If Only I Had Wings

Scripture

I wish I had wings like a dove, so I could fly far away and be at peace.

~Psalm 55:6, CEV

Quote

Some people live in a dream world while other face reality and a rare few learn to turn one into the other.

~Doug Everett

Escapism is the tendency to seek distraction and relief from unpleasant circumstances or realities. We may achieve this relief through entertainment, recreation, hard work, drugs or fantasy. Usually, when a person get addicted to drugs, it is an effort to escape an unpleasant reality. In David’s case, his life was threatened by a friend who betrayed him and David came so close to death that he was terrified. In that moment of fear and anxiety, David prayed, “I wish I had wings like a dove, so I could fly away and be at peace.”

Hey, there is nothing wrong with David’s desire for peace and security. Only a fool would pray to be on someone’s hit list. A powerful person had a contract on David’s life and he was feeling very insecure. He longed to be like a bird because they have a distinct advantage over their predators and over we humans; they have wings. In seconds a dove can escape danger by taking flight. They can fly above the fray and they leave no tracts for those who would hunt them. Have you ever saw a dove in a storm? Birds don’t do storms; instinctively they fly away from or above the storms. They are the ultimate escape artist.

So, David is wishing he could be like a bird and escape his problems by getting away from the storm and the turmoil. BUT we are not birds and God is not pleased when we run from our problems. Little children use fantasy as an escape valve and that is a God given survival instinct but a part of growing up is learning to face reality whether it is pleasant or not. By the way, there is one bird that doesn’t fly away to escape reality, it buries its head in the sand. Its the Ostrich and it is a stupid bird. [Job 39:13-18]

So, don’t make excuses and don’t be childish, immature or stupid–face your problems. It is not like you are alone, Jesus will help you. He is our courage and our peace.

BLOCK PARTY AUGUST 13

With Kenny Evans

Kenny Evans

HACKLEBURG PARTY

Two bossy little heifers: both think that they are in “charge”

Kids had a blast!

All the Blackwoods Read the Blog

M.D. taking a break at Hackleburg

I BELIEVE THIS IS THE BIGGEST FISH I’VE SEEN IN A LONG TIME

 

Worship

Scripture

The one thing I ask of the LORD — the thing I seek most— is to live in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, delighting in the LORD ’s perfections and meditating in his Temple.

~Psalms 27:4, NLT

Quote

Enter His presences thanksgiving and praise and He will enter your circumstances with his power and grace.

~Image Quotes

Everyone needs a sanctuary; we all need a place to go to get away from the condemnation and critical eye of the world. David loved to go to the Tabernacle, the tent of meeting and spend time with the LORD. David went to the tabernacle to delight, to meditate on the Lord’s perfection. Worship is not about us. It is not about our sin or shortcomings. We don’t go to worship to focus on our sin, we go to focus on our sinless Savior. If Jesus was not sinless, we would have no one to worship. When we congregate, the primary objective is not to talk about what is wrong with us but what is right with Jesus.

Obviously, we will not worship unless we confess our sinfulness but that is not the focus of our worship. Psalm 27 addresses our problem of fear and we all have it. The good news is that Jesus didn’t: He was not afraid, not ever and by grace He becomes our courage. I love to meditate on Jesus courage. I try to imagine being there the day He made the whip and drove out the merchants and bankers. The Jewish Religious Establishment, made up of elite and wealthy Jews, hated Jesus with a passion and they still do. Jesus was not afraid, He marched right into their stronghold and He never flinched. Wow! What a magnificent Savior.

• Spent the day on the road visiting: didn’t get a lot done but did have some quality visits. Kathleen Anders is in DGH. She has COPD and she believes she is in the last stages. Most of you don’t know Kathleen, she is Hugh’s first cousin and a female version of the same. She’s feeling rather low. She was in the room beside Tom and we didn’t know it.
• Tom’s Celebration of Life Service will be Tuesday, First Baptist Hartselle at 2:00 and visitation will be Monday night 5:00-8:00 at Pecks. Tom was preceded in death by his parents, brother Joe Bennich, daughter Debra Anne Bennich and a son Darrell Brian Bennich. He is survived by his wife of 62 years, Edith Smithson Bennich, Two SonsDewayne Bennich (Carol) of Falkville, Dan Bennich (Christy) of Hartselle, one daughter Donna Bennich Rushen (Jim) of Summerville, SC and two brothers Larry Bennich (Linda) of Decatur and Rex Bennich (Karen) of Hartselle. Pallbearers are: Barry Pearson, Mike Childers, Steve McKee, Stacy Adams, Joe David Bailey, Charles Sanford, Charles Quinn and Joe Howell.

  Members of the Morgan Baptist Disaster Relief Team, First Baptist Ramp Builders and members of the Morgan South Gideons Camp will serve as Honorary Pallbearers.

Phobeō

Scripture

For I am afraid [phobeō] that when I come I won’t like what I find, and you won’t like my response.

~2 Corinthians 12:20

Quote

The fears we refuse to face become our limits.

~Image Quotes

It is hard to believe that the great Apostle Paul had fears but he did and more than one. In 2 Corinthians 12:20, he is afraid that he would be disappointed when he got to Corinth. He was afraid he would find discord, jealousy, heated debates, disputes, defamation of character, gossip, arrogance and disorder. Discord means strife, wrangling, long heated debates where neither side is willing to concede. Jealousy is a J word for envy. The word disputes means contention, competition, electioneering, a desire to put one’s self forward, partisanship. Gossip is a form of secret slander {I have something to tell you but you can’t tell anyone I told you}. Arrogance means to be puffed up, full of hot air with no substance. Disorder is instability, disturbance and confusion.

Any one of the eight things on Paul’s list is enough to create anxiety. Thank God, it was not as bad as Paul feared. Some times are fears and anxieties can exaggerate the situation. Anxiety is our Que to pray.

• If our adults were as faithful as our YOUTH, we could have revival. They fill there section up for the GATHERING. I would love to see the house full one time before I retire but it would take a REVIVAL to do it. I’m not talking about a Revival Meeting, I am talking about a REVIVAL.
• GOLDEN GIRLS Saturday at Cracker Barrel in Hartselle.
• Ronnie Earley’s surgery went good, as good as could be expected. He is in serious condition but so far, so good.
• Jerry Randolph’s surgery is today at Princeton’s in B’ham.
• The YOUTH mission trip has been moved to July 16-23.
• LCBS and Worship Sunday morning with special guest Kenny Evans.

Kenny Evans

Humility

SCRIPTURE

Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time.

~I Peter 5:6

QUOTE

Weak and cowardly people are not humble; they only appear humble. True humility comes from inner strength and a sense of security.

~Chuck Swindoll

John 13 begins with Jesus washing his disciples feet. Jesus knew that the Father had given Him authority over everything and that he had come from God and would return to God. So he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel he had around him. Jesus knew who He was and He was not threatened by anyone or anything. His humility came from His inner strength. Weak people are easily intimidated: they may sit quietly in a corner and not say a word but this is not due to humility, it is due to fear.

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Humility is a discipline. Peter said, “Humble yourselves.” James said the same thing “Humble yourselves.” God can humble us; matter of fact He can humiliate us. There are 700 men in Alabama who would like to be invisible about now. Their sins have found them out. Don’t gloat, your sin and mine will catch up with us someday. Judgment day is not going to be pretty. God expects us to humble ourselves. How many times have you bowed the knee to our Sovereign Savior lately. It is your responsibility.

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Ronald Reagan is by far the greatest president of the 20th century and he is light years ahead of the one we have now. Some deranged idiot tried to assassinate President Reagan on March 30, 1981. I was at the Goldkist Store in Danville when I got the news. Reagan could have died but he got prompt and profession medical care: one of the perks of being president. He was conscious before going into surgery and surrounded by a team of physicians Mr. Reagan said, “I hope you guys are republicans.” One of the doctors said, “Mr. President, today, we are all republicans.” A few days later as the President was  recovering, he accidently spilled a glass of water. A nurse found him out of bed on his hands and knees cleaning up the spill. When she scolded him he said, “I didn’t want anyone to slip; I was afraid it might get you in trouble.”  Humility comes from strength, not weakness.

• First of all, great news from Gary, he had a good day. Thank you for your prayers. Add Betty Burnett to your prayer list. Betty has multiple problems. She is having a PET scan Thursday I think. There is a spot in her lungs. They also found an aneurism on her aorta. Both problems are serious. Its a lot to process at one time: pray for Betty.
• The final tally on the offering was $20,500.22. I am still praying about something but I’m not going to tell you what it is, not yet. David told me today that weather permitting, the paving will begin next Monday. Understand folks that there is a lot to be done before they put down the black top.
• We have rescinded our motion to change the Sunday morning schedule. Things will stay the same for now. Joe Fitzgerald was elected to the Personnel Committee, Jason Bowling and Jamie Glenn to Budget, Amy Garnett to WEE Care, David Andrews and Will Morgan to Nominating, Gregg Holiday and Jerry Wayne Segars to Deacon and David the little missile Wood and Brian Catfish McCollum to the board of Trustees. I want to thank Anthony and the Nominating Committee for officiating, counting and storing the ballots.
• YOUTH I need your help: I have a project for you Wednesday and if you will do it, I will buy you some pizza. [1] Put the clothes rack upon the stage of the amphitheater [2] Put the picnic tables back under the pavilion [3] Take down the fence behind the FORTE.
• Needs for FRIDAY BACKPACK PROGRAM: Poptarts, Peanut butter crackers, canned food [Ravioli, Chili, spaghettios], Caprisuns, Fruit Snacks, Applesauce, Granola Bars, Fun sized candy bars.
• Katie James Stichler’s grandfather [Mr. Golden] was promoted: services at First Baptist Hartselle this Wednesday.
• We just learned that Nell Brown’s grandson Jodie also passed away. I don’t know any arrangements.

An Encouraging Word!

SCRIPTURE

When we arrived in Macedonia, there was no rest for us. We faced conflict from every direction, with battles on the outside and fear on the inside. But God, who encourages those who are discouraged, encouraged us by the arrival of Titus.

~2 Corinthians 7:5-6, NLT

QUOTE

“Encouragement is awesome. It can actually change the course of another person’s day, week, or life.”

~Chuck Swindoll

Paul uses the word encourage six times in 2 Corinthians 7 and the word discourage once. Paul is a super-hero of faith and we tend to put him on a larger than life pedestal but he was very human. He got discouraged and was filled with anxiety. He was worried about the church at Corinth. He had written them a harsh letter and had heard nothing. I think he was doing a lot of second guessing and perhaps some regretting. Bottom line, he was anxious, afraid and discouraged. Fear always leads to discouragement.

What did it take to cheer Paul up? Titus showed up with news for Corinth and his presence and the good news he brought filled Paul’s heart with joy. Isn’t that something? Paul was down and a visit cheered him up.

Ray gives me a magazine each month called ISRAEL MY GLORY and I read a story in last months issue about a Jewish man who was dying in a hospital in Israel. This man’s entire family had been killed by Muslims when he was a teenager. Somehow he got involved with drug smugglers and then got addicted to morphine. He was arrested and imprisoned several times but he never changed his life style. He spent a total of 19 years in British prisons; now he was dying and no one cared. A Christian handy man was working on something in his room when he noticed the man’s despair. He sat down by his bed and ask him if he was prepared to die and did he know Jesus. The man shared his life story and then ask if there was any hope that Christ would forgive him. Long story short, the handy man with the word of God convinced him and he trusted Christ as his Savior. When the handy man left his room late that evening, he said, “I am ready to go be with my Savior.” He was promoted that same night.

• Another GREAT DAY at DBC. Is God good or what!
• The Count-down is zero. June is doing some last minute packing and I am on the computer. Thank YOU church for making this possible. You are very special and dear to our hearts. Remember the YOUTH are leaving today also and PTL we did not have to rent a second van because God gave us one out of the clear blue.
• This may be the last blog for a while but I will be using TWITTER to tweet pics and small messages. We get on the ship on the 24th and I’m not sure I will be able to communicate from the ship. Don’t forget to look for us August 2 on the blog. During my sickness and no blogs, I lost a lot of readers and I don’t want that to happen. A business man told me a couple of weeks ago, “I read your blog everyday.” I said, “Then, I shall continue to blog.” I don’t have many readers but I have quality readers. June says I am addicted but I am not going to worry about the blog, plus I am packing light.

Sin and Insecurity

SCRIPTURE

When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the Lord God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the Lord God among the trees.

~Genesis 3:8, NLT

QUOTE

Sin is a perverse distortion of the image of the Creator in us. All these good things, and all our security, are rightly found only and completely in Him [Jesus].

~Augustine

Fear or insecurity is at the root of all human problems. When Adam and Eve transgressed, their fall gave them a severe spiritual concussion. If left them dazed and unable to think clearly. Eve’s basic sin was that she distrusted God. She believed the devil’s lie instead of God’s word. The devil convinced Eve that the fruit would make them more like God but it did the opposite. Adam and Eve became more distrustful of God and each other. When they heard God coming, they hid in the trees. Insecurity produces distrust and distrust harms relationships.

The devil did not create fear but he certainly uses it to terrorize, torment and enslave. Satan’s real power is the ‘lie’ and he is very cunning in the use of propaganda. Jacob the patriarch lived in the despairing darkness of a lie for 20 years because he took the word of his lying sons for the truth. Jesus is the antidote: Jesus is the truth and the truth speaker. He said, “You will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” Adam and Eve allowed their sin to drive them away from God and this is no solution to the sin problem. We can’t hide, cover or deny our sin and when we attempt to do either of the three, we make bad matters worse. The only remedy is to confess it to Jesus. There are three things  Jesus will take from you that no one else on earth wants. He will take your worries, your burdens and your sin. [Psalms 55:22, I Peter 5:7]

• Today we pray for FAMILIES. I have a cousin in Birmingham, 61 years young who will be celebrating the life and morning the departure of her husband. Her name is Lou Ann.
• Communion this Sunday morning in the 10:15 worship service.
• No Deacon’s meeting this week.
• Commissioning Service for Haley Rae Garnett Sunday night at 6:00
• GOLDEN GIRLS Saturday morning at Cracker Barrel at 9:30
• I am planning {God willing} to make the Saturday morning meeting and Sunday morning. I will be there if I am able but I’m telling, the LORD can stop us in our tracks in a heartbeat.

The Unique Son of God

 

 

 

SCRIPTURE

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

~John 1:29, NKJV

QUOTE

Our LORD {Jesus} came down from life to suffer death. The Bread of Life came down to hunger. The Living Water came down to thirst.

~Augustine

Jesus never wrote a book; yet more books have been written about Him than any other figure in history. He never wrote a song but more songs have been written about Him than any figure in history. He never held an office or earned in degrees. He never travelled more than two hundred miles from the place where he was born. Jesus did none of the things we associate with success; He had no credentials but himself.  The only property he had on earth was his clothes. He was homeless for the last three years of his life. Isn’t it amazing twenty centuries have come and gone and today Jesus is the central figure of the human race.

All the actors who use His name in vain, all the judges who mandate evil by decree, all the politicians who feathered their own nest while betraying their constituents and all the presidents that have shamed the office with their immorality and betrayed their oath of office by violating the very constitution they swore to protect: all of them put together have not affected the life of mankind on earth as powerfully as that one solitary unique life.

To simply acknowledge Jesus as a great person, great prophet, or great leader is to insult Him. He is the unique Son of God. He is God incarnate; Son of God and Son of man. He came into this dark sin cursed world to give us a way out. O hallelujah, O what a Savior!

If the above does not fire you up: Listen to this…

• Today we pray for Students: Why don’t we pray for Kane and Kerri. I got Kerri’s age wrong, she is 20 and Kane is 15.
• Deacon’s and Wives Sunday Morning at 9:00: we are going to focus on these children above. Don’t be late!
• Posted a new top ten picking on Adam last night. Don Fields has been sending me some good poems and I posted those to.
• I don’t know where she got her info but Big Mama says “More snow possible next week.” I going to quote Keith on this one, “Unbelievable!”

LCBS LESSON PREVIEW

PROMISED LIKE NO OTHER

Ice breaker–How do you decide whether a person is credible, someone you can trust?

SCRIPTURE: Isaiah 53, NLT

[Note: The Jews have takes Isaiah 53 out of their synagogue readings and I don’t blame them. Isaiah wrote this 800 years before the crucifixion. I have take the liberty to insert Jesus name in place of some of the person pronouns just to give you a better grasp of this incredible prophecy]

Who has believed our message? To whom has the Lord revealed His powerful arm? ² My servant grew up in the Lord’s presence like a tender green shoot, like a root in dry ground. There was nothing beautiful or majestic about Jesus appearance, nothing to attract us to him. ³ Jesus was despised and rejected—a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. Jesus was despised, and we did not care. ⁴ Yet it was our weaknesses He carried; it was our sorrows that weighed Him down. And we thought His troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for His own sins! ⁵ But Jesus was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. Jesus was beaten so we could be whole. Jesus was whipped so we could be healed. ⁶ All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on Jesus the sins of us all. ⁷ Jesus was oppressed and treated harshly, yet He never said a word. Jesus was led like a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, He did not open his mouth.⁸ Unjustly condemned, Jesus was led away. No one cared that He died without descendants, that His life was cut short in stream. But Jesus was struck down for the rebellion of my people. Jesus had done no wrong and had never deceived anyone. But He was buried like a criminal; he was put in a rich man’s grave. ¹⁰ But it was the Lord’s good plan to crush Him and cause Him grief. Yet when Jesus life is made an offering for sin, He will have many descendants. Jesus will enjoy a long life, and the Lord’s good plan will prosper in his hands. ¹¹ When Jesus sees all that is accomplished by His anguish, He will be satisfied. And because of Jesus experience, my righteous servant will make it possible for many to be counted righteous, for He will bear all their sins. ¹² I will give Jesus the honors of a victorious soldier, because He exposed himself to death. Jesus was counted among the rebels. Jesus bore the sins of many and interceded for rebels.

It hurts when we trust someone and they betray that trust by doing something hurtful. Like the little boy in the story, we all get egg on our face at one time or another. Jesus was totally secure in who He was and He never avoided rejection. He knew the Jewish leaders hated Him and yet He sat His face toward Jerusalem. Our goal should be to become more confident in who we are and less fearful of the acceptance of others. It is easier to talk about than to demonstrate.

Testimony

When I was in high school, our football coach made the same basic speech every day. “Guys, if you go out there and work hard today, we will be back in here in the showers in two and a half hours.” He said this everyday. We left the locker room around 3:15-3:30, according to how long he talked and we always came in at dark with was 7:00-7:30. You do the math, anyway you cut it, you are out there more than 2 and half hours. The great thing about fall was it got darker earlier. After a while we stop believing anything the man said. We did not hustle through drills because we knew that regardless, we were going to be there until dark.

I served a small church in Mississippi during my last year in Seminary. We had an alcoholic that the chairman of deacons had taken on as a project and he insisted that I get involved. Actually, his plan was to hand off and he did. It was the same old same old every few months. He would come boo-wooing to me and feeling sorry for himself. I tried being kind–didn’t work. I tried being firm–didn’t work. It reached a point where I was ready to throw my hands in the air. He would make promise after promise if I would only do so in so. I reached a point where I did not believe a word he said.

Discussion Questions

1. What do you call a person that is distrustful of everyone? [Cynical] Do we want to become such a person?
2. One of the many things that makes Jesus unique is that He never breaks a promise. Have you ever broken a promise?
3. Which causes us the most guilt and pain: to hurt another person by breaking a promise or to be hurt by another person breaking a promise to you?
4. If we become cynical and we trust one, how can we build meaningful and lasting relationships?
5. Unlike Jesus, we tend to avoid rejection. In your opinion, what is motivating us to avoid rejection?
6. What are some of the things people do to avoid rejection?
7. Do you agree that most of our fears are connected to the loss of something? What fear is related to rejection?
8. What makes a promise believable?
9. How is your relationship with Jesus different from all other relationships?
10. How important is understanding and empathy in a relationship?
11. Jesus literally bore our sorrows; He was crushed by our sin. He literally took our beating. How does this make you feel about Jesus personally?
12. Knowing yourself and knowing human nature, do you really expect everyone to keep their promise?
13. Jesus is the ultimate Promise Keeper. This is one of the things that make Him unique. How can we as Christians point our friends to Jesus? Why do we need to point others in His direction?

Inner Conflict

SCRIPTURE

Jesus replied with a story: “A Jewish man was traveling from Jerusalem down to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road.”

~Luke 10:30

QUOTE

Being created in the image of God, we are made to be known.

~J. A. Ackerman

Jesus told the story of the Jewish man who was viciously attacked by a gang of bandits as he was traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho. We all know that thieves take money but in those days, they also took your clothes, all of them. So here is a man lying in his own blood, too weak to walk and he is buck naked. Being right there by the road side, it was impossible for people to pass without seeing him in his miserable condition. Within the heart of the hurting is a conflict: a part of us wants to be noticed but another part wants to hid. We are hurt and need help but we are also ashamed.  Deep down we want to be known but at the same time, we are afraid to be known. We are afraid that if people really know us, they would reject us. I have to be honest, with ordinary people, rejection is always possible. Some folks think this is why Facebook is so popular, rejected people get the opportunity to defriend someone else for a change.

Establishing and maintaining relationships can be tough but the place to begin is with Jesus. His love is unconditional. He does not love us on the basis of our merit; He loves us on the basis of His merit, character and choice. You can relax with Jesus, He already knows all about you and that includes the dark side. He will not reject you. He is so secure in who He is that He will allow you to reject Him but He doesn’t reject you. Potentially, He is the best Friend you can possibly have. Once you are firmly established in His grace, you will not feel the pressure to pretend before others.

• Today we pray for those facing TRIALS and I think we should pray for Kelvin, Tracey and Kerri. They have some hard decisions to make. Right now, they are leaning toward going back to Birmingham where Kerri had surgery previously.
• Well, old Tornado chasing Dan Scatterfield got it right. I have to give the little man credit; he may know more about weather than I do after all. I don’t know who was most excited, Big Mama or Mandy. Hannah pretended to be dreading it and she stayed on the roads until dark slipping and sliding like Joe Fitzgerald. Snow is beautiful when it falls like it did yesterday but I am still ready for Spring. The snow want bother me if the power will stay on. I love electricity. Thank YOU Jesus for Ben Franklin and Thomas Edison.
• As you may or may not know and possibly don’t care: I am on a diet. I had tuna fish made with Greek yogurt for lunch and did 11,628 steps which means I can have 1,970 Calories without gaining weight. I got home around 3:00 and June [who said she was never baking again] was baking homemade peanut butter cookies and oatmeal cookies with pecans. I inhaled two cookies before you could say Jack Robinson. As I work on the blog, my mind is on the cookies. If I make 100 more laps around the house, I can have one more cookie. As Scar said on the Lion King, “Life is not fair.” Big Mama is no help to a fat man. Now she is telling me that she is making snow cream tomorrow.
• Below is Josie and Ty’s snow woman. She needs a tan!

I Will Not Fear

SCRIPTURE

The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.

 Hebrews 13:6, NKJV [Psalms 56:4, 118:6]

QUOTE

A perfect faith would lift us absolutely above fear.

~George McDonald

One of my favorite Andy Griffith episodes is where Andy sends Barney to break up a demonstration being staged by the fair ladies of Mayberry. If memory serves me correctly, they were trying to prevent a construction project and were chanting–“We will not move, we will not move, we will not move.” Barney uses his powerful influence in a effort to persuade them to chant something different but by the time Andy reaches the scene, Barney is leading the chant, “We will not move.”

We humans are fearful creatures. The most oft repeated admonition of the LORD Jesus to His disciples was “Be not afraid.” Their fearfulness was connected to their lack of faith which is why Jesus nicknamed them “Little-faiths.” David practiced a better chant than Barney: it went like this–“We will not fear, we will not fear, we will not fear.”

• Today we pray for Ministers and Missionaries.
• Had a good visit with Kenny last night after worship. Quality time with a good friend: thank You Jesus and thank you church for your prayers.
• On the note of THANKSGIVING, what about the service yesterday morning. Did Jesus show out or what? We had two Professions of Faith and one by letter plus Shohn had four Professions of faith in Children’s Church last week.
• Another good sign was the way people hung out after the services yesterday morning and last night. I had to wait on Big Mama and that rarely happens.
• I am not sure about my plans for today: I may go in to retreat. I am leaning in that direction. Also, pray for Dian Penney. She has not been feeling well.

Lake House Retreat

Powerful Emotions

SCRIPTURE

When Pilate heard this, he was more frightened than ever.

~John 19:8, NLT

QUOTE

Hate is mindless.

~Ya’akov

John gives us his version of the trial of Jesus in chapter 19…in this chapter, we see three emotions in play and two are negative.

The Jews, supposedly a religious and God fearing people were motivated by ‘hate.’ Every time Pilate tried reason with them, they shouted him down in mob fashion…”Crucify Him, crucify Him, crucify Him.” A few years later, they will do the same thing with Paul who is on trial before Porcius Festus…”Give him death, death, death, death.” Neither Jesus nor Paul violated any Roman Law and both were declared innocent by Gentile Courts but in both cases, the hate of the Jews overshadowed the weakness of the Gentiles. If you do not believe that hate is strong…read Acts 21:13 and compare it to 25:9 and following.

Pilot was motivated by ‘fear.’ He knew Jesus was innocent. Repeatedly he said, “I find no fault in Him.” But due to fear of the Jews and their tendency to riot, he caved and permitted his soldiers to do the Jews dirty work. Again, Jewish hatred overwhelms Pilot fear and weakness.

Jesus is motivated by ‘love.’ First, He loved the Father supremely and was committed to pleasing Him no matter what the cost. Jesus loved His disciples. Jesus loved his Mother. His last official act before dying was to see that His mother was provided for. Jesus even loved the thieves who were crucified beside him and yea even the hate filled Jews. Though you and I have all the tendencies of the Gentiles and the Jews, He loves us.

Which of the three emotions is the most powerful? Which one motivated your actions?

SPECIAL HOLIDAY WORSHIP CELEBRATION

WITH MICHAEL MASON

10:15 A.M…Donuts and Coffee at 9:30

In case you do not know the right answer to today’s question: Fear is weak, hate is strong but agape love is stronger.

• Today we pray for Senior Adults. Why don’t we make it Kenny. He did not rest well Friday night, hopefully he rested better last night [or if you are reading early, tonight]
• I think we have flu epidemic and the shot they gave us will not stop it. John, I should have listened to you. I knew not to take the shot.
• No LCBS today and beginning next Sunday, we are going to try a new schedule: Deacon’s meeting at 8:15, LCBS at 9:15 and worship at 10:15. Lets try it for a month or so and see if it will help.
• Thanks for your prayer support. There was a great turnout in support of Jeff and his family. I appreciate it and I know he does. The service went well and the rain held off.

FOX NEWS TONIGHT

Louis Zamperini Documentary
A special Fox News presentation at 10 p.m. (ET) tonight will feature Franklin Graham, Greta Van Susteren and the BGEA documentary, Louis Zamperini: Captured by Grace.
Fox News’ On the Record Special: Louis Zamperini: Journey of Faith will also re-air at 7 p.m. (ET) on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.
The movie Unbroken, released in theatres on Christmas Day, tells the story of Louis Zamperini, who survived 47 days on a raft in the shark-infested waters of the Pacific Ocean. The film also depicts his two years of survival in tortuous Japanese Prisoner of War camps.
But it only shines a light on part of Zamperini’s gripping story.
Louis Zamperini: Captured by Grace, shown tonight on Fox News, tells the complete story, narrated by Zamperini himself, including how God used the 1949 Billy Graham Crusade in Los Angeles to change his life forever.
And you can get a DVD copy of Louis Zamperini: Captured by Grace, including exclusive extra features, with a donation to the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.