Character

SCRIPTURE

“Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!”

~Matthew 25:21, NLT

QUOTE

Character is what comes out in a crisis.

~Ya’akov

Right out of Seminary, I prayed for God to give me good circumstances. We all think that given the right set of circumstances we could produce unbelievable results. Lord give me a bigger church, a higher paying job, a more affirming support group or an understanding spouse. Have you noticed, God does not give us ideal circumstance and for good reason. We grow best when the circumstances are less than ideal. The first lesson Christ wants us to learn is: we cannot control circumstances but via His grace we have the power not to allow the circumstances control us.

Don’t cheat on your daily quit time. Don’t cheat on your bible study. Don’t cheat on worship. Don’t slack on any of the Christian disciplines. Then when the storm comes, you will be anchored. If you cheat, your true character will come out in a crisis. Some people spend their life waiting for the big opportunity. You are not ready for the big opportunity until you learn to be faithful in the daily grind of small opportunities. If you are not faithful to the small things {Christian disciplines}, you will not be faithful with big opportunities.

Bloom where you are planted. Don’t pray for ideal circumstance or big opportunities; this is not what we need. We need to develop more character and that come through tribulation and perseverance.

• Gary Garner was transferred to Health South yesterday.
• Kane Update: Kane feels pretty good. The doctors are amazed. His insides have a lot of healing to do. It will take time to get his strength back inside and out. I think they are keeping him here because they enjoy having him. The doctors and nurses come see him when they are not working. It is going to be a slow but steady climb. Here is his mail address Ronald McDonald House in Memphis: Turner Kane Hogan #41, 535 Alabama Ave, Memphis, Tn. 38105. We should be there by Saturday. Lord willing and the creek don’t rise.
• I want to be at the right place at the right time and it’s not always easy to discern. I had planned to visit my Uncle Floyd on Friday but June suggested I go yesterday. I told her I would pray about it. It was after 10 am when I left the office and headed to Rome. It was the perfect day. Uncle Floyd felt like visiting with me and then he ask me to stay and see his friends from Douglasville. The senior adults from his church of 40 years rented a motor coach and drove to Rome to see him: wow, what an outpouring of affection. It was an awesome sight. There were 42 of them. One by one, they climbed up the back deck and hugged Uncle Floyd. He was moved to tears. The entire experience was overwhelming. I am so thankful I was there to witness such a sight and it was all God’s grace. I rejoiced on the way home and thanked Him for His leadership.

• It is a beautiful drive from here to Rome. I could live in Center, Alabama. It is located on the banks of the best crappie lake in North America, maybe the world and they have everything I need [McDonalds, KFC, John Deere dealership] except a Marco’s Pizza. I am also afraid I wouldn’t see much of my grandchildren. If somebody gave me a house on Weis Lake, I would be tempted. Tell me these two pics aren’t beautiful…

• I hope we get all 40% of the rain they are talking about. We need a good rain.
• Joe David and Lori had 27 again last night for the COLLEGE BIBLE STUDY.
• The CELEBRATION OF LIFE SERVICE for Glenn Jolly is today at Peck’s, 1:00 PM. Joe David is the minister. Remember we are helping with the lunch after the service. Get your desserts to Jennifer by noon, no later.

Crisis

SCRIPTURE

Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.

~James 1:2, NLT

QUOTE

We learn more from life’s trials than we do life’s triumphs.

~Chip Ingram

The Chinese word for “crisis” (simplified Chinese: 危机; traditional Chinese: 危機; pinyin: wēijī) is frequently invoked in Western motivational speaking because the word is composed of two Chinese characters that can represent “danger” and “opportunity“. Some linguist accuse motivational speakers of taking liberties with the word.

One such case was in a speech by President John F. Kennedy, in Indianapolis on April 12, 1959. In his speech, Kennedy said that, “The Chinese use two brush strokes to write the word ‘crisis.’ One brush stroke stands for danger; the other for opportunity.”

The word “crisis” (wēijī) consists of two syllables that are written with two separate characters, wēi and jī. . . . While it is true that wēijī does indeed mean “crisis” and that the wēi does convey the notion of “danger,” the jī syllable of wēijī does not literally mean opportunity but it can be translated “Critical or defining moment” which is most always an opportunity.

This same concept is what James has in mind, we should consider trouble [various trials] as opportunities for ministry, spiritual advancement and joy. How did Job respond when the bottom fell out of his world? He did respond nobly with sincere worship but you would not consider his first response one of ecstatic joy. Generally, when trouble comes our way, our first response is and intense struggle with our faith that may lend itself to doubt, discouragement and despair. With time we begin to see God at work in our crisis and we begin learning things that we could never understand a part from the crisis. The joy of the crisis is like the sonic boom that follows a super sonic jet. You see the plane long before you hear the sound. Our first response to crisis will most likely be fear but the joy is coming. In Psalm 30:5 David stated the principle like this: Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning.

I hate to agree with a democrat but I’m going to concur with Kennedy, a crisis is a critical point that presents both danger and opportunity. Remember the old adage, “Don’t waste your sorrows.”

• It is good to be back on line after being down for two weeks. I am no where near 100% but I am better PTL.  I hope this is not a premature celebration but Lord willing I will be blogging daily again: at least that is my prayer. I was able to attend the second service yesterday and see all the babies and children in their Easter outfits. I enjoyed the Praise and worship: The Band, David, the Choir and the Praise and Motion Team were fantastic. I thought Joe David had a great message and I enjoyed the entire service and that includes the offerings.
• At this time we do not know what the treatment will be for the back and sciatic nerve. They may do an MRI next week. I stay on the steroids this week. Barring a miraculous turn around, I doubt that I can be back in the pulpit for a couple of more weeks. We will play it by ear.

Destined To A Throne

Prayer For REVIVAL in America

SCRIPTURE: Come you who are under My Father’s blessing and take over the government assigned to you from the beginning. {Matthew 25:34, Dallas Willard Paraphrase}

QUOTE: Everyone flatters himself and carries a kingdom in his breast. ~John Calvin

COMMENTARY: When God created Adam and put him in the garden, he gave him dominion. Unfortunately Adam rebelled and lost his right to reign. As I pointed out a couple of weeks ago, the desire to rule over others is seen in infants. In creating man God made them to rule, to reign, to have dominion in a limited sphere, an assigned area: for Adam it was the Garden of Eden. Any being that has no say over nothing is not a person. You can decide what you want for lunch and God made you that way. We were created to rule but only in union with Christ. We were not created to rule independently of Him.

The problem we face is the temptation to get ahead of God. We are created to rule but we are not ready to rule. We must be sanctified in order to rule and this is a process that takes time. A part of the process is learning to follow instructions and learning to serve. We cannot skip the process and go straight to ruling. Eve wanted knowledge but she didn’t want to wait. God would have given her knowledge through her life experience but she wanted to skip the experience and go straight to knowledge. All great leaders were at one time great followers. General Joshua is a good example.  If you do not learn to take instructions, you will never be qualified to give them. If we are faithful in little, Christ will entrust us with much more in the world to come. At present, we are being sanctified. The reigning with Christ will come later.

EXTRA: Good service last night. We had some new faces and it was encouraging. We are working the band to death but they seem to be enjoying it. We do need revival desperately. Senior Adult Luncheon today at 11:30 am. Garden vegetables and those famous Popeye’s Biscuits.