DREAM STEALERS

     Let us not grow weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. GALATIANS 6:9

     We have dreamed of a garden producing an abundance of flowers, beautiful foliage and veggies for sharing.  However, there are days when we want to sit down and let it all go.   There is too much weeding.  Seeds didn’t germinate.  Transplants are not looking so good.  On and on come the thieves that will steal our dreams. 

     Life, too, has dream stealers. Dream stealers thrive in our homes; exist in our extended family and congregate as friends at work.  Our passions for life are neither celebrated by loved ones nor comprehended by friends.  

     Our spouse or child observes our lives as a testimony of our faith and yet they do not “get it”.  Remember that it takes time to grow a garden and it may take time to allow those closest to “see the light”. We plant seeds with expectations of instant gratification. God plants souls in the soil of eternity knowing full well the lasting rewards.   

 

Neither do people light a lamp and put in under a bowl.  Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.   MATTHEW 5:15

GOD AND LAWN CARE

Don't know where this originated nor who to give credit...a friend forwarded it and I can't just sit on it!!!

God: "Frank, you know all about gardens and nature. What in the world is going on down there on the planet? What happened to the dandelions, violets, milkweeds and stuff I started eons ago? I had a perfect no-maintenance garden plan. Those plants grow in any type of soil, withstand drought and multiply with abandon. The nectar from the long-lasting blossoms attracts butterflies, honey bees and flocks of songbirds. I expected to see a vast garden of colors by now. But, all I see are these green rectangles."
ST. FRANCIS: It's the tribes that settled there, Lord. The Suburbanites. They started calling your flowers 'weeds' and went to great lengths to kill them and replace them with grass.
GOD: Grass? But, it's so boring. It's not colorful. It doesn't attract butterflies, birds and bees; only grubs and sod worms. It's sensitive to temperatures. Do these Suburbanites really want all that grass growing there?
ST. FRANCIS: Apparently so, Lord. They go to great pains to grow it and keep it green. They begin each spring by fertilizing grass and poisoning any other plant that crops up in the lawn.
GOD:  The spring rains and warm weather probably make grass grow really fast. That must make the Suburbanites happy.
ST. FRANCIS:  Apparently not, Lord. As soon as it grows a little, they cut it-sometimes twice a week.
GOD:  They cut it? Do they then bale it like hay?
ST. FRANCIS:  Not exactly, Lord. Most of them rake it up and put it in bags.
GOD:  They bag it? Why? Is it a cash crop? Do they sell it?
ST. FRANCIS:  No, Sir, just the opposite. They pay to throw it away.
GOD:  Now, let me get this straight. They fertilize grass so it will grow. And, when it does grow, they cut it off and pay to throw it away?
ST. FRANCIS: Yes, Sir.
GOD:  These Suburbanites must be relieved in the summer when we cut back on the rain and turn up the heat. That surely slows the growth and saves them a lot of work.
ST. FRANCIS:  You aren't going to believe this, Lord. When the grass stops growing so fast, they drag out hoses and pay more money to water it, so they can continue to mow it and pay to get rid of it.
GOD:  What nonsense! At least they kept some of the trees. That was a sheer stroke of genius, if I do say so myself. The trees grow leaves in the spring to provide beauty and shade in the summer. In the autumn, they fall to the ground and form a natural blanket to keep moisture in the soil and protect the trees and bushes. It's a natural cycle of life.
ST. FRANCIS: You better sit down, Lord. The Suburbanites have drawn a new circle. As soon as the leaves fall, they rake them into great piles and pay to have them hauled away.
GOD: No!? What do they do to protect the shrub and tree roots in the winter to keep the soil moist and loose?
ST. FRANCIS:  After throwing away the leaves, they go out and buy something which they call mulch. They haul it home and spread it around in place of the leaves.
GOD:  And where do they get this mulch?
ST. FRANCIS:  They cut down trees and grind them up to make the mulch.
GOD:  Enough! I don't want to think about this anymore. St. Catherine, you're in charge of the arts. What movie have you scheduled for us tonight?
ST. CATHERINE: 'Dumb and Dumber', Lord. It's a story about....
GOD: Never mind, I think I just heard the whole story from St. Francis.

 

SOUNDS OF THE COUNTRYSIDE, CITY AND GOD

     “When I was a child, I talked like a child; I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child.  When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.”                          

1 Corinthians 13:10-12

 

     When I was a very young kid my first experiences of the country occurred while being ‘farmed out’ for the summers to my Uncle Leon, in Nutbush, Tennessee. There were cows and pigs, horses and hens, buzzards and crows. Times were quieter then and sounds could be heard well past the next farm or two but the best sound of all was that of the great dinner bell.

     A few years later, after Papa retired from the railroad, we moved up to our farm, Highway 19 east of Ripley.  There, trains could be heard across Lauderdale County as they worked their way from Chicago, along the Mighty Mississippi and through the great Delta to New Orleans.  One of the greatest sounds from that era was the day World War II was over and the sounds from town, three and a half miles away, included the shrill shriek of the whistle from the tomato canning factory, the fire department’s several serious sirens, a cacophony of car horns from the highway and I promise you, I think we may have heard people shouting.

     Many years later, in Collierville, I lay face down in the aging green shag carpet of the office of my counselor, pastor and friend. For weeks we had been praying for God to dig deep into the depths of my soul, to forgive my sins and finish a work in me He had began many years before.  I had moved from the seated position to the kneeling position and lastly, prone on the carpet when I heard it, the sound of the train approaching the crossing. The engineer alerted everyone within hearing that the train was coming and essentially ‘there’.  Being from a railroad family I understood the message from the train, “I am here.”  God was nearby.  He had heard my prayers and I had heard his voice through the train whistle. I stood to my feet a changed person. Prayer really changes things. Prayer makes a difference.  God changes lives.

     Years later, Matt Surber, senior pastor-designate, was wrapping up his sermon on his introductory test run at Central Church and I had been praying along with him that God would ‘show up’ and bless his efforts.  Then, I heard it again, as if on cue....the sound of the train, “I am here”.  Prayer changes things. God changes lives.

     He, God, through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, is right here in the middle of our church, our lives and the ‘big C church’ out there.  He is calling the lost unto himself...bringing salvation to the yet untamed and unchurched masses and tending His flock.  To hear and to heed the voice of our Lord is a great daily prayer. It is also a thought that should penetrate, permeate and occupy our hearts, our minds, our thoughts and our souls, constantly through the day and into the night.

     May the sounds of “The Engineer” and the long train of His eternal salvation move in and along the tracks of your life and those of your loved ones...soon and often.

 

     “Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.  Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.  Share with the Lord’s people who are in need.”  Romans 12: 11-13

 

YOU ARE A LONG WAY FROM THAT

      “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”       Hebrews 12:1

     It was a beautiful fall day with autumn leaves gathering in piles of visual pleasure for those of us who might just shuffle through them kicking up yellows, golds, reds, oranges and all the shades in between that only God can imagine.

     Despite the obvious distraction of falls finery Kat and I made our way across the city checking off stops previously agreed upon until we found ourselves at our ultimate destination, “the car dealership”.  Salesmen peered from behind gigantic glass portals as we drove our ten year old Aztec with 123,000 miles into the midst of their gorgeous display of executive style sedans and SUVs.  Color almost immediately became passé compared to the beauty we had driven through by the golf course.  These expensively reserved automobiles were black, grey, brown and one stood starkly, nearly white.  Each of these massive steel beasts were effectively conservatively impressive. 

      We extended and enjoyed our enthusiastic visit to this array of economic status symbols and trophies, collecting information on styles, engines, manufactured years and outstanding condition of used (certified pre-owned) with price tags supporting their individual prowess and outstanding value.  We shared with the young and increasingly anxious salesperson that we were considering adding another vehicle to our aging fleet of one but that we were looking six months to a year down our financial road before acquisition would become a part of the success of doing business with our new adventure.

     Later that evening, following diner at one of our notoriously inexpensive haunts where we foraged on a somewhat mediocre prime rib, potato and salad,  I was on the way to the parking lot, a group of unidentified spots, unmarked, under a large oak that shaded the west side of the rather small and unnoticeable establishment.  I couldn’t resist any longer calling my best friend and fellow business partner to tell him where we had been. “Bet you can’t guess where we spent the afternoon . . . at the Mercedes Benz dealership!”  Pause and dead silence for a moment and then came the response.  “You’re a long way from that, aren’t you?”  I had expected that and knew it to be the truth however I knew my response, another truth, and shared it enthusiastically.  “Yes, but, I know where I’m going.”

     You know, I proclaimed that short statement with the same certainty as I would have if someone had asked me about Heaven.  I know where I am going and I know in whom I  trust:  Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, who came down from heaven and his throne at the right hand of our Father, God All Mighty.  He shared his life and he shed his blood for our redemption and our salvation.  Not that His coming was just our ticket to eternity but with the coming of the Holy Spirit and His ascension back to the Father, he fired the gun that was the beginning of our race here on earth. 

     He calls us to be workers in his fields and as such he promises to reward us for our work as we finish our race.  He doesn’t say we have to win the race, only one could achieve that goal, but because of God’s grace, we can all finish the race and be recipients of the same reward.  We need only to complete our work here, where our goal should be to help others see what God has done for us and to help them reach their goals.  The steps to success are often simple and the pathway clearly marked.  Ours is simply to begin, take massive action, follow the plan, and don’t quit...finish the race; know where you are going. 

     “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”    2 Timothy 4:7

    “This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.” 2 Co. 9:12

THE MAKING OF A MASTERPIECE

     “Philip found Nathanael and told him, ‘We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.’  ‘Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?’ Nathanael asked. ‘Come and see,’ said Philip." JOHN 1: 45-46

Philip had been looking for something.  Philip had been expecting something. Philip recognized someone . . . and wanted desperately to share it with his brother and friend Nathanael. 

Another of our great sources today, is author and lecturer, John Maxwell.  It is from John Maxwell’s book, MAKE TODAY COUNT, that I have borrowed this title. Maxwell condenses success to a formula he uses for making each day a masterpiece. A masterpiece consists simply of two parts; good decisions and good discipline.

Decisions are “goal setting” while discipline is “goal getting”.  Maxwell also breaks life down into bite size pieces, one day at a time.  While we may set monthly, semiannually and yearly goals, we live life and face our jobs or tasks, one day at a time.  In fact the only way we can really make an impact or a difference, immediately, is today. 

Today, if we plan well on sound decisions and live well with good discipline we will surely be one day closer to the elusive success we all seek.  The way we live our lives today is preparing us for our tomorrow’s successes.  If we work hard now, on the front end, then we will reap rewards of success in the future on the back end.  We have all heard it, “You reap what you sow.”

     “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds ate it up. . . But other seed fell on good soil and grew, and it produced a hundred times as much grain.”    Luke 8:5-8

GODENING NOTE:  The error of location and care of plants in the garden is much more easily corrected than the error of where and how we spend our time. Today is precious, that is why it is called the ‘present’.

FALL'S FINERY

     “Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.    LUKE 12:27
 

     A small wooded area behind my home lies sleepily waiting behind a wooden gate. The gate, much like Alice’s magical mirror provides an egress to another world or dimension in gardening and Godening.  Autumn in my woods find leaves spread out on the forest floor like colors spilled from God’s own palette.  The leaves, thrown together by evening winds, comingle, weaving a tapestry of colors drying to a crackling crisp by the moisture starved fall air, quietly covering previous years deposits insulating the summer warmed soils from the early morning attacks of Jack Frost.

     Some observers of this repeating fall magic might not care to know that the brilliance of fall has been hidden in the leaves by the abundance of green chlorophyll busily producing food and energy from sunlight and water during the long preceding days of summer.  As days shorten and the winds cool, the life-giving cycle of photosynthesis diminishes and the colors of fall break out from behind the screen of their big green brothers. Their autumnal display of forest hues tumbles from the north and high places to the mixed hardwood forests of the southern deltas and valleys.
     Christians, including me, often pray for God, Jesus or the Holy Spirit to come into their lives, to enter into their presence or to attend to their utterances.  Do we not understand that they are already there? “Lo, I am with you, always.” “If you will be my people and ... I will be your God.” “. . . “and the Holy Spirit descended on them as tongues of flame.”
     Behold the scarlet leaf of fall and know that the creator God who designed its beauty and mystery also designed each of us.  Yet in us, whom He created, God fashioned a seed, a soul, which needs his Son-light, his Living Water and his vineyard care.  We like the leaves of the forest may need a season of rest or a period of solitude, a time to recharge our batteries but we must never forget that we are in His presence and He is in our very lives.

       “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” GALATIANS 2:20

 Fall Planting Notes: When planting mums in the fall, select a sunny, well-drained location and insure their survival by water in thoroughly and continually when required as well as mulching before heavy freezes with   4-6 inches of good organic mulch.