Follow your Leader

"For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south, but God is the judge: he putted down one, and setteth up another."  Psalms 75: 6&7

"Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well. For such is the will of God that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men" 1 Peter 2:13-15

"I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; for kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty." 1 Timothy 2: 1&2

Politics divide; they split friendships, families and nations. Jesus said a house or nation divided cannot stand. See Matthew 12:25; Mark 3:25; and Luke 11:17. America is divided; we had 8 years of Clinton bashing mostly about morals, 8 years of Bush bashing mostly about intelligence, and now it's Obama bashing mostly about legitimacy and loyalty.  The Bible is clear, we are to submit ourselves to our leaders and pray for them. I find it very difficult to be judgmental and critical of a man while I'm  praying for him.

Mama always said, "If you can't say anything nice just don't say anything at all."  She was talking about people, but maybe that applies to politics too.

Immigration

"In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person's becoming in every facet an American; and nothing but an American ... There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag ... We have room for but one language here and that is the English language ... and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people.”  (Theodore Roosevelt 1907)

 

Most Americans agree with Teddy Roosevelt’s position on Immigration; and are offended by immigrants who make no attempt to learn our language or pledge allegiance to our flag and country. We are insulted if those who want to enjoy the advantages and benefits of America continue to speak their native language and fly the flag of their home country. We believe those coming to America should comply with our laws  and be loyal to our country.   “America, love it or leave it” is our position.

 

I wonder if the Lord has similar feelings toward those that have joined His family and then continue to live the old life; how disappointed is He with those refusing to live an obedient life?  Read Roosevelt’s statement again substituting “Christian” for “America”. Now there’s food for thought.

Do we know when our time has come?

I had been to Bulldog ballgames with Jim Stone many, many times and we always stopped at Poss’ BBQ to eat on the way into Athens. Jim would spend money on something he really wanted, but by and large was very tight with a buck. At Poss’ he always, without exception, ordered the cheapest thing on the menu which was, as I remember, a hash sandwich. This Monday night we were headed for a basketball game against Kentucky, and Jim ordered a filet steak. I didn’t think much about it until later that night. We were sitting in Jim’s living room talking with Virginia, his widow; Jim had died of a massive heart attack on the way home from the game. One of the first questions Virginia asked was about his last meal; it was strange she would ask, strange also that Jim changed that night.

Aaron knew when his time had come: (Numbers 20:26) “And strip Aaron of his garments, and put them upon Eleazar his son: and Aaron shall be gathered unto his people, and shall die there.”

In the parable of the rich fool (Luke 12:20), Jesus said. “Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee”; obviously this rich man did not know his time had come.

Moses knew when his time had come: (Deuteronomy 32:48-50) “And the Lord spake unto Moses that selfsame day, saying, Get thee up into this mountain…..and die in the mount whither thou goest up, and be gathered unto thy people; as Aaron thy brother died in mount Hor, and was gathered unto his people:”

Joshua knew when his time had come: (Joshua 23:14) “And behold, this day I Am going the way of all the earth”.

King Hezekiah knew when his time had come: (II Kings 20:1) “In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And the Prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live.” Hezekiah subsequently pleaded with God and was granted 15 more years, see verses 2-6 

God says because we forsake Him and go backwards, He will stretch out his hand and destroy us; for He is weary of our repenting (Jeremiah 15:16).  For Christians, I believe this is the destruction of our physical bodies. In answer to the original question, “Do we know when our time has come”; the answer is a definite “sometimes”, and I think also that sometimes we may know why.

Follow the Leader

Like many small towns, my hometown of Hapeville Georgia was divided down the middle by rail road tracks. When we went to the Post Office, to church, to school or to Wilder’s Ice Cream Parlor, we had to cross the rail road tracks. In those days, many trains went through every day and waiting at the crossing for a train to pass was a common, everyday experience. Initially, this was scary for a little fellow because the trains were so big, fast and loud. But quickly it became nothing more than waiting at a traffic light for the cars to stop.

When I was 10 or 11 years old, some older friends taught me this neat trick of placing a penny on the track in front of the train. After the train passed, you found the penny and it would be smashed flat. The penny came out oval shaped, looking something like a little copper football. We would carry this smashed penny around as a lucky coin.

For some reason, it seems we were not supposed to put the penny on the track until the train was in sight; I don’t know why this was, except it made the whole experience more exciting. It would take a second or two to get the penny balanced on the track, and then you ran as fast as you could to get out of the way of the train. One day Anthony slipped in the gravel and fell by the tracks, escaping the train by only inches.

We proudly told the story of how Anthony was almost killed by the train when explaining the game to new-comers. I guess it made us seem braver or gutsier or something, but it proved to be my undoing one day when Mama heard me telling the story to Charles. Mama did not find the game to be exciting, fun or intelligent and I was banned from the game for life.

I tried to convince Mama that it was a safe game and explained how “everybody was doing it”, but she didn’t buy it.  I couldn’t guess how many times I tried to justify something I wanted to do by telling Mama “everybody else is doing it”, only to hear her say “if everybody else jumped off a bridge would you jump too” ?  She never was one to go with the crowd.

Mama believed like Ezra (10:11), “…..separate yourselves from the people of the land…..” 

“Wherefore come out from among them and be ye separate, saith the Lord…..” (II Cor. 6:17)

“Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil….” (Exodus 23:2)  As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him. (Col. 2:6).

We all want to be popular and have people to like us, and sometimes it seems the best way to achieve that is to follow the leader and blend in.  But following Christ has never been about blending in.

Close Calls

When I was 16 years old I was driving my Daddy’s new Ford home from school one afternoon. I had several of my buddies in the car with me and was showing off. Driving way too fast, I topped a hill on a two lane rural highway only to see a school bus unloading children about 100 yards ahead. About 50 yards ahead was a small dirt and gravel road off to the right. To avoid hitting the bus and running over a dozen or more children, my only option was to try to make the turn into the dirt road. It all happened so fast, I can’t begin to describe how I made that turn. It was a miracle the car did not roll over, that I did not hit the bus or any children, and that we were not all killed. All I can surmise that God’s hand was on us and his mercy spared us in a close call.

I was forty nine years old Labor Day Weekend in 1988 as I walked around a hot and crowded arts and craft show with my wife.  When I began to have mild chest pains I looked around for available assistance and saw an ambulance parked at the top of a hill near the restrooms. Without mentioning the chest pains I steered us toward the restrooms.  After using the restroom and resting briefly in the shade, the pains went away; assuming indigestion, I made no mention of them. However, the pains returned the following Thursday night with a vengeance and we went to the doctor on Friday morning. After an EKG, he sent me immediately to Saint Joseph’s Hospital for consultation with cardiologists.  I was admitted to the hospital and for the next six days underwent a series of tests. On Wednesday evening the cardiologist advised me that they would do a catheterization on Thursday and let me go home on Friday. If surgery was needed, they would schedule it in a few weeks since they were backlogged at that time. After the test Thursday, I was advised that by-pass surgery was scheduled for the following morning. I protested the timing, reminding the cardiologist that I was told I would go home Friday and come back in a few weeks if surgery was needed. He smiled and patted my hand patronizingly and said “we’re not sure you have a few weeks”. I think for the first time in my life I suddenly faced my own mortality. The surgery was successful and in a few weeks I was back to my normal routine; once again God had allowed me to escape a close call.

One summer I was late leaving Atlanta, driving to a convention in Florida. Driving much too fast down Interstate 75, I encountered a gentleman in a new BMW who was evidently running late also. We were making very good time, running side by side when we encountered a jack-knifed tractor trailer blocking the Interstate ahead. A State Trooper was already on the scene. When I tried to stop the car, it slid all over the road and rocked back and forth on two wheels. The BMW had similar problems. When we finally stopped, we had rubbed off each other, damaging the paint, but no serious damage had occurred.  Only a miracle kept us from hitting each other, rolling over, or hitting the wreck in the road ahead. Once again, God had spared me in a close call.

After a work-out session in late September 2007 I noticed a heartbeat in my lower abdomen. I don’t know a lot about anatomy, but I was sure my heart should be higher in the body.  I consulted with my physician who sent me for a cat scan where they discovered a large aortic aneurysm in my abdomen. I was rushed through the preliminaries for admission to the hospital for surgery. The aneurysm was successfully repaired on October 8^th.   The surgeon told me they usually operated on these aneurysms when they reached 5cm and mine was over 9. He added that this was the largest aneurysm he had seen outside of an autopsy. Had it gone un-repaired, within a few months it could have been fatal for me. Once again God had allowed me to escape a close call.

These close calls come readily to mind; I don’t know how many more there may have been that I’ve forgotten, or how many others of which I was never aware. I remember reading about multiple incidents of people being late for work for various reasons on 9/11 and being spared when their building came down. Matthew 10:29-31 tells us that the very hairs of our head are numbered and not a sparrow falls to the ground without our Father’s notice. It also tells us not to fear because we are of more value than many sparrows. The Lord works in mysterious ways; the next time you’re stuck in traffic or have a flat tire, remember it’s possible that you are being spared a much worse fate if you had not been delayed or inconvenienced.

“I sing because I’m happy, I sing because I’m free, For His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.”(Martin)  With God’s eye on us, we need not fear anything on this earth.

We make schedules and plans; but remember Proverbs 16:9; “A man’s heart deviseth his way; but the Lord directeth his steps.”  Unexpected inconveniences can be opportunities, look around for why God has you there at that time.

Faithful

There is a prayer, "Lord help me be as good of a person as my dog thinks

I am."

A couple of nights ago, a strong thunderstorm came through. When the

thunder began, my cats holed up under the bed. My dog, though, jumped

on the bed and laid down next to me. It was as though he was saying,

"If you think it's no big deal, then I believe you. I will be safe as

long as I am by your side."

That got me to thinking: He doesn't worry about anything. He trusts me

to feed him. He loves me, craves my attention, and wants to make me

happy. He pays attention to what I tell him and tries to master what I

teach him. He still has his own will. He doesn't always listen, and

sometimes he wanders. But his love and loyalty endure.

That's just what Christ asks of us: Don't worry about tomorrow. Trust

Me to feed you. Love Me and follow my commandments. Listen to Me and

try to master what I teach you! I know you aren't perfect and you will

wander. But I'm still here! Return to Me!

Maybe a better prayer is, "Lord, help me be as faithful to You as my dog

is to me!"

Doug Honea



Prayer

Sometimes a seemingly innocuous statement turns out to be extremely profound. Such was one I heard; “God has no ego problem”. It was said in reference to why He gave us the Ten Commandments; that it wasn’t for His benefit, but ours. I’ve found this also applies to our prayer life.

They say that prayer changes things, and it does, but even more important, prayer changes me. When I kneel in prayer I remember that for every little problem I have, there are ten thousand blessings. I remember that for every minus in my life there are a multitude of pluses.

I’m reminded that life is not all about me, and that I’m here to serve, not be served. I’m reminded that I’m to be longsuffering and forgiving regardless of how I’m treated. I’m reminded that I’m to love others “anyway”. Jesus knows everything I’ve ever done, everything I’ve ever said, and even everything I’ve ever thought, and He loves me “anyway”. And that’s how I’m to love others. Regardless of how they talk to me, how they treat, disrespect or abuse me, I’m to love them anyway.

When I rise from prayer, the circumstances have not changed, people around me have not changed and my problems have not suddenly disappeared. What’s changed is my attitude and how I can approach and deal with those circumstances.

When Jesus set the example and taught us to pray, it was not because He needed to hear from us, although He does want that, but it is for our benefit. He knew how badly we would need to talk to Him and have our attitudes adjusted everyday.

I know a person that’s always smiling. Every time you see them they are pleasant, cheerful, smiling. Of this person, someone else once commented that such a countenance is not natural.

I agree, it’s not natural, it’s heavenly.