Want to Be a Honker

Jesus told us not to worry about our life and it’s needs. Psa 37 tells us not to “fret ourselves”…and the Apostle Peter tells us to “cast our cares on Him because He cares for you.  Good advice particularly for those of us that tend to fret or mull over things that are in our minds. The last few days I read some of this material in a devotional, thought it exceptional and would like to share it. It’s an illustration from nature.

Along with not worrying, Jesus told us to look at the birds, and how God cares for them. We may well wonder what in the heck we can learn from a bunch of birds. Well be prepared for a surprise, I was truly impressed by the following story about geese.

Winter is approaching and geese are flying south for the winter. They do this year after year. First, notice they fly united. They don’t fly separately, in random style because alone, they can’t go the distance. They are designed to flu in the usual V formation that we see in the fall and early winter. When the bird flaps it’s wings, the air movement created provides an uplift, easing the work load of the bird behind it. Together, their flight range increases about 71%. Even the youngest, weakest, and oldest geese can make the trip, because they accomplish together what they cannot accomplish separately. Here is the lesson: Scripture tells us, “let us meet together and encourage one another.” We are not called to fly solo! Occasionally a goose strays off on its own but soon becomes exhausted, loses altitude and ultimately pulls wearily back into formation. “Look at the birds,” and learn!

Every goose is a “pinch-hitter.” When one gets into a pinch, another goes to bat for him. Every formation has a “point goose.” He’s out front leading, setting the pace for the others. It’s a tough position because the point goose cuts the headwinds, meets the changing weather conditions, is the first to feel the rain in it’s face, the snow in its eyes and the ice on its wings. He keeps the formation on target whatever the situation. It’s hard, exhausting and lonely at times because there’s nobody ahead of him to be the wind beneath his wings. The formation depends on him to persevere, stay on track and get them safely to their destination.

Every church has a point goose…he’s called the pastor! Each department has a point goose, education, youth, finance evangelism, care ministries, etc.. They lead, set the pace, and give direction to those who follow. Point ministries are usually over-functioning and tend to burn out. Just before the point goose is exhausted, a space opens up in the formation and he slips back into it while another bird replaces him, seamlessly becoming the next point goose. Pinch-hitting for each other preserves the life of the formation. A great church isn’t about great staff, it’s about volunteers willing to pinch-hit whenever needed.

In the world of geese, the aged, very young and infirm are kept protected in the rear of the formation. But they aren’t isolated, discounted, or considered useless; they fulfill a vital role. They become the honking section and cheer for the leader. Inevitably bad weather threatens the mission. The going gets tough and the tough are struggling. From the rear of the formation a lone honk sounds, initiating a goose chorus honking encouragement to the point goose. We too need a “honking” section in times of stress, and that’s part of the responsibility of the church…encouraging! Speaking uplifting words, praying for us, some saying, ‘we are behind you, we’ve got your back.” Many servants of Christ have crossed there valley of discouragement because of the “honking” of an old, pock marked, battle-hardened, straggle-feathered honker, too stubborn to let a brother or sister quit on their watch! A few “honks” of encouragement can overpower a storm of complaints. So be an encouraging “honker.”

Geese have life-long relationships, fully committed to each other. When the ravages of time or circumstances make it impossible for a bird to continue the trip and it begins to lose altitude or fails to keep abreast of the formation, the gaggle provides it comfort, nurture and protection. Two strong geese leave the formation, flying with the “patient” safely between them, finding a sheltered location with food and water and make a home for the needy bird. They’ll stay with their ward until it either recovers or dies before joining another formation. For them, everything goes on hold to care for the ailing bird. What an example to us of self-sacrificing love! If a gaggle of birds can do it, surely God’s family ought to be able to do it.

Lost and stray geese are always welcomed into a formation. There is no elite club for geese. When a bird is separated from it’s gaggle by weather, accident or infirmity, it is taken into another and given full family status. Thee formation will alter it’s plans, reschedule it’s arrival time, and inconvenience itself to accommodate a straggler that needs them. Many bird newcomers arrive dirty, bedraggled, and ill fed. They are never turned away. God’s church isn’t a museum for masterpieces, its a hospital for those who have been hurt by life. Christ has no higher agenda than to welcome than to recruit, save, and adopt to adopt a stranger into the fold. We need to re-read the section in I Cor 6 that speaks to the issue of just who it is Jesus sends us out to recruit for His gaggle…we ourselves were taken into the formation, washed, sanctified, justified and given full family status! And thank God we were!!!!

KEEPING ON KEEPING ON…

The Scripture tells us ,”blessed is he who perseveres,” James 1:12. I’m sure I am not the only one that at times has felt like giving up, just throwing my hands up in the air and quitting…am I? Probably not. Simply because trouble comes to all of we believers, trouble that is especially designed to smooth off rough edges, teach us some valuable lesson God knows we would not learn any other way, or something along that line. I’ve been a believer for 36 years and in full time ministry for 29, believe me when I tell you I have learned some hard lessons…all at God’s hand, and looking back, I would not have missed even one. I said, “looking back.” At the time the emotion was not always positive. I’ve noticed in myself, every time God wants to make a major change/shift in my ministering, I initially fight Him…not always consciously, but a battle goes on in my heart and mind. Possibly, it would be better said the battle is in my mind. I’ve learned over the years, my mind is not reliable and neither are my emotions. My spirit is because it is controlled by the Lord. Very early on He begins to teach us discernment, some people have the spiritual gift of discernment, don’t always recognize it and frequently don’t trust it until someone much older in the Lord teaches them how and why. They are truly blessed because that gift is badly needed today within the body of Christ. There are many, many false teachers and con men coming into our churches and taking advantage of the flock. People with the gift of discernment can “sense” they are not really what they say they are. God knows this kind of thing would come about which is why He provides the church with such gifted people. They need to trust their relationship with the Lord and exercise the gift and not “feel” as if they are judging. I used those quotation marks on purpose because many times that happens…we make judgments all the time, all of us. But spiritual discernment is another whole thing…when the Spirit of God speaks in that still small voice, that’s discernment and we need to listen. Discernment needs to be exercised…trained. To do that and discern correctly, you must meditate on the Word, memorizing passages that speak to you and your gift, always compare what God is saying to your spirit with what He says in His Word. We know He will never contradict Himself so knowledge of Scripture is important. Be willing to observe and obey the conditions that go with His promises.Hebrews 5:14 tells us that “who by constant use have trained themselves and their senses to discern.” Practice means you may make mistakes, so be willing to learn from them, and grow in this area. When your head doesn’t know which way to go, trust your spirit, your Spirit trained spirit will guide you correctly. It takes faith to operate in the spiritual area, not reason, and if you are going to go for reasonable answers and guidance, you  will not develop discernment and will make many wrong choices and decisions. These times are usually when we most want to give up…we feel like a failure and are ready to quit. Don’t, just cling to God and remember this: “reasoning is a product of your head, discernment is a product of  your spirit. Your head doesn’t comprehend/understand spiritual things, you cannot count on it leading you correctly. But…God in His mercy will, and He will never let you down or leave you all alone. he will be there, especially when you want to give up because for many of us that is a “bottoming out “ experience and God meets lots of people at the bottom, and then makes great saints out of them because they have learned they can’t do it….but He can…and will.

time

Have you ever considered how much time you spend with the Lord???? I dare say, most of us don’t  We may be fairly serious about tithing our money, but not too serious about tithing time. It works out to 2 hours and 20 minutes a day…how do you rate? The Word tells us to learn to pray without ceasing, not to hard a task if you are in the habit of consulting God about your daily itinery…again, most of us aren’t, we go ahead and make our own decisions without bringing God into the equation. You might be surprised at how much He would have to say about the matter. That still, small voice of His can powerfully affect our hearts and minds, and change them. He always sees the bigger picture and the other people involved plus, the long term implications for all concerned. He always wants what’s best for us…all the time.

Personally, I think this present generation is so self-centered it rarely if ever thinks beyond “me” and that’s a pity. The Godhead constantly thinks of us and the outworkings of our lives. We don’t make it easy for them either…beside being selfish, we’re stubborn and don’t want to be corrected, even by God! I teach a class to prisoners on Healing For Damaged Emotions. It takes us back to the way we were raised, by whom, and how. It is pretty amazing how much the Holy Spirit can bring back to memory scenes long forgotten, or thot to be. We are all as product of our upbringing, good and bad. It is those bad habits and character traits
God wants to change by the power of the Holy Spirit in us. However, and it’s a big however, we must voluntarily give Him the time through the reading of the Word, prayer, meditation, memorization  to show us our flaws and lead us in the proper way to correct them in order for us to be whole, emotionally. Every generation that allows that to happen on a personal basis, breaks the cycle of bad character and it’s effect on the next generation. It is sin that is transmitted through the genes and causes the sin to show up in flaws. Only God can correct the mess.That’s why Christ came, paid the penalty price for us all, went back to the right hand of the Father and sent the Holy Spirit to finish what He started. The Father desires many sons for His glory, and we, as redeemed sinners are those sons…glory!

WHY??????

Did you ever wonder why you are here? I’m sure you have, you’d be very unusual if you didn’t. If you listen to the world and contemplate evolution, you might think there was no purpose for you, at least nothing in particular, just chance. Cultural thinking says we are totally in control of our own destiny, we make or break our own way. The popular religions today tell us life is all about “us” and what God can do for us…never what we can and should do for Him.

In reality, God made us for Himself, to be loved by Him, to learn to love Him back, to allow Him and the written Word to so change us, to “conform us to the image of Christ,” that we bring glory and pleasure to Him. Do we think about that? I doubt many of us do on any kind of regular basis, and probably rarely work on it. We are required to allow the Holy Spirit to change us morally, spiritually and even physically…we should all be aware that our inner self or character NEEDS changing…we all have trouble with self-image, our view of ourselves. We frequently put ourselves down even if it is in our own minds, and think negative thoughts about us. There is a verse I like that speaks to that: “Hear my prayer my Father, listen to my plea and answer, for my thoughts trouble me and I am distraught,” Psa 55:1-2. 

We also need to remember that it takes the Lord along time to make the changes He wants to make in us. We don’t get that way over night, and we are not going to change over night. It may take years of prayer and Bible reading for Him to get across to us the character flaws He desires to correct. Other believers can act like “sandpaper” on us, rubbing rough spots of our character with rough spots of their own until they smooth out. Lots of Christians don’t even realize they need to make changes, that it is part of our growth process to allow the Holy Spirit to change things about us that are not Christlike. And believe me, He can put His finger on problems and convict us until we see what He is driving at. Sometimes other believers will tell us flaws they see, which we should then take to the Lord and ask Him for verification and then act on it. Never ,never should we ignore the Lord. Usually He will pursue us by bringing some circumstance around again to remind us He is pointing to some change. The truly unfortunate people are the ones that go through life thinking they are perfect or nearly so, and have no need for change. They can make life very unhappy for lots of others around them and cause a lot of disruption in the church. That’s not what God wants from us, He wants us to be as loving, kind, and peaceful as Jesus and to share our loving ways with others.

So the answer to the question, “why are we here?” We are created to bring glory to God, love Him and be loved by Him forever…what  great purpose!!!!

FEAR, WHERE DID THAT COME FROM????????

God’s Word tells us in I Timothy 1:7, ‘God doesn’t give us the spirit of fear, but of power, of love, and a sound mind.”  Why do we get this spirit of anxiety from time to time?? Is it our life style, our diet, guilt, etc., There are times when I’m not sure we can really put a finger on the cause, but it seems to be a mindset that happens frequently to many people. Today, in 2010, it seems to me we have a lot to be anxious about…the state of our state, our country and world, the financial situation here in the USA. All of these situations and many more contribute to a sense of uneasiness, don’t they. Nothing seems stable anymore, and we are not sure what tomorrow will bring.

I’ve often wondered what those without Christ do to cope with this “fear.” Without God to hold onto, to lean into and be supportive…what does one do? The Scripture is full of reassuring chapters and verses that very forcibly tell us that God is in control and will never forsake us, never. Almost the entire book of
Psalms states problems, then when the author turns to God, what His solution is, to relieve our minds and hearts. When I am distraught I frequently read through the Psalms, and maybe a few of the Proverbs. John 13,14, 15, 16, and 17 are always comforting. Plus, the concept of “abiding” fascinates me, making chapter 15 my favorite. I like to memorize the Word, and carry a small notebook with me where I have recorded various verses that are meaningful when I am in a poor state of mind.

What are some of the root causes of these nasty “feelings”…my son Bill likes to remind me that I should not go by feelings but by what I know to be true, and truth only comes from Jesus…remember the Scripture where He says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. “ He is saying that there is no truth without a relationship with Him…pure and simple. So, the Word puts out truth and that’s that. Think about it and I think you will agree. One of the feelings that mess us up is feeling inadequate, not measuring up…do we sometimes have unrealistic standards for ourselves and others that we cannot possibly live up to? Perhaps. And then, we “feel” inadequate. Guilt can do a number on us too…real and/or perceived. True guilt can be given over to God, forgiven and put away by memorizing Scripture that tells us just that, such as I John 1:9, “if we confess our sin, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. It doesn’t get much more explicit than that.   However, we have to believe it.  False guilt is more difficult because we don’t have the same sense of forgiveness…we are not sure God is forgiving us, so the perceiv4d guilt lingers. Many of us grew up without a sense of security, which we are supposed to get from our family. It doesn’t always happen that way, especially today, it is every man for himself these days. Mom and Dad do not convey a sense of unconditional love, so we grow up feeling we MUST measure up to what we perceive Mom and Dad expect of us, to be loved. Complicated isn’t it???? The human mind is such a sophisticated piece of us, and also happens to be the control tower of our thinking processes.

MORE TOMORROW…

WHAT’S HAPPENING?????

I have been a believer for 36 years, came back to the Lord in 1974 after reading a book called, “Late, Great, Planet Earth,” by Hal Lindsey. The book vividly described end time events, and I was completely turned around spiritually. I had a fair knowledge of these events from my childhood, I had been brought up in a nominal Christian home in a small town here in South Jersey. Most of our lives revolved around events in our local Methodist Church. I had a very good knowledge of the Scripture and the book brought it all back. Since then I have read and studied, the Bible as well as paying close attention to current events. The two or three Bible teachers I consider well versed in prophecy agree we are most likely in the generation that will be “caught up” into the clouds in what is referred to as the Rapture of the church. I believe as they do that current events, beginning with the re-birth of Israel in 1948, point to the soon to happen,Tribulation, a seven year period of God’s final dealing with His people Israel, to bring them to Himself. It is also the time when His wrath will be poured out on unbelieving mankind. It will be horrible beyond imagining, but well deserved. If you have never read Revelation and Daniel, you should because you are living it. I must admit, even knowing as I do, that God is completely in control and nothing happens without His knowledge and approval…from a Christian perspective, all is well.

Even with all I know and believe to be true, I am still taken aback with what is going on right now…it fits very well into the overall picture but I have a hard time processing it all. Jesus said in Matthew 24 that the generation that sees Israel become a nation once again, will live to see Him return in power and glory, to rule and reign on earth for 1,000 years, called the Millennium. The Bible states a generation is “three score years and ten.” Close? You bet. Then we have nation alliances, Russia aligning with the Arab nations, China very big militarily, and a huge population. The EU getting bigger and bigger, controlling more and more of it’s member nation resources, borders, money and foreign policy. Daniel speaks of a great increase in knowledge, travel, gadgets and technology, world wide communication and TV. Then there is the matter of a nation such as Iran openly declaring their intention to push Israel into the Mediterranean Sea and be rid of her, and…to that end they are developing nuclear weapons. Christians are beginning to be put down and shut up, accused of hate speech and such. Jesus spoke of wars and rumors of wars, ethnic groups versus ethnic groups, religious deception, and how about weather changes, earthquakes, bigger and multiples, tsunamis, hotter summers and colder winters. We have food shortages in many places on earth and diseases that are becoming more difficult to cure. Jesus also speaks of anguish of heart and spirit, perplexity , peoples hearts failing them from stress. And now we have Obama. I have paid attention to Presidents since John Kennedy…he was the first president I voted for, fifty years ago.  I would ask anyone that reads this blog to read the Scripture I gave, Daniel, Revelation, and Matthew 24, and read them in varying translations to get the full flavor of the teaching…and then sit down and ponder where our progressive president is taking us…NOW!

We are on a dangerous course, our Constitution and Bill of Rights are being shredded and ignored completely. Congress is by and large, sold out to special interest groups, which makes them unable to do anything ethically and morally correct. We will fall to our debt, collapse from within and be part of what is happening in Europe, or worse. Mr Obama is a pied piper, and we are the mice. His disgusting behavior this past week with Benjamin Netanyahou, Prime Minister of Israel, speaks volumes to any one that knows the Scripture. Of, just has a sense of decency. Wake up America, wake up, be sure of your position in Christ and when it’s time to vote, VOTE! You may not have another opportunity.

REST…OR TODAYS VERSION,… TIME OUT

We live in a whirlwind society…busy, busy, busy! We are never still. I am as guilty of it as anybody and God has had to deal with me harshly more than once, I am ashamed to say. I am a classic “type A” which means I picture a goal straight ahead, and heaven help you if you get in my way. It’s not a malicious thing, but a focus thing. God has taught me many interesting lessons in my 37 years as a Christian…quite a few in the category of my work.  Working as a teacher/counselor to inmates inside a state prison isn’t too high on the priority list of missionaries, but it’s where God called and placed me. Let me tell you right off, had I known then what I know now…well, I probably would have gone on and done the same. Prison ministry, especially hands-on, direct contact is difficult and challenging. I had one thing “up” on a lot of folks that put their hand to that plow…I was middle aged when I started, thus a “mother figure” and it served me well. I have since graduated to a “grandmother figure”…29 years later will do that…and being older granted me respect, and a hearing. My classes are always well attended, and I never had a discipline problem. The men knew that I had lived through many experiences, and I was willing to share them to get a point across from Scripture. They also knew I was a volunteer…no paycheck for being there. But the drawback for me was I saw the need…it was overwhelming…and unmet. It still is. Very few people have any desire to go into that setting and attempt to convert addicts, alcoholics, womanizers and thieves. But, that’s where I ended up and I wouldn’t change anything. But I would say the need made me work longer hours, more days, be more intense than I should have been…I forgot that God is NOT a hard taskmaster, HE remembers we are dust and doesn’t expect as much out of us as we think He does.We strive for goals He never gave us. Jesus said “My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” It won’t destroy your health or your peace of mind. I’ve learned that the hard way. We tend to lose perspective and our priorities get out of line. And, a very important thing I learned, if I feel guilty about taking a break, time to change my way of thinking. I’m nor lazy because I’m tired. God never intends for us to take on more than we can safely handle and does intend us to know when enough is enough…the what, when, and how of our commitment. Rest, can be a state of mind. But it can also have to do with the physical, spiritual and emotional part of our lives. Listening to inmates stories, most of which I have absolutely no control over or ability to change…can and did do me in. I recovered, but it left me with a weakness emotionally that I have to watch all the time. I am good at what I do but I must be very careful about how long, intensely, and actively I do it before taking a break. Occasionally, I have to sit down with the Lord and re-prioritize my days…getting older puts limits on how much of anything I can do and I have to respect that or pay a price I won’t like! Now I said all this to try to emphasize to any who may read this blog that God doesn’t drive us…we drive ourselves…He said in Genesis 2:2 “God ended His work…and he rested” It doesn’t say it was permanent rest, but it was regular rest, according to Exodus 20. There He instituted a weekly physical rest but as you think about the physical, you must realize it also includes emotional and mainly spiritual. Humans need time out…too bad in our “modern” society we don’t realize it and honor the God that instituted it…we could and should spend the Sabbath rest with Him, and REALLY get some rest.