There we stood on the football field of the Seminole Indians. The Seminole, Texas, High School Indians. It was another mid August football scrimmage between two schools. The teams each ran a set number of plays on offence and the field was full of coaches, players and referees all tuning up for the regular season. I happened to be out of the referee rotation at the moment, but I was standing next to James A. another ref who was in the line judge position. 

Seminole was on defense and one of their players had committed a hold on the play. James made the call and reported the offence. The head coach from Seminole, a guy named Finess, or something like that, went ballistic. “Who did it!” he demanded. Now James had been watching this guy berate his players for at least an hour, so he conveniently forgot which player had committed the foul.  It was an easy enough mistake because the players didn’t have any numbers on their jerseys. Well the ole coach starts yelling, “That’s OK we are on the honor system here, my boys will own up to their mistakes! Which one of you guys held on the play?!” No one stepped up to claim the dubious honor, so he asked the question again, a little louder this time. Well there was still no commitment from his honorable players. 

His next ear-shattering yell upped the stakes for his honor system players. “Who did it? Ever who did it gets five tire pulls tomorrow in practice!” There ya go coach, just asking didn’t get you anything, so add a little punishment to the demand and they’ll step right up. Still nothing. Now James really did know who the offender was so he slowly stepped up to the player and said. “Son you know you did it.” 

“Yes sir, I know.” 

“Well don’t you think you ought to step up and confess?” 

“No sir, he’s pretty mad.” 

“But son you have to know he’ll watch this on film and find out who did it. It could be pretty bad tomorrow in practice.” 

“Oh yes sir, but I’ll worry about tomorrow, tomorrow.” 

James and I have no idea what happened “tomorrow.” Did the coach find out who did it and exact punishment on the kid? No guess. Did the kid get away with it? Same answer. Did the whole team suffer because one player failed to step up and take responsibility? Probably. The way that coach talked to his players, I might have done the same thing. I have often swept things under the rug hoping they would never be found. I’ve often waited for tomorrow hoping things would simmer down a bit. However, my life learned lessons have taught me that that is not the best course of action. 

The boy was hoping for one of two things to happen that would make thing easier for him. Number one, he was hoping the coach would never find out who did it. Number two, he was hoping that if the coach did find out, the twenty-hours between the offence and the punishment would give the coach the time to cool off. In this case, that was most likely a very long shot. In matters of dealing with living life, honesty is the best policy. The coach would most likely rather have a player who did do the honorable thing, and would consider that when administering punishment. 

I terms of dealing with our relationship with God, allow me to insert two things I know. First, I know that God already knows who is guilty. He is only asking us who did it for our own benefit. Second, I know that God wants me to come to grips with my shortcomings, and is ready to forgive me, no matter how long I’ve failed to own them. 

There is one more thing to consider friends. Satan’s greatest weapon is tomorrow. If he can convince you to wait until tomorrow, he will never lose you. 

Till next time,

Grump

Some of the most memorable times of our lives revolved around football, junior high and high school football to be more exact. For years Paula and I went to every varsity game the Denver City Mustangs played. It didn’t matter if they played at home or a hundred miles away we were there. When the kids were young we would join up other couples, the women in one suburban with some of the kids, men in another suburban with the rest of the kids. Man, those were some fun times. Once our kids hit junior high we were traveling on Thursday and Friday to catch the action. It’s kind of strange what happened after Miranda graduated though, because all of a sudden eighteen years of going to high school football every Friday night stopped. It may have continued for a few years had we not moved to Frisco right after Miranda graduated, but I know from talking to the friends back in DC that they stopped going to every game too. 

Here are a few of the football memories I have of Friday night football. 

1. I remember guarding the Loop Longhorn water can better than anyone to ever wear the uniform. 
2. I remember getting run over by Gary Hamm from Wellman, Texas, and as I stopped rolling I came to rest in the position to see nothing but his back as he returned our kickoff for a touchdown.
3. I remember my senior year and coach Robert Holt. Ten years after I graduated I heard Coach Holt take credit for saving my life. “What?” I asked. “When did you save my life?” He said, “I saved your life every Friday night by keeping your butt on the bench!”
4. I remember Josh completing his first pass as a 7^th grade quarterback, and I remember the last pass he ever tossed. It was in a playoff game against Abilene Wylie. The game was played in Big Spring, Texas, and it was the last time he would ever put on pads.
5. I remember watching Miranda cheerlead for the Mighty Mustangs. I remember the tight frizzy perm, and the over sized glasses of her junior high years, and I remember the mature beautiful young lady who understood the game, and truly cared about the people involved during her senior year as cheerleader.
6. I remember knowing how safe Miranda was wherever she went because her best friends were the linemen for the Mustangs. When those guys came to the house it was like a mountain had walked in and surrounded my precious little girl. 

Friends, these memories are endless, and I am sharing these few with you with one thought in mind. Cherish each moment. Grab each day, and keep it in your heart. Absorb your children’s lives, be part of their lives, embrace every noble thing they do. 

Till next time,

Grump

This summer at the church of Christ on McDermott Road instead of having a summer series like we normally do we changed things up a bit. Normally we have guest speakers, ministers from other congregations in the area come and preach on Wednesday nights. This year however, the decision was made to use the men of our congregation to preach on Wednesday evening, and I personally think it was a good decision. The topic of this summer’s series was Major Points form the Minor Prophets. Each of us was given a different Minor Prophet to teach on each week, and I know that many of us learned a lot this summer. 

Last night was the last night for this series, and it was ended with a great lesson from the book of Malachi. Jim Burrows was the speaker and he got down to the nitty gritty last night. The book of Malachi’s main lesson is that the children of God had forgotten to worship God with their hearts. They were going through all the proper motions, but it had become a habit for them, not a heart felt praise to God. Jim took this lesson and asked us how that lesson fit into today’s worship. To be sure we aren’t guilty of offering up the crippled lamb, or the blind one.  But, I wonder if the only reason we don’t is because we don’t offer animal sacrifices anymore. 

God has called us to worship him in Spirit and in Truth. He wants our hearts, our lives, our minds, and our souls. When we come together to worship, our thoughts should be of Him, and to Him. Jim asked us to consider our worship last night in light of the book of Malachi. He asked us if we are bringing our focus to God, or are we just carrying out a ritual that we feel we have been commanded to perform? 

I must admit I have done my share of “performing” worship.  I’ve taken my share of communion without ever giving thought to what, or why I was taking it.  I’ve sang my share of songs, and participated in memorized prayers, and daydreamed through countless sermons, and I realize that when I have done that, all I have done is hurt my God, and received a check mark on the attendance roll. I have killed my cow as I have been commanded, and I am good for another week. 

Let me ask a few questions. Have we become calloused in worship? Have we become bored with worship?   Do we design our worship to entertain us? Do we reach out to the “post modern” world with true worship to God, or with feel good fluff? Seems to me it’s time for me, for us, to wake up and bring to God the living sacrifice He has asked for. Seems to me we should focus, or refocus, our hearts and minds toward God instead of how to make things more “attractive” to the lost. 

Till next time,

Grump

Romans 12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. ²Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. 

The two verses written above are the bases for the song Take My Life, and Let It Be. The two main points of Romans 12:1-2 are these. First the instruction is to, “offer your body as a living sacrifice,” and then we are told how to do that. We do it “by the renewing of your mind.” We must learn what it means to be like Jesus, and then act on that new knowledge by becoming what we have learned. 

Let’s be honest here friends, to become like Jesus means that we are going to have to fight against our nature. Ephesians 2:3 …Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.  To be like Jesus means that we are going to have to think of Him first instead of ourselves. Selfishness becomes a distant memory when we become like Jesus. When we live the love of Jesus we become servants, always thinking about and acting toward the good of others. Even to the point of giving our lives. 

I want to tell you about Carter Ng. Carter came into my life a couple of years ago. He had hooked up with Jim Cassity on the golf course, and through that relationship, and Jim’s invitation, Carter started attending worship with us at McDermott Road. Meeting Carter, and having him become a part of my life has been a blessing to me. He is teaching me what it means to be Christ like. Carter is a servant, he lives love, he always thinks of the needs of others. We have a dear brother at McDermott Road who suffered a stroke a few months ago. His name is Fred Raines. Fred also loves people. He thinks of others first, and always reflects the love of Christ onto those around him. Fred has lost movement on one side of his body, and is in a wheel chair. He has to go to therapy a few days every week and Carter is the man who gets him there. Carter knows how difficult it is for Mary, Fred’s wife, to physically handle Fred. Fred is a big man, and Mary is a not so big woman. So Carter takes Fred to his therapy appointments. Carter waits at the door of the church building every Sunday so he can go out and help Fred get out of the car, and into the chair, so he can wheel him into worship. Carter has blessed my life because he is a living model of love. 

The first verse of Take my Life offers our lives in “ceaseless praise.” I don’t believe that means simply standing around singing, and proclaiming our love to God. I believe “ceaseless praise” means living our love to Him in everything we do.  

Take my Life, and let it be consecrated, Lord, to Thee

Take my moments and my days, Let them flow in ceaseless praise. 

The song ends with a statement of “living sacrifice.” 

Take myself and I will be Ever, only, all for Thee! 

Dear God, help me to become a living sacrifice. Help me to be able to say, “for me to live is Christ.’’ Give me the strength to surrender everything I have, and am, to You. I beg You to give me the strength, and maturity it takes to ask You to be in control of my heart, body and soul. Amen. 

Till next time,

Grump

Now, I’m not saying this was a miracle or anything, but I sure do think it was strange. I was sitting here thinking about the responses I received from yesterday’s post titled Lord, Take Control, and I decided to continue with that theme for another day or two. So I picked up the songbook thinking about the words to an old favorite, All to Jesus I Surrender, and guess where the book opened?  Yup, that’s right, I parted the covers of the song book and the song on the left hand page was…All to Jesus I Surrender. And, the song on the page facing it is, Take My Life, and Let It Be. Wow, I’ll give you two guesses what tomorrow’s song will be, and if you need both guesses you may not be the sharpest knife in the drawer. LOL   

I have sung All to Jesus, my whole life, mostly during the invitation at worship, and I think that may be a tragedy. The tragedy is that the invitation seems so formal, so desperate. It’s a time when somebody who’s done something really bad is supposed to go forward and ask for forgiveness. I remember growing up in the church of Christ, and wondering why we sang an invitation song two times every Sunday, and once on Wednesday evening, because I thought the only time a person could go forward to be baptized or confess sin in their lives was during a Gospel meeting. After all that is the only time I ever saw anyone respond to the invitation. 

I’d like to make two points based on what I just wrote. (That means this is not really official cause we all know that in order to be official there has to be three points.) Number one is; I think we should sing All to Jesus at a time other than during the invitation because during the invitation it’s easy to place the meaning of the words on the other person. Know what I mean? It’s like, I haven’t done anything dirty so I’ll sing this song hoping someone who has will get the hint and take action. All to Jesus is much to personal to place in the pass it on category. It is a statement by the individual singing the song; it’s a commitment, a personal promise between a soul and God. It’s a proclamation to God that says, I am your slave take me and use me, as you will. 

Number two, and this is chasing a rabbit, is; I think we need to realize that an invitation song shouldn’t mean we have to have done something terrible in order to ask for prayers, or renew a commitment. I will confess to you right now that I have been guilty of two very unchristian things when I’ve seen someone walking down to the front. I have been known to start playing this guessing game in my head, What did they do, cheat on their wife, are they into drugs, etc? Or, I have thought, Oh great now we’ll be late getting out of here. Brothers and sisters I need to rejoice, as the angels in heaven are doing, when someone confesses sin, or renews their commitment to God, and I think more of us should take advantage of the opportunity we have to tell other’s what’s going on in our walk of service to God. I think our culture has convinced us that we cannot show that we are not in total control of everything, and that we don’t need help from anyone. We have come to believe that we cannot show weakness and we cannot admit failure. 

All to Jesus I surrender, All to Him I freely give;

I will ever love and trust Him, In His presence daily live.

All to Jesus I surrender, Lord, I give myself to Thee;

Fill me with Thy love and power, Let Thy blessings fall on me.

I surrender all

(Words: John W. VanDeVenter

Music: Winfield S. Weeden)  

I want to leave you with something to chew on, something to think about. I believe God wants us to be “Mature Babies.” Do you understand what I’m saying? I believe God wants us to be mature in our service, faith, love, walk, commitment, etc. He wants us to fully understand through scripture, and the indwelling of the Spirit, what it means to follow Him. The amazing thing is that once we mature to that level, we will understand that in order to live, and serve, as He wants us too, we have to be babies, we have to be totally dependent on Him. 

Till next time,

Grump  

There is a part of my make-up that is both a blessing and a curse. It has served me well, and caused me grief. It has paid rewards, and cost me position. It has given me peace, and it has brought me turmoil. The personality trait I’m describing? I want to be, need to be, in control. I need to be heard. When I see how things could be done better or more efficiently, I feel that I should express my opinion. 

As I mature, I can see that things don’t have to be done my way. I understand that my way is not always the right way. I have come to realize that if it’s not my business I need to just go with the flow and move on. But it has been a hard learned lesson, and I fight the desire to express myself frequently. I do believe there is a time and a place to be heard, and a time to remain silent. Great accomplishments have happened because certain people chose to express themselves, and enormous upheaval has been the result of the actions of certain folks who demanded to be heard when they should have remained quiet. 

I guess the part of my life that should be the most peaceful, the part of my existence where I should relinquish my need to be in control, is the part where the most qualified being in existence has ask to be given free reign. God has asked that I allow Him to be in control, yet I somehow have a hard time allowing Him that power. 

A couple of years ago there was a group of us from McDermott Road sitting on the porch at the church building in Gulaco, Honduras when the question was asked, “What is your favorite church song, and why?” Well, I answered the question by stating that it might not be my favorite, but the most meaningful song to me was, Lord, Take Control. 

My heart, my mind, my body, my soul

I give to You, take control.

I give my body a living sacrifice.

Lord, take control, take control.

(Author unknown) 

Till next time,

Grump

I learned a lot from my dad, and most of it is good. One of things he did that I am taking to a new level is getting where I’m going. I know dad isn’t unique in that when he gets in the car to go somewhere he doesn’t want to stop until he gets there. I am the very same way, but I do try to consider others if I am not alone in the car. I proved once again Wednesday evening that, I ain’t got no time ta stop. If I stop it’ll take that much longer to git home.

When I left the Shiloh Road church of Christ parking lot in Tyler Wednesday evening I knew in my heart that I should have used the facilities before I took off, but I told myself that I would stop to get a coke to enjoy on the way home.   About 15-20 minutes later I made it to I-20, and on the NW corner of the intersection was a Mickey D’s. Alright, I’ll stop in there take care of business, grab a coke and an order of fries, and then hit the road. The plan would have worked except I took the access road for the interstate, and discovered, I cain’t git there from here. So the cruise was set at the speed limit and I was on the way home.

Ok, friends I know I don’t need to spell this out for you… I just never quiet found the right place to stop. I must have passed a dozen golden arches on my way home, but none of them seemed to be convenient enough.  I mean you cain’t spect me to cross over the interstate just to git somp’en to drank! Then the next thing you know I was almost home. Meaning I had made it half way, and once you make it half way the gravitational pull of where you are going is stronger than the brakes on any vehicle, makes no difference if it’s a loaded semi or motorized roller skate. I’m guess’n that the person who invents the ability to nuke my coke and fries on board whatever I’m driving while I’m rolling ‘em over at a seventy mile an hour clip will be my hero for life.

Till next time,

Grump

My how things have changed. It’s been eight years since we’ve seen each other, but we got together last night for about forty-five minutes. A friendship that started back in the early sixties is still doing ok. The world was safe this time. There was no one to send to jail, no one got necked in a hotel pool, every rabbit in Tyler, Texas was safe, and as far as I know neither one of us drove a hundred and twenty miles an hour to get to Cracker Barrel for supper.

Craig Ancinec, aka Czech, and I got together for supper last night in Tyler. It was great to see him again, and the really nice thing is that we both seem to have made the last eight years in pretty good shape. I think he looks better now than he did the last time I saw him. He said he thought I look better too, and I’m pretty sure he’s never been wrong. It’s nice to see him looking so well because Craig is diabetic and over the years the disease has taken its toll. He has lost vision in one eye, but as he told me about it he smiled and said, “But the other eye is bionic!” What!? My friend is a robot?  No, but he does have a bionic retina,….or something like it. He also told me his kidneys are failing and that he may receive a transplant sometime in the future. Man, I tell ya after talking to him I feel pretty good about just having arthritis and living with Celiac Disease.

The reunion wasn’t long enough. I had to get on down to Shiloh Road to preach, but I sure am glad we had the short time together. Maybe it won’t be so long before we get together again, but maybe it will. I don’t suppose it matters a whole lot, we both know that if either of us needs anything the other would be there ASAP. Sept, I really don’t think my toymotor Corolla will do one twenty, so my ASAP may be a little slower than it would have been back in 72.

Till next time,

Grump

I John 3:11 This is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another.

There you have it friends, the answer to the world’s problems, “We should love one another.” The concept is so simple even a group of boys from Liverpool had it figured out. Remember just about the only words in the Beatles hit song, All You Need is Love, are; “all you need is love.”  

So where does, or should, it start? Well it started with God, but it is carried on, or not, by each and every one of us. Now let me give you, again, my definition of love, “To seek one another’s highest good.” That definition did not come from me, I don’t know who first coined the phrase, but I got it from a man named Abe Lincoln, a preacher and teacher from the Sunset School of Preaching back in the dark ages of the 1970’s. What those simple words imply is that if every person thought about what was best for the other person before thinking of themselves, the world would run in complete peace.    

You want peace within yourself? Don’t try to live two lives, one for God, and one for yourself.  

You want a peaceful marriage? Don’t live for yourself, live with the mindset that your spouse comes before you. Learn what makes them happy, learn what their “Love Language” is, (The Five Love Languages, by Dr. Gary Chapman) and live that language.

You want a great relationship with your children? Be their parent. Teach them through example what love, respect, discipline, responsibility, and character are, while living the definition of love.

Living, “seeking one another’s highest good,” means living an open book. Never do anything that you wouldn’t want your kids, your spouse, or your God to know about. Is living this kind of life easy? No! Not if you’re human because humans are selfish. We love ourselves first by nature. So how can we expect to live a life of true love? By giving ourselves to God, and then with His help, living the kind of love He lives.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Till next time,

Grump

I am about to finish up reading a book that was written by on old acquaintance. He and I went to the same small West Texas high school, but he is several years younger than me. And, we have a kinda sorta family tie; his oldest brother is married to my cousin.  Mom had told me about his book, and after he and I found each other on FaceBook, I decided to order his book, and give it a read. His name is David Erik Jones, and his book is, My Struggle, Your Struggle: Breaking Free from Habitual Sin.

I believe David has done a wonderful job of describing the habitual sin that he has struggled with for most of his life. He lets us know that even though he has admitted his sin, and confronted his sin, he still has to be aware of its effect on his life and how easy it would be to allow it to consume him again. He has come to realize that he has to allow God to strengthen him daily through prayer and scripture. He has come to realize that he needs to lean on others for strength through accountability.

David’s habitual sin is pornography. He handles the topic with grace while openly and honestly laying the facts of its damage to him, and others on the table. But, David also does a great job of taking the Habitual Sin problem to everyone. You do not have to be addicted to porn in order to learn from his message, anything that is controlling your life, anything that you are a slave too, can be, and most likely is, your Habitual Sin.  One of the things David writes about is how he was always able to somehow justify his desire to look at one more picture. How he was always able to rationalize that he was not doing anything wrong. It may be easy for you to rationalize that you don’t need to read his book, because you are not interested in the least with porn. It may be easy for you to justify the ball and chain you carry around because it is one of those “little sins.”  

Friends, do you tell lies throughout the day without even thinking about it? Do you take things, even small office supplies home with you from work because you feel entitled? Do you talk about others and their problems constantly with the attitude that they are somehow inferior? Have you worked a job for years that pays you in cash so you feel that Uncle Sam doesn’t have to know about it? My point is this. I believe that anything, anything, I do that controls me, anything I do that is against what God would be pleased with, is a sin, and that’s what qualifies me as a prime candidate for considering what David has written in his book.

David has strengthened me by his message. He has helped me to reconsider my habits. He has encouraged me to allow a greater presence of the Holy Spirit in my life. Because of his simple approach, yet powerful message, he has caused me to re-assess my priorities. I believe his experience with Breaking Free from Habitual Sin will help you too.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_1_11?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=my+struggle+your+struggle&sprefix=My+Struggle

Till next time,

Grump