Pro 6:20 My son, keep thy father's commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother:
Pro 6:21 Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck. Pro 6:22
When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee.
Pro 6:23 For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:
The father dimension of leadership and the mother dimension of leadership are very different.The things I tend to major on with our sons differ from their mother's concerns.
There are are things that she stresses that I wouldn't be as inclined to think of.I make sure they stand up straight, look people in the eye, and speak the truth; she worries about whether or not they have on clean underwear.
I talk to them about "major" things; she teaches them courtesy.
The Father has given us commandments that provide guidelines for a moral foundation and our walk with Him; but the Church, which is our mother, teaches us to apply certain principles in our lives in order to maintain our hearts and ways before Him.
I see a trend among some that want to only adhere to the Father's "commandments," and forget the Law of their Mother--Church standards, if you will. We need both.
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Lessons From an Old Coonhunter
When I was just a lad of a boy, I got to know an old hillbilly who was, in his own way, a genius.
He didn't have a lot of education, at least the academic kind, but in his element, he was a brilliant man.
He was a woodsman without peer who could find his way unerringly out of the deepest holler on a night when the stars weren't shining. I never saw him lost.
He was a dead shot with a rifle, making it a point to shoot squirrels through the eye so as not to ruin any of the meat.
He kept his old double bitted axe honed down sharp enough to shave with, and could fell a tree with incredible precision, dropping it exactly where he wanted it, with every chip looking like it had come out of a cookie cutter.
But perhaps his greatest area of genius was in training coon dogs. Old Donnie hardly ever got out of his zip code, but well known dog men and coon hunting legends from all over the country found their way to the old house up on Peckerwood Flat where he lived to lay their money down and drive away with another winner trained by the old man from the forks of the creek. Many a young hound born and trained there went on to become famous in the hands of competition hunters and big time promoters.
The old boy wasn't all that sociable, and was so opinionated that he was something of a loner, but I was determined to learn from him, and kept on until I made a friend out of him.
He taught me a lot of things about coon dogs, and quite a little bit about life as well.
One thing he told me over and over again was that if I wanted my hounds to be straight--that is, to run coon and coon only--DON'T hunt them with a bunch of trashy dogs.
"If you want him to be straight, keep him in straight company."
That advice has served me well in training coon dogs as well as in life.
Solomon said in Proverbs 13:20:
He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.
A good friend, Brother Ron Wofford, is fond of saying, "Show me your friends, and I will show you your future."
Sadly, I have seen some good friends start running with the wrong crowd, and today they're treeing possums and catching skunks.
You are not only known by the company you keep, but you are made by the company you keep.
Influence is a powerful thing...consider carefully who you choose to align yourself with.
They will help shape your destiny.
He didn't have a lot of education, at least the academic kind, but in his element, he was a brilliant man.
He was a woodsman without peer who could find his way unerringly out of the deepest holler on a night when the stars weren't shining. I never saw him lost.
He was a dead shot with a rifle, making it a point to shoot squirrels through the eye so as not to ruin any of the meat.
He kept his old double bitted axe honed down sharp enough to shave with, and could fell a tree with incredible precision, dropping it exactly where he wanted it, with every chip looking like it had come out of a cookie cutter.
But perhaps his greatest area of genius was in training coon dogs. Old Donnie hardly ever got out of his zip code, but well known dog men and coon hunting legends from all over the country found their way to the old house up on Peckerwood Flat where he lived to lay their money down and drive away with another winner trained by the old man from the forks of the creek. Many a young hound born and trained there went on to become famous in the hands of competition hunters and big time promoters.
The old boy wasn't all that sociable, and was so opinionated that he was something of a loner, but I was determined to learn from him, and kept on until I made a friend out of him.
He taught me a lot of things about coon dogs, and quite a little bit about life as well.
One thing he told me over and over again was that if I wanted my hounds to be straight--that is, to run coon and coon only--DON'T hunt them with a bunch of trashy dogs.
"If you want him to be straight, keep him in straight company."
That advice has served me well in training coon dogs as well as in life.
Solomon said in Proverbs 13:20:
He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.
A good friend, Brother Ron Wofford, is fond of saying, "Show me your friends, and I will show you your future."
Sadly, I have seen some good friends start running with the wrong crowd, and today they're treeing possums and catching skunks.
You are not only known by the company you keep, but you are made by the company you keep.
Influence is a powerful thing...consider carefully who you choose to align yourself with.
They will help shape your destiny.
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Worldliness and the Call of the Wolf
I have been breeding coon hounds since I was a kid, and have had some success. Hounds from my breeding program are in many states, and have won in competition, which I don't personally participate in, as well as pleasing the old back at the forks of the creek coon hunters.
One thing I have done in my efforts to better the breed is to stay true to some of the old, houndy characteristics that many modern breeders have abandoned in their quest to streamline their hounds for nothing but competition hunts.
The big square muzzles, blocky heads, long, low-set ears, and deep, melodious bawl mouths are getting harder and harder to find, as many younger hunters are only interested in the winner's circle.
In the early days of the Bluetick breed, the founders set forth a breed standard, and clearly spelled out these qualities as critical. And certainly I understand the difficulty of trying to get high performance as well as maintaining these time honored traits.
It is difficult to maintain because every generation of coonhounds you raise is subject to what I like to call "the call of the wolf." Our hounds are genetically descended from wolves, and the wolf traits are always trying to resurface .In every litter, there will be some pups that have the shorter, higher set ears, the sharper, thinner muzzle, the voice that doesn't quite have the right tone and quality.
You have to select your breeding stock from those pups that meet the standard you have set, even if some of those lesser offspring have good performance qualities also.
It is much the same in our quest for a walk in the Spirit.We have a nature that craves the things of the world, a nature that continually pulls at us. Without deliberate, consistent, diligent efforts to stem the tide of worldliness, it will, as surely as night follows day, make inroads among us.
In our quest for the "winner's circle" of numerical growth, we cannot ignore the call of the wolf.
One thing I have done in my efforts to better the breed is to stay true to some of the old, houndy characteristics that many modern breeders have abandoned in their quest to streamline their hounds for nothing but competition hunts.
The big square muzzles, blocky heads, long, low-set ears, and deep, melodious bawl mouths are getting harder and harder to find, as many younger hunters are only interested in the winner's circle.
In the early days of the Bluetick breed, the founders set forth a breed standard, and clearly spelled out these qualities as critical. And certainly I understand the difficulty of trying to get high performance as well as maintaining these time honored traits.
It is difficult to maintain because every generation of coonhounds you raise is subject to what I like to call "the call of the wolf." Our hounds are genetically descended from wolves, and the wolf traits are always trying to resurface .In every litter, there will be some pups that have the shorter, higher set ears, the sharper, thinner muzzle, the voice that doesn't quite have the right tone and quality.
You have to select your breeding stock from those pups that meet the standard you have set, even if some of those lesser offspring have good performance qualities also.
It is much the same in our quest for a walk in the Spirit.We have a nature that craves the things of the world, a nature that continually pulls at us. Without deliberate, consistent, diligent efforts to stem the tide of worldliness, it will, as surely as night follows day, make inroads among us.
In our quest for the "winner's circle" of numerical growth, we cannot ignore the call of the wolf.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Building and Planting
Jer 1:4 Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Jer 1:5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.
Jer 1:6 Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child.
Jer 1:7 But the LORD said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak.
Jer 1:8 Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the LORD.
Jer 1:9 Then the LORD put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth.
Jer 1:10 See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.
The calling of Jeremiah was a profound and powerful event in his life.
God let him know that before he was ever formed in his mother's womb, he was a chosen vessel in the mind and plan of God.
In meditating and studying this morning, I became intrigued by the distinction God made when He said to Jeremiah that he was called "to build, and to plant."
Building and planting are two very different processes.
When you build, your progress is only limited by your own personal limitations. If you have the resources, the project goes up faster the more effort you put into it.
Planting, however, is an act of faith that depends partly on conditions beyond your control. You are responsible for diligent preparation, but once you commit the seed to the soil, the results depend on things other than your personal sweat and toil.
We go to seminars and read books about how to "build" a church.
But honestly, an Apostolic church is an organic spiritual entity. It has to be panted and watered, and God alone can give the increase.
Maybe someone today needs encouragement because when you look out at your harvest field, what you see makes you feel like less than a success.
Remember this, faithful laborer...not everything worthwhile can be built; some things have to be planted.
Jer 1:5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.
Jer 1:6 Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child.
Jer 1:7 But the LORD said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak.
Jer 1:8 Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the LORD.
Jer 1:9 Then the LORD put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth.
Jer 1:10 See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.
The calling of Jeremiah was a profound and powerful event in his life.
God let him know that before he was ever formed in his mother's womb, he was a chosen vessel in the mind and plan of God.
In meditating and studying this morning, I became intrigued by the distinction God made when He said to Jeremiah that he was called "to build, and to plant."
Building and planting are two very different processes.
When you build, your progress is only limited by your own personal limitations. If you have the resources, the project goes up faster the more effort you put into it.
Planting, however, is an act of faith that depends partly on conditions beyond your control. You are responsible for diligent preparation, but once you commit the seed to the soil, the results depend on things other than your personal sweat and toil.
We go to seminars and read books about how to "build" a church.
But honestly, an Apostolic church is an organic spiritual entity. It has to be panted and watered, and God alone can give the increase.
Maybe someone today needs encouragement because when you look out at your harvest field, what you see makes you feel like less than a success.
Remember this, faithful laborer...not everything worthwhile can be built; some things have to be planted.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
This Gospel Is Confrontational
1Co 4:15 For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel.
1Co 4:16 Wherefore I beseech you, be ye followers of me.
I sometimes wonder if Paul and the other Apostles would recognize us.
We have come to a place in time where the conventional wisdom instructs us to go to great lengths to be "seeker friendly" and do nothing whatsoever to ruffle anyone's feathers.
The modus operandi of many seems to be something like this...Make friends with people, tie them into the social structure of your church, sell them on your programs and how sweet you are, and when the time is right, sort of slip up alongside them and gradually edge them toward baptism in Jesus Name.
This approach can be seen in the websites of many churches, where there are lots of pictures of photogenic people and no doctrine to be found. This seems to be the complete opposite of Paul's methodology.
Paul disputed in synagogues, cast devils out of people on the streets, trumpeted the Oneness of God without apology, and generally raised cain with the religious status quo.
I'll be honest...in the past I have tried the soft, gradual approach with some people. It doesn't seem to yield much in the way of long lasting results. You wind up pouring a lot of time and energy into people only to see them mostly feel the "spirit" lead them elsewhere when they are finally confronted with some undiluted truth that crosses their flesh or theology.
People who, on the other hand, are brought to a crisis of belief by strong preaching, either make a decision to fall on the stone and be broken, or else they harden themselves and move on. But the ones who yield are much easier to disciple and teach. It seems that I have an easier time working with folks who are begotten by the gospel than folks who are won mostly through people skills.
I am not advocating rude, obnoxious behavior. That is a no-brainer. But I do think the Apostolic, Biblical model of preaching is strongly confrontational. Loving, and steeped in burden, but strong as lye soap and straight to the point.
I want people to like me. I want them to think I am nice.But most of all, I want them to come face to face with the Truth of God's Word.
Ladies and gentlemen, this Gospel is confrontational.
1Co 4:16 Wherefore I beseech you, be ye followers of me.
I sometimes wonder if Paul and the other Apostles would recognize us.
We have come to a place in time where the conventional wisdom instructs us to go to great lengths to be "seeker friendly" and do nothing whatsoever to ruffle anyone's feathers.
The modus operandi of many seems to be something like this...Make friends with people, tie them into the social structure of your church, sell them on your programs and how sweet you are, and when the time is right, sort of slip up alongside them and gradually edge them toward baptism in Jesus Name.
This approach can be seen in the websites of many churches, where there are lots of pictures of photogenic people and no doctrine to be found. This seems to be the complete opposite of Paul's methodology.
Paul disputed in synagogues, cast devils out of people on the streets, trumpeted the Oneness of God without apology, and generally raised cain with the religious status quo.
I'll be honest...in the past I have tried the soft, gradual approach with some people. It doesn't seem to yield much in the way of long lasting results. You wind up pouring a lot of time and energy into people only to see them mostly feel the "spirit" lead them elsewhere when they are finally confronted with some undiluted truth that crosses their flesh or theology.
People who, on the other hand, are brought to a crisis of belief by strong preaching, either make a decision to fall on the stone and be broken, or else they harden themselves and move on. But the ones who yield are much easier to disciple and teach. It seems that I have an easier time working with folks who are begotten by the gospel than folks who are won mostly through people skills.
I am not advocating rude, obnoxious behavior. That is a no-brainer. But I do think the Apostolic, Biblical model of preaching is strongly confrontational. Loving, and steeped in burden, but strong as lye soap and straight to the point.
I want people to like me. I want them to think I am nice.But most of all, I want them to come face to face with the Truth of God's Word.
Ladies and gentlemen, this Gospel is confrontational.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
The Folly of Falling in Love With Goats
When I was a kid, there was a local character known by everyone as the "Goat Man." He lived in an old shed in a holler behind my granny's place. The lady who owned the property was kind enough to let him live there with his flock of goats.
His story was unusual. At one time he was a prosperous businessman who owned a tractor dealership. But then his son wound up cheating him out of the business and booting the old man out with nothing. This threw him into some sort of breakdown, and he decided that goats were better company than people.
He was harmless, but not too pleasant to be around. He stunk just like the goats he lived with.
In the church, I have seen people fall in love with goats. They form an emotional attachment to some rebellious type, and decide that if only the the church and pastor were more compassionate, this poor goat would find healing and restoration.
These folks often become quite judgmental in the throes of this misplaced compassion, and become so fixated on the object of their obsession that there is no spiritual or emotional energy left for the sheep that are all around them, some of them lost and struggling.
And ultimately, these goat lovers usually end up taking on the smell and nature of the goats they love.
I believe in reaching for lost and struggling sheep with everything within me...but hard experience has taught me the folly of falling in love with goats.
His story was unusual. At one time he was a prosperous businessman who owned a tractor dealership. But then his son wound up cheating him out of the business and booting the old man out with nothing. This threw him into some sort of breakdown, and he decided that goats were better company than people.
He was harmless, but not too pleasant to be around. He stunk just like the goats he lived with.
In the church, I have seen people fall in love with goats. They form an emotional attachment to some rebellious type, and decide that if only the the church and pastor were more compassionate, this poor goat would find healing and restoration.
These folks often become quite judgmental in the throes of this misplaced compassion, and become so fixated on the object of their obsession that there is no spiritual or emotional energy left for the sheep that are all around them, some of them lost and struggling.
And ultimately, these goat lovers usually end up taking on the smell and nature of the goats they love.
I believe in reaching for lost and struggling sheep with everything within me...but hard experience has taught me the folly of falling in love with goats.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Remember Me, O My God, for Good
Exo 17:13 And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.
Exo 17:14 And the LORD said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.
Yes, God said it.
He declared His intentions, clearly and without ambiguity. His plan was to erase the remembrance of an entire people group from under the heavens, to consign them to history's compost heap.
What could possibly cause our loving God to feel so strongly about an entire nation?
Whatever they did, I don't want to do.
Every week, I preach the Gospel of Christ. "I heard an old, old story/ How a Saviour came from glory"
I preach about the Jesus Who won't break a bruised reed or quench a smoking flax, a Jesus so tender and approachable that little children felt comfortable climbing up into His lap. That is His nature...or at least one facet of it.
But I fear that many modern believers have forgotten that God is also a God Who will demand an account of us on that great, gettin' up morning. We will be judged by the deeds done in this body, the actions we record on this side of the Milky Way.
Nehemiah spoke for all of us when he closed his book with these poignant words:
"Remember me, O my God, for good."
You see, God can forget. He is omnipotent. He can do anything.
I'm glad He has a good forgetter; He forgot my sins.
But what a fearful and awful thing it is to contemplate that the lost in hell will be obliterated from God's mind and memory.
In Ezekiel, speaking of Jerusalem, God said, "my mind was alienated from her." Sin did that.
Sin separates from God. Sin creates distance between man and his Creator. In eternity, the gulf will be too great to span, but today, while we still have an open door of opportunity, we can deal with the sin problem through the New Birth.
Repent of your sins.
Be baptized in Jesus Name for the remission of your sins.
Receive the Holy Ghost.
Live your life pleasing to Him.
And you can rest assured that your name will be found written in the Lamb's Book of Life.
Otherwise...
Ecc 8:10 And so I saw the wicked buried, who had come and gone from the place of the holy, and they were forgotten in the city where they had so done: this is also vanity.
Exo 17:14 And the LORD said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.
Yes, God said it.
He declared His intentions, clearly and without ambiguity. His plan was to erase the remembrance of an entire people group from under the heavens, to consign them to history's compost heap.
What could possibly cause our loving God to feel so strongly about an entire nation?
Whatever they did, I don't want to do.
Every week, I preach the Gospel of Christ. "I heard an old, old story/ How a Saviour came from glory"
I preach about the Jesus Who won't break a bruised reed or quench a smoking flax, a Jesus so tender and approachable that little children felt comfortable climbing up into His lap. That is His nature...or at least one facet of it.
But I fear that many modern believers have forgotten that God is also a God Who will demand an account of us on that great, gettin' up morning. We will be judged by the deeds done in this body, the actions we record on this side of the Milky Way.
Nehemiah spoke for all of us when he closed his book with these poignant words:
"Remember me, O my God, for good."
You see, God can forget. He is omnipotent. He can do anything.
I'm glad He has a good forgetter; He forgot my sins.
But what a fearful and awful thing it is to contemplate that the lost in hell will be obliterated from God's mind and memory.
In Ezekiel, speaking of Jerusalem, God said, "my mind was alienated from her." Sin did that.
Sin separates from God. Sin creates distance between man and his Creator. In eternity, the gulf will be too great to span, but today, while we still have an open door of opportunity, we can deal with the sin problem through the New Birth.
Repent of your sins.
Be baptized in Jesus Name for the remission of your sins.
Receive the Holy Ghost.
Live your life pleasing to Him.
And you can rest assured that your name will be found written in the Lamb's Book of Life.
Otherwise...
Ecc 8:10 And so I saw the wicked buried, who had come and gone from the place of the holy, and they were forgotten in the city where they had so done: this is also vanity.
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