Should Auld Acquaintance....

  As we end up one year and look forward to another, I would like to take a moment to take a personal look back at 2012 and the things for which I am thankful. And perhaps a few that I hope will not be a part of another year.

  I’m thankful that the Mayan calendar was wrong and that we are all still here. For better or for worse, at least now we all have another chance to get things right.

  I’m thankful for my involvement with the Tybee Bar Church. Those kind people refresh my heart and soul in their live streamed services each week and by reinforcing in my heart what “church” is really supposed to be about. They do it well. Plus, they are letting me come back in February to speak again, so I must have done something right.

  I’m thankful for the Monday Night Supper Club and for the support and friendship we have shared for many years now.

  I’m grateful for my love and gift for music. As Albert Einstein once said, “Life without playing music is inconceivable for me. I live my daydreams in music. I see my life in terms of music…I get most joy in life out of music.” In my own life, music can lift me from the drudgeries of the daily events and give me hope…give me joy….give me happiness.

  I am thankful for the Henry County Library System and all the many good, kind, friendly, yet, sometimes quirky patrons that we serve in all five branches. I love to read and the library satisfies that passion along with the ability to discuss books and authors with a lot of interested people. It’s way cool.

  I am grateful for living in Henry County and McDonough. We have our growth issues, but it is a good place to live and grow up. I’m thankful for the many business owners that manage to hang on in our cities and provide us with the best opportunities to shop and eat local.

  I hope to never see a year again filled with so much ugliness and evil. From the national elections to our own local county races, I was disturbed by all the trash and anger that was dominating our airwaves, computers and media. We now have a chance to start again, as a county and as a nation. We have a new presidential term, congressional terms and (locally) new county and city leaderships. Support them. Let them know if you don’t agree, but do it nicely. In the words of Patrick Swayze in “Road House,” just “be nice.”

  I hope that there is never another year of such evil violence and death in our schools, movie theaters and public places. Never. May we all learn and grow from what we have lived through in 2012.

  I do not want to have another year of illness and death in members of my churches, community and circle of friends.

  As always, I’m thankful for The Henry County Times and the family of staff and writers that care so much about this County and the people.

  In closing, I am most thankful for the family God has given me. As I have said before, my family is the reason I grew up in church, why I came to a knowledge AND relationship with God and learned how to live according to God’s plan for my life. God has also given me a close circle of friends, both physically and in cyber-land that have enriched me so much.

  May the God of Abraham, Jacob and Moses bless all of you this coming year and give you peace. The peace that only God can give.

  And for today my friends, this has been the gospel according to Jimmy.

See ya' soon!

 Ernest Hemingway once said, “Every true story ends in death.” This is a true story.

  Many people may think that religion columnists and authors have a happy, joyous life where you are constantly whistling “Jesus Loves Me,” the birds are singing your name and the squirrels are ironing your clothes. We are full of assurance of happy days both in this world and the world yet to come. Nothing is farther from the truth. I speak for myself (and I think also for my co-columnist, Brenda) when I say we have trials, sorrows and unfortunate events to come our way which can knock us from the mountain top to the lowest valley in a second.

  Just like non-believers, we lose and grieve over the loss of family and friends. However, unlike the non-believers of our community, we have the support of Christian brothers and sisters in our churches and communities. And we have a Hope. A Hope that defines our faith and promises us an eternal life where we will see our friends and loved ones again where there is no pain, no sorrow, no tears, no disease.

  When I was 14 years old, I began as pianist for the Second Avenue Baptist Church in Decatur, GA. That is a horrible age to be thrust into a new place and have to ‘fit in’ with other teenagers at that stressful time of life. However, I was lucky in that all the other students were friendly, outgoing and accepted this nerdy, geeky, bespectacled kid into their group without a second thought. However, one young girl fetched my eye. For one thing, she was skinnier that I was (and I only weighed 130 lbs. in those days), she had a marvelous voice, an extremely dry wit and she did the strangest thing with her left eye when she would hit the high notes. It would kinda bug out, roll up and her eyelid would flutter like a trapped butterfly. I was enchanted at first glance. Her name was Becky.

  As we got old enough, we went out a couple times, but knew before long that we were destined to become better friends than anything more serious. And we were. We went to different high schools, but both of us ended up at Georgia Southern for college. There, Becky met her future husband….and I learned to play guitar.

  We stayed somewhat in touch over the years since, but more so since I began to work at the Stockbridge Library. Becky lived close by and would drop in occasionally for book browsing. I looked forward to those days; it was so nice to see my friend again on a semi-regular basis and rebuild a friendship.

  However, about two years ago, Becky was diagnosed with a very aggressive type of cancer. Very aggressive and very little hope was given to her. However, the medical profession was not counting on the faith in God that Becky, her family and her friends have. After chemo, stem cell transplants, bone marrow transplants and all manner of horrid things done to her body, not only did Becky’s smile still light up the room and her first words gave praise to God, but she went into a remission of sorts. The year she was promised extended into the second year.

  However, the cancer returned with a vengeance and my dear friend lost her battle to the disease this past week. My heart broke. No longer would I see her strolling through the library shelves looking for a book to take for her chemo-day reading. No longer would her faith and smile bless those around her. Her memorial service was Sunday, but I did not go. It just didn’t seem like it was something I needed to do, nor would Becky have expected it from me.

  She is now whole, well, free from cancer and jumping all over those streets of heaven reuniting with her parents and other family and friends who have gone before. And, if I know Becky, she’s singing soprano in that heavenly choir with that left eye bugged out and eyelid fluttering.

  Your family and friends will also miss you, Becky, but we are glad you have gone home to be with the God you love so much. I can’t wait to see you again.

  And for today my friends, this is been the gospel according to Jimmy….with a tear in his eye.

 

 

Day 7 of Advent - Saturday, December 8

Day 7 of Advent - Saturday, December 8
Luke 3:3-6 - Anticipation

  “And all mankind will see God’s salvation.” (Luke 3:6)

  In today’s passage, we see where Elizabeth and Zechariah’s son, John, has come into his own ministry. To be one who prepares the way for the Messiah. His cousin. Jesus of Nazareth. The One that the Jewish people had been looking forward to for so many generations is here and John is announcing this to all who will listen.

  Jesus has come. In 2012, He is still here. In our hearts and in our souls. With us all the time. Just like John did over 2,000 years ago, we are to tell people about Jesus and to also tell them that He will be coming back. But, first we need to be sure we know Jesus and believe in Him. Today would be a good day to learn about His love for you and what your eternal home will be like. If you are a believer, today would be a good day to reaffirm to God how much you love Him and dedicate yourself to following and telling others about Jesus.

Spend some quiet time with God today.

Day 5 of Advent - Thursday, December 6

Day 5 of Advent - Thursday, December 6
Philippians 1:8-11 - Anticipation

  ”So that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ.” (Philippians 1:10)
 

  Paul continues to write about how much he wants to return to the church fellowship at Philippi and how much he prays for them to think of those things that are excellent and for them to remain as pure and blameless as they can be. Is it easy to be pure, blameless and excellent? Do you even know what those words mean? Check out what Paul had to say over in Philippians 4:8. That may give you some ideas.

  Any parent or grandparent is always looking forward to how their children and grandchildren grow and learn. Nothing pleases you more than to see your children come into a belief in Christ and to learn and grow in Him. With the circumstances of Jesus’ birth, I’m sure Mary and Joseph were very much looking forward to see how Jesus grew and learned and came into His own ministry. This was a new experience not only for them, but for the world. Never before had a Messiah been born and raised from birth.

  Let’s all look forward to coming days and years as we try harder to live and think only on those things of God that are pure, blameless and excellent in His eyes. Not our eyes.

Spend some quiet time with God today.

Day 5 of Advent - Thursday, December 6

Day 5 of Advent - Thursday, December 6

Philippians 1:8-11 - Anticipation

   ”So that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ.” (Philippians 1:10)

  Paul continues to write about how much he wants to return to the church fellowship at Philippi and how much he prays for them to think of those things that are excellent and for them to remain as pure and blameless as they can be. Is it easy to be pure, blameless and excellent? Do you even know what those words mean? Check out what Paul had to say over in Philippians 4:8. That may give you some ideas.

  Any parent or grandparent is always looking forward to how their children and grandchildren grow and learn. Nothing pleases you more than to see your children come into a belief in Christ and to learn and grow in Him. With the circumstances of Jesus’ birth, I’m sure Mary and Joseph were very much looking forward to see how Jesus grew and learned and came into His own ministry. This was a new experience not only for them, but for the world. Never before had a Messiah been born and raised from birth.

  Let’s all look forward to coming days and years as we try harder to live and think only on those things of God that are pure, blameless and excellent in His eyes. Not our eyes.

Spend some quiet time with God today.

Day 4 of Advent - Wednesday, December 5

Day 4 of Advent - Wednesday, December 5
Philippians 1:3-7 - Anticipation

  “I thank my God in all my remembrance of you.” (Philippians 1:3)

  What do you look forward to the most at Christmas? Be honest. The gifts? The food? The days off work or school? Going to Disneyworld? Going to visit family, or having family come to visit you? We all look forward to something, don’t we?

  Paul was writing to the church at the city of Philippi and telling them he thought of them often and was always grateful to God each time he remembered the people there. He goes on to tell them that he knows that God will continue to do a good work with them until Jesus comes back.

  We look forward to seeing cousins, grandparents, children, friends and other special people during the Christmas season and always want the best for them. However, as much as we look forward to getting together with our family and friends, we should be even more excited about Jesus returning to us someday.

Spend a little quiet time with God today.

Day 3 of Advent - Tuesday, December 4

Day 3 of Advent - Tuesday, December 4

Luke 1:76-79 - Anticipation

  “And you, my little son, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go to prepare His ways.” (Luke 1:76)

  Zechariah can now speak once again and is praising God and giving prophecies about his new born son, John, who will be known as The Baptizer. For so long he looked forward to the birth of his son and now a different anticipation begins. He knew that God would be using John as the one to prepare the way for the Messiah, bringing people back to God. He also knew that it would involve a lot of lonely times where folks would think him crazy and even times where he may be harmed physically for his message. No father would want a life like that for his son, but Zechariah knew that John would be serving a major role in God’s work and he was willing to accept that.

  A friend of mine recently sent her daughter off to serve in the mission fields of Africa. Even though the girl is in her early twenties, and her parents know that God will be with her and with her work, it was not an easy decision. For months before she left, there were prayer requests constantly being put on Facebook and sent through emails for this young lady who felt God’s call so strongly that she had no choice but to follow. And now, she is in this foreign country, sending pictures and blogging about her work. All of her family and friends anxiously await each communication to see what God is doing through her to the peoples of Africa. The anticipation we feel has changed from 90% worry and 10% excitement to 90% excitement and 10% worry. Just like Zechariah and John, her parents raised her in God’s way and knew they could let her go into His service and she would be ready. Just like John.

Spend some quiet time with God today.

Day 2 of Advent - Monday, December 3

Day 2 of Advent - Monday, December 3

Luke 1: 68-75 - Anticipation

    “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited and redeemed his people and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David.”

 (Luke 1:68-69)

  In the verses before this passage, we find that Mary’s cousin, Elizabeth, was to have a child. The child’s father, Zechariah, was given this good news by the angel, Gabriel, however, Zechariah didn’t believe him. Because of his unbelief, Zechariah was struck dumb. He couldn’t speak a work during the whole time Elizabeth was with child. When the child was born, Elizabeth announced that his name would be John and all the community was shocked since normally he would be named after his father. When the people gestured to Zechariah about this, he wrote on a tablet, “His name will be John.” Immediately, his speech returned to him and he began to praise God and prophesy to all around. The passage for today is his song of praise.

  Have you ever felt God was telling you something that you thought was the silliest thing you had ever heard? Like telling Moses that he would lead the Israelites out of Egypt? Like revealing to David that he would become King? Like telling a young girl that she would become the mother of the Messiah. God’s Son!

  I think that Zechariah probably missed out on a lot of the excitement and the anticipation of his coming son. He wasn’t able to tell their neighbors how things were progressing. He wasn’t able to tell Elizabeth how much he loved her. He wasn’t able to tell people what they needed for baby gifts. Nothing. He couldn’t say anything and I think that writing out on a tablet probably got frustrating, so he just quit trying. But, when the day arrived and Zechariah actually saw his son and accepted God’s plan, his speech was restored and he could praise God with all his strength.

  When we feel God is telling us about something that may be coming up in our future, we need to trust Him so that we can anticipate what is to come. Like we anticipate gifts, present and food on Christmas morning. But, especially as we anticipate the birth of Christ.

Spend some quiet time with God today.

Day 1 of Advent - Sunday, December 2

Day 1 of Advent - Sunday, December 2

Malachi 3:1-4 - Anticipation

  “Behold, I will send My messenger, and He will prepare the way before Me….But, who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner’s fire and like launderer’s soap.” (Malachi 3:1a - 2)

  Anticipation is defined as a realization in advance; a foretaste; an expectation or hope.  For generations, the Israelites had known that a Messiah was promised to them. Someone to save them from the oppressions they had known, the enslavements they had been living in and to bring a restoration to their lives and lands. Malachi is the last of the Old Testament prophets and his message was to remind the Jewish people that despite how stubborn and unfaithful they had been to God, they still had a Hope that was to come. He encouraged them to return to a right way of life, living by the standards given to them by God.

  My dog, Murphy, was a terrier with a mind of his own. If he didn’t want to come, he wouldn’t come. If he didn’t want to go chase the ball, he wouldn’t do it. If he didn’t want to eat his food, he wouldn’t eat his food. Sometimes his stubbornness got him in trouble with me and I had to fuss at him. He may pout for awhile, but eventually he would come to me and look up with those big brown terrier eyes and I knew he wanted back in my good graces. There was a lot of hoping in that little 12-pound body. He would anticipate all the good treats and neck rubs that I would be giving him. And I always did.

  As we begin this season of Advent, a season of anticipation, a time where we look forward to the celebration of Christ’s birth, we may need to remember that no matter how far from God we have drifted this past year, He is still there waiting for you to return. There is always Hope when you are in God’s presence. The Hope that was born at Christmas.

Spend some quiet time with God today.