Do You Have a Big BUT??

As Christians, how often do we use the phrase: “I would do that,  BUT _____________”(fill in the blank).  Today I want you to take a look at your BUT!!    What is it that is holding you back from what God is calling you to do?  Some excuses I have heard in the past are: I would help people, BUT I don’t have any extra money.  I would witness, BUT I’m not good at talking to people. I would work at Bible School, BUT I just don’t have time.  I would sing at church, BUT I can’t get up in front of people. I would go to church on Wednesday night, BUT I’m just too tired…and the list goes on and on.    

Even great people in the Bible had some big BUTS.  Look at Moses in Exodus 4, when God first told him what He wanted him to do to free the Israelites.  Moses basically said, “I would go, BUT I really can’t talk very good.  Please send someone else to do it!”  And Jonah, when God told him what He wanted him to do the scripture says, “BUT Jonah ran away from the LORD and headed for Tarshish” Jonah 1:3.   And Sarah, when the angel told Abraham that she would have a son, laughed and said, “BUT I’m too old!” The angel’s reply was, “Is anything too hard for the LORD? I will return to you at the appointed time next year and Sarah will have a son" Genesis 18:14.

Guess what?  Satan LOVES those big BUTS!  He probably sings that song, “I like big BUTS and I cannot lie.”  He knows he has us right where he wants us when we are not being obedient and doing what God is calling us to do. 

How do we get rid of our big BUTs?  The same way we get rid of our big BUTTS!  When we want to lose weight or re-shape our back sides, we 1) get up off the couch, 2) start eating right, and 3) begin to exercise.  We need to do the same things to get rid of our BUTs!  Over the next few days we are going to look at these three remedies for getting rid of our big BUTS!   Hope you join me!!

Who's Holding You Up?

Exodus 17:11-13 NLT - "As long as Moses held up the staff in his hand, the Israelites had the advantage. But whenever he dropped his hand, the Amalekites gained the advantage. Moses' arms soon became so tired he could no longer hold them up. So Aaron and Hur found a stone for him to sit on. Then they stood on each side of Moses, holding up his hands. So his hands held steady until sunset.  As a result, Joshua overwhelmed the army of Amalek in battle."

We have been studying Moses and the Israelites and their adventures in the wilderness for the past few weeks at church.  Last Sunday, we read this story in Exodus 17 about the battle with the Amalekites.  Moses, his brother Aaron, and his brother-in-law Hur went to the top of a hill to hold up the staff of God during the battle.

The first question that struck me was, “what was so important about the staff that Moses had to hold it up?”  So I did a little “digging” and found that the staff had been with Moses since day one at the burning bush.  God showed His power to Moses that day by turning the staff into a snake…and from then on, God directed Moses to use the staff to show His power in many situations (the plagues in Egypt, parting the Red Sea, water from the rock, the battle with the Amalekites). 

Moses was interceding (intervening on Joshua’s behalf) by holding the very POWER of God over the battle when he kept the staff elevated.   As long as Moses was interceding for Joshua and his army, they were winning.  But when he grew weak and couldn’t hold up the staff, the enemy was winning.  How important was Moses’ intercession that day?  It was the difference between victory and defeat. 

But Moses could not have done it alone.  He wanted to be obedient to God and hold the staff up, but in his human weakness, there was no way he could have continued to do it alone.  His brothers were there to hold him up so that he could do God’s work.  Without their support, Moses would have dropped the staff and the battle would have been lost. 

Can you see the lesson here?  Our intercession (prayer) for one another is how we hold God’s power over a battle.  Joshua was too busy fighting to be able to cry out to God, so Moses had to be there for him.  As long as Moses interceded, the battle was being won!  But Moses grew weak, so Aaron and Hur had to be there for him.

Do you know someone that is in a battle right now?  Maybe you are fighting one yourself.  Are you trying to do it alone?  This story shows us that none of us can fight our battles alone.  We MUST have Christian brothers and sisters who are interceding on our behalf and who are willing to “hold us up” when we grow weak.  This is especially true of our pastors.  They have so many people that they are trying to intercede for, but who is holding them up?   They grow weak just like the rest of us.  We have to HOLD THEM UP!  

1Timothy 2:1 NLT - "I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them."

Why Praise and Worship Him?

I was looking for a quote on a website the other day, when I came across this one by German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche: “I cannot believe in a God who wants to be praised all the time.”  After getting over being totally appalled by his words, I started thinking about this statement and wondering how I would refute this if someone ever said it to me. 

                                                       

Why do we praise God?  Is He a dictator that sits up there on His throne and demands that we bow down to Him or else?  To answer this question, I started examining the meaning of those two words; praise and worship.   

According to Biblos.com, the word “praise” comes from the Latin pretium, meaning “price” or “value”, and may be defined generally as an ascription of value or worth. True praise consists in a sincere acknowledgment of a real conviction of worth.  The principal Old Testament word for “worship” is shachah, meaning to “depress”, “bow down”, or “prostrate”.   The word is applied to acts of reverence to human superiors as well as supernatural superiors.  Next in frequency for “worship” is sebomai, meaning “venerate”, and its various cognates, sebazomai, eusebeo, theosebes, sebasma. Its root is sebas, meaning “fear”, but this primitive meaning is completely merged into "reverence," meaning to "hold in awe”. 

So to simplify: we praise something or someone that has great value or worth to us.  We worship something or someone by being in awe of or bowing down to it/them.

After I had the definitions established, I began to think about how these two things applied to my relationship with God.  In Genesis 5:1, the bible tells us that “When God created human beings, he made them to be like himself.”  I was created to be like Him, so how do I expect my children to act towards me? 

I want to be of great value or worth to them and I love when they acknowledge my value to them. There is a whole day set aside for that…Mother’s Day!  I gave birth to them and I would give my life for them. I love them and protect them and provide for them.  All that I expect in return is for them to love, honor, obey and respect me and to be thankful.  There is nothing worse than an ungrateful child!!  I want to have a relationship with them (that is why I had them)!   What would I do if they began to give all of their love and attention to another “mother” that does nothing for them?   How would I feel if they put someone else above me in value after all that I have done? 

Everyone can understand the concept of a parent-child relationship.  That is how I view God.  He is my Father.  He created me; He knit me together in my mother’s womb. (Psalm 139:13-14 NIV – For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.)  He is the ONLY one who knows EVERYTHING about me and loves me anyway.  He wants to have a relationship with me.  He wants to see me happy.  He wants good things for me. (Matthew 7:11 NIV - If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!)  And most importantly, He gave His only Son to die for me, so that I could have access to Heaven and spend eternity with Him. 

How do you think He feels when we put great value in someone else, or worship someone or something besides Him?  Exactly how we would feel if our kids did that to us!  Exodus 20:5 NIV - You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God…”  He is jealous for us because we belong to Him.

So what would my answer be if someone said those words to me, “I cannot believe in a God who wants to be praised all the time.”??   My answer would simply be this,  “How can we not give Him praise?  How can we not worship Him?  He loves us more than anyone else ever could.  He is our everything.  We owe our lives to Him.  He deserves nothing less than what we would expect from our own children: love, honor, obedience, respect, gratitude…But He also deserves SO MUCH MORE:  praise, worship, EVERYTHING.   

No Substitutions!

 Jeremiah 24:7 NIV – “I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the LORD. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart.”

A friend of mine just gave birth to her fourth child.  She definitely has her hands full!  The other day, as she sat in the school gym, trying to be discreet about breastfeeding the baby (while her oldest daughter was having a cheer crises and her other two daughters were ready to go home), I felt helpless.  I asked her why she didn’t “pump” so that she could just give him a bottle.  At least that would make things easier on her and surely be more convenient!  But she told me that he would not take a bottle from her.  Sometimes, he might take one from someone besides her, but only if she isn’t around.   She said, “I think he can smell me!” 

That made me start thinking, so I researched it.  Actually, she is right.  I won’t go into detail, but babies do smell their mothers (up to 50 feet away!) They KNOW where their meals come from!  This simple thing is so amazing.  God created that in us.  He created babies to know their mother’s by their smell.  And when a baby wants its mother, no substitute will do! 

This is a perfect picture of how God created us to respond to Him.  We are His children, and we were made to know Him.  No substitute will do.  We were born with an innate desire to seek Him out and have a relationship with Him.   Many people spend their lives in search of something that will fill that need in their life.  But nothing ever can!  People try to substitute money, fame, drugs, alcohol, jobs, other people, the list could go on…but just like that tiny baby that KNOWS his mother and will not accept a substitute, we KNOW our creator and nothing or no one can take His place. 

Are you restlessly searching for that “thing” than can fulfill you?  I promise that when you get IT (whatever IT is for you) you will not be happy.  True happiness is only found in the Lord. Ecclesiastes 2:26 NIV - To the man who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God.”  

When we seek after Him, all the "stuff" that seemed so important before pales in comparison.  And when we give our lives to Him, He provides everything that we would ever need.    Matthew 6:31-33 NIV - "So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."

A relationship with Him is what we crave...there are NO SUBSTITUTIONS! 

My Hero

What is a hero?  One definition is “a person who displays courage and a will for self sacrifice for the greater good of all humanity.”  I love this description…it describes my hero perfectly. 

Most people have heroes that they don’t really know outside of the television or Internet.  But I have had the privilege of personally knowing my hero all of my life. I have never once been let down by or lost respect for my hero.    

She has many titles: Daughter, sister, wife, mother, grandmother, friend, Christian…and hero.  If I tried to make a list of her many attributes (which it would never include everything) it might look something like this:  strong, unselfish, humble, peaceful, comforting, patient, kind, forgiving, loving, gentle, protecting, generous, trustworthy, faithful, hopeful, beautiful, nurturing, fun-loving, creative, joyful, courageous, wise, and humorous.

As I started making this list, I couldn’t help but notice the similarities to the scripture:  1 Corinthians 13:4 NIV - Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. 

I guess we can see the driving force behind my hero…love.  Because of love, she is able to possess all of the qualities I listed above. The love of Jesus in her shines through her onto everyone around her. That is why she is my hero.  Not because she has a college degree or a high-paying job; not because she drives fancy cars or lives in a mansion; not because she is famous or a politician.   She is my hero because she loves Jesus and she lets Him control her life.  

My hero’s name is Clara Grider Morden Smith.  If you don’t know her, you are missing out!  Today is her birthday, the day God chose to bring her into this world.  She has touched so many lives since she has been here, and I know that she will touch many more before she leaves. 

Happy Birthday to my hero: my precious mother.  I love you so very much and I pray you have the best birthday ever!! 

My Amazing Trip

I was given an amazing gift!  It is an all-expense paid trip to PARADISE!!  In my brochure I read that it will be a completely worry-free environment and the weather will be Sonny all the time!  And apparently when you get there, you are instantly healed from all of your diseases, pain and discomfort.  There will only be joy and love, no sadness or crying…and get this…I can sing all day long.

I will be staying in a MANSION where the streets are made of GOLD!  Not just paved with gold, they are MADE out of gold.  The government there is completely above board, and they will have my best interests at heart.  It sounds like the perfect place.  I know when I get there I will never want to leave!!  I will miss everyone, but this trip is just too good to pass up. 

But wait!  This brochure says that I can invite as many of my friends and family as I want to come with me!   The only problem is we have to go at different times.  So who gets to go first??  I would love to go first because this place sounds absolutely wonderful…I’m so tired of dealing with all of the problems of this world.  But how selfish would that be? 

My mother has lived such a selfless life and she has never really had expensive things.   Besides, she has lots of aches and pains and she is getting older.  A trip like this would be such an amazing reward for her.  I should let her go ahead of me.  And my children, why would I want to leave them here in this horrible world when they could go to Paradise and not have to ever worry about anything??  What about my husband?  He is in constant pain with his back and he has to work so hard, just to have every penny drained by bills, bills and more bills.  I should let him go before me.

What if we looked at the death of a loved one with this scenario in mind?   How comforting would it be to know in your heart of hearts that they are truly in a place just as wonderful as I have described?  Would you really want to take that from them?   Would you rob them of that ultimate vacation in Paradise??  If they know Jesus, and have truly made Him the Lord of their life, then they have that free gift and will spend eternity in Heaven (Paradise). 

We are selfish and we want our friends and loved ones to always be with us.  We even pray, “Lord, please take me first.”  But I hope that when you think about this more, you will never pray that again.  I miss my Daddy every day, but I would NEVER wish him back here in this evil world full of sickness and pain.  I’m just excited for the day that I get to go and be with him!

When my work here is done, I will go on my trip, and prayerfully so will you.  And if I go before you, please don’t be sad, I will be in PARADISE with my Daddy and my Jesus.  I will be singing at the top of my lungs and “praising my Savior all the day long”!! 

John 14:1-3 NKJV - "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.  In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.”

March 21, The Day That Changed My Life

I was only 19 years old on March 21, 1990, the day that God gave me the most amazing gift…

a beautiful baby boy. 

The entire course of my life was changed in the moment that I first held him in my arms.  My life was no longer just about me…I had this little, tiny person depending on me for everything. 

I had always thought that I would go to college and do big things…but raising our son took the place of everything.  I like to say that I went to the college of life!  I had to work, learn how to cook and clean, pay bills, take care of a baby and 10 million other things…and I wasn’t really even old enough to be considered an adult! Praise the Lord we had parents that were always willing to help us, yet still encourage us stand on our own.

More important to me than any college degree or high paying career is the accomplishment that I feel when I look at my son.  He is a good man and a good husband.  He is loved by everyone that meets him.  He is a hard-working, God-fearing, compassionate man.  And I know that some day, he will be an amazing Dad.

Do I ever have regrets about what could have been?  No, I never do.  I had never planned to have a child so young, but God worked it all out for good. (Romans 8:28) One day, when Cody figured out how young we were when he was born, he asked me if he was a “mistake.”  I told him NO WAY; he was a “surprise”…an unexpected gift that I didn’t even know I wanted until I got it!  

No child is ever a mistake.

The bible says, “Children are a gift from the LORD; they are a reward from him.” Psalm 127:3 NLT

Happy Birthday, Cody.  I love you more than words can express. Thank you, Lord, for that special gift you gave to us. We have always cherished him, and we always will!  When I look at Cody and our daughter, Maddie, I know that there is nothing in this world that could have made me happier and more fulfilled than being their mother. 

 That is what God put me on this earth to do…

it is my first calling.