Fraudulent Freedom

This week we celebrate Independence Day, also referred to as the Fourth of July. It is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776.

July 4th has been celebrated with community festivities that range from fireworks, parades, concerts in the parks, water skiing shows to more intimate family gatherings and barbecues.

For many individuals who claim the USA as their homeland, it is a day to commemorate and celebrate freedom.

Freedom: the state of being free or at liberty rather than a state of being in confinement or under physical restraint, the exemption from external control, interference, regulation, etc., the power to determine action without restraint.

And to some, a way to celebrate freedom means throwing off all restraints and drinking well past an “acceptable” level. In other words, throwing off all restrictions and doing “whatever” I want.

But is that really freedom? How is going so far past sensibility in any way freedom? Isn’t the fact that you are under control of a mood-altering substance proof that you are not walking in freedom but rather in bondage?

How is fulfilling every sexual desire freedom; especially when you must get drunk to do so?

This can’t be how our founding leaders meant for us to celebrate our independence; our freedom.

The Apostle Paul said; “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.” (Galatians 5:1).

Although he was referring to other bondages that the early church was adding to the Gospel message, this passage is applicable to those situations where we want to use our freedom as USA citizens to do what we want.

No, we were never meant to live in bondage, but freedom; that is why we fought the war and wrote the Declaration of Independence in 1776. We knew that we were created to be free.

We knew that we were not supposed to be held in any bondages.

“For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.” (Romans 8:2)

TRUTH is what sets us free; not drugs or alcohol.

Jesus said; “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:31-32)

JESUS is what sets us freedom; not debauchery.

“Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.” (John 8:36)

We were meant to be free.

 

God has a sovereign plan and purpose for your life. But you won’t find it by numbing your senses or abusing your body. Instead, it will be by the supernatural direction of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit calls out to each of us; “Stop. Look. Listen! Wrong way! Detour! Change your direction! You’re on the wrong road  that leads to bondage; not freedom!”

God helps you go another direction and gets you back heading where He wants you to be.

The Holy Spirit has been given to help us change our minds and convict us of where we are going the wrong direction. 1 John 1:8-10 says;

“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.”

Do you desire to be free, but you are not sure how to?

Let me ask you a question; has there been a moment in your life when you acknowledged and admitted your sin and then by faith received the Lord Jesus Christ? If not, you can today. Your life can be changed. Your sins can be forgiven. You can live a new life. You can have the assurance that if you died at this moment, you would go to heaven. Will you receive Him as your Savior?

My prayer is that this 4^th of July you start to walk in that freedom

Need some help: Call 1-888-NEED HIM; someone is waiting and wanting to help you and get back going the right direction.

All Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Clingy

It is that time of the year when we will soon lose the north side of our house. In a very few weeks, we will no longer easily be able to look out some of our windows.

Very soon we will no longer be able to get into the side door that goes to our basement. Why? A clingy ivy.

Normally when one thinks of “clingy” it comes across as something that is bad.

Not everyone likes it when ivy is clinging on their house. We just gotten used to it over the years.

And no one likes it when clothes are clingy after they come out of the dryer; or else we wouldn’t use static sheets or fabric softeners when we do the laundry.

And who loves it when children are clingy?

You know the type; they are always aware of where one of their parents is and notices the moment that the parent is not in sight. The child gets emotional because they NEED to be right with them NOW and they become unhappy to the point where they panic as tears fill their eyes because the parent is away.

We see this as a stage that they need to get over and rid of lest they grow into a clingy adult and then…

As much as no one likes a clingy child; even more so NO ONE likes a clingy adult! If it continues into adult relationships, sometimes this will lead to someone filing a restraining order.

And yet, according to the Bible, our Heavenly Father encourages and exhorts us to be clingy children with Him! It is something that is desired and necessary in our relationship with Him!

Deuteronomy 10:20 (NKJV) says;

“You shall fear the Lord your God; you shall serve Him, and to Him you shall hold fast, and take oaths in His name.”

That phrase “hold fast” in Hebrew means “to cling”:

dâbaq “A primitive root; properly to impinge, that is, cling or adhere; figuratively to catch by pursuit: - abide, fast, cleave (fast together), follow close (hard, after), be joined (together), keep (fast), overtake, pursue hard, stick, take.”

We see it again in Deuteronomy 11:22 (NKJV):

“For if you carefully keep all these commandments which I command you to do—to love the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways, and to hold fast to Him…”

The New Living Translation (NLT) translates Deuteronomy 11:22:

“Be careful to obey all these commands I am giving you. Show love to the Lord your God by walking in his ways and holding tightly to him.”

The Living Bible (TLB) translates Deuteronomy 11:22:

 “If you carefully obey all the commandments I give you, loving the Lord your God, walking in all his ways, and clinging to him.”

According to Deuteronomy clinging is part of what He requires of us for our success, victory, and growth.

Our Heavenly Father is saying that part of us following Him is obeying His commandments and CLINGING to Him.

How do you cling to Him?

·        Spending time each day by praying and worshipping the Father.

·        Spending time reading the Bible which is His Word

Our Heavenly Father WANTS His children to CLING to Him! He doesn’t see it as something negative!

He is waiting for you to respond to His mercy and grace that has already been extended to you through Jesus Christ. And you can; today. And it can make all the difference in the world as you look for hope in your present world. Let Him be the Father you cling to!

Need further help? Someone is waiting to talk with you. Call either:

1-888-NEED HIM  or  1-877-2GRAHAM (1-877-247-2426).

Like Father Like Son

I sat on my front porch watching a lonely figure walking the sidewalk like a night guard keeping watch over the city; barely visible except for the occasional glow of his cigarette and his dog who was leading the way. His appearance was a ghostly reminder of one who had long passed away.

For many years this was the nightly scene of a man and his dog; each going outside to do one more thing before turning in for the night. Each night the two of them would patrol the neighborhood as the non-insomniacs slept.

But both the man and dog had long passed away several decades before; so how was it that I was still seeing them? Were they ghosts aimlessly walking eternity in my neighborhood?

No, this was the son of the man long gone, who now lived in his father’s house. 

This man was the second generation who would perform this nightly habit of walking a dog while smoking one last cigarette for the day, for he had learned this ritual while his dad was alive.

This was the result of a boy watching his father showing him (intentionally or unintentionally) how to go through daily life.

As I sat and watched him, I realized that as a dad (and grandfather) I have passed on systems and patterns and habits that may affect generations; some good, some not so good.

I thought of another father who had influenced his son to follow in his footsteps.

"Good Good Father" is a song heard in churches and on radios around the world. It was written by Pat Barrett, lead singer of the Atlanta-based band, Housefires, along with Anthony Brown. The song was brought into the spot light when it was recorded by Chris Tomlin.

Pat wrote the song to introduce his own daughter to the Heavenly Father who so transformed his life. It was Pat’s attempt to explain to his children who God is; to tell them what He is like.

I first met Pat when he was very young along with his sister, his mother Daryl, and his father Marty at a pastor’s conference.

As I thought of the song, I realized that Pat wrote this song influenced by his own experience with his father Marty.

I really connected with Marty when first we met sometime around 1996. He is a very funny man who lights up a room with his presence. When he is around, very few people can escape his outreaching personality.

Marty is a man with a theater and arts background who had responded to a call into ministry and serves as a pastor in Atlanta, Georgia. Marty is a man full of compassion and mercy and reaches out to the marginal people of our society.

His church is a melting pot of denominations and races who gather each week to discover who God is in a city still tainted with prejudice and racism.

It is a multi-cultural, living bridge connecting God, the world, and the various parts of the Body of Christ. Healing ministries, the arts, outreach to the city are just a few of the ways they spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ in a broken world; specifically, in DeKalb county Georgia where nations live, highways converge, and God invites all to His table.

Marty is a model of love to his world and in his home. And Pat grew up observing this love and he could write and sing about a “good, good father” because he knew both the love of an earthly and a heavenly father.

So, dads, what are your sons learning from you? Years after you are gone, what will be the habits and belief systems passed on to your sons? What will be the songs that they are singing that they will pass on their children?

The answer will be loosely based upon not how perfect you are or have been, but rather on who is influencing you. Do you know the love of this Heavenly Father? Has He left His mark on your life?

He is a Good, Good Father; it’s who He is. He is perfect in all His ways. And you are loved by Him

 “The return to the "Father from whom all fatherhood takes its name" allows me to let my dad be no less than the good, loving, but limited human being he is, and to let my heavenly Father be the God whose unlimited, unconditional love melts away all resentments and anger and makes me free to love beyond the need to please or find approval.” 

― Henri J.M. Nouwen, The Return of the Prodigal Son: A Story of Homecoming

A Beautiful Bride

One of my daughters (Judith) got married this past week. Man, was that was tough on this old man! No, not because of any costs or time associated with the wedding, but because of the emotions connected with being the father of the bride as well as the officiant.

I am a pastor and at the time of this writing, I have about eight weddings to officiate this summer and several booked for next year...so weddings can be “old hat” for me…yet they never are. I guess I am just a romantic at heart.

Or, as one of my other daughters (Elizabeth) said to me eight years ago just before I walked her down the aisle; “Dad, you’re not as tough as you think you are!” pointing out that the pastor who had done premarital counseling for her and her husband was in the audience just in case I “couldn’t finish the task” of being both dad and officiant.

I have done this before, so you would think that it would get easier; no, it doesn’t! With each of my children I appreciated that they had asked me to even be a part of their wedding as a guest.

On the day of Judith’s wedding, my heart was on a roller coaster of emotions as I made a protein shake. I was using the time to deal with my nervous energy awaiting decision as to whether the wedding would be outdoors or inside depending on the weather.

Rain, rain, go away….

 

As I stood in the kitchen drinking my shake, I was filled with gratefulness as I thought about how the Lord had faithfully walked us through some tough times as she, as a teen, had questions and struggles about life and its meaning.

To use up some of my time I went back into my office and re-edited the message over and over until I told myself to stop.

My OCD was interrupted by a text from my daughter confirming that we would go ahead and do the ceremony outdoors. The weather had shifted and instead of rain, the clouds gave way and became a very beautiful day filled with sunshine.

My heart shouted out a responsive; “Praise God!” because I knew that the outdoor location had great significance for my daughter (as well as for the rest of our family).

So, I packed up my briefcase, a podium, and my dress clothes and headed out the door to meet my soon-to be son-in-law to set up the place for the wedding; which was located twenty minutes from our house.

The location was fifty yards from a river in a state park that has a large bridge overhead. The shore was lined with geese and this year’s goslings and a couple of fishermen who offered to move somewhere else; but we told them to stay and enjoy the weather.

This was a special place where my daughter searched and cried out for answers during a season in her past when life didn’t make sense. And here today we celebrated the some of those answers.

It was also a spot very close to where grandpa Gene died almost ten years earlier; in the same state park and below the very same bridge.

The time came for me to walk my beautiful daughter, dressed in a stunning dress, down the aisle to the front; looking into each other’s eyes, knowing the grace of this precious moment. Tears of joy filled my eyes as we exchanged private tender words to each other as we made our way to her awaiting groom.

Up front I assumed the role of officiant and added some comic relief as I asked; “Who gives this woman away?”; quickly stepping back into my position as dad as I replied; “I do”.

As I looked out at the audience made up of immediate family members, I realized just how handsome my two sons (and sons-in-law) are and how beautiful my four daughters (and daughters-in-law) are; I am so grateful that I had married a beautiful woman!

The wedding ceremony was short and sweet and went off without a hitch, that is until I looked at each of my four daughters, my wife, and my mother-in-law as I recalled to the audience the significance of this place.

At that point, I became so chocked up with emotion that I could hardly speak as tears began to fill their eyes. Maybe Elizabeth was right that I’m not as tough as I think that I am!

I regained my composure and finished joining these two in matrimony and then took time for the photographs.

After we packed up and loaded our vehicles with all of the props, I headed home to change my shirt, now saturated from the humid air and from standing in the bright sunshine, and then headed off to the reception located twenty minutes away.

Feasting and joy was on the itinerary for the evening as a large group of friends and family joined us to celebrate this delightful couple. The food was out of this world and the service was second to none!

Cathy and I were able to mingle from guest to guest playing the role as two of the hosts and hostesses; that is, in between times of chasing the grandchildren around at their request.

When I was asked by my Judith to join her for the “Father-Daughter Dance”, I made my way to the awaiting audience of one. As we danced, it became another opportunity for us to exchange private tender words to each other as we held on to each other and slowly shuffled our feet to the music.  

I realized this wasn’t anything that I had “earned” by being a "perfect dad", nor was I “owed” this opportunity; this was a gift of love! And, hockey player or not, I was deeply moved and once again tears came to my eyes. 

She chose me to walk her down the aisle, and she chose me to officiate, and she chose to invite me to be a dad at her wedding, and she chose me to dance with her and to share this joyous day with her.

The evening continued to be filled with great joy and much more food as guests made themselves available for conversations with people who, prior to this event, had not known each other and now could because we were all friends of the bride and groom.

Eventually, the celebration wound down and we all headed to our homes or to an adjoining hotel. God had clearly heard and answered this poor man’s cries.

“This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him,
And saved him out of all his troubles.” (Psalm 34:6 NKJV)

Waiting for A Harvest

It’s that time of the year again when gardens are tilled and seeds or plants are planted, watered, and then we wait…and wait… and wait…

If you think about, it’s amazing how long it takes for the seeds to germinate; and then how long it takes from germination until we see flowers. Then how long it takes until the crops come up and we can eat the produce…

It’s several months until we see anything for all our labor; if we see anything at all, because there are many conditions beyond our control such as weather and the quality of the plants and seeds.

This is true for all crops including flowers, trees, and vegetables.

Another huge factor is the condition of the soil; is it clay, sandy, or black? Each serves a different purpose depending upon what type of crop is planted.

But it should noted that the condition of the soil didn’t come that way by chance. This soil was prepared by the gardener ahead of time in anticipation of what was to come.

In fact, it takes a tremendous amount of work to turn untamed land to good soil: Rocks must be removed (again and again), thorns pulled up, and hard places roto-tilled to loosen up the soil, because even the best soil must be broken before it can become beautiful.

And then, as I said, we wait…this is how things grow.

So, is it worth it???? Is it worth all the arduous work just to even prepare the soil to receive the seed or plant? And why must we wait; why can’t things happen faster?

If you’ve done gardening for any length of time you know that the answer is “yes”, that it is worth all of the hard work that goes into preparing soil and planting for the future harvest.

Being able to pick rich and fresh produce from soil less than one hundred yards from the kitchen door is so very much worth all of the effort and the waiting period!

And before you know it, it’s State Fair Time! Time for ribbons and trophies!

But what about areas of our lives where have been waiting for a harvest?

We are not naturally good soil for God to plant into us His Word

“But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness to him: nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” (1 Corinthians 2:14)

 

Too many Christians are content with remaining un-tilled soil. We delude ourselves by thinking that the condition of the soil doesn’t matter.

We don’t want God to point out where we need to be changed. We prefer to remain rocky and weedy. We prefer to try to grow things despite the resistance in our lives

None of us are beyond God’s ability to change us. But His change takes time: - It doesn’t happen in a single day. Even so, He can change us from a desert land to a fruitful garden

My friend Rev Bob Tolliver wrote:

“Trees do not grow year-round. In the Spring, life begins to flow and leaves begin to appear During the Summer a new layer of fiber slowly begins to form under the bark.

In the Fall, the new wood has created a new "circle" from the most recent growth and begins to mature. Interestingly, it is during the most desolate and severe season that the hardening and maturing takes place ---- the winter.

During those times, it appears that life is gone and the tree is dead, but the life as simply retreated to the roots leaving the outward appearance of death.

All of that to say that perhaps the most important seasons of our walk with the Lord are during those times when we feel we have spiritually "flat-lined" and have lost any ground gained.

Just the opposite is true. It's through those "dark nights of the soul" when we can become the most mature ---- if we don't fight it.”

Soil that was called “good ground” didn’t come that way by chance. This soil was prepared by the GARDENER ahead of time. But it was not the soil that did the work

To be good soil that receives God’s Word: I must be open, receptive to God and His Word. There can’t be resistance or reluctance on my part to having stones removed. I must welcome it daily. I must allow it to change my thoughts, attitudes, prejudices.

Secondly, every area of my life needs to be reachable/available. ALL the ground in a garden is tilled for fruitfulness. ALL areas of my life need to be tilled by the Holy Spirit. This takes time, but it must be done. Again, He is the One who will do the work; we cooperate.

The key ingredient to good soil being productive is how much God is really in control of our lives, and how obedient and responsive we are to His Word.

The Holy Spirit has come to help us bear fruit to be productive, appointed to bear fruits that honor the Father. And there will be a bountiful harvest of divine fruit because my Heavenly Father has been working with great skill in His Garden and I chose to respond to His work in humility and with my heart.

Our Heavenly Father has a Garden that He has been working on; a garden that He is proud of, filled with blue-ribbon produce. A Garden that He longs to share with the world. It’s the lives of you and I!

"And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart." (Galatians 6:9 NKJV)