Monthly Archives: January 2012

 

Can we make it?  Can we endure the attacks of the enemy, Can we survive the way our world has turned?  This morning when I read Dr. Charles Stanley’s In Touch Daily Devotional i got the assurance I needed.  I’ve been walking though a difficult time in my home church, I’ve wanted to try and resolve the issues myself, but God had gently, but firmly placed His hand on my chest and said hold still and wait on me.  I want to be obedient, but sometimes I’m a difficult child of God.  In spite of my being rash at times, I know when to say yes Sir and wait on Him.  I did that late yesterday afternoon and found an immediate peace!  That peace was followed last night by a windfall of blessings.  Once again a lesson has been taught, and received.  I want to share from the devotional as I know we all need to be reminded of what it shares.

 

 

I used to be an NFL photographer and even served once as the Washington Redskins official photographer!  I love football and played an coached myself.  I have never stopped wanting to be “in the game” !   I still dream of suiting up and going in!  As a follower of Jesus Christ I can be in “the” game!  I can run the plays he calls, and now because of His strength, wisdom, grace, love, and compassion, I can be a part of His wins!  I’ve lived to see many great adventures and done remarkable things, from photographing my favorite game, football, to flying an ultralight airplane over many locations from coast to coast, but nothing has been as thrilling as serving my Lord, no matter how small or large the task, He has never failed me, and I know He never will.

 

 Remember Jesus said,  You’ll have Me as your companion, your captain, your victory. You’ll have Me as your resource, your energy, your anointing. Everything you need, you’ll find in Me.

 

Thank you Father for putting me in the game!  ………………………and Yes, we “can” make it, with Him!

 

the pilgrim

 

 

Photo Note:  Houston Oilers Vs the Cincinnati Bengals.  Number 34 is my Christian Brother, and great running back,  Earl Campbell, shot wiht a Nikon F5 film camera and  Nikkor 400 mm f 3.5 lens, manual focus!

 

I have a favorite song, from a Christian singer I really enjoy.  It’s a powerful song, and it, “tells it like it is!”  Read the words and then let me share some thoughts with you.  Buckle your seat belts, I’m going to preach, something heavy is on my heart!

 

Not For Sale

by Michael Combs

 

What happened to that Preacher, Who used to Preach so strong.
What happened to that singer,Who used to sing our song.
The Preacher’s out selling Amway, That singer’s now singing country.
They sold out what is right for what is wrong.

 

 

What happened to the church, That used to be on fire.
What happened to the voices, That sang in the heavenly chior.
Oh, The Church has now grown dead and cold,
The chior is sligent, Cause nobody goes.
They sold out to the world and their own desiers (Listen To Me)

 

This heart belongs to Jesus, Cause he saved my soul from Hell.
This heart belongs to Jesus, This heart is not for sale.
Not for sale, Not for sale, No way no sir.

 

Well a man from California, Called a few months ago.
He said boy with your talent , We acn make alot of dough.
I said thanks for the offer it all sounds swell.
But I belong to Jesus, And I’m just not for sale.
Not for sale, I’m not for sale, No way no sir.

 

 

Well, If you’re living for Jesus,Friend, They’ll come a day.
That old Devil’s gonna try to get you some way.
He’ll try you, And temp you, with his lies straight from hell.
Just say I belong to Jesus, And Devil I’m not for sale
Not for sale, Not for sale, No way no sir.   

 

 

I belong to the Lamb Of God,
He purchased me with his precious Blood,
I don’t need popularity, I’d rather have what he gave to me.
I belong to the King of Kings,
He’s my hope,He’s my joy, He’s my everything.
I belong to the Lord God Almighty,
I belong to the one who gave his life for me.

 

 

I belong to the Lamb Of God,
He purchased me with his precious Blood,
I don’t need popularity, I’d rather have what he gave to me.
Some sold conviction’s for compromise,
Some have sold the truth for a pack of lies.
Some have sold Testimonies for fortune and fame.
I just want to Glorify and Magnify his name
This heart belongs to Jesus,  He saved my soul from Hell.
This heart belongs to Jesus, Oh this heart is not for sale.
Not for sale, Not for sale, No way no sir.
Not for sale, I’m Not for sale,
I’m not for sale, No way no sir, I’m Not for sale,
I’m Not for sale, 

 

 

 

The enemy wants to buy you out.  He wants you to give up on God.   He wants you to accept less than God would love for you to have.  He tempts us with power, fortune and fame.  It all looks good until we trade a relationship with Christ for something that is useless!  Someday each and everyone of us will stand before Jesus and all the junk you traded your life and soul away for will be left behind on this earth.  If you were a king, a ruler, a president, or super star on this earth, none of that will carry any weight with Him.  If you are the poorest soul on this earth but you’ve given your heart and life to Him, you will stand before Him with nothing to hide or be ashamed of.  If He owns your life now you will stand before Him then as one of His Children, a member of His family!!  You can’t fool Him, he is no respecter of persons, He will know all your secrets, your thoughts speak as loud in heaven as your words do here!  There will be no where to hide when you face Him.  What will you take to that meeting?

 

One of the agonizing things about living as long as I’ve lived is that I’ve watched, through tear filled eyes, how many have sold their precious lives and souls for nothing at all.  Man’s best efforts are as filthy rags compared to Him.  Don’t let the enemy sell you a bill of goods.  If your efforts don’t glorify God they will be wasted, and lost in the end.

 

Ask yourself these questions before you act;

 

Will my actions lead others to Christ or run them away?

 

Do I want to follow Him more than acceptance, praise, power?

 

Do I know that no matter how hard I work, or how much I accumulate here, that it will all turn to dust someday?

 

Are you determined to live for Him and change the lives of others for the good, or get as much as you can, for yourself?

 

Please don’t throw the precious life you’ve been given away, make a difference, Ask God to help you be a part of His plan.  Anything else is a waste.

 

“This heart belongs to Jesus, Oh this heart, this hearts not for sale.”

 

the pilgrim

 

 

 

O.K. yesterday I lashed out with a “take no prisoners” rant, meant every word of it, but in my quiet time, I came to the conclusion that I know I need to forgive a bunch of people.  Let me clarify something about my reactions to various circumstances.  I don’t hate any of the perpetrators mentioned yesterday, I do hate their behavior, and it is possible to separate the  behavior from the person.  It’s easy to get really angry at what someone does, it’s a lot harder to understand that behavior is not necessarily the person themselves.  Constant repeated behavior can change a person, but we all have our bad moments.

Let me offer a few suggestions on how to deal with behavior that runs your emotiuons up the wall!

1. Walk a mile in their shoes.  Sometimes if e take a little time to look into a situation we can see that there is a great deal more to a person behavior than meets the eye.  I’m not suggesting that if a person grew up under difficult circumstance that they are free to go out and take it out on society.   No, we need to deal with, and grow out of our difficulties, but for some, under some circumstances it’s a great deal harder than it sounds.  I’m not turning liberal, just trying to consider that things are not always as cut and dried as we may want to think they are.

2.  Remember that Christ died for all of us.  This is a hard one for me, to think that Jesus death on the cross was also for some of the most evil people that have ever lived, but it’s true, if they had turned to Him and asked for His forgiveness we would spend eternity with them in Heaven.

3. God sees all sin as sin. (Period)  We have a tendency to rank sins as small, medium, large and extra large.  God sees all sin as sin.  I can’t plead to him that my sins are less than your sins.  He doesn’t tolerate any sin.  No, it’s best to simply confess, and ask fro His loving kindness and forgiveness!

4. We do not have the right to hold on to our anger, that’s a sin that grows worse with time.  Refusing to let go of the hurts and anger we build up, hurts us more than the one we hold that grudge against.  I was once praying and said to Jesus, “But you don’t know how much they hurt me!!”  It had not even left my heart and mouth before I relaized what and insult it was to tell the King of  Kings, the very Son of God, who was spat on, and mocked and then crucified,  that He didn’t understand.   No one knows more about pain, agony and hurt than He does, and yet hHe tells us forgive.  Remember that while hanging on the cross in unbelievable pain He asked His Father to forgive those that had placed Him there.

5.  God didn’t ask us to punish the sinners, He asked us to love them into His arms!  God’s job is to deal with sinners, ours, as hard as it is, is to love them.  Nothing will turn the heart of lost soul like being loved and knowing it is undeserved,  it worked on me!  God does not want to condemn a single soul, and He certainly has not given us permission to do so.

6.  Don’t throw the first stone.  When Jesus found some releigous leaders condemning a  woman that they had caught in the act of adultry, He told them, “Yes she has sinned, let he that is without sin, throw the first stone.”  They all walked away.  In life, we often should choose that option, just walk away.

Getting emotional and feeling anger is normal, holding onto it and letting it turn to rage and hate is fatal mistake.

Father, Forgive me for my being quick to judge, and slow to remember that you love them too.  I pray for those that have hurt others, and are hurting themselves.  I pray that they will find their way back to you. Remind me,  through the Holly Spirit,  to take a deep breath before allowing my anger to grow, to let it go, and give it to you, and to forgive those that have sinned against me, just as you have forgiven me for my sins.  Thank you Father,  for loving me.   Amen.

Blessings,

the pilgrim

 

This morning I would love to share some thoughts that came to me over the last several days.  Chalk this up to the ranting of one old man, but give them some thought all the same, please!

 

A few things I would love to see;

 

1.  I’d love to see the media wake up and realize how nasty they are to the Christian community.  This is a constant in my world, recognizing how the media marginalizes and demeans anyone who expresses their faith.  Examples?   Sarah Palin, Tim Tebow, former President George Bush, and the list goes on forever.  Over the weekend USA Today reviewed recent films, and as they do each weekend, did mini reviews of films released on DVD.  One of the films mentioned was Courageous which I recommended the other day on the blog.   They placed the review in the least likely spot to be seen, inside right edge of the left facing page in the middle in the fold of the paper.  I worked in newspapers in my past and it’s and old trick I’ve seen used many times!  That’s where you “bury” stories you don’t want anyone to see!  They further insulted the film by not giving it any star rating of any kind, and made sure to mention it was a “faith based” film several times, so as to warn readers to beware of it, it might mention Jesus!!!  I’m sick of it.  Certain parts of the media needs a good spanking, and to be put to bed without supper.  Well, that’s what my father would have done to me, if I acted like that……….

 

2. The sports media needs to get a life.  I’m a huge football fan, but the way in which athletes are portrayed has gotten down right silly. Early in the year, Aaron Rodgers was crowned by the media as “probably the best quarterback to ever play the game!”  Later, when they lost a game, (a single game), attention was moved to Tom Brady, “He was truly the best ever…”  Last night the latest ultimate quarterback was Eli Manning.  Give me a break, These are all fine athletes, and in any given moment they have looked like the best ever, but what does it matter?  It’s a game.  Why can’t we just enjoy watching these and many other players perform at a high level and appreciate their talent with out the endless need to rank everything and everyone!  Mark my words the next two weeks leading up to the Super Bowl  both Brady and Manning will be made out to be sports gods. The evening the super bowl ends one of them will be the bum that lost.  Shame on you sports media for acting like children fighting over your toys in the sand box. Sports is a wonderful thing to enjoy, why do you insist on demeaning it with your pettiness?  I know that sports is a huge industry, but surely we could find a better way to report on it!

 

3.  Someone at Penn State University needs to come forward and apologize for what was done to the late Joe Paterno.  The man just died from a broken heart, after a university sought to find someone to blame for their own incompetence and inaction when one of their employees commited a terrible crime on children.  Joe may have made a mistake in thinking the officials at Penn State would do the right thing, he might should have looked into it more deeply, when he saw the university was not taking care of business, and he may have been wrong to believe a long time friend, who swore to him that he was not guilty.  All those things may be true, but he deserved far better than being made a scapegoat for crimes committed and allowed to go on by others whose responsibility it was to investigate all the allegations.  I think Joe Paterno unselfishly lived for and faithfully served a university, that when the chips were down, walked away from him, and unfairly let him take the rap for something he didn’t do.   To me this is one of the saddest chapters in college sports.  Cowardess is an ugly spectacle.

 

4.  Ray Lewis needs to be given a real thank you by all sports fans, everywhere, that have half a brain.  In the post game coverage last night as the pious sports media played over an over the last second, missed kick that would have taken the game into overtime, and trashed the kicker. A kicker that by the way had been one of the best in the league all season.  He missed one kick, yes one kick, and yes it was a big one, but bless Ray’s heart, as he set one idiot reporter straight, “I told him to never hang his head, that no one man ever lost a football game, we are a team we all had many chances to win this game, his play happens to be the last one we saw, but he is no more responsible for our loss than every other member of this team…..”   (paraphrased, but that was the gist of what he said….)  Bless you brother Ray, for bringing a tiny bit of sanity into this world of sports.

 

5.  I’d like to see the politicians on both sides of the upcoming presidential battle pledge to speak only factually about the major issues and leave the personal mudslinging out of it.  We have become way to good at finding fault with one another in politics and ignoring the problems and calamities that are destroying our nation.  In a moment of unbelievable lunacy, after Newt Gingrich’s 2nd wife reported, allegedly, that he wanted an open marriage, (not verified), certain members of the opposition went crazy, this while their own two term President, Bill Clinton and his Secretary of State, wife,  Hillary may have had the most “open marriage” in history, in the open for all the world to see!!??  Hypocrisy on parade!  Come on guys lets talk about jobs, our gigantic national debt, our irrational spending, the welfare state, borders that leak like a sieve, countless politicians that have robbed the tax payers blind,  policies that are destroying America as we have known it, and educational system that from grade school to college, federally funded, and teaching students that America is the fault of all that is bad in the world.  I think we have bigger issues to tackle!  Grow up and act like adults!!!!!!!!  Shame on you, you’re in a time out!

 

Sorry about that, but I meant every word of it.  It seems to me that we all, every one of us, certainly, me included, needs to take a deep breath and act more like the adults we are supposed to be.  It may seem like an oversimplification,  but virtually all that I’ve mention could be fixed if we honestly lived by the Golden Rule, “What would the world be like if we really treated others, like we would like to be treated ourselves.”

 

Pretty radical thought………..

 

the pilgrim

 

No, I’m not announcing my candidacy …………