December 15, 2024

So according to the internet, the thorns of a Honey Locust tree are not poisonous. The tree is quite native to West Tennessee and while it can grow practically anywhere, it loves “the moist soil of river valleys.” Being prolific in the moist soils of river valleys would explain why a duck hunter might come into contact with one of these spikey trees. One of my favorite spots to hunt is literally surrounded, or maybe I should say protected by thousands of them. In my experience, the spikes on the tree trunks grow in clusters and can get as long as 4-6 inches and be almost a quarter inch thick at the base. They are incredibly sharp and fine tipped so when you are impaled by one, invariably the tip breaks off well beneath the surface of the skin and while not poisonous, the little foreign particle is rarely welcomed by the human body. Furthermore, while scientific evidence has eluded me, I am fairly certain the thorns are coated in some kind of anticoagulant, because in a very short time, there seems to be blood everywhere as the bleeding just won’t stop! Which is really fine, because when it does, the swelling and festering starts and the real pain begins. Whether you stop to cut your body open to find the tiny tip of the thorn (often hard to see through the blood) or wait and soak the wounded part in Epsom salts, the next 24 to 48 hours are going to be painful when the affected area is touched or moved. One thing is for sure though, the pain will not stop until the tip of the thorn is removed. Unfortunately, I know this from too much experience the most recent being last Saturday when the tip of my right index finger was impaled deeply by what was probably a world record setting locust spike in the categories of length, strength and sharpness. We will never know though as the thought of being named in Ripley’s Believe It or Not or the Guiness Book of World Records came as an afterthought while I was doing the one-legged crotch hop, a move often though to help relieve pain achieved by wrapping the non-wounded hand around the wounded one, placing both between the legs and jumping up while down howling or muttering intelligibly. I am a mutterer and I think I was muttering as I studied Matthew 18:22 and Jesus words on forgiveness after Peter asked how many times to forgive a brother. I found an article based on a sermon by a guy named Dr. MacArther entitled, The Danger of Unforgiveness. The author outlined four points of what holding on to the wrongs done to us will do. First, a lack of forgiveness imprisons us in the past, then it produces bitterness and opens the door for Satan to take root in our lives and finally, the inability to forgive hinders our fellowship God. As my finger throbbed, I couldn’t help but notice, that little thorn tip inside of me is just like unforgiveness. It’s not hurting the tree I got it from, but it’s killin’ me!

—jeff

December 8, 2024

What did we do before we had cell phones? I left mine in the truck two hours ago when I came to the woods. My intention was to bring it. I brought my computer so I could “multitask,” essentially setting up an office in the woods! Without my phone, I can’t set up a hotspot, so the internet is unavailable. The boys know where I am and I assume they told their mother, but as I sit here and think of the things I left in the truck, I wonder now if I told her. I saw two bobcat kittens and no one in the world knows about it yet. A rabbit just ran out in front of my deer blind then circled back to a clump of grass to watch his back trail. He’s probably watching for those two silly cats – but he hasn’t moved a muscle in 20 minutes! Something scared the small buck that I was watching feed. I know he walked past one of our trail cams and the boys are texting me to see if I saw it. I can’t respond though or tell them what I am seeing, because I left my phone in the truck. There are two Carolina Wrens who really want to come in the deer blind for the night, but they do not trust me and can’t get past the windowsill – probably has something to do with me not having a phone. As the darkness approaches, I can’t help but wonder if you called and needed something. I wonder how cold it will get tonight but can’t check because I don’t have my phone. It’s kind of funny the more I think about it, I wonder if more people need me when I don’t have my phone than when I do. I wonder if bad things will happen to folks because I don’t have my phone. Ok, not really, but I hope you are beginning to see and understand how much many of us have gotten attached to our phones. Most likely, no one has called or texted. Most assuredly, the world has not stopped turning. Most definitely I have seen and heard things in the last two hours I probably would not have seen or heard if I’d had my phone. The sunset is absolutely beautiful with reds and pinks. Seems like there is a saying about red skies at sunset. If I had my phone, I could look it up or at least take a picture that wouldn’t do it justice. What would happen if my relationship with God and the church were similar to my relationship with my phone. Would I miss Him if I left Him in the truck for two hours? Would I be reminded of and miss all the things I cannot do without Him, or maybe do I have a better relationship with my phone than I do my God? It’s just something to think about.

—jeff

December 1, 2024

Not too long ago, I declined an invitation to a special event because it was scheduled on a Sunday during evening worship. The host was astonished asking can’t you just miss this one time? No, I cannot miss this one time. Frankly, I claim that Jesus is Lord in my life and my missing church for your event would make me out to be a liar. I do not want to miss assembling with the saints. The church is the body of Christ (Ephesians 1:22-23) and when they meet, I want to be there. Additionally, I do happen to be employed there, let’s not forget that. “Well, what about when you go on vacation? You miss going to church then,” they argued. No, no I don’t. I mean I do miss worshipping with the congregation at Covington, but there are congregations of the Lord’s church scattered all over the country. I go to church on vacation. In fact, I often reconnect with an old friend or meet someone there who knows someone I know from back home or past encounters, but even when I don’t, I always enjoy visiting with other congregations. Vacation is not about taking a break from being who I am. I do not take a vacation from being a Christian. I cannot get on a cruise ship and sail out to the middle of the ocean and leave my character and principles at the dock. Christianity is not what I do, it is supposed to be who I am. Look, just because my struggles may not look like yours or the struggles of others, doesn’t mean I do not have them. Satan comes at me differently but he still comes. The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23) and one sin is just as bad as another. Proverbs 6:16-19 talks about things that are an abomination to the Lord and the things listed rarely make the “top ten sins” list. The white lies of a false witness couldn’t be worse than the homosexual, could it? Yet, homosexuality doesn’t make this list, neither does child molester, spouse abuser, rapist, murderer and a great host of things we generally think are really bad. But when I willfully skip the assembly of the saints without a legitimate reason of service or sickness, I feel like a false witness. You may not see it as turning your back on God, but truthfully it is no different than Peter in the courtyard the night Jesus was arrested (Matthew 26:69-74). “Hey, weren’t you with Jesus?” Hey mind your own business! “No seriously, didn’t you invite me to church? Aren’t you a Christian?” He I said shut up! What do I have to do to prove it’s ok I am not at church, curse, tell a dirty joke, laugh at the people who wouldn’t come because it’s during church, drink what you’re drinking! What do I have to do to prove that is not who I am!!? “Hey man, chill. It’s just one time. Besides, nobody really cares anyway.” Yeah, and maybe that is the problem. Cocka-doodle-doo.

—jeff

November 24, 2024

We are all familiar with the parable of the sower in Matthew 13. Seeds fall in various soil conditions and those conditions affect the progress and growth of the seeds. The explanation of the parable is in verses 18-23. Many sermons have been preached on these passages most often having to do with spreading the Gospel. Today however I saw something at Mt. Rushmore that made me think. It opened my eyes and I have seen it over and over. Frankly, it is not a strange phenomenon or rare event. I was walking by a boulder and there in the side of it grew a tree! As I looked closer, I saw not a crack, but just a small deformity in the rock allowing it to catch some leaf litter which broke down over time and made a very tiny pocket of soil where a seed landed and took root. The pine tree was about three inches in diameter and appeared to be healthy and growing. So, I reread the story because this tree had clearly been there for some time. Let’s take a closer look at verses 20 and 21, “As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away.” Instead of looking from the sowers perspective, let’s look at it from the receiver’s perspective. Specifically, let’s look at the beginning of verse 21, “yet he has no root in himself.” I’ve always thought this whole lesson was on the soil and the fact that some soil is just not good for growing, but this little phrase changes things. It’s not just the soil, its also about the kind of people who accept the word. This guy had no root; no intestinal fortitude; no gumption; no courage. He lost focus and hope. The word in him didn’t die because the seed was bad or because it couldn’t grow where it fell. The word died because the receiver quit. There is no doubt his situation was not the best to start with, the fertile soil of the river valley is much more conducive for growth than a crack in a rock. God never said being a Christian would be easy, in fact he warns of temptation and persecution for those who live Godly lives (2 Timothy 3:12). Maintaining our commitment can be hard but always possible (1 Corinthians 10:13). I’m not much into trying to figure out the hearts of others but we can always examine our own. Are you still growing? Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil (Ephesians 6:10-11).

—jeff

November 17, 2024

Every morning, I hear interesting comments from parents and students as they exit their vehicles. Sometimes the comments are funny, sometimes they are sad. Sometimes I cannot write down or even repeat the words I hear! This morning’s phrase of the day, “Say your prayers and tie your shoes!” I hear, “Tie your shoes,” “Pull those pants up,” “Fix your skirt” and “Tuck in that shirt tail” fairly often, but “say your prayers” was a first and it made me smile, especially when followed up with, “I will Momma, I love you too.” Something in the comment resonated in my mind all day. I kept thinking of my prayer life and how unintentionally, this mother had given me a statement to help define and demonstrate what a Christian life should look like. Jesus told his disciples they should “pray and not lose heart” (Matthew 18:1). Paul told the church in Thessalonica to “Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18) and the church at Colossae to “Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving” (Colossians 4:2). We are familiar with Jesus’ prayer life and maybe even its necessity in ours, but the “tie your shoes” part of the comment coupled with praying is what seemed to catch my attention. Interestingly, shoes and prayer are also mentioned as Paul talked about the “whole armor of God” in Ephesians 6:10-18, reminding me of a phrase I heard or read a long time ago, “Pray as if everything depends on God, but work as if everything depends on you.” When wearing shoes made to be tied, tying them keeps us from tripping over the strings. No parent wants to see their child hurt over something so easily preventable, so we remind them when we see they are untied. Wouldn’t it be awesome if our kids learned prayer was as essential for daily life as tying our shoes! Tying our shoes also keeps us ready for action without fear of them coming off or slipping when we need good footing. James reminds us to pray with expectation, “But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord” (James 1:6-7). We pray often for change, hope and help. On some level tying up our shoes says not only are we willing to walk the walk, doing our part, it says we are confidently expecting the Lord will answer our prayers and we are ready to do his will. It’s kind of like the two farmers who prayed for rain, but only one grabbed his umbrella on the way out the door. I hope you have a great day. Don’t forget to say your prayers – and tie your shoes.

—jeff

November 10, 2024

I open a lot of car doors each morning and with each door I open I am given a small view into the lives of students and how they live. Realizing it is just thirty seconds, I try hard not to make too broad assumptions about what I see, hear and sometimes smell. However, this morning I witnessed something that made me think back to previous mornings with this family and while this morning was not out of character for them, it was over the top and gave me pause. I am making assumptions now about this family based on what I have witnessed. This morning when I opened the door, it was not billowing cigarette smoke, too loud music or a cascade of garbage. What greeted me was what can only be described as raucous, tear-filled laughter! I couldn’t help but laugh as the two boys exited the car holding their stomachs, wiping tears and trying to tell their similarly afflicted mother they loved her, would see her later and have a nice day. I have no idea what they were laughing at, the boys couldn’t explain. As they went through the door clapping one another on the back, I could help but think, that is not normal. It’s not that it shouldn’t be normal, it’s just not normal. As I reflected, on these two, I realized this morning is not much different than other mornings. I recall a few mornings when one of the boys was not happy or even a little mad. I remember when the mother was clearly sticking to her guns and the boys were just as clearly aware of her resoluteness and their indiscretion. Mostly though, as I think about this family, I characterize them as happy. Frankly, I would not be surprised if they were members of the Lord’s church. Jesus told his disciples, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35). They clearly love one another and enjoy one another’s company. It made me wonder, what do others see in the way I live? When others see me, those who are familiar with God’s word, are they reminded of a scripture like John 13:34-35 or maybe the first part of Proverbs 17:22, “A joyful heart is good medicine”? I realize you can’t look at one piece of a puzzle and figure out the picture, but as more pieces are collected, the picture can begin to take shape. I also realize it is easy to fake it and give people a false impression. Strip that away and look into your own heart. Are you generally happy? If not why? Jesus says out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks and is where our intentions lie (Matthew 15:18-19). What’s in your heart?

—jeff

November 3, 2024

Driving down the road year-round you can see the remnants of the Virginia opossum who tried to cross the road last night, so often in fact, we may not even take notice of the fresh, furry road kill. The opossum is a marsupial. There are about 250 species of marsupials. We sometimes think of marsupials as mammals that have pouches, like the opossum or the kangaroo, but many of the species do not sport a fancy pouch for their young. What sets marsupials apart is premature birth and a study of specific marsupial life cycles is eye-opening and amazing. Folklore once taught the opossum was bred through the nose and then the female sneezed the babies into her pouch! There are good reasons for this postulation but erroneous conclusions were drawn from the observations giving rise to these old wives’ tales. However, the truth is none the less just as incredible. A female opossum can give birth to as many as 25 little ones after only 12.5 days of gestation. They are so small, 20 of them could fit into a teaspoon and they are not born inside the pouch but have to make their way from the outside, where they are delivered, to the inside of the pouch where there is not only shelter and warmth but food. They look like tiny two-armed jelly beans and somehow, they must crawl through the fur following a moist path made by their mother’s licking and into the pouch where they attach themselves to the mother by swallowing an elongated nipple. As if the journey from birth canal to pouch wasn’t difficult enough, there are typically only thirteen nipples in the pouch and some of them may not be functional which means not only does the hairless, blind, embryonic looking baby have to get there - to survive, it has to arrive first! Once attached, the babies will stay in the pouch continuing to grow and develop for two and a half months. Their eyes open at 55-70 days and soon it becomes too crowded in the pouch so they move out onto the mother’s back. At three months, they are weaned and by five months they are on their own at an amazingly small 7-9 inches in length. There are those who would have us believe this life cycle and many others were accidental, chance occurrences, the result of evolution and not a creator. Romans 1:20 tells us, “His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature” are clearly visible to those who observe. Job said, “But now ask the beasts, and let them teach you; And the birds of the heavens, and let them tell you. Or speak to the earth, and let it teach you; And let the fish of the sea declare to you. Who among all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this” (Job 12:7-9)? Whether it is in the color changes of fall, the smile of a child or maybe even a squished opossum, I hope you “see” God today and your day is full of joy and the peace that surpasses all understanding.

—jeff

October 27, 2024

I went to get a haircut this morning. I hate the idea of paying for a haircut and years ago I actually didn’t. I cut my own hair. I didn’t and still don’t really care how it looks but one day Pawpaw Dale Laxton told me to come by the barbershop. I told him no I just didn’t want to pay for a haircut. “No offense, Pawpaw, but I just don’t want to waste the time either. I can do it in five minutes at home.” He put his arm around me and said, “Two things, I didn’t say anything about paying and you are in the pulpit more now.” When I asked what that meant, he smiled and said, “It means come by the barber shop and let me take care of you!” So, I did. When Pawpaw couldn’t cut hair anymore, he sent me to Mr. Coy. When I left today, Mr. Coy said, “I love you, Jeff. You be sure and call me if you need me.” I couldn’t help but think, first, my barbers are better than yours. Where else in the world can you go and get your hair cut and leave, maybe not looking better (not necessarily the barber’s fault), but feeling so much better than when you went in. As I drove, I couldn’t help but think - church. Church, meeting with the church, worshipping with the church, fellowshipping with the church is a lot like going to my barber shop. There is joy and peace there. There is camaraderie. There are smiles and laughter and sometimes tears. I always leave lighter, having been trimmed up and squared away, I always feel better. It is a refuge, a place I can love and feel loved. I’m sorry if you don’t feel that way after you leave the barbershop or hair salon, I would recommend Mr. Coy, but he’s not taking new customers. I feel even more sorry for you if you don’t feel that way after church. I’d recommend you come and stick around a minute to give us a chance to meet you and - newcomers are welcome here! I am not suggesting the barber shop is a substitute or model for the church and you can take any comparison too far, but I think there are some things we, as the church, should consider.

Jesus said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another” (John 13:34). So how do people feel when they leave the church? Is this a refuge, a safe place where people genuinely care for each other and those that visit? Furthermore, if we are to be a people of love, what is the result of every encounter we have? We call ourselves Christians, do leave people with a good taste of the love of Christ or big dose of hypocrisy? I’m praying one day Mr. Coy will come to meet my Christian family and see the love that abounds in God’s people.

-Jeff

October 20, 2024

Think for just a moment about what God can do. He can do anything right? I hear it said all the time. In fact, the scriptures even say multiple times, “nothing will be impossible with God” (Luke 1:37). This particular reference in Luke one came as the angel Gabriel visited Mary, the soon to be mother of Jesus, in Nazareth to inform her she would give birth to a son even though she was a virgin and to give credence to his point he said, “And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month” (Luke 1:36). Jesus, himself also said, “With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26) in response to his disciples’ question of “Then who can be saved?” They weren’t just asking who can be saved. On the heels of a conversation with a very wealthy young man who’d kept the laws of Moses faithfully and wanted to know what else he needed to inherit salvation, Jesus responded essentially with give everything you have away and trust me. He couldn’t do it and Jesus’ response prompted the question, if he can’t who can? Even though they had seen many, many miracles showing Jesus’ authority over any and everything you can imagine, they still had to be verbally reminded, “Nothing is impossible with God.” The Old Testament has its scriptures too, beginning with Abraham and Sarah conceiving at almost 100 yeas old (Genesis 18:14ff). Job admits there is nothing too difficult for God in Job 42:2 as do the prophets Jeremiah and Zechariah (Jeremiah 32:17; Zechariah 8:6). Having witnessed in the Scriptures what God can do when we believe and obey, why then do we still have doubts and sometimes even make excuses for God? I wish I could explain why God sometimes answers my prayers with a “no,” but I can’t. I understand my thoughts are not His thoughts, and His ways are not mine and His ways and thoughts are higher than mine (Isaiah 55:8-9). I also wish I could pray without doubt. “Thy will be done” can be what it says, but it can also be uttered to cover a lack of faith. Someone may well say, “Jeff, you have to be realistic in your requests to God.” Oh, I see. Well, what is more real than God? In the beginning of James, he says we must ask in faith without any doubting (James 1:26) if we expect answers. At the end of James, he says the prayers of a righteous man “can accomplish much” (James 5:16). Dare I consider, maybe I am the problem with my prayers? There is another passage in Mark 9 where a father asks Jesus to help if he can. Jesus says, “If I can? All things are possible to him who believes” (Mark 9:23). The father responds, “I believe. Help my unbelief!” Me too, Lord. Me too.

-jeff

October 13, 2024

Sunday at church, a brother asked me if I had ever wondered why God rested on the seventh day. Did he need it? Did the creation of the world take so much out of Him He just had to take a break? If so, then maybe God is not as all powerful as we might think, so no, He certainly didn’t need it, but he did it anyway. Maybe it is because He is not only all powerful, never needing a break from anything, but all knowing and all loving too and, in His omniscience, He knew the height of His creation, though wonderfully marvelous, would not be able to sustain an endless pace of work, work, work. It is also possible that since everything was created by Him and for Him (Colossians 1:16), He knew the fullest appreciation for His creation would only come if He stopped for a moment to observe, admire and enjoy what He’d created.

Whatever His reason, for God’s ways are not man’s ways and His thoughts are higher than man’s (Isaiah 55:8-9), we can be assured He had a very good reason. This morning in the predawn hours, I sat in a rocking chair listening to two baby girls and their sleeping sounds. Wide awake, I had nothing else to do but wait for the first sounds of agitation when a pacifier was momentarily lost so I could slip it back into position and watch them settle back into whatever dreams they were having. As I rocked, listening to the recording of ocean waves coming from the speaker hanging on their crib, it dawned on me, it has been a long time since I had taken just a moment to observe, admire and enjoy what God created for me. Brother TJ’s question came back into my mind and I wonder, was TJ reminding me to enjoy the break and accept that if it wasn’t a waste of time for God, it would not be a waste of time for me either. The Psalmist wrote, “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:8). The NASB says, “Cease striving” with a footnote that says literally “relax.” It is not always an easy thing to stop and look; slow down and enjoy; pause and appreciate. It seems there is always something to be done.

This morning, I encourage you to take a moment and follow the wisdom of the Psalmist, “Come and see what God has done: he is awesome in his deeds toward the children of man” (Psalms 66:5). “Know that the LORD Himself is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name” (Psalms 100:3-4).

-jeff

October 6, 2024

Football season has begun again and while I do enjoy a good football game, I have trouble listening to broadcasters particularly when they use the word “physicality.” It actually is a word that has been around since the late 1500s according to the internet but out of the mouth of an overly dramatic and sensational broadcaster, it sounds totally made up to me. I don’t know which one started it, but now it is next to impossible to listen to a game and not hear the word. This morning though, I want to bring out my own word. It is a real word, apparently used as early as the 13th century and maybe one that can become as common, but less irritating, in our vernacular as the term previously mentioned. My word is “intentionality.” Intentionality has to do with “having an idea” or “the direction of attention in thought.” Just as physicality seems to be more than just being physical, intentionality must also be more than just being intentional. Physicality is not just having the skill set and ability to play the game, it is a way the game is played. It is a mindset, a conviction in how to play and the term is only used to describe elite individuals and teams. Intentionality is more than having intentions. You have probably heard the phrase, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions,” but this phrase is only used as an excuse or when failure is imminent or complete. Intentionality is also a way of life. It is living a plan. No one wakes up in the morning planning to be unsuccessful. For example, we know we should read our Bible every day to become more familiar with God’s word and instruction for those who would follow him. We know there are great reading plans and even supplemental studies to go along with daily readings, but often we fall short of the scheduled reading. We meant to. We intended to, but didn’t. That is not intentionality. Intentionality is the implementation, prioritization and execution of a chosen course or direction in life. Intentionality is taking control of what you can control in life. It is proactive not reactive. Intentionality is disciplined, focused and constant. Here is another example, nobody plans on getting fat, but most of us wait until we are before doing anything about it. Nobody plans on being trapped in sin, but again, it is not until we get caught that we begin to make plans to get out of it and avoid it. When intentionality rules our lives, verses like 1 Peter 1:15-16, “but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, “YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY” and Colossians 3:17, “Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus,” come to mind as do Philippians 2, Ephesians 4:29-32 and many others showing us how to live. Let’s make intentionality not just another catchy word, but a way of life.

-jeff

September 29, 2024

Romans chapter one begins with a rather long salutation wherein Paul, while introducing himself and explaining his purpose in life, uses the phrase in verse 5, “the obedience of faith.” Interestingly the same turn of phrase, “obedience of faith,” appears in the last sentence of his letter to the churches in Rome as well. The reader however may not make this connection unless he reads the entire letter at once or happens to take particular notice of either one of the phrases and does a little research on it! The latter is what happened to me. As I write though, I can’t help but recall, never once did I put down a letter from Jedidiah while he was in basic training until I’d read every last word, often going back through it to make sure I missed nothing and understood everything. I wonder if the churches read Paul’s letters a little at a time, or all the way through at once. Regardless, the phrase “obedience of faith” captured my thoughts and arrested my attention as I read the salutation last night. There are a number of religious people who seem to hang up on “saved by grace” almost implying works, or actions are not necessary, only belief. I suppose their position could be understandable as we read Jesus’ words to the Pharisees and Sadducees whose emphasis had turned more to the letter of the law than to the spirit of the law, often honoring God with their lips, but not their hearts (Matthew 15:8). The concept of grace only may even be plausible if we read only Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” However, such a belief in grace only indicates a total misunderstanding of faith and requires the disregarding of several other scriptures like Ephesians 2:10, Romans 6:1-5, James 2:14-26 and even 1 John 1:5-9. All of these scriptures clearly demonstrate those who believe – do something; from the works we were created for, to walking in light and Paul lays it out simply with the phrase “obedience of faith.” If you believe, you will act. If you believe the parachute will open, you jump out of the plane. If you believe the boat will float, you push off from shore. If you believe you can walk on water, you have no problem getting out of the boat in the middle of the lake. The drag racer believes his car is the fastest so he puts his title on the line. No one with a doubt would do any of those things and yet there are many who profess a faith in God who simply don’t do what he says. They do not obey, prompting him to ask, “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say” (Luke 6:46)? Maybe we all need to ask ourselves, “Do my actions demonstrate what I claim to believe?”

-jeff

September 22, 2024

Harmon Killebrew played 22 seasons in the major leagues for three different teams, mostly with the Minnesota Twins. When he retired, he had 573 home runs, currently twelfth in all time home run stats. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1984. In his induction speech, he recounted a time in his youth when he was playing ball in the front yard with his father and brothers. His mother came out and pointed out how they were tearing up the yard and leaving holes in the lawn. His father replied, “Yes, but we are not raising grass here, we are raising boys.” What a powerful statement about purpose and focus. Furthermore, we need to remember boys grow up to be men, who grow up to be husbands and fathers. They grow up to be leaders in their families, their communities and most importantly in the Lord’s church. It was God’s plan from the beginning that man should shoulder the burden of leadership, not lording over women in a sexist or misogynistic way, but with appreciation, admiration and respect for the “helpmeet” specifically created by God to complete him. Our boys will only grow up to be what we teach them to be, and not through our words, but through the actions that back up our words. They will learn their children are more important than their possessions when we put our boys first in front of our wealth. “For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses his soul” (Mark 8:36), or sons? Our boys will see the worth of and how to treat the women they love when they witness our relationships with our wives, mothers and sisters. “So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself; for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church” (Ephesians 5:28-29). They will learn to talk by listening to our words, be it “filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting,” or “songs hymns and spiritual songs” of thanksgiving, praise and encouragement. Our sons will learn sacrificial service in the church, not by watching other men serve, but by joining us in service to the Lord. As we raise our boys to be men, we should remember our God/god will be their God/god. God told Moses to tell the Israelites, “These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates” (Deuteronomy 6:6-9). It is so easy to get caught up in appearances and the blessings and wealth of this world, we lose sight of eternal goals. So let’s try harder and not worry about the grass.

-jeff

September 15, 2024

Being a grandfather of twin girls who live 4,181.31 miles away, getting a picture of one or both of them randomly throughout the day is pretty awesome. Yesterday’s picture was from their mother. It was a picture of Lucy in the arms of her uniformed father as they walked to the doctor’s office to take another look at her heart. Lucy has SVT. Those three initials mean her heart sometimes beats very, very fast. She is doing great and will hopefully grow out of it but they still have to go see the heart doctor periodically. As I looked at the picture of a father taking care of his daughter, I thought of the scripture in Luke 11, “Now suppose one of you fathers is asked by his son for a fish; he will not give him a snake instead of a fish, will he? Or if he is asked for an egg, he will not give him a scorpion, will he? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him” (Luke 11:11-13)? It made me think of just how far we will go to protect our children and get them what they need. It reminded me of how much our heavenly Father loves us and how far he is willing to carry us to get us what we need. After all, He sent His son to die for us.

We will do whatever is necessary to get our children what they need; physically, educationally, even professionally. We lobby coaches, pay for tutoring and private lessons. We drive countless miles to get them to practices, games and performances … it’s what parents do. We do what it takes to help them succeed, right down to our nightly prayers. Surely, we all pray for our children. But I am also reminded of James 2:15-16, “If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that?” In other words, what real use is the prayer for our children if we fail to read and teach them the word of God, encourage them to be a part the body of Christ and tell them about the place Jesus prepared for us. It is Satan’s plan to trick us into thinking everything in the world must take precedence over talking about God in a purposeful and meaningful way. It is Satan’s plan to make us think it is ok to put God second, third or fourth. We take care of their physical hearts. Let’s make sure we don’t neglect their spiritual hearts too.

 -jeff

September 8, 2024

Maybe you have heard it said, the only thing certain in life is change. Sometimes, things just don’t turn out like we’d hoped. When life throws you a curve ball, what do you do? This is a baseball analogy and there are many who believe the curve ball is nearly impossible to hit because it is curving. From the “nearly impossible” to the “curving,” the belief is filled with misunderstanding. With the exception of when I am pitching, nearly every pitch is “curving” or moving in some way. Mine are flat, fat and go a long way off the bat! A real pitcher uses location and speed as much or more than the movement of the ball. Add to those factors an undecipherable randomness to his pitch selection and a hitter faces a formidable foe. So, when someone asks the question, “What do you do when life throws you a curveball?” The answer depends what kind of hitter you are. To begin with, there is an assumption that the curveball is a surprise. Very often, it is not. Furthermore, if the curveball is poorly thrown, it will likely be hit very hard. Sometimes, even when a curve is very well thrown, a disciplined hitter, will still hit it hard somewhere. A better question might be, “What do you do when you get a pitch you weren’t expecting?” Again though, a coach may ask, “Why weren’t you expecting it?” The best question is this, “What happens when you get fooled on a pitch?” Most likely, getting fooled on the pitch means you didn’t do your job, whatever it may have been; advancing the runner, getting on base, or not making the last out! To be clear, while talking about baseball, we are really talking about life and change. The Bible talks clearly about how we are to “hit” or live our lives. Repeatedly we are told, “Be alert” (1 Corinthians 16:13; 1 Peter 1:13; 5:8). Satan is seeking to distract us and make us look bad. Furthermore, we are to be disciplined, growing and diligent in life (2 Peter 1:5-8, 10). We must learn how to deal with any situation and be content (Philippians 4:11-13), hitting well the pitches we are getting. We can get in trouble when we try doing more than we are able with the circumstance we are given, but will also get in trouble if we simply quit. The Parable of the Talents teaches this principle (Matthew 25:14-30). Finally, we can’t let the last pitch control how we handle the next pitch. A hitter won’t focus on the mistake, he’ll learn from it and step back in the box to hit again. Remember, a .300 hitter will likely make it into the Hall of Fame. A .300 average means he failed 7 out of 10 times. We serve a God who loves us when we are wrong (Romans 5:8), will never leave us because we strike out (Romans 8:38-39) and continually works through our failures as long as we keep swinging the bat (1 John 1:7).

-jeff

September 1, 2024

Congreve rockets were developed in the early 19th century by Sir William Congreve. They can best be described as bottle rockets on steroids. With sticks an inch and a half in diameter and sticks as long as 20 feet, these rockets were tipped with incendiary or anti-personnel warheads. They had the advantage of low recoil and psychologically they were terrifying in battle, exploding overhead loudly sending either flames or shrapnel everywhere. However, they were very inaccurate in distance, direction and timing. Heavily used in the war of 1812 by both the British and the new American military, they are the inspiration for the line “the rockets red glare” in the poem “The Defense of Fort McHenry”. Fort McHenry located in Baltimore harbor was not just the last line of defense for Baltimore, it was very well the last line of defense for the fledgling United State of America. Washington had been burned by the British a month before and Baltimore fell, the loss of two major coastal cities would very likely hand Great Britain the victory. On September 13, 1814, the British began a 24-hour barrage of mortars and rockets upon the fort. As dawn broke on the 14th, it revealed Major George Armistead’s massive thirty by forty-two-foot American flag flying over the unconquered fort, showing to all, that Fort McHenry and the United States, had not fallen through the night and likely, would not fall any time soon. From a boat in the harbor, Francis Scott Key penned the poem, “Say, can you see, by the dawn's early light, what so proudly we hailed, at the twilight's last gleaming? Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight, o'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly, yeah, streaming? And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air, gave proof through the night, that our flag was still there!”

-jeff

August 25, 2024

Romans 12:1-2 is a familiar verse to most, “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” In this verse Paul talks about change. The very nature of conversion is change and 1 Corinthians 6:11 demonstrates this as Paul writes to the church at Corinth telling them in verses nine and ten who won’t inherit the Kingdom of God, saying, “Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.” Ultimately, he says, “You were changed!” But change doesn’t come easy and it is often not because we don’t want to or need to; it just takes more effort to change, than it does to stay the same. Many times, our resistance or inability to change is not even a conscious choice, our brains are simply on autopilot. For instance, the other day I had loaded the truck for a trip to the dump and asked Jennifer if she would like to join me for the ride down. Arriving at the intersection where church is to the left and the dump is straight, I began to make a left. Jennifer said, “I thought we were going to the dump.” We were, but 99 times out of a hundred, when I get to that intersection and my wife is in the truck, we are on the way to church. My brain saved a lot of time and effort by simply executing the turn without my conscious approval or objection. To make the assumption change is as easy as speaking it and won’t be challenged is short sighted to say the least.

In his book Atomic Habits, James Clear outlines how to “change your habits and get 1% better every day.” He teaches readers how to build a habit in four steps. Let’s be honest, building habits is the essence of change. First, make the change obvious, then, make it attractive, make it easy and make it satisfying. The thing is, we cannot force change on anyone. In fact, when we attempt to force change, the result is always damaged relationships and then change/conversion becomes impossible. Conversion has to be self-motivated and desired. When we are attempting to lead others to Christ, or maybe just to more righteous living, understanding change is crucial. Furthermore, what could make the change more obvious than demonstrating the need for Christ in their lives by modeling His presence in ours? This is similar to the old farmer’s saying, “You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink!” Except in truth, how we lead may influence whether or not they drink.

-Jeff

August 18, 2024

Even though I am coaching archery at the high school, I am nowhere near an expert and do not own the equipment to work on stronger, more modern bows. So, after inspecting my nearly 15-year-old bow, I decided it was time for new string and cables. The modern compound bow is nothing like what the Indians in the western movies use. There are specialty add-ons designed to work together with the bow to make even a novice look good. However, my first shot with my new strings was twenty-two inches high! I couldn’t believe it. I began making adjustments to all the add-ons on my “professionally tuned” bow. I lowered, I raised, I twisted and tweaked. I even bent and modified as far as I could and still, I was shooting too high. After stepping back to wipe the sweat and frustration from my face, I notice something rather simple. My nock point was too low. The nock point on a bow is stationary and elementary to shooting. Even the simplest of bows has a nock point. In my shot sequence, it is the second step in a process designed to keep my shots consistent. With the nocking point a full quarter inch low, I am consistent – the problem is, nearly everything else about my bow is off. My form is necessarily changed and bad form unchecked, is injury waiting to happen. If I had just taken a step back, started with the basics and looked at the bow with a knocked arrow, the solution would have been obvious and easy. Instead, I am now hitting bullseyes by compensating with my aim point and shooting form on a bow with modified components. Similarly, this is what happens if and when we approach the Bible with a preset, predetermined or even hoped for result. We can tweak, omit and twist the word of God to say and mean what we want it to say and appear to hit the target dead center every time, but it will never last. I think of those religious people mentioned in Matthew 7:22 after being told they would not enter the kingdom of heaven, arguing their good works and deeds only to find out they’d missed the mark. Like the components of the modern compound bow, the inspired word of God was designed to fit together, not contradict itself. Our God is not a God of confusion (1 Corinthians 14:33), He cannot deny himself (2 Timothy 2:13) and He never lies (Titus 1:2). Therefore, the word he inspired would be the same. Additionally, our Christian lives are to be similarly ordered. There is a pattern in God’s word as to how we are to live. It would be difficult to omit or refuse to change one part of our life and hope by “making up for it” somewhere else things would be ok. Instead of using the word of God to justify, we should be using it to sanctify, first ourselves and then those around us. Let’s resolve together to not hear the words uttered in Matthew 7:23!

-jeff

August 11, 2024

The first day of school is exciting for those who love school. There is always an abundance of fanfare as students and teachers arrive back from the too short summer break. This morning there were almost as many people welcoming students as there were students! There were fire trucks and police officers, aldermen and city councilmen. Everyone was smiling and taking pictures. The returning students knew just what to do as they exited their cars with fist bumps and smiles. Posing for pictures, hugging favorite teachers and talking of the summer’s adventures, they lugged their heavy backpacks full of supplies into school knowing exactly where they were going and what to expect when they got there. There were also the first timers. Their responses were a bit different. There was no familiarity, no one they recognized immediately. They had the same heavy back packs of supplies, but only an inkling of the location of their class- room, where a new teacher and new classmates awaited their arrival. While putting on brave faces, their apprehensions were obvious to those who were paying attention. Unfortunately, most of the “greeters” were oblivious. None were malicious or intentional in their oblivion, their job was to show support. Most were there for the first time; they were there to show support and welcome students. They didn’t know the returning students from the new ones and it was easy to get caught up in the moment. The result, a lot of good people standing around doing good things, but no one paying attention. Don’t get me wrong, it was a great morning and just behind the “dignitary greeters” stood a host of professional teachers and administrators looking for any student who might need the slightest of help, but it got me thinking of church. You know at church we are family. Every Sunday is often like the first day of school as we greet each other warmly (as with a holy kiss) and catch up on the week’s events. We may show pictures of grandbabies, or listen to health update from a family member or friend. We could be swapping stories about opening day at the ball park, the deer stand or even school. There is so much love in the church it easy to get caught up in the moment and miss someone who might need just a little extra attention, a little direction or simply acknowledgement. Let’s be intentionally on the lookout for those who often get over looked. Paul told the Philippians, “Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others” (Philippians 2:1-5).

-jeff

August 4, 2024

A battleship was on maneuvers when the weather turned bad and a heavy fog rolled in. As the ship plodded on, a light was spotted just off the starboard bow. Upon receiving the news, the ship’s captain asked if the light was steady or moving. “Steady” was the answer. Realizing they were on a collision course with the other ship, the captain ordered his lookout to signal the other ship and tell them to change course 20 degrees to avoid disaster. The battleship then received a return message advising they change course instead. A bit perturbed, the captain sent this message: “I am a captain. Change course 20 degrees immediately.” “I am a seaman second class, and you need to change course 20 degrees quickly” was the response. Outraged now, the captain signaled back, “I am in a battleship, seaman! You will change course now!” “Captain,” came the final reply, “I am in a lighthouse. Pilot your ship the way you see fit.” When I read this story I couldn’t help but laugh. How often are we misjudged because those who judge us can’t see all the facts? Whatever the answer, it is most likely equal to or nearly equal to the number of times we make a snap judgement about others. The first verse I thought of was Romans 12:3, “For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.” For the most part, especially among Christians, I’m convinced we do not intentionally look down on others, thereby placing ourselves in an elevated position. Unintentionally though, I think we may very often be guilty. A narcissist is one who thinks of self in an excessive way. While there are several other unflattering characteristics of narcissism, much of our lives in fact center around ourselves, indicating a little bit of narcissistic tendency in each of us. Think about it though before you categorically deny, how often you consider why another person may be acting in the way they act? Why does it upset you so when you perceive someone has done you wrong? Do you ever stop to consider, maybe it’s you who need to change direction and not them? “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others” (Philippians 2:3, 4).

-jeff

July 28, 2024

It was about 1 o’clock in the afternoon, we were waitingon lunch to get ready and Beau looked out the door of the church and said, “Dad, y’all come on, this guy is gonna need our help.” His name was Tony. His car, a Jeep Grand Cherokee, just quit running right in front of the church building. We pushed him out of the busy California Avenue onto the side street beside the church building. After checking a couple things out, he told us it had done this once before, but after it sat for a while, it started right up. Tony said, “I’m just going to let it sit and try again in a little while.” One of the guys said, “Well great! You can come join us in the building for lunch.” He’d already eaten but sat with us through lunch. The boys talked about cars and life and eventually church and why there were so many people at the building on a Friday. When he tried to start the Jeep it fired right up and he left us. Saturday morning about 8:15 as we were eating breakfast, Tony came through the door with two pies from an extremely reputable local pie maker. He said, I just figured you guys might enjoy these and I wanted to say thank you for yesterday. I am taking my family to the beach today, but we will see you tomorrow morning at church. On Sunday morning’s the church at Wahiawa meets at 10 for class and 11 for worship. They then have a fellowship meal followed by an afternoon service at 2. Tony showed up at 9 AM Sunday morning and stayed with us until 1:40. He came back Monday night for the Gospel meeting at 6:30 and hung around talking with us and other members of the church until after 9:00 PM! He is coming back, and trying to bring his wife who cares for her mother in their home. Please pray for Tony as he continues to seek the truth. We start the morning in song, “Lead me to some soul today. Oh teach me Lord just what to say. Friends of mine are lost in sin and cannot find their way. Few there are who seem to care and few there are who pray. Melt my heart and fill my life, give me one soul today.” Many times, that soul is not behind a door we knock, but right out in the open. “Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others” (Philippians 2:4). “Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God” (Hebrews 13:15-16).

-jeff

July 21, 2024

There are only a few stories about Jonathan, the oldest son of King Saul, Israel’s first king. From those stories, the Bible draws a picture of a loyal and devoted friend whose faith in God is a faith we should strive to match. The first time we read of Jonathan is in 1 Samuel 13 when he smote a garrison of Philistines. You may be unfamiliar with the term smote but it means when the battle commenced, Jonathan and his men thoroughly and completely defeated the enemy leaving no doubt who was the more powerful. In southern speak it means, “he whooped ‘em a good un!” The response of the Philistines was to assemble 30,000 chariots, 6,000 horsemen and foot soldiers that numbered like the sands of the seashore to fight Israel. This was the climate in which 1 Samuel 14 begins close to the pass of Michmash with the Israelites on one side and the Philistines on the other. There seems to be a sort of stalemate as neither army wanted to advance on the others position. Tactically, each army held strong positions regardless of numbers. An attacking force would no doubt sustain great losses. Jonathan, maybe bored with waiting, decides to take his armor bearer and head on over and see what trouble he can cause for the Philistines. In 1 Samuel 14:6, he says to his companion, “Come, let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised. It may be that the Lord will work for us, for nothing can hinder the Lord from saving by many or by few.” I am struck by his faith. The NASB says, “The Lord is not restrained to save …” God doesn’t need all Christians everywhere to stand for righteousness and truth (although that would be impressive) in order to be effective. He just needs one. Paul said it like this, “If God is for us, who can be against us” (Romans 8:31). Peer pressure that is ever present and attempts to fit in to societal norms are never ending. Social media bears witness to our need to fit in and be accepted as does our clothing, language and how we prioritize life. God used Jonathan to attack 20 Philistines at the top of a cliff and created a shift in momentum and changed the course of the fight – Israel won decidedly. Israel smote them again because of God. How will your world change if you decide righteousness and God’s word will be your guide and not the world? Don’t forget, “you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).

-jeff

July 14, 2024

Keys in one hand, my Barlow pocket knife in the other, we just waited for certain death or daylight. It was the summer of ’93, Jennifer and I found ourselves somewhere off the Blue Ridge Parkway, newlyweds, lying in a pup tent in the back of an isolated campground. We’d arrived at the campground shortly before dark, hoping to find a spot only to find the campground mostly empty, probably due to the yellow bear warnings posted on nearly every tree and both ends of every picnic table. It was too late to go anywhere else so we picked a spot and made camp. Following the guidelines, we placed all food items inside the single cab truck along with all our luggage before turning in to sleep under the stars – with the bears. It was about midnight when a breeze began to pick up and we could hear distant thunder and see the faint flashes of light from the phenomenon causing the low rumble. Within the hour, breeze became what seemed like hurricane force winds as the trees bowed first one direction, then another. The distant thunder and faint flashes of light were now explosions of blinding light and earsplitting booms as the storm seemed to have chosen the campsite right next to ours to spend the night. I love a good thunderstorm, I always have, but as I lay there staring at the top of our boy scout tent, I couldn’t help but marvel at the way the shadows of bending trees took on every appearance of the  outstretched claws and gaping, sharp toothed mouth of a ram paging bear about to rip our tent to shreds and consume a tasty midnight meal. The quickness and ferocity of the storm, coupled with a total lack of preparedness allowed my mind to run rampant. Uncontrolled fears and negative outcomes from not being able to save my wife from a bear to being crushed by falling trees dominated my thoughts and the interpretations of my senses. While summer storms are somewhat predictable for those paying attention, the storms of life often come upon us with similar speed and ferocity. One minute all is well, the next, the world is coming apart at the seams – and Satan often seizes the opportunity. He uses our perceptions, fears and momentary confusions to sow seeds of doubt, dissension and disparagement; anything to keep us from returning our focus to the cross. He’ll do anything to keep us from going to God who has the power to calm the storm (Mat thew 8:27) and promises a better place to those who per severe to the end (Revelation 2:10). Be focused. Be intentional. Be prepared.

 -jeff

July 7, 2024

In a sense, he was minding his own business as he travelled along with his companions. In many ways, it was just a job and he was good at it. It wasn’t an easy job but it had to be done and he was good because he was passionate about it being done completely and thoroughly. Trained at the highest levels by the best teachers, endorsed by all the right  peo ple, he was convinced the job was necessary. He was positive he was in the right; certain he couldn’t be wrong. How could he be? After all, God was on his side because every thing he did, he did for God. His job was to punish those who spoke out against the truth, blasphemers who claimed things were different now. They claimed the old ways were gone because the Messiah had come. Ludicrous. They had to be silenced, punished – if necessary, killed. They were messing everything up, confusing good people and their following was increasing. Dragging people from their homes and jobs was not for the faint of heart, but it had to be done before more of God’s chosen people were drawn away from the truth. He was in the right. How could he not be? After Jesus spoke to him on the road to Damascus, Saul sat in silent darkness for three days waiting on word from God. For three days, he must have examined his life’s worth. Everything he’d trained for, everything he believed, everything he’d done came unwound. While he thought he was ok, he’d been totally wrong. Oh, he could see it now. He’d studied all this! Yet somehow, he’d listened to the wrong people, the priests – even the high priest all agreed what he was doing was ok and had God’s blessing. But he was wrong and God himself had called him out – by name; placing the blame squarely on his shoulders. Now he was blind, waiting, but God was not done with him. That is good news.

If a man of Saul’s immense training, knowledge, resources and opportunity could be hoodwinked by Satan to damage and persecute the Lord’s church, how easy would it be for Satan to make one of us believe God is pleased with us and our Christian-walk just because we are comfortable in it? I mean hey, none of us are perfect but at least we are not as bad as _______________or like _______________, right? The truth is we will not be compared to other churches or other Christians. We will stand before God on our own merits (John 12:48; Matthew 12:36-37).

Marshall Keeble once said in a sermon, “The Bible teaches us to confess Christ not to profess religion.” This confession comes not just from our mouths but in the actions of our lives. It is not what goes in the body that defiles it, but what comes out, because what comes out comes from the heart (Matthew 15:16-19). One thing is for sure, the next time we see the light Saul saw, no one is going to have a few days to think about it!

 --jeff

June 30, 2024

IBM.com says, “Artificial intelligence, or AI, is technology that enables computers and machines to simulate human intelligence and problem-solving capabilities.” Basically, artificial intelligence is the process of taking vast amounts of information, analyzing it and looking for patterns and data correlations and then using the correlations and patterns to predict an outcome. Artificial Intelligence is the driving force behind self-driving cars (pardon the pun) and allows computers to play games like chess making decisions based on the moves of an opponent. In truth, AI is found in many aspects of our lives today. Siri and Alexa are both examples of AI as well as predictive texting, auto correct and the facial recognition feature that keeps a stranger from accessing your phone. When it comes to basic functions, often times, the computer does it faster, better and with less mistakes. Walmart has figured out, artificial intelligence complains less, rarely shows up late or calls in sick, requires zero health benefits and never asks for a raise! Baseball and other sports will soon have no need for umpires and referees as the computer can instantly call balls and strikes and review every play in mere milliseconds then broadcast the perfect call on the jumbotron for both athletes and fans! There are a myriad of ways AI has changed and can change our lives but there is a scary side too. If you are a fan of spy novels and movies, you have certainly seen what can happen when AI gets to be so advanced it realizes humanity is the weak link and then attempts to save earth and preserve itself by eliminating humankind. One of the biggest problems with AI is bias. Ultimately, bias is a little word for prejudice. Any computer is only as good as the information put into it and the computer works on the assumption the information is true. If the information or data is biased, the interpretation of the data will be too. There is so much more to be said both for and against AI, but for now just ask this question: Is artificial intelligence capable of loving someone? The answer is no. Sure, you could write a program telling a robot to sacrifice itself for its owner, but that would not be its choice unless programmed to do so. Therefore, Jesus’ words in John 15:13, “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends,” could never apply to artificial intelligence. A program could be written to sacrifice self and save the owner, but it would be nothing more than a program. It would never have the driving force of sacrificial love behind it and an owner would never know if the computer was just doing what it was told or if its existence was terminated out of love. So, when someone asks you why wouldn’t an all-powerful, all-knowing and all-loving God create us in such a fashion where we would not sin, you can ask them, “How much do you know about AI?”

--jeff

June 23, 2024

Twenty-seven miles southeast of Searcy, Arkansas, lies Lake Des Arc. With classes done for the day, Perry, Darren and myself borrowed a boat and trolling motor and left campus to finish the summer day catching fish. I do not recall the fish we caught, although I am sure it was few. At first, we welcomed the cooling shadow of the storm to our south and hoped it would pass us by. But it didn’t. It headed straight for the lake. The closer it got, the more violent it became. At 280 acres, Lake Des Arc is not a huge lake, but after running the trolling motor for a couple hours, the truck was right at - still a long way away. We had about half the lake to go when the first sound waves from thunder vibrated the boat. As if on cue, the winds picked up blowing in our face as we reeled in line and hunkered down to reduce wind drag. Hunkering down was not enough because the battery was totally dead. As Perry spoke the obvious, several things happened simultaneously. A flash of light accompanied an ear splitting, boat rattling crash of thunder and two paddles hit the water with enough force to cause a small rooster tail to erupt behind the 14-foot flat bottom boat and throw Perry backward into the boat. Unfortunately, there were no other witnesses to the superhuman feat of oarsmanship we displayed that afternoon. We hit the bank with such force almost half the boat rode onto the bank allowing for an easy and quick disembarkation as we sprinted the last quarter mile to the truck leaving the boat and our gear behind. The storm only lasted twenty minutes or so, but the wind and lightening had been fierce. As small as it is the middle of Lake Des Arc was no place for boaters in a storm!

The Sea of Galilee is 150 times larger than Lake Des Arc and while their boat was likely at least twice as long, twice as wide and many times as heavy, Jesus and His disciples found themselves in a far worse predicament. Their boat was also powered by wind and not at all easily paddled. With its sides likely as high as four feet and waves already filling the boat, their peril was greater - and it was night time. None the less, we’d gained a much newer perspective of and respect for the kind of fear Jesus’ disciples experienced. One more thing. Jesus was not in our boat, but truthfully, I am pretty sure we’d have still paddled hard for shore. The thing is, Jesus tells us not to fear those things that destroy the body, but fear those things that destroy the soul (Matthew 10:28). I’m not saying we must throw caution to the wind, and I don’t think Jesus was either. But we must cultivate a healthier respect for sin and the catastrophic effects it has on our lives. Is Jesus really riding in your boat?

--jeff

June 16, 2024

Remember, he is not the enemy; she is not the enemy; you are not the enemy; I am not the enemy.
Satan is the great deceiver and HE IS THE ENEMY!

“These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”

John 16:33

“But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Romans 8:37-39

--jeff

June 9, 2024

Costumes and disguises share the same purpose, to hide one’s true identity. Costumes, however tend to be rather flamboyant and extravagant, where as a disguise is cleverly made to draw as little attention as possible. While no one may recognize the person in an inflatable dinosaur suit, certainly attention will be drawn their way. On the other hand, a disguise is intended to blend in, never draw attention and basically make it to where one can hide in relatively plain sight simply by not standing out. But to truly make the disguise work, one must become the disguise. Often it is not the lack of disguise or one poorly put together that reveals our true identity, but our own persona; the way we walk or little habits we have we are often not aware of. Jesus said in Matthew 7:15-20, no matter how good the disguise, it would be easy to see folks for who they were by their fruits. Specifically, Jesus was taking about false prophets. People who came claiming divine authority but in the end were only self-serving. Jesus said beware, but you can know who to trust by the what they produce. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22). Essentially, the fruits we bear or show, could be described as the product or result of our presence. While the fruit of the Spirit are often taken for granted rather than taken notice of, on the other hand, their absence is always noticed. Hate, depression, dissention, contrariness, meanness, wickedness, disloyalty and emotional outbursts are all sure to draw negative comments. Fruits NOT of the Spirit are easy to spot, gaining almost immediate and constant attention, raising the angst of nearly everyone around and should call into question the claims of righteousness and Christianity of the purveyors of such bitterness, sourness and rottenness. This is likely why Jesus said in Matthew 7:21, “Not everyone who says to me Lord, Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of the Father in heaven will enter.” So maybe for just a moment we pause to take a look at the “fruit” in our wake. Maybe we stop just a minute and examine the reputation we hold. Certainly, if we can see the fallacy in the lives of others, we can see the short comings in our own lives – if we take an honest look. Answer these questions honestly about your life. By my closest friends, am I considered loving? Am I seen as content, secure and happy? Do I create problems or solve problems? Am I patient? Am I approachable and kind? Most consider themselves to be “good people,” but what do others think of you? Are you a loyal friend? Are you brash and tactless as you tell the truth? Are you prone to outburst? If you answer yes, or even maybe, to any of these, don’t get down and depressed, just fix it. Make your identity what you want it to be.

--jeff

June 2, 2024

I remember someone telling me one time, “The guilty dog barks loudest.” I am not sure who said it first or what the situation was in which it was said, but I have continued to hear it occasionally through the years. I am not sure what the psychology is, but in my observations, I have found the one who talks the most, seems to have the most to hide. Furthermore, the more they talk, the more guilty they appear. Often, if nothing else, they becoming guilty of the accusations they passive aggressively wield. For instance, when one utters the phrase, “Don’t judge me!”; haven’t they already made some assumptions? First of all, they have been judged and secondly, in a negative light. Maybe they are right, and maybe they are totally clueless but one thing is for sure, the more they go on, the more guilty they look as they wade deeper and deeper into assumptions and judgements of their own. At some point they will certainly cry hypocrisy, and yet have become hypocritical themselves. It reminds me of another old phrase I used to hear as I tattled on siblings for getting into the cookies while swallowing one myself, “Well, if that ain’t the pot calling the kettle black.” Let’s face it, it stinks to be accused, especially falsely; been there and received that, but how we handle accusation says a lot about us as Christians. First of all, if you are guilty, well, your busted and you have a couple choices. You can be like David when Nathan outed him for his affair with Bathsheba and subsequent murder of her husband and truly repent (2 Samuel 11-12). You could be like Herod the Tetrarch in John 14, throwing your accusers under the bus and refuse to change or stop embracing your sin. Finally, you could respond like Ananias and Saphira in Acts 5 and simply lie and deny to the bitter end! But what about when you are falsely accused? How does one respond to false accusation? I could give you some personal examples and experiences where my words and actions seemed only to validate my accusers’ claims. The best example of how to respond is that of Jesus. Having tried it my way, I can tell you his approach is better – and proven. When falsely accused, Jesus was silent. Jesus said, “There is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known” (Luke 12:2). In other words, the truth will come out. Accused of blasphemy, he hung on the cross but three days later – the truth came out. Even when they tried to hide it, the truth was obvious. Jesus let his actions speak louder than words. He was not passive aggressive. He was not insulting or disrespectful to his accusers. He just remained faithful and true. Peter encourages with these words, “Keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame” (1 Peter 3:16)

                                                                                         . -jeff

May 26, 2024

In 1837, Hans Christian Anderson penned a story fairytale familiar to most of us as “The Emperor’s New Clothes”. In his story, a couple of shady characters enter the hometown of the emperor and convince him they are master weavers of a cloth that is only seen by those worthy of holding their office. To be sure, it is the finest cloth ever made. To say the emperor loved clothes is an understatement and the only thing he loved more than his wardrobe was to be seen by his subjects showing off his fancy threads. As a result of his vanity, he commissioned the shysters to design him a new outfit out of this most luxurious and exquisite fabric. After extorting copious fees they finally presented the emperor with his new coordinated ensemble which of course was absolutely nothing. Keep in mind, this story only makes sense if you remember how the con artists set the stage for their elaborate ruse; this clothe can only be seen by those worthy of holding their office or title. Hence, everyone who was sent to check on the progress of the suit of clothes and even the emperor himself refused to admit they could not see the clothe for fear of being deemed not worthy of their position. Even as he paraded his naked body in front of his subjects and a young, innocent child whispered, “He’s naked!” the king refused to admit his foolishness and continued to show off his new “attire”. Anderson makes us smile as we visualize the foolishness. No one in their right mind would act so foolishly and yet Satan is the great deceiver and constantly makes similar promises. Starting in the garden with Eve and continuing throughout history. He continually plays on our need to be accepted and our inability to be satisfied with His acceptance and approval. Paul wrote to the church in Ephesus about a set of clothes to protect us from Satan in Ephesians 6. This outfit includes the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, shoes of peace, shield of faith and the helmet of salvation. Like the emperor’s new clothes, these articles are invisible to the naked eye and therefore we can claim to be dressed in the armor of God when in reality no attempt was ever made to even try them on. Despite often extensive means to keep reality hidden, Jesus said to his disciples, “They will know you are my disciples by the way you love one another” (John 13:35). Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil (Ephesians 6:11) and no innocent bystander will be able to say, “Hey look! He’s naked!”

-jeff

May 19, 2024

Last week I was introduced to the poet Douglas Malloch. He was born on May 5, 1877 in Muskegon, Michigan; timber country. Having a way with words, by the time he was 10 he had published his first poem. While growing up in and around the timber industry, eventually becoming known as the lumberman’s poet, he worked delivering papers and after he left school, he worked as a reporter and writer for the Muskegon Chronicle – the very same newspaper he delivered as a boy. Growing up around logging camps, saw mills and lumber yards, he often wrote for trade papers and magazines such as the American Lumberman. He was very much acquainted with the dangerous and often deadly mishaps that occurred in the industry and acutely aware, the industry was drastically changing. Still, Malloch was an incredibly optimistic man. One newspaper described him as the world’s most optimistic man and another said he had the philosophy of sunshine. The poem I was given is entitled, “You Have to Believe in Happiness” and it goes like this: 

You have to believe in happiness

Or happiness never comes.

I know that the bird chirps none the less,

When all that he finds is crumbs.

You have to believe that winds will blow,

Believe in the grass, the days of snow,

Ah, that’s the reason the bird can sing:

On his darkest day he believes in Spring.

You have to believe in happiness,

It isn’t an outward thing;

The Spring never makes the song, I guess,

As much as the song makes the Spring.

Aye, man’s heart could find content,

If it saw the joy on the road it went,

The joy ahead when it had to grieve,

For the joy is there - but you have to believe.

The fact is, happiness is really a choice – especially for the Christian. Paul tells us nothing can separate us from the love of God (Romans 8:38-39) and Jesus told us not to be troubled, he was going to prepare a place and would be coming back to take us there (John 14:6). We are encouraged to remain faithful to the end where a crown of righteousness is waiting (Revelation 2:10) and nothing on earth can take these promises from us. We should be abounding in happiness because of the hope within us. Happiness should spill from every word and every action because, as Christians, we are heirs to the promise (Galatians 3:29). Resolve to focus on the eternal and not the temporary. Choose and believe in happiness letting the word of Christ richly dwell within you (Colossians 3:16).

                                                                                              --jeff

May 12, 2024

Most of you know, I enjoy setting a few traps now and then to catch some of our local fur bearers. While there are specific seasons for trapping, there are some species open for trapping year-round. Beavers, coyotes, striped skunks and raccoons all fall into the year-round category. Almost everything else must be turned loose if they happen to fall victim to one of my sets. All traps fall into two categories, restraining traps and killing traps. Restraining traps hold their quarry until the trapper comes to check his traps. This comes in handy when non-targeted species are caught. The trapper can just let them go, no harm – no foul. Kill traps on the other hand, do exactly what they say. They kill. I have had animals escape my leg holds, one beaver even swam off with a poorly anchored leg hold trap, but kill traps are legit and mostly, perform as advertised. No trap is perfect and all can malfunction causing undue stress, pain and even death to the animals caught in them, but let’s be honest, while being humane is a primary concern, harvesting the animal is the reason traps are set. There are methods of trapping using a wide variety of techniques all designed to entice targeted species or capitalize on habitual behaviors. Just like in real estate, the key to success is location, location, location. Maybe that is why Satan is always moving around, scouting and reading the sign (1 Peter 5:8, Job 1:6); to make his traps more successful and to ensure he is not wasting his time trapping in the wrong space. James, while discussing sin and it’s effects, uses language similar to the terms we use in trapping, “But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed” (James 1:14). I become a better trapper when I know my quarry. If I learn his habits, I can then use them against him taking advantage of the complacency of normality or placing my enticements close to most frequent haunts. Satan is no different. His objective is the souls of man. Even after escaping his traps, we are left marked, maimed or mutilated and he is not concerned with being humane. Knowing we are being targeted by a master trapper give us an advantage in avoiding his snare. A trap works best on the unsuspecting, but we know he is out there. We are told repeatedly to be on alert (Acts 20:29-31, 1 Corinthians 16:13, Colossians 4:2, 1 Thessalonians 5:4-6) and we know Satan to be a liar and skilled deceiver. Furthermore, Job was not considered by Satan because of his righteousness, so let us all strive for holiness and purity, seeking first the kingdom of God and donning the whole armor of God so we may stand firm against the wiles of the devil (Ephesians 6:11).

-jeff

May 5, 2024

The CHS archery team recently qualified nationals in Louisville, Ky. In an effort to raise funds for the trip, we conducted an online t-shirt sales event and many of our followers, supporters and “wanna be” shooters will soon be sporting authentic CHS archery apparel! The thing is, buying the shirt doesn’t make me part of the team and wearing the shirt doesn’t make me an archer. Only shooting arrows will make an archer. The more I shoot the better I will get. One thing I am certain of, only shooting one day a week is better than not shooting at all, but it will be difficult, if not impossible, to become a strong shooter. Everyone understands this concept and would not argue with it until we begin to make spiritual application. Then for some reason, the arguments, excuses and exceptions and justifications begin. Galatians 3:27 says, “For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.” Baptism is not just a T-shirt we wear on Sundays or pull out for special occasions. Jesus warns in Matthew 6 about practicing righteousness before men to be noticed by them (just wearing the T-shirt). Obedience to the Gospel is not something we do; Christianity is something we are – to the very core of our being. Romans 6:4 describes a death, burial and resurrection. Explicitly Romans 6:1-6 says we die to an old way of life to walk in “newness of life.” “How can we die to something and still live in it?” Paul reminds the church on Corinth after listing sinful actions that will keep people out of heaven, “Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God” (1 Corinthians 6:11). The blood of Christ is powerful, cleansing the most heinous lives, but grace, while not earned, is not free either. Anyone can wear the shirt. Anyone. Matthew 7:15 tells us, “Beware of false prophets who come in sheep’s clothing.” They come wearing the shirt! They come looking like everyone else, but they are not serious. Jesus also tells us that while they may fool us for a moment, we will be able to tell who’s who by looking at the fruit of their lives – not just what they do and how they look on Sundays. Maybe you are old enough to remember the souvenir T-shirts of the late 70s and early 80s that read, “My grandma went to ________, and all I got was this lousy T-shirt!” What a sad testament to our faith when our children, our friends and those visitors truly searching for the truth walk away from the Lord saying, “I went to the church for love, healing, change and acceptance but all I got was this lousy T-shirt.” Let’s resolve to put on Christ and never take him off.

-jeff

April 28, 2024

I will never forget passing a formerly huge woman on a trail in the woods. Her personal trainer was a slight Australian with .02% body fat and a heavy accent. Formerly huge, but still large, she was struggling a little over halfway through the course and ready to quit. He was bouncing around her like a little squirrel shouting encouragement and begging her to keep going and not give up. As we ran by, we offered our own words of encouragement and plodded on, their commotion fading behind us. We turned out of the woods and started up a gradual incline to get in line to conquer the next obstacle, Berlin Walls. A hundred or so racers waited for their turn to scale the 8’ vertical walls and as we waited, the Australian and his client emerged from the woods. Seeing the walls, assessing her strength - she quit. The Australian, sensed it too and went silent. Then my friend, Ken Bringle, called her name and shouted she’d come too far to quit now. Pretty soon, everyone in the line was chanting her name and with tears streaming down her face, she and that squirrely Australian walked through the chanting, applauding crowd to the base of the first wall. I am not sure how many people actually put their hands on her to get her over the walls, but a new person touched the ground on the other side resolved to continue and finish. I remember thinking what an awesome example of the Lord’s church. “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near” (Hebrews 10:24-25). Don’t get me wrong, a quitter is going to quit and like an iceberg, there may be a lot more going on than we can see, but no one should ever quit without receiving a barrage of encouragement from the body of Christ to stay the course and continue the race first. While sin separates us from the presence of God (Isaiah 59:2), it does not separate us from the LOVE of God (Romans 5:8, John 3:16, Romans 8:35-39) nor should it separate us from the love of the church. This does not mean we accept unrepentant sinners, but we must still love them and encourage righteousness. Truth be told, big girl had gone far too long without encouragement, too long without someone saying you’ve got to stop eating. Maybe she got huge gradually and no one noticed until it could no longer be ignored. Then again, we are not really talking about fatness. This is about sin. We know where it leads and what it costs (Romans 6:23). As we run with endurance the race before us (Hebrew 12:1), let us keep an eye for those who wander from the truth (James 5:19-20) because while “all who wander are not lost” all who wander from the truth are.

-jeff

April 21, 2024

Fred Phelps died on March 19, 2014. The name may sound familiar because he was the preacher at the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas. While the church was mostly populated by his extended family, they made big waves protesting and demonstrating at various political gatherings and social events in the 1990s and 2000s. While it is true the Bible condemns homosexuality in a number of places in both Testaments, the methods and language used by Phelps and his church to teach this biblical truth were far from Christ-like. In the fall of 2005, the members of Westboro planned a protest at the funeral of Staff Sergeant John Doles of Chelsea, Oklahoma. He was killed in action by an Afghan ambush on September 30, 2005. The “church” group wanted to use this funeral (and others) to spread the message that God was punishing the US for harboring homosexuals and we should not honor the soldiers who died because of their commitment to the country. However, a group of American Legion motorcycle riders caught wind of the “misguided zealot’s” plan and showed up to rev the motors on their motorcycles during the entire protest, shielding the family from the ugly and hateful comments. Thus was the beginning of an organization now known as the Patriot Guard Riders. With the motto, “Standing for those who stood for us,” the PGR has attended thousands of funerals and other events. Last week, six of them showed up at the funeral of Master Sgt Kelly Henson. In the most poignant moment of my month, four older men entered the chapel and stood in formation before the casket saluting. They thanked Uncle Kelly for his service and one of them said, “Rest easy Master Sgt. We have the watch.” Then they quietly left the chapel. Jesus said to Peter upon his confession in Matthew 16:15-16, that He would “build His church and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.” This means the church will stand – with or without us. For those who love the church though, we must ask, “Who is going to take the watch when we leave?” How are we preparing our youth to “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). Are we giving them the tools to “Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong” (1 Corinthians 16:13), ultimately protecting their children and grandchildren from the lies of the Devil. Are we showing by example how to “continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving” (Colossians 4:2). George Jones asked: “Who’s gonna fill their shoes?” I’m asking, “Who will take the watch and continue in truth?”

-jeff

April 14, 2024

“And God said to Noah, “I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Make yourself an ark of gopher wood. Make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch. This is how you are to make it: the length of the ark 300 cubits, its breadth 50 cubits, and its height 30 cubits. Make a roof for the ark, and finish it to a cubit above, and set the door of the ark in its side. Make it with lower, second, and third decks. For behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall die”” (Genesis 6:13-17). I have read the dimensions of the ark a number of times and even when you convert the cubits to feet, 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 high (assuming a cubit was 18 inches, the average length of a man’s forearm), it is hard to imagine the sheer size of the ark and how long it might have taken Noah and his sons to build it until you stand beside it. There is one in the Netherlands, built in 2007, a little shy of the 18-inch cubit and one in Grant County Kentucky completed in 2016 using the 20.4-inch cubit. For the last few days, metaphorically speaking, we have been working “in the shadow of the ark.” I am astounded by what we have found here. Granted I am only looking at a small portion of what is “in the shadow” and some measure of interpretation is required for my conclusions, but even within a few miles of a life size reproduction of Noah’s Ark, there are many, many who have no idea there is a God. There are still thousands upon thousands whose knowledge of God is almost non-existent and their offspring know even less; right here in the “shadow of the ark.” I checked to see how long it took Noah to build the original and while the Bible doesn’t say, many figure somewhere between 50 and 75 years. That’s a long time even for a 500-something year old! Those last few years before the rains came, I am sure there was plenty of talk about the massive structure. In spite of the talk, clearly there was very little belief and no repentance in the shadow of that ark either. Noah couldn’t go out and tell the world, “There is a God! There will be a judgement and it is coming soon! Repent! Change!” Noah was busy building an ark, just as he was commanded. All but eight perished in the flood; the judgement. We live a long time from the first ark and a long way from the replicas, but still we live “in the shadow” of the Bible and its promises. With judgement coming, I ask the question, “What are you building that prevents you from sharing the good news of Jesus Christ?” Nothing? Then who are you telling?

-jeff

April 7, 2024

I heard the term “stay in your lane” the other day. The comment seemed to be passive aggressive and I paused to see what would happen next. I certainly didn’t want to get “out of my lane” and poke my nose in someone else’s business, but from a curiosity standpoint, I wanted to see if my interpretation of the comment was the same as the one the comment was directed to. He was either oblivious, or chose not to respond, but since then, I have done a lot of thinking on a Christian’s responsibility to stay in his or her own lane. Ultimately the term means mind your own business and therefore the metaphoric significance implies a threat. We all know what can happen when a car drifts out of its lane and into another and rarely is the ending positive particularly if the cars happen to be traveling in opposite directions. I found some sermons where preachers used 1 Corinthians 12:8-12, a passage comparing different spiritual gifts to different parts of the body, to encourage members to stay in their own lane. Another used Hebrews 12:1, the passage about setting aside sin and running the “race set before us” saying this meant run in your lane. Frankly, I think they are both wrong. The Bible certainly teaches on a number of occasions against being a busy body and a gossip (1 Thessalonians 5:13, 1 Peter 4:15), but I find much more in the Word encouraging us to travel through life paying attention to everything around us and even venturing out of our lanes for the sake of others and the gospel when necessary. In Luke 10, we see a story of two men too afraid to get out of “their lanes” to help another. In Acts 8 we see Philip running in his lane but getting out of it to get in with the Ethiopian eunuch and teach him from Isaiah resulting in his salvation. Galatians 6:10 admonishes, “So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith.” James 5:19-20 and Galatians 6:1-2 both talk of restoring one to the faith – a difficult task if one is reluctant to leave their lane, or at least merge lanes. It is true, we all have different gifts and abilities, but it is also true we are all headed in the same direction. Because of a great cloud of witnesses having gone before us, we can rely on those who have traveled the road we are currently on. We have a responsibility to tell others about the pitfalls encountered during our travels. We have a responsibility to tell others if their lane ends or leads them in the wrong direction. Ezekiel 33 tells us about the watchman’s responsibility and the consequences of his failure. So, when you think about telling someone to stay in their lane, maybe you should take a moment to check your map – they might just be trying to help.

--jeff

March 31, 2024

We came home the other day to find an older model Ford Explorer parked in the cove and blocking access to our own driveway. No problem, there are two entrances. Later in the afternoon, while cutting grass, I noticed a small gray car, also blocking access to my drive. The one occupant in the car had binoculars and a camera. Enough was enough and I have seen too many abduction movies to let this go on, so I drove over on the mower and asked him if he needed help or a bullet. Just kidding, I only insinuated the bullet. The resulting conversation revealed he was a bird watcher, looking for a Broad-billed Hummingbird previously spotted and photographed in our neighborhood. The range for the Broad-billed Hummingbird is actually in southwest Mexico, so this one was for sure lost. It’s only the second time since birders have been keeping records one has been seen in Tennessee. He stayed until dark and showed up before sunrise the next morning. He skipped work and drove an hour and a half to see this bird. Later, he contacted me to see if it was ok for a friend of his from Nashville to come wait for the little blue hummer with a red bill. Eventually, people from as far away as Chattanooga came, stood in the cold wind and even rain, hoping to see the little lost bird! It sounds crazy for folks to spend so much time and effort on a chance at seeing a rare bird, but it also reminds me of a few scriptures. How far would you go for Jesus? “For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18). Many don’t understand our relentless attendance and adherence to His word. They don’t understand why we “contend earnestly for the faith” (Jude 3). Many will insist we are just rule followers or legalists. To most of the world, the kingdom of heaven is not like the treasure found in a field or the costly pearl discovered in Matthew 13:44 -45. The cross is not a priority and “seek ye first the kingdom of heaven and his righteousness” is figurative not literal. Most live as though they take for  granted they will reside in heaven eternally when they die, regardless of what they seek while they are here. Matthew 7:21 resoundingly defeats this notion, “Not everyone who says to me Lord, Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven.” On the other hand, Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15). If you ever run across a guy standing beside a beat up car with a very expensive set of binoculars, an even more expensive camera and taking notes on waterproof paper – don’t worry. It’s just a birder seeking something precious to him. But also take a moment to recommit to seeking first that which is most precious to you.

                                                                                             -jeff

March 24, 2024

Have you seen Jesus my Lord? He’s here in plain view. Take a look, open your eyes, He’ll show it to you.” Matthew 9:27-30 tells the story of two blind men who came to Jesus to be healed. Jesus asked if they believed He could do this. This question may seem a bit silly to the casual observer. After all, they had cried out to Him for mercy then followed Him inside. And now He asks, “Do you believe I am able to do this?” Comedian Bill Engvall made a lot of money with his response to silly questions, “Here’s your sign.” The blind men simply said “Yes Lord.” As Jesus touched their eyes He said, “According to your faith be it done to you.” Their eyes were opened. The Bible does not tell us how well they could see, but they apparently were pleased, they told everyone. They must have had faith. This brings to mind another question or series of questions. Can you have a little faith? Are there different levels of faith or is having faith like being pregnant, you either have it or you don’t? The blind men could see and one of the first things they saw was Jesus Christ the Son of God. Even when sternly told not to tell they could not keep from it. We claim God is everywhere, in plain view. He’s in the sky, in the trees and plants. He’s in the birth of a child, just open your eyes, you can’t miss Him. While that is our claim do we really see Him? Have we opened our eyes to allow God to reveal to us His will? Have we opened our hearts to accept Jesus? Would the blind men have seen if their faith had been like mine? Matthew 28:19 and Mark 16:15 tell us something different than what Jesus told the blind men. Jesus told them to tell no one. He tells us to tell everyone. The blind men received sight. We receive eternal life. They told everyone, “spreading His fame throughout the land.” Who have we told? Having sight changed these men. How has having sight changed me? Can I have sight; can I see Jesus and not tell the world? No amount of work can get us to heaven for we are saved by grace through faith (Eph 2:8-9), but James 2 tells us faith without works is dead. Have you seen Jesus my Lord? Is He really here in plain view? Have you taken a look? Have you opened your eyes? What has He shown you? Silly questions? Who did you tell?

-Jeff

March 17, 2024

Every once in a while, Laverne Baxter sends me a quote or snippet she read or heard and suggests I write on it. The following article is LB inspired. Why do you come to church? A pole on the question could be quite interesting and I can imagine a myriad of answers. One might legitimately answer, “I don’t really know,” having never pondered the question or pressed for an answer. Others may answer, “Because my parents make me.” This forced behavior may be literal or implied. I am certain through the years parents have grabbed that ear and pulled a child to the building while others can only imagine what a parent or grandparent would do in their grave if they even considered an unexcused absence. Even then the only excuses would include death and … well, death. Otherwise, you should go to church! Some may say they want to avoid going to Hell or simply, they attend because church is what you do on Sundays. It’s a habit. Anything else seems – wrong. Surely some would quote, along with other supporting verses, Hebrews 10:24-25, “Let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.” Attendance is commanded. “I go to church because I love the people,” is a legitimate response. After all, church is family and just like families, imperfections are often overlooked and there is no better family when the storms of life are raging. Of course, if we asked enough people, we’d finally get to the little girl who’d throw up her hands and cock her head at the absurdity of such a silly question declaring, “Well where else would I wear my new Easter dress?” Frankly, the more I think about all the reasons we give for coming to church, the more I think it’s high time we all stopped coming to church. That’s right. It is time we stopped coming to church. We need to start coming to worship. When we look at people’s answers about why they come to church, it’s easy to understand why so many don’t attend. When we ask the question, “Why don’t you come to worship?” the question applies to not only those not in attendance but also those who are. Some will say they can worship God anywhere and in their own way. Not trying to be legalistic or “holier than thou,” Nadab and Abihu tried their own way in Leviticus 10 with disastrous results to their lives. “Well, God knows my heart, who are you to judge?” might well be another answer. Again, you are right. God knows the heart of every man – and woman; like the hearts of Annanias and Saphirra in Acts 5. They lied to man but God knew what was really important to them. I truly hope to see you in worship Sunday morning.                                                     -jeff

March 10, 2024

“Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). Satan admits to God in Job 1 he roams the earth leaving out his primary motive, but God seems to know when he asks him, “Have you considered my servant Job” (Job 1:8). We are told in Genesis 3:1, “Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made.” Until we understand the craftiness of the beasts of the field God made, then we may not understand the depths of Satan’s guile. This week Austin and I set out our first ever beaver traps. The first couple days we caught two turtles but no beaver. Then I made an adjustment only to find the adjusted trap tripped, empty and buried under a couple inches of mud and small sticks. Plan C was better. Austin found a spot that had to be a natural passage and it was. The first night the trap was tripped and had been drug off to the bank where Super Beaver pried whatever was caught out of the trap and escaped. We reset the trap and tied it off this time. Day two – we caught a beaver! The spot was prime and I was sure after busting a hole in their dam and resetting the trap we’d catch another on day three. Austin sent me pictures when he got there. The beavers blocked off the deadly passage. It wasn’t just a few sticks in front of the trap to discourage other beavers to go another way, the way Austin and I placed a few sticks to help guide them to their death. They built a full stick barricade in front of the trap preventing any beaver from accidentally falling victim. To even get to, much less through, the trap now, a beaver would now have to cross over or break through the new obstruction. While isolating the danger, or maybe after the threat was eliminated, they fixed the break in the dam too! All in less than 24 hours. So, when the Bible says, “the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made,” we need to understand he is more than just a little bit clever! We can also learn from the beaver. Romans 15:4 tells us what was written before was written for our instruction, not just so we could see the successes of that “great cloud of witnesses” written about in Hebrews 11, but so we could see the danger in unrighteousness. It took one close call and one death for the beavers to take action to protect the colony. Interestingly, a group of beavers is also called a family. Families protect one another. I am not so worried about physical danger, even though I hate to see anyone suffer pain. I am more concerned with sin and the separation from God it brings (Matthew 10:28; James 1:14-15). Let’s get busy as beavers build a hedge with righteousness around our colony.

                                                                                                          --jeff

March 3, 2024

In 1964, Disney released a film based on the 1934 novel written by PL Travers, Mary Poppins. Never intended to be a children’s book, it took almost a decade for Walt Disney to convince the author to give him the rights. Early in the movie, Bert, the chimney sweep, whimsically musical friend of Poppins, forecasts her arrival singing, “Winds in the east, mist coming in, like somethin' is brewin' and bout to begin. Can't put me finger on what lies in store, but I fear what's to happen all happened before.” The story is one of change and much can be learned from it, but it is not really new. The Greek philosopher, Heraclitus, pointed out the only constant is change and the prophet in Ecclesiastes said many years before Heraclitus, “That which has been is that which will be, and that which has been done is that which will be done. So, there is nothing new under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9).

We have long heard the notion history repeats itself. American playwright, Eugene Oneill once said, “There is no present or future - only the past, happening over and over again - now.” Interestingly, the father of communism, Karl Marx once stated, “History repeats itself, first as a tragedy, second as a farce.” (Maybe some of his followers, the baby communist socialists going for a repeat should take note.) While maybe not able to give credit to the speaker, we are all familiar with George Santayana’s quote, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” While we may never live long enough to see history repeat itself firsthand, a cursory glance at world history confirms each adage. There is one caveat, Jesus. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).

Then entire point of these quotes is to stress the importance of not just knowing the past, but teaching what has happened before in order to keep from “reinventing the wheel,” making the same mistakes over and over. Furthermore, let’s not presume that all change is bad. Growth in knowledge and wisdom should result in change, but as change occurs, we must not lose sight of what is most important. In 1934, Travers, in her novel, was pointing out that many were putting first things second. Look at the context around Hebrews 13:8, the writer says in verse 7, “Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith.” This is because what worked for them will work for us! He continues with an exhortation, “Do not be carried away by varied and strange teachings.” We could also add – or by the moment. Change happens and is inevitable, but praise be to God for his steadfastness and love. Read Psalm 136. Let us hold fast to and teach our children the truth of God’s word and avoid the pain and suffering of those who failed to keep His Word as a lamp to their feet and light to their path (Psalm 119:105).

                                                                                                                 -Jeff

February 25, 2024

There are many natural bridges and arches in the Big South Fork National Park. The Twin Arches found in the southern part of the park, are the Park’s biggest. The south arch is the tallest rising over 130 feet and sits atop a ridge. No doubt left behind by the flood, these two arches are worth the ¾ mile hike to see them. We approached the arches from the bottom trail, and it provides teasing glimpses of the north arch through the trees as you get closer. Incredible, amazing, wondrous and beautiful are all adjectives that are singularly inept at describing the first arch as you come out of the woods. From the bottom of the arches, there are stairs providing easy access to the tops. The south top is the highest and you can see for miles in all directions. Jennifer got to the top first because I was distracted on the way up by something requiring a much closer look. When I finally stepped up to the top, Jennifer was standing on the rocky surface staring out over the park; clear skies above her and a valley full of trees below her. As I approached her from behind and began to take in the magnitude of the view, I thought of Satan taking Jesus to “a very high mountain and showing him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory” in Matthew 4:8, telling Him he could have it all if he would just fall down and worship the devil. I have often wondered why that would be a temptation to the creator of the world. Standing on top of the arch with Jennifer, we saw a lot of what God created but not one single human or dwelling place. It was beautiful. I think what Jesus saw was not all of creation, but the souls of his finest creation. The lie Satan offered was not the material wealth of owning vast quantities of land, but an easy way to get what He left heaven and came to earth for. What Satan offered was the souls of mankind, right then, right there. The first problem with his offer was addressed immediately by Jesus as he quoted from Deuteronomy 6:13, “YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD, AND SERVE HIM ONLY” (Matthew 4:10). The second problem with Satan’s offer is that our souls are not his to give away. We were created with free will and the freedom to “choose this day whom we will serve.” While it sounds like an easy choice to make, Satan rarely presents his choice in terms of God or himself. The choice is always camouflaged, concealed, and deceptively wrapped. It is very often easy to make the wrong choice without even knowing we are choosing. Jesus knows this and warns, “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth” (Matthew 6:24). What will be your choice?                                                                               -jeff

February 18, 2024

A long time ago a friend of mine showed me his three disc set on how to become a successful long range shooter. By long range I mean over 500 yards so to become proficient is really quite a remarkable feat. There are several qualities that are similar in every competent long range shooter. Each one has complete faith in his gun and its abilities. Additionally, each shooter is completely comfortable handling the weapon and has spent hours and hours pulling the trigger in practice. There are similarities in spreading the Gospel. The weapon of choice however is the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God (Ephesians 6:17) not a gun. The video went to great lengths explaining how to set up a gun not only to increase its accuracy but mostly to assure the shooter the gun was capable, in fact perfect. To be successful the shooter had to understand and believe a miss was his fault not the fault of the gun. The word of God is perfect and true. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16). The Word of God lives and abides forever (1 Peter 1:23) and is powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart (Hebrews 4:12). From these verses we can have complete assurance the weapon we hold is sure and trustworthy.

Having the best gun does not make one a shooter only practice can do that. Daily practice is the only way to become a proficient shooter. Constant practice not only increases our abilities but familiarity and success gives us confidence in the weapon of choice. Furthermore, success is dependent on knowing when to shoot and these decisions are only mastered through practice. Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15).

It has been said guns don’t kill people, people kill people. People don’t save people only the Gospel can save – but like a gun it only works if it is used.

 -jeff

February 11, 2024

Legal access to the refuge is two hours before sunrise. So, we sat in a boat on the river in front of the spot we would hunt, waiting on the two-hour mark before setting up for what would hopefully be an epic morning of duck hunting. It was bone chilling cold; -6°F when we put in. Despite the cold, after setting out decoys, putting together and camouflaging our blind, a little sweat was trickling down the center of my back as we put the finishing touches on our spot. We still had seven minutes to go before legal shooting hours. Even thirty minutes before sunrise, it is sometimes difficult to see, but there is something about being on the water that seems to amplify sound in the morning stillness.

If you make the sound of the letter “F” and hold it for a couple seconds, you are mimicking a sound that makes every duck hunter put a hand on his gun. It is the sound of fast flying ducks checking out your spot and if all looked right on the first pass, there will soon be another. There were about thirty ring neck ducks in this bunch and by the time I got my hand on my gun, they were setting up to land in our decoys. The boys were quick to shoot when I called the shot, and birds began to flare and fall. I picked out one on my end, lined up my shot and pulled the trigger. Nothing happened. There was no click. There was no kick. There was nothing. I looked down in dismay as I realized, I hadn’t loaded my gun. Everything else was perfect, but I wasn’t ready.

In Matthew 4:1-2, the Holy Spirit leads Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil and after forty days of fasting, Satan began his attack. Satan came when he thought Jesus was weakest and most vulnerable, but Jesus, the son of God, had spent forty days preparing for the attack. The Bible says He went “to be tempted.” He knew it was coming and he prepared. Paul tells the church in Ephesus, “Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil” (Ephesians 6:11). This is not “just in case” he comes, Satan is coming to deceive and tempt us. How and when he comes may be difficult to pinpoint which is why Paul told the Corinthians to “Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith.” (1 Corinthians 16:13). We have no problem buying insurance, “just in case.” We have no problem installing fire alarms, burglars alarm and cameras, “just in case.” Many of us carry weapons, “just in case.” We don’t leave home or the car without locking up. We are prepared. But what about our souls and the souls of our children? We bring them to church and send them to class but when it comes time to pull the trigger on temptation, have we loaded their “gun?”

                                                                                                                                                                                                    -Jeff

February 4, 2024

He was born on November 18, 1909 to an attorney who owned a very successful real estate business in Savannah, Georgia. He attended the elite all male boarding school, Woodbury Forest in Madison County, Virginia until the housing market crash of 1926 left his father’s business in one million dollars of debt. College no longer an option, he left for New York to pursue acting dreams as his father vowed to repay the million instead of declaring bankruptcy. While acting didn’t work out, singing and song writing became his niche. Getting his first break in 1930, he would go on to write over 1500 songs in four different decades. He would sing with Bing Crosby and the Benny Goodman Band and even host his own radio show. In 1942, with two other men, he founded Capital Records, which in 1946 was responsible for 1/6th of all records sold in America. When Capital Records was sold in 1955, he took $300,000 of his share and paid off the remainder of his father’s debt. His father died fifteen years earlier. He died in 1976 of a brain tumor. It turns out, I have heard and sung along with many of his songs without knowing they were his, but the one having the most impact on my life I actually heard in a freshman orientation class while attending Northwest Mississippi Junior College. Maybe it left a mark because of the ridiculous way our instructor, a fifty- something overly smiley former cheerleader and captain of the pep squad, flitted around and sang along to begin every class. Thinking back, I am reminded now of Proverbs 27:14, “He who blesses his friend with a loud voice early in the morning, it will be reckoned a curse to him.” However, I have found myself humming the tune to Johnny Mercer’s 1944 tune, Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive since the fall of 1987! In a list of
his most famous compositions, this one is not likely to appear. Imagine for a moment these lyrics after having your complete lifestyle and all your plans ripped out from under you, “Gather 'round me, everybody. Gather 'round me while I preach some, feel a sermon coming on here. The topic will be sin and that's what I'm agin'. If you wanna hear my story, then settle back and just sit tight while I start reviewing the attitude of doing right! You gotta ac-cent-tchu-ate the positive, e-lim-i-nate the negative and latch on to the affirmative, don't mess with Mr. In-Between. You got to spread joy up to the maximum, bring gloom down to the minimum. Have faith, or pandemonium liable to walk upon the scene.” I do not know Mercer’s faith, but these words anchored by Proverbs 3:5-6 might just be the key to happiness on earth. “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” I hope you have a great week!

                                                                                                          -jeff

January 28, 2024

Remission is the state of absence of disease activity in patients with known chronic illness. Many of us have experienced the joy of hearing the word “remission” from doctors and almost all of us have prayed to God these words would come to a loved one. We are all familiar with what remission means to cancer patients. While cancer may only live in one, how greatly it affects the friends and family that surround that one. Joy, relief, newness, thanksgiving and hope come with the pronouncement of remission and truly it should be written in all caps with an exclamation point – REMISSION! I can identify with the relief felt when a cancerous remission is pronounced and understand why remission is so highly sought after and prayed for. Sin is a cancer too. Just like the cancers that attack our bodies, some sin easier to overcome and let go of, but the punishment for all sin is death (Romans 6:23). Sin separates us from God (Isaiah 59:1,2) and sin grows in us as our desires move further away from righteousness and, unchecked, sin will kill us (James 1:14:15). Unlike some cancers, all sin is removeable. There is a cure in the blood of Christ. Look at the list of unrighteous, sinful behaviors in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10. A pretty comprehensive list for sure, used to point the finger often, but the real message of the  passage occurs in verse eleven when Paul says, “Such were some of you, but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.” In other words, you are now in REMISSION! You have been made free from those things that were going to kill your soul and doom you to an eternity away from God. Furthermore, there is a way to remain in remission. 1 John 1:7 says, “If we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.” “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16). So, what shall we do? “Repent and be baptized for the remission of sins” (Acts 2:38). Arise to walk in newness of life (Romans 6:4). I’d like to say the cure free, but there is a price and sadly, the price of change, repentance, self-denial, dependence on, and obedience to God is too high for some. Read Heb. 10:18-25. Let us be bold, fully assured and encouraging as we provoke each other to good works and exhort one another to live lives worthy of remission and let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and “let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus” (Hebrews 12:1-2).

                                                                                                                                                                          -jeff

January 21, 2024

Wives are told to submit to their husbands twice in the New Testament, Ephesians 5:22 and Colossians 3:18. True enough the verses could stand alone but to present them singularly represents only a portion of the larger picture. Both of these verses are prefaced with encouragement for the church to take every opportunity to encourage one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. Both of these verses are couched in passages dealing with our Christian walk and how we handle relationships in the church. These verses are not the basis of male/female relationships but are a few verses forming the basis for Christian living. The Christians life must be lived in submission. When it is a choice, submission is the highest form of love. One can be forced into submission and then submission becomes a burden or a task and thusly the foundation of resentment and hatred. While we can be physically forced into submission, we can also be mentally put there too. For instance, if my submission is based on the “law”, in other words I am only doing this because it says so in the Bible, I have missed the spirit of submission. On the other hand if I choose to submit, especially when I can’t be forced, then I can more clearly understand how Christ dying for His bride, the church was not just an act of love but of submission. Submission and its synonyms surrender, give in, knuckle under, concede and are not the easiest words for us to accept especially in a world saying don’t let others take advantage of you and get all you can. In the world, submit and its synonyms are not very “manly” words in terms of the world. Consider for a minute are we to be men and women of the world or men and women of God? Paul says we are to submit to one another out of reverence for Christ (Ephesians 5:21) and he is not talking about just the husband/wife relationship but the relationship we have with our Christian brothers and sisters. Submission, when it is a choice, is the highest form of love because it is releasing what we desire for the wants of another. James says we must submit to God, resist the devil and he will flee from us (James 4:7). Maybe submitting to Him will make submitting to them a little bit easier.

                                                                                        -jeff

January 14, 2024

Surely you have heard the idea or comment about being in the world, but not of the world. This comment has its roots in John 15:19 “If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you.” It is supported by 1 John 2:15-16, “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.” Being in the world we see sin normalized and accepted. We also see and sometimes experience the incredibly bad choices of those who are of the world and not in Christ; choices so bad they can only be explained and understood by knowing the chooser just needs more Jesus – a lot more Jesus. Justify is way too strong a word, but we can accept their mistakes and misjudgments because they didn’t know any better and we cut them a little slack for their ignorance. It’s much more difficult to  understand bad choices when the chooser should know better; when the chooser “grew up in the church” or “in the word.” For these, we have much higher expectations and the rationalization of poor choices is far more difficult. Maybe defining “in the church” and “in the word” might help our understanding. To begin with, the Bible says the church is the body of  Christ (Ephesians 1:22-23) and there is only one body (Ephesians 4:4) so a person growing up in something other than the church defined by God’s word, technically didn’t grow up “in the church,” rather, they grew up around religion and religious people. Since the church is not a building, instead constructed from people (1 Peter 2:5) who are imperfect except for the blood of Christ, it is reasonable someone growing up “in church” might perceive religion to be full of  hypocrisy, lies and unjust justifications. Furthermore, we give far too much weight to growing up “in the church” or “in the word” when those phrases mean only that they attended church on Sundays and Wednesdays. When Moses instructed Israel in Deuteronomy 6:1-9 on how and when to teach their children about God and His words, Moses talked about far more than 3 hours a week! It is easy to point out the flaws in other denominations and their teachings, but if our lives do not match up with the teaching of the Bible, in truth, we are no different. It’s ridiculous to talk on Sunday about the  importance of God, His church and His word only to wait seven days to stress that importance again and expect anyone to believe we are serious. As we begin 2024, let’s get more serious about our claim to be “in the church” and “in His word.”

                                                                                                       -jeff

January 7, 2024

I heard a story once about an orator’s competition. As I recall, at some point in the competition, maybe the final round, an up and coming young speaker, known to be an amazing orator with style and flare, was pitted head to head against an  elderly gentleman with years of speaking experience. The passage selected for them to read was the 23rd Psalm. “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want …” the young man went first and  began his reading with all the pomp and circumstance he and the crowd felt this great and very familiar passage deserved. As he finished, he closed the Bible to great applause, he smiled smugly at his older  opponent as the crowd continued to clap and marvel amongst themselves at the powerful speaking abilities of such a young man. The older gentleman took to the stage and the crowd became silent when he began to recite from memory the passage assigned to them. “The LORD is my Shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no  evil, for You are with me; your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you have anointed my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever” (Psalms 23:1-6). He finished with tears rolling down his cheeks, to near complete silence in the crowd. They too, found themselves on the verge of tears having just heard not a fancy oration designed to motivate and impress listeners, but the brief summation of a faithful man’s life delivered with gratitude out of the depths of his heart. There is a passage at the end of Genesis, beginning in chapter 48 verse 8, when Jacob, now called Israel, gets to see Joseph again and reading it reminded me of this story of the orator’s competition. Being introduced to his grandsons when he never expected to even see his son again must have been an emotional moment for Israel. As he called them forward to be blessed, he began the blessing saying, “The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day” (Genesis 48:15, emphasis mine). Jacob was not a perfect man or father, clearly distracted at times by life’s circumstances, but he knew who to turn to; he knew who to follow when the distractions were removed. God placed man in the Garden of Eden, not the Valley of the Shadow of Death, but He is God in both places and he restores our souls.
Start 2024 with a clean slate, following the Good Shepherd.

                                                                                                            -jeff

December 31, 2023

It was a big responsibility. This was the family business, and it was all his for the next two days and nights. Next week the herd would be moved to pens further down the mountain for shearing and that would be a family affair involving all hands and a few neighbors, but for the next forty-eight hours, it was one shepherd and all these sheep. Sleep would be sporadic and light. Meals would be eaten while on the move and whenever he had a “slow” moment. It was a big job, and it was his job. His father didn’t have to tell him every sheep was important, he already knew. They were his sheep too. The first attack came in the cool darkness just before daybreak. He’d known it was coming. The sheep had grown restless and were “talking” amongst themselves. At first, he waited and watched, focusing his gaze just to the side of where he thought the attacker was stalking his prey, knowing his peripheral vision would pick up the movement quicker in the predawn darkness. When he’d narrowed down the predator’s ambush spot, he quickly and quietly began his own stalk. Calming the

sheep with a low voice and by his presence as he moved through them – toward the danger. The attack was sudden and not exactly what or where he’d expected it, but close. It was loud and terrifying. Stampeding sheep running away, bleating in terror slowed his progress to the scene and the would-be killer noticed his hampered approach. Pausing his attack, the bear raised up to his full height in an attempt to intimidate the young shepherd moving his way. The boy was undaunted. The sheep bleeding at the feet of the bear was his father’s sheep; a sheep he’d been left to care for and protect. David told Saul, “Your servant was tending his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and took a lamb from the flock, I went out after him and attacked him, and rescued it from his mouth; and when he rose up against me, I seized him by his beard and struck him and killed him” (1 Samuel 17:34-35). Clearly, shepherding is not for the fearful and cowardly. When we understand what is entailed in the shepherd’s responsibilities, Paul’s words to the elders at Ephesus in Acts 20:28-31 are much more ominous and we need to pray daily for those whose responsibility it is to watch over the Father’s flock. “Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore, be on the alert …” 

-jeff     

December 24, 2023

Norway is known as the Land of the Midnight Sun. Because most of Norway lies above the Arctic Circle at 66°33’ N, the sun never completely sets below the horizon during the summer. This is due to the tilt of the Earth on its axis. The Earth is tilted at 23.5° as it spins on its journey around the sun. It is this tilt that gives us our seasons. In the northern hemisphere, our summers are when the earth is tilted toward the sun keeping the North Pole completely in the sun for 187 days, from March 18th until September 24th. Interestingly, during the winter, the opposite is true.  There is no sun for the other 178 days in the year. Still, the focus is on the light. Nobody says in their add campaign, “Come to the land where the sun never shines!” Yet for half of the year, there is darkness. The darkness is only tolerable because of the confident knowledge light will one day return. It is no wonder John described Jesus as the light of the world. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it” (John 1:1-4). Jesus himself would say, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life” (John 8:12). As the  church, the body of Christ, Christians, disciples; we are also supposed to light up the world. Jesus said of his disciples in Matthew 5, “You are the light of the world.  A  city  set  on  a  hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is heaven” (Matthew 5:14-16). The very thought of light when in the utter darkness brings hope. When burdened we refer to the light at the end of the tunnel because it means the end of stumbling and bumbling. We have hope in the true Light. We have knowledge of His return. We have a responsibility to shine. Edith Wharton said, “There are two ways of spreading light; to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.” Take your pick, but turn it on. “The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Corinthians 4:4) unless we let it shine.

-jeff     

December 17, 2023

It’s official, the holiday season is upon us! You may not have noticed, but it is Christmas time! Lights are on houses and decorations are in the yard. Best of all, families are getting together to catch up on the past year, enjoy remembering years gone by, and talk about the exciting opportunities of the new year so quickly approaching. I realize this time of year is difficult for some, but I want to write from a glass half full perspective. While I understand this Christmas may not be what each one of us wanted because the last year has not been what we’d hoped it would be, some memories may never bring joy and the light at the end of the tunnel is dim. I also understand Jesus came so that we might have life and have it abundantly (John 10:10), so I choose to focus on the positives of this life and the promise of the next (John 14:2-3). That being said, maybe you haven’t heard, I am a grandpa! You read that right, and Lord willing, in June of next year, I will get to meet and hold BOTH of my grandbabies! Yep! You read that right too! TWINS! I am beyond excited and, speaking honestly, a little scared. The “what ifs” are trying to creep in, but I saw something Sunday at the Tipton County Museum that really helped me refocus. It was a letter home from PVT James Robert Hindman. He was born in Atoka, TN in 1897. On  September 6, 1918, James Robert left home for basic training in South Carolina. Three weeks later, he was on a ship to Brest, France. The ship arrived on October 7, 1918 – the day PVT Hindman died of pneumonia contracted on the trip  cross the Atlantic. On September 28th or 29th, he wrote these words, “They all say we will never be on the firing lines, but if we do, there is only a very few killed. Now, dear ones, if you don’t hear from me in months, don’t be uneasy, as if  anything happens, you will be notified, but I am going in the arms of God, and will be home someday. All I ask is to be in good spirits and not worry, as that will be worse than anything you can do.” At the age of twenty-one, James Robert Hindman, sailing into the unknowns of war in a foreign land, understood worry to be the worst thing to befall his family; worse than his own death. “And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? … Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field …, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! Do not worry then …” (Matthew 6:27-31). Let us take joy in the moment with the hopeful anticipation of the promise of tomorrow.

                                                                                                 -jeff

December 10, 2023

When talking to my archers about sight picture, it becomes very clear, many have no clue as to what I mean. Very simply put, the sight picture is what you see and how you see in relation to your drawn bow or weapon of choice. Surely everyone has heard the phrase, “in the crosshairs.” It is a shooting term dealing with sight picture and the object being focused upon. If you find yourself in the crosshairs, you understand you are a target for someone. On the other hand, understanding sight picture and what you are aiming at, is key in consistent performance. Very quickly, every shooter understands, it is impossible to keep your target and what you aim with in focus at the same time without special optics. If I focus on my sights, my target becomes blurry and if I focus on my target, my sights become blurry. If I am going to hit what I am aiming at, which one do I focus on? I hunt with a scope on my gun, and it is second nature to focus on the target and allow the crosshairs to move in my peripheral vision to the spot I want to hit, but things are different when the rifle has no scope, or

while shooting a pistol or using the sight pins on my bow sight. It is very easy to focus on the sights and not the target and a conscious effort must be made to stay focused on target and let our peripheral vision line up the shot.

Spiritually speaking, the same concept of focus applies. Ask yourself, “What is my spiritual target or goal?” I want to be more Christ-like. Christ then, must be my focus. Necessity demands a study of his life and the scriptures, but at some juncture being like Christ means I must do more than study and apply my knowledge of Him to the life I live. Even then, it is easy to focus more on the service I might provide than the Man I am trying to emulate. Do this test quickly. As you focus on the words of this page, allow your mind, just for a moment to take in what your peripheral vision is seeing. Do you notice how out of focus everything beyond these words is? You can also do this in

your car, but I suggest not while you are driving. Focusing on what is on the windshield causes us to lose sight of what’s most important – where we are going! So, what does the sight picture of your life look like? Is God even your target and what are you lining up on Him to ensure you are correct.

-jeff     

December 3, 2023

Nobody wants to be nothing. At some point we all want to be something. Maybe it was an astronaut or test pilot like Chuck Yeager. Maybe it was a professional athlete or famous musician. For most of us, what we wanted to be changed as we got older. Sometimes the change came because bull rider on the PBR circuit is way cooler than astronaut (and requires a lot less school), but sometimes choices are limited by circumstances. For instance, for me, being a jockey and winning the Triple Crown became impossible six inches and a hundred pounds ago. No matter why we changed what we wanted to be, we still want to be something. More importantly, we are something. Sometimes what we are came by choice and other times, as a consequence of our choices and/or mistakes. So far though, we’ve only talked about what we are in this life, where we are limited by intelligence, physical ability, opportunity and often, the decisions of others. As Christians, though, we have no limits. What we want to be is Christlike and no one or nothing can take that from us. While different, we are all parts of the same body whose head is Christ and we are all expected to grow. This is why Peter says, “in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love” (2 Peter 1:5-7). Peter goes on to say if you have these qualities and they are increasing, you will be neither useless or unfruitful. The implication being that if we don’t have these qualities, we are useless and unfruitful. However, instead of just coming out and saying it, “You’re worthless,” Peter points out those who lack these qualities have simply forgotten how they have been forgiven of their former sins (2 Peter 1:9). In other words, sometimes we spend far too much time thinking about what we are not, what could have been and what the world thinks of us than who we actually are. Furthermore, sometimes we don’t even act proud to be a disciple of the Son of God. The early church must have struggled with this too, because Peter goes on to encourage them, “Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble; for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you” (2 Peter 1:10-11). Like Peter, I encourage you to remember who you are and make an effort to grow in Christ. “I consider it right, as long as I am in this earthly dwelling, to stir you up by way of reminder” (2 Peter 1:13).

                                                                                                                                                                                                       -jeff