This week in the greater Birmingham area, we were on alert for bad storms with possible flooding overnight.  Sure enough, we were awakened several times with loud claps of thunder.  Twice during the night, our weather alarm sounded, requiring us to get up and pay attention to the warning.  The warning called for our area to be on alert because of flash flooding.  We were tired and annoyed because there was no problem where we live.  We did not need to hear the alarm.  We did not want to be awakened from our sleep by an alarm.

As I watched the early news this morning, there were many who had to abandon their homes in the middle of the night.  Many had to be rescued by boat.  They needed the alarm.  Their lives depended on the alarm.  I was more concerned about my own comfortable place than for those who needed the alarm.

Sometimes when we hear preaching/teaching that sounds the alarm for the lost, it’s easy to say, “I don’t need that.  I am safe.”  It’s easy to wish the alarm would go away, because we are safe.  However, the alarm is for those who do need it.

• Noah’s message from the steps going up to the ark was not, “Something good is going to happen to you!”
• Amos did not confront the high priest of Israel proclaiming, “Confession is possession!”
• Jeremiah was not put into the pit for preaching, “I’m okay, you’re okay.”
• Daniel was not thrown into the lion’s den for telling people, “Positive thinking will move mountains!”
• John the Baptist did not preach in the wilderness and have his head chopped off because he preached, “Smile! God loves you!”

Instead what was the message of all these men of God? Their message can be simply put in one word, REPENT!

I love to hear a message on “I know the plans I have for you, and it’s good.”  I love a message on “Speak to the mountain and it will move.”  There is a time and place for these messages, but it is still essential to sound the alarm, to preach the truth of the Gospel.

Jesus sounded the alarm.  As a matter of fact Jesus was clear in several passages of scripture including Luke 13:1-5,  “About this time Jesus was informed that Pilate had murdered some people from Galilee as they were offering sacrifices at the Temple.  “Do you think those Galileans were worse sinners than all the other people from Galilee?” Jesus asked. “Is that why they suffered?  Not at all! And you will perish, too, unless you repent of your sins and turn to God. And what about the eighteen people who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them? Were they the worst sinners in Jerusalem?  No, and I tell you again that unless you repent, you will perish, too.”

I am thankful for the alarm that caught my attention and then let me see that God made a way for me.  “God so loved the world He gave His only son that whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life.”  – John 3:16   

Praise God for His grace and mercy.  I am so thankful that someone sounded the alarm and I heard it.  What joy that I can now sing:

Grace, grace, God’s grace,
Grace that will pardon and cleanse within;
Grace, grace, God’s grace,
Grace that is greater than all our sin.

Gaylon Benton and I were married on Saturday evening, June 26, 1971.  We will soon celebrate forty-three years of marriage. Through both good times, bad times, hard times and joyous times, we have truly learned who each other is.  I know a lot about my husband!  My husband knows a lot about me!

These are a few of the things that I know Gaylon loves:

• Alabama football
• Key lime pie
• His family
• Khaki pants
• Alabama football
• Bread
• Tools
• Strawberries
• Assisting others
• Alabama football
• Vanilla ice cream
• A sloppy, wet kiss

I could add plenty more of what Gaylon loves.  I have also learned the things he hates and that is just as important.

These are a few of the things that I know Gaylon hates:

• Bread that is too crispy
• Alabama losing a game
• Yard work (I second that!)
• Too much cover on the bed
• Alabama losing a game
• Strife
• Tools not being put away properly
• Beets
• Death
• Green beans
• Chocolate ice cream (what is his problem)
• A perfunctory, unemotional kiss
• Alabama losing a game

Though I’ve made light of my husband’s loves and hates, the fact is that it is important for me to know the desires of the one I love.  I don’t serve him green beans.  I try not to pull the heavy comforter up on his side of the bed.  I am sensitive to his “pain” when Alabama loses a game.  I try to watch the bread closely so it’s just like he likes it.  I try to kiss just right!  My desire is to please him.  I love to honor him.  I love to put a smile on his face.

There is so much talk about the love of God, and worship, and Bible study, and the goodness of God, and on and on.  Rightfully so!  God is good.  God is love.  Have we given just as much consideration to the things that God says he hates?   At times it seems, we in the church have failed to remind this generation that while God is love, He also has the capacity to hate.

Proverbs chapter six gives us a list of some things God hates:

“These six things the Lord hates, yes, seven are an abomination to Him:

• A proud look
• A lying tongue
• Hands that shed innocent blood
• A heart that devises wicked plans
• Feet that are swift in running to evil
• A false witness who speaks lies
• And one who sows discord among brethren”

Gaylon loves me whether the bread is too brown or just right.  Gaylon loves me even when I pull the comforter up during the night, and he gets too hot.  Gaylon loves me when there is no vanilla ice cream in the house.  I never doubt that his love for me is eternal, but our relationship has matured.  I want to please the one I love.  It brings me great joy to bring a smile to his face.

It’s time for God’s people to mature beyond just knowing only what God loves. There are things God hates, but He does not hate YOU!  He did make it a point to list in His word what He does hate.  It is my joy to avoid what my Beloved hates.

Lord, I want to love what you love, and hate what you hate.

SELAH

Be careful where you park!

When parking my car, I always look for the end parking space, even if it’s far from the store.  My car has been dented by car doors more than once, and it has been scratched pretty badly.  I finally made a decision to look for the end space and pull close to the edge, far away from other cars.  I have been doing this for years.  That means there are times I have to walk a long way, but the effort is worth it, because I am avoiding a lot of unnecessary damage.  I want to park in the easy place, but I have learned that can be damaging.

Often in talking with people, I am surprised where they park their lives – right in the line of damage.  Some do it over and over and over.

• Some park at wrong relationships
• Some park at church/pastor disappointment
• Some park at procrastination
• Some park at grudge city
• Some park at laziness
• Some park at past spiritual experiences
• Some park at self-pity

There is a story in scripture where God’s people parked too long in a place.  They went in circles, but always wound up parked in the same old place.  God addressed it:

“When we were at Mount Sinai, the Lord our God said to us, ‘You have stayed at this mountain long enough.  It is time to break camp and move on… Look, I am giving all this land to you! Go in and occupy it…” – Deuteronomy 1:6-8

God’s people had become comfortable to park at a place that God never intended them to stay.  God said to them, it’s time to leave this parking place.  God said, “Look, there is so much beyond this parking place.”

If we stay in the wrong parking place too long, something inside of us can die.  If we stay in the wrong parking place too long, wrong becomes right.  If we stay in the wrong parking place too long, we start making excuses.  If we stay in the wrong parking place too long, we never reach fulfillment and destiny.

Can you name your mountain, that place that you have parked far too long?   It’s time to get up and move toward the promised land.  God has so much promise for us.  He has so much in store as we journey with Him.  While it’s not always easy to move from that parking place, it is so worth it!

Today is the time to stop driving in circles, and end up parking in the wrong place.  It’s time to leave the mountain where you have become comfortable.   God has so much more! The Lord is saying the same thing to you and me today that He said to the children of Israel: “You have dwelt long enough on this mountain.” It’s time for us to abandon the parking place!

Two great men of God, Jeff McFalls and Steve Hill, left this earth this week to meet their Savior face-to-face.  Some said that their cause of death was cancer, but I think God might have simply said, “It’s time for you to come home, my sons.  You fought the good fight, you finished the race, you remained faithful.”

I have read comment after comment of the lives these two men of God affected.  What struck me was how many of the comments were testimonies of their life-changing influence.  The comments were not filled with flowery speech about these men, but about what great influencers for God they were.

I have followed Pastor Jeff’s story closely for a while.  Jeff’s name was not a household word around the nation.  He did not pastor one of the largest churches.  He did not have a program on national television.  He did not write a best-seller.  He did not pastor in a large city.  He was simply a man of God whose legacy is phenomenal.  Read a few of the comments left by the folks:

“Pastor, friend, spiritual father…this man has left such an incredible mark on my life.  A man who truly gave his all to serve God.  His heart for God and love for people was inspiring!  What an honor and privilege to have had this man in my life for the past 10+ years!” 

“I looooove you and will miss u so much …what a smile he had.  I wonder if that’s the same smile he now has.  I am proud to have been blessed by his love.” 

“Heaven gained another angel today.  Pastor Jeff McFalls was one of my favorite people; he was a God fearing, encouraging, faithful, inspiring, amazing man with a heart of gold.  I love you.  You will forever hold a special place in my heart.” 

“This man brought my family closer to God and that is something I could never thank him enough for.  We love you so much.”

I could go on and on.  In addition to all the comments, many changed their Facebook profile pictures to pictures of Pastor Jeff, or posted a picture of him on their page.

What is my point?

In his book, Nearing Home, Billy Graham said, “God doesn’t want us to waste our latter years or spend them in superficial, meaningless pursuits.  Instead, He wants us to use them in whatever ways we can to influence those who will come after us. God wants us to finish well…”

One day God is going to call me home, and I wonder what will be written about my life.  I pray that I will live in such a way, minister in such a way and love in such a way that it will be said of me, “She changed my life.”  Like Jeff McFalls and Steve Hill, I want to finish well.

Gaylon and I are not pet owners, but many of our family members are. They love their pets, and their pets love them.  Sarah, my daughter-in-law in Hickory, has had Macey for about seven years. Macey is a loving, lick-you-to death, kind of dog, and she really loves Sarah.

While staying with Sarah for a few weeks shortly before Tucker’s birth, I was able to observe Macey’s daily routine.  Sarah usually arrived home around six each evening.  About 5:30, Macey would gather a couple of toys near the door, so Sarah would play with her when she arrived.  For the next thirty minutes, Macey would lay on the floor by the door awaiting her master’s return.  She did not know exactly when her master would arrive, but she had no doubt that she would arrive.  Every time she heard a sound, she would lift her head, as if to say, “Is that my Master returning?”  Finally, around six, Macey would hear the garage door go up,  and she would leap with joy.  Finally…the moment she had longed for…she would be in the presence of her master.

How easy it is to forget that our Master, Jesus Christ, will come again.  It is so easy to get caught up in life as we know it, the motions of Christianity and even ministry, and lose the awareness that our Lord will return.  What would happen if part of our daily prayer life, or daily confession would be: “Maranatha – come quickly, Lord Jesus.  I can’t wait to see your face.”

Over 2000 years ago Jesus Christ came to this earth.  The purpose of His first coming was to live a perfect life, to die to pay the penalty for the sins of people in this world.  Christ then rose again, ascended into heaven, and now sits at the right hand of God.  He is now interceding for the believers, watching over them, and waiting for that day when He comes back to earth to take them home with Him.

Today, I choose to sing and live this song:

It will be worth it all when we see Jesus!
Life’s trials will seem so small, when we see Christ.
One glimpse of his dear face, all sorrow will erase.
So, bravely run the race till we see Christ.

Each day we live, each moment of life, brings us one step closer to the day that Jesus will return.  Marantha – come quickly, Lord Jesus!  Like Macey, I can’t wait to see the Master!

“For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.  ” – 1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17

Our grandson Joseph got attached to a certain sippy cup, and I do mean attached!  As he cut more and more teeth, he would chew on the spout part of the cup.  In a matter of time, he had pulled chunks of the covering off the spout.  The cup looked scary, and the spout, with its jagged edges, was rough.  I don’t know how he could drink without it being very painful.  It was in Joseph’s best interest to stop drinking from that cup.

Joseph’s parents bought new cups to replace the old.  Joseph refused to drink out of any other cup.  He would look at the new cup and know it was not “his” cup.  I won’t even begin to describe the ordeal of getting Joseph to drink from the new cup.  He balked at it!  He slapped at it!  He whined about it!  He got angry about it!  He walked in misery!  All because he would not drink from the new cup.

Finally, Joseph’s parents filled a new cup, and they held him firmly, and let some of the milk go into his mouth.  Instantly, Joseph tasted wonderful, refreshing milk flowing from the new cup.  Joseph no longer drinks from the chipped cup, but now receives daily nourishment from the new cup.

Joseph had to learn that sometimes our cup gets chipped, and we must not let the chipped cup become what controls our drink.  The old cup must give way to the new cup, in order to grow, be fed and be refreshed.

Life has a way of chipping the cup from which we drink.  Too often we get stuck wanting to drink out of the chipped cup:

• The cup of unforgiveness
• The cup of faithlessness
• The cup of prayerlessness
• The cup of apathy
• The cup of the good old days
• The cup of disappointment
• The cup of unresolved pain

God offers a new cup!

He is making a way for you even where there seems to be no way.  God wants to do a new thing in all of us –a fresh thing.  Too often, we don’t believe God is at work.  All we can see are the former things – the chipped cup.

God has a plan for your chipped life.  He has already set in motion the things necessary to fulfill the plan He has written for your life.

Pick up that new cup and start drinking!  Like Joseph, you will find a refreshing drink.

 “But forget all that— it is nothing compared to what I am going to do.   For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it?  I will make a pathway through the wilderness.  I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.”  – Isaiah 43:18-19

When Jesus saw him stretched out by the pool and knew how long he had been there, He said, “Do you want to get well?” The sick man said, “Sir, when the water is stirred, I don’t have anybody to put me in the pool. By the time I get there, somebody else is already in.” – John 5:6-7

Last year I had a bout with pneumonia.  It started out as a common cold, but over time it was evident that something had taken hold of my body.  Each day got progressively worse, with my temperature getting higher and higher, my body getting weaker and weaker.  Gaylon suggested I go to the doctor, but I stubbornly refused.  I could handle this.  I don’t need doctors or medicine.  I could rest on my bed, and things would take care of themselves.  By the end of the sixth day with a temperature of 105 degrees, and a body so weak I could barely walk down the hall, I realized that the root cause needed to be cured.  I was ready to get well, so I got up and went to the place of healing.  In just a matter of days, life was new.

Picture this scene: A man lying beside the healing pool of Bethesda.  He had been sick and paralyzed for 38 years.  He had been lying on a mat, day in and day out, a mat that was probably about three by five.  Jesus walks by and says to him, “Do you wish to get well?”  Could there be a dumber question than that? I mean, for 38 years, people have been bringing him on his mat, laying him there by the pool, hoping he could be healed. Then Jesus comes up and asks him if he wants to get well!

Why in the world would Jesus ask a question like that?

The man was living life from a three by five mat.  He had become used to his three by five world.  He couldn’t see beyond his three by five life.  It had caused him to develop a life of dependency.  It was everyone else’s job to be sure he got what he needed in life.  Dependency is very addictive.  As a matter of fact, when Jesus asks if the man desires healing, the man answers by telling Jesus why he cannot be healed.  He cannot be healed because of what someone else did not do, or what others did do.  I even wonder if he liked his mat because it got attention from others.  Was he in a three by five world of self-pity?

Jesus ignores what the man said, and simply tells the man:  stand up by faith, pick up that three by five world that has you trapped, and walk in healing.  It took faith to believe Jesus, but the man stood, picked up that mat of dependency and walked towards the new life offered by Christ.  He walked away from the old thoughts and actions that had paralyzed him

Jesus is still asking the question, “Do you want to get well?”  As dumb as that might seem, it’s a question that all of us must answer.  Too often our answer is what the pastor did to me, or what my dad did to me, or the unfairness of life, and on and on.  Does Jesus care about that?  Absolutely!   Jesus also cares that you are not trapped in a three by five world, a world that requires your victory in life to be controlled by dependency on what others do, or do not do.

God is inviting us to walk away from our three by five world. He is offering the opportunity to have real power to change our patterns of behavior. God is offering us freedom from whatever it is that has us paralyzed. Let’s step out of our comfort zone and say “yes” to His invitation to live the abundant life He intends.

Stand up! Pick up that mat!  Walk towards the new life God has for you!

Do you ever just feel like you have been in a fist fight with life?

Gaylon and I went to North Carolina  last week to see Bryan’s family.  Bryan is our son who passed away February 11, 2012.  This was scheduled as a time of celebrating Christmas with Sarah and Tucker.   In addition to the celebration, we had a somber task before us. The time had come to go through Bryan’s personal items.  Sarah had done some of it, but wanted us to go through some things with her.   Also, we were working together for the wording of Bryan’s permanent grave marker.   The right time had come for these things to happen, and we wanted to be a part of helping Sarah.  It was a very emotional weekend for us all.

On Monday morning, Gaylon was sitting in the kitchen beside Tucker while the little guy was eating his breakfast.  He wanted his papa right beside him!   It was a good time for me to take a shower.  As the water was running, and I was just about to step in, Sarah began banging on the door, and in a loud voice she said, “Barbara, Gaylon has passed out and is in the floor!”  I threw my pajamas back on and ran down the hall.  There in the floor lay my precious husband, unconscious, with his eyes open and fixed.  The thought immediately invaded my mind that I might lose him.  Sarah and I worked with him for a minute, a minute that seemed like eternity, and we did get him awake and back in the chair.

In less than five minutes, the same thing occurred again, but I was able to keep him from falling as he lost consciousness.  This time one eye was closed and one eye was open and fixed, but Gaylon was not responsive.  We put a cool rag on his head, and I began to talk loudly to him, trying to get him to awaken.  Poor baby Tucker was crying and upset, and had to be taken to another room.  Gaylon awakened again.   We called 911 and in a few minutes, he was in an ambulance and headed to the hospital, and I followed in my car.

I won’t give all the detail, but it appears my husband will be fine, however just above his eye is a nice, purple bruise from the fall.  It was a sign that he had taken a hit in life.

As I got behind the wheel of my car that morning, I was overwhelmed with emotion.  I was tired.  I was sad.  Life hurt so badly!  I began to cry out to God.

Most of us have suffered wounds in life that have left us bruised.   Sometimes they are so tragic that they affect us emotionally for a long time.  There are unexpected turns, and unimaginable things that life brings.

For the believer, there is the blessing of being able to cry out to God.   When life takes turns you never saw coming….God does see it all. He sees where we are, and the pain that overwhelms our weary hearts and souls.  He invites us to give it all to Him. Sometimes I don’t even know what to pray, and I love that when I don’t know what to say, and the tears are flowing, the Holy Spirit intercedes for me.

“In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness.  We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.” – Romans 8:26

Do you have a tender place where you have taken a hit in life?  Are you bruised?  For sure, life does bring bruises.  I am thankful for faith that can trust God when we simply don’t understand life’s unexpected hits.  He is with us.  He strengthens us.  He breathes life into us.  He is our Father.

Selah.

It is interesting to me how often people take phrases they have heard and quote them as part of scripture.  Example:  God will not give us more than we can handle.  Where is that in scripture?  I know that people are referring to 1 Corinthians 10:13, but that scripture deals with temptation.  Read the context.  God will never let a temptation come before a believer, that the power of Christ cannot empower us to resist, and not fall into sin.

The truth is:  life does sometimes give us more than we can handle.  When it comes to pain, trials, heartache, and burdens, nowhere does it say that it won’t be more than we can bear.  This is very critical to understand, because many people feel that when life gives them more than they can handle, God has let them down.  After all, they think, He said I would never have more than I could handle.

Is it more than we can handle sometimes?  Without a doubt!

I know mothers whose sons have gone to prison for the rest of their lives.  Women who have lost their husbands, and there is no way to pay the bills.  People watch their loved ones suffer through a slow, painful death. There are parents whose children have brain tumors, and as a result have permanent disabilities.  I’ve cried with and prayed with tithing, giving people who have lost jobs, and are in a world of hurt financially.

There have been days and nights after I lost my son that I felt it was more than I could bear.  Sleepless, tearful nights on the sofa.  Catching a glimpse of his picture and being overwhelmed.  Watching his wife and son trying to do life without him.   Family dinners where his seat is empty, and we are very aware of his absence.

So, what does the Bible say?

The Apostle Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 1:8:  “We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life.”    Paul had more than he could handle.  Paul sounds a bit overwhelmed and stressed, but in verse 9, Paul concludes that this was…“in order that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God.”

The truth is that the believer is not equipped to handle overwhelming pain and circumstances.   Sometimes it is more than “WE” can handle.  “WE” is the important word.  “WE” are not made to carry it without help.   Psalm 61:2 says, “From the end of the earth will I cry unto You, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I.”

Life, at times, absolutely does give us more than we can handle, so thank God for His invitation, “Come unto me, all that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me…for my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”  Matt. 11: 28-30

Thank God for His faithfulness to carry me when it is more than I can handle.

My grandson Joseph teaches me so much about life.  At twenty-two months old, he is such a joy to have when he visits us.   Grandchildren really are the reward for not strangling your own kids!

My master bath has three large mirrors over the counter.  Joseph loves those mirrors.  Recently I picked him up and let him stand on the counter, so he could see himself in the mirror.  He had so much fun talking to himself, sticking out his tongue and making faces.   It was fun time at Papa and Grammy’s house!

Later in the day, Joseph went home, and I went around my house picking up toys, putting breakable things back on tables and tidying up a bit.  As I walked into my bathroom, I saw little fingerprints all over the mirror, and a big smile came across my face.  Those sweet little fingerprints were a reminder that Joseph had been there.  Joseph left something behind, something that reminded me how grateful I am for his presence in my life.

While cleaning the mirrors, I was reminded immediately that we all leave fingerprints as we go through life.  I am so grateful to the people who left prints in my life.  There are several “Mothers-in-Israel” who imprinted my life, and helped me become a woman of God.  My husband has left fingerprints all over my heart.  He took a woman as his wife, who was really an abused little girl who did not know how to love and be “normal.”  He patiently loved her.  Several friends along the way have definitely marked my life for the better.  The reality is that we all have people who have left fingerprints on our lives.

I want to leave a mark in this life, a mark that says a woman of God was here, a woman who showed Christ-like love and character.  Where are you leaving fingerprints?  The question is not will you leave a legacy, it’s what legacy are you leaving?

“Since my youth, God, you have taught me, and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds. Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, my God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your mighty acts to all who are to come.”  Psalm 71:17-18