“Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” I Thessalonians 5:16-18
Up until my early twenties, I used to enjoy watching a local North Alabama TV legend by the name of Grady Reeves on his weekday show from WHNT TV out of Huntsville entitled, “Morning Folks.” Grady’s style was down home and personal. Everyone loved him whether he was visiting a fishing spot, a ballgame, a school, a nursing home, or talking about the delicious pot roast he had eaten at a local restaurant. He was a kind man and loved not only his weekday morning television audience but those he would meet when visiting a particular spot in the state. But I believe what I enjoyed most of all was the way he logged off his show each time. He would gaze into the camera and with a big smile, he would say, “You know there’s always something going on at Morning Folks, and so am I.”
I am sure it is no surprise to you that temptation comes knocking daily at the door of every Christian. It is something we all face whether pastor or not, because as Paul tells us in the Book of Romans, the lusts of the flesh still wars with the Spirit man and woman seeking to influence the Christian’s attitude and actions away from God while we live on this planet. Yes! The Devil attempts to camouflage God’s goodness by promising his way will offer us a hearty “good morning” and the rest of our day, but there is a very important question to always ask when standing at temptation’s corner. When led to tune in to something less than wholesome after all is said and done, the question to ask is, “Can I thank God for it?” Can you thank Him for it? Remember Paul’s words to the Christians living in Thessalonica, ‘Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
Let us praise God, spend quality time with Him, and give thanks in everything thus experiencing the blessings of joy, freedom, and victory we have daily in Christ! I am so thankful today for Grady Reeve’s commitment to good wholesome programming that encouraged others and reminded me of a valuable spiritual lesson from the Lord!
A grateful Pastor Louie
Sand Mountain Sermonette 27
Colossians 3:17
“Hit the Brakes, Louie!”
“And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.” Colossians 3:17
Most everyone remembers the car in which they learned to drive. My car belonged to my dad. It was a 1965 Pontiac Bonneville that featured a white hard top, red exterior, white interior with split bench front seat, stacked headlights, and rear wheel fender guards. Although dad purchased it used, it was in excellent condition and a big-big car!
We lived in a single-brick home that featured a classic carport built adjacent the left side of the house accompanied by a thirty-foot driveway that ran straight from our house to the carport. The carport was just big enough to park the Bonneville. To the left of where the driveway met the carport was a two to three-foot shrubbery plant and beyond that plant several feet down between our house and our neighbor’s home was a classic 1960’s Ford Thunderbird that family had kept under cover for years.
Well, the big day came. I was fifteen years old and was seeking to obtain my driver’s learning permit. Recently my dad had been riding shotgun style with me as I practiced driving the Bonneville in areas with no traffic, but today was different. Dad had allowed me to drive on some of the connective streets on and near our residential section in which we lived. When it was time to come home, as I turned onto our driveway and straight on towards the carport, I must have been going too fast because Dad quickly shouted, “Hit the brakes, Louie!” “Hit the brakes!” But dad’s response scared me so much I hit the accelerator instead and as we blazed toward oblivion, dad was able to reach over and give the steering wheel a quick turn to the left allowing us to miss the carport, take out the shrub bush, and stop right smack-dab in the middle of where the Thunderbird has been setting! Notice, I said, “Had been setting!” What a blessing the owners had moved their car to another location just the day before! In the meantime, dad and I got out of the car and although dad was scared, he was fine. When my mom stepped out of the house to see what all the ruckus was about, the first thing she said was, “Oh!” “I never cared about that old bush anyway!” Just like a loving mom!
Every day, and usually several times a day, we Christians find ourselves at temptation’s corner where the tempter (the devil) is standing there in the intersection enticing us to make a wrong turn. So, what do we do? Sometimes we are afraid, so we speed up the pace without taking time to call on God; we just follow our impulses. Other times we choose to take the wrong turn for different reasons. But Christian remember, God your Father is there to take the wheel. He can steer you away from a path of destruction and from that path’s involving others you love. Often, it means hitting the brakes and asking the question drawn for our Scripture, “Can I do it in Jesus’ Name?” If not, then temptation is attempting to lead you the wrong way in what you are planning to say or do! Praise God for His word and for His Spirit. Thank you, Lord!
Pastor Louie
Sand Mountain Sermonette 28
I Corinthians 10:31
Grandmother’s Thanksgiving Dinner!
“Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”
I Corinthians 10:31
I loved my Grandmother Mabrey’s Thanksgiving dinners! My family and I would join my father’s parents for a delicious meal with all the trimmings always held at 3:00 pm at their home in Albertville, Alabama. Sometimes my grandparents would invite other relatives from my grandmother’s side of the family and/or my grandfather’s side of the family to attend.
The adults would sit at the grand table in the dining room. This table was always covered with my grandmother’s special white tablecloth featuring beautiful embroidery work and trimmed in lace. Atop the table covering you would find eight place settings featuring her crystal plates trimmed in red with matching stemmed goblets. In the kitchen adjacent the dining room, my grandfather would set up a card table with four chairs where my brother Tony and I would sit, and if we happened to be the only children that day, my grandparents would sit at our table and eat Thanksgiving dinner with us! How cool is that!
And oh, the food! My grandmother would feature her big and delicious turkey compete with mashed potatoes and gravy, good old-fashioned cornbread dressing, sweet potato casserole, and cranberry sauce to name a few items! And sometimes she would feature her layered peanut butter cake with glazed peanut butter icing, my favorite! And, to drink? My grandmother always made her delicious punch and earth-shattering iced tea!
My grandmother loved me! In 1972 when she was so sick with cancer and very weak, she told my grandfather that she still wanted “to cook for her boys;” meaning her son, my brother, and me. It wasn’t Thanksgiving at that time, but the principle was still the same. Whenever I sat down at my grandmother’s table, the fellowship with this beloved Christian woman who loved me, is what it was all about. She was fulfilling her mission to teach me to be a man of prayer and integrity whether it be over taking a bite of her delicious peanut butter cake or her mashed potatoes and gravy. Likewise, my grandfather, while eating a turkey leg with him, would be the Christian man who taught me to watch the crowd I would run around with and not to take part in dirty jokes.
When Paul was writing to the Corinthian Christians who were living in a pagan culture of their day, in essence he was pointing out that partaking of a religious feast means worshipping with the one worshipped at the feast. (Paul was cautioning Christians to watch out for meat purchased at the public market or presented at private dinner parties for it may have been consecrated to a pagan idol; god). Christian, when standing at Temptation’s Corner, you and I must ask ourselves, “Can I do it for God’s glory?” For the road you and I are to take is first to daily fellowship with God at His table, and then to do all that we do, each day, to the glory of God! May each day be Thanksgiving Day in your heart!