January, 2020

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#Trustworthy#Foundation

Friday, January 31st, 2020

Ideas on the Bible are mixed, even within the “church.”

Group 1 will say the Bible is just another book. You know…it has some wise sayings here and there.  It is mixed with a lot of genealogies, myths and other crazy visions.

Group 2 will say, “I know the Bible is important- at least my pastor thinks so. He’s always referring to it.” But they have no working, first-hand knowledge of the Bible itself.

Group 3 would align themselves with other Bible believers. It is true. It is God’s Word. It is infallible. It is without error. It is inspired. It is more than just a guide to life; it shows how to find real life.

Where do you stand? Group 1 stands for many in our culture today, even in the “church.” Liberal churches are teaching the Bible is just another book and it is being taught as a good guideline on how to treat people; how to be successful, etc.  Group 2 is a picture of those who might grow up in the church- might even still be in the church- but are really not convinced of its importance in their own life. Group 3 represents those who firmly believe in the importance of the Bible. Men of God are called on to preach the Word of God.  Paul told Timothy, “Preach the Word.”

That is all well and good if the Word is trustworthy. It becomes the foundation upon which we build. My sermon Sunday is entitled You Can Trust It!! It is getting more and more scarce to see and hear and meet people who firmly believe the Bible is trustworthy and are willing to teach it and preach it with authority.  My goal is to show why we can trust the Bible and MUST use it as the foundation of our faith and practice.

This is not an easy topic to make interesting because of the amount of information to be dispelled. I’d certainly appreciate your prayers for me and for those who listen. Thanks.

Posted in Bible, Doctrine, Preaching, Sermon Series/Topic | 5 Responses »

#Birthday#LoveofmyLife

Thursday, January 30th, 2020

This will be really short today. Today, January 30th, is Jo’s ___ birthday. No…I am not stupid enough to put 69th in the blank. What do you take me for? A glutton for punishment? Someone who wants to be strung up and beat with a wet noodle? Someone who considers his life on this earth very short?

She is going to get pampered today. She already knows it. Braden recently said, “Mamaw, you have the best life ever.”

“What do you mean?”

“You can sleep as late as you want. You can watch TV all day. You can play on your phone sitting on the couch for as long as you want.  Do you even cook?”

(Jo chuckling) “Only when I have to.”

“See! You have the best life ever!”

(Where does this kid come up with stuff like this?)

I tell her she is a kept woman. Today I will make her a blessed woman. After a short stint at the office (while she sleep as long as she wants), I will be spending the rest of the day with her- doing whatever she wants to do. I can GUARANTEE it will mean one thing: we. will. eat. out. for. lunch.  🙂  That is, perhaps, her favorite thing to do (next to spending time with Braden).

All that to say I will be absent from here until later this afternoon. We have some place to be tonight unless she decides she doesn’t want to go (it is not required to be there). That, like the rest of the day, will be entirely up to her.

Meanwhile, have a great day!

Posted in Family, Little Bit of Fun, Love/Marriage | 13 Responses »

#GoingHome!#AwesomeGod

Tuesday, January 28th, 2020

Less than a week after open heart surgery (tomorrow…Wednesday would be one week), Alexander headed home yesterday (Monday).  He had an echo done and was then cleared to go home.  He will be drastically limited to visitors since his immune system is so low and he will be sensitive to any germs that anyone might expose him to.

BUT CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS!

 

Sorry for the texts included. I had to take a screen shot since I couldn’t get it sent to my email. The top you can see though is Christine saying, “Going home…God is so amazing!”

Yes, Christine He most certainly is.  And this will be one time I will use the word “Awesome!”  Because God truly is. But please keep praying for Alexander. They were able to open his left artery 3mm. Normal is 10-12mm. They will check him down the road and if possible will put a shunt in. But who knows what God will do???

Posted in God, Health, Pick me Up | 9 Responses »

#AlexanderUpdate#PrayerAnswered!!

Monday, January 27th, 2020

Okay, so I had been posting about 20 month old Alexander this past week.  You can read my past posts about him here and here and here.   I didn’t post over the weekend due to my schedule so I thought I would keep you updated as of yesterday (Sunday). The following was posted on FB (which I am not on) but forwarded to me by Jo.

Everyone is amazed at how well Alexander is doing and they plan to send us home this week! Praise God for His hand in all of this…there is no other explanation than Him. Alexander came into this surgery having not had the best odds in his favor due to recent illnesses, sinus gunk/cough as well as the fact that the surgeons were not sure there was anything they could do to fix the issue with his heart. Now they might send him home less than a week after open heart surgery where he was on the bypass machine (harder on the recovery than if he wasn’t)! Nothing less than a miracle how well he is doing. Thanks for all the prayers.
He is still in some pain but manageable with Tylenol and we are still struggling to get him to drink anything (but we still have his feeding tube so he is getting some nutrition thru it as much as he will tolerate it). Overall we could not be happier! He faces more procedures in the future but if things go as planned they should be able to do them with a Heart Catheterization and no more open heart surgeries! For the next couple months he will have to stay away from people and germs and we have to be careful how he is picked up (never under the arms as usual) so we don’t mess up his incision site but these are small hurdles compared to how far this little superhero has come!

Is that not awesome? I only use that word when it refers to God or something God has done. And so I have to say this is A-W-E-S-O-M-E!!!!! And here is something that will steal your heart:

I told Christine when I found out Alexander would be born with a heart defect and that she and Jimmy never questioned whether keeping him was an option or not, I believed God has some special plan for His life. No one knows what that is except for God Himself. But even now, God’s miraculous work in his life is nothing short of incredible. What a testimony this little guy already has! Kudos to the doctors and staff at Riley Children’s Hospital in Indianapolis. Kudos to Jimmy & Christine for the love and trust they have shown to love Alexander as every child should be loved- #real definition of heroes. Kudos to Eliza and Isabella (his sisters) for their understanding of mom and dad’s time and their love for their brother. But more praise goes to the Father for His loving care of His little lamb.

Thanks to you for your prayers. You don’t even know him but have been praying.

Posted in Family, Friendship, God, Health, Pick me Up, Prayer, Story | 11 Responses »

#Standard#WhatStandard?

Friday, January 24th, 2020

Have you ever noticed there are some truths in the Bible we feel we can handle fairly easily?  They are the ones we can get a handle on and translate into our daily life.

Then there are those which seem like bottomless pits.  Not put you in the pits but the kind you can dig and dig and dig and you never seem to get to the bottom of it.

I think “Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God” is one of them.  Purity seems to be a rather big challenge these days.  It seems like the whole media juggernaut is slamming us like we are in a UFC fight. Even though I have now drawn the line on watching any UFC, I did watch enough to know it was different from boxing. Boxing requires 2 fists and you watch out for them. But MMA comes at you from all angles. Fists, shoulders, knees, elbows, kicks…you name it.

Life is more like an MMA contest than a boxing match. I don’t know about you but it never seems to rest. And when it comes to purity, I believe the enemy pulls out all the stops.  Maintaining a holy life is not easy. The Pharisees thought it was an outward thing (like some denominational people today who use clothing, tattoos, hair, etc as a symbol of righteousness and holiness).  The Apostle Paul used to be one of those guys. But in Phil.3 he calls it “dung.”

What does it mean to be pure in heart? What does it mean to be holy and to live a holy life? I’m going to tackle those questions (and others) in my sermon Sunday. I’ve entitled it Setting the Standard and you will find the Scripture in 2 Cor.4:2 and Mt. 23:25-28.  I most certainly covet your prayers.

Posted in Christian living, Doctrine, Opinion, Preaching, Sermon Series/Topic, Truth | 8 Responses »

#AlexanderUpdate2#KatherineUpdate

Thursday, January 23rd, 2020

Ryan and I left the hospital at 8:50 because he had an appointment at 10:30.  I received a text at 10:40 that he had just gone into surgery and it could take 3-4 hours.  That’s right! Into surgery! That means that they found an alternate way to get blood to his lung from his heart.

A later text said he was out of surgery and the doctor was optimistic.

I am asking you to continue praying for Alexander and his little body to heal. Pray the surgery was successful. And please pray for his mom and dad (Jimmy & Christine).

*****************************

The prayer meeting for Katherine went really well! Family members showed up to pray with us. She goes today to the specialist to find out what her next steps are to be.  A pic line which will require her to stay out of school (I’m pretty sure I heard it that way), or something else. Of course, we are still praying for healing for her.

I would ask for you to please do the same. Thanks. I’ll keep you posted on both of these.

Posted in Health, Prayer | 6 Responses »

#AlexanderUpdate#MorePrayer

Wednesday, January 22nd, 2020

My thoughts are focused this morning (I wrote this at 4:15) on Alexander, and by proxy, Jimmy, Christine, Eliza and Isabella. (Ryan and I went at 5:15 but had to leave at 8:30 because of a previous commitment Ryan had. I am typing this at 11:16 and they took Alexander at 10:40 and expect it to last 3-4 hours. I will let you know when I know something. Thanks so much for praying for him).  “Oh Father, I pray for Alexander during  this exploratory and possibly life-changing surgery. Be with the eyes and hands and minds of the doctors and nurses as they work. I pray for an alternative for his heart, but if it is not to be, I pray for grace for Jimmy and Christine. Either way I pray You will be glorified, that You will be given honor and this will be a testimony to you. And I pray for Alexander-that no matter the outcome You will use him for Your glory. Now and in the future.”

Tonight we meet with a young lady named Katherine and her family to pray over her and anoint her with oil. She is 13 and has had Lyme disease since she was 3. (She went 2 years with it misdiagnosed). She is out of remission right now and it is raining havoc in her teenage body. We meet tonight in accordance with James 5:14-15. It started with me visiting them; then I wanted to include Ryan (since she is part of the youth group); then I wanted to include the elders/leaders. I’m praying for healing. Medicine and the medical community says there is no cure for this. Maybe so. But I serve a God who is bigger than that, One who can do more than I or anyone can imagine. It may not be His will to completely heal her. But I don’t know that. I’m called on to pray in faith believing He will heal her.  I refuse to doubt God’s power and sovereignty. I do know Katherine, her mom and dad (Becca and Rob); her grandma (Joyce) all belong to God. She has a sister, Ally, who loves Jesus. She also has two young brothers, James and Robbie, who love Jesus as they know Him. We will pray tonight believing in God’s healing power.

One last thought:Pr.22:1 says, “A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor is better than silver or gold.” May my life be an expression of God working in and through me with more concern for Whom I represent than what I can get out of it. May I labor for Him and not for wealth or earthly gain and appeal.

Posted in Friendship, Prayer | 4 Responses »

#Alexander#SeriousPrayerRequest

Tuesday, January 21st, 2020

I’m going to ask you to read this all the way through…please.  And please know I received permission from Christine to write this and to post the pictures.

This is Alexander Chambers:

How can you not fall in love with this little guy?  Alexander is 20 months old. Let me tell you his story. His mom & dad, Jimmy and Christine (see family portrait at the end of this post), were told during her pregnancy that Alexander would be born with a birth defect (sorry don’t know the medical name) which would affect his heart. They are heroes to me. The thought of abortion NEVER crossed their mind. He wasn’t very old when he had his first heart surgery. After his birth he spent quite a bit of time in Riley Hospital in Indianapolis.  He finally got to come home to his two sisters but the past year and a half has been an adventure. Like all kids he has had his share of colds, sniffles, etc but they seem to be more frequent…and last longer. But that has not stopped him! He is as rambunctious as any 20 month old little boy.

Alexander’s heart is not a normal heart. His left artery that feeds the heart is totally closed. That means he is not getting any oxygen to his heart from his left side. If that cannot be corrected he will always have restrictions on what he can do physically. No sports. No normal activities which require physical exertion. He understands now that when he tires he must stop and rest. An exploratory procedure several months ago showed that. Since then he has undergone a heart scan for the doctors to see if they can and should consider doing something. They had told Jimmy and Christine that they could do nothing but then said, “No. Let’s do this scan to make sure.”  The scan showed for certain the state of his left artery.  Tomorrow (Wednesday) Alexander goes into surgery to see if something can be done.

I’m asking for prayer for Alexander. Please pray for his care during surgery. Please pray for the doctors and nurses as they work. Please pray for his mom and dad and two sisters. Please pray for God to intervene and make a way for surgery if that is His will. And pray for healing. The downside: if he does have surgery it may require up to a month or more of hospitalization which will take Christine away from her family. We prayed Sunday morning for him/for them. I asked the leaders to come up front to gather around and to pray for the family. While Christine told the folks what all was happening, Alexander came over to me and wrapped his arms around my legs and then let me hold him while I prayed (he eventually went to his mom). Little people are special to me. This guy is extra special.  I’ll keep you posted as to the result.

I, of course, do not know how tomorrow will turn out. But I truly believe (and have told Christine this) that God has a special plan for Alexander. I believe God is going to use Him and this situation to be glorified. I hope I’m around to see what He does.

Here is a picture of the whole family:

Jimmy, Christine, Alexander, Eliza, and Isabella. What a lovely family.

His surgery has been scheduled several days and times and has been changed that many times. As of right now, it is scheduled for tomorrow morning at 9:00. He will be taken for prep at 7:30. Ryan(our youth pastor) and I will be leaving Spencer at 5:15 to be with them and pray beforehand. You can pray for safe travels for us as well. And thanks from Jimmy, Christine, Eliza, Isabella, Alexander and from me.

I have also posted this on my “Shadow” blog.

 

Posted in God, Health, Pick me Up, Prayer | 16 Responses »

#Control#ShownMercy

Sunday, January 19th, 2020

I have come to the conclusion that much of the Christian life is one of control. Who controls whom? For example, I was speaking to someone this past week and we were talking about legalism. I made a statement I firmly believe in: many pastors/teachers/leaders use legalism as a way to control their people. I know when I was very legalistic in my outlook and preaching it was my way of controlling people. I wouldn’t have called it that. I would have called it “loving words from your pastor.” But in reality, I and others like me, used a legalistic approach to keep people “under my thumb.” Grace changed that for me. But it still happens. How many pastors do you know who tell their people “You better” or “If you don’t” or “If you do” in order to keep their flock in the sheepfold and not wander out at night?  So we make dress, church attendance, hair styles, tattoos, etc a way to judge a person’s “Christian” witness.

But consider this if you will: We are not meant to control our Christianity; Christianity is meant to control us. (I read that recently but can’t remember, where so I’m sorry for the failure to give credit).  So many in our culture might say they embrace Jesus but they want to conform Jesus and His teachings to their lifestyle. I think it should be the other way around: Jesus should inform us on how to conduct our lives and how to treat others. His teachings ought to transform us rather than trying to bend the teachings to fit us.  We are, after all, told to “present your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God which is your reasonable service of worship.” Then we are told “not to be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” That sounds a whole like surrender to me, of giving up control to someone else.

There is only one Person who should control our lives. Not us. Not a pastor. Not a leader. Not a teacher. Not a (fill in the blank). Only Jesus.  ONLY. JESUS.

Posted in Christian living, Doctrine, God, Grace, Jesus, Legalism, Opinion | 7 Responses »

#Mercy#VitalAttribute

Friday, January 17th, 2020

Name an attribute of God and I seriously doubt mercy will be first one out of someone’s mouth. Omniscient. Omnipresent. Omnipotent. Loving. Majestic. We might eventually come out with mercy but I’m willing to wager (and I’m not a betting man) that mercy will not be first.

Reading the headlines or listening to them can be a downward spiral into despair. A few weeks we had the TV on the local news station (Indy) and story after story seemed to be negative. Jo finally said, “It seems like all they talk about is the bad. I get so tired of it.” She is not alone.

Top that off with the natural disasters which plague our planet. Hurricanes. Tsunamis. Earthquakes. Forest fires. Droughts. Persecution. Terrorist bombings. It is like a first class ticket to the land of despair.

So people ask, “Where is God in all of this?”  “Why didn’t He stop this before it happened?” Been there? I have.  But those accusations are calling into question God’s mercy. Doesn’t He care? The answer is Yes He does. Mercy tells us He does.

My sermon Sunday is from 2 Corinthians 4:1 where it talks about mercy. I’ll also bring into the discussion the passage found in I Timothy 1:12-16.  I’ll talk more in my next post about mercy. In the meantime, consider this thought:

We are not meant to control our Christianity; Christianity is meant to control us.

Your prayers would be appreciated for Sunday morning. It is going to be a long weekend with a busy day off (did I say day off?), a really busy Saturday, and preparing for the sermon. Thanks for praying.

Posted in Christian living, Doctrine, God, Just Wondering, Opinion, Preaching, Sermon Series/Topic | 4 Responses »

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