"Over and Out"!

Hey! Glad you stopped by on This Wonderful Wednesday….what is left of it…my how time flies...

28 days of words …’ize’ words they are…words that mean’ to be…to cause’…so today is the 28^th word... and it is fitting and proper for the occasion:  SUMMARIZE.

Everyone knows what this word means…SUMMARIZE  as in a story, an event, a lifetime…get to the main point-what was this journey all about.

Well... I’ve explained earlier how this all got started…one step, one thought, one word at a time,

EXPLORE that word,

 EXPLAIN that word,

 then EXHORT…

let that word seek and soak into my spirit and do the work that needed to be done.

LIFESTYLE LIVING…living out each of those words…not all at once…but they are like a part of a toolbox, a toolkit, a briefcase…a doctor’s bag (do they still use those?)…anyway...understanding what each of those words meant, looking at how they applied, could or should apply to my heart and life.  So often did not measure up at all…more often than not that was the case…

I have gained much insight…but often like so much we discover, we hear, we ponder…in the heat of a battle, in the midst of a situation, in the fight for our lives…we panic and don’t use the proper tools in the tool box…aka the Word…if only we truly learned to trust Him and His Word…

How often do we ‘beat at the air, striking at some invisible force”…often not even knowing what we are battling.

Life is a such challenge…

from one victory to another…

but think about it…

can’t have those victories without some type of battles.

 

So, my friend…stand tall, stand long, stand still and stand steady through it all!

PRAY...about everything, all the time, anywhere, everywhere…if nothing else....’whisper a prayer in the morning, whisper a prayer at the noon day…whisper a prayer in the evening’

PRAISE….praise Him, praise him, praise Him…for everything, all the time, anywhere, everywhere…praise Him in the morning, praise Him in the noontime and praise  Him when the sun goes down!

PARTICIPATE…get busy…don’t hold back…why wait for some big grandiose invitation or call to make a grand appearance…just do it…do small things, little unseen things, seemingly insignificant things for the Kingdom…which means for His people…and even those we think aren’t His people…if we love those who love us…hmmm…we are in a comfort zone…the test is to do something for someone you don’t know, or particularly like…….remember the Bible tells us even if we give a prophet something as small, simple and soothing as a cup of water…we get to share in the reward…WOW

PERSEVERE: Hold on, hold on and hold on some more…hold on to what? God’s unchanging hand…just like a child holds on to Mom’s hand, Dad’s hand…slip your hand into the Savior’s hand…hold tight…know He is in control and will lead and guide you…don’t be up one day…down another…blown about by every little wind…careening off the course by a little bump or two…come on…we are made of stronger stuff than that!  Dig in for the long haul…Oh; I just know that it is going to be worth it all someday…hold on…

POWER: Just think of the POWER backing us!!  That POWER that brought this universe into existence and set it all in motion…every little jot and tittle working in perfect harmony... POWER…of the Cross and the Savior who died on it…POWER to live right, walk right, talk right…be right…POWER to be bold enough to face the biggest enemy…seen or unseen and declare…IN THE NAME OF JESUS!

BEWARE…there is an enemy…evil, wicked, ugly and awful…I am still flabbergasted by God’s ‘people’….the ones who cause the most heartache, trouble, lie the most, cheat the most, justify their little actions and pet peeves and claim to be CHRISTIANS.  They wear their big crosses, proclaim He is their Savior…but oh, my friend, as I said earlier…those actions speak louder than words, and those actions are speaking so loud I cannot hear a word being said!!  So….what to do with folk like this when we  meet them?? Hmmm…I want to confront them and say... “You’ve got to be kidding me?’  right?  “I can’t believe you just said that!”…but the deadly dealers are those sneaky, two-faced ones that cause discord…sneak, snipe, swipe at you….AHHH, but God sees…they may fool themselves, fool the fools who listen to them…BUT take assurance in the promise…’every idle word will be accounted for’!...Hey, let’s just make sure we are on the right side of the bridge and don’t get swept to the other side and join the gossips, nay sayers and those caught up in their own lies.

BEWARE: the Devil, the enemy of our soul deals in the Deadly D’s:

·        Drags you Down with this lies, oppression

·        Depression…he will tell you every reason to think Downward thoughts and Dig a deep pit and have a PITy party (not a misspell get it?)

·        Despondency….he loves to convince us it is over and there is no help…lies

·        Depths…he will cause things, inspire folks, and set us up to fall into the depth of…

·        Despair…he loves it when we wring our hands, twist our faces and he can hear our hearts racing with stress, anger and fear…

·        Depression….there are some valid reasons for Depression BUT satan magnifies, twists and convinces us that we are the most pitiful creature on the face of the earth…we have been done wrong by everyone, every time, everywhere…don’t go there!

·        Dungeon…he is doomed and going to be in eternal torment and punishment forever into infinity!  YEAH…good news!! Bad News…he is trying every trick in the book to take as many of us with him as he can…Why? It breaks the heart of God and he wants company…what is that saying…’misery loves company’?

SOMEDAY!!! Jesus will return to the earth…if you are reading this and think all this is religious glooby, glop…get a Bible as fast as you can and preferably one of the Translations such as the Message or NIV and read, read, read…it’s the Playbook, the Plan, the Map, the Treasure…

Anyway…just watch the Fever and the Fatigue….

Look out for RAPTURE FEVER…this will cause you to burn up with such intensity that you feel He can return at any minute….so why try to do any more work…why try to witness to anyone, why try to do any acts of kindness, why build a church, write a song, sing a song, do anything?…it will all be over SOON…true, true, true…but until ‘then’ be about His business…TCB…take care of His Business…

Watch out for RAPTURE FATIGUE….meaning you have heard about this event soooo long and soooo many times…that you have more or less given up!  Fatigue…started that good fight, that good race…but got weak in the knees, tongue hanging out of your mouth, feeble hands hanging down…keep looking, keep running, keep believing…in that moment when you least expect it…BAM! In the moment in a twinkling of an eye!

 Solomon was a wise man…did some foolish things, made some unwise decisions, picked some uncanny wives and fell into some strange business…BUT he did have a gift of wisdom….

So to close this little journey…

over and out…

done with…

gonna look to some of my favorite scriptures that Solomon penned:

 This is from the Message Ecclesiastes 12:11-14

“The words of the wise prod us to live well.

They’re like nails hammered home (unlike the nails I and the Duck Dynasty boys hammer),

holding life together (now that’s some powerful nails!)

They are given by God,

the one Shepherd.

But regarding anything beyond this, dear

friend, go easy.  (The WORD is the first, last and every word in between!)

There’s no end to the publishing of books,

(EVERYONE it seems has a book that will be the one to fulfill every dream)...

and constant study wears you

out so you’re no good for anything else.

(beware of what you read and WHO you listen too…

folks can’t just listen to any and everyone out there in Media land).

The LAST and Final word is this:

Fear God (love Him, Obey Him, And Trust Him)

               DO WHAT HE TELLS YOU. (Just DO IT…one step at a time!)

And that’s it…

Eventually God will bring everything that we do out into the open and judge it according to it’s hidden intent, whether it’s good or evil”…..

So I leave the Front Porch for now….be watching I’ll send an invite out when I can meet you again…until then keep it real and keep it simple….

              

IT IS FINISHED

 

 

FINALIZE…that is the final word for this little journey here on the Front Porch.  There will be one more word tomorrow, so hope you do get to stop by one more day.

 

FINAL…FINISHED…COMPLETED, NO MAS, NO MORE, THE END...CLOSED…words that evoke mixed feelings: sadness, gladness, relief, sense of accomplishment.  At this time all jumbled together:

Sadness… in the sense I will not be visiting with you as much as I have the past 28 days...

Gladness…I will not be visiting with you as much as I have in the past 28 days (haha)

Relief…’I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith’.  Whew…a lot of time, energy, more time and energy put into these little visits.

Sense of accomplishment: I stuck to it…setting aside time, pouring body, soul and spirit into each day’s visit…much like a marathon runner….when they hit the finish line

How did this journey begin?

As most do…one idea, one thought, one step at a time.

Looking back at 2012…survived…some good times, bad times. Good memories, bad memories, great accomplishments, utter failures, much laughter…even more tears.

Looking into 2013...what will it hold?  More of the same?  Maybe…hope not …hope better, gentler and kinder…So one thought led to another and another…and words…rapid fire words…all ending in ‘ize’.  Tomorrow I will SUMMARIZE those words.

Anyway, wrote them down and ended up with 2…hence the 28 day journey.

I would look at the list, ponder the meaning, pray about its significance in my life...jot down thoughts, scriptures, experiences, memories, significant points…pull it all together...edit, edit some more, set it up on the blog…post…looking back not even sure how it all came together…pocket of time- here-there-little or no TV time….but this season has come to an end.

I recall a scene from Forest Gump…when for some reason he was inspired to RUN…run from east to west, north to south. RUN…day and night….one day he was running and stopped…no real significant spot…just stopped…he was finished…this journey has been something like that…’time to finish and move on’.

So on the is word: it is important to FINALIZE what is started….not always possible…but one thing we all MUST complete and FINALIZE is our race, our work, our walk, our calling…for the Lord…for that is the GREAT RACE!

Until tomorrow!

SYMPATHY VALLEY AND PITY CITY

Monday…and so another week begins…behind in posting today…

 

Today’s word is Sympathize: listening to someone's problem while agreeing that the person is right.

We sympathize when someone loses a loved one in death.  We sympathize when someone experiences a divorce, loses a job, is sick…shows we have compassion and that we care. We send cards, make phone calls, bake cakes, and offer our condolences…

Heartache, heart break...shake us to the core…so often no one understands our pain and will make statements…’that’s not so bad, oh, grow up, get over it.’ And so on…and we should. 

Sympathy Valley and Pity City are no place to live, not even visit.

If not careful we can set up camp in these dark places….Seeking sympathy can become a lifestyle and not a good one.  Being ‘poor little me’ can be a comfort zone to retreat to, a place to get attention, a sigh evokes sympathetic looks and worried concerns.

Our Lord sympathized with us…and does understand…’He is moved by the feelings of our infirmities’.  He, like no one else, understands every pain, every emotion, and every disappointment.

Ecclesiastes 3:4 states that there is a time to weep…and there will be plenty of times of weeping while upon this earth…Jesus himself wept upon hearing of Lazarus death.

But after the sympathy should come action…action to move on and move up. We mourn for our loses and rightfully so…part of humanity, part of having compassion…part of having life…but then get up and  get dressed  and continue on the journey.

 

Victim or victor.  You and you only are the only one who can decide.  Put all into perspective and count it all joy!

Tomorrow here on the Front Porch: FINALIZE!

NEW LIFE! NEW HOPE!

 

REVITALIZE 

That’s the word for today here on the Front Porch...

 

REVITALIZE…bring new life or hope to something…

That is what this little journey has been for me…to look at those things dormant,

dying or damaged in my life…

those things shoved to the back, overlooked, even neglected…

REVITALIZE….

dreams, goals, and visions…

our word for 2013 for our little church congregation is

THINK BIG!

I want to also use that encouragement in my personal life.

 

REVITALIZE

 AND

THINK BIG

Pretty good team!

Pull out the old files,

Search through the boxes,

Dig back in the closet and find those  

dreams and goals

that seems too hard,

 perhaps it appears is too late for

or maybe feel too old for…

REVITALIZE…

bring new life and hope to things that seems impossible

WHY?

That is one of the attributes of God…

He REVITALIZED…

brought new life to His Son who has been beaten, tortured and crucified on the cross. 

Jesus had to endure this…had to be done…so that we could experience

New life and hope

REVITALIZE

God specializes in the resurrection of body, soul and spirit.

Remember our talk about ‘Down for the Count’...

we get the breath knocked out of us quite often…

not necessarily literally (hope not)

but spiritually, emotionally, financially.

When (not if) this happens look to God to

REVITALIZE

He is Hope…and New Life…

So getting to ‘over and out’ on this little journey…

just a few more ‘ize’ words on the list...

I have never quite done anything like this…

got this list,

pondered this list,

 studied this list,

 thought about this list,

 pretty much consumed a great deal of my time…

but in the process I have felt some dreams and goals

 REVITALIZE…

Start where you are..

Start small…

(BUT THINK BIG!)

One step at a time…

Stay Steady…

REVITALIZE

Glad you have dropped in to visit...

So, a few more invitations to meet me here…

then what? 

Hmmm, oh I love coming to the front porch…

so I will let you know when I’ll be talking a ‘sit a while’ spell…

until tomorrow…

Find something in your life to

REVITALIZE…

Relationship with God, with others, dig out those dreams, dust off those goals

and re-visit those visions…

REVITALIZE

Until tomorrow…

Right here on the Front Porch!

"THOU ART THE MAN!"

 

 

Spectacular Saturday….moving right into the weekend here on the Front Porch…for a great deal of us we are off ‘work’ as in the 40, 40+ hour a week job we get paid to do…no matter how rewarding and fulfilling…how glorious it is to wake-up or sleep in… whichever you do…and have the day stretching before you…you can meander through it, for the most part, however, whenever you desire.  Even if you have young children, scheduled sports activities, recitals, birthday events…there is still flexibility from the usual routine…a good thing!

So, today on the Front Porch…the word...TANTALIZE….a  red hot, sizzling word…word that can get us into trouble, wreck havoc in our lives, set us on a course of disaster…if we let it.

TANTALIZE:  means tormented by the sight of something desired but out of reach; tease by arousing, to provoke, to taunt, to tempt, to frustrate.

Hmmm...mighty powerful word…jam packed with trouble.

In our Christian walk, we encounter ‘tantalizing’ situations…those things around us that can tease, tempt and test. Something we MUST be aware of, vigilant about and constantly on the look out for.

1 Peter 5:8 states:

‘Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.’

That someone being me and you.  It is the war of the ages…Satan, a fallen angel who rebelled.  He is at war with God and His creation...God, me, you…

 The Devil is often identified as the serpent in the Garden of Eden who TANTALIZED Eve.  He, ever so slyly, cunningly, taunted and tempted her.  Teased and tested her.  Telling her God was holding out on her…and if she would do the very thing God had told her NOT to do…she would be like God…and she fell for it.  This is referred to as ‘original sin’.  The bad news for her and Adam and certainly bad news for the rest of us…Long story…look in the book of Genesis for the ‘rest of the story’.

The Good News!  God had a plan. Redemption, forgiveness, reconciliation through the shed blood of Jesus Christ.

TANTALIZE: our world is filled with a plentitude of things, stuff, people, places, situations, promises…to fulfill our desires, dreams and wishes...Our world has turned into a big pleasure, seeking playground, a pleasure palace: with the motto: ‘if it feels good-do it’.

TANTALIZE: The enemy of our souls, beware, be on guard, and have your full armor on as described in Ephesians Chapter 6.

Be sober - Avoid drunkenness of your senses, and drunkenness in your souls; be not overcharged with the concerns of the world.

Be vigilant - Awake, and keep awake; be always watchful; never be off your guard; your enemies are alert, they are never off theirs.

Your adversary, the devil –IS NOT your friend, is not looking out for your good…but has a mission, to kill, steal and destroy.

He is an ever active, scheming, subtle enemy we must be aware of and be equipped to contend with. He roams about…not in the sense that me and you move about.  He is subtle, sly and sneaky.  He has access to you everywhere; he knows your feelings and your weaknesses, secret desires and wishes. Bad Dude…Bad News.  BUT, Good News!

As sung by Chris Tomlin:

Our God is greater,

 our God is stronger,

 God you are higher than any other.

Our God is Healer,

 Awesome in Power,

Our God! Our God!

  

TANTALIZE: Satan tempts, traps, tests us:

The subtle , sneaking, sly serpent; tries to bewitch us TANTALIZE our senses, twist, turn and tamper with our judgment, and carry us away in our own imagination.  That tantalizing thought calls to us; it is soothing, silky, sensual…could be brought on by something we saw, something we heard, or somewhere we should never have been.   

Satan just seems to have the knack of situating us in the wrong place at the wrong time, with the wrong people with the wrong attitude. 

 

“Just one look, just one drink, just one taste, just one night, just one smoke.”

 As the Lay’s potato chip commercial used to promote:

 

“One is not enough.”

 

 Got that right!

Just so you don’t think something like this could never happen to me or you…take a look at King David in 2 Samuel 11.

King David was supposed to be in battle.  For some reason at this particular time, 'he remained in Jerusalem’. (wrong place)

He had a sleepless and restless night and while walking on the roof of his palace, (wrong time) saw Bathsheba, who was then the wife of Uriah, taking a bath. Hmmm...why was he looking?

He immediately desired her (wrong person) and later made her pregnant. (wrong decision)

Wrong, Wrong, Wrong…

what was he (man after God’s own heart thinking or NOT thinking)?...

TANTALIZE…

               During one of our pastoral sabbaticals, Preacher and I sat under the ministry of a very wise Pastor.  33 years later I still remember one of the best sermons I heard him preach: 

We can justify (rationalize) anything we want to…

In other words we can talk ourselves into doing, saying

Anything and think we have every right to do so!

 

            Think about it…how fools justify saying things, doing things, not doing things because they have made it right in their own perverted, twisted thought process…oh, and with a little help from  the enemy of their soul: satan.

This must have been one of those moments for David…he encountered a Tantalizing moment, a test, a tease, a temptation…and succumbed to it…hook, line and sinker.

  TANTALIZE...

BUT, sin begets sin,

 wrong begets wrong,

lie beget lie...

it did not end there…

as usual and customary...

Sin pays and we do not like the wages…

and in this case it involved death.

David somewhat came to his senses…what a mess... an effort to conceal his sin, David  called Bethesda’s husband Uriah from the heat of the battle and hoped that Uriah would... hmmm...putting it plainly...have sex with his wife. So, he would think the child was his. BUT, Uriah was unwilling to violate the ancient kingdom rule and chose to remain on duty at the palace.A man of honor.

He refused to go home to the comfort of his home, his bed and his wife.

Thus, David conceived (no pun intended) more sin, more wrong.

David , having lost every good brain cell he was every given, told Joab to place Uriah in the front lines of the battle, where it was the most dangerous, and thus for sure, left Uriah to the hands of the enemy. Certain death...ordered by the king he had vowed to serve.

 It gets more bizarre-see that enemy, the serpent, sneaky, sly, slimy…will drive us to such a deep, dark place that exists in each of us-because of that original sin.

 David had Uriah himself carry the message that ordered his very death.  He probably carried those orders with a sense of pride, a sense of duty…a mission for the king.

David rendered heartless, conscious seared, no sense of right…

 

TANTALIZE:  wrong, wrong, wrong.

Sin cannot be hid-forever.  It may be kept low; secret for a time…sooner or later it spills, seeps and springs forth.

Hmmm... Such as this baby that would come forth in 9 months and Uriah would know and so would everyone else-that it was not his.

Funny, or not so, Christian folk-get caught up in the heat of a 'moment' and succumb to a relationship out of marriage...A baby is conceived and 5, 6, 7 months later-an ‘early’ baby arrives. 

Please folk-just don’t tell us a lie.  Don’t say “I am getting married and honest I’m not pregnant”...We can do the math…but forget about us…

it is God who is never fooled...

After Uriah was dead David made it official-he took Bathsheba as his wife…

Wonder what the people he ruled thought?

We find out pretty quick what God thought.

The prophet Nathan came to David and told him about 2 men and sheep.  One was rich and had countless cattle and sheep (David) one was poor and only had one little lamb (Uriah). The rich man took the little lamb from the poor man to feed some travelers.

Upon hearing this David was furious! He stood up with every righteous indignation he could muster and said,”This man should be hung and repay for this crimes

Hmmm...going way back to a Front Porch talk on 'beams and splinters'…we see everyone else’s mistakes…not our own…

Anyway, the Prophet Nathan pointed to David and said, ”You are this man”.

 

  David must have been cut to the core, slashed to the bone, broken to pieces.  He was the man indeed.  Much to his credit, he repented.  BUT, there was a penalty to pay.  The child conceived would die. There would be trouble, turmoil, testing, TANTALIZING in his household the rest of his days.  His son raped his own daughter, 2 Samuel 13. His son, Absalom, murders the brother who raped the sister. 2 Samuel 13.  David had to flee his home because of this same son’s treason. Absalom had to be murdered to stop his devious, deceitful, descent into madness.  Trouble followed David the rest of his life.  The man who worshipped God, taught us so much through the book of Psalms about praise, worship and adoration…fell into defeat, downfall, disaster after disaster…all because of one look at the wrong time, in the wrong place at the wrong person.

TANTALIZE

Satan, as a roaming lion is always on the prowl, looking, seeking, and searching for the opportunity to devour – gulp us down. GULP.

 He is patient, oh, so, patient.  Much like a chess game and the chess players…he plays a deadly game and we play right along…even thinking we can outsmart, outmaneuver, out play him-much like David with trying to set up Uriah.

In the end, play with fire-get burned.  Satan will play along, smooth, silky, seductive…until he has you backed in the corner...checkmate! Too often we don’t even realize who we are playing against...or if we do, we think we have everything under control…we can handle it…hmmm…look how David ‘handled it’ and look at the consequences.

TANTALIZE

I will say it again and again… do not drink, do not swallow down Satan’s snares; His lies, his teases, his tricks and especially falling under the sway of drugs and alcohol.  If you swallow strong drink down, the devil will swallow you down. Hear this, ye drunkards, topers, tipplers, or by whatsoever name you are known in society, or among your fellow sinners. Strong drink is not only the way to the devil, but the devil's way into you.

BEWARE, your soberness, your vigilance, your guard, your good common sense, your decencies, your thought processes…all become cloudy, fuzzy, unclear and disappear under the influence.  There is a reason it is called ‘under the influence’.  You are no longer in control and you have given your control to someone else-satan.  Look at the countless number of lives ‘stolen, destroyed and killed (my father) in the name of a drink.

TANTALIZE

There is hope!  Realize we are under construction. God is not finished with us.   Construction is messy, takes a great deal of time, and is very costly.  Construction entails cutting, hammering, sometimes great pressure, heat, tearing it out and starting over. So be patient, submit to the Carpenter’s handiwork.  This is not His first rodeo!

Use self discipline, bring your thoughts, body, wishes and desires under subjection-but hard to do if you are not in control.  I know one young lady who said “drunk sex is best’…she has got to be kidding…what kind of deception is she living under?... Please join me in praying for her and thousand, millions like her who have this mindset.

TANTALIZE

Take charge!

Oswald Chambers, great evangelist, teacher in the late 1800’s into the early 1900’s, very well known for his devotional book, “MY UTMOST FOR HIS HIGHEST’ stated: “The Christian life is gloriously difficult’ ( my note: I read this and gasped).    He went on to state: “But the difficulty does not make us faint and cave in; it rouses us to overcome.”

TANTALIZE

That thing or those things that TANTALIZE us…lay hold, seize, shake, grip tightly then destroy, throw them down, along with Satan and put them under our feet!  Oh, they will try to resurrection from time to time, BUT

BE SOBER, BE VILIGANT….be ready and prepared…

Whew, had no idea the thought TANTALIZE would take us into such a discussion.

 

Our little chats here on the Front Porch, in such intensity, are fixin’ to come to a close…few more days and I will have met my 28 day challenge to seek, search, pour and pound my way into these words, find the meaning, pray about how they need to be addressed in my life. 

YOU?

Why, I just happened to invite you to come sit with me here on my Front Porch here in Texas, to talk to, share with, help me discuss and find meaning to these words....

 

Haven't gotten a whole lotta feedback…guess you couldn’t get a word in edgewise…

Anyway, deep, soaking, soul searching…

What am I going to do with these word studies and ’revelations’?

Hmmm, first gonna hide them in my heart and ponder on them, chew on them, revisit them, pray about them, apply them and hopefully live them…my 2013 Lifestyle Living….

So, going to stretch into this Splendid Saturday…gonna live, move and breathe…in Him

Until tomorrow…here on the Front Porch