6:22-24

 This past weekend we hosted the 6^th grade boys in our home for “Movie Night.”  As part of our ministry, we are seeking to entertain the entire youth group in our home.  Obviously, we can’t do that in one night, but we have spread the goal over the next few months, one small group at a time.

I really enjoyed having the boys over and they seemed to have a good time.  I even had a nice moment when I dropped something in the kitchen while making their popcorn.  I had four young men jump up to run to my rescue.  It made my heart happy to see that chivalry is not dead!  (Thanks, Sam, for picking up my stuff!)

Anyway, I sat near one particular young man while we watched the movie.  All through the movie, he would give his own “play-by-play” of what was happening.  After a few times of accurately calling the plot shots, I said to him, “You’ve seen this movie, haven’t you?”

He said, “No, ma’am.  I’m just foreshadowing like my teacher taught me.”

(Let me give a shout out to his teacher at SCA, Mrs. Deborah Edwards!)

This passage in Mark is another type of foreshadowing.  Could you call out the plot shot?  John the Baptist is in prison because he has made Herod’s wife, Herodias, really angry by calling her and her husband out in adultery.  She hated John and looked for any way she could to kill him.  Well, she got it on her husband’s birthday.

He was having a party and asked his daughter to come in and entertain the group with a dance.  She did a fine job of things and he made a rash promise, offering her anything she wants.  Bingo!

She asks for the head of John the Baptist on a tray after asking Mommy Dearest for her opinion.  Herod caves in FORESHADOWING the actions of Pontius Pilate, who would later put Jesus to death against his better judgment.

When I read this footnote in my study Bible, I thought again of this young man and how proud I was to know he is thinking hard, and learning how to extrapolate the movies he sees and the books he reads.  It’s important to understand how to take a piece of literature, no matter it’s media form, and pull it apart to see how the piece fits together and also how a character’s actions lead to other character’s actions.  Decisions impact others, and can even be a foreshadowing of other events that are monumentally significant.

Scholars have taken the Bible and pulled it apart for centuries.  Do you know what they have found?

It is perfect.  It is holy.  It is without flaw.  It is God’s Word.  Here is a statement on the doctrine of Scripture posted on www.biblegateway.com.

The Bible is God’s unique revelation to mankind, the inspired, infallible Word of God. As such, it is the supreme and final authority and without error in what it teaches and affirms. No other writings are vested with such divine authority.

And I think it’s one cool piece of literature, too.

Somebody really ought to make a movie out of it. 🙂

-bbm

The soldier beheaded John in the prison, brought his head on a tray, and gave it to the girl, who took it to her mother.  When John’s disciples heard what had happened, they came to get his body and buried it in a tomb.

 Mark 6:27b-29

Let Me Go With You!

As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him.

 Mark 5:18

I can so identify with this man.  I know if I were able to spend any time with Jesus in person, then that is right where I would want to stay.

I even have a tendency to do it now.  As I read my Bible, the house is beginning to stir.  The older children are going through their morning routine in preparation for another school day.  The baby is having breakfast in the high chair.  One little boy is awake and the “sleeper” is still slumbering.

Where am I?  Sitting with Bible Gateway open on my computer.  I have been jokingly referred to as the woman who has the “nine hour quiet time”.  That is an extreme exaggeration, but I do like to have some Bible time.  I think I’d rather study the Bible than do just about anything else, like dishes, grading papers, or changing diapers.

But these are the tasks that await me.   But I want to stay with You, Jesus!  Can’t I just stay here all day and snuggle in my bathrobe and read with You?

No.

You have work to do.

Jesus did not let him, but said, “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.”

Mark 5:19

 Well, Sarah Beth is squirming in her seat, squealing at me because breakfast is over.  Time’s up!  Time to get going.

As you go through your day today, be sure to spend time with Jesus.  But then get up and be about telling others how much the Lord has done for you and how great His mercy is that He has shown you.  May your friends, family, and acquaintances be amazed.

-bbm 

So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed.

Mark 5:20