The last time I saw my friend Mike was a week ago last Friday. He was standing in the back of the church when we happened to catch eyes, he gave me a big smile and a thumbs-up as was our custom I returned the smile and gestured a thumbs up of my own. Later in the evening I came across Mike standing in the doorway of the sanctuary; we traded jokes about my wife's pregnancy and Mike laughed a big full body laugh like only Mike can laugh. He loved to laugh, he loved to joke, he loved to play and that was the last time I saw my friend. On Thursday February 16th the Lord chose to bring him home to glory to transform him from mortal to immortality.
Over the past year Mike had undergone a number of surgeries on his back, shoulders and neck. In spite of all his medical procedures Mike was recovering nicely and seem to be back to his usual strong as a bull self. Mike loved to work-out and exercise and like everything else he did it was at 1000 mph. Mike didn't have any gear below 110% and was like that with everything, his family, his friends, his work and most of all his God.
Mike loved God and was not afraid to show it. He was fully committed to worship; he didn't care who was looking or what you might have thought about him, he he was gonna give God praise and he was going to do it his way. Mike was not the type to ever let a physical infirmity keep them from doing what God had assigned him to do. Mike was a father, a son, grandfather, husband, he was all man, strong and brave, a gentleman, kind and chivalrous, he was a devoted member of the Anointed Tabernacle of Jesus Christ, he was a deacon, but above all he is a child of God. Mike committed his life to the worship and work of the Lord. He left a legacy of devotion and service to the kingdom of God that we would do well follow. Michael Mobley is more than a conqueror.
When the Cheers turn to Jeers
In the book of Matthew the 21st chapter of the Holy Bible, the writer observes that when Christ returned to Jerusalem around the time of the Passover Feast he rode atop the colt of a donkey and was lauded by the crowd - "And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way. And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest." The people of Jerusalem spread their clothes out before him and the mule upon which he rode, they pulled palm branches off the trees and laid them in the Lord’s pathway, this is where Palm Sunday is derived. Jesus was greeted by the raucous crowd as they exclaim “Hosanna” which means; God be praised. Under most circumstances a person greeted with this kind of reception would be overwhelmed by the reception, a sense of pride and accomplishment might set in, but not Jesus, he knew what his disciples didn’t, that in just a couple of days these same people would change their cheers to jeers. The very same crowd that was celebrating Jesus and lifting him up to God would soon call for his execution shouting for his crucifixion and lifting him up on a tree. In the book of Mark the 15th chapter the writer describes the scene at Jesus' trial - "And Pilate answered and said again unto them, what will ye then that I shall do unto him whom ye call the King of the Jews? And they cried out again, 'Crucify him'."
It is remarkable how quickly cheers can turn into insults, how something or someone who was a source of joy and inspiration can so quickly become the source of resentment and rage. Therefore we learn from the example of the Lord Jesus that the cheers of praise from the crowd can quickly turn into jeers for our demise and downfall. It is imperative that we don’t seek to please mankind, but God instead. Humanity is fickle and the celebration of mankind can quickly turn into scorning and rebuke. On the other hand if we live our lives for the Lord we will have a much different experience. The bible says of God that He is the same, yesterday, today and forever. The Word of the Lord doesn't change, His principals and precepts are the same and as long as we are living according to the word of God we will always be celebrated by our Lord.
Jesus chose to serve God and endure the jeers of the crowd because of the greater good. We are more than conquerors today because we can endure the tumultuous and often harsh reception from our fellow man because we're living for God and not for man. In a conversation Jesus had with a religious leader named Nicodemus, he reference how Moses lifted up his staff in the wilderness in order that he might lead the nation of Israel out of the wilderness and so in like fashion the son of man must also be lifted up on a tree to lead all of humanity out of the darkness of sin. John 3:14-15 says “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.” Jesus was foretelling of his own crucifixion. He knew for what purpose he came into this world and when the cheers ceased and the jeers began Jesus remained undeterred in his purpose because he was living for his heavenly father and was focused on his purpose.
Friends please know that God has given you the gift of life for a purpose and that purpose is not to covet the cheers of your fellow man. Do not live this life seeking the approval of mankind, because if you receive it will eventually come to an end. When the cheers turn to jeers, remember only what we do for Christ will matter in eternity.
It Really is all About How You Finish
So Sunday night I along with millions of, football fans, fans of creative commercials and fans of big parties, watched the Giants defeat the Patriots for the second time in five years on the biggest stage in the biggest game of the season and I'm left wondering how the seemingly lesser of the two teams has yet again beat the odds and won the game in dramatic fashion. After a less than impressive regular-season the G-men, very similar to the end of their 2007 season, rolled through the playoffs running over each of their opponents, while conversely the Pats, who in 2007 ended the regular season undefeated, and ended this season with 10 consecutive victories, had less than impressive play-off performances that carried over and eventual lead to their demise. Five years ago many of the experts and analysts considered the Pats the prohibitive favorite in spite of how impressive the Giants were in those play-off games. Many of those same experts cautiously approached analyzing this year's game. They were wise to hearken back to the game in 2007 and noticed some striking similarities. The gambling world held tight to keeping the Patriots as the odds on favorite to win, but this time around many smartly decided to cash their chips in with the Giants and once again they were victorious. The regular-season aside, the Giants seem to be the better team and we are left to conclude only that the regular season, as much as in our lives, doesn't matter nearly as much as what happens in the play-offs.
For many of us our lives to this point have been much like the Giants regular-season. We have had some high points and some thrilling victories, but a lot of low points and some very bad losses to things we would have never expected to beat us. Even if you find yourself identifying more with the Patriots and you are on a real hot streak, things just seem to keep falling into the place, the regular season doesn’t matter as much as the play-offs. It doesn’t matter nearly as much how we start as it does how we finish. The Word of God tells us that every single person has done things to separate ourselves from the love of God. No one remains undefeated and that’s ok.
It is ok to feel uncertain, ashamed, confused, sorrowful, but don’t stay there. More important than what we’ve done is what we do with the time we have left. Jesus Christ has made a way for us to finish well and to live this life victoriously. God knew that we humans would separate ourselves from him; for the first several millennia of our existence humanity was having a very rough regular season, but before we could eliminated from the post season God sent his son Jesus into the world like a wild card game and we were given one more chance to extend the season and make the playoffs. If we accept Jesus into our hearts and believe in our minds we can finish well and get reconnected to God. Don’t focus on your past, forget about whatever you may have done to this point, let Jesus into your life, put your self on the bench, let him be the quarter back and him lead your live to victory. Whatever has happened to this point is over, it really is all about how you finish.
More Than A Conqueror Devotional #19
Acts 2:42 - And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
There is something special that happens around the dinner table, or lunch table or any other table where food is being consumed for that matter. Food has a way of disarming even the hardest of dispositions. There is something about the act of eating that causes us all to lower our gaurd and open up. Food is the great equalizer, it cultivates conversation and inspires openness. Some of the best fellowship happens around food; it is almost as if it is hard wired into our brains that any social gathering of any kind should have a food component. Well as a real lover of food, I must confess that I often look to include eating in my socialization and it appears that I am not alone in my affinity for victuals. The growth of the New Testament church was largely a result three things -
1. Continue the precepts and teachings shared by Christ's apostles
2. Coming together to feast
3. Maintaining specific prayer times
The church was able to grow and spread because the founding fathers understood the importance of ministering to the tripartite of humanity; spirit, soul and body. The apostle's doctrine or teaching was meant to reach the soul or minds of mankind, prayer was meant to reach the spirit and the breaking of bread or feasting of course ministers to the body.
We are more than conquerors today because God has established principles that ensure His people are blessed and that all their needs are met. Because He is Spirit does not mean that He is oblivious to the needs of our flesh. In fact through Jesus, God has experienced everything that we experience in the flesh and so as a result He is not untouched by all our needs. The church should be careful to minister to each component of its members. Meeting the needs of spirit and soul are important and traditionally the church is good at that, but the needs of the flesh are also vitally important. Abraham Maslow, 1908-1970, a world renown psychologist developed a system of prioritizing the needs of humanity in order to live fully functioning lives. Maslow's Hierarchy of Need articulates the concept that there are certain things that we cannot live without. The church can take a lesson from Dr. Maslow, it is very difficult for us to reach some one's heart if their stomach is empty and their children are cold. Socialization over a meal is a great way to get to know others, more importantly meeting the needs of the physical body of our church members is vitally important to the spreading of the gospel message.
There is something special that happens around the dinner table, or lunch table or any other table where food is being consumed for that matter. Food has a way of disarming even the hardest of dispositions. There is something about the act of eating that causes us all to lower our gaurd and open up. Food is the great equalizer, it cultivates conversation and inspires openness. Some of the best fellowship happens around food; it is almost as if it is hard wired into our brains that any social gathering of any kind should have a food component. Well as a real lover of food, I must confess that I often look to include eating in my socialization and it appears that I am not alone in my affinity for victuals. The growth of the New Testament church was largely a result three things -
1. Continue the precepts and teachings shared by Christ's apostles
2. Coming together to feast
3. Maintaining specific prayer times
The church was able to grow and spread because the founding fathers understood the importance of ministering to the tripartite of humanity; spirit, soul and body. The apostle's doctrine or teaching was meant to reach the soul or minds of mankind, prayer was meant to reach the spirit and the breaking of bread or feasting of course ministers to the body.
We are more than conquerors today because God has established principles that ensure His people are blessed and that all their needs are met. Because He is Spirit does not mean that He is oblivious to the needs of our flesh. In fact through Jesus, God has experienced everything that we experience in the flesh and so as a result He is not untouched by all our needs. The church should be careful to minister to each component of its members. Meeting the needs of spirit and soul are important and traditionally the church is good at that, but the needs of the flesh are also vitally important. Abraham Maslow, 1908-1970, a world renown psychologist developed a system of prioritizing the needs of humanity in order to live fully functioning lives. Maslow's Hierarchy of Need articulates the concept that there are certain things that we cannot live without. The church can take a lesson from Dr. Maslow, it is very difficult for us to reach some one's heart if their stomach is empty and their children are cold. Socialization over a meal is a great way to get to know others, more importantly meeting the needs of the physical body of our church members is vitally important to the spreading of the gospel message.
The Faith Discourse
FAITH – A four letter word in many circles, something relegated to Sunday mornings for a couple of hours and nothing more. Faith is an activity, nothing more than an experience for those that are not educated enough to understand the real order of things or something that we were taught to do as kids and so out of some twisted sense of obligation and routine we continue to do, but try not to make too big a deal out of it so that our kids are spared the pain we had to endure. Faith, nothing more than a superstitious experience for a zealous minority… or is it.
For me faith is not a noun, it’s a verb, more precisely it’s the predicate in the sentence of my life. If I am the subject than faith accounts for everything else that exists. Faith fills in the blanks; it informs my opinion, shapes my thinking and guides my steps. Faith is not an abstract concept it is as real as the white lines on the highway or the principles of a political party. Faith keeps me in my lane, orders my steps, directs my path, focuses my energy and defines my existence. Faith is not something I do; Faith is what I am.
"All I have seen teaches me to trust in the Creator for all I have not seen." Ralph Waldo Emerson
"Faith is a higher faculty than reason." Henry Christopher Bailey
"The further the spiritual evolution of mankind advances, the more certain it seems to me that the path to genuine religiosity does not lie through the fear of life, and the fear of death, and blind faith, but through striving after rational knowledge." Albert Einstein
"Faith is the continuation of reason." William Adams
"It could be that our faithlessness is a cowering cowardice born of our very smallness, a massive failure of imagination... If we were to judge nature by common sense or likelihood, we wouldn't believe the world existed." Annie Dillard
"Strike from mankind the principle of faith and men would have no more history than a flock of sheep." Mark Beltaire
Faith should not be marginalized or regulated to venues and locales of religious expression and thereby excluded from the everyday conversations of our life and times. The dialogue of faith is as meaningful as a conversation on philosophy of politics or the cultural of the global economy. Faith is not an additive or accessory something to be sprinkled on top of a larger discourse; faith has value in and of its self and must be positioned as an integral part of the human experience.
For me faith is not a noun, it’s a verb, more precisely it’s the predicate in the sentence of my life. If I am the subject than faith accounts for everything else that exists. Faith fills in the blanks; it informs my opinion, shapes my thinking and guides my steps. Faith is not an abstract concept it is as real as the white lines on the highway or the principles of a political party. Faith keeps me in my lane, orders my steps, directs my path, focuses my energy and defines my existence. Faith is not something I do; Faith is what I am.
"All I have seen teaches me to trust in the Creator for all I have not seen." Ralph Waldo Emerson
"Faith is a higher faculty than reason." Henry Christopher Bailey
"The further the spiritual evolution of mankind advances, the more certain it seems to me that the path to genuine religiosity does not lie through the fear of life, and the fear of death, and blind faith, but through striving after rational knowledge." Albert Einstein
"Faith is the continuation of reason." William Adams
"It could be that our faithlessness is a cowering cowardice born of our very smallness, a massive failure of imagination... If we were to judge nature by common sense or likelihood, we wouldn't believe the world existed." Annie Dillard
"Strike from mankind the principle of faith and men would have no more history than a flock of sheep." Mark Beltaire
Faith should not be marginalized or regulated to venues and locales of religious expression and thereby excluded from the everyday conversations of our life and times. The dialogue of faith is as meaningful as a conversation on philosophy of politics or the cultural of the global economy. Faith is not an additive or accessory something to be sprinkled on top of a larger discourse; faith has value in and of its self and must be positioned as an integral part of the human experience.
Some Lights Never Go Out
In the north east of the United States many families and homes are still recovering from the crippling pre-Winter snow storm that blanketed several states last Saturday. For north easterners the snow accumulation from this storm was no big deal, in fact most of the roads were clear within 24 hours of the storm's end, however what caught many of us by surprise was the impact of the heavy wet snow sitting on trees that still had their leaves would have. Because the snow hit the region late in the fall, as opposed to in the winter when all the trees would be bare, the tree covered leaves provided more surface area for the snow to accumulate and as a result the limbs themselves became very heavy, until eventually they broke. Trees across region particularly in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut broke and in the process fell across power lines and on top of transformers and other electricity generators. Within a few hours more than a million homes were without electricity, total darkness throughout much of the region. When there are no lights on the outside many of us were forced to find out what we were made of on the inside.
For some the extended power outage, which hasn't come to an end just yet as there are still homes without power, brought out their rugged resilience, they saw this as an opportunity to prove to themselves and this modern era that they could live without some of the electricity fueled conveniences of the modern era; although many of us were powering our portable devices at work and shelters, so we didn't have to completely unplug. But for some this darkness brought out the worst in them. Long lines at gas stations and extended waits to get food at a restaurants or grocery stores drove people to their breaking point. For followers of Jesus Christ though, when the electricity went out, the light that is always on inside of us, the light that is the love of Jesus, should have been glowing brightly. It is hard to see a flashlight in a room with all the lights on, if you look closely you may be able to make out a faint glow, however turn all the light out in that same room and the light from the flashlight can illuminate much of the darkness. Those of us that espouse the teachings and philosophy of Jesus Christ know that we are called to be the source of true light in a world of artificial light that masks the true darkness that exists.
For many people the last week exposed the darkness they have been living in, it was simply covered by artificial light. Marriages were strained, family relationships stressed, the "civil" nature of our society began to snap like some many tree limbs did just a few days earlier. All the advancement and achievement of mankind disappeared in just a few hours and what we were left with was what lives in our core. Some times we don't realize how dark a room is until we introduce real light into it. Maybe you were not directly impacted by the black out or maybe you are still without electricity, either way You Are More Than A Conqueror, because the true light of this world, the Lord Jesus, wants to live inside of you so that you will never in darkness again. If you don't have that light I encourage you to reach out to Jesus today, we can help you, we can pray with you. If you are looking to make that step today, please e-mail us at iammtc837@gmail.com and one of us will contact you. And if you already know Jesus be His light today, smile bright, don't despair as long as you have Jesus His light will never go out.
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