Deacon's Diary

Deacon's Diary is a weekly feature that appears on the back side of the bulletin at the First Baptist Church of Avalon, Texas.

Eternal software.

The computer crashed on Thursday. It crashed hard too. All was lost. Everything in the computers memory was now locked in the hard drive and there was no way to get any of it out. Pictures. Songs on the I-pods. Favorite web sites. Even the template I use for the church bulletin was now gone. Me and Kay now had to start over from scratch.

There is an old saying that all of us have heard at one time on another that goes something like, "you never really miss something so much 'til its gone." That saying rings true in this situation. All the stuff on the computer that we use on a daily basis, or at least on a weekly basis, is not there any more. A lot of it we will miss immediately. Other things will not be missed until later on. When we need it. When we, ourselves remember that it used to be there.

On the bright side, now we have a new computer. This new one is faster. A lot faster. Better than the one we had before. It has a lot more capacity. And, for now any way, it is not weighed down with a lot of programs and/or information that might slow it down. It is quick and clear. It's brand new. It is loaded with new and better software that is easier to use. It is not bogged down and sluggish like the old one had become right before it broke down and crashed.

Thinking about this computer situation got me to thinking about my salvation. How before I was saved I had become something not unlike that old computer. Bogged down, sluggish, and tired of carrying around a life time of sin and anguish. Then, like that old computer, I crashed. Lucky for me I crashed in a good place. When I realized that God had forgiven me of my sins it turned me into something not unlike the new one. Loaded up with eternal software.

Deacon's Diary is a weekly feature that appears on the back side of the bulletin at the FIrst Baptist Church of Avalon, Texas.

National theme park.

This past Friday we celebrated the 232nd birthday of our Nation. As I watched the fireworks bursting across the horizon on Friday, I couldn't help but wonder what our founding fathers might think of this nation today. What would the men that put the whole thing in motion think?

If they read one of the newspapers today it would not take long for them to find out that the nation still faces many challenges.  The economy is strained by rising oil prices and the falling value of our dollar. It would be clear to them that we have enemies, in the form of terrorist, that are bent on seeing much harm come to us and to our way of life. They could also not help but notice that our two political parties have very different views on how to tackle these problems and that the the vitriol between the two parties is as robust as it ever was.

It would take a certain amount of arrogance for me, or for any one else, to say that they know without any doubt how any of our founding fathers would feel about any one particular issue. They themselves had plenty of disagreements among them. When one reads some of their quotes this is more than obvious. However, I did notice one thing in their quotes, one theme, that appears to be evident to them all.

For example, when John Adams said, "July 4th ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty.*  Thomas Jefferson said, *The doctrines of Jesus are simple, and tend to all the happiness of man.* And Benjamin Franklin asked the question,  *God governs in the affairs of man. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid? " This theme continued to show itself when Patrick Henry included this quote in his last will and testament. "This is all the inheritance I can give my dear family. The religion of Christ can give them one which will make them rich indeed.*

Quotes like these can be seen throughout the founding documents of this great nation. So while our founding fathers may have squabbled over policy decisions, it appears to me that most of them, if not all of them, put their faith in God. They consistently gave all glory to God. And, when faced with the task of making difficult decisions, it would appear that they put all such matters to prayer. I find myself iin total aggreement with them on that.

Deacon's Diary is a weekly feature that appears on the back side of the bulletin at the First Baptist Church of Avalon, Texas.

A dash of light.

Vacation was good, but it's always good to get back home too. When a person gets accustomed to things around them a daily basis, it's hard to leave all those things behind for long periods of time. The dogs. The household projects. Even work. And in my case, my church and all the people in it. And so, to all of the members of my church family, let me say that it's good to be back.

While we were on vacation we listened to a pitch man for one of the resort companies try to sell us a time share program. Maybe some of have had the same experience. In part of the pitch man's presentation he used that analogy about 'the dash'. Maybe you've heard it too. He explained that all of us will have a birth date, and then a date on which we will have died carved on our tombstones. And, of course, there will always be a dash between the two dates. Those two dates don't really matter much. It's only memories in the dash that will matter in the end.

I've heard it before, so it was nothing new to me. I already knew the truth contained in that little analogy about the dash. But later on during our vacation, while looking up at all the stars in the night sky from an island on a lake in Arkansas, something else occurred to me that I think needs to be considered when thinking about that dash in our lives.

The stars that we see shining at night are just an illusion in a way. Since they are so far away, light years away, what we see is not what is there now, but rather what was there a long time ago. Legacies of light if you will. If a star burned itself out today, it would still be visible for the rest of my life. My kid's lives. And my Grandkids. And so on.

You see, that pitch man used the dash thing in an attempt to help people to realize that it is the memories they share that is really important. And he was right. But those stars reminded me that the dash is also the time that a person determines his or her own legacy. While we strive to leave lasting memories with our families, and that's a very good thing, let us also strive to leave a legacy of light behind.

That light I'm talking about is none other than the true Light of the world, Jesus Christ. There's no other light that shines brighter than His. There's no work that we do more important that the work we do at our churches. There's nothing that we can leave on this earth more important than sharing with others the life changing message of our beloved Savior.

Deacon's Diary is a weekly feature that appears on the back side of the bulletin at the First Baptist Church of Avalon, Texas.

Do not fear what they fear.

On a recent trip through Missouri and other places I checked into a hotel to shut down for the night. The road had been unusually long  that day. I was feeling a little down. Some sense of worry had set in.

It wasn't really hard to figure out why. As a news junkie I had been listening to the radio all day. The stories about the flooding in the midwest, the reports on the soaring prices of the fuel that I so much depend on, all the political commentary about how bad it's going get if this candidate or that candidate gets elected in November, these and some other things had all combined together and got to me a little.

I would imagine that this happens to most all of us at times. This world and this life we live can become overwhelming at times. The people that report the news to us seem to always focus on the negative, and I guess they probably always will. It's a wonder we don't get down more often than we do.

In that hotel room, thanks to the Gideons, was a copy of the best selling book of all times. There on the night stand beside the bed I found the Bible. Today I needed it more than maybe on other days. As it always seems to happen, I opened the book in the right place, and began reading from Isaiah, chapter eight. It didn't take long at all to find the exact words that I needed.

God was instructing the prophet Isaiah during a time of great peril. Verses twelve and thirteen, though given to Isaiah a long time ago,  now had provided the appropriate comfort that I needed in 2008.

Isaiah 8:12 and 13

"Do not call conspiracy everything that these people call conspiracy; do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it. The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear.

Deacon's Diary is a weekly feature that appears on the back side of the bulletin at the First Baptist Church of Avalon, Texas.

Because He Said so.

We've all heard it growing up. "Because I said so." I know I heard it. Loud and clear. And then that was that. End of the discussion. Period.

 I am talking about how dad would some time settle things around the house. His final word, although lacking any detail, was never lacking any of the authority behind it. "Because I said so", had meaning.

It wasn't that Dad was being blunt and abrupt just because he could. When he used that phrase it had meaning because all of us kids knew that he had already spoken on the issue at hand. "Because I said so" was just a reminder. It was his way of saying that we should already know where he stood. It was his way of making us think about it.

I can remember that even back then I would find some comfort in those four simple words. "Because I said so' meant that what ever the disagreement or struggle was about, it was now settled. The rules were defined and there would be no more speculation. No more wondering. There is a good deal of comfort to be gained when doubt is removed. I'm thankful for my Dad for many things. But maybe mostly for that.

The same can be said about our Heavenly Father. No matter what problems might come along in our lives, God has the right answer. He has already spoken on the issue at hand no matter what it might be. For the most part, we already know where He stands. We just forget.

 God isn't in the habit of sending  us a booming voice from above with a loud "Because I said so". But He has given us the Bible. In times of disagreement or struggle, reading the Bible can settle it. All doubt can be removed. Be thankful to God for all things. Maybe mostly for that.

Deacon's Diary is a weekly feature that appears on the back side of the bulletin at the First Baptist Church of Avalon, Texas.

Handy prayer guide.

The following, called the Five Finger prayer guide, was sent to me via e-mail by Meg Lyon. I felt it was worth sharing. Thanks Meg!

1. Your thumb is nearest you. So begin your prayers by praying for those closest to you. They are the easiest to remember. To pray for our loved ones is, as C. S. Lewis once said, our "sweet duty."

2. The next finger is the pointing finger. It reminds us to pray for those who teach, instruct and heal. This includes our teachers, our doctors, and our ministers. They need God's support and wisdom in pointing others in the right direction. Keep them in your prayers.

3. The next finger is the tallest finger. It should remind us of our leaders. Pray for the president, leaders in business and industry, and administrators. These are the people that shape our nation and effectively guide public opinion. They surely need God's guidance.

4. The fourth finger is our ring finger. Surprising to many is the fact that this is our weakest finger; as any piano teacher or piano player will readily testify. It should remind us to pray for those who are weak, or sick, or in trouble, or in pain. They need your prayers day and night. You cannot pray too much for them.

5. And lastly comes our little finger; the smallest finger of all which is where we should place ourselves in relation to God and others. As the Bible says, "The least shall be the greatest among you." Your pinkie should remind you to pray for yourself. By the time you have prayed for the other four groups, your own needs will be put into proper perspective and you will be humbled enough to be able to pray for yourself more effectively.              --Author Unknown

Deacon's Diary is a weekly feature that appears on the back side of the bulletin at the First Baptist Church of Avalon, Texas.

Souler powered.

If you have read any of my writings in the past, you probably already know that I spend a lot of time out on the road. Almost every week will find me out there somewhere away from home at least two nights a week. It comes with the job I 've got. It's just the way it works.

On every trip I take my cell phone with me. I need it to stay in contact with every one back home. With Kay and/or the boys. I need it to stay in contact with the office too, just in case they need to dispatch me in a different direction. The shipper might need to contact me also, just to make changes.
You get the point. That cell phone is an important tool when I get out there on the road. But one day last week I left out with no way to charge it up. I had the phone, but the battery was low and getting lower. It started blinking and beeping at first, and when it got low enough it shut itself down. Leaving me with no communication to any one back home, or in the office, or anywhere.

I looked at the phone after it died and thought how worthless it was without any power. Just a shell made of plastic and silicone and whatever else they put into those kind of things. With out a source of power it wasn't worth the cost of the materials it was made out of. Not much more than a paper weight.

To make it even worse, I thought about all the electrical power right there around me in the cab of that truck. That truck has three big batteries in it. But without the proper charger I had no way of tapping into them.  In the distance ahead of me I saw lightning and thought of all that electrical power. All this power around me I thought, but with no way at all to connect to it. 

Just about then I saw the sun setting down behind me. A great source of power. But since the phone isn't solar powered, that doesn't work either.

All this thinking about that stupid phone got me to thinking about another kind of battery. The spiritual batteries we all have as Christians. Like that phone, we too need charging. Like that phone we have a way of connecting to that Power Source that is greater than all of those mentioned above combined and then multiplied. It's called prayer. Made possible by the Son. Delivered to us in the form of the Holy Spirit. May you never leave home without it.

Deacon's Diary is a weekly feature that appears on the back side of the bulletin at the First Baptist Church of Avalon, Texas.

Peaceful sleep.

When I sat down at the computer this morning and turned the monitor on there was a notice waiting for me on the screen. It was not a new kind of notice. I've seen it before. As a matter of fact I see that same notice on a fairly regular basis. I usually think nothing of it. But today it made me think.

The notice that I'm talking about was from the Norton program we have installed in the computer. You know Norton, the anti-virus soft ware. The notice said that it completed its scheduled scan and that everything is good.  It said that 283,654 items were examined and any problems that were discovered were either fixed or eliminated. My computer remains safe.

All this scaning took place while I slept. Norton was on patrol looking for problems that I didn't even know I had. Quietly and without any action on my part, that program went about its work to keep the computer running smooth.  Confronting any and all things that might seek to disrupt the computers operation. Ready, willing, and able to do what is necessary to stop them.

Like I said, I usually don't think much about that notice from Norton. If the truth be told, sometimes I even consider the whole thing somewhat of a nuisance. I just press 'ok' and soon forget all about it. Like it never happened. But this morning, while the notice was still up on screen, I gave a salute to Norton, and thanked him for his work and for keeping me safe while I slept.

One might think my behavior is a little odd. Saluting to the computer at six o'clock Sunday morning. Sounds kind of strange, I know. But it wasn't Norton that I was really saluting. It was what the notice from Norton reminded me of.

Tomorrow is Memorial Day. The day we have set aside to honor those who have died to keep us safe. Those brave men and women that sacrificed all confronting any and all adversaries that might seek to disrupt the smooth operation of our nation. Those who went into battle ready, willing, and able to do what ever was necessary to stop any threats from doing us harm, and they have done exactly that. Threats that we may or may not have even known about. Many times while we here at home slept is peace. We salute all you good soldiers. Thanks for keeping us safe. May you now sleep in peace.

Deacon's Diary is a weekly feature that appears on the back side of the bulletin at the First Baptist Church of Avalon, Texas.

The Mother of all Bulletins

We've all seen it a million times. The athlete that finally gets to put his face in front of the camera for a few seconds. They could say anything. They could give a shout out to anyone in the world. But when that moment arrives it almost always results in the same response no matter who it is. "Hi Mom!"

If you do a google search using the three words 'mother of all', you'll get about 33,300,000 different results. On the first page of the many millions of pages, it advertises four different books that actually use 'mother of all' in their titles. "The Mother of all Trades", "The Mother of all Crimes", "The Mother of all Churches", and finally,  "The Mother of all Pregnancy Books".

Writers of all kinds use the term 'mother of all' to make the point that what ever it is that they are talking about is big. Perhaps the biggest. Or the best. Or the most significant. They use the term to describe an object or an event that, as of the present time anyway, tops anything that has come before it.

Let us also note the many other ways that the word 'mother' is used to signify greatness. Mother nature comes to my mind. There is nothing in this world more powerful, and displays more force before our eyes than mother nature.

The same happens in the world of fiction, too. Look at our wonderful collection of nursery rhymes from Mother Goose. And we all know that there has never been a science fiction movie about an invasion from outer space worth its salt that didn't feature the 'Mother Ship'.  It just wouldn't be the same without it.

I could go on and on, but you get the point. We can learn a lot about what people think of certain words by observing how it is used in the language. When it comes to describing the biggest, the best, the most significant, or the most influential things around us, then I guess that 'mother' would have to be the 'mother of all words'. That's because Mother is really special to all of us.

My mom has been gone for a long time. She went to be with the Lord some 16 years ago. I don't really believe that there are televisions in heaven. At least I hope not. But if I ever get the opportunity to have one those moments in front of a camera I know what I'll do. I'll just smile and say, "Hi Mom!"  Just in case.

Deacon's Diary is a weekly feature that appears on the back side of the bulletin at the First Baptist of Avalon, Texas.

Needing weeding.

My wife Kay has been laughing at me lately. She laughs every time I go on one of my 'weed hunts'. That's when I take a walk around the front yard looking for weeds to pull up. Thistles. Clover. Anything that does not look like grass.   When I find them I try and get rid of them. Sometimes they come up root and all, and sometimes they break off at the surface. The ones that break of at the surface usually grow back, so later on, I'll have to pull them out again.

But that is not why Kay finds my weed hunting so amusing. She laughs because of the changes I've made since moving to Arlington from out there in the country where I am from. I didn't used to care much about all the weeds. I used to just mow right over them. "Weeds are green too," I used to say. When I lived out there I had a whole acre to keep up with.  I would have killed my myself trying to pull all the weeds out of that yard. But the yard here in Arlington is not that big.  It is of a manageable size and easier to keep up with. So, I stay on the hunt.

There's another thing that I do here in this smaller yard that I never used to try with the bigger one. I water the thin spots so that the good grass has incentive to grow more stronger there. That, too, is something that would have been right near impossible to pull off when dealing with an entire acre.

Though it's a stretch, yesterday I was thinking how my attitude towards my yard keeping changed with a simple change of scenery and how it compares to my life before and after I started coming to church. I thought of how sin is much like the weeds in the yard. Before I met all the good people at my church, I didn't think much of them. And no matter how many times I tried to just mow them over, they were still there. Those sins, like weeds in the yard, stole away the nutrients from the ground and prevented the good stuff from growing. Before church I never worried much about watering the thin spots either. The thin spots representing the places in my life that were lacking. And the water, of course, is Jesus!

Finding the church and finding Jesus Christ didn't make my sins just go away. I still got 'em. I still got weeds. But with His grace and forgiveness, they have become much more manageable. Some of which are easier to pull out than others. Some of them just break off at the surface. But with His help, and His grace, I'll keep on hunting.

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