I can picture David under the shade of some great big rock in the heat of the day, watching over his father’s sheep. Two days before, he had wrestled a lion that attacked those same sheep. They were now grazing sleepily and David was soon to join them. He searches the landscape once again, counting each ram and ewe. Forty winks should do and then he would lead them beside the still waters of the Jordan. Grazing sheep were so beautiful to watch, they all seemed so serene and content. David placed his hands behind his head and felt the comforting sigh of a restored soul. God had granted him victory over the lion and his sheep were safe. It was time to strengthen mind and body with a little “shut eye.” Musing in the heat of the day… “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures and leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul!”

He awakens and begins the trek toward the Jordan. The way he usually goes is busy with other shepherds and because he doesn’t want to cause a ruckus, he takes the path leading toward the lush valleys below Bethlehem. As he descends, he gently urges the flock to the lowest part of the valley. Ever on the lookout, he notices the wolves just off to the left on a ridge above them. They are snarling and showing teeth. David keeps a sharp eye on them as they make their move. David’s concern is for his sheep and so he huddles them down; pinned into the rocky walls. He is between the wolves and the sheep, with staff in hand. They cannot – they will not - get past him. He thinks again about his decision to go to the valley. He knows full well that he could have shepherded those sheep right along with the other shepherds. Yet, he also knew that it was easier on them if he allowed them to lead their sheep without David being in their way. The wolves attacked; first one, then two, but David fought them off. There were a few close calls; he felt the hot breath of his attackers and took a couple of scratches on the shoulders and legs. But they gave up, knowing David was just too good of a protector… “He leads me in paths of righteousness for His namesake. Yea, though I go through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear know evil. For Thou art with me, Thy rod and staff –they comfort me.”

Just then, after he ascends from the valley floor, his brother calls for him. “David, the prophet Samuel is at our father’s house and sends for you.” Between the snickers and snide remarks of his brothers, the Prophet Samuel anoints his head to be king over Israel. They feast at Jesse’s banquet that night and David is sitting at the head table with his father and Samuel. “Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.”

The day is now over and David is alone with the sheep. The moon shines on the flock and fences them in with a protective light. The stars seem so close and bright tonight. David thanks God for all His goodness and vows to Him that goodness and mercy will follow his name –for His Namesake. He wouldn’t do anything to dishonor that Name and he would fight with all his might to make that Name great throughout the land of his fathers. Suddenly a still small voice speaks amidst the night breeze: And thou shall dwell in My house forever and ever!

Two Canadian young men were playing Scrabble one evening in December and decided to invent their own game. Chris Haney and Scott Abbott invented the board game sensation, Trivia Pursuit, back in December of 1979. It was trademarked registered in 1981 and has since swept America by storm. The game consists of questions that players are asked and when answered correctly, they move their piece toward the goal, to win the game. This is the same premise of the many television game shows that have been entertaining us for years. Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune are just two that America is infatuated with.

Jeopardy first aired in March of 1964 and has filled our living rooms for forty-five years of trivia. What is trivia? According to Webster’s dictionary printed in 1963, trivia wasn’t even a word. Trivial was in there, but not trivia. Now, according to Funk & Wagnall’s dictionary printed in 1993, trivia is defined as: “insignificant or unimportant matters.” Trivial is defined as: of little value or importance. A typical trivia question would be something like this: What is the name of the games that were first held in ancient Greece, every four years, in honor of Zeus? That’s right –the Olympics! How about this one; what is the name of a small three-masted, Mediterranean aquatic vessel, formerly used by Algerian pirates? Who cares, right? Exactly. And that is why they call it trivia.

Do you remember being in school asking yourself why you had to learn certain things that you were sure would never enter your adult life? We thought that stuff was just as trivial, didn’t we? But have you ever wondered why we (American people) have had this love affair with trivia. Does it make me any smarter than the next guy if I know how many miles the red knot sandpiper travels in its migratory treks?

Now, I am not sure who brought the trivia frenzy into the Christian world but I am sure that their intentions were honorable. You know, it is one way to get Bible knowledge into us! It will make Bible learning fun! It will be something for the whole family to do together! Good quality time for parents and kids.

But, and I’m just making an observation here, are we sublimely associating Holy Scripture with insignificant, unimportant matter? Now, I’m not suggesting that we have a bon-fire and burn all our Bible Trivia games, but I am just trying to show us that what may have begun with good intentions may have become harmful in a very subtle way. Paul tells us that all Scripture is inspired by God. This tells me that anything written in Holy Writ is of great value and very important.

Bible Trivia is a misnomer and if you are saying, “Lighten up, Pastor, it’s just a game.” I’ll have to say, “Yes, you’re right, it’s just a game –it’s just a game.” Trivia has become so common place in our lives that we are turning into a very trivial culture where even important information is being processed in the same way trivia is. The way that we think about information that our brains receive is just as important as the information itself. In other words, retain the important stuff and disregard the trivia.

Just a thought: Do you think that we may have trouble meditating upon Scripture because our minds are already full of the trivial and we have so trained ourselves to think about trivia for a “minute” and then toss it out, that maybe, we do the same with Holy Scripture? Is it possible that we have been duped into thinking that there really is something called Bible “trivia”? Do I have trouble retaining Scripture because I treat its information in the same way I treat all other information? These are just a few questions that I have been troubled with here lately. My prayer is that this little observation may be just as troubling to you.

“Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.”

“Since no man knows the future, who can tell him what is to come? No man has the power over the wind to contain it, so no one has power over the day of his death. As no one is discharged in the time of war, so wickedness will not release those who practice it.”
Ecclesiastes 7:7&8

I just heard on the radio recently that this man is suing his psychic for a quarter of a million dollars and trying to get her evicted from the house he bought her. I wonder when he first started thinking that giving this woman money might be a foolish thing? In my opinion it would have been the very first dollar that he slapped down on the table. If you want to know your future go to the back of the Bible and it will explain all that you need to know. Fortune cookies and the daily horoscope are lies and the stars couldn’t care less on which day you were born. Solomon also tells us that it is impossible for any man to control the wind, he cannot contain it. I do not find this Scripture either surprising or hard to believe. James said that man couldn’t even control his own tongue. Have you ever heard the phrase, “he is full of hot air”? Man will never, never, be able to control the wind, do you know why? Because then that would negate what Jesus told Nicodemus about the Spirit being like the wind. And believe me, whoever you are; whether you are reading this in our congregation or from our web page, whether you are a Christian or a nonbeliever, Jesus’ words will never be negated. It would be easier for this earth to disappear than for Jesus’ words to not be fulfilled. O, and by the way; this earth, as we know it, is going to disappear by His Word. Death is that last enemy that is feared by all men. He fights to survive. He struggles to prolong the day. He is shaken to the core when he senses it is near. May I remind you again of something that Jesus said? He asked the Jews, “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?” Did you hear that? What is impossible for man to do is considered a very little thing by Jesus. Brethren, we serve a mighty God.
Finally, Solomon states that there is one more thing that is impossible. It is impossible for sin to just let you go. I remember God telling Cain that sin crouched at his door and its desire was to overtake him. Picture with me, if you will, a hideous monster that lies crouching at the door of your free-will. Just as soon as you choose a way different from the Way God would have you to go, sin pounces on you and digs its claws into your back and neck. It begins to drag you where you do not want to go and keeps you longer than you want to be kept. And worste of all, it can never ever let you go. You find yourself doing those things that you hate to do and not doing the things that you ought to do. The very nature of sin is to corrupt completely until its host is fully destroyed. Just like when rust gets on a piece of iron, the process goes on until the metal is obliterated. This is why Satan will be cast into the bottomless pit; sin will continue to corrupt him during Christ’ millennial reign. And this is why the lake of fire is somewhere you and I do not want to go. If it is impossible for sin to let loose of those who have sinned, then who can be saved?...
“Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: ‘Rulers and elders of the people… It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but who God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. He is the stone you builders rejected, which has become the capstone. Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved!’” Acts 4:8-12

Have a great week! Pastor Jim

While Jesus was debating with the Jews, they accused Him of being a Samaritan and demon-possessed. To this, Jesus replied, “I am not possessed by a demon, but I honor my Father and you dishonor me. I am not seeking glory for myself; but there is one who seeks it, and he is the judge. I tell you the truth, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.”

This statement just floored the Jews and they exclaimed that now they were sure that Jesus was demon-possessed; for who, in their right mind, would say such things? Unbelievable! Absurd! How can anyone believe anything this Man says? The debate got so hot that the Jews picked up stones to stone Jesus yet He slipped away in the crowd and hid Himself from them.

What was it that set them off? What was it that Jesus said that made them so upset? It was that Jesus told them that if they would keep His Word, they would never see death. Their anger may have started earlier when Jesus told them that they were slaves to sin and that their father was the devil himself. He told them that they did what they saw their father doing and that they were actually unable to receive what Jesus had to teach. They would more readily believe the lies of the devil than the Words of God. I wonder if anyone in the crowd that day uttered these words, “I can’t believe what this fellow is saying.”

People are going to believe what they want. People are going to believe what they understand. And, people are going to believe more readily, things they see rather than the unseen. Let’s illustrate. Suppose there was a nine year-old boy in front of you right now weighing no more than 110lbs. Then, I told you that this small child could pick up the front-end of a car by using the strength of his own two arms. You would say, “Unbelievable!” Now, if you thought it so absurd that you just walked away from the whole thing laughing, then, you would have missed this nine year- child accomplishing just what I said that he would do. For you see, I would have placed the child a few feet away from the car and brought in the hoist that would help the child accomplish the feat. The hoist was unseen at first and because you didn’t see it, your mind would not allow you to believe that the boy could pick up the car with only his arm strength. There are many people who have walked away from Jesus’ teachings because they just couldn’t believe the things that He told them. They can only believe those things that they can comprehend or understand to some extent. And because of this the voice from the field of science is being more readily believed than that of the Voice of God –and this is in His Church! Brethren, this ought not to be! Jesus has seen the invisible. He has seen the Father! He is from above and speaks as One from above. Men have been given the freedom to believe what they want. I’m going to believe Jesus!

Have a great week! Pastor Jim

I have always believed that if you bump a glass of milk –milk will spill out. The book of Romans tells us that the trials in our lives develop perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. Someone else succinctly said, “That when life “bumps” a person, what is in the person, comes out. As a minister of over twenty years I have witnessed these two truths time and again; some with great joy and others with disappointment. Please, do not misunderstand; the joy was for those who displayed godly character, knowing that God was using their trial for their good. Likewise, the disappointment was for those who had missed their opportunity to grow in their Christian faith (obedience to God’s Word always causes growth).

These truths have been witnessed by me again this last week through an incident in Debbie Frye’s life and, with her permission, I want to relate to you the application of these truths in our sister. Debbie had been teaching the children on Wednesday for a little over a year now. She had also gone through a severe trial in her life that she still has to deal with from time to time. I had been watching her for the last month or two and came to the decision that she needed a break from the responsibility of teaching the children.

So, last Sunday after service, I informed her that I was going to relieve her from teaching for the time being. She was not given the opportunity to decide for herself whether she thought she could continue teaching or take a rest –I decided that for her. Right here, folks, is where the test comes. Right here is the crossroads of decision; am I going to act according to my human nature or am I going to allow God’s Word to direct my life? I realized that my decision would affect Debbie’s pride and ego; I had “bumped” Debbie.

Now, came the test for our Sister. Would she get mad and leave the Church, complaining that I had no right to do that to her? Or, would she see the bigger picture, that life didn’t revolve around her. Well, that next Wednesday evening came and Debbie let me know of her displeasure! She was mad and stewed most of the evening. I told her that I loved her and that I hoped that she wasn’t so mad that she wouldn’t talk to me. She remained silent! I have seen Christian much growth in our sister since she came to Word Worship Center. I know that she knows that I do love her with all the love that God is able to show through me. (I know that that isn’t very much at times. Please forgive me.)

So I called Debbie and left a message on her phone. She called the next day and we talked. She began angry and hurt and said that I was “taking” her children from her. I said that I was not “taking” her children, but that my intention was to give her a rest. My hopes were that she would come back stronger and be a better teacher through these circumstances. I told her that she was going to have to trust me in this decision. Another crossroads of decision for Debbie.

Debbie trusted and our conversation ensued with Christ’s love evident in both of our lives. I am blessed to tell you that our sister has shown godly character and she persevered through the struggle of her “old man” demanding its own way. Debbie was “bumped” and Christ’s character ultimately came out. Therefore, Debbie can see, (and my prayer is that all of us can) that Jesus Christ dwells in her, the hope of glory!

I might add this as well: In Debbie’s anger, she thought that she was done teaching – period. In reality, she was only getting a break from teaching. If she would have remained in her anger, her life would have gone down a different path, and she would have missed the opportunity to bless God down the road. But, because she desired for Christ’s glory and God’s will over her own, she will be given the blessing to teach again down the road. Brethren, may the Spirit if Christ dwell richly in your hearts, so that you may be truly blessed in this wicked and perverse generation.

Have a great week! Pastor Jim