Football Weekend

OK, I’ll admit it. I am very excited. Nothing energizes and excites me like football season. I was definitely not disappointed this weekend! I watched Strom Thurmond defeat Batesburg-Leesville in a dramatic way, I was thrilled to see Appalachian State upset Michigan (with the help of one of Edgefield’s own, number 16, CoCo Hillary), I appreciated South Carolina’s stunning win over Louisiana Lafayette, and was on the edge of my seat for the entire Clemson vs. Florida State game.

Basically, all my teams won this weekend. That doesn’t happen often. Therefore, I just know this will be a great week!

I guess I’ll join the rest of the world and give a nod to the Appalachian State Mountaineers. Who in the world would have thought that Michigan, who was ranked number 5 in the nation, could fall to Appalachian State? I don’t think anyone questioned the validity of the football program at Appalachian State. They are a great football team. However, when it comes to match-ups like this one, the larger schools have more players that usually can out last and wear out even great smaller school teams.

There were Saturdays in recent years when I was afraid Furman might walk out of Death Valley (In SC, not Louisiana) with a win. The Tigers just wore down the smaller school by the third quarter and pulled out the win.

“What does any of this have to do with anything?” you may ask. I say it has a great deal to do with our world and how we view things. We tend to think all of the power, prestige, and influence goes to the strong, wealthy and persuasive. We tend to think that there is no hope for the “little people” anymore.

How many businesses just give up because Wal-Mart comes into town? How many battles are lost because the enemy looks too large or powerful? How many situations in our lives are not resolved because we think we are not skilled enough to handle them?

Because of this we cheer wildly when the “underdog” wins because we would like to overcome the greater enemy ourselves. We have hope that we can rise to greatness in our own situation. If Appalachian State can beat Michigan, then we see many things as possibilities that we may have thought to be impossible before.

Jesus said many times that the last shall be first and the first shall become last. (Matthew 19:30, 20:16; Mark 9:35, 10:31; Luke 13:30) God also doesn’t like the proud. In the Bible, those who think too highly of themselves usually do not fare very well in the long run.

Consider what we call “The Beatitudes” in Matthew chapter 5. Jesus says that the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, and those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake are the blessed ones. Isn’t it interesting also, that Jesus reserves His most biting words for those who were in the most powerful positions of those days?

Imagine this. On one side of this contest is an empire that covers almost the entire known world. There is an advanced form of government, an elevated, intelligent society, and a military that was unstoppable. Within this larger body is a religious group that has aligned itself with the government to maximize its influence and power. This group not only has the power to dictate morality and political allegiance to those who follow it, but also is given the authority by the larger government to carry out justice as deemed necessary to its people.

On the opposing side of this conflict is a thirty-something year-old carpenter’s son, and a ragtag group of twelve men. One of whom is a traitor, and the rest are undependable at best. In fact, when the real contest begins, they all run away to hide, leaving only this one, solitary man against the mighty Roman Empire and the Jewish Sanhedrin.

Some would say He lost the contest, because they killed Him. However, just as the last seconds were ticking off the clock for the end of the game, the ground rumbles, the stone was rolled away, and our Savior burst forth from the tomb in a glorious way.

What in your life seems too big to handle? Can you truly say that it is greater than the monumental test that Jesus faced? If God fought for Him to save you, do you not think He will stand with you as well?

He will. I’ve read the end of the book.

And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more
death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former
things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:4)

Fears

One of the things a pastor does is visit the hospitals to see and pray for those who are ill. Most of the time, these visits are quite uneventful. They consist of talking with the patient and family and having a prayer with them before leaving. In fact, the actual visit is always the highlight of the trip. The travel to the hospital and actually finding the patient is the adventurous part.

I have visited patients in more than one hospital where the information desk had no record of the person’s name. In these cases, I have learned to inquire about the patient at the nurse’s station where they are most likely to be. You can usually find out more from the nurse’s station than the information desk. At least here in Edgefield, we only have one floor and since everyone in Edgefield either knows everyone or more than likely is related in some way, most of the people that work in the hospital can help.

One visit that I will never forget happened after I had been in Edgefield for about two weeks. Derry Billingsley, our minister of music at the time, graciously volunteered to go with me to visit someone who was in CCU at the VA Hospital in Augusta. Since I had no idea where that was, I accepted.

As we entered the building, Derry told me that he knew where CCU was so we didn’t need to visit the information desk. We took an elevator up a few floors and got off. We stepped from the elevator and the door closed behind us. As we walked into the hospital corridor, something didn’t feel right.

Only about half the lights were on, most of the rooms were dark, and there were no people around. We approached the nurse’s station where there were a few papers and some pens, but again, no people. At this point, I began to get a little uneasy. A busy hospital corridor is one thing, but an empty, dimly lit one is a bit creepy for me.

Derry suggested that the CCU might be through the electric double doors nearby, so we went to try them. I pushed the button and the doors opened to an even darker area. Derry stepped in, but I did not. The door began to close behind him, and he had to rush to get out. He and I both had enough and began walking briskly toward the exit. We were met by an employee who then informed us of the relocation of the CCU.

Our fears were unfounded, but seemed real at the time. I still believe there was probably a security camera person rolling on the floor laughing at us. We both felt silly for getting a little nervous in that darkened corridor. I just couldn’t help remembering the hospital scene in one of the old Halloween horror movies.

Isn’t that the way fear is though? Most of the time, our fears are unfounded. We are afraid of things that go bump in the night only to find them to be nothing in the light of day.

There were about 10 recent reports of a hairy creature frightening people at a campsite in Winnipeg, Canada. One witness informed the Mounties of this creature that was pounding on their camper. The Mounties investigated, and discovered an 18 year-old man wearing a gorilla mask playing practical jokes on the campers. Now a hairy creature pounding on your camper at night is indeed disturbing, however, once the discovery of the man in the mask is made, it seems silly.

Satan’s number one tool against us is fear. As many of you have heard me say from the pulpit, F.E.A.R. stands for False Education Appearing Real. 2 Timothy 1:7 says

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

God doesn’t want us to go around fearing all that we don’t know or understand. He wants us to boldly go out in His name and love the lost enough to overcome our fears and share God’s love with them knowing He will protect us when we are in His will.

The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion.
(Proverbs 28:1)

He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.” Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler And from the perilous pestilence. He shall cover you with His feathers, And under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler. You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, Nor of the arrow that flies by day, Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday. A thousand may fall at your side, And ten thousand at your right hand; But it shall not come near you.
(Psalm 91:1-7)

Skydiving

I saw an article this week on EdgefieldDaily.com that intrigued me. There is a French skydiver who is going to attempt breaking several records in a jump he will make next month. He will float into the atmosphere in a weather balloon, and jump out head first at about 131,000 feet. Since he will be falling from such an altitude he will also reach a speed of nearly 1000 mph. This will break the sound barrier at 760 mph. He believes he will reach the sound barrier within 37 seconds, and the entire jump will take only about 8.5 minutes.

His equipment is equally as fascinating. His suit is designed to heat up as it meets resistance, so the minus 212º f temperature won’t bother him. His helmet is also designed with hearing protection since he will experience a sonic boom when he hits the sound barrier.

This jump will set several world records. If he is successful, he will have the record for the longest sky dive, the highest parachute jump and the highest altitude achieved by a human in a balloon. Even with all the obvious dangers, the 63-year-old Michel Fournier says he is “looking forward to it”.

All this reminds me of a newspaper article in my office that I have kept for many years. I’m not sure why I kept it. Perhaps it is the horror of the story; maybe I’m still trying to figure out what exactly happened. For whatever reason, the story got my attention and has kept it for about 12 years now.

The headline of the article reads, “Skydiving Plane Crashes, 12 Killed”. There were twelve people on board the plane including the pilot and co-pilot. This means that the other 10 people were in the plane for one reason; they planned to jump out of it and parachute to earth.

A quote from the article further adds to the mystery; “There were parachutes on board, but there was no evidence that anyone tried to leave the plane.” First of all, I would not be on a plane for the purpose of flying very high into the air and jumping out “just for fun”. Secondly, if I were going to do such, I certainly would think something like the plane going down would prompt me to get my parachute and give it a try. These people obviously didn’t even try to get out.

Too many times we are trapped in a crashing plane in our lives, holding on to the very thing that could save us. However, what is outside is very scary, and although the inside might destroy us, at least we are familiar with it. What makes us stay in our comfort zone when Jesus is standing out in the storm of this world with the waves pounding, the lightning flashing, the thunder roaring, the wind howling, saying “come”?

For some reason, we think the people who need to hear about Christ are going to just wake up one Sunday morning and decide to find a church to attend. While I know first-hand that this does happen, it doesn’t happen often. Those who are lost need to hear the gospel. “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:17). If they do not come through our doors, then how will they hear? They will only hear the word out of our mouths and see it in our lives.

The problem is that while God does bless us with his presence on Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights, He is much more active “out there”. “Out there” is where those people live who are not like us. He is with them where there is hurt, disease, poverty, injustice, war, famine, abuse, drugs, and scandal. Jesus stands in the midst of this storm and calls out to us to “come”.

Will you meet Him there, in that uncomfortable scary world, or will you remain in your little plane that is crashing with your parachutes strapped on, never to attempt an exit that will save your life and many others?

And Peter answered Him and said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You
on the water.” So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat,
he walked on the water to go to Jesus.
(Matthew 14:28-29)

Fishing

As many of you know, my family just got back from a great beach vacation. It was nice to get away and just spend time with my wife and kids for a week. The kids were great fun and watching them play on the beach and at the pool at their ages was a real treat.

We did many of the same things we always do at the beach. We swam, built sand castles, ate out, and wandered around at Broadway at the Beach. However, I did get to do one thing that I will never forget.

My 5 year old wanted to go fishing. Now, I don’t mean he wanted to go down to the shore and throw a line in, he wanted to go out into the ocean. I finally found a reasonably priced excursion and on Thursday morning we headed out before the roosters got up, for a half-day fishing trip.

We went out on a boat with about 20 other people to fish for snapper, sea bass, flounder and others. The captain took us about 15 miles out to sea. Needless to say, my son was very excited. After about an hour ride out into the ocean, we finally put out lines in the water to fish.

I baited the hooks countless times, and we only brought in very small fish. Others on the boat were bringing in good size sea bass and the like. I could tell my son was beginning to get frustrated, so I suggested we take a short break. We ate some crackers and just looked out over the ocean for a few minutes and enjoyed the father/son time.

I recommended that we throw the lines out again and he reluctantly agreed. After about three times with no bites, he wanted to give up. I convinced him to keep trying, because this is why we had come. He continued trying.

Some time passed, and we were about 30 minutes from heading back in when I saw his line take off. He began to reel the line in, but the fish was fighting. I helped him bring the fish in and by this time we had the attention of the entire boat. What we pulled in was about a 2.5 foot long shark.

My son could hardly contain himself as we pulled the shark in the boat and the captain told him it was a keeper. There just happened to be a contest for the heaviest fish and my son won with his shark. He won a trophy and some money, which he later spent at the Bass Pro Shop on the way home.

After Jesus’ resurrection, He spent some time with the disciples. On one of these days, Peter decided to go fishing. Some of the others who were fishermen decided to go also. They were not having much luck, when Jesus called to them, asking if they were catching anything. They just simply said “No”.

Jesus then told a bunch of fishermen, who knew the lake well that they were fishing in, to fish on the other side of the boat. When they did, they couldn’t bring in the fish because of the weight.

How many times do we give up too quickly because things that we can see with our eyes don’t seem to be working? How many blessings of God do we miss because we are fishing on the “wrong side of the boat”? What is the work we need to be doing in our churches and community that we simply do not do because we have tried to accomplish it every way WE know how, to no avail? Who does God want us to share the gospel with, but we offer up excuse after excuse, because we feel inadequate?

God wants your nets to be full, and your work for Him to be fruitful. But, we need to be listening to His voice in order to receive our instructions on how to reap His harvest. The 5,000+ people would not have been fed that day if they had only tried to use the visible resources available. Don’t make the mistake of putting God in a box and limiting Him in His work by the standards of this world. Give your all to God and watch what He can do with it.

He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitudes. So they all ate and were filled, and they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments that remained. (Matthew 14:19-20)

God's Protection

I do not know if the following story is true or not. I do know, however, that Jesus taught many of His best lessons through parables that were understood to be fabricated stories that illustrated His point or taught a lesson. Never underestimate God. Remember that a football in my hand is worth about $10. In Peyton Manning’s hand it’s worth millions. My life with me in control is worth some, but in God’s hands the impossible is not only possible, it’s probable. With that understood, please take this story as the parable it is intended to be.

During World War II, a US Marine was separated from his unit on a Pacific Island. The fighting had been intense, and in the smoke and the crossfire he had lost touch with his comrades.
Alone in the jungle, he could hear enemy soldiers coming in his direction. Scrambling for cover, he found his way up a high ridge to several small caves in the rock. Quickly he crawled inside one of the caves. Although safe for the moment, he realized that once the enemy soldiers looking for him swept up the ridge, they would quickly search all the caves and he would be killed.
As he waited, he prayed, "Lord, if it be Your will, please protect me. Whatever Your will though, I love You and trust You. Amen."

After praying, he lay quietly listening to the enemy begin to draw close. He thought, "Well, I guess the Lord isn't going to help me out of this one." Then he saw a spider begin to build a web over the front of his cave.

As he watched, listening to the enemy searching for him all the while, the spider layered strand after strand of web across the opening of the cave.

"Hah, he thought. What I need is a brick wall and what the Lord has sent me is a spider web. God does have a sense of humor."

As the enemy drew closer he watched from the darkness of his hideout and could see them searching one cave after another. As they came to his, he got ready to make his last stand. To his amazement, however, after glancing in the direction of his cave, they moved on. Suddenly, he realized that with the spider web over the entrance, his cave looked as if no one had entered for quite a while.

"Lord, forgive me," prayed the young man. "I had forgotten that in You a spider's web is stronger than a brick wall."

We all face times of great trouble. When we do, it is so easy to forget how God can work in our lives, sometimes in the most surprising ways. And remember with God, a mere spider's web becomes a brick wall of protection.

Hear my cry, O God;

Attend to my prayer.

From the end of the earth I will cry to You,

When my heart is overwhelmed;

Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.

For You have been a shelter for me,

A strong tower from the enemy.

I will abide in Your tabernacle forever;

I will trust in the shelter of Your wings. Selah

For You, O God, have heard my vows;

You have given me the heritage of those who fear Your name.

You will prolong the king’s life,

His years as many generations. He shall abide before God forever.

Oh, prepare mercy and truth, which may preserve him!

So I will sing praise to Your name

That I may daily perform my vows.

Psalm 61 NKJV

An Eye for an Eye

But if any harm follows, then you shall give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe. (Exodus 21:23-24 NKJV)

Have you ever wanted revenge for some wrong done to you or to a loved one? Maybe it doesn’t even have to be someone close to you. I can get very angry with people I don’t even know, or will ever meet, just watching the news.

For example, there was a story in the news this week about a couple who almost let their children starve to death because they were playing “Dungeons and Dragons” online. Stories like that are why I choose to not watch the news most of the time. My heart can’t take that kind of beating.

The Old Testament, as we see above, teaches that revenge is justifiable, as long as it is equal to the offence. An eye for an eye is a very common saying in our world today, even though Jesus made it very clear that He was the catalyst for changing that teaching.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away. “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect. (Matthew 5:38-48 NKJV)

Perhaps we could all learn a lesson from the folks who were having a dinner party in Washington back in June. It started about midnight on June 16 when a group of friends was finishing a dinner of marinated steaks and jumbo shrimp on the back patio of a District of Columbia home. That's when a hooded man slid through an open gate and pointed a handgun at the head of a 14-year-old girl. He demanded money from all of them and indicated that he would start shooting if they did not comply. One of the guests spoke up and said "We were just finishing dinner, why don't you have a glass of wine with us?"

The man then released the girl, took a glass of wine, commented on how good it was and asked for some cheese. He was given some cheese, a crystal glass, the remaining bottle of wine. As he was leaving, he apologized for the intrusion, told them that he must have held up the wrong house, and asked for a hug. He then got a group hug from all five guests and he left.

Jesus told us to love our enemies. He taught us that the only way the world knows how different we are as followers of Christ, is how we treat others. Even the worst people love those who love them. We must love those who have wronged us, hurt us, taken advantage of us, and even betrayed us.

Not only does Jesus say to love them, but He also says for us to go out of our way to be kind to them. Just giving lip service to the issue and saying that you forgive and love them isn’t enough. We must put that love into action and be kind to them.

The people at the dinner party did not claim to be Christians, but they took a chance on this principle and it worked. Why not give God a chance in your life to show you His power? If you really truly turn your life over to Him, He can do more with it than you could in ten lifetimes.

Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. Therefore“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:19-21 NKJV)

The Weatherman

In case you haven’t noticed in the last couple of weeks, it’s pretty hot outside. I don’t mean just a little warmer than usual. I mean it’s HOT! In fact it’s so hot outside that I saw something this weekend that I have never seen before. I actually saw a cat lying in the grass panting like a dog. I had no idea that cats panted, but there she was with her tongue hanging out just like my Golden Retriever.

I follow the weather pretty well. I am fascinated by weather forecasters and all of the technology that goes into predicting the weather. I can sit and watch The Weather Channel for hours if my wife would let me.

I am still confused about the whole “percentage” thing in weather prediction though. How does a meteorologist decide on what the percentage of rain is each day? The summer is easy for them. The typical summer forecast goes something like, “Highs today in the mid 90s with a 30% chance of scattered (or isolated) thundershowers in the afternoon”. (What exactly is the difference between scattered and isolated anyway?)

I am of a different mindset. Because I am not a gambling man, and because I never understood the laws of probability, I really think they have it all wrong. I maintain that on any given day the chance of rain, snow, sleet, hurricane or any other weather event, for that matter, is 50/50. It will either rain or it won’t. There you have it, the Stacy Williams fail-proof weather predictor. It will work for you in any season, any time. The next time someone asks you what the weather is going to be, just say “Well, it is either going to rain or it isn’t.”

Predicting weather is nothing new. It is even found in the Bible. Jesus talks about the sings that we read in the skies to predict weather.
Then He also said to the multitudes, “Whenever you see a cloud rising out of the west, immediately you say, ‘A shower is coming’; and so it is. And when you see the south wind blow, you say, ‘There will be hot weather’; and there is. (Luke 12:54-55)
He answered and said to them, “When it is evening you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red’; and in the morning, ‘It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ (Matthew 16:2-3a)

Jesus, however, wasn’t giving the people a lesson in weather prediction. He was instructing them on reading the signs of the times. In the Luke passage above, He was speaking to the multitudes who came to hear Him preach. They were so anxious to hear Him that they were trampling over each other. Jesus knew though that not all of them were there for pure reasons. Many were there out of curiosity or to see if He was for real. In the rest of the passage He calls them hypocrites because they are able to read the signs of the weather, but cannot see the sings of who He really is.

It is interesting to note that the two times Jesus refers to the weather He uses two different examples of reading the signs of the skies, but He also refers to His audience in both passages as hypocrites. In the Luke passage He is speaking to the crowds. In the Matthew passage He is speaking to the Pharisees and Sadducees.

We like to read the Bible and pretend that we are better than the Pharisees and Sadducees, but we are not. When we encounter Jesus, preaching the coming of the end of time, do we really believe it? If we really truly believed that the signs we see all around us were pointing to Christ’s return wouldn’t we want to be doing something about it? Wouldn’t we be in a rush like the week before Christmas to make sure all of our friends and family know the one who dies for us? My prayer is that you will experience Christ in such an unmistakable way that you cannot help but tell others about Him.

“Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.“And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!’ Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise answered, saying, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’ And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut. “Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.
(Matthew 25:1-13 NKJV)