Upon The Wings Of The Wind

2 Samuel 22:11

2 Samuel 22:11 “And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: and he was seen upon the wings of the wind.” I believe you can see God today if you want to. He woke me up this morning with a kiss of blustery wind swirling around the cabin. In the midst of the darkness, sounds clamor about as evidence of it’s mighty power. I love today’s Scripture. To me, it is absolutely beautiful. David was in the last chapter of his life, he had finished his wars and fighting, his rest was at hand and he was reflecting on all the things God had brought him through. He was just sitting and singing a song. In this verse, David was focusing on the part of his life when he would utter the prayers of need and his Rock stood at the ready to bring the answer. God was his refuge and strength, a very present help in his time of trouble. The Mighty One mounted up on the wings of a angel and flew to the rescue of this one who’s heart was focused upon and trusted in Him. In his distress, David looked beyond the dark clouds with troubled skies and saw his Savior gliding across the winds of the unseen force of nature. God commands all and uses it for His biding as He scatters His grace and mercy across the four winds of Heaven. The words of the greatness of God flow across my mind this morning like the wind that stirs outside my window. Oh how I pray that you can look beyond the wind and dark skies of your life today, as it buffets the earth upon which we live and see a Mighty Savior mounted up on the wings of angels at the ready to come to your rescue. He is also our refuge and strength, our very present help in our times of trouble. As a time of rest approaches for us all, let us sing a new song to His glory and majesty. So be careful out there today and be safe. Keep your eyes open, look into the wind and see our Savior riding on the wings of glory. Wow……I didn’t know I had it in me. Love you all and have a great day…….Pastor Brion

Another Day Of Storms

Psalm 9:17

Psalm 9:17 “The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.”

I guess it makes sense to somebody. After all, everybody from the President on down are doing it. Fixing the seat belt buzzer where it won’t go off. Ignoring the low fuel light while driving, or maybe putting a piece of tape over the check engine light where you won’t have to see it. I really like ignoring those brakes grinding and chirping, the car sounding like it is falling apart as you glide to a stop pushing the pedal through the floor board. Maybe ignoring that clunk or knock in something mechanical or the washing machine dancing across the floor hoping it will just go away. I really, really, really like it when we move the mirror around where we don’t have to look at the shape our bodies have got in. Okay Preacher, you’ve done gone to meddling!!! I said all that to say we have quite a history of ignoring warning signs. They come in all shapes, sizes, colors and sounds for our own good, but we simply turn our head, close our eyes or cover our ears. It’s ridiculous to think the warnings will go away just because we ignore them and do these things. It’s even more ridiculous to ignore the warnings from God by closing our Bibles, Churches or covering them up with excuses. Maybe let’s try legislation!! What a novel idea. That will show God who’s boss!! Our leaders and entire nation seem to think that God will just go away if we push Him out and close the door. I think I read something about that in Revelation!! On this stormy morning, as I watch the weather warnings on the news, I wonder if we ever stop to realize the United States has more tornadoes than any other place in the world? Ever wonder why we have so many hurricanes? Floods? Forest Fires? And the list goes on and on. I am a firm believer that God is sending us all warning signs after warning signs ASKING us to make an immediate change and follow Him once again. To listen, see and hear. Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD. Blessed is the family, Church and individual whose God is the LORD. Warning signs are much different than wrath, and according to what I read in the Bible, we never want to experience wrath. I believe God simply wants us to realize He is there and ignore Him no longer so we will never have to experience His wrath. I will never believe that He wants anyone to experience His wrath. But unfortunately, one day the grace period will end and if you want to experience wrath you will. You may have been going through many warning signs of your own. Things you know are happening but you think it will go away if you ignore it. It won’t and neither will God. He won’t go away because you have closed your Bible or stopped attending Church. He is still there and so are His warnings. It is my hope and prayer the eyes of our families, communities, Churches, states and nation will be open once again so God will be our God and we will be His people. Let me see if I can get off this soap box. I’ve been up here long enough! I don’t want to spoil your day with this sermonette, but all sermons can’t be snickers and giggles!! I hope you all have a great and safe day. God is still on the Throne!!!!! Thanks for reading. Love you all…….Pastor Brion

My Son And His Victory

Romans 8:37

Romans 8:37 “Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.” There’s just nothing like starting the morning with a 75 pound blue heeler stretched across your lap, a Jack Russell standing guard over Linda Gail, a cup of hot coffee and a computer somewhere in the mix. My Ol’pals Roscoe and Cletus know how to start the day out right. With my two “sons” close at hand, ponderings dance across my mind this morning of how proud a Dad can be of his son. The smile on my Dad’s face woke me up this morning as he stood on the sidelines and watched as I played football. He would always cheer me on regardless of the score. Some of the greatest moments we ever spent together were the times I made both good and bad plays. I can still hear his laugh as I destroyed the backfield and tackled everybody within reach. Oh the joy that God lets me experience this morning as time swirls throughout my mind!!! I experienced this proud feeling of joy and laughter the other night. I have never had sons of my own, I have been blessed with daughters of whom I am very proud. But there is a special bond between sons and dads, and I feel this special bond with my Ol‘ Pals Cletus and Roscoe. They are both very much my “sons”. For some time now Roscoe has been very unsettled at night. You all know we live out in the woods and mountains where all kinds of critters call our place their home so he has innumerable opportunities for battle. Roscoe has been pacing throughout the house, attacking shadows, snorting and sniffing at what we called his monster. I thought that he was just full of a bunch of bologna myself, but the other night he finally conquered his monster. I let him outside on the deck for his nightly guard duty when I heard quite a clamor and banging about. I called to him only to hear louder binging, banging and smashing around. All became quite and then I saw my stately son proudly walking across the deck in the most royal fashion. He had spent many sleepless nights walking aimlessly across the floor, seeking that which was bothering him so badly, and he had finally conquered his foe. How proud he was as he carried a big fat opossum and laid it at my feet. The pride he had and showed in his walk up to me brought tears to my eyes as he awaited my smile and approval of this mighty victory. I must admit the joy in my heart soared as I witnessed this sight. I sent him in the house for a fresh baked cookie as a reward and I then shooed the monster away as he hissed and spit at me in disgust and anger at the part he played as a defeated foe. Today’s precious Scripture tells us that we have a special quality that resides within us if we will only accepts it’s reality. We have a Heavenly Father that loves us with a unexplainable love and desires to be proud of us as we go through this life without fear. We can be more than conquerors as we face those things that cause us to pace the floor and loose sleep. Those things we agonize about and cloud our minds. Monsters come in all shapes, sizes, kinds and conditions. But as born again Christians with our faith in Jesus Christ, we have the right to walk proudly into the presence of the Father and place at His feet the defeated foes we face. We ARE more than conquerors, we are triumphant through Jesus Christ. I can only imagine the look on our Savior’s face as He proudly sees our struggles, with all of the binging and banging, turn into awesome victories. Oh to hear the words “Well done….enter into thy rest”. Oh my goodness, what a awesome God we serve. Hmmmm……….I think I want a cookie. Love you lots, see you tomorrow and have a great day…….Pastor Brion

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Wonderings, Ponderings And Explanations

Numbers 30:2

Numbers 30:2 “If a man vow a vow unto the LORD, or swear an oath to bind his soul with a bond; he shall not break his word, he shall do according to all that proceedeth out of his mouth.” Well…….I am sitting here this morning thinking how badly I need to start writing again. I am constantly humbled by your requests for the ponderings that go through my mind. It’s hard for me to believe that someone would actually want to read something I would pen. I have been out of touch for a while now and I think you deserve a explanation and maybe a insight into who I really am. Back in November, Linda Gail started the process of knee replacement in her right knee. Arthritis had done it’s damage and there was no other choice available. She had a very successful surgery done on December 3, for which I am very grateful. Since that time, the days have been full of rehabilitation and unfortunately agonizing pain. Night time has been terrible, trying and very difficult for her. All through this time I have been doing everything I can possibly do to take care of her and make her life easier. She has been, is and will always be the joy and apex of my life. When she has an ailment of some kind it transforms me into a “worry wart”. I can not think of anything but her care and well being. I have tried to get my mind on other things or do other things but I always drift back to the vows I made to her and two very important men in my life, my Dad and my Father-in-law. Dad was a very impressive role model. A stately man whose word was as solid as a rock. He taught me that nothing was more important than to take care of the one’s you love. He loved Linda Gail very much and I can still see the sternness in his face as he explained to me the responsibilities of a man. I never want to disappoint him by my actions as a man and husband. Then there was my Father-in-law. A very hard working man who had a little girl as his only child. The bond that the two of them had is the strongest I have ever seen. Not one time did he ever say anything out of the way to me. He was always supportive of us and would do anything he could to help us. I loved that man like he was my own Dad. He is another that I would never want to disappoint, after all, he entrusted his only child to me. Later in his life he encountered health problems that took it’s toll. We all agonized in our own ways for this man we all loved. In his last few days we gathered with him at a Chattanooga Hospital. He was in the ICU and in very critical condition. I had a moment with him alone and I told him he had absolutely nothing to worry about. I promised him that I would see that his little girl would always be taken care of and he could go on home with no worries. He could not speak, but he raised his eyebrows in acknowledgement of my vow to him. I will never forget that day. The vows that we make in this world are of the utmost importance to ourselves and the ones we make them to. We do not understand or realize the ramifications of these vows in this world and in the unseen realm. If the words we speak meant nothing or had no power, there would be no cautions in the Bible. Our Scripture today tells us to watch what we say. Here it simply tells us to never, ever break a vow. Vows bind our soul to the words we speak forever. If we break the vows we have made we are cursed with a curse. We carry that curse and it’s consequences until we make it right. Oh my goodness, what a mess we make for ourselves and never realize it. We go through days, weeks, months and years of agony of all kinds and never realize we may be living out a curse because of things hastily said and broken promises. Our souls are bound with chains and we can’t realize the freedom Jesus gives. I think I understand the weight of words and vows, therefore I hope and pray that I will never be cursed. So with these vows I made to these men I love and the ultimate vow I made to my precious wife, my thoughts and actions are to fulfill them. So now you know the reason for my absence, I’ve been working to fulfill my vows. Today you may be thinking about the promises and vows you have made throughout your life and you have never realized that your soul is bound by them. You may even be thinking about broken promises and living under a self inflicted curse. Well…………there is good news in the precious Word of God. Go to 1 John 1:9 and put it in to action!! Now be honest and tell God exactly what is going on, what you have done and who you have done it with. He makes a promise back to us that He will never break. When you truly do this the freedom you receive from binding chains is unexplainable. What a awesome God. I love each and every one of you and I pray for the best of you all. I hope you have a great day and a good week, remember us in your prayers, thanks for reading and I’ll see you tomorrow. Your eternal friend…….Pastor Brion

　

　

A Hill Of Beans

A Hill Of Beans

Luke 18:27

Luke 18:27 “And he said, the things which are impossible to men are possible with God.” I woke up this morning with junk on my mind. You probably did too, you know, that old stuff satan puts in your mind that doesn’t mean a hill of beans. For me, this morning, I remembered a time when I was the object of sneers and jeers for my faith and hope. I worked twenty eight years as a forest ranger, before I retired, and had many lessons of life. In the ranger service there is a lot of very colorful characters, and to be honest, it is very hard to find a Christian face in the crowd. Unfortunately, that seems to be the norm everywhere and in all places today. On this particular day, fire danger was very high and we were sitting around waiting on the next fire call and listening to air patrol. I had just finished reading a article in Mother Earth News about a community in Florida named “The Community Of Anything Is Possible With God”. A band of Christian folks had gotten together and transformed their town into this wonderful sounding place. In the middle of these hyenas, I made the statement that I really would love to live in a place of faith and hope like that. Wow. Laughter erupted in a deafening tone as pure disbelief of this basic tenet of our faith was ridiculed. I can imagine how the same exact thing would happen today across the newspapers, televisions, internet and all other forms of media if the headlines held “teenage virgin gives birth in cave” or “mysterious star leads kings to poverty stricken area” or “Angels appear in the sky to band of sheep herders“. My goodness, how our adversary the devil has blinded the eyes of man and planted doubt within the heart. Our Scripture today tells us, in my opinion, one of the greatest promises ever given to us and the foundational hope of our faith. Absolutely NOTHING is impossible with God. Did you read that right? Nothing, absolutely positively NOTHING, NO…THING!!!!!!!!! With man, we hit the wall of ability and thinking and ridicule the rest. But with God, anything and everything is contingent on His will and ability. He is all knowing and all powerful. If He wants the sea to part, it will part. If He wants a disease to stop it’s progression, it will retreat. If He wants a few dollars to appear from thin air to help with the power bill, it will appear. If He wanted to send His Son in the most compassionate act of love ever known to save a worthless hunk of mud like me, He did. Our God is not held by any limits or thinking of man. I am so thankful of that. You may be finding yourself facing things that seem impossible to you right now, but remember, God has the last word on everything. This time of year brings sneers and jeers from those that are lost and don’t understand the awesome power of God. Satan blinds eyes and thinking, so don’t let any of them or any situation you find yourself in get you down or take your joy from you. It doesn’t mean a hill of beans, nothing is impossible for him that believes. Go and have a good Christmas, keep the faith and hold on to the unending promise of hope that is available to all. To God be the glory!! Love you all…….Pastor Brion

The Christmas Onion

The Christmas Onion

II Timothy 3:15

II Timothy 2:15 “And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:” Oh how I love scripture!!! It’s the anchor that helps me to hang on. It soothes the soul, breaks the heart and gives hope to all of mankind. It paints a beautiful picture of God’s love, mercy and grace past, present and future. In my lowly attempt to be a Expository Preacher and Writer, I have found that for myself, Scripture should be understood in comparison to the composition of a onion. No, I haven’t been in the eggnog or moonshine again, just sit back, keep reading and hear me out!!! A onion (makes you weep) and is composed of many, many layers leading downward until you finally reach the center. You start by peeling it, or scratching the surface, then taking off layer by layer. In our Church, I try to teach the God’s Word in this manner. Every part of the Bible has layers beneath the layers, so we scratch the surface and then we see what else we can find. It’s what makes God’s Word so exciting and alive!!! The Bible also tells us that scripture is to be mined, so you have to work hard and dig deep to get to the gems. The story of Christmas and the birth of Jesus has endless layers of messages, revelation, truths and precious gems for us to understand. Wisemen, shepherds, Angels, Virgin birth, stables, Angelic proclamations, a shining star, drama, etc., etc., etc. and the layers go on and on. The myriads of preachers today are in constant spasms trying to find a different angle, a new way to preach it or some mysterious hidden message to uncover. But if you are not careful, you will flue flue and fluff it up so much you will destroy the true meaning of this great celebration . So I ask myself today as a simple mountain Pastor, if I had one layer that I could expose to you all about the precious Christmas onion and the Message it holds, what would it be? My simple mind and my inability to understand Scripture causes me to focus on one grand and glorious thought. For me, the truest meaning of Christmas. The King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Messiah and our Savior (He’s my Bud and I think a lot of Him) came to us as a Common Baby, in a common place, to common parents, announced to common people so a common person like me could have access to Him, His Kingdom, His blessings and all of His glory. You see, any body can walk into a barn, smell animal smells, listen to animal sounds, walk up and look into a feed trough. I reckon if for no one else, this story and this layer of the onion is all for me. It’s what makes Christmas so special to me. How about all of you common, simple folks? Ever looked into the feed trough? Just stop for a moment, smell the smells, hear the sounds and picture in your mind the sight. You’ll never be the same. Enough said. Love you all, thanks for loving us and have a great day……….Pastor Brion

　

University Of The Fourth Floor

University Of The Fourth Floor

Proverbs 17:17

Proverbs 17:17 “A friend loveth at all times, but a brother is born for adversity.” If we really pay attention, we can learn the lessons of life from any situations we find ourselves in. This week we were given the opportunity to spend a week at the University of the Fourth Floor. It is a very interesting place. The halls are lined with classrooms of reality as the students contained within learn lessons of strength and stature. The Professor is not the Doctor or Nurse that course the halls, but the God given ability to feel pain, tribulation and adversity. The tests are not written in volumes of print, but across the faces of those that are learning the lessons. Signs of Medical achievement crowd around each student and their applause of victory ring out with chirps, beeps and clamors. But the most important resident of the University is not the Surgeon, the Nurse, the Therapist or the Unsung Hero Laborer, it is YOU!! You will never know your value to those that are temporary residents of the University. I know by experience that your well wishes, comments, expressions of love, calls and prayers were always the brightest parts of our days. Just knowing that everyone was there at a moments notice, if a need presented itself, was more valuable than gold. This morning it brings me to the Bible’s description of a true friend. One that loves and goes into action at all times. Not just the good times, but the bad times as well. My text book tells me that we are blessed with true friends, and they are very special when a student attends the University of the Fourth Floor. They seem to have a way of showing up at just the right time and exercising the ability they were given at birth. Thank you for being our friends and for being the most important part of our lives. The living example of the Bible’s definition of a pal, buddy or friend. I pray that we all continue to be the type of kinship that people can depend on and carry the support we all need in every situation of life, not just the good times. Remember us in your prayers as we start the trek back to “normal”. I pray that our God will bless you with immense blessings and open the windows of Heaven for you. Have a great day…….