Come and Dine

Jesus has a table spread
Where the saints of God are fed,
He invites His chosen people, “Come and dine”;
With His manna He doth feed
And supplies our every need:
Oh, ’tis sweet to sup with Jesus all the time!

Refrain:
“Come and dine,” the Master calleth, “Come and dine”;
You may feast at Jesus’ table all the time;
He Who fed the multitude, turned the water into wine,
To the hungry calleth now, “Come and dine.”

"He who feeds on My flesh and drinks My blood dwells continually in Me, and I [in like manner dwell continually] in him. Just as the living Father sent Me and I live by (through, because of) the Father, even so whoever continues to feed on Me [whoever takes Me for his food and is nourished by Me] shall [in his turn] live through and because of Me." John 6: 56-57 (AMP)

I don't know about most of you, but after the past four days, I definitely feel "burdened and heavy-laden".  Not in the spiritual sense, just in the "Did I really need three helpings of the dressing and two pieces of the chocolate pie?" kind of way.  Now don't get me wrong.  I was and am very thankful for every morsel I ate, and I'm also very thankful I was able to see and visit with those who made these delicious dishes.  I just think I probably could have been a little more discretionary about the amounts I took in.  I've always pictured myself as "The Cleaner".  My motto is "It's going to go to waste if someone doesn't eat it." I blame this "flaw" in my personality on two things: 1.  My high metabolism, which pretty much allows me to eat however much, of whatever, whenever I want (in fact, people thought Mandee wasn't feeding me well when we were first married because I didn't gain the usual "Newlywed Guy Twenty Extra Pounds!") and 2. My parents always insisting on ordering two or three baskets of French Fries at a diner we always ate at when I was growing up  and everyone counting on me to finish them off (I couldn't let those things go to waste!)  However, as full as I may feel physically, a sermon our worship pastor shared this morning has caused me to think throughout today about how full I am spiritually and how often I partake of what Jesus offers: Himself.

In this passage, Jesus has finished feeding the five thousand and is now preaching on the truth that He is the Bread of Life.  He is reminding His Jewish audience that their forefathers ate manna in the wilderness and yet still died, and revealing to them that they can have true life, eternal life, in Him if they will feed on His flesh and drink His blood.  As you can imagine, these statements didn't go over too well with many in his audience!  While many of the Jewish disciples were likely guilty of having broken some of the Jewish laws, none of them were willing to engage in cannibalism!  Certainly, human beings were not listed among the creatures that God had said the Jews were allowed to eat.  It is no surprise then that many of them, excluding the Twelve, turned away because of this "hard saying".  Many of them were probably mumbling to themselves as they walked away, "I was with him through the 'Love your enemies'. 'Blessed are the meek', and "To gain your life, you must lose it', but I can't go in for eating my rabbi!  He seemed so in his right mind!  What has happened to him?"  Jesus wanted to know who was willing to go beyond feeding everyone in the natural, those who would follow Him when the meals came free and easy, and those who could learn that His food was to do the will of Him who sent Him.  He was looking for those who would be so consumed with Him and would so consume Him, it was as though they were feasting on Him daily.  Not in the sense of cannibals, or zombies, or any other creature Hollywood and bad dreams can create, but in the sense of a dependence on Him that runs so deep, we realize and act on the fact that He is the very source of the life eternal, the life blessed, the life lived abundantly and to the full. 

As I write this I must ask myself: Am I satisfied with manna alone, just seeing the hand of God when I need something, and willing to die still stuck only in that state, to pass all my years only perking up my ears and eyes and holding out my hands when the Lord offers me something free and easy?  I remember that the manna couldn't remain, it rotted if the Israelites tried to keep it overnight.  Am I willing to feed daily, hourly, every minute, every second on Christ so that I can live "because of and through Him?"  Am I willing to endure the "hard sayings"  so I can live the life He has called me to live, so I don't walk away, never to return, just confused and miserable?  May I, and we, learn that He must be our source.  If we try to mix anything else with Him, we will hear His rebuke, like that he gave His disciples when they asked him at the Samaritan well, "Lord, aren't you going to eat something?"  His reply? "I have food you don't know about".  Do we want to partake of the food that He has: Himself and His relationship with the Father and doing what the Father has called us to do?  As the old song above says: "He who fed the multitude, turned the water into wine, to the hungry calleth now 'Come and dine'."

Father, I thank you for all the abundant and good food I have had the privelege to partake of this past week.  It was good and nourishing to my body, and eating it meant breaking bread and enjoying fellowship with my friends and family.  But Father, as Jesus revealed in the Gospel of John, there is food we don't always think about, may not even know about, that is available to us: Your Son Jesus and doing Your will within the life that You give us through Him.  Help us to remain hungry for Jesus, and to never try to satisfy that hunger with any of the manna of this world, because it will only pass away and leave us wanting.  Please continue to reveal Your will to us as we seek You.  In Jesus' Name I pray, Amen.

Stay hungry!  Be filled!

Who's Your Daddy (in-law)?

Moses’ father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian, heard about everything God had done for Moses and his people Israel and how the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt. (Exodus 18: 1, God's Word Translation)

As probably is the case with many of you, this week has already been a hectic one.  My family and I are making preparations for Thanksgiving travel, coordinating with family members which particular dishes are going to be prepared by whom, and overall, just enjoying the freedom and blessings of this holiday season.  That being said, my Manly Monday post this week is more of a Thanksgiving Thoughts Thursday, giving to the fact that in all the holiday planning, I've found myself hardpressed to find time to sit down and type out the thoughts that have been going through my head.  Thankfully, I have a few moments this morning before we embark on our Thanksgiving festivities, so here are the thoughts the Lord has given me this week.

I knew from the start this week that I wanted to write a post about thankfulness since Thanksgiving naturally lends itself to that.  I also knew that if I listed all the blessings I have to be thankful for, my post would be at least twenty pages long, if not longer.  As I prayed about what to write, God showed me one partiucular group of people in my life that I should be especially thankful for this year: the Jethroes.  No, not the large, not-so-bright nephew/cousin from The Beverly Hillbillies (although, if you have some of these in your life be thankful as well; they can bring a lot of laughter and humor into things), but those older men that God has placed into my life over the years.  I want to use this post to express thankfulness to them.  But first, let's look at today's Scripture passage.

In this passage, Moses and the Israelites have just defeated the Amalekites.  Moses has built an altar on the spot and called it "Jehovah-Nissi" (The Lord is My Banner).  Jethro brings Moses' wife Zipporah and Moses' two young sons Gershom and Eliezer to him at the Israelites' camp.  When we read Exodus 18, we can notice three things about Jethro:

1. He was available - Exodus 18:1-8  - When Moses had to send his wife and young sons away while he dealt with the business of confronting Pharaoh and leading the Israelites, Jethro took them in and cared for them. When the time was right, he sent word to Moses that he was bringing his family back to him.  Jethro was there when Moses needed him and met him at the place of his victory. Not only was Jethro physically available, but he was also emotionally available.  In verses 7 and 8, Moses and Jethro ask each other how the other is, then spend time in the tent with Moses recounting all that God had done for them. What a blessing it is when a godly mentor makes himself physically and emotionally available to us.

2. He rejoiced in Moses' victories with him - Exodus 18:9 - 12 - These verses say that Jethro was delighted to hear all that God had done for the Israelites.  How much do you think it strengthed  Moses to hear this from his father-in-law and to watch as Jethro offered his own sacrifices to God?  Then Moses, Jethro, and the other Israelite leaders shared a meal in the Lord's presence.  Who of us as men has not wanted someone to be proud of us?  I have a feeling that Moses knew what it was to feel proud that day.

3. He offered practical advice - Exodus 18: 13 - 26 - Jethro saw a problem in Moses' life that was affecting him and he provided solid, practical advice to help him manage and solve it.  This again shows the relationship between the two men, and the respect Moses had for Jethro.  Some of the best advice he offers to Moses is in verse 18 "You can't do it alone!"  That could be a whole other post.  By the end of the chapter, we see Moses following Jethro's advice, and this makes things a whole lot more manageable.

As I look at these three points, several men begin to come to mind from my past.  Men like Audie Vaughn, who served as my first pastor when I was a child and who gave me the honor of preaching my first sermon in his pulpit; my father, who instilled in me a love of outdoors and a love of reading, both which still follow me today; Craig Eidson, a Chi Alpha pastor at Southwestern Oklahoma State University who, despite my best efforts to isolate myself in my graduate studies and my apartment, saw a calling and potential in me and began to give me opportunities to work within youth ministry; Dr. Rodney Scott, my graduate advisor who wouldn't let me take the easy way out when it came time to jump into "the real world"; Tim Broughton, my Sunday School teacher and friend who mentored me before I got married; Pastor Darren Rogers, who counseled Mandee and I before we got married and who continues to be a source of encouragement and humor as our pastor; Pastor Bob Wingo, who I had the privelege to serve with in my first youth pastor position; Pastor Jim Bales, who saw to it that his church in Warren, Arkansas took us in and who allowed us to work with a great group of  youth for almost two years; and last, but certainly not least, my own father-in-law, Jeff Kennedy.  From telling me it had been a while since he had beat up a guy (this was when I first approached him about courting Mandee) to showing me how to make home and auto repairs, Jeff continues to be an important mentor in my life.  Which Jethroes do you have to be thankful for in your life?  Maybe you will have the opportunity to thank them this Thanksgiving.  Even if you don't see them, or if they are no longer living, we can offer thanks to God for them:

Father, I thank you for the godly men you have placed in my life over the years,  As your word says in Proverbs 22, iron sharpens iron, and I know that you have used these men to sharpen, and continue sharpening my life.  May we also make ourselves available, rejoice with others in their victories, and share solid practical advice with those younger men you place into our lives.  Father, we are truly thankful for every blessing you have given us.  May we use every blessing and every opportunity, to glorify Your Name and establish Your Name on this earth.  In Jesus' name, Amen.

Have a blessed and happy Thanksgiving!
 

Blessings on the Altar of Testing

These past two weeks, I've had the privelege of teaching the junior high Sunday School class at church.  The lessons have been focusing on Abraham and how God challenged and developed his faith while keeping His promises.  This week's lesson was on God testing Abraham and I wanted to share a few thoughts this Monday that God shared with me.

In Genesis 22 we get a front-row seat to an interesting event in the life of Abraham.  God, who up to this point promised to Abraham that he would have a son and that his descendants would inherit the land, has now provided that promised son to Abraham, even in his old age.  Who of us has not marveled at the idea of a one hundred year-old man receiving a son after waiting for twenty-five years?  Now here's where things get really interesting: the son that God has promised and provided is now possibly in his late teens or in his twenties and God asks this of Abraham "Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering upon one of the mountains of which I will tell you." (Genesis 22:2 (AMP).  In the words that the youth and I said together this morning: "Say what?"

Now, many of us could say that we have gone through periods of testing with God. Maybe you've had to seek His face for an extended length of time before receiving an answer to a prayer.  Maybe circumstances, such as sickness, loss of a job or relocation, financial stress, or spiritual burdens have arisen in your life that, as you have sought God, have been revealed to be tests that God has allowed or is allowing in your life.  I think sometimes during these times as much or more than any other, we can tend to question God.  And while I don't think God is intimated or even put out with our "Why's", I am always astounded at Abraham's response in v. 3: "So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac, and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and then began the trip to the place of which God had told him." (AMP) How many of us, if asked by God to sacrifice the biggest blessing He has ever given us, would be able, with such fortitude, and singleness of mind not only agree to do it, but then follow through with it?  I don't know if I'm to the level of Abraham yet; I might at least have to talk it over for a while with God.  But, if that's what He called me to do, it is my desire that I would be able to do that which was asked of me.

Before I sound too out there, I think we can all agree that if we literally think we are hearing God telling us to sacrifice one of our children, we need to do several things: 1. Seek Him earnestly in prayer for clear understanding, 2. Read the Scriptures where He forbids the taking of life in murder, 3. Seek professional help.  But I wonder, how many of us have an area of our life that has been blessed visibly by God?  Maybe it's a ministry that we've waited many years for Him to provide.  Maybe yours is a literal fulfillment of Abraham's promise in that you recieved a child after waiting for many years.  Now the next question: How many of us are afraid that God might ask us to surrender that area wholly and completely to Him?  That might mean giving him every area of our job, ministry, or family.  It might mean surrendering our own hopes and dreams for that little boy or little girl and letting God's unfold, even if they don't fit within our schema. For those of us who like to maintain some degree of control over our lives, this can be a very real fear.  It can be during these times of testing that we need to ask ourselves: What do I really believe about God and what does His Word reveal about His character and His promises? 

Just as Abraham had to learn that God could protect him and Sarah (that he didn't have to lie two different times about her being his sister (can you imagine asking your wife to go along with that one?!)) and that God didn't need him and Sarah to bring Hagar into the picture to bring about the promised one, so we need to learn that God's character is love and that no matter what He allows us to go through, two things are always true:  1.  He is going to always act according to His character and His promises, 2. It is ultimately for our good as His children (He wouldn't allow it  if it wasn't).  Let's look back at the verses.  In verses 5 - 10, we see Abraham putting hands and feet to his faith.  In verse 5, he speaks in faith that "we (he and Isaac) will come again to you" and in verse 8, he tells Isaac, "God Himself will provide a lamb for the burnt offering".  Abraham trusted what God had spoken and knew that His promise was to bring about a nation of descendants through Isaac.  Hebrews 11: 17 - 19  reveals that Abraham, because he had received this promise, reasoned that God was able to raise Isaac from the dead if need be.  Whether he had to actually kill Isaac and then watch as God raised him from the dead or see God provide something to sacrifice in Isaac's place, Abraham's faith was founded on his relationship with his Father and the promises he had recieved from him. 

Some very interesting things happen in verses 11 - 18.  As Abraham stretched forth his hand and took hold of the knife to slay his son, I believe personally at the point of him having the knife poised above his son ready to deliver the killing blow, the Messenger from Heaven, the Lord Jesus Himself in preincarnate form, speaks from heaven, "Do not lay your hand on the lad or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear and revere God, since you have not held back from Me or begrudged giving Me your son, your only son." (v. 12 (AMP))  Then in verse 12, Abraham looks up and glances around, and there is a ram caught in a thicket by its horns.  Why didn't Abraham see the ram when he first came to the place?  I wonder if it was there yet, or the Lord placed it there after He saw the Abraham was willing to surrender the son of the promise back to him? I find it interesting that some translations actually say the ram was behind Abraham.  Isn't it interesting that he didn't notice it as he walked by?  Maybe it wasn't there yet, and was only revealed as the Lord said,"now I know that you fear and revere God."  Following this, Abraham is able to offer the ram for the burnt offering and God reaffirms to him the covenant (verses 15 - 18).

Is there something God is asking you to sacrifice, to surrender to Him right now?  Maybe a relationship, a vision, a situation?  Are you offering it without question, or are you holding back and begrudging giving it to Him?  Are you trusting the One Who gave it to you in the first place, or are you doubting His character and promises right now, doubting that He will give it back to you in a way that you want or replace it with something else?  Remember, he may not reveal the "something else" until you have that promise, that blessing on the altar and are stretching forth your hand to "put it to death" and trust it to His keeping.  The very substitute may be right behind you, but you won't see it unless you are willing to give everything to Him. 

Please pray with me: Father, Your Word says you know how to give good gifts to Your children, and You have done just that in so many ways.  But Father, there may be some of us that You are calling to surrender one, or even more than one, of those blessings to You.  It is difficult Lord, because sometimes we are afraid of losing it, in fact, we have become so attached to that blessing that we don't want anything to happen to it and we're afraid You won't return it, or at least, that You won't return it looking the way we think it should.  Please help us to trust You with everything You've given us.  You've trusted us to take care of it and to give it to You if need be.  Help us to remember that You are Perfect Love, and that perfect love casts out all fear.  Help us to trust You, knowing that Your plans are to give us a hope and a future and You are always working everything together for the good of those who love You and who are called according to Your purpose.  In Christ's Name I pray, Amen. 

Have a great week!

Dream a Little Dream...

Yesterday morning I went through my typical Tuesday morning routine. Got Jeff and the kids off to school, dropped Declan off at his school, enjoyed a great workout at Cardio Groove, took Rileigh over to see Papaw a minute, and started home to realize I needed to make a stop by Wal-mart. I parked, gathered my things and went around to grab Rileigh as I made a mental note of the quickest way to get in and out. Suddenly I had a thought pop in my head.

There I was, still in my work out clothes, with my little minivan, shopping in the middle of the day. I looked like the typical middle class stay home soccer mom going about my day. Now for some that would be a wonderful feeling. Not for me. When other girls were growing up dreaming of whatever they dreamed of, I was dreaming of a life spent doing missions work over seas. I thought I'd have my children with a midwife in an African hut, not one of the greatest women's hospitals in the state. (That part I am glad to be wrong about.)

This thought hit me on a day when I was taking a huge step in seeing one of my biggest dreams begin to take shape. I don't know if I should consider it a God thought, or a discouragement from the enemy. Either way, it got me thinking and praying. God brought to mind the story of Joseph. I thought I'd share with the rest of you, who may be waiting for your big God dream to come true, what I have learned from reading Joseph's story. Obviously for sake of space and my fingers, you'll have to read the story for yourself. Pull up another tab and find it on biblegateway.com. It begins in the 37th chapter of Genesis, skips over to chapter 39 and continues all the way through 46.

What I got from the story is:

1. The ones you think will be most supportive may not always react the way you'd expect.

Joseph was seventeen, young and zealous. He had the great confidence that comes from being raised by a very supportive father and was not shy about telling his family what God had been showing him.

This happens many times in the church as well as families. I don't think it is because the ones reacting poorly are bad people. Instead I think that it is often hard to see what God sees. I remember, while in bible school, God giving me a 'word' for a friend of mine. I told her exactly what God was telling me and nothing more. It confirmed something that God had already been talking to her about and she was very excited. Until she talked to one of the school counselors. She was crushed, and I was told that I didn't have a right to speak those things, and God wouldn't tell somebody something that big. I wanted to ask them if we'd read the same Bible, but my parents raised me not to talk back. I had to bite my tongue very hard that day.

Our Pastor has a different take on how to know if God is the one giving you the dream. He says, "if its bigger than you are and it won't go away, then its probably God." I have used that in my own life. I have a huge imagination and could be quite the schemer without a good husband to keep me in check. I've learned a little trick about myself. When I come up with some great idea, I put it all on paper and get it all out of my head and then file it away. If I lose interest in it, then I know it was my own idea and not Gods.

It doesn't really say how Joseph reacted when his own father rebuked him for his dream, but it does say that Jacob "kept the matter in mind."

2. Sometimes God doesn't use the easiest or most obvious path to fulfill your dream.

I used to think that Joseph should have kept his mouth shut and pondered his dream in his heart. You know, just between him and God. I don't know if I think that anymore. Here is what I do think. His brothers already held jealousy and hatred in their hearts for Joseph. God knew that and allowed the devil to use it in an attempt to destroy Joseph. I think that his brothers would have decided to sell him off dream or no dream. It was the way God chose to get him to Egypt. God can do anything and use anything he wants to use in order to accomplish His will. He is also infinitely wise and knows what areas we need to grow in before we see our dream happen. I imagine Joseph did a whole lot of growing while being a slave and prisoner!

3. Overcoming temptation doesn't always get you a gold medal!

There seems to be a lot of people believing that if they serve God life is supposed to be all roses and sunshine. Well, roses have thorns and can't grow without a little rain, which Jesus told us would fall on the just and the unjust.

Joseph did the right thing when his master's wife set her eyes on him, and then he went to jail. I wonder if Potiphar knew his wife was lying. As well as he knew Joseph, you just have to wonder. If he didn't, can you imagine the hurt he must have felt at being betrayed by the person he'd trusted more than anyone. Once again it doesn't tell us what Joseph was thinking or feeling. What it does tell us is that the Lord was with him, and that is far better than any rose or ray of sunshine!

4. Your treatment of others may be your ticket to success.

Hopefully you've read the story by now and you know that Joseph helped out two other prisoners by telling them the meaning of their dreams. Well, maybe it would be more correct in saying he help one of them out. The baker didn't exactly fare too well. However, the cup bearer did, and when the time came, God reminded him of Joseph. It is comical in my imagination to see this shaggy looking prisoner being escorted into Pharaoh's great throne room and all of the advisers who'd come up empty looking disgusted at the thought of this convict doing their job. (I told you I had a big imagination) I don't know if that is how it happened, but I do know that Joseph told Pharaoh what was going to happen and how to deal with it. That quickly he became the second in command, and it started all because he helped out a wayward cup bearer who'd been put in prison.

5.  You dream doesn't always look quite like you think it will.

Joseph's dream is never mentioned again after he tells his father and brothers, until verse 8 of chapter 42. Joseph was away from his family for 13 years before he was made governor of Egypt. Then he spent another seven years working diligently to prepare the country for the famine that had been going on for two years when his brothers showed up. You can imagine that he was a little too busy to worry about getting his brothers to bow down to him. He may have even dismissed the dreams as a childhood fantasy. However, he suddenly found himself living that dream, and it was much more painful than he expected. After putting his brothers through a couple of test to see if they had changed, he was finally willing to reveal himself to them. He didn't gloat over being right, but he told his brothers the most important lesson to learn from his story. In Genesis 45 Joseph tells his brothers that God sent him to Egypt, not them, and that He did it to save their lives.

Joseph's God dream wasn't that his brothers were going to bow down to him. It was, in reality, a dream of God using Joseph to preserve the lives of His chosen people.

What is your dream?

Good Things Come to Those Who Wait

Proverbs 18:22 (AMP) "He who finds a [true] wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord."

For this Manly Monday, I thought I would spend some time speaking about the one who stands next to this man. I can truly say in my life that through God's enormous favor and blessing, I have both found a good thing and obtained favor from the Lord.

Mandee came into my life at a time that I was not truly seeking a wife.  Sure, the desire for a wife and family was still there, but I had surrendered that desire to God two years earlier and had decided through much prayer, study, and advice that the best thing for me to do would be to pour myself into the youth ministry that God had called me to. I had previously seen Mandee at my home church in Oklahoma, but spent most of the few minutes that morning catching up with her older sister, who I actually remembered a little better from school.  Mandee is seven years younger than me, so in my mind, she was Shelly and Jason's little sister, and that's about all I knew about her.  My memory from this particular morning is of her tending to our oldest niece and nephew in the background while Shelly and I talked for a few minutes.  Little did I know that I would be seeing a lot more of her over the next few years...

As God would have it happen, Mandee's best friend was engaged and she and her fiancee were attending my home church.  I, along with some of the other young adult men in our church, had recently taken an interest in Becky's fiancee, befriended him, and sought out opportunities to spend time with him.  We decided to give him a Christian alternative to the usual bachelor party and that involved taking him to Little Rock for a couple of days for a Christian conference.  Before we left Westville, we had to stop by our church so he could put in an appearance at a wedding shower and pose with Becky for a few pictures.  Little did I know that at this wedding shower, my future wife was also waiting.  The other guys and I stayed in the background for the presenting of the cake and pictures, then loaded back up to head to Little Rock.  In the truck, I happened to ask Davis, the fiancee, who the young lady with the little girl was.  His startled response?  "That's Mandee, Becky's best friend.  Everybody knows her."  Well, apparently, I didn't recognize her! 

About a month later, I was sitting in the Car-Mart waiting room in Fayetteville with my sister while my mom and brother talked business with a car sales manager in the back.  Who should walk in but the same beautiful young woman from the wedding shower with the same little girl.  My sister had been in the same grade as Mandee, so they talked awhile about different friends and what they were up to now.  The conversation naturally turned to the fact that Mandee was a youth sponsor at her church in Fayetteville and I "happened" to mention that I was leading the college ministry at our church.  I invited her to come to my class sometime and she said she would try to make it.  While we were talking, her niece Alex used my legs for entertainment, swinging on them and trying out various gymnastics routines. Apparently, she already knew I was going to be her uncle, or at least she thought I made a good piece of playground equipment.

I didn't expect Mandee to come to class two weeks later, but as I walked to the back of our church to greet some of the college students, there she stood with Davis and Becky.  I quickly made a beeline to one of our students who had been out of town and made a point of asking him about a recent trip.  Needless to say, I was nervous about talking to this young lady who I was already becoming very interested in.  After service, Mandee teased me a little (she swears she wasn't trying to) about being more interested in the student's trip to Hawaii than in talking to her.  If only she had known!  That summer, I busied myself with preparing for a mission trip to Monterrey, Mexico.  I would be helping lead a team of twenty students in street and drama ministry and my focus was own preparing sermons and memorizing drama parts and movements.  At that point, I had pushed Mandee to the back of my mind to focus on the trip.  When I returned from my two-week trip, my mom and sister picked me up at the airport.  I was worn out and ready for a little R and R, so I wasn't ready for one of the first things my mom asked me: "Guess who sat by me at church Sunday?"  My tired mind reeled its way through the faces of my mom's friends and I took a few guesses.  "No, Mandee Kennedy."  Well, that had my attention immediately.  I had been seeking God about opening a door for me to receive further ministry training, and as God had planned it, Mandee's dad was teaching Berean Bible courses at his church in Fayetteville.  Mandee had left her phone number with my mom in case I wanted to call her and find out more about it.

The first time I called, I spoke with Mandee's dad.  The second time I called (Yes, second.  I wanted to get her opinion on the classes) I talked with her on the phone for four hours!  Talking with her was so easy and I found that we had many of the same dreams and passions.  Soon I was enrolled in the classes and I approached my first session with much anticipation and nervousness.  I wanted to be where God wanted me to be, but I didn't want my feelings for Mandee to be a distraction to her or to me.  So I waited.  And waited.  Several weeks into the courses and after much prayer and seeking of godly counsel, I decided to approach Mandee's dad about pursuing a courtship with her.  The three things he said to me that night were both funny and profound: 1. "You want to talk about Mandee, huh?  It's been a while since I had to beat up a guy (Thankfully, he was  only joking!), 2. "Mandee will let you know herself if you are out of line.", and 3 "Follow your heart".  Those of you who know my father-in-law understand the weight of that last statement.  So it was with his blessing that I found myself standing out side our classroom building on a Thursday night in Septermber 2001 asking a beautiful young woman to enter into courtship with me.  Her response?  "Yes"  Hallejuah and Praise the Lord!  The fact that I didn't speed back to Westville that night was only because of His protection and mercy.

Fast forward...within two weeks we were engaged and within six months, we were married.  I don't recommend that for everyone unless you know that you know that you know God is in it.  This next April 20, we will celebrate nine years of marriage together.  Sometimes all the changes in that time make my head spin: four children, multiple moves, youth pastor positions at two different churches, five faith-building and humbling months living with my in-laws, three years on staff at Teen Challenge, one miscarriage, two major surgeries for me, me becoming a teacher, relocating to south Arkansas, one major surgeries for Mandee, and finally, returning to NW Arkansas this summer.  To say it's been an adventure would be an understatement.  Through it all, God has kept His faithful hand upon us, and time again, He has used the "good thing" He provided in His good time, to encourage me, to remind me of His love and grace, to support me, and to just be there for me.  Mandee is a constant blessing.  I'm amazed at her love for our God, her love for our children, and the gifts God has bestowed upon her.  She can preach, draws awesome house plans, makes the best no-bake cookies in the world (just ask anyone who was at last week's Fall Party), keeps me humble by beating me at chess and Battleship, encourages and develops our kid's bents and talents, and paints some of the most amazing landscapes and abstracts you're ever going to see.  If you have a special lady in your life, be it a spouse, mom, or sister, thank God for her.  He put her there for a reason.  If you don't have a wife yet, trust God with that, just as you trust Him for your salvation.  He will bring her to you in His time.  And, like Isaac when he was in the field and saw Rebekah, you will know she is for you.

Please pray with me.  Father, thank you for my wife.  I know you gave her to me because I couldn't have found the one just right for me on my own.  I tried and tried, but failed each time.  When I surrendered this part of my life to You, and poured myself into the things and tasks you had for me, just like Adam after he had named the animals, you brought to me the one who is "bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh".  She truly is a blessing to me.  I ask you to be with her spirit, to encourage her, and to help me to let her know what a blessing and love she is to me.  May I be a channel of your grace, love, protection, strength, and mercy to her just as you make her to me.  I love you Lord, and ask that our marriage be an example of Your love for the church.  In Jesus' Name I pray, Amen.

I love you, Mandee!  

Prayerful Heart

This will not be a blog in sense that most of my post are 'blogs.'
Today my heart is heavy with many prayer needs. This time of year, we spend focusing on what we are thankful for, yet many are focusing on their many needs and hurts. Its a strange aspect to the holiday season. I have sat at my computer today praying about what to type and my mind keeps returning instead to the need to pray for the different people who are ill, unemployed, hurting emotionally, or at the "end of their rope" so to speak financially. a few are dealing with more than one of these difficulties at once.

As you read this, do you have people coming to your mind? I think it would be safe to say that most of us do. Life, well, its hard sometimes. In that hardness we discover we cannot do it alone. We need God and we need His people around us. Makes me glad its a Wednesday and I'll be with my church family in just a few hours!

I've been blessed with an amazing church family. There are ones that I know I can call any time and they will immediately go to prayer for me. I want to be that for them as well. Not only that but for everyone else God puts in my life be it family, friends, co-workers (don't have those right now), or even just people my kids go to school with their kids.

Many of the miracles recorded in the Bible tell us that Jesus was moved with compassion for the person. Compassion isn't always my first emotional response. However, I am the type to want to fix it for everyone else. Boy, does God have to remind me often that that is His job and not mine! I can, however, take my example from Paul and do what he did for the people of Colossians (and many others).

Colossians 1:9 says, "For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives," I like this prayer list. Short and simple. It doesn't really even need explained. So today, as I think of all the people I love, and the ones I just know by acquaintance, who need prayer. I am going to take Paul's example to heart.

I am going to pray, and keep praying for you. I'll ask God to show you, with wisdom and understanding given by His Spirit, how he is working and his will.

Please join me, if you have others you'd like to pray for today.

Lord, you know the long list of people and their needs I have to bring to you today. You knew them before I did. Please be with these people. Open their hearts to the comfort and leading of the Holy Spirit. Help them to take hold of the wisdom and understanding you are offering them, so that they can see how you are working this difficulty for good in their lives. Help them also to see the support they have from the people you've put in their path. Let me be an encouragement to them as well. Thank you for the peace that comes in knowing you already have the answer and know about the problem before we ever ask. In Jesus Name, Amen.

miTunes Vs. HisTunes

I don't count myself as a particularly tech-saavy person.  Occassionally, I can keep up with my father-in-law as he sings the praises of the latest phone applications, but for the most part, I get lost in the constant flux and flow of phones, personal music devices, and various other "toys" that fascinate this information generation.  I hail from the time when video games had one directional control and two buttons, you could only find phone privacy as far as the phone cord in the kitchen stretched, and wireless communication was something only those in the military or on Star Trek possessed.  In fact, I didn't even own a cell phone until a few years ago.  Only recently have I experienced the wonder of owning a phone with a "QWERTYUIOP" keypad. I think I still get outtexted by my niece and nephew.

With this overall lack of technical sophistication, it was with a little apprehension mingled with excitement that I agreed with my wife for the two of us to purchase an iPod for our oldest daughter this year.  It wasn't that I wasn't excited about her having a device that could download a multitude of songs that she could have available at the touch of a button.  No, my apprehension had more to do with the fact that I would not know how to get that multitude of songs onto the iPod, get them to play, and make sure they stayed there.  Thankfully, as many younger ones seem to do these days, my daughter seems to have mastered the basics of the iPod.  She reminds us when it needs to be charged and it has become her constant companion on our morning commute to school.  My wife helped her pick out songs from iTunes, and they run the gambit from Relient K to Miley Cyrus.

It was during one of our morning runs through the countryside that I heard and saw something interesting last week.  My daughter asked me if I could turn down the van radio so she and her brother could better hear the particular song they were listening to on her iPod.  I obliged her, and when I glanced back, I noticed each of them with one of the ear buds in an ear, moving along to the music.  Immediately, the Holy Spirit quickened me with these thoughts: "Right now, they are sharing the same tune.  They are in tune with one another.  How well are you in tune with Me?"

That is my question for today: How in tune am I with God?  Am I on the same wavelength as Him?  Am I moving as He moves, seeing what He sees, being broken for that which He was broken?  Or am I listening with half an ear to His plan and half an ear to my own plans, my own schemes, my own ways of how it "should" be done?  Are there times when I don't even have the ear buds in and I'm completely tuned in to the song of the world around me, "joyfully and ignorantly" oblivious to what He is doing?  In Revelation 3, we see Christ speaking through John the Revelator concerning the church at Sardis.  Some very key things are noteworthy in verses 1 - 3(AMP) : 1. Jesus knew their record and what they were supposed to be doing, 2. They were supposed to be alive, but in reality were dead, 3. Jesus tells them to "Rouse yourselves and keep awake, and strengthen and invigorate what remains and is on the point of dying; for I have not found a thing that you have done [any work of yours] meeting the requirements of My God or perfect in His sight."(v.2), 4.(and this is very key) They were to remember the lessons they had received and heard and to continually lay them to heart and obey them, and repent (v.3)

Now for the application: Jesus knows what we are doing, and what we should be doing, for His kingdom.  I was reminded of this again when I heard a pastor on the radio this afternoon expositing on the story of Jesus and the woman at the well.  While the disciples were trying to get Jesus to eat some food, He was telling them His food was to fulfull the will of the One who sent Him and telling them to look on the fields for they were white with harvest.  This was occuring as the Samaritans who had heard the report of the woman were flocking to the well to see Messiah for themselves.  How often do I stand, food bag in hand, saying "Lord, look what I've done for you" and don't consider the "true food" He's trying to show me, the true task at hand?  How many people today have a form of godliness, but deny the power thereof, thinking they are alive when in fact they are dead, their flame going out like the flame in the temple, their ears like those of Eli as he failed to hear the voice Samuel was hearing?  Do we so easily fall into the death of our trespasses and sins again?  Do we gorge ourselves to death on the food of our will and not the One who sends us?   Do we grow fat on the lessons we have heard, but fail to lay them to heart continually, obey them, and repent?

I believe Christ's words for the church of Sardis are just as true for us as believers today.  Psalm 84:5 (AMP) says ^"Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) is the man whose strength is in You, in whose heart are the highways to Zion."  How do we know these highways? Not from TomTom, but from HimHim, by listening to His voice, spending time in His Word, dining on the rich meat of doing the will of the One Who sends us.  One of my favorite old hymns has this chorus:

"Jesus, hold my hand
I need Thee every hour.
Through this pilgrim land
Protect me by thy pow'r.
Hear my feeble plea
Oh Lord, look down on me.
When I kneel in prayer,
I hope to meet you there
Precious Jesus, hold  my hand."

May we walk in tune with Him.  That way we stay sharp, we're never flat, and serving Him becomes more natural.

Let's pray.  Lord, I lose count of how many times I've been out of tune with you.  Like Peter and so many others, I try to tell You the business of the kingdom, how it's going to go down on any given day, as if You need my advice.  Thank You for Your patience with me.  You keep me close to You despite my shortcomings and my failures. Thank You for still desiring for me to play a part in what You have planned for this generation.  Please help me to quiet the distractions of this world and my own stubbornness, pride, fears, and desires and to hear what Your Spirit says each and every day.  Let me not hold tight to what I think is the food bag, when the real food is right in front of me.  May I be about your business every way and in all ways in these days.  I love You and want to please You.  In Jesus' Name I pray.  Amen.  Stay tuned!