Reflecting Light

Why We Must Worship

2011-06-07T08:24:00.010-04:00

It was November 1982. I found myself sitting on a hard church pew wondering why I had to miss my favorite TV show. It was not going to be a fun night. The church sanctuary was packed and the smell of musty carpet and old oak paneling filled the air. Up until that night I was a casual observer of a faith, which was demonstrated by my parents and grandparents. Countless Sundays had passed filled with flannel graph images of Jesus and little baskets of fish and loaves of bread. But this night was going to be very different. The pastor took the podium and quickly began reading

Matthew 27:27-31

The Soldiers Mock Jesus ²⁷ Some of the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into their headquarters^[f] and called out the entire regiment. ²⁸ They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him. ²⁹ They wove thorn branches into a crown and put it on his head, and they placed a reed stick in his right hand as a scepter. Then they knelt before him in mockery and taunted, “Hail! King of the Jews!” ³⁰ And they spit on him and grabbed the stick and struck him on the head with it. ³¹ When they were finally tired of mocking him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him again. Then they led him away to be crucified.

Somewhere in the conversation I felt this amazing emotion begin to well up inside my little 11-year-old body. I was picturing the flannel graph Jesus come to life and determined to take the hatred of men upon his body. As sweat mixed with tears dripped down the face of the pastor I was ignited. The flame of my life was ignited. A force started my spiritual engine greater than anything I had ever known. Jesus was taking upon himself my all my sins past present and future. He was bearing the ultimate humiliation. As I sat in my seat I wanted to stand up and shout Stop!!!! Stop hurting my Jesus! What did he ever do to you?!

The message ended with an invitation to worship, an invitation to Worship God by placing my life, my will, my hopes and dreams in the hands of my personal creator God. A God who sent his most precious gift to humankind. A gift that would be totally rejected by many but received by a few. And those few would receive the precious gift of eternal relationship with Him.

I then found myself on my knees at the altar. Shedding many tears and crying with such force that it shook my being deep down in my gut. Then came the feeling, one that has increased and decreased and in creased over these past 29 years. I was free and I was his. He wanted me and I wanted and needed him. I belonged.

So why must we live a life of worship? Its kind of simple yet very difficult. God has given us a gift and we are simply thankful for that gift so we respond to that gift with gratitude. This gratitude should affect every part of our lives. Our families, our jobs, our communities, and even the strangers we come into the presence of every day. Jesus said in…

Matthew 25:31-46

The Sheep and the Goats

³¹ “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. ³² All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³ He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

³⁴ “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. ³⁵ For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, ³⁶ I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

³⁷ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸ When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? ³⁹ When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

⁴⁰ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

⁴¹ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. ⁴² For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, ⁴³ I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

⁴⁴ “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

⁴⁵ “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’

⁴⁶ “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

Jesus tells us that we are to show his love for us by how we worship him. By how we tell others about him, about how we share that love with others. I saw a bumper sticker this morning that said more wagging and less barking. I interpreted it as we should demonstrate our love to one another instead of speaking out criticism or anger to others. A simple reminder of what it means to worship. So back to the 12 year old knees on the hard wooden church floor. God changed me that day. And I believe that he longs to change you. To demonstrate to you his great love for you. So you can respond in all that you do as a worshipper of the one true God. He is your protector, redeemer, lover, and friend.

New Life New Blessing

2011-01-16T10:25:00.004-05:00

It's been a while since I last posted but something wonderful happened on January 10, 2011. Our new baby came into the world. Mckinley Karis Reams. It was love at first sight. Thank you God and help me God be the father that she needs and deserves.

Moving Day

2010-10-23T22:58:00.004-04:00

Well, it's almost time for another move. You would think that it would get easier as much as I have moved over the past 16 years. Now there are many things that I am not looking forward to but I will tell you what I am looking forward to. The sound of a train rolling on the tracks. The rolling hills dotted with white fences. Horses. Great places to eat. Bluegrass music. Good people with southern accents. Old friends and new friends. Another beautiful baby born in Kentucky. Ale-8-One. Christmas in Wilmore. Finding out more of God's plan for my family. These are a few of the things that hopefully await us in this move.

Rainy Days

2010-10-14T12:05:00.001-04:00

Today is a rainy day. The good thing is that my family gets to enjoy it. It forces us to slow down and spend quality time together. Thank God for this rainy day.

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Hiking with my buddies

2010-09-11T13:53:00.004-04:00

Last night we drove to WV and stayed with great friends at their family cabin. It was great. This morning we woke up and took a hike. While we were on the hike we encountered some really cool surprises. Check it out...

Morning Hike

A Son and His Friends

2010-09-07T19:16:00.004-04:00

My son Caedmon is 5 years old and is doing great in Kindergarten! Now, I know that it is only the second week but I have high hopes for him. When I met Caedmon at the school bus stop today, he couldn't stop telling me about his new little friend. When the school bus stopped at his friend Ethan's house his mom wasn't there to meet him. Which obviously upset Ethan.To Ethan's mom's credit; the school bus is still trying to consistently be there on time due to it being the beginning of the second week of classes. My heart went out to Ethan because I could only imagine what my son would have felt like if I hadn't been there to pick him up.

So why does a father like me feel such strong feelings about a kid that I have never even meet? I believe that it's because of my love for my son. That experience made me think of John 17. Here we find Jesus praying for his friends. The son of God is telling his daddy how much he loves his friends. Many of whom had never seen God or even had a conversation with him. For you theologians out there, I believe that Jesus was fully God and fully man, but John 17 shows us his Trinitarian father-son relationship and helps us understand the importance of that relationship. So I encourage you to think about this important truth. The Bible tells us that Jesus was God's Son and he lived and died for humankind. Jesus then rose from the dead and presented himself to his friends. After that he ascended into heaven to await his second coming. For those who believe this as truth gets to become friends of God. James 2:23. We become friends of God because of Jesus' love for each and everyone of us. God loves us because we love his Son. God also hears our prayers even when we don't think he does and because of Jesus' friendship with us, hears us and answers those prayers in His own way.

So the next time you find your children telling you about their friends and you find yourself defending or loving them. Remember that God does this for all who Jesus calls his friend's. How amazing is that?! Blessings!
Lee

First Day Of Kindergarten

2010-08-30T10:24:00.002-04:00

Today marks the first day of kindergarten for my son Caedmon. I have to admit it was tough walking him to the bus stop. He was so brave and very excited. It made me so proud. The funny thing is that my wife and I cried all the way home. We were not sad because he was going to to school but because we wanted to be a part of that experience with him. How weird would that be if we sat in the back of the class? We can't do that but the thought did cross my mind. The whole experience this morning made me think about my first day of school. I am the the first-born in my family of four children. There are many things that first-born gets to do all by themselves...going to school first is one of them. I remember the fun of riding the bus and meeting new friends. It was a very good time for me. But I never thought how hard it must have been for my mom. I was her first baby. She must have wondered how I grew up so fast. I love my son with amazing passion. I would die for him. So how do I help him take his first steps in the world of Kindergarten? Well, I will pray for him and show him that it's good to be brave. I will be his cheerleader and lead him to make great choices. God blessed us with him and it's our job to raise him to love God and to love others. So here we go Caedmon...we can do it. I am so proud of him!!!!! A sad but happy dad, Lee

Waiting on God

2010-08-27T13:05:00.004-04:00

Today I find myself waiting on God. As I write this post it suddenly dawns on me this is the place where I should be every day. Being totally dependent on God is not a bad thing. However, I must be honest though I know that it's not a bad thing to depend on God I still fight for control of my life. I pray about things and God doesn't answer in the way or time that I want Him to. As I look back in my past I can see that there were many things that I wanted that wouldn't have been the best things for me to have. They would have ruined my life.

This season of my life has been frustrating but not without great reward. As I wait on God He shows me things that I need to change in order to hear him better. Much like a person who is trying to get better cell phone reception. I need to move toward the signal. My hope and plan is that I will move away from the things that prevent me from having the best reception of God's voice. I must let Him speak through His Word and those who love him to help guide me through this time. He has and will always be very good to me. My prayer is that I will listen and obey. I cry out at the top of my voice...I love you Daddy! I want to hear your voice today. Fill my soul with you words. Give me your peace. I am waiting on You!

What a day!

2010-08-16T21:39:00.003-04:00

Well, I have to say that today was one of those days. I took one of my cars to be repaired and ended up having to major engine work done. It will be days before we can use the car again. So I thought at least I have another car to depend on. Yea, well I took that car to get the oil changed and they told be that this car is due to have some major work to be done in the near future. I also have a very important trip to make. So, what do I do? I start thinking about... is this God trying to tell me something or the enemy knocking me down. I have to be honest...I am starting to wonder. I know that God loves me but I know that "stuff" happens and I feel the fire and smoke of defeat brushing against my face. I lose my strength and feel like I want to run away.

Do you think that David in the Bible wanted to run when he heard the roar of the lion?

1 Samuel 17: ³⁴ But David said to Saul, "Your servant has been keeping his father's sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, ³⁵ I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. ³⁶ Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. ³⁷ The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine."
Saul said to David, "Go, and the LORD be with you."

I think that he may have wanted to run away but he wanted to save his sheep more. I need to do the same. I need to want to see God's power more than I want to give in to my fears or worry. God is great and I don't want to make him look small to a world who needs to see God for who he is.

In need....

Lee

Affirmations

2010-08-09T10:51:00.009-04:00

This past weekend I spent some time watching the latest inductees of the NFL Hall of fame. My favorite parts were the moments in everyone’s speeches where they thanked their families for all of their support and sacrifice. But there was one moment in Emmitt Smith's speech when he chose to thank the man who was his primary blocker. Darryl Johnston was this man. For many years Darryl literally put his body on the line to shield and open spaces for Emmitt Smith of the Dallas Cowboys to run through. I loved seeing the tears of gratefulness stream down Emmitt’s face. He truly meant what he was saying and not one word was wasted. It was so amazing that he got the opportunity to say these words face to face to Darryl.

It made me think about how many people who have paved the road for me in my life. I think of the sacrifice that my mom and dad have made for me when I was growing up. I also think of the my beautiful wife who has sacrificed so much to see many of my dreams to come true. There are many more but today I want to take some time and thank them again personally for their love and commitment to me.

Emmitt’s speech also made me think of the ultimate sacrifice that Jesus made for me on the cross at Calvary 2000 years ago. The Bible says in Isaiah 53:7

⁷ He was oppressed and treated harshly,
yet he never said a word.
He was led like a lamb to the slaughter.
And as a sheep is silent before the shearers,
he did not open his mouth.

You see Jesus sacrificed his all for us so that we could stand before a great group of people one day and give our thanks to him. Emmitt Smith thanked Darryl Johnston this weekend at the NFL football hall of fame and one day you and I may have an opportunity to thank Jesus personally for what Jesus did for you. Remember none of us has ever achieved anything on our own. It is always because of the sacrifice of someone else. Be thankful today.

Be Blessed!
Lee