Donkey King

 

2000 years ago, the Jewish people were waiting for their King to arrive and deliver them from the suffering that they had endured for centuries.  Many expected a mighty warrior, dressed in armour, and riding a stallion, that would immediately defeat anyone that opposed him.  He would need to be a force so powerful, that enemies would be annihilated or would flee in fear.  You can imagine the surprise when a carpenter asked his friends to fetch a donkey for his grand arrival, and then announced that he was the king they had been waiting for.  Their king was indeed powerful, but not due to his physical strength or any political stature that He had achieved.  Their king was God's own son, sent to earth to show us how to love and to serve like God does - all while riding on a donkey.  Praise Him.

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God spoke the physical universe into existence, and in so doing, he also established the way it would work.  In the final stages of his creation, he made man and woman to help with the execution of the plan.  He gave them the skills to cultivate plants and raise livestock.  He gave them a brain to think and to know, and a heart to feel and to love.  He made them in his own image - with one exception - He did not give them the power to determine right and wrong.  But He did give them the power to choose right and wrong.  And regrettably, choosing wrong seemed to be much easier than doing what was right.  The mistakes compounded for centuries until God's plan proceeded into its most important phase.  God allowed his only son to be born into the world so that He could demonstrate to us what God intended.  Jesus showed us how to love by serving others, not by making ourselves our own idols.  God then allowed his son to die a brutal death on the cross, and in so doing, bear the cost of all of our past sins and all of our sins to come. I want to be God's image more clearly today.

My words today were inspired by a short video that a good friend shared with me.   Take a look and let me know your thoughts. 

A Peculiar Sort

I have been fortunate most of my life not to be aware of many of my enemies.  I say "not aware", because I am quite sure that there are plenty of people who don't like me - I just don't know who they are.  Similarly, there are people that I don't care to spend time with.  I wouldn't really call them enemies, more just annoying.   Said another way, they don't do anything for me.  As I have gotten older, I find it easier to be "nice" to them when I am around them.  I can pretend that they aren't annoying for a bit.  I believe pretending to be nice is better than being mean.  But then, when I am outside their presence, they are the butt of my conversation with those inside my comfy little circle.  My true feelings show.

In Matthew 5, Jesus says: “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor[i] and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that?   

Loving those that love me is nothing special.  Anyone can do that.  The Greek word "periousios" is best translated as "peculiar", and that is one of the ways the Bible describes how Christians should be.  Someone looking in from the outside might think, "Why is he behaving that way?  He seems to be treating others so kindly even in the face of ridicule.  He seems so peculiar."  I want to try to be more peculiar today.

My thoughts today are inspired by Chapter 12 of "The Cost of Discipleship".

Sibling Revelry

One of the classic books on Christian discipleship is Dietrich Bonhoeffer's "The Cost of Discipleship".  I read it several years ago, but I am reading it again now.  Chapter 9 is entitled "Brother".  I have two brothers, and many of us have at least one, so it should be relevant to a lot of us, right?  But I was a little taken aback when the first verse of the bible reference was talking about how we shouldn't murder people.   When I was younger, I may have thought I was mad enough to murder one of my brothers, but never seriously considered it.  In Matthew 5:21, Jesus says, "You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgement."   Of all of the laws and social issues that are debated every day online and around the water cooler (do those even still exist?), I believe "not murdering" is considered by all, except the deranged, to be a good idea.  But verse 22 continues, "But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgement."  So Jesus is taking the Old Testament commandment, "do not murder", and extending it to "do not be angry".   While we may agree that anger is also something to avoid, unlike murder, most of us feel some level of anger almost every day.  OK, that gives me something to work on that I should be able to manage.  Try not to be angry with my two brothers.  I talk to them and see them regularly, but certainly not every day, so I should be able to handle that most days.  But it is somewhat unsettling that Jesus is not just talking about not being angry with our siblings.  We are all God's children, and we are invited to be the adopted brothers and sisters of Jesus.  If we choose that, we must also choose to try to follow him and his teaching.  Think of who makes you angry.  Remember that they are a child of God.  Try not to be angry with them today.  I will try, too.

Tom Cruising

The bad news: Caroline and I are not great about planning vacations. The good news: We have amazing friends that are - and sometimes they include us. A couple of months ago, one of my best friends from college and his wife invited us to join them on a Caribbean cruise. We thought about it for about 13 seconds and then accepted.  We embark on Friday and return the following Saturday.  We have had a busy start to the year with the sale of our house in Braselton, so we are looking forward to some down time.  More than that, we are looking forward to spending extended time with our friends reminiscing about old times and talking about what's in store for us next. I look forward to giving you an update when I return. I encourage you to prioritize time with the most important people in your life, and I commit to doing a better job of initiating opportunities to do that with our friends in the future.

What goes around...

We raised our kids in South Gwinnett, and they attended the Shiloh school district.  Our church home was Annistown Road Baptist Church.  My wife, Caroline, helped with Vacation Bible School, and one of her most energetic students was Brandt.  We got to know Brandt and his family well over the 2 decades that we attended there.  We are now living full time at Lake Hartwell and visited Lavonia First Baptist Church last Sunday.   Who was delivering the message from the stage? You guessed it - Brandt Akin.  Brandt is now married to Morgan and has grown from a mischievous boy into a seasoned speaker who you can tell loves the Lord.  We were also delighted that Morgan was also on the stage leading worship.  We were so excited to be able to see familiar faces and to hear what Jesus had laid on Brandt's heart.  If you are in the Lavonia area on a Sunday, please feel free to stop in for worship.

Love Is In The Air

 

As most of us were finalizing plans for Valentine's Day celebrations with our significant others last week, some students at the University of Kentucky had something else in mind.  A group of students working in conjunction with UniteUS, hosted an event at the Rupp Arena that attracted over 7000 students.  They came not to celebrate flowers, candy and Cupid, but to worship Jesus.  2000 of the 7000 students attending came to the altar to either accept Jesus for the first time, or to make a new commitment to following Him.  UniteUS started at the Auburn University campus and is currently scheduled to be at 5 more campuses.  Praise God for UniteUS and for the students who had the faith to invite their friends to hear about Jesus for the first time.  For more information on the UK event click here. 

Careful Consideration

 

Last week I posted about us selling our house in Braselton and moving to Lake Hartwell full time.  I mentioned that I had broken my arm and was minimal help with packing and moving boxes. Caroline picked up my slack, but I am fully aware that my injury was not my main disability.  My main disability is that I am such a routine person, that doing anything outside of the normal routine is emotionally draining.  Caroline, knowing this, graciously executed the move.  She didn't just throw stuff in boxes.  She went through boxes that hadn't been opened since we moved to this house 18 years ago, and sorted things into trash, goodwill items and keepers, and then repacked the keepers.  But that is kind of how our relationship goes.  I do routine things quickly, and she does everything correctly with care.  Quickly isn't always bad, but correctly with care is almost always better.  I could try to make a case that you need both types to make a relationship work, but I would just be posturing.  Our relationship works because Caroline takes care with our things, our friends, our family and me.  I love her so much and can't imagine life without her.  Happy Valentine's Day, Caroline.

A House Is Not A Home

I am feeling a little melancholy this week.  We will be selling our home in Braselton where we have lived for the past 18 years.   We raised our kids in Stone Mountain and lived in one house there for 20 years prior to this one.  It was quite the challenge to get 20 years worth of stuff moved, and now we face a similar challenge.  We are fortunate that our next home at Lake Hartwell is ready for us, and Caroline has been amazing with planning and packing.  I was a minor help moving boxes until I broke my arm over the holidays.  That has proved to be a convenient accident for me, but not so much for Caroline.  While I'm sure we will miss the Braselton house for a while, the house isn't what made it home.  Our home was made by the family and friends that visited us there - especially our small group from The Vine Church, who met in our home for the past 10 years.  We will miss hosting that group and hope to find another group of people to learn, worship and pray with at our next home.

An Empty Seat

It was a sad week for our family.  My daughter, Lizzy, and her husband, Trey, had to say goodbye to a dear family member.  All three of their human children are ok, but Bailey, their beloved dog, had to be released from her pain.  Bailey has been a member of the Joyner family for 14 years - longer than any of their natural born children.  Their family has never known life without Bailey.  Bailey was a rescue dog.  Nobody really knows what kind of dog she is, but since she is black, she must be "part lab".  I don't see much lab in the way she looks, but I can tell you that Bailey did love the lake.  She would run as fast as she could the length of the dock and soar through the air into the water to retrieve a toy.  She would swim the toy into the shore and then bring it back to the dock for another throw for what seemed like hours.  She also loved riding in the front of the boat with her ears flapping in the wind like the flying nun.  After a long day on the lake, she would find a sunny spot on the floor inside and curl up for a long nap.  Bailey's dock jumping slowed down over the last few years, but she still loved being at the dock and riding on the boat so she could keep an eye on everyone.  Bailey will be sorely missed, but our memories of the joy she brought to our family will never be forgotten.

Champion's Platform

 

Most of you know my blood runs red and black.  My wife and I, our kids, and their spouses all went to the University of Georgia.  The Dawgs have had some great football seasons recently, but this year they yielded the field to Notre Dame and Ohio State.  While I didn't have a dawg in the CFP championship game, I was very interested in the final matchup.   The game got a little out of control early with Ohio State taking control in the first half, but Notre Dame tried to make it interesting - until Will Howard connected with Jeremiah Smith for a 50+ yard pass play on third and long to seal the deal.  Those two are explosive on the field, but I was also impressed with Howard's early morning interview the next day.  He looked a little more clear-eyed than Stetson looked after his national championship game, and Howard is giving glory to God every time he gets the microphone.  I obviously don't know Howard personally, but I sure like what I see.  And I love seeing good guys doing well for themselves.

Something Worth Watching

I have a confession to make.  I watch a lot of television.  I like college football.  I like tennis.  I like the reality singing shows.  I like good movies.  But I also like that streaming has brought us the limited series. It's like a movie divided into parts, except the creators have 10's of hours to develop characters and story lines instead of 1-2 hours with movies. And unlike the weekly series that we grew up on, you can watch the episodes back to back if you have time.  A lot of what I watch is entertaining, but I don't feel like a lot of what I watch is great.  One of my favorite series of all time is The West Wing - 7 seasons with over 140 episodes.  I love that show because you don't always get what you expect, and the show has heart.  It was probably my favorite TV show of all time until the one I just finished -  The News Room - with a cast of actors that is very impressive - Jeff Daniels, Jane Fonda, Oliva Munn, Sam Waterston and B.K. Novak just to name a few.   But the secret sauce is the creator/writer Aaron Sorkin, who just so happens to also be the creator/writer of The West Wing.  Not only are the stories smart, fast-paced and interesting, they have something that most television and movies are lacking - decency.  You won't find one sex scene or one murder in the three seasons, and the characters stand for something besides self-promotion.   If you decide to watch for the first time. or watch again if you have already seen it, don't skip the "Inside The Episode" following each episode which gives Sorkin a chance to talk about what went into his thinking in putting each episode together.   Let me know what you think if you take the time to watch.

All Consuming Fire

 

I have watched with horror over the last couple of days the news reports of the raging fires in and around Palisades. I pray for those whose lives and homes have been threatened and for the safety of the residents and the rescue workers that risk everything to save others. I have heard the fires that are being fueled by the Santa Ana winds described as "all consuming". Those words made me think of this worship song that also talks about an all consuming fire. The lyrics talk about how God's breath blows on the embers of your soul turning it into an all consuming fire - a fire for Him that will burn brightly for everyone to see.  I ask God to breathe His holy breath on you, me and all those affected by the California fires.

Pickleball Fail

One of my favorite Christmas gifts this year was a portable pickleball net and paddles.  We set it up in our driveway, where we had just enough space for a regulation court.  Things went great for a couple of days until a heated match I played with my son and two granddaughters.  As it turns out, while we had enough space for the court, we did not have enough space surrounding the court.   After running for a crosscourt return, I went headfirst off a 4' retaining wall to the sidewalk below.  I was pretty banged up, with the most serious injury being a broken elbow.  I was so fortunate to have Trey, my son-in-law, and Emily, my daughter-in-law with me who have excellent relationships with healthcare professionals through their work.  After a trip to the emergency room on Friday, they were able to get me an appointment with an orthopedic doctor on Monday and surgery scheduled for Tuesday.  I was very anxious about all of this, but the support I received from my family and friends made things much easier.  I met with the surgeon, Dr. Abrar Ansari at Piedmont Orthopedics in Athens, for the first time Monday morning.   I was in tears after he left, not from pain or fear, but from an overwhelming feeling of relief and gratitude that I would be in his capable hands.  I later realized that those feelings were certainly the results of family and friends that had been praying for me, Dr. Ansari, and all of the other support staff that took care of me while I was there.  I was able to begin recovery with the same activity that I would have been involved in had I not had the accident - watching two days of football on television.  Thanks to each of you who sent prayers of support, and if you ever have to deal with an orthopedic injury in our area, I strongly recommend Dr. Ansari and the whole Piedmont staff.