Loyalty

Many a man proclaims his own loyalty, but who can find a trustworthy man? Proverbs 20:6 HCSB

Many years ago, I learned a song about faithfully praising God during difficult times. I sang it whenever I had the opportunity. I wanted it known that I was extremely loyal to Jesus.

But then, life happened. My car was stolen, twice. Bills and taxes became a reality. My metabolism slowed. I gained weight. Church business meetings wounded my heart. I lost my ministry position. And then came the miscarriage. It took me lower than I ever thought I could go. I considered leaving the ministry and abandoning my faith.

But then, I remembered all that the Lord had done for me. I remembered how He had always provided for me. I remembered the love that He had for me. And then, I remembered that He died for me. How could I turn away from Him when He had been so faithful to me?

I still want to praise the Lord, no matter what happens. But now, I understand that it’s more reflected in the way I live my life through difficult times than in the songs that I sing about them.

Lord, help us to be faithful to You, always.

Return

Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey. The boy and I will go over there to worship; then we’ll come back to you.” Genesis 22:5 HCSB

Abraham never thought that he would be a father, but there he stood, on a mission of faith, with his son Isaac beside him. The Lord had told Abraham to sacrifice Isaac as an act of worship. Can you imagine how Abraham must have felt upon hearing God’s request? As an old man, he had finally seen the beginnings of everything that he had been promised by the Lord and now he was being asked to willingly offer it all back to God in worship. Talk about a crisis of belief! What was God thinking? Didn’t He remember His promise to Abraham? Didn’t the Lord know how much Abraham loved Isaac? Surely something inside Abraham encouraged him to disobey the Lord and spare the life of his son. But, that didn’t happen. Abraham obeyed God, but he also had faith that somehow he would return from worshiping with a live Isaac beside safely beside him.

Lord, help us to have the faith of Abraham as we worship You.

Harry, Larry, and Fluffy: A Tale of Great Sacrifice

I hope you enjoy this youth drama I wrote for my friend's Steven's church. It was presented at the Arkansas Assembly of God drama contest in 2010. Thanks for reading.



Larry is a nervous overachiever. Harry is his calm friend. Fluffy is a stuffed animal, preferably fluffy and white.

(Larry nervously enters, grabs stuffed cat by the tail and raises toy sword over his head. Harry enters, is shocked by what he sees, and runs to Larry.)

Harry: Larry! What are you doing?

Larry: Something that I should have done a long time ago.

Harry: What are you going to do with that knife?

Larry: Stand back, Harry! This could get ugly.

Harry: But what are you doing?

Larry: I (long dramatic pause) am going to sacrifice Fluffy’s tail!

Harry: You’re gonna do what?

Larry: Yes, Larry. (Melodramatically) I am going to sacrifice my dear beloved cat Fluffy’s tail!

Harry: Why would you want to sacrifice your cat’s tail?

Larry: It’s what I must do, Harry. We all have to sacrifice something sooner or later. And don’t you dare try to stop me…

Harry: But…

Larry: Like I said, you had better not try to stop me! Don’t you dare try to stop me.

Harry: You’re not seriously…

Larry: Harry! Don’t try to stop me! Don’t you dare try to stop me!

Harry: All right, I won’t try. What’s one less cat’s tail, anyway?

Larry: Harry?

Harry: What?

Larry: (changing his tone) Try to stop me. Please try to stop me.

Harry: Well, I, uh… (Ponders for a moment, then adds nonchalantly) No, I won’t do it. You seem to know what you’re doing. You must have thought this through. Just try not to make a mess. You know how your mom hates a messy room.

(Harry starts to leave. Larry drops the knife, grabs Fluffy and runs after Harry.)

Larry: Wait, Harry! Wait!

Harry: (Turns to face Larry) What?

Larry: Didn’t you hear me? I said that I was going to sacrifice Fluffy’s tail!

Harry: Yeah, I heard you.

Larry: But you didn’t try to stop me!

Harry: You asked me not to.

Larry: Yeah, but then I changed my mind. Why didn’t you stop me?

Harry: (smiles) It looks to me like I did stop you.

Larry: (drops jaw) You did stop me! Oh, thank you!

(Larry and Harry sit)

Harry: Larry?

Larry: Yeah.

Harry: Why were you going to cut off your cat’s tail?

Larry: Well, I’ve been reading through the Bible this year and I’ve been in the Old Testament for weeks now, and all that they talk about is how you’ve got to make some type of animal sacrifice to atone for your sins.

Harry: Yeah, Old Testament people did have to make animal sacrifices, but…

Larry: (interrupts) You know that the only animal I have is Fluffy.

Harry: Okay, I see where you got the idea, but…

Larry: I thought about sacrificing Fluffy all the way, but I just couldn’t bring myself to kill her because she’s just so, uh, uh…

Harry: Fluffy?

Larry: Yeah, so instead I thought that I would cut off her tail as a sacrifice.

Harry: (shakes his head) I can’t believe you.

Larry: What?

Harry: First, you know that Jesus died on the cross to atone for your sins?

Larry: Yeah, I know that and I asked for forgiveness for my sins.

Harry: Then why were you going to cut off your cat’s tail?

Larry: I guess I was still feeling guilty and far from God.

Harry: (Shakes his head in disbelief) It doesn’t matter how you feel, Larry. It matters that you’re forgiven. You said that you asked for forgiveness, right?

Larry: Yeah.

Harry: Then God forgave you.

Larry: (Starts to cry. Speaks to Fluffy) Did you hear that Fluffy? You get to keep your tail!

Harry: Secondly, if you cut off Fluffy’s tail, she would have been the one making the sacrifice.

Larry: (Raises one eyebrow) Oh yeah.

(Harry and Larry Exit. Larry runs back, picks up Fluffy and exits, holding Fluffy close.)

Beautiful Feet

Here's a video I created for Kathy for last year's Minister's Wives Retreat at Tall Timbers Retreat Center. I thought you might enjoy seeing it.

http://www.youtube.com/user/JohnJFrady#p/a/u/0/ZW-vQxAduNI

Have a great day.

John

World's Largest Pyramid

Sometime around the 200 BC, construction began on a massive pyramid in what is now the state of Pueblo in highland Mexico. It was built with the snow topped Popocatépetl volcano as its backdrop and was dedicated to the deity Quetzalcoatl. The base of the pyramid, known as the Great Pyramid of Cholula, was greater than that of the Great Egyptian Pyramid and has been called by some to be the largest ancient pyramid ever constructed. Over the years, the original pyramid was either built upon or neglected by various conquering people groups. By the time the Spaniards conquered the area, the Pyramid of Cholula was so neglected and covered with vegetation that it was believed to simply be a natural hill.

Today, on top of the ancient pyramid sits the Nuestro Senora de los Remedios (Church of our Lady of Remedies). Visitors from all around the world come to the small city of Cholula to see the largest pyramid ever constructed, climb its steps, explore it tunnels, and visit the church building at its summit. It is truly a wonder to behold.

As I now view the pictures of the Great Pyramid of Cholula, however, my mind is not drawn to the ancient Mayan or Toltec people, although they certain did achieve much in their civilizations. What I actually think about is another ancient structure, the Tower of Babel, described in Genesis chapter 11:

At one time the whole earth had the same language and vocabulary. As people migrated from the east, they found a valley in the land of Shinar and settled there. They said to each other, “Come, let us make oven-fired bricks.” They had brick for stone and asphalt for mortar. And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the sky. Let us make a name for ourselves; otherwise, we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”

Then the Lord came down to look over the city and the tower that the men were building. The Lord said, “If, as one people all having the same language, they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. Come, let Us go and confuse their language so that they will not understand one another’s speech.” So the Lord scattered them from there over the face of the whole earth and they stopped building the city. Therefore its name is called Babylon, for there the Lord confused the language of the whole earth, and from there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth.

Hopefully, sometime in my life, I will have the chance to visit the Pyramid of Cholula and the Nuestro de los Remedios. To me, it is a monument that communicates to the world that no matter what man achieves that it will eventually be nothing more than a footstool to the glory of the Lord. Every structure, every achievement, every performance, every talent, every known thing is subject to Him.

The apostle Paul wrote the following words to the Philippians:

He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death-even to death on a cross. For this reason God also highly exalted Him and gave Him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow-of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Jesus, You are Lord of all things! We give You glory and declare that everything and everyone is subject to You.

Unique

This blog entry has been reposted by request.

So God created man in His own image; He created him in the image of God; He created them male and female. Genesis 1:27 HCSB

But hold up and let the river rush in, you can turn around and start livin’ again, Cause your life is a beautiful bloom in the image of the One that created you. Toby McKeehan*

To my dismay, I was not selected to be the soloist with the choir at a conference I attended in college. Sitting in the choir, I allowed myself to feel miserable and defeated during the evening of worship. Following the service, an older lady approached me and said, “When the choir sang, I watched you. You are unique and loved by God. You were created in His image and you are valuable to Him.”

Do you ever feel worthless? Do you ever feel of little value? Remember that God made you in His own image. Remember that He made you for a purpose. Remember that you are unique and loved by God. You are valuable to Him.

Lord, I know that You adore me. Thank You for creating me in Your image.

*Atmosphere

The Glory

So, on an appointed day, dressed in royal robes and seated on the throne, Herod delivered a public address to them. The populace began to shout, ‘It’s the voice of a god and not of a man!’ At once an angel of the Lord struck him because he did not give the glory to God, and he became infected with worms and died. Then God’s message flourished and multiplied. Acts 12:21-24 HCSB

It’s written right there in the Bible. Herod died because he didn’t give God the glory. He accepted the praise of the people as if he were the God who deserved their praise and adoration. The Lord did not appreciate Herod’s actions, so, He caused Herod to be infected with worms to the point that he died. It’s interesting to note that after this happened, that God’s message flourished and multiplied (vs. 24). God will ultimately get the glory.

God deserves our worship. He deserves our praise. There is nothing that we have done that could have possibly been accomplished without Him. He deserves all of the glory and honor and praise for anything good that has ever happened. Because He is the Lord of all and creator of all things, God is serious about receiving the glory. He does not appreciate it when we try to steal the glory that ultimately belongs to Him.

In Philippians 2:10-11, Paul wrote, So that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow-of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. (HCSB) This scripture even indicates that when we give praise to Jesus, it is to the “glory” of God the Father.

All the hard work that we’ve done, all that we’ve accomplished, all that we own or ever will own, all of the beauty in the world, every good thing that ever has or ever will be, all of those we lead to Christ or lead in worship or disciple or mentor, all of our families, friends, small groups, marriages, education, and vocation – everything – absolutely everything – is because of the Lord and all of the praise, honor, and glory belongs to Him.

Lord, help us to give You the glory in all that we do and in all that we say. It all belongs to You alone.