This Rose Is For You

What ever happen to the idea of wearing a white or red carnation on Mother's Day?

Living in the southern part of the United States during my childhood it was tradition for you to wear a carnation to church on Mother's Day.  I soon realized that some wore red carnations and others white carnations.  Every Mother's Day, because we could not afford a carnation from the florist, mother would find a rose bush that was blooming and pin a red rose to my shirt.  Not only to me but also to both of my siblings, and my dad had to wear a flower as well.  (He wore a white flower, because his mother passed away six weeks after his birth.)

I asked mother one time what this meant and she simply stated, if you wore a red carnation it meant that your mom was still living.  If you wore a white carnation it meant your mom was dead.

Seldom today, in the culture that I live around, do you see anyone wearing a flower in church on Mother's Day.  But today we still celebrate an over 100-year tradition of honoring our mothers.  Interesting enough it was May 10, 1914, that President Woodrow Wilson made a proclamation declaring the second Sunday of May the first National Mother's Day.

History books tell us that it was as early as 1868 that a special day was thought of to honor mothers. It was an attempt by one woman by the name of Anna Jarvis to reunite families due to the Civil War among the states.  And guess what?  Mrs. Jarvis's favorite flower was said to be a carnation.

Civil War in the United States today is not the problem in family separations, but many families are much divided.  It is my prayer that today is a day that families are reunited and those that are united that their cords will be stronger and will not be broken.

Roses in honor of Carissa
and my mother...

Now I may not be wearing a red rose today but mother thank you for being the mom that you are.  Thanks for all the times that you and dad sacrifice so that we could enjoy life as children in a godly home.  Thanks for the teaching of God's Word but more so the example you lived before me.

To my wife, Carissa, who has always loved children and has been a great mom to our three children and a loving grandmother to our grandson.  Carissa has been that mother figure to many of the children in her Pre-K Class in the public school and in her Sunday School classes that she taught for the past 34 years.  Thanks for being a mom to so many.

Roses in honor of all of the great moms...

Thank you to the many moms that have sacrificed many things for their children.  For some moms that I know that has been misunderstood or others that have suffered abused.  Thanks for being the caring, compassionate, mom that you are.  For loving your children and making their life simpler by doing all that you do for them.

I have been blessed to know many great ladies; some of who are moms and others that are not, that have been a part of Carissa and my life.  They have influenced many others and us.  Thank you for being the person you are and the difference you are making in the lives of those around you.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

Good Friday (Friday)

Acts 3:25, 26 NLT

“And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it.  He gave it to them and said, ‘Each of you drink from it, (28) for this is my blood, which confirms the covenant between God and his people.  It is poured out as a sacrifice to forgive the sins of many.”

I recently completed a series of sermons about the formal trials of Jesus.  What amazed me about these trials is how that in a twelve hour time frame five or six different times Jesus' identity, integrity, and authority were all questioned all in a formal trial setting.  Annas, Caiaphas, the Sanhedrin Counsel, Pilate, Herod, and back to Pilate all played a role in questioning Jesus.  Then Jesus was led to a place call Calvary.  There is something about Calvary!  

I wondered what bothered Jesus the most in the last 24 hours before his crucifixion.  Was it when they tied him and led him to Pilate, the governor? Was it when he heard that Judas had hanged himself? Was it the cry of the people to "crucify him, crucify him"? Was it the beating with whips? Was it the crowning with a crown of thorns? Was it when the people bowed before Jesus and made fun of him, saying, "Hail, King, of the Jews!" Was it when some spit on him? Was it when some of the soldiers "cast lots" for his clothing? Was it the insults from the people that walked by and said, "You said you could destroy the Temple and build it again in three days. So save yourself! Come down from that cross if you are really the Son of God!" Or was it the nails being driven through the hands and feet of Jesus that hurt Him the most?

Unlike many of us, Jesus did not dwell on all of His hurts.  Nowhere in scripture do I hear Jesus saying, "What hurt me the most is..."  What Jesus did think about when on the cross was what came out of his mouth, "It is finished!"  Triumph, not defeat, was on his mind.

"When He was on the cross, I was on His mind."  Not in the sense of remembering all the disappointments of man but remembering that we needed a Savior.  I know for a fact that many times I have disappointed Christ but He has never disappointed me.  Jesus wants us to be a winner not a loser.  He bled that I can be more than a conqueror through Him.  It is by His blood that I overcome sin.

Scripture for today:  Matthew 27; Mark 15; Luke 22:66-23:56; John 18:29-19-37

At the Passover Meal (Thursday)

Jesus sat down with his disciples for the Passover meal. During the course of the evening Jesus took the bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to his disciples. Then he did a very symbolic thing in taking a cup, probably pouring into the cup, thanked God for it and gave it to his followers. Another part of that passage of scripture tell us that Jesus "poured water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples feet" (John 13:5).

Today I encourage you to read the events that unfolded at the Passover meal between Christ and his disciples.  Notice how intentional Jesus was at the table.  The conversation and the actions he did were intentional.  Jesus had a mission to fulfill and in the last hours before his crucifixion he needed to make the best of his time with his disciples.

Life is short compared to eternity.  My prayer today is that I will become more intentional about my conversation with others.  I read recently where you should think about whom you are going to meet today and think about the questions that you may want to ask.

Most of us speak thousands of words a day.  One study showed that the human being on an average will speak somewhere between 7,000 and 20,000 words a day.  That is a lot of words!

Who is it that you will fellowship with today?  Who is it that you will sat down for a meal with?  What can you learn from them?  How can you be an encouragement to those you speak with today?

Make your words count by being intentional about your conversation.  And as Jesus probably poured into the cup as well as the basin of water at the supper table, I encourage you to invest encouraging words into the lives of others.  Pour into someone today words of encouragement as well as allow them to speak into your life.  At the end of the day you should be encourage and an encourager to others.

Scripture for today:  Matthew 26:17-30; Mark 14:12-26; Luke 22:7-23; John 13:1-30

WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER ABOUT HOLY WEEK? (Wednesday)

One of my friends once stated that he used to have a pretty good memory but was now to the point that he could hide his own Easter eggs. Memory is a funny thing. Some things seem to be imprinted on our mind while other things we forget immediately.

During Holy Week, the day after the crucifixion of Christ and the day before his Resurrection we see several things that have been imprinted on the minds of many.

Matthew 27:55 (NCV) says, Many women who had followed Jesus from Galilee to help him were standing at a distance from the cross, watching. I am sure that what they saw on Friday was still imprinted on their mind Sunday morning.

On the next day the leading priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. They remembered the words of Jesus when he said, "in three days I will rise from the dead (Matthew 27:63)."  I am sure this was imprinted on their mind.

Then we have the disciples that had followed Jesus but we find in John 20:19 that on the evening of the first day of the week, they were together. The doors were locked, because they were afraid of the elders. These disciples probably had spent most of the weekend together with imprinted on their mind the many teachings of Jesus.

What is it that you remember the most about this week?  What event or words lay heavy in your mind and on your heart?  What is it that leaves a lasting impression on your mind?  Today, may we remember the events of this week and at the same time look with expectation of great things to happen on Easter Sunday! 

Scripture for today:  Matthew 27:62-66; Luke 23:56

FACING CHALLENGES (Tuesday)

The last week of Jesus' ministry on earth, before his crucifixion, he spent a lot of time teaching and a lot of time dealing with confrontation.  On one of these days during this week Jesus was challenge by the chief priests and the scribes, along with the elders of his day with the question, "Who gave you this authority?"  Jesus was teaching in the temple when the "religious people" of his day brutally interrupted him and questioned his rights to be teaching in the temple.  Imagine, someone challenging Jesus and his right to teach while in the temple!

Several years ago I was preaching when a visitor stood up in the middle of the church service and claimed that God had given him the other half of my sermon.  Needless to say this confusion was not of God and disrupted that particular church service.  I felt at that moment that my authority to preach the word had just been challenge.  To this day I am not for sure that as a young pastor I responded wisely to the challenge.

But Jesus knew how to answer every challenge of life.  When Jesus was asked the question "Who gave you this authority?" Jesus in returned asked, "When John baptized people, did that come from God or just from other people?"  The religious leaders fearing if they said, "It came from God," then Jesus would say, "Then why didn't you believe him?"   And if the religious leaders said that it came from people they were afraid of the crowd, because the crowd believed that John was indeed a prophet.

The religious leaders answered, "We don't know!"  Jesus said, "Then I won't tell you what authority I have to do these things."  It seems that Jesus always had the right answer for every challenge, and sometime Jesus just didn't answer the challenge at all!

I learned years ago that I do not have to answer every challenge; Jesus didn't.  Some challenges are nothing more than a distraction and is not worth the energy that we invest in the fight.  If Jesus had answered every question and accepted every challenge, he never would have made it to the cross and died for my sin.  I am glad that Jesus was wise enough to see that some challenges was no more than an attempt from the enemy to cause a distraction.

Don't feel pressured into accepting every challenge in life.  You too need to make it to the foot of the cross and some challenges will hinder your vision of the place that Jesus died for you. There are some things I know I have to confront with God's help, but I believe there are some things that I hear God saying, "Let me take care of this for you."

Thank you Lord for the challenges of life that I never have to confront because you have my front and my back side!

"But you will not leave in haste or go in flight; for the Lord will go before you, the God of Israel will be your rear guard."  (Isaiah 52:12 NIV)

Scripture for today:  Matthew 21:23-46; Matthew 22:1-46;Luke 20:1-40

Staying Focus (Monday)

“Palm Sunday” was a very emotional time for Jesus.  Jesus entered Jerusalem and multitudes followed him crying Hosanna to the sons of David. But now it is Monday, and Jesus was very much aware that it is the last Monday before the crucifixion.  How will he spend his last Monday here on earth before the crucifixion?  

I turned this morning to Matthew's account to read of one of the first things that Jesus did upon entering the city is that he went to the temple. There he found things happening that were displeasing to him and states "It is written 'My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves (or a hideout for robbers).'"  This always seems to be the emphasis place on this scripture as if we have bragging rights that Jesus would exhibit his anger in the temple.

But are we seeing too much of the wrong that is happening in the church today to see the good?  I have been in ministry leadership for 38 years and it never fails.  If a person loses their focus on God, they will begin to focus on the wrong of others and many times “drop out” of church.  The wrong cannot be ignored, and Jesus did address the wrong at hand by turning over the money changer’s tables and chairs, but that was not his main objective of going to the temple.

Jesus’ main focus was on the blind and the lame in the temple.  Matthew account’s tells us that they were healed, I believed immediately.  He noticed the children singing praises to Him.  In fact, they were repeating some of the same praise that they had heard from the adults the day before.  The leading priest and the teachers in the temple wanted to find fault in the children by saying, "Do you hear the things these children are saying?  Jesus answered, 'Yes, Haven't you read in the Scriptures, 'You have taught children and babies to sing praises' (Matthew 21:16 NCV)."

Can we too look beyond the faults of others to see the needs of the blind or the lame in the church?  How many spiritually blind folks did you see yesterday in church?  Did you notice the children singing?  Did you notice the worship of those around you?  

My prayer this morning is that God will help us today, not looking for the fault in others, but looking for the needs of others.  

 Today, look for someone in need and be a blessing by doing something out of the ordinary for them.

Scriptures for today:  Matthew 21:10-17; Mark 11:15-18; Luke 19:45-48

Shaping Our Habits

"We shape our habits; then our habits shape us," says Rick Warren.  Every morning when I look in the mirror I am reminded of this "shaping" factor.  In fact one wife said to her husband recently,  "Honey, I want you to get in shape!"  He replied abruptly, "Round is a shape!"  That was not exactly the shape that his wife was suggesting.

Habits are a creature within themselves that needs to be mastered, but we cannot do it alone.  Habits are something we all have, good and bad.  Our habits often change, like changing clothing.  In fact, Hal Urban states, "The original meaning of habit was 'garment' or 'piece of clothing.'  As with garments we wear our habits daily."  What habits have you been wearing lately?

God's Word tells us why we ought to shape our habits:

"Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come" (I Timothy 4:8 NLT.)

 God's Word tells us how we ought to shape our habits:

"Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.  Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect" (Romans 12:2NLT). 

 God's Word instructs us to:

"...Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable.  Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise" (Philippians 4:8b).

Bad habits are like unwashed clothing, they are noticeable to those around you before they are noticeable to you.  Are there habits in your life today that you need to change, delete, or adjust?

Let the habits that you have, shape you into a shape that best resembles Christ.

Jack Of All Trades, Master of None

Many of us go through life being "average" at a lot of things but never seemly being an expert at anything.  I laugh at myself when I look back at all of the things that I have attempted to learn to do in my life.  At the risk of being too transparent let me list a few...

Musically talented?  Hardly!  By the age of 16 I had taken musical lessons on how to play the Flute, the Accordion (back in the Lawrence Welk days), Guitar (in the Elvis Presley days),  and Piano (in the 'Deno's days).  I never mastered any of the above and don't know that I am "average" in being able to play any of the instruments mentioned.  But it was fun trying to learn.  I contribute my lack of success on these adventures to lack of practice.  My mother always told me "practice makes perfect."

Superb athlete?  I don't think so!  I love sports and still attempt, at the age of 53, to play softball and basketball occasionally but have shifted more to table tennis (ping pong) and a popular game in this part of the world called "corn toss".  Yes, I now refer to both of these last two mentioned as a sport!  I actually wrestled in high school for one year and attended spring training for football for one week but never really mastered any of the above.

Construction?  I have done a little construction; laying block, laying carpet, laying tile, and laying down on the job but the later is what I seem to do the best.  Maybe I am "average" at doing construction but you wouldn't want me to oversee the building of your home.  If so, you would not have an average home.

This is probably the story of a lot of our lives.  We seem to be "average" at a lot of things but master very few things in life.  I hope that I am at least considered an average pastor, average preacher, and hopefully an average writer.  And I am okay with that as long as I am being measured, not to the standards of others, but to what God's Word teaches us what an average pastor or preacher should be like.

"Friends, don't get me wrong:  By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I've got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward-to Jesus.  I'm off and running, and I'm not turning back."   Philippians 3:13,14 MSG

But the things that I want to focus on being above average are being a good husband, father, grandfather and a good friend.  With the risk of sounding tawdry I hope that the later part of my life I can work toward being exceptional in these areas of my life.  Theodore Roosevelt once said, " I am only an average man but, by George, I work harder at it than the average man."

I have come to the conclusion being average is not a terrible thing after all.  In fact, to make it through life you need to be "average" at a lot of things and will probably only be really good at a few.  I encourage you to master the areas that God has gifted you and be content at being average in other areas of life.

                                                                

Right Relationships

A special thanks to Rev. William Strickland, who's serves as Editor of the Official Publication (The Gospel Messenger) for the Congregational Holiness Church.  Rev. Strickland also serves his denomination as an Administrator and Director for Mission USA.  I am grateful for his friendship and willingness to contribute to my blog this week.                                                                     Tim Lamb

Hello, my name is William and I’m a habitual offender. Seriously, I am. Throughout life my offenses toward loved ones, relatives, co-workers, and church members have tallied untold numbers. And believe it or not, on countless occasions I have also been the offended victim of these same people groups. Come to think of it, since we’re all in the same human race, your story could be similar.

In early adulthood, what began as a childhood conversion yielded a commitment to follow Christ. Since then I have learned so much about my Lord, His Word, and our Christian faith. But interestingly, this process has also led to self-discovery, learning more about William than I originally wanted to know. Also, by reading after Christian psychology and the use of personality assessment tools I know me. Myers Briggs labeled me as the INFJ and the DISC Assessment pinned me as a SC. So there’s my excuse. Just like that fictional sailor man, “I am what I am and that’s all I am.”

I know, I know; there are no excuses for being a habitual offender. But while there aren’t any excuses for Christ followers to walk in willful sin (all offenses are not the result of willful sin), there is explanation and help for us in Christ.

Well-versed Christians know what Scripture tells us about love. But herein lies the problem. All people, men and women alike are basically selfish because of our fallen nature. The passage of Romans 3:10-23 describes the ugly details. The underlying trait of all sin is selfishness and we all share this root cause in common. Even what we commonly call love is typically tainted with personal selfishness; most people “love” for the purpose of accommodating themselves, not for meeting the needs of others.

If a person has truly received God's love vertically, they should show it both vertically toward God and horizontally toward others. In our present earthly make-up as believers we possess the Spirit of Christ. But even though we have been indwelt with the Spirit Who is love, “Houston, we’ve had a problem here.” We still live in our earth suits and alas even the most sanctified of believers have the potential for willful sin.

We know that the love of God must be shown towards others. But the subconscious motivation of most people is: I want to love you but I cannot completely disregard the consideration of what’s in it for me. It’s easier to love those who love us than those who do not. “But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them” (Luke 6:32). Loving those who love us is the natural exchange of love.

But when it comes to love, there is a supernatural standard for Christians to reach. In 1^st Corinthians, after Paul’s teaching on the Lord’s Supper and the right use of spiritual gifts, the Scripture attests “And yet I show you a more excellent way” (31). Therefore 1^st Corinthians 13 is the love that can be shown by the children of God. The love chapter ends like this, “And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love” (13).

Yet, loving others does not mean blindly accepting the harm they want to inflict upon us and other innocent people, instead it involves proper evaluation. If they show love, we should reciprocate. If they show hatred, we should recognize it and find a way to love them. But the Lord wants our discernment to be just, fair, accurate, and not for personal gain. A proper judgment of others equips us to lovingly pray for their healing.

But let’s not forget this caution: “Judge not…” The Greek verb translated “judge not” (see Luke 6:37-38) is in the active continuous. If you’ll allow me to paraphrase, Jesus is saying, “Don’t let judging be your way of life.”  Our Lord continues “and you shall not be judged.” With this phrase the Lord is indicating that we shall all be judged by God and His vertical judgment is contingent upon the kind of horizontal judgment we have shown.

Verse 38 (of Luke 6) is typically quoted out of context and given fiscal application. Now don’t receive offense. The principle of reciprocity remains, but we must yield primary interpretation to the connectedness of context. What was Jesus talking about with this profound statement? “Give, and it will be given to you…” should be applied to judgment, condemnation, and forgiveness. So in these areas of life we must remember that “with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”

As a habitual offender and the victim of many offenses, the lesson I often return to is this: since I am in a right relationship with God, I can maintain a right relationship with others. But those who are not right with God have not received His love. And those who have not received His love cannot love (in its truest sense) themselves or others. They cannot be right with others because they are not right with God.

And for those who already consider themselves right with God the matter is as serious as eternity. We, as believers cannot stay in possession of the peace of God if we cannot stay at peace with those inside and outside of the family of God. Hebrews 12:14 says, “Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.”

Life is all about relationships. The most important decision you could ever make is to get right with God and even though “it is impossible that no offenses should come” (Luke 17:1), we can stay right with God and others. As we walk in that grace called forgiveness, let’s extend its beauty to others.

Follow the Leader

As a child I use to play silly games (before X-Box) like "Follow the Leader," "Mother-May-I" and "Ring Around the Rosie".  Sounds silly don't they?  They were but I had an older sister that insisted that I join in on the games.  Silly?  Yes, but so is some of the games we still play today.

There was one common denominator in the three games I mentioned - they all required a leader.  Life itself requires a leader.  Proverbs 14:28 MSG says, "The mark of a good leader is loyal followers; leadership is nothing without a following."

Leaders often focus on who is following but fail to look ahead to see who's leading.  John Maxwell states, "Give therefore thought to which leaders you will follow because they will determine your course."  This statement causes me to take a second look at who's in front in my life.  In fact, I took time to write down a few in my journal, but the names of these leaders are to be read only after...well you know.

I first established that there are several leaders in my life in whom I follow.  Some I know personally and draw from their wisdom.  Others, mostly of who do not know me personally, are writers that I enjoy reading their books and blogs.  They are the people that I believe are on the "cutting edge" of being a great leader and have something to contribute into my life.

Here are a few things that I found out about a great leader:

• They will lead you into areas that you haven't been before.  If you are always treading on the same ground, you may just be going in a circle.
• They are confident where they are going, and don't mind if others follow.  In fact, a good leader usually wants to share the experience of their journey with others.
• They are truthful about their journey.  They never try to camouflage their journey, the good or the bad.
• If they can't go ahead of you, they will give you the directions and point you in the right direction.  King David at first wanted to build the temple but after he realized that was not meant for him, he did not mind sharing the vision or the materials with his son, Solomon.  A good leader wants others to succeed and go further then they went!

To be a good leader I have to be careful of whom I'm following.

"Remember your leaders who taught you the word of God.  Think of all the good that has come from their lives, and follow the example of their faith."    

Hebrews 13:7 NLT

Give Encouragement in a Baker's Dozen

The phrase "a baker's dozen" comes from as early as the 13th century, during the reign of Henry III according to "Wikipedia".  The story is that bakers who were found to have shortchanged customers could be subject to severe punishment including "judicial amputation."  Therefore bakers would often give 13 loaves of bread for the price of 12 as a precaution.

The phrase "a dime a dozen" simply means something is very inexpensive (cheap).  We also have the 12 days of Christmas, which comes by the dozen, and eggs that can be purchased by the dozen.  Oh, how could I ever forget that Krispy Kreme donuts comes a dozen to a box.

There are things mentioned in the bible that came by the dozen.  Twelve tribes of Israel, twelve disciples, and twelve gates of pearl are a few of the twelves' mentioned in the bible.  Fact is that the word twelve is mentioned 187 times in the bible, 22 which are in the book of Revelation.  The number twelve in scripture seems to indicate authority.

I want to challenge you today to find a dozen people that you can make a difference in their life.  It may be the clerk in the "marketplace" or it may be your neighbor that overslept this morning and is late for work.  It may be your spouse or maybe your children.

There are many different ways to encourage others.  Social media, texting, and e-mail are a few ways that broadens our opportunity to be an encourager.  Everyone needs encouragement and you may be the person that God wants to use to make a difference in someone else's life.

I am sure that today there will be at least a dozen people that God will place in your life that you can make a difference.  You can help make their day a day of misery or you can help "make their day" a day of rejoicing.  Criticism comes a dime a dozen (It's cheap) but encouragement needs to come in a "baker's dozen".  In fact you may want to go ahead and encourage 13 people instead of 12 just to make sure you don't short-change anyone with a word of encouragement.

"Give us this day our daily bread."

Matthew 6:11 NKJV

Do my Words reflect my Heart (Part 2)

From time to time, Pastor Lamb allows me to post here.  Today is second of a two part post.   Bill Davis

Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O lord my strength, and my redeemer. (Psalms 19:14) KJV

  

As I mentioned last week, this scripture is often used as part of a closing prayer by Rich Hulsey, our Worship Pastor, and probably by a lot of others, as well.  When I was growing up, the youth group we had, called "Lifeliners," used this verse almost like a pledge.  We recited it every time we came together.

Many ministers use this after the reading of their scripture in their prayer before their sermon, praying that God finds their words, their public words acceptable.  Of course, ministers are not the only ones who do this.  Many of us do this.  The question is what about our private words--- our thoughts? 

My thought today is:

Am I really mindful of my thoughts with any regularity?

“Whether you think you can, or you think you can't--you're right.”—Henry Ford

Someone said “What you think about, you bring about.”  Certainly, what we spend our time thinking about can lead us down a good path or a destructive path.  Some say that we become that which preoccupies us. 

Paul wrote: Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.  Philippians 4:8 (KJV)

Have you ever had something come through your mind that you thought, “Why in the world did I think that?”  Have you had fearful thought or destructive thoughts that just seemed to take over?  (Is that mole cancer?  Is my child safe traveling?  I don’t have a friend in the world.)  It is not easy, but some thoughts you should dwell on and others you should discard like you were cleaning out a drawer of old socks.  Is that really worth dwelling on? Let us get into the practice of discarding thoughts that are unfruitful or not useful, just like we are throwing away old socks. 

For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Proverbs 23:7 (KJV)

At some point, we learned the discipline of study.  Why can’t we add some discipline to our thought process, by relying on God to help us cast away thoughts that are not fruitful nor pleasing to God?  

These are the words in my mouth; these are what I chew on and pray.  Accept them when I place them on the morning altar, O God, my Altar-Rock, God, Priest-of-My-Altar. (Psalms 19:14)MSG

Do my Words reflect my Heart (Part 1)

From time to time, Pastor Lamb allows me to post here.  Today is part one of a two part post.   Bill Davis

Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord my strength, and my redeemer. (Psalms 19:14) KJV

This scripture is often used as part of a closing prayer by Rich Hulsey, our Worship Pastor, and probably by a lot of others, as well.  When I was growing up, the youth group we had, called "Lifeliners," used this verse almost like a pledge.  We recited it every time we came together.

Those words were certainly meaningful to me back then; I prayed them with my mouth and my heart.  As I read, or pray or think of them today, it is with a completely different and deeper meaning than they had back then.

Do I really pay attention to what I say in everyday conversation?

I remember the first time I was in a setting where there were several Jewish people.  (I really didn’t think very much about it, other than I had never knowingly been around observant Jews before.)  I vividly remember saying something that I had heard all my life, but had never even thought of it being a slur to Jews……  At that moment I realized that it was. 

Words often are thought to be a small thing when they are said; they are so fleeting but their effect can do harm that you can never undo.  My mother and my wife have said, “you can’t un-ring a bell.”

Although interacting with others is a critical part of our lives, we need to be ever mindful of how we do it.  Paul wrote to the church in Colossae:

Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man. Colossians 4:6 (KJV)

The New Century Version says: When you talk, you should always be kind and pleasant so you will be able to answer everyone in the way you should. Colossians 4:6 (NCV)

When we were children, we learned to speak.  We spend the rest of our lives learning how to choose our words and have power over our tongues, with God’s help.

Part 2 Next week…..

God's Exchange Policy

For a few days the "return" lines at the major retail stores will be extremely long with folks returning Christmas gifts that won't fit or they just didn't like.  Some retailers have great return policies while others will help you to like what you don't like, and to wear what didn't fit well, to keep from having to exchange an item.

Most policies simply ask you to have the receipt and that the merchandise (if clothing) is not worn more than 5 times (JK).  Also some retailers limit the number of exchanges you can make without a receipt in a single year, and by Christmas time you have exceeded your limit of exchanges.

This morning I begin to thank about God's Exchange Policy.  God has been exchanging things for folks since "In the beginning..."  God exchanged darkness for light and one of Adam's ribs for a woman.  But God wasn't the only one making exchanges.  Adam exchanged life in the Garden of Eden for a life full of trouble, in which we all reaped from this exchange.

In the New Testament Jesus exchanged heaven for a crib, a crib for a cross, and a cross for a crown.  The Apostle Paul also tells us that one day we too can exchange things that are temporal for things that are eternal.

The key is to make sure we make the right exchange.  We can exchange hate for love, doubt for faith, and despair for hope.  With Christ we can exchange loneliness for comfort, turmoil for peace, and sadness for joy.

Tony Dungy in his devotional writes, "Never exchange what is eternal for what is temporary."  In a world of exchanges, make sure to exchange things that are temporal for things that are eternal.  

Jesus said, "For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?  or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?"
(Mark 8:36,37)

CHRISTMAS SHOULD BE A TIME OF GREAT JOY

"Christmas should be a time of great joy!"  However Christmas often is the most depressing time for many.  This really was not God's plan for Christmas.  It was not His plan to bring sadness but to bring great joy to all people.

John's gospel reminds us, "Until now you have asked nothing in My name.  Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full" (John 16:24).

I use a quote this morning from "Uncommon Life Daily Challenge" by Tony Dungee:
"Whether or not we are "happy" on any given day is often dictated by the circumstances around us.  But joy is always there on any given day for those who serve a risen Savior."

I challenge you during this Christmas Season, not to allow circumstances to cause you to miss out on the joy that God brings to all of us.  Satan would love to rob you of your joy by distracting you with the cares of this world.  Focus on the blessings of God today that brings great joy to your life.  Most of all focus on Jesus, the Savior of the world that gives us great joy!

"And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of GREAT JOY, which shall be to all people" (Luke 2:10 KJV).

Vision, Goals, Dreams, or Just a Wish

Vision, goals, dreams, and wishes sometimes seem to intertwine together but each word has a different implication.

Visions are the ability to see something, often before it ever becomes reality.  Dave Ramsey in his book "EntreLeadership" states goals are what convert visions into energy.  And according to the Prophet Joel (Joel 2:28) dreams are for old men.  So what is a "wish"?  A wish is simply a desire for something to happen.

As children some of us grew up with a "wishing well" (throw a penny in and make a wish), a "wish list" (mostly used at Christmas time) or maybe finding the "wishbone" of the chicken after a family dinner, and two people pulling the wishbone in opposite directions and making a wish.  Sounds childless and maybe today would be considered wrong.  However, in my generation all of the above was done merely out of fun and we were always taught that these were just "old wives tales" with no truth to them.

Today everything that I read in my time of devotion seems to take me on this mental journey that relates to visions and goals.

The Apostle Paul tells King Agrippa "I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision" (Acts 26:19 KJV).  Paul had a vision on the road to Damascus and acted on that vision with goals.

Philippians 3:12-14 The Message Bible quotes it like this, "I'm not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made.  But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me.  Friends, don't get me wrong:  By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I've got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward - to Jesus.  I'm off and running, and I'm not turning back."

The Apostle Paul goes on to say, "So let's keep focused on that goal, those of us who want everything God has for us.  If any of you have something else in mind, something less than total commitment, God will clear your blurred vision - you'll see it yet!  Now that we're on the right track, let's stay on it."

It is not to late to set goals in life.  What are a few of the things that you want to accomplish?  What is in your "bucket list" of things to do?  Pick one today and begin to move in that direction.  Will Rogers once stated, "Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there."

I think I hear the train coming!  Or is that the sound of the trumpet?  Regardless, I encourage you to get moving down the track to see fruition of the vision that God has given you.

The B-I-B-L-E, That's the Book For Me

I read recently of a sports commentator that is noted for the many hours spent watching videos of the teams he will be covering next, interviewing players and coaches, looking for insights about each team.  It is stated, "Over 90 percent of all the information he gathers doesn't get used."  However, when he commentates a game he feel most comfortable and prepared because of the wealth of knowledge he had gathered the week prior to the game.

Our daily devotion is similar.  What you read this morning from God’s Word may not directly apply to your situation today but sometimes it is preparing you for tomorrow.   Maybe it is preparing you for the situation you will face next week or the question you will be asked next month. Reading from God’s Word will give you confidence in the God that you serve and help you to feel comfortable with the message that you share with others.  "Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God."  

This morning I reflect on the many hours that I spent in church as a child being taught the Bible and am thankful for the workers that devoted hours of their time to gather information to teach me  each week.  I am grateful for my parents that encourage me to read the bible.  Most of all I am thankful for the love that God has placed in my heart for His Word.  My prayer is that I will always be diligent in gathering information from God's Word, preparing my heart for today, tomorrow, and for eternity.

The Psalmist David said, "Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You" (Psalms 119:11 NKJV).

The Apostle Paul said, “And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart”  (Galatians 6:9 NKJV).       

WALKING IS NOT AN OPTION

I learned early in life that "walking is not an option".  My high school days taught me this lesson when the wrestling coach (during training) said to "run" four miles he meant run and not walk.  It was truly a lesson on endurance.  I had a goal I wanted to achieve and was determine to run and not to walk.

Still today in doing hospital visits as a pastor I find myself sometimes almost running down the halls, or at least walking at a fast pace, as if I was running a marathon.  When I "run into someone" in the hallway, you can take that literal.  

Hebrews 12 speaks of a different kind of race.  A race that Jesus ran here on earth, a race that Jesus did not stop short of the finish line.  Gordon MacDonald writes, "He powered His way through the crisis of the cross, through death, and experienced this grand resurrection, which Christian celebrate every year."

In a few weeks here in America we will celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Again I am reminded that while he was on the cross I was on his mind".  Jesus once stated, "...my nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me, and from finishing his work."

It is my prayer today that you will not stop short of the finish line.  That you will look to Jesus, the one who endured the cross, experience death and resurrection and made it possible that you may finish this race well!

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up."   (Hebrews 12:1-3 NLT)

HANG ON!

While watching an Atlanta Hawks basketball game last night, the Hawks were at one time 20 points ahead, but I realized that if there was a fifth quarter the end results may be different.  The Hawks seemed to be losing ground and I found myself saying,"Hawks just hang on to your lead".  (The game ended with the Hawks winning by 11 points.)

Do you ever feel like you are just hanging on?  Do you feel that you are "hanging by a thread" and wish this day was over?  

Maybe that is reality for you today.  I encourage you that there is no problem to big for God and that He cares about every need that you have.

Psalm 16:8, NCV "I keep the Lord before me always.  Because he is close by my side, I will not be hurt."

If you get to the end of your rope today, just hang on! 

MAKING DECISIONS

There are some sports that requires you to be quick to think and others allow you to think it through. Baseball requires you to think quick when a ball is speeding by you at 95 mph, if you are the batter. Golf requires just the opposite, for you to give it some thought before you "swing it". 
Today there will be some decisions that will come quickly while others will afford you some time to give it some thought. But in all of your decisions today follow the advice given in Proverbs 3:5,6.
"Trust the Lord with all your heart, and don't depend on your own understanding. Remember the Lord in all you do, and he will give you success." Proverbs 3:5,6 NCV