Wednesday Morning Devotional

It’s a Wonderful Life

If any man be in Christ he is a new creation, old things pass away, all things become new.  — 2 Corinthians 5:17

So I’m just chilling with my dad on New Year’s Eve watching a 3 piece band rock out some tunes.  They played some Skynrd, some Tom Petty, SRV, and many more.  These guys were probably in their 60’s and you could tell they had been together for a while.  They had guys asking about their equipment (including me), praising their abilities, and just inquiring about their band in general.  You could tell that this was what they lived for.  Somewhere in the middle of it, I saw myself up there in 20 years.  If I had followed my teenage dream of playing music for a living, that most certainly could have and probably would have been me.

I am not trashing that life at all.  There are people that God has called to live that life and are honoring Him while doing it.  That life just isn’t what God had in mind for me, and I almost hate the fact that something in me still gravitates toward it every now and then.  When I pick up my guitar to play a bit, it is ridiculous how many of those old “bar tunes” I still play.  However, as it stands, when I got saved 22 years ago, God changed my heart and made all things new.  Every time I played those songs for people, I just wasn’t happy.  I felt conviction.  That still, small voice in my head would not shut up, and to be honest, I wanted it to go away…until the day I was offered the opportunity.

I will never forget the day God gave me an ultimatum.  He was telling me in my spirit that I was to either follow Him and His leadings, or follow my own wants and desires.  I just knew that if I chose my own way that God was done sending His strong conviction within my heart.  The strength of it was already fading in intensity as the months and years went by.  I knelt by my bed and chose Him.

So, I bring in 2014 by remembering what God has brought me out of and what He has brought me to.  I am becoming very aware of what it means to make an eternal difference.  It would not matter one bit if I played music for the entire world, made millions of dollars, had every kid wanting to be able to play like me, and had all of the fans, groupies and girls that life had to offer.  I would not know the life I have now.  I wouldn’t know what it was like to be crazy in love with one woman the past 14 years.  I wouldn’t know what it even means to love God, love other people, have the presence of God, lead others to Him, point others back to Him, write WMD’s, and starting this Sunday…preach the Word on a weekly basis.  I will be honest with you, I’m a bit nervous and scared, but I know God is with me and that with Him, I cannot fail.

I say all that to say this:  Follow Him in 2014.  Maybe you have been saved for years.  I was saved for a lot of years before I decided to follow Him.  I can guarantee you two things.  First, it will be REALLY difficult when you truly decide in your heart and go for it.  In fact, circumstances for me got worse and I wondered for about 2 years if following God was worth it.  Second, if you stick with it, you will realize that following Jesus is absolutely the most rewarding thing a person can do. There Is nothing like being a new creation in Christ and growing spiritually! It’s just one of those things…you can’t accept another’s word for it; you have to experience it for yourself.

So, I took one more look at those three guys, listened to them play one more song, and walked away.

I never want to go back to my old life.

Happy New Year

Adam

A Changed Heart

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  — Isaiah 9:6

As I watched my children get absolutely anything and everything they could possibly want, I wonder when my wants changed.  I don’t think it was that long ago.  I do remember a few gifts that I opened that excited me…my Nintendo, my Castle Greyskull, my Sega Genesis with Mortal Kombat, and several times that I received hundreds of dollars to go towards buying myself something expensive.  Those are the first things that come to mind out of the countless gifts I have received.  I recently found my Merlin game that I received when I was 8 or 9 years old.    I remembered so much about that Christmas at my Grandma’s house.  I really can’t believe the game still works.  American made is definitely better than China made.

I am just now learning that I can have the presence of God.  I have felt His presence in such a real way this past year that I am chasing it now.  I expect it to happen at some point every day.  It comes in some strange ways.  I was watching the WestJet Christmas Miracle on YouTube just the other day and God leaped on me for about 30 minutes.  I just sat there and marveled that as extravagant as they were on that day, God is even more extravagant with me.  The tears just kept rolling as I was on the mount of transfiguration with my Lord.  I have learned that this feeling is the best thing that this life offers.  I will continue to chase it every day for the rest of my life.

What if Jesus had never come?  There are many who honestly have convinced themselves that He didn’t come, and the Bible is just a book written by men to control people.  They don’t believe that the Bible is true, much less the Words of God Himself.  What if I didn’t have the hope that it offered?  What if I had never received the words of eternal life that I was offered as a selfish 16 year old teenager who couldn‘t get enough of worldly pleasures and temporary things that it offers?

I’d still be lost.

I’d still be thinking that enough money, the right job, or the right girl would make me happy.

I’d still be a slave to my immorality.

I would not know Him as any of those things Isaiah calls him.

But as it stands right now…I am free.  I am free to pursue God because I am a new creation.  In Christ, old things really did pass away and all things became new.  I am caught up in this growing process that will literally never end.  Every year that passes by I realize that more of the old has died, and more of the new has been birthed.  I think I have finally realized that there is always a new level with God.  There will continue to be a new level with Him for all eternity.  I will continue to love Him more and more year after year forever and ever.  That is amazing!

So here I am on Christmas morning waiting for my kids to wake up and rambling away on this WMD.  I just want to say thank you to all of you for your encouragement and support over the past several years.  Many of you have prayed and still pray for me constantly.  We are all in this fight to become Christ-like together.  None of it would even be possible if God had not sent His Son…who is Christ the Lord!

…and the feet come downstairs.

Merry Christmas

Adam

Four years ago my wife wrote a WMD about my friend, Greg.  He is going through a rough chunk of life right now.  I ask any and all who will to pray for him and his family this Christmas season.  I pray that he remembers this as he reads and God just floods his soul.  I pray that he finishes 2013 well and 2014 is the best year of his life. 

My Desire

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.  2 Corinthians 4:18

But seek first his kingdom, and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. — Matt. 6:33

“Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.” When we learn to let the Lord be THE lord of our lives, it is amazing to watch Him in action. I absolutely love to see God in the small details in people‘s lives. I find myself looking for these experiences. When a friend is sharing a story with me, I often ask myself, “I wonder what God is up to?”.

On Palm Sunday, Adam was supposed to help serve communion during the service. He was late getting to the pre-service meeting, so the pastor that was organizing the communion part of the service asked a friend of ours to fill in for Adam. As I was sitting down, Adam joined me and told me that Greg was taking his place. He said Greg was overwhelmed at the opportunity. Greg grew up in a church where only the deacons could serve communion, and his daddy was one of the men that did that in his church. His daddy is now in Heaven. He was so touched to get to do this. He knew how proud his Daddy would have been of him.

As Adam told me this story, I looked down at the front row where the servers were seated. When I spotted Greg, he had his face buried in his hands giving thanks for the opportunity to serve. The tears started to flow for me! If you knew his story, you would know how far he has come over the past few years. He is an example of someone that delights themselves in the Lord. He hungers for more of God…the more he gets, the more he wants. He is an encourager to many around him.

Okay, it gets even better!! When we got home, he and Adam had been texting back and forth. Not only did he get this blessing of an opportunity, his Mom was also at church that morning. She also got to share in this wonderful event in his life. AND, I got to experience one of my favorite things too…seeing God in the small details of somebody’s life.

When we are living our lives for God, our desires begin to change. My desires are not for material things, although those are really nice. Those are my wants. If I get it, that is awesome, if not, it is not a big deal. They are temporal. My wants change with the wind. A desire is a longing. Longings don’t come easy, and they take a long time to happen. They are eternal. That means that we must focus on Jesus day to day. He wants us to experience the good things that come only from pursuing Him. Love. Joy. Peace. Patience. Kindness. Goodness. Faithfulness. Gentleness. Self-Control. When Adam and I are out on a date, we usually end up going shopping. Before Easter, we were in Target looking through the toy aisles for bubble machines when we saw a Sleeping Beauty costume. Caroline loves Sleeping Beauty! Of course, we had to buy it for her. The thing was… we had to wait until Easter to give it to her. We really wanted to give it to her that night, because we knew how happy she was going to be. It made me realize how much our Big Daddy does that all the time. He wants to give us those special blessings in our lives, but too often, we are making Him wait. We are too busy living our lives to please ourselves and not Him. He is waiting on that moment when He looks at us and says, “Great job Kiddo, you are doing a good job pleasing me!” Just like he did for Greg on Palm Sunday morning.

Let’s work on it! Decide today that the things that you long for are worth pursuing on a daily basis. Live to please God in EVERY decision. It is hard…I struggle with it all the time. But I do know this: the more consistent we are in doing it, the easier it gets.

So what is it you desire? I know what I long for. I desire to see my children grow up to be strong in their faith. I desire that every year that Adam and I spend together that we grow deeper in God and closer to each other. I desire to see all the members of my family saved. I desire to see the way God works in the small details of people’s lives. I desire to see my story be a part of His plan.

Take delight in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart — Psalms 37:4

Looking forward

Tonya

What does it mean to have a Mary Christmas? Luke 2:5 says “He (Joseph) went there (to Bethlehem) to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.” Think about it, Mary was literally carrying Jesus on this painfully long Journey. Joe didn’t walk her out to the SUV and make her as comfortable as possible. I’m sure you ladies can imagine being in the 3^rd trimester of pregnancy and riding on a donkey almost 100 miles from Nazareth to Bethlehem. It was long, it was hard, and it was extremely uncomfortable. She was miserable, but she did have Christ growing inside of her.

Let me start with those who are on a long, hard road right now.  Some of you have given your life to God and things just are not all that great.  Maybe you’re more hurt than excited that it’s Christmas time.  Maybe you’ve lost loved ones. Maybe you never had a real family to celebrate the holidays.  Jesus flat out tells us that in this world we will have trouble, but He also tells us that He has overcome the world.  Your life, like Mary’s, might be very uncomfortable ride right now.  Fortunately, we know the rest of the story!

If you have asked Jesus to forgive you for your sins, you have Him growing in YOU! You are the one carrying Him on this journey called life! Is He growing in you? Can you feel Him move inside you? Is it obvious to the people you love that you are pregnant with the King of Kings? Galatians 4:19 says “My dear children for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you.” Is He forming in you? Let me tell you how you can know.

When a woman get’s pregnant, her appetites change. She may want pickles and ice cream or something crazy like that. When you truly get saved, you want the Bible, praise and worship music, preaching tapes, Christian books, devotionals, and simply to hang out with other people that love Jesus…basically, you want what the world would say is “crazy stuff like that.”

The pregnancy progresses, and there comes a point when she feels the baby start to move. She tells everyone to “come and see,” “come and feel,” “experience this NEW LIFE inside of me.” In a similar way, time goes by after you get saved and God starts to move in your life. Have you told somebody that you have NEW LIFE in you? Have you told them that life hasn’t been the same since He came into your heart?  If you tell them what is going on inside of you, many will probably think you are crazy.  You eventually get to the point where you don’t care, the new life is far better than man’s approval.

This leads me to my last point! After several months goes by, it’s obvious to everyone that comes into contact with a pregnant woman that she is about to give birth. The woman may try to hide it for a while, but towards the end, she just doesn’t care who knows. The baby is there and is about to come out of her. After several months of growing in the Lord, reading His word, spending time with Him, feeling Him inside you, you should get to a point where you don’t care who knows. What you have in you is so great, so powerful, so wonderful…you just want everyone to know that there is this new life pouring out of you! Let it be known that you are a child of the King!

Here’s the thing: We have some messed up thinking. We actually think if the Bible was back to being taught in school, things would change. The Bible is being taught in churches, and I would say the majority of the people in church don’t live any different than the people that don’t go at all.  We actually think if all the stores plastered “Merry Christmas” on their entrances things would be better. I hate to be the one to break the news to you…nothing would change.

Things will change when true followers of Jesus have a Mary Christmas and actually start denying themselves, carrying their crosses, and following Him. I know that cross gets heavy.  I know it is inconvenient, especially in America today.  However, I also know the rewards.  Rewards which can not be matched!

Instead of being mad about the store sign, tell people about what He has done in your life. Live like He’s actually growing inside you! Live like He is with you ALL the time, because He is! I don’t know of a single person that saw “Merry Christmas” on a department store door or window, was moved to tears, repented of their sins and became a follower of Christ.

I do know plenty of people that read or heard Luke 2:10-11 and it changed everything:

Do not be afraid, I bring you GOOD NEWS of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.

Mary Christmas!

Adam

Work at it

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward.  It is the Lord Christ  you are serving..  — Colossians 3:23-24

This has been probably my most often quoted verse of the Bible.  I make my best effort to do this every day.  I spent Black Friday cleaning out my gutters and taking care of my leaf problem.  I didn’t really want to do it.  So, I brought this verse to mind and tried to work like I was working for Him.  3 hours went by in a flash.  It felt so good to accomplish so much.  When I was done, I wasn’t even tired.  I had just spent 3 amazing hours with the Lord continually on my mind.

The reason I write about this verse again is because of the line “you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward.”  I always thought this verse meant that if I reluctantly did the things that I didn’t want to do, but had to do, then I would receive a great reward in Heaven.  Well, what I am discovering is that the inheritance is Him.  If I can figure out how to constantly work, play, or whatever it is that I am doing, if I can keep Him in my mind and do it all like I am doing it for Him, then I will not only get it done and get it done better, I will enjoy it.  This has been a fantastic revelation that has brought truckloads of peace into my heart.

I think back over my work career.  I worked at a golf course as a “cart boy” for 7 years.  I loved that job, but it never crossed my mind that I needed to work that job as unto the Lord.  When I was 22, I became a math teacher.  For about 6 years I did it, but did not really enjoy it.  Once again, the thought had never crossed my mind to teach like I’m working for the Lord.  I was one of those “minimum requirement” guys.  I was going to do the least I could possibly get by with.  Then, I read Colossians 3:23.  This was the first time I had ever thought about my attitude towards my job.  In light of this verse, my attitude was awful…I had to change.  I spent the next 10 years actually learning what it meant and what it took to be a teacher.  More specifically, a teacher working “as unto the Lord.”  I can honestly say it has been the best 10 years of my life.  God has already rewarded me greatly.

I say all that to say this.  I don’t know what 2014 holds for me.  The Lord is opening some doors that I never in a million years thought would possibly open for me.  Please pray for me as I simply strive to live day by day the very best that I can.  Today, I am supposed to relax, rest, write this WMD, and spend time with my family and my God.  Tomorrow, I am to go to school and be the best teacher and the best influence I can possibly be in the lives of my students.  Keeping this approach just makes life simple.  I like simple.

I don’t really know why the Lord had me type this up.  Maybe there is a few of you out there who are reading this and are miserable at work.  Take a few moments to think about what it would look like to do what you have to do for the Lord.  What would you have to do different?  What would you have to start doing?  What would you have to stop doing?  Consider everything you can possibly bring to mind, maybe even write those ideas down.

Whatever that something is that you do…put your heart into it.  Work at it as if God Himself is watching every minute detail.  Enjoy having Him there with you.  It won’t be long, you will start enjoying what you do.  You will also have people ask if there is something wrong with you.  After all, nobody is supposed to be happy at work.  It is then that your very purpose in life comes to fruition.  You get to tell them about how the Lord changed your heart and life, and how you are simply trying to do what it is you do for Him.

If you say you are a Christian, it is the Lord Christ you are serving at whatever it is that you do.  Whether at school or at work, may you and I both do our jobs to the best of our ability.  May there be no other person who puts more of their heart in what we do than you or I…regardless of the behavior of others.

Serve the Lord with gladness;

Come before His presence with singing.

Know ye that the Lord, He is God:

It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves.

We are his people and the sheep of his pasture.  — Psalm 100:2-3

Later

Adam

When Thanksgiving becomes Praisegiving

She (Leah) conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son she said, “This time I will praise the Lord.”  So she named him Judah.  Then she stopped having children.  — Genesis 29:35

It is difficult to believe that Thanksgiving is once again upon us.  2013 is almost gone.  I haven’t attempted to make a thankful post every day this month, but I am certainly thankful.  In fact, I believe thankfulness is pretty easy.  It is super easy to think about all of the stuff that benefits me and my life and be thankful.  So yes, I am thankful for Jesus who gave His life for mine.  I am thankful that my wife chose to marry me eleven years and eleven months ago.  I am thankful for my kids, my parents, my health, my job, my church, my home, my cars, my guitars, my abilities and my books…especially my Bibles.  I am thankful for countless other things that don’t even come to my mind because I am beyond blessed.

It is interesting to me that almost every person who is asked what they are most thankful for will say “friends and family.”  To me, this means that people are the most grateful for the fact that they are cared for and loved.  This also quickly makes me think about the Leah’s in this world.  On the surface, I bet everyone thought she had it made and had it all together.  She came from a wealthy home and married a wealthy man.  Unfortunately, if you know the story, she was deceived when she got married.  Her dad tricked Jacob and pulled a true wife swap on what was supposed to be his and Rachel’s wedding day.  I would bet that Laban convinced Leah that Jacob was “a good man” who would “take care of her.”  She probably bought into it despite the fact that she knew Jacob only had eyes for her younger sister.  So, she goes through with it.  How did that turn out for her?  Genesis 29:31 says that the Lord saw that Leah was not loved.

In a strange twist of fate, Leah was able to have children, but Rachel was not.  So, Leah does what a countless number of teenage girls have done.  She does what a countless number of wives have done who married immature “boys” who would rather hunt, play golf, play video games or “hang with the boys” than love their wives (and yes…I was one of those immature boys).   She has a baby thinking it will be the difference maker.  She thinks that will fix everything and her husband will all of a sudden magically fall in love her.  She repeats this process two more times saying things like “Now at last my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him 3 sons.”  I can’t imagine how desperate she must have been for authentic affection.

I know that there are a lot of hurting people in the world.  My job consists of working with lots of kids who are hurting.  On the surface, they act all tough and act like everything is cool, but I have heard some of their stories.  As I have listened, they all seem to mention a great moment of hurt.  Somewhere in their lives they felt used and insignificant…just like Leah.

Leah made babies trying to get her husband to love her.  Teenage girls by the millions are hopping in and out of bed with boyfriend after boyfriend hoping that sex will bring them love.  Teenage boys by the millions are using drugs and alcohol in an attempt to be accepted by a crowd that they think are friends.  I bought into it as well.  I remember buying certain clothes in an attempt to “be cool.”  I remember drinking that alcohol that I didn’t even like so I could blend in with the party crowd.  I remember sleeping around simply so I could brag and be like the other teenagers and young adults who sure seemed so happy living life that way.  None of that stuff ever brought peace.  It was simply a never ending cycle of searching for the next “fix.”

I never received peace until I did what Leah did.  When she had tried and tried to do it the world’s way and received nothing in return, she said “this time, I will praise the Lord.”  In other words, “I am done trying to win the attention and affection of people.  I am going to put my life in the hands in the one who made me and who loves me simply for being His creation.”

Maybe your heart is full and you are so thankful this Thanksgiving that it is very easy to come up with reasons to be thankful every day and even post those reasons on Facebook and Twitter for the world to see.  If this is genuinely you, then I don’t have to tell you to enjoy your holiday season.  On the other hand, maybe you are hurting.  Maybe you are living life in a way that is simply trying to please people around you and you feel like you are receiving nothing in return.  If this is you, there two options.  Either keep doing what you are doing, or make this Thanksgiving your first Praisegiving.  Praisegiving consists of disregarding your present, unfavorable circumstances and praising God.  Most people will choose to continue their same dead end cycle.  But, a few people will do what Leah did.  This time, they will praise the Lord.

Keep in mind that her circumstances didn’t change…

Her focus did.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Adam

Keeping His Presence

Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling.  — Philippians 2:12

How much of God’s presence can I have?  One thing that I know…there is nothing like the all out, full on presence of the Lord.  This past Saturday morning, I left my home at 6:30 a.m. to drive to Ashevelle, NC.  I put in my Vertical Church worship CD and just drove.  I can’t even describe how majestic it was.  I saw a total of 3 crosses.  Every one that I passed had this special beam of light that perfectly accented it.  Leaves, mountains, birds, beams of light, worship music…everything was screaming that God loved me.  I began to feel Him.  The feeling just elevated and elevated.  I kept asking for more and more.  Eventually, I had to stop because my chest began to physically hurt and I had ran out of tears and was tired of blowing my nose.  It was absolutely amazing…the longest period of time I have ever been in the presence of the Lord.  This has me wondering…how much of His Presence can I have?  How often can I feel that?

Somehow, as a church, we got to a point where outside of the church walls Christians don’t work on their salvation.  We have adopted this “say a prayer” theology where we repeat “the sinner’s prayer,“ live like we want, then wait to die while hoping that the prayer we said all those years ago somehow makes us “good to go.“  God forbid that we actually have to do anything and actually put some effort into our Christianity.  I bought into it big time.  I honestly think it was about 7 years after I got saved before I was shown how to read the word of God and apply it to my every day life.  Even then, I found that it was extremely hard to do consistently.  Bible study and prayer are the easiest things in the world to put off until tomorrow.  For years, I put it off and put it off, then wondered why I wasn’t experiencing Him.  Why in the world were there men crying in the church service while I felt nothing?  What did they have that I didn’t?  The answer, of course, is a real deal, authentic relationship with the Lord God Himself.

I have heard from many “down to earth” Christians that it is impossible to maintain the “feeling” of God’s Presence.  I am just wondering if that is true.  I don’t think that it is…at least, I hope it isn’t.  Either way, I really want to find out.  I have taken these last three weeks to really work on keeping God on my mind.  He is the first thing I read about in the morning.  Afterward, I listen to some praise and worship and pray while I’m getting ready, driving to work, and while I’m getting my classroom ready for the students that day.  During the day it gets a bit harder, so I write a verse on a note card and keep it in my pocket or read a quick verse in the Bible before my next group comes in.  I am trying to make it a priority to think about Him at least once every hour that I am awake.  When I drive home, I talk to Him, listen to praise and worship, or listen to a sermon.  I pray with my family before dinner.  We talk about a story in the Jesus Storybook Bible at bedtime, and finally I will read something about God before I go to sleep.

Now, don’t think that I’m some “Holy Roller” that is trying to say I’m better than anyone else because they don’t do this and I do.  In fact, I have yet to make it through a “perfect” day where I’ve met all of my own requirements.  But, I have to say, I have experienced God more these past three weeks than I ever have.  Also, as a really nice side effect, when the regular things in life don’t go my way, they are just not that big of a deal…I like that.  The things of Earth really do grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.  If we seek first the kingdom, the other stuff really does get added to us as well.

Even as I type this, the devil is bombarding me with the thoughts that all of this is impossible.  On the surface, it does seem impossible.  But, I can’t help but believe it is completely doable.  Unfortunately, it takes that 4 letter word that every entitled American hates…WORK.  There is no reason that we can’t spend a few minutes, or at least a few seconds of every hour thinking about God, then spend longer chunks of time with Him as they becomes available.

For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.  — 2 Chronicles 16:9

Later

Adam

Years ago, I remember someone giving me a copy of a story.  I was just beginning to get serious about my relationship with The Lord.  After reading it, I understood perhaps for the first time that  Christianity was about WAY more than just avoiding Hell.  I hope it does for someone today what it did for me years ago.

The Empty Bird Cage

There once was a man named George Thomas, a pastor in a small New England town.  One Easter Sunday morning he came to the Church carrying a rusty, bent, old bird cage, and set it by the pulpit.  Several eyebrows were raised and, as if in response, Pastor Thomas began to speak…

 
“I was walking through town yesterday when I saw a young boy coming toward me swinging this bird cage. On the bottom of the cage were three little wild birds, shivering with cold and fright.

I stopped the lad and asked, ‘What do you have there son?’

“Just some old birds,” came the reply.

“What are you going to do with them?” I asked.

“Take them home and have fun with ’em,” he answered. “I’m going to tease them and pull out their feathers to make ’em fight. I’m gonna have a real good time.”

“But you’ll get tired of those birds sooner or later. What will you do?”

“Oh, I got some cats,” said the little boy. “They like birds. I’ll take them to them.”

The pastor was silent for a moment. “How much do you want for those birds, son?”

“Huh?? !!! Why, you don’t want them birds, Mister. They’re just plain old field birds. They don’t sing – they ain’t even pretty!”

“How much?” the pastor asked again.

The boy sized up the pastor as if he were crazy and said, “$10?”

The pastor reached in his pocket and took out a ten dollar bill. He placed it in the boy’s hand. In a flash, the boy was gone. The pastor picked up the cage and gently carried it to the end of the alley where there was a tree and a grassy spot. Setting the cage down, he opened the door, and by softly tapping the bars persuaded the birds out, setting them free.

Well, that explained the empty bird cage on the pulpit, and then the pastor began to tell this story…

One day Satan and God were having a conversation. Satan had just come from the Garden of Eden, and he was gloating and boasting. “Yes, sir, I just caught the world full of people down there. Set me a trap, used bait I knew they couldn’t resist. Got ’em all!”

“What are you going to do with them?” God asked.

Satan replied, “Oh, I’m gonna have fun! I’m gonna teach them how to marry and divorce each other, how to hate and abuse each other, how to drink and smoke and curse. I’m gonna teach them how to invent guns and bombs and kill each other. I’m really gonna have fun!”

“And what will you do when you get done with them?” God asked.

“Oh, I’ll kill ’em,” Satan glared proudly.

“How much do you want for them?” God asked.

“Oh, you don’t want those people. They ain’t no good. Why, you’ll take them and they’ll just hate you. They’ll spit on you, curse you and kill you!! You don’t want those people!”

“How much?” He asked again. Satan looked at God and sneered, “All your tears, and all your blood.”

God said, “DONE!” Then He paid the price.

The pastor picked up the cage, opened the door and then walked from the pulpit.

Until next time…

Adam

Back to the Beginning

This was the first official WMD that I ever sent out.  I think it went out to 6 other teachers.

Luke 6:27-38

Some things in the Bible I just wish weren’t’ in there.  This passage of scriptures is one of those things.  Jesus says we should “do good to those who hate you” and not to demand back our goods that people take from us without permission.  He goes on to say that we should love our enemies.  Even sinners love people who love them back.  He says we should loan to people that we know can’t pay us pack.  Even sinners loan to people that they know will pay them back.

This has to be the hardest thing in the world.  I think this tells us as teachers that we should give our best to the students that we wish we could kick right out of our classes.  EVERY teacher likes to teach the “good” kids.  However, as followers of Christ, we have to treat the “bad” ones the same as the good.  In most cases this will require extra effort and time on our part.  If you are like me you say “Why in the world would I want to do that when I KNOW it won’t help, they won’t do it, they won’t change.”  Basically, why should we do this when we know we probably won’t get anything in return?

There are three reasons:

1.  God just might intervene and use us as the tool that gets one or more of these kids on track.  We could be the ones that help them break free and DO something with their lives.  Maybe make them want to become good parents in the future and not have to see the cycle repeat itself.  If this happened with only one out of a hundred kids, wouldn’t it be worth it?

2.  We are the most like God when we do this.  He gave His son to die for us when we didn’t deserve it.  “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us”  (Romans 5:8)  How quickly Christians forget where they came from!  He gave us His best not expecting ANYTHING in return.  What could we give Him in return?  It all belongs to Him anyway!

3.  He will reward us!  In Luke 6:35 it says if we do this “your reward will be GREAT”.  I don’t know what this means as far as being rewarded down here or in Heaven when we get there, but I don’t care either way…and it’s probably BOTH!  If someone takes from me and I can just let it go, or if I give and don’t expect anything in return,  whatever God chooses to reward me with will be MUCH better than just getting back whatever was taken or whatever any person could possibly give me as a reward.

I know this is tough stuff.  Just don’t think because I’m writing this that I have it all together and that I do this well.  I’m just writing what I think God wants me to write.  I sure try to do what is right, but I sure do fail miserably a little too often.

Until next time…

Adam