Exodus

SCRIPTURE

 Suddenly, two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared and began talking with Jesus. They were glorious to see. And they were speaking about His exodus from this world, which was about to be fulfilled in Jerusalem.

~Luke 9:30-31, NLT

QUOTE

There is no surer proof of Christ’s divinity than that He is still so hated some two thousand years after his exodus.
~ Ann Coulter

I once asked an Italian, “How do you say Pizza in your language?” He said promptly, “Pizza.” The word ‘exodus’ is the same in the Greek as it is in English. The Greek word for our word exodus is exodus. It means to depart; to leave one place and go to another. When we think exodus, we always think of the Children of Israel leaving Egypt but in Luke 9 it is used as the subject of Jesus conversation with Moses and Elijah. What did they talk about? They were discussing Jesus exodus from this world! Speaking of exodus, Moses had a mysterious exodus. No one knows the location of his grave. Elijah had a miraculous exodus: he went heavenward in a whirlwind. Jesus did not have it so easy, His exodus was by way of a cross.

Think about the Exodus of the Israelites: they left the house of bondage and journeyed into the great unknown. Barclay calls it the greatest adventure in human history; an entire nation putting their utter trust in God. Humanly speaking, there was no way Moses could take a million plus people through a wilderness that is so barren, so full of death that even a snake has a hard time surviving but they made it; by the grace of God they made it and so will we.

 

• We did not have a great crowd last Sunday but we did have two great offerings: we are within a couple of Sundays of getting started on the Block Party offering. My concern today is Baccalaureate. Mr. Hardy and one of the other teachers have done a lot of work in preparation and we will be doing more today. It begins at 6:30 tonight. We need one Trustee and a couple of greeters to pass out the programs. We could use your moral support and presence. There will be plenty of room.
• VBS and VBX begins next Monday morning at 8:30 and our rehearsal for Joint Worship is Sunday evening at 5:00.
• SENIOR ADULT COOK OUT is Friday…BBQ Chicken, Ribs and trimmings. Seniors, your option is baked beans, potato salad or a dessert.
• Friday night at 6:00 we will begin on the handicap ramp. Mother used to tell me that she got tired just reading our bulletin and now I know what she means, we have a lot going on.
• Joe David is in New Orleans this week. He has to do one week on Campus each Semester now. He took a pic of the apartment that we lived in during our two years at NOBTS. I graduated NOBTS in May of 1974, this week 40 years ago. Wow! I do not look that old, do I????

Our Residence in Seminary

 

A Mountain Top Experience

SCRIPTURE

Six days later Jesus took Peter and the two brothers, James and John, and led them up a high mountain to be alone.  As the men watched, Jesus’ appearance was transformed so that his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as light.

~Matthew 17:1-2, NLT

QUOTE

The Christian life is not a constant high. I have my moments of deep discouragement. I have to go to God in prayer with tears in my eyes, and say, ‘O God, forgive me,’ or ‘Help me.’

~Billy Graham

I had lunch with Josie and Ty yesterday. I ask if they were ready to go back to the mountains and they both got excited. Most of grandkids were sad when we have to leave last Friday but we could not stay on that mountain for several reasons.  One of the primary reasons we returned is that we all have responsibilities here. Peter, James and John were awestruck by their mountain top experience. Not one but four phenomenal things happened in a matter of minutes: [1] The divine glory came out of Jesus and He began to radiate like the sun. [2] Moses and Elijah appeared. [3] The awesome and glorious Shechinah Glory cloud came down and enveloped the entire group. [4] Out of the cloud, God spoke audibly.

Simon Peter responded the same way I would: “This is great, let’s just camp out right here. I’ll put up some tents. We don’t need to go back down. Forget Jerusalem and this talk about a cross. Let’s just stay here and bash in the glory.” Some people live from conference to conference but we cannot live in retreat. Christ calls us to the valley where there are hurting people. We have all had those moments when the presence of God is supremely evident and our souls are blessed with incredible peace but the purpose of the mountain top experience is to confirm our call, prepare us for service and encourage us to face our Jerusalem. Aren’t you glad Jesus did not take Peter’s advice and stay on the mountain top.

• I can’t believe, not a single April fools joke all day yesterday. What a beautiful day, thank You Jesus.
• I saw Mike Wiggins today: He looks great, like his old self. He sends his greeting to my sister in Athens. Mike worked with Hural at Monsanto.

The Ultimate Terrorist

SCRIPTURE

For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.

~2 Timothy 1:7, NLT

QUOTE

Anytime we open ourselves to fear, we fall prey to deception and intimidation.

~Francis Frangipane

Years ago, M.D. had an old bulldog chained to a tree. It was a good size chain and about 20-25 feet long. I stopped by one evening late, almost dark and forgot all about the dog. I got out of my truck and started up the side-walk. All of a sudden I hear this ferocious sound and I turn just in time to make eye contact with M.D.’s bulldog. He had already launched himself and was going for the jugular, mine and right before his teeth sank into my neck, the chain caught that devil and jerked him to the ground. He went down fast and hard. I was too afraid to laugh but not too afraid to pray, immediately I thanked God for the chain. The devil has power but he is not free to do as he pleases, he is on a chain so to speak. By that I mean he can only go so far as in the case of Job. Trust me, if he had free rein, he would have destroyed Job and he would do the same to us. He would invade every aspect of our life; I’m not talking about the circumstances surrounding us, I am taking about a personal invasion. He would come in and destroy from within. But he can’t invade us because he doesn’t have permission. He cannot come in against our will. He is in the world but he is not in us and greater is He [Jesus] that is in you, than he [devil] that is in the world. That my friends is a reason to celebrate.

• Beautiful day yesterday and another coming tomorrow I hope. I took a walk in the mid-day sun, it was perfect. TYJ.
• I checked the boards yesterday, attendance Sunday was not good but offerings were great.
• GOLDEN GIRLS meet Saturday at Cracker Barrel in Hartselle, 9:00 a.m.
• My Aunt Cora {99 in May} is very sick. I think she is tired and ready to go home. I ran up to see her Saturday. There are only two left in Daddy’s family: Aunt Cora and Uncle Floyd who lives in Douglasville, Georgia and still drives on the interstate. I think he was born in 1924 which would make him 90.

July 4, 2012

• I don’t think the video from Bobby that I posted last night worked. I am going to give you the address of this one; it is a tour of the space station:
  http://www.youtube.com/embed/doN4t5NKW-k
• The address for the one last night [people doing awesome and crazy things] is

  http://safeshare.tv/w/MRMDIWCFec
  
  

  

  Tybo in # 48

  

  Beautiful Blue Eyes

  

  Big L, running in the fast lane.

  

  Uncle Joe and Tybo in a turbo

  

  Trucker Reeves in #11

  

  Silly Girls

Listening To God

SCRIPTURE

And the LORD came and called as before, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel replied, “Speak, your servant is listening.”

~I Samuel 3:10, NLT

QUOTE

Just remaining quietly in the presence of God, listening to Him, being attentive to Him, requires a lot of courage and know-how.

~Thomas Merton

When I think of great intercessors, five names come to mind: Abraham, Moses, Job, Samuel and Elijah. All five had one thing in common, they spent a lot of time in solitude. Moses spent 40 years on the back side of nowhere; in total isolation. Samuel was raised in church, literally: he slept in the sanctuary. Job spent months, possibly years as a homeless person living among the jackals and Elijah was the Phantom Prophet who was rarely visible and had an infinity for caves. Speaking to God is the easy part; hearing God speak to us is where most of us fail. Sometimes it takes hardship, isolation, suffering and time alone to cultivate a sensitive ear to the voice of God. Make no mistake, God is speaking. The question is: are we listening?

• God is good. He is full of mercy and grace and I praise Him. It is always a blessing to get to present the gospel. I didn’t check a thing before leaving last night. All I know is that the Gideon offering was over $1,200.00 which is good. Kevin does a good job. He has been with us for two years in a row.
• I needed a retreat and I appreciate my children encouraging me to take one. I am thankful for several things about home. We don’t have as much traffic here as they do in Pigeon Forge and I love Charter Internet. I really struggled last week because the internet was so slow. I guess I had taken Charter for granted.
• I am also thankful for all the green I am seeing in the grass and trees; spring is upon us and it is refreshing.
• I’m not much of a sports fan these days but I am tickled that we have two SEC teams in the final four and the Big-Ten [Yankees] have only one. I would love to see an all SEC final. Don’t you know that would thrill the folks above the Mason-Dixon.
• Holly sent me the wrong pic last night, this is Pearl in her official NASCAR.

Pearl Kevin Havareck

Holly Waltrip

Lolo Labonte

Hannica Kilpatrick

Bobby in L.A.

Check out this Video

People Are Crazy

Trouble Maker

Prayer For REVIVAL in America

Scripture

So Obadiah went to tell Ahab that Elijah had come, and Ahab went out to meet Elijah.When Ahab saw him, he exclaimed, “So, is it really you, you troublemaker of Israel?”

I Kings 18:16-17 NLT

Quote

If you take a sword and use it, to run a fellow through; government ain’t to answer for it, God will send the bill to you.

~James Russell Lowell

Commentary

Why did Ahab blame Elijah for Israel’s problems? Why do people always blame the preacher? Somebody asked John Tanner at a luncheon one day [I was sitting there], “John, why do you all blame Bro. Jack for everything that goes wrong at Danville?” John didn’t hesitate, he said, “Because 90% of the time he is guilty.” John may have been wrong; it may be more like 98% of the time. If I had learned from all my mistakes, I’d be a genius. The first step to maturity is to take responsibility for your mistakes instead of blaming them on others.  Ahab was the true trouble maker in Israel but he blamed everything on Elijah. When we become an accuser of the brethren, not only are we acting Satan like, we are also attempting to excuse our own sin and failure. Every time we make an excuse or blame someone else, we forfeit the right to grow.

Extra

• Cut a deal with Carol Lynn [Loretta’s cousin] yesterday–105.7 FM will be our radio station for the Block Party. She should start advertising August 1.
• Chick-Fil-A tonight at 5:45 and we are having Peanut Butter Ice Cream.
• Eleven Days until BLOCK PARTY. Everything is coming together, my big concern is getting enough stuff to stock the GRACE BARN in three days…August 8-10. Remember, you can start bringing stuff at 6:00 PM August 8th. Spread the word. We are going to need a massive turn out on stuff.

Hard Working Tina!

Jimmy’s Crew

Pretty Pork Pickers Picking Pork Promptly

Looks like Joe, Holly and Ken…can’t tell for sure

The Three Stooges, Curly, Moe and Larry

Praying Up A Storm

SCRIPTURE: So Samuel called to the Lord, and the Lord sent thunder and rain that day. And all the people were terrified of the Lord and of Samuel. [I Samuel 12:18, NLT]

QUOTE: Revivals are not worked up, they are prayed down. ~Calvin C. Inman

COMMENTARY: Prayer is a priviledge but it is also hard work, it is a spiritual wrestling match. Our human nature prefers things that are easy and relaxing, we have tendency to drift from prayer not toward prayer. Therefore prayer must be a discipline and then hopefully it will become a passion. One thing is sure, “We ought to pray”[Luke 18:1]. Two men in scripture prayed up a storm: Samuel and Elijah prayed and the clouds gatered and rain came down. We have two factors that have to be considered: [1] God’s sovereign power [only He can make it rain] [2] Our persistent and passionate praying. In everything there is always the divine side and the human side. God designed things this way to keep us from being irresponsible. Samuel and Elijah prayed then God sent the rain. There part was prayer: God’s part was to send the rain. Will God send a fresh wind if we refuse to trim the sails? Are we at His mercy? Sure we are and sometimes we must pray and wait. It is God’s way.

EXTRA: I don’t feel 36 today, I feel 63. I was tempted to hit the Advil last night but I made it and I thank the LORD for a new day, a cool morning and the opportunity to help some others get through perhaps a difficult day. I know every family has their issues and every family has their joys. Little Chloe has brought excitement to our family. We knew that Aunt T would go bunkers because she loves babies but I didn’t know that she had raised three clones. Her grown kids fight over who is going to hold Chloe and so does Mylee.