Surprise Surprise Surprise

As we read through the Bible we sometime find ourselves having a special connection with the people in the stories. The story of Peter's escape from prison is such a connectional place for me. it begins with Peter being arrested and thrown into prison to await trial in the very near future by King Herod, who had gotten his kicks recently by having James killed which pleased the crowds. He was hoping evidently to entertain them again through killing Peter.

We are told that the church (the Christians) were praying earnestly to God for Peter. The Lord heard their prayers and he sent an angel who freed Peter from his bonds and led him out of the prison. When Peter realizes he's free he heads to John's momma's house, where a bunch of the believers had gotten together to pray. Then story gets sort of funny.

Peter knocks on the gate, and a girl named Rhoda came to see who was at the door.  She recognizes Peter, was so excited, she didn't think to open the gate, but instead ran back inside and told the others that "Peter is at the door!" But instead of believing her, these earnestly praying folk said, "You're out of your mind." That's the funny part. She keeps insisting that Peter is at the door, so they finally go to see who it is themselves and when they see that it is Peter they are flabbergasted, shocked, amazed, and any other synonyms that goes alone with the New International Version's word "astonished".

Now lets backtrack a little. We were told early in the story that after Peter was thrown into prison that the church was earnestly praying for Peter. Well that earnestly have some special meaning here.

Look up the word earnestly and you will find that it means:  Serious in intention, purpose, or effort; sincerely zealous: showing depth and sincerity of feeling: Seriously important; demanding or receiving serious attention. Full seriousness, as of intention or purpose: to speak in earnest.

What I'm trying to get across to you is that they were praying like crazy! They were praying like they wanted God to save Peter. They were praying like they believed that God would save Peter. They were praying like they knew God was hearing them. But when Peter showed up at the door, their jaws fell to the floor. As the old saying goes, "Been there; done that."

As you would imagine, I'm a regular prayer and I know the Lord is listening and I believe that he answers our prayers in his own way, in his own time, and not always the way we want them answered. But what about those times when we are praying for special intervention on a particular issue and BAM! Everything you asked for is answered and everything falls into place. Are we flabbergasted? Well, yeah, sometimes. At least I am.

What does that say about me? To be honest; when it happens like that I feel a little ashamed and I lower my head in the presence of the Lord. I know if I pray for God to get involved, then I pray with earnest passion knowing that God is hearing me and believing that he will get involved. I may slip and when I do I also believe that God giggles at me.

I am glad that I worship my great and almighty God; a God of surprises.

 

A Walking We Will Go

Ever since I came back from my first Walk to Emmaus back in 2004 I have had the wonderful blessing, as strange as it may seem to some, to carry a cross. It's a wooden cross with a wheel on the end of it. I have carried it around Clinton and Roseboro on many occasions, and other towns on a few occasions. I have also carried with me into many churches that I have preached revival services and such.

Photo shared on Facebook
credited to Karen Owen not
far from Clinton.

Each time I find myself walking with the cross, there seems to be different reasons. Sometimes I feel an urgency to walk with it. Other times I feel a personal need to walk with it, and times when I'm using it for a point during a sermon.

On those occasions when I feel a personal need to walk is when I feel a particular quietness in my spiritual life. Like those times when I don't think I have heard God in a while and desire to hear His spiritual voice or to receive a special message. So in a way, I am using the cross like an antenna, hoping to get a better reception, sort of the way we use to move the rabbit ear antenna around or go outside and rotate the pole antenna until mom would say, "That's good!".                                                                  

I see the cross that I carry as an in-motion visible reminder of the love of Jesus Christ. If they see a cross sticking in the ground beside a church, a person may not give it a second glance or a single thought. But when they see a crazy fella walking beside the streets and through parking lots, I feel confident that they will at least take a second glance, and just perhaps, they will remember the faith they once knew if they have wandered.

In the mind of some it may be crazy to some for someone to carry a cross down the street. To others, it is amazing and inspiring to see it. To myself, it is an inspired ministry. It isn't courage on my part. Before each walk I have to really pray for the Lord to give me the strength because I don't want to do it. It's always a sense of embarrassment that I have to overcome each time.

Some have claimed that I do it for personal attention. It is never about me, but about the power of the Holy Spirit to lead me to carry it.

This past Saturday I carried the cross from Roseboro to Clinton. The purpose of the walk was to raise funds for a mission trip to the Red Bird Mission in Kentucky in September. The goal was to walk from Roseboro UMC to Grace UMC in Clinton, a total of 13.4 miles. I made it all the way to the post office in Clinton, a total of 11 miles. My feet being blistered made the decision for me not to go any further. Still it was a success.

Hwy 24, the route that I took on the Roseboro/Clinton walk was extremely busy. I have no doubt thousands of people traveled past me going West and East. Those who know me, saw Bobby Herring carrying a cross. Those who did not know me saw a man carrying the cross. Over two thousand years ago, thousands of people in a city called Jerusalem saw a man carrying a cross, and the world hasn't been the same since.

If all us who proclaim that we are Christians, disciples of Jesus Christ, carried our crosses as Christ commanded of us, maybe we could continue to turn the world upside down for the glory of the kingdom of God. Of course, the cross you are called to carry isn't a wooden cross with a wheel on the end of it, but still a cross you are to carry.

"If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it."  Mark 8:34-35 (NRSV).

I have attached a link to my sermon from this past Sunday, day after my long walk. First time sharing a recording on the internet. Sometime have to be a first time. Hope you who listens to it will receive a blessing as I received when I preached it.

 https://www.dropbox.com/s/dqpae0je7u20dxm/01%20Track%201.wma?dl=0

Had a Thought of Momma

I can remember back when the fast food chain Hardees was running those specials when if you bought a certain meal you received your drink in a real glass. The glass had the cartoon characters, I believe from Warner Brothers. You know the characters I'm talking about like Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Tazmania Devil, and the others. A new one came out every week. Our cabinets in the trailer we lived in was full of those glasses. Of course you have to understand that when we went, which was normally on Sundays after the church bus dropped Mark (one of my younger brothers) and me off at home, there were at least five to six of us getting glasses.

There was many times when my mom couldn't buy us something, or give us any money, but there was never a time when she failed to feed us. I believe if we ever got to the point where we were hungry and there was no other way, momma would've went into the thickest woods, nastiest pond, or the fastest flowing river to gather food for her children to eat. I know she would've been capable of doing just that.

Momma fed us with more than food, as most moms do, but my mom spooned fed us her love all of her life. She fed us with love, encouragement, correction, and advice. She fed us the difference between right and wrong (not that we always listened, but when we were younger she made sure we listened the second time if you know what I mean) and she fed us the beauty of family. She sometime struggle with that part because we were scattered by age and some by distance, but she still reminded us of the importance of family love. We sometimes fail her and sometimes I believe I hear that little "stsk" noise she made when we did or said something wrong. Age and distance seems to keep the family apart, but momma knows we love one another.

The picture I've shared was taken many years ago. It was one of the few times all of mom's kids were together in one place, probably around Christmas of 1982 or 83. David, Lynn, Owen, me, Mark, J.D., and Lewis. Two of the grandkids are also pictured, possibly David Jr. (David's boy) and Reagan (Lynn's daughter). There were many more grandkids to come.

I believe I hear momma telling us it's time to eat.

Moments

We all face "moments" in life. Decisions we make in these "moments" are how we'll remember those moments.


http://www.godvine.com/92-Year-Old-Man-Shields-Girl-With-His-Body-as-a-Horse-Tramples-Them-4211.html#.Un3NEwfiRzQ.email

Grace

I spent more years living under God's prevenient grace than under God's justifying grace. I'll spend the rest of my life living with God's sanctifying grace.


       Amazing grace! How sweet the sound
       that saved a wretch like me!
       I once was lost, but now am found;
       was blind, but now I see.
                                    John Newton's hymn "Amazing Grace"

God! Are You There?

I'm trying something new. Sharing a link to a sermon I preached recently. I haven't corrected anything on it, so there may be misspelled words and grammar mistakes, but using the old phrase, "you're getting it as is". I pray it'll be a blessing to someone. You can read it, share it, or toss it. The Lord gave it to me and now I'm giving it to you.


https://www.dropbox.com/s/0ujzug6i0uvpn3j/God%20are%20you%20there.docx

Under the Wings

I'm not ashamed to get down and dirty with God, because that's where God found me, and when he found me, he covered me with his wings.