Dad is in the miracle zone

25 Apr

Anyone that knows me well knows I’ve been going to Easley almost every other week since Christmas 2009 when Dad’s health took a significant turn for the worse.  In the past few months I’d noticed Dad on a down-swing, seemingly getting worse every time I called or visited.  And then … the Great Fall of 2011 occurred.  And what has happened with Dad is unexplainable.

I’ve talked to Mom and Dad every day since December 2009.  And that holds true, even through my misfortunate accident.  One thing I’ve noticed has been a real clarity when talking to him.  No decline … no great improvement … just steady.  And steady is good!  I finally got to go to Easley this weekend.  We had a great visit (albeit a short one) and I confirmed with my eyes what I’d been hearing on the phone … Dad is doing okay right now!!

There is one viable explanation for all of this:  It’s a miracle!!  And that, friends, is what it is!

Slowly back to … Normal???

19 Apr

Yesterday I returned to the Y. After almost 7 weeks. It was odd … I couldn’t do the things I used to do (only because of the brace), so I rode the bike and walked slowly on the treadmill. Saw only a couple of people I knew. It was a strange experience. But I am sooooooooooooooooo glad I got to do it!

Things are slowly getting back to normal. I am now doing every morning in the office, and when I get to the place where I can grip the steering wheel with my left hand, will be driving again.

Therapy on lefty is going slow, but we make progress every day.the swelling in my left hand is going down and I can move it more every day. If nothing else, this has taught me huge lessons on how difficult it can be to bounce back from a simple fall …

We are getting there, but slowly! Keep praying!!!

Sounding off about FSD1 & Godly influence

15 Apr

Last night, the Florence School District One board was backed into a corner by an anonymous complainant. The complaint? Superintendent Brooks and Delmae principal Jolley have sent emails with Christian content to their employees, and someone complained. As Robert D. Raiford used to say, ” we have become the United States of the Offended.”

What is really happening here?

I personnally know Dr. Brooks and Mrs. Jolley. The great “sin” committed by both of them was trying to encourage their charges. Both of them are VERY respectful of others and their beliefs. I can promise you this was not intended to offend, only to help. (in some ways, THEIR rights are now violated … Oh … I forgot … Followers of Christ don’t have rights these days)

I also personally know several school board members (one, Wllard Dorriety, is a close friend). I can also assure you they had a most difficult time with this decision. Their charge is to do the right things for our district, and between he, Porter Stewart, and a couple of other sane members of the board, I’ll guarantee this was a hard-reached decision and one none of them were too happy about.

I do not know the anonymous complainant. Did this person contact Mrs. Jolley or Dr. Brooks? Did this person go straight to the Americans United for Separation of Church and State? We’ll never know. And that is probably best.

One thing is for certain: Now, more than ever, Satan is attacking our families, our churches, our communities, our community leaders, and anything or anyone who builds the Kingdom of God with their lives. And that, friends, is EXACTLY what is going on here.

And there will be a day when every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. And, if the AUSCS wants to threaten a suit on that, they’d better do their homework!!!

http://www2.scnow.com/news/pee-dee/2011/apr/14/no-more-religious-e-mails-florence-1-schools-ar-1717608/

Good Soil

14 Apr

In the Parable of the Sower, Jesus made it clear that good soil is the one we want to be! Good soil produces a crop which glorifies God! Every Gardner wants to plant only in the best soil … So what does it take for us to BE the good soil God wants?

It’s up to God …AND us! One of the primary roles of the Holy Spirit is convicting us of our sin. I’ve often preached and fully believe we cannot clean ourselves up enough for a relationship with God. God is constantly at work in our lives, pruning and guiding us to do our part in tending the garden of our life!

Yes, we do have a role to play. Confessing our sin and turning AWAY from it! In other words, repentance! Turning and walking away from things in our lives that do not glorify Him or build His kingdom! Throwing that junk out of the garden! Loosening the soil and picking out the weeds and rocks! God will show us what to do … But we need to get on our knees and do it!

Are you willing?

The Thorns

13 Apr

Not much said about the thorns in Matthew 13. At least, in tha parable of the sower. But Jesus was very clear about the meaning of the thorns later in that chapter!

The thorns, that grow up among the seeds and choke them out, are the worries of life and the pursuit of riches. The obsession with worldly things! When worldly things and material needs become more important to us than the things of God, we are in trouble. Big trouble!

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said this another way: You cannot serve two masters! You cannot serve God and earthly wealth! It will never work!

The pursuit of earthly things will choke out the joy, peace, purpose, and focus of the kingdom of God! And, if you choose this, it will bring nothing but heartache!

Doctor’s report

12 Apr

Here goes:

Right arm brace is OFF!

Left arm cast is GONE! It is now in a brace. Therapy starts tomorrow!

Summarizing the doc’s remarks, this was as good as it could be! And it is EXACTLY what we prayed for!

Who says God doesn’t answer prayer!

Rocky Places

12 Apr

Yesterday I blogged about the hardened soil Jesus spoke of in Matthew 13. Today, the rocky soil:

Jesus said the rocky soil is shallow. Specifically, there is not much depth. There is nowhere for the seed to take root.

Have you ever tried to dig in rocky soil? I have. Often it looks like any other kind of soil on the surface. But all it takes is one stick of the shovel to know the work will be ten times harder. But, if you have to dig there, you do it!!!

How do we allow our soil to get this way? I’m convinced we do it when we hide the rocks in our lives. We try to smooth things over and hide them from the world … from each other …and from God. And, for some reason, we have to hold on to those rocks.

What are the rocks? I don’t know, exactly. But they are things each of us feel a need to hide. So they must not be good! And as long as we hold on to them, they will prevent the seed from taking root in our lives. So they are bad, indeed!

The rocky soil gives a phony front. The seed springs up quickly and looks really healthy. But at the first resistance, it falls over because it had no soil to hold on to.

Do you have rocks? What do you think is the right thing to do about them?

Which soil are you?? Maybe the path?

11 Apr

Yesterday I preached from Matthew 13,  Jesus and the parable of the sower.  In that parable there were four types of soil described.  This week I’ve decided to explore those types.  So, here goes number one:

The Path is a hardened heart.  We don’t know why that heart is hard, but it is.  Maybe it claims to be hardened by the cruel world.  Maybe by cruel people that call themselves followers of Christ.  Maybe by the circumstances of life … by the hands its been dealt.  No matter the reason, this heart is hard.  And its in grave danger.

“Grave danger?”  “Is there any other kind??”

If a heart is hard, its an easy target for Satan.  Like the birds, he picks the seed of the gospel off easily.  He wards off attempts from people of God to befriend and comfort the hard-hearted.  He isolates the hardened one, tells them they are all alone, and traps them in their own belief.  And he is LYING.

God loves us all. There is NEVER a reason for any of us to be alone as long as God is on His throne and Ebenezer’s doors are opened!!  He will be on His throne for eternity, and if WE are doing our jobs, we will reach out until HE says enough!!!

So what are we to do??  Check the texture of our heart … Towards God AND others … And, when we are called to minister to the hard-hearted, DON’T GIVE UP SO EASILY!!!!!

Where we are

7 Apr

Had an interesting day yesterday. Therapy went well, but my physical therapist had called the doctor before I got there: the brace on my right arm is not doing it’s job well, and she wanted them to look at it.

She talked to the person who likes to shift blame … We got to know her when I was begging to get therapy started a few weeks ago. Ironically, this person told the therapist that the brace I was in was one her therapy company approved … That is ironic because I got the brace the day I was discharged from McLeod, 15 days before we knew Progressive PT was where the insurance company would insist I go …

Any who … We went to the docs office and the folks there were great! The brace guru looked it over and looked my file over. She showed us how we can make ths one work. We all agreed it would’ve pointless to replace since everyone thinks he will start weaning me out of it at me recheck on Tuesday. So it was a good experience and didn’t take long at all!

So here we are! Right arm is doing well in therapy. Left arm is still in the cast and still pretty swollen. Though we think we will know more about the timeline on lefty next week. So we covet your prayers!!!

Dissention

4 Apr

What an ugly word … And, sadly, one that must be addressed in the modern church!

But first, a little understanding of what Paul meant when he wrote about it in Galatians 5: Dissention is NOT disagreement. In the church where I grew up, there was this old guy … Let’s call him Ralph (not his real name). Every time we took a church vote on something, Ralph voted “No.”. Every time!!! I believe if we’d taken a vote on whether or not Jesus was Lord, Ralph would’ve voted NO. That was just a fact of life!

But Ralph wasn’t guilty of Dissention … He would vote his mind and that would be it. No, maybe he was guilty of poor judgment or bad hearing. But once the vote was done, it was done!

Dissention goes much deeper. It involves actively trying to persuade others to turn against leadership. And it tears the bonds of a church like nothing else. I believe it is one of Satan’s favorite weapons, and it is alive and well in the modern church. And, sad to say, at Ebenezer as well. And Paul said those who do this will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

What can YOU do to stop this cancer??? First of all, check yourself. Each of us need to do this, and check our egos at the door along with our personal agendas. There is ONE agenda at the church, and it is that of Christ. What He desires is all that should matter!

Secondly, we can stop it by being strong enough NOT to give ear to such talk. This probably means when we hear someone doing this, we need to hold them accountable in love. Urge them to go sit down and talk to the leader in question. Even offer to go with them!!

Dissention rips churches in two … Would you really stand by and watch it happen to your church family?

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