Gather Stones

A time to gather stones; (Eccl. 3:5b)

¹LET ME [as God's representative] sing of and for my greatly Beloved [God, the Son] a tender song of my Beloved concerning His vineyard [His chosen people]. My greatly Beloved had a vineyard on a very fruitful hill. [S. of Sol. 6:3; Matt. 21:33-40.]

 ²And He dug and trenched the ground and gathered out the stones from it and planted it with the choicest vine and built a tower in the midst of it and hewed out a winepress in it. And He looked for it to bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes.  (IS. 5:1-2)

No matter what; whether you are building something ( a retaining wall, an altar, etc) or clearing stones out...this is a very physically involved task.   In today's scripture regarding a time to gather stones.....in planting a garden it is essential to the growth of whatever it is you're planting to clear the way for the vine or the plant to be able to grow.  What you don't want is stones being the obstacles to hindering the harvest you are planning/planting for.  In building you have to be selective in what stones to use.   You can't build a wall using stones of varied consistencies and expect it to be solid.   You have to pick certain stones when you are making  a necklace vs. constructing a wall.   So whatever your reason....this gathering takes strength and precision....ask a jeweler or bricklayer what does it take...and I am certain they will echo the same.

So what is it for you?  Are you building something or trying to grow something?  I can tell you this....whether it is building a career, a building, a wall to protect yourself, clearing out stones to allow relationships to grow...etc....if it's not to or for the GLORY of GOD...then it's for nothing!  LGLP

Cast Away Stones

A time to cast away stones..(Eccl. 3:5a)

 ⁴ “Teacher,” they said to Jesus, “this woman was caught in the act of adultery. ⁵ The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?” ⁶ They were trying to trap him into saying something they could use against him, but Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger. ⁷ They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, “All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!”   John 8:4-7
 
Today let's talk about when is it good to cast away stones.   In this world overwhelmed by sin, when you think about it, we have cause to pick up stones to throw at a multitude of things that are not of God.   Just two days ago a misguided student supposedly contacted the WBC to come & protest at their high school (FZE) against the formation of a gay rights support group, etc.  Upon hearing about this my heart grieved and ached because I knew in my spirit that on that day, NOT ONE SOUL would be saved.  That every atheist or person that has been hurt by the church would have further reasoning to steer clear of the type of (or total lack of) love that this church demonstrated.  

But while this happened today, it happened in a different form thousands of years ago, where a woman had been caught in an adulterous encounter and the "religious" wanted to stone her.  Christ intercepted this moment and quickly analyze the errors in this case against her, albeit she was guilty....he demonstrated grace, mercy and love.  Simply put.....the children & adults who appeared as FZE on early Monday morning acted as Christ would've to meet the religious rage filled poor excuse of a church, with love. See at the end of the day this all goes back to Loving God, and Loving People. The sooner we stop casting stones at people, and loving them....God will be glorified.    In 1John 4:18  it reads There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 

So instead of fearing let's start loving.   Whatever that fear is (racism, ageism, prejudices, political) God will mete out judgement in it's time, but we won't win ONE soul operating in fear of who or what they are, or claim to be.  Our goal in life should be solely to LOVE GOD, and LOVE people....not figure out how to change people that think or live differently than us.    Just think if mission work was all about going to Americanize the countries we went to?  Mission work is about spreading the Gospel.   We go....to spread the love of CHRIST in deed first, and in word second.   I challenge you to try to understand who it is that is opposed to your beliefs, or lives contrary to the will of God, and I promise you it will be time well invested in a life that needs to encounter the person of Christ in you!  That is, if He's really in you.  I don't recall Christ hurling one stone, but He did get the religious to drop theirs.  LGLP

Dance

A time to dance. ( Eccl. 3:4d)

David returned home to bless his family. Michal, Saul's daughter, came out to greet him: "How wonderfully the king has distinguished himself today—exposing himself to the eyes of the servants' maids like some burlesque street dancer!" David replied to Michal, "In God's presence I'll dance all I want! He chose me over your father and the rest of our family and made me prince over God's people, over Israel. Oh yes, I'll dance to God's glory—more recklessly even than this. And as far as I'm concerned...I'll gladly look like a fool...(2Sam. 6:20-22a)

So King David has been attempting to transport the Ark of the Lord while at the same time having been attacked, but victorious over his attackers (2Sam 5). Now he has had to deal with the death of one of his men (Uzzah) who touched the ark.  After a period of mourning (like yesterday's post) & and being angered he went before GOD with his emotions.   He then saw the error in his ways, had his men to now carry the Ark instead of it being in an ox cart, he offered sacrifices before the Lord because his anger was in his past and he saw GOD had immenseley blessed the home the Ark was in, and overtaken with the JOY of GOD's favor...danced! 

Every Sunday we, you, me....millions of others come to places of worship and hear songs that minister to, and reminds us of WHO GOD IS, and our relational position to His Greatness, but do we really listen?  I mean seriously.....think of a song from your past that when you hear it; you can't help tap your feet or feel invited to give your body to dancing to it.   For me...that's quite easily any Michael Jackson song almost, but what about songs that are sung on Sunday morning?  Are there any that you lose yourself in?  You know, you lift your hands up, you wave your arms like flags you allow the rythmn & words to move you into the isle again not caring whose watching but rather that you are dancing before your savior, your redeemer, your healer, your banner, your provider.  At C4 (Calvary Church Connections Campus) for a while we would present a praise dance before the Lord, and it's been two months since our last dance....but I get the feeling it won't be much longer because GOD has been too good for us to continue to just warm our seats then leave.   I'm sure.....no matter where you are in life, if you really stop and think about it....despite your attitude, or what you don't have....GOD has been good to you and your family and just that alone makes Him worthy of us singing & dancing for as indignant as David was!  So as a New Pastor...I'll gladly look like a fool to give my GOD all the Glory and I pray you're with me!  LGLP

Mourn

A time to mourn ( Eccl. 3:4c)

 ¹ The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me
   to proclaim good news to the poor.  He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
   to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners,^[a]
2 to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn, ³ and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.

Keeping it real, there was a point in my life in the not to distant past, where I would've told you....I had a serious inability to healthily mourn.   I actual ran & avoided it.  See as a teenager and going into young adulthood, there was a period in my life where we, my family & I became so familiar with death & dying that I'd sit in funerals totally numb.   I'd watch people cry over the body in a casket that while this person had once live, they never treated lovingly.    I sat in re passes and listen to "oh how I'd wish..." stories.    I heard eulogies that preached people into heaven, that lived hell on earth.  So when it came to me losing anything or anyone....I  made mourning a filthy a rest stop restroom, until I lost my first dog to death ( I was 22 years old.).  Then when I  had to leave a job (due to a promotion) and I wept having to leave the people I loved and invested over 8+hrs a day, and over 12+ years of my life with some of which despised me and my faith.

Yesterday was a bittersweet day, and I know THAT'S NOT what GOD wanted for me.   He wanted for me to embrace the blessing/calling  He's placed on my life to do exactly what is stated in Isaiah 61:1-3.  What has hindered me is this thing called mourning.  I find myself overwhelmed with KNOWING that the BODY of believers that I have been called to lead are brokenhearted.  Brokenhearted because the loss of not one, but two Pastors.   Brokenhearted because of this loss & that their friends; other members will be leaving, & some already have.   Because of my relationships with every last person in our body......my heart too is broken.  I too have mourned the loss of my beloved pastors, but I thank GOD they aren't dead, and I can still reach out to them.     I too mourn because some people have left, and there maybe more.     I too mourn because in this semi-Exodus I will then see who was committed to their pastors vs. those committed to His church.    I too mourn because I will see some struggle in their spirituality because they chose not to remain in the vine due to their anger, frustrations, and not GOD's leading.  I too mourn, because the WORD of God is true that we are often times led away by our own desires (emotions)......(2Pet. 3:16-18, Jude 1) and not by His Spirit.    So whereas I was once not acquainted with grief....because of Christ I am, now.    This too; this period of mourning, shall and will pass.........morning is coming soon, so for now please excuse me....I Am Anointed for this, and (my heart is) for these people & those GOD will be sending!  LGLP

Laugh

And a time to laugh; (3:4b)

¹ When the LORD brought back his exiles to Jerusalem, it was like a dream! ² We were filled with laughter, and we sang for joy.  And the other nations said, “What amazing things the LORD has done for them.” ³ Yes, the LORD has done amazing things for us! What joy!  (Psalms 126:1-3)

SO picture this you are sitting in a stadium of thousands of others and the speakers gets up and tells you that there hasn't been one ordinary person born under the sun.   That when God envisioned your stepping into the world He had an extraordinary plan for you.  These were the words of Erwin McManus shared with a dear friend of mine during a conference.  When we heard these words through the lenses of Acts 7:20 we immediately broke out in uncontrollable laughter, why?  Simply because we realized at that moment that GOD had released us to see our lives through His eyes.   The people of Jerusalem had been in exile....they too had been freed, and much like we were.....experienced GOD's grace and joy in such a way that they literally erupted into Joy-filled laughter.  Maybe for you it when you got proposed to, or during a Tim Hawkins show, or you got the gift you really really wanted, or something even better....whatever it was....you could no longer contain the emotions of such JOY...you too erupted into laughter.

If we are all really really serious and look back over our lives, and how the LORD has done amazing things for us......we couldn't help but laugh, and express our JOY in His grace and mercy over our lives.  I don't know what and how you are feeling today, but there is truly a time to laugh, and laughing is good & therapeutic for the soul.  My challenge for you today is to step outside of yourself long enough to be able to look around and laugh at yourself, and/or the simplicity of life and how GOD truly does have this extraordinary life planned for you that somehow you've become disillusioned by our Satanic culture to thinking you & your life was to be mundane, uneventful, and meaningless........NOT!  LGLP

Weep

A time to weep, (Eccl. 3:4a)

And as soon as the boy had gone, David rose from beside the stone heap and fell on his face to the ground and bowed three times. And they kissed one another and wept with one another, David weeping the most. 1Sam. 20:41

weep: 1. to express grief, sorrow, or any overpowering emotion by shedding tears; shed tears; cry: to weep for joy; to weep with rage.

So David was on the run, He had served Saul faithfully, and put his life on the line for Saul and his kingdom, and it's come to this; David running for his very life.   This the same David that had been chosen by GOD via Samuel to be the next king.  This the same David the slew Goliath.  The same David withstood a lion & a bear.  The same David that only sought to serve his father Jesse, who failed to see his potential, and overlooked him when Samuel came to his house seeking which of his sons were the next king of Israel.  On this particular morning David was hiding in a field and I am certain while on the run he had a lot of time to replay his life's events to try to figure out....." did I do something wrong?"   The truth is he hadn't.  He had faithfully honored his father and mother, he served them and the appointed King, so much so that the King had adopted him into his home.   He put his life on the line multiple times in battle for the King Saul, and for what......so the king would be intimidated by GOD's hand upon his life?  So much so that he now sought to kill him?

Have you ever been in a place where you've tried to do everything that GOD has asked you to do & beyond what people have asked and expected you to do, only to be discounted, discarded, and unappreciated by those you sacrificed your life for?  Maybe it's been at a job, or in a marriage, or college class or even a church....whatever it is....there comes a point when weeping is all you can do.   When all of the love & frustration collide and it brings you to your knees and tears....much like Jesus when he wept  (John 11:35) it was probably a culmination of Him taking on their grief, as well as weeping for their lack of belief in Him. 

Today's blogpost may seem like it's going somewhere or pointing you somewhere and it is....into the arms of the one weeps when you weep, and is the only one the knows the the depth and breadth of your joy & pain.  Weeping is not always about expressing deep grief, it as well can come out of deep unspeakable joy, no matter what....know that you aren't alone and that there is a GOD who's available to comfort you through the sending of His Spirit, the Holy Spirit to comfort you in and through all seasons of your life.  Look for opportunities to just BE with those who weep....no matter the reason for their tears.   LGLP

 

Build Up

And a time to build up; (Eccl. 3:3d)

¹¹ And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds^[a] and teachers,^{[b] 12} to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, ¹³ until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood,^[c] to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, ¹⁴ so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. ¹⁵ Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, ¹⁶ from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.  (Eph. 4:11-16)

Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.  (Eph. 4:29)

Picutred today is my beloved TEXAS STADIUM under construction a few years back that today because of blood, sweat, tears and love....stands as the best sports arenas on the planet.   Then one of my favorite coaches of all time....Bill Cowher.   If you want to talk about someone who passionately lived out his calling to build in, and building up the men GOD entrusted to him....this is the guy!  To this effect that he invested so much of his time, effort and energy (in love for the sport and each of them)  that it built up, encouraged his players and assitants to produced championships for their organization the Steelers.

There will be many opportunities for you today to speak to people, post on FB, tweet....you name it, I guarantee unless you are taking a sabatical of some sort you will communicate with the world today.   The question is WHAT will you communicate, and how will it affect those whom you are addressing?  Do you inspire people to be better people or do you tear them down?    Believe it or not.....GOD CARES about what you are talking, posting, tweeting about.  So much so that ever word that every word (Matt. 12:36) is being accounted for, and you'd be careful to measure your words before you communicate them.  When you really think about it......when we speak against people beit our pastor, our president, parents, our boss etc......we are speaking against GOD the creator of them we are referring to his creation as____________________ (you fill in the blank), and at the end of the day you've either spoke life or death into a situation.

I challenge you today to actually do EPH. 4:29 that you let NO CORRUPTING talk come out of your mouths, or your tweets, or posts, but only those things that are building up (not the republican/democratic/tea etc, or your ownselves, or your ideals) the BODY OF CHRIST and OTHERS in LOVE to promote the UNITY that we are called to be in.

I pray we stop the ascribing ourselves to foolishness and focus on loving GOD, and loving people, because all else is devised to divide us, which builds silos, not communities.  I pray you will be found today not wandering off.....but rather being about YOUR FATHER'S BUSINESS.  LGLP