Writing in the “Rain”
Thank You, Father, for a good day overall – good services this morning, a good and fulfilling time this afternoon in an annual church business meeting, and a quiet late afternoon with family. Thank You, Father, for the blessing of life.
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Today has been beautiful. We had some rain pass through this morning before we awoke but after that, it was a bit overcast then the sun was so bright that even with my shades and the car’s visors it was blinding. We really couldn’t ask for better weather.
I’ve been here for over an hour trying to write…to no avail. I usually play instrumental music as I sit here – it drowns out conversation or the TV as my family enjoys themselves. (I’m at the dining room table, and they’re in the living room.) It works quite well.
But nothing is coming to mind. I’ve gone down several rabbit holes…and nothing. Even the normal music I listened to seemed to be distracting me, so I looked up “white noise” on Spotify and ended up with a podcast from Relaxing White Noise – it’s almost 8 hours of Forest Rain Sounds.
So, here I sit “in the rain” and in it, I decided to just start writing.
In the Old Testament book of 1 Kings 19, a story is told about the prophet Elijah, a mighty man of God. Right before this passage, God used him to send a very clear message to the rebellious King Ahab of the northern kingdom of Israel and his wicked wife Jezebel. Elijah literally prayed down fire from heaven that consumed a saturated offering – bull, wood, stones, water, and all! (Read 1 Kings 18 – it’s an exciting story!)
So, after this great victory over evil, Elijah crashed. He hid in fear that Jezebel would take him out. He’s in a cave far away (he trekked for 40 days and nights!), hoping to never be found…and he’s feeling sorry for himself.
But the Lord said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
Elijah replied, “I have zealously served the Lord God Almighty. But the people of Israel have broken their covenant with you, torn down your altars, and killed every one of your prophets. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me, too.” vs9b-10
The Lord then directed him to stand before Him on the mountain. There was a great wind that tore rocks from the mountain itself. There was an earthquake then fire, but God was in none of those. Lastly, there was the sound of a gentle whisper.
When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.
And a voice said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” v12c-13
There is more to the story, but as I sit here “in the rain” I can’t help but wonder if God is asking the same of me… “What are you doing here, Thom?” and I’m not exactly sure what to say…it just seems easier to hide my face…
Now I haven’t had any huge “battles” recently but it’s often easy to wonder, what am I doing here? I have served faithfully and often it feels like it’s just not enough. I am still here and feel like I should have gotten somewhere by now. I truly feel that I am where God wants me to be, so why should I worry or fret. God uses me as He will. And I just have to trust Him, as I sit back and let the sounds of rain wash over me.
Lord may Your will be done in me. Amen.
May 1st, 2022, Sun, 7:28 pm
Problem Child? Know the Difference
Through it all, Father, I am grateful…for You. Through all the ups and downs, the laughter and tears, You rejoice with us in our victories and hold us when life lays us low. All love to You the Father of our hearts.
Acts 13:6-12 (<<click here to read the passage)
When you look at others, what do you see? If you were a fly on the wall of my bus…well, if the kids saw you, they’d scream, “Bee!” and panic and I’d have a situation on my hands!
But seriously, if you saw the kids on my bus and they were who they are, what would you see? I’d tell you right up front that many are a handful…if not two handfuls! But would you see them as problems? As disciplinary issues? As failed results of parental mishandling? Would you write them off? Would you just turn and run?
In the mornings I usually end up close to the first-grade hallway entrance which is where most kids enter the building. One thing I’ve noticed is that a lot of kids reach out to the current teacher on “bus” duty every day. Some gesture for high-fives, but many – no, most – of them wrap their arms around them and give them a big hug. They hug them back or pat them on the head, and they stroll off with a big ol’ smile on their face. And this happens over and over again.
This afternoon as one of my last drop-offs was getting ready to step into the stairwell to get off the bus, I said, “Have a good rest of your day, buddy” and he stopped, put his arm over my shoulder, and gave me a big hug. He happens to be a special needs child and I know his homelife…well let’s just say “dysfunctional” wouldn’t even begin to describe it.
I don’t know what you would see in these circumstances, but I see kids starving for love and acceptance. They, as we all do, crave it. At best many of them are ignored but many are neglected. Some are abused – verbally, emotionally, physically. It’s easy for them to respond to kind words and caring gestures eagerly.
In today’s passage, Paul was filled with the Holy Spirit, and he looked the sorcerer in the eye. He saw Bar-Jesus [Elymas] – the sorcerer – for the person he was. He held nothing back when he said in verse 10,
“You [Elymas] who are full of every [kind of] deceit, and every [kind of] fraud, you son of the devil, enemy of everything that is right and good, will you never stop perverting the straight paths of the Lord? AMP
This was a time for confrontation and Paul did what needed done. But I want to make it clear that there is also a time for compassion and understanding.
As outsiders looking in it is so easy to be judgmental, to lump every “problem” child – or adult for that matter – into the same stereotype. The bad thing is many times we know nothing of what brought them to be where they are and who they are.
My Life Application Study Bible spells it out.
There is a time to be nice and a time to confront. Ask God to show you the difference and to give you the courage to do what is right.
Lord Jesus, help us to listen to You for truly only You know the difference and can show us what needs to be done. Amen.
Apr 28th, 2022, Thurs, 8:11 pm
Fight the Good Fight
It was the best day yet, Father! I’m feeling it a bit tonight, but I know Your touch has been upon me! All glory to You, O God!
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A friend of mine commented this morning about how defeated he feels. He had listened to some inspirational music on the way to work this morning, and it lifted him up. But he feels like he is constantly struggling and is often not living up to what God knows he can be and do.
Before he pulled out for his route, I stopped him and in essence said, “You know, we all strive to fight the good fight. We’re not called to stroll the pleasant path. Be encouraged! God is for us! He is wanting us to be victorious! He gave You those songs this morning to lift you up! Keep fighting!”
Part of our predicament is the fact that we are human through and through. We stumble, we fall. But the most important thing is that we don’t stay down. We get back up and go at it again. That’s what God wants of us.
We don’t get to the end of this journey of life by strolling a pleasant path. As we all are well aware, our lives are often a fight from beginning to end. And that’s what Paul was referring to in 2 Timothy 4:7-8,
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful. And now the prize awaits me—the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of his return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to his appearing. NLT
It’s not a cakewalk serving Jesus, it’s a dedicated effort and though we may feel like failures – as I’ve said before – we are more than useless! God doesn’t tower above us and chuckle with glee when we fail. I believe He even sheds a tear on our behalf. He wants us to be victorious. But He also understands that we are frail.
As I write, lines of a hymn come to mind (surprise!) The fourth verse of O Worship the King, written by Robert Grant in 1833, fits perfectly.
Frail children of dust,
and feeble as frail,
In Thee do we trust,
nor find Thee to fail;
Thy mercies how tender,
how firm to the end,
Our Maker, Defender,
Redeemer, and Friend.
Lord Jesus, be with my friend, myself, and all of Your followers. To quote another old song,
No, no, it’s not an easy road.
No, no, it’s not an easy road.
But Jesus walks beside me and brightens the journey,
And lightens every heavy load.
Amen.
Apr 26th, 2022, Tues, 7:20 pm
Ready to Take the First Step
Father, thank You for Your continued touch on me physically. Every day I am feeling better and pray to soon be over it. Praise Your Holy Name for Your daily care and providence!
Acts 13:2-6a (<<click here to read the passage)
One of my fondest memories from my college days was a wonderful opportunity I had to participate in a summer ministry program in my home district of West Virginia.
There is a lot to tell but here’s the short version. My beloved Uncle, Merlin Provance, was a well-respected pastor and leader on the district and was instrumental in helping us get all the pieces and parts we needed. I along with two wonderful young ladies, all three of us children of pastors who served churches on the district, worked the entire summer canvassing door-to-door for churches trying to reach out to their communities, we held children’s services composed of music, puppets, puzzles, and all kinds of things introducing them to Jesus!
It was wonderful working with each other, multiple pastors, fine laypersons from each church, and many respected district leaders. Only God knows how many lives were touched for eternity because my Uncle Merlin took to heart a young man’s dreams and helped bring them to fruition.
I share this experience because I can’t help but think about how Saul (Paul) felt. Here he and Barnabas stood ready to take the first step of what God would use them to accomplish. This would be looked upon as his first missionary journey. Oh, the lives the Lord touched through him! How many millions of people have had their lives changed for eternity because of the many letters (epistles) to churches and people that he impacted along the way! (He is believed to have written 13 of the 27 books of the New Testament!)
And it began with these verses…
One day as these men were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Appoint Barnabas and Saul for the special work to which I have called them.” So after more fasting and prayer, the men laid their hands on them and sent them on their way.
So Barnabas and Saul were sent out by the Holy Spirit. They went down to the seaport of Seleucia and then sailed for the island of Cyprus. There, in the town of Salamis, they went to the Jewish synagogues and preached the word of God. John Mark went with them as their assistant.
Afterward they traveled from town to town across the entire island…
Now if you look at what God has accomplished through my life and the lives of Debbie and Nita, my ministry partners, we can’t hold a candle to Paul, but we each have boldly carried our lights. We have impacted as parents, church leaders, a pastor, a teacher, and all the many things I can’t remember or do not know…but God does. And only eternity will tell what we each have done with the Lord’s blessing in our lives. Each and every one of us – you, too! – have a part to play in God’s big story!
Apr 25th, 2022, Mon, 7:51 pm
Taste and See!
It was a full day from beginning to end, Father. Thank You for being with us through our services, our travels, and our time together as a family. Guide a direct us through all of life’s many ups and downs. Amen.
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Readying for today’s services and even preaching through this sermon three times now, I feel compelled to share my closing illustration.
Joni Eareckson Tada, well author, speaker, and founder of Joni and Friends, an organization “accelerating Christian ministry in the disability community”, shared a very poignant story on her radio program. It was entitled Taste and See (click the title if you would like to listen to it or read the entire transcript).
My friend, Dan Earl, has a most unusual occupation because he is a beekeeper. Recently my beekeeper friend visited my office…presented me with a gift basket of his bee byproducts – creams, candles, and best of all, his top-selling honey…
…I thought about Dan’s bees recently when I came across a quote by Jonathan Edwards. The old Puritan drew a parallel between honey and Psalm 34:8 where it says, “Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.” Now Edwards said that one can conclude that honey is honey because it is golden, has a certain viscosity, and has bits of comb in it. When you pour it, it looks like honey – therefore, it must be honey. But Edwards said there is a superior way to know. Put a drop on your tongue, and you’ll see that knowing honey involves much more than understanding facts about it. To truly know honey is to taste and see that it is sweet and delicious and delightful. There’s nothing quite like it!
I thought it was a really cool insight into understanding this passage!
Joni went in a different direction with her thoughts, but the sermon I preached today dealt with forgiveness. And so my application dealt with our need for God’s forgiveness regarding the sin in our lives.
A major contributor to today’s sermon was Rev. Rodney Buchanan, a United Methodist Church elder who has since found his heavenly home. He touched on three lines of thought concerning forgiveness: Universalism – which holds that when all is said and done everyone will be forgiven, Legalism – which places a lot of emphasis on following the rules so that at least in part, we “earn” the forgiveness we receive from God by following all the rules, and Moralism – which has the idea that at least some of us are pretty good people overall and that God will count that in our favor when He forgives.
All of these concepts are wrong. God doesn’t just excuse sin, it’s impossible to keep all the rules, and God does not grade on a curve!
God’s forgiveness is most definitely free, but we must repent of our sins and ask for His forgiveness, which He readily gives. We can’t pay for it, we’re not good enough to really even deserve it, but, well, let these verses proclaim the truth.
But God clearly shows and proves His own love for us, by the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8 AMP
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9 NIV
So, my friends, our only hope is to live out Psalm 34:8,
“Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.”
Just like honey is best experienced by tasting it, so is the Lord’s goodness to us all! “Taste and see!”
Apr 24th, 2022, Sun, 8:22 pm