Numb

For the past five months I've been waking up to numbness on Sunday mornings. Numbness is not a pleasant feeling both, physically and spiritually, but it's a real affect on the body and spirit. Numbness is defined as being deprived of physical sensation or the ability to move; incapable of action or of feeling emotion; lacking or deficient in feeling; indifferent. Thirteen years serving in pastoral ministry came to a halt six months ago. For the past five months, each definite description of numbness has been evident with me. In July I was told by a person I trusted, that I was going to be transitioning to another pastorate in west Tn. After two months of poor communication, of which I was always the initiator, I decided to resign and remove my name from the situation, due to the manipulation and conniving efforts of one person to keep me from transitioning to that appointment. I will write more to the whole situation at a later time (with that said, Pastors, beware of the family that shows up on your doorstep as you're moving into the parsonage) but today, I still wake up numb six months later to the whole process and lack of explanation from the person that said "trust me". My trust meter is numb. My spirit is numb. I know that life will go on...but today, life is numb.

Father of compassion

Psalm 103: 8-14
The Lord is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in love.
9 He will not always accuse,
nor will he harbor his anger forever;
10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
13 As a father has compassion on his children,
so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;
14 for he knows how we are formed,
he remembers that we are dust.

Today as I sit and read the Word of God, I'm reminded of the love that God extends to His children. I'm thankful today that He's compassionate and gracious, because I've not always deserved His compassion. I realize the compassion that He gives had a cost. He sent His Son, Jesus, to be my compassionate atonement for MY sin. He is slow to anger...I'm thankful that God doesn't deal with me with an instant judgement of wrong doing. I'm thankful today that He is slow to anger...Matthew Henry's commentary explains God to be "not extreme to mark what we do amiss nor ready to take advantage against us." Praise the Lord for this!

God's mercy is abounding. If He had not been a God of patience, we should have been in hell long ago; but He has not rewarded us after our iniquities; so those will say who know what sin deserves (Matthew Henry). We don't deserve the mercy of God. We don't deserve to walk in His grace, but He gives us mercy and grace because He loves us. I've not always walked in His grace...a lot of times I've down right taken it for granted. Oh, how I love Jesus and His mercy that He's given me.

God formed me and he remembers that I'm dust. I serve a God that trusts in me, a piece of dust. He has given me the allowance that I don't deserve. He's given me the grace and mercy that's undeserved. He's given me life...Life through His Son, Jesus. Oh, how I love Jesus! I've not always done right...but the right thing to do now is to strive to please God. He knows me more than anyone else can. He made me, me. I love Him and want to live my life for Him the rest of my days.

Blessings!

Trusting God in ALL Things

"The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and He helps me. My heart leaps for joy and with my song I praise Him." Psalm 28:7

"Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture." Psalm 37:3

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones. Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine." Proverbs 3: 5-10

In the book of 2 Chronicles chapters 14-16 we find King Asa, king of Judah, the third king following the separation of Judah from Israel. His father was King Abijah; his grandfather was King Rehoboam and his great-grandfather was King Solomon. King Asa was characterized in the Bible as a man of integrity. His 41 year reign was marked by revival in worship to the Lord and removal of paganism and it's associated evils.

The first ten years of Asa's reign were peaceful and prosperous (2 Chronicles 14: 1,2,6). This is because King Asa walked with God. Unfortunately, late in life his faith wavered, and at two points of crisis, he ignored God and turned to secular sources of help. Nevertheless, God's overwhelming verdict is that "Asa did that which was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God" (2 Chronicles 14:2).

As soon as King Asa took the throne, he instituted a series of religious reforms. He went from town to town throughout the land, removing pagan altars and shrines and prohibiting the sins associated with them, and he restored proper worship of the Lord as the national religion (vs 3-5). In recognition of this good work, the Lord gave Judah military peace on every front for the first ten years of Asa's reign (vs 6). Recognizing that peace would not last forever, Asa wisely used that time to build and supply border fortifications, and to train and equip an army of 580,000 men (vs 7,8).

In the early days of his reign, King Asa clearly had a heart for God.

After this time of peace with preparation for war, the army of Ethiopia invaded Judah. The number of soldiers recorded in the Bible is one thousand thousand (i.e. One Million) meaning that, Asa's forces were far inferior. In addition, Syria boasted a mechanized army of 300 chariots, for which Asa's foot soldiers were no match. In a beautiful prayer, Asa expressed his helplessness and his faith in God to defend them. When the battle began, the Ethiopian army was massacred. As they retreated, Judah's army pushed them to the Philistine border, inflicting such heavy casualties that Ethiopia could not recover. On the return trip, they gathered a great amount of plunder from the fallen soldiers. The Lord had indeed defended them. (2 Chronicles 14: 9-15)

First Peter 5:7 says, "Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you." This worked for King Asa and it will work for us today. We have to trust God every day, every hour, and every minute.

Asa had a second revival: As the victorious army returned from this against-the-odds rout, a prophet named Azariah took the opportunity to remind Asa that this success had come from the Lord. He reminded him of the military vulnerability and crime that had prevailed in the pagan days of Kings Rehoboam and Abijah, compared to the peace and safety experienced now. He urged them to renew their commitment to the Lord.

Hearing this, King Asa redoubled his efforts, and the former revival took on new life. He again toured the nation, destroying idols, abolishing the immoral practices associated with their worship, and reinstituting worship of the Lord. This effort lasted five years, at which time the king called for a meeting of the entire population at Jerusalem. Here he added yet more force to his efforts, drawing the people into a renewed covenant with the Lord, even to the point of threatening with capital punishment any who maintained their pagan habits - in accordance with the law of Moses. As a result of their dedication, God gave them peace on all borders for yet another 20 years. "Nevertheless the heart of Asa was perfect all his days" (2 Chronicles 15:17). The word "perfect" means King Asa had a heart for God. The Scofield Study Bile says, "The word implies whole-heartedness for God, single-mindedness, sincerity - not sinless perfection" (p. 399).

But somewhere along the way, Asa's focus began to change. What changed his focus? I wonder what Asa allowed in his heart that changed his focus?

2 Chronicles 16 gives the account of Asa's decline. Late in King Asa's reign, King Baasha of neighboring Israel began to prepare for war with Judah. He closed the borders and fortified border cities (vs 1). Naturally, Asa saw this as a threat to be taken seriously. When Baasha's preparations were well along, Asa entered negotiations with Benhadad, king of Syria, now at peace with Israel, but historically an enemy. Asa reminded Benhadad of a treaty between the two king's fathers, and paid him a large sum to break his peace with Israel, looting Solomon's temple and his own palace for the bribe. Benhadad agreed, and sent armies to attack various towns in Israel. Baasha, finding his kingdom under attack, abandoned his preparations against Judah and left to defend his kingdom. Asa took the opportunity to dismantle the abandoned work and confiscate the building materials, implementing a nationwide draft to provide the work force.

And so Judah was safe; Baasha never rejoined the project. However, (vs 7-10) the Lord sent the prophet Hanani to tell Asa that he had been negligent. God had intended to bring disaster on Benhadad, who was always hostile to Israel and Judah. But Asa had failed to consult God in this crisis, and so Benhadad had escaped. Hanani reminded Asa that years ago he had faced a great crisis, called on God, and God had rescued him. But this time he had ignored God, and because of this, the remainder of his reign would be marked by war. But rather than repenting, King Asa was furious and had Hanani arrested. A few years later, King Asa contracted a serious disease in his feet. Once again, he refused to turn to the Lord, seeking only the help of his powerless doctors (vs 11, 12).

Faithful King Asa faced two military crises in his life - invasion of Ethiopia and threatened invasion by Israel. Each time, God also had an agenda of crippling a marauding force - first of Ethiopia, then of Syria. In the first crisis, Asa trusted the Lord, and both Asa's crisis and the Lord's agenda were served - Judah was protected, and marauding Ethiopia was crushed. In the second crisis, Asa acted without consulting the Lord. As a result, his crisis was solved, but the Lord's intention to cripple marauding Syria was not fulfilled, and Syria was a problem to Israel and Judah for decades to come.

When we face a crisis, God has a wonderful agenda that we usually can't see. Whether His agenda is fulfilled or not, depends on whether we trust Him or solve our problem without consulting Him.

Trust God in ALL things today!

Purpose through difficulty

"And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick." (Matthew 14:14)

In the first few verses of Matthew chapter 14 we find that Jesus learns of the beheading of John the Baptist. John was, not only the forerunner of Jesus, he was also a family member. He was the cousin born just six months prior to Jesus. I wonder how many times they played together as little children running around the fields in the dust and playing with the sheep and other little kids around them. I wonder how many times as teenagers they worked by the sweat of their brows doing work for their families. I wonder if Jesus had ever out whittled John?

Needless to say, I believe Jesus and John had a special relationship and when Jesus heard of the passing of John the Bible says; "He departed to a deserted place by Himself" (vs 13). Jesus had to spend some time in mourning for his friend, his cousin, his fellow minister. Jesus had suffered a loss in his family and no doubt was hurting inside. But, I want to bring to our attention the focus Jesus had on His purpose. In the moments of sorrow, Jesus saw a multitude of people that were hungry. The disciples told Jesus to let them go home, the hour was late, and the place they were at was deserted. There wasn't enough food to go around.

Jesus shows us in His circumstance of personal difficulty how to continue with purpose. Jesus saw their need, had compassion, and ministered to them. With only two fish and five loaves of bread, 5000 men, plus many women and children ate till they were full and left baskets of food behind. This is an example, to me, that no matter my circumstance I need to be about the Father's business. When difficulty of life comes my way, I need to continue to live with purpose. Struggles and difficulties are part of life and we must remember to take time for them, but also allow God to continue to work in us and through us for His purpose. Let's live with purpose no matter the circumstance we face and be pleasing to the Father.

Locust & Sackcloth

My spirit is heavy today...you don't have to be a rocket scientist to see what's going on. You don't have to be super spiritual to realize what the enemy is doing. I've had Joel chapter 1 in my spirit all day and I'm afraid we're losing out, losing out on the blessings of God because we've let the "locusts" take everything we hold dear. "Hear this, you elders; listen, all who live in the land. Has anything like this ever happened in your days or in the days of your ancestors? Tell it to your children, and let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the next generation. What the locust swarm has left the great locusts have eaten; what the great locusts have left the young locusts have eaten; what the young locusts have left other locusts have eaten." (vss 2-4)
The prophet Joel says that our enemy has us like "the teeth of a lion, the fangs of a lioness..." He goes on to say, "It has laid waste my vines and ruined my fig trees. It has stripped off their bark and thrown it away, leaving their branches white." We need to WAKE UP! People in our churches are falling for the tricks of the enemy and the enemy is eating away at them and the church. People are falling away to gossip and convenience, lack of commitment and busyness. They're falling away to soothsayers and evil schemes the enemy has conjured up. Joel continues to say, "The fields are ruined, the ground is dried up; the grain is destroyed, the new wine is dried up, the olive oil fails (vs 10). It's time to quit wearing our feelings on our shoulders and to quit listening to the enemy!
I'm calling EMERGE CHURCH OF GOD OF PROPHECY to a fast! WHO WILL JOIN WITH ME? "Put on sackcloth, you priests, and mourn; wail, you who minister before the altar. Come, spend the night in sackcloth, you who minister before my God; for the grain offerings and drink offerings are withheld from the house of your God. Declare a holy fast; call a sacred assembly. Summon the elders and all who live in the land to the house of the Lord your God, and cry out to the Lord. Alas for that day! For the day of the Lord is near; it will come like destruction from the Almighty." (vss 13-15)

Chili

Yesterday I went to pick up my son from an event at the high school he will be attending and on the way back home we took a different exit off the interstate than normal because we were meeting my wife and daughter for lunch. As I was approaching the offramp, I could see ahead an image on the left side of the road and immediately I knew what it was, a person holding a sign. Well, I did what comes normal, I pulled right up to the light and didn't even look his way. But, I noticed something...my son was leaning toward the back of the truck in efforts to read the homeless man's sign. Guess what happened next? Yep, the Holy Spirit began to give me a "Whoopin"!

I've preached the scripture, "For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in." (Matthew 25:35) for years, but I found myself pulling off when the light turned green. I asked my son as I was pulling off what the sign said, "will work for food". I kept driving and arrived at the place we were meeting my wife and daughter. My son and I got out of the truck and walked in the restaurant and I had remembered my wife giving my son a $20 bill for the school event. I asked him if he'd used the $20 to which he replied that he had not. I asked him for it and I put it in my wallet. He looked at me with a questioned faced as if he knew exactly what I was going to do.

After we ate, my wife went back to work and my daughter, son and I went back to the offramp. As I approached the offramp I told my son to get in the back seat so that the homeless gentleman could ride up front. My daughter was a little apprehensive about the whole, put him in the truck with us, so she asked me, "What if he has a gun" to which I replied "Then we both will have one" or something like that.

Long story short, We took him to an establishment and I told him to order anything he wanted. Come to find out all he really wanted was a bowl of chili. It was 97 degrees outside! I ordered him more than he requested, gave him the change left over and sat with him for a few minutes. i had prayer over his chili, burger and fries. He then turned around and prayed for me. My heart felt good to show my son and daughter that knowing I would probably never see "Donnie" again, it is always good to listen to the Holy Spirit when He reminds you of scripture.

Donnie was hungry for chili and he didn't let a 97 degree day stop him from the opportunity afforded him. We must seize every opportunity afforded us to be the hands and feet of Jesus for the Kingdom of God! Thank you Donnie for allowing me to be humbled to listen to what I've been preaching and also to give my kiddos a teachable moment on how to be Christlike. Now when I order a bowl of chili I'll be thinking of the opportunities afforded me.

NO ONE ELSE WILL

"To learn, you must love discipline." Proverbs 12:1 NLT

In my devotion this morning, I was reading from a book that I received from my kids on Father's Day entitled, The Best of God is in the Small Stuff. It spoke about a word that we cringe at: discipline. I wanted to share part of the devotion with you today.

"The want of whatever it is to be bigger, better, or faster, equals material want. Does outward material things really make us happy? This is a question that we often hear asked in different circles of life. This question rears us to discover that outward material things doesn't really make us happy. So the next thing to do is tune inward. Along the way we decide that it's what's inside that counts. Consequently, many of us have embarked on an inward journey, seeking to simplify our lifestyles while increasing our joy. At least that's the goal, because that's what the simplicity gurus are telling us.

The idea of simplifying your life is a good one, but the problem is that we are attacking the goal with the same unbridled methods we've always used. The key is balance, consistency and perseverance, all of which come from one thing: discipline. We want it all, and we want it now, whether it's an abundance of possessions or an abundance of simplicity. But nothing worthwhile comes quickly and nothing worthwhile comes without discipline. Over life's long haul, discipline works in every dimension of your life: financial, physical, mental and spiritual. If you've ever tried to get rich quick, tried to lose weight by taking a pill, tried to get knowledge by cramming at the last minute, or attempted to get close to God by asking for a miracle, you know what it's like.

It's easy to get caught up in the trap of quick results when you focus on the results rather than the journey. The truth is, the joy is in the journey, in the daily discipline of growing in the details of your mind, body and spirit. The only way to bring abundance to your life - the kind of abundance that gives you joy - is to bring discipline into your life, no one else will." (The Best of God is in the Small Stuff)