A song can stir up trouble or bring you peace

 Songs are powerful, so powerful that people fight over them.

During the Civil War, there were two songs that stirred the emotions of those on one side of the war or the other. The Battle Hymn of the Republic and “Dixie.”

The Battle hymn was sung by Abolitionists and Union Soldiers as they fought to preserve the union and to free the slaves.

Dixie was sung by Southerners who sang about their desire to hang on to old times, which included slavery.

People fought in the streets over the ideals that the songs represented. Thousands died.

Even today, “Dixie” boils the blood of African-Americans, and the Battle Hymn of the Republic is not popular in the South.

Songs stir powerful emotions in us that can’t be ignored.

As Christians, we sing about the goodness of the Lord. It stirs emotions of hope, faith, and happiness. One song says,

“I sing because I’m happy. I sing because I’m free. For his eye is on the sparrow and know he watches me.”

Psalm 96:1-4 “O, sing unto the Lord a new song: sing unto the Lord, all the earth. Sing unto the Lord, bless his name; shew forth his salvation from day today. For the Lord is great, and greatly to be praised: he is to be feared above all gods.

Keep a song in your heart. 

Sing about Jesus and his love. It will stir your heart and give you peace.

What will our Christian letter of reference say?

When the Lord writes his letter of recommendation for you, what will it say?

Will it say that you are regular in your attendance?

Will it say that you generously give of your talents to the church with little or no charge?

Will it say that you make time to support the ministries of the church?

Will it say that you are a faithful financial supporter of the church’s ministries.

Your reference letter will also attest to your honesty, sharing, team spirit, and your unselfishness. 

It will most definitely mention that you have been born again.

 

Our reference letter tells others our testimony.

Paul had to write a letter of reference for a woman named Phoebe. In Romans 16:1 he said, “Be sure to welcome our friend Phoebe in the way of the Master, with all the generous hospitality we Christians are famous for. I heartily endorse both her and her work. She's a key representative of the church at Cenchrea.”

When this life is over, our savior, Jesus Christ, will write a spiritual letter of reference to God on our behalf.

On his recommendation, we will enter the gates of heaven, and spend eternity in paradise.

If we give life our best shot, and try our best to get it right, our letter of reference will be stamped, “Well Done.”

We are blessed through praying families

 The long arms of the godly family help each family member to achieve God's ultimate purpose. Through the family, members receive sustenance, encouragement, direction, and correction. Through the family, God begins the flow of his ancestral promise to each generation.

  Many of those who have achieved success in life credit the support, encouragement, and discipline they received in their family for their success. For some it was the strong hand of parents, for others it was the support of siblings.

 For still others, it was a favorite aunt or uncle that kept them on target. In a variety of ways, believers have been touched by their families that have been used by God to strengthen their life experiences.

   The immediate way that God helps us is through the family. Those who are fortunate enough to have strong families, learn that God touches a mother and father in such a way that they are able to provide unique sustenance for their children, beyond mere food and drink.

   In Genesis 18:19, God speaks about Abraham’s family, he says,  I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just so that the LORD will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him.”

   The family is the vehicle God has chosen to use to guide us to our promised possession. 

When your looks are "dy-no-mite!"

 Many are unhappy with their appearance, but God didn’t make a mistake.

The man that is short believes that his life is miserable because he is not tall, until he meets someone like Spud Webb who was only 5’7, a literal midget on the professional basketball court. Despite his limited height, Webb became a slam dunk champion in the NBA.

Jimmy JJ Walker had the wrong mix of looks for a T.V. Star. He had huge lips, big ears, a wide nose and assortment of other features that looked as if he could never have a career as an actor. Yet, Walker, became a star on “Goodtimes” using his looks as a selling point that were “Dy-no-mite.” 

If you are wishing that you had straight hair, nappy hair, longer fingers, washboard abs or a coke bottle shape, that’s O.K. You can spend your life trying to be what you are not or you can conclude that God may have put your success in a strange-looking package that only you can use.

That’s what Danny Divito did. He is only 4’10” tall but that didn’t stop him from becoming the richest little people actors in Hollywood, playing roles like the Penguin in “Batman Returns.”

Moms Mabley was old and toothless and promoted her toothlessness as an asset. She became one of the most successful comedians in recent history.

God doesn’t make mistakes. What we have in our package of talents, gifts, and looks should be used for his glory, no matter what others think.

Psalm 139:14 says, “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”

Regardless to what others say, look at yourself in the mirror and say “I am beautifully ad wonderfully made.”

Now take your beautiful self to bed and sleep tight.

God will mow down all haters, without a weed eater!

When God mows down your haters, he won’t need a weed eater, just his word.

There was a time when lawn care was the business of little boys with lawnmowers, who clipped your hedges, mowed your yard, and trimmed your sidewalk for $10.

Those were the days when all that was needed was a sling blade, a hoe, a pair of hedge clippers, and a push mow - without a motor. A yard boy didn’t need gas for his mower or any other tools, mostly what he needed was energy and the willingness to push a motorless mower in the sun for hours, for just $10.

Today, there are lawn care companies that bring trailers full of equipment, weed eaters, electric trimmers, and 360 turn mowers. They don’t even rake leaves anymore, they just blow them away with gas-powered mowers.

Either way, the grass gets cut.

There are people who wrapped themselves around your big dreams like weeds and choke you out. Our haters grow tall and at times are llike the grass and weeds in your yard. They seemed to win until the Lord steps in to mow them down and weed them out. He uses only one tool, the power of the Holy Ghost.

 Psalm 37:2 says,  “For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.”

Worried about those who talk about you and cause problems? Hang on, God will take care of the strangling tall grasses.. 

....He won’t need a weed eater, Just his word.

Two cooks in the same kitchen often means trouble

If you try to put two great cooks in the same kitchen, it won’t be long before there is a clash.

There is a better understanding when all parties share the same standard, direction, and focus. That’s why two decorators can’t be hired to decorate the same room. Neither can two painters can be hired to paint the same picture.

There can’t be two head coaches of a team, two presidents or two outstanding musicians assigned to write the same song.

Generally, those who are good at what they do have their own vision of how things should be, and consider their ideas superior.

It happens in families, too. Both the husband and the wife can’t be the head of the family, someone has to lead, protect and provide. There is trouble if there are two versions what those things mean because each thinks one is better fit to lead than the other.

There is peace when one is designated as the leader with input from the other and the results are presented as a team effort. 

It’s a team effort, and there is no "I" in team.

That’s also true about our faith. Some are trying out strange beliefs that are competing with what the Bible teaches. Christians are mixing faith and Yoga. Christ and Prosperity. Jesus and Confucious. The Bible and the Koran.

It’s a formula for a messed-up understanding of life and what God wants.

Ephesians 4:5-6, says "There is one Lord, one, faith and one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.…"

Just like there is one lord, one faith, and one baptism, there is also one devil, one trouble maker, and one destroyer of dreams.

He’s the one that gets in your business and brings trouble.

Stick with the Lord. He and the Father and the Holy Spirit are all on the same page.

Check the batteries in your sin detectors

There seems to be a detector and alarm for just about everything; there is even a sin detector.

There are so many detectors and alarms we are no longer surprised when we see or hear them.

A person who walks out of a store without paying for an item sets off an alarm.

Metal detectors set off alarms if weapons are discovered.

In our houses, there are smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors inside, and motion detectors outside that turn on lights at the slightest movement.

There are burglar alarms in our businesses and vehicles.

Those who are guided by the Holy Spirit even have a sin detector in our spirit. It’s called our conscience or the voice of God speaking to us. Every time we say or do something that is contrary to God's will, the Holy Spirit sets off an alarm in our spirit and lets us know we have crossed the line.

Nobody has to tell us. Our sin detector sounds an alarm.

Sometimes we try to ignore the alarm, but it just keeps beeping “sin, sin, sin, sin.”

If we can do wrong and it doesn’t bother us it means that the voice of God does not speak to you. That is a really serious problem, you should check your spiritual batteries. 

Hebrews 13:18 “Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a good conscience, desiring to conduct ourselves honorably in all things.”

The old folks call our sin detector our “first mind.” They often say, I should have followed my first mind.

For Christians, the first voice you hear in your head is usually the voice of God speaking, advising, and directing us.

It’s a good idea to follow your first mind; it could very well be God speaking.

How do I love thee, Lord? Let me count the ways

 In a poem by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, the question was asked, "How do I love thee? Let me count the ways."

That's a deep question, but it is easy for us to answer, especially when it comes to the ways that God has shown his love for us.

He provides for us. Protects us and encourages us.

God is our company keeper and friend through thick and thin. He doesn't take our side when we are wrong, but still stands with us when we are unfairly attacked for unwise actions that we made in our weakness.

The old folks say he's a doctor in our sickroom and lawyer in our courtroom and our bridge over troubled water. It was their way of saying, God shows his love in so many ways and situations that we can't count them.

Psalm 136 says, "Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His love endures forever."

We can't count the hundreds of ways God shows his love to us.

What happens if we ask that question to ourselves about how we show our love for God. How do I love thee, Lord? Let me count the ways....

You fill in the blank.

When the Bible is on your phone, is it real?

When the Bible is on your phone is a real Bible?

Today, you will have to look hard among the young and millennials for a paper-based Bible. They are still sold in stores, but it’s probably not the number seller it used to be. It doesn’t mean people are not reading the Bible, they are just not buying hard copies of the Bible as they once did.

Remember the old Bible? Genesis was in the front and Revelation was in the back, Psalms was close to the middle. We played Bible drills in the era of the paper Bible. That’s when someone called out a verse and you flipped through the pages to find the passage the fastest.

Speed in the Bible drill required a competitor to know whether a book of the Bible was in front or the back. In short, you had to know the order of the books.

Fast forward to today. Bibles are now electronic and stored on phones, notebooks, and I-pads. With the digital bible, you don’t need to know what’s in the front or in the back, you simply press a few buttons and your verse is on the screen. You can notate it, shade it and even type notes in the margins, all on the phone.

My times have really changed.

Even though the Bible is now on your phone, it still has to be read. The words won’t jump off the screen and sink into your heart. More than that, you must believe that the words you read are inspired by God and are good for guidance, correction, and inspiration.

2 Timothy 3:16 says, All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.

So, whether your bible is on some digital device or old-fashioned paper,  it is still God’s word and it still speaks to our life situation with words that come from the mouth of God.

The Bible, its truths are still God's word in every generation.

You can buy holy pants, but not a holy life

A teenager told me that she paid $75 for a pair of faded jeans with holes in them. That gave me a spin.

Wearing faded “ripped” jeans is a trend that began in the 1970s as rich kids shocked their parents by wearing clothes worn by the poor. When bands and popular stars started wearing them in the 90s it took off.

To those who lived in poverty jeans with holes were not stylish. We even bought patches to cover them. They were faded because they had been washed so many times that the color faded. 

The holes were an embarrassment back then. Today, youth pay big money for holy pants.

God wants us to have holy lives, but we can't buy a life with the holiness already built-in; already broken-in, mistakes already made; already faded by experience. 

We become holy when we submit ourselves to God’s will. We give him the holes, empty spaces, mistakes, and troubles that have bothered us, and he gives us a new life.

That new life is holy, but it doesn’t have any holes. They’ve been covered by the blood of the lamb.

1 Peter 1:16 says, Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

Holy pants cost a lot of money.

Holy lives cost nothing. Why?

Jesus paid it all.

We make plans, but life gets in the way

Despite our best plans, life seems to get in the way.

A poet by the name of Robert Burns said, “The best laid plans of mice and men often go astray.”

Burns wrote about a mouse that had built its nest only to watch it destroyed by a farmer who had plans to build his field in the place where the mouse built its nest.

Often we try to plan for everything only to watch our plans fall victim to things outside of our control. A house fire, a tornado, or a storm; we can’t control any of them, no matter how we plan.

Sometimes our plans suffer the fate of the anthill in our yards. We knock it down because we don’t want it there. We could care less about the hard work it took the ants to build It.

There are times when we watch our plans go up in smoke or get smashed or even worse, placed in file 13 and forgotten.

We all make plans, but it's really the plans that have been blessed by God that last.

Proverbs 19:21 says, "Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails."

God's got a plan for all who believe in him, they are solid.

Unlike the plans of mice and men, God's plan won't go astray.

How many things do we need to be happy?

 Somehow, many of us have equated possessions with happinesss. The more we have, the happier we think we will be.

Some men have a closet full of suits, shirts and ties.

Some women have a closet full of shoes of every style and color.

Some youth have vast collections of tennis shoes,and just about anything with the Nike brand or the name Jordan on the side of the box.

To get more possessions some work themselves to death to earn enough money to buy what they think will bring them happiness, only to learn that the more we make, the more things we buy.

Sometimetimes we go to the store and buy stupid stuff, and never open the box.

If we live long enough, we start to learn that real happiness doesn't come from possessions, but from the joy we get from from fellowship with family and friends, and the peace we get from favor of God.

Luke 12:15 says, Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”

That's not to say that it's wrong to have a few things: A mechanic wants better tools, an artist wants finer brushes, a cook appreciates new utensils, a seamstress enjoys a better machine. They enjoy them, but they don't worship them, and they definitely don't spend their lives in pursuit of them.

We are not greedy, we just live one day at a time and thank God for every little thing he sends our way.

That's the key to happines.

It's a peace that comes from the Lord.

A pan of cornbread and bowl of greens!

One reason many are reluctant to move to another city is that they are forced to disconnect from people who love them and move where people don't know them.

A single mother and her daughter moved to a rural community and joined a little church. She didn't know anyone there, but the first thing she noticed was that folks came by her home and brought her pies, cakes, big pans of cornbread, and bowls of greens.

When the people learned that their new neighbor's daughter was celebrating her 6th birthday, they staged a birthday party for her with balloons, cake, and ice cream. It looked like everybody in the town hugged her and wished her a happy birthday.

At home, the daughter asked, "These people really seem to love us, what did we do?"

The mother, "I was thinking the same thing. They don't even know us."

The folks in the little church knew God and their new members knew God. That's all they needed to know to show them love with open arms. No one is a stranger in a community filled with Godly people

1 John 4:8 says,  “God is love”

The folks at the church said it with cakes, and pies, pans of cornbread, bowls of greens, and smiling faces.

What they said in a simple down-home way was...We love love, and God loves you.

That answers our questions about why we are blessed when we feel we don't deserve it...

Because God loves us.

God is love

Salvation, there is no app for that!

There are over 50 apps on my smartphone, but there is no app for salvation.

There is an app to help you lose weight, measure your blood pressure, and how many steps you walk in a day.

There is an app that tells you when to wash your hands and beeps if you don't wash them long enough.

There is an app for bible study, home study, and apps to help you find your way when you are lost.

There is an app to show you how to cook, wash clothes, or feed your dog.

There is even an app the doctor uses to check on you through a video chat. There's a school app, a work app, a police app, and an app to use on your vacation.

There are apps to play games, watch movies or even tell you when it's time to get up and walk around.

There are apps to turn the lights on your house, raise your garage door, or start the coffee.

However, when it comes to salvation, there is no app for that. You may join a church congregation on an app, may learn more about your faith on an app, but there is only one way to be saved. "You must be, you gotta be, born again."

John 3:5 The truth is, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit

There is no shortcut. No way around it. We must accept Christ as our savior and begin a new life with him. We get baptized in the water to symbolize that new life.

If you want to be saved, you must be born again

There is no app for that.

Does anybody read the owner's manual anymore?

 New cars have an owner's manual, but it holds many surprises on its pages.

The owner's manual is very seldom read from cover to cover by new car buyers. We glance through it, look at the pictures and tuck it away in the glove compartment.

I didn't know that my SUV could sync to Wifi because I never looked at the manual.

I rode around in it for almost a year before I learned that the side back windows would pop out for fresh air, and I didn't know that it had a sunroof. I would have known if I had read the manual.

I thought my SUV had spark plugs like my old car until I read a section in the owner's manual about fuel injectors.

I saw the words flex fuel on the fender, but I didn't know that it could get up to 500 miles a tank if I used E-85 Ethanol gas. It was in the manual, I just hadn't read it.

When I really started reading the manual, I discovered scores of features I never knew existed and appreciated my vehicle more.

The Bible is our spiritual manual. It is made for us and given to us by our creator to show us how to live the Christian life, survive tough times, and grow in faith and love. It's all in the manual..the road to salvation, we just never really read it.

Proverbs 4:20-22 "My son, pay attention to what I say; turn your ear to my words. Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; for they are life to those who find them and health to one’s whole body."

What do you think about that, we have what we needed all along, but we never looked at it.

I guess we all should spend a little more time reading the manual.

When we talk to Jesus, he listens!

 An old preacher in Mississippi had a peculiar rocking chair ministry. He never preached, he just listened.

It was a strange ministry that was conducted almost daily under the shade of a large oak tree in the summer months and around a warm fire in the winter. He had two rocking chairs. He sat in one and people who wanted someone to listen to them sat in the other.

Wives told of troubles in their marriages.

Newlyweds talked with him about adjusting to marriage.

Frustrated students talked about classroom anxieties.

The depressed told about their suicidal thoughts.

Sometimes addicts would talk to him about being helplessly hooked.

He always listened. He never judged them, and they always felt better after leaving him because he wrote them a Bible verse that seemed to address their problem and give them hope.

He never asked for a donation, although he did accept cakes, pies, and fruit. He had an effective "Listening" ministry that drew hundreds every month.

After he died, Many came and set in the old rocker and talked to his empty chair. In silence, they could feel his presence.

When we pray God listens to us. He knows our hearts, listens to our pleas and if we listen close enough, we will hear him speak to our souls.

1 John 5:14 says, “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.”

Speak to God, pour out your heart to him.

If you are sincere, he will hear you.

And he answers.

For Sale: Baby Shoes, Never worn

 They say Ernest Hemingway wrote the shortest story in the world. It had only six words: For Sale, Baby Shoes, Never worn.

These six words tell the story of someone who is selling a pair of unused baby shoes. When we think of the reasons, these six words unleash a multitude of situations.

Believe it or not, in literary circles, these six words are noted as the shortest story in the world because they say so much with so few words. Everyone who tells the story of baby shoes for sale will give it a different meaning.

The shoemaker sells the shoes because no one bought them.

The family facing bankruptcy sells the shoes because it needs the money.

The gambler won the shoes and sells the shoes to collect his winnings.

The auctioneer who sells the shoes highlights the fact that they have never been worn.

The story's genius is that everyone who reads the six words interprets them differently because each has a different life experience.

As Christians, we have a story to tell: Jesus loved, He died, he saved. These six words tell a story, too. It's our salvation story. Everyone who tells their salvation and thanks story will have a different story to tell.

Ephesians 2:4-5 says, "But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions-it is by grace you have been saved."

Hemingway's six words was the shortest story ever told.

But the six words of Jesus' life: He loved, he died, he saved...is the greatest story ever told.

When phones ring at 3 a.m. it usually means trouble.

 It is not unusual for my doorbell to ring in the middle of the night; nearly always, someone wants to see the pastor.

The general rule is that whenever your phone wrong rings at 3 a.m. in the morning something is wrong. We wake and ask ourselves, what's wrong? Who died?

That is doubly true when someone knocks on your door or rings your door.

The phone may bring bad news, but when someone rings your doorbell, it's usually a plea for help.

At my house, sitting on my doorstep have been battered wives, runaway children, the homeless seeking shelter, and even drunks.

Once a man rang my doorbell and collapsed on my step. I managed to get his name and called 9-1-1. He lived, but since he was homeless the ambulance service sent me the bill.

We turn to the Lord when we are in real trouble, and he points in the right direction while giving us the strength to hold on. We have done this so many times that it gets routine. We call him in the morning evening and night. No matter when we call, he answers.

John 12:21 “Sir, we would see Jesus”

It's good to know that when we call him, he will answer.

As for the bill I got from the ambulance service...they finally wrote it off.

When you call on Jesus, there is never a bill.

He died for us on Calvary and any debt we owe for our weakness has been...

... Paid in full.

When you and God see eye to eye

When the old warriors said they had to pray on it, it was not a put-off or delay, they meant just what they said.

Sometimes their English wasn’t perfect, but we knew what the old folks meant when they said, “I gots to pray on it, me and the Lord. Me and the Lord got to see eye to eye on this matter.”

It meant they wanted to put a decision to the God Test before deciding.

Praying on it was a way of saying "Give me time to see if I take this action, will it be something that God would want me to do? Does it line up with what I know about the Goaly path? Is it the response, attitude or action that lines up with what God wants?

The answer usually comes when they pose the last question, “Will God be glorified by this decision?”

The old warriors believed that if they asked that series of questions to any decision, no matter how small, it will point them in the right direction.

The next step was to spiritually turn it over to Christ, then sleep on it. 

They felt confident that the spirit would guide them to make the right decision, even if those waiting on an answer didn’t like it. Because God approved, the old-timers were sure that God would make right in the end because they were following his will.

1 Corinthians 10:31 “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God”

Now you know what to do. Pose the “God’s Will” questions to every decision. Then sleep on it.

God will reveal his decision.

Troubled with a decision? Ask God for guidance and…

Sleep on it.

Dimes on your ankles won't keep the devil away!

  In the south, it is common practice in the rural areas for women to wear anklets made with silver dimes.

  Many give such anklets to infants and young children who tend to keep the dimes all of their lives, attaching them to larger anklets as they get older.

  Wearing silver dimes on the anklets is part of a Southern Hoodoo suspicion that people who wear dimes around their ankles are protected from evil spirits. Somehow they believe demons, vampires, and devils are repelled by silver, so the old-timers gave silver dime anklets to the children.

  People still wear dime anklets, but Christians have found a better way to keep the devil away; they turn to God for protection. In fact, the Bible tells us that if we walk with the Lord the devil will keep his distance.

James 4:7 says, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

Now you have it. If you walk with the Lord, the devil will stay away from you, even if you don’t wear a dime anklet.

The devil is really not afraid of silver dimes.

He is afraid of the spirit of God.