Time to Make a Comeback

Well family and friends it’s been a few months since I have posted and boy has it been fun. Levi is growing at breakneck speed and Rose is loving her little brother along with Mom and Dad. I appreciate all of the prayers and support from you all. Your love has been immensely effective and helpful. I am grateful for all that you have done in Jesus’ name.

Now to address the question many of you have asked…yes, I am am going to start writing again! Stay tuned. The blog will be up and running again in a couple days.

Shalom Aleichem!

I’ve Seen Fire and I’ve Seen Rain…

This post is dedicated to Sammy and Cecie Hammett. May Jehovah Shalom grant you peace as you mourn the loss of your dear mother…

Place me like a seal over your heart, or like a seal on your arm. For love is as strong as death, and its jealousy is as enduring as the grave. Love flashes like fire, the brightest kind of flame. Many waters cannot quench love; neither can rivers drown it. If a man tried to buy love with everything he owned, his offer would be utterly despised. Song of Songs 8:6-7 (NLT)

Won’t you look down on me, Jesus
You’ve got to help me make a stand
You’ve just got to see me through another day
My body’s aching and my time is at hand
And I won’t make it any other way

oh, I’ve seen fire and I’ve seen rain
I’ve seen sunny days that I thought would never end
I’ve seen lonely times when I could not find a friend
But I always thought that I’d see you again

James Taylor – “I’ve Seen Fire and I’ve Seen Rain”

I normally don’t mix Bible verses and secular song lyrics, but from time to time a songwriter so carefully plucks the cords of one’s heart it makes it seem as if God wrote the Bible with a particular song in mind (don’t ponder that too long). Taylor, like the writer of Song of Songs, is embracing the concept of the immense power of love. Taylor says that he has seen lonely days where he couldn’t find a friend and he has seen sunny days that he thought would never end. Yet, with all of this knowledge, power, happiness and heartache, he only truly hoped that he would see his beloved again.

The writer of Song of Songs feels the same way. The writer believes that the fire of love cannot be quenched by any flood and its power holds strength as great as the grave itself. Nothing, absolutely nothing, can destroy the power of love! Love will follow you wherever you go. You cannot escape its power. You cannot break its bond. If you attempted to extinguish its flame, the heat alone would melt you like wax before the flame of a torch. We have no power over love. Our most sincere efforts to block out love only result in our own pain and discomfort. We try not to call the person we love and our head hurts. We try not to care about the people we love and our hands shake. We lose a person we love and we hurt everywhere. No medicine can help. No song seems to calm our soul. No words seem to provide comfort. No screenplay can elucidate the theme of the desperate plot of the action taking place within the turmoil of our heart. When we lose the one whom we love be it by death or severe circumstance we are left asking, “why did this happen to me, why did you have to go, why did this happen now, how in the world is this fair, why did I not get to say what I wanted to say, why did I ever love at all!!!”

Yet, James Taylor makes the cry that provides the solace we all seek.

“Won’t you look down on me, Jesus
You’ve got to help me make a stand
You’ve just got to see me through another day
My body’s aching and my time is at hand
And I won’t make it any other way”

How right is James! Psalm 139:8 (KJV) states “If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.” Now it may be difficult to understand why David can make such an emphatic statement here. Afterall, David did not go to Hell and turn and see God standing there. David did not fly on the literal wings of an eagle and drop past the house of Heaven and give Jesus a fist pump. David did not literally lie down on a Sealy Posturpedic in the devil’s living room. But you can understand what David is saying if you just back up a chapter! In Psalm 138:3 (NASB) David emphatically states: “On the day I called, You answered me; You made me bold with strength in my soul.” Oh, now you are talking David. David makes it known that when the times got hard, when the pain was too much, when the fight was too intense, when the sin was creeping through his window, when the day seemed like a Georgia summer, when the very light of his eyes was about to go dim, David called on the name of above all names and El Elyon(Most High God) touch his soul and gave him strength!

David had seen all the depths of pain. He had lost a loved one, his child. His own son had kicked him out of the kingdom. David had plotted the death of one of his best friends. But yea though he stood in the midst of all kinds of pain and all kinds of toilsome labor, God was still there waiting on Davids call. Glory Hallelujah!!

I don’t know what individual pain or problems that you may be dealing with today. I don’t know how much pain you have seen in your life. I don’t know if it’s a crack pipe or a stroke that has your heart bound up in knots. I don’t know if you lost a relative, a boyfriend, a girlfriend, a house, a car, a letter, a picture, a dog, a cat or a bowl of green eggs and ham, but, I do know one thing beyond a shadow of a doubt, If you call on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ in obedient faith, He will answer by and by!!  (Joel 2:32, Acts 2:21, Romans 10:13) I know this because like David, I have seen fire and I have seen rain! I have seen my own child breathe her last. I have seen BIG red numbers in my bank account. I have seen friends walk away from me when I needed them the most. I have seen brothers and sisters fight for love and get spit and garbage in return yet, in the midst of it all, I have seen the Glory of the Lord wiping away every tear and melting every mountain and storming every fortress and tearing down every stronghold that stands in the way of those who LOVE THE LORD! He promised it in His Word (2 Chronicles 16:10, Psalm 23, Psalm 91, etc) and I will stand on it and testify to it until my lungs cease to transfuse oxygen for; for the same love that I have felt that I lost, God tripled and paid in full up on Calvary when He gave up His Son for me! Glory Hallelujah!

God is there in the pain. He loves you time and time again. He will lead you through the fire and the rain. Love is always there and it always gives you more to gain. It’s hard to let go and get back to life. Just remember that memories always help lead us through the strife. We cry and cry till we hurt no more. When you are ready, call up to God, He’s standing right there at the door…

May The Most High God of the Heavens and the Earth and all that is seen and unseen grant you all peace. Shalom Aleichem!

 

Friends are Good, but Family is Better…

Proverbs 17:17 NASB “A friend loves at all times, And a brother is born for adversity.”

First, let me apologize in advance for not posting for a couple of days. If you live long enough, every man or woman will be tested to a degree that will cause them to question everything that they believe. In 2005, my wife and I lost our daughter Kaelyn and we both felt as if the world had stopped spinning. I cannot put into words the magnitude of pain that arises from the loss of a child. As you attempt to cope with the flood of emotions, the anger, the depression and the desperate reality of hope that has gone stale, you have no choice but to cry. Then, just when you believe you have found a place of peace, the tears always come back. To make matters worse, in more recent years, we seem to have found every crooked investment advisor, consultant or banking sage, known to man. I can only imagine that many reading this blog can testify to the shattered and disgusting state of our financial markets, so I will leave that alone.

I say all of these things, not to show my great proficiency at finding hardship, rather to make a point. Life and its dark nemesis and counterpart the devil will force into places you don’t want to go. Life will torture you and take you apart piece by piece. Yet, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ acknowledged all of this and provided us a way out. The problem is that we sometimes refuse to see the power around us because we have been hurt by so many. What is this power you ask? Simply, the body of believers in a local congregation, just like Christ wanted (check out John 17).

I know some of you have tuned me out because I am a preacher and you may feel that I am just trying to endear myself to my own congregation, but I suggest you hang on for just a moment…

As many of you know, my wife and I had a son on August 20th. Obviously, we are overjoyed. The mystery and majesty of childbirth is an earthly manifestation of all the things that are miraculous and wonderful about our God. Yet, in times of great joy, there stands the devil, lurking and prowling. Earlier this week, I received some news that brought me to my knees. It made me question my calling, my life and my vision. It was not the people of the message that hurt me. David acknowledged in Psalm 23 that he had enemies. The reality of being disliked for preaching the Gospel does not bother me. Paul was stoned in Acts 14:19 for that act. Assaulting my brother in the faith and my family does not bother me for the Bible says of Christ, “When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly” (1Peter 2:23).

What bothers me about what was placed before me was that someone let the devil fool them into treading upon a loving family, a happy occasion and an attempt to fracture a fellowship that is comprised of not simply friends or church members, rather we stand together as a family. We stand together as a family that believes that church is more than a concert on Sundays. We stand as a family that believes that church is more than Sunday School and Wednesday Bible study. We stand as a family that believes that what Jesus truly intended was exactly what he said, ”Love God and love one another as I have loved you.” What bothers me is that someone would want to emotionally harm my family, my ministry, because they do not agree!

Yet, in the midst of my doubt and my pain, God showed himself in the most miraculous of ways. Despite my “paternity leave,” I showed up at worship service Wednesday to stand unified with my family of believers. What occurred, brought me to tears. Every soul in that building applauded my presence and the presence of the other ecclesiastical leadership. It’s great to have friends, but family is better. I came thinking I would have to defend my stance and fight for what I believe the Gospel is saying, but I left never hearing or seeing anything other than love. I was hugged, I was prayed for and I was blessed. I came heavy and left light. I arrived saddened and left encouraged.

One of my sisters shouted out, “Don’t Lose your spirit Mel!” I have a feeling the congregation will hear that again.

A friend loves at all times, but a brother is born for adversity. I have seen adversity for far longer than I have ever wanted to see it. I have known hard times and I have known goodness. What I did not truly know until know was that God put me in a place where I would see friends, but find out that I was truly amongst family. I wish I knew a word stronger than thank you. Since I can’t think of a stronger word, a simple thank you will have to do.

THANK YOU MARIETTA CHRISTIAN CHURCH FOR ALL YOU DO…

I promise the next post will be more intriguing, but for now this is what the Spirit of God told me I must say.

Did Time Just Speed Up…?

Shalom Aleichem Family,

Sorry I don’t have any jokes or hilarious banter for you at the moment. Long day, very long day. As you can tell, the theme for the blog was reverted back to the old theme and changing it was more cumbersome than I thought. I was trying to keep it more consistent with the church’s website, but it appears that the image above was just too relaxing for many of you. Hey, no big deal. I’ll give you a little more time with this theme…(a LITTLE more time)

Anywhoo…Why didn’t somebody warn me, that when you add another child, you lose 6-8 hours off your personal day? It would have been good to know that the extra child causes you to move to a 16-18 hour day. I think I may have to write Adam and Eve a strongly worded letter…

As a side note, when I get pressed for time, the Lord pounds me with a lot of different topics. Maybe that’s good, maybe that’s bad…I guess y’all will find out soon! On that note, many thanks to Everett and Marv for the great job they have done with Berean University. It is a beautiful thing to watch the Spirit work. I appreciate the teaching support for the ministry and my fellow evangelist in the Spirit, my brother in the Gospel, my preaching partner in the pulpit, my brotha from another mother, Craig, while I have been out. It’s funny how God moves amongst his people. One of the flock told me today that she can tell we are missing the good cop/bad cop routine from Craig and myself. She felt like there is great value in the co-preacher system with two very different people. I asked who the bad cop was and she just laughed! Really, me, the bad cop Well, I guess I will take my title for the Lord. Maybe one day, I will be the “good” cop and somebody else can play that role, but for now, I guess I will have to stick to Faith “Waterboarding.” (extreme sarcasm applied)

Till Tomorrow…

Diapers and Bottles and Babies, oh My…! (Kay)

Wow! What a journey. It is both exciting and scary to add to the number of people (the number of lives) you are responsible for guiding, molding, influencing, educating….Loving. And then there is the question. What have I done to my marriage? Will it endure? Should we have stopped at one? Will I lose my identity having to be so many things to so many people?

Now, I know it’s only 2 kids. Melvyn and I aren’t breaking any world records and we probably aren’t reality TV worthy because there are plenty of families much larger than ours with more challenges. But, I’m just saying… How many hats can one woman wear? And I haven’t even left the house yet!

As I read to Rose at bedtime earlier this week I became overwhelmed with emotion because tonight she firmly stated, as she has on numerous occasions in the past few weeks and months, “I want mommy to do it”. It was a 3yr olds best attempt at putting her foot down and saying that she was fed up with the changes that have affected her over the past 9 months. Her attempt at articulating the withdrawal she has felt from me due to a high-risk pregnancy with its ups and downs. Ultimately, she was ready for everything to get back to normal and for me to get it together and do the things I used to do. In that moment I thought to myself, God… Can I be the same person to her today and tomorrow as I was yesterday? What about Melvyn? Can I be the same wife today and tomorrow as I was yesterday with so many things pulling on me? Raising a family is rewarding but it still has a toll, where along the road will we pay the price?

Okay, okay …let me move on. Melvyn invited me to his blog to share my thoughts, prayers & quiet times. But I’m sure that I will quickly become “un-invited” if to go off on some estrogen driven tangent!

So, let’s see if I can stay focused for a few moments!! As it relates to the topic “my thoughts”, they are nebulous due to around the clock narcotics, hormones, sleep deprivation and Benadryl. (The Benadryl is due to an allergic reaction to the narcotics.) It has taken me at least 3 days to write these few words. And as it relates to the subject of “my quiet times”…did I mention the narcotics? Need I say more? On the contrary, I must say that my prayers are abundant because I love the Lord! He is my everything and has heard all of my cries. I cannot take a breath without acknowledging the One who has given me life, pulled me from death’s door and showered me with blessings beyond what I deserve. I cannot look at my family without giving thanks and praises to God for giving me a friend and companion in my husband and for entrusting these little souls (my kids) to me. And lastly, I thank him because He has used so many people as a conduit for His good work in our lives this year and because my heart is full with appreciation and love for our extended family and ministry who has shown us nothing but love and support throughout this pregnancy! Ok, so if I go on and on about this the estrogen will kick in and Melvyn will shut the blog down! But, I am truly grateful beyond repayment for everyone that has touched our lives this year. And, I am definitely about to go cold turkey on the meds…

By: Kay

A Prayer for Our Children…

Hello Family,

Can’t sleep (not Levi’s fault this time) and the Lord is flooding my mind with all of the concerns I have for my kids and the children throughout the congregation and the world. I hope you will indulge me and pray with me as I pray for my children and yours. May God hear our prayers of faith and bless every seed that has been placed in our care. Let’s go to YHVH…

Holy, Holy, Holy Father. It is a privilege and an honor to be able to approach your throne in prayer. Heavenly Father God you have blessed us with so many things that if we were to list and count them we would expire before we reached half of the list. Father you gave everything so that we could merely breathe and we owe YOU everything! ELOHIM, El Roi, El Sali, Jehovah Jireh we place before you every care, every concern and every desire that we have for our children, both born and the unborn blessings you have in store for us. Father in the precious and Holy name of Jesus we ask for:

Purity: I pray for purity both for our kids and for their future spouses. Their future husband or wife is out there somewhere, growing up as a child right now, and what happens in their lives will greatly affect the lives of our children down the road.

Relationships: Above all else, I pray that our kids will develop a strong, faithful relationship with the Lord and that they will faithfully follow Him all of their days. I also pray for healthy relationships with their siblings, with friends, with disciples of Jesus and with my wife and I as their parents.

Protection: The world is a dangerous place in more ways than we can imagine. I pray for physical, spiritual and emotional protection for each child. I pray that our kids will not succumb to peer pressures and tactics of the devil that would cause them to stray from you.

Personal weaknesses: Every child has their own struggles, whether it’s lying, angry outbursts, disrespect, or any number of other issues. I pray that you, my Lord and my Shepherd, will shape their character and turn their weaknesses to strengths and allow them to use every gift you have given them to advance YOUR Kingdom. I thank you God for every special  quality and ask You, El Sali, to continue to develop and strengthen these characteristics in our children.

Biblical and Christ-like Wisdom: I pray that every child will grow in wisdom. I pray that every child will know Christ intently and will be so blessed as to be able to make Godly decisions in their lives. I pray, Holy Father, that you will speak to our kids and imbue them with your Spirit and anoint their minds to allow them to clearly see the devil’s schemes.

Health: Jehovah Rapha, we pray for perfect health for all of our children, born and unborn. Jehovah Rapha, we pray that you will nurture and heal those who are sick. We pray, dear Lord, that you would comfort and protect those children who were born with special abilities, obstacles or the like and show them how truly valuable they are to You and to our families. Please provide every child with the means and resources to grow and mature according to Your Holy will. For those who are with child, I pray that their pregnancies would be uneventful and safe.

My precious and holy Lord I pray that You will provide my family and the families who read this blog and those who cannot read this blog with the wisdom that is necessary to raise God-fearing offspring. Father, I pray that You will forgive us of our sins and that we would forgive all of those who have transgressed us.

El Elyon Tsevao’t, please bind up and remove the strongman in our lives. Protect our children and post an angel at every door to protect them from the evil one. Father, we love You more than words could ever describe. Thank You for sacrificing Your Son so that we may live to serve You. In the precious and indestructible name of Jesus, I pray, AMEN!

I Had a Bad Day…

Hello Family,

All things are calm in the house of Rose and Levi tonight. Unfortunately, the day did not flow as smoothly as planned. I cannot attribute it to my wife. Kay was her normal stable self. I cannot attribute it to my children. My kids did what kids do. This bad day falls on me.

I woke up this morning with about as close to a migraine as I have had in a while. It was hard to pray and don’t even get me started on the study I wanted to do in Galatians. Then we had a surprise doctor visit thrown in during the afternoon and of course, Levi is a newborn! Yet, in all of this stuff, what made this day difficult was me. I was grumpy. I was difficult. I wanted my head to feel better and that kind of turned into my making everyone else feel like crap.

It is funny how life can move along so smoothly, you have so much joy and then you just have a bad day. Nonetheless, I did learn a very important lesson today. Life, Discipleship is not about the way you fall down. Trust me, no matter how hard you try you WILL fall down. Being a disciple of Jesus Christ is about realizing you have fallen down and having the drive, desire and passion for God to get back up! If you stay fallen down, you will simply trip up everyone around you and, eventually, somebody will fall on top of you and hurt you even more.

John Armstrong says that “courage is fear that has prayed.” I like that quote. I think it is profound. It helped me remember that when the times get the worst, Jesus kneels down, writes in the dirt and pulls you up from the muck and mire (John 8:1-12). Trouble will come, Death will claim some. Sometimes, you will have a bad day, but that day won’t last long, if you trust in the Lord and pray…

Now that I think about it…today was a great day! God decided to teach me something! Romans 5:1-6

Father, thank you for your infinite mercies. Almighty God and Father we are lost without your presence and your touch. Father,  please inject into us a spirit of courage and hope. Father God please give us a double portion of your grace so that we may confront the trials and tribulations of this disintegrating life with the full knowledge that you will see us through our darkest and most painful hours. Lord God Almighty, creator of  Heaven and Earth and all that is seen and unseen, we pray to you today that you will forgive us for our falls and press us forward to the days of getting up! In the precious name of Jesus we pray, AMEN!

Shalom Aleichem fam…