Let me start by apologizing for not writing more sooner.  I have been scolded several times so, I am sorry.  Been extremely busy plus been having a problem keeping a thought with me long enough to finish it.  Guess the mind starts to wander when we you get older…I will try to keep it to a single point and see if I can make this make sense.

This past week was so neat.  I got to do something that I have dreamed of doing ever since I was a little kid.  My Dad, Uncle, cousin, and I went deep sea fishing.  It was everything I could have imagined and more.  We caught our limit and then some.  Had a blast.  But the other thing that happened, well, let me share it with you.

As most of you know, I love storms.  I love to see the lightning, hear the crack of thunder, and feel the wind blow through me.  To me, it is something peaceful about a storm.  The feel, the smell, the beauty.  It wraps it all up into one.  My next dream that I want to fulfill is to go on a storm chase.  Don’t see that happening anytime soon, since Deanna won’t let me go, something about insurance and 3 young kids…don’t know what that is all about.  Anyway, we spent the last week in Texas and I got to see 2 beautiful storms.  One happened on Wednesday night, the other on Friday night.  Learned once again that Deanna and I need to work on our communication.  She tells me Wednesday to get loaded up, meaning, hey have you checked out the storm outside, I take it to mean…well, load up the kids and baggage and get in the car.  Once outside, I see the clouds darkening, a little green hue, and then surprise…some rotation!  Oh, my, will I get to chase a tornado here in my hometown?  I got excited, until I saw my kids…well, actually, until I saw Katie.  As much as I love storms, she hates them.  She hates everything about them.  We load up Granny and Papa’s van and drive up to my sister’s house, and about the time we get there, the bottom falls out of it.  Rain, hail, wind, you name it, it was happening.  Since Granny and Papa don’t want their van damaged (I can understand), we drive back to their house and wait out the storm in the van under the awning.  Probably not the smartest thing we did last week.  I get out to get some of the hail and it is still blowing.  I get back in the van and Katie is glued to Mommy’s leg.  By the time we go back to my sister’s house, it has calmed down.  We eat supper and then have a bible study and go home to bed.  Then Friday came.  It was a big night, we were celebrating all 3 of our kids, and one of the cousin’s birthdays.  Had cake, Papa grilled hamburgers and hotdogs, and oh, it would be so much fun.  Then I see it.  There is a storm brewing to the west of us.  And it looks like it will be a good one.  Then it happens again.  Green hue, and lots of rotation.  But this time, not right above us, but to the west and hey, this one might touch down.  I spend the next hour or so just watching in fascination as this storm builds and the rotation increases and the power and majesty of this storm just intensifies.  By this time, there is a news helicopter flying out to check out the storm, and see us idiots standing in an open field watching (did I ever mention I am not the brightest bulb in the package?).  And it is coming towards us fast.  Not on the ground, but still, coming towards us.  Reports coming in everywhere, a couple of touchdowns reported to the North and west of us.  Power lines down, air sirens blowing and then I notice it.  Katie is scared to death.  She is almost in tears because this storm is big and is coming for us.  Now, I don’t know why she is scared of storms, have never been able to figure it out.  But I know they scare her.  I run (ok, that is a big stretch, I don’t run) to the house from the covered patio and I pull her aside and ask her if she is ok.  Big tears fill her eyes and she just looks at me.  I am getting the feeling of what she will be like when she hits the teenage years.  I put my arms around her and hold her for a moment.  Then I ask the very important question:  Who is in control?  Katie, we don’t need to worry because we know who is in control.  God is in control and if this is what He wants, why should we question it?  If He wants this storm to rage through town, why should we bother wondering why?  God is in control and has always been and will always be. 

But then that question slapped me in the face throughout the night and on the trip home on Sunday.  Who is in control?  Don’t you hate it when your pat question or answer comes back to haunt you?  Why am I so worried about my life when I know who is in control?  Why do I let the political world get me riled up, when I know who is in control?  Why do I wonder what will happen tomorrow, when I know who is in control?  Or, is it that I only allow Him control with the major things?  I find myself in that boat right now.  God, I will let you control the big things in my life but I want to control the little day to day issues.  You take care of my heart rate, my breathing, I will take care of the job, the family, and the cars.  You take care of the big stuff, let me handle the little things.  And while I mulled this over on an extremely long 14 hour drive home, I kept going back to the same scripture.  If you haven’t read Job in awhile, I urge you to go back and re-read it.  Not only is it a neat read, but there are so many lessons from it that you could write a book on the lessons (I am sure there are many out there already!).  Job has it all.  He has the family, the money, the sheep, cattle, and goats.  He has the servants and the land.  If you wanted to see someone who had it made, it was Job.  Then, God makes a bet with Satan.  Test Job and he won’t leave Me.  Satan, in one afternoon, takes away all that Job owns---family, livestock, land, you name it, and it’s gone.  But even after Job gets the news that it is gone, Job says, Naked I came into this world, and naked I will leave it.  Blessed be the name of God.  Now, I don’t know about you, but my first thought if I lost all of that isn’t Blessed be the name of God.  But, I digress.  This isn’t enough for Satan, he asks for and tests Job again, this time, he is able to afflict Job and not just that stuff around him.  So, not only has Job lost his possessions and his family, he now loses his health.  And then his wife turns on him---why don’t you just curse God and die!  My, so much support.  Glad my wife wouldn’t do that.  And for the next few chapters we read of the ordeal that Job has to go through, losing everything, plus his friends come by just in case he wasn’t alone enough and start heaping coals on him.  My, Job, you must have done something really bad to cause all of this to happen to you.  God must be extremely angry with you over a sin you forgot to sacrifice for.  And on and on it goes.  Then my favorite part of the book.  Starting in chapter 38 and going through chapter 41, God explains how things really are.  Job, you think you are in control of life?  Why, tell me, when do the mountain goats give birth?  Or how about the foundation of this world?  Tell me the measurements since you are in control.  When was the last time you were in the storehouses of the snow and hail?  Are they full?  Did you stop up the water from washing away the land, or what?  Did you decide to give the horse its strength or make the hawk fly.  And like anyone else, Job does what we try to do…humbly bow out.  But oh, no.  God does not want any question to remain about who is in control.  He won’t allow Job to just walk away.  He goes on about His glory, and His might, and, and, and…I get the point, God.  I may have trouble accepting it at times, but I understand.

You are in control.  Period.  End of discussion.  What is it to you if my plans are not Yours?  Well, You love me and want the best for me, yet sometimes that doesn’t include what I want.  But, here is the kicker.  God is in control in ALL things.  Not just the big things, but in ever minute detail.  We may not want that to be the case, but it is.  We want to control some of it ourselves, but He controls the outcome.  See, right now, I am struggling with this.  I am struggling because my future is so messed up and I don’t know what is going to happen.  I have lost control of those things I am used to having some sort of control over.  Have no idea if I will have a job tomorrow.  Have no idea if, if I do lose my job, we can keep the house or cars.  I have no idea what God wants from me or my life at times.  And I am losing my mind thinking that I have no control over even one part of my life.  I feel helpless at times.  Good.  That is what God wants, I think.  He wants us to understand it isn’t by our power, or our courage, or anything that we do that our lives operate.  It is at His.  And you know what?  I think I would be better off if I understood that and lived by it.  See, it is very easy for me to say to Katie, you know I know you are scared, but God is in control.  It is very difficult to say to myself…Marks, I know you are scared, but God is in control, and then live like it.  But that is what I need to do and I need to start that now.  God is in control, whatever happens.  He will provide what I need.  He will allow me to be tested when I need it, and encouraged when I am down.  He will provide for my physical needs as well.  If I lose my job, He will provide another one.  If I lose my house, or my cars, I will get them back.  Look what happened to Job.  Once this test was over, he got back double what he had.  Now, I don’t want you to get the idea of you will get double but just showing that God rewards those who trust Him.  Job did.  I need to.  What about you?

Yesterday I saw something that really got me to thinking.  While I don’t agree with it, it still made me think a bit.  I was getting off the interstate and got behind this car that had bumper stickers.  I love getting close enough to read them because there are several out there that are funny.  But this one was a little more pointed.  It said, “Got Hope?”  and then under it, President Obama’s name.   So I started questioning myself…do I have hope?  Like, do I have hope that next year will be the year of the Cowboys?  After the pitiful season they put out this year, do I have hope that they will do better next year?  Do I think that Tony Romo, TO, Felix Jones, Marian Barber, Jason Witten, et al will be better than what I watched this year?  Will D-Ware and the D start playing like they should and become a force that stops everyone?  Boy, I HOPE so.  Do I hope the Titans do better next year, at least in the playoffs than they did this year?  Do I hope Jeff Fisher can get them fired up again without distractions?  Boy, I Hope so.  Do I hope Pat Summit wins #1000?  Do I hope Vandy can once again go to a bowl next year?  Do I hope UT can actually start winning again?  Boy, I really hope so!

Then I started to get a little more serious.  Do I hope Katie, Beth, and Joshua continue to grow be healthy?  Do I hope for their education to continue and they shine like a beacon to all those around them?  Do I hope that they understand the importance of God and His gifts to them?  I really HOPE so.  Do I hope that my relationship with Deanna continues (duh!)?  Not only continues but grows us closer together each day?  Do I hope that the relationship we share keeps us going when all around us, people are drowning in guilt, or self-centered activities?  I really HOPE so, as well.  Do I hope that as a family, we can encourage each other, lift each other up, be an example to each other?  I HOPE so. 

We use that term so much but do we really understand it?  We HOPE for everything.  Health, wealth, surprises, oh, the list could go on and on.  And yet we hope.  Why?  What gives us this hope?  As the bumper sticker was showing, should we put our hope in a politician?  Oh, goodness, I would HOPE not.  Should we put our hope in a government?  While the different types of government can help us with the rest of the facets of our lives, I would Hope not because the government is only as perfect as the people running it…please don’t get me started on that one right now!  Should I put my hope in movie stars or the media or music?  To be frank, they aren’t much smarter than me, so I have a little bit higher standard, thank you very much.  Should I put my hope in Deanna?  Or Katie?  Or Beth?  Or Joshua?  Should I have them put their hope in me?  Lord, I hope not, because I will fail them more times than I will lift them up!  Where should our hope go? 

There is a passage in the bible that a lot of times goes unseen, yet it has had a profound impact on me.  In Luke 24, we see 2 disciples walking along talking to each other.  They have just witness the end to their world.  They had followed Jesus for the past 3 years and now he was gone.  Or was he?  Don’t miss this, please, pause and re-read this passage.  As they are walking along and they have a “stranger” join them asking what they were talking about and they stop and stare of this “stranger” wondering how he could have missed the crucifixion and all that has gone on, and they relate the story.  Don’t skim over verse 21: “but we had HOPED that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel.”  They had hoped….as we do.  We had hoped the Cowboys and Titans would have met in the Superbowl (no, wouldn’t that be interesting….who would I root for?????).  We had hoped school would be closed today.  We had hoped the doctor’s news would have been better.  We had hoped our marriage could last.  Do you see what that says?  They are downcast because they have lost hope.  But the thing is, they had put their hope in the wrong thing.  Now, hear me out before you throw the stones at me for heresy.  They were hoping in the human elements of Jesus, not his spiritual ones.  They were hoping to throw off the chains of Roman oppression and take up rule again.  They were hoping to pay back the years of slavery because Jesus would set up a kingdom.  And it didn’t happened like they had hoped. 

Does that happen to us?  I know it does for me.  I have lots of hopes, and when they don’t happen like I think they should, I lose hope.  I hope that God will see fit that I need to win the lottery without having to play, and I get disappointed when my hope doesn’t come true.  I hoped to play football for the Cowboys, yet, never once have I received a call from them to come for a tryout.  My hopes are crushed.  Why?  Because I put my hopes in the wrong thing.  I put them in me.  Or a system.  Or a person.  Or whatever they were in, but no in God.  When these 2 disciples put their hope in the earthly form of Jesus, while that was good in itself, their hopes for what he would do were for them.  Not for the glory of God.  Not for the redemption of all people.  But what they were hoping to get for themselves and their nation.

So I come back to the million dollar question:  What should our hope be on?  Fast forward a bit from the 2 disciples.  We see another disciple standing before a king, explaining why he is on trial.  Paul, who once tried to get rid of all those who proclaimed Jesus’ name, in on trial in front of King Agrippa and tells him that he is on trial because of the hope he has of the promise that God has given the 12 tribes.  What promise?  I love this, you have to go all the way back to Abraham to find it.  Hey, teens, if you are reading this, what are the 3 promises to Abraham?  God makes a promise to Abraham and then fulfills it after Abraham is dead and gone.  God promises him land, promises him he will become a nation, and the last, and greatest, He promises that all nations will be blessed through him.  How?  Because the Son of God will be born through his lineage.  That is where Paul sets his hope.  Not the land.  Not the nation.  But the promise of all nations being blessed.  And that is where we need to put our hope.  Not for what Jesus does for our land or our lifestyle or any of our other physical needs, but for the blessings of all nations that we have the means to see God.  Our hope needs to reside in Christ alone.  We sing a song that I have to admit I have been humming as I write this, “My only hope is you, Jesus, my only hope is…..from early in the morning, till late at night….my only hope is you!”   Why?  Because he will not fail us.  He will not leave us.  He will not cause us to fall away or stumble or lose focus.  He will be that beacon that directs us toward God.  That is where our hope comes from!

So while I highly doubt but still hope for the Cowboys, or the Titans, or that our government might actually correct itself, my hope needs to reside not in people or organizations but in God.  

May you never lose that hope!

I want to start out with praising some people.  On Sunday nights, we have Sunday Night Dynamite.  We combine the classes and basically, use a VBS format to teach the younger kids the power of Gods Word.  We have skits, puppets, games, and each phase allows us to reinforce the lesson and teach.  Our Teens have done a fabulous job with this, learning the skits and lessons and then in the teaching.  But, at the end of the month, we have the winning team of the kids decide where we will have our Destination Devo.  This is where we go somewhere and the Teens are challenged to come up with a devo that fits that area.  This past Sunday was that night.  And the choice of the winning team?  Strike ‘n Spare.  Yup, you guessed it.  It is a bowling alley with arcade.  Since we wouldn’t have time for bowling, we focused on the arcade.  Well, last Wednesday night was the night for the Teens to work on their devo.  Can I just say, God brought me to my knees in awe?  The teens started going through ideas they had of what games were there and how we could relate it to the lesson.  The one chosen was PacMan….now we are talking!  This is my generation and one that I can actually play!  Ok, so we have the game, what will be the lesson?  And they came up with the idea of obstacles that PacMan has to overcome to complete the board---staying away from ghost, not getting trapped in the corner, etc.  So what Bible story will we use here?  What could possibly be in the Bible that talks about obstacles?  Well, Josh asked me if there were any stories, and of course, I shared a few…Adam and Eve, Moses, Abraham, Daniel, Job, oh, I had a full list of them.  But the one that they thought was the best was the story from Mark 2.  Well, they took it and ran.   Thank you Cornelius for being the narrator, DeWanna for being the paralyzed friend, for Josh leading the singing, for Mary for the application for today, for Curtis, Courtney, and Anna for being the friends who carried (and did not drop!) DeWanna!  For Joe, giving them the memory verse and being the one that caught DeWanna as she was lowered down.  Guys, ya’ll did an incredible job!  Not only coming up with the idea, but following through and showing up Sunday night to do it.  And not only that, but then helping the younger kids to play some of the games and enjoying time with them.  It was wonderful watching you work with the kids, but more importantly working with each other to make it happen.  God blessed each one of those kids that night because of you!

But this got me thinking over the weekend.  And I had plenty of time to think since it was the long Thanksgiving weekend.  You know, that story has a lot to do with us, doesn’t it?  If you don’t mind, read the first few verses of Mark 2 and see this story:  Jesus is teaching inside a house and because of what he has done with miracles and healing and all, plus what he is saying, people have flocked to him.  They want to hear more, they want to see the miracles, they want to be around him.  To the point of the house if full.  Not another person can get inside.  I am so glad the story doesn’t stop there.  Wouldn’t get as much out of it if it did.  We see these 4 friends carrying a man that can’t walk.  We don’t know why, it isn’t important, we just know he can’t walk.  And then the obstacles happen.  First, the front door is barred from them.  The house is so packed, they can’t go in the front door, or the back door if there is one.  So, they overcome that obstacle by going to the roof.  Next, it is a solid roof, it isn’t a convertible.  Why not give up now and try again when Jesus isn’t surrounded by so many?  It would make sense.  It would be easier.  No, that isn’t what they did.  They could have walked away but instead, they find a tool and cut a hole in the roof.  That is the second obstacle overcome.  What’s next?  Now that we are here, how do we get him to Jesus?  Do we holler to Jesus and have him come to us?  Do we ask Jesus to “throw” a miracle at our friend?  No, they overcome the next obstacle by finding a means to lower their friend to Jesus.  Don’t miss this…Jesus knows how persistent they have been in order to get their friend to him that not only does he heal their friend, he blesses them!

Wow.  That is incredible.  There is more to this story but I want to stop there.  Because this is what has been on my mind.  What are our obstacles?  Do we have any?  I think we do.  I think Satan will put all kinds of obstacles in our way, like…

Feeling unworthy---how could an all powerful God really love us?  I am not good enough for that!

Friends---even though we call them our friends, do they want what is best for us?  Or do they want what is best for them and use us to get to that end?  

Family---a powerful pull that can distract us from our goal.  Family tends to lead where we will follow.

Words---having things said about you, viciously, trying to tear you down, when they aren’t true.

Addictions---normally, we think of drugs or alcohol, but this can also be work, TV, football (I know that will go over like a lead balloon!), anything that causes our focus to be removed from God.

There could be more in that list, but I will leave it at that for now.  But I want us to take the lead from these 4 friends.  There are 2 things that they did that I believe we need to strive to do.

God, we ask you to bless us with the courage, the knowledge, and desire to continue to follow you.  To make it our goal, our focus, to stay close to you and always strive to be with you.  God, please guide our steps as Satan places different obstacles in front of us at every turn.  Let us walk the straight path to you, and allow us to one day bask in your glory.  We know, like the friends, it isn’t us, but because of what Jesus does and did, that we are able to do this.  Help us to as we keep going, help us when we fall to stand again.  Thank you for the gift of your Son.  In His name, Amen.