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…….