MEMORIES OF DAD

It has been almost 16 years since we said a temporary goodbye to Dad. I think of him often, “hear” his humorous comments as I watch the news, and “see” him in my oldest son, but today I can’t stop the tears.

Dad I miss you. Sometimes our family needs your “no nonsense” wisdom; we need to hear one of your crazy stories once again. I will never forget your arms around me as you told me goodbye the last time we saw you. I think you knew it would be the last time and you hugged me extra tight, hoping the imprint of your arms would always remind me of your love.

So many memories of you flood my mind. As a little girl I loved to watch your hands. You had strong hands with long slender fingers that could build a cabinet, assemble a toy or tenderly button a little girl’s coat. I knew there wasn’t a thing in the world that was too hard for those hands to fix.

You were the one who taught me how to sing. I loved to hear your voice in church and I loved the fact that you would cry every time you sang a solo. I will never forget my favorite song;

Don’t ever take the ribbons from your hair.
Each tiny bow is tied with loving care

You’re pretty as a picture and I love each precious curl

You’re mommy’s little problem, but you’re daddy’s little girl

You’ll never grow too old to wear your bows

They’ll always match your tiny turned up nose

And even when you grow to be like mommy sweet and fair

Don’t ever take the ribbons from your hair.

It has been said that our picture of our Heavenly Father is formed by our Earthly Father. Dad, I learned from you that God is my provider, my protector, and always faithful. Thank you Dad for the lessons in honesty, integrity, and commitment that you modeled for me. Thank you for walking away from the neighbor as he swore at you in front of your family. Thank you for being honest when the cashier gave you too much change. Thank you for standing up for me when the teacher cheated me out of a good grade and thank you for standing with the teacher when I was wrong.

Thank you for loving Steve as a son. It must have been hard to give your 18 year-old first born to another 18-year old teenager who didn’t even have a good job. I remember your teary eyes and how your knees shook as you walked me down the aisle. You knew that you were no longer the most important man in my life but you also knew that no one would ever take the place of my dad. You were so excited when you found out at the age of 42 that you were going to be a grandfather. I had been running up and down stairs with laundry, but a minute later, after you heard the news, you told me that maybe I shouldn’t be running on the stairs. I laughed but it made me feel all warm and fuzzy, as it still does 39 years later. You were so proud of Steven and Phil as they grew and went to college. You would be even more proud of the responsible men they have become.

I would love to see you with your great-grandchildren. Sometimes I close my eyes and imagine you with Mackenzie, Madison, Caleb, Nathan, Anabel, Maicie and Payton. The girls would wrap themselves around your heart. You would love Mackenzie and Madison’s beautiful red hair, brag on how smart Mackenzie is and melt into Madison’s big blue eyes. I can hear you say “hey, big boy” to Caleb and ask him if he hurt the floor when he falls over. Nathan and Anabel’s big smiles and mischievous antics would rate one of your great big laughs. You could never resist the littlest ones, so I know you Maicie would follow your voice and cuddle right up to her Papaw-Great. You would even find a way to communicate with Payton, The worst part of even temporary goodbyes are the things you don’t get to share.

I don’t understand everything about death, but I do understand eternity. Once again Dad, you’ve gone before all of us to pave the way. I am so thankful that you loved the Lord. I’m thankful that you believed in the Blessed Hope, that,” We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” Dad, I know that it is just a temporary goodbye and I am so thankful that someday soon we will be able to sit down and talk for eternity. For today I’ll just remember your smile, your deep voice and your arms holding me tight as I look up to Heaven and say “Happy Father’s Day.

AND GOD REMEMBERED....

I feel so alone. Nobody even knows I exist. Nobody cares. Does God even know I’m here? I’ve been obedient, done everything He asked but I think God has forgotten or is too busy with everyone else. Have you ever had days, weeks or months in which these words became your refrain? Then the story of Noah will give you hope.

Consider how Noah must have felt after God shut the door of the ark and the days continued to pass. I have read many different theories on how long Noah was actually on the ark, they range from 150 to 377 days. What we can know is that it must not have been the most pleasant of experiences. The Genesis account tells us that the world was so wicked that the mind of man was continually on evil. In the midst of the evil, God found one man, Noah, who was righteous, faithful, and “perfect in his generations.” God called Noah into service; gave him the instructions and Noah obeyed. Genesis 6:22 tells us, “Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.” I have to confess that I’m not sure I could say I have equaled Noah in faithfulness.

Finally, the years of building the ark, as God had commanded ended, the animals were gathered into the ark along with Noah, his wife, three sons and their wives. For seven days they waited for somebody; anybody from the congregation Noah had preached to for all those years of building, to join them in the ark of salvation. Imagine his disappointment when no one came and God shut the door. The long rainy days began. The monotony of feeding the animals, cleaning the waste, listening to the rain, living in the gloom and repeating it day after day had to have been depressing. There was nobody to care if Noah existed except a depressed wife and kids and hundreds of loud, stinky animals. Had God forgotten him? After all he had done for God was he sentenced to die on a creaky boat, alone and forgotten? NO, THIS IS NOT THE END OF THE STORY! Genesis 8:1records, “And God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that was with him in the ark…”

We all go through seasons of loneliness and isolation. We are studying God’s Word, seeking His will through prayer, obeying everything we know and hear from God, yet we seem to still be stuck on a stinky boat. God hasn’t forgotten you; the stinky boat is all part of His plan. Wonderful, fresh, new adventures are ahead. After many days, when the time is right your story will continue, “And God remembered….”

FAVOR IS ABSOLUTELY FAIR

A few years ago, the famous Pentecostal preacher, T.D. Jakes preached a message entitled, “Favor Ain’t Fair.”  It was one of the messages at which you find yourself yelling, “AMEN,” high-fiving someone and at times jumping up just to relieve the excitement.  To me it was also one of those messages that a day later found me saying, “Huhhh?”  “Favor ain’t fair?”  Are you saying, “God ain’t fair?”  For years, now, every time I hear someone use this quote, a red flag pops up in my brain and says, “Huhhh?”

I have been blessed to be the recipient of God’s favor in some things but not everything.  I know people that seem to live under the “favor spout” while others have never found the place where favor is poured out.  Soooo, maybe “Favor ain’t fair.”  Except something in me refuses to accept that statement.  If favor ain’t fair and its God’s favor, that would make God not fair.  I decided to find the answer once in for all and opened my Bible.  I found there were men and women who received the favor of God and many who did not.  I also discovered that every single person who received God’s favor had one thing in common; FAITHFUL OBEDIENCE.

Take Noah for example.  Genesis 6:8 tells us that Noah found grace (or favor) in the eyes of the Lord.  Why?  Was it a random choice?  Did God like his name or the family he was born into?  Genesis 6:9 explains why God’s favor rested on Noah and through him allowed life to continue on earth; “Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God.”  Hebrews 11:7 again repeats, “By FAITH, Noah…..became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.”  The Bible records that Noah was a Preacher of Righteousness and I believe that during the years of building and preaching, God gave everyone the opportunity to share in the favor He bestowed upon Noah.  Obviously, no one else obeyed God’s command, so was God’s favor unfair?

 Let’s move on to Abraham.  I ask the questions again, random choice or good family?  Abraham was born in a pagan land to a family who worshiped pagan gods, yet somehow out of all of his family, Abraham knew and believed in the one true God because when he heard God’s voice, he obeyed without hesitation.  Why was Abraham blessed along with all of his descendants?  Hebrews 11:8 answers the question, “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance.”  Because of Abraham’s FAITHFUL OBEDIENCE, Galatians promised, “In you all the nations shall be blessed.”  Because of the favor shown to Abraham, his descendants become “God’s Chosen People.”  We also have the opportunity to share in the promise according to Galatians 3:9, “So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham.”  Notice there is a condition, FAITHFUL OBEDIENCE.  Is God being unfair to those who are not of faith?

As a mom, I possess the power to bestow favor upon my children, as I choose and when I choose.   Because I love both of my children and would give my life for them, my favor is not handed out randomly or because I find one better looking.  My children are blessed because I love them but at times there is special favor given.  Let’s suppose I give both of them a specific task and only one obediently completes the task.  Would it be fair to show favor to the obedient and the disobedient child equally?  I can guarantee you the obedient child would answer emphatically, “NO.”  My favor would be given in a direct response to their obedience.  We are all favored with the blessing of salvation when we obey the plan God has set forth and become His children.  Is it fair for God to favor those who ignore His Word and through unbelief reject His salvation?

This opens up another question, “I have obeyed the salvation message, I try to follow after God every day, I pray and read His word, yet some receive favor for specific situations and I do not, what more must I do?  Perhaps there is nothing more you must do because it is not the will of God for your life or perhaps it is not yet God’s perfect timing.  Back to being a Mom and Grandma.  I have a 4-year old grandson, Caleb and a 2-year old grandson, Nathan.  I allow Caleb to cut out shapes with a pair of scissors but no matter how much Nathan kicks and screams, he does not get to use a pair of scissors.  Am I being unfair?  Is Caleb more highly favored than Nathan?  Someday, the time will be right and Nathan will get to cut shapes just like his brother.  If I have one son who loves peanut butter cups and another son who loves them but has a peanut allergy, it is not unfair to favor one with a peanut butter cup and the other with something else.  In my superior knowledge and wisdom, I understand that favoring the allergic son with a peanut butter cup would cause great harm; possibly death. 

Many times what seems to us to be unfair or God’s favor resting more highly on others is really the mercy of God preventing us from the very thing that could cause spiritual harm or death.  Paul said in Philippians 4:11, “Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content.” It was not because Paul had decided to just settle on less than God’s best or because God had decided to favor others, but Paul could say this because he had total confidence in his knowledge that “all things were working out for his good, that God had a plan for his life and whatever state he was in had to do with the plan of God being fulfilled.

I submit therefore that God’s favor is always FAIR. Maybe, not fair as we would measure it with our limited knowledge, but always fair according to the plan of God.  When we finally learn to submit our actions, thoughts, decisions and our entire life to God we will walk in FAITHFUL OBEDIENCE and rest in the knowledge that God’s favor is ABSOLUTELY FAIR.

SATAN CANNOT GO BEHIND THE VEIL

In a recent discussion on prayer, a friend made a comment about a remark a minister had made years ago, regarding prayer, which affected her still today. I had heard the same remark and it had the same affect on me, creating a fear and carefulness in my daily devotions. During a sermon, the minister had remarked, “Be careful what you say when you pray, the devil is listening and will use your words against you.” After hearing those instructions, I found myself weighing my words and at times mentally praying them in fear that Satan would come against me if I verbalized my feelings and needs to my Heavenly Father. This is NOT a biblical concept. Pastors, please be aware that what may sound good to you can affect someone’s walk with God negatively, if it is not based on The Word.

1 John 5:14-15”And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he hears us:”

The Bible teaches that we are to have CONFIDENCE in the Lord. We cannot have total confidence in Him if we are always afraid that “what we say may be used against us.” We have all heard of “Lawyer/Client Privilege.” It is a law that states whatever a client tells in private to his/her lawyer cannot be revealed to the jury and used against him/her in judgment. Do we believe that God is less trustworthy than a lawyer? Now that privilege does not exist if the client allows a third party in on the conversation. The Father/Child privilege ceases to be viable if we include a phone gossip session, daily whining and complaining to whomever will listen or a Facebook post for the entire world to see. We must keep the petition between ourselves and God.

Back to my struggle with prayer, I believe that God revealed to me that when I am on my knees in consultation with Him that I can be totally honest about my innermost feelings and ask or say anything that is in my heart. Many times I have poured out my hurts and frustrations to Him and after feeling His arms of comfort, listened as He gently showed me what needed to be changed in my life. Not one time has God allowed Satan to use it against me. God is not Connie Chung leaning forward as she tells Newt’s mother, “it will be just between you and me,” on national television. Proverbs 3:26 tells me, “For the LORD shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken.” He can be depended on.

Hebrews 6:1-19 That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: 19Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters into that within the veil;

I believe that when we enter into our “prayer closet” to spend time alone with God, we enter into the Holy of Holies and approach the very Throne of God. The Bible tells us that to get to the Holy of Holies we must go behind the Veil and behind the Veil is the Mercy Seat. Let me assure you, the devil is not allowed to go behind the Veil because it would require that he go through the Blood of Jesus Christ. We can have confidence that when we approach the Throne of Grace, that Satan is no where around and we can tell God anything and everything.

Philippians 4:6-7 Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

HYMNAL THEOLOGY

♪♫♪"In my heart there rings a melody, there rings a melody with Heaven’s harmony. In my heart there rings a melody, there rings a melody of love. ♪♫♪


From a small child until now, my life has been centered around God and the church. I have always been convinced that God loved me, hated sin, Heaven is real and Hell is hot. Like most children, I was easily distracted in church. We would people-watch and play games with the hymnals. Even with all the distractions you can’t help but get a little theology in your head when you attend four services every week. Looking back, I have to confess that a lot of my theology and understanding of the Bible came through the songs that we sang.

I love Pentecostal music especially the old hymns. We sang from a hymnal entitled “Pentecostal Praises” and to this day I can’t help but sing one of the beloved songs once or twice a week. I learned about God’s love singing, “I was sinking deep in sin, far from the peaceful shore….Love lifted me, love lifted me. When nothing else could help, love lifted me.” And “Leaning, Leaning, safe and secure from all alarm, leaning, leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms.” I may not have understood all the words but I knew God loved me and could be depended on. I am convinced that this next song was written with moms in mind. “Watching you, watching you, every day mind the course you pursue. Watching you, watching you, there’s an all seeing eye watching you.” My mom could figure out what I was up to before I even acted upon any of my thoughts. I think it was that God-given all-seeing eye. As I grew older, it was the knowledge of the “Eye” that kept me out of a lot of trouble.

Oh yes, we sang about sin. I knew sin was something I needed to get rid of because sin and Heaven didn’t mix. How did I know? We had a song; “Heaven is a Holy place filled with glory and with grace, sin can never enter there. All within its gates are pure, from defilement kept secure, sin can never enter there…. If at the judgment bar, sinful spots your soul shall mar, you can never enter there.” We kept singing and I learned that sin had a remedy; “Would you be free from your burden of sin? There’s power in the blood, power in the blood. Would you o’er evil the victory win? There’s wonderful power in the blood”. Not only could I be free of sin but I knew that I would never have to face that sin again because, you got it; there was a song, “They’re underneath the blood of the cross of Calvary, as far removed as darkness is from dawn. In the sea of God’s forgetfulness there’s room enough for me. Praise God my sins are gone.” The words of that song filled me with such peace because I knew that once God had forgiven me, there was no more condemnation and even God didn’t remember what I had done.

I loved the toe-tapping, hand-clapping melodies. Oh how the joy of the Lord filled my heart as we lifted our voices and sang, “Some glad morning we shall see Jesus in the air coming back for you and me joy is ours to share. What rejoicing there will be when the saints shall rise, headed for that jubilee yonder in the skies.” Or, “It is joy unspeakable and full of glory…Oh the half has never yet been told.” So many memories and so many songs run through my head. They taught me to love a wonderful savior that not only died for me but has a place prepared for me to live for all eternity. I am so thankful for my Pentecostal heritage and the hymnal theology that I still hold close to my heart today.

SOMEDAY THE ROSE WILL BLOOM

2 Corinthians 3:18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.


Having lived in the Northern United States for all of my life, except for 2 years that I don’t really remember, I was so excited to see flowers blooming in March all around our new Tennessee home. The trees were in full bloom by mid-march and the smell of lilacs wafted through the open window by Early April.

 In Michigan it is not wise to plant flowers before Memorial Day. I learned this lesson the year my son graduated from high school. I wanted the back yard to be a beautiful garden for his graduation party and with the knowledge that it takes a few weeks for the flowers to fill in, I decided to plant all the flower beds on Mother’s Day weekend. Of course, it is Michigan and the temps at night are still quite cool. The frost came and my flowers were puny with blackened leaves. I had to replant at the end of May at double the expense, but I had learned my lesson.

It was the first of May; I was enjoying the 80 degree temps, admiring the completely leafed-out trees and thanking God for allowing me to live in such a beautiful city when my eye caught two perfectly formed rose buds. One was a creamy white and the other was a pinkish red. Both were tightly closed and I couldn’t wait to see them in full bloom and breathe in their sweet fragrance. In a couple of days the creamy rose blossomed into a beautiful full-blown rose. I enjoyed every minute of its week-long life. Finally the petals dropped to the ground to complete the cycle of life.

The other rose continued to stay tightly closed. Its stem was straight, reaching longingly toward the warm sun. Its leaves were green and healthy with no sign of pests or disease but the flower stubbornly refused to open and release its fragrant beauty. On Sunday, I noticed that the tightly closed bud was beginning to look a little wrinkled and I remarked to Steve that for some reason the flower had dried up right on the stem. Tuesday morning, I walked out to water the potted flowers and there was my breathtakingly beautiful rose in glorious full bloom.

Many times I have been like the rose. It seemed that conditions were perfect and everything was in order. I had allowed the Spirit to water my roots, had felt warmed by God’s presence and fed by His Word, yet nothing had happened; I was as tightly closed as the rose bud. There were times I wondered; would it ever be my season? Would God ever allow me to unfold and be all that He had planned me to be? Sometimes I felt dry and wrinkled and almost resigned to withering right on the vine but a ray of hope would slowly warm my petals and I would hang on for another day.

 What the rose doesn’t see is that even when it is not blooming, it is maturing and the roots are being fed. 

When it didn’t seem as if I was progressing, God was at work on the roots; digging and pruning to make a healthy plant that would glorify Him. I may not be fully bloomed out yet, there may still be a little more growing to be done but, like my lovely rose, someday I will wake up to be transformed into something beautiful to be used for His glory.

IMAGINE THE LONLINESS

Imagine the horror Adam and Eve must have felt the first morning they awoke outside the Garden.  It wasn’t just a bad dream; they had really disobeyed the commandment of God.  God really did mean what he had said.  There were no beautifully laden trees to sate their hunger. They were chilled from the cold night wind and the friendly lion was not such a cuddly kitten any longer.  As the sun rose and warmed their bodies they found some familiar plants to stop the rumbling in their stomachs and drank the cool water from a nearby stream.  As the day continued and the sun grew hotter, Adam began to sweat and was reminded again of his sin.  The sky grew dim, streaked with beautiful colors as evening returned and a cool breeze brushed their faces.  It was time for their daily walk and talk with God but He didn’t appear.  Night fell and they were alone.   IMAGINE THE LONLINESS!

Last night, I learned of another soul that stepped into eternity without God.  This was not a person who had been raised in a remote village without any knowledge of God.  He had been nurtured in a beautiful garden, taught the love of God and daily fed the truth of God’s Word.  What happened?  One day the beauty of the forbidden fruit and the beckoning voices became too great a temptation.  He stepped outside the garden never to return.  There were opportunities, God never stopped reaching; never stopped speaking but the noise of the world grew ever louder as he allowed it to drown out the still small voice of the Savior.  Then it all ended and eternity became a reality; an eternity without God.  IMAGINE THE LONLINESS!

It’s not too late, there is still time.  God has provided a way through Jesus Christ to step back into the “Garden of His Love.”  2 Corinthians 6:2 tells us, “behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”  Don’t waste another moment because the next moment may be the last opportunity you have to reject the forbidden fruit and listen to the voice of God.  Your eternity is at stake. 

Now, go with me to the bedside of a faithful child of God.  He has walked with God, shared the gospel with others, and enjoyed the many blessings of God.  The end of this life has arrived.  It is time to step into eternity.  The curtain parts and the Savior is waiting to welcome him home.  IMAGINE THE JOY!