The Gospel Truth

Our grandboy, front and center
Christmas musical, 2016

"But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)." (Eph. 2:4-5)

Raise your hand if you've ever presented the gospel as "asking Jesus into your heart." 

Yep, my hand's up.

No where in Scripture does God instruct believers to ask Jesus into their hearts.

In his book Follow Me, A Call to Die. A Call to Live, Dr. David Platt wrote: 

Inviting Jesus into your heart is impossible when you're dead in sin....The reality of the gospel is that we do not become God's children ultimately because of initiative in us, and He does not provide salvation primarily because of an invitation from us. Instead, before we were ever born, God was working to adopt us. While we were lying alone in the depth of our sin, God was planning to save us. And the only way we can become part of the family of God is through a love entirely beyond our imagination and completely out of our control. Christianity does not begin with our pursuit of Christ, by with Christ's pursuit of us. Christianity does not start with an invitation we offer to Jesus, but with an invitation Jesus offers to us.

Jesus said, "You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit..." (John 15:16).

 So what is the gospel truth?

"Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel...that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day..." (1 Cor. 15:1-4)

"...if you confess with your mouth Jesus as LORD (Master of your life), and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." (Rom. 10:9)

"For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not of works, so that no one may boast." (Eph. 2:8-9)

Have you accepted God's invitation for forgiveness and eternal life, beloved? The proof is in the pudding of Lordship and love. 

Jesus said, "Anyone who loves Me will obey My teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them." (John 14:23)

"Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother or sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen." (1 John 4:20)

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Waking Dreams

Brad
Yesterday'a guest speaker at UNC Chapel Hill

"So we don't look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, and the things we cannot see will last forever." (2 Cor. 4:18)

Brad Jones. Dream chaser. Film maker. My friend. My inspiration. My hero.

Despite his immeasurable physical obstacles, Brad's Waking Dreams - a film birthed through his unparalleled imagination in collaboration with Jake Carah's MFA creative project in Documentary film - premiered August, 2014. 

Moreover, although imprisoned often, beaten more, shipwrecked, and stoned nigh to death, the Apostle Paul penned: "That is why we never give up...For our present troubles are small and won't last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!" (2 Cor. 4:16-17)

How are great men great and courageous men courageous? A gaze fixed on Jesus rather than self or problems.

Mind check. Where's your focus, beloved?

One ship sails East

And another West,

By the self-same winds that blow,

Tis the set of the sails

And not the gales,

That tells the way to go.

Like the winds of the sea

Are the waves of time,

As we journey along through life.

Tis the set of the soul

That determines the goal,

And not the calm or the strife.

~Ella Wheeler Wilcox~

Visit: www.wakingdreamsfilm.com

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Up and At 'Em

Two-and-a-half-year-old me
1959

To make it to church by 6 a.m. for 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting (which ended last Saturday), I set my alarm for 5. Without an alarm, I woke at 6:38 this morning and laughed when I read today's Proverb:

"But you, lazybones, how long will you sleep? When will you wake up? A little extra sleep, a little more slumber...then poverty will pounce on you like a bandit; scarcity will attack you like an armed robber." (Prov. 6:9-11) 

If calculated correctly, I'll add nearly 7 days to my 2017 by getting up at 6 a.m. on weekdays instead of 6:38. So tomorrow, it's out of bed you sleepyhead!

Jesus said, "As long as it is day, we must do the works of Him who sent Me." (John 9:4) 

Up and at 'em, beloved! There's lots of Kingdom work to be done.

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Three Christketeers

Three Christketeers
L-R Me, Debora, Babs




"Their responsibility is to equip God's people to do His work and build up the church, the body of  Christ." (Eph. 4:12)

Winter/spring small groups at Church of the Highlands kick off next week. I'm teamed with friends, Babs and Debora, to lead single girls in their 20s in a 12-week, book of  Revelation study. We three Christketeers share the crucial responsibility of loving, guiding, teaching, shepherding, and equipping twelve, precious young women to carry on the work of Jesus. Lord, help us! Without You, we can do nothing!

Beloved, lead a life worthy of your calling and lead another life to Christ!

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Pink Balloon Parade

Baby Meredith in her car seat headed home

"Jesus traveled throughout...Galilee, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom. And He healed every kind of disease and illness." (Matt. 4:23)

Baby Meredith was born October 24 at 2 lbs. 6 oz.. After three grueling months of sepsis, pneumonia, heart surgery, chronic lung problems, and eye problems, today the little princess came home to Middlesboro, Kentucky by police escort and pink balloon parade. (Grab a handkie and watch the news clip at: local8now.com)

Yes, beloved, God's still in the miracle business!

"Oh LORD, may You be praised forever and ever! Yours, O LORD, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty. Everything in the heavens and on earth is Yours, O LORD, and this is Your kingdom. We adore You as the One who is over all things...We thank You and praise Your glorious name!" (1 Chronicles 29:10-13)

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Smarter Than a Fifth Grader

Toddlergrand and his dad (our Ben)

"But you, Daniel, keep this prophecy a secret; seal up the book until the time of the end, when many will rush here and there, and knowledge will increase." (Daniel 12:4)

Monday, as Phillip worked to get the I-pad up and running, smarter-than-a-5th-grader, 2-year-old toddlergrand said, "Turn the internet on, Granddaddy."

According to the book of Daniel in the Old Testament, increased travel and knowledge mark the time of the end. 

Over the past 100 years, travel amplified from bumpy wagon rides over rutted trails to rocket ship trips to the moon. Human knowledge, according to the internet, doubled approximately every century until 1900. By the end of WWII, it doubled every 25 years. Today, human knowledge doubles every 13 months, and IBM predicts that knowledge will soon sky rocket to doubling every 12 hours!

As the seemingly last grains of time slip through the hour glass, never put off till tomorrow, beloved, what you can do for Jesus today.

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In or Out

"Flash" the grandboy

"Not everyone who calls out to Me, 'Lord! Lord!' will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of My Father in heaven will enter. On judgment day many will say to me, 'Lord! Lord! We prophesied in Your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in Your name.' But I will reply, 'I never knew you. Get away form Me, you who break God's laws.'" (Matt. 7:21-23)

Years ago, while refereeing a kids' basketball game, my Phillip blew the whistle on a player out of bounds. "I was NOT out of bounds!" the lad argued confidently. "Look down at your feet," Phillip calmly replied to the boy with both feet planted outside the boundary lines.

In his book Follow Me, A Call to Die. A Call to Live., Dr. David Platt wrote: 
"Is it possible for you or me to profess to be a Christian and yet not know Christ? Absolutely. And according to Jesus, it's actually probable...Masses of men, women, and children around the world...are sitting comfortably under the banner of Christianity but have never counted the cost of following Christ."

Even demons believe in Jesus, beloved. Do you really know Him? Better yet, does Jesus know you?

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Oh My Cito

Toddlergrand and granddog, Lucy

"Redeem the time... (Translation: Make the most of every opportunity)" (Eph. 5:16)

Because toddlergrand's beautiful mother, Gabbi, is Honduran,  she's taught him a few Spanish phrases. Sometimes, however, they come out Spanglish. Running around our playroom last night, he yelled, "Oh my cito!" (Translation: hombrecito meaning little man)

And the point of this story is? Gabbi and Ben are driving to Atlanta today for Gabbi's interview for United States citizenship. Memaw (me) is keeping their 2-year-old and 1-year-old boys and only had time to write a couple of sentences before watching Day 16 of 21 Days of Prayer at www.churchofthehighlands.com.

Have a great day with Jesus, beloved, and make the most of your time!

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Popeye Says

Bob Brandy and Rebel

"...Then Jesus told him, 'Follow Me.'" (John 21:19)

The Bob Brandy Show broadcasted from WTVC studios on Signal Mountain in Chattanooga, Tennessee from 1958 to 1978. As a kid, I remember the popular children's TV personality visiting the Dekalb Theater in my hometown - Fort Payne, Alabama -  and getting picked to come on stage to play "Popeye says." I won! And had to kiss Bob's cheek before collecting my carton-of-bottled-coca-cola prize.

Following Popeye says, "Touch your nose" is simple. Following Jesus says, "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you" is not. In fact, it's impossible. But...

Jesus also said, 

"What is impossible with man is possible with God." (Luke 18:27)

"For apart from Me you can do nothing." (John 15:5) "Through Me who gives you strength, you can do all things." Phil. 4:13)

Follow Jesus, beloved, by His power and not your own. 

"Press on toward the goal to win the prize of God's heavenward calling in Jesus Christ." (Phil. 3:14)

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Whisker Willowkins

My brother, Mark, and friend, Stephen, 1967
(1960 Willis Jeep still in the family)

"Let your words always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer..." (Col. 4:6)

A friend once asked where the "Willowkins" name came from in my storybooks. Truth be told, as kids, when my brother, Mark, sprouted the telltale sign of adolescence - a mustache - his pesky little sister (me) called him Whisker-Willowkins. In retaliation, he labeled me Whisker-Jillikins. Such sweet, little darlings.

In Colossians chapter 4, the Apostle Paul gives how-to-win-and-influence-people-for-Christ instructions: 

• Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart. 
• Pray that God will give many opportunities to speak about His mysterious plan concerning Christ. 
• Pray to proclaim this message with clarity.
• Live wisely among those who are not believers, and make the most of every opportunity
• Finally, let your conversation be gracious and attractive, so that you will have the right response or everyone.

Want to win people to Christ, beloved? Pray, live wisely, make the most of every opportunity, and sweeten your words.

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Indisputable Evidence

In the gnome village
Big Oak, Coosa River Farm

"But God's angry displeasure erupts as acts of human mistrust and wrong doing and lying accumulate, as people try to put a shroud over truth. But the basic reality of God is plain enough. Open your eyes and there it is! By taking a long and thoughtful look at what God has created, people have always been able to see what their eyes can't see: eternal power, for instance, and the mystery of His divine being. So nobody has a good excuse. What happened was this: People knew God perfectly well, but when they didn't treat Him like God, refusing to worship Him, they trivialized themselves into silliness and confusion so that there was neither sense nor direction left in their lives. They pretended to know it all, but were illiterate regarding life. They traded the glory of God who holds the world in His hands for cheap figurines you can buy at any roadside stand." (Romans 1:18-23 The Message)

A couple of years ago (compliments of Granddaddy), glass gnomes moved into the big oak's nooks and crannies at the Coosa River farm; and Doc gnome, the village chief and local doctor, set up practice in a high knothole.

In the dark of the nights since, it appears the little people tool through the woods in the pink, Barbie mobile or LeapFrog school bus or bi-wing airplane or remote control racer (also compliments of Granddaddy). 

No eyewitnesses, mind you. Just the indisputable evidence of rearranged toys the next daylight.

~

In the profound book of Romans, the Apostle Paul warns people without God that because of the indisputable evidence of Him all around us, they are without excuse. 

On Romans, Dr. Henrietta Mears wrote, "The first three chapters describe the hell of sin. The last five chapters describe the heaven of holiness. Intervening chapters describe Christ, the Way." 

Know people without God, beloved? Point them down the Roman Road to Jesus Christ and heaven:


"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23)

"But God demonstrated His love toward us, in that, while we were sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)

"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 6:23)

"If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For  with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. (Romans 10:9-10)

"For whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved." (Romans 10:13)

"For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen." (Romans 11:36

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Rabbit Trails

Our Dan and baby bunny
1988ish, Bogalusa, Lousiana

"Not a single one of all the good promises the LORD had given to the family of Israel was left unfulfilled; everything He had spoken came true." (Joshua 21:45)

Storybooks. Purpose or rabbit trail? I asked. God whispered, "Purpose" through 2 Peter 1:19: "We have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in the darkness, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts." 

God commanded Joshua, "Be strong and courageous, for you shall give this people possession of the land which I swore to their fathers to give them." But it would be 31 defeated kings later before God's family held the corner on the Promise Land market.

Chasing a long-ago-made God-promise, beloved? Persevere. You'll do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in the darkness until your day dawns!

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No Matter What

Misty morning at the Coosa River farm
Photo by our Ben

"For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened." (Matt. 7:8)

At today's 6:00 a.m. prayer service, Pastor Blake Lindsey recounted from Mark chapter 2 the story of four determined men crashing through a roof to get their paralyzed friend to Jesus; and then his own story of his father's death in 2016, and his family's resolve that no matter what, they will pursue Jesus passionately and trust him unconditionally. 

Brokenhearted beloved? Determine to pursue Jesus passionately and trust Him unconditionally - NO MATTER WHAT! 

"God may not give us what we want, but He will always give us what we need." ~ Blake Lindsey

Message in full at: www.churchofthehighlands.com

Click: 21 Days of Prayer

Click: Watch today's prayer service

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Upside Down

Our oldest grandboy and only grandgirl
Christmas 2016, Coosa River farm

"Christ is also the head of the church, which is His body. He is the beginning, supreme over all who rise from the dead. So He Himself will come to have first place in everything." (Col. 1:18)

Our Rebecca recently told the story that our oldest grandboy was practicing a new piano piece. When he got to the second page, she heard him mutter, "Wow, this is hard. Left hand is playing first? This is hard!" 

After a few minutes of struggling, he exclaimed, "Oh, it's upside down!"

Does Jesus Christ hold first place in your life, beloved? If not, your struggling through life the hardest way - upside down!

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