One of My Heroes

Yes, I had a real live hero when I was in fourth grade. 

It was the second day of school and the second day of riding the school bus at the beginning of fourth grade. We had moved over the summer into a three bedroom home on Valentine Ln. in Longview, TX. We were still attending the same school and although we had only moved about two miles down the road from our previous residence the bus riders were a completely different group of students.

When I got on the bus that morning there were only about ten other riders and we added to that number by three. I made my way toward the middle of the bus when I saw it. It was a helmet. A football helmet with a gold Pirate on both sides. "What is he doing with that football helmet?" I asked myself.

My curiosity rose and I moved deeper into the bus to find that not only did he have a helmet but a bag with a complete practice uniform and all the pads and shoes with it. He even had a mouth guard. That was new to me.

I sat in the empty seat in front of this guy with this amazing helmet and uniform. I asked him, "Are you a football player?

"Yeah, I play on the B Team" he said. (Junior Varsity so as not to belittle our youth today).

I didn't care what team he played on. His name was Louis and he was a football player for my school. That made him one of my heroes and he lived just a block away from my family home on Valentine Ln.

I was overjoyed when I got home that afternoon. When dad pulled into the driveway I ran out to meet him with the news. "Dad, I met a real football player. His name is Louis, can we go watch him play?"

Dad gave me a hug and said "We just might!"

We did go to a game on that Thursday. Louis didn't play. He stood on the sidelines and held that beautiful helmet in his hand and watched the game. I think he may have been in the game after we left, probably at half time I would imagine because of school the next day for me.

There are so many young people today who are looking for heroes in their lives who are not necessarily their parents or family members. They are looking for someone to be an example of what they would like to become.

For me, it was a young man with a helmet and uniform. Someone who may not have had a starting position on the team but was still on the team. He was a hero to someone and that someone was me.

There are young people needing good examples of Christian Youth set before them. Are you, even if you are a parent or grandparent, encouraging young people to be representatives of Christ? Are you carrying the uniform that, when seen, brings immediate recognition that represents a belief system that Jesus has inspired. Are you a part of the team or are you sitting in the stands, watching, never participating? Are you looking for team mates or are you sitting back being critical of those who are on the team but are not starters or important parts of the team. Those who are in uniform on the sidelines are a part of the team and are very important to the completeness of the team.

Where are you? Are you carrying the full armor of God? Someone is in need of encouragement seeing others wearing that armor. Pick it up and put it on and be the example of God. Be a part of the team!

I'll see you later!

Ephesians 6:10-18New International Version (NIV)

The Armor of God

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

A Cheerful Heart!

Proverbs 17:22 says, “A Cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person’s strength.” (NLT)

I don’t know about you but I would much rather be around a person with a cheerful heart than to suffer through another agonizing scenario with a person who doesn’t realize how good they have it in their lives. So many times, as a minister, I have dealt with people who are on their last straw and they feel like they just can’t survive another day in their lives. They just don’t know what to do. They worry, they try to find happiness, they try to over compensate for past mistakes by never allowing themselves to stop and look around them.

I pray with them or for them that they find a peace that abides inside of themselves that they have yet to tap into. It is a spiritual thing that many don’t realize is truly there for them. God wants us, not to be happy, but joyful. Realizing what we have in our church family, our spiritual hub of our Christian existence, is one of the most joyful experiences that we will ever have or be a part of. It just takes us making our minds up when we wake each morning that today is going to be a day that I praise God no matter what Satan and his minions throw at me.

I hope you find that blessing of joy each morning as you open your eyes from your slumber and thank God you are here and able to be included in His family!

God bless us all here at West Freeway, or wherever we find ourselves in our Christian walk. 

I'll see you later!

Ya Can't Roller Skate in a Buffalo Herd!

I have always been told “Ya can’t roller skate in a buffalo herd…Ya can’t take a shower in a parakeet cage…Ya can’t go a-swimmin’ in a baseball pool…Ya can’t change film with a kid on your back…Ya can’t drive around with a tiger in your car…Ya can’t go fishin’ in a watermelon patch…” No, ya can’t roller skate in a buffalo herd, but you can be happy if you’ve a mind to.”

            Roger Miller wrote and sang those words back when I was a kid, but the word picture it painted in my mind was how absurd the song was. Everyone knows that all of what he sang was silly, but I forgot to look at the actual meaning the song was trying to push forward. I was only six when he debuted his album The Return of Roger Miller. So it was a long time ago. The visions that came through my mind were comical and I loved the tune.

            Being a young child I concentrated on the words I liked and didn’t listen to the rest of them with as much interest. A couple of days ago the song popped in my mind as I was working in my office.  I got to thinking about the rest of the song but I couldn’t remember. Thank goodness for Google I found the words with the most meaning. Yes, the tune always sparked my interest but I couldn’t remember all the words and had to look them up.

Like many who read the Bible, I had heard it enough to remember a part of it but not enough to get the real meaning of the words. See, the chorus and bridge of the song goes like this. “All ya gotta do is put your mind to it, knuckle down, buckle down, do it, do it, do it. No, ya can’t roller skate in a buffalo herd, but you can be happy if you’ve a mind to.”

No, you can’t roller skate in a buffalo herd or any of the other things that Roger sings about here. But, we can all smile and be happy if we put our minds to it!  We can read and learn the rest of the bible to find out what God wants for us in our lives.

How are you doing? I love you all!  Britt

How Public?

I wish I didn't feel that I need to blog about this, but here goes.

I was asked a question about repentance and how public it needs to be for the Christian. Others in our world have to answer to their own moral convictions.

I am going to share here what I believe the Bible, the word of God, teaches us to do. In other words the person was asking that if they sinned, as a child of God, how public should the repentance be concerning that sin?

Let me answer by giving an example.

When a person sins in a way that only one or two people knew about it, he or she needs to apologize for the wrong they committed and repent of the sin to God and those people. It could possibly be a situation in your family where you just need to talk to them and ask their forgiveness. That would suffice according to what I read (see the scriptures listed below).

If a person does something that is widely known, a public sin, and a vast majority of the church family is aware or the public is aware of, they need to ask the entire church for forgiveness. That means that they need to acknowledge their sin before the church, ask the church for their forgiveness, repent of that sin to be in a right relationship with the church and God.

Examples of that would or could be considered: an arrest for wrongs committed against the law of the land, loss of temper in public forum, sexual misconduct or sex outside of marriage, public drunkenness, DUI or DWI, drug abuse, manipulating the feelings of people to gain an advantage and getting caught...and I could go on and on. With these sins there should be, from what I understand, public apology given, repentance and forgiveness sought.

My rule of thumb when people come to me and want to make their faults right with God and the church my statement is this..."Repentance and confession of sin needs to only be as public as the sin was itself."

It is hard to hide somethings. There are somethings that are not public knowledge but some are so public it causes the church to be hurt and the name of Christ to be maligned.  That is what we need to avoid at all costs. Sin kills the spirit if it is left unaccounted for.

If you have sinned and the church knows about it, it doesn't matter if people talking about it (gossip) is how it got around, you still sinned and need to repent before God and the church. If you gossiped about someone else's sin, you too need to repent before God and the church.

Don't let the consequences of your sin kill your spirit. Hell isn't worth it!

Matthew 18:15-17
15 “If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. 16 But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ 17 If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.

I'll see you later!

The End of America!

A friend of mine and I were talking last night and a thought I had back in my history studying days came to light.

American's live in the longest ruled democracy in the world's history. It will not last forever. I hate this thought but it is true. I am concerned for my grandchildren and their children and grandchildren after them. 

We are not special because we are Americans. We are targets because of the freedom this democracy offers. It, our democracy, will not last.

However, as I have said before, this world is not my home. I am thankful to have lived through some of the best years of this countries existence. I just pray that it doesn't ever end or at least till God comes back.

Just a thought!

I'll see you later!

I'm Sorry!

"I'm Sorry."

Over and over again he said those words. He really meant them. However, he knew in his heart that to some they were meaningless. So many times he asked for forgiveness and it was given. The pain of it all was hard to bear. He knew that what he did was selfish and yet Satan whispered in his ear, "Just this."

It doesn't take much. Just one time to destroy what should be completely right. We all make mistakes, yet some come at a high price. I know! And sometimes we suffer the consequences of our sins long after the confession and forgiveness comes from God.

"I'm sorry" sometimes carries little weight when we deal with each other. Forgiveness is not forgetting in human terms. You can't un-shoot a bullet. You can't undo most of the things we do. Life has no eraser or delete button when it comes to how we choose our walk in this world.

May God bless us all with forgiveness and may we be able to forgive each other.

Just remember the consequences of those sins are the part no one has control over.

It's Time!

"It's time!"

You have heard this statement all of your lives. It isn't a new thought but one that has been with us, no matter the language or culture. The thought of an end of a period that comes to a close works on our minds and how we live our lives on a daily basis.

I'll never forget when I went on a Evangelistic campaign in Dominica, W.I. in the southern Caribbean. We were supposed to start the worship assembly each night at 7:00 p.m. It was the time set. That means we are to be there when it starts.

However, in the culture of Dominica, time has very little meaning. They showed up beginning at 6:00 but the majority of the folks didn't arrive till 7:30 each evening. It was their culture. They showed up as they wanted to, or after they had completed the task they were doing before making their way to the public market where the campaign was being held each night.

There is coming a time, however, that God is going to say, "It's Time!" and the children of God and the children of the world will all know what time it is. We will all know who has claimed it to be the time of the end. The question is, will you be ready, or will you have put off getting to where you needed to be?

Are you ready now?

It's time!

God's Part and Our Part

Baptized Again!

Well, this is a difficult discussion and I usually don't write about others. This is not about someone to bring ridicule, but hope! There is something about me that wants to encourage others through thought provoking writings and then there are those personal situations that I have found myself in. Those are what I usually like to write about.

Let me say this. Today I want to share with you something a preacher friend of mine shared with me a few days ago.

He and I have a friend who struggles with his spirituality. He has been "baptized" at least four times. My preacher friend asked me, "What do you say to someone who requests to be baptized again, especially multiple times?"

Here is my answer and I hope that it helps someone out there today to realize that they, individually, are important to the family of God and to the Father himself.

Baptism is a one time response to understanding God's plan. When we, according to what the apostles spoke on the day of Pentecost, understand that we have sinned and that our sins were against God the Father, when we are cut to the heart, when we feel guilty of sin, then we must seek out forgiveness. 

What did the people do when they realized that they needed forgiveness? They followed God's plan and were baptized, immersed completely under water, for the forgiveness of their sins. 

Once!

That's it!

It is a one time event.

What do you need to know to receive the forgiveness from God?

You need to realize that your sins come between you and God. You need to realize that God sent His Son, Jesus, to be sacrificed once for all men to give the opportunity to be forgiven. You need to admit that you have sinned, confess before men that you believe in Jesus and His death, burial and His resurrection, and then accept the gift of forgiveness by being immersed, baptized, in water for the forgiveness of your sins.

Once you have done that, God adds you to His church. He adds you to His spiritual family. He forgives you of all your past sins. It is the beginning of your walk with God in faith.

You won't know everything when you come up out of the water, but you will be forgiven. 

Once you have become a child of God by obedience to the gospel, any sin afterwards will be forgiven, no matter how "bad we think it is" by repenting of the sin to God and asking for forgiveness from God. 

The child of God then maintains his right relationship with the Father when we "...declare with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord', and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved." Romans 10:9-10.

If you sin as a child of God, repent and ask forgiveness from God and whom ever you sinned against and then let God handle it. 

God forgives His children when they ask. Baptized believers who have been forgiven need only realize that they are a part of the family of God and that the only one who can take them out of that family is themselves. The only time it is too late to repent is when you are dead. 

Don't let Satan tell you that you didn't really understand all you thought you needed to know to become forgiven. Don't let him convince you that you didn't believe what you did was enough.

God wants to save, not condemn. 

I'll see you later!

YOU JUST RECEIVED ONE HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS!

Think about what you would do in this situation.  Really! What would you do? Here is the question.

You just were awarded, legitimately, one hundred million dollars! No taxes, no strings; it is all yours! What would you do?

Who would you tell? Would it be the most exciting thing you have ever to have happened to you? What would be your reaction? What would be the first thing you do with the money?

Who would you tell? Who would you share your good fortune with? Do you think that you would be bombarded with people coming out of the woodwork to get you to help them in some way or another? Do you think that the burden of people knowing you had come into that kind of money would be a detriment?

Wouldn't it be nice to not have to tell anyone so that you wouldn't have to deal with all the riffraff? Would you could retreat into your own world until you are able come gain the ability and faith in yourself to be able to handle the responsibility of that type of blessing?

I know what I would do with the money. First, I would set up a trust so that my family would be able to be saved from everyone in the world finding out I was now rich. I would continue to live my life just like I had been until I understood what I should and shouldn't do as a "rich man." After all, I have never been rich before in this world. I know that the temptation would be for me to share that information with everyone. I love sharing news of blessing and I also love asking for prayer when I am hurting due to difficulties in my life. It would change my life and my ability to do what I want to do in this world. Yes, I would want to tell the world. Wouldn't you?

The problem is, Christians are the richest people in the world. We have all our needs promised to us because we have a great family that takes care of its own. We have a Savior who died so that we can spend the afterlife of eternity with Him in heaven. We have Christian friends to share the difficulties of life with, those who will pray for us in times of difficulties in our lives and rejoice with us during times of blessing.

Why is it that if we have our salvation that we keep quiet about it? Are we wanting to hide it because we don't want anyone to know. We don't really change our lifestyle until we can work on how to hide the news that would tell the world our "good news"?

"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you..." Matthew 28:19-20 NIV

How are we doing?

I Love You!

I married young. Well, we both did. I was 18 and Lisa was two weeks away from being 18. We loved each other and still do.

As I have watched over the years, especially in my ministry, I have seen so many who have married young and as they matured and gotten older begin to look around and think that they missed out on something. They dated, most beginning in middle school, and the words "I love him/her" slipped through their lips as they had heard others, sometimes their parents, say so freely.

The words "I love you" are not words just to throw around and "waste". When a person utters those three words they need to be words of commitment, when uttered to someone we are connecting with in a personal male/female relationship. They need to be thought out and contemplated with meaning and understanding.

Too many times those three words are the beginning of the end of some relationships because they signify commitment. They are not bad words, but they carry a lot of weight in a relationship.

Saying I love you is something I say with several connotations.

First, I do tell my wife I love her and I do and have ever since the first time I said those three words. That has never changed since that first time.

Second, I tell my children and my grandchildren and extended physical family that I love them on a regular basis. It is a love that is different from the feeling and meaning I have for Lisa, my wife, but no less a true love.

Third, I love my brothers and sisters in my spiritual family that I love them. It is different than the love I share with the previous two. It too is a deep love, but not the same type of love or depth.

Fourth, I love to eat! Enough said.

In all of the first three there is a level of commitment that is understood, or at least should be. Commitment is a word that is what I like to call a forever word. You must decide to do it no matter how difficult it becomes. I do believe that there are times when it does become too difficult to continue, so be careful.

When you tell someone those three words, "I love you", please take a moment and ask yourself if you really do before you express those three words.

By the way, I do love you, just not the same as the love I feel for, nor in the same way I felt when I began dating my wife. I love you, but not the same way I love my family. I love you because you are a part of my extended spiritual family and friends. You are loved but not the same way.

If you are young and dating, stop and think about how freely our culture is throwing around those words "I love you." Make sure that when you say them you understand what they truly mean. If you need to overcome some loneliness in your life, don't let the lie of evil that "if you tell someone you love them that will change the way they feel about you" become the reason you utter those words that truly mean so much more than we sometimes think.

When you say I love you, remember that those words are forever words when said to someone you are becoming not only spiritually involved with but with the possibility of a long term physical relationship that must have a spiritual connection to last.

I love you all. But, I love Lisa Bird Farmer in a way I will never love you.

It doesn't mean it is a partial love, but it is an exclusive love that I have for her. That is the kind of love you need to look for. Look for a love that you are willing to sacrifice to keep for a lifetime.

God bless you all.

Britt