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God’s kingdom is like a farmer who planted good seed in his field.  That night, while the hired men were asleep, his enemy sowed thistles all through the wheat and slipped away before dawn. When the first green shoots appeared, and the grain began to grow, the thistles showed up, too.  Matthew 13:24-26

Not much in life hurts more and fills one with more anguish than an occasion when we feel as if we have been betrayed by a good friend or loved one.  It can come when you least expect it through gossip, disagreements, broken confidences, broken promises, jealousy, or other events in life.  Almost everyone has experienced betrayal.  At our house we like to call these folks, people who speak with a forked tongue.  We pray for them and for ourselves, ask forgiveness, and then, we dust the sand from our feet and move on.

Judas was a close disciple of Jesus, and for three years, they traveled together, lived together, and worked together.  Judas was treated as a confidential servant and friend.  Yet, in the end, Judas gave in to his temptation and committed the ultimate act of treachery – he sold out for money – what will you give me if I deliver Him to you?  Matt: 26:15  Rather than live and work for Christ, he betrayed our Lord for thirty pieces of silver, and he sealed it with a kiss.  The Judas kiss is described as an act appearing to show friendship which is actually harmful to the recipient.

Betrayal hurts in many ways, but the ones that seem to stand out are the ways that it can effect us emotionally.  It hurts our feelings as my Mama would say.  We can’t believe someone close to us would let us down. It is frustrating because in many cases there have been no outward signs or reasons for the betrayal.  It also makes us angry to realize that we have put our confidence in someone, and they don’t respect us enough to be deserving of our respect.

Many times we witness spiritual betrayal.  We see people desert the church, deceive other Christians, even deny Christ.  What should be our reaction to these who we see as betraying their faith?

Jesus used the parable of the wheat and the tares to deal with betrayal.  The farmhands asked,  ‘should we weed out the thistles?’  No, if you weed the thistles you’ll pull out the wheat too.  Let them grow together until harvest time.  Then, I’ll instruct the harvesters to pull up the thistles and bind them to be put in the fire.  The wheat will be harvested and put in the barn.  Matthew 13:29-30.  This says to me that God will deal with the betrayer in His own way and at His appointed time.  He won’t sacrifice the good to deal with the bad.

Jesus knew that Judas would betray him, yet He showed grace to him. When I remember Judas, I think of him as a man who was haunted by his decision of betrayal so much that he went and hanged himself.  He couldn’t live with his betrayal. There are betrayers among us, and God allows them to exist here until He chooses to deal with them.  We live among thistles and wheat, and it’s our job to show grace to both.  Just as there are betrayers among us, there are angels here also.  Let’s choose to concentrate on the angels.

And now Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with boldness.  Acts 4:29

Spring is here and with it comes March Madness.  People have compiled their brackets of teams which map out how they think teams will be paired up for the Sweet Sixteen, Elite Eight and the Final Four.  Finally, we have our Final Four and are preparing for the Championship weekend.  Basketball season is long and uninteresting for me, but this time of year is different.  I love watching the games leading up to the Championship and of course, the big game!

My high school ladies basketball team was actually quite good, and although I didn’t play in an actual game, I was on the team for a short time. They won state for a couple of years in the late 60’s with a very talented team. How I loved to watch Jackie Lane make a hook shot!   Our coach, Mr. Malcolm, was a distinguished gentleman who was soft spoken, all business, an excellent coach, and all about the love of his girls.  He taught the fundamentals of basketball while encouraging morals, Christian beliefs, and teamwork.

One of his hard and fast rules was follow your shot.  In other words, when you shoot, don’t stand there, run toward the goal and hope if your shot misses, you can get the rebound.  During the years when I watched Rob play and now as I watch all the grand boys play, I enjoyed and still enjoy cheering on the teams.  My main criticism now a days is that the teams don’t follow their shot.  

Everyone looks at me oddly when I yell this out from the stands at the games. I didn’t see the problem, but I looked it up to see if it is indeed important, (maybe I made that up), but guess what?  It IS a fundamental.  This quote was included in a basketball website:  When working on your shooting don’t forget to follow your shot.  This is one of the most neglected fundamentals of basketball these days.  Don’t sit back and watch your shot like a spectator, go after it so that if you miss, you will have a chance to get the rebound and make another shot.  Follow it in.  copied

In life, we  can learn from this fundamental.  It takes a spirit of boldness to charge the basket after a shot to make sure you finish what you began.  The distinguishing marks of a good athlete and dedicated player lies here.  This player attempts great things for their team.  The New Testament speaks of a boldness or spirit that lies within the church.  This kind of faith attempts great things for God.

Sometimes a player thinks it’s easier to stand there and watch their shot just like Christians think it’s easier to stand back and watch others do the work of the Kingdom.  I think just the opposite is true.  It’s easier to move forward in bold faith than to err on the side of caution and timidity.

I’ll be watching for the players who follow their shot with courage and conviction.  I”ll also be praying that we, as Christians, will move forward in faith, boldness, and strength to accomplish great things for God.

You run a sad train, mister.  You take people away when they don’t want to go and won’t bring them back when they are ready.  Charles Anderson in Shenandoah

One of my favorite movies of all time, is Shenandoah.  I love all the characters, their close family, and I especially love the scene where the Anderson family stops a Union train to look among the Confederate prisoners bound for prison for their brother and son.  They found instead their son in law/brother in law and freed all the prisoners on the train.

There are so many different trains – passenger, freight, fast, slow – I love to hear the whistle blowing as it approaches stations along the way.  When I was a little girl, my PaPa took me on a train ride from Donalsonville to Iron City, a total of 5 miles!   I still remember how excited I was to this day.  I sat on his lap and watched the scenery go by from the window of the train (it’s not like it raced by in that five mile trip).  Normally the train went without stopping to Bainbridge twenty miles down the track,  but this day, they stopped to let us off and then started again.

Now, many places have hop on, hop off, buses and trains to make it easy to get where you are going.  One ticket and you can get off and get back on to continue your journey when you are ready.  You can start the trip when you want and stop when you choose.

The train of life provides us many opportunities to start and stop.  God has provided us with the ticket for the train, the chance to ride, and the means with which to enjoy it. We can hop on the train and start a new career, start reading the Bible, start doing for others, start praying, and basically start anything at anytime on the journey.

We can also hop off, and stop doing something harmful, stop hurting our loved ones, stop being self centered, stop a bad habit, stop complaining, and stay here until we are ready to continue.

Jesus has provided us with helpful tools for our trip.  He has given us a compass in the form of our conscience.  If we listen, we innately know what is right and wrong, and we know if we need to start or stop doing it.

He has also provided us a road map for referral on our trip. The road map is the Bible.  Sometimes we need to stop listening to what the world thinks, hop off the train, and go check out the road map.  Reaffirmed, we can then hop back on and start again.

Jesus has given us a personal guide in the form of the Holy Spirit.  We have only to ask, knock, seek and the Holy Spirit will make the journey plain as we travel.

God runs a train for sinners, hypocrites, young, old, rich, poor, men, women, children, and everything in between. During this time of Lent, maybe we should consider a train ride.  All we need to do is present our ticket and start the journey!

I come to the Garden alone; while the dew is still on the roses; and the voice I hear, falling on my ear; the Son of God discloses…and He walks with me, and He talks with me, and He tells me I am His own.  And the joy we share as we tarry there; none other has ever known.   C. Austin Miles

In 2001, Houston First United Methodist Church came calling to see if Randy would be interested in coming to be their next minister.  They flew us out to look, and  our time was filled with what I call, “wining and dining.”  We met so many great folks, and it was a humbling experience.  The last night as we sat down for dinner at the country club, John said, let’s have the blessing.  Then he said, “By the way, everyone, if Randy and Diane come to be with us, you just need to know that Diane does not pray publicly!!”  Sadly, that’s true, but how’d he know that, and is that not oversharing?

There are so many folks who pray eloquently.  The fact is, I am not  eloquent with words in prayer; consequently,  I do my best praying when I am alone.  It is then that I can have a conversation with God rather than orate.  If you want to know about prayer, all you have to do is examine the life of Jesus.  It seems to me that although He prayed for others in crowds daily, when He truly had important decisions to make or when the pressures of His life increased, He went out to a mountainside, a garden or some quiet place to be alone with His Father.  The Bible says that Jesus “withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” Luke 5:16

The Garden of Gethsemane has always reminded me of how intensely Jesus prayed and how much he relied on this time alone with His Father to get him through.  Spending time alone with God is the secret to feeling His power and strength.

Jesus always knew what we as Christians are slowly learning.  When we think we don’t have time to pray is the time we need to pray the most.  We don’t mind spending months planning a vacation, a reunion, a wedding, a dinner party, etc. yet amazingly, we don’t want to spend five minutes seeking God’s guidance.  God is always open to discussing things with us, but it takes two to have a conversation.

We don’t have to pray out loud in order for God to hear, just listen for God’s voice in everything we do, and He will direct our paths.

Everyone has sinned and fallen short of God’s glorious standard.  Romans 3:23

A couple of days ago after water aerobics class, I wandered into the lady’s sauna to warm up, and I stumbled into the most interesting conversation occurring among three ladies. It was really a vent session, but I got so caught up in it, that I sat down to listen.

The first lady, Linda, was complaining about her mother.  It seems that Linda never gets the thanks and respect she deserves from her mother for all the many ways she cares for her in any and all situations.  Maria jumped in to say that her husband loves his Mother, but Maria ends up doing all the caring for her, and she resents it.  Both of these ladies painted themselves as the perfect and deserving ones in these situations.

At this moment, Pat took the floor and said, “Ladies, I have to say this.  Three years ago my husband asked me if we could take his terminally ill mother into our home.  He didn’t insist, but he rather made it our decision.  She moved in, and we cared for her.  Then, with tears in her eyes, she said, that man loved his Mama so well.  He carried her in his arms at the end when she couldn’t move by herself.  Just seeing the love in his heart, earned my husband a whole lot of places of respect and love in my heart during that time.  She finished by saying, there’s not one of us who deserves all the riches and grace God gives us.  Not one.”  Wow!  What can one say to that?  She was exactly right.  None of us are perfect.

Silence was followed by wiping of tears, nodding of heads, and an Amen from me.  When we walked out, I stopped Pat to tell her how beautiful her words were to me.  I added, “None of us are perfect.”  She added to my thoughts by saying, “I am so glad my husband isn’t perfect because if he were, he wouldn’t want me.”  God truly placed Pat in our lives that day.

Although I have never had to care for a loved one single handedly, I watched my Mom and Dad care for their parents, I’ve seen other family members care for their loved ones, and recently, I’ve seen friends deal with caring for spouses and parents.  I’m sure they felt a lot of emotions during these times, but I never heard them be resentful.  It’s not about how imperfect those for whom we care are during this time, it’s about the grace we receive to help us be the best we can be to respect and love them.

As we prepare our hearts for the experience of Lent and Easter, I pray while None of us are perfect, no not one.  Romans 3:10,  we can strive to be worthy of the grace we receive to do our best each day.

This is the very perfection of man, to find out his own imperfections.  Augustine

Never let the fire in your heart go out.  Keep it alive.  Serve the Lord.            Romans 12:11

It only takes a spark to get a fire burning, and soon all those around will warm up in its glowing;  That’s how it is with God’s love..once you’ve experienced it, you spread your love to everyone; you want to pass it on.                Kurt Kaiser

Years ago when our family served the Calhoun First Methodist Church, we had an incident occur on Ash Wednesday.  The service was wrapping up, and Randy was at the altar speaking to those who had come to kneel in prayer.  The sanctuary was dark, and the candles were providing the only light.  It was quite a moving service.  The kids and I were sitting in the balcony, and as I looked down, I saw a strange thing.  Behind Randy there seemed to be a glow much like I would imagine the Holy Spirit.  The odd thing about it was, every time Randy moved – it moved.

As the glow got brighter, I realized that the sleeve of his robe was the source of the glow.  Just as I was making my way down to tell someone, I heard Randy say to a member, “Am I on fire?”  She nodded her head, yes, and he urgently said, “Well, please put me out.”  It turns out that a spark from the candle had ignited his robe.

It’s a fact that you can’t start a fire without a spark, and that it only takes a spark to get a fire burning.  As we begin this Lenten season, my prayer is that we all receive that spark which leads to a fire and that we are filled with the Holy Spirit.

When we acquire this spirit, we will have an intercessor, a helper, and receive gifts of the Spirit.  Usually, during the forty days of Lent, we speak of “giving up” something.  Another suggestion would be to “take on” the task of praying to be ignited so that we can pass it on to others who need the Holy Spirit.

Wouldn’t that be an amazing concept that we are so excited and on fire as Christians that we have to ask others to “please, put out our fire”?  We can be the sparks that ignite the fires all around us.

The good news about his story is that those of us in that community relived that moment, and it made that Lenten season more alive in all our hearts and minds as we sought to pass it on.

All scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.          2 Timothy 3:16

I know I have the right to remain silent, but I don’t always have the ability.  copied

During my college years, I took a course entitled Speech 101.  Looking for an easy elective and since I had done declamation in high school, I thought it would be an easy A.  Not so much!  I picked a topic, researched it, wrote it, and prepared to deliver it.  That’s all good, but guess what?  I was unaware that not only must you deliver that speech, but also be prepared to defend what you have said!

Let’s just say it was easy to write a speech, not so bad to deliver it,  but it proved impossible for me to defend it.  I learned a valuable lesson – if you have to defend something, you better know it inside out.  Francis Bacon once said, “Knowledge is power”, and that is so true.

I can’t remember the answers I gave when questions came for which I didn’t have concrete answers, but I do know that it would have been best if I had remained silent.  If you can’t defend something with knowledge, then it’s best to remain silent until you can.

Thankfully, there are people who don’t need to remain silent especially where our faith is concerned because they have that knowledge. It amazes me that some people can quote scripture totally from memory with such confidence and accuracy.  They have studied the Bible, and it just comes naturally to them to pull up a scripture which matches the situation.  They use scripture to defend their faith.

It also amazes me that people can listen to speeches from teachers, politicians, preachers, professors, etc., and they do not ask them to defend their position.  We don’t have to accept things just because someone says it, there should be accountability involved.  We also can’t believe everything we read, and I admire those folks who write rebuttals which hold writers, speakers, media and others accountable.

The thing about the Bible is that it doesn’t seek to prove its validity.  It simply states what is and what is not true according to God.  It provides the facts, and it is up to us to accept it or reject it.  My prayer is we will not remain silent, but that we will seek the knowledge to defend our principles and faith.

But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive in Christ…it is by Grace you have been saved.  Ephesians 2:4-5

On some of our “destination unknown” trips with our grandkids, we have had the occasion to visit the Wild Animal Safari in Pine Mountain.  You can drive your car (I recommend a tank) through the park armed with food for the animals, and they will literally bombard you.  The problem is they want to actually be inside your car rather than outside.

The rules state that sun roofs must be closed, hands and feet inside the vehicle, and do not get out of your car. Never feed the zebra from your hand.  The windows were all down, the sunroof open (of course), and we were all feeding the animals from our hands.  While we were feeding the water buffalo, the zebra, the ostrich from the window, the giraffe shocked us all by sticking his head through the sun roof.  He wanted to be inside the truck, and he found the best way to break through.

It reminded me of how God must feel sometimes. People talk about Jesus walking with them, feeling the Holy Spirit near them, and being in the presence of God, but I think God would rather be on the inside of our hearts and minds rather on the outside looking in.  He wants to be in us rather than just with us.

We are chosen, wanted, and included in God’s family, and He has saved each of us by Grace.  His grace has made us alive to God.  When we let Him inside, we have a reason for hope, strength to endure, the power to serve and help others, and assurance of life after death.  He erased our sins by nailing them to the cross with Him while stamping Paid In Full over each one.

All we have to do is let Him inside, and He will begin his work in us.  I doubt that anyone in heaven has ever said, “Look what Jesus and I did together.”  He did it all.

Being taught to avoid talking about politics and religion has led to a lack of understanding of both.  What we should have been taught was how to have a civil conversation about a difficult topic.                                Celtic Christian Tradition

My sisters and I were fortunate enough to grow up with a set of  grandparents who loved the outdoors and loved to fish.  They had a small cabin on the point of the Chattahoochee River outside my home town, and every afternoon, weather permitting, they’d end their day out on the water fishing in their small boat.

I loved to go with them (in small increments) because PaPa would bait my hook, help me watch the cork, and then take the fish off my hook if I was lucky enough to catch one.  Almost every time I brought one in, he would smile and say, We won’t be throwing that one back, that’s a keeper.   I’m pretty sure we fried up and ate some fish that would not normally be a keeper, but it didn’t diminish my pride and joy.

The word, keeper is defined as someone responsible for guarding or taking care of something.  I like to think of Christians as keepers.  God left his Word, His world, His rules, in a bond or covenant with us.  We made a pact, a pledge, a promise, and a guarantee when we assumed our roles as  Christians that we would do all in our power to uphold His laws and follow His rules for ourselves and generations to come.

There are many “things” I see as keepers, but the right to life of unborn as well as newborn babies is the first thing on my list.  When did we decide to play God?  Life is a gift from God and should be treated with respect.  Politics has overstepped into religious values and basic human rights.

Family is a definite keeper.  One may not always be happy with members of your family, but God placed you together for a reason.  Let’s deal with the issues that divide us and move on in love.

Friends are definite keepers.  How can we survive in this world without the love and support of friends in good times as well as bad.  What would life be without friends with which to share it?

Church, faith and heritage are keepers.  I’m not sure when we as Christians decided that whatever changes in our church, faith and heritage passed down by powers other than God are acceptable.  It is not.  There’s a difference in political correctness and religious values.

Sometimes I feel we are standing at the precipice of a decision for Christ, and we are weighing His word, His laws, His love, His promises, His rules, and trying to decide if these things are keepers.  Should we fight for them, evangelize them, honor them, or should we throw them back as we would a fish which is too small?  Who is society to make these decisions about the things we hold most dear?  Let’s have the discussion!

Brevity  is defined as exact and concise use of words or speech;  shortness. 

Southerners are noted for the way we talk, the way we weave a story, the way we love and hug, our cooking, and our hospitality just to name a few characteristics.  When you are from a small town, you learn to be patient when people stop you on the street just to say a quick “hi” and thirty minutes later you leave.  I’m a talker, so I actually love that about our heritage.  I wish I had a nickel for every time I’ve heard, “to make a long story short” in my life because when people preface the conversation with that, make yourself comfortable.

In today’s world, people don’t have time to stop and visit. They want everything presented to them in the briefest possible way whether it be a story, a presentation, a speech, or a conversation.  Texting has taken the place of an actual phone conversation because one can make it very brief.

There are times where brevity is important.  When you teach kindergarten, you learn that a child’s attention span lies somewhere between that of a gnat and a fly, so you must adapt lessons that include brevity without sacrificing content.

Meetings are another place where brevity is necessary.  I hate the ones that go on and on especially when you are told things over and over that you heard the first time.  Interestingly, studies reveal that the maximum attention span for most of us is no longer than twenty minutes, and that doesn’t take into account the persons affected with ADHD!!  After this point, people zone out and don’t retain much, if any at all, of things they just heard.

I wonder how Jesus would feel about today’s world?  As I recall, He loved to spin parables, visit with the tax collectors in their homes, stop to heal, touch those who needed reassurance, and take time to explain His kingdom.  He would never replace the human connection with other forms of communication.  It can’t be replaced.

Jesus could tell a parable in as many as fifteen verses or as few as one, yet he held His followers spellbound and following him to hear more.  He gave the truth with brevity, packed with a lesson, while delivering it in a warm, compassionate way.

Most of us Southerners have the gift of listening, asking pertinent questions while showing love and concern during a conversation.  I think Jesus loves the way we focus on building others up, trying to leave people better than when we met, and doing the right thing even when no one is looking.  Brevity has its place, but so do people who are the hands, feet, ears, lips, and voice of Christ.

What is the Kingdom of God like?  To what shall I compare it?  It is like a grain of mustard seed which a man took and planted in his own garden.  It grew and became a large tree, and the birds of the sky lodged in its branches.                   Luke 13:18-19