The Albino

Somebody sent me a picture of an albino baby deer. He was mostly white with a few patches of brown. He had pink eyes...as most albinos do.

I have never seen an albino deer, other than that picture, but I did have an albino friend in 1st grade. His dad was the principal of our school, and his son Bliss was my best friend. Bliss had snow white hair, a gangly kind of run, green lens in his coke-bottle thick glasses, and a loud, high-pitched voice...and me as a friend.

Nobody wanted to be friends with Bliss because he could not go out in the sun... he also acted unsociable at times, and was generally misunderstood....but I liked Bliss. He was funny, had kind of "snort" when he laughed, and made me his friend. And though I didn't have a pigment problem, I was like Bliss in that neither of us was ever too comfortable around crowds. I was a scrawny first grader and the other kids picked on me because I was small, and they picked on Bliss because he was different...we were a match made in Heaven!

It is hard to like/love people that are "different." But I remember a story in the Bible where King David befriend a young man that was different. His name was Mephibosheth and he was a cripple. He had no friends or source of income due to being crippled in both feet from a boy...the victim of an overzealous nursemaid who was fleeing for their lives when she dropped him and damaged his feet.

David befriended Mephibosheth because he was the son of his best, and now deceased friend, Jonathan. David said to Mephibosheth in 2Samuel 9:7, "I will surely show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan."

There are people around us who need to be shown friendship "for the sake of OUR Father in Heaven." People who may be unlovable, handicapped, or just seemingly always on the outside looking in.

Look for that Bliss, or that Mephibosheth today and show them kindness for the "sake of your Father in Heaven."

The Owl

Owls have a reputation for being wise... and they may be (wise that is). But I saw one last week that demonstrated "coolness under pressure."

I was sitting on my patio when I heard a cacophony of sound coming from some Hawks. I walked down to the woods where I heard the commotion. I saw an owl surrounded by three young hawks and they were screeching at that owl at a decibel that ruined my meditation time.

After a few minutes, a small murder of crows arrived...they, too, crowed at the owl with unbelievable intensity. All the while, the owl just sits, stares, looks around, and bats his eyes...he eventually flew off with both crows and hawks continuing their gang behavior by smothering him in flight...but you could tell that the owl was unconcerned by their "thugish" actions and seemingly oblivious to their disdain.

How do you handle pressure? At work? At home? Within your relationships?

The Apostle Paul stated that there was a time when he was "hard-pressed on every side." (2Cor 4:8) In an earlier chapter in 2Cor, he revealed that "he was under pressure far beyond his ability to endure" and thought that he would be crushed by his circumstances and swamped by the storm of difficulty he was facing (2Cor 1:8-9) BUT, Jesus delivered him. As he puts it,
"Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead." 2Cor 1:9

If you have people crowing at you today...and trying to push your buttons; or if you feel that your circumstances are a weight too heavy to bear, then do as Paul did and turn things over to Jesus and learn how to rely on Him instead of trust in yourself.

The Party!

Everyone should have received an evite by now announcing our party this Saturday night at 6pm in The Harbor (youth bldg). If you did not receive an evite, text me your email and I will make sure that you get a special invitation!!

The Garbage Truck

I can hear the garbage truck coming on Tuesday mornings before I even leave the house for my morning run.  The distant rumbling reminds me that if I have not taken the garbage to the street, then I only have about 10 minutes before its too late.

Even though the Garbage Truck makes a distinctive sound, the smell is even more unique.  Not many things smell as bad as a garbage truck.  The only thing that comes near is the T-Shirt that was washed with the dirty dish rags! Enough to gag a maggot!

As I prepare to run past the garbage truck as it makes its way into my cul-de-sac, I hold my breath and hope the wind does not blow the smell my way as I take a breath.  I don't see how those guys on the back of the truck handle the smell all day... they must have had their olfactory nerves removed!

Did you know that YOU have a smell? A SPIRITUAL smell? The Bible says, "For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life." (2Cor. 2:15-16)  

Don't forget that as a child of God you "are the aroma of Christ." All the more reason to live out a positive witness.... a negative witness will make people think that we've been "washed with the dirty dish rags!"

Fellowship!Fellowship!Fellowship!

We have a fellowship planned for Saturday night, August 14 at The Harbor.  As you know, The Harbor is our Youth/Education Bldg with a full kitchen, worship space, Wii, Xbox's, pool tables, etc.  We will have a blast!  I will get you some more information about the meal, drinks, etc.  

I am going to invite several new couples to our church who fit into our age range (25-32 young marrieds) to join us for this time of fellowship....I hope that you will do the same.  This will be a good time to introduce new people to our class and our church.

Patty and I are excited about this evening and look forward to seeing you back in Sunday School on August 1!

Sunday School July 25

Hey Guys!  What a great class last Sunday!  It was good to have Chris and Mindy Beard back after the birth of their son.

We have a special guest teacher this Sunday since I will be out preaching in revival.  Our teacher this Sunday is Buddy Blackwell...Buddy is Mindy Beard's dad.  He taught several of you in Sunday School when you were in youth ministry.  Pray for Buddy as he prepares to teach this Sunday and show up with a receptive heart to hear from the Spirit!

The Subversive Christian

Eugene Peterson, in his book, The Contemplative Pastor, discusses the idea of the "subversive christian." The Suberversive Christian blends into the culture and shares the gospel in a way that is non-threatening and unobtrusive...more "matter of fact" than anything else ( my favorite is Peterson's discussion on "Jesus the Subversive" on page 32...he discusses how Jesus used Parables in a subversive manner to communicate the Kingdom without even mentioning the name "God.")

Here is an example....I was sitting with a teenager watching a group of students play basketball today and struck up a "spiritual conversation." I asked her, in a very conversational manner, about her spiritual life. Long story short, I eventually moved the conversation into a more secular direction and we talked about anything and everything of interest to her...but not before I had the chance to talk about spiritual things in a non-threatening and unobtrusive manner...how threatening is sitting on the ground and enjoying a game of pick-up basketball?

After I spoke at tonight's worship servic, she came forward and accepted Jesus as her Savior...I really think that it was because I took the time to get to know her a little better and talk about her interests at the afternoon basketball game...an example of sharing the gospel in an intential, "subversive" manner. Maybe you could try that at your office....or your school, or maybe even at your next social gathering.

If we are going to save a lost and dying world, we have got to get into the culture and make Jesus known! Without hitting people over the head with a King James Version of the Bible!

The Distraction

I was listening to a spokesperson for AAA Auto Club last week talk about "Distracted Driving.' His main focus was on the dangers of texting and driving as well as allowing others to divert our attention from the road while we were behind the wheel. He said that distractions come from three areas: Physical Distractions that cause us to take our hands off the wheel...Visual Distractions that cause us to take our eyes off the road...and Mental Distractions that cause us to mentally "zone out" instead of paying attention to our surroundings while we drive.

As I was listening to this guy talk about Distracted Driving, I thought about Distracted Discipleship...and all the many ways that we get distracted from our walk with Jesus. Hebrews 12:2 tells us that we should "fix our eys on Jesus who is the author and finisher of our faith." But there is usually something that distracts our attention from Jesus and causes us to direct our gaze elsewhere....what is that distraction for you?

Disctracted Discipleship is as much a problem as Distracted Driving. Lets stay vigilante and persevere in our spiritual race with Jesus...and KEEP our eyes FIXED on Him!!

Youth Camp

I wanted to let all of you know that the Youth Camp I am leading at Romar Beach Baptist Retreat in Orange Beach, AL is going great! It was raining this morning and we can't go to the beach due to the oil spill, but nevertheless, God is moving in an awesome way! The worship team from FBC Magnolia is doing a great job of leading us in worship. They are a talented group of young people! The fellowship time and small group discussion is going well as the students begin to gel. Keep us in your prayers!!

No Sunday School July 4th

Hey Guys,

No Sunday School on July 4th. We have a choir presentation during worship and a hamburger cookout after church.

BTW, pray for me next week as I lead a Youth Camp of about 120 students. I will be sharing two messages a day from Monday until Saturday.... three churches from south Mississippi have asked me to join them for their summer camp in Orange Beach, AL and I am excited about what God is going to do next week!....*Bro. Jerry