Great Is Thy Faithfullness

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There are about 200 geysers in Yellow Stone National Park. However, only 1 geyser stands out. It is not the largest, or the one that shoots water the highest. But it certainly is the most popular.

Its popularity is due to one thing: its dependability. Because once every sixty-five minutes it shoots a stream of boiling water over 170 ft. into the air. You can practically set your watch by it. They call this gyser "Old Faithful."

There are a lot of things in life that you could call faithful. The sun is faithful to rise every morning and to set every night. The tide is faithful to come in and to go out. The government is faithful to tax and spend, and then tax and spend some more. But there is one thing that is more faithful than all of these other things put together, and that is God.

Lamentations 3:22-23 say, "Through the Lord's mercies we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness."

Robert E. Lee once said, "Duty is the sublimest word in our language. Do your duty in all things. You cannot do more, you should never wish to do less."

I heard about a man who was talking to a big tall strapping giant of a fellow. He said, "If I were as big, tall, and strong as you, I would go out in the woods, find the biggest bear I could find and wrestle him right down to the ground." The big man just looked at him and said, "There are plenty of small bears in the woods too."

Some people say, "If I just had a million dollars imagine all the things I could do for god." But as I tell our folks here at Beaverdam, the fact is, you'll do the same thing with a million that you would do with a hundred.

God is looking for a few faithful men and women to change the world. All He asks is for volunteers who do their duty in all things.

Living The Good Life

"Of all virtues and dignities of the mind, goodness is the greatest, being the character of the deity; and, without it, man is a busy, mischievous, wretched thing." ~ Sir Francis Bacon

"He has shown you, o man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?" Micah 6:8


The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness...and goodness. Galatians 5:22


What does it mean to be good? For some it is the culmination of life. To live the good life, so-to-speak. A hot tub, back rub, and a drink at the pub? The Money, Mansion, and Mercedes in the garage mentality? For some it is a virtue. How well did they treat other people? Did they kick dogs or push down old ladies?

Some say goodness is a matter of the head. If we will only educate our citizenry, teach them ethics and morals and values, they will be good. My question is, whose values and ethics. If it is based on majority rules, then abortion is an ethical (i.e. a good) thing. No, goodness is not about education. If you educate a thief, you’ll only get a smart thief.

Some say goodness is a matter of the hands. The fact is, doing good does not make you good. Goodness is not something that man manufacturers. It is something that God gives. The Bible makes that abundantly clear. “There is none who does good, no, not one.” Romans 3:12. People are not basically good. People are basically bad.

So the biblical conclusion must be that, “Good ain’t good enough.” We consistently fall short of meeting God’s standards of piety and goodness. This means that goodness is not a matter of the hands or a matter of the head. Goodness is a matter of the heart. Jesus said, “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.” Goodness is not a matter of what you know, nor what you do. It is a matter of what you are. Goodness is not a deed that you do; it is fruit that you bear. It is not about what you know, but about Whom you know.

See, if you have love in your heart, joy in your soul and peace in your life; then you will be patient and enduring, you will be kind and ...yes...even good. Nevertheless, it all goes back to love in your heart, doesn’t it. And how do you get that? Micah 6:8, the last part says that you must walk humbly with your God.

How do we live the good life? By having a relationship with God’s Son, Jesus Christ.

Luke

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I cannot begin to tell y'all how proud I am of my son Luke Leigh. He is currently at Palmetto Boy's State; a program sponsored by the American Legion that is like summer camp for political junkies. It's great practice for his ultimate goal of world domination and benevolent dictatorship of the world.

Next week he will be at the US Naval Academy for a college visit and then staying for the week to participate in the Navy Wrestling Camp. (Fear The Goat!) He is; as of this date, a candidate at Annapolis and the Air Force Academy.

But my pride in him is not found in his accomplishments or eventually whatever college he attends. It is in who he is as a person, and the man I have watched him become. He is caring, funny, smart, and above all, he loves the Lord and is not ashamed to share his faith.

You’ve got to try a little kindness

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I love Aesop’s Fables. When I was a kid, it was my favorite thing to hear during story time. I read this week where scientist have proven one of the fables as true. Huh. Well, I’ve known that for many years. The old boy knew his stuff. And one thing he knew about was Kindness.
Aesop told a fable about the wind and the sun having an argument. Which was stronger, as I recall. The sun made a bet that the one who could make a man take of his coat was the strongest. The wind went first. The sun hid behind a cloud. The wind blew and blew, but the harder and more fierce the wind blew, the tighter the man held on to his coat. Finally, exhausted, (pun intended) the wind gave up. The sun’s turn was next. He came out from behind the clouds and shone on the man. The man quickly took off his coat. Moral of the story? Warmth, friendliness, and a gentle touch are always stronger than force and furry.

So it is with our daily walk. Do you see how these fruits are building. Love leads to joy, which brings peace, allowing for patience and endurance that will manifest itself as kindness. Listen, you’ve got to "try a little kindness." The stuff is addictive!

Remember Glenn Campbell? Back in the 70’s he crooned...

You’ve got to try a little kindness
Yes, try a little kindness,
Just shine your light for everyone to see
And if you try a little kindness,
You’ll overlook the blindness
Of narrow-minded people, on the narrow-minded streets
Not bad advise at all!

Peace Like A River

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The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, and peace. Joy is contentment with life and our circumstances. Not happiness as we think about it. Well, peace is a similar fruit in that way. I want to let you in on a little secret about peace. Peace is not the absence of problems. Peace is the presence of Jesus in the midst of your problems. You see, you cannot always rejoice in your losses, but you can always rejoice in the Lord.


Paul told us that we should “be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.” Philippians 4:6 (NKJV) What is the opposite of not being anxious? Not worrying. The English word worry comes from the German “wurgën” which literally means to strangle. Worry strangles out our love and joy, and robs us of our peace.

I heard about a man who was a worrier. He worried so much and about so much, he caused people around him to worry. One day he came home from work and he was happy as a lark, his disposition had totally changed. His wife said, “What’s gotten into you? You’re not worried about anything?” He said, “No. Not at all.” She asked him what had changed sense he left for work. He said he had hired a professional worrier to worry for him. Naturally, this worried the wife. She said, “How much is that costing us?” He nonchalantly told her, “$1,000 a day.” She almost passed out! “How are we going to afford that bill!?” she screamed. To which he replied, “I’ll let him worry about that.”


Let me tell you what worry does, spiritually speaking. Worry makes us practical atheists. We may say we trust God, but when we worry, we’re telling God we don’t think much of Him or His abilities. We also tell God we think He is a liar. That He does not keep His word. Like Romans 8:28 or 1 Peter 5:7 where we’re told He works things together for good, and that we are to cast all of our cares upon Him.

So to have peace, we need joy—contentment in our circumstances. And to have joy we must have love—a commitment we make to ourselves and others. Then we may have true, Biblical peace. As Corrie Ten Boone once said: "When I look at the world, I get distressed. When I look at myself, I get depressed. But when I look at Jesus, I am at rest."

Mother's Day 2013

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Ms Thelma, my other Momma, received the award for Oldest Mother. Congratulations on her 81 birthdays. Quite an accomplishment in and of itself.

Preachers Wives

Great post from a friend and pastor's wife.

http://craiganandkeri.blogspot.com/2013/05/satans-attack-on-ministry-families.html?spref=fb