Don't be Fooled!

Colossians 2:8-10 text based on

When I was growing up, a group of young people would stand and look up at the sky, one might point and the others nod in agreement, drawing an innocent person into their crowd to look and see what was worthy of their attention. They might spend seconds to minutes convincing you something was there, when in fact, it was a practical joke and nothing was there at all. They would bust out in laughter as you were labeled foolish by this group and felt foolish because you fell for their joke.

This is a good way to describe some of the religions here on earth today born from people not of God. Oh, they give you a good talk about faith, and they point you in a direction that leads absolutely no where. Foolish people continue to follow and worship this nothing of a religion and the leader who prides himself as being godly.

If we aren’t careful, we as Christians can be fooled into looking for something that isn’t there when we try to add various beliefs to our Christianity that God never intended to be part of our faith. We have all warned our children at some time or another to be careful, don’t believe everything you hear. Some of us continue to warn our kids today even though they are adults. Paul gives us a warning in Colossians 2 verse 8 and it begins with BEWARE. He was warning the Colossians because false teachings were in the area and he wanted them to take heed as they were in danger of being drawn away from the true faith.

We as Christians should understand the wisdom God gives us and recognize these false religions for what they are and warn others to not participate with their antics. Much like you would warn the next person who came along and began looking up to see what the group of youngsters were looking and pointing at. You don’t want someone else to be fooled, so warn them! Don’t be fooled by false teachers, false philosophy and false religion! Our God is good and His word is true!

Lukewarm or Fervent are You Fence Sitting?

While studying for this week’s bulletin story, I ran across a interesting topic discussing the Bible times and our consideration that those times were of greater faith and Christianity than what we have here today. It referenced Revelation 3:15-16. John the Apostle writes, Jesus saying to the church of Laodicea, “I know your deeds that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth.” Jesus tells the church of Laodicea this because they had lost their fervency for Him as their Savior. The world had crept in around them and they began to do some fence sitting.

Fence sitting? You mean like, not choosing sides, not stating what you believe in? Trying to stay in the middle and not make waves? Jesus called a church lukewarm because they allowed themselves to get to that point He could not tolerate them anymore. He couldn’t let them go on being called a church of His so He states clearly that He was going to spew them out for their lukewarmness.

Surely that speaks of today’s current society not from years ago in the Bible? The cares of the world, the desires of the flesh, the needs and the pressures of family, and the demands of society entice many to sit on the fence and not make a stance. It is obvious as it was back then, that we are in a time of compromise as well. The nature of man has not changed much over the years has it? Lukewarmness is all around us. Perhaps you see it in yourself, your children or co-workers who claim to be Christian. Maybe your spouse isn’t living up to the standard of God’s word, or maybe, it is you.

The real question here is not what others are doing for Christ, but instead what am I doing? What am I willing to do for my Savior? Am I lukewarm? Am I fence sitting? Am I stagnant in my faith? We are all called to carry our cross for Christ and to pick up where the previous generation of faithful Christians left off. We are to be fervent for Him.

Gestures of Love

Did you ever get the look from your Mother in church? More than likely it was during the preaching service and you were either, talking, swinging your legs to and fro or kicking the pew in front of you. Maybe you grabbed the song book or just kept wiggling around in your seat. The look settled you down immediately because it promised you were heading into a danger zone.

Perhaps you were sitting in front of Bro. Joe T Wilson and laughed out loud when he stuck his lower teeth out at you! Or you yelled at your brother for taking a color from you. If the preacher was yelling, why couldn’t you yell too? You never saw it coming! The pinch grabbed you by surprise on that soft spot at the back of your arm just above your elbow, or the side of your leg, maybe even an ear. Whatever was within reach, if you got the pinch, you had really messed up and the “look” told you so.

The snatch, grab and tuck, only occurs when the look and the pinch don’t work. For instance, during one of Bro. Conrad Glover’s long prayers you yelled AMEN four times before your mother could clamp her hand over your mouth, throw you under her arm, fly down that isle and take you outside. Professional football players have got nothing on your Mother when it comes to moves.

I often wondered if my Mother stood at the mirror and practiced the look until she perfected it. Did she warm her fingers up before the pinch? How many times did she have to practice grabbing me, pulling me up and over a pew and throwing me under her arm without knocking down a single person? Surely they must have training classes for perfecting such moves!

As I grew up I came to understand you naturally inherit those skills from your Mother. I knew how the pinch felt, therefore I decided I would not use that on my kids unless absolutely necessary. Many a times though I would snap my fingers and point at my children giving them the “look”. I watched as they recognized the trouble that was brewing.

God knows us, yet He loves us. Mothers are gifted with these talents from God and He expects her to use them as often as necessary and He blesses her for it. Somehow, years later, the memory lingers but the pain of the pinch has faded and love takes its place.

Keep thy father's commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother. Proverbs 6:20

Life Lessons

For He shall give His angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. Psalm 91:11

I have often said, if I have a guardian angel, I am sure by now it has two broken wings, is in a wheel chair and being treated for post traumatic stress syndrome and telling God….she’s alive and that’s good.

The things we put ourselves through in life! If my friend was going to jump off a bridge, would I do it too? No! Well, first of all, I’m scared of heights-you won’t get me near the edge; second that’s dangerous! As my angel breathes a sigh of relief, I turn around and spend money on frivolous things instead of paying a debt I owe. I make bad choices and my angel is shaking her head in despair.

This is what happens when we make the choices instead of following God as we are instructed. I have made many wrong turns in life, and there was a time I felt God’s plan for me was to struggle. But, I began to look at each of my struggles as life lessons and learned from them. With God, I turned a life of turmoil into blessings and I saw God work through me to reach others. I often wonder if my guardian angel will ever forgive me. I thank God every day that He loves us enough to have patience with us and desires to guide our troubled lives, even when we get on the wrong path in life.

OUR BEST

“Hear ye, the Master’s call, give me thy best” So how does your worship stack up? Does it reflect an enthusiastic delight in God? Is your singing, praising and praying, listening and attending to the preaching of the Word of God where it should be? What about your attendance and involvement in the church’s worship and ministries, does it measure up or is it substandard?

A story comes to mind I once read, where during a soloist’s number at church, a young grandson tugged on his grandmother’s sleeve and whispered, "She can’t sing very well, can she?" Knowing the woman had a deep love for the Lord, the grandmother said, "She sings from her heart. That’s what makes it good." He nodded thoughtfully. Several days later as he and his grandmother were singing along with the car radio, he stopped and said, "Granny, you sing from your heart, don’t you?"

Is your heart giving it’s best? God does not expect perfection from us. What He does expect is our best. “For, be it great or small, that is His test. Do then the best you can, not for reward, not for the praise of man, but for the Lord."

Colossians 3:23 (KJV) "And whatsoever you do, do it heartily (with enthusiasm), as to the Lord, and not unto men"

ARE YOU A HONKER OR HELPER?

I read a story last week about a woman whose car stalled in traffic. The gentlemen in the car behind her expressed his impatience by honking his horn every few seconds. Frustrated that her car wouldn’t start and at his insistent honking, she stepped from her car and walked back to his. Sticking her face right into his open window she said, “My car won’t start, as you can see. I wonder if you will go see if you can start it, and I will sit here in your car and honk your horn for you!”

In 1 Corinthians 10:10 we are warned honking just for the sake of honking is not only unhelpful but also unholy and spiritually very unhealthy. We are told not to complain as some did in the Old Testament — "some of them also complained, and were destroyed by the destroyer." No talent is required to sit behind a stalled car (or a stalled church) and honk. What the church desperately needs is not more honkers but more helpers.

Get real now — are you helping the church, or just honking?

For Momma

So much has happened since I last wrote on here. I have a new grandson! His name is Blake Austin, and he's so precious. He was born on May 13, 2011, a Friday at that! We brought him home on Sunday, May 15, 2011, and that was the day he met Mamaw and Papaw. When we arrived at the nursing home, all the aides were so happy to see us and they ran down to Mom's room, they wanted to see her face as she saw the baby for the first time. He was her third great grand child and first great grand son. Those girls were sitting her up in the bed getting her ready to hold the baby and Momma was all smiles, you should have heard her excited chatter! She couldn't wait to hold him. Of course she had to hug Brad first and congratulate him, but once she held Blake, she began talking to him and cried. I think we all cried at that point her aides included. We took pictures of course! How could we not! Mom and Dad with Brad and Blake, such a wonderful memory to hold forever.

Ten days later, we found we were saying goodbye to Mom. Apparently she was waiting on Blake to be born before she left for Heaven. Every day after the 15th she just continued to decline. It was hard, still is for that matter. She had a couple more visits with Blake, and we have our pictures to treasure. I knew this day was coming, and we had previously prepared for it. But she got better once she came "home" or as close as we could get her when she was transferred here in February. In February I was resigned to this end, but by May, I was adjusted to her being with us every day, even though she couldn't walk, she could still talk and visit with us. She rarely sat up in the chair, only had about 2-3 weeks of that with maybe 3-4 times actually getting out of the bed in the lift to the chair. She would tell me, I don't feel good. I'm not eating right, nothing taste good, but her spirits were good, and she loved seeing all her kids and her grand kids too. We had a wonderful Mother's day morning with her - such good pictures with Jessica, Kameran and Makenlie; Jess brought her little white fluff of a dog Lillie to see Mom and she loved on Mom, lay in the bed with her. So did Kameran, and we have a great picture of them together. I miss her, terribly already but I know she is in a wonderful place, and she is breathing free of struggles, she has no more pain, she's walking, talking with loved ones who have gone on before. Most of all, she is with God, and there is no better place to be. I love you Momma, and I will miss you everyday until we meet again.