check the box

Do you guys remember when we were wee little bitty guys running around on the playgrounds during recess time, just hollering out YOU’RE IT, GOT YOU…..YES I did, shirt is part of the body! Or the times when you muster up enough nerve to write a letter to that someone that caught your eye and you wanted that person to respond to your question “do you like me”? and there were two boxes for that person to check or place their “X” ….sometimes the third box was given with a “maybe”. Man for me that should have a big ol question mark behind it! hahaha….

We still check boxes in our society, I mean think about filling out applications, or ordering things on line, or even now some sandwich shops have you checking boxes of the items you desire on your sandwich. In high school and college bring those #2 pencils and start darkening in the circles to reflect for me my best guesstimate.

Depending on the polls, surveys, research engines you read over, the number of folks that checked the Christian box is really pretty staggering. Here is what I mean. In recent surveys and numbers taken from the most recent census, when asked about religion roughly 70% responded with Christianity, yet on a given day of worship 23% will not stick a key in the ignition, or get on a bus, or walk to a local place of worship. It does make me wonder why? It’s almost like if I dressed up in full Tennessee Titan football gear, face painted up, chest painted up with the Titan flames, got the Titan number 1 fan finger and I start talking about how much I love the Dallas Cowboys. Yea kinda crazy uh….you would look at me and think man o man he really has gone whacko now….looking like (checking the box) for the Titans, yet saying a totally different message.

In preparing for a topic of discussion recently, I noticed that Rutherford County (TN) has over 260,000 residents and those residents live in 103,000 housing units, yet of those 260 plus thousand residents, 12.4% or over 32,000 live at or below the poverty line. At this point you’re thinking what does this have to do with checking boxes bivo? Well, my thoughts are this, that what if we took the time to find out where the other folks are that checked the box are. Yea remember we stated earlier that roughly 70% have stated or checked the box for Christianity yet only 60,000 of the 260,000 participate in serving Christ by gathering with other followers of Jesus….200,000 people that are made in the image of God are wandering, maybe looking, some maybe not….and in that number are folks that lay their head down in tents, on bridges, in parks, in libraries, shelters (if there is room).

So here is my point or what if moment…what if the believers, the followers, the lovers of Christ, lived out of the box they/we checked when surveyed. Heck what if just 50% or 130,000 folks really started living out Matthew 25:40 NLT 'I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!'

Or what if the 130,00 really believed 1 Peter 4:10 God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another…
Or that we learned that we really don’t Owe nothing to anyone--except for your obligation to love one another. If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill the requirements of God's law. (Romans 13:8) And that we, yea we the 130,000 that checked the Christianity box really did (Hebrews 10:24-25) think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. and not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.

would we eventually change that 12.4% number to 0%? I believe so. So what do we do first bivo? Man I’m glad you asked, let’s find out who checked the box.

Can you imagine if every street in Rutherford County had at least one house that had the Jesus light on. Phillipians 3:20 confirms that by faith we live on Jesus’ culdesac…OK OK it doesn’t say culdesac, but it does say we are citizens of heaven. What if 50% to 70% of the housing units had their Jesus light on. Yep since Jesus is the light HE will leave the light on for ya…. That’s 51,500 to 72,100 housing units living out love, peace, joy, kindness, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness and self control. That last one, self-control, is a biggie and for another day for us to discuss. Let me close with this.

In order for Jesus to be famous in your community, or at your work or in your home, HE must be famous for you first. If you have a desire to learn or find some folks that are learning how to do just this, let us know by sending us a note or replying to this email and let’s start plotting out the houses within our county that are safe places for people to come to in the name of Jesus Christ.

GOing....GOd

This month at the Refuge we are experiencing and learning about our GOing. What? uh what is the Refuge? Oh hey that's a cool question, ok hang tight for a second. Hey gang for those that already know about the Refuge, you can go get you a donut, or cheetos, or for the healthy folks you can go grab some celery sticks, or tofu bars...

Ok for the rest of us, the Refuge is a safe place, yes i know that's what the word refuge means, but you asked hahaha. It's a place where folks can gather that have been unplugged or never plugged in with other people that are living out Christ in homes, living out Christ at work and living out Christ in the community. The Refuge is a place where you can live out and or learn about Christ at your pace and through your uniqueness. All of us are learning together how to make Jesus famous in our travels, but before we can make HIM famous (which HE already is) to others, we ask ourselves is HE famous for me? The Refuge is a place where conversations are a bit deeper than the weather, it's a place where folks can express their burdens and give others the chance to help them carry (not fix, that's Jesus' role, HE's the one that fixers us fixer uppers) therefore, living out Galatians 6:2.

Oh hey the others are coming back, I see some of them licking the glaze and tofu off their fingers. Real quick, that's a brief snapshot of the Refuge you can go to facebook and look us up or you can follow tweets at therefugemboro.

Kinda interesting that the word go is in both words listed above and the past few weeks and the weeks ahead we are taking time to learn a bit more about our GOing and in our GOing are we asking GOd if we should go. We are a busy people, I mean really, as I type this I am racking my brain over the past 48 hours and realize that i'm having some difficulty recalling the GOing of the days. And the crazy thing is that I just returned from an incredible time of rest with my bride, Debby, down in the sands of Destin, FL.

So what has our mind so tangled or is the tangled mind coming from our GOing at speedracer pace? What are we saying yes to and why? Now before you hit the delete button and unsubscribe hang in here with me....Jesus tells us to GO, that we are to GO and make disciples in all nations.... (Matthew 28:19-20) but why? Why did and does Jesus tell us to go and make disciples? Hang on to that question for a moment. As i thought it would be pretty neat to look up the word go in scripture, so i did...shows up almost 1500 times. WOW are you serious, other words like went, sent, depart show up quite a bit also, cumaltively up to another 1500 times, so we see that we are designed, commanded, encouraged to GO.But look at part of the definition...

to pursue the journey on which one has entered, to continue on one's journey

What is your/our journey? Where are we entering and are we making disciples as we GO in our GOing. What if in our GOing we decided as a people that love JEsus Christ, started in our homes and met every seen need, we didn't ask if we could do it, or we didn't wait for someone else to do it, we just did it. Or, or what about if at our workplaces we started with helping fulfill needs around the workplace, we didn't ask for permission, we just did it, and we did it without any recognition, that we almost try to do it like CIA....no not central intelligence agency but Christ In Action...or what if we as a people that love Jesus Christ just started meeting the needs of the community, what if we had conversations with the city officials and asked; "what are the biggest needs for our community"? and we just started fulfilling those needs, all along the way answering the question when asked "why" we could simply reply...Jesus, no other reason...just Jesus. i just wonder if anyone would be drawn? Doesn't matter, go check out Romans 13:8 NLT .....never mind i can't wait here it is!

Owe nothing to anyone-except for your obligation to love one another. If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill the requirements of God's law.
Hang on here are some more, this is better than that glazed tofu bar isn't it? YEPPERs

Galatians 5:14 (NLT) For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: "Love your neighbor as yourself

So why did Jesus tell us to go?

John 13:35 Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples."

Ah there's that word again.....You see our journey's and our teaching comes first in our homes, then at work and then in our communities. That our LOVE for CHRIST compells us to serve in our continued journey, not from obligation, guilt or duty, but out of incredible love for JESUS who emptied a tomb, once for ALL, that through our faith we are free to serve one another in love (Galatians 5:13)....some folks want or desire to prove themselves worthy, we cannot folks. Thank God Christ did prove us worthy and now take another peek at what proof the world is seeking from me and you that are lovers of Christ.....yea....incredibly cool! Now GO really get GOing and serve GOd in a manner that leaves a sweet aroma of Christ (Ephesians 5:2
Gang, thanks for giving me the opportunity to share with you. If you desire and or know folks that desire to learn, encourage, teach each other what living life in Christ looks like, well come on. We don't have everything figured out with the exception that Jesus is who HE says He is and we are who He says we are...

will you forward this to those in your circle of influence, thanks for those that do and those that don't, i bet those that don't eat tofu HAHAHA....just kidding...you know I love all you guys. Ask em to like the Refuge facebook page. You then can keep up with where we are meeting throughout the week.

mike and debby bivins

water

So you're walking around with some buddies, just kicking rocks, picking some up and tossing em in the water, occasionally stopping to get some of the rocks out of your sandals. The day is hot and the murmurs continue, the rumors, the conversations, the questions, could it be? who is he? why is he doing this? not quite sure if this has anything at all to do with you…quite honestly you have ignored this topic for quite some time, as you have grown bored with it.

as you are walking you start to see a crowd, crowd of folks that are quite diverse, young, old, those with, those without, the lame, the athletic, numbers of people that are walking, some easing into the water and as you get closer you notice that there is this man that is lowering them under the water and he is screaming out something, but you can't quite make it out…and you are drawn, not quite sure what you are drawn to. Is it him? the water, the curiosity…why can I not stop myself from going…your buddies are not following…they start to holler out insults, call you things that you never thought would come out of their mouths AT you…but you keep walking and as you are walking some men dressed in clothes with colors that you have never really seen before, oh you've heard about these guys but there brushing, almost pushing you aside. Dang rude! these men and their flowing robes are heading straight to this man that is in the water, what do they want with him, he's not doing anything wrong, heck all you notice from your distance is that when people come up out of the water, there are these HUGE smiles on their face, it's like something has been lifted off of them……but you have drawn closer and you can hear more clearly the words that he is speaking, so you are drawn even closer.

And you hear this man that now others are referring to as John yea someone said that's jOhn the baptist, and your thinker are you serious? I kinda thought he was make believe…..no way……so you inch even closer, and you hear him tell these men, these men who quite honestly don't appear to be very pleased with the situation, you can almost sense that through clinched jaws, and maybe clinched fists under their robes, that they want this stopped immediately….but this man who is still in the water tells them "I am not the Christ" (John 1:20) WHAT? What did he just say? are you kidding me and you now notice the top of your feet are in the water and you freeze as you hear with the energy that parents use to scold their child for talking to a "stranger" Then who are you? What do you say about yourself?(John 1:22)you ask yourself why are these men so upset as you wait for this man's response and this man whose confidence is just dripping off him, more so than the water off his forearms as he is baptizing those that are coming and he you hear him "I am the voice of the one calling in the desert, Make straight the way for the Lord" IT IS him, you have heard of this guy, he eats locusts and dresses in camel hair OMG I'm going to go……but wait is he pointing at me….your stomach is rolling like thunder as you see who you now know to be John the Baptist look your direction and point. As he points, he SCREAMS out in the direction of another man who brushes by your side, yet this time not in a push like those others, but with the caress of a brother saying let me get in front of you, almost like someone trying to protect you, I've got this covered and now your in the water to your shins……words now come across your ears that you will NEVER forget….

BEHOLD THE LAMB OF GOD who takes away the sin of the world (john 1:29)whistling over your head! NO wAY the Messiah!, my grandaddy would tell me to be waiting and that we didn't know the day but to ALWAYS be ready, this is HIM…this is HIM you are wishing your buddies were with you but you desire to go get them but you are frozen ….and you hear a conversation between John and Jesus. Jesus is wanting to be baptized, are you kidding? and john is not wanting to do this he tells Jesus (Matthew 3:14)"I need to be baptized by you and you come to me?" and you hear Jesus as now you are in the water to your thighs, tell JOhn (matthew 3:15)"Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness. Wait a minute that word righteousness, I've heard that word, come on memory and you search your memory for that word, righteousness and it's starting to come back, yea that's the filing cabinet and the words you heard from your mama and daddy describe to you how you are acceptable to God…that there was a day coming that Jesus would fulfill the law and through our faith, belief in HIM we are made acceptable (righteous) and you now have this overwhelming desire to throw yourself onto these men BUT before you can move…. you hear the SPLASH of the water as John immerses your SAVIOR under the water and come up out of the water and as the heavens are opening up, with the water dripping off our Saviors hair and beard you hear this BOOMING melodic voice declare" "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."(Matthew 3:17)

you are now waist deep and there is no turning back; for as the old hymn states

I have decided to follow Jesus
I have decided to follow Jesus
I have decided to follow Jesus
no turning back
no turning back

Saturday will be an amazing day for all of us as we participate in following Jesus in His example of fulfilling God's promise to me and you. Have you followed in showing the world your faith and belief in CHRIST through baptism? if you have questions will you give me or someone you are safe with a call? you will great….look forward to talking with anyone who has questions on what this means and why we decide to follow Jesus in this manner. (615)604-1760

love em up!

Holy Spirit

Luke 24:49 And now I will send the Holy Spirit, just as my Father promised. But stay here in the city until the Holy Spirit comes and fills you with power from heaven."

Those are the words Jesus spoke to everyone in the room. Yea the room everyone ran to days before the He was crucified. let's stop and relive our week last week, simply AMAZING the emotions we rolled through as we journeyed through scripture to relive Holy Week, so can you even imagine the magnitude of the emotional roller coaster the disciples and others who lived with Jesus for the last 3 years felt? You just gotta believe that now the teaching, the promises, the statements, the healing came flashing back in micro seconds. I mean come on, this guy, JEsus who called himself Son of Man, said He is the Messiah and you kinda believed it on some days, other days when the heat was turned up our belief turned to running. And then HE is crucified! WOW and for the day before the resurrection, how heavy was the doubt? I can just hear some of the conversations in the room, after everyone caught their breath. DAng it I can't believe we got dooped like this…how could I be so naïve? What now, we left everything….. they had given up hope, the women are looking for the various ointments to finish preparing His body for burial. they were walking back to a tomb believed to be occupied by Jesus. YET what a glorious day! it's EMPTY, the running is back on, yet this time running with HOPE,running back to tell the others, running with the flashbacks, running with vigor…and you remember back you remember Jesus saying:

Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. (John 3:6) In your running you recall the moments after HE washed your feet that he stated: WHEN not IF the FAther sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you. (John 14:26) And that peace, peace of mind and heart will come and that this peace is not what the world can give but only through JESUS…(john 14:27) And you are actually starting to experience this, you are actually starting to feel some of this peace where a few hours ago hope was gone…. a smile is broadening, the chest is swelling, oh my gosh I can't keep from shouting, I can't keep from praising God and that is just what they did. They did all day long (Luke 24:53)

they had a new life….how about us? Let's find out together over the next few weeks how the promised and delivered Holy Spirit through faith in Christ helps us live a new life. Look forward to seeing everyone Saturday

WE ARE STARTING AT NEW TIME! summer start time will be 6:00 pm for the open fellowship, 6:30 pm worship through song begins, help communicate through the various outlets you utilize.

love em up!

two days before

Good morning,

Take the time today to read and soak in Mark 14:1-11….the scene is two days before the festival of the Passover. Jesus is in Bethany and he and his disciples are seated for a meal. Recall the exuberance they felt two days prior on Palm Sunday as they head toward to the cross, Jesus knowing that He is and will be fulfilling prophecy by transferring the LAW into GRACE by placing himself on a cross for our eternal and daily security in HIM. But He must travel through Tuesday before He gets to Friday.

Ask yourself and family questions today in preparation for our time together on Thursday (Maundy Thursday service @ Roasteries 6:30 pm). What is the aroma that we as followers of Jesus Christ fill the room with. You see nard (not a cool name for a perfume hahaha) or known as spikenard is an aromatic perennial herb, some say in the scent of roses. And when Jesus was anointed, when she poured the perfume over His head, scripture tells us the aroma filled the room. The presence and attitudes of the others also filled the room. Quite a different aroma. Which aroma are we?

Go back and look who is in the room, a man who had leprosy (past tense), disciples who probably knowing that they heard Jesus say he must die and suffer, then 3 days later return, but didn't really believe it YET. Or can we relate to the woman, who no matter what the crowd was saying, came in with an alabaster box of spikenard and did exactly what she knew was best for her to do and that was to pour, to anoint Jesus…. I love how Jesus replies in verse 8…She has done what she could and has anointed my body for burial ahead of time.

wow, she did what she could, she didn't allow the thought of what she didn't have, she didn't compare to the others who were "busy" around her, she did what she could do.

Let's not concern ourselves with what we can't do, but let's do what we can with what we have!

Have a fabulous day as you journey to the cross and then the EMPTY TOMB this week

keys

Hello Friends,

Spring is here folks! i love it....the color is amazing isn't it? WOW....so how is everyone doing? Good good i see some heads bobbing around out there, not sure if that is just shaking off the winter blues, or or the cobwebs from March Madness...i do enjoy this time of year as baseball starts to crank up from the little league teams all the way up to the loved Atlanta Braves, yep i'm a brave fan, struggled with them through the days at the "launching pad" of Atlanta Fulton County Stadium when in the 80's back in college the fellas would load up and do a roadtrip on Sunday to watch the Braves battle. Not sure what was more fun, the days out in the right centerfield seats with the shirts off getting third degree burns on our paste like chests or laughing at the various stories we could manufacture each trip to and from Atlanta. Can't recall to many of the stories that were told, but i'm sure we thought we held the keys to freedom in our journeys.
Speaking of keys! hahaha....hang with me here...Do you remember receiving the first set of keys to your car, or when mom and dad tossed you the keys to their car and you could go out with some of your buddies. Oh my gosh, how liberating, how freeing, and now that we have a few years under our belt and i have tossed keys to my oldest daughter, and now teaching our middle child how to drive. The responsibility of having keys is tremendous.

That's exactly what Jesus did. No not drive you numbskulls. He tossed keys (figuratively) over to Peter. We have discussed this scene before. It's Matthew, oooopsss ok some of you need to go get your Bible, that's cool....ill wait.........ok here we go. The scene is in chapter 16 where Jesus is asking the boys "who do the people say I am". And the guys are giving their answers and Jesus hones in on Peter. Don't you just love that, when the guy that typically blurts out is the one the teacher picks out to answer the question? Yea, deep down some of us are wanting him to answer incorrectly so we can giggle on the inside (so crazy that's for another time) But Peter answers correctly in verse 16 ...You are the Christ the Son of the Living God. If it were a gameshow, the confetti drops from the sky, the studio audience goes absolutely bonkers and Peter is swarmed under with high fives. But Peter and the gang GET SO MUCH MORE....you too!

v19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."

Unbelievable right? Not with Jesus folks, he takes the ordinary and makes us EXTRAordinary through our faith in HIM....what had Peter done at that moment to receive such a reward? Nothing other than to place faith in Christ, by stating, what he believed. Sure Peter ran a few hours later, but his place was secured when he stated YOU are the Christ, Son of the living God. You can have those same keys, a bunch of you already do, you are just not sure how to place the keys in the ignition and push the throttle. Think back for just a moment the feeling of freedom you experienced the very first time you drove by yourself...........you had to place the keys given to you in the ignition...YOU have the keys!

Jesus trusts you/us with the church (people, not buildings) and the building of His people, that's why He emptied out the tomb to set the captives free, to experience freedom from ourselves and to teach (disciple) others. Go ahead mash the throttle, live this life WIDE OPEN with us, it's a joy!

"i didn't know"

Hello family,

It has been a while since we have talked. Going through some withdrawals here. How have you been? Yea, the weather is crazy, hello middle Tennessee weather, the ol adage holds true if you don't like the weather stick around for 24 hours and it will change. That is until we hit July, August when there are varying degrees of extreme heat, where the only change is the humidity from a kazillion percent to a bazillion percent humidity. Yes bazillion is larger than kazillion thank you very much.

Ok enough of the surface chit chat. Let's dive in. The other day, which means in my world I can't quite remember the day so it could have been a week, a month or just a few minutes ago, I recalled a conversation with an individual several years ago

The year was 2001 I'm still in corporate America, but for those that remember in January of 2001 my Damascus road event, the real eye opener occured in Knoxville TN with blue lights flashing. My road to healing began and will continue until we see Jesus face to face. So at this time it is in the fall and i have months of sobriety under my belt, God has started to place men in my life that will help me understand what transparency, vulnerability, humility, openeness really mean. i actually started reading the BOOK, yep the Bible (hey go get yours right quick we are about to open it up) and seeing that God through Jesus Christ absolutely loves me and YOU too...yea yea...My role at the time was in National Account sales, so local sales guys through the state would line up folks for us to go chit chat with. This particular Monday the sales team from Memphis is calling to set up the week and they had stuff planned on Wednesday. I can't remember what the classes were, but i was carving out time to be at the worship barn on Wednesday nights. When i asked them to push everything back to get it done on Monday and Tuesday so i could be back in the boro' for church. (which is a whole other story, letting guys that i used to party like crazy with know i was going to church). The voice on the other end said "i didn't know you were a Christian"

.....silence on my end as the truth of his words penetrated my being...how would he know? since our brains are like supersonic computers that can process bakazillion (that's a whole lot if your wondering) thoughts in a nanosecond. My brain is retracing the events of 13 years of living a life of fake. Oh i was a nice guy, fun to hang out with, played the game, but never a glimpse of anything spiritual, heck probably made snide remarks if the subject came up. So fast forward to today 10 years of sobriety later, that's not the coolest. The coolest is that through Christ the war that wages in our minds daily is won. (Romans 7:15-25) Go read the verses, doesn't matter the translation. Just read it man! I'll wait......you back?

What about that? Can we relate? Absolutely, but look, don't close that Book yet....look at verse 25 again. v25 Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord.....wait wait wait...go on down or over to chapter 8 and you'll see a "i didn't know" moment for me back in 2001. v1 So now there is NO condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus (emphasis on the no is mine) v2 For the power of the life giving Spirit has FREED (emphasis mine) you through Christ Jesus from the power of sin that leads to death.

THAT' S RIGHT, THAT'S RIGHT, THAT'S RIGHT....my brain goes into ultrasonic processing mode to remember that yes Jesus did state that IT IS FINISHED and that He did state that our belief, faith in Him gives us eternal life, but also gives us the Helper, the Holy Spirit, the Might Counselor that gives us the strength to live daily; to take our thoughts captive, to live a life of freedom through Jesus....the processor is going and going. The world will know that we are Jesus lovers by the way we love each other (John 13:35) and that by seeing, feeling, tasting, experiencing who we are in Christ, the "i didn't know's " from others start to disappear!

Guys, thanks for journeying with Debby and I over the years. This week we will celebrate 22 years of marriage. It is an amazing ride, one that is filled with awe and wonder of who Jesus Christ is in our lives. The awe and wonder of how living without masks on with each other absolutely sets us free daily, and that we don't take that for granted. We love you, thanks for loving us!

love em up!

mike and debby
www.loveemupministries.com

P.S.

Will you do us a favor and if you are led, will you share this with someone out there in circle of influence. We have a safe place for folks to come back to if they have unplugged from a local body of folks that love Jesus. It's also a place for folks that desire to find out where they are in their faith, it's a place to learn how to rid themselves of the " i didn't know" when they desire.....It's called the Refuge, we meet 5:30 pm at Siegel High School in the choir room. You can keep up with the upcoming series on facebook (no deb and i haven't waivered on our stance on facebook hahah) and or twitter @theRefugeMboro.

never say never

Happy Valentine's Day,



Never say Never....no this isn't going to be a discussion on how cute and lovable Justin Beiber is (although i admit he is pretty good). Let's chit chat a bit on why we make some defining statements like I'll never buy a minivan, or I'll never eat 5000 reese's pieces again, or man I'll never stay up that late again, whew I'll never drink that many beers again and we see ourselves go out and buy the aforementioned minivan to drive to the store to pick up another kazillion beers to wash down the reese's pieces that too all night to eat and drink..



WHY WHY WHY?

Heck Let's ask Peter, he did it too. Isn't that just like us, to bring someone into our mess in order to feel better about ourselves hahaha....we are a fun messy bunch aren't we? Well we really can learn from our friend Simon Peter. Surely we remember this guy, he was one of the original 12 that heard Jesus say a couple of words "Follow Me" and they did. He is one that was pretty quick to talk and desire to be out front when Jesus was teaching or asking questions for their reply. Let's look at a couple of the conversations.



Matthew 16.....(i'm whistling here........why?.....uh to go get your Bible!) Ok Jesus is in the midst of feeding folks spiritually and physically. I mean on the physical side when a crowd gathers, they get hungry, the disciples look around at each other, shrug their shoulders, find a few loaves, hand over to Jesus, Jesus blesses and feeds everyone until they are full as tics (southern term for eating too much) and they would have leftovers. After one such meal, the boys (disciples) are gathered around he asks a question in the last half of Matthew 16:13...."who do people say the Son of Man is"?

The replies come in and then Jesus asked them point blank, "who do you say that I am" Look at our boy Peter in verse 16 You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God. Jesus responds with the affirmative and in verse 18 tells Peter....Now I say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.

So Peter jumps in and declared..no he just didn't make a statement, Peter declared v33 "Even if everyone else deserts you, I never will."

H Oh there's that word, let's see how this unfolds. Jesus says uh.... yes Peter you will, and as a matter of fact ,tonight before the rooster crows three times, you will deny me. Matthew 26:35 No!" Peter insisted. "Not even if I have to die with you! I will never deny you!" And all the other disciples vowed the same.

jeeeezzzz there's that word again, dang Peter! Well we know what happened don't we? Yep Peter bought the minivan....no that's us...he denied Christ. We can stop here and come up with a bazillion reasons why he denied our Lord, and we can say or make those statements, "man if that would've been me i woulda done __________ " and fill in the blank. But we weren't and before we even go down the path of placing ourselves in a similar scene to apply this event. Let's take a look at John 21.

The scene is amazing. Jesus on the beach with the disciples, he just helped them catch 153 fish,

they come ashore, sharing another meal and Jesus asks Peter 3 times (the number 3 pops up a bunch around Jesus doesn't it?) do you love me? and each time Peter answers yes. I understand the various words used for love in this scene are different, but the focus for me is on what Jesus didn't ask...Jesus didn't ask "Peter why did you run"? He didn't say "I told you so man" Jesus doesn't make him wholler in it by saying "are you sure you love me, you sure was running pretty fast from that servant girl" nope....

Jesus gives him everything we desire each day from each other. GRACE, GRACE, GRACE....Peter learned a ton that day about himself and about who this man named Jesus really is...how about us?

Well i know that there is someone that when He says never it sticks....here are a few.

Hebrews 13:5...For God has said, "I will never fail you. I will never forsake you."

John 10:28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them away from me,

John 14:16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, who will never leave you.

1 Peter 2:6 As the Scriptures express it, "I am placing a stone in Jerusalem, a chosen cornerstone, and anyone who believes in him will never be disappointed."

moment

Aaaahhhhhh these are the moments! Yes the moment right before you climb in that roller coaster you have been staring at for an hour, with others urging you on, but your stomach is just balled up in knots you are fighting yourself….but really really really deep down you are wanting to give it a go, but fear still has a grip…those moments before you step in the batter's box for the first time with a guy out there throwing 900 mile an hour fast balls, well it seems that way, and you're wondering do I really like this game that much?….or that moment before you mount the balance beam for the first time after hours of practice, thinking is this worth it?….come on you remember the moments in your life when you stood face to face with what you truly desired, what you knew and now know God has gifted you to be and in your being the doing overflows….

this is that moment when we decide to serve!

give something a whirl you have never done before (ESPECIALLY our Children). Let's model what stepping through our fear LOOKS like…oh we've told em before as we shove them in a room with others who are squalling their eyes out, hahaha…….let them walk beside you as you walk out to greet someone for the first time, let em hear your voice crack when you greet someone and describe who Jesus Christ is about for the first time, let em hear you pray for your flesh to die to self and be led by the Holy Spirit to serve, heck let them pray for you. let's actually allow ourselves the room skin our knees while serving in an area for the first time. Lets continue to celebrate as individuals start stepping through their fear by tapping into this Perfect love we will discuss Saturday….. these will be your moments for a life time, but you must walk through the first to have a trillion. Let this new season be your moment to serve Jesus CHrist!

oh hey! the lap bar is coming down….glad you climbed aboard….(click click click click click) this first hill is a DOOOOOOZZZYYYY…put your hands up, its more fun……….OUCH! your cutting the circulation off my arm, LET GO!

love em up!

the Refuge

Hello folks,

Isn't that a cool color on top? Yea, i think so too, truly a random thought. Now that we have each other's attention can Debby and I share part of our journey with you? Ok for those that said no, you can hit delete now hahaha. For those that said yes, keep on reading.

It is difficult to know where to start, especially with this type of communication. God has stirred us for over 2 years to stretch out within Rutherford County. Did you know that there is a huge population of folks that are not part of a church (not a building, but the people of Jesus Christ)? You did know that, some didn't...Yea and did you know that a major portion of this population at one time said yes to God yet do not participate in life with fellow believers.

Debby and I have a wonderful opportunity to sit with folks from all walks of life each week, and the majority of people that God places in our lap, at one time or the other went to "church" a building, yet the local body "church" (people following Jesus) were burned, or maybe did the burning. Or the local body has turned and looks too much like a fortune 500 company, or their thought about themselves(dirty) keeps them away from a place where they "think" everyone has it together (clean). In our conversations, Debby and I persistently encourage folks to join in with a local body of believers in Jesus Christ. It doesn't matter to us the address, just get immersed with some folks that love Jesus and are keeping their masks off. Some go for awhile, then pull the rip cord on it and go back to life.

Trust me we understand and have heard most, not all of the reasons/excuses for bailing. God knows our heart (all of ours) and He wired Debby and I in the same manner, where we love to help folks find out what is under the should. What?... Yea the should's that we place on ourself. For example we ask folks how are they doing spiritually? The majority of the responses come back, "well I/we don't go to church (building) as much as we SHOULD" "Or i/we don't pray as often as we SHOULD"...ahhh I feel heads nodding now, you do it too? hahahaha...It does pose the question, who are you comparing yourself to and why.....and if we KNOW or SAY we should, then why not?

Did you know that Paul said the very same thing? Sure did check this out Romans 7:15 (NLT) I don't understand myself at all, for I really want to do what is right, but I don't do it. Instead, I do the very thing I hate..
Sounds like a different way to say should uh? Debby and I are experiencing, that when we take the time to find out why people don't or won't engage with a local body and we take the time to walk/discuss/love/encourage/teach/let them learn, the should's start to vanish, one should at a time.

Hence the Refuge was formed. Our two year wrestling match with God is over (at least on this yes hahaha). First of January 2011 we began organizing our thoughts through prayer and God is bringing several folks that desire to live intentionally with each other outside of the walls of a building. The people God is wooing are folks that are starting to live out the gospel of Jesus Christ through their uniqueness and giftedness. We are learning, we are establishing Refugee camps (homes, places of work) throughout Rutherford County. The central piece of the Refuge is not the time we gather weekly, but the time we spend in each other homes throughout the week. It's the time we spend inviting that population of folks that are not part of body of believers into our homes, inviting folks into our Bible study at work; inviting them into our small group at whatever type of practice you are watching.

Then we come together and celebrate like crazy, rejevenuate, encourage one another and recharge through Jesus Christ. We have started to meet informally at Siegel High School. Some say we haven't "officially" started. Well i disagree, anytime two or more gather in His (Jesus) name, well that's church folks. The church is me and you living out the gospel (GOOD NEWS) of Jesus Christ in our homes, at our vocation and in our communities.

Disclaimer; if you have received this and not part of a body, you come on or let us know where you are and we will put in touch with the closest Refugee camp (home, or work). If you are part of a body, will you pray with us, as we are on the same team JC (Jesus Christ). Because as God places folks in our lap, we just may find your worship barn is a better fit and we are going to send em to you. Let's show our community how the body of Christ can serve and love together for HIS GLORY!

love em up!

oh yea, you can receive updates via facebook. Since Debby and I are not facebookers we don't know how to tell you to get there on the page so you can like it, spike it, comment on it, or whatever hahaha...but it's out there. help us spread the word and send to your fellow facebook friends.

will of God

Hello Friends,



follow the will of God....man we pray these words, we hear these words quite a bit when we are in conversation with our brothers and sisters in Christ, heck we may even at times speak these words out to someone that we are not quite sure if they will know what that means...most of us are praying these very words right now as we seek where God desires to plant us! Then it hit me yesterday, do I know what this means? I mean do I really know what those words, the will of God mean? if we stop and take notice to our prayers, it's almost at times, for me anyway, a default to say "and Lord your will be done", In my prayers, i must confess that i have this visual in my mind of what EVERYTHING should look like, but I'm being a good little prayer warrior and offering this up to God for His blessing.....or, or the actual "thing" that is under my microscope, you know just praying my guts out, and then the words come out....with this emotion attached.... (mind you unspoken just in my noggin) and if it can't look like I want it, then Your will be done....hahaha....does anyone else ever do that?



aren't we a funny bunch...but take a peek, Jesus spoke these very words. Yea, go grab your Bible, or your techno device that holds the version of the Bible you are reading. The first time we see this particular greek word, thelema, is in Matthew 6:10 it will be a familiar verse as Jesus is teaching his disciples a prayer and we see your will be done or depending on your translation you'll see thy will. 61 more times this word appears in the NT and the meaning of the word is:

1. What one wishes or has determined shall be done

a. of the purpose of God to bless mankind through Christ

b. of what God wishes to be done by us

1. commands, precepts

2. will, choice, inclination, desire, pleasure



Wow, isn't that neat!!! The will of God (the part of the definition from above that states of what God wishes to be done by us)is exactly what you guys have been doing for years, and now starting to do in a more intentional, a more community mind set with our families at our side. We started Sunday living out our gifts with each other, by praying, by serving, by sharing our fears, by expressing areas where we are pushing back, by living out the Will of GOD!



Let His voice be heard over your vocal chords and actions



love em up!

Good News

Hello friends,

Ok let's see by show of hands, who has their Christmas shopping finished? Wow quite a few of you, alright way to go, you must be fly lady christmas cruisers. I know that Debby participates in the fly lady structure each year and this structure or gameplan lays out the necessary steps to take in order to get all of the "stuff" surrounding Christmas done before December 1. Debby has done this for the past several years, heck she has a notebook where she will write notes for the next year. The notes will remind her of activities that were memorable, or she'll jot down a note in her handy dandy notebook to send out cards to everyone the following year, or she'll remind herself where the various wrapping paper, candles, wreaths are tucked away in the attic (my personal note is to watch out for those nails i always run into each year). The notebook is a reminder of some exciting moments, moments that are defined with exclamation points.



Good News is the reason for the season folks!



Luke 2:10-11 (NLT) but the angel reassured them. "Don't be afraid!" he said. "I bring you good news of great joy for everyone! v11 The Savior--yes, the Messiah, the Lord--has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!



And when we look up the meaning of the word gospel, guess what? I know I know I know yea it means: YES GOOD NEWS, GLAD TIDINGS...go to your concordance or blueletter.org (type in gospel and get ready to celebrate)



Look what Jesus was preaching when he entered into a town Mark 1:14 (NLT) Later on, after John was arrested by Herod Antipas, Jesus went to Galilee to preach God's Good News. v15 "At last the time has come!" he announced. "The Kingdom of God is near! Turn from your sins and believe this Good News!"

The reference is just one of many that state the GOOD NEWS or GOSPEL depending on the translation that you are holding.

Hey here is an idea let's go back and read the birth accounts in Matthew,and Luke....let's count the exclamation points that provide emphasis, excitement to the statement and as we recall the reason for that particular exclamation point, recall some of yours!

This has been a year filled with good news for debby and i as we have seen marriages heal before our eyes through the power of Jesus Christ. And we have watched some not make it. The difference is the center piece of this season JESUS CHRIST! When we continue to learn how to place HIM at the center of our everything the exclamation points start adding up......

Let's continue our celebration not only throughout this month, not only throughout next week, but for the rest of our lives, let's continue to help each other to live out the gospel (good news) of Jesus Christ each day in our homes, in our vocation and in our communities..... Have a Merry CHRISTmas! and we pray for some exclamation points in your life.

love em up!

work out

Hello my fellow belly rubbers,

Yea, did we put on the feedbag this weekend or what? Whew, I mean!.... walks around the block before hand and afterward couldn't quite calm down the need to undo the top button of the pants and get some breathing room. hahahaha. I pray that everyone had a wonderful weekend spending time with family and friends.

Black Friday is behind us and that brings us to today, which has been labled Cyber Monday. Wasn't familiar with that one until this year. This time of year we also start to think about resolutions, we start to ponder areas in our life that we desire to change, improve or eliminate. Getting in shape or working out will probably cross the minds of many over the holidays as we step back up to more feeding troughs in the name of celebrating Christmas. Last chance "work out"! Yea for the Biggest Loser fans, you know those words. The day before the big weigh in. Has the work you put in on the treadmill offset what you put in our mouth (foot not included, although low calorie when done)?

What is it about working out that sets off the various emotions? I mean even in the body of Christ we can take these two words that are in scripture and run with them. Let's take a look together. Go get your Bible........uh what? oh, you left it over there by the refrigerator, next to the leftover pecan pie....what? Yes the pecan pie juice will stain your pages, that's ok, grab it and come on.....hey on your way back will bring me a piece of that pound cake (yea, i know smarty pants, it's called pound for a reason)

Ok now that we have our appetite built up and fingers adequately licked, lets turn to the book of Phillipians. God is using Paul to coach us up. Flip over to chapter 2. Go ahead and read the chapter and we will come back and chew on God's word instead of this cake. You ready? Good.

Since we are talking about working out, jump down to verse 12

Phillipians 2:12 (NIV) Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed-not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence-continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, (emphasis on work out mine)

Ok so for those that have walked into a gym, workout facility, spa, whatever the place you intentionally visited with your mind set on working out, you understand the fear and trembling hahaha. Focus on what the verse does not say. The verse does not say work for. Here's a question "why do you go to the gym to work out?" Yea, the work out brings about an outcome that is good FOR me. We go in looking and feeling like sluggo and come out a few weeks later feeling like Captain and or Ms America. Look at verse 13 with me....v13 for it is God who works in you to will and act according to his good purpose. Man o man what a motor to have indwelled in us (those of us that have said yes to Jesus). I can hear the t.v. announcers now

God's love in this person is: more powerful than a locomotive: able to leap tall buildings: we have the technology we can rebuild him, has no need to fear underdog...is strong to the finish cause i eats me spinach;

You get the idea. When we forgive each other in the name of Jesus Christ we are working out our salvation, when we help our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ we are working out our salvation; when we allow ourselves to be helped by our brothers and sisters in Christ we are working out our salvation.

Have a you had a good work out lately?

Thankful

Oh my, we are staring Thanksgiving right in the face aren't we? Wow! So crazy how fast the days zip by. Stop for just a moment.....really when you read the next question, let's stop and reflect for a few minutes and then we can come back to our conversation.

How do I know when I am thankful?

Hey wake up....we were only supposed to ponder for a minute or two, I heard some deep breathing out there. So what did you come up with? This time of year, we do take pause and express more than we typically do areas in our life that we are thankful for. This weekend we had the opportunity with part of our family (predominantly debby's side of the family) to have a pre thanksgiving thanksgiving. My mother in law had a great idea. She asked each person to share what we were thankful for and we couldn't say family. Yea I know..... for some as soon as this is mentioned the squirming in our souls starts ROARING as we ponder what we are going to say. I mean we can't remember what anyone else is thankful for because we are so focused on trying to come up with something "good" to say. We desire to speak out something so good that Saturday Evening Post would want to paint a picture of the words we just spoke, you know sky opening, jaw dropping kind of stuff.

But as I reflect on that moment, it really was neat to listen to family members state that they are thankful they are loved, to hear some say they are thankful for a place of employment, to hear others their thankfulness that tests are behind them, or others that are thankful for laughter, all thankful for health, still others that are thankful for the ability to work, then that one that is thankful that their time is over to tell everyone what they are thankful for.

This year on Thanksgiving both sides of our family will gather at our house, man we are going to have a house full and it is going to be an absolute blast! Yes, there might be some of those awkward moments in our discussion, you know those moments when you have already talked about the weather, the Braves, college football, how is work going, there are some we ask about their walk, some we don't (praying to press through this one) but we are yoked through blood and marriage, but most importantly the ones that will gather on this Thursday are yoked through Jesus Christ! My fellow brothers and sisters in Christ will be rousting about on Thursday on Claire Court.

So back to our question. When do I know that I am thankful? I don't know about you, but part of my answer is this huge smile I have on my face as I think of my family and the feeling of excitement that brings. And yes even the feeling of awkwardness I am thankful. Know that you are part of our family. Debby and I give thanks each time we think of you and we praise God for you sharing life with us. Let's join together and live out the following.

Colossians 3:15-17 NLT And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are all called to live in peace. And always be thankful.Let the words of Christ, in all their richness, live in your hearts and make you wise. Use his words to teach and counsel each other. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts.And whatever you do or say, let it be as a representative of the Lord Jesus, all the while giving thanks through him to God the Father.

love em up!

elmers glue vs. gorilla glue

The world these days constantly tell us that we have to have it together ALL the time. We know bad things happen, but we brush it off like dust and put it in the trash and never to be thought of again. There is going to come a time when the Elmer's glue that we try to hold ourselves together with is going to fall apart. God created us to share with each other whats going on in our lives. He has a stickier, more durable Gorilla glue and He wants us to be in the palm of His hands while He glues us back together one hurt at a time. Its about time we all stop using the elmers glue and start being satisfied and trustworthy of our one true artist that molded us and never wanted us to have it all together.

In my school there is alot of comparing ourselves with other people and complaining about the way we look or our personality. When I put on my "mask" I here God whispering to me asking, "Why am I not enough for you?" I think the world is so unsatisfied with themselves that if we are satisfied with the way we look we are considered selfish. When we pretend to be okay and stuff all of our troubles and not going to God, isn't it like saying God can't help us with our troubles? I find myself reapplying this elmer's glue that we all have. When I think of what God says to me about His glue being better, I picture a salesman saying, " Its bigger, better, more durable and healthier for you and everyone around... the best part is, its FREE!!" and us saying to Him, " theres gotta be something wrong with it if its free??" The thing is, He paid the price for a WHOLE lot more than the "gorilla glue" He paid for EVERYTHING!! He is the Gorilla glue, the main thing that holds us together is The King Of The Universe and we think our glue is better. No way!!!!!!! Jesus Christ wants to be the center of our lives, broken or not; He accepts us exactly the way we were made. So lets all together take off our masks and give our troubles to

Mr.Glue!

out on a limb

Happy post candy grabbing night!

Did everyone get their duffle bags filled up with their favorite candy? Yea, Michael and Madison came home and spilled out their spoils from the evening, like a pirate breaking open that long lost treasure chest! Arrrrrgggghhhh yea matey, off with thee hand that touches me reeses cup.....ARRRRGGGhhhhh...

Speaking of arrrrgghhhh.....i know that some of us have said, thought, murmered, whispered, yelled something worse when we are betrayed. Ah you know that statement that has flown out of our mouths AT someone, or out of someone's mouth AT us.

"I CAN'T believe YOU did that, what were you thinking? You couldn't have been thinking. Do you know what i did to get you that position? I went out on a limb for you man."...blah blah blah blah blaaaah

I know just typing those words brings back some vicious thoughts. I'm sure that most of us at one time or another have "gone out on a limb" for someone, or have had someone "go out on a limb" for us. Like when i was first married, bullet proof, had a real job and went to borrow some money to buy our first car. I've got to get what? a co-signor.....well i never!?...don't you know who i am?....uh my name is mike bivins, THAT'S WHO i am (and we immediately start to shrink down to umpa loompa size) uh deb, uh we need to call my daddy or you dad and have them "go out on a limb" for us.

Some limbs are more treacherous than others. Ever been asked to write a letter of recommendation for someone you barely know? Or need someone to write one for you and your mind is scanning the files to determine who is "safe". Other limbs are sturdy, like the one, when we walk into an area of known expertise when someone asks for your input. Chest out, feathers spreadout, YES, I'll help you minions. Your mind is now going back to when someone cut the limb out from underneath you and when we have done the same, giving us insight to the various limbs. There is one limb that does not, has not, will not fail!

John 12:32 (NLT) And when I am lifted up on the cross, I will draw everyone to myself

Luke 23:34 (NLT) Jesus said "Father forgive these people, because they don't know what they are doing.....

Look what my/our redeemer did and gave from the limb He went out on.

2 Corinthians 13:4 (NLT) Although he died on the cross in weakness, he now lives by the mighty power of God. We, too, are weak, but we live in Him and have God's power--the power we use in dealing with you.

Did everyone see that? WE TOO are weak (no one had to tell us that one hahaha) but we live in Him and have God's power.......HOLY SPIRIT within us...that's the engine to continue to go out on limbs for each other...Galatians 6:10 (you'll have to go look that one up) Happy reading!

New Life, Change

Happy leaves changing color time in Tennessee! WOW the colors are starting to pop out there. Speaking of popping out there, didn't you enjoy the thoughts from Madison on the last post? So cool! Thanks for spending some time with her.

Ok go grab your Bible and open up to Romans 6. I'll wait on you.........hey while you're in there will you grab some cheetos and bring those out....oh yea, good call, the orange cheese dust would be a mess on our pages.....then grab the powder donuts.the white dust will blend in yummy...Yea yea...nothing like a little snack as we are feeding on the Word. As i eat the donuts, read chapter 6....

That will fill you up won't it! The word of God, not the donuts silly goose.... I just love the 3rd verse when he asks or states....(reading from NLT)

v3 Or have you forgotten that when we became Christians and were baptized to become one with Christ Jesus for we died with him? v4 For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we may also live new lifes

Yes, i believe we as a body of Christ do forget that we are united with him. But how? How do we or how can we ever lose the fact that we are as verse 3 states one with Christ Jesus. Maybe we are listening to the voices in our noggins, that whisper that tells us "your not worthy". Or maybe our unwritten rules we secretly judge others by, we have offended, therefore rendering a verdict of guilty to yourself. Or could it be that we really don't know who this Jesus is?

My personal experience from life and experience in counseling over the past few years 100's of folks.....it's a combination of 3 statements mentioned above. Oh there are others, but for the most part we forget the following. Go on down to verse 8 in Romans 6: And since we died with Christ, we know we will share in his new life. Ah there are some eyebrows raising a bit yea, but wait a minute, put that other donut down and start flipping over to the other verses that serve as a reminder. Since you are in chapter 6 go ahead and read verse 13. Now go ahead and take in the other verses below.

John 3:6 Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life (new life)
1 Corinthians 15:22 Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam, everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life
2 Corinthians 5:15,17 He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.....v17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun.

Hey where are you going? Ok wait a minute. There are 23 total verses that tell us about this new life, let me share a couple more before you go get a drink of water to wash those donuts down.

Colossians 3:1 Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realties of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God's right hand

OK OK one more, man this is SO incredibly GOOD!

1 Peter 1:23 For you have been born again, but not to a life that will quickly end. Your new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God.

Thanks for the reminder Lord!

i know i know i've got powder on my face, i'm soaking in the change baby hahaha. love yall

passion

Happy October to everyone!

The chill is in the air. For most of the Bivins clan, we enjoy cool mornings, that warm up a bit during the day and then the crisp, cool evenings, that allows us to wear long sleeves with our shorts. Put's a pep in the ol step!

Speaking of pep in your step, you are going to enjoy the following post from Madison (ML)Bivins. ML is a freshman in high school, our middle child, and just it is a joy for me to be her earthly daddy! Love ya ML and proud of ya, now go love on some folks through your writing.

PASSION
My passion; what i love to do is work with pre-schoolers. The love they have for you right when they meet you, the trust they have for you when your just a stranger, and most of all; there is no judgement in there eyes. They can play and hug the kid who smells bad and i think back to high school and how everyone is putting on perfume and cologne twenty-four seven so they won't be rejected. Lastly, they are the most secure people on the planet. When i see pre-schoolers, i see a hint of Jesus still fuming. With no judgement, and being so secure in themselves, personally i see God. Until the world contaminates them into thinking they have to look the best or say the right the thing all the time, or even just trying to impress the world into thinking they are worthy. If you ask me, i think its a bunch of junk!! What we don't even realize is that we ARE worthy.
Im so tired of being judged and criticized for what I wear, what i believe in, or what i say. I think thats why I love them so much because I know they will excpt me the exact way I am. They dont care if im smelly or ugly, all it is, is a full embrace of hugs assoon as I walk through the door.
My passion, what i ; LOVE TO DO, is be with pre-schoolers!

where is my voice?

Ok, this next confession will age me (which is ok...46 is the new 26..no really it is) but for those that are country music fans, you will remember "the voice" Vern Gosdin, for those that aren't country music fans and you are saying "Who?" that's alright read on....This guy had a few hits that come to mind. "Set em up Joe" and my personal favorite of Vern's is "Chiseled in Stone"

Enough of memory lane, another cool thing we do with our voice, is when we loose it. Allergy season has hit middle Tennessee which means crazy stuff flying in the air causing noses to run like faucets or set up like someone has poured concrete in your nose while you were snoozing. My wife, Debby, and son, Michael, battle this year round. I kinda like it when Debby's voice gets a little raspy from the allergies hahaha. I like the Barry White voice that is created after a MTSU game, where we have been cheering our guts out for the big Blue on a Saturday afternoon and that Sunday morning after the early squeaks and sqwaks, the voice turns into "you'll never find another love like..."

But what has happened when we feel that we have lost our voice? I don't mean due to the aforementioned circumstances, but when we feel no one is listening. What has happened to us, when we ignore or we stop expressing what we think, when we stop expressing what we believe, when we stop sharing our emotional state with each other. Are we really that sensitive? Or have we become that fearful of each other?

Could it be a bit of both and some other ingredients? Let's take a look together. Think of the place you worship and your spouse. Supposed to (southern term)be the safest place for us to share and express our troubles, supposed to be a safe place we can express our thoughts, our beliefs, our concerns, our passions, our dreams, our goals, our desires, our wants, our successes, our failures, our celebrations, our triumphs, our EVERYTHING. Yet what we experience, is that the place of worship and/or our spouses is where we lose our voice first. We cover up.

We have allowed something major to happen to our relationship in both arenas when we dare not mention where we are, or we don't dare mention a different opinion, in fear that the person (spouse, fellow church member) in front of us will not agree or listen to our position, or thought. But then, when we do share, our spouse or fellow family of faith member attempts to discuss/argue away your/my position. I find it funny, that when the person I am speaking with desires for me to accept/listen their point of view, but when an alternative is offered it is sometimes scoffed at.....hey wait a minute....i didn't scoff......i did? my turning away while you were talking....oh no no no...I was, I was tying my shoe, ...yea....what? what deep sighs? what do you mean my eyebrows went to the top of my head? uh I...

ok ok i scoffed! hahaha

God accepted Moses voice. Look at Exodus we remember this scene from our days of watching the Ten Commandments with Charleston Heston on the movie of the week, with the rabbit ear antennas and my brother getting the aluminum foil. Chapter 3 Moses hears a voice (the real voice) coming from a bush, oh by the way the bush is burning. (Love the way God communicates with us). God is calling for Moses. You with me now. Aluminum foil on the antenna, good reception? Good! let's see what happens together.

Moses responds in Exodus 3:4 NLT When the Lord saw Moses coming to take a closer look, God called to him from the middle of the bush, "Moses, Moses"
"Here i am!" Moses replied.

God then shares with Moses that He has heard His people groaning. God goes on to give specific instructions and words to Moses that Moses is to relay to God's people in order to lead them out of slavery and into the promised land. Moses protests (amazing i know, we would never do that would we,....yea right, this is for another post) Exodus 4:1 But Moses protested again, "what if they won't believe me or listen to me? What if they say "The Lord never appeared to you"? God does what God does and equips. God gives Moses various signs that He will utilize through Moses in order to lead the people out of slavery. So we remember through our reading that God hardened Pharaoh's heart and would not let the people go.

God continues to send Moses back in to Pharaoh, same results, Pharaoh says no. Chapter 6 we read some words from Moses that we "feel". Verse 12 But Lord! Moses objected. "My own people won't listen to me anymore......

You can almost sense the confidence leave the room with this statement, yet God urges Moses on through his own fears and Moses goes back, and goes back and goes back. Well you know the rest of the story.

What's the rest of your story? Regain your voice folks with yourself and each other through the resurrection power of Jesus Christ! Believe in the leading of the Spirit (the Voice of God), share this with your spouse, communicate with each other, express to each other your EVERYTHING. Let your voice be heard with Ephesians 5:21 as your backdrop Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ

waiver

Don't we love it when we can take a stand, when we feel so good, when we are so confident, when we just know what we know, that come hell or high water we aren't budging?

YEA, me too! What are some of those "things"? Politics, favorite college football teams, our favorite baseball teams. Hey what about at work, when we are in the conference room with all the other folks "trying" to impress the boss and the others with our knowledge and we just won't budge on an issue and then everyone starts to nod in agreement and although your outside eyes are not as big as saucers, your inside eyes and your voice are saying; "are you kidding, look they are agreeing with me, what the.....WOW...OH MY GOSH! I'm winning, i WON! YES YES, you then go back to your cubicle and spike the stapler. Sweet moments uh? but short lived until the boss calls the next meeting to determine implementation. hahaha.

When do we waiver? What is surrounding those moments when we just are quite so sure, that we remain silent, or in those moments when we are in the same conference room, a topic is offered and you realize uh oh, not prepared, and then all of a sudden that paperwork you brought in, is incredibly interesting and your eyes can't be pried from it, in order to keep from making any eye contact with anyone that may ask your opinion....we then go back to our same cubicle where the spiked stapler sits, and pull ourselves into the fetal position. hahaha a funny bunch we are.

Let's go peek in on Abraham for a moment. Yea, father Abraham, who had many sons, many sons had father Abraham, I am one of them and so are you....are your arms swinging yet? So let's all praise the Lord right arm, left arm....

God and Abraham (Abram at the time) have this discussion, I mean that in itself is so cool, literally talking with the Creator, and their discussion is revolved around children. Yea, Abraham is concerned that his aging body along with his aging wife's body Sarah will not have an heir, they won't have anyone to leave their stuff with, they won't have anyone to carry on the family name. I mean can you blame the guy? He is in his late 90's still traveling with daddy, Terah, everyone around him seems to be doing OK and then God steps in and says in Genesis 15:5 NLT Then the Lord took Abram outside and said to him " Look up into the sky and count the stars if you can. That's how many descendants you will have!" v6 And Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord counted him as righteous because of his faith.

At the tender age of 100 Abraham and Sarah give birth to Isaac....oh just a footnote, Abram believed, and it was credited as righteousness, remember that, yet Sarai (not Sarah yet) took "things" into her own hands in order to provide what God said He was going to provide, by having her maidservant Hagar sleep with Abram. The outcome of that action produced Hagar. Folks Abram was a willing participant. But here is what is SO COOL about our God.

Romans 4:20 NLT Abraham never wavered in believing God's promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought Glory to God. v21 He was fully convinced that God is able to do whatever he promises. v22 And because of Abraham's faith, God counted him as righteous, v23 And when God counted him as righteous, it wasn't just for Abraham's benefit. It was recorded v24 for our benefit, too, assuring us that God will count us as righteous if we believe in him, the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. v25 He (Jesus Christ) was handed over to die because of our sins, and he was raised to life to make us right with God.

Are you kidding me? Go grab your workmates staplers and start spiking them baby! This is HUGE. You mean? wait a minute,....but Abraham did.....Sarai sent that maidservant over and they.......but that bad decision didn't effect his approved standing with God (meaning of righteousness)?

You want me to read what again? Romans 4:4-5 and the verses above again? Oooookaaaay!?

Wowzie, I see now that my faith (strongly held belief) that Jesus Christ is raised and that by the empty tomb and my belief in that empty tomb, God satisfied his wrath in regards to sin, that I am then made right (justified) with God and united with Jesus Christ.

So why would we ever waiver in our faith, but yet we do? Or do we? i admit that i did, but my waivering was caused by my lack of belief. My faith was based on my actions not my reaction to the gift (grace) of Jesus and the empty tomb. This my friends is called freedom!