Dr Smith will be with you in a moment, he is on the line with Tech Support

Ring:
Tech: Thank you for calling supreme tech support, how may I help you today?

Caller: My computer don’t work and I hate your company.
Tech: I am sorry to hear that you are having problems with you computer, but I will be happy to assist you in getting it working again.

Caller: Why do you make such a rotten computer, I need it to work. I cannot make any money when the computer is not working. All my stuff is on this thing, its my whole life on this thing. All my finances are on this thing. all my customers are on this thing. I need it to work!

Tech: I fully understand how important all of your data is. May I ask, do you do a regular back up of your data, to protect against a computer failure?

Caller: I don’t know how to back up, and if your computer wasn’t so rotten I wouldn’t have any trouble anyway…. I feel like throwing this computer out the window.

Tech: Really? (Bite lip, and supress quip) Listen, I am sure this is a problem that I can help you get resolved. Tell me what happens when you press the power button?

Caller: What is the power button?

Tech: On the front of your computer there is a power button. It is the button you need to push to turn on your computer every day.

Caller: All I know is the screen is black, and there are no lights anywhere.

Tech: Ok, look on the front of your computer, do you see the power button… it’s round… it is right in the center of the front of your computer.

Caller: I see a button.

Tech: OK, now press it, and tell me if any lights come on, or if you see anything on the screen.

Caller: Do you want me to press it now?

Tech: Yes.

Caller: Ok, the light on that button is lit green. And I see your company name on the screen. And I see Windows XP on the screen. I see my log in screen. What should I do now?

Tech: OK, that’s good. You can log in.

Caller: I see my screen now. I hate your company, I have wasted more time with you people, having to get this thing fixed all the time.

Tech: I understand Sir. I would suggest, the next time your screen is black, to try and turn your system on, that has always worked for me.

A Letter To My Dad

Dad

I wanted to ask you some questions, but now that you are in heaven, I may never know the answers. But I feel like asking them will help.

Why did you leave us? As an adult now, I understand why you left our home, but why did you leave us? I remember so many things we did together. You took us to the beach. You took us to hockey games. You took us to see Pro Wrestling, my favorite wrestler was Wahoo McDaniels. I saw the Harlem Globe Trotters with you.I caught fly balls at the baseball games you took us to. But all of these things I remember when you lived with us. I don’t remember you ever doing anything with me after you left. I don’t remember you at any of my birthdays, and you never took me fishing, as much as you loved to fish, it makes me wonder why?

Every night, you taught us something from God’s word. You helped us memorize scripture verses, and rewarded us for saying them. You always took us to church on Sundays, and showed us how important it was to be in God’s house on the Lord’s day, and to show respect. But after you left us, you never took me to church again. You never talked to me about my salvation ( I was only six), and you never asked if I was reading my bible, or memorizing scripture. I still wonder why?

Did you stop loving us when you left? Did you stop caring if we knew God anymore? When God led me back to the church where I was raised, and revealed his son to me at the age of twenty three, you were still there. After all those years of going to that church without us there too, did it ever feel strange to you? Did you ever wish we were there with you? After God saved me, and began to use me in this church, why did you act like I was your opposition? After seventeen years of me being in the perils of God’s wrath, were you not glad that I was now saved from that wrath?

Dad, what did we do to make you not care about us anymore? I wish I knew before you left us again, so I could say I was sorry. I grew up with many of the values I learned from you in the six short years you lived with us. I became a man that is trustworthy, Kind, and honest. I came to know Jesus as my Lord and Savior. I married and raised a beautiful daughter that loves the Lord. I did all that with only six tears of your influence in my life. I wonder what kind of man I would have been if you had not left us?

Dad, I forgive you for leaving. I may never know why you left, or why you did not want to share your life or faith with me anymore, but I forgive you. I know if I were you, and had time to think about what I had done to my children, I would be really sad. So I forgive you, and I Love you anyway!

Happy Father’s Day,
Your Son.

My Favorite Niece

Let me tell you about my favorite niece.

First of all, She is very beautiful.
She has the sweetest spirit.
She loves the Lord.
She is very smart.
She is very witty.
She is tenderhearted.
She is fun to be around.
She has the cutest smile that warms the room.
And best of all… I am her favorite uncle!

Who is my Favorite Niece? I thank the Lord for all of the wonderful children that he has graced this family with. I have watched each one grow up, and mature into wonderful people that bless all who know them. All of my nieces match the description I noted in my blog. I am thankful for each one, and proud to be loved by them. Yes… “YOU” all are my Favorite niece!

Be Holy As I Am Holy

Just how holy is holy? It would seem that most people equate holiness with a life lived at a certain level of religious practices. There are a great many dos and don’ts, that help us determine just how religious, or holy someone is. Most items on these lists, as well as the degree of adherence to them are based on man’s thoughts and logic. Then there are the BIBLE rules of holiness. It is amazing that we can have debates as to what rules to follow, and what things to avoid so as to be holy.

What about those lists? There is the big ten right off. Let’s see if I can remember them. 1) Don’t Kill; 2) Don’t Steal; 3) Don’t Lie; 4) Don’t have fun… Well, maybe not that, but I don’t remember all of them. It seems that a good many people base their holiness on that list of ten commandments, yet most people cannot even quote at least half of them. Then there is man’s logic. 1) First take the three I listed above, then add the abstaining from: Drinking, Smoking, Dancing, and Cussing. There are way more, but for the sake of brevity, I will shorten the list.

Let’s look at this list: 1) Cussing. What determines what is a cuss word? The greatest example I can think of is, Don’t take the Lord’s name in vain. At what point in or daily verbiage (Conversations / Texting / Facebook updates) do we take his name in vain? I will not even type the letters of the most common and offensive form used by vile persons. But don’t we just water the same phrase down for our personal use? Like Gosh Darn? Or Oh My Goodness? You translate this: OMG. I don’t know about you, but the words were loud and clear inside my head. I could go on a rant about the many different words we classify as cuss words, and yet we say it another way, and now its ok. 2) Dancing. Really? 3&4) Smoking and drinking goes together. But what about eating? Dang, that hurt my toes! Ooops, there I go again!

Think with me one moment. What does the Bible tell us about being holy? 1 Peter 1:15 But as he which has called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of living. So the standard is not the ten commandments, or man’s list of rules. Our standard of holiness is the holiness of the Lord. The word holy means to be separated unto something, and thereby separated from something else. It was said of Jesus that he was separate from sinners, yet we see him with them all through his ministry. The explanation for this is that he is totally separated unto God, because he is God. So what he is, is what we are to be separated unto as well. Let’s look at some of these things. God is Love. God is Life. God is Light. God is truth. Now, with just these four things, imagine if you made it your passion to be separated unto them. Then imagine what you would be like when you are around worldly people. If these things were your passion, could you steal from them, cuss at them, or hurt them in any way? Wouldn’t you want them to escape God’s judgment of all unbelievers? Wouldn’t you want them to understand God’s plan of salvation, to see the light?

There are the people we have met, or will meet in the future that are “Holy People”. I remember one man who visited Jacksonville, and attended our meeting for a short time. He was all about living for the Lord. He wanted everybody he met to know his savior. I remember being a little embarrassed as he stopped to talk to every person we passed. He shared the gospel with them with such genuine concern for their souls. I remember well that man, and I compared myself to him. I have wasted a lot of years trying to reason why the way I do things is ok, that it is ok that I am not like that man. That I am holy too. But I realize, the difference was his passion and mine were focused on different things. I truly believe that he saw things through God’s eyes, not his.

Psalms 126:5 Those who sow in tears Shall reap in joy.
Psalms 126:6 He who continually goes forth weeping, Bearing seed for sowing, Shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, Bringing his sheaves [with him].

The Story Of The Sower And His Seed.

There was a Famous preacher that was asked to come and preach at a certain church. He was told that the building would be filled with believers and the lost to hear the word of God.

As this preacher preached the word, He reproved the world of sin, because the lost had not believed on the Lord Jesus as the only way to eternal Life. He also preached of the righteousness that is imputed to those that do believe, based on the death of our Lord. Then he spoke of the judgment of those that reject the gospel, because the only forgiveness from God is based on God’s judgment on his Son.

When he finished preaching, and had prayed, there were many in the crowd that came forward to speak with the preacher, and trusted in the saving work of Christ.

Sometime later, this preacher inquired of the folks at that church, and those that were at the meeting that night. He was told that first of all there was a whole group of them that went out for a meal after the meeting, and discussed what they heard. But as they one by one used their logic to make sense of it, they all soon came to believe that this was just another religious way to find God. None of them in that discussion ever returned to the church.

Then there was a group of people that made a great show of joy that very night, the preacher remembered them because of all the excitement they displayed, they continued to come to church for a little while, but never really were interested in studying the word of God for a deeper understanding, but exhibited an emotional high, and made quite a show of themselves. But after a while, things got really hard for them at work and home, and one by one they all dropped off, and have not been seen since.

There was also a group of the more affluent folks, they responded to the gospel, being quite moved concerning eternal judgment, and were fearful of dying and going to hell. But as they attended our meetings, our preacher spoke often of self-sacrifice and sacrificial giving. These richer folk seemed really offended at this train of thought, and left the meeting in a great show.

But preacher, you will be glad to hear, that there were a number of people, including boys and girls, that were really moved that night, their eyes were filled with tears as they came to realize that the filthiness of their sin was borne by the Lord Jesus, and came to understand his great love for them, that he died for their sin. These folks are very active in bible study, and witnessing at work and to their neighbors. Many are now teaching Sunday school, while some of them have expressed a desire to preach the word in church. They give to the church, and bless God for his richness in providing for their every need. They have been here every time the doors are open, and have brought many here that they have shared the gospel with….

Many times in my early life the majesty of the eternal seed was cast into my life. To me, it was foolishness, and a waste of time. The gospel is just words, Right? Now that I have believed that gospel, I look back, and realize that it is not just words. These words we say to the lost, are eternal, powerful, majestic, and life giving. They changed my life, made me whole, and gave me purpose.

I stand amazed though, so many people that respond to the gospel, react to it so differently. The story of the Sower brings this to light, so I created this story to illustrate just how crazy it is to not react to the gospel with your whole heart, mind, and soul. Has the seed planted in your heart begun to spring into life? Has it begun to bear fruit? And will you hear from the lips of our Lord in the soon coming day, “Well Done, Thou Good And Faithful Servant”?

“The Show Must Go On”

A long time ago, a brother in Christ and myself prayed about starting a Christian meeting on the west side of Jacksonville. (and No, this is not “Westside Story”). So after sharing our heart with the Elders at the meeting we were in, we started meeting on Sunday nights in a rented hall. Not too long after, we started meeting on Sunday mornings, and conducting church meetings at that rented hall. We had somewhat of a nice crowd to start with, some were from our other meeting that lived on the west side, and some new believers, and others were somewhat regular visitors.

I took on a lot of responsibilities, It was a drinking hall, so each Sunday morning, I opened the building to air out the smoke, cleaned all the bottles and trash, set up all the chairs after sweeping. Then I scooted across town to pick up a lady that loved the believers there, and wanted to be in fellowship with us. I led the singing, and sometimes preached, and I led the bible study at times.

There were some Sundays that the brother I worked with in starting this meeting was out of town preaching. Those days, I was “Chief Cook and Bottle Washer” I know that’s a weird term, but frankly, I did everything, led the singing, taught the bible study, and preached. Then I cleaned up the place before I went out for lunch.

I remember one of those days, I was leading the singing, and giving announcements, that I made a statement, I said “I think the men of this meeting need to measure their commitment to the Lord, and this work for him, to step up, and share the burden of service, to share in the speaking, and singing, in the plan of God, I shouldn’t be a “”One Man Show”””. Basically, I challenged them to “Man Up” for the Lord. Well, I remember well that day, because after the meeting, I was taken aside by a fellow believer, and was frankly told “Mike, the Lord’s work is not a show”. Well, as you might guess, I knew that already, and it was not at all what I meant, but like water on a ducks back, I let it roll.

After many years of walking (stumbling mostly) with the Lord, and serving him in different meetings of God’s people, I have come to realize one thing. Church is just one big show most of the time. I mean it, we have the song leader, and if he is out, we scramble to find a replacement song leader because that is what the people in the pews are expecting to see isn’t it? Then it’s preaching time. What if the preacher is out, we scramble to get someone to preach, because, that’s right, you guessed it, it is what the people in the pews have come to expect. The show MUST go on. And although most churches are not like my earlier experience, and one person seems to do everything, it is very much that. There are a handful of people that do everything, and the “people in the pews” pay their dues, and expect to be entertained. Let the substitute preacher be a little boring, and the pew peeps will wag their tongues like nobody’s business. They all have an opinion, just how does Brother so-in-so measure up to Brother what’s his name? The worship leader didn’t move me this morning, or, wow, I really felt the spirit in the song service today! It’s all about being entertained.

Reading in the book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ, he dictates letters to the church in chapters two and three, seven letters, and the fifth one he address the church this way: “I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.” We have fancy churches, fancy programs, and fancy clothing for all the Pew peeps, but there is “Death” in the lives of the very people that should make up the church, You and me. What would happen if the preacher and the song leader didn’t show up one Sunday? I begged a fellow believer who shared the preaching, and I the singing with, to do that very thing, to not show up one Sunday. Imagine, who would “Man Up” God’s church is made up of believers, working together to encourage each other, to teach each other, to love each other, to cry with each other, and to rejoice with each other. God has given every one of us an amazing gift, a supernatural gift, so that we would be equipped to do all these things, yet here we sit in the pews, letting someone else do it all. I cringe when I hear someone say “I really felt the Spirit in the meeting today” knowing all they did was sit there and be entertained.

Do you really want to experience the power of the Spirit of God in the meeting you attend? Do you ever wonder what it would be like to see and feel the power that can shake the walls as we pray? Then ask God right now, “What is MY gift”? “How do you want to use me in this church”? Then listen to him, and he will show you. As you commit to his service, you too will began to feel the real power of his Spirit.

Sunday’s coming, will the show go on? Or, will we change the script, and let God use us to change the world?

Place In Heaven

As we read the creation story, we see the most beautiful garden ever created. Then placed in it were all the different animals, birds, and fish of every kind. The trees were fruitful, and the flowers were bright and beautiful, and God himself walked in this garden, being the brightness of it. Then he created man, and placed him in the garden to care for it. He was given the task of naming all the creatures, of all the bird types, animals, and all the different kinds of fish. But with all the creatures in the garden, there still was no like kind for man to have a relationship with. So God used a rib from Adam, and created his wife. I can only imagine her beauty, and the wonder and excitement the first time that Adam saw his bride. All in all the first part of the book of Genesis was a perfect world, a perfect garden, perfect creatures, and a perfect couple. It goes without saying, that at this point there was no Mother-in-law in the picture.

We are told that the lovely couple was naked. Reading the story, it seems that they were unaware that this was an issue in polite society. I can only imagine what it was like traipsing around the garden with no clothes on. Now on the subject of man being naked. These thoughts came to me while watching a football game the other day. And it hit me, that had not sin came into this world, that all 22 players on the field, and all the officials, with all the coaches, and all the other players, and all the fans in the stands would still be naked, and I thought… Oh My. But as human history reveals, sin was introduced into the world, and when the woman and the man ate of the forbidden fruit, from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, their eyes were open, and they realized that it is not nice to be naked in polite company, and immediately procured some K-Mart brand fig leaves to cover their bodies.

Now we know that because of the actions of our father Adam, we all have been banned from the garden, and that means a whole lot more in spiritual terms than just not seeing and enjoying one of the most beautiful places in the whole world. It meant for mankind, that we did not have a place in the home of God. We read in the Bible that there are a lot of created beings that have a place in heaven, but there was not a place for man anymore. It is so wonderful now to understand the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, when he explained this to his disciples. He said that he was going to go away, and he was going to make a place for us. It took his disciples a long time to understand that though his “earthly” father was a carpenter, that our Lord was not going to heaven to build us a house with a hammer and nails. Though the hammer and nails were used in the preparation of our place in heaven, it was not our Lord that swung the hammer… It was you and I. Yes that’s right, it was our sin we inherited from our father Adam that kept us from heaven, and it was our sin that had to be paid for before we could have our place with God restored. So in truth, it was us that swung the hammer that day, and buried the nails deep into the hands and feet of the Lord Jesus. But it was his love for us that kept him there, that bare all that dirty laundry from our past and future in his own body, as God punished him for me. Now, just like Adam and Eve, who watched in horror and pain, God take a little lamb, and kill it, skin it, and then wrap their naked bodies with the skin of that poor little beast. We too see in horror and pain that precious Lamb of God, killed because of our sin, and his righteousness (skin) was wrapped around our spiritual naked bodies, making us right in the sight of God. It was this act of our Lord Jesus Christ that has prepared us a place in heaven… Hallelujah, what a savior!

Now I hope you have already accepted his free gift of salvation, and have the assurance of a home in heaven. If not, why not today? I cannot promise that everything in this world will turn to roses, but I can tell you that God promises you a home in heaven. Yes mother-in-laws will be there too, but I am pretty sure that the football team will have clothes on.

MFL