Tag: christianity

Posted in Family, Father's Day, gratitude, life, Scripture

My Daddy

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

“You are the salt of the earth.” Matthew 5:13a

I think you would have liked my Daddy. With yesterday being Father’s Day and all, I just felt like I needed to tell you a little bit about my Daddy. On a Sunday morning in 1974, he up and moved to heaven. As far as I was concerned we both were too young.  He was 62 and I was 20. If I was to try and describe my Daddy I would probably go to the Bible and look at some of the characters there because my Daddy believed the Bible and in a very good way, my Daddy was a character.

My Daddy was like Adam–the very first man in the Bible. While there is a lot to be said for Adam the one think that sticks out to me was that he was a hard worker and so was my Daddy. Everyday, without question, he would get up and go to work at the Jacksonville Naval Air Station where he worked on jet engines. His shop was not air conditioned and since it was Florida it could get kinda hot and humid. It was my Daddy who taught me to value work. He was the one who taught me to take the family push mower and go from house to house knocking on doors and asking, “Sir or Ma’am, would you like your grass mowed for $2.00?” Yup, I made and spent a lot of money mowing grass. He’s also the one who taught me to get a job washing dishes at a local restaurant for seventy-five cents an hours and to bag groceries for a dollar an hour. My Daddy, like Adam, knew the value of hard work.

Oh, and the fella in the Bible who built things like an ark–my Daddy was like him too. No, my Daddy didn’t build an ark but he sure knew how to built a home. He and Momma put their lives together and eight kids later made a home. Neither one of them was perfect but they sure did love us a lot. They sacrificed so much and made sure that the house we had, an old repurposed Army barracks, was not a house but a home. Together they built a marriage and home and taught us to love one another–even when it was hard. My Momma and Daddy both knew the value of love.

My Daddy was also like that guy in the Bible named David who was a giant killer. When one of them, Goliath, decided to challenge God and His people, David took a couple of rocks and took care of him. Giants didn’t bother David and they didn’t bother my Daddy either. Raising eight kids wasn’t easy–in fact you could probably say it was ginormous. Plenty of times, despite all he did, there was more month than money but somehow the lights stayed on and the table was always set. When his heart gave out and he had to retire, he would work all night as a security guard just to make sure we stayed afloat. My Daddy knew the value of keeping his family secure–even when it meant killing giants.

When Jesus was teaching that day on the side of mountain, he looked at the people and all the daddies there and said to them, “You are the salt of the earth.” He was telling them that they were the foundation of all that He was about to do and teach. My Daddy would have fit right in there because he was the foundation of my small part of the world. I remember the time I came in from a late night date and he was praying at the kitchen table. I also remember the time he was leading us in family worship and he was kneeling at his chair talking to God. Those are precious memories. My Daddy was indeed the salt of the earth. He was a good man who loved God, loved Jesus and loved me. And along his life journey, he learned and taught me that no matter what, our Dearest Daddy could be trusted and could and would say, “Don’t worry…I’ve got this.” Bro. Dewayne

Posted in communication, forgiveness, life, Scripture

2 Peter 3:9–Freedom from Sin

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “The Lord does not delay His promise, as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9

It’s the new kid on the block. The United States has many federal holidays. Some have been around forever while others are relatively new. Juneteenth is one of those. Juneteenth, officially known as Juneteenth National Independence Day, is a federal holiday in the United States. We celebrate it every year on June 19th to remember the end of slavery in our country. The name “Juneteenth” was first used in the 1890s and is a mix of “June” and “nineteenth,” which refers to June 19, 1865. That’s when Major General Gordon Granger made sure the Emancipation Proclamation was finally enforced in Texas, the final enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation in Texas at the end of the American Civil War.

Juneteenth was recognized as a federal holiday in 2021, when the 117th U.S. Congress enacted and President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law. Juneteenth became the first new federal holiday since Martin Luther King Jr. Day was adopted in 1983. I have to admit that at first I didn’t realize it was a national holiday and I surely didn’t really know what it meant. When I grasped the meaning and understood it marked the end of slavery in the United States, well, it took on a whole new meaning. Slavery, one of the great sins of our nation, was finally outlawed. Though it didn’t solve the racism problem in our country it was a giant step in the right direction. Martin Luther once said that he had a dream and prayerfully one day that dream will come true.

Sometimes dreams come at a great price. When I thought about Juneteenth I also thought about the fact that God sent His Son Jesus to set men free. Since the garden, mankind has been enslaved to sin and there was nothing we could do. There was no escaping it–no defeating it. But when Jesus came, died, and resurrected on that first Easter morning–that changed everything. Listen carefully–Jesus came to set men, women and children free.

In John 14:6, Jesus calls Himself the Way, the Truth and the Life and if we are willing to place our faith and trust in Him we can be genuinely free. Jesus said in John 8:32, “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” That is what adds such power to what Jesus said in John 14:6–Jesus is the truth and knowing Him will set you free. How about that? Not being good, not being religious, not keeping the rules–just knowing the Truth–just knowing Jesus.

2 Peter 3:9 says, “The Lord does not delay His promise, as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance.” God is holding back His judgment to give each person the opportunity to experience a day of freedom from the bondage of sin. For that to happen, each person has to turn to Him for forgiveness. So why not let God give you your own Juneteenth Independence Day? Why not surrender your life to Him? No matter your sin debt, He can handle it. Rest assured, He’s got that! Bro. Dewayne

Posted in communication, food, life, missions, Scripture

The Life of the Firefly

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making His appeal through us. We plead on Christ’s behalf, “Be reconciled to God.” 2 Corinthians 5:20

I’m glad I wasn’t born a firefly. One of the joys of summer occurs either late May or early June. It is about that time that fireflies, or as I was raised to call them lightening bugs, make their appearance. Each evening as the sun sets, these fellows make their appearance and turn the evening from mundane to exciting. But you had better look fast because their act doesn’t act too long. It goes something like this.

Lightening bugs begin their journey as larva in the ground. In fact, they live there for two whole years. During that time they apparently dig around and eat grubs and things. Their whole existence is a time of preparation for what comes next. After about two years, something tells them its time to surface and they transform and emerge from the ground as lightening bugs. Now listen to this. First, they only live for about 20 to 25 days. That’s it. And the object of their whole existence above ground is to find a girl lightening bug and start a family. Once that is done…so are they. But wait…there is more.

Would you believe that when they emerge from the ground in their lightening bug bodies–they don’t eat. In fact, when their metamorphosis is done they don’t have a digestive tract and no way to eat or process food. Remember how I said those two years were all preparation for their next life? Well that apparently includes nutrition. So, no fried chicken or pecan pie for them. All they do is fly around, lighting up, trying to impress the girls. Imagine that…not eating. Ever.

I guess that means a lightening bug would be a really poor Baptist because everyone knows that a Baptist loves to eat. You give a Baptist a potluck dinner and it is party on. But not for Mister Lightening Bug–nope–and that is not only sad but hard to believe. Am I the only one who is trying to figure out why God created them that way? Well, it seems to me that God knew they might get side tracked if there were potlucks and the one thing that mattered wasn’t potlucking but rather starting a family.

Fortunately God didn’t think it necessary to try that trick with us. He has challenged us and trusted us with sharing the good news of the Gospel with the world around us. And truthfully…we do indeed get sidetracked. So how do we keep the main thing the main thing? We learn to listen to the Holy Spirit who lives in every person who believes in Christ. And then we listen to the heart of our Dearest Daddy as we read His word. When we pray, “Father help me to keep the main thing the main thing, His reply will always be, “Don’t worry…I’ve got that.”  Bro. Dewayne

Posted in life, loving others, Scripture, travel

God’s Love for All: Lessons from a Train Journey

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “Looking at the man, Jesus felt genuine love for him.” Mark 10:21

The end is a strange place to start.  My wife Judy and I spent a couple of weeks in England and Scotland.  The first part was God stuff, good stuff and the second part was Sabbath stuff, good stuff. But all things come to an end, and it was time for us to head home.  On our last night there we booked a hotel near the airport because we had an early flight.  It was indeed close, but it still required us to take a short ride on the Tube (aka the subway…not the kind that makes sandwiches but the kind you ride on).

So, we walked the short distance to the station and there was the train…we were right on time.  Even though it was 5:30 am, there were still plenty of people on the train, and we all looked strangely alike.  We all were wearing comfortable clothing suitable for traveling and we all had a variety of baggage.  We went to one end of the train car…the only place where there were seats… and grabbed one. It was there that we noticed that not everyone was alike…and not everyone was traveling.

I don’t mean to be harsh but as soon as we sat down, we noticed an unpleasant smell. It was like someone had lost their cookies and it wasn’t cleaned up properly. It was about then that I noticed a man slouched and sound asleep in a seat kinda across from us. At first, I thought he was going to the airport and to work but as I looked closer, it was obvious that he was homeless. His clothing was deeply stained and even his skin was darkened by too many hard days and times.  As I looked…I was grieved.

I can honestly say there was no judgement when my gaze found him.  There was no judgement when I realized he was the source of that unpleasant odor. What there was can best described as a sadness, as empathy.  As I studied his weary body and stained backpack, and clothing three things came to mind.  First, this meager life he was living was all that he would have here. He would never have the plushness of my comfortable American life.  Second, I realized that if he slipped into eternity very few would care. There probably would be no family, no funeral, no nothing.

The last thought was this.  That God, the same God that loves me, loved him. The same Jesus that died for me, died for him. He was infinitely valuable to the One who created him.  All of that is true for him and it is true for every person we see…whether wandering aimlessly the streets of Harrisburg or living comfortably in one of our finest neighborhoods.  God loves everyone—the same.

He was still asleep as we departed the train but I can still see him there.  I truly hope that one day he finds Jesus…the one Person who can change his present and his future.  I hope that for you too.  Everyone needs Jesus.  So, regardless of your station in life know that there is Someone who cares.  Know there is Someone who, no matter what we are facing, is big enough, strong enough and caring enough to declare, “I’ve got this.” Bro. Dewayne

Posted in Family, friends, Grace, life, loving others, Scripture, travel, Trials

Giants Among Us

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” Ephesians 4:32

There are giants among us…we saw them. It was a few years ago…but it is still fresh in my mind. These giants were the massive redwoods of California and they are the tallest and perhaps the largest trees on earth. They can grow up to 380 feet in height and swell up to 26 feet in diameter. Not only that, they can live up to 2,200 years. The giant redwoods are an evergreen tree only found in a narrow strip of coastal California and just north of the Oregon border. 

The redwoods seem larger than life and that’s because they are. They are not the only giants around though.  There are the human kind but I’m not talking about their height or weight. I am talking about heroes—people with big hearts and brave souls. These amazing people do the most amazing things. They lay their lives on the line for their country, they put on a badge and  go into dangerous situations for a few dollars a week.  They charge into burning buildings when everyone else is trying to get out.

That is just a few for the list goes on and on.  There are also other kinds of giants—larger in life in the quest for excellence, to change the world or perhaps, to be like Jesus. These are some of the people I admire the most—true spiritual giants. A few years ago I met one.  I was amazed by her story.

It all started when we were invited over to a friend’s house for supper. When we arrived, we had the opportunity to meet her mother who lived with her. That is when I realized it probably wouldn’t be a normal evening. When her mom spoke to us you could tell she was struggling with her voice.  Before long, she explained and that was the beginning of an incredible story.

She explained in 1950 when she was 19 years old, she was diagnosed with polio.  If you know a little about those times, there was an epidemic of this terrible, dreaded disease.  It struck without warning and without rhythm and that was the case here. It left this dear saint partially paralyzed and affected her vocal cords.  I was enthralled with her story as she shared, they said she would never walk—but they were wrong.

Then she shared more and more of her story.  When she was born (and remember this is around 1930) there were twins and she weighed less than two pounds.  She was a fighter from the beginning and fight she did.  Later, when she was eleven, she basically was put out to fend for herself and she did.  She had a strong constitution and work ethic.  I was amazed.

She married and had three miscarriages before giving birth to her daughter.  She would end up having 21 surgeries for various reasons and lived with a colostomy.  She was told that she had cancer though they really couldn’t pinpoint the source.  I know there are several things that I am leaving out but that is enough for you to get the picture.  Her life was difficult from the get-go but that is not the main story.

The most amazing story is her faith.  Receiving Christ at a young age, her journey of faith was strong and steady.  Like Job, her love for God only grew deeper and stronger.  She shared that evening how blessed she was that God had entrusted her with this suffering.  From her lips poured words of praise for her Savior. Then came stories of incredible generosity to those in need—both physically and spiritually.

Judy and I both left that night refreshed as if we had drunk deeply from a cool spring. We were blessed, encouraged, and challenged by a saint who had given more than she took.  She isn’t the only one.  Over my four decades of pastoring, I have bumped into so many spiritual heroes.  You had to bump into them because like most heroes, they don’t brag about their lives and stories.

When I left that night, I also left strengthened.  It is instances like this that solidify my own faith.  When I see and hear stories such as this one, it shouts to me, “God is real.”  It also does one more thing.  It causes me to examine the life story I am writing.  When people read my life, what does it say about me…and about the God I serve?

Each one of us are writing a story and during this hot mess called life, we all have special opportunities to write a saga.  The way we live, act, and speak will tell a tale.  Hopefully it will be one of grace and kindness.  Paul wrote in the Bible that we should be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

That is a tall order, but God is in the business of filling tall orders.  Why not take a moment and ask your Heavenly Father for a little, or maybe a lot, of help?  Let Him know you’ve been treading water a lot these days and you could use a little rest.  Don’t worry—He is ready and willing to help.  He’s got this.  Bro. Dewayne

Posted in missions, Scripture, thankful, travel, wisdom

Sabbath

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “And He said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” Mark 2:27

It was a grits factory on steroids. So, we got away because we needed to get away. Last year we were able to take a trip that was a combination ministry journey and vacation. We went to England to minister in a church and a community that we had visited the year before. We met some brothers and sisters and more importantly made some good friends. We spent about six days sharing and learning about what God was doing there. It was so good to see God’s hand working in a totally different part of the world.

After our time there, we rented a car and drove over to see some friends we had also met and served with. We spent the night with them and returned to our home base before striking out for Edinburg, Scotland via the train.  The whole trip was just about two weeks, and it was one of the most refreshing trips we have experienced in a long time. As the days went by, my wife Judy and I both could sense and feel the freshness of new adventures and ministry sweep over us.

It is always amazing how something new can restore and refresh.  It is also amazing how we begin to see things through different eyes.  My day job for forty-two years was that of pastor and teacher.  We hadn’t been in England very long before the scriptures began taking on new life.  Whether we were worshipping or having our Jesus time, it seemed that every verse of every scripture brought new insight and the possibility of a new teaching to share when we returned to our home mission field.

But that wasn’t all.  It seemed our days were filled with ordinary things that soon proved to be extraordinary.  We experienced the favor of our Dearest Daddy over and over again, and in that process found our Grits shelves once again being replenished.  Soon, my text inbox was filled with messages I sent myself to remind me of ideas for new Grits stories.  I found myself excited to click the keys once again on my keyboard — writing stories and preparing messages.  

And that was the best part of our journey…to renew and refresh.  I was reminded that was the reason that God gave us the Sabbath.  He knew we would need to get away.  Someone once said, “If we don’t come apart, we will come apart” and that is so, so true.  We were grateful for the opportunity that we had to “Sabbath” for a while and honestly–retirement is great for that same reason. I hope you will take the time to Sabbath too.  Don’t have the time? No problem, just ask the One who thought up the idea.  He will be glad to help you sort it out. He’s got this.  Bro. Dewayne

(picture taken in the Scottish Highlands, Stirling – Drip Bridge)

Posted in life, priorities, Scripture, travel, wisdom

Swiss Army Knife

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17

Everyone should have one.  Well, if you know anything about me you know that I love gadgets.  I like the kind of gadgets that you must plug in, the kind that need batteries and the ones that need neither.  I have discovered on my gadget journey that sometimes a gadget may get the job done but not as well as the real deal.  Case in point—a Swiss Army knife.

It all started back in 1891 when someone determined that the Swiss Army needed a knife that would do what knives do and a couple of other things—like open a can of beans. At first, they ordered some knives from Germany but politics and pride being what they are, they looked to make one in Switzerland and just like that the Swiss Army knife was born.  Just like babies do, over the years the knife grew and grew.  Now one of the models is called the Swiss Champ and has 33 tools tucked away in eight layers. But wait—there is more.  The monster of Swiss Army knives is called the Giant and it was built just to prove that they could.  It included every tool the company ever made—87 tools in all with a whopping 141 different functions. Now that is a gadget and a half.

One thing about Swim Army knives is they allow you to do many things but often not as well as the real tool.  In other words, the screwdriver may drive a screw, but I wouldn’t not try to disassemble an engine with one.  They will work in a pinch but that’s about as far as it goes.  Now there is something that is kind of like a Swiss Army knife, but it is perfect in very way and that is the Word of God.

The Bible is the champion when it comes to helping us do life and unlike the Swiss Army knife—it does all things well.  Paul was writing to a young preacher man named Timothy and he told him, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” Do you see it?  It is useful—and not just for one thing but many.  Now that doesn’t mean the Bible is an expert in everything (it doesn’t address cooking spaghetti) but it does mean that what it touches and talks about—it is the go-to Book. It can be trusted, and trusted, and trusted.

So, ladies, why not buy your husband or boyfriend a good Swiss Army knife for his next birthday or perhaps Christmas this year. After all, every guy needs at least one. And speaking of at least one—all of us need a copy of God’s Word.  When it comes to doing life—it can’t be beat. Scattered across its pages you will find over and again those encouraging words, “I’ve got this” and He does.  Bro. Dewayne

Posted in communication, Family, life, loving others, Scripture

Nothing Is Impossible!

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. For nothing will be impossible with God.” Luke 1:34-35, 37

 It was almost unbelievable.  My wife, Judy, runs an Airbnb.  Airbnb was founded in California by a couple of guys who needed to make some cash.  Since there was a shortage of places to stay in the city where they lived, they decided to rent a spare space they had as a nightly rental.  They threw an air mattress on the floor and ran an ad.  What happened next was just amazing.  The room was booked all the time and well, the rest is history.  Today it is a multi-billion dollar corporation that works as a clearing house for people who have property they want to rent on a nightly basis.  One of those is us.

We had a two bedroom apartment over our garage that was sitting empty.  Judy researched and worked hard, and now we have a business that is a supplement to our retirement income.  As a side benefit, we get to meet a lot of people from all over the United States and sometimes from overseas.  Judy loves to host people, so it is just a win all the way around.

As I said, we get to meet some pretty wonderful people.  One of our favorites bordered on almost incredible.  We’ve had lots of really good people stay with us and a lot of them are Christians.  But the first fall we were renting, we had a younger couple stay with us and they began to tell us a bit of their story.  I was chatting with the husband while Judy was chatting with the wife.  I thought I heard the word “grandfather” and the name “Kenneth Taylor.”  So, I pushed pause on my conversation with her husband and said, “Excuse me, did you say that Kenneth Taylor was your grandfather?”  And she replied, “Yes.”  We had read his children’s story books to our girls many times, so I had to know the story.

Kenneth Taylor was a regular walk around guy who loved Jesus—a lot.  He really wanted his children to know God like he did.  Sadly, there wasn’t a scripture translation available that they could understand.  Back in those days it was the King James Version (KJV) and it was written on a grade level way too high for kids.  He got the idea to paraphrase the Bible into a language that was easy to understand. He wanted his ten kids to understand God’s Word like he did. In 1954, he had to ride a commuter train about an hour each way to work in Chicago, so he came up with a plan to paraphrase the New Testament into modern English during his commute.

For seven years—seven years, he would put his Bible on the seat next to him and put a yellow tablet on his leg and he would literally read and then write—read and then write. He started with the gospels and went from there.  When he got finished he called his new paraphrase, Living Letters and it was released in 1962.  Well, he quickly found out that the Christian world was not ready for that—they were still struggling with anything besides KJV. No one was interested in publishing Living Letters.  So do you know what he did?

He and his wife took their limited savings and  begin publishing Living Letters.  The Living Letters would later be called The Living Bible. Slowly, ever so slowly, he began selling this paraphrase of the Bible and then something happened.  The Billy Graham Association called and asked if they could publish a special edition to give away at their crusades.  They wanted something that they could give to new Christians when they became Jesus followers and they thought the Living Bible would be just the thing. They ordered and purchased half a million copies. It was a huge success. Oh and along the way he started a new publishing company.  If you follow Christian publishing you just might recognize it—Tyndale House Publishing.  How amazing is that?

Just think—an ordinary, walk around guy who loved Jesus, decided to do something about something.  He was very intelligent and way committed, but really, he was just an ordinary man who loved Jesus.  And the paraphrase of the Bible he created on a yellow tablet strapped to his leg has helped millions get to know Jesus or know Him better.  It wasn’t easy and it wasn’t fast, but he stuck with it and God used him in a big way.

So, what about you?  What niggle do you have?  What thing is there that God is maybe, just maybe, calling you, leading you, to do?  What ministry does He want you to lead or birth?  What way can you bring some light into this way too dark world?  One of the greatest miracles in the world involved a young Jewish girl who was maybe as young as 14 or 15 years old.  God chose her to give birth to His Son.  She was just an ordinary, walk around girl who said yes to God.  When she said, “How can this be since I’ve never been with a man?” God just said, “Hey, with Me anything is possible.”  Anything is possible.

I know, in our day, everything seems impossible.  We can’t seem to get anything right. But that’s only because we are excluding the One who can make it happen.  Remember what God said…with Me anything is possible.  When we choose to put God back in the mix of our lives, well, there’s just no telling what can happen.  There you go.  I hope you will never forget Kenneth Taylor’s story and I hope you will never forget that God wants to use us to do something big for Him.  Don’t let the unknown scare you—it’s just a new adventure about to start.  You can rest in Him.  He’s got this.  Bro. Dewayne 

Posted in communication, fear, friends, Grace, life, loving others, Scripture

Turn Off the Mike

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “If anyone thinks he is religious without controlling his tongue, his religion is useless, and he deceives himself.” James 1:26

It wasn’t what it seemed.  The life of a pastor is, well, interesting.  In fact, the life of the pastor’s family is interesting.  For forty-two years you could say that we live in a glass house and that would be so true.  I remember when we lived in a parsonage (that’s a house provided by the church) and we had a wood burning stove.  It was difficult to control the heat so often we would leave the front door open to allow some cooler air in.  There was a sweet (and she really was) older lady who attended our church and she was very concerned that we had our door open.  She would call saying, “Judy, do you know that your front door is open?”  Of course we did, but she felt it was her civil and religious duty to make sure we were stewards of our electricity.

When we moved to Cobden, Illinois our girls were very young…five and four.  Back in those days during worship, the pastor had a big chair where he was to sit on the stage.  I don’t know if we did it that way to make the pastor seem important or so everyone could stare at him. It was just the way we did it.  Now here is what was interesting.  While I was sitting on the stage looking at everyone and everyone was looking at me, Judy was playing the piano.  Many pastors are blessed with musically talented wives and I certainly was one of them.  Now don’t miss this.  I am on the stage and Judy was at the piano. Who do you suppose was watching the girls?  Well, that would be no one.  And you know, girls will be girls.

Like so many siblings, the girls loved to pick at one another.  It was always nothing serious…just enough to make mom and dad nervous.  Well, that Sunday was one of those days.  They were being little girls and poking and pinching each other. They were giggling enough to cause a bit of disturbance and to catch their mother’s eye.  Judy gave them “the look”.  Now every married man knows about “the look”.  Personally, I would rather stare down a cobra than face “the look”.  The problem was, while Judy was looking…they were not.  They were busy poking and pinching.  You might wonder what I was doing.  I was sitting on the stage trying to ignore the two little girls on the first or second row.  I was pretty good at it, too.  However, there was no ignoring the lady at the piano.

When they didn’t get the message, Judy made sure I did.  I don’t know if it was “the look” or smoke signals coming from behind the piano, but I got the message loud and clear.  Handle it.  As much as I didn’t like sitting on the stage on the throne, I preferred that to handling the girls in public.  I rose from the throne and walked straight to the girls.  I took them by the hand and as casually as possible led them out the side door of the sanctuary.  Now there is one thing that every pastor has to remember whether he is going to the restroom or taking his kids out to have a come to Jesus meeting.  Turn your microphone off. I didn’t.

As the door closes behind us, Becca, our oldest, and in her sweetest five year old voice says, “Daddy, please don’t hit us.”  Now, pause, because I know in this world the idea of hitting a child conjures up all kind of bad things.  If there was any hitting it was only going to be a gentle swat on the bottom.  Period.  I knew that and the girls knew that.  Thanks to my not turning my microphone off—everyone in the sanctuary knew it too.  You can probably imagine that sweet little voice coming over the speakers.  There were no tears between the three of us but there were plenty of tears in the sanctuary.  No, they weren’t grieving for those precious little girls—they were fine.  They were tears from laughing so hard.  We walked back into the sanctuary and every person was either rolling on the floor or trying to stay in their seat.  It was a Hallmark moment.

Yup…we live in a glass house for sure.  Even worse, I still had to stand up and preach later in the service. Amazingly, somehow, we made it through.  It is things like that which make our relationship with the families we serve so special.  I deeply appreciated that through the years.   Anyone who knows the Taylor tribe knows that we are unapologetically human.  If you are looking for a perfect, plastic pastor family…well, you won’t find it with us. I’ve often said that people can handle Christians who make mistakes…they get that.  What they can’t handle is when we act like we are perfect and better than they are. Truth is we are neither.

James, the half-brother of Jesus, said if anyone thinks he is religious without controlling his tongue, his religion is useless and he deceives himself. Well, spoken, James.  In fact, we could probably put several actions in place of controlling our tongue and come to the same conclusion.  I am always so grateful that God can handle our imperfections. He never regrets inviting us into His family but He does desire for us to be honest and real…and so does everyone else.  Go ahead, take off the mask and just be you.  You can rest assured that His unconditional love will still be there…even when you leave your microphone on.  And, if you do, don’t worry, He’s got this.  Bro. Dewayne 

Posted in Family, forgiveness, Grace, heaven, love, Scripture

Returning Your Borrowed Faith

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “God saved you by His grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.” Ephesians 2:8-9

Sometimes borrowing is just easier than owning. Sometimes. A long while back I heard something that was both comical and true. Someone said, “It is better to have a friend with a truck than to go and buy a truck.” Once again, rather comical and at least partially true. Here’s part two.  “It is better to have a friend with a pool than to own one.” Let’s be honest, if you own a pool all the upkeep and maintenance becomes your responsibility. All the bills for all the chemicals are all yours. It’s pricy.

You see, borrowing is one of the great things about having great neighbors and friends. I can’t tell you how many times a someone has bailed me out by loaning me this tool or that. And there have been plenty of times when I was able to return the favor and help a friend or neighbor out. But there is one thing that we have to own. There is one thing that we have to decide about and then own and that one thing is–our faith.

You see, when we are kids we kinda coast along on our parents or grandparents faith and that works pretty good for a while. But at some point along the journey, we have to own our own faith. I’m sure the age varies and I’m sure it is different for each person but each of us have to reach a point when we own our faith and we realize we can no longer get by on borrowed faith.

Someone said, and it is true, that God has no grandchildren. If we are going to be in relationship with Him and if we are planning on making it to heaven, it will have to be based on a personal faith in His Son Jesus Christ. It is truly amazing and amazingly true that God welcomes anyone and everyone into His family. There are no barriers or restrictions. The one caveat is that we have to come to that point where we own our faith–where we decide that Jesus is Who He said He is and that He did what He said He could do.

So what do you say, is it time for you to return your borrowed faith to your parents or maybe your grandparents? Are you ready to believe not because your parents do but because you do? Are you ready to put it all on the line and declare your faith in Jesus–not as a historical superman but as the Savior of the world–your Savior? If you are, you will find that God is waiting to welcome you.

You know there is something to be said about owning that tool–there is a certain joy and satisfaction in being the owner. That is definitely true when it comes to faith. To have the confident assurance that Jesus is yours and you are His is one amazing feeling. So go ahead, return your borrowed faith and accept His offer of your very own. Afraid He isn’t willing? No way–nothing gives Him more pleasure than to see one of his creations become one of His kids–by faith.  Don’t worry–He’s got this.  Bro. Dewayne