Turn the Light On!

 James "The Gravy" McCrickard and I have created a podcast we call "Turn the Light On"

You should check it out:

Anchor:

https://anchor.fm/turn-the-light-on

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/show/5AY2cGtLcTRpwuT3MRrCh6

Stitcher:

https://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=559368&refid=stpr

Google Podcasts:

https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy8yZDU2MTU2Yy9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw

Apple iTunes:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/turn-the-light-on/id1525392943

#lightwins

John 1:5

 

So far we have 3 episodes.

Eventually we'll have our own blog for it.

for now, there's here!

Episodes in order of appearance:

"The Light Shines in the Darkness" https://anchor.fm/turn-the-light-on/episodes/The-Light-Shines-in-the-Darkness-eh4dmm

"Blind Man Sees the Light" https://anchor.fm/turn-the-light-on/episodes/Blind-Man-Sees-the-Light-ehe1lr 

we're encouraging everyone to use the hashtag #lightwins to promote this endevour.

Enjoy! Share! Comment! Like!

what if....

Update:

This may be happening. I've been praying for it to happen, and I caught the tail end of a conversation about a small group forming just for this! 

 Update 2:

This may get folded into something coming up called Project VOLTAGE: Volunteers Of Love Taking Action for God Everywhere.

OG Text:

---

Calling all worship leaders dedicated to an ecclesiology that teaches that Christians should be unified. I have the following proposal for a worship service:

i figure it would be about 30 minutes of singing together. 

I'm taping this paper to the front of my prayer journal. Here's what the paper says:

----

What if...

- we constructed a worship service around teaching each other using Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.

    - Songs about belief

    - Songs about confessing Jesus as Lord

    - Songs about repentance. 

    - Songs about baptism for the forgiveness of sins. 

    - songs about sanctification. 

----

Please pray with me so that this will happen! We have to learn to teach and encourage each other in the name of the Lord. If we're solely dependent on the preacher, or some other man, for the source of our doctrine, teaching, encouragement, we'll be let down! Taking the time to build each other up makes us stronger and more resilient as a church.

I am Chosen

Recently,  I've been reading The Collected Writings of Jack Cottrell.  I'm on volume 4, "The Bible Versus Calvinism" and it's greatly edifying my faith. It is reminding me who I am (and who has me as well.) I've got a serious post in the works right now partly because of this series of books, but until it's done,  I want to share something I read in it this morning.

Dr Jack Cottrell Telling the truth

We, as Christians are called to proclaim something. We are specifically elected to do this job, it is why we are saved, and it's why we continue in the truth. Israel had their part, get the world ready for the Messiah. Now it's time for us to do our job!

Annoyed, Mildly Disturbed

I'm annoyed a little bit.

I seriously consider arguing to the point of losing friends/damaging relationships every time some says something to the effect of "It doesn't matter if I go to church or not, as long as I have a relationship with God."
There's so much wrong with that, I can't even.
First off, there's the idea of what the church IS.
IT IS:

• The Body of Christ
• The Bride of Christ
• The "Called out" of God
• a Body of Believers

Then we have the idea of what the church is TO DO:

• Proclaim the death and ressurection of Jesus through Communion
• Encourage one another to do good works
• Stand firm against the world.

Why on earth would you not want to be a part of this?!?

Maybe it's because of what else the church IS:

• A group of Sinners with problems
• An exclusive group
• People who don't live up to their expectations

And sometimes we DO these things:

• Keep people out
• "Forgive" without accountability
• Insist on keeping rules

First, let's realize something about The End¹:
I've heard some people compare the search for God/Purpose/Meaning to life to a journey, and on this journey it is said: "There's more than one path up Mt Fuji."
or "All Dogs Go to Heaven"
some variation on the idea that All-Loving-Powerful-Knowledgeful, etc God will accept Your Best as Good Enough to get by, and this is how we can all make it to heaven.
Simply put that's not something I can believe, given the truth of scripture, and what it's got to say. Scripture says God is one, and He is Holy. This means that I'm not going to the top of Mt Fuji. Mt Fuji is on earth, it's end is the same as the rest of the planet. I'm going somewhere fundamentally different than this earth. This earth is not The End. It will be remade into something it's not right now, but that Coming Thing is so vastly different than what's here right now, I can only barely glimpse at it. I know there's no crying or death there, but I don't know what that means. I know that I will see God, and that the Tree of Life is there, but I don't know what that means.
You say you don't go to church because your way is good enough, that there's more than one way up mt Fuji.
I'm not going there, and I don't want to. Mt Fuji is here, I want to go Over There.
To get over there I need help, and so do you.
That's why the Church is here.

As a body of believers, we're ready to do what God's called us to do, and it doesn't matter what happens to us. God makes it a point to make sure that what is happening to us now works together for our Good.
We're blessed with the fellowship of other believers. Not everyone in the congregation where we worship is at the same level of spiritual maturity. Some people in church need milk, others can handle meatier doctrine. We all still have need for the blood of Christ to continually cleanse us. We remind each other where we're going and who we are.
That is what Church is FOR. We're on a journey, not to a place that is here, on this plane of existence, but rather we are going to the Throne room of the King, where our voices will join in the chorus: "HOLY HOLY HOLY is the Lord God Almighty!" Here we see in part, and know in part. Then we will be complete. You don't get there without being in the Church!
Joining the Church is the same as being saved from your sins. You can't have them washed away without God adding you to the Church.
It's a deluxe package deal.
Please stop climbing Mt Fuji, and start reaching out to God. You don't have to go far.
Repent of your sins, and confess that "Jesus is Lord". Join the church through the Grace² of God by your Faith³ during your baptism⁴. Please, if something is hard to understand, reach out to me here on the blog, or send me a message in email. We can help.
The important thing is to take the right step next.

---

¹ The End is the idea of Telos, or "purpose" not just "the end of the world", although that is part of it (briefly explored in a Sermon titled "Do You Really Want it All to Stop?") The idea is also a part of what's going on in your life to accomplish an end, it's not just God's End for the world, but His End for you as well. ²Grace: God's favor given to you by His Love. you don't earn it. ³Faith: Faith in the death of Jesus because of and in atonement for your sins. ⁴baptism: Immersion in water done in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit to wash away your sins and raise you to new life.

An Example Considered

In 1 Corinthians 11:28, we read that if we're not to eat and drink condemnation upon ourselves during this time of communion, we should examine ourselves. As we examine ourselves, one thing I believe is extremely helpful is to consider the examples in scripture of people who did the things of God we are seeking to do. How they obeyed can provide a clue as to how we obey. Today, consider what it means to repent. Sometimes, instead of repenting, we just undergo repainting. Repainting means we change our exterior without necessarily changing the interior. We tell people we're sorry maybe with tears in our eyes,but this is not repentance, this is repainting. Repentance involves the confession of specific wrong action, and a plan for correcting that action in our lives so that others can hold us accountable. Scripture teaches us that Godly sorrow leads to repentance that leads to salvation. Jesus taught that unless we repent we will be condemned. Peter in the first gospel sermon coupled repentance with baptism tightly weaving them together so we could understand what we must do to be saved. In the New Testament, one example of repentance has always stood out to me, and I want us to consider it today. Turn with me to Luke 19:1-10 so we can consider the example of Zacchaeus, a tax collector in Jericho:

Luke 19:1-10  He entered Jericho and was passing through.  (2)  And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich.  (3)  And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature.  (4)  So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way.  (5)  And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.”  (6)  So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully.  (7)  And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.”  (8)  And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.”  (9)  And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham.  (10)  For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

In the life of Zacchaeus, we see an immediate transformation in the face of the teaching of Jesus. First Zacchaeus sought Jesus out and did what he needed to do to see the one who could forgive him. He climbed that tree. If you are going to repent, you need to seek Jesus out. Find him no matter how hard or painful. Second Zacchaeus immediately obeyed Jesus' direct command to him to come down and take Jesus to Zaccaeus' house. When we repent we must immediately obey Jesus. Finally, Zacchaeus gave a plan to show how Jesus had changed him. The grumblers in the crowd knew Zacchaeus. Tax collectors in the Roman empire would place bids on a specific territory for the amount of taxes they believed they could collect in a specific area. The highest bidder would have to supply the amount he promised, or the amount would be taken from his personal fortune. Often, a person bidding with the Roman government would hire out tax collectors under him in a similar fashion. Zacchaeus was one of these guys, a tax collector of tax collectors. His response was for the crowd as much as it was for Jesus. It was a specific acknowledgement that yes, he knew he was a tax collector, and in a position to do much wrong. This is what he was going to do to prevent that. And Jesus's response was much the same, it was for the crowd to hear as much as Zacchaeus. Salvation belongs to those who repent.

Quick Note

 I'm thinking about this sermon I'm writing on 1 John 4:7-19, and one of the key points in the passage is the affirmation that "No one has ever seen God". We have seen something though,  and what we've seen is important, and necessary.  Indeed,  the apostle appeals to what he has seen in the opening words of the epistle. If we haven't seen God, what then have we seen? 

1. We've seen the love Jesus gave all those around him. 

2. We've seen the love the Father had for us in that He has provided the atoning  sacrifice for our sins. 

3. We've seen the love of Christians for each other in the sharing of resources to meet physical and spiritual needs. 

Dear friends of the Lord,  and joint brothers and sisters in Christ,  to see God, people must first see love. 

Wisdom and Instruction

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction. -- Proverbs 1:7

The verse posted above is one of those "classic verses" everyone learned at some point in their walk with God, at least on the churches where I grew up. The thing about this verse that always stands out to me is how little we consider the word fear when we consider God.

Fear is something we associate we mostly associate with negativity. We should certainly be afraid of God if we we refuse to obey Him, but we if we love Him, doesn't "Perfect love cast out all fear" (1 John 4:8)?

We experience fear of the Lord for a variety of reasons:

• Past judgement by God is seen as a garauntee of future condemnation
• Fear losing salvation because of some unknown sin

just to name a couple.
We fear God because we understand that we don't understand Him. His ways are not our ways, and that causes fear because our questions can not be assured of an answer. Fear and faith are the twin internal reactions to understanding that when it comes to God, we must trust something claiming to be from Him, and as Christians, that is the Bible. We must trust that the Bible is true, that it is sufficient, and that it is instructive in our understanding of God. Let's turn our fear into faith by considering the following:
We fear judgement because of our sins: We have faith that God's plan for us is to be with Him (Revelation 21:1-4).
We fear impotence because we are finite: We have faith that we are immovable from the hand of God (John 10:27-30).

When we know the Bible, we know the fear of the LORD. It's our place for wisdom and instruction. As I become a better Believer and Servant, the more my fear becomes faith through the encouragement of the Word.

A Psalm to Consider

I am suddenly struck by a scripture, and I want to share it.
I'm always in the place this scripture describes, sometimes more than others.

Psalm 131English Standard Version (ESV)

I Have Calmed and Quieted My Soul

A Song of Ascents. Of David.

131 O Lord, my heart is not lifted up;
    my eyes are not raised too high;
I do not occupy myself with things
    too great and too marvelous for me.
2 But I have calmed and quieted my soul,
    like a weaned child with its mother;
    like a weaned child is my soul within me.

3 O Israel, hope in the Lord
    from this time forth and forevermore.

from: Bible Gateway
Three verses long, it cuts deep.
Some brief considerations:
Something has happened to the Psalmist, a trauma. He compares himself to a weaned child with its mother. I've been around children freshly weaned. Sometimes they don't take to leaving their mother's breast very kindly. There's much grief and tears, but if the child is to grow, they have to leave their mother's milk. From that point forward, the sustainance they get from their mother is different. Deeper than physical provision, they can be still, and know that even though what once was will never be again, there's better things, bigger hope, more comfort coming from the One who loves them.

When God takes the milk away, He's still there, as a mother with a weaned child. Holding us, comforting us, keeping our soul sustained.

Don't understand where your money will come from - calm yourself.
ISIS related terrorism got you worried - calm yourself.
Prexisting condition keeping you from getting healthcare - calm yourself.
God is still doing something even though you're not getting milk anymore.

Let your cares be carried by the Lord!

Mostly Mealtimes...

Recently I asked a question on Facebook. My question was simple enough: How often do you think about a meal when you think about the last time you saw somebody? A lot of people responded that they did think of a meal when they last thought of someone. I grew up in a family who's week almost literally revolved around food. From Sunday morning dinner at Grandma's house, to the Wednesday night fish fry at Possum Hollow, our family was always looking for another meal.  The fish fry especially consumed my Grandpa and his brother's schedule. There was minnow trapping on Monday and Thursday. Then they had to fish on Tuesdays and Fridays, all so that on Wednesday night, between 40 and 60 people could gather and eat. People have to eat, so it figures that we would all eat together.

I'm lead then to believe that God does some things on purpose, directly because He knows people, and He knows we like to eat too. He knows we remember special occasions by the food we eat, so He gave the Children of Israel a collection of feasts to keep, each with their meaning, each occurring in their own time. This weekend the Jews celebrate Passover, and it's that feast that I want to look at if only briefly.

What if you were alive, as an Israelite, captive in Egypt when Moses came to lead the people out of Pharaoh's hand? What would you make of the commands to keep the Passover described in Exodus Chapter 12? First of all, it's a meal that is designed to separate the People of God from the Foreigner. God tells the people:

⁴³ And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “This is the statute of the Passover: no foreigner shall eat of it, ⁴⁴ but every slave that is bought for money may eat of it after you have circumcised him. ⁴⁵ No foreigner or hired worker may eat of it. ... ⁴⁷ All the congregation of Israel shall keep it. ⁴⁸ If a stranger shall sojourn with you and would keep the Passover to the Lord, let all his males be circumcised. Then he may come near and keep it; he shall be as a native of the land. But no uncircumcised person shall eat of it. ⁴⁹ There shall be one law for the native and for the stranger who sojourns among you.” Exodus 12:43-45; 47-49. 

God intends for this meal to be a meal where there is a clear distinction between God's People, and those who are not God's people. Ponder this for a moment as we listen to another one of God's commands for this special meal: "¹⁰ And you shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn." This meal has a special time, limited in duration. There are no leftovers from God's Passover! The People of God are given clear instruction about the time that the Passover takes place. He tells them the month the feast is in, he tells them the day the feast starts, and then He tells them duration of the feast. Six days of unleavened bread, and then, one evening only, lamb with the bread, and bitter herbs. There's no accidents here. All of this is for a reason. Ponder as if you were one of the Children of Israel, waiting to be delivered from Egypt. Now listen to this and consider what it could mean: 

⁸ They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted on the fire; with unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it. ⁹ Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted, its head with its legs and its inner parts...¹¹ In this manner you shall eat it: with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord's Passover. Exodus 12:8, 9, 11 ⁴⁶ It shall be eaten in one house; you shall not take any of the flesh outside the house, and you shall not break any of its bones. Exodus 12:46

 God commanded the People of God to eat the meal in a certain manner. None of this is by accident. There's nothing here done by chance or haphazardly. God has a certain way for doing this, and it's for a certain reason. He's wanting these people to remember the meal. He's going to use it for something special. He's looking down the road 1500 years to a time when this meal will be celebrated in this manner for the last time before His Son dies.

We know that on the night Jesus was betrayed he was keeping the Passover meal. We also know that he gave a meal to remember him by on that night. I always try to consider what it must have been like for the disciples on that night. Like the Israelites that first night, they were probably a little confused by Jesus' new instructions. He takes the bread, and offers it to them, calling it his body. Then he lifts a glass, and calls it the blood of the new covenant. Just like the first Passover, though, this meal also has certain rules. Just like it was with the Israelites and the Passover: The Lord's Supper is only valid for certain people. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 11:29 "For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself." Our meal is for those who recognize that this bread and cup are given to us as the body and blood of Jesus. Also, like Passover: Our meal has a time. From early in its history, the Church has gathered on the first day of the week to celebrate the Lord in this manner. We gather for the same reason the early disciples gather: to devote ourselves to the Apostle's teachings, for fellowship, to break this bread together and for prayer. Thirdly, God has commanded us to eat this meal together in a certain manner. We're commanded to examine ourselves, to not use this as a time for overindulgence, and to recognize the body of the Lord. 

There's a lot of things about the Passover that can be studied in the Light of the identity of Jesus, and the salvation he offered to us. One thing that's worthy of another lesson is the direct symbolism between Jesus and the Passover lamb. There's a reason why the Passover lamb had to be unblemished. There's a reason why we call Jesus the Lamb of God, and why his bones weren't broken on the cross, even though the other two who were crucified with him had their legs broken. Most importantly, however, there's a reason why we're gathered here today; it's to eat a meal, and think about the Last Time Jesus was here, and to also think about the time when we'll see him in person!

Somethings are Very Hard to Do

It's hard to see outside of your own frame of reference. A book, written in 1884 as a bit of satire on Victorian English culture impressed this idea upon me. The book is called Flatland, and it tells the tale of A Square, and his struggles to bring the truth of the third dimension to his own society, one where only two dimensions are possible. One of the real major points of the book is to help you understand that trying to explain things that people haven't experienced is tricky, and mostly impossible. Gazing into eternity with our current bodies and minds is every bit as tricky as a sphere trying to tell a square what the third dimension is like. Of all the tricky things to grasp, the resurrection of Jesus is at the top. As Christians, we accept the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ as truth, and the implication of that truth is that we too, will share in the same resurrection one day.
Paul addresses how difficult this is to understand in 1 Corinthians 15. It was true then, and it's true now, some people don't believe in the resurrection They don't believe because they don't see how our bodies could get any better after being dead. They paint a sacrilegious picture of the resurrection that has no spiritual element. In reality they don't understand the Gospel, so they mock it instead. Let's increase our understanding by reading the following scripture in 1 Corinthians 15, starting with verse 35 (ESV)

³⁵ But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?” ³⁶ How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. ³⁷ When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. ³⁸ But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body. ³⁹ Not all flesh is the same: People have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another. ⁴⁰ There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another. ⁴¹ The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor.
⁴² So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; ⁴³ it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; ⁴⁴ it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.
If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. ⁴⁵ So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. ⁴⁶ The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. ⁴⁷ The first man was of the dust of the earth; the second man is of heaven. ⁴⁸ As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the heavenly man, so also are those who are of heaven. ⁴⁹ And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we bear the image of the heavenly man.

We're moving from a physical place, to a spiritual one. It makes sense then, that our physical bodies would have to be replaced with a spiritual one. This spiritual body, if we are to use Jesus as our example, is strange. Apparently, he was able to move quickly, appearing in the middle of a group of people, seemingly at once. One of the crazy things is that even though scripture promises us that there are no more tears or sickness once we get this body, some things linger with us, or else Thomas would not have seen the nail-marks on Jesus' body. It seems as if the pain is taken away, but the work done in our physical bodies was left! It seems that physical things and physical actions and communicate to us spiritual things, and have spiritual consequences. Just as the holes in Jesus' body convinced Thomas of the realness of the resurrection of Christ, the Lord's Supper convinces us of the covenant God has made with us through the sacrifice of his son. This meal is for us, a contract written in Jesus' blood and paid for with his body.

When we gather around the table, we gather to hopefully come to a fuller understanding of something that seems impossible to understand in this form of being. Let us take the cup and the loaf together, break it and share, and pray that the day we receive our spiritual body is hastened to us so that we can understand the universe as God sees it.

Notes for Ephesians 2:1-10

This is part of a "homework" assignment from small group leadership training at my home church. We'll be starting a small group next fall. The assignment is two fold
1. Observe a particular text, and discover the facts that are in that text.
2. Formulate factual questions related to that text


Notes for Ephesians 2:1-10.

Text:
EPHESIANS 2:1-10 (ESV)
1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works,which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

1. Facts: This text contrasts who a group is, before they were forgiven, and after they were forgiven. People who live in this world are ultimately following "The prince of the power of the air". Everyone once upon a time, followed this prince. God has loved us though. We have been raised! Grace has saved us through our faith. Works do not save us, but we are saved to be God's workmanship, doing God's work. This work was made for us to do.

2. Questions:
How many groups can humanity be divided into, and how could we describe them, according to this passage?

If we were once dead, what then made us alive? Who can be made alive?

What is God waiting to show us? 

What makes faith special in God's eyes, according to this passage?

If God doesn't save us by what we do, why is it important that we do good thing?

What's the good thing you'll be doing this week? (final question)

PRAISE GOD!

This is the Communion meditation for Highlands Church of Christ, given March 08, 2015.

Usually Mr Peterson wore a sweater vest, with a tie underneath. He and his wife sat in the same pew every Sunday, about three rows from the front. It had to be an easy seat to get to, he couldn't move very well or very fast. When I knew Mr. Peterson, his left arm curled into a fist, and he held it close to his body. Sometime in the past, he'd had a stroke. He couldn't talk without a stutter, so he mainly communicated through facial expression, and usually there was a smile on his face. The struggle for Mr Peterson to talk, communicate, move, and interact was real. He also taught me an important lesson on thankfulness every Sunday he met with the church. He taught his lesson over time, and if things distracted you from the lesson, you might let out a snicker, or feel a little embarrassment, but slowly the lesson built. I'm going to share with you a lesson it took me six months, at least to learn.

The first Sunday I remember Mr Peterson in Church, I remember because when he received the cup to take the Lord's Supper, he spoke the word "Hallelujah". As far as I can remember, he said it every week he met with the church. The only time I ever heard him say something clearly and without stuttering was to say "hallelujah" right after taking the cup. He never said it with a hesitation. Sometimes he said it softly, but mostly, his voiced boomed in the silent time that we had after cocmmunion: "Hallelujah".

The word means "Praise God!" It's an expression given both as a command and declarative. "Praise God!" The Psalms especially use the phrase. When Mr Peterson said it, I knew I was learning something, but it took a while to really take. What I learned from him is that a thankful heart always finds a way to turn to God and thank Him for the blood of Christ. Let's read something from Hebrews 13:8-15 together:

8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.  9 Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, which have not benefited those devoted to them. 10 We have an altar from which those who serve the tent have no right to eat.  11 For ^*xlthe bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy places by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin are burned outside the camp.  12 So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood.  13 Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured.  14 For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come.  15 Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.

When we take the cup of communion, we take the same cup that Jesus called his Blood. Together, we come to the place this passage describes. Let's praise God together, and with thankful hearts take the cup, and offer the sacrifice of praise to God. Let our fruitful lips acknowledge the name of Jesus.

"Watch Your Pole"

It's been over thirty years ago, but I can remember it just like it was yesterday. It was a day for a "first", the first time I went fishing with my Grandpa. By this time, even though I wasn't quite seven years old, I considered myself an experienced fisherman, able to take up the serious business of fishing for the fish fry my family put on every Wednesday, and during special occasions, like labor day. Tingling with excitement, we pulled up to Clark's Landing on Cocodrie Lake, and I asked my Grandpa a question:

"What's the biggest fish in here?"
In a thick accent caused by a full life in Central Louisiana, he answered
"Dars an ol' gar in der bigger'en you are!"
With wide eyes, my imagination took hold and I began to see the ol' gar down below waiting to snatch a finger. The overcast sky, and cooler temperature added to my anxiety. I kept watch on the water. After fishing for a couple of hours, we decided to call it a day. Normally, Grandpa caught "two or tree" dozen tasty white perch, but today only two fish hit the pot gut minnows he used for bait. I road along on the back seat of the boat, taking in the surroundings. Tupelo trees in the water formed a barrier, and the passageway through the water grew narrow. I began thinking about the gar again, and heard a noise behind me of something slipping. Turning, I gazed in horror as my fishing pole slipped off the side of the boat into the water.

"Grandpa!" I exclaimed "The gar got my pole, he pulled it into the water!"
Chuckling, he replied "Well padnah, sometime, you gotta watch yo pole."

I started learning an important lesson that day. It's hard to fish without the right equipment, but I let my worry distract me and I lost my pole as a result. Jesus called the first disciples to be "fishers of men", and it's equally important, if we're going to follow their example, for us to watch and make sure our equipment isn't lost. The most important equipment we have for fishing for men is the testimony of our faith acting in our life. If we allow the world to distract us, and if we take our eyes off the prize, it becomes easy for others to judge that we hold our faith cheap. If we want to save others, we have to listen to Paul's instruction to Timothy:

1 Timothy 4:16: ^"Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers."

We come to this table recognizing that we're at the tackle shop. It's time for us to get new tackle, to renew the covenant that cleanses us for sin, and to also equip our minds to deal with the stress of life. We go to church, fellowship at this meal, and in honesty and humility, admit to God and to each other that we lost our pole, or at least our bait. Once we're equipped, we're ready to fish again, and tell happier fishing stories next week.

Sermons I've Never Given.

I've got a series of sermons, partially written, that I've never given.
They're originally written to be given as part of a revival.
I first got the idea to write them when we lived in Orlando, and I was going pretty hard at BASIC. At the time, I was studying 1 John, and thought, "WOW, I could write five sermons from this book as a revival series!" I quickly hammered out the general ideas for all five sermons, then started writing outlines. The first two outlines came easy, I had to revise the third a few times, and I've not written the fourth or fifth. Every couple of months, I tell myself I need to finish it. I'm not in demand as a revival preacher right now, I don't even teach a Sunday school class, but I've always told myself that if I finish these lessons, I'll have done something.

Anyway,
I'll get started on that fourth sermon sooner or later, I've been having the itch to write it again. Just need to reread 1 John. That book always convicts and encourages me.


Early in the morning, January 25, 2019
EDIT:
Sermon writing continues....

Still Believing and Serving in Christ.

This is a "I'm still here" post.
I don't know what else to call it.
I've been blogging about life, birds, ham radio, Jesus, philosophy, gardening, and lots of other stuff.
This was the first blog I started and I'm coming back to it because BASIC is an idea I have let and am letting permanently soak into me. It's an identity.
It's an identity I want to pass on to my kids too.
I have four now.
Four very precious daughters. Having daughters does things to a man. It's hard to explain.
If you have a daughter, and you are a man, you know what I'm talking about.
One of the things I'm doing to teach my kids to be BASIC is having them memorize a memory verse.
This week, our memory verse comes from Luke 18:14b (ESV) :
"For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted."
This verse is part of a larger passage where Jesus talkes about a pharisee and a tax collector, and how their attitudes during prayer affected the outcome of their soul. The kids have to read the whole passage (I have 2 that can read it, and one that can listen) and memorize the 18:14b part. I'm trying to memorize as much of the whole passage as I can.
That's me, and what I'm doing to Be BASIC, how about you?

"By the way I thought that you would be there..."

Great lyrics!
Did I see you downtown Sunday? Maybe, probably not though. S'kay, cuz I can't make it every week either and I started this work!
Strange eh?

I'll give you strange: So the fishmobile needs a new alternator belt right. It squeeks when it drives, and makes people go crazy. Mainly it could lead to a broken alternator belt, or even a broken alternator. gotta fix it in two weeks. To fix it sunday, I turned the belt around. It kinda worked, a little bit.

So that's goin' on.

We are in the middle of the sermon on the mount. I introduced the guys to "Mr. Anonymous" hehe, doer of good deeds, I could tell you more, but then, well, what would be the point. ;-)

We do have prayer requests!

Craig McGrew: "I pray that my life will find meaning, that I can skillfully manange all that life throws at me, not to lose myself in hopelessness or depression, and my prosperity come and accumulate around me, lifting me up"

Berlin: "Please pray for me for understanding"

Jonathan Jones :"$"

Jaren Whitman: "My girlfriend's cancer, and I find a job"

Duck: "home and a job"

Lawrence J Brown: "Job employment"

Gregory Scott: "Pray that I get a regular job soon."

George Moore: "That my job comes through"

Dwaine McCoy: "Reunite me with my family"

Jack Bishop: "For Everything"

Yvonne Cook: "Pray for everyone we love you thank you all God bless"

These are important! Pray for them. Pray for me.

Later!
G. Brandon Hoyt

Mind Death and the Art of Feeling Numb

There are so many things in this world that keep pulling you down. You got terrorists in Mumbai, poor retail sales on black Friday, gubbmint officials who start lame duck sessions when they are first elected, and who live on a diet of pork and cocktails. I tell you, it's not hard to be apathetic with all the junk that I see people walking around keeping to themselves. At least my kids are still sweet.

So here's what's been going on this week: I got real sick Tuesday, and spent the rest of the week recovering, and dealing with the after effects of being sicky sicky. Thanksgiving was pretty good, but I didn't eat as much as have eaten, didn't want to see it again. Gross, right? I did spend some time trowing balls into trees to recover other balls that thrown into trees. It was a vicious cycle that eventually required the use of a ladder and a polesaw.

The weather and my recover efforts conspired to keep me home yesterday, but Matty, Jess, Rico, Steve, and others went downtown and handed out foodbags or one item to help people get out of the weather quicker. He said there were "Literally 80 people waiting". Now that's odd to me because most of the guys know we can only serve forty. Meh, meet the needs, save the world. Next week hopefully things will be better, we are supposed to get a cool snap this week.

for prayer requests, pray for me, and everyone downtown this week during the weather. I've got some hackin' work to do this week. Lervly lervly.

One last thing, one of my former college room mates has started an outreach to people with HIV, Life with a Vision that I think will be an entirely worthwhile effort!

l8r g8r
GB HOYT, sick and tired of being sick, and tired.

Even When I Ain't there, There you Go!

Yo,
Didn't make it downtown this last week, but God's people did! Jess and Matty took some of the All-Stars downtown to help the homeless, and ministry happened. I love it! We even got some prayer requests:

Michael seaquist> Needs a good job
D.J.> To have others in need given help
jack Bishop> Jobs, Apartment Etc....
Desiree> For Gods will to be done in her life
Alphanso Ellis> Prayer to get off drugs and to be saved
James> Prayer for himself
Gregory Scott> Pray that he finds a full time job soon
Leon Johnson> Pray that he lives a more Christ like life.

Thanks guys for gettin' out there!
I received live updates via my inside man on the streets, and he informed me that everyone was grateful.
Things were well!

GB HOYT

I Can't Brain Today, I Have the Dumb

Work is pretty fast paced right now. We are in full on thanksgiving mode, which means late nites for me (*GROAN*) and tiredness in the morning. On the homefront, the girls are gettin' round and round...
what is happening to my hair. I'm noticing more grey.

So on the BASIC front, the press for pants continues. Got a pair? Give it to us!

So, since I'm hurting my brain by thinking too much I feel obligated to help you think as well. hehe.
here we go:
What about this whole evil thing?
Natural evil, man made evil, whatever kinda of evil you can think up.
Why is there evil in the world? I've heard the question asked so many times, it kinda bores me a little bit. I know people who've suffered, I have suffered myself. I address part of the problem in this post and it's still very valid today.
I have a new thing to add to my argument though.
Ok,
first read that post, come back, and you will understand what I'm saying here. Cause it's a gripe with people who don't get consequence.
People complain when God allows evil people like Hitler or Pol Pot to commit genocide, but when God does something about it, they complain about God committing the same crimes.
Punishment for harsh evil is harsh.
I get that.
why don't others??
here's the example:
What if i told you of a culture of drunken men routinely engaged in religious rape routinely engaged in warfare to spread their way of life upon the earth. They practiced slavery, took advantage of the less technologically advanced, and generally caused a ruckus. You know, they burned cities, killed babies, occasionally offering them to whatever idol they thought appropriate.
God punished them by telling the Israelites to kill them. They had their chance, they just didn't take it. Pull the plug.
God punished evil, and people hate Him for it.
God waits to punish, and the same people hate Him for it.
People are stupid, not God.
Somebody call me a jerk or something please, this is way to simple in my mind. I'm missing something obviously.
Help!
I need clarity.

Muddled and sleep deprived,
GB HOYT

Spot O' Cool Weather

Hello,
I guess the fall is officially here in Florida. It's cold this morning! It was starting to get chilly last night too. My hands actually got a lil' cold. I'm just glad the fish mobile has heat! Took a lil' while to run out of needs lists, i was kinda surprised. The BASIC All star crew took to the streets, and did their work well! Handed out a lot of jackets and other things. We need pants!
Can't get enough pants!
here's some prayer requests!

Stacy => "that I will be found faithful in Jesus Name"
Gregory Scott => "Pray for me that I may find or get a regular job real soon ok"
Stormie Knight => "Help make me a good christian in the faith, amen."
Luther Nelson => "Peace for the hurting ones"
Duck => "a Home"
Jack Bishop => "Pray that I find work ASAP"
James D. Kemp => "For my friend and I to make it to having a house and finally off the streets and stay off drugs"
Tony Wagner => "Oh, no sweat!"


Thank you!
GB HOYT!