Abandoned by God, 21 Day Challenge Day 3

Scripture: Romans 1:24-32

24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another.

Observation: Even if we choose to move away from God, there is still hope that can be found in forgiveness.

Application: Today I took my reading from the 21 day challenge into the Wednesday morning Coffee with the Preacher meeting. I didn’t preview the scripture before I got in the meeting, instead I just decided that we would turn to it and go from there. This was a tough reading and it brought up some of the controversy that is surrounding our United Methodist denomination today.

This scripture talks about people who were corrupt, of whom God had abandoned to their own hearts’ desires. That is the language that is used in the CEB version of the Bible.

24 So God abandoned them to their hearts’ desires,…

I like the NIV wording better because I don’t like to think about God abandoning anyone. I have often said, “You may abandon God but He will never abandon you.” This verse seems to challenge that notion a bit. We all have free will. God has made us to be creatures with our own minds and thoughts and with the ability to make our own choices in life. So yes, God will allow us to go off the deep end and dive into immorality and corruption if that is what we choose to do. We can be like the people that Paul is speaking about when he says in v25 that “they traded God’s truth for a lie.” In doing so we put ourselves in a position where God will leave us to our own desires.

As we talked together today the story of the prodigal son came up. The father in that story did not really abandon the son, I still have a hard time using that word here. The son made decisions and the father allowed him to do what he wanted to do, when he left for the far away land he also left behind the blessings and protection that the father was able to provide. His father never stopped loving him. Like the prodigal son, we can choose to leave God out of our lives, we can do our own thing, we can follow the sinful desires of the flesh if we choose.

What I think we took away from it all is that when the son returned to the father, he was accepted and forgiven. We may leave God behind in our lives, but there is always hope that we will return. I don’t want to think about God abandoning us, I don’t think that’s right, I think we abandon Him sometimes but He never gives up hope for us.

Prayer: Father of all of us,

When we chose to go the wrong way, when we choose to live our lives outside of your will, please keep drawing us back to you. Do not abandon us and allow us to wander on our own, seek us out and save us. Bring us back home.

Love Michael

Yield: I must always keep myself in the house of the Father. I choose each day whether to stay with God, or to go out on my own.

Connections to the Vine

I am very happy to announce the publication of my first book entitled Connections to the Vine.


This is something I have been working on since 2009. It all started here on this blog. This book is a collection of the posts that I’ve made here during the period of Jan 17, 2009- Jan 17, 2010. I was posting daily while doing scripture readings. It is a big book with over 700 pages and offers a year worth of devotions and scripture readings. You can read one a day or as many as you like at your own pace. It is available on Amazon.com for $8.99 as an e-book download Here You do not need to have a Kindle reader in order to read the book, you can get a free download at amazon to read it in. Free Kindle Reader

It is also available in paperback form for those of you who prefer an actual book for $19.95 from Create Space Here

This is a self-published work and has not been professionally edited so I would ask for your kindness if you find a mistake here or there. I have done my best with this first effort. I hope that you will enjoy the book and that it will be a meaningful part of your daily time with God.

Thanks to everyone who has followed this blog and to all my family and friends who have been so supportive of this work.

Love Michael.

 

If God is Your Co-Pilot, move over.

21 Day Challenge Day 2

Scripture: The reading for today is Acts 1:12-26

20 “For,” said Peter, “it is written in the Book of Psalms:

“‘May his place be deserted;
    let there be no one to dwell in it,’

and,

“‘May another take his place of leadership.’

 

Application: It is easy to convince ourselves that what we want is God’s will.

Observation: This is where Matthias is chosen to replace Judas as the twelfth apostle. As I was reading this today the thing that came to mind was a question of whether or not Peter and the others had made the right choice. There were two men that they thought might be worthy of being one of them and they decided the outcome by praying for guidance and then casting lots. It was almost a roll of the dice that determined who would be the new member of their group.

I understand that they wanted to have twelve apostles, that was the number of men Jesus had chosen, and it was also a very significant number to the Jewish people in that it represented the twelve tribes of Israel. The scripture that Peter quoted from is from Psalm 69, a lament of David. There is no mistaking it as a prophetic Psalm as it parallels Jesus’ crucifixion story when it says in v21 “They put gall in my food and gave me vinegar for my thirst.” Peter relates verse 25 to Judas Iscariot and then jumps to Psalm 109:8 and adds “May another take his place of leadership.”

Did Peter and the other apostles convince themselves that what they wanted was God’s will without really being inspired by the Spirit? Jesus had told them to wait in Jerusalem; he hadn’t given them instructions to replace Judas. Also if we look at the rest of the New Testament it seems obvious to me that Christ made the choice himself with making Paul the replacement. We never hear about Matthias any more throughout the rest of the Bible.

I have to admit that I have been guilty of this myself. I have had my own agenda and convinced myself that it was the will of God without having proper confirmation. I think it is easy for us to get the notion that we hear God speaking to us and telling us to do things that we want to do. I don’t condemn Peter and the other apostles for the choice they made, I am sure that they honestly thought they were doing the right thing. Further I am not trying to convince anyone that the made a terrible mistake, it just seems that way to me. At the end of the day, we can only do the best that we can and try to listen with ears to hear what God is saying. I just think that sometimes we need to listen for a little longer than we do.

Prayer: Father,

Help me to refrain from making the wrong decisions and calling them your will. Help me to be prayerful and to have eyes to see and ears to hear when you truly are guiding me.

 

Yield: I surrender my own plans, I submit to God’s guidance.

21 Day Challenge Day 1

Hello everyone,

I am going to start a 21 day scripture reading challenge today and I invite you to join me.  This is a challenge that is being  provided through Youversion.com If you start today and go through 21 days of any reading plan without missing a day you could win an iPad mini.

I chose the

Deeper Into Scripture: A 21-Day Plan

Today’s reading is Mark 1:1-8

Scripture: 1 The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah,the Son of God, 2 as it is written in Isaiah the prophet:

“I will send my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way”—
3“a voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.’ ”
4 And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. 6 John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7 And this was his message: “After me comes the one more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
Observation: As I read through this the second time the thing that really stood out to me was the last part of the prophecy from Isaiah in verse 3, “make straight paths for him.”
Application: Yesterday I accompanied some of our Staff Parish Relations Committee members to a training event at First UMC in Cookeville.  While there we learned that the Bishop is looking to change and improve the way the appointment system works.  During the question and answers part of the training it seemed to me that the majority of the comments that were made were people looking for fuel for their fires.  In other words, I’m going to get an answer here and then take this back to the church and prove my point and say, “That’s what the District Superintendent says!”  I thought Rev. Archer did a fine job answering these questions with grace and sincerity.   I don’t mean to be harsh to those who made the comments, and perhaps I was looking through clouded lenses at the time,  but it seemed as though I could just hear the conversations and complaints and arguments that were truly behind the comments and questions.
As I read this scripture today I heard Isaiah saying, make straight paths for him.  To me that means we all need to be working together for a common goal, we need to lift each other up, we need to support each others ministries.  When it comes to relations between a pastor and their flock, the pastor should be loving the people, even the people who seem difficult to love, and the people should be loving the pastors, even the pastors that seem to be difficult to love.  Anything other than a loving cooperation of pastor and church members is, in my eyes, making crooked paths.  Complaining and mumbling, nitpicking and gossiping can kill a church, it can kill a pastor, it not only makes the path crooked and hard follow, but at times it can put a barricade on the path which has to be torn down before any progress can be made.
I hope that you don’t get the notion that I’m thinking about anyone in particular, or even any specific circumstance.  We all have our individual paths which are filled with unique situations.  My question is, “Are we making straight paths, or are we throwing rocks on the trail?”
Prayer:  Lord,
   Please help me to be always in a spirit of cooperation and grace when doing my work.  Let me serve you with gladness and take away any bitterness or complaining that may arise in my heart.  Grant me the ability to make straight paths for your coming.   Come quickly Lord.
Love Michael
Yield: I surrender my hurt feelings when people do not like me.  I give up my striking back.  I turn it over to you Lord.

God’s Time

The service was almost over, the choir had retired to their seats in the main sanctuary with their family for the final closing prayers of the service. It was a special night, and there was soft music playing and the lights had been dimmed to provide a time of prayer and meditation.  A young man wanders in through the side door of the sanctuary, he must have come in from the back door, he doesn’t know where he is or where he is going.  He doesn’t look around the sanctuary as he steps through the door, but his eyes immediately find the kneeling rail of the altar; he does not realize that he is not alone.  He kneels at the altar and prays and weeps.  The pastor is behind the pulpit, he had been ready to close the service with a benediction and prayer, but now something strange was happening.  This was out of order, out of time, the time for this had come and gone. 

It doesn’t matter to the young man at the altar, he doesn’t know that other people are watching.  The pastor pretends not to notice him and thinks, “Maybe I can just go on like he isn’t there, I’ll close the service and talk to him after.” 

Soon that thought and the possibility of it vanishes, when this scraggly, weeping, praying man walks up into the empty choir seats toward the cross that hangs over the rear wall of the stage.  His eyes are fixed on the cross as he groans and reaches out toward it as if he were a drowning man trying desperately to reach a rope that someone had thrown. 

The pastor doesn’t know how to respond.  The music is still playing as the young man sinks into an empty choir chair.  The pastor sits down in a chair by the pulpit, lost for a proper response to this unorthodox event. 

It is one of the choir members that comes up to speak to the man first.  Sensing that the pastor was at a loss, and at the same time feeling inspired to speak to the man, she goes to him, takes him by the hand and begins to comfort him with words of assurance, with smiles and with compassion.  The tears from the young man stop as he realizes for the first time that he is not alone, but instead there is a whole community of people around him. 

Startled he looks around and tries to gain his composure.  Slowly more choir members make their way up to the choir loft and assume their places, they are gathered around the young man, all putting there hands on his shoulders and smiling.  Welcoming him into a loving community of faith.  The organ music begins to play “Just as I am,” and the choir ministers to the young man in a beautiful embrace of love and song.

When the song is over, the pastor is given the words that he needs to speak now to all.  “How many times have we missed out on the blessing of a lifetime because we said, “Not right now” to God.  We tell God, “it’s not the right place” or “it’s not the right time,”  but God doesn’t go by our time, God doesn’t care about what place we are at in the order of worship or whether or not it’s listed in the bulletin.  This is God’s house, this is God’s time, and this (pointing to the newest member of the flock among the choir) is God’s child.”  

I woke up…   It was a dream I had.  It was a good dream.

Thank you Lord!

Grandma Byrd’s Prayers

This week has been tough, Mary’s grandma Byrd passed away Friday and I was asked to conduct the funeral service.  This wonderful lady of God had left notes and prayers around in her things so that family might find them after she was gone.  I’ve heard several of the family members say that they were going to do the same thing.  And I think it’s a wonderful idea.  Leave notes for your family, and your loved ones will have something personal from you that will be worth more to them than any material wealth you might pass on.

Grandma Byrd basically wrote her own funeral sermon.  I want to share some of the things she left behind.

This was found in her Bible.

Whoever gets this bible when I am gone, I want you to know this bible has traveled a many a Rocky road with me. It’s never let me down. It has been my best friend. I have slept with it. I have cried with it. I have laughed with it. It has helped us through wars. It has helped us through sickness. It has helped when we lost a loved one. It has comforted me and has been there when I needed it. It has grown old and torn with me, but it is still true, just like my love for my children, it will never die. 

Love,

Mom

Also there was a prayer journal – the following are some highlights from 1978 and 1979.

Holy divine Father, I praise your name, I love you Jesus, thank you for the Holy Spirit.  I remember as a child when you called me into the kingdom, thank you so much.  What a wonderful experience I had praying at the rock at the country spring…  Help me and my family because you know the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.

Mary has often told me this story of How Grandma loved to sit at that rock and pray and how she felt so close to God there.  It’s as familiar to me as one of my own memories – I can just see Grandma sitting there.

And Grandma knew that what she was called to do was ultimately to glorify and serve The Lord.  Listen to this…

I thank you that you love me, just a cleaning lady here, but a child of God.  I would ask you for a better job and things but I see a spiritual need. Make a way for me to witness at work.  Bless my husband in a great way and let his boss give him his due compliment.

And you know as we grow up many of us express ourselves by trying to step out of the norm in our appearance, we can get a little rebellious I guess.  I understand this now as I’m a parent of young adults and teens.  Grandma knew that she couldn’t force her children to look a certain way – so she took it to The Lord.

          Dear Jesus… help Mike to work things out at work, help him Lord to get his hair cut…

Grandma’s prayers were most often about her family, she says…

Now Lord as I fly down to see my mother, I thank you because you’ll be with us and I ask you Dear God to look after the grandchildren, touch Marie’s body and spirit…  Thank you so much for the beautiful gift of getting to see my mother and dad.  Thank you for blessing Marie, thank you for my children, husband and everything you have given me.  Bless Mike because he has been so good to us… taking us to church when we didn’t have a way to go. 

Grandma struggled with things that we all do – she was a great cook and as Mary has often told me – and I think this is one of those things she heard Grandma say – “you can’t trust a skinny cook!”  But even these things were part of Grandma’s prayers…

 

Dear God, heavenly Father, I come to you asking you, to be my strength, God give me courage and energy, help me to lose some of this weight!

 

I like that – I’m going to join Grandma in this prayer.   

And look at this…

I know not so many words how I could tell the world.  Oh, how I love Jesus.  How I wish I could lead someone to the Lord. (You’ve done it Grandma) My prayer is, oh Lord, that I may live in a way you could use me that I could be an instrument… not to try to lead you but to let you lead me.  Only then could I be a help to my Lord.  How could I get the lonely and blind to see Jesus?  I am not a pretty person, neither am I rich in worldly goods, but so rich in God’s love.  How wonderful He is!  How could I praise Him enough?

How I log to be just with God.  To go to the place of worship.

I’m so happy that Grandma’s prayers are answered today!

The Birth of the hymn “Precious Lord”

Mom sends me the best forwards.  I am sure I’ve seen this, but it struck me today in a special way.  I hope it will be a blessing to you as well.  Thanks Mom!  LOVE YOU!

Back in 1932, I was a fairly new husband. My wife, Nettie and I were living in a little apartment on Chicago ‘s south side. One hot August afternoon I had to go to St. Louis where I was to be the featured soloist at a large revival meeting. I didn’t want to go; Nettie was in the last month of pregnancy with our first child, but a lot of people were expecting me in St. Louis. I kissed Nettie goodbye, clattered downstairs to our Model A and, in a fresh Lake Michigan breeze, chugged out of Chicago on Route 66.

However, outside the city, I discovered that in my anxiety at leaving, I had forgotten my music case. I wheeled around and headed back.

I found Nettie sleeping peacefully. I hesitated by her bed; something was strongly telling me to stay But eager to get on my way, and not wanting to disturb Nettie, I shrugged off the feeling and quietly slipped out of the room with my music.

The next night, in the steaming St. Louis heat, the crowd called on me to sing again and again. When I finally sat down, a messenger boy ran up with a Western Union Telegram. I ripped open the envelope…. Pasted on the yellow sheet were the words: YOUR WIFE JUST DIED.

People were happily singing and clapping around me, but I could hardly keep from crying out. I rushed to a phone and called home. All I could hear on the other end was “Nettie is dead, Nettie is dead.'”

When I got back, I learned that Nettie had given birth to a boy. I swung between grief and joy. Yet that same night, the baby died. I buried Nettie and our little boy together, in the same casket. Then I fell apart.  For days I closeted myself. I felt that God had done me an injustice. I didn’t want to serve Him anymore or write gospel songs. I just wanted to go back to that jazz world I once knew so well. But then, as I hunched alone in that dark apartment those first sad days, I thought back to the afternoon I went to St. Louis. Something kept telling me to stay with Nettie.  Was that something God? Oh, if I had paid more attention to Him that day, I would have stayed and been with Nettie when she died.

From that moment on I vowed to listen more closely to Him. But still I was lost in grief. Everyone was kind to me, especially one friend. The following Saturday evening he took me up to Maloney’s Poro College , a neighborhood music school. It was quiet; the late evening sun crept through the curtained windows.

I sat down at the piano, and my hands began to browse over the keys. Something happened to me then. I felt at peace. I felt as though I could reach out and touch God. I found myself playing a melody. Once in my head they just seemed to fall into place: ‘Precious Lord, take my hand, lead me on, let me stand, I am tired, I am weak, I am worn, through the storm, through the night, lead me on to the light, take my hand, precious Lord, lead me home.’

The Lord gave me these words and melody, He also healed my spirit. I learned that when we are in our deepest grief, when we feel farthest from God, this is when He is closest, and when we are most open to His restoring power.

And so I go on living for God willingly and joyfully, until that day comes when He will take me and gently lead me home.

– – – -Tommy Dorsey

Dog spelled backwards is God

Gen 1:24 God said, “Let the earth produce every kind of living thing: livestock, crawling things, and wildlife.” And that’s what happened.25 God made every kind of wildlife, every kind of livestock, and every kind of creature that crawls on the ground. God saw how good it was.

God made it all, every animal we come in contact with.  And when he made them, he saw that the were good.  It’s important for us to recognize that.  It’s easy to take our frustrations out on that stray dog or cat that keeps coming up in our driveway and overturning the trash cans.  Throw a rock at it!  Shoo!  Get out of here you *&@#!!  I don’t think that’s how God would want us to act.

One of my oldest friends MB and I were riding around out in the country one day many years ago, he was driving. We were on an old gravel road and he saw a dog walking toward us.  He stopped the truck and called the dog over – gently petted him and then we drove on.  I guess I was looking at him kind of funny when we took off again and he said “I think Jesus would have stopped to pet dogs.”  That has stuck with me for all these years and I totally agree, Jesus would have petted dogs.

A few months ago we had a dog that was hanging around out at the parsonage.  Already having two dogs we certainly did not want another one.  But we noticed over the course of a week or more that this dog wasn’t going anywhere.  Also she was very thin, and very very skiddish.  My wife took a bowl of food outside for her and she ate like there was no tomorrow.  We talked for the next day or two about how we could help this dog and we decided to try to foster her until we could find a home.  So we took her into the family pack and started a Facebook campaign to find a home for her. If you are my friend on FB you may remember the picture.

  We also named her Roxy – she is a really beautiful dog.  Well anyway, to make a long story shorter – as you might imagine we ended up keeping her after having no success at finding an adoptive home for her.  She is about five years old according to the Vet and we think she may have been a stray for most of her life.  We often muse over what all this dog might have been through to make her so scared of people.  But at the same time she really loves attention – even though she is still as nervous as cat on a hot tin roof!

Today as I woke up and got ready for Church Roxy came into me – tail between her legs, looking up at me wanting some attention.  As I was rubbing her head I had to thank God for the opportunity that my family has been given to show kindness to this animal who is one of his good creations.  Last week I said something to my wife about trying to find someone to take her and we ended up just saying.  She’s home.  We don’t know what she’s been through, but at least we can make a difference in the time she has from here on out.

We really ought to think of everyone and everything in that way.  Lets not worry about past – it’s gone.  Lets not dwell on what has happened back when – lets instead move forward and make each others future a little brighter when we can.

Where do you see God today?  Where is He giving you an opportunity to show love and compassion for one of his good creations?

What’s happening?

It’s been far too long since I made a post.  I hope to get back to this blog soon though.  I am in the possess of transition this year to a new appointment near my hometown.  I have been looking at the blog a lot lately though, I’ve put up a new template which I hope everyone likes and today I made a word cloud from the blog – I was happily pleased to see God and People were the most used and largest words.

God is good to us People!  🙂  

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