Broken



Over the last year, I have put a lot of pictures on my computer. I found most of them on the internet to put on sermon PowerPoint slides, to be used in the church’s weekly newsletter, or to put on my blog. Since I have some many, I set my screen saver to display them and I just saw one (see the picture on the left) that made me think about how sometimes God has to break before we are useable; to bring Him glory.

Jesus is called the Great Shepherd and what do shepherds do? They watch over the sleep which are His people; Christians. In the ancient near-east, if a sheep would wonder from the protection of its shepherd it could get hurt or be killed by a predator. The main tool a shepherd had was his staff. The staff was made from a small tree where the shepherd would fashion a hook on one end to be used to grab a sheep. On the other end would be the root of the tree shaped into a ball. The shepherd would have to use this end to teach the hardest lesson of all for the sheep. In order to make sure a wondering sheep learns to stay close to him, the shepherd would use the ball end and break the sheep’s leg. After the shepherd broke the leg, he would put a splint on it and the shepherd would carry this animal everywhere on his shoulders. As time went by, the leg would heal and the sheep would be able to walk on its own. Because the shepherd carried the sheep everywhere, the sheep would stay close to the shepherd and would never wonder too far from him.

For some of God’s children who tend to wonder, God gives them every chance to come back on their own. If they do not, He will put something in their lives to break them. This something could be an illness or loss of a job, money, friends, or even a loved one. There is no limit how God can and will break a person. If the person is truly God’s child they will come back to Him asking for help in whatever circumstance they are in. In this time, God loving and carefully carries them through this time of healing and learning.

In some cases of a wondering sheep that didn’t learn the lesson of its broken leg and continue to wonder away, the shepherd would have to kill it so the other sheep wouldn’t start to wonder. As the Great Shepherd, God too may have to kill (or call home as Paul writes in his letters) an unrepentant child so that the body as a whole will learn the lesson intended.

God wants the best for His children. Some are misguided in thinking that the world has what we truly want but everything the world has to offer is emptiness. Full satisfaction is only found in Jesus Christ. Everything else is a lie from Satan. If you have wondered away from God and you feel Him calling you back, turn to Him and He will welcome you with open loving arms.

Tolerance



The word “Tolerance” is threw everywhere these days by those who practice things that the Standard (the Bible) shows to be sin. Those of us who loving (let me repeat loving) show these people that the Bible says what they do is wrong are called haters or intolerant. But it never fails when the tolerant group shows themselves to be who they really are when one of their own crosses the “line.” They show themselves to be more intolerant than we can ever being.

The reason for this post is that yesterday, I heard Shawn Hannity on his radio show mention that he and his wife attended Rush Limbaugh’s wedding over the weekend and they enjoyed themselves. He mentioned something about Elton John singing but I wasn’t paying attention. Well today I read the following on-line:

“When right-wing radio star Rush Limbaugh tied the knot with his much-younger fourth bride Kathryn Rogers this weekend, the event's main spectacle -- aside from a tongue-in-cheek congratulatory banner flying above the ceremony, courtesy of Gawker -- was the mystery of why the openly gay singer Elton John performed there.
But in the wake of news that Elton's $1 million artist fee may have influenced his decision to serenade a guy known for his homophobic and anti-liberal on-air crusades, the gay community is starting to vocalize its collective outrage.
"I'm flabbergasted," Aaron Hicklin, Editor-in-Chief of Out, told PopEater. "It betrays either ignorance or self-interest or both, and jeopardizes his admirable record on gay rights."
Michael Musto of the Village Voice called the Rocket Man a "w***e" for his actions on Monday’s "Countdown With Keith Olbermann." And blogs like Queerty.com as well as the comment sections at websites for The Advocate and Out Magazine have been lighting up with tasks about the singer's apparent hypocrisy, according to PopEater.
Still, it seems unlikely that the Rocket Man will admit fault in his apparent support of the conservative couple. His 2001 duet with Eminem at the Grammys also incited ire among viewers who noted that some of the rapper's lyrics include anti-gay slurs. And Elton's 2005 assertion that "if gay people want to get married ... they should have a civil partnership," a comment he made to USA Today at his own civil partnership ceremony with David Furnish, hasn't exactly made him the celebrity spokesperson for overturning Proposition 8.”

There is a saying “Love the Sinner and hate the sin.” When Christians try to do this, we are labeled “Intolerant.” I know Jesus Christ told us that the world will hate us because they first hated Him. I know we will never be seen for who we truly are because this world is blind to the truth of God’s love. This article is just an example of how hypercritical “open-minded” or “tolerant” people really are when it comes to people who go against their agenda.

Little Things Mean A Lot



It’s been a difficult week for me. We had a family leave the church for only God truly knows why. There are at lease 6 reasons it could be. The man was involved with the youth (as a helper) so he told them yesterday and then left. That’s part of being in the ministry seeing people leave for good and/or bad reasons. I tell myself that it’s not about them and it’s not about me; it’s all about bringing honor and glory to God the Father.

I just talked with a different gentleman whom I haven’t seen in a few weeks. He and his family are attending another church now. He wasn’t part of any ministry. He was part of our Leadership Training program. He was at one time very faithful to the men’s group but I did notice him missing more lately. Again, only God truly knows why they left but this one hurts a little more just because he was part of the men’s group and I was thinking he could take the group over for me down the road. Again, it’s all part of being in the ministry.

The week wasn’t all bad. Teresa shared with me that the first session of our Women’s Ministry small group had over 18 ladies in it last night. The group is so big that they have to meet at church instead of a house going forward. Maybe, the group can split into two or three more groups but that will be a little further down the road. That is a blessing.

This morning while I was thinking about the two families who left Common Ground, praising God for the women’s small group blessing, trying to get my Monday morning stuff done for my bill paying job, sending e-mails to the other Elders about Father’s Day which is also Baby Dedication and Children’s Promotion Sunday planning I had a little reminder of just how blessed I am. Teresa called asking me where something was but before she hung up, I talked with Ripley on the phone. I heard breathing and her little noises she makes and it almost sounds like she said, “Hi.” It still puts a smile on my face thinking about my adorable 6.5 month old daughter. Little things do mean a lot.

Even though ministry can be hard (and it is), God is always the One who does. I’m just called to follow His lead. He’s always encourages and empowers me to do what He has called me to do and be. Remember that.

Ripley’s 6 Month Check Up and God’s Power

On Tuesday, Ripley had her 6 month check up and her vaccine shots. Teresa told me she took the shots (one in her right thigh and two in the left) very well like the last two times. According to the doctor, Ripley is in the middle of her 7th month with her motor functions, in the 75 percentile for her weight and length, and in the 90 percentile for her head (I take that meaning she has a big brain and smart).

Tuesday was the normal day after the vaccine shots where Ripley wasn’t her usual self because her body was generating immunity to what was put in her in the shots. Tuesday night she was running a mild temperature (101.5 degrees) but the on-call doctor told us to give her children’s Tylenol. This is as it had been the last 2 times before. The only difference this time around is that Ripley was still not herself on Wednesday; lying around not being her energic self.

When I got home on Wednesday, Ripley was asleep as usual but she never really was awake; she was just there. I noticed her left thigh was swollen and was red around area of the shots. That’s when Teresa told me that they had given two shots in the left thigh. I held Ripley for awhile so Teresa could eat and she slept on me; I love it when she does this. At 6:30 we went upstairs; Teresa took Ripley to our bedroom and I went to the study to get church stuff done. When I came in the room around 7:15 Ripley was standing (Teresa holding her study) and she seemed like herself. She looked at me and had a big smile. It seemed she was thinking “Hi, Daddy! When did you get home?” It was a relief for me because in the back of my head every time we have to do the vaccine thing I think about the rise of Autism in the U.S. I think, “Is there a link of babies getting vaccines and the rise of Autism?” There is no concrete proof that vaccines can cause Autism in babies but there is no evidence that can disproof it either. I hold my breath when we do it and when Ripley is Ripley afterward, I can relax. I chalk it up to being a first time father but there is a concern for me if there is a relationship of getting vaccines and the possible cause of certain types of Autism.

I say that I had concerns with this but I know nothing will happen to Ripley unless God allows it to. I tell people that it’s alright to be concerned but not to worry. For me, when you worry you doubt God can work in the situation. God is always in control. Even when Ripley had to have surgery to correct the intestinal malrotation when she was only 10 days old, I knew God was in control and His prefect will was going to be done. I was never worried; a little concerned for my baby but I knew God was going to carry her though and He did.

Sometimes, we forget that God is the One who created everything we know. If you take the entire known universe and the unknown universe and put it all in the palm of God’s hand it is only a like a speck of dust. He is the all-powerful, everywhere present, all-knowing, and loving God. If you are reading this and call yourself a Christian, remember you had enough faith to trust you eternal soul to the One (Jesus Christ; God in flesh) why can’t you trust Him enough to carry you through whatever you are going through? When you worry, you doubt God’s power to carry you. Trust in Him.

Below are two video clips and some photos of our trip to Roanoke and my parents’ house. We had a great time with my parents and got some well needed rest. Enjoy.

Ripley play soldier. Can you see her? She needs a better set of BDUs.

Grandmomma showing Ripley how to play the keyboard.

Ripley in her Sunday dress.

Ripley shouting "I am the champion!"

Ripley getting tired of tummy time.

Ripley standing on Daddy sporting the gift her 2nd cousin bought her. Tammy is in the Army National Guard.

Ripley meets my parent's cat.

Teresa feeding Ripley.

Ripley with her Granddaddy and Grandmomma.