A Shot Herd Round the World

Life changing events are hard to forget, aren’t they?  I think of life changing events as life’s landmarks. I am old enough now to have had several of these so called landmarks.  I remember my first kiss and that’s all I’m going to say about that. I remember the first time I slept alone, in my own room, that is. I remember the first night I spent away from home in college. I remember asking Carolina to be my wife and it’s been 20years now. I thought I would just throw that in there.  These of course were all life changing events for me personally. 

I wonder have you ever thought about what it is about events that makes one event more important than the other.  Why do we remember some things and forget others?  The ultimate question I’m asking is this, “What is it about certain events that we just can’t seem to get them out of our minds?” And of course the answer to that question is obvious. We tend to remember things that bring about the greatest change in us. Amen.

Ralph Waldo Emerson a famous poet who wrote a hymn honoring the Battle of Lexington and Concord. The name of the poem is “The Concord Hymn.”  The first stanza in the poem reads as follows

By the rude bridge that arched the flood,
Their flag to April’s breeze unfurled,
Here once the embattled farmers stood,
And fired the shot heard round the world.

The 4^th line of the Stanza states that the farmers of Lexington fired the first shot that started the American Revolutionary War.  Now figuratively or literally does not matter.  The facts are that on April 19, 1775 a shot was indeed fired and because of this single shot a war between 13 Colonies and Great Brittan was ignited.  Literally this single event changed the destiny and shape of the World at that time.  Do you think the guy who fired the first musket ever forgot the day he fired that rifle? I think not.

If you’ve followed my writing style you know I’m going somewhere with this.  I love reading and rereading through the scriptures tracking the life of Jesus.  I especially like paying attention to the impact that Jesus had on people who may have met him for the first time.  Literally, each time you read about a person meeting Jesus for the first time, the impact that single event had on them is quite remarkable.  I want to very quickly look at a view of these examples in scripture. 

First let’s look at the centurion guards who stood at the foot of the cross Matt27:54 “Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God.” What did these men, soldiers, see that caused them to admit that this man, who they had just crucified, was indeed the Son of God. The scripture gives us a vivid description of what they saw. I promise you that those guards, who witnessed the sky go black, the earth quaking and shaking, who heard Jesus praying, knew that the events they were witnessing were no ordinary events. I’m absolutely sure that many of the soldiers that day left the scene of the crucifixion forever changed.

Second let’s look at Simon the Cyrene, this is the one lone man who helped Jesus the Messiah carry the cross from The Praetorium to the Hill of Golgotha Matt27:32 “And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name: him they compelled to bear his cross.”  Now to go from the Praetorium to Golgotha’s Hill was no short journey.  I know Jesus was exhausted from the beating he received earlier that day.  Pilate made every effort to beat Jesus bad enough to avoid actually crucifying him.  However, Caiaphas the High Priest and the other leaders only wanted to see Jesus dead.  So imagine this, Jesus has blood all over his body, his cloths are socked through and through with his own blood, yet Jesus made every effort to carry that cross.  Jesus took every step, with as much effort as he could muster up, even though he had the help of Simon the Cyrene.  Simon could see in Jesus eyes that though he appreciated the help of Simon, Jesus wanted to carry that cross.  Do you think that event changed Simon?  I tell you the truth it did. Simon saw the strength of God up close and personal.  Writing about what Simon witnessed moves my heart to a compassion that I can’t completely explain with words.

Third and finally, I want to look at Pilot. Now here is this governor whose wife at this point has been persuaded that Jesus is indeed a just man. I would say chances are that Pilot’s wife has had a conversion experience.  Now, with that being said, Pilot is faced with the crucifying of Jesus, who, if he didn’t crucify Jesus, would destroy any political future that he had left.  The Jewish leaders knew that Pilot was facing political dismissal from the powers that be because of the political upheaval in Jerusalem already.  They knew Pilot was one riot away from losing his power, authority and maybe even his own life.  Then interestingly enough Pilots’ wife shared some things with him, about this Jewish messiah, that I’m sure he could not get out of his mind.  Pilot of course like many of us did not want to go down this very difficult road.  Pilot elected to crucify Jesus though he knew Jesus was innocent. Pilot knew that the Jewish Leaders just wanted Jesus dead in order to preserve their own power.  I want to show you a passage that stands out to me as it relates to Pilot and Jesus: Matt27:11 “And Jesus stood before the governor: and the governor asked him, saying, Art thou the King of the Jews? And Jesus said unto him, Thou sayest.”I believe Pilot is asking this question in all sincerity.  If it’s true that Jesus is indeed King of the Jews, then Pilot knows according to Jewish teachings, that this is indeed prophecy being fulfilled, right before his very eyes.  Pilot is aware of the Jewish teachings. He knows what Herod did when he thought a King was born 30 plus years ago. Pilot is standing face to face with truth and there is no doubt in my mind that he knows the answer to the questions he asks.   

We face a changing world every day and many of the events changing the world I believe are orchestrated by God.  I know God loves each created person who is living or who has ever lived.  Perhaps people like Pilot chose to ignore the God-Change-Moment in their lives.  While others will use the same event as a reason to draw nigh to God.  However, one thing is for sure, when the shot herd round the world was fired back in 1775, the world changed and the people had no choice but to respond to their changing world.  Jesus is changing and preparing this world for his promised return.  My prayer is that maybe, just maybe, the reading of this blog will be the event that God uses to change you.

If It Don’t Kill You It Will Just Make You Stronger

It’s been a while since I have blogged.  I have been doing lots of pondering and bantering in my mind of late which explains why I haven’t shared anything on my blog page.  This exercise of pondering has proven, in most cases, to be a dangerous occupation for me.  Are you familiar with the saying an idle mind is the devils play ground? Well, if you are, then you must know that I certainly am no exception to this draconian rule.

I have been thinking about the many difficulties that ordinary folks face and what I have come to realize is this.  Many times unknowingly folks tend to live in an imaginary protective bubble.   Meaning and certainly I am guilty of this, their personal problem’s are the only thing in life that matter. Often, when I face very difficult times my prayers tend to be primarily self focused. I tend to pray things like, and I’m just being honest here “God take this problem away or make it better just do something. Amen.”  I realize that difficult times have a way of making you think only about ducking and covering. But something I can remember hearing from my parents when I was much younger and I think it’s a truth worth repeating and remembering “if it don’t kill you it will just make you stronger.”

I know I have ADD because I have to mention something here that is relevant but off subject a bit.  The other day I was listening to NPR radio which stands for National Public Radio.  Anyway, there was a segment on about the Lost Boys of Sudan Africa.  The country of Sudan between the years of (1983-2005) was torn by civil war and as civil war goes in that part of the world 27000 young boys along with other members of their family fled on foot and walked barefooted from Sudan to Ethiopia. Many of those fleeing Sudan died along the way.  However, several of these now refugees survived the treacherous journey. Did I say they were mostly traveling bare footed through the ruff terrain of Northern Africa, no shoes…..wow!  The United States granted 3800 of these lost boys citizenship.  The good news is that a large majority of these boys have went on to get advanced degrees and many of them are thriving and living financially independent in a foreign cultural that they knew absolutely nothing about which again validates to some extent what I want you to get from today’s blog, “if it don’t kill you it will just make you stronger.”

OK, let’s see where was I?  I need to give you some bible to help get this truth down into your spirit.  If you got a minute go grab a bible you might want to read more than I’m going to quote here, Phil1-21-23 “For to me to live [is] Christ, and to die [is] gain.22But if I live in the flesh, this [is] the fruit of my labour: yet what I shall choose I wot not.23For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:24Nevertheless to abide in the flesh [is] more needful for you.” I need to give you some background information here that will help you understand the truth we want to communicate here.  Paul is in prison for doing what God called him to do and the blessing he received for his obedience was a Roman prison sentence! Yea, you read correctly a Roman Prison!!  So then, it would seem fair and reasonable for Paul to be angry and to some extent hacked off at God.  After all, Paul was only doing what God called him to do, right?  But, and there’s always a but, let’s try and gain more insight from Paul’s point of view. 

Paul says in verse 21 “for me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” But why does Paul say this? It’s true he is in Jail for following Christ but why is his perspective so, I don’t know, so positive?  The answer to that question is found in verse 20 “According to my earnest expectation and [my] hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but [that] with all boldness, as always, [so] now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether [it be] by life, or by death.” It seems that Paul has learned a deep but very simple truth. He has learned that his life is all about making much of Christ and as long as Christ is being glorified in a trial that he happens to be facing then it is both a good and positive exercise. Now I can’t honestly say that I’ve reached this level of spiritual maturity but one thing is for sure “If it don’t kill you it will just make you stronger.” So I know as long as I have life I still have trials that I will continue to face. However my prayer is that as I suffer God will help me to grow stronger and that my suffering be a result of my boldness of wanting to make much of Jesus. Because I know that he has already made much of me. 

Farther On Up The Road

On a hot summer day my dad was notorious for making all of us kids clean house as if the President of the United States was coming over for dinner. I can remember those days as if they were yesterday. My Dad would raise all the windows in the house and turn on some down home blues. We kids would clean and sing the blues like there was no tomorrow. Those were some good times…really they were, seriously. You younger folks may not know what a record player is but in those days my dad would pull out an LP, throw it on the turn table and we would work while listening to some Bobby Blue Bland. One of my favorite songs that he sang was called “Farther On Up the Road.”

This may be trivial but I’m going to mention it anyway. Bobby Blue Bland’s single “Farther On Up the Road” hit the charts in 1957 and it made number one on the R&B music charts within the first month that it came out. There is a stanza in the song that goes like this, I think this part of the song is the reason why the song was so popular, check it out “You gotta reap just what you sow; that old saying is true.
You gotta reap just what you sow; that old saying is true.
Just like you mistreat someone, someone's gonna mistreat you.” Picture a 10 year old kid with a mop in one hand and a broom in the other singing with all the passion he could muster “someone’s gonna hurt you just like the way you hurt me.”

I’m not sure Bobby Blue knew that he was actually singing scripture but then again being from the south he most likely did. There is a passage in Galatians that communicate these same lyrics that Bobby Blue sang so passionately. Check this out Galatians6:7-8 “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.” Paul is saying in scripture exactly what Bobby was saying in song. You get back exactly what you give out. This biblical principal is often referred to as “the law of sowing and reaping.”

The interesting truth about sowing seed or scattering seed is this you always reap more than what you sowed or planted. Think about that? Imagine plating a row of 10 tomato seeds and only reaping 10 tomatoes. With all the work of tilling the ground and sowing seed you wouldn’t be very motivated to plant tomatoes. Would you? The truth is each individual seed could produce 10 or more tomatoes. So in actuality and I’m not really using science here, just approximating for effect, 10 tomato seeds could yield almost 100 tomatoes or more. So then it’s true you don’t just reap what you sow but you reap more than what you sowed. Now if we apply this truth to our life actions. The law of sowing and reaping can be pretty scary or rewarding depending on what seeds you are planting with your life. Imagine applying this principal to being a friendly person or financially supporting a ministry, spending time with the broken hearted etc the possibilities are endless.

Ok then armed with this truth lets look at the second part of the verse mentioned above Gal6:8 “For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.” So then Paul gives to us the nugget of truth we need to learn from this metaphor of sowing and reaping. Whenever we do something in life we must take action with the proper motivation. Paul says as much here in the passage. If I sow seed with carnal or fleshly desires as my motivation then that action will produce corruption. However the other side of that coin looks a lot better. If I sow to the spirit that is if my actions has at their core godly sincere love as the motivation then I will reap life everlasting. My dad use to say to me when I was much younger “you can fool some people some of the time but you can’t fool God none of the time.” By that he was saying and you have to know my Dad, “son I really don’t know your heart in this thing but God does.”

We are never too old to learn but we are old enough to forget. My prayer is that I will never forget this principle of sowing and reaping. Although sowing good actions are often very difficult and it seems that it takes forever for that crop to come in but when the harvest finally does come it is always awesome. Let me leave you with a quote from Mother Teresa that does a good job of tying up our discussion.

“Its not the magnitude of our actions but the amount of love that is put into them that matters” Mother Teresa

A Man and His Mission

I have been doing a great deal of musing about in my mind over the last few weeks. I have wanted to write about these things but honestly what I have been contemplating may not be suitable for most audiences. So, it’s with a great deal of trepidation that I squeeze out these thoughts that are bouncing around in my head.

On the eve of the King celebration services I decided to take my son age 11 to a service being held at a church here in the Kansas City area. I thought it would be good for my son to hear the sights and sounds surrounding a man who was so mightily used of God. No thinking person can deny that Dr King was a man on a mission and as history has shown us, a person and their mission will often mean death for them. The speeches at the celebration were all impressive. There was a big push for education and fair treatment of all people etc. But I have to be honest I left the celebration services somewhat uninspired or perhaps a better word to describe my feelings would be indifferent.

I have been accused of being a bit unconventional in my thinking, so with that I’ll just say what I’m thinking and pray that what I communicate encourages and motivates you If you’ve taken the time to read this far.

First let me deal with why I was so uninspired at the King celebration before I go any further. I got the sense that the leaders and politicians at the celebration I attended are still ridding the wave that Dr. King rode 40 plus years ago. They were still talking about equality for blacks, fair education for blacks, equality in the work force etc. These are all topics that will have to be discussed as long as you have different people with different back grounds who are attempting to coexist in the same world. So I realize that there has to be a voice in the public sector that reminds all people black, white and yellow that we should be treating one another with fairness, respect and with Godly principals.

So, I’m not saying that the topics discussed were inappropriate or even wrong.

What I am saying is this, folks... Find your own mission!! A mission or purpose that burns inside of you that if an obstacle gets in the way you will face it no matter the cost. You ever get the sense that folks support ideas as long as the idea or cause cost them nothing. I wonder how many people would have attended the King celebration gathering if the KKK was posted up around the community daring them go inside. However Dr. Martin Luther King not only would have gone inside but he would have also organized the meeting to begin with. That’s a man with a mission and also a man who is worth following.

I want to get this truth down in your spirit so let me give you some bible to help jump start your heart. Check out Proverbs29:18 “Where [there is] no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy [is] he.” Ok, so the vision in the text means the same as mission or purpose. When you get a vision from God that means that you have received specific direction from God as to which way you should go. So then if you finish the second half of the passage above, then you can read that a man of God gets his vision or purpose from the oracles of God’s written word. I want to encourage you by saying this if God has given to you a clear word from scripture follow his word at all cost. Even if following God’s word cost you your comfort and yes even if following him cost you your life. Happy is the man who makes a choice to follow God’s vision for his/her life no matter what.

The Blessing of Imperfection

Ok, I have needed to get some stuff of my chest and this is not going to be easy for me but okay here goes. My left foot is slightly larger than my right foot. If you’ve ever noticed my left ankle, there are times I have to put on an extra sock just to keep my foot from sliding inside my shoe. I’m now in the forty and over club and five years ago I went to the doctor and I learned that I have imperfect vision in my right eye. The thing is, I have really good vision in my left eye but in my right eye, let’s just say, I have some major problems. The optometrist informed me that my depth perception should be really horrible considering the degree of differences between each eye. Why mention all of this?

I mention these imperfections because sometimes I get the sense that we expect everyone else to be perfect even though we know full well that we ourselves have so many different imperfections.

I think it’s time for a definition here. To be imperfect means the same as flawed; defective, deficient, damaged, faulty, unsatisfactory. Are you starting to get the picture that we all are insufficient and inadequate in some area or another? Each and every person who has ever walked on this planet is riddled with so many different imperfections. Some of our imperfections are physical and some of our imperfections are imbedded into our character. There is no denying, we are all messed up people.

However, I see these imperfections as a blessing in disguise. I have always been a glass half full kind of guy. Let me explain what I mean by that. Have you ever read the story in scripture where Jesus heals a man who was born blind? Check out John9:1-3 “And as [Jesus] passed by, he saw a man which was blind from [his] birth.2And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?3Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.” The disciples here are like us. They see a man who has a physical imperfection and their knee jerk reaction is to think someone did something wrong.

Jesus sets them straight of course and he tells his disciples that this man blindness happened so that the work of God can be made visible. In other words, this man’s imperfect vision became a blessing for him because he had the chance to experience a super natural healing at the hand of Jesus the Son of God.

However, let’s see how the religious elite viewed Jesus healing of this blind man. Check out John 9:13-14&16 “They brought to the Pharisees him that aforetime was blind.14And it was the sabbath day when Jesus made the clay, and opened his eye…16Therefore said some of the Pharisees, This man is not of God, because he keepeth not the sabbath day. Others said, How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles? And there was a division among them.” Unfortunately, we make the same mistake the Pharisees made this day in regard to the blind man. We become so fixated on the imperfections surrounding the event that we become blinded to the miracles that God is working-out right out in front of us. These men missed the miraculous, healing of the blind man, all because it took place on the sabbath. Is that crazy or what? You look at that and you think they are so silly. But don’t we do the same thing?

A man starts a church and we say he has to go and get a degree in theology first. Never mind the fact that people are being added to the kingdom because of how he is being used. A man commits to the mission field and he is talked about because he puts his family in harms way. Never mind the many lives that may be impacted because of the danger that his family faces each day. A bunch of college students decide to feed the homeless and we accuse them of being less than a church because they are not connected to a church organization. Never mind the fact that the love of Christ is being shared through the willingness of these young people. They are not just talking about doing something but these young people are actually sharing Christ with a willing heart. A man preaches on the corner and we say he’s wasting his time, no one listens that way any more. Never mind the fact that the truth of the Gospel is being shared and God’s word promises that his truth will never return void. A man walks away from everything he owns to serve the Lord and we call that being irresponsible. Never mind the fact that so many lives are being impacted because of a conscience decision to not accumulate stuff but to accumulate experiences.

I thank God for the truth of scripture. Jesus sums up for us the way we should view imperfections inwardly and outwardly at the end of John9:41 “Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.” Jesus is saying here that if we understood that we all have plenty of sin and imperfection to go around. And at the point we understand this truth we will be able to grow and mature as we should. But if we fail to see our own problems and imperfections we will always remain immature and controlled by our sin. Now then go and start thanking God for all those imperfections that he blessed you with because truly there’s a blessing in all of our imperfections.

I Hate Christmas..Love, no I hate, no I love........

I have a love hate relationship with Christmas. I know that I love Christmas time because the entire world practically is celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. I hate it because everybody seems to get so crazy. Another reason I love Christmas is because I love watching Christmas movies. One of my favorite Christmas movies of all time is a movie called How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Ron Howard directs this film and of course Jim Carrey plays the infamous Grinch. I especially like Ron Howard’s portrayal of this Dr Seuss short story because I think Jim Carrey is really funny and he does a really great job of bringing that Grinch character to the big screen. Anyone who has watched Jim Carrey play other roles knows that he is really good at over acting and I guess, at least for me, that is what makes him so funny.

I don’t know if you’ve ever watched this Hollywood blockbuster and if you haven’t, I’m certain that I can’t ruin it for you. I don’t think there’s a person on the planet that hasn’t heard of this short story originally penned by Theodor Seuss Geisel affectionately known as Dr. Seuss. This story is all about a Grinch like character that hates Christmas and oh yea, some tiny little Who people that are obsessed with it. Ordinarily, a person hating Christmas would be completely understandable but if you reside in Whoville hating Christmas doesn’t seem to be an option at all. Now enters onto the scene Cindy Lou Who. Little Cindy Who, the youngest of Who people, set out to do her own investigation to try and find out exactly why the Grinch, who was the only Who in Whoville, hated Christmas? Of course anyone who has seen the movie or read the book knows that not only did little Cindy Lou learn some things about this Grinch character, she also learned a lot more about the true meaning of Christmas. Now that’s a statement that is loaded with peril.

I'm not going to get on a soapbox here and argue that the Christmas holiday was initiated to compete with a pagan winter festival. Honestly, I won't argue this because I don’t think debating this issue really accomplishes a great deal. Many well-meaning Christians will argue that if you put up a Christmas tree or exchange gifts you are in sin because by doing these things you are participating in a pagan religious holiday. However, I think it would be good to take a hint from Cindy Lou Who and perform your own personal investigation. It’s just better to draw your own conclusion as to why you think it’s good or bad for Christians to celebrate Christmas? If you’ve read this far, not going to disappoint you, I’ll just give you a few things that little Cindy Lou Who learned about the Grinch and more importantly what Cindy Lou learned about Christmas.

Cindy Lou discovered that the Grinch hated Christmas because the people of Whoville were more concerned with receiving gifts than giving them. You remember, all the trash that the Who's threw away some how found its way up the mountain into the Grinch’s layer. Their trash, the Grinch would wear it, burn it or use it as a trash ball to throw against Mayor Augustus' larger than life photo. Whatever the case, the Grinch was on to something. If Christmas was about giving why were the people of Whoville so self-absorbed and mainly concerned with receiving?

The Grinch realized that the Who’s joy was superficial and it was based on getting stuff, stuff and more stuff. So with hate as his fuel the Grinch devised a plan. Armed with hate he dressed up as Santa Clause and he decided to steel everything from the Who’s that remotely reminded them of Christmas. Every Christmas tree, every toy, every candy cane...he stole everything.

So what did Cindy Lou and the Grinch learn from all this? I need to give you some truth to drop into your spirit, don’t want you to get lost in this incredible storyJ.

Cindy Lou Who learned that family and friends are the greatest gift of all. The Grinch learned that there is no greater gift than sacrifice. The Grinch was faced with saving Cindy Lou’s life or holding tightly to his hate for the people of Whoville and as we all well know love conquered hate.

The gift of Christmas is not about receiving gifts but about giving them. Jesus came as a gift to the whole world and the Scripture is clear that whoever receives that gift has everlasting life Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin [is] death; but the gift of God [is] eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” I don’t care about Christmas competing with a pagan holiday. That stuff does not matter to me at all. What does matter is that this is a day on just about every calendar in the world where everyone is making much of my Jesus the Son of God. The whole world recognizes the greatest gift the world will ever receive and that Gift is Jesus Christ...Don't you just love Christmas?

We’ve got help…no really we do!!!!

I have spent the last several weeks investigating and teaching about angels and yea fallen angels too, which by definition a demon is considered to be a fallen angel. Personally around Christmas time my interests seem to peek on the subject matter of the celestial kind. This is especially true as I sit and listen to the different accounts of the birth of Christ being read or retold, usually by some little kid reading from a poem that he/she has had to memorize for their Church’s Christmas pageant. My wife will certainly attest to the truth that I have a very vivid imagination. So, with that being said, whenever I read about angels appearing in the scriptures, whether these angels are singing or relaying messages to someone in particular, my imagination just kicks into high gear. Lets look for example at Luke’s account of the birth of Christ.

Dr. Luke, in Luke chapter 2, records that the Shepherds were in the fields watching over their sheep and the Angel of the Lord appeared and announced to them that Jesus the Christ had been born that day in their part of the country. Now when most people read that, they may just think “oh, how nice some sheep herders spoke to some Angles, wow that sounds pretty cool.” Not me man, remember I warned you earlier about this imagination of mine. I picture this huge gigantic man looking person. Bigger than any man that I’ve ever seen before. Who to look upon was a picture of strength and elegance. I also picture that the Angel himself had a brilliance about him self. I mean a glow or glory that just seemed to emanate from his entire body. Kind of like a radiance that is so bright and dazzling that to look upon is almost blinding to the naked eye. I could go on but I think your getting the picture that’s in my mind. And it’s true…I do think in color. While investigating the angelic activity in scripture I realized that Angels play a huge role in helping the people of God finish the work of God while living here on earth.

Let me explain, check this out Heb1:13-14 “But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool?14 Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation? Now at this point we have learned that context, obviously, is the number one rule to help us learn the bible. So, before we break this passage down let me try and give you the context.

Paul, I believe, is writing to the Hebrews of his day. Of course this should be obvious given the title of the epistle or letter itself. It would appear from the beginning of this letter that Paul was writing with the intent to prove to these Hebrews that Jesus was indeed the messiah that they (Hebrews) all were waiting for. Paul, as part of proving the Messiahship of Jesus explained that Jesus, that young man from Galilee, was active and responsible for creating the universe. Paul also goes on to explain that angels worshiped this Jesus, this man from Galilee. This of course should have been an obvious clue or sign for them that this Jesus was no ordinary man. Their own sacred writings clearly stated that only God was to be worshiped, yet all Jews everywhere knew that this baby was worshiped by angels whenever he was born in Bethlehem.

Ok, now armed with that bit of context, Paul says something about angels in verse 14 that I find very interesting. Paul says, “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation” Now, remember the context is about Jesus, his Messiahship and Angels. Now in verse 14 Paul refers to these angels as “ministering spirits.” Paul is letting us know that these celestial messengers are sent forth to also minister for the heirs of salvation. Heirs of Salvation are those folks who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ. So then we need to examine this word minister to fully understand what angels are supposed to do for us, who are the heirs of salvation? Again that is what Angels are sent forth to do. They are sent forth to minister. To minister means to: comfort, to care for, to attend to, to protect and to serve. So then we, that is, those of us who are heirs of salvation, have Super Natural Angelic help to assist us in accomplishing all the purposes of God in our life.

OK, what does this mean? God is very interested in your success. So then as you pray for God’s Holy Spirit to fill and control you, don’t forget to also call on that heavenly host that God has created as a way of providing you the help you need in time of trouble. Now don’t go getting all confused and judgmental on me. I am in no way saying that we should pray to angels because that would be unbiblical. I am saying that your prayers should be for God to give charge over his Angels to come down and help you whenever you need it. It works, friend, it works. Let me tell you what happen to me just this morning.

I was on my way to work. And my car has been running really hot. I don’t have the money to fix it. So I woke up this morning and prayed for God to send his Angels to help keep my car from over heating. I had to get to work on time and didn’t want to be late and my only source of transportation was this car that is constantly overheating. My God came through. As I was driving, the car was starting to really get hot, but about that time I really began to pray specifically for God to send one of his Angels to fix the car and keep it from overheating. Just as I was beginning to pray, the temperature gauge was completely in the red and the car was starting to smell. Wouldn’t you know it, just as I said “Amen?” I watched that gauge with my own eyes, go from red to cool, in a matter of seconds, and I drove that car to work without a single problem. I know this may be hard to believe especially for the skeptical of heart, but it happened. Ask me how I know? I was thereJ.

So never forget this simple truth…you have supernatural Angelic help. God indeed has given to us His Spirit to minister To Us inwardly, but don’t forget, that God has also given us His Angels to minister For Us outwardly.

We are not alone…..

Have you ever felt like someone was watching you? I remember being in high school and there was a song that gained popularity called I always feel like Somebody’s Watching Me written by a group called Rockwell. I personally think that this song gained popularity because so many folks empathize with its lyrics. You may never admit it, but I’m sure there have been times that you were completely alone and knew it and yet you’ve felt the presences of someone else in the room. Well have no fear the bible gives us a biblical explanation for this sort of phenomenon……and here it is…. “We are not alone.”

You have to see this so that you don’t think that I’m making this stuff up. Note Ephesians 6:11-12: 11“Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high [places].”

Now obviously, according to the bible, there are things in this world that we wrestle against, that we simply cannot see with our eyes. This passage does say clearly that our wrestling is not against flesh or blood. By this, the Apostle Paul is saying “Listen folks, your fight is not against people.” Then he drops the bomb of truth on us and, by the way, this is the part of the passage where most folks miss it. Certainly the Devil himself is glad that we miss this simple truth. Our war, or fight, is against Principalities, Powers, and Rulers of Darkness and against spiritual wickedness in high places. I think it’s time for us to take our Greek lesson for the day because we get a lot more understanding whenever we look to the Greek form of the English word being used in the text.

The word “principalities” in the Greek is pronounced “är-khā” it means the same as the first order/rank in a hierarchy of demons or fallen angels. So, then Paul wants the Christian to understand that we are fighting against a sect or group of “Fallen Angels”…literally.

The word “powers” in the Greek is pronounced “eks-ü-sē'-ä.” The word exorcism is also derived from this same Greek word. Paul uses this word because he is communicating that we are warring against a dark power that also has the ability to oppress and or posses the human spirit. Christian’s differ on whether or not a believer can be possessed. That is a different discussion for a different day. However, Paul is definitely communicating that these dark demonic spiritual powers have the ability/power to both possess and oppress the people in this world. That is a fact.

The phrase “rulers of darkness” should be broken down into two parts in order to gain the full meaning of what Paul wants to teach us from the text. Now the word “rulers” in the Greek is pronounced “ko-smo-krä'-tōr.” This word means: Lord of the world or prince of this age. We can find other passages in the bible were Satan is referred to as the Prince and power of the air ref Ephsians2: 2. the word “darkness” is pronounced in the Greek “sko'-tos.” It can be interpreted to mean darkness in the sense of the metaphysical or unseen. If you put these two words together, rulers of darkness, Paul is simply saying that we fight against the ruler of this dark unseen world. So, then we know that the ruler of the dark unseen world is the same as the Devil himself. The other phrase that Paul uses in the text is “spiritual wickedness in high places”. By now we should not need to see the Greek explanation behind this same phrase to understand what Paul is communicating. Paul is clearly conveying to us that we are fighting against wicked powers that exist in another realm. Now remember this world can’t be seen with the naked eye. Paul, however, is letting us know from the text that Satan is the Prince and Power of the air that controls this Dark unseen world. I know some of you who are reading this, may be a skeptic but hang on a minute. I would like to run some quick real life stories down the hallway of your mind to deal with the skepticism of your heart.

What kind of power can take over a man and cause him to believe that it was his duty to eliminate an entire race of people because he felt that the ethnic group of people he represented was superior? Before Adolf Hitler’s blind hatred was finished he convinced the entire country of Germany to assist him in killing over 6 million Jews. Let me cite a quote from this mad man and you judge as to what realm his thinking originated from, “Anyone who sees and paints a sky green and fields blue ought to be sterilized.” Hang on, I’m not finished yet. What power would cause two teens to plan the death of several of their classmates and then turn the weapons on themselves? I’m just getting warmed up. What power will make a grown man go to a window were a young girl is asleep in her bed, snatch her out of her window, take her to a designated location, have intercourse with her and kill her? I got one more story I heard just this week. What power would cause a man to go into another man’s house beat and kill the husband, kill the two teen daughters, rape the wife and then burn the house down? I will tell you of such dark power. The master mind behind all this evil wickedness is the arch enemy of God, Satan himself, that once anointed angel who was perfect in his ways until iniquity was found in him. His crime was that he thought he knew more than God the creator of the universe.

So the next time you think you’re alone just remember that according to that sacred book….. We are never alone. There is indeed another world. This unseen world is involved in a Holy War and what we see in our reality is in truth a manifestation of a reality that we cannot see. So, the next time that child rebel: that husband or wife steps out, that friend gives you the cold shoulder for no apparent reason or that loved would refuses to offer up forgiveness. Just remember this simple truth your fight is never against people. Our fight is against a foe whose greatest weapon is to keep us thinking and behaving as if he does not exist. The truth is if you are part of God's family you have overcome that wicked one. He may be at present winning the battle in your life but according to scripture the war is already won.

Real Joy Isn’t Always Contagious

Have you ever wished that finding and experiencing joy was as easy as baking chocolate chip cookies? I mean, it’s the "Holiday Season." It comes around once a year and…everyone should be joyful and full of holiday cheer, right? I mean, this is the time of year that families are reconnecting or reconciling, whichever works. Old friends are getting together. All peoples of the universe should be bursting with happiness. After all, Thanksgiving is only a few days away. And nobody fries chicken like my momma!!! (Sorry if you thought yo momma’s chicken is better than mine.)

What if you, somehow, could take a big GI-NORMOUS bowl and mix in some old friends or maybe your favorite set of family members? (Now that might be a tuffy J ) Some good food, some good music, stick them in the oven, and eureka... just like magic, instant joy and holiday cheer.

Well, unfortunately having peace, contentment, joy and satisfaction doesn’t quite come about as easy as mixing together chocolate chip cookies. For many folks this time of year can be difficult.

My father died at the age of 49 in December, 1996. Haven’t thought about this much……. don’t mean to get personal, but transparency is always therapeutic…..anyway, about a week ago I was talking with my son, Drew, who's 11, about my father. Drew has never met my daddy so consequently he doesn’t refer to him as grandpa. We talked about the night my daddy died. His death was a complete surprise to the entire family. At a time when everyone was celebrating and enjoying one another’s company, I was busy making funeral arrangements for my dad.

I was 27 when my dad died and I can still remember the pain just like it was yesterday. Drew, my son, is so inquisitive. He asked me if I cried, which is a reasonable question coming from an 11 year old. He hasn’t seen me cry much, if at all, so I thought, well yea, that’s a good question. I told him, "You know I was so busy making funeral arrangements I don’t think I had time to cry or mourn, really." I do remember crying and mourning some at dad’s services but I don’t ever really remember having much time after or before to mourn my daddy’s death. I think I know why. Allow me a minute to explain…but God.

You know, God has a way of taking our intense sorrows and griefs and turning them into instant Joy and Gladness. Some of you are thinking, “Wait a minute Pastor. You’re telling me it’s wrong to mourn or grieve a death?” No, I’m not saying that at all but what I am saying is that God gives to us, as his children, a guaranteed recipe to having full joy, especially during times of intense sadness. And wouldn’t you know it, God is the best cook ever.

Check out how the apostle Paul explains God’s “secret ingredients" (in my Jack Black voice) to getting and keeping full joy. I’ll pause here for a sec to give you a chance to go and grab a pin. You might want to write this verse down, it’s a gooden: Philippians2:1-8 “If [there be] therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies,2 Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, [being] of one accord, of one mind.3[Let] nothing [be done] through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.4Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.5Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:”

Paul says the key to having full joy is to make your business all about handling the business of God. That word “Fulfil” found in the text means; “to complete or fill up.” If joy, comfort and peace are things I want. Then having these things true in my life will only be accomplished as I began to think like Christ. The text says the same in verse 5, “let this mind, be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.” Well then, with that being said, it’s fair to ask “How do I get the mind of Christ?” Because again, having the mind of Christ is how my joy cup fills up and runs over. Paul gives to us the ingredients that all people every where need. Run and get your self a GI-NORMOUS bowl, and mix in some: humility, putting others first, some forgiveness, forgetting about your riches and wealth so others can enjoy the riches, forget about your reputation so others benefit. Obey God and His Word, even when following him seems crazy or ill advised.

Ok. The things I listed are what Christ did for us. So when we do what Christ did, we will, at that point, experience full joy.

Ok. Back to my Dad….almost finished bear with me. My Dad remarried when I was eight years of age or so. The reason why it was so difficult for me to mourn my Dad’s death is because my Dad and I were not very close. However, my Dad had a son from his second marriage. I knew my Dad’s son but he wasn’t really a brother. To be honest, he was just like another kid, at least that’s how I saw it. Well, this son, Antwan, was a lot closer to Dad than I ever was. When Dad died Antwan, who was 12 at the time, had a huge void in his life.

God, through the power of the Holy Spirit, began to work in the heart of my wife. And she fell in love with this knuckle head. It was as if she knew something about this kid that I didn’t. Well, long story short, my fathers son, my brother, moved in to our home almost a month after my dad passed and we raised that boy just like he was our own child. It took a lot of sacrifice. It took us not thinking about our reputation. It took some forgiveness on my part for sure. God took all of the hurt and pain and turned it into joy almost instantly. Antwan is now 28 years old, has a loving wife and 5 beautiful kids, and his kids call me Papa.

I didn’t stuff the feelings about my Dad’s death into a corner. The truth is, I really couldn’t mourn his death because so much good came from something so tragic. I know someone is reading this that needs to read this. I am very sorry for writing such a long post but I know from experience that when we get and keep the mind of Christ, genuine joy certainly does follow.

Sometimes I think I'm losing my mind

Have you ever felt like you had two different people living inside your head? You know what I mean, a devil on one shoulder and a sweet little angel on the other shoulder. The devil of course constantly whispering into you’re ears tempting you to do things that you knew were wrong, and then that sweet little angel of course on the other shoulder reminding you to do what you knew to be right.

I remember growing up watching Tom & Jerry cartoons. You might remember that meddling cat Tom was always trying to catch and eat Jerry that sneaky little mouse. I remember watching one episode in particular where Tom had a tiny angel that would popup out of thin air onto his shoulder and remind him how wrong it was for him to try and catch that sweet little mouse Jerry. And on the other shoulder he would have a tiny devil that looked a lot like him, telling him how upset he should be because Jerry keeps stealing cheese and getting him into trouble with his owner. You remember that big old black lady with those big floppy house shoes and that rolled up news paper in her hand armed and ready to spank Tom because he was such a lazy cat. If you remember just about the time Tom would surrender to his tiny look alike angel who had been whispering in his ear. Jerry that innocent little mouse would walk by with a piece of cheese in his hand and poof just like that the angel and the devil both would disappear as quickly as they appeared. And off Tom would go chasing Jerry around the house destroying everything in his path.

This cute little cartoon was created by Cartoonists William Hanna and Joseph Barbera and the episode that I described a minute ago really does an excellent job of illustrating what’s currently happening right now in your head. Don’t worry I’m going to give you some bible to help you get this truth down in your spirit.

Ok, what you should do is stop reading right this minute go grab your bible and read all of Romans chapters 7 and 8. The apostle Paul does a much better job of describing this inner battle than I ever will, but don’t panic you’ve read this far so, I wont leave you hanging. I’ll give you a nugget of truth that God gave to me before I’m finished. Ok check out Romans7:22-25 “For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:23But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.24O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?25I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.”

Ok, here is the truth behind Tom and those tiny little friends that often fought for his attention on his shoulders. When we made a decision to place our faith in Jesus Christ our inward man is the same as Tom’s little angel. The Greek word used for inward man is “eso” this Greek word means the same as conscience, soul and internal inner man.

Paul is saying that as a God follower my soul or inward man delights in God and his word. But then there are also the desires of my flesh that only seek to please itself. My flesh is not subject to God it only wants to do what makes it feel good. Paul concludes that he is torn from within, he admits that inside of his head his Flesh and Inward Spirit is having an all-out- war. So, then Paul reconciles these two thoughts that are so different in his head. Now listen closely to this because this is the nugget you’ve been waiting for. Paul says whenever he has a thought that drives him away from God that thought was formulated or initiated deep within his flesh. And when he has thoughts that are to do God’s bidding these thoughts are being formulated and initiated from his Inward Man, which he received the day he got saved. Now that’s a thought for another day. This however, explains how a God fearing person can do things that are not very Godly. And in the very next breath do things that are Godly. The good news is that you’re not crazy and you’re definitely not losing your mind. Here’s the truth of the whole matter, you are only………HUMAN. So then, spiritual maturity will come to the one who learns to BE more Godly and less Human.